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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jun 12, 2011 17:23:41 GMT -5
Josh dismissed her concerns about the Spanish slip-up, and she truly hoped he didn’t mind. She always worried about things like that, but she had a feeling that if it truly bothered him, he would have told her. Especially since he explained what would have truly bothered him. ”Don’t worry, I would absolutely not do that,” Nell said with a rather stern tone, but she put her smile back into place afterward. That was something her grandparents would do, and have done, not only because it was their native language, but because they simply loved making others uncomfortable. She looked at him with a bit of surprise when he mentioned that he could speak French. She snorted a bit as she said, ”I’ll make sure to remember that.” It was almost like he had a sense of humor, but she couldn’t be too sure. He kept giving her hints, like a puzzle to put together, but other than that she really had no clue. ”You’re bilingual too?” she decided to ask instead. ”When did you learn French?”
She found she felt an odd sort of kinship with people who could also speak two languages. After all, it wasn’t too common. She wondered if his parents were from France or his grandparents, maybe immigrants from a few generations back. Whatever it was, Nell always liked to meet others who fluently spoke a language not of their own country. She also didn’t know if he learned it like she—and many other children with immigrant families—had and therefore had his own fair share of slip-ups. Hell, she didn’t even know what the language sounded like.
Nell leaned her against a tree as she tried to rest herself after the expended effort. She was sure an Earth student who’d been at the Academy since they were fourteen would have been able to do more than five trees, but she was definitely going to work toward it. She didn’t care if she passed out, that’s not what she worried about. Her biggest concern was things going out of control, and she was pretty sure that wouldn’t happen during the winter time. And she also knew it had connections to her fear, which is why she—She rubbed her palm against her forehead as she was about to think of that night trying to dispel such reminiscing. If she thought too hard about it…
”It would seem so,” she murmured, her voice a slight sigh due to her exhaustion. Nell looked up at her work, trying to imagine spring. She had never seen how great the season could be in the city really, there were barely any trees outside of the city parks, and even those looked like sad giants with constantly browning leaves, branches bending in somber positions, bark falling of the trunk. Nell had tried to make them look better much the same way as she did now, but there was only so much one could do with that. Nell was about to say something, but she felt quite drained and felt even more pathetic for it. Honestly, she hadn’t done as much in a day as she’d done in the forest with Josh. And she was hungry.
She pushed off from the tree and headed back over to where she had placed her bag of junk food, fishing out a bag of chips and calling over to Josh, ”Are you hungry by any chance? And I mean for real food, not cookies and chip.” The drain usually had this effect on her, and she wondered if it was the same for others. But then again, she did have a large appetite even when not using her magic. Nell finished the small bag of chips in a matter of seconds, but figured that the only way to replenish her magic reserves was some real food.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Jun 12, 2011 20:24:46 GMT -5
Nell seemed rather firm in her words against the Spanish slip-ups, Joshua arching an eyebrow slightly but not inquiring. It sounded as if it was something that really bothered her, but as to why he was not and likely would never be privy. She questioned if he was bilingual despite the fact that he'd practically told her outright that he was, though Joshua managed not to make a snapped retort. She then asked where he'd heard to speak it, and he replied to both with, "Oui, je suis Canadien." The mild smirk suggested that he was just pulling her leg, and sure enough he amended that quite quickly before she could ask. "It means 'Yes, I am Canadian'. I learned in school and through advanced lessons; Canada is a bilingual country, though not everyone takes an interest in both languages. Many only speak English and know minimal French. Only Quebec focuses primarily on French, as a province." It was honestly the most he'd told her about himself since they'd met. To be fair, on the flip side he knew very little about Nell, either. And since she'd asked after his bilingualism, he figured it was only sensible to return the question with, "And what of you? Assuming by your accent that you are indeed American, how did you acquire the Spanish tongue?" By general rule Josh did not pry into things unless the question had been asked of him--even ground. As long as the question was double-sided, not much could be gained by either party.
