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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Sept 17, 2011 18:39:33 GMT -5
 Nell tapped her pen against the paper in her notebook, information bulleted in her small and cramped handwriting. She liked learning and everything, but sometimes it got so tedious. She was hardly one to sit still. At least she had determination going for her—she couldn’t let anything go unfinished, otherwise her mind would always return to it. It was odd for her to procrastinate, and when she did it was only for short periods of time. Her mind would always go back to the work she needed to get done no matter what she occupied herself with, and so it was easier to finish everything in one shot. With this thought, she started scribbling down again, almost unaware of her friend’s presence across from her thanks to the silence they had lapsed into. The sound of a book slamming shot made her jump, and the pen scratched a line of ink across the paper. Nell looked up at the Water girl curiously. ”Done with this bull,” she muttered and Nell grinned. ”You’re leaving?” The other girl nodded as she stood and collected her things. ”You’re almost done, right? Can you send me the rest of the notes?” Nell set down her pen for a moment. ”On the computer?”
”No, through the pony express.”
”You know how bad I am with technology, but I’ll get it to you.” She waved as the girl left. True, she wasn’t the best when it came to comptuers but if it meant helping someone out, call her a martyr. As her friend had predicted, she finished the notes minutes later, and set the pen down with a light sigh. There was more she had to work on—all for different classes—but right now she needed a break. She couldn’t go anywhere else lest she get too distracted, so she picked up her messenger bag and laid it on the table. After rooting through the contents, she found the square pieces of paper with designs on them, something she’d purchased at the craft store when splurging with her father’s money. She always tried to work folding paper cranes into her daily routine. Whenever she found the time, she sat back and started counting them up. She was getting closer and closer to one-thousand, and she still didn’t know what she wanted to wish for. That no child should have to suffer like Tilly did. That sounded pretty decent, and she kept it in mind as her deft fingers glided along creases and pinched the paper.
Eventually, she moved onto flowers, trying different designs and shapes. All flowers were unique, after all, like snowflakes—and she always liked to invent new things. In flair bartending, she tried out new tricks, and her mind thought creatively enough that she couldn’t be closed into a box. In bartending, she had to learn flair and even came up with her own tricks, and in playing cards she liked to do a little magic. She considered the books she learned how to fold origami from as her base to build up from. After a little bit of time, there was paper cranes and flowers spread out on the table and Nell realized that she’d have to carry it all home with her in the messenger. She smiled as she tugged at her shirt—a habit she was not aware of that developed a while ago thanks to her scars. Oh well. She returned to making more, the number of paper cranes written down in her notebook.
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Post by DAYONE LEO TYLER on Sept 17, 2011 20:42:40 GMT -5
Leo was where he always was. He was sitting down, in one of the comfy chairs in a corner of the large library. If it wasn't for the books, and the rather empty room, Leo would have been back in the Earth dorms, sitting down and working. He didn't like to go about and be with friends, he had none to think of. The book he was holding, reading, enjoying, was about a Man who walks around the world, searching for his loved one, when she was right under his nose. Not literally, but it was the girl who was back home, who he talked to every day telling her about his day's exploits. He had just finished the book and he got up slowly stretching his arms and his legs that had been frozen in that position for a few hours. He got up and walked away from his chair searching for where he had originally found this book.
When he had found the place the book belonged too and looking quickly through the rest of the shelf he found another to replace the one he had finished. Taking it and walking quietly back to his seat he stopped. There were two girls there, though one had gotten up and was leaving. She passed by Leo who had ducked his head and pressed himself against the books. Then slowly he made his way back to his seat. He couldn't sit in it though, someone was already there reading. Timidly Leo took his bag filled with notebooks and pencils and extra paper, and walked away. The only place he could find an open seat was across from the girl. He pulled out the chair quietly and placed down his book. He opened it and started to read.
