Daniel
"Roommate huh..." Morgan murmured to herself. Sure, she'd said she didn't care either way when she arrived at Newton's Cradle, but at this point, she sincerely hoped that their shared room would be a big one. Her own single room was a bit of a disaster, with all of her things spread out across over half the floorspace.

Morgan sighed. Her room back in her brother's apartment had been smaller than the one she occupied now. She'd be able to manage. Hopefully. She'd never actually shared a living space with someone before, so hopefully it would go well. She cracked a smile. Hopefully her new roommate was a heavy sleeper. She had a tendency to come and go at weird hours for her classes.

Morgan looked around. She hadn't been told much, other than her new roommate's name, which she'd already managed to forget.
Mary
Uriel stood behind a corridor, watching the girl huff and sigh as she waited for them. 

This encounter would mark their first one with someone like them—besides their mom — and Uriel didn't want to leave a bad impression with their roommate. 

They let a large breath out, and took a swig of their energizing tea. Hopefully, it would make them seem more normal. 

They were lucky, in a way— they'd been shipped here in the early hours of the morning, and just got done with paperwork. They hadn't spent a night at the facility yet. 

The thought both terrified them and intrigued them. What kind of dreams would their roommate have, Uriel wondered? 

They entered the cafeteria and scanned the room, towering over the many people dawdling around.
Daniel
Morgan looked out over the cafeteria. Granted, she didn't recognize a lot of these people, but none of them seemed to be looking for- ah. Tall, white hair, and clearly looking around like they didn't know what they were doing. Morgan didn't know everyone at school, but she was fairly certain that was a new face. She stood on her tiptoes and waved energetically at the newcomer. If that was her new roommate, mission accomplished. If not... Well, wouldn't be the first time she waved at a total stranger by accident.
Mary
Uriel looks at the energetic person waving them down. 
Their first thought— *Wow, she's short.* They crane their neck down to look at the girl, who looks... Young. 

They stare at her for a solid three seconds, before opening their half-lidded eyes and beginning to talk. 

"You're Morgan Mellow, correct? I read on what little information was given... Which was only a name and a physical description. It's a pleasure to meet you." 

The formalities instilled in Uriel by their mom take front and center, and they nervously adjust their braid ever-so-slightly. 

"May I sit?"
Daniel
*Woah. Taller up close,* Was Morgan's first impression. "Yeah, that's me. Go ahead, take a seat. I won't stop you." She coughed slightly to clear her throat, internally kicking herself for forgetting her roommate's name already. "Um, sorry, I didn't get your name," She lied. Not that she had much choice. She couldn't exactly wait around for her roommate to introduce themself to someone else.
Mary
"Oh," Uriel sits down, knitting their eyebrows at their rudeness. 

"My name is Uriel Melançon. I come from a tiny village, and so I'm not used to being in such a crowded area..." They look around the room, in awe at the amount of people. 

"I believe I've seen more people here so far than back home, actually." They laugh, a tiny breathy little noise. 

They yawn, and take another sip of their thermos. 

"Tell me about yourself, Morgan. I'm not used to knowing so little about people I interact with, even if it won't be that way for long." 

All they seemingly packed was a potted plant in their hands (now resting on the table between the two) and a regular, school sized backpack. Uriel adjusts the strap, letting their belongings onto the ground. They turn to give their full attention to the girl in view.
Daniel
*Phew. Crisis averted.* "Nice to meet you Uriel." Her eyes locked briefly on the plant, but she restrained herself from asking about it. Yet. "Well, the town here isn't that big. Smaller than the city I grew up in at least, so you should be able to get to know most of the people around. Not everyone, but a lot. You'd be surprised what a small place it can feel like sometimes."

"As for me..." She withdrew a pen from her pocket and started fiddling with it as she talked, clearly just to keep her hands busy. "Let's see. I grew up with my older brother in a big city out in the US. Had lighting powers every since I was a little kid, which I'm sure made raising me quite the challenge." She smiled. "Though they've been more useful than not." She held up her fingers, about an inch apart, and a bolt of energy jumped between them with a pop, like two miniature electric coils. 

