Think Happy Thoughts (Ravyn)

[Henry Ballo]

Henry was trying really hard to get his power down. For one, he was now a senior and as a senior he had to be concerned about graduating. He’d applied to schools. He’d even gotten responses, and financial aid, which all meant one thing:

He could no longer ignore his powers. That was why he’d gone to his trainer and had requested someone—anyone—with flight who he could practice with. As a result, he’d been given the name of Ravyn, who apparently had winged flight. Not perfect. But as Henry didn’t know of a lot of people who flew in general and even fewer who, ah, floated, he had decided to take what he could get. He’d asked his trainer to set up a meeting and, once he had the time, had prepared for it. He’d requested it out in the training yard since ceilings did tend to get in his way. So at ten on a Friday—on Spring Break, nonetheless, but as Henry stayed at the school he didn’t see why it mattered—he stood in the courtyard, a bag of various things at his feet. Vermont was one of the many states going through the surprising warm spell, so Henry was dressed—quite happily—in a tank top and sweats.

What? His power did involve flying around. He wanted to be comfortable while doing it. He was early—no surprise there—so the taller boy looked around for a moment, examining the various items there. Trees, benches…ah, well, he supposed he could start slow. Warm up, so to speak. He fetched a basketball from his bag, spun it idly in his hand, then grinned. He always felt better with a basketball in his hand. He tossed it up, rose to catch it, and remained hovering there for a moment before pulling a flip in midair and gently lowering himself back to the ground.

And about that moment, he realized someone was watching. His smile slipped, and he turned to face the person, looking a little more wary. He tucked the basketball under his arm.

“Good morning,” he greeted, bowing his head slightly. “Is your name Ravyn?”

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Normally Ravyn would have asked to go home to Russia during Spring Break, but this year she was determined to practice her flying until she had it perfected. Therefore, she, too, had gone to her trainer to find someone to practice with her during the break. And just to her luck, her trainer had managed to find someone - also a senior! She recognized the name - Henry Ballo - but had never really met him. All she knew he was tall and dark, and she was pretty sure she had been in Geometry with him last year. But it didn't matter - she would meet him now!

Wearing her normal backless, fitted shirt and khaki shorts, she trotted happily out of the dorms towards the training yard. Her tawny wings flared out behind her as she walked, catching the bright morning sunlight. She had her dark hair tied back into a tight braid so it wouldn't get in the way, and a dark green bag slung over her shoulders with a water bottle, extra clothes (she never knew when she might end up ripping something - she had a habit of getting caught in sticky situations), and various other snacks and items she might possibly need. It was early in the morning, and she didn't know how long they would be out, so she came prepared.

As she neared the training yard, she saw a dark-skinned young man already there, and assumed it was Henry. She knew she was snooping, but she came a few steps closer and just watched for a few moments as he played around with a basketball and even showed off a little of his hovering skills. She rose her eyebrows as he flipped, impressed. For someone that wanted training, he seemed to at least have a good handle on his abilities. She wished she could flip like that.

She then realized that he had noticed her, and she blinked and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare," she said, her accent slightly slurring the words. "You seem very experienced with zhe basketball." She noticed his expression had become less warm as she approached, and she wondered why that was. She wasn't threatening or irritating in any way, was she? Well, she would just have to make that frown turn upside down! She put an extra umph of warmth in her own expression and dropped her bag onto the side of the training yard. "Yes, I'm Ravyn. You're Henree, I assume?" It was a silly question - who else would be out at this time of day, with hovering abilities nonetheless? She offered a hand, taking a moment to glance over his toned muscles. Tall, dark, and handsome - he could definitely be her type, if only he would smile.

[Henry Ballo]

This girl most definitely had winged flight. Henry knew that it was somewhat unusual that he did not, but he thought he was grateful for that. He felt strange enough here, in Vermont, being tall and African, without having a pair of wings. Besides, with his peculiar luck, they probably would have been too small to be any good and just large enough to be a nuisance. These two weren’t exactly suited then, but at least they could challenge each other to new lengths and, ideally, save each other if it went too badly. That was the best plan he knew of and, really, the only plan. He had to learn eventually, right? He wondered how much she had seen and then decided that he really shouldn’t care. They were there to practice and he’d been practicing. That was the important bit.

