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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Aug 11, 2011 19:27:07 GMT -5
 To say Nell loved the gardens was an understatement. A very, very gross understatement. Back in The Bronx where she grew up, such sights were rare. Especially for her, since she snuck out mainly at night. There wasn’t much to see in the concrete jungle, and it was difficult for an Earth elemental like her to thrive. However, in Canada, it was different story. There was so much nature around that it felt like the first time she ever felt at home. Even though there was the whole fish out of water, New York accent, ‘something is just not right about her’ deal, the Academy made her feel safe. Especially now with the war over. She didn’t have to walk through the halls in fear anymore, even though some of the Thunders were still pretty bitter.
In any case, she was pretty certain she wouldn’t be bothered in the gardens, since it was the stomping grounds of the Earth students. Nell was in a rather calm mood, somewhat strange for her. While she wasn’t exactly bouncing-off-the-walls hyperactive, she didn’t like to stay in one place for too long. The flowers had that sort of effect on her. And perhaps the weather, too. As it drew closer to summer, she finally found a day when it would be appropriate to wear a tank top and shorts. It was a daring choice for her, actually, since the scars on her body—no matter how faded they became—made her self-conscious. The worse ones were from an incident she couldn’t even remember, and the ones that made her truly self-conscious were in places people can’t see. The faded words on her skin were like her mother’s imprint on her so that she could never be happy with herself. Even though Nell never thought of how low her self-esteem truly was, the fact was still there.
But today, she was feeling daring and free, and as she strolled through the gardens, flower crown circling her brown head of hair, she wore a smile on her face. Not that that was odd at all, but it came easy and stress-free and for no reason at all. In fact, she felt so carefree that she decided to sprawl out on the ground for no particular reason. Just because she was so…calm. Then, an idea came to mind. Spreading her influence out around her, it took only moments for tulips to pop up and unfurl around her, all of varying colors and size. Nell breathed in deep, inhaled the fresh smelling air. For once completely at peace. It was rare for her, which sounded so sad. Her life was so hectic that she rarely found time to escape from anything. No matter what she did or where she went, there was always something hovering above her head.
Snapping off a tulip, she starting pulling petals from the stem, saying, ”I will eat all the leftovers in the fridge tonight, I won’t eat all the leftovers in the fridge tonight…” It was supposed to be ‘he loves me, he loves me not’, but the fact was her current love affair was food. Therefore, as she picked the flower bare, she decided that the leftovers would be consumed that night. Even though if it had ended on a negative note, she’d still have found a way around it. Nell sighed. Finally, finally she could relax.
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Post by leonora on Aug 14, 2011 12:42:28 GMT -5
"I'm bouncing off the walls again. Who-oooh! I'm looking like a fool again! Who-ooh!" she sang, remembering one of her favorite songs while jumping around, her long, brown hair loose and bouncing with every movement. Indeed, she was dancing. Hey, she loved Sugarcult, she liked singing... and acting on impulse at times. Therefore, doing this was only normal. That is, until she became aware of something else. What if someone actually saw her? Well, perhaps she might've taken an iPod with her, instead of just singing on her own accord... Then again, she really did feel like singing and when you've got ear pieces in too long, it sort of starts to hurt a little and she liked music a LOT. Therefore, she was the 'singing and piano playing girl' not to mention the 'random, oil painting girl'. Well, she didn't get on a piano that often... too bad, really. She'd be happy if they had a piano in every single classroom, just like they did back in music school. It was different with art, thou. I mean, you could draw almost everywhere. Even carve in desks if there was no paper left on the planet. Not to mention Paint or Photoshop... Sai was good too, she figured. But yes, since she couldn't play winds or strings, singing was her last option, really.
