Southern State of Mind

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau heard the girl before he saw her. It wasn't like he had great hearing or anything, at least when it came to things like this. He could accurately determine the pitch of a person's singing or whether an instrument was out of tune, but that was hardly the same as hearing something better than the rest of the world. No, Beau just heard the girl first because she was out of sight. He rose from his position on the couch, setting down the homework he'd been working on (because even seniors have homework this time of year... or perhaps more accurately especially seniors have homework this time of year). Then Beau headed toward the noise, which meant heading out into the corridors.

Where he saw a girl struggling to carry way more than she rightfully should. "Whoa there," he said, darting forward to catch part of her load before it fell. At least his hands were still good, reflexes still as sharp as ever. Came from playing football more than playing guitar, though both probably helped. He'd help get it more or less righted before looking down at the girl, smiling that big friendly smile.

"Looks like you got a load here," he said, looking it over and nodding like he was some kind of expert on moving a lot of stuff. "If you need a hand, I ain't doin' much. Assumin' you ain't plannin' on makin' a getaway with this. Ain't exactly gonna look good on me if I go an' aid someone in some burglaring," he winked at that, clearly meaning it as a joke. Wouldn't be the first time someone tried to get away with it though; school attracted all kinds of people, after all.

[Melanie Saunders]

Melanie walked through the dorm corridor. She struggled with her bags and suitcases which mainly held photos of her in her dog form with her trusty cattle dog Maisy. She would miss her dog now she was here but she would not miss her parents much even though they did everything for her she hardly ever seen them. The academy seemed nice so far and it would be good to push her powers to the next level and try to take away the drawbacks. She groaned as she lifted all her load through the corridor.

She was looking down panting at the floor. She dropped some of her suitcases by accident and then she heard a boy speak to her and help her she looked up at the boy who held a warm smile. She put her suitcases and bags onto the floor and listened to the boy as she moved her hair out of her eyes. She laughed as the boy made a joke about her heavy load. When Mel stopped laughing she said "I am Melanie Saunders I am new here" she put her hand out to shake the boys hand and she thank him for helping her.

[Beau LaRoux]

Suitcases and everything, which meant that the girl had probably just gotten here. Beau remembered what that was like, even if it had been over three years since he'd shown up at Bellefonte with his own battered luggage, wondering if he'd ever be able to understand this whole place. At least he'd helped some, making her laugh already. He saw the extended hand and reached out to take it. He felt a little tingling shoot up his hand, letting him know that he'd just picked up Melanie's ability in full. Thankfully she wouldn't feel it, and Beau didn't exactly feel the urge to start fires or any of the weirder side effects that could come with things. no, he felt like... running around outside? So that wasn't that different, really.

"Beat me to the intro an' everythin'. My Mom would be smackin' me for my manners," said Beau, giving the girl's hand a few shakes. "My name's Beau LaRoux, an' I've been 'round here for a while now. So don't be afraid to ask questions," he winked at her and let go of her hand, turning to look at her gathered things. "I know it's all a bit much. Came up here from Louisiana an' didn't see so much as a Popeye's in town, gives you a real culture shock."

Beau offered another reassuring, friendly smile, definitely hoping to help the other girl relax. at least Melanie didn't seem quite as stressed as some of the new arrivals. Heck, Beau thought that he'd been at least twice as wired up and worried himself.

[Melanie Saunders]

 Maybe it was her canine traits which led her to be this calm about being here but she must admit she never thought she would be this calm, maybe it was the fact that she never felt at home where she once lived and now changing environment was not that scary for her. The boy shook her hand, his name was Beau, Melanie thought that was a really nice name. She listened to the boy talk about where he was from. He seemed a nice guy and when he stopped talking Melanie smiled and said "I am from Montana myself so I have not changed much of my surroundings but this place is brilliant." She smiled as she thought about starting to train her powers.

 Then something hit her and she said to Beau "I have never met another person with powers before, are they all kinda different from one another?" Her curiosity came out she always wanted to know ever since she got her gift if anyone was like her.

 

 

[Beau LaRoux]

"Gotta be nice to be that close to home," said Beau, giving Melanie another warm smile. Nice to hear that someone thought the school was a good thing too. Too often people got here and thought they'd been sentenced to jail or something. Though Beau was hardly one to talk: he'd been among that number when he'd gotten here. It had only been after he'd gotten to know the school, and the people involved, that he started to come around to it. He was just about to say as much to Melanie when she hit him with a question instead.

