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Yolanda Herrera & Gregory Clements (bloodisthicker) wrote in nosuchtimes,
@ 2008-05-19 00:30:00

Entry tags:

yolanda herrera, zach kitano

Yolanda & Zach: School Daze...
When: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 (late-- after midnight at some point)
Where: Common Area
Who: Yolanda & Zach.
What: Late night wandering.

Fidgety. Very fidgety. That was the best way to describe Yolanda right now. She was mostly unpacked. The "homey touches" could wait. The first thing she did was make sure her bass and amp were okay. Waiting until everyone was awake to check was not an option, but she did try to keep quiet. Hopefully it was early enough not to wake anyone up. It was a few hours ago, after all.

That of course was part of the problem. She'd been cooped up in her room for hours, and sitting still was not helping. Sorting clothes and figuring out where to put up posters was also not helping. Talking with people on the computer helped, but she still needed to move around. Sitting still just gave her too much time to think about what she had done. Second-guessing was part of any big change, but honestly, she could do without that right now. Maybe later.

She'd left a lot behind, again. No matter how many times she told herself it was for the better, it came back to that. Do vampires ever settle down, or was this yet another change she'd have to adapt to? Maybe this was just adulthood. One of a list of reasons adults always told kids to enjoy being a kid. You grow up, you have bills to pay, and wander around like a vagrant until you find your place, if you find your place. Bonus! Somehow, she always expected for her family to have her back. Now it wasn't an option.

Always forward, never back. That was something her father taught her. Take stock of your current situation, and figure out how to make it better. It was a lesson that became much more relevant these past few years. She wished she could tell him that. So, she was here, she was a vampire, and even if it didn't go as planned, she had left the nest. Both of them, actually. It could be a lot worse. All things considered, there was a lot to be grateful for. If she could believe it wholeheartedly, rather than telling herself that she did, she'd be set.

Now, where the hell was she? After a cursory glance, she was able to determine that she was back in the common area. Not new or very exciting, and currently very empty. She wondered if it was always this dead, or if it was because of the finals that girl had mentioned. As she stood there, she wondered if she should give up and go back to her room. She probably wouldn't be able to sleep for quite a few hours. Nerves and nature would conspire against it.

Ugh. She wasn't sure how she was going to manage the change in her sleep schedule.

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coalintodiamond
2008-05-19 09:35 am UTC (link)

It wasn’t long before Zach was on his way back from the kitchens after getting a late night snack. He was ready for bed. His day tomorrow was actually filled with plans, and they were plans he didn’t want to miss. Today had been a library day for him to sit back and take stock of where he had landed himself and his current situation. He read up on all the different praeternaturals that existed, feeling a little bit better now that he knew something about them. While he had had some funny conversations with other students online, he always considered himself a face-to-face person. Tomorrow was going to be a more interesting day than today.

At least those were the current thoughts running through his head as he walked into the common room of his house. He still had his drink with him, dangling from one hand, as he made his way across the room with his eyes focused downwards. Not really bothering to look around the room, Zach didn’t figure anyone was up either way. The common area was usually empty as far as he had seen. People here probably just minded their own business and didn’t socialize much, which he wasn’t about to complain about. Zach didn’t socialize much unless it he was being friendly or trying to get a feel of someone and decide whether or not he liked them enough to befriend them.

Friends had been a scarce luxury back at home, though. Zach’s ability had prevented him from getting too close to anyone but his family. He watched Jared go off and become popular, join sports teams and go to parties, and he watched Alicia grow into a vivacious girl with plenty of friends that she always seemed to spend the night with as often as she could. Zach didn’t get to live his life like them, so this whole ‘making friends’ thing was new to him, and he wasn’t sure if he was very good at it.

His sister had really been the only thing Zach could equate a best friend to since he and Jared had drifted apart as they grew older. Alicia spent the most time with Zach out of anyone in his family. Maybe it explained how he was better at interacting with girls than guys his age. It seemed most of the people he had talked to so far were girls. At least he was comfortable interacting with the opposite sex without awkwardness, which was more than he could say for some people.

