Aberrant: 200X - The Cleveland Fly-in and Bake Off

[z-Alexis Layton]

He had an incredible presence, one you could feel coming. Alexis felt reality bend behind her - not just from air displacement of a body, but from just how MUCH he was. She tried to tense up, but her body refused to allow her that, and instead she found only a smidgen of pleasure that he'd gotten over the Russian chick so quickly.

Alexis frowned, an expression she hid as Praxis drifted from behind her. Not for the first time, she really wished that Davian was out of the nova closet, so that he could be here. Yes, he was a thought away, but Alexis didn't want to bother him; she should be able to do this on her own. "Welcome back, Praxis," she said, her expression calm and distant. "Have you met Daniel yet?"

[Mr Fox]

Daniel smiled at Praxis, but there was just a hint of wariness in. It didn't help that he could feel attraction to the man, and that was very not something Daniel was comfortable with. "Alexis was just asking me about what my plans are." He looked back at the beautiful young woman and noted her emotions and how they changed as Praxis came up. "I'm still a sophomore, but I suppose I could graduate early if I wanted. Until last week people didn't know I was a nova so I was hiding my abilities and down playing what I could do. Guess there's no need for that any more."

Reaching out his hand, "I'm Daniel. I know you from the Opnet, we spoke once."

Addressing them both, "I would actually like to start a band. I know I'm not in Praxis' league, but it's the only thing that really calls to me. Even before I erupted it was something I wanted to do. Being a nova I figure even if I didn't have any talent I could get some kind of record deal and people would buy it. I do have talent though. May not be nova level talent but should be enough to get me into the business."

[Aušrinė]

Aušrine doesn’t like it when Kazuo doesn’t inform her of his intentions, like right now. She has to stifle a scream as he suddenly rushes between her and Jael at some phenomenal speed, and coming from an entirely different direction than would normally be possible. And then, before she can confront the younger nova for so casually endangering her friend (ok, so maybe Kazuo was never in any real danger, but Aušrine doubts that Jael knew that), Kazuo is back again, this time moving in the opposite direction, and he’s taken Jael with him. Aušrine hasn’t felt so stymied in quite a while, and her brow furrows in a mixture of irritation and frustration.

Originally Posted By: Ryusei Hideyoshi

Before he gets a reply from Jael, Kazuo interdicts her and shoots off above them, and then goes on to toss her further into the air. "I do believe the aerial nova games have begun."

Aušrine looks over at Ryusei for a moment, and then a smile spreads across her face and she giggles. “Yes, I believe they have.” She had been taking things so seriously for some reason, but Ryusei’s simple remark had shown her how silly the whole situation was. It’s funny how a few words can so completely change one’s outlook on the situation.

Originally Posted By: Praxis

Praxis looked at Ausrine, a look of humor, admiration, and mild confusion on his face. "Well that's one way to resolve an issue." He rotated in the air, so that he could converse with them without his wings blocking the view of Alexis, Ryusei, or Ausrine from seeing each other. "I don't think we have met. I am Praxis"

Oh, my! Praxis certainly is a fine specimen of a man. It occurs to Aušrine that there really aren't that many men out there with better than baseline looks, and she wonders why that is, and why this particular man does have them.

"Hello, Praxis," says Aušrine with a small amount of color rising to her cheeks, "I am Aušrine Vasiliauskiute. It is a plea-", but before she can finish her introductions, yet another nova comes whistling past them from above - this time it's Jael, though. This is sufficiently distracting that she stops for a moment to see what exactly is happening.

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

He tossed her away before she could respond, the act of fleeing igniting her desire to chase after him. But Jael resisted; she wasn't going to run after him at all. He could chase her, if he wanted her. Instead, she drifted upward, slowing by the second; at the apex of her "fall" she was almost floating. Then gravity reclaimed her, and Jael arched her back into the fall, spreading her arms to guide her tumble. The wind snatched at her, snapping her clothing and her hair around her. Yet she did nothing to break her fall, listening to the freeing scream of the wind.

She passed the watching novas without braking, seemingly in free-fall, lulled by the comforting roar of wind.

Originally Posted By: Kazuo

Pushing his inhuman reflexes and dexterity to the max, Kazuo pulls his extremely unaerodynamic form around in a tight U-turn and goes hurtling back the way he came. He realizes almost too late that he's moving too slowly to intercept Jael before she decides to either give up her ruse or hit the ground at much too high a speed. So he closes the gap with another short spatial hop, hurtles through the last several meters of intervening space, catches Jael (again...women), and opens another of his warps.

Aušrine nearly does scream this time when she sees how close Jael gets to the water before Kazuo catches her. What is that girl thinking! she wonders. And to see Kazuo come back for her so quickly like that, after he had so obviously set his course for the city. Jael must really have him hooked, because she can say with some authority that Kazuo really isn't a nice enough guy to come back for someone (no matter how attractive) just on the off chance that they won't activate a flight power that he knows they have and try to save them. Aušrine can't think of any time that Kazuo has made it so entirely obvious how emotionally interested he is in a woman. She can think of plenty of times where Kazuo's made it entirely too clear how physically interested he was in a woman, but he never lets it be known how he feels about anyone. It's one thing that's always troubled her about Kazuo: he is, emotionally, an entirely unreadable blank slate. You can only see the emotions that he allows people to see, and you can never be sure that's what he's really feeling. Aušrine has been one of his closest companions for four years now, and she's only seen him really open up a handful of times.

Originally Posted By: Praxis

As Jael and Kazuo went off like crazy people, Praxis looked over at Ausrine, her concern for her partner evident on her face, through her silent mask. Ok then, looks like things have been resolved here. Praxis turned to see how Alexis was doing over there, if she was still drifting around doing the silent thing. Finding her back, she was over having a nice little conversation with Daniel, who, if the opnet was to be believed, thought himself to be a singer of some kind. This should be interesting. And, as lovely as Ausrine was, her conversation skills left quite a bit lacking.

A quick flick of the wings and he was drifting on back over towards Alexis and Daniel. He had done a fantastic job at killing conversation with his mere presence thus far, time to see if he could affect two people at once.

Aušrine has been so distracted by the goings on of her partner and his new female interest, that she's completely ignored Praxis for several seconds. So who can blame him, really, for going in search of more interesting fare?