Despite the country being bilingual, there weren't a great many people fluent in both languages. From what he had experienced, most people outside of Quebec only learned in school and dropped French as soon as they were able. A portion (Joshua included) continued it after it was no longer mandatory, but they were the minority. It had been his parents who had insisted he continue with the classes. "It'll help you in getting a job, Joshua," his father had advised him. "Bilingualism looks good on an application." So he had. And he enjoyed it for the most part, even though he preferred Latin. French is marginally more useful than a dead language, he thought dryly to himself. He was fascinated by the Latin rituals and the way the words sounded spoken aloud--it was more of a personal interest as opposed to a useful skill.
Nell seemed rather exhausted by the drain that had been put on her by her powers, and on only this did they seem to relate right now. Joshua could feel hunger and exhaustion and what might have been dizziness prickling at the back of his mind from when he'd torched the tree--or avoided torching it, really. The only difference was in that Nell seemed to show her exhaustion a lot more on the surface whereas Josh was doing his best to cover up any signs of fatigue. Any form of weakness in himself was despised and cast out by the boy. He was never good enough for anyone, apparently, especially not his father. He wasn't good enough, so allowing things to get worse was not an option. If he was suffering he pretended he was absolutely fine because it made him look like nothing phased him. And though this façade was what he wanted people to see, it was exhausting enough to keep it in place.
She moved away from the snowless area rather suddenly, Joshua watching her walk away for a moment before following a little more slowly. He was in no rush to be anywhere today, really. His schedule was rather loose for the entire day, which he supposed was both his own fault and the fault of his lacking social life. Joshua had made it to the treeline of the small clearing when Nell called over, saying something about food. Normally he would have lied and said that no, he was absolutely fine, but there didn't seem much of a point right now. Hunger wasn't as much of a weakness as a normal human feeling. "Everyone gets hungry when they use their powers in excess," he shrugged instead, being elusive as usual but at the same time admitting that he was indeed short of a meal. "I take it you are most definitely feeling the effects..." He smirked a little in amusement. She wouldn't have said anything otherwise.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jun 12, 2011 21:12:04 GMT -5
On the other hand, Nell didn’t mind when he spoke in French. She had never actually heard it before, so it was interesting to hear. Though she was glad when he explained. A part of her believed he would be sadistic enough to let her figure it out herself, but the other part convinced her that he wouldn’t be that much of a jerk. And his smirk at least revealed he was joking (maybe? Did this guy really joke?) as he told her what he’d said. Apparently Canada was bilingual something which she should have known, she guessed, even though she’d just recently arrive. She smiled a bit with this new revelation, and said, ”Ah, I didn’t know about that. So it’s a mandatory class in school? Or did you just take it because you were interested?” From what she knew, they taught languages in public schools in America, including Spanish. But she didn’t want to say that aloud, because ‘from what I know’ would make it apparent that she’d never been in school before. But she was curious as to know how the school system here worked, and hopefully that wasn’t pressing for too much personal information from him. Josh’s explanation had been the most he’d revealed yet, so she didn’t know how he’d react.
When he asked her in return, she shrugged lightly. ”Si, yo soy Americano,” Nell responded with a teasing tone, the same way he had replied to her. ”Yes, I am American. My grandparents were immigrants from Spain and my father taught me the language.” Simple explanation, but not because she really wanted to hide it, but because she wasn't used to talking about herself. León homeschooled his daughters until the day Nell went and asked him to take them away from their steadily declining mother. Bad, bitter thoughts… Nell may not have looked very Spanish, mostly because of her mother’s influence in her blood, but also because many people from Spain looked like other Europeans, even the French. The common denominator in her family, however, was tan skin and dark hair. She looked a lot like her mother, but didn’t have her fair skin and wavy hair. Sometimes Nell hated the fact that she resembled her parents so much, even resented the Spanish language because it was a connection to her horrid family. But she tried not to let these things get in the way. So what if the language was her grandparents’ native tongue and they were manipulative bastards?
