Machinations of the Mind // Roleplay with Eris

"See, there's a lot of threatening to face punch as a guy, but a distinct lack of actual punching," he said, frowning slightly at her giggle. Distinctively womanlike. "You walk with your thighs too close together." How did he know this? Well….he watched her walk. Was it weird? "Guys are a lot looser. Don't sway their hips hardly ever."

Who would've thought that explaining how to be a guy would be so difficult? Maybe it was because she was actually….attractive. For the first time in forever, he actually felt genuine attraction towards someone. She was pretty, for one, even with her hair being that short. Her intelligence was mindblowing. And her fierceness. She didn't back down from anything, something so rare in women at that time.

"You try too hard to seem unreachable. Too many insults, not enough ignoring," he said, attempting to get that train of thought to derail.

Thea nodded, even though she knew Ryan couldn't see her. "More stoicism. Less insulting. Violence only in the most dire of situations. More relaxing. Less….swaying….of my–ahem–hips." Christ. How long had he noticed that she wasn't a man? Apparently long enough to have a list of things that she was doing wrong. Long enough to watch her hips…

Thea's cheeks burned so hard she was surprised they weren't glowing in the moonlight. Just in case he was looking, she turned to her side, facing the wall. Should she be wary that she was sleeping in the same room as a strange man? Something in Thea's chest tightened–But Ryan wasn't exactly a stranger now. Right? And definitely wasn't a handsome stranger. Because she hadn't noticed. Not at all.

"Anything else?" Good. Her voice sounded bored and monotonous.

"You're trying too hard on your voice," Ryan said after a moment of thought, laying his head back down on the pillow. "You got your tongue in the back of your throat and it makes everything sound weird. Other than that….nah. You look like a convincing man even with your feminine features," a hint that he found her pretty, if she managed to catch it, "you got the height for a man, and you're just as smart as any of those dickweeds. All in all, you did decently."

With that, he rolled over onto his left side and went to sleep, his right arm pressed against the bed to make sure he didn't just roll onto his face an suffocate himself. It was a familiar position, so he feel asleep fairly quickly.

Around 2:45, their door was slowly opened, the light immediately falling over Ryan's face and waking him up. His brain was processing the situation faster than it took the would-be hazers to slip into the room. Thea didn't have her binds on. Nor did she look particularly manly curled up in a ball like she was. So, he would have to get these two out of the room. Easy.

"Take two more steps and you'll regret it," Ryan growled, a deep-voiced guttural sound that stopped the two third-years dead in their tracks. The big man stood up from the bed, his one armed body looking lopsided and absolutely terrifying. Like a horror movie in real like. "Get the fuck outta here."

The door was quickly shut and footsteps sprinted away.

"Mmmwhut?" Thea mumbled, sitting up just as the door clicked shut again. Her curls were all over the place, sticking out in a messy halo of gold. Despite her eyes still being shut, she had turned her face towards the sound, her features illuminated by the soft moonlight still streaming in the window. Any and all notion that she could still, perhaps, maybe be a man fled right out along with the hazers. Thea just looked too soft and right now she looked as sweet as apple pie.

She blinked, yawning and rubbing a hand across her face. Finally, she was able to focus on her roommate…who was towering over their beds looking like a damn wraith in the darkenss. Thea nearly lept ouf of her skin. "Jesus Christ Ryan! What the fuck are you doing?!" Ridiculously, since she was fully dressed, Thea grabbed her blanket and pulled it up to her chin. As if the damn thing would protect her from whatever the hell was happening.

He didn't answer, still staring at the door with a murderous gaze that nearly glowed in the low light. Should he tell her? Did she need to know?….Not really. The idea that someone nearly waltzed right in to the room while she slept would scare her way more than he would. He never cared about being thought of as weird, so he didn't saw a word as he walked back over to his bed and laid down, choosing to keep the covers underneath him.

He woke up to the sound of a voice blaring through the hidden speakers. "Class starts in an hour, students. Time to wake up."

"They couldn't have made that shit any louder," Ryan grumbled, rubbing the top of his head as he sat up and put his feet on the ground.

