[SF]Flash Storm

[Erin Hackett]

She was leaving this weekend to go back home. Well, her old home since she had moved to the states months ago. They still had a place in Japan, having rented it out since she and her father fully planned on going back as often as they could. That usually meant summer breaks when Erin had months of freedom and her father well...his scheduled was already pretty flexible being a co-owner of the company and all. So the question that she was currently asking herself was why did she even bother to try and go to the fair? There were a ton of people there, it was not like she went with anyone, and now a flash storm had hit.

The kind of storm that just rolled in out of nowhere when there had only been a low chance of rain and yet now it was pouring and thundering. The rain in itself was not bad, but the thunder was a no go when Erin had a huge fear of it. Not like the fear of it hitting her or anything, but just how loud it was and how it shook things brought flashbacks to went she got caught up in an earthquake as a little girl. It had scared her for life and right now it had pretty much paralyzed her with fear as she huddled next to the roller coaster she had been debating getting on before the storm hit.

Of course with the storm here, the fair was closing down for the time being as everyone scurried for cover and to leave. Not Erin, fear had too strong of a hold on her. So she remained huddled where she was, shaking from her fear and the fact that she was getting cold from the rain drenching through her clothing. "…daddy." Erin kept repeating under her breath as she tried to calm down after her power causing her to vanish and reappear after a loud thunderclap.

[Nikolai Volkov]

Out of pure curiosity, Nikolai had decided to try going to this festival he kept hearing everyone talking about whenever he visited his coffee shop and even during work. When was the last time he had even gone to some sort of festival? Almost too long for him to even recall. And last time, he had Konstantin with him. The thought did bring some melancholy with it, but he still wanted to go. Maybe just to see what an American festival was like, or maybe just to remember Konstantin.

For whatever reason, Nikolai had gone. He was not too disappointed, to be honest. It was very entertaining, and so many of the townsfolk had come as well! He generally just kept to the small shop stalls, buying a few things here and there on a whim as he watched kids and the like run around excitedly. As much as it made him smile, it also made him slightly overcome with memory. His brother would've absolutely loved this festival, and forced Nikolai to try every game and ride.

But then the sudden storm came, and quite harshly broke Nikolai's thoughts as the rain came pouring down. Thunder and lightening tore the sky in half angrily as Nikolai dashed for cover with the others. But then, but sheer luck, he spotted something by the roller coaster. Was that... Yes, it was! A girl cowering by the machinery, unmoving. Gritting his teeth, Nikolai dashed back out in the downpour, heading for the girl. He couldn't possibly leave her alone out there. It was had to see through the rain, and every time the lightening flashed and the thunder roared, he lost sight of her.

But finally, he reached the small huddled form and bent down towards her. She was muttering something repeatedly, and Nikolai's brain automatically began to assess the situation. She seemed in shock, and obviously terrified. Perhaps she had an intense phobia of storms. But right now, she didn't seem to be able to respond. "Hold on! I move you to safety, yes?" He said before bodily picking the girl up as gently as he could. He hoped she did not think he was some creep and start thrashing. That could end very badly. He really needed to get her to safety

[Erin Hackett]

Erin didn't even notice the guy when he came over to her; she was too lost in her own fear as the loud storm brought flashbacks of that day. That day when the earth shook, causing things to shake around, fall down, and break. When she found herself trapped in rubble, uncertain if she was going to end up running out of air and suffocating to death or if she was going to have to worry about drowning when no doubt a wave would soon follow after the shake. It was until he touched her that Erin began to freak out even more then she already was.

Of course she was going to squirm around when some stranger picked her up. It was not her father, it did not feel like her dad, and he did not smell like her dad. "Put me down! Kidnapping! None, one, one!" Erin yelled out as she started to squirm to try and get out of his hold. She only stopped fighting when another loud thundered roared in the sky, which was enough to cause her to go still and thankfully not vanish. Even if she did, it would not matter because the guy was holding onto her so he would end up vanishing with her.

She would let him carry her for now, until they were somewhere dry, and then she was immediately scrambling to get out of his hold. "Let me go, dude. You can't jut-" Erin started to yell at him but the sound of thunder striking again had her shutting up and huddling back on the ground where she was. It was hard to be bold when you were terrified but it was hard not to be bold when you felt like you were sort of being kidnapped.

