Desolation Comes

[Beth Young]

Approaching the young girl with a friendly smile, Beth kept her distance. The last thing she really wanted was to make the girl feel threatened or uncomfortable, and she surely didn't want to invade her personal space. After all, it wasn't as if this was a forced session. Beth had simply read over the young girl's file and decided that she wanted to check up on her and make sure that she was okay. She wasn't a patient of hers - at least not yet, but Beth knew all too well what could happen to those children that fell through the cracks.

Beth just wanted to make sure this wasn't one of those cases.

"Demi?" the 5'3 brunette asked, her tone soft. "You don't know me," she added with an almost apologetic shrug. "My name is Beth Young, and I don't wish to alarm you, but I'm the school's new social worker." She saw little reason in lying and rather, given the reports on the girl, it seemed as if honesty was the best option was to come clean and put all her cards on the table.

"I've read your file, and although there's nothing wrong, I just wanted to make sure that you're okay." Sitting down on the grass a few feet away from the girl, Beth folded her hands in her lap and let her eyes wander over the field. "It must be hard for you, leaving everything you knew..." Beth knew a thing or two about that, after all. 

Tag: Demi Smith

[Demi Smith]

As usual, Demi was spending her time working through her paces. The near constant training and exposure she'd gotten here was honing her skills at a decent speed, though she kept at it like she wasn't moving at all. Demi couldn't quite feel like she wasn't doing as well as she should be, and she wasn't just thinking about her near extreme difficulties dealing with the scholastic side of things.

A voice drew Demi's attention, and she turned, surprised to only be looking up a few inches. So many of the "adults" here loomed over the short cultist that she'd just sort of grown used to it. She nodded, albeit cautiously, at the question, confirming who she happened to be.

Social Worker? Demi's nose crinkled as she tried to remember what that was. She seemed to vaguely recalling hearing something about it. The woman was talking about Demi's "file" which only made the girl snort. The adult was sitting though, seeming to almost get comfortable.

This was... weird. Sort of like talking with Franck or maybe the few times that the idiot Legrange woman seemed less stupid and more understanding. The comments had Demi looking suspicious too. Still, she nodded slowly. "Yeah, it sucks," she said. She shuffled, her head tilting slightly, "but why would you care?" she had to ask.

[Beth Young]

The girl looked suspicious and to be honest, Beth couldn't blame her. She probably would have felt just as odd about the whole thing had their roles been reversed. "I'm sorry to hear that," Beth replied. She opened her mouth to continue, but the girl's question had her stopping. Closing her mouth again, Beth sighed. "I care because it's my job to." She wasn't going to feed the girl some bullshit sob story. But, there was more to it than just this being her job. She just needed to figure out the proper way to portray that.

"But it's a little more complicated than that," she added, her brows furrowing as she looked over at the girl. "It's my job to care, yes, but that doesn't mean I do it just because it's my job. Do you understand?" She remained sitting on the grass, her green eyes locked firmly onto the other girl. She didn't want to scare her off, nor make her feel as she was obligated to stick around. 

"Besides... I know a thing or two about leaving everything you know and attempt at starting a new life." She offered the girl a smile as her hand lifted to brush her hair away from her face. "I did that once when I was eleven and my powers manifested, and again now." Of course, the reasons behind her starting over again now was much, much different from way back when. But still, she could at least relate to the feeling, even if the circumstances were wholly different.

[Demi Smith]

Demi rolled her eyes at the mention of it being her job to. "Yeah, that's what they all say," she said. She turned and spat a little, letting the glob collect some of the dirt and dust that always permeated the air around Demi. The young girl kept looking at it while she heard the staffer talking about how it was more complicated, that it wasn't just her job. Demi had to chuckle a little at that.

Smirking, she looked back. "What, you got that crappy empathy power?" she asked. Crappy had been one of the words she'd actually picked up; there were several, actually, but Demi sort of liked how this particular one sounded when she dropped it off the tongue.

