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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Oct 9, 2011 22:39:45 GMT -5
The stone walls of the long detention hall were all too familiar to Joshua as he glowered at the supervising professor and balled up the little slip, tossing it to him. "Respect--" the man started, then had to go through the trouble of unfolding the pink note to get a name, "--Dale, or it'll be another week's worth." Joshua chose to ignore this, not in the best of moods at the moment but also not wanting to provoke the professor too much by coming up with a scathing response. Unlike some of the students who were either glaring at the walls or ceiling or else writing lines, Josh wasn't here for scribbling on the desks or running late to class. The supervisor read through the note that had been written up and then glanced at Joshua, frowning. "Take a seat, Dale," he said in the characteristic tone of someone who was about to give you a very boring lecture.
Wishing that he could back out of this somehow but knowing it was quite impossible, Joshua dropped his bag beside a chair (it landed with a dull thunk thanks to the number of heavy books it contained) and sat, gazing evenly at the man who stared him down. He knew it would probably have showed more respect if he looked guilty but his temper was still simmering down after the confrontation that had landed here and he couldn't quite convince himself that guilt was the right emotion to express. He at least managed to keep himself from outright sneering, which would have definitely gotten him a sharp reprimand. "Do you know why you're here?" Joshua considered playing stupid or else just giving some form of a sarcastic response, but then reminded himself that to do so would make him sound like a child. "Yes," he decided eventually, though he still didn't take his eyes from the man that faced him.
Unfortunately, this didn't discourage the older man. "Can you tell me why you're here, then?" Josh felt as though he was being treated like an ignorant child who was just a tad slow or touched in the head. It offended him and he bit back the words that he was itching to say, instead working his jaw for a moment and inhaling a breath through his nostrils--he feared that if he opened his mouth, he would not be able to help himself. Gaining control over his temper was a difficult thing to do, even lately. "I could." Right, so perhaps it wasn't as smart ass of a comment as he'd been dying to say, but it was still disrespectful. The professors eyes narrowed. "It's not in your best interest to be smart with me," the professor reminded him a little coldly. "I'll ask you again--what did you do to end up here?" Joshua regarded him evenly for a moment, then said in the calmest tone he could muster, "I punched someone in the face, sir." He knew that the man was already aware of this, as it would no doubt be written on the pink slip he still had clutched in his hand.
"Right," the man replied slowly. "Well, then, you can just sit here for the next--" he glanced down at the paper, "--two hours and maybe you'll think twice about solving your next problem the same way." Joshua just blinked at him, not bothering to respond, until the man shuffled off toward the door to open it for the next sorry bastards that were going to be given an earful. Joshua sighed, already bored with the prospect that he'd need to sit here--without the usual company of his books--for the next couple of hours doing nothing. He didn't figure it would be worth it to explain himself to the supervising professor. It wouldn't matter to him whether or not the bastard had deserved it. There were certain things that crossed the line with Josh and when you pushed him too far, he snapped. It wasn't his fault that the Thunder elementals always knew the wrong thing to say. Rolling his eyes, he accepted that he was condemned to a hundred and twenty minutes of monotony and began the wait.
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Post by arabella on Oct 9, 2011 23:18:57 GMT -5
Arabella Carthage had been called many things during her school career and most of those things rolled right off of her because she simply didn't care that people thought she was soulless or mean spirited. There were a few things that could get her attention in a single moment though and those things required attention. When that last season Prada knockoff of a sophomore dared to call her a liar it needed to be dealt with. Immediately. Her little cow friends had known immediately that the girl had crossed the wrong line because they had backed off, but little miss couldn't do that. Oh no, she felt the need to stand her ground and take whatever Ara wanted to throw her way.
The infant hadn't lasted even ten minutes before she was a sobbing mess against the wall wishing she'd been anywhere but in front of Arabella. All it had taken was a few scathing words about her wardrobe followed by an assessment of her face and body and Ara's doubts as to whether anyone would ever love something as pathetic as that girl. Everything that Arabella had said was true, that was why the girl was such a mess and likely to need counseling in the future. Of course the professor hadn't thought it kind of Arabella to point out all of the little nobody's flaws and so had cuddled the girl and handed Ara a pink slip while pointing down the hall and telling her she was sure that Arabella knew where detention was by this point.
Bella pulled open the heavy door and entered the detention room with a look of irritated disdain on her face. She spotted the professor immediately and raised a single eyebrow at his look of put upon irritation. "Back again Miss Carthage. What was it this time?" He demanded as he made his way forward with all the usual bluster he deemed necessary. Arabella smiled darkly at him, not in the least bit ashamed to be there. "A spineless worm who talked a larger game than she could actually play," She held out the pink slip with 2 fingers, staring at him blankly. He didn't frighten her like he did some of the other students who got stuck with him for an afternoon. Her eyes traveled around the room, pausing on a familiar figure that caused a sneer to come to her lips.
