Watch for flying objects (open)

[Ann Hudgins]

The only thing Ann's power gave her was insight. She could relate to anyone, no matter the problem, even if she, herself, didn't agree with or care about the other person. She didn't even need to have experienced the person's problem herself, she just needed a moment of soaking in her emotions and that was all she needed for her to understand it. Sure, once she had her power under control, it'd probably be the best thing in the world, but at the moment all it did was take away the emotional privacy of everyone around her. At the moment it was mainly Lani who she was feeling, and because of that, she could tell he was sorta afraid of his power, because of how powerful it was and what it could do. She didn't know about the throwing cars part, but she had seen and heard the tree almost rip out of the ground a moment ago.

So she could understand that part.

However, having a flying carpet would be awesome.

Ann didn't know about how Hammel did it--how they found new meta's so fast, and the 'how' didn't exactly keep her up at night. It could just be someone the staff that could sense powers, or something of the like. As for that meta supremacy group--Ann had only heard rumors about them. She didn't know exactly who they were or what they stood for, exactly, and she didn't care. In every part of society there was a good side and a bad. It would make sense that some bad people, or criminals, turned out to be metas too, which would cause the formation of an evil club for evil kids to do evil things and be evil. Maybe it was because of them that people hated metas so much?

Ann laughed at Lani's comment, mostly because she hadn't expected it. He had the ability to push away his darker feelings and deflect them with funny comments like that, and Ann appreciated it. "Oh I think most alarms get treated like that." Ann in particular was an early riser, thanks to a life of strict parenting. It was just how things were for Ann, she woke up early, had breakfast and went to class. She caught the fact he felt bad about her parents (who wouldn't) and she shook her head a little. "You didn't know. Don't feel bad about it. I'm...done with them, you could say. I've washed my hands of them, to hell with what they think, you know? I'm a lot better than what I once was, and know that just because they hate me doesn't mean I need to help myself."

Now wasn't that a bit ironic. Ann hardly ever listened to that little voice in her head when it told her the same thing, but now that she was trying to cheer Lani up about something, she could say something that was true about herself, and not deny it on her part. Just because she wanted to cheer him up. It was rather odd, maybe Dr. Neville could help her figure that out.

"And ya don't need to feel that a bad about ignoring your own parents." Oh shit. He hadn't said anything about that, she'd just felt it. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Idiot. "A lot has happened to you, a lot and in a short time. It's understandable you can't cope with it all immediately. Seriously." She looked back up at him and met eyes with him so he knew she was serious. Sure what he had done was a bit spiteful--she didn't exactly know what it was he did--but at least he realized that now? Then she realized her initial mistake in shining a light on his feelings when he didn't voice them in the first place. "And I'm sorry. I'm trying really hard to keep them out. I really need to get better at it. I'll keep my mouth shut, promise." Idiot. She couldn't help but insult herself again.

In regards to swimming, Ann enjoyed--before her powers. She even thought about swimming since after they manifested. What if a pool of water magnified her powers, somehow? And if she sank into a pool with other people in it, what if the result was like touching all of them at once? She'd overload and explode like a computer or something. She didn't want to experiment. She wasn't curious enough to test that out at all. She glanced over at him and totally saw his expression and labeled it 'up to no good,' an eyebrow quirked. She narrowed her eyes a bit, feeling as though she had caused some problems for random people in the future. "'Member, great power comes with great responsibility, sometimes. Though Spiderman goofed off sometimes. So uh...yeah." She hadn't actually said anything, and the laugh revealed she was just kidding. Like he thought, the occasional prank here and there would be pretty funny. As long as it wasn't her.

"Lucky!" She exclaimed as he admitted he could draw now with his power. "That's pretty kick ass." She wished she could draw, if even just a little bit. That way, when she was in Art, she wouldn't consider her work kindergarten to everyone else's second grade.

[Lani Hunter]

((So sorry for the late reply))

Lani would have done anything to not have the power he did. He would give anything for things to go back to the way they used to be. Lani was one of those people that was so thick when it came to emotion that he wouldn't know what people were feeling if they were wearing a sign over their heads. He knew what his life was like and he was unsympathetic to others a lot of the time. He was sympathetic outwardly yes, but it took a lot for him to be truly understanding and not just have a rouse. It didn't compute in his brain that people could be having a crisis for little things, at least things he thought were little. He needed to learn that things that were little for him were big for other people. He did have a way of offsetting his own dark moods and thoughts with things that were funny or otherwise took his mind off those dark things.

He laughed, "You've never seen one launched into a wall a twenty miles an hour have you?" He raised an eyebrow. "It smashing in the most insane way gears flying everywhere. I thought my roommate was going to kill me!" He shook his head not only had it terrified his roommate but it had shaved a few years off his life as well. "I'm not really sure what's worse: waking up to an alarm or waking up to it shattering." He tapped his chin contemplating it. He sobered and nodded, "I understand. My parents didn't freak out, well I mean they did but... I don't know." He said sadly, "I feel abandoned here." He admitted with a touch of depression threatening to darken his mood. "I'm not sure if it's better that way." He said as he thought about it a little bit more, "They might not understand but they're still your family and supposed to be there for you." He shrugged he didn't know her story but who knew maybe one day she would go back to her parents as an equal not a child. "I hope..." He trailed off lost in his thoughts. "I hope you can forgive your parents."

