Take it from Point A to Point B [Open]

[Anya Vasiliev]

In Anya's classroom there were no desks, aside from her long mahogany one with the four drawers and the wheely seat. The floors were instead, scattered with cushions around the outside, and then, in the middle would often be a point of focus.

Today's point of focus was a large jug of water, and three cups. Anya's first class had done all sorts of amazing things with this simple set up. From making the water dance, causing concentrated rain showers, boiling the water to steam and even turning into another, exact replica. Anya believed the focus point was an important demonstration of applied powers. From utilising skill, to practising control, each little set up had been made for a reason, though the woman was, genuinely, relieved that Vincent was not in her jurisdiction. There was only so much blood and carnage a woman could deal with in one day.

Settling down in her chair and steadily writing notes on the previous class and their varied attempts, the young woman tucked her pen behind her ear and viewed the hallway. Her next students would be along soon, and she was dying to know what mixed bag she'd have next. Anya straightened her blouse, smiled slightly, and set a box of cookies on the desk in front of her. Wheeling round, she wrote in simple chalk letters on the blackboard What can YOU do with the jug?, then smiled and moved a few cushions to their correct place.

Time to see what her next students were made of.

[Reneta Williams]

Powers training was the only lesson Reneta actually enjoyed, and she always turned up, and on time too. She liked her power, mainly because it helped her get info on people that they'd prefer to be kept quiet. She then used this information to bribe, threaten and/or blackmail to get what she wanted. To say she used her powers for the good of mankind would be a lie. What did she owe to Humans?

She glanced at the clock, and realizing she had ten minutes until the lesson started, she hurried to get ready. Getting ready was usually a lengthy process for the girl, but training was a different matter. She usually pulled her black hair into a low pony tail, as it was easier to blur like that for some reason. She also went to class wearing a simple outfit; a plain tee-shirt, plain jeans, and trainers.

Her powers, while pretty cool, were limited. She couldn't blur herself if she was wearing about four layers for example, nor was she very good unless she was in the dimly lit areas. Her training wasn't really progressing very much anymore, it was as if she had reached the maximum she could. Sure, she could probably lengthen the time, but that was about it.

Neta was the first to arrive for training, and she nodded to Vasiliev as she entered he room. Her eyes quickly scanned the area, taking in the jug and glasses. She frowned as she read the words on the board, what could she do with the Jug? Nothing. Zero. Zilch. She sighed harshly, and dropped onto one of the cushions. This didn't seem the sort of lesson that would help her in the slightest.

[Ann Hudgins]

Her safe and normal schedule had recently been changed completely. She saw Dr. Neville almost regularly, and she also saw Mr. Collier instead of Mr. Kilbourne. But...for some reason, she also had to report to Ms. Vasiliev. Ann remembered what Dr. Neville had suggested, about getting her powers suppressed, and she still believed it was a bad idea. And not just because she didn't want to bother the woman with her sob story, but because she really wanted to control her powers.

Like every day, Ann just went straight from her normal classes to her training classes--after the hallways have cleared, of course--her outfit always remained the same. Some sort of Teeshirt or tanktop, and pants. Her shoes always remained Converse, no matter what the outfit. Because that was all she had.

As far as her powers went, she couldn't really do anything. She knew of the emotions around her, and she was also effected by them so much so that she actually felt them as her own emotions. It was terribly annoying and crippling. And let's not forget the best part; coming into contact with skin draws her so far into someone's emotional chakra she almost forgets herself. It's terribly painful and its turned her into a touching-phobe. As she stepped into the training room, her eyes immediately landed on the only other student in the room.

Ann had never seen her before, but that really didn't count for anything. She wasn't on a first name basis with anyone at the school, student or teacher. She saw the board, and the message upon it, and the smiling teacher. She seemed pleased with herself and the room was still tingling with the last classes happiness. She more or less fell into a cushion as she looked at the imposing jug. The best she could do was touch it, and tell the teacher what the last person was feeling while they were touching it.

Not that great.

