As the Wind Travels (Open)

The wind offered a bit of a respite from the hot summer day, not that he needed it. Joshua focused on his power, feeling the energy thrumming through his bloodstream and begging to be put to use. He could feel his power as if it were an extension of his very being, a faithful servant to be called upon at any moment. As a junior in college, he certainly did not lack in skill. Using the sweltering heat of the day as a catalyst, Joshua summoned the fire with more ease than usual and bent it to his will, shaping and controlling it as it danced around him. He practised often like this, wanting to keep his stamina building at a steady rate. He was almost impatient for his power to reach its peak but he knew it would be several more years before it did so, several years in which he could not waver in his dedication to build and grow its strength. He practised until he felt himself beginning to tire, at which point he allowed the fire to turn to smoke and vanish, exhaling with the exertion and wiping his brow with the back of his left hand.

The music distracted him from thoughts about his power and the training session, directing his gaze and attention toward the bell tower. He could not see the musician but as he strained his hearing he realised that it had not failed him. Though faint due to the high, Joshua's relative proximity to the tower made it possible for him to pick up on the sound. Curiosity drew him toward the entrance at the base of the tower and after a short climb up the spiralling staircase he found himself at the top, in the observation area below the large bell. He knew that it was not set to go off soon and wouldn't have stayed near if it was—the bell was very loud and to be standing beneath it when it rang was asking for a headache. The musician seemed to be finishing up when Josh crested the stairs and he did not try to keep himself hidden or keep his presence a secret. Instead, he leaned against one of the support columns and raised his brows. "That seemed almost familiar, what was it?" His mother enjoyed a lot of music and he wouldn't be surprised if it was she who'd listening to the piece. "I'm no expert with music but it didn't sound half bad." He shrugged, letting that stand as it did. The boy looked younger than him but that was all Josh could tell at a glance.

A mild sense of recognition flooded through him when Kai gave a title to the piece. Ah, Bach. That would explain it. His mother liked a lot of famous composers and classical music, operas and big bands. She wasn't as much a fan of modern things and so he'd grown up with a lot of strong instrumentals. It was strange in that he hadn't really inherited much of her taste, though she'd taught him to play the piano. He wasn't good at composing himself, relying on sheet music to guide his fingers and his mind. He could play the works of others and be at least half-decent but when it came to coming up with things on his own, he was out of luck. It was a little different with the guitar. He was better at that, especially the electric. "Bach, huh? That explains the familiarity." He didn't bother telling Kai that it was something his mother had introduced him to, because Josh was rather reserved and closed-off when it came to talking about himself and his life. Kai seemed to be the opposite, mentioning his father and a possible... what? Sickness? Disappearance? Death? Heck, for all Josh knew his father had gone deaf or something. He assumed death or abandonment simply because they made the most sense, but did not ask. He would not be so rude as to pry like that.

He shook his head. "We haven't." Joshua did not know even half the students at the Academy and so that wasn't surprising. The school was a huge place and catered to thousands of students, college and high-school aged alike. When he'd been in league with the Fires he'd known almost all of them by name or by face, but that was a testament to how tight-knit the element was. Everyone knew everyone else. It was like a family, a family that he'd left behind for another, one with Nell and with all the friendly faces of the Water and Earth element. "Same to you, Kai," he said politely. He was not a rude person unless given good reason to be. "Name's Joshua." He offered his hand with a twitch of his lips, the beginnings of what could be a friendly smile. "What element are you in?" He figured it was best to ask, get it out of the way before he found that he liked the guy's company only to realise he was a Thunder and that it could not happen. Joshua respected his new alliance. He stuck with the people that accepted him. "I'm a Fire," he offered, and waited to see how the other would respond.

It was a bit of a relief to hear that he was dealing with a Wind elemental and not one of the enemy alliance, mostly because Joshua was not the type to seek out a fight. He would not back down if provoked and he fought viciously if you offended those he loved but starting conflict for the sake of starting it was a reckless habit that he'd shed back in high school. There had been a time when he was your typical, vicious Fire elemental with attitude problems and a penchant for causing trouble but he had matured from that point, as many elementals did. "I'm a college junior," he offered, for Kai had given him his grade and it seemed fair enough to reply in kind. That meant he was a good five years older than this boy and could have easily taken him out in a fight even if he had been the enemy. A benefit of being a college student was how above the rest of the school you were in terms of strength. There were your fellow graduates to cause you problems, of course, but the older you got, the less who could oppose you. A freshman in high school was the absolute underdog to everyone and a sophomore wasn't much better. Joshua posed no threat to Kai at the moment, however, and so he was relaxed in his attitude and mannerisms.

