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 Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2005 5:20 am
Training
When Raleigh is forced to withdraw the life from something he has created, either 'natural' or 'zombie' ('Zombie' types more so), the boy feels a strong wave of sadness and loss. It is such an immense feeling that it is almost crippling and takes at least a day to recover from at this present time. To become more adept in his powers Raleigh will need to block himself off from his emotions, and become detached. That way he will be able to work without emotional scarring.
Further information:
It is also clear that Raleigh had more of a bond to the 'zombies'. He can feel them as an extension of himself while the 'natural' types are like another animal altogether.
But with the 'natural' types he can then link with the creatures a second time, although it saps an incredibly amount of energy, and quite possibly change the form of the creature into something else.
During this training session Aikido will be a main focus, but they will be learning the art of relaxation and feeling ones self with the body.
Quote: Aikido training does not view the body and mind as separate. The condition of one will affect the other. For this reason, the physical relaxation learned in Aikido naturally becomes mental relaxation. Likewise, the perseverance and confidence that develop mentally are manifested in a body that moves and holds itself confidently and strongly. Any psychological or spiritual insight must be reflected in the body, or else it tends to be little more than intellectualization; under pressure, such insights disappear, and the person reverts to previously ingrained habits and patterns. Aikido training requires the student to squarely face conflict, not to run away from it. Through this very concrete, physical experience, an Aikido practitioner learns to face the situations of life in a proactive, constructive manner. Patterns of avoidance and fear are broken. The tense, defensive reactions to pressure and conflict that so often only create more violence are recognized and deconstructed. A new person - straightforward, brave yet humble, able to be both strong and yielding as circumstances require - can emerge from this training. Today, Aikido has become known in psychological and business circles as highly useful in extending and applying conflict resolution strategies. People everywhere are using Aikido philosophy to improve the quality of their lives.
"I've been told that you must learnt to control your emotions. That you can do with Aikido. With my training you will block yourself off from that which destroys your soul."
"I understand."
Raleigh didn't like it but for the moment he would listen and learn.
"You must open yourself to the spirits." The Aikido master sat cross-legged in front of his student, hands held in lap. Raleigh mimicked him.
They took deep breaths, Raleigh trying to time himself with his master. It was many long minutes later, after trying not to shift around in boredom, that he felt some manner of peace. The boy sat quietly after that, slowly learning to hold himself together in a more spiritual manner.
---
"Follow my movements."
Master Jin jolted Raleigh out of his meditation. The boy found it hard to just still his mind and was happy to get up.
"You must do what I do exactly. Your movements must learn to flow. Be one with your body."
He began a series of movements, which seemed like a dance to Raleigh, a combination of slow punches, turns and kicks. Swirling into a circle and punching towards the side, bending his knees and scuffling across the ground.
Raleigh did his best to copy but his motions were not as fluid and he kept forgetting the movements. Still, he was determined and three hours later he at least had the main pattern down.
Master Jin smiled. "Each night I expect you to sit in meditation for an hour and then do fifty push ups. Then train in your dance."
"Fifty!?"
"Yes."
A tired Raleigh didn't argue.
"Now, thrity push-ups."
Doing as he was told Raleigh did those push-ups until he felt ready to burst.
"Very well, you are done."
That night Raleigh wolfed down his food, had a quick bath and then collapsed into bed, leaving Ruriska sitting by his bedside in utter panic. He never went to bed this early!
Raleigh would have some hard work ahead.
Physical Abilities +1
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 11:30 pm
]http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=1524463
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 11:32 pm
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 11:33 pm
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 11:35 pm
Christmas Time
Ruri and Raleigh spend Christmas with Ariya and Megan. AriyaLauna
AriyaLauna was getting depressed. It was holiday-time, and Megan was beginning to mope around and cry about not having her traditions. AriyaLauna, too, was feeling the same way. And neither of them had really made close enough friends in their new surroundings to really be able to help that.
So, after much debating with herself, AriyaLauna decided to step out on a limb. She was sure that Ruriska and Raleigh were in the exact same boat as she was in. While she didn't like them very much, she figured she'd take a chance and invite them over. Why not? Would could possibly go wrong?
They'd set the dinner a little early, December 23rd. Christmas Eve and Day somehow seemed to be like asking for trouble to AriyaLauna, and anytime after would be silly. Ruriska had said she'd bring a side or two, which had taken some stress off of AriyaLauna. Still, she'd made enough food for the entire army. She'd found that Megan actually liked cooking, and they'd gotten quite carried away. It had been one of the better times she'd had with the little girl.
AriyaLauna was amused to find Megan fussing about with decorations. Everything had to be JUST SO. The table had to be perfect, and the house decorations had to be perfect. Nothing could go without matching. Megan had even put on a dress that matched the dining room. AriyaLauna was relieved to find that the girl had put on a play-dress as opposed to something fancy. That, too, would have been begging disaster. The one thing AriyaLauna was worried about, and had probably reminded Megan about too many times, was the fact that Megan seemed to have the whole night planned and scripted. She just hoped she wouldn't be too disappointed when things didn't turn out the way she wanted them to.
Megan was currently going between bouncing around excitedly and playing Mario Cart on her play station. AriyaLauna was stretched out on the floor reading a book, just keeping an eye out to make sure Megan didn't try jumping on top of her or anything. She hoped Ruriska and Raleigh would be at least semi-ontime, or little Megan would spontaneously combust. Or something.Ruriska "Don't give me that look Raleigh, and if you mention you hate Christmas one more time... you're not getting your presents."
Considering Raleigh's life hadn't been the best, Christmas had always been a sore spot for him and he had no desire to celebrate it with anyone. Ruriska had other plans. The way she saw it, a good Christmas was just what Raleigh needed. Ariya had given her a great chance to prove to Raleigh that Christmas could be a great time. Of course Ariya inviting her to a Christmas party had been extremely surprising. Raleigh aquaintance with Megan had only been a passing once and Ruri was pretty show everything she did made Ariya want to faint.
"Right, you're all done." Raleigh's long hair had been parted done the middle and smoothed down. His clothes consisted of a stylish blue and black number that was apparently itchy. Ruriska had gone for jeans and t-shirt look, but expensive jeans and t-shirt and a pretty fake fur coat over the top.
"We're already late."
"Whatever. Just carry this." Stuffing a plate of a special vegetable mix her mother had taught her to make into Raleigh's hands she pushed him out the door, her own plate of food placed securely under her arm.
--
After stepping out of the limo, they walkd up to Ariya's door and Ruriska rapped sharply on it, shuffling a little where she stood. AriyaLauna AriyaLauna got up to answer the door, but Megan had bounded up in a second in happy squeals, "I gots it! I GOT IT!" she slam opened the door, "Hi, Raleigh! Hi, Ms. Rahrisk! Wanna play a game, Raleigh? I got Mario Cart and Super Smash Brothers..." AriyaLauna grinned at Megan's antics, coming behind them. Her eyes swept over her two guests' clothing, and her heart dropped a bit. They looked like they were coming for something fancy. She only hoped the boy could play in those clothes. She had gone completely the opposite with the credit card Charles had given her, for the very reason that she had an unlimited amount of money, she was afraid to use much of it. Her house was simple, though oddly country-style in a big city. Would Ruriska expect some grand ritzy thing? She certain hoped not."Come in, let me take that for you, Raleigh. We'll get the food set up. It won't take but a minute, Megan, I don't know if you'll have time to play anything before...""Can we play just ONE game? It'll be REALLY quick... PLEASE?"AriyaLauna shook her head, though it wasn't really a no. Megan was beginning to understand her gaurdian more and more, and so bounced from foot to foot again, "Wanna play just ONE game, Raleigh?""Maybe we should let them in the house," AriyaLauna laughed, having already stepped back, and pulled Megan back too. She looked at Ruriska, uncertain, "You two hungry now, or would you rather wait a bit?" "I'm STARVING! It smells so good....What?""Nothing, Meggie," AriyaLauna winked at Ruriska, waiting to see what she and Raleigh had to say."It's MEGAN. Ech." Megan huffed. AriyaLauna didn't bother correcting herself.
After gaining a limitless credit card Ruriska had gone all out, as could be seen by the finery of her clothing. Of course if Airya's place was a little less lavish she really didn't give a damn, as her roots had been from the poor area of town. As soon as Ariya' mentioned coming in, Raleigh handed the plate of food to her and darted inside. "I'm not hungry, let's go play." He grabbed Megan's arm and began tugging her away, tugging her to where he wasn't sure, but away from the parents was a good idea.
Ruri followed him inside, chuckling a little. "Let 'em play a bit, let's go get the food ready. And don't worry, he's starving." Shrugging off her coat she put it over her arm, still cradling her pit of food carefully. "How ya been Ariya?" She asked, closing the behind her with a quick shove of her foot. AriyaLauna "I've been great. With the idea of Santa coming, Megan's turned into a little angel. Such a nice change! How are you and Raleigh?"AriyaLauna relaxed considerably as she watched Ruriska. No, she wasn't in here sneaking around looking at everything all stiff-nosed. That was nice. She wasn't sure she could take the attitude of the woman AND criticism all at the same time. She didn't have a place to suggest Ruriska put the coat, as she was from the south and had no idea about the necessity of coat hangers in the first place. It didn't even occur to her to try to find a place for the coat, actually. Her writer just felt like babbling about it. There's not much to prepare," AriyaLauna said, leading the way to the kitchen, "Unless you need to warm something up. Megan surprised me by being excited about all this. We'll have to be on our BEST manners just for her," her voice took on an edge of teasing as she mocked the girl.Megan had laughed outright at Raleigh when he started going in the wrong direction, "THIS way, 'less you wanna play outside. We can do that, I guess. It'd be fun too. I hope it snows. Did you know that Miss Ariya never ever EVER saw snow before? And she's OLD! I wish we had a puppy to play with, I want one, but SHE says no. What d'you wanna play? Outside or in?" Megan usually wouldn't care to ask, but she was playing hostess now, and so decided to be nice and give her guest the decision, even so, she bounced from foot to foot, ready to get going in whatever it was they were going to do. Ruriska "Huh wah... Santa? Oh right, yeah, that... Santa." Ruriska hadn't actually told Raleigh about 'Santa'. She'd found it was easier to just keep the jolly out fat man out of their relationship. "We're good, getting along same as usual. Oh..." Checking to see Megan was gone, Ruri dug awkwardly around in her coat pocket until she found a small package. "I bought a present for Megan. Me and Raleigh will give it to her after dinner. It's only a small bracelet but yeah... thought she'd like it."
After tucking away the present Ruriska walked further inside, dumping her coat on the first chair she came across. "Everything should be fine... it's still pretty warm. Kitchen?" Ruri looked around. The place was similar to her own. "Right..." Walking straight towards the kitchen she placed her pot on the counter, smiling, as she smelt the smell of food.
"Let's just go play the game." Raleigh said with a small frown. He'd seen snow. It was cold, and it was wet and he'd had to sleep in it before. "I hate snow. I wanna play super smash brothers." AriyaLauna AriyaLauna grinned, "That was nice of you. I'm sure she'll love it." she decided to keep the fact that she'd gotten something quiet, surprises were always nice, "I actually swore that I'd never have my kids believe in Santa, but Megan's family did it and she's so excited. She's had enough trauma for one year without taking him out of the picture," AriyaLauna rolled her eyes, "But next year no Christmas. We'll celebrate all this...." she waved her hand around, indicating the Christmasy things, "for New Years." she didn't bother explaining herself, "Do you have any plans?""Ok!" Megan bounded off to the television, threw out her game of Mario Cart, and stuffed in the Super Smash Brothers game. She liked this one too, "You can choose your character first. Do you wanna play against each other or teams against the computer? What're you gonna get for Christmas?" Ruriska "Raleigh's parents, the bastards, didn't even bother with the whole Santa thing." Ruri shrugged. "I'm sort of glad. I already buy him everything without bloody 'Santa' adding strain to 'what the heck am I going to get him'." She gave a dramatic sigh as she shoved her pot in the microwave (I'm assuming Ariya has a microwave). "Just a little heating up might do it." While she waited Ruri leant against the tabletop. "New Years? No plans. I was thinking of taking him out to see the fire works. Rent a boat on the river or a skyscraper room to see them better. How about you?"
