Lewis
It was a pretty average evening. June had been setting up their dorm for the past couple days. Boxes decorated their room, some opened some not, but June was making steady progress. It wasn't much, since they couldn't bring all of their stuff here. A part of June was kind of bummed about that, but it wasn't anything they couldn't adapt to. They could make this place just as homey as their place back in Toronto, easy. At least they could try. 

Since yesterday, most of their main items had been all set up. Their dorm was already rather colourful, even without all of their decor up. The main highlight of the room that helped bring it to life was the fluffy pink carpet covering most of the floor. June was in the decorating phase at the moment, sticking their posters to the cold concrete walls to help them feel more at ease. They feel rather bored when surrounded by such dull tones, they find it drains their energy. Stickers and pieces of masking tape had worked when sticking up their lighter paper posters, but they were curious how they would be able to hang their two flags up above their bed like they had planned. 

Standing up on the mattress, their feet up near their pillows, they were pondering how they would go about sticking them to the wall. They had two flags to display, a non binary flag and a lesbian flag. So far, they had figured out how to display the lesbian one, but the same technique wasn't holding up their other flag. 

Tapping their foot lightly in thought, they stood there really using every brain cell in that eccentric head of theirs to think about how to hang their other flag on the wall. For the past two hours while they were decorating, the door to June's dorm was wide open. It was propped open with one their giant platform shoes. June figured it would be a good way to make friends, but so far no one had walked by. No issue to them, they'd just continue setting up their room. Now, how to hang this flag...
Melissa
Owen didn't really know what to do with himself today, and so he had elected to wander around aimlessly until something smacked him upside the head. That technique had worked surprisingly well at this place- a little too well. Strange people here. The memory of scooping up animal guts had hit him completely by now, though, and he was having a rough time thinking about more pleasant things; maybe a bit of nonsense would do him some good. Beats thinking about being elbow-deep in corpses.

Having found nothing really interesting outside, he decided that making some weird noises with his bass would do him some good, and so he was meandering his way back to his room. Mostly zoned out, he walked on autopilot through the maze of doors, scanning for his own. 

Turning a corner, he noticed something strange- whose door was open? One didn't see that often here. One didn't see that at all here, actually. Trying not to look suspicious about it, he glanced inside, and noticed a ridiculous platform holding the door open; a mix of joy and nerves spiked through his chest when he saw the one person that they could belong to. Couldn't hurt to say hello, right? 

"...June? Uh, hi!"

Looks like the words weren't eloquent today. Eh.
Lewis
June whipped around at the sound of a voice. A friend! Their eyes locked on the person standing at their door. *Perfect.* Finally someone had decided to come around, and it was none other than... Owen! Oh what joy. June had remembered him from earlier in the week. It would be hard to forget, especially since they hadn't seen anyone else since then. This place seemed to be rather empty.

"Oh! Hello Owen! Just give me a second-"

They set the flag they still hadn't hung up down on their pillow, and hopped off their bed. They made a little thump when they hit the ground, but their carpet absorbed most of the noise. Their mouth shifted into a soft smile, and they excitedly walked over to their door. They weren't dressed up in their usual wacky clothes, since they weren't planning on going anywhere. Even despite that fact they couldn't help but get a little spike of excitement at the sight of another person. On this night, June was remarkably casual but still colourful. Their oversized hoodie was an assortment of bright tones, separated by each main part of the jacket. If you looked close enough, you'd see fabric cat ears on the hood. The rest of their outfit wasn't anything special. Once again they were wearing shorts, and instead of their chunky platform shoes their feet were covered by mismatched fluffy socks with stars on them. They tapped their foot lightly, June could never manage to sit still.

"What brings you? I was just setting up some decorations, but you are welcome to come on in if you'd like!"

Their voice was fast paced and energetic. June looked down at Owen, awaiting a response. Even without their shoes they were remarkably tall. Their dark brown eyes remained peering down on him, almost unsettling but oddly inviting.
Melissa
Wow, this was ...Surprisingly pleasant? Once again, Owen found himself just a little bit overwhelmed by the look in their eye. Not necessarily a bad thing; something needed to shake him with a little more force than kilometres on end of sleepy trees. He decided to welcome the wired sort of feeling that accompanied the air around June. 

