|
|
Post by leonora on Aug 14, 2011 19:29:54 GMT -5
 Good, it looked like she was alone for the time being. In the common room, at least. The girl would expect the place to be packed. Honestly, who didn't love the place. The walls were covered with vines and numerous other plants. It looked like a scene from a mysterious temple in the middle of a jungle crossed over with an old castle. Well, for her. She had no idea how it seemed for the rest. For the girl it had always seemed sort of magical. It reminded her of the fairy tales she had heard as but a child, the dreams she had while lying in the grass over at the countryside and watching the stars. It had been even better when she arrived. She was only thirteen at the time and the academy had given her a chance to get away from all of her problems. Just start anew, so to say. That joy combined with the beauty of this place was something she wasn't able to describe... yet, she knew how a dog felt when wagging its tail after that. The joy was something she would never forget.
The girl, dressed in a white, loose summer dress, slowly glided toward one of the walls, her hand reaching out to let her fingertips slide over a vine. She still found this place as fascinating as she had seen it the first time she got there. Indeed, she had long since fallen in love with the place. It was like her home. As depressing as it might sound, she didn't feel this was about the apartment in the city. It wasn't because it only had two rooms. No, it was because of one person. It was actually sad how she was growing to resent the place she grew up in because of one person. Did she... actually pity herself? Now, that just seemed wrong. God, she was pathetic. Nora couldn't help but chuckle at that realization.
"Birds flying high, you know how I feel..." she began singing in a warm tone. It seemed as if you could hear her smiling. Well, there is a long explanation as to how this is possible but I doubt anyone would want to dig through formulas instead of just.. accepting the fact. The brunette spun on her heels and approached the nearest armchair only to fall in it sideways.
Her legs and head now propped up where usually people should rest their arms, the girl gazed at the ceiling, her blue eyes narrowed lightly and her lips forming a smile. Oh, she used to do this at her first year. She'd stay up later, thou. The girl would be in the armchair sideways too. She used to laugh about how it felt like the chair was going to get up and carry away. It'd actually be comfortable. Either way, she was in a singing mood. "Sun in the sky, you know how I feel." Oh, Nina Simone. Obviously, she was a genius. Nora had to admit, the only versions she liked of this song was hers and the cover Muse made.
"Breeze driftin' on by, you know how I feel... It's a new dawn. It's a new day, it's a new life... for me" she stopped for a little, finding that song just the thing she needed. It was funny how she just started singing it subconsciously. She remembered the title first. A song named 'Feeling Good' seemed just the thing after discovering you're not one of the coolest people, you know. Besides, almost everyone knew the lyrics of something so classic, right? Right. It just seemed the right song came at the right moment. She always knew that she was linked on some higher level with music. Well, she could at least dream about it, right?
"And I'm feeling good." The girl felt the need to at least finish the refrain, before giving up a soft and light laugh. Her blue eyes now shut as she just drifted in the moment. Where was Ashton, by the way? While she didn't feel like running around and trying to find the guy, she figured the two should meet up pretty soon and discuss the situation. Well, they should at least try. That's what the element counted on the two of them for, they figured... or their bigger purpose was to look pretty and love nature. Hey, you never knew, right?
Well, she'd chat with the boy the next time the two met. Who knows, maybe he'd just run onto her here. Actually, he was going to go through the common room sooner or later, right? Right. She would just stay there, dangle her feet a bit and rest, just enjoying the sounds around her.
|
|
|
|
Post by ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH on Aug 14, 2011 21:37:14 GMT -5
Ashton had been trying to be a good student that morning, really, he had. His homework was lying open in front of him and he had a pen poised in one hand, thoughtful frown adorning his features as he tried to work out sentence structures and the like. Unfortunately, it also happened to be one of the most boring essay topics he'd ever worked on. He tried to avoid all distractions by shutting himself in the dormitories, but that just ended in Ashton glowering at a blank page and wishing that his homework would write itself. He wasn't a terrible student, not really, but he didn't have the same sort of academic fervour that some individuals possessed. He'd never won any awards or thought about scholarships. However, he'd also never had to worry too much about failing anything. He managed to pass in most of his classes and for those he struggled in, there was always the whole 'try hard and you will succeed' motto to go by. Except right now he wasn't trying very hard at all, because this was boring and there were about a million things he'd rather be doing.
