It's The Quiet Ones (Open)

[SJ Taylor]

Wait what? We're starting now...?

What about like...class and stuff... It was still early in the morning and SJ was actually QUITE the studious student. Both of her parents had high expectations of her to succeed and fully believed that she could achieve whatever she wanted if she put in the effort. And to be honest, she believed so as well. A lot of people would ask if she felt like she was missing out on life experiences, and her answer was always no- her experiences were just different, but they were no less, but similarly they were no more. 

But you know what? She still had about half an hour. So why the flippity floppity not? 

And no, she wouldn't let him take Burrito from her. Burrito was generally a very friendly dog, but he was also fiercely possessive of SJ (which just adds to his protective nature). And with what transpired with the other two students, Burrito wasn't be going to leave her side any time soon. That didn't mean she was going to use him to guide her- there were two parts to Burrito's leash. One was a harness with a U shaped rod that helped guide SJ when walking, and the other was the traditional leash part that would let him roam. 

And there were other things that he was probably starting to realize- that she flinched every time he touched her. It's not like she could see and anticipate that he was going to move her around. 

"Hey, I know you mean well but it's a little off-putting when you grab me and place me somewhere. Sometimes, it's okay- like when I was disoriented, but otherwise please don't do that and just use the clock method if you need me to turn. Just letting you know! For future reference, heh." 

There was a grin on her face. SJ was genuinely a pretty patient person and she understood- people were just ignorant on how to interact with blind people. She didn't hold it against them, it's not like they can dedicate a class on how to treat people with every sort of disability. 

She sat. 

And at first, she wasn't sure what she should be listening for. Her hearing, sense of smell, taste and touch were all heightened already from being blind- she knew that much. But to what extent? She never tried. 

...

The wind against the windows. 

The soft breathing of both Burrito and Kyle. 

The rush of water in the pipes along the school walls. 

The air when Burrito lifted his leg to scratch his ear.

"..................fascinating."

[Kyle Nellist]

Kyle blinked a couple of times at her instruction- and at the dogs visa vi a growl- to not touch either of them. He scratched his head, glad again that she couldn't see (he knew that was terrible) the blush that flushed his face. Embarrassment sucked. He cleared his throat and gave an easy "Oh, okay, sorry~" before stepping back and letting her just....listen. After she muttered that it was fascinating, he stood and very slowly started to move around her in a circle....just like a clock face as she indicated. To him, he was deadly silent. 

To her- the girl who probably heard every shuffle of his clothes, pop of his joins or silent squeak of his shoes- he was probably like right in her ear. His intention was to get her to listen to things broadly, within the first few moments. He moved a little closer, very slowly, so she could also not only get an idea of sound but of sound range. As he got closer, the noises his body made naturally got louder.

He'd watch her head and eyes....to see if she was following him as he intended or not.

[SJ Taylor]

She knew he was moving, but that wasn't exactly what she was interested in- or at least, not yet. She was still soaking in the noise in the silence, if that made any sense. SJ never really put herself in a position where there was just...a stillness- she always had headphones either around her neck or earbuds looped over her ear with music playing. So this is why she found it fascinating because she never really took the time to just...be in the moment. 

But when he inched closer and closer is when her attention steered towards him. As he circled around her, her head would give the slightest turn in the direction that he was going, and then oppositely when he turned back to the other side. Never a complete turn but more of an acknowledgement that, yes, she knew where he was. 

Her eyes were deadpan, as always. A brilliant, beautiful green, but devoid of any emotion or anything that could give it away. She wanted to wear sunglasses but a talk with one of her only friends back at her private school made her decide otherwise. 

And then, she reached out her hand- the tips of her fingers would brush against his leg and the slightest of smiles would cross her face. 

"Got you."

[Kyle Nellist]

He grinned as she snapped a hand out and caught his leg.

"And just like that.....you can see! Good job. The hard part will be keeping this up constantly. You have minute control of your hearing in such a way that I'm frankly jealous of- when keeping it up all the time it'll be hard to shift it quickly in the case of super loud noises. Your gift of hearing, in those cases, will become a curse. Especially for those who realize that your hearing is a weakness."

He would step around in front of her, standing just a couple feet away.

