When Stars and Salt Collide

The young woman took a few steps back, wiping the sweat off her forehead with the backside of her gloved hand. It was already the end of the school day. The Gift Mastery teacher had come and gone with the rest of the Spring students for their daily lessons, but afterwords she'd still found herself in that clearing, working overtime on her training. She'd felt the chilly autumn air across her skin first, a welcoming feeling after how worked up she'd gotten. What had appeared to be a crowd of enemies before her eyes not a few moments ago had vanished into thin air, leaving her wavering around slightly where she stood.

She tried to regain her focus, forcing her body to calm itself and eyeing the illusion master at the edge of the stage.

"You're doing well, Brailynn," the instructor called with a smile. "I think I need a break now though, and you could probably use one too."

Even if the generic compliment was what Ms. Davis probably told everyone who trained in her simulations, Brailynn still couldn't help but eat the praise right up, grinning and waving back in acknowledgement. Once the teacher had disappeared out of sight, the blonde went and sat down on the edge of the stage, kicking her feet over the edge and beginning to relax. Thankfully, she'd actually remembered to bring something to drink afterwords for once.

Lynn sipped at her small bottle of water and leaned back, glancing up at towards the sky. "You've got this," she muttered, smiling softly to herself. "Next summer, you'll have that tournament in the bag..." She was progressing well with her gift, she knew, and it never felt like she was working hard enough; but her confidence in herself had always stayed the same. It wasn't a year or two ago that she'd thought she was completely hopeless, void of a gift altogether, but things had changed for her so much in that small amount of time, whose to say she couldn't be the strongest in the whole school by next year?

It was all she could think about lately. Her only friend at the moment, Richard, had went and graduated, leaving her alone most of the time. She needed something to focus on to pass the time, right? This was better than doing nothing, and made her folks pretty happy.

She finished off her bottle, crunching it up in her grasp and sending it flying towards the nearest trash can.

Kayla hunched herself against the cold as she walked with her hands stuffed in her pockets. A gray autumn chill had permeated the air, crisp and tinged with the sharp scent of damp leaves. They were everywhere now that October had arrived. The forest, a smear of trees just off the edge of campus, had transformed into a horizon of red and gold over the past few weeks. Summer has finally, definitively ended. A string of overcast weekdays, only interspersed with fog and rain, had made that clear, and the usual droning gossip at the academy had already shifted from evaluations to Halloween.

She sighed as she walked, glancing up from the ground. The fields were littered with vagrant dead leaves these days, and every breeze would send them fluttering through the air like birds. In the distance, jutting out from the sea of grass like a ship, was the arena. Well, to call it an arena would be a bit of an overstatement. It was just a raised platform the Bear had thrown together back when Ms. Davis had first joined the school, but it was the closest thing they had to a formal ring.

The teacher had said she'd be there, but as she got closer, the figure sitting on the edge of the platform was just another student. Vibrant, blonde, and looking like she'd just finished a tiring workout. Kayla stopped a distance away from the arena, not saying a word. "She didn't stick me up, did she?" she muttered under her breath, only giving the other girl a cursory glance. Electricity crackled around her head as she glanced around. Where did she slip off to? A sigh escaped her lips as she glanced into the sky. Why did I even get out of bed...? The days had started to blur together, sleepless nights and half-remembered days, and lately, going to class or even leaving her dorm felt pointless most of the time. If the mirage bitch wasn't even here, then this whole trip had been a waste.

More electricity danced along her fingers. It was like an itch that couldn't be scratched. C'mon. Even I need a bit of fun sometimes. The evaluation had been swimming around her head for weeks, and no matter what she did, she couldn't shake the events of the simulation out of her mind. But Ms. Davis... She could re-simulate that, over and over and over again, and every single run Kayla could improve on the past. It was like trying to get a high score. Maybe if she perfected it then she'd get a bit of peace of mind.

