Lesson 1- Combat

Dragon Trainers In-Training Posts : 35

[[LOR I squeed irl and fangirled so badly. Daphne and Tybalt are just amazing characters and I love them so much xD ~~Daphne/Kaleah 'best friend' plot, maybe? XD~~]]

The redhead was the first to acknowledge her - or, at least, the birds, and Kaleah couldn't help but smile at that. Not many people did that, instead talking to Kaleah, as though the animals didn't understand them. To an extent, it was true - with only certain species capable of comprehending some level of human language - but most of them understood the different tones used. A friendly tone usually meant a friendly person, and more than that, animals had what she could only define as a 'sixth sense' when it came to people. Their judgements weren't always entirely spot on, but most of their first impressions of people proved to be accurate in one way or another.

What do you think? she asked them. While most people thought she had to speak out loud and understood them only verbally, she knew differently. It was as if she had this mental link with them - telepathy, she assumed, but only with animals. This, though, she kept secret. It was easier if people didn't know this; that way, she could converse with animals without people asking her what they were talking about all the time (as if it didn't happen too often as it was). Nice, sweet, I like her, came their answers, and Kaleah smiled, then.

It took her but a moment to place the names the girl had used, and then she let out a light airy laugh. It was one that annoyed her, for most people heard it and assumed she was a typical blonde - dumb, senseless, naive, helpless... But Kaleah supposed that was a blessing in disguise; she could use it to weed out those idiots who judged others and weren't genuine in friendships. Animals, she found, were always much easier to understand. They said what they meant and meant what they said - well, almost always, at least. Horses were much more crafty than people would think.

"It's going good," she answered, her candor showing as always. "The school is bigger than I expect, and people..." she glanced over at the heroes group, "are more political than I anticipated. But I think I'm gonna like it here. The animals are nice."

It was then a male joined them, and Kaleah turned to take him in, raising an eyebrow at the looks he exchanged with the red-head-whose-name-she-never-got. Something was definitely up between them, but the birds didn't seem to think that Tybalt was much of a danger - hiding something and guarded, yes, but not in a mean way. "Hello!" she greeted, prompting the birds to do the same with a glance towards them. "I'm Kaleah. It's lovely to meet you. Are you a hero or sidekick?"

Aurors In-Training Posts : 23

Ah, she thought as the girl began to speak. Anyone who used the word 'lovely' twice in two sentences and meant it were not people Serafina would normally enjoy the company of, but in this case, all she did was smile. She ran in the higher societies of things, with her family being of old money and owning lots of properties around the world, where people never said what they meant and there was this understanding not to.

"I suppose you could say that," Serafina replied, one of her hands smoothing out a fold in her dress the wind had blown. Perhaps not suitable for field work, but Serafina would not have been caught dead in anything but a dress. Then again, her powers didn't exactly need her to do anything strenuous, and it was always easiest when people didn't suspect it was "that-hot-chick-in-a-dress" causing such havoc.

"However," she continued, "I have to ask - what makes a hero? Is a hero not someone who does good?" Serafina paused for a moment, waiting for her words to sink in. "Use your power, Florie, and then answer your own question. Am I really a hero? Are you?"

All the while, Serafina had been reaching out, sourcing out the others, figuring out what each person had and could do. Chaos manipulation sounded promising, but the person who had it was over in the sidekick group, so surely that meant his powers weren't that strong. But it would be useful... She'd have to keep an eye on him. Margot caught her attention, someone she'd seen around balls and events, but not really had a chance to talk to. They were more or less on the same social standings, and Serafina couldn't help but hide a smirk at her power. Illusions. Now that was one she could work with.

"If you would excuse me for just a moment, Florrie, there is an acquaintance of mine that I have to greet. It would be rude not to; I'm sure you understand," she said, that polite smile never leaving her face. "But please, do come back to me with your answer. I'd love to hear what you think."

Stepping back, she turned and moved towards the other female, already putting on her best smile. "Margot," she greeted, fake cheer dripping from her tone. It would be obvious to anyone in their social standings that it wasn't genuine - but she expected no such thing from Margot, anyway. Being genuine just wasn't something they did. “What a pleasant surprise to see you here! How are you doing?”

Professors Posts : 147

Brooke stood at the side, quietly observing everything going on. Almost everyone had arrived, and she could already hear introductions going around. As always, it seemed that all the rich brats had ended up in the ‘hero’ category, with those in sidekicks being the ones she identified with the most. Skyhigh had not been the best experience for her, but as a Professor, she wanted to make it different. After all, when it came down to it, people were people no matter the social standing, what brand of shoes they wore, or if they lived in a multi-million dollar house or not. At the end of the day, they still bled the same blood.

Checking her watch, she noted the time and stepped forward, a raise of her hand signalling that people were to pay attention. As soon as it had quieted, she nodded at everyone. “Good morning,” she said, her voice just loud enough to be heard by everybody; there was no point raising it. “It’s always nice to see a fresh batch of students. I’m sure by now you have been sorted into your respective categories. However, this title is just that - a title, and not something that defines you. A sidekick is just as useful as a hero, and a hero is no better than his or her sidekick. Each needs the other, and so I will have no ‘I’m-better-than-you’ nonsense in this class. In fact, I encourage you to mix around.”

She paused to smile at two of the heroes that had already done that, and then went on without stopping. “In this class, we have separated you into your respective groups because heroes and sidekicks have different responsibilities, and you will need to learn your own before you can learn about what the others’ jobs are. For now, though, we will simply be doing introductions of ourselves and our respective powers - unless I have a note stating otherwise.”

Taking a step back to the marked location on the floor (a small sticker, inconspicuous and almost invisible if you didn’t know what to look for), Brooke took a deep breath and focused. Instantly, she could feel her body changing, and a few moments later, an entirely different person stood facing the class. “As you can see,” she stated, her voice now low and more throaty, almost purring at the students, “I am a shapeshifter. Unfortunately, my abilities are confined by my sex. I can’t change that, but I can change many other things.”

Again, she pushed the image she had in her mind outward, and as soon as the change was done, the new Brooke continued. “For example, I can change my ethnicity.” Once more, she shifted, shrinking and growing smaller until a small girl stood before the class. “Or my age,” she concluded, before changing back for the last time into her original self.

“Now, who wants to start? Just step up here onto the ‘x’, and show us what you have!”

[[OOC: Note that Brooke has merely changed her appearance, and NOT her clothes.]]

Healer In-Training Posts : 20

Ceyal made his way to the first class in this new school. He'd been transferred from his normal public school once it became known that he had special powers. He hadn't considered it special at all. Manipulating sounds didn't seem like a very impressive thing to do although he loved being able to hear the tiniest sounds as well as being able to mute the loudest sounds. Making people not hear anything was rather fun, too.

He was six when he first found out that he could make himself 'deaf'. He'd been in a crowded bus station and th sounds were irritating him to no end. He found himself wishing he could mute everybody and the next thing he knew, he was granted absolute silence. He kept it a secret, no knowing what to think of it. It became even more handy when his parents enrolled him in public school. He could choose to hear the juiciest gossip tale and use it to blackmail other students or he could completely shut out the sound of the teacher droning on and on.

It wasn't till his first year of high school that he found out he could control the the sounds other people heard too. He'd wanted to say something in front of someone and but didn't want them to hear him. The moment he thought about that, he felt his power rising towards that person, blocking off their hearing.

