New Beginnings (IC)

[Semi-Autogyro]

"You are indeed correct, Mister Morgan. Decapitation does result in the loss of your head, as it would be no longer attached to your neck." He blandly pointed out.

John filled the empty glass on his tray with water. "I did not think my intervention would help in any way, but I wanted to make sure that they had the choice to back down. In addition, I was hoping to divert any culpability of this situation from either of us. After all, I do not think there is time left in the day for more training." John walked a few feet an picked up two bananas. "In any case, those two are clearly outmatched. The odds are even more skewed against them if Miss Victoria should also be allied against them."

"I am interested in the capabilities of these new students however. The twins do seem to have had some sort of training already." He said as he went about scouring the dessert section for a bit before finding what he was looking for, a small bowl of lime jello.

[quotemyname]

With so many of Claremont's more prominent students suddenly coming out of the woodwork and spoiling his fun, the bully glanced around at each of them and suddenly decided that it wasn't worth the trouble.

"First, it's food, get over it. Second, nobody's going to start fighting here. Because you'll end up in front of Summers. Dig?"

Suddenly, the bully's face went pale. That particular realization made starting trouble at Claremont not worth his time even more so. With a dismissive scoff, the bully released the smaller kid and stormed off in a huff. He mumbled something along the lines of "Nerds" under his breath as he left.

The smaller boy turned to the ones who came to his defense, muttered a short thank you, and then rushed off to continue whatever he had been in the middle of before he nearly crashed into Zach.

Well, the incident itself was a total accident. But the things I said weren't. Seems like the friends you've made aren't so bad after all, Sis.

Zach swallowed the bite of hot dog he'd taken, and turned to look at the rest of his new friends, "Thanks for the backup. I just wanted to make sure that that misunderstanding didn't get that kid hurt. But I'm pretty sure that if you guys hadn't said anything he might have swung at me and made a mess of the cafeteria." He explained. Zach raised the rest of his Hot Dog to his mouth and was about to take a bite but stopped. He eyed Gwen, Vicky, and Crow who'd given the most resistance beside his sister. Before taking another bite of hot dog, he asked, "Why'd you do it, though? I mean, we just met. You don't really owe me anything. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it, I'm just curious."

[Breella]

Gwen smoothed her skirts around her legs and shook her head as if to settle her hair. She looked at Zach "I don't tolerate bullying, at all. Gwen took her seat again and started eating in silence. No fight? the vines asked her. No fight. Gwen replied. She was glad that there wouldn't be a fight. She had not gotten into many fights, but she had been the target of bullying before traveling the world. Kids in school didn't much like the girl who not only talked to her lima bean project, but also had the fastest growing, best graded sprout in the class. In an afterthought Gwen added "Doing the right thing should never be a matter of 'owing' people anything. It should always be simply because its right.

[quotemyname]

"Wow." Zach replied through the last bit of Hot Dog and sat down across from Gwen, "I wish I had your faith. Back home Jeena and I were basically raised to assume that when someone did something nice for you it was only because they wanted something in return." Zach gazed down at the next Hot Dog on his tray, and stared deeply into it for a moment. "Needless to say, we've met some pretty bad people."

It sounds almost too good to be true. What do you think, sis?

[Quinn]

Morgan just looked up and shrugged, condensing his entire reasoning into a very succinct sentence.

"Eh, it needed doing."

When it became readily apparent that those words probably weren't going to cut it, he put his fork and knife down and leaned back in his chair, talking upwards towards the ceiling. The teen even smiled somewhat wryly as he finished, remembering an old saw from a book he'd studied in English classes.

"'sides. You two look like good people. Call it a hunch. And we kinda make a habit of tilting at windmills around here."

[Breella]

Gwen blinked at Morgan. The last person she'd heard say that was a wildlife protection enforcer who had used it in reference to fighting the poachers in a small countries in the middle of Africa. Gwen smiled at him, she had the enforcer explain the remark to her and she had always liked the imagery that had gone with it. Windmill? the question lingered in her head. It was before you came here. I will explain later. she told the vines. She turned to Zach. "I'm not saying that there aren't bad, selfish people in the world. I've met a few in my travels. What I am saying is that it is what I do, and how I think everyone should conduct themselves." Gwen looked down at her plate again.

[Heritage]

Well, the incident itself was a total accident. But the things I said weren't. Seems like the friends you've made aren't so bad after all, Sis.

From her vantage point near the ceiling, Jeena looked down at all assembled and shrugged. We'll see; it's too early to tell at this point.

