Cruel summer [open]

[Talen Trahan]

Earlier this morning...

Cold was the morning, the weight of the cold settling on the broad shoulders of the boy jogging in the morning light. His frozen breath dusted his tousled dark hair like a sugarspun crown of crystals. His breath puffed forward as he ran, feeling the strain in his lungs and legs. He liked jogging early in the morning; it made his day better to bear, and it put him in a good mood.

Underneath his damp hair glittered obsidian eyes, the depths holding a smoldering spark of warmth and humanity. He looked up at the old brick building as he neared, glad to be back on Hammel grounds. He cursed the weather, not for the first time, as his shoes crunched on the half-frozen grass up the walkway, long fingers grasping the slick rail as he climbed the stairs and into the warmth. The muscles under his long-sleeved shirt bunched and rolled, trying to warm up, and he rubbed his hands together to get the stiffness out of them.

He could have waited for his self-healing to kick in, but he wanted to feel normal for a bit.

Once inside, he rubbed his arms briskly and ran to his room, quickly showering and changing so that he could go to the library. One of his passions was reading, and he locked himself in the library as much as he could. As soon as he left his room with his backpack, the bell rang. Rather than be caught up with the other students, he sprinted to the library, opened those doors, and slipped inside.

The smell of old leather and printed pages made the boy sigh happily. He loved the library. His dark eyes, like the smoldering embers of a banked fire, slid over the other students or staff members reading in the chairs or on the floor, and his feet carried him from the door past some shelves into the history section of the library. His fingers found a book on the Elizabethean era of England, and he looked at the cover before sitting against the bookcase, his eyes already locked on the fist page.

[Emma Hayes]

Emma couldn't keep help but grin as she tried to dodge students in the halls. She had wanted to get up early this morning to work on a paper, but had slept in. It must have been the sleepless nights catching up to her. Luckily it didn't seemed she had dreamed at all last night, and thanks to that Emma was in a stellar mood.

Giving out a few nods to the few people that she knew, Emma made her way into the library. Her mood lifted higher. This had already become her favorite place in the entire school. Emma was a sucker for books of any kind and this particular library had much more then anything back home had to offer. She came here practically every day and was always comforted by the sight of all those novels just waiting to be read.

However, today was not a play day. Today she needed to finish up her history paper. Emma was almost done, having ran straight to the library the second class let out, but she still wanted to double check a few facts before turning it in to Mr. Tonaya. Giving a little wriggle of her fingers to the librarian, Emma slowed her walk back to the history section. Truthfully, Emma had never particularly liked history. She was more excited by the sciences or English. But she prided herself in being a good student, she wanted to make this paper shine.

Emma stopped short when she noticed a boy leaning against the bookshelf she needed to access. She shifted slightly, biting her lip. Despite telling an acquaintance- she was still to shy to call people her friends- just the other day that she needed to be more outgoing, Emma quiet know what to do. She didn't want to interrupt the boy, he looked to be very deep into his book, but she knew the book was just behind his back. Gathering her nerves, she approached.

"Excuse me." She started, to softly to be heard. Emma cleared her throat and spoke louder. "Excuse me, may I bother you to move for a moment? The book I'm looking for is just behind you." Cue an apologetic and very nervous smile.

[Talen Trahan]

So deep he was in the book, reading the stories of King Henry's wives and all his children. His first queen had been Katherine of Aragon, daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, and they had one surviving child between them, the Princess Mary. Then Katherine had been removed and replaced by Anne Boleyn, who gave the King a daughter as well; Elizabeth. Her sister, Mary, had been mistress to Henry, and had given him his first surviving son, named Henry Jr., and another daughter. Anne was executed for treason, adultery, and incest, and soon Lady Jane Seymour became Queen of England.

On the book went, through Henry's six marriages, another wife executed, before he died with an acknowledged heir in Prince Edward, his son by Jane Seymour. Eventually the Prince died, leaving "Bloody Mary", his half-sister, to take the throne. After her death, Elizabeth was crowned, and she ruled England and France with a just and firm hand for over forty-five years; the heir Henry had needed was not in his son, but rather the daughter that his second wife had given him.

He was reading the passage about Elizabeth leaving the kingdom to James of Scotland when he heard a small voice saying "Excuse me." He looked up into baby blue eyes just as he heard her say "Excuse me, may I bother you to move for a moment? The book I'm looking for is just behind you."

His answering smile to hers was slow and full of charm, even if his eyes belied the innocence; he found her cute. "Of course I'll move," he told her, his voice cracking a little as he unfolded his length of five feet and ten inches. He stood, stretched a bit, and looked down at her with his smoldering eyes. "There, ya see? I needed to move anyway. Thank you." He closed his book and moved down a ways, sitting at the end where his back met the corner of the bookcase. He opened his book again and began reading, his hair falling into his eyes as he bent his head over the book.

[Emma Hayes]

Emma watched him look up at her, and felt her cheeks tint red at the smile. He stood slowly, and Emma was slightly taken by his height. She was used to men looking down at her but he hadn't seemed so tall while sitting. More pressingly, he was standing rather close now and was staring her directly in the eye. She flushed and averted her gaze in embarrassment.

Thankfully, for Emma's quickly reddening cheeks, him moved away quickly. It's not that she disliked close proximity from people but that she wasn't really used to it. Especially from guys.

As he got up to leave Emma spoke up. "Oh, thank you!" She smiled softly, then turned to find the book she needed. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he went back to his book. He seemed nice enough and if Emma was the type to admit it, nice enough to look at.

