Burnin' Rage [Moe]

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann wasn't a hundred percent sure how she found herself in this situation, but the boy had pleaded his case rather well...and Ann felt rather bad for him. He wanted to know how to fight, as a way to channel his rage...and Ann wanted to pick back up with her fighting to help channel her rage as well. She'd been in middle school, but had been taking TaeKwonDo long enough to have received her black-belt, so legally she was allowed to teach others. However she'd been out of practice for four years.

She hadn't packed her uniform when she moved to Hammel, nor took her black belt or any of her trophies or medals--she hadn't been in the mood at the time. Now, she kinda missed them. She was dressed in work out gear, a sports bra paired with a tank top, and some basketball shorts. She tied her hair up into a high ponytail, and also got a hold of one of those sports head bands, with the no-slide stuff on it to keep the smaller, whispy hairs out of her eyes. She'd been warming up for the past fifteen minutes by stretching her legs out, and kicking as high as she could at imaginary targets.

The training rooms were about the best place she could think to convene to teach the boy, because of the open space and the fact that they weren't full all day. She'd just gotten permission from her trainers, to get the room and with a strict promise to not let anyone get hurt. It was now six o'clock, and Moe should be arriving any moment.

She laid back with her back on the floor and stared at the ceiling, while she waited. Her foot tapped to a beat she was faintly humming.

(I just went on ahead and made it, Chez dawlin'. Hop in whenever~)

[Misato Hazukashi]

Misato wanted to be tough.

He was sick of being walked all over and bullied, and this whole Vincent saga had wound his tension up to the point where he'd been starting to imagine stabbing people with his stilettos, so he knew it was time for action. He'd pleaded with Ann to teach him some moves to put some people in their place, and from what Zac had been saying, she was the right girl for it. He'd nearly danced when she'd agreed, and promised he'd be ready and warmed up for her when he showed up.

Moe isn't overly athletic, but he's not a useless bag of podge either. A few laps around the school and a few yoga stretches and he felt ready and prepped. Punching the air a few times and striking his best warrior pose, the brunette bustled in towards the training room. Surprisingly enough, he was dressed appropriately - a pink tank top with a white hoodie and a pair of shorts. Hair tied back, trainers tightly laced. He was ready.

Pushing open the door, he waved with a small smile to Ann, and then settled down next to him, cheeks still faintly red from running. "Hi Ann." He chirruped, rolling up his sleeves and nodding. "Moe jogged round the building a few times and stretched." The brunette did a little yoga to wind down anyway, so he hoped that would help him pull off some moves. "What would you like me to do first?" He asked, putting his hands on his hips.

He was ready to kick some butt and all that other good stuff. Just be gentle on him Ann, he's only 5'2" and light as a feather!

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann liked to run to warm up as well, though she needed to get her flexibility back, which was why she had been stretching out for the past fifteen minutes. She was pretty out of shape, considering her level of physical activity and her general health levels while at Hammel. Now, she was both mentally and physically capable of working out again so she'd probably be training hard to get back to where she was, and then pick back up on her training to advance to another dan.

It hadn't been a hard decision, to train Moe. He was a really sweet boy and she could feel his level of sincerity. She could understand his case and while she didn't really appreciate Zac referring people to her--she also kinda liked the praise. Ann could kick ass. It was one of the very few things she would readily brag about. Everyone should be glad that all her medals were at home, really. She sat up when Moe came in and she smiled at him.

"Good afternoon," she began as she got to her feet. She stretched her arms up as high as she could reach, and felt the pull in her ribs. "Okay, running and stretching are good." She nodded while she thought what to go over. She didn't want to assume too much, but she figured Moe didn't really know the first thing about coordinated fighting--she thought he would be prone to haphazard flailing and scratching as his technique. While that might work to get you out of a paper bag...Ann didn't think that was they way to go about a fight.

"Okay, well...let me see your fist and how you'd go about punching someone, and we'll go from there." She said while she took up a stance next to him with her hands curled into fists at her waist.

