A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

[Olivia Chance]

Olivia had promised Zoe that she'd come to her show.  If there was one thing Olivia was, it was someone who kept her promises.  She walked in and began looking around.  She reached one photo of a guy breathing fire and hit her forehead.

"Damn.  That asshole looks good in this picture.  Zoe really IS insanely talented."  A giggle even escaped after saying that too.  She smirked, looking around.  She wondered where Zoe was.  She assumed she'd see the other girl pretty soon.  Olivia had basically just gotten there after all.  That bus had been SLOOOOOWWWW.

Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe had actually been at the show for some time. While it wasn't required that she be there during any and all hours the show was open for the public, Zoe still tried to do so as often as possible. Seeing as she'd asked several people to come to the show, she definitely wanted to make sure she was there. Plus, it was always nice to see people enjoying her work and to discuss it with them.

She'd just gotten done discussing one particular piece, where Roxana Strix had sculpted crystalline images onto a tree, when she saw a familiar face. Zoe smiled and waved at Olivia, but had to wait a little bit to finish up the conversation, even reaching into the pocket of her denim skirt to pull out the little figurine that Roxana had given to her when they'd finished.

Then she was heading over to Olivia, smiling. "I'm so glad you could make it!" Zoe said, practically hopping up and down. "I hope it wasn't too much trouble?" While for most people, this may be polite, Zoe looked as though she was seriously concerned that she'd made things difficult for her friend: her expressive eyes showing her worry even as her body practically trembled with the excitement and joy of sharing this with someone else.

[Olivia Chance]

Olivia waved dismissively. It had been a bit of trouble to figure out the bus schedules but whatever.

"No trouble at all. I wanted to see you and your work after all. You were my first friend at Bellefonte and you helped me step out of my comfort zone. The least I can do is show up to a show I wanted to see in the first place anyways. Olivia smiled, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.

"So...how are you? And do you think I could have a grand tour? Pictures are seldom in power research textbooks and I have to say I'm intrigued by the idea of seeing them in action."

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe nodded as Olivia insisted that there was no trouble. The nod turned into a blushing smile as Olivia continued, confirming that Zoe was her first friend here. It was strange to Zoe, hearing that it was she who was helping someone else step out of their comfort zone. Then again, that did seem to be the person she was now, she guessed.

"Oh, I'm doing well!" Great, actually, though Zoe toned it down, merely smiling. "And I certainly can show you though, um," she licked her lips, shifting her feet, "it's not like this is, um, for like, a textbook of powers or anything. It's to show the beauty of the power, how that it's not something to be feared, but something to be admired. Like, like this one," she turned, pointing to the Roxana Strix series.

It showed a rather striking, but severe blonde woman forming those crystalline sculptures, all while her hair faded from blonde to dark. A short poem was attached:

we feed our light into life.
into art.
to show our dark.
the two together forming one.
forming beauty.

"See, it's about art and beauty and... yeah," Zoe said, lowering her arm, seeming to realize that Olivia could have very well noticed that already, and/or been thinking precisely that herself.

[Olivia Chance]

Olivia shrugged.

"Same difference. The reason I started researching powers so thoroughly in the first place was because I found them beautiful. I think more people need to realize that." She smiled. Then she saw the picture Zoe showed and couldn't help but widen her eyes and point.

"I know her! She drew me! On the ski trip I was feeling particularly good about everything and my powers accidentally hovered some snowflakes. I didn't know I was doing it. I didn't know she was there. And she drew me. I thought she'd already left after I helped her find her sketchbook." Olivia grinned.

"I had no idea that while I was hovering those ice crystals, I had a true crystal genius in my midst. If I'd known, I would've asked for tips." Olivia crossed her arms with a twinkle in her gray eyes.

"Nice touch with the poems accompanying the pictures by the way. Your photos are amazing, but add to that a bit of poetry to shed light on the picture, and it brings a whole new perspective to the piece."

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe was glad to hear that Olivia at least understood what she was getting at, this idea of looking at the beauty of it all, especially this. Too often, especially lately, people only looked at the harsh side, the bad side, of being a mutant. They should work to presenting it with wonder and joy, not fear.

