Ｔｈｅ Ｅｌｅｍｅｎｔａｌｓ {Ｓｅｍｉ－Ａｄｖａｎｃｅ Ｒｏｌｅ－ｐｌａｙ} discussion

***

Adeline loved the city, but it was moments like this that she missed the commune. There were plenty of things wrong with the private community of water Elementals, but at least the place had been quiet. Here, she could hardly find a calm place to simply think, and that was why she was forced to resort to the back streets and alleys of New York. They were more laid back, removed from the constant traffic and streets overflowing with pedestrians.
It was here that she tried to convince herself that Elle's decision was in fact a good one. The fire Elementals had only arrived at the mansion a few days ago, but doubt crept into Adeline with each passing hour that she found herself watching, and often times cleaning up, the chaos that some of the visitors were creating. She tried to look past their wild nature, accepting that some of that resided in herself, but was siding with them really worth it?

((Question, do they know who the other person is yet? Like their names and positions?))

((Nope they have no idea. ^.^))

Maximus, couldn't help himself from walking down this alley way, the same one he saw the girl in. It sickened him that all he could refer her to was 'the girl.' So the past few days he found himself simply visiting the alley way. All he did was walk up and down it and then carried on with his business. This oddly brought him comfort. But, as he turned the corner on this day, he stopped for this time he saw long copper gold hair walk ahead of him. A smile crossed his lips. Before he spoke he lowered his smile into a thin line. Perhaps a game could be played? "Hey!" He shouted. Hoping that it was in fact 'the girl.'

A small frown settled onto her lips when a voice rang out in the narrow opening between a bicycle repair shop and a studio up for lease. Generally, when someone called out to you in a dimly lit alley way, you didn't stop to see who it was, you ran away as fast as you could. There was something about it that sounded vaguely familiar however, and that was the only reason Adeline allowed herself to stop walking, turning to see just who had been following her.
Her gaze narrowed just a little when she saw the fire Elemental heading towards her. Was there no way to escape them? First she had to share her home with them, now they were following her around. She recognized the man from around the mansion. He was one of the less rambunctious of his kind, but he had witnessed the small incident that had occurred near here the other day when she was trying to get away from the new arrivals at the mansion. Using powers on humans wasn't usually something you would get praised for, even if they had a menacing look to them and an unregistered gun in the waistband of their jeans as they approached you in a dark corner. What truly stood out to Adeline, though, was the look in his eyes that seemed almost happy to see her. "What?"

Maximus had seen her around the mansion more than one occasion. But with his father's looming eyes hovering over his shoulder prevented Maximus from saying a word. Out here there was no complications that prevented him from doing so. Here he could be selfish and stupid. That thought thrilled Maximus to the bone. "I wanted to know why you didn't say anything to me back at the mansion. Sure our last meeting wasn't very kind, but I know you knew it was me. Even at night."

The second time Maximus saw her, his eyes set ablaze and his skin burned, a sensation he was not familiar with. But of course his father had been at his side. Hopefully the girl didn't know who he was, even if she did have an idea knowing would be worse. Knowing would mean that they could no longer talk like strangers. Knowing would mean that she would no longer want to speak to him. Maximus walked closer to the girl so they wouldn't have to be yelling at each other.

The corners of her lips thinned when the man let her know that he remembered the brief encounter. If he hadn't remembered, she could pretend like it never happened, like she didn't need him to keep his mouth shut about it. As the man approached, Adeline stood her ground, folding her arms over her chest almost defensively, knowing it was her most intimidating stance. As he drew closer and she realized he was at least a good head taller than her, she realized she had no chance of scaring him into submission.
When he came to stand only a few feet from her, she cursed the fire Elementals and their elevated body heat. With his nearness, Adeline could feel warmth enveloping her from head to toe and it was enough to make her draw a faint breeze into the alley to keep her physically and mentally cool, calm and collected. "The treaty hasn't been signed, I don't have to play nice with you just yet," she countered smoothly. "Though, I would appreciate if you would keep what you saw earlier to yourself."

