Round 4: the Bird

[Demi Smith]

Demi growled at the bird, staring at it. It had just fluttered into the tree above Demi, not really doing anything that birds didn't really do on their own. Didn't stop it from angering Demi; its mere presence was enough to do that. It could fly, could flit around and tweet and do whatever it wanted without any repercussions at all. Yet there was Demi, stuck on the ground. Okay, she liked being on the ground; that part wasn't the problem. The problem was that she was stuck on a very specific part of the ground, a part where she didn't want to be.

The bird was just there. That was enough for Demi. Growing, she jerked her arm up, focusing, dragging some dirt and rocks and loose gravel up with the fling. The spray hit the tree like a shock gun, though with a fraction of the force. Dirt and rocks shot through the tree, and it hit the bird, hit it hard enough to knock it free, stunning it.

Smirking, Demi gathered up some more dirt, literally pulling it out of the ground as she moved forward. She'd bury the stupid bird. See how free it was then. She just needed to get where it landed and drop some earth on it. Listen to it tweet then. She took a deep breath, steeling herself for it. For some reason, her stomach had started twisting as she drew close. Probably just nerves or something. She'd hurt stuff before, people even. This was just a stupid bird. Demi arched her hand back, a fist forming, the dirt gathering around it, while she stared down at the bird with hate in her eyes.

[François Laffont]

Ever since his trainer told him to use meditation to calm himself and the flow of emotions reaching him at all times, Franck was using every free time he had to sit and relax and do just that. Eventually, he would have to go to a large gathering, when a shop had some sale going on or at a concert or any other kind of event like this. For now, he dealt with the kids here at Bellefonte. And since it was a nice day, he was outside like many others. It also helped him since he wasn’t surrounded and so could focus more easily. He was just starting to get a grip at that after all.

He thought he did a pretty god job. But he needed to move now. He had to see if it calmed him enough to deal with people. And his legs started to get a little numb from the position he was in. He could use the walk. No, you know what, why not jog instead! Franck was a runner, it helped him stay in shape. He used to run to chase feelings away but it wasn’t as efficient lately. He was relaxed now however so it shouldn’t be a problem, even if he didn’t have any music with him to shut himself from the world around.

Franck started slowly, to shake the numbness out of his legs. It was how he saw the little bird. The bird, not Demi. He didn't pay much attention to anyone around. He probably wouldn’t have noticed the bird either. It wasn’t too weird to see a bird on the ground. But it was how it acted that didn’t seem too natural. Like it had been hit and was still a bit stunned by it. Franck paused, approached the little bird. And it was then that he saw Demi. He stared at her, not moving anymore. Did she do this? Or perhaps she saw who did. He didn’t even know who she was. “Hi,” he said with a brief wave of the hand, feeling slightly awkward. “Did you see what happened?” he asked. Not like he expected her to tell him if she was the one who attacked the poor thing.

[Demi Smith]

The voice jerked Demi out of her mind for a moment, and she looked up at the guy. Older than her, but not old enough to be a teacher or someone she should at least pretend to respect. He seemed kinda mushy to Demi, weak and therefore easy to cow. She snorted as she finished looking him over, before turning back to the bird.

"Yeah, I saw," she said, each word a little bullet. "Stupid bird was chirping in the tree so I brought it down here. It's not chirping any more, is it?" she flashed Franck a smile that was as confused as it was sadistic, and then held her hands out again, focusing. Demi took several deep breaths, calling the swirls of dirt between her, again gripping them, preparing them.

Then she remembered that she had an audience. Demi could definitely understand wanting to watch what came next, so she turned her head to look up at him. "Want to watch?" she asked, her eyes flicking toward the bird. "I'm going to bury it." As if that wasn't already apparent. Still, it did seem like the students here were a little on the slow side; best not to jump to conclusions.

[François Laffont]

Franck had met with many new kids lately. He had the feeling of being the unofficial welcoming party or something. But he didn’t recall Demi, nor could he remember seeing her before. He knew it meant very little. He often dealt with the kids who had trouble adapting to this new life. If it was not her case, he supposed it was normal he did not meet her before. Not to add he had enough problems on his own to deal with kids as well. Yes, he was aware he also fit the kid category but it was not like he cared.

She saw what happened. He paused as he thought about her words. But what she said afterwards required much more thought than the fact she simply mentioned seeing what happened at first. She brought the bird down because it was chirping? He could get that one might not like the sound of birds but there was something in the tone she sued that left François with a terrible taste in his mouth.

