Insert Title Here [Niko]

[Ginelle Leveaux]

There was a new rule about to go into effect at Hammel Institute, and it was that Ginelle Leveaux was never, ever, ever, ever allowed to have a carbonated, caffeinated drink until she turned thirteen. If that rule was broken, then another regulation would be introduced: she was never allowed a computer with internet access, specifically YouTube, while she was on the sugar high kick from the caffeinated beverage consumed. Yes, that rule was going to go into effect soon.

“RA, RA, AH, AH, AH! RO-MA, RO-MA-MA, GA-GA OOH-LA-LA! WANT YOUR BAD ROMANCE~!”

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Very[/b]. Soon.

Bouncing around the hallways on a sugar buzz from a Pepsi given to her by a curious and agitated L.C. Milliner (because I can do that along with break my fourth wall, hehehe), the giddy blonde girl had her lion by the arm while twirling about similar to a crashing helicopter. The lion didn’t seem to mind, but he looked as if he had been through a lot of similar excursions and learned it was better just to go along with the ride. Her dress flew up, revealing skinned knees but little else otherwise. The pink gingham cloth blurred as she spun again, scattering dust particles in the sunbeams cascading through the hall windows. As she skipped down the hallways singing at the top of her tiny little lungs, teenagers ducked away and grumbled with mixed undertones of anger and irritation. Some thought Lady Gaga was a good artist, but when it was coming from a ten year old soprano it just didn’t have the same effect. In fact, it had an almost opposite effect. Lady Gaga drew people in, she was driving people away. After hearing one unkind teenager yell ‘Change the channel!’ from a classroom door down the way, the little girl stopped and looked over her shoulder at the empty hall.

Ginelle’s lower lip quivered slightly and she felt her heart sink to the tips of her ballet slippers for a moment. She looked to her lion, picking him up and holding him an arm’s length from her face. “Do you think my singing is bad, Aramis?” Aramis, the brave musketeer namesake he was, said nothing to confirm or deny her statement. The little girl, however, took his silence as a ‘no’ and smiled at him even though he had done nothing. “You think so? Thank you!” The lion remained silent still, though if he were human he’d likely have a look of exasperation on his face by this point. Ginelle, however, continued her skip down the hallway, her self-esteem unharmed by the comment. She did, however, wait until she turned a corner before picking up a new song, bouncing into the student lounge. A first glance by the young girl proved it to be empty, but she didn’t take a close enough look to be entirely certain. All she noticed was that there were no teenagers in there.

Humming to herself, she pirouetted in her shoes as a new song (not Lady Gaga, thank GOD) started in her head. “Hmmm...” With that note, she jumped up on a couch and began dancing and singing again. Ginelle’s world was a never-ending musical. Forgive her. She was only ten. “Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world! She took the midnight train going anywhere~! Just a city boy, born in raised in SOUTH DETRIOT! HE TOOK THE MIDNIGHT TRAIN GOING AAAAAANYYYYYWHEEEEEERE!”

Jumping on the couch singing Journey, it was apparent to any passing student that Ginelle was not going to calm down any time soon. The fact was only accented when she jumped off the couch and onto another one, her song uninterrupted save for a breath. Bouncing and bringing her knee up under her, she bounced off the lower half of her legs and up on to her feet again, which triggered an abrupt hiccup in the music that made the-power-that-is glad that her post was going to be finished soon because she had managed to sneak in Journey and was very pleased with herself, but imagining it in Ginelle’s voice gave her a headache.

“A singer in a smoky room, the smell of wine a cheap perfume~! For a smile they can share the night, IT GOES ON AND ON AND ON~!” (Yes, it does.) Starting again on another lyric that was at the top of the songs-a-loud-soprano-child-should-never-ever-under-any-circumstances-ever -sing-goddammit list, Ginelle threw her hands and her lion up in the air, though both were an accident. Honestly, she barely noticed that her right hand was gone though her left had stayed firmly attached. Still gripping the lion in its clutches, the hand lay on the floor to be discovered whenever she got around to it.

“STRANGERS, WAITING, UP AND DOWN THE BOULEVARD, SHADOWS, SEARCHING IN THE NIGHT~! STREETLIGHT, PEOPLE, LIVING JUST TO FIND EMOTION-”

It was going to take a while.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Eventually I will title this thread, by the way...][/size]

[Nikolai Campbell]

Niko had grown up in a foster home where he'd picked up on the fact that if you wanted to keep everyone happy, you had to be really quiet, and even when you were really, really happy, you had to wait for everyone else to be excited, too. It was because he repressed himself that he felt a need to act up in school when around so many children his age. But, Niko didn't know that. All he knew was that when there were kids around, rules didn't mean anything. You could get the other kids on your side, and together you were unstoppable! Or, something like that. Of course, it seemed like the kids were only as strong as their leader, and once their leader was taken out of the room, they were as passive as before he came along. Which was exactly why Nikolai Curtis spent most of his time in classrooms other than the one he'd been assigned to when the year began. He was separated from familiar kids, therefore, he was harmless, as he seemed positively terrified of the strangers in the unfamiliar room. There were so many and they knew he was such a bad kid to be in their classroom, anyway, so Nikolai kept quiet and spent his time actually doing the work assigned, or dazing off, whichever seemed more entertaining at any given moment. Fortunately for Niko, behavior wasn't an issue since coming to Hammel, because there simply wasn't an age group for him, and he couldn't attend the regular school because of his powers. When it was a one-on-one situation, or even a small group, Niko was just a high spirited little boy who let his imagination get the best of him. But he was endearing if one had patience.