Nell didn’t consider exhaustion a weakness, but still didn’t say anything aloud, or complained. She hadn’t even said anything to her mother when she beat her, especially after she realized nothing she said could make it stop. ‘No’ and ‘you’re hurting me’ did nothing to deter the woman, but she couldn’t even think about these things anymore. In the hospital after waking up, the shock had caused her to almost breakdown, but the worst of it had been the vomit and the opening of stitches. From that point on, she buried everything in her psyche, held it back so that she didn’t have to deal with it. No therapy for her, no acknowledging the psychological trauma. That was how she believed she could deal and make it better. Ignore it.
She peered inside at her bag’s contents when Josh approached. He shrugged it off, so she couldn’t really tell how he was doing, but she assumed he was at least a little hungry, too. ”I was wondering if that was what caused it,” Nell said when he commented on the fact that exertion could cause hunger. So it was the same for him then? It was good to know that she wasn’t just a fatass. He seemed amused by this and she simply said, ”Want to go to the mess hall or something, then?” She still didn’t say how she was dying to eat some real food. Nell didn’t say things like that, especially not to someone like Josh who wouldn’t care either way.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Jun 13, 2011 16:51:01 GMT -5
She inquired more about the Canadian schooling system, which Joshua was absolutely fine with considering it diverted the attention away from him. "Only for so many years," he replied, "and unless one is passionate about it, it's not that easy to learn the language from simple classes." Joshua shrugged, then added before he could put any real thought into what he was saying, "I was interested, so I was tutored privately outside of school." Then he paused and realised that he'd potentially given away more about himself than he'd been planning. Shit. Even though Joshua was used to his façade, there were still times at which he slipped up and said more than usual. Times like now. He thought of a way to amend what he'd said, but how could that be easily dismissed? It wasn't like he could turn around and say, 'just kidding,' because he was not kidding. He wasn't the type to joke around about things like that and he was sure Nell would recognise this. So he just lapsed into silence and mentally slapped himself. Nice going, Joshua. It may not have seemed like much information to someone else, but to a boy who liked to keep most everything about his own life private, it was still more than enough. It was sad, really. He'd gone from a world of private tutoring and rich parents to struggling weekly with his funds and his life.
A spark of mild amusement flickered through his colourless gaze as Nell returned the favour by confirming her American heritage in Spanish. I suppose I set myself up for that one, hmm? He listened to her as she explained that her grandparents were Spanish immigrants and that she'd been taught the language by her father. His own parents both spoke French, though Patricia was better at it than Donovan. However, they had not spoken it in abundance around him whilst he was growing up. It wasn't their native language, so he'd only really heard them speak French when they were translating for a guest of some sort. Once he started taking the lessons, however, they would occasionally surprise him by both talking in French and forcing their son to figure out what was being said and then respond. It was not harsh and they did it not to berate him but to make sure that he was keeping up with his studies. Now he was capable of holding entire conversations in the language, and his mother only sprung it on him occasionally to make him laugh. "Ah, I see," he replied quietly to Nell.
Then he realised something--if she was from America, why didn't the Academy contact her at fourteen? He knew that the agents were not opposed to border crossing to contact those with elemental gifts. Of course, there was a possibility that she hadn't been registered into their system. The system tracked the bloodline of elemental families and prepared to break the news to the elemental child if their parents were unaware of the Academy as the Gift had skipped their generation. But Nell had come to the Academy only this year. How had she gotten to Canada? Did she stay with her parents, or had they sent her as a foreign student? So many questions at once, and not one which he was willing to ask her. It was a mystery, but it was one which she likely wanted to keep to herself if she hadn't told him already. His respect for the boundaries of other people was possible one of Joshua's only redeemable qualities. He didn't pry.
