The Embers

Chaos and Regrets

Nymeria knows she promised everyone that she would leave school today with at least one new friend, but she takes it back. It will not be happening today.
The second she entered the front door of the school and made it to the crowded entryway where the students were to change into their indoor shoes, she went from normal, quiet, and tired Nymeria, to overwhelmed, anxious, tired, and slightly triggered Nymeria. The thought of wading through the sea of matching blazers and energetic teenagers made her skin crawl and her quirk started buzzing inside her chest like an angry swarm of bees.
She immediately ducked her head and slid to creep along the wall. Keeping an eye on the students, potential threats, around her, she pulled out her phone and opened her chat with Kenzo.

Baby Mamas: This is actual hell and both my quirk an I hate it here.

The three dots indicating he was responding popped up immediately, and his reply came through within thirty seconds.

Uber Man: You dealing with a shit-ton of excited, loud, hero hopefuls too?

Baby Mamas: I can't even get to a spot to change my shoes. There's so many of them.

She tapped the side of her phone against her palm while waiting for him to respond, eyeing the crowd from beneath her bangs in the process. She looked back at her phone when it buzzed in her hand.

Uber Man: Yah, same. But we've got this Ny. Deep breath okay? I just got through. We've faced worse so strap in and get er done!

She scoffed and rolled her eyes at Zo's response and took a deep breath, responding with an affirmative and a "Talk to you later, love you."
Biting her lip a hint on the side of too hard, she squared her shoulders and began weaving through the crowd, following a teen with shoulder length messy black hair who had been standing near her the entire time and seemed to have the same idea of just slipping through.
Black eyes briefly met her own dark eyes while they changed shoes, and she turned and darted off towards Class 1-A.
As she neared the door, the crowds thinned out to only two to three students in the area, allowing her to hear the call of "Miss Nymeria!" from down the hall. She paused from reaching for the handle to turn to the call, watching as Nedzu waved her over from four doors down.
As she reached where her teacher was standing on a window ledge, he immediately asked, "Is today a hands off or hands on day?"
"Hands on except for strangers, known people should be fine." "Hmm, I find myself in a fairly pleasant state, and am operating at my usual baseline state today."
This was part of the discussion that had taken place a week prior, that Nedzu would check in every morning to get a gauge on how Nymeria was doing as far as potential triggers, and get an estimate on her mental state to determine how her day would go. In return, he would return the favor, allowing her to know if it was a day he might seek out additional comfort from her in return.
He had been correct in saying they would get along great, as within an hour after the initial explanation had occurred, she was completely at ease with him climbing up her arm and sitting either in her arms or tucked up on her shoulder. In fact, she admitted to him that it was a grounding and almost comforting sensation to have him there.
He had admitted through an email they exchanged a few days later, that his more basic animal instincts led him to claiming some people into his "colony", and he often felt an urge to frequently ensure their needs were met and that they felt safe and happy through whatever means necessary. He hadn't met Kenzo in person yet, but he informed her he already felt that link with him as well, most likely due to their similar pasts.
Once she had given her response, she extended an arm out towards him and he used it to reach her shoulder with no hesitation, pointing towards the nearest door which read 'Conference room B' on the plaque outside the door.
After entering the empty room, Nymeria made her way to the round table in the middle of the room and sat herself down, Nedzu remaining on her shoulder and beginning to smooth wayward curls back into her low bun in an almost-grooming manner ensuring they still covered her tattoo.
"How was your rest last night? You are looking a shade paler than normal."
She sighed. "I slept well, even though it was in Zo's room.."
He tugged gently on one of the curls framing her face. "Do not put yourself down for using healthy coping mechanisms that aid in your health. You should also use your Pod while we are discussing, class will begin in ten minutes."
She gave a small smile at his prompting and pulled it out of her bag, taking a long inhale and blowing the smoke over the opposite shoulder he was sitting on.