Thea didn't get much sleep after she'd been startled awake, choosing instead to keep an eye on both the door and her roommate. She didn't know what had happened, but the way that he had glared at the door made her think something had come through it. Perhaps she would inquire about getting a lock for it…

The chemist was already dressing when those damn hidden speakers squawked, having given up on sleep to take first turn the the bathroom. No need for Ryan to have to wait for her to put on her binds and what not. Thea attempted a new way to style her hair this morning–copying William's since his locks were about as long as hers–the curls were pushed back more, instead of hanging about her chin and neck, giving her a more stern look.

"Good morning." She said to the mechanic cursing at the speakers as she tied her boots. Thea was also trying a new voice, letting her natural rasp come through more than deepening it. Sure it made her sound more boyish than manly, but she was obviously taking Ryan's advice.

"Mhph." A morning person, Ryan was not. It was hard to blame him, though. Imagine having a very pleasant dream. Nothing close to a wet dream, but something just normal enough to make everything memorable and cozy. Then boom, you're woken up by an annoying voice coming through a speaker that you can't find and would get in trouble if you fucked with it. The pain didn't come immediately, but creeped up on his body like a poison, sinking into his joints and muscles like a knife slowly going through warm butter.

He chose his working arm for the day, reaching underneath the bed and pulling out the smooth, less complicated arm for the day. Even if it was the first day, he had a feeling that they'd still be doing a lot of hands-on work. He attached it a surprising speed, his hand working without guidance underneath his shirt to attach each wire to the correct spot. After 20 minutes, he stood up and tested the artificial limb out. It moved a lot less fluidly than its counterpart, but it still functioned as advertised.

"Voice sounds alright," Ryan said once he finished. "Better than yesterday. But assholes don't say good morning. Don't say anything, in fact."

"And there I thought we were becoming friends." Thea arched a brow sardonically, her brother's easy smirk plastered on her features. Her eyes were doing that shimmer again though, the one that made you think that she was grinning like an idiot on the inside.

Thea was leaning against the wall close to the door, a jacket draped over her arm. "I was going to invite you to lunch and everything. I'm devestated." The sarcasm kept rolling off her tongue, easy and fluid. A hand dramatically clutched at her chest as Ryan looked up to glare at her.

Ryan just rolled his eyes, choosing to not bring up the fact that she completely misunderstood what he was saying. It was him giving her advice, but if she was going to act like that, she could go suffer.

Every student that was accepted into the school received a pamphlet that told them their scheduled for the year. Ryan had looked over the paper once, memorized it, then tossed it into a puddle in the street, but most of the students that were in the halls had their noses buried into the papers, trying to find their fist class. Ryan's was Mechanics, something that brought the smallest hint of a smile when he read it. Thea branched off at a junction in the hallway, leaving him slightly worried that she would slip up. He doubted he was the smartest person in the place and he figured it out before he walked in on her. All it would take is one fuck-up and it was over.

Anatomy was the first class of Thea's day and there was almost a spring in her step as her excitement got the better of her. Thankfully, she was the kind of woman–er man–that was quite skilled at keeping most emotions under wraps. Thea had almost invited Ryan to lunch with her, but decided better of it as they had walked. Didn't seem like something he would be interested in, or something men did. Perhaps it was just understood that since they were roommates they would eat together? How did one navigate the thought process of a stoic man?

Ryan did acknowledge Thea's nod of farewell with a barely perceptible one of his own as she branched off to the physical sciences wing. Well, that was that. Was that a hint of worry in his eyes though? Thea shook her head, sliding into a high desk that she was claiming as her own. No use in fretting over that right now, she had to focus. Double time.

The professor breezed through the door with all the grace of a winter ice storm and Thea took a deep breath. "Here we go."

The classroom was an utter mess. Papers were scattered most of the corners in the room, most slightly rumpled and many with water stains on them. The desks were haphazardly placed in front of an operating table still covered with fresh blood. The professor himself was a reflection of his classroom. He wore thin-framed glasses that slid down his nose ever two seconds, requiring him to push them back into place every time. His hair was a mess of flowing white hair, the hairline receding back on his head like it was admitting defeat to his forehead. His name was Orville Udo, but most called him Professor U, for unorganized.

