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Post by ĸara вelova★ on May 5, 2010 2:43:49 GMT -5
She lead him inside a coffee shop, and took a seat by the window. The afternoon sun illuminated her pale skin, warming her through the glass. Kara pulled her hair out of her face and leaned back, finally allowing herself to relax. It looked like they got away. She eyed Ryan dubiously. That apple better be pretty damn good.
"Okay, let's get something straight," She started before he could burst into song and tap dance on the table to express his gratitude, "I'm not some sort of hero, okay? Everything I did back there was for me. I really couldn't care less about what happens to you." Her brutal honesty was something that was sickeningly rare. Some people would envy Ryan with the way she treated him, unveiled as she was. However, Ryan didn't know her, and likely wouldn't be able to appreciate her geniality. To him, he'd probably just think she was a bitch. In that assumption he would be correct.
"That being said, I don't want you following me around, okay? You somehow managed to survive in this world without me, and you're going to keep on doing it." She doubted he would last much longer in the Bronx if he lived this way; stupid. She should leave him with some tips, some pointers, some helpful advice. But she couldn't bring herself to care enough. She was still frustrated at how much of a pity party he was. She wanted to scream 'Suck it up!', wanted to shake him violently until his thoughts made sense. But she also wanted to figure him out before she let him go on his merry way.
He was obviously an empath, like her. He could feel other peoples' emotions. Could he influence them? Maybe a little; usually Kara would never feel guilty for abandoning someone she'd just met. Maybe he had unknowingly projected the remorse into her, and it was only her counter-empathy that spared her from its full effect. She took comfort in the fact that she seemed more powerful than him. And infinitely more knowledgeable. What else could he do? Did he have super strength, to be able to kill a man with such a small effort? How did he strike him from such a distance?
"So... what weird things can you do?" Because clearly 'Do you have Enhanced Muscular Growth and Empathetic Projection?' would make as much sense as 'Krispy Kreme monkey sandwiches fly at night and sleep under the sun!'.
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Post by Ryan Alexander on May 5, 2010 9:53:34 GMT -5
Ryan followed Kara inside a normal coffee shop. Was it Starbucks? Dunkin Donuts? He did not know. "I wish I got out more. Mother never allowed me out of the house, let alone with her somewhere like this..." he thought to himself bitterly, as he took as seat on the opposite side of the table.
He watched Kara as the light illuminated her pale skin; and Ryan realized that she was very pretty. If he had been a normal guy, he would have noticed earlier. She wasn't one of those ignorant beauties who were all looks and no brains; she was one of the rare girls who could be stunning and still have a head on their shoulders. "She would definitely be something that most guys would be after; I mean...the other guys in school would have found her damn sexy. But I'm not into girls; I never was. It's why I've never had friends.." he thought to himself, the slight bitterness rearing once more. He saw that Kara was studying him and he cleared his mind at once.
Taking the apple out of his pocket that he stole earlier, he polished it casually on his shirt. "Granny-Smith apple, my favorite" he thought happily; as he sunk his teeth into it. Immediately afterwards he had regretted. Maybe he should have offered her some, she did help him after all.
Kara began to speak. Ryan listened to her intently; in his opinion anything that she could ever say was/is important. He frowned slightly as she went on; she said that she didn't really care about him and that he wasn't important.
Ryan kept his face blank; although his version of a blank face meant that he was holding back tears; his eyes burned as if pleading for him to release the pain they were containing. "You can't mean that..." he told her incredulously. "Is it because you think I'm weak? I haven't really survived that long out here by myself...it's only been a few weeks"
Absent-mindedly; he began to play with the free sugar packets that were on the table. Playing with objects was his way of coping with stress. Then when she began to ask him about his abilities; he got happy. "Maybe if she deems me useful, she'll keep me!" he thought to himself.
"Well...when I used to go to school and when I was younger...I could move things without touching them. When I was angry or upset; I could always seem to make things do strange stuff. Like throw things without touching..." he said trailing off. "You probably think I'm a freak, or lying...." he said, looking down to the floor. He had heard it all before from many different people.
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Post by ĸara вelova★ on May 5, 2010 11:47:30 GMT -5
He was like a girl in the middle of her period; super sensitive and irrational. She automatically removed the despair her words created within him, and replaced it with a soothing acceptance. She really didn't want to be sitting at a table with a bawling baby.
She watched him bite into the apple, ignoring the hunger in her gut. She'd get food back at the Academy whenever she decided to return. There were no waiters in this place; you were expected to go up to the counter and place your order, so she wouldn't be tempted to spend money she didn't have. When Ryan explained other strange phenomenons he was responsible for, Kara nodded, not at all looking disbelieving or disapproving. Well, maybe a little disapproving.