Raleigh grinned as he sat down. The clothes he was wearing were a little uncomfortable, but as long as he had something to take his attention everything was fine. "Against each other... we can do co-op later." Taking up the controller he moved the cursor to Pikachu. His favourite console was the Playsation 2, but after that it was Gamecube. X-Box came a huge last as most of the games bored him. "Right. You can choose the level." AriyaLauna "Oh, I couldn't do the whole fireworks thing, I couldn't stand being around---" she paused. Ruriska had just said she was going to get a private place for her and Raleigh. That would certainly take care of the crowd problem, "Actually, that's a pretty good idea. Charles doesn't have fits when you take so much off the card?"Megan was slightly disappointed when Raleigh chose pikachu. That was the fastest character, and had that long-range ability. And kirby wasn't so good against him. She picked Link then, and set the scene on random. Random was so much better. The magma level flashed up, "Oh no! I can't still this level." but she didn't take it off, "I'll beat you anyway!"
"You wont beat me." Raleigh assured her. He hated this level as well. It was so darn annoying. When the level started he immediately set Pikachu into a crouch, ready to use his thunder attack if Link came to close.AriyaLauna "Oh, I'm sure whatever plans that needed to be made have already been made though. Maybe next year. Megan helped me set the table." AriyaLauna shook her head, "She was amazed that I knew how to make it look nice. I think she thought only highly-trained uppity servers could do that sort of thing." AriyaLauna grinned, "To have heard her speak, one would think we're putting on the best dinner anyone's ever seen." Megan had the advantage, Pikachu had fallen on the middle part, and her on the bottom. She pressed her R button and jumped up to snag pikachu, though she really wasn't very good with Link. Raleigh would probably get the upper hand pretty quickly.((OOC: ^-^ We don't need to play out the game in words, lol... Whenever you're ready to call for dinner, go ahead.)) Ruriska Ruriska chuckled. "Well, shall we call them over then?" She asked, putting her pot on the table and taking a seat. "Looks nice."
"s**t." Raleigh quickly tapped the jumped button, jumping up high and onto a nearby platform. Jumping up once more he pressed down and B towards Link. The Pikachu did an electric drill attack at Link, though there was a good chance he would miss.
Ooc: Sorry it's so small. >.< AriyaLauna Megan was caught by the bolt. When she jumped to get out of the way, she ended up hitting the magma, "Nnooo!" She jumped out, and came back force with a R-swirl toward pikachu. AriyaLauna nodded, getting up to call them, and then shrugging it off. Ruriska wouldn't care, "Megan! Raleigh! Food!" she hollered for them."In a MOMENT!" Megan yelled back, "I'll die so we can go eat." she offered.
"Now Raleigh!" Ruri yelled back, giving Raleigh no choice but to suddenly pause the game and trudge towards the dining room. "We'll just pause it for a bit." He said to Megan as he walked out the door. His stomach gave a little grumble, and he licked his lips. Darn he was hungry.
Sliding into a chair he looked at Ruriska and then reached for some food. "Just wait Raleigh." Ruri said. "I know you don't have any manners but you could have some patience." AriyaLauna Megan giggled at Raleigh when he got his hand slapped, but a look from AriyaLauna hushed her quickly. AriyaLauna said the blessing, saying a prayer that was little longer than most families bothered with, but was personal and meaningful to her. After that, there really wasn't any organization to the dinner. Megan apparently forgot that this was something special, and began babbling and eating like normal, talking excitedly about presents and Santa and vacationing down south with AriyaLauna. AriyaLauna put in her two bits every now and then, reminding Megan that Christmas wasn't about the presents, but the birth of Jesus. Megan only rolled her eyes and mocked AriyaLauna to Raleigh when her guardian wasn't looking. Overall, on AriyaLauna and Megan's side, nothing extraordinary seemed to happen.After she was finished eating, Megan took her dirty plates to the sink, and then came back, all ready to steal Raleigh again for some more fun and games. Playstation, outside, whatever, she didn't care. Just so long as they had fun! Ruriska
Raleigh had never had to sit through a blessing before so by the time it was over he shuffling in his seat, only kept from reaching for the food by a glare from Ruriska. She wasn't sure about the blessing either but she kept her mouth shut and just sat through it. "Finally!" As soon as it was over Raleigh reached for the food, and began eating ravenously. Ruriska tucked in likewise.
During the course of the meal Raleigh ate, gave Megan condescending looks whenever she mentioned Santa, or chuckled when she send something somewhat amusing. Ruri was busy eating and replying to snippits of conversation with Ariya. In fact, it seemed a rather happy meal. At one point Raleigh did throw a couple of peas at Megan and then at Ruriska, but stopped when she threw a carrot back at him.
Pushing the chair back from the table Raleigh followed Megan, ready to do whatever.AriyaLauna "Alright!" Tired of being cooped up inside, Megan instead lead Raleigh outside, "Whatcha wanna do? There really isn't nothing here..." she looked around the backyard for something, "I wish I hadda dog...We got balls to throw around, or rings to toss... we can make mud balls to throw at the grownups when they come out..."AriyaLauna shook her head as they left off, "I can't believe how much she talks. I could hardly get a word out of her before." she picked up the dishes around, "Raleigh's looking a lot better," she offered a sideways compliment. The boy was beginning to look like a boy rather than a stray animal. It was uplifting to AriyaLauna. Ruriska Raleigh followed her out into the backyard, giving her a sidelong look when she mentioned a dog. It reminded him of Yasuo all alone back home. "I can make you a dog." He offered with a sly grin, hands behind him back. She would probably say no and then he'd suggest playing with the ball. Raleigh glanced at the darkened sky, hoping it wouldn't snow.
"You could try gagging her." Ruri joked as she began helping with the dishes. "Yeah, he doesn't look like he just came off the streets anymore although I did always find that look kinda cute. His personality is still the same. Stubborn little creep he is." The woman laughed, a fond smile on her face. AriyaLauna "Really? Think you could?" Megan's eyes lit up, "That'd be so cool!" she paused, "I wonder if I could make a dog too. They said I can do whatever power the other person can do. Wanna try? We could hide in my fort," Megan pointed to some bushes."I have, but she got smart and started hiding the duct tape! Go figure." AriyaLauna let Ruriska start helping, always having thought that shared clean-up was one of the better times she had, since there weren't any ackward pauses, "He must be quite the fighter. He has that look about him." AriyaLauna smiled a bit, encouraging Ruri to talk about Raleigh. She kind of liked the way they interacted, and how Ruriska really looked after him. Maybe she'd judged the woman too quickly. Ruriska "Well... I guess I could make one and then you could copy..." Raleigh didn't like the idea of anyone copying his powers, but he had a full belly and presents were coming really soon so he was feeling fairly relaxed. Moving towards the bushes, he picked up twigs, leaves and other such items along the way. "Let's give it a go."
"He's a little s**t. Selfish, obstinate, rebellious. Haha, he sure is a fighter. Threw a fork at me once, near when we first met of course. After realizing that I wasn't going to take that crap he stopped." Ruri liked this subject. With a bright smile on her face she talked, picking up the plates and taking them to the kitchen. "But he's a great kid all the same. Loves things clean. His room is utterly spotless I tell. He's also very determined; you should see him during his training session. That kids does not like giving in." Ruri continued to ramble on. AriyaLauna "OK!" Megan agreed readily, completely happy and very excited about that idea. She mimiced Raleigh, picking up dead stuff as she went along, "It'd better be kinda small, I dunno if I can do somethin' big, and Miss. Ariya might let me keep a small dog...Is it hard?"AriyaLauna almost giggled, but held herself. She had already run the water and was beginning to wash the cups, "If Megan and he get into a fight then, we'll be in trouble. She's not particularly violent, but is a stubborn mule too. I wish I could get her to train, it worries me, she keeps telling me that she doesn't even have powers now." Ruriska "I'm not sure of yours will look very good... for a first timer." Even though Raleigh was willing to go along with it, even if only to show off, he was beginning to wish he hadn't brought the subject up. Taking away a life hurt him immensely and he'd already decided to never make his creatures unless he really needed them. So with a frown on his face Raleigh entered the 'secret base', making sure that they were well concealed if anyone should come out looking for them. Kneeling on the ground he set the twigs and leaves out before him, gathering some more from the many bits and pieces littered around him.
Letting Ariya do the dishes, Ruri leant against the counter. "Heh. That would be a sight to see. What does Megan do anyway? She asked with a raised eyebrow. "I don't think I've ever seen her use her powers." AriyaLauna Megan thought about that, still mimicing Raleigh's set-up, "Can't hurt to try, and Photon and the bad people and Miss Ariya all say I gotta try sometime. Now's as good as time as any," she was justifying herself, really, trying to get up the courage to do this. She really hated the idea of having powers, and was beginning to have second thoughts. But she wasn't going to let Raleigh know that. No way! She's wasn't some sissy!"She copies other people's powers," AriyaLauna winced, "I've seen it, and she was lucky not to get herself killed. It scares her too much. Does Raleigh ever have problems with his?" Ruriska "Ok um..." Raleigh wasn't sure how this was supposed to work. "Well, I guess I'll make it and then you... copy or something." Cupping his hands around the dead material he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. The power came easily to his grasp. A smile formed on his lips. Small. Puppy. That was all he needed. The rest could come from within, randomly. The leaves and twigs began to flow together, melting and reforming. From his hands a slow tingle travelled, his mind slowly beginning to feel a strong weight, as if slowly being crushed. Breathing became harder, and then... it was over. Opening his eyes Raleigh looked down at the small funny looking puppy thing as it wriggled in a heap, tryign to get used to its new body.
"Depends on what you classify as problems. Raleigh had accepted and loves his powers. It's apart of him. The only problem we get is the power itself, which seems very capable of causing bad emotional problems. But we're trying to work with it." Ruriska shrugged. Yeah, they'd had a couple of problems with the taking and giving of life but that was about it. AriyaLauna "Ok..." Megan watched Raleigh about halfway through, then frowned. How was he doing that? Well...She never knew how Spark or Flashcharge did anything, so... She took a breath and cupped her hands around the stuff she'd gathered, again mimicing Raleigh. Nothing happened at first, Megan kept telling herself over and over that her powers should just WORK... Go, go, go powers! Go....No? She opened an eye to see Raleigh's concentrated look, and then the wriggly thing as he finished. She pursed her lips, determination taking hold now. Like THAT... Twigs and leaves and stuff, make something cool and wriggly and alive like that!For her complete concentration on trying to get dead things to become a live thing, Megan hardly noticed when it began to work, and the feeling she felt as it worked, until it was done and over and she just knew. She pulled her hands away and looked down. Well, yeah, she'd made something wriggly and alive, and Megan thought it was pretty cool, though it wasn't really puppy like. It had too front legs, and a mobile tail that it used to sit up on and help it move, and something that...vaguely...looked like a puppy head, it had floppy ears, and a tongue with a floppy mouth, each made out of leaves, but no eyes or teeth. It was small, too. It could sit comfortably on the outstretched hand of a large man."I did it! Lookie, Raleigh! That's SO COOL!" Megan squealed excitedly, and impulsively gave Raleigh a sideways hug, "It's weird-looking..." Megan poked the tip of what would be a nose on a regular dog. It shook it's head and pranced it's feet a little, "Eee!"AriyaLauna nodded, "Poor kids. They've got some quick growing up to do. I can't imagine people being able to deal well with powers NOW... At their age," she shook her head, "I wonder what causes these changes. It can't just be random mutations...And it's also a wonder more people aren't just killed by it. Most mutations do that." Ruriska The puppy scratched idly at the ground, before turning it's head to stare up at Raleigh. But its master was too busy with other things to pay attention to its searching gaze, he was busy watching Megan's attempt to copy his powers. His energy was returning quickly, so he absently reached down to pat his creation on the head. The link that connected it to him had already snapped, leaving the puppy as a separate entity. Raleigh was caught between a frown and a smile as he thought over how Yasuo would take this new arrival. He probably wouldn't care, that dog was seriously lacking in personality, just like everything else Raleigh had created. Personality didn't compute when he tried to incorportae it into the creation process. But maybe after spending some time with them they'd show some spark of self... at least he hoped.
