Another blade in the wood (open)

"and that makes five." The dark haired girl said with a sense of relief. Hibana had planned out to use this day to train. She had just finished setting up her targets. These targets were nothing more than small chopped up logs that were hanging down from the tree branches with rope. This process took a little over an hour to fully set up. Lugging enough logs to this location and then climbing the trees to tie the rope to secure the logs was very exhausting. She had positioned four of the logs in an arch and another log that was a few more feet behind them.

She sat down under a tree and took shade, running her fingers on the small throwing knife she held in her hand. Why does she still use these specific throwing knives? They are a constant reminder of certain individuals. Enough of that. She stood up and faced the dangling logs. The distance between her and the logs was around 25-30 feet. Hibana took a deep breathe and slowly exhaled, Prepping her arm to throw. Without any hesitation, she threw the knife at the left most log. It flew in a straight line before piercing into the log. The force of the thrown knife caused the log to sway momentarily before stopping again. She had done this many times. Not only to inanimate objects. It was like riding a bike, you never forget it...

"Not bad," a figure concealed in the trees said, "for a kid." Just then five daggers seemed to fly from the shadows from different directions, but all of them planted themselves firmly in each of the logs. The one that hit the left most log made a loud ping as it knocked the original dagger out of place.

"I can't say that you're the best I've seen, but you're certainly not the worst." the boy said as he stepped out of the shadows to reveal himself. He had a pale and angular face that was emphasized by his dark mess of hair. He checked his stumpy, chewed-on nails as he approached the girl slowly. He honestly meant no ill will with his words-- of praise, he would say-- but he could not help but be cautious around someone who was just throwing knives with such skilled precision.

A kid huh? She glared over at the boy who had appeared from the trees. How long had he been there? She didn't expect anyone to come across her. " I think I do quite well considering I have only been doing this for about two years." she didn't take offense to what the older boy had said. She wasn't even close to the best. She had seen "the best". Throwing knives wasn't even her main way of fighting. She learned how to because it complemented her gift very well.

"What were you doing out here anyway? Were you stalking me?" She said in a joking tone. It was likely just coincidence if anything. "All jokes aside," she turned to look at the logs and the boy's impressive display. "that was impressive. My name is Hibana, what is your name if you don't mind?"

"Thank you!" he said, accompanying his words with a flourished bow and a shitfaced grin, "And it's Jamie, by the way. Nice to meet you." He followed her gaze toward the logs and raised his hand with his fingers outstretched. "Not many people come out deep into the woods other than to get away from things; even if you make excuses and do other things, you're still trying to avoid something. Same goes for me."

With a slight flick of his wrist, the blades forced themselves out of their logs in unison, swiftly returning to their master's outstretched hand, careful not to cut him. Once they had settled, he turned his head to face Hibana again.

Hibana thought about what Jaime had just said. It couldn't have been more accurate. It wasn't just the forest that she came to avoid certain things from. She had came to Beata to distance herself away from certain people. "I suppose you are right." What was he avoiding? She didn't want to ask such a personal question though. Especially to someone she had just met.

It surprised her when the blades had dislodged themselves from the log and retreated back toward Jaime. "I guess that is what brings you here to the academy. What is it exactly? Telekinesis?" she turned back to Jaime in curiosity.

He shrugged as he started to drop the daggers one-by-one into the back pack he slid off of his shoulder. He saved one, twirling it between his fingers. "Sort of. I build them all myself, so they possess a bit of my life force, or soul, or whatever. I've never really quite understood it all myself. But I can make them do what I want, kinda like how I can make my legs walk or my mouth talk, ya know?" He never really talked about his ability and he was still learning more about it; he had not had it for very long, only 6 months or so-- he was a late bloomer, and he was not ashamed to admit it. "And, since I make the weapons myself, I'm the only one who can take them apart. Like, if someone else were to break or dismantle all or part of anything I build, it'll do similar things to me and my body. I learned that the hard way..." he explained, gripping and rubbing his right shoulder as he recalled the not-so-fond memory.