"Telekinesis," She said simply, as if it were no big deal. The brunette rubbed a scratch she'd earned from the scuffle earlier absently while she spoke. Ryan wouldn't know it, but Kara was oddly talkative today. "You can move objects with your mind. That's how you did it," She was referring to the pole that was now sticking out of some stranger's head, but Ryan could interpret it to mean his past experiences. Kara was never very definitive.
"You also have Empathetic Projection. Or, at least Reception," She eyed him with something almost resembling curiosity. But as she said before, she didn't care about him. There was no reason for her to be curious. Still, it puzzled her why Ryan never attended the Academy. Of course she knew he wasn't a student; firstly, he had no education regarding his powers and secondly, he would know who Kara was. Unfortunately Kara had garnered a reputation while at school. She was the girl who drove a fellow student insane in retaliation for being bullied. The video on YouTube had well over a mllion hits now, and anyone could watch Kara lash out at Jessica Rey with a vicious vengeance if they had an Internet connection.
"Tell me what I'm feeling right now," She demanded suddenly, wanting to know just how sensitive his power was. She removed all emotion from her being and became completely numb, then inserted the smallest feeling of anger. Her face was completely devoid of expression, and there was absolutely no indication of the emotion she was making heself feel.
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Post by Ryan Alexander on May 5, 2010 14:37:22 GMT -5
Ryan felt a strange feeling suddenly. It was as if the sadness and pain inside him subsided, and turned into warmth and safety. "Somehow she always seems to do this...Make me feel safe, and wanted" he thought to himself.
Ryan listened intently as she threw out the same strange word as earlier. Empathy; he didn't quite know what it meant, but he still wondered how she knew what it was. He definitely knew what Telekinesis was, having seen a couple of TV shows when his mom wasn't around. But how could he have something without knowing how to use it, or even how he got it?
Then suddenly, she demanded him to tell her what she was feeling at the given moment. This was a shock; he didn't understand how he would know what she was feeling, or why she would ask something of him like that. "Maybe if I can do it, she'll think I'm useful and she'll want me along.." he thought to himself.
Ryan looked into her eyes. Her face was completely devoid of any and all emotion; it hidden behind an invisible veil. He threw all his energy into it; really concentrated on staring at her. For a few seconds nothing happened. Then all of a sudden, he felt something weird; something strange yet familiar. He reached out with his mind to hers, like an invisible arm grabbing at something in the distance. Going deeper, he could see a flicker inside of her, like a dark blue flame; glowing brightly in his mind's eye. He reached for it, and for a second it burned him; he felt it spread through him like a bitter warmth; he recoiled for a second. He had felt for a brief second the rage that she held inside of her, and it scared him.
"You're mad...angry. Did I do something wrong?"
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Post by ĸara вelova★ on May 7, 2010 8:01:42 GMT -5
Interesting... but irrelevant. Why did she care? At his question, she smirked to herself. Gee, that was an opening if she ever heard one. But she didn't take it, and instead shifted her emotions to a sickening happiness. Again her expression revealed nothing.
"And now?"
While he was exploring her, she was doing the same. She could feel his burning curiosity, his confusion, and his excitement. He was discovering something new about himself, and Kara could remember when it had been her. Her body was changing and some days she'd just get over-emotional and moody. Her sister called it PMS, but Kara knew it was something different. Whenever anyone around her was upset or angry, Kara would pick it up and turn it to her own annoyance. Eventually she learned how to tune the emotions out, and one particular evening she even managed to talk her younger sister out of throwing away a beloved toy using her gift. She understood how Nastya felt and somehow influenced her to realize her mistake. That was all back when Kara had a life to care about. Now she'd all but surrendered to her powers, numbing herself from having to feel anything remotely human at all. So mixed in with the happiness she was offering for Ryan to feel was something she hadn't intended to display. Bittersweet regret.
((Sorry it's so short! Must run, will make it up in the next reply!))
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Post by Ryan Alexander on May 7, 2010 8:31:59 GMT -5
Ryan tilted his head to the side questioningly as his question to her was ignored. "I don't think I did anything wrong...and I hope not. I wouldn't want to upset her.." he thought to himself; as a bit of fear settled in. She asked him again to tell what she was feeling. Once again, he began to focus his mind, however difficult it was to shut everything else out.
