Here there be Dragons (Shapiro)

[Lani Hunter]

Lani was off of the map. He sat staring into space. Lani thought going outside might help, but the clouds were dark and ominous. Just fitting for his mood. He didn't know if he could bear the bright and cheerful sunshine. Sitting on a benching looking at the pond Lani wasn't even aware that the wind was picking up. Lani wasn't aware of much recently. All he was aware of was that he had screwed up. Big time. Odion was gone, and he didn't know when or if he was returning. But either way the words exchanged when they parted were hardly words that encouraged a reunion. He heard it so clearly in his head. 'You said you'd never abandon me! Looks like I'm not the only liar!' he had said.' His heart screamed, he wanted to take that back. Take it all back. 'I can't abandon someone I don't know!' Odion had shouted back, 'You did this Lani, not me!'

Lani had spent a lot of the past few days in states like this. Consumed by pain and regret. Guilt wasn't even a registered emotion, it was so constant. He couldn't remember a time he didn't feel this guilty. He took a deep breath and upon releasing it the noise swayed in the breeze as he held back the tears that were threatening to fall. He glanced across the pond to where he had found Odion with the three kittens. Lani wanted to scream to do something to make the pain go away. He pulled out a vial of pain killers, they were supposed to be for his head but he wondered if they worked on heartache. In experiment he took two. Pocketing it he realized it didn't. He couldn't even become numb. There were moments when his shields were back and he could be emotionless but something always reminded him.

Lani felt hot tears on his cheeks and knew that this was going to be a bad day. No. going outside had not helped. If anything it showed that despite the fact that Lani's world was ending the rest of the planet still turned and lived. The awful reminder that his problems were miniscule. And for once this feeling didn't comfort him. He was so alone. Even with Adrianna. He felt like a void had started in his heart. He had his girlfriend, but what about his best friend. Oh wait. They weren't best friends. They weren't even friends. Acquaintances was the best Lani could ask for at this moment. The wind whistled gently and Lani wished for rain. Wished for it to come down and drown him because he was too much of a coward to jump into the pond. But no rain came. He tucked his legs under him and wrapped his arms around his legs hiding his face as his shoulder shook. How had he gotten so off course? So far off the map. He really was standing at the end of the world.

[Haley Shapiro]

She had found a stress ball in one of the empty training rooms and she grabbed at it. Not knowing with it was, she started just throwing it up in the air and catching it as she walked around the school compound after training.

Haley alternated between throwing the ball up in the air and switching hands, getting a bit bored with the empty halls she was walking through.

She only found out the truth behind the stress ball's material when she saw a familiar head of hair near the pond. Squeezing the ball a little, trying to figure out who it was, she squeezed it too hard until it burst. It made a loud popping sound that startled her into dropping it.

Looking around, she didn't see anybody who saw what happened so she wiped her hand on the side of her jeans and went over to the curled up figure.

"Lani?" She voiced out, poking him a little on the shoulder.

[Lani Hunter]

The wind whipped at his hair and there would have been a time when Lani would have loved to stand here on the edge of something great and feel the wind against his face. But now it seemed to cut into his every exposed wound and making them sting. It was all in his head, he was sure but really if the pain didn't have sort of physical interpretation he believed he would go mad. That was what he believed was causing his aching head and chest. Not to mention to weariness of his limbs. He could blame a lot of that on the bruises that covered his body however. He had checked himself out a few times before he stopped trying to count how many there were. Then his face felt like one huge bruise, from his boss and from Rhett. His nose had been smashed rather well but beyond being swollen he had gotten the minor breath fixed no problem.

The doctors had at least not asked many questions and he was glad they had fixed his nose. If his nose were permanently crooked it would be a constant reminder. So it was as before. Only more painful. And the pink scar on his cheek where his boss's ring had cut him was healing nicely. There would always be a scar. That would be reminder enough. At least it was proving to be a little scar, not a large nasty one. Examining his physical problems made him forget the emotional ones temporarily. Physical problems could at least be taken care of. He wasn't even sure what to do with the shards of his heart. He wondered if Odion was broken up about this as he was. He closed his eyes. Odion was in France. With Rhett. Lani bit his lip, what were they doing, where were they? Was Odion alright with Rhett? Hell, Lani was worried about the flight. What if the plane went down? Oh god! What if those were the last words he had said to Odion?

