New Beginnings (IC)

[Breella]

Gwen had a feeling of intense curiosity from the vines.Can we? they asked her already crawling down her arm. "Yes you can, but be gentle to Jeena." Gwen instructed them out loud so not to startle Jeena, she admired this leap that the girl was taking. Gwen smiled a huge ear to ear smile to Jeena. "Other than John earlier today they have not touched anyone else." Gwen's face fell. "It's been hard, hiding them from everyone. They're very curious and inquisitive. They love to learn and to see new things." Gwen's smile brightened again when one of the vines still at her shoulder nuzzled her head again. The vines reaching out for Jeena flowered pure white star flowers when it touched her skin.

[Azuth65]

Vicky watched the exchange between Jeena and Gwen, her artist's eye taking note of small details as she walked over. "I feel your pain," she said, "Shortly after my powers emerged, I had to start wearing dark sunglasses all the time. If I didn't, people started screaming about demons and hellspawn and so on and so forth. Thankfully, there aren't many torches and pitchforks in Chicago." She tried for flippant but her voice betrayed that she remembered an old hurt when she remembered the first time she'd stopped to help a stranger and her sunglasses had slipped.

Shaking her head as if to throw the memory out of her mind, she brightened and nodded at the other girls joined by a vine, "Wish I had a sketchpad and pencil with me, this would make an awesome piece for my portfolio."

[Heritage]

"It's been hard, hiding them from everyone. They're very curious and inquisitive. They love to learn and to see new things."

Despite her best efforts, Jeena flinched just a bit when the curious vines touched her pale skin, though her expression was tightly controlled; she looked like a child at the petting zoo encountering her first tarantula. She barely acknowledged Vickiy's presence, so focused she was on the sentient plant. "So how do they see, and is it the full visible light spectrum? Can they fully detach from your body, or must at least some part of the...plant remain in contact with you?" She was genuinely curious, but she also spared a quick glance in Zach's direction, somewhat envious of the more ordinary conversation he appeared to be having.

I have vines crawling all over my arm; how are you doing, big brother?

[Semi-Autogyro]

John sat unmoving during the speech from Zach, the only indication he was paying attention to the proceedings was the feeling of his gaze being directed at Victoria and then Morgan when they spoke. John was convinced he was right on the war orphan part, but something was decidely off about the teen and his sister. He got the same reaction when about to walk into an ambush or having to make small-talk at social gatherings. Plus, John was all to familiar with sizing people up not to notice Zach doing the same to Morgan and him when John mentioned training.

When Morgan finished his credo he moved his empty bowl of of Jell-o off to the side of the tray. "I will have to disagree with you Mister Zach. Pacifism and Self-Defense are two distinctly separate ideals. A pacifist refuses to fight, even disregarding their own preservation. Self-Defense is being willing to protect oneself. Furthermore, if I were to just base my worldview on being seen as 'capable', that means little or nothing. Capability means something entirely different to me, versus Miss Victoria, or even you Mister Zach." The next line was delivered in a tone that Morgan had only heard one time earlier, when Vicky was taken by the Lady. "Do you think that because I chose not to make a spectacle out of those two, that makes me incapable or a pacifist? Why would one need to be such a warmonger that they would feel the need to use overwhelming force against every insignificant occurrence?" The icily cold tone disappeared, but not the intent in John's voice. "You do not need to fight to find a way to live here. If you feel the need that you have to, Mister Morgan or I would be more than willing to listen. After all, This is not where you came from, it is where you are now. Please do try to remember that."

John stood and collected his tray. "I'll talk to you later, Mister Morgan and Miss Victoria. Mister Zach, Miss Jeena, and Miss Gwendolyn, it was a pleasure to meet you. Have a pleasant day."

[Breella]

Gwen looked down at the vines. Come now, you're pushing your luck with Jeena Gwen told them. She looked up at Jeena. "I am not exactly sure how they see, I've never asked actually." Gwen touched the vines gently with her free hand. It is a very valid question, how DO you see? Gwen herd the vines thinking and mulling over the question. No answer. they replied, still thinking about this new question. "They're not sure either, but they are very curious and are now discussing it." Gwen mused the idea over in her head also. She couldn't believe she had never thought about it. "No, they can't leave my body. The base flower over here." Gwen pointed to the baseball sized flower on her shoulder, its favorite spot. "This is the main flower, its always here. It can move but, this seems to be it favorite spot. The vines, they can disappear back into the flower."

[quotemyname]

I have vines crawling all over my arm; how are you doing, big brother?

It's strange, Zach sent back after Johns little speech, I can't tell if I'm making friends or enemies. I miss our home, little sister. Back there we knew who to trust and who to hate. Back there we knew when to fight and when to run. These earthlings make me unsure. Still, I think we're making progress.