“I used to play,” he said. Less so now as there weren’t a lot of people on the basketball team, and that meant he couldn’t play anymore. Or play as much. But as of late he’d been finding different things to do. And perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing. But it felt strange, considering how obsessive he’d been over it in high school. “But there is no need to apologize.” Two people training together who weren’t speaking very good English? He couldn’t place her accent exactly, but he suspected that it was something Eastern European. Russian, possibly? He wasn’t very good with that. He didn’t have much experience. “And you were not staring. I am sorry. I was…” he hesitated. “Showing off, I suppose.”

Yes, his expression was still wary. He wasn’t sure how he felt about her yet, and he was always wary around people he didn’t know. It was a trait that he doubted he would ever get rid of, although…when he’d been back home, back in Botswana, that hadn’t been the case. But that had been a rather different situation, with shyness taking the place of sullenness. “I am. It is good to meet you.” He completely missed the look as he leaned forward to take her hand. “You have winged flight, yes? How long have you trained?” For the sake of them both, he kept to the somewhat simple words. Language barriers became all the more entertaining when both parties were speaking a language that wasn’t native to them.

And by entertaining, he meant only to the third party.

“How did you want to start?” he inquired. “I brought tools we could use. Some cones, ah, more basketballs…tennis balls…weights.” His shrug was a little helpless. He didn’t know what he was doing. At this point, it was all just guesswork.

[Ravyn Rozanova]

"You used to play?" she repeated, glancing at the ball. "You seem quite good. I have never played, perhaps you will have to teach me sometime." She beamed, taking back her hand, totally ignorant of his wariness. Now that she was standing next to him, she realized how... Well, how SUPER tall he actually was. She was petite at a height of five-foot-three, and her hollow bones made her feel even more fragile next to this, well, giant. She was certain he could pick her up and toss her across the field if he wanted to! She made a note to herself - don't make Henry angry.

She, too, caught his accent, but being more chatty than he, wasn't afraid to ask about it. "You must not be from around here," she commented, reaching down to pull the water bottle from her bag. "I am from Russia myself, although I feel more American now." She laughed. What would her mother say if she heard her say that? "And showing off is fine. I admit that I do it on occasion as well... I think it's part of being a teenager. Wanting the world to know how, ah, 'cool' you are, I suppose." She still wasn't used to American teenage slang, though. She didn't think she ever would be.

"Yes, winged flight is my thing!" she laughed again, flaring out the appendages in question. "I guess they are kind of a give away. They manifested when I was twelve... Six years ago now. That was a painful experience..." She winced at the memory of the wings suddenly sprouting out of her back without warning, a pain that felt like swords were being jabbed into her on either side of her spine. She shook her head, brushing away the memory. "I came to Hammel soon after, but I didn't really start training properly until I was about fourteen or fifteen. There is something about going through having abnormal limbs exploding out of your back that makes you not want to think about them too much... It took me a while to accept them." She hoped he understood her sarcasm. He seemed quite serious, and she realized she was talking a lot.

She dropped her gaze to the items he had brought, biting her lip. She should have thought to bring that stuff too, but at least he had thought to do it. She was really only thinking about the hanging-out-with-a-new-guy part of the training, not the actual... Well, training. "My biggest issue is endurance," she stated. "Well, agility too. I cannot fly for any longer than a half an hour max, and the flip you just did is beyond my current abilities." She grinned sheepishly. "I didn't really plan it out. But I brought food...?" She shrugged her shoulder, motioning to the bag. "What is it that you want to work on?" She realized she should actually let him talk more... She had a habit of talking about herself too much. She needed to allow other people to talk too!

