Luvvly-Jubbly [ OPEN ]

England was a grey country. It was depressing, cold, wet, and washed out, and that was all to it. On the contrary, Clarence had been getting mixed messages about the United States of America for a long as he could remember. Sometimes it was utter shit, and other times it was the dog's bollocks. He'd been told that its populace was egotistical and prickly, but also brilliant. He'd been told that it was exciting and filled with opportunity. He'd been told it was drowning so severely in debt that no one could possibly pull it back out of oblivion. The boy was not one to judge prematurely, so he didn't heed any of that talk. After all, he was a fifteen year old boy from the UK, so what did he know?

What Clarence had believed for the longest time, however,    was that America was a brighter, bolder place than his country of origin.. Maybe that was true on some days, but on this particular day, in this particular state, Clarence had stepped out of the air plane and was met with the same woebegone grey that had been plaguing him incessantly for fourteen years. He'd at least been expecting snow, but no, it was just as muddy and blegh as home. "Is the weather just following me now?" he wondered out loud, slouching in his seat and watching the umpteenth pine tree whiz by. He popped a piece of chewing gum nonchalantly into his mouth. "Am I cursed to stand under rain clouds for the rest of my life?"

Arching a bushy eyebrow, the cabbie peered at his passenger through the rear-view mirror. "Just because it's rainy doesn't mean you're cursed, little bud."

"Have you been to London? We're all cursed. It's absolutely Luvvly-jubbly," he mumbled with a sarcastic undertone, frowning. "It's a wonder I've not jumped off of a bridge yet. I imagine I just might if this weather keeps up." Hazel eyes wandered upwards to the clouds.

The cabbie cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Rain ain't a very good reason to do that, b-"

"Bud. Why do you keep calling me that?" Clarence blew a bubble with the chewing gum and popped it with his teeth a moment later. "I'm not your friend."

"You're a funny one."

"I haven't told a joke yet."

"You tryin' to get on my nerves?" Yes. I'm dying of boredom.

Clarence could help but grin at the man's choice of wording. He loved it when people said that. His friends back home would understand the inside joke behind that phrase, but it was always more fun when someone didn't get it. "Not particularly, but I can get on your nerves. And not in the way you think."

"Hey now, I'm doing you the pleasure of taking you on a three hour drive. Keep bugging me, and you'll be walking the rest of the way."

Deciding that the cabbie was indeed being sincere, Clarence didn't respond again. He hadn't the slightest clue why the man had gotten his knickers in a twist so quickly, but the boy really didn't feel like walking anywhere. That would just be unpleasant. So, instead of continuing his banter, he resumed gazing out of the side window, letting his cheek fall against the cold glass. After two-and-a-half hours of gruelling boredom, finally, Clarence spotted a building in the distance. He perked up and craned his neck to get a better look at it. This had to be it. "Is that where we're going?" He leaned forward in his seat and pointed in the direction of the large, imposing building that grew taller and taller the closer the cab came. The cabbie grunted in confirmation.

The vehicle slowed to a humming halt before a pair of great iron gates that marked the entrance of the academy. Clarence did not hesitate to exit the car and wander out onto the sidewalk, eager to take in the surroundings he'd be immersed in for the next couple of years. The building itself looked ancient - It looked cool. A paved pathway ran from the entrance all the way to the front doors of the structure, and a vast, well-trimmed yard sprawled out on either side of the path. The setting was complete with an elegant, concrete fountain positioned in the middle of the pathway.

Before Clarence could walk any further, the cabbie tossed his baggage carelessly at him, and he stumbled and nearly fell over. What the hell is his problem? He turned, but the cabbie was already getting back into his seat. Well, I suppose I have to thank him for handing me my bags.

With a subtle flick of his wrist, Clarence caused the cabbie's leg to twitch violently, and he toppled over before he could sit down. The man cursed loudly, now covered in mud and rainwater, slammed his door shut, and drove off in a huff. Clarence sent a little wave in the retreating car's direction, slung his bag over his shoulder, and faced Beata Academy once more.

