Sending Smoke Signals (open~!)

[Zelda & Erik Crones-McKinley]

“Zelda!” Erik pouted and crossed his arms with much bravado. Another student walked past him in the hall and he automatically jutted his lower jaw out and blew at stray hair that had fallen into his eyes. “Zelda, where are you? I need you.” His voice echoed down the hallways. After a moment of pouting in place he went to the library to find an unamused Zelda sitting on a lone chair playing on her DS. Without looking up from her game she replied, “C-called?” She didn’t like it when people wanted her to speak loudly.

Erik held up a tube of easy-bake double-chocolate-chip cookies. “We’re making cookies. Come and help me.”

Zelda closed her game and looked up at Erik with a raised eyebrow. She asked the obvious question, “A-are you… on my p-period?” Erik scowled back at her. That was a yes. Not literally of course, he just seemed to be getting some of the side effects. Zelda gave a submissive smile calling for a ceasefire. She followed him obediently to the free home ec. Room.

Working as a team, they loaded the baking tray with cookies and put it in the oven. Once the hard work was done they sat down at a table. Zelda pulled out her DS and continued playing as Erik watched while resting his feet on Zelda’s lap. Within two minutes Erik fell into one of his naps and after thirty more minutes Zelda looked up startled. The room was a bit hazier than before and she couldn’t remember starting a timer.

“Erik?” She nudged Erik but he didn’t wake. The weight of his legs kept her from standing up. “Erik, the… cookies!”

[Phillip Lauer]

Phillip had pretty much just arrived on the campus, dressed in his all-black security uniform. He didn't have to be at work until a little bit later, but being at Hammel never bothered him so it was never a hassle to come in early. Besides, he wasn't doing much else. He'd washed clothes earlier and did a little shopping and… that was it. His sister was off with her friends, so he couldn't go bond with her today. Which led him to being bored enough to get dressed and head to work. Poor guy.

He'd managed to do his initial exterior inspections and walked inside to cool down and to make sure things were running smoothly. Only it seemed as if they weren't.

Is something… burning?
… Something was definitely burning.

He followed the scent, which was soon accompanied by a haze that got thicker the closer he got. Oh god, who can't cook? He found his way to the home economics room, peeking in. Yup. It was here.

Two students, one appeared to be sleep, maybe passed out. He would try to tend to them once he figured out what the hell was burning. The oven was found and he pulled it open, his face meeting a puff of haze as it escaped. Phillip started coughing. He bent down to grab whatever was inside.

Pot holders? He had that covered. As he reached his hand in, he activated his ability, causing the oxygen around it to turn into a different substance, and it sort of 'condense,' you could say, around his right hand. The air continued to do this until it was thick enough for his purpose. This pot holder was completely invisible, though, so anyone happening to see this take place might think he had a different ability.

He pulled out the tray of cookies and almost threw them to the closest clear surface, reaching forward to turn off the oven as he kneed the oven door close. The same right hand, with the condensed oxygen returned to it's normal state, fanned the area in front of his face to clear some of the remaining fog.

"…Oh, God," was all he could manage for the moment, coughing between words.

[Zelda & Erik Crones-McKinley]

At some point Zee screamed but she couldn’t quite pinpoint the time. A school official, she guessed from the uniform, had walked in. Surely it was because of the smoke, because he made a bee-line for the oven. It was possibly this moment when she screamed, or perhaps the next moment when the man stuck his hand into the oven.

We’re over, we’re done, Zelda thought. We’ll be packing our still-not-yet-unpacked boxes and we’ll return to our respective homes.

Zelda stared, wide eyed, as the man pulled the burning cookies out of the oven. Something was covering his hand. His power? Perhaps. She was still new to this environment. Erik stirred for a moment and Zelda took the opportunity to slip out from under his legs to run over to the man and the burning cookies. In a desperate attempt to let the man know that she didn’t mean to burn the cookies, she grabbed a dirty glass from the sink, filled it with water and dumped it on the cookies. This resulted in water splattering all over the counters, floor, Zee, and the man, as well sending up a plume of smoke and steam.

Zee gripped the wet glass. Her eyes were wide with shock. The embarrassment, shock, and anxiety weighted down upon her and she could only gape like a fish, the apology refusing to leave her mouth.

[Phillip Lauer]

…And now he was wet.

Great… It was funny for outsiders who knew his previous one-sided conversation: Phillip had just told himself earlier that it was fine for him to come to work, early, already dressed. What could POSSIBLY happen at Hammel that would ruin his clothes? He looked down to his clothes, lucky that it was only water. Water would dry, and dry clear. He was just glad the, now wet, cookies weren't on his suit.

"They… they weren't on fire," he said, coughing once again from the new plume of smoke, adding a small chuckle afterwards in attempts to soften his statement. He used his hand to fan some of the remaining smoke away, then looked to Zelda. "Are you two okay?" He was quite sure they were, but from her reaction something else could have been up, which could have caused them to forget the cookies in the first place. Plus, she looked almost terrified.