"Oh! I-", she says, as he floats away, *sigh* "oh well". I probably would have just said or done something foolish if he'd stayed anyway. Still, now I feel rude.

Idly, she wonders how people like Flicker, Ryusei, and Kazuo manage so well for themselves at these sorts of functions when they do not, so far as she is aware, have any kind of enhanced social capabilities to speak of.

Originally Posted By: Ryusei Hideyoshi

Ryusei supresses a chuckle at the ongoing escapades of Kazu and Jael. "Honestly..."

He runs his fingers through his long black hair and sighs. "Sometimes I think becoming a nova sends everyone backt to a childhood mentality. Only rarely do people seem to be more than a child who was just given a new toy."

IT wasn't said to anyone in particular, or in a tone that was codescending, moreso one with immense resignation. He looks to Ausrine and shrugs. "Though to be fair alot of us are that way."

He gives her a warm smile and vanishes in a blue-white flash, only to come shooting by at terminal velocity only moments later. As he nears the ground, he pulls out of the dive and rockets out across the water, kicking up roostertail of water as he alternates his hands dipping into the water as his spins like a corkscrew. Only his inhuman reflexes and physical condition let him pull the maneuver off. He returns up nearby and casually shakes his hands to rid them of water. "Sometimes it's good to play with your toys."

His bright blue eyes seem to almost sparkle as he talks. "That felt good. Flicker definitely had the right idea when she pioneered the whole "teleport-diving" idea.

Once again, Aušrine looks at Ryusei and laughs. He certainly did have an interesting, and in its own way, amusing way of looking at things. She looks over at Flicker questioningly, and then back at Ryusei and says, "Was she the first to think of such a thing? I did not know that."

[Kazuo]

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

The choice was taken from her in a flurry of movement and shimmering fields, as Kazuo caught her and dragged her through a warp. Together they looped and flew through the air, coming to a rest on the roof of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Kazuo puts her down, but didn't let go of her, saying, "Well, I came back for ya. I hope yer pleased with yourself."

Damn right he didn't let go!

Kazuo is vaguely aware that most people are frickin' scared of emotionally unstable people (the pansies), but he really doesn't give a shit, much. Most of the time he doesn't like emotionally unstable people, because most of 'em are all clingy and needy, or else they're way too aggressive and Kazuo just ends up having to stomp on 'em a lot. And who needs stress like that in their lives? Kazuo sure doesn't.

But what does all that have to do with Kazuo not letting go of Jael? Because Jael's definitely a fuckin' nutjob, but for some reason he actually likes it, instead of finding it annoying or whatever, and more to the point, he likes Jael. She's just way too much of a trip for him not to like her. But, being a nutjob, she's apt to bolt and run at the drop of a hat, or worse, try an' take his nuts or something (not like she'd succeed). Kazuo (perhaps foolishly) isn't scared of Jael, or anything she might do to him, and so, given the choice between her trying to ditch him, and her trying to use those flashy claws on him, he'd rather risk the claws. So he's not letting go just yet.

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

Pleased? When she didn't know whether she was happy he had grabbed her? So she settled on her emotional standby: unstable. Jael laughed, grabbing at his shoulders. "Did you really think I was going to hit the ground?" she giggled, her blue eyes sparkling. Clearly, she didn't expect him to answer, because she continued, "I'm not suicidal. Haven't you ever sky-dived or just let yourself free-fall? It's... exhillarating!

Kazuo's not buying this for a second. Jael may be a bit off in the head, but she'd have to be most of the way gone to suddenly decide that skydiving sounded like a really good idea right after whatever-that-was they'd just participated in that was halfway between violence and passion. He holds his tongue though, and doesn't say anything yet.

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

"But big, tough-guy-you," Jael continued, "had to come to my rescue." She kissed him on the cheek, standing on her tiptoes to manage. "Thank you, even if I didn't need it.

Kazuo lets that smile he's been holding back (with some difficulty, let him tell you) show, and it quickly turns into a grin.

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

By the way, I don't think your partner likes me very much." She glanced down at the arms clasping her loosely. "Soooo... are you going to let me go, or would you prefer to have a federal statutory rape charge on your hands?"

Aaaannnnddd there goes the grin.

Kazuo let's go of Jael in a flash, and suddenly has a good two feet of distance put between them.
"Whoa! Hold on there, I don't know what a 'federal statue' has to do with it, but I was not trying to rape you, girl!" He says this with obvious passion, and more than a little bit of sincerity and anger (or maybe just 'sincere anger'), and he even looks a little worried (which is noticeable mostly because it doesn't look like 'worry' is an expression his face is very familiar with). Clearly, there is some kind of a language-barrier thing going on here.

Kazuo turns himself partway away from Jael and looks off towards the others while he sticks his hands in his back pockets (his shirt has gone back to looking normal again, and the eufiber-patagia are gone). "Damn, girl, I can't believe you'd even think that!"
He turns back to her and continues, "that shit's just not funny - even as a joke!" And then he fishes out his pack of 7's and lights up a cigarette, taking a long drag on it once it's lit. It's pretty obvious that Jael's unintentionally touched a nerve with her comment, even if she has no way of knowing that Kazuo is being very uncharacteristically emotive at the moment.

He seems to collect himself quickly though, and then he looks her in the eyes and says, "look, sorry if I gave ya the wrong impression, or pushed things to far, alright? I thought you were enjoyin' yourself, or else I wouldn't have been so physical." He stops and clears his throat and looks to one side, and says, "Sorry."

[Jael Carver]

Originally Posted By: Kazuo

He seems to collect himself quickly though, and then he looks her in the eyes and says, "look, sorry if I gave ya the wrong impression, or pushed things to far, alright? I thought you were enjoyin' yourself, or else I wouldn't have been so physical." He stops and clears his throat and looks to one side, and says, "Sorry."

"Fuckin'..." Jael can't even figure out what she's cursing at; she's just suddenly really pissed that, for whatever reason, Kazuo is suddenly upset and even angry. "Jesus Christ, Kazuo, it was a fucking joke! If you're having issues about fuckin' a minor, you should have carded me before you started to kiss me!"

