Fire on the Mountain [Rixon]

[Sabine Siperco]

Sabine smoothed her pale hands over the heavy fabric of the fire blankets she had stacked up on a small shelf in the mostly-bare training room. Between those and the fire extinguishers on site, there was no way anyone was setting anything on fire that they weren't supposed to. Not even Samuel Rixon.

She hadn’t been working for more than a week, but she’d had enough time to read up on her first assignment. And make no mistake, Rixon was an assignment. She wasn’t sure if she should be honored or put off that the institute had assigned her a meta with such a high rate of failure not only in his academic studies, but also in his training exercises. It was either a testament to the reputation she’d formed at Kocher, or to the fact that Hammel really liked to put their new employees through the ringer.

Whichever it was, Sabine was ready. No reason to let a student down, no matter how stupid.

She pinned a loose hair from her bun back from her hair, sure that there were no other dangling strands. One could only read so much. Experience was the real teacher when it came to understanding students. She smoothed her hand over the cotton of her black t-shirt and frowned. Hopefully that wouldn’t be a problem.

There was no way he was that bad.

[Samuel Rixon]

For some students, changing trainers might have been the end of the world. They might have bonded, or done really well under their influence.

For Sam Rixon, it was a little too routine. He wasn’t sure how many times he’d changed trainers since his arrival two years ago, but it was definitely more than other students. He had a habit of driving his trainers up the wall, and the next thing he knew, he was at someone else’s mercy.

At least he was trying to make a good impression on the new one. Trying being the key word. His clothes were clean (Ember had done his laundry for him, again), his hair was actually combed, and he didn’t reek of marijuana. That didn’t mean his behaviour would be much improved, but it was a start.

He skidded around the corner and scampered (just a touch late – all that good impressions stuff took time) into the room. SCORE. Another female teacher. Let the games begin. Which reminded him.

“Hey hottie!” A typical Sammy-esque greeting for any teacher with female anatomy. “Oh my GOD I just saw the best fucking movie EVER! Y’ever seen the Hangover? ‘Cause this was the SECOND ONE. It was SO fucking good! Even if Manson punched me when it was over ‘cause it was STILL FUCKAWESOME.”

... Sabine? Good luck.

[Sabine Siperco]

Sabine looked to the clock when Rixon stumbled in. He didn’t look like too much of an idiot, but his fat mouth quickly betrayed him. Cursing her over-estimation of Sam’s case, Sabine closed her eyes and exhaled softly. She really couldn’t make anyone cry on her first day at work, and her urge to snap orders at Rixon was strong. She would have to take a gentler approach.

Ignoring everything Sam said, Sabine gestured to the opposite end of the room, where a large block-target was waiting for Sam. Though it was only slightly charred, it was obviously something used to train pyrokinetics. According to accounts from Sam’s previous trainers, he could usually light one. It would be a good starting point, at least.

“You will address me as Miss Siperco or Coach Siperco.” She instructed, her voice heavy and flat as her pointing hand hung unwaveringly in the air. “Set that on fire.”

Before you ask, yes.

This is the gentle approach.

[Samuel Rixon]

... Well. Sabine just sucked the fun right out of everything. As she spoke, the little pryo’s expression fell further and further away from the jubilance he’d just displayed moments ago.

Once she was done, a steady whine issued from him before he crossed his arms. “Aww babe! Why do you have to be so stuck up about it?” Whether he was referring to her request for names, or the training exercise, it wasn’t quite clear, but he obviously took issue with something.

At least before he took a good look at what he was supposed to be training with. The playful grin was back. “I’ve seen those! I killed one last semester!” Yes, he’d charred it to the point of no return, because while he was excellent at setting fires, he had no hope of putting them out again. “I can do it again, wanna see?” No, Sam, she doesn’t want to see you set fire. What would make you think such a silly thing?

With that, he smirked and faced the block. It was easy to channel the fire – he’d done it hundreds of time, and it only took seconds for the block to start flaming. Looking just a little too proud of himself, Sammy turned back to Sabine and grinned. “See? I can do it! Can we talk movies now?”

