[Log]: It might not be the right time
Who: Julian and Suki
What: Meeting in person, a starry-night flight
When: After this, before the roof was trashed!
Where: The rooftop
Rating: G, I say.
The past couple of days had been rough. In the castle, Suki couldn't stop flipping through her journal looking for some sign of Sokka. Either that or punching her walls non-stop--and since going outside to train wasn't an option, the roof seemed like her only refuge. So here she was again--staring at the moon via rooftop. Kind of ironic, that the moon was still so comforting to her now--she sighed, leaned back and watched the sky.
Before being transported out of the institution, Julian's powers had increased exponentially. Something his dresser found out the hard way. He took to keeping to himself once he arrived in Paradisa, and he would use all this free time to go out into the woods and work on perfecting his telekinesis again. He could tell it was paying off. He could fly faster and he wasn't causing craters whenever he tried to lift something off the floor. Tonight, like the night before, he was practicing his flying... when he caught a glimpse of someone. The same girl he saw the night before. He decided to actually approach her, gently floating towards her perch. "Hey... You're Suki, right?"
Although she had seen floating-man the night before, it was still surprising for her to see him again. floating. She didn't jump--but the look of wonder in her eyes was far from hidden. She smiled slightly, and held out a hand. "That's right--you're Julian? It's nice to meet you in person." He looked so strange floating there. Of course, most people thought Suki looked strange too, when she was in makeup. Tonight, however, she hadn't felt much like a warrior--so she went makeupless. Just a normal girl. "It's really cool to see someone fly..."
"Yeah, that's me." The young mutant made his landing beside the female stranger whom he thought could become a possible friend. He took her hand and smiled a weak smile. "Good to meet you, too. I finally have a face to go with the neat handwriting," he complimented. There was not much else he could compliment on. Any other time, any other place, he would have made a move already, but that was the old Julian. He laughed, "It's natural to me now. I've been doing it for years. You should have seen how many times I fell when I first started!"
She smiled, and her face which had been previously a little drawn, a little tired, brightened considerably. "Sounds like when I first started training to be a warrior--I can't even begin to remember all the times I fell flat on my face." She laughed slightly, and turned to face him. "So do you often hang out on the roof Julian? Or is this a new, post-zombie invasion hang-out spot for you too?"
She had a pretty smile, he had to admit, but from the look of things on the journal, she wasn't doing that much. And she was a fighter, too. Not bad. "But I bet you're a total pro at it now," he commented. The wind blowing over the castle was strong, but it was nothing he couldn't steady himself from. "It's something new, but I like it. I might keep coming up here after this whole mess." If there ever was an end, he thought to himself. "I used to just go out into the forest--to train my powers," he explained. "I don't know many people here, and I more than likely sounded like a jerk when I first arrived." For once, he felt like he was talking to much... "What about you? What did you do before all hell broke loose?"
"A pro? I'm not sure about that...maybe just a master." She grinned. "It's really pretty up here--a little cold at night, sometimes--but still really nice. The moon and stars are so bright and clear here." She glanced up towards said sky, contemplating for a brief moment. "A jerk? You seem nice to me. And talented." And kind of cute, too--but she figured that was best left unsaid. Instead, she decided to answer his question. "I spent a lot of time training outside too and hanging out with--a friend." She frowned slightly, but continued. "A few people from my home world are here, and I've met a couple of nice people. Not a whole lot unfortunately..."
Hey, is she bragging? Heh, not bad at all. She was right about the night sky, though. You never saw stars like this in the city. Julian arrived around the time those bombs went off, but he didn't want to get too into the reason why he was being a jerk that day. "I think you're really nice, too, but people aren't always nice, you know? And me? I used to be pretty mean. Old habits die hard and all that." So she spent her time training, too? There's something they had in common. She was turning out to be more than he expected. He wondered about that friend of hers and if it was that... that guy he talked to. He was pretty tough on him, but he seemed alright. Like someone he knew back home. "That's great. Having your friends with you here. I bet it makes things a little more... I don't know. Fun?"
"Pretty mean, huh? Could have fooled me." A sudden gust of wind caused to pull her knees to her chest, and she shivered slightly. When he mentioned her friends again, she nodded with a slight smile. "Fun? Yeah, some times. Sometimes it's just...complicated." She shook her head slightly. "But I've had some fun since being here. What about you...you mentioned not really...having any friends from home?" She was curious--he had seemed a little reluctant to talk about it in the journals, but maybe roof-by-moonlight was a more ideal setting for that kind of thing.
"My attitude took a one-eighty degree turn for the better, I guess you could say." He lifted his knee up as well, letting his other leg hang freely over the castle's ledge. "It's fine. You don't need to talk about... it. I bet it's hard enough." He refered to her current situation with that guy. That guy who ate prunes. Yeah, that guy. He thought about his friends and then he thought about Laura. If she was a teammate or if he could call her a friend, too. "Yeah. There's... there's this girl here--Laura. I don't--I don't really know anything about her. We live at the school together, but we've never really hung out." He tried to explain without telling her about their line of work. Would she even believe him? "But that's not even the case here. She doesn't remember me. I think this place must have scrambled her memories, so even the one person I recognize thinks I'm a total stranger."
