(2020-11-16) Sun Blind
Sun Blind
Summary: Quentin walks into a table because he cannot see.
Date: IC Date (2020-11-16)
Related: None
NPCs: None
Scene Runner: None
Players:
kentucky..quentin..reese..

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Patio Coral Springs
Mon Nov 16 09:19:20, 2020 — Mon Nov 16 06:19:20 2020


The patio is all cobblestone as well with a waist high, elegant wrought iron fence all the way around it, and gates to each path, each with a brass plaque labeling where it goes. The patio has teak wood tables and chairs for eating, homework, and parking coffee on. There are also benches along the fence, and like the chairs, they have burgundy velvet cushions, and are quite comfortable to all but the most sensitive behinds.

It is a fall morning. The weather is warm and clear.


Contents:
Kentucky - 5'10", slightly curly long black hair, black eyes, half-Native
Quentin - 5'8", curly bright red hair, amber-hazel eyes, fair complexion.
Reese - A short teen, probably half-Asian. Always wearing a slouchy beanie pulled low to cover all the hair.
Exits: [BF] Back Field [CA] Cafeteria
[CO] Coral Springs Courtyard [CW] Covered Walkway
[SB] Student Building
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It's afternoon, and lunch time for the students at Coral Springs. The patio isn't quite the most popular place to sit, because of the cool weather, so the cafeteria, where it is warmer is where most of the students are congregating for meal time. The less populated area is very suitable for Reese. They like to have a lot of personal space around them, and at the moment a jacket is enough to keep warm in the autumnal weather. They occupy a table that takes full advantage of the sunshining down, it doesn't provide much warmth, but it is better than nothing at all. As they eat the food in front of them their focus is on their phone, probably perusing some social media website.

The half-Native youth is concerned. Worried, really, a furrow creasing his brow. And that's led to him chewing on the inside of his lower lip. He went into the cafeteria for lunch, but… all he'd taken is an apple, which ended up stuffed in one of the pockets of his blazer. Wandering the patio, he lifts his left hand to pull the elastic from the lower end of the braid he'd put his hair in this morning. The elastic gets tucked away into his pants pocket, and he lifts his right hand to untwine the weave, his hair left kinked by it and tumbling over his shoulders. Kentucky isn't really paying much attention to things or people around him, but enough attention that he doesn't walk into any of the furniture and such. At least it isn't snowing, today.

Afternoon is not a very fun place for Quentin to be when it's /sunny/ out. He has his Coral Springs jacket on, the hood pulled up to shade his head. His sunglasses very much in place. Thankfully, with the warmth, any residual snow has melted away or that would be its own special kind of hell for Quentin. His hands are tucked into his pockets as he walks up to the gate from the back field. There he slips a hand free from his pockets to open the gate, and close it behind him again when he's through it. Quentin keeps his head ducked forward, effectively hiding his face from both the sunshine and any of the students he wanders past. He's not paying much attention to anybody out here, kind of angling toward the doors into the cafeteria. But it's bright. He can't see well because he's really not used to this level of brightness. Aberystwyth is mostly an overcast place full of clouds! Because of this, Quentin walks right into the corner of the table where Reese is sitting. Oops.

The jostling of the table is what gets the attention of Reese and they glance up from their phone to find Quentin is the cause, thankfully nothing was spilled. "You alright?" they ask him immediately "That looked like it might of hurt." now that they are focused on something besides their phone a look is cast around to see that Kentucky is wandering through "At least you are paying some attention." they smirk at both of them.

It's the sound of the table being jostled that causes Kentucky to pull his head out of his thoughts, so to speak. At least at first. And then there's words to keep him from sinking back into his thoughts. There's a quiet and inquisitive sort of sound that comes from him, the furrow in his brow easing somewhat. His dark gaze lifts from the ground where it had been lowered, and he blinks a couple of times at the brightness. He's not unaccustomed to brightness, though, given that he works with flames. His gaze settles on Reese, and there's a bit of colour that comes to his cheeks. Then his gaze turns to Quentin, and there's a bit of tension that releases from across his shoulders, and a small smile to tug at the corners of his lips. "Some attention, yes… but perhaps not enough, maybe," he says softly, ducking his chin a bit. "Good afternoon, Quen… Reese," he adds in greeting, a small smile returning to his features.

