Zephyros Aetai
Kitty Kat
Academy Junior: Small God
Even the mightest Hurricane started as the gentlest of breezes...
Posts: 1,380
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Post by Zephyros Aetai on Oct 4, 2009 21:06:50 GMT -5
Zeph nodded slowly, "Yeah, I'm fine. I did worse when I hit my head on the table."
He stood slowly, keeping his balance well. He settled in his chair again, smiling at Ian. "Thanks. Aritha knows her strength enough to keep from giving me a concussion. I won't even bruise."
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Post by ianharris on Oct 4, 2009 22:04:19 GMT -5
"If you're sure, then..." Ian got back in his seat and took another bite of his ham. There wasn't much left. A shame. "It's good that you won't be hurt. I think too many people are visiting the sick bay these days... Miss Evans-Barros must be feeling very overworked..."
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Post by natalieburns on Oct 4, 2009 22:06:40 GMT -5
Natalie put her hand on Ian's shoulder. "That's our Ian. Always thinking about other people. It's so cute." She smiled evilly, imagining Ian's reaction to that statement.
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Post by ianharris on Oct 4, 2009 22:08:49 GMT -5
Ian lowered himself in his chair and stopped chewing. His entire face went red from embarrassment. "Uh... um... er... tha... ah... thanks..."
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Zephyros Aetai
Kitty Kat
Academy Junior: Small God
Even the mightest Hurricane started as the gentlest of breezes...
Posts: 1,380
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Post by Zephyros Aetai on Oct 4, 2009 22:13:10 GMT -5
Zeph nodded, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah... the woman works miracles, though. I should get her some flowers or something as a thank you for helping me with the last time I hit my head. ...Aramis just fixed a rosebush, I could get a few from there. Oh, hey... you watched him do that, didn't you? The kid has some skill... I swear he doesn't need any practice controlling his magic. Not like me."
Zeph chuckled, propping his chin on his hand against the table. His grin widened at Ian's reaction and he chuckled again, jerking his head to get a lock of hair out of his eyes. "Careful Natalie, you might break him."
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Post by natalieburns on Oct 4, 2009 22:26:18 GMT -5
Natalie laughed so hard she spit out the bit of ham she was chewing. "Oh, he'll be fine. Besides, if he does break, our wonderful Ellie can put him back together for us, so we can break him all over again."
She brushed a stray hair out of Ian's forehead that had fallen during his attempt to help Zeph, but that only made him go redder. If any more blood goes into his head, she thought to herself, He'll explode...
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Zephyros Aetai
Kitty Kat
Academy Junior: Small God
Even the mightest Hurricane started as the gentlest of breezes...
Posts: 1,380
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Post by Zephyros Aetai on Oct 4, 2009 23:21:59 GMT -5
Zeph grinned, then glanced at his food... which he had not yet taken so much as a bite of. More out of the fact that he needed to eat than being hungry, he dutifully ate a bit. He wasn't a fan of ham... which Ian seemed to really like. Not that he had been able to get any of his favorite foods here... Maybe he should write to his parents to ask for some real recipes from their chef. He missed real, proper Greek food. This American stuff was rather tasteless.
"Mmm. Ian does look pretty easy to break. It's your American sensibilities, honestly. Even Jason isn't so hard to get," he teased.
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Post by ianharris on Oct 4, 2009 23:48:25 GMT -5
Ian tried to make his head disappear into his shoulders. It didn't work. "I... I think it has more to do with... er... other stuff... most Americans are pretty hard to break. I'm just a freak, I suppose... not normal..."
He was very aware that his face was still red. Ian knew that he needed to be more careful. The less people aware of his growing feelings for Natalie, the better. He had promised Vincent that he would take the whole thing slow, and he intended to keep that promise. He didn't really feel like getting on Vincent's bad side...
...that could end really badly...
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Zephyros Aetai
Kitty Kat
Academy Junior: Small God
Even the mightest Hurricane started as the gentlest of breezes...
