Nikolai Elijah Curtis

[Nikolai Campbell]

The easy S T U F F . . .

Name: Nikolai Elijah Curtis
Nickname: Niko, Nikki, Nik, or 'Kalai', his 'superhero' name.
Age: Nine
Member Group: Student
Power(s): Controls Weather
Play By: Randy Shelly

Let it F L O W . . .

Personality;; Ask a stranger about Nikolai and they will tell you that their observations of him are that he is very introverted or that he is a quiet, shy youth. They will also note his extensive vocabulary, relative to his age of course, and his knack for academics.

Ask anyone who Niko favors and the answer is entirely different. They will say he is somewhat passive- he doesn't get worked up over everything, he chooses his battles, and that he is passionate, loyal, and confident. Their idea of confidence may fit his overly assured sense of himself, his idea that he's infallible, that he's perfect, or at least close. Most say this isn't possible, but most are not inside Niko's head where what a person says is viewed more as a mere suggestion, not a fact. They will also have to mention his ability to play the role of the peacemaker, to walk in on a situation and do his best to get everyone to just leave everyone alone by listening to what transpired before jumping to conclusions. At the same time, Niko has a way of starting just as many fights as he tries to stop.

As far as behavior in school where it seems to him that he spends most of his time, anyway, he is an interesting student. He's a student who could do his school work with relative ease most of the time, who doesn't always ace everything, but never fails anything, either. He's not the best student, but he's close. Occasionally he'll come up with something remarkable that seems noteworthy, but teachers don't often compliment him. They tend to just avoid yelling at him and call it even. In fact, it's a daily struggle, deciding if they're going to send him to the hallway or to the front of the classroom. And perhaps worse yet, he doesn't act out for attention, he acts out when he has attention. When he has a friend or two in class, he's among the most disruptive children in the room. Fortunately, he doesn't tend to have many friends- one or two would do, even if one is the teacher.

Niko often gravitates toward his teachers and toward familiar adults in his life. It is a very different relationship than the one he shares with his peers, there's no question about that, but a relationship all the same is often formed. He feels a deep need for them to know and like him because if it wasn't for them, he would have no one to turn to. And more than anything, Niko seeks someone who cares about him, who plays the role of his a parent, really. As any orphan, it seems, would feel. When life seems to be always changing, he wants stability, safety, guidance.

Niko's emotions do not always show- he has a way of keeping it all bottled up. It is not the least bit uncommon for him to show his emotions, for him to lose that control. Even when he's not crying or throwing a tantrum to make things obvious, his power over the weather leaves little to the imagination. Niko fears his power almost as much as he fears strangers. If there's one thing people say Niko dislikes, it is strangers. He's very reserved, very cautious, unless a person gives him something to know them by- a kind or harmful gesture would do the trick well enough.

History;; If you ask Niko, he cannot answer many questions about it. He knows some, just not enough. The day he was born an his infancy was lost with his parents, and the older he gets, the more he is upset by that. At nine, it's merely a nagging thought, a 'my friends know and I don't' sort of realization.

Niko's parents were a young couple who lived in a small town of Texas, where they made a home before having a baby boy they named Nikolai Elijah, his middle name being the name of his father. When they were killed in a accident caused by a drunk driver, he was sent away to Concord, Massachusetts, to live with his other relatives- specifically his father's parents. But them and the other closest members of his family gave up their legal rights, saying they could not take him in. This left Nikolai to be taken in by a foster family. The number of people in the home he lived in made him more comfortable, made him feel more safe when he had no idea what to expect in his life.

The people he came to know the best in the foster home he grew up in were his foster father, Richard. Richard was a strict man who Niko came to admire because he wanted Richard to like him, he wanted to prove he was worth liking because Richard did not give away his affection easily. But he did more to upset the man he called father than to make him proud. There was hardly a week that went by that Niko wasn't getting a call home from school for some rule he broke or some fight he'd gotten into.

Niko's foster mother had a very laid back personality. She seemed to love everyone, and she was very caring even to strangers, very friendly. She seemed to get along with everyone. And like Niko, she tends to bottle her emotions until she 'explodes'. She usually leaves the punishments to her husband which made her more of the 'pushover' type figure, one that they could manipulate so long as she didn't end up telling her husband about it.