[Anya Vasiliev]

Anya folded her arms as the two girls came into her classroom, and she straightened up, walking out from behind her desk and smiling. "Hello girls." She said warmly, flicking through her files. "Ann and Reneta, right?" Her voice was relatively crisp, with a slight warmth to it as she eyed the two girls. Clapping her hands together she gestured behind her to the blackboard, and walked forward, nodding. "Wipe that sour look of your faces, there's plenty you can do with the jug!" Wheeling her chair round she sat in the circle and gestured at Ann.

"Ann, you're an empath, could you tell me what I felt when I last held the jug?" She asked gently, looking back over to Reneta. "Then Reneta, we're going to work on your side effects today, since we're reaching the limit of what you can do with your powers." Smoothing her skirt, her focus returned Ann, and she wheeled a little closer. "I've heard you've been having a lot of problems, Ann, and I promise I'm here to help. Once you've told me the emotion, we'll work on blocking out everything so you can focus on yourself."

"The problem is, Ann, your power is much like a spider web catching everything. And, Reneta, we know what spiders do with the things trapped in their webs. Wrap them up till later. We'll focus on that today." Anya took the jug and settled it next to Reneta. "Ready to blur?" She asked brightly, resting her hands lightly on her shoulders. "I'll talk through your re-appearance but you must listen to what I say." Looking up, Anya quickly headed to the door and closed it, to make sure there were no outside sounds to distract the girls.

"Are you ready?"

[Reneta Williams]

Neta's eye's were drawn to the door by the entrance of another student. She didn't know the girl, so she ignored her. Not that she had any bad feeling's toward's the girl, Neta just wasn't the type of person to bother with strangers. Why should she? She had her friends already, she didn't need anyone else just yet.

Side-effects. Yay. Neta didn't see much point in this exercise, side-effects were a life-time thing, and everyone knew that. Not only that, but what was she blur to? Sure she could hide herself, but she usually needed a simple backdrop to use. There was none here. She looked at the jug next to her, and then up at Anya. "Am I supposed to blur to that?" she asked, pointing at the jug, "'Cause its on the small side, and I can't make myself smaller..."

Reneta shrugged, and despite her worries, she closed her eyes and concentrated on blending into the background, and not being seen. The whole point of Reneta's power, was to hide. And blurring, in the middle of the room, wasn't hiding. She was well aware that she stood out like a sore thumb, and this annoyed her somewhat. She tried to keep her irritation at bay, knowing this would just make her appear very normal, and instead concentrated on the jug beside her.

Because Neta had always used a solid color as her backdrop, she had never had to try to operate the 'chameleon effect', where by, she would somehow change the color of a select area of the body. She had managed to confuse her image enough so that she appeared to be a different color before, but only her whole body, and it had only happened once.

(Hope that's not confusing at all >.<)

[Ann Hudgins]

The woman seemed eager to help her--both of them actually--and her confidence filled the room like puffy cotton. Ann liked the ease it put on her negativity towards her inability to do anything, though she was a long way away from liking her powers. She looked curiously over at the other girl as Ms. Vasiliev addressed her and she looked a little curious. Blur her image? That was cool. She hadn't really heard of a power like that, but Ann was forever out of the loop. She probably could name four different powers that people had at this school. They are Dr. Neville's, Mr. Collier's, Mr. Kilbourne's, and Ms. Vasiliev. Yeah...she's a bit of a recluse.

Ann shifted in the cushion as the trainer told her what to do with her powers, and then what they would work on after she completed it. Sensing powers was easy. Not being effected by them was the problem. Like the woman said in her metaphor, she kept getting emotions on her spider web, but once there, they just sat there, taking up space. Blocking her chakras and messing with her body in ways that were painful. She focused her eyes on the jug as it was next to the girl, and then realized the girl no longer looked....as she had.

She was....well blurry. If that was supposed to be a manner of camoflauge, it needed work, because she was painfully obvious where she was....but Ann knew little about her powers, if anything at all. She shifted again on her cushion because Ann never got to the thing people called 'comfortable' it just wasn't in the cards for her. And holding still was just something she knew nothing about as well.

