The Dirt Gnome in Stall 1

[Demi Smith]

Demi heard the challenge in Cyril's words, and she glared at him in response. "I can ride," she nearly snapped. "I just don't want to right now," she tossed her head up and then tightened her grip on the reins, giving them a little tug. She realized that she's tugged a little too hard. Probably didn't help that Artemis let out a little whinny and snort. Demi actually mumbled an apology to the animal, reaching up to pat the side of his nose.

The gestured worked to mollify the horse, an soon Demi and Artemis were walking back toward the stables. Demi looked over at Cyril for a moment, "Well, are you gonna walk back or what? Maybe I should jump on the horse and try to escape. Couldn't catch me if I did."

And there was that cocky smile again, following by a nod. Demi turned back and gently tugged to get Artemis to follow her, determined to head back all on her own.

[Cyril Kingsley]

Cyril just smiled and chuckled a little when Demi nearly snapped at him when she said that she could ride. Cyril wanted to see her give ridding a go and to prove him wrong but it did not seem like his challenging her would work this time around. Just because it would not work this time around did not mean that it would not work later so that was what he was banking on. Cyril could tell that Demi had tugged a little too hard with the reins but he didn’t say anything because Artemis had in his way said something about it. Plus Demi seemed to also be apologizing for it as he could see her petting the horse so that all seemed to be good.

Cyril kept the smile on his face as they headed back, starting to hum a little tune out loud. “Oh, right. Following.” Cyril said as he moved to follow along, chuckling a little as Demi said that she could just ride away and that he would not be able to catch her. “It would take probably two snaps to get you floating in the air. You would not get that far at all.” Cyril pointed out, just taking her challenge up and he certainly would use his power if she did in fact try to run away. It would be easy to pull it off without hurting the horse. Cyril even held up his left hand and wiggled his fingers a little as if just daring Demi to go ahead and try something. He had no problem with Demi running off so long as she came back and didn’t hurt herself or the horse.

“So little bird, what is your name? You never said.” Cyril pointed out since he was going to end up calling her little bird if he never got her name. He probably would still end up calling her little bird even if he knew her name but he still did want to actually know her name without having to look her up.

[Demi Smith]

Following, good. Though Demi had a feeling that he had just said that to appease her or something. Whatever: Demi didn't care. She just kept going, guiding the horse, thinking about, well, what he'd already called her out for. "Bet I could still hit you," she shot back, looking over her shoulder at him, her expression locked in one of defiance. She'd been levitated a few times, mostly by various aerokinetics, and she'd managed to get off a few shots. She'd even managed to distract some people enough to get both feet on the ground, which had always been awesome.

And given how wussy the people here were, Demi was betting she could pull that off with Cyril.
Easy.

Not yet though. He hadn't done anything too horribly stupid, besides calling her little bird, and Demi just figured that had to do with the weird way he talked or whatever. She had no problem giving out a name either, since he'd figure that out anyway: "Demi," she said, looking back at him again for a moment. She hesitated, but then figured he hadn't really asked for a full name, and he definitely didn't deserve all her details. So instead she turned and focused on getting Artemis back to his stall.

[Cyril Kingsley]

"Sounds like a challenge to me little bird. Would you like to test it out once we put Artemis away?" Cyril asked because he had no problem using his powers on someone in more of a serious manner if they were okay with it. Granted he would go easy on Demi because she was younger then him, smaller then him, and plus she was just so cute that he didn't want to hurt her or anything like that. He felt confident enough that he could make her weightless in two snaps and then cause the gravity around him in a small radius to increase that it would shove anything that got to close to him into the ground. The problem with that would be the strain of having two different gravity effects going on at once and how he would have to do with the added gravity on himself in order to keep her dirt from touching him.

It was not impossible but he would certainly be feeling it later and more than likely get a nose bleed from it. Yet the thought of a challenge still excited him in a way since he didn't have to do training or anything like that at this stage in his life. He missed it and since he had not actually gotten to test his powers out on anyone beside for fun, he thought it would be interesting. Or I could just increase the weight of gravity on and around her. Cyril thought to himself and that could work just as well and with less strain on him. Decisions. There was a bit of skip in his step as they headed back, Cyril grinning like a goon for a moment when Demi gave her name. It was cute, fit her well and he still felt like he would probably call her Demi Bird, just because bird fit her so well.

"That is a very nice name Demi, it fits you well. A mix of cute, strong, and with a unique flare to it." Cyril said with a nod, agreeing with what he was saying about her name. He moved ahead a little in order to get Artemis stall door open and wait for Demi to lead the horse in. Planning on removing the lead rope and then locking up the stall door.