He felt like a fool and he wasn't sure if she was doing it on purpose or not. He was realizing things about himself while he was thinking about her life and her situation. He felt extremely selfish about everything now. He wasn't used to looking at another side of things but for some reason she was making him look at things in a different manner. He wasn't sure he liked it. He looked down at the notebook gripped in his hands. His head snapped up like she had just pulled a gun on him. He looked at her his eyes wide and threatening. He knew she could feel his emotions but could she really read him like that. He narrowed his eyes a little bit. She was right a lot had happened and he was trying to deal with it all on his own and he couldn't. His green eyes darkened and he went numb. "I'll be alright."

He didn't say any more than that. He was pretty sure he couldn't control his tongue very well at the moment. Not only being caught off guard by all that she knew but by the wondering of what else she knew. He took a few deep breaths and shook it off. "Ah Spiderman?" He smiled he had been the kid with Spiderman pajamas. He held up a hand, "It only happened once, I'm not sure I can control it enough to actually make something. And trust me being able to use my hands to make something would be increasingly more satisfying."

[Ann Hudgins]

Before Ann got her power, she was already an insightful and selfless person. She liked helping other people and keeping everyone in a laughing sort of mood, but even then she hadn't really been her own person. Her opinions and views on things had been easily made or changed by those close to her. If she watched one movie with two different people, her opinion of the movie would be similar to that of the one she watched it with, whether they liked it or not. Ann just had a problem with...being effected by things like that. That just got worse when her powers manifested. Not it's like she didn't even have a personality of her own--just that of the one near her. Which sucked.

"Uh nope. Can't say I ever saw a clock explode on the wall from impact." Ann grinned a little, she could easily imagine it would be impressive to see. "Hmm..." she thought deeply about his rhetorical question. "I'd say it shattering, because then you'd have to clean it up after you woke up." Which would suck. Who wants to do chores right after you wake up like that? No one. At least not Ann. Though her thoughtful smile faded when he said he felt abandoned. It wasn't much of a surprise that she, too, felt that. "Try talking to them? I mean, maybe the only reason why they freaked out is because they are surprised? People tend to be afraid of the unknown, right?" She grinned a little wryly as he started to give her a taste of her own medicine. Sure, maybe one day she would be able to forgive them. But that day wasn't in the foreseeable future. "Hopefully. But I have more things to be concerned about than those two bigots. Like eating, and....other things like that." Good one, Ann. You should be a comedian.

She knew she messed up when she felt his feelings of...foolishness. The bad kind, not the silly, goofy kind. She held back a grown and narrowly avoided smacking herself in the face. She looked at him, a wince clearly on her face. He definitely didn't look happy. She could swear that look was down right threatening. She kinda wanted to scoot away from him and apologize profusely, but she felt any more attention on this would result negatively. She really felt bad for saying anything at all in the first place, but she couldn't take it back, and she was sure that stammering out any more of an apology would just result in her sticking her foot in her mouth. She had a bit harder of a time moving on from that speed bump than he did, but once she calmed down, she smiled a bit. Spiderman was an alright Superhero, as far as they went, but Ann was never big on those guys. Her heroes were the men she grew up around; her father's war buddies. The guys that had actually did something for America, not just dress in tights and fight other men in tights.

"Still. That is pretty darn cool. I bet you could come up with a great tattoo or something." Ann wasn't one for body art, but she liked the designs and the idea of them. Her parents, however, instilled in her the belief that those that got a bunch tattoos were the degenerates of society--even though her parents themselves had several ones from their younger years. Hypocrites. "Maybe so, but with using your power you won't have to erase a bazillion times." Always trying to be the optimist, that's Ann for you.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani smiled a little, there were some little perks to his power, not a lot, at least not yet but the more he thought about it the more he could see the benefits of his power. It was hard to go from looking at something as a burden to looking at it for its benefits. Everything had an upside. Even the darkest times. He shrugged a little not to anything she had said but to his own internal monologue. He looked out at the pond slowly relaxing his grip on the notebook. When it didn't stir he let out a small breath and set it in the grass next to him. He was really getting sick of the bursts of energy his power came with. Something it was really easy to do things other times it was really hard and other times his power gave a mind of its own to objects. He was really getting sick of it. And he wasn't sure he bought the whole 'channel' business. How would it have burst open so late if he hadn't had something trigger it?

He shook his head of the thought and smile at Ann. "Its quite astounding." He laughed and raised a finger, "Another good thing about this, I don't have to leave my bed to clean it." He grinned a little starting to feel a little better, perhaps someone just needed to knock some sense into him and tell him 'hey look at all the awesome things you can do!' He nodded a little bit, he knew he was being unfair. His mother and father had tried to call him... He shrugged and nodded, "Yeah I think they're alright. And really I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them." He felt a surge of uneasy gratitude. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not yet. He still felt trapped but he also felt secure in the fact that his power would not freak out as much once he learned more about it. That was worth the imprisonment. At least for now. He smiled at her in what he hoped to be a reassuring way. He really hoped she could forgive her parents because family was forever.

