[Drama] Room 125 - A Welcoming Atmosphere

[Miriam Bell]

The new dorm assignments haven't been up for very long yet when Miriam seems to have already moved her things. Which seems to include a new door? The heavy, almost black wooden door is reinforced with iron bands and studs and looks more than a little out of place. The dorms might be designed with the manor's old-fashioned style in mind, but even that isn't quite as... medieval. It also, should Sam come looking for her new dorm, doesn't budge in the slightest, seeming to be barred from the inside.

[Samantha McManus]

"...well that can't be regulation," Sam blinks as she reaches the door that doesn't match her new key.

Shrugging, she reaches for the ornate knocker and raps it a couple of times to see if the mistress of darkness is in.

[Miriam Bell]

There's an awkward silence following the loud thunks of the knocker.

"Come in." Miriam's voice finally comes from behind the door, sounding almost resigned. Then, after another couple moments there's a quiet "Bloody hell..." and then the sound of a metal bar being moved, after which the door finally swings open a couple inches from it's own weight. Inside Sam can see the dull twilight resulting from heavy curtains having been drawn closed and the lights being off. Otherwise the room looks more or less like any of the other ones, strange door aside.

[Samantha McManus]

"What's this, a bloody keepsake?" Sam asks as she makes her way in.

[Miriam Bell]

"Yes, I brought my favourite door." Miriam can't help but snark at Sam. At least she looks better than the last time they crossed paths in the XUB, but the feeling coming off of her in waves might arguably be worse. She's guarded, worried, and there's an intense kind of focus to her, like she's clenching her teeth mentally.

"I didn't mean to. It followed me."

[Samantha McManus]

"You might have to run that one by me."

"Congrats on losing the resting batface, at least."

[Miriam Bell]

Sam can feel the dismissive response bubbling to the surface of Miriam's mind but when it bursts it comes with a sense of realization.

"It's... a place. A lot of places, actually. All around. In your head, in mine, in everybody's and in the spaces inbetween and it keeps bleeding through."

[Samantha McManus]

"What, like a mindscape? You pulled a door out of your mind?"

[Miriam Bell]

"Yeah..." she says, voice drifting slightly into absentminded for a moment. "Except not really. It's just something that's... somewhere and my mind, your mind, everyone's mind is just like a map. Or a web. Or maybe paint that's bleeding into each other. And then it just... soaks through and it helps me find the grain of sand that's here and not get lost on the beach..."

She seems to realize she was kind of rambling as if half-asleep and her eyes focus on Sam again. "So... maybe?"

[Samantha McManus]

"It doesn't feel like a construct or a projection or anything. It just feels like it's there."

[Miriam Bell]

"It is. I found it easier to stay... focused if I keep something here so it's easier to find myself." she says and Sam can get a vague impression as to why, even if the how is kind of questionable. On some level Miriam is more than a little apprehensive about this whole dorm arrangement, so the door stems from a bit of a defense mechanism of just keeping Sam out. But that's just the reasoning behind it, the door itself shows no signs of being a mental construct or illusion or anything. It is frustratingly mundane in it's wooden... doorness.

[Samantha McManus]

"Look, I know we don't always get along, and I know we've both gotten... well, weirder since we arrived."

"But I'm sure we can set down some ground rules without... er... conjuring medieval doors that my key doesn't fit in."

[Miriam Bell]

"You might have gotten weirder, I've gotten worse." she snipes before she catches herself.

"Look I'll... figure something out. I'm not as good at this as you are."

[Samantha McManus]

"You've been my neighbor most of the year. Is this really that much worse?"

[Miriam Bell]

"You're already complaining."

[Samantha McManus]

"Well I'm sorry, my notions on accessibility are a little traditional if you don't want me to have to come in the window all the time."

[Miriam Bell]

"I didn't mean to lock the door!" she snaps and again there's that bubble of realization bursting out alongside it. Haley apologizing for her awful telepathy discipline.

"Fuck! I... you're right. You're right!"

[Samantha McManus]

"Okay so... this is a new power thing, aye? How's it happened so far?"

[Miriam Bell]

"It had to have been the drugs. I had bit of a... I don't even know... bad trip? Zoned out? Horrible realization about my life? After that talk we had in the XUB. You know, when you were pretending to be your girlfriend for god knows what reason and I noticed immediately because I'm not a complete moron."

[Samantha McManus]

"You know, near as I can tell you're the only one that noticed."

[Miriam Bell]

"I guess you're pretty decent at what you do. Occasionally."

[Samantha McManus]

"Or people just aren't picky when they're getting a beer."

[Miriam Bell]

"Just take the compliment before I change my mind, Samantha."

[Samantha McManus]

"So ah... here's the elephant in the room. You probably figured out that I got really close to my girlfriends."

[Miriam Bell]

"A truly strange and novel concept."

[Samantha McManus]

"I'm more figuring out the etiquette here. I wound up dating my last roommate, so it didn't quite come up."

[Miriam Bell]

"I'm flattered, but I'm not a big fan of dog-hair in my threesomes."

[Samantha McManus]

"So I'm guessing that's a flat veto on having her over."

[Miriam Bell]

"It's a joke, Sam. I... suppose if you don't go too crazy. And I'll be out most of the night anyway."

[Samantha McManus]

"I'm just trying to get to a point where you and I don't tear each other's heads off by semester's end, aye?"

"I know I'm... a lot, sometimes."

[Miriam Bell]

"Are you alright? You've always been... annoyingly considerate but you seem especially wary about your whole polycule wolfshack situation."

[Samantha McManus]

"Viv's buggered off to Wales for awhile and Tereza and I are... in a weird place in the meantime."

[Miriam Bell]

"Do tell. What happened?"

[Samantha McManus]

"I mean, Viv's not cross with us or anything, she just had to help her mum with something."

"But there's kind of... two sides to Tereza?"

[Miriam Bell]

"You probably are as close as it gets to an expert on that sort of thing."

[Samantha McManus]

"Aye well... hers don't agree quite as often."

"And they like... different parts of me"

[Miriam Bell]

"Is she... jealous of herself?" Miriam can't help but laugh.

[Samantha McManus]

"...sort of?"

"There was an incident where I gave one side of her what she wanted and I... sort of got accused of cheating on my girlfriend."

"With my girlfriend."

[Miriam Bell]

"That's almost impressively stupid. And trust me, I know stupid."

[Samantha McManus]

"Well she felt a little silly when she said it out loud."

"But you know, these things don't always make sense when you do that."