see the fishies {open}

[Saiichi Jun]

It was not intentional, Sai falling asleep that is. Waking up wasn't, either. But life was full of things that weren't intended, and Sai liked it that way. He'd look on the bright side of things. For example, on this particular day, he had slept well, and everyone had seemed to resist the urge to transfer the water from the nearby pond onto his body to wake him up. That alone was a relief and well worth being happy about. Now Sai was left to roll over in the grass- laying on his chest was more comfortable. And he needed to roll over to see the lovely water in front of him. Who would want to miss that? Certainly not Saiichi.

On this day, Sai was dressed as he was normally dressed. He looked formal in his black dress shirt, and with the silky black tie around his neck. If it wasn't for his worn-looking black jeans and black vans, it would be easy to classify this teen as rather out of place. What kid willingly wore formal attire? Well, Sai did. It still felt so very strange to him not to wear a set uniform to school each day, though it'd been nearly six years since it had been required of him. He had a loose uniform, which involved a dress code and a set of colors at his first American school, but nothing like he'd had in Japan. In general, here in America, here at Hammel specifically, kids wore whatever they wanted, wherever they pleased- or, they'd wear nothing at all, as he'd quickly learned. It was a very different world. Not just for that reason; oh, no. There were plenty of cultural things that left Sai a little ... well, perhaps the word would be alarmed.

Maybe it had to do with his age- in Japan, he was a child. In America, he was a teenager. Even for Americans who lived in the states for their entire lives knew that the difference between childhood and teenage years was quite dramatic. Oh well. The thing about Sai was, he was a bit disconnected from reality, a bit slower to make connections and move on with even simple things, so there seemed to be a good chance that he'd never fully accept the American culture. There were so many small differences, and they all seemed to add up so very quickly. With the rest of his family maintaining the Japanese culture he was born into, it was hard to separate and appreciate the two cultures equally. Sai was still working on it. It was easier when he lived away from his family, when all the influence he had, for the most part, was the American one.

Sai yawned, then drew his hand along the surface of the water in front of him, tempting the fish that he knew were just out of sight.

"Sakana?"Sai questioned softly under his breath. Maybe if he called to the fish they'd answer. It seemed worth trying at least once until something more amusing came along. Sai had been at the Hammel Institute long enough to know someone was bound to come strike up a conversation- he looked so bored, how could they not, right? Sai kept himself hidden from his peers, for the most part. He didn't know nearly as many people as he should have, or rather could have. He was in class with them, and he walked the halls and ate in the same cafeteria, but he would spend his time training on his own or pestering the trainers (he didn't limit himself to 'his' trainer, he'd ask whoever didn't look busy) to help him improve his ability rather than spending an idle day like this one. On this sunny afternoon, he was only out here because the weather was nice and his ability could be very discouraging. It was time for a change, for something else to occupy his time.

"Sakana."Sai repeated, his tone sounding insistent now. The fish gave in, it seemed, and began to come to the surface to disrupt the peaceful water. Sai grinned, feeling both accomplished and amused.

[Courtney Ross]

It was a nice day. The sun had finally peeked through the clouds, the grass was beginning to grow and it was warm enough to walk around with just the lightest of jackets on, peachy weather. Courtney wanted to enjoy it and slipping on a light green sports jacket, she made her way outside and down the path to one of the three things she could successfully locate in relation to the school : the koi pond.

Holding the sides of her jacket, Courtney tried to think about what she could do if it warmed up just a bit more. It was still too chilly for short sleeves, but her half-sleeve blue shirt was a good dark color, and her jeans were dark too, ready to soak up any sunlight. Her battered black high tops only completed an outfit with the intent to soak up the sun. Maybe this was normal for up North, but Courtney knew she would be shivering until it was seventy five degrees every day for a week. Otherwise, it just felt cold.

She did hope that the flowers would start into a full bloom soon. Blooms meant pollinators, which meant butterflies and moths and every kind of bee that there was. She would have buzzing minds to listen to instead of thinking in her own, and maybe this year, she could overpower the hive mind and get some control, maybe feel like she was at least talented at this whole being a freak thing.

Courtney heard the whisper of legs, and a ladybug landed on her ear, tickling it slightly. Ever since she had arrived, the insects had seemed exponentially more drawn to her. It was strange, but not unpleasant, having friendly creepy crawlies seeking her out on a day-to-day basis. Just the day before, there had been leaf hoppers waiting outside of the school the moment she stepped outside, and they had sprung up like the most spirited of black clouds.

