Spring Storms (open)

[Lani Hunter]

The sunlight streamed through the blooming trees and the scent of freshly cut grass was sweet and calming. The sun was still climbing toward noon when Lani settled in the shade of an ancient oak. Lani hadn't been out in the town for a leisurely reason in so long that it seemed almost too good to be true. So instead of finding his way back to Hammel after his brief escape he had decided to find the lake he had heard so much about. He had a small drawstring bag slung over his shoulders holding little more than a book, a few snacks and his ipod. He leaned back on the trunk enjoying the light breeze that took away some of the humid heat. The wind off the lake brought the smell of clean unpolluted air. The temperature had climbed in the past few days and there were several people out on the lake or swimming to escape the rising heat. He paused his book resting on his knees as a boat of eight rowers swept past his vision.

He shook his head with a little snort. He couldn't understand why anyone would willingly go out in a boat, much less go in the water. He shuttered at the very thought. Water was dangerous and Lani avoided it. No one was ever going to convince him otherwise. Sure people could claim it was fun, cooling, relaxing. Lani didn't care, it had only taken one incident at the beach to get him to hate water. He didn't have a problem with being around water, just the thought of getting into the water. Oh well, he shook his head again and turned back to his book. It was an interesting book full of magic and strange creatures. But he was reading it mainly because the main character had something of a telekinesis problem as well. Lani could relate and so it made the read interesting and it was also giving him quite a few ideas. Not to mention it was reassuring, even if the character was fictional.

The minutes passed into hours as he enjoyed losing himself completely in the world of the book. That was a reason he loved reading. He could just vanish into the book and forget about the nightmare that was life. Though he had to say he was not jealous of all of the situation in the book. He was so engrossed in the novel that he didn't notice the building storm over on the far side of the lake. His mind briefly turned to the kittens that he and Odion were raising. It was going a lot better than he had expected. His head snapped up when a warning rumble coupled with a chilling rush of wind. Lani shivered, goosebumps raising on his arms, he was sure the temperature dropped a good ten degrees. He glanced down not wanting to leave his comfortable position. Besides he was just a half a page from the end of the chapter. He turned the page and read with half of his mind focused on the sky. Another gust of wind as he closed the book and tucked it into his bag. He jumped to his feet as the first large icy drops fell and lightning flashed in the sky. He made a run for the nearest picnic shelter along with the majority of other loungers, unfortunately not avoiding getting soaked. "Well, that was fun," he said to no one in particular as he shook water out of his hair like a dog.

[Miranda Suery]

The last time Miranda had been out at the lake, she had found Linden. He was so distraught over what was happening with his family he spilled his guts out to her. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to hear about it. Usually she didn’t want to know about people and their petty problems. She only pretended to listen and take an interest in order to make them feel heard. Really they just needed to hear themselves talk. Linden had become more than a friend with benefits. He had become a friend, and she was starting to marvel at the feelings she had for him. Maybe it wasn’t just sex anymore. In fact, they hadn’t slept together in a long time.

Maybe that’s why she was at the lake now, trying to recapture some of what they talked about. Mira was trying to remember that moment when she wanted to be around him more, wanted to see if they were capable of more than fucking around, literally. She had made it quite clear to him that that was all she wanted, and he was in the same boat. She wasn’t looking for a boyfriend or anything, but something about Linden struck a chord. He was in pain from his family feud, and Miranda actually felt sympathy for the young man.

Walking from her parent’s downtown apartment to the lake had been good. It gave her time to think and mull over things. Something she never had time to do while working and keeping up with college. Now she was a free woman, at least for the summer. Linden had invited her to a family picnic, it was something she hadn’t said yes or no to, and was really uneasy about. Being around people wasn’t fun to begin with but being around his family? It gave her butterflies just thinking about it. She sighed, slinging her black back squarely over her shoulders. It didn’t exactly suit her white lace tank top and light pink skirt with larger ruffles in the back than the front, but it was the only backpack she had.

