Justice (open)

[Lani Hunter]

Lani was wandering about the mall for the first time since he had gotten here. Did he inform the staff that he was going to do so? This was Lani so of course not! He just needed a little time away. It wasn't the desperate need to escape as it had been earlier in the year. He was still a little bitter at having been pulled out of his old school and in his senior year no less. The telekinetic was not in the least happy with his situation. Instead he was bordering on content. The people he had met made him want to stay but at the same time the horrible monotony of getting nowhere with his power was beyond frustration and he was close to cracking under the agony of the migraines he was getting. Sometimes it felt like someone blasted a hole in his mind and was doing so over and over again as a odd modern Prometheus.

So here he was partly because he wanted some new shirts and the like and partly just to be away from all the ab-normalcy and pressure. He had several things lifted from people, nothing that they would miss just little things like clay art from the art building, book from the library, a few cheap rings, ipods left carelessly around and cds left similarly. With a pocket full of money he headed toward the far side of the mall where he met a familiar face. He didn't know his name but he knew this man was connected to his employer. The word employer being deployed loosely, rather he was a man that kept Lani in money and sold the things he brought to him. He slipped the bag he held over to the man who in turn examined the contents and slipped a wad of dollars over to him. If Lani hadn't been mistaken he would have said that the man was a meta for the way not only that he had been able to find Lani and give him word of his presence but also his ability to disappear into a crowd rivaled Lani's skill.

Armed with a pocketful of new money Lani moved around trying to first off find something new to wear. He glanced around and smiled, no one had noticed a thing. He and his old mysterious friend acted like old buddies trading favors. Lani after purchasing a few t-shirts, jeans, boots, and a jacket counted his remaining money. It was well in the hundreds still. He sighed and decided to treat himself to some not dining hall food. It could have been a McDonalds and he would have been happy but it was a quaint sub shop. After buying that and a cookie, just for the happiness of sweets Lani went to find a seat. He blinked, perhaps because it was around noon, or perhaps it was that it was Saturday, whatever the reason it was crowded. Lani wiggled his way through the people and chairs finding a quiet place over looking a artful fountain outside. He breathed a sigh of half relief and half weariness. Sitting own Lani smiled taking a large bite out of his sub. He glanced around and pulled a napkin to himself without using his hands. He smiled and patted his mouth its happiness filling him as much as the sub.

[Casper Cole]

(Hope you don't mind if I join! :>)

Casper stood in a small, nameless accessory store, fingering some of the woven leather bands when he noticed a young man strut by.
In all ways, the young man appeared normal. Just a regular teen, cruising the mall after school. Maybe buying some clothes. Maybe looking for a cute girl.
Except Cas had the unfortunate job of sorting recruitment orders in his office everyday. He helped make sure the recruiters had tidy little files and even stacks of assignments. He assisted in seeing to it that every student's bio was neatly tracked and placed in to a quaint little filing cabinet.
The boy, now a few yards past the shop, had appeared on Casper's desk months ago, just another student's bio in need of filing. Being with out any form of perfect recall, he could only remember that the boy was under eighteen and a student at Hammel.

And if he was a student under eighteen, then he most surely should not be at the mall on a week day.

Dropping the accessory, Casper headed out of the shop and trailed the boy. God, what was his name?
The student, whoever he was, either knew someone was following him or was an excruciating fast walker, because Cas found himself struggling to keep an eye on him. He swerved expertly through the crowds and for a moment, Cas was sure he'd lost him. Until, that is, he saw the slightest glimpse of a sandy-blond shock of hair disappearing in to a small sub shop.

Inhaling with relief, he made his way in to the sub shop, and spotted the unmistakable face of the boy sitting in a chair near the back, eating his sub and cookie combo happily. I bet he's here with out permission.
Sighing, this time with exasperation, Casper shook out his hands and made for the counter. He bought a bottle of orange juice, then made his way for the table in the back. He sat down unenthusiastically and stared at the half-finished sub. He'd hate to get on any kid's bad side by lecturing hem over where they should or shouldn't be. God know's, he was guilty of sneaking out a couple time in his youth. But, this was part of his job now. He didn't have much of a choice.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani was fully enjoying his momentary freedom completely out of the eye of Hammel. He felt as though he could breath with ease again and for the first time in a long time he allowed himself to relax. He had loaded himself on pail pills this morning and the ever present migraine was now just a dull throb. The sub made it all worth it, funnily enough, it really was the small things that made life livable. He couldn't help the small smile that spread across his face. It wasn't like Lani didn't intend to go back this time. But at the same time he knew he was breaking rules which made him smile all the more. The more trouble he caused for the people who had stolen his life from him the better he felt. He knew it was shallow but at the same time he was still deep down a teenager who hated being told what to do.

