Mind machine [Nina]

[Lucas Blacke]

Pfft, fuck life, right? Yeah he graduated, but with him he'd be taking lots of stuff he needed to talk about but wouldn't, and the one person he did talk about it with had left him though not entirely through no fault of his own. The only thing as of late to keep the nerves in check was an adrenaline filled run, not even his ability was enough anymore to keep him calm.

For a few days now he'd been going on runs daily, and ever since that letter of his parents found a way back in his life he felt the need to up the ante a bit by seeking out the thrill instead of letting it happen upon him. He would start jumping around trees, in them and over them as one of the parkour junkies, using rocks as stepping stones and doing flips whenever he could as he jumped from the highest places he could find to see if he came out unscathed. And what probably didn't help was the music he put on.

As of late he'd been listening to Above This, deathcore which had begun as a joke, though was extremely heavy on the bass and the drops, the breakdowns and build ups. So every time the song dropped the bass he would jump up or something, but that wasn't what made it not helpful. What made it not helpful were the lyrics, especially those of the song THR3AT were the ones that got him really aggressive and stuff, making him sweat profusely as he really ran his legs off. His body had been used to ignoring the screams of his legs but for the first time in a very long time he was actually getting tired.

And maybe that was a good thing.

When he got to a bench overlooking the lake he sat down and took out his headphones, turning off the music. Letting out a sigh he wiped a trail of sweat from his chest, fully aware of the screaming his legs did. Fully prepared to sit there for a few hours as he did fear the status of his muscles, maybe he finally overworked them..

[Nina Rios]

Each time she took a step toward it, the movements of the crystal substance caused her to take two steps away from it. Nina watched the waves as they climbed over the edge of the sand bank before returning to the lake among the rest of the body of waters. Even as she was struggling to face possibly her greatest fear, Nina still managed to have fun while doing it. She sunk her feet into the sand, giving herself a bit of a breather every attempt and laughed at how nice the warm sand felt on her bare skin. Oh how she loved the sound of her own laugh.

But regardless, Nina pushed herself on her feet realizing that this had to be done. This attempt, taken after forty five minutes of trying, went from one step to two to four and before she knew it, she was standing at the very edge of the sand bank, just barely out of the water's reach. She was able to resist the urge to escape for a good thirty seconds before retreating from the liquid, afraid that she would be swallowed or something. After taking a few moments to take a breath, she straightened herself up and gazed at the lake where she failed yet again to conquer this demon.

The corners of her mouth slowly twitched upward until a huge smile formed from ear to ear. Even though it was less than a minute, thirty seconds was a huge improvement from not even being able to stand near the water for a moment. Granted, she struggled, but it was still progress. It was so good, that she decided that it was good enough to call it a day on these attempts. One day she would conquer her fear of water, even if it would result in her not even being able to enter the water ever again anyway. Water was essential to all living creatures, so there wasn't anything to be afraid of.

If it weren't for her stupid powers, she'd actually love the water. Nina used to love swimming and playing in the water, but that all changed when she went through puberty and attained her dreaded electrokinetic powers. Her manipulation of electricity was almost the only true hate that she knew. At least, as far as any of her friends were aware. She could envision herself having so much more fun, if that was even possible, without them. They ruined so many friendships that if her powers were a person she'd never be able to forgive them.

Walking up the hill of sand, the sunny girl halted, waving her hands around a bit to regain her balance from falling backwards down the sandy hill. There, on a bench, was a boy. But there were other boys walking around on the beach, so why was she so concerned about this one? Well, he was one of the graduates. Just recently, he stood with his peers among the rest of the school, saying goodbye to High School and saying hello to College. He was someone she'd seen around but never really met on a face to face basis. She supposed now was just as an appropriate time as any for a greeting. Not that it really needed to be for Nina to greet anyone.

Straightening herself out, Nina reached her hand high and proud in the air as she waved a friendly greet to the boy once she caught his gaze. Either she didn't notice how sweaty he was, or she simply didn't care. The latter seemed much more realistic for Nina. Regardless of whether or not he was really aware enough to focus, the seventeen year old pushed herself up the hill with her slender legs before running over to Lucas. Her shirt was a light blue tank top while also wearing white shorts. Her flip flops were a maroon color, and her hair was loose with a maroon clip that was designed as a flower. After finally reaching him, she took a moment to catch her breath before saying one simple, yet effective greet with a smaller, eager wave. "Hello!"

