Watch for flying objects (open)

[Lani Hunter]

Lani was brand new in this world. He hadn't even know such a thing existed until a few weeks ago and he was still having trouble grasping his new situation not to mention his new power. It was not only giving him problems in class but everywhere he went. He was terrified to go anywhere for fear he would fling something unwittingly at someone who would be less than understanding. He decided maybe it was time he actually went to training practice. He wasn't even sure what he should take. He gathered a notebook and stuck a pencil in the metal rings. He was dressed in simple jeans and a t shirt. Nothing fancy just something comfortable as he didn't know how long this would be. He tucked his notebook under his arm and went out of the dorm to explore the training room just before he had to be there. Lani tripped a little going down the stairs. If only this power could do something about his feet!

He took a deep breath and slowly released his hold on his notebook and brought it up to drift a little ahead of him. Then it went shooting off... He swore nastily and lunged after it this infernal power taking it out of his reach. He tried to rein it in and bring it back but only succeeded in shouting like a fool after it. Why me? Lani asked for the thousandth time. He ran after his notebook as it took a dangerous swoop out of window. He breathed a thank you when it was a first floor window and he could easily slip out and go after it. Lani chewed his lip concentrating and at the same time trying to catch the notebook. "Stop!" He shouted at it like that would have some effect. He stopped himself and crossed his arms angrily. It spun in a little tornado in reaction to his frustration. "Come back!" He declared and tried to cut off his power. He slowly walked toward it intending to snatch it out of the air.

It evaded him again. You'd think Lani wasn't the one moving the notebook at all for all the control he had over it. Of course if he were to be pained with a power at all it would have to be the least cooperative power every created... or manifested. He wasn't sure how all of this worked in the long run at the moment he was just furious and it was causing his poor defenseless notebook to tear itself apart. He followed it carefully toward the pond. He would be beyond livid if it fell into the water. Benches would probably start tossing students and otherwise wreaking havoc. "Please stop," Lani whined at it desperately. He caught control over his new power for a moment and with his hand outstretched like a magician he called the notebook back to him. It was almost there when it dropped to the ground. He looked at it for a moment completely still in body and in mind. In frustration he 'picked up' the notebook and sent it flying. He swore it was either going to take a swan dive into the pond or hit someone. Either way this was bad...

[Ann Hudgins]

She hadn't visited the pond in a while. Hell, she hadn't been outside in a couple of days, and after a long and heated debate with Aiden over the importance of nachos in one's regular diet, she decided she needed to get out. Though it wasn't like she could avoid the boy when he was, for all intents and purposes, just words on her new phone. All thanks to him and the new job. He'd yet to go into details about it, but from his obscure hints, he worked in retail. She'd die laughing if it was at some weird place like Hot Topic or something of the sort. Not to mention it'd piss his parents off. Therefor, Ann couldn't put it passed him. Anyway, she'd put the phone on silent because she'd wanted to enjoy a bit of quiet--not that she wanted to avoid Aiden now that he was 'back.' He was her best friend but a better description would be her brother.

The pond was her chosen destination once she made it outside, even though the sun was out, and the weather wasn't classified as 'cold' Ann still wore a jacket because the fear of being touched constantly buzzed in the back of her mind. It didn't matter that she had a pretty good control on the good side of her powers. She still couldn't handle touching anyone. When she was seated next to the pond she folded her legs beneath her and looked into the waters. The fish were swimming around, going about their lives, and through her weird imagination she zoned out from everything.

In this state, she started to meditate, and focused on her chakras, her pools of energy inside her. Everything was going good, she was perfectly calm, in perfect--or as perfect as she could get--control, and her shields were all up and working perfectly. She wasn't being effected by anyone outside or near her so all was well. "Stop!" The girl visibly twitched in surprise as she came rushing out of her mind and back to the outside world, her eyes twitched around to find the cause of such a thing and saw a boy chasing after something flying in the air. Every time he got close to it, it'd zoom away.

That was what led her to assume someone was playing keep-away. She looked around to find the person and make them regret it, but she couldn't locate them. Then it occurred to her that maybe the kid didn't have much control of his powers, and they were just acting up. That theory seemed a bit more understandable and she watched as the notebook led him closer to the pond. She looked at it where it hovered and then at him as he looked at it as well. "They say insanity is doing the exact same thing many times but expecting different results. Try going at it differently? Sit and relax." Ann felt oddly sympathetic towards the boy because she'd been in his shoes metaphorically many times before. She was all too familiar with what malfunctioning powers (or just a power that sucked at all angles), and she felt compelled to help him. She reached sideways and patted the ground.

"Take a seat." She offered again, with a small smile. She knew she was best in control when she was calm, and it didn't take an empath to see that he was anything but.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani frowned deeply and nearly screamed in frustration as his mind sent the papers flying in elaborate loops. He might have enjoyed it if he wasn't in such an annoyed mood at the moment. Why on earth was this so hard to control? No one else seemed to be having this much trouble. He wasn't sure what was wrong with him, why was it only him. Even here he felt like an outcast and this stupid ability wasn't making things any better. Now his notebook was whizzing off into oblivion and no matter how much he pressed and worked the part of his mind he had identified as the source of the problem it wouldn't come back. It made a dangerous swoop over the pond giving Lani a nice panic attack. It was like this gift had given the notebook a mind of its own. He stalked to the pond and gazed threateningly at the notebook. He felt as though something snapped within his mind and rocks started leaping out into the pond.