Saying it also meant that she was facing the woman while she continued, talking about how restarted. That had Demi laughing again, shaking her head. "Yeah, yeah, they say that too. Oh, we all got pulled from our homes and dropped here," Demi thrust out with a hand, gathering dirt and dust. She opened her hand, letting some of it spiral off her, falling in little flecks back toward the ground where she'd gathered it to begin with. "You people aren't the ones who were torn from everyone and told that you couldn't go back," she didn't bother looking at the woman, just moved her fingers to knock loose some more bits of dirt, "and then dropped where everything is different than... you know what?"

She looked over at the woman, "Are you an Inherited? Are you one of the Chosen by the Divine Will to Inherit the True World? Bet not. So yeah, you're full of it, and I don't want to hear any more about that junk."

[Beth Young]

"I don't," she said with a smile. "I've got power suppression." She had no reason to hide that. In fact, she had a few students stop by every now and then to ask her to relieve them of their powers, if only just temporarily. It wasn't much, but she was glad she could help in some way or another. "What about yourself, Demi? What can you do?" She figured it was a safe route to take. From what she'd been told, the young girl took a lot of pride in her power, and that was surely something Beth could admire. Not many people seemed to do that at that age.

Nodding slowly at Demi's words, Beth remained perfectly quiet until she'd finished. She could understand the frustration she felt, and it was obvious it was quite the prudent problem. It made Beth feel overly bad for the girl. She was right; that didn't happen to everyone. A lot of kids got forcefully pulled away from their families, yes, but Demi's case was a little different from that. "I'm not," she admitted with a nod. "And you're right, our cases aren't the same at all, but that's the thing though. Just because yours is different, doesn't mean there aren't kids who share the same pain. We all have different amounts of problems and pain we can take before we cave." She licked her bottom lip and offered the young girl a smile.

"Do you miss it? Your home, I mean?" She tossed the girl a quick glance before looking out over the training field again. It was obvious that the girl still had a long way to go before feeling at home - if she ever did. "I'm sure you've heard this a million times already, but we do collect kids and take them from their homes for the greater good. The world's not ready to find out about us yet, and although it's very brutal, we just want to make sure everyone is safe, even if the method might not be the best."

[Demi Smith]

Demi's expression remained flat as she rolled her hand. Dirt and dust snapped around it, rippling in a sort of wave. She flicked her fingers, causing the mixture to stop and sort of float in the air at the end. Then Demi again spread her fingers wide, as if flinging something, and the stuff shot away.

That was what she could do.

Right? That had Demi stopping for a moment, staring at the adult. She very rarely got that, though if she did, it almost always came from people who heard her full story. She still couldn't help but be edgy around this woman though, especially after the whole mention of being a power suppressor. They usually sent those after Demi to make sure that she didn't attack anyone. She was tempted to point out that she'd made certain to do that only in course of her job or training any more. Just because people needed their butts kicked more when she was on patrol, well... you couldn't really hold that against Demi.

A smile, then: "Wow, that's a dumb question," Demi snorted and turned. "My people have an agreement with yours. We send our people to train with you as we're supposed to, and you let us come back when we're done. But I'm not allowed to bring the taint back," Demi dug her foot into the ground, staring at it. "So yeah," she looked at the adult, "It sucks. But I've already been here, like, a year now. So I'm kinda used to the suck." Demi shrugged, then turned, moving back into position. She was starting not to like this conversation, and she was very tempted to enter Flow to get out of it.

[Beth Young]

Beth watched in silence when the girl activated her power, and the dirt and dust started moving around her. It was quite interesting, watching such an simple, yet extraordinary act in motion. She had always been drawn towards these kinds of powers, simply because of their simple beauty. "I've always envied people with the ability to control the earth around them," she said honestly, her head nodding faintly.

Beth wasn't sure how she felt about the whole "my people ; your people", but she wasn't one to argue details. She could understand where the girl came from. Maybe she felt a little abandoned by her people, or maybe she was simply lonely and afraid. Nevertheless, it was a sad sight to behold, watching someone trying so hard not to fit in. "Taint?" she repeated, her head tilting slightly. She nodded then, a small smile forming at the mention of being used to the suck.

