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Post by ALTAIR SABINA BENNETT on Oct 29, 2011 19:07:23 GMT -5
Altair would rather not be holed up in the Fire dorms right now when there were assholes she could fuck up, but since she was skipping out on detention, it was the safest place for her to be right about now. She pinned her hair up on top of her head as she looked down at the laptop on her legs, a webpage for a modeling agency on screen. She knew she could do it again. Altair certainly had not lost her looks, because she took great pride in them—she still had the mentality of a model, the poise of one, the spending habits of one. Of course, the latter was a dangerous thing, but she was trying for her sister. Rowena was really the only person she’d ever try for.
Sighing lightly, she shifted and used one hand to hold the laptop as she pulled her pack of cigarettes out of her back pocket. Lighting up, she tossed the Marlboros on the table, and exhaled as she continued her reading. Altair had ambition, that was for sure. She may not have been book smart, but she knew what she wanted and she would stop at nothing to get it. Getting back into modeling should be nothing, then. So what’s stopping me? Life, mostly. She was trying harder in school now, but she still had a dead-end job as a stripper and a whore while still trying to keep her shithole apartment from falling apart. All she wanted was a better life for her and her sister—it gave her enough reason to look into a well paying modelling job again.
As she was clicking another link, she picked up the coffee placed next to her ankle on the floor. I wonder if Rowena’s doing all right. She worried about her sister a lot during wartime, but she knew the girl was more than capable of taking care of herself. She didn’t need to be babysat, and Altair didn’t have the time to be doing that really. Taking a sip from the cup, she noticed it was lukewarm and wriggled her nose. Sometimes she wished she were a graduate so she could manipulate heat and nuke the coffee, but instead she just took the lid off and used the cup as an ashtray. Focused as she was, she did not hear another person approach. ”Where the fuck have you been, Altair?” the guy said, in the process of peeling off his shirt in dormitory’s heat.
She didn’t look at him as she continued to click with her mousepad. ”Skiving off detention,” she explained curtly. ”Well, you missed me kicking some Earthie’s ass. We were supposed to walk to classes today.” Altair did not apologize because she felt that she didn’t owe anything to someone she considered a mere acquantance. Instead, she said, ”Just that I’m not a pussy who relies on the buddy system. Shoulda warned you ‘bout that.” It was spoken in a monotone voice, and though it earned a glare, the boy went back to his room to do whatever the fuck he was doing and Altair returned her attention to the screen.
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Post by LARK MARIE HARPER on Oct 29, 2011 21:32:51 GMT -5
LARK ,Wow, what a shitty day. First, she woke up late and wound up late to her first class, which in turn threw off the entire day to the point where she just stopped caring about the discussions. The teacher's words fell on deaf and uncaring ears. She took to doodling on her paper, no defined picture turning out of her scribbles. Lark loved her art, but when out of focus nothing good came of it. After the day dwindled down into nothing, Lark shoved her books into the satchel and made way towards the dorms, ignoring most of those passing along the way. That was...until she accidentally bumped into an Earth elemental and a small brawl ensued. Luckily for Lark, it only lasted two punches. They threw the first, and she threw the second. Simple as that.
Rubbing her cheek and sulking quietly, the girl entered the dorms and stormed into the main room. Very few people lingered, the heat almost uncomfortable had she not been fired up about the small dispute with the Earthie. With a sigh she slipped the hoodie over her head, leaving Lark in her cargo pants and black tank top. As she turned to go towards her room, movement caught her eye. Swiveling her head slightly she saw a girl sitting there with a laptop and a pack of cigarettes, one disposed of in her drink. I could definitely go for a cig right now...maybe calm the nerves. She thought to herself as she approached the girl, sitting across from her.
Part of Lark wanted to bring up conversation, and the other wanted to simply enjoy the silent company. But the cigarette was incredibly tempting...with a slight shift of her position, Lark leaned back on her hands, sighing with frustration.
"It's been one hell of a day. You mind if I have one of those?" Lark requested gruffly, gesturing to the pack of lights on the table. She was never much of a smoker, but it was a decent relaxer, and that was greatly needed at the moment. If the girl refused, then at least she was in the company of her own element. Could always be worse, right?