"So we'll work on fluid movement- to make it seem like you aren't using your ears at all, you have to control your focus. So, if you hear something coming from behind you, you can't tilt your head lest people realize you're listening for them. You'll have to zero in on it with your ears alone, and move your eyes as though your looking at the spot they are coming from. Make people believe you aren't blind and suddenly...to them, you won't be. I know to some extent it seems deceitful but people here...don't really care much about hurting someone with a disability, they care about winning."

He brought up his fists.

"I'm gonna throw some slow punches at you. Use the palms of your hands to block them before they hit your face!"

And slowly, he'd start pushing a fist toward her face!

[SJ Taylor]

...to be honest, SJ wasn't sure if she should be offended by his words or feel complimented by them. Just like that, she can see? Being blind was a setback, sure, but she didn't see it as a bad thing- but at the same time, she knew where his heart was. He wasn't trying to offend her. If anything, he was just wanting to be helpful. But her face was deadpan still, and her eyes even moreso.

"I'm gonna throw some slow punches at you. Use the palms of your hands to block them before they hit your face!"

"What? Excuse me, no-"

Something shifted- was it the wind? The rustling of his shirt, the one footstep closer, the slightest increase in volume of his voice? Either way, she sidestepped that punch without meaning to, but she was now visibly confused and maybe even a little upset. She didn't come from a school where violence was an everyday thing, but instead a school that encouraged talking things out and setting up mediators and punished students with suspensions and expulsions in the wake of physical aggression. So when he said he was going to punch her, you can betcha that even though SJ had been in school for about a week and a half, she was still fairly new to the concept of corporal punishment. 

That, and even though he pretty much saved her butt like ten minutes earlier, he was still someone she didn't trust- still someone she only just met. So even though she agreed to this, she was pretty overwhelmed with how things had dramatically changed from just listening to her surroundings to trying to block punches. 

And of course when he threw the punch at her, Burrito growled and got between them. 

Well that escalated quickly.

[Kyle Nellist]

The single punch wasn't....really a punch. He had made a fist and was basically slowly extending it out toward her. But even if he'd extended his fist all the way, it would have stopped a couple inches short of her face. If it hit her, his fist would have basically been like gently touching her cheek. His brow furrowed and his hands would come up in a "woah don't bite" way when the dog started growling.

"Er- sorry, I didn't mean actually punch to...try and hit you. I meant like...just slowly extending my arm to...to give you an idea of the motion. It's going to take a really long time before you're...really ready for real punches."

He looked down at the dog.

"I...didn't mean to upset you or scare you or something. But....as diligent as your pup is, he's only one and people will try to hurt you here."

He'd take a step or two back from her and the dog in order to give the animal space, and make it a little more comfortable. He was a little confused by it- he'd told her that he wanted to teach her to fight. What did she believe would happen? Did she think it was never going to come to blows? Or maybe she thought he was just going to start throwing some wild blows at her. He scratched his head, rationalizing that she didn't really know him and that it made sense, he supposed, to be a little worried.

[SJ Taylor]

Yes, well, it’s not like she knew what ‘slowly punch her’ meant. To her, a punch was a punch; she was expecting pain, and it’s not like she could see the speed at which he was ‘extending his fist’ at her. And would he actually punch her? In her mind, anything was possible since she barely knew the guy. Maybe because she was more of a planner, a concrete person, and because of how the session started (you know, with just listening), she didn't expect that him teaching her to fight would entail knocking away fists. (Actually, maybe her decision to come to this school was a really, really bad idea.)

“No, I know you mean well. I'm sorry, I thought you were seriously going to punch me and I freaked out. Unfortunately, descriptors like 'fast' or 'slow' doesn't really help me unless I have a base to work with." 

Short pause. 

"And I'm sorry about Burrito, he's just been on edge with how school's been panning out this week." 

She was scratching the back of his ears. He knew multiple commands and 'stay' was one of them, but he was a highly intelligent being with 'protecting the pack' instincts. So when she freaked out, he did, too. 

And he was right. There's only so much Burrito could do to protect her and she shouldn't rely on her pet. It was kind of crazy how insane this school was. Just what, exactly, was SJ thinking when she enrolled here? Maybe parents do know better after all... 

"Let's do that again- I think Burrito freaked out because I did. I just feel for the movement, and try blocking it?"