Miranda walked right up to the same dock she and Linden had sat near the last time she was here. She hated to admit she was a creature of habit, but that didn’t deter her from doing what she wanted to do. She stripped down to her sexless one piece bathing suit and tucked the rest of her clothing into the bag. Swimming was something that calmed her down, even though the water was still a bit chilly during this time of year, at least the sun wouldn’t burn her pasty skin.

When the storm hit, Miranda swam to the bank and quickly grabbed her pack, rushing with everyone else for shelter. People were clucking like hens as she methodically took out her clothes and slipped them back on over her wet swimsuit. She knew she’d only be soaking it through, but it was cold and she needed something more to wear. A blonde teenager beside her spoke and she said not a word. Miranda left her backpack on the table, opened to show her laptop and a necklace she had taken off to swim. Her tall slender frame leaned against one of the shelter’s supporting poles, watching the storm with ease. This too would pass.

[Lani Hunter]

Just as fascinating as the storm were peoples reactions to it. Some people jumped up from what they were doing and sprinted as fast as they could leaving their companions to fend for themselves. Others worked on gathering all their stuff and then as groups jogged to shelter. Others were completely caught off guard and laughed at each other as they got soaked through. It was a pretty good thing no one had claimed this shelter as it seemed to be the closest one and people were invading. He glanced around and a small group ran to get the boat he had seen earlier. The rowers passed off their oars and the runners practically sprinted off in a direction. Then the rowers grabbed the boat and carried it as the downpour came. Lani winced for them, that must be an awful experience. To be soaked through before they were even able to think about shelter.

His shirt was a little damp and he decided to check his bag to make sure its contents were safe from the precipitation. As he felt around he drew a sigh of relief that the bag was at least relatively water tight. He glanced up as he swung the bag back over his shoulder and watched the people. Most of the people here solo had congregated in the same place, some looking very displeased at their current close proximity to humanity. That made Lani smile a little. Apparently the universe was working agaisnt all solitary souls this day. Though Lani was sure if he could call himself solitary. His mind now off his book was back onto the people that he had met and those he had gotten close to. He liked people too much to be solitary. He looked up at the sky trying to angle so he could see without sticking his neck out. He glanced at the woman next to him a little disappointed that no one had shared his joke. Oh well, that's life eh? Adrianna probably would have laughed and Odion would probably questioned his sanity. That made him laugh a little to himself.

He shrugged a little, he was free of Hammel today and besides Adrianna was studying like crazy and truth be told he was trying to be stubborn about working on his power with Odion. It was proving to be a lot harder than he had expected since it seemed to be more than just the elephant in the room. Especially with the kittens involved and he had been spending more time with the redhead. Not that he minded, he liked the redhead. He was different, and infuriating but at the same time Lani enjoyed the challenge he offered. Lani turned away from the storm wondering just what he was supposed to do now that he was stuck here. Someone had once asked him if he could use telekinesis to move water, like he did with rocks. Honestly he had never tried but he figured it wouldn't work, water was just too hard to grab. Besides why would he ever need to move water.

Like it was set there to tempt him, the bag showed the laptop and a very interesting necklace. Glancing around Lani wandered over as if bored and discretely examined it with his power and his eyes. It wasn't heavy and it didn't look to be very valuable. But a laptop. Those were always going on the black market. Mostly because they could be hacked and all sorts of personal information could be discovered. Bank accounts, passwords, email. There could be so much gained and so much damaged. He glanced at the girl leaning on the pole and wondered if she was really that dumb. The number one way to become a target was to show that you had it. The laptop would probably sell well and who knew what other goodies she might have in there. He sauntered back to the edge now watching the storm for a good get away. Well now there wasn't a question on whether or not he would take it but how. The sky grew darker and Lani smiled that wicked smile of his as a plan formed in his mind. Lightning flashed close by and by the time people were blinking away their temporary blindness and fear Lani was making his way across the shelter now chattering into a cell phone with one more bag than he had had originally.

