Training [JT and Rima]

[JT Johansen]

Well, at least this he could control if her powers got out of hand - enough, anyway. Metal was, after all, his specialty. He might not be able to get the artwork lined up just right, but at least he could keep the bolts from killing anybody. He picked up the lump of metal on the bleacher with his mind and de-crumpled it into a bracket. He straightened it out as she introduced herself. Rima. That was an odd name, one he hadn't heard before. But then, he'd heard several odd names since coming here - mostly from people that were foreigners to the US.

"JT."

He shrugged nonchalantly.

"That's what everyone calls me."

The bracket became a very large, thick drill bit in mid-air. Then it became a straight piece of metal with a couple of holes in it. Finally, it was a bracket again. He tossed over to the rest of the pile. He would start again from scratch. This time, screw the damn plan. He'd go with his gut. Then again, maybe that was more the point of the lesson than building the bull was: don't listen to the teachers? Heh. Yeah. Right. Still, it was a better plan than following some messed-up blueprint. He'd do it his own way, grade be damned.

[Rima Donavon]

Rima laughed to herself, catching the look in his eyes. “It goes back a ways, ‘Rima.’ Its Russian.” Her eyes fixed on the bracelet, and watched it change, seeming very interested. It would be amazing if she could control her powers that well.

“And alright, JT, what were you intending to make?” Picking up the piece of crumpled metal which had been the nose ring, she turned it in her fingers, studying it, then set it down. Trailing her slender fingers along more metal, she picked up another small bit and turned it. Pausing to flick a bit of dirt from it, Rima meticulously returned it to the bench.

Her face turned up at him expectantly, awaiting an answer to his question. Ri realized now he was actually pretty cute, but he seemed bored out of his mind. She had half a mind to just ask if it was from her or not. The wind ruffled her hair again.

“And maybe we might want to take this inside if it gets much breezier.” She suggested, looking up at the sky for a moment.

[JT Johansen]

After much consideration of the matter, he finally decided that it was time to begin again. He wiped his brow on his sleeve as he stood, the tee's cotton absorbing the minor perspiration almost as though it had never been there. He spoke as he stood, his voice distorted by a sudden gust, but nonetheless audible enough to discern his slightly rebellious words.

"Something other than what the blueprints showed."

It was a vague answer, but it was an answer nonetheless. As she expressed her concern about the wind, he smirked. He wasn't worried about the wind. He didn't need to worry about the wind. But she apparently did, or she wouldn't have said something.

"Afraid you'll blow away?"

[Rima Donavon]

Rima rolled her eyes. “I didn’t think I was that fragile, but whatever you say.” Standing level with him, Rima herself only hit about his chin at the top of her head, a true statement to her tiny stature. This was in fact something that previous people had underestimated her over. But despite her 110-115 LB form, with a simple flex of her mind she could accidentally throw something as big as a car at you… Not that she had tried before… Okay, may once on pure accident when had had a Migraine and a human Doctor had been obsessed with questioning her. That damn thing’s car alarm had only hurt her ears even worse. So, with little-to-no thought, Rima had decided it was best not to try the feat again, especially after it had brought on another migraine, far worse then the one the day previous, the following day.

“And what exactly did the blueprint say if you don’t mind my asking?” She ventured, raising her eyebrows in question again. Her fingers shifted, toying with a strand of hair now.

[JT Johansen]

He glanced at her as he brought the pieces together once more, the shifting metal making more noise than was probably necessary as it was neatly lined up. As before, it made several rows in a semicircular pattern, like a rainbow with the tails facing the bleachers. As before, the larger pieces were in the rear and the smallest pieces were in the front. As before, he had plenty of working room. For one thing, only a couple of people were out here today; for another, the field was huge and really only saw full use during competitions (or so he'd been told).

Focusing on his work after his very brief sidelong glance at the girl, he began with four iron cups roughly the size of his own feet. Having created deep impressions in the grass where the heavy metal construct had once stood, it was easy for JT to replace the cups in their former positions. However, this time, he had an idea in mind about how he wanted the animal to look. He thus reshaped the cups a bit until they fit his image. Then he set them down into the depressions they'd previously rested in.

"A bull," he finally responded as he worked.

Next, he took a couple of long, narrow sheets of iron and forced them into tubes. Bolts flew by him and punched perfect holes in the seams as the metal bent, creating make-shift legs. He slammed the finished products hard into the cups, keeping the cups themselves immobile and then tightening them around the bottom edges of the "legs" to secure them. Holding the legs up by their tops, he pondered which move to make next.

[Rima Donavon]

“Shape them a bit.” Rima suggested. “Rippling muscle under the surface.” She stepped back, observing them with an aura of pure curiosity. Clearly, she was impressed. “Just a bit of shape.”

Ri brought her hands up in a similar fashion to a Photographer, turning them vertical and horizontal. It was promising, if he could get the other parts correct. The hooves were good, shaped well enough.

Walking in a semi-circle, she observed it a bit more, then looked up at the sky, and back down. The clouds were cumulous, thick and white and puffy, pretty high up. Not so much grey, so she could conclude that most likely, the sky wouldn’t break open with rain. Yeah, that might definitely dampen his plans, no puns intended.

[JT Johansen]

"I'll flesh it out once I have the framework done."

For now, though, he was more concerned with getting the damn thing put together. If this was a lesson in following orders, he was going to fail miserably; but he could care less. Right now, he just wanted to get the damn thing done. If it was a lesson in artistic creativity, however, he was going to get an A. But he doubted it was. Basically, this was a sink-or-swim assignment and he was likely going to sink. Oh, well. He wasn't too worried about it.

If they didn't like his work, he could tell them where to shove it.

As metal folded and screeched and came together, bolts shifted into place and slammed down hard, creating permanent fixtures the holes formerly meant for giant screws. Of course, this meant that they could not easily be removed - but that was fine by him. He had no intention of letting his work go to waste; he was going to stamp his initials in the damn thing. It was his work, after all; he might as well get the credit for it.

Spare metal flew into place as supports only to be covered with interlocking sheets of iron. Bolts slammed down and metal was tightened. Bends and dents appeared that defined the bull a bit more fully, but it was still only half-finished. On the plus side, he was finding it a little easier to control how the metal was manipulated as he moved it. He was also finding it easier than before to insert the bolts, his accuracy increased - meaning he had to focus less and could go more quickly. Still, he was tired of this and wanted to get it done so he could go do something a little more relaxing.

[Rima Donavon]

Rima continued to watch the spectacle with an exited sparkle in her eyes. This was, after all, the first time she had encountered somebody with this power, and it was quite interesting to watch. It was indeed turning out nicely, and after just a bit more work, she was positive that he would be done. The bull really was alright so far, but he seemed to be slightly unhappy with it. Ri wondered why.

As she watched him, she barely noticed the marble levitating out of her pocket and into a controlled spiral up and down in the air. It wasn’t going nuts, trying to impale somebody, or fly off.

After a few more minutes of watching JT, her attention shifted. To the marble. Her mouth fell open and it abruptly dropped to the ground. “What the hell…?” She said quietly, mostly to herself. That was a first. But what if her powers could be influenced by emotions?