She was almost tempted to tell the girl that it wouldn't always suck, and that with time, it would all get better. But that seemed rather pointless. Instead, there had to be some kind of middle ground, right? "Is there anything that could make your stay here suck less?" she asked curiously. Maybe there was something Beth could do to make her stay a little bit better?

[Demi Smith]

The first comment, compliment, actually caught Demi by surprise. She paused, looking at the woman. It sounded real or, well, at least less like something that had been scripted. Demi had never heard anyone talk about envying her for her power. Okay, a few people... Franck a lot. Strange how this woman kept reminding Demi of the French guy.

Maybe it was just that Beth was naturally, uh, whatever the word for "feeling like other people feel"? Demi didn't want to think too much on it, though she could feel herself relaxing a bit more. There was a question there, one that had Demi nodding. "Taint," she repeated. "It's like... that's what happens when you get infected by the world. You're supposed to be," she gestured and raised her hand, "above it and stuff," she sighed, lowering her hands. "I don't really get that concept too well," she admitted.

Because Demi had always been focused on the awesome parts. She just knew the basics: tainting was what happened when you messed with the world. It was bad. What else did you need to know, really?

Demi looked away as Beth asked her question, wondering. Maybe...? "Is there some way I could, like, talk to my people?" she said, looking back to Beth. "My group? Like," she licked her lips, grimaced, and then turned to spit, the glob mostly brown, "Like, just talk to them or something? I guess?" She shrugged. "I dunno what else. It's actually been getting better. I get to train and I'm getting good, and there are some people here who aren't a total loss..."

[Beth Young]

Furrowing her brows a little, Beth nodded slowly. She thought she understood the concept of taint, but it was hard to pin point it exactly, what with her not knowing overly much about the group the girl had been apart of before coming here. Licking her bottom lip, she nodded and exhaled. "So..." she began, testing the waters. She wanted to understand. "Technology and things that aren't naturally crafted. Is that tainting yourself?" she asked. It was one of those things that was important to remember in the future. If that was the case, she could always bring the girl somewhere far away from "taint".

...if the girl at all wanted to see her again.

Smiling softly, Beth hummed. "I don't know," she replied honestly. An almost apologetic smile formed on her lips then, before warming slightly. "But that doesn't mean I can't find out." If that was what the girl needed, surely they couldn't stop her from talking to the people that meant so much to her, could they? If anything, Beth would bring the girl there herself, if only just for a weekend. It wasn't as if they didn't allow the kids to talk to their families, and some even got to go home from time to time, but with the girl's record... Maybe they'd let her if Beth came too?

They couldn't possibly say no to that, could they? It seemed almost a little cruel in a way, refusing to let the girl do such a simple thing. If it would help put her mind to ease, surely...

[Demi Smith]

Demi shrugged. "Well, if it's made by mutants, it's fine," she said. "That's the part that's easy to remember."

Demi still couldn't quite get a bead on this woman. She hummed, she smiled, and she looked as sappy and weak as everyone here. All these people that thought there was something severely wrong with Demi, who kept insisting that she was some kind of awful person, or an outright monster. But this woman kept acting like what Demi said had value. It was very confusing.

Didn't know, could find out. Demi let out a laugh, shaking her head. "Yeah, that sounds about right," she said. She turned away. "The people here hate me. They think I'm messed up, that I'm some kind of weirdo or monster or something. Whatever. Forget them. I'll just get what I need and then I'm out of here."

Demi made a flinging motion with her hand, sending a burst of dirt and debris forward into the air. She watched it swirling for a bit, using her power to keep it from hitting her eyes, before turning to look back at Beth, a sort of vicious hurt in her eyes. "Well? What are you still here for?" she demanded. "Enjoying the show?"

[Beth Young]

"I don't," she replied, her voice clear. Her brows furrowed slightly at the way the girl so quickly gave up and pulled herself away. It was obvious she either didn't trust anyone, or that she was used to disappointment. It made Beth sad, but she figured the girl could hardly be blamed for it. "And it's just because they don't understand you, or where you're from." Granted, it didn't help that the girl had a reputation for being incredibly aggressive towards other people. That didn't help her make any friends or win people over. But this wasn't the time to scold the girl.