"Hope you're not up too early ladybug." Courtney said, letting her feet guide her. "I'd hate to see you lost in a cold snap... Maybe you should scurry back to wherever you take your winter rest." She was basically used to people thinking she was talking to herself, and knew all the tricks to avoid eye contact. However, as the pond came into view, Courtney saw someone she didn't need to avoid.

Sai was reaching out towards the water, looking classy as usual. There was something about him, his sincere air, his general niceness, maybe even his name that made him less nerve-inducing than most. Courtney found that she could almost be her normal, awkward, babbling self around him, and considered him among her friends. For her, making a friend here was an accomplishment. Even if she wasn't really sure if he felt the same about her.

Oh, but what was he doing? He was moving his hand of the water and he looked like he was concentrating... Courtney didn't want to startle him, or disturb him. One horrible and strained altercation at the pond was more than enough, thank you very much. Instead she hung back, looking at a butterfly that had somehow gotten the idea that now was a good time to flutter.

Taking a step back to watch the butterfly and maybe convince it to do some loops, Courtney used her both her terrible luck and Murphy's Law and managed to step into a hole, falling back with the most dramatic breaking of branches and a rather loud yelp of both surprise and fright. She landed rather solidly again a tree and then managed to roll off of it, using her hands to catch herself, breaking more branches as she did.

"Ow." Courtney whispered, feeling entirely foolish. Entirely unconcerned, the butterfly landed just behind her ear and wow, did it's feet tickle.

[Saiichi Jun]

Sai liked the fish a lot. In fact, he loved just about all animals without much discrimination (the fuzzy ones were ultimately more popular with him), and had already assured himself that he would rush out and get a pet that would be allowed by the institute just as soon as he could be bothered enough to go to the pet store. For now, the 'fishies' were good enough for him. They were entertaining fishies, and they had a lot of room in the pond, which was good. Sai would have swam with them, he would have attempted to see them in the water, but he suspected it'd get him into trouble. The adults would interpret it as malicious toward the precious fish, he was sure. So he kept a comfortable distance from the fish, instead laying as he was now, tempting them to the water with his hand and talking to them in a one-way conversation that was actually more gratifying than one would think it could be.

Even hearing the sound of someone falling, and the subsequent 'ow', which he presumed was from the fall, Sai didn't jump. No, he just turned to face the source of the noise, seeming to move at his own pace entirely.

Ah, Courtney. He knew her. Sai got up, just as calmly as he'd moved before walking over to Courtney. There was no amusement at her situation, no laugh at her clumsy move. No, just silent observation. Silence and indifference, at least about what had happened. Not that he didn't like Courtney, he just wasn't one to get worked up over something that had already happened. Maybe if she was in the process of falling, he would have felt a need to be proactive. Maybe. It depended on the exact situation- Saiichi Jun was not one you would want around in an emergency. But he was someone you usually liked to help your emotions stabilize after one. He was not helpful by any supernatural ability, but the way he could see the better side of any tragedy was usually appreciated by those around him, so long as his words weren't interpreted as insensitive. On the other hand, he did care about the result of the event he wasn't paying attention to, which was of course that she could be hurt. That he was completely sympathetic to.

"Are you okay?"Sai questioned, his tone soft and genuinely concerned, though it held a hint of it's usual, almost dreamy quality. As though Sai had been daydreaming and he hadn't quite woken up just yet. He did, however, seem alert enough to extend a hand to Courtney to assist her with getting to her feet- and perhaps just to be supportive on a physical level. And though she had a bug on her currently, he didn't notice. Maybe it was it's size, maybe it was because Sai's first impulse was not to look at her ear. Either way, he didn't mention it because he didn't see it. Having already met Courtney, it was hard to miss the fact that the bugs liked her, so it wouldn't have surprised Sai if he had noticed. If anything Saiichi was amused by the bugs and their 'devotion', as he'd probably put it if asked. They, in his mind, loved her. Why else would they hang around? But Sai was not Courtney, and he did not know how her power worked, he could only idly observe and assess it in his own way. His assessments were usually made just to amuse him, or just because that's where his mind took him. Sai rarely kept track of people and their powers for personal gain- he did not feel it necessary to know what he was around, to know what he could exploit as some of the other students probably did. No, he was concerned with himself, his ability, and entertaining himself on a daily basis. Nothing more, nothing less. He felt it was better that way. There was no use worrying about other things, was there? Not for Saiichi.

[Courtney Ross]

Oh, Courtney felt like such an idiot. She couldn't even manage to walk without making a total mess of things. It seemed like every time she came to the pond, she managed to fail rather spectacularly at being a normal, upright human being. Maybe it was a sign. Maybe she was supposed to avoid the pond, maybe it was unlucky. Maybe she was unlucky, and the pond-goers were just innocent bystanders of her inability to not do incredibly stupid things. Maybe she was thinking about this far too much and should start focusing on important things, like maybe getting up and managing to run back to the school without falling again.

