Asking the Wrong Person

[Nico Martell]

Really, Nico should've known better. You do not look up when the small child approaches you, no matter how adorable and how very lost looking they happen to be. You especially don't look up when said child has probably been at the school longer than you have and they appear to be growing what appeared to be bones out of various places.

Still, Nico looked up. Next thing he knew, the kid was blubbering at him, saying something about how it totally got out of control and now there were spikes everywhere and he just really needed to get to the nurse's office and could Nico please help him out? Nico had risen to his feet at some point, kneeling down before the kid. Yes, he was definitely going to regret this, especially since it went directly against two of his policies: don't attract attention and don't get involved in other people's problems. But the kid just reminded him too much of the innocent ones that wandered around home, and Nico almost couldn't leave her there.

"I'll get you there," he said, wishing he was more positive about it. he took the young girl's hand, rose, and looked around. Nico took another deep breath, rolled his shoulders, and headed toward the nearest person. He stopped and tugged the still blubbering girl forward. "We need to get to the nurse's office," Nico said, looking from the girl to the person. "Can you help with that?"

[Ryan Alexander]

"Nope." Ryan was blunt about it. She was blunt about everything. It truly was a way of life.

"I don't even know where the nurse's office is." Then Ryan looked down at the child, regarding her with an intrigued look. She'd been hiding some alcohol in random nooks and crannies. She didn't really drink herself. But she was planning on using it for an art project. Perhaps it would be allowed for that purpose, but she wasn't taking any chances. She also wasn't about to have it in the open in case some desperate alcoholic student approached her. She looked at the bones sprouting from random places.

"Stop crying. You'll be okay. That's your power and it won't hurt you that badly. Not the power itself anyway, but rather the consequences. Take it from me, okay? My powers never hurt me. It was the situations I put myself in." She could be blunt and rather abrasive around adults, but she had a kind caring smile on her face as she looked at the kid.

"What do you say we lug this guy along and wander around until we find that nurse's office? There they can help you calm down. For now though, just take some deep breaths and focus on something else. Maybe like how awkward you're making your friend here feel. I have to admit, it's absolutely hilarious." She shrugged and smirked.

"I'm Ryan by the way." She tossed her red and black hair over one shoulder.

[Nico Martell]

Nope? Well, okay then, they clearly needed to...

and she was still talking. Nico's face settled into an expression that was halfway between "you're kidding me" and "great, another crazy one" as he remained still. The girl didn't know, so why was she still bothering them? Worse, she looked like one of those crazed Gothic chicas that went all nuts about being different with their hair and stuff.

At least she seemed to know how to talk to kids. Or, wait, at least she tried. Nico wasn't sure he really agreed with "powers not hurting you that badly." Clearly the crazy white girl didn't realize that, and Nico wasn't about to prod the crazy. He just kept standing, realizing that she was talking to the kid when she mentioned lugging him around.

"Hey, if you got this, I can just go..." Nico offered, using the hand not holding the little girl's to gesture behind him. He hadn't really wanted to get involved in the first place, and walking around with a scared, boney child and a crazy white chick sounded like an awful time to him.

And seriously, Ryan? Yeah, definitely snotty girl name.

[Ryan Alexander]

Ryan looked at the guy and smirked. Two could play at this game.

"Your face is clearly saying that you think I'm crazy. Tell me...are you truly trying to leave a defenseless child in my hands? How terribly irresponsible of you." She rolled her eyes.

"I don't know where the nurse's office, and I'm more likely to lose interest in the situation in favour of a good art piece. I can honestly say you would be remiss in your duties to leave a child with me." She was honest.

[Nico Martell]

Nico raised his brows slightly, but didn't respond at her prod regarding her insanity or why she shouldn't have the child. Yes, it probably wasn't the most responsible thing, leaving the small one with her. However, Nico didn't quite see why that was something he needed to worry about. It wasn't like the crazy girl would really do anything to her. They were in a school. If the girl had shouted just a bit louder, she probably would have drawn an actual adult to the scene instead of poor Nico.

Though part of him did want to call the crazy one out for wanting to abandon the child in favor of "some art piece." That just confirmed Nico's earlier estimation: spoiled rich white girl. Wonderful.

Well, what he really didn't see a point in was talking to the girl. So he readjusted his grip on the child's hand, giving her a squeeze. "Come on," he said, motioning with his head, "let's go." And he started leading the child away from the crazy person. There had to be a map or something, or someone saner they could ask for directions...

[Ryan Alexander]

"I do know, however, that I pass by a place where...a guy puked outside the room at one point. I passed it as I was going to the art studio." She shrugged.

"I'll walk with you. It isn't like I have anything better to do really. I have to wait for an opportune time to start my art. I can't just start it anytime. I'm thinking twilight might be a nice time to devote to painting this one. Or the series it might turn into." She smiled. Then she talked to the child.

"Your new friend here doesn't seem to like me very much, does he?" The child shook their head and Ryan laughed.

"Not that I care of course. Let that be a life lesson for you. The only opinion that matters is the one you have of yourself. Remember that, alright? It will serve you almost as well as learning to properly control your powers." To emphasize her point, she put her index finger on the steel bracelet she was wearing on her wrist, concentrating hard enough to make it change shape slightly and become a large ring instead.

"See? This is my power. Of course, jewellery isn't what I like to use it for. Powers are useful for all sorts of stuff."

[Nico Martell]

Nico blinked as she kept prattling. Boy, did this one like the sound of her own voice. Just kept going about her art while the tearful girl kept staring and Nico kept giving her that look of longsuffering that he'd practiced. Did he like her? He didn't actually know enough about her to really make a call. Wasn't a fan of how she kept running her mouth, but he knew a few people that did.

