|
Post by Nakki on Apr 1, 2009 6:50:15 GMT -5
Nicolai gave an evil, smug smirk when he heard the panic in Raz's voice. "It seems that you haven't been taught how to recognize your own enemies, young Razputin," he said in a gloating tone, making the water that encased his hands ripple with energy. Nico began to step sideways, circling Raz like a cat would do to a mouse. "I mean, I've never met you before (much less seen you), but I know enough about you to recognize you.... really, Raz, with you being one of those 'elite' Psychonauts now, you should be able to 'know thine enemy'!" he chuckled.
Exploit his weaknesses, find his faults, show him just how dangerous we can be! Helene egged her brother on from up in the tree, and Nico grinned even more widely as she said it. 'Dangerous' was just what he'd had in mind.
|
|
|
Post by Lexxi on Apr 1, 2009 17:04:44 GMT -5
To say that one was confused was to say that they were relatively clueless as to what was going on. Someone in this state might raise an eyebrow or ask a clarifying question or perhaps they would just turn and walk away; forgetting any of it had ever happened before they risked looking like a fool. Jacques in a normal state of mind (or lack there of) might have done just that and saved herself some trouble, but right now, she wasn’t quite herself. In fact, she wasn’t even sure who the people in front of her were, but she knew one thing for certain. One of them was familiar and the other was threatening him. Though her hands were shaking upon the sharp, tangled fibers of the lead that held the now constantly shifting Clydesdale, she swallowed her fear and stepped forward. “H-hey! Leave him be! What has he done to you?” she demanded.
Her voice hadn’t sounded quite as threatening as expected. In fact, she wasn’t sure who felt more afraid just by their tone; her or the child with the goggles on his head. Still, she held her ground and the horse gave a snort of discontent toward the blue haired boy that was obviously upsetting his trainer and friend. “Besides, it’s not right to threaten people! How would you feel if I threatened you?” Jacques’ tone rose in defense and, as if on cue, the horse just a few feet away reared back and snorted viciously; a cloud of hot breath forming in the cold around them. She blinked a moment, but then her eyes narrowed. She remembered. What little of it there was, she remembered that the boy she was keeping from the hands of the other was her friend and that meant she had the right to act brave. Just this once.
[/size]
|
|
|
Post by Nakki on Apr 1, 2009 17:19:08 GMT -5
Nico's head snapped towards the sound of Jacques' voice when she spoke, and he looked at her in disdain. "What has he done to me? Why should I tell you?" he retorted after Jacques had said her piece, glaring with his one eye. "They're personal matters that should stay unspoken at the moment."
"And, how would I feel if you threatened me?" Nicolai said, his expression going from slightly annoyed to more amused. In his head, he was feverishly sending telepathic messages back and forth with Helene, making a quick plan. "I wouldn't be worried in the least, young lady... I mean, I could probably counter anything you could come up with AND see it coming. And I'll just bet that horse isn't yours," he said smoothly. NOW! he hissed internally, and Helene quickly put all her might into her powers, and...
...Lifted the horse. Not an easy feat, even for Helene, one of the strongest psychics he knew. Make this quick, Nico; I can't do this for too long, Helene warned him, and Nico could feel the mental tension in her voice. "You wouldn't want anything to happen to him, lest you get punished for it, do you? Unfortunately, if you and your friend don't stop bothering me, I may be forced to enact a few events that could make that punishment a reality... for both of you..."
|
|
|
Post by Lexxi on Apr 1, 2009 17:50:44 GMT -5
Her breath had caught in her throat at the moment she heard that piercing whinny cut the air with the swift and undying accuracy of an assassin’s dagger. The horse thrashed in a wild frenzy, eyes now wide with fear at having its legs no longer safely placed upon the ground, and Jacques could almost taste the terror that pulsed through his veins faster than she could manage to keep up with. Her heartbeat increased until it was near the point where she thought it might burst and she froze. There had always been something of a connection between herself and the horses she trained. She’d always known when they were scared, sad, hurt, and now, as the horse struggled for its own freedom against and unknown force, Jacques could barely maintain herself. She wanted to run to his aid, but she couldn’t help. If she got too close, she and the horse could both end up in a condition neither would recover from.
