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Post by DAYONE LEO TYLER on Oct 5, 2011 15:42:48 GMT -5
Leo looked up at the sky. It was a cold day out, so not many people where out here. Though they had to be somewhere right? Some of them ended up in the library, moving around in his sacred ground. So he moved outside, checked out a few books and put them in his bag, moving back here. He sat under a tree, the sky was overcast with clouds. He heard some people say it was going to rain rather hard today. He didn't know, he wasn't a weatherman. So instead of taking shelter inside, he braved the cold outdoors. He braved the overcast clouds that threatened him with rain. He went outside, and it was peaceful. Not many people here and he liked that. The quiet, it was nice, it was why he stayed in the library.
Leo got up from his little tree, deciding to wander over a little more. Maybe he would find something, to do. He sighed, today was Tuesday, he had to go to Altair's place tomorrow. Not that he didn't like to, he liked to be around the girl, even though that was probably weird. At least she didn't hit him. He went and saw her naked of course, but that was her job. He didn't mind, the succubus was evil, but she was good to the eyes. He hadn't met Rowena yet, he maybe wanted to meet her. He was still unsure of that. Maybe she was nicer than Altair, maybe she would say thank you to him. But maybe he would never meet her, Altair said to throw himself out the window if she came in and he was there. But he was hesitant on that.
He opened up his book, and started to read as he walked, not paying attention to where. When he looked up he was pretty far away from the school. Still on school grounds of course, but he'd have to sprint if it started to rain. He started to read again. He again wasn't paying any attention to where he was, the book was taking up all of his attention. So he didn't notice someone sprinting in front of him. Nor did he notice the footsteps not coming to swerve away from him. They ended up crashing, Leo fell backwards, his book sailing out of his hand. And to make matters worse, the rain started to come down.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Oct 5, 2011 18:06:23 GMT -5
Contrary to what anyone might believe, Joshua was actually fond of the rain. He didn't fear the little droplets of water, for unless there was a flood he was doubtful he would drown because of them, and so he could appreciate the way they splashed across the skin and left a strange but pleasant smell after they departed. So when he decided to go out that day and realised that it was going to rain, the Fire graduate didn't even decide to invest in an umbrella. Hell, it wasn't like he needed one. Josh had enough stamina to keep a sort of heat cloak around himself for a little while--it wasn't heavy enough manipulation to drain quickly. It wasn't useful for much but to keep the droplets from hitting his skin, it was just something he could do if it was raining and he didn't want to get soaked. Right now, however, he couldn't care less if it started raining on him. He glanced up toward the sky and surveyed the clouds curiously, deciding whether or not they looked like the kind that could produce showers. I've never been good at this, he remarked dryly to himself. It was true--he'd never be a great weatherman, that was for sure. He guessed that he'd find out when it started to rain; or, alternatively, when it didn't.
He was just taking a leisurely walk through the grounds when a scene nearby caught his attention--someone slammed into a slightly familiar figure and knocked him down, then quickly departed before anything else could occur. Not even an apology. His gray eyes flicked back to the sky and he felt the first curious drops of rain break across his skin, but he was more interested in the Earth elemental at the moment. "Leo, right?" He approached the fallen boy and stuck out his hand in a silent offer of assistance. Joshua might have been an older Fire student but he wasn't always a complete asshole. He knew this guy from a couple of times when they'd interacted in the library, but he'd never really held much of a conversation with him before. It was more friendly acknowledgement of one another's presence. He knew that this guy came into the library just as often as he did and so they had something in common if nothing else. "Should have watched where you were going." It wasn't a snide remark, more like he was stating a fact. It wouldn't have happened if the other elemental had known someone was coming, after all. That didn't mean that the other person was in the right--they should have looked where they were going--but even still.
