Ascension of silence [open]

[Anthy Blacksmith]

When the moan came from him, she looked at him a bit startled and more than a bit worried. The concern was clear in her eyes as she tried to see what might have been wrong. His hands had flown up to cover his mouth. Was he alright? Maybe he was going through another one of those personality changes? Well, she didn't know if it was personality changes or not, but she was going to mentally call his swift alterations that for now.

When he started stammering, she became even more worried and a bit confused. Should she go get some help? But she'd need to know his powers first, right? Or would she? He didn't seem to be in pain, so maybe it was for another reason he'd just moaned like that? And as he apologised, there was just more confusion added to the mix. Had he done something? She hadn't noticed anything.... Maybe he'd accidentally read her mind or something and was feeling embarrassed about it?

No. No it wasn't mind reading. Or empathy, he soon revealed to her. His ability was... well, something she hadn't heard of. But then again, it wasn't like she had studied up on all the powers everyone in Hammel had either, so it wasn't a huge surprise that she would learn about something new. When he had asked her if she had anything she wanted him to show her, she was at a loss on how to answer. Anthy tried to think of different videogames she had seen before.

"Um.... have you played Soul Calibur five?.. There's a character that has some interesting moves... Voldo... Do you know it? He has a combination he can do; the Fanatic Arachnid going into the Death Roll... Actually, that might be a little much... I don't know for sure, really." She said.

She was still a little disturbed from what had happened a moment ago.

"Are you sure you're alright? I mean... you seemed a little off a minute ago."

[Lucas Blacke]

Luke had found the time to calm down, his muscles were backing down and he felt his actual speech pattern returning. And though he knew he could chalk all of it up to the side effects of his ability he knew that'd just seem stupid, he figured. Because who else had he met that had the same ability as him? Who would believe his muscles made him do stuff, not his brain?

She asked if he had played soul calibur five. He wanted to roll his eyes at her but succeeded not to. He copied movement, of course he had played soul calibur five, just like most other games that involved a human and movement. Though he wondered if Voldo was human.. He did kinda move like one, but he was never one for checking backgrounds of characters.

''You into SC5? That's pretty awesome, we should play. Also so I can brush up on my Voldo, never really played him all that much.'' He lied. He didn't need to brush up on anything, it was just a small and almost devious plan to get to know the girl a bit better. ''Though I'm not sure I can get Ivy's jiggle down.'' He added in a joking manner.

''Also, I should say in advance that I am quite good at the game. And if ya do manage to beat me, I know wing chun.'' He replied with a wink.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

So he played it too? Well, he had just told her, so yes he did. And, with how his ability was, she should have thought of that already. Hopefully he wasn't going to get annoyed again to the point of another outburst.

"I'm.... I'm not really that good at it. But Ivy is pretty fun to play with. I haven't played too many times, just when a friend of mine used to have me over at her house. Now Em, she was good. Really good. I couldn't keep up with her half the time unless I was using Ivy. But I think I just got lucky when it came to Ivy. I guess the button combinations for her moves were just easy for me or something. Em was crazy about Voldo. Not only did she play him all the time, but she had posters and such of him up on her walls." Anthy told him.

She got a bit quiet as she wondered if she was talking too much. She did giggle a little as she thought over his attempting to move like Ivy. Now that would be an odd sight indeed.

"I'd have to be careful not to beat you too hard then. I couldn't fight my way out of a box in real life." She replied with another giggle, responding to his joke about knowing wing chun.

Well, it likely wasn't a joke that he knew it, but rather a joke about using it on her if she defeated him in video game combat.

[Lucas Blacke]

''Well this is easily remedied by practice.'' Luke offered as Anthy mentioneed not being all that good and just playing when a friend had her over at her house. With the money Luke was making thorugh his job he figured he could get a console with the game on it for on campus. He kind of wondered why he hadn't done so sooner. ''Say, would you be willing to come over some time and play some games?'' He'd have to find some free time, but he was sure he could find it to go and buy a console or something. Besides, the new generation was out, the costs of this one wouldn't be quite as high, right?

He liked that she was getting more comfortable around him, even if she did end up making him feel like a total horndog from time to time, which Luke assumed she didn't even know she was doing. Though he offered a smile he was pretty stumped by what Anthy said next.

''B-beat me..?'' He muttered with something akin to as bloody nose as he lowered his crumpled up shirt again. He knew she was talking about the game, but his mand, man, his mind! ''You can beat me.'' He finally blurted out before realizing what he said.

''I mean..-'' He whined as he had widened his eyes suddenly but refrained from taking his shirt away from the very comfortable spot. Though if he would have been able to say anything about it, he would be sure the shirt would remain hanging even without him holding it up.