Quick recovery was always something Lani had. It was a welcome gift that he used when he used to encourage Caroline to keep moving with her treatments. He couldn't let her know what was bothering him and he had developed the ability to shrug things off and save them for later to chew on. He knew she could feel his darkening mood and knew her mistake. He shook his head a little bouncing back and locking the thought away for later. It wasn't often now that he had to do that for anything serious but he just hated being unhappy. Mostly it was that Caroline hated to upset him, so he always made it seem like he was happy and carefree and for brief moments in time he sometimes actually felt like that. He smiled gently at her. It was a big difference talking about super heroes. Personally he didn't believe in them, they gave false hope and grew imaginations. Though even when Lani imagined heroes he always imagined himself the villain who saw the hero for what he really was.

He wrinkled his nose and hissed out a laugh. "I hate pain." He shook his head at the admitted dislike. He had tossed around the idea of a tattoo but it always came down to if the police could use it to identify him with. He laughed, "True, but some of the best mistakes make the best art." He smiled, "It's kinda sad all through elementary school I failed art cause even my stick figures were lopsided." He exaggerated... to a certain extent. Even at an older age the best he had accomplished was a stick figure and a lopsided bulbous and lumpy pot. His mother had put them all on the refrigerator and taken the pot to work declaring she couldn't wait to show it off. He had thought she was joking until he went to visit her one time and she had it stuffed full of pencils on her desk.

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann's eyes were drawn to the pond as well, those stupid birds were flapping around, picking minnows or bugs from the water in their hazardous dive-bombing techniques. It really was no secret that Ann disliked the feathered things. That dislike was solidified when a bird had almost caused her to twist her ankle. She was terribly lucky it didn't because going to the nurse for a medical injury required touching and that was something Ann was not equipped to handle, even injured. She stayed away from birds (not like it wasn't hard).

"Oh I bet." Ann replied with a small smile. She certainly wasn't about to argue the appeal of exploding clocks with Lani. There was no point. "Well now I'm just getting jealous. Some of us actually have to move around and pick things up to clean." She resisted the childish urge to stick her tongue out at the boy, jokingly of course. She wasn't actually jealous, but he did have more going for him than she did. If his feelings were any indication--and they were--he was feeling better towards his parents (she assumed) and that was a good thing, in her mind. If he could smooth over that relationship then his stay were wouldn't be as hellish. However, Ann didn't see herself even contemplating giving her parents a call. She was too scared of what will be on the other end.

Thank the Lord for quick recoveries. Ann felt the atmosphere of the conversation return to it's easy-going and simple self. She promised (and made herself swear) not to touch on anything like that again. She wouldn't shine a light on anything that Lani kept in the dark because it wasn't her damn business. Her mother had always said," just because you can, doesn't mean you should." Of course her mother was always referring to the times when Ann jumped in on fights at the playground or hallways. Ann had always defended against bullies, especially after her parents allowed her to take some MMA classes with a friend of theirs. Ann, however, still believed those boys rightfully deserved their broken arms because of what they did.

"I concur. Pain sucks." Pain was part of her side-effect. Emotions effected people physically, when felt in great amounts, and to Ann it was sometimes crippling. She had lost a lot of weight in the past three years that she was starting to get back because of her inability to stomach food from pain. A tattoo, however would be a different kind of pain. Ann had several clumsy scars from getting a cut, and as her dad described, that was what getting a tattoo felt like; being carved into, which made sense. Ann didn't think she'd ever find something, however, that she'd want to see on herself until the day she died, or got old. Whichever came first. "Oh my stick figures still look bad. I am amazed I used to pass all of my art classes, I have horrible drawing skills. My hands are so shaky." She lifted them up from her lap as evidence. She tried to hold them still but her fingers were constantly moving in little amounts. She'd never work on a bomb squad or be a doctor.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani looked out at the pond following Ann's gaze. Unlike her he looked at the bird with envy they would fly at any time and just quit a place whenever they felt the desire to do so. Caged. He was caged, grounded, his wings clipped. He could no longer freely leave and just go wherever he pleased. He knew very well that if he felt the calling for a week long adventure off into the iron jungle he would never get approval unless he made up some lie about a death in the family. Not only would someone from Hammel probably trail him but they probably wouldn't give him very much time emphasizing how important it was for him to get his power under control. But more likely than not they would know he was lying and call him out on it which certainly wouldn't be fun.

