Awakened (open)

[Lani Hunter]

It was a good thing no one had pointed it out to Lani that he did it or he might become rather self conscious about it. It happened all the time, when he was working a physics problem, when he was thinking of something to write, or if he was thinking about something that required a little more than a passing thought. One good thing about it was that there was a little bit of him that still was cheerful when it happened, when one needed to worry was when he was silent in his thoughts. So Lani hummed because it occupied the more active part of him and his thoughts were able to swim under the subtle tune. Whether it was a happy tune or one a little more melancholy chances were there would be a tune when he thought.

Perhaps it was Lani’s expressions that gave him away the most, at least so Odion told him. So staring off into space was his fate. It happened with the stars to, they awed him into silence. These were heavy thoughts and Lani’s head was aching just a little too much to be willing to give them its full attention. He just wanted to nap right now, thinking was too much effort. Lani chuckled a little and gave her his best grin. “Smile,” he said widening his own sly smile, “The world’s not gonna end tomorrow. And it’s getting better.” He nodded. There was proof of it everywhere, people were beginning to realize that some powers gave people skills in jobs than others. And there was certainly no dearth of meta humans in the military.

“But you know what, we’re part of history,” Lani said with a wave of his hand into space. “Don’t look so hopeless, at least we live in a place where when we want to we can change something.” Peacefully, of course. But if combat was needed Lani would be at the front lines. They said that the United States was overdue for a civil war and well, perhaps this was the battle. But this was a battle Lani wanted to be won over paper and through the will of good people. They had done it before and they could do it again. There were so many social issues running around lately and Lani was more willing to believe that they were problems because of the few who were against differences. Homosexuality, women’s rights to contraception, meta humans. All of them were humans with rights and it was completely mind blowing that some people wanted to take those away.

Lani didn’t like the frown on her face, he was sure she had a beautiful smile and he wanted to see it. Lani nodded in understanding that was a hard thing. Hurting people, he knew the feeling, even accidental that kind of guilt could ride on a person all their life. Lani sighed trying to figure out how best to approach this one. He looked across the court as he put his thoughts together and his eyes came back to her. “Sayaka, the past is the past. You can’t change it,” he paused holding up a finger. “But you can learn from it.” He elbowed her and smiled. “So you apologize if they’ll accept it and work on your power.” He hoped his words were encouraging rather than depressing. “That’s what I did.” He nodded letting her know he empathized but he was not going to share his story. It still scared Lani that he had this much power.

[Sayaka Ito]

Well...yeah sure, it was getting better. And she really wanted to smile and just believe that. But already she had seen that, within her lifetime, it was not likely to change radically. She did not think that people were just going to start accepting those with powers, like her. They often feared what was different, no matter how illogical that fear was. Even people that differed in what gender they liked were still feared greatly by the general populace, at least in the United States.

It was scary to Sayaka, but...hm. The girl thought a bit. Was there really hope that things could get better? She had just been focusing on the negatives, but there were plenty of positive signs as well. Such as the fact that schools like this even existed in the first place. They fostered the understanding of powers, made it so that those with powers actually knew how to control them. That was a good thing. And the nearby town at least seemed to be aware of people with powers and they accepted them, more than Sayaka's school had accepted her, at the least.

Of course, she had yet to actually go out into the town, mostly because she needed someone eighteen or over with her to do so. And she didn't know anyone like that that she was willing to ask. "I dunno, a meteor might come out of nowhere and bam, ram straight into the Earth," Sayaka actually managed to crack a joke at the very least, a soft smile on her face as she shrugged her shoulders. "Just a thought," she explained, trying to keep her voice as deadpan as possible to enhance the effect of the joke.

Of course...she was rarely used to joking in the first place, and was oblivious to the fact that a lot of people did not joke about a meteor ramming into the Earth. Oh well. It was a start, at least. Lani was speaking again, and this time what he said...well, it really made sense to her. "Mmh...that's true. I guess we can make a difference if we really try," she agreed with him, nodding her head a little. Yeah. Sure, she was just one person, but if everyone tried to show the world that people like her weren't bad...?

Things would change. Once again, Lani was speaking shortly after she finished, and during his speaking, he...elbowed her. And she giggled. Huh...she did not know she was ticklish there. Sayaka noted to herself to remember that little fact. "Mmh...but how am I supposed to apologize if I'm nowhere near my friend now?"

