Next Gen- Academy for heroes discussion
The Academy
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Library
Minna pulled himself into a seat at an empty table towards the back of the library while sighing. How many times had he found himself in this situation? Alone, slightly terrified and no intention of leaving his seat for as long as he had to? "The Odyssey ", albeit the classic hero's journey as well as a widely respected classic, was...boring. And he just didn't have the heart to stop reading it, because he had no idea what else he would find.He heard footsteps at the bookshelf behind him, but had no intention of looking up. What if the person thought he was staring and labelled him as a creeper forever because of it?
Minna raised his eyes to her, but his hair blocked his vision completely and he could only make a few indistinguishable features out. Then he realized that he would probably have to answer sometime. "No," he said.
The Odyssey was getting more and more boring as the time ticked on, and Minna found himself involuntarily staring at the girl. He wanted to make conversation, but he had no idea what to say. And what if she was reading her book and didn't want to be disturbed? Too many factors. He hated playing guessing games with himself like this.
"Um. Hi, " Minna said after a moment of contemplation. "How is your book?" He decided that his conversational topics needed updating as he flipped through his book in a way clearly indicating that he wasn't actually reading it. A voice in the back of his head congratulated him on saying anything in the first place. This was a step in the right direction.
"Oh," Minna managed to say. "What is it about?" Clearly, he was the master of conversation. Asking someone what their book was about while they were knee deep into it -- obviously the way to get friends. After all, it's not like this girl was surely annoyed at his constant pestering. Minna came to the realization that there was a reason he didn't like talking.
((I have to go in a little while!))"Um...oh." Minna tried not to think about how slow he must have sounded, because it would have been torture. "I'm Minna." It was a start, at least. And maybe, just maybe if he didn't scare her away first, he might get a friend.
He wanted to smile, but didn't. Instead he held out his own hand, but not to shake. To show her that it was smeared thick with ink.
"Sorry," Minna said. He attempted to remedy the situation by wiping off the ink on his jeans, but that only seemed to make it worse. The hand that was holding his book also began to act up, and before he knew it The Odyssey...well, it had better days. He closed the book on it's now blackened pages and pushed it away from him. Minna then turned to Lyte, now smiling. But it was a let's keep this between us smile, rather than a friendly one. "You know how it is. Hard to control them, sometimes. Powers, I mean."
Minna sighed in relief. "Thank you." He slumped down in his chair. "So, what about you?"
"I mean, what's your..." Minna searched for a nice word. A sugar coated one. "Abilities?" he settled for. "If you don't mind me asking," he added after a moment.
"Of course not! I think, if they weren't so obvious, I'd refrain from mentioning mine too." Minna mentally congratulated himself for his stupidity. Clearly, not everyone was as obvious as he was. He had to have realized that. He quickly searched to change the subject. "Um. Do you have any recommendations for books?"
His interest in...Homer. He couldn't exactly tell her that he found the book boring, she'd think he was an idiot. "Oh, yeah. Thanks. Um." This was going nowhere fast. "I like to read...romance?" It did feel awkward asking for suggestions for the romance genre, but it would be less awkward than seeming like a moron.
Jane Austen? Well... "Maybe something more contemporary?" Minna thought that maybe he should try for a different topic...but he couldn't think of one at the moment.
Minna was starting to admire how easily Lyte was deflecting him. "Science Fiction, then?" He realized how long it'd been since he'd held a conversation this well...probably years.
Minna could only stare with amazement and try to remember everything she was saying. To no avail. "Oh. Okay. You know a lot about science fiction."
"That's a good thing," Minna said. "To know a lot about something, I mean." He paused again, searching for another topic. "Do you like cats?" He congratulated himself on how random that sounded. Well, it was too late to take it back now.
Minna ducked his head so his hair could hide his face better. This was beginning to be embarrassing. "As you may have noticed, I'm not very good with conversation. But you seemed interesting, and I wanted to talk to you, so..."
Minna felt the corners of his lips involuntarily quirk upwards. "Um. Thank you."
"Combat?" Minna tilted his head to the side. "Oh. Do you go on missions?"
