[SS:Try-outs]Dust Up

[Roxana Strix]

Roxana leaned back against the wall with her eyes closed for a moment. She had been matched up to be the one to put Demi to the Security Squad test. She was not all that surprised that Demi was basically told that she should join the squad and the fact that Demi probably saw it as a good idea as well. Roxana just knew it made her job all the easier for her to keep an eye on the girl if she became a member of the squad. She would not only be able to look after Demi, she would also be able to help ‘train’ and hopefully ‘mold’ Demi in such a way. She wanted the younger girl to be a member of SIGUARD one day, seeing so much potential in her.

Yet, Demi was a part of The Inherited and Roxana already knew it was not going to be easy to get Demi out of that way of thinking. It was not going to be impossible, but it was not going to easy. That didn’t mean Roxana was not going to try because with Demi being a part of the group it would just make so many things easier. Roxana already knew that Demi was going to make the squad because she had seen what Demi was capable of. It was Demi’s age and her problem with authority that made it more than likely going to end up on the Beta team. Not that any of that mattered if Demi didn’t even show up to try-outs.

The fourteen year old still had time and Roxana was in no rush. She slightly enjoyed the moment of silence as she remained leaned against a wall with her eyes closed. She could not help but to smile a little as she recalled Demi’s reason for joining the squad. ‘To beat people up. Also maybe to find a more constructive outlet for her tendency to beat people up. And potentially to help others understand the Flow.’ She certainly was a very interesting young girl.

((Demi Smith))

[Demi Smith]

The reasons had been less Demi's idea and more what Serena had suggested she write down, well, Serena and some of the adults that kept bothering Demi, insisting that she try to find more creative outlets for her energies. Considering that there seemed to be some kind of major mutant tourney thing coming up, Demi figured she'd have plenty of opportunities.

Though she hardly wanted to show up on time; that would set a horrible precedent. Plus, as near as she could tell, none of the people who were on this squad had actually bested her, which made her better then them by default. They should be practically begging to have her on their little team, not the other way around.

Needless to say, a very confident Demi strode onto the field. Her layer of dirt and dust had been reapplied, with actual streaks of mud lining a few arms, a good deal of it dotted with gravel. It almost looked as though she'd applied it like war paint, smearing portions of her body with the stuff, carrying at least five pounds of various dirt on her body and moving easily with it. It looked especially strange as she actually wore the school uniform beneath... mostly because the rest of her clothes had more or less been ruined by this point.

"Right, I'm here," she called, then took a look at Rox and smirked. "Are you the one I get to beat up... again?" she laughed at that. She'd beat Rox without even being prepared or getting into the Flow. Now? Like this? She'd wipe the floor with the idiot.

[Roxana Strix]

This was a pretty good outlet for Demi to get out all of her 'need's to apparently use her power and beat people up. Now she could do it for training specifically, getting out the need to fight and use her power against people that would be specifically in the squad. Perhaps even getting to put down a few other students in the process if there were ever any kids that put up too much of a fuss. Roxana was only an intern of the security squad, but she still had some level of power, they put her and Vera in charge of the squad after all. I'm thinking too much about this. Roxana thought to herself as she took a deep breath, opening her eyes when she felt someone coming closer. It was Demi, as expected of the young girl.

She certainly looks like she is about to go on a war path. Roxana thought to herself as she looked over Demi. She had dirt, gravel, and pretty much came ready to fight with her power. Rox could not help but feel fascinated by Demi, just her way of thinking, and how she pretty much walked around wearing what she could control. Roxana was a bit surprised to see that Demi was actually wearing the school's uniform. Roxana of course was wearing the uniform as well but she didn't have a problem wearing it. She figured Demi of all people would make a fuss or at least modify the uniform in some kind of way. Well, wearing all of that dirt on her was certainly one way of her to have her own 'style' with her uniform. "Again?" Roxana asked as she raised an eyebrow but then started to smirk a little.