[Miranda Suery]

Miranda had rushed quickly to the shelter, but she certainly wasn't afraid of the storm either. Besides, there wasn't a point to running to try and stay dry when she had just been in the lake. She did smirk at all the people freaking out though, trying to predict when the storm would stop, if it would get worse, or just sitting there as though the world was about to end. Still others were getting hyped up for the storm, becoming increasingly excited. People were just morons. It was a storm for crying out loud. Poeple didn't melt in water, so what was the point in trying to get rid of the elements. In all reality, she could've used her powers as an umbrella, but that would draw unwanted attention and if it's anything Miranda didn't like, it was large amounts of people. The lake been long and wide with plenty of room, but now that everyone was in the same pod, Mira was seriously regretting being here at all.

Holding both of her forearms, Miranda's grey eyes passed over the shore line of the lake, which was now hurtling water all over the place. Most of the families with small kids were making their way to their cars, rushing as fast as they could in order not to get wet. If people wanted to be stuck together, they probably wouldn't be at a lake. They'd be out partying somewhere and rubbing their bodies up and down each other. There was a place and time for everything, and getting together with a bunch of strangers because the weather was bad wasn't the way Mira wanted to spend her day. Not that she had a lot of friends to go out partying with. The ones she did attend were on the University campus, and that had been for the express purpose of hooking up with someone. She didn't like hanging out with people and getting to know them. She had come here to think, to have some peace. Instead, she was trying not to touch the rowdier of the bunch and keep her mind in one place. Next time, she would check the weather forecast.

Miranda didn't notice the younger boy mentally poking aorund in her stuff. It wasn't smart of her to leave her stuff so vulnerable, but the situation had distracted her to the point where she was more nervous about being around a lot of people than remembering her common sense. It was something she would kick herself for later. People, she could feel them all around her, and while she had a firm grasp on her powers, she was feeling that itch. The one that told her to simply push them all away. It would be funny to see the shock on their faces and they became drenched despite their best efforts. But no, she kept her cool and her eyes focused solely on the lake she wished could be more docile. She wanted to swim, was that so much to ask? Apparently so.

As the storm thickened, Miranda could feel goosebumps erupt over her arms. It was getting colder and more and more people were starting to leave. She watched them, planning her escape route to a t. All she would have to do, was pass by the larger man and the group of college guys who looked familiar but whom she had no intention of getting a ride from. They had offered many times before, though she knew this time it would be a different ride. Making up her mind was hard. She still wasn't sure if she wanted to talk home in a storm, but she wasn't going to have another choice. And she didn't want to wait here freezing to death. At least if she was freezing in the rain, she would get somewhere. A few flashes of lightning later and she turned on the spot, making her way to the picnic table where her backpack... was...

Her eyes grew wider. Maybe she was looking at the wrong picnic table. She looked around desperately, now looking like a few of the others under the shelter. But her panic wasn't from the storm. That laptop had everything on it, school work. resumes, banking stuff. Next her eyes searched the people still under the shelter. No black backpacks. Her mind was yelling but she remained silent as she left the shelter after a retreating figure with two backpacks. It was that boy who had made that quip about how much 'fun' the storm had turned into.

There was no point in yelling at him. He probably wouldn't hear over the raging storm, and even if he did, why would he stop? Instead, Miranda picked up the pace until she could see his blonde hair clearly. He had stolen from the wrong girl. "Hey!" She said, louder than even she had expected. Where had those sets of pines been when she was being harassed? Without warning, Miranda extended her powers out to the boy, sending a force field towards him that simultaneously made water shoot out at him as well. It looked like a tidal wave made of air.

Mira had full confidence that it would knock him down.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani couldn’t help looking up with a small amount of interest as a flash of red caught his vision. But upon closer inspection it ended up being a woman with her red hair pulled back and chatting excitedly with her friends and pointing out at the storm one of her companions flashed pictures. He shook his head, some people were just crazy. He shook his head, why was it that he was finding himself looking for the redhead everywhere? He glanced down at his phone and smiled at the text from his girlfriend. He answered the comment on the storm with a sad ‘Stuck out in it’. He needed to see that girl soon or he would go crazy from missing her. It was strange, he had never thought himself the type to miss people like this but he really couldn’t even begin to explain the emotions he was feeling. And now with more people in the mix he was more confused than ever. He really just hoped he could keep them out of this mess.