Now officially welcomed, he took a few steps inside, careful not to track any dirt onto their very soft-looking carpet. He found it a little bit funny that he needed to be invited into places like a vampire.

"I, ah, I was wandering around not really doing anything," He started, "And your door was open? Were you having trouble with the flag over there?" He asked, peering over their (unnervingly high) shoulder to the flag tossed on their pillow. His eyebrows twitched a little when he recognized the flags- there admittedly wasn't much of a question that they were some kind of queer, but it was nice to have confirmation that he wasn't the only one. Neat room they have here. He snapped back into his head and continued.

"I have some extra wall-sticky-things in my room if you're out." He had brought quite a few, just in case. "Nice flags you've got there," He risked, hoping that they received his subtle *I see that you're queer and I'm also queer haha isn't that neat* Meaning. Gah, he couldn't go a day without tying his guts into a knot fit for a Celt's bedsheets.
Lewis
"Wonderful! Make yourself comfortable! Take off your shoes though. The carpet is really nice-"

June trailed off and almost immediately returned to what they were doing before Owen walked in. They quickly hopped back up onto their bed. They didn't need to jump very high, the bed was rather close to the floor. For June at least.

"Yep, this flag here has been giving me some trouble but it's nothing I cant figure out!"

They let out a small laugh, and focused their attention back on their wall. They seemed remarkably comfortable with someone they had only met once before. Whether they have no sense of fear, or are flat out stupid is up to whoever decides to observe them. 

"Oh? My flags? Thank you! Girls, am I right."

Laughing a tad louder this time, the mood in the room was remarkably chill. June seemed to be unsettling to some, but comforting to others. Either way their energy was contagious. After a couple minutes, the tape had finally stuck and the flag was up! June let out a small celebratory cheer and fell down onto their bed. It was incredibly soft with 3 layers of blankets, and many, *Many*, fluffy pillows. It was rather obvious just by looking around June's room that they liked soft textures. After a moment of laying down, they quickly sat up and crossed their legs, looking expectantly at Owen.

"So... If you don't mind me asking, what got you put in here? You don't exactly seem like a criminal to me."

They covered their mouth and snickered a little, June's lack of a filter was surprisingly obvious. Their tone by the end of their sentence was laced with teasing, but no malicious intent.
Melissa
Having been given the go-ahead to make himself comfortable, Owen maneuvered his boots off of his feet and set them gently next to each other next to the doorway. He took a few more steps in; June was right, the carpet *Was* Really nice. 

The mood in the room was delightful, and at June flopping down on their bed (how did they sleep with so many pillows??), he decided to sit himself down on the carpet a couple feet from the bed. Another spike of nervousness shot through his torso when they asked their question, and he averted their gaze, threading his fingers through the fibres of the carpet. 

"Funny story, actually," He began, "I sort of.. Trashed my hospital room. Asleep. I was asleep when I did that." Maybe it wasn't so funny. Could be. They seemed to be the sort to find it funny- anyway. "They would normally have just fined me, or put me to community service or something, but the biggest piece of evidence that they had.. The security footage, there was no explaining it, so everything was hush-hush," He continued, finding his grip on what he was trying to say. 

"See, my power, it's hereditary." He lifted up a hand, and pulled back the sleeve covering it. He, too, wasn't wearing anything special today- just an old, soft hoodie, in his favourite shade of deep green. He dragged his fingers along his wrist and exhaled, rousing his shield from beneath his skin. The translucent, crystalline surface looked like it had ruddy orange dish soap flowing beneath it, like the colourful puddles on the concrete at gas stations.

"It's been documented by my family that it emerges only when your body's strong enough to host it, not a moment before. When I hit that mark, it scared me, and I ran outside.. Got myself hurt, really badly hurt, struck by lightning actually- anyway, I wasn't strong enough to hold it, and it went haywire inside and outside of me, while I was asleep, acting out bad dreams.. I didn't mean to break anything or hurt anyone, but I, I did it anyway, and they told my mams that there wasn't much choice in where to put me after that." A deep breath that shook just a little. "So I'm here."

He shook his hand a little, and the mesmerizing red crystal melted and sank back into his skin. Still felt strange. 