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Post by ALTAIR SABINA BENNETT on Oct 29, 2011 22:21:50 GMT -5
Altair may have been a jackass, but she did have enough people skills to know when to try and be polite. In her own way, of course. She lifted her eyes from her laptop to see a brunette girl, one that seemed to be slightly familiar, though she couldn’t put her finger on it. Jutting her chin to the pack, she said, ”Go ahead.” She may have been a selfish bitch, but she saw no reason to withhold a new pack of cigarettes from an ally. If you gave her no reason to dislike you, Altair could be a decent enough person. Not like she’d ever smile or giggle or anything that would show she liked someone, but she tended to tolerate people easily enough. Now, that is. Things change when you realize what’s important, and her sister and life was more important than any sort of bitterness she had. Most of the time.
Her gaze flicking back over to the screen, she asked the other girl, ”You’re Lark, right? We have classes together.” Her voice was a mixture of casual and indifference, though it always had a tone of general disinterest. ”Altair Bennet,” she introduced simply, her gaze no longer on the other girl as she leaned to side to rest her head on her arm against the couch. Her shirt slid off her shoulder, and even though it didn’t really appear so, most of all her clothes were designer. From her jeans, to her heels, to the jewelry she wore. She was certainly not a disheveled mess, even when she was just sitting in her dorms. She was an ex-model with a huge ego, so it was hard to leave behind some things from that life. Even if her spending habits weren’t great with the lifestyle she led.
Remembering that Lark had mentioned having a craptastic day so Altair asked, ”What happened to you?” It wasn’t that she necessarily cared, more for casual covnersation. She was doing good with that, lately, knowing how to carry on conversations. They may have a lot of sarcasm, but they were still conversations. And it was easier to make…well, acquantances. She didn’t know if she could consider people her friends because she wasn’t friendly and she didn’t go out of her way to really make anyone’s lives better. It may have seemed sad that she didn’t know what a real friend was, but she had her sister and she had party buddies, and that was enough for her.
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Post by LARK MARIE HARPER on Oct 30, 2011 20:18:15 GMT -5
LARK ,"Thanks," Lark gratefully took the pack of cigarettes, flipping the top open and picking out the one closest to her. Marlboro was not her favorite light--she preferred Camel herself--but beggars could not be choosers when they needed something to relax. It was either this or take down a few shots of tequila, but after the last time she preferred the cigarette. At least this go around. Lark pulled out her own lighter, which she kept on her for such occasions (and to mess around with her powers). She put the cigarette between her lips lightly before lighting it, sliding the lighter back into her cargo pocket before exhaling. Closing her eyes she felt at ease now. That was, until the other girl spoke up.
They had classes together? Her memory really was failing her, because the only familiarity about the other female was more of a brief passing. Lark had a terrible habit of losing herself within the surroundings, forgetting who was where doing what. Most of the faces at this school were a blur, save for Sam and Josh, who were the closest things she had to truer friends, if those even existed at the school. The brunette tilted her head slightly, clearly confused by her statement, but refused to admit that she forgot who she was. "Yeah, that's me," Lark replied hesitantly, wondering how she even knew her name, yet she hardly recognized this girls' face. "Nice to meet ya." Her nod was curt and brief before she blew out again, the smoke weaving past her nose.
It was the next question that caused Lark to fumble the cigarette, it's hot tip nearly hitting the floor. She caught it as gracefully as possible, trying to be inconspicuous. The last thing Lark needed was someone to see her tossing around a cigarette like an idiot. Honestly, Lark was surprised to hear someone actually ask about her day. The statement she made before asking for a light was not to look for sympathy--far from it. More of an excuse to get a cigarette. It worked, thus Lark felt her excuse would suffice. That was, until now.
"Ah, what usually happens when you accidentally bump into another element in the hallway." She said coolly, acting like it was no big deal. For Lark, it was one of the first fights she literally walked into, and was prepared to avoid another at all costs. She knew her temper and what it led to. Besides, it was not in her nature to babble about her shitty day in the first place, so she figured she would leave it at that.
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Post by ALTAIR SABINA BENNETT on Oct 31, 2011 20:16:20 GMT -5
Altair didn’t pretend to keep interest in the girl as she took the pack. Not that she was trying to appear rude, but her attention was drawn to the computer screen and Lark wasn’t offering up conversation at that point. She had some manners, but she didn’t believe they didn’t include filling in silences with her voice. Now, if she had a point to make or a fight to be won, you’d better believe that she would make her voice heard. However, she merely skimmed the information on the website, blue eyes darting back and forth down the lines as she absorbed what she was reading.
