Post by Rebekka Knight on Apr 24, 2016 19:02:51 GMT -6
Most people liked the sun. Rebekka could understand why. It gave warmth. It gave life. It gave light. It was an essential part of life. Without it, everything would die. She was well aware of this. Most days, she liked the sun. She could enjoy it happily. Today wasn't one of those days. Instead the light hurt. Irritated her and made her scowl. Yet at the same time, she was enjoying it's warmth. She didn't want to go inside.
She groaned and rested her head on the small table. Most of the students avoided her as she sat. It was likely her status as a security member. It didn't get her a fan group. Especially with her type of personality. Not that she cared. The only thing to grab her attention at that moment was the annoying glare from the sun. She shut her eyes. Grit her teeth. But gradually she relaxed. It was hard not to get sleepy from the sun. Slowly she started fading away in a nap. Only to be harshly awakened by a ball hitting her head.
Instantly she was awake. Peaceful drowsiness switched to red hot anger. She sat up with a scowl. Licks of flame escaped her mouth while she rubbed her head. "Who threw that?" She snapped, searching for the perpetrator. Murder in her eyes.
Post by Alexandra Lawson on Apr 27, 2016 21:40:25 GMT -6
Alex absolutely loved the sun. The only thing better than a bright, sunny day was one that happened to follow the horrid, depressing winters that were found in Montana. No matter how many of them she'd been forced to endure, the diminutive redhead simply could not get the hang of those cold, snowy winters. When the icy chill lifted from the air and took the gloomy, overcast clouds with it, Alex gained a new found spring in her step. This year was no exception.
A tune came to mind and Alex promptly started humming it as she skipped through the courtyard. To most the young, redheaded woman looked no older than many of the high school kids that were milling about. Only her sneakers, jeans and Academy official ID badge clipped to her shirt separated Alex from the uniform clad students on campus. The tiny girl weaved around the much taller kids, keeping to herself even as she hummed away. So lost in her own little world of quiet contentment Alex almost didn't hear the shout or see the ball barreling toward her face.
The young woman could scarcely issue a surprised 'eep' before instincts kicked in and she ducked out of the way. As graceful as ever, Alex stumbled, got her feet caught in nothing in particular and found her way tumbling to the ground. Thankfully for the redhead, she managed to shift her weight so she wound up in a sitting position, rather than risking cracking her head against the ground but in doing so, sent the juice box she was carrying skittering across the pavement.
A stern voice caught Alex's attention. Blinking as she tried to get her mind to catch up with what had happened, Alex lifted her gaze to the source of the voice and blinked a few times. She felt a flush of crimson rush into her cheeks even though she was an innocent party and wasn't even a student anymore. Alex had to shake her head to clear the cobwebs and scrambled to get to her feet. "It was an accident." She explained quickly, frowning to herself as she retrieved her fallen juice box and looked it over warily. "They're just kids being kids." She insisted, brushing a bit of gravel off the juice box before peering up at the taller woman.
Post by Rebekka Knight on Apr 27, 2016 21:56:15 GMT -6
Some girl came forward. Rebekka's gaze snapped to her immediately. Angry. Or at least annoyed. The girl was blushing too. For all intents and purposes she seemed the guilty party. Rebekka scowled slightly. But then she spoke. Said it was an accident and mentioned they. Rebekka raised an eyebrow and looked. Past the red-head stood the real perpetrators. Rebekka's gaze turned into a glare. Kids being kids huh?
"Annoying kids." Rebekka corrected. She got up and retrieved the ball. She was tempted to set it ablaze. Pop the ball right in front of their faces. She smirked wickedly as she started to heat up her hand. Smoke came from between her fingers as it sizzled. But she stopped at the last second. She could feel the amount of pressure inside the thing while she squeezed. Satisfised at least one kid's fingers would smart, Rebekka chucked it back and nearly nailed one kid in the head. It made her smirk grow a little.
Then she turned her gaze towards the short one. Eyed her up and down while reclaiming her seat. "Judging by how you said 'kids will be kids,' I guess I'm to take it you aren't one?"
Last Edit: Apr 27, 2016 21:56:46 GMT -6 by Rebekka Knight
Post by Alexandra Lawson on Apr 28, 2016 0:10:02 GMT -6
Alex peered up at the taller, dark haired woman for a few seconds before she shook her head. "Uh, no." She said, tapping the ID badge she had clipped to her shirt collar with the corner of her juice box. Her picture was printed clearly on it, her bright, still youthful smile gleaming from beneath the card's laminate. "I'm Alex." Eyes narrowed as she glanced back, over her shoulder at the kid who had made the ill-fated attempt to catch the ball thrown back at them. For a moment Alex considered commenting on the woman's arm but ultimately thought better of it.