He smiled and ducked his head. Alarm clocks were incredibly annoying and he was still working on how to keep his alarm stationary. So far glue, tape and hiding it didn't work. He laughed and shook his head completely perplexed by way she stuck her tongue out at her. Lani blinked and laughed freely, "Well, mere mortal next time you need something cleaned give me a call then neither of us would have to go anywhere!" He laughed. Perhaps this place wasn't so bad. If there were people like Ann around this might not be such a bad place to be imprisoned. But then imprisonment be it in a field of green or an iron cell was still imprisonment all the same. "Well either way cleaning is one way that my recruiter told me I could learn my powers with... considering I trashed her office and she made me clean it up." He laughed a little it had been an eventful day the day that he had arrived at Hammel and they left him alone for an hour and his anger at his parents and the people around him had hit him when the action stopped and his power went haywire.

Lani was very glad that they steered the conversation away from the painful areas to a more light hearted topic. "I wonder how my sister is doing?" He wondered aloud. "Sorry, my sister and I are very close I just hope she's doing ok." It was more than that. His mind turned to the cute little smile she always had. Was she sad? Who was telling her stories? Was someone still tucking her in? He was having a really hard time believing that she was 10 now. She seemed so old but at the same time she was still the little six year old. Sometimes she pointed out that she wasn't a baby anymore and that nearly made Lani want to cry. He wanted her to stay innocent and young. He wanted to protect her from all the evils of the world. He had already failed to help her when she was sick but he would do what he could. It was hard to think that she was growing up and there was nothing he could do about it.

He nodded solemnly, "I would never want to get a tattoo... partly cause everyone would see how much of a wimp I really am." He laughed his eyes closing as he grinned like a child. He shook his head, "At least you passed. My teacher was merciless. She was some art school drop out." He shrugged. "It was terrible she used to use my drawings as 'what not to do' examples." He laughed it was such a funny memory but he had been really hurt when he was little. It was funny how priorities change and how ones view on life changes as they get older.

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann didn't share his feelings of imprisonment. She'd much prefer to be in a room by herself, locked in or not, than free to go wherever she wanted. Ann was a person of simple needs, and as long as she had room to stretch her legs for a bit, she'd be fine. Hammel was a perfect setting for her and she knew she wasn't alright to leave for any amount of time even if she wanted to. She could barely handle a classroom, let alone a road full of cars emitting waves of emotion. She really hated it when people with road rage passed by her. Anger was the emotion that took the longest to fade.

Now that her rational mind seemed to be working (where in the world did it go?) she blushed at haven stuck her tongue out at him. The last time she did that was back in middle school, to her bestfriend/brother Aiden. She rubbed the side of her face, willing her blush to fade, and adverted her eyes to the other side of the courtyard. Wow. How terribly embarrassing. "Uh. Uh yeah. I'll do that." She stammered out the lame reply to his continued teasing, thing. She obviously was off tilt because of her action which threw off her speaking ability, apparently. If Ann understood the feeling coming from Lani, about her, she'd probably blush and her inability to talk would continue. No one else considered her so...well like that, and it'd surely ruffle Ann's feathers even more. Hearing that his recruiter made him clean her office after he trashed it made her kinda laugh. She didn't have that same relationship (or any sort really) with her recruiter. Dr. Campbell hadn't really been the best person to intercept her at her worst time. The car ride from North Carolina to Vermont was absolutely monstrous and stretched for hours longer than necessary. Every little emotion she felt was amplified to him, as she was out of control with freshly coming into her powers, and everything he felt was contorted and fed back to Ann. It was a terrible cycle and since that ride she hadn't seen him. Though she did hear he adopted a kid with his husband, which was pretty cool. Ann couldn't really bring herself to apologize to him for being such a little monster.

At his wondering question Ann shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know his sister or their relationship, but as his mind functioned, she felt his deep love for his sister and she was touched by it. Ann didn't have any siblings and her parents weren't exactly bubbling over with love when she was growing up and she didn't have someone to worry over her like that. She wasn't sure she wanted one, but to at least have someone older than her nudging her in the right direction would have been nice. "I'm sure she's fine." She offered though she had no proof or evidence to prove it.

"Awww." Ann grinned and chuckled at what he said about getting a tattoo. Her father and her father's friends often enjoyed to recount the tattoo of Ann's name he got on his calf and how he hissed and whimpered through the whole thing. Two of them had to hold him down so he wouldn't kick the tattoo artist. Allegedly. "That's so mean! It's like a rule for an adult to tell a kid what good of a job they did no matter how crappy it was! My dad kept my green elephants and Way Side houses up on the fridge for months, no matter how bad they looked." Ann laughed while she told her tale, because it was funny that his teacher had used his work as a bad example. However she meant what she said, adults shouldn't do that to kids. It was spiteful and mean.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani sometimes felt extremely needy. He needed help here in order to control his power but he also needed to spread his wings and do less than legal things. He wondered absently if that was why he was reacting negatively. It wasn't like he was literally trapped. Like Ann had said he could go anywhere really but the idea of having to ask permission was something Lani had never done. He had gotten into the habit of just telling them where he was going or not at all, depending on the time. Lani never really had a curfew and it was killing him here. In the dorm by eleven? What were they ten? Lani shook his head at the thought. That wasn't fair there were children here that young. He had yet to have anything more than passing with them but some of them were really miniature and left Lani wondering if he had ever been that small in his life.

