Thread Roulette: Emiko and Lani

[Event !]

There are worse things in the world than this.

[Lani Hunter]

If there was anything worse that could have happened today Lani could no longer think of it. Night was approaching and curfew was slipping up. He no longer cared, today had been the worst day ever. A migraine had grown too much to bear and he had nearly torn apart the courtyard. His parents were being way to positive about his current situation and when he had called to rant not only had they told him to man up but they had also informed him that Caroline was going to the hospital tomorrow. His heart broke, he always went with Caroline to the doctor it not only made her feel better but it made him feel better to know that everything was still alright with her medication and her sickness wasn't coming back.

The thought of not being there for her made him want to cry. And if that hadn't been enough of a bad day Lani found out that he would be switching trainers again and his power was on the fritz already and someone who didn't understand that would be impatient with him and try to pressure Lani into using his powers. He did use them, just not a lot. He was terrified of it. The idea that he held this much power was terrifying. He could only imagine he things he could do, great things yes, but he also had the potential to do terrible things. He sat nursing his bad mood in the library the quietest place on campus where he was sure he wouldn't be bothered, by another student at least. On impulse he went to the window and tested that it would open. He smiled as the cold blast of outside air hit him. He looked around the librarian was getting ready to leave unaware he was still in the room. He would go with Caroline tomorrow.

He slipped back into the shelves avoiding the librarian's eyes as he checked around for lingering students. In about an hour the security team would start moving about and find him not in his bed. That was the most annoying thing now that the security office now had him on their watch list he had not been able to do anything. If he even missed class someone would come and see what he was up to instead to make sure he had not slipped away. Security here was crazy it made him think even more that this was a prison and not a school. He went back to the window after the librarian had left and leaned out the window to look down at the wall. He wasn't sure he would come back if he left this time. He was sure he could find training elsewhere or even find another telekinetic who could relate and train him.

Yes, this could not have been a worse day and some part in the back of Lani's mind wondered if the window was a complete escape from this world. He shook his head banishing the though, that wasn't a thought he should be having. He hauled himself up on the windowsill and sat there with his legs dangling outside the window. He couldn't jump, for one the fall wouldn't kill him, and another he had to be there for Caroline. He sighed and wondered how he was going to do this escape when they knew now to watch for him. But he had never left through the library before...

[Emiko Nakajima]

If there was anything worse that could’ve happened today, Emiko could not think of it. She had discovered that morning half of her belongings had gotten lost in transit from Japan, it would take a week to relocate them and get the packages back on track. It wouldn’t have bothered her, except that the items in question were two-thirds of her wardrobe, her bedding material, and bathroom supplies. At the moment she was sleeping on sheets she had bought at a secondhand store and scoured three times in the laundry down the hall. She wasn’t sure where Vincent had gone, seeing as how she hadn’t seen him since her initial arrival at Hammel, and was starting to wonder if he had taken time off. Now, she had switched shifts. That, coupled with her lack of bedding material and lack of a supervisor, meant she was running on minimal sleep.

That was the worst part. Emiko could run without sleep, but only if she scared one person out of their mind a day. In theory, if she was bit more heartless she wouldn’t have to sleep for the rest of her life. With a decent night’s sleep, she could go without being fatigued During the night shift, she was given clearance to do as she pleased, since the only ones she could run into were troublemakers and unwanted visitors. She had already scared off a horde of local teenagers looking to string the Academy up with Toilet paper by taking the form of a large Saint Bernard with a bad case of rabies. (Which reminded her, she needed to watch this ‘Cujo’ movie sometime, it seemed many Americans were very familiar with the title, and therefore very terrified of it.)

She had a flashlight in her belt, the black pants snug about her waist. She had not been issued a handgun but had been given a nightstick. She knew how to handle one very well, to say the least. She did not have much else on her person. She wore a black button up t-shirt that had been issued as her uniform and wore a pair of black slacks she had bought after her first day. Even her shoes were black. Her hair was pulled up into a bun behind her head, freeing her face. Not a hair was out of place. No one could ever accuse her of being unprofessional, that was for certain. She had an air of crisp immediacy about her as she stepped down the hallways at a brisk pace, checking classrooms as she passed. She had been informed one student had not entered their dorm, so she was on her toes. It would look very good if she was able to apprehend the student and take him back.

