Redthorn Academy for the Magically Gifted discussion

((This staircase is the tallest in Redthorn. Standing at sixty feet in the air. There are shortcuts to this beast, but you have to figure that out for yourself. The staircase leads up to the second floor.))

((Did you mean to name this 'The Overly Tall Staircase'?))

((Hehe. Sorry. My brain is somewhere else today))

Rowena Reyes, it seemed, was in a mood.

They occurred every so often. She, in part, blamed it on the lack of societal assimilation as a child: it wasn't easy being surrounded by so many people when all she'd ever known was her sister and her mother, in the small cottage in the woods. She was born and bred on isolation. The Academy, therefore, was still a shock to the system, even three years after she stepped foot through the gates.

She crouched under the staircase, securing herself into the crevice before opening the book into her lap. It was her favorite spot, mostly because students seldom searched under the staircase, leaving her undisturbed. That's the way she liked it - undisturbed and alone. The last time she actively craved company was when she was six, and that was a mistake she wouldn't ever make again.

Shaking her thoughts away, she trailed her finger across the page before engrossing herself into it's pages.

Kael was just on his way to his secret hiding spot. No one had been able to find him thus far and he intended to make sure it stayed that way. Clutching his favorite novel of all time, "The Blackthorn Key" by Kevin Sands, Kael literally dashed off towards the staircase with incredible ease. Though he may have been using his ability at the time. . . When he moved closer to the staircase, Kael looked several times over his shoulder then sprinted towards the base of the staircase. And that was when he found a girl. In his secret spot. Kael took a step back and rubbed behind his neck. "Um, hello. You're in my. . . my study area. Yeah, that's it. So if you could, um, move? That would be much appreciated." Great. Now he was sounding like those snobs who expected to be obeyed by everyone. "Please?" He asked softly. Using the magic word had to work, right?

Rowena looked up from her book, glaring. She observed the boy who had interrupted her: Kael, if she remembered correctly. She wasn't one to forget a face, and he was no exception. She had seen him once or twice, running down the halls with incredible speed.

She allowed her glare to grow darker, more sinister, lingering on his pleading expression for a solid minute, before returning to her book. Who did he think he was anyway, asking her to leave? It wasn't as if the staircase was reserved. "No," she decided, flatly, turning the page in her book. After a second's pause, she added, "If you want to sit, then sit. There's plenty of space for the both of us."

Rule number two hundred twenty-five in Redthorn: Never assume a girl is shy base on her appearance or simply because she's reading a book. And it was a rule Kael always struggled with. Anyone could've made an honest mistake, right? That glare was downright scary. It would've given any sane person chills. Trying not to let her glare faze him in the least, Kael cleared his throat. "Right. Sorry. Um, we could share." Well, at least she didn't immediately gutted him on the floor. At least she was being nice, friendly, kind, considerate, and. . . terrifying. Slowly, Kael scooter next to her and opened the first page of his book. Enthralled with the opening, Kael forgot that he and a fellow student were sharing his secret spot. "I'm Kael Longthorn, by the way," he said suddenly, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

Rowena returned to her book, miffed and just a bit puzzled: most would've mumbled an apology and disappeared. He certainly looked unfazed, but there was a glimpse of terror in his eyes that probably would've gone unnoticed by most.

She pretended to redirect her attention to her book, but watched him from the corner of her eye as he scooted in beside her. He was too close for her liking, too unfamiliar, and part of her wanted to mumble an excuse and flee immediately. But she's a girl built on stubborn pride and in the end, her pride always won.

Rowena forced herself to return her attention to the book, but her instincts were still on high alert. Even without her sight, she could sense him, turning the pages of his book, not a care in the world. He spoke up, suddenly, and she immediately redirected her attention to her book, pretending to look just as enthralled as he had been.

"I know," she muttered after his introduction, then cringed. Way to sound like a damn stalker. Oh well. It's not like he would remember her after today, anyway.

"You. . . you know?" Kael repeated, widening his eyes when she said those words. Was it a good thing she knew? Or was it the more simpler reason, meaning that they had to share a class or encountered one another in a field trip? "Well, since you know who I am, may I ask what your name is? Even a nickname would suffice," he said with a shy smile.

Rowena could've kicked herself. Why did she have to say anything at all? She could've just smiled, swapped names and carried on like a normal person would have. Instead, she went and put ideas in his head. Typical.

"Don't get the wrong idea," she muttered eventually, fingering the pages of her book uncomfortably, "I'm good at remembering faces. And you're not exactly easy to forget. Not many kids around here can run at the speed of light."

Shut up now, a voice that sounded too much like her sister hissed, and she dutifully obeyed.