Quentin stops with the walking into the table, because table. "Ow," he mutters. He pulls a hand from his pocket as he backs up a pace. The hand rubs against his upper thigh, which is what had impacted against the table. "Just a bruise, I think. Sorry. I can't really see well in this much light. I should be using my stick, but.." He shrugs, self consciously, and shoves his hand back into his pocket. "I can see the bulk of the building, and remember more or less where the doors are, but tables are apparently an issue." And now Quentin has voices to identify the people he can't really make fully out. "Hello Ky, Reese," he greets. "How are the both of you?" He sounds.. normal, now that he's talking. A touch distracted, perhaps, but mostly normal.

With the greetings being tossed around, Reese lifts a hand and waves it "And hi!" they greet with amusement, since it is basically after the fact. "At least some keeps you from running into things." there is that playful smirk again. There is a tilt of head at Quentin is listened to "The tables getting moved around daily probably doesn't help either." nothing remains static when its the students responsibility to clean. They look between the two, "You can sit if you want." they use a foot to push out the chairs at the table, careful not to push it into the nearby Quentin.

Kentucky tilts his head a touch to one side as he watches Quentin, a flicker of concern remaining to his features. "If the most harm is a bruise, then… it's not terrible, at least," he says softly, giving a small and single nod. "I'm okay," he adds, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He doesn't lie, the concept of doing so is still alien to him. He retrieves the apple from his blazer's pocket, then offers it out to Quentin. "Apple?" he offers, in case the sun makes it hard to see. His gaze turns to Reese, and he gives a nod. "Usually, yes. Not always, though. And true. The tables and chairs always seem to be arranged differently," he agrees, giving a small nod. He draws out the chair that had been nudged in his direction and sits down. "Thank you," he adds.

"No, the tables being moved around doesn't help. Honest, I'm not usually this helpless. I'm just… not used to this much light. I don't know if I'll ever get used to it." He steps a bit sideways at the sound of the chairs being pushed out, and feels with one hand for the closest one. "Thanks," he says. He flops down onto the chair and lifts a hand to rub his forehead under the hood of his jacket. He pauses a moment to pull the hood forward as far as he can. "Ky, I think now might be a good time to test welding glass as dark as can be found." He shakes his head at the offered apple, not that he can really see it, but! "No, thanks. I'm… not particularly hungry. I caught a fish earlier and it… hasn't settled well." Caught… a fish..?

There is a nod at Kentucky "Your own mileage may vary, sort of situation." they comment. Yes, they sometimes say weird things, maybe it's a lost in translation thing. English probably isn't their first language. At the other two sit down, Reese swishes their eating utensils in the spare glass of water, dry them with a napkin and returns them to the anime themed case they belong in before pocketing them in a jacket pocket. Yes they use their own eating utensils instead of using the ones the school provides. An eyebrow raises at Quentin "You caught and ate a fish?" that's a bit confusing, but not the weirdest thing they have heard since coming here. "Maybe you should go to the infirmary before your next class."

"It's brighter today. And it doesn't help that everything is wet from the snow being melted," Kentucky says, his brow furrowing briefly before the expression eases. He gives a small nod before setting the apple on the table, and he lifts a hand to bring it to Quentin's shoulder nearest to him, giving a small squeeze there. Trying to be reassuring, supportive. His hand lowers, moving to join his other hand in his lap. "It's all right, Quen," he says softly, a gentle note to his voice. "I sent a message to Mum and Da about it yesterday. I figured it would be better if it not wait. Especially if it helps even a little bit," he adds, a bit of colour coming to his cheeks. There are times when he manages to be bold, even though it's not often at all. He gives a small nod at the part about catching a fish and eating it. That doesn't seem to surprise him. And he tilts his head a touch to one side, at the comment about mileage, his dark gaze turned to Reese, curiosity to them. "Mileage?" he asks, uncertain.

