STAY IN THE DARKNESS, tagged taytay;

It was so strange, not being allowed back into his own dormitories. Hanging out around the Earth dorms all of the time reminded him painfully that he was even more of an outcast than usual in the event of this whole stupid war. He couldn't even go into the dungeons, let alone nip back into his room to get his laptop and all of his study material. He was left explaining with embarrassment to his professors that for once in his time at school, he hadn't done his homework, he hadn't brought his notes, and no, he couldn't email them his work when he did complete it because he didn't have his damned computer. Thankfully, the teachers themselves had heard about the wars that were going on and had assured him that he had an extra week to hurry and catch up to everyone else. His father promised to lend him the money for a new laptop (they'd spoken over the phone that morning) but for now he was just... stuck.

The professors couldn't exactly do anything about the wars that were going on. They were much stronger than the students of course, but they couldn't be everywhere at once and they most certainly couldn't get the kids to stop all on their own. The Academy was huge and there were tons of students, as opposed to only a few teachers for each grade. Not to mention the fact that the college students were much closer to matching the power of their professors and plenty of them (Joshua included) were involved in the war as well, whether they wanted to be or not. "I'm really sorry about this," he sighed as he handed in a redone assignment to one of his professors. "I'd get down there and hand in the original if I could but--"

"Don't worry about it," the man insisted. "You've been an excellent student up until this point, I don't doubt you had it done." Josh's lips twitched in a silent sort of thanks, and then he packed up his stuff and left the room. God, he hated wars. He wondered if Nell was alright and hoped that she wasn't in too much trouble. He spent as much time hanging around her as he could but classes still got in the way for the both of them considering the simple fact that they were both in different grades and had different schedules. At least he didn't have a job any more--that was a relief. He'd also told his parents he wouldn't be coming home as often for a while because of the trouble at school. Annabel was very upset and had phoned him crying, but Josh had still been forced to tell her that he wasn't going to be able to make it. It broke his heart to hear his little sister sobbing and pleading with him, but she wouldn't be in any physical danger if he skipped out on school, whereas Nell just might be.

He hadn't been planning to go out on the grounds. Joshua was absolutely not fond of winter and even though by the end of March it would be starting to clear up, right now it was much too snowy and unpleasant for his tastes. In fact, it was only in passing one of the elegant windows on the first floor and glancing outside that he noticed two familiar people. The moment he saw Elaine get hit by the first shock he was switching directions and jogging slightly toward the front doors, wanting to get outside and go help before anything too bad happened. He arrived on the scene just in time to see Elaine stumble backward and fall, and that sealed the fate of the Thunder student quite nicely. Joshua said nothing at first, he merely walked up and punched him in the face as hard as he could, then grabbed his arm and twisted it backward. He was only planning to immobilise the jerk, but Josh was a lot stronger than he was sometimes given credit for when he was this angry. The snap was followed by a cry of pain, but the Fire graduate didn't give a fuck if this kid was in pain.

"You are pathetic," he snarled, the anger saturating every last bit of his tone. "Don't you ever, ever touch her again or I'll break your fucking neck next time." He let go and shoved the Thunder student hard, then turned to Elaine as the guy bolted--though not without singing his arm with some of his fire as a sort of a kicked-while-he's-down move. Josh wasn't fair when you brought his friends into something. Breathing hard and able to hear the blood rushing and his heart pounding in his ears--fuck, he was so angry--Joshua stalked over to Elaine. "Here, take my hand and let me help you up," he said and held out his uninjured hand, knowing that she didn't like to be touched without warning. "What a prick. Are you alright?" Then he hesitated. "I don't... I don't know whose side you're on, but it doesn't matter. That was cheap, that wasn't fair."

He noticed the burn on Elaine's arm as he helped her up, and Joshua had half a mind to stalk off and find that stupid kid, bash his head into the lovely brick walls of the castle. Perhaps then he would realise how bad of an idea it had been to mess with a friend of Joshua Dale's. He didn't have many of those--friends, like. He had a lot of people whom he was 'civil' around and a hell of a lot more that he didn't like, but friends were a rarity. So when he managed to get along with someone and they treated him well, he'd defend them with all the ferocity he had. A lot of people saw Joshua as a bad person by default with no room for improvements, but that was because they hadn't seen him interacting with his friends or his sister. He was protective and kind toward those whom he held in high regards. Especially Annabel of course being that they were related by blood and she was his baby sister, but that didn't mean he wouldn't risk life and limb for a friend.