He managed to keep his ability quiet until he made a fatal mistake one night. He'd wanted silence and blocked out the noise of his parents talking. Unfortunately, that meant he didn't hear them when they called him. Things happened and he ended up here. As a sidekick, of course. He didn't mind and if he were honest with himself - which he was - he'd been hoping to be sorted to the sidekicks. He hated the idea of being a hero.

The moment he approached the group, he could feel his power working. Strange. He let his eyes wander around and realised that it was concentrated towards a certain blond girl. She's deaf. A thought came to his mind and he wondered if he had the ability to make deaf people hear, if not permanently then for a short amount of time. He held his power at bay though, not wanting to frighten the wits out of her if his power did work and she could suddenly hear.

A woman started speaking and Ceyal turned his attention towards her. He watched as she changed her appearance at will. When he invited students to show off their powers, he remained where he was, preferring to stay in the background and out of the lime light.

Aurors In-Training Posts : 180

Amerix stood from afar, gazing at the large crowd of students gathered together and almost high-tailed it out of the place. She didn't really like crowds, especially when she was in the mood for some alone time, preferably with silence as her company. She stood there for what felt like ages, debating within her mind about whether or not to go through with this insane idea of attending a school for 'special' people.

She wasn't special. She never was. She was probably as special as bread for breakfast, snow in winter, and sun in summer. She was the epitome of average. Add to that the fact that her so-called power was pretty useless and she was more than ready to leave the place and never come back.

Oh, whatever. Let's just do this and if it's horrid I won't come back.

With her decision made, she approached the group just in time to hear a red-head speaking. Having been sorted to the side-kick category, she inconspicuously inserted herself in that group - it was pretty obvious who the sidekicks were. As the professor demonstrated her ability, Amerix watched carefully. Shape-shifting was quite a typical super power, something Amerix usually saw in books, movies, and the like. Hers was sleep manipulation. She had the ability to put people (and animals) to sleep as well as wake them up. Besides that, she also had the ability to appear in their dreams. She didn't have total control over that last one, though.

As the professor called for volunteers to show their powers, Amerix looked around her. She didn't want to the the first one up, not wishing to be judged by the rest of the students.

Healer In-Training Posts : 33

Brandon jogged to class, hoping that he wasn't late. As he reached the group of students, he breathed a sigh of relief when he realised class hadn't started yet. Quite a number of people were already gathered and involved in their own conversations, so he quietly inserted himself with the 'hero' group. He actually didn't like the separation between 'hero' and 'sidekick'. There was already enough discrimination in the world. He'd wanted to the classified as a 'sidekick' though, but when he was sorted to 'heroes', eh tried to be optimistic about it. He was here to learn and improve himself, not to be involved in petty I'm-better-than-you issues.

He knew his power was strong and it shouldn't have come as a surprise to him when he was sorted as a hero. With the ability to suck the life out of anyone and use that 'life' to amplify, reinforce, and support allies, he was quite powerful. Besides using that 'life' to benefit his allies, he could channel it into a force of energy, creating whatever was necessary, be it damaging bolts or a protective shield. He hadn't yet tested the extent of his power but from what he could control, it was vast indeed. Sure, it had limitations - he had to be within a certain range and the person had to be unprotected by other spells before he could drain their life - but given free reign, he knew he could a a force to be reckoned with.

As he joined the group, he noted the distinct separation between hero and sidekick. Not liking what he saw, he determined to make the effort to bridge the gap. As his eyes wandered over the group, he spotted a blonde girl who wasn't interacting much with the others. Upon closer observation, he began to suspect that she was a Deafie. Growing up with Deaf parents and being part of the Deaf community, he could easily spot a Deafie in a crowd of hearing people. He'd gotten it wrong a couple of times and offended a hearing person when he thought they were Deaf. There was only one way to find out.

He approached the girl, making sure to stay in her line of sight. "Hi! I'm Brandon. Nice to meet you," he greeted with a warm smile as he extended his hand.

Once the professor started talking, he diverted his attention to her and watched in fascination as she changed her appearance. Shape-shifters always grabbed his attention and he kept his eyes glued to her. But when she called for other students to demonstrate their abilities, he hesitated. He didn't want to show his abilities for the simple reason of not wanting to hurt the other students. Of course, he could control the amount of life he took out of a person but he didn't want to inflict any injury on anyone unless they were an enemy. So, he kept still and waited.

Potioneers In-Training Posts : 135 Location : Australia

Melody attentively watched everyone that was coming. She was glad that she had been right about there being more people coming but she didn't know any of these people either.

She wasn't sure if she liked Batsi. The ones with the cocky grins often weren't as nice as they seemed and she couldn't help being more suspicious after that time someone managed to partly mind control her. At least he seemed more friendly than Tiberius was.

"Morning," she greeted the blond guy.

She took a stick of gum from Daphne and put it in her pocket. She didn't want to get in trouble for chewing gum in class, especially not on her first day. Melody was about to introduce herself to Daphne when her attention was taken by a girl with two birds on her shoulders.

Melody gazed in awe at Professor Walter's shape shifting. It must be amazing to be able to look anyway one wanted. Fit into anything, avoid anyone.

It wasn't a surprise that Ceyal didn't greet anyone. She wondered if he would have been annoyed if he had noticed her or simply not cared. Melody smiled at Amerix and wished she could say something to calm the girl's nerves.

Melody looked around. No one wanted to go first and she wondered if the professor would eventually pick someone.

Aurors In-Training Posts : 1

Isabela first noticed her superpower in fencing class, when she managed to make her opponent avoid hitting her. She thought it was luck at first, but it began to happen more often, especially when she was in tournaments and intense sparring sessions. Soon enough, she was approached by Tybalt Wunsch, a family friend, who had sensed her superpower and explained everything to her. She had telumkinesis, he had said. Weapon control. As Tybalt waited for her to smile and be excited about it, she could only remain frozen in place, thinking about all those times she had won those medals. She was nothing but a fake, a cheater, and she did not deserve any of the merit she received at all.

Later that afternoon, she sparred without weapons. Ignoring her older sister and her fencing instructor, she walked past them and had her driver take her to a mixed martial arts gym. It didn't matter to her if the place looked filthy or if the gym was full of awfully-dressed men who eyed her curiously—she was here to learn, her gender and family name be damned. With an awed smile, one of the coaches approached her and had her enrolled into the school, and soon enough Isabela was on her way to mastering mixed martial arts.

It was technically pointless for her to enroll in Sky High. She wasn't interested in relying on her powers, and she had heard from Tybalt and his friends about the heroes versus sidekicks segregation. Isabela only shook her head at the thought, thinking about what silly system it was. It was almost as if they wanted their students to bear resentments and detest each other. Despite her interest in warfare, military tactics and martial arts, she didn't see merit in unnecessary power play, and was raised by her sister to treat everyone as their equal. That was how they managed the hacienda and the family businesses, and that was how they earned the favour of their workers. They were firm but kind, disciplinarian but respectful, and the only future Isabela had ever seen for herself was a future which followed her sister's footsteps.

It was a future that wouldn't have changed if it weren't for her sister's marriage.