A specific scent broke her upcoming daydream, thou. She glanced down to see a tulip. Strange, she would've sworn that that wasn't there before. Well, she didn't subconsciously help it grow. She was pretty sure they didn't grow that fast without help. But it did remind her of what she had previously planned on doing. She had started working on peonies just before a little. Well, they took time. Growing a bush was something different than making flowers such as daisies or tulips... but it really was worth it. Spinning on her toes, the brunette glanced back at her now steady bush. She didn't want to overdrive the plant or anything. She'd be happy if it were to stick around for a while, even. So, the previous day she had gotten it up. Today, she'd just help the blossoms. And as she waved her hand over it, white peonies bloomed. You know, there was really no need to wave her hand over anything... she just figured it looked cool since everyone with some sort of ability waved their hands in the movies. Like, to signalize everyone that they were doing something right then. It seemed funny, yet a little cool, to be honest.
After picking one, she twirled the stalk in her fingers for a little, before sliding to behind her ear. Hey, pretty and nifty. She always thought that white flower suited her. Well, she liked to believe so. After all, it suited her marine and white summer dress. The piece of clothing had no straps whatsoever and went down till her knees. It looked like there was a huge white ribbon tied around her waist. Little did they know, it was sewed on to the dress. Ha! So how's that for a rip-off!... Well, not really, but it still looked cool. To be honest, her favorite part about the dress was how wide the skirt part could go. No really, it looked awesome when she spun around. Come to think of it, she felt like spinning. And so she did spin a couple times, a light chuckle escaping her lips at her own actions.
And then she heard it. The voice. Oh? She wasn't alone? Curiously, she went around the few bushes and trees hindering her from the previously mentioned voice to find... her classmate. As happy she was to see her, she couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if she would've found something unseen before... like, a foreign student who only knew one word in English. Now, that would've taken the cake. But the nice earth girl was also really, really good.
"Shepherd!" she called out in an excited tone, before almost skipping to the girl. Well, 'almost' meant she was skipping just in a subtle way. She figured it would suit the flower child theme she was obviously playing out that day. "Hey!" she gave out in her cheerful tone and a big smile slapped on her face. Yes... she was this cheerful at times... That's Blueberry for ya, I guess.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Aug 14, 2011 18:53:14 GMT -5
Nell was enjoying this little relaxation time so much that while other times when she was lying still and drifting off she’d imagine she was somewhere else, she was completely content in knowing that she was resting in the garden. Sometime wanderlust took over in her apartment, but when she was already surrounded by beauty and peace, she was just fine with taking it for what it was. A moment of leisure, of not worrying about her future or her past or anything her mind liked to work over till it was run into the ground. A fatal flaw, she guessed—she thought too much at times. Which is a reason she liked to keep moving. When she was running around and being an idiot and having fun, she didn’t think of what otherwise would have occupied her mind.
She wasn’t bothered, though, when she heard her surname called out. It had taken a little bit, but she’d finally grown accostumed to the name she chose for herself. And she loved it. Shepherd suited her much better than Sinclair Fuentes—she was not a part of that family, and therefore she didn’t even want the name attached to her. Her family probably wouldn’t mind, and would most likely be having thoughts of disowning her if they weren’t already throwing her in jail. Another connection with her family meant another connection to her mother, the person she feared she would become like. She was well on her way, her aunt having instilled this fear into her by glossing over facts of the sisters’ past and some family history. There was a history of depression and manicness and mental illness in the women of the Sinclair family, and she knew there would be no way of telling she would fall into that trap.
Being the easygoing person she was, she smiled as she heard the greeting, taking a few seconds before she lifted her hand in a lazy wave, so all the other girl would see was an arm peaking up above the mass of tulips. Then, like a flower herself, Nell popped up, hair wild and the petals from her crown falling down into her lap. She just sat there for a few seconds observing Nora in her pretty little dress. ”Hey Bluberie,” she finally drawled out, sounding more like a stoner than anything. Today was a day for Nell not to be prancing around like a Mexican juming bean…or a Hispanic jumping bean, as it were. She still had her energy, of course, it was just dimmed down in favor of the newfound peace that had overtaken her body. Besides, she’d been doing a lot of running around lately, always keeping busy with school and with life and all the things that had her tied down. It was time to be cool and go with the flow.
