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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Nov 14, 2011 18:11:28 GMT -5
Nell was definitely not going to tell Devin what to do in terms of inter-elemental relationships. She was involved in one. Of course, he’d defected from his element. But she could tell how Devin felt. She’d always liked Josh, even before he changed sides. It had taken his betrayal of his element to work his way into her heart, though. So it wasn’t like she could tell him what and what not to feel, even if she was that kind of person anyway. It was just difficult in the Academy, the way things always learned—she’d learned as such in only a short period of time. When you left, inter-elemental relationships were easier. Like with her parents, even though Mia did not inherit the gene and that had caused major problems between the Water and Thunder families. Plus there was the fact that their marriage fell apart. Okay, maybe there was no way to tell with these things, but she did believe that everyone deserved their freedom. It was just safer to keep to your alliance when in the Academy.
She was shaken from her reverie when Devin denied that he was as awesome a person as she claimed he was…and then said that she was one of the best people he knew. But you don’t know me, Dev, you really don’t. It was sad to think about, so she tried not to. Her friend didn’t know that she’d murdered her own mother, that she was a fugitive, an illegal alien, and as if to add to her crime cake, she had a topping of being an underage bartender. But her self-worth issues went deeper than that, it went back to her mother, to the derogatory word that had been carved into her stomach. She’d spent her entire life knowing that she was not good enough—for her mother, to save her sister, to keep her father around. But she jokingly told him, ”Oh, you flatter! Let’s just agree to disagree.” It was her own way of implying that she was not a good person at all, that it was him and everyone else that she paid more attention to that were the good ones. ”Just believe me, holmes. I know what I’m talking about.” She wanted him to be sure of the fact that he was a decent human being. A more-than-decent human being actually. It was people like him that she existed for, and she didn’t know what she’d do without him.
Nell waited for her friend to grab his jacket, looking almost mournfully at her dead plant. Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk. Winter would be coming soon and then all the plants would be forced into hibernation. Even her, considering that—Don’t go there. She had to literally force her thoughts away, bring to mind something else, more pleasant things. ”Now if I was a Water graduate, I’d be pro,” she joked, swirling the water in the bag around. It wasn’t really helping her burn, for sure. Out in the hallway, Nell was glad to have Dev around. He really was like a big brother to her, even though he was a year younger. The girl thought of her friends as family, as her relative. Those she shared blood relation with had turned their backs on her. You can’t choose your family, but you can choose your friends, and she chose to make those people like her relatives. They’re the ones she felt that familiarity with, protectiveness over, they were the people she wanted to be around. Not the Sinclair or Fuenteses, because they couldn’t give less of a damn about her.
”Sounds fantabulous,” she chirped. It was no secret that she really, really enjoyed food, so Dev wouldn’t be surprised at that. ”But no complaining on the way,” she scolded him like the child he behaved as. Even though she refused to complain herself, Nell didn’t mind when others did it. Of course, Devin wasn’t the whiny sort. Nell wasn’t a really indecisive person, but she liked to get others opinions first. If she were anyone else, she may have taken offense ath is off-handed comment about her project—“No, I totally forgot”—but she merely smiled at him. ”Then I’m dragging you to the gardens,” she said rather cheerfully, merrily going along. The chill was very noticeable, but her sweatshirt did a fine job at protecting her. It didn’t take long to get to the gardens, which would hopefully be clear of any enemies. They knew that this area was the stopping grounds of the Earth students. She headed down a path, looking for a good place to start her gardening. Finding soil that she could take from, she dumped out her old plant—ashes to ashes—and began filling the pot. She wasn’t too disappointed by this extra work because it meant she could fix on mistakes and make it even better. ”How has your schoolwork been, anyway? You know, what you’ve actually been doing?” she asked. And as usual with Nell, this just wasn’t to make conversation—she’d like to know.
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Post by DEVIN JAMES THATCHER on Nov 16, 2011 14:16:26 GMT -5
Devin could merely roll his eyes and smile at Nell as she waved him off passively, dismissing his complement entirely. She never did seem to accept his truthful statements with much energy—it was just like Nell to blow it off and move on to something other than her. It did not bother Devin of course; he merely shrugged and placed his hands into his pockets with a small smile. “Whatever you say, Nells.” It was amazing how someone was so quick to bounce away from complements, and then expect others to take their words to heart. Not that he wouldn’t do so; his friends were always full of encouragement and even if he did not always believe them the statements made him feel warm none the less. Either way it bothered him that Nell preferred this method of flattery. Devin decided to keep that to himself, however, because stating it aloud would not push them towards progress. Nell would be Nell, and that was the end of the story. “If you say so, Watson.”