[Henry Ballo]

“Thank you.” Henry’s lips twitched into a very faint smile. Complimenting his basketball skills was one of the few ways to improve his mood…except when it reminded him that he had once been on the basketball team with a coach who liked him and when he wasn’t being forced to attend a school for…weird people. Mind, that kind of attitude was less prevalent now that he was actually making friends and settling in. It also helped that he knew that he would be gone in a year. “Perhaps, if you are interested.” This was a little less warmly, but it was no means a negative. Had it been a no, he would’ve just said so. He tilted his head down at her next statement, and his brows climbed. He doubted he would ever feel American. Part of it was his own choice, and part of it was simply because some days he felt very lost by American culture. Just watching a Katy Perry video made him want to hide.

“I am from Botswana,” he said. “I find the Russian language interesting.” And then he realized that it might sound creepy and added hastily, “I like languages. And I do not normally ‘show off.’” Now he was not smiling. “I am not ‘cool,’ so what is the point?”

Welcome to Henry’s mood swings. They are as bad as a twelve-year-old girl’s. Sorry Ravyn. It takes a lot for him to cheer up.

He only made a noncommittal noise to her statement about her wings, although his stony expression softened. He had not had a painful experience. Well, other than being stuck on high things from time to time and occasionally against ceilings as he tried to remember how to get down. But he couldn’t say that he had ever sprouted wings. “I understand,” he said at last. “I am sorry it was a negative experience. I only came here three years ago. I have not had much time to train, so I believe we are at the same level there.”

Judging by her look, she had not brought things. That was fine. That was why he had done it. He nodded to her statement, solemn again. “Food is a good idea. I am not very good at endurance, and I thought we might challenge each other. And flipping is easy without wings, I think. It is like swimming.” Not that he was that good at swimming. He had always felt he had too much bulk to coordinate. “We can try a race, perhaps, between cones. Back and forth…?” he made vague gestures, muttered a curse to his lack of English, and then tried again. “We must make it between the cones a certain number of times, and flip to turn around. This should help with endurance and agility, yes?”

[Ravyn Rozanova]

"Botswana..." Ravyn repeated. That was in Africa, yes? She felt horrible for not knowing the exact location, but geography wasn't one of her strong suits. "Russia is definitely a nice place," she chirped in reply, not seeming to notice any 'creepiness'. "Unless you do not like the snow. Then... Well, you are kind of in trouble." She giggled, but stopped at the expression on his face. What had she said? Backpedaling, she tried a different approach. "I am sorry. I was impressed by your performance, so I think you are pretty.... Neat." Ugh. Bad word choice. Again.

She hurried on, trying to cover up her moment of awkwardness. "It wasn't so bad," she said about her manifestation. "I do not really remember it anyway. It is just... Foggy." She quieted, noticing his mood change and wondering what she could do to change it. "Three years? Yes, I suppose we probably are, even if our powers are a bit different." She couldn't help but wonder just how it was that he could hover without wings, but she didn't ask - chances were, he didn't even know. Who could explain meta-humans?

About the food, she hoped she had even brought enough. She realized it probably took a lot to feed a guy his size. "Well, whenever you are ready to take a break, my bag will be there," she commented, trying to feel useful. "A race...." She trailed off. He looked so much more fit and prepared than she. She doubted she would last long against him. But.... "Sure, why not?" she tried to sound chipper. "Back and forth between the cones. Okay. But keep your distance... I am afraid I might not be able to change directions very... Cleanly." As in, she could crash and burn at any second, and she didn't want to take Henry down with her. And a flip at the end? Yikes. There was no chance she would get that the first time. But she wasn't about to back down. "You're on!" she clapped, then ran to set up the cones in preparation. She tried to hide her confusion, at his odd mood change and quietness. He was going to be a tough egg to crack, she figured. She would have to discover what made him happy. Basketball? Yes, he had smiled at that. And compliments worked on most people too, although she made a mental note to keep the 'cool' statements to a minimum. Keep Henry on his good side, she reminded herself. She didn't want to get squished.

