Time Warp: Act Naturally (Zachary)

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Maebelle wasn’t too fond of being at Hammel. Fellow students asked a lot of question and it wasn’t always that easy to remember what lie she had told the other day to another ‘friend’ who had asked the same thing. She didn’t like to talk about her family and she didn’t like to get too close to anyone either. People tend to abandon one another, Mae kept telling herself. Therefore friends were rare and she was usually found strolling around by herself. Today was no difference, nor was the direction she was heading into: the lake.

Going there was one of her favorite activities. There were so many different plants and flowers around there. The woods surrounding it formed the perfect place to practice her ability. While definitely nowhere near great, Maebelle liked to believe she was decent enough at it to try some things on her own. Of course not everything was a success, but she had always made it back to the school in one piece. It was also done in an attempt to improve her control without requiring more training classes – she hated those.

So, once the young brunette arrived at her destination, she moved to her usual spot where people hardly came and searched for her buddies. Squatting down, a hand reached to forward the small vines growing there and soon enough they were slowly snaking their way over. Mae smiled and sat down on her butt. Usually she tried to control things by a motion of her hand, mostly because doing so by mind tended to end up in a catastrophe.

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It’d only been a few weeks in since Zach’s arrival to the school. The Hammel Institute. It was the same place that had taken his big brother from him. Then Aurora. Since he’d passed the mark of 15 years this past January, Zach had assumed that he was home free. He didn’t have to be one of these freaks. He could be…normal.

But apparently God had a sense of humor and decided to wait until almost the last minute to wake up those meta-genes of his. And he couldn’t have made it any creepier, right? Seriously? Spiders? Zach hated spiders. And now they were…they were just everywhere. Zach tried to ignore it, but it was like he had a constant ringing in his ear. And that ringing made him just a mite more irritable than he would be as just the normal anti-social, angsty teen. Being alone made it a little easier, but in a place as crowded as Hammel, that was near impossible.

After that, you’d think it’d be practical just staying home, right? With 11 siblings running around and crying and shitting all over the place, Zach wasn’t too keen on staying in that mess either. So he’d gotten his notebook, stuck a pen in the spine, and headed out into the world yonder, clothed in his usual getup: tight black shirt, jeans that hugged his waist tighter than a straightjacket, and of course his converse. Zach had started growing his hair out a few months back and thus far, it’d managed to reach in a cropped bob just below his ears. He brought his hoodie jacket as well, not because it was cold, but because he needed more pocket space than what his jeans could provide.

Where could he go? The lake was a hit or miss place so far. On the one hand, it had places where people rarely went. On the other hand, the ringing from his ability was damn near chronic. His desire to be left alone to his own thoughts won over his dislike for the creepy-crawlies that lived in the vicinity and so he rounded about the edge of the lake, searching for a decent place to plop and jot down some muses that’d been itching his brain for a while. He passed around another tree and looked up to see that what he thought was going to be a secluded area was already occupied. Zach was about to give up and head back when he noticed that…the plants were moving?

Uhh…should he say something? He wanted to keep watching, but that was sort of rude, wasn’t it? But darned it all, he just couldn’t think of an appropriate way to break into…well, anything. Maybe…if he just made a lot of noise while walking towards her? Yeah, that sounded good. Zach took one step forward and snapped a twig under his shoes.

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Maebelle cherished this moment. The plants were her friends and she didn’t have to worry about them judging her. She could be herself and felt no need to portray herself differently than when around other human beings. While her power was definitely not fully developed yet, the girl was proud of what had been achieved so far. Of course her trainer contributed it to all their lessons together (which was mostly true), but Mae liked to think it was also thanks to moments like this. She didn’t really dare to mention it though. Perhaps it would be labeled as dangerous and they might try to keep her from venturing out like this.

Kind of like what Zach did. Technically his actions were more dangerous than hers, even though neither of them were aware of it at that moment. The boy, however, would find out soon enough. Because the second that twig snapped under his shoes, startling Maebelle, her concentration made place for a sudden pang of fear and slight panic. Completely caught off guard, the vines reacted to her emotions and made their way over like fast snakes, hidden under the foliage until they reached his feet. Rapidly they tangled around Zach’s ankle and with one swift tug did they get him down on the ground.