Distantly he could feel her exploring his emotions as well, like a hand searching through a box that was his inner self. He ignored that, and attempted to search for what she was feeling. "She's made it more difficult this time, I can hardly feel anything..." he thought to himself; a bit worried. He did not want her to think that he was a fluke, that his abilities were a fluke. It was extremely important to impress her, something he never felt the need to do before.
Ryan reached out with his mind; his very essence screaming; trying to find what he was searching for. Distantly he could feel something, it passed by. It was like a butterfly; jerking around, small, and trying to fly away from him. He soon grabbed at it; with a metaphysical net, and captured it. As soon as he caught the butterfly that was Kara's hidden emotion, a strange feeling overtook him.
Immediately, Ryan felt as if he was filled with taffy. He felt a strange feeling of sickeningly sweet happiness. The kind that is made up of butterflies, ponies, and bright florescent colors. He felt weird inside, the emotion of extreme happiness being less than a distant memory. Mixed up in that happiness was a feeling he knew all too well, bitterness. Regret.
Staring into Kara's eyes; he felt strangely upbeat, yet also a tiny bit upset.
"I feel...happy. But not only happy...it's a weird feeling. I feel regret"
He looked down, scared that he was wrong.
((It's okay! You can't rush perfection! Your post still was very good ^.^))
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Post by ĸara вelova★ on May 8, 2010 18:37:54 GMT -5
Kara nodded as he began to explain what he felt. She'd just expected his response to be 'happiness', but when he tagged on the last emotion, Kara shut down. The narrow excitement in her eyes died and her expression, though emotionless before, was now made of stone.
She wanted to deny it, but the defensiveness would only prove him right. She wanted to lash out at him. She wanted to tell him he was being stupid. She wanted to pretend he wasn't as good as he actually was. But because she was blocking all the anxiety, anger, indignation, and denial, Kara couldn't carry out any of those desires. She just sat there across from him, a perfect statue of a teenage girl.
"Good," She said at last, nodding robotically. "Now, try to make this sugar move across the table. Without touching it," She was able to pretend her unexpected emotion was part of her testing. The brunette retrieved a little pink paper packet from the condiment dish at the side of the table. At the same time she removed three milk cylinders without acknowledging them, and slipped them into her pocket while instructing Ryan to move the sugar. The kleptomaniac in her couldn't help it, and she was feeling a little thirsty.
"Concentrate," She added, seeing as how Ryan apparently could only access his telekinesis through strong emotions. Deliberately she dulled the feelings he was experiencing right now, just to see if he could use his mind and not his heart for this experiment.
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Post by Ryan Alexander on May 8, 2010 21:41:24 GMT -5
Ryan just stared at her. A tiny part of himself was happy that he passed her "tests" however another part of himself was scared of what else she would ask him. He wanted very much to please her, and he did not know why. Maybe it was because she was the first person to show interest in him ever, or maybe it was because he felt safe around her.
He listened as she told him to move the tiny sugar packet, and watched as she nonchalantly took the milk.
"She must be thirsty" he thought to himself.
Ryan felt calm suddenly; he didn't know where it came from or how to explain it, it was just there. Distantly he knew that she always just happened to make him feel ok, just alright. He began to concentrate on the sugar; trying to will it to move. He focused his energy, will, or whatever was inside him that enabled him to move things. However after awhile he couldn't do it, he just couldn't feel the power.
Slowly he became upset, angry even, because he didn't want to disappoint her.
"I'm stupid...I'm slow, dumb, and useless!" he thought angrily to himself; and it shown through the calmness that she had put over him. The sugar packet twinged a bit, then suddenly as if it were pulled from four different directions; split open. Sugar spilled all over the table, and his face turned red in embarassment.
"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry"
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Post by ĸara вelova★ on May 8, 2010 22:12:24 GMT -5
She was right. His telekinesis was controlled by his emotions. Translation: Ryan couldn't do anything without throwing a hissy fit.
Kara refrained from rolling her eyes at his apology, annoyed at how weak the boy was. Not physically, but emotionally. He was like a little girl. She had a feeling that if she told him she thought his shirt looked stupid, he might start crying.
"Don't be sorry. Eventually you'll learn how to do that without getting upset first," At least, she hoped he would. Otherwise, how useless would his telekinesis be? She was sure the Academy's professors would be able to help him out. She grabbed a napkin from the dispenser on their table and looked around. No pen. An idea occurred to her.
"If you can make a pen come over here, without leaving the table, I'll write down the address of a place that can help you figure things out," She promised. Kara tapped the napkin expectantly, sitting back. First he'd have to locate a pen. Then he'd have to summon it with his mind... or he might just have one in his pocket. But that wouldn't be as impressive as the first method.
