this situation calls for an expert ! {{melissa}}

[NOVEMBER STARR]

Oddly enough, November had found that the lower her spirits were, the lower her bangs sank down to cover her face. The benefits of hiding far outweighed the annoyances of constantly having to brush the locks from her face on the rare occasion she actually wanted to look at something while in a mood, though this annoyance did in turn lower her spirits further... But that was simply another feeling that she was more than willing to stifle and stuff into a small box in the back of her brain.

Now, considering the existence of this box and the seemingly endless downward spiral of her mood in relation to hair length, any who knew her well enough would find it odd to see her heading in the definite direction of the Baum counselor's office. Those who knew her automatically envisioned one of the many times she'd recoiled at the idea of sharing feelings. This phobia had plagued her all her life, and the near-nonexistent population of people who knew about her family, especially her father, at least understood her reasoning. It just so happened that Baum's one and only counselor was a member of that microscopic cluster.

Nov wasn't really sure what it was about Melissa that made her so inviting. She always had a smile, and she was most often genuinely enthusiastic over the smallest things. Something about her just felt of motherly affection, and anything dealing with good familial relations was a thing November was sorely lacking. She was a comforting presence... which was what she was supposed to be, and though Nov tried to convince herself that it was the woman's job to be this nice to people, she couldn't help but feel a connection with the woman. Perhaps that was the real reason she kept coming back, not the half-assed excuse she'd created for herself dealing with research of the psychiatric arts.

Nov nearly fell to the ground at a loud bang behind her, but instead settled for jumping a foot in the air and landing unnaturally on her feet, the pain shooting to her knees instantaneously. Glaring behind her, she found the large Owl living in her mind lifting a large trophy back to its original position, turning with a sheepish ruffling of his feathers upon feeling her seething gaze. She dismissed the thought of how long he'd been in his physical form as he fumbled to follow her again, sputtering out a tale of the time his cousin knocked down an entire Wolery through violent sneezing fits, a common and chronic symptom of the bird flu.

Sighing, she tuned him out and knocked on Melissa's office door briefly before pushing it open. "Hey, Melissa? Do you have a minute?"

[/b]


tagged. melissa~ c=
outfit. hurr.
notes. because it makes me happy, and inspired the title. ^^;
credits. carolyn's sweet blasphemy *[/justify][/blockquote]

this is talking. this is talking.

[MELISSA HEWITT]

It had been a very slow day.

Normally, Melissa would have, at the very least, fifteen appointments a day. They varied from school talk to life lessons. Sometimes, Melissa just sat and listened in cases where the student just needed to rant. She’d offer a cookie (since she always made sure she had some) or perhaps a cup of tea; she always made sure to go over it with them once they were done. Melissa wasn’t there to just listen. She was there to listen, mull things over, and give them guidance. She was, after all, a guidance counselor.

Still, despite it being a very slow day, she’d been quite busy. Just because there weren’t any students in her office didn’t mean she could take a break. There was always filing to do and she hardly had time to do it. What better time than now to get caught up on it? Filing wasn’t her favorite thing to do. In fact, it was probably what she liked least about any sort of office/desk job. Everything had been quite calm when there was a loud bang out in the hall. Melissa jumped, hitting her hand on the filing cabinet. She hissed and tried to shake the pain away while deciding whether or not she should go investigate.

It hadn’t been much longer when there was a knock on her door. Melissa’s eyes widened a bit and she wondered who it could be. Her next appointment wasn’t for another hour and a half. She straightened her dress and closed the cabinet just as the door opened. The girl had called her ‘Melissa’ and it was then that she knew it was November Starr. Very few of the students called her anything but Miss Hewitt. She smiled and nodded, gesturing for November to enter. “Of course, come in.

”

November Starr had always had the glow. It was more prominent than the others she saw who had the glow or a glow. Melissa was one of the very few who knew of November’s family; it was understandable. She was, after all, a guidance counselor. However, it was different this time. Quite different. November Starr had an owl following her. Melissa immediately thought it may have been the bird that caused the loud noise outside. Her next thought was interrupted by Kanga who very abruptly made her presence known in the room.