She felt her hands tighten into fists, but knew they would do her no good. She couldn’t fight and she couldn’t stop him. Instead, she grit her teeth and looked up at him; eyes filled with hurt and spite at his actions toward her. “You put him down….Put him down now!” Jacques couldn’t give in. She’d seen the videos and whenever someone held another hostage, the hostage never came out alright when someone gave into demands. However, she couldn’t seem to think it over. Everything was a blur in her mind and, in the end, she had only one choice left in her subconscious. As her mind became further and further away, she stepped forward in the most confident and fierce manner she could.
“I said, put him down!”
|
|
|
Post by Kero on Apr 3, 2009 5:22:34 GMT -5
The first real coherent thought Raz had was that this kid, this older, obnoxious, high on himself kid, was really, really getting on his nerves.
It was true that Raz wasn’t as violent as many of the other campers. All the times he’d ever had a reason to fight anyone before had been legitimate cases, where fault and guiltiness was clear-cut and the people he needed to fight were obviously in need of being taken down. The boy forgave easily, too, and most of the ones he’d been forced to fight before were now, if not close friends, people he respected and looked to with some measure of amity. With that in mind, it was hard for Raz to deal with how his blood seemed to boil the instant this stranger, whoever he was, opened his mouth. The boy wasn’t used to instantly disliking something that much. Not even Bobby ever got that much of a reaction out of him.
The fact that this kid seemed to know all about it burned him, too, and though Raz was about to respond, his concentration was broken when a voice came from behind him. Surprised, he looked back at Jacques briefly, the claws fading from his hand as he lost that particular anger that had kept them sharp. That wasn't too big of a problem, becuase Raz didn't exactly want to make anyone bleed, but it lost him the effect of looking menacing...
This wasn’t good…
It was only when the horse lifted that Raz could sense the different psychic reading to the power that kept it up, gasping and looking up into the tree’s quickly in a direction he felt the energy was coming from before his glare went back on the boy. That was it.
“You think you’re so tough because you pulled water out of the air and you have people to help you scare some innocent kid for your own entertainment. You’ll never be half as good as me if you keep acting like some bully, and I’m tired of watching you hurt my friends! I don’t care who you are or what you know about me, this time you pay!”
Pyrokenisis was one of the easiest talents for any psychic to learn. It had a lot more uses than just burning squirrels and birds, too, though the campers loved to try out their skills in that manner. It was also one of Raz’s favorite abilities to find new ways to use, be it easy roasted marshmallow or being able to light a firework without having to get anywhere near it and get hit in the face if it fell. Now, Raz wasn’t cruel enough to light the kid entirely on fire, as much as he wanted to. His main focus was his hands. Because there was no water in the air, the oxygen levels were perfect to start a raging inferno, and Raz did so with a great deal of force around those water covered limbs. His aim was to boil the water and scald the kid’s hands, teach him a lesson, maybe. Not to set him on fire; Raz had been set on fire once or twice by Cougars, and it wasn’t a fun experience.
Putting a hand to his temple as he kept the power of the flames going, Raz stood at the ready for retaliation, well aware that he had enough angry balls of hate in him right now to take on an army of censors.
“Put. The. Horse. Down. Gently, before I get serious.”
|
|
|
Post by Nakki on Apr 5, 2009 10:10:49 GMT -5
The boy smirked as Raz began to speak, playing absently with the water around his hands as the green-eyed Psychonaut spoke. He realized that Raz knew he had someone helping him, but that wasn't too problematic. It was just cooperation to take down a common enemy to him and Helene.
Nicolai suddenly felt a sense of warmth on his hands when Raz put a hand to his temple, and the blue-haired boy gave a small start. Suddenly, his eye widened and his pupil grew tiny, almost too small to see against the gold circle around it; then it returned to normal after a moment, and Nico shook his head a bit to clear the lingering sight of the image he'd seen.
"....are... are you really going to try that?" Nico said, his voice wavering a little from his precognition. "There's no moisture in the air; you could set the entire place ablaze... I don't believe it'd be too kind of you to start a forest fire up here, especially where all your friends are sleeping."
