A New Day (Open)

[Setsuna Makenshi]

Wearing her Osiris Red uniform, Setsuna wandered aimlessly about the courtyard, not entirely sure where she was going or where she was supposed to be. She had only just arrived on the island a moment ago, and her main concern was getting as far away from the pier as fast as humanly possible. All that water was enough to send chills down her spine for a week. Of course, this area seemed to have a few small ponds laid out here and there, but she was okay with ponds. More or less. At least they were better than a frickin' ocean.

As the girl wandered through the courtyard, she was slightly dreading the fact that she seemed to be taller than most of the students here. Not that she was expecting to find anyone her age who also happened to be six feet tall, but it would be kinda nice. Then maybe she wouldn't feel quite as self-conscious about the whole thing. Of course, as much as she complained about it to herself, she was more or less used to it. It didn't really bother her as much as she made herself think it did...it was just annoying. What did bother her were the guys who she occasionally caught staring at her chest, but that was a different story. Either way, she continued wandering aimlessly, looking around as she tried to figure out what she was supposed to do.

[Victoria "Tori" Kyoakuhan]

Tori had gone by her room and noticed another name had been placed on her door. A roommate? This was perfect! She would be friends with her roomie--for sure! Unless they didn't become friends. She shook her head as she ran towards the school. She had went to the docks but was told that her roomie-to-be had already left the dock. What? Without waiting for someone to show her the way? They had done that when she was there... huh...

So Tori got a quick description and a direction and was off--enjoying the fun of running around campus without having to be in a class--not that she's been to one yet. She was still getting use to things. Her Osiris jacket was open, flapping behind her as she ran. Today, she had a black t-shirt instead of the turtle neck. She had opted for jeans today--like everyday--because the skirt scared her. How can one even walk in one of those without worrying about flashing people?! Maybe she was exaggerating but still.

She came into the courtyard, slightly winded from the run. She looked at people in only the red jackets until a description matched. My, she was tall! Tori felt a stab of jealousy before she started towards her with a wave.

"Hi!"

[Setsuna Makenshi]

As Setsuna wandered around, she let out a sigh. As nice as the scenery was, it didn't change the fact that she had no idea where she was, or where she was supposed to go. Looking back, she probably should have stayed at the pier and waited to see if they were supposed meet with someone first. But all she could think about at the time was getting away from the water as quickly as possible. That's the thing about phobias. They have a habit of completely overruling common sense when they get triggered. Whether or not it made sense was relevant, even if Setsuna herself was perfectly aware of how little sense it made.

She let out a sigh...maybe she should ask someone. She would have felt kind of awkward randomly going up to someone, but she could deal with 'kind of awkward'. The only saving grace in all this was that all of her stuff was being sent to her room, so she didn't have to carry all of it around with her. Of course, that included her decks as well, but she wasn't really planning on dueling anytime soon. She was going to wait until she had settled in. So far, her only regret in coming here was that she completely bombed the dorm placement exam, thus putting her in Osiris Red. Serious. She hadn't even heard of half the cards that they brought up in that thing. But whatever.

As Tori approached her and called out to her, it took her a moment for it to register that she was actually the one she was talking to. She initially just assumed that she was walking up to someone who happened to be in her general direction. So, when she realized that there wasn't anyone else, she was a bit awkward. "Oh...h-hi... um...sorry...I didn't realize you were talking to me..." As she spoke, her shyness was almost painfully obvious. But she wasn't just going to ignore her, either.

[Victoria "Tori" Kyoakuhan]

Tori gave her a friendly smile.

"It's ok. My name is--"

She paused, trying to get in the habit of avoiding introducing herself as Victoria.

"Tori--or Tor-I. I'm suppose to be your new roommate. I was going to meet you at the dock, but they said you left so I came to look for you. I was very excited to meet you!"

She held out her hand to her to shake. She tried to force her personal fears down in order to be forward and kind instead of shy and nervous. Part of her itched with a hidden fear that she might have started off with a bad impression already.

[Setsuna Makenshi]

She nodded quietly as Tori introduced herself, and a huge wave of relief coursed through her body when she mentioned that she would be her roommate. She didn't even care how she Tori knew it was her. She was just happy to not have to wonder around completely lost anymore. Though, when she mentioned having looked for her at the pier, she felt a little sheepish "...oh...I...I'm sorry. It's just...I...really don't like being around water...so...I had to get away from there...I didn't mean to make you come looking for me..."

Normally, Setsuna wasn't so open regarding her fear of water, and 'really don't like' was a huge understatement. Still, she figured Tori would find out sooner or later, so she might as well tell her now. Little by little, Setsuna was settling down. She was still a little nervous and awkward, but not quite as much as when Tori first approached her. "Anyway...um...my name is Setsuna. I'm pleased to meet you." She looked around a bit, then nodded, returning her attention to Tori "...so...um...I don't suppose you could tell me where I need to go from here?...or do I just go straight to the dorm...I'm kinda lost...so..." Her words trailed off, but she managed to her point across...hopefully.

