Rock and Roll, Baby (Everett)

[Tori Peterson]

Tori bounced eagerly as she walked. Birds were chirping and conversing around her, but she barely noticed what they were saying - she was a girl on a mission. She was on her way to the office of a power trainer. Math, history, physics - all the horrible, boring subjects in the world couldn't ruin this, the main aspect of Hammel that made it different from other schools. In this case, different meant wonderful. She was going to learn to fly! She was going to learn to fly, and to better talk to birds, and, and, and...

She wore the only racerback tank top she owned at that point: a blue, fitted one that exposed her wings, as well as jean shorts. Her messenger bag hung off her right shoulder. As she walked up to the office building she pulled out a sheet of paper with the name of one of the newer powers trainers, Everett Lilien, and his office number. She didn't know that much about him, just that he needed students and she needed a trainer. Perhaps it was unwise to go straight into this with so little information, but... it had worked out well so far, right? Besides, she would never know until she actually visited him.

Tori skipped up the steps, energized by mental images of her soaring up to the door in the future. How high would she be able to fly? How fast could she go? Did Hammel allow pet falcons? Wouldn't that be the coolest thing, to have a pet falcon she could talk to and fly with??!?

Everett Lilien's office was closer to the door than she expected. She knocked loudly five times on the door, barely able to contain her excitement.

[Everett Lilien]

Files, files and more files... Everett found himself annoyed with all the sifting through student files. The only interesting thing about it was looking at their powers. There was a lot at Hammel...a lot of interesting powers you wouldn't even thought existed. However, he did have one application set to the side already, the file of Tori Peterson, fresh meat at Hammel, which meant she was in major need of a trainer and her power was one that had caught his eye immediately. She could fly and communicate with birds? Damn, he wanted to start to come up with super hero names for her already and start drafting a comic book about her...but that was just a part of his obsession with comics and he really needed to set that aside from work...even if it was incredibly hard.

When he'd heard a knock on his door, he was in the middle of a riveting issue of Hawkeye and had to practically tear his eyes away from it. "Come in!" he shouted, fumbling with the comic book if it was a school official.

[Tori Peterson]

"Come in!" a voice sounded from inside the office. Tori practically exploded through the door, all grins and wide eyes. She took a glance around the room and saw a somewhat disorganized office, with paperwork strewn in front of a thin blonde man who was fumbling with what appeared to be a comic book. He's pretty attractive, she noted, blushing slightly and putting the thought out of her mind. That wasn't exactly the most appropriate first thought to have about a powers trainer, was it?

When she spoke, her words tumbled out of her mouth in an excited rush. "Hey so I heard you're a new powers trainer and I need someone to help train my powers so so so..." She forced herself to shut up, since she was making a damned fool of herself. This man is Hammel staff, treat him with the proper respect! "Uh... sir? Mr. Lilien?" she asked hesitantly, attempting to tack on some respect and discern what the correct level of formality was in this situation.

[Everett Lilien]

The girl who entered his office was way too small to be a school official and so he sighed in relief. If he was going to freak out everytime somebody knocked on his door, he should really get a security camera or something.

He put the comic book down anyway and instead put a hand on the file he had out on his desk, sliding it over to himself as she spoke quickly and excitedly. Damn she was enthusiastic! At least he didn't get some awkward stick in the mud at first, or somebody who seemed entirely to hate life. "Indeed I am a powers trainer...but I'm also Batman. It's a tough job," he said, cracking a smile and hoping to make her feel more comfortable.

Holy shit. Mr. Lilien. It sounded so...official. He wasn't used to it. In fact, it almost made him cringe. "Call me Everett," he told her with a shrug. "I'm a trainer, but I am not ready to be called Mr. Anything just yet."He held out his hand for her to shake. "Tori Peterson?"

[Tori Peterson]

"Indeed I am a powers trainer...but I'm also Batman. It's a tough job," Everett said as he set his comic book down and slid a file in front of him. Tori smiled and giggled a bit, relieved that he hadn't ended up being some hardass who was obsessed with order and rules. He seemed pretty chill, as was confirmed by his preferred title (or lack thereof). "Call me Everett. I'm a trainer, but I am not ready to be called Mr. Anything just yet. Tori Peterson?" He held out a hand for her to shake, and she took it.

"Good to meet you, Mr. Anything Just Yet," she said playfully, sitting down at the desk across from him. She paused, not actually sure what came next. Crap, what did come next? She had just been so excited by the prospect of meeting a trainer that she didn't actually know how the student/trainer matching process worked or anything. "Uh," she began oh-so-articulately, "do I, like, have to answer any questions before training? What happens now?" She blushed slightly, wishing she knew more about how this worked.

[Everett Lilien]

Everett recognized immediately that she was easy going. Especially by how she'd greeted him. "You're clever," he commented at Mr. Anything Just Yet. He leaned forward in his chair, trying to resist the urge to spin around in the chair once more. Why would the Hammel staff give him a toy like that?!

"Well, there's not really a formal process to starting training, but I would like to know a bit more about you. Nothing to personal like when you go to the bathroom each day, but just a few basic things. Some trainers here might just train their students and that's it, but I think that actually knowing the student is important," he emphasized. "So, your power..." he looked down at the file, wishing he'd had a pair of fake glasses to take out to look more professional. "Winged Flight and Avian Communication?" He raised an eyebrow, just before looking up at her once more.

[Tori Peterson]

"Nah, I'm just a smartass," Tori replied, wryly repeating what various teachers had told her throughout the years. She smiled at the compliment, though, glad to be making a good first impression on her super-chill trainer.

"Well, there's not really a formal process to starting training, but I would like to know a bit more about you," Everett said. "Some trainers here might just train their students and that's it, but I think that actually knowing the student is important," he emphasized. Tori nodded in agreement. She hated teachers who didn't give a crap about their students, so it was nice to have a trainer who said up-front that he wanted to get to know his students a bit.

"So, your power... Winged Flight and Avian Communication?" Tori nodded enthusiastically, bouncing slightly in her chair. "Yep! I've been careful not to fly yet since I haven't had any training," she responded, evidently proud of her self-control. I mean, who wouldn't want to use wings if they had them?! "Same with talking to birds, though I can understand them."

[Everett Lilien]

"Smart-asses are often clever, are they not?" Everett asked with an eyebrow raised. He couldn't help but chuckle. He could tell she was going to be fun to train. The first student he'd gotten was obviously very much someone he could handle. He liked her attitude.

"That's good to hear. Getting cocky with your power is one of the worst mistakes you can make, especially when you don't know what you're doing. At least wait to be cocky until you know what you're doing. Flight can be very dangerous." He'd known a few people with winged flight back when he was at Hammel. A lot of them weren't very responsible with their power. "Those things both take a lot of commitment to learn. Especially the flying part. As for the avian communication, a lot of it should come naturally to you over time."