"Ahh I get it. They're a part of you in a way." she said as she stared at the blade twirling in his hand. Having control over the weapons in exchange for a bit of his life. What a gamble that is. "Since you've shared your gift with me, it's only right that I share mine as well." The girl took another knife from the pouch on her hip. Holding it up toward the direction of the logs. A small flame surrounded the knife. Evidently, the flame did not burn her as she held the knife. She sized up the furthest log and threw the flaming knife at it. Once it made contact with it, the log exploded. Fragments of the log flying everywhere from the smoke of the explosion. Once it cleared, there was nothing there but the suspended rope that was now burnt. "its fire that explodes as opposed to fire that burns."

Jamie watched the young girl explore the log with something akin to glee gleaming in his eyes. "I dig it. And you don't get hurt either, me too!" he whispered excitedly, half to himself half to her. "See, I love when people's gifts are, you know, a bit more than all of the other normal vanilla crap." This was not to say that he was still just as captivated with any other gift that anyone had; Jamie was still having to fully grasp the concept that not only did he have extraordinary abilities, but now everyone at this school around him did too.

"Now I guess technically I could have things that explode-- I experimented with grenades once back in Brooklyn, but it didn't go over so well, for me physically or lawfully. How's that for hard to explain?" he laughed. He had really come to like this random person he met in the woods, though it did not really surprise him that they had made such a quick connection; meeting random people in shady places was how he had made some of his best friends honestly.

"So, how long have you been at the school? Or are you just starting out, like me?" He figured it was a harmless enough personal question to ask, and hopefully enough to ease them into more in-depth conversation.

"Oh, I know. Explosions are quite the pain. When I was younger I nearly blew up the entire kitchen of my home! Funny part is, it was because I thought I could heat up my chicken nuggets. Thankfully, my aunt has the same gift as me. She taught me how to control it better. Now for your case, I would imagine you wouldn't want to create something as a grenade since its natural use is to explode." she laughed. She hadn't made many friends since she arrived. It felt good to talk to someone and laugh. It reminded her of her...friends.

"hmm I'm still fairly new to the academy. I've only been here for a couple of weeks. Still waiting to get sorted into one of the four dorms. How do you like the academy so far?"

"It's not so bad. It's a whole new world for me; I didn't even do a whole lot of public school before now, so being full time will take some getting used to. But it's a good thing I actually like learning, haha." he laughed a little nervously and absent mindedly kicked at a tuft of foliage.

"I don't know about my dorm situation just yet, but is it just me or is living with a bunch of strangers weird? No one's been anything but nice since I've gotten here, but that just makes me more nervous..." he rubbed the back of his neck anxiously and his voice held a slight tremor at the end of his words.

"Yeah, I suppose it is strange..." the tone of her voice softened with each word. It wasn't the first time she had come in contact with other people with gifts. She even associated herself with such people and they par took in various "activities". Her mind began to wander off into the past. After a few seconds of silence, she collected herself before focusing back on Jaime. "What surprises me more about this school is that the students seem to be rather peaceful so far. You would think an academy for teens with various gifts would have problems left and right. Although I'm sure not everyone here is a model student. I can understand if that seems a bit unsettling. Annnnnd if you ever need any help or anything, don't hesistate to ask me." she said with a proud smile. Extending her arm and hand out toward the boy. A hand shake may have been considered unconventional for a girl, but to Hibana, it was a sign of mutual respect and agreement.

Jamie's attention was brought back with Hibana's words, which succeeded in bringing him a little comfort. He processed her offer before smiling genuinely and giving her extended had a few very firm shakes. "Yeah, that sounds like a plan." His eyes were filled with emotion; he knew this girl could relate to him, and, in the short life he had lived so far, he had found it so hard to find someone who could even begin to comprehend where he was coming from. People like them had practically lived a lifetime in only a matter of years, and had experienced things that no one would ever experience themselves-- let alone things no one their age should ever experience themselves.
"So. Um, you were training, I suppose? You know, before I so rudely interrupted you?" he asked with a chuckle as he turned his head to glance at the logs that remained hanging, swinging ever so slightly with the limbs they were attached too as the breeze swept through the higher parts of the trees.