Who: Misha and Ophelia. What: Some conversation mostly Where: Library When: Backdated to 12/6/2013 Rating: Low
Ophelia did not have all that much to do really for this weekend. Finals were not too far off and obviously she had studying, writing, and a few other things that would have to be finished for that time, but she knew she could manage it. She always did and honestly she could have taken on more classes like Laertes did, but she did not see as much sense in it, not with her goals. It was starting to get cold, so she could not sit outside and study really anymore, but she did need a quiet place, and her dorm was currently not that place. She wandered to the library, rather deep in thought. Recently she had been, somehow, even more quiet. She was not quite sure why she did not feel the need to even communicate with friends, but there it was. She carefully settled herself at one of the tables, opening one of her books and pulling out a pen to begin to take notes, trying to focus herself as well as she could on what she had to do.
Misha’s thoughts, the last couple of days, had been on Candi’s offer and it was making him distracted. He wanted her to call him over so he could try it and try it now but he didn’t say anything to her about that. He wanted to be good and wait but it was making things hard to focus on. Or just hard. He decided that he needed to distract himself from the distraction. He gathered his books and went to the library. There he would have to focus on the important stuff and not his own daydreaming thoughts.
Since finals were coming up, the library was packed more than normal. Misha thought about returning to his room when he saw a spot near someone. He bit his lip and walked over and asked, “Do you mind if I sit there?” He pointed to the free spot, “Or I can go elsewhere…”
Ophelia looked up from her book and shrugged slightly, pushing back her hair from her face. It was not common for her to be places alone, and even less so for someone to actually willingly join her somewhere, even though it was pretty obvious to her that she was being asked this because the whole place was pretty well filled. She motioned to the chair, indicating that he could sit, her eyes flickering to the books in his arms.
“There’s room...it’s fine…” Another shrug, she was not sure if she was being properly polite, though she was trying and that was important she assumed. It was better than being completely unresponsive. She needed to get out of that habit, it was not serving her well, especially since she and Laertes did not spend every moment around each other as they had in their earlier years.
“Thanks,” Misha said, taking a seat at the table. He pulled out his textbook for his Anthropology of food class. The shrug bothered him. Maybe he should go back. He felt really nervous. He glanced back at the redhead and asked, “Are you sure? I really don’t want to be a bother.”
“No bother, truly.” Ophelia looked at him curiously for a moment, trying to figure out why he seemed so uncomfortable. After all, she was small and rather non-threatening and it was unlikely he knew anything different unless he knew her brother-- and even then, the reasoning behind the moments she was threatening was strong. “I don’t mind having people around…”
Misha took a deep breath then smiled. Okay. He was okay. She was okay with it. He needed to learn to relax and just accept things as they came. He needed to stop doubting everything so much.
“Thanks,” he said then paused, “I’m Misha, by the way. If you were curious.” Or just wanted to study. I’m doing it again. Stop it, Misha.
“I’m Ophelia. It’s nice to meet you…” She looked down at her book for a second, mentally pointing out to herself that if she wanted to be polite she had to do it for herself since she had come here by herself, she did not have anyone there to speak for her. Somehow though that seemed okay. The boy sitting across from her did not seem anything but rather sweet and shy, and she could handle that.
Did he keep talking? Did he let her study? He looked down at his book. He didn’t mind being a bit chatty. He liked the company. He missed having company around.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” Misha said, “I guess I should let you study. I mean, that is why we are both here, right? To study.” He was being rambly weird again.
Ophelia laughed softly, taking note of the fact that Misha seemed to not know any more than she did how to behave in the current situation. “I imagine I can listen and study at the same time. I’ve been doing so for years, boarding schools are not known for quiet...” And talk too. She could do that as well, at least if current evidence was any indication.
“You went to a boarding school?” Misha asked, interested. That was a lot more interesting than his textbook right now, “What was that like? Was it hard to be away from your family?” Misha, as always, was full of questions and he was holding himself back from bombarding her with questions.