She didn’t even have to ask Leonora what she was doing out there, because being the Earth leader, one could only imagine that it had to do with all the flowers. Rather sneakily (and very much randomly), Nell asked, ”Is there a boy out there that you’ve taken a fancy to?” She held up her pinky as if to emphasize ‘fancy’, a plan in her mind. ”If so…you should definitely tell me who he is.” This wasn’t strange behavior for the girl, but it was strange behavior in general. Nell wondered if the girl would catch on or if she would even reveal the name of a boy she’d had her eye on.
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Post by leonora on Aug 14, 2011 20:42:12 GMT -5
There she was. Nell - Nora's classmate and probably the most famous earth student in school... if not the decade to be honest. Heck, Nor was pretty sure that people would be talking about the war even after some time. Well, that is if new wars don't break out right after this generation graduates. If it stays peaceful, she was pretty sure this would be one of those things that they tell on to their grandchildren. And yes, some might not find the rumor spreading a little amusing as Leonora did. Which is why she didn't really talk about it to anyone. She let go of grudges pretty quickly. The brunette believed that everyone learns from their mistakes on their own. There was no need to rub salt in the wound any further. After all, she was an artist. The girl liked searching for inspiration in mixed feelings, so even if something hurt her, she wouldn't feel the need to go after someone. I'm pretty sure if someone punched her she wouldn't hit them back either. Of course, life or death didn't count. She wasn't suicidal... but, oh you get the point.
She couldn't help but laugh at the response. She looked as if the girl just woke up. It looked a little adorable, yet sort of clumsy and overall it looked fun and great, so yes, she laughed lightheartedly at the sight. "My, you're as dashing as ever, hun." she gave with a happy smile. Oh, Nora never meant anything in a mean way. Three years in the same class would make people realize she was probably not capable of mean unless someone helped her. Feeling that standing was getting a little boring, she walked in front of Nell and sat down on her knees, making sure to pull the dress up. She liked it and couldn't really afford to buy a ton of new clothing every day, so yes. She didn't want to get it too dirty. Grass stains were the ones she worried about, really. Those things were a pain to get out, really.
Glancing around the newly found Tulip land, she didn't even consider the question at first. When she realized what Nell was about to say, she glanced up to meet a raised pinkie. She just blinked and fell silent for a second or so. That tiny bit was for her to think up a general direction of her answer. In all honesty, she wanted to laugh. If anyone would know Nora, they'd also know that the girl is terrified of relationships. Sure, she might feel attracted to some, but that's your casual sympathie... in that case, there were tons. And lets not forget the ones she had not yet talked to and probably had great personalities... That just narrows it down to-
"Hmm, someone I fancy? Of course!" she began with a cheerful smile. "I like..." she gave a little pause to build up any sort of excitement there might be. "Everyone of them~!" she gave out with a laugh. That was not even an answer but hey, Nora had her moments. Really, she had no idea of she really liked someone or not. She just knew she didn't dislike anyone. So there, that's logical for you.
"Oh, oh, just don't tell them, ok?" she asked seemingly serious, her finger raised to her lips as if to say 'hush, hush'. But she was pretty sure she might just know the answer if the question were in reverse. It was only a hunch, but she might bet Nell and Dale might just end up together. Just like in the fairy tales. I mean, he even stood against his own element for her. "So, what's your story? And are you going to ask out that fire prince of yours or not?" she asked with a sheepish grin.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Aug 15, 2011 13:53:18 GMT -5
Nell dipped her head, a fullblown bow being impossible. ”Thank you, god knows I try,” she said with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. ”You’re looking lovely yourself! Spring’s treating you well…” And soon it would be summer, time for tanning and playing in the ocean. Nell was looking forward to that, the first time she’d ever actually go to the ocean. In any case, the dress that Nell thought was gorgeous was pulled up as Nora put herself in front of her fellow Earth student. She wasn’t upset at all that she had an intrusion on her relaxation time. Actually, this was much better. Nell hated to be alone, and so the company was greatly appreciated, especially when it was cheerful company like Nora’s. A day off was always better when you could spend it with friends, right?