He was so lost in his mind that Shapiro snuck up on him and he jumped when she touched his shoulder. His head snapped up ready to yell at whoever it was to leave him alone. His rage quickly faded back as he recognized the girl and he gave a weak smile. "Shapiro, hey, how are you?" Lani swallowed his emotions and wiped at his face to get rid of any moisture that might give him away. He didn't want her to see him like this. This person here on the bench was not the same person she had met. "Long time no see, huh?" He patted the bench for her to sit if she so desired, he was honestly glad for her company. He turned his eyes out to the pond as he waited for the answer. Lani woke up a little bit now, how long had it been?

[Haley Shapiro]

Haley jumped when Lani's head snapped up real quick. The smile he gave was not one she saw when they had first met. She took notice of the bruise on his face and curiosity moved her hand to touch the sensitive spot.

"What the hell happened to you?" She asked, wincing at the thought of her getting something like that. It would have had to be something totally major since her ability allowed her a very high pain tolerance.

She jumped on to the bench beside him and pulled her knees under her chin, turning to him. It was a little weird, being so concerned over someone she thought of as a bodyguard. It was weird having feelings at all, really. They weren't bad. Just...weird.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani held carefully still as her hand approached and braced himself. He since winced and jerked away as her fingers touched the sensitive spot. He hissed a little and shook his head being careful not to let her thing he was upset but expressing his pain in a non lashing out way. Lani turned his face away for a moment his face flushing underneath the bruise.

He gave a weak laugh, it was a heartless sound. He shook his head. "It's a long story," he said evasively. "Let's just say I had a... uh... disagreement with someone." Well more like he had lost his best friend and his best friend's psycho ex had walloped him in the nose.

Lani shifted so that he was angled slightly toward her. "So how have things been?" He repeated his question far more interested in things that would distract him than his own problems. He didn't want to talk about them, if he did he would end up just venting and possibly breaking down in front of Shapiro and he really didn't need another person witnessing him in tears.

[Haley Shapiro]

"Sorry." She winced and jerked her hand away, apologetic for the hurt she had momentarily caused.

When he explained his bruise, Haley listened and nodded. "I've had those plenty of times." Like you wouldn't imagine. Would there ever be a day when she didn't have a diagreement with somebody, who knows?

"Things have been okay." Haley shrugged, tightening her hold around her knees. "Training's not too bad. I usually tune the trainer out and do my own thing most of the time so that's fun." She laughed a little before nudging him on his arm.

"What's up with you?" She asked, feeling weirdly out of her comfort zone.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he shrugged, the pain was quick to come and thankfully quick to leave. At least she didn't press on it like the doctor had done to see if it was broken. Lani thought he might kill someone. Really, whose brilliant idea was it to give an emotionally unstable thief telekinesis, give him hope then tear it down and give him nothing to look forward to? And then don't forget to add getting beaten to a pulp by the people who ruined his life then punched in the nose by someone he didn't even know. Good plan, Universe, good plan.

Her comment should have made him frown and scold her but a weak smile flashed on his face the action taking more effort than he would have ever thought. "Seriously," he said his voice humorless, "I don't know I think I deserved it though," He mused, "But then I got him back, 'cause he deserved it as well." Well that was a rather sane statement, he mentally congratulated himself. They both deserved to have someone hit them in the nose. Though Lani wasn't sure that if he deserved it that Rhett was the one who got to deliver it. Maybe not Odion either. Though he wasn't sure he agreed with himself there. Odion might be just be the one who deserved the second go. His sister really deserved that honor. It was her life that had caused him to do this, he wasn't sure how much it hurt her to know that he had done that for her. He didn't think about it, until now at least.

Lani nodded glad that she was well. Her laugh pulled another weak smile out of him. It really did his heart a good joy to see her happy but there was an underlying bitterness that he didn't have the same joyful life. Why had things gotten so far out of hand? "Trainers don't know what they're doing," he attempted to help the joke along but the flat humorless sound that came out of his voice effectively killed his attempt.

Lani shook his head. "It's a long story." He trailed off and looking out at the pond his head fell down on his arms and he closed his eyes as the pain washed over him like a wave. "I screwed up, Shapiro," he mumbled into his arms, "screwed up big time. And I don't know how to fix it.

