The Adjudicator's Institute for Heroics

"It's hard to let go of someone you've looked up to your whole life," Avery murmured, sitting down on the couch beside Dawn. "I had to do that with my father. When you're young you idolize your parents. You think they're perfect. But as you get older..."
She rubbed her forehead, squeezing her eyes shut. "It took me a long time to realize the drinking wasn't normal. The unwashed clothes, the broken bottles all over the floor, the constant stink of booze..."
"My parents fought all the time. My mother had Evan's abilities--changing colors, invisibility--not very good for standing up to your belligerent, drunk husband. Especially one that can make virtually anything out of thin air. He'd make all sorts of things--bats, whips, clubs--and my mother would hide me and Evan with her powers while he trashed the house, looking for us."
Avery looked up, a crooked smile on her face. "It took me way too long to realize it wasn't a game, that he was actually trying to hurt us. It never occurred to me that my father, my beloved dad, could be the reason my mom was so anxious and covered in bruises. She was always injured--I thought it was because of her profession, she never let us into the art studio when we were young--but I was wrong."
"One day he made a rifle. He spent all day locked in his room, molding his Daya and drinking whiskey. The first shot was what finally broke the illusion for me. Nobody, no matter how in denial they are, can ignore the sound of a bullet nearby."
Avery rubbed her face again, trying to keep the tears down. She didn't want to break down now, not when they all had so much on their shoulders. But it was hard to push the emotions away, especially when she was reliving some of her darkest moments.
"My mom got us out of there alive, thankfully. I never saw him again after that. Sometimes I wonder if he's still out there, struggling. Or, I dunno," she shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "He could be dead, for all I know."


As both Astrid and Sage disappeared down the hallway, Evan let out a sigh.
"Wait for me!" he called weakly as he started jogging after them.

Dawn listened as carefully as possible. A lot of puzzle pieces about Avery were coming together. Her protectiveness, her caring nature, all of it... "I... I guess we all have it bad, huh?" Dawn said, trying to match her attitude. Of course, it was really hard to when all she wanted to do was throw her arms around Avery and comfort, but right now, physical contact really didn't seem like the best thing. "I... Um, well, I'm sorry if you're reliving it all, seeing me and my mom now. I mean, I'm almost eighteen and still can't get it. You caught on a lot earlier, so, um, you can feel good about that, right?" Dawn said. She tried clearing off her glasses on the hem of her sweater, but ended up just leaving them in her hand. "Gosh, I'm sorry, Avery. I wanna say something comforting, or that- that... ugh, that's what I mean! I can't do it! And I'm so sorry, because I really want to be here for you right now but I'm just drawing up blanks!" Dawn ran a hand through her orange hair, racking her mind for something, anything to say, but she couldn't.
Her mother never taught her the ways of consoletation.

"I just... I hope... I hope you're doing better. Your mom sounds awesome and kinda badass, and I..." she trailed off, trying to spit out whatever her heart was trying to make out. She pushed her glasses back up onto her face, as she turned to look at Avery. "I'll... be there for you. Like how you are... for me. So, um, cry or talk or do whatever you need, because I'll stay here," she said, mustering up as much confidence as she could. Her words were true, but her ability to articulate her point faltered on many levels.

Finally, a little lightbulb sparked in her brain. It all started clicking. "Or- Or! If that's not it, then tell me what to do! Just tell me how to make you feel better a-and I'll do it!" she sputtered excitedly. She dialed back afterwards, but it was clear that she found it much easier to simply follow directions. "Do you need to talk somemore? I'll listen! I love hearing you talk about anything! And, um, if you need something else, I can go get it! So, um, do you need anything?"

"No, I'm fine," Avery wiped a single, small tear from the corner of her eye. "Just having someone who'll listen is enough for me. Besides, I've shed many tears over this man who never cared for me, and there's been enough grief in my life. It'd be nice to just...leave it all behind, you know?"
She leaned back on the couch, turning to look at Dawn. "Maybe one day, you can do the same. And we'll leave all this messiness behind...together."

Dawn reached for Avery's cheek, trying wipe any remnants of sadness. Avery got to it first, but Dawn was sure to double-check.
Maybe one day, she could do the same.
Dawn chuckled. "How did you let go? With you having his powers and all... Isn't it weird?" she said, "Sorry if that's too personal. You don't need to answer that. But, I think it's really cool that you did. Or, are doing that. Whichever one it is. I mean, taking care of Evan and all that? Can't be easy... b-but it does make you pretty badass! Or like, super tough, right? Sorta? That's how all the action movie heroes end up after bad things."

She quickly tried moving on, looking up at Avery. "But, uh... I think that'd be awesome. Being together and all."
It took a moment to click. "N-Not like that! Like, together as in, um, support? Like that, I guess. Sorry, I didn't, um-" Even Dawn knew there was no saving that blunder. Yeah, Astrid and Sage were completely right.

