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[Heather Sutherland]

Heather found herself letting out a soft giggle at Franck's confusing explanation. It was always amusing, and fun, to try and get your head around how other people's powers work. Heather had actually heard before that it was possible for certain empath's to give themselves feedback loops of emotions. Heather could kind of do that herself, being able to effect other people's emotions, not that she particularly liked that aspect of her ability.

She smiled to the boy after chuckling again. "I think that I understand what you were getting at." She paused for a moment, still smiling. "Mutations can be rather confusing things, can't they?" She giggled as they continued walking in the direction of the cafeteria. 

The redhead shook her head from side to side at his comment. "No thanks, It's about time that I got something to eat. And I should be okay in there if I don't linger for too long. I'll just get food and then we can go and sit in a student lounge or something where it's a bit quieter for the time being?" She asked with a gentle smile. 

She adjusted her hair, pulling a few stray strands from her fringe back behind her ear. 

[François Laffont]

He chuckled as Heather said she might get what he meant. “Oh good, because if it wasn’t confusing enough, my accent mustn’t help,” he said. Franck was not against joking about his accent. Yes, he was French and even though he managed to speak without it to be too apparent, at least not as much as it used to when he first arrived, there was clearly something still going on that proved English might not be his first language. Heather had an accent too, of course, but Franck was terrible at telling where people came from based on the way they spoke.

He had a little sigh but still kept his smile on as he nodded. “Yes, yes it can. I found it hard to explain empathy to people. Because, you know, everyone feels empathy naturally. And it’s hard to explain how it affects me. It just sort of does.” Empathy was probably not the hardest power to explain, but it was the one he had. And Franck recently realised that not ever empath’s power worked the same way. It was fascinating to see that even though he could relate to them, they also were pretty different. He bet it was the same with Heather.

“I’m fine with this plan,” he agreed with what she said. Since they were there, he walked in first and tried to find the quickest way to the counter to get some food without passing around too many people. He didn’t like thinking he was avoiding people but it was kind of what he had to do. Then again, everyone’s emotions just kept coming at him in such a way he couldn’t get a proper reading of them. It was like too many people talking at once making it nearly impossible to hear what one said exactly. Still, Franck tried to keep his focus on Heather.

He had done this little walk enough times already to get to the counter with ease. He turned around to make sure Heather was there and didn’t struggle too much either. “It’s too bad there is no material or component that can neutralise powers, right? They could totally build the cafeteria with it and make it easy for everyone to be in here,” he told her as he grabbed some food and paid for it.

[Heather Sutherland]

She grinned to Franck playfully. "Your accent is absolutely lovely~ It doesn't obscure your speech. Though I would bet that you've received teasing on it just as I have." She chuckled. Some of the kids around the school's response to a British accent was actually kind of amusing at times. She kind of just shrugged it off, there was never any bad intent behind it, as she could tell.

She nodded and smiled to his explanation. "Yeah, that tends to happen. Does it ever like, directly effect you?" she realised that her comment probably wasn't entirely clear as far as questions went and then decided to go about correcting that. "What I mean by that is, if they are intense enough, can other people's feelings actually effect your own?" That was something she had noticed, and it was quite annoying when she first came into her power.

She smiled as they entered the cafeteria and wandered over to a currently small queue. She chuckled. "Yes, I agree." She grabbed a salad and payed for it, picking up a bottle of water too, and let him lead the two of them out of the cafeteria and towards the student lounge. 

[François Laffont]

Franck smiled to Heather. He was proud of his accent and his roots. Maybe not to the point of singing La Marseillaise while walking in the corridors but he was not ashamed of being French. That being said, he also wanted people to understand whatever he was telling them. So he was glad she liked it and had no problem with it. He chuckled as she pointed out he might have been teased about it. “Yes, I have. I can’t totally blame them though, my accent was terrible when I arrived here. I barely knew English then,” he admitted. Why his father chose this school when there had been one in Montreal that was likely to speak French as well as English eluded him, but he supposed his father had his reason. Back then, Franck just wanted it to stop, it wasn’t like he really cared.

“Don’t mind me asking, but where are you from?” He wrinkled his nose as he gave her a sheepish look. “I’ve never been good with accent, I can just tell you’re not from around here.” Franck didn’t want to say she was British to have her correct him, claiming she was Australian or Irish or something else. Maybe the difference was obvious to her but it wasn’t so much to him.