Kayla tore her gaze out of the sky and turned her back to the girl sitting on the platform. An irritable spark popped off near her hat like a firecracker. I needed something to eat anyways. If she was lucky, some idiot would try and jump her near the vending machine, like the hooded girl from the infirmary. Then what?

Why was he here? He wasn't quite sure himself. Honestly to him it felt like something told him to be here.. Any time he thought of that something a fish appeared in his mind. Magic shook his head to free his mind of the though of that stupid fish he kept imagining. He looked back up at the area before him and shoved his hands back into his pockets, and continued walking.

In the distance he could make a out two figures. As he moved closer he realized he knew neither of them. He paused in his stride when he heard on of them talk, but he couldn't quite make out what the girl had said. He was still a bit far at the moment.

Finally he managed to get close enough to see a tired looking girl sitting on the stage while the other was off doing something. He wasn't quite sure. He assumed it was the girl who was off doing something who spoke earlier. He thought for a moment, not really sure about what to do. If he recalled correctly the Mirage Master was working with Spring students this fine autumn morning. So he could only assume that the girl on the stage was a Spring. The other he wasn't too sure about.. Though he could he the slight sound of electricity moving about somewhere.. He took a moment to pinpoint the sound which was coming from the other girl.

Then it clicked in Magic's mind. That must have been Kayla. The girl who kind of heard a lot about. Though the only thing he was sure of was that she lost to Hosa just before the Final match in the tournament. The mystery of who the girl was on the stage still remained. And he still didn't know what to do. Damn that fish.

Several different thoughts have been running through the Spring's head when she'd the smallest sounds of disturbances echoing from the corner of the clearing. It might've been the mirage master, but Brailynn had assumed she was long gone, headed straight for the cafeteria. Curious, she immediately sat up straighter, shooting a glance over in the noise's direction. It was a girl, no one that she recognized immediately at first who seemed to be avoiding her gaze. As chance would have it, another student made his appearance nearby. For a moment, she furrowed her brows, swearing silently up and down that she'd seen them before.

And then it clicked, and her eyes grew a little wider. They might not have recognized her, but she definitely remembered them now! Kayla Croft and Mason Stein! Maybe it was a little weird, but after she'd lost her place in the tournament, she'd still went out of her way to watch both of their remaining matches. A grin instantly appeared on her face. They were both such talented Gifteds. Funny how they just showed up out of nowhere like this. It'd totally be rude not to throw at least a small greeting at this point, at least that's what she told herself.

"Hey, you guys!" Brailynn shouted suddenly, waving an arm to be sure that she caught their attention. Once she was sure that she'd had it, she put her hand down again, getting comfortable. "You wouldn't happen to be looking for Ms. Davis, would you?"

She had been about to walk away, only pausing for a moment when she noticed another approaching presence. Her gaze locked on Magic as he walked up to join them. Kayla only vaguely knew him from their brief curt meeting in the infirmary, when he'd walked in with a toasted serial-killer-in-the-making slung over his shoulder, and from his placement in the Summer Tournament. Second place, right above her and the angel kid. The idea of that sent a pang of resentment through her stomach, but she ignored it and tore her gaze away without acknowledging him.

The upbeat voice behind her stopped her in her tracks.

Kayla cast a glance over her shoulder, turning ever so slightly to face her and Magic again. "I was," she answered in a bland tone, a small ripple of electricity flitting across the brim of her cap. Her eyes met the girl's, and she ever so slightly tilted her head. Now that she had a good look of her, she did look vaguely familiar. Had Magic been looking for her too? Does it matter? If the mirage bitch was on her coffee break, then Kayla wouldn't sit around all day waiting for her. She didn't work on other people's schedules.

He didn't quite know how to answer that. He wasn't looking for the teacher. He didn't know why he was here exactly.. If he told them a Fish made him come here they would think he was crazy.. Well to be fair he kind of was, but not that crazy. "No." He answered. "I'm just kind of here." He said. Well that was mostly true. No need to bring up the fish.