Maximus cracked his head to the side and smiled. He thought it was rather cute that she thought to intimidate him by her stance. It took a lot for him to be intimidated. "Who would I tell? But what has you so nervous, you were simply protecting yourself." In the fire community hurting a human if you must would be nothing new. They only thing she didn't do was kill them, which Max would do if he got their faster. The thought of those pigs touch her.. It made him frown just thinking about it.

Human or not men like that didn't deserve to walk on this earth. Maximus looked up staring into the girls eyes,"You know I don't even know your name. All I know is that you can create air as you just did not moments ago. Needed to clear you're thoughts sweetheart?" He liked that she put up such a defense around her, most women that Max met could be so naive, and would let their guard down as soon as they meet someone. Not her though. Even though the first time it had been a dangerous situation he was happy to see now that she didn't change one bit.

If she had hackles, they would have risen when she saw that her display of strength only amused him. Arrogant son of a... Taking a steadying breath, she forced herself to calmly reply, "My people tend to pride ourselves with our self control." She gave the man a pointed look as she recalled the multiple fires around estate, and the expensive and recently singed carpets that had been left in the wake of his kind with in the last few days. Even in her annoyance, however, she didn't miss the minute shift in his eyes, a spark that suggested he didn't approve of the situation she had gotten herself into earlier in the week.
Adeline scowled at his mocking term of endearment. It pissed her off even more that she was the one getting riled up when it was the fire Elementals that were known for being hot headed, not air. "You don't know my name because you never asked for it, but I can assure you it isn't 'sweetheart', so don't ever call me that again," she snapped.

Maximus let out a chuckle, so his plan was working? He knew how to press the right buttons. Good to know. "Oh it seems you have more fire in you than you think. But here let me start, my name Is Max, or Maximus if you're feeling fancy." Max paused for a minute or two, his heart pounding out of fear. He certainly hoped that she hadn't heard that Maximus was the leaders name. So to help calm his nerves he said, "This is the part where you tell me your name."

Marc's mind wondered in slow motion as the seconds ticked by. He wondered what his mother would have thought of her. Would she approve? What was he thinking? He's only know the girl for a short time. If his mother was here, he thought she would say that he needs to take a minute and slow down. Get to know the girl before letting himself rush things. So, max slowed his breathing and calmed his excitement.

((He is a bit bipolar XD but I love them!))

Adeline's jaw clenched. She may have been born from fire, but she was an air elemental. When you are strong, loyal, and gifted, air would welcome you, whether you were pure or not. The fact that he was laughing helped her simmer down at least a little, because if she knew anything about fire Elementals, it was that keeping a pure bloodline was no laughing matter. It meant he knew nothing about her, or her heritage. If it had turned out that she had taken to the element, she would have been better off going rogue than looking to them for guidance.
For a moment, though, Adeline was strongly tempted to tell him exactly who she was. Maybe if he knew the kind of power she held, he would back off. But knowledge in itself was power, and she wasn't about to give it to him willingly. So after weighing her options carefully, she kept her answer short and sweet. "Adeline."

((So far so good! :) ))

A different type of smile formed on Max's lips, one that was soft, and sweet and most of all genuine. He had finally cracked her, even if it was only her name. Adeline. The name seem to fit her. Now max could no longer call her 'the girl'. "Well Adeline, thank you. For in my head these past few days I've been calling you'the girl.'" An idea suddenly hit Max, one that would be beneficial to him but also for his element. "If you have nothing to do, would you like to walk back to the Mansion together? It might show our elements that we believe in peace and that what ever cloth we are cut from we still believe in that. So what do you say?" Max step forward to the point where he stood infront of her, he looked back waiting for her to follow. Hopefully she knew by now that he didn't respond well to 'no'. Especially when it came to something like this.