Stifling a yawn in his hand, he made his way towards the stairs. Zach wasn’t expecting anyone to say ‘hey,’ but maybe that was because he didn’t think anyone else was up or about in the common room. He paused at a small trash can, finishing the little bit of juice that was left in it and depositing it into the bin.

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bloodisthicker
2008-05-19 09:51 am UTC (link)

Yolanda never really had trouble making friends, or enemies. Her up-front personality tended to attract the sort of people she liked, and repel the ones she wouldn't want anything to do with. Gossip-mongers, catty bitches, assholes, and people who were drowning in their own self-importance generally hated her. People who could take a joke, or were basically decent to others around themselves wouldn't really have a problem with her attitude. This suited her just fine. Duplicity was for hunting, not for everyday life, and even that bothered her.

On the whole, meeting new people would be fun and interesting. If she ever found them, that is. This hall seemed dead. She hoped it wouldn't always be like this. It'd be kind of annoying if it turned out her hall was filled with homebodies. Then again, she could always make it her goal to drag someone out of their shell. She kind of liked doing that, although she sometimes questioned her own motives. It was, after all, their life, and their choice if they wanted to avoid the world, however much it may baffle her. She hoped it didn't amount to just imposing her views on them. She never liked it when people tried that with her. Most of the time, they didn't seem to mind, so, she guessed it was okay.

She didn't initially say anything when what she assumed to be another student enter the room. He looked young enough, but ages can be deceiving. He seemed exhausted, however, not at all like he was checking for deviant student behavior. Yolanda weighed the pros and cons of potentially bothering him on his way to sleep, but her restlessness, and her desire to talk to someone face to face won out. From what she'd seen so far, this opportunity wasn't likely to repeat itself tonight. Not sure what to say, she eventually just decided to pipe up with a "Tired?"

Smooth.

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coalintodiamond
2008-05-19 10:00 am UTC (link)

Zach’s head turned towards the direction of the voice. It took a moment of blinking before he saw the girl — or woman, as he wasn’t sure how old she was — in the common area. He hadn’t seen her before, but he chose not to assume she was new. She could have been a student he just hadn’t met yet. A lot of people went to this school, and he hadn’t exactly had the time to meet but a handful of them.

Due to the lack of pale skin, he couldn’t tell if she was a vampire or not. Every single person he had met in the common area of his dorm turned out to be a vampire so far. For that reason, Zach would make an assumption here. She was probably a vampire. Besides, it was late and normal people were sleeping at this hour. She looked wide awake and bored. “Hey,” he replied. “Yeah, it’s really late. I probably should’ve been in bed a long time ago, but I got caught up in the library.” Great. Now, she would probably assume he was bookworm. Given her own code of dress, she didn’t look like the bookworm type either.

“I’m new,” Zach continued, not wanting her to think that, “so I had to check up on this place. Everything is a bit unfamiliar to me.” Understatement of the year. Zach bit down on his lip, deciding to ask the question that was foremost on his mind before anything else was said. He pointed at her, fingers forming the shape of a gun. “Vampire?”

He hoped it didn’t seem odd, but someone had just pointed at herself earlier and told him she was a werewolf, so Zach wasn’t really fazed at this point on the matter of asking someone if they were a vampire.

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bloodisthicker
2008-05-19 10:08 am UTC (link)

She waited patiently for his response, noting that he was having trouble even focusing on her. No way he was a vampire, right? She kind of hoped he wasn't, because looking that tired at this hour wasn't remotely appealing to her. His breathing and skin tone seemed to indicate he wasn't, but look at her eternal tan. Sure she was a few shades lighter now, but turning still left her with skin that was darker than a few living people she knew. The clincher though, was the heartbeat, which probably wouldn't have been audible, if it wasn't so empty and quiet here. Even now, it was pretty muffled, but definitely a human heartbeat. Considering her surroundings, she amended the thought: it wasn't a vampire's heartbeat. She started to wonder what other heartbeats might sound like, when his words pulled her out of her reverie.

"I guess," she said skeptically in response to his comment that it was late. It couldn't be that late. Bars would still be crowded at this hour. The good ones anyway. Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out if he was the type to go to a bar, or a club for that matter. Getting a better look at his clothes, they actually seemed like pajamas. Well, she guessed she could figure that out later.