Emma saw the book she needed, The Tudors, and bent over the get it. After she snapped up, Emma turned slightly and glanced down at the boy. She thought about saying something. Emma was still new to Hammel, she could stand to make friends with the other students. She shifted towards him again. "Thanks again. You can move back if you want. Sorry to bother you." Emma gave a bright, yet nervous smile and hugged the book tightly to her chest.

[Talen Trahan]

Her thank you did not go unnoticed, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a smile as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. She was cute, if he could admit it himself; she was a little shy, which was perfectly healthy. She also had this red hair that made his fingers itch to touch, and he calmed himself; once his fingers started itching, it meant that they wanted to heal.

Her second thanks, however, made him look up from his book, strands of ebony hair falling into his eyes. He had not been expecting that. "It's fine, really," he told her gently, giving her a crooked smile in reply. "I don't want to be in the way of anyone trying to get a certain book for class, or even peasure reading like myself."

He saw her book, clutched tightly to her chest, and grinned. "I see you're interested in the Tudors as well as I am," he told her, showing him her own book of Elizabethean England. "This era of England, its Golden Era, always fascinated me with its backstory of the Tudor family, when the last Henry king was on the throne."

With his eyes smiling, he let go of the book and held out one hand to her. "My name's Talen, but you can call me Tal."

[Emma Hayes]

Emma let her her own smile grow in answer to the grin he cast at her.
"Well, I'm not exactly a history buff." She shrugged her shoulders, still tightly holding her book. "I'm more into English or Science. This is for a class."

Then feeling a little awkward and hoping that she hadn't made her disinterest seem like an insult, "But I really admire people who can get into it. I don't always follow it well, so I look up to those who do. This era," Here she nodded to the book he had. "Seems rather interesting actually."

"You read for enjoyment?" Emma lighten up a little. Not many people she had met her actually came to the library for anything other then class. She wondered if he was here often, and if so, why she had never seen him. Emma chalked it up to not paying enough attention. "You're one of the first I've known to say that. I like reading as well."

Emma loosened her death grip on the book and grasped his hand. She gave it a firm shake. "Hello, Tal." It was an interesting nickname to say the least. " I'm Emma. Emma Jane Hayes. You can call me Emmie or Janie if you prefer." She let go of his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

[Talen Trahan]

Her hand was soft and warm against his own, and his smile widened. "English and Science are good classes too," he answered. "Now science...always messes with me a little, since I don't have the brain for chemistry and all that stuff. Kinda have to, though, since I can self-heal. English..." he trailed off, smiling. "Now that's fun, along with history. I love learning about how countries were reformed, how their monarchies worked, mythology, all that stuff."

She brightened at his mention of reading for enjoyment, and he nodded. "Of course! It passes the time, as well as occupies the mind for a bit, and it's like a movie in my head whenever I read. Or, if it's history like this, I try to picture how the outfits looked like and how people behaved in society back in early England. It's quite interesting."

Emma. Pretty name. "Then I shall call you Emmie. It's a pleasure to meet you." He scooted over so that the spot next to his could be taken by her, if she so chose to. "So tell me about yourself. I'm new to this part of Hammel, and let's just say I don't make friends often."

[Emma Hayes]

"Oh. Self healing?" Emma was interested. It seemed like a really useful power. "That's amazing. I'm just stuck with illusions." She nodded. "Not every likes science, but it helps being meta humans like we are."

Emma grinned at Tal. "I agree completely. I love letting myself get lost in a good book. I'd bet using imagination would help with history as well."

Emma inwardly smiled at his choice of nickname. When he moved over, she sat down beside him and folded her legs under her neatly. "New huh? So am I. I've barely been here a few weeks." She raised an eyebrow. "You seem nice enough, I don't see why people wouldn't want to be friends with you."

She put the book beside her and leaned back. "There's not much to say about me. As said, I haven't been here long. Hmmm." She bit her lip in thought. "I'm 15, control illusions, and like cars."

She turned to him with a smile. "What about you, Tal?"

[Talen Trahan]

Tal looked down at her as she sat down beside him, curious as to why she was interested in his ability. “Well, sometimes I wish I could have something other than self-healing,” he told her. “Illusions sound pretty cool. Like, it could help keep away bullies and such.” He looked down at his book. “It helps with me, personally. I couldn’t stay awake in middle school, when the teacher was trying to teach us the French Revolution. I slept right through that class.”

He blushed lightly at her compliment; it wasn’t so pink as much as a golden flush upon his skin. He was surprised that she was his age; she looked a little too young to be fifteen, but he wouldn’t complain; besides, she liked cars, which was a latent passion of his. At her question, he smiled, and looked up at the ceiling.

“Well, I’m fifteen as well, I can heal others and self-heal, and I like cars as well.” He looked at her. “But I love to sketch, to capture moments in time with paper and pencil.” He reached into his backpack and pulled out a sketchbook, flipping the cover open to show her a drawing he had done of the French Quarter back in New Orleans.

[Emma Hayes]

Emma shook her head. "I think everyone wants some other power to an extent." She stated, looking over at him. "But I think your power is one of the most useful. Wouldn't have to worry about getting hurt."

From Tal's comments, she wondered if he had ever been bullied. It seemed odd to her that he would; he really didn't fit the type. "I've never really used it for anything like that." She wasn't very good at controlling her powers yet. Emma probably wouldn't even think to use her powers in such a situation anyway.

Emma had to hid a smile at his light blush. It was kind of cute. She worried her knuckles, staring at the opposite wall.

"We're the same age then. I would have thought you were older." It was mostly because he was so tall and seemed to have more confidence then her.

Emma grinned at his interest in cars. No one who liked cars could be bad in her book. It came with being a mechanic's daughter. She leaned over Tal to look at his sketchbook. "That's beautiful." Her voice was quiet with awe. She smiled up at him, widely and sincerely. "You're really good."