[Misato Hazukashi]

Moe wrinkled his nose in thought at Ann's question. How did he punch? Balling his right hand into a fist, he moved his shoulder back and bent his elbow, then twisted forward, as hard as he could, wincing a little as his arm twinged. "Something like that?" He offered, rubbing his arm and rolling his shoulder. "I don't normally hit people." The brunette admitted, thinking of all the times he'd ever given someone a smack. Normally it was Vincent.

Uncertainly, he began stretching his arms a little more, loosening up the muscles more till he felt prepared to try again, bracing his legs. Again, he tried to punch with as much force as he could, teeth gritted slightly. That time the muscles didn't ping in retaliation, and he smiled a tiny tiny bit. Maybe things could go well after all.

"Ann?" He asked suddenly, looking over at the girl with a tilted head. "What made you want to fight? Was it just something you decided to do or did something cause it?" The question was perhaps a little personal, and Moe lifted his hands. "You don't have to answer." He added gently, not wanting to push his luck. He was just happy to learn how to protect himself. Maybe that way people would take him more seriously instead of seeing the skirt and sweet mannerisms and thinking he was a push over.

Right now there was a long list of people Moe wanted to hit, and one of them happened to be a gothboy, the others were less obvious, but still in danger of having a tiny brunette mauling them to death. "As a thank you..." Misato began, dropping his hands down to his sides. "Moe was thinking we could grab some cake. My treat."

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann nodded her head a little as he made a fist and punch. He didn't over extend, but she saw the flash of discomfort (and felt it). "Well," she demonstrated her own fist, and how she flattened her finger tips to her palm instead of curling them, and folded her thumb tightly against her first two fingers. "The taekwondo punch is a bit different than your garden variety street fighting punch. In Taekwondo, we start low, usually at belt level--I'm not wearing it at the moment but it starts here, at the hips." She had bother her hands as tight fists at her hips, palms up with her feet apart. "Now these are more for spectacle, and looks than practicality, but they are the basics and I think starting here is better than going straight to the final product. Once you're comfortable with these, we'll move to the sparring styles and by then you'll kinda come into your own sort of style. Everyone's is different and there isn't anything wrong with that." Falling into the motions of instructing was so easy.

It was amazing how much she missed this. It was so familiar to her. She lifted her left arm and held it out in the air, her fist would be placed at someone's sternum (if they were as tall as she was). "Now during a form, a middle punch like this should be aimed at someone your own height, right in the sternum. A solid punch right here would knock they breath out of them, and also tell them you are serious. Also, to mark the area, we lift the hand we aren't going to punch," she gestured her left arm, and then rotated her left wrist inwards, shifted her weight and twisted her hips a little and then punched with her right arm, to the area her left hand had just been at. Now her left hand was at her hip, with her right hand up. "My instructors always used to insist on a key-yop, which is a shout of power but we'll get to that with the kicks. Okay, let me see you try." She shifted out of her fighting stance and smiled at him and waited for him to demonstrate.

She smiled a little when he asked about what got her started. "My dad has been in the marines since before I was born...and when he had a baby girl...both my parents decided I needed to know how to handle myself. And, growing up in that sort of environment, I had a thirst for it. I'd been taking taekwondo and some other stuff since I was six years old." She shrugged a little at Moe, she didn't want to start bragging, but it was about the only thing she was good at and she loved the hell out of it.

"That's very sweet, thank you." Ann wasn't huge on treats like that (though recently she'd ingested quite a lot of hot chocolate thanks to a bet), but he was a sweet boy and she didn't want to offend him by turning him down.

[Misato Hazukashi]

Moe peered interestedly at Ann's fist and mimicked it with his own hand, listening keenly. He absorbed every word Ann spoke and shifted his own stance to match hers, determination on his face. "Okay." He said, signalling he was paying attention, brow furrowed slightly in concentration. "I think the basics are the best thing to start with." He added, making sure to do everything the girl showed him, taking deep concentrated breaths, as though he were simply doing another of his yoga poses.