Having shopped he was going to stay out a little bit longer and perhaps sharpen his pickpocketing skills. They were good but rusty where better to practice than in a large crowd of people. He was taking bite after slow worshiped bite of sub when his eyes flickered to a man he half recognized. He frowned and glared watching him out of the corner of his eye as he bought his orange juice. He glared and something told him he was from Hammel. Why oh why couldn't they leave him alone for just one day? He asked silently as the man approached. He couldn't have been that much older than himself. He hoped the man would take the table next to him that was open and... to no avail. He blinked pretending to be shocked and a little put off as the person sat down. He was good at keeping a calm face but he was bad at looking innocent. Even in his most calm ways he had an impish look to him that just radiated that he was up to something.

He stared back at the person and when he didn't speak his defenses came up and he could feel his power stirring ready to strike like a cobra. He retained a calm shell as his mind worked around who this person was and what they wanted. He was sure now that they were from Hammel he vaguely remembered him from somewhere, security? No, they wouldn't be this nice. Teacher? Too young. Recruiter? Maybe. He had only been in there that first day and caught enough to remember face. He blanked and shrugged it mentally off. He took another bite looking out the window which not represented a cruel joke of freedom. He looked icily at the person across from him. He put his sandwich down and ran both of his hands through his hair in annoyance. "Shit," he muttered, his head back as though giving up knowing he was caught. Lani was sure that he was from Hammel but was not about to give up the information that he knew. Lani was good with faces, if not names and occupations. Faces he remembered.

[Casper Cole]

To say the least, the young man didn't look happy. He was staring out the window, seemingly unwilling to meet Casper's eye. When he made a small utterance (Casper was pretty sure it was a swear word), he had definitely figured out what Cas's business was at the table.

"You probably don't know me too well." Cas started quietly. "I work in Recruitment." He fidgeted with his orange juice, searching where to next take his words. This was, after all, the first time he'd ever caught an under-aged student off campus. "I saw your file a few months ago. I don't remember much from it, except that you are currently seventeen. And therefore," He sighed, "Not permitted off the campus."

It was sad, Cas thought, that a boy who was so very close to being allowed back in to the human world, a boy who clearly wanted to be there, was caught at such an inopportune moment.
What bothered Cas more was that he didn't actually know the punishment for being off-campus while underage. On the rare occasion that Cas had sneaked out, it had always been relatively close-by, and thus he never aroused much suspicion. Or he'd wait until night. He'd have never dared the mall in the middle of the afternoon.
In the end, Cas knew he was should call security. He should get someone who knew what to do with an 'escapee' (call it what you will). But he sympathized for the teen. Sometimes, no matter how good a thing was (in this case, the institute) it was more than possible to get enough of it.

But that left a small problem; what should he do with the kid?

Cas chose a simple strategy; stall until he could think of something better that wouldn't land the kid in a heap of crap.

"My name's Casper Cole. Why don't you tell me what you were doing in here?"

[Lani Hunter]

Lani glared at the person across from him his sub and cookie forgotten along with his appetite. Recruiting, great, just the kind of person he wanted to deal with right now. They were trained to find people like him and unfortunately were good at what they did. He winced a little bit when he pointed out he had seen his file and knew his age and face. He rolled his eyes and gave a clearly annoyed at the lecture that the man was starting on. "I'm almost eighteen, doesn't that count for anything?" He asked in a way that was more sarcasm but still laced with pleading. He really wasn't feeling up to a lecture especially not after he had had such a good day before hand. Lani snorted at the reading of the rules. Lani had let them go in one ear and out the other the first time he had heard them and this time was no different.

He rested his chin on his hand and gazed out the window his scowl being reflected back at him. There was a whole lot of not happy written all over his face. Anger finally took over Lani's tongue making it say things his mind would rather he hadn't. "Well so close and yet so far. Might as well lock me up for the rest of my life, eh?" Normally people got out into the human world at 18 but then again Lani was not normal even by Hammel standards. He had a power that refused to be tamed and only gotten then a few months ago as the recruiter probably already knew. Basically Lani was stuck here for as long as needed. Prison. That place was a prison plain and simple. Well he had asked for it sneaking out again. He knew he was headed for another few hours in the security office but he wanted to see if he could get out of it.

He shrugged, "If I said nothing, would you believe me?" He said skeptically. He sighed as though resigned to his fate, "Shopping," He half lied gestured to the bags at his side, "I was enjoying a meal not cooked in the same pan." He said his voice dripping with contempt and annoyance. He was being unkind. Hammel's food could be a lot worse but even that got old after a while. He figured he would leave out the part of him meeting someone that would just bring a million questions and a lot of trouble he would rather not deal with. Thankfully no one at the institute that he knew of knew about his... problem. He was also being unkind to this man who was probably doing his job but then again that didn't mean Lani had to be happy about it. He purposely left out his name, maybe the person already knew it or wouldn't notice and he would be able to get away.