Putting on her signature wine red lipstick, Isabela decided it was for the best that she left the hacienda. Her allowance gave her enough money to rent a brownstone in the city, where she had arranged to live with Margot Balcourt-Pendleton. The half-French heiress wasn't exactly her favourite person in the world, with her tendency to mingle with only the most elite of the elite, but they were the two foreigners from their social circle who needed a room, and living together made it easier for them to go to Sky High. With her make up done and her outfit carefully chosen for combat training, they were ready to leave, and soon enough she and Margot found themselves in the entrance of Sky High.

As everyone waited at the field, Isabela decided that it was the perfect time to get to know her new school. She studied the school as she walked around, taking in the practice dummies in some areas and the strange equipment in others. Perhaps all of it would be enough to distract her, to help her forget about Leandro and her sister. Sometimes she'd see something and think of how it would make Leandro smile. Whenever that happened, she shut her thoughts down, preferring to take it out on a punching bag, a target practice, or the best fencing partners who could handle intense sparring. Even then, she made sure never to rely on telumkinesis. If she was to work with heroes and sidekicks, she might as well be good without needing her powers.

She arrived at the field just in time for the class and quietly stood at the back of the heroes group. In front of the two groups, Professor Astrid shapeshifted, showing them the versatility of her power. Of course no one wanted to demonstrate after that—the sidekicks didn't want to be humiliated, and the heroes were all probably sizing up each other. Isabela sighed, already tired of the game they played. 'I volunteer,' she stepped forward. Though she normally didn't carry around weapons, it wouldn't have done to show up in class without them. Sliding the gun from its holster, she raised her hand to the sky and pulled the trigger, eyeing the bullet as she willed it to make a slow spiral in the sky before landing gently away from the class. After a good amount of time, she held out her hand and the bullet landed on her palm.

Next, a throwing knife she had concealed in her boots flew to her palm and glinted in the sunlight. She let it dance around her hands for a moment before aiming at one of the practice dummies to the side. The knife lodged right in the middle of the dummy's forehead. When no one moved to block her way, she beckoned for it to fly back to her then sheathed it back. 'Telumkinesis, or weapon control,' she said. With a short bow, she stepped back and waited for the next person to demonstrate their powers.

Aurors In-Training Posts : 3

[OOC: I'm sorry this is really long, I got carried away.]

When the blonde girl laughed at her Huginn and Muninn comment, Daphne began to relax, already liking the girl. It wasn't everyday that she met someone who understood the reference. Norse mythology was one of her passions, along with many other things, but the problem with Norse mythology was that it wasn't as popular as Greek or Roman mythology. Of course Thor and Loki were everyone's favourites these days, with said deities seeing a rise in popularity due to Hollywood, but Huginn and Muninn? Not so much.

She followed MDP's gaze and found herself looking at Balcourt-Pendleton. Gods of Asgard, her surname was always a mouthful and forever as snooty as her family. Though MDP didn't seem like she hung out with socialites, it was perceptive of her to notice who they were, and the birds probably confirmed her observations as well. Ah, politics, what a dreary thing it was. She could've done so well in it too, with her ability to manipulate the subconscious, but she preferred to reserve her powers and knowledge of Carl Jung for silly things like meaningless flirtations in a stuffy ballroom. Sometimes Daphne didn't know what she was doing with her life at all.

Before Margot could notice her staring, she looked away, not wanting to give the girl the benefit of feeling like she had admirers. Internally, Daphne scoffed at the thought. Admiration was definitely the last thing she felt for the girl. With a wince, she nodded at MDP's comment. 'It's ridiculous, isn't it? They probably think they're the queens and kings of the world.' There was more venom in her words than she intended to show. She couldn't help it—sometimes the thought of the high society kids' existence was enough to make her blood boil. If only she had that superpower... it would certainly be more interesting than bloody subconscious manipulation. Rather embarrassed by her brief show of anger, Daphne smiled. 'It's nice to know the animals are great, though. I would've loved your superpower.'

Someone had stepped beside her before she could explain herself to MDP. Without looking at who it was, she already knew it was Tybalt, who she didn't doubt was exasperated by her choice to stay with the sidekicks. They really were more fun, though. MDP fascinated her, and she wanted to learn how to understand basic animal body language at least. Plus, talking to MDP made her feel like she didn't have to act all posh and refined. Despite the blonde girl's Disney Princess vibes, she didn't seem like she judged people based on their clothes. Daphne began to feel sheepish for having judged MDP's dress herself. All her life, she had rebelled so much against high society's standards that she was becoming quite the judgmental ass she hated.

It was a good thing Tybalt had stepped in to introduce himself, otherwise Daphne would've felt awkward, something she hadn't felt in a long time. Being in a new environment did do wonders to one's habits and paradigm. 'Oh, where are my manners? I'm Daphne,' she added. 'Uh, we're actually supposed to stay over there,' she motioned towards the heroes, 'but that's lame and I'd rather stay here.' At the back of her head, she could hear Tybalt saying, Behave, Daph. Daphne stopped herself from ginning and thought back, I'm only making a new friend, Tybs.

The redhead professor then raised her hand, and Daphne turned to pay attention. What the professor said wasn't exactly what she had expected. Shouldn't she be in trouble instead for moving to the sidekicks side? Actually, would it even be possible for her to just stay with the sidekicks? She knew that Tybalt would have preferred it if they stayed in one group, but seriously, there was no way she was dealing with those people on a daily basis. She watched as Professor Astrid changed appearances, all the while keeping her clothes. It was a strange sight, but something that must be a lot of fun for the professor.

Daphne doubted anyone would step up after that. The 'sidekick' label surely made it difficult for that group to follow a hero professor's demonstration, and the heroes were so full of those people that she could almost see them fighting over who gets to show off last. It was like a corny Pokemon beauty contest. She was surprised, then, to see a dark-haired girl from the heroes group step up. Isabel Ruiz Sandoval, a Latin American heiress. The girl was a society kid too, but most of the society kids avoided her due to her insistence on joining something as 'classless' as fencing tournaments. Secretly, Daphne had always liked her, but they never got a chance to mingle. Once Isabel was standing on the marked spot, she brought out a gun and shot the air. Was her power metal control? Her theory was helped by the girl's second demonstration, in which she threw a knife with frightening precision at a practice dummy. Isabel then bowed, simply stating her superpower as 'weapon control'.

No wonder the girl was always winning those tournaments. Her powers gave her a huge advantage, and her opponents didn't have to know any better. A dropped sword can be viewed as an act of clumsiness; a missed lunge, mere incompetence. She tried to listen for Tybalt's thoughts, but the telepath didn't seem to have any opinions. When no one stepped forward to demonstrate next, she thought, Tybs, let's get this over with.

She had prepared for this moment, knowing that the professors would ask them to show off their powers. For days, Daphne had thought of how to do that without having to manipulate a random classmate. Gods of Asgard forbid he would be creepier than Thomas Astley, the most disgusting fuckboy in all of high society. Alright, said Tybalt in her mind. Head held high, she stepped forward. 'Hi, I'm Daphne,' she said with a bright smile, 'If it's alright, I need Tybalt to demonstrate my superpower.' With that, Tybalt stepped to her side.