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Post by Ryan Alexander on May 9, 2010 0:20:15 GMT -5
Ryan eased up as she told him it was alright. Back home, if he had to do something and failed to do it, he would have been beaten within an inch of his life. Pain filled his face as he recalled a specific time in which his mother had asked him to sweep up. He had done his job, but she got mad because he didn't mop afterwards. That night he nursed cuts and bruises created by a broom.
"Make a pen come over here?" he asked her, and she nodded to him. The idea of some place he could go to learn how to control his powers and emotions appealed to him, but the actual act of making a pen come to him seemed more than difficult. "Alright...I'll try..." he said, although his voice was less than confident.
"I don't know if I can do this...but I have to. She has to think I'm impressive..." he thought to himself, as he searched the room. Looking to the ground, he saw a woman's pocketbook on the floor. In the pocketbook's side pocket, there was a blue pen sticking out of it.
Ryan focused on the pen; he wanted it. He screamed out silently with his mind, demanding the pen to come. Distantly it shook slightly, the woman who owned it did not notice. He threw more force into his want; and the pen shook violently, and flew directly towards him.
The pen landed on the table, nobody around them seemed to notice. He smiled triumphantly, and looked onto the girl in front of him for praise.
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Post by ĸara вelova★ on May 9, 2010 7:35:57 GMT -5
While he performed his little trick, Kara reached out with her empathy and felt what emotion Ryan harnessed. This time it was a mixture of longing, desperation, and determination. Much better than the panic and anger and self-pity he'd embraced with the sugar. This time she didn't want to punch him in the face.
As the pen dropped onto the table in front of her, she nodded, picked it up, and wrote down the Academy's address. Then she slid the napkin across the table to him.
"Don't lose that," She told him, "because that is your future." Look at her, being all foreboding. She expected to see Ryan at the Academy soon, provided he didn't get himself killed before he could find it. Kara had already been unusually generous today. She wasn't going to take him back with her, nor was she going to congratulate him on the pen. The accomplishment itself should be enough of a reward for him, even if she knew he was the kind of boy who needed and expected to be propped up by pretty words.
Nothing about Kara was pretty. She swiped a few more milk cylinders from the condiment dish and took her leave without so much as a goodbye. Not to appear mysterious, just because she didn't have anything else to say to Ryan. She felt her purpose here was done, and the ball was in Ryan's court. It was his turn to take some sort of action.
She pushed through the coffee shop door and took a moment to orient herself. Then she started to her right, prepared to turn invisible if Ryan attempted to follow her.
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Post by Ryan Alexander on May 9, 2010 13:17:35 GMT -5
Ryan felt a bit upset when she didn't praise him on a job well done. Truthfully he knew that he didn't need the praise, but it would have felt nice to be praised, for once. He took the address for her; this napkin he would secretly treasure because for him, it was a sanctuary.
He pocketed it, with a grin on his face; happy that he now had somewhere to go, a place where people would accept and understand him. As he put the paper in his pocket, he didn't notice the girl get up, and when he looked up she was already out the door. "Oh no! I've got to catch her" he thought desperately, and he immediate ran after her.
"Wait a second! I won't follow you. I know you want your privacy, I get that...just please tell me your name?" he asked her piteously.
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Post by ĸara вelova★ on May 9, 2010 13:27:35 GMT -5
Was she expecting anything different? Automatically she inflicted Chameleon on herself, blending in with her surroundings to the point where she was invisible. But when he promised not to follow her, and just asked for a name, she hesitated. Still invisible, she shouted back.
"Call me Jeanie," It put a smile on her transparent lips, because that's pretty much what I am to you.
Ryan better be happy with the wishes his 'genie' had granted him. Kara would never know the extent to which she helped the lost street rat. She left after that, thoughts drifting to the story of Aladdin, and wondering if Ryan would get the same happily after ever. Not that she cared, of course! It was just curiosity. That was all.
At least that's what she kept telling herself.
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Post by Ryan Alexander on May 9, 2010 18:48:14 GMT -5
Ryan looked all around and frowned thinking that he had lost her for good. Suddenly a voice shouted out a name; Jeanie.
"I wonder if that's her name...if it's really her name. Still, I have to see her again I just have to.." he thought to himself. She had been the only one to really ever show interest in him and what he could do. She had meant more to him in their short encounter than anybody had ever in his entire life.
Ryan walked away from the shop; tears in his eyes, emotions weighing heavily on his heart. He was saddened by the possible outcome that he may never see her again, and that she may never want to. "I just want somebody to actually care about me..." he thought to himself; as he walked aimlessly.
"Maybe she'll be at this place...Maybe.."
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