He said nothing as she called out dirt to her. As impressive as it was, everyone around here could do something of the like, master water or fire or talk to animals or read minds... The only thing that came through his mind as he stood there, watching the younger girl, was who this dirt was directed to. Inside, he knew the answer. But perhaps he still wished for her to throw it at him or something. He tried to get the feelings from her. He should probably get closer to have a better look at them. But Franck could not move. Like a wild animal freezing at the sight of blinding car lights, Franck waited to know what was coming his way.

That is, until she asked if he wanted to watch. That made him startle. Even more when she said she meant to bury the bird. “What? No!” he let out with more strength that he probably meant to. It might be ridiculous, and he probably scared the thing, but Franck bent down by the bird and grabbed it. This talk allowed the creature to recover a bit and it didn’t take long after Franck picked it up that it went flying away from the two of them. The bird now in safety somewhere else, Franck had all the time in the world to stare at Demi with a puzzled expression on his face. “Why would you want to bury it? What did it do to you? It was chirping, that’s what bird do,” he objected, the emotion in his voice making it harder for him to control his accent, sounding perhaps more French than ever, especially when he said chirping, it sounding more like “cheer-ping”.

[Demi Smith]

"What?" snapped Demi, lunging forward as Franck snatched the bird. The dirt slammed into the ground, digging into it and leaving an impressive divot there. Demi didn't stop there, whirling about, scooping up more dirt as she went. by the time she turned to Franck though, the Frenchman had already let the bird fly away. Growling in anger, Demi flung the gathered dirt at a tree, taking a chunk out of the bark. She then flung her hands down and stepped away, moving her fingers as she walked.

why would she... birds do. "It was annoying!" Demi snapped, turning back to him, feeling the anger coming back. "It needed to be taught a lesson! It's just some lesser being, and they all deserve it!' she let out another little noise of frustration, turning about, this time just gesturing without calling any earth or dirt or debris or anything along those lines.

"Why did you save it?' she asked, whirling back to Franck. She stomped toward Frank, getting nearly in his face. "What did it do that you'd want to do that? You some kind of freaky bird lover?" she practically sneered, figuring that this guy was probably some kinda weakling with a pathetic power of some kind. Probably could talk to animals or something stupid. If Demi could do that, she'd have animals attacking people. see if they fought to keep her here then.

[François Laffont]

How can someone purposefully choose to kill a defenceless animal like this? He was not talking of hunting and all, that he could understand. But that bird was no prey for you to kill and eat later. Demi said it, she wanted to bury it. Alive! Seriously, you had to be a sociopath to do such a thing. Now, he didn’t want to think of that girl as a sociopath, he didn’t even know her. But obviously whoever taught her in the past raised her wrong. Franck let out a brief sigh of relief when he saw the bird flying away. It will be harder for her to get it now. He startled seeing the strength of her power as it hit the tree she aimed at, now that her live toy was gone. Well, at least she didn’t hit him?

So the chirping annoyed her? So what! You move away and you find a birdless spot. And then she went on about it deserving a lesson. Such lesson. “So, because it’s not as evolved as you, it deserves to die? You could have just sent it flying away if it annoyed you so much,” he argued. Burying the poor thing, or anyone, alive was excessive. And said more about the girl than it did about the bird.

She came to him, probably trying to look bigger and scarier by stomping the ground with each step towards him. In a way, she was impressive, but the fact Franck had to lower his head to talk to her kind of ruined the effect here. He shook his head as she called him a bird lover. He wasn’t exactly. More like a “everything” lover. Gosh, he sounded so hippie said like this. “You said it yourself, it’s a lesser being. There is nothing to gain by crushing one little bird,” he said, trying to keep his tone calm and soft. But the power of the emotions coming from that girl, it hit him perhaps as hard as the dirt she sent flying on that tree. He forced himself to relax and focus on his breathing, like Miss Moa taught him. He couldn’t let her feelings take a hold of him. “What you can do is awesome so why would you make it and yourself look less than what you are by killing defenceless creatures?” he asked, again, trying to keep his tone soft. He didn't want her anger to show in his voice. Or his disapproval and desire to lecture her on that.