Leaning back with a yawn, Ashton's attention was directed to a vivid vine decorated with pink flowers that was snaking around his bed. It was nice decoration and all, as well as completely natural, but the colour sort of made him falter. Nothing against pink, especially not in a flower, but he didn't want anyone making assumptions about him. It was bad enough that people were talking about the 'Asha thing', like she was some disease he'd contracted in a foreign country. Sighing, Ashton placed his hand on the wall and fed his energy in it, watching with minor satisfaction as the colour of the plant deepened to a rich red. Except he didn't think he liked red, so he frowned and try his hand at white. Blue? Yellow? Nothing seemed to be doing it for him. He went back to white, and he was halfway through switching to red again when he stopped. The red veins of colour that snaked through the white looked rather interesting, and he took his hand away from the wall to stand back and admire. "Yeah," Ash mumbled to himself. He liked that. Replacing his hand, he watched as the vines thickened, strengthened, spreading out across the wall and further decorated the room. The flowers enlarged and more two-toned colours started to emerge--blue and yellow, pink and purple, orange and black. He enjoyed his little project, though he could feel the drain when he was done.
Yet even though he managed to give his room a full makeover, the homework sat abandoned on the end of his bed. "Screw it," Ashton decided with a shrug, literally leaving it where it lay as he put out the lights in his room and headed for the common rooms. He expected it to be empty, so he was surprised to find that his new counterpart had been elected leader. "Blu--um, Leonora," he said in recognition, quickly correcting himself before he went into the stereotypical nickname that everyone used for her. He wouldn't have been doing it out of rudeness or spite, but he still didn't want to make either of them uncomfortable. "I heard that they made you leader after the war. Congratulations." Ashton had been 'leader' for a while now, but his own position had only become permanent and solidified after the war had come to an end. "Was that you I heard singing earlier?" He had heard what sounded like music, but he'd passed it off as some kid with their iPod or something. "You're pretty good. How are you?" Bored, Ashton flopped down on one of the couches and wondered why all of the Earth students usually insisted on keeping the fireplaces unlit. It was a bit drafty sometimes and it was shadowy as well. "Why aren't you out doing something more fun?" It seemed pretty counter-productive and not to mention boring to stay in here all day. Not like he had anything different planned.
|
|
|
|
Post by leonora on Aug 15, 2011 14:19:10 GMT -5
This was nice. No really, it was nice just waiting, enjoying the silence for once. Sure, she heard footsteps but then again, it was only natural to hear steps when you were in a common room. Do you have any idea of the traffic that place got in a day? Well, let me tell you, it got enough to scare a family of turtles to no end... that actually makes sense if you picture turtles trying to cross a road!... No, I don't know why they would want to cross a road if they usually swim... Well, they just felt like it. God, it's a free country... And yes, she realized that the train of thought was not exactly the one which made most sense, but that tended to happen at times. She just thought too much about little things at times - well, most of the time. However it almost never clouded her judgment. Well, as long as it was serious, it never did. She could be serious at times, no matter how hard it was to imagine something of the sort. Yeah! Really!
The girl opened her blue eyes at the first words. Oh, he could've just said Blueberry, really. She wouldn't have minded. The girl thought that nickname was rather cute, really. I mean, she did have a very tempting last name. She, for one, thought of it as awesome. The world was full of regular last names or ones you couldn't associate with anything at all. Well, her last name was tricky, it sounded like a delicious berry while actually it was spelled differently! You see? It was a smart surname. The thought of her last name having a mischievous mind of its own actually drew a chuckle as she turned her head to the side to glance at Ashton. You see, his last name didn't really make her associate it with anything at first. It just reminded her of a racetrack for some reason. But, she still replied, being all friendly as usual - her blue eyes narrowed to amplify the smile on her lips. "And hello to you, Ashton." Hey, they were obviously on a 'first name' basis now, right? Well, she would assume this from his previous words and the fact they were supposed to lead a super awesome element together.
Oh? As odd as it might've seemed, he was one of the few people who congratulated her on becoming a leader. Most of the people sort of just understood it and didn't bother to say 'congrats'. It was actually nice to hear that. Feeling the smile grow on her lips, she replied: "Thanks, hun. And you know, you can go by Nora, if you want. I guess Leo might work too for a nickname... then again, I'm not sure I'm tough enough to carry that name" she laughed while sitting up straight and shifting in the chair until she was sitting in it the 'proper' way.
