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Post by marci on Jun 3, 2011 9:09:05 GMT -5
Elaine normally liked days off. They meant that kids weren't always crowding wherever she needed to be. That meant that she could take her time, maybe walk without holding her hand out to bang them against the lockers so that she could be sure where she was going. She didn't have to listen quite a keenly to make sure one of the many kids around her wasn't about to try and trip her. Days off meant that most kids were sleeping in, studying in quiet corners, or having fun outside during the slightly warmer hours of the winter days. But this was not her favorite day off ever.
The girl had knocked one of her braille textbooks into a basin of water that a particularity odd wind student had brought into the dormitory. Completely ruined. And it cost a lot to by braille versions of books. So she'd had to get a very irritable student to help her with a cellphone so she could call her father to order a new one for her. After that ordeal, she'd calmed herself—mostly—and started down the many annoying stairs of the tower dorms to get to the main academy building. Elaine had stopped at the foot of the stairs for a second to gain her footing, and was shoved over.
On purpose, not on purpose, it didn't matter. Elaine had let out a veritable roar of discomfort and a tycoon started up out of nowhere. She didn't get a look at whoever it was, but she heard rather feminine steps echoing through the hall as the person retreated. Elaine ran her hands over her legs to make sure she hadn't gotten anymore then a bruise, then pulled herself and her backpack standing. Another decidedly annoyed sound left her, and she turned to walk the opposite way of the one who'd pushed her, a non-too-gentle breeze going ahead of her.
Elaine thought she was just going to walk off the frustration, but a bit of her wind seeped through an open doorway and she turned into it without thinking. She went through the doorway, found the door with outstretched hands, and slammed it closed. Satisfying. She let out a long breath of frustration, then brought her hands up to massage her face. ”Better.” But then she froze. Was someone here? Not another prank. ”Hello?” Yes, someone was there. She could smell him now, but in the midst of all of her anger she couldn't quite place it.
She brought her hands down slowly, turning to face whoever was there. ”I know you're there. Trust me, I'm really not in the mood to deal with this.”
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Jun 3, 2011 9:41:48 GMT -5
"Fucking freshmen..."
Joshua glowered heavily at the group of students who had taken up refuge in his favourite section of the library, a gang of giggling girls in the ninth grade gushing over the cute boys they were going to meet. They seemed a bit frightened by his scowling demeanour, but the fact that they didn't scatter meant they probably didn't know what everyone in school thought of him. He had half a mind to go up and make threats to clear the place out, but stopped himself. He didn't want to get kicked out of the library by threatening to roast the happy-go-lucky teenagers. With any hope, they'd be the ones getting kicked out for talking too loud and he could come back to his sanctuary in a couple of hours.
For now, though, he'd need to move on.
He considered going back to the dormitories to study, but decided against it in the end. Since it was not only a day off but also snowing, with the temperature in the negatives, most of the Fire students would be holed up there and horsing around like they tended to do. He was not in the mood to deal with that, either. So he just wandered around until he found an empty classroom, deftly picking the lock--who cared if he wasn't supposed to be in here? It was quiet--and slipping inside. He could have closed and locked the door behind him, but he assumed that most people would just pass it by and be done with it. Going to the back of the classroom, he dropped his study books on the table with a loud thunk, then sat down and pulled out the rest of the stuff he'd brought from the library.
He was in the middle of jotting down a key point in the text when someone entered, causing him to go stiff and completely silent with alarm. He opened his mouth to tell them off as if he were allowed to be here--bullshit baffles brains, after all--but stopped when the door slammed loudly, blinking. The heavy wind from the force of the door fluttered his study papers, his hand slamming down on top of them to keep them from sliding off the desk. Once he was sure they were stable, he glanced up just as the person called out in what seemed to be irritation. He was surprised when he recognised her, and even more taken aback by her harsh tone.
"I never denied being here," he said smoothly, blinking. "Deal with what, exactly?" He wasn't aware that she'd been having a bad day, only that she seemed to be really upset about something.
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Post by marci on Jun 3, 2011 10:06:34 GMT -5
The young blind girl almost melted to ground right then and there, hours of tension leaving her all at once when she heard the welcome and familiar tones. She let out a long breath, shoulders drooping and breathing, ”Josh.” Thank god. Thank the universe. It wasn't another water kid who though it would be funny to wet the ground she walked on. Or worse, a fire kid who thought it'd be funny to shove her against a wall. Elaine kept to her feet, though a very large part of her did want to just drop to the ground, and gave the college boy a wane smile. ”I thought you were another stupid highschooler.”
