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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Nov 8, 2011 19:49:32 GMT -5
Though most Fire elementals steered very clear of the gardens on clear threat that they'd be banned from them if they used their power there, Joshua had always found them to be somewhat relaxing. Of course, back when he'd been with his original alliance he'd tried to avoid bumping into other people as much as possible. He'd opted to sneer at the Earths if they got too close and that had usually ended with them threatening to tell. They had been afraid of him and for good reason, as Josh was not as pacifistic or kind-hearted as they. Things had changed now and he could walk through the rows of plants and greenery without having to worry about who saw him. Some of the Earth elementals still skirted out of his way or tried to avoid him but for the most part he was now accepted into this place as an ally.
Why was he here, you ask? Since day one at the Academy, or at least since the first day he'd set out to explore the grounds, the flower gardens had reminded him of home. He loved his mothers garden even though he didn't understand a damn thing about flowers enough to make comment. He had just liked the place because it was hers and it had been a part of her childhood. Of course, Patricia Dale was not an Earth elemental. She did not have the skill in botany and plants that they did and thus the gardens of the Academy were the most breathtaking works of landscaping one could imagine. The flowers were massive, the hedges were perfectly trimmed, there was ivy crawling in artistic patterns along surfaces like benches and walls. In one part of the garden, the part he was heading toward, was an area unlike the others. A dome-shaped trellis allowed the flowers and ivy to form a ceiling full of plant life, the flowers beneath it not needing as much sun to grow thanks to the careful tending of the Earths. It had a waterfall that flowed from a man-made (or, likely, Water elemental made) stream and bubbled across some rocks into a pond as well as places to sit.
There were a few others here already as it was a picturesque and very popular part of the place. An Earth nearby smiled and gave him a shy but friendly wave--Josh nodded to her and his lips twitched in reply but neither of them spoke. She was tending to a magnificent plant of blue and white petals and seemed to be having some sort of difficulty with it so he didn't want to disturb her. Though she looked younger--he was not sure by how much--than he was Joshua could be of no assistance. He had academic smarts but he was only average with his powers and besides, he was not an Earth student. He had his bag over one shoulder and shrugged it off beside him on a bench, pulling out his laptop and opening it up. He opened several tabs at once--Google for research, YouTube for music, Word for taking notes, and several reference sites the professor had mentioned. Though the laptop had not been bought strictly for school purposes that was mostly what it ended up being used for. He preferred books to computers and technology otherwise. He had a really high-end PC at home for his library and cataloguing but he couldn't access it due to his strained relationship with his father right now.
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Post by renn on Nov 15, 2011 22:52:53 GMT -5
YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE YOUR EYES if ten million fireflies lit upTHE WORLD AS I FELL ASLEEP Autumn needed a break from classes and all that jazz, and well it was written on her face. She was tired of sitting in class and learning stupid things that she would forget sooner or later, so what was the point? Well, she also thought if she learned one more thing her brain was going to explode. Than someone would have to clean her up. Ewh. She couldn't imagine having to clean up someone...
Okay so her mind was so off topic as she steered away from her dorms. It was a fine day, not to hot, not to cold. Why waste it inside on stupid homework? A smirk played with the side of her mouth as her right hand stayed upon her black messenger bag, her left fixing the strap so it was higher up on her shoulder and not hurting her so bad. So she looked around, her blonde hair actually in a sloppy pony tail instead of it being down like all the time.
She sighed slightly, standing in the middle of a grassy area between the dorms and everything else. People scurried past her, but she didn't care. She didn't really know where to go, but she knew where not to go. The lake or her dorms. She would avoid those two places if it was the last thing she did. Which it might be...Since that day with Devin when she finally admitted that she cared for him, she didn't feel like herself.
In other words, her mood had plummeted.
A sigh escaped her as she turned around and headed where she felt more at home with her element. The academy gardens. She held onto her bag lightly as she crossed the area quiet quickly, excited to be around nature. Well she was always around nature, but never really around it. Does that make sense? Well, it did in Autumn's mind. So when she reached the entrance she stopped to take the beauty of it all in. The flowers were well attended, including one of the Christmas flowers were just starting to bloom as December was heading towards them.
Her eyes did a quick sweep again before she followed a rock path to a bench, and she wasn't really paying attention as she was scanning all the plants. They had been taken care of regularly and looked it. They had always been taken care of, but some didn't really look healthy sometimes, but they were all healthy now, and it brought a cheerful smile on her face even though her mood was still in the dumps.