"Uh, hello, students," he said hastily, his slight German accent twisting the words as they left his lips, "I am Professor Udo, but most call me Professor U." His hand motions were hectic and honestly spastic and the man couldn't seem to sit still. "I will be your Anatomy teacher for this year. If you treat me with respect, I will provide likewise. However, make my time while you're in class miserable, and your grades will be more disorganized than this room. Understood?"

Thea's brows shot up in surprise followed shortly by the very corners of her lips. She adored him. Something about the disorganized mess of everything about the room and his person made joy bubble up in her chest. Despite the fact that he appeared to be scatterbrained, the bolt of intelligence in his gaze made everyone sit up a little straighter in their chairs, including Thea.

Gone was the oppressive, sterile, slave-driving nature of her uncle and his fellows Thea had grown up practicing with. She only had to prove that she knew her shit and things would go smoothly for her. The muscles of her back relaxed just slightly and she had to look down at her journal to keep her grin hidden.

Professor U took only a single spare moment to discuss the basics of the class before launching into an in depth lecture. Thea's head was spinning by the time she exited her class, hand aching from the amount of writing she had done. But damn did she finally feel that she was achieving her dream. In the back of her mind, Thea wondered how Ryan was doing.

Ms. Westbrook stomped into the Mechanics shop, her toolbag thrown over her left shoulder and a scowl even Ryan had to admire pinned to her face like a parasite. She looked relatively young, around her late thirties, but there was nothing youthful about her aura. She walked like she had the weight of the world on her back, hunched over and grumbling like a gas engine. She wore simple flats, overalls, and a long sleeve shirt underneath. Very much a male outfit. Students began mumbling the moment the walked through the doors, but everyone shut the hell up once the toolbag slammed onto the desk.

"Listen up," the lady growled, turning her fierce eye over the crowd of young men. Her eyes lingered on Ryan's arm for a moment before reverting the the group, something he was used to by now. "I am not here to be your friend. I am not here to make shit easy on you. I believe everyone has to work as hard as I did to get here, and I had to work my ass off. Entitlement means nothing to me. Money means nothing to me. Hard work and intelligence is the only thing that matters."

Ryan liked Ms. Westbrook. They were both grumpy, annoyed assholes and didn't put up with shit. A small grin was on his face as the she began to read the mandatory rules that every teacher had to show to the students.

By the time lunch rolled around, Thea's mind was near it's capacity. Her classes were difficult and intense, the professors even more so. She felt like she was going to pass out from mental exhaustion at any moment, but her eyes shone with a near manic brightness. Goddamn did she love every moment. Finally being able to show her stuff and dive deeper into her passion was a dream Thea had never truly thought she'd been able to achieve and yet here she was–fresh out of her advanced Chemistry course with a fresh liquid nitrogen burn and a bit of phosphorus still glimmering on her left cheekbone. The woman had even kept up appearances well enough that no one had looked twice at her.

Absolute heaven.

But damn was Thea starving. Lingering within the large doorway to the dining hall, the chemist glanced about, looking for that now familiar dull glimmer of a metal arm. A frown appeared on her face as she failed to find it. Seemed that Ryan hadn't made his way down from class yet. Curses.

Thea shifted from foot to foot nervously, wondering if she should just start taking her meals in her room. But–no. If she could fool an entire class she could certainly dine by herself. Nonsense. She didn't need the mechanic as a buffer between her and the rest of the University's male population–but she had to admit it was nice. The man was terrifying enough that most didn't even notice her.

Sighing, Thea made her way to the nearest empty table, choosing the first chair she came into contact with. best get this over with. Just in case anyone decided to make conversation with her, she pulled out her journal and pretended to be enamored by the what was written upon the pages.

"Oi! Renaud! There you are mate. Thanks for grabbin' a table." A hand clamped down on her shoulder, practically making Thea leap from her chair. Tommy, with William close behind. Oh–Curses. Both men sat, their book bags carelessly being thrown onto the table.

"Hello….chaps." Chaps? Was she in primary?! Good lord. Thankfully Tommy and William didn't seem to care as they launched into a full conversation and somehow managed to pull Thea in as well. Much to her general surprise–Astronomy was actually interesting.