Once again, mimicking Ann, the tiny Brunette lifted his own arm and marked the position he wanted to punch, nodding to himself as he went through the steps. "Arm out." He said quietly to himself, "twist hips... punch." On the last word, the tiny teen thrust his fist forwards and dropped his other hand, eyes narrowed slightly. "How did I do?" He asked eagerly, feeling a little glow of pride that he had done it to the best of his ability. "It felt stronger and more controlled." He added, thinking back to his previous clumsy punch. The little boost that came from knowing he was doing something better than he was before left him smiling brightly.

"My papa just... well, he used to scare people off for me." Misato said, sounding a little sad. "He was always there to look out for me, so I figure because I'm alone now, I need to look out for myself." He nodded firmly, moving back into the pose Ann had showed him and trying again, determination forcing its way through him. "I think having someone to show me how to fight in this way will help me fight for what I want more, too." The brunette explained, dropping his stance and shrugging.

At Ann's responce, the boy smiled and made a vague plan involving a late afternoon tea and a manicure. It was the only way Misato could think of repaying Ann for her kindness. But he'd think more on what colour Ann's nails would look best in at a later time. Now was fighting time, and he needed to concentrate hard to make Ann feel she wasn't wasting her time.

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann felt his conviction and smiled fondly at him. His determination was inspiring--even if it was to learn how to fight. Ann had been a bit uncomfortable to teach him how to kick ass, but it was something she believed everyone needed to know--just as everyone needed to know that violence wouldn't solve it, just make it worse. However, Moe's ex was a total douche and also needed some face-stomping.

His punch improved and he did a good job of mimicking her own. He had the mechanical movements that all newbies had--as Ann had had once upon a time--she smiled fondly. He'd soon put his own spin it after he felt more comfortable at it. It was just how it worked. "You did good! You picked it up fast. It probably felt a little awkward, but that's natural. Did great. Try punching a few in a row, each with power and precision. And don't forget to breathe." She pointed a finger when the though occurred to her. Key-yopping helped regulate breathing because you had to breathe to make noise, but she was pretty sure if they started yelling, someone would come and investigate.

She joined him in the punching and listened as he spoke about his father. At least his father cared enough to do that. Her parents wanted to protect her as well, but both of them wanted Ann to be independent, so they raised her to try to take care of herself. They'd definitely help her if she asked for it, but Ann didn't ask for things like that easily. "Knowing how to fight, and being disciplined does help prioritize with other things--at least for me it did. I know it helped me behave in class and want to complete my work on time and be ready and prepared for class the next day." She smiled and nodded a little at him and how his punches were looking.

If Ann knew he was plotting on painting her nails, she probably would have tried to talk him out of it. Ann hadn't painted her nails...ever. Like never, ever. She didn't really consider it something that Ann would do. Moe, go easy on her.

[Misato Hazukashi]

Moe continued to punch the air, imagining various people where he was punching. Spurned on by Ann's encouragement, he kept breathing deeply, occasionally glancing to Ann for reassurance. Keeping his expression neutral, he tried not to get too angry, but realised after a few moments that he was muttering angrily under his breath after each punch. After a particularly powerful jab forward, he turned and looked at the girl.

"I get back from my brother being sick in hospital, and I find my boyfriend slept with half the school. Then Rumor posts a blog about my personal business. THEN Mia is a total bitch during english." He hissed, moving his hand back into the correct position. "I just want to tell them all to screw it. I wish I didn't even CARE." His voice was angry, and he thrust his fist forward, letting out an angry shout as he did so, flushing. "Sorry. I'm just sick of this." He sighed, turning back to Ann.

"I feel like I'm getting things out of my system. This is relaxing." Moe added with a smile, taking a few deep breaths and turning to Ann. "I can understand why you learnt." He added, pacing back and forth on the spot, then returning back to his punches, Listening to everything Ann said to him, he felt a bit like an absorbent sponge, but it took his mind off the other things bothering him.

As for nail painting, don't worry Ann, Misato is going to break you in slowly with maybe just a bit of clear polish and a tiiiiny bit of tinted moisturizer. Nothing too awful.