It was also interesting when people recognized one another. Zoe couldn't help but laugh slightly at Olivia's reaction. She did seem to recall Roxana mentioning drawing before. "Well," she said, nodding and stepping alongside Olivia, "we do all go to the same school, after all."

The smile persisted as Olivia talked about the crystals and such. Zoe couldn't help but look at the pictures, remembering that shoot, how it had gone. "Oh, I just... I've always done that," Zoe admitted. "I just like to layer them, to bring out more. I haven't done it with all of these, but, well, some," she looked around. There was Quinn firebreathing, Oneyka shapeshifting, Alice with her wings (and next to Zoe, wrapped up in one another), Tim looking like a bat, a girl who seemed to have demonic features, a boy who held a plant, seeming to call it down to him, another who turned invisible... so many people, some here, some gone.

"Um, is there any in particular you'd like to look at?" Zoe asked, looking back to Olivia. "I could, um, add some too, like, if you wanted to know more or...something." Taking pictures and writing poetry, Zoe could do. Talking about them, well, if she got started...

[Olivia Chance]

Olivia bit her lip as she heard the question of which ones she'd like to see particularly. She shrugged.

"They're all great. I...was just wondering if you had any pictures of elementals. Like, people with fire, earth, water or air? Those kinds of powers...I was thinking seeing them in action might help me get to know my own power better. I'm feeling kind of weird seeing all these pictures because they can obviously control their powers enough so that you were able to take pictures of them in action...I can't really do that right now. My powers are kind of like a powder keg."

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Pictures of the elements? Zoe had to smile at that. "Oh, I've a few of those. There's, um," she turned and pointed, "Sage. He controlled plants. Very nice young man. And Liz," she turned again, "could control fire to some degree..."

Though she paused, realizing that Olivia had gone further. It had her giving her friend a look for a moment, before walking forward, pointing toward the earlier mentioned plant controller. She tapped the picture, which showed a tree bending down to touch a young blonde boy's hand.

"He passed out after this," She said, her voice soft. Zoe turned to look back at Olivia. "I had to ease his pain with my power and then get him to the medical bay." She turned, looking back. "It was rather frightening, actually. He's young, so he doesn't have quite as much power or control yet. But he wanted to pose for me, and he insisted he was fine..."

Zoe trailed off, her face furrowing, the guilt apparent on it.

[Olivia Chance]

Olivia's eyes widened on hearing the story.

"Still, for him to be able to control his power enough to show you. That's amazing, even if it did end with him going unconscious. I hate to admit it because he got hurt but...I'm kind of jealous." She shrugged and stuck her hands in her jeans pockets. But then she saw the guilt on Zoe's face and she bit her lip.

"It isn't your fault. He wanted to do it. I don't know how it is for other elementals because I can only speak for myself. But the feeling I get when I use my powers...it's like this rush, but a sense of peace washing over me at the same time. It's a feeling that...that I long for. It was his choice to pose. It's really cool that it was captured on film. It'll probably be something he'll be proud of. You being guilty won't change that, and it won't change his determination. It also won't magically make him unharmed from the experience." She shrugged, her hands still deep in her pockets. Olivia smiled.

"You don't need to feel guilty for other peoples' actions, Zoe."

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe nodded slightly as Olivia continued. Sage had said as much, back when he'd done it. He'd insisted that it had been his decision, that he could handle it, that, if anything, Zoe had helped him. So it was really all just bits that Zoe had heard before.

Even down to the bits about it not being her fault, and how things worked. "I don't know I.." she said, stopping to chew her mouth. She felt her eyes watering. "Everyone keeps saying that but... but I know people have gotten hurt because of what I've done... I just..." Zoe sighed, then let out a short laugh, reaching up to wipe away her tears. "Just look at me: I'm standing in a show with my own pictures with one of my best friends and I'm crying about stupid things. I'm sorry."

She offered Olivia another sad smile, before turning back to the photo. An arm again raised up to wipe at her eyes though, which still shimmered with unreleased wet.

