Out of Blue Waters(IC, Open)

[Ari]

On September 18th, only a day or two before the beginning of autumn quarter, Subito Sondo walked with long, heavy strides up to the large iron gate to the school grounds. Upon reaching the gate itself he tilted back the brim of the baseball cap that shadowed his face and examined the school. It was much grander a place than he had assumed it would be. He had thought that the Academy would be a bunker-like place, an unassuming structure built to contain and conceal the powers of its students. An Ivy League-like building with spacious green lawns dotted with the occaisional tree, a distant confusion of metal bars and seats he took to be the racing field he'd often seen his sister on at his old school.

Glancing around with a certain air of self-consciousness Subito felt deeply ridiculous. A plain white t-shirt and pair of blue jeans were his main wardrobe, and he had plenty with him, but his parents had insisted on him wearing the significantly more formal suit and tie he wore to particularly solemn or holy events. The hat was a concession to the sun, which by now was angled to perfectly assault the eyes of anyone who was looking vaguely eastwards. As it was now no longer needed, he put it neatly into his backpack, brushing a hand over his curly hair to bring some of its springs back from the dead. Pushing open the gate, he walked with a relaxed manner in the direction he fervently hoped was the one he had been told several times was the right one.

[Raveled]

As Subito wandered across the quad, a shadow passed over the grassy commons. He glanced up to see a glowing figure with several footballs tucked under one arm. The figure held one finger into the wind, then chucked each pigskin in a different direction in rapid succession. One went directly over the front gate, and was still climbing as it crossed the road!

The figure descended towards the grass and resolved itself into a young man, not much older than Subito himself. The glow snapped off as his feet touched the ground, though his eyes remained an angry red-and-black. His expression was friendly enough though, and he smiled as he held out a hand to the newcomer. "Hey there. I'm Brian Harris. Are you a, uh, new student?"

[Ari]

Taking the outstretched hand eagerly, Subito nodded "I am, I'm Subito Sondo, are you an upperclassman? I was told to report to the registration desk to get my stuff in order. Can you lead me there? I have a terrible sense of direction"

After the handshake(marvelling inwardly at the oddly rough texture of Brian's hand) Subito decided he might as well ask: "What do they teach us here? Mr. Summers told me I was to learn how to use my powers correctly here, but it seems like a regular school. Is this-" he gestured vaguely around at the visible buildings and grounds "-just a surface facade?"

[Semi-Autogyro]

John sighted down the shaft of the arrow and loosed it, sending it accelerating toward a trio of targets downrange. He lowered the bow and mentally commanded the arrow -- split -- and it did, separating into three arrows that buried themselves in the targets. He lined up another shot when a shadow passed overhead. Glancing upward he saw Brian landing next to somebody he didn't know. Another new student, it seems. Both curious of the new arrival and wanting to give him a friendly introduction to Claremont, he headed over in their direction.

As he approached the pair, he overheard the last part of the questions posed by the new arrival. "It is what you make of it. To some it is a school, to others it is a crucible, and to all students here it is a safe haven." He extended his left hand, forgetting he still was manifesting his powers. "Oh sorry. My apologies." The compound bow in hand and quiver on his back disappeared, and he extended his now free hand. "I am called John Smith, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

[Ari]

John's brief declaration of how what the school was depended on what the students made of it was perhaps more affecting to Subito than had been expected. After shaking his hand politely the youth looked at him thoughtfully for several seconds before speaking "Thank you John Smith, that was vey helpful. Is that something often asked by new arrivals? And what do you mean by a 'crucible'? Do some students need more pressure to learn how to use their powers?"

Shifting slightly to the left to get a better look at the other boys face, Subito tightened the straps of his backpack, turned to Brian and added "Are there a lot of people like John Smith here?"

[Raveled]

Taking the outstretched hand eagerly, Subito nodded "I am, I'm Subito Sondo, are you an upperclassman? I was told to report to the registration desk to get my stuff in order. Can you lead me there? I have a terrible sense of direction"

Brian chuckled at the idea of himself as a leader. "I'm just a junior. In fact I'm only starting on my second year here at Claremont. But I can show you where the offices and stuff are."