He probably knew what she meant by that, so she didn't continue, instead gritting her teeth as she pulled her pack from her shoulder. She tossed it against the wall. It fell over. Intense frustration guiding her actions, she sent a gale at it until it stood back up against the wall and stayed there. Didn't take very long, considering the fact that she was way overdoing it. If she kept this up she would make herself pass out within the hour. But she didn't care right now.
”Deal with...things.” Elaine answered, obviously upset and more than a little agitated. Made sense—she hadn't vented any emotions for several weeks now. It wasn't all bad, but it was grating. Life here was definitely a mixed blessing. Feeling her anger returning, she let out a stifled growl of frustration and plopped herself on the ground sullenly. There was a tenseness in her left arm that was trying to tell her to send a pressure punch at something. But she really didn't want to do that. Well, she did. But if she wanted enough strength to use her sight again today she couldn't start down that road.
At a loss for anything else to do, she started speaking, ”You're so lucky, Josh. I can't stare people down when I want them to leave me alone. Can't even tell if they're laughing at me while they're pretending to be nice.” She slammed her fist on the ground, and the sting helped her get a handle on herself. Instead of angry, her expression turned to stony, and she angled her head down and looked miserably at the floor with a blind gaze.
She was quiet for awhile, then a plea escaped her, ”It is ok if I stay hear for awhile?” Not ideal, especially not for Josh. But he'd been patient with her before, and she him. Even if he just ignored her, it was better than going back out there to what she viewed at present to be a hostile place.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Jun 3, 2011 12:33:21 GMT -5
She sounded--and looked--so weak with relief when she noticed that he wasn't someone lying in wait to prank her. Understanding flashed through his colourless gaze as she mentioned stupid high-school children, dipping his head a little. She couldn't see the gesture, and he knew that, it was more out of reflex than anything else. "Bah," he spat, irritation colouring his tone like a portrait, revealing him to be just as unhappy with them as she was (though he reacted with more frustration than upset). "They're a bunch of superficial bastards." He wasn't very well-liked in this school, and given that it was mainly the teenagers that spread rumours about him and whispered behind his backs, he could definitely share in Elaine's distaste. They may have hated the idiots for drastically different reasons, but they still hated them, and that was what mattered.
Joshua was not a very empathetic person, but even he knew mild sympathy for the girl as he realised they must have been giving her a really hard time. She seemed incredibly frustrated as she threw her pack down and then punched the ground. "That isn't always the best way to vent frustration," he pointed out, mildly concerned. "I busted a couple of my knuckles the last time I took my anger out on the wall." That had been a real pain in the ass--or the hand, rather. He'd had to resort to typing out all of his assignments with one hand whilst he waited for the busted knuckles to heal up again. They hadn't been too bad and they'd healed alright thanks to his father's care--this had been when he was still living at home--but it had still been a pain. Of course, it also hadn't stopped him from punching inanimate objects when he was angry. Or people. Specially the object of his frustration. If you angered him past a certain point and you were within reach...
"It's not always as great as you'd think," he admitted. "It also means I'm not trusted, even when I am trying to be half-decent." Elaine seemed to trust him well enough, but she was one of the few. If you acted hostile and vicious all of the time, that stuck with you. People feared you because you had given them reason to be afraid. Did he really regret it? No. Joshua couldn't allow himself to feel regret, for he knew that he wouldn't really have changed a thing about his attitude if he had the chance. He didn't want people to get too close. The last time he'd had friends, they'd left him for dead in an alleyway. Those same 'friends' would probably kill him now if they got the chance. Never again. Never that close. "But don't worry, I understood what you meant by it." It was hard for her, he got that. He probably would have had the same angsts and frustrations if he didn't have his sight.
She asked if she could stay, and Joshua knew he would have had to have been an absolute dick to turn her away. "Sure thing, I don't mind." As long as the door was shut, this still had all the appearances of a locked and forbidden classroom. Given that this was not a school day, he figured they'd be safe from the intrusions of the professors. So he didn't mind sharing his temporary sanctuary with anyone else. "I guess I could take a bit of a break from studying, too." The graduate closed the book he'd been reading and set to tucking everything carefully into his bag. Unlike a lot of his peers, he didn't just shove everything pell-mell into whatever bit had room. His books were organised, his binders full of notes were organised, and his laptop was slid into its own little compartment behind the main part of the messenger bag. "I came up here to get away from the chaos as well, albeit of a different sort. The freshmen have decided to take over the library for the afternoon." He sighed.
A casual flick of his hand turned the room to a bit more pleasant of a temperature, much more akin to room temperature than the chilly winter air. Things that would have taken concentration and focus in his high-school days were now as simple as if he'd known how to do them all his life. Joshua's power, as well as his education, was one of the few things he felt he had good control over. "Is your hand alright?" he queried, wondering if she'd hurt her wrist when she'd slammed it into the ground.