"I went with my brother, so I was never fully apart from family. It wasn't usually too bad, I suppose. A few rough patches here and there, but nothing huge." Not completely true, but Ophelia really was not a huge fan of detailing what those rough patches had been, since they involved harm coming to her brother and really they were not for her to discuss. "Sometimes it was even sort of nice, being away. An adventure, I suppose."
“That’s lucky,” Misha said, “Are you and your brother close?” Misha liked having a brother, most times. Granted he had only known him for a year, he liked having more family. It was nice.
"Very. He's always been my best friend." And in some cases-well, most- her only friend. That didn't need discussion either though. "I don't think we were apart for the first seven years of his life, not even for a day." Ophelia laughed softly, shaking her head. They weren't much apart now either, though they did spend time now doing their own things and so were not together every second anymore.
Misha smiled and said, “That sounds very nice. I didn’t have a sibling growing up and I always wondered what it would be like to have a brother or a sister, never mind being best friends. It makes me wish I knew how to be a closer friend to my brother now.” It didn’t even dawn on him that what he said may not have made sense.
No, it didn't make much sense really, but Ophelia could ask, she guessed. "If you didn't grow up together...younger sibling I guess?" She could puzzle out a little bit. Either younger or half, she guessed. That made it make a little more sense, with that connection.
“Oh!” Misha said, realising now what he said didn’t make sense, “No. He’s my older brother, half, technically but I don’t like to think of him like that, like it makes it less. He’s a professor here… it was our last names that made the connection. Nikolaevich is not a very common name here.”
“No, I can’t imagine it would be an amazingly common name.” Ophelia nodded slightly. Having a professor as a sibling had to be somewhat interesting too, really. And having met away at school? Even more so. “I guess that could be complicated, finding a brother later in life like this? But probably nice, knowing that you have a connection like that?”
“It is,” Misha agreed, “He is very different from me. He was raised by our dad and I never knew my dad…” Misha shrugged, “I feel very lucky to get to know him now, even if it’s late but it’s better late than never, right?”
“Of course, yes. Having met him must have changed a lot, but I imagine in a good way.” A small frown as he spoke about not knowing his dad. Even with the dislike she had toward her mother, she rarely thought of life without the woman, so it could not have been easy to grow up that way. “It’s good that you met. Not knowing you had a sibling and then finding out…” She shrugged a bit and brushed back her hair. “You get to know a whole new side of your family, this way.”
“Well, my brother anyway,” Misha said but shrugged, “That’s enough for me. I mean, at least I get that. I don’t like the thought of not having to ever have met him. Family is important to me.” He realised things had gotten all on him and he asked, “So does your brother go to school here?”
“He does. A sophomore, like me.” Ophelia smiled as she thought of her brother. They were close, after all, and it was nice to be in the same year, even if not all of their classes were the same. “Family should be important, obviously. I mean...if you don’t have people that care for you like that, it’s rather hard to get through life.”
“Are you twins?” Misha asked. That would be interesting. He wondered what that would be like. He nodded to her next statement, “I agree. My mom and my grandparents were always there for me. I consider myself very lucky. I would be lost without them.”
“Less than a year apart, so we started school together.” Mostly with the fact that her parents had made that happen, but the fact that there was less than a year different, there was not so many problems as there could have been. “I was born in June, he was the next April. We’ve been close since the day he was born, really.” A small smile and she brushed back her hair again, nodding. “It is good that you had that at home…”
“That must be cool,” Misha said, “Are you taking the same program?”
“He’s a dual major, Art and History. Wants to work in a museum. I just minor in History, major in Art. I actually want to be in museums.” This said with a soft laugh. Ophelia really did not expect that, but it was a nice dream to have, and according to most people, she was pretty talented, so that helped.
“You are an artist?” Misha asked, “What sort of art do you do? Like do you paint or sculpt or something like that?”