This was really starting to be a hell of a storm. It was like someone had turned a pot of boiling water over on top of Pilot Ridge only the boiling water was like ice. Well for people in here the storm wasn’t their only enemy. Lani had learned recently that that was what he was. An enemy, certainly the cops in Boston thought he was a monster, a cold merciless thing with no more thoughts than a shark. Just out for prey. Well, if a monster was what they wanted it would be a monster that the hunter would become. When he was on a job it was easy to forget he was human when he was working, he could become the monster without any problems but now it was different. The monster was hiding within the man and a few flashes of his sly smile were the only warning of his intentions. He closed his eyes and silently scolded himself for the direction of his thoughts. Here he was just feeling sorry for himself again.

Well, feeling sorry for himself wasn’t going to change anything. Worrying wasn’t going to get him anywhere, wasn’t that what Odion was always saying? He had to say that he was impressed and proud that Odion had thrown away that watch. It was a hurtful reminder of Rhett, the boy Lani had never met in his life but hated like he had personally made his sister sick. Lani smiled and glanced down at his hands. He loved how he could see a little bit of their mother’s beauty starting to spring up in the little girl. Rather than himself, he got his father’s looks, the spitting image right down to his gray green eyes. Sometimes it was hard, feeling as if he were looking at his father in the mirror but what would he do? Besides it was personalities that were really the kicker. He and his father were carbon copies not only in looks but in personalities but God help whoever decided to point that out.

Lani realized that his only escape route was through the rain as it started to increase in pressure. Well, rather decrease in pressure but increase in intensity. This was no air mass storm, this one had a little more teeth than the average spring thunderstorms and considering the speed at which it had come upon them he was willing to bet that meteorologists were desperately sending out warnings now. He slung his smaller bag over one of his shoulders so he could get a better grip on the stolen one. He was walking so calmly and having quite the uninteresting fake conversation on his cell phone. To any of the people he was just another student getting some relaxation in at the lake and seeking a way home. No one would suspect a thing. No one except the absentminded girl he had taken advantage of.

Who knew if she needed anything in this bag? There could be an inhaler or something like that. But that was why thieves were monsters, because they didn’t care. At least Lani pretended not to. So as he risked finding his way out in the rain he only hoped that at least the woman’s bag was water tight to protect the information she valued and the information Lani sought to sell. Lani paused a moment when he thought he heard something over the driving howl of the wind. He turned a little startled by the sound and let out a startled yelp as a wall of… well a wall of something came at him. He couldn’t find a source of it and terror laced in his mind. His feet moved before his mind did but the wall was coming faster than he expected. He grunted as it hit him and sent him tumbling to the ground. His legs getting tangled together. What the hell? He was at least glad that it had knocked him into the faint shelter of a tree. Though trees were not the best places in thunderstorms they did offer a little relief from the rain and at least he could see his attacker now.

Shit. It was that girl. Apparently she was not so absent as she seemed. Well hopefully she wasn’t a cop. That wouldn’t be fun. But lucky Lani already had a plan. He didn’t need this stuff so he wasn’t about to reinforce his guilt by running. It was a simple mistake. He didn’t get up off the ground and decided to use an old injury to his advantage. It wasn’t hard considering his foot had been broken once before when he had fallen. He knew how to act with a bad foot and considering the way he had fallen and the dull throbbing in his ankle it wouldn’t be too hard. He could totally fake a sprained ankle when in fact it was only lightly twisted. He lay back paying no heed to the bags and moaned his hands reaching for his ankle. He put on his best pitiful expression; one so trained it would fool even a doctor.

