this box is getting smaller; OPEN

[Angel Dawson]

ANGEL.DAWSON

Angel had never been a fan of the fall or winter weather. It got dark too quickly, the cold never went completely away, and there was just something scary about the thought of walking outside and falling into a snow bank up to your neck. Not that she'd had that misfortune yet, but with her luck, this would be the year it happened.

Though it was early evening and the sun was sinking, Annie decided to grab her old tattered jacket and sit out in the courtyard. Why the courtyard? Because everywhere else was full of students or faculty members and one thing Annie disliked more than the cold, was crowds. Besides, it hadn't even begun to snow; autumn had only just started a couple weeks back, so winter and it's icy badness wouldn't be around for a while yet.

She grabbed a notepad and two pens before leaving the dorm and heading down to the school's courtyard, relieved to see there was hardly anyone else around. Pulling her black beanie down farther over her flyaway auburn hair, the young teen crept to a gently sloping hill and sat, trying to ignore the evening dew on the grass making her backside cold and damp. It had been a while since she'd written her social worker to update her on how Angel was doing in the new setting. Since Hammel was so far away from where Angel's former foster home was, Dianne couldn't make it out here to check on her personally. She was probably worried about Annie's lack of communication, but she'd been so busy hiding from the world to really think about writing or calling.

Scribbling down some words about classes going well and everyone being nice (not that she actually knew that, since she hadn't talked to anyone in the few weeks she'd been here), Angel tried her hardest to sound sincere to keep Dianne from being concerned. She finished the short update and folded it, sticking it in the pocket of her black jacket. She would send it later when she got back up to the school. Hopefully, she'd managed to sound like she wasn't being buried alive by nervousness and worry. At fourteen, Angel had been through a lot more than most kids would ever know, and it had taken a healthy, happy child and made her this timid, scared little creature that refused to feel connected to anyone anymore.

Brushing a stray hair away from her face, Annie leaned back and watched the sky grow darker, her hazel eyes tracing the movement of a cloud overhead. After a few moments, her eyes fell closed and the fourteen-year-old let her mind wander, trying to remember random facts she'd found in a book earlier that day. Angel was so absorbed in her thoughts she failed to hear the approaching footsteps of someone headed her way.

words; 480
outfit; CLICK.
muse; decent

[Therru Simmons]

She was trying to sneak away from a group who had been tormenting her for just being quiet. And strange. And from the middle of freaking nowhere. Therru didn't like any of these things, and neither did she like the bruise that was growing over her cheek slowly in a dark mass. It was only one hit, and she had taken it and said nothing. When she turned and walked away the older bullies just laughed, made a few ruse jokes best not repeated and left her to her own devices. But she didn't like the violence. In fact, she hated violence, one reason she hated crowds. She stuck the the shadows like her father taught her, not needing a meta-human power to remain small, quiet and unseen. She almost wanted to cry. The girl honestly didn't understand why people had to be that way! What was the point of violence when all it did was bring others down to a level where they were scared and couldn't think without wondering what would happen next.

It only served to remind her this barbaric place was nothing like home.

She didn't realize she was heading towards another person until she was almost on top of them. Her muscles froze as she stepped and felt not wet grass but a person, and her body tripped to keep her light weight off of them. She slipped to the ground, sprawled out for a moment slightly dazed.
" I'm sorry." She mumbled, clutching her throbbing face as she sat up, hoping she hadn't done any hard to the other person and completely ignoring herself.

[Angel Dawson]

ANGEL.DAWSON

Out of nowhere a foot came down on Angel's small body, yanking her out of her thoughts and pulling a startled cry from the young teen's mouth. Before she could stop herself, Angel teleported herself about a foot and a half away, escaping what she'd perceived as a threat. After popping back into existence, she bolted upright into a sitting position in time to see a thin body dive to the ground where she'd been just a second ago, probably having tripped over the random kid lying on the ground for no reason. Angel felt her cheeks and neck turn scarlet; wonderful. She hadn't been paying attention and now somebody fell because of her.

Angel looked at the other girl and realized she was definitely older than her by a couple of years. She heard her mumble an apology as she sat up, clutching the side of her face like it was in pain. The fourteen-year-old bit her lip, not trusting the girl to not get angry as soon as the shock of falling over her wore off. After a moment of silence, however, Annie wondered if maybe she wasn't going to get angry and explode on her about being in the way; she looked like she had other things on her mind, anyway.