Avery smiled, watching a bit of the purple Daya pool in the palm of her hand. "It took me a while to really accept my powers. I hated them for a long time, coming from my dad and all. But eventually I realized...it's not the powers that are evil, it's the way you use them. And I do my best every day to use them for the best, most helpful reasons."
She laughed when Dawn called her badass. "I'd like to think that I am, although I hardly ever feel like it. It's funny...when you look at others, you can see how cool they are. But when you look at yourself...you never really see it, you know? I certainly don't feel badass. Just kinda tired. I'd bet you that's how all the action movie heroes feel, too."
Then Dawn started stumbling over her words, turning progressively redder in the face as she tried to reconcile her blunder.
"You know, Sage was right," Avery chuckled. "You are painfully obvious. I thought I was just as obvious, too, but apparently not. I like you, Dawn."

Dawn smiled. "Well, I think we're all kinda tired, so maybe we're all badass? I dunno, something like that," she said, letting herself sink into the couch. There were barely any students down below, but there was a few conversing, giggling, and hiding from the librarian who teleported all over the place, trying to catch students skipping. Thankfully, the balcony was out of view from the librarian's wrath.

The girl with pale blue eyes was now in the children's area, the teddy bear and her watched a train go around in circles. From this angle, she was sort of cute. It was nice remembering the "K" in the K-12. "What do you think of me, then? I doubt you want to hear what I think I am..."

Then, she was frozen. You are painfully obvious.
Just like that, the couch was covered grass, with flower buds sprouting up around Dawn.

I like you, Dawn.

Sunflowers and roses and every other flower you could think of covered the balcony.

"Oh!" Dawn yelped, sitting straight and stiff as a board, "Oh. That's, um, that's wonderful! Good for you! Or, me! Us! Haha." She couldn't even think properly anymore. Avery said those words so... Oh, she couldn't even describe it! That chuckle was all she needed to feel a tickle in her heart.

"Oh gosh, you- you aren't kidding, are you? Are you?" she said, chuckling nervously, "Well, um, okay then. I-I... Uh," more flowers began blooming, crawling up Dawn's shoulders and legs. "It's just, well, I- um-" a sunflower sprouted next to Dawn.

With a deep breath and a lot of courage, Dawn suddenly turned to face Avery. "It's that, um," she looked right into her eyes. The sunflower finally turned in the same direction.

"I like you, too, Avery! I really-really like you!"
she blurted out, before covering her mouth with both hands.

It was as if her brain malfunctioned for a second, as she stared wide-eyed at Avery. When the haywire ended, she started picking her fingernails and watching the floor. "So, um, yeah. Haha. Captain Obvious right here.... ha..."

What in the world had she just done?! What if she just ruined everything?!

Avery jumped a little when the couch beneath her suddenly exploded with grass and sunflowers, but she recovered quickly. She hadn't expected such a sudden, intense reaction from Dawn, though she probably should've. Maybe, deep down Avery had thought Dawn didn't like her, despite all the signs. It was like a little nagging whisper at the back of her mind, telling her to doubt herself. But the violently purple roses climbing up her back told her definitively otherwise.
"I like you too, Avery! I really-really like you!" Dawn blurted, and now it was Avery's turn to blush bright red.
"I hoped that you did," she chuckled nervously. "That...would've been really awkward for both of us if I was wrong, wouldn't it?"
She looked away, eyes roaming over the library below in an effort to calm the eruption of emotions in her chest. Excitement, joy, fear. What if she did something wrong? What if she messed this up? But it felt so nice to finally let the cat out of the bag. And now that it was out, there was no way to put it back in. The notion made her kind of dizzy.
What do I do now? she asked herself, glancing back at Dawn. The other girl was picking nervously at her fingernails, staring down at the carpeted floor. Avery felt like she should say something, but...what?

Dawn saw every little piece of fiber in the carpets, trying to figure out what to do next. All she ever went off was movies, but her mom never let her watch romance movies when she was younger. Only recently was she allowed to watch those, and she still couldn't understand them! All this stuff made no sense to her. All she knew was that her heartbeat faster and she loved hearing every little chuckle or the way her hair moved... She could think of more, but she'd rather keep that to herself for now.

"Um, yeah. That would've been weird," she returned the same chuckle, though Dawn whispered her response.

After that, all that lingered was silence. Dawn occasionally caught a glimpse of Avery, blushing when their eyes made contact. What were they supposed to do? It's not like they could back out after that, could they? Even if that was possible, Dawn wasn't sure if they should. Wouldn't that be weirder?