[Sabine Siperco]

Sabine picked up Rixon’s file and thumbed through it as he whined, thoroughly ignoring him the best she could. Her mouth ticked downward in a scowl as the frequency of his whining raked through her brain like a cat’s claws. The urge to remind Sam that inanimate objects could not be killed was quelled when she found what she was looking for in the Rixon file.

It seemed he was making progress in leaps and bounds on setting controlled fires (though it
seemed that he occasional still set them when he wasn’t supposed to) and even more leaps and bounds in setting uncontrolled ones. There was not a single note about Samuel ever putting out a fire, though his abilities clearly allowed for such a feat.

Sabine snapped the file shut and tucked it under her arm, looking to the flaming target with disinterest. “Now put it out.” She instructed.

[Samuel Rixon]

If Sabine was not a fan of whining, the enjoyment of training Sam would be rather short lived. The boy whined about everything. The cold weather, being hungry, the fact that once again Vincent had tried to kill him. Most of his trainers either ignored it, or, if he was lucky, had a good sense of humor about it. It looked like he wasn’t going to get lucky with Sabine though.

At least he’d completed her requested training assignment. He looked rather proud of himself as he watched the block blaze. Setting fires was the easy part. Controlled or not, he could still set them, which was really all that mattered, right?

Until her next instructions came. Sam went just a tiny bit pale. His former trainers had tried to put the focus more on simply controlling the fire once it started. “But! But I caaan’t! I don’t know how!” He wasn’t lying, he honestly had no idea, and the helpless look he gave to his new trainer seemed to back that up.

[Sabine Siperco]

Sabine looked down at the file tucked under her arm with disdain. He didn’t know how?! What the hell were those other trainers teaching him anyway? Setting her face back to her average stony mask, Sabine tilted her head to regard Sam. He looked pale, and he was whining awfully hard.

Now that she thought about it, he looked rather terrified.

Whatever.

He would learn.

“Try.” She instructed with a surprising gentleness when compared to her previous words with the student, as if she were asking him a favor and not demanded he do something. Then again, that still meant she sounded like a drill sergeant.

If he could at least make the fire smaller that would count for something.

[Samuel Rixon]

Try? Try? That was her be all end all advice? Try?! Sam huffed, pushing up the sleeves of his button up shirt. “Try,” he mimicked in a quiet, high pitched voice as he twisted his hands together in agitation. Why couldn’t he go back to one of his old trainers? Why did he have to be stuck with Queen Stick Up Her Butt?

Stress and rather uncontrolled kinetic students never go well together. While Sam was determined to prove his new trainer wrong, that he could do it (which would be shocking, really), the fact that he was getting frustrated wasn’t going to aid him in that mission.

Making fists, Sam forced himself to glare at the fire. There it was, flaming away on the block in a merry way. He’d learned a long time ago that his hands tended to aid him in controlling the flames. Using them, he could encourage them to move, or grow. He was getting better at controlling a fire. But this was uncharted territory, and he didn’t like it. It was like his first training session all over again.

His hands curled into little fists. There was no way he could do this. He watched the flames jump, getting higher and hotter. “I can’t,” he stressed again, turning away from the growing fire. “Don’t make me.”

[Sabine Siperco]

Sabine scowled at him, her nose wrinkling slightly. Perhaps if he put as much effort in to putting the fire out as he did into mocking her, he would be doing a lot better. Ignoring the mockery for now, Sabine watched the fire closely, making note of its movements.

It appeared that same was doing the exact opposite of what she wanted him to do, likely do to stress. Sabine would chock it all up to a lack of confidence, probably because his previous trainers didn’t start with this like they probably should have.

“Don’t loose focus!” Sabine barked when Sam turned away, surprised that he would do such a thing. What sort of idiot turned his back on the fire. “I’m not making you do anything you are not able to do.” Sabine explained, pointing at the fire again. “Control it. Make it smaller. Then put it out.”

[Samuel Rixon]

If Sabine didn’t enjoy the mocking, she really wouldn’t enjoy his sessions beyond today. Sam would employ any means necessary to stall progress in class, be it English, History, or training. His problems really started when he got frustrated in class. Frustration tended to flow into annoyance, which had the very real potential to grow to full blow anger.

That was what made training so difficult for him. Anger + kinetic student rarely = good result.