"I'm so sorry for unloading all of that on you, ah-" Owen snapped out of his train of thought. Was it too much? "What, pray tell, did *You* Do?
Lewis
June's watching eyes followed Owen as he went and sat on their carpet, they didn't mind. They sat there on their bed, leaning forward slightly as Owen spoke. They give little nods and signs that they were listening throughout the conversation. *Fascinating.* So there *Were* Other people like them. This wasn't just some trick. June wasn't exactly sure how to feel about this. Was this thrill? Or anxiety? They could never truly tell, but just assumed they were interested. His story was *Far* Different than their own. 

Their eyes lit up a little when Owen gave a small display of his power, it was captivating to watch. Owen has a few little party tricks up his sleeve then too it seems. *Pun intended.* Everything was going rather well until Owen mentioned lightning? He had been struck by lightning? June leaned back a little out of shock when they heard that bit, and how quickly he brushed over it. A small hum rumbled in their throat before they decided to leave it alone. Perhaps they would ask some other time.

"Your power is *Really* Cool. Sounds a little overwhelming though."

They said, fidgeting with a part of their blanket. They were somewhat concerned about how much Owen seemed to be carrying, but the thought left their mind almost as quickly as it came. 

"Oh thats okay! I was the one who asked. Thats really interesting."

June's voice remained energetic. They quickly fluffed up their hair and returned their hands to their resting position on their knees. Their story wasn't *Nearly* As cool as Owen's, but June will never pass up the opportunity to put on a show.
_ _

"What did *I* Do? What *Didn't* I do." They snickered a little before continuing.

"Well you see, how I got here was I was trying to steal a street sign and a security guard caught me. Y'know, I thought I was off the hook but turns out they had caught a bunch of my *Other* Crimes on security cameras decorating the streets." While they spoke, they gestured wildly and dramatically with their hands, almost as if they were retelling a harrowing story. 

"Turns out, they couldn't pinpoint who I was. Until I was dragged in the last time. Immediately they recognized me and I would've gone to jail if it wasn't for this place! Im rather glad for that. Of course i'm *Magic* Too, hence why I am not dancing behind bars right now!"

They let out their signature hyena like cackle and sighed a little.

"Im not the biggest fan of rules you'll come to find out. I like to have fun." June smiled slightly and tilted their head to the side. 

"There, now we are even. Word wise."
Melissa
Owen couldn't help but burst into a short fit of crackling laughter. June had a way of just *Saying* Things that lifted his mood. Their wild mannerisms gave his eyes things to comfortably focus on while they spoke. He happily tapped on the carpet with his palms while he listened. 

"Man, you've got quite the origin story!" He snorted, taking in their animated storytelling. Honestly, the stories about petty thievery didn't really bother him. Is what it is. "Hah, happy accidents I guess- I don't think *Jail*-jail would've been as interesting as this place... Wander around a bit, some of the people here are *Strange*." He chuckled again. 

"It's been rough, but I'm trying to adapt as best I can. After a certain point, all you can do is laugh, right? Need me a shirt that reads 'Trashed a hospital room and all I got was this cool scar and a lovely trip to Sweden!'" He punctuated this by hooking a finger into his hoodie's collar and pulling it aside, revealing a hint of twisted scar tissue for emphasis. His face relaxed into a lopsided grin; that felt nice on his face. 

"Might I ask what your power is?" He drummed his fingers on his leg, over the spot where his jeans had ripped along the seam and he had painstakingly repaired them with bright red thread. "What landed you in '*Magic jail?*'"
Lewis
"Oh yeah for sure! This place is so much more interesting. Although, so far the only person i've met is you."

June had only been here for less than a week and was already kind of bummed they hadn't met any other kids yet. They had been keeping a journal of their days, and thought having some profiles would be interesting. Owen was the first and, so far, only person in there. June wasn't necessarily being negative, just documenting their time in a new place. The conversation flowed naturally from subject to subject, it was nice. 

"Im *So* Glad you asked about my power. You showed me yours, let me show you mine."

They stretched their palms outwards and cracked them. June got up from their comfortable spot on their bed and moved to a spot on their carpet where they had more space. The room wasn't incredibly big, but it was big enough. Big enough to show off their power, or at least *Part* Of it. 