Minna blinked after her, but didn't manage to get a goodbye in before she left. He briefly considered the possibility that she was making this up to get away from him. He didn't entirely rule it out. He sighed and flipped back through The Odyssey again. Maybe he'd see Lyte around sometime. Or maybe not.((And is this the part where we fade?))
((Alrighty then. I DECLARE FADE! lol.))
A'virin stood in an empty aisle of the library, between two shelves, flipping silently through a copy of Black Beauty.
A'virin started slightly, and glanced up, but otherwise didn't react in any special way. She went back to flipping through the book, but stopped, feeling something tugging at the back of her mind. She looked back at Tyson and studied his face, brow furrowed, when the memory hit her like a speeding train. The images of twisted, mangled, bloody bodies in a dark street, then the face of a younger boy and the look of horror on his face. She dropped the book and backed away, trembling, the back of her hand burning where the numbers were.
The vision that had plagued her only a few years ago seemed to come back, in full force. "No.... You-I..."
"You-" She had to stop, the images coming full force now. She remembered... she had cried for days after that one... she knew the boy whose face she saw had killed those two people, and that he had done it on accident. Tears spilled over and streaked her cheeks, and she sank to her knees. "I'm so sorry," she whispered so that it was barely audible.
"You-your parents..." she said, not daring to look at him. That was another thing the vision had shown her. The images had shown her that the mangled bodies were that of a man and a woman, and though she couldn't see their faces too well, their features were like the boy's. Now she believed he would have looked a little like his father...
She hugged her knees and stared at the floor, "Premonitions.... I-I get them. I've had them ever since I was born."
"Always.... Always of death...." Her voice was shaky and she looked at him warily. "I almost never know the people...."
"I-I didn't see what happened.... I saw... I saw your face, and.... And your parents'... bodies."
"I know... I know you didn't do it on purpose," she said, her voice soft.
((I thought Ruby erased the memory, Thera...?))
She nodded in agreement, then took a shaky breath. "I'm sorry... for the way I reacted. The visions... I hate them. But... in a way, I remember every one."
She looked at him and the corners of her mouth moved upward slightly. "I should tell you my name... I'm A'virin."((Gtg.))
Mod
She smiled a little more, trying to put what had just happened behind them. "It's. It's good to meet you." She picked up the book she had dropped, gently, her hands moving carefully. Her long sleeve slipped back, revealing the black inked number that was on the back of her left hand.
Cleo growled in irritation as she stared at the computer screen, her hands resting on the keyboard. "Damnit," she cursed. "Stupid freaking software." She stood up, turning the computer off and turning towards the librarian's desk, ready to report another crash.
Cleo turned her head towards the voice, opening her mouth to respond. "Yes, I'm fine," she sighed, silently irritated. "Electronics and I just don't mix, is all." She glared at the computer as if blaming it for shutting down.
"Don't I know it." Cleo snorted in contempt, walking over to sit next to the little girl. "I'm Cleo. What's your name?"
She smiled. "That's a pretty name." Cleo took notice of Maddy's sunglasses and glanced around. "Is it really so bright in here that you need sunglasses?" she asked.
"You have a second pair of eyes?" Cleo was curious. "I suppose I should be getting used to this type of thing by now, but I've never seen a second pair of anything, much less eyes." She shrugged. "That's interesting, though. Very interesting. May I see them?"
"Wow." Cleo let out a breathy sigh of awe. "That's incredible!"
"Do you have 40/40 vision or something?" Cleo asked, half curious and half amused.
((Why do you keep using that strange word, Thera? What does oculus even mean?))Cleo chuckled softly. "Makes sense," she grinned. "Must be useful, especially around here. There's so much to learn about the people here!"
((I know, I can use context clues, but I'm just saying. Big word for a nine-year-old.))"I know," said the blonde with a wink. "What book's holding your interest so well, anyway?" Cleo gestured to the large volume.
((*shrug* If you say so.))"Dickens, huh?" Cleo leaned forward to study the book. "I don't find a lot of people who'll read him nowadays. You're young too," she observed.
((An Alot of fiction! Cool!))"Mmmmm." Cleo nodded, and then with a shrug, spoke. "I happen to like modern fiction, but that's just me. Dickens is just...a little boring, you know?" Pink lips parted into a small smile.
((Fade))