Loud Penny

It was working. He could feel the object begin to solidify. Slowly, but surely. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he did his best to receive the object. It was only when the penny landed near him did his concentration brake. Bad things happen when his concentration was broken. The noise the penny made only worsened this to the point where Chip could not control it. He knew the result from this. Eyes wide, he leaped to his feet. The brilliant light shone throughout the library, and the blond turned it away from himself. Towards where Arbor unknowingly stood.

Blue eyes clenched tightly, bracing himself. The book exploded. Sending Chip flying in the other direction in recoil, his body barreling into and knocking down multiple shelves. Books scattering, a fire took up the area where he once stood. Shelves were either broken or fallen over. Books lay haphazardly around the section. The small teen landed on the ground, head smacking on the ground. Pain laced his body. The small cut he had gotten earlier was nothing compared to how he felt then. Not only did his head feel like someone smashed it with a hammer, but his back and ribs protested at the even thought of breathing.

Blue eyes hazily opened to see a student hovering over him. He couldn't make out who it was, but they had bright blond hair.

"Are you alright?" The voice asked urgently, placing a hand on the young winter's head.

Chip couldn't find the breath in himself to speak. But managed to nod, although he wasn't actually sure that he was okay or not.

"Okay. Do you know if there was anyone in that section with you?"

Another nod was responded with silence. Chip was able to make out a worried expression through blurry eyes.

"I'll be right back. Try not to move." With that, Chip heard his footsteps head back towards the section. He was a safe distance away from what could possibly be a fire. The recoil had sent him flying across the library. It wasn't that impressive, perhaps. He was pretty small. With that thought over with, all Chip wanted to focus on was breathing.

And another explosion. The penny shook rapidly, but was brought to its detonation prematurely, the first setting off a second. Nevertheless, the explosion was still powerful, bookshelves falling and burning in a rain of firewood. Arbor seemed in the path of the first one, one she did not expect, and the girl found herself flying into a wooden structure, it breaking against her back. Her head smacked against it, and the corners of her vision took a knock, a heartbeat of black that seemed keen on overtaking her, but filtered out as she held consciousness. She through a plank off of her, coughing and scanning for the boy. It seemed that part of the library was no more. A fire raged close by, fueled by the oak.

Chip's body refused to let him move. His body ached all over, and there were stars at the edges of his vision. Despite this, he went to push himself up. A mistake he immediately regretted. Pain laced his abdomen, and the blond slumped back down to the floor. Resigning himself to not being able to move, Chip looked after where the figure had disappeared towards. What kind of idiot would run into a fire?

Well, one whose job was to protect the students. No matter how much shenanigans they got into. And this case was these two students. Who thought it would be fun to some how blow up the library. Leo hadn't seen a fire extinguisher on the way there, but didn't want to wait to see if someone was hurt. As he rounded a corner, or what used to be a corner, the prefect spotted a young girl who seemed to have been caught in the explosion. The fire seemed to be creeping closer and closer to her.

Moving quickly, he reached the girl's side. Blue eyes glanced at his hand as he held it up in the direction of the fire. A light yellow shield formed itself there. Temporarily keeping the fire from spreading any farther in their direction. It wouldn't hold for long. Once he was sure it was up. Leo looked back at her, holding a hand out. "Can you walk?" There was no point to stay here. It'd be better to get out of the fire.

And hopefully find a fire extinguisher.

Arbor looked up at the boy, to where he stood over her. She thought it was Chip, some kind of hazy, taller, darker form of Chip. It wasn't, however. It was someone new. How did someone else get there? She looked up, still bleary eyed, standing with a stagger and an exhale. That had to answer his question. "Where is he?" She looked around for the kid, the one she was battling. Was she dead? That'd surely be a win, but she wanted to make sure.

Relaxing once she stood on her own, Leo stood as well. His blue eyes traveling along the wall in search of what could be a fire extinguisher. The prefect almost didn't catch her question over the growing crackiling of the flames. Were they friends? "He's safe back there, don't worry about it. The best you could do for him is to get out of the fire." He gestured in Chip's direction, glancing down a not burning path. "Head through there, I don't want you walking through a fire. If you see a fire extinguisher please let me know."

A frown crossed his face as he looked back to the blazing section. Another bookcase caught ablaze. 'I have to contain this fire...' The shield expanded, covering half the flames, but unable to go any farther. Teeth clenched, Leo began his struggle to cover it all.

Arbor walked in the direction he pointed to, after a minuscule delay, calmly making her way to where Chip was supposed to be. It was only the occasional cough, the heavy inhalation of smoke that proved her humanity. She walked until she found him, outside of the school. He was on the ground, and Arbor watched him for a while. Though he looked in pain, she walked over, and placing a foot on his chest, she withdrew a penny. The girl began to toss it.

"Surrender."

A multitude of books filled his mind. Most of them about what to do in dangerous situations, how to heal wounds, how to heal rib breaks, the like. The vast amount of books hurt his head. Only adding to the pain his body was feeling after crashing into multiple book cases. Hell, he was pretty sure he'd burnt himself somewhere. Chip's eyes were closed shut, and his face was scrunched together as if trying to bear the pain. He hardly thought about Arbor. His worry only being if he was going to go into another panic again.

Last time he had hurt a few students while unable to control his power. Especially after finding out he knew every single book in existence. And some were best left to not be read. It scared him to the point where he wouldn't talk about those. Who knew what those people would do if they found out he knew of them. He'd be hunted down. Which was something else that scared the boy shitless. Such information that he was never meant to know. What if they-?

Pain blossomed on his chest, and Chip let out a cry of pain. His blue eyes opened to see blurs. Tears of pain flooded his eyes as the sharp pain in his chest increased. Honestly, Chip didn't need to see. He knew exactly what was happening. Arbor was going to kill him if he didn't surrender. What could he lose from surrendering? Slowly, his hand raised from his side. The boy's hand spread out in a universal sign of 'stop'. His parched mouth opened to let out a pained whisper. "I give up" As he tried to speak the last word, the boy let out a cough. Rattling his already pained body.

Arbor seemed satisfied. She even smiled. "Thank you, Chip Dalton," she told him, and in an effort to remember it for the new paper she'd print out, she repeated it, Chip Dalton, Chip Dalton. She pushed back the awful pain in her head. She'd have to stop by the infirmary sometime. Walking away calmly, she wondered if the infirmary was fixed from the time she had blown it up.