Angel swallowed hard, mumbling something about it being her fault. She should have heard the footsteps coming toward her, should have been more aware. Would Annie get in trouble if the girl was hurt because of her? She hoped not; the last thing she wanted to do was have to go talk to somebody about how she's always in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then the other student's face caught Annie's attention, and she frowned as worry crossed into her round hazel eyes.

"Oh my gosh, are you hurt?" she asked quietly. "I didn't mean to hurt you..." Her voice squeaked before she shoved her hands in the pocket of her hoodie, deciding just to let it be. One small fist clenched around the two pens she'd brought along while the other felt the folded letter to Dianne. She felt like maybe she should just leave; she'd already tripped and hurt someone. Go figure the first person she actually talked to, she was apologizing. Angel couldn't remember ever hurting anyone before in her entire life and she felt a bubble of guilt swell in her stomach as the other girl's cheek slowly darkened even more.

words; 413
outfit; CLICK.
muse; decent

[Therru Simmons]

The real suprise came for Therru was when the girl was there one second and a short distance away the next. Teleportation. She knew it was a meta-ability but she had never seen it before, therefore it seemed slightly foreign to her. Even so it was a great defense mechanism. The other girl bolted upright, her face and neck starting to turn bright red. Therru wasn't sure how to assure her that she was unharmed, as it was obvious she did not look unharmed. The girl was younger than her by what, a year, maybe two, Therru's judge of age could be skewed at times. She just sat there for a moment trying to think about what to say. She put all worry for herself behind. Her own injuries could be attended to later. Her pain threshold was quite high so ignoring her slowly darkening face was no problem.

" I am quite sorry I didn't see you." She said slightly more clearly than her first mumbled apology. " I assure you I'm fine. No harm done." Her statements were so....stuffy, and the emotion was minimal, but anyone that had ever spent time around her knew it was just her way to seem so indrawn. She preferred watching people to answering questions usually anyway. Guilt was painted all over the other girls face and again Therru was at a loss for words. The personality of the two of them seemed to match up, both of them more quiet types who were shy around others. Therru stood and put out her hand as a gesture of goodwill. The other girl had seemed to be expecting someone to yell at her, which went against everything Therru really believed in. She wouldn't yell, or hit, or show violence. Not when there were people like this girl who were so jumpy at every more. The thought flashed quick through her, wondering why she was like that, and vanished. It wasn't her business and Therru wouldn't intrude.

That being said she smiled slightly and tried to look friendly. Maybe it would help with the whole shy person and shy person attitudes that seemed to be clouding up the air.

[Angel Dawson]

ANGEL.DAWSON

Annie stared at the girl's hand for a moment, then at her small smile. She seemed shy, too. A little on the unattached side even, which made Annie feel a little more secure around her, though not enough to let her guard down.

Even though she insisted she was ok, Angel's eyes kept going from her hand, to her small shy smile, to the darkening spot on her cheek. Maybe she was just being nice or something. Angel had teleported before she could see if the girl had even landed on her head; she may have caught herself with her hand. But then, why the bruise starting on her face? Maybe something had happened to her before. The young teen's stomach tightened in fear at the thought of some of the kids here being violent enough to do that. If they were willing to pick on this girl who was sixteen, maybe seventeen years old or so, what hope did a fourteen-year-old have?

Gingerly taking the girls hand to haul herself back on her feet, Angel's hazel eyes slid down to the ground as she absently brushed her hind end off, knowing there was likely dirt on it. Not that it really mattered, since if she pulled her jacket down it would easily cover the seat of her pants - what with it being about two sizes too big - but it gave her something to do other than just stand there awkwardly watching the girl she'd tripped.

Angel looked up finally, letting her arms fall to her sides, then shoving them gracelessly into her pockets. She tried to offer the other girl a smile in return, but felt like it looked as fake and frightened as it really was. The girl was pretty, which instantly made Angel feel like a black sheep - a feeling she was quite accustomed to. The girl had medium-length dark hair, large, attractive eyes, and even her timid half-smile had a sweet sort of kindness to it. So, of course, Angel probably looked to her like the raggedy second-hand orphan she was.