She figured she could give Demi that win still, but at the same time she only would half count it as a win. It was more so because they ran out of time and it was a little difficult to go against someone who could control her crystals just slightly. Rox got off the wall and moved over closer towards Demi. She stopped then and then pointed off to the target dummies that were set up already to be practiced or destroyed. "You were actually just going to show what you are capable of on those training dummies. There are four of them so I wanted to see how you would take out multiple opponents at once." Roxana said with a small smile. "Unless you really want to go up against me again." Roxana added after as her gaze went back to Demi.

[Demi Smith]

Demi saw the smirk, though she didn't know what that was all about. She'd totally won the last encounter, the one where Rox had interrupted her when she had to go pee. After all, Demi hadn't been the weird person spying on people in the woods... okay, she'd technically been doing that, but she'd still won that one.

The explanation of the trial came, and Demi had to fight the urge to yawn. She certainly rolled her eyes. "Dummies, so, like, did you plant a bunch of students in the ground or something?" asked Demi, laughing a little at her oh so clever joke. She turned, seeing the four rows of training dummies. The mirth turned back into a confident smirk, and she looked over at Roxana.

"You want me to handle them in any specific way?" she asked, nodding. "Like, all at once or one at a time or, like, pretend they have those whatddaya call it, guns or something? Or do you want me to, like, show off for each one, 'cuz I could totally take those out however you want," Demi shrugged. She was tempted to suggest fighting Rox again: be a lot more interesting, but Demi would never turn down the opportunity to get into a good scrap, and, well, this definitely presented that, and then some.

[Roxana Strix]

Roxana didn't even consider them having a fight the last time they had met, because it was basically kicking up some dust and tossing a few crystal daggers. The fight had been interrupted then by demi having to pee, and Roxana still thought that was a very cute side of Demi. It just reminded her that Demi was still a young girl and it was always refreshing to see that. Rox did rub the back of her head as she remembered that little events. Her head had hurt a little after having that wad of dirt thrown at her head when all she had been doing was minding her own business. Roxana did actually smile a little more at Demi's joke. Demi really did think everyone here were just stupid people, so it was a pretty good joke.

"You still have yet to find someone that you don't think is a fool?" Roxana asked, figuring that by now Demi would have gotten along with someone out there. There had to be possibly someone that had beat her in a fight that she respected or someone that she just thought was cool. Demi had been here for a few months now, so perhaps she still needed a few more months before she fully settled in. Roxana shook her head no at the question, she didn't really care which way demi handled them. She already knew that she was going to say yes to put Demi on the Squad, put her on Beta. She knew demi already had the talent to protect and her big issues were the whole not following orders and her little attitude which could be worked on.

Demi still asked more to her question, wanting to know what Roxana wanted her to do. So Roxana thought about it for a moment, figuring she really should have Demi do something worthwhile so she was not wasting the younger girl's time. "Show off with each one. I want you to take out one from a distance, another up close, and the last two have to be taken out at the same time. Think you can do that?" Roxana asked after pointing out what she wanted Demi to do. She had only ever watched demi go up against one person at a time so she did in fact what to see how Demi would handle someone from a distance, up close, and trying to take out two people at a time.

"Begin whenever you like. If you manage to pull it off without a problem we can pretend that they have guns and my crystals will represent the bullets." Roxana added after a moment. She too wanted to test a few things out.

[Demi Smith]

"Coupla people," replied Demi, shrugging. She then added a grin before saying: "You aren't one though." Though said arrogance and tease melted away as Roxana explained things. Demi ended up nodding, her expression becoming almost as solid as the various dirt that she moved. Show off with each one, show what she could really do. How long had it been since she'd really been able to show off what she could actually do? And two people? Easy. She'd done that for practice just the other day, and they'd totally deserved it.

One from the distance. That one should probably go first. Demi focused, taking a deep breath. She kept her attention on the target, while regulating her breaths. In. Out. This was to show off, and she hadn't said anything about speed. Best to get into full Flow, do this right. Demi started feeling the dirt and dust rolling around her. She took another breath, then stepped out her shoes, digging them off. She didn't normally wear them, but she figured that it would probably be best to at least pretend to care about the uniform for this.