She smiled, relieved that she wasn't going to be pressed. She was begining to like this guy more and more--he could float, he was cute, and he didn't pry. So instead of responding, she just sort of nodded. When explained his situation with the girl from his world, she looked vaguely troubled and sympathetic. "I see--this castle did something similar to me. I forgot...someone from home too. Apparently we had been pretty close back home--needless to say, it was awkward when I was confronted with it." Awkward at first at least--and now, it was awkward for totally different reasons. She pushed those thoughts away--"It must be lonely for you--being here alone like that." After she spoke, she blushed slightly--realizing that it came out a little more bluntly than she had perhaps intended. "But that's what making new friends is good for!" She smiled. "You said you were in school? How old are you?"
He wasn't sure what to say about that--About what the castle was doing to people. As far as he knew, he wasn't affected. There wasn't anyone around he could ask that would know whether he lost a memory or... or something else. He would try not to dwell too much on that, though. It would drive him nuts. He only listened to her contently because it was all he could do. Until she asked him about his situation in Paradisa. Was he lonely? He was, but... could he ever admit that? "It's a lot quieter than my school, yeah." Was all he said. "But the company has improved," he smiled, looking towards her. To answer her question, he stood up from their spot, which was kind of a drag, since he was enjoying sitting next to her, but he thought he'd demonstrate something. "It's a special school for people with powers like mine." He began to levitate slowly and away from the ledge, rotating himself to keep his eyes on her. "And I'm sixteen. You?"
She blushed very slightly at his compliment, and spoke quickly to make up for it. "Quieter than your school? Geez, your school must be crazy!" She gestured to the zombies in distance with a short laugh that faded as she watched him stand...and float! She had seen airbending before, but this was all still very novel to her. She couldn't help herself from gasping a little, and laughing delightedly--"Wow, okay your school really must be special!" Her smile widened at his response to her question. "Really? I'm fifteen."
"Oh, don't even get me started!" he laughed. His school was definitely crazy, but the zombies were still something to be amazed by. Continuing to slowly move away from her, he wondered about something... "You said you wanted to fly, didn't you?" A translucent green aura eminated from his hand, but he paused, waiting for an answer before he tried what he had in mind.
"Fly? Of course! I've never flown before..." She had seen Aang fly--but that was it. Airbending was almost totally extinct in her world, and things like airplanes were nonexistant. She looked at him with growing wonder. "Can you...actually make me fly?"
"Kind of." He went ahead and lifted the girl from her seat, carefully, guiding her towards him. "It's not that I can make you fly, but that I can lift objects with my mind," he explained to her and held out his hand for support. "Where you go is up to me. It stinks, I know. But just hold my hand, and I won't let you fall."
She gasped much more audibly this time as she felt herself lifted up--for a moment a pang of fear passed through her body, but it was quickly overwhellmed by joy and amazement. When she reached him, she grasped his hand, and held on tightly with a grin. "You think this stinks? Even with you driving it's incredible" She laughed and winked. "And I know you won't let me fall--if you do I'll come back and haunt you."
"Glad to know you feel that way. I just didn't want you to get the wrong idea and that I could actually... give you flying powers or something." He laughed at himself, feeling really good that he could make someone smile again; rather than frown. "I seriously wouldn't mind having a cute ghost haunting me every night," he shot back. Moving cautiously through the air at first, with her in hand. He didn't want to go zero-to-sixty and freak her out on their first flying session.
"I'd be sure to make myself really scary then. Like those guys" She pointed to the zombies which were now below them--and realized they were at a pretty dizzying height. She tightened her grip on his hand slightly, and glanced back to his face to get her bearings. Still--this all felt pretty incredible, and definitely helped her get her mind off things. As they began to move forward, she couldn't help herself from giggling--"If I could do this, I'd be outside every single night."
"Oh, hey, that's so not fair!" He took a look at those crazed things, "Maybe going up is a better idea." Keeping her hand locked in his, he changed directions and head up towards the moon, into the clouds. "Now you have a pretty good idea on why I've been coming up here and why I'll try to make this an everyday thing." He hooked his arm around hers for a better hold on her. Yeah, that's it. Don't want her falling now. "You can join me whenever you feel... suffocated... down there." He pointed towards the castle.
As they traveled upwards, Suki felt more and more wonder at her situation--and it showed on her face. She wasn't exactly a closed off person--but tonight her face was an open book: blue eyes wide and amazed, and mouth vacilating between a smile and general surprise. She had a smile on when she glanced back to Julian though. "It's too beautiful up here--I can definitely see why you're a fan of being outside." As he pulled her closer, she felt a mix of mild anxiety and relief--and accepted to the arm-hooking as a very nice thing. Nice and secure. "Lately, it's been really suffocating." She laughed. "It must be the zombies..." She met his eyes, and offered him another smile--smaller, a little sadder, but geniuine. "Thank you. I'll definitely have to take you up on that offer."