And the other kids? They adored Niko for his loyalty. Well, most of them, given Niko didn't feel it was okay to settle a dispute with them with physical violence. All things considered, Niko really was pretty sweet to his peers. He just had his buttons, and he'd learned that (at least with teens) talking did not work, no matter what adults said. And if he didn't swing first, the teens usually would so he didn't give his peers that chance. Then again, fighting with the teenagers was a lot of 'Nikki's younger, be somewhat gentle'. It wasn't like they'd physically harm him too badly, or like they'd intentionally leave marks (though bruises were fair game if they could pull it off in an obscute spot). Niko saw it as an intense fight, anyway. He had to actually work to keep up, even if the teenagers did not. But, he wouldn't start a fight with a girl, so Ginelle had little to worry about as Niko walked down the hallway in her direction.

Seeing a girl who didn't stand at least two feet taller than him upon entering was unbelievably relieving. He was happy enough to break plenty of rules, including jumping on the couch, which was exactly what the girl was doing when he first saw her. Obviously her disregard for the furniture was not something Niko should mimic and he knew that. Not that the teens were careful with anything in the room, anyway. Still, Niko knew better, and any other time he would have been proud of that fact. And, who could resist? Good music seemed to prevail over him. Familiar lyrics, that was. At the line about the singer and the room, he was tempted to join in. It took him until the 'it goes on and on' for him to think of what it was called (though he'd never remember the band even if he wanted to)

Unfortunately for Niko, his joy was short lived because she distracted him with her detached hand. At first he assumed it must be some kind of trick, like a magic trick she was practicing or something. Something like losing your hand just wasn't possible, even at Hammel, or not in Niko's mind at least. So Niko remained smiling as he looked from the hand back up to Ginelle. She looked so happy that, after a moment, Niko was laughing and clapping in admiration, apparently not phased by the less-than-pleasant voice singing. Of course, this was only possible because his eyes didn't stray to the arm that now lacked a hand.

[Ginelle Leveaux]

Had Ginelle been older, she might have actually gone out of her way to introduce herself sooner to possibly the only boy that was younger than her in the entire school. However, since she was only ten, she hadn’t bothered as of yet. She was still at the tender age that designated that boys were boys and girls were girls and they liked it to be separated. Ginelle was one of those few girls that didn’t mind boys but felt the need to prove she was as strong as they were even though she wasn’t in the slightest. Childhood laws, however, dictated she still had to try and prove herself, even if it would only end in miserable failure.

At the moment, however, she wasn’t interested in that. She noticed Niko coming up and sang even louder, happy to have an audience not bent on shutting her mouth in the quickest way possible, which normally involved duct tape or candy. When he jumped and applauded for her, the lyrics began to get shaky, not due to stage fright, mind you, but because she was laughing. Slowing her bouncing a little, she stopped singing and let her arms hang limp as she bounced regularly, like one might do on a mini-trampoline. She still hadn’t noticed her hand was detached.

“HELLO!” She was excited to see someone around her age, to be honest. She hadn’t been here long enough to introduce herself to all of the kids her age. “What’s your name?! I’m Ginelle Leveaux!” She stuck out her hand to shake even though he was likely too far away to shake it. She noticed right away that there was something missing. Like… her hand. She blinked as she stared at the stump for a moment, feeling embarrassed beyond belief. She felt her cheeks go red as she pulled the hand behind her back and, instead of extending her other hand to shake, did a little half curtsy thing. The blonde girl was visibly less excited then she was before. “I uh, it’s uhm, nice t-to meet you.” She said, wondering where her hand was. She stepped off the couch and saw it on the floor and picked it up, surveying it while the hand tucked the lion in the crook of her arm.

“There we go.” She muttered, sticking her hand back on and flexing her fingers. “This happens to me a lot.” She said, looking to the boy with a smile back on her face. Ginelle could never be unhappy for long, she was too high-spirited for that. “Sometimes I’ll wake up in the mornings and my whole head is off! Wanna see?!” Enthusiastic and ready to show off her power, she put her hands on either side of her head, ready to lift her cranium from her neck if all systems were go.