The walls of Tybalt's mental shield came tumbling down, though she still couldn't read his thoughts. That was beyond the scope of her superpower. Instead, she touched upon his unconscious, which buried desires for so many things. Power, peace, destruction, creation. Daphne fought the urge to stop, reminding herself that Tybalt had given his consent for this. When she found the small desire to unleash unspoken anger, Daphne pressed her will unto him, stirring up a desire that was already his. In the middle of the field, she spoke, her voice more ethereal and full of seduction than her usually bright voice. 'Tybalt, destroy that dummy for me, will you?'

With partly glazed eyes, Tybalt headed for the dummy, kicking and punching until he made a move to rip the arms off. 'Stop, Tybalt.' Immediately, Tybalt stopped, and Daphne let go of her hold on his subconscious. She had never used her superpower on him, and he had always been able to resist hers with his mental shield. Internally, she too began to feel dazed, but she still managed to smile at the crowd. 'My power is hypersuasion,' she lied through her smile. In truth, her powers went beyond telling someone what to do—it was a power that required mental fortitude, since she was dealing with the subconscious. The side which people hid from their peers. It was why Tybalt had sought her out in the first place—while he dealt with the conscious, she was the one who dealt with what was beneath it all.

Taking a bow, she stepped and patted Tybalt on the shoulder. I'm sorry, she thought. Though they did not look at each other, Daphne knew she was forgiven. It's okay, he thought back. At least that's over with now.

Healer In-Training Posts : 1

Stephen had lost track of time again, playing League of Legends with his former teammates when he should have been getting ready for school. Leaving his e-sports team had been a tough decision to make—they were doing so well, so close to winning the championships, when he discovered that he had superpowers. Even if it was his favourite League of Legends champion's superpower, Stephen's heart broke at the thought of being separated from his friends. Through all their boot camps and tournaments, they had become brothers, inseparable unless Stephen was called home for family duties. Even then, he was with them in League of Legends, always as their mid lane summoner who frightened opponents whenever he used Lux. In Sky High, he would be all alone, with fellow sidekicks and heroes who probably didn't give a damn about his favourite e-sport.

His teammates didn't take his departure against him, and Stephen was grateful for that. Granted, he had to lie to them about his reasons. His grandfather needed him, he had said. Team NYX Panthers had always known about the Han corporations, and they had accepted long ago that someday Stephen would be asked by his family to stop. Still, he couldn't help but feel guilty for leaving them. He knew that it wouldn't be the same, since they all knew each other well in real life as well as during their matches. With Jae-kwang as their new main mid laner, there would be adjustments to be made, a new play style that would develop even if they only replaced one member. That was how teams worked, after all. Stephen leaned back as the word 'Victory' filled the screen, sighing to ease the heaviness on his chest. It didn't feel very much like one when he was about to log out and log into the actual superpowered world.

The class was already starting when he arrived at the field. He was just in time for a dark-haired girl's demonstration, which revealed that she had telumkinesis. Despite her superpower, it seemed as if she would have done well without it, judging by her toned body and the confident way she held herself in the field. The next one to present her powers was a redhead girl in a Bikini Kill shirt and ripped jeans. She was undoubtedly one for mischief, due to the way she looked at people and the smile that played on her lips, but there was a brief moment of solemnity—and something like fear, it seemed—on her face when she commanded the guy named Tybalt to destroy the dummy. It was a look that anyone would've easily missed, but light control wasn't the only thing his superpowers blessed him with. His sensitivity to light made it much easier to see everything clearly.

Those who presented first were often underestimated, as the ones who had the grandiose powers usually preferred to present last. The two girls, however, were definitely underplaying their powers, perhaps out of humility or a more cunning plan. He could tell—it was a strategy the NYX Panthers had used when they were still starting out as a team. Nowadays, they liked to use variation to catch their opponents off-guard, but it was a classic tactic which worked especially well against American and European players. With that in mind, Stephen smiled a little and stepped forward. 'Stephen Han,' he said with a polite nod. Slowly, he began to disappear, until it looked as if no one was standing on the x-mark on the ground. When Stephen reappeared not too far from the x-mark, there was a golden glow around him, though it was a subtle glow so as not to blind anyone. There was more he could do, but he left it at that. 'I do light manipulation,' he said. He stepped on the x-mark again to take a bow, then rejoined the sidekicks group to watch the next person's demonstration.

Potioneers In-Training Posts : 2

[OOC: Permission to godmod Hazel given by Melanie.]

It was all getting rather boring, even for Tiberius, and he read tomes on mathematics and theoretical physics. As if the professor's shapeshifting power wasn't cliché enough, it had to be followed up by 'weapon control', which essentially meant that the Ruiz Sandoval girl was nothing but a glorified fighter. Tiberius sniffed as she took a bow and made way for the next person. He recognised the girl as that redhead whose only friend was Tybalt Wunsch. So she had made it past middle school, hadn't she? With the attention span on that one, it surprised him to know that she could even read and pass exams.

Hypersuasion was definitely a better superpower than weapon control, but on the redhead, he doubted it would be used well. Pity. It would've been better on someone who had a properly functioning brain. The next person, an Asian guy with ridiculous rainbow hair, didn't seem to be any better. While there were many things one can do with light manipulation, Tiberius doubted that the Asian guy knew enough science to utilise his powers in the best ways possible. This whole thing was such a cringe-worthy farce that he almost decided to walk out, until he realised he could spice things up. If he were to live with this bloody superpower, he might as well use it.

Tiberius made his way to the x-marked spot, looking around to see if anyone dared contest him. With a smile forming slowly on his lips, he spoke. 'Good morning, I'm Tiberius Solanio.' There was a subtle emphasis on his name, as if people were supposed to recognise it. 'Can anyone here manipulate emotions?' He searched their faces for reactions and watched the redhead in particular. Her hypersuasion must be tied with some sort of emotion manipulation, but the girl didn't react or say anything. To his surprise, it was another girl from the sidekicks who spoke up.

'I can,' the girl said, voice level and calm, before she stepped forward with a small smile. Tiberius nodded approvingly.

'We could demonstrate our powers together, then,' he replied. He stepped aside to make way for the girl. Frowning slightly, Tiberius opened up his senses to the world, feeling the mild sizzle in the air, the tension and excitement amongst some of the students, the redhead's internal turmoil (that one was just a mess, wasn't she), and surprisingly, the conflicting thoughts and emotions of Basti Velasquez. If he were better at controlling his powers, he would've seen all the chaos in the world and manipulated everything, but right now, his power was limited to controlling the chaos in one person. Tiberius suppressed a grin.

He watched as Basti turned to look at Margot, with love and wonder in his eyes until it was replaced slowly by something darker. Basti was beginning to lose control, unable to compartmentalise his emotions and understand just what he felt for Margot. She had used him, taking advantage of his love for her, and she paid him in return with dejection, humiliation, deception. Tiberius felt and saw it all, how Basti's reality was crushing down, and he pushed harder. Like an avalanche, Basti was falling, and all he could see was that evil sorceress Margot. Margot, who had bloody fangs and beheaded poppets. And then Basti wasn't there anymore, seemingly swallowed by the ground, until he reappeared from Margot's shadow and moved to grab her from behind.

@Hazel Johnson

Healer In-Training Posts : 6

[[OOC: Permission to GM Basti given by Lor.]]