It was nice being up here with someone, he thought, but he still didn't feel like he belonged here; like he could ever settle with the idea of being stuck here. She was making it easier, but maybe this wasn't right, and he kept telling himself that. "It really is pretty amazing," he added. He could at least enjoy the moment, though. That was good enough for him. "It's always available." Because there was not that many other people he had to take flying. So he knew for sure her seat on Hellion Airlines would be free. He thought maybe she'd had enough breathtaking excitement for the night and considered starting down towards the roof, but when he looked at her, she seemed so delighted. Asking her first would be a better idea. "Ready to call it a night, Suki? Or..." He trailed off, deliberately not finishing his sentence to see if she'd protest or agree.
"Do you mind if we go a little higher?" She felt almost foolish after asking the question, and so she looked down. "I mean, it is kind of late--I definitely understand if you're ready to head back." What she didn't say is that she was not ready to face the reality of what was back at the castle--outside or in. It seemed like the sky was currently the only place where she was completely free from feeling...bad. Still, she smiled back up to him. "We can go back if you promise to be around the roof this week."
Uh-oh. There was no way he could let her think he was tired or ready to call a quits, so he decided to give her a quick thrill. "Suki..." She wanted to go higher and while he could appreciate taking their time and enjoying their sailing through the stars, he figured he could make things a bit more exciting for her before it was time to go back. Without giving her an answer just yet, he faced her with a playful grin. "You trust me, right?"
She blinked, then grinned back slowly. "Yeah...I trust you, Julian." She added his name for emphasis--a nice name, but very strange--there definitely wasn't a Julian back on her world. She tilted her head to the side, questioning. "Why?"
"Great!" He quickly responded before letting go of her hand and prayed she wouldn't clobber him out of fear. Using his telekinesis to keep her afloat, he swooped her up, cradling her in between his arms. "Wrap your arms around my neck and hold on tight!" He waited until he could feel she had done so before the next step.
Her jaw dropped in shock as she was scooped into his arms, and she felt herself blushing much more heavily than before. Under different circumstances, she might have objected--but tonight, floating under the moon, things were a little different--so she did as instructed, and tried to keep the silly smile that was threatening to appear at a minimum.
"Okay, remember. I'm not letting you fall." He reminded her as he shot up through the clouds at high speed, dashing through the star-filled sky over Paradisa with a simple goal in mind: Trying to get her as close to the moon as he could. No, he wasn't dumb enough to fly into orbit, but he remembered how cool it was to get so close to something that seemed so infinitely far away. He couldn't remember the last time he had fun like this. Times like this were practically lost back home.
She restrained herself from squealing, but couldn't stop herself from laughing--she tightened her grip on his neck the faster they went, but fear was far from her mind---she felt drunk, dizzy, and happier than she had felt in weeks. When she finally had the self-possession to take a look around, she noticed the moon and how huge it seemed, and her laughter returned. "I--oh gods, I can't believe how big the moon is!" She knew she sounded childish, but she couldn't care. "It's so beautiful!!"
One thing's for sure; she seemed to have no problem keeping her cool in a somewhat panicky situation. Well, he shouldn't be suprised. She said she was a warrior afterall. "I know. It's great, isn't it? When I first did this, the Headmaster grounded me for a week." He slowed their pace and came to a halt, fully aware of his limits and careful not to push them. "I thought it was so worth it."
"You mean you got in trouble?" Headmasters, schools--these weren't concepts she was fluent in, but she could understand well enough to keep up. "I think...well, I think I'd do it too, even if I got in trouble." She looked to the moon again, still enthralled. "It's almost like you could just reach out and touch it..." She laughed a little embarassedly "But obviously we can't. Spirits are impossible for humans to get a handle on." Due to her recent circumstance, the moon shouldn't have exactly been comforting...still, Suki couldn't help finding it beautiful, and even though the implications weren't great--the moon still remained a source of comfort for her. The moon and everything under the night sky. "The stars are beautiful up here too. Everything is." She glanced back to his face, feeling suddenly very shy--aware of how close they actually were. "Thank you...you've really made my night. Well, my week."
"Yeah, well... I was still new to flying, and they were worried I could have hurt myself without any supervision. I was a real troublemaker back then." He was older, but all this mentioning about school and teachers and... everything must have made him seem much younger. Sometimes he forgot how young he really was and reminders like this were too few in number. "...Spirits?" He wondered, curiously. Maybe it was something she believed in. "Sometimes it's just too much to take--all of this. You just have to take a deep breath and appreciate the things you take for granted. You never know when they might just be taken away." He didn't consider himself a wise person; he just spoke from experience. "You seemed like you needed it. It was... It was nothing." But maybe it was. "I just hope things get better."