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[Nikolai Campbell]

"Hi,"Niko agreed, his tone softer but still happy as he dropped his hands back to his sides. Now that she was aware of his presence and no longer singing, he felt no need to continue clapping. He did, however, draw both hands behind his back so that he could clasp them together, hiding them from her view. This was not done in reaction to her own hand being gone, though that would have made sense in his own mind for the action to be connected. Fortunately, Niko hadn't yet noticed. But that was soon to change.

"Nikolai Curtis, but everyone calls me Niko or Nikki." Niko wasn't used to giving his last name, but if she was going to, why shouldn't he? He trailed off when she offered her hand, suddenly seeming to notice. He shivered unintentionally, trying not to be alarmed. Did that make her a mummy? If she was a mummy, mummy's were creepy. He wouldn't want to meet a mummy! And Hammel was supposed to be like Harry Potter, not a school for scary monster creatures. He'd definitely ask James about this since he was the one that claimed it was like Hogwarts in the first place. On the other hand, his mind insisted that she couldn't be a mummy, she wasn't wrapped up like a mummy was supposed to.

So. . . Was she a zombie? That would make sense, and if she was, he'd like that. Zombies were so cool! He smiled at his own thoughts, suddenly noticing that she'd retrieved her hand. His posture shifted to account for the sudden ease he was feeling, his eyes suddenly brighter, his gaze more focused on her.

"Does it hurt?"Niko questioned curiously as he finally dared to close a bit of the distance that was still between them with confident, comfortable steps in her direction. When she asked if he wanted to see her take her head off, Niko's eyes widened in surprise. Her head? Was she serious?

"I-I- w-well- i-if it doesn't hurt. . . then, then I guess so. If you want to, I mean."Niko stammered, not so sure he really did want to see. Zombies were cool, but that didn't mean he wanted to see more proof. He already believed her. To see it again seemed a bit frightening. But she seemed nice enough, at the very least.

"I can't do anything like that. I'm supposed to control the weather, though. . . I'm not very good at it. My trainer, Chase, he's trying to teach me. He's a really good teacher."Niko added, figuring that while he wasn't a zombie, he was something, and that was why he was at Hammel like her. She seemed okay, at least. And as long as she was not hurt by the unnatural action, Niko would try not to be too scared. To say the least, it was easier said than done.

[Ginelle Leveaux]

Ginelle stared at the newcomer and grinned wider when she heard his name. “Nikooooooo.” She drew out the last syllable, trying to commit the name to memory. “I have a nickname too. People call me Gin. Sometimes Ginny. But I don’t like Ginny, so you can call me Gin because I like it more.” She wasn’t aware she was being redundant, but then again most people didn’t realize how they were at the tender age of ten. When she got older, she’d look back and think herself stupid, but at the moment stupidity wasn’t on her mind. What was on her mind at the moment was the boy shivering, which made her shoulders droop and her lip tremble a little. She didn’t want him to be scared of her. She got enough of that from regular people. People like her shouldn’t be scared of her too, right?

As he drew closer, Ginelle took a step back and clasped her hands behind her as she rocked a little. “Sometimes I get stiff and tired but it doesn’t hurt, no.” She pondered that for a moment, wondering why that was. If anyone else took off their own hand, they’d bleed to death, according to her trainer people. This made her scared at first, but soon she ended up doing it and her fear of falling apart and bleeding was forgotten.

After Niko gave the okay on the head removal, Ginelle put both hands over her ears and closed her eyes. Her head was hard to remove sometimes, and other times it just fell right off. Whenever she got afraid, her head seemed to come loose. It was part of the reason she wasn’t allowed to watch scary movies anymore. Lifting gently and carefully, Ginelle felt her head pulling, not wanting to let go, but it came off with very little trouble. Her hair skimmed over her shoulders and her eyes blinked to life, surveying the world from four inches higher then they usually did. She smiled as she lowered her arms and she cradled her skull in her elbow while her other arm hung limp, Aramis dangling from her hand. In the end, she looked like one of those children one would see at the end of a long hallway asking to play with them.

“Ta-da.” She said, proud she had done it. Sometimes her limbs wanted to stay on and she couldn’t get them off, no matter how much she pushed and pulled and twisted. Niko said something and she listened, blinking slowly. “So when you get better you can make it snow in the summer?! That. Is. So. Cool.” Her voice was filled with breathless excitement as her body bent over and she reconnected her head to her neck. Making sure no hair was in the way, she pushed her head back on, straightening up and fixing her hair again.

“Soooo.” She muttered; kicking her feet as her hands went back behind her back. She had to look up at him now because she was so short. In all likelihood, he may be half a foot taller. He definitely weighed more, she was no heavier than some house pets. “Do you… Like to play tag?” She asked lamely, trying to think of something to do. She had learned from experience that most boys did not enjoy tea parties or playing princesses (even if they got to be the prince that saved the damsel). In reality, she was the worst ‘tag’ player ever- she couldn’t run very fast for very long and she was always becoming it. “Or hide and seek?” That, she was good at. Especially when it came to small spaces. She could hide under just about anything.

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