Nell sloshed the water around in the bag with a somewhat wistful tone in her voice. He could only smile—no matter how many times he dreamt of having another element (not that he disliked earth, more just out of curiosity), being a water elemental was not really his preferred route if that were a choice. It was closest in personality of course, next to the winds, but having the element of Thunder would have been such a thrill for the blonde. He was not a vindictive or spiteful creature, thus his element strayed far away from it, but still one could always wonder what having a different elemental power would be like. “You would be, but then you wouldn’t be you so…let’s just stick with refreshing that bag of ice.” Devin suggested with a smile, ready to dismiss the entire thought process altogether. It was not something he wished to dwell on for too long, because dwelling on things that most certainly could not happen bothered him for one reason or another. Possibly due to his past, or just a portion of his personality, but either way it was not a subject to stick with for extended periods of time.
Luckily for Devin, the subject of food came about and thus pushed everything else to the back of his mind. Just the thought of eating made his mouth water, but he figured it would be best to get this plant ordeal sorted out first. Of course, waiting always made the food taste even more satisfying, so Devin was not all too bummed out by the wait. “Good!” exclaimed the blonde, his blue eyes focusing on their path ahead. It was a bit of a bummer being scolded by his friend, but instead of dwelling on that he merely pouted playfully and glanced over at her, sniffling. “But mooooom…” He whined, dramatically adding a slump to his shoulders. “That’s not fair.” It was all in jest, of course—Devin was not a bitch and groaner by nature. He knew how annoying it was to hear people whine all of the time. Athena did it on a daily basis. Huffing and crossing his arms with a partially indignant stare, he pushed onward. “Fiiiine, if I have to.”
Once they hit the grounds, Nell finally told them of their official destination. It was actually a good choice, because Devin was quite the fan of his element and anything involved with nature. He was no tree hugger for sure, but the boy loved the weather, the grass, the ocean…it was easy to admire. Going to the gardens sounded like an excellent choice, and honestly Devin might have wound up choosing it anyway. There was a slight skip in his step as he kept pace with Nell. “Well, fine, be all aggressive and what-not,” He grunted with a smile on his face, flailing his hands around for an extra flair. “I mean, forcing me to go to the gardens…rude.” Nell was the last person Devin could ever consider rude; in fact, she was one of the most thoughtful people he knew. It almost made him laugh aloud at stating something that was completely false, but as the peace around them took over Devin decided it against it for now. Once they reached the gardens, his friend set to work on the plant. Nell quickly dumped out the old plant and began working on refilling the pot with dirt. It took the blonde a moment to figure out what he should do to help, but eventually decided on kneeling down to gather dirt as well. He did offer to help, and thus would follow suit or await a request. Nell’s inquiry, however, stalled him mid-reach. The dirt fell into the pot effortlessly before Devin regained composure and continued to gather the soil in his dirtied hands.
“It’s going decently well,” muttered the boy, avoiding her gaze. He was not an academic, and used his intelligence to his advantage. It was not hard for Devin to retain information, events, pictures, and other facts that he deemed quite unimportant. However his memory was rather impeccable for a lazy kid, which in turn made him even lazier. Why work extra hard when you have the brains to get things done without wasting extra time? Now, he knew for a fact not everyone functioned that way—a lot of people did not gather and hold information like he did, and did not treat others differently because of it. In fact, he played on his laziness more often than he should, which might be why Nell questioned him about it. “I mean, I have all A’s and B’s, so I’m definitely not complaining,” He added, looking up at her with another handful of earth. What the classes contained during the day, he honestly had little to no clue so he merely left it at that. Besides, they were both earth students, right? Not much could be different.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Nov 16, 2011 17:30:42 GMT -5
Nell simply grinned at her friend’s words. They both seemed to be dismissing each other, and maybe that was why they could even be friends. They accepted each other for what they were and had no problems with it. She certainly never had problems with Devin. Especially since he could make her laugh with his quip about ‘Watson’. Oh, she needed to introduce him to New York slang. In the mess hall, howver, she blinked at his words. ”I guess you’re right,” Nell said as if honestly considering what he’d said. ”I like being a hippie too much to give it away, so I’ll just stick with Earth.” She said this with a grin. She really did love her element, it was a big part of her. It had given her hope when she was with her mother, even though she hadn’t understood what was even going on. She felt a kinship with the world around her, and she wouldn’t sacrifice it for anything. Especially since the Sinclairs were Water and full of people she despised and who despised her right back. Maybe ‘despise’ was too harsh a word for someone like her, but Jane grated on her nerves often enough to make it true.