[Nikolai Volkov]

Nikolai felt her start to squirm, and grit his teeth. She was accusing him of kidnapping her. Part of him felt like laughing. Kidnapping her in this weather? That would take some dedication. But her protests stopped when the thunder roared again. She froze completely, before once again scrambling out of his hold. He sighed in slight frustration.

She tried saying something again, but was cut off by the thunder once more. This was getting them no where, and she froze up again. So instead, he gently but firmly grabbed her hand. "Must get to cover!" He shouted. "Follow me! Run to tent!" He explained before more lightening lit up the sky. Gritting his teeth, he started making his way back towards the tent and towards shelter from the watery onslaught

[Erin Hackett]

Erin personally felt like this kind of weather was ideal for kidnapping. Hell, if she were into that sort of thing that would be how she would go about it. Grab them when people were too busy trying to get shelter to notice what was going on with others. Plus with how loud the storm was, it would be heard to hear someone screaming over the roar of the sky. That and other people were screaming too because they were getting wet or were scared as well. So all and all, she thought it was perfect kidnapping conditions, which was why she felt like that was happening to her now.

She had made sure to not brag about her father or really ever say his name around anyone because she didn't want people putting the two of them together. They were both mutants but the company her father worked for was not full of mutants or anything like that so she didn't want to blow his secrete or anything like that. Yet, with his job it would also make sense as to why someone would want to kidnap his daughter. All of this and more was going through Erin's mind when she was not busy freaking out because of the storm.

"What?" Erin asked when he spoke of getting cover and following him to a tent. What was with the way he was speaking? Oh right, had to not be American or at the very least grew up with a family that didn't really speak it around him. She wished her dad would have spoken Japanese’s around her so she could speak it instead of being able to just understand it when someone spoke, or wrote it down for her. She watched him run off, feeling like she should in fact follow, but it also seemed like a good idea to just wait right here and wait for the storm to pass. "So zeta lame." Erin muttered to herself as she did her best to motivate herself before she managed to quickly dash for cover when the other guy was.

Once there, she resumed her huddled position on the floor, shaking from the cold and fear, but did not plan on moving anymore. Nope, not an inch. She was basically becoming one with the ground now and thankfully that was not her power or else that would suck. "Dad...shit." Erin muttered out, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as she tried to calm herself down but the whole panic attack thing was not helping. Where was a hot babe, video game, or anything to talk about to help distract her? Was the giant guy still around?

[Nikolai Volkov]

When Nikolai glanced back, he was half afraid that the girl hadn't followed him and was stilled trapped out in the rain. If she was still the resistant, he didn't know if he would be able to get her to move without picking her up again. And she obviously seemed convinced that he was trying to kidnap her. So when he saw that she was indeed following him, he was relieved. Once they reached the safety of the tent, Nikolai had slowed down, wiping the water from his eyes before turning to look at the girl.

She had returned to her fetal position, and seemed to be muttering something. She was obviously still in some sort of panic mode from the rain, and most likely because she thought Nikolai was trying to kidnap her. It made him smirk despite himself, but he was more worried for the girl. He glanced around for his jacket, which he had thankfully thrown off when he realized a girl was trapped in the downpour. He spotted the dark piece of clothing and walking over to it, claiming it from the table as he returned to the girl. He approached her warily, slowly. As if she were a panicked attack dog, snapping at him. He almost started murmuring a tune in order to help her calm herself. But he refrained from it and instead draped he jacket gently over her shoulders before given her some distance and crouching.

"Ok now? Need anything?" He asked, trying to seem nonthreatening

[Erin Hackett]

Erin didn't like any of this. This is what happened when you tried to get some fresh air and break your daily routine. Bad things, bad things happened always when you stepped out of your comfort zone. To think she was going to be headed back home to Japan after this day was done, but now she felt like she was going to end up dying out here in the storm. What a cruel world. Never catch a break. Shit, that one was loud. Where is my dad? I need to call him. Erin thought to herself. Despite her crippling fear she was still able to think...sort of.

All she knew was that she was cold, wet, and a little on the sick side from the panic attack she had; correction, was still sort of having. She was too wrapped up in being huddled on the ground to notice the guy getting closer to her. Had she, she likely would have moved away but she could feel something falling over her body before she could even move away. It caused her to flinch and look up at him but she didn't run away. Thankfully this was a guy so she was not completely freaking out but the storm still didn't help make anything better.