As people came, Hazel observed them quietly. She wasn't one to talk out of turn, although she wasn't afraid to. Most of the time, she didn't mind staying in the shadows, watching and learning things about people from the way they interacted with others. It was interesting how much people revealed, and she didn't just mean by what they said. She supposed it was a side-effect of her abilities, but even if she wasn't actively seeking out what they felt, she could read people's emotions pretty well, making her an excellent judge of character.

So as more people came, she started sorting them out mentally. Labels weren't necessarily something she liked - and she always swore to get to know someone before fully deciding if she'd stay or not - but it always helped to have some sort of expectations when meeting someone new.

When class started, she watched with some interest as Professor Astrid changed shape. Despite the easy manipulation the female would have, Hazel didn't sense much to be distrusted about her, although she supposed it was easy enough to manipulate appearances with that ability. Brooke wasn't easily readable, and Hazel didn't want to probe at all to figure it out.

Some girl named Isabela was first and Hazel hid a shudder, actively looking away as the dummy was destroyed. Sure, it was just a figure, not someone real, but hurt and pain were not emotions that felt nice. Hazel had to hide yet another shudder as some girl named Daphne made some guy named Tybalt do some very not nice things. Manipulation like that... well, it was similar to what she could do, and to see someone else so easily do what Hazel herself was terrified of? Well, it did nothing to calm her nerves. Manipulating people was never something she liked, even more so when it came to emotions. Emotions, she'd learnt quickly, was pretty much what control a person. Hope, fear, love, lust, joy... These things could make or break a person, and if you could willingly change that in others? It was as good as controlling them, and she hated that idea.

But then the next person was this male, and his power made her smile. It could be dangerous if used wrongly, but it was so innocent compared to the rest, and she was just beginning to feel a sense of comfort when a tall, dark-haired male went up.

His words made her heart grow cold; why else would he need someone with her abilities unless his was similar? Or, even worse, he needed her to make sure nobody got hurt. But she bit back her nerves and put a smile on her face. Another useful thing with her power was that she could hide her own emotions well enough, and that was what she did, responding calmly and casually, like it was no big deal.

"I'm Hazel Johnson," she introduced, "and as you have just heard, I manipulate emotions."

And then they started.

She had already begun to reach out, feeling the general makeup of the people there, searching for anything out of the ordinary since Tiberius hadn't actually said what he could do. And then, she felt it. It was small, at first, just a simple dislike - but it was unnatural. She couldn't explain it, but it was an oddity, an emotion she could feel being introduced versus naturally-grown and nurtured. Still, she wasn't quite sure what was happening, until she saw - and felt - the boy move.

With her mind, she reached out, ignoring what was going on in the real world. It was just her and the emotions. It was odd, but she saw them as colours in her mind, and she always pictured them either growing in intensity or fading; the darker the colour, the more the emotion and vice versa. The anger and rejection and nasty thoughts were almost black - and Hazel concentrated most on that, willing it to fade, fade, fade, until it was a light grey, like smoke from a chimney.

The uncertainty grew, then, along with what was almost like a panic as realisation set in as to what he'd almost done - or rather, was forced into doing - and that was what she next focused on. This was a dark, dark red - almost like blood - and she focused on it, and it slowly became a pastel pink. Next, she found the sense of calmness that had started - and happiness, that seemed to be second-nature in him - and worked those up. Not too much, because that would be unnatural (as if what she was doing wasn't that already), but just enough that he wouldn't panic. And then, already feeling guilty for what she'd done, she stopped, closing her mind to everything, and offered the boy a tiny smile, an apologetic look written on her face.

The worst part, though, was that just before she closed the connection, she could sense the confusion in the boy, telling her that Tiberius had not asked for permission before his 'demonstration', and already she could feel the anger inside her grow. For now, she willed it away. But she had already determined that later, when they were alone, she would have words with the male next to her.

@Tiberius Solanio

Aurors In-Training Posts : 3

The bastard had the nerve to take a bow. There was the slightest hint of a smirk on his lips, a smirk she wanted to wipe off so badly. Instead, she did nothing as he said, 'Chaos manipulation and emotion control, everyone.'

She had no idea what Basti had planned to do, but she knew how dangerous her ex-boyfriend's superpower could be. One minute, she was standing beside Serafina Richardson and exchanging polite pleasantries, the next minute there was a dark aura behind her. Out of reflex, she had immediately cast a copy of herself as she moved to dodge Basti. As the illusion faded until it vanished into thin air, Basti seemed to regain his senses. Sanity, warmth and confusion mixed in his eyes, eyes which she had gazed into not too long ago. Eyes which were always so full of love and longing beneath his cocky grin and signature bravado.

Margot didn't know which one to keep an eye on—Basti, or that fils de pute Solanio—but she figured her ex-boyfriend was the safer one at the moment, with the half-horrified and half-apologetic look on his face. She ignored him. He had always been so readable, so boring, and so completely oblivious to the bigger picture, that he actually felt apologetic instead of being enraged by Solanio's manipulation. With a cool, unaffected expression on her face, she watched as Solanio returned to his place amongst the sidekicks, where he caught her eye for a moment and winked. There was no way she'd let him catch her off-guard again. This time, she regarded him with a cold smile and stared him down until he looked away. That was easy to do. After all, she only needed to cast an illusion on her face.

'I'll go next,' her voice rang out amidst the murmurings in the crowd. What was the point of delaying her show and tell? By trying to dodge Basti, she had already shown them what sort of superpower she had. Or at least, she had shown the ones who were paying attention. She cast a quick glance at Basti, who had better be grateful that she was covering up for his humiliation. Being a distraction was something she had always been good at, and she couldn't believe she was doing it for him this time.

With a subtle sway of her hips, Margot walked towards the x-marked spot. The skirt of her ombre dress swished between her legs, the slit occasionally revealing a glimpse of her thighs. 'I'm Margot Balcourt-Pendleton,' she said sweetly, her voice a musical siren call. Instead of naming her superpower, she slowly waved her hand over her dress, the white fabric changing into a deep burgundy. The new colours contrasted with her fair skin, pure and porcelain-like in its smoothness. Her fingers trickled over her face, curling her dark eyelashes and reddening her lips with the colour of Merlot wine. Margot smiled.

She a blew kiss to her classmates, a kiss which turned into dozens of butterflies soaring up in the sky. When they faded, she conjured a French flintlock pistol, which released a bouquet of flowers when she fired it at a dummy. Slowly, all the illusions faded, until she looked like herself again, with minimal make up and a black and white ombre dress. She ignored the obvious look of disdain on Daphne Plunkett's face, smiling at Tybalt Wunsch before she took a bow. Wunsch as a connection was wasted on someone as unsophisticated as Plunkett, but perhaps she could change that now that they went to school together.

Back in the heroes group, she reclaimed her place beside Serafina Richardson. Illusion casting drained her, and she wanted nothing more than to go back to her brownstone and have a bottle of wine to herself, but she hid all of this underneath a smile.

Dragon Trainers In-Training Posts : 35

As the Professor stepped forward, Kaleah couldn’t help but widen her eyes at what the female could do. That was an incredible power, and so easily abused, too… But the birds told her that Professor Astrid wasn’t someone dangerous; in fact, she was kindly, often throwing out crumbs for them and the other animals nearby. When the introduction was over, Kaleah hesitated. Her powers might not be the most prominent among them all, and there was no shame in that to her, but how was she going to showcase it? She wanted to do something that would leave no doubt in their minds, and it wasn't as if she could just stand there smiling at the animal.