[Lani Hunter]

There was always hope. Even when there was none to be had if there was a sliver in a people they could never be conquered. So long as that hope stayed underneath the surface the spirit of a people could live on. It showed when the people imprisoned by another nation came home, perhaps not well in the least but they weren’t broken. No. So long as there was hope there was a future. Lani would hate to know a world without hope. What a depressing place. Lani knew that he and a few others would not be broken so easily but then they had powers and people they loved. They had a future to hope for. Perhaps if Lani had no one and nothing to live for he would be easy to manipulate. Be controlled, his power would be in the hands of someone else, not him. He would just be a vessel.

Lani’s eyebrows jumped toward his hairline at that statement. Her smile let him know she wasn’t serious and Lani started to laugh. “Yeah, that might put a little damper on the day.” He shook his head and winked at her. “I don’t know, do you thing between the two of us we could stop it?” He grinned. He wouldn’t be a failure then. No, not at all. He might be dead from overuse of his power but at least his father would be proud of him. He laughed again at the thought. No a meteor into earth was definitely something he didn’t want to mess with. He was more into the idea of grabbing everyone he knew and hightailing it out of the way. He could handle the debris he was sure. “Such a thought,” he laughed a little more, “If a meteor hits the earth tomorrow I’m totally blaming you.” He said with a twinkle in his eye.

Lani nodded. She was starting to get it. He didn’t respond save to smile at her. She would do alright. She had hope and she knew that she could make a difference. Everyone could. One person was never too small. All it took sometimes was that one voice to fuel the crowd. The martyr was often the strongest of the voices, but Lani wouldn’t wish martyrdom on anyone. If someone believed strongly enough in something they were going to do something about it. There was too much apathy in the world these days. One needed to fight for what they believed in. There was too much despair over the idea that they were just one person and couldn’t possibly change the world. Tell that to Rosa Parks and Rachel Carson.

Sayaka’s giggle was the most precious thing Lani had heard in a while. It was a pretty sound and it pulled a smile out of Lani as he filed away the knowledge that he was ticklish at the same time she made a note of it. But Lani being Lani couldn't let it go. Lani's smile grew impish and it didn't take a genius to tell that there was mischief on his mind. With no more warning than the sly expression he had he attacked the spot again chuckling a little as he went after her ticklish spot hoping to get more full laugh out of her. This girl was too serious she needed to lighten up. Lani was just helping her with that. He was doing her a favor, yes that was it. Lani smiled, oh he was going to be in so much trouble when someone at this school learned that the calm and collected Lani Hunter could be turned into a giggling mess when tickled. No, no one was going to figure that out.

Lani laughed as he finally released her. Back to business. Lani nodded understanding the problem. “Do you parents still live where you used to?” He normally wouldn’t ask but there were a lot of parents that were moving Pilot Ridge to be near their children. “Or even if you can’t go see them in person sometimes a letter will do the trick. Now I’m not talking about an email or something. I mean a real hand written letter. Something that is more personal than a few words typed on a page.” Lani nodded. He wasn’t actually sure that would work, he didn’t do handwritten things. If he left apologies they were usually typed and intended to show how good he was.

[Sayaka Ito]

"Just a little damper? Mmh, nah. I'm sure people would just laugh it off. 'Oh it's just a meteor. You know, happens every day'. Kinda like that," Sayaka spoke up immediately after he did, a giggle escaping from her lips once more. It was...fun. Nice, even. To converse like this. Sayaka never really had been one for communicating with others before, she much preferred to keep to herself no matter what was happening.

And yet, somehow this Lani boy was managing to get her to open up. At the very least, she was comfortable around him, and that was no easy feat, considering how she usually was around new people. Sayaka wondered just what it was about him that caused her to want to speak, to communicate. It had to be his personality.

Or rather, the way he spoke. It was so easygoing and she could just understand him so well. "And...hm, I dunno. I mean, the Earth would be way too big to just move. And the meteor, same story. That, or it'd be going too fast for us to change anything about it. Working together...maybe. I have no idea though if that'd work. Working together is different from working against each other, after all," she said next. The only way she would be able to answer him was to think back to how their powers were interacting when pitted against each other, but that was a poor way to guess if they would be able to work well with each other or not. Especially in a ridiculous circumstance like trying to stop a meteor from slamming right into the Earth.

