The Gifted

[3Dog]

(OOC Thread, post your profiles and join in!)




“Take care and make sure you visit often, okay?” said the glum woman standing in the doorway of a cosy-looking house in the centre of Ceteris’ residential district.
“I will do, Mom, don’t worry about it.” assured Kyo, smiling incredulously at the woman’s mollified reaction to being referred to in that way. “What? Of course you’re my Mom, Mom. You raised me, right?”
“You know I see you as my own, Kyo. I just wish your real parents were here to see what a fine young man you’ve grown into, that’s all.” she explained in a melancholic tone.
“Come on! Let’s not leave on this depressing note, shall we?” he requested, still smiling to pacify his foster mother’s emotions as he pulled her into a warm hug and squeezed her affectionately.
“Alright, alright, I’m sorry... Have fun at the Academy!” she said in a cheerful voice, recomposing herself swiftly.
“That’s the spirit, Mom! See you next week, Dad!” he called over her shoulder.
“You better come back here with a girlfriend son, you’ve been single for too long!” came the jovial reply from across the living room.
Kyo burst out laughing at his father’s response and shook his head, detaching himself from his foster mother and squatting down to the floor to say goodbye to their pet Labrador.
“Okay, okay mister, easy does it!” chuckled Kyo, rubbing his nose playfully against the dog’s frantic muzzle movement as he whined and pawed at his knees. “Are you gonna miss me, buddy?”
“Buster’s getting a bit on in the years, but he’s not about to forget you anytime soon. Always misses you when you’re gone.” informed his mother.
“I miss him too, he’s so cute. Anyway, Mom, seriously, I love these long goodbyes but I really have to go now! See you guys soon!” said Kyo, departing with a wave and traversing down the street, raising his hand in acknowledgement of his foster mother’s request for him to ‘be good’.

The September weather in the city of Ceteris was always marked by a harsh and stinging cold, but that was the good thing about it: the seasons were all very distinguishable and rendered the city in a different and unique shade of beauty. Autumn was definitely not his favourite season, but even he could not deny the gorgeous landscape that presented itself to him. The colour of the leaves had shifted from green into different hues ranging from an almost radiant orange tone to dull brown notes. They fell freely from the frost-tinted trees on this particularly cold day and covered the sidewalk brilliantly, replacing the dull thud of shoes against concrete with a satisfying crunch on every step.
The freedom that the Academy gave its students was remarkable and, for Kyo, very amicably accepted. There was something liberating about being able to leave the Academy grounds as soon as your educational obligations for the day were fulfilled. In this sense, the Academy grounds never felt stifling or suffocating. Rather, it was always a pleasant change of scenery wherever he decided to go, be it Ceteris, the Babylonian Gardens in the Summoner’s section or the Sky Platform belonging to the Psions. Serenity, beauty and tranquillity were not hard to come by in the Academy and the previously mentioned locations were renowned as places to relax and reflect. It was no wonder that Alvarez had his office situated on the Sky Platform.

All these locations within the Academy to bask and unwind in would not be considered anywhere near as amiable if the students didn’t have the option to freely explore Ceteris in all its grandeur… Or at least, the grandeur they were permitted to see. Certain areas of Ceteris were off-limits to Gifted and Alvarez was unflinching in his conviction that Gifted students would in no shape or form protest their exclusion from these locations. Kyo’s mind drifted to the tensions between Gifted and Humans and he felt himself focusing less on the path he was walking and more on the conflicted thoughts swirling in a torrent of confusion within his head. Why could they not protest? Was it not their moral obligation to stand up to discrimination of this sort? If they would not speak up, then who would? His indignation was ameliorated when he remembered exactly who he was challenging: Alvarez was one of the greatest Gifted to have ever lived and was certainly making huge leaps on behalf of the Gifted community and their place in society. The fact was, if Kyo could not trust Alvarez’s judgement, then he could trust no one’s.