He took several deep breaths and tried his best to calm down. He jumped when he heard the voice. He looked around and spotted the woman on the ground. He ignored the notebook for a moment. She looked so calm, everyone did. He held back another burst of hopelessness. Why was he the only one having issues? He asked silently again. It was the most terrible feeling. Lani was so used to being completely in control of his body and not having the slightest moment where he felt out of control in the least now ever since this thing came about his world was completely turned around. He wasn't sure if he would ever be able to control this power. He shook head at her and gave her a shrug. "I guess I might as well be committed now." He huffed staring after the notebook still taunting him. He shook his head again with a slight growl. How could she talk about relaxing at a time like this?

He thought about ignoring her but he had been so lonely these past few days he didn't want to pass up conversation with another human being. Lani went over to sit next to her keeping a polite distance. "I'm sorry to disturb you." Lani said offering a strained smile. He tried to relax and he 'caught' the notebook. He concentrated on it and it drifted toward him slowly like a leaf falling in a gentle breeze. He held his hand out for it and relaxed his hold and he had to duck was it nearly took off his head. He grabbed his hair close to ripping it out. Lani bit back a colorful swear and shook his head. "This is hopeless," Lani whined, "I can't do it! Stupid..." He tailed off not really sure what he wanted to call stupid, the notebook, the power, or perhaps even himself. He clamped down on his power so hard that the notebook simply dropped from the sky and his head throbbed with the effort of keeping the power sealed.

[Ann Hudgins]

She could feel his hopelessness, his feelings of being out of control. She had definitely been in his shoes, nearly verbatim. Though there was one small difference (besides their power) and that was he was trying to force it. Sure, it took determination to get control of anything, and practice to get better at it. But he was almost trying to...well she got a lot of anger from him and it was a wonder why things weren't working--he was trying to force it, and that was all wrong. She figured he was new here, but Ann could only venture a guess. She was a senior at this place but had control of her powers like she was a sophomore. Or last semester Freshmen.

"Oh, if you think you should be committed because of that." She snorted, though she knew he wasn't talking to her. "Trust me, there are a lot more people worse off that you. I've heard this one Freshmen accidentally throws people because he moves trees. I mean, what I'm trying to say is...you just gotta be patient with it." She was trying to give too much advice at once, and she realized that only after she stopped talking, she let out a small breath as he sat down next to her, though he wasn't dangerously close; good. "What I am trying to say is that control doesn't happen over night. It takes a lot of practice. Hell, it took me three years before I started to get the results I wanted." She smiled a little pathetically and looked down at her hands in her lap before she looked back up at him, her head tilted to the side.

She noticed the notebook zoom at him like a ninja weapon and she nearly squeeled as it looked like it was about to clip his head off. My my, she could understand his aggregation then. Ann didn't have a power that was necessarily that violent, just rather inconvenient. "Ohum.. I'm Ann, by the way. I'm an empath." She could feel stress weighing him down as well as all his other misgivings towards his powers. It was almost identical to herself she almost felt like laughing. But it certainly wasn't a laughing matter.

[Lani Hunter]

He smiled a little bit at her comment about being committed. For some reason he had never felt like being committed was even a possibility until he came here. He had read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and he wasn't completely sure he wasn't sitting in a chair staring out the window like a vegetable. Imagining all of this. But then he reasoned he wouldn't have dreamed up such a burden if he were writing his own story. He would have gone to college to do what he didn't know but he had always liked the idea of having to choose a major. However now his fate was completely out of his hands. With Lani's luck he would be stuck here until he could control his power and no one knew how long that would take. He looked over at her and smiled a little bit. "But everyone here is so... controlled." He said his tone more of a question. Everyone he had seen was calm and completely in control it seemed.

He held her eye contact as she spoke. He couldn't help himself his mood plunged and he hung his head catching his head in his hands. "Three years?" Lani moaned he didn't know if he could live with this for three years and probably more because when he had first arrived they told him that telekinwhatevertheycalledit was one of the harder powers to control. For once since he got here he wanted someone to tell him that it was going to be alright. That it was going to be easy. Lani's head started to throb and letting out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding it seemed like the earth itself tensed and nearby objects jumped slightly before settling. The notebook slithered across the grass and he snagged it and held it firmly in his lap before it could get away. "Sorry." He said shrugging his shoulders slightly. Perhaps like she said practice was what was needed. Perhaps he shouldn't have skipped his first few practices.

He looked up, "Nice to meet you, I'm Lani." He hesitated, "I have... uh... shoot." He couldn't even remember what it is called. "Well I move things obviously." Lani stared at her for a moment and had a 'oh duh' moment. "Oh! I'm so sorry... here I am aggravated. Sorry." Of course he would meet an empath when he was in least control and in a scattered and depressive emotional state. Lani shook his head and looked out at the pond. "I hate it." He admitted softly. This power had taken him away from his family, his sister. Away from his school, his future. Lani's life had been on a path then suddenly taken a sharp left turn and he was still trying to adjust to this new path. It was much rockier than the other path and less predictable.