Mitchel watched from a distance as the whole thing went down. A smile crept on his face as the cab driver basically threw his bags at the kid, the situation got even funnier when the cab driver had fallen into the mud, and gotten wet. Well this was an interesting situation. Mitch was sure the cab driver didn't fall on his own. The initiate went over to the new kid, keeping his smile on his face. "Well that was interesting to see. What did you to get under his skin like that?" The string manipulator asked, not caring if the kid saw the red energy strings tied around his fingers.

Clarence had sensed the stranger approaching before he'd even opened his mouth to speak. He could, in fact, feel the movements of every single individual in the school yard, if he wished to. He felt the quivers of a person's nervous system as they walked, talked, jumped, breathed, or performed any sort of physical activity. He could reduce people to convulsing heaps if he wanted to, as well, but that was just plain rude. the last time he'd done that, he'd nearly been expelled from his elementary school. That damn Brady had been asking for it, though, so that was okay, wasn't it?

The initiate turned his gaze to Mitchel. Now that had been a rather coincidental phrasing. Wow, that was the second time today that someone had inadvertently made an inside joke that only Clarence understood, and it had only been a few hours since the first time it'd happened. He chuckled. "He didn't have a very good sense of humour, I'm afraid. I don't think I'm all that funny to begin with, though, so I don't blame him." His eyes flickered over the boy, surveying him. What sort of funny little power did he have? He noted the little red strings tied neatly around the student's fingers. Hm. Such an oddity must be associated with an ability. "What're those for?" he asked, gesturing towards the strings.

So this guy was a jokster? Interesting. At the mention of his strings, Mitch ran his thumb across his fingers where the strings sat. Of course he had some on his thumbs too. So he wanted to know what the strings were for? He eyed the boys suit case next to him. This could be a good opportunity to show off his gift slightly, he hadn't gotten the chance to do so yet. Raising one hand, ed strings shot from the strings that sat on his fingers, and wrapped around the suit case. He moved his wrist so that his hand grabbed the strings, and gave it a firm yank pulling the baggage over to him. So the red strings disappeared, and only the strings on his fingers remained. "Basically that." He responded with a small smile tucking his hands into his pockets.

A grin snaked across Clarence's face as the thin red fabric coiled around his suitcase and yanked it in Mitchel's direction. This was the first time he'd seen another supernatural ability in action that wasn't his own, as far as he could remember. It wasn't anything extravagant or flashy, like a physiology change or pyrokinesis, but was in interesting little trick nonetheless.

"Well now, you're a proper puppeteer, aren't you?" Clarence chuckled. "Strings and everything. I'd like to say that I'm a little like you, but I'm afraid my ability is much less graceful than yours.." He trailed off and gazed up at the trees that stretched high above his head, carefully scrutinizing every branch through slit eyes. Eventually, he spotted a small brown bird scuttling about, trying not to slip off of the rain-slicked bark. Clarence raised his hand in the animal's direction, and with a tiny twitch of his index finger, tugged violently on the nerves of the animal's body and pulled it down towards him. He grabbed it as it came towards him and cupped it between his hands. The little animal quivered in shock as Clarence held it. He looked back up at Mitch, sniffing in amusement. "Nerve control isn't very pretty, but it can be nifty from time to time.. Especially in catching these little buggers." He tossed the bird up into the air and it fluttered unevenly away, still not completely recovered from the sensation that had overcome it. "Would you mind showing me to the office?"

So they were both basically puppet masters of some sort, except Mitch's gift actually used strings, where as Clarence's used nerves. Mitch decided that he had more uses for his gift, where as Clarence could only control someone or something with nerves. "I guess I can." The initiate said. "It's over this way." He turned towards the office, and took a few steps in that direction. "Ya got a name?"