Alvarez had placed great confidence in his students to even entertain the thought of allowing them to leave the grounds, nevermind exploring a vastly human-dominated city such as Ceteris at their whim. Each and every one of them, thought Kyo, had the responsibility, nay, the duty to uphold the values of Alvarez and the Academy. In effect, they were representatives of the Gifted race and of Alvarez himself, which meant that any disruptive behaviour that cast the Gifted in a negative light was tantamount to a severe betrayal of their own race.

Kyo’s thoughts slowly drifted back from the most recent reverie to the previous one and he was reminded of how he had been admiring the astonishing beauty of the city. He looked around and took the sights in but the beautiful houses, natural scenery and impeccable upkeep were gone. He groaned upon realising that he had walked right into the slums and warily pulled his hands out of his pockets in the event of an attempted mugging.

The slums were, in a word, dreadful. They stood in complete contrast to the lush residential district that he had just enjoyed a mere ten minutes ago. Their state of dilapidation and destitution made his blood boil as he was entirely aware exactly which race it was that populated the slums. These people were oppressed, oppressed by the government, the media, humes…

Dammit, no! There are humans here too. This isn’t their fault. he thought resignedly as he forced himself to look at the floor in order to avoid eye contact from beggars, mothers with crying babies and desperate street merchants willing to sell all they had for a few coins. The slums were a brutally depressing area and he wished he had paid more attention to the road instead of getting lost in his thoughts. Although it did qualify as a shortcut to the bus station that led back to the Academy, was it worth it? Was it worth having to witness the misery of these poor Gifted living in abject poverty, unable to escape their situation because of an anti-Gifted bias in the labour market? Their powers were more than likely to make them highly efficient workers in blue-collar jobs and yet, in spite of the promise of increased productivity, employers upheld the status quo and hired an inferior workforce of humes out of a grossly malicious form of discrimination! It sickened him. He forced himself to look up and take in the devastation of the slums: the pain was there even if he tried to shut it out. The least these downtrodden people deserved was the acknowledgement of their pain.

Besides the beggars and merchants, people mostly kept to themselves in the slums. By the time he had travelled deeper into the slums, he found that there was a small and frail inkling of hope, but hope nonetheless. It was common knowledge that the slums were overpopulated, but it seemed as if houses were being built to shelter women and children. The organisation behind this effort were tiny in number and called themselves the ‘Guardians’, taking their name from their self-appointed duty of protecting the denizens of the slums from whatever dangers they faced, including a discriminatory police force. What they lacked in numbers, they made up for with organisational skills and a wise leader known as Mortar. Kyo had never seen him in his element, the slums, but he had seen him several times with Alvarez at the Academy.

He stopped and gathered in his surroundings once more to make sure he wasn’t lost and was still headed in the right direction. This patch of the slums had a conspicuous absence of Guardians, let alone the elder Mortar. The hairs on the back of his neck stood sharp and he felt his throat become enveloped in the sudden cold of dread.

Something was not right here.

[Willard]

There is no truth more certain to me than that I shall die one day. It does not matter when or how, as I am certain that if the instability between Humans and Gifted does not end quickly, it may be sooner than later. The inevitability is absolutely crushing when the enormity of it catches me unready. Rather, I am caught off guard when I begin to think of it during my day to day activities. Because of this, I don't understand how my body does not simply give out from the stress, and with it, any questions I may have about what happens after dying, from my perspective.

I am creative and motivated. I am curious, and read whenever I can to further add or modify to what knowledge and opinions I have. I am a hard worker, who happens to be messy and disorganized at times. I create anything and everything I can, with no one to tell me I can't. Some tell me I'm social. Others think I'm not quite social enough, and I'm not sure if I care either way. I like to think I'm a pessimist, but I think the reality is that I'm actually a little optimistic.

There is plenty to me, as you can see. Well, perhaps merely writing a list of attributes does not convey the entirety of my mindset. The point remains that there should be enough to distract me from thinking about dying, but it does not seems to be enough. It's always a lingering thought in the back of my mind, sometimes changing my mood quickly and with little warning. This has not prevented me from hiding it from those around me, to some degree; I'm more up front about it with some more than others, a fact that should be obvious given that I'm writing this at all. So, to pass time, I've taken up various hobbies, switching between them before melancholy sets in, and thoughts of death resume.

