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Freshman Fridays and Anxiety Attacks (Faolan and Blistered)

Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Since the day it had first opened its doors one hundred years ago, Dragon Heart Academy had been known as a 'human only' boarding school for students above the age of sixteen. It was considered to be one of the most prestige academies, and only elite students were accepted.

This year, everything was changing. The last principal had retired, and a younger, more open minded man took his place-Vincent Dyne. He was a tall man, with dark hair and bright eyes and a pale complexion-rumors about him often circled the school, saying that his mother descended from a long line of pure blooded elves and his father was a demon. Whether these were true or not, no one knew. There was no trace of either in his physical characteristics. However, what was true was that he was opening the school's door to more than just human students this year...
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Mia was terrified. It was her first day at Dragon Heart Academy-her first day at a school, really. She had been home schooled for most of her life, having been prone to anxiety attacks when she was younger. It had been some time since she'd had one, and her parents felt it would be good for her to get out and meet people, and learn things they could not teach her. So here she was. Pale, trembling fingers brushed a strand of short white hair away from her face. Her tail twitched nervously and she could feel her chest tighten slightly beneath her sapphire blouse. Mia took a slow, deep breath, trying to calm herself. She smoothed her black skirt before lifting her bag and heading towards the dorms. It took her just a few minutes to find her room, the black numbers glittering-33A. She unlocked the door and drug her bag inside, glancing around quickly. It looked like she had arrived before her room mate. Mia took advantage of this and began to unpack quickly, picking the bed and dresser furthest from the door.
 
At the time she had begun to unpack, there was a young man that was in the computer room across from her, a familiar face that everyone knew all too well. This one was in the form of a one 18-year-old Jeffrey Taylor. He had been in his late Junior year here at Dragon Heart Academy, and already he was the in the top 10 of those who had the highest marks. By the time he had heard that the school was now allowing people of other species into the place, Jeffrey simply rolled his eyes and gave an indifferent sigh to the whole thing, despite the fact that nearly the entire human student body grumbled - rather angrily at that - about the fact.

Jeffrey, all of about 5' 8" and weighing about 170 pounds of slim yet toned yet slightly pale skinned physique. Eyes that appeared to be bits of glaciers in terms of eye color looked upon the screen as his fingers fiddled on the keyboard, instant messaging with a few folks he knew about what has been happening as of recently in regards to the school. Apparently, word had gotten around that another "monster" had recently come on as a freshman. Word travels relatively fast in this place, he figured. Almost too fast.

After informing the chat room that he was on his way out, Jeffrey would then get up from his desk before stretching his arms out wide before he heard something from the dorm next to him. "Hm." He sounded to himself as he walked to the door and unlocked it then opened it, peeking outside.

Looking around from side to side curiously, Jeffrey had glanced to the dorm next to him, seeing the door was open. Arching a curious eyebrow, Jeffrey stepped out from the room and into the hallway, dressed in his uniform consisting of a white short-sleeved polo tee that was emblazoned with the Dragon Heart Academy logo on the right breast pocket, dark blue uniform pants and a set of white sneakers, despite these weren't uniform protocol. But since it was just the sneakers, who was the faculty going to care?

Walking over to the open door, he spotted the female neko that had come into this room now. So, apparently this was to be his new neighbor, he wondered as he leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms in front of his chest, blinking at her only twice. "So, you're the new girl around here, huh?" Jeffrey asked.
 
She had unpacked quickly, but her side of the room was still very neat, everything in its place. Her bag sat mostly empty at the foot of the bed. A laptop sat on the desk she had claimed as hers, the black casing decorated with several strange designs. Beside it was a picture of her and two people who were obviously her parents. There was another picture of a small black and silver kitten beside it. Her clothes had been put away, and all that was left was for her bed to be made. She had been in the process of doing that when he spoke and startled her. Mia squeaked and dropped the sheets, spinning around to face him. Her cheeks flushed and she took a half step back. The tip of her fluffy tail wrapped around her right ankle nervously.