Soon she looked up as her feet found a grassy area, and than she saw him sitting on a bench. It was Josh. What was he doing in the gardens? He was a fire element. And well really she didn't even know to classify him as that as he was dating a earth element and kind of betrayed his own but she shrugged it off and she approached behind him quietly. Her eyes found the laptop that was in his lap, and she smiled slightly, her own laptop bringing a sort of weight to her shoulder that she hadn't noticed. Or maybe was it the text book? She wasn't so sure.
Soon Autumn reached the bench and bent over his shoulder slightly, her blonde hair lingering on his shoulder for a moment of time as her sloppy pony tail had slid over her shoulder. ”Whatcha working on?” She smiled slightly, and backed away to make her way around the bench to stand by it for a moment. ”Mind if I sit, or do I need to give you some privacy..” She trailed off slightly, her eyes sparkling with that hope that he would let her stay and not turn her down.
- - - - - - - - - - status: COMPLETEtagged: JOSHwords: TOO LAZY, BUT HOPEFULLY OVER THE 200outfit: white shirt, hot pink jacket, dark denim shorts, black conversesnotes: It suuucks. Sorry.lyrics: FIREFLIES, OWL CITYcredit: TEMPLATE BY SHAZI ?! AT CAUTION 2.0 |
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Nov 16, 2011 0:54:10 GMT -5
Though he was not someone jumpy or self-conscious, Josh still wasn't entirely fond of anyone looking over his shoulder when he was working on his laptop. He caught their reflection in the glare off the screen and shut the computer immediately and instinctively before he'd even realised who it was that was there. He had nothing to hide from anyone, he used this computer for school and all he was doing was working on essays, but that didn't mean he was comfortable with another person invading his privacy as she did. "Do you mind?" he asked a little coolly. It was a surprisingly calm reaction for someone of the Fire affiliation but there was an explanation for his lack of rage. Not only would it have been a silly thing to fly into a temper over but he automatically assumed that anyone in the gardens were of Earth affiliation until proven otherwise. Sort of how most of the dungeon-dwellers were Fire elementals, he supposed. This was practically "their" place. Other elements were allowed here but most chose to stay away, especially the Fires. You could get banned if you used your destructive powers in the peaceful, quiet getaway. He knew that.
When she spoke and he turned his critical gray gaze toward her, however, Josh found with mild surprise (which did not show on his neutral expression) that he knew the intruder. Not incredibly well, of course, but he knew her name and that they had many mutual friends. He'd spoken to her on occasion and found her company to be quite tolerable. He was learning that about the Earths and even some of the Waters, now. Once you got the alliances out of the way they could be decent people. He also knew Autumn to be a good friend of Devin's but was blissfully unaware of her attraction to his best friend. "Oh," he said mildly. "Autumn, hey." His tone was not unfriendly. Despite his rather frigid first words he had nothing against her, she'd just caught him off guard with her stealthy approach. It was an old habit that he didn't like people looking at his work, even if they were in completely different grades and didn't care about it at all.
A dark brow arched in her direction. "Privacy?" He knew what the word meant but didn't know why she thought he needed any. You were ogling over my shoulder, surely you know what I'm working on, he thought sarcastically, then decided that perhaps this might have been a little harsh. Maybe she'd just looked for a second and decided that she would do the polite thing and ask him instead. "Why would I? It's just an essay for Biology." Unless she had been implying that he was doing other things on that computer of his. Autumn seemed a bit too innocent to joke about that (or even mention it seriously) but he'd been wrong about people before. He considered this for a brief moment before showing her the screen very briefly. Surely enough, aside from the internet browser (which currently had around four reference sites and YouTube open, the video for My Propeller on pause) Microsoft Word in its latest version was the only other program running. It was filled with complicated Biology notes and scientific jargon that made perfect sense to the sophomore. He really wanted to be a doctor, so of course he had to understand his coursework. He had calculus homework to do later as well, but he'd always been rather good at things involving mathematics. It was just following directions, after all.
Shrugging, the Fire gestured to the bench beside him in a lazy motion. "Suit yourself." He didn't really see why anyone would want to keep him company when he was doing something as boring as working on an essay. Of course, Joshua was not completely rude. He would neglect to turn YouTube back on and wouldn't completely ignore Autumn if she wanted to sit down for conversation. Josh was pretty adept at juggling studying and talking to people as long as the conversation was not completely fluent and without pause. Even he couldn't force his mind to be in two different thought trains at once. I can do a lot of things but I can't do that, he mused inside of his head. Song lyrics, of course, those of his favourite band at the present. "What're you up to?" he asked, being both polite and conversation at the same time as his fingers resumed their rapid typing on the keys and writing started to flash up on the screen. He wasn't a very conversational guy but if you made an effort to talk to him he wasn't always a complete jerk, either.
