Psychics and Tigers and Bears... Oh My! (IC)

[TheAbsurdist]

November 2nd, 2:30PM

This was happening frequently, he was getting stuck with one of the more well-adjusted kids, and sent off into the world. Not that he minded. Elias got the reason, and despite his reputation as a weirdo among some of the other kids (having be told to not lay traps for squirrels, and other animals). Elias was quiet, attentive, and some people described his desire to learn as eerie. Today he was told to go out with Arcturus, which he did. If he had known anything about the other boy, than the idea would have made a lot of sense to him, given that they both had parents with a laundry list of crimes, and both of them were contending with what happened when those secrets come to light. Though Elias was having the small issue of trying to a find a light for his rabbit hole, to see how far down it went.

So into Lincoln they went, because it was someplace to go, and because it was an interesting location to explore. Subito had been right about that. Cruising beside, or near Arc on his skateboard, once again paying attention to half a dozen things around him all the while. Thus far on the trip he had been quiet. Though the other boy had likely been told that Elias was telepath, and as of right now, his scans tended to be something noticed.

[GranspearZX]

"You want me to... what?"

The summer had mellowed Marcus Irons out a great deal. The sporadic teenager prone to fits of rage was now a young adult prone to fits of rage, albeit far less often than before. His instructors were right in that his magical ability was starting to find a happy medium between his human and animal forms, though the weirdness hadn't stopped yet.

He'd never really hung around Lincoln much. Even before his powers manifested, he was a student at FDR High School. He had a few friends that went to Lincoln, but he'd since fallen out of touch with them. The story of my life, I guess. Still, hanging out with Elias--someone actually more introverted than himself--was going to be a challenge. Slowly but surely, the teachers at Claremont had been pushing him to be a little more social, even going so far as to have him train with other students. Marcus didn't like being manipulated, but he had to admit that it was actually working.

He didn't even immediately flip out when they told him Elias was a telepath.

Marcus was walking; there wasn't anything in the world that could get him on a skateboard. If it didn't have a motor, Marcus tended to stay as far away from it as possible. One of them was going to have to say something eventually, and Marcus was notoriously bad at small talk. Still, he gave it his best shot.

"So..." Inwardly, Marcus cringed at how canned and rehearsed just that simple word sounded. "They wanted us to get to know each other, I guess. Are you from around here or...?"

It was as good a place to start as any.

[TheAbsurdist]

There was a going concern among the faculty in regards to Elias' abilities and his personality. Thus far he hadn't really demonstrated any noticeable practicing of his abilities, but then, he seemed to engage in a lot of meditation towards that end. Which might make things better, perhaps somewhat worse. Still having two people who tended to avoid large scale interaction go out and do just that in the hopes their collective awkwardness would defeat itself.

Blinking, he kicked up the board and tucked it under an arm, as Marcus addressed him a bit more personally. "Mm? Oh... No. From Oregon, mostly. Born in New Freedom. You?" Fortunately he was as bad at small talk, but then they had a lot of commonalities, until their powers and certain other aspects made them diverge.

[GranspearZX]

"I was born in Chicago, but... pretty much lived here my whole life."

Marcus smiled faintly; it was amusing to think about just how different he was only two years ago. The transition wasn't easy. He was so angry for so long over the loss of his former life that he wasn't looking at the larger picture. His innate magical ability had opened his eyes to, in a very literal sense, whole worlds of possibility. He'd even met with an alternate universe version of himself, as much sense as that made.

"I guess they want us to hang out together because we've got things in common. But I'm not really the type to go digging around someone's personal business, y'know?" He rubbed at the back of his neck, adjusting the collar of his hockey jersey a little. He could have gone into Elias's parents as well as his own, but he certainly wasn't about to bring that up if Elias wasn't comfortable talking about it. After all, he still gave people withering looks whenever they brought up his parents sometimes. "I'm really not the mentor type. Still, you seem like a pretty okay guy. If I can help you out, just let me know, hm?"