As people came up, Kaleah was fascinated. So much diversity, so much raw power. It was amazing to see, and it filled her with a sense of awe. Their powers were grander than hers, that was for sure, but the girl honestly just didn't mind. Her ability could be used in subtle ways that they'd never be able to achieve. A well placed bird or squirrel would allow her to listen in on any conversation, and a puppy could work its way into any secret hideout. All you needed to do was ask nicely.

And that's when it hit her, what she could do, and he turned her head slightly, reaching out to sense the animals around her. There were a few squirrels in a nearby tree she'd met previously, and she quietly made herself known to them before kindly asking if they could do her a favour. They agreed, and she could hear the subtle movements of leaves in the trees that were not made by wind.

Kaleah winced a little at the blatant manipulation of the boy, the birds' tension rising; Tiberius meant trouble, and the birds did not like him one bit. "It's okay, it's okay," she murmured to them. "You're fine." It was a relief, therefore, when the girl - Hazel - seemed to calm the boy down. Kaleah was still on guard, because anyone who could manipulate ... anything of anyone ... could not be trusted immediately, if at all.

One more person went, and then she heard the chattering in her mind that told her the squirrels were back. As soon as the female was done, Kaleah stepped forward. "Good morning," she cheered. "I'm Kaleah, and I talk to animals."

Tilting her head towards the trees, she listened and waited for a heartbeat, making sure they were ready, before continuing. "Hey, guys, you can come now," she called, then lowered her voice and turned back towards the crowd. "I asked some friends of mine to get us some morning snacks. I hope you like cherries; there are some very sweet wild ones in a grove somewhere nearby."

Literally on cue, three squirrels came bounding out of the trees, carrying between them a few bundles of wild cherries, red and big and sweet, wrapped in leaves, and them on the ground between the two groups. They bounded over to Kaleah, and she gave them all a pat on the head and murmured her thanks.

Then, smiling at everyone, she returned to her place.

Healer In-Training Posts : 11

A boy stepped up to her, saying something. She caught a few words here and there - hi, meet, you - just enough to know he was greeting her. She titled her head slightly, hiding a frown, and smiled gently. Pointing to her ear, she shrugged lightly. "I'm Deaf," she mouthed, an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry."

Class started, then - she could tell because everyone's attention had shifted - and she, too, turned to face the front. Shapeshifter, it seemed, and her eyes widened in amazement. That was really amazing, and Amber wished for a moment she could have that. Perhaps it would mean she could change her ears, and be able to experience sound for the first time in her life. But there was no use in wishing for things you didn't have, and she pushed those ideas out of her mind.

One by one, people came up. She couldn't hear what each were saying, but she could gather from what they did the extent of their powers. Some could manipulate others, some could manipulate the surroundings, and this one girl could even get animals to follow her. That was an interesting power.

Amber was dreading this moment. She didn't want to show off her abilities; not only did she not know how, she was shy, too. It wasn't something she enjoyed, having to put herself on display. But she had to.

So, stepping forward, she smiled at everyone, silent as always. With a simple gesture of her hand, she felt the individual air particles surrounding them. Concentrating, she reached out to the ones around a patch of sand and commanded them to move. The sand rose, carried by the wind, and stopped in front of her. This was the tricky part, for the alphabets had to be backwards (or she could read it and others couldn't) but she had not learnt reading upside down for nothing.

Quickly, with another quick gesture, the sand moved to form words. Hello. I'm Amber, they read, and she let them stay for for a few seconds before waving her hand again. I am Deaf, it now read. Once more, she commanded the air to move - and with it, the sand. I have air manipulation.

She let that linger for a moment before sending the sand back to where it came from. This was slightly harder, and she took a deep breath, reaching out to the air particles surrounding her. She was still practising, getting better each time, but it still wasn't anything great. Still, no harm in letting them see what she could do. Slowly, she forced the air to press into her, so that it felt like a bubble around her. And then, she lifted it, bit by bit, so that she was lifted, too. A few feet off the ground, she stopped, looking down at the people, and then focused on a spot just below her, creating an air tube. Then, calmly, she let go of the bubble around her and fell, slowly, landing gently on her feet.

With a smile and a nod, she returned to her seat. Amber knew she was capable of things ten times more destructive - she'd tried before, and found she could remove oxygen in an area and even make things explode (she tried on a watermelon) - but this wasn't something she liked or ever wanted to do.

Aurors In-Training Posts : 2

[[OOC: Yea okay this Connor is definitely the one he was meant to be. xD Urg, he's got actual personality now. Also, heh. Long ass post, I'm ~~honestly not that~~ sorry.]]

Connor had one hand in his pocket and the other fiddling with what seemed to be a small piece of silver putty, no larger than his thumb. In between fingers, sometimes rolled into a ball, other times a thin cylinder, he played with it almost subconsciously, like one would click a pen. Silently, the slightest smirk on his face as though he knew what others didn't, Connor stepped towards the field, eyes scanning over everybody there. The heroes group didn't seem quite so welcoming, and despite being told he was one, Connor automatically walked towards the sidekick group. "Good morning," he greeted, looking around at each person.

He had been just on time, for not a few moments later the Professor had begun class, and he turned his attention to the front of the class. A shapeshifter, it seemed, was one of the people teaching them, and he let his smirk show; she did with her body what he could do with... well, with anything physical that was within his range. It was a given that his range wasn't that large, and he did have his limits, but still, it had been powerful enough for him to be categorised as a hero. He was only now having his doubts as to whether he should have downplayed it; the sidekicks seemed way more fun and way less snobby than the people he was expected to be with.

Still, he kept silent, simply observing people as they went up. He could see the panic in some people's eyes as the gun appeared with that last female, but he couldn't feel it, couldn't feel its being in his mind, and knew it wasn't real.

Two more people went, both females (pretty ones at that). Connor was most intrigued by that deaf girl - Amber - and her ability. Air manipulation seemed so grand, and yet she was a sidekick. Perhaps her power wasn't all that, well, powerful. Still, he wondered if he could come up with something to help her in classes. A metal sheet that would transcribe what was going on, perhaps? It was possible, if he could keep his focus up for that long; metal was one of the easiest things to manipulate, and he could do that in his sleep (literally, too, and he found he had to concentrate on blocking off his connection to objects before going to bed, lest he wake up encased in a cocoon of warped items - again.

When she was done, he decided there was no better time than now to show off his stuff, and he stepped forward. As he did, the putty wrapped itself around his finger, solidifying into its original form, a small ring.

"Connor O'Shea," he said, his deep, Irish voice carrying in the stillness of the day. It hadn't been that big of a deal, moving from his hometown, although at times he still missed the countryside and the people. And, if he were to be honest, he missed the swearing the most. Here, he had to behave, and "mind his language", as if the occasional f-bomb was a real bomb. A word, he knew, was just a word. There were so many things around people that could truly hurt them, but instead of wincing when they saw a homeless man, they shied away from a four letter word.

He would never understand people, that much he was certain.

"And I have the remarkable capability of distorting, exploiting, and generally influencing anything inanimate that has either natural or artificial matter in its genetic makeup, given that they are in the confines of the radius that I can sense," he continued, then paused and smirked at the confused faces he was getting from many. It was always too easy. "Or, to put simply, I manipulate any non-living object within a certain range."