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann felt that while she had thought her advice was great, she soon came to realize it wasn't all that good. Of course he didn't want to hear how long it had taken her to be in this state, but he also didn't know all the mistakes she had made, the number one mistake being she'd not actually tried to get control of power, she just tried to cope with it. She was just too ashamed to admit that out loud to a stranger. She moved her hair behind her ears because the sun was bearing down on her and she was starting to heat up, but her ultra paranoid fear would rather have her be a little warm instead of vulnerable to touch.

"It won't be that bad." She tried to sound reassuring. "You just gotta remain upbeat. I probably sound like a broken record to you, but I'm speaking from personal experience here. The calmer you are, the easier it is to work with your powers, especially at the beginning. Don't make the same mistake I did and wait forever until taking it seriously." Ok, so there she admitted her huge, big mistake. She hoped this round of advice was a bit better. It was odd to her, almost, how she wanted to help this guy so much. She guessed he just reminded her of herself in too many ways for her to disregard.

"Nice to meet you, Lani." She said with a friendly smile. This meeting people thing was getting a lot easier, the more she practiced with it. She liked to think she was actually succeeding thus far. "Tele..kinesis, right?" She asked with a small grin, he was definitely knew here. Sure, she'd been here for a while, but she might as well not have for all the good it did her. In many ways she was still a Freshmen; like in the case of knowing the names of everyone's powers. She knew Empath, shapeshifter, and pyrokinetic... and that was about as far as it went.

"Oh, don't apologize for having emotion. It's my fault for eavesdropping on them. Seriously. I need to get better at it." Oh wait. Did she just admit she'd known exactly what he'd been feeling since he'd appeared. Most people didn't like knowing that. She bit into her thumb nail a bit self consciously and looked at the water for a moment. "It takes time, but it'll all get easier."

[Lani Hunter]

Lani gripped the notebook with an iron grip. Only he could play keep away from himself and not intend or want to do so. He had only had his power a few weeks and thankfully it had not been as powerful as when it first reared its ugly head. He could still see the terrified looks of the police as they scrambled out of the way of a flying car. A look completely mirroring his own when it happened. He hadn't even known such a thing was possible much less that he could do it. "I mean..." He started not really sure where he was going with the comment. "I could really hurt someone and not even mean to." Lani shook his head looking down at the notebook and as an afterthought moved his hand to hold onto the pencil as well. He winced a little when her words hit a little too close to home. He knew he shouldn't have been skipping his training sessions but he just hadn't had the will to want to work with this thing.

He scratched his head embarrassed, "Actually..." He gave a sheepish smile. "I've kinda been just winging it til now. I don't want to work with this thing," he voiced his thoughts. "I want it to be gone." And you can sit here and list wants all you want but what good is that going to do you? An inner voice asked him dryly. He nodded at her about staying upbeat. It wasn't exactly how he wanted to go about this; if he had to learn to use this power he didn't want to be happy about it. "What will be will be." He muttered to himself. He looked back up at her. "What if I can't control it. What if I screw up?" He shook his head, "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm pulling you into this." He needed to keep his problems his problems. He was on his own. He always had been even when his parents were there. Now they had thrown him out and he was on his own. He would deal with things on his own and in his own way.

He smiled a little when she recalled the title of his power. It would probably be a very good idea remember that. "Yeah, telekinesis. Sounds right." He had been very well known at his old school and he had pretty much known all the secrets now he was a new kid and completely lost. "I should probably learn that." He laughed, "Ann can I ask you a question?" He paused not really waiting for an answer, "When did you first know you were... what do they call it? mega... no... meta... human? I mean... I'm so lost like one moments I'm Lani random kid in high school thinking about college now I'm Lani telekinwhatsit in completely different world." He shook his head he still couldn't believe that when he woke up in the morning he would have to deal with another day of keeping objects from moving themselves. He wasn't sure what it was that moved them yet either. Maybe when he figured that out it would make sense.

He smiled a little, "I'm not going to lie it feels good to know that there are other people having problems. I thought it was just me." He sighed a little when she said it would take time. "If it takes so much time what do you do about college and stuff? Can I even go to college anymore?" He asked. He felt like he was asking a thousand questions but they just kept coming. He had always wanted to go to college, something about it was just so alluring now to know that he basically was stuck here until he could control his power and who knew how long that would be. Perhaps he could take classes online but he would miss that entire experience. He sighed and dismissed the thought no use dwelling on the could have been.

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann nodded understandingly. Half the people at the school feared they'd hurt someone. Ann wasn't one of those people, but she'd felt enough of that fear in the school to know what she's talking about. She couldn't put any one of those insecurities to a face or name, but they were out there. She pulled at her hair a little bit as she looked out at the scenery. Recently, and I mean very recently, Ann had begun to practice her power of influencing other people's emotions with her own. She'd only been successful two times, and both of those times she mediated and barely managed to 'calm' them down marginally. It was by no means an easy task and now that she'd opened that can of worms, it seemed that randomly her power would fluctuate and send out random vibes of hers on it's own. She had taken a step forward in controlling her powers, but her confidence of ever mastering it took several steps back. It was just another thing for her to worry about now.