Sammy bit down on his lip as she barked at him. This wasn’t fair. The fire jumped again, the base of it now burning a brighter blue. He might have had a chance to make it smaller before. Now, he’d be lucky to corral it into control again. “I told you I can’t,” he hissed, clenching his fists tighter. He felt the heat all over his own body now, not just his hands, or his mind. He could see the block being charred. He knew that Sabine would probably yell at him more. But he couldn’t put it out.

But he could try to make it smaller. If nothing else, to appease her in the tiniest bit. Swinging his hands out in front of him, he tried to influence the flames back.

... Oh shit.

Whatever control he had managed to gain was gone now. The fire burned merrily, seemingly ignoring his will. “Ohh no. No no. Motherfucker, come on.” Swearing apparently wasn’t going to help. It might be time for some outside help.

[Sabine Siperco]

“You can. “ Sabine corrected. Just maybe not yet. Either that or he was too damn stubborn to do it. So convinced he couldn’t that he never would. That attitude would never do. Sabine squinted at the growing heat in the room and reached for the fire extinguisher. Her hand hovered over it without wavering, waiting until the last possible moment to put out the fire.

Contrary to popular belief, she didn’t want to totally crush Sam’s dreams.

“Calm down.” Sabine instructed quietly, her instructions slipping in as unobtrusively as possible to Sam’s concentration. “Concentrate. This is your fire. It does what you want.” She encouraged, her hand still over the extinguisher, eyes locked to the flame.

[Samuel Rixon]

Hissy fits weren’t all that becoming of an eighteen year old boy. Still flexing his fingers, Sam barely glanced back at his new trainer. His teeth were clenched, and if he didn’t at least try to be a little in control, he would be throwing a full scale tantrum. What was it she didn’t get about ‘I can’t DO it’?

“Not,” he muttered back in sheer annoyance.

Calm down? Calm down? Not a chance. He hissed through his teeth and watched the flames jump higher. “It doesn’t. It’s stupid.” As if proving him right, the fire danced on the block merrily. “C’mon, you fucker. Shrink.” He tried using his hands to manipulate, but all he managed was a feeble shimmy of the flames. It reminded him of Vincent, the way it was mocking him. “... ‘s not working.” At least he wasn’t having a meltdown.

[Sabine Siperco]

She wanted to say that it wasn’t the fire that was stupid, it was Sam, but that was childish and cruel. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Sabine instructed Sam to stop. “That’s enough.” She quipped, snatching up the extinguisher and hand it over to him. “Put it out with this.”

The last thing she needed was for Sam to have an actual meltdown. That would be no good. And at any rate, she’d learned what she needed to learn: where to start with Sam’s training. It seemed like she was going to be starting from the very beginning.

Well, with his grades he wouldn’t be graduating anytime soon anyway.

[Samuel Rixon]

Sadly, Sabine wouldn’t have been far off the mark by calling Sam out on that fact. While certain people (like Dr. Sean Neville) hadn’t quite given up on him, his intellect was sadly lacking. As was his focus. And just about anything else that might aid him in academics and training.

It took him a moment to realize that the fire extinguisher in his hands was for putting the fire out, not assaulting his best friend with. Taking aim, he sprayed the fire to the point that it was unnecessary, white spray all over the block, he looked at her with a slight hint of triumph. “I put it out!”

A little too proud of that non-accomplishment, he set the red thing down on the floor. “What’s next, Miss Sippercup?” Clearly, despite the disastrous lesson, he was still eager to go again. “Can I set fire to the textbooks? I’m good at that one!”

Sabine. I am so, so sorry.

[Sabine Siperco]

“Only after I told you how.” Sabine pointed out. She squared off to him, dropping her hands to her sides and regarding him with what appeared to be a measure of cruelty. “Your assignment for this semester is to learn to put out the fires that you start. If you do not, you will receive a failing mark.” She said harshly.

She was sure Sam was used to getting failing marks, but she hoped her following incentive would convince him to try harder. “And you will never graduate from my tutelage.”
Surely Sam would hate to be her student for more than a semester. Maybe that would be a good enough incentive?

“With that in mind, I will see you tomorrow.” Though the session had been short, Sabine figured it had been enough. She was starting to get a head ache. “Today’s session is over.”