Dropping Like Squirrels [CLOSED]

He had been on a simple walk to go sightseeing around Rosebury, but somehow, he'd wound up in a tree.

Clarence's initial intent upon climbing the tree was to get a better view of the surrounding town, but now the squirrel had entered the picture. Recently, he'd decided that he liked squirrels. They were quirky little creatures, and he needed to have one. They weren't really domestic pets, so he couldn't just go and buy one, he'd have to catch one himself. Now, one had presented itself before him on a silver platter. All he had to do was capture it without killing it. That wouldn't be so hard, would it..?

Oh, but it was. Ending it's life unintentionally wouldn't have been the first time he'd killed a small rodent by accident. The problem with his gift, that being nerve control, was that he hadn't quite tamed the ability yet. Sometimes, if his focus slipped even a bit while keeping a hold on a creature - this only seemed to happen to small animals, thanks goodness - it would not live through the ordeal. This is, precisely, why Clarence's mother had stopped allowing him to own pets after a while. He felt as though his precision with his ability had sharpened over the years, though, and besides, there was an entire ocean between the initiate and his overbearing parents now.

The squirrel was scrambling around in the maze of branches above, barely visible to the young man observing it from below. He was fairly certain it had noticed him climbing up to where he now was, but it really had nowhere else to run.. Unless, of course, it decided to take a leap of faith and jump out of the tree, but even something as daft as a squirrel couldn't be stupid enough to do that. It was a fairly far jump.

Craning his neck to get a better view of the animal, Clarence shifted a little to the left. Little did he know, there was a very unstable branch to the left that he hadn't taken note of before. It snapped under the pressure of his foot and he scrabbled to grab onto the branch above him, starting the squirrel out of its wits. The little creature, so terrified of the noise, lost its footing on the branch it had been perched on and slipped off of it. After a series of unfortunate collisions with the smaller branches below, the squirrel dropped right into the lap of the girl sitting below the oak tree, dead.

Clarence hadn't even noticed the girl before. Now she had a dead squirrel in her lap. He groaned frustratedly and sat, defeated, on the branch below him, letting his legs hang over either side. Just perfect. Now he'd be getting an earful for doing that, and he hadn't caught the squirrel.

Elaine hadn't been expecting to have a dead rodent fall from the sky when she went on her afternoon walk.

It was a rather nice day. The sun was out, only a few, fluffy clouds dotted the sky, and the weather was surprisingly warm. She had left her dorm shortly after receiving her placement test, opting for a calm walk around the town, familiarizing herself with the layout before permanently settling down at Beata for however many years she would be there. The town was smaller than she'd like, but she couldn't blame them. A town almost entirely made up of gifted humans. It would be the same situation if her family decided to create their own closed community, just for them. Although, calling them her family was cruel joke.

The blonde had wandered through the town, scanning the buildings, perhaps looking for something to occupy her time with. When nothing gave her any interest, she opted to relax on Dianne's Hill. From the small conversation she had with one of the town residents, it seemed like it was the place to go for a great view of Rosebury. So Elaine followed the path up to the top.

The residents were right. It was quite the view. A small smile popped onto the initiate's face as she took a seat on the small bench. It sat just under the large oak tree. The scene was rather peaceful. That was until a few small thumps coming from above drew her attention away from the scenic view. She glanced up just as the squirrel dropped down from the tree, landing on her lap, completely dead.

Most girls would scream, jump up, run away, the whole deal. Instead, Elaine just sat there, starring down at the dead creature with curiosity. Since when did squirrels just drop dead from the tree? The groan that erupted above her answered that question. They didn't.

A younger looking boy sat above her on a branch, his legs swinging around on either side. So he was responsible for it's death. She couldn't judge him, if she had any reason, she wouldn't hesitate to do the same. The blonde picked up the dead thing by its fluffy tail and held it up to the boy, her amber-red eyes flashing brightly. "Is this yours?"

Clarence had been expecting fright - a surprised gasp, even - but the reaction he'd actually received was far more underwhelming than what he'd thought would occur.

Instead of losing her wits and screeching at him in twenty different octaves, like a woman would normally do upon having a dead animal thrust onto their lap, she stared down at it, turned her head to look up at where it had come from - that being, where Clarence was perched - and then proceeded to pick the creature up by its tail and hold it up in his direction. His eyelids fluttered in befuddlement, and for a moment, he couldn't even think of a response. This was a turnout he had not been anticipating in the slightest.