He was a few pages in when he saw a motion the girl was doing catch his eye. He looked up secretively, trying to see what she was doing without looking straight at her. He saw her folding the recognizable paper into recognizable shapes. He had a surprised look on his face. Origami, he loved to do it when he had nothing to do, just seeing paper become something else something amazing looking. He loved to do that. So, quietly he reached into his bag and pulled out pre-cut notebook paper that were cut into squares. Then he took out his pocket knife, a gift from his aunt he really only used the scissors part. He cut a square in the middle on each side, careful not to cut straight down to the other side. He finished making the slits, separating the big single piece into a four nearly separated squares. Taking each side he folded them one by one into a crane. Four individual cranes, kept together by their beaks. They were called the kissing cranes. Proud of his work he set it in front of him, beside one of the flowers that the other girl had made.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Sept 17, 2011 23:19:39 GMT -5
Nell hummed a little as she folded the papers, careful not to get too loud. This was a library after all, and even though she wasn’t using it for its primary purpose right now, she still felt she should be careful with the rules. And she was pretty sure folding origami wasn’t against any rules. Of course, with the flowers, she could make real ones, and an idea popped in her head as she looked at a flower she just folded for reference to grow a real one from nothing like she’d been practicing. She was glad that she could do that now, her skills have come a long way since she first arrived at the Academy and was put on academic probation. She’d done well enough that they removed her from the list, but she still took supplementary classes to keep up. Taking the flower, she grew out the stem so she could tuck it behind her ear.
Giving the usual jump she did whenever in the library and distracted, she smiled as a boy sat down across from her. He looked a bit familiar, and was pretty sure she’d seen him in the hallways. ”Oh, hey there,” she said airily to the new arrival, making sure to keep her voice down. And as she noticed him open his book, she lowered it even more to say, ”Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to stay quiet so you can read.” She was friendly, but she wasn’t about to go and disrupt whatever the boy was doing so she could prattle on to him about…well, anything. It was amazing the things she could find to converse about. Of course, they rarely centered around her.
Then, she noticed him taking out his own papers and grinned as she lifted her eyes from her recent creation—she hoped it looked like a dahlia, but it really didn’t. Ah well, it could be a new breed of paper flower. Nell paused in her work to watch him with cranes, brown eyes glittering with amusement. When he finished, she said, ”Wow, that’s great. I didn’t know anyone else had an interest in origami.” She’d never met someone who did anyway. She’d picked it up from a book, a childhood spent in libraries. ”Hey, have you ever heard the legend of the thousand paper cranes?” Now that he wasn’t reading or anything, she felt free to converse with him. ”That’s my goal,” she said, starting to fold a new paper crane. ”What would you wish for if you got to a thousand?” She tilted her head curiously, wondering if—since he liked origami—he ever considered a wish for the thousand paper cranes. It would certainly help her out, knowing what others wanted out in the world.
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Post by DAYONE LEO TYLER on Sept 18, 2011 11:57:15 GMT -5
Leo saw the girl create a flower out of nothing. He was impressed, he still had trouble doing that. Something from nothing tired him out a lot. He didn't like to tire himself out, it was just a thing of his. He practiced everyday though, it was hard to do. He was building up stamina to be able to create a flower. He guessed that it would be hard, creating life from nothing. It almost gave him the thought that he was like God, almost. The idea of creating something from nothing always was in his thoughts, were druids back in medieval times elementals to? Were the shamans and healers also earth elements? Were the rain dancers water? Was someone in the Trojan War a wind elemental able to turn the wind so the Greeks could go to war? How many historical people were elementals? How many were like him?
Leo waved a hand at her greeting, he wanted to speak as little as possible to the girl in front of him. He didn't like to speak to people he didn't know, nor did he like to start a conversation. He preferred to be quiet and left alone, left in peace. That was what he really liked to do. Leo nodded at her, a nod of thanks, for her promise to stay quiet. He didn't want to speak to her, not out of any bad feelings, but just because of indifference. His book pulled his attention away from her, and he started to read. He quietly flipped through pages and as he did he noticed one of the corners was dogeared. He hated that, it ruined the page. Oh so gently, as if this were made of something fragile, he lifted up the dog ear and set it back right, smoothing down the fold.