Posts: 1,380
|
Post by Zephyros Aetai on Oct 4, 2009 23:53:06 GMT -5
"I didn't say Americans were hard to break. They're just easy to embarass. I didn't think a human face could get so red," he chortled. Then the words Ian had said really penetrated and his face grew instantly serious.
"You are not a freak, Ian. Not by any stretch of the imagination. And don't let anyone convince you otherwise," he told him firmly.
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Post by ianharris on Oct 5, 2009 0:34:41 GMT -5
Ian nodded. "I'm sorry... I guess that word is just burned into my brain. Being grabbed and having it screamed at you does that to a person, I suppose..." Oops. That wasn't good. Ian mentally slapped himself. A response like that would provoke questions, and questions weren't good. Especially about that particular incident. "I mean... er... getting called it every day does... um..."
Time to change the subject.
"You haven't... er... eaten much, Zeph." Ian said nervously. "Are you not hungry?"
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Zephyros Aetai
Kitty Kat
Academy Junior: Small God
Even the mightest Hurricane started as the gentlest of breezes...
Posts: 1,380
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Post by Zephyros Aetai on Oct 5, 2009 0:44:34 GMT -5
"Not really," Zeph said... maybe if he ignored what Ian said about being called a freak Ian would ignore/forget about asking about Apollos.
"Hey Aritha... weren't you going to go make a proto-type so you could dress Natalie up?" he asked, turning to his vampiric friend in an attempt to completely derail any and all of the conversation that was going.
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Post by Aritha Bianca Kairavi on Oct 5, 2009 0:48:19 GMT -5
It worked. Aritha looked over at Natalie hopefully, putting her pencils away. "I could, I have the fabric right now. I would need your measurements..."
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Post by natalieburns on Oct 5, 2009 0:52:02 GMT -5
"Of course." Natalie finished off her food - she was fast eater, after all. "I'll come with you right now if you'd like. Leave the boys to their boring conversation about... whatever it is boys talk about." She stood. "Shall we go?"
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Post by Aritha Bianca Kairavi on Oct 5, 2009 0:57:55 GMT -5
Aritha nodded, standing and gathering all of her things. She flashed Zeph and Ian a grin, patting Zeph on the head.
"Play nice, boys," she teased, her skirt flaring as she spun to leave. She knew there were several pairs of eyes on her as she left, which just added to her good mood. "C'mon, Natalie, we're going to run out of time if we don't hurry."
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Post by natalieburns on Oct 5, 2009 0:59:51 GMT -5
"I'm coming, I'm coming." Natalie smiled down at the boys. "Goodbye, Zeph, Ian. Ian, you can come find me later." She turned on her heel and followed Aritha out of the room, whistling to herself as she went.
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Post by ianharris on Oct 5, 2009 1:05:03 GMT -5
Ian watched Natalie go, sad to see her leave. Not that he didn't want Zeph's company, of course. But it always felt bad when Natalie went away from him. Ian took another bite of his ham, and the pain lessened slightly. He made a mental note to ask the cook how exactly he made the ham so good, so Ian could have it over summer break, if there was a summer break in this place.
The Apollos question was eating at his brain. He was dying to know, but he knew that he would be taking a rather big risk by asking. It usually wasn't a good idea to learn about people's pasts, because that usually meant getting tangled up in them. And that was never good.
But restraint about curiosity was never a trait Ian was good at.
"Can I ask a question? You don't have to answer." He said uneasily. "Who is Apollos?" Now, all that could be done is sit and make sure he hadn't made a huge mistake...
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Zephyros Aetai
Kitty Kat
Academy Junior: Small God
Even the mightest Hurricane started as the gentlest of breezes...
Posts: 1,380
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Post by Zephyros Aetai on Oct 5, 2009 1:15:29 GMT -5
Zeph flinched, sighing. He looked at Ian closely, narrowing his eyes. "If I answer that, you have to answer an equally unpleasant question," he told him, pushing his food aside. He was tired of picking at the parts he didn't really want, and had already eaten the parts he did.
