"Actually a cloudkill in that enclosed space would do wonders...but they'd all be dead..."
"Yeah, not so good with that..."
"Don't be calling me a dimwit. Remember that I figured out how to get through Agartha's wards. She might like you that. You never know, she might be just as crazy as they rest of us!" He says with a goodhearted elbow poke to the ribs and a smile.
He stopped in his tracks, entranced for a moment by the thought that Fieri might return his feelings.
"But...but how can I be sure? I don't want to tell her how I feel and then have her be with me because she feels obligated. How can I know how she really feels?"
"I don't know." Taron replies. "You could always apologize and watch to see how she reacts. Relief is something you'd obviously see, but it's the level of relief that could give her away."
"Here's a thought: What if she knows and is just trying to get you to say it?"
"Wha-? She wouldn't....okay, yes, she absolutely would do that...you don't think she actually went out with this guy just to try and make me jealous or something idiotic like that do you?" he asked suspiciously. "Then again...she has had some pretty idiotic plans in the past...Now I don't know what to think!"
"You're asking me if I understand the way a girl thinks? You know that's crazy right, even for Sunwakes?" He replies with barely repressed mirth. "Look, what if you apologize and ask if she knows why you always sabotage her dates?"
"So how long will the poison take to work?" My way is quicker." Asch says with a sigh as he waits impatiently.
"Actually a cloudkill in that enclosed space would do wonders...but they'd all be dead...""Yeah, not so good with that..."
"Me either, oddly enough" he'll smirk.
Solivala tosses his gate, when its grown it seems.....asleep. It's eye is closed and a slight whistling sound seems to be coming from it.
"It appears my gate is shut down, give me a moment."
He walks over and pokes it, it remains sleeping. Then he removes from his pocket what starts out as a long rod but ends attached to a gear the size of a tower shield. He also takes out a large blanket that he wraps around the gear with one hand. Then wielding the padded gear staff as if it were a stick he swings it directly at the gates closed doors. Dispite the silent impact you could tell that it held enough force to cause a dragons bones to break. The gates sole eye popped open as it nearly fell over, righting itself with the aid of a number of clockwork hands appearing from its many panals it glares at Solivala but makes no move.
"If you paid attention I would not have to wake you. Open."
The gate's doors open smoothly dispite the strike suffered. Solivala reaches thru and pulls out some canisters with strange liquid with in.
"This should both put them to sleep and paralyse them for a few hours. They can be timed to go off when you wish or right away. The temple residents should have no time to react. My orbs can set them up if you wish to mantain your distance. The gas should take effect quickly but depending on the size of the temple I would give it a few minutes the more time the better."
"Right. Oh, crap. There is no way this is going to go well. I'm going to sound like a complete idiot! I didn't know why I was sabotaging her dates. At least not until she went on a date that I couldn't sabotage. I still want to smash that kid into a pulp....but I don't want to hurt her and if she really likes him....Aagh! This is so messed up! And the more I talk the more confused I get."
"Humbling, isn't it?"
"That's fine just set them off as soon as possible. Otherwise I'll do this my way and we already know no one likes my way." He says as his eyes flash red and shadows flicker around his body.
Solivala's orbs grab the canisters and move towards the temple.
"Well," Taron says as he motions toward the city and the school, "where do we go, Jiminy? The bar or the fire bird?"
At a table in the cafeteria is a student, alone as he eats. In a school filled with students who are different, being singled out for it is a pretty big deal.
Unfortunately for him, it had somehow got out that when Headmaster Ryo found him(as he finds most of the students), he registered as a telepath, but he didn't seem to have even rudimentary mind-reading capability! This caused him no small amount of grief from the schools bullies, and today was no different.
Actually, it was a little different. He got to eat most of his meal before his tray was filled over on to him and the bullies(it was the Pack today) began their torment. It was over quickly, but it was still harsh and had him walking quickly back to his room, trying vainly to blink away tears before they could be seen.