Picking up the fallen book from the ground, Joshua passed his hand over it and the air shimmered for a moment as he let out a pulse of heat. "You should put it back into your bag," he remarked with another glance at the sky, screwing up his expression as the raindrops assaulted his face and shaking his head slightly. "Wouldn't want it to get soaked again--is it a library book?" He looked back at Leo as he spoke, curiosity in his tone. He knew that Leo spent a lot of his time in the library but it was also possible that this book was from a personal collection. Josh wouldn't be surprised, seeing as he had an entire library back home. Or... did. He supposed it belonged to his father now, and the thought made him bitter. All of his things, all of his possessions--in order to stop thinking about it, he forced himself to concentrate on conversation. "You're an Earth kid?" He used the word 'kid' lightly--it wasn't implying that the guy was immature, it was just a figure of speech. He thought that Leo was in Earth but he'd never actually asked, just heard something from a classmate and had wondered whether or not it was true. Josh never put much stock in rumours.
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Post by DAYONE LEO TYLER on Oct 7, 2011 13:26:03 GMT -5
Leo looked up as the person who had bumped into him fell. Not even bothering to say sorry, the person got up and left the scene of the crime. He gave a sigh, and just sat there, staring up at the rain as it fell. It was nice, the cool, fat, wet drops on his skin. He sat for a second before he saw someone else come towards him. Leo nodded, "Hello Josh," He said, remembering the man from the library. He had seen Josh around the library many many times. Hell he actually once talked to him too. Which is a big step in Leo's book. He never really talked to anyone much. He's had a conversation with Nell, and Josh at least once. Altair, well it wasn't really a conversation, more like yes mam, and no ma'am, he was just obeying her. Leo took Josh's hand and lifted himself up with his help. Leo wiped off any dirt that had stuck on him from the fall. then wiping his hands, he nodded at Josh's comment. "Yea, I didn't think anyone else was out today." He didn't he thought that everyone was taking shelter inside the old castle.
Leo watched him use his power.The heat shimmered through the air. Leo accepted the book gratefully. Nodding he dutifully put the book in his bag. The rain was still coming down, but it didn't seem to bother Leo. No he liked the rain, it was cool and nice. Something he really did appreciate. "Yea. It's pretty good." Leo said as he closed up his bag. He didn't know if Josh had more books or he read from the library, but he did know that the other was well versed in his books. He wondered if he did, maybe he could ask to read some from his collection. He wanted to ask, but this was Leo, he was to shy to try. "Thanks," he said for drying his book. He hated seeing books damaged. Just a pet peeve of his.
Leo nodded, "Yea I'm an Earth student." To demonstrate the truth he made a flower on the side of the path perk up and bloom even though it was late past spring. "See?" He said looking up at Josh."You are Fire I guess." From his recent display of power that's what he guessed. So he was more than one hundred percent sure he was fire. He also knew from the war that Josh sided with the Earths, even though he didn't really partake in it, he was just, laying lower than he had been before the war. So he guessed that Josh was alright to be around, plus he'd sort of known him, and he knew Josh wouldn't hurt him.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Oct 7, 2011 19:25:49 GMT -5
Well, the other boy recognised his name. Joshua didn't know whether this was a good thing or not. Sometimes people knew his name simply because they cared enough to recall it and others knew it thanks to rumours and scandalous things that spread amongst the Academy. Leonard didn't seem like the type of person that really listening to things like that but Josh was not a trusting person. He wouldn't believe that you were a good person until you'd proved it to him--usually several times before he was satisfied with his decision. "Their loss," he remarked, holding out a hand and watching as the drops assaulted his palm, little rivulets of rainwater running down the creases of his hand and down toward the centre. "It's just a little rain." Already the air smelled clearer, like the water had come to wash away all evidence of anything else. He didn't know why he liked the rain so much. Joshua didn't question his likes and dislikes all that often. If he enjoyed something then he did, and if he didn't, well, that was too bad.
Josh dipped his head in acceptance of the thanks when Leo gave it, then said, "Don't mention it." He might not have been the nicest person in the world but he had his occasional moments. No one could be an asshole all of the time, it was tiring and it really wore itself out after a while. Besides, Joshua had no reason not to lend his assistance. He had fire and he liked books just as much as Leo did, so it was really helping them both here. He didn't want the book to be ruined even if it wasn't his, even if he'd never read it before in his life. "Neat trick," he commented, gesturing to the way that Leonard had manipulated the flower. Of course, Josh was used to the students that the Academy population had nicknamed the 'flower children'. His girlfriend was practically a stereotypical flower kid through and through. And he'd certainly spent enough time around them during the war, even if he tried not to dwell too much on that. It was dying down after so long, but there were still a few residual tensions.
