smash_logs | Oh, no. You are DOOMED.

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Oh, no. You are DOOMED.

Mother Nature had one hell of a temper, and if not that, then perhaps a sadistic sense of humor. The world was Her plaything, a marionette at best, and the people who lived on it, rather unfortunate victims to Her sometimes violent moodswings. For only She could start with an overcast, grey sky, and splatter across it heavy clouds, treacherous storms, and relentless armies of snowflakes that had lost all endearment only to become companions of inconvenience and burden. Someone or something had maddened her greatly - or so would have been the assumption if one gave reason to believe in Sprites of Nature who controlled an entire world's plethora of environments.

Yet Smash Academy had only been given a taste of what was to come. And since they were such diligent and well-behaved little pets, She had reason to reward them. With more entertaining obstacles that would, no doubt, impede their precious plans that somehow took precedence to pleasing and sating her. No, they had not appreciated their darling sunshine days, clear blue skies, and painful sunburns.

"Stop playing at your human-made technological machines and bask in the glorious sun I gave to you!" she wished she could have said. But somehow winter's torment, she knew, would be a far sweeter revenge upon ungrateful children.

And that was how it had begun.

By stand alone days of simple snowfall and ambitious winds, there would be no suspicion of greater minds and hands at work. Steadily through the week, each day became harsher than the last. And like a great many number of battles in a war, there came a pinnacle for Her success. She sent the most worthy blizzard down to the surface in its invincible path and rendered for them a weekend She was certain the town and academy's citizens would remember for some time to come.

One moment was mostly peaceful, and as calm as unruly weather would allow. In some places music played. In some places, lights were dimly lit to provide a pathway. In some places, there was the happy clicking and tapping at a computer. In some places, showers and baths were being taken, savored, and enjoyed. And in other places, unsuspecting people had taken to idle chitter and chatter with other friends who were likely down the hall.

But in the next...

All went black and silent, save for the whipping wind and strangling branches of trees, as if whispering threats of what people would find in the dark.

[OOC Notes:
The following is a reminder of how things are going down for the next few days.

♦ This will last from January 18 ~ 20.
♦ The following are affected by the blizzard: electricity, heaters, hot water, TVs, gadgets, gizmos, the network. Congratulations, you've been officially stripped of your luxuries. (No computers for you.)
♦ The school's backup generators will work for about one hour before mysteriously failing. What's causing it to fail? Maybe some of you should go check out the generators themselves...
♦ The blizzard causing this blackout is pretty powerful. You probably don't want to go skipping through it lest you get blown away (in a bad way) and never return.
♦ Power will be restored, and the generators repaired, by Monday morning, January 21.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

'Okay' was a start, even if it meant she was still a little shaken. Or scared.

Marie maybe wasn't the best, most reassuring person to be with Voile in the dark, but he would try his best. For the most part he didn't mind the dark, so maybe it'd help to have someone like that around...? He reached out in her direction, low, attempting to take her hand. He took her wrist, which was close enough.

"It's fine. You don't need to apologize." He offered her an unsure smile, although it was likely lost in the dark. "Where are you trying to go? I can walk you there and back. ... Okay?"

There was a slight tensing in her frame when he reached for her. But when she immediately leaned over and confirmed that it was him - which was mostly done by the wandering free hand he'd not taken - she seemed to calm.

Where was she trying to go exactly? Voile had gotten so frazzled that she couldn't remember why she left her dormitory in the first place. Was Cammy safe? That was a good question. What was he doing? Marie, that is. Why was he wandering around?

"Can..." She edged as close to him as she could without disrupting too much of his space, if only under the impression that he'd protect her before letting anything happen to her. Even when she wasn't as strong as he must have been accustomed to seeing her. "May... I just... stay with you?"

Edited (WOW. I DIDN'T FINISH MY SENTENCE. DERP.) 2013-01-24 06:24 (UTC)

The tenseness was not unnoticed, and Marie very nearly let go before she could relax. He felt her free hand move closer, though, and he stayed with his hand around her wrist while she checked to make sure it was him. Once she was reassured, he let go of her wrist and took her hand instead.

As her voice quieted, Marie leaned in to hear her better. Her anxiety was a little infectious, but not to a degree that Marie was too uncomfortable. He stayed calm, but sounds just a pinch nervous when he spoke.

"Uh... Yeah, that's fine," he replied. "Do you just, like, want to stay here? We can walk back to your dorm and I can stay with you there, or whatever, if you want...?"

It was almost a foreign feeling. He took her hand and she was partially touched by the sentiment, but mostly frustrated because her fears were too crippling. Because she let her fears be crippling. She couldn't decide if she was relieved to have Marie with her, or if she was upset because of the situation.