The comment seems to make sense to Quentin. Then again, he's from another continent, so that might be why! Possible he'd grown up speaking Welsh as much or more than he had English. To Reese, Quentin nods. "Yeah. I caught and ate a fish. Of course, I was an osprey at the time, and it's not the first fish I've caught and ate since I started shifting last year, but…. it's… well. Wriggling." He swallows once. "Which isn't always the most comfortable. I know better than to swallow a fish whole. I know I'm supposed to eat chunks, not the whole thing, but I was hungry and it was instinct." He pauses a moment, expression turning thoughtful. "Well. As much instinct as I have as an osprey, anyway." His head tilts toward Kentucky and where the sound of his voice is coming as much as anything his eyes can see. "Thanks, Ky. I appreciate it. I'm going to have to start carrying my stick around if it's going to be this bright out. The light washes my vision out too much, turns everything white so I can't tell what's open space versus what's an object or a person. Until I'm walking into it, at least." He tilts his head thoughtfully. "I think Reese means that it takes different people different amounts of time to figure out similar things. I could be wrong, though."

"Have you ever considered carrying around an umbrella?" Reese suggests to Quentin. "It can shade you from the brightness on sunny days, and when it is overcast it can double as a cane thing." it is unknown to them if this has been tried before, but it is worth a shot to suggest it at least. "Oh! You're a shapeshifter too." there is more confusion though, "But what's an osprey?" they might not have those in China or are called something else. "I mean attentiveness is subjective." she says to Kentucky as she nods at Quentin's interpretation "Close enough Quentin."

There are certain mental images that end up conjured up when someone says they swallowed a fish whole, and it's a whole different sort of weird when you know the fish was -alive- at the time. Because that's what birds of prey do. Kentucky wrinkles his nose a little bit, then reaches out to poke Quentin in the shoulder. "Maybe next time at least make sure it's dead first?" he offers, a gentle but slightly teasing note to his voice. He gives a small nod to Quentin, a little smile touching his lips. "Da messaged back to say he'd look into it either message tonight or tomorrow. If… I could make shade for you, I would," he offers, giving a small nod. "Oh… that makes sense, yes. I'm still learning many things," he admits, a bit of colour coming to his cheeks and his chin ducking just a touch. His gaze turns to Reese, and he tilts his head a touch to one side. "That's an idea, too. It might help, in the meanwhile…?" he offers, a bit uncertain.

Quentin looks entirely astonished by that suggestion. "I… haven't ever tried that. In Aberystwyth, it doesn't get sunny all that often. Mostly, it's overcast. But.. Wales. That's pretty normal there, so wasn't ever really a big issue. The artificial lights inside the buildings are the worst part. 's why I always wear my sunglasses inside. But this much sunlight? I haven't seen this much sunlight in six months." He pauses to consider the thought of an umbrella. "I'm not sure it's going to help with this much light, though. Sure, it'll shade me from above, but the light still bounces everywhere, and still turns everything to paler shades of the grey I already see. That's part of the problem. This much light washes everything out so much I can't tell what's open space versus what's an object because they're the same color. I need either darker glasses, or to stop being embarassed and use my blind cane." He snaps his fingers with a grin at the clarification. "I think I like your interpretation better than mine, Reese. And an osprey is a bird of prey. A large hawk. My body length, from beak tip to tail tip, is about fifty-six centimeters. They are a water hawk. Oceans, rivers, lakes. They hunt fish, primarily. And are uniquely adapted to taking flight after submerging in water. It's.. handy when you're a bird in Aberystwyth, on the ocean, to be able to take flight when soaked." He grimaces over at Kentucky. "Yeah yeah. I /know/ that in here," he says, poking a finger at his head. "But when I'm in the moment, all that flies right out the window. … and out of my head too." He nods about the shade too. "I know you would. I just… need to get over myself and being embarassed at having to use a cane that tells people I'm blind when while I'm legally technically blind I'm not really blind!" He lifts his hand and runs his fingers through his hair, displacing the hood at the same time. Which causes a wince and him to squeeze his eyes closed behind the sunglasses. He yanks the hood back up with a grimace, pulling it forward to shade his eyes again. The help is, as he had said, limited.

