Tension Rising - Main thread [Fight or Flight]

[Gobbo]

Gray watched the girl with wide eyes, before looking over at Jon. "Uh... Yeah, I guess it's alright." he said, not really sure what to expect. He had never had someone else's voice in his head before, and the thought made him a little nervous. He hoped it wouldn't be too odd. He didn't think it would be, seeing how Jon didn't seem to freak out at all. Smiling a bit, he turned his attention to her, brushing his ever-unruly hair from his eyes.


@Kharmin @SkyGinge


---


"Oh, I see. Don't worry, you can feel free to ask me whatever you want." Zach said with a grin. He thought it was a little odd that she knew so little about civilization, but in a way it was endearing and cute. Plus, talking with her seemed to calm her down some.


"I wonder how she'd react if I showed her my guitars and amps..." he thought with a little chuckle. It was funny, he was actually dreading having to go back to class, so sitting here and talking with her was a welcome diversion.


@theunderwolf

 

[theunderwolf]

"Thanks Zach," Fox said, smile growing wider. Company was definitely cheering up and Zach seemed to be a really nice person he also knew what electricity was so fox concluded that he would be a reliable sounding board for questions of the inside world, unlike sen who had seemed awkward and out of place explaining the human equivalent of kill poaching. "I dunno what to ask though, what do you do? I feel like you know a lot about me but I don't know much about you."


@Alex Phalin

 

[PicaPirate]

Teru raised an eyebrow at her rather daring gesture, stroking her cheek. He wasn't quite expecting her to not only smile, but kiss him in public. Then again, he was equally guilty of doing it to her after the speech yesterday. Her cheek was smooth and he was glad it wasn't smothered in paint.


Teru noticed he still didn't have a shirt on because it was covered in paint, but didn't mind anyway. The temperature was quite favourable, so it was of no pressing issue. Though he would need a new one on the moment he gets back to the dorms, which may be...interesting. After all, a lot of the school will see him half nude and he did not want to try and figure what the females of the school would do at the sight of his lean built body to just add to his face.


He noticed the illusions had stopped, presuming the graduate grew tired of his shenanigans. He didn't blame him, having a giant purple dinosaur is no mean feat. However he did feel a bit cheated, as without the illusions it could have been a good deal easier for him. Well, it was not of him to fret over it though, so he kept with comforting Kiara.


@Kharmin

 

[Kharmin]

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_09/Brittany_originalcrop.jpg.a2a62e93b160c4b9bc2df7515b5e0402.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="29323" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_09/Brittany_originalcrop.jpg.a2a62e93b160c4b9bc2df7515b5e0402.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p> Brittany visibly blushed at Jon's compliment and smiled sweetly at him. The fleeting image in his mind of her as an angel further enhanced his compliment, but she deigned to not mention it to him.


{{I'm just mute, not deaf,}} Brittany kindly explained as if she had had to make this explanation many times before. {{I can either listen to you in your mind or verbally, whichever makes you more comfortable.}}


Brittany nodded to the other two students as she heard Jon explain things to them. {{Sorry, but I've just arrived an hour or so ago, so I don't know any of you. What's your name?}}


A sparkle of mirth lit her green eyes as she added, {{My experience has been that people hear their own voice, so it doesn't sound much different from their regular voice.}}


@SkyGinge


@Shura


@Alex Phalin

 

[Gobbo]

Zach chuckled at that. "Well... As of right now, I smoke too much, drink when I can sneak it in, and try to cut class as much as possible." he said with a small grin.


"Seriously though, I used to be in a band. At least, before I was sent here. It was pretty fun." he explained. "I did lead guitar and vocals. One of my bandmates hated the fact that I could growl better than him, though. He used to harass me all the time because of it."


He leaned back and rested his head on the trunk of the tree, smiling at her. Now that he really got a good look at her, he realized that she was actually pretty cute. He dangled a leg from the branch and sighed a bit.


"I've still got my guitars in my room. I figure after I'm done with school, I'll start up another band, so I practice quite a bit."


@theunderwolf

 

[Kharmin]

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_09/Kiara.jpg.712e862e96faabc8b7bd9835118f5c2c.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="29324" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_09/Kiara.jpg.712e862e96faabc8b7bd9835118f5c2c.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p> Behind the fatigue in her sea-green eyes that Teru could easily see over the rims of her sunglasses, Kiara also showed a spark of mirth after the brief kiss on his cheek. She could have purred at his caress of her own cheek, but dared not make too big of a scene.