Leo gave a wan smile as she complimented his folding. People didn't pay attention to him, and when they did sometimes they were amazed at what he could make, other times he was just labeled as a weirdo. Leo gave a nod, "One thousand cranes, one wish." He said softly, he only spoke when spoken too, and that was a question spoken to him, so he had to answer or else she might beat him up for not answering. He'd take the beating of course, but he'd still like to avoid getting beat up. She asked him what would he do with one wish? He didn't know, he didn't believe in wishes, every night, every birthday, every time he saw the first star of the night, for that first year after his parents died he wished. He wished that his father never had that temper, he wished that the gun had been empty, he wished so hard. None of it ever came true, he never woke up and saw his mom laughing with his father, he never saw his father teach him how to play chess. Nothing. He stopped believing in such things after that, miracles, wishes, religion. He just stopped believing. "I'd give it to someone else. I don't believe in wishes," Leo stated dully.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Sept 18, 2011 20:08:32 GMT -5
Nell could already see that the boy was not the speaking sort, and that was just fine. She wouldn’t force him to make small talk or anything, especially not in a library. Company was nice, though, she always liked to be around other people. Loneliness was something she’d very much like to avoid, which is why she loved having Pablo around. And Ace’s company was great for the summer, and living with him had been much easier than she thought it would be.
Smiling contently as the boy replied, Nell leaned back in her chair. ”Quite an interesting legend, I always thought.” It appealed to her greatly back when she first learned about it. Her sister had been chronically ill, and reading about another little girl like that and the legend involved, it had inspired hope in her, something she’d always clung to in those days. The story should have been forshadowing, her negative thoughts told her. The girl died before reaching one-thousand, just like Tilly had. But unlike the story, Tilly didn’t have any classmates to complete the collection. She only had a sister who couldn’t even reach one-thousand in a year’s time. However, her smile faltered a bit at his next words, but she reclaimed it quickly. ”That’s all right,” she said. Some people didn’t believe in such superstitions, it was just the way he had said it that had gotten her to balk slightly. ”That’s a very nice thing to do though. Hopefully that person would use the wish well, having received it from someone else.” She was speaking like a child. Did she believe in the legend? Sometimes she liked to. She liked to believe in mysteries and unexplainable occurences.
Realizing that the two really didn’t know each other and the boy at least seemed willing to talk, Nell held out her hand over the table and introduced herself with great energy. ”I’m Nell,” she said, smiling broadly. ”I’m a twelfth grade Earth student and origami pro.” A wink followed that last claim, emphasizing she was merely joking. She’d recently turned eighteen, as well, an event she hadn’t been plan on celebrating. However, her father and her aunt had unfortunately remembered it and took her out for one of the most excrutiating meals she’d ever experienced. Leave it to her family to ruin one thing she loved—food. ”And you?” she questioned pleasantly. She was not wary of this boy, since he was probably not a Fire—he was very serene and quiet. Perhaps a Thunder? She sure hoped not. That would put her on edge. She really wished she didn’t have to be so wary, but the group held grudges very well and she’d rather not get on the bad side of any of them.
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Post by DAYONE LEO TYLER on Sept 19, 2011 15:38:13 GMT -5
Leo wasn't the kid who talked a lot. You could say, and it is a fact. He was the kid who spoke the least. He only spoke in class when he was called on, and for his lack of communication was not very good at team sports. In group projects he simply assigned himself a part of the project and did it on his own, giving his work too whoever needed it. And when it came to presentations, he spoke, but not very well, he wasn't a good public speaker. He preferred to be alone than to be with people. That was why he was hear in the library.
Leo looked up at her as she had commented on the legend. "It's true." Leo said as he worked on another crane. Then seeing as how that might confuse her he looked back up at her, "That she died, and made a thousand cranes anyway." Leo said dully. It was simply information, he didn't feel the pang of sadness for the girl, he felt a form of pity that she died so young, but that was all it was too him. It didn't give him any life lesson, or any moral story, it was just another fact of life. Leo could be classified as cold and unfeeling, but it was just that his feelings had been numbed when he saw his mother and father die in front of him. Leo looked up as she said it was alright. What was alright? That he didn't believe in wishes, no he didn't but maybe it was alright if he didn't he had a reason not to. "I'll give my next thousand to you," Leo stated quietly. It wasn't really anything to flatter her with, he didn't mean to make it seem like he was flirting with her. She just seemed like a person who wanted that wish. Leo would give it to her, he had no use for it, and he hadn't heard anyone else want a wish.