It sounds almost too good to be true. What do you think, sis?

The situation appeared to be fully under control, so the pale-skinned girl allowed herself to assume her normal proportions, and rubbed her brother affectionately on the arm. Maybe we actually got lucky; maybe we can actually fit in here. I really hope we can find someone who's good at technology soon, though.

"'sides. You two look like good people. Call it a hunch. And we kinda make a habit of tilting at windmills around here."

Jeena frowned at the windmill reference; was he hoping they'd get it because they were from the Netherlands? Or was it supposed to be a warning? "I'm sorry, I don't understand; is 'windmill' some sort of slang for Dutch people? Is there a lot of anti-Dutch sentiment here, because this is the first I've heard of these sorts of attacks."

[Breella]

"I'm sorry, I don't understand; is 'windmill' some sort of slang for Dutch people? Is there a lot of anti-Dutch sentiment here, because this is the first I've heard of these sorts of attacks."

Gwen snorted, laughed, then choked on a piece of chicken. Her eyes watered and she cleared it, continuing to laugh. When the fit passed she smiled at Jeena. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be overcome with laughter like that. She picked up a napkin and dabbed at her eyes. "A windmill is a building used to harvest wind energy to power various farm equipment. Tilting is a fencing reference. It's an Old English phrase meaning to fight things that are not actually there, or can not be visually perceived, such as wind." Gwen looked at Morgan. "I believe he was getting at the habit many people have of making something out of nothing."

[Heritage]

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be overcome with laughter like that. She picked up a napkin and dabbed at her eyes. "A windmill is a building used to harvest wind energy to power various farm equipment. Tilting is a fencing reference. It's an Old English phrase meaning to fight things that are not actually there, or can not be visually perceived, such as wind." Gwen looked at Morgan. "I believe he was getting at the habit many people have of making something out of nothing."

The Tektani-girl-in-hiding crossed her arms tightly across her chest and looked a bit pissed. "I know what a windmill is, Gwen, I was just unfamiliar with the context." She glanced over at the buffet. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some cheese dogs and investigate the dessert cart." She was angry, but it would fade soon enough; her own embarrassment made her feel worse more than anything else.

At the buffet, she got her dogs, some of the long fried tuber things and three slices of pie in different colors, as well as some chocolate milk, which she hoped wasn't as thick as pigmole milk, which was really more of a topping than a beverage. She pointedly sat at another table and scowled at her lunch as she ate it.

[quotemyname]

Gwen snorted, laughed, then choked on a piece of chicken. Her eyes watered and she cleared it, continuing to laugh. When the fit passed she smiled at Jeena. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be overcome with laughter like that. She picked up a napkin and dabbed at her eyes.

As Gwen laughed, Zach cast a sympathetic glance upward at his sister. He knew her well enough to know what was about to happen.

The Tektani-girl-in-hiding crossed her arms tightly across her chest and looked a bit pissed. "I know what a windmill is, Gwen, I was just unfamiliar with the context." She glanced over at the buffet. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some cheese dogs and investigate the dessert cart." She was angry, but it would fade soon enough; her own embarrassment made her feel worse more than anything else.

Zach watched his sister go before all but rounding on Gwen. He was too level headed unlike his sister to actually get angry in her defense, but that didn't mean he wouldn't say anything at all, "No one can blame you for the laughter. It's often one of the more uncontrollable things yo-" He stopped himself before he misspoke, "Our bodies do. But you've got to understand that we're still like fish but without the water. Or however that saying goes. You'll have to forgive Jeena for snapping like that. She's not used to not understanding things. She is the smart one after all."

Zach paused to cast a sidelong glance at his sister eating across the room, We've got to remember to research this 'Old English' thing. While it makes sense that we might not understand it as foreigners, we should at least know what it is. He made a point of pausing, letting his consciousness brush up against that of his sister's as if he were hugging her, You going to be okay?

Zachary turned back to Gwen, "I'm sure she'll be okay," He sounded confident, but there was a touch of worry on his voice, always present when he spoke about his sister, "But I know you two are living together, so here's a tip for dealing with her. Try explaining things in a way that lets her figure them out for herself rather than just telling her outright. Especially in front of people. She thinks it makes her look bad when she doesn't know the answers. Letting her puzzle it out at least gives her that sense of accomplishment which might help distract her from the momentary embarrassment." Zach smiled.

Zach gazed out the window, almost daydreaming, and said, "Jeena is... Well, she's all I've really got." He refocused on Gwen and the others, "You learn pretty quickly how to best hold onto the things very dear to you."

