Practice makes perfect.....right?

Posts : 111 Beata Bucks : 12422 Join date : 2013-08-15

Lylee was jogging around the track field, obviously trying not get yelled by the teacher. She was wearing her usual headband and her hair was tied up in a tight ponytail. The only thing that looked unnatural was her heavy mood, which contributed to her worn out face. "I know I just started," she thought, "But I'm not making progress at all! The only way I can practice is injuring people but there's no way I'm doing that." After jogging half a mile, she decided to take a water break. Slowing into a walk, she made her way to her bag and opened her only energy source. She sat on the bleachers and began to drink. "If only my gift worked on plants," she thought.

Posts : 120 Beata Bucks : 12425 Join date : 2013-08-13

“Ugh, running,” Sebastian thought to himself as he jogged along the track, “It had to be running, didn’t it?” Distance running of any kind was not Sebastian’s cup of tea. Sure, he could do it, but he was going to dread every moment of it. The sports he enjoyed often tended to be far less… boring, but the again such opinions are subjective. At about the half-mile point in the run, he noticed others in his class veering off of the track and over towards the bleachers, seemingly to get water as they made their way towards the fountains and bleachers which held their own belonging. He was not particularly tired or parched from the half-mile run, but if there was a way for him to run around aimlessly in circles less he was going to seize that opportunity. Taking a seat on the bench Sebastian ran his fingers back through his hair before and sighed at the prospect of having to return to the field in a few minutes, “I wonder how upset the instructor would be if I levitated around the track instead of running…”

As he shook he head with a muffled chuckle at the thought, Sebastian’s eyes caught a glimpse of a figure just a few feet to his right. It was a girl, a pretty one at that, although what was far more noticeable was the concerned look on her face. This was an opportunity. Maybe he could help her with her problem or at least cheer her up a bit. It was a long shot, but Sebastian had to start talking to people eventually. The truth was he just didn’t really know how. He had spent so long avoiding people to suppress his powers that somewhere along the way he simply forgot how to be sociable. But that would have to change here wouldn’t it. At Beata everyone had a power, right? The whole reason he had agreed to come was because he was told that he would no longer have to spend his life hiding what he was. He was told he could learn to control it without forsaking it. As all of these thoughts ran through his head he realized he had still not addressed the girl sitting a few feet to his right. ”Well, here goes nothing,” he thought to himself before speaking aloud, ”Excuse me miss, are you alright?” He paused for the briefest of moments before offering her a faint smile and continuing, ”I apologize if I’m intruding. It just looked like you could use someone to talk to.”

Posts : 111 Beata Bucks : 12422 Join date : 2013-08-15

Lylee looked up in surprise. Oh no, I'm fine! Thank you!" she lied, giving him a big smile. After a few moments, her phony smile still intact, she thought, "Is it really that obvious??" Her smile slowly disappeared and she looked away from Sebastian. "You're right," she sighed, "I'm not okay." She looked ahead and continued, "It's just that my gift is difficult to practice with," She put her wattle bottle back into her bag and went towards the track field. "It's no biggie though so you don't have to worry," she assured him, "Thanks for asking."

Posts : 120 Beata Bucks : 12425 Join date : 2013-08-13

Sebastian's eyes widened a bit as she smiled his way, proclaiming she was fine before turning away from him and telling her the exact opposite. Sebastian didn't even have time to respond before she ran off back to the track. He hesitated for a moment, entirely unsure of how he was supposed to react to that. He didn't want to pry, but she wouldn't have just announced that if some part of her didn't want to talk about it... would she? "Ah well, what do I have to lose?" he thought to himself before raising himself up off of the bleachers and running towards the track after her. He ran harder at first in order to catch up to the nameless girl and ran alongside her. "I don't mean to pry, but if it something I can help you with I'd be glad to," Sebastian said offering as friendly a smile as he could muster, "...well, after gym that is. Something tells me that the coach wouldn't be too keen on the idea of two of his student's ignoring his instructions." Upon realizing how presumptuous he must have come off a look of embarrassment crept up Sebastian's face which he tried to cover up with a slight laugh, "I apologize, it wasn't my place to speak so casually with you. I hope you feel better." With that Sebastian sped up a little, to put some distance between her and himself, now that he was sure he had thoroughly made a fool of himself.

Posts : 111 Beata Bucks : 12422 Join date : 2013-08-15

Lylee was a little pleased the person who tried to help her came back. "I promise it's not a big deal, she insisted, "It's just I'm so nervous that my gift isn't going to come together, that's all." She was about to continue but he sped up. Not wanting to make him feel bad, she caught up to him and suggested, "I'm Lylee, by the way."