This was the point where Lani started planning his escape. He was looking for a break in the crowd were he would be able to dash away and disappear. When Lani didn't want to be found he wasn't found. That was why the security never got him unless he was still on the school grounds or coming back in. He doubted this man was able to keep up, but that he had found him at all was an astounding accomplishment.

[Casper Cole]

Casper winced under the clear disgust the boy demonstrated. It was glaringly apparent that while they were only few physical years apart, their minds worked completely differently.
The boy, who Cas still couldn't recall a name for, didn't want to go back to the Institute. He'd been more than obvious about that. And he'd been clear about how little favor he held for Casper's presence.

In his eyes, he probably thought both were evil.

Casper noticed the way the boy (for he couldn't think of a better title)'s eyes tracked the comings and goings of the crowd. Pale green-blue eyes that flickered to and fro between the breaks in the crowd. Cas knew he was probably looking for an escape route. He didn't exactly feel at home in the situation himself.

For a few moments, they sat in silence. Cas wondered if he should inform the boy that if he really planned on booking it, then maybe he should be aware of Cas's tracking skills.

When one was trained in sound, every breath a target took, every step he or she made instantly became a clue. Cas hadn't dared used his powers earlier. He hadn't needed them, because the boy hadn't known he'd been pursued. Something told Cas that if this boy knew he was being chased, it wouldn't be any where near so easy.
It weighed heavily on Cas's mind in those few moments, the issue on how to deal with such a clearly sensitive subject. There was no vagueness about his general thoughts on the school. To this boy, it seemed Hammel Institute may as well be Hammel Penitentiary.

Fearing that he would step on some sort of metaphorical landmine, Casper began again, carefully. "I understand that you're almost eighteen. I know that Hammel can be... suffocating, at times." Cas cleared his throat and began rolling the orange juice on the table. "But you have to understand. It's not a bad place." They locked gazes before he continued. "I don't want you to get in trouble. I'm new to this gig and don't want to start if off by catching a kid red-handed off campus." Cas knew that, in a way, he was baiting the young man. Cas was no weakling, and he had more experience with his powers than his table-mate did. But Cas couldn't attack a kid who felt backed in to a corner. Didn't seem fair. You were supposed to be calm and friendly if you are concerned with the outcome an unstable affair. You were supposed to show a little vulnerability. Right?

God, I wish I was an empath. This would be infinitely easier if I could get a sense of the kid's mind.

"Why don't we call security and see if we can get a ride back to Hammel." Though Cas didn't voice it, he really didn't want to be stuck on a cramped bus/transit with a kid who didn't want to be there. Especially a kid whose powers Cas didn't know. "Then we'll see if we can't straighten this whole ordeal out."

[Lani Hunter]

Lani measured up Casper too much annoyed to recall the reference that was nagging in the back of his mind of Casper the friendly ghost that he used to watch all the time with his sister. No Lani was far to focused on the figure ahead of him to make that reference. He wasn't sure what kind of experience this man had with people like him, probably not a lot but either way he should be careful. He had underestimate the security team and he had paid for that. He took a few deep breaths Casper hadn't threatened him at all perhaps play it out a little bit and if things get sticky make a break for it. His eyes however never stopped searching. A break anywhere in the ebb and flow of the crowd. He looked down at his sub unhappily. If only he had the mood to finish it.

The silence was filled with a tension so tight Lani thought he might just snap. His head started to throb as his anger caused his power to lash out. Lani however much he didn't want to go back right now he wanted less for someone to get hurt. Besides his whole sticky finger habit Lani liked to think he was a good person. He never really did anything that hurt anyone, not really, thievery wasn't good but he never physically threatened or hurt someone. Lani's eyes locked on the man's challenging him and testing him. He leaned back in his chair realizing now how foolish he had been. Picking a corner table was brilliant for not being noticed and picking up information that could be sold. However when one was cornered like this the last place he wanted to be was trapped in a corner with someone blocking his only way out.

When he began speaking again Lani listened without speaking and without moving. Like the man was speaking to a statue that only blinked to show its consciousness. Hammel suffocating? That was an understatement. Lani inhaled calmly and didn't comment. Lani glared and leaned forward again resting his elbows on the table. He let the man finish then took a deep breath, "No it appears you don't understand at all." He shook his head gathering his thoughts, "Hammel isn't suffocating its a prison. I'm not getting anymore help in there than I'm getting out here!" Lani gestured wildly and took a few breaths realizing he was yelling. "I might as well not be there, its not doing me any good. They just want to control all of us." He more than half believed that. He had gotten nothing out of his pleas for help from the staff, his headaches were getting more intense, his control more sporadic, and his temper shorter.

