Calm before the storm2

[rei]

Finally, a place that wasn't swarming people !
He had been all over this school looking for
somewhere quiet where he didn't feel like
killing everything. No such luck until now,
of course. Why did he come to this school again ?
To work on his skills, he supposed. It definitely
wasn't to deal with these people.

He found a rather nice rock, and after making
sure it wasn't some creature, he put his back
against it and simply stared out at the lake.
It was almost glass-like, perfectly quiet and
still. He was thinking he would be here often.
Even the dorms weren't quiet. He hadn't met
his roommates yet, but he could only imagine
what they were like. Please let them be into
training. Or at least not nosy...

Another thing that irritated him was he still
hadn't seen his sister yet. Where was she ?
Stuck in a class or something ? He had spent
a big chunk of the day walking around the
grounds and not a sign of her. How hard
was she to see, she wore all white after all.
He cringed slightly. He hated white. It was
far too bright and well... white ! How else
did you explain white ?

He really should have brought his book..

[ωΘĿƒ]

Caroline's bare feet thudded against the ground as she ran. She really didn't know why she was running. She wasn't in any trouble, and she wasn't energetic or anything. She just felt like running because she wanted to. Or, maybe it had been that really annoying last hour class she'd been to? She had taken a test, and it had been sooo boring! She just needed ot escape from that now, and the lake was a perfect place to go.

Wearing only a bathing suit, and clutching her towel and change of clothes in her arms, she reached the rocky tree line in an instant, throwing her stuff onto a rock next to her and splashing lie crazy into the water. Three steps in, it got really deep, and she dove into the nice refreshing springwater, making a satisfying splash as she careened underwater. She might have saw some kid on the shore, or it could have just been a rock or something. Caroline didn't care, because nothing - not even rabid animals - would stop her from having her swim!
[/size]

[rei]

Well, he knew the peace couldn't
last for long... He wasnt surprised
when he saw a girl jump into the
lake for a swim. It had only been
a matter of time. He raised an eyebrow
as she completely ignored him.
That was a nice change. At least
she wasn't trying to hang on him.
He sighed, running his hands through
his blond spikes before casually leaning
back fully on the large rock he was
resting against.

Hmm, too bad he was too paranoid.
This would have been an excellent
time for a nap.His mind ran through
a thousand things a second as he
looked up at the sky. He enjoyed
days with no clouds. Simply blue.
If only all things were that simple..
Speaking of which, his classes started
tommorrow. Oh joy... Well, he was
looking forward to his Necrology and
Advanced Witchcraft.. and Future Leaders
would be tolerable.. However, he loathed
English and Physics. Hmm, him hating
something.. How unusual.

His gaze flickered to the girl briefly
before returning his gaze to the
sky. He was thinking of leaving, since
he didn't feel like being accused of
spying on her or some crap like that.
He was thinking of how far away it
was from his rock, to the entrance.
She hadn't noticed him there anyway,
so maybe he could quickly slip
away unnoticed.... but if he tried
to leave... he would seem guilty.
So, he just layed on his rock,
wondering if she would even see him.

[ωΘĿƒ]

Caroline swam to the deep sandy bottom of the lake, pressing her toes into the nice soft silty soil at the bottom. She liked to just sit there, at the very bottom, and think. She could hold her breath a long time, and she had never had any problems with swimming, though she never did remember a time when she had any classes.

Swimming was just something that came naturally, she guessed. Like everything else in life!

She remembered she would often scare her parents when she went underwater in their pool back home. She would just sit there all still and quiet, not moving at all, and they would freak out and call an ambulance or something. Then she'd have to be dragged dripping wet out of the pool by some guy trying to give her CPR. How gross... Caroline shut her eyes tightly against the thought, and quietly let the sounds of the water calm her.

Hey, wait a minute... If that thing she saw was actually a person, wouldn't they think she was drowning too...?

Well, that was their problem, she thought angrily. She wanted to think, and if jumping in a lake was the only way she was going to do that, then she'd gladly make everyone think she was stupid and couldn't swim!

And so she sat, completely motionless. The small, strange sounds of the fish and the water were soothing to hear.
[/size]

[rei]

Maybe she was suicidal ? She hadn't come up
for a while and he was starting think she drowned
or something. Well, if he got in the water and
went to look for her, and she wasn't
drowning, she'd probably start attacking
him or something like that. Honestly though,
who sat at the bottom of a lake and
expected people not to look for her ?

Weird.