Nico had to snort at her little spiel about how you shouldn't care about anyone's opinion but your own. he was tempted to point out how much bullshit that was, especially coming from someone who was obviously trying so hard to be unique and different. Yeah, she totally cared about what people thought of you. And even if she didn't, that just meant she was in a position where she didn't have to worry about it.

But at least they'd already started walking away. She didn't seem to be following, so hopefully they'd just leave her to herself. Nico gave the young girl's hand another reassuring squeeze, though he again didn't say anything. Didn't need to.

[Ryan Alexander]

Oh, they weren't getting away that easily. Ryan was bored and they looked interesting, even if the guy was a total stick in the mud and quite obviously didn't like her. Ryan skipped after them.

"I'm going to tag along." Then she turned to the girl.

"Umm...maybe take a few deep breaths. Despite how much it might hurt...deep breaths might help it get a bit better. That's how I control my powers most of the time. My concentration's spotty, but I'm level-headed and calm where they're concerned."

[Nico Martell]

Was the spoiled white girl actually skipping? Nico nearly gave the older girl another withering look, but settled for just walking. The troubled girl whose hand he still held was starting to move more into the whole "this is weird" part. After all, she wasn't some kind of toddler or something, but an eleven year old, if Nico had any estimation. The whole mutant thing hit at puberty after all.

Admittedly, they could possibly get the bones to go back inside. Maybe all it would take was even "Ryan's" suggestion. Though Nico was tempted to sigh again, he did figure that she had gotten that much right. "Worth a shot," he offered. Though from what he could tell, the younger girl had calmed significantly, instead looking from the darker skinned boy and the strange pale girl who apparently started following them for who knows what reason.

Nico just looked up, scanning. He quickly found what he needed and nodded. He raised his spare hand to point where they'd set up a map to the side of the path, near a bulletin board. Then Nico directed them that way, his eyes already on the target.

[Ryan Alexander]

"Oh hey! A map! Yay. Might actually tell us where we're going. Not that I'm not fine just wandering around lost. I know to enjoy the journey of life. It isn't so much about the end of the road as the journey to get there. Not sure. That could be a proverb or an after school special. I can never remember properly." Ryan shrugged.

"Oh well."

[Nico Martell]

Nico allowed himself a momentary look toward the sky as Ryan continued to do what she enjoyed most: talking to herself about herself. Apparently she was determined to offer a soundtrack as well as to tag along where she wasn't wanted or really needed. The bony girl did look over at her from time to time. Though she was just as interested at the map as Nico.

In fact, she found it first. The girl raised a hand, stating that it was probably there. Nico nodded, raising a finger to press against it. He stood there for a few seconds, staring, memorizing the area, his eyes intent on the map, flicking a few times to look about.

The girl was the one to tug his arm, and Nico nodded. They had a direction to head, at the least.

[Ryan Alexander]

"I need to go the art studio anyways." She started humming a random tune she came up with. Ryan was naturally creative in many ways, and she didn't limit her brain with things like social conventions. Or at least, she did her very best not to.

"What I find is that ignoring what people think of you and letting your awkwardness shine through lets you know who's worth getting to know and who's not. If someone's willing to judge you just because you're a little more awkward, they aren't worth the time. Better to act awkward, weed out the unlikelies. Then, the people left over? You can have good discussions. Act fairly normal. Or be awkward. Whichever. They've earned your time because they didn't judge you on one aspect of your character." She smiled at the guy.

"I'm not nearly as stupid as you seem to think I am. You think I'm a spoiled rich girl with no brain and no sense of what's right to do in a situation or not. While that may be true, each situation in our lives is incredibly different from any other we will experience. Therefore, there's no guarantee that you're reacting to the situation any more appropriately than I am. Which, in turn, means you'd be a hypocrite if you were to judge." She shrugged before looking at the child.

"Let's get you taken care of, shall we?  Now that I know where the nurse's office is, we might be able to find our way there together.  And without Tin Man here tagging along on the yellow brick road.  Or maybe he's more like the scarecrow.  All depends on what he's wanting on his journey, eh?"  She chuckled.  She was hoping to help keep the girl's mind off of her pain, even if it was only a small difference.

[Nico Martell]

Okay, they knew where they were going and... and now the girl was talking about. Nico rolled his eyes toward the sky, wondering why she even bothered. There was something about projects or whatever, and then a little speech that she probably thought made her just the specialest little snowflake to ever exist. Yeah, her spiel worked great if that was all you had to worry about, but trying to get her to get it was clearly going to take more energy than Nico had right now.

Though it was impressive that she knew exactly what he was thinking of her. Either he'd been more transparent then he'd figured or she was a mind reader. Regardless, he didn't really care. she could call him whatever the hell she wanted: didn't change the reality of the situation. She was a spoiled rich girl, and all her talking didn't change the reality, or even Nico's opinion.

But hey, it seemed to make her want to take the girl off his hands. He looked at the little girl, who seemed willing enough to just go along. Nico nodded, then gave her a little wave before turning to head out. He'd say more, but his time with the girl had already proven one thing: it wasn't worth it.

[Ryan Alexander]

"Good riddance. I won't finish that saying for the good of all. You might want to adjust your way of looking at people. It's incredibly narrow-minded of you." She shook her head. This was yet another reason why she loved the art world so much. The more different you were, the more you tended to flourish. She took the girl's hand and squeezed gently to reassure her. Then they began walking together to the nurse's office.

"Let's get you all fixed up, shall we?"