That, despite what she had said, was likely to never happen anytime soon. Or if it did happen, it was not likely to be a big meteor, capable of causing a lot of destruction. "It ain't gonna be my fault if it happens. I can hardly jinx and cause a meteor to just hit Earth, it happens over time through a long series of boring stuff," she explained to him. That...well, that was when she noticed the odd look on his face.

Strange...she frowned at him, and was about to open her mouth when it happened. He began to tickle her. And she was not able to do anything to resist it. She giggled. She giggled a lot. And it seemed to go on for an eternity, though it only lasted a little while. Before she knew it though, it was over, and she was left a mess on the floor, still giggling a little big. The girl just laid there, though, and let out a yawn as he began to speak, glad he had stopped his torture. "Eh...yeah, they do, actually. Why do ya wanna know that though?" she asked of him, an inquisitive expression on her face as she asked that of him.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani nodded and chuckled along with her at the ridiculousness of the statement. Really meteors were raining down on them all the time, they just burned up before they had a chance to do any damage. But no one thought about it like that. When the words meteor and impact with earth were discussed there was usually panic. “No big deal, right?” he said between laughs and shrugged exaggeratedly. He hid the wince that came along from moving his head. Lani knew she wouldn’t have any problems getting to know people. Perhaps she just needed to be shown that. Lani liked to think that he was easy to get along with. He knew there were people who disagreed with that but then against those were people that Lani didn’t have a desire to get along with anyways.

It wasn’t false, this Lani that she was seeing, it just wasn’t all of him. Well, not everyone needed to see all of him. He liked to be this person that was happy and full of laughter. He had been this person when he had first gotten together with Adrianna and now they were falling apart. But he would try to be a friend to her even if things ended up falling to pieces. Lani liked Sayaka, she was a sweet girl, she reminded him a lot of his sister. He needed to stop comparing people to Caroline.

Lani tapped on his chin for a moment. “Hmmm,” he pondered for a moment. “I think with us working together we could do it. I can see that, the earth is pretty much gonna stay where it’s at right now,” he laughed a little, “But a meteor. That would be something we could do. Especially if we’re working with each other instead of against each other.” He nodded as if it were decided. “But I don’t know about you but I really hope that a meteor doesn’t hit earth tomorrow, I’ve got things to do,” he gave her a pouting expression before it broke into another laugh. Lani knew that if he had to catch a meteor he would be out of luck, but perhaps with someone else with telekinesis or a gravity manipulator it would be possible. It was easy to imagine how much force it would take, what was unfathomable was the number that would be computed. Even with gravity turned off the thing would be moving with enough speed that it might not help much.

“Knock on wood,” Lani told her in an unconcerned tone. Lani laughed at her conclusion. Boring stuff, so if Sayaka was science minded she hadn’t yet come to get excited about how everything perfectly aligns when something like that happens. It was like watching a hurricane form in the Atlantic. Lani had been keeping a close watch on Sandy. His parents would be alright in Boston but it was about to get really cold really fast in Vermont. He only hoped that if Sandy did hit Boston that it wouldn’t be nearly as bad as what everyone feared. From the look of the news though it was not going to be pretty when it hit.

She seemed to connect the dots but not in time to stop the telekinetic. Her laughter was like a collection of high pitched bells and it only made Lani laugh harder. Poor girl didn’t even see it coming. Lani was a trickster but he liked to hear laughter more than anything else. Laughter brought about light and joy and if there was one thing Lani loved being that he hardly ever was it was carefree and joyful. So he would take the latter and just pretend to be the former. He glanced down at her and shrugged. “Well if your parents still live where you lived then you can visit your parents and visit your friend. I’m sure they’ve already forgiven you.” That was a lie, how could he be sure. It also depended on what they blamed her for. And some people might not understand that the whole thing had been an accident. He offered her an encouraging smile, things would turn out good in the end.

[Sayaka Ito]

"Yup, none at all," she said with a nod of her head. Truth be told, she was still a bit distracted by what he had said. Could they really manage to stop a meteor from impacting with the Earth? While it was up in outer space, probably not. But if it was in Earth's atmosphere...there was nothing stopping them from manipulating it so that it simply fell straight into the ocean. Now, Sayaka was no expert on the impacts of meteors or anything of the sort, but she was fairly sure that if it landed in one of the many oceans on Earth, then not too many bad things would happen.

