Ignorance (O)

[Ann Hudgins]

There was a pool....

There was a....pool...

There was a pool.

Like so many thoughts she had nowadays, this one festered until she finally went. There was a pool. At Hammel. The idea that she couldn't swim with other people had been a fear with her since she had started training. Ann had, once upon a time, loved swimming, but now she was afraid it would just amplify her power and in simple terms, kill her.

But she stilled drifted towards the pool in a one piece solid color bathing suit and basketball shorts. She had left her shoes and a bag with a change of clothes inside. It took her a while to get up to the water's edge, and then slowly she crouched next to it. The Friday afternoon had people busy with things that didn't lead them to the pool (she also had no idea how popular the pool was) and she was glad to see that it was still empty.

She reached a hand down towards the water and got her fingers wet. The water was warm. She leaned back up on her ankles. She gnawed heavily on her lip as she looked at the clear water. There was no one around. She took a few steps back, her fingers flicked about and she raised her hand to prepare to preform a dive when the door opened. Thanks to it being a pool, it thundered around and caused her to jump up in the air. "Shit!" She couldn't help but curse, she spun around to look at the person that joined her.

(Totes open, hoss.)

[Luke Pyrrhos]

You know what? The kid had a point, and he was right. You know, he might be his rival, but a damn good one at that. Zac had made a point to show Luke that he was powerless in water. Sure, the guy could swim, spending most of his life on a bunch of islands, but that didn't mean he could do extraordinary things in the water. Some members of his family could, of course, but unfortunately for Luke, he got the pyrokinesis instead of hydrokinesis. Still it wasn't like it was a bad thing at all, it took over a lot of different aspects of his life, exaggerating certain aspects as well. Take for example, his hotheadedness. You did not want to mess with him if he was in a sour mood. But he would only be in a sour mood if he'd been put off by someone with like attributes, or been totally shut down by a girl.

But was he bitter at this point in time? No. He was determined to find a way to deal with his ... disability. With any luck, he might be able to find a way to work around this predicament. To the pool it was. At this point in time, it would be suicide to go outside and try to work these problems out in any body of water, and the pool should be at an adequate temperature to keep him in an adequate mood.

He grabbed his trunks, slipped into the nearby bathroom, and quickly dropped off his clothing in his room, after grabbing some a towel and loose tee. Because of his high body temperature, he most likely wouldn't need that towel to dry off, his body heat could turn those water droplets to steam in seconds. But what the heck? It was only proper right?

Within five minutes he'd made it to his desired location. He looked in through the crack in the door to reveal that he would not be swimming alone, but that didn't really seem to bother him. From the looks of it, his fellow swimmer had long shiny hair, and odds are, they were a female. Not like he was going to try to jump their bones or whatnot, but only that he felt a lot more at ease with females than with males. But yes, of course, he was going to enjoy himself.

He cracked the door open a little more, enough for his lean body to fit through, and then shut it quietly, as he tried not to startle her while she prepared for a dive. But evidently so, he'd failed at that. She seemed to be quite startled, what with cursing and jumping around and such. Quite animalistic if you asked him, but with that, he was able to see her beautiful face. It was none other than the lovely Ann Hudgins. Not only was she dropdead gorgeous, but she had quite some sprite in her, attitude that could make people back off of their high horses, well, at least almost everyone. Except for him, of course. The chances of getting with her in any way, shape or form? Zilch. But it was so worth the fun to play with her mind from time to time.

He continued to walk toward the adjacent side of the pool, swung the towel off his shoulder, stretched, and cannon-balled into the pool, creating quite a huge splash that was sure to get even the lovely Ms. Hudgins wet. Treading in the water from where he came up for air, he pushed back his hair and greeted her finally, "Hello gorgeous. And how are we this lovely afternoon?"

[Ann Hudgins]

She didn't recognize him. Which was good...? It seemed recently everyone she talked to nowadays was trying to...flirt with her? Zac was definitely at the top of her list of antagonizers, even though he had promised (initially) that they were just friends. She was just glad it wasn't him that had walked through the door. She might have run and locked herself in the girl's bathroom, had that been the case. However, she didn't know a single thing about this guy and wanted to assume he was completely harmless and would leave her alone, like people used to do every day of her life (but now she couldn't leave her dorm without talking to someone).

She chafed her hand against her arm as he made his way over to the water with such confidence. Ann had felt confidence before, from other people and the way they acted, and experienced herself by absorbing it from other people, however she hadn't felt organic confidence since she got her power. It was almost and alien concept even though she wished she had it in her to be at least a little sure about anything. She was too indecisive and had too little self esteem to even roll out of bed with half of his confidence. He jumped into the water and sent a bunch of water her way.