“Mostly I paint, though I do a lot of simple sketches as well.” She could do other things, she imagined, if she put her mind to it, but something about putting a brush to canvas was more effective to her than any other form of artistic expression. “What are you majoring in?”
“That’s really cool,” Misha said, “I don’t have an artistic bone in my body so I’m always impressed when someone else can do that,” Misha glanced down at his textbook and replied, “Anthropology.”
Ophelia shrugged a bit. “Tell that to my mother. She thinks I am being unrealistic, and the only reason she approves is that she imagines all that will be left for me is marriage when I fail.” She laughed and shook her head. She did not think she was aiming to fail, but there was that. “Anthropology? That’s interesting too, honestly. A bit more in-depth than the History thing I am doing, and fascinating I imagine…”
Misha frowned, “Your mother does not suppose you? That’s sad. I don’t think it’s unrealistic to go after your dreams. How else will you achieve them if you don’t try?” He shook his head. That seemed really sad. His mother was always supportive of whatever he did.
“I find it interesting. I like looking at the history of people, the study of people and all that. I like history but that seems to focus more on the wars than the people,” Misha shrugged, “I’m just curious, I guess.”
“That’s why I have my father. He’s the one paying our way really. Mother put Lae and I in as zetas, mostly punishment because I refused to select a logical major, but he took over and is handling everything now.” Ophelia smiled slightly at the thought of her dad, who really did look out for and support all of them, even with the huge differences between her, Laertes, and their younger sister.
“You are correct, it does focus a lot on wars. Really that’s been the driving force for humanity though, sadly, so it is hard to study the past without the wars.”
“Your mom put you in as zetas? Did she realise what that means?” Misha gasped, “I’m sorry to hear that but I’m glad you’re an Alpha now.” Misha thought about Ophelia said and nodded, adding, “ True but not everyone was at the war. There were those left behind. They are important too.”
“My mom thought it would do the pair of us good. I got lucky with a good Alpha, not too terribly demanding. I still help him out sometimes, with his new zeta girls.” Ophelia shrugged a bit and then nodded in reply to his statement. “Yes, they were important too. That’s where much of the art and literature of any time came from, after all.”
“That is good,” Misha said, “I’m glad to hear that you had a good Alpha. There are too many stories of bad ones, it almost sounds impossible there are good ones but they are.” He had always been lucky. He had never had bad one.
Misha smiled and nodded, “Yes. I suppose wars are the bread of our civilization and the rest are the meat? I’m not sure about that analogy.”
“Yes, I was very lucky. I don’t know how I would have handled the year without the professor…” Because really, any normal Alpha would have treated her far less kindly and forced her to be something that she was not. Either way though, it had been a good year for her, she managed well and made it through, and her father had finally decided to take over and help both she and her brother from any possible negative change.
“Was your brother as lucky?” Misha asked, not wanting to think he wasn’t. That would be horrible to think that he wasn’t as lucky. Maybe the professor that Ophelia was talking about was kind enough to claim both of them for the year.
“Laertes had an acceptable Alpha as well.” Ophelia nodded slightly and brushed back her hair again. “Not the same, but he did not have that bad a time of it. I think we’re both grateful though that it is not something we have to repeat. Obviously actually being an Alpha is much simpler…”
Misha didn’t really know that. He assumed she was right about it being easier to be an Alpha. His mom didn’t have the funds to pay for his schooling and now that he knew his dad, well, there was money but not for him, which was okay with him for the most part.
“I would think so,” Misha said, “Do you have a zeta or anything?”
“No, I’ve not taken one. Probably should, but…” Ophelia trailed off and shrugged a bit. “I don’t want to just force someone into it, it seems….not right, you know? I want someone who wants someone like me as an Alpha…” She shrugged again a bit and looked down at her hands, a little embarrassed at the idea.