He looked at the two girls for a moment. The Stage girl seemed to know both of them. Well it sounded like it at least. She seemed friendly enough. He glanced over to Kayla. She seemed like she didn't want to be here at all. If so why didn't she just leave? He shook his head and looked back over to Brailynn. "I feel like I should know you from somewhere.. Who are you?" He asked.

Why is it that the smallest looking girls always seemed the most intimidating, Brailynn wondered, still smiling back at the Autumn's sharp glare and noticing the flicker of light that bounced around the top of her hat. She was slightly surprised it hadn't caught on fire. Wouldn't that be unfortunate? Instinctively, the blonde made a reach for her own hat, before remembering at the last moment she'd left it safely tucked away in her room that afternoon. Quickly, she moved to run her fingers through her hair, tossing it behind her shoulder in an effort to seem just a little more composed.

"You just missed her then," the Spring called back, her smile turned slightly apologetic. "I don't think she'll be gone long though." She actually had no idea how long Ms. Davis had planned on being gone, but she knew that it would stuck for sure sticking it out here alone waiting. Her gaze flickered back over to Magic, her face brightening at his words. He did remember her then, even just a little. "You might've seen me once or twice. I've been training a lot out here lately since the tournament," She shrugged. "Brailynn Moore."

Still, the other girl looked about ready to walk off at any moment. That simply wouldn't do. "You guys showed up at the right time. I could really use some company." In a cheeky manner, she shot them a sly look, putting her hands together and beginning to crack at her knuckles.

Great... Waiting around with these two wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she'd walked out here, but it didn't look like she had much of a choice, not unless she wanted to miss Ms. Davis again on the come-around. Kayla raised her head a little at the mention of the tournament. Moore. Like the Gift Mastery teacher? Thinking about it, the name rang a bell, and the teacher did look like her... But knowing Mrs. Moore, she would've expected someone a little more sober and down-to-earth. Brailynn just seemed like your average preppy highschool junior.

She frowned, not moving. Their other 'companion,' on the other hand, didn't seem to have a real name at all. Magic. That's all he seemed to go by. Did he just have hippie parents or something? Who named their kid Magic? Kayla just stared as Brailynn cracked her knuckles. "Company," she repeated in a flat tone. Did she want a fight? Just because she'd been in the tournament and shared a last name with the Gift Mastery teacher wouldn't change the outcome. Her gaze drifted over to Magic, sparks crackling around her head. What the hell was he doing out here anyways if he wasn't looking for Ms. Davis?

The Fish. He was here because of the fish. The fish called him here. The winter boy shook his head again. Why did the fish keep coming up in his mind? Man he really was going crazy it seemed. The boy let out a sigh, and looked up at the two others. He should focus on them if he wanted to keep his mind off the fish. Brailynn huh? Yeah the name was familiar.. What was the gift again? Something with energy, right?

Her change of tone caught his attention. Then the sly look, and cracking of the knuckles made him be on a slight guard. Was she looking for a fight with both of them? Surely if she tried to fight both of them she would lose. But if they were all pitted against each other then it would make for something interesting. Though he had to ask. "What kind of complany?" Because he though his mind wasn't acting to well for him to be in a fight at the moment. He couldn't get a stupid fish out of his mind, who knew how well he would do dealing with an attack?

That surely got both of their attention hooked, Brailynn thought, her smile growing a little wider. She seemingly relaxed again for a moment, holding back a yawn and running her fingers through her bangs. "Company," she confirmed to Kayla. Nimbly, she leaped down from the side of the stage, finding her feet quickly and beginning to walk coolly on over to the other two. Once she'd found her place in front of them, she shrugged lightly at Magic's question. "Well, it's not like there's much to do here until Davis gets back. Maybe you guys could give me a few pointers, at least? Or something...?" She began twisting around slightly where she stood, stretching her arms out. "Or hey, maybe throw me your names too at least so I'm not odd one out, here?" Of course she already knew who they were, but she didn't want them to know that. She had to play it cool. <<. >>. And did they even know each other?

