Defeatist Pessimist (open)

[Exxie]

The lake. The sun was shining on the water, making it sparkle like a million diamonds. Yes, it was a statement that was probably used too much in common language. And it didn't nearly cover what Jodie was feeling. It was just one of those days that she felt like it was nature rebelling against her. After all, it was sunny. It was beautiful. Cheery. She felt like this giant stormcloud was hanging over her head.

Jodie couldn't quite place the feeling yet. She had friends. She had a nice room. Everyone she had met and talked to her had been nice. Even that bear of a lady in the reception area of the office was nice compared to the people in her previous life. But she found that she missed those people anyways. Most of all, her sister. Jeanne. Her trainer, who had been her first friend too. Sure, they hadn't had as much time to do normal stuff because she had been a prodigy of the assassin families. And the guy she had met at the sixteenth disaster. He was one of the ones who had taken her freakishness in stride. Tears slipped down her cheeks. She missed them all. She missed the familiarity. Jodie just sat on the shore of the lake, watching the water wave from the wind and hugged her legs, putting her chin in between her knees.

She realized being in a clearing wasn't such a smart move when her parents were probably trying to find her frantically. But she was in such a dismal mood, she didn't care. She couldn't even control her freakin' powers. Everyone else could make themselves invisible, null gravity, fly or even ooze acid. What could she do right now? Glow. But only when she was happy. And she couldn't even fake happy, so she couldn't even glow when she wanted. More tears rolled down her cheeks.

To add insult to injury, she had no people skills whatsoever. Assassins weren't known for them, after all. So when that cute boy had put his arm around the back of her chair, what had she done? SHE HAD TOLD HIM TO GET IT OFF! Jodie was mentally smacking herself for sounding like a ten year old afraid of cooties. He had been cute too. Gosh even Ainsley said so. And Jacques was probably having more luck with Ainsley than with her. Crap, crap, crap. Jodie stood up and screamed.

"Might as well hit me with lightning! Could this possibly get any worse?" Oh wait. It could. It could be horribly exposed that she was bi. Yep, she had one gem of a life. Jodie just sighed and let her shoulders down in semi-defeat.

[Signal]

"Well dear, it can always be worse..." A voice from behind her spoke, a boy with bright golden eyes were staring at her, an old beat up guitar sitting at his feet. His face was hard set, slighty weather worn and his hair was long and black.

"When you make fights against the universe, it has a pretty good way of kicking you right where you don't expect it. Best not to invite it." He picked up his guitar, slinging it over his shoulder.

"You are clothed, you look well fed, and you don't seem like you are injured. Suck it up."

He shook his head, turning on heel. He hated that gifteds around here seemed to always have this kind of self loathing attitude. The girl probably had parents that kicked her out, or a boyfriend who broke up with her recently. Pathetic really.

He walked over a few trees, sitting into the crook of an older tree with carvings on it. Rem's tree.

Amazingly, this girl and Rem probably had a lot more in common than she'd have with most anyone else.

[Exxie]

Jodie heard the voice and sighed. The guy was right of course. It could always be worse. Then she realized! Someone had seen her! She quickly wiped the tears off her cheeks, ashamed they were there in the first place. She didn't cry. She was tough. She had the ability to kill someone. She. Did not. Cry. Fights against the universe. She gave a dry laugh. She was used to picking fights. It was the one thing in life she was good at. She had even been trained to be able to do it. Kinda. Then she heard the voice say she was clothed, well-fed and not injured and to 'suck it up'. Her temper flared. She whirled around to look for the guy, rage running through her veins. She stormed over to the tree where he was. Carvings all over. She growled at him. When her rage was there, she tended to do that.

"How dare you. How dare you judge me like you know me. It could be worse, but not much. Suck it up? That's your sage advice? I've lost everything I've ever known. Even my sweet memories of my parents are tarnished, thanks to them being absolute maniacs. I NEVER ASKED FOR ANY OF THIS! I NEVER ASKED FOR POWERS, PSYCHO PARENTS, OR A LECTURE FROM A MORON LIKE YOU!" She was seething. Her breathing was rapid, her eyes betraying the fire she felt. There was no glow whatsoever to her other than the normal, human glow she got when she was angry.