[Demi Smith]

"Yeah, 'cuz you wouldn't turn around and report me for beating you up," replied Demi, knowing a trap when she heard one. She added a snort that the horse seemed to agree with. Hearing the other snort drew a barked laugh out of Demi, and she patted the animal affectionately as they both moved along. Demi kept going, silent and confident, bringing the horse back into the stable easily enough.

As she entered, a part of Demi really did consider changing her mind about the whole riding thing. Too late now, and that wasn't because Demi thought that Cyril wouldn't let her. No way was she going to switch her mind or do anything like that, especially not if she was moving her position to be more agreeable with one of the people here. No way at all.

Though he did have to prod her about her name. Demi flushed and snorted. "Don't be stupid," she retorted, rolling her shoulder, "or I really will have to kick your butt. Then you'll be super embarrassed because you got your butt kicked by a 'cute little girl,'" and boy, did she ever lace each and every word with as much venom as she possibly could.

[Cyril Kingsley]

"I certainly would not. I asked for a little battle with you and on the small chance that I did lose to you in a fight, and then it would be foolish of me to report you on it." Cyril pointed out as he could not help but to chuckle at the thought of Demi beating him in a fight. Even more chuckling at the thought of him telling his fellow staff that he got beat up. "If you beat it up, it would just look bad on me if I told the staff you beat me up." Cyril pointed out and while he didn’t have a huge ego about him, he knew he certainly didn't want people knowing that he got beat up by a little girl. He still doubted that Demi could only because he was confident in his ability and the fact that he did have advantage over her with how tall and strong he was compared to her.

Even if she probably was laughing at him, Demi was still laughing. It was a bit of a barked out kind of laugh but it was still all the same and it had its cute aspects to it. Plus it was clear that Demi and the horse were starting to form a bond which was always a good thing in Cyril's mind. The got back in no time and Cyril stood back to let Demi handle putting the horse away but helped her out a little bit to make sure everything was alright. He still wanted her to give ridding a go but he felt like things had gone pretty well so he figured that she could be back. Back and ready to give riding a go and he of course was going to have those treats ready and made for her. All the wins...that’s what they say over here right? Wins? Cyril thought to himself as he watched Demi and her yet again using her favorite word.

Demi flushed but let out a snort with the word stupid in there, talking about how she really would kick his butt. Pointing out how embarrassed he really would be once she kicked his butt and it had been done by a cute little girl. The words cute little girl came out like demi was about to rip up the words and burn them. So cute. "I'm not scared. Now that Artemis is away, I would be happy to give you a demonstration of what I can do." Cyril pointed out as he cracked his fingers, good thing cracking them didn't do anything like snapping them would.

[Demi Smith]

He really did just keep going about the whole fighting her thing, didn't he? Demi kept looking over at him while he kept insisting, even pointing out that he wouldn't, or potentially couldn't, report her for fighting if he was the one who insisted on doing it. Demi supposed that was kind of true, though she also didn't see why the guy had to actually tell the truth about it or anything. Wasn't like there was anyone who could confirm her story, and people were going to believe a teacher instead of a trouble-maker like her. It had already happened.

The horse was put away, Demi patting him again. Maybe she should see if she could come down regularly, hang out with the horse. It certainly beat associating with any of the stupid people that this school seemed to be filled with.

Instead, she ended up sighing as Cyril picked up the whole fighting thing again. She'd already told him she'd kick his butt, so he must really like that. Demi had heard there were people like that, people who were totally into others beating on them or something. It sounded wrong to her but whatever.

"Fine, I'll beat you up since you really want me to," she said, shrugging. Demi rolled her arm and then pointed toward the yard, "out there though. I'm not gonna, like, fight you in your home turf," though technically the yard probably was too. It also just happened to have enough dirt and whatnot for Demi to do what was needed. she doubted she'd find any rocks though, which would suck. She could improvise though: she was good at that.

[Cyril Kingsley]

Cyril explained things the best way he understood them and the way he figured they worked on with how things flowed with the school. It would have been different if Demi was attacking another student or if she attacked him without being provoked. Yet, if they both agreed upon it, Cyril didn't see anything bad there. Plus he really was eager to at least try something out to see if he could in fact put the girl down before she even got a chance to hit him with dirt. He had already thought up of several ways of going about it all so now all that was left was to actually try one of them.

He went and grew up at another mutant school then BA so he might have been wrong on some of the rules but he felt confident that in the worst case he could take the blame. Sure they could fire him, but then he would just go back to the UK and get a job over there or possibly to another school. Cyril would have been more than happy for Demi to come down to enjoy ridding the horses or even just spending time with them. He loved horses and if someone wanted to spend time with them then that made him all the happier. The horse was put away, he was pretty confident in the rules, and all that was left was Demi agreeing upon it all. Cyril liked his pain, but he was not going to like really enjoy it with something like a fight. No he enjoyed pain being given to him in another way and certainly never ever by a little sister.