He sat up on his rock thinking about
his options. Go looking for her or
leave. He supposed it was common
courtesy to at least look for her,
but he didn't enjoy the water enough
to go diving in it... and then again if
his sister found out he just left her
there... an irritated huff was heard as
he glared at the water's surface.

He was just going to have to jump
in wasn't he ?

He threw off his overjacket leaving
him in his sleeveless turtleneck. If
she was doing this for attention he
would be royally ticked. His shoes
were next as he waded slightly into
the shore of the water. It wasn't
bad, but it could be better. He went to
wade a bit more and his foot unfortunately
landed in a hole and he fell the rest
of the way.

"Give me a break !"

It wasn't a loud exclamation, but
he supposed loud enough for
the girl to hear him through the
water. If the splash hadn't already
done that... Anyway, moving on
with his life ! He swam down
easier than he expected and saw her
sitting in the bottom of the lake.

She had to be suicidal.

He stood on the bottom, firmly planting
his feet in the sand somewhat surprised
how good it felt. He moved to softly tug
her arm to see if she moved. He hoped
she didnt hit him..

[ωΘĿƒ]

Caroline jumped when something touched her, coughing up a big portion of her air. Oh great! now she had to go get some more soon! She looked around, trying to see what had scared her. It was... a guy? At the bottom of the lake?

Well, she was one to talk. She was sitting there randomly too... But why had he just stumbled in all of a sudden? He wasn't very graceful. He'd tripped in a hole before he got to her, and now he was wearing his shirt and everything. He'd get really cold if the sun set before he found a change of clothes.

Caroline suddenly felt bad for the guy. He had probably thought she was crazy or something, and was just being nice by trying to save her. Still, he was really annoying for being here at the wrong time. She was trying to be alone, after all!

Looking at the guy, she crossed her arms and pointed to the sky above, signaling that she was going up for air now and he didn't have to drag her to the surface. After that, she quickly and easily pushed off the bottom, gliding gently up and breaking the surface, breathing in a nice lungful of air and waiting for the guy to come up after her.

Man... She hated it when people tried to "rescue" her.
[/size]

[rei]

Hmph, she was just weird.
He didn't have to go in the
stupid water to save her
after all. She was probably
doing some strange kind of
yoga for all he knew !

Absolutely ridiculous.

He appeared at the shore
of the lake, exiting far more
gracefully than he had entered.
He had completed his good deed,
and now he planned to dry off
in the remaining sun. He planted
himself on his rock, his eyes
flickering to the girl bobbing at
the surface, not bothering to
look away. He should have just
left when he had the chance..

He sighed feeling the wind
bringing him a chill. Not
just regular cold, down to
the bone cold. He was
a pheonix ! Thunder or not, he
hated the water. Honestly,
what was with him trying
to be nice today..?

[ωΘĿƒ]

Caroline grimaced at him, trying to think of something to say.

"Um, sorry about that... I just wanted a little peace and quiet..."

Yeah, and now she was going to be put on suicide watch, again[. What was life coming to these days when a nice girl like her couldn't go for a little dip in peace? She bobbed there a little while, looking at the guy shiver. She really did feel bad. She kind of didn't mean to get him soaked. She had thought that he'd do something stupid and she'd get to yell at him for it, but he didn't really try to be heroic or anything. He was just sitting there now...

Doing a little back bend in the water and spiraling under the surface, Caroline swam her way back to shore. She didn't feel like swimming anymore. She'd had her dip, and it had been nice while it lasted, but now it was just too crowded here.

Picking up her stuff, she looked at the guy skeptically. He didn't look like he handled cold all that well to begin with...

"Um, do you want my towel...?" Caroline smiled weekly, trying to be nice. She would change into her normal clothes anyways, so she didn't need the towel.

"You might as well use it," She laughed, "if you don't want to be a Popsicle."
[/color]

[rei]

Hmm, how ironic. She wanted
peace and quiet. So did he.
That was the reason he had
ventured this far into the
school grounds. All for something
he could never seem to attain.

"So did I..that's why I came out here."

All he did was make sure she wan't
drowning. It's not like got the Nobel
Peace Prize or something. He ruffled
his wet hair into spikes again and
tried not to think about the cold.
If he wasn't afraid of getting
electrocuted he would have used
magic, and also the fact that
she was a human and he didn't
know her that well made that a
definite 'no'.

He blinked a couple of times as
she offered him her towel. Why
was she offering him her towel?
Was she going to brag about he
used it ? Or make some kind of
weird shrine with it ? Maybe he was
being paranoid..probably.

"Sure...thanks.."

He didn't feel like looking like
a Popsicle today.

