Apparently, yeah. He notices he's doing it, blinks, grimaces, and looks at her with both eyes after a moment. Then he sighs.

"U-type?"

"Yeah. Is that as disorienting as it looks, the eyeball thing?"

"It's not disorienting at all, I barely even notice which... Fuck, actually, I don't really want to go into my powers right now. I'm sure you know what I mean."

"I suppose I can guess. Elisabel Swan, I'm moving in to 1803."

"Andrei Sovak. Do your powers not come with some giant asterisk or interestingly upsetting drawback? Uh. Not that I mean to pry. I thought that was true of all U-types..."

"Not especially? They're not flashy, I got a really defense-oriented Skill."

"And it's not... Involuntary, creepy, or painful?"

"No! It just makes mind control bounce off me."

...He sighs again. "Lucky you."

"You're giving me a new angle of appreciation for it, for sure."

"I mean, it's not intolerable. It just - everything all at once. The System acting suspicious and, let's go with inconvenient powers I had no choice about, and having to move here, and... Everything. I don't really intend to be a huge grump. It's just hard to not right now. Wanna let me complain about my creepy powers? Or nah?"

"Go ahead, at this point I'm pretty curious."

When I touch people and certain objects I - absorb? Mimic? Riff? Something from them. Usually it's some kind of weird body alteration. There's no rhyme or reason to it. System says it's not affecting the things and people I touch. But my actual, active power? Is to reject or purge the weirdness, or focus on not letting it happen. So I can just be walking along the street, not paying attention, and brush against someone and have fire instead of hair. True story. Lost my favorite hoodie."

"Whoa, weird. Is it skin to skin contact only?"

"It's not, which is bullshit. It goes through clothes unless they're seriously heavy, like multiple winter layers, which stops it sometimes. And sometimes I just have to be near whatever to mimic it too. I'm trying to find acceptable stuff to kind of... Fill the slots. It's less trigger-happy that way."

"Yeah, that sounds like the way to go. Do you want to poke me? Maybe you'll get my ultra passive thing."

He makes a face, but... "If it's bad, better to know now. If it's good, also better to know. Sure. Thanks."

Andrei stands and cautiously reaches out and pokes her hand.

His skin turns orange and he starts to smell strongly of mangoes.

Sniff. Shrug. "Could be worse!"

It startles a laugh out of her. "How am I mango themed?"

"When I said no rhyme or reason I really meant it."

"Do you keep notes? Maybe a weird pattern will emerge."

"When I'm not moping too much and actually know who or what I touched, yeah. I'll write this one down and let you go unpack and stuff though. Welcome to Intake, I guess."

"Thanks."

Off she goes to put her clothes in the closet and her notebooks on her shelf.

This activity has attracted another girl out of her own room.

<New roomie!> Declares <Jian Xue, Rabbit, C>. <Oh wow, A rank. They told me this block would probably be full in a few days but you're the first!>

"Hi! I'm Elisabel, it's nice to meet you. I guess there's probably a steady trickle."

<Jian Xue, it's lovely to meet you as well. I like gardening, fashion, and puzzles. Our intake-friends will be our buddies until we're settled so I am trying to make a good impression on everybody.>