[Victoria "Tori" Kyoakuhan]

Tori's jaw dropped when Setsuna mentioned her dislike of water in close proximity. (Oh fancy words!)

"The trip must have been horrible! I personally didn't like my own trip but for different reasons--story for another time."

She cut her rambling off to focus more on her other statements and question.

"I wasn't made to come look for you. I took it upon myself. Well, after the test, I personally went straight to my dorm. They give you a run down of rules, tell you the 'rules and regulations' and stuff then tell you which dorms everyone has--ours is 1214 and is easy to remember--thankfully. I have horrible memory... makes it hard to take tests--"

Was she rambling? She was probably rambling. Suddenly her voice 'dried' up so to speak and she bit her lip. Oh gosh, she had probably annoyed her. She cleared her throat, forcing herself to step through the uncomfortable state she put herself in.

"I can show you to the dorms and explain things on the way if you would like? It's not too far away."

She felt her cheeks color as she started to feel a bit more nervous.

[Setsuna Makenshi]

Setsuna gave a nod as Tori commented on the trip here "It was...I'm still surprised I managed to force myself to get on in the first place...but hopefully, it will all have been worth it." Much to the contrary of what Tori was thinking, Setsuna wasn't bothered in the least by her rambling. It was a little hard to follow, but she wasn't annoyed. If anything, there was a small part o her found found it to be slightly amusing. It seemed she wasn't the only one who was awkward around other people, though Tori seemed to be a little better at hiding it.

Either way, when she offered to showed her to where their room was and explain things on the way, she actually smiled. Finally, things were looking up. "That...that would be wonderful. Thank you very much." At this point, she was comfortable enough that she was able to let herself get curious enough to ask "...so...um...what kinds of cards do you use?..." They'd be roommates, right? So she figured they might as well get to know each other, even if only a little. And Duel Monsters was a subject that didn't make her feel quite as awkward.

[Victoria "Tori" Kyoakuhan]

Tori went bright red as she tried to think of words.

"I... I don't know yet. I have a bunch of cards, but I have no idea what to do with them."

She messed with her jacket's sleeves as she walked.

"I-I think most of them are burn cards. I'm not really sure how it's suppose to work. To be honest, I don't know a lot about dueling..."

She took that moment to point to the large building.

"That's the pool. I don't think it's open right now, but it's there. I haven't been in the main building yet, so I don't know about what it's like in there."

She continued down the path that would lead them to the dorms. She couldn't see them herself, so she didn't say anything about which one was which.

"What about you?"

[Setsuna Makenshi]

She nodded quietly as Tori spoke about her cards "Ah...I see. I'm still pretty new at the game myself, but I've been in several duel before I decided to come here. Once you get used to the basics, it's just a manner of being able to follow the cards' effects. Um...if...if you want, I could teach you later. Well...I don't know if I'd be a very good teacher, but I'd at least like to try. It's a lot of fun once you get used to it" She gave Tori a sincere smile. In spite of how nervous she was, she couldn't help but get excited when it came to Duel Monsters.

When Tori brought pointed out the building with the pool, her face went a little pale. "I...I see. I-I don't think I'll be going there, then..." Just the thought of going anywhere near a pool, whether it was open or not, was enough to send massive chills down her spine. Luckily, Tori asked another question to snap her out of her momentary state of thought-induced fear "Eh?...oh...um...I actually have two decks...one that has a lot of equip effects that my brother gave me...and then there's the one that he helped me make. It focuses on both healing and dealing direct damage at the same time"

[Victoria "Tori" Kyoakuhan]

Tori smiled warmly at her.

"I would love help! Thank you so much!"

She listened to the information about her decks and the second one sound very interesting to her. Questions were coming to her so fast, she had no idea what to start with. She'd organize those thoughts later.

"Oh! There!"

She pointed as soon as the other building came into view.

"That's the Obelisk Blue dorm. I haven't been there so I don't know too much about it sadly..."

Tori looked at her as a different question came to mind.

"If you need extra space, I still have some room in my closet and drawers. Just let me know. And sorry about the stuff animals--that will make sense when we get there... Which of the two decks is your favorite?"

[Setsuna Makenshi]

Setsuna smiled and nodded as Tori seemed to accept her offer to help her understand the game. She wasn't sure how well she'd be able to teach her, but she'd be damned if she didn't try her best. The only thing she loved more than the card game itself was being able to get others to learn how to love it as much as she does. Of course, this didn't mean she went around cramming it down people's throats. Even if she wanted to, she was too shy to do something like that. But if an opportunity came, she usually jumped at the chance to teach, at the very least, the basic rules.

When Tori pointed out the Obelisk Dorm, she was visibly impressed "...wow. That's the highest-ranking dorm, right? I bet the students there are really skilled...unlike me." She let out a sigh, as she was reminded of how badly she bombed the dorm placement exam. It wouldn't have bothered her as much if the test had involved an actual duel, instead of hypothetical situations involving cards she had never even heard of. But, in the end, she figured she'd just make the best of it.