However, I should mention that I am not debating with myself the meaning of life, nor am I in the process of deciding which religion I should be 'saved' by. Being stubborn, it takes fact to override opinion... but not to accept possibilities. When I try to explain this to people, the most common response is nearly useless to me, as they misunderstand how lonely it is to have answers for myself. I'm not looking for answers anymore. I have mine. And they are probably of no use to anyone else, save the curious.

All I need now is to make things better for the rest of the Gifted. While I am content, surely my sister cannot even begin to understand the tension that could await her. Whispers of civil war have reached my fathers ears, and it's not as if such a thing is impossible now. I need to make sure she can grow up unafraid, proud of who she is. Of course, in order to do that, I need to master my “Inner Black Mage,” or so my teachers try to tell me...

Zenith Ignatis stopped writing, tapping his pencil against the slightly textured paper in his pocketbook. As irritated as he was over having to write out his thoughts, it actually seemed to be helping. He admired his father for his experience, albeit not before questioning him endlessly about the how and why.

“It's not as if anyone at the Academy notices the difference,” Zenith sighed to himself.

The problem with my father being right, of course, requires that I do the work. He thinks that if I continue to write down my thoughts, they don't overwhelm me when I sleep, and attract unwanted attention... I think I seriously upset someone last night. He got pulled into my dream-state and wasn't too happy about it. I bet he'll try to fight me today over it, just like the one from last week... well, hopefully this one doesn't even remember it had happened.

Sighing again, Zenith snapped the book shut, stuffed it and his pencil into his pocket before turning down the road that led to the bus station. All at once, the sounds of the slums regained significance in his ears, and his focus returned to the walk ahead. Something in the distance caught his attention, someone he recognized...

“Oh crap, it's him!” Zenith ducked behind a dead tree in front of a derelict house, hoping the man he had pulled in to his dream-state from the night prior didn't see him. Not sure whether to run or to keep going, Zenith peered cautiously out from behind the tree, down half a block to the muscular figure, who appeared to have stopped as well.

[Wolverbells]

Here we go again. Jade sighed as she thought to herself. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Having to walk through the slums wasn't an easy bit, so she wore something that wouldn't be too alarming to thieves or muggers. She recalled the times she had been mugged and pushed the thoughts away. "Jade, dear, you have to hurry! The bus won't wait for you!" Her mothers voice rang through the small house they had. With another sigh, she grabbed her traveling bag and swung the strap over her head and on to her shoulder.

She walked out of her room and into the foyer. "Okay." She looked at her mom and dad grinning. "Wheres D..." "He went to run some errands. But I'm sure he wishes you the best of luck sweetheart." Her dad walked over and hugged her, giving her a kiss on the head. "Oh. Okay. Well I'm going to miss you guys. I promise ill come visit as much as possible." Her mom walked over and gave her a peck on the cheek, tears welling up in her eyes."Mom we go through this every semester, this isn't my first time." She laughed quietly as her mom nodded. "I know but I miss you so much!" Jade rolled her eyes and hugged her tightly. "I miss you too momma." She whispered quietly before pulling away. "Kept in touch guys. We'll see each other soon." Jade waved at them as she walked out of the door.

Jade could hear the city life not far from them. Just down the block and around the corner, the beautiful residential homes weren't too far from them. She looked both ways of the alley before walking away, towards the bus station. Jade wasn't as enthusiastic about this semester as she was about all the others. Her mother had fallen ill and she didn't want to leave her in her time of sickness. Its ok. Dad will take good care of her. She's a strong woman, and Derek can steal the medicines she needs. She tried to reconcile herself, trying to see the positive things in it.

Jade kept her head up. She knew if she even looked slightly timid or scared, muggers would be all over her, thinking her as weak due to her size. She had to keep an appearance up. She had to look as if she wasn't scared. The beggars already knew who she was after living here for quite some time. She smiled and waved at them, saying to each of them as she passed, "may wealth and prosperity come to you soon". They would all smile back and tell her the same, which made her grin in response.