She went back to slowly spinning the pen in her fingers. "Came here late last year after I accidentally blew out the power of a city block. It's been... Interesting so far. Some ups and downs. Some shit I never would've expected. But mostly positive so far. How about yourself?" Morgan leaned back into the plastic cafeteria chair. "What're you in for?"
Mary
Uriel turns away, and looks around the room.

"Morgan, do you see all those people around us with powerful abilities? Right now, we're most likely in the most dangerous place of our lives. There's probably someone in that group that could kill us with their pinky figure." 

They pause. 

"Well, me. I don't know about you, though."

"I'm mostly incapable of self defense, so there's really nothing I can do to defend myself if someone chooses to pick a fight. So, forgive me, but I'd rather keep that information close to my chest."

They turn towards Morgan again, almost comedically slow. 

"You've been here for a while, right? Do you know the... Social environment here?"
Daniel
Morgan stared at Uriel for a second. "I- I was kidding. It's kind of an inside joke. Most of the kids here were detained on false pretenses so that Newton's Cradle could keep an eye on us. I've never met anyone who could kill us with their pinky finger." She held up her hand. "Could I electrocute someone with my powers? Probably, but I'd have to try really damn hard." 

Morgan seemed a bit amused at Uriel's caution. "You can chill out a bit. Most of us aren't delinquents. I'm actually one of the few people who did what they got arrested for, and-" Her face flushed slightly. "And it was a stupid heat of the moment thing anyways. Sorry, rambling. But for real, this isn't prison. I'd be more worried about cutting yourself woodcarving than someone shanking you." Morgan meant well, even if she couldn't help teasing her future roommate a little.
Mary
Uriel blinks. 
"Oh." 

It's true that their power has made them unliked in the past. 
But here, people are like *Them*. They'll understand Uriel's struggles, or so they optimistically clinged onto. 

"Well, I guess you wouldn't have the same reaction as a normal human, huh... Then, I'm a dream weaver." Uriel yawns, almost like punctuation. 

"Feel free to shock me awake if I fall asleep."
Daniel
Morgan let out a short, amused laugh. "Alright. If you want me to." She'd had a bit of culture shock stepping into Newton's Cradle. Maybe not quite so bad as that, but knowing how suddenly the process had happened, she couldn't exactly blame Uriel for getting the wrong idea. "I mean don't get me wrong, they are trying to keep an eye on us, but best I can tell some of the staff are nice at least. Mr. Cantor, my contact, he's pretty chill. He runs the craft spaces down in- Ooh! You haven't seen them yet have you? They're my favorite spot on the grounds, far and away." 

She reached the end of her tangent, and diverted back to the other thing that had caught her attention. " So you said you're a dreamweaver. So you can like... Make dreams? Or manifest dreams into reality? I've only heard of dreamweavers as those little woven things you hang in windows... Wait those are dream catchers aren't they."
Mary
Uriel points at their earring. It's a mini dream catcher. 

"Mr. Cantor is my contact too. If you like him, I'm rather relieved. As for dreamweaving... If you could picture a dream as a tapestry, I can take control of someone's own dream and weave it to be whatever I want. Sometimes, I can watch people's dreams, and go into them." 

They pale. "I was told to keep that part of myself hidden. People dislike it when they're being spied on, especially when they dream about hard events in their life. It's not always a conscious effort, either. Sometimes, powerful dreams nearby knock me out, and pull me into them." 

Uriel fidgets with their knuckles, the loud *Pops* Of every digit cracking into place echoing through the room. 

"Not a very good thing for a roommate to have, I know. I could probably continue lying about it, but... " *I'm tired.* 

Uriel looks down at Morgan, avoiding her eyes. "You won't mind...?"
Daniel
Morgan nodded, a thoughtful look on her face. "I can see why that'd be problematic yeah. I mean, not for me. My dreams are always pretty nonsensical, when I remember them. If you feel inclined to eavesdrop on the shittiest, least cohesive soap opera you've ever seen, feel free I guess. Just don't blame me for whatever wild shit my brain comes up with, I'm just along for the ride."