[Anya Vasiliev]

Anya watched Neta's transformation eagerly, and she nodded slowly. "That's it, Reneta." She added encouragingly, keeping an eye on the steady blurring. "I know it's not conventional, but today isn't about outcome, it's about control." She rolled the chair back to the blackboard and wiped the question off of it. "Control is what will limit the strength of your side effects, and control is what will give you the outcomes you desire." She said simply, writing quickly on the blackboard while Reneta continued to blur and camouflage.

The words were simple; Control; Steady Breathing. Concentration; focus on your power. Release; Let go of your power slowly. As she set the chalk down and dusted her hands off, she returned back to the circle and nodded at Reneta. "Alright, once you're there, hold it for a moment, please." Anya's voice was simple and clear. "Now, bring it up gradually, use the count of three to focus yourself, then tell me whether you feel any change in your regular side effects." Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Ann fidgeting, and spun the chair.

"Ann." She said simply, wanting to touch the girl but resisting, instead offering her a cookie warmly. "Have you considered taking up meditation?" The teacher leant back in her chair, smiling. "It's probably the best way you can break up the difficulty in your power. Use introversion to protect yourself without isolation." Anya climbed out of her chair and demonstrated what she meant in front of the girl. "Deep, steady breaths in and out, close your eyes and focus. Keep in your mind your current emotion and imagine a protective shield around it." Her voice was steady and soothing. "Now allow yourself to sense while keeping up the shield. Hopefully that'll help you." Her smile was reassuring, and she looked back over to Reneta expectantly. She liked more intimate classes - it meant she could aid her students much more personally, and come up with management schemes to suit individuals instead of a broad idea for a large class.

"Reneta, any results?" She asked hopefully.

[Reneta Williams]

Control. That was important to Reneta, and now Vasiliev had explained it a little more, Neta finally understood to point of the lesson. That didn't make it any easier though, Reappearing gradually wasn't something Reneta had perfected, she tended to just appear. While that wasn't the best way, it did provide her with a few laughs, when she scared some poor kid usually. Reneta also understood the benefits of control, and while she could control her power when using it, controlling it to reduce her side effects wasn't something she had tried yet.

Neta tried to do as instructed, and she managed the breathing and focusing well enough, but when it came to releasing, she just let go. She hadn't meant to, but while she tried to keep it back as well as let it go slowly, she ended up loosing it completely. Suddenly appearing again, Neta let out a string of muttered curses, and braced herself on the floor, to stop the world spinning.

Reneta was a fairly strong willed girl, especially when it came to her powers, and she hated being unable to do something right the first time, and so when she failed at letting herself reappear slowly, she ended up feeling pretty miffed, and wanting to keep trying until she got it right. Unfortunately, her power didn't work all that well unless she was calm.

"Dizziness." she replied simply. The world was still spinning, but not as fast. She took a few breaths, and fixed her gaze on the desk, when it stopped shaking, she looked up at Vasiliev. "I couldn't keep it back" she said, a little calmer then before. She was still annoyed, but the desire to best herself overrode her irritation.

[Ann Hudgins]

Control? Control?

What was that?

Ann looked between the teacher and Renata, and was glad she wasn't the one going first. She was a senior and had little to no more control over her power than when she was a freshmen. She was hopeless in that aspect---however. She was trying to fix that now, by seeing Dr. Neville, and training a lot with Mr. Collier. She could already tell that she'd learn to like this trainer. She watched her write on the board and she read them under her breath. When Ms. Vasiliev said her name, however calmly, she jumped on her cushion faintly. She wasn't expecting any attention then. Her eyes flew to the woman and she nodded her head a little, and waited for her to continue.

She looked at the cookie as if it was some sort of foreign object, never seen in this sector of the galaxy. She did, however, react out slowly and take it, drawing her hand back in quickly, like some sort of frightened animal. And when it came down to the prospect of touching anyone, Ann did become something of a frightened animal. She just couldn't do it. "I do try meditating." She said honestly, the cookie held with both hands. "It's just it doesn't help....really. I mean it did at first, but now, it's not the same....it doesn't do enough.