“What is it you wanted to talk about, November?[/color]” Melissa asked as casually as she could, perching on the edge of her seat. She smiled kindly, doing her very best not to ask all the questions on the tip of her tongue. It was always best to play it safe when it came to meeting new characters. It was definitely a situation to be handled delicately.
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[NOVEMBER STARR]

It occurred to November a little late that she may have interrupted an actual session, but as she'd already opened the door, though not very much, and called to Melissa (by her first name, which she hadn't heard another student do yet), it was a little late to regret. Not that it'd ever stopped her before. Still, she internally sighed in relief to see no one else in the room past Melissa upon opening the door uncertainly further in.

"Of course, come in."

November's relieved sigh moved outward, and she stepped inside with a small, "Thank you." It was then that a small screech came from behind Nov, and she jumped about a foot in the air in her surprise. Clutching a hand over her heart, her head whipped back to see Owl flapping his wings frantically. He started to urgently whisper to November, his eyes trained on Melissa, but all that came out was a nonsensical hoo-ing noise. November sighed and turned back calmly, opening her mouth to speak to Melissa, but Owl screeched loudly, cutting her off. "HUSH!" she whispered harshly, which he promptly did, going so far as to cover his beak with a feathery wing in a very humanlike gesture. Annoying, November thought with a small roll of her eyes before turning her attention back to the counselor upon her speaking again.

“What is it you wanted to talk about, November?”

"Well, a couple of things..." she began, and opened her mouth to say more when she once again stopped short. Only this time it was of her own surprise. "Is... Is that a... Kangaroo?" November asked, flabbergasted. It was then that Owl found his voice.

"Hoo! I say, Kanga, my dear, it has been much too long! How have you been getting on all this time? And what of the little Joey? I'm quite fond of the dear." Owl exclaimed, his speech pattern fast and excited past his normally calm intellectual mannerisms.

November stood for a minute more, then slowly sat down. "Well, Melissa," November said with a small, bemused laugh. "I think we have a bit to talk about..."

tagged. melissa~ c=
outfit. hurr.
notes. because it makes me happy, and inspired the title. ^^;
credits. carolyn's sweet blasphemy *

this is talking. this is talking.

[MELISSA HEWITT]

November looked relieved. Melissa could tell that much. She smiled, unable to think about how fond she was of November Starr. The girl was very bright and also quite sarcastic. If Melissa had to pick anybody to be Owl, she would certainly go with November. Before Melissa could come up with any more reasons as to why, there was a sound she could only describe as a screech. Melissa, having barely taken a seat anyway, leapt up, so surprised by the noise. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to hear it because she didn’t know if November knew, but she had, and there was no explanation as to why she had stood so suddenly.

Smiling sheepishly, Melissa waits for the inevitable: November being able to see Kanga. Melissa felt like Kanga was generally rather secretive. It wasn’t often she made herself visible to anybody. Certainly not to villains and not usually to characters that were from a different story. If anything, it was to a fellow 100 Acre companion… like Owl. Melissa sank into her chair, gestured to the one across her for November to sit in, and set a plate of cookies on the table nearest November. “Her name is Kanga.

” Melissa managed to say so just before the owl began to speak (and very fast at that).

Before Melissa could say anything, Kanga was replying. She smiled (something that had surprised Melissa the first time she’d seen it. She wasn’t exactly aware that kangaroos could smile) and started in a gentle voice, “Owl. Dear. How lovely to see you at last.[/color]” She hopped closer, as if to make sure Owl was there and it wasn’t some strange illusion. Melissa could promise the kangaroo that the owl was there; she could see him with her own eyes, hear him with her own ears. A pained expression momentarily replaced Kanga’s smile, “I haven’t found Roo yet… I’m doing quite well, though, dear. And yourself?[/color]”

Melissa still looks sheepish when November sits. “It would seem so…[/color]” She takes a deep breath, and wonders where to start. Then again, if November knows of Owl, then surely, he would have explained everything. So, instead, she asks a question: “When did you first see him?[/color]” She figures this is an easy question to answer and one that is important to know. Kanga came to her during high school, when she was particularly un-Melissa-like. It seems like a very long time ago (and if she thinks about it, it is).
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[NOVEMBER STARR]

November wasn't the only one to jump at Owl's screech, and her gaze on Melissa turned curious before she spotted the kangaroo. It was odd, and much too coincidental to be coincidence. "Melissa..."

“Her name is Kanga.”

November opened her mouth to speak again, but Owl cut her off. November watched in curiosity as they spoke.