He dipped his head when she mentioned that she herself was hungry, however indirectly. "The consumption of food helps a little to restore energy, and thus elementals may feel hunger after they've overexerted themselves, considering the use of powers consumes energy in such rapid amounts." There was a biological science behind the elemental powers and the way they affected the human body, but he didn't feel like she'd be interested in an entire lecture on them. Joshua was interested in educational things, some people were not. He'd spare her ears. "I suppose we'd better. They may miss us if we're gone too long, anyway." He resisted the desire to yawn despite his fatigue and only hoped that eating something might help.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jun 13, 2011 20:50:31 GMT -5
Nell would have liked to offer a comparison between the Canadian and American educational systems, but she couldn’t. ”Ah, so it’s the rudimentary stuff you learn,” she mused, and she supposed it was the same in America. But still said nothing of ‘back home’ (even though that was a very loose term). ”It’s understandable then that you’d like to learn more, huh.” So he was tutored? Yeah, that sounded like something he’d do, what with his seemingly academic lifestyle. Josh fell strangely silent—and strange as in stranger than his silences usually are—as if he refused to say anything more. He was an oddball, that was for sure. But everyone was, in their own ways. And he simply didn’t want to let her in on certain things in his personal life. That was okay by her, and she certainly wouldn’t press. He hadn’t pried for information about her, for which she was thankful. Nell wondered if he had anything to hide, like she did. And she had that little tingling of the thought in the back of her mind that maybe he could see something in her that screamed ‘mother killer’ or something similar.
Again, it might have been that Josh had a sense of humor underneath the darkness and the overall weirdness. Again, he covered his tracks well. She didn’t say anything more, instead accidentally letting her mind wander to the man who’d taught her Spanish. Once upon a time, she’d admired her father. He taught her everything he’d known, and they both shared the responsibility in keeping an eye on Mia. León was the quiet, somber type, like most Thunder elementals, she guessed, even though she hadn’t even known about that until his parents told her. And so she’d come to him when she truly feared for her and her sister’s safety. Nell harbored an intense sort of bitterness and resentment toward the absent shadow of a man. It came through in the way she wondered where he was now, and hoping he was living in a cardboard box somewhere. But no, he was a rich fucking scientist who left his family to crumble. Her own animosity chilled her, and she rolled her shoulders a bit to rid herself of the thoughts. He gave a quiet reply, and she simply nodded in ascent. Thank you for the conversation, and if she had spoken the words aloud, they would have been said lightly and with humor, and she probably would have gotten her teeth knocked in. But as she was still unsure about Josh, she kept her mouth shut.
She lifted an eyebrow at him. You speak like a textbook. Nell nodded all the same. She actually enjoyed biology as she did learning. Nell may not have been as absorbed in books and studying as Josh was, but when she was younger she didn’t read medical textbooks just for fun. Those were different times, but she still retained the thirst for knowledge and aptitude in science. ”Makes sense. After you run a few miles, you get hungry, so I guess it should only apply to an elemental’s powers as well.” It was easy for her to think of things in terms relating to what she was used to—science and things grounded in reality. She supposed by now she should have been used to her powers and everything, but perhaps that’s what also complicated things. She smirked as she said, "Wouldn't want them to think we were eaten by any animals out here."
Nell led the way out of their spring-made woods to the mess hall, bag swinging from her arm. She’d save them for later, or most likely give the bag to Josh since it seemed he liked the cookies. As she came upon the castle however, she turned a bit to Josh. ”I’m not used to the castle’s layout yet,” she grudgingly admitted. In other words, she had absolutely no clue where the mess hall was, despite having just been there and having been there many times before. She simply didn’t retain directions well.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Jun 13, 2011 22:00:07 GMT -5
He was rather surprised by the fact that Nell did not pester him with further questions about his education; he had previously pegged her as the overly inquisitive type that would ask after such things. Nevertheless, he was quite relieved to discover that he was wrong. Though Nell commented on his educational pursuits she did not ask anything, thus the boy was able to once again allow his guard down a slight amount. He'd thrown up all of the shields the moment he'd let slip even such a small fact about his life, even though Nell probably wouldn't think twice about it. This was what people had forced him into Josh hadn't always been stiff and anti-social; once upon a time he'd just been a little reserved. In youth he was shunned for his interest in intelligence since most boys his age had wanted to run around and play in the sand, but he'd accepted this quietly and went back to his work. It had bothered him a little that no one had really liked him, but he hadn't been closed off back then. If someone had made an effort to befriend them, he probably would have accepted the extended hand with a smile.