The hug, however, stunned him. He stiffened slightly in reaction and he was sure Elaine could feel the tension in his muscles as he froze. But then his expression softened a little and he put his arms around her in a sign of comfort, a strange emotion rising in his throat as he saw how vulnerable the poor girl was at the moment. That Thunder student had really done a number on her and if anything it just made him even more thankful that he'd chosen to side against them. "That burn on your arm looks pretty bad," he said regretfully, irritated that he hadn't been able to get here sooner. Just a couple of seconds and he might have been able to stop Aldridge from doing so much damage! But there was no use dwelling on the 'what ifs' and the 'could haves' because he hadn't and that was it. "We should go up to the Medical Wing and get it treated," he suggested gently. "I'll come with you, if you want," he added, even though he'd said 'we' to begin with and so had obviously been indicating the both of them. "It's pretty dangerous for anyone to hang around alone any more."

There was a bitterness in his tone, a sharp and acidic edge. He still hated the entirety of this war and the stupid reason that it had even got started to begin with. Worst of all was the fact that they were blaming Nell and no matter how much he might want to be able to hang around his familiar haunts in the Fire dormitories, he wasn't going to side against someone that he could almost call a friend. "I'd heal it for you myself," he said, "but I'm afraid that it's an electric burn and only a Thunder elemental would be able to reverse the damage." Which was alright if they planned to go to Medical, considering there were a couple of nurses from each element that were always willing to help out. They'd be overrun because of the war, however, so he'd also tag along just to make sure that Elaine didn't get overwhelmed by the massive crowd of people that would be hanging around in the waiting room. He could tell that she was exhausted by having used her powers and taken the beating from the idiotic Thunder boy and so she likely wouldn't be able to rely on her wind sight for too much at the moment. But that was alright, that was where he came in. There was no way that Josh was going to leave a friend of his hanging. Absolutely none.

The sturdiness of his weight was able to support them both with ease as Elaine leaned on his chest, Joshua allowing her to do so because he understood how she must be feeling and he wanted to be there for her. She hesitantly said that she didn't want to take a side, and Joshua was silent for a long moment as he considered this. She wasn't his enemy, but as things went she also wasn't his ally at the moment. It seemed so strange that someone as nice and as sweet as Elaine would have friends in such a dark Alliance, and then Joshua reminded himself that for all intents and purposes he was usually a part of said Alliance. Touché, he thought to himself, a snide edge to it. "I..." Joshua knew that he would be selfish if he expected her to pick a side, so he trailed off and then nodded a bit. "I understand. Wars tend to tear friendships apart." He swallowed. "I won't let that happen to us, though. I'll still be your friend no matter who you choose." Wind was neutral, they were allowed to stay as such if they wished. But if she had to side with his old allies because of some friend that wouldn't allow otherwise... he supposed he might be able to forgive her in the end.

Depending on how this war turned out, that is. What if Nell's was not the victorious side? What if she... what if she didn't make it? Oh, god, don't even think like that! It was a horrible thought and it actually made him feel regretful. He didn't want that to happen to her. He cared whether she made it out of this, he really did. They might have started out as enemies, but he had made his decision--he considered her a friend. She might not return those thoughts, but she had saved his life and he was going to feel like a complete asshole if he didn't try to do the same. "I do think Nell is innocent, though," he said quietly after a long pause. "I've sided with Earth and Water, if you haven't heard." In an attempt to make light, he chuckled and said, "They practically exiled me and everything. They sure like dramatics." But there was little humour in the laugh, he sounded more tired than he did amused.

Elaine agreed to going to the Medical Wing, something which surprised Joshua and clued him into the fact that she might be a little more than just 'banged up'. He hadn't realised how badly the boy had messed with her other arm, the sprained one, so he didn't know that they would be going to treat more than the electricity burn. Even still, the burn was enough to make him angry and make him want to seriously wound that stupid boy. "Okay, let's go," he said softly. Unlike a lot of people, Joshua was very conscious of Elaine's disability and thus understood that she would be unable to tell which direction the school was in unless she used her wind sight, and he didn't want her using that when she was in such a weakened state. So he slipped a hand around her waist so that he could guide her slowly in the direction of the Academy. Well, it was more of a medium pace, but he had to take care and not to use his much longer and faster strides when he was guiding someone. She was much shorter than him, and he didn't want her struggling to keep up or anything. She'd sounded so grateful for the fact that he was going to help her that it choked him up a little. It wasn't fair that she had to be victimised because of this war?