“What the hell?” He whined and roll to his side and into a relative sitting position and tentatively flexing his foot wincing and hissing at just the right times. He looked up at her fear crossing his face just long enough for her to see it until Lani’s character swallowed it down and tried to make a brave face through the pain and terror. Yeah he was quite the actor when he needed to be. Now that his plan was in motion he knew he was going to lose this loot but it would be better than having someone with a sketch or much worse if she decided to call the cops. But one thing was now clear; she was a meta however, as far as she knew Lani was not. So he was more than willing to keep it like that. “What did you just do? Please, I just want to get home,” He said and shifted away from her wincing as his ankle knocked. Shit, it was actually starting to hurt now. Maybe he had twisted it worse than he thought.

[Miranda Suery]

Why this kid has stolen her bag was beyond Miranda's scope or reasoning. There she was, just trying to enjoy herself when he had to go and take advantage of her. And she thought people in this small town were supposed to be nice. Maybe he wasn't from here. In any case, she was never going to trust her things out in the open like that again. She had been so relieved to find that her things hadn't been water damaged, but apparently she wasn't the only once excited about this.

Miranda wasn't that big of a person. Most people still thought she was in high school, sometimes less. And she really couldn't blame them when she weighed a meagre hundred and five pounds. Most people thought she was anorexic but she wasn't. Her metabolism just burned everything, and probably her own muscle and bone too it looked like. At any rate, if this guy turned around and decided to punch her out, or use physical force, she would be a goner. Well, she would be if he caught her by surprise, but she wasn't going to let him get the upper hand twice.

She didn't stop moving towards him as her wall advanced on him faster than she could. He fell near a tree and Miranda, despite being soaked to the bone and having been robbed, was grinning. She stopped directly beside him, panting. Had she missed something? Why was he not trying to get away from her? Run the other way? She hadn't hit him that hard, that much she knew for certain. They were her powers after all. The kid seemed hurt but her lips were stretched tightly across her angular face. There was no pity in the equally grey eyes looking down at the teenager.

Miranda moved back in a hurry as he rolled to his side. Oh no, he was not going to get in another attack! "Sorry," she mumbled, even though she wasn't sure what she was sorry about. Nothing really, she was just so used to being a door mat it came out automatically. She was weak and that was that, but this thief didn't need to know that. He did look hurt though. And then he was acting like she had done something to him. The first thing she did, was look for her bag. It was still on his person. "Just give me my bag and I won't do it again," she said over the rain. Was she really threatening this kid? Oh well, she didn't know him from a hole in the ground, what were the chances she'd come across him again?

Less was more for Miranda. Few to no words, avoid eye contact if at all possible. In this case, he seemed to be afraid of her and she was going to use that to her advantage. Good, that's what he got for stealing over people's property. Let him be afraid then. Mira was buying his act with hope invested.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani squinted into the dim light but found it in vain. He could hardly see anything beyond the little protection the tree created. Otherwise it was like looking through a pair of water filled goggled. His eyebrows jumped again when he heard her apology. Why was she apologizing? It wasn't like Lani was completely innocent. When she came into view he searched her face and memorized her features. She didn't look much older than he was and she was very petite, he probably could have outrun her if he really wanted to. It wouldn't be hard, but then again if she had knocked him down with that strange wall, chances were she could trap him to. He glared down at his ankle and then at the offending root. His feet had gotten more than tangled it seemed, there was a root just where he had fallen. He huffed a little feeling at at least if there hadn't been that added factor he might have been able to turn and run.

So he was losing his loot, so what. It wasn't like he needed the stuff, it probably wouldn't have yielded a high price anyways. Maybe that was what made him different. He stole for the thrill but he didn't necessarily need the stuff, sure the stuff was good because he got paid but he wouldn't get paid very much for this. What he was concerned with now was the thrill of getting away with it. It wasn't as fun as being one step ahead of police officers and tricking them, but he was going to have fun pulling the wool over this woman's eyes. No, maybe he wasn't any different than any other thief. A certain pickpocket was even lecturing him on his personality flaws. Maybe he was worse. No better though. Oh well, he saw no reason to change, things were better now. He was working his courage up to telling his boss he was leaving and then he would be free to do whatever he wanted.