"My dorm..." She looked over her shoulder, in the direction she came from, though she saw absolutely nothing. Then she squeezed his hand in some form of needed reassurance, as if it was a reminder that she wasn't alone. "...Uhm... If it isn't too much trouble. But I would understand if it were. So we could stay here if it was easier."

"I wouldn't have suggested it if it was too much trouble," Marie responded, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. "It's fine, really."

It was just a little uncomfortable to have his hand squeezed, but after a moments hesitation, he squeezed back. Again, trying to reassure the Gardevoir. She didn't have to be alone in the dark.

How odd for their roles to be reversed. She was always the one trying to offer him solace. In fact, she'd gotten so used to that position that letting him do that for her was nearly impossible. Her pride wanted her to tell him to leave her on her own, despite whatever her comfort level would have been. Would she have suffered her own mentality just for the sake of trying to save face?

No, she decided inwardly. Drawing in a deep breath, she took one step forward and reached for her cell phone flashing it on just long enough to point out her door with a forefinger.

"...That way." And just as quickly, it was dark again, but she was forcing herself to be the one to lead him and not to allow it the other way around.

Similarly, Marie's pride was what pushed him to be a bit bolder. To keep him from letting go of Voile's hand, or crumbling under the pressure of having to reassure the nervous girl in front of him. It was difficult to work through whatever anxiety he felt, but it was worth it to try and show Voile he was capable of caring for her the way she took care of him when he was insecure or upset.

When the light on Voile's phone flashed, he took the opportunity to look at her face, rather than to follow wherever she'd pointed to. He tried to make out the look on her face before the light flickered off again. Thankfully, Voile lead him and he didn't have to rely on the directions he'd straight-up ignored.

He nodded when she spoke, although she probably wouldn't have known that in the dark. That occurred to him slowly, and he added, "Alright," after a beat had already passed.

Edited (ted wants to roleplay with you, mako) 2013-01-24 08:17 (UTC)

It wasn't that she hadn't caught his gaze just slightly in the dimmer light. It was that she hadn't wanted to see how he looked at her. Just in case he was ashamed of her for acting out of sorts, for not being the Voile that everyone else in the academy knew. Except in the back of her mind, she knew better. Marie would never do that. How did she know? She couldn't say for sure; she simply felt it.

And she hoped she wasn't wrong. A lot of it was hope.

Her steps felt heavy and she doubted she could have made them if she was on her own. At first she said nothing, but eventually she uttered up a soft 'I'm sorry,' which sounded so much louder in the eerie silence. At her door, she used her free hand to feel about, furrowed her eyebrows, and gave an audible sigh of relief when she managed to locate the handle.

Pushing the door open, she fished for her cell phone once more and trying her best to avoid his eyes or the visage she thought so handsome, she nodded slightly. "Uhm... It was easier to get here with... you with me." And she felt herself blush so hotly, she wasn't sure she'd return a normal shade anytime soon. "Thank you and... I'm sorry."

Marie shook his head in the dim light of Voile's cell phone. "Seriously, you don't have to be sorry. I'm glad I could... you know... be here for you, or whatever," he replied, starting to feel a different shade of nervous. After catching her look back at him the first time she'd flashed the light, he avoided looking at her the second time.

He let himself into Voile's dorm, just as the light had disappeared again. Hopefully she'd feel safer in her dorm. Regardless, Marie resolved not to leave until he knew she were completely calmed down. He stood in the center of her dorm and looked back in her direction, although couldn't tell if he was really looking at her or not in the darkness.

"I'll stay as long as you need me, okay?" he offered. "Can I, like, borrow your phone real quick, though? I just want to text Red and let him know where I am..."

She closed door after he showed himself in and for many moments didn't say or do anything. Well. She thought. That was about it. She thought about the faint sound of the wind. She thought about how her heart had finally stopped racing. She thought about Cammy again, wherever the blonde might have been.

It was easy to get lost.

He spoke up again and she carefully followed what she would have called the vibrations of his voice. Even in the dark her hand traced down along his forearm until she found his hand. The consideration of Red did make her pause as she pressed her cell phone against his palm.

"...Will he be upset?"

Marie felt goosebumps on the back of his neck as Voile's hand made its way along his arm. He didn't pull away, though, withdrawing only once he'd been given the phone. Unsure if Red would have his phone on him, he sent the text to Sasha instead, instructing her to pass the message along to their trainer. He typed quickly, and passed the phone back to Voile once the text had been sent.

"I don't think so," he answered calmly. "No. He'll be fine with it. As long as he knows where I am."

His eyebrows knit together, remembering they still didn't have an eye on one of their teammates. The team still hadn't heard from Vinnie since the blackout. They'd all assumed he'd been trapped in the greenhouse, but they didn't know anything for sure.