A smile... such a rare thing to grace his lips today.
Eventually someone had offered friendship, but it had been a false offer. The boys in the gang had only wanted to warp his vulnerable personality into a tool for their enjoyment, and so they had. Joshua had been so grateful for the acceptance that he hadn't stopped to think sensibly. Deep down he'd known that stealing and hurting others was wrong, but his moral compass was shattered each and every time they encouraged him with grins and compliments. It was wrong but it gained him friends and so he stayed. He'd been right there when they jumped the boy. He'd noticed that they were taking things too far and he'd worried about that, but they always reprimanded him for being a 'chicken shit', as they'd so gracefully called it. A coward. So he'd said nothing, and then their victim had pulled a gun, and then one of the boys had pulled his own, and...
And he was dead. He remembered running and hiding in an alley--that was where the police had found him. Their flashlights had been blinding as they were shone in his face, the terrified fifteen year old huddled behind a dumpster, shaking. He hadn't wanted to go to jail for murder and so he'd named the perpatrators by request of the police and had been sent home. Then they'd found him. They'd found him and they would have killed him, they'd left him for dead. Sometimes he traced the curved scars under his ribs and winced as he remembered the nails tearing through his skin. There had been a lot of blood, but the pain had went away as the shock had kicked in. After the hospital Josh had sworn that was it--he would never trust again. And he hadn't. He had a few people whose presence he was comfortable in, 'friends' in some sense of the word. But they knew nothing about him, so there was no real trust established there. What would have happened if someone like Nell--she seemed so kind and genuine--had been the first to reach out and befriend him. How different would his life have been? No, he thought forcefully. None of those thoughts. They encouraged trust and trust was an evil thing.
He wasn't used to having anyone tolerate his presence for this long after he'd threatened to kill them, but that didn't matter. Trust was not an option.
It was with these cancerous thoughts in his brain that Joshua followed quietly up to the school, with no real plan in his mind for what he was going to do besides perhaps grab something to eat. It seemed like the most sensible of options after all. Nell's voice jolted him out of his thoughts for a moment and he furrowed his brow as he digested what she was saying to him. "You mean... you're lost?" She obviously knew where they were right now, but he was implying that she would get lost if he just broke away from her and wandered in a random direction. This was almost an amusing thought to Joshua, but he didn't entertain it. He was a jerk at times, but he had no reason to behave as such toward her at the moment. Perhaps he was not ready to place his trust in anyone at the moment but he'd at least accepted that her company did not irk him as most did. Granted it would have been obvious if she'd gotten on his nerves--he would have left without warning. "Follow me, then," he suggested, gesturing down a hallway before he started walking down it. "I'll show you where it is."
There was a silence for a moment as they walked, and for once Joshua decided to break it. "Have you never been to the mess hall before?" It was all that he asked, and he figured it was a light enough question. It wasn't very personal and so he didn't have any inner qualms about asking it. He just hoped that she didn't get offended or anything--people who took offence usually snapped at him, and that would likely ignite his anger again. Contrary to popular belief, Joshua didn't enjoy the fact that everything irked him. It was tiresome and not a very nice situation to be in. Even his 'friends' sometimes had to step carefully around what they said.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jun 14, 2011 15:58:10 GMT -5
Nell was pretty good with self-control—most of the time she was able to sense when to push and when to leave be. And since Josh seemed to have a problem talking about himself and his personal life, she wouldn’t press him for information no matter how curious she was. Her own personal life was not something easily divulged, at least not her past. She was still wondered whether to simply abandon it and act like it had never happened or face it and most likely suffer an emotional breakdown because of it—currently, she teetered in the middle with the constant threat of a fall. If she ignored it, it’s like it never happened. But she still had the scars and the nightmares and no matter how far she went, or which country she was in, those things wouldn’t leave her alone. When will I stop running? Never, if she were to be honest with herself. She was too much like her father in those terms—Aunt Jane had called him a pussy, and Nell hated that she agreed with her aunt on anything. But that in turn made her the same thing, so she supposed her resentment toward her father was something hypocritical.