She gave Devi na stern look as he mock-complained. ”No buts,” she chastised. ”And who said life was fair?” These parental cliches that most everyone knew were recently discovered by her in helping friends babysit their younger siblings and listening to them being scolded by their mothers. She had been scolded, in her mothers own way, but that involved much more than a wagging finger and tough words. Nell smiled as if successful when he relented. Well, with a huff, his arms crossed and pulling off the chilish look quite well. ”Yes, you have to,” she said, even though in reality, she wouldn’t force anyone to do anything. She hated others taking control of her life, so she wouldn’t do that to anyone else. Of course, the two were only joking like friends always did. It was odd, finally getting used to having friends. Though people may not believe it, her only childhood friend had been Tilly. She’d never honestly interacted with people before coming to the Academy, but she loved them all the same.
Nell rolled her eyes. ”Yeah, because you know me, all aggressive and junk,” she joked. Secretly, she hoped she didn’t ever come off that way. She didn’t want to be aggressive. Because that was tied with violence, and she hated it, even though it was the most prominent thing in her old life. Violence was connected with murder—she was not violent, but she was a murderer, and she didn’t want to give any indication of that. Did Devin see right through her? No, he couldn’t. He didn’t know anything, and it was better that way. As she worked on her plant, she listened to Devin speak. She noticed the drop in tone, but was not looking at him and couldn’t catch the way he looked askance. ”Guess I shouldn’t talk about boring stuff like schoolwork with you, huh?” she said lightly, running the back of her hand against her forehead. However, he responded that he was doing pretty good. ”Wow, that’s awesome,” she complimented him. She did rather well in school too, but that was because she liked to focus and worked hard. Nell didn’t believe herself to be exceptionally smart. She had good memorization for studying, and she could quote Hamlet line for line. But it wasn’t something she strived for, like she knew Josh did. ”Any news on the job front?” she asked, wondering if her friend had been looking around for somewhere to get paper.
[we can probably end this thread soon. ^^]
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Post by DEVIN JAMES THATCHER on Nov 16, 2011 19:07:20 GMT -5
“I’m pretty fond of our element,” Devin said thoughtfully. It suited him very well, and even though the other elements were intriguing none of them would be as enjoyable as earth. Besides, who wanted to be temperamental or spiteful? That simply would not do for someone like him. Shaking his head to change the subject mentally, he could only smile at his friend as she playfully scolded him for acting like a child. It was all in good fun, but Devin continued to pout and mumble incoherent sentences under his breath. He was so dramatic, but at least he did it with a smile on his face. Some people were way too eager to start drama with other people and strive to make others miserable. That was definitely not Devin’s intent. “No one didddd…” He grumbled in regards to the question about life being fair. Of course, oddly enough, Devin wished life could be fair. It would make things so much simpler and he would not have had to deal with his past. “But fine, whatever,” He tossed his hand up and put on a very thick valley girl accent, rolling his eyes with a wide grin. It was just too much fun, especially when the other person could appreciate your personality and sense of humor.
Nell was as harmless as a fly—hell, that was even a bad analogy because he considered flies to be very annoying, and this girl before him was far from annoying. In fact, she was always a joy to be around, even when he was in a state of solitary complacency. If he was off doing his own thing by himself and she showed up unannounced, well…that would be fine by him. Her cheerful disposition was always welcomed. However, when it came to talking about school, he was less than eager to discuss it. Devin was glad that she did not pry or tried to make a large conversation about it, because honestly academics were not his favorite subject to discuss while hanging out with a friend. “It’s not boring, just not my favorite topic of discussion,” Devin replied while hand-shoveling another pile of dirt into the pot with a vacant expression on his face. It brightened at her encouraging words, however. “Thanks, It’s not too bad for a lazy bum, eh?” Devin raised his eyebrow to add to the inquiry, smiling softly as he wiped the soil off of his hands. They were now black and wet, which was somewhat uncomfortable; nothing a good wipe on the pants couldn’t fix. He wiped the dirt away, leaving streaks of the dark earth on the sides of his pant legs.
When she brought up job hunting, Devin frowned. He was really interested in doing some work at the club if at all possible—he was good at turntables and felt that maybe he could be of use to them (never mind the fact that his first two initials were “DJ”). However they were not hiring at the moment so he was left twiddling his thumbs in the background waiting for that “Now Hiring” sign in the window. Shaking his head in response to Nell’s question, he replied, “Nope, nothing yet. Waiting for the club to get back to me…but nothing yet. Hopefully soon though.” His mind trailed off after that, absorbed in helping Nell get her plant back in order. That was what he came out here to do, right? That was top priority.
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