Helen
Чему́ быть, того́ не минова́ть.
*You can't avoid that which is meant to happen.* 

Rain patted lightly on the large facility windows, the air of the common room cold as the fallen autumn leeched the remaining heat towards her chest. Danica breathed slowly in a quiet serenity, a murky blue dusting everything around her in stillness. Thick clouds blocked the sun, though she still felt its flame; beating as if her own heart. It was a sunday, and 6:47 to most would have been ridiculous to be awake at. Even still, a warm mug of tea and freshly washed hair kept Danica company as she sat tucked into an armchair, her gaze turned to the view. She'd always loved to sit and watch the rain when she had the time. The tall fences outside though, felt like a knife to her back. 

In New York, back when she was still too short for almost everything, Danica would sit out on the rusted fire escape outside her window and try to catch the raindrops in a paper cup like it was a game. Her plan was always to turn it into a sugary soda once she caught enough, but it was that part she never managed to figure out. It was odd thinking of herself as a child. Even odder how she always tried to convince herself she didn't miss that city. Danica loved it. She loved New York. Something about that felt like a betrayal, and lots about it made her mad. Maybe one day she'd figure out how to turn rainwater into cola, just not right now. 

Pulling herself out of her own thoughts, Danica sipped her tea and just let herself be soaked in the atmosphere for a moment. She'd cut her run a little short today, so she had time before she had to start moving again. For now, it was just her, the blue, and the rain. *Pat pat pat*
Wilma
The night was slowly coming to an end. Morning dew and promises of day began to whisper over autumn rain, and sung softly through Dae-hyuns ears. The boy had been tucked into bed for well over twelve hours, and so he decided that early morning reading was in order. It would hopefully drag him out of his tired state, giving him a good start for the coming day. 

The boy didn't have a reason for his urge to sit in the common room. The chairs weren't as comfortable as they could be, and the facility drinks were subpar, but something about the empty atmosphere drew him in. Something about the silent, sleeping building painted in foggy blues and overdue morning moonlight. He wanted to just get out of his dorm, be somewhere- anywhere. Sun soaked grass on a breezy summer afternoon was his personal favourite, but with the heavy splashes of rain outside, that definitely wasn't happening. 

He was frankly cold enough as is, getting frozen to the bone with sky water was not on his agenda for the morning. 

A tote bag full of items rested on Dae-hyun's shoulder, securely tucked under his arm. Inside were various books, pain meds, chargers, his laptop, anything he could need. Quite the odd habit, Dae-hyun always made sure he had everything he could possible need. He slid his cane out of its resting position against his bedside and felt the familiar ache and groan of his tired bones. He swore he could hear a *Creaking* Sound when stood up from his bed and began to walk out down the hallways, Dae-hyun quietly snickered at that thought. He was lucky enough to be on the same floor as the common room, so the trip was rather short. Less strain on his leg was always the better option. 
_ _

With a very obvious limp, using his cane to stabilize himself, Dae-hyun found himself in the entry way of the common room. It was silent as expected, and empty to his knowledge. The boy entertained the thoughts of ghosts in his mind. Maybe the empty chairs weren't empty at all, maybe they held spirits. Victorian ghosts having tea parties during early morning rainfall almost made him laugh. He would have to make sure to not steal someones seat. Dae-hyun was a common guest for these ghostly meetings. He played them music for their ballroom dances, and sat beside them for tea. The boy often entertained the idea of loneliness. It wasn't lonely with imaginary ghosts, he figured. 

The sound of his cane tapped along side the rain that pounded on the roof and windows. A melodic tune of silent symphonies.
Helen
She could hear someone coming. Like the dripping of rainwater from a faucet, Danica heard the cane coming, its dull pats to the floor inbound slowly. The girl was tired, and frankly more than a little annoyed at the world as she often was, so the sounds of people coming were less than exciting. It had been so wonderfully quiet on her own. Logic knew she needed socialization to function, but Danica very much begged to differ. Curse people. Curse them and their unfair invasion of her peace. She'd at least hoped she'd reach daylight before anyone else crawled out of their cells. Wishful thinking. Maybe she shouldn't be so sour all the time. Then again, maybe she didn't care. 

Letting dark lashes close down towards her cheeks, Danica drew in her last few breaths of solitude, the slow beat of aided footsteps acting as a countdown on her time alone. When she opened her eyes again she let her gaze shift to the droplets rolling down the window, the world all fuzzy behind them as the clear streams diverged. She scowled. Being in the common room made her feel like she was taking handouts. Most of the time. Morales had seen to it that she knew it wasn't entirely terrible. *Pshaw.* 

She listened as whomever was coming rounded the windowed corner, coming from the same direction as her room by the nest. The rain chattered its greetings amongst itself. After a moment, Danica tilted her head to glance backwards, trying to see if this was anyone she knew. Hm.