[Henry Ballo]

He wasn’t sure she had any idea where he was from. He had the vague impression that she might have some idea, but not much of one. “It is in the south of Africa,” he volunteered, in an attempt to make it a little easier on her. He was stiff and formal but at least he was trying to be slightly friendlier. If only a little. He didn’t laugh at her joke, but he did smile faintly to show that he found it amusing. That was, until she backpeddled. Then his smile vanished, and his brows climbed as he just listened to what she had to say. “It is…fine. Ah. Thank you.” And then he shrugged his shoulders and gave up, just folding his arms over his chest as he listened to her. “Well, that can be an improvement, I guess.”

Henry wasn’t thinking about just the quantity of food. He could indeed eat a lot, but he really didn’t care about that because there was plenty of food inside. But he nodded at her suggestion, then shrugged his shoulders and looked back at Ravyn. “If you do not want to do that, we could start with something simpler,” he offered. “Perhaps a relay or something of the sort. We do not have to start with a race, I simply thought it might be a good thing to try.” It reminded him of his basketball training, which he missed. They didn’t have a big enough team for training to be an issue. Instead, he just shrugged it off and said, “we could try a—all right.” He watched as she ran to set up the cones, then picked up a set himself and put them down an appropriate distance apart. He surveyed the scene, brows furrowed as he thought, then shrugged. “Let us give it a ‘shot,’ hm?” he crossed over to one set of cones and came to stand next to it, then looked at her. “Are you sure you wish to try this?” He had noticed how nervous she’d looked, and had no desire to push her into anything. “We could also take a break, or try something simpler, like hovering…?”

[Ravyn Rozanova]

"South Africa... Right," Ravyn replied with a sheepish grin. Apparently he had noticed her confusion. Embarrassing. Add that to the fact that she was just digging herself a deeper hole, and she felt terrible. Not the way she usually felt around boys. Most of her guy friends at Hammel were light-hearted and cheerful, flirting back when she flirted with them - this Henry, though, she was too nervous to even try. Something about the seriousness in his eyes and his... Well, giant size. But she had already decided that his size was something to be concerned about, so she let the thought drop. Ugh, she wanted to facepalm.

And she would have, but she was already making herself busy setting up the cones. She tried not to let the awkwardness bother her, but it just wasn't something she was used to. She would just have to keep focused on the task at hand, rather than chatting up the tall cutie. When she finished setting them up, panting lightly, she saw that Henry was ready as well. "Oh yes, I am sure," she replied, flashing a grin that had more confidence than she actually felt. She had a bad feeling about what they were about to do, but she wasn't about to appear weak in front of Henry. "We can take a break afterwards. Readysetgo!" Without waiting to see if Henry was coming, she flared out her wings and took off like a large, clumsy rocket, weaving back and forth between the cones. It took her a few moments to get her balance, but about halfway through she was beginning to get the hang of it.

That was, until it came to the flip.

When she made it to the end, she paused and bit her lip, wondering how to actually perform the trick. Taking a deep breath, she shot upwards a few extra feet, pulled in her wings, and attempted to roll forwards. She made it all the way around, but she had misjudged her distance from the ground and ended up landing with a THUD on her butt before she could unfurl her wings again. UGHH. More embarrassment. She struggled to stand, but she had bruised her rear end pretty bad, and it protested against the movement. "Uh.... Well. That did not go very well," she mumbled, rubbing the wounded area.

[Henry Ballo]

She looked embarrassed about not knowing where Botswana was, but he wasn’t going to accuse her of any sort of ignorance. He was in America. Hardly anyone knew where Botswana was. And as it was low on dramatic wars and dictators, people tended to ignore it all the more. So although this had bothered him when he had first arrived, it was no longer such a big deal. And it was probably best that Ravyn didn’t try to flirt with him. He wouldn’t have known what to do if she had. He never did.