Chuckling, Joshua nodded. "Without a doubt." He was also a college student, which was why the heat bent to his will. To demonstrate his own power beyond just drying the book, Joshua focused his central power and let the heat spread outward, upward, encircling them like a dome. He strengthened this dome around the edges and then increased the heat around the outer ring until suddenly, it was as if the rain had stopped. It hadn't really--hissing noises and a cloud of steam revealed that he was just counteracting the little droplets with his fire. But it was a draining task, and he released his hold on the pyrokinesis after a while, taking a deep breath. He felt a bit of a head rush as the energy left him, but it wasn't enough to be detrimental.
Glancing in the direction where the other person had dashed off, he asked, "Did you know them?" It was a possibility that he did, but it was also completely plausible that he might not. Some people were just jerks no matter how nice of a person you were in return, no matter whether you knew them or not.
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Post by DAYONE LEO TYLER on Oct 13, 2011 19:28:45 GMT -5
Leo gave Josh a shrug as the rain fell and splattered on his head and clothes. "It is. Rain is," He paused to think of the right word to give the feeling of rain as it splashed onto someone's skin. The way it gently cooled the skin and the sounds it made as it rushed down and smashed against the surface of the Earth. The way the drops reflected a beam of light, rainbows scattering all over the place. The smell the rain brought with it, and the way everything smelt as if it were cleaned of impurities. "Relaxing," he concluded unable to figure out the perfect word for the feeling. "It's nice isn't it?" He asked as he turned his face towards the crying clouds, towards their clean tears and their dark faces.
He gave Josh a nod at the sentence, it was with thanks though. He knew that the praise was just another way of saying thank you. Weird isn't it, the English language that is. They always had so many words for the same meaning. It was tricky, learning it if it wasn't your native tongue. It was very difficult if someone tried to learn it if they had already passed the age where it was simple to learn and pick up a new language. Leo knew a little french, but other than being able to pass it, he didn't speak it much. Too much work trying to remember the words, he preferred English over the language of love. Even though in English he still wasn't always able to transfer his thoughts to words that fit the right meaning. "Thank you," he said to the compliment, not every day that you got a compliment like that. No sir, it wasn't something he got often anyway, he wasn't so sure about other people though. It was sort of easy to do, he knew what he had to do to control the plant, but still executing it was still, somewhat difficult.
He felt the heat surround him and he wasn't frightened by it, he knew Josh meant no harm. He was just demonstrating his power over the element of fire. The heat was nice, it warmed him up to a nice and toasty temperature. He looked up and around him, the rain wasn't even penetrating the dome of heat, and they turned to steam as they touched the shell of heat. It was a rather interesting move, (was that the right word?), or technique that he pulled off. Then the shell disappeared and the rain came back down to cool his heated skin. "Amazing," Leo mumbled as he turned his palm upwards feeling the water pool a little in his hand before it overfilled and dripped out of his hand. He wondered how much energy that had taken, to be able to keep that heat up, and then harden it so that the rain turned to steam when it made contact. He envied the mans control, the stamina, he wished he could do something amazing like that. He still had a long way to go, he was barely passing his elemental control class, he needed to get better, maybe he shouldn't spend so much time in the library reading, and more trying to control the power he was graced with.
Leo shook his head, "No I do not." He wondered who that was, maybe it was someone who had lost track of time and was rushing back in. He started to wonder what they were doing, or where they were going to in such a rush.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Oct 14, 2011 0:39:10 GMT -5
He gave an absent sort of nod at Leonard's question, paying more attention to the rain as it showered from the sky but still being polite and listening nonetheless. Joshua had the capacity to be nice if he wanted and it was usually the Earth students that got this special treatment over any other element. They'd been nice to him and so he was returning the favour in kind. "Yeah," he agreed verbally. It was nice. It was a bit ironic when you considered his phobia but of course as no one knew about the phobia save for Nell, there was no knowledge to consider it. He preferred it that way. Josh was a guy of few words and many secrets. He kept things to himself and allowed others to do the same and he also enjoyed the silence, which was the reason he adored the library so much and also the reason that he didn't mind how quiet Leo was being. The Earth kid was a quiet guy and Josh of all people could understand that.