[Ann Hudgins]

She felt his anger bubble up to the surface and saw that reflected in his punching, and heard it in his mumbles. She lifted up out of her stance and turned to him. Ann knew that sometimes things like this happened, and sparring or punching a heavy bag was a good outlet. But at the moment, Ann got the impression he was learning this solely to take out all this frustration on a person through violence and she couldn't really let that happen (no matter how much the person did deserve it).

He turned to her and started to explain, and she almost told him he didn't have to but then he mentioned the rumor blog and her jaw reflexively flexed and her eyes bubbled with hatred. Her business had been posted there quite a few times, about her and Alex and Zac, and it really pissed her off. Mia also hit a hot spot because of what she did at the valentines dance. It was circumstantial evidence, but she was a technopath, tripped against Alex, and then somehow the altercation between her, Zac, and Alex was broadcast over the speakers for everyone to hear. If she ever found out who was writing it...

"I know it sucks, but learning out to fight just to kick someone's ass who wronged you is...well wrong. Violence begets violence...it doesn't solve anything. All that jazz. But I do think knowing a martial art is important, and something everyone should learn because of the other things they teach. Like self control, wisdom, and respect." Just to name a few. Ann smiled faintly at him. It was a hobby of hers and she liked to think it made her a better person, she didn't want him to go into this thinking she was just arming him so he could kick ass. That wasn't right.

She nodded approvingly when he admitted it felt like he was getting things out of his system. That was the right sort of thing. Her old instructor used to say that anything can be cured by going to class. Angry at a teacher, parent, friend? Upset at a boyfriend, girlfriend? Worried about life? Excited about it? Go to class. Class made everything better. It was a learning hub, and a haven. Hopefully she could turn these sorts of training sessions into something like that for Moe. A place were he doesn't have to worry about everyone, or the Rumor Blog, and where he can just relax and have fun, and make himself better at the same time. "It really is great. I loved it immediately, even as a little kid." Though she had loved it right off for different reasons--those being she was learning how to be a 'ninja' as her father called her.

[Misato Hazukashi]

Moe flushed and nodded as Ann spoke to him, dropping his fists and chewing on his lower lip. "You're right. It's not even that I like violence." The brunette shuffled his feet and looked to the floor, almost ashamed. "I just need an outlet, something to concentrate on to keep me from really hurting someone." He looked up, sighing heavily. "I really wanted to hit Mia in English, I've never felt so angry in my entire life." The teen recalled the burning white hot sensation in his veins and the buzzing in his ears far too easily, and he found himself taking calming breaths.

"It makes you feel happy, doing this, doesn't it?" Misato asked curiously, bending to secure his slightly sloppy laces. He'd always sought happiness in drawing, in sitting quietly listening to music or watching a movie, but this gave him another piece of serenity, something he was grateful for. "Self control is so important." He breathed, moving back into stance with less anger bubbling within him. He noticed the movements felt easier when he wasn't getting cross. His hand seemed to cut through the air, and he watched it for a moment, eying it.

The Japanese teen couldn't help but smile at the thought of a tiny Ann doing this, and he paused mid punch. "You're a really nice person Ann." He said eventually, offering a nod. "I think Rumor picked on you because it could never be liked in the same way." It was a slow, but increasingly pungent thought in the back of his head, and he headed over to his bag to take a sip of water, offering it out after he'd finished helpfully.

"You and Alex make a good couple." He added warmly, flicking his fringe from his eyes. "I've seen him look at you." The brunette sighed dreamily. "You must feel it, all that affection." Moe's face looked a lot calmer than it had done for the past few weeks, and he hesitated a moment. "I don't know whether you're a hugs person or not... so I wont hug you yet." A small laugh echoed around the empty training room.

[Ann Hudgins]

"This is a good outlet," Ann agreed with him. It had helped her a lot during her first year of middle school (after a talent show act that revealed the fact she was a black belt to everyone). Her popularity skyrocketed and she had a few social problems, and she trained hard to keep her head, and nearly lived at the dojon. "Mia is..." a bitch, but Ann didn't feel comfortable saying it, "has a strong personality, and speaks without caring, and does things without caring about other people. Starting a fight with her wouldn't make anything easier or better long term though. I mean I doubt she'd leave either of us alone if that happened." She vaguely registered that by admitting to that, she hinted at what she thought about her. She let out a slow sigh and got back in her own stance and started to punch again, to calm herself down.