''Please don't hit me!'' He tried to joke with a forced smile.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

As he mentioned practice being a remedy for her lack of skill, she had to hand it to him as he did have a point. Not that she hadn't thought of it before. It was more of the fact that she didn't really play fighting games on her own. In fact, the only games she had played in the last couple of years had been things like final fantasy and such that she had downloaded on her laptop. Fighting games weren't really any fun for her unless she had someone she was playing with. And then, it was because she was feeding off of the enjoyment the other person was getting off of the competition.

He confused her again. Lucas did, that was. The stammering about her beating him, then the way he had reacted after telling her that she couldn't beat him. Anthy found herself cocking her head to the side and wondering for the umteenth time on if he was alright. Maybe this was just how he was? He almost seemed as nervous as she got at times.

His asking her not to hit him caught her so off guard that she found herself giggling some, her hand coming up to cover her mouth a little as she did so. He certainly was silly at times, wasn't he.

"Hit you? Why would I hit you? There's nothing wrong with feeling competitive and having a little fun. I might have played Soul Caliber, but I'm not really that violent." She told him with a bright smile.

[Lucas Blacke]

''You can hit on me anyd..ay..'' Luke began to slowly think his mouth just spoke before he could really think anything through as he let go of his shirt and placed his hand on his forehead, covering his own eyes and lowering his head. He was aware that the place his shirt was guarding could now be seen by the girl, but he really didn't care at this point. He figured even a bucket full of fish could figure out what was going on in his mind by now.

As his shirt slowly dwindled to the ground to soak up some nice dirt and other gnarly stuff he sighed deeply at his own words. How did he end up so frustrated that he'd gone back to his old mannerisms? Somehow he wanted this all to be over, but he somewhow also enjoyed this. Though he wasn't quite sure if Anthy was really not picking up on what she said or just playing about.

Finally Luke took his hand from his face and turned his gaze back to the girl before him, cocking his head like she did. Something about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery. Time to see if she'd pick up on that.

As she giggled so did Luke for some reason, but he didn't make the same sound she made, instead he made no sound. He did however bring his hand up to his mouth just like Anthy was, not to mock her but to try to show her what his ability was all about.

''S..-'' He coughed and forced his voice to catch up with his thoughts. ''Still, ya didn't answer my question.''

''Wanna come over and game someday?
Granted, I'd still need to pick up some games before then. Or.. we could pick up some games right now, if you want..''

[Anthy Blacksmith]

He had an odd way of phrasing this comment about her being able to hit him any time, but Anthy took it as a slip from how nervous he seemed to be. It was unusual... Someone else being the nervous one while she was starting to mellow out some from her own anxiety. Not that she was complaining, it was just different. His embarrassment about the nervousness seemed to be catching up to him, his hand coming up to cover his forehead and eyes.

Anthy didn't even notice what was going on down below. Well, she didn't. It wasn't like she had a habit of looking at people below the waist. That, and she was distracted by his actions up top. It was mostly concern. But she was at the same time trying not to worry too much seeing how this might have just been how he was. Lucas was like that for a drawn moment before he went to looking at her again. Then, he tipped his head a little to the side.

When he brought his hand up like she had when she had giggled, she realized he was copying her. Not in a way to make fun of her, she didn't think. No, she was pretty sure he wasn't doing it out of malice. Though she did wonder if it was a conscious thing or if he was just naturally picking up on her moves. She didn't get the chance to comment, as he was speaking again and bringing up the fact that she had ignored his earlier question.

"Oh, sorry about that... Yeah, I think that'd be nice. Playing some time, that is. As far as going to pick up some games, well, it might be okay. I'll just have to be really careful while we're out." She told him.

She gave a bit of an embarrassed smile.

"You know, glowing issues... I usually don't leave the property due to it unless I'm feeling really confident that I won't flash someone."

[Lucas Blacke]

Luke sighed even deeper as he finally bent over to pick up his shirt from the ground. He wasn't going to put it on for ther moment, lookd way too grody for that.. Maybe he'd dip it in the water to get the grime off and use it as a cleaning rag or something. It'd save him money and most definitely get him points with Karalie for.. stuff, something. Atleast he was thinking about cleaning. He turned around and bent over as he dipped his shirt in the water to get the most obvious dirt stains out, he patted down his shirt a few times and finally took it out of the water, shaking it out and wringing it so the majority of the water was expelled.

He stood up and turned back to Anthy and realized he had just given her a look at his still slightly wet back and whatever was below that. He offered up a small, muscle activated smile and draped the shirt over his shoulder. He thought it held just a small amount of water, but it turned out to be quite a bit as droplets streamed down his chest and as the wind had shifted it wasn't exactly warm. So stuff happened. Bad stuff. Goosebumps.