He nodded as they talked of their power. “Yes. In a way, that’s how empathy works, right? I mean, for everyone. You’re naturally happier around happy people. It’s just that I can better read people’s emotions,” he said, shrugging at this. She could too so she was likely to find it natural as well, even if she might not like it every time it happened. “But yes, it can affect me. It all depends in what mood I already am in and how intense the feeling is. Like, I won’t fall in love just because you’re infatuated, but if you are really depressed, I will be too if I stay around,” he explained with another nod, because every explanation sounded more plausible when you nodded as well.

He picked a little more food than she did, a small soup, a sandwich, an apple and some water. Unlike her, he said that he was hungry and really should eat. “You’ve been to the lounge a lot before?” he asked her on their way out of the cafeteria and there.

[Heather Sutherland]

Heather nodded firmly and smiled. She wasn't really all that surprised, kids will be kids. She had even noticed some people being amused by her accent back at St Bethany's, she sounded like a stereotypical English person, extremely posh and with extended pronunciation on almost everything she said, like the way she pronounced the word 'bath' for instance.

She smiled softly at his question. "I don't mind at all, I'm from the united kingdom. I guess you could call be English, but I mean, really I'm British. I pretty much grew up at St Bethany's." She hoped that answered his question pretty well. 

She nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I think so. I don't really get effected by some emotions like Love or lust though. I mean, lust feels really..." She shuddered instead of answering. "But love is nice, makes me feel warm that those around me feel like that." She added. 

As they walked towards the lounge she turned to him and nodded. "I spend a lot of my time between there and the staff lounge, I'm an intern and a college student, sooo I kind of fall under both." She smiled. She didn't really look like a college student, so she couldn't really blame him if he hadn't picked up on either of those things. 

[François Laffont]

It had been rough in the beginning, the language barrier and the way people made fun of his accent. He didn't always understand theirs then. Now, it was a lot better but there were still some that were difficult for him to understand right. He thought he improved a lot. He still had some struggle at times, especially that TH sound as well as any word that was written the same way in French but not pronounced the same. Still, he considered he improved greatly. If people found funny his little accent well he couldn’t do anything about it. He would never be entirely American anyway. And he was fine with that.

He smiled, glad she was not insulted he might not be able to tell where she was from. He could have guessed England, but if she were from Wales, Scotland or even Australia, she might not have liked it. Turned out she really was from the U.K. “Oh yes, it’s the British school, right? I heard the recruiter mention it when they met with me but my father wanted to put some space between... France and ourselves. So I was sent here,” he told her. He had an hesitation at some point because he nearly said his mother. He wished she didn't get the pain this memory brought him as he did his best to chase it away. It was still a little weird for him to be careful what he felt as he wasn’t used to be the one who’s emotions were read.

He chuckled at the shudder she had. “I can feel the lust, but I rarely feel it for the one who is all lustful. Love is better, I give you that. Makes you grin like an idiot sometimes, but it’s better than what you can get from lust.” At least she was no guy. Lust could be really embarrassing. Luckily, it rarely went to that. Because for him to go to that extent, it would mean the other person felt it even stronger. “It’s not always easy though, not to react to emotions. Some are pretty strong and they don’t always realise it.”

He turned his head to look at her as she explained she was also going to the staff lounge. “Really? Intern for what?” He was not as much curious as to what the staff lounge looked like compared to the student one than as to what Heather was doing. People were always more interesting.

[Heather Sutherland]

Heather nodded to the French boy gently. "Yes, St Bethany's is the school for the UK. I pretty much grew up there." In this case, 'pretty much' translated to actually growing up there. Her and her siblings had all attended, and her family practically ran the place, so it made sense for her to have grown up around there. She noted the tiny spike of negative emotions in Franck as he spoke, she decided it was best not to bring it up.

She nodded. "I can feel lust, it doesn't really effect me though. So it's kind of just... a gross emotion to me." Could emotions be described like that? Heather was certainly going to. She nodded again in response to his follow up comment. "Yes, it does make me giggle when a person doesn't realise how strongly they really feel about something though, like when they are in denial about being in love, it's just frankly adorable." She giggled.

The redhead smiled softly and tilted her head towards him. "Just admin stuff really, my grandmother wanted me to come over here to learn the ropes, as one day I will probably end up headmistress of St Bethany's." She nodded, she felt kind of indifferent to the prospect, but eh. 