“H-Hello...Yes...I-I guess we are neighbors.” Her voice was soft and low. She fidgeted where she stood. He had three inches on the little neko, who only stood at 5'5” and weighed 115lbs. Mia smoothed her skirt, trying to keep her hands busy. It seemed to settle her a little, tail loosening its grip on her ankle as pale blue eyes watched him.
 
Looking at her, Jeffrey soon peeled himself off of the door frame as he went to go sit on the bed next to hers and plopped himself down onto it with a sigh his eyes closed in pensive thought for a moment as he began to formulate the words within his head before reopning his eyes and turned them over to the clearly nervous neko in front of him before sitting up. Looking over to her desk, he could now see that there was not only a laptop on it, but there was also a picture of her parents on it, making him look at it curiously and before she had a chance to complain to him, he walked over to the picture frame and picked it up with his left hand, looking at it with an arched eyebrow. "Nice folks you have there." He said aloud before setting the frame down once more by its respective place then stood back from the desk with his hands in his pockets then looked to her once again, seeing her rather nervous disposition.

"You know," He began as he arched a brow at her, aiming his icy hued irises at her. "You can relax now. No need to be a friggin' bundle of nerves. Besides, we're neighbors now and that means we need to introduce ourselves." He added as he then extended a hand out to her. "Name's Jeffrey. Feel free to call me Jeff for short."
 
The poor neko fidgeted more as he stepped into the room and took a seat on the other bed. Those pale blue orbs never left him. She was silent as he picked up the picture of her and her parents. Her father had snow white hair, but his ears and tail were a dark brown. Her mother had jet black hair with white ears and tail. Mia did not specifically look like one of them, but a perfect mixture of both.

“My name is Mia.” Her tail was wrapped tight around her left leg now. She hesitated a moment before placing her hand in his to shake. Her skin was soft and smooth. Instead of being cold and clammy as most hands would be when a person was as nervous as she was, hers was surprisingly warm.
 
Nodding at Mai's announcing herself, Jeffrey would then shake her hand purely in sincerity for a moment as he felt her hand in hers, noting how warm it felt in his own. He could also tell that the female neko was still rather nervous, something that he could clearly tell still. It caused him to look at her rather oddly as indicated with an arched eyebrow and a bit of a concerned look on his face. Slowly, Jeffrey took his hand back from hers before letting it go to his side as he then moved back to the bed then turned to sit on it once more.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mia." Jeffrey said before settling himself down on the bed once more with a little sigh. "And like I said, don't be so damn tense. It'll make you look like you're gonna have a heart attack." He suggested to her.
 
Mia's ears seemed to droop at him words. She could not really help it. Pale blue eyes looked away from him to the sheets she had dropped. Her bed still needed to be made. So she did her very best to ignore Jeff for now, picking the sheets back up. She let out another startled squeak and stumbled back, landing hard on her butt. Mia started to giggle.

“Isamu! What are you doing here? You silly kitten...you must have snuck into my bag when I was packing. I was wondering where you were...You're going to get me in trouble...” Mia pulled a little black kitten out from beneath the sheets. It was a strange thing. She suddenly didn't seem so nervous, standing up and cradling the kitten in her arms. Mia glanced at Jeff and gave him a tiny smile, then looked back down at Isamu, who was now purring happily.
 
Jeffrey couldn't help but shake his head at Mia when she looked away from him. Sure, it was true that he could be pretty intense at times, but he didn't mean it to be a bad guy. Sometimes people often get the wrong impression about him, often being that he came off as either arrogant or bullheaded. But once you got to know him, he was actually very much approachable. Soon enough, that train of thought of his came to a halt when he heard Mia give a squeak, causing him to look over to what had startled her now.