Posts : 120 Beata Bucks : 12425 Join date : 2013-08-13

"Sebastian," he replied with a smile surprised that she chose to catch up with him, "Nice to meet you as well. I'm sorry to hear about your trouble with your gift. If it makes you feel any better I'm having similar troubles. But I'm new here so I guess that should be expected of me. I was told when they recruited me that I could learn to control it better. What is your power if I may ask? Maybe I can help."

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"Vitakinesis," she replied, "Well... sort of anyway. I can only effect the physical health. I don't think I can do anything with the mental health." She looked ahead and was relieved to see that they were nearing the finish line. "What's your gift?" she asked, happy to know he was new as well.

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"My gift?" Sebastian mused as he considered just showing her, but decided against it for the time being, "I can manipulate gravity. If you could imagine, it caused quite a bit of trouble as a child. Things randomly flying around the room isn't necessarily considered standard operating procedure for a five year old. But I'm curious about your ability. It's quite a powerful gift, what problems are you having with it? We both seem to need help mastering our gifts, maybe we could help each other. It might be better than trying to figure everything out on your own, I think. But first... race to the end?" Sebastian smiled and motioned with his head as if to say lets go.

Posts : 111 Beata Bucks : 12422 Join date : 2013-08-15

Lylee looked at Sebastian with a grin on her face. "Haha I can see that," she laughed, imagining a 5 year old Sebastian with things floating around him. When he mentioned her powers, her smile turned sheepish. "Well, the thing is that my gift only works on human beings. So in order to practice, I need to injure somebody or get somebody injured. But I can't do that because what if I mess up? It'll be all my fault." She shook her head and grinned at Sebastian. Not wanting to make things gloomy, she nodded at Sebastian's challenge and prepared herself. "Ready, set, go!" she said as she raced to the finish line.

Posts : 120 Beata Bucks : 12425 Join date : 2013-08-13

As soon as she took off Sebastian followed suit, running neck and neck with her towards the finish line. For a moment he contemplated lessening gravity's effect on himself to give him a speed boost, but it was nothing more than a passing thought. He had just met Lylee, he wasn't seriously going to start showing her up over a friendly race. He was happy enough that he had made a friend, at least he hoped that was the case. Still, his competitive nature and curiosity regarding her gift got the best of him as an idea popped into his head. Running alongside Lylee as they raced Sebastian turned his head slightly towards her and called out while they ran, "How about a bet? I'll even let you choose what you get if you win! But if I win you have to agree to let me help you practice with your gift."

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Lylee looked at Sebastian in shock. "W-what?!" she stuttered, "No way! I can't hurt you!" She ran a little bit faster, despite the fact her ribs were aching. "I'm going to win this," she thought stubbornly, "For the sake of his health" However her legs and ribs began to ache and she slowed down. A wave of uncertainty washed over her. "I'm not sure if I can win!" she realized.

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Sebastian couldn't help but laugh just a bit at Lylee's shocked reaction, "Then I guess you had better win, hmm?" Her slight uptick in running speed was also a bit surprising to him. He figured they were both already running at about full speed, so to see her kick it into another gear at the thought of his proposal was amusing. "Well," Sebastian thought to himself as Lylee began pulling away in their race, "I have an ace up my sleeve as well." And just like that Sebastian did what he had decided against previously and lowered the gravitational resistance on himself. Not enough to be noticeable, just enough to definitely allow him to outpace her. "Sorry, Lylee," he thought to himself as he passed her and drew closer and closer to the finish line, "If I don't do this I don't think you'd ever let me help you." As he crossed the finish line, Lylee just a few feet behind him, Sebastian slowed himself down before eventually stopping and turning around to wait for her, throwing a smirk her way.

Posts : 111 Beata Bucks : 12422 Join date : 2013-08-15

Lylee looked at Sebastian in despair. "No!" she whispered, too tired to shout. She stopped to catch her breath and took a quick gulp of water. When she felt a little less tired, she looked at Sebastian curiously. "Why do you want to help me? You know you're risking yourself."

Posts : 120 Beata Bucks : 12425 Join date : 2013-08-13

"Why?" He returned in a similarly curious tone, "To be honest, I'm not sure. Curiosity maybe?" Sebastian paused for a moment, shifting his eyes away and back to Lylee before continuing "And besides, you're the first person since I arrived to not treat me like an outsider. It might not seem like it right now, but I've never been terribly good with people. Speaking this freely with others is kind of a new thing for me. It might have seemed like nothing to you back there, but I really did appreciate it. So if there is anything I could do to pay back my debt I'm glad to do it, starting with this." Sebastian slid his hands into his pockets casually as he smiled at Lylee and awaited her response.

Posts : 111 Beata Bucks : 12422 Join date : 2013-08-15

Lylee was surprised but a little pleased by his answer. "Really?" she asked, "Wow, I'm glad to know that." She then remembered the bet and sighed. She looked away from Sebastian and mumbled, "A deal is a deal. When do you want to meet up?"

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