Pausing at the closed door of the library, she sensed something. It was a tug at her consciousness, one that always arose when a person was present nearby. Normally she wouldn’t notice it, but her mind was sharp because of the lack of people nearby. It was like someone was whispering far away, she could barely sense it but she knew it was there. She stepped quietly into the library, not making a sound as she shut the door behind her, holding the handle so the click of the latch did not sound. She was quiet as she stepped between the shelves. She could trace the consciousness and its location and it was feeding her information the closer she got. She paused at the end of a bookshelf and took a deep breath, inhaling slowly. As she exhaled, she could feel the rush of fears- his.

Water can’t breathe so cold prison bars on a cage can’t move can’t move

Snapping her eyes open, she debated whether she should scare him or just apprehend him. Sitting in the dark was not her best option, but she remained there, still and silent as a statue, waiting for him to make his next move.

I can smell your fear
A sensation on my tongue
Can I stay human?

[/i][/size]

[Lani Hunter]

Lani sighed and absently kicked his legs as they hung out the window. He wondered if he could make it from the library to the gates. Or rather the wall and over. It wasn't often Lani was met with this indecision. So he sat meditating and letting the cool air fill his lungs and increase his awareness. His sister couldn't go alone. His heart throbbed at the thought. Yeah sure he was an odd adolescent with problems and a little sister complex but it wasn't like he didn't have reason. He had almost lost her to something he couldn't protect her from. He just wanted so much to be there with her to hold her hand like always. Let her know that just because he had a new life and strange new powers didn't mean he was going to abandon her. He groaned into what he thought was an empty library.

He blinked a sudden idea coming to him. Perhaps he could finally try his hand at this whole power thing. Theoretically if he lifted something and hung on he could fly. Right? Maybe. Worth a shot. he brought himself in from the windowsill and glanced over his shoulder as he thought he head something. He froze and his eyes struggled through the blackness. He shook his head, he was paranoid. There was no way they could tell that he was not in his room already. Lani really needed to stop underestimating the power of the Hammel of security. He knew they were good, the first ever to foil his escape, they needed to start working for the police so that they could start getting something done.

He shook his head dismissing the idea. You're being paranoid, his inner voice scolded him. Something had him unsettled though but the desire to see his sister over powered his cautiousness. Now he needed to see if there was anything he could sit on top of and still fit out the window. Finally the best he could find was a broom. He nearly laughed at the irony but it was the best he could find. He lifted it testing it, his mental hands running all over the object. That was one thing he loved about his power, he could know an objects every weak point and where to put pressure and where not. He pressed on it and up with his power he really thought he was being crazy. "I'm gonna die." He whispered to himself and snatched the broom out of the air and headed back to the window.

He took a deep breath and pushed the window open all the way. He looked down, never in his life had he been afraid of heights but now he had to admit it made his nervous. A fall from this height wouldn't kill him, he knew, but a broken leg was not something he wanted. However if this worked the way he hoped it would then he would be unstoppable. He crouched on the windowsill and stuck the broom out with him. He took several deep breaths and prepared for the worse. He breathed deeply and closed his eyes. He swayed slightly his hand gripping the side of the window as the other held the broom at arms length. Close your eyes. He took a deep breath. And leap...

[Emiko Nakajima]

As she stood in silence on the end of a shelving unit, Emiko finally made her decision. She closed her eyes and exhaled silently, pushing all his fears from her mind. She wouldn’t scare him. She would be reasonable and talk to the teenager first, and if force was necessary she would administer it.

She turned the corner and walked down the shelves, ready to call out to him, but then she saw the teen on the windowsill and everything changed in the blink of an eye. Her police force instincts all but clicked into place as she recalled her dealings with suicide attempts while serving in Japan. Generally one was to calm the person in question, but that was only when the element of surprise was lost. She hadn’t lost it, not yet, and she had an advantage because of it. Her brain automatically switched through several plans as her feet hit carpeting, muffling the sound of her shoes. Her plan suddenly became clear to her and, with her final step, she shifted mid stride.