"A troublemaker? That's funny--back home, I was the leader of a group of girls who took care of troublemakers." She grinned, and felt a sudden pang of homesickness. She'd been in Paradisa for a while but...well, you could never really get used to it. "Oh...where I come from, we have a spirits for things like the moon...well. she's here in Paradisa now, actually." She wondered suddenly if Yue's absence had thrown her own world into chaos, and felt absurdly selfish for caring about Yue's presence strife in her personal life. But as he continued speaking, thoughts of Yue subsided and she found herself smiling again. "I guess you're right. Things change fast--but the weirdest thing about Paradisa is that things change all the time...but oddly, the place just stays the same. It's like, being stuck...in time or something." She laughed a little nervously. "Anyways..." She met his eyes, and in their current position the gesture was more intimate than she was prepared for. Still, he had nice eyes. "I...yeah, I did need it." She smiled. "And well...I hope they do too. I think they already...might be." She was feeling much better at least. a yawn overtook her suddenly, and she disentagled a hand from his neck to cover her mouth. "Hah, I guess it's later than I realized..."
"I'll have to make sure not to go around causing trouble around here. I'd like to stay on your good side." Though troublemaking was something he had long since put behind him, he still got in trouble... often. The moon is here? Okay, that just sounded weird. The first thing he imagined was that old moon mascot from McDonald's hanging out at the castle, and that was just too weird. He shook that image out of his mind, though. Being friends with Sooraya, a Sunni Muslim, taught him to respect what others believed in, and he felt it was best not to get into detail. It was good to talk on your first date, but not bore your date by questioning everything about her. Not that this was a date. It was--Well, it wasn't a date. She seemed to have enough on her plate without labeling this a date. He met her gaze and wasn't sure what to-- "Yeah... I'll--I'll take you to your room. You must be tired. I kinda am, too." Better he took her home before... before anything. He started his descent. "I can take you straight to your window, if you're okay with that."
"Straight to my window? That would be perfect. You're really spoiling you me, you know--a flight to the moon and a ride home." She grinned. "And even though I was responsible for keeping the peace back home, I got into my fair share of trouble. I used to tease the boys in my village, and most boys can't handle a little teasing." She laughed lightly, and rewrapped her arms around his neck at their descent. Coming down wasn't quite as much fun as coming up, she decided.
"Alright then. Next stop: Suki's window it is." If he was in a good mood when he was out here flying alone, he was in a fantastic mood out here flying with her. "When you travel on Air Julian, you travel in style. It's First Class all the way." He smiled happilly, having loads of fun while he picked up the speed as they fell towards Paradisa. "I can handle anything you dish out, Suki, but don't be surprised if my teasing involves my telekinesis. You might wake up floating four feet above your bed in the morning." The tall, ancient-looking castle was growing in size the closer they got until he could make out the individual room windows. "I'm not psychic. Where to next, Beautiful?" He didn't mean to say it. Something from his past he accidentally let slip. "I--I mean, where to next, Suki?"
"I'm fine with waking up floating above my bed--as long as the waking up isn't the result of being dropped." She laughed, "And I'll be sure to remember you can handle anything I dish out." She was surprised at herself--how easy it was to flirt him. Honestly, it felt really nice. But when he called her beautiful, she felt herself blush heavily--and fought back a smile. "1603. And if you keep flattering me, I am never going to believe anything you say."
"Way to take the fun out of it." He smirked, and that grew into a grin as she continued to let him have it. She really was fun to be around. Judging by the number of floors and the windows that span across the castle walls, he spotted her room. "I guess I'll keep the flattering to a minimum, if that's the way you want it," he teased her some more. Thinking about that "Beautiful" remark, he was in no way going to take it back, since it was definitely true. Apologize for it, maybe. It might have been a bit too forward. Slowing down as he reached their destination, he gently set her down inside. A feat he could have easily accomplished with his powers, but he decided to do physically instead. "...This was really fun." He told her as he let go. "And about the beautiful thing..." He wasn't sure how to put it. Maybe he shouldn't say anything at all. "...I really meant it, okay?"
She laughed, "Just because I might not believe what you're saying doesn't mean I don't like hearing it." After being eased into her window, she turned back to face the floating Julian, feeling the now familiar blush creeping back across her face--still, she managed to look him in the eyes and offer another big smile. "Thanks...for everything. It really meant a lot." On an impulse she reached out and touched his hand briefly. "I hope I see you again soon. Goodnight..." She turned to go, but as she took her first step away,she made a sudden turn on her heel. "Oh, and as far as being beautiful goes...well, you're pretty cute yourself." She grinned, waved, and walked further into her room.
He smiled awkwardly. That wasn't what he meant by it--Well, he did mean it. She was beautiful. It was just something he used frequently when talking to girls back when he was a bit of a player. There was just no way to explain that now. No... he wanted this--this meeting to end on a good note. But he meant what he said; he just wished he picked a different word. "Thanks for keeping me company tonight. We'll do it again. I promise." He started floating away when she added more to their goodbye. He gave her confident smile and a sharp wink. "Sweet dreams, Suki." He wished her and took off.