[Demi Smith]

"It's lesser," Demi reiterated, "lesser beings get killed off by better ones, that's the way it works," and the way she saw things. It sort of fit in with the Inherited theology too, though they weren't nearly as extreme as Demi. For that matter, there were some even within her own line that thought that they should take care of the lesser beings, treat them with respect and love and all that crap. They usually had sappy powers like mind-reading or empathy or something stupid like that.

Lesser being, nothing to gain, yeah, this dork sounded like one of those sappy wimp types. He even did some breathing exercises; Demi could recognize exercises when she saw them being done. She actually paused, feeling her anger slip a little. It just... it looked and sounded so familiar that it sent a pang through Demi, an ache that she'd been very carefully building walls around. she'd never make it back to her home; this place wouldn't let her, and her line wouldn't take her back till she finished training here.

His logic even sounded like them, and Demi nearly felt tears coming to her eyes. She moved to wipe them with her sleeve, obviously forgetting that said sleeve happened to be caked in dirt, smearing a trail of it along her cheek, which only made the crying all the more obvious. "Shut up! That's just stupid!' she snapped, lowering her hand, purposefully flinging some of the wet mud away, not noticing the bit on her face. "You're stupid! This whole stupid school is just stupid!" she let out a growl of frustration then, stamping her foot and turning, clearly moving into another move, flinging more dirt at the tree. She kept moving her arms too, slamming dirt and dust against the bark. The tree could handle it for the most part; Demi barely took off the bark, not with the light stuff she kept flinging.

[François Laffont]

Franck understood what she meant with the whole lesser beings killed by the better ones. But they were in a civilized society. They were not doing that anymore. Not to that extent. Not to a creature that did absolutely nothing bad other than being itself around a girl who couldn’t stand birds and their singing. “You survive doing things like this. You live by extending your hand and helping others,” he replied. It was the best way he found to express his opinion without just plainly say she was mental. Because you had to be if you were ready to bury a bird alive without even flinching at the thought of it.

Her feeling did a 180 though, without him to even understand how it happened. From the anger he felt thrown at his person he now got pain. he moved closer to her, not really caring that she was calling him stupid, yelling it in fact for all the people not around to hear. He thought he got to the center of the problem, the way she talked of the school and all. Homesick much? He did startle when she attacked the tree over and over.

He joined her and held her arms. He was not preventing her from moving, just held them to make her stop, like he would have expected a teacher or trainer to do had they been there, to calm her. “Calm down, you don’t want to get in trouble if they find you doing something like that, do you?” he said as he tried to make her stop throwing dirt at the tree. It seemed to hold her attacks pretty well but, like he said, he didn’t want a teacher to find her there and say she needed to let her anger out in a less dangerous, more productive way. “Look, I get this whole school might be a lot to deal with at first, that it’s very different but that’s not going to solve anything. In the end, you will still be stuck here but you will have detention also and hate it even more,” he told her. He wanted to calm her down and perhaps help if he could but at the same time, he remained alert. He didn't want her to decide to throw that dirt at him to get away. And he still had the feeling it was a possibility.

[Demi Smith]

Survive by extending your hand and helping? Gah, that sounded like such wuss talk. The guy definitely had one of those powers that made you a wuss; no doubt about it. Which just made Demi want to hit him all the harder.

Then he had to go and touch her. Demi squirmed against him, hearing his words but obviously not caring. "What are they gonna do, lock me in a big building and forbid me from leaving?" she spat back, twisting and attempting to headbutt Franck. "Don't touch me!" she hissed, squirming and fighting. She'd resort to doing whatever it took to get him from touching her any more. "And you don't get it!" None of them did. Easy for them to all pretend that it was all well and good. Get used to it, adjust, learn. But Demi wanted out of here as soon as possible. She'd leave the moment someone told her she could.

The last just had her laughing more. "You mean that stupid stuff they've already assigned me for, like, summer?" she spat back, still wiggling. "I already beat up two guys here," which was how she'd gotten the detention, though Demi did notice that it also conveniently sounded like a threat. She just wanted him to let her go. She was also tempted to try and fling some dirt or something just by thinking about it. She could; it just took a lot more effort for her...

[François Laffont]

Franck didn’t think one second when he placed his hand over her arm to lower it and make her stop hitting the tree. He didn’t think he would then get her feelings with more intensity. A good thing he practiced his meditating skills because her pain and rage were building up in him. He let go of her when she told him too, moving his hand as if she burned him or something. “Alright, alright, I’m not touching you. Calm down, I’m not your enemy here,” he told her. Seriously, he had the feeling he actually made things worse. He had no idea why she hated his touch so much but she clearly lost it when he did. He felt bad about it. He only meant to help and it backfired on him.