God, it was like looking in a mirror with him. Only he was a guy with blond hair. Ann wasn't either of those, but the situation was pretty much the same. He didn't want to work with his powers, he just wanted them to go away. "You wouldnt' have the power you have if you couldn't possibly control it. It's like, impossible." Ann was well on her way of following Dr. Neville in his footsteps, she was already quoting him, albeit in her own way and far from verbatim. "It just isn't an over night thing." Ann felt a little compelled to pat him on the back, but well. She couldn't. She just have to reassure him with words. "And don't worry about 'pulling me into it,' seriously. I wish I had someone to tell me this when I first got here." In retrospect there might have been someone telling her that...many people actually. But Ann wasn't exactly coherent then either. It was just her and everyone's raw emotions leaking into her. Communicating was last on her list.

She looked at him as he asked if he could ask her a question, and instead of being a smartass and pointing out that was a question, she just nodded and listened to it. The loss of a life long idenity. Yeah. Ann still went through that even today. "When my power first manifested, everyone's little spontaneous feeling sunk into me. It was like...ok imagine your at a concert and standing right next to the speaker. That bass filling my head and shaking my bones was always there. For the first few days...I didn't know what to do, I could hardly go to the bathroom because my neighbor was having a problem finding the remote and was getting pissed about it. I thought I was crazy, and so did my parents. Most kids are relieved when a Hammel recruiter shows up, but I was just so depressed and...well I myself, as a person didn't really exist. I just experienced and felt everyone's emotions around me. To hell with what I actually thought and felt." She paused, realizing she'd went on a pretty big monologue. She cleared her throat and looked back at him.

"Yeah, it sucks that you're here and not who you thought you'd be, or even who you wanted to be, but this is who you are. It's not story book, but it beats being dead." Well on most days it beats being dead, though there were some days well...best to stay away from sharp things on those days. She pulled at her hair and laughed a little at what he said about feeling good about not being the only one. "Trust me, lots of people are in your shoes." About what he said for college...Ann might not be the best person to give him solid information about that. "I know you're here until you can safely be in a normal environment. I'll be here a few years after my graduation date, I know that much. And I think you can take college classes while still at the school, maybe online. But you'd be better off talking to a teacher or your trainer about that. I know it seems a daunting at first, but if you just take it a bit at a time--day to day--it's not that bad." Ann said shrugging her shoulders a little bit. Two months ago, this conversation wouldn't be possible. Ann would be holed up in her room curled into a ball on either the floor or her bed. And now she was perfectly--almost perfectly--at ease and having a conversation with someone.

[Lani Hunter]

He looked at her for a moment taking in what she was saying. He wouldn't have it if he couldn't control it? Lani's mind tried to wrap around the thought but was having trouble considering he had never really had any control over the flying objects. If he could control it that would mean he could keep it from harming people. That was one of the things he had noticed he could control it and keep it from hitting himself and other people if he really wanted the object not to hit them. Like when his sister had been in the way of the table the splinters had not even come close to them. Maybe emotions had something to do with control and she was right he needed to calm down before he tried to work with it. Perhaps there was something for him here and he might as well kiss the outside world farewell and carry on. He missed his sister terribly. She always knew how to cheer him up even when he didn't want to be cheered.

He sighed, "Well it should be." He shook his head, "If someone out there decided to give us these power they should come with a manual." He laughed a little wouldn't that be nice. He smiled, "I'm glad you're here to tell me." Lani sighed and looked up at the drifting clouds if he had had a choice of anything it would have been to fly and be free but here he was very much still attached to the ground and with a power that so far only showed small benefits. He just wanted one normal day. Just one day where things wouldn't go flying around on a whim from his crazy mind. The only kind of control he had gotten was turning off his power altogether which left him with a wicked headache and there was so much pressure from the gift that when he released if after the few minutes he could hold it everything seemed to jump a little.

Lani winced at the thought of other people's emotions being fed to him. He was almost glad he didn't have one of the powers where he could read thoughts or emotions. Telekinesis wasn't ideal but in the long run at least it was entirely him. He nodded when she spoke about the Hammel recruiter. He couldn't help but feel a pull of anger at the memory of the woman who had taken him. He had been so upset he had nearly sent a table rocketing out the window and even the drive he had been upset in sleep and picking things up in the car and once apparently the car itself if only for a moment. So of course every detail was given to the teachers and trainer. He couldn't even come here with a clean slate. Lani could only keep it secret from fellow students. He wasn't about to reveal his life story to just anyone. Talking about powers was different but the history he carried would be his burden alone.

Lani nodded at her comment though he didn't like it. She was right this was his life now and he had to take it as it came. "Thats good to hear." He smiled. The smile faded when she spoke about how long he would be here. That was not a happy thought. Day by day she said. He had already had a plan for the rest of his life. "Can they really keep us here?" A sudden panicked thought raced through him and his heart started to race like it had when he was surrounded by the police. "Like... am I stuck? Like a pris..." He didn't want to finish the sentence. It almost made it true. He knew his nature was to be free and he knew his way around locks and if he didn't want to be here there was no way they could keep him... but this was different than the normal world what if there was someone would could keep him here. "I'm sorry I'm still a little freaked out about this whole place." He said trying to offset his real fear of being trapped.

[Ann Hudgins]

She didn't mean he'd be able to control it instantly, she'd meant that if he couldn't possibly control his power in anyway, no matter how long he'd train then he wouldn't have that power in the first place. Dr. Neville had been able to make it make more sense to her because he related it to her complaining of being drowned out by everyone's emotions. To the point where she didn't feel like there was enough room for her. He had pointed out that her power wouldn't do something like that because it was her power, therefor she could control it, and had the capacity for that power. She'd wished she could have made that much sense in explaining it to him, but Dr. Neville had been doing his job longer than she had been alive, so it was understandable.