Oh dear lord she was doing it. If he.'d been a dog Raleigh's hackles would be rising right now. It seemed wrong for someone else to be doing what was his and only his, feeling thus he had to fight not to knock her over and stop what she was doing. When it was finally done he forced a smile as she exclaimed excitedly, but couldn't keep it in place when he looked down at what looked more like a pile of leaves than a living creature. Ok, so yeah, his was made out of leaves too but that thing was just... "It looks sick. My one could eat yours." Not exactly encouraging, but considering the fact that he felt like smooshing it in his hand, well... 'it looks sick' wasn't all that bad.
"Ya know, I've never really thought about where the powers come from and I don't care." Ruriska smoothed down her hair with a hand, smiling a little. "I know Raleigh will be able to deal with whatever comes his way. He has a very strong spirit." Her voice had a been a little airy as she spoke, and realizing it Ruri shook her head, clapping her hands together. It wouldn't be good for Ariya to get a wrong impression of her. Chuckling in delight Ruri pushed herself away from the counter and moved towards the fridge. "Enough of that. Got any booze?" AriyaLauna Megan was too excited to let Raleigh's statement annoy her, "It's NOT sick. You're just seein' things!" she stated, then began to scoot out, grabbing up her little creature with little regard to the poor thing, "I'm gonna go show Miss Ariya!"AriyaLauna's expression didn't change much at the beginning of Ruriska's talk, but toward the end she looked a bit stern, "Nope. I don't drink it. Nasty stuff. I have plenty of other drinks though," she smiled a bit, "Megan has me all turned around buying some sort of juice everytime we go out." She looked away, figuring this conversation would die out quickly, she was already floundering for ideas of what to speak with this woman with who she had nothing in common. Ruriska Aww s**t, what as Ruri going to say? She'd forbidden him from using his powers outside of the house. The reasoning: his creations creeped her out and since he didn't want to kill them she had to suffer them wandering dead-eyed around the house, which was seriously not a good thing. Plus they scared her beloved little kitten Samurai. It had nothing to do with the fact that Charles didn't want anyone using their powers yadda, yadda. It was just Ruriska's somewhat selfish reasoning. "Alright, let's get this over with." Glaring daggers at Megan and her new pet, Raleigh scooped his puppy into his arms and began walking towards the house.
"Tsk. You know Ariya, you miss out on a hell of a lot." Ruri remarked, not at all interested in drinking fruit juice at Christmas. You'd think she'd at least have some punch or something. Rolling her eyes a little Ruri turned around after hearing a door slam nearby, to find Raleigh in the doorway holding... Ruriska's eyes narrowed. "You've got to be kidding me." Raleigh hadn't bothered to wait for Megan, he'd wanted to get the confrontation out of the way, plus he liked seeing Ruri angry, so it was only right to barge in there straight away. AriyaLauna Megan was unaware of Raleigh's concern, holding her little...thing...closely. She followed behind Raleigh, though, too busy examining it to stay beside Raleigh as he stormed inside."So do you, Ruriska," AriyaLauna gave Ruriska an almost pitying look, but turned along with her when the door slammed. She blinked in surprise at Raleigh's creation, "Where's Megan?" she demanded, fearing the child had taken off the moment he'd started to use his powers."Here! I'm heeere!" Megan walked in as AriyaLauna spoke, eyes flashing excitedly, "Lookit what I did!" she held the thing up triumphantly. It rocked unsteadily on her hand before hooking its tail around a finger to keep from falling off.AriyaLauna looked surprised a moment, glancing uncertainly at Ruriska, and then braving to put on a smiling face, "Good job, Megan! See? It wasn't that bad at all. But, sweetie, you really shouldn't have done that alone...." she looked back at Ruriska, waiting her command with Raleigh to figure what needed to be done with the little creation. Ruriska Ruriska really didn't give a damn what Megan did with what Megan had made, that was her problem, all she was thinking was that she was going to have another one of those damn things in her house. But this time she managed to keep from yelling and cursing and screaming and stamping her foot on the ground. Why? Because it was actually kind of cute quailing there in Raleigh's hands, all sticky and leaf-like.
"What did I tell you?"
Raleigh shrugged; a little surprised she hadn't done something violent. Turning his head he glared at Ariya. "She didn't do it alone. I was there. And I know more about the powers than you do." He told the woman hauntily, knowing he wouldn't be reprimanded because Ruri always did teach im that it was right to speak your mind.
In fact, Ruri chuckled. "He's got a point there. We both know squat about what it feels like to have powers... unless you call those weird feelings hallucinogens give you, powers... er... Yeah, he's got a point." AriyaLauna "You shouldn't talk to an adult with that tone. She and you used those powers alone, without an adult, and luckily your powers aren't a sort that is dangerous immediately, or else it could have been very bad," AriyaLauna said evenly to Raleigh, then looked a Ruriska, the look on her face suddenly daring anyone to argue with her and clearly saying she was not appreciative of Ruriska's response, but she wasn't going to argue veryablly with her in front of the children. She turned back to Raleigh, "Ok, so are you still using powers with it still alive, or is it now a separate..being?" That was a weird thought, but she figured since Ruriska obviously didn't care enough to figure anything out about the powers, she'd address the youngster."But SHE said it was ok!" Megan loudly griped, taking advantage of having an adult on *her* side."You are not her daughter, and you are in my house. You will follow my rules!" she didn't look to Ruriska again, be she did flick her eyes at Raleigh, including him in the last half of that statement.Megan tensed angrily, but was curious to see the others fight AriyaLauna too. It was nice not to be the only one for once. Ruriska
Ruriska wasn't too sure why Ariya was so upset, so she eyed the woman disdainfully. The powers could be dangerous, yes of course. But only if one had danger in mind. Raleigh had learnt to control the creation of his beings. With only his consent could they create a creature designed to kill. The corner of Ruri's mouth turned down. She'd never backed down for a fight in her life, but could this even be called a fight? As far as Ruri was concerned Ariya was just being ridiculous.
Raleigh was feeling a little riled. What on earth was her problem? "Separate." He answered shortly. He wasn't going to elaborate. This woman obviously had no understanding of anything to do with powers, so there was no point in even trying. Maybe because Megan was so pathetic with her own powers? That must be it. Ruriska was pretty laid back with it all, since she had a huge wooden dog constantly walking around the place, knocking things over. Ruri knew all about it. Ruri was the only one who understood him.
A tense silence followed Ariya's latest words. Ruriska was still pretty cool over the whole thing, though she was a little annoyed, but Raleigh was on the verge of an outburst and Ruri could see it. Eyebrows quirking up expectantly, she waited.
AriyaLauna "Nor will I tolerate cursing in this house," AriyaLauna's voice had gotten lower as opposed to louder, and there was every force and meaning behind her words, "If you ins---""We ain't done nothin' wrong!" Megan hollered, "You're no fun! I hate you! LEMME GO!" When AriyaLauna reached out to grab Megan to stop her from running off, the girl first tried to duck out of the way, and then started to beat on her guardian. Ariya swung her around and sat her into a chair, body now angled to watch what Megan was up to and her visitors. Megan sat there, arms crossed and eyes glaring angrily. She stayed not because she was held, but in interest really of seeing where this fight went."I won't have my authority undermined," AriyaLauna spoke to Raleigh at first, then looked at Ruriska. Her voice didn't change, but her gaze dropped from angry to nearly pleading, "Not in front of Megan." She silently willed the other woman to understand.In the meanwhile, the little thing Megan had made had been dropped. It now struggle-slid-thumped near AriyaLauna and grabbed her skirt in it's mouth, in a silent, unnoticed, and harmless bout of defiance to her and help to his creator.
Ruriska The puppy in Raleigh's hand was baring little fangs, the leaves on its back bristling up like fur. The friction in the air was palpable. Through it all, Ruriska stood back. She knew her son could take care of himself in this situation, and it would probably be best if he learnt he couldn't always get his way. Watching, Ruri felt a twinge of pity for both Ariya and Megan. Both didn't seem to know how to deal with each other, having such different personalities. Megan was suffering, away from everything she knew, having to deal with these strange powers.
When Ariya looked her way, Ruri shrugged and gave her a 'what are you looking at me for?' stare. But then she understood and looked at Raleigh. The boy was seething. Seeing the anger in Megan only fuelled his own. Teeth gritted he prepared to fight back against Ariya's attempt to control him.
"Raleigh... let it go."
"..." Raleigh frowned, and turned to his guardian. Ruriska shook her head at him once. The boy stood there for a moment with a look of hatred, before nodding and crossing his arms over his chest. He was still angry; Ariya certainly wasn't on any of Raleigh's Christmas lists. In fact, for the rest of the night he'd probably refuse to talk to her.
Seeing his submission Ruriska grinned. "Now grab Megan and go play whatever game you were playing."
"Fine." Raleigh said shortly, sending a glare in Ariya's direction as he moved to Megan's side. Tucking his new creature under his arm he reached out and grabbed Megan's wrist. "Let's go." Hopefully, once they were out of the room, Ruriska would give Ariya a piece of her mind. Yeah, that would be good.
AriyaLauna AriyaLauna let out a silent sigh of relief when Ruriska took her side, "No more playing with powers, got it?" She nodded to Megan as the girl more than willing went to follow after Raleigh. She wasn't awarded with an answer."Megan..." there was a warning in her voice, and she went to take a step forward. There was a crunching of leaves under her feet."YOU KILT IT!" Megan hollered in accusation, rushing forward to pick up the pieces of twigs and leaves now beside AriyaLauna, who had stepped back in surprise, "You're mean! I hate you!" She whirled around and took off back up toward her room.AriyaLauna shook her head, swept up what leaves were missed by Megan and deposited them in the trash, her eyes stormy. While passing Ruriska, thanked the other woman.
Ruriska Ruriska cringed as she heard the crunch. Poor kid. Even though after the creation the two would be completely separate, it would be impossible for Megan not to feel a strong attachment to the creature she'd created. After spending a lot of time watching Raleigh training, Ruri had spent countless nights just staring at the ceiling and just thinking about this ability her adopted son was trying to control.
Meanwhile Raleigh stood there half stunned, his own new creature held against his chest protectively. As Megan sped out of kitchen and up to her room, Raleigh took in a deep breath. "How could you?!" He yelled, as if Ariya had meant to do it. He heard Ruriska curse and then felt her hand around his upper arm.
"Look, I think we'll be going now. I'll come back for the plates and stuff tomorrow or something."