Mae’s motions were the completely opposite of that. Upon witnessing it (barely required a few seconds), she shot back up to her feet. Instead of rushing over, however, she stood there… dumbfound and no freaking clue what to do. Because, hey, this did not happen before! After a couple of counts, a little bit more common sense struck and the brunette moved over quickly. “Why were you spying on me?!” She demanded, sounding upset and worried. Zach might even interpret it as her doing this on purpose to get an answer out of him. In reality it was her way of blaming him for this outcome.

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Clearly this was a bad idea. Zach should have just gone back the way he came and found another place to settle that was reasonably away from people. But fate had decided that he would do the exact wrong thing to do in this situation and end up spooking the girl he’d happened upon. Such was not his intention, of course, but others would argue that that was usually his intention when he lurked in the corner of a room and silently snuck up behind someone and simply stood there until they noticed.

Creepy yes, but unintentional. Zach just didn’t know how to engage and any attempts were usually incoherent mumbles and stutters and sentences that sounded much like Yoda with a severe brain injury.

It was that awkwardness which had brought about this unfortunate happenstance, “unfortunate” being a vast understatement. Mere seconds after the twig had snapped, Zach found himself suddenly grappled around the ankles by…well, his first thought was that he was being attacked by some tentacle-monster horror that was going to do a million and one horrible things to him(and no he did not get these ideas because he spent too much time in the vast, dark underworld of the internet known as 4chan).

Zach hit the ground with a hard thud, bruising himself on a root, and groaning as he lifted his head look down in horror at the….vines? that were tied tightly around his ankles. Then the girl spouted her accusations. “I’m…I’m not….I was just…” His stuttering probably wasn’t helping things. Actually, it just made him look more guilty. “You were alone….and I was….quietly….” It made sense in his head! But unless she was a mind reader, it likely wasn’t clear what he was trying to say. “And then watching…I mean, walking! And….” Coherency, please, Zach.

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It had not been a bad idea. It was a horrible one! Maebelle, however, would have to admit that this outcome had not been expected. The vines’ reaction caught her off guard (which possibly only intensified their actions given they thrived on the girl’s fear), and Zach’s stuttering made it even more difficult to grasp what was going on. “You snuck up to me!” The girl stated firmly. “And look what you did!” A hand motioned at the vines. Of course Zach could object since his power was not relatively close to causing this, but technically his stupid decision had led to this. Mae liked to believe it was out of her control.

It kind of was. “I… I don’t know how to stop them.” The accusing tone had made place for a little bit of shame (along with the fear that had never left). Whether or not Zach was trying to get free, the plants effortlessly were tangling around the rest of his lower legs now. The brunette figured it would only be a matter of time before they would make it impossible for him to move at all. The only reason why Mae was annoyed was because his appearance had interrupted her concentration… and that in turn had led to her feeling incredibly useless and helpless right now. For a second she even considered just walking away.

Slowly she squatted down next to the teenager boy, reaching forward to the vines. Touching them, however, didn’t appear to have any effect. “Maybe… maybe we just have to wait and it might wear off?” Which was possible, right? Hopefully. Maebelle’s knowledge about the ability was limited. What she had learnt by now was that a connection was formed, so hurting the vines would cause pain for her. Therefore cutting them was not an option, nor tugging them out of the ground.

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“I…I didn’t mean to….” he stammered out, an awkward quiver of fear starting to settle in. Good god, who had he managed to piss off? Girls were scary when they were mad. He should know, Claudia was the scariest, fiercest person he knew! And don’t get him started with Aura. She could lay it on you when she wanted!

Zachary Bishop didn’t know who this girl was, but his first impression was that she might have had a temperament that he should be wary of. Maybe it would have been better to just go back? Maybe? “I, uh…..” He stared down at his entangled legs, trying to move them, but only ended up encouraging the vines to wrap around him tighter. Zach stopped, for fear that if they got too tight, then he’d start to lose feeling in his legs, the circulation there already poor because of his jeans and overall general lack of regular physical activity.