"If you don't stop your bullying we are going to need to take further steps to correct the behavior." Her attention was immediately brought back to the professor, her eyes narrowing in anger as the rest of her face froze. "I didn't start it, I just finished it. Without physicality this time so I think I've actually made an improvement. So long as that stupid cow doesn't talk to me again we shouldn't have to worry about a repeat performance." She gave him a brittle smile before continuing on. "I know the drill professor. I'll take my seat and focus on the inevitable repercussions of telling truths other people don't want to face." She was baiting him but they saw each other often enough that they had a good read on one another. She knew he didn't really have any control and he knew she wouldn't cross the line into flat out verbally attacking him even though she had little to no respect for his authority.
Arabella turned about, eyes narrowed in on a face she despised. It wasn't her smartest move but she was in a bad mood and so she walked forward and sat down at the desk beside his and turned to give him her most dazzling smile. "And here I thought you'd been run out of the school. However did you manage to avoid all those pitchforks?" Persona non grata did nothing to explain what Joshua Dale was to the Thunder Elementals. He was less than the weakest little Earthworm.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Oct 10, 2011 1:19:05 GMT -5
Though he was scarcely interested in who else he would be sharing his sentencing with, Joshua glanced toward the door of the detention hall regardless as it opened again. His gray eyes narrowed in defined distaste as he recognised the figure of the blonde that walked through it, immediately shaking his head and turning away. Great, so he was going to have to sit here with that bitch for two hours. Detention hadn't sounded like too terrible a punishment in return for nearly breaking someone's nose but now it seemed as if even an hour was going to draw on forever. He couldn't kid himself to think that she would say nothing. He'd disliked her for years and he was sure that the feeling was mutual.
Listening to her talk tough to the teacher made him sneer slightly in spite of himself. You really think you're something, don't you? He kept the thought to himself for now, knowing that to interrupt the supervisor as he called her out would only get him into more trouble and it would be Arabella who had the last laugh. He couldn't allow that. The Fire graduate held his tongue almost literally, pressing his lips together so as to keep the thoughts well behind enemy lines. Maybe he could resist saying them at all if she left him alone, though he doubted that was possible. He was trying to keep his nose clean to stay in college but there were so many incidents where there was temptation to toe the line. Like now. Like five minutes ago, when he'd considered being a smart ass to the professor. Like fifteen previously, when his fist had met someone's face. Unfortunately the latter had been temptation he had given in to, and he was paying for it now.
Though he did his best to ignore the comment as she sat down--she's baiting you, she wants a reaction!--Joshua had never been the best at maintaining his temper. It was no secret that Fire elementals usually had bad temperaments and he was volatile even for their kind. He debated toying with the temperature of the room to remind her that he was a Fire elemental and thus not the type she wanted to fuck with, but them reminded himself about the presence of the supervisor. Though he was busy enough with the other students that he wouldn't notice back-and-forth banter, even he wouldn't be able to ignore a spike in heat. "The hatred of your kind is hardly enough to chase me from the Academy," he drawled in response. "I'll combat their pitchforks with torches and then we'll see who's laughing." The colourless eyes narrowed, a hint of a threat behind the words.
"So," he said, with a conversational but venomous air, "pick on some more freshmen today? It must be hard, relying on others for your self-confidence." He didn't try to keep any sort of pride or contempt from his tone. He knew that the Thunder element hated him because of Nell and he had long since accepted that. She was his girlfriend and if they had a problem with that they could take it up with him. Clearly, Ara had a problem with it. If only there wasn't a professor in the room. Though he lamented the fact they were being supervised and this could only amount in wordplay, it was actually for the best. If he got into a fight whilst he was here for fighting... well, that expulsion might have happened sooner than he thought.
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Post by arabella on Oct 10, 2011 15:10:22 GMT -5
He was trying to ignore her, if she had been a tiny bit fond of him it might be adorable. Because it was Dale she just smirked. Her eyes were half hooded as she stretched her long legs out to rest her feet on the empty chair in front of her. He wouldn't look, he'd never checked her out the entire time they'd been acquainted. Of course part of that could have been that they had rubbed each other wrong since day one. Even before his betrayal and the problems with Cynthia.
She knew the instant he had chosen to respond to her words. He might think he was oh-so suave and mysterious but he was just another boy who wanted attention. He was simply too coy to admit it. For all he looked down his nose at her, Arabella at least was honest about her need for attention and adoration. She had planned on ignoring him but his words struck her as suddenly funny and she turned her face toward the older boy. "My kind? I do beleive you mean our kind. It wasn't just the Thunder, it was the Fire as well or have you already forgotten? They certainly haven't."
