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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2016 18:40:17 GMT
He'd been living in Haven for about 8 years by now, yet secretly, Cameron still always felt like this was his home. It was probably a bad sentiment to have- one that would likely get him in trouble sometime in the future, but he couldn't help it. He'd spent most of his life there, and even now, his moms still lived there. He wouldn't be leaving Haven permanently anytime soon, not by a longshot, but he wouldn't make any effort to stop himself from visiting the City.
He missed the hustle an bustle. It was never quiet here, not even at night, and the sounds of the night, as annoying as they were, had always been a comfort to Cam. In the Borough...the only thing he could hear at night was crickets. It felt a lot more empty. Even after living there for so long, a kid from the city could be weirded out by how silent it was all the time.
It seemed like fall was finally starting to make it's move on the city. It was chilly, maybe around 65 degrees, which might not have been all that cold to some, but Cameron was always a little weak to the cold. He was wearing a jacket and a scarf, and his jeans were tucked into boots. Whenever a more brisk wind blew, he still shivered.
Now that he was here, though, maybe he could find somebody to talk to. Well, 'talk' in his own way. It wasn't as easy to find somebody wandering about at Haven. Some of the half-bloods there were still shy...still healing. No time for Cameron to think of that, now, though. The first challenge: get someone's attention. Rather difficult when he didn't have a voice to do it with, but he found his own way. This time, though, he didn't get the chance to even try, since he bumped into someone else first. He stumbled back for a moment before catching his balance, then whipped out of his several notepads that he kept on him, and he quickly scribbled something. Since most people didn't really know sign language, this was usually the safer bet. He held up the note for the other person to read, and he gave them a sheepish smile.
So sorry! I hope you're okay!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2016 0:53:19 GMT
Etsuko bumped into a passerby and it caused her to step back from the slight collision. "Ahm.. sowwy.." It slipped out of her mouth, and she opened up her notebook that she was carrying around. She wanted to write down that she was sorry just in case the hearing person didn't understand her. Her speech was a bit rusty. She preferred to write things down for people since she was bullied about her voice. People thought her voice sounded strange and that bothered them. Her disability was also a problem for people. They kept telling her to use her voice and when she tried to communicate with them that way, they wanted her to shut up. The people that bullied her.. they had no idea what she went through to try to speak for them.
Her speech therapist wasn't patient and would hit her hands with one of those long wooden rulers whenever she would communicate with sign language while speaking. Her speech therapist made her sit on her hands to avoid using sign language. Etsuko had to practice 10 minutes a day which wasn't all that bad. She thought if she could use her voice, the kids would like her and she wanted to make it easier on them to understand her. All of those lessons were a waste when the kids told her to shut up and go back to writing in her notebook. Or, better yet for her to not talk to them at all.
Etsuko saw the man pull out a notepad, and her blue eyes lit up slightly. What was this..? What was he doing? It never occurred to her that maybe he was deaf or mute. She was shocked that someone was pulling out a notepad to talk to her. Wait.. how did he know? She wrapped her arms around her notebook and hugged it close to her chest. She was going to wait and see what he would do. The man held up the note for her to read, and he had a sheepish smile on his face. Etsuko blinked her eyes curiously and took a step forward to read the note. "So sorry! I hope you're okay!" She opened her notebook and reached into her pocket for a pencil. She took out the mechanical pencil from her jacket pocket and wrote something for the stranger. It took her a little bit to think of what to say. She was so excited! Turning the notebook around for the man to read what she wrote, she tilted her head and smiled at him softly.
I'm the one that's sorry! I'm okay. Thank you for asking~ Are you okay?
This is crazy. I've never had someone use their own notepad to talk to me before. Well, sometimes they would write in mine but.. um... yeah.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2016 1:35:15 GMT
Cam's surprise was clear on his face when the girl he had bumped into took out a notebook of her own and started writing. She was able to speak, clearly, though he had noticed the oddness of her accent. He could recognize it too, now that he thought about it. He'd gone to a few disability support groups back in the day- and the kids who were deaf, they had trouble pronouncing their words (understandably). He didn't want to outright ask whether his guess was correct- he could try to bring it up later, but as a starting point...well, she was probably tired of that being the first thing that people noticed about her. He blinked a few times before he realized he still hadn't read her message yet, and then moved to amend his mistake.