"Let me propose a different option," he said smoothly, silently signaling to Helene to start lowering Ferdinand very, very slowly. "How about we meet elsewhere, instead of this arid place, to finish this? I do intend on fighting you, but I do not wish to be charged with murder."
|
|
|
Post by Lexxi on Apr 8, 2009 16:48:20 GMT -5
The moment Ferdinand’s hooves touched the ground, Jacques started. It was one thing she knew about horses that had always made her tentative about taking them to a real vet, the sad downfall of one of the first in their little team. It came in the form of leg circulation and how it tended to stop if they’re legs were left off solid ground too long. This was the reason why, as the mighty draft horse touched the soft grass, she darted forward and caught his head in her arms; preventing it from impacting the ground as it toppled over with a whinny of fear and confusion. If it weren’t for her comforting warmth close to him, the horse would have easily started in a panicked flail, but against her chest, all Ferdinand did was breath in a deep, raspy manner. She knew he was terrified, but at least he hadn’t hit too hard. Still, Jacques felt something she didn’t often feel.
The emotions that mixed and churned through her veins confused her to no end and made her grit her teeth harder to the point where it hurt her jaw. As the horse’s breathing steadied and he seemed to calm a bit more, she allowed his head to gently lay upon the grass and dirt. She watched as Ferdinand, shaky at first, stood and then stood herself; hands once more forming tight fists at her sides. Her eyes fell upon the boy who had done it or at least was the instigator. That singular, stunning golden eye….that cool smirk…. Jacques found herself frozen for a moment as she observed him and then shook her head as if to rid herself of thoughts she didn’t quite understand. She had to keep herself focused on her anger or she would only fall back again and she couldn’t let that happen. As she looked between Raz and Nico, she could sense something else. A heat that seemed to smell with the anger between the three forming the triangle in the night air. It was like a fire, embers pulsing almost sporadically against a wash of wind threatening to make it spark into a crackling inferno. And while it confused her to no end, it also hurt. Her mind reeled, tossing and turning as if a little ship upon stormy seas, and she winced.
Once again, she felt terror. A deep rooted fear that sprung upon her as memories flickered in and out of sight in her mind, some she recognized, some she did not. People, places, events, images flashed by in fast forward until at last she found she couldn’t take it. The heat swelled inside her and burned her from within and Jacques staggered a bit. Then the flames appeared. Normally, it would have been only a spark, a mere trifle for a normal situation, but with the air so dry, it sprang up faster than she could control had she known how. It moved swiftly, flames encircling her then weaving around the two boys to form a wall of blazing red between them; tongues lapping the night sky and feasting on the dry atmosphere around it. She screamed and jumped back only to meet another wall of fire and hear the horse as it whinnied and darted away from the flames in fear. This had not been expected.
[/size]
|
|
|
Post by Kero on Apr 9, 2009 15:04:00 GMT -5
There was so much power in thoughts. In a normal situation, a thought was the spark of creation, and it had effects reaching far into the future. Philosophers could spend lifetimes talking on the subject, even, and only barely skim the surface of any sort of significance to the random pulses of information that surged through every mind on the planet. Some thoughts were small, and would never be realized, and others were large enough to change the world.
To a psychic, thoughts had a whole different level of power. A step above the norm in cognition, the thoughts of those who were gifted with the correct talents could turn a feeling into a reality, a stab of hurt into a bullet, and sadness into a weapon of mass destruction. It was something one needed to be very careful in using, and the lesson was still being drilled into the brains of those who used their brains. It would be drilled into them well into adulthood and beyond.
As for Raz, he had learned something on the night that flowed around him. Unable to think himself capable of any degree of real violence before, except in the pursuit of justice, the boy had found a dark spark inside himself that he didn’t fully understand nor want to understand. In all cases, he found himself wanting to be rid of it, and yet at the same time, it charged his limbs and mind with so much energy that he felt as if he could burst, his focus more intense than he ever remembered it being before.
For a good, long moment, he’d actually wanted the forest to burn. He’d wanted it as much as he’d wanted Nico’s hands to do the same, for the water to sizzle away and for everything to just go back to the way it was at camp. He didn’t remember doing anything to anyone besides Bobby… the fact that he had so many enemies was grating on his delicate eleven-year-old mind. They’d told him this would happen and he hadn’t even believed it… Stupid kid he was…
It was only the mention of his friends and the idea that they could be in the line of fire that stopped him, his hand falling from his temple while the boy glared at the other.
“Fine. Where’d you have in-whoah!”
Suddenly, there was fire everywhere, and Raz didn’t know where it had come from. He hadn’t had time to recognize the mental patterns, and there was no way to rule out a passing cougar. But either way, all four of them were now in trouble, and the Psychonaut put his hand to his head again, trying to see how much control he could get over as much of the blaze as possible.
“Jacques! Get to the cabins! I’ll handle this!”