((OOC: I really don't know what happened... sorry about the strange symbols...))

[Haley Shapiro]

If Lani had scolded her about disagreements she had had with other people, she would have punched him across the face to add to his bruise. And probably apologise immediately after, and then tell him he deserved it.

"Ya musta done summat wrong to deserve a beating like this. It looks bad, man." Haley commented unhelpfully. She didn't know what had gone down between him and the person who caused the bruises but it had to be really bad.

Haley laughed along with Lani, glad for the distraction, despite the flat tone his voice had adopted. "No. They really don't."

Screwing up was something Haley was definitely familiar with, having done it so many times before in her life. Her whole life was one huge screw up to begin with. She took a deep breath before jumping up to a standing position. She looked around for a stick or a plank.

Humming while searching for one, she finally found a nice big stick. It wasn't too heavy or thick so even if she accidentally used her power, it wouldn't cause too much damage. She stole someone's pen that had dropped to the ground and while still humming, she wrote something across the stick and went back to Lani.

Quickly, she hit Lani on his leg, careful not to use too much force.

"Listen. Everybody screws up. There's no use moping about feeling sorry for yourself. This stick, see, it's called a sense stick. I'm knocking some into you." She showed Lani what she had scribbled on to the stick before hitting him again on the leg. She had written the word "sense" in her scraggly handwriting. "You gotta find someone who knows how to fix shit and follow their advice." She said crouching in front of Lani and looking up at him.

She wanted to say she didn't like seeing him unhappy but that was too girly, in her opinion so she shut up.

[OOC: Haha! It happens. I've had that happen to me plenty o times ^^]

[Lani Hunter]

Lani nodded at her comment. Oh yeah he had done something wrong indeed. He rubbed the area around his bruise and fingered the bandage on his face. He smiled wanly, “It looks worse than if feels. Well, kind of,” he found the will to let out a little laugh. He must look like a mess. Shapiro didn’t need to know that the worst of it wasn’t from Rhett. The bruises that she couldn’t see were the ones that ached the most because every strike had been a symbol of what he had sold his life to. It was the phantom pain in his heart that was hurting the most and he wasn’t sure if that should be of genuine medical concern or not, so he just took more pills than usual and was done with it.

Hearing her laugh soothed some of the ache he had had previously. A small but real smile grew on his face. He was glad now for his loneliness being interrupted. How could he have gotten so far gone that he didn’t remember what it was like to laugh. It hadn’t been a long time that this emotion had been the reigning force but it was taking its toll.

Lani wasn’t looking at Shapiro when he heard her sigh and felt her weight leave the bench. He clenched his fists and any happiness he had been feeling before was quickly whisked away by the darker emotion. He was too busy focusing internally and regretting the fact that now Shapiro knew he was a screw up. What kind of role model would he be for her? Who would want a failure to look up to? Shapiro was smart to have realized that and left. Her humming was swept away by the whistle of the wind and Lani felt it reach its cold fingers down his shirt and snake through giving him chills from the heavy coat he had taken to living in.

He shivered and wasn’t sure why, if anything he was too heated to be cold. But still he chilled from the cold wind pushing against his hot skin. Lani heard the whistle of an object through the air and felt the movement only a moment before pain exploded in his shin. “Ouch!” He cried his head snapping up his eyes sharp as if he had woken from a dream and were looking for his attacker. His jaw dropped when he saw it was Shapiro who stood holding the stick. “What the hell was that for?” He demanded his hand rubbing the stinging area, oh that was going to bruise.

Lani cut off his tongue and obeyed for once and listened. Lani opened his mouth to say that she didn’t understand, but stopped himself. Shapiro had been through a lot in her young life and now again she was proving that by speaking with wisdom beyond her years. So Lani ducked his head feeling very cowed. Here she was, several years younger than him, scolding him like a child. Lani got a glimpse of the word ‘sense’ before she hit him again and he yelped glaring at her. “Shapiro it’s not that simple,” he said struggling to remain calm. He tried to explain, “People got hurt when I screwed up and… I don’t know what to do, but I don’t think anyone has any advice for me.” He sighed realizing he had regressed again but he couldn’t stop talking. “I don’t know who I am anymore.” He was lost. Mostly because the person he had thought would be there was no longer there.

