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Self-Help; The Library
Topic Started: Nov 29 2011, 05:26 AM (960 Views)
HosekiDragon
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This is calm and it's doctor.
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"I'm in here a lot." Hector muttered in reply, "Doesn't mean I look at any books."

But he raised his head and looked around at the shelves in a way he thought made it looked like he cared. He really had no idea where to look for self-help books.

"You might try the, uh, the Resources Section." Hector wasn't looking at the girl, pointedly keeping his attention focused on a shelf so he could pretend he wasn't associating with anyone, "I think there's a lot of reference books and "how to" stuff in there."

One lab accident away from becoming a super villain.
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Lady-Moth
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"Oh..." Laura looked back down at her feet in discouragement, until she remembered she was trying to help her self-image. She snapped her head up again, swallowing nervously. "I'm sorry, then, buuuut...i don't know where the Resources section is."

With an apologetic look, she started to tap her fingers against the book. It was better than stammering, and it took her mind off of her nervousness...if she preoccupied herself, then she wouldn't start sprouting, right? "I oooonly ever looked in the Fffffiction section, and even then I stick to certain subjects...I don't know where many other things are....Hector? Mister Hector?"
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HosekiDragon
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"Just call me Hector." The teenager grunted, shooting a glance at the girl. What a piece of work; and he thought Fisher was a mess, "And the Resources Section..."

He paused, chewing on his lip. He could just tell her where it was but Ms. Cocoa would probably bully him into helping her. And he really had had enough bullying for the moment.

"It's over this way." He raised a hand out of his coat pocket, jostling the pill bottles on the way so they rattled in the silent library, and beckoned for the stuttering girl to follow him.

Well, this should at least get him points in somebody's book.

One lab accident away from becoming a super villain.
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Garaku
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Good, good... if anything the boy caught on quick.

With a smile that for some reason seemed rather out of place, Syrin clasped her hands together before waving the two off. "Yes... you both enjoy yourselves now."

The teacher began to float away, but then as if realizing she had forgotten something, she turned around, that same smile still etched upon her face. "Oh yes, Little Flower," she said to Laura. "Please do take care of yourself. It would sadden me so if any of your pretty petals were to wilt by someone's unpleasant touch..."

For a brief instant, her eyes once again glared dangerously at Hector, breathing the message that she wouldn't be far off if he were to do anything to trouble the green-haired girl. And then, just like that, it was gone, replaced by the smile that had apparently never left.

Without a word, Syrin then turned around once again before vanishing away through the walls of a nearby shelf.
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Lady-Moth
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"Wh-what?" Laura couldn't stop it this time. As the teacher floated right through a book-case, Laura jumped back and suddenly sprouted. Larger branches erupted from her shoulders and upper arms, knocking over a few books that had their covers on display.

Wh-where did that come from?! "Pretty petals?" "Unpleasant--" Is she talking about Hector or someone else? Hector's a bad person? Can't be--a teacher wouldn't deliberately send a bad person to help me!

Laura suddenly realized that she was breathing rather rapidly, her hands tightening even further on the book. She swallowed, eyes squeezing shut as she tried to slow her breathing--there wasn't anything to be scared of, she was in school, a teacher wouldn't let a bad person show her where books were--and retract her branches. It was a slower process than she would have liked it to be; she was still so nervous and surprised.

Remembering that she'd done two bad things, sprouting and stuttering, she started to snap at her rubber band again as she looked back at Hector. "I-I'm sorry--" Snap. "For d-d-doing that." Snap. "I'll p-pick these up f-first if you d-don't mind." Snap. Snap.

The rubber band broke on that last snap, falling to the floor as Laura let out a frustrated, though not very effective or even impressive, wail.
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HosekiDragon
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Hector stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over his feet as the girl before him suddenly branches from her shoulders. He had seen some weird powers in his time but this was probably the strangest.

"I-I'm sorry--" Snap. "For d-d-doing that." Snap. "I'll p-pick these up f-first if you d-don't mind."

Hector stared at her, somewhat at a loss about what to do. She looked like she was about to burst into tears. Hector wasn't very good with people and even less good with girls and this was way over his head and out of his comfort zone.

"Uh, er, no, it's fine." He bent down and started scooping up the books because, really, what else was he supposed to do, "I got it." He started shoving them back onto the shelves, "Uh, do you...do that a lot?"

One lab accident away from becoming a super villain.
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Lady-Moth
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Laura ducked her head as she felt her cheeks burn. She shrugged faintly, one hand coming up to rub her arm. The hand with the red marks from the rubber band.

"I'm...I-I'm trying to st-stoooop..." she murmured. "Stop....sprooouuuting and...stuttering." She hoped that would explain her drawing her words out. She'd received some very weird looks when she did that lately, even more than her stuttering did. But there was no other way to make herself stop, was there? "Iiit's my power---the sprouting not the...stuttering.

"S--...someoooone told me I c...couldn't do what I waaant unless I stop doing those things...sooo 'm looking for books because the...rubber band apparently h...has a shelf life." The corners of her mouth turned up very faintly at that little joke.
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HosekiDragon
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"Right." Hector muttered, hefty up a rather large volume and using his shoulder to push it back into place. He dusted his hands off and looked back at Laura,

"So who told you that you couldn't do what you want? You're a SIN student, you've got powers; you can do whatever the hell you want."

