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    1. Baklava 11 yrs ago
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Takin' a break.








eh



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@Bright_Ops Didn't Magus get puked on?

@jasonwolf No worries bruh
Marcus Howell





๐•Š๐•–๐•ก๐•ฅ. ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿœ, ๐Ÿš๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿš๐Ÿ˜ / / ๐•Œ๐•Š๐”ธโ„๐•€๐•ƒโ„•๐”ผ๐•’๐•ค๐•ฅ / / ๐•Œ๐•Š๐”ธโ„๐•€๐•ƒโ„•๐•‹๐•ฃ๐•’๐•”๐•œ / / ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜


Marcus stood slightly off the track, hood down and huffing slightly. After Brent and Emma had walked off, it had just been himself and the multitude of other people who were currently doing things around the track. Heโ€™d jogged a lap, just to clear his mind, but it hadnโ€™t really had the intended effect. Even as he lined himself up on the track and prepped himself forโ€ฆwhatever it was he had done in the battle, his mind was still racing.

He pushed it all aside for a moment. Right now, he needed to figure this thing out. His mind retraced the steps that had caused the event: Lily threw a grenade at him, that weird vision that he still wasnโ€™t completely sure actually happened, and thenโ€ฆthe world wrinkled; just enough that he could cross the fold and end up out of danger. No, not the world. Something had wrinkled โ€“ something so obvious, yet imperceptible at the same time.

He stood in a runnerโ€™s stance, and concentrated. He wanted to move, to take great strides without even running. A familiar feeling started to bubble up in his chest, and his ears were filled with the sound of static. Once again, the world folded to meet him โ€“ or did he stretch to meet it? In an instant, he had gone from a standstill to sprinting, and he had found himself much closer to his perceived destination than previously.

The sudden change caught him by surprise, just as it had on the battlefield. At least he had a better idea of what had happened now; a small bit of comfort as his foot caught nothing and he was sent sprawling to the ground. He hit the ground hard, leading with his left side, and skidded to a full stop. Heโ€™d no doubt just wrecked his arm - not that he could tell anymore, but it would definitely stain what was left of his hoodie. His practice would have assuredly ended early if not for the other trick up his now-ruined sleeve: similarly to how heโ€™d focused on going forward, he now focused on going back. Static rang loud in his ears as he slid backwards across the gritted surface, and leaped to his feet, ending where heโ€™d started his run.

Oh good, his rewind factored in the jump. That was nifty.

The rewind was an ability heโ€™d since grown accustomed to, ever since his dream. He had frequently practiced it in the camp, having nothing better to do than lie in a bed and listen to people frantically sprint around. He looked sullenly at his shredded sleeve and the burnt skin that shown through, the only evidence of his fumble. The blood around the edges indicated that he had in fact shredded his arm as well, a fact which relocated his training to the grass instead of the track.

Probably should have started his practice there: would have saved himself a nice hoodie at least.

The cooldown of his 'powers' gave Marcus ample time to reflect on the events that had just occurred between him and Callan. Was he in the wrong? Most assuredly.

Dash. Trip. Rewind.

Heโ€™d brought humor to a situation where it wasnโ€™t appreciated, and had failed to realize that before continuing his characteristic joking like a moron.

Dash. Stumble. Rewind.

Moreso, heโ€™d not taken the situation as seriously as Callan had. It was clear that she was afraid of hurting people, and he had (even if indirectly) caused her to do exactly that.

Dash. Rewind.

So even if it wasnโ€™t as serious as sheโ€™d made it out to be, the fact remained that heโ€™d still not taken her thoughts on the matter into account. Effectively, he probably made her feel that her worries were unwarranted, ridiculous even.

Dash. Rewind

Although, heโ€™d apparently asked Emma out by accident, so it wasnโ€™t all bad. Perhaps it would be a bad move to include โ€˜You totally got me a date by shoving your hand through that girlโ€™ in his apology. Yeah...might leave that one out.

Dash.

This introspection would be going a lot easier if he stopped to think about it like a normal human being instead of an emotionless robot.

Bottom line: Callan had been worried, hurt, scared, all of the above, and probably a couple things he wasn't accounting for. Now, heโ€™d have to apologize, and rightly so. Marcus sighed to himself; closing his eyes and shaking his head. He pulled his hands out from behind him and sat up, quickly pulling himself to his feet and brushing the grass off his hoodie. Heโ€™d messed up, but hopefully heโ€™d be able to fix it.

His stomach growled, reminding him of how long heโ€™d been out on this track practicing. Heโ€™d swing by the cafeteria first and grab a bite to eat - thatโ€™d give him a little more time to figure out exactly how he was gonna approach this. He'd certainly gotten himself into a mess this time. Hopefully he'd be able to patch things up.