Jael almost stomped off, but the clear pain and anger he's in stopped her. He gets her and she doesn't have to pretend to be normal. Remembering what Charles has taught her about self-control, she took three deep breathes and tried again. "Look, ok. I get that we're not getting something right." Sighing, she stepped in front of him and said, "Look, it was a joke. I wouldn't turn you in, nor would I put me... us... whatever in that position." She is starting to blush from the topic.

He wasn't mollified, looking even more distraught. Jael threw her hands out in frustration. "I'm starting over. I was attempting to let you know I wasn't legal without just saying, 'Kazuo, I'm jailbait, isn't that fun?' So maybe that was the wrong way to do it. Maybe I should have said that straight up. But that's no reason to act like I was accusing you of actually raping me!"

[Kazuo]

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

"Fuckin'..." Jael can't even figure out what she's cursing at; she's just suddenly really pissed that, for whatever reason, Kazuo is suddenly upset and even angry. "Jesus Christ, Kazuo, it was a fucking joke! If you're having issues about fuckin' a minor, you should have carded me before you started to kiss me!"

See, this is why Kazuo likes this girl. She doesn't take shit from anyone (as far as he's seen, anway), not even from him.
Kazuo isn't the scariest guy out there (he even goes to some trouble to be less scary than he could be, just so his enemies will underestimate him), but he's not exactly the friendliest looking guy in the neighborhood (any neighborhood) either. But Jael seems to see right past that, and she's shown no signs of backing down to him out of fear or anything else. Kazuo has to respect that.

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

Jael almost stomped off, but the clear pain and anger he's in stopped her. He gets her and she doesn't have to pretend to be normal. Remembering what Charles has taught her about self-control, she took three deep breathes and tried again. "Look, ok. I get that we're not getting something right." Sighing, she stepped in front of him and said, "Look, it was a joke. I wouldn't turn you in, nor would I put me... us... whatever in that position." She is starting to blush from the topic.

He wasn't mollified, looking even more distraught. Jael threw her hands out in frustration. "I'm starting over. I was attempting to let you know I wasn't legal without just saying, 'Kazuo, I'm jailbait, isn't that fun?' So maybe that was the wrong way to do it. Maybe I should have said that straight up. But that's no reason to act like I was accusing you of actually raping me!"

A slow look of understanding spreads across Kazuo's face as Jael talks, and the look of worry vanishes as it does. This was a whole lot more than just a language-barrier thing, this was a friggin' cultural-barrier biting him full on the ass! Kazuo wonders if Jael knows he comes from a country that has a national Age of Consent of thirteen, or if she's ever heard of Enjo Kyosai ("compesated dating"). Jael looks, to him, like she's at least eighteen (though, he has to admit, he's not the most familiar with how Western women age), and it hadn't really occurred to him that he might be doing something he could get arrested for. Furthermore, Kazuo's knowledge of English legal terms is sketchy to say the least, so words like "statutory" tend to go over his head.
He should probably be irritated with her for getting upset at him all of a sudden, but now that he realizes what's going on, and after seeing how cute Jael looks when she gets all flustered like that, Kazuo's more amused than anything else.
"Alright, Jael," he says with a small, half-smile on his face, "I said I was sorry. I misunderstood you. You might remember", he adds with some sarcasm, "me mentioning that English was a second language for me. And I don't speak 'legal' in any language, either."

Then he makes a point of looking Jael over again, a thorough once-over, and when he gets back to her face he looks at her and says, "I guess you matured quick for your age, huh?"

[Praxis]

Praxis nodded as Alexis spoke and turned to look at Daniel as she introduced them.

"Not formally, I have not, though as he said, we have spoken briefly on the OpNet. Nice to meet you, Daniel" He shook the offered hand firmly.

As Daniel spoke on his desire to go into music, Praxis nodded sagely, as if he had some idea what the music business was about. Which was very easy, because, well, he did.

"Being a nova will indeed get you somewhere, but if you want to make a lasting impression, you have to have a talent. I believe you when you say you do and to be honest, there is really no such thing as 'nova level' talent. There's things about us that make us better received than most artists, but as far as the actual performance is concerned, a skill is skill, regardless of whether or not they're human or nova."

[Jael Carver]

Originally Posted By: Kazuo

"Alright, Jael," he says with a small, half-smile on his face, "I said I was sorry. I misunderstood you. You might remember", he adds with some sarcasm, "me mentioning that English was a second language for me. And I don't speak 'legal' in any language, either."

Then he makes a point of looking Jael over again, a thorough once-over, and when he gets back to her face he looks at her and says, "I guess you matured quick for your age, huh?"

"Yeah, I got claws, flight and bigger boobs," Jael grumped, slowly calming down. "Yay, eruption, huh?"

However, it was hard to remain aloof when he was looking at her like that, like she was something interesting he'd like to take home. With a little smile she put her hands on her hips and tossed her hair back. "So... you didn't realize I was Jael-bait. I'll take that as a compliment."

Part of her was aware that she was playing a dangerous game, one where she wasn't assured of victory. But Jael lived for games like this, even if Sakolove had tried to warn her of their danger. But one wasn't alive unless one was in danger. That was why she took another step closer, putting herself within easy grabbing reach, but far enough away that he'd still have to try for her if he wanted her. Though, at this point, she was fairly certain he did want her. "Are we going to rejoin the others, now?" Jael asked, tilting her head. Her tongue wet her lips in a faux-innocent gesture. "Or did you have something else you wanted to do?"

Oh, yeah. She was leaving him an opening, figuratively. She was curious to see where he took it.

[Kazuo]

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

"Yeah, I got claws, flight and bigger boobs," Jael grumped, slowly calming down. "Yay, eruption, huh?"

Uh-Huh thinks Kazuo, appreciatively. Definitely 'yay, eruption'.

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

However, it was hard to remain aloof when he was looking at her like that, like she was something interesting he'd like to take home. With a little smile she put her hands on her hips and tossed her hair back. "So... you didn't realize I was Jael-bait. I'll take that as a compliment."

