The Academy

[Doom]

Benedict had taken a minute to watch Rose and Snow, his blackened eye clearly twitching as he did. With a sigh, he turned away and began to go to his next class. He'd noticed Melody following him out of the room, but made no move to avoid her, as he simply suspected that she was going to her next class.

[Gifted]

Melody stayed close behind and followed him for a full two minutes, finding the song relatively harmless until she got to a bit near the end. As she got further into the song she grew more and more uneasy, unsure if this man was to be pitied - that he was the boy - or feared - as the teacher. Finally after three minutes, when the song had reached its end, she turned around to begin walking away, deeply unsettled. Whatever the case, she didn't like this boy.

[Doom]

Benedict had noticed Melody's persistence after one minute of being followed and had chosen to pass by his next class and continue walking, curious to see what she would do. For three minutes she'd followed behind, and his curiosity had warped into irritation. What right did she have to stalk him? As she left, Benedict turned and pursued her, calling, "Hey! You!"

[Gifted]

Melody turned back. "Yes?"

[Doom]

Surprised by her calm reaction, where he'd expected her to run instead, Benedict probed her mind, quickly sensing and targeting her unsettlement with his powers, while saying, "You were following me just now. Why?"

[Gifted]

"I was waiting to hear something from you and I heard it. I'm sorry if I bothered you, and I'll be going now." It would be more difficult to calm Melody this time around, what with Flowers are red, and green grass is green. There's no need to see flowers any other way than the way they always have been seen playing on repeat in her head.

[Doom]

Benedict frowned, thinking that allowing Melody to leave without quelling her unease might result in negative repercussions for himself. In the interest of distracting her while he subtly eased her mind, Benedict followed along, saying, "Oh, it's no trouble. Though I have to wonder, what was it exactly that you were trying to hear?"

[Gifted]

"That's kind of personal..." Melody said, quickening her pace just a little.

[Doom]

Benedict met her pace, his impatience already beginning to show in his voice as he said, "Well, if it's something I said I should think I would be allowed to know what you're talking about." She isn't becoming settled any faster than she's becoming nervous, thought Benedict, beginning to grow worried. Is her concern really so severe that it might cost me in the long run? If so, I know what to do... though I'm not sure what effect it'll have on her. Benedict walked a little closer to Melody, looking worried.

[Gifted]

It was very slowly working on Melody, but only because she still had that possibility in her mind that he might be the little boy. "It's nothing you said, I promise you."

[Doom]

Benedict bit his lip, unwilling to let Melody leave until her concern had been assuaged and any possibility of facing trouble because of her was eliminated. "Oh? Then what? Do I make unusual sounds? Something that interests you? Something that disturbs you?" He silently cursed himself for such weak and awkward questioning, but urged himself to persist, his mind at work easing Melody's.

[Gifted]

"No! I told you, it's a personal thing." Melody said, annoyed. Yet his awkward phrasing actually seemed to help ease her suspicions. She saw it as juvenile, and that made her think he might be the boy.

[Doom]

Benedict could feel the waver, however small it was, in Melody's unsettlement. He reasoned that whatever he was doing aside from mentally assuaging her was somehow working. "Um... are you sure you can't tell me?" He forced himself to sound more aloof than he felt, because he felt fairly worried that Melody would enter her next class and escape him before he could properly put her concerns to rest.

[Gifted]

Melody was calming down now. This boy deserved her pity, not fear. "I just don't like the while world knowing about what I do." She said. "Sorry." It still hadn't completely soothed her, she was not complacent, but she was losing her grip on her own emotion very quickly after hanging on so long. He's just a kid, he won't hurt you.

[Doom]

Benedict slowed his pace, sounding mildly disappointed as he said, "Well, okay. Just... wanted to know why you were following me." He turned, giving one last push on Melody's psyche in hopes of completely eliminating whatever remained of her distrust.