"Good," she said when she finally found her voice. "Good that you're not hurt. But are you...ok?" The mumbled the last part, knowing it was really none of her business. She would take back the question if she could, but of course, it was already out. People didn't usually like to talk about their business, and Annie fully expected to have her question shrugged off.

words; 416
outfit; CLICK.
muse; decent, but kinda rushed Dx

[Roland Singleton]

Roland was walking through the chilly courtyard as he made his way to his dorm. He had just received a phone call from his mother about her coming in to Hammel to take him to see the touring show of "The Elephant Man." Roland had seen the show a dozen times, but he loved it. It was one of his favorite plays. Watching the way that the main character deals with his differences from the general public gave Roland a hint of hope for the plight of the meta-humans around the world. He knew every line by heart and was reciting them as he walked.

His personal rehearsal was cut short as he saw a crowd of maybe five or six kids pursuing a rather quiet girl. They were calling her names, saying some things Roland was pretty sure weren't something they would say had any staff member been around, and attempting to push her into some sort of response. Roland hated bullies, he had never really been that tough when he was younger and only now that he was fifteen was he beginning to really fill out and develop into what his dad would call a "man's man." He clenched his fists inside his black leather jacket and his jaw tightened as he watched the scene unfold. He knew it was none of his business and was about to walk on when he saw it happen.

WHACK

One of the kids had actually hit the girl, hit her for nothing other than the fact that she wasn't being obnoxious and throwing back insults with them. Roland stopped and waited for the girl to say something, but instead she simply turned and stormed off to the jeers of the others. For a moment indecision ran through Roland's mind and he stood like a statue. Oh what the hell." Roland thought to himself and after the girl disappeared from view he bounded over to the five remaining students, cutting through the grass in his high top converses.

"Haha, nice job with her. Some people need to toughen up huh." Roland said plastering a fake smile and laugh as he got closer.

"Yeah, I mean she is such a freak." One of the guys said turning to Roland

"If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen my man." said another.

"Exactly, maybe she will learn hos to take care of herself a little better now." Roland said

He was close enough now that he removed both of his hands from his jacket and raised them in what was clearly a signal for a high-five. The two boys mirrored the gesture and as soon as their hands made contact with Roland's he acted. His eyes narrowed as he grabbed both of their hands and he discharged a pulse of harsh electricity from his body into the boys. Both of their bodies went rigged and with a loud grunt they collapsed twitching on the ground. The other three looked shocked, and their surprise allowed Roland to land a series of quick electrified punches into the stomach of two more of the jerks.

With four of his friends laying squirming in the dirt the last kid stood wide eyed and mouth open.

"For future reference never bully someone, cause it comes around. Maybe you guys need help learning to deal with people. That girl is off limits, got that. She didn't do anything to you and if i hear you were messing with her again you will get a lot worse than a tasers worth of volts." Roland said harshly

He hated threatening people, but if they learned from it he would do what he must. He finished the last kid with a static punch to the nose and walked away in pursuit of the girl who had been their victim.

"Great, I will so probably get in trouble for that. I can just imagine explaining to the headmaster why I beat up five kids." Roland thought as he ran. When he finally found the girl she was standing facing a younger girl conversing.

"Hey wait up," Roland called as he approached, "Sorry about those guys, they were jerks. They should leave you alone from now on."

He turned and looked at the other smaller girl. She was like a field mouse, twitchy and timid. Roland raised a hand and ran it through his long dark hair awkwardly.

"Sorry...I didn't mean to interrupt your guys conversation."

[Ashton Harper]

Cold courtyard. Headache. Bad day. Unhappy Ash.

Now Ash was always happy. He tried making the best of things even if he was having a bad day. Well this day was just not gonna end like that. He was beyond irritated and really just wanted to get to his dorm so he could crash and not deal with anybody else. This boy was not a happy camper.

As he was walking through the courtyard he caught a glimpse of a group of guys just walking. He hadn't seen the girl until they were surrounding her. Once they were, Ash picked up on what was going to happen. Pick on the quiet girl to see how much it takes before she flips. What a fun game that was? Not.

Ash hated the whole bullying concept. It was stupid and cruel and just frustrating as hell. Especially on a day like this. Just as he was about to go over and kick all their asses...he saw another kid beat him to the punch...literally.