At worst, a tsunami, but even that didn't have a guaranteed chance of hurting people, unlike a meteor. At the very least, the people that were in the are where the meteor hit would be hurt, while a tsunami could be avoided by just evacuating the city. "You have things to do?" Sayaka joked again. How odd that he was managing to get her to open up more and more. Heck, she was even making jokes now, something that she had never done before.

Sayaka decided that she liked this boy, that he was one of her few friends at this place called Hammel, and not many people could say that they managed to make a friend out of her. Of course, she had not been at the school too long, so...that was possibly why. Just the sheer fact that not many people knew about her. She wondered if it would be possible for her to make even more friends, or even if it was possible for her to help others open up, just like how he was managing to get her to open up. After all, it was far more easier to open up to someone that was similar to you in some way, right?

Though...how was Lani similar to her then? She wondered about that. "But...yeah. It would be terrible if a meteor hit the school tomorrow. But like you said, we might be able to move it if we had to," Sayaka said, a smile on her face. What a silly notion, moving a meteor, but that was why they were discussing it, precisely because it was rather silly to think about such things.

"I...don't think that's possible, Lani. My parents don't exactly LIKE what I am." Sayaka spoke up, a frown on her face despite mere moments ago laughing. It wasn't fair, she knew that. It made no logical sense to hate someone for things beyond their control, she knew that as well. Just...her parents didn't seem to understand that. That, or they didn't want to understand.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani laughed and nodded. Who cared? Lani of tended to be the mindset that if the universe was dead set on destroying the earth there was nothing that they could do about it. Be it a meteor or an earthquake, a fire or hurricane. Mother Nature was not one to be trifled with. She had showed how she felt about that time and again. It was the foolishness of humanity that gave them the illusion that they could stop something like that. Lani knew a meteor falling was not a good thing but if there wasn’t a chance he would rather spend time with those he loved before he had to say goodbye to them forever. He frowned, his mother would disagree but if he went with her definition of the afterlife Lani didn’t think he was going where he could be with them. Lani’s smile didn’t falter as the dark thought invaded his mind. His masks were good.

It also made it easy to shake off such thoughts. Lani didn’t like dwelling on death. Lani nodded and his expression went serious. “I do, I have sleeping to do and people to bother.” He couldn’t keep his serious expression very long and his face broke into a smile. “Why don’t you have some important things to do tomorrow?” He was ecstatic about how she was opening up. She was a sweet girl and funny. Someone that Lani really was enjoying talking to. She wasn’t socially awkward, she was just shy. There was a significant difference. It seemed that once she warmed up to someone that she came out of her shell rather nicely. It was hard as a young person to leave home and come to a new place like this.

Lani hoped that she would be happy here. This was a place that was free of judgment, at least as far as powers went. Unfortunately the school was still high school and it wasn’t free of drama. Even Lani who would nothing more than to not be involved in drama was sucked in. It was something that was impossible to stay out of and one just had to grin and bear it sometimes. Lani didn’t like to make assumption but he was assuming that she was going to do well here. Hammel was a hard place at first but she was already doing better than he was. He wondered if part of it had to do with age. When Lani got his power he was old enough to stop believing in magic and so that had made the adjustment hard. Perhaps being younger made it easier. Or if not easier at least more willing to accept the abrupt change in the world one thought they knew.

He nodded. “What’s this might? I’m sure we could do it. With all of the meta power we have here we could do it,” Lani nodded. Lani would never want to take on a task that huge without Odion. It was something that they could easily laugh off because the chance of something like that happening were so random and unrealistic that it could be joked about. Now were they talking about a blizzard or something they would hardly be laughing and there wasn’t a lot they could do about a storm, at least Lani didn’t think so.

Lani cocked is head at Sayaka and he nearly hit himself. How could he be so stupid? He knew not everyone’s parents were thrilled about them being here, not everyone was Lani who could care less about what his parents thought, at least that was what Lani liked to tell himself. But either way his parents were supportive of him and Caroline. “Oh,” he said in an apologetic tone. Then something boiled up in him. “They’re going to have to get over it.” He said anger lacing in his voice. How could they just drop her like a stone? So she had a power but she was still their daughter. Lani clenched his fists and took a deep breath. “Sayaka, are you saying that your parents don’t want you to come home?” He asked it in as level a voice as he could manage. People who dropped their children because they were something they couldn’t control really got under Lani’s skin, he wasn’t sure why. But if Sayaka did confirm his fears then her parents might get a visit from a telekinetic that they had reason to fear.