Tilting her head, the girl waited for Nora to sift through whatever thoguhts were in her head to come up with an answer. Did she phrase that strangely? Oh god, not again. She had a habit of being…odd and not making sense. Ignorance goes a long way, huh. When Nora began to speak, she lifted her head up quickly in excited preparation. But then came the answer, and she tried hard not to laugh. Everyone! How did she not call that one? Nora was a tricky one, all right. Nell pursed her lips as if she were frustrated with her friend. ”Of course you have to be difficult! Now I have to tell everyone in the school to give you flowers.” And she would try to make that happen, too. Nell thought that if there was one person Nora had her eye on, then maybe she could drop hints andg give them some of her flowers. But no. Now Nora could expect quite a few tulips in the near future from random people.
Then Nell sighed, putting up a front. ”Your secret is safe with me.” She made the gesture of zipping her lips and throwing away the key as Nora signaled for her silence. Yep, today definitely felt like a nice day, especially now that she had someone to spend it with instead of sprawling out in the gardens like a loser. The other Earth student’s voice drew her from her languid thought process, and Nell’s eyes looked from side to side in confusion. Her face was blank for a few minutes as she dissected what Nora had said. Fire prince? Well, she probably meant a Fire student, and the only fire student Nell hung around with was… Upon realizing what Nora had meant, she waved her hands around, saying, ”Oh no no no, don’t get the wrong idea! Josh and I are just really good friends, nothing more than that! Why, does it really seem like that? Because it’s not!” Besides, how does someone even ask another person out? What did ‘out’ mean? Like…going outside? They did that, certainly. But Nell had a feeling that’s not what the saying entailed, and felt very, very naïve about the entire thing.
In any case, it was time for a change of subject, before Nell overheated from her blush and passed out. ”You’re leader now, right? Congrats!” Smooth Nell, smooth… ”How have you and Ash been getting along?” She didn’t doubt that they were getting along pretty well. The good thing about Earth students was that they were so pacifistic and nice, their leaders no exception. Of course, there could always be problems, but Nell liked to believe that within her little family of hippies, nothing could go wrong. They were her world, only emphasized when they immediately defended her against the Thunder and Fire affiliation. The Earths and Waters could have just thrown her to the dogs, but they decided to protect her. She guessed that’s what a real family did, what her own family should have done if they weren’t all… Steer away, Nell.
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Post by leonora on Aug 15, 2011 17:00:55 GMT -5
She held out her arm to wave her hand up an down once as if to emphasize on the gesture. "Whai, sank you, darlin" yes, that was her attempt at a French accent. Well, she thought it was good, since she even perked her lips a little. No really, she even gave that 'smoky voice' effect, you know? The one you think every French lady with a piece of fur and a cigarette in her fingers will have? And let's not forget the hats with the little veils and all that jazz! It all had a big meaning in her visual image of french women... well, the ones in France not Canada, really. They were said to be ordinary in Canada so she had nothing to play for. "I sried tu urry, you no." she said, rising a hand to caress her hair as she gazed off in the distance just like you'd expect the CSI Miami crew to do! Cool, wasn't it?
The young girl couldn't help but laugh. She was actually glad to have ran into Nell. Well, in this case, she had almost ran over her, but, obviously, being a good and quick leader, she noticed the unnatural appearance of many different tulips and the human figure in them. Yeah, she would make a kick-ass detective, you know. She was awesome at observation, too! She should start solving the crimes on campus. For example, who lost that blue sock which was traveling around the earth dorms a few weeks back! Or, or, what happened to the extra cookie that ninth grader claimed to have when returning to his friends. Well, she had heard a little cookie fuss by accident. Heck, there were so many mysteries around the school! Nora would try her hand at investigation somewhere in the near future! Either way, back to the main subjects. "Oh, oh, that means I'd get at least... five flowers!!!" she bounced a little, all excited! Yes, the bad math was a joke, well duh. "Oh, I'll leave my door open so it's easier to ship them in in case I'm not around. I've always liked the thought of a furniture set made purely out of flowers." she drifted off in a possible daydream for a little while.
