V5 Incline 25: Osibindah Nin

"Yeah, that's right, move aside, grounder!" I mouth between my chitters, otherwise enjoying the briefest moments of not having things thrown at me. Most people are headed off to classes right now, and that seems to be enough of a pull to stop the violence towards me. Both fortunately and unfortunately for me, I need to head to one of these lectures, too. I can't read the signs, so I'm working off of just hearsay.

What I've heard sounds interesting enough, and it certainly helps my mood to at least pay back these thuggish students for their behaviour. Though, it's clear as any day might be up on this mountaintop... They're not avoiding me because of a reputation or anything half as vindictively glamorous as that. They're avoiding me because of what I am.

Not like it matters, anyway. I've got no one to share the joke with as everyone else is too busy to be with me. What we are has split us apart because we need different classes. Maybe I'll stumble upon one of them at some point, but I'm not entirely...

My attention goes off towards some of the many people going around me. The rocks might not be coming my way, the pitiful spells neither. But their sadistic jokes are certainly coming. It's like I'm walking through a field of glass.

Each step shatters the delicate blades of green, snatching up the attention of the offended. Each step sounds like cruel laughter, rather than the usual smash and crack of glass, though. Nevermind the simple rustle of regular grass. It's not like I can even get away from where I am, the guards are actively preventing me from using out of the way paths.

They want me to be seen.

It's painfully annoying and insufferable. Still, I'm alive, I have that at least. And I will remain alive so long as I allow myself to be herded down the path of most resistance. Gods above, what a problem to deal.

"Maybe I should leave soon... No, I have to wait for someone to let me out..." I start to mutter, only to end up going quiet as I realise I can't even make such plans. Well, I might be able to make the plans, but I will need to find Rose-sweerui at some point to talk it through with her. Staying here is not within my best interests and she opened the door today, anyway. She'll be familiar enough with the locks.

I just need to find her, get some more details about how all of this works and... And maybe see if she can get me out first thing before going back to sleep if she wants? Though, thinking of Rose-sweerui, actually... She didn't want me to call her that. Rose was fine.

She's getting a little distant for some reason as of late? Maybe this is just her way to acclimating to all the stress, and she needs some time on her own? That would be perfectly fine with me for the moment, I've dealt with the abuse so far on my own. Still, while it might be best to leave her be for a little bit. Let her get used to it all and all that... Holding out until then is not going to be easy.

I mean... I've been through worse.

Yeah! None of this compares to the osibindah hive at all! I can make it through it all, and I will do that. I will hold myself proudly when I do. These students are nothing compared to what I've already lived through... Though, I'm more than happy to raincheck my thoughts when it comes to those security guards-

"Excuse me! Excuse me! Here, have a copy of the student newstablet!" some random girl says to me out of nowhere, her smile the single most unsettling thing about her. Not because it's overtly cruel or that, but because it seems to lack all of it. Either or, she rushes off to hand off another 'newstablet' to some more students.

My brow rises, and I look down at what I've been given, settling down on a freshly cleared bench. My curiosity vanishes in an instant as I lay my eyes on the 'front page.' But a moment to lose it all and all because of what's on the front... I can't read it at all, but the message is abundantly clear.

A coloured picture of me in the worst imaginable pose. Was this from when a camera flash came through the kitchen window...? Regardless, this bunch of symbols are clear in their intention. The people of this place want me gone, if the message isn't clear enough already...

"Hey... Look at me... Nin Urtuan, low-floor grounder and I'm... Famous." I sarcastically mumble, a small, half-hearted smile forming on my lips. I almost contemplate setting it aside and abandoning it, but I keep it. I'll ask Rose-sweerui or something to look through it later.

For all the slander the 'front page' has and more than likely a few more after that, at least it'll have something actually useful in it. It is a newspaper thing after all, it can't all just be about me. Maybe it'll be worth the time to turn a few 'pages' now?

"I hate how much you offend my normal understandings." I tell the newstablet as I fiddle around so much to simply look inside of it. And even that is not right!

Be damn normal already!

"I wonder what this is?" I comment as I get a hang of it, landing on some kind of menu page. There's plenty of pictures of food, and I can't think much else about it beyond this is what is on offer for today's meals? Frihdeicalkbr did say free meals are provided at set times. And at least that is something I can figure out by simply paying attention to the movements of the crowds.

Though, it might be more so worth it to eat in private so as to not come across any... Problems.