Lani flinched at the next thing that came out of his mouth. He wasn't sure what to do. His fight or flight instincts kicking in at the same time. There is a saying he heard one that cornering a thief is as dangerous as cornering a cobra. "N-no!" He stuttered out his eyes wide and desperate. He hated security and security hated him. "I mean that's not necessary." He shrugged regaining his composure though shaken, "I-I was going to go back anyways I just needed a break." He spat out a false explanation hoping to avoid another trip to security. If he was caught one more time they were going to put a tracker on him, or so they had threatened. Apparently after you sneak out three times they do that. Sure he had gotten away with it a lot more initially but then the security team seemed to clue in and he'd been caught more in the past few months than he had in his entire life. At least they had never caught him with any loot, he was terrified about how that would go down.

[Casper Cole]

Casper sat staring, almost wide-eyed at the boy's quickly disguised rage. After a few seconds, a wave of annoyance hit. The boy, though seventeen at least, was sure quick to judge. Clearly, Casper decided, not empathic.
It irritated Casper that the kid would act as if he was the only one that struggled with controlling his abilities, whatever they may be. Cas had spent an extra two years mastering his; and even now and then, he still slipped up.

"The point of Hammel isn't to cage you," Cas said lowly, still trying to sound polite. One thing he had to admit; he had no idea what the boy opposite of him was thinking. As much as he may want to handle the matter by blowing out the kid's eardrums, he couldn't. "You'd be surprised at how well I understand your situation. But you have to be patient. You haven't been there for a more than a few years; training isn't something that occurs over night." Cas sighed. "You need to have patience. With the school, and with yourself. If you resist what you are given, thatn take my word for it." Cas head lowered grimly over the table and he paused in the rolling of his orange juce.
"You'll be spending a lot of time trying to figure out why your powers are impossible for you to control."

Though it took effort, Cas closed his mouth. The boy, whoever he may be, could chose what he wanted to do next. And as much as Cas hated it, no matter what the boy chose, he;d have to end up following him. If he ran, Cas would have to pursue him. If he returned to the school, Cas would have to escort him.
Sighing heavily once more, he found himself wishing he'd just stayed at home.

[Lani Hunter]

Something about the person’s expression told him that Lani had said something that the person didn’t like. But then again, Lani knew he was whining, but he couldn’t stop. He measured the man’s change trying to figure out where he was going with all this. It was in his nature not to trust people completely and Lani was still trying to figure out if he had ulterior motives for talking to him instead of just hauling him back to campus. Lani sighed, he knew Hammel helped but at the same time it still rubbed Lani the wrong way. “I hate it there.” He said softly, “I know that, I just feel like that.” Lani wasn’t sure what made him say that but it seemed like they were the first truthful words he had spoken in a long time.

“This wasn’t something I wanted, they… you,” he corrected identifying the man with the recruiting branch, “Took me away from my family, my friends, in the middle of my senior year.” He said accusingly. He cocked his head to the side and listened calmly and actually started to frown as he realized the man was right and he was in the wrong. He winced inwardly but then again either way he would have been here meeting that man. “Prove it.” Lani challenged when he was finished, he couldn’t believe that there might be someone in his position and why would he want to be a recruiter if he was? Lani had so many questions but rather at this point he was still trying to stall for time the more the other person spoke the more time he had.

Lani looked down at his food then his head snapped back up when he said the warning. He was already doing that… He bit his lip and closed his eyes for a moment. He didn’t need to be told that Casper was right. If he was already dwelling on it, God if only he could wager something to take all of this away there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t give. He mimicked the man’s sigh and looked out the window. “It’s terrifying.” He admitted. “What’s your power?” He asked suddenly giving the man a curious look. He certainly knew that there were people as bad if not worse off than him at the school but they had all started early and still working. Lani felt like it was useless and that he was only working backwards. He locked eyes with the person feeling ridiculous now that he had lashed out, he was frustrated but that didn’t give him the right to be mean. Silently he scolded himself and his immaturity that always seemed to come out when he was faced with authority.

[Casper Cole]

The boy, though begrudgingly, seemed willing to hear Casper out, which relieved him immensely. Though his eyes were still locked on the boy, he once again began to roll to the bottle of juice, back and forth.

"That only seems fair," He said with a slight smile, "Seeing as how I don't know your name or your ability." He chuckled now. "I suppose it doesn't really matter." Shaking his head a little, he turned to scan the sub shop.
In all fairness, it looked more like a coffee shop than a sub shop. Wood everywhere, a decorative fireplace and some comfy chairs to curl up in. Someone, Cas suspected, needed seriously to reconsider either the purpose of the shop, or the decor.
Pushing that aside, he chose a young man sitting in one of the chairs by the fire place. An ear bud was hanging from one ear and his head was bobbing too and fro, as if to a silent beat. Focusing on that, he heaved a deep breath, and allowed his mind to become blank.