"I work in the admin office." Alex finally said once her attention had returned to her fellow Academy official. The words still felt strange to say or hear. It hadn't been so long ago that Alex was a student here. Calling herself 'staff' would probably never feel right. "I just started." Alex explained as she moved toward the nearby table. "Haven't really met everyone yet." Which sounded nice, but as an excuse for being largely unaware of her surroundings it carried little water. Only a year had separated her time at Bellefonte as a student and her induction as a member of its staff.
"I, uh... saw what you did there." Alex took a seat and set her battered juice box on the table before turning her eyes over to the much taller woman. Alex studied her warily for a moment before the sober, curious expression on her face melted away to reveal almost an identical smile to the one that was permanently etched on her ID card.
"Are you..." Alex paused long enough to debate whether or not it was prudent to simply ask such a question. "Do you, uh, set things on fire? A pyro?" She let out a soft giggle that was wholly unlike one a young, professional woman should be giving and far more akin to a sound a 12 year old would make. "Kinda takes one to know one." Alex raised her hand before abruptly freezing. The smile wavered on her face as her large, expressive brown eyes fell to her outstretched hand. Slowly her fingers closed and she drew her hand back into her body, busying herself with plucking the plastic wrapped straw from the side of her juice box.
Post by Rebekka Knight on Apr 28, 2016 0:32:48 GMT -6
The girl indicated a tiny badge. The fact she actually had it pinned to her chest like a medal made Rebekka raise an eyebrow. The picture didn't help much either. But Rebekka didn't comment. Her name was Alex. Apparently she worked in the admins office. She was new to boot. Rebekka chuckled and folded her arms on the table. "Explains why I haven't seen you yet, pixie." Then again Rebekka rarely had anything to do with the office. And she wasn't one to look for new staff members. They would have to find her.
She took a seat. Rebekka didn't mind. Or care for that matter. Alex spoke again, her voice hesitant. She'd seen what Rebekka did to the ball. It made her stare back. "Oh yeah?" She responded. Then Alex smiled, which was totally bizarre for Rebekka. She didn't get smiles. At least not smiles from seemingly innocent little adults like this girl. it even matched the picture on her little badge. She asked if Rebekka was a pyro. She even giggled. Rebekka laughed in response, and a few licks of flame left her mouth.
"Yeah, I'm a pyro." She replied, grinning. Alex raised her hand. Then stopped. then lowered it. Rebekka watched it wordlessly. She arched a brow. "I'm guessing you're pyro by power only."
Post by Alexandra Lawson on Apr 28, 2016 12:32:16 GMT -6
Another smile flashed across Alex's features at the word 'pixie'. She used to hate names that played upon her diminutive stature and often manic energy but as the years went by such terms started to become more welcome. "Yeah. They usually keep in the back." Alex thought about that a moment then shrugged to herself and set about pushing the small, bendy straw out of its plastic confines. "I guess we're not supposed to say the assistant HR director looks like a pug with down syndrome... while he's still on the phone."
Any talk of powers was met with mixed feelings. The last time Alex had purposely used her power it had yielded unexpected and violent results. For just a brief moment it looked as though Alex was withdrawing into herself. As was usually the case, though, the young woman quickly snapped out of it and within seconds she was contentedly poking at the top of the juice box with the newly liberated straw. "Yeah." Alex confirmed with a nod. "There's a few of us around." Brilliant, deep brown eyes lit up as the straw finally served its purpose and pierced the box, giving Alex access to the sweet, sugary beverage it contained. "They usually like to keep an eye on us. You know, the whole being able to blow stuff up when we sneeze kind of thing." And with that Alex took the to juice box straw with a level of joy that was more liken to a little kid than a 22 year old administrative official for Bellefonte.
Post by Rebekka Knight on Apr 28, 2016 13:30:53 GMT -6
She actually smiled instead of frowned. Most people would get peeved at being called a pixie. Alex didn't. It managed to make Rebekka smirk. According to her they were mainly in the back. Rebekka didn't know and frankly didn't care. Instead she watched Alex play with her straw. Then came the comment on the assistant HR director. Rebekka burst out laughing. It was actually genuine. Mocking too of course, but towards the director. "Doesn't matter if we say it or not. It's still true." Rebekka responded with a wicked grin. She had not expected such a comment out of the short girl. It was surprising.
