these words that I have lived by my whole life [o]

[CASEY JO PORTER]

you're only as tall as your heart will let you be ,
and you're only as small
as the world will make you seem

Casey woke up even earlier than usual, shutting her alarm clock off before it had the chance to beep. At first, she considered rolling over and going back to sleep, but she also knew that was a waste of an extra hour. She climbed out of bed silently, careful not to disturb her roommate. She dressed by the light her cellphone gave off, pulling on her favorite jeans and a black scoop neck tank top. She had her hand on the door knob before she realized she wouldn't have time to come back to her room before classes. She turned back to her dresser and pulled out a loose, cropped tee shirt. Grabbing her makeup bag, some jewelry, her school bag, and her violin case, she slipped out of the room, into the hallway.

The hallways lights were dimmed, but they weren't completely shut off. It was for safety, or so she'd been told, but she just found it annoying. Her eyes took a moment to adjust, longer than they might have had she not been part owl. Even when she wasn't in her owl form, she seemed to suffer some of the side affects. She stopped in one of the bathrooms first, rushing through her usual makeup routine. If she wasn't so desperate to play, she would be appalled that she wasn't taking the proper time to get ready. After dropping her makeup bag into her school bad, Casey went straight for the roof. There was no where else she could practice this early in the morning so, regardless of the fact that it was forbidden, and regardless of the fact that she was normally a very well behaved student, she picked the lock on the door to the roof and climbed the stairs two at a time.

The early morning air was cool on her skin. It was still dark, the sun hadn't yet risen though if she looked carefully she could see a lighter blue strip of sky along the horizon. Casey leaned her school bag against the wall near the door. She carried her violin a few feet further, out of site around the door, before kneeling beside the case and unzipping it. She pulled the instrument out of its case, checking the tuning and tightening the bow before standing and bringing it up to her shoulder. She began with a few scales before launching in Clair de Lune, her fingers finding the notes without need for sheet music. It was one of her favorite pieces. She had had it memorized since she had first learned to play it.

Casey had played the violin since she was four. She had always loved it and always been fairly good, but she hadn't become great until she had lost her voice. Now everything she wanted to say but couldn't went into her music, giving it feeling and a life it hadn't had before. She had even started writing her own music. As she thought of it, Casey began to play one of her own pieces, a sweet, melancholy piece. She had written it one night after returning to her room from a midnight flight. To her it had captured the feeling of flying alone, up above some of the tallest treetops, perfectly. When she had played it for one of her friends from back home who had come to visit, she had said it sounded like when you love something so much that it breaks your heart. Casey had shrugged, her motion for “same thing”.

She continued to play as the light on the horizon got brighter and brighter. She looped around certain parts of the song, stretching it out almost twice as long as it usually took to play. Her eyes were closed, even as she paced back and forth, and there was a smile on her face, as there always was when she was playing.

when the going gets rough and you feel like you may fall
just look on the brightside

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you're roughly six feet tall[/font]
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[/color] open
words 650
outfit here
notes I dunno how roleplaying a mute is going to go... it will be interesting...
template nixxy of CAUTION 2.0 (with modifications)[/font][/ul][/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[blossom]

YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE YOUR EYES

if ten million fireflies lit up
THE WORLD AS I FELL ASLEEP

Blossom didn’t normally get up so early for school but she had been barely able to sleep the night before. She laid in bed for the longest time, staring up at her ceiling and counting the specks she found but there just came a time she couldn’t take it anymore and had to get up. Her movements were careful and quiet. She didn’t want to disturb anyone with her early rising. Slowly, she closed the door to her bedroom and turned on the lights. Her chocolate colored eyes glanced around the room to make sure everything was in its place before she went about her normal morning procedure. She half-Asian girl went to her closet and sifted through her clothes. Since she had the extra time, she picked out her outfit for the day with care. Blossom made sure that the skirt she decided to wear wasn’t too short and that the shirt she wanted was absolute spotless. She tucked it neatly into her skirt since it was longer and there was a design on the side of the skirt. The stockings she chose had absolutely no runs and looked brand new and she shoes had to fit snuggly. The freshman looked herself over in the full-body mirror resting against her wall to make sure everything was… was perfect before she went about adding accessories. She found her outfit had no color so to add a little splash of it, she put two pink butterfly clips in her hair. After adding a golden key necklace and a silver heart bracelet, she was ready to go.