Marcus | Callan | Siena


๐•Š๐•–๐•ก๐•ฅ. ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿœ, ๐Ÿš๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿš๐Ÿ˜ / / ๐•Œ๐•Š๐”ธโ„๐•€๐•ƒโ„• ๐”ผ๐•’๐•ค๐•ฅ / / ๐”น๐•ฆ๐•š๐•๐••๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜ ๐”ธ : ๐•ƒ๐• ๐•“๐•“๐•ช / / ๐Ÿš๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ›๐Ÿ˜

Collab with @Chasers115@Baklava@PapiTan


"YOU FACE JARAXXUS, EREDAR LORD OF THE BURNING LEGION!"


Callan's eye twitched. She tapped her finger on the iPad twice.

"I concede to you."


She rolled over onto her back and rested the iPad on her forehead. God, she was such ass at that game.

After Callan's date with Kusari, she had decided to get a feel for the campus... and given up halfway through her self-led tour. She'd effectively done little more than test out the best wifi spots in various places. The cafe, the cafeteria, Building B's lounge, the courtyard....

Long walks to clear her head usually ended this way. Now, afraid that Marcus might be upstairs in the dorm, she continued carrying out her ingenious plan to ignore her problems by loitering in the downstairs lounge of Building A-- deservedly getting her ass kicked at Hearthstone. She already knew where all the places she cared about were anyway. And she still had no idea where her classes were going to be-- so what was the point? She closed her eyes and heaved a sigh, shoving her hands in her pockets as her iPad autolocked itself.

She needed to apologize. Marcus hadn't meant any harm. Even in the moment, she'd known that. She was just... freaked out. Kusari had hit the nail on the head earlier. She'd never punched anyone like that-- not even before she was a mage. Seeing her power in such a destructive light... it was unnerving. She'd felt like a monster, but they-- Marcus and everyone else-- treated her like she wasn't. That was a good thing, wasn't it?

C'mon, Cal, you aren't usually like this. Just go upstairs, tell him you're sorry, and stop acting like such a huge wimp.

The mental pep talk might've worked... if she wasn't a 'filthy subnatural' in a school where they cuff all the students-- good and bad-- and send them marching through death's door without batting an eye. But more importantly....

Callan set her jaw and lifted the iPad off of her face, staring at her reflection in the blank screen. Wimp.

'Oh my god, Marcus?!'

An instant replay of her interaction with Callan, just with a different name. When Marcus had returned, Siena had been greeted to a scene of annihilated fabric--third time was the charm, right? Her roommates were evidently getting themselves sent halfway to Hell without fighting monsters...Siena wasn't entirely certain how long Suite 430 would remain whole. Granted, Callan herself hadn't been injured...but that was beside the point.

Tapping through the screens of her Kindle, Siena was settled comfortably on her bed, a few bags of newly attained items tossed haphazardly by the foot of it. She'd been preoccupied with thoughts of the previous night, especially without the distraction of newfound comrades. On the bright side, she was calming down after heart attack 2.0. Sort of. Cal hadn't been back when Siena returned to the suite, leaving her stomach to knot itself over concern, but certainly Callan could take care of herself...right?

Marcus sat at his desk in Suite 430. Currently, he was midway through some test about history, and he was not doing very well. History had all but become null when the world exploded, at least in his mind. As had math (none of DC's beasts would be impressed by logarithmic functions) and geography (but he already knew a fair bit of geography, so it wasn't that bad). It was bad enough that they were currently prisoners, despite all the amenities that tried to assure them they weren't. He was a government weapon, and he was stuck at this desk doing homework!

His picked his head up from the desk and looked around. Callan wasn't back yet. He'd really hoped that going to the suite would force them to cross paths again, but he doubted that was the case. He pushed his chair out and stood up - he needed a break from this paperwork, and he at least needed to find Callan and apologize like he intended. He probably wasn't going to get any of this done with his mind elsewhere anyway; so a break was well deserved.

He grabbed his hoodie from where he'd thrown it on the bed, slipping one sleeve on and immediately frowning. All that clothes shopping, and he'd only bought a single hoodie. He slipped it on anyway; who knows how long he'd be looking for his roomie.

"Are you heading out?" The question spilled out before Siena could stop it. A pause. She wasn't his mother. Or his sibling. Or...really, not much more than a roommate. Chiding herself, Siena did her best to cover up the nosy concern. "Um...be safe. It's kind of late." By the Santana family standards, at least.

"Yeah. I was hoping Cal would be back by now, but it looks like I'll have to go hunting for her." he said, slipping the other sleeve on and adjusting the hoodie around. "I should be fine. But if any monsters show up, it's probably my luck that I'm right in the middle of it." he said, half chuckling.

Despite everything, Siena couldn't help but give a soft laugh at Marcus's playful words. "Try to come back in one piece." Somehow, Siena wasn't entirely certain whether that statement was a joke.