She looked at the jacket, slightly judging it for not being her style but she kept that to herself as she started to try and wring out some of the water in her hair. "Th-thanks." Erin managed to mutter out, able to calm down just slightly thanks to the storm at least not sounding like it was going to keep ripping a hole in the sky. He was asking something, if she was okay and if she needed anything. Oh, I'm just peachy. Just having a panic attack from the storm, soaking wet, cold, and talking to a stranger. It would sure be great if the storm would end. that’s what I need. Erin thought to herself, but no way was she going to say that.

"Kind of...and no. Just...don't leave yet. But stay over there." Erin said as she pointed to a spot still under the tint but at least a foot or two away from her.

[Nikolai Volkov]

After he placed the jacket on her, she didn't jolt. Nikolai took that as a good sign and smile slightly. She thanked him, but still wanted him to move a bit further away. He nodded and held up his hands as if to show he meant no harm, scooting back to where she had indicating before settling there with his legs crossed Indian style. He stayed silent for a while, observing her with concern still lingering on his features.

She seemed to be calming down somewhat. That was definitely good. And she hadn't run away yet either, so maybe she realized he meant no harm. He glanced out the tent as the rain continued to pour before looking back at the girl. "Not big fan of storms myself." He commented, trying to put her at ease and break the odd tension.

[Erin Hackett]

The jacket smelled like a guy, which made her make a face for a moment but at least it had her thinking about how this was less than an ideal situation instead of the storm. Why could she have not been saved by some tall beautiful girl who would scoop her up, place a soft kiss to her lips, and whisper that all would be alright. Okay, so that was Erin's fantasy world, but there was nothing wrong with dreaming. He held up his hands and even moved to sit where she indicated so that made her relax even more.

She didn't say anything, just worked on removing the jacket she was wearing and taking off the buttons so she could start to wing it out. She wanted to remove everything and wring it out but her eyes glanced over to the guy and no way did she trust him enough to do such a thing, even if it would help prevent her from getting sick. He asked a question, one that she could not help to scoff at because she felt like it was a dumb question. No, be nice. He helped you out and just because you are in a bad mood because you are wet and scared does not mean you need to be mean. Erin thought to herself as she shook out her jacket.

"No, it brings back bad memories and causes me to...just not feel well." Erin said, hesitating a moment when she almost talked about her power. She didn't know if this guy had a power or not so until she was certain she was leaving that kind of information out. She just hoped she didn't flicker in front of him but was still confident she could play it off as his eyes messing with him or something. "What about you?" Erin then asked, the words slightly mumbled but she she figured he would have heard her even with the storm...maybe.

[Nikolai Volkov]

The girl stayed silent for a while, and still Nikolai could feel the distrust roll off of her in waves. He really did feel like he was staring at one of the new hounds again. It had gotten spooked and wouldn't let anything near it without biting. Nikolai didn't want to put it down, so he tried calming it instead. It was like this girl; he didn't want to just abandon her, so he had to try reassuring her he wasn't about to harm her. He did take note that she relaxed a fraction when he listened and moved away. The was definitely an improvement.

She replied back to him, surprisingly. Something about storms bringing back bad memories. Nikolai could relate, in a way. There were a lot of things that reminded him of his past life; both the good and the bad. Storms just reminded him of cold nights spent outside stuck with the rest of his group, trying to get some sleep but also be alert enough to react. When she asked him what it did to him, he nodded, just managing to hear her. "Remind me of bad stuff too. Bad memories. Understand, in way." He replied softly with a bit of a shrug.

[Erin Hackett]

Had Erin known he was comparing her to a dog, she probably would have ripped him a new one. Maybe, it really all depended because she was feeling all sorts of mixed up. She wanted to cry, hide, yell, break something, and just vanish. Okay, the latter was something she didn't really want to do but felt the need to in order to just get away and be by herself. Safe under her bed sheets and curled up on her bed or under something in her room until the feelings would past. Yet, for now she was stuck out here, shivering a little as she tried to dry her clothing a little bit and tried to use the jacket as some kind of warmth.

She answered his question as best as she could, in terms of what she felt fine with sharing with a stranger that she still felt like he might still want to kidnap her. What? She was so leet and cute, who would not want to kidnap all of this? That little ego boot she gave herself helped her feel a little better. The guy answered her question back, not really giving her much information other than being able to relate. She debated if she was supposed to ask for a bit more information but perhaps it was a sensitive topic for him like it was for Erin.