“….maybe,” he breathed, propping himself up with his hands until he was finally sitting upright and not on the ground like a worm. “This is….really…uncomfortable,” he announced stiltedly, trying to squeeze his fingers between the vines and the denim of his jeans. “So…what’s….you….?” Zach didn’t even know what he was trying to say. “Sorry…” he finally decided on. “I didn’t….I didn’t mean to scare you.” He dropped his head and crossed his arms over his chest. Sitting up was taking more effort than he thought it would. He uncrossed his arms and placed his hands on the dirt, trying to hold himself up as comfortably as possible. It wasn't really working.

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Zachary was not good with words, huh? Maebelle tended to lack communication skills as well, but she was just so frustrated right now that she didn’t get a chance to overthink her words. At least until the young girl seemed to settle down some, mainly thanks to the fact that Zach remained calm. God knows how he managed that given the circumstances.

While he might not have completed whatever question he was asking, Mae sort of did formulate one in her head. “I… I can manipulate plants,” the brown-haired student replied while helplessly looking down at her hands as if there were about to sprout something. “But I don’t know how.” The last word was kind of dragged out in a little whine as blue optics settled on his face once more. She felt awful when they boy apologized and she couldn’t even make the situation more comfortable for him.

“Maybe…” Fully sitting down on her butt now, Mae reached out once more in an attempt to get at least one vine to tangle itself around her arm like it had been doing before. “I’m sorry… too.” She eventually breathed with an apologetic look gracing her features. At least the vines seemed to loosen up some, so that was a decent start, right? “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” After the briefest of pauses, some desperation filled her voice. “W-what if I can’t get them off?”

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Zach? Calm? This was…well, this was what Zach was like when h panicked…well, maybe not. Zach’s baseline was very chill and easygoing, and there wasn’t a whole lot that could ellicite a response high than a “really? wow” from him. There were specifics. And being bound by the vines of a plant manipulator wasn’t one of them.

Plus, panicking was probably just going to upset the girl and make things worse.

“That…would make sense…” he uttered out slowly. Zach shifted his knees again. “You…uh, are you a freshman? Or new? To Hammel?” Obviously she wasn’t a graduate otherwise she’d have better control over her powers. That was the purpose of Hammel, wasn’t it? Though Zach hadn’t made much progress with his own power yet. He was still…well, not happy that they were here in the first place. That they had to move across the country just so he(and his siblings) could go to school.

Humph….and right away they were probably going to have to amputate his legs because a fledgling plant manip couldn’t figure out how to free him.

Okay, maybe Zach was a little bitter about it.

“It’s…it’s okay,” he said, keeping his voice soft and steady like always. Zach looked up at the brunette. She looked more torn up about this than he was. He offered her a smile, hoping to put her more at ease. “Don’t worry. I’m sure…that’s not going to happen.” They weren’t too far from the school, right? Maybe if she went to go get help from one of the teachers? But then was it really safe to send a girl off on her own like that? But then, she came out here on her own didn’t she? Zach dipped his head and sighed. “So…guess we’re suck with each other…for now.” He looked up at her again. “What’s your name? I’m Zach.” He extended a hand, using the other to keep himself propped upright.

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Maebelle wanted to claim that, no, she was not a freshman. She quite probably would have had this been a completely different situation, but right now she simply couldn’t get away with the statement of being in her last year. Looks easily could have given it away anyway… if her lack of control hadn’t been the most obvious clue. “New,” the brown-haired girl mumbled. Given that question got asked, however, she assumed he must be attending the institute as well. “You?” She ventured carefully.

At least the boy seemed to be able to offer her a smile. That was good, right? Despite the position he was in right now. Mae kind of mirrored it, except that hers looked a tad bit more strained because feeling awful still had the upper hand. Especially when he introduced himself. Because, you know, that created some sort of bond and stirred some feeling of protectiveness over the other person… which she was very much failing at.

With a small frown, reluctant to reach her hand forward, she eyed his. As two seconds had passed, the girl at last participated in the introduction, giving it a little shake. “Maebelle. Or, well, Mae… Which I would tell my friends to call me… if I had any. And I don’t really think this has left a good impression,” the hand, upon retrieval, gesturing to the vines. “-so we probably aren’t friends…” The plant manipulator rambled on before pursing lips slightly, abruptly shutting herself up before more stupid things were said.