Suddenly, as if in a private concert, the music swelled around Casper and his companion. It wasn't unbearably loud, but loud enough to state it's presence clearly. The strange thing was, people at surrounding tables didn't seem to hear the sudden change in volume, nor the musical selection.
After a few seconds, Casper let the music die around them. "It's called Sonic Manipulation." He murmured, exhaling through his mouth loudly. "I can do, in most essences, whatever I so choose to with sound." He gestured around him with the slightest flick of his hand. "I can, if I choose, listen to any of these conversations. I can listen to a conversation on the third floor. And I can also choose whether or not you hear it all too." Casper picked up the orange juice and set it up right before leaning back, almost languidly, in his chair. "And then, my personal favorite," He murmured with slight resignation, "Is a Sonic Boom, or Sonic Blast. Basically, I clap my hands together and things explode. I'll tell you, it's a pain in the ass if I ever try to join an applause." His own comment made him smile.

"But that's not the point." Casper said, sobering up. "You've been at Hammel, what, all of a half of a year?" His fingers twitched, as if looking for something to do. He eyed the orange juice, but refrained. "I entered at the age of fourteen. A little later than most, granted, but still pretty young for a kid." He now looked away, following the boy's eyes out of the window. "I came just after I had discovered the full extent of my powers. I had managed to break my friends leg, ruin my parent's marriage and alienate myself from everyone I knew. You want to know why?" He shook his head sadly. "An accident caused it all. Nothing I could control. I came to Hammel afterwards and spent an extra two years there learning how to control my powers, because I refused to accept them. I hated myself so much, my own abilities weren't really my own." He paused, before continuing. "I hated Hammel at first. I thought, like you, it had ripped me from house and home; from my friends. But as time went on, I found... I don't know. Happiness. I realized that I couldn't live my old life, no matter how much I wanted to. I would just be outcast my politician father was forced to hide every other press conference." His voice almost cracked. Thinking of his father, whom he hadn't spoken with in years, still left his heart feeling raw and tender. He took a steadying breath and continued. "At Hammel, I had a family. Real friends that I could call my own. People who didn't only look at the freakish abilities I possessed." He turned his head back to the table and the orange juice. "I can't remember the last time I was accepted by any humans. And I'll be honest, it's painful to see them live their normal lives, but it's something that, as a meta, we have to learn to live with. I wish I could really be one of them, I do. But I can't. I doubt any metas have had much more luck with that than I."

Casper hesitated in continuing. He felt, not like he was gushing or venting, but like he was simply explaining a situation to the boy. The explanation was just a little personal. In fact, he couldn't really remember the last time he'd told anyone about his past. Not that he hid from it; it just wasn't a good topic of conversation.
So, instead of continuing, he let his words sink in. After a few moments he said, "Well, I've told my tale of woe. What makes you so different?" The question, though it could be taken harshly, was spoken in a gentle manner. As if he really was concerned. And Casper, though equally frustrated and tired, realized he may actually be just that; concerned.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani felt himself get red for a moment as the person pointed out that while he demanded to know about him that Lani had neglected to tell him his name. Apparently that had not gone unnoticed. He shrugged it off and sat back and waited as the man scanned the room. Lani blinked in shock and couldn't help looking around at the surrounding people who weren't reacting to the music that suddenly surrounded them. Lani looked back at Casper his eyes wide. Before he could ask the man explained. That was something he had never heard of, but then again he was probably the most uninformed meta in the world. Lani couldn't lie that sounded like a pain, perhaps the man did have some idea about how Lani was feeling, though the telekinetic was still skeptical. Lani couldn't help but smile at Casper's half joke about the sonic blast. He shook his head holding back the chuckle that wanted to sneak out of his lips.

Lani sobered quickly when the man started his own tale. He nodded at the question about how long he had been, it was closer to a half of a half of a year but Casper was telling him something important so Lani refrained from being a jerk and pointing that out. Lani absently rolled the strings of his hood as the man spoke chewing the inside of his lip as he listened. It stuck him the way the man spoke with sadness and regret. Lani frowned his internal monologue now in argument with itself. His words struck Lani like a splash of cold water. Lani sat his eyes wide and his jaw set in shock. He hadn't though anyone was like him, people might not like their powers at Hammel but Lani had always thought he was the only one that wanted them gone for good. When he said his path it got through to him, that was exactly where Lani was headed. Lani felt a pang of regret as Casper talked about the family he had found at Hammel. He had met tons of nice people and made several new friends and yet here he was sulking like a spoiled brat.