She turned a corner and hummed quietly to herself. This was indeed, the worst part of the slums and, unfortunately, to get to the bus station, she had to cross through here. She hated this place with a passion. There were men in a few balconies and she could hear their whistles and taunts. They'd shout for her to come up so she kept her head low. She had once back talked to them and it ended badly. Luckily, her brother had been not too far behind her and she wasn't hurt, just frightened. "Pigs" she muttered as she left them behind.

She looked up once she couldn't hear their taunting and saw a man standing still in the middle of the small road. She studied him from afar. He didn't look like he belonged here. He was wearing better clothes than the people of the slums and had a better appearance. Jade recognized him from the academy. She'd seen him a couple of times and rolled her eyes when she looked at her surroundings. "A person of your status shouldn't be wandering through these roads." She called out to him, walking over his way. She felt as if someone was watching and decided to hurry things up. "If you keep standing here like that, you're bound to get assaulted." She eyed him and looked back up at him. "And by the look of you, it'll be aggravated assult with a deadly weapon. Come on, the bus stations isn't far from here." She gave him a warm smile and started down the narrow road.

[kylerz]

'Alright mom, I understand. I won't do anything out of the ordinary.... Yes mom. Alright. I'll see you at lunch. Bye." Mai, Skyal's mom, had held him on the phone for thirty-five minutes even though they see each other everyday, she works aat the school for Christ's sake. It was the start of a new semester, the time when everyone comes back to the once empty building, to explore the gardens, to bask in the pure peace that the academy held. Just like any other day, Sky made his trip to the Babylonian Gardens to work on his techniques, which could always use a little help. His telekinesis could still use some work, but hey, he's a summoner. Walking through the arch that led to the lush, green gardens of the school, he could see several summoners and Psions roaming around chatting, milling about, just relaxing before school started.

"Alright. Time to get this show on the road."

Sitting on the ground, he cleared his mind and focused on opening the gate-way between his world and the fourth dimension, the world of the summons. Staying still and blocking out the world, he silently asked for his very first summon, Silo to come forth. As he felt the tingling that usually came with the process, he placed a sheet of paper on the ground that held his respected family's seal on it. Slowly the ice dragon started to take shape, shifting the air around his materialization spot. After a minute or so his summon was in-front of him. Flesh and blood, pulled out of thin air, so to speak.

It's about time Sky the ice dragon said as he stretched his ice covered wings with a yawn.

[Ebrithil]

"Okay...so that way should lead to the bus station...right?" Saren said too himself looking down at a sheet of paper in his hand. After staring at his rather badly scribbled notes on how to get the the bus stop he gives up.
"*sigh* It's probably just a little further down the street..." folding up the paper he shoves it in his hoodie pocket before continuing down the street. Him and his father had only arrived in town just last month and Saren still wasn't used to the cold. Shivering a bit he starts to look at his surroundings.
The whole area seemed to look a little run down, but Saren had seen worse. Not much worse though...
It reminded him of a couple months ago after his "Inccident". They had had to stay in some places like this while they were driving up to the academy.
"If only I had more control I might not be here wandering around in the cold trying to find as bus stop."
after some more pointless walking he finally decided to give his telepathy a go. Maybe with a little luck he could sense some other students headed to the same bus stop.

Taking a deep breath he starts to focus his mind and reach out. after several moments of concentrating he picks up multipule pressences ahead. most of them were gifted, which felt almost gray with despair and misery. Reaching out with his sense he immedietly picked up on a pair of gifted that stood out In saren's mind they were easy to distinquish from the others. The had an extra spark to them, at least in his mind.
Saren quickly decides that even if they aren't students they may at least know the way to the bus stop.
Heading down the street and around the corner a guy and a fairly short girl standing together. Blowing on my hands to warm them I head towards them in hopes of direction.