He pursed his lips, not wanting the tables around them hearing what he had to say. "If I'm going to tell you, I'm going to cheat so only you hear... besides, it's a spell I've been wanting to work on."
Maybe that would put Ian off... Ian had a thing against unsupervised magic, he knew. Though he was very confident about this little work of magic. It was right in his speciality, and he was certain of his control. It was just a tiny little weave... Oddly, he was hoping Ian would take him up on that. While he didn't want to talk about Apollos... or more, about why he knew Apollos... he really really really wanted to use this spell.
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Post by ianharris on Oct 5, 2009 17:20:14 GMT -5
Ian raised his eyebrows. Another speech like the one he'd given Aramis in the courtyard was on his lips, ready to burst forth. But he stopped himself. After all, Zeph seemed a bit more... practiced than Aramis. And he was making sure that Ian was okay with it first, rather than just using his magic randomly. And since Ian could guess what Zeph's unpleasant question was, he figured that a spell that made it so only the two could hear was actually a pretty good idea.
"I agree to both." Ian said finally. "I'll answer your question, and you can go ahead with the spell... I won't say a word to anyone..."
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Zephyros Aetai
Kitty Kat
Academy Junior: Small God
Even the mightest Hurricane started as the gentlest of breezes...
Posts: 1,380
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Post by Zephyros Aetai on Oct 5, 2009 18:15:56 GMT -5
"At the moment, no one would hear you anyway," Zeph said, focusing. Around them was the slightest sound of a breeze, and the sounds of the other students in the room grew very distant. Zeph looked rather satisfied with himself, then looked at Ian.
"I'll answer your question first... and then ask mine."
He leaned back, thinking. How much to tell... "Short version... Apollos seduced a boyfriend of mine... you remember what I did to Jonathan? He was extremely lucky. Apollos..."
Did he really want to tell Ian that? "Apollos ended up in the hospital... for a long time."
That was probably enough. He leaned forward, looking at Ian with narrowed eyes. "Your turn. Why exactly is the idea that you are a freak so burned into your mind? Who was heartless enough to do that to you?"
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Post by ianharris on Oct 5, 2009 18:45:46 GMT -5
Ian leaned back and dropped his fork on the plate, his ham forgotten. Could Zeph really do that?
"I'm... sorry." He said softly. "It must have been painful... I hope it never happens to you again. Getting cheated on, that is."
Now it was Ian's turn. He fixed his eyes on Zeph's plate of food, not wanting to look him in the eye. He didn't really want to talk about what had happened to burn the word "freak" into his brain, but Zeph had answered Ian's question, so Ian had to uphold his end of the deal.
"When I... was still in high school, before Dunehelden, I didn't know that my illusions were... illusions. I didn't even know magic existed. I couldn't control myself... I had hallucinations for years. My family knew all the psychologists in town by their first names. In high school, it only got worse... I started having violent spasms, like magical seizures. Put me in the hospital for days."
That was the easy part. Now for the hard part. "There was this other boy... his name was Dylan. He was in my first hour. We... er... we talked a few times, but I... I didn't really know him. Apparently, he started seeing things too. My magic was affecting him. Eventually... he... killed his dad."
"We knew his family, so we... er... we attended the funeral." Ian swallowed. "The boy's mother was there... she was heartbroken. After the funeral, she grabbed me, cornered me in a back room. She told me... she told me she knew everything. Knew why Dylan had gone insane. Knew why her husband had died. And she blamed.... she blamed me. Called me a freak over and over... told me I was inhuman... swore that she'd finish me off herself..."
Ian shivered at the memory of the woman's cracked mind. Already he could hear her screeching voice... feel her nails slicing into his skin... see the wild look in her eyes. "My... my cousin managed to get me out of there... I haven't seen Wendy since..." He shivered again, and was silent.
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Zephyros Aetai
Kitty Kat
Academy Junior: Small God
Even the mightest Hurricane started as the gentlest of breezes...