Or was it even because of the war? Most Wind students weren't fair game until they openly proclaimed a side and fought for it. Everyone understood that it was a neutral element that was usually divided unless the leaders banded together and ordered them all to chose a certain side. This had happened before, but usually Wind just remained an 'anything goes' element, the Switzerland of the Academy. "I'm pretty sure I broke one of his," the Fire graduate hissed through clenched teeth when Elaine revealed that both of her arms were injured pretty badly. "And I burned the other one, so it seems like you're even." He would love to hunt the guy and slit his throat--an eye for an eye, and then some. But murder was illegal and Josh understood that. Putting him into a coma would also most likely lead to something like jail time. One good thing about war, however, was that pointing fingers rarely worked. Everyone tended to just blame whomever they were irritated with whether it had been their fault or not so the Academy didn't take action against people unless there was solid proof. "Why did he attack you, Elaine?" Joshua's brows knitted together in concern. "Aldridge is a bastard, but what did he say? Did he even say anything?" Had she started it? No, no, he couldn't believe that about her. Not even during war.

She seemed so relieved when he said that he was siding with Nell, something that surprised Joshua. He hadn't been aware that there was a mutual friendship going on, considering Josh usually hung out with Nell when it had to do with studying. She'd came over to his apartment once when it was for other reasons, but that had been so that he could apologise for dragging her into the mess with the gang. Elaine expressed obvious concern for Nell, and this made Joshua feel a little better about his friend's neutrality. At least she was on Nell's side in spirit, even if she couldn't actually act against the Fire/Thunder alliance because of the friends she had there as well. "Don't feel guilty," he said, the tension in the air softening as he realised that they were technically on the same side. "I'll look out for her for the both of us, okay?" He even managed to smile a little. "Besides, I doubt you'll be able to do much fighting for either side until that arm heals. Fucking Aldridge. I'd loved to have done more but the bastard turned tail and fucked off. Coward." He hated cowardice and it showed in the way he practically spat the words from his lips. If that Thunder boy came near Elaine again he'd be a dead man, laws against murder or not.

Perhaps all of this stemmed from his relationship with Annabel, but any girls he became friends with, he saw them almost like sisters. He felt the same fierce urge to defend them when they were being targeted, that same urge he got whenever someone picked on his baby sister. Of course, he'd never admit this to Elaine aloud. He didn't want her to think that he assumed she couldn't stick up for herself for that was certainly not the case. He'd have felt the need to be on her side even if she was tough and muscle-y and a headstrong Fire chick. It was just how he felt about his friends. It wasn't as strong of a need when it came to his male friends, but he'd certainly still stick up for them if needed. Then he realised something. "Ah," he said darkly, "I know where I've met Aldridge before. He messed with a good friend of mine, I fucked him up pretty bad. Seems the arrogant prick hasn't learned his lesson. Better learn it soon or there won't be a next time..." There was a threatening overtone to the words. Next time Conrad messed with a friend of his, he'd fucking kill him.

When they reached the Medical Wing, it was just as full as Joshua had expected it to be. He spotted a crowd of Fire students--one was sporting a large gash in their shoulder and wincing, and he supposed the others were there as a sort of defence. Most of the injured people had friends with them that were there to be on guard. "Move the fuck out of my way," he snarled to those who would otherwise have been his allies. "If you start a damned fight with me in the Medical Wing then I know you're all a bunch of low-lives." They glared darkly at him but ultimately stopped blocking the way. "Looks like there's going to be a bit of a wait," he said grimly to Elaine. There was only one chair vacant, too. "You should sit down," he suggested.