In spite of Henry’s earlier misgivings, the woman seemed confident enough. He was willing to adapt the situation if she was comfortable, but she didn’t seem inclined to do so. So he just nodded and smiled back at her. “Very well then.” He shifted to stand, blinked as she said it was time to go, then hastily pushed himself up off the ground and launched himself forward. He wasn’t very good at flying quickly, but he did his best to push himself forward as quickly as he could. The flip was easier. He always pictured it like flipping in a pool—it took some effort, but once you had it down it wasn’t so hard. And that was how he operated here. He flipped and was heading forward when he heard a thud. He slid to a halt—clumsily—and turned before letting himself drop to the ground and walking quickly in her direction, kneeling by her side.

“Are you all right?” he inquired. “Perhaps we should not try flipping.” He smiled at her, trying to offer some reassurance. He’d been told he could be kind of intimidating, and the smile didn’t really help. He still looked cold and distant, but with the smile he now looked like a faintly friendly statue. It wasn’t very helpful. “Here.” He offered his hand to try and help her up. “We could try making a circle. Or perhaps, just, ah…” He stopped. “I do not know. I am not certain what is easy to do with wings. Have you suggestions?”

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Crap crap crap crap crap Ravyn thought as Henry noticed her malfunction and stopped to come see if she was alright. She wished he had just gone on and finished the race first rather than make her embarrassment even worse. "I am fine," she insisted, feeling her cheeks get warm as she struggled to stand. He took his hand, though hesitantly - he was even more intimidating up close, standing above her. "Just a bruised tailbone, nothing too bad!" Except her wounded pride. "I am sorry, you could have continued on. I should have known better than to try that flip before I really knew how to do it." She rubbed her arm self-consciously, her gaze directed away from Henry. "You did very well, though." It was true - he had performed the flip perfectly.

As for what they should do next, she thought for a moment, tapping her chin. "Maybe we should just work on endurance," she suggested slowly. "We could just fly until either of us gets too tired to continue, and wherever we end up, maybe we can figure out what to do from there." Really, she just wanted to distance herself from the training field and try to forget about her embarrassing incident. "Maybe we could try to make it to the lake?" It wasn't too far - she thought she could make it there without getting too tired. She didn't know about Henry, though. "Unless you have something better?" She started to walk back towards where they had started, eager to get a drink of water. It felt like it had gotten ten degrees hotter in the last few minutes.

[Henry Ballo]

Henry helped her up, seeming to studiously ignore the flush on her cheeks and the rather hesitant way she tended to speak. He could tell that she was nervous, and he could tell that she was upset. But he didn’t know how to deal with that, so he just nodded to her chirp and shrugged his shoulders. “I should have known better than to have us attempt that. You said you were not prepared and did not have much practice. I am sorry for pushing you. And, yes, that…” He hesitated, then shifted from foot to foot and shrugged. “I like practicing those movements. It is…fun for me, and I like trying it.” And he also liked showing off, but he didn’t admit that.

Endurance sounded like a good idea, considering it was pretty difficult for him to keep himself up off the ground for prolonged periods of time. It was a good idea to practice that more, and perhaps his gift would actually become useful at some point. So he nodded as he followed her back to the bags and picked up a water bottle for himself. “I think that is a good idea. We should take some food, perhaps, in case we get into trouble or we have to stop. And then we can start toward the lake.” He didn’t see why not. What was the worst that could happen?

[Ravyn Rozanova]

"Sounds like a plan!" Ravyn replied happily, eager to get off the subject of her failing. After taking a few draughts of water, she stuffed it back in her pack and slung it over her shoulder, testing the weight. It didn't weight too much, but even a little bit of a difference could hinder her flying. "Would you mind taking these?" she asked Henry, pulling out a couple apples and a package of almonds. She still was carrying her water bottle, a couple sandwiches, some chips, and a few other girly necessities that she always took with her. The weight was still there, but not as bad as before.

Once they were ready, Ravyn spread out her wings and did a couple practice flaps, to make sure she hadn't hurt them during her fall. "I am ready!" she said, quickly gaining altitude, but making sure not to go too high for Henry. She stopped when she was just above the height of the tallest tree she could see. "I think the lake is that way," she said, pointing towards a very faint glimmering in the distance that she hoped was water.