Courtney came back to reality just in time to hear Sai's question, blush a furious shade of red and then notice his extended hand. She knew that she must have seemed absolutely pathetic to him, and he was probably only offering a hand up out of basic decency, but the tone of his voice swayed her. He sounded a bit distracted, like always, but he wasn't laughing even a little, and his concern seemed genuine enough.

"I-I'm fine." Courtney managed to say, taking the offered hand and feeling her palm sting slightly. She had scraped it during the fall, along with her side and had almost certain bruised her knees too, just one big catastrophe all packaged nicely into one convenient body. "Thanks for asking."

As she took Sai's hand, Courtney also noticed how freakishly nervous she was. Nerves, panic, distress all meant the exact same thing. Soon, there would be bugs swarming, whatever was nearest and she would look even more ridiculous. A beetle crawled onto her free hand and even as she closed her eyes and tried to calm down, Courtney could feel them coming.

"I am pond cursed." Courtney muttered to herself, completely forgetting about Sai for a moment. "Ugh, why can't I just be like other normal girls?"

[Saiichi Jun]

The blush, ah, that was cute. Even Sai had to admit it. Blushing in general was simply adorable, if you asked him. He grinned, though he didn't think that it was funny she was embarrassed. Surely it was uncomfortable for her. And discomfort was not something Sai was comfortable with himself (at least not when it was other people getting uncomfortable. He seemed to have a personal policy not to let himself show his discomfort on the rare occasion that it seemed necessary to feel it). He spent a lot of time helping people get over things that kept them from being happy- this was one such thing that would require his assistance, when he could stop enjoying it so much.

"This is good,"Sai agreed happily as she took his hand. As for the scrape, he didn't notice, but he wouldn't have been much help. His ability was over illusions which was really a selfish power if one thought about it. It entertained him and did little else, if anything, for those around him most of the time. Speaking of, his ability was one of the few things he was torn about. He didn't complain, but he did occasionally consider the way his life would be different with other powers. No matter, though. Sai0 was ultimately happy with what he could do, he was just curious. Like, wondering if the grass was greener on the other side. He liked his green grass, but he'd also like to see what the grass was like over there, just to be able to say he knew the difference.

"Pond cursed,"Sai agreed with a nod, as if that made all the sense in the world. No one had ever said that to him- that they were pond cursed. But he had more to say about the second question she asked. Even if she wasn't talking to him specifically, he felt it necessary to answer.

"I have yet to meet a normal girl, and I would imagine it would be a very boring incident if I did."Sai offered,"But if it was really what you want, let me know if you need any help because I'll be here for you. I'll probably secretly be remembering how entertaining it was to have met you as a far from normal girl, but I promise to keep that to myself."

[Courtney Ross]

Courtney tried just to think clearly and assess the situation. The good was that one, she had not sprained her ankle as it seemed entirely okay, two, that Sai was being really nice about all of this and three, that locus weren't plaguing. Bad included growing nervousness, cold and the fact that Sai still had plenty of time to laugh. Still, it was salvageable if she could just control herself. However, her blush wasn't fading, and as soon as Courtney realized it, she felt the blush redouble. Darn her fair skin and its inability to hide her embarrassment.

"Please feel free to ignore my mutterings at any time." Courtney said, getting up carefully, trying to avoid the hole that had felled her before and still very lightly holding Sai's hand, making that her focal point. Normally if she concentrated on something, she could stave off her thoughts. Courtney chose to think about her hand and how it was a little ragged, especially around the nails and she had chipped a nail and maybe her hands were a little bit dry. Sai's hand was just fine, on the other hand - Haha. Other hand. Terrible pun. That thought was going to be erased. - and he seemed slightly warmer than her. In fact, everyone she had met was warmer, so like two people. Either she was really cold, or she was good at finding people with good circulation.

As she thought, Courtney calmed down and the beetle seemed to lose interest, dropping off her hand as she brushed dirt and leaves off of her pants. The butterfly, however, moved into her hair, feeling like a rather unusual hair ornament. That was fine, the butterfly was fine. Butterflies were bugs that were considered acceptable in general society. Even as Courtney was having these deep thoughts, she was still listening to Sai as he talked to her.

What Sai said almost shocked her. It wasn't just the fact that he seemed unhappy about her being a normal girl, which was strange enough to her. Courtney just assumed that everyone would have preferred her to be a normal girl. It was also that he seemed highly okay with her the way she was. Sai thought she was... entertaining and... he made it sound like a good thing?