Company. So she'd been right. Kayla took a step back as Brailynn slid off the edge of the platform to maintain the distance between them, and without even realizing it, she'd started to size the other girl up. Brailynn only topped her by an inch, but she had the body of a gymnast. Lean, fit, light on her feet, with a hint of muscle in her outstretched arms. "Pointers...?" Call it a hunch, but she looked like a runner too, and Kayla couldn't bring herself to trust the small distance between them if a fight broke out at any moment.

The only thing that bothered her was that she didn't know her power.

She racked her brain to think of Mrs. Moore's gift from any demonstration, but all her thoughts came up blank. Even if she could remember, was there any guarantee Lynn would have the same ability?

It didn't matter anyways.

A band of electricity flit across her shoulder blades and down the length of her arm, crackling in a small formless sphere in her palm before fizzling into nothing. Her power could make up for any difference between them.

Kayla let a small thin smile spread across her face, turning her gaze away for a moment. Aren't I getting a little carried away...? It was just a bit of friendly conversation. Maybe she was taking this a bit too seriously. Maybe a part of her was just itching for a fight. "My name's Kayla." She left it at that.

Her gaze drifted over to the other boy. Magic. Brailynn was a stranger, and even though she'd only really met him once before this, she knew more than enough about this. Taller than them both by half a head, heavier too, but besides that was his power. Sound manipulation. On the surface it sounded worthless, but he hadn't gotten to the finals against Hosa on a fluke. Percussive sound waves that could knock you back like a shotgun blast, or emitting a specific frequency to make your ears bleed or your vision disappear, with complete control over volume and resonation... He wouldn't be a pushover.

But that didn't matter either.

She'd be lying if she said she didn't want to test herself against the both of them. There was always that prideful, violent, more primal side to her, the side to her that could be brought out at the smallest provocation. It was the world's best adrenaline rush, and there wasn't anything as fulfilling as standing over a broken body and knowing that your strength overcame theirs. But there was no such thing as a friendly spar with her. Her power would always be at a maximum output. If she tried to suppress it, it'd just burn her body up like paper. Kayla's smile turned into a hollow lopsided grin. If they wanted to attack her, then they could go ahead. That'd be their funeral. More electricity raced around her body. "I'm not sure what kinda pointers you'd want from me."

Magic stepped back a little bit. He didn't want to be too close to either of them. The boy crossed his arms, and simply replied. "Just call me Magic." He didn't really care for her tone of voice when she finished speaking about them doing something.. or should he say at least something.

He glanced back and forth between the two girls. It seems like they were both getting prepped to fight. Though he didn't know if either of them expected him to join. He would rather stay out of it, but he might get dragged into it. Also he was the prefect.. wasn't he supposed to stop these types of things? Mason sighed slightly. Even if he tried to stop it he felt like they would both only turn on him so he was just going to let what ever happens happen. Though he could always stop it if he wanted by temporarily blinding both of them or something..

"I guess I can give pointers with some things.. But I don't think I would be too much of a help since we have different gifts.." Magic said to Brailynn. Overall the boy didn't seem like he would join the fight. He stood in a kind of neutral position, but was ready to move if he needed. He had his guard up and wasn't going to put it down anytime soon. He didn't know what to expect from either of the girls.

Kayla and ... Magic, had she heard that right? She could've sworn his name was Mason, and Magic was, well... It was an interesting nickname to say the least. What bad it worse was how blunt the two of them came off as introducing themselves. Sheesh, maybe they weren't exactly the friendly, talkative types, but she expected a little more than that. The Spring wasn't willing to give up yet though, seeing as the only other option was letting them walk away and sitting back bored on the stage. "Well, you two have trained with others before, haven't you?" The blonde glanced Kayla's way, holding her hand out as if the answer to that was obvious. She'd assumed they had, outside of class anyways. "How do you guys get so strong but still have such control? What do you guys do to practice?" Lynn shrugged, "Even if our gifts are different, it's all kinda the same concept, right?" Come on, help out an adoring fan.