_ _
If Dae-hyun was thinking about ghosts, he would have certainly seen one initially; though a second more and the undeniable aliveness of the girl way across the room sitting tall would have debunked that theory. Danica honestly did very little to not make herself look dead. Platinum blonde hair, pale complexion, fluffy white pull-over and darkly stained under eyes meant she looked something like a modern-day white queen with a hangover. Though, Danica wasn't hungover. She had pretty eyes and a long thin nose, and was tucked up rather awkwardly in one of the chairs with a mug, though her sure posture and expression made the contortion seem poised. Like how a ballerina would sit. 

Danica blinked, turning to look at the boy more properly. He made a different impression in the gray light, but she knew him. She remembered him. The tousle of his hair and soft features rung chiming bells. 

"You."
Wilma
Dae-hyun let himself wander a little. He was never someone to try and stay stagnant, and although spending most of his time in his dorm since his injury, he always adored being able to just sit in spaces; taking in everything about the surrounding room. The common room was one thing, bathed in dark blue light and dripping with an alluring mystery.

Everything was silent, nothing but the rain and quiet ring that buzzes in your ears when things are *Too* Quiet. It held in the air like an ominous tune, whispering ideas of new harmonies into Dae-hyun's brain. He tapped the top of his cane with his finger in a certain pattern, a meticulous and calculated rhythm. A new song floated around in his brain, and he let himself tap out the song with a soft hum. Slowly figuring out how the notes would swing into one another; what the feeling of the song would be. 

Dae-hyun was very frequently in his head. It was a wonderfully vast world up there, so he didn't see it as an issue. His thoughts were interesting, deep and nuanced, philosophical sometimes... Other times purely imaginative. Sometimes they held the thoughts of ghost tea parties and talking birds, and other times they held the swinging harmonies of new piano songs and poetic lines from the novels he so frequently loved to read. The council of thoughts up in his mind brought him company, they understood each other. It was easy, why change what he was doing when he found such interest in exploring his own ideas?

This solitary silence didn't last long. It was interrupted by a voice, a voice that immediately stretched its cold hands down into Dae-hyun's core and pulled out a bright light of recognition. The hands were soft, far from malicious, Dae-hyun could hear it in the way her voice hit like a note being plucked from a harp string. His eyes immediately turned to the source of the familiar sound, and there she was. The girl he was certain he made up. 
_ _

She was sat there, folded like a dancer and staring at him with the same heavy eyes. Her presence brought in the chill of winter, like it had done before. Her hair held over her shoulders like snow on top of pine trees; her eyes frosty like cracking ice. She was both cold and undeniably breathtaking. Dae-hyun couldn't find any way to string together his words, he just looked at her for a second. Standing there, still, with wide eyes that saw into her core. Yet, they weren't frightening. Not the kind of eyes that hunted, or meant harm, they were soft, kind and welcoming. His eyes brought in silent vows of safety and comfort. 

The lanky boy tilted his head to the side with surprise, and held his mouth open for a second before finally speaking. 

"...Me?" 

His voice was quite the contrast to hers. It was deeper, softer around the edges and far less raspy from the new morning. He almost whispered, breaking the silence was difficult and he definitely didn't sound sure of himself, but there wasn't a hint of anxiety in his words. Nothing about Danica intimidated Dae-hyun.
Helen
Unlike Dae-hyun, Danica would not so easily admit to being in her head. Thinking too much didn't earn you medals or master impressive jumps. If she spent too much time imagining doing things instead of doing them, it meant she didn't know exactly where she was going and what she wanted. Danica would rather warm her hands on a bag of dog shit than give in to being uncertain. She knew her path. Though, whether she liked to admit it or not, Danica was quite a thinker. She thought a lot about people; watching them interact, assessing and judging traits, recognizing how they moved to find the best routes, and hearing their stories when she had the time. She'd been thinking a lot about New York. About Brighton Beach, and Brooklyn as a whole. She thought about the subway, about her old job, the alley cats. Moscow too, but mostly just the private rink sessions and local signage. She missed her grandmother. 

The piano player seemed warm. Warmer than sun-tanned beaches and with the same flush as air off a pier. Sweet. And kind. His eyes glistened as if they'd never seen anything but stars. Danica thought appearances were important for a person; that you should choose who you're going to be and look it, and this boy seemed himself. He seemed homey and quiet. He looked like fresh bread. Something about his gaze peaked Danica's interest, but she couldn't quite pinpoint it. At the very least it seemed like he was looking for something inside her soul. She couldn't tell if that was fine or not. 