Setsuna couldn't help but wonder what she meant when Tori made the comment about stuffed animals. But she figured she'd discover the meaning of that soon. Another question came, one that made her think for a moment. "...honestly...I'm not sure. Both are very special...and they both mean a lot to me, so it's kinda hard to choose a favorite...sorry if that wasn't the answer you were looking for..." She let out a quiet sigh as she found herself unable to help but contemplate which deck she preferred. It was true that she used her equip deck more than the other, but that was only because it was easier to use. Still, it was something she'd think about later.

[Victoria "Tori" Kyoakuhan]

"I wasn't looking for any answer than an honest one."

She gave her a quick smile and then squinted further down the path. She commented on the test while she looked around.

"I didn't have any idea what anything was in the test... I gave it my best which was probably... a pure 0... it was hard to even figure out what they were on some of them. After the test, I read around and found out that I was completely wrong on everything... didn't understand anything I read, but I was wrong. I was soooo wrong... Oh! Ra~! That's Ra's dorm."

Her hand shot up as the building came into her view--curse her failing eyes... she should get glasses or contacts or something... but she was too lazy and was scared she'd forget them. So instead, she just went without. This resulted in her being the last to see a lot of things on the horizon.

"That means out dorm is just a bit further out. It'll take a bit to walk through the actual dorm, but we'll get to see it."

For her next few statements, she pointed in the correct directions of each location--she had the map pretty well memorized after being lost a number of times.

"You know where the pier and beach are--far far away--and the forest is over there, and if you can see it--I can't--there is a mountain too. The forest is suppose to have a spring in it. I haven't seen it myself... I've been too scared to go in there alone... there are to be duelists or something in the forest too but I don't know about that... I haven't been up the mountain yet either, but I heard some other Osiris talking about some kind of ruins up there... Um... sadly, I think the only way to get to Domino is by boat... but I don't know for sure. BUT if you need anything from town and don't want to go, I'll go for you."

She offered the last with a large smile, just as the Osiris dorm peaked into her view. She put her hands out to it.

"There is home!"

[Setsuna Makenshi]

As Tori pointed out the Ra dorm, she nodded quietly...hopefully, she would at least be able to reach that rank. For the most part, she'd be content there. Not that she wouldn't try to get better and get into Obelisk, but...you know. One step at a time. Of course, she probably had a long way to go before she could even qualify for Ra...so yeah. It was at that moment that a small part of her couldn't help but wonder who came up with the ranking system, and why each rank was the rank it was. But that passed quickly.

She shuddered slightly at the mention of a spring in the forest, but the forest seemed pretty big, so she figured avoiding it wouldn't be too difficult. As Tori went on to talk about the boats going into the city, she let out a sigh. While she was appreciative of Tori's offer, it mostly served to bring down her already shaky spirits "...I must seem stupid...a person who's afraid of water...going to an island. At first, I thought maybe it would force me to face my fear...but suddenly, I'm not so sure it was such a great idea...but really, I just wanted to come here...I figured the trip on a boat would be worth it, but..." her words trailed off, and she let out as sigh "...s-sorry...I'm ruining the mood, aren't I?..."

[Victoria "Tori" Kyoakuhan]

Tori frowned a bit.

"I don't think it's stupid. I came to the island not even knowing how to duel so... that was a fools move on my part."

She gave her a smile.

"And everyone has fears. If it makes you feel better, I have a fear of skirts... And dresses... I'll only wear them if I absolutely have to. Oh and stockings. I don't like stockings. I am scared they'll roll down and cut off my circulation and then I'll lose feeling in my leg--"

As she spoke, she started to speed up a bit. When she noticed, she cut off her speech and shook her head. She looked back at the dorm with a smile. She decided to try a different example. Tough, but it'd work.

"When I was little, my Mom had a fear of taxis. When we were going on a vacation to see The World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, she would freak out whenever we had to take a Taxi to get anywhere--the hotel, the Coca-Cola, a restaurant... She would always insist on walking to avoid the taxi. She thought that what happened in movies was going to happen to her. Even though she was scared for most of the trip, she said she had a lot of fun."

She looked back at Set, not quite meeting her eyes.

"Even if you are scared and it seems foolish, what is important is that you are doing what you want to do and you are having fun."

[Setsuna Makenshi]

While she could understand someone disliking skirts (she wasn't a very big fan either), she couldn't help be slightly amused when Tori said she was afraid of them. Not that she was making fun of her for being afraid of them, it's just that it came across as rather silly. Which, in turn, made her feel a bit better about her own fear. Deep down, she knew that most water was harmless, and yet, even so, that didn't keep her from being terrified of it. That was the thing about PTSD-induced phobias...they had a habit of overruling common sense.

As Tori continued to speak, she couldn't help but blush. In all honesty, she instantly regretted when she told the other girl about her fear of water, as she had half-expected her to laugh at her or something else along those lines. As such, when Tori responded to her self-depreciation with kind words, she was pleasantly surprised. Already, she found herself liking the girl very much "...thank you...I...I hadn't thought of it that way...but you're right..."