Oddly enough though, it turned out to be Mia's cat, one she called Isamu. Arching a curious eyebrow once more, Jeffrey soon sat up on the bed and gave a little smile of his own at Mia's cat - a young one at that - that was now resting in her arms, all snuggled up into her. That smile would remain on his face for a little while before he shook his head at the scene. "Hey, if need be, I can pull a few strings with the principal." He offered.
 
“Could you? I would really like having him here with me.” Mia scratched behind Isamu's ears, the kitten purring louder. She still seemed a little nervous, but still much calmer than she had been earlier. Isamu had been a gift for her birthday a month ago. The kitten had never left her side since then, and Mia was overjoyed that Jeff was offering to pull a few strings for her so Isamu could stay. She would need to get food and a litter box for him, though. And she would have to tell her parents, but she would send that email later.

Isamu eventually wiggled his way out of her arms and began to explore the room he would be staying in. He jumped up beside Jeff after a minute, mewing curiously at him.
 
Jeffrey nodded at Mia once more before he watched Isamu leap out of her grasp and eventually scramble up onto his bed, mewing at him with all sorts of kitten-like curiosity. Smiling at Isamu, he would then extend a hand out to the little cat and gently itched it behind the right ear for a moment before trailing his finger down to its chin, itching under it for a moment then looked back to Mia.

"Heh." He sounded out as he then gently reached his hands out to Isamu and held him in his hands before bringing him close to his chest once more, lightly itching between his ears once more. "Like I said, let me handle the strings and everything will be fine." Jeffrey said. "Besides, I got a cat back home that hasn't seen me since I came here a few years back." He added.
 
“Thank you, Jeff. I don't know if I could go years without seeing him.” Mia smiled a little more. She watched him scratch the little kitten for a moment before she turned back to her bed. It still needed to be made, so she picked up the ruby colored sheet and matching pillowcase. It didn't take her long to make the bed, finishing by covering it with a warm looking black comforter. It was Mia's favorite and she had made sure to bring it along. It always kept her warm in the winter, and never seemed to be too hot in the summer either. She sat down on her newly made bed and looked slowly around the room. Mia was silent, wondering what classes would be like and if she would like the ones she had. Her ears twitched a little and she watched Jeff and Isamu. Jeff seemed...ok. He was at least trying to be nice to her. Maybe he wasn't so bad. He did have a cat of his own, and that made him an ok person in her eyes.
 
"To be honest, I miss the guy, but as long as I know my cousin back in Philadelphia is taking good care of Socko, that's all I need to know." Jeffrey answered with a firm nod of his head and a smile on his face still as he then brought Isamu back over to Mia then set him back down on her bed once it was all made nicely. Once done, Jeffrey soon turned around then sat on the floor beside the female neko that was sitting on her bed, also pondering about what classes were going to be like for him this year. Hard to believe that after this semester's over with, he'd be a newly christened Senior that had high aspirations towards going onto a scholarship back home and possibly getting into a great career. But to be honest, the one thing he wanted to get through right now was just this year and then next year.

Looking over to Mia, he once against arched a brow at Mia as he looked at her face from where he was. "So. Where do you live, huh? You don't look as though you're one of the locals." He asked.
 
“Berg. It's a little village far to the north. It's usually really cold all through fall and everything freezes over in the winter. The village looks pretty with all that snow and ice. I don't remember what mom said the major city near us is called. I know it is very big and noisy and I don't like going there so I usually stay home when mom and dad have to go.” Fluffy ears drooped at the thought of the big city. The noise and smog were enough to keep most of the people in her village in their cozy little homes but for this neko it was something else-the people. There was a lot of people in big cities. Just the thought made her chest tighten. She clearly remembered having an attack on one of her first few visits. Mia had gotten separated from her parents and found herself surrounded by a sea of strangers. She had panicked and by the time her parents found her again she had to be rushed to the hospital. After a few hours she was able to go home, but Mia stayed away from the city as much as she could, and was very careful not to get separated from her parents when she did go.