This girl was quite interesting though, not a lot of people would have come running out in the rain after him, most would have called the police or even just looked around thinking they misplaced it. Sure her panic had probably been ignited. But hey, Lani had done her a favor. Never leave things out for you never know who the thief is. However, tonight Lani was not going to be the thief he was going to be a completely other person. His eyes widened when she claimed her bag. "What are you talking about?" He asked getting angry at just the right time. He surged to his feet, or rather tried to. His ankle complained and he didn't like to admit that he had actually stumbled a little. He raised his hands as if to ward her off. "Hey, take it easy now. I don't have your bag." He glared just enough to make her believe he was truly clueless.

"Do you know what you're saying?" He demanded, "What you're accusing me of? Fine. This is my bag. I'll prove it to you." He took off the drawstring first and opened it pulling out his book and brandishing it at her, "See this is mine. And see..." He now dropped the drawstring and pulled out the other bag fierce determination showing on his face as he solidified his character. Lani knew what was in the bag but when he opened it his face showed surprise. He dug a little bit and then slumped a little, mortification showing on his face. He looked up at her giving her his best innocent look and he rubbed his hand through his hair. He zipped the bag up held it out to her. He opened his mouth several times before sound came out. "I-I'm so sorry. I can't believe I just did that." He laughed a little covering his face with his hand partially to hide the impish grin that snuck onto his face.

"I have a bag just like that," Lani lied in explanation seeing if he could fool the girl, after all she had left her bag out in the open she couldn't be that hard to fool. Though she had come running after him so she couldn't be as dense as he thought. He'd better not overdo it. "I was so distracted... with the storm and calling my friend... I must have just grabbed it by accident. I'm so sorry." He put his hands together as if he were pleading for her forgiveness. Which fit because coward masked Lani really didn't want her whole power to come down on him for what was after all a perfectly reasonable mistake. Inside Lani was laughing at himself and at her. Here he was starting to think he had lost his skill, Odion must just be a special case. And that Neville didn't count, he could read minds. His innocent eyes were soft and open like he had nothing to hide.

[Miranda Suery]

Miranda couldn't be sure if the boy saw the force field or not. Usually they were invisible, but with the rain a wall, invisible or not, was hard to hide. She looked down where he had fallen, and wondered if maybe he fell due to his lack of balance than her power shot. He could've tripped on that root there, or maybe he had two left feet. It didn't matter to her in the end how he fell, it only mattered that he had and she would be getting his pack back. She hadn't taken into account that he too might be a meta, but she was older than he was, and more skilled with her powers than he would be. It was just how powers worked.

It really wasn't his loot to lose. Miranda not only went to school full time, but she worked as much as she could for what she had. She may be an only child, but she is by no means spoiled. She had travelled all of Europe after having worked for a year to save for said trip. While there she learned a lot about herself, shared her bed with many different partners, and had an all around good time. After seeing many monuments, that's when she decided what she wanted to do with her life. It was rocks she loved, not people. Lani hadn't lost anything if it wasn't worth fighting for. And Mira, despite her size, would go after him after all the hard work she put into getting that laptop.

This guy was probably someone just pulling a prank. Miranda thought he had been alone, but this wouldn't be the first time she was wrong. So many college guys pulled pranks on her and that she wouldn't put it past a high schooler to do the same. After all, she seemed like an easy target. Well let's just say she's very tired of being picked on. Miranda had looked around, had thought she misplaced it. But what was more disturbing was that no one had tried to stop him from stealing. What was wrong with people? Maybe coming after him wasn't the wisest choice, but that didn't mater in the heat of the moment.

She took a couple steps back as he staggered to his feet. Mira watched him in disbelief. What did he mean he didn't have her bag? She knew exactly what she was accusing him of, she just didn't want to confront him about it as he ranted at her, like it was her fault he made off in the rain with her things. He made a big show about going through his bag, and then reached for her. Miranda clenched her fists, "Don't touch my things..." she mumbled, her eyes to the cement underneath them. She missed the surprise on his face. In fact, the entire show he was putting on went unnoticed. She just wanted her bag back. She pried it gently from his hands, slipping it on over her slender shoulders. She chanced looking up at him before looking down again. She was pathetic really. Confrontation wasn't her favourite thing to do.