Lani lifted his head a laugh, he knew it was rude but he couldn't help it. Half of him still couldn't believe she had actually stuck her tongue out at him and the other half was too filled with silly humor to care. "Its ok we're all five at heart." He winked and grinned like a child. He smiled when she laughed at his story. "It was really funny, they left me in her office to go take care of something and me having just been ripped from my home and shoved into this confusion just let it all go. It was trashed. I was in so much trouble but then again once I let go I really honestly couldn't control it." He added sheepishly. He and the recruiter had an understand more than a relationship. She reported all he had ever done with his power and he had gotten a long report written about it. Lani stuck out at every chance he got but the recruiter always had something up her sleeve and so he just stopped.

He shrugged, "You're probably right but I've never been away from her and I'm worried, she is very fragile." Although Caroline had recovered from her cancer she still had a weakened immune system and got sick frequently and often wanted no one other than Lani at her side to tell her stories and keep her company. Lani and his sister were a lot closer than a lot of siblings and he was worried about losing that or her getting hurt. He laughed a little at the thought that came next. He was sure he was going to be one of those brothers that threatened to kill her boyfriend if they hurt her. But unlike others Lani could certainly scare them to death just by the simple fact that he had yet to meet a lock he could not open and that he now had telekinesis and could make them think they were being haunted.

Yes, Ann had given him a bad idea. However Lani was sure it would be fun while he was here especially after he had full control and could be funny on purpose instead of on accident. Lani laughed and nodded, "Yeah my mom complained but she was right I'm a terrible artist. She was a mean old bitter woman. She apparently was an art school dropout with no future other than the one class she taught at our school." She had made him cry a lot when he was little he had to admit but now to say aloud how much things hurt had become a painful and trying experience. He shrugged, "I'm sure you're not bad as you think."

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann didn't consider his laughing at her rude, but well deserving. She did stick her tongue out at him. So to her it was justified. She blushed again, however, which wasn't something she would have liked, and would have rather gone without doing, but there you go. She did agree with him, that everyone was five at heart. She wasn't sure how much that went for her, but she did stick her tongue out at him, so that was something of an indicator.

She sobered a little when he explained how he came to trashing his recruiter's office. He may have been laughing at it, but she felt kinda bad that he felt that way when he first came here. Ann looked at it like she was being saved (not from being a new meta, but being saved by being taken away from her parents). She wished his coming here hadn't been in such a dark light, but she couldn't really do anything to change that. "Aww , at least all you had to do was clean it." She offered, though she didn't really know what else to say about it. Ann's power never destroyed anything like that, other than her self-esteem and confidence. However, in Ann's mind that hardly mattered.

"Well, at least you can talk to her, still. I've heard Skype--I think that is what it is called-- is something people use to keep in touch of their families'." She said with a small smile. Ann didn't have a reason to do such a thing...but it might be something Lani could look into, if he wanted to of course. She might suggest something of the same to Aiden, in the future, but she was happy with texting him during the day, and their talks after she's done with her homework. It would be cool to be able to see his face though, while they talked. She really, really missed him, especially since they started talking.

"That's hardly fair for her to have taken it out on you," she said with a small voice. It was long in the past, though, so saying something like that really didn't do any good, but still, it kinda made her mad that a school teacher would do such a thing. "You know what they say, though. Those who can't do, teach." Ann grinned a little, feeling better towards the woman, as if she'd said that to her face. "Oh if I had a pen and paper, I'd totally draw you an example. It looks like I write with a vibrating pen." She really couldn't draw a straight line, unless she was using some sort of straight object to trace against. She had long since excepted that. It wasn't any skin off her nose if she didn't have a future with drawing or artistry.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani was forgetting his problems in the light of the conversations. "Little kids get to have all the fun," he mused with a quirky smile. Sometimes Lani just really wanted to be seven again when it would be ok for him to go to a playground. He absently wondered if there was one here for the younger kids. He hoped so. This place was a prison for him but it didn't have to be to others. Even though this place was serious and very strict about curfews that didn't mean they had to take away the joys of being a child. Lani's one weakness was children. He loved them he couldn't help it, ever since he had taken care of Caroline he had had a soft spot in his heart for children and children in turn loved him. Caroline's friends always loved him around and he had sometimes babysat their neighbors kids when his parents were trying to break him of his sticky finger habit.

He shrugged, "At least." He smiled slyly. "Unfortunately I don't take discipline well and I don't learn." He shook his head laughing making a joke of the fact. He really didn't react well to discipline and either sulked or did something to retaliate. It was one hundred percent true that he didn't learn. Not at all. If it was a mistake about sneaking he learned fast but when it came to stopping bad habits it was nearly impossible. Now even more so than ever. His parent's solution was to put locks on his window and door but those were no match for his clever fingers. Now his mind was just as clever with a lock as his hands. He still preferred to use his hands but if there was ever a situation where he didn't have use of his hands it would be extremely useful. "My recruiter and I have an understand though." He shrugged reflecting his thoughts.