Placing the present she'd brought Megan on the counter, she ushered Raleigh towards the front door. This Christmas dinner had certainly taken a turn for the worse.
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 2:59 am
Starting school...
Go get em Raleigh!
The day started off well enough. Who would guess that just beneath the surface of the sunshine, toast-eating day was a tense bubble waiting to burst? And burst it did, as no amount of tension can survive that irrational temper of youth and the insensitivity of a woman with the mentality of a ten year old.
"I don't want to go to school!"
Raleigh yelled during breakfast, slamming his small fist down on the table in a show of defiance. He hadn't uttered a word about school since the first round of shock three days ago when Ruriska had suddenly announced it over dinner. But with only a few hours to go until the actual moment Raleigh wasn't going to take it lying down.
"Why the hell not!"
Screaming right back at her charge in such a manner may not have been the best thing to do but Ruriska had just realized they were out of coffee, and that quitting smoking was harder then she�d first expected it to be.
"It sucks! I don't want to be with the other kids!"
"Well you're damn well going to go, even if I have to drag you Raleigh!"
The two warriors sized each other off, fists clenched and teeth gritted in anger. The battle of pigheaded-ness raged, eyes flaring and voices raised in battle cries that had the neighbours sighing and muttering �not again� into their breakfast.
But eventually there was a winner.
---
"Have a nice day at school Raleigh."
Her sweet, honey-coated voice made him want to retch. Stiffly he clambered out of the car and slammed the door behind him. Despite his show of rage Ruriska only gave him a mocking smile, mimed a kiss and drove off with a screech.
Left standing on the curb Raleigh sighed and looked down at his uncomfortable navy blue uniform. Slowly he turned around to look up at the impressive building, into where kids were currently streaming.
There was the sound of a car behind him, which he ignored but was then he was startled to find a hand clamp down upon his shoulder. The woman who held him grinned.
"Didn't think I'd actually make you go in alone did you?"
---
"We are happy to accept Raleigh into our school Miss. James."
"Of course you are."
"Yes well, the vice-principal will show your charge to his first class and get him acquainted.'
"Why thankyou principal, I'm sure you're under no obligation at all. Well then Raleigh, I'll be seeing you later on after school. Be careful."
"Bye."
"Gee, you could try and be a little more cheerful."
"... Goodbye."
----
They all stared at the new kid like he was some sort of commodity. In that single moment Raleigh decided he hated everybody in this school with a passion.
"This is our new student Raleigh Birch, children. Raleigh would you like to say hello and introduce yourself."
"Hello." He said stiffly, keeping his gaze low and anger in check. He hated it here so much.
"Tell us a bit about yourself."
A difficult child to begin with after living on the streets, living with Ruriska hadn't exactly mellowed him out. "My name is Raleigh, I live in a house and you are all idiots. I hate you all."
The stunned classroom kept a long silence as Raleigh found his desk and sat down.
That day ended with a lack of companionship and the muttering of the teachers. Raleigh had already made a name for himself as a trouble student.
----
"Hello."
"Huh?" A despondent faced Raleigh looked up from the anthill he�d been destroying with a stick and a bottle of water.
"Would you... like some of my... um... muesli bar?�
"Er..." Raleigh shied away visibly, eyes darting for an escape before he even had a chance to evaluate the person who so innocently offered him a bit of her lunch.
So far he'd been shunned. Three days here and everyone looked at him with a look he hated but ignored. But now...
"My name is Mara." She tried again, persistent if nervous.
"Ra... Raleigh."
She giggled. "I already know your name. I'm in your class."
"Oh."
Seriousness seemed to take over and she leaned forward. "Do you really hate me?"
Standing up rapidly Raleigh rolled his eyes and then shook his head. "No I don't hate you." Up he was able to get a better look at her. Smaller than himself she had a petite look about her, and her cheeks held a constant blush. Her hair fell to her shoulders in light brown waves, while her eyes were deep brown.
"Oh, good. We can be friends then."
"Why?" Raleigh was utterly perplexed.
"Well I don't have any friends either so we should... you don't mind do you?"
This girl seemed to switch from confident to self-conscious within a heartbeat. No wonder she didn�t have any friends being that weird. Whatever, at least he had someone to talk to now. That gave him a small glow of happiness. A glow that was short loved.
"Hey hippy boy."
They weren't any older then him. If they had been perhaps they wouldn�t have waited three days to approach him.
"So you hate us do ya? Well we don't much like you either."
Mara was, to Raleigh's surprise, instantly to his defence. "Leave him a alone." She stamped a foot, glaring.
"Haha! So the girly boy needs a girl to fight his battles."
There were three in all but it was only the first one that actually spoke. The other two hung back and sniggered like the cowards they were.
Raleigh could hear his guardian's words in his head as he squared up his opponents, anger rising in his chest and threatening to engulf him. Don't you dare use your powers! Where the ******** did I put the iron!? Ack, hey, you didn't hear that. Ok you did, just don't repeat it. School people don't like the word ********. Get's them all pissy.
Although a little unsure why Ruriska's internal dialog seemed to go so long Raleigh took her advice to heart. He didn't need to use his powers anyway. Plus they usually only worked if he was frightened. No, if he wanted to he could and he knew it. Anger made it possible. But he didn't need to. There was another way.
"Stupid long haired girly boy. Come on, aint' ya gonna say anything. Dirty ******** you!"
That other way was clearing demonstrated as Raleigh's clenched fist met his assailant's nose. There was a satisfying crunch that had Raleigh smirking, and the boy fell back clutching his bleeding nose. A few seconds later and he began to wail.
"That wasn't very nice." Mara observed over Raleigh's shoulder. He shrugged and resisted the urge to kick out in a last show of strength.
From all directions kids and teachers were running over, one kid nearby whooping in glee after having seen the whole scene and finding it incredibly funny.
Well, he was in trouble now.
Gen Knowledge
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Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:38 am
Special Info On Current Status ie, upcoming battles with villains
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:26 am
Fiasco at the mall!
Oh no! This could be trouble!- Raleigh and Erol Rp
Erol groaned as the door to his room burst open and an exuberant Akila came fluttering in. "Time for school...get up!" she shouted kicking the mattress for emphasis.
Erol rolled over on his side turning his back on her as he snuggled deeper into his sleep. "Later." He said as if that should be enough.
Akila pulled the covers from him and promptly tossed him out of the bed where he fell to the floor. "Take a shower and be down in fifteen minutes or you won't get any food." she said simply and walked off taking the covers with her.
Snorting the boy sat up leaning his head on the bed as he looked up at the ceiling. "I should destroy the school." he thought aloud, but jumped as Akila swiftly came into the room with a glare of impending doom.
"If you so much as sneeze the wrong way at that school and I hear about it you'll have a lot more to worry about then training. Now get going." She said and was once more gone.
Erol frowned but did as told wondering where her superhuman ears had come from. He smirked as he quickly went about his morning rituals. Showers, brush teeth, attempt to brush hair, dress and gather all his books plus other odds an ends then scurried down to get a quick hot meal. Within moments he was on the bus and headed for school. He took the empty seat in the back wanting to be left alone so he could listen to his iPod on full blast and drown out the world behind him. Leaning back he kicked up his feet and did just that, the rowdy noises of the kids on the bus drowned out by his music.=== "Hurry up and get in the damn car Raleigh!"
"I'm coming damnit!"
They were late again of course, meaning Ruriska was sitting in her shiny red car, beeping the hell out of the horn and annoying everyone else in the vicinity while Raleigh ran around the house attempting to shove everything into his backpack.
They'd both overslept again after a scary movie marathon. When Ruri had woken up that morning both of them had been curled up on the couch together and she would have been inclined to find it cute had she not had Raleigh drooling on her leg or the immense Yasuo staring soullessly into her eyes.
Damn creepy, that's what it was!
"Hurry up!"
"I'm here, I'm here!"
Finally making it to the car, Raleigh barely had a chance to shut the door before Ruriska screeched off. They wove through traffic at a wonderfully fast pace, and no doubt Ruri would get herself another speeding ticket and possibly her licence revoked which Charles would kindly get back to her again. Ah, life was good.
They pulled up in front of the school and Raleigh hurried inside, passing a disapproving teacher. There was that problem child again, she was probably thinking, as Raleigh sauntered along the hallway looking for his locker.===
Erol was lounging casually near the bathroom and water fountains. Class was due to start within the next five minutes, he however was not of the mind to care. He had a few of his friends around chatting him up about some such event that had happened over the weekend."Thanks for the new tunes, Manny. I'm feeling the vibes in this one." Erol spoke up with a chuckle.
The boys were in an uproar over something and began arguing playfully amongst themselves, Erol was only half listening when he noticed Raleigh coming up fast to his locker. With a smirk he waved off his friends and sauntered over. Leaning against the locker next to Raleigh he stood their casually. "You do know there's this invention called an alarm clock. It works wonders for the waking impared."
Erol was the kind of boy that liked to tease others. Regardless if he liked them or not, in this case Raleigh and Erol were known for their constant bickering and fighting. So much so the whole school seemed to be weary of the two boys when they were together. Erol's friends stopped arguing as they noted the two boys together now. It was almost time for class so the group of boys hurried off to their classes, Erol completely forgot the time so engrossed was he in messing with Raleigh.=== Raleigh first day at school had been rather turbulent as it had involved a very interesting speech to the class that the kids nor the teachers had appreciated, getting into a fist fight with another kid and making a name for himself a trouble. Even though he'd been there for about a year now, he had only managed to make one friend, and if he was not with her he seemed quite happy being alone with his thoughts. At times he could be so hostile most kids didn't even bother try getting to know him.
As soon as he saw Erol, his nose crinkled up in distaste, a frown was evident on his face. When the two were together sparks tended to fly and it was generally best they keep out of each other's presence unless they were looking for a problem. Yep, there was definitely a lot of rivalry between the two, but Raleigh would be the first to admit (though only to Ruriska) that he sometimes found their fighting rather amusing. Most people were quite surprised the two had yet to get into a fist fight, though it couldn't be too far off. If Raleigh were in a seriously off mood there was no doubt his fist would be meeting Erol's nose if the boy ever pushed him too far.
Luckily he was in a rather calm mood today, though he would rather Erol just shove off. "It's called not giving a ******** about school. Now buzz off.' Raleigh replied casually, eyeing the blonde carefully before he turned to his locker, for all appearances ignoring Erol completely. Stuffing his backpack in he gathered a book and a pencil and then slammed the locker shut. ==== Erol snorted dismissively as well turning with a slight wave of his hand. "Yeah whatever man...you must have a serious stick up your butt this morning. Do yourself a favor and use your powers to remove it and make better use of it, yes?" he replaced his earphones back on and turned his iPod on full blast to drown out anything the boy would have said. The bell had rung and it was time to get a move on least he be late...
And wouldn't you know it... the door to class was locked. "The ********!?" he screamed at the teacher from the other side. The teacher favored the boy with a warning glare before turning to instruct the class.
Kicking the door roughly Erol stood idly by shovinig his hands in his pockets. The hall sweeper would be on their way soon and he couldn't afford being late today...not when there was a test he had actually studied for. Beside he had promised Akila he would pass it and she'd take him to get his guitar modded. "********' brainy a** teachers..." He stood by pulling some gum from his pocket he shoved it angrily into his mouth trying to figure out what he would do next. === Raleigh only reply was a noncommittal grunt. Jo doubt today would be filled wiht pointless, casual arguing. Besides the occasional off remark to each other just for the sake of it, neither would really note the other's existence. Raleigh certainly didn't. He listened in a detached sort of way as Erol screamed at the door and the teacher and generally just made a fuss. Almost a bad a mouth as Ruri on that one. That thought nearly made him smile, but he held it back with admirable restraint.