Hmm, so he heard her singing? Well, that was not her goal, actually. She didn't run around and try to sing as loud as possible as soon as she saw someone. She could do that but she didn't on a regular basis. It had happened once or twice, thou. She had went on a random adventure hunt or something of the sort. Ah, she didn't really remember. "Oh, so you heard that, huh?" she was almost about to apologize at first, thinking she might have disturbed him in any way. It shocked her a little when he said she was good. Well, she thought of herself as decent but umm... she always found a ton of flaws in anything she did that was in a way connected to art or music. "Well, thanks..." she gave out modestly, her gaze trailing off to some lower corner and a tiny blush creeping up her cheeks. She got praised rarely by other students so it sort of caught her off-guard.
"And I'm great. Just getting a little nostalgic, I guess." the brunette laughed before pulling on her cheerful smile. "How's yourself, buddy?" she asked in a happy manner. Oh, this was nice. The two of them conversing. It was a good chance to get to know the guy better. Since they both were leaders, it was only natural to get some 'bonding time', so to speak. That was her opinion at least.
Now why wasn't she out and about, hopping around, dancing to random tunes or chasing around Samuel Fisher until he breaks and becomes her friend? Well, she had a few reasons. The girl felt like going down memory lane that day. She had also finished her English essay finally so she felt a little emotionally drained. And of course, as mentioned before "Actually, I was hoping I'd run into you... well, it was a lucky guess, I suppose, but I'm very happy you popped out of the blue. I was hoping we could be cool and discuss leader things and such... also I'm tired after putting down a two thousand word essay and didn't feel like prancing around." she laughed.
|
|
|
|
Post by ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH on Aug 15, 2011 14:53:59 GMT -5
Ashton hadn't really spoken to Leonora on personal terms before, so he wasn't sure what to expect from the girl. She was an Earth student and so he assumed that she wouldn't be some horrible harpy or anything like that, but he wondered whether or not they could come together and really get along for the benefit of their element. However, the friendly way in which she thanked him for the congratulations and then insisted that he could call her by a nickname made optimism colour his thoughts. She seemed alright, so really did. "Nora it is, then. Or can I call you Blueberry?" His tone was light and teasing, but in a friendly way rather than a cruel one. "I wish I had some interesting nickname that everyone called me, but it's mostly just Ash or Raleigh." He shrugged, deciding that it didn't matter either way. "You can call me whatever you want, I don't mind." She had extended the same sort of courtesy to him, so he was going to be cordial toward her in return. That was how things should work, he believed. If someone was nice to you, you should return the favour. If they were mean, you could be even nicer just to infuriate them, but it shouldn't be a necessity. Did it make him a bad Earth student if he didn't always want peace and love?
Nora seemed rather modest and shy when it came to her singing, but Ashton was all full of smiles and good cheer today. All the same, if he'd really thought that her singing was so bad he probably wouldn't have mentioned it and dragged it into the conversation. "It was quiet in my dormitory, wasn't that difficult to hear," he chuckled. "I was trying to study--emphasis on trying--but it wasn't really working out so I got distracted." He wasn't blaming her for his academic failure at the moment, far from it. He just really didn't want to study and so the first sound other than the silence of the room had caught his attention. He'd listened to her singing and then he'd went back to his work, then he'd gotten distracted by the plant on the wall and everything had went to shit. It was going to suck if he had to hand that assignment in and didn't have it finished. Oh well, thought Ashton, not really eager to focus on that right now. "No problem," he said brightly when she thanked him for the praise.
"Nostalgic?" Ashton repeated when she answered his question, making him frown in thought and then smile again as he glanced at her. "About what?" He didn't consider that it might have been a personal question and that she may not want to answer, because Ashton himself was so open and cheery that he never really had a reason to consider these things. He may not have been too naive, but he was optimistic enough to assume that most things people thought about weren't all gloom and doom, especially in the Earth dormitories. Plus, he was in a good mood and he figured that she was too, else why would she have been singing? The song hadn't sounded too sad. "I'm doing pretty good, minus the whole homework thing," Ashton replied honestly. He hardly ever let anything depress him for very long. Even when he was hurt it was just like Ashton to find something good in the situation and run with it.
