First Day Home

[thatted]

It was a cool September day at the lake. A calm, regular day for anyone to enjoy. One glance above, one can see a canvas painted blue with white complementing the color. With a slight glance forward, the blue background slowly turns a fusion of green, orange, and red leaves. Adding more to the canvas was Suddenly, a gust of wind blows, disturbing the balance of colors created on the canvas. Rather than destroying the canvas, however, the wind paints the canvas with a small of mix of green, red, and orange hues without ruining the blue and white canvas that was already created. The colors fall below onto a green bed, slowly covering green with a mixture of other colors in order to create a nice feel.

That was the point of view of Rylan. He sat near the lake, wondering what was around the university. It has been very quiet so far, but not at all uneventful. He spent much of his time moving in and taking care of paperwork, but that wasn't much due to his limited needs. It was his first day here after moving into his new home. A new, stable home to come back to any time. He felt unusual to stay in one area for such a long time. But nevertheless, it was a new experience to learn from. What can go wrong? He didn't learn much from standing still, so he approached the lake, sitting by the edge.

Rylan just sat there quietly, observing the wind blow a slight current in the lake. That was certainly interesting to see. Perhaps if the wind could create currents, Rylan could do something with his element as well? What can he do? ....Lets try the obvious. He got on all fours, head facing the lake. Suddenly, without notice, his head was in the water, currents and bubbles created from the force. After some time under water, he pulled his head out, breathing heavily from what seemed to be a failed attempt. He looked down at the lake once more, an indifferent demeanor on his face. Was that supposed to happen? Maybe. He pulled his hair down, somewhat feeling unconfident in his element.

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

Unlike a certain Rylan Svoboda, Joshua Dale was not enjoying that particular day in the dying summer (or, perhaps, coming autumn) beside the lake. He was out on the grounds, for once not seen with a textbook and assignment papers, but with a simple book. It was an interesting read that had absolutely nothing to do with school and the lack of work involved was a nice change. Even Joshua appreciated when he was able to break away from the constant labour of studying and cramming for tests. He had a bright mind and an aptitude for learning but he certainly didn't want to devote the rest of his days to constant studying. Heavens, no, he figured his brain might explode if he did that. So he was taking a break, completely unbothered by the chill in the air. As it were, he didn't even notice the drop in temperature. As a Fire elemental and a college student, the heat that he emanated as he rested against a jutting cliff face was enough to fight off the biting September air.

Though he was not close enough to the lake to feel the discomfort he would if he'd been right at the waters edge, he was still close enough to hear what was going on. A high-pitched giggle followed by a curious exclamation of, "What is he doing?" caught his attention. Keeping place in the book with his thumb, Joshua flicked his gaze away from the black ink on the pages and toward the waters edge some twenty feet away. A couple of girls stood much closer to where he was sitting, but in their curiosity pertaining to the boy at the waters edge did not notice the lurking presence of the Fire elemental. He paid them little mind after an initial glance, however, for in a matter of seconds he wondered exactly as they were--what the hell was that guy doing? Intrigued and exasperated in spite of himself, he slid the true bookmark into the pages and extracted his fingers, closing it and holding it at his side as he drew nearer.

He still stayed a good six feet back, for even the shallows of the lake weren't something he wanted to tangle with. He didn't know enough about this guy not to trust he wouldn't be pushed in if he was within range. However, on closer inspection the guy looked younger than Joshua and so his confidence in the situation increased. In fact, the words that he next spoke suggested that he felt little fear at all. "Do the rest of your element make frequent attempts at drowning themselves," he drawled with a smirk that Rylan, whom he was not facing, likely wouldn't see unless he turned at the comment, "or is that just you?" Though he'd said 'the rest of your element', Josh was unaware of which element he was referring to. He knew nothing about this guy--not even his grade; he simply assumed 'young' because of his size compared to the graduate himself. He could, for all Josh knew, be a slight college student, and Josh was getting into it with the wrong sort.

[thatted]

OOC: dah, need to get better lol

Rylan continued to sit where he was, staring into the water's surface. He could see the reflection with his saddened eyes, as if the water was telling him of his own failure to control his element. Why did I fail? Was what he thought in his head. Maybe it was due to his neonite status as an element user. That may be it, even though he knew himself well enough. Despite his self knowledge and his abilities, he did not seem to know his own power over water. He supposed that this could be an opportunity to learn more about himself. It was a place to start out at least. But still, he was pretty disappointed about his lack of ability over water. What was he doing wrong?