Her stomach growled as she stepped out of the house and into the darkness of the early morning. She knew she would be regretting this as the day progressed but one of two problems can be taken care of at school. Breakfast was served every morning and that should hold her over until lunch. She just didn’t know what she was going to do about being so tired. It was undoubtedly going to happen. She did hardly get any sleep and though the schoolwork wasn’t tiresome, it was mentally fatiguing sometimes. Blossom just had to hope she wouldn’t fall asleep in the middle of one of her classes.

The main thing she was worried about was her parents or Kai worrying. She had left a note on her door saying she was going to school early but still… She’s never done this before. Blossom always left to school with Kai. She’ll have to catch up with Kai during breakfast to find out what happened. Or… Maybe she should just go back and crawl into bed. But she was already half way to the school and this wouldn’t kill her. Surely it wouldn’t kill her.

Music drifted in the air as she walked up to the front door of the school. She wondered where it was coming from and had to tilt her head up towards the sky to realize it was on the roof. She didn’t know how it could have been coming from up there but there was no other place it could possibly be coming from. Access to the roof was forbidden but… she was curious as to who it would be. Slowly, she crept up the steps to the third floor, glancing around with every flight she ascended. She really didn’t want to get caught trying to get to the roof. Blossom was a good girl with a clean record and she planned on keeping it that way. But…

Testing the door to the roof, she found it was already unlocked. Perhaps it was another student. It had to be because a teacher would have locked this door. Maybe… Maybe a peek wouldn’t hurt her. She hurried up the steps and glanced out on the roof. It was a student like she expected… And she was playing the violin beautifully. Blossom didn’t recognize her, but a gentle smile brushed across her plain lips and she stepped closer, listening quietly so she wouldn’t ruin the song.

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status: complete
tagged: casey~
words: six seven three
outfit: here
notes: yay for posts!
lyrics: FIREFLIES, OWL CITY
credit: TEMPLATE BY SHAZI ?! AT CAUTION 2.0

[CASEY JO PORTER]

Casey had known there was a chance someone would discover her on the roof. She had only hoped it wasn't a staff member. Although she was a shy girl, there was one thing that gave her seemingly unlimited amounts of confidence, and that was her violin. She continued to play, even though she heard the gentle footsteps of the girl behind her. Her smile grew slightly; she subconsciously added a bit of flair to her playing, making her movements more exaggerated and the notes more pronounced, paying less attention to what she had been thinking of (the gigantic amount of homework sitting, undone, in her dorm room) and more attention to the music. She had always been a performer at heart, and she hadn't lost that when she lost her voice, though it had become more subdued.

Casey finished the song she had been playing, lowering her violin and turning to the girl behind her. Without the music filling the air around them, Casey suddenly felt awkward and shy. She should have just kept playing. In fact, she considered raising her violin and starting a new song right now, but she had already turned to the girl behind her and she would have felt even more awkward if she returned to playing now. Instead she looked the other girl over, admiring her skirt. She would have liked to tell her it was cute.

Casey waved to the girl, a slight smile still on her face even as she blushed. She hoped the other girl would assume that the pink coloring on her face was just a reflection of the light that colored the horizon. The sun still hadn't completely risen, even though Casey had been on the roof for a significant period of time. She waited for the other girl to say something, moving her bow and violin to one hand. She didn't recognize the other girl, though she was sure she had seen her around the school. This was her least favorite part about losing her voice, meeting people who didn't know. It was always awkward. Sometimes people got it right off, all she had to do was gesture to her throat and they understood right away. Other people didn't get it. They thought she was just being a bitch when she didn't speak to them, which was ridiculous, considering she had never been the type to ignore someone. Back when she could talk she talked to everyone. Nowadays she missed that.