If Nico was going to help or not was his choice; Raz wasn’t going to leave now that a fire had started. If it would save the people here at camp, he’d gladly throw himself in the face of danger. Mayhaps an overachiever the boy was, but at least it was for a good cause.
|
|
|
Post by Nakki on Apr 10, 2009 18:17:07 GMT -5
"AUGH!!!" A shrill scream suddenly came out of Nicolai's mouth when flames reared up before him, sending him jumping back. Fear and fire were both reflected in his eye, which was open wide. There was nothing like a sudden, raging inferno to freeze Nico Galochio in fear....
Nicolai backed away from the wall of flames in sudden reverse, hitting the trunk of the tree he'd been hiding in earlier. He gave a small yelp of dismay as his back hit the tree, glancing up quickly at its branches before turning back to the fire. With a start, he noticed a tendril of fire creeping along the grass towards him. Luckily, Nico hadn't yet let off his control on the water he had pulled from the air, and the boy quickly extinguished that flame.
Looking out at the rest of the fire in fear, he suddenly pulled a grimace and began dousing more of the flames, both determination and near-panic etched into his features. If he was sure of anything then, he was sure of this: he was NOT going to die in that fire.
|
|
|
Post by Lexxi on Apr 12, 2009 8:19:06 GMT -5
The fear that welled up in her chest was full to bursting as she looked franticly from one side to the next. Red and orange flickered and reflected brightly in her eyes and she could feel the heat they gave off lapping at the surface of her skin. She would have screamed had she been able to find her voice, but it was as thought her mouth had been glued shut. Terrified beyond belief, she couldn’t give herself even a moment to think straight. Jacques stepped back and found herself pinned between four walls of flames that taunted her in a deadly dance that made them grow larger with each step. Even as the heat grew and threatened to burn her skin, she did not panic or attempt to flee. It was a certain trait in humans that made this happen. A trait that forced them to be calm even when their heart was racing and they could barely breath. Because of this, Jacques found the things around her moving in slow motion; the voices stalled and drawn out in the night air.
She couldn’t understand them. When Raz ordered her to get to safety, she could only stare at him, when Nico exclaimed in fear, she couldn’t even pinpoint where he had gotten to. Everything was nothing but a blur of dancing fire and rising smoke. When at last she could feel the muscles in her legs, she turned and leapt clear through the fire. Impact to the ground came in the form of her legs giving out and her hitting the earth, but she was back up in seconds; patting herself down to make sure she hadn’t carried any of the blaze with her. Her next concern went to the horse a few feet away who was whinnying like mad as the fire crept forward. She bolted and caught his lead to force him down from a horrified rear. Ferdinand looked at her with eyes wild and frantic and Jacques looked back at the blaze where the boys were fighting to save themselves and everyone.
She gave the horse a careful stroke through his mane then ran back. Jacques couldn’t bring herself to run off and leave them there. She couldn’t let them get hurt for something she had caused. “Raz!” she called out into the fire. “Raz, where are you?!” She coughed and choked on the smoke and pushed forward. [/size]
|
|
|
Post by Kero on Apr 12, 2009 13:36:58 GMT -5
There was a point in society when the true power of things was forgotten. So long had fire been merely a tool used by humans that they had forgotten their animal fear of it. In fact, they had forgotten why they were instinctively afraid of flame, instead captivated by the beauty and usefulness of a ‘tame’ fire. What only certain people knew, though, to the bottom of their souls, was that there was no such thing as a tame fire. There was only vigilance and safety and the hope that one wouldn’t get burned at the end of the day.
Raz has always had an affinity for fire. He loved its colors and how it was the exact opposite of water, and how much power and effect it could give. He’d been aware of its destructive capabilities, of course, but as a child, who was he to really think on that kind of thing? He’d never encountered a large, uncontrollable fire before, as his father and family had always been very careful and the instructors of pyrokenisis at camp were very good.
Only now, with the flame so large that he knew that controlling it wasn’t entirely possible, did Raz realize exactly how stupid he was. All the thoughts before of burning people had vanished from his mind, regretted and shameful thoughts that went into the category of thoughts he never should have had in any idle manner. It was unbearably hot in the heart of the inferno as he was, and the strain of keeping the infinite amount of branches in the woods from catching flame at the fire’s constant battering of heat was taking a huge toll on his mind. For the first time in a long time, the boy felt faint, coughing with the droves of smoke that drifting through the surroundings in between pillars of flame.