"Who else?"

He sounded like a soft wind through cat-tails in the brush. His voice pillowed around itself in swirled drizzles of aerated honey, the perfect sound to narrate raindrops. 

"You played piano. Last week. I heard you."

She sounded as if she were giving him a corporate rundown. She paused, her demeanor softening just a hair. 

"You play well. You're very talented."

_ _
Ever the tortured artist, Danica could recognize and appreciate when others had put in the time and dedication to produce beauty in the world. Of course she was as competitive as she was passionate about her work, but outside of her own field she was quite the delightful connoisseur. 

"What is your name? You're new." 

Her rapid-fire questions got to the point in a flash, her words streaming measuredly. Danica was intrigued. She sipped her tea.
Wilma
_ _ _ _ Dae-hyun studied her face with careful eyes. He watched the way her gaze flicked from his face, to the swirling tea in her cup, then back towards the window she had been staring at before he had made his presence known. The quiet sound of rain tapped against the glass; both inviting and repelling. Dae-hyun would gladly take the opportunity of being soaked to the bone by freezing rain, then continue to be scrutinized under her cold gaze. He shuffled awkwardly for a moment, spinning his ring around his finger down at his side. 

 Her voice felt like the cracking chill of ice. The sting of snow against reddened skin and the pain of water that had been kissed by winter. She was a presence that hung like fog, an all encompassing mystery that drew you in with slow beckoning hands. Her December freeze called with a voice so sweet, yet so haunting. Danica was nothing short of alluring. Yet alongside Dae-hyun's urge to sink into the pillowing snow that fell softly from her fingertips, there was the undeniable sense to run for cracking embers and summer fire. Escape the freeze, and protect his core from the chill. 

 Perhaps it's unfortunate that Dae-hyun has always loved the winter; perhaps its something that will play in his favour. Only the tick of time will tell. 

 "Oh. Yes... You did. I saw you watching." The pause lent itself to uncertainty, yet the smooth flow of his voice covered any tracks of nervousness. Each tone struck with the echo of a piano chord, a soft melody that bent around the curves of the freezing wind and found home in the centre of the mind. His words resonated with the same feeling as a symphony. 
_ _

_ _ _ _ "It's nice to hear you enjoy my music." The uncertainty, however unnoticeable, was beginning to fade. After a while, the cold will always shift into something you forget to feel. It simply exists alongside the gorgeous sights of snow and midnight evenings. "It's been a while since I have played for someone... Even if it was by accident." His voice almost hit a note of pain, a strained sort of effort to avoid sinking into a melancholy topic. It ached with despondency and stuck like nails in his sides. His beloved stage, now empty. 

 "Ah yes... My name is Dae-hyun." This introduction was softer than his other words; it was a beginning. 

 The boy's deep midnight eyes flowed to the area across from Danica. There were four seats, all neatly organized with a small table in the middle. Dae-hyun sat across and diagonal to the other. Leaving a polite distance between them. He almost shrunk into the fabric of the seat, placing his cane against the arm rest and appreciating the slow disappearance of the steady ache in his bones. Once sitting, Dae-hyun's presence wasn't nearly as haunting. He wasn't simply standing against the black of an empty room, painted by the purples of the early morning. Now, he was a member of conversation. 

 "What's yours?" The question came after silence, and tapped like the soft beads of rain outside the window. Dripping down the glass, and falling onto the plants below in light morning dew.
Helen
Danica could feel his analyzing, but she couldn't entirely bring herself to care too much. She knew what she was presenting to the world. Granted she wasn't and pristinely groomed as usual, but it seemed neither was Dae-hyun. It was too early to be caring so much. At the very least he looked tired. 

"Dae-hyun."

 She repeated after him, a slight Russian accent sneaking its way into the unfamiliar word. She smirked slightly and turned her eyes back to the window before rising from her seat. Danica unfurled like a swan; her strong limbs following each other gracefully to a stand. Her piercing gaze seemed much more potent properly face to face. She studied Dae-hyun more carefully in the dimmed light. 

He spoke like warm bread. He moved like a barn mouse. His eyes seemed to hold wisdom. She noted the softness of his nose. He wasn't an eyesore at all. 
He seemed to relax immensely once sat down, and Danica decided it was his turn to enjoy the rain. She'd had her fun. 

After a paused moment more of looking at him, she spoke again and took a sip of her tea. 

"Dani*K*A." 

That was what she'd said phonetically. 

"Danica Belyaeva. Maybe I'll be seeing you."

Dancers strides lead her towards leaving the kitchen.