Caught up at the library? How literary. She wasn't too into books herself, but to each their own. Before she could comment on whether or not he was a bookworm, he clarified, although it didn't dissuade her assessment much. "Oh, good idea." Not that she'd try it. Libraries weren't her thing anyway. They were too quiet, which made it almost impossible for her to concentrate on anything. This library might have useful information, but, hopefully, so would the teachers and students. "I'm new too. I guess I'll just learn as I go."

Yolanda laughed. She couldn't help it; that was definitely the first time she had ever been flat out asked if she was a vampire. So much for her residual tan being a useful disguise. "Why? Is it obvious?" she asked with a genuinely amused smile, her fangs slightly visible.

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coalintodiamond
2008-05-19 10:13 am UTC (link)

Zach actually laughed somewhat. “Learn as you go,” he repeated, scratching the back of his neck. “Yeah, well, I was in danger of having a heart attack multiple times because of that, so I think I’ll soak in my basics from books before I start poking and prodding at people around here for information.” Which was fairly true, he did almost have a heart attack upon meeting one of his teachers.

Humans were the only thing Zach was used to seeing. Terror was swift to come by, and shock lingered just around the hallway corner. That’s how it was for him, though. Being a vampire, she probably had it easy. She was already one of fierce fish in this sea of strange creatures in the school. Learning as she went would be simple. Zach was almost envious, only he was a little too tired at this point to really care.

He had gotten her to laugh at least. Surprisingly, Zach found he was pretty good at that with people — and it didn’t involve tripping and falling down a flight of steps in the process. Holding his hands out at his sides, he gestured towards the space around them. “Welcome to vampire house,” Zach said. His hands fell to his sides. Lifting one again, he held it to his chest. “I’m not a vampire, but this is the house for vampires. I think there are maybe two or three others like me, but I haven’t met them. They’re probably scared and in hiding. With all the vampires here and everything.”

At this rate, he wondered if he was somehow going to befriend all of the vampires. The idea made him a little less afraid of them. If he was friends with them, they wouldn’t feel the need to bite him and drain all of his blood if they were having a bad day or something. It was a comforting thought.

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bloodisthicker
2008-05-19 10:21 am UTC (link)

Yolanda grinned at his response. "You're kidding right?" He had to be, at least she hoped so. Even still, "It's not that bad, is it?" She didn't going to judge, and assume that he was a coward or anything. That would be kind of stupid. Plus, for all she knew there were some things here that could make her uncomfortable.

Aside from her family's occult leanings, and Gregory, she didn't have all that much exposure to the praeternatural world. She never really worried about monsters lurking around the corner. She was the monster, and she wasn't the sort to cause trouble, so it all worked out. It was one less thing to worry about, which suited her, because she didn't like worrying at all if she could help it. Gregory had always told her not to get too comfortable with her abilities, always reminding her that they could fail her. She had ignored him. Yolanda's grin began to falter as Gregory's advice began to ring in her ears.

This was the vampire hall. Good to know. "But, wait, why would they be in hiding? I thought everyone here had something up their sleeve." Yolanda was genuinely confused by the idea, even if it reinforced views she was starting to think might be irritatingly egotistical. This was a school with all sorts of praeternatural things, and she still had no idea exactly what to expect. She pointed at him with a quick nod of her head, her right hand only moving slightly to indicate him. "Like, you for example. What's your deal?"

Fuck. Manners. With an embarrassed grimace she added, "And what's your name anyway?"

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coalintodiamond
2008-05-19 10:29 am UTC (link)

Zach had to pause for a thoughtful moment. “It depends what you’re used to,” Zach told her with a calm tone. Some of the sights he had seen were too much for him to take in at once, and some of them were genuinely scary. He didn’t have any special strengths when it came to fighting. The best he could deliver was an underhanded punch, a fierce kick to the shins, and make a run for it.

He hadn’t meant his comment about hiding seriously. That was his own fears coming through to the surface, but he simply shook his head and shrugged. “I was mostly kidding,” he said. “I’m not sure where they are, actually. Exams, maybe.” Zach nodded at the next thing she said. “Yeah, everyone’s got something up their sleeve here.” It just wasn’t always sharp teeth and large, pointy horns.