Part of her was aware that she was playing a dangerous game, one where she wasn't assured of victory. But Jael lived for games like this, even if Sakolove had tried to warn her of their danger. But one wasn't alive unless one was in danger. That was why she took another step closer, putting herself within easy grabbing reach, but far enough away that he'd still have to try for her if he wanted her. Though, at this point, she was fairly certain he did want her. "Are we going to rejoin the others, now?" Jael asked, tilting her head. Her tongue wet her lips in a faux-innocent gesture. "Or did you have something else you wanted to do?"

Oh, yeah. She was leaving him an opening, figuratively. She was curious to see where he took it.

"Jael, I know we just met, but come on," says Kazuo as he discards his 7. He gives her that same, sly half-smile.
"A guy like me? There's a whole lot of things I want to do", he says, and as he speaks he brings himself closer and closer to her, until he's almost toe to toe with Jael, silently daring her to turn and run, or back down. His smile gets broader and he adds, "to you."
He keeps his hands firmly by his sides though, and gives no indication that that's about to change. He doesn't reach out and grab her, and he doesn't move any closer (not like he really needs to), he just gets a serious look on his face and looks her dead in the eye.
But he does lower his head, simultaneously bringing his eye closer to the level of Jael's eyes, and bringing his face as a whole (and thus his lips in particular) closer to hers. He leans in even closer to her, until she'd have to look cross-eyed at him just to focus, and it's only because he begins moving his face to the side that the tips of their noses aren't touching.
"But what I want to know", Kazuo says softly, and she can feel his warm breath tickling her cheek, "is what you want."
All Jael has to do is tilt her head back a little and her lips will meet his, and Kazuo has made it clear that's where he'd like to take things. Hell, he's already kissed her once, and invited her to take one back if she wanted, if in an innuendo-laden way. So, everything is in place, Kazuo is all but actually kissing her, and all Jael has to do is acknowledge that she wants him to.

Or she can back down, go back to the party, return to her normal life, and forget all about this.

[Jael Carver]

Jael hesitated. Making her make the choice was irritating; it took her from having the position of, "he kissed me, honest!" or "I know I was kissing him, but it was a favor to a friend, honest!" to actively cheating. She sensed the threashold she's standing on, as well; forward or back - it doesn't matter, she'll lose something no matter what she chooses.

She hates losing.

Jimmy - good, sweet Jimmy - waits at home. He's been her boyfriend for over a year, an accomplishment in high school. He's going to be remaining home in Arizona, so she's losing him at the end of the year anyway. BUt that wasn't a reason to stop dating someone. Was she going to throw it all away because of some implusive desire?

Probably. Jael knew herself, or knew herself as well as she could with all the tinkering that had been done in her head. She knew that she wanted this, and wanted it badly. But Sakolove's conditioning wouldn't allow her to take this, not with both hands, not with all her soul.

She did what she could. Her hands slid up to cup his cheeks, her thumbs framing his lips by feel rather than by sight. Then her head moved back, away from him, and it seemed as though she was going to run. But she tugged his head down just a bit more and pressed her lips to the tip of the scar on the right side of his face. Gently, she nibbled, licked and kissed up that ragged line, skipping over his eye and resuming at his eyebrow. She paid extra attention to where the vertical scar met the horizontal scar before working to the left along the vertical. She followed it until it ended in a bump of flesh she could barely feel.

That was skirting close to what she really wanted, which was to give him another scar. It wasn't necessarily a desire to hurt him, though that had always held interesting possibilities for her; it was about leaving her mark on him, about fundamentally changing him in a way that all could see. Something to do later, perhaps, if she hadn't just scared him away. Leaning back, she grinned up at him. "Is that something a guy like you would like to with with a girl like me?"

[Ryusei Hideyoshi]

"She was the first who seemed to pulicize she tried such an insane stunt, but whethere she actually tried it first, I don't know. It's been ten years since novas started showing up. I figure someone may have tried it before her, but until they step forward I'm giving her the credit."

He looks over to Kazuo and Jael and his eyes seem to narrow. "He does know she's a minor right?" Just then he saw her kiss and lick Kazuo's scar.

"Did she really just do that in front of everyone?" Mild shock played across his features, one of the first actual emotions to bypass his calm facade.

[Mr Fox]

Daniel nods at Praxis' words. "You are right about that. I've been to a few concerts and the ones that put on a good show are the ones that really last in the business. I know you probably here it all the time, but if you want to hook me up with your contacts in the business that would be cool. I've got some friends in school that are pretty good, but they will have to graduate first, and now that I'm known to be a nova that won't really be an issue for me anyway. I should be able to test out of any classes with a few weeks study. Ever since I erupted, I've been so bored in school. I ended up reading everyone one of my textbooks in the first couple weeks after I erupted and have opened one since except to do homework."

Looking back to Alexis he smiled in a frienly way, "I'd like to talk to you more later if that's ok."

[z-Alexis Layton]

Alexis listened to the men talk about the music business for a while, feigning a vague interest. She liked music - even Praxis', though telling him that right now would probably swell his head and she wasn't going to bother - but the business side of it bored her.

Originally Posted By: Daniel

Looking back to Alexis he smiled in a frienly way, "I'd like to talk to you more later if that's ok."

"Of course," she said graciously, nodding to him. "I would be willing to talk. What are you doing right after this? We could have some coffee or move to my plane." She gestured at the airport. "It's right over there.

[Mr Fox]

Daniel did his best to hide his surprise. He had thought that she would say something polite about a future time then never get around to it. What came out was, "Yeah, either of those would be good. Whichever would be good for you. I don't have to be back home until Monday, so I'm free to do whatever I want till then, as long as I don't end up 'in jail, or the hospital.' That's what my dad said before I left." He chuckled and added, "They really don't care what I do anymore. He said something about me being all grown up and beyond anything they could do to protect me, and something else about the best way to learn was to do."

[z-Alexis Layton]

"Interesting concept," Alexis said, crossing her arms. "That's a lot of trust to give a young man. Anyway, if you have that much time, would you like a plane ride to New York? I know that is out of your way, but it would get me back so I can actually study and allow us to talk."

She was painfully aware that she was excluding Praxis; despite being somewhat afraid of him, she was interested as well. Turning in the air, she said, "I have always wondered something, and I imagine that Daniel will be curious too. What is life like on tour?"

