These are my People... {Matt}

[ken]

It occurred to Kennedy that the head of a house should actually try to be in the house every once in a while. In fact, they should actually know the students who happened to be under them. Kennedy had done a fairly good job of that in his term as Head of Cavan house, but not as well as he probably should have. Lately he'd been too busy in his personal life.

Well, that had to change.

Kennedy wandered through the dorms for a bit, waving and greeting the students as he passed. Most of them recognized him, even if he didn't know them immediately. After all, it was much easier to remember the one head of your house as opposed to the dozens of students within it.

Eventually Kennedy heard something. Puzzled, he headed toward the noise, hoping that the Cavanites were just playing an incredibly loud game or something. The last thing he wanted to do right now was break up a fight....

[matt]

"Ow..." The newest edition to House Cavan groaned, and rubbed his knee where it painfully connected with the floor. He was no stranger to bruises, being a scrawny target for bullies and a natural klutz, but this time, he hadn't tripped over his own two feet.

Two giggling Cavan boys, maybe 10 years of age, were holding a long jump rope outside his door. And he had fallen right into their trap.

"Great...now even kids younger than me are picking on me." He muttered to himself, trying to lighten his mood with a joke. Fitting in was always tough for someone like him, who mostly kept to himself, and being pranked on his second day was disheartening.

He frowned at his younger housemates as he pulled himself to his feet, reluctant to scold them for their behavior. He'd never been pranked or teased by those younger to him, and he didn't know how to handle such a situation.

They're probably just playing. He thought unsurely, but before he could say anything at all, the two had took off down the hall, giggling all the way.

[ken]

As Kennedy drew nearer the noise, he went up in flames. Sighing, he looked down at himself, willing the fire to dim. Still, it left his clothes slightly singed, and he smelled of smoke. Oh well, he'd looked and smelt worse when doing his job before.

He turned a corner just in time to narrowly avoid a couple of giggling ten year old. Confused, Kennedy turned and watched them go, feeling his Gifts shift yet again.

Once they'd gone out of sight, he looked back down the hall, seeing Matt, who he didn't immediately recognize. Smiling a friendly smile, Kennedy headed toward the young student, hoping that the ten year olds had just introduced themselves. Cavanites weren't Almasians, but that didn't mean they wouldn't pull a prank if it looked god.

"Hey there, don't think I've seen you around," offered Kennedy. He looked around, trying to ascertain whether there were any definite signs of foul play. Nothing immediately jumped out to him, so he focused on the scrawny kid.

[matt]

Matt stiffened as the older stranger approached, immediately putting his guard up. Sure, he looked friendly, but he knew too many kids who pulled that trick. Those were the worst kind of bullies; the ones that pretended to be your friends before they knocked you down.

He looks kind of old, though. He observed, slipping his hands into the pockets of his baggy brown cargo pants. Maybe he's an agent? About time...

Whatever the agent that had brought him had to run off to had to be very important, because he still hadn't heard back from him.

"I'm new. I just got here yesterday." He explained cautiously, and immediately cringed. Those weren't the best words he could have chosen; bullies loved fresh meat. Just because he didn't mind taking the hits for other people didn't mean he didn't mind being victimized...

"I'm Matt Ambrose. Who're you?"

[ken]

"Ah, new," Kennedy nodded, then looked around, still trying to figure out what had just happened. Did this new kid pick on someone? He didn't look the type.

"Just how new are we talking here?" he wondered aloud, studying the boy. "Still figuring out the whole supernatural and Gift thing? Or were you the lucky kind who had parents that put on tights and saved people?"

Kennedy had to smirk at that. Someone had joked that Kennedy would most likely do that. apparently no one could see him as just a teacher. Go figure.

"Oh," Kennedy ran his palm over his face, chuckling, "forgot my name."

He extended a hand, smiling again, "Cavan, Kennedy Cavan."

[matt]

"It's my second day here. Some agent guy dropped me off, said he'd be back later, and I haven't seen him since. He was kind of tall, skinny, brown hair..."

Matt held his hand high above his head, indicating the approximate height of the agent who was charged with his delivery. Hey, come to think of it, this new guy was kinda tall, brown hair...maybe they were related or something?

"Hey, are you an-wait, did you say 'put on tights and saved people?'" The young Cavan's jaw about hit the floor. "Wait, we do that?! So, uh, those comic book superheroes, were those real?! Do we train to be superheroes here?!

"I'm not wearing tights." He crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly, and gave Kennedy his best 'tough-and-serious' look. He wouldn't be saving any damsels looking like that; no decent bad guy would take him seriously! Matt looking 'tough-and-serious' was like a cute little mouse glaring menacingly at a big, hungry cat.

"And whaddya mean you're a Cavan? They said I'm a Cavan. Is this your...house...?" He finally allowed himself to take in some air; he'd been firing questions so fast that he'd forgotten to breathe. Hopefully, Kennedy hadn't noticed his comical, gasping breaths for air. Giving the first guy he met the impression that he was crazy would suck.

[ken]

Definitely fresh off the bus.

Sighing, Kennedy waited for Matt to catch his breath, smiling a bit himself. He hadn't been nearly as excited to do this. Then again, he'd been forced into the Academy, and had been a little snot, so it was to be expected.

"No, we don't specifically train people to be superheroes. If you think about it though, a Gifted pretty much is one," Kennedy shrugged, "I don't think we're supposed to be recommending tights anyway. Personally I'd go for body armor and a trench coat."

