The Adjudicator's Institute for Heroics

Evan nodded. "She's very social. Takes some getting used to, actually. Their personality is...potent, to say the least. No filter."
Sage looked at him. "That doesn't sound good for someone who'll have to keep a secret. Are you sure this Astrid will be a helpful addition to our squad?"
"I think so," Evan rubbed his eyes. They were red and bloodshot from lack of sleep. "Her water-sight-thing was very useful when we needed to see behind that trap door. Besides, I...kind of already told them about us."
Both Sage and Avery rounded on him now. "WHAT?!"
"It's fine, it's fine!" Evan held his hands up like a shield, a panicked burst of lime green spurting across his skin. "They were on board with it. She said she never liked the staff here, anyway."
"You can't go around telling people what we're doing!" Avery covered her face with her hands, letting out an exasperated moan. "They could've already told the Adjudicator!"
"They won't, I promise!" Evan insisted. "Let's just go get her. Once you meet them, you'll know why I trust them. Okay?"

Dawn tried to look on the bright side of things, despite everything telling her this was going to be quite the trip. "Well, hey! If this kid could break through Evan's... evan-ness, that probably means they can talk and persuade people pretty well! No offence, but we aren't exactly the most extraverted group," she said, grinning awkwardly. "So, uh, Evan, do you know where she is? We could go confront her there, or take her here. Might ease some nerves a little. I dunno, heh." Dawn curled up slightly, wrapping her arms around her ankles.

"I think I know where their dorm is," Evan muttered. He pulled open the door, leading the group into the hallway. "Follow me."
"Let's go meet the mighty Astrid, who could defeat Evan's Evan-ness!" Sage cried, bounding after him.
"I really don't like that I can't tell when you're joking or not," Evan huffed, staring narrowly at her. Sage grinned.
"And you'll never know," she teased.
"That mind-control must've altered your brain chemicals or something," Evan grunted.
"Yeah," Avery turned Sage toward her, peering worriedly into her face. "Are you okay? You seem extra...hyper."
"I'm fine," Sage assured her. "Just feeling a little extra energetic. I guess having my brain taken over by someone else allowed it to rest or something."

"Honestly, that doesn't sound too bad right now..." Dawn mused, her eyes still dry from how much she silently sobbed last night.

Astrid, like the others, hadn't gotten much sleep either. Unlike them, however, she was full of energy. She never had a great sleep schedule to begin with, so she felt great after making a new friend and snooping on the adults at four in the morning.

They were humming a small tune from their favorite videogame as they rummaged their closet. What would be best today, bows and frills or something more androgonys. Ah, decisons, decisons.

Fortunately, she found a cute pink dress hiding in their luggage and instantly went to work. What was wrong with feeling femme for a while? Astrid was just finishing up after struggling to tie a bow around their spikey mess called hair when they heard a knock on the door.

Astrid looked around, only to remember that she was only rooming with one other person and they had morning classes. Astrid was lucky enough to find slots in the afternoon. "Come in!" she called, searching the drawers for her older roommate's makeup. That girl didn't like Astrid taking it, but it's not like she'd notice! They were only gonna use it for a little bit (even if they, in truth, had no idea how to put it on).

"Hey, Astrid," Evan called through the door. "It's me, Evan. I brought some of my friends with me. Do you want to meet them?"

"Oh, Evan! Dudebro, brodude!" Astrid rushed to the door, grabbed a clear, plastic canteen of water, and opened it as soon as they could. "As they say, friends of your's are friends of mine!" She revealed herself in a short pink dress with socks that matched and a very misplaced bow in her hair. As soon as she saw Avery, her grin dropped.

"Oh my God, dude, you're friends with giants," Astrid chuckled awkwardly as she took in the group. Tall plant girl, super tall girl that resembled Evan sort of, and then "short", redhead plant girl. At least that one was a normal height. "Uh, hey? I'm Astrid," they said, stiking their hand out, "Otherwise known as Evan's bestest friend and the coolest person in the world. I mean, my name's Astrid! I picked that name out myself! How can I not be awesome?"

Avery leaned down to shake Astrid's comparatively tiny hand. "Nice to meet you, Astrid."
"That's my sister, Avery," Evan explained, pointing to her. "And those two are Dawn and Sage."
"Hello," Sage gave a small wave. She looked Astrid up and down, taking in her very pink outfit. "So this is the fabled bestest friend, huh?"

Dawn was, as usual, rather shy meeting someone new. Especially someone so... full of energy? She simplu nodded her head and stuck behind Avery, twirling her thumbs occasionally. It was even weirder being in someone else's dorm. She was clearly uncomfortable, but she doubted she ever would be comfortable when meeting new people.