He was smiling at her, shyly, as he asked for her name. Expectantly. Huffing out a dark sigh, she obliged. "I'm Rowena. But everyone calls me Rowen."

Everyone being her sister, obviously. She really should get out more.

"Don't worry, I can assure you, there aren't any. . . questionable thoughts going on in my innocent brain," Kael assured her as he chuckled. "Well what am I suppose to do with such compliments! I can run fast, but speed of light? I think it will take me an eternity to achieve that." Could he really run that fast? Was it even possible? Kael certainly hoped it would be. For to run fast, it could mean the possibility of Time travel! Unless that was just Kael's imagination going wild and the fact that he may have been watching too many Flash episodes. "Pleasure to meet you Rowena. Or, may be it's a sort-of pleasure? I did try to kick you out of the secret base."

Innocent, my ass, Rowena thought darkly, but immediately felt the sting of guilt in her chest. It wasn't like she knew him personally - for all she knew, he could have the heart of an angel. She was just naturally skeptic of everyone.

"It wasn't meant to be a compliment," she mumbled, too low for him to hear. For some completely insane reason, she really didn't want to hurt his feelings. Which was difficult: from her (rather limited) past experiences, hurting other people's feelings seemed to come naturally to her.

"It's fine," she added, voice audible now. "I would've done the same." She fidgeted with her book. What was she supposed to say? She wasn't one for small talk, and all the questions she could think of were too mundane to ask.

Kael eyed her carefully, swearing that he thought he heard her say something but didn't push her. Now came the insufferable silence of doom. Should he perk up and say something or leave things as they were? Decisions, decisions. "Rowena's a nice name. You could almost go as Raven if you wanted," Kael said, mentally kicking himself for such a lame comment. "Sorry," he apologized, running a hand through his fluff of hair. "I'm trying to think up of things we could talk about buuuuut. . . I bet you'd rather read a book, huh?" Not that he would blame her. That's what he had planned to do as well.

Rowena almost smiled. He was surprisingly pleasant to talk to. "My sister's name is Raevyn," she admitted, tapping her nails against her knee. They were chipping, the purple polish giving way to the peach color underneath. She made a mental note to fix that later. "So that would probably be confusing."

Toying with her book, she shrugged. "It's not like it's the first time I read it. My sister questioned the claims mentioned in the book, so I'm going through to try to prove her wrong." She nodded at the book in his hands. "Is it any good?"

"Ooooh! Okay, Yeah. That really wouldn't work, obviously," Kael scoffed at himself. "You guys could open up a business called the R & R. Meaning, Resting and Restful. Huge difference with those two, by the way. If you want to get technical about it." When Rowen started to talk about her book, Kael couldn't help but smile. Ah, there we go! Now they were getting somewhere. He was just about to ask how her book was turning or when she actually asked about his. "You know, since I only read a few pages, I think it's An amazing read. Then again, I have read for about ten times," Kael admitted, feeling a small blush coming on the tips of his ears

"Resting and Restful?" Rowena repeated, trying to stifle her smile behind a well-placed cough. "What would that business even be about? Letting people come in and rest until they've rested?"

Leaning her head against the wall, she brought her knees to her chest, fingers intertwined. "That's good. Reading a new book can be exhilarating, but there's no feeling that quite matches the comfort that comes with reading something familiar. Kind of like talking to an old friend after years of disconnect." Not that she would know. From the stories, though, and the characters she lived vicariously by, she assumed it was the same feeling, more or less.

"An inn, of course. What else would it be? When you enter, you're kind of rested, but when it's all over, you're totally and completely restful! See how that works?" Kael asked with a chuckle. It was a bizarre idea but through it, Kael was hoping that Rowena would relax just a little bit. "Exactly!" He exclaimed, eyebrows raised and impressed that she could take the words right from his mouth. "It's such a welcoming feeling that I have if when I have to come back to reality." He admitted. Well, this was turning out much better than he had hoped

Rowena cracked a small smile at his explanation, and then at his excitement at her answer - okay, so he was kind of endearing. He was a reader after all, it would've been much worse if they didn't have anything in common. Then again, there was only so much she could say when it came to the topic and, in an attempt to avoid another awkward lull in the conversation, she cleared her throat. "So, super speed. How old were you when you figured that out?"

Kael groaned at the question, running a hand over his face and into his hair. “Gosh. I dunno. I know it isn’t entirely helpful to your question but I guess I’ve just always had it. I can’t remember a time when i wasn’t able to go super speed as you like to put it.” He flashed a grin at her direction and asked, “How about you? Remember a time when you didn’t have your powers and you were but a powerless child?”

((Julia? XD))