The girl reached across the table and Leo stiffened up. He thought she had went to hurt him, but when she didn't he loosened up. She offered her hand as a greeting, a handshake. Leo reached and took it. She introduced herself and called her an origami pro. Was she? Maybe the wink was for a joke. Then she asked about him and he let go of her hand. ".Leonard King Maron" He said formally. "People call me Leo, Lion King, but I don't mind." Leo said plainly as he told her what she could call him by. A few people even called him the cowardly lion, though those people were the ones that picked on him. "I'm in eleventh grade, Earth student." Leo said before getting back to the unfinished crane.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Sept 19, 2011 19:35:59 GMT -5
Blinking, she simply nodded at the boys comment. Yes, she knew that the story was true. She’d been intrigued upon reading a certain book that had only provided a metaphor for the story—about the healing process. When she looked into it, though, it hit rather close to him. That night she came back to a bed-ridden Tilly (there was rarely a time she wasn’t bed-ridden) and related the tale, helped her thin fingers in learning the motions. The girl was going to get better, because in all the ways Nell was mature, she was still naïve. ”Thank you,” she said when he offered her his cranes, ”But I think you should keep them. For the sense of pride in completing them. Besides, you may just think of a wish after all.” Nell cast him a chereful, closed-mouth grin, fingers flitting around a flower she’d created.
Nell noticed how the boy tensed up—she was only perceptive of people in the sense she cared about them and their comfort zones. She didn’t think she was very observant a lot of the times, though. It wasn’t something she could add to the list of ‘Things That Nell Does Exceptionally’. So she did have to wonder why he had given such a reaction, but she brushed it off as he shook her hand. ”Lion King?” she said, as if his statement had perked her up. ”Can I call you Simba, then?” She wasn’t really one to go around making nicknames for everyone, but it was too good a chance to pass up. Sitting back, and looking at the crane in his hand, she started on another one, smiling a bit secretively. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too concerned about her that he’d watch everything she did, because she took a pen and jotted down a line on the wing of the crane. For health and good fortune. Then, she placed it on his side of the table, before saying, ”What book is that, anyway?”
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Post by DAYONE LEO TYLER on Sept 21, 2011 17:44:58 GMT -5
She looked up as she thanked him. Not many people did it. Sure some people did it if they asked for help and he gave it. Then they said thanks. They didn't say thanks after beating him up though. No they just laughed. He didn't care, once it was over they didn't hurt him for another day or two. But there were those bad days when they needed to vent out some anger, it was usually the fire kids, but sometimes thunder kicked him while he was down too. "Maybe." Leo said as he finished the other crane. He didn't know what to do with his wish. He already wished once, and it came to naught. The wish never came true, he never was able to see his parents again. Alive and well that is. So maybe he would give his wish to someone else.
Leo always tensed up when someone made a sudden movement near him. It was his natural reaction, because of so many years being beat up, he just ended up being tense whenever someone made a sudden move towards him. He didn't like it, it made him twitchy sometimes. He wished he could just run away instead of having to be beaten up. But in the end the punishment that he received for evading them was worse than having to face them. Leo blinked at the movie reference. "Sure, if you want to." Leo said nonchalantly. If it would stop her from being mean to him he wouldn't mind. He liked that movie, that and Toy Story were his favorite movies before his parents died. He didn't find much joy in them after that.
Leo looked at the book that lay on the table. It was a version of Beauty and the beast. The beast had turned into a lion instead of a monster. But the it still kept the intelligence of the man he once was. That was how far he had been in the book. "It's a remake of beauty and the beast." Leo said as he turned the page. "What are you doing here?" He asked, he never really asked, but he felt as if the girl was trying to make a conversation .
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Sept 22, 2011 15:18:56 GMT -5
Leo seemed so fidgety, Nell couldn’t help comparing him to a squirrel. She found it so adorable, and wondered if he liked peanuts. Maybe he would go out to eat with her or something. Sometimes she felt like a witch from an old fable, fattening kids up before eating them. But her intentions were always harmless, and even though she wanted to say something about his similarities to the animal, she held her tongue. She was going to be calling him Simba, after all—though he’d The way he tensed up made her a bit worried, though—she hated when others were uncomfortable around her, and she hoped she wasn’t doing anything to disturb this kid.