A part of her wondered at Josh’s childhood. She didn’t know much of him, couldn’t even infer some things that she would have otherwise been able to see in others. But it was clear they were barely even acquaintances, and so such questions about his past would be too much. They’d probably be too much even if they were friends. Nell’s own past was something kept under wraps, safely tucked away. She could give away things like how she learned Spanish and insignificant details like that, but she has never spoken aloud anything about her childhood. She’d never had anyone to speak it to. Well, except when she was defending herself against her family who twisted the truth like it was nothing. The bruises and welts? Nell was a problem child who got into fights a lot, that’s how her grandparents explained it away. The knife wound? Self-inflicted so she could get away with first degree murder, her aunt had shrugged it off ass. It all came together nicely for them. Still, because of their own pride they refused to work together. Or maybe the two families decided to unite against their common enemy, Nell had no way of knowing. Unless she looked it up in the news, though she doubted how much she would find. And she was always scared of what she might find.
There was so much she’d thought she’d left behind, but she knew that her family would find away. They didn’t just give up because she made a break for it. Aunt Jane had even told her that should she run, they would find her. They were the Sinclairs and their mob relations and their seedy crime syndicates—all hypocrites for trying to indite her. She had once thought she couldn’t hate anyone, but she came very close with her family. But that was probably just fear. And guilt. And shame. Stop it, Nell. It took a lot of effort when she had to actively prevent herself from falling too far into her thoughts of what she considered to be her past. But her family couldn’t just be part of the past, they would always be with her, somewhere out there.
Nell sheepishly raked her fingers through her hair and tittered a bit as he seemed a bit confused by the fact she was actually lost. ”Yeah, I’m a bit…directionally….impaired…indoors,” she said slowly, looking away and coughing a bit. It was embarrassing to admit she had problems getting around indoors when she was just fine trekking her way through the woods. But whatever. Thankfully, he led the way without any ado, and she followed obediently, trying to formulate solutions to her directional problem. She put up post-it notes before, and that had helped, but she felt bad for was sure people would start taking them off the wall and they’d create a mess or something would go wrong. She guessed that it was just something she had to live with, that was ingrained into her.
She laughed a bit as he decided to break the silence as they walked through the hall. If only you knew, Josh. ”Plenty of times,” she responded. That probably made her inability to find her way even stranger, but again, she didn’t mind if she came off as strange or normal. Hopefully nice and non-threatening, that’s what she hoped to give off. Especially in front of Josh, since there was always the possibility that he would whip out his hand-dandy switchblade should she say something wrong. She didn’t doubt that he had it on him now. Was she scared? No, it took more than the possibility of violence to instill fear in her, but she still treated around the Fire student with caution. ”Legends shall be written about my appetite.” She wasn’t embarrassed to admit that because, hey—it was true. ”How about you, do you enjoy eating?” Everyone liked a good meal, but she meant in the way she did, where she felt like a fatass when she could consume an entire rotisserie chicken in one sitting.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Jun 14, 2011 18:49:13 GMT -5
Nell seemed sheepish about her lack of directional prowess but Joshua didn't mind all that much--he just nodded as if to say that it made sense to him and went silent for a moment. "Perhaps you should get one of the maps from the main office," he suggested, for once being helpful when it didn't really benefit him or wasn't the result of a promise he'd made to a professor. "They're generally for use of the freshman since they don't know the layout of the Academy very well, but I'm sure given your situation they wouldn't stop you." He almost smiled again, but stopped himself. "I've seen a couple of seniors carrying them around. It's a big place, helps to have some sort of an aide." Joshua himself had stubbornly refused to carry around a map during the first couple of weeks at the Academy, not wanting to look like some directionally impaired idiot. Of course, he'd also gotten lost countless times and missed classes so he'd eventually sucked it up and committed himself to memorising the easiest routes to his classes and then exploring on his own time until he got used to the large building. His stubborn nature didn't always work out in his favour.