Oh, oh, she hit something hard with the 'Joshua thing'!! She felt like just discovering an island, really. So, there was something there. She actually leaned in to poke her cheek while Nell blushed. "Hmm, I figured it'd be hotter..." she joked in a lightly teasing manner. She actually chuckled when Nell suddenly congratulated her. "Don't change the subject, Nelly! Spill!" and then there was a moment of silence... '...' "And thanks for the congrats..." she mumbled, realizing it was probably a little rude not to say thank you anyways. She was new at being a leader, you know. What if there were some secret stuff only leaders knew and couldn't tell anyone?!! What if she'd be secretive from now on?! Oh, no, she was good with secrets!... well, but she wanted to tell people anyway... she never did, but she wanted to at times. Awh, she'd have to be all cool and secretive now. Like those boys in so many movies.
"Oh, oh, before I forget, we need to go out and party because I'm leader and what I say goes!" yeah, that was a good reason! "Also, I still can't wrap my head about the ton of responsibilities. So I figured I'd go out and end up doing something random while partying so that I know this all is real... I don't like pinches, so..."
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Aug 15, 2011 20:38:12 GMT -5
Now Nora was just being silly, and Nell tried her best to keep up a straight face while watching the new leader’s antics. But she was never good at that, and a smile worked its way through, but she masked it by holding her hand out in what could be considered an aloof gesture or a gay hand signal. Either way, Nell responded with a nonchalant, ”Oui, oui.” It was literally the only French she knew, but Spanish would certainly not fit in the current situation. When people thought of Spanish, they didn’t think sophisticated French fashionistas—they thought sombreros and ponchos. Ironic, considering her family wasn’t even from a South American country where those were custom.
She grinned as the girl expressed excitement about getting her tulips. Nell absolutely loved giving people gifts, especially food or flowers, things that were pretty much passions for her. ”Oh no, I think you’ll be expecting more than that,” Nell said, leaning in mischeviously. There would certainly be a lot more coming than Nora expected, but at least she had a plan in keeping her door open. ”You’ll feel like an opera singer after an aria, let me tell you.” Since opera signers were what the girl thought of when it came to receiving mass amount of flowers. That, or funerals, but the latter wasn’t so nice a prospect. ”The Earth dorms are perfect for that!” Nell loved it there, it was like a garden in a room. It was what she tried to fashion her apartment after, the ficuses and the plants all around her small one room that Pablo loved to claw at.
Nell’s blush only intensified at Nora’s teasing. She wondered if she could feel the heat when she pinched her cheek. In all Nell’s innocence, she’d never thought of Josh that way. She didn’t even now what that way was. She just didn’t understand any of it! All she knew was that she liked Josh and he was her best friend and that was that. ”There’s nothing to spill, Blueberry!” she said in a playful whining tone. ”Can’t a guy and a girl just be friends? Because that’s what happens, you know.” Guy meets girl, guy threatens girl with a switchblade, guy becomes girl’s tutor and acts like a complete douche, guy gets jumped and saved by girl, girl is attacked by half the school and guy switches alliances, guy keeps girl’s secrets, guy and girl become best friends. That’s how these things usually work, right? ”See, nothing to spill here.” She stuck out her tongue for emphasis and the blush faded when Nora tacked on her thanks for the congratulations. Because even though it was a way to steer Nora away, she was still being completely sincere.
The prospect of a party was great to Nell, and she nodded her head enthusiastically. ”Party time, definitely, oh great leader!” she chirped. Nell was definitely up for this idea, so she was still nodding her head as she said, ”You can spend one last night as a normal Earthie before you have to worry about all your responsibilities!” She didn’t know if Nora was the type to get shitfaced, but Nell was usually the responsible one. Because when she ended up drunk, her randomness became quite…dangerous. It would not be good at all. ”You wanna throw the party in the dorms or something?” she asked, now planning this out in her head. Of course, people liked booze at parties and that would be hard to sneak in. Still, a dry party was just as fun.
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