“Jacques…??” he could hear her, and suddenly his stomach dropped so that he felt like throwing up. She was back… she was back when he’d told her to go from. It crossed his mind that she had a real problem with listening to him when he said something, but he just moved, still trying to keep the fire in one area as he sought her. If she was here, the safest she could be was with a Psychonaut… at least, that’s what he wanted to think, “Jacques, over here!!” he’d gotten to the one clear area within the inferno, coughing harder as the smoke became thicker. The grass was wet here, which could only mean one thing, and looking over, he spotted Nico, still with the water.
He hated to admit it even now, but the older boy was the only thing that could save them all.
Putting another hand to his head, Raz closed his eyes and focused harder than he’d ever had in his life. Fire was unpredictable and wild. The only thing he had that he could hope to control it with was his shielding abilities. He’d never been a hydrokenesis kind of kid. It was deadly to him, so that was to be expected, but some part of him wished he’d taken lessons in it as he threw a shield up well over them all, enveloping the blaze and everything in it… including them. It would only be a matter of minutes before they ran out of air, so he worked quickly, forcing it smaller as his ears popped from the air pressure increasing. In theory, he could choke out the flames this way, but they would be long dead before that happened, so he looked at Nico with a half wild, half desperate glance, “…water… please, I can’t hold it..!”
|
|
|
Post by Lexxi on Apr 12, 2009 20:44:17 GMT -5
She had heard his voice first, nearly drowned by the snaps and crackles of the fire that crept over dead leaves and twigs. As she worked her way through the maze, she found it was slowly becoming hotter as if the night air had ceased the minute the blaze had erupted around them. She could barely breath as she pushed forward and coughed violently as she passed through another wall of fire, but she didn‘t stop. Jacques knew very well that the one thing you didn‘t do when in the middle of a blaze was stop moving. It was a relief when she saw him, Raz‘s figure outline in a dark shadow just ahead, but then it changed. The minute the shield went up, she felt the air grow tense and then quickly become devoured. Easy to say, she was confused, but she didn’t have time to do much about it. As her lungs constricted and she began to gasp for whatever oxygen she could get, Jacques could feel the blood in her temples begin to throb.
The second she had stopped feeling too much fear, it had resurfaced in full force to drag her down in near panic. She wished she could run, she wished she knew the way back to safety, but as she staggered forward, she realized how lost she was. Every angle was flames, every movement was shadow. She couldn’t have been more lost in a dark hedge maze. Jacques stumbled and clutched her head. She could still see Raz standing stationary just ahead, but couldn’t make it. She couldn’t breath correctly at the fire ate the precious air and finally, fell to her knees; gasping and heaving and feeling as thought she might pass out right then and there. She reached forward, hand touching the fire but never feeling as it eat away at her pale skin. “Raz….” she gasped.
|
|
|
Post by Nakki on Apr 20, 2009 6:34:59 GMT -5
"Oh god, ohgodohgodohgod..." That was the phrase Nico had been eternally repeating to himself as he doused what little fire he could reach, and the rest of the fire still flared. As much as he hurled the water he kept, it didn't seem like enough to drown out the fire.
Suddenly, another orange glow was added to the firelight: that of Raz's shield, clapped over all of them- and slowly getting smaller. Nico's breathing suddenly got faster, and his ears popped. The boy's head snapped to the side when he heard Raz's gasping plea, and with a whimper he realized that Raz was right. Even a Psychonaut wouldn't be able to hold this fire forever.
His eye scanned the blaze, calculating madly to see what he could do. All the while, his breathing grew faster and more constricted, the fire eating up most of the oxygen held within Raz’s shield. Suddenly, he spotted the girl as well; that girl whom he’d inadvertently started this whole thing with. Her hand was lying close- far too close- to one of the tongues of flame that were busy licking away at the area inside the shield, and finally Nico made his decision of what to do…
Quickly, he suddenly spread all of the water he held around his hands as far as he could make it go and it was still in liquid form. Then, he let it go; and in a huge whoosh and a great deal of steam, it fell onto the flames, drowning just about all of the fire out. Sure, there were a few lingering flares in a few places, but it was nothing that the sudden dampness couldn’t fix….
Exhausted from the lack of air and the stress of keeping his powers under control finally got to Nicolai, and with a small, tired groan he fell, only just catching himself before he landed in a face plant.
|
|