She shifted in her seat. "I'd just say be cautious if you can. I doubt many people will be as relaxed about it, but if it's unintentional." Morgan shrugged. "I mean, what can you do. Kind of works out for us though. If you see anything concerning on MorganTV you're welcome to ask, I'm pretty much an open book." Morgan was a bit surprised about how relaxed she was with the situation, all things considered. Then again, it had been a long time since she'd had dreams about anything tangible in her life. She just crossed her fingers that she wouldn't accidentally do anything too embarrassing or stupid in her dreams from now on... 

Yeah, like that was gonna happen... Morgan sighed, resigning herself to her eventual fate of trying to explain whatever bullshit Uriel happened to see in her head.
Mary
Uriel took a couple second to process their emotions, before letting out a large smile. 

"I'm happy you don't mind... Although, I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone else what I told you. I'll most likely make up a fiction if anyone asks about it..." 

They put a finger to their chin. "I'll say something about ... Talking to animals! It's not like anyone could verify that, after all." 

They lean over, a soft smile on their face. "And if you ever want a good dream, well... You know who to ask."
Daniel
"That's alright, I'll keep your secret for now." Morgan smiled. "That's alright, I don't mind a bit of chaos now and then. Thanks for the offer though." She tapped the pen on the table. "Oh, all that talk of dreams reminds me. I take a lot of my classes in the late afternoon and into the night. I'm mostly still set on American time so I can talk more with my brother. I'll uh, try to not come and go too late, but don't be surprised if I stay out super late frequently. I was a bit of a night owl before, and with the time zone difference it's even worse now."
Mary
"Please, don't worry about my own sleep. If anything, I sleep too much— I'm a narcoleptic, you see." Uriel waves off the offer. 

"You could most likely turn the lights on and start screaming, and I wouldn't notice a thing. It's only thanks to a hyper-caffeinated tea mix I make with my plants that I'm awake right now. So if I ever fall asleep randomly, I'm not dead, I promise." 

Uriel thinks. "Ah, well, maybe I could be. You might not even notice for a couple of days if I was, honestly."

After a couple of seconds of silence, they laugh. 

"Ah... What is there to do on weekends, anyway? Isn't this essentially a prison?"
Daniel
Morgan shook her head. "Not really. There's a curfew but I don't think they'll actually enforce it. You're free to leave and wander around the town whenever you like." Morgan tapped her fingers against the table. "Honestly, I'm pretty sure there's very little stopping any of us from walking out of here, and boarding a plane wherever we like. I know I'm only sticking around because learning a bit more about my lighting powers is a good idea, and here's the best place to do that I know." She smiled. "It's pretty nice actually, if you can get over how cold the weather is most of the time."
Mary
"This place is affiliated with the government, right? Wouldn't that make you turn into a fugitive if you fought back? Not that I was thinking of doing so, but it would be surprising if someone defied them to such an extent." 

They yawned. "I'd have to make my judgement when night falls— if this place truly does bad things, I'll see staff dream of the horrors they have to deal with."

They cross their arms. "Leveling up my powers would be interesting, but... I don't know how ethical it would be to pursue such a thing."
Daniel
"I dunno that it'd make you any more of a fugitive than if you ran away from a boarding school. At least, no one's threatened me with fugitive status for running away, and I've gotten told off for quite a lot at this point. As for ethics," Morgan shrugged. "That's your call I guess. Try not to become a supervillain if you pursue your powers. If you do, I'll have to step up to be the one who stops you," She declared, bringing both arms in, hands in fists, in an excited sort of motion. She's clearly just exaggerating for fun at this point.

"Oh! Speaking of something else entirely, I've got work to do, so I'm gonna head out. It was nice to meet you though Uriel!"
Mary
Uriel smiles and waves as Morgan turns and runs out of the room. They yawn one more time, and look around the room. 

*This wouldn't be too bad of a place for a nap.* They think to themselves, and pull their poncho higher to warm their ears. 

As they drift off to sleep using their arms as a pillow, Uriel wonders what dreams they'll encounter in this place.