"No guarantees!" he said, stepping out the door.

Apparently he wouldn't be looking very long, as it turned out; a loud exclamation of defeat had drawn his attention to the lounge, and he peaked his head in, spotting the telltale aquamarine hairdo.

"You're a hard person to track down, you know that?" Marcus said, leaning against the doorway of the lounge.

The combination of someone talking at her, in addition to who it was, caused Callan to jump. The iPad slipped from her fingers and smacked her in the face. Thoroughly embarrassed, she sat up quickly, sliding the iPad onto the coffee table and turning to face him.

"Hey," she said, forcing herself not to stammer.

"How're you feeling?" he asked, not changing his position at the doorway. The words felt awkward coming out of his mouth; as if he was talking to someone who had the flu or a cold or something.

Butterflies. "Fine," she responded, her voice high and unintentionally curt. She genuinely felt like one might flap out of her throat if she said anymore. An obnoxious voice in the back of her head kept badgering her to skip the formalities and apologize already.

Marcus mentally winced as the short answer came out; she was probably still mad at him. "Listen, I need to apologize for what happened on the track earlier today. I didn't handle that whole situation as...'tactfully' as I should have. You were genuinely upset, and I was treating the whole thing like a joke. So, I'm sorry." he said, the words coming out slowly but smoothly. His mind raced with alternative speeches; things he could have and probably should have said, but those were the words that forced their ways out.

Her heart sank as soon as Marcus mentioned the word 'apologize'. No, no, no-- she was supposed to be saying she was sorry right now; not the other way around. Callan frowned, unaware that it probably looked like she was still pissed off. She sighed and shoved her hands into her pockets, wringling her fingers nervously.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for. I was freaking out like an idiot," she stared forward at the wall, pausing for a moment, "I like your jokes."

"But the point is, you were still freaking out." Marcus said, shifting his position slightly. "Even if it wasn't a major issue in anybody else's head, it was in yours!" That was not...the best of word choices. He mentally kicked himself, trying to filter his words a little more than not at all, but continued forward nonetheless. "That's what matters; and that's why I'm apologizing. You were worried, and I probably made you feel like shit for it. I know I try to be the funny guy and all, but there is certainly a time and place. That, however, was not it."

"You were just trying to made me feel better, she replied, shaking her head. She looked back at him, feeling a bit more confident now that she'd had a moment to think of what to say. "I mean... thanks, but I really shouldn't have been toying around with my powers like that to begin with. Thank God I didn't, but I could have easily killed someone. That's on me. Sorry."

"I mean, I was egging you on pretty hard." Marcus said, shrugging and grinning slightly. "So that might be at least a little bit my--"

"Please don't take the blame for that, too,," Callan interrupted, "I would've punched her even if you weren't there." She smiled ruefully, "I'm still trying to figure out exactly how strong I am." She faced the all-too-familiar wall again.

Marcus sighed, walking around the coffee and sitting opposite of her. "So you made a mistake. We all do. The only difference is that we have these wierd little marks and some fancy powers to make mistakes with now." he said, tapping his own white streak. "I don't know exactly what's going on in that aquamarine head of yours, whether you think you have to worry about this stuff all on your own, or you just don't want to bother people with your problems. But we're all trying to figure out how strong we are, in more ways than one. Just don't try to do it all by yourself, okay kiddo?" Marcus said, smiling warmly.

As Marcus occupied the couch in front of her, Cal was unable to distract herself with the wall behind it anymore. Marcus was always full of advice, wasn't he? She meant that in a good way-- telling people to shove off and not bother her with their opinions simply wasn't how she rolled. Pep talks were a necessary part of kicking life's ass and she appreciated it. Her eyes fell from his mussed up blond hair to the scars on his face, noting the dog tags around his neck. There was probably a reason for it-- a story that probably wasn't meant for her.

Nonetheless, she smiled in response, more natural this time, "Yeah, alright. I would've had my ass kicked yesterday without you guys, so fair point." She winced, remembering that girl who she'd met in the trench-- Emma. "Hopefully things didn't get too awkward after I stormed off."

"Nah, that invincible chick ran off immediately after you did." he said, noting Callan's smile. What did Emma say that girl's name was? Coos...Queues...Kus...Kusari! "Kusari, I think her name was. Which, by the way, I'm pretty sure she grabbed your bag after she chewed me out. Did that ever make it back to you?" he said. His mind briefly wandered, touching upon a subject he'd already considered. Perhaps it would be a bad move to include โ€˜You totally got me a date by shoving your hand through that girlโ€™ in his apology.. Yeah, he still wasn't gonna bring that one up.