Of course, their silences were of a different kind. Josh was confident and dominant in his personality. If he really wanted to speak his mind to someone he would do so without hesitation. His lack of friends was not because people saw him as a coward or some sort of nerd but because he was a very difficult person to get along with. Like all Fires he had anger issues and he was very volatile in personality. One moment he could be conversing with you as normal and the next he'd be ready to rip your head from your shoulders. Figuratively, of course. Josh was violent but not murderous. He wondered briefly what Leo thought of him but pushed the thought from his mind--Josh didn't ask those sorts of questions. He returned the second thanks with a nod. He also wasn't someone that dished out compliments so if he praised someone for something it usually meant that he was being genuine. He could also appreciate power and skill in his enemies, but of course in that case he would never tell them aloud. He did not see Leo as either friend nor foe at the moment--it was more of a neutral acceptance of presence.
He couldn't quite call it tolerance. That was a word usually used to indicate an acceptance of someone who you didn't really like but wouldn't start problems with. Leo was too good of personality to really be on Josh's bad side. He just hadn't earned the trust of the Fire elemental enough to be called friend yet. Maybe in time. Apparently Leonard didn't know who had ran into him and Joshua's eyes narrowed in the direction that they'd retreated. "Tch," he muttered, his distaste apparent. If someone ran into him and tried to run off he'd probably hit them with a good old blast of fire or at least call after them that they were a coward. He didn't like people who ran away. Of course, sometimes that was the best thing to do. If you didn't run from those stronger than you it wouldn't be surprising if you got your ass handed to you. Joshua found himself thinking of Jane and then he immediately wished he hadn't. That woman filled his thoughts with rage. She could have crushed him if she wanted to. He wondered what element the person who'd buggered off had been. Maybe they were just an asshole, rather than weak. Either way, Josh didn't really approve of their methods.
"Where were you headed?" he asked suddenly of Leo, turning away from the empty space of the grounds and arching an eyebrow in a questioning manner. He figured that the rain had caught the Earth boy a little off guard--unless he'd intended for the book to get soaked? Josh wasn't sure and that was why he'd decided to ask. It didn't seem like too much of a personal question and so he didn't have qualms against asking it.
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Post by DAYONE LEO TYLER on Oct 19, 2011 19:09:18 GMT -5
The rain was nice, but it was also somewhat cold if it soaked you through thoroughly. Leo, like Josh, was a person of few words. He spoke with actions and looks, if he spoke at all. He read all the time, and he spoke, silently, with the books. He preferred a book to a person usually. He wouldn't want to replace those who were close to him ( very few people) with books though. He glanced about, the green leaves where turning into shades of red and orange. Fall was an amazing sight in these mountains. All these trees all turning into a vibrant splash of orange, warming up the appearance of the mountainside. But Leo dreaded the coming of winter. It was not his favorite time, not at all. It was too cold for one, and it was also during December when his parents died. So the cold white snow reminded him of crap he didn't want to think about.
Leo was a different type of person than Josh. Sure they could be both classified under the silent loners. But doing that was like labeling fish and squids as under water creatures. Leo was quiet, shy and lacked any form of personality. Well he did have personality, but it was buried under his shell and deep below a pile of cowardice. He was a coward, quiet nerd. He would not put up a fight, and he was not violent. He preferred to take the route away from violence if possible. But the only way he knew how to do that, was to work for the person who was going to beat them (That still ended up with him getting beat sometimes) or him running away. And it was one of the things he was good at, he didn't look it but Leo was physically fast, he could sprint quickly and he knew how to get over things. A sort of form of home taught parkour, without the fancy stuff.