[Sayaka Ito]

"People to bother, huh?" she queried, a look of calmness on her face. To think that she would be able to be calm and relaxed just...talking to a person. And someone that was close to her age, too. At least, closer to her age than the teachers and such at this school. One would think that she'd connect more with them, talk to them more, but that clearly was not the case in the slightest. She wasn't sure what it was about Lani that made him so different, she wasn't sure at all, and maybe that was the most interesting thing. Not that she was talking to someone. Not that she had actually initiated all this by playing a little [ijoke[/i].

No, it was the fact that she didn't know why Lani was able to get her to talk like he did. All she knew was that she wouldn't have traded this encounter for anything. If she had to redo it and choose to trick him or not, she still would have done the same thing. Or at least, she hoped that was the case, that she would do the same thing every time. Sayaka wasn't really sure.

"But...no, not really. I would athough you'd be able to figure out that I'm not really the social type, Lani," she said to him, raising one of her eyebrows at him. Or trying to, at least. It never worked that well like it did in the movies, it seemed, and that was the case again that day. She just managed to make her eyebrow area look weird and awkward, more than anything else.

Oh well...at the least, she was sure that Lani wouldn't judge her for doing something weird, considering the fact that they had just been casually discussing meteors slamming catastrophically into the Earth. Surely once someone spoke about something like that, they lost all credibility to mock someone for thinking, or doing, something just as weird. That was how she saw it, anyway. "And...hm, I guess that's true.

Especially if we had that Odion guy. I mean...at least slowing down time would help deal with the meteor a lot," Sayaka commented. To think that they were still on that subject was a bit mind boggling to her, mostly because it was so crazy to think about. But...she digressed, it was nice talking to Lani, even when it was crazy things like this. Her good nature, however, disappeared when she heard the anger in his voice, and her frown quickly appeared again.

"L-Lani...don't do anything, please. It's just...they're scared, you know? I'm their little girl and they're scared, for themselves and for me. They don't want to admit what's happened, and...sometimes things just need time." she stated, her voice a bit shaky. Mostly because she was speaking without really knowing if what she said was true or not.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani nodded his brows rising a little to give him a sly and mischievous look. Sayaka didn’t think that she was the only one who could pull tricks did she. “Oh yeah,” he said his face stretching into a sly smile. Perhaps it was that Lani had a little sister or that he was just an easy person to talk to but he was feeling rather open with Sayaka as well. It took two people to make a conversation live and breathe and so not all of the responsibility could be placed in one hand or the other or the whole thing would crumble. “I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeves,” the trickster told her with a wink. Maybe he’d fill her in on the details. In fact, Shapiro was already on her way to being a trouble maker of her own right but the more tricksters the merrier. He was graduating soon he needed a successor who wouldn’t just follow after him but out do him. Between Shapiro and Sayaka he could see that happening.

Sayaka wasn’t socially awkward she was shy. Lani could see that now. Awkward people generally were more awkward than this. Lani really just found her precious and funny. But then Lani didn’t think about things the same way as most people. Although, there were a lot of people who didn’t think like most people so perhaps the definition of normal needed to be readjusted?

Lani chuckled lightly. “I don’t think you’re not the social type. I think that is a self fulfilling prophecy.” He said with a nod. She just hadn’t met a lot of people yet, once she did she would too start to have people to bother. Lani paused and decided to let her in on a little known detail. Perhaps it would help her a little bit. “You know when I first came here I didn’t leave my room for a week. So look at you, Sayaka, you’re already doing better than me.” He gave her his best smile of encouragement. It was true, but Lani had also only been here for a year or so? Had it really been so long? It must have been, he had come here just a few weeks previous to now last year. Wow, how had the time flown. Lani had been seventeen and it had been a mind-blowing experience. The realization that the world he thought he knew was gone coupled with the embarrassment of such a late manifestation of power it had been hard for Lani to get himself moving.

He chuckled a little bit as she tried to raise her brow. He struggled against it his lips twitching up a little bit. She looked so funny, he was sure he had looked like that when he was her age too. It was strange how much muscle training it took to get facial expressions to be just right. He elbowed her lightly to let her know that he wasn’t trying to make fun of her. She could count on Lani as a friend. As a protector if necessary. It wasn’t hard for people to gain Lani’s protection; it was almost instinct for him. If someone was suffering he had to help, he just couldn’t walk away. But when it was a friend… well, hell hath no fury like a raging telekinetic.