Shifting slightly to the left to get a better look at the other boys face, Subito tightened the straps of his backpack, turned to Brian and added "Are there a lot of people like John Smith here?"

That earned a full-bellied laugh from the teen. "No, man. There's no one like John on the planet. Which is good -- if we had more than one person with his kind of focus, we could split atoms by having them get into a staring match."

[Semi-Autogyro]

"Thank you John Smith, that was very helpful. Is that something often asked by new arrivals? And what do you mean by a 'crucible'? Do some students need more pressure to learn how to use their powers?"

"It seems many of the students who come here have preconceptions of what Claremont is like, but that is inevitable with the reputation the Academy has. As for the word crucible, I was referring that this place can be both a testing ground or the fact that your experiences here will shape your future. Indeed some people who are enrolled here do have issues with their powers. It is hoped by attending here, that those may be tempered with control and precision gained.

"No, man. There's no one like John on the planet. Which is good -- if we had more than one person with his kind of focus, we could split atoms by having them get into a staring match."

John quirked an eyebrow at his friend. "As far as I am aware my sight does not work as a particle accelerator, or has Mister Morgan been spreading rumors once again?"

[Quinn]

An object bounced off of John's head as he said that, and as it rested at his feet, he noticed a somewhat familiar shape to it. A football. A football with a rune on the side. A football that looked awfully similar to one Brian had thrown a few seconds earlier...

As they came to that realization, the rest of the footballs tumbled down out of the tree they were standing under, bouncing off of their heads and shoulders in a plastic rain of doom. A muffled sigh came from above, and as their eyes turned skyward, a familiar sight became apparent. Morgan Crowe, upside-down, his coat hanging underneath him like a banner, his foot in a very familiar branch. With a very flat face, the teen gave a small wave to the others, before crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side.

"Hey John, d'you think Summers'd be angry if I went Paul Bunyan on this tree?"

[Ari]

Subito looked as puzzled as John about the comment about splitting atoms by staring at them, but seemed to at least guess at a metaphprical meaning to those words. My sister would like this guy he thought, glancing at John. Aloud he said "So in short you get what you need here, but it-" the rest was lost in the torrent of footballs, which he jumped awkwardly backwards to avoid, looking in puzzlement at the stranger dangling from the tree.

After a moment he said hesitantly "Hello, I'm Subito, do you want to be up there?" he had already begun to slip off his backpack as he spoke.

[Semi-Autogyro]

John's powers flashed in a corona of electric blue incandescence where the football hit him in the head. Snapping his attention skyward, the source of the attack revealed itself to be Morgan. "I do believe he would be aggravated, and I do not think you have any more free time to make any reparations he demands. In any event, I think you should take a sample of the tree to your allies at Parkhurst. Maybe they can explain why it has an affinity with your powers."

John bent over to pick up one of the footballs and tossed it up and caught it to get a feel for the weight. He then took careful aim at the branch and threw to football in a tight spiral, the football hitting the intended target followed by ominous creaking as the branches' grip loosened on Morgans' ankle. John took a few steps away from the tree so he was not underneath his friend. "Remember to tuck and roll, Mister Morgan." John said with a hint of amusement.

[Quinn]

"...Oh, you su-"

Crack. Whoosh. Thud.

Morgan blinked his eyes open, staring skyward through the branches and leaves of the tree from his supine position on the ground. He could see John and the new kid's faces, looking down at him; he resisted the urge to punch John in the nose. For a moment, however, the picture of said nose being squashed ran through his mind, a quite pleasing image. Then he noted the shifting figure underneath his back. And the follow-up groan of pain. Then Morgan realized he couldn't see Brian.

"Uh...oops. Ehe. Good news is the football runes worked, Bri?"