"It was going to be," the Summer finally called down to the girl, rising to his full height again. He hopped carefully down onto a lower branch and shuffled forwards a little before seating himself once more. Now in better range of this stranger, Clarence continued, "but now I've gone and frightened it to death, and I have no use for a dead squirrel.." He observed the girl through keen, narrowed eyes, still quite struck by her lack of surprise. "You don't seem very alarmed that I dropped that on you."

Elaine gave the boy a look of confusion. He had intended on capturing a wild squirrel and keeping it as a pet? That was probably the dumbest thing she had heard all day. It was common knowledge that you couldn't train a wild squirrel. Not to mention the health code violations, the illegality of even owning one, or the amount of times that little thing might try to kill you. The blonde slowly shook her head. Maybe this stranger didn't know. He did come from Britain after all, who knew what they would consider pets. Either that, or he was a master of fake accents.

Standing up and turning to face the strange boy in the tree, she gave her skirt a quick brush with her free hand and placed the squirrel gently on the bench. "Why would I be alarmed? I'm not one of those... silly girls who think breaking a nail is the end of the world," Elaine remarked. "Why would try to catch a squirrel in the first place? They're nasty creatures."

"Nasty creatures? I beg to differ. Besides, if they're so nasty to you, why'd you pick one up?" Clarence scoffed, and waved his hand dismissively at Elaine. "Puny little fluffs, like the poor fellow that dropped on you, aren't nasty. Vicious, which squirrels are, is one thing, and nasty is another. Even the most vicious creatures can be controlled, if you're talented enough." He drummed his fingers passively on one knee, the corner of his mouth twinging up in a small grin. It had become a custom for Clarence to allude to his gift discreetly when in conversation with a new face, apparently. He drew a strange sort of satisfaction from playing with the naivete of people who didn't know him.

It was then that Clarence began to notice just how uncomfortable the bark he was sitting on was. It had been prickling irritably at his spine and backside for a little while now, but he'd been too focused on this odd girl to realize it. In one deft movement, he slid off of the branch and managed to land squarely on his feet. He was both relieved and surprised that he hadn't faceplanted into the grass.. He'd never been the most athletically inclined individual.

Straightening himself out, Clarence dusted his sweater off and approached the bench. He sat up on the backboard of the structure and placed his feet on the seat. He had also made a habit of not sitting properly on chairs, evidently. "I will assume that since you're here in this town, you've got some sort of freakish power, haven't you? I do hope it's reanimating squirrel corpses."

Elaine shifted her weight so most of it rested on her right leg. Her arms crossed across her chest as the boy leapt down from his seat on the branch, only to take a seat on the back of the bench where the dead squirrel lay. "Yes, nasty. I would never have one as a pet, but that doesn't mean I'm afraid of getting my hands dirty," she rebutted. Her mouth replicated his, slowly turning into a grin as she got a closer look at the boy. He had dark hair cut into a bowl-cut that stuck out in several directions. His closed screamed rich, as well as his posture. Other than that, he looked like a rather strange young man. Perhaps it was the almost dead eyes.

Taking a few steps forward, she leaned close to him, resting a hand on the back of the bench beside him. Her bright amber-red eyes scanned his face before settling on his eyes. With a few short breaths, she leaned in even closer, not taking her eyes off of his. Just as things started to look a bit worrisome, she pulled back and plucked a small green leaf from his hair.

Standing back, she looked at the leaf with a somewhat uninterested gaze. "I wish it was reanimating squirrels," she giggled, flicking the leaf away. "Nope, it's 'Solar Infusion'. I get to put sunlight into objects," she stated. Holding out her hand towards him, she gave him a quick and fake smile. "Elaine. Perhaps you were lucky enough to have some squirrel related abilities."

He sniffed at her accentuation of the word 'nasty'. Clearly, this was not a girl that would give up an argument very easily, but frankly, Clarence didn't feel like arguing about squirrels any longer. Doing so was probably not the best way to introduce yourself to someone. Killing the squirrel had sort of snuffed out his enthusiasm about them, anyhow.

