Graphite Wonderland, open

The garden, with it's fragrant smells and exotic beauty, was not a regular haunt of Joshua Dale. The fact that he was a Fire student meant that whilst he wasn't banned from coming here, there were certainly some discomforts for some. He was in the good graces of the Earth students following the recent war and his betrayal of the Thunder/Fire alliance for Nell's sakes, so it didn't feel too blasphemous to step past the entrance and into the rows of flowers and plants. They reminded him of his mother, a thought that made his gut twist slightly. Will she believe me, when she returns home? As a Member of Parliament, Trish sometimes had to go off to meetings in the capitol or conferences. She would be back in a couple of days, but it was still uncomfortable given the current tension with his father. He normally would have went home and sat amongst the very garden that Patricia herself had cultivated, but he was disallowed from his own doorstep at the moment. The words had not been spoken, but Joshua understood that he was forbidden from there.

He had not expected for anyone else outside of the Earth element to be wandering about. Just as the Water students had their lake and the Fire elementals laid a silent claim to the dungeons, it was usually rare to find any others in this place. Perhaps this girl was an Earth student, but his brow furrowed as he realised that he did not recognise her. Given that he'd stayed in the Earth dormitories during his time of banishment from Fire, this surprised him. "Hello," Joshua said quietly, blinking at the girl. He noticed that she appeared to be drawing and though he was curious as to what her artwork looked like he would not be outgoing enough to ask. Not that he was shy, just a tad closed-off and anti-social. "Are you an Earth elemental?" True, it was a little blunt and unexpected coming from someone that you didn't know, but he just wanted to know whether she too was 'out of her element'.

If he had known that she was a Thunder elemental, Joshua likely would have said nothing. Most of the Thunder elementals were aware of his identity right now and loathed him for so valiantly protecting someone outside of the alliance. But Nell had been his best friend, even though they were more than that now, so he did not regret the decision. Noticing the flower, Joshua's gray eyes flicked over to it. "Ah. Is that what you're drawing?" The sophomore was at least trying to be more civil and polite than was usually known for his personality. It was strange to meet a Fire student that didn't like to involve themselves with violence, but Joshua's temper and genetics still marked him as a Fire elemental at heart.

The girl seemed disinterested in him, something that Joshua noticed right away. That was fine. He might have just walked away if he hadn't been curious about her element as well. Besides, he'd never met an Earth elemental that made a habit of outright ignoring people that spoke to them. So what element was this girl in, then, he wondered? He decided that he would ask, but tensed up when she gave her answer. Thunder. "Oh." Well, now things were going to be uncomfortable. Joshua loathed the Thunder students with every possible bone in his body for what they had done to Nell, and he knew that they probably hated him just as much for what he hadn't done to her. Whatever. He didn't care why the hated him, they were all a bunch of cold-hearted bastards. Nell's innocence had been proven, it wasn't his fault they were all bitter and vindictive about their loss. Then again, Fire were just as bad. The Earth kids were the only ones that seemed to tolerate him lately.

Joshua was not expecting an introduction. Far from it, really. He had just shifted to move away deeper into the comfort and sanctuary of the gardens when the girl shifted and turned to him. He blinked for a moment in confusion before he realised that she was telling him her name, then asking for his in return. "Josh," he returned slowly, as if unsure of how to go about handling this situation. Does she not know who I am, then? He'd figured that her earlier hostility had been because of his identity, or maybe it was just because of his element seeing as Thunder and Fire were at odds at the moment. No, that can't be right, I never told her I was a Fire elemental. Damn it, this was confusing him. He also didn't know why she had to tell him how to pronounce her name when she had said it aloud and he was certainly not deaf, but he didn't bother asking. No need to sound like a jackass quite yet. He might have hated the Thunder students, but he didn't want to provoke an unnecessary confrontation.

Folding his arms slightly, Joshua frowned. "If you're a Thunder elemental, what are you doing in the gardens?" Josh figured that it was a sensible enough question. The Earth elementals absolutely hated Thunder-kind at the moment, so it only made sense that they'd probably want to stay far away from one another. Not this girl, though. She had nodded when he asked if he was drawing the flower, but couldn't she have found just about any other scene to draw? The forest probably had plenty of beautiful scenery without carrying the risk of being maimed. Not that the Earth students were cruel enough to main anyone, mind you. Then again, the forest is off limits until you're a junior. Was this girl a junior? Or older than that? He didn't know.