[Praxis]

There is a certain part of the human brain that is an animal. The part of the brain that is responsible for anger, fear, aggression, happiness, depression, lust, love, and hate. Praxis was one of those who could tell that animal what to do and it listened. Now, the ability to tell that animal what to do doesn't make your own id any less powerful. If anything it makes it moreso. Praxis' id was raging right now. Here was this kid that was somehow perceived as more personable and friendly than he was. THAT WAS HIS THING!! THAT'S WHAT HE DOES!! And this kid was literally flying circles around him. What in the fuck?!! There was only one thing to do, crush it into a sniveling little ball of nothing. To hell with what it wanted, to hell with that it was just a kid. It would be destroyed, its psyche reduced to so much pureed insanity it would take years to unravel!!!

There is another part of the mind that is the rational, logical side. It controls things like ethics, morality. What is right and wrong, smart and stupid. It allows for communication above the more basic levels as well as coherent and complex thought. And it was that part that was able to keep a composed demeanor while his subconscious raged on. He felt the expenditure of power leave him as his own subconscious suddenly calmed. Not here, not now. Daniel was just a kid. He probably had no idea what kind of pool he was swimming in, and besides. Crushing the psyche of a teenager is a hell of a way to inspire trust and confidence.

When Alexis turned after making plans that very prominently did not feature his most favorite self, he was rather surprised, actually, and would have shown it had he not just beaten his own id into submission.

"I have always wondered something, and I imagine that Daniel will be curious too. What is life like on tour?"

Praxis smiled politely towards the both of them, steadily releasing control of his own emotions as they cooled.

"Life on tour is... an experience. If you've ever heard 'Turn The Page', that about spells it out, actually, pretty well. You spend a lot of time on the road, a LOT. But it's all good because the people you're doing it with are the people closest to you in the world. The people in my band know more about me than anyone else on the earth because of the time we spend driving from place to place. Sometimes there's the option to fly, but when I can, I drive. The fan reaction is so strong when they see us drive through it gives us that little reminder of why we're driving 3 days straight. It gets old, I'll be honest, but it's when we arrive that we are reminded why we do this. "

((activating vocal enhancements)) Praxis cracked a smile when he started in on the second part of his story. He really couldn't help it. It was why he did what he did.

"The night of the event we can literally feel the electricity in the air. It's surreal and exciting at the same time. Nobody can stand still for very long at all. Waiting in the wings as the opening act closes or, if you are the opening act, the lights dim. You can barely see what's in front of you when you go out on the stage, but somehow the fans can see you fine. The sound of thousands of people cheering simply because you walked into their line of sight compares to few things in this world. However, that's not the magic moment. No, the magic comes after the first few notes come off the bass or the drum, the intro to the song has finished and it is time to hit the lights and go. THAT, is when it happens. The sight, sound, and pure, indescribable emotional high that comes from the sight of over a hundred thousand screaming fans, with the hills of places like Iceland, New Zealand behind them, the ocean and the full lit moon behind you, along with the knowledge that your every move is being broadcast to hundreds of millions around the world. There is nothing on this planet that compares."

[Mr Fox]

Daniel was surprised further at the offer Alexis was making, it was an invitation into her space, far more than he'd expected. Without even thinking he said, "Sure, I've never been to New York before. It would be very cool to fly around the city a bit before I head home." He started to say more but he felt a powerful wave of serious annoyance and anger roll off of Praxis and realized the man was interested in Alexis. Damn, I hope I didn't just piss him off. He'd really be helpful to me, or very bad if he decided to block me from getting into music. If he'd been thinking of Alexis that way himself it might have bothered him, but right now he was still too raw over other things to want to chase any girl for the sake of his smaller brain. He'd always been very good at listening to people and they tended to open up to him when they wouldn't to anyone else, and it didn't have anything to do with being a nova. Right now, Alexis wasn't a beautiful very rich girl that was way out of his league, she was a mystery, and one that he had somehow been given premission to explore. He wasn't going to waste that opportunity when he sensed that this was a limited time offer and that Alexis was likely to slam the book shut at a wrong word or look.

He was relieved a little when Praxis got himself under control and turned back to Praxis and listened to his story. Man this guy was good. Daniel knew he was being messed with, but he still felt what the other man was wanting them to feel. He could picture it all in his mind and he wanted to be there where Praxis was, to be the focus of all that adoration. One girl had rejected him so many times and so callously, that he'd finally erupted in anger, not just at her but at himself as well for being such a spinless idiot and not just walking away.

The idea of thousands of fans all giving him total devotion was very very appealing to that part of him that still craved the attention that he had been denied. When it was over he brought himself back under control and pulled away from the vision. That didn't come overnight, it took time to get to where Praxis was, and a lot of hard work. He sighed and waited for Alexis to speak again, or for Praxis to continue. There was some kind of sparring match going on between them, and he was smart enough to know that he shouldn't interfere without invitation.

[z-Alexis Layton]

He'd been beautiful before, when he was just watching everything with a sardonic expression and a raised eyebrow. But when he spoke of being on stage, of being the center of attention for thousands of people, his face lit up and his eyes shone with joy and he'd been luminious. She ached to see him like this, nearly a glowing being, even if his wings were overdone.

But it was more than that. She could almost feel the sparks in the air, the surging energy of the crowd and those first tentative notes of music, reaching to the crowd like a new lover who is uncertain of reception. And then the answering call, when the lover is grabbed and thrown to the bed and the driving tempo begins, working steadily to a climax.

"I'd like to see that." The words popped out of Alexis' mouth before she realized she had said them, and it was far to late to take them back. "But of course, not right now. Are you even on tour right now?"

[Praxis]

If this was sparring, he had just scored a point. One point, no more, but still a point. When she said she would like to see what it was like to be in his shows, Praxis knew that this point had only been half won, though. While still not to the degree that he puts out at shows, he had channeled his voice to the point that it was phenomenally effective. Part of him wondered what the reacion would have been had he not used said ability. Ah well, it did not matter now.

"At the moment, I am not, it is the reason I have time to come spend time with you wonderful people. However, I believe that we could put on a special performance for the right audience. Would that interest you? Assuming, of course, that I can find an opening performance on such short notice" At the end of that sentence he glanced at Daniel and then back at Alexis, awaiting a response from either of them.