"I... I" Oh, wow, good job Courtney, excellent sentence. "Uhm, so what are you, uhm, doing here at the pond." Her attempts at changing the subject was abysmal, but maybe Sai would take pity on her and go along with out while she tried just stay calm.

The ladybug behind her ear began to crawl down her neck and Courtney twitched slightly. All those tiny legs tickled, and despite herself, Courtney giggled, making the butterfly flap its wings. This day was just getting more and more ridiculous. This was certainly the fault of the pond.

[Saiichi Jun]

A brighter blush. Oh, man. He bit his lip to keep from laughing aloud. That'd be rude, after all. But it was no less cute, and the fact that she was still blushing. Silently, Sai was kicking himself for not forcing himself to say something soothing, something to help the color drain from cheeks. Oh well. He did nothing beyond mentally kick himself, and the kicking wasn't having much of an impact, anyway.

Ignore her mumblings? It was a nice offer, one that he knew he would not take her up on. No, he just would not. But he didn't say that to her. Instead Sai smiled and gave a small nod of acknowledgment. It was about that time that Saiichi noticed that he was warmer than her, as she was now aware of. For a moment, he considered this and whether or not he was going to do anything about it. She wasn't complaining, and for all he knew it could be a side effect of her ability or something like that, something Sai had no business prying into. But if it was easily helped by escorting her in, that was an entirely new matter. Sai had no problem at all with going inside. Before he could decide if he wanted to pitch the offer to go inside or to just wait until she mentioned it, she spoke up.

"Oh!"Sai's expression became cheerful immediately, as though her question was far more interesting than it really was."I was watching the sakana- no ... the-"Sai paused, looking thoughtful for a couple seconds, trying to remember the correct English word for the word 'sakana', before he grinned again.

"Fishies."he announced with a satisfied nod."And I fell asleep. It was so warm, I couldn't help it." But whether he realized that the correct word was 'fish' or not was debatable. Knowing Saiichi, he very well could have decided 'fishies' sounded better. Or he could have learned that the two words meant the same thing, essentially, and decided to just memorize fishies and forget fish all together. Whatever his reason, he didn't seem to think it strange that he used the word so he assumed she wouldn't either.

"And what brings you here?"Sai questioned. That was the polite thing to do, right? Well, Sai was asking himself that question. To most, the answer was too obvious to ask the question. To proceed with the conversation, one must ask the other person to answer the question they had showed interest in unless the circumstances created the situation where one person had something significant to tell, while the satisfaction of the others' curiosity was the extent of the teller's obligation. Sai knew this, but the thought of whether or not his question was right still seemed to taunt him.

"Ah, butterfly!"Sai pointed out."Do you have a favorite bug? I don't think I've asked you yet- but I am curious." When he had said it was a butterfly, he had meant it as an observation, but it came out as more of a declaration. To be fair, Sai knew she was aware of the bug, she had to be. But Sai didn't correct or explain himself. Instead he watched the butterfly curiously, silently hoping the butterfly would not fly away immediately - mostly because Sai wanted to observe the bug. Getting this close was not a common occurrence for Sai. Not that he wanted to move any closer to Courtney. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable or anything, so he'd respect her personal space.

[Courtney Ross]

Very quickly, Courtney brushed the ladybug off of her neck, knowing it would come back but hoping to would choose a new place to rest. It did, landing on the back of her shirt and Courtney felt relieved that one of her concerns had moved. Even better, Sai had chosen to follow her abrupt change of conversation, mentioning the 'sakana'. Once he explained, Courtney thought that sakana was a perfect word for fish. Just saying the word sounded like a noise a fish would make darting around, defending its nest or chasing a bug. The word fish was terribly bland in English, no context at all.

A fishie, however... Courtney had to smile. That was just so Sai, to call them fishies instead of plain old fish, too stiff a word for such a flexible creature. And fishies fit him as well, a softer, cuter word that worked just great because Sai was soft and cute and just so... calm. Had she already thought that? Courtney was worried that her thoughts were getting repetitive, just in case a nearby mind reader thought she was stupid for it. Also paranoid. There weren't any mind readers around, were there? No, of course not...

"I just came down to enjoy the sun." Courtney said, answering Sai's question. "I uhm, still get lost pretty easily, so the pond is someplace I know how to get to and uhm... yeah. Not getting lost, sunlight, maybe companionship." The butterfly flapped its wings again and Courtney thought that she felt a little warmer. A heat wave would be fantastic. "Its just been so chilly lately, you know?"

As soon as Sai acknowledged the elephant in the room, the butterfly in her hair, Courtney tensed up just a little. Yes, butterflies were nice and they did like people at times, but still. How many people knew that bugs were oddly drawn to her, something that she couldn't control yet? And worse, what would people thing when they knew? What would Sai think? What was Sai's power anyways? She would never ask, but he probably has some kind of nice, pleasant power.