[Yael Stellarand]

"It's been a while since I've been in this part of town. . ." The Man started to walk out of the alleyway and into the crowed streets of the Slums. Today was supposed to be an exciting day for the Slums and the Gifted that resided there, this was the first step in a long process of struggle that would hopefully alleviate the living conditions for those in the Slums while challenging way humanity had decide to approach the Gifted "issue". The Man only had one simple objective. To monitor todays protest against the housing legislation recently imposed by the city that regulates the movement of those known as The Gifted and to provide "assistance" to the residents of the Slums if things were to escalate. "I have no idea why, they keep assigning me to these peacekeeping missions, but its fucking boring.

The Man had a harsh raspy voice that had agressive tone, it seemed to match his overall appearance. He was tall, muscular, well built body that could be seen under the long black trench coat that he was wearing. Additionally the coat's zipper stopped right above the naval before separating into two parts with a series laches that were unconnected exposing The Man's torso. As the light at the end of the alleyway got brighter, The Man pulled up his hood and covered his face the only thing that hinted that there was a person under the hood was the few locks his dark lavender hair and the lower portion of his face. After his eyes adjusted to the light, he found himself surrounded by a large crowd of people who were singing and chanting slogans like "Free housing! Free people" and so on. As the man moved himself throughout the crowd he managed to reach the front, where there was a young man on a soapbox with a read bandana with a megaphone in one hand and flag in another. The flag was red, purple and blue. The the flag of the UGLF or Unified Gifted Leadership Front, a small non governmental advocacy group that promoted peaceful protest and social policy changes in regards to The Gifted. The Man grumbled at the thought of the organization, thinking that they were nothing but weaklings that were afraid to advocate for real tactics in a political situation that was both blatant and more importantly violent oppression of a group of people.

The Man began to relax "What a waste of time, he should know that Humes never get involved with–" the piercing sound of a siren cut the man off mid-sentence. A series of military or police cruisers began to pull up several yards behind the man and a collection of officers in riot gear began to line up. A booming voice then came out of nowhere "This is a cease and deist order under public ordinance "36-42: Unauthorized Protest" please return to your homes and disperse." A bright smile spread across The Man's face revealing some unusually sharp canines. "Well, well, well. It looks like the party just started. . ."

[Savi]

The woman standing on the porch screamed "get the HELL out of my house, ugly dirt!" Aqua didn't flinch a bit. She's gotten worse. She got off the porch for the first time since she ran away. She opened the porch door. Before she could step out the door the woman pushed her down the steps and slammed the door. Aqua landed on the hard concrete with a thud. She sighed and got up, hiding her face behind her hair. She watched her surroundings and sighed. She saw beauty behind the big, poor town. She shivered in cold and continued walking around. Where did that aweful woman say the bus station was? She felt tears well up in her eyes as she thought of the family she probably had. Would they have been better? She passed a beggar and a child. The child asked "pretty lady, why so much hurt in your eyes?" Aqua looked at the child, bewildered. She then hid behind her hair and gave the mother the coin she landed on when she fell. The beggar thanked Aqua and scrambled away, her child in tow.Aqua walked a little faster. She felt danger emit from every corner.

Aqua walked passed a couple talking intimately. She pushed her hair further in her face and walked passed them. She continued to walk and passed an alley. She turned her head toward a tree and some birds. She felt a firm hand on her wrist and she turned to see a big man. Her eyes widened in fear and she froze. The man dragged her into the alley and said lowly "give me your money." Aqua's voice instinctly said "I don't have any" in a shakey voice. The man shoved his hand in her pants pockets and felt nothing, as she had told him. He smiled at her evilly and said "fine. I don't need the money, anyway." Aqua's eyes widened even more and her knees felt weak. She said in a whisper "what are you going to do?" She could kind of tell, but didn't want it to be true. He turned her around and grabbed her hair. He shoved her on the wall and said in her ear "what ever I want to." Aqua felt a tear run down her cheek.

She closed her eyes and concentrated hard on fire. She fueled it with anger toward everything. Then she felt warmth over come her as the man yelled "where did that come from?" She took the oppertunity to turn, kick him in the special place, and run. She ran hard, but fell to the ground when she ran into something.