Raleigh stalked over to where Erol was swearing and making a scene. Oh right, the test. He hadn't studied at all, but it was a math test and by some twist of divine fate Raleigh was actually really good at maths, thus his natural talent would surely pull him through with a passable mark. After peering through the door window and giving the teacher an angry glare, he leant against the doorway. The teacher couldn't leave them there forever.
Said teacher was probably asking 'why me?'. After all, she had both Raleigh and Erol in her grade and that was never a good thing. But she'd have to let them in, or else... well no, Raleigh couldn't turn the wooden door into one of his creations, much to his annoyance. A number of people would have his guts for that. The boy stared through the window again, trying to get the woman's attention. It wasn't like he ever made a big fuss in class(except for that first day), unlike some rowdier people.
"Damn it." ===
After waiting for what seemed like forever, Erol smirked to himself. He was still listening to his iPod on full blast as usual but with the teacher paying the two of them no mind he figured a little fun was in order. Eyeing Raleigh a moment he pushed off the wall and walked casually down the hall before.
Disappearing around a corner there was the sound of a slight gush of air with a wave of invisible energy that raced down the hall then Erol running down the hall right after. "Alright..." he whooped and suddenly the fire alarms went off everywhere in the school. Rushing to stand near the door he smirked to himself awaiting the students to gather and exit the rooms. Sure enough everyone was in line and heading out of their classes.
The teacher eyed both the boys wondering if either had anything to do with it but considering they were still standing at the door and had little to no time to do as such, he slapped them both upside the head to usher them out of the building. Erol just hummed to himself while protecting his precious iPod and other equipment in his satchel.
Listening to his music again. Didn't he ever do anything else? Yes, be an annoying prat. Raleigh stared at the roof, clearly bored and wishing the damn teacher would get a move on. Open the door damnit! He'd give him five more minutes before he started pounding on the door, or broke the bloody window. After whistling a bit to keep himself amused Raleigh turned to watch Erol to see what the other boy was doing. That smirk... Oh dear. As Erol darted off, Raleigh grinned and waited with half puzzlement and half amusement to see what the young super come up with.
The fire alarm suddenly started up with its piercing sound and Erol came running back around the corner looking very pleased with himself. Raleigh snorted and rolled his eyes. "Show off." The door behind them opened, the teacher stalking out with his class filed along behind him. Both boys were given a very suspicious glare, at which Raleigh just shrugged at and smiled.
Raleigh followed the rest of the class out onto the school grounds. Everyone milled around, confused and disorientated. The teacher's were having a heck of a time trying to organize their classes and figure out if there was a fire or not. It was all rather funny really. As soon as people got into the open space of the oval lines simply fell apart and kids wandered around all over the place to gossip with friends. After casting a quick glance around for Mara, Raleigh proceeded to move to a less populated area and sat down. === Erol came up to Ra casually his hands behind his head as his music was on but not up too high where he couldn't hear. "So...are you up for a little fun?" He asked. Despite his dislike of the boy, he saw a wild side within Ra that would prove interesting if they ever decided to be friends...he rolled his eyes at this. Okay friends was pushing it, perhaps associates.
At any rate, Erol leaned against a particular tree having skittered away from the crowd of children milling about. His iPod was on full blast as was usual for him. He gave Ra a look as he waited for the boy to come nearer and out of ear shot of the teachers and other authority figures before he would turn his iPod down.
"Look. I know we don't get along that's fine with me. But I know a guy when he's into a little mischief...or at least I like to think so. Lets ditch school and hit the town. And don't start with me on that crap about us being too young. Its annoying and I hear it enough from Akila daily." He said with a snort. "Well you up for it?" He asked eyeing the crowd. Now was the perfect distraction to sneek away. If they dallied to long it would be useless to go. He proded the boy by walking off with his earphones on full blast. If Ra wanted to come he would...it was simple as that. Erol would simply make him choose through actions. Dipping past a few firemen who made it on the scene due to the fire alarm he found himself safely hidden behind the fire trucks. Now to the bus stop...he had money enough for the both of them but wouldn't offer if the boy had his own money.=== There was one blessed moment of peace before Erol sauntered over, oozing the cool self-confidence that always made Raleigh was to hit him. The moment they had met Raleigh had always considered the boy as a rival. Erol was one of the strongest of the super children; the only one that Raleigh thought could challenge his own powers. Thus came the instant dislike. Brow creased down in a frown, his arms folded over his chest. Was he up for some fun?
Not wanting to bow too much to Erol's wishes, but still rather intrigued, Raleigh settled for shuffling a little closer. Erol could talk or he could go away, either way Raleigh didn't care.
Raleigh listened, his frown deepening a little. His gaze swept the milling crowd around them. They wouldn't be missed. So when Erol began to stroll away, he got up and followed, hands in his pockets. This could actually be interesting. Keeping a few steps behind, he walked with his eyes on Erol's back. That guy was so terribly self-assured, and it annoyed him. === With his music up full blast he hadn't noticed Ra behind him but only by a glimpse behind him did he see the other taking the intiative. Good boy... he thought smirking lightly as he continued on past the crowd. Once in the clearing he smiled proudly of himself whistling to the music that played in his ears. "Ah home free..." the bus stop wasn't much further down the road, and taking a moment to look at his watch, it would be here and gone before anyone could miss them.
As they came up to the stop the bus was on its way. "Right on time." he said and turned off his music long enough to collect his money. "If you don't think you can handle your own way..." he said pulling out a wad of cash. "I can spot you until you pay me back of course." Yeah he wasn't going to let the boy off easy. After all they weren't friends or anything.
Once on the bus, Erol took the back seat near the window glaring out as the road past them by. "So..." he began unsure of a topic to engage themselves in. "Uh yeah... I'm not sure what you are into but you better speak up now. I was hoping we could hit the mall for a bit maybe go to some of your favorite spots assuming they aren't boring or anything." Oh look at that he was trying to be corjole. === Raleigh didn't bother wondering if he'd made the right choice or not; in fact he probably would have hightailed it out of there without Erol's urging. The young super strolled after Erol, looking unconcerned, his mind occasionally wandering to places he'd like to be. Back home Yasuo would be doing what he always did, laying down in the middle of the lounge room and staring blankly at a wall, waiting for Raleigh's return. Maybe if it was a good day the creature would be staring unblinkingly at Ruriska, making her squirm and shut the door to her room with a loud slam and a curse.
The teen snapped out of his little reverie as they approached the bus. Stepping up onto the bus behind Erol, he produced his own money (of course he had his own money, Ruri gave him anything he wanted, the spoilt little rat), giving his so-called 'companion' a hard stare. "I can pay for myself." He would be damned if he was going to owe his rival anything, even for such a small amount as a bus ticket.
He followed Erol to the back of the bus and sat not too close, but close enough to talk. The look on his face didn't exactly encourage conversation, but he answered Erol all the same. "The mall sounds fine." He rarely went to the mall, and in fact, he didn't 'hang out' at all. His friend ratio being depressingly close to zero. Though since he counted his creation as his friends maybe it was that bad. ===
"The mall it is.." and with that Erol was returned back to his own word as his music was turned up full blast. The ride however, was uneventful, neither youths paid much mind to the other, either thinking of their own things or starying blankly out the bus window.
By the time the bus did reach the mall, Erol was all but bored with the music on his iPod. "Gonna have to upload new music." He muttered and turned the thing off for the time being. Stepping off the bus after it came to a stop he didn't wait up for Ra heading straight into the massive building and more importantly one of his usual spots. The electronic store, he wanted to invest in an iPod with more memory this one simply would not do.
After a quick search and the purchase of a new iPod, Erol finally addressed Ra with a mild smirk. "Anything you want to look at. There's plenty to do here unless you're not much of a shopper then I can't help you." Erol said, stuffing his hands casually in his pocket. He noted a few students from their school who he had ditched with on plenty of occassions. Of them was Tiffany a rather cute girl but not his taste; he gave her a wink and hi-fived the other boys that came over to converse for a moment. Eventually they all skuttled along on their way leaving Erol and Ra to their own devices. "Hungry?" Erol asked not sure what would get the boy to talk or even show some interest in life...after all he dealt with dead matter so much he might as well be dead. === Raleigh's problem was that he had never had much interaction with other kids, and was definitely the solitary type. This whole thing made him nervous. With Ruri and his companions he could be talkative and loud, but right now, he just didn't know what to say. So he remained in silence even as they got off the bus and headed into the mall. He followed Erol with his hands in his pockets, his gaze alert as he looked around. This wasn't a mall he frequented; there was another closer to his house that got the most of his service.
He walked behind Erol in the electronics store, amazing himself with his desire to grab and run. No, not run, sidle out with practised ease. His time on the street had made such an ability a requirement, not that he needed to do it anymore and of course stealing something from a electronics store was just stupid. They had too many safe guards to it. Raleigh wandered over to the DVD sections and looked for something not in his collection. There was quite of a few of course, but nothing he'd like to watch.
He wandered back over to Erol and waited as he bought his new Ipod. "No, not much of a shopper. But I wouldn't mind just looking around." When the group of teens from the school approached Raleigh stepped back and simply waited for them to leave. He did not converse with their type and he didn't want to. When they finally did continue on their way, he was a lot happier and showed it with a small smile. "I wouldn't mind something to eat." He gave Erol a sidelong glace. "Lead the way." Erol shrugged figuring Raleigh to be the type that wasn't very sociable. Then again, neither was Erol if he could say so, he just knew how to communicate on the fly and get people out of his hair so he could be alone. He liked spending time to himself away from prying eyes and annoying questions.
Taking a sidelong glance at Ra he escorted the youth to the eatery. It was only by chance that he noticed something oddly familiar about this place. Stopping short of the food court a flash of memories ran across his mind causing him to lurch suddenly. "It couldn't be..." he whispered to himself holding his head steadily as if he had a headache.
He looked warily to Ra but snapped his attention at the mall itself. No wonder he was used to this place, he had taken them farther away from the mall he frequented near his home.... this was the mall he had destroyed before Akila had been assigned to him. They had managed to remodel it a bit and fix it back up but he couldn't forget the day his powers had manifest itself in this very food court.
"I want to go." He said suddenly not interested in the least bit staying here. "We can eat later...I need to go..." And it was only by chance that he would turn around a come face to face with his past. His friends from long ago stood before him wide eyed and of course frightened. Only because of this did his powers extract themselves subconsciously causing a slight trimmer beneath them. It was controlled but a warning of things to come should the situation escalate. Erol quickly brushed past the lot of them taking Ra by the hand against his will. When they were safe distance away he let the other go and continued walking purposefully toward the exits. If he could remember correctly the authorities probably had case file of the incident that day.
And if that's the case... a whistle blew just as Erol figured out the scenario. "Ah s**t! Raleigh run!" he said quickly as a gang of mall police suddenly began to jump out of the wood works. "s**t...run you idiot!" With that Erol was off in another direction the officers already blocking their escape.=== As they walked he began to relax a little. Everything was under control, they would sit down to eat some ridiculously priced food, chat or maybe argue about something meaningless and then wander around some more before leaving. It all sounded so simple. Too bad things never worked out the way one hoped. Raleigh nearly ran into Erol when the boy stopped, looking as if he'd seen a ghost. "What?" Frowning he glanced from the food hall to Erol, then to the food hall again. There didn't seem to be anything particularly horrifying about it.
Erol looked at him and Raleigh stared back, not bothering to hide his annoyance. This was ridiculous. And he was just about to say so, and also ask what the heck was going on, when Erol turned while muttering about leaving. "Go?" Raleigh echoed somewhat stupidly. And then in front of them; teenagers, the same age, looking utterly terrified. Erol seemed to go even whiter. A moment later Raleigh's hand was grabbed and they began walking swiftly through the mall.