Similarly, Callan opted not to bring up her date with Kusari when she heard the girl's name. She felt a pang of guilt as she did so, like she was betraying her somehow. "Yeah, she swung by the room," she answered simply, a bit of warmth coming to her face as she noted the reason why she was choosing not to bring it up, "D-did she chew you out? What happened after I left?"

"Well, Kusari yelled at me and Emma for not letting her talk, then she grabbed your bag and sprinted after you." Marcus said, putting his finger up to his mouth in a thinking position. "Then Emma and Dude McSpineGrab left not too long after that, and it was just me left on the field." he said, listing the events off. "Then I went back to the dorm hoping you'd be there, and you weren't. And then this. And I think that about brings us to speed!" he said, clapping his hands together. "So...are we good then?" he said, his tone becoming softer and less energetic.

The remark about Kusari made her antsy, but she laughed at the remark about 'Dude McSpineGrab'-- Brent, she remembered. She felt bad to hear that Marcus had basically been ditched by everyone at the track-- and then worse when it suddenly sounded like he might be done chatting.

"It's pretty hard to stay mad at you," she smirked mirthfully, "You heading back to the dorm?"

"I try to be as lovable as possible!" Marcus said, standing up. "Probably not; I've been working on those stupid homework forms all night. Might take a walk, just to get up and stretch. You gonna stay down here and deal with your Burning Legion?" he said, grinning down at her.

Her face grew all the warmer, hyperaware of the reasons behind why she felt so dissappointed about him leaving. She made up her mind that a walk with Marcus probably wasn't the best idea right now. Not until she figured out how she felt. That hadn't sounded like an invitation, anyway.

"You play? she ventured, leaning forward to grab the iPad and nestling more comfortably into the couch as the screen lit up at her touch.

"I don't even know what game it is; so probably not. I just happened to pass by and catch that little snippet." he said, fumbling with the zipper of his hoodie.

"Oh," Callan turned the iPad screen side down in her lap, almost feeling even more dissappointed before realizing the golden opportunity this presented her with. The golden opportunity she totally wasn't going to mess with-- nice try. She wasn't about to ask Marcus if he wanted her to show him how to play. That would result in crowded faces around her iPad and she wasn't on that level yet.

"It's just a dumb card game. What I wouldn't give for super RNG skills," she chuckled a little nervously, "See ya later."

"See ya later Cal, try not to fall asleep on the couches out here -- the beds are probably much more comfortable!" Marcus said, zipping his hoodie up halfway and turning towards the door.

"Whoa," Callan said, just before he turned to go. Her eyes fell on Marcus' shredded sleeve-- she didn't remember seeing that this morning. She sat up, leaning over the arm of the couch with a concerned look on her face, "What happened?"

Marcus stopped, turning back to Callan with a confused look on his face. He followed her eyes to his sleeve, and nodded when he realized the full extent of the question. He grinned slightly, fluffing the edges of the tear with his free hand. "The track is hard."

"Heh." she half laughed, but didn't quite smile. A hoodie doesn't typically end up like that without something happening to the arm underneath-- if the half disintegrated hoodie she had at upstairs was any indication. For a moment she considered reaching out to feel the tattered fabric for herself, but decided against it. "You're alright?" she asked, fidgeting.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine!" Marcus said, with a nonchalant hand wave. "Remember what I said my power was? I can jump back in time a little bit. Not super useful like yours, but it's good for patching up little scrapes and bruises." It seemed like that conversation had been ages ago, when it had actually only been a day, at most.

She looked at him skeptically for a moment until she realized she was actually just looking at him and she still hadn't said anything. "Ok," she answered quickly, sinking back into the couch and holding her iPad up to her burning face. "Don't sell yourself short," she added as the iPad lit up. She idly swiped through her apps, barely looking at them.

"Puh-lease" Marcus said, emulating a sassy highschool girl with an attitude problem. "I know I'm awesome!" it was here that his voice shifted back to his normal tone. "If anything, I guess I'm just selling you tall!" he said, chuckling and turning back towards the door.

Callan chuckled. "Just try not to do anything you can't rewind, okay Miley Cyrus?" she said without thinking. Her eyes widened and she sat up suddenly, looking back at him. "Sorry--" she tried to say quickly, "I- I didn't mean..."

Marcus said nothing, simply chuckling in response. The scars across his face seemed to twinge a bit as she said that, and although Callan hopefully wouldn't be able to see it from her angle, his smile faltered. As he made his way out of the lobby, he paused for a moment; just a brief stutter in his step as a thought scurried through his skull. He shook it off though, and continued out into the crisp, night air.