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Post by marci on Jun 3, 2011 13:06:29 GMT -5
Elaine ignored his words about punching things to vent. She knew it was stupid. Celia used to have to tell her every day that it was incredibly unlike a young lady to get to urge to hit things whenever she got upset. But it wasn't like it was something she could change about herself. The blind had figured out how to create a bit of an air cushion whenever she did it, but doing it took a lot of concentration and greatly reduced the satisfaction gained. After several silent seconds, Elaine leaned back until she was laying on the ground with one knee up and one leg outstretched. She let out a long, unhappy breath.
”What?” She scoffed, ”Being able to see, that's not as great as it sounds? I--” She stopped herself, biting down hard on her lip until she winced and let it go. She didn't want to snap at Josh. For one, he'd likely get annoyed and kick her out. For another, he'd never been one of the people who made her life miserable on purpose. He'd treated her the same or better than most everyone else. So she grimaced apologetically, turning her head to the side so she could feel the cold floor against her cheek. ”Sorry. Don't mind me, I'm just venting.”
She nodded thankfully when he accepted her presence, then stuck out her tongue when he said he could take a break. ”What, can't wait to have a conversation with the girl full of ire?” A slight smirk on her lips gave the impression that she was joking, not mocking him. Then she actually laughed when he mentioned the freshmen taking over the library. Her right hand absently moved over to rub her left lightly; the sting was changing into a throbbing pain. She smiled, though.
”You know, I've never been in the library? I was in a few before I came here, though. They don't have any books in braille, and I was always shushed when I ask for help finding audiobooks.” She shrugged, ”It is funny, though. It's so silent in there that everything a person does is so easy to hear. Passing that room is more interesting than passing almost any other in the academy.”
Talking to Josh was helping her forget some of her frustration. Sure, she was still upset and agitated, but she could make herself forget it by enjoying his company. Since his scare tactics had never worked on her and she had never brought upon herself any of his more tangible wrath, she'd always thought of his as one of the safer people to hang out with. She mentioned that offhand to another student a few months back and the conversation ended with what she assumed was incredulous stares.
”Hmmm? Oh.” Elaine opened her left hand and closed it, a little sluggishness in the movement. The throbbing turned from annoying to actually painful and the girl sighed. ”I dunno. I can move it, and it's not broken, but other than that.... How badly bruised is it?” She held her hand up so he'd have a better view. Granted, she wasn't actually sure how well he could see it, so he'd have to move a little to see the bright purple bruise blossoming on the pinky side of her hand. Right over the knuckles and down almost to the wrist.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Jun 3, 2011 14:11:35 GMT -5
Elaine snapped at him, and Joshua went stiff. He set his jaw slightly as she cut herself off, clearly trying to hold back her angst just as he slapped the restraints on his anger. She had every right to be irritated, it would have angered him too. He was just... he wasn't a very easy-going or relaxed person by any means. Say the wrong thing and you might sent him right off the diving board and into the deep end. Breathe. Part of him was snarling that she knew full well he hadn't meant it like that, but the bit of him that managed self-control was a lot more fair. She was blind, of course she might trade being an outcast for being able to see the people that shunned her.
But Joshua was quite bitter to anyone that suggested being socially outcasted was a 'good' thing. They didn't seem to realise that it wasn't restricted to the way he was treated in school--if all he had to deal with was a lack of friends, Josh likely wouldn't have gave a damn what was thought of him. But no, it stretched outside of the Academy. The police had pulled him in for questioning a couple times when 'suspicious' things were going on in the area around his apartment. Not only did this reveal they were keeping tabs on him, but they expected him to be involved in shifty activity. The gang had tried to kill him; it wasn't like he'd be welcomed back after he landed a couple of them behind bars for murder! The parents of the Academy kids always kept their distance and muttered about him, too. He was seen as a delinquent, and he hated it. A couple of stupid mistakes in youth had stuck with him. Did Elaine want that? Did she want to be labelled a criminal?
He inhaled deeply. "Don't worry about it," he said with surprising self-control, though his hand was gripping the edge of the desk quite tightly.
Getting rid of the anger wasn't nearly as simple as calling it into being. Once something frustrated him or put him in a foul mood, it took much longer for him to get completely over it. He was most definitely a Fire student--worse than most of them. His anger was the bane of his social acceptance. This was why people feared him, and they had every right to do so. He was a loose cannon. He was silent for a moment as he worked on pushing it down to a manageable level, and he managed a bit of a dry laugh when she joked. It wasn't as filled with humour as perhaps it should have been, but she was getting a lot better treatment than anyone else might have. This was what happened when a friend, or at least someone with the potential of becoming a friend, angered Josh. If it was a simple irritation, he could hold back some of the intensity with which he struck out at others. If she'd said something to really anger him... not even her disability would have saved her. He'd actually struck his father once. That had not gone well, and Donovan had most definitely won that little... dispute. He'd told his mother it had been a friend that had caused the lovely bruise on his face after that.