Rylan looked up, noticing the girls giggling at his own wet form. He looked down once more, feeling more unconfident over himself. Any thoughts about learning was gone after looking like a fool in front of people with more experience. To add salt to injuries, one approached him with sarcasm in his comments. He could not tell what he was saying, but he was somewhat aware that he was the target of his comment. More giggles arose from the girls around before they wandered off, as if they had enough of Rylan looking useless. Maybe the comment was an insult. Rylan stared at the person, noting his appearance. A man with glasses, older than him, and with a book. He seemed smug, perhaps too overconfident. Rylan approached, his gaze no leaving the stranger. He may have been too quick to judge, but to be ridiculed for his own failure was something Rylan could not accept. "Does it matter what I do? I'm exploring my element. You seem to be busy insulting people." Though he was unsure of what the person said, he may have been too quick to judge.

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

[Josh doesn't wear glasses, btw xD For the sake of the post I'll just say that he had his sunglasses on, though, cause he does wear those a lot xD]

The Fire graduate arched an eyebrow as the other elemental spoke to him, almost as if he was sassing him. It wasn't a good idea to get on Joshua's bad side but he also didn't plan to attack someone just because they threw a couple of words around. Rylan, however, didn't know that. Smirking a little, the graduate replied, "Exploring it? Is that what you call that?" He knew it was a mark of immaturity to be trolling a younger guy like this but for some reason Joshua couldn't help himself. It was just too tempting to mess around with their heads, especially when the guy talked back to him. Josh wasn't exactly what you could call a bully--he didn't go around intentionally picking fights with people. He was a sophomore in college and he was confident enough in himself that if he were of the bullying sort, he could pick targets closer to his age group. This, however, was just something he had done on a whim. The guy was acting weird and so he was going to call him out on that. If it started an argument, well, so be it.

Peering at the younger boy over the top of his expensive shades, Joshua looked more bored and amused than antagonistic. "Let me guess," he said with an air of slight distaste, "Water element?" He didn't try to disguise the slight contempt that he felt toward the boy. Josh was getting better with his hatred of the Water alignment but it was six years of prejudice that had yet to be reversed. He might have been able to resist confronting them outright but this subtle wordplay was just too tempting to pass up. He could have found a bunch of better ways to handle this situation or else just walked away, but decided against it. He had no plans to make this anything more than words, though. He was at least sensible enough to understand that picking on the weak made you

[thatted]

Rylan kept his eyes on the person who confronted him, listening to every word this stranger was saying. He felt the smugness and the attitude from this person. Rylan only kept looking at the person, wondering what he has ever done to this person. What reason could this person have to show discontent to Rylan, let alone to anyone else? Rylan looked down, feeling saddened and confused. Was it his own failures that caused people to look down upon him? What if it were his actions? He was not much of a confident, especially when he did not know what he did.

He stood up, looking at the person straight in the eye. He stared past the dark shades the person wore, trying to get into him. "Ya. I'm a water element. What are you? Better yet, what do you have against me?" He tried to put up a brave face, especially against this bully of a person. Deep down, however, he did not seem too confident. This person was older, wiser, and maybe much more skilled at fighting than Rylan. Either way, what else could he do? Who knows, maybe it could help him. "Ya. I'm exploring my element. What problem do you have?" He continued the tough guy attitude, but wondered if it was the right thing to do. After all, it was his first day and he was still getting used to the facilities, let alone the students. First day home and he was already in a conflict with someone.

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

It was rather amusing to Joshua to have someone stand up to him and challenge him. He didn't know how good this guy was with his powers but if he was sticking his head under the water to try and find his answers Josh's guess was 'not very'. It was with this mindset which he smirked and stared at the Water boy from behind the dark glasses. His shades gave everything a shadowy sort of tint which he was used to by now seeing how often he wore his many different pairs of designer sunglasses. "Don't put words into my mouth or actions into my intentions, kid," he suggested. This guy probably wasn't too much younger than him but he decided to be an asshole and make it sound a lot worse than it was. It was how Josh made a habit of getting to people, after all. He was a jerk and whilst he couldn't exactly boast that he was proud of it, he certainly didn't make too much effort to change himself.