She looked sincerely interested, leaning on the table as she folded her legs underneath her butt. “Beauty and the Beast,” she said, resting her chin in her hand, eyes wide as they usually were, imploring. Not the kind of imploring where it was like digging at Leo (or Simba) for answers—more like a blank slate for him to paint words onto. “Never even seen the movie. But it’s got my interest. Do you like it?” This was spoken with sincerity. She didn’t even want to know for herself—she was just wondering about him. She was so drawn to people that she put a lot into caring about them and who they were.
Nell blinked before slowly grinning. “Studying,” she told him. “I like libraries anyway, though. They’re nice to hang around in during bad weather.” Or bad childhoods. Nell didn’t read as much as she used to, because she had other things she could do. She wasn’t trapped, she wasn’t taking time-outs in libraries or reading books to Tilly, reading books for Tilly. ”I’m taking a break. Hope I’m not talking too much?” Nell tilted her head, and even though the words spoke a statement, her tone carried it as a question. She really wasn’t talking that much or rambling, but the only reason she’d noticed was because she was talking about herself. If she’d been talking about Leo, she wouldn’t have been quite as self-conscious.
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Post by DAYONE LEO TYLER on Sept 23, 2011 19:22:30 GMT -5
Leo hated the way he flinched and tried to make himself small sometimes. He was so cowardly and that bothered him sometimes. Why couldn't he be like his name, be a courageous person. Like one of the knights in his book, or like a warrior destined to become amazing. He wanted to be brave, but for some reason he couldn't. He couldn't stand up to people, or he didn't want to, he didn't know. But he just couldn't defend himself, he knew it would make it worse so he didn't want to try. He didn't want to be hurt worse than he had been if he had just taken the verbal or physical beating.
Leonard nodded as she repeated what he said. "Yes the famous fairy tail." He said musing about the origins of Beauty and the Beast. Was it a Brother's Grimm story? He knew Rapunzel was originally a Brothers' Grimm. What other tales were like that? He knew a few but didn't remember their names. "You've never seen the Disney movie?" He asked. He had seen it, he thought every child had seen it. He was apparently wrong. He didn't like to be wrong, he mentally scolded himself. "So far, it is interesting." He said quietly. He flipped another page, he was able to read and carry a conversation.
"What were you studying?" Leo asked curious. He wondered if he could figure out what she had been studying and prove his intelligence. Though that usually wasn't a good idea, people he knew didn't like it when he showed how they looked stupid. Maybe he shouldn't have asked, but he was curious, and curiosity is a strong thing. Leo nodded, "I like the library too." He said quietly as he turned another page, the library was his safe haven. Even when he lived with his aunt he would spend most of the day at the library, silently reading to himself, silently learning all that he could. Leo shook his head, he didn't want to insult her, "No it's fine." he said looking up at the girl. This was nearly a normal conversation, the last one he had with a different person was that girl, years ago. He didn't remember her name, but he knew she was the last person to speak to him like this.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Sept 23, 2011 21:45:30 GMT -5
Nell shook her head. Her childhood hadn’t allowed for things like that. Even when her father around, it was Candyland and crazy eight’s, readings from Metamorphosis and nights spent holding a frail hand. ”I like watching movies, though, so I'll most likely watch it soon,” she said, and that was about as much as she said about herself. She didn’t like talking about herself, and not just because she felt she needed to hide a lot—it was just her preference to talk about others and their interests. She simply wanted Leo to know that eventually she’d get around to watching it. There were a lot of movies to catch up on, though. She was always catching up. Though most may have thought it rude that Leo kept reading even as she spoke, she felt as if she was the one being rude. She had been the one to engage him in conversation, after all. ”If I’m bothering you, just tell me. I don’t want to disrupt you when you’re in the middle of a good book.”