Callan | Kusari


๐•Š๐•–๐•ก๐•ฅ. ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿœ, ๐Ÿš๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿš๐Ÿ˜ / / โ„‚๐•ฃ๐•š๐•ž๐•–๐•Ÿ โ„‚๐•ฆ๐•๐•ก๐•’๐•– ๐Ÿ™ / / ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•๐•’๐••๐•– ๐”ป๐•ฃ๐•’๐•˜๐• ๐•Ÿ / / ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ›๐Ÿ˜

Collab with @Piercing Light@Baklava


The bus was almost completely empty. Callan had been so enthralled with the back seat being open when they boarded that she all but broke the bus as she hopped over the second to last set of seats, claiming half of the entire back row for herself. The bus lurched slightly as Callan landed, causing the bus driver to shoot an irritated glance over his shoulder. Oblivious, Callan simply proceeded to hug her knees and shift into a comfortable enough position against the windows-- leaving the other half of the bench for Kusari.

Kusari smiled wryly as she watched Callan excitedly head towards the back of the bus, She noticed the driver look back, but upon seeing Kusari he quickly turned back. The way Callan sat by the window reminded her of her days in elementary school. She enjoyed looking out the window at the scenery, enjoyed trying to sketch what she'd seen in the middle of class much to the dismay of her teacher. She let out a sigh, and sat beside her date. Things would never go back to normal, she knew that, but that didn't mean it got easier to accept.

"So, just how much can you lift anyway?"

"Uh," Callan had been chewing on that question all week, "I seriously don't know. I picked up a dumpster the other day and it was super easy, but... that's the heaviest thing I've tried."

Kusari let out an amused huff. "Just about anything could have been in that thing, that's a pretty vague baseline. We should find a way to get a better idea of your limits."

"Like how?" she responded, genuinely curious, "I don't want to cause a mass panic trying to pick up cars and stuff."

"I bet some of the freaks here would pay you to try lifting stuff." Kusari said, looking out the window to the people on the sidewalk. "But screw them, you can find something at the school, request it if need be."

The thought of all the things she could possibly request just for lifting purposes brought a stupid smile to her face. "Maybe.... What would I request, though?" she asked, thinking out loud, "...what's the heaviest thing you can think of?"

Kusari couldn't help but grin at Callan, her smile and excitement was infectious. "We could have them bring in an Earth Mover, and we can fill it with weights." Kusari huffed as an image popped into her head. "Maybe you could bench press it to work out."

Callan laughed. A few movie references came to mind but she didn't want make Kusari uncomfortable in case she didn't know them. She scolded herself for assuming Kusari lived under a rock, but... one couldn't be too careful. Kusari had gone out of her way to make her feel better about what had happened. She owed her that much.

"Do I get to ask you about the leg yet?" she asked, feeling like the mood was right.

Callan laughed, it almost took Kusari aback. It'd been so long since she'd enjoyed talking with someone like this. She was in enough of a good mood that the sudden question didn't upset her. She looked down at the leg in question, the claw where her big toe should be was lightly tapping the floor of the bus. "It grew when I lost my leg in that battle we were forced to go through. I wish I knew more about it, like how to get rid of it. I've thought that cutting it off and just hoping it grew back normal might work, but... Who'd be crazy enough to cut off their own leg?"

"HMMmmmmmmmm," the teal haired arbiter chewed the inside of her cheek. Unsure of how to answer such a question, she attempted to fill the void with something other than awkward silence, "Maybe the doctors at the hospital... could...." Her voice trailed off, unsure of whether her suggestion was a good one or not. The doctors yesterday hadn't seemed thrilled to be there, but they'd also seemed pretty busy. Too busy to help someone safely amputate their mutant leg?

Kusari inadvertently put on a scowl at Callan's suggestion "I'd prefer to avoid having those people touch me. You saw what they did to Christmas, They wanted to turn him into a magic blood factory. There's no telling what they'd do to me if given the chance." She let out a sigh, noticing that their stop was coming up. "Anyway, let's see this buffet already."

A bad suggestion then... but was it? To Callan, it hadn't seemed like the doctors and nurses were the only ones using Christmas for his blood-- everyone else had been just as guilty. Herself included. She wanted to believe that the people here meant well-- that they'd help Kusari if she asked and not give her any trouble for it. But... she wasn't sure enough, nor did she know Kusari well enough, to press the issue any further. It seemed like she didn't want to continue the discussion anyway.

"I think I remember it being a few blocks that way," Callan said, motioning further down the street as the doors hissed open. The bus stopped just outside of a small cafe. People with their late morning coffee trickled out the doors and were all eyes for Kusari and her raptor leg. Some walked briskly on while others slipped their phones out of their pockets to hastily record the incredible sight.

She knew it would be like this, she knew and yet she still decided to come. Kusari tried to ignore the people staring, snapping photos and recording video of her. She wanted to tell them all to kindly screw off, but that'd just make things worse. A nice date with a cute girl she'd met, that's all she wanted right now. She was allowed to pretend she wasn't a slave that was as disposable as a cheap razor, wasn't she?