"My favorite bug..?" Courtney echoed quietly. Cockroach was the first one that popped into her head, but she couldn't tell people that. Roaches were disgusting, disease carriers and bad news. No one like cockroaches, except birds and herself. "Mantis, I think. They're so pretty, especially the exotic ones... I don't think they're hatched yet, so even the Prayings shouldn't be around." Mantises were also terribly vicious, and clever enough to take down birds ten times their weight, but Courtney didn't mention that. Mantises were plenty easy to like, nice bugs.

The butterfly flapped again as the ladybug stirred, impatient with Courtney for some reason. She felt that sometimes, insects expected something from her, but she never knew what. Still, Sai seemed to like the butterfly, didn't he?

"Uhm, here, would you like to hold it?" Courtney asked, reaching with two hands and cupping the butterfly, willing it to remain calm. "The butterfly, I mean." Butterflies weren't exactly the manliest of bugs, but maybe Sai would like it. "Don't worry, it shouldn't fly away..." Courtney held the butterfly out in her hands, taking a step towards him so she wouldn't have to stretch. "Its alright..." She wasn't sure who she was talking to - Sai, the butterfly, herself - but as far as she and the butterfly were concerned, everything seemed to be going fine.

[Saiichi Jun]

"Ah, yes, the sun,"Sai agreed, glancing up toward the sky as though to observe what they were talking about. Then again, even Sai knew not to look directly into the sun, so observing the blue hue of the sky above him was good enough for him. When she went on to say she got lost, he looked back to her.

"Lost? I've been here so many years, I haven't gotten lost for a while. Huh."Sai grinned."I used to enjoy getting lost, actually. I liked when it was unfamiliar, when there were surprises around every corner." Sai may have been odd in that regard, but he honestly did like that things weren't immediately known in his environment. The process of figuring it out, and the accomplishment he felt when he figured it out, not to mention the fun memories he had, were his favorite part. Actually knowing and being able to refer to his knowledge base on a daily basis had less impact- far less. They weren't even on the same scale. But, oh well. Sai wasn't leaving the institute for at least two more years. If he had his say, he'd probably stay longer so that he could really feel prepared when it came to controlling his power. Though he tried, it was fair to say Sai did still struggle more than most did.

"But, yes, it as been a bit cold. Actually, the weather in general is so weird lately."Sai agreed with a nod,"Let me know if you get too cold- we could always go inside, yes? It might be warmer in there." Or, she could go inside and he would gladly leave her alone, but he took her saying that she wanted companionship as a way of saying she wouldn't mind if he was around. Really, Sai didn't even bother to think that it might be rude to assume he was going to go with her. Whatever, surely she'd make it clear if it bothered her, right? With Sai, it was necessary. He'd never even think of holding it against a person, so it was the clearest course of action to get your way.

"Mhm," Sai may have forgotten to mention that he was completely clueless on the subject of bugs. So though he listened to what she told him, it didn't seem that significant. No, he would go to no trouble to remember it, and he certainly had no similar knowledge that he'd acquired before that was even remotely similar. This sort of put a stop to any further conversation on that specific topic as far as he was concerned.

"Hold it?" Saiichi's calm expression was rarely upset by stronger emotions that weren't his own happiness. But in this instance, he looked surprised by what she said. She expected him to hold it? Sai didn't fight it, he just held his hands out, mimicking how she was holding her hands. He didn't want to actually grab it, there was no way he was going to do it. Either it was going to move onto him, she'd move it onto him, or it'd fly away as far as he was concerned. It wasn't that Sai specifically didn't want to touch it, he just didn't want to hurt it.

"You're sure about this?"Sai questioned further, but his attitude was shifting. He didn't look nearly as surprised as before. If anything, he looked excited, but it was a subtle look that blended with his calm smile.

[Courtney Ross]

"It must be nice, not getting lost anymore." Courtney said softly. "I'm sure it'll be an adventure as soon as I figure out how to get back to the lunchroom without ending up at the pond..." That was a true story. She had been looking for something to eat and gotten so lost that she ended up not only outside, but at the koi pond. Not one of her brighter moments. "Surprises can be abrupt." Courtney whispered, thinking.

When Sai mentioned going inside, Courtney was surprised to find that she didn't exactly want to. Now that she was outside and the tips of her ears were getting properly chilled, it wasn't that bad really. Also, falling had provided plenty of adrenaline, so that was probably keeping her warm too.