Apparently Leonora had been sitting out here and waiting for him, from what Ashton had insinuated. Most people might have found this strange or downright creepy, but the fact that Nora was an elemental leader made him dismiss it almost right away as the truth. In fact, that was exactly why she'd wanted to talk to him. Ashton nodded, fully willing to be compliant and discuss things like the responsible leader he was trying to be. The Earth students had chosen him, after all, and he didn't want to end up being a total disappointment to them. "Sure thing!" he said. "Do you want to talk here, or would you rather go to the leaders meeting, or outside, or...?" Ashton was very flexible with meeting places. He didn't feel the need to be all stuffy and official as long as you were only meeting with your own counterpart and you weren't dragging any of the other elements into it. "What should we talk about?" he asked. "Did you have anything in mind?" The boy seemed genuinely interested in her opinion, green eyes bright as he surveyed her.
|
|
|
|
Post by leonora on Aug 15, 2011 16:18:28 GMT -5
Well, he seemed really positive. She was really glad. While the girl had seen him around, she hadn't really gotten the chance to talk to him eye to eye before. She had not wanted to disturb him throughout the war and all. The previous years she just didn't get the chance, it seemed. Really, you'd think that for being as friendly as she claimed to be, she sure hadn't talked to a ton of people before. Now, how the heck did that even work? She was sure she had ran around meeting people for a few years now... I mean, what are the odds, right? Oh well, she wouldn't try to argue with reality, thou. That would be a little too much, even for her. And she really, really didn't want that. she had enough random thoughts as it was. No need to add gasoline to the fire when you're a responsible person. Yeah, she should get used to that... like, she should go have a party and do something stupid for a reality check! Indeed, she would so do that! She'd talk Nell in to it, too. Or at least she would try to do that. I mean, up till recently she had felt like this was all some big dream and she would wake up, back in the war and without her title. Strange, right?
Ash or Raleigh, huh? Well, his last name did remind her of race tracks. But Ash... oh, oh, he even had the dark hair!!! He so reminded her of Pokemon, it was painful. "I also respond to my forest name" she laughed at the 'Blueberry remark'. But seriously, he reminded her of Pokemon. When graduating, she would so give him that hat Ash from Pokemon had. Or a similar hat to the one he had in the first season. You know, the one where the Pokemon were still original and cool and didn't look like digimon?... not like she watched any of that... yeah! She just heard opinions and all that jazz. Oh, who am I kidding, she even knew the Pokemon theme song by heart and always sang along when they started an episode. Yes, she was an Aime loving little girl. But come on, back then, most of the kiddies loved them some Pokemon. Be honest. "Ash it is, then. It sort of sounds cute... while at the same time it sounds sort of tough.." she thought aloud, her index finger tapping her chin as she glanced up at the ceiling as if trying to figure this out.
He was trying to study? Oh, interesting. She felt a little guilty that perhaps the noise she made might've caught him off guard but she was a little interested what he had given up on for the time. "Which piece of homework was bothering you, then? Perhaps, I can help, hun." oh, look at her being all helpful. Awh, she was somehow proud of herself. She was trying to be a big girl and a helpful leader, awwwh. Wasn't that just adorable? Well, that's what she would've thought if sidelined. Right then she just felt the need to ask. she wouldn't mind helping anyone, you know. Why? Because that's how the Blueberries rolled, man~!
Now, now, what to answer? She wouldn't go and yap about her own past, that was for sure. She didn't want to suddenly freak people out by her psycho family members, really. Besides, she wouldn't want to bother anyone with her own problems, I mean. Nora was a 'best friend' type not the 'lead role' type, after all. "I was just remembering how I thought this place was magical and probably held a ton of secret rooms, when I was a ninth grader. I actually believed that, so I would go and explore every corner I could get to throughout the first weeks." she laughed.
Oh, oh! He was OK with talking about leader stuffs!!! And now she was all excited!!! She should at least try to calm down, right?!! So, she just paid a little more attention to her breathing for a few seconds. "Yay!" Well, it wasn't bad that she was excited, right? Was it? "Sorry... I'm just new at this so I still get excited about being a leader. I should get used to it in a little. Promise." she let out in her cheerful manner. "Umm, is it alright if we stay here? Then again, is there some exact place the earth leaders are supposed to converse?" She really wouldn't know which led her to get just a little confused... and yes, it showed in her frown and her fingers subconsciously touching her lower lip.