The air started to swelter uncomfortably when Elaine told him what the Thunder boy had said, and it took massive amounts of concentration for Joshua to calm himself down enough to cool the air once more. Stupid heat manipulation. It happened involuntarily on occasion when he was in high school but now that he'd learned to actually control the heat it was like an awkward extension of his rage. When you felt the air grow hot around him, you knew he was upset whether he said anything about it or not. "That--if he--I swear--" He could barely form words enough to spit out a coherent sentence past the anger that bubbled in his chest, so he took a moment to breathe and calm himself down a tiny bit. "Yeah, that's what he said?" Joshua managed at last, his tone completely lethal. "Well I feel like slitting his god damned throat, so we'll see how well that goes the next time I run into him." Joshua was trembling now. It might have seemed to anyone else like fear or simple shivering from the cold, but in reality he was just so angry that his system didn't seem to be able to hold all the rage. He was like a volcano packed to the top and begging for an eruption.

He nodded when Elaine stuck up for herself in a sense. "I know," he agreed. "You're not weak, and I wish you'd have been able to show Aldridge that yourself. He deserved a taste of what you can do." Everyone underestimated Elaine because she was blind, and whilst Joshua didn't have a disability and couldn't really understand, he could sort of guess how that felt. Not good at all. He wished she'd been able to turn around and hand the stupid boy's ass to him. But she hadn't been able to--luck hadn't been on Elaine's side today, it seemed, and she'd been beaten by the stupid prick. No matter. Joshua would take care of the situation. "Next time, though," he said. "If he ever touches you again, I'm sure you'll be able to thrash him." Joshua had confidence in Elaine, he really did. Her wind sight fascinated him, the way she was able to see in all directions and protect herself from all sides. Of course, it had taken being blind for her wind powers to adapt to that, but it was still something very useful. Practically everything unusual and unexpected managed to amaze Josh. He was naturally curious and intellectual, he craved knowledge and understanding as much as some people craved romance and friendship. He needed his books where others needed company. But book-learned knowledge wasn't the only kind that interested him.

Joshua scowled a little. "Nothing," he admitted grudgingly, sounding like this displeased him greatly. "Even what I did do was reckless, but hopefully I'll get away with it because of the war." The way he said 'hopefully' seemed to hang in the air for a moment, a sharp reminder that he was not quite off the hook yet. Maybe that stupid kid would be too stubborn to go whining for the help of the Academy and he would get away with it that way, but if not he was just going to have to hope that they'd pass it off to a game of 'he said, she said' and be done with it. "I don't care, though," he added a little fiercely. "He deserved what I did to him. I'dve done more if he hadn't ran off, the little coward." This was a side of Josh that Elaine had never truly seen before. She'd seen him angry, but this was true anger, this was violent anger. Some had the idiocy to doubt that Josh would ever hurt anybody. 'All bark and no bite,' they'd accuse. It was usually these stupid and smug people that ended up hurt, or at least got to watch in horror as he proved them wrong in horrific ways.

He didn't like being labelled as violent, psychopathic, murderous, or whatever other labels they felt like coming up with for him. It wasn't like he took pride in the fact that shit happened when he lost his temper. Hell, it had done more harm than good in elementary. The private school he'd went to was opposed to violence. If he'd told on the boys that pushed him around earlier, maybe it would have been they who took the fall. But no. Joshua's pride had made him withhold the urge to become a 'rat', and he'd waited until shit got in too deep. They started to physically assault him--surrounding him to block off his escape, targeting him as a group. And he'd fought back. They'd finally broken his resolve to be pacifistic, and he'd fought back hard. Who had ended up with the expulsion and the long letter home when he broke someone's arm? Joshua, of course. No one would believe that 'they started it'. His father had been furious with him, and even the memory was enough to make his gut clench with fear. That was just the early stages. Now he was much older, and he had little qualms about violence as he'd once had. He didn't care that Aldridge's arm was broken. He was glad he'd broken it, though he did wish he'd gotten the other one, too. Of course, this too would fade. There was always regret in the end. But right now... right now all he felt was anger.

He was glad when Elaine said that her loyalties to Nell would win out if anyone tried to hurt her, relieved to know that someone else would be looking out for her even if they wouldn't declare it aloud. But then he furrowed his brow slightly. "Who... who is it that ties your loyalties down to neutral?" he wondered hesitantly after a moment. He didn't know who was friends with Elaine and who was not. That was the case with most of his friends--he never really opted to hang out with anyone in a group of people, so he usually ended up being surprised when he found out that two of the people he got along with also liked one another. Then, realising that it might be too much to ask, he corrected himself with, "Only if you want to answer, Elaine. It's alright if you don't. I was just... curious." He didn't see her as the type to get along with the brash arrogance of the Fire elementals or the dark demeanour of the Thunder students. But clearly she did if she had loyalties to them in some way, right? At least she'll choose Nell if it all comes down to it, he reminded himself, and in the end that was all that mattered to Josh.

