Bugs? BUGS! [OPEN]

[Genevieve Duval]

Genevieve had waited a long time for this, for the training grounds to be empty. She looked about the place, trying not to be too suspicious. Fact was... she wanted to train. Yet, whenever she tried the consequences of her training were not great, particularly when there was people around. A bunch of random, crazy bees flying around the place was not something that screamed 'be my friend!' so she really rather be alone for it. 

"Okay." She muttered to herself as Vivian made its way down her hand and to the tip of her index finger. "I can do." She closed her eyes and concentrated, calling her friends. For a moment there, nothing happened but then she heard the familiar booze. Slowly, coming from different directions, small and fat bumble bees started to buzz around the girl and, as she stretched her arm out, they landed on her arm. Okay. That was the easy part, calling them. Now she needed to... control them. 

She opened her eyes and frowned at the bees on her arm. Only about twenty of them. She sighed sadly. That was no good. Maybe it was the cold weather or the time, but she was sure she'd managed more than that before. What was happening to her? 

Well, no matter she could work with this. 

"Voler." She directed... and nothing happened. "Voler!" She tried again and again, nothing. "Voler! Voler! Merde!" This was going to be a long day... 

[Nica Serrano]

Training was not one aspect of school Nica particularly liked or enjoyed. It was frustrating and time consuming. Maybe if she had better control of her power, she could make the clock spin forward a few hours and 'conveniently' skip over her training session. Only, she had no idea what the consequences of that could be. Maybe she needed to start paying better attention to her lessons.

She ran a hand over her jawline, sighing. While she found most students dressed up in activewear for their lessons, Nica wore her favourite leather jacket and a pair of jeans with a tank top. A thick, knit scarf to protect herself from the cool Vermont air that felt especially cold to the Australian. Even indoors.

Since time manipulation required minimal physical strain, there was no need to change. Nica walked with long strides to the training rooms. Late, as usual. As she drew closer to the room, a faint buzzing sound paired with a foreign language rang from within. Raising an eyebrow, Nica hesitated by the door, hand on the handle. Before her better judgement could take over, she pulled back to a peculiar sight.

No trainer in sight. Maybe they gave up. Nica let the door close behind her, crossing her arms. "You alright?" She called, still some distance away. The buzzing was louder, now.

[Genevieve Duval]

Genevieve jumped as she heard someone's voice and, with that, her bees flew away. "Non!" She cried out, running out after them. Vivian was still there, but the rest? It was no luck. Her running took her out of the dark and she blinked in surprise as she saw a girl there. The French girl stopped dead on tracks, almost tripping and felt her cheeks flush.

"I am sorry." She said, her first instinct like always to ask for forgiveness. "I thinked- thought!" English was hard, especially when she was nervous. "I thought I was alone." She hadn't been alone though. She sighed, sending a glance at her buzzing bees.

"They are being stubborn."

[Nica Serrano]

Pulling out her phone to check the time, Nica tucked it away just as quickly. It didn't surprise her to see that they'd left. And last time she checked, her trainer didn't speak what sounded like French. The buzzing amplified, and Nica wrinkled her nose. Bees. While she wasn't the biggest fan of them, they were tolerable. Green eyes watched them apprehensively, flickering between them and the girl who stood off to the side.

A girl, who was clearly very embarrassed and very foreign.

She shrugged, dismissing the girl's apology. Nothing to be sorry for; it's what they, students, were here to do. "Bees aren't bad." Nica replied, taking a step forward, farther into the room and closer to the insects. Arms crossed in front of her chest, Nica's gaze focused on the girl before asking "I'm assuming you're trying to train them or something?" There were some weird powers here, for sure. Not the weirdest, but it had to be up there.

[Genevieve Duval]

Genevieve blinked in surprise. Bees weren't bad? "Je- I think so." She said, staring at the girl curiously. Had she said they were? The French girl seemed confused. "Is good you are not scared." She added with half a smile. Most people were, especially other girls. The French girl advanced to the newcomer, smiling gently.