''GODS!'' he yelled out as he clenched his fists tightly and bit down. He quickly turned his attention back to the girl and tried to laugh normally, instead he let out what could be seen as a warcry. ''Look at me. Ya really think people will look at you?''

''And besides, I wouldn't mind you flashing me.''

[Anthy Blacksmith]

He picked up his shirt a moment before she was about to do so herself. Well, he'd gotten her shoe for her, so she had thought that it'd be polite to get him his shirt back to him. She just hadn't yet as she had been thinking about if it would be encroaching his personal space or not. And by the time she had decided it might be alright, he was doing it himself so she chose not to worry about it. As he turned and bent over, Anthy looked at that interesting branch again. It wasn't so much shyness, but it wasn't polite to look when someone had their ass bunked out towards you.

He was finished soon enough though, luckily, as she had to fight back a blush from what she had ended up seeing before she had focused her attention on that very interesting branch. As soon as he seemed to be no longer in that position, she went to looking at him again, though without making a big deal out of it. She felt a bit bad though. He was showing all signs of being cold and it was her fault he had gotten all wet in the first place.

He was yelling again. The outburst causing her to raise her brow. Anthy bit her lip, a bit of that shyness creeping back in. She usually didn't wilt like a hothouse flower, but he was still a bit of a stranger to her. Then, he was doing some kind of warcry. Just..... just what kind of person was he? Well, he kept her on her toes, she had to give him that.

"Maybe a change beforehand?" She suggested softly once he asked her if she thought people would really look at her.

"As for the flashing.... I.... that is... It's not very good for the eyes... I.... appreciate that you say you wouldn't mind it though..."

[Lucas Blacke]

So the assumption he made earlier about the girl knowing what she said happened to be a miscalculation. Either that or she liked him, which the boy realized was a long shot. Who, aside from Luke himself, would fall for someone in the first few minutes? Although she was a bit too shy for his taste, the body was there, and he supposed the mind was too, but the personality lacked a bit. That and the sudden memory of Karalie flashing through his mind snapped him right out of his ''this-chick-is-hot'' thought pattern.

..but.. did it? He realized he had begun to subconsciously weigh out all the options surrounding both his girlfriend and the girl before him. He'd already gotten this new chick to come up to him room, or at least agree to it. Something that took him a good month with his girlfriend. But it was just to play games, right? Video games? He'd just need to buy a console and.. was he going to buy stuff on account of a girl he'd just met?

He snapped back to reality and noticed that his feed had taken to moving without conscious consent of the boy, he saw he was inching closer and closer to Anthy. And truth be told, while he wanted to stop it he also wanted to know how his body thought. Though thinking of what happened to him he figured that was quite clear,. Even if Anthy didn't pick up on it.

When Luke stood directly in front of the girl he noticed his hand beginning to move now and brush the cheek of the girl. Luke lowered his eyes with a slight chuckle as his hand felt the texture of her skin. So smooth. So.. asking for more..

He quickly took control of his own hand and coughed lightly. ''Uhm. You had a thing.. on your face..''

[Anthy Blacksmith]

He.. was walking towards her. Why was he walking towards her? Anthy had initially taken a step back, but as he continued, she paused out of uncertainty. She didn't want him to think that she was afraid of him or anything like that. But, she had to admit, this was starting to get a bit awkward. Well, more than a bit...

He was soon standing right in front of her. She had noticed before that he was taller than her. But, now that he was this close up, she realized she had underestimated his height a little. As in, he was a little taller than she had thought. Probably six feet, if not over. Height was a thing. At the all girl's school she used to go to, it used to be a bit of a status situation. Not that she was worrying about status or anything. It just happened to be where she had gotten the whole measuring people thing from, even if she usually only did it subconsciously. Right now though, she was very conscious of it as she couldn't really help but to be due to situation. Conscious of his height in comparison to her own, that was.

He touched her face. Her hair caught on fire. Alright, so it didn't really catch on fire, but the shysplosion that had happened inside of her had caused her hair to light up in a way where it might as well have been on fire. Luckily, not as intense of heat though. Even as he explained that there had been something on her face, she was still all embarrassed.

"O-oh... th-thank you... for getting it for me..." She stammered out.

It wasn't every day someone just out and touched her. Well, besides hand shaking and such. Usually someone would have told her there was something there, rather than getting it themselves, right? At least, until they got to a level of comfort to where things like that were normal? Maybe he felt that comfortable with her already? He must have had a lot of friends if he fell into that level of comfort with people so easily. She felt a bit bad that she had gotten flustered by it, but she couldn't get herself to calm back down.