"Yes....I can't really explain it, but it's so relieving and...I just love to do it. It feels right. Like it's what I should be doing." Ann got the feeling she sounded a little crazy when she worded it like that, but it was true. It was easy as walking to her, and she picked up and learned new things in it quickly. She continued to throw her punches like Moe, but she added speed to them and hiss out at the completion of each punch. Her face was tense in concentration but after a moment she straightened back up, to catch her breath a little. She was out of shape, for certain.

Ann looked a little shocked when he said she was a nice person. She smiled and blushed a little. She didn't really know why the blog picked on her, or Alex, but she didn't think it was because she was a nice person. Maybe she was, maybe she wasn't. But Ann was still flattered either way and grinned at him. "Thank you, that's really sweet." She was beginning to learn how to take compliments well, but that was a work in progress. She followed his movement to his bag with a turn of her head and straightened up when he offered his water out, she waved a hand, declining politely. It wasn't that she was irked by drinking after him, she just wasn't thirsty.

"Aw, thank you," she couldn't help but grin and blush a little at the mention of Alex. It was true, what he said. She did feel his affection and sometimes she'd accidentally leak and he'd feel hers. It was weird at first, but it also is....weird in a cool way. No one else's relationship was like that, unless there was an empath in the mix, and it was very special and sacred to Ann. Sure, some part of her didn't believe that they would last forever because all the powers and meta-ness aside, it was just a high school relationship--her first one at that--but she was very happy with it at the moment. "It sure is something," she managed to reply finally. She blushed a bit more when he spoke about hugs.

Ann had never been very affectionate, but being with Alex had changed that. She did like cuddling next to Alex and squeezing close together to watch a movie. She couldn't touch his skin for a long period of time, but it was still something she had grown to look forward to. Hugging was something they did quite a lot, and holding hands if one of them remembered to bring a glove, but Ann's comfort zone hadn't expanded to include other people yet. That was mainly due to the fact that no one else held the same amount of respect towards her aversion to touching as Alex did. She didn't know if she could trust someone to avoid touching her skin as well as he did. She looked down at her feet and then back up at Moe. "It's a little complicated," she allowed. "But anyway, your punches look great."

[Misato Hazukashi]

"I just can't understand how someone can be so self-absorbed." Misato expressed some vague concern, his brows knitted as he carried on sipping his water. "It's like she thinks she's the only person in the world, superior to everyone else." The brunette chewed his lip and watched Ann's punches, far more concise than his were right now. Twisting the cap in his fingers, he set the bottle down and fidgeted a moment. "I almost feel a little sorry for her." Shrugging his shoulders, he moved his hand back into the correct position.

The tiny boy gasped as Ann sped up, and tried to match her pace, wanting to keep up and get praise. At first he kept up, but as he carried on, his arms started to ache, and he stopped. "I feel like that about drawing." He said brightly. "Like it's what I should be doing in life." Moe nodded, remembering the first time he'd ever gotten an A in art and how happy he felt. Remembering Ann's power, he tried to fill himself up with good, positive thoughts, instead of the sour ones that had caused him to talk about Mia in the first place.

Eventually, feeling a little tired, the brunette dropped to the floor and did a few yoga stretches to liven himself up. "Do you reckon this could help my other problems?" He asked curiously, thinking to his wings. "I've been worried about it the whole time I've been away. The pain in my back from having the wings is still pretty bad." As if to demonstrate, he unfurled them from his back, careful not to spray his new friend with the dust. "It's like... knives." He winced a tiny bit, and lifted his arm to rub at the tender skin.

"It must be hard for you too." He added thoughtfully, trying to ignore his screaming spine. "Like... umn..." Struggling with his english, he thought had on what he wanted to say. "Being unable to touch... having that feeling repeated on you." The sentence was awkward, but Moe hoped Ann got the jist of it. Standing back up, he put a hand on his hip and smiled.