What: Meeting in person, a starry-night flight
When: After this, before the roof was trashed!
Where: The rooftop
Rating: G, I say.
The past couple of days had been rough. In the castle, Suki couldn't stop flipping through her journal looking for some sign of Sokka. Either that or punching her walls non-stop--and since going outside to train wasn't an option, the roof seemed like her only refuge. So here she was again--staring at the moon via rooftop. Kind of ironic, that the moon was still so comforting to her now--she sighed, leaned back and watched the sky.
Before being transported out of the institution, Julian's powers had increased exponentially. Something his dresser found out the hard way. He took to keeping to himself once he arrived in Paradisa, and he would use all this free time to go out into the woods and work on perfecting his telekinesis again. He could tell it was paying off. He could fly faster and he wasn't causing craters whenever he tried to lift something off the floor. Tonight, like the night before, he was practicing his flying... when he caught a glimpse of someone. The same girl he saw the night before. He decided to actually approach her, gently floating towards her perch. "Hey... You're Suki, right?"
Although she had seen floating-man the night before, it was still surprising for her to see him again. floating. She didn't jump--but the look of wonder in her eyes was far from hidden. She smiled slightly, and held out a hand. "That's right--you're Julian? It's nice to meet you in person." He looked so strange floating there. Of course, most people thought Suki looked strange too, when she was in makeup. Tonight, however, she hadn't felt much like a warrior--so she went makeupless. Just a normal girl. "It's really cool to see someone fly..."
"Yeah, that's me." The young mutant made his landing beside the female stranger whom he thought could become a possible friend. He took her hand and smiled a weak smile. "Good to meet you, too. I finally have a face to go with the neat handwriting," he complimented. There was not much else he could compliment on. Any other time, any other place, he would have made a move already, but that was the old Julian. He laughed, "It's natural to me now. I've been doing it for years. You should have seen how many times I fell when I first started!"
She smiled, and her face which had been previously a little drawn, a little tired, brightened considerably. "Sounds like when I first started training to be a warrior--I can't even begin to remember all the times I fell flat on my face." She laughed slightly, and turned to face him. "So do you often hang out on the roof Julian? Or is this a new, post-zombie invasion hang-out spot for you too?"
She had a pretty smile, he had to admit, but from the look of things on the journal, she wasn't doing that much. And she was a fighter, too. Not bad. "But I bet you're a total pro at it now," he commented. The wind blowing over the castle was strong, but it was nothing he couldn't steady himself from. "It's something new, but I like it. I might keep coming up here after this whole mess." If there ever was an end, he thought to himself. "I used to just go out into the forest--to train my powers," he explained. "I don't know many people here, and I more than likely sounded like a jerk when I first arrived." For once, he felt like he was talking to much... "What about you? What did you do before all hell broke loose?"
"A pro? I'm not sure about that...maybe just a master." She grinned. "It's really pretty up here--a little cold at night, sometimes--but still really nice. The moon and stars are so bright and clear here." She glanced up towards said sky, contemplating for a brief moment. "A jerk? You seem nice to me. And talented." And kind of cute, too--but she figured that was best left unsaid. Instead, she decided to answer his question. "I spent a lot of time training outside too and hanging out with--a friend." She frowned slightly, but continued. "A few people from my home world are here, and I've met a couple of nice people. Not a whole lot unfortunately..."
Hey, is she bragging? Heh, not bad at all. She was right about the night sky, though. You never saw stars like this in the city. Julian arrived around the time those bombs went off, but he didn't want to get too into the reason why he was being a jerk that day. "I think you're really nice, too, but people aren't always nice, you know? And me? I used to be pretty mean. Old habits die hard and all that." So she spent her time training, too? There's something they had in common. She was turning out to be more than he expected. He wondered about that friend of hers and if it was that... that guy he talked to. He was pretty tough on him, but he seemed alright. Like someone he knew back home. "That's great. Having your friends with you here. I bet it makes things a little more... I don't know. Fun?"
"Pretty mean, huh? Could have fooled me." A sudden gust of wind caused to pull her knees to her chest, and she shivered slightly. When he mentioned her friends again, she nodded with a slight smile. "Fun? Yeah, some times. Sometimes it's just...complicated." She shook her head slightly. "But I've had some fun since being here. What about you...you mentioned not really...having any friends from home?" She was curious--he had seemed a little reluctant to talk about it in the journals, but maybe roof-by-moonlight was a more ideal setting for that kind of thing.
"My attitude took a one-eighty degree turn for the better, I guess you could say." He lifted his knee up as well, letting his other leg hang freely over the castle's ledge. "It's fine. You don't need to talk about... it. I bet it's hard enough." He refered to her current situation with that guy. That guy who ate prunes. Yeah, that guy. He thought about his friends and then he thought about Laura. If she was a teammate or if he could call her a friend, too. "Yeah. There's... there's this girl here--Laura. I don't--I don't really know anything about her. We live at the school together, but we've never really hung out." He tried to explain without telling her about their line of work. Would she even believe him? "But that's not even the case here. She doesn't remember me. I think this place must have scrambled her memories, so even the one person I recognize thinks I'm a total stranger."
