Let It Burn

[Elizabeth Edison]

Even in a sleeveless tee and shorts, Elizabeth was cooking under the less than desirable heat. She was beginning to realise that her life was never going to get comfortable. Especially now because she actually had to use her powers. She wanted to say it was the best part of her day whenever she got to hang with her friends but this particular training, she was pretty sure even Gabs wouldn't like it.

"Let me know if I'm going too far. Recently learned how to use it in the offensive and I'm...kinda pumped." She tried to make light of the situation, despite already feeling her herself perspire.

Fanning herself, Elizabeth tied her hair up in a messy bun before taking her lighter and starting the fire. Small at first, since she didn't want to freak Gabs out too early.

[Gabriela Moreau]

Gabriela wasn't even as comfortable as Liz as she continued her slow, steady breaths. She knew why she was here with the blonde girl. Peer training, they called it. Like powered students were put together and given simple tasks to help each other with. Gabriela was relieved when she'd been paired with Liz Edison. She'd always liked Liz but had never really gotten the chance to get to know her. Of course, when they were being directed in the nature of the training her crippling phobia was mentioned. Liz had responded kindly and without the contempt Gabriela had come to expect. The smaller girl had a suspicion the training was more for her benefit than Liz's. After all, the blonde obviously had a much stronger grasp of her power.

"Okay." Gabriela said. She'd tried to keep her voice steady but couldn't help as it cracked just faintly. The spark of flame caused her to flinch and the fear flashed in her expressive, brown eyes. But she'd expected it and Liz standing right there allowed her to remain fairly calm. Exhaling slowly, Gabriela steadied herself and lifted her hands in front of her. She almost winced as she caught the threads of scar tissue that wove around her fingers and backs of her hands. The constant reminders of failed attempts at training sessions from long ago.

Her hands turned palms up as she closed her fingers. Gabriela concentrated for a moment. She could do this. She knew it was coming. She anticipated it. She shouldn't fear it. She could control it. This was what she did. After inhaling deeply and holding it in, Gabriela flicked her fingers open. A faint lick of flame erupted in the space above her hands. She flinched and instantly drew back away from it. It dissipated into nothingness. "God dammit!" She cursed, clenching her hands into fists and stamping her foot in frustration. Had the situation been different the image of the tiny girl so flustered and animated could have been seen as amusing. But already the flush of embarrassment was beginning to turn her cheeks a subtle shade of pink. "I'm sorry." She said quickly, not wanting to shift her eyes to Liz and the small bit of flame she had been keeping tabs on.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Offering a gentle smile to the girl she was training with, Elizabeth tried to study her face so she doesn't scare her off.

Biting her lower lip when she saw Gabriela flinch, she immediately made the fire smaller. She let the brunette get a hold of herself before making it a bit bigger. Until the other girl stomped her foot on the ground.

Extinguishing the fire, Elizabeth approached the girl and wrapped her hand around Gabriela's. "Don't worry about it. It's okay. I...you take your time with it." She reassured her, knowing exactly how she was feeling. But it wasn't going to make Gabriela feel any better knowing she wasn't the only one with the fear.

"One thing I've tried thinking about when I first started training was that the fire was like a little puppy. Excitable, a bit dangerous but it can be tamed. I don't know if it would help but do you want to try?" She asked.

[Gabriela Moreau]

Gabriela kept her head down not in embarrassment but in frustration and building anger. She was getting sick of this. Sick of being weak. Of being a pathetic excuse for a mutant. If anything being able to control fire should mitigate her fear. How could she possible fear something she could manipulate with a twitch of her fingers? It made no sense. Still, Liz's words cut through the sense of futility that was growing within Gabriela and the brunette nodded and took a deep breath to steady herself.