Tempted to ask to see his phone to see what kind of 'friend' this boy was calling, Miranda instead shrugged. "You must've been in a hurry," she said, accusing him in a passive aggressive way. There wasn't a mad dash to leave the shelter, he could've taken the time to see what he was grabbing. And what kind of idiot forgot the number of bags they brought with them? Of course, she would never call someone an idiot to their face, but it didn't make it any less true.

Because she wasn't a fool, Miranda knelt down with her bag on the ground, and opened it. Shielding her precious electronics from the rain with her body, Miranda dug around to make sure everything was there. She snapped her head up at the boy, zipping her bag up again. "My necklace," she said as she stood, putting her backpack on once more, "where is it?" It was missing and hadn't found its way to the bottom of her bag. Miranda held her ground. There was nothing forgiving about her expression. He would give her necklace back or he would shortly be in a world of pain. And if anyone asked, it was her word over his, and she was fairly certain she could con the police better than he could.

[Lani Hunter]

It was too bad for this lady that Lani had come to the conclusion a few days ago that he was going to embrace his thieving ways and leave his self righteous ways behind. But as much as he said it he hadn’t. Not by a long shot. Had he known about this girl and her hard working circumstances he probably would have left it alone. Someone who worked for all they had didn’t deserve to lose everything; those who took everything deserved that. There was nothing more Lani loved than stealing from a rich banker. Because the amount that he took wouldn’t even hurt them but they were also the type to seek police help. It was funny, Lani could almost tell that the police enjoyed that, as much as they wanted to catch him. But now he liked to think it was different, he was a cold unfeeling machine. Like he was when he was the Messenger.

He wondered absently it Odion had ever dealt in the business of selling information. It was the type of thing Lani was good at but didn’t like. He had one of those faces that was unremarkable and so he just blended in to a crowd and made his easy to miss. He also wasn’t afraid to talk to people which helped him as he had gotten older and more noticeable. People never noticed children, but someone Lani’s age was noticeable even if insignificant. But this girl had spotted him out in a crowd, granted it probably hadn’t been hard since he was the only idiot walking out into the rain. His mind ran through all the possibilities, perhaps she was a cop, but why not just arrest him? She could just be a girl who had made a mistake. Well she wouldn’t make that mistake twice. As he stood he shifted his weight testing out his ankle. It was hurting a little less now that adrenaline was pumping. He was sure it would hold if he ran but after that he would probably have to deal with limping. If anything he would have to try to charm his way out of this.

He scratched his head as he searched for a way to make this lie more convincing. Lani raised a brow at her a little smile forming on his face. This girl wasn’t used to confrontations evidently, from the way her entrance had been strong and the way she was now mumbling and avoiding eye contact. She snatched it back and Lani had a hard time containing his laughter. This would be quite the story, after all now that she had taken what he had taken he felt the need to at least leave with something. His power solved that for him, it was really a bad thing that his telekinesis was just as stick fingered as he was. He felt the necklace slip into his back pocket and didn’t react to it. He crossed his arms, he had to admit that for such a shy girl he was impressed she had confronted him at all. As much as he hated to say it, it was brave of her. She didn’t know him from Adam and for all she knew he could have lured her out here for something far more sinister. Lucky for her Lani didn’t hurt people.

He matched her shrug and shook his head, “I’m so sorry, I really can’t believe that happened I’ve been terribly distracted lately.” He hoped that was explanation enough, besides he could have had some strange mental disease. Well technically he did, but it was undiagnosed, he thought to himself. Kleptomania. There was such a larger population of people that had it than anyone was willing to admit. Most of the people he knew if someone left out an expensive pen on the desk they would grab. One always needed to be careful around other thieves, mostly because they could hurt him if he stole from them. Well at least he would leave with a small if probably inexpensive prize. He would be exceedingly surprised if it sold at all, but eh, perhaps he could give it to someone. Lani started to turn and make his escape when she started digging through her bag.