It was a sensation like no other, like taking off one’s skin in a single fluid motion while simultaneously stepping into another. After so much practice it didn’t hurt, not in the slightest. It wasn’t even uncomfortable anymore. Her body formed a shape like a coffin, but it was ribbed, like a cage. Even though the cage had no eyes or ears, she still saw and heard all, like an omniscient presence. A long black hand emerged from the bars, forming like smoke, and shot quickly toward the window, grabbing at the teen to pull him into the cage. He didn’t stand a chance- she was much too fast, and even if he did make the jump she could still catch him.

“Not so fast.”[/b] Her voice sounded like a record, warped and distorted. It seemed to be natural for her form. “You aren’t going anywhere. In fact, you are staying right here.”[/b] She rasped, the cage rolling forward toward to window as the hand grappled. As soon as she could get him inside, the cage door would snap and lock, steel closing in around him. She’d decide where to go from there once he was detained- thank goodness one of his fears was being locked up.

You did this to you
you locked yourself in this cage
I am just the key

[Lani Hunter]

Lani teetered on the edge waiting for the courage to believe that he could indeed fly. Perhaps he should have thought this out a little more or even practiced. Oh well. He was about to try when sounds behind him startled him and caused him to hesitate to turn and look. First he thought it was a person trying to stop him and that moment Lani realized what this must look like. Here he was, presumably a less than stable person standing on a windowsill looking like he was ready to make a nice and welcoming reunion with the ground. However, Lani was not crazy and the last thing he wanted was to be a pancake on the pavement. The only thing he wanted was to see his sister and be there for her when she needed him.

As Lani's mind whirled at what to do he came to a now or never mentality and turned again to jump but then the person approaching changed. His eyes widened with terror. What was that? His mind worked in terror and it took shape and meaning. Cage! Cold bars! Trapped! Panic!! His heart pounded and he took an unwise step back then he was falling. The broom flung into oblivion as he flailed for something to catch onto. He wasn't sure if he was screaming or if it was just in his mind but something grabbed him and sucked him unceremoniously back into the window. Lani was stunned and his shins hit against the sill and his head snapped against the window as he was pulled in. From one terror to another. Lani's screams didn't cease and rather he grappled for the windowsill as the blackness tried to suck him into the cage.

The thing pulling him was stronger than his grip and he slipped skidding across the floor his hands scratching the floor desperate to find something to hold. Then cold steel closed in on him and the pulling stopped but the cage shut with a sharp snap. He thrashed against the bars. Trapped! Trapped!!! His mind reeled with half madness. His fear of being caged, trapped, his wings clipped had taken a physical form and acted against him. It was closing in on him pressing against him on all sides until he could barely move, only thrash in desperation. He barely heard the voice his panicked mind thinking, oh God now its talking to me! Trapped! Lani banged his fists against the bars and kicked at it to no avail. His cries died down to desperate sobs as he came to the realization that he was really trapped. This wasn't some illusion but a physical cage and he was done.

His power chimed in as he hugged himself and closed his eyes willing the bars containing him to leave. Things started shaking. He pulled at the books and at the shelves. The books flew around like a million birds in a frantic panic with no where to go. The shelves swayed but he could not lift them. Not with so much else going on. He closed his eyes and willed it to stop but his terror filled power now tore at the bars the objects spinning ever faster as he tugged at the bars. "LET ME GO!" He screamed over and over again until he was pleading with tears in his eyes as the bars seemed to close in ever tighter.

[Emiko Nakajima]

It was the screaming. It was always the screaming, the gyrating vibrations in her eardrums, that caused her to lose control of her actions. Most people would assume that it would bring her back to Earth; that it would make her come to the realization that what she was doing was wrong. But she couldn’t do that. No, it made everything seem more real to her. Screaming was a physical form of fear, and that made everything much more real. When a person was afraid, she saw it- tendrils of vapor escaping their body that only she could see. Screaming was like releasing it into the air in a steady stream. Everything from the holes in the ceiling tiles to each individual piece of carpeting came into crystal clear focus. She could feel her energy bar rising, slowly at first, but then leaping upward in jerks as his terror grew. He was only feeding her.