Beth's eyes dropped to her phone then, as she scrolled through her contacts. She listened to the last piece the girl offered as she brought the phone up to her ear. If the girl needed proof that Beth wanted to help, well, then that was what she had to do. One way or another, she was going to help this girl. It didn't really matter if she thought she would or not, because Beth had already made up her mind.

"This is Beth young. Yes. Yes." Her eyes moved towards the girl then, offering her a soft smile. "I would like to request a meeting with the board." A short pause and Beth's lips pursed. "It's about a student and a request to allow them to have visitors and going back home for a weekend." She fell silent then as she nodded. Then, another pause. A few minutes this time, before Beth's smile widened. "Wonderful. Tell them I'll see them first thing."

Once the phone call had been ended, Beth scrambled onto her legs. "We have a meeting with the board next week. They're going to let you speak too, if you want. You get the chance to tell them why they should allow you to go home, despite your age." Beth put the phone back into her pocket. "I can't make any promises, but at least now you have a chance." She offered the girl another smile before turning on her heel. It was obvious the girl had wanted to be alone, and Beth was never one to impose.

[Demi Smith]

Demi snorted. They all said some of that nonsense, when they weren't referring to her like she was some kind of firebreathing monster set on murdering all of them. Yeah, Demi definitely had enough of this conversation. She was already starting to move away, done with this.

That was when she heard the conversation. It made Demi stop and look over her shoulder. What was that about? The woman was clearly talking loud enough for Demi to hear. There was some kind of smile and talk about meeting with the board and--- she didn't get it. Demi nearly wanted to sigh. They wouldn't let her back, and even if they did, there was no guaranteeing that her family would.

The woman rose up though. Demi turned to look up at her. "yeah, it's not gonna happen," she said, folding her arms. "They don't like letting us back to our people. Talk about cults and brainwashing and all that crap. Even if they did, you'd have to convince someone on my side to actually come and meet me."

Demi waited, watching, seeing that the woman was already starting to leave. Yeah, that seemed about right. Typical. These people: all talk.

[Beth Young]

"Well, we won't know until we try, now will we?" she replied as she offered the girl a smile. The girl could be as distrusting as she wanted, but that attitude wasn't going to get her anywhere in life, and that was a fact. She had to start letting people help her, otherwise she'd find herself utterly and completely alone, and the only one she could thank was herself.

Of course, Beth understood the feeling the girl was left with. She was lonely, felt as if she'd been ripped away from everything she knew and placed in a new environment where everyone seemed to simply expect her to find her way all on her own. It wasn't fair.

"You know... As much as I understand not wanting to get your expectations up, you'll do a whole lot better with this if you actually try. Even if you fail, you will at least know you did everything you could." She shrugged then as she continued walking. There was little point in staying around. The girl had some soul searching to do, and it was obvious that Beth had imposed enough.

"I'll come pick you up an hour before the meeting and we can run through what we want to tell them. Oh--" she stopped, turning her head to look at the girl. "--you know where my office is if there's anything you need."

[Demi Smith]

Try. Demi had technically been trying, at least lately. She had to nod slightly to affirm the comment. Yeah, she definitely supposed they'd have to do that. She looked away, seriously wondering if there was really any point though. People were still stupid, and yeah, Demi was kind of a hero of sorts thanks to her efforts in the fire, but she still didn't get most of the people. It was frustrating, like they should be speaking the same language but everyone else learned all this weird slang and decided that stupid stuff was important when Demi wasn't looking.

"I always try," Demi said as Beth repeated it. She gave the woman another look. "So I'll do it, I guess. It's still not gonna work," and her people were definitely not going to be too enthused about it. Several of them might care about Demi in the whole member of the clan thing, but would anyone care enough to try and contact her? Ceres might... but Demi just wasn't sure.

"yeah, sure," Demi said, adding a shrug. "I'll do it. Uh, thanks?" she actually offered a slight smile. Yeah, she didn't think it was actually going to do anything, but she could at least appreciate the effort the woman went through. Demi raised a hand in sort of salute again before turning to move along, letting the dirt and dust around her actually settle down.

Who knows? It might actually work.