The boy was young, but big enough to handle himself. He seemed to be pretty angry about it too, which was a good thing for his sake. So while the boy was taking care of the jerks that started the crap with the girl, Ash decided to go after her to see if she was okay. He shoved his hands in his pockets and smirked at the group of bullies getting their butts handed to 'em. It was good to see.

He finally got to the girl, but noticed another one talking. He didn't recognize either, probably because they were both a few years younger than he was. He didn't really want to barge into their conversation, but once their was a small break he popped in, "Hey you two alright? I saw what happened back there." He said quietly trying to keep the anger and frustration out of his voice so he didn't freak either one of them out.

Both the girls seemed pretty timid, and there was definitely a risk of scaring them.

Ash glanced up when the ass-kicker came back and explained what happened. Something about him seemed kind of familiar. Not that Ash knew him, but someone did.

Then it hit...this was the dancing guy Aid had talked about. Ash smirked wider when realization hit. Now was the time to focus on the two girls though, he'd get to his 'big brotherly duties' later.

[Therru Simmons]

Therru's eyes widened slightly when the other two boys came over. Her hand immediately went to her face, covering the now very dark bruise. It didn't help though, seeing as her own hand was small than the hand that had dealt the damage. She had been about to answer the other girl when they came over, both seeming to want to know if she was okay. She froze. Therru was the kind of person who didn't like to attract attention and here she was doing just that. She thought if she had walked away she would be fine, but apparently someone thought it would be best to check up on her. Internally she sighed and tried to prepare herself to handle this. What would she have done back home? There were so few people that didn't know her there that she had rarely had problems such as this.

Her eyes flicked down in a sort of submissive way, trying not to catch the eyes of either boy. Angel she could deal with because they were similar; outcast, shy, not wanting to catch attention. Therru doubted these two were the same.

" I am fine. Just a slight bruise." Which wasn't truthful since the bruise covered half her face. But she was going to fight back. This had happened so many times before and she had never raised a hand back. And it would happen again. It would always happen again whether she liked it or not.

[Angel Dawson]

ANGEL.DAWSON

Before she had a chance to ask, two boys came walking over to the pair and cut off the bruised girl's answer. Angel instantly went into be invisible! mode, turning her face away from either of them, allowing a curtain of long red-auburn hair to fall in her face and block her from view. Her slight frame practically folded in on itself, and she turned almost imperceptibly toward Therru. She was the only one here similar enough to Annie that the young teen was more comfortable around her instead of the boys. And I use "comfortable" as a relative term, since Angel and company don't mix well.

Apparently both boys had seen whatever happened to the other girl, and Annie stole a quick glance at her face again, seeing her small, thin hand trying to cover a large black and blue blob on her face. Angel didn't stare; she knew how awkward that was, and didn't want to become one of the people that made her so uncomfortable. Gawking wasn't something she liked to do, but now she knew for sure what had happened to her. Not that it was any of her business; the guys just came over and opened their mouths about it. It was nice that they apparently cared about her, but what if she hadn't wanted Angel to know, or didn't want anyone to talk about it?

She shuffled her feet a little, feeling like just as much of a spectacle as Therru right now. She was younger than anyone here, from what she'd seen. And she was definitely smaller; much, much smaller. She thought about teleporting away from all this, but knew that she'd end up somewhere she didn't want to be. If she was panicking when she used her power, Angel never ever landed where she wanted to, or even close. Once, she'd accidentally teleported herself onto the roof of a house about a street down from the orphanage. The splitting headache had been nearly unbearable. Besides, she'd already teleported when Therru had accidentally stepped on her; if she tried again, it would definitely hurt.

Opening her mouth to tell Therru that it wasn't anything close to a slight bruise and that maybe she should get an ice pack for it, Angel decided against it and closed her mouth. She probably knew exactly how to deal with this sort of thing, and it wasn't Annie's place to say anything, anyhow. She shoved her hands in her pocket and stood there, staring at the ground at Therru's feet. Nobody had talked to her yet, so maybe if she just stood there quietly, nobody would. They'd see Therru would be ok and didn't want help, then go away. She tried not to shuffle around much, looking something like a doe that knew hunters were about; she even tried to breathe quieter in some irrational fear that if they didn't hear her or see her face, they'd completely forget she existed.

But was Angel really lucky enough that these boys would just ignore her and go away as soon as they heard Therru's excuse? No, she probably was not.

[/blockquote]

words; 523
outfit; CLICK.
muse; alright[/blockquote]