"Some might suggest I'm the perfect person to ask about situations dealing with ire," he pointed out, his tone just as dry as the laugh had been. He was not really as frustrated with her any more, this was just the way in which Joshua conversed with other people. It was no wonder it took so much patience to get along with him. It often became difficult to interpret what he was thinking or feeling.
She held up her wrist, and Joshua stood up from the desk and leaned across it slightly to get a better look. "Well you've definitely got a bruise," he remarked, arching an eyebrow at the flowering purplish mark on her skin. "At least it's not anything worse." It would have sucked if she'd broken it, considering she'd have to have it bandaged and then she'd have another nuisance to deal with on top of the fact that the kids at school were being assholes. He sat back down and pushed the chair away from the desk, resting his feet up on it and leaning back slightly--lounging, to use a better word. A hand went into his pocket and pulled out a stick of mint-flavoured gum, popping it into his mouth. He loved the taste of mint and often carried the scent of it on his person, considering. He'd actually kept a bowl of mint leaves on his dresser back at the mansion so his room had always smelled nice. That, and incense. He was weird for a guy.
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Post by marci on Jun 3, 2011 14:35:58 GMT -5
A great deal of things tipped Elaine off to the sudden difference in Josh's demeanor. She heard a slight creak from the table where it was being squeezed. All of his activity stopped, even the small things that even the most shiftless person did. His breathing changed, too, and a general feeling filled the air as she got a good idea that she had set him off. Huh. She'd never done that before. She was caught between intrigue and exasperation for a little while, most of her anger forgotten as she just lay there. She knew she was vulnerable, but sometime the best way to stop an angry dog was to make yourself unthreatening.
His voice was low and strained when he said not to worry about it. Even with his self control, Elaine could hear the emotion behind it. She shook her head head. ”No, it was stupid of me. If it makes you feel better, my hand is throbbing like hell right now. Call it poetic justice.” After all, she'd done it to herself. What irony. Shoved to the floor and left without a mark, but one little bit of anger caused a huge bruise. Great. It was a good thing she read with her right hand.
His laugh and next words were a little forced, but she figured some of it had to do with the way he interacted with people. He'd always been short and often rude, sometimes a little vulgar, too. But it seemed to take a lot for Elaine to think of it as unpleasant, because she didn't think that way of him yet. She laughed softly in response to his comment, recognizing it as a sort of joke. But she didn't say anything. She didn't really know what to say to that that would have a zero percent chance of angering him again.
She heard him stand and vaguely scolded herself for not understanding angles of sight. But it wasn't a big deal. She brough her hand slowly back down to her stomach, pursing her lips resignedly. ”Ah well. Like I said; poetic justice. I'm a bad, bad person.” That last bit she couldn't help adding in as a joke, hoping it might at least bring a smile to Josh's face. Funny how feeling guilty about something made the girl less wrathful. Oh well. Maybe she was just a softy.
She was silent for awhile, enjoying the warm temperature Josh had brought in and listening to her own breathing. She hadn't just sat around doing nothing for a very long time. It felt weird. And good. She could tell when he pulled out the gum by the sounds and the smell of the mint, and while it was a very nice smell, she didn't ask for any. Feeling comfortable around a person didn't mean you knew what annoyed them or not. And Elaine knew she'd been let off easy when he'd held back her anger.
It was a few minutes later when she sat up again, angling herself toward where she judged Josh to be, and asked him, ”Can I look at you?”
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Jun 3, 2011 15:01:21 GMT -5
There was the chuckle again, void of emotion and amusement. It was incredibly dark and grim, just like the teenager himself. He should have admitted his overreactions and tried to make peace, blame neither of them for the situation. And he really didn't blame her for setting him off--it was much too easy to do--but he wasn't your typical person. Pride would not allow him to suck it up and admit he was wrong. Pride never allowed him to do much of anything that made him seem like a decent person. Hell, the only really commendable thing he'd done for Elaine was avoid taking advantage of her blindness and occasionally lending her his company as he was now. That was hardly up there with acts of earth-shattering kindness. He was not a good person. He wasn't evil, either--it wasn't like he'd slaughtered anyone or gone out of his way to make a person's life hell. But he would never be as good as some. He accepted this, unfortunately.