And they were still reading as the other girl seemed confused about being in the same classes as her. Not like Altair took special interest in her or anything—it was just the fact that they were in the same element and had classes together. Usually, though, Altair was too busy painting her nails or fixing her hair or causing a disruptance to care about anything else. She didn’t make it a point to learn everyone’s name in the Academy. She just knew a few faces that she could pin names to. She snorted at the hestitation in the girl’s voice, and said, ”Just remembered your name from roll and the fact we’re in the same element.” She gave a shrug, showing that she didn’t feel the need to explain herself. Was it really odd that Altair actually had a memory that went beyond two days? Hell, it was rare that she got black-out drunk, so she could consider memory as one of her few strengths. Well, she believed she had more strengths than that, but they were mostly in her head. Altair didn’t say any other pleasantries to Lark in terms of their meeting, just tapped her manicured fingernails against the mousepad.
She managed to peel her eyes away from the screen to see Lark fumble her cigarette, and lifted her white-blond eyebrows in an incredulous expression. The fuck is with her? She didn’t know if the chick was hopped up or something, but it was simply a question. This is why I don’t talk to people, they’re just goddamn weird. ”So an exchanging of candy grams,” Altair said dryly, flicking more ash into her coffee cup as her eyes strayed back to the screen. ”Been to the medical wing a few times,” Altair said coolly through a puff of spoke. ”Fucking worth it.” She turned her eyes and gave Lark a once-over, she said, ”S’pose you didn’t get into too bad a scrape.” It was merely an observation, and she didn’t really care whether or not the girl got injuried or went to the medical wing.
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Post by LARK MARIE HARPER on Nov 2, 2011 11:35:32 GMT -5
LARK ,Regaining composure, Lark blew the smoke through her nostrils, leaning back against the chair settled behind her. The backpack she had was slumped next to her, and with a swift movement Lark unzipped the bag and removed a book--it was a reading assignment that she was not very interested in, but knew it had to be done none the less. She was definitely not the best student, but it never hurt to try. As she flipped the book open to the first page, the other girl spoke. Lark was social, but did not make a lot of friends or acquaintances. She did not mind starting conversations and talking, but some people simply annoyed her and felt it best to keep things short and sweet. That, and her attention span in class was little to none when it came to the students around her. With a shrug, Lark flicked the cigarette. "Never paid much attention."
As she looked back down, the clacking of nails startled her train of thought. Lark fought rolling her eyes as she flipped the page. The brunette was far from being girly, and the female across from her was clearly the opposite--at least in her attire, make-up and nail care habits. It did not necessarily dress you up for being a giggly, gossiping girly girl, but for Lark it made her first impressions difficult. Although she could tell by the way Altair carried herself she was at least a little different from that stereotype, which she could silently appreciate.
When she looked back up, Altair was staring at her with a really strange expression on her face, which Lark gladly returned when she responded to her being in a fight in the hall. Worth it? Definitely not the kind of girl I assumed she would be. I can definitely appreciate that. Although I don't seem to be as eager to go to the medical wing... With a nod that she thought Altair would not see, Lark agreed. "Not bad, no. They picked the wrong day to fuck with me." She flicked the cigarette again. It was true; today was not the day to mess with Lark Harper. For one reason or another her day was not on the top of the "Best Days" list, and it put her in a rather foul mood towards those who stepped on her toes. Did she want to fight? No. Did it feel good to introduce her fist to the Earthie's face? Hell yeah.
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Post by ALTAIR SABINA BENNETT on Nov 2, 2011 17:16:40 GMT -5
Altair wasn’t a very conversational person, even though she tried. However, if she felt like the person wasn’t giving an effort, then she wasn’t going to give an effort back. She didn’t see the point in it. Of course, if she was drunk, then she’d be a little more…talkative. Whether that was good or bad depended on the situation and who she was with, really. And even if she wasn’t talking, if she was in the company of someone she didn’t mind, she wouldn’t bother filling in the silences. She didn’t think it necesarry to yammer someone’s ear off, and she was perfectly content to just sit with Lark, smoking and looking up information about this agency. Now she was capable of cooperation with someone in the same space as her. Had this been before Syria’s death, Altair might have taken to harrassing Lark for no real reason. I have bigger fish to fry, she thought dryly.