"It smells alive out here." Courtney decided, feeling unusually bold. "Maybe we'll go in in a few more minutes... If you want to." There was Courtney, that timid and indecisive girl who hid behind books and her hair. Something was making her so talkative, making her take the initiative and feel warm in Vermont. She felt almost a little outgoing, and as the crickets chirped, Courtney decided that coming outside was a good idea after all.

Best of all, Sai was interested in the butterfly. She hadn't messed this up! Now, all she had to do was talk to the butterfly. That, she could do with ease. All bugs spoke great English, apparently, and insects were normally willing to accept her suggestions. Actual commands were still a no-go, but she was working on that. Maybe with more training. Maybe after finding the training field, or a teacher.

"Yeah, hold it." Courtney said, watching Sai's face before looking back at the butterfly. It seemed content enough, and she exhaled softly, placing her hands in Sai's and then pulling them apart. "Alright. Sai, this is butterfly."

"And butterfly." Courtney said, knowing she probably seemed silly, talking to a butterfly. "This is Sai. Don't mind him, he's nice." As the butterfly flapped its wings, Courtney couldn't help but feel a very... flighty sense. It was almost like she had wings too, and closing her left eye, Courtney tried to imagine what it would be like to fly. Wings would be absolutely divine, taking her upwards and forwards to where she really wanted to be, up in the clouds. Even insects wanted up in the sky, she knew, like moths who exhausted themselves flying towards the moon.

"To fly." Courtney whispered, not noticing that the words were out loud. "Wouldn't that be lovely..."

[Saiichi Jun]

Sai grinned, his eyes twinkling mischievously as he got an idea related to how to help her, or rather to keep her from getting lost.

"I should draw you a map of the school sometime."Sai chuckled. He wasn't laughing because it was funny- the idea was one he was serious about, but he wasn't exactly a fantastic artist. He wasn't horrible, oh, no. Just not the best. If he drew her something, he was sure she'd get it. Sorta. It'd be his choice of landmarks and sense of scale that'd lose her before his drawing itself.

"Yes, alive,"Sai agreed cheerfully. He knew alive wasn't a smell, really. When he was taught English, he learned that alive was the word for many things, not a smell. Unfortunately, since coming to America, Americans seemed to smell (and sense in general, for that matter) far more things than they were truly capable of. Sai could easily forgive them for the odd habit, though.

"Ohhh,"Sai breathed as he felt the butterfly's delicate body against his skin. It's movements, so gentle, but definite, had a memorizing quality. This left Saiichi to grin at the creature. What a beautiful, beautiful butterfly this was.

"Hello. Taisetsu!"Sai chimed in greeting- it was necessary to give the butterfly a proper greeting. He hadn't dared move his hands now that the butterfly was on him and he didn't intend on moving anytime soon. As for the word he used, 'taisetsu', it was an affectionate term that meant 'you're precious' which the butterfly was in more than one way. When Courtney spoke again, Sai looked from the butterfly to Courtney as if watching her would help him hear her whispering better.

"To fly? It would be an interesting adventure, I think."Sai mused, his calm tone back opposed to the cheerful one. Really, this was about as close as she was going to get to 'thoughtful', at least for now, and it didn't sound any different than his 'post-daydream' tone from earlier. However, flying was not something he usually thought about, and if he never flew in his life, it wouldn't be too tragic for him.

[Courtney Ross]

"A map huh." Courtney said, thinking about it as Sai smiled. He had a nice, easy smile, almost confident if he didn't look so calm about it. A good, strong, distracting smile. She was getting quite absorbed in Sai and discovered slowly that she really didn't mind."A map would be great, if you really wanted to. Heaven knows I'm dead awful at navigation." Now where did that come from? She was talking like she was down in Georgia, talking to her Grandpa and getting the most exciting and affected of southern accents. That needed to go away as well. "Though I might be able to stand just a touch more adventure..."

She took another deep breath, taking in that living smell. It was almost blooming flowers and fading ozone and a hint of cattails. The air was light, but there was that weird thing about it, what made it smell so alive. Soon, it would smell very faintly of deer. That is, if deer stayed in Vermont for the summer. Courtney wasn't sure if deer migrated or something.

Sai seemed so enthralled with the butterfly, and Courtney felt her heart beat just a touch fast with excitement. This was the first time she had ever really managed to use her power in front of someone, and he had been pleased... That was great. Butterflies were now her favorite insects, even. This had gone so well. And Sai was even looking at her, as fascinating as the butterfly had to be. It was demanding her attention, even without yelling in her head to talk about flowers or the fact that a cat wanted to eat it not minutes before. This was a special butterfly.

