such a challenge (OPEN)

[sharktopus]

Such a challenge - 'tis what I face daily, and in this matter I am correct, for no matter where go - be it the home of the oddities or not - I feel like such an oddity myself. It is these days when I find it tempting, oh so tempting like the bittersweet taste of poison disguised in chocolate, to break my shackles of difference and return to the depths from whence I came. Those lucky peple, those that wander there, they probably long for difference, to stand out even though my eyes would pass them by without notice in twenty, thirty years just as they do now.

The boy glanced up from his book, pausing his writing, pen poised above the paper. The blue depths of his gaze did indeed pass from one person to the other, but he knew well that they weren't just people. Each one, as they bustled along in their heavy winter coats, had a family, friends, emotions, a past and a future. Damian sighed, removing his glasses with slender fingers and slipping his pen into the pocket of his black leather trench coat. Sigh. He flicked his eyes to his writing, neat and uniform. The book he held was not a diary, but a story... It told the tale of Ansley Alcander, a boy able to summon fire, water, earth, and air to his aide. But it went farther than that. He could control ice, and electricity. Nobody would ever suspect that story had roots in reality.

Because one, the concept seemed impossible. And two, he was never going to publish that. No, he was young, but he understood well that he had to be careful. He didn't fear the government, or having his ability taken away. He feared the beating he'd surely get if he messed up. He'd been beaten before, loads of times, and sometimes badly. Images of his slender body covered in blue-brown marks clouded his mind, and he looked down, closing his eyes both against those pictures in his head and the blinding white of the outside world. Several moments passed, dragging by like hours, as the boy struggled to control his thoughts. But, sure enough, he was able to lock away those memories like monsters into a cage, shoved to the back of the shelf as it were.

He snuggled his scarf closer with a faint smile, feeling the soothing sensation of cotton against his soft cheek. He was safe until school ended, and then he could run. He'd never see his father again. He wanted to jump and shout his hope to the world, but instead... Damian would just have to settle for loving on his silver and black scarf, like a cat rubbing its head against its owner. His handsome blue eyes gazed out at the snowy scene from where he sat on a park bench. Children played in the noon sun. Couples walked, their breath coming as smokey puffs that were soon left behind. Damian himself, in a sudden burst of happiness, breathed warm air into the cold, clean air; vapor rose from his full lips, fading away within seconds. The usually unhappy boy smiled, half-closing his vibrant eyes, black lashes casting light shadows over his face. He sighed a content sigh and hummed a quiet hmmmhmm, moving his black bookbag from the seat beside him, placing it in his lap. Hey, he might even take a nap. With his scarf and trench coat, he was warm and toasty. He'd just tuck his hands somewhere, his pockets perhaps, and he'd be off to sleep.

tags: anyone!
notes: first post!
word count: 490

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[selinemckay]

It was not all too rare to have dreams about the past—often times they were good memories, if the memory was strong enough, but sometimes the darkness overpowers the light. The night before, nightmares haunted her subconscious and prevented the poor girl from any sort of decent sleep; the images of her brother lying on that cold slab in the morgue a vivid picture in the forefront of her mind. Seline went to confirm it was Charlie. Her. With her parents still in California, they had quite a bit of a flight before they could arrive in the Hollow to identify the body. Seline volunteered; she did not want to draw any of it out if it could be avoided. The mortician told her that she was too young to deal with seeing her own sibling in a body bag, but the girl was stubborn and refused to leave things undone until her parents arrived. She could not always rely on them to deal with every situation that passed by. It had its repercussions. Now, the thunder female struggled with occasional dreams at seeing her brother again, but never in any of those dreams was he alive. For some reason it was hard to picture Charlie alive. It’s all my fault.

With a sigh, Seline took off out of the house as soon as she threw on her scarf and messenger cap—she wore her dark blue boot-cut jeans, her black snow boots, a long sleeved gray shirt, and of course her wintry accessories. Seline never went without her scarf and hat, especially during the colder months. Today it was a burgundy messenger cap and a black scarf; she did love her grays and blacks. As her boots scuffed across the pavement, searching for a place to clear her head, she came across the park. Contrary to the weather, there were actually quite a few people lurking around; kids played with one another in the snow while their parents watched, couples wandered down the sidewalk hand in hand, and some stragglers were out on a daily run or walk. Even the snow and bitter cold did not keep people from exercise. Seline envied them, even though it was fleeting. Maybe I should take up running every day. It would certainly help. Often times Seline wondered if finding some sort of physical activity would keep her from sitting around and dwelling on her thoughts too much, but she was not all too fond of sports or strenuous exercise. She fumbled absent mindedly with her digital camera, which was slung around her neck. The girl preferred the arts.

She quickly took to the sidewalk and began to walk through the park, hands encompassing the electronic device bouncing around against her stomach. Her breath reached past her nose as she exhaled, enjoying the chill against her face. Even though Seline loved the summer weather and enjoyed wearing bathing suits and flip flops, the winter allowed for scarves and hats, which topped her swimming outfits any day. Seline stuffed her hands into her jean pockets and glanced around in search of a place to sit down and enjoy the day; anything to distract from her thoughts and the nightmares that kept her awake last night. Smiling, she caught sight of a bench. Quickly the smile faded as she noticed the bench was already partially occupied; she was not very good with being social, and had difficulty making eye contact with people. It left Seline very lonely, but what else could be done? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Shaking off the awkward feeling in her gut, the girl made her way over to the bench and sat down next to whoever it was that took over the other half of the cold seat. Part of her wanted to turn and greet them, and try to be friendly, but something pulled her back. Maybe he would not be interested in talking to her? Possibly. You’ll never know unless you try. Logically it would make sense for him to respond to a simple ‘Hello’, thus engaging in conversation no matter how short it may be. Then again, if he was not interested saying anything would only make things uncomfortable. Sometimes she hated over thinking these things. So, instead of saying anything Seline turned her head to look at the bench occupant briefly—he looked familiar, possibly from the academy? She could have sworn seeing him at some point in time in the hall. Then again, her lack of friends and social life really did prevent her from fully noticing other people in passing.