She smiled, relieved that she wasn't going to be pressed. She was begining to like this guy more and more--he could float, he was cute, and he didn't pry. So instead of responding, she just sort of nodded. When explained his situation with the girl from his world, she looked vaguely troubled and sympathetic. "I see--this castle did something similar to me. I forgot...someone from home too. Apparently we had been pretty close back home--needless to say, it was awkward when I was confronted with it." Awkward at first at least--and now, it was awkward for totally different reasons. She pushed those thoughts away--"It must be lonely for you--being here alone like that." After she spoke, she blushed slightly--realizing that it came out a little more bluntly than she had perhaps intended. "But that's what making new friends is good for!" She smiled. "You said you were in school? How old are you?"
He wasn't sure what to say about that--About what the castle was doing to people. As far as he knew, he wasn't affected. There wasn't anyone around he could ask that would know whether he lost a memory or... or something else. He would try not to dwell too much on that, though. It would drive him nuts. He only listened to her contently because it was all he could do. Until she asked him about his situation in Paradisa. Was he lonely? He was, but... could he ever admit that? "It's a lot quieter than my school, yeah." Was all he said. "But the company has improved," he smiled, looking towards her. To answer her question, he stood up from their spot, which was kind of a drag, since he was enjoying sitting next to her, but he thought he'd demonstrate something. "It's a special school for people with powers like mine." He began to levitate slowly and away from the ledge, rotating himself to keep his eyes on her. "And I'm sixteen. You?"
She blushed very slightly at his compliment, and spoke quickly to make up for it. "Quieter than your school? Geez, your school must be crazy!" She gestured to the zombies in distance with a short laugh that faded as she watched him stand...and float! She had seen airbending before, but this was all still very novel to her. She couldn't help herself from gasping a little, and laughing delightedly--"Wow, okay your school really must be special!" Her smile widened at his response to her question. "Really? I'm fifteen."
"Oh, don't even get me started!" he laughed. His school was definitely crazy, but the zombies were still something to be amazed by. Continuing to slowly move away from her, he wondered about something... "You said you wanted to fly, didn't you?" A translucent green aura eminated from his hand, but he paused, waiting for an answer before he tried what he had in mind.
"Fly? Of course! I've never flown before..." She had seen Aang fly--but that was it. Airbending was almost totally extinct in her world, and things like airplanes were nonexistant. She looked at him with growing wonder. "Can you...actually make me fly?"
"Kind of." He went ahead and lifted the girl from her seat, carefully, guiding her towards him. "It's not that I can make you fly, but that I can lift objects with my mind," he explained to her and held out his hand for support. "Where you go is up to me. It stinks, I know. But just hold my hand, and I won't let you fall."
She gasped much more audibly this time as she felt herself lifted up--for a moment a pang of fear passed through her body, but it was quickly overwhellmed by joy and amazement. When she reached him, she grasped his hand, and held on tightly with a grin. "You think this stinks? Even with you driving it's incredible" She laughed and winked. "And I know you won't let me fall--if you do I'll come back and haunt you."
"Glad to know you feel that way. I just didn't want you to get the wrong idea and that I could actually... give you flying powers or something." He laughed at himself, feeling really good that he could make someone smile again; rather than frown. "I seriously wouldn't mind having a cute ghost haunting me every night," he shot back. Moving cautiously through the air at first, with her in hand. He didn't want to go zero-to-sixty and freak her out on their first flying session.
"I'd be sure to make myself really scary then. Like those guys" She pointed to the zombies which were now below them--and realized they were at a pretty dizzying height. She tightened her grip on his hand slightly, and glanced back to his face to get her bearings. Still--this all felt pretty incredible, and definitely helped her get her mind off things. As they began to move forward, she couldn't help herself from giggling--"If I could do this, I'd be outside every single night."
"Oh, hey, that's so not fair!" He took a look at those crazed things, "Maybe going up is a better idea." Keeping her hand locked in his, he changed directions and head up towards the moon, into the clouds. "Now you have a pretty good idea on why I've been coming up here and why I'll try to make this an everyday thing." He hooked his arm around hers for a better hold on her. Yeah, that's it. Don't want her falling now. "You can join me whenever you feel... suffocated... down there." He pointed towards the castle.
As they traveled upwards, Suki felt more and more wonder at her situation--and it showed on her face. She wasn't exactly a closed off person--but tonight her face was an open book: blue eyes wide and amazed, and mouth vacilating between a smile and general surprise. She had a smile on when she glanced back to Julian though. "It's too beautiful up here--I can definitely see why you're a fan of being outside." As he pulled her closer, she felt a mix of mild anxiety and relief--and accepted to the arm-hooking as a very nice thing. Nice and secure. "Lately, it's been really suffocating." She laughed. "It must be the zombies..." She met his eyes, and offered him another smile--smaller, a little sadder, but geniuine. "Thank you. I'll definitely have to take you up on that offer."