Adeline could feel her tough exterior crumble, and she immediately tried to fortify it. Who was she to be disarmed by a warm smile? Who cared if her name off his lips was like music to her ears? She didn't know what kind of tricks this Maximus was playing, but she didn't like it one bit. But she could only blink when he announced that he had been thinking about her. Why the hell had he been thinking about her?
At his suggestion, Adeline's brow furrowed and her lips screwed to the side in indecision. She didn't want to go anywhere with him; the whole point of leaving the mansion in the first place had been to get some peace and quite, and she got the strong sense that he would be giving her none of that. But as much as she hated to admit it, it wasn't a bad idea. He might just be some Elemental, but as second in command, she was like a liaison to her people. She had come here to settle her doubts and maybe doing this would help do the same for others in her clan.
Again, it was a good idea, but it's not like she would ever say that to his face. "Fine."

((Okay so maybe they just stay in this thread for a while as they walk? That way they get more time together. :P))

Max was thrilled, for a seconds he was convinced that she would say no and that would be that. But no, she decided to walk with him. Perhaps he wasn't the only one feeling curious about the other? So like the gentlemen that Maximus is, he held his arm out her so they could loop arms. This way if they were attacked he would be there to protect her. Max would do this for anyone, because the thought of an innocent getting hurt by chance angered him to the bone. Filthy freaking humans. Max looked at Adeline as he took in her features once more. If anyone looked at her, say a random stranger passing her on the street, they would think she was a sweet insolent girl, with freckles crossing her nose all the way to her cheeks, and with her curled copper hair flowing about her. Anyone would mark that as a target by first glance. But once you take notice of Adeline, if you really look you can tell that she is a force to be reckoned with. Almost like she was made to be fire but was born with air pulsing from her fingers. If only she was a fire elemental, this would be such a different story.

((Sounds good!))

When his arm was thrust out to her, Adeline simply looked at it like it was a foreign object before turning her narrowed gaze to Max as if to say, "Really?" What did he think she was, some demur, fragile little lady who needed to be escorted from place to place? If there was anything he should know about her by now, it was that she could take care of herself.
Besides, if she got warm from standing only a few feet from him, she would overheat moments after making physical contact with him. Once again, she cursed him for being so hot-- temperature wise, of course.
Without giving the proffered arm a second glance she started back down the alley way as she had been before. When Max remained silent for a record amount of time, Adeline got her hopes up that this might actually be a quiet trip back to the base. Then her own mouth had the audacity to open as a result of her own curiosity that she had been planning to keep quite. "Why have you been thinking about me?" she demanded, sounding almost as if she were angry that she had entered his mind at all.

A chuckle played across Max's lips once more. Most girl get flutters in their stomach when they hear such a thing from a man as such as he. "Well maybe I was thinking about how not to mess with you ever again if I came to meet once again? Or maybe it had to do with how hot you looked taking a man down that was half your size? You choose." There, he thought. Let her think about that for a few minutes. Max had begun to really enjoy this game that the two of them played. Max would make a comment or two like that, she would get angry, and then she got curious, and then it started all over again. Was this the definition of insanity? Maybe. Or could it be that Adeline brought this side out him out? Hmm. Maybe the faster they get to the mansion the better?

To refrain from rolling her eyes, she merely shot him a look that said she was far from pleased by his answer. "The first option is perfectly reasonable, though if that was really what you were thinking about, you a really aren't doing a good job of it," Adeline informed him. He already admitted to seeing her take down a man twice her size, so she could easily do the same to him, but that either didn't register in Max's mind or he simply didn't care. Neither of the two suggested that he had any sort of grand intelligence.
"As for me looking 'hot' dealing with a common thug, that's an exaggeration of something that isn't even true. I could hardly see anything that night, so I doubted you could either. Just keep in mind for the future that flattery will get you no where," she concluded, though to be perfectly honest, there was no foreseeable future where he would need to remember that because once the treaty was signed, the fire Elementals would be gone, and it would be likely they never saw each other again.

Max laughed once more, oh if they spent a lot of time with one another in the future they would be great friends, or at least he hoped. "Oh Adeline, what happens if my reasoning was neither the first or second option? Actually if I'm being honest, you power interested me to a point where it meant thinking about you, and it's not like your terrible to look at." He ran a hair through his hair to calm himself after letting a wall down. He looked to the corner of his eye as his mind wandered back to the night. He slightly shook his head hoping she wouldn't notice. He really just needed to clear all of his thoughts. "I would just like to point out that if you truly did not see me that night then how did you recognize me as soon as you saw me today? Sure we've seen each other at the mansion. But even so, your reaction gave it away."