"Right," he said apologetically, having forgot that she might need help in his distraction by all of the people glaring at him. It was uncomfortable to have people with whom you were once allied staring you down. The Medical Wing was a place of declared peace, a sanctuary of sorts for the injured. It was against some unspoken rule to hurt anyone here. But it still made him a little uncomfortable. He helped Elaine into the chair and then hesitated a little when she spoke. "You can hold my hand if you want," he said, his tone a little softer. He saw her almost like a little sister of sorts rather than anything else, so anything he did was more to protect her than for personal benefit. And he was not thinking, so when he offered a hand it was automatically his left. He was too distracted to think of the fact that it had a nasty slash across the palm, that Elaine would be able to see the mess his hand was in. He was just left-handed, so he offered it purely on instinct.

Joshua gave a solemn dip of his head when she said she hoped that there wasn't a next time--he knew she couldn't see it, but it was more of his own personal agreement. "We all hope," he sighed, his words weighed down by the sheer pressure this war had put on pretty much everyone. "But that's all we really can do. Hope, I mean. There's no certainty in times like these." He hadn't predicted a week ago that a blood hunt would be called on Nell, hadn't predicted that he'd be kicked out of the one place in the Academy that had even somewhat accepted him, hadn't known he'd be breaking the arm of some jerkass Thunder student to protect Elaine. Wars threw everyone off their game. "I'm hoping for the best, too." His words were softer than they had been before, less filled with a hard edge. He wasn't talking about thrashing anyone or why he had been so angry, so there was a moment of calm. His anger didn't just vanish at the drop of a hat, however, so he was back off on his tangent the moment Elaine happened to mention the Thunder boy and his dirty attack. It really was low, picking on the blind girl.

"Did you know him?" Joshua asked suddenly, wondering whether the boy had even known she was blind to begin with. Not that it mattered to Joshua--you hurt his friends and you were a dead man no matter the circumstances. Conrad could have been the blind one and Elaine the instigator; the fact was, Elaine was Joshua's friend. He looked out for friends, he protected his friends. And if you meant them any ill will, you'd made yourself an automatic enemy. "Hate that kid. Fucking hate him." Josh's angry words dissolved into mutterings under his breath that may or may not have been understandable to the blind girl with her excellent hearing. Not that he was saying anything unusual, just what you'd expect from an outraged Fire graduate.

Whatever answer he'd been expecting from Elaine, this hadn't been it. He blinked. "Blackthorn?" The shock was evident in his tone. Then, in an attempt to cover his own skin and reassure her that he wasn't going to judge her any different for a friendship with him, he said, "Not that there's anything wrong with that, I just... it's not what I expected." He had never gotten along with the arrogant and reckless Fire leader. Where Alexandre was controlling, Joshua was defiant. Where he was cheerful and a prankster, Josh was quiet and serious. Their natures conflicted and thus were a recipe for disaster. Not only that, but Josh usually refused to follow any orders. He'd been the Fire leader once and he hadn't been that much of a dick when it came to times like these. "But... it's good he's gotten some of my--erm, his allies to quit bothering you," he decided. There was a subtle request for truce in his tone. He didn't want to ruin their friendship because of Alex. "I may not get along with him, but if he looks out for you that's all I need to hear." He really did view Elaine like a sister.

He tensed up immediately when she asked about his hand, instinctively jerking it back as if her touch had electrocuted him. He felt guilty about doing so a moment later--Josh, that's rude!--but he couldn't bring himself to extend it again and risk her being able to better 'examine' the scarring. Plus, her touch had bothered the painful injury. It had closed over enough, but the area around it was still sore. Of all his scars, it was the worst in terms of healing considering every time he closed his hand it had a chance of bothering it. "Just, uh, an accident," he said evasively, in a tone that suggested that he didn't want to talk too much about it. Ducking his head a little, he offered her his right hand instead--so much safer--and said, "Sorry for pulling back just then, I didn't expect--yeah..."