Her expression changed. Alex was rapidly looking like she was withdrawing into herself. Rebekka frowned and waited. Was her power such a touchy subject? Although being fire based it was usually more chaotic than the other powers. Not that Rebekka cared. She'd gotten used to her power. Even liked it now and the intimidation it could bring. Finally Alex snapped out of it and was smiling again. Somehow Rebekka knew that was her default. It looked more natural on her type of face. Apparently there were a few others of their kind around. Rebekka wouldn't be surprised.
What she was surprised by was the level of attention Alex was giving to the juice box. Rebekka couldn't understand it, but found it amusing all the same. She spoke up. Mentioned how surveillance for them was higher. Rebekka had to laugh again, only this time it was definitely harsher. "Yeah, I'm not surprised. I caused enough trouble back when I was here." Rebekka snorted. She'd been far more volatile back then. Obviously not much had changed. Then Alex went back at it with her juice box. Rebekka stared. "You're taking to that box like most adults would a bottle." She remarked.
Last Edit: Apr 28, 2016 13:32:04 GMT -6 by Rebekka Knight
Post by Alexandra Lawson on Apr 28, 2016 14:38:11 GMT -6
Alex knew the ill-fated comment that resulted in her being pulled off phone and desk duty was right. That's why she said it in the first place. She'd tried in vain to argue that point to her superiors but decisions had already been made to keep the sometimes spastic redhead out of sight until the debacle blew over. Still, it was comforting to hear it from someone else, even a relative stranger.
A slow, contemplative nod followed the musing about their shared power. Alex had long feared the element fate had ironically given to her one horrific day when she was still a teenager and suddenly being given the ability to conjure the one thing that terrified her with little more effort than a sneeze had been a difficult experience. "Yeah, me too." Alex replied with a light chuckle that took her back to her days as a student at Bellefonte. "I sneezed in the cafeteria once and almost burned another girl's eyebrows off." She coughed a little. "Wasn't my proudest moment."
This certainly didn't mark the first time someone had brought up the unorthodox way in which Alex approached the little things in life. It was almost existential in the way she outright refused to give up certain childlike traits. Here she was, a mutant, among the most powerful entities on the planet on top of being a degree carrying college graduate with ambitious career goals and the most important thing in her life at the moment was none other than a grape juice box. "Babies like bottles too..." Alex pointed this out only because it was the first thought to pop into her head. She didn't have the slightest clue what she meant by it, the words had simply tumbled from her lips seemingly of their own volition. "We're only allowed to drink water in the office and sometimes happiness is a cold grape juice box while on break."
Post by Rebekka Knight on Apr 28, 2016 15:12:51 GMT -6
She slowly nodded. Her expression alone was enough to tell Rebekka much. Not everyone liked the powers they got. Luckily for Rebekka, she was just as fiery and destructive as the element she controlled. It was a match made in heaven. The other girl chuckled and told Rebekka a story. In contrast Rebekka outright laughed. "You kidding? That's hilarious." She replied with a wide grin. "I managed to nearly burn down my dorm one night. I always went to the pool after that when I was pissed." Rebekka snickered at the memory.
Alex didn't seem bothered by Rebekka's comment. Again, it was different. Although that was hardly the worst thing Rebekka had said. She spoke up again. Rebekka stared before laughing again. What was with this girl? How was she getting Rebekka to laugh so much? Even she couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed this many times. "Yeah not helping your case there, pixie. And neither is your height." Rebekka returned. Clearly the girl hadn't thought that response out thoroughly.
Rebekka curled her lip at the mention of their break room drinks. "Seriously? That's it?" She asked with a stared. She snorted. "Thank god I'm not stuck in there. I'd probably burn the place down just for kicks." She would too, that was the thing. Likely blame it on an accident, but do it all the same. "Your version of happiness doesn't seem that great. I'd rather be smacking sense into these toddlers we call students."
Post by Alexandra Lawson on Apr 28, 2016 15:58:44 GMT -6
The laugh her story caused brought a widening of the smile that seemed near permanently etched upon Alex's features. It didn't matter that it had been at her expense. She'd long learned the benefits of being able to laugh at herself. Anyone who would want to had plenty of ammunition, especially once they actually got to know her. "Yes!" She blurted out with a laugh of her own. "I lived at the lake during the summer. I can't wait until it warms up some more." She gave a bit of a frown as she turned her eyes up and squinted at the sky. "No matter how long I live here I still can't get used to the winters." She said, mirroring her thoughts from moments ago.