"I was wealthy and lost all I had because I had to run for freedom, for my life. I received powers when all I wanted to be was normal. Powers I have to fight with daily just so I don't turn into more of a freak than I already am. I will probably never see my sister again because she's loyal to my parents' cause. And my people skills are crap because I was isolated my whole childhood!" The anger drained from her voice and she sighed, climbing into the nearest tree quickly. She always felt safer when she was higher up.

"I'd say that I have my life, but is it really MY life anymore?" She groaned.

"So...you felt I needed a lecture. What's so all-fired worse about your life? Maybe it'll make me feel better to know there's someone even more miserable than I am. And that he's a jerk so maybe he deserves it." Yeah. Her anger had dissipated but that didn't mean she wasn't still feeling a bit mean. But on the bright side, loathing him meant self-loathing wasn't on the program anymore.

[Signal]

Rem had seen the girl seething and stomping over, so he set his guitar to the side, looking over at her as she ruffled her feathers. The incoming barrage was... Impressive. The girl definitely seemed to have needed a punching bag, and Rem was apparently elected. He sat there stony faced as she screamed and flailed, only moving to lean back in his spot when he realized this may carry on for a moment. And just as it had started, it ended. The good news here, was that Rem was used to this sort of situation. Cool headedness was what kept him from getting into real trouble, so he leaned himself back forward, his golden eyes swimming in their place.

"Feel better? Because all I heard out of all that was that you were forced to make the choice of living your own life, or under your parents. You chose your own life. You are more free than you probably ever have. Your life is more your life than it was before. Yet you sit here complaining. I do not allow my history to shape me, so I don't dwell on it. Perhaps one day you can earn the priviledge of hearing it, but as of right now, I don't think I will."

He sneered at her slightly, lifting one leg to settle on the trunk, preemptive for if the girl was suddenly hit with the idea to attack.

"You were wealthy, and now you are not. You had a family, and now you do not. You were a prisoner, and now you are not."

[Exxie]

Jodie heard his question and thought a moment. Yeah, she did. Weird. Well, not so weird. She knew she was kind of...the type to bottle up her anger until it reached a breaking point. And apparently she had reached her breaking point today. But when he continued saying that her life was hers now, and all that jazz, she sighed.

"I...I knew that. That doesn't stop me from missing the way things were. My caring parents. My sister. My trainer. And no, I'm not that free. My powers make me feel like a captive. At least when I was trapped in my house, I didn't feel trapped." So he wasn't going to tell her his story, huh? She jumped down from the tree, landing gracefully in a crouch next to him.

"You don't really strike me as the optimistic type. I dunno..." She shrugged. The sneer had caught her interest, weirdly enough. And the fact that he was planning against an attack. It intrigued her to meet someone who was prepared for an attack. So far, people really hadn't planned against her pranks or anything. Her eyebrows arched.

"You've fought a bit, right? I have to say...you're the first one to challenge my views in such a way. It's...refreshing. It's all well and good to meet a bunch of nice people. Honesty though, is something I value. Must be my rebellion against my upbringing or somethin'." She chuckled a bit.

"I'm Jodie. Do I get to know your name, or is that a privilege that has to be earned as well, in your eyes?"

[Admin Signal]

"A bit, yeah." He let his leg relax, but still sitting in a way that was defensible. The girl appeared to be calming down, and he didn't see any signs of her power, so he felt a little more comfortable.

"Optimism isn't really my type, no." He blinked at her, his eyes fading to a more dull glow. "You say your power holds you captive? How do you figure?" He liked keeping the conversation on her, no need to dwell on himself.

He kept his face pretty blank as she spoke, his face back to it's usual calm demeaner. "Remsey Tyme. Rem for short."

He blinked at her again.

[Exxie]

The guy was still in a sort of defensive position. Jodie had to admit that it felt familiar to watch. So many times, someone from her family had sat down in a defensive position that seeing someone in one made her...homesickness subside a little. She sat down nearby, in a position from which she knew that if needed, she could easily spring to her feet. His eyecolour faded and her eyebrows arched slightly. Odd, but not as odd as some of the things she had seen and experienced. How did her power hold her captive? She thought about that for a moment, silent. Then she answered, her words now carefully planned so that her point would be brought across.