[Raveled]

"Get off me!" The words were muffled, but Brian's flailing was clear to see. With a grunt he rolled Morgan off of his body, then sat up, glaring crossly at his roommate. "You said those footballs were all supposed to go to the same place! You never said that 'same place' was the front gate!" He stood up and dusted himself off, muttering under his breath. "I swear man, if Summers had been walking by and got beaned by one of those, I would've laughed as he strung you up." He picked up one of the footballs littering the ground and tossed it at Morgan, intentionally aiming for the young man's head (but not throwing the ball very hard).

[Quinn]

The ball bounced off Morgan's head, and he blinked. Then he shook his head, and picked up another, returning fire back at his roommate.

"They did all go to the same place, end of the main parking lot, right where I was waiting for 'em! Then I tried to port back, and then next thing I know I'm upside-down and...well, you try holding a dozen footballs when you're hanging by your ankle from that...that...ooh, I swear that tree planned this!"

Morgan reared his foot back and delivered a solid boot to the bark of the tree, before promptly hopping around on one foot holding his injured toes. He'd forgotten he was wearing sneakers in lieu of his steel-toed boots.

[Ari]

Subito was hardly expecting that his first day at Claremont would involve a glowing guy who could fly, a guy with seemingly(to him) bottomless insight and the power to form objects out of nothing, and a guy who could appear out of nowhere and summon footballs. On the other hand, he knew the general procedure for what to do if someone hurt themselves at school. Slinging his backpack back on he picked up Morgan neatly and rose a few inches off the ground. Turning to Morgan he said earnestly "Don't worry, I'll get you to the school nurse in no time at all"

He turned to the other two students "Could you tell me where the nurse's office is? I'll drop of your friend there as quickly as I can and get back here as soon as possible"

[Semi-Autogyro]

John looked between the new arrival, his friends, and the tree. He walked over to the tree and tapped it idly.

"Clearly, this is a truly cunning foe. As Mister Morgan has repeatedly demonstrated it lies in wait, carefully biding it's time before it strikes catching its intended prey unaware in its leafy clutches. Mister Brian, do you think there is an another opening on the Irregulars? A stalwart ally such as this mighty elm would surly tip the fortunes of battle in our favor."

John then leaned against tree, face deadpan as he folded his arms across his chest and gazing at the new student and Morgan. "The school nurse is the Administration building, First Floor, Room 132. However, the only thing in danger of being injured is Mister Morgans' pride, at the moment."

[Quinn]

Morgan gave John a look that would have melted lead, crossing his arms as the new student held him up. His toes were throbbing, along with his ankle, his pride was pretty much shot by this point, and dreams of complicated prank revenge schemes ran through his head, each with John and/or Brian smack-dab in the middle of them. The teen spoke through gritted teeth, his voice quite calm, but with an undercurrent of what could only be described as impending horrible gut-wrenching doom.

"Very funny, John. I swear that tree's got it in for me; I don't care what Flora says. And new guy...y'know, I appreciate your worry. Really, I do. And I'm very grateful to you. Really! If I was actually seriously injured, I'd probably be thanking you even more. However, if you don't mind...PUT ME DOWN!"

[Ari]

"Very funny, John. I swear that tree's got it in for me; I don't care what Flora says. And new guy...y'know, I appreciate your worry. Really, I do. And I'm very grateful to you. Really! If I was actually seriously injured, I'd probably be thanking you even more. However, if you don't mind...PUT ME DOWN!"

With a shrug, Subito did as he was bid, putting Morgan back on his feet and floating away to what seemed a respectful distance of a yard or so. Sitting down on the air wasn't as comfortable as he would have liked, but it beat standing in the harsh and uncomfortable dress shoes he was wearing.

"I doubt I can be of much help in resolving this situation amicably, so I'll just stick around over here then. I'm sorry for overreacting, but I thought you had broken a toe or something, happens all the time"

Turning to John he added "Thank you for the directions"

[Ari]

Rotating until he was upside down in the air, Subito began testing to see if he could hear the other's heartbeats. Something he still found unnerving to use was his enhanced hearing, which brought to his ears the nearby pattering of ants, the stirring of grubs in the tree, and the scarcely detectable sound of grass growing. The last he found weirdly terrifying.