She sighed in contentment as she rested her head back on Teru's shoulder and watched the rest of the students attempt to run the Grid. Kiara hoped that they would have an extended lunch break which would allow them all to get a chance at the showers since only so many could be occupied at once. The paint on her was hardening as it dried in the northern breeze that continued to threaten rain. Kiara wished for the rain to fall now, as she would simply scrub the paint where she sat on the bleachers.


The welts began to assault her with more intensity. Kiara absently rubbed at her right elbow where a particularly large bruise continued to form. She bore the pain without complaint; with her past, Kiara had long learned to ignore pain, both mental and physical.


Kiara turned her head and looked wistfully at the dilapidated gymnasium. Inside the training room, she saw both hot tubs and ice baths and at this moment, her body would welcome either.


@PicaPirate

 

[Elegy]

Ardghal sighed as he took off his old overcoat splattered with paint and slung it over his shoulder. The grid trial was something that Ardghal could not do, but was surprisingly easier than he thought it would be. He could have kept dodging those paintballs for quite a while, but then again he could not have gotten any of the targets. It would have taken him merging with Fionne to clear the course, but that would be something he would never do. The transformation itself cut a few years off of Ardghal's life, and it would also shorten Fionne's life, but Ardghal took the full burden of the transformation cost as he did not want Fionne's already naturally short lifespan to be cut. In many aspects, the transformation was a sort of "accelerated growth" that allowed Ardghal to access his untapped potential for just a few minutes.


Even though Ardghal was never expressive, he held Fionne dear to his heart and his closest and practically only friend. Ardghal was never saddened or irked by the fact that he had no companions however, he did not care one ounce about friendship. He had no instinctive desire to seek companionship that humans should have, possibly due to his convoluted mixed mind of human and serpent. Fionne was a rare one millionth of a chance snake that loved company, and even though her species were lone wolves that hunted alone, she basked in talk and companionship. Of course this companionship was largely denied to her, as Ardghal did not actively pursue any and she could not communicate with anyone understandably. Recently Ardghal had not talked to anyone and had simply spent his time in the gym to get back into shape after not fighting for more than a year. His body ached and felt unwieldy and clunky, the result of peaceful living that sharply contrasted with his life or death beatdowns. A few students here and there remarked about the snake boy who was always exerting himself in the gym, but for the most part nobody noticed him and Ardghal was content with his solitude. However, Fionne was getting bored and frustrated from this solitude, and was now resorting to leaving Ardghal to explore on her own. She had found a few garden snakes here and there but they all ran from her in fear as she was both much larger and more dangerous. She did find one friend though, a massive water snake more than a hundred and ten centimeters long that was a lazy and laidback individual who spent most of his time resting on a comfortable tree branch. The water snake was a carefree and relaxed individual, probably the result of it being the one of he apex predators of the pond. Perhaps Ardghal would chat with it sometime.


In the meanwhile Ardghal simply walked around aimlessly, hearing snippets of conversations here and there to alleviate his boredom. This was quite an odd habit of his, this eavesdropping, but Ardghal thought nothing of it and his enhanced senses allowed him to eavesdrop without being noticed for the most part. For now, he decided to listen to Fox, a girl whom he recognized, speak to a man he sort of recognized but didn't quite know. The words of the conversation were processed mechanically, with Ardghal hearing them and deciphering their tons and context to find out motives or other nuances without thinking anything particularly of the conversations he heard as if he had no opinion. It was like breaking apart an intricate gadget and finding the mundane, but important parts inside. For the most part this conversation seemed to be small talk with the same frank manner of speech coming from Fox and a curious but controlled tone coming from the man.
​

@theunderwolf , @Alex Phalin

 

[Kharmin]

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_09/Brittany_originalcrop.jpg.c4903707eb0f821790a98e5d6eca028c.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="29327" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_09/Brittany_originalcrop.jpg.c4903707eb0f821790a98e5d6eca028c.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p> Brittany visibly blushed at Jon's compliment and smiled sweetly at him. The fleeting image in his mind of her as an angel further enhanced his compliment, but she deigned to not mention it to him.