Lani nodded. “Odion would help,” he said with sureness, though really he wasn’t sure what gave him the idea that Odion would be willing to save the world. “That would not only give us time to work on moving it but if we got tired or something we might have a break for a second or two.” He wondered if Odion’s power could work on such a scale. It made sense that since he could stop Lani’s telekinesis it wouldn’t surprise him if Odion could stop a meteor. Perhaps Odion wouldn’t even need help. Who knew? Lani was going to have to throw this hypothetical situation at Odion and see what happened.

Her stuttering words broke Lani’s anger. He wasn’t happy about not being able to do something but he didn’t want to scare her either. He unclenched his fists slowly and sighed. “I won’t,” he promised, for now at least. “Are you sure?” Lani asked calmly but his eyes were sharp as he looked at her and tried to look past whatever defense she was putting up. “They’re going to have to get over it. They can have time and still be your parents at the same time. Have you talked to them since you’ve been here?” Lani didn’t know why parents abandoning their children got under his skin so much. Both of his parents were supportive. Well at least as far as powers go. Occupation not so much.

[Sayaka Ito]

((Sorry it's shorter than usual. :c ))

"I dunno, you seem like the type of guy to prank people so much that it turns them away," Sayaka said impishly. It was a mean thing to say, yes, but she was saying it in a joking tone. She thought he would get that she wasn't serious, and besides, considering all the things they had just been discussing? It would be silly to think she actually was serious. "I'm kidding. Still, I haven't seen any of these so-called tricks," she made sure to tell him a second later. Maybe he was right, and she wasn't socially awkward. Just...shy.

But, then, even shy people were willing to talk when it came time to. Sayaka wasn't really sure she wanted to talk at all, there was a big difference there. How very strange...the girl wasn't sure what to make of that outlook, herself. Because she did trust Lani about the fact that she was a shy girl, but at the same time, she didn't feel that definition fit her, exactly. She was more skittish than anything else. "Yeah, but...not everyone rebounds quickly. You musta been really popular before coming here. I really wasn't," she spoke up, quick to assure him that shyness didn't really cover it all that much.

"Sides...you're just one person. I haven't met that many people," Sayaka added, as if that somehow helped right then when it really didn't change a thing. In fact, it probably just added fuel to the fire, when it came to him being able to counter what she said. "And...yeah, I'm sure. I think they just need time. To understand it and everything, y'know? They don't want me, or anyone around me, getting hurt because they know I'll blame myself." she responded to him in a small voice, that same uncomfortable frown on her face again.

She couldn't help it, this was a very delicate subject to say the least, and especially so for a girl like Sayaka.

[Lani Hunter]

((Don’t worry about it! It’s good!))

Lani gaped at her for a moment and mimicked an insulted expression before a sly grin slid on his face and he pressed a hand to his chest and gave her his best innocent look. “Who? Me?” Of course he was a prankster but he didn’t do so much as to turn people away. He laughed a little at her quick catch. “I know,” he said, “But you haven’t seen anything yet.” He and Odion were going to the Halloween dance and there was bound to be trouble then. But Lani wasn’t the type of person to go after one person, if he was going to pull something it was going to include the masses. Like the meat crawling across the ground. Not targeting people more the populous as a whole. She would bear witness to one eventually he was sure. Especially with Halloween coming up. He loved this holiday. “Just wait and see.” He gave her a wink.

Lani was sure she was shy. After all she was talking now. Part of her wanted to talk, that was for sure. She had grand ideas but was just too shy to say them. Of that Lani was sure. She had already shown that she was smart, she would be one of the top of her class, Lani could tell. She thought about things more than she spoke, which was a good thing. There were already too many fools out there that spoke before they thought, one of which was named Lani. He had a terrible habit of talking himself into corners and trying to talk himself out and failing miserably. It happened more with Odion than anyone else, Odion seemed to have a knack for finding holes in his stories or logic and diving right in.

Looking at Sayaka Lani couldn’t help himself. He laughed. He laughed hard. Lani popular? If only she could have known. Lani had been the mysterious one that had rumors floating around him continuously but as far as being popular was he was hardly it. He was just strong enough to be left alone but not so outgoing as to be one of the people that talked to everyone. He had friends but they hadn’t been close. He had never had the time to have friends, not really. Not until he came here. Perhaps it was worth it. He hadn’t really fit in anywhere until he became a meta. “Sorry,” he said recovering in his laughter, “But you are very mistaken. I wasn’t popular at all. I just like to talk to people.” It was the truth, Lani had eventually gotten bored and had been dangerously close to depression so he decided that talking to people was going to happen. “I have to say I don’t think I fit in anywhere until I came here.” Until he met Adrianna and Odion, and Shapiro and others and now Sayaka.