"Thank you for this Ann, really." Moe said honestly, putting the water in his bag once more. "In return, I'm going to make you feel all pampered and wonderful." Giving the girl a thumbs up, the boy took down his hair and headed to the door, eagerly looking behind him. "Follow me, we're going to need a few things." And with that, the teen beckoned Ann to follow him to his temporary dorm, grabbing a few things and changing, then offering the -probably perplexed- Empath a simple, yet classic looking emerald green blazer. "Try it on!" He squeaked, sounding far, far too excited.

"We're going somewhere for a big surprise."

[Ann Hudgins]

While Ann was in the same boat about not liking Mia because of...the fact that she was Mia, but she'd also felt what it was like to be so....self-absorbed before. It was unpleasant after the fact, but feeling so self-important or high and mighty was actually kinda nice after such a long time of feeling so depressed and after being so hard on herself. Ann, however, wasn't about to admit that because she still didn't like Mia an ounce and wasn't about to stick up for her now. "I don't really get how people get to be like that either."

Ann grinned faintly when she saw that Moe had sped up to keep with her. It showed his determination, but he really didn't need to have to prove himself to Ann. Even if she hadn't known him for very long, she could tell that he took this seriously and wanted to learn and to better himself and that was good enough for Ann. She nodded her head a little when he siad he felt the same way about drawing--though Ann couldn't draw to save her life, she found it awesome that Moe could draw. Alex was a fantastic artist, to the point that Ann was borderline jealous, but she had no illusions of one day becoming a good drawer or whatever. It simply wasn't in the cards for her. "It's good to have something like that in your life. Like a hobby or a passion, I think it helps people stay grounded." Fighting for her had certainly done that and she was all too eager to pick up where she left off.

Once he dropped to the floor to do some stretches, Ann decided she could do some as well. The ache was beginning to creep into her arms, telling her she'd just started working them a good amount, so she did a few push ups to help awaken the burn. Some might think she was crazy because she liked pushing her body passed the point of physical exhaustion, but she did. After a dozen, she sat back onto her feet because her arms started to wobble something fierce and she looked at Moe as he unfurled his wings. So. Cool.

Though she felt bad that it hurt him, she could see his pain easily in his expression. Ann knew a thing or two about painful side effects. "I think it could. I'd have to do a bit of planning, to see what sort of things we could do, maybe ask around. But I think we can come up with a workout that will help the muscles." Ann nodded while she chewed her lip in thought. His power was really fascinating to her--strange, but fascinating.

"It's not...not anymore really. But for the longest time; yeah. Just got overwhelmed all the time at the briefest of touches. But now I can keep myself out for a couple of minutes." Ann smiled, thinking back on her progress. She certainly had improved her control ten fold in this past year, but she knew she had farther to go, still.

Ann wasn't sure she liked the idea of being 'pampered' but him. Not that she had anything against him....Ann had just never been 'pampered' before. She didn't know what that entailed, how long it would take, if it would cost money....a whole bunch of things she had problems with. She chewed her lip while she struggled over turning him down, but he hardly gave her a second to really think about it as he went to the door and beckoned after her. She stumbled over to her back and followed him down the hallway to his dorm, with a growing sense of unease. She stood there like a robot as he changed and when he handed her the blazer, she eyed it like it might bite her.

"It's really---no you don't have to do this, you know?" But she did reach out and take the shirt from him and pulled it on over her tank top and started to button it up. Ann's mind didn't really work to tell the difference between good fashion and bad fashion. Her color wheel of clothes stayed in the dark primary colors, and solid wash jeans. Boring, some would say--but it was the comfort Ann was after. She liked being comfortable in her clothes because during a usual school day, that was about the only thing she was comfortable in. So she really didn't know how she looked in the shirt, or why out of all other possibilities that Moe had picked this one--should a reason even exist.