"No!" She insisted, not meaning for the word to come out so aggressively. Gabriela looked up quickly. "I mean, I want to keep trying." She corrected herself, not wanting to take her frustrations out on Liz. After all, the blonde girl was only trying to help. "I have to keep trying." She spoke defiantly. She was determined now to overcome her fear and begin actually training with her power. She was so far behind her peers it was embarrassing. As is, the Academy staff encouraged her to pursue college here due to her volatility. All she wanted to do was go home when she graduated and now because of some stupid phobia she was looking at least another fours years before that could happen.

Gabriela listened intently as Liz explained her methods. She nodded. She was going to try. She wanted to get this down, she wanted to curb her fear at least long enough to show herself she could do it. Another deep breath and she spoke with a steadily increasing defiance in her voice. "How about I try to control a fire you make." She suggested. "If I'm looking at it already maybe I can try and... I don't know... pull on it or something." God she sounded horrible at this. She didn't even know what all she could do yet and she'd been at the Academy for three years.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Elizabeth's eyebrows shot up when the brunette came out with her exclamation. She tried not to take it personally. She understood the frustration so she didn't think it would be fair for her to judge. Nodding slowly, the blonde offered a reassuring smile. "Okay. That's good."

Gabriela's response made Elizabeth's smile widen. "Yeah. That could work. Anything's worth trying, right?"

And so Elizabeth tried again, flicking her lighter on and stealing the fire from it on to the palm of her hand. She controlled it, kept it small as she reached her hand out for Gabriela's. She wouldn't force it but it was there anyway.

[Gabriela Moreau]

Gabriela took another deep breath in what she hoped wasn't going to be a futile attempt to steady herself. Turning she squared herself to Liz as the blonde started doing her thing. She flinched mightily at the spark of flame but she managed to keep shove the flash of panic that threatened to overtake her senses.  It was just an excitable puppy.  Gabriela told herself.  A puppy Liz is holding the leash to.  And you trust Liz.

The petite girl exhaled and forced herself to stay still even as the flame reached closer.  She trusted Liz and that went a long way.  Carefully Gabriela lifted her hands.  Her brow furrowed in concentration as she focused upon the flickering light under Liz's control.  She took a few short breaths, much like someone amping themselves up to leap out of a plane or off a cliff into waters below.  Cautiously she shifted her hands, curling her slender fingers in a grabbing motion.  The flame flickered and stuttered.  Now, if she could just give it a little pull and make it do something...

With a short flick of her wrist Gabriela caused the flame to shoot upward in a brilliant flare.  The surprise caused her to stumble backward and she landed hard on her backside with a tiny squeak. Looking up to Liz, her face in wide-eyed shock it looked for just a moment that the disappointment, embarrassment and frustration were going to return to her eyes.  Instead a sort of unbelieving, almost relived smile spread across her face.  "Holy shit!"  She exclaimed, the rare curse word escaping.  "Please tell me you didn't do that!"  She blinked, peering up at Liz.  "Did I do that?"  She was almost alarmed at having been able to consciously manipulate the flame.  Up to then she'd never been able to so much as purposely create a gout of uncontrolled flame and here, well, it wasn't much and she certainly didn't have anything resembling control of the thing except the direction, she'd meant for it to go straight up, but the fact remained she'd actually tried to do it and that at least something happened was a major milestone.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Elizabeth could see the determination in Gabriela's eyes, even after the flinching. Part of her was almost scared that the brunette would run away again. The other part of her, the one that always had hope for better things, just knew that the brunette was going to succeed.

When her hand was lifted, Elizabeth's blue green eyes moved from the flame in her hand and to Gabriela and then to the flame again, not changing any element of it, at least without her own knowledge. Which was why when the flame shot up, even Elizabeth was thrown back by the sheer awesomeness of it.

She was left with a gaping mouth, staring up as the flame disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Holy...mother." She looked back down at Gabriela, a wide smile etched on her lips. "I didn't! It was all you!" She squealed excitably, pulling Gabriela up and hugging her tightly in celebration.

"Oh my God! Okay, let's try it again okay?" Elizabeth's heart was racing with pride for her friend.