"Taisetsu." Courtney parroted, wondering what it could mean. It was a light word that was perfect for no reason other than that Sai said it. Maybe all of this pond was going to her head. Entirely possible. "What does that mean? It sounds... lovely. Really... bright." Her ability to describe other phonetics was nonexistent. Oh well. This was going alright even with her being herself.

"Flying would be the adventure." Courtney muttered. "Probably a bad idea for me. I'm awful on land." She gestured towards the hole she had just fallen into. "Up in the air would just give me farther to fall. Probably not the best for me, you know?"

Watching the butterfly, Courtney couldn't help but reach for it. Yes, she had given it to Sai, but she could still touch it, couldn't she? Tap those impossibly tiny legs and just see what would happen, see if it still liked her.

"Sai, can I try something?" Courtney asked, putting a finger in his palm and trying to attract the butterfly. "I just want to borrow it for a second." The butterfly took a step towards her, and Courtney smiled. "Good butterfly." she whispered. "Just follow me, I just want to see if you'll fly with me, hmm?" If she had been paying attention, Courtney might have bothered thinking of how creepy she was being. At the moment, she was just trying to see if she could feel the butterfly fly.

[Saiichi Jun]

"I will help you, I promise."Sai stated with a laugh when she said she wasn't good with navigation."And, as for adventures, those I'm good at." The accent, well, Sai wasn't one to point it out. It didn't hurt anyone, and if anything it made him think she was comfortable- that's what it meant, right? He thought so, though he wasn't sure. What really stood out to him was the word adventure. He loved people who were willing to have a good time, to try new things and explore new places. As a child, his brother and he had gone on far too many adventures to count. Most of the time they just pretended, but there were a few memorable 'real' adventures sprinkled in.

"Oh,"Sai blinked. He didn't mean to use words she didn't understand. But in this case, it was the right word to convey the meaning."I'm sorry. Taisetsu just means. . .I mean, I was saying the butterfly was precious." Sai wasn't used to blushing, but his cheeks did get a pink tint to them, anyway. Why it was embarrassing, he didn't know. His world didn't stop, he didn't want to do anything to fix the situation that was making him blush, he didn't feel a need to say sorry or to explain himself, but he also didn't rush to hide the blush, either. If anything, Sai was acting like he didn't notice it- though, in case anyone was wondering, he did notice.

"I don't think you'd fall,"Sai offered, trying to be reassuring."There's nothing up there to trip on, it's just you, really. I think you'd have a lot of fun. Hopefully someday you'll get that chance." Sai really didn't know, but he wanted to keep her happy, and that was the best way he could think of to do it. Seeing her smile was the ultimate goal at the moment. That muttering? It wouldn't do for him. He wasn't a forceful person, but he was a persistent one. And, another bit of what he said was false- there were other things in the air. He knew it. Birds, bugs, and if she got high enough, planes, among other things. But it didn't help his case, and he didn't want to try to explain the threats away.

"Certainly- I don't think it'd trust me if it weren't for you, anyway."Sai answered. But there was no way he could deny the fact that he was disappointed. He kept a smile on his lips, anyway. When the butterfly was out of his hands, he dropped his hands and settled for watching the butterfly and Courtney curiously. Actually, he wasn't sure if there was much else to do if he didn't just quietly watch them. And her words to the butterfly, that she wanted to see if it'd fly with her, well, he really wanted to know what she meant by that. How was it going to fly with her? Sai was not going to voice the question, he'd just wait and hopefully find out.

[Courtney Ross]

"Oh, that sounds perfect." Courtney said, thinking about how different adventure would be with Sai along. Before she left, Courtney and her cousin Lola would explore the woods after first frost, when all the insects were hiding and wouldn't make her look odd around her family members. An adventure, especially through the school with a guide, sounded much better than just getting lost. "I'd love to go on an adventure with you... Seems like great fun. Great adventures and all." Hadn't there been a ladybug around somewhere? Had it flown off? If it had, Courtney hadn't noticed, which was unusual for her.

"Precious." Courtney repeated, thinking about the butterfly. They were precious things, weren't they? Delicate and lovely as children's toys and with all of the life that toys lacked. And they were so small as well. "I like that." She looked at Sai quickly, and he seemed just a tiny bit more colored. It was probably from the sun finally coming out, bringing the color back to everyone's skin. That was definitely it. "Taisetsu..." She would have to remember that word.

"Heh, won't have anything to trip over." Courtney said, looking up and shielding her eyes from the sun. "If you say so. I'm no flier though. I'll bet someone around here can. They can do everything else, can't they?" She had seen more superpowers in the past week than they had comic books for, and Courtney was still amazed and surprised when someone started catching the grass on fire or burst through the wall she had been leaning against. "Maybe I'll get a chance, yeah." Looking back down, Courtney absently twisted a lock of hair around her finger as she tried to think, smiling just a little.