I'm fine, he scribbled hastily. And the writing thing. Well... He gestured to his neck, shook his head, and then gave a little shrug that was accompanied by a smile. Since I was 6. Everyone wants to know. Hey. So, you know ASL, right? Might be faster. I use the notebook since people don't usually know it. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2016 1:56:48 GMT
I'm fine, That was a relief. He looked like he was going to take a tumble to the ground. It worried her at the time. Thank goodness he was alright. Etsuko waited patiently for the kind stranger to finish writing down what he had to say. It felt so nice. She didn't have to work as hard to understand the guy. ASL would be easier for her but she didn't mind writing in her notebook at all. Writing was something she liked to do as much as reading.
And the writing thing. Well... Since I was 6. Everyone wants to know. Hey. So, you know ASL, right? Might be faster. I use the notebook since people don't usually know it. Etsuko understood what he meant. She wasn't going to bother him about it if he didn't want to talk about it. She wouldn't share her disability either unless someone wanted to know. It wasn't really something to be proud of. Etsuko wasn't looking for pity from people either. In fact, when people found out she was deaf, there was no pity. They hated her and she was a burden to them. She wrote in her notebook and showed it to the man.
I'm glad you're okay~ Oh, we should probably talk in ASL now. she giggled and closed her notebook. Then, she signed to him, Sorry. Is this better?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2016 2:24:20 GMT
Either way works, Cameron signed. But, faster is easier. The gestures felt familiar to his hands, and he secretly felt a little more at ease. He tucked his notebook away. He wouldn't really need it, now. If you wanted to talk, though, I can hear just fine. I understand why you wouldn't, but I wouldn't tease. Even if her English was odd and accented, he'd like it. Since he lost his, he started to value the voices of others a lot more. There was always something to admire about the way people spoke. It might have seemed odd to most, but he liked listening to others. From what I heard, your voice is nice, actually. He gave her a warm smile, then adjusted his glasses slightly.
Where are you headed? he signed, slowly getting more into the habit of it. He hadn't had too much reason to sign this much at one time, since the only people he used it with regularly were his moms, but the movements had been so ingrained into his hands that they knew what to do on their own. I'm C-A-M-E-R-O-N. Or C-A-M. That's probably easier. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2016 2:38:08 GMT
Her smile faded a little and she was worried about what her voice sounded like. Oh.. Does my voice sound strange? Etsuko had no idea what her voice sounded like. She wondered what voices sounded like. It was hopeless, though. She couldn't hear so she decided not to think about it too much. From what I heard, your voice is nice, actually. What? Thank you.. she signed. Her cheeks turned red and she raised the notebook up to her face so she could hide herself. My voice.. is nice? she thought to herself. Etsuko lowered the notebook from her face and she smiled shyly. It's nice to meet you, Cam. she signed. My name is E-T-S-U-K-O. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2016 9:00:31 GMT
Cam quickly shook his head and waved his hands around in a rather distressed manner when Etsuko asked if her voice was strange. It took him a while to slow down his frantic gesturing and make his message clear. No! Not at all! Not what I meant. He tried to figure out the best way to word what he truly wanted to say. I just meant that you don't have to worry about whether you're pronouncing things right around me. You're doing fine.
He had to admit, the way she tried to hide behind her notebook out of embarrassment after he had complimented her was rather adorable. It made him somewhat disappointed, since he actually hadn't thought too much about what her reaction might be to him saying that- he had just said what had felt right. Of course, now that he knew her reaction to being complimented was cute, he'd definitely strive to get that reaction in the future. Well, I wouldn't make that up. Of course it is. She probably had never thought of what her voice sounded like before. All the more reason to make her aware that it sounded nice, in Cam's opinion. Secretly, he'd always wondered what his would sound like, now. He didn't pity the other boys with their cracking voices during their early teens, but still. The last time he'd heard it, he'd been too young to even pay attention. Now, he could barely even remember what it had sounded like then, let alone guess what it might have been, now.
E-T-S-U-K-O. He repeated her gestures with his own hands, familiarizing himself with the order of letters. Clearly, a little foreign, which, looking at her, shouldn't have been too surprising, but then again, Cam hadn't really noticed until now. He didn't like to make assumptions. Her blue eyes threw him off, though. They looked natural, and they stood out against her dark hair. The combination of both distracted him for a moment, and he blinked when he realized he was staring. I like it. E-T-S-U-K-O.