[TheAbsurdist]

Drawing to a stop then, he looked around them, at the people in the neighborhood. He had chosen Lincoln, Subito was supposed to take him at some point, but he didn't see a reason to wait, honestly. Turning his head, canting it as he did so, and looked at Marcus. "Maybe you aren't the mentor here?" It was a question, as he wasn't entirely certain himself, things were... odd or off, or just interesting. "If you want to know something you can ask." Slowly he eased himself to one knee and pressed a hand to the ground, slightly moving his hand back and forth tracing his fingers against concrete.

[GranspearZX]

"Huh." Marcus paused for a moment... and then he laughed. "Well, you've got me there. Lord knows I don't have it all figured out... This time last year I was wondering if I'd even be able to control what it is I can do. Besides, our esteemed teachers know I have a thing about psychics."

He paused for a moment, remembering those few days he'd spent in Pennsylvania. He shuddered a little bit at the thought of being mind-controlled; it was a feeling he couldn't readily forget, even nearly a year later. "Not sure if you heard about that... and I'm not saying you do that sort of thing, either. I spend a lot of time in my own head sometimes, so it's already weird when someone else is in there with me."

Marcus stopped long enough to look at Elias, his head tilting a bit. "Um... what are you doing?"

[TheAbsurdist]

Elias nodded as Marcus voiced his concern. "I understand the need for privacy, and not wanting to be controlled. I don't do that to people... it..." He lapsed into silence then as he just stared off into space before him, and at the empty street. "It can mess with the person doing it too..." He was omitting something, but then Marcus was a little too so fair was fair. "I hadn't heard though... I can do a lot, I don't like playing lincoln logs with people's memories though..." Looking down at his hand for a moment, blinking, and then lifting it off the ground. "Feeling. Still not used to the city. To cities." Slowly straightening as he turned fully back towards the other guy.

[GranspearZX]

"We really do have that in common then. I feel a lot more in control when I'm not in the city, too. As far as that whole psychic thing though... that was sort of my fault to begin with. I was following a guy, thought my magic had me completely hidden. Didn't think to make my mind undetectable, too, so the second we were alone..." Marcus felt a little bit nauseated just thinking about it. Thankfully there had been more experienced heroes around to find him. He hated the idea of him being rescued, and he hated his oversight even more.

Instead, he chose to focus on Elias--it was easier to deal with his problems, after all, by helping to solve someone else's. "The city's a pretty interesting place if you give it a chance. Weird stuff happens, but at least it's not boring."

Marcus stuffed his hands into his pockets. "So when did you first figure out what you could do?" He figured it was an innocent enough question. Besides, he figured exchanging that particular story might help them both.

[TheAbsurdist]

"Control is... a funny thing." Lapsing into a bit of silence as he rose to his feet, and then shrugging as he continued walking along at his more ambling pace. "As long as I can remember, more or less I guess. Memory is a funny thing... I think I have perfect memory, but I wouldn't know if it wasn't." Shaking his head slowly, and shrugging again. "Always had my powers is the best answer. Which... y'know, I dunno if it is good or not, considering it too a while for me to learn how to control, and... well I learned over things, so I am just having to learn better control."

[GranspearZX]

"Control, huh? I can kind of help with that, maybe. Kind of had to learn it the hard way myself. Meditation, martial arts... I've got a lot of hobbies that help me focus. A fight triggered my magic the first time, but I've gotten a lot better since then; that was about two years ago. Maybe I always had it, but it kind of forced its way to the surface."

Marcus always wondered about that--whether the Beast Rune had actually forced itself on him or if it was the magic simply responding to his desperation at the time. For all he knew, it could have been both.

"But... it could've just been stress. That was the same night my dad got arrested." He wasn't sure if Elias knew what his father had done. The pictures of his father under the influence of the Beast Rune were downright scary. He definitely got the sense that Elias was leaving stuff out... but he couldn't really blame him at all. Marcus was still largely a stranger to him, after all.

[TheAbsurdist]

"I am supposed to learn from other psychics in the hope they'll teach me. I guess."

It was hard to add things in. Hey I love my mom completely and she protected me, but she is also an unrepentant killer, and my father is a manipulative psychopath who is the loyal hound of a scary regime. That he lacked the capacity to hate, at least his mother, was telling. But what mattered to him most was that he knew there were things he didn't know. Things he had to find out. It's not exactly something he had learned how to broach, not due a lack of understanding, but being hampered by how he had to interact with others. He didn't see the parallels with Marcus' abilities, but then that wasn't really a negative thing. As each day he was keenly aware of exactly what he did not know.