"I was training." Explained Genevieve. "Bees were not listening." She blinked up at the buzzing bees, still above then and sent them a glare. Stubborn! "It is not that I train them. I train me, yes?" Genevieve turned to smile at the girl. "I control them... Or try to. Bees listen but now- uh, late-lately, yes? Lately they do not hear." She sighed sadly but she could still feel Vivian on her cheek, so she turned to smile at the girl. "Vivian listens." She added, pointing at the little bee on her cheek.

"Um. I am Genevieve." She added, "You come here to train, yes?"

[Nica Serrano]

"Unless you're planning on releasing an army of bees on the population, then it'd probably be for the best." Nica deadpanned, a slow grin spreading across her face. She was, of course, joking, but her brand of humour had the tendency to fly over people's heads.

She shrugged. "The worse they do is sting you." There was plenty worse in Australia. Not as common as some people liked to believe, but still the deadly ones existed. And that was only if you aggravated the bees. Green eyes followed the other girl's gaze to the colony above their heads, the faint buzzing lulling in the background. Nica nodded as she explained why there were a bunch of bees in the room and what she was trying to do. "I see." The Australian answered.

The English was butchered; obviously not her first language. It was something Nica noticed near the start of the conversation. "So basically you can tell them what to do? When things go right."

Nica's innate curiosity had gotten the best of her. Her attention shifted to a lone bee on the girl's cheek, and she raised an eyebrow at the sight. Although bees didn't cause her to grow uncomfortable, she wasn't so sure she'd let one hang out on her bare skin. "Nica." She introduced herself with a nod. Genevieve. Definitely French. "Yepp. Looks like my trainer bailed, though." Shrugging, a grin spread across her lips. "Punctuality is difficult."

[Genevieve Duval]

Genevieve's eyes widened. "Of course no!" She exclaimed, completely missing the joke. Why would she want to do that? How could she be able to do that? She couldn't even control twenty little bees, much less enough to attack people with them. "I want to make them dance." Which, now that she'd said it out loud, was actually pretty silly.

The girl explained the worst part and the French girl nodded. "Oui! Sting! But it does not hurt, yes? It- uh- at first. You ah, feel it normal later? Like... used to it!" She offered her a small, sheepish smile. It was so hard to explain herself in a language that wasn't hers. No wonder people thought she was an idiot.

The girl asked about her powers and Genevieve nodded. "Yes. Maybe... sorta." She scratched her cheek nervously and smiled at the girl. "It is hard to say. I- uh- They follow. But then, when I try to guide, they do not listen. It is strange, yes? Meta powers. And I-um... I tried training but... it is not useful. Not yet. I have tried." She sent a glare up at her bees again. There they were, buzzing up, but weren't coming down. "Now all they do is follow. And cuddle, yes?" Could a bee cuddle? Genevieve liked to think so. "When I sleep. I think." Well, when she woke up she was always covered in bees, particularly if there was a window left open.

Nica. What a nice name. Genevieve nodded. "Nica. Yes. Nica." Nica. She repeated inwardly, just to prevent herself from forgetting. "Oh, you expect trainer?" She said nervously. She'd thought everyone was all gone and done. Merde! "Uh- trainer... are trainers good?" She wondered. "I do not have help... do not ask. I want but... my powers are odd, yes?" She was still embarrassed of them. Not everyone felt confident around bees after all.

Genevieve stared at the girl for a moment, "You want training, yes? What is- um... What power you have?"

[Nica Serrano]

The grin reached its peak as the other girl was quick to disagree with her statement. "I mean, no judgement or anything because I would. Command a bunch of them to just attack somebody. Could be entertaining." Was it cruel? Maybe. Hilarious, nonetheless. The grin dropped a little as she admitted her intentions. Could bees even dance? Nica was in no point to say yes or no. "I see." She opted for as an answer, nodding.