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Post by renn on Nov 20, 2011 18:10:01 GMT -5
Her eyes were dim as she watched him silently; watched his body language for a few moments before she gripped the strap of her bag tighter. Josh was the only person she knew who to talk to other than Devin; and she was not about to ask for advice from the source of the problem. Her shoulders shrugged lightly at him, or well his questioning tone. She typically knew everyone needed their privacy. And she was scared that she had ruined his.
“Oh, Biology. Fun..” She gave him a small smile for a moment before looking around at the gardens; most likely admiring the gardens again but she wasn’t quiet sure. To be honest, she was a little spaced and didn’t really know what to look at so she turned her attention back to Josh for a moment. That is before she looked down and shoved her other hand into her jacket pocket.
Her eyes looked up at him to see him gesture towards the bench and she took a hesitant step forward. Could she talk to Josh about Devin? Or would he run back and tell him everything she said? Autumn inwardly sighed as she sat down on the other end of the bench, laying her bag gently down at her feet before she pulled her pink laptop out and crossed her legs; laying the laptop upon them. “Thanks.” She looked at him out of the corner of her eye for a moment, and gave him another half smile.
She didn’t feel like smiling today.
As soon as the tapping of the keys filled the air, she typed in her password to get into her computer, and when it finally pulled up she rolled her finger to the left of the screen and clicked Google Chrome. It didn’t freeze as much as Explorer did; and she didn’t need it to freeze as she had a paper to work on…And she was using the laptop as kind of a decoy or a distraction from stress.
Autumn looked up at him, her hazel eyes searching his face as he typed. “Nothing much…You?” She gave a half hearted laugh, “Don’t answer that.. I already know.” A blush creped onto her face; how embarrassing! “Hey.. Josh.. Uhm.. Can I ask you something?” She tilted her head for a moment at him before pulling up word and google. But as she stared at the screen she couldn’t think of anything so she closed the laptop and looked at him. |
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Nov 20, 2011 19:00:44 GMT -5
Autumn seemed a bit less cheerful than usual but Joshua chalked it up to either his imagination or stress for the most part. He hardly ever trusted his instincts when it came to people he was not best friends with because he was sometimes wrong. Not only that but even if Autumn was feeling down, it wasn't like he'd ask her what was wrong. Again, only those he was closest to got that kind of treatment. If he cared about you enough to bypass your barriers and inquire about your personal life it was also a subtle way of saying that he trusted you enough to let his guard down as well. That didn't mean he would ignore her problems if she brought them up, just that he wasn't going to be the one to breach that defence. He did not dislike Autumn, he just didn't count her amongst his inner circle. She was friends with Devin and Joshua got along with her so that was enough for casual conversation but it was not enough that she could inquire about his life and receive an honest answer. It was nothing personal, of course. He didn't even talk to Dev about half the shit he'd gone through.
He gave her a curious glance when she asked him what he was doing. Didn't I just tell you that? His lips twitched as she laughed and confirmed that, dipping his head to show that he'd heard her. It was a little strange but then again, perhaps it was just knee-jerk reaction to return a question or comment. Sort of like when you were in a movie theatre and were told to enjoy the film. 'You, too' was not the proper answer to give someone that was working but it was a common slip up in an attempt to be polite. Joshua went back to his notes, expecting that that was all she'd wanted. He was not doing it to be rude or to ignore her--hey, Autumn had her laptop as well. Joshua also used Chrome and was typing Google into the address bar in order to go to the popular search engine when her voice yet again pulled him out of his train of thought. He closed the laptop and looked at her expectantly. "Hm?"
Ask him something? It was surprising and he frowned in mild confusion. What could Autumn possibly want to ask him? He tried to narrow down the possibilities in his mind but there were far too many swimming about to even consider so he just gave up and replied, "Uh, yeah. Sure thing." He was used to people asking him for help with academics if they were friends with him and wanted assistance with something--could that be it? She had her computer with her, after all. Maybe she wanted his opinion on something, instead? Maybe she was wondering something about him? He sincerely hoped that it was not a part of the latter group unless it was an innocent, impersonal question. Joshua did not do good with people asking about his life. Only his best and closest friends. "What's on your mind?" She had seemed a bit down earlier. He'd noticed, even if he hadn't said anything about it. Perhaps he would find out why.