Elaine fell silent and Joshua had little else to say, watching the weak sunlight cast patterns across the room. A glance toward the large windows revealed that it was snowing, and the Fire student scowled quietly at the scene. The more snowy it was, the colder it got. Fire students had a natural heat, but that didn't mean that their powers didn't take a hit during the cold. Especially the younger kids--he remembered how much of a pain it had once been to create things when the snow blanketed the ground. He was better at it now of course, being a graduated student and merely having to work on absolute mastery, but he still had memories of rough times. Did Wind have a season like that? No, he figured he'd have remembered. Earth students had trouble with winter, just like Fire students. But they also had difficulty during heat waves, whereas Fire students took advantage of these sweltering spells and manipulated their powers with much more ease. He supposed autumn might be nice for a Wind student, given that it was, well, windy.
Her question surprised him. However, whilst Joshua was quite a paranoid personality, he wasn't the jumpiest fellow. He got a bit worked up and antsy whenever he was in his own apartment and worried about the gang and all, but at school he felt much more safe. Rather than starting and glancing over in alarm, he turned his gaze slowly and fixed it on her. "Look at me?" he echoed, brow furrowing. "Take no offence to this, I'm just wondering... how would you...?" I mean he was trying to be polite about it, but the fact was that Elaine was blind--as far as Joshua knew, she couldn't see anything. She could certainly glance toward him, but her sightless eyes would not be able to take in her appearance as far as he knew.
Josh often wondered whether the lack of physical intimidation had to do with her general ease around him. He was very tall at six foot three, he had lean but hardened muscles on his arms and some definition on his chest from working out. He didn't do this to look attractive, but merely so that he had some form of defence should he be jumped in a dark alleyway. (Of course, it didn't count for much against multiple, equally muscled guys...). The expressions on his face were almost always negative--some people took one look at his scowl and backed off before they could even figure out whether he was posing an imminent threat. He was like a silent predator in the wild, warning others off with sheer intimidation rather than anything else. And he had to remind himself that Elaine had only just experienced the tip of the iceberg with his ire starting today. She'd never been on the receiving end of one of his... moments.
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Post by marci on Jun 3, 2011 15:29:26 GMT -5
Elaine actually laughed, then. She was a little nervous, mostly from the general shyness she felt whenever she asked anyone this, but she laughed. A grin settled itself on her face and she tilted her head a bit. Offense? While she got a little worked up about it sometimes, Elaine very often had to deal with people accidentally saying insensitive things. Look at this was one of the most common. You should see this was a close second. Josh was a very long way from affronting her in any real sense. If was her own fault she'd snapped at him earlier.
”None taken.” She said, ”I really didn't make any sense, did I? Now that I think about it I've never actually told you about it.” She knew she was being cryptic, but she had to figure out how to explain what she could do. Or maybe she was just having a hard time forming words because of nerves. Regardless, it took a couple seconds of sheepish smiling for her to pull her thoughts together. One of her hands moved about idly, towing a tiny wind with it. No one else could see it, but since she could feel the movements in the air it was fun.
”I can...see with my wind.” She said lamely, turning her head away to hide the slight blush that was forming, ”I can't read or anything. No colors. But I get shapes, where everything is, stuff like that. But it's hard to get a good idea of someone when I'm just sending a breeze through a room. It's kinda...vague.” Regardless, she'd always been able to get a better picture with her hands than with her wind. But it wasn't better enough to go through the awkwardness of asking if she could touch someone she didn't know so well.
She wilted a little, suddenly getting the feeling that she shouldn't have asked. ”I'm sorry, it's an odd thing to ask. I was just curious, that's all.” Obviously Josh was important enough in her scheme of things for her to want to have a sort of picture. But she didn't really think it would be a good idea to try and explain all that. Last time she'd tried to do that it had been awkward and the other person hadn't known what she'd meant at all. Like they took know what each other looked like for granted.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Jun 3, 2011 16:10:02 GMT -5
Joshua furrowed his brow. Told him about what? He was curious and a little guarded about this whole situation, given that he had no idea where she was going with this. The Fire student was glad he hadn't offended her or anything, but he didn't further pressure her to explain. Was she going to tell him? He'd just wait to find out. He was naturally a very curious and intellectual person, but unlike others who would ask tons of questions no holds barred, Josh was a little different. He was careful. He didn't like to inquire too heavily into the lives and personal details of others. Of course, if they spammed him with questions about his life, he'd first get very offended, but then he might feel as if asking a single and simple question was a little more justified. It would be hypocritical to grill someone on their own backstory and then not expect an innocent question in return. Well, however innocent a question coming from Joshua Dale could be.