Niko tended to leave the two adult figures alone. They had adopted two infants when he was five, so they had their hands pretty much full and Niko knew that early on. So he allowed the teenagers to be his guidance in life, at least until they left the home when they were eighteen or when they ran away. The people in his 'family' he didn't like were the younger kids who didn't understand or respect his need for space. But there were other people that came and went- friends who were adopted, families who were looking to adopt him, even as he grew older. The only thing that really kept him in the foster home was his insistence that he be there, his threat that he was going to run away if they forced him to leave. That and his daunting behavioral record in school would turn most off to the idea of helping the little blond boy. That was fine with him, at least when they asked. His thoughts and emotions were another matter entirely.

Powers;; Niko's powers manifested earlier than most at the age of nine. Being so young, he could not understand, let alone control the things he could do. All he knew was that whenever he was really upset, it always got worse by raining. Beyond that, he would not have been able to identify anything different about his life since his powers. He had suspicions that he'd been the cause of it, just a feeling he couldn't shake but he quickly dropped the idea because it seemed so impossible. Shortly after his powers showed up he was invited to Hammel Institute- or, rather, forced there by his foster parents. The alteration of his environment was something he resented greatly.

Behind the M A S K . . .

Name: I tend to go by my character names such as my newest favorite alias/character name, Chesh or any other character I play. Still, I have no qualms about going by my real name, Shea if you prefer.
Age: Siixteen <3
RP Experience: I actually have been RPing on and off so I can't say exactly how many years because it hasn't been consistent, but I know that I started when I was ten-ish or eleven.
How did you find us?: Caution 2.0

Show your S K I L L S . . .

{I have never RPed with this character, so I made a fairly quick, new post <3}

The rain was coming down so heavily that the streets were fairly vacant on that particular afternoon. Those who were out seemed to be searching for shelter or clutching umbrellas, if not both. But there was one little boy who didn't seem the least bit phased by the pelting rain. That little boy was a nine year old who looked very grumpy at the moment, and it seemed nothing could interrupt the moment for him. He was silent as he walked, lost in his own thoughts- what would it be like in this place? Why couldn't he stay where he was? What if the other kids were mean? And what if he didn't want to sleep here? At least when he'd went to school before, he'd went home to unwind, to be by himself and 'recharge' as it were, but now, what if no one left him alone? And what if no one wanted to be his friend? These and so many more were weighing very heavily on him.

With so many things to be upset about, he had a hard time staying still. He kept moving his hand by first clenching it, then he'd unclench it, or he'd drum on his pant leg. What he did at that moment was completely different- he raised his hand and ran it through his blond hair, ruffling it up a bit as the teenagers used to do when they said he was getting too worked up over something silly. It always had a way of making him cheer up, even if it was only a little bit. This time it did nothing at all.

When Nikolai finally got close enough to know what building he was approaching, a smile broke through the glum expression. At the same time, the sun seemed to tauntingly show itself, at least partially, from the clouds. It seemed his power was losing it's effect and the day was ready to brighten right along with his mood. The reason for the sudden shift was the knowledge he acquired related to the fact that he was not being banished to some scary hilltop, darkened building like in the cartoons. To the contrary, the building was like any normal building, it seemed. That made him feel a little better than before. It didn't solve everything, it just solved something, and that was a great start.

With that to reassure him, Nikolai looked around his surroundings with a bit more alertness, taking in more details than he had neglected seconds prior. When he'd gotten to Vermont, the mountains had amazed him. There weren't mountains like this in Massachusetts. They made Niko wonder if they were even real, or if they were just cardboard, and he was sure that if he ever needed a place to go, his destination would be the mountains, given he wasn't imprisoned in the building he was getting closer and closer to with each measured step.

Taking a deep breath, Nikolai tugged his red sweater down past his dark blue jeans- both of which were wet from the rain. Then he folded up the umbrella, letting the tip fall to the ground while holding onto the handle while he reached up and knocked on the door nervously. He dropped his gaze to the ground to avoid the overwhelming urge he had to run away while he could. New people were hard for Nikolai, and there was no doubt in his mind that whoever answered the door would be unfamiliar. Perhaps he would have left, too, had he known where it was he could run. Nikolai braced himself, trying to calm himself down a bit. He couldn't help remembering that he hadn't been this scared when he considered this moment while traveling to Vermont in the first place.