"The pain is only temporary. You just gently take the stinger out and call it a day. Besides, don't they die after stinging you or something?" Nica questioned, unsure if it was these insects or wasps or something else. If her ability involved bees, maybe she had greater knowledge of the subject.

By the sounds of it, the bees liked to follow but only when they weren't told what to do. "Meta powers are weird." Nica agreed with a snort; that much was easy to get. To understand. One day, everyone at this school had woken up like any other day and found something out that changed their life. She thought back to when Lucy's had manifested first and how terrified the younger Serrano had been. Terrified of a life without her sister. Fortunately, that wasn't the case anymore.

"That's why we're all here though. So don't sweat it too much." Students were at all difference stages of their training. Nica still had a lot to work on herself. "With time you should be able to guide them. Is that what they want you to do?" Her gaze flickered between Genevieve and the group of bees. The cuddling remark made the Australian raise an eyebrow, but again, said nothing. She attributed it to the foreign language thing instead.

"Yeah. Got assigned one right away but I don't like them." She said, blunt and straight to the point. "And they might be weird but I'm sure there have been worse." Nica grinned. "Mine is time manipulation. Can stop time and stuff. It's pretty cool."

[Genevieve Duval]

Entertaining? Genevieve stared at the girl with pursed lips. The French girl was constantly getting stung by bugs all the time, by bees and mosquitos and what not and had her legs and arms covered in scars, and still, it was nothing compared to what someone would have if she ever used her powers against them. "There is no entertaining in hurting others..." Whispered Genevieve, sending a wary glance at the girl. "Is no funny." Her bees were no tools to be used against others. They weren't tools at all! Nor weapons. They were living beings, friends even.

The mention of bees dying made Genevieve turn to her again, eyes widening. "...Je- I- I mean- I think- uh," She stuttered as the memories of pulling stingers out of her skin and find dead little bees on herself came back. The French girl sniffed sadly, looking down at the floor of the training room again and nodded slowly. "Yes." She said, "But you do not 'call it day'." She added, starting to get angry. As a response, her bees were buzzing above them loudly. "They are friends. And they die. It is not funny and it is not a day!"

She did not like this girl. She did not like her careless chat and the way she saw her friends, how she seemed to give little value for someone else's life and well being. And yet, here was Genevieve, feeling sorry for her. Had her life been so hard that she would grow so heartless as to wish pain on others? It had to be. Why else did mean people grow to be?

Meta powers were indeed weird. That much Genevieve could agree on. She asked what 'they' wanted her to do and Genevieve blinked. What did they want her to do? "I do not know." She said in confusion. "I think- I think they do not want them to sting." What else would they want from her? Wasn't keeping herself from an accidental sting enough for the school? It wasn't really about potential, but about control, at least in Genevieve's eyes. What else would she want from her friends anyway?

Got assigned a trainer. Genevieve wondered if she should get one too, considering her bees didn't listen unless she got all worked up. The reminder made her look up at her buzzing bees. Still above, taunting, but wouldn't get near her, except for the one crawling around her face, tickling the skin slightly. But what if her trainer thought like Nica? What if they saw her friends as tools? As ways to hurt others? She'd never want to hurt anyone, no matter the circumstances.

And wow! Time control? "How do that work?" Genevieve wondered with wide eyes. "Can you- stop every thing? Can you show?"

[Nica Serrano]

Defensively, Nica raised her hands, palm out. "Alright, alright." She answered, deciding it would be best to let the subject drop. Clearly, the girl didn't understand that it was all a joke. The Australian just didn't care enough about anyone, except her older sister, to actually do that. Her temper rarely flared. Stagnant, unless really pushed.