Lani pouted at her but his eyes were alight with humor. “Don’t worry so much, it’s not gonna happen immediately. You’ll make a lot of friends I’m sure, by the end of your time here. You’ve gotta give yourself time.” He nodded. Sayaka worried too much, but Lani really couldn’t talk. He listened carefully listening for holes in her logic and hoping that there weren’t any. He wanted Sayaka to have a good relationship with her parents. “You don’t sound sure,” Lani said gently his eyes soft. He wanted to be here for her not to give her a harsh reality. The reality that he was starting to see. Perhaps he was wrong. He hoped he was wrong. She was convinced they were looking out for her. What Lani saw was parents coming up with excuses because they were afraid of their own daughter. Especially if they knew she would blame herself why? She would blame herself for her parents being afraid of her.

[Sayaka Ito]

"Y-Yes you!" Sayaka so declared. This was kind of ridiculous, the whole 'yes you' thing, because he could just jokingly retort back 'who me' and she realized that much. But...she didn't really have that much else to say in response to him other than that, honestly, and so she just left it as that. Of course, he gave her something to respond to when he spoke up again. "Oh? Or you could just be lying to me about having any tricks at all...that wouldn't surprise me," she said with an impish little giggle accompanying what she said.

...To think he had actually got HER of all people to giggle like that. She was certainly enjoying this talk with him, that much would be clear to anyone at that point. "Buuut I guess you're saving the best for Halloween, then? Kinda not fair to people who meet you before then, don'tcha think?" she had to ask a bit cheekily. It wasn't fair at all since anyone who met him beforehand would not believe he had any tricks up his sleeve in the slightest.

But of course Sayaka DID believe him, he did seem the pranking type. This was all just...joking, and joking with friends like this, she found, seemed to be really nice. An easy way to relax and get along with people. She really really liked it. "A-and if you like talking to people of course you're popular! Popular people talk to EVERYONE! Though...you're not really mean like a lot of popular people are. That's a good thing," Sayaka said cheerfully. Of course it was good to not be mean to people.

"And...yeah, I'm sure. I KNOW I would blame myself if anything bad happened to me or someone else 'cause of my powers, so...I don't really blame 'em for that."

[Lani Hunter]

Lani laughed and rocked back a little bit in danger of falling back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said with a sly grin. Yes, she had no idea that she was dealing with the person with the single thickest file in the records room. He was actually wondering when they were going to move on to make it so that he had two files. He supposed they probably knew he thinned it every once in a while but then how could they keep track of all of that. That was also part of his master plan. There were many layers to staying invisible and one of them was to be extremely visible. Lani put his hand to his heart and gave her a mock insulted expression. “I might just have to prove you wrong.” He said with an equally impish grin. Oh she was going to be a little protégée yet. Poor Hammel, if he, Shapiro, Sayaka and Odion were all working together directly or indirectly they had some trouble spelled for them.

“Bingo,” he said giving her a wink. “It’s all part of the master plan,” Lani told her with a sly grin and a nod. Act innocent and too nice to pull anything. Not even Lani knew yet that he was going to be alongside Odion setting off fireworks at the dance. That would certainly be something to behold. But there were a whole 31 days in October and Lani had a plan for pretty much every one of them. Now Sayaka was also on his list. He grinned and gave her a narrowed eyed look that just spelled trouble.

Sayaka was opening up and it was wonderful. She had a great laugh and the hesitation was adorable because she still said what was on her mind. Who would have thought that someone calling Lani’s name ‘pretty’ would become such a fast friend. Lani shrugged then laughed. “Well I’m so glad to hear that. I would hate to be one of those mean popular people!”
He said with honesty. If that ever happened he hoped someone would hit him. “But that’s not really true, I mean I talk to a lot of people and I suppose I’m friends with a fair amount of people but I don’t think popular is the word. I mean I am pretty spectacular though, aren’t I?” He asked with mock arrogance giving her a cheesy smile.