"Never again..." He vows quietly.
"Well," Taron says as he motions toward the city and the school, "where do we go, Jiminy? The bar or the fire bird?"
Jiminy looked torn for a moment and then got a determined look on his face.
"Fieri. I have to talk to her. There's no point spending hours entertaining what-ifs. If she doesn't want me, well, I know where the bar is. But if she does..."
"I, uh, will see you later. I've gotta go make a complete fool of myself," he said with a self-deprecating grin and then dashed back into the school, heading towards Fieri's room.
"Well," Taron says as he motions toward the city and the school, "where do we go, Jiminy? The bar or the fire bird?"Jiminy looked torn for a moment and then got a determined look on his face.
"Fieri. I have to talk to her. There's no point spending hours entertaining what-ifs. If she doesn't want me, well, I know where the bar is. But if she does..."
"I, uh, will see you later. I've gotta go make a complete fool of myself," he said with a self-deprecating grin and then dashed back into the school, heading towards Fieri's room.
"GOOD LUCK!" Taron yells after his little brother, hoping almost viciously that Fieri really does like him. "I hope you don't need it..."
"Ammy, stay close to him and call me if things go badly." Taron tells his psicrystal. "If nothing goes wrong, record him making a fool of himself. I'm still going to the bar for a bit."
He slowed down as he got to the hallway before Fieri's room. He was going to have a hard enough time not making an idiot of himself without arriving out of breath to start. He stopped outside her door. He could hear her inside playing her guitar. He hesitated. He wasn't really used to this, but he was actually feeling a little afraid. Well, this just wouldn't do. He had to get himself together. He knocked on the door and waited. After what seemed like an eternity Fieri opened the door. He just stared at her not at all sure what to say.
"Er, can I talk to you? I uh, mean...privately?" he asked suddenly aware of the number of students walking past. This wasn't a conversation he was prepared to have in public.
She stepped aside and motioned for him to come in. He stepped into her room and shut the door behind him.
"I...uh, that is, I wanted to say that I'm er, well, that is, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. And I uh hope that you can forgive me for acting like that....."
She sighed with relief. At least this meant he was talking to her again.
"Of course I forgive you. I'm sorry too. I didn't realize you'd take it so hard. I never meant to lie to you. But every other time I've ever tried to go on a date you've interfered so much...I thought that it would be better to tell you afterwards."
"Do...do you really like him?" he asked, not able to look at her and trying not to give away how much he was afraid of the answer.
"Well, obviously I like him or I wouldn't have wanted to go on a date with him. Well, I guess it's not obvious since I didn't exactly pick the best guys to date all the time. At first...well, that's not important anymore really. But I'm not planning a wedding or anything. I mean, it's just one date. And if you're going to freak out this much...I don't want to lose your friendship over this, Jiminy."
"That's not even an answer!" he said, the frustration unmistakable in his tone. "Look, if this is really what you want then fine, I won't get in the way. I just want you to be happy. But I need to know how you really feel about this guy. I need you to just tell me directly!"
"Why are you yelling at me again?!" she shouted back. "I just told you that it's not serious with Perrin. It was just a date! Why are you acting so....jealous...."
"Because I am jealous! Ever since I found out about this guy I've wanted to smash his face in. And I don't care if he deserves it or not! I hate the idea of you going out with someone else...I..." the color drained from his face as he realized he'd just given himself away.
"Oh!" She threw herself at him and hugged him tightly, knocking the wind out of him. "You idiot!"
"The only reason I ever went out with those guys in the first place was to try to make you jealous. Do you honestly think my taste in men is that bad??! But you just kept treating me like a sister, so I figured the best thing would just be to move on. And NOW you figure things out? Are you always this slow? Do you have any idea how much you put me through?" she added, stepping back and picking up a vase and throwing it at him.
"OW! What the...Wait!" he said, barely dodging the book that she threw at him after the vase and then getting hit squarely by a music stand.
