New and Unusual Circumstances [Winged]

[Fox]

The room was small, neat, and more impotantly, built for more than one person. The slim young woman stood stock-still in the doorway, bags still in hand and hair slightly windswept from the journey. For a long moment, Leannan stared in puzzlement at the layout of the room; the bunk beds set up against a wall, the two chests for belongings, table and chair, and almost didn't understand what they meant. Then it hit her. She would have a roommate. She was expected to share the room with another girl. Brown eyes widened in shock, as it seemed that no one had seen fit to inform her of this arrangement earlier; not that Lea really minded. It was more that for as long as she could remember, she had slept alone. As an only child, and later as a practicing midwife with no room in between, Lea had never even had a sleepover, much less a roommate. But no matter; this would just be another addition to the already long- and still growing- list of things that were new and unusual in this place.

Sighing, the midwife strode forward to place her bags on the bottom bunk, flopping onto it shortly after. Old habit made her eye the top bunk with distrust; it would be difficult to get down from there quickly if she needed to, and therefore she would much rather sleep on the bottom. It didn't help either that Lea had a tendency of half-sleep walking through her morning routine if woken urgently. Likely what would happen if she slept on the top bunk was that her roommate would be woken by the young woman falling straight off the bed and onto the floor below, should something wake them unexpectedly. No, much better to stay as near to the ground as possible.

Whistling a merry tune, Lea began to unpack, sitting cross-legged on the mattress as she stacked her few belongings out on the bed beside her. Eventually, she would transfer them to the clothes chest one organised pile at a time, but for now the young woman busied herself with making at least this small part of the room her own. A small stack of books went on the floor beside the bed, tucked neatly into the corner where the edge of the bed met the wall so that they would be out of the way. A small cloth bundle of dried scented herbs, designed to soothe and relax, went on the bedpost. All in all, by the time Lea was done with her little corner, the room actually looked somewhat lived in, and the only thing that was left for the woman to do was pick up a book to pass the time, sprawl out comfortably on her front, and wonder when her roommate would arrive.

[winged]

A wary set of eyes observed the stranger as Leannan merrily bustled around her room, unpacking and claiming the bottom bunk with a cheerful impunity. She'd been told, and instructed, that the room wouldn't remain hers for much longer, that another Candidate would be sharing her quarters with another. A girl, as the barracks were divided on the basis of gender.

Ichidou understood the logic behind such arrangements, there were an untold number being Searched by simourv each day. She herself was a recent find, and apparently her unusual circumstances were nothing new; a bit awesome to consider, but not right now. Right now, Ichidou hovered just within the portal to her quarters and restlessly observed this intruder making herself right at home. Arms crossed stiffly over her chest, the darker skinned woman's lips turned down in a disapproving frown. She understood and grouchily accepted the rules, but she didn't like them. In the short stretch of days before, this room was where she'd retreated to gnaw on unpleasant thoughts and wrestle emotional hurts into a neat, solid mask she could wear in public.

That illusion of sanctuary was shattered now, even as she gruffly cleared her throat by way of introduction. No words, just a scrutinizing stare, and the body language to scream 'this isn't my sort of thing'.

[Fox]

Lea was absorbed in her book, a thoughtful frown drawing her brows close, when she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. The young midwife gave a start and scrambled upright from her undignified position sprawled on her stomach, looking up to see another woman standing in the doorway. To say she looked grumpy was a bit of an understatement. She also had no bags, which made Lea question for a moment whether she really was her roommate. Slipping off the bed and onto her feet, she was not surprised in the least to see that she was a few inches shorter than the darker-skinned woman; it tended to be the first thing that Lea noticed about a person, partly because her height- or lack thereof- was something of a peeve to her.

"Hello." She ventured hesitantly, brow furrowing in confusion at this person who seemed to view the room as her own. It was a pretty puzzle, and one that itched under Lea's skin. Surreptitiously, the younger woman glanced around the room and, with a fresh eye, recognised the minute but definitely there signs of an inhabitant. "Oh, you've already moved in, haven't you?" The midwife said with a faint flush of embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I didn't notice... Did you want the bottom bunk?" Lea tried to flash the newcomer a welcoming smile, but it came off as something a little more sheepish.