Patience was rewarded with a bit of an explanation, the older boy blinking slowly as she explained that she could use her Wind as a mild form of sight. No colours, no details, but a vague picture of the room or person. It surprised him, but also fascinated him. He'd heard of something like it once before, although it had been a different disability as well as a different element. But that had been in a much more dated scripture, occurring about fifty to seventy-five years in the past, and there hadn't been much details documented on it. It was clear by the fact that he relaxed slightly that she had caught his interest enough to throw off his ire, but he still didn't speak. He was trying to imagine how that could work, how one could feel with their gift like that. He could sense the physical presence of his fire when he controlled it, but it was nothing like sight. If he shut his eyes and tried to manipulate it he likely wouldn't have a fucking clue what he was doing. His element was a part of him, but it seemed like Elaine's had fully adapted to her weakness.
He shook his head slowly when she seemed upset, though he understood she wouldn't see the gesture, so he spoke aloud, "It's... it's completely fine," he assured her. "That's fascinating," he admitted, and the soft chuckle had a little more feeling behind it this time. "Forgive me, I merely allowed my thoughts to drift momentarily." He spoke with much more formality than your average teenager, his words careful and fluid. Perhaps it was a result of how much time he spent with his books, where characters and people generally spoke in much less informal ways than they would if one were to have a conversation with a friend. He hardly ever carried on long conversations with another person with whom he was not related.
A little less stiff and uncomfortable now, he would have smiled at her if she were able to see it. "I would not halt your curiosity in its tracks," he said. He didn't mind if she used her odd gift of sorts to get a vague picture of him in her mind. Hell, he even joked a moment later as he added, "As long as you promise not to have a heart attack or run screaming. I've been told I'm quite scary." He might not have been joking as clearly as some (seeing as he didn't laugh) but it might have been apparent by the subtle lightening of his tone that he did not mean it in a negative manner. "Forgive the curiosity, but... how does it... feel?" He asked the question slowly, frowning quietly to himself as he wondered if he'd used the correct wording. "I've never experienced anything like it before, so I can't help but to wonder... If I'm imposing on some sort of personal boundary, feel free to say as much."
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Post by marci on Jun 3, 2011 16:50:15 GMT -5
Her smile grew a little wider when he told her it was fascinating. She sat straighter, taking a deep breath and calming herself down. She had no idea why this was such a hard topic for her to broach. All she wanted to do was look at people. Do what they did all the time without even thinking. ”Thanks...” It was muttered under her breath, mostly because she didn't know what else to say until he gave an answer in the affirmative or negative.
Elaine's smile turned delighted when he gave her permission, and she pulled herself carefully to her feet, pulling a stray breeze toward one of her hands. She had to move a hand to her lips to stop a disbelieving laugh when he made the joke, but a childish grin showed the world that she had indeed got the joke. A part of her wanted to call him a teddy bear, but that might be going a little too far. So she just turned her face toward him and said, ”First time I've ever heard a joke out of you. I like it.”
Her expression went a little blank at she pulled another bit of wind toward her and sent what she had gathered at Josh. Gently. But the wind had to be potent to provide a good “image”, so Josh would definitely feel it, no mistake. Elaine's expression softened, a sentimental sort of smile appeared on her face without her realizing it. She wanted to send a second one, but he would probably not be ready for that one. Resisting was difficult, though. Her voice was gentle when she next spoke.
”No, you're not scary at all.” She wished she could touch his face then, so as to get a better picture. ”But you aren't what I imaged. I'd say you're handsome, but I've never known what that word meant.” Well, she judged how attractive people were mostly by their voices—at least initially. Her second judgment was whether or not they actually said nice things. Josh had a very nice voice, but that was not the sort of thing she was going to say right then. ”Thanks.”
She rolled her shoulders, ”Is there another seat in here?” Sitting on the floor was getting painful. She gave him an odd look when he asked the question, then it dawned on her. Oh. That's what he meant. She waved dismissively with her right hand, ”Don't worry about imposing. It's fine. I don't really know how to explain it. I call it seeing, but I really don't know how it compares. It's like being able to feel everything the wind touches at the same time. So I know how far things are from each other, how big they are, what shape they are....to a certain extent. If the wind misses something, I miss it. And as far as really feeling goes, I get better details when I just use my hands.”
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Jun 3, 2011 17:44:02 GMT -5
He was slightly amused by the fact that his joking surprised her, but showed little for it except for a private smile. "I am not completely devoid of humour," was all Joshua said in response. His tone was coloured with mild teasing--to someone who judged more on facial expressions than actual tones, it might have been unnoticeable. But since Elaine was already so accustomed to listening for his reactions rather than actually seeing them, she may have been able to pick up on the fact that he took no offence. He did indeed have a sense of humour, but it was a part of himself that Joshua usually kept from others. You weren't frightening if people found you to be a humorous person.