Isamu stretched out across her lap and Mia felt her chest loosen and each breath comes a little easier. Mia scratched behind his ears, very glad her kitten was there.
 
"Berg?" Jeffrey asked with an arched eyebrow before shaking his head at the name of the town she gave him. "Hm. Must've be one of those exotic places." He said before shaking his head incredulously, for he had never heard of the place before he listened to the rest of her story, taking careful note of the expression on her face.

"Well, I can understand that. Besides, it can be rather rough in a big city. Whether it's a cabbie not knowing where the crosswalk is while you're trying to get across the street, prompting one of those 'I'm walkin' here' moments or some crazed bum coming up to you and mumble some sort of drunk talk to you or god knows what else. To be honest, it always bugs the crap outta me. I guess that was why my folks decided to move out of New York City a while back and settled in on a small town out in West Virginia. It's nicer there, I can tell you that much." He explained as he looked over to Isamu going into her lap and stretched himself out over it.

"Still, at least you're out of that last big city you were in. For your own sake, anyway." Jeffrey said after a moment, looking up at her.
 
Mia scratched Isamu more, listening to his soft purring. It was almost soothing. Her tail swished a little, now laying near Jeff's head. It twitched a few times and she turned her head slightly, pale eyes watching him, listening quietly as he spoke. Mia gave him a little smile as he finished. The smile faded quickly as her stomach gave a loud grumble. Yes, it was about the time Mia would normally be eating.

“I...I think I am going to go get something to eat for me and Isamu, now.” She stood up slowly, her tail accidentally brushing against the side of his face.
 
Jeffrey only turned his attention away from the two for a moment as he heard her tail lay itself on his bed, just above his head. Looking upward at it, he saw it twitch just a few times before it came into contact with his face, causing him to quickly shut an eye then blinked the other one a few times with a bit of a chuckle. "I'll take that as a gesture of kindness." He said to her with a smile before hearing her stomach growl.

"Well, if you were hungry, you should've said something. But I'll tell ya what. Leave Isamu here and we'll go get us some grub to take back up here. Besides, classes don't start until..." He paused a moment and then began to ponder over the time. "Geez. What time is it now?" He asked her.
 
Mia flushed at his words. Her tail brushing against his face had been an accident, really. She let it go for now, her thoughts more on filling her stomach than anything else. She blinked as he wondered what time it was. What time was it? She had gotten here early this morning but had been told that she would not have to start her classes until tomorrow. They said this would give her a day to get all settled in and learn where everything was on campus.

Mia stepped over to her desk and held down the button on her laptop, waiting patiently as it started up. She logged in and glanced at the time in the right bottom corner of the screen before shutting her laptop down again and turning to him.

“It's a little after eight. I don't start my classes until tomorrow though. They said I had today off so I can get my room all set up and figure out where everything is at.”
 
"Little after eight o'clock, huh?" Jeffrey answered with a thoughtful lift of his brow as he the sat up on the bed then peered around the room. Now that he knew what time it was, he began to get a better grasp about what to expect. For one thing, he didn't have classes to go to up until about 10:00, so that meant he had plenty of time to help get this neko girl acquainted to the school and what it has in store for her, not to mention get some breakfast for her and bring back a meal for little Isamu too.

"Well then. Let's head for the common area and see what we can get for you and your little kitty here then, huh?" Jeffrey said as he stood up onto his feet a little while later.
 
Mia wondered silently what time his classes started, and what classes he was taking. The principal had been very kind when he spoke to her about her classes. She was taking a few sophomore level classes along with her freshman ones. As long as she did well in those, he had promised to move her into the junior level classes next semester, where she was supposed to be. He wanted to make sure she would be able to adjust and not break down under the stress of a new environment along with the pressure of higher level classes.

She stood when Jeff did, and waited patiently for him to lead the way.
 