However, she did turn a little more serious in a little while. "What I wanted to ask you was about the mixed feelings of our element. You were a leader throughout the war, so you must've seen it all better. I can't say I was in the middle of the action or anything. The reason for my curiosity is that I wish to encourage more friendships between different elements. We've got wonderful examples of good friends between the fire and earth elementals, already, but... I don't wish to push anyone or seem insensitive to the previous occurring by saying this... if that makes sense."
|
|
|
|
Post by ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH on Aug 15, 2011 19:07:56 GMT -5
Ashton laughed lightly and shook his head when Leonora kindly offered to help him out with his assignment. "It's okay," he assured her. "I'll finish it eventually, I'm just not in the mood to do work right now and so nothing'll get done." That was generally how it worked with Ashton. If he was in the mood to work on some project or essay then he'd sit himself down and force himself to see it through until its end. This was usually the mood he got into when he was faced with an impossible deadline. The work might not be the most top quality, but it was always enough to scrape a pass. Average Ashton. "Even if I had help, I'm a bit too distracted." He shot Nora a goofy grin. Indeed, he wasn't in the mood to sit around and try to make sense of the homework he owed. He was in the mood to laugh and talk and joke around. His mood for cheeriness was part of the reason why he was so glad that he'd run into someone rather than having to laze around the Earth common room alone. It would have been boring if he was just going to sit here and stare at the walls for hours, but Ashton knew he would have done so to avoid working on that stupid essay.
"Secret rooms?" he repeated when she spoke of a magical castle she'd believed in when she was a lowly ninth grader. He remembered how much the Academy had fascinated him at first, considering he'd been from a lower middle class family and had only seen castles in pictures and read about them in books. He'd never thought it was magical, but it had still been an amazing first year. "Kind of like Hogwarts?" Yes, Ashton was being entirely serious when he made the comparison to the infamous book series. He remembered that the Hogwarts castle had a lot of secret areas and moving staircases and other magical things. "Sorry," he chuckled. "I'm not poking fun, I'm just being silly." For that was just all a part of Ashton's personality, after all. He was a silly guy who made a lot of jokes and loved to make his friends laugh, even though the Hogwarts question had been entirely serious.
Nora's excitement over her leadership position surprised him, and Ashton took a moment to remind himself that not everyone had been as unlucky with their election as he. Ash had been chosen because the previous Earth leader had been quite literally taken out with a bus, and Raleigh was meant to stand in for Richard until he returned. Unfortunately, Rich never came back, and Ashton had been forced to bear the brunt of leadership through a war and back. He didn't view it quite as cheerily as Nora, therefore, but he wasn't going to rain on her parade. "That's fine," he replied brightly. "A lot of us get excited when we're first chosen. The leaders are like the Academy's elite, you know? Even when you graduate, they never really forget you." There was a plaque on the was in the leader's room listing all of the previous leaders in all the elements. He had recognised his grandmother amongst the Water leaders of old and had laughed about how ironic it was.
"We can stay," he promised her in a reassuring tone. He wasn't about to insist that they go traipsing all the way through the halls just to have a little chat about their element. As long as no one tried to listen in on their conversation he figured that it was okay. Maybe they were breaking some sort of sacred rule, but Ashton had never been told otherwise and so he wasn't going to tell Leonora that they couldn't chat in any old place. "The leaders have a meeting room in the mess hall, it's disguised as a broom closet so no one tries to break in," he laughed. "We could get all official and go there, but there's really no need." He shrugged it off. "There are official meetings there every now and then, and we sometimes meet with the Water leaders to discuss the Alliances and stuff. Have you met the Water leaders yet? Jake's real nice." He considered his ally to also be a friend, because they'd gotten along after that whole awkward introduction thing was out of the way.
However cheery he was, Nora's topic of conversation made Ashton wince slightly. "I don't know," Ash replied doubtfully. "I really don't think it's a good idea for us to preach things like that so soon after Thunder and Fire targeted Nell so savagely." They had tried to kill one of the Earth students, and that was not okay. Ash didn't think it would be good for keeping their positions if they went around trying to force everyone to get along. Earth elementals were pacifistic, but even they couldn't get along with everyone. "On the other hand, I also don't think we should persecute people for being friends. Josh and Nell seem to get along pretty great." The Fire graduate freaked Ashton out a little, but he'd abandoned his whole element for his friendship with one of their own. "And even I've got an, uh, friend in Fire." Yeah. Friend. Just what she was, sure.
|
|