He blinked at her like she had just spoken a foreign language. "Is that like a meta thing? He asked. Lani wasn't one to be very technically savvy and every new thing in technology took a few months to get around to him. He realized he probably sounded like a sheltered infant but now things were upside down. Things that were normal in the world were no longer normal. Normal was going to class, pretending to pay attention to a boring professor and moving on with life. Here is was going to class getting called out for sleeping by a teacher with nearly literal eyes in the back of their heads. Normal had taken a whole new meaning and Lani was hard pressed to get used to it. He had thought that they would give him some time to acclimate and adjust but they had just launched him into the fray. Lani had in turn reacted badly and rebelled. Sometimes his power legitimately acted up and sent things flying around the place but other times he was just so stressed and furious that he made it happen.

He nodded and laughed, "Too true." Lani smiled sympathetically at her when she commented on her bad artwork. He was absolutely sure that he was worse but he had been wrong before. He gave her a sly smile and held out his notebook and pencil. "So show me." He said grinning like a loon.

[Ann Hudgins]

"That's true," Ann agreed. Though, unlike most children, Ann hadn't been the sort of child to just have fun all the time. She had a sense of responsibility as a kid and really was just the supervisor on the playground and on the streets of her neighborhood. She also spent a lot of time in a gym, learning useful things to help her in a fight, from her parents friends and the resident black belt. However, back then was so much easier than now, and she'd go back in a heart beat, if only she could stay in that non-meta state forever.

"Oh, well they say the first step is being able to admit it--not that I'm sayin' it's a problem, just you know...uhm," Ann trailed off when she realized that she didn't even know what she was saying, she did realize the potentially offending comment she made was bad, and she would have done better to be quite or maybe just giggle. But maybe she thought it was funny? If just a little bit, she still told herself not to make comments like that again. People didn't like being poked at like that, right? She chewed her nail self-consciously. "Ah, that's cool. I think my recruiter is still annoyed at me for the car ride--but I dunno," Ann shrugged her shoulders as she spoke. She was probably the last person fit to compare relationships with others.

"Uhm no, it's a web-camera thingy. Like a special website for a chatroom, only your talk with your face, not just text and little smileys made from like the colon key and stuff," Ann gestured with her hands as she spoke, but she couldn't exactly paint that picture for him with her hands alone. "I've heard a lot of students talk to their families' with it. If you wanted to too, I think the Library would be where you go to do it, but I dunno for sure." Ever helpful, isn't she? Ann wasn't the most computer savvy out there, but it seemed every other teenager had a lifeline to the internet. It had taken Ann a while to just make her chat name on the school's special site. She wasn't nearly qualified enough to give him the Skype (if that is even what it is called) howto's.

She nearly giggled when he held out the notebook, and she carefully took the pencil from him, obviously avoiding any skin-on-skin that might happen. She situated the notebook in her lap and braced it against her knee before she thought about what would be a better demonstration. "What to draw, then?" She asked with a cheeky grin, as she put the pencil to a blank page, she just doodled out the two of them sitting and the pond, with a few fishes in it. Then before she showed him her work, she also drew a bunny. She then turned the notebook towards him. "I told you," she said with a small laugh. Her drawing certainly was an abomination.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani sometimes reflected with sadness that he hadn't been a child very long. It was like he had been a kid then he had been an adult and making decisions that even his parents didn't know about. He had certainly grown up quickly and without mercy. In the world of thieves is was learn fast or game over. Lani was constantly changing and learning so focused that he never had time to do what others his age would normally do. His parents tried to get him into sports but it was too tedious and repetitive. Nothing ever changed. Nothing was ever a challenge. It was same old same old. In the real world the cops always had a new trick up their sleeves and the thieves always had a new set of plans. Lani remembered his first major heist when he was twelve. He had proven his skills when he slipped into and out of a jewelery store with millions of dollars of gems without even setting off an alarm. That had earned him a lot of respect.

Lani laughed, "Nah, its fine. I know its a problem but I really don't feel like fixing it." He shrugged, "It's who I am and I do what I want. Hence why I hate being told what to do here and abhor the idea of asking permission." Lani winced, it wasn't that he was trying to put up a bad boy front for a reason that was legitimately how he felt and he had never been able to be broken of the habit. He realized sometimes he really needed a kick in the pants by authority but he would much rather keep rolling with what he was doing. He laughed again, "I'm sorry yeah I don't know who would ever want to be a recruiter. Goodness one person like me and I think I would quit." He nodded he had sure been a handful. But then again he had done so kind of on purpose. He hated being told what to do and even worse when he didn't have a choice in the matter.

He nodded his face reddening with embarrassment he was way to new at this but he should have known that. He really needed to get out more. He listened to her and made a sheepish grin. "Well that sucks..." He trailed off with a small smile then explained, "I've been asked to avoid the library until I have better control over my powers. Apparently you launch one book into a shelf and it falls they kick you out." He shrugged innocently. It had been funny in context and he was sure the librarians would have laughed if it hadn't been for their precious books. He wasn't even sure what there was about this place that seemed to bring out the worst in him. It was like a wild stallion taken under a bit and not taking very well to it. Lani was struggling to break free from this confinement that apparently only he saw. He found himself not inclined to trust anyone here and he was certainly not very much into the whole asking permission to do things. When he wanted to do or go somewhere he did.