[Misato Hazukashi]

Moe was grateful that Ann was talking openly with him, and seemed to want to help about his wings. Nodding in response to her comment on her improvement, the little brunette continued to fuss around, pulling out various items from his wardrobe and laying them down, admiring them. He drew back and regarded Ann with a somewhat critical look, before offering out a silk scarf to tie around her neck. "The green really makes your eyes pop." He cooed, picking up his bag. "I mean it, you should wear more things that colour." He added brightly.

Catching himself before taking Ann's hand, instead he offered out a clothed arm, smiling. "We're gonna go and do some fun things." He assured the girl, before stepping on in a quick march to the town. "Don't worry, it should be quiet this time of day, we can talk about stuff." He added brightly, his wings painfully obvious as he walked across the grounds, sparkling against the sunlight.

Half an hour later, and with a triumphant smile on his face, the tiny brunette opened the door to a small, nearly forgotten cafe with pastries and sandwiches stacked high in little shelves. "Take a seat!" He squeaked eagerly, gently nudging Ann towards a table, before grabbing two menus. "As a thank you for teaching me how to fight, and how to be more self-disiplined, I've decided to take you shopping." He said happily, as though it was the best gift ever given. "Nothing too much to start." He added hastily, giving Ann's shoulder a gentle pat. "Just a few little things to really bring out your complexion."

Moe sighed dreamily. "You really do have a really pretty face Ann." He said encouragingly, placing his menu down on the table and tilting his head to the side, curls spilling down his shoulder. "Alex obviously thinks so too!" He went quiet as he scanned through the food, twisting one hand in his hair, clearly deep in thought.

"Don't worry, really. I promise I wont start forcing dresses and false eyelashes on you." He reassured the girl, smiling. "Just a little clear nail polish, a tiny bit of tinted moisturiser and a little brown mascara." He added, lifting his hands up innocently. "I want to make you feel as pretty as you look."

(Esckethbteh. Sorry D: Short)

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann wanted to help everyone who had problems with their powers, because she had been downtrodden by them for the longest time. She just had the urge and want to get everyone out of that sort of predicament as she possibly could because she knew how much it sucked. Even if it wasn't exactly like hers. She could only imagine the pain that he felt when he withdrew his wings like that, and was absolutely willing to put in research and ask Dmitri or Conrad in the labs in the basement about it and how to help him.

She watched with a wary eye as he continued to pull clothing and things out of his wardrobe (he had at least five times the amount of clothes she had), and tried not to look uneasy though that was exactly how she felt. When he held out the scarf, she took it and looked at it awkwardly. It wasn't that cold anymore, so why would she need it? But she wrapped it around her neck anyway, because she was pretty sure he'd just tie it himself. She looked down at herself and then up at him when he said it made her eyes pop. She shrugged her shoulders a tiny bit. Didn't that mean she'd be noticed more? Ann got enough attention already and she wasn't sure if she wanted to do anything to make that worse.

He offered out his arm and Ann only looked at it for a second before she wrapped her arm around it. He was just a physical person--Ann knew a few people like him (cough, Zac, cough, Robbie, cough), so she wasn't absolutely shocked--and Ann was pretty confident she wouldn't suffer a lapse in control while her arm was wrapped around his, besides, they were both wearing long sleeves. She wasn't exactly sure of his plan as they walked from Hammel to Pilot Ridge, but she felt a growing sense of unease.

The cafe was innocent enough, and she took the seat he nudged her to with only a glance in his direction. She settled herself in the chair and adjusted the scarf around her neck for a moment as she looked around. Wait. Did he say shopping? Her eyes snapped to him in disbelief. She gawked at him for another second as then he continued to prattle on about her being pretty. It caused a blush to quickly blossom about her face and when Moe brought up Alex, saying he thought so too, she blushed again.

"Moe..." She began, her embarrassment and rumpled feathers obvious, "you really don't have to..really. I'm fine with how I look." She could hardly imagine herself in a dress, that wasn't for like a dance or something, or dressed up like she was right now. She couldn't really wrap her brain around the fact that Moe wanted to do that to her (for her) or that he thought she was pretty. It didn't make much sense to Ann at all.

(sooorry)