A....a shield?

Imagine a shield of protective energy, the woman said...... could she? Would that even work? She looked down at her lap and went over the promise she had made to Dr. Neville and to herself. She'd try whatever the teacher suggested. She would. With that in mind, she gathered up her legs beneath her and balanced the cookie on her knee. She would eat it when she was successful, she vowed.

She drew in a deep breath, focusing on her chakras, which is what she always did to start her meditating. When she could feel the separate but connected warm pools running from her skull to her tail bone, she would begin to strip away everything. Her unease of not being in the safety of her schedule, Renata's annoyance at herself for her failure, Ann's extra stress from feeling that annoyance, and the annoyance itself. And everything else that she absorbed that day. Like always she could turn it all down, but never get rid of it.

She felt better, about herself because of her success so far. She then went to her confidence, and her determination to do things correctly. Her heart chakra warmed with it, as did her throat. She then imagined a shield around them. Well, not really a 'shield,' but a layer of energy that would protect them, and keep negativity away from it, as well as things like failure and annoyance. She felt warm down her center and when she opened her eyes, her smile was more prominent. She was more sure of herself.

She unconsciously plucked the cookie from her knee and nibbled a little bit. She was ready for her turn with the jug, now.

[Anya Vasiliev]

Anya watched the two girls with her arms folded across her chest, eyes slightly narrowed, focusing her every attention to them. As Reneta began to bring up her blur, she nodded slowly, then sighed when she rushed back to full clarity. She could see the girl's frustration in her face and offered her a cookie as well. She'd have to calm down before she could try again, and baked goods often calmed people down. "It's alright." The woman said, her voice firm but gentle. "Have your cookie and try again after Ann. It'll be difficult, and it's something both of you will have to practice extremely hard at, but it's worth it in the end."

As Ann mediated, she kept quiet and watched her, keeping her fingers crossed for her, then mirrored her smile when it appeared. "Ann, your turn." Anya said shortly, nodding to the jug. "Remember the control. Remember the shield." She added gently, settling back down on her chair and scribbling a few notes on the two girls. "What I intend to do next is for you to try and project an emotion to both me and Reneta." Nodding, the teacher twiddled her pen between forefinger and thumb, head tilted.

The two girls showed promise, but she wanted to work more with Ann in a controlled environment, and she had an idea of where she wanted to take the girl. Jotting down a slip, Anya began to detail a course of action for the Empath, mixtures of meditation and mental shielding, gradated introduction to society. "Ann, after class is over, could you stay behind, I have some ideas to help you." The woman smiled warmly. "I'll discuss it with Sean and Adam, but I have a feeling you might start seeing the results you want."

Pushing off her seat and heading back across the classroom, she rested a hand on Reneta's shoulder. "It's okay to fail, Reneta. To succeed we have to fail, and for your first try, I think you did well." Anya gave an encouraging smile, then nodded. "Feeling any better?"

[Reneta Williams]

Reneta glared at the cookie, as though that was the reason for her failure. She didn't need cookies to make her feel better, but she still took it and nibbled on it. It was a good cookie. She nodded at Vasiliev, though she didn't agree with her sentiments. It wasn't OK to fail, but she kept it to herself.

When Neta heard the womans next instruction, she visibly blanched. Project Emotion? She seriously didn't like the sound of that. She didn't like anyone messing with anything if it had to do with her. The only person that got away with anything like that was Fifi, and that was only because it made the sixteen year old feel good. She didn't want some stranger making her feel some emotion, that was potentially dangerous. She wanted to say something, but she kept her words to herself. This kid was apparently finding it hard, she didn't need more problems caused by Reneta. She didn't have it like it though.

Ren zoned out when Vasiliev spoke to Ann. She looked at her hand on her lap, and wondered idly if she would be able to blur just one part of her body, like her hand. She had never tried it before, and she couldn't see much use for it, yet it would be cool. She considered mentioning it at the next training class.