"Your playing, actually," he admitted without shame when Kai asked him what he was doing in the tower. Joshua was not shy and not embarrassed to admit that he'd been intrigued by the sound of the violin. It wasn't his favourite instrument by miles but it was still intriguing enough to have caught his attention. "I was practising on the grounds and it caught my attention." He didn't specify what he'd been practising, wondering whether the Wind elemental would infer or whether he would ask. He wasn't trying to hide it and would respond if question, he just wasn't the type to offer much more than was necessary to a conversation. He was in an amiable mood, though, and so he was feeling more social than usual. He'd really relaxed and broke out of his solitary shell in the past year and a half. "How long have you been playing?" he asked, gesturing to the violin to indicate it was the instrument he was wondering about.

Joshua could still remember being a tiny freshman and gazing in wonder as the Fire graduates messed around with their elements, creating massive blasts of Fire and huge heat waves when he struggled to even manipulate so much as a candle flame. It had seemed like he would never grow older, stuck forever as the midget freshman who was at least taller than most of the girls by that age but still dwarfed by quite a few of the guys. Then he'd hit his growth spurt and he was certainly glad a person wasn't prone to shrinking. At six foot three, Josh was now the one doing most of the dwarfing. "Are you going to college here? If you don't mind my asking, that is." If he had been friends with Kai he would not have added the last part, since most of his friends knew he never demanded answers to his questions, but Josh liked to establish boundaries with his new acquaintances. He would warn them off if their questions started to incense him but he would also make sure that any of his questions could be left unanswered. Josh didn't like to push limits or make other people feel uncomfortable. Perhaps an enemy, but never a person that he harboured no ill-will toward. "It is something to look forward to, though. You learn a lot." He was learning so much from his two majors that it made his head spin.

Not having meant to give the impression that Kai had interrupted him, Joshua shook his head. "No, you didn't disrupt anything," he assured him. "I was just finishing up when I heard." One of the most important lessons an elemental could learn was to know their limits. Early high school students were often too eager to push theirs and try to expand their stamina beyond the normal levels and in doing so they knocked themselves unconscious or weakened themselves to the point where they could barely move without massive effort. Food and sleep helped to some extent but it was always best to pace yourself and take it slow. Josh had been there, he'd been that over-eager student, but now he was always careful not to exhaust himself during a bout of practising. "That's a pretty long time." Not that it surprised him, seeing as he'd been playing guitar for fourteen years and the piano for about six. "Yes, I do. The guitar and the piano. What about you, do you play others?" The violin was impressive but he wondered if Kai was one of those folks who had multiple musical interests.

Joshua listened respectfully as Kai answered his question, surprised but not opposed to the honesty of the Wind elemental. The fact that Joshua himself was not an open person did not mean that he didn't enjoy learning about other people. Once he'd calmed down enough with his trust issues he'd found that he really did like interacting with others. Not everyone was out to get him and he'd finally come to terms with this fact after a couple years. It had been a slow process but a worthwhile one, as he now felt completely comfortable in talking to the younger boy. "That's true," he said, nodding. "I thought about going to college elsewhere but there's nowhere else in the world that offers further training of our gifts." He'd dreamed of Harvard for his undergraduate degree but had decided against it when he realised it meant sacrificing the free use of his power. He'd then thought about it for actual medical school and came to terms with the fact that it would mean leaving his sister, leaving Nell, leaving all his friends for several years schooling in another country. No, Maple Hollow was his home. It always would be, or so he hoped. "Self-taught elementals learn the slowest, as they say." It was possible to train your own powers but it took twice as long or even longer, depending on the individual. He didn't think he'd have learned how to call upon his power without hearing the techniques explained to him by his professors.

With his own mother as a politician and his father a doctor, Joshua's exposure to music had only been through his mothers passions for it, rather than her talents. She'd played the piano since before he was born but never pursued a professional career and her offer to teach him had came only when she'd caught him listening to her play several times. "That makes sense," said Joshua. "The guitar's certainly pretty fun," he agreed. He could play the acoustic but his favourite was the electric for its powerful sounds. He was no Jimi Hendrix and he didn't think he was the type for a life on stage but it was definitely a fun past-time. "I've played guitar since I was six and piano since I was fourteen. Fourteen years for the guitar, six for the piano." He chuckled to himself when he realised that it was reversed. "They're not my first commitments, however, so I'm no expert." He didn't practice every day or play often in front of people (though he was not shy about playing). "Is music what you're thinking of majoring in, at the Academy?" He figured it was a sensible enough question to ask, while they were on the subject.