She threw herself into reverse to avoid the droplets but she still got a full-body cold chill from it. She sent a glare at him but couldn't help but laugh at his greeting. He was being funny, calling her gorgeous; a true comedian. "Can't complain." She shrugged her shoulders, lifting her shoulder blades more than her actual shoulders. "Yours?" She crouched at the pool's edge and looked down at the water. Here it was. Decision time.

She could get in the pool, absorb him in instantly because the water amplified her power OR she could slide in the water and it not actually do anything but insulate her power and block it or something. She would love it if it was the latter because that meant she could pick up swimming again (which in this weather would mean she didn't have to freeze every morning during her run). She folded her arms across her knees as she looked down at the water. "Just do it already," she hissed at herself under her breath. Yet she didn't move. She was just watching the water move and outlining the pattern of the pool with her eyes.

[Luke Pyrrhos]

So she wasn't that talkative of the female race, that was okay. Maybe he could bring a bit out of her, you know, some spirit, some -dare he say it- flirtatious vibes. Or maybe not. Still, what was the use in not trying? "Don't be afraid to come in, darling, the water will feel cooler and cooler the longer you sit idle. Well, not for me but most likely for you." In reality the water would stay the same temperature, but with a person who didn't have a body temperature above most others, they would most likely feel colder and colder the longer they sat in inactivity.

He began to swim just a bit closer to her, considering whether or not to playfully splash a bit of water over at her, but at this point, when he cocked his head to try to figure out what she was showing in the line of emotions, she looked utterly pissed. Well that certainly wasn't the emotion I was looking for. Lets cheer this poor damsel in distress up. "Well I've heard a lot about you. You go by the name Ann, am I correct?" He indeed had learned a lot about her over the long stay he'd had at Hammel. She was just about his age, but she was one of those mind-metas. You know, those sorta mind control or special feely metas. He had absolutely no idea how those people stayed sane, with all of the control they had on everything and everyone around them. What's more, he knew that she was something called an Empath. He was somewhat sketchy on what her abilities really were, but he maybe he shouldn't try to figure out. Some of those kids, they could do some petty freaky stuff to you without you even remembering. And that would definitely mess with his ego and game. No. Bueno.

So maybe he shouldn't push the girl too much. He would still try to enjoy the pool, and do what he came to do, while attempting not to hurt the girl while trying. He called out, "Well honey, if you're nervous, I'll be way at that end, and I don't bite." Well, unless she was looking for that kind of attention..but no, no, no, he had to keep it sweet with the girl. No naughty talk now. Maybe later, but not now.

He swam to the opposite end of the pool, near the shallower end, where he could comfortably stand on his two feed, with over half of his torso out of the water. He crouched down a bit, so that the water was up to just below his shoulders. He held his hands close to each other, as if attempting to make a ball of fire, one of his favorite moves. He tried and saw a gleam of color, and then...nothing. Just steam and a rather hot patch of water. He tried again, attempting a different stance, with his arms out in front of him. Closing his eyes for maximum focus, he breathed in, and with a push of force through his arms, opened his eyes again, to see bubbling streams of water on either side of him. They reached almost all the length of the pool. And by wading into them, he could also figure they were quite hot. Nearly boiling. No freakin' way. So he'd finally figured it out. He may not be able to shoot fire out of his hands, but he could definitely make it quite hot, and most likely very uncomfortable for someone to be swimming around in boiling water. He looked on over to the girl across the pool, wondering if she'd seen his pure awesomeness. Maybe if he could make it a bit less powerful of an action, he might just be able to make it like a sauna or a spa. A hot tub of sorts. Now that would definitely be kicking the place up a few notches.

[Ann Hudgins]

"It's--I'm not--" She couldn't say she wasn't afraid because...well she was afraid of the water. She didn't know how her power would go with it and she didn't want to freak out and inhale a shit ton of water and drown. She wasn't exactly happy with her life, but she also didn't want to die like that. She ran her fingers through her hair as she looked at the water. She wouldn't know until she tried, and his words did have some wisdom in it. If she just sat here, the air in the room would make her feel colder than she was--and Ann was always feeling cold nowadays.

She didn't look up when she heard him moving through the water, but it sounded like he was coming closer. Ok. So maybe he was a sociable person and liked keeping a conversation up. That was fine. Then he spoke and she lifted her head, her eyebrows knit together a bit in surprise and trepidation. The last person that had admitting to knowing anything about her (or showing interest) kissed her and got punched in the face. She hoped this afternoon wouldn't turn out like that. "Mm. Ann. Yes. And...you?" It was polite, right? She couldn't help it, however, when the curiosity started to bubble she asked, "what have you heard?" What were you supposed to ask when someone says something like that, right?

Ann furrowed her brow for a moment when she noticed something. She didn't know what she noticed, but she....knew something was off. But that was all. She scratched at her ear as she tried to puzzle it out what it was. He said something about biting and moved to the other side of the pool. Ok. Whatever. She couldn't help but chuckle a little, though she was sure she hadn't heard exactly what he said. She looked back out at the water and gingerly stuck a foot out so it hovered over the water. Three...two...one.