“I know you want to get out of here. We all go through that. But it’s not a prison, they only want to help,” he replied when she claimed he didn't get it. He got it alright, or so he thought. He sure got what this whole situation made her feel like. Was he surprised she got detention already for the whole summer? Not really. With that kind of attitude she was just asking for it to happen.

He tried not to be affected too much by the whole ‘I beat up two guys’ thing. She was small but she was also lively, he noticed it. He was not surprised she beat them good as they probably didn’t expect someone her size to put up much of a fight. Maybe he could use that to turn things around? “I bet they didn't expect that from you,” he said, trying to keep his tone calm. If he wanted to calm her he couldn’t let her emotions affect him. “Look, I’m sorry for grabbing you earlier. But I think the tree got its lesson,” he said, nodding his head towards the tree and parts of bark she peeled off from it with all the dirt she threw at it. Would this work? She seemed pretty upset he didn’t let her kill that bird. He doubted talking on a kinder tone would be enough. But he sure didn't want to pick up a fight with her.

[Demi Smith]

Not touching her; Demi kept repeating that to herself. Wasn't helping. Nor was his insistence that she wanted to get out of here. Demi let out a grunt at that, rolling her shoulder, moving more dirt and earth with each movement. She needed to do that, made her feel in control or something. She clenched and released her fists too, pulling more into them, enjoying the feeling of the earth sliding across her skin.

"Nobody does," she said, her voice hard, her eyes locked on the tree. No, they didn't expect her to be violent or be capable. Nobody as young as she had her control over her ability, at least, not here. Maybe among her real people, where they practiced day and night to make certain that they knew what they were doing. Of course, the people here didn't chafe at everything, and they actually understood how a television worked.

"Wanted to hit something that would feel it," Demi said, looking at the tree. She looked up at the guy then. "You feel stuff, don't you? That's why you're all freaky and stuff. Like, it's some kinda weird mind thing with you." She blinked, then nodded. "I get powers and that stuff," she continued, not really waiting for an answer. "My people were all about that. I just don't---this place..." she grunted and kicked again, leaving a divot in the earth. She then rolled her hand, playing with it, digging out a little hole in the ground now.

[François Laffont]

There was one thing certain about that girl, she was powerful. He did remember reading something once, shortly after he discovered his gift and was trying to understand the cause of it. It started with eugenics, that science where you much root out any weaknesses, diseases and abnormalities when breeding in order to create stronger and better specimen. He knew Hitler used that logic to justify his actions. That alone almost made him want to stop reading. But the writer went further and explained that if you did that, for several generations, theoretically they would keep evolving and bettering themselves with each generation. This young girl reminded him of that logic. She was pretty young so couldn’t be very experimented with her power and yet she had some control over it, and she clearly was strong.

“Trust me, we do,” he replied, trying to pierce her stubborn exterior. It was no easy task especially since he started off with her not liking him for saving the bird. “You think I liked being tossed in a country that isn’t mine where everyone speaks a language I barely knew then? We all fight a little at first,” he said, giving her a little shrug. The bird was safe and frankly, he didn’t mind all that much that she hit the tree. Better the tree than he.

He looked at said tree again when she claimed she wanted to hit something that could feel it. “I prefer you do it on the tree then,” he replied. Obviously. Anyway, it could take it, not like the bird or him. He startled a bit, returning his attention on her when she talked again, this time about his power. He gave her a soft smile. “Yes, some weird mind. I’m an empath, I sense people’s emotions,” he explained. Hey, she showed him her power, he could tell her about his. It was not like he was ashamed of it. He actually found it pretty useful. Not to add it was easier for him to claim it as a gift from God when he got empathy than if he had her power. Yeah, a lot easier.

So her family has powers uh? Well, it made sense. And it could explain why she felt so little problem using it whenever she wanted. His smile reappeared, feeling sympathy for her. “I never knew such a thing could exist before it came to me. You know, it’s alright to be homesick a little. But all they want is help you perfect your control over your power. If you play along, you’ll see it will pass in no time,” he told her. When only a few minutes ago he thought she was some sociopath now Franck believed she was simply homesick. There was something else but he could get that from her and perhaps the rest was only a consequence to this.