"I want you to try and beat me up, little bird." Cyril pointed out with a slight chuckle because of Demi still seeming very confident that she was going to win in a fight against her. He admired her spunk and how she didn't care that someone was taller, stronger, and had been training in their power longer then she had been. Cyril looked to where demi pointed and laughed at her words, unable to help it with her calling it his home turf. All of the stables would be his home turf, but he would let her say and think as she pleased. "I think really it’s that there is more dirt out there for you to control. Just make sure you feel any holes that you might make back up. I don't want any of the horses getting hurt." Cyril pointed out as he headed to the spot Demi had chosen. Cracking his knuckles and locking his eye contract on Demi. He would let her make the first move.

[Demi Smith]

Demi snorted as she headed out, really not caring one way or the other. More space would give her room to, well, move, and she fully intended to take advantage of it. She took a few deep breaths as she walked out, trying to dump out her emotions or, well, most of her emotions. She couldn't quite suppress the excitement that welled within, an anticipation that he'd soon be able to dig in and start fighting with someone else, someone who might actually be able to do something.

Demi thus took her position and turned to face Cyril, opening her eyes. Another breath, and she brought her arms up. The dust and dirt that formed a constant layer on her skin lifted off with that, floating about her in a barely perceivable aura. Demi breathed again, and it started moving about her, soon her own motions began to move, readying herself. Oh, she certainly could move quick, could've already attacked, but there was something more appropriate in entering full flow.

Demi opened her eyes, locking in with Cyril. Smirking, she rolled her body forward, the motion carrying her own materials with it. She held her hand out, then instantly rolled, dragging her foot, the toes digging in. A clod of earth tore from the ground with a sucking sound, and as Demi roundhouse kicked, it went flying straight for Cyril, though the girl who sent it had already started moving, the motion carrying her as she worked to build up more.

[Cyril Kingsley]

Cyril was already ready; it didn’t take much for him to get into using his power since he had already been using it for years. He had an excellent amount of control while he was awake, and even if he knew that having to alter gravity at a rapid rate was going to leave him dealing with some of his side effects, he was not really worried. He figured he would end up with a headache and a bloody nose by the time it was all over and by how dirty Demi was he figured she would not be bothered by a little blood. He could not send waves of force to push her back; all he could do was increase or decrease how gravity was affecting her. One could see it as a really powerful ability but it was not like he was creating black holes or lifting buildings and trees out of the ground.

They were outside and Demi seemed like she was ready with her eyes on him and working on her breathing. She clearly had some level of practice tapping into her power for how young she was. At least that was what he was assuming based on how she was standing and prepping herself. Decide now mate, are we forcing her to the ground or getting her off the ground? Cyril thought to himself as he could already see Demi using her power and moving the dirt around. In all a quick motion Demi was rolling and kicking a wad of dirt at Cyril, his mind automatically thinking of it like a soccer ball. He played soccer a lot back at home and his muscle memory was telling him to try and kick it or hit it with his head, but that seemed like a really bad idea.

He still had his eyes locked on Demi so was already snapping his left hand four times, with each snap effecting the gravity around Demi and making her lighter. Due to her weight and height, it really would not take much to get her off the ground and since his eyes had been on her he was confident that he would not miss and that he would have a little bird of a Demi floating in the air. Yet there was still that wad of dirt to deal with, that he just barely managed to move out of the way of like it was a dodge ball. Yet, it did graze his shoulder and he could not deny it since well it had scuffed up his sleeve and his bared skin. It left behind some dirt and a small cut from being scratched by some larger forms of the dirt.

[Demi Smith]

Why the heck was he snapping? What was... oh crap, Demi could feel her body lightening as she moved, the weight seeming to leave her almost suddenly. Grunting, she jerked her hands down and focused, curling her toes and rolling. She pulled enough dirt out of the ground to form a leash, locking her in place. She bent down to solidify it as best she could, then looked up at Cyril, grinning.

"Hope you got something else," she said. Demi could feel her body bobbing, likely to start drifting off if she moved too much out of her tether. Demi leaned down, taking advantage of her lighter movement to sort of lean over. Taking a deep breath, she used her Flow to adjust, dragging the dirt and rocks and flicking, mostly seeing if she needed to start hurling more and, well, how far this stupid thing extended.

[Cyril Kingsley]

Cyril could not help but to smile like he had won some kind of prize when Demi lifted up in the air as expected. He did not expect Demi to form like a leash to the ground to keep herself still connected to the ground. Now he was thinking that he should have caused her to be pushed into the ground instead of up in the air. Or perhaps he should have snapped a few more times to really get her high up in the air and make it difficult to still have her connection to the ground. Too much thinking that he didn't really want to deal with at the moment. His blood was already pumping and he was too excited to really think too much. He just wanted to act and to be in this moment and have a little bit of fun like he was right now.