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Post by renn on Nov 23, 2011 17:30:42 GMT -5
She watched as he gave her a curious glance. Was she bothering him that much? Slowly she took a deep breath and laid her head on one of her hands that was propped up against he knee. How could she come out and ask if he had ever went through this before? It seemed easy if you hadn't even had to ask for advice, but right now Autumn was backed into a corner.
And she didn't like it. Not at all.
Her eyes flickered up at the blue sky for a moment as she looked down at her laptop in her lap. It was difficult trying to get the question out but first she had to know if he wanted her to leave. It just seemed like she was bothering him. Like he couldn't wait for her to leave. She knew he was working on a paper, but still, it just felt odd. “Am I bothering you?” It slipped out and she looked to him, still leaning her head on her hand, “Because if I am, I'll leave..” The last part was more of a thought but also a statement towards him.
But the question she had just asked him was unnecessary as he closed his laptop and looked at her. She locked eyes with him for a moment before looking away. Could she really ask him for advice? Had he ever went through what she was? Well, obviously since he was a male it would be different. The roles would just be switched. The male would have the broken heart instead of the female she didn't feel worthy of him. At the thought the corner of her mouth twitched for a moment.
She cleared her throat, sitting up straight, her back against the cold bench. Even though it was awkward she still had his attention and she couldn't just let him dangle there. It wouldn't be right so she parted her lips slightly, but closed it quickly. But soon she knew she had to ask him. It was just eating her a live. Maybe, just maybe he would give her some decent advice that could help her. “Have you ever...Went through a situation where some one has turned you down after you admitted your feelings to them...but than asked you to a dance...as friends?” She looked over at him, her eyes filled with sadness but yet curious as well. |
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Nov 23, 2011 19:12:27 GMT -5
She seemed upset or confused about something but as Joshua had no idea what all of this was about he said nothing. He didn't realise that his silence and the thoughtful frown on his face might have been giving her the wrong idea about his mood else he might have made a bit of effort to seem more approachable. Joshua didn't often consider the thoughts and feelings of others when he was handling himself. It sounded insensitive and truthfully it really was at times but that was just a part of the Fire graduate's personality. He'd never been the type that was able to just tune himself in to the moods and feelings of others. He could read the expression on her face but it just gave him a vague idea. He didn't know what she was thinking, what she wanted, whether she was planning on backing out. So instead of prodding her for information the elemental simply waited patiently. If she wants to tell me, she will. Given his overall sense of secrecy and privacy it would not really have bothered him if she backed out. It was her choice to tell him, after all. Even though she had been the one to broach the subject he knew it was very possible for a person to get cold feet and back out, so he would not have been surprised.
He shook his head. "No. I'd tell you, if you were." He really would have. Josh was inconsiderate, after all. He didn't care if he offended someone by telling them to fuck off and leave him alone. Autumn was nice, though, and he considered her somewhat of a friend. Not a close friend, of course, but someone that he could have a conversation with. Maybe he cared a little more about offending her than he would have if they were not on good terms but still not enough that he would tolerate annoyances for her sake. She had nothing to worry about in terms of bugging him. All he'd really been doing was taking notes and he could do that any time of the day. He sometimes got ticked off when you interrupted his studying but not so much when he was outside of the library. The latter was a quiet place meant for studying, this was a garden. It was a free area, at least for all those not banned. The Earthies could do what they wanted here and he could leave whenever he wanted. Not that it would have stopped him from being a jerk if he'd been upset at the interruption. Josh was Josh, no matter the rules.
It took a while for Autumn to speak and when she did he listened carefully. Unfortunately for the Earth girl he couldn't really relate to the situation. Not about to lie, he shook his head for the second time in their encounter. "I haven't." His thoughts went to Nell. He had been the one doing the confessing, sure, but then again... not really. He hadn't said 'I love you, will you go out with me?' No, he'd just asked her out point blank and she'd said yes. The whole admission of feelings thing had came through showing rather than telling. When he'd kissed her, when he'd stayed with her, when he'd--You are in the middle of a conversation. Thankfully he hadn't gotten too distracted and so there was no visible signs that he'd nearly drifted away in his thoughts. "Maybe I could still help, though," he shrugged. "Did you say yes?" Prom. He'd asked Nell if she would accompany him, even though as the senior it was supposed to be Nell doing the asking. He had known she wouldn't have, though, with her current state of mind. I wonder who asked Autumn...?