"You're right, thank you. I was doing really good until I entered the building. There were just so many people and so much noise, it overwhelmed me and made me slip a bit. I texted Zo, that helped a lot. Once the crowds thinned out it was easier I think."
"You might try listening to music in between and before classes. I know you mentioned it helps your anxiety, and having the noise reduced might aid you?" Nedzu hummed as he began running paws over her uniform tie between his paws, smoothing out wrinkles that had formed at some point. After she hummed in acknowledgement he continued. "How are you feeling about the uniform? Are you feeling okay with the slightly restrictive feeling the jacket can cause?"
She made a so-so motion with her hand. "I don't think it will be an issue. I'm just glad I could wear my bodysuit under. I probably wouldn't be here if I couldn't." And what a relief it was. Her and Kenzo were both given a few pairs of the undergarments by Cabe the night before. He had them made by a support company, and the material had been made specifically for them with highly durable fabrics that would withstand their quirks. It was a great way to ease their stress over having their scars on display.
They were amazing.
Both black one piece suits covered their necks down to their feet, with little holes for their thumbs to go through to keep the sleeves in place. The material was specially formulated to be skin tight but not restrictive, and light and soft enough that it didn't cause any overheating or irritation on their sensitive scars. They could also be worn under their costumes, so there was no need to change out of them.
The nano-tech that made up their costumes, created as a favor from Toshinori's good friend David Shield, would form right over the under coverings, and it didn't interfere with how the suits performed at all.
Nedzu hummed and nodded. "Of course, it was an easy adjustment to make to allow you to be comfortable. Besides, students are allowed to wear undergarments such as leggings under their uniforms to make them more comfortable, this is no different." Taking another breath off of her Pod she nodded and gave him another small smile.
"Alright, if there is nothing else, I believe you should go to the classroom now. There's still five minutes before the bell will ring, and I do believe you promised your colony that you would make a friend today? You can get a head start before class begins."
Nymeria made a squeaking noise at that and pouted at the meddling rat, standing and shuffling out of the room at his chuckles and 'shooing' motion.
She didn't allow herself to pause at her classroom door, sliding it open and stepping in in one fluid motion, scanning the room immediately and noting the students milling about in small groups around the room. No one had noticed her quiet entrance yet, so she took advantage of that and sat in a seat in the back far corner of the room.
She remained unnoticed the entire five minutes, and when Nedzu entered the room with the bell, she noticed his eyes narrow at her and sighed. Meddling Rat is so going to make me socialize, whether I want to or not, isn't he?
Nedzu called the class to order, introducing himself as their homeroom teacher, and Nymeria hid a smirk behind her hand as she watched the class scatter to the nearest open chair and turn to the front.
Nymeria watched with thinly veiled anger, quirk twisting painfully in her chest, as three other students made their displeasure at being taught by "a damn animal" known. Nedzu promptly sent them to the principal's office with a note about transferring classes, and when no one else spoke up with any complaints, turned to the class with a glint in his gaze that Nymeria just knew spelled trouble for her.
She was proven correct when five minutes later, Nedzu had written a seating chart on the board, moving her over one row away from the wall, and one seat up. This left her with empty seats directly behind her and the ones behind to her right and left were empty as well. She was still in a great position to observe everyone in the room and all of the exits without having to move much to look, and there was no one in her blind spots. The seat in front of her was filled with a short, shy-presenting girl who looks like she would remain tucked into herself a majority of the time.
This also, unfortunately, resulted in her having a loud blue haired boy to her right, closer to the door, and an even louder blonde haired boy to her left, towards the windows.
Then Nedzu damned her by only covering another five minutes of talking about how the year would go, before uttering words that had her glaring at him and grinding her teeth.
"Go ahead and use the remaining class period to get to know your neighbors, make some friends, and get to know your peers."
With that, he sat at his desk, and both boys zeroed in on her like sharks to blood in water.
To quote her son from this morning,

SHIT.