He frowned at himself and his selfishness. He really needed a kick in the head. With the realization on what he was doing made him sick. Certainly there was no way he could get out of his bad habit but hating Hammel only made it worse. If anything Lani found himself wanting to go back to Hammel after meeting with his employer. It was the suffocation of Hammel that made it hard for him to feel comfortable. People caring, sure his parent cared but they had been too ashamed of what people would say to get him any real help for his problem. So it had grown and become a part of him and now without the freedom to do as he pleased he took it negatively. He sighed and looked down at his hands feeling like a scolded child.

Lani looked up at Casper again his eyes holding a darker hue of indecision. He had addressed him directly and Lani hadn't an answer to give. Perhaps if their situations had polar differences he would have recoiled and quipped something hurtful and left (or tried to) but instead his story was sinking in and taking Lani's untrusting of authority into question. Conflicted Lani chewed his lip and without looked at the man he said softly, "My name is Lani. I'm a telekinetic." Lani didn't want to look or open up he was still Hammel staff and could use this against him. Already giving him his name was a big step in trust in this situation where he would have preferred to stay anonymous. "I'm sure that rings a few bells." He said without humor, he had certainly wreaked havoc for the recruiter who had brought him in.

"Nothing," he said after a few moments of silence answering his question from earlier. Lani was surprised normally he would have bristled and withdrew at a comment like that but it pulled him to open up. He opened his mouth like he wanted to start his story but closed his mouth as the memories came to the front of his mind. He drew a deep breath and said cryptically, "I scared her. My little sister. She was terrified. Of me." He said gesturing randomly with his hand and looking down at the table. "I'm her big brother, I'm supposed to protect her." He wasn't sure why he was talking at all and part of his wanted to stop but the words just kept flowing, "She looked at me with these eyes..." he searched for how to describe it but couldn't. "I can't stand it when people look at me with those eyes." Those terror filled eyes that pleaded and rejected him. He looked up at Casper almost wanting the man to tell him it was all going to be alright but at the same time veiling the full caliber of how the terror he cause hurt and debilitated him.

[Casper Cole]

Casper nodded as the chopped, shortened sentences slipped past Lani's lips. Cas could tell that speaking about his past; himself, for that matter, wasn't something the boy did often. Ice trickled down Casper's spine and he knew he had entered a very private part of Lani's mind with this portion of the conversation. Keep your cool, Cas. You've got to be honest. Stay calm. You're doing fine.
Still, Cas's heart beat picked up perceptibly. He took a few deep breaths, and listened to the blissful silence left in the wake of the boy's words.

He focused on Lani; Lani was what was important right now.

Lani Hunter. Cas now remembered the document he'd scanned months ago. The boy had been hell through and through with his recruiter.
He also remembered the portion of the file that warned against the boy's unstable telekinetics.

"So, your sister was scared of you?" Casper gently pushed, focusing once more on Lani's blue-green eyes. "I think I understand, to an extent." He mulled over his next choice of words, praying he wouldn't break the extremely delicate trust the two were building. "My mother smothered me with affection after she realized what I was. At the time, I just thought she was afraid to let me go. Now I understand that she was absolutely terrified that I would... Hurt someone, something, I guess. I can't really say." He slowly rubbed one long-fingered hand up and down his pant-leg, trying to calm his own restlessness. "My father was always honest. He hated me." Casper managed to say that with a monotonous, indifferent tone of voice. Despite how much it hurt him, he continued. "My friends... Well, I gave one a high-five. It turned in to a Sonic Boom and he broke his leg. None of them spoke to me after that."
Casper felt as if now that he had opened this long locked door in to his past, it was something like a flood. He couldn't stop the visions of his friends horrified expressions, his fathers disappointment, his mother's desperation.
He blinked back a swell of emotion and slowly began to shift the head of the conversation back to Lani. He didn't want to rush the telekinetic, he knew that. You should try sharing a little bit of yourself, so he feels comfortable doing the same, a voice inside his head said.

"For my first half a year at Hammel, I had to wear sound-canceling headphones. The doctors and professors explained that if I couldn't hear sound, I couldn't manipulate it. It still sucked. A lot." He had always made out like he enjoyed the headphones; in the beginning, he had. Loud noises irritated him easily, and for the first few weeks, all he had was beautiful silence. But after a short amount of time, Cas realized he had lived and breathed sound his whole life. Through music. The headphones quickly became unbearable as he yearned to play piano, to speak with someone.
He actually teared up when he finally was able to remove them.