Admitting he needed help wasn’t something Lani was used to and he had done it more in the past few days than in his entire life. He glared at her for the first time his focus outward and intent on protecting himself rather than rolling over and letting whatever would happen would happen. “Don’t hit me with that again.” He said his voice showing more confidence than he felt.

[Haley Shapiro]

"I've heard it all before. I used those excuses to get people off my back plenty of times." Haley rolled her eyes but kept her distance anyway. The guy didn't need a young girl poking at his bruises. One wrong move from Haley and the muscle in his face could very well break so she really needed to be extra careful. People could break easily.

Haley didn't realise that her brief absence from Lani's side could actually garner that much sorrow and if Lani ever divulged that information to her, she would have probably felt quite bad. Good thing Lani did not seem the type to pour his heart out to thirteen year old girls such as herself.

The hit obviously got to Lani much worst than Haley had anticipated and she winced slightly, feeling a little guilty. It was still a very strange feeling, having these concerns over anybody but herself. After explaining to Lani why that whack was totally necessary, she rolled her eyes at his response. She didn't realise how simplistic her own response was and for that, she should feel rather grateful. No matter how much of the world she had seen, it was still obvious that Haley was still innocent.

"Come on, you're Lani! You move things with your mind. You're like a superhero in some parts of the world." She wanted to say more, like state that he was totally her bodyguard if her powers ever failed her. But that would probably go over pretty badly. For her. There would be blushing involved and punching. If it hurt Lani to be hit by a stick, he'd probably not appreciate her fists.

She threatened to hit him with the stick again but stopped mid-air before throwing it away. "Listen. I'm pretty damn sure I'm not the only one who sees you...good. I'm sure of it. You've got friends, don't you? I mean...the fact that people got hurt because of something you did means there were people who loved you in the first place to be hurt." The logic behind that seemed to make sense to Haley and were Lani to ask her to explain it, she would have just given him a look and her fist. Violence, to Haley, solved everything.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani blinked at Shapiro in surprise before he nodded. “It’s not an excuse if it’s true.” Lani retorted softly. That had to count for something, the stubbornness was starting to awaken in Lani again. Perhaps smacking him with a stick was really what he needed. It really showed him he was not ready to roll over and be beaten down. He had the strength to come out of this in one piece. He was only starting to realize that. There was small part of his mind that wanted to grab that stick and hit her back with it, but Lani wouldn’t. Not now and not ever.

The violence he had been feeling of late had been washed away and now he was more like himself that he had been in the days leading up to the day his world ended. The violence he felt toward Rhett had vanished with their fight, and the violence toward his boss when he walked out the door. He was not going to start a fight but he had been hotheaded and he had been cocky and look where that had got him.

Lani was too angry at the moment to care if Shapiro felt guilty or not. Intended or not that hurt! Lani rubbed his leg and a small amount of pleasure came from rubbing it to sooth it. It was the pleasure that someone had the courage to really knock some sense into him, sure Lani could lash out but what could he do to someone with super strength? But Lani didn’t want to lash out because he didn’t want to hurt Shapiro. The hatred of violence quickly returned and he found himself struggling not to smile now, because he knew if he smiled he would start to laugh and then the insanity would be clear.

Blinking Lani felt as if he were waking from a dream. “Or a super villain,” he pointed out with a raise of a brow. He wasn’t sure why he was challenging her when she had a stick in her hand, it was probably not the best of plans. But then, Lani’s plans were not too bright of late either. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed the feeling to laughter leaving him. “No, I mean, I’m trying, but it just seems like my best isn’t good enough.”

Lani is ashamed to say that he flinched when she acted as if she were going to hit him again. But this time his power did react, Lani reacted. It caught the stick and it was a good thing Shapiro hadn’t been intending to hit him or he would have had to put in more effort. Lani breathed a sigh of relief when the stick tossed away. For good measure he tipped its trajectory so it splashed into the pond with a plunk. Lani’s eyes fell on Shapiro in surprise. He had never though of it like that. “What makes you so sure?” He asked honestly curious. He ducked his head half ashamed that someone younger than him could make it sound so clear. He put his arms around his head and took a deep breath before letting a sigh out and letting his arms rest on his knees. “No, you’re right,” he admitted, “Because none would be a better friend than someone willing to take ‘knock sense into someone’ literally.” He gave her a lopsided grin. He was by no means healed but she was right he needed to stop wallowing and start doing.