Ann snorted at his comment, because she agreed. They shouldn't just come into these powers blind. There should be some sort of manual. Fact was, however, there wasn't and there wasn't anything they could really do about that--except work hard to overcome the obstacle them self, by their self (and their trainer(s)). No cheat codes. (God, if Ann could ctrl+alt+delete her powers...) She grinned a little at what he said, mostly because she could feel the sincerity behind it. "It's no problem, Lani, really." Because it wasn't. She was just being honest with him. People were still honest to each other, right? Or did she miss something important in her years of seclusion?

Ann, if given the option, would trade her power for almost anything out there. As long as the power didn't pertain to other people's privacy, like their thoughts or emotions, then Ann would be perfectly content with it. Even if it meant being able to juggle. She would be the juggling meta and bear that proudly. However, there wasn't a power-switching option and she was stuck with his sucky power. And she'd live with that, and in time, she'd probably grow to like it. Like maybe now, her power wasn't being a burden, and it was actually enabling her to give him some sound advice (or at least attempt it).

Despite what Lani thought, about his history following him into Hammel...it wasn't really true. The staff and faculty were extremely good at keeping things in confidence. And the students (the vast majority) respected the fact that all walks of life paint the halls and not everyone is from just down the road. Ann didn't know a thing about Lani's case or his history, but she could feel his worry about something being learned about, and judging from the context of the conversation, she figured that was what he was thinking (feeling) about. If that was the case, she didn't want to point out the fact he had nothing to worry about something he didn't tell her, because it would only make him more paranoid.

Which was the last thing she wanted to do.

"It's not a prison. You can leave school on holidays--I don't, but other people can--and you can visit the town Mall or whatever else is out there whenever you want after school and on the weekends. And it isn't like they aren't keeping people here for no reason; it's to help them be able to cope with what they were born with, so they can sink back into society and live without fear of causing a catastrophe. I am perfectly happy with staying here until I can do that, because I gotta tell you, I can barely live here with all the emotions, but out in the real world...I'd go crazy. It's safer for me to stay here until I master it. Might be the same for you, might not. I'm just saying." Ann shrugged her shoulders at the matter, because she really didn't look at it like Hammel was a prison. He might see it like that, because he hadn't been here long, but Hammel, as a whole, only did good things. She could feel his fears, and she could agree with them. The feeling of being trapped really was scary, and he needn't feel sorry for that.

"It'll be alright, Lani. It just takes a bit of time."

[Lani Hunter]

He almost wished he had gotten this power sooner, not only for the control that would give him but the familiarity with this world. Most of the people around here had gotten their powers at a young age and it wasn't a secret to the staff that he was a late bloomer. Not only that it was peculiar but for his power to manifest so strongly. When he first arrived someone had done something funky in his head. He wasn't sure what exactly happened but he followed this person through his head to the place where his power was. It was odd, like a cave entrance. The person tested it and it hurt. Once he had pulled out he had told Lani that his power was still raw and once he 'healed' it would get easier. Its like the potential had always been there but never been called upon until he was in a panicked situation. They said the constant headache would go away eventually but he had just given up and started taking pain killers.

He could imagine himself reading a manual and trying to figure out how to work this thing. He smiled, "You must have come a long way." He observed. "I know if I were you and I had peoples emotions battering me all the time I don't think I would leave my room." He smiled a little, for once a real smile. He ran a hand through his hair and chuckled. "I guess I should thank someone for having only a physical power and still being completely me." Lani shook his head banishing the thought. It wasn't fair for him to think like that but perhaps he could motivate himself to try harder if he thought about himself as being better off that others. He didn't want to feel like that but for some reason he felt a need to understand and know how to work his power. He needed to find a trainer that he could get along with because he was pretty sure he would react negatively to being forced into something.

He wondered absently how much she could detect of his emotions, he had to be a little more careful. It was like with his sister, she understood a lot more than people gave her credit for. Caroline, he missed her dearly. His parents as well. He didn't always get along with them but his mother was someone he could really talk to if he was having a bad time. He should probably call sometime soon. They had tried to call him but he had never answered. He bit his lip, that was unfair of him. "Ann, I think I might have just had an epiphany." Lani smiled a little, "I'm not sure I understand yet but I suppose I have to take life as if comes and accept that this is who I am now." He nodded he felt a little ridiculous basically repeating his inner thoughts but it was something he needed to say aloud. "And its not all bad. Like when I get into bed and forget to turn off the lights I can just turn them off without leaving my blankets."

He didn't want his history to follow him here but he knew that this power would just make his sticky finger habit all the more hard to resist. Perhaps it was fate that he got this power, but not for a good reason. He now could rob a place without even going inside. He could even more cameras out of the way. He would never be found. He knew it was a risk and he didn't know what the teachers or trainers would do if they discovered his not so honorable hobby. Lani couldn't help it the adrenaline was high. Not only that but he could make a very high living for himself. He needed to shake this habit. He was sure here it would be taken very harshly. Especially using his powers to help him. He couldn't even be sure that the school wouldn't find out, after all, he had no idea how they had found him so quickly after his powers manifested.