[Olivia Chance]

"Don't be sorry. Emotion is a perfectly normal part of life. I envy the fact you feel you can cry so freely. Especially around me. I don't cry. Not really. It's stunted because I've trained myself not to cry in public." She smiled, going in for a hug. She wanted to help her friend, she really did. But a hug was kind of the best she could do.

"Besides which, I'm still going into shock that you just called me one of your best friends. I haven't had friends, so the fact I'm doing an okay job of being one is pretty encouraging, I have to admit." She grinned.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe smiled sadly as Olivia insisted, though the smile turned into one of gratitude very quickly. There was still the moisture in those big brown eyes, making them seem to shimmer in the low light. Right, Olivia didn't cry: Zoe remembered her friend mentioning that before. And there were arms.

Zoe had to literally force herself into the hug, pushing aside her usual stiffness and knowing that Olivia was likely to be careful enough to avoid skin-to-skin contact. She knew what it meant, especially coming from someone as closed off as Olivia kept insisting she was.

The comments that followed had Zoe laughing. She brought a hand up. "Well, of course you are," she said, her voice only warbling slightly, "why do you think I wanted you here so badly?" Zoe sniffed again, bringing the hand up and around, again trying to avoid contact. "And you're doing fine at being a friend, really. I wouldn't even know you didn't have the practice."

Because if there was one thing that could distract Zoe, it was needing to encourage someone else who could potentially be going through something.

[Olivia Chance]

Olivia only remembered Zoe's powers when the other girl was stiff. It didn't even register that the other girl had paralysis. It wasn't the defining characteristic after all. She wouldn't want to be defined by one trait. She extended the same courtesy to others on a subconscious level. She had just felt like a hug was the right thing to do. She normally wasn't a huggy type of person really. But Zoe was a friend, and she'd been upset. It had been a natural reaction. It gave Olivia hope for one day acting more normal. She was very happy when Zoe laughed. It meant Olivia's hug had worked. And her words too. Zoe was now focused on Olivia's problems. She didn't normally like to think about her problems, but if it would help Zoe get over hers, she would.

"I honestly didn't know." She bit her lip.

"I hoped it was because I was your friend but I wasn't about to assume that and make a fool of myself. Friends have never really...happened for me. Hence why you saying that took me by surprise." She shrugged, her head ducking slightly.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Yes, the hug definitely felt nice. Warm, inviting, as it did every time Zoe actually felt contact from the people she knew cared about her. Liz, Maelea, Alice, Devyn for a time, and now Olivia... yes, Zoe certainly felt blessed to have so many people who were willing to support her, to put up with her strange emotional swings and to stick around and help her as best they could.

She had to laugh a little at Olivia's comment. "Well, you're certainly my friend," Zoe insisted, nodding. She reached for Olivia's hands, taking them to give her a quick squeeze. Only a passing touch though: even that would leave Olivia's hands tingling from the contact, as though she'd been sitting on them for longer than was healthy.

"I'm sure you'll find some more friends too," Zoe continued, turning and looking around. She gestured. "Look at how many I found," she lowered her hand, turning to nod at Olivia, "and I'm quite shy. So if I can do it," she gestured at Olivia, "then so can you."

[Olivia Chance]

The hand contact left Olivia feeling like she had pins and needles in her hands. She grinned though. She had a friend. That might not seem like a big deal to most people, but to her...to Olivia it was something very noteworthy. She had a friend. She could scarcely believe it.

"I...I have a habit of saying really stupid things. Like...don't be surprised if I one day say something that really hurts your feelings. I don't mean to do it. Honestly I don't." She bit her lip.

"Things slip out. Maybe...it would really help if, when I say something totally awkward...if you could just tell me that it was awkward. I won't feel embarrassed. Honest. It's just...not having honest friends means I honestly don't know what's cool to say and what isn't. Also, that feeling of pins and needles is pretty cool." She grinned slightly on the last sentence.

"You've really helped you know. Thanks to you, I actually confronted the problems with my brother and thought about it. Let my emotions run wild."