Lani couldn’t help himself he reached his arm around and gave her a one armed hug. “But you can’t blame yourself. What happens with your power, especially when it’s hard to control shouldn’t be your fault. It’s a mistake.” He wanted her to understand that. The more he spoke the more he realized he should listen to his own advice. “But that’s not what I mean. I mean you don’t sound like you really think that your parents think that.” He looked at her with veiled sympathy in his eyes. He wanted things to work out for her, he really did, but he also wanted her to be prepared if things took a bad turn.

[Sayaka Ito]

Lani was certainly an interesting guy. If there was one thing she had learned from this conversation, it was that fact. And if there was a second thing she had learned? It was the fact that she could rely on Lani. It was strange, that feeling of being able to rely on someone. She had felt it before, of course, but had ruined it when her powers had manifested so fully back in her old school. Lani though...somehow she felt that no matter what she did, he would try to help her, try to keep her calm and happy and all of that good stuff.

It was simply...nice to know there was someone watching out for her. "You might just have to, yes. I don't think I can wait until Halloween for proof," Sayaka commented. She didn't doubt him though, that he was some kind of prankster. This was all in good fun, though...she had to wonder, since when did she get involved with pranksters? Sayaka had always been the type of girl to avoid doing things like pranks, so it was odd, to her at least, to be just playfully going along with this. "And popular is the word...someone who talks with practically everyone and is friends with a ton of other people. But yes. Yes, you are ever so amazing," Sayaka said, making sure her sarcasm was evident.

yes, he was incredible in her eyes, considering how much he had gotten her to open up, but still, the fact remained that being full of oneself wasn't really a desirable trait for a person to have, even if it was true that they were amazing. When he gave her the one armed hug, she hesitated for a moment, and then cuddled into him as he spoke to her. It was...comforting. Simple as that. Especially considering the subject.

"I know, but...mistakes are the fault of people too, Lani. And besides, I think I would blame myself if I hurt someone again 'cause of it." she told him. That was why they were all at the school, right? To learn their powers so they didn't hurt anyone.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani wasn’t sure how he ended up being how he was. He had the kind of mind that questioned things even when they had answers. He did it all the time. Sometimes it drove people up the wall but every so often he found some poor soul that would listen to his ramblings. Odion would listen but he would also offer counter arguments, Lani always left Odion knowing less than when he started. He liked it that way. The more one knew about something the less certain it became. The hand waving arguments and explanations were no longer satisfactory. Lani could only hope that he would keep learning, even if those things were not in school. If one were to go by his grades they would be tempted to say that Lani was an idiot. But then how did he ace almost every test, at least the ones he tried on.

Lani grinned and winked at her. “Then expect it when you most expect it.” He said with a laugh. He knew he mixed it up. He did it on purpose. When someone was told to expect it when they least expected it they would know that it would come when they weren’t thinking about it so why not mix it up and do it when it was expected to get the person to be unsettled that they were gotten while they were aware of something. Lani shrugged, he still wasn’t convinced that popular was a word to describe him. He snorted with laughter and folded his arms around his torso and gave her a slight bow. “I try,” he said with a laugh. Lani had a rather large head but he was also the kind of person that could poke fun at himself.

Lani was the first person to tell someone how amazing he was, but he was also the first to point out how flawed he was. No person on the planet was more critical of Lani than himself, not even his father. And his father was a rather critical man. The argument he had against his father was that he didn’t know the half of it and everything that his father picked at was unimportant in Lani’s eyes. He would much rather be a thief who had done so to get money for his sister’s operations than a man who had sat around and done nothing, which was how he saw his father. There were unfair assumptions flying from both sides of their relationship but both were too prideful to admit that they were exactly alike.

A smile crossed Lani’s face and he squeezed her arm, he wanted her to know that he would always be there for her. Be it small things or big things like this. Lani hummed a little as he considered this. “Mistakes are lessons,” he countered, “If you never make mistakes you can never learn. So you have less control at the beginning that is part of what drives us to learn. We’re human, we are fallible. We fall on our faces and sometimes people get hurt. But that doesn’t mean we have to stop trying. What it proves is our ability to get up again and do better next time.” As Lani spoke he stared off into space as if he were talking to himself as much as to her. He had a terrible habit of running from his power when he got close to it, he needed to try harder to get back up when it knocked him down. He turned to Sayaka. "Are you going to learn from your mistakes, Sayaka? Or are you going to run from them?"