Posts: 1,380
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Post by Zephyros Aetai on Oct 5, 2009 19:12:50 GMT -5
Zephyros blinked, quickly processing what Ian had told him. "Well, that explains why Aramis hasn't been using his magic like he usually does. You must have mentioned that to him. And I know he is best at those things that affect the body... healing, and damaging. He's healed a scrape or two of mine. Nothing like when I hit my head on the table or anything..."
He looked at the table, his finger tapping on the veneered plywood. "Apollos wasn't the only one I landed in the hospital. I... I'm not sure I'm ready for Jason to know this... but my exboyfriend... I landed him right next to Apollos. Same fight."
His eyes looked up at Ian, the expression in his eyes telling him that he was pretty much trusting Ian with his life. Also... he was in a way thanking Ian for stopping him. He might not like Jonathan, but he didn't want to hurt him. Not really.
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Post by ianharris on Oct 5, 2009 19:39:43 GMT -5
Ian nodded, ashamed. "Yeah... I let slip about Dylan by accident. I don't let it out often... how could I?"
He leaned back in his chair and kept his eyes fixed on Zeph's plate of food. "...I understand. You'll tell Jason when you're ready... but I can see how you'd want to hide that." Ian leaned forward again, raising his eyes to Zeph's throat. "But they're both alive, right? And in their right minds? Mr. Caldwell is dead, and Dylan's in a mental institution. At least the two were able to recover... weren't they?"
Truthfully, Ian didn't know where Dylan was... he knew that Dylan had spent time in the state psychiatric facility. But Paula, in one of her rare moods, told Ian that Dylan had been moved, and she didn't know where. And as for Wendy, Dylan's mother...
Paula wouldn't talk about her. And Ian didn't ask.
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Zephyros Aetai
Kitty Kat
Academy Junior: Small God
Even the mightest Hurricane started as the gentlest of breezes...
Posts: 1,380
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Post by Zephyros Aetai on Oct 5, 2009 19:47:04 GMT -5
Zephyros nodded slowly, "I think so... or my father covered everything up. He's got the money to do so. And to keep everyone who might tell me otherwise away from me."
He leaned back, thinking. "I definitely see why you would keep what happened to this Dylan quiet. Especially with.... Jonathan. You seem to run into these magical mis-haps like most people breathe."
He rather hoped Hyakinthos and Apollos were okay. He didn't like the idea of being blamed for brain damage....
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Post by ianharris on Oct 5, 2009 21:11:35 GMT -5
Ian nodded. "...I'm a bit scared to think about what would happen if Jonathan found out about Dylan... I'd never hear the end of it. So far, I think only Aramis and you know about it... I haven't even told Natalie. Oh, and Veronique, but the Headmistress knows everything, so..."
After a few deep breaths, Ian spoke again. "I'm really worried about this summer, though..." He said nervously. "...there's no way to keep her away from me. If I leave the safety of the castle... there's nothing to protect me. Well, there's Paula, but she can only do so much..."
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Zephyros Aetai
Kitty Kat
Academy Junior: Small God
Even the mightest Hurricane started as the gentlest of breezes...
Posts: 1,380
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Post by Zephyros Aetai on Oct 5, 2009 21:18:55 GMT -5
Zephyros looked at him thoughtfully. "Well... the headmistress would probably be willing to help you... she might not 'like' students but she does care for our wellbeing. Otherwise she wouldn't get so irritated at certain things."
He smiled, "Well, my lips are sealed. I would have no reason to tell anyone, anyway. Aramis is so quiet sometimes it's surprising anyone knows his name. The boy could be a ghost for all the trouble he gets in. Now... I think I just heard that I've got about ten minutes to get to class, so I'll end this spell and we can both forget this happened, yes?"
He grinned, and suddenly the sounds of normal conversation resumed around them, incredibly loud compared to the near silence they had been sitting in. Zeph stood and grabbed the leftovers of his food, nodding at Ian. "I'll be seeing you around. Aritha's one of my best friends, and she and Natalie are almost inseparable. Don't get any more trouble, yes?"
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