[François Laffont]

He nodded when he was confirmed for St Bethany. He did remember the name. Franck had not been in a very good mental state when the recruiter found him. He wanted that thing gone and was told it would never go away. But at least he promised he could control it and be with people who wouldn’t cast him out because of this strange gift. “Why did you decide to come here then?” He asked her with curiosity.

Franck could take lust. There was something nice when he was the one desired. The problem with it was more the reaction it could cause on him. It wasn’t always the right place for it. He was surprised she considered it gross though. Franck wouldn’t say gross. Something that should be done in intimacy, perhaps, but not gross. He was surprised by her choice of words. “At least it’s less apparent if it ever gets a hold of you,” he said with a chuckle, looking down. This was his definitely of a dirty joke. He smiled at her words. “Isn’t it? Then again, when they are in denial about the other person not liking them, it’s not that great. Anyone ever asked you to check someone’s emotions for them?” There sure were some pros and cons to their ability. Some might focus on the bad side-effects of it but Franck happened to always see the glass half-full. There were good things about it too. “You know, I feel bad sometimes when I go to someone I know is happy, just so I could lift my mood. But I also try to cheer up those who feel sad, even if it can affect me, so I can it evens things.”

So she was an intern to learn more about administration. He stopped when she said she might run the English school. “Really? Wow. That doesn’t scare you sometimes?” Was he destined to befriend the heads of every school? It wasn’t like he really noticed that fact or cared about it.

[Heather Sutherland]

Heather smirked. "Well, I didn't really, it was mostly my grandmother. On the other hand, I did decide that I would stay. And that's mostly because I feel like I can be more independent here and really find my own way. I also have friends here, which I didn't really back at St Bethany's from the life I used to lead there. It didn't really leave that much time open for an active social life." She admitted.

The redhead played with her hair a little as the two of them walked. "Well, I wouldn't know. I've never actually felt it for another person myself. I'm Demisexual." Again, she wasn't really shy about that either, it was just part of who she was. And most people didn't really care, even people who were sometimes homophobic didn't care. 

She nodded gently. "Yes, it does. But at the same time, it's a long way away and I'd rather live my life than spend it worrying about something years away." She smiled to the boy softly. 

[François Laffont]

Franck could understand that someone else chose for her where to go. He was not the one who decided to go to Bellefonte, his father took that decision, thinking it would be best. He sure wondered what the man had been thinking at first, throwing him in a school speaking a language he barely knew. But he could see now why he did that and he always trusted his father. Still, he could also understand Heather’s desire for independence. “It’s true that here you can be known for yourself more than your family,” he admitted. A smile crossed his lips as he looked at her. “I’m glad you’re liking it here.”

Franck didn’t think much when she said she never felt lust for someone. Even if she were to say she never fell in love, he’d just say it would happen eventually. There was no reason to rush things. “What does it mean, demisexual?” he asked. He didn’t mean to pry but she was the one who told him so he assumed she could also explain it. Franck knew of straight, gay and bi, all the other stuff, he was a little lost. He knew what he was and was accepting of any sexuality as long as people accepted his. For the rest, it was just minor details.

“At least you know what you’ll do in life. But I hope you’re happy with it. I think that’s what is most important. I think we’re the best placed to know, with all the negative feelings we can get sometimes,” he replied as he returned her smile. He was growing a little hungry but luckily they would arrive soon and he’ll be able to eat.

[Heather Sutherland]

The redhead girl nodded softly in response to the boy's comment. She was most certainly liking it here. Bellefonte was in a way, much more lively than St Bethany's. Although, to be fair she hadn't really spent time among people her age very much when she attended the other school, whereas here she interacted with the students around her a whole lot more, which may have had something to do with her perception. As well as America being a much bigger area, and therefore having more students attending.

She smiled at the french boy. "It's a fair question. I tend to not feel sexual attraction to anyone I meet, the only times I've ever really started to, or come close to doing so is when it's a person that I know intimately well, so a very close friend or something. But as I'm sure you can imagine, given that I was rather busy back in the UK, that's only ever happened to me once or twice." She admitted.

She nodded again. "I suppose that's a good way of looking at it, I'm not sure whether or not I'll be happy. I guess I shall just have to find out if it does make me happy further down the line." She smiled at the boy. "You're rather insightful, Francois" She complimented.