[ωΘĿƒ]

Caroline handed him the towel, yanking on her jeans and quickly pulling the t-shirt she'd brought with her down over her hair. She was already starting to dry -her bathing suit was supposed to do that really quickly - and now all she had was her big green jacket. She slung this over her shoulders, to keep them warm and get some padding between her wet hair and her back. After doing all this, she sighed. So much for her day... What was she going to do now? She had planned to spend at least an hour here, and now her plans were all over.

Caroline didn't not like having plans. It made her feel lazy and bored. Reverting to her usual curiosity, she absentmindedly asked the guy a question. She always had to talk when someone was around. She didn't know why, but she felt like it was her job to. Besides, the least she could do after getting him soaked was to spark up a little conversation and let him know she wasn't going to randomly try to drown herself.

"Funny, isn't it? We both came out for peace, and now we both can't have it. You know, I never could figure out why people can never have peace when there's someone else around..."

She slung her hair over one of her shoulders, ringing it out. It would dry by the time she got bac kot the dorms, she measured. Wind was low today, but she would be walking, and that would help with the evaporation. She did the calculations in her head, and nodded to herself in agreement over her work. Yup. It would just be dry when she got back.

[rei]

He made a slight agreeing
noise as he briskly dried
himself with the towel.
He still was expecting her
to explode in either anger
or clingy-ness. Even though
she appeared nice enough,
she could be hiding her
'love' for him. He wasn't
conceited, every girl other
than his sister and Ailyth
had been completely
annoying ever since
he came. He seriously
just wanted to fling them
off, but he had to ignore
them or they would be
like 'OMG he noticed us !'

Not something he wished to
occur..

[ωΘĿƒ]

After Caroline was done squeezing out her hair, she looked up at the guy, frowning. He really didn't say much... Maybe he was shy or something? She was trying to be nice, but as long as he was being all antisocial then why should she bother?

Telling herself that wasn't how it worked, she tried to say something else to him. She couldn't just blow him off, not after he'd tried to help her.

"Um... You don't talk much... Do you?"
[/size]

[rei]

He smirked as he threw her
back her towel. He felt much
better dry. What so she wanted
to hear him talk more ? Why
was it that everyone asked
him that ?

"Hn. Not really. You like my
voice or something ?"

His smirk grew slightly wider
as he couldn't help but ask.
His voice was deep, and he
heard a girl once say it was
like silk. Ah, fan girls. They
found happiness in the
simplest things. His voice,
for example.

He knew she would probably
smack him and leave, but
he was just having a little
fun. He was rarely one to
joke, but it seemed the perfect
comment at the time.

Heh, he loved reactions.

[ωΘĿƒ]

Caroline stared at him, barely catching the towel as he threw it back.

Wha? Did she like his voice...? What kind of a question was that? Was he full of himself or something?

Come to think of it, he did act like that... It was almost like he couldn't stand her because she was either going to maul him out of worship or anger. Weird... Was he famous or something, because she'd never heard of him. He was just the rude kid that happened to destroy an hour of peaceful swim time for her.

"What, do you want a medal for it?" She smiled, coyly. "I don't care what your voice sounds like, I was just trying to be nice. I guess I shouldn't waist my time on that though. You don't seem to appreciate it anyways."

Ohhh that felt good. She hadn't been that self-righteous in a looong time, and it was therapeutic to her now, like some drug she couldn't stop taking. She loved it, and now she was feeling it again.

The sheer, overwhelming thought of knowing she was better than this kid.
[/size]

[rei]

His smirk turned to a scowl then
a dark sneer. What was this girl
getting at. There was no way in
hell she was better than him.
He knew she thought that, it
was all over her smug little
face. How he'd love to wipe it
off with his fist. He closed his
eyes with a growl that could
mean nothing could for the
weak little human in front of
her.

She was playing with fire.

And it seemed she wanted to
get burned. Or electrocuted,
both of which he would prefer.
He didn't remember moving.
The next thing he knew he
was glaring down at her,
quite close as a matter of fact.

At about '6"4, he wasn't something
she would want to mess with under
any circumstances. Let alone him being
a pheonix and her a human. How
stupid her race was, did they have
any urge to preserve their race ?

He said nothing the dark look on
his face saying everything he could
have said. A wind blew across the
lake, his hair and clothes ruffling
as he simply glared down at her.

Hm, he had thought she would be
decent, but she was just a little girl
who thought she knew everything.
What right had she to judge him?
Did she know what he had been through?
Did she know what he'd suffered?
Did she know how tempting it was
to kill her right then and there ?

No...