"Yeah, maybe." Neta replied, sounding annoyed at herself. "I guess I could try again." She added, "When Ann's done, maybe." the maybe was depending on what emotion Ann sent her way. To work her power, Ren needed to be calm.

[Ann Hudgins]

She continued to nibble the cookie away to nothing for her small victory of preserving her real emotions but once Ms. Vasiliev said it was her turn, her smile fell faintly. She looked at the jug for a while, she still felt Renata's aggravation in the air. She understood it though, because Ann hated not getting it wrong on the first try. Since her father was heavy in the military as she was growing up, she always had to live up to high expectations; such as getting things perfect on the first try.

She moved over to the jug, without taking the cushion with her because she wasn't in Kindergarten finding a spot for naptime, and sat Indian style next to it. And reached out to touch it. There was a smidgen of Renata's frustration tainting the jug, but Ann ignored that, because she hadn't actually touched the thing. She could taste Ms. Vasiliev on it, her confidence that was just simply part of being a good trainer, her excitement, praise, and just general goodness. She figured it was because of the last class. Ann took her hand away from the jug and opened her eyes again.

"You obviously touched the jug, if feels just like you." She said, as if they would understand what she said. She blinked and tried again. "There's happiness, but more like a pleased sense of a job well done, and praise, so that lets me know that you weren't proud of yourself, but other people. So the class before us? Right?" Ann asked scratching the back of her head, because she could never be sure.

She didn't really feel proud of herself, because getting emotions off of things was something she always did, like her absorbing in powers, it wasn't something she could turn off. It just happened. When Ms. Vasiliev told her she'd next be projecting emotions, to two people, she laughed a little hesitantly. That, she couldn't do. Or, she'd never actually tried it before. Her work with Adam had started to lead her there, but he was obsessed about working with getting her used to touching people, first. And they were making some headway in that department, but not much.

"I'll try, but I don't think that will go anywhere." She said honestly, as she returned to her cushion. She nodded a little when the woman asked her to stay behind because of her ideas. Ann didn't know her well as a teacher or as a person, but because the shield thing actually worked, and how it was supposed to, on her first try, Ann was more than willing to try anything the woman said....other than project emotions on people. It was a very complicated process, just in theory.

Ann, unlike any other empath she had met or did research on, which was just Mr. Collier, didn't effect pheromones, or the 'mind' about emotions. She effected, controlled, and tasted, the energies in people's chakras. And it was just that energy she could control, but the locations of the chakras, and how much those chakras were blocked by the energy was enough to make turning a frown upside down a rather impossible act. Ann didn't really know that 'whats' or 'hows' yet because her 'training' had just begun.

But she'd try on her turn nonetheless.

[Anya Vasiliev]

Anya felt sad that Ann's power was such a struggle to control. She could imagine that the poor girl must have soaked up every emotion like a sponge, so she kept her personal feelings level and hopeful. She noted Reneta's unhappiness at being unable to do things right, and had an idea on how she may be able to help, but for now she was more interested in the Empath, curious at her power. Plucking a little dark fluff from her blouse, she leant against her desk to watch Ann.

"That's fantastic." She remarked as the girl told her what she had felt. "And right, too. I had a successful class before you both, a few minor accidents but nothing like what I've seen before." The teacher nodded and took a cookie for herself, pausing to take the time to decide what she was going to say next. Settling herself, she finished her mouthful, then smiled. "Remember how you shielded your chakras, Ann?" She asked gently, dusting her hands off on her skirt. "I want you to imagine another shield, this time around the emotions you felt from the jug, like a huge forcefield to keep them in. Then, like a bubble, I want you to imagine the emotion rising up your throat and out your mouth."

But now, now it was Reneta's turn again, and Anya settled down nearby her at the jug. "Ready again, Reneta?" She asked gently, head tilted. "This time, when you release your power, imagine it to be much like..." She trailed, off, laughing softly. "Well, walking across a tightrope. Take your time, and you wont fall." She nodded. "A few wobbles are better than toppling over." The teacher liked the progress so far, even if the girls didn't really seem to notice it. She saw their potential underneath them, and even Ann, who seemed so far behind, could certainly find a way to help her through life. Brushing her hair back, Anya kept a sharp eye on Reneta, as if she was going through the same problems and required assistance of her own.