"Nowhere in general." he said with a shrug. "I just wanted to get away from people." There where too many people for his liking in the library. Probably taking shelter from this onslaught of rain. He liked the rain though, it was something that kept people away from him. Being out in the rain, people wanted to take shelter, he didn't because that shelter was filled with people he didn't want to be near. That person he bumped into, he didn't know them, and he didn't care really, he wasn't hurt, his book had gotten wet but Josh quickly fixed that situation. "What about you Josh?" He asked curious. "Where were you heading?"
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Oct 19, 2011 20:24:20 GMT -5
Joshua nodded but didn't really know what else to say in response. He was not too similar to Leonard in personality--Joshua really couldn't care less about how many people there were in a library as long as they didn't disturb his studying by talking to one another in loud, carrying voices. He didn't really like crowds but it was more for the reason that he hated feeling like sardines in a can than shyness. Josh was not shy, he just wasn't social. But he could also understand that some people just didn't get along well with others because they were socially awkward. He'd never been the sort of person to bully someone just because they couldn't hold a conversation without getting flustered, nervous, or quiet. Maybe the gang had been like that but he'd never really been akin to them anyway. Joshua had tried his best to fit in with their group just so that he could have somewhere to land. Look at how well that had worked out for him. He'd nearly been in serious trouble with the law at only fifteen and he had a myriad of scars to prove that he was a snitch. Thank goodness they hadn't carved the letters into his skin or anything like that.
He was mildly surprised by the return of the question but did not show it, merely frowned for a moment as he considered how he might answer. "Nowhere in particular," the Fire elemental shrugged, seemingly at ease. He was telling the truth after all. Even if he'd been lying it probably wouldn't have been evident. He was good at lying. He might not always have gotten away with it but after lying about your past for several years you sort of got used to hiding the signs. He had no reason to fib about his whereabouts or his intended ones at the moment, though. "Just fancied some air. There's a lot of that out here, you know." His sarcastic reply was not meant as a ribbing remark toward Leo. It was almost as if he was joking but of course unless he trusted you enough to open up it was not always apparent that Joshua was trying to be friendly. Leo might take it the wrong way but then again he might be able to deduce from the simple fact that Joshua had never been too much of an asshole before that his intentions were not ill. Or, at least, not as ill as those of the guy that had banged into him and ran off into the rain.
He was not a very chatty guy and Josh was alright with that, though he couldn't help but wonder if this was his shy side coming out or if he just didn't feel like talking. He didn't know the Earth elemental well enough to make those kind of judgements. Joshua might have just walked away if it had made sense to do so at this point in time but he didn't really have anything else to do besides stand out here in the rain and talk to this guy. It was a bit of a boring pastime, even he could admit that, but at least it was better than walking out here alone. "You Earth elementals are too nice," he said almost conversationally, not even bothering to hide the smirk that indicated he was about to start teasing again. His methods of teasing were usually snide and sometimes even rude but Josh didn't mean anything (too) ill by them. "If someone did that to me I'd have chased them down and punched them in the face." Maybe not. Or perhaps he really would have. It all depended on whether or not Joshua had been having a good day. A lot of things for Josh depended on his mood.
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Post by DAYONE LEO TYLER on Oct 23, 2011 16:21:17 GMT -5
Leo had his own scars, though none where as serious as Josh's. His were all from things he was stupid enough to try. Like trying to use his grandfathers old balisong knife. That ended up giving him a scar on his palm. It still itched sometimes, as well as the other big scars he has. Leo was too shy to be even a little social. In group projects he just did all the work and handed it to his partners, he found them too slow for his liking. That made everyone want to be partners with him, easy way to get a good grade was through Leo. He was socially awkward and sometimes didn't understand the lingo some people used.
Leo nodded, "Yea, there's a lot of air out here." Leo thought that was obvious. There was a lot of air everywhere in the world. The whole atmosphere was composed of it. He didn't get that it was a joke, so he just shrugged and agreed. Then he went back to the previous statement. "That's always fun. Never having a destination," he said. It was all in the adventure, not the place. So if you had no place to get to, then wouldn't it all just be a journey? that's what he thought about the subject. Not that he really thought about having no destination, just that it was something that popped into his head. He guessed that Josh was being friendly, though he didn't know for certain. But he guessed that if he wasn't being friendly he wouldn't have dried off his book. And if he was just gonna beat him up well there wouldn't be any pleasantries in that.