She loved it.

It was an addiction that she couldn’t stop. When he tore at the bars and screamed, she laughed internally, watching him. His powers bemused her as he began to throw books everywhere, though she noted that the damage to the library would probably be blamed on her. Not good. “Stop that.” She said, her rasping voice floating over the din like a bird on a thermal. His kicks and punches were not hurting her at all, for she was truly steel. Her shifting was actual shifting, not some attempt that left her looking like metal when in reality she was pliable like rubber. She wouldn’t allow for such incomplete efforts, it was an insult to the person she was scaring as well as to herself. Eisai had taught her that.

When his crying started annoy her, the bars began to flatten out and the barred cage turning into a dark metal box, which lurched backward and fell onto the floor backward. Adding a slightly morbid touch, she added padding and widened the box, making it look like a coffin. Now that he was entrapped, she could get to him. She minded the chaos outside as her voice echoed through the box. It was back to its normal inflections. “Now then, I will let you out, but you must calm down. As part of the security staff, it’s my job to contain you, and I have no qualms with keeping you here while I install wheels onto my form and haul you off to a locked room. If you understand, say so. If not, you may nod or tap the box once.” It was hard to sound reasonable, but she had to control the situation, she was fairly certain that the librarian would not like his library to be damaged any more than it already was.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani heard that voice again and glared now knowing that it was something this creature didn't want him to do made him grab at more things. He couldn't hold any more without completely using it and his head throbbed as he used more and more power. He was never completely sure of his limits. He beat the books against the bars and pushed at them uselessly his madness making over. He dropped the books as a flash of agony lanced through his mind. He growled and screamed in frustration. No matter how he pulled at the bars kicked at them used his power on them it would not budge. This was no illusion or even half truth he was really in a cage, wings clipped, trapped! Terror and madness ruled his mind and the sane parts of Lani curled up in a corner of his mind closing his ears and eyes to block out the madness of his power whirling around him.

The bars flattened and began to close in. "No, no, no!" Lani pleased pressing against them with no avail. Lani's eyes were wide with terror trying to cut through the darkness that enveloped him. Now he was completely enclosed and his power stopped altogether, he couldn't see. His mental hands could feel what he couldn't see but he couldn't get his 'hands' working as they grabbed at everything and anything. It was chaos and Lani pulled inwardly trying to grab the box that baned him. The trapped feeling only increased with the darkness, the abyss nothing but blackness. He yelped jarred by the sudden movement as the box seemed to shake him and fall back. Terror pulled another scream from his lips as he could do nothing to stop that sickening falling feeling. What if whatever had grabbed him had decided to toss him out of the window after all.

He waited for the life shattering crunch of metal against his skull when with an 'oof' he fell back as the box only fell on solid ground. His world was tipped upside down as for a few moments he wasn't sure which way was up anymore. There was something soft under his back and the box took a long foreboding shape. He cried. There wasn't even time to register the strange action. He hadn't cried since he was seven when his sister got diagnosed but yet here he was almost an adult who had faced the dangers when taking a life as a thief but never thought something like this would happen. Even being trapped in prison wouldn't be as bad as the imagery of his death trapped in a box underground. Yet here he was with tears streaming down his face praying for his trauma to be over, hoping he would wake up and it would all be a dream. His breath came in short gasps as he felt his chest closing and panic making his whole body shake.

He flinched curling in on himself as much as he could in the tight box when the voice came again. It sounded more human, female? He didn't really care but for two thing the voice said. It would let him out and it was from security. He gritted his teeth and nodded slightly listening and trying to keep his mind straight. It was asking if he understood. Either way he wanted out of this box and he would rather be hauled off by security not in a box. He didn't really understand but he understood enough to know that he had to stop what was going on outside to be let out. "I understand," he said in a very small voice that shook and rasped with wear from screaming. He closed his eyes and blocked out all the chaos that was in his terror filled mind. Slowly he grabbed the books flying and then with little care and must effort he cut off his power and they rained down onto the floor the thunks as they hit the ground muffled by the box and his own hands over his ears. "Please let me out." He begged moving his hands to press against the box.

[Event !]

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