He would give her that. A necklace could easily be misplaced or on the ground. She didn’t miss that it was missing and he stopped and gave her a confused look. “What necklace?” He asked playing clueless very well. “Maybe you dropped it,” he suggested and was half tempted to just toss the necklace and wish her good luck while he made his escape. “Like I said, I’m terribly sorry, I hope you find your necklace.” He turned and gave a little wave. He walked a few paces ignoring the flashes of light and he paused at the edge of the tree looking up. The rain looked like it was letting up; this was indeed going to be a quick yet raging spring storm. He checked his phone and was surprised to see a text from his boss. It was not a message he liked to get. It gave a time and a date, which meant unless he was in Boston with his boss at that time and day he was going to be in a world of trouble. He memorized the date and time and deleted the message. He sighed and looked out wondering if he really wanted to walk back out in the rain; it wasn’t like he was dry anymore. Oh well. So Lani started out, not running, running would be suspicious.

[Miranda Suery]

Lani didn’t seem to be someone who put in a lot of time putting himself in others’ shoes, not that Miranda did. People were selfish in general, and in order to be a thief, you had to see past people and their humanity and at what you were stealing. How else could someone stomach being such a monster? But if Lani was trying to be Robin Hood, he had certainly barked up the wrong skinny tree. Miranda was a bit of an internet pirate, stealing movies and games and even music, but she didn’t really consider that true thievery and didn’t give it a second glace. She doubted Hollywood missed the ten dollars she could have pitched in on that latest blockbuster hit.

Miranda was very afraid of people. She could scarcely look them in the eye, let alone ask for help. If there was an upside to being shy it was that she had learned how to fight and fend for herself a long time ago. She didn’t need anybody and liked it that way. Most people didn’t understand that, but that was okay. After reading a self-help book on how to make and keep friends, Miranda thought people were more insane than she was. Who pretended to take an interest in someone simply to have their company? Were people really that desperate for faux friendship? If she wanted to take a true interest in someone, that was different, but basically the book wasn’t helping you win friends, it was helping you become a therapist.

Thanks to Lani, she wouldn’t be making this mistake twice. He served to make her distrust in others grow. It was really too bad he was wasting so much energy on a girl who didn’t give a damn whether he had stolen on purpose or by accident. It didn’t matter to her. She wasn’t intrigued by him or even remotely disturbed by him. She just wanted her things back so she could get on with her life and shuffle this little incident under the rest of the bullshit people decided to throw at her. She really didn’t see herself as brave, again, she just wanted her things back. Her powers would protect her from anything he may have been thinking to do to her, although she seriously doubted that was on his mind at all.

Terribly distracted. Is that what that look of intent was in his eyes? Miranda didn’t think he was a distracted person. He seemed to know exactly what was going on. She had long ago detached her emotions from her powers. When she was in high school, her force fields would explode along with her temper. Now, they could be as itty bitty or gigantic as she pleased. It was taxing on her small frame to have a physical and mental power, but she used it regularly like any other muscle. Just because she was out of high school didn’t mean she stopped training. In fact, she had gotten better and nearly perfected her power. Because that’s what perfectionists do.

Miranda’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Yes, maybe I dropped it like I dropped by backpack that conveniently went missing. Couldn’t he just buy his girlfriend, boyfriend, whatever, something nice instead of stealing it from someone else? It was a necklace! She shifted uncomfortably. Clearly he didn’t know what was going on, or he was pretending not to know. The necklace was easily replaceable on Etsy.com and wouldn’t really be missed. It was the principle that bothered Miranda. She watched him walk away, knowing that he had her necklace, but at least she had gotten what was important back. She wasn’t hell bent on changing his odd ways, just like he wasn’t trying to get her to have an intimate conversation with him. Honestly she was a little relieved to be left alone again. A small smirk passed her lips as she too turned and walked away, but not without leaving the boy with a small present in the form of an invisible wall he was about to walk into. Hopefully nothing broke from that.