[Lucas Blacke]

He thought it had happened once before, his power dimming a bit and leaving him to his own devices, and it seemed it was doing just that to him right now as he felt himself unable to ignore the burning in his legs and his shortness of breath, and though he in- and exhaled through his nose it still took willpower not to start panting through use of his mouth. In fact, his power had added a side effect to throw his way, and it hadn't done that in months so now that it finally did happen he was fifty fifty on it. Not knowing exactly what he had lost use of, and not having the time to figure it out as a hand in the air got his attention, he shrugged internally and turned his direction to the girl. Man, he sure had his way with girls these last few days, which were actually his last few days at Hammel. He needed to grow up in a hurry and get stuff sorted out. He even began wondering how long Hammel would keep him in before kicking him out of his dorm so he could use that time to find a new place.

Kicking those thoughts aside he mustered up a smile, one which was actually his own as his power refused to work for some reason, perhaps a side effect of using it too intense for too long. He waved over widely as he sat back on the bench and gazed up to the sky, it was a nice day and perfect for a run, though a bit too hot if you were to ask him. He'd point at his sweat beads and blame the heat instead of the workout.

When he looked back down he noticed the girl was getting closer and quite possibly had the intention of greeting him, yeah, one more girl couldn't hurt, Lucas figured with an internal roll of his eyes. But even if he wanted to he was not in a situation where he was comfortable with walking away, though a dip in the lake sounded good for some reason. Shame he didn't pack any swimming gear and he was almost positive his chest being out in the open was enough for some girls, adding his lower body to the equation was maybe a bit much.

When she said hello he turned his head back and smiled. ''G'day.'' He sighed, not out of boredom of whatever, but the need for oxygen and finally speaking. his chest continued expanding heavily though with every breath he took; he'd never had this before, his power was always in control so he had never learned to contain this himself.

''Nice day out, aye?'' He asked the girl suddenly. ''Almost as nice as ye are.''

[Nina Rios]

Nina was about to say something, but she noticed how he seemed to be relaxing from some kind of exercise he was doing. She kept her mouth shut for a little while until she heard his voice again. "That's what I was just about to say!" she said commenting on the nice, sunny summer day. "It's so sunny, and flowery, and it was so nice that I just couldn't help but come out here by the lake." The next comment didn't seem to deter her in the slightest. She giggled, and almost started belly laughing, but managed to get a hold of herself before she totally getting out of control. "Yeah, well I try to be nice." she said, modestly not getting the flirt.

"Anyways," she continued. "Is it okay if I sit with you?" she asked that as if she was going to wait for his response, but she didn't. Assuming that he wouldn't mind, Nina sat right next to the now college student. "So you graduated!" she said in a very eager tone. "That's so cool. You know, I've seen you around the campus, talking to people and stuff, but the funny thing is I don't think we've ever officially met." It was obvious why though. They were in different grades, it wasn't like they had a whole bunch of chances to interact. Still, the social butterfly was super concerned with the fact that she knew him so little that she couldn't really remember his name. She knew it, it just that she forgot.

"My name's Nina," she said, turning a bit towards him and sticking out her hand to him. Nina loved making new friends, so her gesture was more eager than most would be. "Can you tell me your name?" The seventeen year old placed her left hand on her lap while avoiding eye contact for a split second. Perhaps out of embarrassment? "I don't remember your name." She was loathed to admit it, but she hated lying about it more. Besides, she was sure that this guy wouldn't really take it too personally. People forget her name all the time, and her's was only four letters. Not that hard to remember if you asked her. 

After the exchange, Nina settled on the seat, finding yet another reason to be happy. The seat, despite being made of smooth wood, was nice to sit on. In comparison to the hot atmosphere, the bench was cooled considerably from the shade that covered it. Not only that, but even at this generic time of day Nina could see how beautiful the lake was from afar. "That lake is so pretty..." she said in almost a dreamy tone. Oh how she longed to be able to swim again...

[Lucas Blacke]

Slowly the feeling in his legs faded and all he heard and felt was the water and the birds around them, normally he would only say it was a nice day to make conversation, but today really was a nice day. It just so happened to be filled with nerves for Luke, for which he almost destroyed his own legs in an attempt to get rid of them. Maybe his power had done something about that to make sure they recovered fully or something, he realised he hadn't walked in a bit and maybe his power had taken the ability to walk from him.

''Sit yer fine ass down.'' He replied quickly with a smile as it seemed she wasn't waiting for his response as she just sat down next to him. Okay so she didn't have problems being around people like someone he knew, and the way she looked actually reminded him of someone else he knew a bit. Not that he'd tell her.

His head turned when she mentioned him graduating and he nodded, her being one of the first people to acknowledge that, why was it that one of the first ones to notice that was in a different grade? Not only that, but if they happened to want to see more of each other he would be in college and she would be in Hammel. Though one of the other, more successful couples of Hammel did the same entirely, so why couldn't they? He just needed one question answered, why was he thinking of couples and seeing more of her? She just sat beside him and was being friendly!