Once he saw that Mia was up on her feet and ready to head out, Jeffrey then offered Mia his arm to her as he began to head out with her into the hallway. Granted, he knew he wouldn't have a whole lot of time for showing her around the place, but at least he would be there for enough time to at least get her situated on where certain classes were throughout the Academy, or at least where they were in general. He honestly hoped, however, that she wouldn't pass out on him during the tour. He also hoped that there weren't that many prying eyes on them as well. Besides, the last thing he needed to deal with was some knuckledragging oaf or two looking at them with disdain and even try to make their lives miserable.

But first things first. The cafeteria was where they needed to hit first. After all, Mia had to have been a little hungry after her arrival.
 
Mia did not take his arm, following him out into the hallway. Her fluffy tail wrapped lightly around her right leg, the tip curling around her ankle. She had found that this was the best way to keep people from accidentally stepping on it, which was extremely painful. As they walked, a group of girls brushed past them, glaring at Mia. Her ears drooped slightly, then laid flat against her head as two boys looked her way and smirked. She could feel her chest begin to tighten, each breath coming with more difficulty as they headed into areas crowded with other students.
 
at first, Jeffrey was a little bit put off from the fact that all he was doing was merely offering a gentlemanly gesture for her to accept, but he could understand it. Last thing you'd want to do is hold hands with some stranger that you only had just met not more than several minutes ago. But now that they were out in the hallway now, Jeffrey would then look around, pondering just where was the cafeteria in this swarm of early risers. Honestly, one would think they would just put up traffic lights in order to get these people moving in the right way, he thought. Oh, if only one could thank God for small favors.

Not long after, Jeffrey glanced over to Mia as he saw a group of girls brush past them, nearly all eyes were on Mia when they did. He took note of the expression on Mia's face, watching as her ears had drooped then laid flat on her skull as he glanced up to seeing two boys of about his age come by with smirks on their faces. Once again, Jeffrey glanced over to Mia as he began to hear her breath coming out with steadily increased difficulty as the two of them were heading into the more crowded section of the common area.

Considerately, Jeffrey slowly reached out an arm and curled it around Mia's waist as he gently pulled her close to him before he spoke to her in a gentle voice. "Easy... Easy now." He said to her calmly.
 
Mia did not shy away as Jeff pulled her closer, his arm wrapped around her waist. She had barely even noticed. Those pale blue eyes darted back and forth, watching each person that passed by them carefully. His words were soothing, but Mia was past the point where soothing words could bring her back down. Mia quickly tried to turn around. She needed to get back to her room, away from all of the people...so many people. The hallways seemed to narrow and the crowd seemed to thicken to the poor neko. She could feel the dizziness start to take hold, stumbling.

“Too many...too many...” She panted. Mia's vision began to blur and gray, the neko trying hard to get back to her room where she would be safe.
 
At that moment, Jeffrey could see the expression on Mia's distressed face. It spoke volumes to him that she needed to get to get out of this area. "Oh boy..." He muttered to himself as he then began to follow her closely then puts his arm around her once again with a worried look on his face. "Alright, Mia... Just stay with me now. We're almost back to the dorm room." He said as he kept by her side and began to coach her vocally. Even when she began to stumble, Jeffrey was supporting her as if he was a mobile crutch.

"Easy, easy." Jeffrey said again, his voice holding firm but was coming out in a gentle tone. "We're almost there." He added as he looked straight ahead after a bit.
 
If Jeffrey had not supported her on her way back to the room, Mia would have collapsed in the middle of the hallway. Trembling hands pushed open the door to her room and she stumbled inside. She pulled away from Jeff and collapsed on her bed.

Isamu mewed loudly and jumped up beside the neko as she curled up tight, trying to regain control of her breathing. The kitten pressed his nose against her cheek, mewing again. It almost seemed like the kitten knew what was wrong and was trying to help calm her down. He curled up beside her face, licking her cheek.

“Good...good kitty...good...Isamu...” Several minutes had passed when she finally spoke. Her voice was shaky and her face pale. Trembling hands pulled the little black kitten close to her chest.
 
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