She was also a little insensitive to how Genevieve felt. How her connection with the bees was so intense, that the topic of them dying was enough to stir unease. Nica's question had been genuine and she meant no harm, but couldn't deny how it came across to the other girl. The bees buzzed louder, a pair of green eyes glancing up a little uneasily. She lifted a hand, pinching the bridge of her nose between two fingers. "No, okay, okay. I'm sorry. You clearly have some sort of connection with bees I don't understand," That was obvious. "And I never will."

That's all she could say without offending her further. Genevieve didn't understand Nica's brand of humour; which was fair enough, as few did.

She took a second to think of how to best explain her power. The most common question was asking Nica if she could travel through time, which she couldn't. Unless the physical alteration of time itself counted. "Basically, I can alter time in a literal sense. I can't make us go back in time but I can wind time back say, an hour. In a way, I can stop time from moving but we'd still be able to." To prove her point, the Australian's eyes landed on the clock mounted on the wall. She raised a palm, a look of deep concentration flashing across her features. After a bit of lagging, the hands of the clock stopped moving. "There."

[Genevieve Duval]

Her acceptance made Genevieve's anger diminish, though she still sent the girl a weary look. She talked about death as if it meant nothing, as well as hurting others. It made her wonder whether it was good for someone like that to have meta powers. Well, in movies villains also had powers, didn't they? The French girl blinked at the girl, staring at her. She didn't look like a villain at all.

She mentioned a connection and Genevieve looked up to see her bees, sending them a sweet smile once she realised what Nica meant. "I have." She whispered, "We are connected." They truly were, though she didn't understand how that could be. Well, she figured there had to be some difficult science behind meta powers, but she wasn't about to wonder about it. "They are special to me. Like friends, yes? But more. As if they are little pieces of me." It was hard to explain, especially in her second language, but she managed to get that much out. Maybe that was why they weren't listening now. Genevieve was unsure off herself, really confused about everything around her that inside she was a turmoil of thoughts and emotions. Did everyone go through this?

Nica explained her power, though Genevieve didn't understand it completely. Alter time in a literal sense, what did that even mean? She blinked, nodding though looking very confused. "But what happen to us?" She wondered, "Do I go back? Or I stay?" It was all weird. If she went back one hour, what would happen to everyone and everything else.

So then Nica showed. Genevieve frowned. There? There what? The French girl looked down at herself, not feeling different in any way. She turned to he clock and blinked. "Oh." She said, "You stop clocks." And she thought her powers were lame... But then, why weren't her bees buzzing? She looked up and gasped at her frozen bees. They were still there, as if one, but they weren't moving. Bees had to move! Genevieve waved an arm, just to check if she could still move herself.

"Ces't incroyable!"

[Nica Serrano]

Nica breathed a sigh of relief once Genevieve's expression changed. It wasn't like she intentionally went around trying to get on other people's nerves. That said, she never tried hard in the first place to get people to like her. They either did, or didn't. That sense of apathy carried forward throughout most aspects of her life. Indifferent towards death. Indifferent towards everything.

"Parts of you." Nica repeated. She did her best to empathize, imagining how she felt towards the bees was similar to how she felt towards Lucy. A strong connection. But more. She let go of her nose, her arm falling back down to her side. "Makes sense. I mean, I've never felt that but it makes sense." She assured Genevieve. Broadly, Nica understood what she meant. And that was better than nothing.

"We stay." Nica clarified, with a nod. Just physical time; not humans. Her ability would be much cooler if that was a thing, though.

She felt the exertion hit her, a small wave that began throbbing in her temples. It took a surprising amount of work. Before Nica could correct her, Genevieve's eyes landed on her frozen bees. Suspended in time. A smirk tugged on the corner of her lips. "Ceste incroy-able" She repeated, completely butchering the pronunciation and unsure of what she was even saying to begin with.

Letting her hand fall, the hands on the clock spun forward. Blinking, Nica took a moment to recollect herself. "It's a fun party trick. But nothing life changing. I'd love to be one of those kids who could play with fire, you know?"