It was nice being up here with someone, he thought, but he still didn't feel like he belonged here; like he could ever settle with the idea of being stuck here. She was making it easier, but maybe this wasn't right, and he kept telling himself that. "It really is pretty amazing," he added. He could at least enjoy the moment, though. That was good enough for him. "It's always available." Because there was not that many other people he had to take flying. So he knew for sure her seat on Hellion Airlines would be free. He thought maybe she'd had enough breathtaking excitement for the night and considered starting down towards the roof, but when he looked at her, she seemed so delighted. Asking her first would be a better idea. "Ready to call it a night, Suki? Or..." He trailed off, deliberately not finishing his sentence to see if she'd protest or agree.
"Do you mind if we go a little higher?" She felt almost foolish after asking the question, and so she looked down. "I mean, it is kind of late--I definitely understand if you're ready to head back." What she didn't say is that she was not ready to face the reality of what was back at the castle--outside or in. It seemed like the sky was currently the only place where she was completely free from feeling...bad. Still, she smiled back up to him. "We can go back if you promise to be around the roof this week."
Uh-oh. There was no way he could let her think he was tired or ready to call a quits, so he decided to give her a quick thrill. "Suki..." She wanted to go higher and while he could appreciate taking their time and enjoying their sailing through the stars, he figured he could make things a bit more exciting for her before it was time to go back. Without giving her an answer just yet, he faced her with a playful grin. "You trust me, right?"
She blinked, then grinned back slowly. "Yeah...I trust you, Julian." She added his name for emphasis--a nice name, but very strange--there definitely wasn't a Julian back on her world. She tilted her head to the side, questioning. "Why?"
"Great!" He quickly responded before letting go of her hand and prayed she wouldn't clobber him out of fear. Using his telekinesis to keep her afloat, he swooped her up, cradling her in between his arms. "Wrap your arms around my neck and hold on tight!" He waited until he could feel she had done so before the next step.
Her jaw dropped in shock as she was scooped into his arms, and she felt herself blushing much more heavily than before. Under different circumstances, she might have objected--but tonight, floating under the moon, things were a little different--so she did as instructed, and tried to keep the silly smile that was threatening to appear at a minimum.
"Okay, remember. I'm not letting you fall." He reminded her as he shot up through the clouds at high speed, dashing through the star-filled sky over Paradisa with a simple goal in mind: Trying to get her as close to the moon as he could. No, he wasn't dumb enough to fly into orbit, but he remembered how cool it was to get so close to something that seemed so infinitely far away. He couldn't remember the last time he had fun like this. Times like this were practically lost back home.
She restrained herself from squealing, but couldn't stop herself from laughing--she tightened her grip on his neck the faster they went, but fear was far from her mind---she felt drunk, dizzy, and happier than she had felt in weeks. When she finally had the self-possession to take a look around, she noticed the moon and how huge it seemed, and her laughter returned. "I--oh gods, I can't believe how big the moon is!" She knew she sounded childish, but she couldn't care. "It's so beautiful!!"
One thing's for sure; she seemed to have no problem keeping her cool in a somewhat panicky situation. Well, he shouldn't be suprised. She said she was a warrior afterall. "I know. It's great, isn't it? When I first did this, the Headmaster grounded me for a week." He slowed their pace and came to a halt, fully aware of his limits and careful not to push them. "I thought it was so worth it."
"You mean you got in trouble?" Headmasters, schools--these weren't concepts she was fluent in, but she could understand well enough to keep up. "I think...well, I think I'd do it too, even if I got in trouble." She looked to the moon again, still enthralled. "It's almost like you could just reach out and touch it..." She laughed a little embarassedly "But obviously we can't. Spirits are impossible for humans to get a handle on." Due to her recent circumstance, the moon shouldn't have exactly been comforting...still, Suki couldn't help finding it beautiful, and even though the implications weren't great--the moon still remained a source of comfort for her. The moon and everything under the night sky. "The stars are beautiful up here too. Everything is." She glanced back to his face, feeling suddenly very shy--aware of how close they actually were. "Thank you...you've really made my night. Well, my week."
"Yeah, well... I was still new to flying, and they were worried I could have hurt myself without any supervision. I was a real troublemaker back then." He was older, but all this mentioning about school and teachers and... everything must have made him seem much younger. Sometimes he forgot how young he really was and reminders like this were too few in number. "...Spirits?" He wondered, curiously. Maybe it was something she believed in. "Sometimes it's just too much to take--all of this. You just have to take a deep breath and appreciate the things you take for granted. You never know when they might just be taken away." He didn't consider himself a wise person; he just spoke from experience. "You seemed like you needed it. It was... It was nothing." But maybe it was. "I just hope things get better."