[Kazuo]

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

She did what she could. Her hands slid up to cup his cheeks, her thumbs framing his lips by feel rather than by sight. Then her head moved back, away from him, and it seemed as though she was going to run. But she tugged his head down just a bit more and pressed her lips to the tip of the scar on the right side of his face. Gently, she nibbled, licked and kissed up that ragged line, skipping over his eye and resuming at his eyebrow. She paid extra attention to where the vertical scar met the horizontal scar before working to the left along the vertical. She followed it until it ended in a bump of flesh she could barely feel.

Yup! Girl is a freak. It is official.

And it's cool, but what trips Kazuo out is that this is like foreplay. He feels like he just skipped bases 1-3, and went straight to home base or something. Kazuo was just tryin' to lock lips with Jael and maybe engage in some tongue-sparring, see who's oral-fu is strongest.
But Jael just went and seriously upped the ante. Kazuo knows what it means when a girl starts getting intimate with his scars. And that, now that he thinks about it, is what's bothering him. Jael just dodged kissing him entirely, and considering how nicely - and completely - he set the table for her, she has to have some reason for doing so. But if she just didn't want to kiss him (i.e. if she doesn't want to get physical with Kazuo at all), then why shift it into high gear and engage in some lengthy tongue-branding?
Hmmm. Kazuo will have to consider this with due diligence.

But not right now. Right now he's in the middle of something, and feels the need to devote his full attention to it.

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

That was skirting close to what she really wanted, which was to give him another scar. It wasn't necessarily a desire to hurt him, though that had always held interesting possibilities for her; it was about leaving her mark on him, about fundamentally changing him in a way that all could see. Something to do later, perhaps, if she hadn't just scared him away. Leaning back, she grinned up at him. "Is that something a guy like you would like to with with a girl like me?"

A lot of people say that sex is about more than just banging genitalia together until nerves start misfiring, but Kazuo knows that's not necassarily true. Love-making is more than just the physical act of sex, and is almost as much a social skill as it is a physical one (perhaps more so). But fucking, on the other hand, is only social in the most token, obligatory sense (i.e. there's one or more people in the room with you), everything else is all about getting those nerves to misfire (and for as long, and as severely as possible). It all comes down to what you can do with your body, what you can do with your partner's body, and vice versa. Kazuo will readily admit that he's probably a bit weak in the love-making department, since his social skills aren't all that. But when it comes to fucking? Well, for starters, Kazuo has one of the most dextrous tongues on the planet. Imagine the damage that could do in the bedroom, and quiver. Kazuo's skill with other parts of his anatomy could also be brought up, but really, no more needs to be said, and this is sufficient for what happens next in any case.
What happens next isn't sex (of either variety), but the same principles still apply. Kazuo isn't much good at all that emotional shit, so he goes with what he knows - the physical.

Kazuo reaches up with one hand and lightly traces the outer contour of Jael's ear, bringing the hand to rest below it along her neck, with the thumb gently pressing against her lobe.
"I think you missed", he says, and brings his other hand up to rest delicately on the small of her back. He pretends to look her face over, squinting as though trying to find something and says, "I think the spot you were looking for is right -".
But his next word is cut off as his lips meet hers. Kazuo's kiss is confident without being demanding, tender but not messy, and passionate without being innapropriately so. It is very much a chaste kiss (meaning that he keeps that tongue of his safely tucked away where it can do no harm), but he still puts his lips (and Jael's) to good effect all the same. And, while Jael is contending with the kiss, Kazuo's thumb is caressing her earlobe more delicately than a butterfly's wings, and the fingertips of his other hand are tracing their way up her spine until his hand finally comes to rest between her shoulder blades.
"-There." says Kazuo, finishing his sentence as he pulls back to look at Jael and smile. "But I guess the scar is does make for an easier target." He pauses to see if she has anything to add, and then he leans in to see if she's ready for more.

[Jael Carver]

Originally Posted By: Kazuo

"-There." says Kazuo, finishing his sentence as he pulls back to look at Jael and smile. "But I guess the scar is does make for an easier target." He pauses to see if she has anything to add, and then he leans in to see if she's ready for more.

"I think," Jael said as she slid her hands to his shoulders and balled up Eufiber in her fists, "that I got exactly what I was aiming for." She helped his lean in by pulling on the fabric - a manuever that the Raging Node Blossoms would thoroughly approve of, even if she is straining the seams on "their" shirt - and meeting him half-way with eager, half-parted lips. But at the last second, she swerved again, running her lips along his jaw this time. She reached his neck next, lavishing attention on the scar there. One hand slipped under his arm to pull him against her, while the other slipped up into his hair, balling some of his short, dark locks in her fist.

Even as she enjoyed playing with his skin with lips and teeth, Jael was having to admit a tiny problem. She was reflexively avoiding kissing him directly. She wasn't sure why, but there was a subconscious urge to avoid doing so. She couldn't know that it was because she'd been punished for kissing Daniel, or more importantly, enjoying kissing Daniel. She didn't remember, but her instinctive subconscious did and it was trying to avoid another mental beating. What she was doing right now would earn her another one, but her instinct hadn't had that experience, and it couldn't make the logical connection. So Jael avoiding directly initiating a kiss with Kazuo, and proceeded to initiate a thorough examination of the rest of his face.

Close enough, right?

[Ryusei Hideyoshi]

Ryusei looks down to the dormed Vixen and Dozer. "I can at least help Dr. Richardson join the party."

He descends to the ground next to her. "Doctor Richardson, would you like to join the aerial festivities?"

He smiles. "I believe I can manage to to arrange it without you having to return to your other form."

He looks to Dozer with a look of apology on his face. "I would extend the same offer to you as well, but I fear you mass too much for me to use my method on, and I know I cannot carry you." He isn't being mean, just stating fact.

[Vixen]

"Hmmm? Oh! Hello Ryu. Yes, thank you, just please don't drop me." She smiles as she stands up. "I'd fly myself, but you know. Heady scents. How does this work, do you just scoop me up, or...?"

[Ryusei Hideyoshi]

"I won't, and as for scooping you up, considering that this is being filmed, I figure it best not to give your husband or my Girlfriend any cause for grief." He takes her hand and envelops her with his own quantum signature. If it can be said to feel like anything, it is like being immersed in calm pool of water.