Where are you headed, again? he signed, realizing that he hadn't really gotten an answer the first time he had asked, yet he didn't want to outright say that she had forgotten to answer. It was easy to get distracted when you were flustered, after all. I'm just visiting. My moms live around town. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2016 23:32:12 GMT
Etsuko noticed Cameron spell out her name in ASL and she nodded. It was surprising that he could remember the letters of her name in that order. She had a foreign name and she wouldn't expect people to know how to spell it or if they didn't remember it. It wasn't a name that you would hear often in America. I like it. E-T-S-U-K-O. A small smile appeared on her face and she glanced to the side for a second, blushing shyly. Her blue gaze shifted back onto Cameron when he started to sign. Where are you headed, again?
I'm... not headed anywhere. The city is a change of scenery for me- Oh, no. What was her cover up story? She just told the guy that the city was a change of scenery for her. And, what she meant was that it was different from the Haven. She was so excited that she met someone that could talk to her through sign language that she forgot about her secret. Etsuko was a black tiger half-blood but she couldn't tell if Cameron was or not. In fact, it never came to her mind. That's right. What if he was a human? Would he hate her if she told him her secret? What would happen..? Etsuko hated lying but she had to. I mean, it's different from the countryside.
I'm just visiting. My moms live around town.
You have two moms? Wow! That's cool. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2016 2:40:03 GMT
“ LET ME LIGHT UP THE SKY. same template for cam that chase has bc hush I like it etsuko Cameron smiled a little brighter when he saw the way that Etsuko got a little embarrassed. Your eyes are pretty, he signed, not for any other reason than genuinely thinking that it would be nice to let her know. He knew of others who complimented girls, just because they thought that they would get something out of it, and he hoped that Etsuko wouldn't think that was his intention. He always worried that he would be misunderstood much in the same way that the tone of text messages were misunderstood. Maybe an irrational fear, but it was one that was hard to ignore when he could put any sort of tone in what he wanted to say.
He paused when she mentioned that the city was a change of scenery, not because of the actual sentence- he hadn't noticed anything odd about it at all, however, Etsuko's reaction to her own words were what confused him. The way that she had paused and rushed to correct herself, as though she had made some sort of mistake. Had she? Going through what she had signed, Cam couldn't find any mistakes, in her wording or otherwise. He raised an eyebrow, for a moment, about to ask whether something was wrong, until Etsuko had changed subjects.
Yeah, I do. He exhaled sharply, with a smile, which was sort of supposed to be his own version of a short laugh. I guess it is. I didn't realize that wasn't normal for a while, though, so I don't notice it. It's normal, for me. When he'd started middle school. He had two moms, so, until then, he had assumed that everyone else did, too.
Yeah, the city is definitely different from where I've been living, lately, he mentioned, trying to subtly continue their conversation from earlier. I used to live here, though. It feels like home. Where are you visiting from, exactly? He was wondering if her earlier odd behavior would resurface at the question. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2016 22:35:55 GMT
(I didn't know Chase had a posting template. It's still chill, anyway. Use the same template if you want ^~^)
Your eyes are pretty, Etsuko placed her hands on her cheeks and got even more flustered. What was this man trying to do? She felt like he was enjoying it. Complimenting her and getting her all worked up. It was starting to bother her. She didn't know what to do that's what bothered her. Receiving compliments was rare for her. Thank you. But, I think you only say that to get me like this. she signed and giggled playfully. You.. she signed and smiled a small smile. "Y-yoo.. ahh hahnsum.." Yeah, I do. I guess it is. I didn't realize that wasn't normal for a while, though, so I don't notice it. It's normal for me. Etsuko looked a little worried when Cameron said that. It's normal for you. I think it's cool. I didn't mean to offend you.. She hoped that she didn't offend him. He didn't act like he was offended but she just wanted to make sure. Yeah, the city is definitely different from where I've been living, lately,
I used to live here, though. It feels like home. Where are you visiting from, exactly?
Etsuko's heart started to beat faster as Cameron asked her where she was visiting from. She started to think hard about it but it was simple. Oh! I came from the countryside. Yeah, the country is different from the city by a lot.
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