"Holy shit man, is that thing real!? Y-you're one of those subbies!" An excited man that seemed to be in his late teens came up and talked to her. Well, more like talked at her. To him this girl was likely just a cool part of this town to gawk at. Kusari walked past him to the counter where a host was standing.

She handed him her ID. "Paying for two..." She said in a low voice, not wanting to speak to them anymore than she needed to. She turned to Callan, an obviously forced smirk on her face. "So, what would you recommend?"

"Uh..," Callan had been looking at a man who had proceeded to follow them with his phone still trained on Kusari's leg. He stood just outside the glass door, squatting to record past the several flyers about specials and business hours taped to the upper portion of the door. "Everything-- probably," Callan scoffed, smiling easily. If there was one sure fire way to lighten the mood for Cal, it was food. The was especially true for food she didn't have to make or pay for herself.

"Never eaten here before, but... I usually try a lil' bit of everything. Looks like this place has a pretty huge selection, though. What sort of food do you like?"

"Anything that's che-..." Kusari caught herself giving the same answer she'd always gave. Just going out and eating without worrying about her budget was an alien experience. She picked up a tray and tapped it against her stomach. "I need to gain a few pounds, so I'll go for the fattening junk." Most of the people's stares and commotion had died down at least, though one man in particular was still filming her as if his life depended on it. Kusari wondered if the school would cover it up if she decided to make him vanish. What was she, an Aberration? She shook the thoughts away and loaded food onto the tray.

Brown rice, pork cutlets and stir fried vegetables, this seemed good enough for now. After getting a cup and filling it with lemonade she looked around the buffet for a good table. By 'good table' she meant to find one as isolated as possible. She found a table in the corner of the restaurant that didn't have many people nearby, the light above it had blown out so it was a bit dimmer than the rest of the place. She motioned for Callan to follow her and sat down.

"Next time, maybe we should try a less... Populated place."

One. Two. Three. Callan slid the final plate down off of her bicep as she placed it on the table. "Hold up-- I'm gonna grab a drink." She hurried over to the soda machine, not wanting to keep Kusari waiting since she was already done. Anything that's cheap. That was what she was going to say. Kusari was literally starving before she came here. Filling two cups up with soda, she was just going through the motions. All week long she'd felt like she was starving. The meals they'd given her after she was taken in had certainly looked big enough, but they must've been pumped with air or something for as much as they managed to sate her hunger.

She'd smiled when Kusari made the remark about fattening junk, a joke bouncing around behind her teeth. She'd managed to swallow it, however. Kusari didn't seem to appreciate the jokes she made at her own expense-- though that was going to be a bit of a rough habit for her to break.

"Sorry," Callan sighed, setting down the drinks and taking a seat. She seemed oblivious to the oddity that was her portion size as she went on talking, "This was just the first place that came to mind-- I still need to find where all the best spots are."

Kusari watched in astonishment as Callan sat three plates full of food down on their table. She suddenly felt silly for thinking she had grabbed a hearty amount of food. "S-sure." She said as her date went to get a drink... make that two drinks. Sitting down, Callan apologized for her choice of restaurant. "No need to say sorry, it's not your fault these people are dicks. I doubt any other restaurant around here would be any better." Kusari said, beginning to eat her food. It wasn't bad, but she wasn't quite blown away by it either. Oh well.

"Hopefully not," Callan sighed, but she knew Kusari was probably right. Her experience in town yesterday hadn't been much of an exception. She brought her glass to her lips.

"I'll choose the place next time, maybe we can invite a few of the others."

Next time.... Shit, that was the second time she'd said that now, right?

The window to answer this remark was a small one. Callan understood this, but it didn't help her conjure up an answer any faster. She certainly liked Kusari. She was tall, cool, collected, and surprisingly skilled when it came to fighting-- on account of how easily she'd managed to trip her on her ass. And in spite of her bony physique, she carried herself with a sort of sinuous grace. Unapologetic. Resolute. Strong.

'SuperCal' was... intimidated. Unprepared. Unsure. Weak?

Was that why?

"Mm," she responded, finally proceeding to take a sip. The implications were clear. Suddenly she felt guilty and a whole lot less comfortable. She needed to say something to expel the butterflies in her stomach-- but she didn't know what. She just kept drinking, tilting the glass a little further back with each mental command.

Say something.

Say something.

SAY SOMETHING!!

"You've-- seen The Office, right?" she asked suddenly.

Kusari watched Callan after she offered to take her out again. Something was wrong. She hardly knew this girl, but she didn't seem the type to have difficulty keeping up a normal conversation. What she said clearly didn't go over well, but why? Did Callan accept her request for a date out of pity? Kusari stabbed a piece of pork and popped it in her mouth. She chewed on it slowly as she looked at the paint on the wall.