"Ann, when it comes to your turn again, I would like you to focus your calming chakra. Imagine it giving out throbbing waves of feeling across the room. It's no problem at all if it doesn't work, but please, indulge me." The Russian woman said warmly, resting her hands on her lap, trying to exude confidence to help both girls in their own abilities. "You're both doing a good job. I promise." She added hastily, keeping a bright smile on her face.

[Reneta Williams]

To say confusion was number one in Reneta's mind at the moment, would be a perfect assessment. She was baffled by everything that Vasiliev was saying to Ann, and she was very happy that her power was simple. Well, it was simple to Neta, and that was all the mattered; to her anyway.

Before long, it was her turn again, and she tried to find her focus, before she remembered the jug was supposed to be her focus. Shifting slightly, she turned so she had the jug in her sights without having to strain her eyes, and let out a calming breath.

As always, building the power was easy, as was letting it take over her physical appearance. She always imagined this to be a bit like gravy over mash. It spread slowly, but pretty much evenly, hiding the mash from view, and changing its appearance. Now she watched the gravy in her minds eye, and as always she knew when she had succeeded. She opened her eyes and focused once again the jug.

The next bit was the hard bit. If she had considered it, Neta would have watched the gravy in reverse, but of course, she didn't, and so her task was harder. She tried to make her revealing fit with tightrope walking, but it was like trying to force a square block through a smaller circular shape. It just wouldn't fit. Instead, she choose to let out a slow breath, letting go of her power with each second that passed. It worked to some degree, but it was far from perfect.

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann rubbed her fingers through her hair, and scratched at her scalp. She usually felt better after she tossed her hair around if she was freaking out or about to freak out. Now wasn't so bad as far as emotions went, she just was so used to doing so she didn't even notice she was doing it. She sat arranged herself around her again and looked between the both of them, feeling their emotions like currents of a small stream. They both weren't necessarily feeling anything that was overpowering, and because of the shield thing, Ann could actually feel them without getting affected by them.

The idea of lifting her emotions out of her throat in a bubble was...silly to her, and she even grinned a little when she suggested she tried it. It couldn't just be that simple. It just couldn't. Right? Ann shifted on her cushion and closed her eyes, the appraisal and happiness was still warm in her abdomen and she centered on it and imagined energy closing around it, like a shield to keep things separate. She lifted through her energy spiral, from her abdomen to her heart, to her throat, and then instead of taking the energy to her brain, she imagined it coming out of her mouth like a bubble.

She opened her mouth faintly with her eyes closed and her brows lifted in surprise when the hot energy flowed and she could feel it in her mouth. She opened her eyes when the heat passed, almost expecting to see something floating around her face in a bubble. She couldn't see anything, but she could feel that it was there. She glanced between the two of them, waving the victory flag in her mind again. But what to do with it now? It was out of her body, so she wasn't connected to it anymore, but it was bottled up in that bubble and would probably float there forever, until someone touched it. She lifted her hand until she could feel it right next to her palm and then she touched it. It effected her immediately, in her stomach and throat like how she felt it before and she grinned a little more. She was happy because she actually did it.

She tried to think about how she could really reverse the current and put emotions in the two of them, but she couldn't think of anything. She resigned from trying to figure it out on her own and looked up when Ms. Vasiliev addressed her. Calm. She would try rather hard for the calm. She glanced at Renata, and after she saw that she was done with her turn, she reached into her again, the warm energy filled her body with awareness and she headed straight for it. Wrapping her mind around it, she imagined it filling the room with a great sense of mellowness filling the room like millions of cotton balls. She felt it herself, but only distantly. She really had no idea of knowing if it worked for them or not?

"Do you feel...calm?" She asked the both of them, she tried not to look hopeful.