She snorted. ”Every day is the wrong day to fuck with a Fire,” she commented dryly under her breath. It was true, since they were the most easily provoke of the elements. It probably only encouraged Water students, but she wasn’t about to admit how much balls they seemed to have in their gleeful trolling of the enemy element. She hated them too much to give them any credit, and she wasn’t about to go into a ramble about her thoughts, either. Maybe someone who wanted conversation might have, but right now she was just gunning to send this e-mail and then find something to do. She didn’t like to sit on her ass all the time, which was why she liked to stroll out of class whenever she pleased—listening to the professor and painting her nails only occupied so much time.
After typing up the e-mail and a long silence between the two girls, Altair closed her laptop and locked it up in her dorm before coming out to say, ”I’m going to the mess hall, if you want to come.” It wouldn’t really make much of a difference to her, but since they were in a war and it was good to travel with at least one other person, and she didn’t mind Lark’s unobtrusive company, she figured why not.
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Post by LARK MARIE HARPER on Nov 2, 2011 18:10:32 GMT -5
Lark could not help but smirk and nod in agreement with Altair--with their fiery, short tempers they were sure to get into disagreements with the other elements and with one another. Sometimes the disagreements were quite physical, but that was nothing new. The air grew still around them, both seeming to enjoy the silence. Lark was only social with those who were also social, and when she noticed Altair was the type to keep things short and sweet, Lark did the same. Not that she minded in the least--it felt nice to sit in the company of someone who did not expect her to strike up conversation every five minutes to keep the silence from eating away at the space between them.
After a few more minutes, and about twenty pages later, the sound of a laptop closing startled her into looking up. Altair had obviously finished whatever it was that she was doing, and stood up, making way towards her dorm room. Lark mentally shrugged to herself; if Altair was done socializing, that was fine by her. At least she put a name with a face and could safely walk into a classroom and see a familiar face that at least exchanged words with her. As Lark was about to revert her focus back to the current page, Altair came back out of her room and approached her. She looked up, a small smirk of appreciation on her face. "That sounds like a plan. Could go for some food right now."
She pushed herself off of the floor and stuffed the book back in her bag before going to her dorm room and tossing it inside carelessly before slamming the door shut. At least she could walk to the mess hall with another fire elemental, and one that would not take shit from water or earth. They would at least make it to and from the hall without as much of a hassle. Well, even if they did, she was fairly sure they could handle anyone that crossed their path.
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Post by ALTAIR SABINA BENNETT on Nov 3, 2011 15:27:15 GMT -5
Altair simply nodded in ascent when Lark expressed her desire to eat. ”Let’s blow this joint.” She stubbed out her cigarette on the bottom of her heel and put it back in her pack before heading out of the dorms and into the dungeons, the stomping grounds of their allies. She never liked the dark too much, but it was hot unlike most dungeons would be, and that was good enough for her.
It was like you could tell there was a war when you walked through the hallways, with peole huddling together in groups, looking cagily around. Sometmes Altair thought about how strange this new world she’d entered was. Before the Academy, she and her sisters had been models hailing from a middle-class WASP British family. Then, everything fell apart for them and they’d landed themselves here. Now there was one less triplet, and the emptiness could still be felt. The intentional bumping of shoulders with someone who must have been from another element disturbed her from her thoughts, and she quickly took out her Zippo and cast a glance around for any professors before igniting the flame and burning the guy’s arm. She snorted when he let out a cry of pain. ”Pussy bitch,” she muttered. Must have been Earth or something. Luckily, this didn’t cause as big a fight as it could have been.
The mess hall was no different, of course, with people sitting together in their groups. Altair may have watched her diet, but she wasn’t one for veggies. She’d very much like to be a carnivore, but she was also vain—of course, not to the point where she’d purge herself to stay thin like Rowena had. She got her food and asked Lark, ”Any place you usually sit?” Of course it would be with their alliance, Fires and Thunders.
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Post by LARK MARIE HARPER on Nov 3, 2011 20:38:44 GMT -5
Lark nodded briskly as she also put out her cigarette and tossed the extinguished butt into a nearby trashcan on their way out of the dorms and into the dungeons. They were stifling, but she preferred that to just about anything else. Better than freezing to death or swimming, that was for damn sure. When they entered the hallways, however, it went from a stifling physical heat to a stifling metaphorical heat. You could tell that there was a lot of tension lingering between groups of students, their glares dark and full of hatred. They clung together like Velcro, unwilling to stray from their friends. Lark smirked; they better not stray too far, because that left them vulnerable to the Fires and Thunders who were quite relentless in their aggression.