"For example," he said, glancing around to find something he could play with. With a simple flick of his finger, the dress from that female earlier - Margot, he believed her name was - began to change colour. This time, though, it was real. He was, for a brief moment, tempted to shorten it, too. What was she hiding beneath that long dress? He bit back the temptation, though, and left it at a simple colour change.

Looking around again, he spotted a pair of earrings on their Professor - the shapeshifter - and his grin grew a little. "Professor, if you don't mind," he murmured, gesturing before she had a chance to speak and calling them towards him, making sure to ease them out of her ears instead of just ripping through them. They landed in his palm, and he closed his fist over them, reopening it a moment later to reveal that it was now a chain. He handed it back to her, hoping he'd read her character accurately, and that she wasn't going to be angry.

He'd been right; all she did was smile, look at it, and dryly said, "If you could change it back, please, that would be appreciated."

The grin not leaving his face, Connor nodded. "Aye, one moment." And, with another flick, it was back to what it was before. He glanced around, wondering if this was enough of a demonstration, and then decided that they weren't ready to see the big stuff. Instead, his smile fading, Connor very calmly and matter-of-factly said, "That's just the simple stuff. If I wanted to, I could destroy the school. The walls are made of brick, an easily manipulated substance. I could have your clothes suffocate you. I could turn your phones into bombs, or your water bottles into a knife. And that's still the simple stuff." He shrugged, nonchalantly. "It's not always nice, it's not always fun and games, and it's definitely not safe."

He lifted a corner of his mouth, then, a lopsided grin showing. "But if you need your clothes altered, I only charge a small amount - and the first three times are free!" He ended in a joke. He always did. He had to. With a mocking bow, eyes twinkling with humour, Connor left the front, sending a wink towards Margot as he passed her. "Hope you like your dress," he murmured, just loud enough for her to hear. "I could make it shorter, if you want. It's a hot day out."

And then, before she would have a chance to answer, he whisked past her, back to the sidekicks. That had been fun, more than he expected, and he was beginning to actually believe that the school might be the fresh start he'd been looking for.

Perhaps, then, he could stop running from his past.

Aurors In-Training Posts : 146

It didn't surprise him when most of the heroes were from high society. Serafina's question gave him pause. They weren't really heroes of course, some of them might never be. He would have said so but she hadn't asked him.

Arthur found himself moving towards Margot without thinking after Basti moved to grab Margot. He didn't know if Margot had really been in any danger and he wasn't sure if they had gotten Basti's permission. In any case he was glad that everyone seemed to be alright.

He watched the displays of power closely. He noted that Margot's power was illusion. He was much more concerned about Connor's power.

Arthur stepped forward. He turned to Amber and signed I can see the future. He couldn't demonstrate his power the same way others did. Even if he managed to get a vision it wasn't like he could create a mental link. Telling people was the only way.

"I'm Arthur. I can see into the future. Mostly through dreams, sometimes I get flashes. I've studied other methods and those can work but I don't have a crystal ball on me." Arthur smiled as if he was joking. "If you want someone wants me to I can try to predict their future." He held out his hand. "Touching the person I'm focusing on can help."

He remembered that he had gotten a flash of Riley breaking her arm, after he shook her hand. Sometimes he wondered what things would be like now if he hadn't let her go.

Healer In-Training Posts : 33

So, I'm right Brandon thought to himself as the girl pointed to her ear and informed him that she was deaf. Without missing a beat, he repeated his greeting in sign language. "And never apologise for being Deaf," he added. He paused for a moment then shrugged. "It's not your fault, anyway." He gave her his signature grin to lighten the situation before continuing, "So, what's your name?"

He watched as each student demonstrated their powers. Some had rather impressive abilities, even the sidekicks. Brandon didn't believe that one ability was more powerful than another. Each had it's own uses in different situations. Sometimes, a sidekick's power could be a lot more useful than a hero's one which was why he did not like this separation between the two groups.

When it was Amber's turn to go up, he watched carefully, curious to see what her power was. A smile grew on his face as she introduced herself and demonstrated her abilities. Air manipulation was a powerful tool if the caster knew the extent of his powers and could control it well and he was surprised that she had been sorted to the sidekick group. "Nice power," he signed as she rejoined the group. He waited for a moment, debating his next move before deciding to go ahead with it. "If you'd like, I could interpret for you," he offered. Every Deaf person was different. Some were more reliant on an interpreter and some absolutely refused to have one. He didn't know Amber well enough to predict which category she fell in but he saw no harm in offering. The worse that could happen was that she would get offended and he would have to apologise.

When Arthur called for a volunteer, Brandon raised his hand. "I don't mind my future being told," he said with a grin as he walked up to Arthur. This would be interesting.

Aurors In-Training Posts : 146

(if you want me to change what Arthur saw let me know)

"Unfortunately I can't show you what I see when I have a vision, only tell you."

He put his hand on Brandon's shoulder. The first time he had seen someone's future by touch, it had been instant. For a moment Arthur worried that this wasn't going to work. He was too honest to fake it and would be too embarrassed to ask for another volunteer.

But he didn't have long to think about it. The world faded away.

An oak tree. Brandon holding a shield. A hand holding a scroll.

Arthur blinked a couple of times. He took his hand back and told Brandon what he had seen. Then he turned around to sign an explanation to Amber.

"Err, I don't know if any of that means anything to you." He didn't know why he said that. He usually didn't get this much detail from other people. Quietly Arthur stepped back to his place on the heroes side.

Healer In-Training Posts : 33

As Arthur put his hand on his shoulder, Brandon waited in anticipation. He wasn't the type of person to chase after knowledge about the future, preferring to let things run their course, but he thought it would be interesting see what Arthur could find out about his future. As Arthur related what he saw, Brandon nodded to show he heard the words. The meaning, however, escaped him.

"Well, not really. At least, not yet," Brandon said in reply to Arthur's statement. "But thanks, man!" Brandon gave him a pat on the shoulder and a cheerful smile. Since he was already up front, he decided to demonstrate his power. He would have to drain his own life since he could not bear the thought of hurting anyone. Doing so, however, was difficult as his power's innate sense of self-preservation sometimes got in the way of him sucking away his own life. He'd done it before, no doubt, to experiment the extent of his ability but it wasn't easy.

"Hey everyone! I'm Brandon and I can manipulate life," he introduced himself, signing as he spoke.

He stood on the spot and gave two little jumps to calm his nerves. Taking a deep breath, he focused on his life-force, feeling it strong in his body. He began draining it, storing up the life as energy he could use. As the life left his body, a whitish-blue aura with a faintest tinge of purple began to form around his hands, dancing and swirling almost like living electricity. His body also began to glow the same colour, the light gently pulsating. He could control the intensity of the glow, both on his hands and body, but he had enough to do, fighting the urge to stop taking his life so he left his glow alone. He stopped once fifteen percent of his life was gone. He only needed a small amount to do the demonstration.

Before releasing the energy, he took a few breaths to get over the dizziness, the slower heart rate and the sluggish movement of his blood through his body. It was to be expected that his body would weaken with less life in him. When he'd more or less composed himself, he spoke. "I've just taken away part of my life and stored it up. Now, I can do whatever I want with it. I could make your abilities stronger..." He channeled part of the energy to Connor.