One lab accident away from becoming a super villain.
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Lady-Moth
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"N-no...yooou misunderstaaand." Laura shook her head, inwardly congratulating herself. She'd actually said he'd misunderstood her, rather than she'd been too unclear! She was getting more confident!

Okay, it was rather hard to notice, but there was something there.

"I...waaant to j-join...a certain group." She avoided saying who exactly it was. He might start telling her that she'd never become an Elite...and even if she was working to get there, she didn't want to hear someone say she couldn't do it. it was one thing to think you yourself were useless, it was quite another when someone else said it. She shook her head again, lifting her head to meet Hector's eyes again. "A-Aaand...one member of the groouuup said...said that I wasn't the riiight material if i stuttered, or...or lacked confidence...She's right, ooof course. Aaaand my power..."

Her power. Laura's face faltered again. Emily had said that hers was a useless power, wasn't it? But it wasn't really--it was just that she didn't know what all Laura could do with it. "My power...I haaave to...to utilize it better....I think. 'm nnnnot like you--I b-bet you have a cool one..."
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HosekiDragon
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Join a group, huh... Hector eyed Laura now with a hint of distrust. The students either hung out in gangs or they hung out by themselves. This girl was either trying to get into one of those gangs or she was trying to join the Elite. Neither option appealed to Hector.

But when she mentioned powers, he couldn't help but smirk and roll his eyes as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and continued to lead her to the Resources Section.

"What the heck does "cool power" mean? What constitutes a "cool power"?" He hunched his shoulders and his fingers wrapped around one of the pill bottles in his pockets, "Half the time I wish I didn't have any powers; all they've have brought me is trouble and misery. I'd kill for a simple power like yours..."

One lab accident away from becoming a super villain.
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Lady-Moth
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"O...Oh, 'm sorry..." Laura looked down again, suddenly wanting to disappear. Great, wonderful...she'd apparently touched a nerve in this guy. And that was an understatement, by the way his posture suddenly changed. She wrung her hands together, biting at her lower lip. How was she supposed to fix this?

"It's...nnnot nice, Hector. Iiit's awful--being useless...Everyone eeelse can do stuff, but I can't..."

Suddenly realizing that it sounded like she didn't care about his own problem--and she did!--she suddenly looked up again, though she still looked rather timid and small. "Buut..it mmmight be nice to switch powers...a little. Better thannn none at all..."
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HosekiDragon
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Nobody's useless in this city. Even if you think you are, they always find a way to use you, whether it's for canon fodder or a just a punching bag for the trainees.

It was a dark and angry thought but probably not that far from the truth. At least in Hector's mind. It was hard to find a place that treated a person like...well, a person. The MC had done that for him. For the most part.

But he didn't say any of this out loud. Instead, his back still to Laura, he said, "Trust me, you don't want my powers. And I wouldn't call...what, turning into a tree...thing...yeah, no, I wouldn't call that not being able to do anything."

He flicked his gaze over his shoulder, just briefly, before turning away again, "You just haven't figured out what it's good for yet." He rounded a corner of bookshelves and stopped, taking a hand out of his pocket to gesture, "Here's your Resources Section. Have at it."

One lab accident away from becoming a super villain.
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Lady-Moth
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"I..I don't think so either, but...other people call it that," Laura mumbled, half to herself as her eyes flickered down again. She looked back up, however, when she heard Hector speak up and noticed where they were standing. "O-oh!" Darn, she'd have to snap for that one. "Thanks, Hector!"

She took a few steps into one of the aisles, then stopped. Wait...she'd wanted to go under Resources, yes, but...Well, truthfully, that was only step one, wasn't it? A broad category. Now she'd have to narrow down the search results and find exactly what she needed, and that...Well, that might be tricky, for lack of a better word.

She couldn't possibly ask Hector for more help, though, right?

She squatted down in front of a random shelf, eyes focused on nothing in particular, and tried to look like she knew what she was doing. Though the little buds appearing on her shoulders told a bit of a different story.
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HosekiDragon
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Hector watched Laura crouch down to look at the books and recognized that vacant, lost look in her eyes.

She still had no idea where to look.

"The Self-Help stuff is down at the end, towards the corner." Hector muttered, slouching against the bookcase to try and look like he wasn't helping and it was just some random information that he happened to know, "There's not a lot of them, go figure." He dug into his pocket, produced a pill bottle, swallowed two more painkillers, and then looked up at the ceiling, "That's all I know."

Not cool. Totally not cool. But now he'd helped without being asked or told so, he figured, that should at least grant him a passing grade in his math class.

One lab accident away from becoming a super villain.
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Lady-Moth
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"There's not...?" Laura looked at him again as she stood up, absently rubbing her wrist. Something about that comment--or rather, what he'd said after--plus the fact that he'd just swallowed two pills...

She couldn't help feeling a pang of sympathy and mild curiosity. She'd better not tell him that, though...she knew enough that a lot of people reacted negatively to sympathy or pity. And truthfully, she wasn't sure if she really felt sympathetic or if she pitied him. She'd never felt it for anything but Aryil, and Arry was easily sympathetic.

And now it didn't even sound like a word anymore, in her mind.

"That's...troublesome," she mumbled at last, looking over her shoulder for a moment. That meant that she might not find what she needed after all...darn it. "I bet...I b-bet the teachers dooon't want us using other...resources. ...uhm...by the w-waaay...d-do you have a headache?" she asked innocently, concerned. Maybe those pills were aspirins. If he had a headache, he should see the nurse.
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