He smiled and let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "So basically we're free to leave whenever? Just as long as we come back?" He asked for verification. He nodded she had a good point there was no doubt that he would be a menace to society. He winced at the thought, he had always been trouble to society but a menace that was just terrible. He sighed sadly, "No you're probably right. This isn't exactly the easiest thing to control and I'd hate to see what would happen if I got angry and had no control." Lani thought about that for a moment, it was true it seemed that the teachers and other faculty were stepping carefully about him. He smiled at her, "Thank you, I really hope you're right."

He slowly released his grip on the notebook and when it didn't take flight he relaxed a little bit. "I don't know, I kind of miss having to pick stuff up." He said absently. "Like I drop my pencil and it comes right back. You know, little stuff..."

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann wished that when she had come into her powers, she had a little warning. For a week she thought she was broken and dying because of the pain, and how much she felt of others but not herself. It was worse than any sort of identity crisis she'd ever heard of because at some points, Ann really didn't know who she was. However, if someone had come up to her and told her she was about to start experiencing what she went through, then it wouldn't have been as bad. It would have still sucked tremendously, but at least she would have known she wasn't dying or mentally unstable or something. And maybe her parents wouldn't have been revolted.

Ok, Ann, don't think about your parents. Happy thoughts. Think happy. Easier said than done. Her parents were like thought poison. Once she thought about them, then she just couldn't forget it or move on. She pulled at the root of her hair after she threaded her fingers in it for a moment, trying to get the thought of her asshole parents out of her mind. "God, you have no idea. I would have taken any out anyone would have given me." Death, even, but Ann knew that wasn't really a good thing to bring up in conversation. "Yeah. If you meet the person that gave you the power, send them my way. I got a bone to pick." She caught that he felt a bit sorry for saying that, but it was understandable. Ann considered him one of the 'lucky' ones. His power was a nuisance, but Ann's power was crippling. She grinned a little at him from what she had said and chuckled a little. Ann made a joke? Stop the presses!

Ann was aware that once people she was conversing with learned of her power, they tried to conserve themselves with their emotions, to either keep her in the dark, or to ease the burden. Ann knew that's what he was doing now, and it was pretty nice of him, though it really did little to help, seeing as she felt him feeling sorry and trying to reign himself in. It wasn't fair to the individual conversing with Ann to hold themselves back because Ann couldn't control her own power. At his admittance to having an epiphany, she quirked an eyebrow in interest. Epiphanies were dangerous things, given their content. "That's a pretty good epiphany." Ann commented with a small grin. At least he was seeing things in a better light, that meant she had done some good, right? "Ooh, good point. Or maybe when you sit down on the couch but the remote is sitting on top of the tv?" She asked as a suggestion, because that happened to her a lot. Her roommate insisted on putting the remote on top of the tv so they'd never lose it.

Knowing nothing about his history, she was kinda confused with why he wanted keep it hidden so deeply. But it wasn't her place to try to puzzle him out like that, and if he wanted to keep it hidden, she was going to respect that. She therefor attempted to ignore that coming from him. Easier said than done, of course. To distract herself, she reflected on her own past and how...well perfect it was. She had an alright school life, Aiden kept her entertained through most of the day and on the way home, they'd sit in the same bench on the bus and sing sounds loudly while they shared a pair of head phones. Then they'd do their homework until it was time for class and they'd leave together (sometimes, but mostly Ann's mother took her and Aiden's dad took him) and arrive at the gym/dojo and work out until eight then go home, shower, and repeat.

It was a great life and she had felt so perfectly at ease in the routine. But here..well....she didn't have that peace. That familiarity. She'd been friends with Aiden since she was barely old enough to remember, and growing up with him and made the two inseparable all throughout school. They'd joined the same gym at the same time (even though neither had told the other about it), and they were just as close as any two people could be. Then the power showed up and screwed everything. All her safe routines, all her traditions, all of herself. Being at the school was existing in purgatory, but without really existing. Ann went days on end without sleep or food because she couldn't stomach the food because of the effect her powers had on her systems, or sleep because people nearby were feeling too much. She was sooo glad that phase of her life was over. Now, she spoke to Aiden during the weekend and texted him like crazy during the day, meditated before school, before lunch and dinner, and before bed to ease her mind and she usually always fell asleep without any problem.

"Well you gotta go get a like...hall pass, I guess, to leave the school, but yeah. Pilot Ridge isn't all that exciting, from what I heard, but hey, if you like small towns with only one mall then you'll be alright." Ann shrugged because she liked this quiet atmosphere. It was easy for her. If Hammel was somewhere in say...California, she'd go absolutely crazy. She nodded to what he said about being a menace. It would probably make a bad movie. Some crazy teen stomping down the street flinging cars into buildings and city buses into daycares. She grinned when he said he hoped she was right. If she had something of an ego, she would insert the fact that she was always right. However, Ann had nothing of the sort, so she just grinned.

At his absent comment however, she chuckled. "Oh I can imagine! You drop something and it rolls all the way across the classroom but it just comes back! How horrible." She was just teasing him and laughed a little to show as much. It would be pretty convenient to have things come back like that, because she still didn't like bringing attention to herself inside a classroom. But that was just her.