Casey picked subconsciously at the edge of her black tank top where a string had pulled loose. Now she was almost cursing herself for waking up so early and coming to the roof to play. If she had just laid in bed, read a book or done some of the homework in that obnoxious pile still sitting on her desk, then maybe she wouldn't be in this situation. She knew she would be fine if this girl didn't say anything negative about her being a mute well, mostly a mute, she reminded herself, I can talk to some people. That being said, she already knew this girl wouldn't be one of the people she could talk to. Still, if this girl didn't have a problem with having a mostly one sided conversation with Casey, then Casey would be just fine. Until she knew one way or another, however, her body was stuck in panic mode. She really didn't want to deal with someone giving her a hard time about not speaking this morning.

notes: too lazy for formatting stuff. Also, sorry it's a bit rambly and a bit short and not that well written. I went on a ride at the fair and I ended up with a concussion and it makes writing at my normal caliber a bit difficult. Sorry! Cookies make it better?

[blossom]

YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE YOUR EYES

if ten million fireflies lit up
THE WORLD AS I FELL ASLEEP

Blossom couldn’t think of anything she was fantastic at. Yeah, she was okay at singing… when someone could actually get her to sing. But she was nowhere near as good at singing as this student was at the violin. It made her feel a little… insecure about herself but practically anything could make her feel that way. Ultimately, she was happy that someone had found their niche and a talent they were so… magnificent with. Blossom gazed at the girl in awe and listened to her music. She suddenly didn’t feel so bad about leaving for school so early or sneaking onto the roof. Granted, if a teacher, or even the headmaster himself, caught them up there, she would feel pretty horrible, but… But right now, everything was fine. Everything was okay.

At least that’s how it was before the girl turned around. The freshman wasn’t sure if it was okay for her to be listening in on the other. At first, she just stared at the girl with wide, almond-shaped eyes. Though, then she was waved at, Blossom guessed it must have been okay… A timid smile appeared on her lips and she wiggled her fingers in a meek wave. She wasn’t great at conversations but the silence between them was a little… awkward. There had to be something Blossom could say… “Y-You’re really… You’re really good at the violin,” her voice was quiet and probably would have disappeared into the slightest gust of wind or breeze. The slight stutter at the beginning made her smile disappear. It was obvious Blossom was a very shy and normally quiet girl. She wasn’t really used to socializing with anyone outside of her family – or Graham. Though, he was practically like family, wasn’t he? She almost forgot to introduce herself – another thing Blossom was hardly good at. She was just a mess when it came to talking in general, and she wanted to fix that. It was the main reason she joined the drama club.

Awkwardly she stuck her hand out to the other girl. She wasn’t sure what she was doing, really. Did people still shake hands? Oh well, it was too late to take it back. She had to go through with it: “M-My name is… is Blossom, by the way,” she forced another, little smile, “Blossom Durant.” It wasn’t that she wasn’t happy to meet someone. She just wasn’t very… out-going. She hoped the other girl didn’t think she didn’t want anything to do with her.

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status: complete
tagged: casey~
words: four one seven
outfit: here
notes: oh dear :c i hope you get better soon and it’s okay ♥
lyrics: FIREFLIES, OWL CITY
credit: TEMPLATE BY SHAZI ?! AT CAUTION 2.0

[CASEY JO PORTER]

Casey smiled her thanks, but obviously didn't open her mouth to reply. She had noticed the girl's slight stutter when she had begun speaking, and knew from it that she was nervous. Though why Casey wasn't sure. She was the one who had been caught playing the violin on the roof. Yes, it was the one thing that she prided herself on so much, but it was also more typical for someone in her position to be embarrassed and nervous in this situation than for someone in Blossom's situation to be nervous or embarrassed. She scratched her chin self consciously before lowering her hand and digging it into her pocket, only to pull it back out a moment later to shake Blossom's hand. I didn't know people still did that... she said to herself, not letting the thought show on her face. Obviously the last thing this girl needed was any sort of judgemental look from Casey.

Not that she thought a hand shake was that out of place. After all, a handshake was one of the few ways she had left to say 'nice to meet you' or 'well, hello to you too' or even 'I think we'll be good friends.' It was one of the many simple gestures and expressions that were taken for granted by all of those with their voices. She had begun learning the magic of such small motions shortly after losing her voice. Body language had sort of become her forte right along with the violin. She could tell the subtle difference between a friendly wave and an excited wave and a begrudging wave, etc. At least, for the most part she could. It was how she communicated now and as such she knew gestures the same way most people know tones of speech.

Casey would have liked to tell Blossom her name in response, but instead she tapped her throat, a motion she had taken to be a universal sign for “I'm a mute”. Ariel had used it, after all. Most people who had seen The Little Mermaid understood almost right away what she was trying to say. It had served her well over the years since she had lost her voice.