Lifting up the cover of the textbook, she said, ”English. We’re doing Don Quixote. Ever read it?” If he was reading Beauty and the Beast, then maybe he liked reading other books, too. She had read it in the original Spanish version, but she had to reread it. It wasn’t like she could remember every detail of the book—her memory may have been good, but usually for random facts that she would never need in life. She didn’t mention anything about having read it before, the Spanish version, because for one, it would sound snooty and conceited. At least to her, someone who didn’t like the conversation turning to her. For another, she usually only revealed things if the other person showed interest. Otherwise, it would likely be annoying. Her tongue stuck out a bit as she worked on antoher paper crane, fingers folding over the creases in their usual motions. ”Well good. I try not to ramble too much, lest people call the nice young men in white coats.” This was said good-naturedly, of course.
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Post by DAYONE LEO TYLER on Sept 25, 2011 15:39:31 GMT -5
Leo looked at the girl. "It's a nice movie." He said blankly. He didn't mind it, it was a nice fairy tale. It had all the elements of a fairy tale. Speaking things that shouldn't speak? Check. Magic? Check. And a happy ending? Check. Even though the movie wasn't exactly like the original story it didn't matter. Hollywood always did something like that. Screwing around with the original to get more views. The book, in Leo's opinion, was always better. Even the Twilight books, he read out of boredom, were better than the movies that were spewed out of Hollywood's cash grabbing machine. Leo didn't know he was being rude, it hadn't occurred to him that most people wanted a person's full attention when they were speaking. He was just socially awkward like that. So he turned a page and then checked his watch. With a sigh he placed a makeshift bookmark, one of the paper cranes he had folded, and closed the book showing off it's cover. Leo shook his head at Nell. "No it's alright, I can do both."
Leo put his hand on the cover of his book, obscuring the title a bit. He shook his head, "What is it about?" He asked curious. He did read a lot, usually fiction of any kind. He was alright with any book really. But if he had a preference he'd have picked fiction books. He hadn't read Don Quixote and just the name of the book interested him. Leo was about to ask another question when a rather big student came up from behind him. He gave Leo a smack at the back of the head, not a hard one, but one that would give his attention, and cause a slightly loud smack sound. Leo closed his mouth instantly and he turned his eye's to the floor. " Hey there Cowardly Lion. This your Dorothy?" The bigger kid said to Leo. Leo shook his head, he didn't give an answer, it would make things worse. " Did you do the work?" The boy asked, he gently laid his hand on Leo's shoulder and Leo froze up. He gave a nod then pulled out a notebook from his bag. He handed it to the larger boy, " Thanks buddy." The boy gave Leo a shock that jumped from his finger tips and landed into his shoulder. He jumped and let out a small yelp. Then he stared back at the floor trying not to shout out again.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Sept 25, 2011 17:19:18 GMT -5
Nell had to admire Leo’s ability to converse and read at the same time. When she was focused, she really dived deep into whatever she was doing. She tended to be very jumpy in the library, if one of her friends approached her when she was concentrating on something else. But she could understand in a way that it was easy for her to multitask. He asked about the book she had to read, and Nell perked up. ”It’s about a middle-aged man living in Spain who decides to go out and be a knight to test chivalrous ideals. I’ve heard it praised as one of the greatest works of literature, but people love giving that title out. Still, it’s a very good book. You’d probably like it!” She had a lot of pride in her heritage, which she partly hated since it was a connection to her family. Ironic, to say the least. But when it came to literature from Spain, she couldn’t help but feel the tingle of excitement about the country that never made it to superpower status being noticed.
Watching the boy approach, she lifted her eyebrow at the Wizard of Oz joke. That was a movie she’d seen—yet she hadn’t read the book—so the reference was understood. And it fell pretty flat in terms of insults. To her, at least. Most insults didn’t have an affect, unless people knew her soft spots. However, Leo visibly tensed and Nell felt her inherent protectiveness rising. Then the guy asked if Leo had done the work, and even though she’d never experienced schoolyard bullying, she knew it when she saw it. Her arms crossed over her chest, she was planning what to say to get this guy to go away when she saw him shock Leo. A Thunder student? Nell pressed her hand underneath the table, concentrating her power so that a vine of ivy grew out, sliding along it to the other side. Meanwhile, she made small talk. ”Dorothy? I don’t think I’m Dorothy. More like…the Wicked Witch of the West.” The ivy was now creeping up the kid’s arm and she wrapped it around the paper. She loved ivy, she really did—but it was draining to do this. So, she got the paper back from the ivy and said, ”Anything else you want?” she asked with a smile. She could have done much worse. Well actually, she did. The boy would be feeling some irritation in a little while—poison ivy was a glorious thing.
