Care for a Trim? ://Open//:

[Laci Darkshadow]

Tyler entered his dorm with his signature bored expression, brushing a bit of hair out of his eyes. His hair grew faster than he would have liked before he was Marked, but afterwords it was just obnoxious. As if Karma had taken pity on his hair, being cut every month just to keep it above his shoulders, and decided that if it grew longer faster, Tyler would eventually give up.
Well, Karma, he thought, you won't win that easily.
Since he'd come to the House of Night, the sixth former had just cut his own hair. True, it might be a bit crooked in the back, but how the hell was he supposed to explain his rapid visits to the mall to get his hair cut? They would eventually find out, even if he covered his Mark with tons of layers of the crap that they were required to use.

He shook his head and walked over to his dresser, pulling out the pair of scissors he usually used. They were old, granted, but they worked. Tyler didn't want another pair.
He turned and sighed, remembering that his hair was pretty damn long compared to what he wanted. Two or three inches worth extra. His bangs were even in his eyes, making it difficult to see what he was cutting.

After about ten minutes, Tyler's hair was back to it's short, crooked state. He'd left his bangs right above his eyes however, since it helped cover his Mark, and because he liked them like that. Screw anyone who didn't.
He sighed and threw himself on his bed, staring at the ceiling for a moment. Being without a roommate wasn't so bad, but it had it's downfalls. For example, no one to talk to. But on the other hand, it gave him more space, and he didn't have to worry about being bothered. On the other hand, the room felt kind of weird without someone else in it. He'd shared a room with his sister for his last week or so at home. The family had decided to turn his room into an entertainment room early, preventing any delay. In other words, he'd technically moved out when he was Marked.

He sighed and looked around the room. If he were to reject the change, what would happen to his stuff? If it were sent back to his family, they'd probably sell it; no reason to keep anything they didn't need. If it were destroyed... he'd prefer it. Better to get rid of things rather than have someone else use them, break them, and then throw them out. Well, that's what Tyler thought anyway.

(( Writers block tends to make me ramble, and possibly go on about unimportant things... sorry to whoever happens to reply. ^^;; ))

[``the K Y R A]

(( jeez, Laci! I'd love if I could write more posts like that xD Let's see if I can come anywhere close ))

Blackjack didn't spend a lot of time in the guys' dorms, being as there was far more action in the other dorm building- besides, there was currently a ratio of two girls for every guy at the House of Night- therefore there would be plenty of single girls to flirt with in the girls' dorm. And plenty of guys trying to snag single girls for a date or to show off to their friends.

Which Blackjack thought was ridiculous. A girlfriend was for support and a more-intimate friendship. In fact, by his own definition, one could have as many girlfriends as one wanted, because they were simply friends that were girls. But that's called rambling, and Blackjack does not like to ramble. Much.

Being on the second floor of the guys' dorms, Blackjack (ever lazy) usually took the elevator up from the lounge. But the elevator was leaking after all the rain they'd received of late, and the stairs were at the other end of the hall. And if Blackjack wanted to sleep in his own room, with his own stuff, he had to take the stairs.

And so the seventeen-year-old fledgling walked leisurely down the hall, ignoring the many closed doors. But he noticed that the door to the third dorm, near the stairs, was open- the only one in the hall. Completely blanking out on who was in said dorm, he poked his head in curiously. He remembered immediately.

"Hey Tyler," he greeted casually. "Did you know that you're the third most popular topic of discussion today?"

[Laci Darkshadow]

Tyler was beginning to wonder what it felt like to reject the Change when he heard someone from the door. He glanced over, readjusting himself into a more comfortable sitting position.
"Hey Blackjack," he said. "And what the hell are you talking about?"
Was someone spreading rumors? Or was Blackjack just screwing around? He shrugged mentally- he didn't really care.
With a quiet sigh, he pushed off of the bed and walked over to his dresser. He glanced at the top side drawer, the one he kept just about everything important in. Like his scissors. Of course, there were other things in there as well; for example, his Mark cover-up crap, and his wallet.

He stared into space for a moment before remembering there was someone at the door.
"Right. Now what is it you wanted?" he asked, returning to his usual lighthearted self. "Surely you didn't just come for a social visit," he laughed.

(( Ha! Just like that my writers block is temporarily blocked by hyperness, thus resulting in writers block that actually blocks everything but crap posts. xD
And I'm sure you know by now, that long of a post is uber rare for me. ^^;; ))

[``the K Y R A]

(( LOL same ))

"Nope, for once, it is just a social visit," Blackjack replied with a light chuckle. "But seriously, you're number three today. Number one is yours truly, and number two has something to do with several somebodies trampling the rules to pieces last night," he said, being deliberately vague to snag Tyler's attention.