[3Dog]

Kyo watched the stranger attempt to lead him to the bus station with an utterly bemused look on his face, feeling an awkward mixture of indignation and yet, conversely, gratitude. Whilst he did feel personally insulted on being treated like a lost little lamb in a city of wolves, he understood that she was showing him kindness. He would have grinned had it not been for the sudden piercing of a sharp, screeching siren that shattered the gentle humdrum.
“Wait, hold up!” he requested, following Jade swiftly and putting his hand gently on her shoulder. “Did you hear that announcement? I don’t see any… oh no…”
His voice trailed off as he gazed in apprehension at the protest group. It was tiny and they were undeniably peaceful, so what was going on? This was hardly a riot. He swore vehemently under his breath as he saw a mass of figures cloaked in high-tech looking armour and wielding weapons of the same calibre, converging upon the group of rioters like a swarm of famished locusts. They still maintained a relatively short distance between the group of protestors but their intent was transparent: they were relishing the idea of being attacked first so that they could respond with a staggering amount of violence.
The CPD had a completely separate riot force for dealing with Gifted protestors. It was understandable, of course: humans did not pose quite the same threat. Their brutal tactics, however, were unforgivable. The heavy armour they wore made them look like something quite inhuman and almost robotic, and although their weapons were touted as ‘non-lethal’, they were more than capable of causing irreparable damage and even death if they were abused. The chances of this were quite likely due to the animalistic brutality and aggression that this specific riot force was notorious for.
The tension between both sides was palpable and Kyo knew in that instant that all it would take was the simple lighting of a match to result in a full-scale conflict within the slums. He was torn between both sides of his conscience: should he stay to help these future victims from police brutality? Or should he respect the bigger picture and keep out of the conflict to avoid further tarnishing the reputation of the Gifted?
“Fuck!” he exclaimed furiously, feeling waves of guilt crash over him as he made the decision he knew he would regret later. “Listen, we need to get out of here right now before we get dragged into this!”

[Wolverbells]

Jade continued walking, showing no interest in spending much time here. She looked up hearing the sound of a siren and froze. She felt Kyo's hand on her shoulder but didn't move. She knew the sound all too well. Slowly, turning around, Jade spotted the small protest group. It was the same people that always formed them. People she grew up with. "No..." Jade groaned seeing the 'officials' show up and she took a step back. She hated them as much as she hated the idea of living in the slums. A flashback of her father coming home, bruised up and bleeding, ran through her mind as she glared at them.
She watched as the man spoke into the siren, speaking of laws that didn't mean anything to them. "This is a load of bull." Jade muttered, but she knew if she stayed, she'd only end up on the ground, wait her brutally injured or dead. The weapons were probably half the size of her and the armor they had on could withstand a missile, figuratively speaking. She frowned, feeling terrible for the ones she'd lived with for the past few years, but Kyo was right. It broke her heart but she looked up at Kyo and nodded. "Let's go before they block off the streets." She muttered, grabbing his arm and heading down another street to get to the station. She could hear the sirens of more cruisers getting closer and she picked up her pace, looking back every few seconds.

[3Dog]

Kyo's eyes widened at her words and he quickened his pace, comprehension dawning over him as he realised his decision would be all for naught if the riot started and the police force blocked the exits. As far as he was concerned, the police were just showing their heavily biased treatment of Gifted again and making no attempt to give it even the slightest hint of subtlety. The riot force's bias manifested itself in their creed that, within a human riot, there were innocents involved who should be allowed to escape the situation. That same mercy was not extended upon the innocent Gifted bystanders who had nothing to do with any of the protest movements in the slums. They were all suspects and guilty until proven innocent.
"We need to hurry!" he said urgently, following her lead as they zigzagged through multiple, snaking paths in the slums.
He stopped with Jade at the side of an old shanty house that was composed haphazardly of rusted sheets of corrugated iron. It was as good a hiding place as any, he realised, as he peered over the corner and saw the situation clearly. The riot force gathering around the protesters remained silently impassive, a terrifying sight to behold and yet one which the defiant Gifted gave no heed to as they proudly chanted their slogans in the face of danger.
"This is insane..." whispered Kyo, nervously looking around to see if they had been spotted by any police. "We need to keep moving. Do you know where the nearest exit is?"