[GranspearZX]

"I wish I knew someone to refer you to, but come to think of it... I don't really know any. Most of the people I've been around lately are more 'magic' and 'supernatural' than psychic. I figure there's some things that might, y'know, overlap, but... maybe not." He felt a little bad about not being as directly useful to Elias. He could also tell that Elias was still playing everything very close to the vest; he didn't really expect much else, and he doubted one walk through the city was going to open him up. It took him over a year before he'd even really been comfortable around other people.

"Anything you feel like doing?"

[TheAbsurdist]

GM

Deaf ears were a good thing. The sound wasn't loud. Except being just loud enough that if someone were to walk down the alley they might notice it. Deaf ears were not so much a good thing. But it allowed this little experiment to happen. The guy screamed, his back arched, and his face pressed against some of the trash, muffling the sound, before he sagged to the ground, his body limp, and his eyes almost rolled back into his skull. Then a blink and the world looked different. And another blink, as his thoughts changed. Familiar but with strong impulses that he was having a hard time to ignore.

What the man didn't know was that he wasn't alone, that he was being watched. Weighed. Measured. Eyes carefully surveying what had been wrought. What would be wrought.

Notes were taken.

[TheAbsurdist]

Elias shrugged a little bit as he looked at Marcus. "I understand, and it isn't something you need to do anyway. It is not like I have any pointers for you, except how to contend with anger and other emotions, but you're not very angry. They're hoping we talk... probably because our histories are similar. Or somewhat similar. Mr. Summers is pretty closed." Frowning as he moved, crossing in front of an alleyway with Marcus, and glancing about, pursing his lips a little in thought. "Food?" When in doubt teens can always bond over food. Wandering bottomless pits that they were.

[GranspearZX]

"Not angry? ...heh." Marcus chuckled at that. "I used to be. I still can be. I mean... this magic of mine does feed on aggression, so for a while I thought that's what it meant, and that it was okay. Took me a while to figure out that also meant not being in control. Not a comfortable feeling at all. But hey, my dad overcame his with a little help, so I guess I'm not completely hopeless."

Marcus extended his right hand, staring at the back of his palm. He couldn't quite tap into the runic magic he'd learned without serious effort. He'd only recently figured out that the Beast Rune was essentially dominating much of his natural magical ability--not maliciously, that was just its nature. Marcus hadn't quite given into it, however, and he'd already conceived a workable solution around it.

"Food? Oh man, you read my mind... where are we anyway?" Marcus looked around for a landmark or something he recognized--even a street sign would do. There was bound to be somewhere they could stuff themselves nearby.

[TheAbsurdist]

"What is it you want? Anger? Peace? Ample parking?" Pausing a moment and looking at Marcus carefully. "Ample parking... I didn't read your mind, I know I am hungry and you are bigger so I figure you had to eat more." he glanced about slowly and nodded down the street. "I have a great sense of direct. If I have been to a place first. That is the problem we are having here. Not terribly far from some place that has food, I am smelling something in the air." Which was true, there was a restaurant not far from where they were, though it was likely just a hole in the wall place rather than anything special, but neither of them were looking for specific foods beyond Blue Claremont Student need food, badly.

[GranspearZX]

Marcus realized what he'd said after he'd said it, his palm meeting his forehead. "I didn't mean that literally... Heh. Sorry about that. But you're probably right about that, I do eat a lot. I think being a physical Adept changed my metabolism or something. Just figured I should warn you so you aren't surprised at how much I can pack away. As far as finding a place, I could always... ah... cheat a little bit." He looked around to see if anyone was around, tapping at his nose. "Not so good with directions, but when I'm in bear form, my sense of smell is MUCH better. Of course... I can smell magic too, but that's a different thing entirely."

