welcome

[Tatiana Zeklos]

It was just one of those perfect days that they sometimes got on the island during the summer. They were certainly rare and few in number, but when they happened, it was like living in heaven. The sun was shining with a few sparse clouds doting the sky. Plants were blooming. Animals were running around through the forest. It was all bright and lively. Having lived in the eternally cold country, Tatiana loved the sun beating down on her here. It was just so warm and she felt like she could stay there forever. The humidity was there and it made it uncomfortable, but it was a price she was willing to pay for the endless sunshine they had. So instead of being inside like some of her classmates had chosen to do, she had gotten dressed and headed outside. Nothing fancy since she was not one to care about her looks much. Just a simple cute little summer dress that had been a gift from her mother. Her hair was in nothing more than a ponytail. While not looking like some of the girls around that simply wore t-shirts all the time, Tati certainly didn't consider herself one of the rich beauties who walked around. Turning her face towards the sun like a flower as she walked, she began the long walk to one of her favorite spots.

It was a spot off the beaten path trail that the school had created through the island for people who liked walking and things like that. It had just been one of those happy coincidences as decided to venture off the path. Had her mother been there, she would have stopped her from hiking through the forest in a new dress like that. Eventually she found herself in the familiar clearing. It was nothing special when she had discovered it, but she had seen the potential in it. What had used to be nothing more then a grassy clearing in the middle of the forest was now blooming with more colors. Through her power, she had coaxed some wildflower patches to grow bigger and more vibrant. It was like talking to a child and convincing it to do something it wasn't already interested in doing. Her hand reached out to brush the tops of the flowers as she walked by and it was almost as if the plants grew closer to her hand. Then leaning back in the ground, Tati lay there in the sun surrounded by grass and flowers. Perfect.

[Mason Cunningham]

It was one of those awful days where nothing was working out the way Mason had hoped. After spending two hours in the guidance counselor’s office, the man had said he was a trained psychologist but seemed to look like a teenager at his first job so for now he would be referred to as the guidance counselor, he was ready to burst. It wasn’t bad enough that he already felt jittery and ready to crawl out of his own skin on a normal day, but now he had been asked to sit still for two hours. Did they not understand how long two hours was? That was even long for someone who was normal, but to Mason everything was slowed down, so going over why drugs are bad and hugs are good for two hours had been the worst type of torture for him. Mason looked down at his hand and could see it twitching, he tried to hold with his other hand, in a not obvious way, but he wasn’t having so much luck in that department. So far while being at this school Mason had three things; no friends, no education, and no drugs. The drugs were probably an excellent explanation for the other two. He was so wired all the time he didn’t feel like himself, he hadn’t been able to hold a steady conversation let alone actually pay attention in class. Not to mention that was only when he was feeling well enough to get out of bed. It was slowly starting to dawn on him that he might be a little too dependent on his little helpers, but he wanted that relief so badly. If this nightmare ever ended he swore to whatever supernatural power may exist that he wouldn’t let it get that bad again.

He had to keep moving though, it was the only thing keeping him sane at this point. Moving helped the jittering stop; it allowed his movement to be focused somewhere. Though it was a bit odd to see a kid walking down the hall with his legs blurred. As much as he missed talking to people, or conning people, he needed some way to relieve the tension in his muscles. As sick as it made him feel a nice run seemed to be the answer. So he took himself out to the grounds and started jogging, though his jogging was faster than most sprint runners. And it felt good; it was probably the first time Mason had felt good since coming to the college. He knew this feeling would go away the minute he stopped but he didn’t have much time to think about that, as quickly as his mind worked it had to concentrate and what he was doing and where he was going. Otherwise he might run into people or trees. Either way at the speed he was going neither one of those things would be fun to hit. Before he knew it he was in a full-fledged run. He never even had to think about making himself go faster, his breathing was a bit more labored but there was a grin plastered on his face.

Then his mind started to wander, he was getting used to the dodging to he figured it was safe to allow himself to think a bit. Maybe this could become a regular thing. Come out for a run once a day, maybe before breakfast, earn an appetite considering his eating habits had diminished lately, and maybe have a better start to the day. He felt something squish beneath his feet. It was only for a second and had his reflexes been a few seconds slower he would have missed it all together. He slowed down a bit to take a glance back. His eyes went wide and he slid himself to a halt changing direction. Mason was back to the in seconds to behold his destruction. He had trampled through a small garden of flowers. But it wasn’t the flowers that had Mason flustered it was the girl standing next to them and her expression. He had messed up big time. Standing only a few feet away he saw the expression change, and an anger appear. The anger was something he had seen before; it was the sort of anger the proceeded action. So Mason did the only thing that came naturally, he ran.

[Tatiana Zeklos]

Having lived in a small town where there were few kids and than suddenly being thrown into a school with thousands of people on the island had thrown her at first. Tati was so unused to being surrounded by so many bodies. Being around plants was different though. Though they pressed in closer around her than people did, it felt more open and less crushing. She could feel each individual plant around her, but it wasn't scary. Then suddenly a rushing wind and a blur ran past her and she felt the loss of an entire path of flowers. Suddenly that area of her vision was devoid of the colors that had been there before. Normally she was a pacifist and very calm. It was something that she got from her parents and their more laid-back way of living. However with this, she immediately jumped up to see what had run past. All the while Tatiana's face clinched up into an angry scowl that promised a slow painful death to the person who did this. Whoever the person was though suddenly reappeared in the clearing as they ran past her once again. She almost had the urge to jump back in shock, but her anger was stronger than that.

Glaring at the center of the blur, she watched them run by at a superhuman speed and automatically knew it was a student. Too fast to tell how old or even just what color the person had, but she assumed it wasn't an agent. Every time the person stepped on a particularly large part of the plant though, Tati's power kept up and told her he was still near. The plant didn't necessarily tell her it was being stepped on, but she could feel the pressure and discomfort of the plant. So she tapped into a plant far along in the person's path and essentially suggested to the plant to move it's roots up farther out of the ground and at settle at shin height. Then she asked it to move it's branches further down into the person's face. It was quick though and she knew she had to time it just right to get the blur at the perfect time. Too quick and it would just run around. Too slow and it would go right past. So she waited and then pressed the trees to move. The order passed onto the a few of the trees next to it as well creating a small wall of greenery. She held it with her power until she got too tired before pulling back, knowing the plant would resume it's original shape.