"Wanna know why everyone's so interested in you?" Blackjack grinned and challenged, "If you can guess it right, I might tell you what really happened last night- cuz just about everyone here is getting it wrong."

[Laci Darkshadow]

Tyler listened, chuckling. Blackjack had always seemed so vain in Tyler's mind- but not in the worst way, merely over-confident. But he was decent, and made good company with his ever-changing humor.
"So I'm below you- that's a surprise," Tyler joked, rolling his eyes and allowing a grin to show on his face. "But I have ta know... why am I being talked about? I mean... I didn't do anything, did I...?"
He paused, thinking over everything. He'd turned any assignments in... he hadn't been in a fight...
Frustrated, he sighed and threw his arms up.
"Dammit, Blackjack, just tell me what I did! Er... whatever the reason is...?" he grumbled, rubbing his forehead. Thinking over what he could have possibly done to alert the school over the past two days had begun giving him a headache. It wasn't very pleasant.

[``the K Y R A]

Blackjack snickered, looking quite pleased with himself. "You're one of the only three sixth formers left- you kidding? It's just you, Ixchel, and Keaira." He paused to grin widely.

"Oh yeah, and there are rumors flying around that you're related to some girl that got on Priestess Cecilia's bad side-- she's our High Priestess down in New York City. That might have something to do with you being one of today's hot topics." He smirked, looking like he found this to be rather amusing. I wonder if he'll figure out I was the one who started the story going- not that he'll be able to confirm if it's true or not in time to correct every fledgling still here, Blackjack mused, chuckling to himself.

[Laci Darkshadow]

Tyler paused, thinking over what Blackjack had just said. He blinked, not understanding.
"Wait... just because I'm a sixth former, how does it makes sense to-" he started, both confused and slight annoyed. Then, he blinked again and he rolled his eyes. "Right. Well, I haven't died yet..." he muttered, glaring at the floor. Wasn't it just a moment ago he'd been contemplating what would happen to his stuff if he were to reject the Change?
He sighed again and shook his head. He couldn't die now, could he? Sixth formers usually completed the Change... why would it be any different for him?
"Gee, thanks so much, Blackjack," Tyler rolled his eyes and sat back on the edge of his bed. "But I don't understand how I could be related so someone who pissed off a high priestess."

[``the K Y R A]

Blackjack grinned. "Funny how I remember that she had the last name 'Mitchel'. Not a particularly common name- and after all, I seem to remember you saying once that it was only your first name you changed, not your surname." The dark-haired teen stretched casually and added, "Hey, don't feel too bad though. According to little-miss-german-textbook, the chance of a sixth former not Changing is about one in three billion- those are pretty good odds, don'tcha think?"

[Laci Darkshadow]

Again, for what seemed like the millionth time that night, Tyler rolled his eyes.
"Whatever. Same surname or not, how could I be related to her?" he snickered. Then his expression changed, seeming to darken. "Well wouldn't it be just my luck to be that one...?" he muttered, glancing up and to the side, suddenly interested in the corner where the ceiling met two walls. He'd always had the worst of luck, and Karma was always getting back at him for something, why should his luck change now?
He sighed, not noticing the strange feeling that told him he wouldn't die.

[``the K Y R A]

Blackjack raised an eyebrow when Tyler's expression darkened. "Seriously, Tyler, you don't have luck that bad, especially not compared to me, are you kidding? I'm lucky I'm not dead yet. Hell, I should've been, considering what happened to me before I was even Marked."

[Laci Darkshadow]

Tyler shook his head, glancing back from the corner of his eye.
"Blackjack, you don't get it, do you? My luck sucks. Majorly. No exaggeration, no jokes, no nothing. Luck for me is waking up in the morning. Before I was Marked, it was making it through a day. Before, I didn't have the chance of just collapsing in the middle of my room one day and dying in my own life's blood. Now I do. And it's hell to deal with. I'm a sixth former; why didn't I Change before? Almost everyone Changes before the end of their sixth form year. Why should Nyx favor me over someone else?"
He paused, sighing. He didn't care if he rejected the Change. It wasn't really a big deal... even though it kinda was. Tyler just didn't see why everyone worried. They'd die anyway, Vampyre or not.

[``the K Y R A]

Blackjack crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, making himself comfortable. "Man, Tyler, you're so stuck wallowing in self-pity that you can't even recognize someone with a hell lot more bad karma than you. You've got parents, don't you? I don't. You have a sister. I don't. You have a place to call home. I don't. I was forced to fend for myself for more than two years- and you don't even want to know how I went about doing that."