{{I'm just mute, not deaf,}} Brittany kindly explained as if she had had to make this explanation many times before. {{I can either listen to you in your mind or verbally, whichever makes you more comfortable.}}


Brittany nodded to the other two students as she heard Jon explain things to them. To Jon, she said, {{Sorry, but I've just arrived an hour or so ago, so I don't know any of you. What's your name?}}


A sparkle of mirth lit her green eyes as she added, {{My experience has been that people hear their own voice, so it doesn't sound much different from their regular voice.}}


@SkyGinge


@Shura


@Alex Phalin

 

[GeneralZod]

Hayden


Hayden watched as students tried and failed again and again. Not many of them had expected to beat it but it was nice to see their happiness when they did better than they expected. Hayden was probably one of the last to step up to the grid, the walls and ceiling were now coated in multicolor paint looking like a tie-dye T-shirt. A synthesized voice came out loud speakers announcing the level Hayden was using. "Level 4. Initialize." Then as the first buzzer sounded off he transformed, mid transformation the second buzzer went off but as the third buzzer sounded off he finished his transformation and darted off.


Hayden had run though the course monthly for all three years he was at the school, he had it memorized. The dummies sped along as Hayden ran behind pillars for cover, as one came close to the corner he was hiding behind he ripped the head clean off and threw it in a corner opposite of him, making the dummies sensors pick it up and fire at the ripped off head. Taking the advantage he dove towards another dummy, only to be caught off by an illusion. He quickly recovered and swiped his claw horizontally in front of him hitting a nearby dummy as he dove through a false wall and took cover. He raised an incredibly vulgar gesture from behind the pillar in the direction of the illusionist who had nearly cost him to take a loss.


Hayden ran up the side of the wall and pushed himself off in a similar fashion to what he did earlier during limit demonstrations as he took down one dummy and used it to vault over and kick another square in the face, during the attack he sustained a shot to the back and a shot to the arm but it wasn't over yet, he still had a 2 shot error margin. Hayden dropped on all fours sprinting much faster than usual as he pulled a KO'd dummy close to him as he used it as a shield to get closer to two more before smashing them together making quite a satisfying sound. There were only six left and Hayden wasn't done yet.


Turning the corner Hayden ran on all fours once again this time slashing at the feet the dummies forcing them out for each one he slashed. He took two down, hit an illusion then looked at a giant dinosaur, what gave it away was the lack of any distinct smell. Continuing his rampage he took another dummy and slammed it into the wall leaving only three remaining. Quickly taking action again he ran along the wall for a short distance this time before jumping randomly from pillar to pillar as he pulled the head off another dummy. Though in his carelessness he was hit twice again. No more mistakes, the last two were within striking distance and he was about to pass the test. The only issue was, he got overzealous and failed to see the incoming paint bomb.


As he stepped back up to where the students were he glared at Kojiro, who was probably laughing at Hayden's fur which was now coated with pink paint. In effort to let his mind settle he transformed back, some of the extra paint dripping off faster as he crossed his arms and pouted in a nearby corner. He had gotten close, the closest he ever got but he hadn't beaten it this time.

 

[SkyGinge]

"So can you see what I'm thinking of right now?" he asked, noting that the voice was likely not undertaking conversations with all three of them similaniously. Or do you need my permission, which you now have by the way, to come on in?" Just to throw her off slightly with a joke, he was picturing very vividly a huge monkey climbing up a clocktower, a memo from a video game he had loved as a child. He saw no reason not to let her in, as it wasn't exactly like he had something drastic and dangerous he wanted to hide. Besides, she seemed nice enough, and the fact that she could trespass angellically in his mind somehow made her more trustworthy in his books. Maybe she could even help me solve some of my puzzles!


So how exactly can you help us with our pain? Jon asked mentally, amused slightly at the notion. Presumably through something mental, but in any case, anything you could do would be appreciated. Although I'd say heal the others first, I can wait if needs be.


@Kharmin

 

[theunderwolf]

"Look at that, very few words so many questions! Fox exclaimed happily, "What do you smoke? meat? Cause smoked meat is really good and I don't see how smoking too much would be bad. And why sneak drinking, I'm pretty sure humans have to drink to live too. And a band, like with instruments right? Music? Why would you growl in music?" Then she smiled mischievously, "I think you're the second best growler when I'm around though." Then her nose twitched, "i smell snake, hold on. She looked down from the tree and saw the source of the smell, "Hi Fionne and Ardghal!"


@Alex Phalin


@Elegy

 

[Gobbo]

Zach stared at her for a moment, his eye wide. She was... something else.