Misha nodded, “No, that makes sense. There are some real horror stories and it’s nice to hear that there are people out there who want to look out for the zeta. I’m not saying every Alpha is evil or whatever. I don’t believe that at all. We are all just people, right? We act here like we would out there or something.”
Ophelia nodded a tiny bit. “Yes, just people. The whole thing always sort of seemed strange to me, but mother wanted us here and so...yeah. Not much choice in the whole thing.” She shrugged and bit her lip. looking down. It was not really something she was amazingly pleased with, but she dealt with it.
“Your mother chose the school?” Misha asked; he bit his lip for a moment, “My mom doesn’t know what goes on here. I figure it’s best that way anyway. She doesn’t need to worry about something she can’t help and she would worry.”
“She wanted us somewhere that we would be properly….I guess socialized. According to her anyway.” Ophelia rolled her eyes and traced a small circle on the table, her eyes fixed on her hands. “She thinks I should be taking more interest in something that would give me a future, something supposedly productive.” She did not care what her mother wanted though, so there was that.
“That’s sad,” Misha said, “I think you should take an interest in what makes you happy. We all deserve that and socialised? I think you are socialised,” he smiled, “It’s not like you have jumped on my head and started to try to eat my skin, right? How are you not socialised?”
Ophelia let out a soft laugh and shook her head. “I spent a good deal of my life letting my brother talk for me. Just never wanted to. Mother hated it, honestly, but I...I’m getting a lot better.” She shrugged. She was not sure why- maybe being grown and out of the house was different. She didn’t know, but she knew that talking seemed to come a little easier now than it had in any of her other schools.
Misha smiled softly and said, “You seem to be talking now. I mean, you’re okay. I would have never have known if you didn’t say anything.” He ducked his head slightly, hoping he didn’t say something offensive there.
“I should be happy on that I guess. I never really know if I am saying the right things…” Ophelia looked down at the table and shrugged, a tiny smile on her lips. “Really I could sound like an utter moron and I would never quite know it.”
“You don’t sound like a moron,” Misha said, “That’s what I’m always worried about. Sounding like a moron. Or saying the wrong thing. Or offending someone. Or something wrong.” He bit his lip and looked down. Now he felt like an idiot after saying all that.
Her smile remained in place and she shook her head. “You seem fine to me, really. Though I suppose there are better judges of fine out there…” A tiny laugh and she tugged the end of her hair, looking down at the table for a few seconds. “I’ve not been offended by you and you seem interesting to talk to…”
Misha smiled and said, “We seem similar. I mean in this regard. That we are both a bit awkward. I mean, not necessarily in a bad way but just… nervous,” he looked down and then added, “Okay. I’m going to shut up now before I do offend you.”
Ophelia laughed and shook her head. “I don’t believe it is easy to offend me, not really. I mean, I’ve sort of heard it all in the past, with my refusal to talk…” She brushed her hair back from her face again and shrugged. “I usually have Lae worrying about what people say to me, but it’s never much fazed me either way…”
“Doesn’t mean it’s okay,” Misha said softly, “I mean, just because you have heard it or whatever doesn’t make it right and I don’t want to offend you. You are really nice.” He looked down at the desk, feeling awkward.
Ophelia blushed a tiny bit and shrugged. “You’re not likely to offend me. You’re quite sweet really, and mostly the only way to offend me is to do something to upset Lae.” She had developed rather a thick skin over the years and so not much bothered her externally- words were just words, after all.
“I don’t know your brother so I wouldn’t worry about that,” Misha said, “but thank you. I promise I will do my best not to offend you or your brother.” He offered Ophelia a small smile.
Ophelia nodded a tiny bit and tugged the edge of her hair lightly. “That’s a good thing. But I must be keeping you from your studying by this point?” She laughed a bit and motioned to his books- she did not want to interrupt him if he really did need to look over his work.
Misha looked down at his textbooks and nodded, “I should probably study and let you too. It was nice talking with you, Ophelia.”