Joshua's father came from a long line of Fire elementals and his mother was also a Fire, so he'd grown up with the knowledge that he had a chance of inheriting an element himself. He'd been overjoyed to find that he'd taken after his parents and his element was his pride and joy. It was a bit of a shame that he'd had to betray his kind, really, but it was worth it for what he'd gained. His parents and sister did not resent him for his choice and that, in the end, was all that mattered. "You never stop learning," he mused, thinking of their elements, of music, of life in general. Joshua was very intelligent and knowledgeable with a general thirst for learning and so this statement was spoken with contentment. He knew that he could study every day of his life and never possess all the world's knowledge. That was fine with him. At the word 'history' Kai had captured the most of Joshua's attention thus far. He was a self-proclaimed history nut and if he hadn't decided to become a doctor, he figured he would have been perfectly content to be a historian instead. He loved the subject and he wanted to travel the world and see all the historical monuments, visit the sites of battles won and lost, talk to the survivors of more recent tragedies. He was fascinated by all that had happened to the world, all the changes good and bad that it had went through. Honestly, Josh could go on about history all day if he were the type that talked a lot. Thankfully he wasn't prone to going on random spiels.

Kai asked him what he was studying and Joshua did not hesitate to answer. "A double major, History and Biology." It was twice the work but he learned twice as much and for that he was willing to make sacrifices. He also technically worked two jobs, though volunteer work was a lot more erratic and he would take a few weeks off if he really felt that his studies were crushing down on him. He had good study habits and an excellent memory for things along with a natural gift of intelligence so thankfully he didn't have to stress too much about school. He did stress, though, because intelligence did not mean immunity to failure. Not that he'd ever failed before. He was too dedicated for that. "I'm studying to become a doctor," he said, for Kai had told him much about himself and so it didn't seem unusual to mention this. "Are you going to be like your mother?" It was ironic when he thought about it, since Joshua was taking his father's path. He supposed a lot of people wanted to become like their parents because they were exposed to the careers in their childhood, and pride in one's parents could lead to a similar passion. "It's amazing how many majors this school actually offers. I think they try to cater to everyone they can so that we can study our elements while training for the careers we actually want."

A slight but genuine smile graced his lips when Kai dubbed studying as a doctor as 'cool', for it was definitely Joshua's passion and he took pride in it. He was not ashamed to admit his goals like some people were and it didn't seem like Kai was very shy about his, either. That was something Josh could admire in a person. He liked people with drive and ambition, provided that ambition did not get in the way of his own. He tried his best to avoid being competitive if he could because he had a violent temper problem and that would not be a good thing to put on display. If someone tried to sabotage him or use him for their own goals, he flipped out. He couldn't stand that. He also hated cheaters and wouldn't hesitate to sell them out if they tried to copy any of his work. It sucked being known as a rat but it would suck even more for someone to get credit for your work. "A conductor, huh? No wonder you got into music, considering who you've got as family." He wondered where he would be right now if he'd followed the footsteps of his mother rather than his father. "My father's a doctor, though, so it's not like I'm much different." He felt a slight tug of hesitation as he let this information slip out but it was brief. He'd learned over the course of a few years that not all information was so personal that it posed a risk to you if you blabbed about it to the wrong people. He was still suspicious, of course, but a lot less so.

"The only problems are the costs, I suppose." The Academy did not charge students for anything in high school, wanting to make the training of young elementals as easy on they and their parents as possible. They forced you into attendance but at least they were nice about it. College was a lot different, being that it was voluntary. The tuition was not sky high but it was no community college. "I got in on academic scholarship." When considering college attendance at the Academy, Joshua had originally planned to use his parents' money but that had proved unnecessary when he qualified for a scholarship based on his high academic scores. He was going to rely on the wealth of his family to pay for medical school, rather than taking out tons of student loans and drowning in debt. He was lucky to have the luxuries he did. Then again, this was a guy who drove a Lamborghini and lived in a mansion. He hadn't needed the scholarship but he certainly hadn't turned it down. A gust of wind buffeted the tower and Joshua screwed up his expression for a moment as it messed up his hair, then relaxed and shook his head. "Geez, it's pretty windy today. I bet your kind like that, though, right?" After all, he loved the heat.