Eventually Callan said something, something far away from the topic of another outing. "I've seen a few episodes, it's a decent show." She managed to say fine even as she still chewed. She hated this, she hated this so much her face was beginning to flush. Why couldn't people just say what was on their mind? She tapped her fingers on the table, her eyes still on the wall, her mouth still chewing.

She knew why, it was because Callan was a good person, and part of being a good person meant taking people's feelings into consideration. That had to be it, that was the theory she'd thought of years ago after breaking up with her first and only boyfriend. He didn't take too well to her becoming a subnatural. He tried to hide his feelings and act like a good person, but eventually his own safety superseded their relationship. He was a coward. Kusari's nails ceased their rapping upon the table. She stopped chewing and swallowed, then looked back to Callan.

"Just say it Callan. Whatever it is. Whatever it is it won't tick me off as much as going to bed not knowing why I'd made my date feel awkward.

Callan lowered her fork full of food, a more dour expression passing over her face. There it was-- that barefaced resolve; reflected in the piercing red, hawk-like eye that peered at her from the half of Kusari's face that wasn't shrouded in choppy, long white tresses. She wanted the truth. Actually, she was demanding it. Somehow Callan didn't think The Office was going to save her this time.

"I really like you," she said, straight-faced, "You're cool and pretty and-- and I'm having a great time so far. I like this... what we're doing right now. But I'd rather not commit to another date or anything because--"

I might be interested in someone else.

"--I'm not sure about how I feel... about... all this...." It wasn't a lie. On the contrary, it was the closest thing to the truth without sounding downright idiotic. She'd only been at USARILN East for like two days. She wasn't sure about how she felt about anything. Her powers. This school. Kusari. Marcus.

The cogs of her mind came screeching to a halt. She'd successfully avoided thinking about him ever since Kusari showed up and mentioned how he and Callan had been arguing over nothing. He was just trying to make her feel better. Like he would have done for anyone, stupid.... She stopped herself from careening down that tunnel of thought. Now wasn't the time.

Kusari sat back in her seat, her shoulders drooped as the tension left her body. "We've all been put through a lot, huh? She let out a sigh and ruffled her hair, a habit that seemed to be getting stronger recently. "Thanks for letting me know. I should have known better, most of us likely aren't stable enough yet for this sort of thing. I just..." Kusari's eyes lowered to her food, she ate a bit of the rice silently before continuing. "As much as I keep telling myself that I've accepted what I've become, it still bothers me. I wanted to feel... Normal for once, and I used you for that. Sorry." She let out a wry chuckle, and looked to the side, she was blushing for a different reason now.

"Pretty, huh?"

Callan felt her own posture relax a little as well. She smiled at the sight of the pinkish hue on Kusari's face.

"I'm serious-- you are!" she confirmed, "You could probably be a model-- but you've got to stop eating like one. We're at a buffet." She motioned at the vegetables on the girl's plate.

"Anyways, don't apologize. If anything, I should be sorry for leading you on. After that shitstorm yesterday, going out on a date sounded nice," she said, smiling, "But if you really want to be sorry for something-- be sorry you haven't seen more of The Office! Don't you have Netflix?"

I-It's a balanced diet, isn't it?" Kusari stammered, her face feeling as if she were making out with an overclocked GTX 1080 graphics card. She wasn't used to being complemented like this. She shoved more food in her mouth to distract herself as Callan continued talking. She apologized as well, it seemed the both of them just wanted to try and have some fun after yesterday.

"Netflix? The video streaming thing? I never had the money for it. I guess that's one positive thing about my situation now, I can finally indulge myself in some classic first world delights." Kusari grinned, taking another bite of pork. She went for another, but her fork hit nothing but the tray. "Well would you look at that, be right back."

As she got a serving of orange chicken and more rice, she heard a couple girls mumbling to each other.

"That's so fucking disgusting, like what even is that?" A girl with nails polished and bedazzled enough to blind said. Kusari snapped around to face them, they jumped up. "W-what? We didn't do nothing!"

Kusari could feel her right eye twitch. She could take this bitch's head off with one good kick. She glanced over to Callan. No. She couldn't make a scene, couldn't let these people ruin this. "It's I didn't do anything, imbecile."

She took her tray and returned to her table, ignoring the now refreshed stares. Taking a seat, she popped a piece of chicken into her mouth. "These people, I swear. We fought to protect this city and they still treat us like garbage."

Kusari's altercation with the girl was missed as Callan withdrew a pen from her bag and began furiously scribbling on a napkin between bites. As soon as Kusari sat down, she held it out for her to see, a very serious look on her face. On the napkin was an email address, password, and list of several TV shows. She lowered the napkin and winced for a moment at Kusari's observation, "I'm still having trouble not seeing myself as one of them, to be honest...."

It was a pretty bummer topic, so Callan held the napkin up again, "Here's your homework."