[Gabriela Moreau]

Gabriela wasn't a tomboy by any means but she had not problem keeping up with the boys. She certainly wasn't much of a girly girl so when she began to wildly giggle, bounce up and down, and grab Liz in the most feminine bear hug imaginable, it was an amusing sight to say the least. She had done something. Actually tried to use her power and it worked! Okay, so it only sort of worked but it didn't matter. Gabriela was ecstatic.

"Yes!" She said, nodding wildly, her pony tail bouncing behind her. "Let's try it again!" She then took a step back and furrowed her brow in anticipation of the flame to reappear. Crouching just slightly like a basketball player on defense she looked ready to pounce. Her tiny form even wiggled a little to make the sight all the more comical. She may have looked a little ridiculous, but she was ready and, damn it, she was going to make this fire her bitch.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Squealing unexpectedly at the bear hug, Elizabeth didn't take much time to return the hug, obviously content in someone else's arms. She was dead happy for Gabriela. It was a small start but a start nonetheless. It must have been incredibly hard for her to overcome something she's always feared. Hell, Elizabeth was still afraid of tight enclosed spaces.

Her enthusiasm was contagious and the blonde picked up on it immediately, her own enthusiasm escalating, causing her body to heat up instantly. "Whoops." Elizabeth shook herself and calmed down just slightly, wiping the sheen of sweat off her forehead and above her lip. Once her body temperature was closer to cooking than raging fire, she flicked her lighter on and captured the flame in her hand, manipulating it so it turned a little bigger than before.

"Okay, ready?"

[Gabriela Moreau]

Gabriela remained in her slightly ridiculous attack stance and gave a single, determined nod. I wasn't as if she'd never trained on her power before, she'd just never had the chance to actually apply what she'd been taught due to the whole crippling fear of fire thing she had going. She remembered what her trainer had said, the words echoing in her mind. She took a deep breath, flinched faintly when Liz sparked the flame again, then exhaled slowly.

Again, Gabriela's hands came up and she curled her slender fingers, envisioning her power taking hold of the flame. Again it fluttered and flickered when she did so. She'd grabbed it. She could almost feel the grip of the fire in her mind. A flash of fear stabbed her chest as she became all to aware of how intimate of a feeling it was, to be mentally connected to something she feared so greatly. Another deep breath. Liz was watching, waiting, expecting something to happen. Gabriela didn't want to let her down, she was working so hard for her.

Carefully Gabriela pulled one hand up and then back, toward her. The ball of flame jerkily stretched upward, before turning and coiling in Gabriela's direction like a writing, burning snake. The tiny brunette's eyes widened, partially in fear at the fire drawing closer, but also in triumph as this was what she wanted the fire to do. Fear, though, was a dangerous thing. She didn't dare let the flame get too close. She probably could have kept up the twisting thing she'd created longer but fear got the best of her. She jerked both arms outward and opened her hands. The snake flattened out, the fire spreading in both directions Gabriela's arms had moved in and dissipated, leaving a faint plume of white smoke in its wake.

Gabriela swallowed, quickly getting the fear that caused a premature end to her manipulation of Liz's flame under control before it became a nuisance. Now words came out, although the look in her eyes was one of pure victory. Her gaze fell to Liz and she started laughing.

[Elizabeth Edison]

The movement of the fire was slow but it was steady and Elizabeth had to keep a check on her emotions, not letting her excitement for Gabriela's improvement effect her ability.

But it did literally go up in smoke not two seconds later but the blonde didn't let that deter her from being proud of her friend.

Gabriela's laugh was contagious and soon enough, Elizabeth was also laughing. "That was great, Gabby. I'm so proud of you!" The blonde grinned widely and approached the girl to give her a hug.

"I'm absolutely certain you can only do better from now." She nodded with determination.