If Erol hadn't looked like the world was about to end Raleigh might have been a bit sterner on wanting answers. But as it was he was content to just follow. That was until the whistles blew. It was quite enough. "s**t! What the ******** did you do?!" He demanded. It was then that it dawned on him. Of course he'd noticed the slight tremor from earlier. No doubt this whole fiasco revolved around Erol's powers, and a mishap involving them. It had happened to all of them at one time or another. That couldn't be in any way good. Raleigh muttered a curse, wishing he had Yasuo with him.
If only they could just stand and fight... but no, that would get them into deep s**t. And so he ran, glancing around for a possible exit. One of the policemen made a running grab for him. A stupid idea. Raleigh only had to make a quick turn and the man was face down on the floor. At that point Raleigh began to grin. This wasn't so bad after all. ==== And of course things just had to get worse. Where these guys just waiting for Erol to return or what? "Dude I don't know about you but I'm not getting caught." Erol announced as he reached for his iPod. He put on his earphones standing casually aside while the officers seemed to close in on them. Putting on his usual kick a** music he held his hands at his side, flicking them lightly to get the blood flowing.
"Stay close or I'll leave you here...and don't go high and mighty on me about using my powers. We can deal with our guardians and Charles later." Erol said spitting off to the side as the officers came in closer.
He stole a glance at the food court noting his old friends from the past. Part of him wanted badly to make the upper section they were standing on to fall. Those bastards should know him by now...he didn't do anything then but save their lives and this is how he is repaid, in fear and contempt. "********! Lets rock..." Erol said rushing forward as two officers came at him he ducked low sliding between on of their legs and reaching out to snag the other by the leg. He cleared a route for Raleigh to follow behind him as he jumped to his feet and headed off deeper into the mall. His music blastin' and surprisingly he could still hear Raleigh if the other had something of importance to say... "Lets try to get to the other side. I dont want to use my powers if I don't have to..." that was a lie, he'd use them definately but wasn't willing to get Akila more pissed then she'd be after hearing of his ditching. === Get high and mighty on him? Not likely. Raleigh was itching to use his powers. Just to teach them all a lesson. "Just shut up and move." Raleigh told Erol before he moved away a few metres, looking for an opening. There were about five policemen, and they all looked exceptionally nervous. Two were talking anxiously into their radios, calling for backup. Raleigh turned to watch as Erol made his move. Soon he too was running, seeing the opportunity that had been created at the officers floundered.
Soon he was running just behind Erol. As he ran he glanced around, searching. If the worst came, he wanted to be prepared. There, up head, a furniture store. Raleigh grinned. That would be perfect. Keeping it in mind, he continued to pound along while wishing he knew his way around. Since he had no idea where he was he was forced into dependency of Erol, which was definitely an annoyance. === Erol smirked booking past the cops toward the furniture store, "Now is that any way to talk to the guy that's trying to help save your skin?" Erol said smuggly over his shoulder. As they ran along the boys would be met with a rather bulky looking guy who would pop out in front of their current destination.
"You boy's are causing quite the ruckus come with us... The officer said as if that was enough to get their cooperation.
Like hell. Erol knew he couldn't drop this guy and he wasn't so sure Raleigh could even if he trained more in martial arts. "Dude seriously....get outta the way!" Erol warned glaring at the man, he ventured a look to the furniture store and smirked when he realized what that meant.
"Alright don't say I didn't warn you..." He said, the remaining officiers converged on the boys by then circling them quite nicely. It would seem this little fiasco was reaching quite a climax. Cause just as Erol was about to shake a few things up to clear the way, a rumbling of feet could be heard throughout the mall, and with it tight militant commands ranged into Erol's ears. Turning off his iPod he looked around from the officers to find on the top levels and bottom levels were covered with a special unit squad. "Shyte..." Erol muttered resituation his earphones.
"Raleigh I'll never ask you for anything else after this but when I make my move you better conjure up something wicked from that furniture store...." he whispered, and tip-toed close to Ra then wanting to make sure the other was in a safe proximity of things to come. At the flinch of an officer Erol sent a rolling shock wave to clear the way of the burly officer just enough for Ra to rush into the store. And as the other boy would make his move the squad and current officers would rush in... Erol took a deep breath concentrating hard he knelt on his knees. Rubbing his hands together to ease his nervs he opened sharp brown eyes and clapped his hands together hard creating a booming effect which sent an interesting gust of invisible energy throughout the crowd, knocking officers left and right. The wave shattered a few windows, distorted some weaponry, and even caused a bit of an electrical surge, dimming a few lights in close proximity, causing general chaos throughout the mall as the wave continued to spread out only disappearing at a weak point. After the initial chaos Erol was left open for attack to which he ducked at the sound of gun shoots. "RAAAAA!"=== Raleigh skidded to a halt beside Erol, glaring up at the bulky man in front of them. Jeez, this day had sure turned out interesting. Much better than school would have been. The teen smirked, glancing at Erol. His companion obviously had something in mind. And so so did he. Raleigh took a step back, taking in a deep breath. Around them more policemen began to appear, all of them wearing a no-nonsense look, quite a few were also brandishing guns. Obviously Erol and Raleigh weren't kids anymore to them, they were now the enemy. Raleigh knew they'd have to respond in kind. His pride demanded it.
At Erol's words Raleigh only laughed, giving a small nod. He pressed close to the other boy, and focused on the nearby furniture store. He let out a breath and instantly connected with the various wood items. Most were covered in lacquer which could be quite an annoyance, but he could work around that. His mind worked, shaping. The ground beneath his feet began to rumble, vaguely he could feel Erol kneeling beside him, and could hear the officers yelling.
You know what I need
"RAAAAA!"
Raleigh was jerked out of his thoughts, but the connection remained as his creation took its final form. Nearby in the furniture store, the wooden tables, chairs and desks looked as if they were melting. A store clerk screamed, running out of the store "My turn!" Raleigh yelled. A hollow roar rang out through the mall. Officers turned to look, many turning pale. Energy drained, Raleigh broke the connection and then stood, swaying on his feet. The lights flickered.
Out of the furniture store lumbered a wooden beast. It was at least as big as a car and held a remarkable resemblance to a Rhinoceros. It's small, hollow eyes glanced around; blinked once, and then twice. And then it charged. The lumbering beast began to run, picking up a surprising amount of speed before it rammed into the bulky looking man. The officer was tossed aside like a rag doll. Gun shots rang out, but lodged into the wood beast without it even noticing.
"Let's get going." === Erol opened surprised eyes at the strange beast charging the bulky policeman. Smirking he gave Raleigh an approving nod but nothing more, he couldn't go around complementing his rival now could he?
Taking to his feet he ran behind the large beast using it as a sheild from the bullets which were flying in their general direction. He turned looking behind him at the cops on the top level. They had no qualms shooting two pre-teens obviously, though these pre-teens could conjure up beasts from various materials and make the space around them explode with invisible energy.
Bullets were bouncing off just about everything in their direction. This was getting too dangerous. Even if he was a little spooked he wouldn't tell Raleigh as he watched the strange furniture animal plow into a crowd of officers, shops and a few bystanders. "Dude get a hold of that thing!" he shouted.
At that moment a noise behind him grabbed his attention to which he turned just in time to find a fist reeling for his face. Tossed a few feet from the blow he looked up at the man who hit him, wiping blood from his busted lip. "Oh hell naw..." Erol spat, raising to his feet out of anger. It was known when he was younger; when Erol got mad his powers sometimes micmicked that anger.
A store's window emploded from the excessive energy that shot from Erol when he charged forward at a decent speed rushing the man he didn't do much to push him back, maybe a good few inches short of a foot or two. After all he was still in training but anger and adrenaline had a way of giving that extra push. Punching the man repeatedly an excesse amount of that same invisible force shout out from the man's back seemingly as if Erol were punching through him. He reeled back one final time ready to deliver a critical strike but a crackling shot rang out and the next thing Erol was on the ground a tinge of blood marring his shirt.=== Getting going seemed like a good idea. Raleigh charged after Erol, but he was slower, having wasted a lot of energy in the creation of the beast that was now wreaking havoc. A bullet skimmed past, missing him by an inch. Raleigh gulped. This was getting slightly out of hand. He dived into the relative safety of the area behind his rhino-looking creature, which lumbered back and froth making snorting noises before charging and butting someone aside. The officers weren't sure what to do in the face of this huge wooden creature.
Kneeling down behind an overturned vendors cart, Raleigh took in a few deep breaths. He'd only have a moments respite before they came with their guns. Staring at his creation, Raleigh frowned. He'd never made something that big, at least consciously, and he hoped it would listen to his commands. The teen shook his head. There was no time for doubt. It had to obey or they were in deep s**t. Erol seemed to be following the same train of thought. "Alright, alright. Just give me a second."
It was all easier said than done. He muttered a curse under his breath and moved out of hiding to try get closer to his creation. There was a sound from behind, where he'd just left Erol, and so he turned quickly. "Holy s**t." Eyes widened as he watched Erol, saw the anger and with it the out-lash of power. He knew this couldn't go down well. Thinking quickly, desperately, he let out a piercing whistle. His creation lifted its head and then began to lumber towards him. Raleigh pointed towards the man Erol was facing down, just as the officer fired a shot.
Erol seemed to fall in slow motion. Raleigh grimaced and when time returned to its normal pace, ran towards his fellow evo. He skidded to a halt a metre away. The burly officer stared at him and lifted his gun; Raleigh stared back and then smiled. A second later the officer was bowled into by the creature. Getting hit by that huge beast, running incredibly fast for its size, would have been akin to getting hit by a freight train. The man went flying and when he finally landed, didn't get back up again.
A bullet hit the ground beside Raleigh. Quickly he knelt down beside Erol, blanched at the blood and then looked around. Panic flared momentarily in his gaze. The leftover policemen were coming in for the kill. He would have to do something quick. Letting out a sigh, Raleigh let his powers flow. Within moments he had re-connected with his creation, could feel its body flowing beneath the touch of his mind. He shuddered and called to it. The rhino beast lost form and flowed towards him. It settled over him and Erol, creating a shield. They were now within its hollow body. Its body formed around them. No gunshots would be able to get through. But this was only a permanent option. Raleigh would need to come up with idea to get them out of there.
Although he'd left a few air holes, there was little light and this little space definitely gave the feeling of claustrophobia. Putting a hand on the unconscious Erol's body, to make sure he wasn't dead and that if the teen woke up he wouldn't start freaking out. Exhausted Raleigh leaned against the inside of the wooden beast. Think Raleigh, think It was by then the initial shock had begun to wear off, Erol slowly started to shift. He hadn't yet registered being shot and when he went to sit up the pain shot through him swiftly. "Shyte....what happened." He croaked. The fact that he felt something sharp in his shoulders and that he couldn't see anything aside from a few peircings of light through air holes; it caused a slight panic to creep into Erol's mind.
"Raleigh?" He called out and just barely brushed against the other boy who was taking in deep breaths. Refocusing his mind, Erol took in their current scenario. Somewhere along the line he'd been removed from combat and Raleigh was left to defend him. The other boy must have created the dome they were in and he sounded exhausted from his breathing. Erol wasn't any better off letting out such excess of energy he wasn't sure he could generate any more after that little outburst.
"So what do we do now..." he questioned grimmacing at the pain in his shoulders. To be honest it hurt like hell but there would be times in his life that he'd be hurt far worse he figured. This was possibly the least of his worries. Still the amount of blood loss wasn't making it any easier for him. Wozzy, slightly off balanced and quiet possible close to passing out for sure Erol had not ideas in mind...And then a light went on.