"Lani." Shifting in the hard seat, Casper tried to find a more comfortable position. His butt was getting sore. "I'm not... good. With emotions." He admitted bashfully. "But I know that it can help to say things. To talk about issues." Cas felt like an idiot as he picked out words from his mental dictionary. Why couldn't he just be empathic? Or telepathic? This whole situation would be ten times easier. "I'm not askin' you to pull out the waterworks on me, but I do want you to know I won't bring anything you tell me away from here. What you want to say, or, I guess, need to say, stays here. Between us. I just want to help." He hesitated, hoping his next words didn't sound extremely lame. "Just... try telling me about yourself."

When, Casper had to wonder, had this all become so serious? He knew it was important. But hadn't he followed Lani in here to tell him to hightail it back to the institute?
Something, he decided, about the boy. That was what had made him enter this arena; pick up this gauntlet. This frightening, massive challenge. Cas was terrified of becoming personal; with anyone. But for once, for the first time since he could remember, he was willing to chance the repercussions. For a kid.

(OOC; i am so sorry for the 101 typos i had in my last post. i did it at around 6:30am. >>; i fixed it up. hope i didn't make you go cross-eyed while reading it.)

[Lani Hunter]

((Its all good, typos get everyone specially that early!))

Lani nodded knowing that having opened up he opened himself for the hurt and rejection he was almost sure would follow. “Yeah,” He mused absently, Lani wasn’t used to sharing about himself, he was one of those people who would hide what bothered him deeply and focus on the surface things that were only annoyances, like the strictness of Hammel. He knew what really bothered him were the looks and the way people acted around him. Yes he was dangerous he wouldn’t downplay that but at the same time it wasn’t like he’s hurt people on purpose. It was just all the looks and terror filled eyes haunted him in his sleep. Every time he closed his eyes to sleep he envisioned himself throwing cars at people as he had when he first got his powers and then as he did so one aimed right at his family and sister and he couldn’t stop it. Just holding this power terrified him.

He cocked his head to one side listening again his heart not so closed off to this person. Perhaps it was their similar stories or perhaps their closeness in age that made Lani listen either way the fact that he was listening at all meant something. He knew the feeling, he parents had certainly gotten closer to him since he got his power and he couldn’t lie he loved it. He was leaning on them a lot more than he had in his younger years and yet at the same time was pushing at them in his anger knowing somehow that they would always be there for him. His sister had long since got over her fear of him in that she missed her big brother and was now convinced that him having super powers was the coolest thing ever. Lani nodded again in understanding. None of his friends even bothered to call him anymore thinking he was in Juvy or something.

He sympathized with his example about the sound proof headphones. "Ouch, I'm sorry, did you have to have them on all the time? What about talking to people?" He asked nosily. Nothing he could do could turn his power one hundred percent off save him being neutralized. Which he found he hated, when he was in control of his power he felt secure even in its chaotic states but when someone else was pulling the strings Lani panicked, was unbalanced mentally and felt like he was missing a limb. He startled a little at his name and backed off at being asked to talk about his life. His mind was already forming lies and defenses. Though he might say that he would keep his secrets he was still staff and part of him was still obligated to tell some of Lani’s secrets.

Lani hesitated but with a deep breath he started to speak and it started to flow out of him. “My sister used to be sick. Very sick. We got close and I wanted to protect her but my parents had I didn’t get along and so I would always go out and get into trouble,” he carefully censored what he was really doing, “The police found me and I panicked. I can’t even explain it… It was like something exploded in my mind. I started tossing things around including their cop cars they were terrified and looked at me like I was a monster. I didn’t know what was going on at the time I didn’t know it was me doing those things.” Lani swallowed and shook his head, “I don’t even know what happened all I know is that I ran. After that all I knew for a while was the pain then the pain and fear. When Hammel found me the next morning I was sleeping in a gutter.” Now this was all stuff Hammel had documented and already knew this Hammel didn’t: “I ran home and my parents and I got into a fight. I lifted the table and was about to throw it when my sister came in. Then I dropped it and Hammel came to take me.”

He shrugged, “At time I thought my parents were sending me away, terrified and shoving me off on someone else. The teachers treat me like I’m a bomb waiting to go off. They watch me with those eyes.” He shook his head and looked up at Casper, “I hate this power. It terrifies me that I can think about tossing a car into a building and it’ll do so. The trainers keep getting frustrated with me 'cause I won’t practice, I can't stand for people to look at me with those eyes,” Lani said cutting himself off before the flood of emotion could make him spit out anything more. There was something comforting about ranting about everything that frustrated him and angered him. "That's the worst part, people, even people in Hammel look at me with terror in their eyes. I met a girl the other day..." He hesitated his voice breaking just a little as he pushed his sandwich around in a circle. "'Please don't hurt me.' She said, I..." Lani had taken those innocent words had been like a blow. "I just want these powers gone. I don't want to be here I don't want to work with it." Granted some part of him had started to work with it and like it but there was still the fear of what he might do, if even by accident.