"...I could give life to dead things." He sent some of the life into some dead leaves littered on the ground and the wilted leaves became green again.

"...I could go defensive." Focusing on his power, he made a transparent dome around the group of people. "That can absorb insane amounts of damage," he explained.

"...Or I could go offensive." He shot a bolt of energy up at the dome, watching it burn a hole through the shield.

He returned the life back to himself and took a few moments for his body to get used to it. When he'd fully recovered, he gave a gentlemanly bow. "Thank you for your attention, ladies and gentleman." With a charming smile, he returned to his original place. There was a lot more he could do but those were the basics and he didn't want to appear like a show-off.

[[OOC: Mel, I didn't whatsapp you cause it's late so if you would like, Brandon could give his life to someone else, if not Connor. The rest of you guys (well, girls) as well. If any of you would like, Brandon could channel the power to your character. Whatever lah.]]

Potioneers In-Training Posts : 135 Location : Australia

Melody stepped forward. The displays had been amazing, Brandon's power especially had her worried. She wondered how much he had taken off his life to do that demonstration. Years? A few minutes?

"I'm Melody," she stated. "I can see through solid objects. Professors I can tell you what's in your pockets."

Aurors In-Training Posts : 180

As the students went up to show their powers, Amerix began to feel more insignificant. What was her power compared to Connor's? Or Margot's? Or Isabella's? Or Hazel's? They could do such impressive things and all she could do was cure insomnia. Perhaps it had been wrong to come after all. Nobody wanted her here; she was useless compared to everyone else. Even the Deaf girl could manipulate air.

All Amerix felt like doing was creeping away, unnoticed by anyone. Maybe she could go back home. She felt more useful there, anyway. As Melody talked, she began to back away quietly, keeping her breathing steady and even. She moved painfully slow, making sure that she wouldn't catch anyone's attention. She didn't want anyone to stop her. She'd managed to take a couple of steps back when her parents' face came into mind. Never give up, always finish what you start. You are not a quitter, Amy. She remembered the words they told her and the loving expression in their eyes whenever she felt like calling quits on something.

You are not a quitter, Amy. She raised a mental eyebrow. No, I'm just a fool willing to let herself be humiliated by her weak, insignificant powers she thought wryly. But her parent's words gave her strength to stay and once Melody was finished with her demonstration and no one else went up, Amerix decided to take Nike's motto to heart and just do it.

She took a deep breath and walked slowly up to the marked spot, her legs trembling with fear. "I'm Amerix," she introduced herself, turning her eyes to the group of students. Nope, too many people staring at me. She fixed her eyes on a spot on the horizon, away from the many pairs of eyes focused on her. "I er...I control sleep," she continued, her voice unsure and shy. Not knowing what else to say, she sped walked back to her place, keeping her eyes on the ground. It wasn't like she could actually do a demonstration. She was way to shy to ask the other students for their permission to put them to sleep.

She'd just proven to herself and everyone that she was insignificant.

Aurors In-Training Posts : 2

He shoved his hands in his pocket as he stood, watching the other students with only the tiniest hint of interest in his eyes. Manipulating things like that wasn't exactly taxing - only the bigger things made him tired - but he had already spent the entire night toying with things, and it was beginning to take its toll. Still, he never showed anyone any kind of weakness (God - if there was one - knew that never ended well) and instead kept that smug expression on his lips.

The boy Brandon was up, and Connor raised an eyebrow at his statement. Manipulating life was...an interesting concept, and already he was intrigued at the possibilities. The inner workings and nuances of things, be it a person, object, or creature, always fascinated him.

And then Brandon sent him a bolt of... whatever the hell it was. Energy, if what Brandon was saying was accurate, and Connor felt an ounce of panic start to rise. No, he would not be manipulated again. He took a few deep breaths, focusing not on what was happening to his body but the metal ring in his hand, willing it to change shape, willing it to bend to his will. Brandon meant nothing by it, Connor tried to reassure himself. He was just randomly picking someone to send it to.

Connor blinked once and then a second time before adjusting the plastic smirk on his face to a more relaxed one. "Thanks, man; I needed that!" he called out, making sure to keep his tone light. Never show weakness, he told himself once more as the ring solidified to its original form.

Two things were for certain: one, the energy boost had helped, and he didn't feel quite so tired. Secondly, he never, ever wanted Brandon to do that to him again.

A female went next, with the ability to see through things. That was cool enough; anyone who knew Connor would know he would probably end up staring at females a lot of the time if he had that.

And then a shy, reserved girl went up, calling herself Amerix and announced she had the ability to manipulate.. sleep? It was... slightly lacklustre in comparison to the rest, but intriguing nevertheless, especially with the way she carried herself. Connor could smell a damsel-in-distress a mile away, and as she slinked back to her spot, he moved towards her.

So, you control sleep? That's perfect; I've been looking for someone to do that with me. For a moment, he pondered what he could say to her, and then decided that those sort of greetings would probably just scare off the female.

Instead, he gave his fingers a few small, almost imperceptible flicks. There was a pile of sand nearby, and one thing he'd learnt from school was that sand made glass. Soon enough, he could see that a thin sheet had formed on the pile, and with another tiny jerk of his hand, he formed it into the shape he wanted and summoned it to himself with a flick of his wrist.

And then, stepping up to Amerix, he flashed her a grin and passed her the glass rose. "For our version of sleeping beauty," he told her, then laughed gently. "May I call you Aurora?"

Aurors In-Training Posts : 180

Amerix kept her head down as she stood in her spot, sure that all the other students were judging her for her sub-par abilities and her incompetence in demonstrating her powers. Who in the world couldn't even introduce themselves properly? She was good-for-nothing. She stood there, berating herself and picking apart her speech and conduct, criticizing her own self.

So caught up was she in her thoughts that she did not notice Connor using his powers to create and manipulate something. It wasn't until he approached her that she snapped out of her introspection. He held out his hand to her and she looked down to see that he was holding a glass rose? What? Then he was speaking and Amerix could feel a blush rising in her cheeks. Sleeping Beauty? He thought she was Sleeping Beauty? Oh, but she had to be careful. Plenty of boys flirted and broke girls' hearts like it was their hobby. And Connor seemed like one of those boys.

And he was asking to call her Aurora? Amerix wasn't familiar with the nuances of flirting but she was quite sure that he was starting something. She had never been on the receiving end of such comments before and was at a loss for what to say or do. What was one supposed to say anyway?

"Oh..I er..," Amerix faltered before clearing her throat and trying again. "Amerix is um..fine," she replied, taking the offered glass rose. "But thank you." She gave a small shy smile, meeting his eyes for a short moment before turning them on the rose. It was intricately carved and beautifully made. She glided her finger over the petals and down the stem, appreciating the smoothness.

She grappled for what to say. Knowing and coming up with something to say next was probably her weakest point. The rose! Talk about the rose! Thankfully, her brain hadn't stopped working. "It's beautiful," she commented. "You have a very useful ability."

» Auror Training Lesson 1-Basic Combat
» Combat Training Lesson 3 - (Auror Trainees, All Years)
» Intoduction to lesson - Lesson 1 - Healers in training
» Lesson 3 (1st Years)
» Lesson One: What You Know (All-Years)

Lesson 1- Combat

Lesson 1- Combat

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