He was pleased now that Demi had agreed to have a quick little spar because he was now have a lot of fun and they had just started. He chuckled at Demi's tenacity and the fact that it was pretty funny to see her in the air and clinging to the earth. What was not funny was the dirt that soon came flinging at him. He managed to get out of the way of most of it, but it was practically impossibly to completely dodge what was being thrown at him. It was dirt after all and it did break up little by little when it moved through the air. He still didn't think that really counted as a win, even if it had been that she had to just hit him. They should have set the rules of the whole battle a little bit more, but then again he was thinking less and less by the second.

"Weeeell, I could make you lighter." Cyril said as he snapped two more times to make Demi lighter once more. "Or I could make you heavier, but I feel like it fits you best to be up in the air, bird." Cyril said with a pleased grin as he rubbed at his shoulder that had been hit.

[Demi Smith]

More snapping, and Demi guessed that she got lighter or something. She really couldn't tell any difference: her earth chain kept her tethered to the ground, especially now that she'd worked some to solidify it and all. She figured she could probably even travel down it and start burrowing if she needed to. Kinda hard to float off without it. Though she did wish that she could just, like, charge at him. She was having trouble figuring out how to do both right now, and floating off into space really didn't seem like it would be a lot of fun.

"Uh, yeah, I'm not going anywhere," she said, looking down at the ground and then up at him. "So, like, is this it? 'cuz this is pretty lame," she reached out and started pulling more dirt and dust up, making sure to do so slowly. She was technically matching her breathing to the pulls, and using the breathing to keep herself calm and her head level. She looked up at the guy and smirked, flicking her wrist to send a few more specks of dirt.

"The horse was scarier," she shot out, ending with a short, sharp laugh that sounded more like a bark then anything.

[Cyril Kingsley]

Her earth chain was becoming a problem, something that was getting in the way of causing Demi to not have any connection to the ground. He could keep snapping until the lack of gravity just became too much of a strain for her to keep holding on the tether. So he had to get rid of it and in order to do that he had to get closer. Walking towards Demi and that ground anchor she had so he could get a good look at it and figure out the best way to break it. He was tempted to just punch and kick at it until it broke, but then the thought of causing the earth to be heavier and thus add strain to Demi's ability to control it. That was just an idea anyways but it seemed like a pretty good one and he planned on doing it.

"Not going anywhere yet, little bird." Cyril pointed out as he added some level of focus on the earth Demi was using. He gave her a quick glare when she asked if that was it to what he could do and it kind of was. He could make things heavier or lighter but that was pretty much it and he had always been okay with it. "Not all of us can pull off a lot of amazing skills with our powers." Cyril said as he snapped his right hand a few times with his focus on the dirt that Demi was using to keep her connected to the ground. He was increasing the weight of gravity pushing down on the earth, in a way making the earth not only heavier for demi to control. That was his intent with it but he didn't know just how much control and weight of the earth Demi could move.

He held up his arm to try and block the dirt she was flinging at him as he debated if he needed to increase the gravity around him to help block her incoming attacks. Cyril smirked a little at Demi pointing out that the horse was scarier. "Trust me; you don't want to see my scary side. I like you and I do not wish to hurt you. Plus I would get in a lot more trouble than you would if I lost myself too much to this." Cyril pointed out as he reached to grab a hold of Demi, by her shirt. If his plan to cause the earth to be heavier didn't work then he would try to pull her away from her little dirt anchor.

[Demi Smith]

Not going anywhere period. Demi was tempted to reiterate that fact. She hadn't even really started to show off what she could do. Chains and bits of dirt were pretty much it. It was weird though, now he was doing the whole snapping thing and Demi felt like the dirt itself was starting to feel heavy or something. Weird. Didn't stop it from clinging to Demi or anything though: if anything, it just made the contrast more fun. She supposed that if, like, she hadn't packed the dirt around her it might do something weird but, well, it was.

"You kinda suck at this, huh?" said Demi, chuckling. She was more amused then anything, rolling her eyes. He'd deflected her attacks, but, well, they were pretty reflectable. Demi still hadn't even started trying. Cyril kept talking about having a scary side, but Demi seriously doubted that.

And now he was reaching for her shirt, which just had her chuckling. "That was really dumb," she said. She took a deep breath and flung her hands out, shooting off her entire layer of dirt, blasting it forward in one long wave aimed right for Cyril's eyes. She'd be ready to start wiggling out of the shirt and start moving soon too, if she needed to; she'd already tensed and gotten ready to dodge or take a hit, assuming he actually tried one.