“I’m Zach,” he introduced himself. “Zach Kitano. And I’m an alchemist.” A sardonic smile crept its way onto his weary face. “I make shiny things. That’s about it.” Fine, it was late. He was exhausted. Everything was a joke to him at this hour, even the ability to make precious metals, gemstones, and other valuable objects out of things that were generally much less worthy in comparison to the first things in the greedy green eyes of everyone around him.

He had avoided using his particular gift in front of any girls yet. Honestly, he was afraid that maybe he wouldn’t hear the end of it. Zach really couldn’t deal with people asking him to turn their jewelry into something more fetching and pricey. They might flay him alive if they knew he used to make gemstones out of rocks and throw them into the sea. There was something strangely enticing about throwing away something so precious, so desirable. At the bottom of the ocean close to his home in Northern California, there was a seabed of treasures because of him.

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bloodisthicker
2008-05-19 10:42 am UTC (link)

"Not much, actually. Just these," she answered, pointing to her fangs. Little things, really, especially when compared to some of the more drastic differences she'd heard about. "I mean, I kinda feel boring." Incredibly unprepared was more like it. Her worldview had been rocked a few times today, and it showed no signs of slowing.

"Oh right, finals," she nodded. "Someone mentioned those earlier. I hope it's less dead here when they're over." At that she glanced around the room, as though it would prove her point. "Quiet kind of bothers me." She shrugged dismissively. She came from a full house of kids, none of which were particularly quiet, although she was the loudest in the bunch. She was used to people running around, shouting across rooms, and the like. She'd hoped that dorm life would kind of be like that.

Yolanda wasn't particularly interested in expensive jewelery. The fanciest things she had were generally made out of silver. Other than that, she wore a lot of unidentifiable metal alloys, leather bands with spikes attached, and the occasional piece of plastic. Still, "Shiny things are good. You could throw them at people's heads, or shine light in people's eyes. Just, not mine please." And she thought she had it bad. Then again, wasn't she being a hypocrite? She was a vampire, something that might scare some people, but she knew that she wasn't here to hurt people. What right did she have to even think others would? She shook her head to clear her thoughts of intra-school violence.

"Well, nice to meet you Zach. I'm Yolanda Herrera," she said with an exaggerated bow. She flashed a grin, making it clear she didn't take herself that seriously. Extending her hand, she added, "And I promise I don't have cooties."

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coalintodiamond
2008-05-19 10:49 am UTC (link)

“My thoughts exactly,” Zach said, amused by her reaction. It was how he had been feeling, especially after discovering all of the different praeternaturals that attended the school and existed in the world at large. Boring in comparison. Of course, his gift was rare and quite valuable, but that didn’t stop him from wishing he could do other things aside from it.

There was a lot of lack of activity in the school. Finals might have been the answer. “It should pick up again after that,” he agreed. “Plus, there was that death. I’m not sure how everyone is taking that here. I’m new, so I didn’t know him. It’s still sad, though, I guess.” Zach wasn’t going to say much else than that on the subject.

“The quiet bothers me, too.” It did bother him. Not because he came from a rambunctious household, but because he just couldn’t stand utter silence. He grew up where there was always something to hear, even when completely alone: bird calls, the rustles of animals in the thicket, rushing water nearby. Utter silence drove him mad.

Zach laughed. “I used to throw things at my brother. Sometimes they changed if I was angry enough. Not always, though.”

She introduced herself then, and Zach remembered her name. “Oh, I remember,” he said with a grin, recalling their exchange on her journal. “Yola. Nice to finally meet you. Sorry about spelling that wrong, too,” Zach added, shaking her hand. He knew he liked her already and that they’d get along. She was nice and she had a sense of humor, which was always welcome. He wasn’t judgmental by any means either, so her eccentric appearance didn’t bother him at all.

“I can’t stay up too long, though,” Zach said apologetically, just in time for a yawn to catch him. “I have to get up in the morning, but you’re allowed to wander around the school regardless of the time. Well, at least I think so. I was just wandering around really late and no one said anything.”