[Casper Cole]

Casper felt, and couldn't prevent a cringe that came when he spoke of how his powers had appeared in such a violent, sudden way. Cas's powers had developed slowly, imperceptibly, over almost a full year. All he's really done at first was eavesdrop.
Lani had probably killed someone. And he was in no way capable of controlling that. Casper understood what that felt like.
When Lani spoke of the terrified girl, Casper, felt extremely uncomfortable. Though he could sympathize with most of the boy's words, he had never unintentionally terrified someone. At least, if he had, that person had never spoken such fear aloud. His father had hated him, his mother had choked him with love and his friends had just vanished. No on had stared in to his eyes, overwhelmed by fear. He had no idea how that would feel; the pain or the long-lasting scar it likely left.

There was a quietness before Casper spoke up, shifting again the rock-hard chair. "To be honest, with the headphones, I had to speak mostly through those mini-whiteboards and pencil and paper. If I took them off, I'd get headaches from the sound, or I would suddenly turn someone's whispers to a shout. The only time I took them off as when I had to train." He chuckled. "Your trainer's having a rough time with you? I think my trainer hated me. I was there for six years. It took me half a year just to get even the barest grip on my powers. I think I was one of the slowest learners in history." The orange juice lay on its side in the middle of the table, seemingly still. For once that afternoon, he didn't feel like playing with it. "You've only been here a few months. Don't stress yourself, learning comes differently to everyone. After my third year of training, it was simple. Unfortunately, it took me those three years to get to where an average SM would get in a half of a year. So, I still had a bit to go."
Casper regretted that he had to sound so... I don't know. Like a therapist? A super cheesy one, at that...

"Hey, why don't we take a walk." Casper stretched his legs beneath the table. "Just around the mall. As much as this is a cozy little shop, my ass hurts like a mother." He chuckled a little, trying to lighten the mood, for both of their sakes. He wouldn't force Lani's story out of him all in one burst, especially since he recognized how difficult it was for Lani to even admit any of this in the first place. He didn't actually know if Lani was telling the truth. But, despite this, he had the feeling the boy wasn't lying.
He stood, and stretched. Nodding his head in the direction of the exit, he shoved his hands in to his pockets and walked out.
He had just given Lani the choice to run, or accompany him. He could get fired if the boy chose to ran, but, for some ungodly reason, he decided today was just a beautiful day. And what better thing could a person do on a beautiful day than take one massive and completely unnecessary leap of faith?

[Lani Hunter]

Lani simply shrugged at his reaction, that was what he got in most settings. His mind apparently had been torn open and something one of the teachers had told him that there was something called a Channel in his mind where his power came from and instead of opening like normal powers probably like Casper's opened extremely late but slowly. Apparently the panic that he had felt that way led to the defensive mode of his power bursting out of his mind and raging. He shook his head slightly as his headache throbbed, he had a little bottle of painkillers in his pocket, which he wasn't sure if he should be relying so much on but it was the only way he could think clearly sometimes.

Lani listened and laughed a little at his comment, "More than hate, I think all the trainers detest me." He shrugged, "You see I don't have one." He said it nonchalantly but in truth it was a big deal. He had been tossed around so much that he didn't even bother going most of the time. Better not to learn at all then have to be untaught things that people taught you. Usually if he went it was because security or the trainer had come finding him. He always hated that. It was embarrassing when security always came knocking at the door to see if he was really there, skipping class or if he was really sick. And chances were he couldn't even fake it if they had someone see past that. He smiled absently, Cole hadn't been kidding he was not good with emotion at all. At the moment he sounded more like a shrink than a recruiter. His recruiter had been harsh and matter of fact more ready to collect him than try to relate to him.

Lani's eyes narrowed with distrust when he suggested a walk. It was slightly more agreeable when he mentioned just around the mall but Lani's trust wasn't earned to easily. "Sure," he said instead of balking. He wrapped up his sandwich and cookie and dropped them into one of his bags. Gathering them up he followed the man his eyes glancing from side to side searching for the security crew that he was sure would by hiding in ambush. They had to have noticed he was missing by now, oh well, detention was a small price to pay for freedom. At least he could pretend he was lurking around school so as to not get that final punishment. They had threatened him with a tracker that doubled as a Hammel arrest device with a radius from his room to the walls.

He followed slightly behind not trusting his back to the man. "So," Lani said awkwardly, "What did you do? I mean, you said you stayed extra years, do they let you out if you're out of control? Did you go to school?" He wondered, being a senior with no hope of mastering his power by graduation Lani's main concern was if he would be able to go to college as he wished. He had no idea what major he would take but just something where he could earn money honestly, even though he would have to work at stopping thievery. It wasn't a long term job but it was so hard to stop.