She slid it under the water and her foot got wet. That was all. It was wet now. She let out an excited squeal, then realized she sounded like a pet rodent and her eyes went over to...that guy. He was doing something odd in the water, with his hands. With bubbles, it gave off the illusion that he was farting, but she wasn't a second grader so it didn't make her laugh. However, she was extremely happy to realize that water didn't conduct her power like electricity and she stood up to conduct her dive.

She took two steps back further and then two quick steps forward and launched herself into the air and into the water. Her dive was sloppy, only because she hadn't swam in years. She surfaced soon after, several feet away from her entrance point into the water and flipped all her hair behind her head. "Whoo!" She let out happily, her voiced echoed around the place and she turned happily towards him again. "I didn't think I'd be able to swim because my power. But this is freaking awesome. I don't feel anything," she finally explained as she laid out on her back. The water was a bit warm, but she would much rather have the water be hot than cold. She started paddling around on her back happily.

She wondered how many laps she could do without getting tired.

[Luke Pyrrhos]

First a squeal and a slight flailing of arms, and then came a dive and a laugh of excitement. Luke had been so preoccupied with his bubble making abilities that he'd lost track of what the girl was doing over at the other end of the pool. But she was now in the water, floating around on her back like a sea otter. Why had she gone from such anger and seclusion to this ecstatic state of being he'd yet to see her in? Well at least she was loosening up right?

He had heard her ask about what exactly he'd heard about her, and for his name as well, but only thought of it to answer her now. It was probably for the best anyways, seeing as she didn't look like she could bite somebody's head off. All's well that ends well, right? Feeling a lot more comfortable to be himself around Ann, he answered her, "Oh you know, lots of different stuff. Don't you worry though, babe, no one is going around spreading too nasty of rumors about you. They seem to know when to watch themselves. Which leads me to believe that you can have quite the effect on people." He smiled at her coyly, and waved her down. "I would be Luke. Luke Pyrrhos, a long-time student to our lovely Hammel."

He greeted her with a wink, and ran a hand through his hair. He had heard her nearly disregard what he'd previously said and continue on about her most recent achievement. She mentioned about how her powers would affect her ability to get into the water..or was it to swim period? But, as he thought about it, what exactly could she do? He knew she was one of those mind-benders, but what would be so powerful as to prevent her from entering this large pool? Should he ask? Should he leave it? Maybe so. But curiosity called, and she had yet to get too mad at him about anything he'd done, so why not push the envelope? "What exactly can you do then? I know you're one of those metas with mind control of a sort, but how would that stop you from slipping in the pool for a refreshing swim?"

[Ann Hudgins]

She started to turn her lazy stroking into more powerful movements that propelled her through the water, aimlessly. She was warming her muscles up for some good old fashioned speed swimming. She wasn't sure exactly what stroke she would use, but she was sure she was too out of practice to try the butterfly. She heard his voice echo around the room, even with her ears under water, so she lifted herself up and faced him to catch the rest of what he was saying, "Don't you worry though, babe, no one is going around spreading too nasty of rumors about you.... can have quite the effect on people." Ann scratched the back of her head and laughed awkwardly. She had heard...roughly...the same thing from Zac. She seemed to not hear him call her 'babe,' or she simply chose not to react to it. People talked about her, she was aware of that, only no one knew anything other than surface facts because people didn't talk to her about her.

"Nice to meet you Luke." She caught that he said a long-time student, but she had honestly never seen him before. She'd been here the generic four years, but she wouldn't be leaving at the end of this year, like most. She had to remain because her training wasn't completed, by any means. After the exchange she started to aimlessly swim again, only this time on her stomach with slow and lazy breast strokes. She barely kicked her feet so she hardly moved, but she was obviously just trying to reacquaint herself with the movements.

She was just too happy to put into words about how she was able to swim with another person. It was like taking a huge step forward (and step at all in mastering her power was becoming few and far between now), without falling back or meeting an obstacle. She had no idea if there was a safe number of people she could swim with--like if too many people in the pool would overwhelm her as well, but something like that would have to fester at the back of her mind until she could test it. She turned to Luke again when he asked her about her power. Technically...in a very general sense, he was right that her power was mental, but she didn't deal with thoughts at all. "I...absorb and sense other people's emotions through their chakras and up until like two minutes ago, I didn't know if I could be in water with another person without sucking them in like I was touching them--which I can't do." She didn't mind explaining her power at this particular instant because she was happy about it. Her power hadn't crippled her in this instance like it did at so many other places in her daily life. She would swim now, and it was just a huge breakthrough, her pessimism (towards herself) was momentarily nonexistent and her resentment towards her power was minimal.