Kusari took the napkin, assuming the information was for her Netflix account. Looking at the list of shows, she recognized quite a few of them. Callan certainly had a particular taste. Nearly every show was a comedy and/or a chick flick. She'd probably enjoy some of them, though she had to wonder if Callan watched anything else. She also noticed how quick she was to avoid the topic she'd brought up. It seemed she didn't have the same disdain for normal people as she did, not that she'd blame her for that. not everyone was as jaded as she was.

"Thanks. Once I get a laptop I'll try out the oh so fabled binge watching." Kusari fiddled with the napkin before putting it in her pocket. She wanted to ask Callan if she could watch with her, but considering the reaction to her mentioning a second date, that was a bad idea.

The two of them continued talking for a while, apparently Callan hadn't brought up The Office for nothing, since she was able to go on about it for a good chunk of time, as well a few other comedy movies and chick flicks. Kusari managed to squeeze in a few of her favorites, including Star Wars and Kill Bill. Before they knew it more than an hour had passed. They finished eating all that they could, that amount seeming the difference between a hill and a mountain between the two of them. After cleaning off their table they left the buffet, only to find that the same creep that was photographing Kusari was still hanging around. "Hey, could you not so kindly buzz off?" Kusari said. The man seemed a little shaken but didn't go away.

"I-It's a free country!" He said, holding up his expensive looking camera. "I have a right to do my job as a-a journalist!"

"You run some messed up blog about Subnaturals, don't you?"

"Huh? wha, N-no! It's a respectable, official web site fo-"

"Perverts?" Kusari interjected. The man stomped his feet in irritation, he must hear that one a lot.

"I-It's not dammit! Anyway you should know your place, you don't even have any rights!" He yelled. Kusari looked to Callan and shook her head.

"Let's just go." She said, continuing to walk, but the man still followed. Callan walked next to Kusari, eyes lingering on the persistent reporter for a moment before snapping forward. She pursed her lips and shot a sideways glance at Kusari-- and then Kusari's leg. What a God-awful pain....

She stopped in her tracks, pivoting on her heel to face the reporter. In one fluid motion, she reached out and grasped the camera in her hand, covering the lens with her palm. The man shouted out and lurched back, the cord around his neck forcing him into place while the camera didn't budge.

"Haven't you taken enough pictures of my friend?" she said in a calm, polite voice, smiling ruefully.

The man leaned as far back as he could without relinquishing his camera. His lip stopped quivering long enough for him to glower down at her, "Y-you can't hurt me. The Director'll shock the life out of you as soon as you hit me! You--"

Callan surrendered her grip, causing him to stagger backwards as his balance was thrown off. Little did he know that one hit was all it would take. A small part of her was tempted to say that out loud, just like she'd been tempted to crush his camera in her hand a second ago. Why? Because it might impress Kusari? Her silent stare proved to be more intimidating than she realized as the man, upon regaining his composure, quickly spun around and ran.

Callan groaned in frustration, rejoining Kusari. Without thinking, she grabbed her hand, falling into a brisk walk towards the bus stop without another word.

Kusari watched as Callan confronted the man that had been following her. She felt a mix of anxiety and amusement. She'd rather like the image of this guy getting thrown into a dumpster five blocks away, but at the same time she knew there would be consequences. Callan only threatened the man's camera, apparently that was the last straw to get him to go away."Oh sure, only run off when the black girl confronts you." She quipped, letting out a giggle.

Callan walked back to her side and grabbed Kusari's hand. She blinked a few times, surprised. Did she even realize she'd done it? Perhaps she had a maternal instinct that kicked in when her friends were in trouble. Well, she wasn't complaining. Callan's hand felt warm, so holding on for a bit wouldn't hurt. "Thanks. You'd make a pretty good bodyguard."

"Heh," Callan scoffed, her smile slowly returning. She was eager to forget about the debacle and a little disappointed that she'd turned around at all. Certainly that wasn't how a hero should be behave... but Kusari seemed to like it. Somehow that stroked her ego just enough for it to be okay. As her date was coming to a close, she pondered on why Kusari had bothered asking Cal of all people to satisfy her desire to feel normal. Suddenly remembering how abrasive the girl had seemed earlier that morning, she suspected there was something more to it than just finding her 'cute'-- her cheeks warmed, remembering the compliment.

But that was a conversation for another time... maybe.

Welcome to the guild!
@jasonwolf I'm waitin' on you, bud
Welcome to the guild!
In 07734 8 yrs ago Forum: Introduce Yourself
Welcome to the guild! Hope you've been enjoying your stay huehue
Welcome to... the... oh.

Shrekt.
In Hullo 8 yrs ago Forum: Introduce Yourself
Welcome to le guild!
@Chasers115 I fucked up your tag in the last post. So here.
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