[Haley Shapiro]

Haley rolled her eyes at Lani's response to her statement. If he wanted to feel that way, it was fine by her. He was older than her and should know better by now. He really didn't need for a young girl to advise him on life.

The slight recovery from the doldrum he was feeling earlier made her laugh. "Hardly. You may look the part with all your brooding and your loner persona but you're a superhero. The kind people look up to and want to follow. All you gotta do is clean yourself up."

She frowned and picked up the stick once more just to feel the weight in her hands. "Your best is always good enough for somebody. If you actually care about being your best."

As the stick flew away from both of them, Haley's eyes followed the arch it made all the way to the water and shook her head with a grin, knowing it was Lani's doing.

Turning to Lani just in time to hear his question, she contemplated on the answer before shrugging. "I just do. Besides. If you didn't care about something, you won't get hurt by it. It's just common sense."

She laughed and made a fist to write logic on her knuckles. "You could do with some logic knocking your teeth in too." She joked, bumping him a little to the side.

"You gotta stop giving yourself a pity party, Lani. Rub some dirt on it and call it a day. Find the person you hurt and apologise if they mean so much to you." She couldn't believe she was actually giving advice to someone older than her but she really didn't like to see the people she mildly cared about looking so glum. Anger she could handle. But sadness...not likely.

"Come on, let's steal some food from the kitchen again."

[Lani Hunter]

It was getting to Lani a little bit that he was being given sense from someone younger than him. Seems like even his bruised pride had something to say about that. Oh well, it was getting him to do something more than just sit somewhere and wallow. He found himself narrowing his eyes at Shapiro the more he thought about what she said. How was it that it seemed like she had it all figured out? Lani was jealous, he had thought he had had it all figured out. While that obviously wasn’t the case he was willing to take advise from a younger person. How was it that she saw that so clearly?

Lani rubbed his hands over his face and gave her a little glare. He snorted at her observation. Maybe brooding was too gracious, he was sulking. To be honest he didn’t want to brood or be a loner. “So I’m Batman?” He asked with a raised brow his lips twitched as he attempted a joke. He swallowed and looked down at his arms and gritted his teeth. Why would people look up to him? He wasn’t someone to be followed. He was a liar and a thief, why would anyone want to be like that. He sighed and looked up at Shapiro. Now that was easier said than done. Perhaps she was right. Lani gave another sigh and looked at Shapiro like he wished she hadn’t offered such a good solution. Be strong for other people, that Lani could do. “I’ll work on that.”

But his best wasn’t good enough, not for anyone who had been caught in his web of lies. Or maybe it was. It was good enough for Adrianna. She was still with him, there hadn’t been some epic fight, rather Adrianna had done just what she knew would take his mind off of it. Oh how stupid he had been! He was blind to everything that was happening right in front of him. The stick flew and Lani blinked. That was right, he was still a telekinetic. He could make it through this, he was powerful, his power was himself and if his power had woken up enough to shield him from another thwack of the stick then Lani had decided deep down that his life was not worthless.

If Shapiro was right and people though he was good then he could live with that and he had to prove them right instead of proving them wrong. He huffed a little bit at her explanation. Why was this making so much sense now? Where had she been a few days ago when he had started in on this depressive cycle? He rubbed his eyes, “Geez, common sense hurts,” he said with a little hint of humor. Maybe things could go back to normal, given enough time, things would, but it would be different.

Lani’s own laugh startled him as he ducked away from her hand. He didn’t move very far, which was lucky because she didn’t hit him very hard and she happened to miss the bruises. He grabbed her fist. “I rather like my teeth,” he said with a nod, “So I’m going to take the logic without complaint.” Why was he talking about it like it was a pill to swallow?

A heavy sigh lifted his shoulders and he gave Shapiro a little glare. “I hate it that you’re right right now.” He swallowed hard. He didn’t want to follow her advice, he wanted to wallow, he wanted to pity himself. But life went on and so did Lani. He closed his eyes tightly and ran his hands though his hair before opening them again and seeing the glimmer of the sun off the pond. He looked up to see the sun peaking through the overcast sky. No matter how dark sunlight punched through, even though the window closed quickly. “Fine,” he huffed. He didn’t know what was fine. That he was finally deciding that he didn’t want to live the rest of his life in depression and was hoping that pure stubbornness could break through this.

