Private Finished The Shadow of Manipulation

Freedom!!

Is what Marian had been wanting to scream the whole time -- she'd had the opportunity to do that when she walked out of the facility, and while on the boat to the main island, but she liked screaming it out loud. A full year at a correctional facility wasn't anything anyone would have willingly signed up for but apparently it had been a full year since her little blunder back at home. Not that she actually wanted what happened to happen in the first place -- but it was all well into the past and now she just got transferred to another school! Which wasn't half bad. The new school was apparently on some uncharted island filled with people like her. People who were beyond human.

She thought wandering the school would be good, map out the area for herself, that way she wouldn't have to be so lost when she was running inbetween classes. There was a skip in her step as she moved along the hallways, rushing to windows so she could see the people around, the landscape. It was a really lovely school! So much better than the last ones she'd been in.

A voice pulled her out of her internal monologue. Her initial reaction would have been to tell the person to buzz off, but she immediately remembered she was supposed to be "the new kid". There was no use for such snappy attitudes. Marian pulled away from the window sill and studied the boy for a short moment -- immediately noticing his demeanor and how he seemed to curl into himself. His voice was soft and unsure. Marian grinned.

"Mhm! I'm just starting this year!" she chirped, her voice sweet and cheerful. On the outside she would play the part of the bemused new girl in school but there was malice hiding behind her sweet smile. "I think I'm a little lost, do you know the way around?"

Seeing his smile made the secretive one Marian was hiding grow wider, giddier but somewhat darker and it was probably not what James would be happy to see. He seemed very gentle, and kind and Marian thought she could have a good time with this one. None of it seemed to show into her face though; all she appeared to him was the normal kind of giddy, and childishly cute. "I'd love a tour!" she said gleefully, "My name's Marian. It's so nice to meet you.

"My old school wasn't this big so I'm a little intimidated," she lied. Marian giggled, "But I thought it wasn't that much and got ahead of myself so I made myself lost." True, Starlight was huge, but it didn't intimidate her. It excited her to have such a wide ground to run around if she wanted, hide away if she could, and the very idea of mingling with nonhumans made her want to hop about with anticipation. She wasn't even lost --she knew exactly where she was at that moment.

At the corner of her eye, she could see an out of place aura over the boy's shoulder; curious, she thought, eyes narrowing at it for just a split second before her attention was back onto James. Almost like nothing had happened. "That would be very unfortunate. I hope it hasn't happened to you! I'd be completely clueless if that happened on a first day." she exclaimed, her hands clasped together in front of her in mock concern.

Marian went along with him, pretending she was lost. She considered herself with a good sense of direction if anything so she didn't need a guide at all. At the very least she was thankful he though of leading her around places she hasn't visited. Marian moved from door to door, peaking into the small windows to see classes going on. She had to admit to herself she actually missed being in classrooms -- having been placed in the corrections had her miss a whole year of it! It was fine; she was in a new school so none of these kids would poke her for being gone for a year.

The wonder in her face had been honest, and so was the way she squee'd in delight as she caught the illustrations of magical creatures, as she was legitimately excited by the very idea of having magic classes in the curriculum. On the flip side, people know she basically had powers and if she did anything fishy, they could catch on. She needed to be more subtle. "I can't wait for classes," she said, "It's all so exciting!

"I just got here a few days ago; moved in with my brother and all that. He's too busy with work though so he couldn't go with me." She wasn't lying when she said she got there a few days ago, though the "here" she actually meant was simply main land. She wouldn't tell him she was locked in Juvie Island -- that could possibly ruin the facade too soon, but there were other ways of saying it.

As they walked along, the "aura" she'd been seeing at the very corner of her eye finally emerged, much clearer than before. Her head titled in curiosity -- perhaps another one of her kind? "James? What's that behind you?"

Look at him, he doesn't even know what's coming. Marian smiled with her eyes, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind." In any other context, she would appreciate the offer -- if she was any other person she would have genuinely appreciated the offer. But she had already marked James in her little list, possibly until she gets bored of him.

"I haven't gotten to explore the city yet! Maybe we could go there next time," she suggested. It was partially a lie, but she had already walked around the city with her brother after he picked her up from the docks but the city was admittedly large and it would probably take her a little more than a few days to learn about the ins and outs of it.

Turning her attention back to the strange shadow wiggling behind him, she narrowed her eyes at it, pursing her lips in thought. Shadow magic, huh? "That's cool!" she said as he demonstrated it moving, a little more casual than the way she spoke earlier.

The Shade seemed genuinely as he created the portal though, "That is so cool! Is it hard to do that? Where does it go? How does it work? This is almost impossible for me!" As she barraged him with questions, Marian experimentally reached her arm into it, waving her hands in to get a feel of the portal.

"I've been wondering about if there were magic shops around; I guess I wasn't wrong!" Marian mused aloud, as she observed the portal. Such a curious thing -- or well, not really, but shadow magic or not, that was very practical! It would have been so nice to have one of her own but alas. "This island sure has a lot if things!" she added, letting herself in past the portal.

Marian watched as James followed after, the portal closing behind him just as he did. Interesting... Her eyes turned to her surrounding, keenly observing it instead of paying attention to the smiles the boy gave her. "So do you only get to places you're familiar with or can you make the other side appear at a random place? And how far exactly does it go? Have you tried it out?" So many questions; she couldn't actually be bothered, she wanted to know!

"Must be great to have portals on you then," she said, referring to his comment about never using doors. "It would be so nice to have the powers you actually asked for but I guess that would be too much to ask," she mused aloud.