There, the stone on her feet now. Demi took another breath, then windmilled her arms, rolling forward. She bent down after one spin, pulled at the earth, and literally lifted a section of the field off. She whirled it in the next motion, sending the impressive load of dirt firing out at the dummy, hitting it hard in the chest. Demi kept moving though, heading toward the second one...

[Roxana Strix]

Roxana gave a slight eye roll but still smiled a little bit at Demi's words. She could not help but like this younger girl. There was a certain level of gull to Demi that Roxana respected and just fueled her desire to have Demi be a part of her organization. The uses they would get out of the young girl, even at her current age. Roxana could already see all the benefits and how demi would probably like certain aspects of the job. Getting to test her power against all sorts of people and have access to tools and training that would give her a run for her money. Demi's people were still a problem but Roxana figured with time at BA that Demi would come to forget about them. Perhaps, she was not fully sure about that since Demi had shown clear dedication to her people on several occasions.

Roxana didn't say anything after telling Demi what she wanted the younger girl to do. She asked for things that she knew Demi was capable of, but she wanted to see them. To see how Demi would execute what had been asked of her. Even seeing how Demi took to getting orders from Roxana, since that was where her orders were going to be coming form often. Demi would also get orders from Vera and Roxana just hoped that went over well. She knew about how Vera and Demi did not exactly get along the smoothest of ways but only time would tell. Roxana's gazed locked on to every movement that Demi was making, learning more about the girl with each passing second. Hmm...taking time to get into what she calls The Flow. Roxana thought to herself but of course stayed silent.

She had no problem with Demi taking the time to get into her form for using her power. Roxana did not ask for Demi to do it all with in a certain time, she just wanted to see that Demi could do it. Another time she could have Demi have to react faster and just use her power. She figured when she would toss her crystal daggers at the girl that would be when to test how fast Demi could get into using her power. For now Roxana watched silently, staying back, and actually admiring Demi's skills to a certain level. She will certainly be a force to be reckoned with when she is older. Roxana thought to herself.

[Demi Smith]

Demi didn't want to lose momentum, not now. She kept barreling forward, pushing herself with her power. Quick, she had to do this quick, show off and let Roxana know that she was a viable candidate and maybe even a threat. The thought made Demi smile the smile of a predator. She soon came within range of that second dummy.

Demi pulled to a stop, using the momentum to create a sort of counter-balance and force. She flung her arms down as she did, pulling at the ground and pushing it. She knew precisely what kind of trick to use now, and she'd certainly practiced it enough. Heck, she'd done it a few times since she'd arrived at this stupid school. She could certainly do it for an audience.

So Demi launched herself bodily at the second dummy. She twisted her body so that she'd do a flying tackle, connecting hard, dust and dirt falling everywhere as she clung to the figure just long enough. The force made it wobble, and then fall over, Demi rolling with it, already eying the next pair of dummies and grinning.

[Roxana Strix]

Roxana didn't say anything the whole time, just standing back and watching Demi show what she could do. She already knew that Demi was going to make the squad and she had great expectations for the young girl. She was impressed on the level of which Demi was able to show what she could do recalling the limited time that Demi actually had to train with her power back with her cult group before the school picked her up. Roxana was never a fan of cults but they certainly knew how to do a few things right when it came to achieving their goal.

She watched every movement closely, as if her eyes were cameras and she was recording for her organization to see this. She was trying to figure out the fight styles Demi was using at the heart of her movement and seeing the aggressive or passive nature to it all to get a better read on what the cult’s true goal was. It all communicated wonderfully through Demi’s movement and Roxana could tell that there was a bit of showing off there. The thought made her smile, just seeing Demi to still be that cute kid deep down.

While Demi was busy pulling of her stunt with the second dummy, Roxana moved into position, planning on giving Demi a bit more of a challenge with the third dummy. She still watched Demi's move, admiring the skill behind it. Yet, that just reminded her that Demi was likely still getting herself into trouble with beating up other kids around the school. As soon as Demi was done with the second dummy, Roxana quickly tossed a few crystal daggers at the younger girl. All aimed to just scrape past Demi for the moment. "The third dummy is shooting at you." Roxana said, knowing her daggers were not traveling as fast as bullets.