"It's the hand I've been dealt." Alex let out a mockingly resigned sigh in response to Rebekka's comment. While Alex rarely gave her size much thought it was a common topic of conversation. What used to frustrate her now became something she absolutely owned. She was 22 years old and barely reached five feet in height. If she hadn't hit a growth spurt yet she was unlikely to any time soon. She had been forced long ago to either embrace her diminutive stature or wage a life long war against something she couldn't control. "It's not so bad, really. I just make other people get stuff down that's too high." Alex offered a simple shrug before taking another sip from the the straw. "And so far no one's tried to dress me up like a five year old so I'd say it's turned out alright."
Post by Rebekka Knight on Apr 28, 2016 16:26:15 GMT -6
Her smile got even wider. Obviously she got joy out of making other people happy or something. Rebekka smirked at the contrast to herself. She got her jollies out of pestering people for the most part. Although Alex was somehow making her feel better even after the ball. She'd have to interrogate her later. Then came the blurt of laughter and admittance. Alex spent plenty of time by the lake too. She also wasn't a fan of winter. Which prompted another laugh out of Rebekka. "Winter? I hardly notice the season other than the snow." Which could be a pain driving in. Yet let Rebekka pelt people with snowballs. Pros and cons.
The sigh was fake. Almost mocking. It made Rebekka smirk further. Alex didn't seem bothered by her height at all. In reality, it suited her. Or so Rebekka thought. And from Alex's words, she got around it. Rebekka laughed at the last bit. "If they do that, set their pants on fire." She advised. It was something she'd do. Whenever she felt like it really. "Eh don't sweat it shortie. Your height is perfect for you anyways." Rebekka said with a shrug. It was almost a compliment. Or the nearest to one Rebekka could give. "There's pros and cons to every height." She said. But then something caught her eye.
Lunging forward, she grabbed the familiar ball headed for Alex's head this time. Were these kids blind? The peace from Alex's smiles and chat suddenly vanished. The air got hot. "Seriously?! No that's it." Rebekka lifted the ball as her hand heated up until it burst into flames. With a squeeze she popped it, maintaining her glare to the kids. "No more balls for you today." She growled. Then she looked at Alex. "Sorry, you ok?" She patted the fire out on her arm.
Last Edit: Apr 28, 2016 16:27:49 GMT -6 by Rebekka Knight
Post by Alexandra Lawson on Apr 28, 2016 16:50:39 GMT -6
"Nope, nope, nope, nope." Alex repeated over and over while shaking her head. Her crimson hair, which had been tied in a loose tail behind her, flailed about, seemingly emphasizing the young woman's youthful demeanor. "I can't do it." She said, fiddling idly with the bendy part of the straw still jutting out of the juice box a bit. "Growing up the snow was always something you went to for, like, a day." She gave a short laugh at that. "You know. 'Where're you taking the family for the weekend? Oh, we're going to the snow.'" Another laugh followed. "Living in it is the worst thing ever. Give me clear skies, a hot sun and a beach and I'm as happy as you can be."
"Oh, for sure." And then there was nodding. Every little response from Alex seemed to be accompanied with a slightly exaggeratted physical gesture for emphasis. "I'm not going to lie, I like being small. It's not as hard as people think. I can use a step ladder or something to reach high places. You can't make yourself shorter if you're too tall for anything. Like my boyfriend, he's six-three, hits his head on stuff all the time." A faintly maniacal giggle escaped at the thought. "It's so funny though."
Alex hadn't quite finished her mini-rant but was caught of when Rebekka lunged forward and snatched the ball out of the air. Alex jumped, letting out a squeak of surprise and nearly flailing her way out of her seat and onto the ground. Thankfully she steadied herself and sat in silence as the security officer took care of business. The sudden licks of flame that shot up around the ball elicited an instinctive response. Alex leapt out of the seat, pushing backward to put a few feet between her and the fire, even if she didn't doubt for a moment Rebekka could control it. Her juice box was forgotten in the outburst and fell to the pavement in front of her.
Post by Rebekka Knight on Apr 28, 2016 17:11:11 GMT -6
Rebekka chuckled. It had to be the sheer childish nature of this girl that got her laughing. It reminded her of something. Maybe her siblings. How innocent they were in comparison. Rebekka was no kid anymore. Unless you counted her sadistic nature of taunting. Alex went on. From what she was saying, Rebekka instantly knew where Alex was from. She had to grin. "Let me guess. California?" It was the only place Rebekka could think of where people "went to the snow." Suddenly the chill aversion made sense.
