Shadows [open]

Stavros nodded to Lucy in acknowledgement, which was not given to Elliot's words. What Lucy wanted to do was of no concern to him and whether or not it'd be a bad thing to do was irrelevant. If someone wanted help with anything, regardless of how good or bad it was, morality would have no bearing on his decision. Out of the corner of his eye, Stavros took notice of Lucy's very short-lived peace sign. Wonder if Elliot took notice as well? Something that may have been easily noticed to Stavros wasn't always so obvious to others. He'd always had keen eyes... and keen ears and a keen nose. Not only was he naturally observant, but his gift allowed him to consciously pick up on things that for most people would only be noticed subconsciously.

"Why did you try and hide the peace sign you made with your fingers, Lucy? Do you have a problem with doing it?"

Err, soda wasn't exactly a healthy solution to an unhealthy habit. "Maybe some water and a nap would be better..." he muttered, almost under his breath. He'd barely caught Lucy's small aborted gesture that unraveled before it could unfurl, but his out of place smile wavered even more with Stavros' monotone commentary. Wasn't it a bit awkward to throw it out in the open like that? It felt a bit like she was putting the poor girl on blast or something. He just bit his tongue, wishing more and more he could fade out of this conversation.

So he saw. Lucy blushed and she made the gesture again, low to her lap, unceremoniously displaying it in a quick flash. "It's nothing, man," the girl said, flipping her hand with an inspective nonchalance, like she was only checking her nails or finding an ink stain. "Just an Asian thing. It's kinda lame, tee bee eich." The girl laughed the same soft giggle she gave earlier, a degree of rigidness riding on it, and she began twiddling her thumbs between her knees, doing her best to change the subject with a raise in pitch. "Sooo, you guys initiates?" She, of course, was, with her bags compacted at her feet, and Elliot seemed to have luggage of his own. "What are your powers?"

"No, I have been here for quite some time. My gift enables me to have an increasingly powerful degree of control over my own mind, which enables me to have superhuman intelligence and allows me to resist anything mind-affecting if I choose to do so. What are your gifts?" Stavros was legitimately curious about both of their gifts. Ever since he'd arrived at the academy gifts has begun to fascinate him, and he could always occupy himself studying them, if only he could find someone willing to be studied in the first place. Maybe these two...?

Lucy seemed to brush past it just fine, but he couldn't help but note the new color to her cheeks, the awkward way she moved to correct herself. Sheesh. "Just got here," he explained, eager to steer the subject back to something a little more... well, normal. It looked like they were both new then, and Stavros was the real veteran between them. Funny how that worked, considering she looked the youngest out of all of them. This place was already pretty weird.

Powers.

There was a sudden trace of tension lined across his face, but it was gone as soon as it came. He half turned away, like he was trying to laugh it off, like it wasn't a big deal. An innocent question. Just something to break the ice. Of course it was going to come up sooner or later, but it didn't make things any easier. "It's... pretty complicated." It wasn't anything flashy, no geokinesis or enhanced speed or anything typical like that. Elliot rubbed the back of his neck, smiling. "Something like super intelligence sounds a lot more useful. I wish I'd lucked out on something like that."

Pretty complicated. Lucy did not know Elliot enough to press for answers, and given the fast way he avoided it, perhaps it was for the best. And the super intelligence thing seemed lame; she didn't remember Einstein ever being gifted, and he had that. As the two told their powers, there seemed to be an air of silence in the conclusion, and Lucy realized she hadn't told her's! The girl popped up and gave a silent Oh. "My gift is finger guns," she told them, a bit abashed, raising her hand in the shape of a pistol and trying to fight back the urge to demonstrate with a bang bang. "You know, like when you play cops and robbers as a kid. Well, when I played, I burned a hole through a fire hydrant in Seoul." The girl rubbed the back of her neck, then the front. "Police thought I got my hands on some kind of superweapon from the North Koreans. My hal-mo-nee thought I was a commie for a little while."

So their gifts were being able to fire from their fingers and... something else. Finger guns didn't exactly come off as interesting to study, and as for whatever Elliot's gift was... he'd have to wait and see. Judging from what Lucy said, she must be Korean as well. Not that it much mattered, of course. Stavros looked between the two. There wasn't much to add on to that.

A fire hydrant. Like, straight through a fire hydrant? "E-eh...?" Wait, did she get arrested for that? Elliot swallowed, his smile twitching. "Rough... We've all been there." For gifted, stories like that were common. Freezing your gloves to your hands, going invisible and getting lost in a supermarket, for people like that, it was all part of growing up. You could call it mundane absurdity. It was something everyone went through. His story wasn't as cute or innocent, and he'd never been accused of being a communist, but he could relate on a basic level. But finger guns that could blast steel apart... "I guess that's one way to discover your gift," he murmured.

His eyes flicked over to Stavros, silent for the moment. "But hey, since we're new, maybe you could show us around a bit? I have no idea how to get around this place... It's kinda intimidating."

"Yeah. The boys were all scared of me." Lucy gave a looser laugh, her loser laugh, catching the twitchy expression on Elliot's face. She was still scaring the boys, it seemed. The girl stretched, bringing her feet up and her hands over her head in an arch, yawning and pushing a wave of fatigue back. Maybe she wasn't that fantastically alert after all. "Yeah, c'mon. May need to find the beds, myself."

She suspected that if she found these beds, all her lethargy would sink away. It always seemed to work that way. Lucy stood, rubbing her eyes the best she could without rubbing off the pink of the makeup. She went to her hands, massaging them, rubbing her sore fingers and preparing for another heavy lift, like there were 200 pounds in front of her. If anything, she needed a bed to lay her stuff on. Then, maaaaaybe the tour could start.

Stavros nodded to the two, and started walking off in the direction of the initiate dorms. After that he could simply show them around the rest of the school. The dorms seemed like a good place to start, since they'd be able to set down their belongings instead of having to take them along with them. Not to mention that Lucy specifically seemed like she wanted a place to rest. Was it that soda didn't work to keep her up, or that she simply hadn't had any, or at least not enough, to drink? And what of Elliot's gift? Stavros couldn't help but be somewhat intrigued. He wanted to know more about it, especially if it was as complicated as Elliot was saying.

It looked like they all agreed. He stepped in after their guide, following him toward the looming building that dominated the open yard. Before the flight out of Rhode Island, he'd heard some of the basics. They'd be staying in some special dorms for at least a week, along with a couple of the other new arrivals. Bunking with eight other people wasn't exactly his idea of prime living conditions, but it was better than nothing, right? Without a word, Elliot glanced over and lifted Lucy's bag out of her hands, a weak smile on his face. His sister would've been mad if he didn't help a lady with her bags.

Lucy was taken aback by Elliot's action. "I've got it, man, don't worry--" she ensured, but lifting her other bag, she realized how heavy it was on its own. The girl breathed a labored grunt and quickly reiterated, "All right, maybe you get that one, and this one's mine." Smiling, she flipped the bag over her shoulder to claim her burden, and gestured for the others to lead the way, quickly digging into her pocket. She checked her phone and saw a missed call. Her boyfriend. Her lips tightened.

Lucy put her phone back into her pocket.