Leo gave a small shrug and grin. "It's why we're Earth." Leo said that jokingly, but it was true. Nearly all Earth elementals never threw the first punch. They would throw one back, but usually never one that began a fight. Leo gave Josh a grin at his sentence, "And that's why you're Fire." Again Leo said this in a teasing sort of way. Leo, even if they meant to hit him, wouldn't have done anything. He would apologize and then leave, that's all he would do. Leo took crap from everybody, and did nothing about it. He's a personal punching bag to some students, and he lets them hence the phrase punching bag. Leo couldn't fight, he can run away, but not fight. Fighting required courage or bravery, something he didn't have.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Oct 23, 2011 16:51:42 GMT -5
Group projects were an area where Joshua and Leonard differed greatly. Whilst Leo did all the work and allowed his partners to take credit, Joshua did all of the work and informed the teacher that the others in the group were lazy bastards that didn't deserve their credit. Josh could be deadly in a group scenario. As long as someone did their best and pulled their own weight in a project with him he would leave them be and maybe help them out with their contribution if they asked nicely but if they thought they could slack off they were wrong. As a matter of fact, Joshua didn't work well in a group under most setting. Sports were also a huge problem. He could play tennis because it was just you versus your opponent. You and a friend versus two opponents if you played doubles. But team sports baffled and confused him. He didn't take orders well and he was a bit too selfish to always be thinking about passing the ball to other team members for a better goal. It was a good part of the reason he'd been kicked off the soccer team when he was younger. Well, that and the fact that the coach had noticed his lack of enthusiasm. Joshua was not only a loner in the Academy, he was a loner in personality and by choice. He had a few people with whom he could get along and that was about it.
Joshua blinked at the Earth boy, hardly believing what he had heard. He... doesn't get it, does he? Never before had he met someone who'd had a joke that obvious fly over their head. He understood when people didn't quite comprehend the punchlines of the stupid or complicated jokes but that one had just passed Leo by like a jet plane in the slow lane. "That's not what I--" Deciding that it didn't matter anyway, Joshua just shook his head. He wasn't going to bother standing here and explaining the joke to Leo. Josh didn't do that kind of thing, it wasn't his fault the Earth kid had a rather oblivious sense of humour. "Never mind." Besides, it was funny to think that Leo hadn't understood. He probably thinks that I'm the idiot. The thought was pretty entertaining. It was like Josh pointing out that the sky was blue or the grass was green. It was an obvious fact of life that most people just accepted. Joshua knew a lot of 'dork' jokes as well, but he wasn't going to bother with those in case they passed over Leo as well. He didn't want the guy to think he was some kind of crazy.
Blinking at him, Josh said, "Hey, I'm no hippie wanderer. I was just bored." He usually liked to have a destination or a goal in mind. Joshua was a personality contented best by having something to work on or something to occupy his attention. He couldn't sit on the couch and veg out for hours. He could go on walks and stuff like that but the destination was usually just a certain direction. He wasn't comfortable with the whole aimless thing. Joshua grinned almost sadistically at Leo and stepped forward. "What, am I too aggressive for you?" Though he was only messing with him, Joshua feinted a punch in Leo's direction, pulling his fist back before he made contact and did any real damage. For all he knew Leo might have taken this seriously as well but Joshua didn't mean any harm. He just had a bit of a violent sense of humour sometimes. He could also be rather insensitive to those he did not know well. He could adapt to peoples habits and fears overtime but he was never good at sensitivity with his acquaintances or new friends.
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Post by DAYONE LEO TYLER on Oct 24, 2011 19:43:48 GMT -5
Leo was fast, but sports wasn't his thing. He didn't like to be depended on so much. Hell he'd accidentally give the other team the ball if they asked for it. Cause he's just like that. Really the only thing he'd probably be good at is the track team. He's really fast at sprinting, he had to be. If he wasn't fast, he would have to take more beatings, and sometimes he didn't want to deal with those. So he ran, and he ran fast, he vaulted over things and ducked and dodged around corners. Usually they gave up after a few minutes, but if they were determined to catch him, well, he might end up having to get a worse beating for running. It was really one of the few risks Leo ever took. Leo never took risks, the reason being, well they were risks. He had to risk something, and he didn't like to risk anything. It was another reason he stayed in the library.