Belatedly, she realised that she hadn't introduced herself, and with a jaunty wave- safer than offering a handshake- and renewed cheer, the midwife said, "My name is Leannan by the way. Lea for short. It's nice to meet you." Whether it was actually nice to meet her was kind of under question at the moment, since the woman seemed like the silent, somewhat taciturn type. No matter; Lea would try her best to get along anyway. Who knew how long they would be sharing a room, and enemies in such close quarters were never pretty.

[winged]

Leannan's pleasantries were met with a continuous, almost brooding silence. Had Leannan not clearly heard that brusque clearing of the throat, it was likely the other Candidate might actually wonder if the tanned figure shadowing her doorstep was capable of speech. Already a stalemate - neither side budging, nor an inch given to either side. Tension seemed to mount, very nearly crackling before a gruff voice shattered the uncomfortable silence.

"Ichidou." Just as quickly as it had built, the disagreeable storm cloud that had shadowed their precipitous meeting dissipated, and the other woman strode into the room, pausing at a tiny chest which she bent before, fingers fumbling familiarly with the rusted lock piece. Just that one, gruff word - it was almost annoyingly apparent that Ichidou didn't even really expect Leannan to wrap her mouth correctly around those three, awkward syllables. Nobody got it right the first time, it was both a blessing and a curse in and of itself. It stood out like a sore thumb against names like 'Elisabeth', but then again, who'd fault her if she didn't respond to a butchered attempt?

Ichidou certainly seemed to show no signs of lingering interest, although they were certainly present. Sideways glances, quick, darting looks at the foreigner in her company. Small - bordering on tiny, and apparently literate judging by the leather bound book in her company. Well...at least she was bound to be intelligent. That wasn't to say she was sensible, though. Ichidou never took that for granted.

Finally, with a relenting 'click' the top of the box gave way beneath her ministrations, and Ichidou flipped it open to rifle with the articles inside. Bits and bobs, nothing that screamed anything of importance - and to it she added a misshapen bauble, something shielded from direct sight, before snapping the lid shut once more. Leaving just the two of them, and nothing to be said. "They didn't tell you you'd have a roommate, hm?" Snorting inelegantly, Ichidou rose to her feet, without turning to face Leannan. "...seems to be the protocol." Don't ask, don't tell - what courtesy.

[Fox]

Well, obviously this new roommate of Lea's was not one of the chatty types. The young woman's attempt at pleasantries were met with a ringing silence and she was almost childishly determined not to be the one to break it. She had said hello, offered her name, what more did this silent woman want from her? It didn't really matter though, Lea mused wryly, she was determined to get along with this young woman, come hell or high water, because if they were going to be stuck sharing a room for an untold number of days, weeks, months even, it was best if relations were of a pleasant sort. Finally- the midwife was beginning to think that this young woman was mute- a name was offered; but it was a strange name to be sure. "I-chi-dou." Lea repeated slowly, a frown drawing her eyebrows downwards as she made her best effort to mimic the way Ichidou had pronounced the name. She didn't entirely succeed on first go, but it would get better.

Leannan didn't move a step forward or back as the other woman strode past to open the other chest, putting something in it that the midwife couldn't see. She just turned slightly and watched, curiousity written clear across her expressive face, but if Ichidou didn't want to say anything then Lea wouldn't pry. She did crack a smile, though, at the other woman's rather abrupt statement. "No, they didn't tell me. Can't imagine why they would; it's not like we're that important after all." One corner of her mouth curled upwards in a crooked smile as she rolled her eyes in exasperation at the apparently somewhat inefficient system. Honestly, she would have thought that it was simply good manners to notify a girl when she was about to spend the next few months sharing a room.

Finally, Lea moved from her relaxed position by the door; slipping over to sit herself back down on the lower bunk. She figured that if Ichidou had claimed that bed, she would have said something before now. In any case... "So where are you from?" She asked politely, sounding interested. From her experience conversing with strangers, Lea had the art of polite but unobtrusive interest down to an art form, and she brought it into play now. Frankly, she got the feeling that getting answers out of her new roommate would be akin to pulling teeth. "Have you been here for very long?" Absently, the young woman propped her chin onto her hand and she fixed her inquisitive brown eyes on the other woman. Ichidou was unusual in both appearance and personality and Lea found herself wondering curiously what went on behind that guarded facade. Well, with any luck she'd have some time to find out.