He gave her a little smile, she really was a little thief in her own way. Rising to his feet he rolled his shoulders to adjust the hood on his coat. “I’ve never heard a better idea,” he said and kicked at rock.

[Haley Shapiro]

At first, the Batman comment sailed over her head but when she finally caught on to it, she snorted. She didn't know much about Batman but she knew he was very lonely, even though he was rich and had a butler. "Batman doesn't have me as a friend. You do. So no, you're not Batman. You're better." She shrugged, realising she was probably crossing her own constructed line of friendship. She was actually making Lani feel better with no personal gain.

His internal struggles were not on display for Haley to view but she realised that she must have struck a nerve in the older meta and hoped he wouldn't take offense. Which was odd since that was what she was good at, being offensive.

She gave him a sheepish grin when he pointed out how hurtful her words seemed to be. "Sorry." She said softly before frowning. "Not really. I mean, it's a good thing you're hurting. At least you're feeling something other than feelign down. Fight me back." She insisted with a determined nod.

Grinning at his hand around hers, she briefly noted how tiny her hand was in his.

"Hey now, I'm always right, thanks." She stuck her tongue out childishly before finding that she was actually pleased with herself. "Fine. Now, can we get on with our regularly scheduled havoc wreaking? Because as much as I'm enjoying being right, I would rather enjoy a roll of bread in my tummy."

She walked off first, not waiting for Lani to catch up with her. "So, who gave you that bruise?" She asked, not turning back to face him.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani had to smile at her delayed reaction, for a moment he was starting to feel rather old. His smile faltered as she spoke though, he had not been expecting that response. His smile turned warm and he felt a surge of gratefulness toward the girl. He really was too emotional and it was really only the fact that he knew Shapiro would probably hit if he got all sentimental on her but he really just wanted to snatch her in his arms and hug her tightly. She was right though, she was honestly a much better friend than he had ever anticipated. “Well I can’t dispute that,” he grinned at her, “You are rather spectacular, and with you by my side, we can rule the world.” He waggled his eyebrows at her a little bit of his good humor returning with easy conversation and the knowledge that he did matter.

Shapiro was certainly one of a kind. If she ever changed he would hate to make sure he changed her back, he liked her combative nature too much. Besides who really would have thought that someone would hit him with a stick that said ‘sense’ on it? Though Lani had to admit that he was glad she did it. Then she apologized almost immediately taking it back and Lani just shook his head at her. Her words were so logical that Lani couldn’t dispute them. He opened his mouth to protest but she had a point. She had done probably what Lani needed most. He needed to fight back.

“Fine, you win this round,” he said narrowing his eyes at her. Her grin was infectious and Lani squeezed his hand over her smaller fist before pulling her into a brief hug. “Thanks, Shapiro.” He was grateful, and a little impressed, people his own age had resorted to sneak attacking him when Shapiro took the chance to hit him when he needed to react to it. As much as he was annoyed with that he was glad for it and would probably be more grateful later when he was alone and had a chance to reflect. He would rub the fresh bruises and demand he clean himself up and move on with his life. His life wasn’t over, it was just… different. In fact, save the fact that Odion was in France, it was better. And Adrianna and he were doing well as well.

He snorted a little and shook his head at her. “Not true,” he said bursting her bubble. He couldn’t help himself he laughed as he rose from the bench. Havoc, he could do havoc. Actually might be a good way to blow off steam and piss off the school at the same time. A win-win. Lani shook his head as she walked off and he found that smiling was easier now and so he followed after her. “A roll sounds really nice right now.” He agreed falling in step with her.

Touching his nose he shook his head. “Someone who had no right to,” he said the anger coming out now, “I mean he had no right. Not after all of that.” He shook his head a looked at her, perhaps if he told her she would make his life miserable, Lani could roll with that. “It was that Rhett. He’s crazy.” Not so true. Lani had deserved to be hit, but he was resentful that it was Rhett that had taken that when the rights belongs to someone else. Even Shapiro had more of a right to smack him around with a stick and punch him in the nose than Rhett.