[Breella]

Gwen's shoulders fell as she watched Jeena sit at another table and realized what had happened. Gwen seemed to could over as Zach explained and the vines reflected the girls mood as they blossomed storm grey and ivory white flowers against her tanned skin. "I'm sorry, I..." She trailed off knowing that she was better than what had just happened. "I have been disconnected from people for far too long. I need to remember how to conduct myself in front of others." Gwen stared down at her plate. She wasn't hungry anymore. The large base flower on her shoulder sent out a tendril and rubbed her ear gently. Jeena angry, you sad. Sad Jeena is angry? they asked. Yes, very sad. Gwen replied.

[Heritage]

We've got to remember to research this 'Old English' thing. While it makes sense that we might not understand it as foreigners, we should at least know what it is. He made a point of pausing, letting his consciousness brush up against that of his sister's as if he were hugging her, You going to be okay?

Jeena took a deep breath as she dipped a fry in her chocolate milk (surprisingly tasty!). I'll be fine; she just reminded me of that girl Zimbela, the one back in survival camp? Just her laugh, cutting right down to the bone... She looked over at Gwen, who was clearly wilting like one of her beloved surface plants. Now I feel bad, too.

The sizeshifter cleared her throat, then called over to the other table. "Hey, Gwen? I took too many pies." She held up a slice of blueberry on its paper plate and offered an apologetic smile. "You want one?"

Besides, I can tell you like her.

[Breella]

Gwen looked up at the sound of Jeena's voice and the flowers on her skin perked up. She turned to look at the girl at her new lone table. A vine reached out from Gwen's shoulder and reached out to take the pie plate. "What are you doing!" she accidentally scolded the vine out loud and it stopped moving. Jeena give pie! they said with a sigh. Love pie! Gwen sighed. Sorry, not you guys." she looked at the vine that hung on the air from her body. "You, come back here." The vine began to retract, seemingly absorbed back into her skin. That would be rude, we have to offer to go over to the table, not snatch and run. When the vine was firmly back in place Gwen picked up her tray and went over to Jeena. "That would be wonderful, thank you."

[quotemyname]

Besides, I can tell you like her.

At that point Zach was very glad that Gwen was otherwise distracted between vines and pies. He suddenly felt very hot, like he was rappelling into one of Tektani's Fire Holes, and his otherwise pale skin grew noticeably more red. What? I... No way. What makes you say that?

Zach pretended to laugh at the antics of Gwen's vines, before turning to Vicky and Morgan, "So, classes start around next month, right? What goes on in the meantime? I've heard we're supposed to stay on the campus. I assume everyone follows that rule, so there must be some form of entertainment provided by the school. I can't imagine it being easy to keep this many people, let alone kids in line without giving them something to do." A good amount of Zachary's military disciplined background showed when he spoke. Bred as a soldier, he always expected rules and regulations to be followed, though he was seldom surprised if they were not.

[Azuth65]

"I'm with Gwen on this, I was picked on a lot back in Chicago. Before my powers manifested, I was the dumpy geek-girl that was the target of nearly every third prank in my school. The final straw broke when the cheer squad tried to spray me, and more a backpack full of irreplaceable drawings I'd done, with paint. Let's just say I didn't take it laying down," she explained.

Vicky watched the display between Gwen and Jeena, though she thought it best to stay on the sidelines and let the other girls work out their differences. A few minutes later the two sitting together eating made her breath a sigh of relief. "Well, there's several school clubs. I'm part of the anime, gaming, and art clubs. I'll try and get you three," she said nodding towards his sister and Gwen, "A listing of the clubs. Meanwhile, there's a lounge in the basement of the dorms and a common room on each floor. Then there's the library. After lunch, there shall be a tour. I promise."

[Semi-Autogyro]

John observed the social interaction after the two capitulated with the same calculated focus as if he were still in training with Headmaster Summers. He was convinced that Miss Gwendolyn had never been in a true fight from her reaction to the altercation and afterwards. He couldn't explain her social out-casting of Miss Jeena, but that was an area he still had trouble navigating. The twins were another matter. From their responses to the subtle use of body language as teamwork cues, it was clear to John that they had some sort of training. Not to mention, their responses to their 'heritage' was a lot like he had to experienced the first few weeks he was at Claremont. Hmm. They were probably war orphans and were caught up in local conflicts. Maybe South African? Would explain their use of Dutch cover identities. In any case, John felt that he should do something since this was an area that he had experienced firsthand.