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Post by renn on Dec 2, 2011 21:09:41 GMT -5
She wasn't pretty like most other girls, she was too shy, and she didn't have the personality some liked. Yeah, she was kind of out going but most the time she was like a scared rabbit. She didn't know how to react to most people as her parents never bothered to care if she got a long with people, or to teach her people skills. So she stood off in the background most of the time. But the only bad thing about that was you didn't have many people to turn too.
But she was actually lucky enough for Devin to introduce her to Josh when Devin and her had just started to hang out. It had expanded her friends list by the slightest bit, and instead of turning to Devin for everything, sometimes she turned to Josh. But this was actually the first time she had ever came to him. They were just starting to get to know each other. She didn't really know anything about him, and he didn't really know anything about her. Except she still felt like Josh would listen and help.
So here she was; talking to Josh about her little problem with Devin.
Slowly she nodded slightly to his words about her not being a bother. It would make her feel bad if she was being a bother to him. But as he reassured her, she cleared her throat, looking around at the garden again. She slowly breathed in the cold air as he spoke about not having the same thing happen to him. Not most would go through that, maybe she was the only one. No there had to be someone. So she slowly turned her head to look at him again, her eyes sad. Could she find anyone that had the same problem and had a simple solution?
Other than giving up Devin of course.
At him asking if she had said yes, her lips parted open again before she closed them. Would he think she was stupid for saying yes? Did she think she was stupid for saying yes? Well, of course not. Who wouldn't say yes if they were asked to go to prom? Even if they said they were only going as friends. A sigh escaped her before she took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah, I said yes. Might not be my smartest thing to say after he turned me down, but I didn't want to leave Devin hanging there...” She trailed off. Damn. She just gave away Devin to his best friend. |
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Dec 3, 2011 7:34:34 GMT -5
Joshua blinked in mild surprise as his best friend was brought into the conversation, not having expected it. He knew that Devin and Autumn were friends and it had been the Earth boy that had introduced the two but he'd never have thought that the blonde would take their mutual friend to prom. It wasn't that Autumn was not pretty or sweet enough, just that he'd never thought that Devin had feelings for her. If he had, he's never mentioned them. He kept this to himself so as not to hurt Autumn. Then again, hadn't she said that he'd asked her as friends? Knowing Devin's track history with girls and their reputations he thought that it might be just that—Devin wanted a friend to accompany him. Perhaps so that he would not be alone?
Autumn complicated things, though. After you admitted your feelings, she'd said. So she likes Devin. Well. That was news to him as well. Joshua had never really been the sort of person people thought to come to for relationship advice, really. He'd never been in one before Nell, had spent his years sleeping around with whomever took his fancy at the given moment and never having any sort of strings attached. Things had changed with Nell, though, and he now knew what it felt like to actually have feelings for someone. He did not, however, know what rejection felt like. I can imagine it would hurt. He wasn't sure what would have happened if Nell had turned him down in Tim Hortons when he'd asked her out. It probably would have hurt, but he also thought he would have been able to move on. He couldn't be sure, though. Hmm. It was hard to think of how to deal with this because he didn't want to say the wrong thing and drive his two friends apart.
"I'm sorry that he turned you down," he said. It was not as earnest or empathetic as it might have been coming from the lips of another but it was not entirely insincere. He did feel bad for her in a way. Devin was his best friend and he wasn't going to bash the boy or call him an asshole. That wouldn't be like him—besides, maybe it was for the best. If Devin didn't like her then what was the point in leading her on? Asking her to prom was a bit stupid, though. Sometimes he didn't understand other people. "Well, you've already committed yourself to it. No use in backing out now, right?" He knew it wasn't the best advice but it was all he could think to give. She'd probably just regret it more if she stood him up because that would cause fights and damn it, why did his friends have to get into sticky situations with one another? He usually didn't have a large enough social circle to get caught in between fights and drama so it made him a little uncomfortable. He didn't say this to Autumn, though. It would have been rude to do so. She couldn't help her feelings and Devin couldn't help his lack of them.
Frowning thoughtfully, he said, "Just try not to let your feelings for him come between your friendship. You guys get along great, it wouldn't do either of you any good to lose that." He remembered the year at prom when a girl he was friends with but had possessed no sort of feelings for had tried to kiss him. They'd went as friends before the emotions were confessed and they didn't talk now—what happened between them was a little too awkward for that. He didn't want that for Devin and Autumn. Not only because of what he'd said to her but because he wanted to selfishly avoid being stuck between them. Hey, he never claimed to be completely selfless or compassionate. He looked out for himself a hell of a lot more than he usually looked out for others.
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