Leo tilted his head to the side, He didn't get what he meant. "What?" He asked confused. Now he really was wondering what was going on through his head. What was he talking about? If it was a joke it was totally soaring over his head. Leo didn't have a great sense of humor. If someone told him a very obvious joke well he'd get it. However if it was a joke like the one that Josh had just told him, well he wouldn't get it. It was something you developed by hanging out and socializing with people. He never did that and thus his sense of humor, among other things, had suffered. Leo ran a hand through his hair, soaked because of the rain by now. He was getting drenched and it wasn't the best option in the cold. But he didn't mind, he liked to be out here having a (though really not very talkative) conversation with someone.
Leo grinned at Josh's hippie remark. He didn't mind hippies. They were interesting to talk to. He remembered this one shop back home that was owned by a hippie. He went there once, and he talked conspiracy theories and other such things with the Hippie. It was interesting to say the least. Leo liked to just wander sometimes, find something interesting. Sometimes he just picked a random book from the library to read. Not really caring about what subject the book was on. Leo didn't get the next sentence but he saw the fist. Leo's eyes went wide and then he braced himself. Why why did Josh have to hit him? He thought they were getting along just fine. He was so relieved when Josh had pulled that punch. But a wall went up. He cast his eyes down, he was a little afraid that Josh might actually hit him now.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Oct 25, 2011 21:56:17 GMT -5
Joshua merely shook his head in response to the question. He did not feel like trying to explain the concept of sarcastic humour to someone who very clearly hadn't understood the plainest of it. It seemed that Leo spent so much time reading books that he had somehow negated the ability to not take something seriously for once. That wasn't Josh's problem. He wasn't holding off on an explanation to be a dick, he just didn't feel the need. "It's nothing," he said in a casually dismissive tone. It had been the whole point of the 'never mind' comment from before. Whilst Leo was too serious to understand jokes a lot of people thought Joshua as too serious to make them. He remembered how it had been with he and Nell at the start. She'd always seemed a bit confused when he cracked a joke as if she wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to laugh or whether he was not joking at all. He didn't blame people for not understanding him. Human beings were not easy creatures to decipher, after all. They were not all black white and stereotype.
He should have, however, realised that feinting a punch to someone like Leonard was not a very good idea. Joshua's insensitivity came out in the strangest of moments and it seemed like this was just one of them. He had not stopped to think that the boy was the constant victim of violence and ridicule from their peers, didn't consider the idea that his humour was perhaps a bit cruel. It was how he'd always joked around with the gang. He didn't intentionally retain mannerisms from his past but some of the things they'd drilled into him had not left as easily as he'd hoped. He still had serious issues with trust--to the date, Nell was the only person he'd ever really confided in. He hadn't even sat down with his own mother and tried to explain what had happened. He had just been a frightened kid back then, malleable and easily shaped into a useful pawn. Easily discarded when its use was done. It had taken almost falling in a murder case for him to understand. Those were the sorts of deep-seated things that were behind his sometimes wicked sense of humour. Leo, of course, would not understand that. No one could expect him to.
The feeling after was not quite guilt. Until you connected with him on a deep level of friendship, Joshua was not empathetic by nature. He did, however, consider the fault of his actions for a moment. That probably wasn't the best idea. He owed Leonard an apology but unfortunately for the Earth elemental Joshua was not big on such things. Sincerities such as that were reserved for the people he really, really cared about. He found it difficult even admitting defeat to them. "Don't look so morose," he suggested, rolling his eyes a little as if he were exasperated. "I'm only messing with you." It was not an apology, merely an explanation and a slight reassurance that he wasn't going to resort to violence for no reason. He wondered briefly if Leo was afraid of him but dismissed it quickly. He didn't really care if the guy feared him or not. He had no quarrel with the Earth kid so it didn't matter to him either way.
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