"Stop! I can't keep up! Why are you mad at me now? I said I was sorry!"
"Wait...did you just say that you were trying to make me jealous?...Then that means you....Ow! Would you cut it out with the throwing things already?!" He quickly crossed the room and grabbed her hands before she could grab any other heavy objects to throw.
"I'm trying to tell you that I love you, but it's really hard to talk when I have to keep dodging things."
She went very still. "Did you just say....that you love me?" she squeaked.
"Yeah," he said, sheepishly. "That, er, probably wasn't the best way to just blurt that out..." He was completely floundering, not sure at all what to do or say next when she took matters into her own hands and kissed him.
"Okay, so do we start climbing stairs, or can those orbs open one of the ground level doors for us?"
"I will see."
Solivala stares at nothing as his orbs look for the way to open the hidden doors.
Six of the doors open and the orbs go thru returning to Solivala.
"Anything else?"
It was amazing what you could accomplish in this school. In a matter of hours, Michael had found several different things he could use to stop his tormentors. A wristband that shocks a target was his first choice. It would be their warning to stop. Their only warning.
Feeling strangely confident in his chosen path, Michael leaves the sanctuary that his room has become and walks the halls briskly, his head held high.
"Okay you jerks, where are you?" He thinks as he walks, his eyes watching...
Six of the doors open and the orbs go thru returning to Solivala.
"Anything else?"
"Let's go. The sooner we get this done the sooner we can get that cure for Amada."
The wererat nearly shoved him over giggling wildly.
"Oops, I didn't see you there. Well, you're so ordinary that you're practically invisible."
Michael stands up straight and turns slowly to face the rat, his wristband crackling quietly with electricity.
"This is the only warning you and any of the other *%&$#@* are getting." He points at the rat and a small jolt of electricity leaps from Michael's wristband to strike the rat's arm, numbing it. "Anything that happens from here on is not my fault." He says coldly.
"You punk! You think you can talk to me like that? So you got a gadget. Well, we'll see about that. Looks like the wards aren't working again, so I guess that means I can hit you back," the rat hissed, switching to his hybrid form. He used his tail to reach out and trip Michael.
Taking a step back to avoid the tail only seems to make it easier to be tripped, and Michael falls to the floor with a loud thud. Why hadn't he numbed a leg instead? The wristband needed time to recharge, and he didn't want to use his other options so soon...
"I stand up to you and you trip me. Funny." Michael laughs. "Didn't think mice had a sense of humor."
Gasping and clutching his chest, Michael feels a pounding behind his eyes that matches his now painful heartbeat. Still, he manages to smile.
"The thing *wheeze* about places.. is that you can move." He suddenly kicks out, wishing he was wearing silver-tipped cleats as his foot slams between the rat's legs.
The pounding behind his eyes almost doubled in intensity as the kick hits Michael in the stomach.
"Never... again!" He says through clenched teeth, his anger rising as he remembers all the times he's had to run away, all the times his been left laying on the ground, everyday he had gone to the infirmary... A beep tells him his wirstband was ready to shock again, and this time he numbed the rat's leg. His plan backfires as his tormentor falls on top of him, but in his state of mind can think of only one thing to do...
He bites the wererat.
As rare as fights are outside of a Hunt or Gym Class, the students of Avalon are careful to avoid letting teachers know about it as they spread the word that the Dacamara kid's gone insane and picked a fight with a wererat...
The pounding in Michael's head gives way to an all-consuming burst of pain and suddenly all is clear. The pain goes away, and he can see that he didn't need to spend all those hours planning. He pushes the wererat off and crawls away so he can stand.
He's smiling, but there is no warmth in his eyes.
Michael shakes his head at the girl.
"I'm okay." He says, now backing away from the wererat and finally just turning and walking away. The chances were pretty high that a teacher heard that scream, and he didn't want to be here if or when one showed up.