"Thank you, John, I... We... will try. It was nice meeting you." He gave John a friendly wave before turning to Morgan, "Just us left over here, then. Is there a required time limit that we have to stay in the cafeteria? I apologize, but the tour that Vicky suggested sounds fun and I'd like to get started. That and I'm unsure that eating more than two hot dogs in one sitting is all that good for one's well being. Already my stomach is complaining," Zach rubbed his midsection, with a laugh. "I'm going to find the restroom quickly, then I'll meet you at their table in a minute." Zach left after receiving directions from Morgan.

[Azuth65]

Vicky heard Zach's question. "Only during the school year," Vicky said as she noted the remains of lunch on everyone's plates. Grabbing the last burger, having downed the pie already, and said as she turned towards the exit, "Tour starts in five minutes after everyone's out front." As she walked towards the front doors she finished the burger, tossing the napkins she used to wipe the grease off her hands into a handily placed trash can.

Once the group had assembled outside, "Well we've covered one of the dorm buildings. We'll get the basics of the school layout and then we'll worry about the important things like how to kill time during the summer."

[Breella]

Gwen got up and threw out her now empty tray. She walked over to where Vicky was standing and waited to see who else was coming. Tour? they asked. Tour around Australia again?! the vines hummed with excitement again. They had specially liked Australia. Lots of sunshine and new animals to see. No, not that kind of tour. Think smaller, a tour of the school, not a tour of the country. the vines seemed to think about that for a moment. Ok! they piped up. Gwen smoothed her skirt down around her and pushed the waist length hair over her shoulders. "Present and accounted for!"she mocked.

[Heritage]

"They're not sure either, but they are very curious and are now discussing it." Gwen mused the idea over in her head also. She couldn't believe she had never thought about it. "No, they can't leave my body. The base flower over here." Gwen pointed to the baseball sized flower on her shoulder, its favorite spot. "This is the main flower, its always here. It can move but, this seems to be it favorite spot. The vines, they can disappear back into the flower."

"Interesting." So in a sense, the plants were somewhat parasitic in nature; Jeena had a feeling she'd have lots of questions for Gwen in the months to come, but decided to let the issue drop for the time being. After tolerating the alien sensations on her arm for over a minute, she finally withdrew her arm, quickly but without any sort of violent force that might damage the vines. "Okay, that's enough for today's session." She smiled nervously. "We'll try and go a bit longer next time."

It's strange, Zach sent back after Johns little speech, I can't tell if I'm making friends or enemies. I miss our home, little sister. Back there we knew who to trust and who to hate. Back there we knew when to fight and when to run. These earthlings make me unsure. Still, I think we're making progress.

Jeena sent back, I know; it's strange to think that it was easier to grow up in a war zone, but at least we knew where we stood. Here everything seems so uncertain, but I agree, I think we're making good progress, too.

"Well we've covered one of the dorm buildings. We'll get the basics of the school layout and then we'll worry about the important things like how to kill time during the summer."

"Oh, that's great!" Jeena quickly dumped her trash of in the receptacle and returned her tray, as she'd seen the others do, then she queued up next to Gwen and dramatically lowered her shades back over her eyes. "Prepared to entire hostile environment!"

[Azuth65]

Once Zach, Gwen, and Jeena were outside, Vicky began walking the new students around the school, taking time outside each building or at every major point of interest to answer questions. Once outside the Rita Kord dormitory she stopped, "And thus concludes the campus tour portion of our afternoon. Next up, the important things like the basement lounges in the dorm." Silently, Vicky was glad the tour was almost done. Since her powers had emerged she hadn't walked so much at one time, leaving her legs feeling like they were on fire.

[Breella]

Gwen practically bounced for the whole tour. She was excited to show everyone who came where Mr. Summers had approved the greenhouse that her godfather was donating was going to be built and invited everyone they saw on the tour to come and help on the 4th. She was throwing a "build it" party, complete with pizza and drinks for those who came to participate in its erection. Gwen couldn't help but introduce her self to many plants on the grounds that called out to her, some intelligent trees in a peer to peer way, most small plants in that attention starved way. Gwen snapped back to reality. "Oh! Basement Lounge?! Whats in there?" she inquired to Vicky.

[Azuth65]

Vicky leaned against the handrail leading up the stairs, now that they'd stopped moving her legs were already recovering. "Plenty of chairs, a couple arcade cabinets, pinball machines, pool and ping pong tables, and the announcement board. The other side is the laundry setup and an oversized janitor's closet," she answered. "Also, there's a music system. The dorm monitor usually has it on Top 40s but sometimes, depending on the music you're requesting, you can plug your MP3 player in or put in a CD."

[Heritage]

Jeena found the tour to be very interesting; the Claremont campus had many features similar to the Academy where her and her brother were raised and trained, though of course they were all above ground. She somewhat dismayed to see she'd be spending so much time out in the sunlight walking between building, but in time she could probably fly about at greatly reduced size to reduce her travel times. It would be so much easier if the building were linked by tunnels...

Despite the amount of outdoor exposure it would most certainly entail, she agreed to help Gwen with her construction project, since it would be both educational and give her more time to improve her relationship with her roommate.

The sacrifices I make...