With that they ascend into the air. He doesn't move fast but quietly rejoins the group around Ausrine. He never lets go of Roxanne's hand, knowing full well she'd fall if he did. This was something he'd done with Noriko many times, mainly to allow her to feel what flying was like, instead of being carried.

"As long as we are in contact, you won't fall and will be safe."

[Vixen]

Roxanne looks around, brushing white locks of hair out of her face and looking around. "... hi?" she ventures.

[Kazuo]

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

"I think," Jael said as she slid her hands to his shoulders and balled up Eufiber in her fists, "that I got exactly what I was aiming for." She helped his lean in by pulling on the fabric - a manuever that the Raging Node Blossoms would thoroughly approve of, even if she is straining the seams on "their" shirt - and meeting him half-way with eager, half-parted lips. But at the last second, she swerved again, running her lips along his jaw this time. She reached his neck next, lavishing attention on the scar there. One hand slipped under his arm to pull him against her, while the other slipped up into his hair, balling some of his short, dark locks in her fist.

Once again Jael dodges Kazuo's lips and goes for a scar. Now, if Kazuo were given to more self-analysis and/or self-doubt, he might be concerned that his kissing abilities were in some way wanting, or perhaps that his breath was particularly smelly at the moment (a distinct possibility considering his chain-smoking), but Kazuo isn't much given to either. So he's mostly just mildly frustrated that Jael keeps getting intimate in ways that he can't really get involved with - at least not under their current circumstances. Kazuo's not really the sit still and take it kind of guy, he's about as passive as a military coup and, dammit, he likes to get involved in these sorts of situations!

"Shit, girl", he manages as Jael works his neck over. He takes a second to appreciate the contrast between her lips and her teeth as they press against his neck, and then he manages to get out, "let's take this someplace a little more comfortable than the top of a building, alright?"

[Mr Fox]

Daniel looked back and forth between Praxis and Alexis. It didn't take a genius to realize the man was not really asking for Daniel's benefit nor did he suspect Praxis would be particularly happy to have Daniel along and getting in his way. As the silence stretched, it was also becoming obvious that Alexis was perhaps hoping he would answer first to avoid committing herself to being alone with the rock star. Damn, first nova gathering and I've managed to put myself squarely in the way of one of the people that could help make my career or squash my chances. Frak.

"Um, that would be pretty cool, I've always wanted to go to one of your concerts. I know it's alot to ask, but is there any chance I might be able to perform with you, would really give me a leg up in the industry." He hoped that his new friend Alexis would be ok with his answer. He'd have to speak to her away from Praxis at some point and find out if she wanted him to run interference, if not then he could relax, if so he'd have to be very very careful not to annoy Praxis too much or be too obvious about it.

[z-Alexis Layton]

Alexis' eyes were beginning to sparkle, and anyone who didn't know her might assume she was warming up to one or both of the men. Davian would have known that she'd just had a humorous thought that would likely only be amusing to her. It was unlikely to amuse the two men.

"You know, I bet Dr. Robert White would like to have you perform for his sick children," Alexis said, a small smile curving her lips. "He's always looking for ways to cheer them up and bring a little light to their lives. You might have to alter a few of your songs, but I'm sure you won't find that too much of a challenge. And Daniel could open for you. It'd be low-pressure on both of you." She had a smile that wouldn't melt butter and a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

[Mr Fox]

Touche! Daniel felt the ball soar back over the net and into Praxis' court. She'd just turned the tables on him very nicely.

The translation of the events in Daniel's mind went something like this.

Praxis: Nice shoes Alexis.

Alexis: I resist your initial attempts to get into my pants! You are yummy though. Try again.

Praxis: Let me put on a private performance for you. The contents of your pants will be mine!

Daniel: Aw, crap, mind if I use this to my benefit?

Alexis: No private perfomrance, no open pants for you! Perform for the children, then you can keep what's in your pants to yourself and stay out of mine. Try again.

Daniel smiled. "I'm good with that, if Praxis doesn't mind that is. Wouldn't mind a couple weeks to practice and get something together first though."

[Jael Carver]

His fingers on her ear were making her go a little crazy; it was taking a lot of self-control to not melt wantonly into him and start making an idiot of herself. Meanwhile, his hand on her back was making her knees weak. Between the two, she found herself leaning against him more than she wanted. So long as she didn't lose her shit and act like a little kid, she was going to be happy. And if Kazuo had his way, she'd probably become very happy, at least until reality rushed back in, and she had to face consequences for what she had done.

Originally Posted By: Kazuo

"Shit, girl", he manages as Jael works his neck over. He takes a second to appreciate the contrast between her lips and her teeth as they press against his neck, and then he manages to get out, "let's take this someplace a little more comfortable than the top of a building, alright?"

The strain in his voice made her smile; she loved that tight tone when a man was getting exactly what he wanted. Jael considered the consequences of doing this as she followed one of the muscles in his neck up to his ear. She skimmed the lobe, avoiding tangling with his earring, and nibbled on the outer arch of his ear as she thought about his offer. It didn't take long; Jael rarely thought about something for more than thirty seconds, and this was no different.

Jael placed one more gentle kiss just behind his jaw and pulled back to look him in the eye. All of her intense and lusty attitude was pushed back as she gazed up at him somberly. "Kazuo, I think I'd like that," she said, and drew the breath that signalled a classic 'but' was coming. "There are only two reasons for me to stop. First, it could get you in trouble, because I'm not yet legal. If someone up there," she lifted her eyes to glance at the hovering novas, "decides they don't like you, they could get you in legal trouble. You said that didn't matter, but I have to say it, in good conscious." The trouble that she would get into - disappointing her parents, or hurting Jimmy - didn't matter to her. They were nothing compared to her selfish desires, to her own wants.

"Second, and I doubt this will be a problem," Jael added with a touch more levity, "but I don't want any clinging emotional attachments. I..." and she leaned forward and began to whisper in his ear. It was a litany of things she wanted to do to him, and that she wanted him to do to her.

If she was going to lose her virginty today, she was going to lose it right.