He smiled and let go of the pencil as soon as she had it recognizing her desire not to touch him. He faintly wondered if he had done something wrong. But then Ann had made no indication of that but still he couldn't help but wonder. He grinned at her as she drew and absently looked out at the pond reflecting on the cool water that looked so deceptively clear and calm. Lani used to like water. He used to like it a whole lot but one rip current and that had been it for him. He nearly swept out to sea and drowned. The lifeguard thank goodness had been nearby and able to rescue him before he sank all the way the bottom. He came back to the present when she showed him and it took him a full minute to realize what it was that she had drawn. He stifled a laugh on the back of his hand. "No, no its good!" He said with a smile. "That... what is that? A dog?" He asked pointing to the bunny she had attempted.

[Ann Hudgins]

If Ann could reenact her childhood, she'd probably be the same shy and motherly-type. It was really just her personality. However, if she could go back, she'd go to her arrival at Hammel and do that differently. She'd put herself into purgatory out of some watered down version of rebellion and stubbornness, and that had taken four years of her life away and she had nothing to show for it but a deep-seated hatred towards her parents and a complete fear of skin contact. She got angry at herself every time she thought about it. Just how could she be so stupid?!

At his laugh, she snapped herself out of her inner-loathing. She could cuss at herself later and in private. Maybe at the mirror... "Ah well, that is your decision." Ann was always trying to fix the problems wrong with her, like her social awkwardness and retardation towards control of her powers. She was actually quite glad their conversation had lasted this long, the third longest she'd had at Hammel, in fact. "Well, at least you know yourself?" Ann asked with a shrug of her shoulders. She'd heard from movies and Tv how all teenagers were rebellious in their teenaged years, and Lani seemed like the prime example. Not that she thought that was bad or anything, just different. Or maybe that really was normal for teenagers. She had no way of knowing. (Teenagers emotions were easily the hardest to grasp and understand, she had experience in that. Adults were easier to understand, and Children were like picture books.)

Ann looked down at her hands when he reddened with embarrassment. It was unwarranted, certainly. Ann was almost just as wet behind the ears as he was, honestly. She'd only heard of it through the grape vine and people chatting about it while she did research in the furthest reaches of the Library. However, she had made a promise to herself not to talk about his (or anyone else's emotions) unless he said something about it first. "Aww, well maybe you can use that as a goal, then? To help give you something to focus on during your training?" Ann hoped it was a good idea, but something told her it'd go south, or he'd see it as something that just shined even more of a spotlight on his abysmal grasp on his power. She hoped not. The last thing she wanted to do was make him sad (or angry).

When she took the pencil from him, she noticed a faint change in his facial features. "Uh, there's nothing wrong with you, honestly. It's just I can't touch people. It's a thing with my powers that I'm trying really hard to get over, but you know...I--well it's just something that's impossible for me to do." Ann didn't like bringing to attention something so crippling about herself, but it was the truth and it was better for him to know than to find out the hard way. A new teacher had once felt her forehead when she asked to go see the nurse from nausea from emotions she'd absorbed and she'd nearly passed out in front of the class because of it. The teacher never touched her again, but it was embarrassing, not to mention painful.

When she showed him the drawing, she expected laughter because it should illicit such a thing. It sucked. But he was nice and joked about it. She had the urge to stick her tongue out at him again, but she didn't do it this time. "Yeah well--hey! It is a bunny rabbit, I will have you know," she told him with mock-crossness. She knew she never had a future with artistry and she was OK with that. "I'd like to see you do better, mister." She playfully tossed the notebook into his lap and held out his pencil, with plenty room on his end to take hold of, with a straight back and raised chin. She then, of course, giggled, as she usually did when she attempted something funny.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani would have given his own childhood to keep Caroline from going through what she went through. It was what had destroyed Lani’s ideals and confused his meanings of family and morals. But he would not have done any differently if given the chance. If Caroline had to get sick than he would have wanted nothing more that to be out there helping and getting money for her treatments. He wondered absently what kind of life Ann had had. Was it the kind that made one miss childhood or was it the kind where one wished they would get older sooner rather than later. Lani wasn’t sure what he was it seemed like he had been the same age all his life. Maybe a few maturations here and there but he liked to think that he had never changed very much. He had grown up early and fast.

He smiled, “Yeah but that’s never stopped people from trying.” His whole life people had been telling him what to do and giving him unwanted advice. He honestly thought he was fine the way he was, you know save the whole adrenaline addiction and the sticky finger habit and oh yeah the trouble with authority and who could forget his fear of confinement. Yes he was completely fine. “Hardly.” He commented and a small shrug, “I probably know myself less than you do. I mean you can read my emotions unhidden and raw. I hide from myself telling myself I’m fine and eventually I believe it.” He blinked and shook his head, “Sorry that was a little too much info.” He shrugged, “I guess I’m what most people expect from a teenage though, huh?” He asked a little sadly. He hated being stereotyped and he liked to think of himself as more than just a teenager. He wasn’t like he was by choice but rather need that had turned into a habit and a desire.