[Lani Hunter]

He smiled a little feeling a little lighter the more the conversation went on. He had hardly spoken to anyone since he got here, partly because he was shy and partly because he was afraid of this place. It seemed to him more like an asylum for odd people than a school. He had never liked the idea of a place separating people from other people. He laughed a little at her comment about meeting the person who gave them their powers. "Will do," he smiled, "Though I can't say there will be much of him left after that point." He shook his head banishing the thought. Thoughts fed by strong emotions were dangerous at moments like this when his gift was being particularly annoying. He was happy to see her at ease in conversation and in company. If he had her powers he would probably become a hermit. He was almost glad since the first time he had gotten his power to have it, well as opposed to something else. It he could not have it at all that would still be ideal.

He laughed, "Too true. That's the worst. But at least you never lose it." Lani was the king of misplacing things. At least now he could just call it to him though sometimes the force at which that object approached was somewhat dangerous. He sometimes wondered what it was that made these powers manifest in them and not other people. He had worried about his sister getting a power but so far she was safe away from this life. "Or it is an easy way of getting things out of your way or maybe even getting a snack without having to pause your show." Lani never really watched tv but he was a sports fan. There were times he would watch a game with his dad and leave to get something and miss a goal or touchdown or something of the sort. He was a little more comfortable with the potential his power gave but he was still not to happy about how disobedient it was.

He brushed his past out of his mind and instead his thoughts turned toward his power again. There was still a lot of confusion about how exactly it worked and how he could control it. He knew how he triggered it but it hurt now. They told him it would for a while, powers aren't supposed to manifest this late. He was annoyed he couldn't even think about himself as being a normal meta-human. He hadn't had many friends back home to miss, well at least not anymore. He had thought he had friends but they seemed to drop him off the face of the earth once he had left. "Do you miss your family?" He asked curious. He wasn't sure how he felt about his family anymore. Some part of him wished deeply for someone to give him a hug and bid him goodnight as his mother had or beg for bedtime stories like his sister. But he felt betrayed... it was odd to miss the people who all but threw him out.

He frowned. "This place sucks so much!" He exclaimed suddenly hearing about the pass to leave. "We're pretty much adults. No one is going to tell me where I have to go." He nearly growled that last part out. He felt like he was in chains. He needed to get out of here. Panic started to race through him and he pulled his legs under himself like he was ready to spring to his feet and flee. He took a deep breath and tried to make himself relax but couldn't pacify the need he had to get out. Rocks started to roll some taking flight and swirling in the air. A few would fling themselves in the general direction of the walls of the school. Thank goodness there was nothing out here that was big and dangerous for him to pick up. He gripped the notebook again. His eyes darkened with anger and a nearby tree groaned as he tried to pull it out of the ground. The sound startled him and he struggled to set everything on the ground again.

"Sorry..." He said sadly. He was ashamed of his lack of control. Perhaps it was the fear he had of being controlled that led to his fear of being stuck here and told what to do and how to do it. He shook the feeling with a touch of frustration and turned his mind back to lighter things. "Yeah, terrible I know." He smiled softly. "But its the fact that I don't have to anymore that makes me want to get up and get something rather than having it roll back." Lani laughed a little, "And last time I got kicked out of my math class for picking up the chalk on accident and messing up the problem he was doing..." He gave a mock wince and smiled.

[Ann Hudgins]

He felt better, lighter, as the conversation went, therefor Ann started to relax and calm down as well. He was the closest person to her at the moment, and while she had her protective shields around her own emotions; what he felt still influenced her. And since he was closest, his influencing was a bit stronger than say, that person walking by them self about thirty yards away. Ann was glad because of it. She grinned a little about what he said if he found the guy. Yeah. That guy (or entity) had a thing or two coming his way. It was bad Karma to give people difficulty and hardship. It made sense that what went around came around.

Ann, however, didn't really believe in beings in the aether. Her life was too crappy to waste some time imagining a God would ease her burden. He'd help just as much as her stuffed teddy bear--actually Mr. Hubert had been with her through a lot so she took back that. No imaginery god could take the place of her stuffed bear.

"Ha. Lucky. If I misplace something, I'll either have to do without or turn the place upside down to find it." Her roommate had a habit of picking up the room and putting things in places that just didn't make sense. Ann was neat, kinda--she at least liked everything to be in its place. Her shoes didn't go by the door, because why would she take them off as soon as she got in? No, her shoes went next to the couch, because she took her shoes off when she sat down. It nearly pissed her off every morning when she had to get them from the door instead of just sitting down and put them on. But Ann couldn't really confront the girl about moving her things so she just lived with it.

"Well I think that was why they invented Tivo, but not everyone can afford it, so good point." Ann chuckled at him, for pointing out he can get a snack without getting up as well. It would be rather nifty to do all of those things, it really would. Once he got over this hiccup of learning to control it, it'd probably have loads of fun with it. Not that she could blame him for that--or anyone who had a power they could 'play' with. Ann couldn't really look at her power in a miscellaneous way. If she 'played' with other people's emotions or even her own, that would make her a sadist.

At his question, about missing her family, her smile fell from her face. It was obvious of the negative way she took the question and after she looked down at her hands for a moment she nodded her head a little. "I miss how things were...b--before I got my powers. When my parents...loved me." Ann let out a slow breath and looked up at him, determined to push all of that emotion away and erase it. "Sorry. Uhm, when my powers manifested, my parents reacted...well badly would be an understatement. Anyway, I haven't heard from them since I got here. But it...it doesn't matter. I don't need them, not if they are going to act like that. I've survived this long without their approval." Maybe if she said that enough, she'd believe it herself as well.