Arabella let out a huff of laughter at his comment of combat. She wasn't going to fight him without some backup, not with powers. Hand to hand she'd go in an instant. She might look deceptively thin but she had a great deal of muscle and she had no problem admitting that she fought dirty. After all it was winning the battle that mattered, not how you got there. There weren't rules in war like their were in sports and she took full advantage of it. We'll bring our pitchforks and our Fire friends and then we'll see how you're little torch fares against a wall of fire." She sent him a brittle smile and then faced forward once again, folding her arms across her stomach.
Usually Arabella could respect someone that spoke his mind and was obviously intelligent and powerful but Dale was an exception. She might have respected him even as she disliked him when she was younger but it had all dried up with Cynthia's death. She had idolized that woman. Strong, passionate, beautiful, powerful ... she was everything that Arabella had wanted to be. She despised Dale for turning on them. He had turned his back on everything that Arabella stood for and respected and there was no forgiveness for treachery. His voice snapped her out of her silent seething, she shouldn't have sat beside him. His mere presence was disturbing her.
She wasn't ashamed of her actions as he seemed to be implying she was. "She was a sophomore and the stupid cow was the one who started it." She waved her hand dismissively, knowing she was in the right about that and choosing to ignore his implication that she was a bully. He wasn't the first to insinuate such and he likely wouldn't be the last but she was comfortable in her assertion that she was not, in fact, a bully. She was simply strong minded and too honest for some to handle. There was nothing wrong with that. His opinion of her didn't matter, he was nobody. No one. "Picking fights again Dale? It must be so hard searching for Daddy's affection in all the wrong places." She pouted with false sympathy, a mocking sort of anger in her eyes as she stared at him.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Oct 10, 2011 22:56:59 GMT -5
Joshua only sneered at her response to his words. She was provoking his temper and it wasn't always the wisest thing to do, but the fact that they were in the detention hall was at least reigning him in a little bit. Much as he'd have loved to smoke her out with his powers he would deal with her words with words of his own for now. "No, not our kind," he said with disgust. "I don't count myself amongst a bunch of would-be killers." He was still bitter to how they had gone after Nell with almost no evidence. Fire had turned on Thunder at the end to force them to back down and stop the war when they'd found evidence that suggested Nell was not as guilty as they'd first thought, but now the old allies had melded together again. Fire and Thunder may have forgiven each other for their disagreement, but Joshua had forgiven neither of them. Of course, that was mutual. Not that he cared.
If she thought that she was going to frighten him by suggesting a mass attack it only made him more furious. So she was enough of a coward that she had to have her element and his backing her up before she'd dare to start a fight with him? He didn't like cowards. The Fire element often attacked in groups and backed one another up, sure, but that was only after a single fight had been lost. "I'm sure you'd feel nice and safe behind that wall," he shot back. "And you clearly don't know the Fire element as well as you think." He let that comment stand on its own, not bothering to explain. She wasn't a Fire elemental, she didn't know them as well as she did. That was fine, that didn't bug him in the least. He didn't know the ins and outs of the Thunder element and didn't really care to. Joshua knew, however, that his element would not help Thunder to attack him. They were furious with him for betraying them but they looked after their own. It was a twisted sort of loyalty. Only they could cause problems with Joshua, in their mind.
The irony of the Cynthia situation was that they had been friends. Joshua had gotten along with Cyn in all her bitchy glory and they'd even slept together once for the hell of it. Nell, on the other hand, had not been in Cynthia Bainbridge's good books. In blaming her own death on Nell, it made Joshua lose almost all of the friendliness he'd felt toward her. It was hard to grieve over the death of a girl whose last act had been to try and bring Joshua's best friend down with her. They were more than friends now, of course. Speaking of romancing, Cyn was one of the only one-night stands he actually regretted. He had put that past behind him and didn't let most of it get to him but sleeping with Cyn felt like he'd betrayed Nell in some way. They hadn't even been dating--hadn't even been friends back then, but it still felt strange. He didn't think on it often, but the memory of Cynthia disgusted him. At least no one knew they'd slept together. That would have made it even worse.
Joshua rolled his eyes and a sarcastic and dry laugh burst from his lips. "That makes it so much better," he shot back sarcastically. He didn't see the appeal of bothering the younger students most of the time. He'd give them a hard time for the hell of it on occasion (mainly the Water freshies) but he didn't actually mean much by it. He didn't concern himself with their lives. He was an adult, he was trying to force himself to let go of childish habits. Arguing with Ara, however, was one thing that he didn't seem able to resist. She grated on his last nerve and he couldn't help that.
The comment about his father didn't really phase him. It was true that he did want Donovan's approval--had wanted it, before he'd been kicked out--but Arabella didn't know that. She didn't know anything about him and so her insults were more like grasping at straws. He didn't tell people about his family or about where he lived unless he trusted them and he sure as hell didn't trust her. "And how do you know I've even got a father? If you're going to insult me, at least do it right," he mocked. He didn't like people that based everything off lies but at least it made their insults easier to deflect.