The talk about messaging the parents goes over Reese's head, and it isn't any of their business so no questions aren't asked. As it is explained what an osprey is a internet search is done on their phone to get a mental picture "Oh!" they understand what it is now "We have those in parts of China. I lived in a big city, so we don't see them often." they explain "They are the symbol of marital fidelity in China." a bit of trivial knowledge for the pair. Their dark eyed gaze turns to Kentucky "Never stop, learning that is. My dad tells me that all the time." they chuckle a moment before their expression goes all serious again "I'm not sure that is something to be embarrassed about, but I guess it is also something hard to control. Back home I was in a constant state of embarrassment about my powers." there is a sigh "Being able to see and communicate with the supernatural in a place that is still quite superstitious is hard." for now it is left at that.

"Limited use. I wonder if it would be possible to take one of those light-blocking curtains to make a longer umbrella out of. Or something. But even that wouldn't stop reflections," Kentucky says softly, his brow furrowing a little bit. He wishes he could think of something that would help. He chews at the inside of his lip, mulling things over. He's not worldly wise, he doesn't know a lot of things. He ducks his chin a little bit, and colour creeps to his cheeks as he gives a small nod to Quentin. "Overcoming embarassment is easier said than done… we all have something to overcome," he says quietly, shyly. He has his own issues, and they are plenty. And the worry and concern for his friend, his brother, returns in full force as he notices the wince and grimace that the light causes. He studies Quen for a lingering moment, lifting a hand to his shoulders. "Hot or cold?" he asks quietly, a gentle note to his voice, an offer of help extended in his shy and quiet way of doing so. Then his gaze turns to Reese, and he gives a small nod. "I plan to learn what I can," he says softly, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Then he tilts his head a touch to one side, studying Reese for a moment more before giving another little nod. "I imagine that must be… challenging and difficult. I'm sorry," he says softly. He doesn't pry, he's not that sort.

Quentin opens his mouth, and closes it again at that bit of revealed knowledge. "Martial fidelity. Huh. Learning is a good thing. And that's not something I knew before. Thanks." He goes quiet as he listens to the rest of what is said, and he nods. "Yeah. You're right. I shouldn't be, but…" Quentin shrugs a little bit. "But I am, and it is what it is, and… you're still right. I'm just going to have to get over it and get used to using it again. Not like I'm the only one. Da's probably having just as many issues as I am right now. I'm just glad it's not as bad when I'm an osprey. How their eyes work, protects mine against the light a little better than my own eyes do. Not enough, sometimes. I have to be careful flying or I can't see to land." Which presents its own set of problems! He nods his understanding with Reese's problems. "I can imagine how hard that must be." To Kentucky, there's a smile and a quiet chuckle. "I'd look like I was walking inside a giant petticoat," he says with a slightly louder laugh. "And I'd still have to use the stick, because I still wouldn't be able to see where I'm going," he says, laughing again. Oh, there's more laughing. He must have really needed this laugh. A lot! He giggles for long moments, and finally settles down and quiets again. "Hot," he finally says. "But it's not going to help much until I get out of this light, so save yourself until I can, okay?" Quentin pauses. "But I will take that apple now, if the offer is still open."

"You aren't wrong, and being a halfsie didn't help." is Reese's reply to Kentucky about it being challenging. They grin "None of that matters here, few are worried about ghosts and such following them around and being half caucasian isn't a big deal either." they wave their hands around as if batting away all that stuff. The laughter from Quentin gets a confused look until they look up what a petticoat is on their phone "A frilly underskirt?" okay that is funny and they laugh as well. "What's hot?" the two teens across from Reese are talking above their head again, but this time they ask.