"Yeah, everybody's got a different power," said Beau. Talk about another thing he'd gotten over: a few years ago he wouldn't have talked about powers if you bribed him with music and home cooking. "Know some people that can move stuff with their mind, an' others change shapes an' all. I pick up whatever anyone else has got, assumin' I get close enough to 'em. Don't always work out so great for me," Beau chuckled, wondering if he should share some stories. No, best not to say anything that would worry Melanie. Instead Beau bent to pick up some of the luggage, moving for the large parcels, figuring he could handle those better than Melanie, at the least.

[Melanie Saunders]

 Mel nodded as Beau said about her being quite close to home. He spoke about how people had different powers and how they could move things with their mind. Melanie tried to hide her amazement she thought that was a really cool power and when Beau said his power was picking up what everyone else had. Melanie then watched as Beau helped pick up some of her stuff she said a small "thank you" under her breath.

 She picked up some stuff as well and said to Beau "they all sound like cool powers especially yours, all I can do is shift into different dogs and canines. Then again I heard some people get quite a lot of side affects or problems with their power. Mine is just that I forget who I am sometimes in my form." Melanie looked up at the Beau and said "so tell me about yourself"

[Beau LaRoux]

"You're welcome," replied Beau in response to the thanks, giving Melanie a little nod and yet another smile. He did struggle a bit with grabbing the stuff and getting everything into a decent position. He wobbled a bit as the hefty load slid and slipped about his chest, before eventually latching on, looping his hand and fingers through holes, glad that he had enough dexterity to manage it.

So Melanie could shift into dogs. That was pretty cool, as far as powers went, and was one that Beau sometimes liked imitating. A lot of the shifting could be painful, but it was usually worth it to see the world as someone else for a little while. Beau's only problem was that the moment he wandered too far, well, he didn't like to think about it. Forgetting struck him as a pretty big side effect to have, but he didn't want to freak her out or anything. The suggestion/demand had him chuckling.

"Ain't a whole lot there," he said, nodding and shifting his grip again. "youngest boy in a big Southern family. Parents are musicians, so I kinda picked it up. Love playin' an' all, done pretty good, an' probly figurin' I'll make a career outta it or somethin'. Do okay at school, play football, chase girls, that sorta thing," Beau shrugged, then looked over at Melanie. "Care to share 'bout yourself? Probly should start with where we're takin' all this stuff. I ain't so sure I can hold this forever, even if I do look it," he winked there, grinning yet again.

[Melanie Saunders]

Melanie listened as Beau talked about himself. He said he came from a big family she wondered what that would have been like as she was an only child. He also talked about his parents jobs as musicians and how he loved music. That sounded cool as her mother was a vet and her father worked in an office she thought it would be pretty cool if your parents were musicians. "That sounds cool having a big family and wanting to make a career out of playing music" When Beau asked her about herself but then asked about where he should put the suitcases she smiled and said "I am in room 305 in the girls dorm"

 Mel picked up some more cases and said to Beau "there isn't much to tell, I am an only child, My mother is a vet and my father works in an office so I hardly ever get to see them as they work long hours, I get on ok at school I just stick in and do my work. In my old school I did not have many friends" she said this as she started walking through the hall talking to Beau at the same time looking for her room.

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau nodded; he'd heard his family was "cool" before, and he knew just what to say in response: "Ain't like we've got a reality show or anythin'; it's mostly jus' like bein' in a normal southern family, 'cept with more music," he nodded. Beau then hefted the stuff one more time, getting it into a good position to start walking forward. He knew the direction to the girls' dorm fairly well, mostly from dropping girls off at their door (and doing this a time or two). He figured it wouldn't take that long to get everything there, at least with both of them doing some work.

Melanie picked up her own load, as well as the conversation. Beau looked back, nodding as she explained. "I always thought bein' a vet would be kinda hard," he commented. "Dealin' with all those sick animals an' all. I don't think I could manage. An' you don't gotta worry 'bout findin' some friends here. Most of us remember what it's like bein' the new kid away from home an' all," Beau nodded, then pointed in the direction they'd have to go, knowing that there were a few turns. Nothing too complicated though; pretty easy to get from the lounge to the dorms after all.

