Fifth Floor Common Room, Friday Morning

[trigons_child]

Raven had had a much more restful sleep that night, thanks in no small part to the strength Professor Anakin had added to her shields. And he hadn't thrown her out of the school for using her powers on Chuck, so that lightened her mood as well. (And she hadn't listened to the radio and heard herself referred to as having a weird kink about doors.) She decided to test her shielding by venturing into the common room. Someone had left the TV on, and she found herself mesmerized by what was on, a strange show featuring a scruffy madman who had somehow schemed to turn the woman he loved into a mummy. He was currently fondling her bandage-wrapped form while her sister debated how to rescue her.

[ooc: No, really, I checked TV Guide, that's what's on right now.]

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[intraspective]

She laughed. "Not me! If I'm in his class, I'm an argumentative annoyance, but out of it, we get a long pretty good. He helped me with some shielding. And," she shrugged, "I call him 'master' 'cause I think he'd not appreciate it if I called him Anakin-sensei, which is really what I would call him, and 'master' is the closest to it."

[trigons_child]

"He is very wise and kind," Raven said. "He has helped you as well? Do you also have a magically sensitive mind?"

[intraspective]

Ino swallowed any response along the lines of 'he's also a narrow-minded man who thinks his solution is always the best one' and smiled slightly. After all, she thought he was pretty awesome too--she just didn't think he was perfect.

"I wouldn't call it magically sensitive," she mused, "because magic doesn't technically exist in my world. But, yeah, you could say my mind is a bit different."

[trigons_child]

And Raven would've disagreed, had Ino said anything, because she thought Anakin was wonderful. Give her time, she hadn't known him long.

"Do you think it a curse or a blessing?" Raven asked curiously. "I am sorry -- I do not mean to pry."

[intraspective]

"You're not particularly prying." She twirled her spoon through her granola-with-fruit. "Neither," Ino said, with a shrug. "It just is. My family deal's with the mind, other families deal with other things, you know? My world is pretty high on the 'bizarre powers' list, apparently."

[trigons_child]

"Where is your world?" Raven asked. "Is it far from here?"

[intraspective]

"I think so?" Ino was a bit dubious. "I mean, it's a completely different universe, so distance is hard to measure."

[trigons_child]

"I understand," Raven said. "My own home, Azarath, lies between dimensions. Distance is not easy to explain."

[intraspective]

"Totally not," she said, nodding. "And then, it's made harder 'cause some worlds are like others and then others are totally different and not everyone even uses the same distance measurement so I'll just stick with 'far, far away' and go with that."

[trigons_child]

"And Azarath can only be reached by magical means," Raven said. "Distance means absolutely nothing if you do not have the power."

[intraspective]

"Is it a certain kind of power?" Ino asked. "Or is it 'all magical power, no matter the flavour' sort of thing?"

[trigons_child]

"I am actually not certain," Raven said. "It is not entirely limited to those who dwell there" -- because her father seemed confident he could just walk in and take her -- "so perhaps with time and some guidance others could find it."

[intraspective]

"Hmmm," she said, contemplating that.

A beat.

"Suppose the big thing is--would people want to?" Ino grinned.

[trigons_child]

"Azarath would welcome those who seek peace and solitude," Raven said. "But if someone were emotional or craved adventure...Azarath would not give them what they sought."

[intraspective]

Ino made a face at that. "Probably not the world for me," she admitted freely. "I emote quite a bit."

[trigons_child]

"Definitely not," Raven said. "Those of Azarath suppress all emotion."

[intraspective]

"Suppress doesn't mean 'don't have' though," Ino said shrewdly. "That must be icky."

[trigons_child]

"The people of Azarath expelled their dark passions long ago," Raven said. "And what was left faded over time. They are quite content with their lives there. I have struggled with it, however...."

[intraspective]

Doesn't that, Ino thought, wouldn't that make them, like, the most boring people ever?

"Why do you have issues?" she wondered. "I mean, you're from there, right? So wouldn't you have been, maybe, born with your emotions all... faded?"

Okay. That was creepy.

[trigons_child]

If Raven could read Ino's thoughts, she would've agreed.

"It is somewhat complicated," she said slowly. "I was born there, but my parents were not from Azarath. My mother was from Earth."

[intraspective]

"Ooooh," she said, "so you don't have all the generations of suppression to help you with not feeling."

[trigons_child]

"Yes," Raven said, nodding slightly. "I sometimes wish that I did."

[intraspective]

"But emotions are important!" Ino insisted. "Don't wish them away!"

[trigons_child]

"I am not allowed to truly feel emotions," Raven said. "I must keep mine controlled and quiet."

[intraspective]

Ino frowned slightly. "Isn't that, like, hard?"