His face grew a smile and he stuck out his hand to shake hers. ''I'd get up ta bow fer ya, but I ain't too sure me legs would appreciate that.'' He laughed as he shook her hand. ''Lucas Blacke, at yer cervix.'' He joked. ''Nice ta meet ya, Nina.'' He followed up. ''An' don't worry 'bout not knowin' me name, it's a shit name anyway.''

When she addressed the lake he had an instant reply pop up in his head. ''Pretty sure all th' pretty is sittin' next ta me.'' He said with a wink her way as he did seriously look at the lake at her mention and kind of did feel in the mood for a swim, but sadly he wasn't sure if his legs would let him. ''But aye, th' lake sure is nice. Only been in there once b'fore, but I wouldn't mind goin' in again.'' He offered.

''But with all th' pretty next ta me I don't know if I should. Maybe if ya go fer a swim with me.'' He joked, not entirely kidding. Swimming attire? Not when there was a cute girl by his side.

[Nina Rios]

Nina giggled at Lucas's formalities. "You're funny." she said, totally missing the reason behind them. "You don't have to bow, we're only talking." She shook hands with him with an eager smile, listening intently to what he had to say. "Nice to meet you Lucas! I think you have a wonderful name." She said this a matter of factually. There wasn't many names that Nina really disliked anyway. Her's wasn't all that special, but at least it was hers. She could tell that there was some kind of history behind the names of her friends.

Nina's gray blue eyes widened in happiness, after winking back innocently. There was a happy glint in her eyes at the thought of seeing something pretty. "Really?! Where? Where?" She looked around the bench, not seeing anything behind, next to, or near the bench or Lucas but herself. "I don't see it. We're the only ones here." Not really understanding what it was he was talking about. "Aw, did it go away? That stinks... I wanted to see it." Nina pouted a bit, slouching on her end of the bench.

However, looking back at the lake seemed to instantly wash away her disappointment, and she straightened herself back up. Forgetting about the "other pretty thing", her smile kind of shrank at the thought of swimming. Swimming? As in, in the water? She shuddered slightly at the thought. She didn't want to be rude, but Nina could even stand being near the water at this point, much less being in it. She supposed if he was going on his own, that would be okay. But she knew she wouldn’t be able to enter the water even if he asked her to. “I suppose it would feel nice.”

Before she was able to explain what she thought about swimming, he suggested that they go into the water, which was the exact opposite thing she wanted. “Um, you know, you can swim.” She said with a nervous, but still fairly large smile. “But I’m kind of afraid of the water.” Then she thought it over and came up with a marvelous idea. “But I’m trying to conquer that fear! Hey, maybe if we go together, I’ll be able to be in the water! Okay, then that’s settled! Let’s go!” Nina was way too eager to get this fear off of her chest and enjoy the water for once. Like she used to when she was little…

[Lucas Blacke]

It was a blessing and a curse, his power. He saw big movements as well as small even if he didn't much care for them, and saw the changes in moods even if the person behind it tried to keep it to a minimum. He would see minute moves of the muscles just so his body would be able to do the same, this was exactly why he could fake a smile when he was sad, or look sad when he was happy or fail to show anything; he was lord of his muscles. Except when his power refused to do anything like that very moment.

He let out an internal sigh and mentally rolled his eyes when she reacted to his comment on the cute thing he mentioned, she reacted like she had been talking with Anthy or something, being oblivious as fuck at those little comments of his. But he had handled one of those people before, so why not add one more? Besides, she was cute. Every girl he met was cute in some way. In fact, he had never seen a girl he didn't like, including the old ones. He really held a one track mind.

''It didn't go away.'' He replied with a smile. ''As long as yer sittin' 'ere it's right there.'' He pointed at her. Maybe she'd get that. He figured he'd get a bit annoyed with her at first. Now, she didn't stutter but she didn't get his little jokes and that was quite frustrating, and not to neglect the workout he had just had, and the music he had been listening to he would have a shorter fuse than normal, though he tried to cope.

Yeah, the water would feel nice, but Lucas was not able to enter the water at this time as his power hadn't returned to his legs. Or rather, he still didn't remember how to walk. ''Y'know, I totally would go fer a swim if my brain remembered how ta walk.'' She was from Hammel, so he could tell her about his power, he figured. And not even once had he encountered anyone who disliked his power even if they had none themselves. ''It;s a side effect of me power. Can't really stop them from happenin' an' just need ta wait fer 'em ta stop.''