Something about the narrow escape gave him a rush unlike any drug could copy. He was sure he needed to go to rehab of some sort but for adrenaline it seemed unnecessary. He was really sorry about what had happened in the library it wasn’t like he did it on purpose but then again the library was a sanctuary of a sort and the librarians would defend it. He smiled, “Yes a goal to go to the library!” He said with mock enthusiasm. “That’ll do it.” He laughed and shook his head, “Besides I have a lap top anyways. My parents got it for me when they still thought I was going to college.” He frowned his heart plummeted at the lost of opportunity. Now where was he supposed to go in life? “Sorry,” he said shaking his head and attempting to banish the thought.

He nodded in understanding, “Oh I see that must be terrible.” He shook his head, “I’m not that touchy feely but if I couldn’t hug my sister… Damn.” He really had a little sister complex but he had always been assured it was just because he was a big brother who wanted to take care of her all the time. He laughed at her explanation of a rabbit. He cocked his head a squinted, “Eh?... well...” He turned his head the other way and smiled, “Oh I see!” He exclaimed teasing her gently. He sighed heavily a joking smile still plastered on his face, “Oh very well.” He took the pencil from her carefully and put the notebook back down on his lap.

He looked out at the pond and made a show of shaking out his arms and preparing for his masterpiece. He drew two stick people sitting on a hill that were featureless and plain. The hill they were stilling on was a mountain as it came to slope and it ended quickly into a squiggly line that he made represent the water of the pond. He drew a stick tree and a few blades of grass. Finally he drew a circle with a head and winds as a duck. “Here.” He declared showing it with mock pride, “Picasso couldn’t have done better.” He laughed at his own joke and grinned like a loon.

[Ann Hudgins]

Outside of being in a martial arts tournament or two, Ann's childhood was uneventful. Her parents had demanding jobs that rarely allowed them to travel, and when they did it was to a relative. She didn't see anything extremely truamatic or scarring as a girl and she never went to a funeral or saw a cadaver or corpse. Honestly it was quite boring, but Ann preferred that to some stories she'd heard about where kids came from. She came from a simple background and had a pretty small list of accomplishments or achievements to her name and for that she was both saddened and proud of. She was just inexperienced all around--at least that is what she thought.

"Hmm, well maybe they try because they care?" Ann was just spit-balling, because she really didn't know exactly what they were talking about anymore--something about how Lani was, but she couldn't be sure so she just went with it. "Oh I would hardly say that I know you," Ann interjected bashfully. Theoretically, Ann could learn people very well, but at the moment? She was no where near that. Days where her power didn't cooperate, she had a very hard time telling whose emotion was whose and that often caused severe headaches. When one felt love towards someone they'd never met, it caused problems. "I just feel things. You are the one experiencing them with thoughts, and reasons. It's like reading a comic book with just pictures. I can kinda get what is going on, but not really." Ann used her fingers and hands as she spoke by moving and wiggling them in front of her but they didn't exactly mime anything--she was just feeling a bit fidgety.

"I am also not one to judge other people. Other people do it because it's easier to deal with themselves if they think that they are the only individual out there, and everyone else is in a group, you know? They's why stereotyping is so popular. Everyone feels safe in something organized like that." Ann flapped her hand at the entire idea of that. Uniformity did not work--on the outside it did, but no two people were the same, Ann did know that for sure, and putting people into generalized groups wasn't a good way to deal with things.

"Who said you couldn't go to college?" Ann asked with a frown in her eyes. "Just because you are here doesn't mean you can't go. I finish highschool come the spring, and during the coming fall, I'll start taking some college classes--still living here at Hammel. If you talk to someone like your power trainer, or a councilor, they will help set everything up for you, honest." Ann nodded her head, sure of herself. She understood why Lani was depressed about being here and everything, but she kinda got the feeling he thought he'd never get out of this place, or just hadn't been able to look past the fact that he was here. It certainly wasn't the end of the world, or the end of the road for him. There would be life after Hammel--for the both of them. It just might not come as quickly to them as other students.

"Yeah....on some days it is better than others--and my power trainer is helping me experiment with different materials and how thick they have to be before I can touch people and stuff." Ann laughed a bit awkwardly at the topic and turned her attention back to her drawing. It truly was horrific. She frowned down at it and then grinned at Lani as he started his own drawing, she tapped her fingers on her legs while he drew, her eyes cast out to the pond again.

Ann leaned towards him as he presented the drawing to her and she held back a laugh. "What's with the floating fairy thing?" Ann asked with a small laugh. "But yes. Definitely Art Gallery material. People must see this art work." She broke down into giggles because of the absurdity of the conversation and where it had gone; to their mutual inability to draw even the simplest thing.

(-gets on knees and looks sad- I. Am. So. Sorry.)