That Red. So understanding. Voile immediately thought back to the day she and Red walked - and talked - together. He was a quiet boy, hard to understand. Not someone Voile could easily understand and she hadn't really wanted to pry into his feelings or his thoughts. But she hadn't forgotten how she felt that day. That she didn't really fit in and though he was kind, she was still a bit of an island.

And then there was Marie.

She took her phone back, held it to her for a moment, and slipped it away. "Okay. I don't want him to worry about you. Fretting does not look good on the faces of endearing humans. I spoke with him earlier in the week, before the weather became so poor, and perhaps it is my nature, but it's certainly difficult to see him anxious."

A pause and she nudged Marie blindly, but gently. "And you, as well."

At first, Marie only offered a distracted hum as a response. He couldn't help wondering what Voile had spoken with his trainer about, but he didn't want to seem nosy by asking. He kept his curiosity to himself and tried to think of something else to say for just a second or two too long than appropriate.

"I'm fine," he replied, quietly. A little unsure of himself. "It is really hard to see him so upset, though, yeah... He's got a lot on his mind."

So did Marie, but he didn't want to weigh Voile down with his problems at the moment. Not when she was already so shaken by the dark. He pursed his lips and wrung his hands nervously, feeling a little calmer about his anxious habit when he was so invisible.

"It... certainly seemed that way," she agreed. Her head inclined and where she would have stared at the floor, she found mostly darkness. Slight light, but not much. Enough that she assumed she wouldn't trip over anything as long as she was careful.

It's not my place, but I want to help...

She looked over to where she heard him. Felt him. Whatever it was that she actually did. "He has you, though. He was genuinely happy when he talked about his team. Everyone needs someone. He really cares about you guys. You're all really important to him, and I think he feels better knowing that he isn't alone."

Voile gave a smile, though she imagined Marie wouldn't catch it in the slightest.

Marie couldn't see her smile, but he found himself smiling slightly to himself at her comments about Red. In a selfish sort of way, he knew he was important to his trainer. Perhaps even more selfishly so, it felt nice to be told so, too.

"Yeah..." he mumbled back, a little bashfully. "I care about him too." Pause. "I mean, like, obviously..."

Ugh, Marie, shut up.

You're adorable, she thought as she heard him. And she felt no shame for thinking it either.

Was it a crime to touch him in the dark? He wasn't holding her hand any longer, but they were in her room. He didn't need to hold her hand there. But she liked holding hands with him. She could just imagine how perhaps he smelled a bit like the ocean. Did he, really? Voile had never checked. That was far too brazen of her to even attempt.

"I know you do. I told him that, too," she agreed with a nod. "Uhm... I think the idea that you..." Voile tried not to stammer as she moved to her windowsill, admiring the gracidea flowers taking bloom. Well, as best she could considering the situation. "You... sound really cute, when you are sentimental over him."

Cute?

Marie was thankful for the darkness once again, for hiding how furiously he had blushed when she said that. He looked towards the window, following the quiet sound of Voile stepping towards it. If he squinted, he could make out the faint silhouette of the pretty girl standing by the window. Although he knew she couldn't see him, he didn't let his glance linger.

What was he supposed to say to that...? He could disagree, but he didn't want to look like he was implying that she was being disingenuous. After a few moments, he just laughed quietly and nervously to himself.

"I, uh... Oh."

At least it was something other than painful silence.

There was a pause. A good amount of silence. And Voile's smile grew. And a little after that, she laughed as well. Not at him. She couldn't ever imagine laughing at him. Oh, goodness. I feel like my heart will burst and you don't even have to do anything. I wonder what is possibly wrong with me.

"I'm sorry," she began as she looked over in his direction. "If... you do not mind my asking... You are easily flustered. At least around me. I wonder, do I make you uncomfortable, Marie? Perhaps it is my type, or my nature... I would understand that."

Don't explode. Stop thinking about leaving. At least he didn't have to wish he were invisible; he was already given that one.

Again, he took a little long before he responded.

"I... no, it's not you. I mean, I'm not uncomfortable. Just." Uuuuuughh. His face was so hot he was having a hard time not thinking about it. He didn't want to talk about this. How Voile made him feel was something that was meant to be shoved away, not thought about and certainly not talked about. "I really like you?" A short but frantic laugh. "I mean. Augh... Uh..."

He was trying to get words out, honestly. They just weren't coming.

"I really like you?"

The words themselves were pretty self-explanatory, but hearing them seemed to cause a good chunk of her to simply shut down. Well, more or less to pause and freeze in that moment. It also meant that his words echoed between her ears, like they'd simply pushed the rest of her thoughts out. Suddenly suspicious Seth didn't matter. Suddenly the issue with sub-human versus human took a backseat. Suddenly the dark didn't bother her as much. And if it did, she had no way of truly knowing.