[Praxis]

He can't say he had been caught completely off guard by this, it would have been perfect had she just gone with the idea, but as was plainly the case, that wasn't going to happen. Ah well, anything worth having is worth working for. The problem with kids wasn't changing the songs, or any sort of disposition towards the audience. It was making sure their little heads didn't explode when he dropped the empathic bombs in the middle of his show. They had little to no will to speak of so he would have to tailor his use to that situation. He would hate to be responsible for causing a small mob of children to completely lose their minds in a way that would make puberty seem tame.

Praxis had no problems with doing a show, and as long as she was in the crowd somewhere, it would serve its purpose. Such was the specialized nature of some of his more... adult oriented powers. He sensed the satisfaction coming out of Daniel as he spoke.

"I would have no issue with a performance for the little ones. I could put together a few cover songs to play." He had a rather matter-of-fact look on his face, mixed with humor. "I don't think many parents would be happy with the type of music I would play normally, even if the lyrical content was made child friendly. Covers I can do though.

And Daniel, who knows? If this goes well, I might just see about getting you some actual media coverage when you really do decide to flex your musical muscles. Good press and performing for children is always good, but the fans will want to see what you would do the rest of the time"

Which was Praxis speak for: I'll do it, but if you screw this up for me, kid, I will bury you.

[z-Alexis Layton]

"That sounds fantastic," Alexis said with that same smooth smile. "I'm sure that you could sing 'John Jacob Jingleheimer-Schmidt' and the kids would love it.

"And I think that Daniel isn't going to need to worry about media coverage; I think that all he needs is for people in the business to find out he wants to sing. I could get a record label to sign me, and I don't have a great voice. What kind of music are you interested in Daniel? Pop, rap, rock, something else? What do you see yourself doing?" Alexis tilted her head, staring at him with intent blue eyes. "I can call a few people and throw around the Layton name a little, if that would help you find the right label for your image."

[Mr Fox]

The underlying threat was apparent, but he didn't sense any malice from the older man. Fair enough. It wasn't Daniel's choice to be standing in his way, and he would see where this would lead.

He grinned at the response and flexed making a typical body builder pose. Surprisingly, when he did flex the muscles did really bulge out and looked very tight and toned. He always looked well defined thanks to his nova physique, but when he flexed it was apparent that he really was strong. He wasn't really doing it to show off his muscles though. "I'm ready to get things started now. Consider the hospital gig to be a job interview if you want. I'll show you what I can do. I'm not able to do the things you are capable of, but I think I'll be good enough for any industry folks that might be in the audience."

Alexis offer was very generous, "Rock mostly. Pop is too trendy and usually lacks any kind of depth. No need to trouble yourself though. The hospital gig should be more than enough to get things kickstarted." He smiled at her to show that he appreciated the offer.

[Praxis]

Alexis was slipping. Her calm and collected demeanor was shaken ever so slightly by her mistake. The educated business lady making redundant statements. Most people he wouldn't even pay attention, but this one was different. That just straight up didn't happen with 'people of breeding'.

"There we go then. A smaller end show, probably unplugged, doing smaller covers of kids songs and maybe some songs that are on the radio. I'm looking forward to it."

He nodded at Fox, smiling a bit before looking at Alexis. "Though I doubt that it will be quite the same experience as one of the larger full shows, which is what I believe started this line of conversation."

[z-Alexis Layton]

"Correct, it was what started this," Alexis agreed. She sensed that Praxis was going to change the subject and whether that sense was correct or not was irrelevant. Alexis didn't want to move away from the safe topics of music. But when you've milked the cow dry, you can't get any thing out just by trying harder.

"We should fly somewhere," Alexis said, "instead of just hovering here." She turned and glanced down at when movement on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's roof caught her eye. "Or watching other novas make out in public," she added before remembering Daniel's mood when she'd found him. She gave him a glance of apology for rubbing that in his face. She hadn't meant to be so cruel.

"So I say we head out over the lake and have a race or something," Alexis said. "What do you guys think?"

[Praxis]

"I wouldn't be against heading out to the lake, though I must admit that I'm not the fastest of fliers, so I probably won't be faring too well with any racing, but who knows? Today's a good day, I might just go swimming. I don't think the state of Ohio would mind. Besides, it's a nice day for it"

[Mr Fox]

"That sounds like fun. I don't really fly that fast though, I just learned how." At Alexis' words he involuntarily glanced down at the rooftop and the scene of Jael and the elite. He sensed Alexis' immediate regret for her words and didn't hold it against her, but it was still like the stab of a dagger in his chest. Damn Jael! Did she have to do this right here in my face? Not that he could really blame her though, she'd been cheating on her boyfriend with him only a couple weeks ago. Who was he that he should be able to expect anything from her. She'd let him know clearly enough that there wasn't anything between them. If it weren't for the wild shifts in her emotions he might really be upset, but he really didn't think she could help herself.

Looking back at Alexis and Praxis, "So should we involve the other flyers, or make this just the three of us? And how bout we make the race through downtown and back. Weaving through the buildings might actaully give me a chance to win."

[z-Alexis Layton]

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea," Alexis said, smiling broadly. "Something better than pure speed."

She glanced at the other novas. "We should ask them to join. Surely one of them will win," and she was looking at Ausrine as she spoke, "but at the same time, it will be more of a challenge."

Alexis flew closer to the waiting knot of novas. "Excuse me," she said, smiling at the group. "Daniel, Praxis and I are getting ready to do some intense flying by racing through the downtown. Would you be interested in a race?"

She wasn't going to ask the two below; clearly, they had other plans.

[Magnum Opus]

"Uh, I'm not too comfortable flying with, you know, a passenger." She indicates Flicker. "I'll pass, but yeah, thanks."

As she coasts along, Knockout slowly reorientates herself, flying along on her back while Flicker lies on top of her. "Uh, is this more comfortable, or is the other way more comfortable, or...?"

[Flicker]

Nova thrilled at Alexis' suggestion, and then was quickly disappointed at Danielle's response.

Oh no you don't, Nova thought. No chickening out on my account!

"Racing with a passenger is okay by me!" Nova interjected hastily. "If something goes wrong I can get us out of there instantly, you know." She squeezed Danielle reassuringly, barely able to conceal her delight at the way she felt in her arms.