Apparently Nell had a massive appetite considering what she'd said to him, and for some reason the boy found this both amusing and admirable that she'd had the guts to admit it. A lot of girls were so paranoid about their looks and their weight that they barely ate enough to keep themselves alive and whined at the slightest gain of pounds. Sneaking a deft side-glance at Nell so that she wouldn't get suspicious or anything--because how awkward would that be?--he decided that her metabolism must have been a work of art. Despite claims that she ate so much she was still quite thin. Was she kidding or just incredibly lucky? Yet again the desire to ask questions was fought down by the more dominant desire to keep his mouth shut and betray all chances at human connection. It was tiring trying to keep himself so distanced from other people.
She asked after his own appetite and Joshua blinked in surprise. Should he answer? It wasn't like she could really gain anything from this. "I... eat when I have to," he said slowly as if digesting the very words which he spoke. "But I'm vegetarian so I certainly don't get to enjoy a lot of the classic staples like steak and pepperoni pizza." Yet again, though he was revealing a bare minimum about himself, he felt that sort of pressure and discomfort at the back of his mind. He knew deep down that it was entirely psychological and that he was being ridiculous but his paranoia was about as legendary as Nell's appetite, it seemed. Still, he didn't take it back or anything. He'd said it, he'd admitted it, and surely it wouldn't be that bad. "Not that I'd really want to," he added with a quiet frown. "I just... I can't either way, so..." It was very vague and the hesitance was actually becoming a little apparent in his tone even as he tried to fight it off. Beware, Joshua, your mask is slipping, he thought.
The mess hall was only just starting to fill up when they got there, so it wasn't like they were incredibly limited on choices. Not that Joshua ever really was. Some people were brave enough to stand up to him and others strong enough that they didn't have to worry about his fire and his temperament, but there were many younger students or those whom his element was strong against that would quickly back off and get out his way. It was incredibly helpful, but he wasn't the type that would purposely scare anyone off unless he was in a foul mood. Which right now he was not--his mood was pleasantly average, surprisingly.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jun 14, 2011 20:13:50 GMT -5
Nell almost stated that for one, having her nose buried in a map would not be good for her coordination and for two, maps really didn’t help her. But she felt no need to come off as completely incompetent. Maps weren’t very good for her since how her mind operated in terms of directions was…strange. If she had a set route ahead of her, that threw her off. A map would only emphasize that. She needed wide open spaces to feel comfortable. ”I guess I should try that,” she said breezily, looking off to the side with her hands in her pockets. ”No harm in walking around the halls with a map.” Unless I get lost looking at it or trip over my feet in doing so. She sounded pathetic even in her own head! Yeah, she wasn’t going to admit this all out loud.
Josh didn’t ask any further on the subject of her appetite, and if he had, she didn’t know how she would reply. Because she understood how it was strange how someone with her stature could eat so much. It was a matter of having the metabolism of a god, being born unfortunately healthy (for her sister died because of it), and keeping active. Her journey to Canada certainly helped in keeping off weight, and she rarely sat still for even a moment. When she was younger, even with the abuse, her mother fed her well enough. But she supposed the fear of looking like Till just before she died really made her want to eat as much as possible to stay healthy, the image of those sunken-in eyes and thin wrists and just sickly appearance drove her on. Her sister couldn’t stomach food when she fell very ill, and in the weeks before she died she couldn’t even speak. Nell wanted to stay healthy since she was the surviving twin and if she didn’t make it, somehow Tilly’s death would have all been in vain. She didn’t want to become sickly and die too.