He made a mental note to try and talk to the both of them by themselves when he got the opening. Speaking of openings, he looked down to check to see if he still had his gelatin. Miss Victoria had on occasion taken it from his plate when he was not looking, claiming that he should have protected it better. Turning his attention back to the conversation he finally spoke his thoughts on the matter. "Miss Victoria and Mister Morgan can vouch for why I do not choose to physically interfere in altercations anymore. It was...unpleasant the first and last time it happened. As for things to do, I am afraid I cannot help much. Most of my day is taken up by training of one form or another, but if you are in need of a exercise spotter I would be more than happy to assist." John said to Zach before taking a bite of his dessert.

[quotemyname]

"I may have to take you up on that." He smiled at John. "I was on the wrestling team in our last school. I've also done some martial arts before so I'm not a stranger to sparring. I'd really be interested in seeing what styles you use to fight." Zach replied, thinking, It could give me and edge against any other earthling opponents if they have similar tactics.

Jeena, they have an art club. Maybe you should go with Vicky. Maybe they have that guy you were reading about at the library.

"I've never heard of an anime. Much less a club about it. What is it? Or who is it?" Zach really was confused by Vicky's lack of description. Perhaps it is a proper noun? Humans have so many of those it's impossible to know them all, and in different languages...

[Quinn]

Crow's ears fairly poked up, the teen's head shooting straight up from his food plate. He looked at Zach, blatantly appraising him instead of the amiable look he'd used earlier. The mention of styles, martial arts, and sparring had him...intrigued. With a practiced (for a teenager) eye he looked the other student over, taking note of the slight build and the way he held himself. His use of the "wrestling team" explanation didn't go by without close scrutiny, either; Crow was familiar with deceptively strong individuals, but for some reason...he couldn't see Zach as a wrestler. But he definitley was no stranger to close-quarters combat. Boxing club, maybe?

The second that particular thought crossed his mind, Morgan smiled. This one, a bit more self-deprecating. Guy mentions he knows how to fight, and the first thing y'do is start poking for one? Nice, real nice. Why don't you add the Doom Room as part of the tour, idiot?

"Huh...well, no shortage of kids around here who like the sweet science. Boxing, Irish and otherwise's my game; John here's been teaching me a few tricks from his repetoire. Seriously, if you're looking to learn self-defense, you sure as heck came to the right place."

[Heritage]

"That would be wonderful, thank you."

Jeena stiffened up a bit when she saw the vines come out again, even more so once she realized Gwen was talking to them and they responded like sentient creatures. Were they like parasites? "Uh, sure, have a seat; welcome to the elite ladies' table."

She took a few bites of her pie but she couldn't tear her eyes away from Gwen's animated markings; at last, she put her fork down and tucked her fists under her chin. "Alright, I'm going to be honest with you; your plant parts, or whatever they are, make me a little uncomfortable." She held up one hand. "And I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be mean or make you feel bad, I'm just being honest. I think in time, I will get used to them, but I want to...apologize in advance for staring or being startled from time to time, okay?" Then she laughed self-consciously. "And if my size-changing seems strange to you, I completely understand; actually, I can make myself tiny, too." She held up her hand, her thumb and forefinger less than a millimeter apart. "Teeny tiny."

What? I... No way. What makes you say that?

Jeena suddenly smiled like the screethi who ate the meekla. Oh, nothing.

Jeena, they have an art club. Maybe you should go with Vicky. Maybe they have that guy you were reading about at the library.

And know it was Jeena's turn to get a bit pink in the face. Yeah, maybe, that might be cool...

[Breella]

Gwen looked at her arm, the vine had herd Jeena and had started to crawl up Gwen's arm to hide under her shirt. We sorry. they said to Gwen like scorned children. I don't think she meant it like that, remember how scared of you I was when you first appeared. This is why you had to hide from everyone else for the past year. Gwen watched the flowers hide and frowned at them. "They say they're sorry for scaring you. They are very excited to meet people. They've never been out in public before coming here..." Gwen sighed. "You guys are the first people other than me that they have been allowed to interact with, and they're like small children. They're more sentient than any young plant I've ever met before. Usually a newly sprouted tree takes YEARS to achieve the kind of self awareness that they have."

[quotemyname]

"Huh...well, no shortage of kids around here who like the sweet science. Boxing, Irish and otherwise's my game; John here's been teaching me a few tricks from his repetoire. Seriously, if you're looking to learn self-defense, you sure as heck came to the right place."