"I don't want my powers, and they showed up when I least expected, or wanted them. It's because of them that my parents revealed their true colours and motives. I would be deciding on my career's future right now. Instead, I can't leave the Academy because my parents would find me and force me into a life of...of..." She didn't know whether she felt like punching something or breaking down in tears again, thinking of what her parents had wanted her to do. She made fists with both hands and just shook in rage for a moment before calming down and closing her eyes for a short moment before reopening them and looking at him.

"Everything familiar to me has been taken away, because my powers showed up on sixteenth birthday. And if they hadn't manifested, I would still be blissfully ignorant. I suppose I just miss that." Remsey Tyme. Interesting name. He kept blinking too and she bit her lip slightly, curious. Not that other people didn't blink. But there seemed to be something about his sight that was different. Not that she thought he'd tell her if she asked. So Jodie voted to not even ask.

"So...I was just looking for a place where no-one would see me and my...fits, or whatever. Of course, that didn't turn out quite the way I'd planned. But what brings you here if you don't mind me askin'?"

[Signal]

My this girl was forthcoming about her past. Definitely not the secretive type. Makes it easier he supposed. "I suppose I'm still not following how your powers are holding you captive. Sure it placed you on a different path, but a good or bad one is still your call. I was born with my powers. Golden eyed out the womb, just like my father, and his father before him." He sat up a little straighter.

"The Gifteds are a proud group of people where I'm from. Not captives."

He picked up his guitar, strumming a finger over it and nodding his head to the carvings on the tree. "I come here everyday. It's where I spend most of my time." He shrugged his shoulders, strumming again. "It's a good place to think... and a good view of the lake." He nodded toward the water, enjoying how the light reflected off of it. Placid.

"You shouldn't be so afraid of your parents. Just become stronger than them. Gifteds have a knack for doing that."

[Exxie]

Jodie heard Rem say that he still wasn't following how her powers were holding her captive. That it was just a different path, and that she could choose whether it would be a good or bad one. Then she heard him say that he had been born with powers and her eyebrows rose. She didn't know how to explain that it felt like her powers were holding her captive.

"I don't know quite how to explain it. It feels like I'm losing who I was. And I don't like it. And the powers were the catalyst for that, so maybe I'm just blaming them. Or...I dunno..." This was driving her crazy. Why was the conversation always coming back to her? Dammit! It was annoying and frustrating! So he was gifted and proud. Jodie sighed. This was going to be useless to try to explain. But she was always did like a challenge.

"Well good for you're from. You say 'gifted', I say 'freak'. That's what I feel like. And where I'm from, I was the only freak I knew. No-one else with powers. All I wanted to do was blend in and I get...get THESE!" Suddenly, ribbons of light shot out from her fingertips and wrapped around a lower branch. She tried to manipulate them to let go, but instead managed to yank herself up to the branch so that she was hanging from it, and she sighed.

"Not much fun, as you can see. And suddenly, where words failed me, I can suddenly explain why I feel like a captive of my powers. Quite literally." He had said that he came here everyday and spent most of his time here. That it was good place to think. She nodded. That she could do in her current position.

"I do understand why it would be a good place to think. Of course, I generally try not to as a rule. It can get me in rather...troublesome...situations. Plus, I was taught to act first, think later." She shouldn't be so afraid of her parents? She should just become stronger than them? Jodie gave a dry laugh.

"I have damn good reasons for being afraid of my parents. They have lots of dangerous people supporting them. To become stronger than them, I'd need a whole lot more friends just to come close. They have connections in high places, they have wealth, they have aliases at the ready. I'm a teenage girl who has powers. Big freakin' deal dude."

[Signal]

Rem's eyes widened slowly as the girl was lifted from her feet and left dangling. He just chuckled, placing the beat up guitar back down and standing up. "You are too hostile. Control comes from thinking, not doing." He stepped around her, inspecting the way the light was holding her up. "If you relax and think, it will come under control. With the way you talk, sounds like you don't want to be in control, you just want them gone."

