Nasrine | Female | 8 Nasrine is a girl who doesn't want to grow up to be heard - she wants you to listen to her [right now]. She's thoughtful and quick to form her own opinions, no matter how the information itself is presented to her. Despite adults' predisposition to ignoring her, because of her age, she will always find a way to let her voice be heard(even if it's just shouting really loudly and using long words). She's a surprisingly good listener, if she thinks what you have to say is worth listening to (in her opinion, it likely isn't), and dislikes pointless arguments. Abel | Male | 8 Abel knows more than he lets on. He's a selective mute and only speaks to members of his family. Due to a traumatic childhood incident involving a drum set and a blender, he has an irrational fear of loud sounds (think trains, construction, Norwegian death metal), but he is starting to overcome it since his family moved out of the suburbs and into the city. Although most of the time he's the one listening to Nasrine, he does have his own important things to say - more so, since he spends longer thinking about them. - - - Nasrine and Abel have been "proximity friends" ever since they were toddlers. Their families lived in neighboring houses when they were in preschool, and they would often walk to school together as they grew older. The same economic recession that forced Nasrine's parents to find jobs in the city made Abel's family move in with relatives for more financial security, and they ended up in the same apartment complex. Since Abel only speaks to his family members, Nasrine was the one who taught him(and learned) sign language, so they do have conversations with each other, often on surprisingly mundane topics. Most of the time, however, Nasrine is the one monologuing about whatever she didn't get to say or whatever no one listened to her about, and Abel only gives his opinion on that when asked to. Of course, she still acknowledges the fact that he has his own opinions, although lapses in this have caused a few conflicts between them.