[Gabriela Moreau]

Gabriela's face had lit up and remained that way. The tiny brunette's body was awash in what was nearly relief. She'd done it. It wasn't much, but she'd been able to finally apply at least some of what had been taught. She'd practiced the motions many times before but could never muster the courage to bring out the fires that she so feared. Just seeing that her trainer had been right all along and that she could control her power was enough to, hopefully, force this whole process to snowball.

It still scared the hell out of her, the idea of whipping fire around everywhere, but suddenly it didn't seem such an intimidating thing. Sure, the flickering tendrils of flame that she could create would still haunt her nightmares and cause that familiar feeling of anxiety but she had proved she could control it.  She would never feel helpless in the face of her fear again.  She still had a long road to go, yet, as she hadn't even begun to harness her true potential.  But she had finally started along the right path and she had Liz Edison to thank.

The moment Liz got close enough and extended her arms, Gabriela pounced.  Her slender arms wrapped around the blonde and she nearly tackled her to the training room floor.  "Liz!  I can't believe it!"  She'd been silent as her mind swirled around and tried to grasp what had just happened. Lix had snapped her back to reality and she could speak again.  The excitement and relief was threatening to overwhelm her.  The hug wasn't a brief one either.  She squeezed Liz tightly as a few tears began to escape the corners of her eyes.

"Oh, God."  Gabriela groaned and immediately released Liz upon realizing she'd started crying.  For once, though, they weren't tears born of fear or sadness but utter joy.  Still, Gabriela hated being so emotional.  It made her come of as such a girl.  She sniffed and wiped at her eyes with her thumbs.  She'd had enough for the moment.  It had only equated to a couple minutes' worth of training but it felt like she'd already came so far and she needed to take a moment to compose herself.  "I'm sorry."  She said, offering Liz a meek smile as she moved over to take a seat on one of the benches in to the corner, still wiping at her cheeks.  "I've just been emotional lately and this..."  She waved a hand and shook her head.  "This was amazing."

[Elizabeth Edison]

Elizabeth let out a surprised squeak when Gabriela jumped on her. The blond easily caught her after a little slip but managed to keep them both grounded. She kind of more or less knew exactly how Gabriela was feeling right then.

It fuelled the happiness she had for the smaller girl. When she moved away, the blonde tilted her head slightly before her face contorted into one of empathy. "Oh Gabby, don't be sorry! It's perfectly fine to cry!" She reassured the brunette, walking over to the bench to sit down, rubbing the other girl's back as a comforting gesture.

"It's pretty damn big deal to overcome something this big. So you can totally just cry! I'm here for you."

[Gabriela Moreau]

"They're good tears." Gabriela confirmed with a nod but the smile she gave carried a tinge of sadness. There was more contributing to her overly emotional state than just the break through in her training but she was hesitant to speak of it. She knew Liz well enough but she wouldn't consider them to be best of friends, or really even, maybe friends at all if you chose not to use the word lightly. Of course, this was rapidly changing for Gabriela as it had been Liz's encouragement and selfless nature that had led to this moment of triumph, so she would probably be thinking higher of the blonde than vice versa right now.

"I don't know." She said honestly, leaning into Liz and placing her head on the blonde girl's shoulder after she had sat down beside her. "I'm so happy for you and Beau, though." The comment, while a bit abrupt, was genuine. Gabriela was pleased that someone had found happiness somewhere and that it was a person so deserving as Liz, well, that just made the petite brunette think there was hope after all. It wasn't as if she had anything happening on the romance front these days.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Her smile softened as she nodded at Gabriela's reassurance of the nature of her tears. That was good, the fact that they were tears of joy. It made Elizabeth feel much better.

And though the statement was more than abrupt, Elizabeth took it in stride, her smile widened and a blush coloured her cheeks. "Thanks. I was apparently the last one to know about our relationship but I'm very happy nonetheless." It was a joke since she kept hearing her friends and especially people at prom cheering "About time!" and "Finally!" and "I thought they were already together?". It had been weird but exhilarating.

"Anyone making you happy?" She asked. Though personal, she thought she should return the favour. She also wanted to be happy for Gabriela.