On almost every surface there was a container filled with water. One side was decroated with lights and handheld gaming devices while the other had more of a goth aesthetic. The few coral-themed items on the left were the dead give away of Astrid's side. The floor was barely traversable, covered in old schoolwork, clothes, and forgotten water bottles and snack wrappers.

Astrid gasped at Evan's words, then running over to him. The wraps over her eyes almost slid out of place when they rammed into him. "You told them," she started, pretending to tear up, "we were bestest friends?!" They wrapped their arm around Evan's, leaning against him. "I'm honored to have the title. I'd just like to thank my mom, my dad, my grandma, my fish..." Astrid draped their hand over her forehead, really playing it up, "I would've never gotten this far without them!" she said, as if taking an award.

It all went away in a flash as they picked themselves up, stilling holding Evan's arm. "I mean, I would've been super offended if you didn't introduce to people as that, but it's still nice to know. 'Cuz like, why would you not wanna be friends with a kid who named themself Astrid and also has THE high-score in Wii Tennis?"

"THE highest score?" Evan raised his eyebrows. "Like, the highest highest?"

Astrid let go and stared at Evan. "Um, well, like," she said, scratching her neck, "On... On my console, no one's beat it..." They would never admit that they only played against the npcs.
Astrid quickly glanced at the others in the room. "It doesn't matter," they laughed off, "All that matters is I'm totally awesome and everyone here should be thankful they can be graced with my presence."

"Yes, very thankful..." Sage trailed off, staring around at the disheveled room. "Evan said you could help us. Something about seeing through water?"
"Is that why these are all over your dorm?" Avery asked, holding up a dish of water. The liquid sloshed against the side as she moved it, spilling over onto the dresser below. Avery flinched, trying to mop up the mess with the edge of her shirt. "Whoops, sorry!"

Astrid smiled, her hands on their hips. "Yepsie! It's not much of a superpower to me, really, cuz it's not like double-vision. It's just, like, normal seeing for me," she explained.

Then, she felt her vision get fuzzy as something fell over. "Ah!" they yelped, grabbing Evan's arm again. "Jeez, be more careful with that stuff! That's, like, you rolling my eyes into the back of my head!" They said, rubbing their eyes through the wraps over her eyes. "It's... It's fine. Just disorienenting 's all."

Dawn quickly moved Avery away. There was no need for her to do that! Besides, this could be her chance to help Avery out, for once! It was a bit unfair how much Avery had supported her so far...
"No need!" she stuttered. She genlty plopped a seed into the spill, then let it absorb the water and grow into a delicate rose, the roots growing around the edge of the dresser. Dawn blushed and handed the rose to her shyly. "Oh, hehe, you're favorite... What a concidence..."

Astrid watched the scene, then glanced at Sage and then Evan. "Is she like..." they whispered to him, "... into your sister?"

"Huh?" Evan looked over, watching as Dawn handed the rose to his sister. Avery took it, a gentle smile on her olive-toned face. "Oh, yeah, I guess so. I dunno...I never really noticed it."
"That's been going on for a while," Sage explained, gesturing to the two girls on the other side of the room. She grinned. "I think they're cute together."

Astrid looked Sage up and down. "Says the third wheel," they chuckled. "Well!" she coughed loudly, grabbing a cherry-faced Dawn's attention suddenly. The red didn't fade much when she realized they were being watched. "Before I start puking because lovey-dovey gooiness is disgusting," they joked, "Where did you guys need to invade my dorm room again? Other than to bask in my glory, obviously."

"I don't mind being the third wheel," Sage remarked, tilting her head. "It's more fun to watch the romance than to be caught up in it."
Evan studied her face for a moment. "It doesn't make you feel lonely, watching other people get into relationships instead of you?"
"No," Sage shrugged. "I'm perfectly happy by myself. Why would I need somebody else to feel whole? Besides, I've seen what dating does to people. It's not very pretty."
"But...I thought romantic love was something everybody experienced," Evan muttered, brow furrowed in confusion. Sage gave him an odd look.
"Not everybody," she replied matter-of-factly. "Just because you might experience something doesn't mean I feel it the same way. But now's not really the time to get into specifics. Your friend asked you a question, you know."
"Oh, yeah," Evan looked down at Astrid, who had been waiting throughout this entire conversation. "What did you say? Oh, right...um, I dunno. We were just hoping you would help us. Join our team more officially, I guess? What do you guys think?"
He looked around at Sage, Avery, and Dawn.