"And you as well, my dear! For the first other of my kind to come across, I am very very glad it was you." Owl could hardly contain his excitement, bouncing from one claw to the other. The bouncing stopped when Kanga spoke again, and his entire being became melancholy. "Hoo, hoo, hoo, my dear, dear friend, I am sorry to hear that. Perk up! We shall find him and win the day, undoubtedly! Why, the little rascal can hardly be hard to miss!"

[/color] he exclaimed, hugging Kanga suddenly and bouncing once more, lifting one wing in a mock determined fist.

November's head had slowly tilted to the side as she watched the interaction, curiosity growing by the second. So she wasn't insane... Well, not as much as she'd feared. How unlikely, though. In all the city, she'd been taking advice from Kanga herself for so long. "Have you met any others?" she asked, racking her brain for the other characters in Winnie The Pooh. "Is it just one story? I know he said it was bigger than that, but... Have you met any from another one?" As a rational person, November still had her doubts about the whole thing. But she knew now that Melissa could help her.

“When did you first see him?”

"The morning after the Murder Mystery dance..." she said, before remembering something she hadn't thought about before. "I think I'd heard him talk to me a few times throughout the night, too. But I didn't see him until morning." She said, then yet another thing occurred to her. She hadn't seen Melissa for a long time... Not since a while before that dance. That was when she'd been really down, and her insomnia had been at it's worst. That was when Thursday had... She gulped a little and pushed those thoughts down again. She may have been in a counselor's office, but that didn't mean it was time for an emotional relapse. She had too much to talk to her about without that extra shit.

"When did you first see Kanga?" she asked instead, a smile working its way back onto her face at the thought of getting answers.

tagged. melissa~ c=
outfit. hurr.
notes. because it makes me happy, and inspired the title. ^^;
credits. carolyn's sweet blasphemy *[/justify][/blockquote]

this is talking. this is talking.

[MELISSA HEWITT]

Had Kanga not been preparing Melissa for this, she would have felt very overwhelmed. Thankfully, Melissa had been growing used to Kanga’s presence every day from the day she woke up. By now, it was stranger for Kanga to be missing than for her to be present. They sometimes had long conversations over how meeting other characters would go. Kanga knew her 100 Acre friends so much better than Melissa did (even after she’d done her research, rereading every book and re-watching every movie or show). It was because Kanga knew Owl so well that Melissa didn’t feel overwhelmed. She felt like she knew the Owl herself, with the stories Kanga had told.

“And I you,

” Kanga answered, bowing her head. In fact, Kanga had voiced her concern before with how things would go if she were to find Tigger or Eeyore first. Melissa wasn’t quite sure how she could handle a Tigger or an Eeyore. Of course, Kanga would have been equally pleased if she’d found Roo first. The more she thought of how she hadn’t found her little joey yet, the more she worried. At least she could count on Owl to help find Roo, though. Melissa couldn’t help but to think how much she enjoyed the way Owl spoke. “You are right, dear Owl. I have a good feeling, especially now that I have found you.[/color]” She was feeling more hopeful than she had in quite awhile.

Watching November react to the situation was certainly interesting. That she seemed so curious had Melissa assuming Owl couldn’t have been awake for long. Melissa nodded, pausing briefly to think of who she had met. The list wasn’t a long one, but that she’d had the luck of meeting anybody else was always a pleasure. “We met a fairy once,[/color]” Melissa replied, “she certainly was… interesting.[/color]” Other than having met Fauna, Melissa couldn’t be sure how many other characters were out there. “I see a sort of… glow about them. It’s a golden sort of color with our story, and any others, it’s much too dim to really tell.[/color]”

How long ago had the Murder Mystery Dance been? Melissa had attended as a chaperone and that was it. It’d been a rather uneventful night for her. “I see. Did anything happen to cause his appearing?[/color]” Melissa asked. She had always assumed awakenings were due to stressful times. She hadn’t been overwhelmed by anything at the time. It was just that she’d been going through a phase, one her parents were sure she’d grow out of. It was thanks to Kanga that she grew out of it. Melissa laughed, almost sounding embarrassed. “Quite some time ago. I was in high school.[/color]” It was an easy enough answer, one that didn’t need elaborating unless November asked for specifics. Melissa wasn’t ashamed or anything, it was just strange thinking about something that had happened so long ago.

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