JUST LOSE IT! (Cylo)

[Kirien Melantha]

"We regret to inform you that Stage Fright has been canceled."[/color]

Canceled.

Canceled.

"For your trouble, we have arranged for the Monster bus to take you back to The Academy. You are to depart immediately."[/color]

Canceled! How could it be canceled?! I wasted too much time on this stupid fucking competition for it to just be canceled!

Kirien threw her wooden chair - her brand new wooden chair - across the room, smashing it into her standing mirror, causing both to fall noisily to the floor in a heap of broken wood and fractured glass.

I could have been raising money! I could have been doing missions or something for The Stupid Fucking Academy!

She ripped one of the wooden posts off of her bed, snapped it in half, and threw herself at her pillows, making a vicious, angry sound like a warrior charging into battle. She would have so preferred to be stabbing something living, but if she did that, The Academy would just have a field day. Stupid bastards! They probably wouldn't like that she was destroying the room they provided for her, either, but she didn't like their rules! They thought it was okay to punish innocent people! They thought it was okay to punish people who did their jobs for them because they were too stupid and cowardly to do them themselves!

Stupid, gross, slimy, smelly people...following me around and they won't even let me do anything! And they just canceled it! And they're still following me and I can't do anything because then I'll go to jail and if I get stuck in that stupid fucking hole I can't get Cylo out and we'll BOTH BE STUCK IN THERE FOR NO GOOD REASON WHO EVEN RUNS STUFF HERE?!

The pillowcase was torn to shreds and feathers were all over her room, but Kirien had not yet released all her anger, not nearly. The dresser became her next target. She pulled the drawers out one by one, shook her clothes all over the room, and then dropped the empty drawers hard against the ground. Crack! Crack! Crack! And when she was done with that, it was the dresser's turn. Over it went! CRASH!

EVERYTHING IS WRONG IN THIS PLACE GOOD PEOPLE AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE PUNISHED FOR FOR DOING GOOD THINGS HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GET CYLO OUT NOW?! I WASTED SO MUCH TIME THAT THAT THAT I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO DO WHY ISEVERYTHINGSOWRONG I BET THE STUPID ACADEMY FOUND OUT WHAT I WAS GONNA DO AND BLEW UP THE COMPETITION THEMSELVES BECAUSE THEY'RE BAD SELFISH PEOPLE! I SHOULD GET THE LEADER PERSON AND PUT HIM ON THE CEILING AND SAY YOU WILL LET HIM OUT OR I WILL CUT OFF YOUR FUCKING FEET AND YOU CAN HOP EVERYWHERE YOU GO FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!"[/b][/i]

She give the defeated dresser one final kick, ramming her foot through the side with all of her might. CRACK! Her white sock was torn from the force and she must have cut herself because it looked like she was bleeding but she didn't care.

She stormed out of her room and slammed the door shut so hard it fell right off the hinges. There was a small group of concerned faculty members gathered outside her door by this time, many of them pointing at her and exchanging worried whispers. She shoved her way past, ignored the alarmed shouts of the poor souls that she bulldozed right over, and made a beeline for the lake, pushing over any idiot who was stupid enough to stand in her way.

Her feet were coated in legion and mud and dirt and all sorts of gross things as she ran across the grounds, and everyone was staring at her, but she didn't care.

AND I DON'T CARE IF THEY LOCK ME UP TOO BECAUSE IT WOULD BE BETTER THAN NOT BEING ABLE TO DO ANYTHING! THEY DID THIS ON PURPOSE! I DIDN'T EVEN G-GET T-TO SEE HIM! I DiDN'T eVEN geT tO sEe him because of the stupid Stage Fright thing and, and, and now I haven't seen him in a really long time and I don't wanna go and say I can't get him out anymore cause he was so h-aaa-ppyyyy when he heard my p-plan and and I tried to write some letters but he never replied to them a-and...

She was a trembling, teary mess by the time she got to the base of her favorite tree, feeling so overwhelmed that the only thing she could think was "I don't like this!" over and over.[/color]

[Ϛ Cylo]

"Hiya."

His tone wasn't nearly as bright as it might normally have been, seeing Kirien like she was, but he couldn't conceal his happiness at finally seeing her. It had been a tense few days, smoothing things over with his family, talking to the new management of the Agents, getting paperwork filled out... He was glad it was all over, and he could finally get to the fun part, the training. He had no doubt that there would be a lot of boring stuff involved, but he was positive he'd also get to stretch his legs.

Which had brought him to the part where he needed to find his training partner.

He had more or less flipped out when he found out he was paired with Kirien; if that wasn't a gesture of good faith, he didn't know what was (of course, firing the warden at the prison for starving him had been nice, too). He had quickly rushed to her quarters, only to find a scene of total destruction, and no sign of Kirien.

The few bystanders not hiding or running for their lives had pointed Cylo in the right direction, though, and now he was mere metres away, grinning like an idiot despite his being upset that his lovely lady was not in high spirits.

[Kirien Melantha]

Kirien didn't react to his voice at first, instead hugging her knees to her chest, eyes downcast. She still felt like tearing something apart and considered the large tree that stood behind her, supporting her back. She could rip off it's branches and throw them into the lake, she could peel off the bark and drain the life out of it. But demolishing her room hadn't seemed to soothe her any, and even in the state she was in she realized she didn't really want to hurt the tree. Hurting plants and animals and inanimate objects wasn't as fun as hurting people...and if she destroyed the tree, she'd have to find another, less impressive one to sit under when going to the lake.