Gesturing around her and tilting her head to the left, Casey tried to get across the idea that she was asking Blossom why she was on the roof this early. Ever since her psychiatrist had told Casey that learning sign language might slow the process of regaining her voice, Casey had been terrified to learn more than a few signs. Her doctor had said that it was unlikely it would have any affect, but people who did learn signs were like, 9% less likely or some low number like that. It made everything a little bit harder for her; if she knew sign language she could have an interpreter to translate what she was trying to say. Then again, some people who suffered from selective mutism couldn't even make use of sign language except in specific circumstances. Casey shook her head, trying to snap back to the present. She always seemed to get wrapped up in thinking about the fact that she couldn't talk.

Casey used the edge of her black tank top to wipe the rosin powder off the surface of her violin. She turned away from Blossom long enough to slip it back into it's case, loosening the string on her bow at the same time, though she kept it in her hand. Her other arm remained relaxed at her side.

notes: I didn't expect playing a mute to be this difficult. I mean like, translating her thoughts into gestures and body language. It's a learning curve, but a fun one. XD

[/blockquote]

[blossom]

YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE YOUR EYES

if ten million fireflies lit up
THE WORLD AS I FELL ASLEEP

The little freshman wasn’t really surprised with the other girl didn’t say her name right away. Honestly, Blossom didn’t really expect it. It was the wonders of her low self-esteem. She didn’t really expect people to think much of her but she was determined to change this one way or another. Even she found her shyness a little… pathetic… at times. She knows she doesn’t always have to be so shy. She wasn’t shy around Graham, after all. But it’s just working herself up to that point where her stutter fades and she can freely smile around someone that’s the hard part. Perhaps there will be a day when Blossom’s stutter will fade – a day she won’t have to carry a plush toy in her bag in order to have at least one brave nerve in her body. Unfortunately, that day wasn’t day. And she doubted it would be tomorrow or even the day after that. But one day… One day she’ll be able to feel proud and happy and she’ll be able to talk to whomever she wants whenever she wants without feeling embarrassed about being who she was or doing what she does.

Though, she was fine for the moment. She wasn’t embarrassed about anything and only a little nervous about meeting someone new. She knew it would happen occasionally and despite the fact she wanted to disappear sometimes, she was okay with meeting people. Maybe if she put herself around the right ones, she’d find herself more easily. But… Why this one wasn’t speaking, she didn’t understand. All the other did was motion to her throat after Blossom had introduced herself. She couldn’t be choking, could she…? Maybe there was something wrong with her throat and she couldn’t speak. Like… laryngitis or something? That had to have been it but Blossom wasn’t sure. It wouldn’t be an awkward thing to ask, right?

“Your throat?” Blossom mused quietly, “You can’t… speak?” At least that would make sense as to why she couldn’t talk. Blossom didn’t really know a lot of sign language… Actually, she only knew the alphabet in sign language. But she couldn’t assume the other knew it, could she? If it was just laryngitis, she probably wouldn’t know. But Blossom had a notebook and pen in her bag. Maybe the girl could spell out her name. Though, just as she was about to dig those things out of her bag, Casey made another gesture. Blossom’s gaze flickered around the roof. Was the girl wondering why she was up here? It was the best guess she could take… “I-I’m sorry for intruding on your practice,” she started, hands grasping onto the strap of her messenger bag, “But… But I heard music and I was curious.”

While she went about putting her instrument up, Blossom dug a small notepad out of her bag and a pencil. She wasn’t going to force the girl to give her a name but she wanted to at least call her by something. When the other had turned back around, Blossom slowly and nervously held the items out to her. “I… You don’t have to tell me your name,” she offered the girl a little smile, “I just… I want to know what I can call you,” and as if she needed a reason, she went out with, “I think it would be mean to call you… Th-That one girl that can’t speak. O-Or something.” If she didn’t want to tell her a name, Blossom would be okay with that. She’d understand.

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status: complete
tagged: casey~
words: five eight nine
outfit: here
notes: i always thought it would be interesting xD
lyrics: FIREFLIES, OWL CITY
credit: TEMPLATE BY SHAZI ?! AT CAUTION 2.0