"No, no... I mean I smoke cigarettes. And drink alcohol, which isn't exactly allowed on school grounds." he explained, chuckling. This might take longer than he thought.


"The music I play is... different. The vocals are growled instead of sung. I mean, I could demonstrate, but I don't have my guitar, and my voice isn't warmed-" he said, pausing when she said she smelled snake. He seemed to tense up at that, looking around. It was then that he noticed the guy standing there and offered a small smile, confused as to why she said two names when there was obviously only one person standing there.


@theunderwolf @Elegy

 

[Elegy]

Ardghal jolted subtly as Fox sensed him. She was probably one of the very few people can could spot out Ardghal from his naturally evasive and stealthy method of movement, from his unassuming gaze and gait to his light, soundless footsteps. Ardghal slowly looked up until he saw Fox's face peer at him from the tree. He was about to say a formal greeting and then leave with the same disinterested look on his face, but Fionne bit his side with excessive force. Ardghal's eyes widened as the pain registered, but he did not react more than that as he was used to pain.

"Your not getting out of this one, I haven't talked to anyone or anything in a day because of you, and the boredom is killing me."

Ardghal's eye twitched in annoyance as he looked up and said, "Hello Fox, it is a coincidence to be seeing you here indeed." One would think that Ardghal was feigning ignorance for eavesdropping, but Ardghal did not really care whether he eavesdropped or not and was truthful when he stated the situation was a coincidence as he had not been looking for the two and was simply practicing his habit when he chanced upon them.


Fionne energetically rushed out of Ardghal's shirt and leaped onto the tree trunk with coiled strength. With rapid speed, she slithered up the tree until she could see Fox clearly in the tree.


"Hello Fox, It's been a while and I've missed you so much! It was so boring when I was cooped up under that stuffy shirt for an entire day doing nothing" exclaimed Fionne with an annoyed but light hearted tone. She quickly coiled her head around to face Zach before saying, "Hello there, who might you be?" asked Fionne with a curious tone, her body slightly vibrating due to her pent up excitement being released, even forgetting that the man couldn't even understand her. Ardghal rubbed his forehead with a calm sort of impatience as he translated, thinking of how he had to aid Fionne in so many ways though he never held any true resentment against her.


"Fionne greets you and wants to know your name too" he stated to the man, his tone being a dead cold that never reflected his emotional state.
​

 

[theunderwolf]

'Hello again fionne!", Fox replied in snake, "It's good to see you too, And you know if you ever get bored you can always come find me, your pet can be left alone for an hour or two and I haven't been rat hunting in ages." She held out her arm for fionne to slither up and turned to Zach, "Sorry Ardghal isn't the most, um, unawkward? of people but he's nice and before you ask, ye thats Fionne," She gestured to the snake," And she is much more emotional than his translation seems."


@Alex Phalin


@Elegy

 

[Gobbo]

Zach seemed confused for a moment, until a snake suddenly shot from the guy's shirt and joined them up in the branches. He pressed himself against the trunk, suddenly going pale. When the snake turned to look at him he was sure he was about to get bitten, at least until Ardghal spoke up. He stammered a moment before choking out a response, his voice cracking. "I-I'm... Zach?" he said questioningly, looking between Fox, the snake, and the oddly emotionless man below them. Zach couldn't have been more confused if pianos started falling from the sky, being played by laughing dogs. At least that would make more sense, in his mind.


"I... I see." He looked like he was about to have a mild panic attack. "Uh... Fox? What's, uh... What's up with these two?" he whispered loudly, seeming to forget how to control his whispering volume. He was too busy trying to shove himself into the tree trunk to think about how he was speaking.


@theunderwolf @Elegy

 

[theunderwolf]

"Fionne, Act friendly!" Fox snaked quickly, "Zach, relax. If I can take the odd Idea of a band growling rather than singing you can handle mr.Anti-social, and ms.Very friendly here." She smiled reassuringly and gave Fionne a casual stroke, trying to convey to the boy that she wasn't a threat.


@Elegy


@Alex Phalin

 

[Kharmin]

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_09/Brittany_originalcrop.jpg.497524a7c771812643a9ab2825c6051a.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="29332" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_09/Brittany_originalcrop.jpg.497524a7c771812643a9ab2825c6051a.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p> Brittany gave Jon a knowing look. {{I can read surface thoughts,}} she explained, {{but I have trained myself to ignore thoughts which are not pertinent to the conversation.}} Brittany, of course, saw the images that Jon had jokingly projected, but chose not to remark about them.