With a crossing of his arms, he tilted his head. The power happened because she was riled, same with all the other gifteds he'd met. Relaxing would get it to loosen up most likely.

"I also feel you are underestimating yourself. You will not always be a teenage girl with no friends. You can train, and learn. Get yourself to the point that they would be making the argument that they are just people fighting a God. So to speak."

He slipped a knife from his pocket and flipped it open. "Do you need help getting down?" He wasn't supposed to have weapons on school grounds, but hey, this was a tool, not a weapon.

[Exxie]

Jodie saw the guy's eyes widen when she pulled herself up into the tree accidentally. Too hostile, huh? Thinking, not doing. She groaned.

"You don't know how freakin' impossible that would be for me. Not hostile would work, but I don't think before doing. It just isn't me. I work on instinct, and think later. If I thought through everything I did, I'd already have major injuries. I might even be dead. You have no clue what my family was like. And I'm quite happy the way I am. Yes though, I need to calm down. And I definitely would prefer them gone, but it appears that's not going to happen so I just need them controlled so they don't keep doing...well...stupid stuff like this." He crossed his arms and tilted his head and she blinked a bit faster for a moment, struck by how cool he looked in that position. She'd say 'cute', but the word didn't suit him. Underestimating herself? Just people fighting a...God, so to speak. The wording made her a little uncomfortable, but she got his point of course.

"I don't think that would make much of a difference with these people, to be honest." She sighed. Then he took out a knife and her eyes widened. No weapons on the grounds, but he had a knife?! Dang. She wished she could've gotten away with that, but with her background they had run her through a metal detector multiple times, and was patted down besides. That most certainly had stunk. She thought about whether the knife would help. Jodie shook her head.

"Considering it's light and it's bound and determined to...uh...bind me, I think it might just heal itself. No, thanks for the offer, but I think maybe I'll just...hang out for a bit." She flashed a grin. Ooooo bad puns.

"One moment. I'll try and channel my emotions and get out of this. I have done this before. The situation was just different was all." She closed her eyes and gradually decreased her breathing rate to calm herself down. Kind of like a meditation. Suddenly she felt herself drifting down slightly. She opened her eyes and was surprised to see herself floating on a shimmering sort of light platform, clear of the tree, standing at about where Rem's head was. Her eyes widened. Excited, suddenly she found herself plummeting and she landed not so gracefully at the guy's feet. She groaned before climbing to her feet again.

"It appears I have tons of things I can accomplish my powers. And I need to work on my focus. Seems I've lost my touch." She shook her head.

"So I know gifteds are common where you're from, but why do you seem to know so much about power control? I'm curious. It sounds like you come from a really cool place. Kinda makes me wish I was from there. Maybe I would've reacted to my powers differently." Already, she could feel her resentment of her powers diminishing slowly, just from talking with Rem.

[Signal]

Rem simply nodded his head, placing the knife back into his pocket, he had seen her eyeing it. "I bought it in town, you'd be amazed at what you can sneak in once you learn the measures. I have a friend." He looked over at her coolly, leaning back slightly as she was standing on the light platform. Seemed the girl had more potential than even she knew what to do with. That was always the case, either the more power you wanted out of your gift, the more disappointed you'd be, when you think you've learned all about it though, boom, another chapter opens. Irony really.

"I guess I might as well tell you a little bit about where I'm from, so that you'll trust what I tell you more I suppose." He took in a breath, and said with a bit of pride. "I come from an island in the center of the Bermuda. There, we celebrate gifteds because well... we are all gifteds. Some more powerful than others, some less."

With a kick of his foot, he leaned on the tree. "My father taught me how to contain my abilities, and I taught my little brother, well... was teaching. I was top of my class before coming here with my... friend." A look of distaste flashed over his face. "So yeah, through tuteledge and training, I've learned how to contain most gifts."

[Exxie]

Jodie heard Rem explain where he got the knife, and she admitted to herself that it was impressive he was able to sneak it in. It seemed the Academy was pretty strict, and they were very good at knowing when you had that sort of thing with you. Normally. When he explained where he was from and her eyes widened a bit. Cool. Powers were an accepted part of life?