He seemed almost hesitant to respond, and she had to wonder why it seemed like he did that all the time. Everyone is different, she thought. But her eyes gazed up at him in interest when he stated he was a vegetarian. ”Ah, so does that mean you take vitamins for all the steak and pepperoni pizza you’re missing out on?” She said this lightly, the ending meant as a joke, but she wondered if Josh would he answer. He sounded so hesitant and measured, it was rather strange. It took him a few moments just to get his sentences out. Nell smiled when she said, ”To each his own. I can’t say that you’d like it even if you had it, so it’s not like you really are missing out on anything.” But she left it at that because god, did he seem so uncomfortable simply speaking about his eating habits. Not that he would go on and on about his diet or anything. But it was almost as if he thought she could use the description of his diet against him.
Nell guessed she could have considered the mess hall her sort of church, a sanctuary for her. She ordered food, but made sure not to go too overboard since she didn’t have much money to spare. Still, three slices of pizza, a mountain of fries, and fruit on the side may have seemed a bit too much. Not that she wouldn’t eat it all in a matter of seconds. She waved and said hello to a few of her friends, fellow Earth and Water students, before turning to Josh and asking him, ”Is there a place you usually sit at?” Or would telling me that be too much information?
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Jun 14, 2011 20:58:33 GMT -5
She seemed a little evasive and distracted when he mentioned the map, but though it confused him slightly Joshua asked no further questions about it. Nell was just as elusive as Josh in some aspects and he could respect that enough to back off at times such as these. He did have to wonder why she'd taken on such a breezy tone, however. It doesn't matter, he insisted to himself, because you're not going to ask her. And that was that.
Nell seemed almost amused by the vegetarian thing, or at least some aspects of it. He wasn't really offended. "Yes," he admitted when she asked after any sort of vitamin supplements he might be taking. "It takes careful monitoring of my diet to ensure I don't acquire any deficiencies. So I take several." Though he was still uncomfortable with the entire situation he was at least not shutting down and refusing to speak to her any more which was marginally better than what might have occurred with someone else. It just seemed a silly thing to be getting so worked out over and so Joshua was fighting to overcome this odd feeling and put the façade back into its place. Sure enough the mask fit like an old friend as he said, "I could not stand the taste of it ever since I discovered what it was made of." The smell just made him feel slightly nauseous but if he actually put it into his mouth he was guaranteed to gag just a little. The idea that it had once been alive sickened him. He wasn't a vegetarian activist, he never said anything against anyone else, but it was just personal choice.
When it came to a matter of funds Joshua was usually quite lucky with how little he had to spend at the mess hall. He never indulged in things like pizza or hot dogs like a lot of the students enjoyed doing; instead he went for healthy choices like salads and side-dishes. There was a large pot of something that looked like macaroni and though he usually would have passed on it it seemed to be quite fresh and cheesy today, so he hesitantly took some of it to go alongside the large plate of vegetables. He had to double-check the contents of the dressing before he would put any of it on his salad, making sure that it didn't have any sort of meat products before satisfied enough to put a light drizzle over the lettuce.
He noticed Nell waving to a couple of people from the enemy Alliance whom he assumed were her friends and it caused an odd prickling in his stomach considering he'd never had any sort of connections like that and it felt strange hanging around with someone who did. Sure, he hung out with Jake and all that but it was different--they usually met up outside of school and so there was no worry about Jake's Water friends hailing him when they were hanging out. "I always sit in the same place," he said with a shrug. The table was empty as always considering he'd sat there (usually alone) for the past five years already, going on his sixth. Sometimes he had company for a day such as Dani, but not often. "It seems your friends may want you to sit with them," he said. "No need for me to impose on your presence any longer." Because she had people whom would provide much better and less grim company, and Josh wasn't going to subtract from that. "See you around."
[Since it's a boarding school only things like pizza and such would cost money--things like potatoes and fruit and other healthy stuff is free (;]
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