[Demi Smith]

Of course Demi was good with her powers. By all reasoning, she was something of a genius when it came to it. That's what happened when you spent those years training for your power, living, breathing, practically worshiping the mere idea of having an ability that put you beyond and above everyone else. Add on the very eugenics program that Franck feared (essentially), and you got the very angry product kicking at the dirt now.

She laughed at his comment though. Language? Language was what he was complaining about? Sure he had some sort of funny accent, but seriously. He went on to complain about his power too, which just had Demi smirking. Surprisingly, that was at least as much because she found powers like his amusing. So useless. Other Inherited disagreed with her, not that Demi cared what they thought. What good was some kind of wimpy power like that?

"I'm not homesick!" she snapped, whirling on Franck. She shoved him, bits of dust falling off her in a miniature cloud. Soon she was glaring up at him, almost seeming to swell. Franck might not have been the largest person, but Demi was undersized even for a scrawny fourteen year old (bad nutrition didn't help). "I'm one of the Inherited! We're supposed to be better than everyone else! Heck, I am better! But I'm stuck here. You can't speak the language? Big whoop. You people are all messed up in the head and I'm trapped here. They're never gonna let me leave, because that would mean going back to my people, and they don't want that. So stop talking like you understand and don't you dare say I'm homesick!"

Demi gave him another push, her body quivering with rage. She looked like she was going to start kicking him next, or possibly punching, and considering what height she was in comparison with Franck...

[François Laffont]

Franck did not recall seeing Demi before. That said, it might not mean a lot as she obviously was younger than he was and so certainly a few years under him. Which only made her strength all the more impressive. He wasn’t so sure about control. Her anger was obviously getting the best of her but he could see she had a good one still, since the dirt didn't come flying all around her or hitting him despite her obvious hatred for Franck. He did wish he had that kind of power but he knew it might be close to impossible for him. The best he could achieve was to manage. Whoever she was, she clearly practiced a lot. The thought created a knot in his throat. He could imagine her practicing the way she intended to do with the bird. That thought was clearly not a pleasant one and had Franck fear her a little.

Not to add that it was getting pretty hard to deal with her mood. He was not surprised to feel disdain from her when he mentioned his power. Clearly she valued them by their brute strength and nothing else. Had he been able to fart fireballs he bet she’d find it a lot more interesting. But since her rage had started to rub off on him, that mocking he got from her only ignited the gunpowder and pissed him off.

She then started to attack him, well shoving him which didn’t do much other than throw dirt on his clothes but still. And she talked. Of something called the Inherited and how she was better than everyone (of course!) and that she was imprisoned here because they would never let her go. And then she shoved him more. That was enough, Franck couldn’t take it and he knew he had to let some of these bubbling emotions out before he’d actually blow up. “Will you stop this!” he yelled at her with all the rage he could muster. Wow, he never did such a thing before. Strangely, it was liberating. “You tried to bury a bird alive. You know who does that? Crazy people!” he added on the same tone.

He exhaled, forcing himself to calm down. He hated losing his temper, even though normally losing his temper was more like him being a bit bitchy before walking out, running back to you and apologizing an hour later. “I have no idea who those Inherited people are but you’re not trapped here. Once you graduate, you’re free to go,” he told her, this time a little bit calmed down. My, she was stubborn. Didn’t she go to school before?

[Demi Smith]

Well, at least he was yelling now, that was something, something different. Probably not really his own anger or rage or anything, but actually something that he'd picked up off of Demi though, which made it decidedly less cool. She might have let it go, had he not said one little thing:

"I am not crazy!" she spat at him, her eyes flashing, her fists clenching. She was tempted to really start in on him then. Let him feel how hard she could hit, especially when she had dirt and rocks coiled around her tightly clenched fists. He'd exhaled though, and Demi thought she saw him calming down, going on about how she really wasn't trapped her, despite what she thought.

That just made her snort. "You don't know that. The people here want to brainwash me," she raised her clenched fists again, clearly considering starting to pummel Franck. It felt more and more like a good idea as the seconds passed on. "Even if they do, do I look like I'm going to be ready to graduate any time soon? They're going to have me for years, and who knows what kind of messed up brainwashing stuff they're going to do. They've already started on people like you, making you all weak and junk," she wrinkled her nose disdainfully. "You were upset because I was gonna squish a bird, for crying out loud. How are you gonna handle the Purge?'