He smiled, thinking of himself in an outfit like that. Angela would probably think it sexy, though Morgan would tear him a new one. Rae would probably join him.

Kennedy shook his head, dismissing his superhero fantasy. "I mean my name is Cavan. As in that's honestly my last name. Apparently I'm descended from the guy who founded this house, hence the match-up. You want confusing though? My sister's an Almasian."

He smirked then, crossing his arms. "So, second day? You've got a lot of catching up to do. Don't worry, classes aren't that hard, and if you can find an Edengrowther, you're in luck."

[matt]

"Uuuhhh..."

Is there some kind of 'How to be a Superhero' instruction manual? Cause that would help about now!

Matt tried his hardest not to appear completely clueless. Unfortunately, his 'hardest' seemed to consist of leaning back and smiling awkwardly. Hardly the picture of a comfortable, knowledgable new student.

As far as he could gather, the 'houses' were similar to the ones in the Harry Potter books. So, there was Cavan, and apparently Almasian and Edengrowther...he wondered vaguely if there were prefects and Quidditch, too.

Maybe J.K. Rowling is Gifted? Seems like she's got it all figured out.

"...right. So, uh, are you an agent?"

[ken]

Matt certainly looked quite lost. Kennedy recognized that look, and could hardly believe he'd worn it himself only a short while ago. Just shows how far you can fly in just a year.

"No, I'm a tutor," offered the Cavan head, sticking hands in his pockets. "I teach history, social studies, stuff like that. Can't all be about flying around and saving people."

Kennedy chuckled. "But I'm definitely here to help. Any questions you might have, feel free to ask. I am the Head of your house after all, so it's kinda my job to answer them. 'sides, I remember what it's like to be new here. Gotta be worse not knowing about this stuff."

Kennedy waved a hand, shaking his head. That was about the only good thing about having Eoin for a father. At least Kennedy and Morgan had both been aware that there were people with special powers running around. Made adjusting slightly easier, unlike poor Matt.

[matt]

"Oh. Yeah." Matt responded lamely, forcing a sheepish smile. Thank goodness there weren't many other people around, watching him practically lie down on the chopping block. He didn't particularly like being pushed out of windows.

Maybe I should take Karate or something like Dad said. He mused to himself, swaying from side to side as he pondered. It was a nervous habit of his, which, to his horror, made him appear even more meek and childish, but for now, he didn't notice he'd fallen into it. Just what kind of classes do they have here, anyway? There better be something really cool, like Throwing Fireballs 101. The Human Torch so didn't need to dissect frogs and do Pre-Alg. And there better not be lots of homework.

For all the thoughts that were going through his head, and all the questions he could have asked, what he blurted out next was completely unrelated: "So, uh, what's your Gift?" He seemed to realize his mistake, in asking something unrelated to what he was thinking, and followed up with another question: "And, uh, what kinda classes and stuff are there here?"

[ken]

Matt was clearly fresh off the bus. It had been ages since Kennedy had met someone quite this clueless. Generally the Gifted who came through here at least had an inkling of what was going on, or they found it out before Kennedy could get to them. Apparently the Academy was slipping when it came to explaining such things to their students though, if Matt was a decent example.

"My Gift?" repeated Kennedy. He grinned, holding out a hand. Soon fire danced along his fingertips as Kennedy channeled Matt's Gift. "I'm a sponge. I pick up the Gifts of whomever I happen to be close to at the time. So I can flame on as long as I'm near you."

He waved his hand, dismissing the flames, and then winked at Matt. "It's harder then it looks; I practice far more then any sane person should."

He chuckled, shaking his head. No one should practice as long as Kennedy did, really. It had nearly been his life for a while. Albeit, he hadn't exactly been pleasant to be around, but the fact stood.

"Well, I teach history, remember?" offered Kennedy, smiling. "So you know the basics are covered. Math, Science, stuff like that. But we've also got a class specifically for Gifted to take. And our phy ed classes get pretty intense; we've even got a tutor specifically to teach people to fight. That's a required course too, so you'll meet him eventually."

that ought to excite someone with comic book fantasies.

[matt]

"Whoa." Matt looked on in wonder as flames erupted around Kennedy's fingertips, leaning forward for a better look. He felt a spark of jealousy, that the head of his house could call on fire so easily, and it wasn't even his power! He had only used his power once, accidentally, and he hadn't been able to make it work since then. He was starting to think that it was hopeless, that his power was a dud, like a firework that sparked once before dying completely. It didn't do anything for his self-confidence seeing kids younger than him using their powers as if they'd been practicing them since birth.

Oh well. They've got to have some kind of fireball-shooting tutor or something around here. The sooner I can find him, the better. He told himself hopefully, and grinned when Kennedy confirmed his assumption. He wasn't happy that there were boring subjects like English and Math, but there were cool ones to make up for it. Like his fireball class, and...a required fighting class?

His grin widened, and he suddenly looked very silly, staring off into the distance, clearly picturing himself flying through the air, slugging fireballs, twirling a sword...or maybe a gun. Guns were pretty cool, too.

He snapped back to reality as a group of girls passed by, laughing loudly and looking in his direction. Paranoid that he somehow drew a bullseye on his chest by chatting up some teacher, even if he looked kind of young and cool, he swayed uncomfortably, and gave Kennedy a sheepish smile. "I'm, uh...I'm gonna go explore some more. I guess I'll see you around."