"I can't even...imagine." It was in sort of a hushed tone. Then when Rem explained his father had taught him about controlling his abilities, and then he was teaching his little brother. And then how he had come here with a...friend. The hesitation made her curious, but she knew he likely didn't want to talk about that. That sort of hesitation. When she used it, it was because it was painful. Perhaps it was for him too. She wouldn't want that awkwardness around. She nodded.

"That would make sense then. After all, doing something enough teaches you a lot. How much do you know about assassins? If you're interested, we could do a sort of information exchange. I'm having trouble figuring out my powers and how to control them. I know they're pretty powerful, but I have no idea how to control them yet. But I do know about the trades of an assassin." She shrugged. She didn't want to feel like she owed him really. No debts really.

[Signal]

"For starters, I know most assassins do not call themselves such." Where Rem came from, being an assassin was something to be ashamed of. Someone too cowardly to fight face to face, hiding in shadows and poisons. Rem knew enough about them to prevent them and that was all he'd wished to know. He was a soldier, through and through.

However, the girl appeared to have been trained in that fashion, and to avoid offense, he simply shook his head. "I can teach you how to control your powers, and all I'd ask in return is that you stick with my teachings."

He had always liked giving instruction, sort of a past time back home.

[Exxie]

Jodie heard the comment about assassins and frowned slightly, rubbing the back of her neck. She wasn't sure quite how to react to that.

"Well technically I'm not an assassin. I could've chosen that career path, but didn't want to kill anyone. Nevertheless, I trained until I was sixteen. So I know all the stuff involved." His body language was telling her that he wasn't open to the idea of assassins. Well then. That was unfortunate. But then he didn't say anything like that, but instead that he'd teach her and all she had to do was follow the teachings. She clenched her jaw slightly. That was basically for nothing. Jodie wasn't sure she liked the idea of a debt. She thought a moment. Did she want to go for it? Not particularly. Did she have a choice? Nope. Well then, that was that.

"Okay. Deal." See now, that put her at a disadvantage. It meant that he could be a jerk for a bit and she wouldn't feel right about the retribution, even if it just meant slipping a laxative into his food. That would make her feel guilty, so she'd have to wait until he passed that jerk level right on to the next level. Shame. But what could she do, really?

"So you probably need to know what my powers have been doing. First time they manifested, I blinded two hundred people at my birthday party. I..." A flash of a...what was that that went through her head? Was it a memory? She shook her head slightly, her face betraying how disturbed by that fact she was, despite her best efforts to conceal it.

"I came here and while I was in the office for trouble-making, I shut off all the lights in the building for a minute accidentally by snapping my fingers. I snapped them again, they came back on. I went to the coffee shop in town, dropped my straw under a dark table, and couldn't reach it. At first. Then a ribbon of light shot out, wrapped around it and brought it back to my hand. I tried to figure out my powers in the gym. Dented a light and shut off the lights in there too. Different instances, same place. The denting of the light didn't contribute to the light shut-off. I keep glowing whenever I'm happy. At New Year's, they were actually behaving and I was able to weave a ribbon of light through the crowd, pick up the ladle and get some punch before bringing it back to myself over people's heads. And now, the tree problem, and the flying platform thingy. So...those are the symptoms. So far, calming myself and removing my emotions from the equation has been working to a certain extent. Same thing I learned in my basic training to be an assassin. Only, I really like my emotions around. They keep me sane, and not a psychopath like some people I'd rather leave behind." She put her arms stretched out to either side of her, palms to the sky.

"Got any ideas?" Then, suddenly, pillars of light exploded from her palms, reaching to the sky. She blinked and brought them in front of her face to look at them, the pillars now shut off.

"That was new." Suddenly, she couldn't see one of her hands. It disappeared at the wrist. Her eyes widened in fear and she started breathing faster.

"Calm down. Rational explanationsrationalexplanationsrationalexplanations...youarenotyourparents." After the hurried whisper, she took deep breaths, finally taking her still visible hand and putting it where she knew her other hand should be. And she could feel her hand. Jodie breathed a sigh of relief, her shoulders slumping.

"Oh thank God. It's still there."