Eventually shoulders slumped and Mae let a small sigh escape. Fingertips trailed over one of the vines, which in turn seemed to relax under the touch. “Could you maybe sort of kind of not tell anyone at Hammel..?” Blue eyes drifting through eyelashes, a bit too ashamed to fully face Zach. “I don’t want them to get mad about this…” Or for people to avoid her… which would definitely limit her chances of finding friends.

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Zach thought as much, if only because a student in their last year would be expected to have better control over their power than this girl did. But who knew? She could have been an older student who just sucked at training. Zach himself hadn’t had that much training, but he was determined to not have to stay here longer than he absolutely had to, so he was probably trying a little harder in that area than most. But really, what could be so hard about climbing up walls and zeroing in on spiders.

Speaking of which, there was one on the approach(with several others just chilling about), though Zach couldn’t quite pinpoint from where it was coming from. “….freshman,” he said, looking around slightly. “…just started a few weeks ago, actually.” He paused, then shrugged. “Manifested late, I guess.” He refused to know more about it though.

Zach almost thought she wasn’t going to take his hand…which would have been okay, he supposed. There wasn’t a rule that said she had to take an offered hand to shake. But it was nice that she did, when she finally did. “Maebelle…that’s pretty,” he said. “But if your friends call you Mae…I guess I’ll use that.” A quick smile came and went, to reassure her that he didn’t really hold much of a grudge, despite any grumpiness he might give off.

He didn’t understand why she wouldn’t want to tell one of the Hammel trainers, though. “That doesn’t make sense,” he chided, his eyebrows pushing forward in confused irritation. “The teachers are there to help us learn to use our powers and save our butts when we screw up so that…things like this don’t happen.” Zach gestured to his legs. “If we can’t go to them when we don’t know what to do with our powers, then what the hell are they there for?”

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Zach seemed nice. The fact that he didn’t make fun of her name, which many seemed to link to the country side, immediately put him on a good page. And hey, he pretty much said that they could be friends. Despite her initial hesitation, it did stir some happiness within. At least until the boy had to go and go against her request. His disapproval was obvious and he could have limited himself to making that clear in a much shorter way. Maebelle’s smile developed into a small frown – one that intensified when he gestured to his legs.

“I do know what to do with my power,” the plant manipulator mumbled, even though it was rather obvious that this was. Zach surely could feel how some of the vines intensified their grip again. “They’ll just judge me, like you’re doing right now.” With a weak shrug, Mae retreated her hands from the plants. “And they might not allow me to leave to school grounds anymore.” Maybe. After all, plants could be found anywhere. Keeping her somewhere where they could keep an eye on her might end up being safest for everyone.

Of course Maebelle was overreacting. Zachary had a point, but it just was hard for her to accept this. She didn’t like to show weakness around others. With a small sigh, the brunette forced an apologetic look on her face. “What’s your power? Do… you have a lot of control over it?” If not, it quite probably would make her feel somewhat better. And it would mean he also had to fall back on trainers, meaning she would be more likely to accept his opinion.

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Zach was no whistleblower. If she asked him not to, then Zach wouldn’t tell the teachers anything. That didn’t mean he had to approve of her decision, nor was he not going to express his disapproval. “Judge…you?” he repeated with a slight strain in his voice. The vines were getting tighter, and hence, his legs were starting to throb more. “I wasn’t judging!” he protested, suddenly annoyed with the situation. “But now I am, because you’re letting something so stupid get in the way of making the right decision.”

Teachers were there to teach, not criticize, but they couldn’t do that if the students wouldn’t let them and just ran away over their stupid pride or whatever. And in that instance, the student is hurting herself for not letting someone who knows what to do tell them what to do, and anyone else they happen to unleash their uncontrolled power on. “I’d rather not get my legs amputated because somebody didn’t know how to ask for help.” Zach looked away, scowling.

Zach understood. He himself had that stupid pride, but he hated this place a lot more, and the only way he was going to get out of it is if he learned to control this stupid power of his, and the only way he was going to learn that is if he took his training seriously. However, despite him taking it seriously, Zach still didn’t have a lot of control either. Then again, Zach was only a freshman too. “I, uh…I can climb walls,” and locate every frigging spider on the planet. All at once. It hurt his brain and made him grumpy sometimes. “And no…I don’t…” he said, his voice softening a bit. “I, uh…I just got here…to Hammel…”