They still moved pretty fast. A good enough substitute for the time being with sharp points. Roxana even made sure to place a makeshift looking gun on the third Demi. This allowed Demi the option to try and disarm the dummy all while Roxana would keep throwing crystal daggers at her. The better Demi did at blocking the, the more Roxana would aim them to do more than just scrape past the girl.

[Demi Smith]

The cultist didn't have the slightest problem with moving and whirling about. She didn't immediately see Roxana's attack, and her reflexes just barely managed to catch her. If Roxana had actually meant to hit Demi with one of those daggers, she probably would have. Demi gritted her teeth, nearly grinding them together. She should so be better than that, she could so do better than that.

Shooting, huh? Demi snorted and ducked low. She zig-zagged her way toward the dummy. As Demi moved, she purposefully kicked up more and more dust, creating a cloud around her. It became increasingly harder to actually spot Demi amidst her cloud: just flashes of her skin showing between the flecks of dirt and dust.

Demi seemed to recall that she had to take out two at once now. She figured that the easiest way would be to shift her dust cloud at their heads, aiming to blind. It would only technically be taking them out, as Demi would have to follow up, but she figured it would work. She had to get close first though, hence more moving and stuff.

[Roxana Strix]

Roxana could have indeed hit Demi with one of the daggers if she really wanted to, but she did not really want to. This was just try-outs after all and she just wanted to see what Demi would do in certain situations. Mainly she just wanted to see a bit more of what Demi could do, even if it was only a small taste of what Demi's potential would be in the future. So much use and potential. Roxana could not help but to think to herself. Her mind practically stuck in the same kind of thinking her organization had.

She knew for sure her reports were going to have to include some way to figure out how to get Demi to come to their side. Threats were always good, but Rox recalled how Demi reacted when she had brought up the young girls family before. She was going to make sure to suggest that threats were not at the top of the list of possibilities the organization might use to convince Demi to join them. Roxana's focus was brought back when Demi kicked up more dust, making it harder to see the girl, which was a good and bad thing. Good for the fact that she could not be seen, but bad for those who could possibly be shooting at her starting to panic.

Roxana decided to behave as if she was the one being attacked and going into a panic at not being able to fully see the opponent. Someone scared of Demi's power, having fear of mutants would now likely just fire their bullets all around and prey that one of them would hit Demi. So Roxana did just that, tossing her crystal dagger in every which direction as if she was the gun firing out bullets. She did have a small level of worry doing that, not wanting to actually accidentally hit Demi in a dangerous spot. That was why she tossed them a little slower than normal so that hopefully she was going to end up doing less damage if she hit Demi.

Roxana did stop tossing them when she figured the dust around the dummies head would likely make them stop shooting for a moment to rub at their eyes. She would go back to tossing them again after a moment or two; not planning on stopping until Demi fully took out the dummy by whatever means she decided to do that.

[Demi Smith]

The daggers started zippping around, which surprised Demi slightly, but she wasn't going to really question it. If Roxana wanted to test her, that was fine with the little dirt thumper. She just started whirling, letting the Flow carry her. Enough smooth motions, enough zigs and zags and she'd be moving around the daggers. Roxana's lack of effort would slow them significantly, and Demi's dust cloud would do the rest of the work.

Soon Demi was in front of the two dummies. She held her arms out and flung two clouds of dust out in big puffs as she moved forward, rolling slightly. The dust blasted at them, and then Demi stopped. She leaned down, curled tight, letting the dust flow for a few moments, swirling just enough to throw off any incoming bullets. She didn't need it to hold for long, just long enough for her to get a good handle on the ground below. She could already begin to feel the dirt stretching out: she'd have it in a few more seconds, barring anything extreme.