"Whaddya say, lets put on a show shall we?"

They gave a dramatic bow to seal the deal and returned to their normal stance. They extended their arm to the side of them and focused on the mental image of extending their energy outwards. It didn't take long before a direct clone of June pulled itself out of their side. The apparition hesitated a little before finally separating from June entirely. The clone that stood next to June stared with a blank expression, it *Looked* Like them but something was clearly off. 
_ _

"Cool isn't it? Watch this."

June focused on the clone and almost immediately, with the same blank expression, the clone bowed. In the exact same way June had done earlier. June was surprisingly desensitized to the sight of *Themselves* Playing little tricks beside them.

"My power, well *One* Of them, is being able to clone myself. I haven't had it for very long, but it's definitely come in handy." They snapped their finger and their clone disappeared into a small puff of smoke. 

"And that concludes the show! Thank you, thank you, i'll be here all week."

They let out a laugh, clearly joking. They jumped back onto their bed and returned to their cross-legged position.

"Looks like we both got pretty show-offy powers then, huh?" Their calm smile remained softly on their features.
Melissa
"Oh?" Owen cocked his head to the side, intrigued. A show, they say? He clapped his hands daintily, content to play along. "You've gotten my attention!"

Nothing could have prepared him for *This*. What in the world?! He scrambled back a little instinctively, the living shit effectively scared out of him. 

"WHA-" He fumbled, his eyes transfixed on the clone's. Their dead-eyed expression and unnatural movements churned the pit in his stomach, but he couldn't look away. "DUDE. That's. That's so cool," He blurted out. "Damn near shat myself!" His accent grew slightly stronger in his surprise- the vowels twisted in the familiar way over his tongue. He sort of sounded like his mam. 

"Hah, yeah, I suppose we do- mine can get even flashier, if you'll believe it," He snickered, mostly out of disbelief. He had seen a few demonstrations of his new classmates' powers by now, but it still never failed to strike him how much stranger truth was than fiction. 

"It actually, ah, came out of nowhere," He ventured. He had thought about his powers quite a bit, but had yet to actually talk much about them. It felt nice to get some of it out. "My predecessors, seventh sons of sevenths sons, they were healers. My uncle and my granddad, their magic looks a lot different from mine. All I can do is theorize about it- or why I was even counted in the cycle, when I'm my mams' fair and square." 

He tugged on his fingers, feeling the minuscule reactions inside of them. Little flares of sleepy orange flickered over his knuckles. "I can't heal," He spoke softly, "And I'm shaky at best at defending, but.. It's not in me to give up." He smiled again, glancing around at the brightly decorated walls. 

Shaking his head, he quickly spouted "Agh, that's heavy- feels nice to say it out loud, though." A short puff of breath. "You don't have to worry about me. Also, wow, your room's downright lovely," He remarked. Loud, very loud, but this space was undeniably cozy.
Lewis
June cackled at Owens remark about their power. It wasn't *That* Scary, was it? Maybe Owen was just a coward. They'd have to keep that in mind. They tilted their head slightly when Owen mentioned his powers could get flashier.

"Oh? Think you can out-dramatic, *Moi*?" 

They put their hand to their chest and flipped their head to the side, before laughing slightly and relaxing again. They were obviously joking, or simply trying to keep the mood light. Either way, it seemed to be working. Owen remained remarkably relaxed despite June's little trick.

They listened when Owen trailed off. They saw the shake in his voice and how unsure he seemed. Just then, June remembered something. Perhaps this would help him feel a little better. June didn't know much about Owen or what made him tick, but they could hope their few small gestures would help. June loved making people happy, and making them laugh. Hmm. They tapped their knee in thought, before looking over to the other side of the dorm. 

"Well I think you'll do great! Hold on-"

They hopped off their bed and walked over to a box, stacked on top of another box, in the corner of their room. They stuck their hands deep into the array of personal items and rummaged around in it for a couple seconds. They pulled out various stuffed clown dolls, and plush animals before finally getting the one they wanted. Keeping it hidden as much as possible, they tucked their hand behind their back to surprise Owen. 

"Aha- here it is."

They walked over to Owen, and stood right in front of him on the carpet. They gestured at him to open his hands. Just hoping he'd trust them.