"Plenty of chairs, a couple arcade cabinets, pinball machines, pool and ping pong tables, and the announcement board. The other side is the laundry setup and an oversized janitor's closet," she answered. "Also, there's a music system. The dorm monitor usually has it on Top 40s but sometimes, depending on the music you're requesting, you can plug your MP3 player in or put in a CD."

The Tektani girl was intrigued by the exotic devices Vicky described; they sounded somewhat similar to the flextest machines from her Academy days. The pale-skinned girl cleared her throat and held up her hand. "I have two questions, Vicky. Firstly, are the machines you mentioned in the lounge used to improve hand-eye coordination? Because if so, I would like to try them; I find them very useful and also entertaining. And secondly, I heard something about an 'art club'? I don't mean to imply that I want to join, I'm mostly just curious." Jeena tried very hard to look disinterested about her last question, but was noticeably leaning forward a bit on her toes.

[Azuth65]

Vicky nodded, "Some studies have found that some video games do improve hand-eye-coordination. Mostly first person shooters, which given their propensity for violence and cursing Mr. Summers has chosen to not allow them to be played on the public TVs in the lounges. Though, most of the student body has a video game console of some sort in their room so that's where those games get played most."

Opening the door to the building she continued, "There is indeed an art club. I'm a member, next meeting's on the thirteenth of the month if you'd like to sit in on a session."

[Quinn]

Morgan stretched as he followed behind, somewhat lazily. He hadn't really said much during the aftermath of the so-called "bully" disturbing his lunch, instead focusing on the tasty golden-brown battered goodness of his fish and chips. After the meal (and providing Jeena's, odd name that, sibling with directions to the nearest washroom), he'd simply trundled along behind Vicky, enjoying the "view" (and the scenery wasn't bad too, the Claremont campus in summer was positively gorgeous). At the question of hand-eye coordination, he was tempted to mention the Doom Room; however, he eventually decided against it. Wait and see; if they were supposed to know about it, Summers'd probably have filled them in.

"There's some training groups who meet at the field and gym every few days too; good for practicing self defense and other stuff. And there's Gourd's Gym on the boardwalk; Brian and I once bull-rushed a troll outta there, but repairs are nearly finished, and they got some great programs."

[Heritage]

"There is indeed an art club. I'm a member, next meeting's on the thirteenth of the month if you'd like to sit in on a session."

Once again, Jeena adopted a tone of indifference. "Yeah, okay, good to know." But inside her heart leaped; she had no idea what one did at an art club meeting, but it was going to be new and exciting.

"There's some training groups who meet at the field and gym every few days too; good for practicing self defense and other stuff. And there's Gourd's Gym on the boardwalk; Brian and I once bull-rushed a troll outta there, but repairs are nearly finished, and they got some great programs."

"That might be a good idea for me; I haven't done most of fighting at my normal size, so working on that would be helpful." Then she looked to the faces of her fellow students as she eagerly rubbed her hands together. "So, is anyone up for some tests of reflexes and skill?"

[Breella]

Gwen turned to Jeena and grinned from ear to ear. "I'm always up for some practice fighting."

Play fighting?! the vines got very happy at the thought, they were really enjoying the being outside in the sun and seeing people and the thought of being about to do more was a wondrous new thing for them. "If I'm going to really do this hero stuff I'm going to need all the practice I can get." Gwen had to admit, the idea of fighting criminals was terrifying and thrilling all at the same time. Practice makes perfect! the vines mused. "Hey, where does someone get an oufit for crime fighting? is there an outlet store for that around here?" With thatGwen's phonerang and she looked at the screen. "Sorry guys, I have to take this." she turned and began heading towards the dorms "Hey mom! Yeah I landed safely... Yeah, I've already made a few friends, they're great and..." Gwen's voice got harder to hear as she walked away.

[quotemyname]

Zach was mostly silent throughout the entire tour. He was doing his best to remember where everything was and how to travel from place to place the quickest. Like his sister, he was slightly bummed that there wasn't any system of tunnels connecting the multitude of class buildings.

He too wanted to see the machines in the basement that Vicky spoke of. But he decided that could wait until later.

"That might be a good idea for me; I haven't done most of fighting at my normal size, so working on that would be helpful." Then she looked to the faces of her fellow students as she eagerly rubbed her hands together. "So, is anyone up for some tests of reflexes and skill?"

"Unlike my sister, I've got a little more experience in that department. Though, my powers are of a different nature. It tends to be advantageous when your powers don't cause you to change size or shape. I find the subtle nature of them causes a lot of underestimation on my opponent's part. Perhaps we should take a look at this gym? Though I know John might be interested. Do you have a way of contacting each other remotely?" Zach asked, used to sending messages to his sister and other Tektani.

With thatGwen's phonerang and she looked at the screen. "Sorry guys, I have to take this." she turned and began heading towards the dorms "Hey mom! Yeah I landed safely... Yeah, I've already made a few friends, they're great and..." Gwen's voice got harder to hear as she walked away.

"I see..." Zach trailed off, someone upset that Gwen was leaving their group.