At parties, though, Josh was a completely different person. He loosened up and actually joined in on the hectic fun of it all--he'd be the type to take the stupid dares, he'd be the one to slide down the banisters and crash horribly when his balance failed him. He liked to go to such social events outside of the small town near the Academy. He distanced his meagre social life from that of the school. He didn't crave this social acceptance, he just liked the alcohol. It was a scene he'd gotten used to under the influence of the gang and just never really forgotten about as he grew older. He usually didn't speak his name. Nor did he learn the names of the many people whose company he'd kept under the influence of shots and euphoria. They were flings, nothing more. There was never anything behind the romance. Perhaps this was why he'd never been in a functional relationship--he was too paranoid that all people only wanted him for a short amount of their time. It could never be real. He wondered briefly whether Elaine ever had these sorts of apathetic thoughts involving romance, but pushed the thought away.
He definitely felt the blast of the wind, but as he'd been expecting something like it he was able to stop himself from cringing or flinching back instinctively. It was like being blasted in the face by the wind from a slammed door, he reflected. Not painful, but certainly not the most subtle of feelings. Still, it didn't hurt like it might have if she'd meant for it to be offensive. The dark-haired male watched as her expression softened for a moment, then chuckled when she said that he wasn't scary. "Always good to hear," he said lightly, only half-joking this time. It might have helped that he wasn't scowling or stiff as a board as he usually was when he was upset with someone. He could still feel the twist in his stomach from the earlier ire, but he no longer felt the desire to be angry. It took a long time for the physical effects of his rage to fade (the breathing, the strange feeling in his chest) but as of now he had relaxed yet again in her presence.
"If I'm to go by film example, 'handsome' is the word to describe buff blonde guys that play sports and have blue eyes," Joshua mused. "I am neither blonde nor blue-eyed, and I most certainly do not have the patience for sports," he said, and the laugh that followed actually had traces of true amusement. "In fact, I'm quite the opposite. Then again, I've always considered films to be overrated." He'd never been fond of them, if he were to be honest. He supposed that Elaine didn't know what it was like to watch one. She could listen to audiobooks and all, but it wasn't the same. "Though apparently it can also be described as the 'bad boy' type, and I think I fit that stereotype." He snorted a little, as if exasperated. Yes, ladies--it's incredibly alright and intelligent to date someone because they're criminal and bad ass! That wouldn't possibly get you negatively involved with the law!
"There's one quite close to you, actually," Joshua responded when she asked, trying to judge the distance from his position in the room. "I'm pretty sure this classroom is still in use. I didn't exactly seek out an abandoned one." He was hinting without really saying that he'd gained access to the room in a rather shifty manner. What did you expect from his sort of reputation? She explained her wind-sight to him then, Joshua blinking as he tried again to imagine it without much luck. It was something one could only feel through experience, he supposed. But it didn't make it any less intriguing.
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Post by marci on Jun 3, 2011 18:10:08 GMT -5
Elaine nodded knowingly, putting on what she hoped was an expression of wisdom and great scholarly intelligence. Then again, it wasn't like she could practice in a mirror, so she didn't really know how well she did it. ”Yes, I've never been able to stomach films myself. Very frivolous things. In them I find no meaning whatsoever.” The smile that came just after she was done speaking showed that she was making a joke of good nature. She found the entire thing rather funny, though she hoped Josh wouldn't take it that she thought he'd said something wrong. He hadn't.
Opposite? What was the opposite of blond? Black? Not that it really made a different. It meant just as nothing to Elaine either way. Still, she couldn't help but tilted her head as she considered Josh's words. ”Well, what color is your hair?” She asked, then nodded her thanks when he told her where the chair was. Ironic that it was right there, but she didn't feel embarrassed about that. She put her hands out to either side until her fingers came in contact with a chair. Pulling it closer to her, she sat so that she was most angled toward him. Not quite, but for her it made more sense to angle her ears toward a person, than her eyes.
Taking a deep breath, Elaine smiled brightly, ”Hey.... You're probably not going to do this, but if you ever get curious about something, don't hesitate to ask. I promise not to get offended, and if I don't want to answer I'll just change the subject.” She said this because she couldn't help but notice how wary he'd been when asking her about the way she saw with her power. It was obvious that this stemmed from a dislike of being questioned on his own part, but the fact was that she liked him. He was nice to her, so she wouldn't mind if he suddenly decided he wanted to know what her favorite gum flavor was, or her favorite school subject.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Jun 3, 2011 18:54:21 GMT -5
Normally he just would have smiled a bit in appreciation of a joke, but he was taking into account that she couldn't see his facial expressions, so he chuckled softly at it as well. He was glad that she didn't get offended by what he'd said. Joshua wasn't always an over-cautious and careful guy when he spoke to you--he assumed that you could make your own decisions about whether or not he was trying to be insulting. It became slightly different when he decided that he could stand your presence for longer than two minutes. People, in his eyes, were arrogant little shits. There weren't many exceptions. So when he found one such exception, he took advantage of it and put more effort toward being... what would one call it, exactly? Civil? Kind? Cautious?