Just as the thoughts passed through her mind, Lark turned her head to see Altair take a lighter to another student's arm. He was clearly in pain from her attack, but she did not flinch. If the Water and Earth elementals were going to start a war with them, then there was no way in hell Lark was going to sympathize with an Earthie. Maybe another day when there was peace among the elements (not that there was much peace, but no war at least) she might feel some slight remorse for torching the kid. If she did, it would not be for herself, but for Josh. Lark held a high loyalty to her childhood friend and would not allow any other allegiances alter such a bond. "They messed with us, we mess with them," Was Lark's response to Altair's comment about the male, clearly agreeing with her. It almost bothered her making the statement though; Josh would have been disappointed. No matter though, their friendship was a secret and it had to stay that way, including putting on a front with her fellow fire.
After a few more glaring matches with some Waters and Earths, they finally entered the mess hall. The glares were now in group form; Lark could almost see the sparks flying between the elementals as they milled about getting their food. She followed Altair to get her food and once she had it in her hands she glanced around the room briefly. Not that it did much good--they were going to sit with their alliances. "Nah, no preference. As long as it's away from them, I'll be fine." Again, the guilt, but it had to be done. When was this war going to end!?
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Post by ALTAIR SABINA BENNETT on Nov 4, 2011 20:43:47 GMT -5
The lighter safely discarded in her pocket where no one else could see, she nodded at Lark’s words. ”Fuck with them either way,” she said with a snort. Sure, she didn’t go out of her way to cause fights anymore, but that didn’t mean her temper wasn’t easily riled anymore. She was as violent as ever, and Earths were good targets for her fire. After having abandonded it—along with her sisters—for so many years, she was starting to discover that she actually liked the element. It made her feel empowered, and she enjoyed it a lot. Which meant that she wanted to get stronger. She did not appreciate being in the tenth grade when she should have been a senior, but there was nothing she could do about it. So she’d endure for the time being.
Noting the glares from the other students, Altair flipped them a bird with a smile. She’d since abandoned the British way of holding up her two fingers since she understood these Canadians wouldn’t really know about that. If the others wanted a confrontation, she wouldn’t deny them, but they seemed to be busy enough eating. ”Sounds good,” she said, rolling her eyes. Altair didn’t even care, really, but whatever. She found a seat far enough away that she wouldn’t cause any problems with aggressors from other alliances, and started in on her food. Again, she was silent, not feeling the need to fill in their comfortable silences with chatter.
When she was just about to mention the leaders in passing, she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket and pulled it out to see that it was her sister who’d skipped class. Altair smirked. ”Meal time seems to be over,” she said, putting the phone away as she made to get up. ”I’ll catch ya later then.”
[Sorry, but Altair is being a bitch to me. xD If you want a thread between them in the future, we could plot over PM since I have some ideas?]
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Post by LARK MARIE HARPER on Nov 5, 2011 11:01:04 GMT -5
Lark did not exactly agree whole-heartedly with Altair's statement--maybe because, even with her temper, she was not one to seek out a fight and try to stir up trouble with people if it was not exactly necessary. Besides, if Lark put herself in a position to physically or verbally attack every Earth and Water student that walked down the halls, she would feel like a horrible friend. Not that her friendships were always one hundred percent awesome all of the time, and feeling guilt over disliking the opposing alliance was pretty stupid and petty anyway. Lark made the choice to stick with her element, and that's how it would stay. Either way the girl remained silent about Altair's comment. Instead, Lark took a seat across from the blonde, also digging into her food and not minding the silence lingering between them.
The food was pretty good, considering it was mess hall grub. Lark would prefer to go out and find something to eat around the Hollow, but today was not exactly the best day to go wandering around in the cold. Being a fire elemental, the winter was less than pleasant, at least for Lark. She was still in highschool, and had not yet managed to master controlling heat. It sucked. As she took another bite of food, Lark took notice that Altair had take out her phone, smirked, then proceeded to stand up. Lark nodded to her before focusing on her food once again. "Yep, later." Lark was accustomed to eating by herself, so she enjoyed the company while she had it, and enjoyed the solitude when she didn't. It was the best way to live.
[Oh, that's fine! You can PM me any time and we can work something out for the future. <3]
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