[Luke Pyrrhos]

So now the conversation seemed to end a bit flat. He had a choice of whether or not he'd let it end that way, and get out, showing off his body while doing so, or if he wanted to push the envelope just ever so much, so as to avoid be attacked but also by definitely showing what he was going for..or at least a hint. Ah so many choices, literally at his fingertips, but maybe since she just now realized that she could swim in the water without amplified feelings, he should play it low..keep it cool...

God what was getting into him? He was Luke Pyrrhos after all! A fearless romantic, a go-getter who would deal with getting sucker punched in the gut or slapped in the face. He must go for the beautiful lady, profess his feelings of immediate attraction. But add in some tact this time around, for good times sake. perhaps. He waded across the water until his feet no longer reached the bottom, and from there swam towards her, but not too close. No need for being too much of a creeper, after all the Pyrrhos' were not creeps, but swarthy young men in search for their beautiful amore. At about seven feet away from her, he looked over at her face, happy with delight at her recent accomplishment and replied, "You know Ann, I wasn't joking about calling you beautiful. You are like the warm, welcoming sun that rises and sets over the crystal clear seas from my homeland, my island. Many girls would long to inherit your eyes or sense of spirit." He smiled kindly, but kept his cheekiness in check. He needed to lure, not to creep out.. Lure, not creep out. He kept that in mind as he waited to see what she would do next. As she obviously was not an avid swimmer, at least right now at this point, he could most likely make a quick one and swim away from her in a flash if he needed a getaway from flying fists. Hey, a man had to have a backup plan.

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann had a tendency to answer a conversational topic strictly in her head and never vocalize it. That problem stemmed from years without speaking a word to others around her and just generally never speaking. She was trying to fix that, however. At this current moment, she hadn't even noticed she had let the conversation die because of her happiness towards this success. She probably, however, would have noticed him get up and leave and then been confused by it, because to her, nothing was amiss.

Ann paused for a moment in her lazy strokes and looked up. Her mind had drifted back to the other occupant of the pool and she was slightly surprised to see he was making his way over to her. She self-consciously ran her fingers through her mane of hair so it wasn't all tangled in her face and tread while he came closer. When he did speak to her, it was with colorful language that painted a pretty sunset picture in her mind, however it made her laugh faintly in surprise. "I...um..." she hadn't noticed she was blushing from his words, either. Sure, people before had told her she had a pretty face, Zac, was one of those people that just kept telling her and telling her. However, she hadn't felt...sincerity from him and just generally believed people who said that were just being nice.

This case, she tried to chalk it up to the same thing, but...well that particularly didn't make much sense. He'd come all the way over here to make sure she knew he meant it when he said it before? "Thanks." She obviously didn't know how to go about this turn in conversation. "Uhm...you are..." she was supposed to compliment him back, right? "Nice. Very...nice."

[Luke Pyrrhos]

Luckily, Ann had taken his compliment to her in the nicest way possible, without even a hint of wanting to punch him in the face...or was she just hiding that? Still, she proved his point even further by attempting to compliment him. Usually girls just basked in the kindness and compliments he gave them, but rarely ever did they every voice what they thought of him. It was nice, but he wanted to make it clear to her that he wasn't fishing for compliments. That was one thing he absolutely hated about a girl's attitude: when they would put themselves down in front of a guy just to look and wait for the guy to back them up, and tell them they were beautiful. But An never did that, so more credit to her.

He chuckled as she added slight questionability as whether or not that was the right thing to say, and added in response, "Ah Ann, I was not fishing for compliments, merely speaking my mind of my exact opinion of you." So he'd done better than Zac ever did, or would, but now, he was quite unlike himself. For some reason, he felt that he should leave Ann alone, or at least leave it at that..from what he knew, he would have left them on good terms, and being able to talk to her later on in the future sounded like it could indeed be very possible. Why push things right now? After all, this looming crush seemed very odd and unfamiliar for him. Usually he wanted to get down and dirty because of a lust he had for the girl, but for some reason, this was a different feeling. Not that he wouldn't object to that idea, but he'd rather keep things where they were, you know? Keep things comfortable for now.

He looked like he was going to say something to her, but just smiled. He swam towards her slowly, but then, swam past her, towards the edge of the pool, and pulled himself out of the water. His body was still warm, as always, and although it did take a few seconds for him to get used to the cooler air, his skin was warm enough to evaporate the water droplets that covered his skin and most of his hair. Still, he grabbed the towel like any other normal person, dried the rest of him off, and stuck his shirt on over his head. He shook out some of the remaining water in his hair, and then grabbed his towel, swung it over his shoulder, and before leaving, told her, "I must be off now, beautiful. I've got a training lesson that is much overdue. I hope to see you soon, Ann." With that he gave her a smile, short wave, and headed out towards the doors and back to his room to change.