When Jon asked about helping their pain, Brittany smiled and simply said, {{Like this.}} She touched the pain receptors in his brain and almost instantly the pain and soreness was reduced significantly to an almost imperceptible throbbing. {{I will help the others after we've all been properly introduced,}} Brittany chided him.


Brittany turned her soft, green eyes and attention to the other two students. She pointed to the girl with her three fingers – pointer, middle and ring finger – and spoke to Jon {{Please let her know that pointing to her in this way is my way of asking permission to speak with her. It saves me from having to show that card every time.}}


@SkyGinge


@Shura


@Alex Phalin

 

[SkyGinge]

"That's very polite of you," said Jon earnestly. With even a slight level of mind reading, hers was a power that could be highly manipulative and dangerous in less caring hands, so he was genuinely respectful that she was so honourable in using it (and also painfully unaware of the comparisons that drew to his own power). Then in an instant, his body felt less stiff and achy. Jon frowned. "How did you do that?" he asked, before nodding and turning to the others upon her request. "She says the pointing is her way of asking to speak with you. So looks like you're up next, Sen." He smiled at her. She'd been quietly letting them introduce each other, but apparently now was the time for her to rejoin into conversation. Jon was now wondering if Britt's power allowed her to talk to multiple people at once, or whether she'd have to sever her connection with him to transfer to Sen. He amplified the thoughts enough for her to read them, to save him the trouble of asking the question aloud. He was convinced that she couldn't have some kind of healing ability too, so he wanted an explanation on that also.


@Kharmin


@Shura

 

[Kharmin]

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_09/Brittany_originalcrop.jpg.5fb7b6d6347e6a9c59fad89ce05bea2d.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="29337" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_09/Brittany_originalcrop.jpg.5fb7b6d6347e6a9c59fad89ce05bea2d.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p> Brittany continued her warm smile. {{It's ... complicated,}} she replied. {{I've learned how to block certain pain receptors in the brain. I can't heal, but I can make it hurt less.}}


She continued to glance over the three students grouped around her. It concerned her that Iren was training them so hard so early, but that was an argument that Brittany and Iren continued to have from the time when Brittany was a student.


{{No,}} she answered Jon, {{I can only communicate with one person at a time, but I can still keep up with a conversation if everyone invovled is actually speaking normally so that I can hear them.}}


@SkyGinge


@Shura


@Alex Phalin

 

[Elegy]

Ardghal sighed as he sensed the man's confusion.


"In an academy brimming with superhuman individuals, I would have expected one to be more acclimated with oddities such as myself and Fionne. Your name?" replied Ardghal. He was always classified as either "strange" or "anti-social" and the two words bothered him not because of their apparent meanings, but because they had an underlying definer of "freak" which he did not quite appreciate even with his leaden emotional state.


"Also, do relax, Fionne will never attack you lest you severely aggravate her, and even then it would be a non venomous bite. Although I must say that she is rather an oppressive figure." said Ardghal, recalling the countless times he was forced to do this or that for her.


Fionne turned to Fox, "I am acting friendly though! Humans always react like this, I can't help it. There's a stigma attached to being such a beautiful specimen like me. At least you always understand me." said Fionne with a self-important tone, contentedly swaying as she was stroked by Fox. Upon hearing Ardghal's remark about her, she quickly twisted her head down, staring at Ardghal with leering eyes. "Your the one that's oppressive here, you always stay in one spot or go the same boring places, how come you can't be a more obedient pet" pouted Fionne. Ardghal sighed, he couldn't really help his habits which clashed with Fionne's personal needs. He was also getting tired of her endless complaints, which was impressive considering the massive amount of patience that Ardghal had. He wanted to train his body more to get back in shape and improve himself, getting himself back to the days when he could incapacitate two hundred pound muscle freaks that were also trained fighters with relative ease. To do that, he probably needed to train for weeks intensively to get his body back to its peak physical condition, and then practice his rusty techniques on dummies for a week. Even when Ardghal didn't have a clear goal like the one he had now, he never talked or walked around and instead preferred to read classical literature which Fionne thought was utterly boring. Recently he had let Fionne wander by herself to explore the school grounds, but he worried constantly about her though he would never admit he did. The sudden idea hit him to ask Fox for a favor, though he fully expected a refusal.