It hadn't occurred to him that she wouldn't know the opposite of blonde hair being dark--he was certainly not oblivious to the fact that she was blind, but certain things like that only became apparent when they were mentioned. "It's black," he answered. "And my eyes are gray. Colourless, really." He wasn't some pretty blue-eyed model or anything, but he was happy with the way he looked. If Joshua wanted to change anything about himself to be more 'appealing', he'd have bought contacts or hair dye a long time ago. But Josh wasn't that type of guy. I wonder what it's like, not being able to tell what the colours look like? Unless she hadn't been blind her whole life. But he figured she wouldn't have had to ask what colour his hair was if she knew what colour was generally considered the opposite of blonde. He could have been wrong. Smart he was, telepathic he was not.
She smiled brightly at him before insisting that he didn't have to concern himself so much over boundaries. Joshua dipped his head in personal acceptance of these words, then replied with a simple, "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind." And he certainly would not forget that she'd said it, but as for taking her up on the offer to ask questions more freely? It just wasn't in Joshua's nature to pester people about things, however lightly. Oh, he was fine with asking about the menial things like school and favourite books and all that--such knowledge was generally impersonal and helped to get a better feel for an individual's personality without prying too much. But once you started to delve into their issues and their personal lives, things got a little rocky.
His fingers drummed a steady rhythm on his thigh, legs still stretched out from his previous position. He gave a sigh that had neither distress or any other emotion behind it--merely a heavy expulsion of the breath from his lungs that brought with it the coldness and scent of mint. Deciding to continue on the conversation since they were both stuck here until further notice, he searched his mind for something to talk about. Given that he didn't talk a lot, this took a moment. Finally he asked, "Why is it that you can stand my presence?" He sounded more curious than apathetic. "Most are very opposed to the thought of spending mere minutes in my company, yet you seem much more at ease than the others and we must've been here for several."
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Post by marci on Jun 3, 2011 19:25:36 GMT -5
The girl smiled, raising her brow and shrugging. ”Thank you for being patient with the aimless whims of a blind girl.” After all, it really didn't make a difference in the way she thought of him. Her description of him in her mind would be all shapes, sounds, and smells. Perhaps a few feelings, but it would be hard to explain them to those who are not blind. She leaned back in her seat a little, letting out a contented sigh. ”I've been told my eyes are gray, too. Though apparently it's different from normal. Does it look different to you?”
She'd also been told her hair was black, and that her hair was brown. It has caused quite a bit of confusion, and she had spent two years under the impression that they were really both the same thing given two different names. Celia'd had to explain to her one day that hair had many different colors in it and that Elaine's could look either black or brown depending on the light. That, of course, had triggered yet another confused conversation when she tried to understand the concept of light. It had taken awhile, but now Elaine had a sort of idea.
Truth be told, Elaine hadn't been sure how Josh would take her offer of asking any questions he wanted. She'd been a little worried he would be put off or affronted—she had not had any real notion that he would actually take her up on it and start rifling off questions left and right. So she was rather relieved when he didn't just clam up and stay silent until she decided to leave. She smiled at him again, but didn't say anything, instead getting comfortable until he decided he was in the mood for more talking.
When he did finally talk, she tuned her head toward him slowly and didn't speak for a very long time. When she did, her smile was a little more solemn and she had soft look in her eyes. ”My aunt used to say I'd make friends with a bear if it'd let me.” She said, ”I could go on about how tons of little things have made me realize you're not the horrible person that everyone thinks you are, but it's really more simple than that.”
Elaine shrugged. ”I like you. You don't require a lot of talking and pretending to be happy. What everyone else hears as a cold tone of voice I hear as quiet and uncomplicated. You are very smart and it sometimes shows through one thing or another you say. And you've always been nice to me.” She ducked her head a little, ”So hanging with you is enjoyable, and for the most part doesn't take much effort.”
She waited a couple of seconds to let him think about what she'd said. She guessed that it was not an opinion of him he heard very often, though, so she want to make him feel like he had to answer by letting the silence draw out too long or anything like that. She did, however, put a michievous smile on her face and say, ”Flip it now. Why is it that you can stand my presence?”
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