He raised a brow at Nina and smiled. ''So scared o' th' water or not, I'm stuck 'ere fer a while.''

He wondered though.. ''Oi, does yer fear o' water 'ave anythin' ta do with yer power?''

[Nina Rios]

Nina could kind of sense that the man was frustrated, though she couldn’t think of a reason why. Perhaps he was pushing himself too hard on his running? She couldn’t tell. What she was able to easily tell was that he was tired and frustrated. It seemed to become clear when he mentioned that there was something pretty, but why would someone get mad when something pretty was there? Maybe that’s just what happened to boys. They’d get progressively exhausted even when they were looking at something pretty. She didn’t understand them, but then again, there was a lot of things she didn’t understand.

When he pointed at her direction, she thought at first that he was pointing at something behind her, but when there wasn’t anyone there she realized what he was talking about. “Aw, c’mon.” she said giving out a little giggle. “I’m not that pretty… or cute.” Nina was an optimist, but she wasn’t at all vain. But of course, she was a young girl, so she would giggle at various complements like that. “You’re cute, though!” she threw back, mostly just to be polite. However, there was quite a sleek, handsomeness to this high school graduate. He looked so strong with his shirt off and all of his abs showing. She could tell that he worked out a lot.

Shaking those strange thoughts out of her head, Nina kept her attention right back at this flirtatious man who had such a friendly charm to him. For reasons she couldn’t understand, she really wanted to be friends with him. Like, in the worst way. It was strange, because it wasn’t like they were going to have natural opportunities to see each other, I mean if they didn’t before why would they now? But she supposed it was possible. But she didn’t understand why she wanted to see this man so much, even when it came to her personality. She wanted to make friends, but she didn’t really have to go out of her way to make them. Here, she wanted to, which she didn’t understand.

“So your powers make you tired?” she asked, scooting closer to him without as much as a hesitation. “What kind of powers do you have?” her smile molded into a very ugly glare as she stared down at her hands. “Mine cause me nothing but trouble,” she spat out only allowing them to sparkle for a moment to show them what they were. “Electro kinesis. They’re the reason why I lost so many friends.” Nina nodded at the question. “As a matter of fact, before I got these abominations, I loved the water. But now I can’t so much as stand near it without shaking.”

She looked away from her hands and back at Lucas with much more of a softer expression. “Have you ever felt that way about your powers?” She looked down at his legs, figuring there was the source of his power. “You seem to use them a lot now. How do you grow to like them?”

[Lucas Blacke]

The pointing had seemed to do the trick,so she wasn't some kind of Anthy. This was good, it meant Luke could joke around her and while she wouldn't get it in the first go she would eventually get it. But then she shot the same comment back in his direction, Luke obviously got in right away since there wasn't much beating around the bush but he was still a bit speechless when she said so. He thought she was being polite, but at times like these his power seemed to malfunction on reading muscle movement and he wouldn't know what to see it as, be it either a flirt or politeness.

He however, did see her checking him out. That would always bring a smile on his face, hot girls checking him out like that. He could see that she liked what she saw, though quickly turned her attention on something else. Lucas honestly wish she didn't, as weird as it was he needed cute girls right now, because the things he was going through weren't as fun as he had hoped.

There was graduation and finding a new place to stay, he figured he wouldn't be allowed to stay in the Hammel dorms forever, and there was the letter of his parents he had yet to open. He had planned to do it before his birthday hit, but he wasn't sure anymore. Also he wondered why he met all these cute girls just as he was done with Hammel and would have to leave them behind? It wasn't really fair, he thought.

''Naw.'' He replied. ''Runnin' makes me tired.'' He told her as she scooted closer. This was awesome! For some reason he was happy that she did so, even if it was just a minute motion. He briefly glanced over to the lake and then at Nina, yup, she looked cute and, did he dare to think it? Girlfriend material. But to be fair he thought that of every girl, his mind didn't quite know what to make of girls at times. ''I 'ave this thing called assumed muscle memory.'' Lucas answered when she asked about his power, being one of the few in quite a long time to ask about them.

When she then told about hers it was.. weird. Her hands sparkled a bit as she went on, giving Lucas a strange feeling, a really strange feeling. First he had met Live, who like Zoelle manipulated shadows, and now he had met Nina, who like Anthy could flash. It was weird, but he also liked her just for her power, shallow as it was.

''Honestly? Naw.'' He replied when she asked if he ever felt like that. Well, he did, but not that often. ''Me power helps me look happy even when I ain't.''

''An' I do use them alot since they basically do everythin' fer me.'' He offered with a smile. ''Th' only shit thing is th' side effect it 'as, sometimes it makes me ferget somethin' I've known fer a long time.'' He explained as he pointed at his legs. ''Like walkin' in this case.''