Making sure Henry was following, she took off slowly in that direction, adjusting so they were both going at the same speed. His hovering was silent, whereas she found her wings to be loud and a little cumbersome; they had to keep a bit of distance between them to make sure she didn't hit him accidentally. "If you need a break at any time, do not hesitate to say so," she assured him. She was already panting lightly from the effort, but she thought she would be able to make it okay.

She thought about making small talk, then thought better of it. If he wanted to talk, then he could start the conversation. She didn't want to get him in a bad mood, so they continued to fly on silently.

[Henry Ballo]

He blinked as she brought out food, and he shrugged. It wasn’t a big deal to carry things for him. It was just like walking with slightly heavier objects—apples and almonds were hardly going to slow him down. He was impressed by the quantities that she was carrying, though he did wonder why all of those things were necessary. Some water, perhaps the apple, and a cell phone was all he could picture needing for this journey. But if she insisted on having more food, than he supposed that he could manage it. “Would you like me to take anything more?” he asked, sliding the items into his pockets

He watched as she levitated up, and then followed suit, following her into the air, and then to the lake.

“Of course,” he said, nodding. “And the same for you.” He offered her a very thin smile as he continued to fly, noticing the panting. He wasn’t yet, but he was in good shape, and he’d always viewed this more like running. He didn’t have an actual muscle to exercise, so it didn’t bother him as much.

About halfway through, however, he was getting a little tired. But Henry being Henry, he didn’t say a word, but just kept flying, his lips pressed thinly together and only dropping a little bit in flight attitude. Not a lot, but a little.

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Being, in a way, part-bird made Ravyn burn calories much faster, especially in flight, hence her reason for bringing so much food. She wasn't going to admit that she had brought half of it for him as well, in case they had wanted to do some cute little picnic thing, but she realized now that he might not like that idea... It might make this practice too much like a date. And that would be awkward. "Nope, I can get it!" she replied as she slung the bag over her shoulder. Truth was, she would have liked to give him a little more, but she didn't want to look weak.

Being used to being chatty, Ravyn found the silence a little discomforting, but the couple times she peeked at Henry he looked calm and concentrating, and she assumed he didn't feel the same. Still, it took all her effort to keep from asking him questions, especially to keep from asking him if he wanted to take a break when he dropped slightly. She knew she wouldn't want him to mention anything if she had dropped in altitude, and so she simply followed suit, not making a big deal out of dropping down a little bit. She shot him a quick smile and they continued, although her breathing began to get more labored as they neared the lake. They just made it to the clearing just beyond the trees surrounding the lake as she began to descend more quickly, coming to a less than perfect landing on a grassy knoll. She ended up on her knees after stumbling a bit, but stood again quickly. "That.... Was not... So bad," she huffed, hands on her hips as she tried to catch her breath. "How are... you doing?"

[Henry Ballo]

In spite of being in good shape and considering himself to be pretty good at flying, Henry would have been willing to admit that he was very tired by the time he finally landed next to her. His landing was also not very smooth. In fact, one might say that he almost went tumbling to the ground, but he managed to right himself at last, hands on his knees as he kept himself upright, panting softly. Ravyn was also not looking so good. Perhaps he shouldn’t have pushed either of them so far. She wasn’t going to be going to able to walk back, but frankly, neither was he. Perhaps taking this slower would’ve been a good idea.

But since when had he ever had good ideas anyways? He cleared his throat and finally pushed himself straight, then opened up a water bottle and took a long draught. That done, he approached Ravyn and passed her a bottle as well.

“I am very tired,” he admitted with a grimace. “Perhaps this was not a good idea, hm? Shall we take a swim to cool off? That might be a better tactic.” And it sounded wonderful. Since they were near the pond, they might as well enjoy it, right? Besides, it might give them a chance to relax and rest for a while.

“And you?” he asked. “How are you feeling?”