So she stayed silent and watched as the storm had started to calm down. "Looks like it will end soon..." Erin spoke up, glancing over to the guy before holding out his jacket for him to take back. She did a quick check to make sure she was not wearing anything white, and was safe so felt not need to cover herself up.

[Nikolai Volkov]

Nikolai was glad the girl didn't ask him to elaborate on his answer. He really hated it when people pestered him about his past. But she seemed as willing to ask about him as she was to talk about herself. And Nikolai was just fine with that. One of the few things he did not like about America was everyone seemed to be full of questions for him. But then again, it was partially understandable with what he looked like in comparison to everyone else.

He glanced outside just as she did, seeing how the storm was finally calming down. He glanced back as the girl offered her jacket back to him. He gingerly took it from her with a nod and stood up, putting it back on. "Thanks." He said, before observing her. Concern colored his face, but he still kept his distance. "Will be fine getting home? Do you want someone else to take you home?" It was obvious that the girl did not trust him. He did not want her to feel even more uncomfortable.

[Erin Hackett]

Erin watched him carefully as he took his jacket back and stood up, towering over her even more now that he was standing up and she was still hunched over. She still shivered a little bit now that the jacket was off and a slight breeze had rolled in. The good thing about the breeze was it was helping push the storm out. The bad thing about the breeze was that it was not helping the fact that Erin was getting even colder with the cool breeze blowing against her wet skin and damp clothing. She just really really hoped that she was not going to get sick and has to cancel her trip to Japan.

She would rather die than get sick and not be able to go to Japan after inviting one of her many girl crushes with her on the trip. It was perhaps better to call said crush her friend because said crush was taken and also straight. Still, the thoughts were in her head and she was allowed to think of things however she wanted without anyone besides a mind reader being able to know or judge her. "N-no, no. I got it. I'll just catch a cab...but thanks." Erin quickly said when he basically offered to give her a ride. Or at least she assumed that was what he was offering but it still felt like too much of a trip.

Her plan was to just call a bad, the same thing she did to get down here and get dropped off at the school. It also was a bit safer that way then allowing some guy drop her off on school grounds that only mutants and those connected to mutants were technically allowed on. She still didn't know if he had a power or not, but he didn't seem like anything special other than possible being able to grow really tall. She didn't know but she was already pulling out her phone to call up as cab as she rubbed at her sides with her free arm to try and warm up.

[Nikolai Volkov]

Nikolai only nodded when she said she could handle it. If she said she could, he would believe her. Besides, he wanted to get home and make sure his dogs were alright. And change out of his soaked clothes. He could feel them clinging to his skin uncomfortably, and scowled as he pulled the fabric away from his chest before letting it go. It simply returned to his skin with a faint slap, which only made him sigh heavily through his nose.

But then again, he didn't want to just leave her there soaked and waiting. Yet he knew she really didn't want him there either. What to do then? Nikolai debated with himself for a while as she pulled out her phone to call a cab. He observed her for a moment or two before finally making up his mind. "Very well. Good bye then." He said, heading for the entrance of the tent to head out. If she said she could handle it, Nikolai would trust her. He wasn't about to force her to come with him. Besides that being terrible, Nikolai just wanted to head home. "Keep core warm." Was the last instruction he threw over his shoulder as he exited the tent and went out into the rain. It wasn't nearly as bad as it had been before, but it was still raining

[Erin Hackett]

Erin supposed she should have been a little more willing to let the guy help her out but she didn't really know him. He was a guy so she was not freaking out about dealing with him as much but with a storm having just happened, feeling like he was about to kidnap her, and him not being all that chatty made her unsure. Perhaps he was not really a people person and nor was Erin. It was often hard for her to deal with someone who was not a people person because she was not one and didn’t want to deal with someone who didn't want to deal with her.

Perhaps that was why she and Quinn kept having problems, since he never seemed like he wanted her around and was not a people person. At any rate, she was going to handle it alone, especially because he didn't hesitate to hide out. Well clearly he takes you word to mean that’s what you want exactly. Erin thought to herself but she didn't say anything. This was why she liked girls better, they got that secrete thing you were hinting too...even if Erin didn't think that she was actually trying to hint to anything other than maybe an offer of some dry clothing or something. Not like she could expect that the guy just happened to have a dry outfit in her size for her to wear.

He was leaving anyways and she made the calls for the cab and it would be on its way. "You too." Erin spoke up as she gave a small wave to the guy before moving somewhere where the sun was shining to help her dry off while she waited for the cab to pick her up and take her back to the school.