She really wished he would stop saying her name. Whenever he did, whatever he said afterwards would get all scrambled and it would take her several moments to understand what he said. It set her on edge and she didn't like it. Being interested in her abilities was a much better reason than any of the others he had given and she decided she wouldn't scold him for that. Drawing the oxygen out of a concentrated area of air took a lot of focus and strength. Curiosity to seeing such a thing happen was a natural reaction.
As for the comment about her appearance, she refused to comment.
"I'm not saying I didn't see you, I'm just saying you can't exactly judge someone's attractiveness in such poor lighting. Someone had just tried to attack me and I figured I should be extra vigilant. When I noticed there was someone else in the alley, I decided to make sure you weren't a threat. I took notice of your height, build, eye color, the general characteristics. When I saw you again at the mansion, it solidified my earlier observation, and now seeing you again in the same alley, it confirmed things further. Is that such a surprise?" she asked, studying his movements carefully.

Max kept his movement consistence and didn't not flinch. So he didn't shock her in anyway? Pity. Perhaps he was reading into this too deeply? "No I suppose you are right. But I will admit that once I saw you again, it did not help matters. It seems as if Fate wanted us to meet. Or is it chance? I can never decide." Maximus's light blue eyes scanned the details of the alley way, watching rats cower is trash filled corners. The smell was absolutely revolting. He scrunched up his nose as he finally noticed it. Not matter how much he wanted to keep his curiosity hidden, his mouth opened. "Are we ever going to talk once we get back to the mansion? Or are we going to pretend that we don't even know one another. Because at this point I don't think I can"

"I don't believe in fate," Adeline replied simply. Fate was for fools who couldn't accept the consequences of their own actions. Was it a pretty big coincidence that in a city as large as New York they happened to meet twice in the same place? Yes. But it was not fate. Adeline controlled her own destiny. She couldn't help but wonder what he meant, though, when he said that seeing her again didn't help matters. Just what matters did he mean?
Adeline noticed how his nose wrinkled at the stench of the alley way and she almost pulled a faint smile of amusement. It was times like these that she was thankful for the necklace of lavender essential oil around her neck that allowed her to enjoy a more pleasant scent. She was a little surprised, however, that he wanted to continue speaking to her after they parted ways at the mansion. She hadn't been particularly pleasant to him, but it seemed all she had done was spark further interest in her. "It seemed to be easy enough before," Adeline mused, though it wasn't exactly an answer.

((Well, I hate to be that guy, but... hello?))

(view spoiler)[ I'm so sorry!!! I had writers block and then I forgot. I hate when I do that... (hide spoiler)]

Max turned to look at Adeline, "Sure it's nice to believe that fate doesn't control us, but at the end of the day it's there. For example if my mother has decided to not run away from home one night, she would have never meet my father and I would not be here to day. It's there, some people just want to feel like we have free will." Maximus didn't realize he felt so strongly about fate until this moment. "Or at least that's how I feel about it." How would they react to one another when they return to the mansion, and eventually when Max left to return back to the Theater. "If it was easy for you I did not have the same experience." Max chuckled softly, "But then again you don't seem to open about yourself Adeline."

((No worries, just wanted to see what was up!))

"I believe in consequences, good or bad. Sitting back and expecting fate to have my whole life planned out for me is something that just isn't logical, it's lazy. Your mother happened to meet your father, they happened to become interested in each other, and that lead them to decide to have a child. I don't see fate having anything to do with that," Adeline said, meeting Max's blue gaze evenly. He could feel whatever he wanted about destiny, but she had the same right to feel just the opposite.
"Well, if it was so hard for you to not confront me at the mansion, then why did you bother staying away. It's not like there was someone with a gun to your head forcing you away from me," she pointed out. "You could have discovered how private of a person I am just that much sooner."