He had ignored the question about his element until Rylan started to speak again. Now the guy was starting to get a little cocky and Joshua pondered for a moment what he should do about this. He wasn't in a fighting sort of mood today but the Water guy didn't need to know that. Joshua was just going to mess with him a little and see how he reacted. Of course, if Rylan had the nerve to actually attack Joshua there might be a bit more of a problem. "I never said there was a problem," he pointed out. The smirk returned to his lips and his gray eyes glittered from behind their shady covering. "Do you want there to be a problem? I can arrange that." Just to let Rylan in on how outmatched he was, Joshua waved his hand and a tongue of fire swirled around the area for a moment before dispersing into smoke. He'd created it without a catalyst and it barely had any noticeable affect on his stamina, indicating that he was in at least twelfth grade or older.

At ease but also seeming rather smug about it, Joshua addressed the younger boy casually, "I suggest you don't go making trouble where there isn't any." He was not as confrontational as some of the other Fires but that could change on a dime if he were riled up enough.

[thatted]

"Che...." Was the only word that came out of Rylan's mouth. What else could he do? This person seemed to welcome the challenge, and proved that he was quite a contender with his fire. What could Rylan do to match him? All he could do was make little drops of water appear by dipping his hand in a water source. "Don't doubt what I can do...." He said, trying to look stern.

He felt a strange amalgamation of emotion, from anger to disappointment to somewhat mortified. He stood there silently, attempting to reflect what had happened to him on his first day. Already he got people laughing at him and nearly started a fight because of his recklessness and his need to stand up for himself. This person's words seemed to have sunk deep into Rylan, causing him to look down in shame. Nevertheless, he just kept his head up and looked at him. "...Whatever....right, ya...sorry." He knew that he should be so careless, especially at his new home. But he still could not help but feel some vain and arrogance from this person. Rylan did not know why, but he seemed to have found someone that he did not like on his first day.

Rylan approached the lake once more and reached his hand in to wash his face. After a quick rinse, he quickly scooped some water up and splashed some at this person. Rylan stood, looking at the person. "Sorry. Seemed like you need to cool down a little, smug guy." Rylan smiled a little, looking as cocky as this person. Maybe it was his element that drove him to this form of dislike, but he got this far. May as well see where this goes.

OOC: If you need this to be edited, I will edit it cuz I feel as though this is not enough for a good reply :/

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

Joshua frowned and regarded the other boy for a long moment as if debating whether or not he should heed this ominous advice. After only a moment, however, the graduate could not help but to laugh a little contemptuously. "Nope, still doubting you," he said simply. He was now confident that he was superior to this younger boy in skill and thus he wasn't afraid of him at all. It might have been reckless or cocky to get himself so involved in this situation but Joshua had been known to display a certain arrogance when he was treated in this way. He didn't want this asshole to think that he was just going to smile and back down just because he'd given him a 'warning'. I'm not afraid of you, he thought fiercely. Nevertheless, Josh did not attack him. He was rarely the instigator of a fight unless he had a perfectly good reason to be. Josh would sneer at someone and provoke them a little but it was usually just his own temperament coming out, never an honest attempt to get himself into trouble.

The apology was met with a raise of an eyebrow but no significant verbal response. Joshua was not the type of person to let something go just because someone that had offended him said they were sorry and even though he didn't necessarily consider Rylan to be anything of a rival Josh still wasn't going to turn all cheery and friendly because of it. Shrugging, Joshua was about to turn and leave to find something more productive to do with his day when the younger boy decided it would be high time to start an actual fight by splashing him with the water. It was not an elemental attack and thus had no drain or other effect on Joshua than to soak his clothing a bit and splash onto his face but that was not the point. In crossing that line Rylan had made a dangerous move in presenting himself as an enemy to Joshua. He didn't like people being smug and cocky around him when they had no right to be, when he could easily thrash them, and he had every plan to show this to Rylan.

He might have just walked away if this kid had been smart enough to leave it where it had been before but now he wanted to prove something to Rylan--you didn't fuck with people that were older and more skilled than yourself when you were at the Academy. It wasn't wise. With a swift flick of his wrist a searing wave of heat swept over the area and engulfed the pair. Joshua could feel its intensity but was mostly immune thanks to it being his power and under his control. "Sorry," he said with an arrogant sneer. "Just thought you should know who you're messing with." Maybe this guy knew that heat manipulation was only a graduate's thing, maybe he didn't. At any rate it was not a good idea to challenge Josh. Rylan spoke of 'cooling off'? No, that wasn't going to happen now. If the boy wanted a fight then he was going to get one and Joshua was quite confident that he could emerge the victor.