“It’s a pretty nice day, isn't it?” Seline blurted out, her need for breaking the silence all too powerful. She flinched; maybe saying something was a bad idea. Instead of looking at him and smiling, the girl took to examining her camera, flipping the power switch on and off a few times to ease the tension. Better to be here than to wallow in her thoughts at home.

[sharktopus]

His eyes flickered open wider for a moment as a small child ran by, laughing and pursued by her parents. She stopped, to look at Damian, who offered a nervous smile, especially as he watched the girl's mother from the corner of his sight. He had been the distraction needed for the woman to catch up, it seemed. A few seconds passed and the trio was off again, only this time the little girl was on her father's shoulders and not running about in the snow. Damian flexed his fingers, cold and stiff, watching his slender pale digits move with a dull sense of awe, before he again set to resting, hands in pockets and eyes half-closed, lulling shut every few seconds.

Until the crunch of snow caught his attention. The boy's eyes opened slowly beneath their dramatic black lash curtains, the cyan-blue stare setting itself upon the girl that approached. He knew not of her identity, but watched her nonetheless, with increased interest when she made her way towards him. Expression one of peace and actual disinterest however, he didn't seem like he cared much. She sat beside him, and Damian didn't appear to react. He would take his sweet time, only speak if spoken to. Because he didn't want to seem desperate for attention, and wasn't really the sort to start a conversation. He was just fine without any words shared, and the two of them could go on their ways separately.

But the girl with the camera did speak. Asking him about the weather or something. A pretty nice day? He took a deep, calm breath, gazed out at he landscape, and let a small smile grace his lips. "I suppose so." After a moment, he looked directly at her, locking on to her eyes in an almost demanding, yet hauntingly friendly, way. He wanted to be in charge of the conversation. "May I ask what the camera is for?" He smiled. "You must be the artsy type."

word count: 339

[selinemckay]

Seline was not quite sure why she was surprised to hear the boy respond to her—maybe it was the fact that they were merely strangers with no social ties to attend to, or the fact that he looked rather disinterested in her presence that led the girl to believe that maybe her question would rest in the air like a plume of hot air. Maybe it was both. Either way, the girl blinked and turned her attention on him slowly, as though hesitant to even look at him. This meant making acquaintances with someone, even if it were to be brief. That in and of itself made Seline very anxious, even though she was quite confident in herself when it came to keeping a conversation once it started. Her confidence did not branch out too far, however, and thus it stunted Seline with her social life. To put it simply: her social skills sucked, even though she was friendly. Once her gaze rested on him, Seline could not help but smile a little at the fact he indeed responded to her without a scowl or a glowering gaze.

Then, the nerves set in when he finally managed to turn his piercing blue eyes onto her face. Quickly Seline averted her stare and adjusted the hat resting on her head, wondering why she could not seem to hold eye contact with someone for far too long. Because it will draw me in, She told herself repeatedly. For Seline, meeting the gaze of someone created some sort of an attachment. It was not something one could actually describe and make complete and total sense of, but in her mind the logical reasoning remained. Undeniably that logic still made no sense, even to Seline. She still smiled none the less. Then, as though she were moth to a flame, his words pulled her eyes to meet his face; his eyes were bright and his smile welcoming; she did not feel threatened by his voice or his posture, and was instantly put at ease. Seline did not do well with people who had an aggressive voice or a dark scowl on their face; it normally signified that they were disinterested and thus Seline might be considered a burden. Obviously the boy did not deem her too much of a burden, because he inquired about her camera. What else would I do with a camera? It was an odd question to ask when it was very obvious what cameras were designed for, but Seline did not allow herself to make a smart ass comeback. He was one of the first people to talk to her in a while, and she would be damned if she screwed it up now.

“I love taking photos,” Seline chimed, her voice light and airy. She secretly hated her voice, which was one reason it was difficult to talk to others. It sounded grainy and irritating; then again, she supposed that would make sense after listening to yourself your entire life. Her fingers encompassed the camera as she lifted it off of her lap and examined it as though seeing it in a new light. Having it with her was always a comfort, like that of a teddy bear. “Mostly of people though. I enjoy nature okay but watching people is far more interesting. Happiness, sadness, fear, anger, joy, love…emotions are so exhilarating to capture.” It was exhilarating, knowing that others could display these expressions freely while she always seemed held back. Seline tried, but more often than not she failed horribly. Her friends (if she could call them that) were few and far between, probably because of it. Seline felt truly alone in the world. However, talking to this boy was helping a little, even though she wondered if they would merely have this conversation and walk away from one another. That was how Seline preferred it, but not today. She was tired of being alone. Thus, after a moment, the brunette turned her attention towards him again and locked her gaze onto his, a content glow on her face. It made her nervous to keep her eyes on his for such an extended period of time, but Seline pushed the anxiety away. “I guess you could say that. I mean, I at least try to be artsy. Photography, drawing, writing, you name it.”

The girl made it a habit to reveal very little about herself; in fact, she revealed so little that most people probably denied her presence after a few conversations because they felt they were talking to a brick wall. It made her feel bad, but it was a natural defense mechanism Seline built up over the years to protect herself from emotional harm. No one could hurt her if there were no weaknesses to be found. But something as simple as liking artistic subjects had no real weak point so it was a safe conversation. “And you? Just out here enjoying the weather?” Seline instantly frowned. “I’m not…bothering you am I?”

words. 833
outfit. CLICK!
muse. Good!