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bloodisthicker
2008-05-19 11:11 am UTC (link)

Yolanda nodded distractedly. Was she ever going to get used to this place? Sirens, werewolves, pixies, and what else? Witches, warlocks, and goblins? Maybe. Maybe everything she could imagine. The thought was both intimidating and exciting.

Hopefully it would pick up. Wait, a death? She blinked. "Oh. That would do it." Shit. Now why hadn't she heard about that? Was that on campus? It sounded like it was. She had about a ton of questions, but he seemed like he didn't want to answer them, so she let it drop.

Yolanda laughed as well. "Now that's pretty cool." She wondered what it would be like to be able to change matter by will alone. She could tell someone to sit, stay, and on a good day, to roll over, but she couldn't just change reality with her mind like that. It sounded to her like he was, in all other aspects, human, so she wasn't exactly jealous. But now that she wasn't thinking tactically, she was very impressed. She wondered if there were others who would try to take advantage of that. Was that why he was here? The school was in the business of helping people who were in trouble, so it seemed reasonable to her that he might be hiding from such people.

Or maybe she should lay off the comic books. At least while she was here.

Nah.

So this was that Zach. "That's why your name rang a bell." With a wry grin she added, "Forgiven, forgotten, and I'm not going to quiz you now. That would be mean." Poor guy, he looked like he really needed to sleep, and here she was, just chatting away at him like it was early in the afternoon. Which, to her, it pretty much was. He was fun to talk to though, and seemed pretty decent. She figured she'd find some way to make it up to him. It's not like they wouldn't see each other around. After all, they lived in the same hall, in the same school.

"I see that," she said with a chuckle. "Well, if you pass out on me I'll just have to invade your dreams, and harass you there." She wouldn't. It would go against everything her father taught her, but she found the idea amusing anyway.

Honestly, she didn't really care if it was against the rules or not. If she had to stay in her room, she'd probably go nuts. "I think I'll have a look around some more, then see if I can pretend it's day, and go to bed. Mind over body, or something."

Yolanda looked Zach over, and felt kind of bad for keeping him as long as she did. "Do you need help getting to your room?"

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coalintodiamond
2008-05-19 11:20 am UTC (link)

Fortunately for Zach, his parents had kept him sheltered all those years and strictly told him never to use his ability around others. He never thought someone might want to take advantage of him and what he could do, although he had feared people might pester him about it. His parents had allowed him to finished normal high school, though, never took him out of it and home-schooled him. Zach was thankful for that. A complete lack of human interaction outside of his family might have driven him completely insane or, at worst, towards suicide. It was a drab thought, especially as Zach wasn’t even the suicidal type.

“Yeah,” he said with a sleepy smile, “that’s why my name rang a bell.” He laughed at the rest of what she said. “That would be mean,” he agreed. “Especially in my current state of . . . sleepiness. Besides, I got it now that I’ve heard you say it.” He nodded confidently, fighting off another yawn.

Zach then shook his head. Maybe a little more vigorously than he had to. “I won’t pass out,” he assured her. “I already did that once this week — and no, don’t ask — it was a complicated situation.” He didn’t realize that maybe he had said too much in that department, but he figured she wouldn’t ask for more information the subject.

He took her comment on invading his dreams in the non-magical way. “Ha, you’re welcome to harass me in my dreams. As long as I’m sleeping, it’s all good.” Zach walked towards the steps of the male dormitories. “It was nice meeting you, Yola,” Zach called out, heading to his bedroom for the night. It was time for bed.

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End.

bloodisthicker
2008-05-19 11:25 am UTC (link)

Yolanda made a few more comments here and there, but she could tell he really needed his sleep. Any complicated questions would have to wait, and she did have a few. No biggie. He'd be around, and so would she.

"I'll keep that in mind," she said with a laugh. She waved as she watched him head up the stairs. "It was nice meeting you too Zach. See you around." She continued keeping an eye on him until he reached the top, just to make sure he didn't break his leg or anything. Now that was a sobering thought. She closed her eyes and dismissed the memories.

So, now what? She didn't feel like heading back to her room just yet. Yolanda picked a random direction and resumed her exploration of the school.

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