"So, um, what do..." Dawn started, her words losing momentum seconds afterwards. She slowly rose from the carpet and pushed her hair behind her ear, getting a better look at Avery's own red face. At least, she wasn't alone on that. Slowly, she had some of the plants return to the ground and loosen up. Several roses and sunflowers stayed between them, much to Dawn's dismay. "What do two people who like each other do, exactly?" she asked hesitantly, "I don't know... how to go forward, actually. Never got that far into the rom-coms," she mumbled.

"Neither did I," Avery's shoulders were hunched as she rubbed her shoes against the carpet, listening to the soft rustling sounds the little threads made. "Romance has...never really been something that I've put much thought into. It wasn't until I met you--"
She cut herself off, her face turning an almost impossible shade of red. "Uh, how about we go try to find Sage, Evan, and Astrid?" she suggested, awkwardly changing the subject. "They probably need our help about now..."

"Oh, um, yeah," Dawn smiled a bit when she heard Avery talk about when they met. It was brief, but her heart beat out of her chest for a moment. Until I met you... How sweet was that? Especially considering Dawn was in the boat.

"Yeah, we should, um, go see them," Dawn scratched the back of her neck, occasionally glancing at Avery's face, then down at her hand.
They stood up and made their way back down, avoiding the teacher's gaze that tried to catch them skipping. Eventually, once they stepped out of the library, Dawn looked back at Avery.

How was it even possible for all of that to occur in just one day? To meet someone like Astrid, then for all their feelings to come to light...

Dawn looked back down at Avery's hand, then suddenly grabbed it. That's what people with feelings did, right?

The girl raised up from her spot in the children's area, grabbing her teddy and running after the pair. Except, she stopped halfway. Soon enough, she leaned down and placed a wooded puppet onto the floor. It sprung to life with a start, taking a look around before it saw it's maker. "Shh," she whispered, "My brother said those are strange people. Go follow them. And don't get caught."
The doll nodded and quickly began it's pursuit, walking as stiffly and quietly as possible. The girl only followed around every corner, hiding and peaking briefly.

Avery jumped when Dawn grabbed her hand, but relaxed quickly, giving the redhead a small, nervous smile. That was interrupted, though, when she heard a soft tapping behind them. It sounded like footsteps, but very small ones, like those of a doll.
Suddenly Avery wheeled around, scanning the hallway behind her. But there was nothing there. She shrugged, turning back around and holding Dawn's hand once more.
"Must be imagining things," she muttered, casting another wary glance backward. "...Let's hurry up, shall we? I feel like we're being watched..."

Dawn's heartbeat shot up as Avery willing took her hand. It was like all of her dreams had come true! It looked as if she might explode any second. It felt as if her heart was melted, then pounded, then suddenly back to normal. A goofy grin plastered onto her face, though she desperately tried to hide it from Avery.

"So!" Astrid said, spinning round and round in one of the desk chairs, "I put a little check next to the students I think we should be worried about spy-wise. Thankfully, nobody here can hear through walls, but there are quite a few who talk to animals, so watch out for birds and mice and stuff," they explained, handing the folder back to the Sage. In the meantime, they kept themselves busy by chewing the tip of the red pen she'd been using (it wasn't their's).

"Hm," Sage flipped through the folder, studying the various photos. She pointed to one of a small girl with big blue eyes. "Winifred Copperton. She can control objects like toys."

"Sounds similar to being able to talk to or command animals," Evan muttered, leaning over to look at the file, too. "Why do you point her out in particular?"

"It doesn't specify what counts as a 'toy'," Sage replied. "I think her ability could be the most dangerous, as she could be spying on us from a whole wealth of different objects..."

She looked around the room, scanning for anything that might be within Winifred's control.

Astrid sat up. "Oh! Winnie? I know her! She was in my art class the first semester! Yeah, definitely be careful," they said, then chuckled, "Weeeiirrddd kid. She always looks like she's terrified. She only spoke to her stuffed animals and dolls. From what I've seen, the stuff she controls has to be made with the thought of a toy in mind. Like, the difference between making a toy block and a block," Astrid explained, swinging their dangling legs back and forth.

Dawn knocked on the door lightly, before entering. It was her dorm, but she still found it rude to barge in. "Um, hi. We're back," she said, shyly. Her fingers were still linked between Avery's, but she didn't realize it was in full view of everyone. She also didn't realize how pink both of their faces were. "Um, nothing happened in the time we were, uh, not here. Nothing at all," she lied, "So, uh, any updates?"

Sage scanned the two girls, noticing their entwined hands. She raised her eyebrows, a slow smile spreading across her face. "Nothing, huh?"
"We found someone new to worry about," Evan interjected quickly, watching the heat rise in Dawn and Avery's faces. "Winifred Copperpot. She controls toys. So, uh, look out for anything like that."