"As is so readily apparent from the behavior of that bully earlier." Zach frowned a little, and made a confession, "I'd like to say that I prefer not to start fights. But where I come from, fighting is basically a way of life." He quickly raised his head, he stared at Morgan and John, avoiding Vicky's gaze entirely, his expression horrified, like the expression of a startled Luka bug just before it flees from the light of a Tektani lantern. "I mean like not in terms of Switzerland. It's a neutral country. Duh. But my area was a bad neighborhood, there was always fighting going on, you really had to learn to be aggressive to survive." Originally, Zach's judgment of where he 'came from' didn't sound very sincere. But as he talked more about needing to be aggressive and survival instinct, he suddenly sounded incredibly heartfelt.

For a moment his eyes strayed to the window again. It would take a great deal of time for him to get used to living life above ground. With every human structure either completely open to the outside air, or providing portals that could be used to access or even simply view the outside. The windows of the cafeteria fascinated him, luckily to the others, he looked like a normal high school student losing his attention by spacing out while staring at the outside. The outdoors held his attention for a few moments longer before his attention jolted back to the group, "If you had to ask me, I'd say self defense was an illusion. Pacifism is not the best policy. If others can count on you to never want to participate in a fight, they can be sure you'll never start one. They'll never be threatened by you. One of your presidents, Roosevelt I think, advised speaking softly and carrying a big stick. I find that outlook to be a very effective world view. You should strive so that others view you as capable, rather than appearing to be either weak willed or tyrannical." He seemed to realize that he was speaking far too much, and let his rant settle. Zachary's eyes strayed from Morgan to John; finally they came to rest on Vicky as he tried to judge their reactions to his little impromptu speech.

[Breella]

Gwen watched Jeena as she talked. "It is ok. I am still frightened of Vicky's ability. She seems to like popping in right behind me." Gwen listened as the girl went on. "I have herd stories of a tribe of natives in South America where I was born who lived as teeny tiny little people up in the trees. That is the reason scientists haven't found them yet. They're about as little as you describe." Gwen ate her last piece of pie and wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Also I have herd about other people like me, but my power is so weak before the vines I had never thought to seek out others who could do amazing things." Gwen thought about that for a moment. "I mean, there are people all around the world who do amazing things, there are people who also do horrible things but I had personally never met one, they do not usually visit the places I lived or ride airplanes."

[Azuth65]

"I've never heard of an anime. Much less a club about it. What is it? Or who is it?"

"It's a style of animation from Japan, it spans pretty much every genre you can think of from Science-Fiction and Fantasy to Romantic Comedies," the white haired girl explain.

A minute or so later she had remained silent during Zach and Morgan's exchange but as they finished she spoke up, "I've found that most bullies, short of super-powered megalomaniacs, will cut their crap if you can plant them on their ass even once. I don't go looking for fights but if one starts, I finish it. Though, when possible, I look for non-violent ways, like dumping the aggressor a couple hundred yards away."

[Quinn]

Morgan cocked his head to the side, listening to the speech; he didn't hear anything that set him on edge there, but for some reason it just seemed...off. He definitley got a feeling the new student'd been in far over his head at some point. The beliefs Zach espoused ran through his head repeatedly, and he simply stared at the other student musingly. After a few minutes, he returned to his food, quietly repeating something to himself; something Vicky and John knew he held very dear. The rules his dad had drilled into his head, over and over again.

"Red Hand's Rule number one. Enter battle with joy. Red Hand's Rule number two. Protect those who can't protect themselves. Red Hand's Rule number three. Never be afraid to fight dirty."

[Heritage]

"They say they're sorry for scaring you. They are very excited to meet people. They've never been out in public before coming here..." Gwen sighed. "You guys are the first people other than me that they have been allowed to interact with, and they're like small children. They're more sentient than any young plant I've ever met before. Usually a newly sprouted tree takes YEARS to achieve the kind of self awareness that they have."

The Tektani girl felt her heart sink as she realized she'd basically just told Gwen her children were creepy; maybe honesty was not the right approach in this situation. "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, either plant or mammal. Maybe we should work on some conditioning." She rolled up her sleeve and stuck out her arm. "Okay, I want to tell your plant friends to climb up my arm, for a just a few seconds, right? If I get uncomfortable, I'll say something."

"I mean, there are people all around the world who do amazing things, there are people who also do horrible things but I had personally never met one, they do not usually visit the places I lived or ride airplanes."

Jeena's face darkened as her voice dropped an octave. "I have." She didn't elaborate, merely sitting mutely with her arm extended for the vines to climb on; there were traces of old scars on her pale flesh.