Ardghal turned towards Fox and spoke, "I am sorry to burden you, but might you take care of Fionne in my stead during school hours? She does not appreciate my company due to my, in her opinions, boring habits and hobbies but with you I believe she would be much happier. Of course, you are fully free to refuse this request if is too much."

​

 

[Gobbo]

Zach gulped loudly, trying to calm his nerves. He looked down at Ardghal, frowning a bit. "I can understand people shooting ice out of their hands, or flying around, but this is something new to me. I'm Zach, by the way." he said, turning back to Fox and Fionne. He was forcibly calming himself, taking several long breaths.


"Sorry, she's gorgeous and obviously friendly, but I got bitten in the face by a snake when I was younger. It's just a knee-jerk reaction. I didn't mean to be rude." he said quickly, sighing. He ran his hands through his hair and shook his head, seeming to calm down considerably.


"You can talk to her?" he asked Fox, his curiosity overcoming his fear.


@theunderwolf @Elegy

 

[theunderwolf]

Fox smiled at the sake and gave s=her another stroke, "Sure I'll keep an eye on her during the school day, just let me know when you want each other back yes?" She smiled at adrdghal, happy to get an opportunity to hunt with fionne, but knowing that the pairing was too close for it too last long. She then turned to zach, "Its fine, Fionne isn't offended and a good knee jerk survival instinct willl take you a long way in life (I should know)" She finished, muttering. "Oh and think about it pack-mate, I've lived in the wilds my whole life and can shapeshift, speaking to animals? Easy."


@Alex Phalin


@Elegy

 

[Shura]

Sen Harper


Sen had been quietly listening to Gray and Jon getting to know one another talking about things she vaguely knew about. Sure she knew about knives but only a basic switch blade or a rough blade she molded when in a tight spot. With her ability she was always technically armed so long as she had something as simple as a necklaces or chain on. Sen sat back zoning out for a few minutes, as her headache came back full force, the last of the adrenalin kicking in making her leg hurt to all hell. She was tempted to just head to her room after all this and pass out for a bit.


She zoned back in as an older brunette approached them and started some kind of one sided conversation with Jon. She wasn't quite sure what was going on until Jon explained. She looked over to the girl finding the whole concept of someone reading your mind to be very weird but figured she'd give it a shot. "Uh.. sure I don't mind..."


@SkyGinge


@Alex Phalin


@Kharmin

 

[SkyGinge]

Ah, ok. Jon thought. In that case, he would have to still be careful not to do anything too crazy, as he'd end up just damaging himself further. Sorry if I've been a little rude here, it's just a little harder to get used to regulating manners mentally too. That, and your power is really interesting and I've been caught up in trying to figure it out. With all that thought, Jon struggled painlessly to his feet. "In that case, I'd probably still be better off going to the infirmary," he explained, "so I'll leave you guys here to make friends. Catch you all later!" He gave them all a warm smile, and then stiffly walked his way off.


On his journey, he began to contemplate his original weapon once again. He still wasn't entirely sure on it, but he had a vague idea of the kind of thing he wanted. Still, he wanted to iron out a few questions first before making a definitive decision. Soon, however, he found himself thinking back to the conversation he had just held, and to his unwarranted irritation towards Gray. He was so unused to feeling in such a way as since his early teens he'd developed his confident acceptance of pretty much everyone. He hoped he'd manage to put a finger on it in time.

 

[Kharmin]

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_09/Brittany_originalcrop.jpg.daea7417230a181e4d5bf5bec3c573a0.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="29347" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_09/Brittany_originalcrop.jpg.daea7417230a181e4d5bf5bec3c573a0.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p> Brittany disconnected from Jon and spoke into Sen's mind. {{Thank you,}} she said as her mental voice tried to ease any concern or discomfort that Sen had about telepathy. With her acute sense of people's minds, she easily noticed Sen's headache. Brittany's green eyes locked with Sen's grey ones as the telepath sympathized with the girl's condition.


{{I'm also a nurse and I can help dull your aches if you'd like,}} she said to Sen. {{It's only temporary, but I'm sure it will give you some relief for a while?}}


Brittany's sincere expression echoed in her eyes and the dark brown hair that framed her face. Until meeting Alec, and now these other students, she had no concept on how hard Iren had worked them. She made a mental note to discuss this with Iren when they next met. The principal may not agree with Brittany, but the graduate nurse was going to at least make her case.


As she watched Jon depart, she said to Sen, {{He's a nice enough fellow, but he never gave me his name. Who is he?}}


@Shura