"Ra I got an idea but its gonna be a one time deal. If you think you can make another creature go for an over sided cheetah. We need him big enough to ride but fast enough to get us outta here with little incident....well as little as its gonna be from here out. I think I can create a comotion large enough to give you time but afterwards I'm not sure if I'll be any good to you...I'm sorta on my last leg here. You think you can handle it?"===
The dull thudding of the bullets had stopped. No doubt everyone was standing around trying to figure out what to do. Raleigh just hoped that didn't think of a chainsaw anytime soon. Underneath his hand Erol suddenly shifted. He let out a small sigh of relief and then sat back, waiting for Erol's reaction to their predicament. "Yeah, I'm 'ere." He said softly when his name was called. While Erol lay there and thought, Raleigh made himself busy trying to get his energy back. Right now he just felt useless.
Raleigh listened and when Erol was finished let out a long sigh. "I need more dead matter." That and the fact that he was exhausted didn't make Erol's plan all that good. But Raleigh didn't have any better ideas and they had to get out of there fast. A mall wasn't exactly the best spot for this sort of thing. "Just give me five minutes to gather what I can." The powers within him unravelled, searching for what Raleigh needed.
Anything wooden in the vicinity was latched onto. Desks, wicker baskets... anything that he could use. Now, gather together In the florist, a number of dead wilted flowers fell apart under Raleigh's command. The wooden objects fells apart and morphed, sliding across the ground towards the strange creature Raleigh had already created and now surrounded him and Erol. Raleigh's breath caught in his throat as he tried to think of something capable of getting them out of there.
Outside of their shield the officers were yelling and carrying on, but their voices were too muffled to be made out. Between breaths Raleigh gasped out. "Erol... I just need... one... quick blast... from you. Ready..." Having gathered the dead matter, now he needed to put it together. This was going to hurt. "... Now!" The dome around them fell apart and instantly began to take another form. === Just as suddenly as the dome disappeared bullets began there descent toward the two youths. With a haggered sigh Erol stood in front of Raleigh keeping him well protected until he could finish his part of the deal. Erol wasn't sure of how much energy he had left or if he could truly stop those bullets. Closing his eyes he concentrated, reeling his hands back he felt himself being pulled in all directions, a power rolling deep within him. Out stretching is hands the power reached to his arms and then his hands and finger tips... with a rush of cool air around them a wave of invisible energy shot from his out stretched arms pushing the bullets back sending the officers in its wake left and right.
Huffing tiredly, Erol continued with another wave. Each time a rumble from under him the only warning of his powers. "Hurry Raleigh I don't think I can keep this up much longer." He chimed in a huff falling to his knees one such offcier got past his defenses. Coming up to him he swung his gun down on the boy, who managed to block the blow with his arms... bad move his injured arm protested the attack. A surge of pain shot through that arm causing Erol to buckle under the pressure. "********!" He shouted glaring at the man, leaning back on his good arm he shot his foot into the man's stomach an added a shockwave delivering a blow of finality. The man toppled over at Erol's feet. Sighing he looked up with glazed eyes daring the other's to step forward. "Dude...I'm finished." He sighed sitting on his a**. "The most I can do now...Equalibrium..." he muttered and consentrated a nausiating wave of energy throughout the general area of the mall. Just as he had expected officers were wobbling dizzingly some falling to the floor in a heep as if they were going to vomit. Those out of range seemed more concerned for their comrads forgetting about the two youths for now. Erol hated using the ability, it always left him just as nausious as those who experienced it. And as such he fell flat on his back groaning. "You're up..." he muttered looking over to Raleigh with glazed eyes.===
It was ready, it only awaited his finally command to be created. But as Erol spent his last bit of energy, knocking back the policeman whose only thought was to destroy them both, Raleigh wasn't sure what to do. Erol had said something large and fast enough to take them out of there quickly, like a cheetah. But he didn't realize how hard that would be. A cheetah big enough to carry them both? Not only that but fast as well. Big and fast generally didn't go together that well. And really, he didn't have all that much dead material to work with. But he had to try.
Big... strong, capable of carrying us both away to safety.
Raleigh reached out grabbed the exhausted Erol close as the dead matter around them took form, sliding beneath both him and Erol, solidifying and lifting them into the belly of the creation. Pain coursed through Raleigh's body as he concentrated, his energy running from him like water from a tap. He was exhausted, so very exhausted. But he couldn't let go yet, his beast still had a bit to go.
It didn't look much like a cheetah, in fact it seemed to be a strange twist between and dinosaur and a bull. No matter, it was large and it was powerful and 'get away' had been ingrained into its being. The last part of it fit into place and its eye lightened somewhat, sharper in intelligence than some of Raleigh's earlier creations. Inside it, Raleigh let the power drain away, became separate from his creation. As he did so he let out a sigh and fell unconscious.
Upon creating his beast Raleigh hadn't thought much on comfort. Inside the wooden beast Raleigh and Erol were squashed together in complete darkness, with little air. It had been created with escape in mind; everything else could come later, when they were safe. The dino-bull things powerful hind legs pushed it forward at a remarkable pace. It leapt right over the officers, hit the ground, skidded, gained purchase on the ground and then bounded away again. It was searching for an exit.
It found one, in the form of a large window. It was too big to fit down stairs or escalators, and so simply hurtled itself through the window. There was the sound of shattering glass and then it was plummeting to the ground. Luckily they weren't too high up, and the beast landed with a solid thump in the car park which managed to wake Raleigh up with a muffled 'Aww, ********' and then dashed off away from the mall.=== The sound of rain would be the next thing Erol would hear as he came too. He could smell it so fresh in the air but for some reason it didn't hit him. He looked up to find he was encased in something dark, protected by something. Sitting up he let his mind return to the fore as dizzy as he was. He tried standing to his feet but the nausiating effects of Equalibrium had yet to wear off.
"I hate using that ability..." he muttered with a croak to his voice. Rolling eyes which only served to make him dizzy Erol tried for another go of his feet. To no sucess... deciding that his feet were useless, he crawled instead finding little bits of light splashing in from the encasing. He managed to push against a weak part of the wall which came crumbling down.
Sure enough it was raining. For whatever reason he was in a wooded terrain and road was off to the side as cars could be heard but he could not see them through the thicket of trees. He crawled out into the rain, the fresh air rejuvenated the youth as he sat on the mud covered ground not worried at the moment about his appearance as it had probably looked haggered.
A sharp pain to his shoulder alerted him to how real his situation had been. He could have been killed let along Raleigh...Raleigh? He looked around for the other boy not entirely sure where he was. Had he wandered off without him? Was he alone? Nah, Raleigh was a rival but not so much of a p***k to leave an injured boy behind...at least that's what Erol hoped.
"Raleigh!" he called through the thicket of trees and the pouring rain. "Hey you p***k where'd you go?" As he cleared a small thicket of shrubs he found the boy under a tree. He looked asleep... "Yo, idiot what are you doing taking a nap? We gotta get out of here or the cops will find us." When the other didn't respone, Erol squinted concerned eyes. "Idiot I was talkin' to ya... get up." he came over kicking the boy gently of course but it was his motto not to seem overly concerned if he could help it. "Raleigh...?" he questioned after a moment and knelt down next to him his motto starting to slip.=== Something shifted in the darkness, but it certainly wasn't Raleigh. Raleigh was lost in darkness. After initially waking up as they hit the street outside of the mall, Raleigh had used what little breath he had left to direct his creation far away. And then, using his last bit of strength, had managed to awkwardly get them out of its body once it assured him they were both safe. Then he'd blacked out, the soft grass strangely comforting.
The creature in the darkness awkwardly moved into view. It made a deep rumbling sound of warning. From what could be seen it was pretty much in pieces. It's upper half did most of the work, while the lower half... well, there wasn't much left of it. Still, it didn't seem to feel pain. It didn't feel anything at all. Except concern for its master of course. After a moment it recognised Erol as not being a threat and fell silent.
Erol's voice finally broke through the darkness. Raleigh muttered something inaudible as he returned into consciousness. He felt completely out of touch with his body. "Erol...?" He finally croaked, memories slowly returning, and with it numerous aches and pains. Totally spent, even after having bee unconscious for god knew how long, he stared upwards at the trees above. While he wanted to but a brave face on and simply laugh it of, he really hadn't enjoyed that at all. They'd nearly been killed. Taking in a number of deep breaths, Raleigh got a good hold of himself and said with a frown. "Well that ******** sucked." === Erol sighed when Raleigh came to and plopped town next to him on the side of the tree he sighed seeming to get the undertone of what was going on. That whole incident was because of him but it had nothing to do with his current state; it was simply cause of who he was.
"That's where Charles found me..." he muttered resting his arms upon his knees and laying his head there. "..At least the cops arrested me when my powers began to manifest and well all hell broke loose. I had no control back then and I didn't know what to expect. So the mall was pretty much destroyed." He blinked a few times, an angry frown to his face. "Those boys they used to be close... I guess that day I found out who my real friends were. My dad disowned me and my mah pretended not to know me. So yeah... I guess they had it out for me even after two years."
Silence fell between them after that, much to anyone's surprise the explaination was as close to an apology he would muster. At least for getting Raleigh invovled in something that didn't really concern him. Erol turned his head to face Raleigh. "What's you're story?" he asked not really expecting an answer but wondering just the same. "If you don't wanna say nothing its no problem."=== Groaning a little, Raleigh sat up. His head span at the quick movement, but he somehow managed to keep himself from falling over again. After that it began to get easier. Though by now, other complaints were letting themselves known. Like the fact that he was wet and cold and had numerous bruises. Gosh, he could only imagine how Erol was feeling... having been shot. That jerked him out of his thoughts and as he turned to look at his companion, glancing at the teens bloodstained top. Are you ok? He wanted to ask, but the words didn't come. But at least his eyes showed concern.
As Erol's story began to pour out, Raleigh sat, staring at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. He listened closely, making sure he kept all his emotions in check. Was it like that for all of them? He wondered. Did every super have to go through a shitty life just because of what they were? It sure seemed like it. Finally silence fell. Raleigh shifted uneasily. Inside he could feel the desire to tell his own story, and really, it was only fair. Erol had spoken of his past.
"I was... abandoned." He began, keeping his tone as uncaring as possible, but it hard. Just the thought of it brought back those horrible feelings of anger, hate and just being so alone. "I got my powers pretty early. Ya see, I wanted someone to play with... so I made someone. A little dog made out of a chair." The young teens mouth curled into a bitter smile. "My parents were ********' bastards. They never wanted me in the first place. I guess my powers were the final straw." Finally he looked up, meeting Erol's gaze. "They threw me out as if I'd never existed, tossing that only friend into the fireplace to burn and die. It hurt... so much. After that I lived on the street for... three... maybe four years."
These things... he hadn't really told them to anyone before. Charles and Ruri knew of course, but that was all. Fancy opening up to Erol, of all people. It almost laughable, but Raleigh wasn't in much of a laughing mood. There were so many things he hadn't told. Those little moments of pain. Alcoholic and abusive parents, living on the streets hungry and cold, sleeping on doorsteps... running from people you knew would hurt you, who made you blood run cold. "The agency eventually noticed me... I wasn't exactly bashful about using my powers, even though I didn't have a bloody clue how to do it. Whenever I was scared, or angry, it would instinctively happen."
Raleigh breathed in deeply, hugging himself tightly. "Yeah... so that's about it. I don't like to talk about it." Erol could understand the bitter approach to the story that Raleigh had told him. To think all this time Erol had been pampered and lived with a loving family and caring friends. Or at least on the surface, it took his being an evo to see who they really were. He had to admit he was rather impressed Raleigh had street smarts where Erol just went by the fly of his pants...