While waiting placidly for the robed teen to recover himself, he passed the next few minutes carefully searching through the various noises he could hear and determining what was making them.

[Raveled]

Brian caught the football, chuckling at his friend's discomfort. He glanced at the new student and did a double-take when he realized the boy was floating -- and doing so upside-down! He tossed the pigskin from hand to hand, walking over to the new arrival. He smirked at the visual of the serious-looking young man in the suit, whose coatflaps were now hanging down and whose trousers were threatening to ride up on him. "So, uh, Subito was it? What can you do, exactly?"

[Ari]

Jarred by the cacophany of noise coming from Brian, Subito fell out of the air on his head, his legs crossing over each other, and in all giving the vague appearance of a well-dressed spider fallen out of its web. Jumping into a standing poaition with his hands in his pockets, he responded simply "I can fly, am very strong and tough, and can hear super-humanly well. I think I have a few others, but that's all I know about so far"

Glancing from Brian to Morgan and back he asked "How about you?"

[Raveled]

"Oh, John's a walking arsenal," he said, jerking a thumb at the serious-looking teen. "Or anything else you want, really. He can pull whatever you need right out of the air. Morgan's got some weird rune-magic thing," he continued, shifting his focus to his roommate, "that usually works more often than not. But if you have a favorite shirt, or jersey, don't let him get his hands on it." The last was said with a smile and a tone like it was a long-standing joke. "As for me, well, I blow stuff up. I blow stuff up real good."

[Semi-Autogyro]

John picked up one of the footballs by his foot, and examined it. "I am to assume this is some sort of Homing Rune? Intriguing idea, Mister Morgan. There are many useful applications for it that come to mind when you have worked out the issues."

He tossed the football back to Morgan with a light under hand toss. "I will write some ideas down." John turned his attention back to Subito. "Now that introductions are out of the way, do you have any further questions? We would be more than happy to answer them."

[Quinn]

Morgan caught the football as it started to bend in the direction of the gate, putting it down with the rest of them in a small pile. Dusting off his hands, he flopped against the tree and rubbed his ankle absently. As he did so, a strange rune on one of his shoulders began to smoke, smouldering slightly; he felt the energies move through the coat and into his foot, and the pain fairly vanished.

"Yeah, it's a secondary experiment to go with those gloves I'm still working on; once I'm done, homing throwing knives, man. Straight silver, right to where it hurts."

He made his finger into the shape of a gun, pointing it at the air and making a "pop" sound with his mouth, grinning.

"Rune magic's my shtick; shapes and symbols got power, man. Plus, I subscribe to the Raven & Arrowhawk school of combat; scare the crap outta people so you don't have to fight. And if you do, make sure they stay down. Morgan Crowe, welcome to Claremont."

And with that, he stuck out a hand to the new kid, his previous bad feelings simply evaporated easy as that.

[Ari]

Grateful to learn that Morgan's anger cooled as quickly as his relatives', he gladly accepted the offered hand "Subito Sondo, pleased to meet you Morgan Crowe, and thank you for the welcome" relieved to finaly have the sudden spat out of the way, he turned to John, saying "I only need to get my room sorted out and make sure I'm in my classes. According to this-" he drew out a small pad of paper with a massive list of what looked like instructions on it from his pocket "-the place where I need to go is the registry desk in..." he followed a branch of the instructions carefully before saying triumphantly "The administrations building" he looked up at the other three "Could you guide me there?"

[Ari]

With a 'pop!', two other students, apparently a tech-genius and a girl in a containment suit fell out of a the air to crash into the ground heavily, at which point a heated argument started up about who got to make the return portal, and who would get the heat from someone called 'Archer' for trying to sneak off in the middle of gym.

Subito stared at them for a while, a baffled look on his face, before turning to the other three and saying "I'm sorry, is this normal?"