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Post by arabella on Oct 11, 2011 20:26:41 GMT -5
Arabella felt a cold smirk spread across her face and she tilted her head toward the tall young man as though she were going to share a secret. Her tone was civil with a hint of disgust as she spoke. "I'd actually feel safer behind you at least I know to expect you to turn on me at any moment. She turned her attention forward dismissively, as though he wasn't worth paying attention to once she'd said her peace. Of course this was patently untrue since Arabella was one of those that felt the need to say the last word and so had to respond to everything he said.
Dale drove Arabella to fits of rage no one else ever had. There was just something about him and incited her to instant violence, verbal and physical. Being in detention kept her from physical violence. It didn't stop the verbal barbs though. She flung them with abandon and as usual he gave as good as he got. It was irritating. Most people were gibbering idiots once she was through flaying their fragile psyche with her hard-to-hear truths. Dale just stabbed back. Even when they'd been on the same side, that time so long ago, the two had disliked each other.
She turned and sneered at the older boy when he laughed at her. She had slapped down that cow quickly and efficiently and now the little slag would think twice before picking a fight with someone older and tougher than she thought she was. A girl needed to know when to stop herself from going too far and Arabella was more than happy to teach them where that cut off line was.
Now it was Ara's turn to give a dry laugh as she turned and raked scathing eyes over the tall young man. "Bollocks Dale, I know. That entitled air of yours isn't something a person is born with, it's something that is bred into a person. Those designer labels don't come cheap. Either you're looking for approval from somewhere or a priest was touching you in the rectory as a child." She might not know his details but Ara was observant and stupidity was not one of her flaws. For all she knew he might not have parents at all, he could be an orphan. That didn't mean he wasn't trying to prove something to the memory of his dead parents or whoever had raised him. People were always trying to prove themselves to someone.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Oct 14, 2011 13:00:44 GMT -5
Joshua was not like Arabella in the sense that he was quite fine with dropping an argument once he was satisfied with what he had said. However, he merely gave a cold and unamused laugh when she shot back a retort. And how does that make any sense? he thought to himself, shaking his head. It was much safer to reside behind allies than behind someone that would turn and cut your throat at a moments notice, but this wasn't what he planned to respond with. "At least I can think for myself," he said, lifting his chin slightly as if challenging her. He wondered what she thought of being accused of conformity. Once he'd never given much thought to sticking with the masses. He'd agreed with the majority of Fire element views because he'd been raised by Fire elementals and had spent most of his school time with the Fire kind in the dormitories. But he also had his own values, his own opinions, and the moment these had been challenged he'd had no problems with turning his back on his allies.
Sneering, he went on, "I'd be willing to bet you know nothing about Cynthia's death." Not a lot of people had. Hell, Joshua hadn't either at first. All they had known was that the Thunder leader was dead and that some source (who had since been driven from the school when the war had ended and people had sought a different kind of justice) had falsely claimed Nell as the killer. Rather than using the doubt to hate Nell, he'd found the doubt as a reason to protect her. So he had, and he was paying the price with the label of treachery. Josh didn't care too much. If they had a problem with his girlfriend he didn't want their support anyway. "Unless you've forgotten, Carthage, we won that war." He smirked, letting that settle in. Thunder had been soundly defeated simply by the fact it had been outnumbered by all four of the other elements. Even their own allies. "I wouldn't get too cocky."
He actually managed a bit of a laugh when Arabella went on, not sure whether to be exasperated or amused by her words. "Try again," he shot back smoothly. "I never went to church as a kid." He was taunting her with the truth now. As for proving himself to his parents, well, maybe once upon a time he'd tried to live under the comfortable illusion that Donovan would be proud of him. Now that he was disowned and living a deception with his designer labels and fancy car whilst he had no real cash in his pocket there was no one to prove anything to but himself. Not that he'd tell Ara any of this. No, the only person who knew he had been disowned by his family was Nell. From what he'd found out Donovan wasn't even admitting this to other people himself. Why? Was the man afraid of being ridiculed for chucking his heir out onto the streets. Is Belle the heir now or will they replace me? he wondered absently. The idea of his parents having another son to fill the shoes of their discarded heir sickened him and thus he pushed the thought aside. He was very good at pretending problems didn't exist in company--even if that company was as negative and unwelcome as Arabella Carthage.
"And what does that speak of you, Carthage?" he shot back. He might not know much about the girl but he was going to twist her words around if he could. Twist them away from himself and toward the very speaker herself. "Speaking of a need for approval..." He shook his head as if disgusted. Joshua was only speaking of the way she seemed to make herself feel better by bothering other students. He had no idea about the way she allowed guys like Brett to take her down a peg only to stick around because they called her beautiful. He was merely directing his words to the issue about her calling the younger students 'cows' and the like.
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