''So I ain't really tired, just bench-bound fer now.''

[Nina Rios]

Nina’s smile seemed more relaxed, as if she was relieved somehow by his response of not being too tired. “That’s good,” Nina commented. “I thought you were super tired, or sick or something. I don’t like seeing people in pain.” She was certainly that type of girl. The type who hated making people mad, and avoided it as much as possible unless she felt like they were pushing her buttons too far. But that wasn’t something that was easy to do, since she was the type that wouldn’t even be aware if a group was talking about her right next to her. Mostly because she wouldn’t even pay attention to that.

Anyway, with the description of his powers, Nina was incredibly fascinated. “So, you could just look at someone move and copy it really well?” she asked, using articulations below the average teen. Nina didn’t have any mental disabilities or anything, but she kind of took things like a child would. So, yeah, she seems a lot dumber than she actually is. “That sounds like a really cool power. Real useful. I can see why you like it so much.” If only her powers were quite as useful. They were pretty, but as childlike as she was, she didn’t feel like that was enough to satisfy her.

She noticed a rather strange reaction from him about them. His reaction conveyed to her that he was interested in them, which mad her smile somehow. Her powers always had the potential to put her in a bad mood, but this man seemed to like them. Of course, liking her powers and liking her were two different things. She definitely wanted one over the other, and that was obvious. “It’s not that great, I know,” she hissed, snuffing the light out instantly. “I have no motivations on actually using them, and yet they always seem to work when I don’t want them to.” Nina never used her powers intentionally. She thought they were really cool at first, embracing them as any young kid would, but that all changed when they seemed to scare all of her friends away. To be fair, that could never happen at Hammel, but it had happed to her. Nina just couldn’t let go of that.

Nina tilted her head, a glimmer of concern in her eyes when he said that his powers make him seem happy when he wasn’t. “Are you happy right now?” she asked, not wanting him to be upset. Despite just meeting Lucas, she still hated the idea of seeing him sad. “You seem to hide a lot of things.” She softened her gaze, tilting her head to the other side and letting her grayish blue eyes look into his eyes to see if they held any sadness or grief. She wasn’t too good at that, but she wasn’t stupid.

She brushed those thoughts aside, finding Lucas’s smile rather contagious. Her smile seemed to grow bigger than before, hearing what he uses his powers for. He was so in sync with them that she kind of wished she was like that with her own powers. “That’s wonderful.” She stated genuinely, almost feeling jealous of how well of a relationship he had with his powers. “You know, except for the side effects…” Yeah, nothing in life was perfect, was it? He could copy whatever he wanted whenever he wanted if it weren’t for those step backs. Powers had some pretty crazy consequences. Hers was fear of water, and his was forgetting basic things like walking.

“How long does it usually take for you to remember things?” she asked in sunny curiosity. “I can’t ever get into the water without freaking out, but how long do you suppose it’ll be before you walk again?” Nina adjusted herself in her seat, moving even closer to him. “I’ll stay here until you feel better if you want.”

[Lucas Blacke]

Happy right now.. should he be honest, or lie through his teeth? She couldn't figure out the truth, that much he knew. Her power wasn't like that of Karalie, which could have fucked him over royally. No, he supposed he could lie. ''I'm happy right now.'' To be fair, that wasn't a complete lie, he was sitting next to a cute girl after all. ''An' yer right, I'm hidin' lotsa things. Not sure ye'd wanna know though, or if I'd even tell them.'' Admitting he hid things was more than he would ever do so soon though, she should consider herself lucky he assumed.

''Oh an' yer powers are awesome.'' He said with a genuine smile. They really were, he could even see himself asking her for a jolt or something, or maybe it would even help him in some ways. Now Lucas was a regal dick with no interest in learning stuff, but that didn't mean he knew nothing. Wasn't the brain partly electrical? So.. could she perhaps help him with remembering the things his power made him forget? As weird as it was it would be worth trying out.

He was happy when she offered staying there until it all panned out though, but how she reacted to being around water when she was obviously being brave for him made him doubt it a bit. ''Ya don't hafta get in the water if ya don't want.. I'm just sayin' I will once I get me legs back.'' He said as she then used that to ask how long it took for him to remember. He thought it was a clever segue away from the water issue.

''I once had it last fer a day or two, but usually it remains fer 'bout ten minutes to an hour.. Not that long.'' He replied, happy to talk about his power. This was actually the most normal conversation since his graduation. ''An' between ye an' me..'' He scooted a little closer to the girl and leaned in a bit.

''I can't feel any better right now.''