[Melanie Saunders]

Melanie smiled as Beau made a joke about not having a reality television show and walked beside Beau as they carried her luggage through the hall. Beau talked about how it look complicated to be a vet and Melanie nodded, she did not want to be a vet herself all she wanted was to work with animals maybe a dog trainer but all she knew was that her dream was to work with animals. "Yes, it is hard to be a vet as you have to work long irregular hours away from home and with sick animals that are really timid etc"

 Beau reassured her that she would get friends easily here and Mel smiled thinking about having friends and so far she would count Beau as a friend. He pointed to where they had to go and it was not long before they were nearly at her door.

[Beau LaRoux]

"Guess you know all that well, huh?" said Beau, chuckling. There he was talking about something that she probably experienced nearly daily. "but most jobs seem to have irregular hours. Kinda like people: ain't nothin' really regular."

He offered another quick smile to Melanie before turning. They didn't have to go far to get to her dorm area, since they made certain to put the younger students closer to the door. There was some prestige in getting further away from the mess and all; you got to be higher and all that stuff. Of course, the dorm monitors were right by the entrance, so Beau wasn't sure how accurate all that was.

He pointed toward the door and moved aside, figuring that Melanie would have a key to use and get in. He lifted a hand, grunting a little under the weight of the luggage, and pointed at a lock. "You'll need your key for that, but I'm guessin' they already gave you one." He probably would've dug his out to show if his hands weren't already burdened. He didn't figure they'd given her a whole lot though, so he wasn't that worried.

[Melanie Saunders]

 Melanie did not know very much about being a vet as her mother did all she knew was that it was very demanding as you had to be away from your child and the only time you would ever see them was when they were asleep. She always felt left behind at home all by herself and she hoped that her mother would think about all the memories that they could not share together because of her job. When they finally reached the door Beau moved aside so she could get the key into the lock.

 Mel shoved her hand into her deep pockets searching for the key and when she finally found it she opened the door it the room did not look like much but when she arranged her stuff in the room it would look more like home. She thought about where she would put her photos and posters on her side of the room. She looked up at Beau and said "I will take my stuff, surely I can manage a few steps without falling over or dropping anything" she chuckled.

[Beau LaRoux]

{just a heads up, but the dorm's are described here; there's technically a common area to go through first; they're really nice}

Beau waited patiently while Melanie worked the key out of her pocket, knowing the nerves that could come from the whole first arriving thing. He kept smiling at her, which wasn't too hard, though he couldn't quite stop from humming under his breath. Soon the door opened, and Beau was dragging the armfuls of stuff into the common room. The various roommates who'd been there a while had probably left a bit here and there, but that wouldn't stop Melanie from adding her personal touch.

"You probly got whichever room's open," said Beau, nodding, "an' I figure I can at least get everythin' into your room for ya. Helps me build up my muscles an' all. Ain't like I got a buncha roadies or anythin'," which was actually why Beau was handling this as well as he was. He'd had to lug quite a bit of equipment to and from most of his gigs, and it had certainly left him feeling pretty stout overall. He took a few more steps closer in, looking around and trying to figure if there were any signs as to which room was open. He definitely wasn't keen on staring into underaged girls' rooms; just wasn't his thing.

[Melanie Saunders]

  Melanie looked at the living room which was quite like any normal living room with a television and couch. She thought to herself that it looked quite homely. She would kind of have a responsibility of her room and the living room slash kitchenette. It would be pretty cool to be sharing with other girls.

 She looked around as Beau said she would probably had a room that was open. She noticed as room which had not got a personal touch and the door was open she looked around the bedroom with her stuff in her hands it was clear this room was empty she put her stuff on her bed and said to Beau "you can put the stuff anywhere I don't mind and thank you" she smiled at the boy with her dimples showing.

[Beau LaRoux]

The room looked ready to be filled in Beau's estimation, and he nodded. At Melanie's command and smile, Beau moved to put the stuff down. He didn't quite put it anywhere though, but instead lined them up carefully against the wall, making sure that nothing would fall. He held the position for a bit, backing up slowly and nodding.

"Looks like you got plenty of room," he said, looking around. The room was the same size as anyone's, but it always looked and felt better when you were smaller. "You got any more stuff you need lugged?" Beau didn't want to just abandon a girl who'd just gotten there. He supposed he could offer to show her around too, or maybe set something up. Generally people didn't arrive with much in the way of possessions though, seeing as they were yanked out of their home and all. Wasn't like Melanie had a collapsible bookcase or something. The school provided some stuff though; just a matter of filling it up.