Courtney closed her eyes and bit her lip slightly, holding the butterfly in her mind as she concentrated. She could hear it whispering every time it flapped its wings, and she could almost see it in her mind's eye. It was right in front of her, and as Courtney twisted her fingers, the butterfly flapped its wings and took off and she could feel it, nearly.

"Let me in." Courtney whispered to the butterfly, cracking one eye open to watch the butterfly. "I know you'll let me in." She had actually felt it before, once by accident. She had stumbled across a particularly distressed June bug and she had felt its panic, felt the five legs twisting in the air as it tried to rock off of its back, felt the air buffer its antennae and nearly make her see. It had scared her half to death, but she could do it. This time, she just had to try and do it on purpose. "Let me fly with you."

The butterfly flapped its wings and suddenly, they were Courtney's wings, those were her multifaceted eyes seeing in crazy color and there was a buffering wind under her wings as they moved downward. She knew that she was standing half a foot away and she was Courtney Ross but for that split second she was the butterfly too and the world was untouchably bright.

And then it was gone and Courtney was dizzy and giddy and completely confused as to how that had just worked and while she was still nearly thinking, pulled the butterfly back to her hand and almost tripped as she took as step towards Sai, almost falling.

"Wouldn't believe you wouldn't believe so bright you wouldn't believe flying." Courtney said, grinning like a fool and almost tripping over her feet, catching herself on Sai's shoulder and holding on as she spun around and around and around and holding out the butterfly with her free hand, asking it to fly up to Sai's shoulder for just now as she tried to make sure that she still had only two legs and that there weren't thousands of reflections of everything."Love it I loved it that was unbelievably wish I could show you flying flying being a butterfly flying..." And as she had to close her eyes to avoid the nausea that had showed up out of nowhere, Courtney held on to Sai and the memory of flight as she tried to just stop spinning.

[Saiichi Jun]

Sai was not of the opinion that there were a lot of 'perfect' things in the world. He rather liked the less-than-perfect things in life, anyway. Like a well planned birthday that went wrong, or a school play or program where none of the kids could seem to get the lines right- yes, that's what he remembered, not the countless times he'd seen a play done right, or the other birthdays he remembered. The imperfect ones, those were the ones that counted. But Courtney could like perfection; Saiichi did not mind. The real pleasing bit was when she said that an adventure with him, specifically, sounded like fun. Saiichi would be sure to make it fun. He'd do everything in his power, that was, whether it went perfectly or not.

"Well, I'm glad,"Sai agreed. He wasn't really glad- he didn't care. He did not speak to please her, so hearing she agreed with what she said, it really provided no sense of satisfaction at all. He just smiled, listening to her repeat the word again. It definitely wasn't his favorite word. In fact, he didn't even know what his favorite word was. Taitsetsu sure beat precious, though.

"Yes, I'm sure they can,"Sai affirmed. He, too, had seen some amazing things, but he'd been here four years. So it seemed somewhat natural now."I'm sure you'll get a chance." Sai was just saying it to make her feel better. He didn't really know- Sai rarely knew anything for certain, and life was good that way.

Saiichi watched her silently, not sure what she was going on about, but not alarmed by it, either. Saiichi Jun was not crazy. He did not talk to himself often, and he did not condone any drug use if he could help it. He'd never done anything, even if he couldn't stop his friends. But moments like this, where he just didn't get what was going on, where the other person seemed to be entirely in their own world, these were the types of things Sai stayed out of. Because if he roused them from that state, they might actually want to talk, and what could Sai say? 'Oh, hey, I'm worried about what you just did,' - no, no, that was far too serious. And that went against Sai's nature, So he buried the worry deep, deep down, and let the unknown go unchecked while pretending it didn't bother him in the slightest.


"Woah, careful now."Sai laughed as she relied on him to keep her steady. Her words gave him just about as much reason to laugh- the way she was so happy, Sai loved it. It made his previous emotions seem to disappear completely, which was relieving.

"Are you okay?"Sai questioned, his tone still amused, As with the earlier concern, he kept the feeling buried deep. Well, as deep as it would go. It was just good that she hadn't passed out or anything, that she was okay.

"Here, would you like to sit down? You can- uh, tell me about it, maybe?"Sai offered. Maybe if she sat down, maybe if she was still, she'd be okay. And maybe if he got her sitting there, talking to him, he could observe her long enough to make sure she really was okay. He didn't want her getting hurt any more than she already had when she'd tripped. Pain, discomfort, and other unpleasant feelings took away from his happy time, and Sai was not a fan.