[Mads ♥]

ACCEPTED!
Congratulations, you have been accepted to the Hammel Institute. There are some CLAIMS you should look at, and then you have fun. If you need anything, let Tony or myself know. Nice to have you aboard!

[Nikolai Campbell]

Here's the Basics...

Name: Nikolai Elijah Campbell
Age: Thirteen
Member Group: Student

Just an update...

Four years after being the skittish, awkward nine year old, Niko's got more to say, and less to be scared of. Being kidnapped by an evil organization that could have killed both of his adopted parents in cold blood, in addition to all of his teachers and peers, and then realizing that the teachers and students of Hammel would always be there to defend each other gave Niko a lot of confidence moving into his teenage years that everything would work out.

Being raised in a stable home with loving parents and a protective dog (because who isn't happier after having a faithful dog as a boy?) gave him the understanding that he had a future worth making absolutely fantastic. He began taking on more interests and hobbies in an attempt to be more like his adoptive parents. To spend time with Chase, he took on any sport his father- or later his peers- were willing to play with a particular interest reserved for soccer. To hold James' attention, he learned to love cooking and reading, both of which he could share with James later. And because he had both Mirage and Milo in his life, his compassion for animals developed as time passed.

Personality-wise, aside from the confidence that bled into his social and academic life, Niko grew into a very paternal personality, complete with compassion and the devotion to always look out for animals and fellow students alike. In many ways he fell into the peace keeper role. It came in handy when he had to lend his attention to those who might not always approve of his fathers' distinctive behaviors and powers. In addition, though he still wasn't comfortable being the center of attention, he began to appreciate the praise of his teammates when he scored a goal, or the smiles and pride of his parents when he proved he could pass history class after all. He wasn't destined to be the academic, but he could work hard enough to make grades worth putting up on the fridge.

Perhaps most importantly, Niko grew into a far more independent child. One who valued friendships and making his own decisions much more than he had when he had been a shy, lonely child. No longer did it even cross his mind that James or Chase might want to send him away the way it had when he caught their attention years ago. Now he wanted to be normal, not just with a family to call his own, but with friends and memories of his own that didn't always include his parents. So, in spite of living with a trainer who provided him with as much control of his ability as his age allowed and the understanding that there were boundaries, Niko was still resolutely sure that he was the authority on when it was and wasn't appropriate to show off with a little sunshine.

The internal sunshine-esque happiness was one thing Niko maintained. It might not always seem cool to give Chase the occasional hug, or tidy up the house the night before James returned from a rare recruiting trip, but at least within the Campbell residence, Niko was still the loving, affectionate child he'd always been. Sure, his room resembled a war zone with tossed clothes and disregarded assignments that'd been passed back to him and forgotten, but he learned to respect the rest of the house... When it wasn't just Chase and him home alone.

It became rarer and rarer for his expression to light up when Chase did something amusing, but Niko still returned to him whenever he had a problem. Like the time when he was twelve that he found himself terrified to admit to James that he'd been caught cheating on a science test he hadn't prepared for- an event that, fortunately, only occurred the single time before he learned his lesson. Or the time a girl wrote him a love note anonymously for Valentine's day. He'd went to Chase for advise on how to handle the next day at school... of course, he'd tried asking for permission just not to go to class at all first.

Outside of the home the Campbell's share, there are now a lot of times he doesn't want the other kids to know he's the son of Chase or James. Hearing complaints about how annoying James can be, or about how tough Chase is (in the case of particularly troublesome students) is the surest way to get to Niko. It becomes a constant, confusing battle- does he defend his parents, the way he wants to? Or does he agree to fit in? Sometimes it's clear to him that those he associates with should respect his parents and the defense comes quickly. Other times, he just wants to be able to keep playing football in the field with the boys, whether or not Chase was really that mean to this student or that one. And sometimes, he even finds himself raising to the defense of a peer, trying to convince Chase or James not to go through with a promised punishment.

In many ways the politics involved with being the son of James and Chase has acted as more of an obstacle, leaving Niko uncertain about which matters more, and which he stands to lose with the truth. With the assurance that Chase and James love him, they often go unmentioned when he's with his friends. The opposite isn't true when he's speaking to Chase or James about his day- he often provides rather detailed accounts of time spent with friends, omitting only things that might incriminate him or disappoint his parents.