"We all have hang-up's. I think they are called that. Things that make us uncomfortable and so we want not to do them," Kentucky says softly, a small smile touching his features. He has more than one of them. People, new things, new experiences, and the list could go on from there. "Da probably is. I hope the welders glasses will help both of you," he says quietly. "Perhaps you could go to classes as an osprey. But you'd have to rely on my notes. And they might not be the best," he says, a hint of teasing in his voice and a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. His notes tend to be meticulous, and his writing neat. But there are times he puts what seems to be random question marks by things. The things, perhaps, that he doesn't understand? The laughter proves contagious, and he smiles at first, then grins a little before giving a giggle, pleased the image had been unintentionally amusing. Then he gives a nod. "Hot, then," he agrees, then tilts his head a touch to one side before nodding again. He reaches out to the apple to pick it up, and he brings it to Quentin's hand nearest him so it doesn't have to be fumbled for. "Still open. The apple is unbitten," he says, giving another little nod. His gaze turns to Reese, and he bites his lower lip for a moment. "Mmm. Quentin gets headaches. From the light. I can control and change the temperature of my hands so they're like… a hot pack, or a cold pack, but… more adjustable. It helps," he says quietly, shyly. A bit uncertainly, since only half of the information is technically his to share.

Quentin grimaces faintly. "You would think in this day and age, that wouldn't matter anymore. Being half caucasian, that is. I'm glad it's not, here. And sorry you didn't have an easy time of it." He giggles again as a frilly underskirt is mentioned, and nods helplessly. "Yeah. Can you imagine it? Me walking around with a petticoat umbrella?" He laughs again. Then takes a breath and tries to push the laughter down. "And after Kentucky makes his hands hot or cold, he rubs my shoulders and neck and it helps the headaches bugger off so long as I'm out of the light. Sometimes heat helps more, sometimes cold." Clearly, he doesn't mind the sharing so much. He nods about the hangups Kentucky mentions. "Yeah. We all do. They suck." Quentin chuckles and shakes his head. "And if they call on me in class, how shall I answer? Squack, squeak, or squee?" He lifts a shoulder. "Besides, it's hard to concentrate and hold still as a bird." As the apple is put in his hand he nods his thanks. "Thanks, Ky. I appreciate it." He lifts the apple to his face and has a bite of it. And apparently the fish must have settled, for the apple gets devoured rapidly. "I think I have time before next class, I'm actually hungry now so I'm going to go find food before we have to run." He takes a moment and digs his blasted blind cane out of his pocket so he can flip it open. It's all light plastic in pieces bungeed together, so when it's flicked out, it clatters into a long, flexible white stick with a small ball on the far end, and a short lanyard at the handle end to wrap around his wrist so he doesn't lose it. "Right. Door's that way, isn't it?" He climbs to his feet and starts off, only to pause. "Thanks for the talk you two. I appreciate it." Quentin nods to both Reese and Kentucky, and then starts toward where he's approximating the door to be. He's only off by a little bit. He should at least land on one end of the doors and be able to find them that way. He can kinda see, afterall. Sort of.

"Hang ups? Me?" there is laughter from Reese "No!" says the teen who hides underneath a beanie 24/7. No hangups here. They look thoughtful and makes a hrming noise "Going to class as an osprey? I would pay to see that!" it doesn't take much to amuse them apparently "Later!" they say to Quentin before beginning to gather their own belongings "I need to head out too. Hae to go see if mail has came before my next class. Mom is supposed to be sending me stuff." a wave and they are off too deal with the rest of the day as it comes.

"People can be cruel. It is an unfortunate truth. But there are people who are kind, too," Kentucky says softly. Like the kind lady that had helped him to get here. She hadn't given him her name, and hadn't asked for his. But he'll always remember the kindness that she showed. He raises an eyebrow slightly as the image of the frilly underskirt resurfaces, and he can't help but to giggle. Then he nods, to what Quentin adds in regard to what he does with either hot or cold hands. It's a thing that helps and he's glad to do it. "You're welcome, Quen," he says softly, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. And he watches, then, as the apple is devoured. With some of his earlier worry eased, he rises to his feet and gives a nod to Quen. "I'll come with you. I should grab something to eat, too," he adds, sheepishly and quietly. Then he looks to Reese and gives a nod to them. "Good luck with the mail," he offers with a smile, lifting a hand to offer a wave. Then he turns his attention back to Quentin, to walk along near him but not so close as to be in the way of the cane. He'll only course correct if it's necessary.

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