[Lucas Blacke]

As Luke touched her face he was sadly aware that he had in fact, a girlfriend. And one who would definitely see this, him touching another girl like he had done with her.. The boy felt an emotion that neared sadness, but at the same time he felt oddly warm despite having goosebumps all over the place. He had pulled back his hand and made up an excuse about touching her, but was it really? Did he want to excuse himself? He knew he had to, but he was still doubting whether he wanted to chalk it up to some bullshit reason. 'Want' was a big word.

As he had finished stammering he noticed that the warm feeling coming over him slightly earlier was in fact the girl herself. Or.. did she just emit light and was the feeling all himself? He made question after question rise for himself, and what she gave rise to didn't help in the slightest. Luke felt every muscle in his body wanting to give in. And truth be told, if they had known each other a bit longer he wouldn't be trying to hold back, he figured with a frown.

He looked at Anthy. The knowledge that whatever she was doing to him, whatever he was doing to her, had to stay platonic. He owed her that. Didn't she mention not getting out all that much due to her power? In that case Luke just had to be her friend, and as far as he knew that meant doing normal, friend stuff.

Luke would lovingly comment about howe hot she looked in a joking manner, or how she lit up his life an a dramatic tone or what have you. But instead only one thought shot through his mind.

What if..?

''Any time, doll.'' He shot her a weak smile.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

And they stood there in silence for a drawn moment. And in that moment, Anthy tried her best to get her hair to calm down. She almost reached up and tried covering it, but she was feeling a bit too awkward to actually do so. She didn't really know what to do or say right then. She was just about to try to break the silence with something, likely something random due to the fact she couldn't really think of anything to say, but Lucas came to the rescue by breaking the silence himself.

She smiled at first, but then giggled a little. She couldn't help it, she wasn't used to anyone calling her a doll, or dollface, or any of that. It made her think of a fifties movie or something. not that she was making fun of him, it was just amusing to her, that's all.

"Do you call everyone doll and doll-face?" She asked.

She wanted to know, as she wondered if it was just how he spoke, or if he was just doing it now in this moment in time. Well, he had done a lot of changing and switching, so one couldn't really blame her for having that question in her mind. It was her way of figuring him out so she could know how to be or not to be around him. It seemed like they were going towards the path of friendship rather than this being a once off thing, so it was good to get to know him more.

[Lucas Blacke]

Did he? Did he call everyone doll and dollface? Luke went over the times he had really said that, which were just about all the times a girl spoke to him. And surprisingly enough he liked each and every one of those girl. Not that he would never tell Anthy that seeing as she giggled at it. The boy knew it was probably just because she thought it was funny and not at all because she was making fun of him. Still, Luke found himself suddenly doubting lots that the old Luke would have taken for granted.

''Not everyone. Just the people I..-'' He paused hesitantly. Wasn't he just telling himself he wouldn't tell Anthy that? ''..just beautiful people.''

''I call myself doll when I wake up.'' That didn't sound creepy at all, even without the implication that he found himself beautiful. He coughed and offered the girl a smile, which he quickly let vanish because a smile paired with a comment that could be seen as creepy? No thanks.

''Also.'' He began with a small cough to try and change the subject. ''That glowing thing you do, does your entire body do that?''
Becaause, he didn't want to admit, but he wanted to see certasin parts of her light up.

Certain. Parts.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

He began to explain the doll and dollface thing, but then paused in the middle of his explination, causing Anthy to tip her head a little to the side out of curiosity of bot what he had been about to say and why he might have stopped. He didn't take long to finish though and when he did, her hair glowed a bit brighter. This time, she did move her hands to try to cover it up... Even if it was pretty futile, seeing how she had more hair than she had hand-space.

He thought she was beautiful? She... She didn't think so. She looked average to her. And some people might even think of her being towards the lower middle end of average. But, he'd made it clear he didn't. Still, she was surprised. And, she was embarrassed, thus the brighter glowing than earlier.

She managed not to turn completely shy though as he mentioned that he called himself doll when he woke up. Well, it seemed he had some self confidense. Some might have thought he was full of himself, but not Anthy. No, she actually thought that it was nice that he felt that good about himself to where he thought he was beautiful. Though, she didn't think he was. Well, beautiful, that was. Beautiful was something she more of thought of being aimed towards women, or feminine men. Lucas was more of handsome.

Her thoughts moved from that and to his question as he asked her about her glowing. Then, she was finding herself embarrassed again.

"I... Um... well... that's...."

And here she was back to how she had been when they had met. Hopefully he wouldn't explode due to it.

"It's all over. Sometimes.... sometimes it's... just random places. Sometimes multiple places at once... On occasion, it's a full body experience." She told him, chuckling a little nervously.