"A troublemaker? That's funny--back home, I was the leader of a group of girls who took care of troublemakers." She grinned, and felt a sudden pang of homesickness. She'd been in Paradisa for a while but...well, you could never really get used to it. "Oh...where I come from, we have a spirits for things like the moon...well. she's here in Paradisa now, actually." She wondered suddenly if Yue's absence had thrown her own world into chaos, and felt absurdly selfish for caring about Yue's presence strife in her personal life. But as he continued speaking, thoughts of Yue subsided and she found herself smiling again. "I guess you're right. Things change fast--but the weirdest thing about Paradisa is that things change all the time...but oddly, the place just stays the same. It's like, being stuck...in time or something." She laughed a little nervously. "Anyways..." She met his eyes, and in their current position the gesture was more intimate than she was prepared for. Still, he had nice eyes. "I...yeah, I did need it." She smiled. "And well...I hope they do too. I think they already...might be." She was feeling much better at least. a yawn overtook her suddenly, and she disentagled a hand from his neck to cover her mouth. "Hah, I guess it's later than I realized..."
"I'll have to make sure not to go around causing trouble around here. I'd like to stay on your good side." Though troublemaking was something he had long since put behind him, he still got in trouble... often. The moon is here? Okay, that just sounded weird. The first thing he imagined was that old moon mascot from McDonald's hanging out at the castle, and that was just too weird. He shook that image out of his mind, though. Being friends with Sooraya, a Sunni Muslim, taught him to respect what others believed in, and he felt it was best not to get into detail. It was good to talk on your first date, but not bore your date by questioning everything about her. Not that this was a date. It was--Well, it wasn't a date. She seemed to have enough on her plate without labeling this a date. He met her gaze and wasn't sure what to-- "Yeah... I'll--I'll take you to your room. You must be tired. I kinda am, too." Better he took her home before... before anything. He started his descent. "I can take you straight to your window, if you're okay with that."
"Straight to my window? That would be perfect. You're really spoiling you me, you know--a flight to the moon and a ride home." She grinned. "And even though I was responsible for keeping the peace back home, I got into my fair share of trouble. I used to tease the boys in my village, and most boys can't handle a little teasing." She laughed lightly, and rewrapped her arms around his neck at their descent. Coming down wasn't quite as much fun as coming up, she decided.
"Alright then. Next stop: Suki's window it is." If he was in a good mood when he was out here flying alone, he was in a fantastic mood out here flying with her. "When you travel on Air Julian, you travel in style. It's First Class all the way." He smiled happilly, having loads of fun while he picked up the speed as they fell towards Paradisa. "I can handle anything you dish out, Suki, but don't be surprised if my teasing involves my telekinesis. You might wake up floating four feet above your bed in the morning." The tall, ancient-looking castle was growing in size the closer they got until he could make out the individual room windows. "I'm not psychic. Where to next, Beautiful?" He didn't mean to say it. Something from his past he accidentally let slip. "I--I mean, where to next, Suki?"
"I'm fine with waking up floating above my bed--as long as the waking up isn't the result of being dropped." She laughed, "And I'll be sure to remember you can handle anything I dish out." She was surprised at herself--how easy it was to flirt him. Honestly, it felt really nice. But when he called her beautiful, she felt herself blush heavily--and fought back a smile. "1603. And if you keep flattering me, I am never going to believe anything you say."
"Way to take the fun out of it." He smirked, and that grew into a grin as she continued to let him have it. She really was fun to be around. Judging by the number of floors and the windows that span across the castle walls, he spotted her room. "I guess I'll keep the flattering to a minimum, if that's the way you want it," he teased her some more. Thinking about that "Beautiful" remark, he was in no way going to take it back, since it was definitely true. Apologize for it, maybe. It might have been a bit too forward. Slowing down as he reached their destination, he gently set her down inside. A feat he could have easily accomplished with his powers, but he decided to do physically instead. "...This was really fun." He told her as he let go. "And about the beautiful thing..." He wasn't sure how to put it. Maybe he shouldn't say anything at all. "...I really meant it, okay?"
She laughed, "Just because I might not believe what you're saying doesn't mean I don't like hearing it." After being eased into her window, she turned back to face the floating Julian, feeling the now familiar blush creeping back across her face--still, she managed to look him in the eyes and offer another big smile. "Thanks...for everything. It really meant a lot." On an impulse she reached out and touched his hand briefly. "I hope I see you again soon. Goodnight..." She turned to go, but as she took her first step away,she made a sudden turn on her heel. "Oh, and as far as being beautiful goes...well, you're pretty cute yourself." She grinned, waved, and walked further into her room.
He smiled awkwardly. That wasn't what he meant by it--Well, he did mean it. She was beautiful. It was just something he used frequently when talking to girls back when he was a bit of a player. There was just no way to explain that now. No... he wanted this--this meeting to end on a good note. But he meant what he said; he just wished he picked a different word. "Thanks for keeping me company tonight. We'll do it again. I promise." He started floating away when she added more to their goodbye. He gave her confident smile and a sharp wink. "Sweet dreams, Suki." He wished her and took off.