[Roxana Strix]

Demi's movement stayed in its usual Zen like manner. Perhaps Zen was not the best word to use but there was a certain rhythm...or flow to the way Demi moved. It was an art that mixed the martial arts with her power. It was a very smart way to teach young kids how to control a power that did involve their body in order to use it at its full potential. Demi certainly was going to be a threat as she grew older and it just drove home the point that they had to get her out of the mind of the Inherited and into the mind of a BA student. Or even better, into the mindset of a member of SIGUARD.

Roxana kept to her plan on behaving like her daggers were the bullets of the two dummies, throwing them the same way they would have been fired by a gun. Stopping when the person would no longer be able to see or when they were would be worried about reloading or a list of many other things. She kept it all in mind, applying herself the way she had to, and still keeping an eye on Demi the whole time. When the dust blasted at the dummies, Roxana had to move so she would not get caught up in the blast as well. She still did a little bit, but at least she was not dealing with it like the poor dummies had to.

She rubbed at her hands a little before running her fingers through her hair, trying to figure out how much of her hair turned black for this little demonstration event. Demi really was going all out, a bit more then Roxana thought was necessary but she was not going to stop the younger girl. She was ready for the possibility that she was probably going to have to call someone or take Demi to the infirmary for using her power to this extent. Roxana could see she would have to throw her daggers the hardest she could throw them to get past Demi's wall, but there was not need to do that anymore.

No, now she just crossed her arms to watch Demi finish it off so she could tell her to make the squad. As if Demi would have gotten any different kind of response.

[Demi Smith]

More crystals went zinging by, and Demi mostly ignored them. Her dust and dirt would fling them away unless Roxana tried, and Roxana wouldn't try for the purposes of a demonstration like this. Which meant that the shield had done precisely what Demi had wanted it to do.

Grinning, she felt the earth giving way underneath each hand. Demi took a breath, then whirled, using her entire body and her power to gather momentum. A decent clod of earth, roughly the size of a basketball and dripping with grit and rock, came up in one arm, and she flung it at one of the dummies.

While it flung, Demi used the same motion to continue rolling, pulling up another clod with her other arm. She could feel her body screaming at her, the effort of moving so much dirt and dust taking its toll on her body. But Demi had already determined not to simply win this, but to utterly crush it and prove that she had the stuff. So she kept going, flinging up another clod. That one didn't stay together nearly as well, but it still flung out, colliding hard with the dummy's chest.

The momentum caused Demi to keep going and she rolled away, panting, her body heaving with exertion, but a wide, dirt-encrusted smile on her lips. She turned and spat a globule of brown-stained spit, and then looked confidently at Roxana.

[Roxana Strix]

Roxana watched, still remaining silent and taking it all in. Yes, Demi was going to be very useful in the future and certain even now. It was still a shame that she had not been brought up in a family that already had connections to SIGUARD. There was no sense in thinking about what Rox wished could have been or what would be perfect, she just had to watch. Watch, learn, and report back in to be able to follow the orders that would be given in return. Demi had made the squad; hands down, but Rox didn't doubt for a moment that she wouldn’t.

Demi pulled her final stunt, Roxana could see the strain that it took on the small girl's body but she didn't say anything about it. She just made a mental not on the matter. That Demi was the type to push herself too far so had to be watched so she didn't seriously hurt herself. It was likely Demi would still end up pushing her power to far, but at least she would then learn her limits and adjust according to it. The other girl was still young and had years still to learn to perfect the use of her power in moderation.

Rx could not help but to make a face when Demi spit. Attractive. Roxana thought to herself in pure sarcasm. She should not have expected anything less or more of Demi to do after pulling off what she did. "Well I'm sure you already know this, but you passed. You are a member of the Security Squad. Yet, there was no doubt that you would be a member." Roxana said as she looked at her hands for a moment. Her hands moved to hook into her belt loop of her pants as she walked over closer to Demi. "You did well. There were only few opening but that dust shield you made covered up a good amount of them. You did push yourself a bit much near the end, but that was fine." Roxana said, giving Demi a smile.

She headed over to where she had some water bottles and a few power snacks sitting already waiting to be used. She grabbed one of the waters and tossed it at Demi to take. "Hydrate yourself, maybe wash up a little bit." Roxana said, the last bit more of a tease then anything.