Erol sat there gazing blankly at Raleigh for a moment before burrying his head in his arms. It was rather cold out, and his cloths were covered in dirt and mud. Being the premadonna that he was he couldn't help the iky feeling that crawled up his spine.
"I don't get it." Erol let out after a moment of silence. "We're human too, we're no different from the others save for our powers and yet people get scared they cast us out." Erol growled at this, hardly able to understand. "I don't see why we should protect something like that. What's to protect? People that don't want us here to begin with... I say we should get ride of them and reproduce our own kind." It was a fleeting thought but one that bordered on a sensative topic. Erol lay his head there breathing heavily.
He hadn't even noticed his wounded arm the pain having long time left, the arm itself had numbed considerably. His breathing seemed to grow erractic by now and he suddenly shot his head up clutching his heart. "******** can't breath damnit." He glared evilly at the ground leaning back on the tree. "...We should probably find our way back or get to a phone..." he muttered. His vision was definately threatening to fail him by now. One better fine a medic fast, despite the bullet being of no fatal design, the wound itself could threaten to get poison and he could pass out from considerable amounts of blood loss. "Come on...lets go." He breathed trying for his feet the effort was easily noticeable by his sluggish movements.=== Erol had put voice to Raleigh's unspoken thoughts. For a moment he wished the silence had kept its place; that Erol had never spoken. But these things, deep in his heart, they had to be spoken of eventually. Even if he never spoke so freely again, he would have this moment to look back upon. "I... think about that all the time. All the ********' time. Why should I protect people who have treated me like s**t all my life? Only now, because I fight for them do they tolerate me. I wonder, why don't I just leave? Go somewhere else. Somewhere away from all this." He hugged himself, looking sideways at the beast that still lurked in the darkness. "Or maybe... why don't I... just destroy them all?" Could he really do all that? No... maybe he couldn't.
"The world is full of so much hate." Raleigh muttered, sighing and turning his gaze to Erol. The fact that the other boy was in a fair amount of pain seemed to finally grab hold of him and he swore under his breath, struggling to his feet. "I need to... one second." With one glance he beckoned his creation over. The huge beast lowered its head into his arms. With a shuddering sigh Raleigh placed his hand on its head. "I'm so sorry." An expression of utter sorrow crossed over his features as with a single thought his creation fell to pieces, in moments becoming an unrecognisable pile of wood. Only dead matter.
Unable to quite hide his tears Raleigh staggered over to the other teen, slinking his arm around Erol's waist to support him. Himself, he would have batted anyone away who dared try that with him and he expected Erol to do the same, but he'd hang on for as long as he had to. He really didn't want Erol to faint and then have to carry the b*****d back. "Holy crap. You... we need to get you back... come on..." Raleigh had no idea where he was. Still, couldn't be too far away from a road where they could get help. Ruri would be so worried by now. "Next time we decide to skip school, can we just go to my house? That mall... really sucked." === Erol didn't have the energy it took to fight Raleigh so settled appropriately while the boy helped him. He could only muster a disgruntled snort at his comment, "Yeah it does suck doesn't it." Though he had taken in what the other boy had said he remained silent on it for the moment as he staggered to situate himself with Raleigh's help.
Perhaps it was just natural to feel that way when you were an outcast. Wanting to stick with your own kind and wishing those that didn't accept you were no more. Either way, Erol knew that his inner demons were not ones to take lightly, he just hoped he could sort them out before they became a problem to his friends, loved ones, and possibly himself. Looking to Raleigh then he sighed, "So you've thought the same thing?" He fell silent a moment looking at the ground as they walked toward an open road.
"Ever wonder what we're fighting for? I want to believe we are fighting for all of mankind ourselves included but... " he looked away squinting his eyes. "I don't know anymore. I would do anything to keep Akila safe but she isn't like me and knowing this it confuses me. It makes me wonder has she ever thought like the others? Has she ever viewed me as a burden or some kind of creature that isn't really human?" He huffed a bit trying to keep his balance as they continued eventually they walked on in silence having nothing more to say or in fact not wanting to sound ungrateful for what his guardian has done for him. He simply just didn't understand anything right now. Sure he didn't mind jumping into the frey of things protecting and surving but for what? He had to have a reason to fight or it wasn't worth putting his all into it, or his life on the line because of it.=== They continued to struggle towards the road, no doubt both feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the situation. Raleigh vaguely wondered what it would be like between them after this. He hoped Erol wouldn't expect any sort of friendship out of him. In fact, Raleigh was only willing to give a vague acknowledgement. He didn't want to get too close. Trust wasn't one of his personality traits. To rid himself of his thoughts, Raleigh then concentrated on answering the other boys question. "Yes. But only recently. For a while the training was enough for me. I need to prove my strength, not only to myself but also to others. I desire to be the strongest." Raleigh chuckled. It wasn't a nice sound, for it held a lot of bitterness. "But now, as I grow older... I begin to wonder."
They reached the road after pushing through some bushes. One of two cars sped by. Raleigh frowned. Now what? They had to get to a phone. Maybe if they found a pay phone or flagged someone down? "So... any ideas?" He asked gruffly, looking up and down the road with a rather annoyed expression on his face. "Ya know, I've never even thought about that with Ruri. She's too blunt and loud. If she ever had those sorts of thoughts, she'd say them to my face. It'd be too bleedin' obvious with her. And although I want her to stay safe, I never worry. She can take care of herself."
Raleigh sighed, shifting a little to better hold Erol's weight against him. "Does any of it really matter? I know, despite what I've said... I will keep fighting, I can't stop. They can hate me if they wish... but one day, they'll be glad I'm here. Then again, maybe not." === Erol snorted a rather disoriented sound. "Strongest...yeah right." He muttered but didn't bother looking at the other. "Tell ya what? Keep training and some time down the line I'll challenge you. Then we'll see who's strongest. Until then the title is undecided." He smirked slightly at this, oddly surprised that the other was looking to be the best. Erol's needs for being the best were something of a personal issue. Ever since losing control when his power's first manifested he knew there was a possibility that was only the tip of the iceberg as the saying goes.
Pushing through the bushes they managed to find a road. That was a relief but watching a few cars pass them by before they could flag them, irritated the already exhausted child. Flopping down on the ground he looked up at Raleigh with an annoyed expression. The silence for the moment was usuful in thinking up a way to get themselves out of here. Looking above head Erol wished he could tap into the radio waves in the air maybe make some kind of artifical phone call...but that was just wishful thinking. Who had powers like that?
It was then a set of lights could be seen down the road. It was twilight by now, the sun setting behind the trees but plenty of light in open areas. Unlike where they were, the sky was of an orange, purple, and pink hue. Noting the truck they could either flag it down or let it pass. Erol was not going to sit still for who knew how long before another car or truck came by. "Alright...I'm up." he muttered, and stepped halfway in the street waving his arms to catch the drivers attention.
Strangely the driver seemed to slow down but then the truck speed up determined to pass them by. "What the hell..." Erol muttered stepping further into the street he thought the truck would have slowed after seeing him but it did not. Rolling his eyes, he leveled off his hands allowing the air to thicken with his most basic ability, distortion. With a slight pull of invisible air around him everything seemed to thicken. Breathing almost seemed hard in such a thick amount of air, like hummitity. The truck while it had been at a decent speed seemed to slow gradually. Erol's face showed a remarkable mix of concentration and exhaustion. This was pushing past his limits even with such a basic ability. Even still the truck finally slowed and only then did Erol fall to his knees exhausted. The air lightened and became easier to breath. Glaring at the massive rig, Erol stood to his feet looking up at the driver as he came to his side of the truck. "We need to get to a phone." he shouted over the loud engine.
The driver looked down at the boy wondering why his truck had slowed when he had pushed the gas full throttle. Sighing he didn't mind so much now that he had seen that the man in the street was actually a boy. "We?" he questioned having not seen Raleigh just yet.
Erol pointed to Raleigh then behind him. "Yeah we're...kinda lost out here."
"Yeah sure hop in." The driver chirped opening the passenger side for the boys to climb in. Once they did he looked them over noting how dishelved they look. "Bit rough out here to be playing games boys. Where you headed?" he asked.
=== Raleigh frowned for a second but then shrugged, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Very well. When we're older and stronger, than we'll fight." That would be one heck of a battle. A shiver of anticipation? Certainly. It would be well worth of waiting and the painful training.
Crossing his arms over his chest he waited for Erol to get back on his feet. His foot tapped the ground impatiently as he tried to figure out a way of their predicament. When Erol got up and wandered off onto the road, Raleigh was only half aware of what he was doing. Then when it did become clear he swore in annoyance. Hadn't anyone taught him not to get into strange peoples' cars?
The truck finally pulled over, mainly due to Erol (a fact that had certainly surprised Raleigh. Who knew he could that?), Raleigh wandered over. He definitely didn't look the happiest and gave the driver a steely glare as he clambered up, making sure to keep close to the window. "Anywhere that has a phone." Raleigh wasn't exactly sure where they were and he wasn't about to give directions to his house. === Erol on the other hand was half asleep upon getting himself comfortable. The bumps on the road only caused the boy to fall on Raleigh's shoulders a few times. He didn't even bother to remove himself as he smacked his lips in content. Yep the boy could probably sleep through a war if he were tired enough.
The ride was spent fairly quiet, the driver being one of the many that kept to himself and only spo
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:27 am
First Mission with Malcolm and Lorina.
Location: Zoo
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Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 5:58 am
Calling all guardians! =o
-In which Ruri is very sleepy
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Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:13 am
Rp with Candice/others...
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Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:16 am
Training
Raleigh attempts to convert stone
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 2:27 am
Five years...
The young man stood under shady branches of a tree, staring out across the park with calm light brown eyes. He had certainly grown over the last few years. The growth spurt that had been threatening ever since he was thirteen had finally made him pop up like a weed. Muscle defined his body, a product of years spent in constant training of both body and mind. Long brown hair was cast carelessly across his shoulders, allowed to hang free and glisten in the specks of sunlight that filtered through the leaves.
The look in his eyes had changed. It was no longer as defiant, no longer daring the world to throw everything it had at him. Now there was a certain sense of serenity. As if he had found himself. There was also the ever-lingering glint of confidence, bordering on arrogance.
He was attractive but there was a certain coldness to his demeanour that would warn others not to approach.
For Raleigh, these last few years had been an interesting time in which he had changed a lot.
Perhaps the biggest event had been the birth of Hannah (or Kaie. Ruri really needs to pick a name. >.>), his sister in everything but blood. Suddenly he had found himself, despite earlier misgivings, loving this little baby with every part him. It was one of those things you didn't even try and understand.
For five years he had trained tirelessly, in both martial arts and in the development of his super powers. By now he considered himself a force to be reckoned with. Even if his skills didn't match up, his stubbornness would help him fight the best of them on equal footing. Or at least he told himself that.
His only failing (at least as far as Ruri was concerned) was his lack of social life. There were few people that he deigned to spend time with. For a while he had trained with a few of his peers, but their lack of progress annoyed him. They didn't seem to have as much dedication as him. Then there was Erol. Their relationship was an odd one. It might be considered sad that the fights and arguments with his fellow super made up seventy percent of his outside of family interaction.
Days over the last five years had mostly involved school (though he had a tendency to skip), training, more training and in the last two or so, caring for his new little sister. Not the average life for a teenager, but he was less than average.
Raleigh pushed away from the tree, cast one last look across the green park and then slid his hands into his pockets and headed home.
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