She looked up to judge the quality of the other trees around, deciding that there were indeed too wimpy for her liking before doing a double-take. There was someone hovering nearby who looked suspiciously like Cylo. His 'hey' came rushing back to her, and she stared at him, puzzled.

I've gone crazy? She wondered, telling herself there was no way Cylo could be right next to her. He was in jail because she hadn't got him out yet. How could he be at The Academy?

"You're supposed to be in jail." She sniffled, just in case he really was Cylo. "If you're faking, I'll throw your head into the lake." She warned, finding that an infinitely better idea than hurting her tree. Testingly, she extended an arm to poke him, so she could at least rule out holograms and ghosts.

[Ϛ Cylo]

Cylo had not been expecting to be ignored. His happy/sad look morphed over the course of his apparent non-existence into a quizzical, mildly entertained one, and he began to wonder just how long it would be before the beautiful red-head noticed she was up one boyfriend from just a moment ago.

When at last she looked around — not even to catch a purposeful glimpse of him — and found him by chance alone, he had no other choice but to laugh. He didn't speak any words, though, until she said something herself; the puzzled silence was too cute to break.

"I can go back if you like," he said, motioning over his shoulder and pivoting his body the smallest distance away from her. The charade did not last long, though, and he moved back just in time to be prodded like a dead body, though without the stick. "Would I do that? You know how much I like my head. It's pretty."

Still he did not make a move; he was looking forward to the potential moment where Kirien would light up and more or less tackle him far too much to ruin it with his impatience. Then again, it was looking more and more like she'd just tear his arms off to vent her frustration with the whole ordeal.

[Kirien Melantha]

The Man Who Might Be Cylo was very convincing; he looked almost identical to the demon of speed, though he appeared a great deal healthier than the imprisoned, nearly starving Cylo had been.

Maybe if he's not the real Cylo, he's mimicking what the real Cylo looks like now! She thought to herself, her mood brightening already. Either the Cylo in front of her was real, which would make her very happy, or Cylo was in jail but doing a lot better, which made her happy, too! Maybe she wouldn't have to go killing those prison guards after all!

The Man Who Might Be Cylo had the his manner down pat, too. He spoke in that light, teasing manner Cylo often used and had a casual, comfortable air about him. When he called his head 'pretty,' Kirien couldn't help but crack a smile. That really sounded like something Cylo would say! Her smile widened as she entertained the idea that maybe it really was Cylo, and so close! Her thoughts zoomed through her head as she excitedly tried to rationalize his presence.

The Academy realized what they did and let him go? Was the first explanation she thought of, and the first she dismissed as unlikely. She had no reason to believe that The Academy would have a change of heart, after all the horrible things they did. He got fed up and broke out! Was the second, but she soon recalled that Cylo seemed set on sitting in his cell and serving his sentence. What could have changed his mind? Maybe...someone else got him out? She wondered if his family had the power to do pull some strings with The Academy. Something told her they wouldn't be able to afford bribery.

She could suppose no longer. She just had to know if this person was the real Cylo! She just had to know how he could have gotten out! She flung herself at him, capturing him with a very tight hug.

He even felt like the real Cylo! She giggled.

"How'd you get out?"

[Ϛ Cylo]

"Hey, that's more like it," Cylo encouraged, seeing Kirien's eventual smile.

He could almost see the steam coming out of her ears, but judging by the smile on her face, it was good steam, so he let her stew in it and make her own connections. Barely containing his desire to pick her up in a gigantic hug and swing her around, he was relieved beyond measure when she finally took initiative and wrapped her arms around him.

Her giggle was the icing on the cake.

"I seduced the guards," he said. "Don't be angry; I had to show a little skin."

But he figured he owed her a serious explanation, so he spilled the beans. "I used my get-out-of-jail-free card. The way I see it, the Academy will only replace your entire bedroom so many times, and I wouldn't want you to be in a bad mood for the next however-long-it-takes-them-to-shape up. But hey, pleasant surprise, they're being pretty nice to me. Maybe they're afraid of bad press?"

He shrugged, and slid his arms naturally around Kirien, still enveloped by hers.

"Anyway, I'm due to begin training soon, but I couldn't do that without my partner."

Kirien wouldn't be able to see it with her face in Cylo's chest, but the grin on his face was one hundred percent mischief. He was going to let her figure this bit out on her own.

[Kirien Melantha]

Kirien kept her eyes Cylo's and her arms wrapped firmly around him; it had been so long since they were last together that she felt she had to re-study him, through sight and tough, in case her memory had been slightly inaccurate. She listened intently to his story, smiling like a fool at his silliness. Another giggle escaped her when she found herself dwelling a little too long the possibility that he had seduced the guards; she didn't believe it at all, but it was just so funny to picture! She couldn't imagine Cylo seducing anyone, but the fact that he suggested it seemed to finally convince her he was indeed himself. Who else could ever think of something like that?

"You saw my bedroom?" She asked disbelievingly, eyes wide. She went from focusing on Cylo's face to focusing on his shirt, feeling ashamed that he laid eyes upon the evidence of her frustration. She never took pride in what she did when she was angry, not unless she was fighting; destroying objects was not useful to her in any way, and people would just be unhappy with her when they found out. She squeezed him even tighter; she didn't want her violent behavior to scare him away.

"Who's your partner?" Kirien queried meekly, still feeling small and uncomfortable as she thought more and more about how people didn't usually like her breaking things. Cylo hadn't seen her break things before, did he? What if he thought she was crazy like everyone else?

She was so worried that it didn't occur to her that she didn't have a partner, and she never would have guessed he was implying that she'd be his.