Alex nodded. At this point Rebekka was sure the girl was an embodiment of child nature. Or enthusiasm. Or optimism. She hadn't been put off by anything Rebekka said the whole conversation. That was definitely a first. It was different, and Rebekka decided she liked it. "Boyfriend huh? Should've figured someone would come in to swoop up a little pixie like you." Rebekka was not surprised at all. With the girl's personality and ability to laugh at herself, she seemed like prime material.
But then the ball happened. Alex flailed and nearly fell out of her seat. Since she hadn't Rebekka was fine. Yet as soon as she lit the air around her hand on fire, Alex has leapt back. Rebekka stared. It had to be a joke. Yet that movement had been instinctive. She even dropped her juice box. That was pretty telling already. "A pyrokinetic who's afraid of fire." She muttered, putting the last of the fire out. "Well...shit." Once all the flames were gone, Revekka retrieved the box and approached Alex. "Hey, look it's all gone, alright?" She said, showing Alex her arms. "Here." She handed over the juice box.
Last Edit: Apr 28, 2016 17:13:54 GMT -6 by Rebekka Knight
Post by Alexandra Lawson on Apr 28, 2016 17:57:08 GMT -6
Alex nodded. She had, indeed, been born and raised in California. Even though it was the part of the state few people realized existed, far up in the mountains and forests well away from the perceived cultural beauty of San Francisco or the bright lights of Hollywood and Los Angeles, there remained a certain kinship most Californians held for their home state. At least with Alex the thing she missed the most was mild winters and a distinct lack of snow in most places. "Are we that easy to pick out?" She mused with another laugh.
A sheepish shrug followed the complimentary reply. Alex didn't often talk of her relationship as she figured there were few people who actually cared to know about it. They'd been together since college (which wasn't that long ago) and she was content. There wasn't much else Alex felt mattered. "Yeah." There was a touch of whimsy in the single word as a shyness crept into the ever present smile on her face. "He works here too." She glanced over her shoulder and looked about the courtyard as if there was some chance he'd be milling around. "He's a medic."
The fear had only lasted a split second but it was soon replaced with the familiar sting of embarrassment. With hands that were shaking more than she'd like, Alex accepted the juice box and nodded faintly. After all the years she'd spent trying to conquer a fear that had been with her as long as she could remember it felt as though all her progress had come crashing down late last year. "It's okay." She said quickly, forcing a smile that she hoped would catch hold and calm her own nerves more than anything. "Sometimes I think the world has a really twisted sense of humor."
Alex steadfastly refused to entertain negativity for any length of time. She took a long, slow breath and moved back to her seat. "It's fine." It was obvious she was speaking to herself more than Rebekka at this point, but Alex wasn't going dwell on it any more than she had to. "Anyway, I'm okay everything's fine." She brushed a bit of gravel off the juice box and went for the straw again as if there was solace to be found within the last remnants of grape juice.
Post by Rebekka Knight on Apr 28, 2016 18:37:23 GMT -6
Rebekka laughed yet again. This time she even laughed with Alex. "Well when you say things like 'went to the snow,' it's pretty obvious." Rebekka responded. It wasn't exactly a common phrase. Still, it made sense. Alex had that kind of look to her. Or at least the look of someone used to warmer temperatures. Rebekka didn't know how to explain it. But she wasn't about to either. Instead she focused on how sheepish Alex turned. It was easy to hear the whimsy in her voice. Rebekka couldn't help but crack up a little. Apparently he worked there too. "Works here huh? Then I'm betting you met at school and hit it off, am I right?" If he was here then he had to be a mutant.
the fear was gone. Replaced instead with embarrassment. Still, it was hard to miss the way Alex's hands shook. Rebekka frowned. The fear was that bad? Surely there had to be some story behind it. But she wasn't going to press. Not into something like that. Alex took the box back and smiled. It was horribly forced, even Rebekka could tell. She commented on the world's sense of humor, and Rebekka cracked a smile. "It's got a similar humor to mine. Which means it'll do something just for kicks." It was true enough. Alex looked like she was trying to calm herself. She told herself she was fine. Rebekka held her silence until Alex came back.
She went back to the straw. Rebekka laughed and shook her head. "Maybe your boyfriend should be worried you're getting too affectionate for your juice boxes." Rebekka reclaimed her seat. Hopefully Alex had settled down from the flames. The concept still struck Rebekka as odd, especially as she wasn't afraid. but then again it was her.