[Genevieve Duval]

Did it? Genevieve smiled brightly as she figured the girl understood. "Yes! Sense." Though she wasn't sure if it did. Her bees usually moved with her, as if she was moving a leg or a finger. Lately though... she sent a worried glance at her friends. Lately it felt like they weren't listening at all. What could be making her losing her powers so?

Stay she said. Well, that much she could get. Genevieve still was staring in wonder at her bees and she rose a hand to make them move. Nope, didn't work. She turned to smile at the girl as she repeated what she'd said in her bad French. That was okay, she knew she butchered English every time she spoke.

"It is powerful." She said in a soft voice, actually impressed. "You can stop for long time, yes?" Or maybe that was the goal and why she was trying to train. "It is defensive. I like." Unlike Genevieve's power. For someone so against violence, she really had some very potentially violent powers. It made her sigh in defeat. Which meant they were useless. Well, at least she had her friends, even if that meant ending up being covered by scars and mosquito bites during the summer days.

Nothing life changing? Was she serious? "It is good!" Genevieve exclaimed, disliking how she couldn't see it. "You can get away. If one- Um... If someone get violent, yes? You can just stop them." She sighed. "I would have hurt people." Which was something she didn't want to think about. Well, at least they were at Hammel to control such things, right? To NOT be violent.

"It is better than bees." She added finally in a whisper, just in case her little friends could hear her and feel offended. She didn't want them to be even more disobedient than they were being now.

[Nica Serrano]

Nica hesitated, before adding "I mean, it's kind of like when you're really close to someone and you feel connected to them, right? A super close, very emotional bond." Again, her thoughts wandered to her older sister. When Lucy left for Hammel, Nica remembered feeling lost; no sense of direction or purpose. Like a key part of her was missing.

"One day, I might be able to. The longest I've held it is for five to ten minutes. But I get super tired and disorientated." She thought back to when she had pushed herself to the limit, and not being able to remember where she was, what time it was or the date. Everything had blurred together in the passage of time. The French girl let out a small sigh, and Nica tilted her head to the side in curiosity. Wondering what she was thinking about.

"That's true, I never really thought about the vigilante type stuff." Nica admitted. The thought never occurred to her. She always thought of her ability as a way to bring her closer to Lucy, over to America after manifestation. "But you also work super hard to control that. Like, you don't want to hurt anyone. You're determined to get it under control which is more than most students." Nica offered as condolence.

"And I still think controlling the bees is way cooler. You always have a friend around. Someone who understands you." She added, gesturing towards the little bee on her cheek with a head nod. She didn't like that Genevieve was getting down on herself for her power. For something she couldn't control.

[Genevieve Duval]

Genevieve smiled, nodding excitedly. "You understand." She said with a bright smile. "Like family, yes? Or- um... Love?" Love made sense in the French girl's head. She loved her bees after all, but maybe it was an exaggeration. Still, she smiled at the girl, focused on her answer. Maybe Nica wasn't that bad.

"Oh?" She turned to the girl. "How?" If Nica got tired and disoriented then did that mean she had some side effects like Genevieve did. It was why she was always taking naps or why she forgot about things. Well, maybe it was just that she was lazy and had bad memory. Who knew? Did Hammel have any experts that could tell her? She wondered if a trainer would.

It seemed Nica was focused on making Genevieve feel better and the girl sent her a grateful smile. She still felt down, but it was making her slightly better that someone would try to encourage her. "I do." Said Genevieve, patting the bee on her forehead with one finger, just slightly so not to hurt her. "But some get scared away." She added, "Um... people, yes? They-uh... they do not like bees." Most didn't anyway, though the girl had to admit she'd found some that also didn't mind her little bee friends.

"Your power- um..." She started, still curious about it. "How- how did you know?" Finding out your power was always a fun moment in any meta life, she figured. Well, hers had been a tad more terrifying than fun, but it was still a story. Except she couldn't even understand how a power like Nica's could be stumbled upon.