Before Clarence could open his mouth again, the blonde had scooted up right next to him. She was studying him, scrutinizing the details of his hair and face with curious, narrowed eyes. He raised an eyebrow. She leaned closer, catching his eyes. Clarence found himself naturally leaning away as she inched nearer to his face. Why, exactly, did she have to get so close to look at him..? Right as the tip of her nose just about brushed his own, she picked a stray leaf out of his hair and drew back. If her unafraid reaction to a dead rodent hadn't already made it clear, this was proof enough that she was a little bit odd. Hm.

She then introduced herself as Elaine, and extended her hand to Clarence in a formal greeting. So her gift was 'Solar Infusion'? "What, I wonder, does that ability entail? Does it mean you can make things shine like the sun?" Clarence chuckled. He guessed that Elaine's gift was probably a lot less trivial than making things glow, but found the thought of causing something small, like a pencil, to shine so intensely that it could blind someone quite amusing. Imagine that headline in a newspaper: 'Local Teen Blinded by Writing Utensil'.

Brushing his silly thoughts aside, Clarence grasped Elaine's hand lightly and shook it. "Clarence. I'm afraid that I can't reanimate anything either. I'm more of a.." He trailed off for a moment, nibbling his bottom lip in thought. ".. puppeteer. I think that's the most appropriate word." His eyes flickered down to Elaine's hand. He sent a quivering tremor up the length of the nerves in her arm, making it jerk to the side. "Nerve control. Neurokinesis, my father calls it. Are you attending the academy down the road?"

Elaine nearly jumped as her arm began to twitch in a manner she could not explain. Her arm was no longer in her control as it jerked to the side. It was such an unpleasant feeling and she couldn't help but let out a sound of discomfort. Her face fell as she glared at Clarence with bright eyes. The blonde never liked the feeling of losing control.

"My power isn't that simple," she nearly growled through gritted teeth. A clearly forced and fake smile reappeared on her face as she glanced down at his hand. One of the perks of her ability was the immunity to heat, as well as the ability to infuse her own flesh and skin with such solar energy. As he was obviously just demonstrating his ability to her, she thought it courteous to return the gesture.

The hand the boy held began to glow a wickedly bright light, one easily able to blind if stared at for enough time. A searing heat followed, not effecting Elaine in the slightest, but the quiet sizzling sound told her Clarence wasn't quiet as lucky. Even a few seconds was enough to cause anyone first degree burns. Knowing too much would cause her trouble, she quickly pulled away and let the energy flow back into her body and leave her hand room temperature.

"And yes, I am attending Beata Academy, if that's what you meant." The girl let out a relieved sigh. It had been some time since she showed anyone the less complacent side of herself.

The initiate couldn't help but smirk a little at Elaine's discomfort. The influence of his gift was likely not a sensation that many people had ever felt, so it was always fun to catch peoples' reactions to it. He'd been a bit let down by the girl's response to the dead squirrel, so this was all the more satisfying.

Clarence had not been expecting her to retaliate, though. Should he have seen it coming? Yes, but he hadn't, and he'd pay for that mistake.

With a disingenuous smile and a squeeze of her fingers, Elaine set his hand ablaze with solar energy. For a moment, Clarence didn't feel anything. His palms just glowed. Before he could admire the look of it, the the burning set in. Clarence recoiled and pulled his hand back towards him. The glow ceased as soon as he broke contact with the girl, but the skin all the way from the tips of his fingers to the base of his hand was a ripe shade of pink. He turned his hand to get a look at the back of it. Burned as well. He looked back up at Elaine, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Well, you certainly caught me off guard there." The grin returned to his face. In an instant, all of the searing pain in his hand vanished as he switched the pain receptors within it off. It was numb and unfeeling, but it didn't hurt any longer. She thought she'd played him, but in the end, he'd won, as far as he was concerned. "I'd return your courteous gesture, Ms. Elaine, but I'm afraid I must be off." He waggled the fingers of his scorched hand in a parting gesture and then turned in the opposite direction, starting towards the academy. Before he was out of earshot of her, though, Clarence turned briefly to say, "Ah, and besides, we wouldn't want you to suffer a humiliating loss on your first day, now would we?"

With that, he continued to stroll down the pathway leading back into Rosebury.