Quick pause. 

"You're not really gonna punch me?? Just...just to confirm." 

Heh.

[Kyle Nellist]

He put a hand behind his head, the other resting on his hip as he laughed aloud. It was hard, talking and training someone who had never seen before. Thinking back, his own teacher had similar frustrations with him. That kind of patience and attitude was hard to come by- thankfully, Kyle fashioned himself to be very relaxed and to him, the situation deserved a little chuckle.

"Sorry....I've never known someone who couldn't see before and it's hard to think about what descriptors to use when I talk. I'll try to do better."

He would watch her as she thought about it. He was about to open his mouth and say they didn't have to continue for now, maybe offer her his phone number so she could be the one to reach out when she was ready- when she said she wanted to go again. His eyebrows went up a little at that. It was good. Meant she wasn't a quitter.

"No, I won't really punch you. If you can't find my arm to stop it, I'll sort of bop you on the forehead, but it'll just be like I touched you there or something. No throwing blows. If it hurts, I'm sure I'd have a chewed up leg to look forward to as a reward, right Burrito?"

He grinned down at the dog, unsure if he was able to understand that they were talking about him. Regardless, Kyle came forward, rolling up the sleeves of his button up shirt. He'd stand in front of her again, and clear his throat just in case. Hopefully, that would let her know that he was back in position.

"Okay. Ready?"

If she said she was, he'd very slowly start extending his right arm. If she caught it, he'd say "Again." and very slowly start extending his left arm. If she missed the first time, his knuckles would stop about an inch from her face, and he'd bring it back just a little before extending a finger to sort of boop her between the eyes.

[SJ Taylor]

It...actually wasn't that hard. All she had to do was focus a bit and every crinkle in his shirt rustled. And she didn't really have to try to keep it off her face, it just...sort of wasn't there. She wasn't too expressive to begin with and her eyes were always dead (ha-ha). If anything, it would take more effort for her to show that she was listening just because it's not really in her nature to. So when his hand neared her face, she could like...almost feel his body heat. 

It's hard to describe this feeling into words. 

She caught it, but not where she thought she did. She was aiming to grab his wrist, but she ended up right at his fist. But that would probably take some more practice; she couldn't expect to be precise in her movements, after all. 

Again? 

Same thing. She grabbed it- and it was fascinating. Because now she was so hyperaware. She always subconsciously knew how to do certain things, like when she's walking in the hallway and her body shifts just to narrowly avoid someone running into her. Something of that nature. 

[Kyle Nellist]

He continued for five or six or them before speeding them up only just a little. After three or four of those he'd stop and chuckled. Bringing his hands back and putting them on his hips, he leaned a little to the right.

"You are a natural. I mean, not trying to like...point out the obvious there. I just mean....if you go at this kind of training, you could become seriously good. You don't have to be afraid of a punch coming from anywhere, because you can always see it coming. And with more sounds being added, you'd just have to focus."

He looked up at the clock, then checked the watch on his wrist.

"Listen- I would love to keep going but it's getting close to class time. Take this-"

He wrote down his number on a receipt, tracing over the numbers several times to make sure they were nice and dug in. If she ran her fingers over them, he was sure she'd know his number. Then he'd offer it to her.

"I don't want you to have that awkward moment where you have to tell someone you don't know that you aren't comfortable giving them your number. Here is mine- if you ever decide you want to get better at that....no, if you ever decide you wanna really learn to fight and become great, give me a shout. I'd be happy to teach you but....moving forward it'll be alot harder so you really gotta want it, okay?"

He smiled and waggled his fingers at Burrito.

"Anyway, I should really get to class. Keep training that hearing and I'm sure I'll see you around. It was nice meeting you!"

He hated to leave her like that- but he did say he would teach her some, which he did. He had class though and, at least right now, her heart wasn't in it. She'd need to get beaten on, or have someone she cares get beaten on to appreciate the necessity, maybe. He would head out, slinging his pack over his shoulder and walking for the door.

[SJ Taylor]

It was kind of fun listening to people stumble over their words when they talk to her. 

Anyway! She held out her hand and received the paper. Yeap, she felt the indentations. 

"Bye! It was nice meeting you, Kyle." 

Because she had to get to class too!