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Post by DAYONE LEO TYLER on Sept 27, 2011 18:12:00 GMT -5
Leo perked his ears at the plot of a book. A knight? A brave knight? Chivalry and all that brave stuff? Courage? Leo wanted to be someone's knight. But he knew that would never happen. He had no courage to speak of, at least none that he had known about. "It sounds," He paused trying to think of a word to describe the book she had just told him about, "Interesting." Maybe one day he'd read it, when he wasn't busy with whatever it was that he had on his list of books to read. He wished the library here had them, but sometimes even the biggest of libraries didn't have a book he wanted. "Is chivalry dead?" Leo said randomly, thinking of the word and that saying. Why did people say it? Was it really an unused custom that nobody used anymore? Something that was once true only in fairy tales and stories?
Leo didn't move or look up, he stayed quiet and his body was tense, ready to bolt if it got bad. He didn't want a fight here, in his precious library. No it might hurt the books, burn books. That was knowledge being burnt up. And that was bad, without knowledge the human race might as well crawl back into the little primitive beings they once were. The boy scoffed at Nell "Whatever person I don't know," He said as he flipped through the papers making sure that all the work had been done. Then Leo noticed the vine of ivy crawling out to touch the boy behind him. He shied away spotting the green leaves that the plant sported. He'd read enough books on herbs and plants to know what plant that was. He didn't want to touch it at all. It was too late for the thunder kid. It had snaked around his arm and pulled the paper away. He jumped back and the ivy snapped still clinging to his arm though. Freaked out he shot a bolt of electricity through the air. Leo didn't want it to hit any books, or that's what he told himself. He wasn't saving someone he was saving his books from burning, yea that's what he was doing, he wasn't being brave. His fast, lithe body moved and took the hit that would have either hit Nell or the bookshelf behind her. He was shoved forward into the table, scattering the delicate folded paper across the floor.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Sept 27, 2011 19:18:27 GMT -5
Nell looked down for a moment as Leo spoke—not ignoring him, simply thinking. She looked up, smile easing into her features as she did so, the smile that she usually wore and one that always touched her eyes. ”I can lend you a copy, if you like,” she told him. Nell had one with the Spanish text, and even though she was was working with the novel now, she could use that version for her work. Even though she hated to admit that her father was ever right about anything, it was true that being bilingual in the real world was probably the best thing she had going for her. Chin propped up with her fisted hand, she had steered her eyes down to the table before blinking up at him once more. Is chivalry dead? ”I don’t think so,” she said, her expression a bit pensive as she pursed her lips together. ”To some people, sure. But I think everyone likes a hero.” Maybe it was something better left in the romantic age, but she was one for wide-eyed ideals sometimes. That way reality couldn’t have such a tight-fisted grip on her. Things went bad when she realized she lived in the real world where chivalry probably was dead. That’s why knights didn’t exist anymore, huh?
The temptation to snort at the guy was strong, but she resist and opted for an amused smile, the twinkling in her chocolate eyes belying innocence. She couldn’t really take bullies seriously, even when they weren’t doing anything to her. She’d had a very effective one in her life that made her realize that anything that came after couldn’t hurt her as much. It was a twisted kind of hope, but it also made her stronger. Gave her those balls of steel. The guys desired reaction to the ivy, however, didn’t came. He lashed out with his electricity, and she really didn’t have a crafty way to stop it. Suddenly, Leo was in direct line of the bolt, and she let a few Spanish curses fall from her mouth before standing firmly and moving across the table to say, ”All right, you need to calm yourself, ese. Or do you want me to get the librarian to come over and handle this? I’m not gonna fight someone who apparently isn’t smart enough to do his own work.” Nell could get mean when someone she cared for was hurt. And even though she’d just met Leo, she did care for him. For everyone. Which meant that she would willingly be a snitch just so he’d be safe. Her full attention turned on Leo as she gently touched his shoulder and tried to get him to look her in the eyes. ”You okay, Leo?”
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