[TheAbsurdist]

GM

Marcus was talking, and he was from the city, so those were strikes against him right now, and they counted as a figure burst forth from the alleyway. His clothes rent from the strain of his body twisting about. He looked more animal than man now, and his natural camouflage wouldn't help him in the city. The new tiger man tested the air with his nose, as his senses were raw, and wanting to be used. Blinking a little bit as he looked around, before stalking into the street.

[TheAbsurdist]

Elias was about to respond to Marcus, when he went still for a moment, and then he hissed, out loud. "Turn around Marcus, turn around!" He turned then, sharply, knowing, more or less, what was there. A snarl on his face, as he was readying himself, but not immediately lashing out, instead he reached out to feel for the intent of the creature, as the tigerman wasn't attacking anything yet. Though his efforts to touch that mind did not work, as it was a roil of anger, pain, and confusion. His hands going to his head, and gritting his teeth as he tried to sort through that all.

[GranspearZX]

"Huh?" Marcus turned, momentarily startled by the snarling figure. He took a single, defensive step back, his right hand clenching into a fist. He didn't immediately do anything though, more curious than afraid. At least he doesn't have a Beast Rune on him... that could get ugly. Still, he recognized the look in his eyes. After having lived with the Beast Rune's influence for two years, animal behavior wasn't difficult to decipher.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Elias struggling mentally with something. He exhaled sharply, prepared to defend the psychic if he had to. No sudden moves... at least not yet. Marcus could only hope that Elias was doing something to read this person better.

[TheAbsurdist]

GM

The feline ears on the man's head flattened, now that he was out in the open it was clear that his head had more in common with a tiger than a man. Fur showing from under his clothes. No stink of magic on him. His golden eyes turned on Marcus and Elias for a moment, narrowed, before the screeching of a car hitting it's breaks and and the horn blaring. In response the mantiger roared back at the noise and swung his arm down hard at the hood of the car, his claws raking through the aluminum of the hood of the car like it was tissue paper.

[TheAbsurdist]

"His mind is like a hurt animals, hard to hold, it thrashes too wildly. Will do what I can." And then he reached out with his mind, seeking to fire off as many synapses as he could in that raging mind. All that information flaring up at once, competing and kicking up like a storm. But he couldn't get a hold, he couldn't latch on to it. Losing his grip, he simply was unable to overwhelm the mantiger. And then he moved, ducking behind a mailbox, trying to think, trying to come up with a plan, something, something... He know he couldn't hang with the beast without something more.

[GranspearZX]

"...okay." Marcus had decided on a course of action. Thankfully, there was no one else around, and as he stepped in front of Elias, the outline of the Beast Rune on his shoulder blade began to glow brightly through his shirt. "You work on his mind, I'll deal with the rest of him."

In an instant, Marcus's body was engulfed by his own magic, expanding his body to incredible proportion, leaving a large, crimson-eyed black bear in the place of the otherwise composed teenager. He snarled right back at the tigerman, the bass in the ursine hero's voice conveying the intended threat. "HEY! Cut that out NOW."

[TheAbsurdist]

GM

Those ears flattened back at the roar of Marcus' voice, and then lowering himself and snarling back, in rage, and then hissing, as he adopted a more defensively posture. Then he uncoiled and leaped at Marcus, swinging one of his hands out, claws outstretched, seeking to score a hit on the larger beast man. His speed was certainly greater than his, and managed to do just that. Raking sideways across the stomach of the ursine hero. Instinct guiding the blow as he did that, feline urge to gut his prey first.

[GranspearZX]

Being right really was a blessing and a curse sometimes.

Arcturus had a feeling that the threat would be seen as a challenge. That was, in fact, the law of the animal world, after all. Dominance was often determined by force, and he was fairly certain that he was going to have to send this person, whoever he was, a very physical message. Part of him--the Beast Rune part of him--reveled in the challenge, though it was still reined in by human reason. He didn't WANT to do it, but he knew he had to, before this guy hurt himself or any innocent bystander.

The bear took a short leap backward the claws missing his exposed chest. He landed and leaned in, closing the distance between them with astounding speed, thrusting his open, padded palm squarely into the tigerman's face. Marcus was trying to subdue him, not seriously harm him, after all. Martial arts lessons over the past year had certainly paid off in keeping the Beast Rune from getting overzealous.