Her eyes widened at his adamantly furious reaction to hearing about the passes....again, Ann didn't understand his anger for such a thing because it made sense to her. The school needed to know where the students were, so the students got a pass to leave. That way if someone needed to find that student, they could see they were off grounds. It just seemed reasonable to Ann, but she didn't force her views down his throat, mostly because she didn't want him to continue on this rant. Maybe it was just too soon for him to be used to the way things were done around here? It made a little more sense, and she was beginning to understand it a little more as all his feelings of being caged and locked down started to seep in. Then she started to notice the rocks start to lift up and start to move.

On any other day, that would have been a cool sight to watch, but from what she had gathered, and seen, his power was dangerous when he was really moody like that (not that that was a bad thing), so she didn't sit in awe, she looked at him with a bit of concern and wished she knew what to say to calm him down (or like Mr. Collier and just calm him down.) The groan of the tree made her jump, and she looked at it with wide eyes. He was about to life a tree from the ground?!

That seemed to bring him back and she felt bad for him, for having to shoulder that. "You don't need to apologize." Ann said softly, she knew that he really was sorry about it, and ashamed about it as well, which was enough for Ann. He didn't do that on purpose, so it wasn't his fault.
"Ah well everyone wants what they can't have. That's human nature, isn't it?" Ann asked with a soft chuckle. What Ann wouldn't give for the ability to just hug someone.

"Well that's good. Who likes math?" Ann looked completely serious for a moment before she snickered faintly. "And you really can't feel bad about something like that, as long as it was on accident. I know a handful of people who would abuse that power if it was theirs. They'd always mess with the board or move chairs just as people were starting to sit down--all kinds of mean things." She flapped her hand at the enormous list of pranks those people would commit if they had such a power. She was...fairly sure Lani wouldn't do things like that, but there really wasn't any telling. It'd be funny, for a while, though.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani wasn't sure what is was with his power but he was significantly more aware of the world around him. At least the material world. He sometimes even wondered if he could set something in the air and fly. Create his own personal magic carpet. He sometimes wondered about the benefits of this power but often the negative things out weighted the good. Sometimes he wondered if he was given this power for the wrong reason. Sometimes it was terrifying seeing this power he held his hands. Like the tree he nearly ripped from its roots. He could have if he had really wanted to and probably sent the thing through the building with enough force for the tree to come out unfazed on the other side. That scared him. He didn't want this much power. He remembered the cars flying trunk over nose. Lani shook his head. What if he wasn't a good person? What if he wasn't meant to be good and what if he used his power to terrorize?

These questions haunted him on the nights when his homework stood idle and his dreams nightmarish. He had recently discovered that there was a group out there that used their powers to terrorize. He didn't want to meet anyone from that because the mere idea that his power was so strong that it had called to the Hammel staff within hours of the first time it manifested. God only know who else knew he was out there and wanted to use him and his powers so that he could send cars flying into buildings and trees bowling people over. It was a bitter humor whoever was writing this script had. He wasn't some hero in a paperback tragedy he was just a boy from an iron city in southern Mass. He looked over at Ann and thought about how she had suffered. Yes if he ever laid eyes on the person responsible for this they would not be in his eyesight for very long.

He pushed the dark thoughts back and smiled at her comment. "Yeah its awesome but if something annoys me its terrible. You have no idea how many times I've had to rescue my alarm from an untimely death." Lani laughed a little. It was really funny when one thought about it. Of course it was never humorous in action. He shook his head a little. He looked back at her as she answered his question. He shifted a little cursing himself for bringing it up. Of course there were rough and painful memories in there. His heart broke for her as she talked of her parent's love fading. He frowned here he was feeling sorry for himself because his parents sent him away. At least he knew deep down that they loved him, even if his bitter heart wouldn't let him realize that. They had argued a lot that night he left but his mother called him at least once a day and left messages pleading him to call.

He felt selfish and it sickened him. He needed to step out of the world that was Lani and into the real world where things weren't as terrible as his mind made them out to be. "I'm sorry," he said. He wasn't sorry for asking but he was sorry that her parents reacted like that. It was a painful thought. He had thought he would never talk to his parents again, that they had kicked him out, banished him. But there was love and concern in what they did.

"Too true," he replied to wanting what they couldn't have. He rested his chin on his palm and frowned out at the pond. He really would have liked to learn how to swim but he couldn't bring himself to like the water either. It was better not to try anymore especially when he needed to focus on his power and him freaking out about water probably wouldn't bode very well for anyone. He shrugged, "I still felt bad I mean I was really trying to pay attention. I'm not to good at math." He laughed a little a impish grin appearing on his face as if she had given him a brilliant idea. His normal expression alone gave him the appearance that he was planning something but now he looked downright naughty. Not that he was mean but a prank here and there would be brilliant. "Sorry," he said after he realized he had zoned out. "I would never do that but I don't know sometimes... " Lani loved jokes but he would never do anything harmful. He hadn't tried anything more than chalk writing. His English teacher thought it was hysterical the first time he had drawn a caricature of the author on the board.

He paused for a moment, "You know I'm really bad at drawing and art but this power lets me put what's in my head directly on paper... when I can get it to do what I want of course." He laughed a little, "But I don't know its kinda cool like that."