I really like you. What exactly... Voile felt a good part of her grow tense. Someone liking her. She wasn't deserving of that. The way her stomach flipped and knotted grew the more she thought of it. But I've... And she blushed so hotly that she had every thought to hide under her hair, even though he couldn't see her well at all. What... I... I don't know what I should be saying.

"I..." Please breathe. Please keep breathing. Her hand found her chest, and lightly thumped at it. You are very sweet and I am not sweet enough. I... I cannot be what you need me to be. Why is this... So what was her obsession with trying to push him to arm's length? And there he set her under the proverbial spotlight.

"...Really?" she asked him, very softly and very gentle.

No? Yes? No? Don't say no, that's not true. Don't say yes either.

"I mean..." What do I do what do I do what do I do what do I say what do I do. He needed Vinnie or Sasha to smack him over the head. Or maybe he just needed to leave. "I guess?" he added. Was that indirect enough? Maybe Voile could take from that what she wanted to.

No, that just sounded jerky.

"I mean, yeah."

Marie screamed internally. Please don't take that the way he meant it, Voile. Clearly he meant as a friend. Feel all the friend vibes he was sending...? In no way was he implying he liked her like that. Of course. Obviously.

What did people normally do in this kind of situation? She didn't know, because Marie was really the first of his sort that she'd really grown close to. He was bashful, modest, reserved, and endearing in a plethora of ways. His sweet way of looking after her and doing so in a way that he thought he could be inconspicuous.

She began to wonder when she felt her heart start to heal, with thanks to him. Her expression softened and she couldn't fight the way a curl in her lips formed. But he was still too grand an idea for her, wasn't he? She had been quick to refuse the idea, just as she declined flattery.

You're very important to me. "I'm... I'm quite taken with you." When you are sad, Marie, I... feel sad too. I want to be someone who can make you smile. "I-I mean... Uhm..." As she sauntered through the darkness, she reached over blindly and it seemed to be by sheer coincidence that she found his cheek. "You... are so handsome with a smile and yet your smiles are so rare. I hope that I... can make you smile more often."

If Marie had any idea of what Voile was thinking- considering him too grand or too sweet for her- he probably would have laughed. Those might have been the last words he would have thought of to describe himself with. He would have insisted, though, that Voile was too good, too grand, too sweet for him. He was selfish, moody, jealous, anxious, and he was known to hold grudges. That wasn't the sort of person Voile deserved.

Voile deserved someone as kind as herself. Someone who could care about her as thoroughly as she cared about the people important to her. Maybe Marie had been trying to be a little bit of that for her lately, but he didn't think it was nearly enough. Not enough for her to be taken with him.

Taken with him. It was entirely foreign to be thought of that way. And handsome. He wasn't handsome. He wanted to protest, but found himself... a little frozen. Voile's fingertips made him flinch. Don't flinch. Don't mess this up. ... Mess this up. Make her realize this is a bad idea. He recovered from the sudden movement, seemingly paralyzed. Don't mess this up.

He swallowed hard, and he felt that terrible sensation of thinking everything all at once. Say something. "Thanks."

Wow, genius. Award for best thing ever thought of to say to the girl you like who just called you handsome.

"I think ... you're really pretty. And..." Marie trailed off, unable to finish his thought.

Edited (A TYPO) 2013-01-26 09:28 (UTC)

He thinks I'm pretty?

Amusing, because she thought she was extraordinarily plain. But she envied his eyes, because she imagined if she had them, she wouldn't be so judgmental of herself. She thought modesty was a charming feature, however, and she still wanted to be charming for him. If she could be, anyway.

He thought she was pretty, though.

She wanted to hear what else it was that he had to say. But she didn't want to push him. So what could she do? A 'thank you' didn't seem very appropriate. Well, it would have worked, but she wanted to give him something more important.

"...Marie..."

Voile could scarcely see him. Not enough to make out features exceptionally well, but enough that it was a good guiding point. So she leaned it as carefully as she could and after more than a single moment's hesitance, she offered him a ginger kiss.

Please don't be the wrong thing to do.

Edited (NO TYPOS) 2013-01-26 09:40 (UTC)

Marie's mind completely emptied. Just as quickly as it had been a flurry of every thought ever, he suddenly didn't think of anything at all. Except the fact that Voile's lips had just pressed against his own.

She must have missed. She must have meant to give him a kiss on the cheek. Like a friend. It was deliberate though, and even Marie couldn't deny that. He didn't kiss back, but he didn't pull away either. He didn't return the kiss, not because he didn't want to, but rather because he didn't know how. Or how to move at all at the moment, but that was sort of beside the point.

As soon as actual thoughts started rushing back into his head, a wave of guilt washed over the Wartortle. This was Sonny's ex-girlfriend. He hadn't meant for it to go this far. Admittedly, he hadn't expected it to go anywhere, and hadn't really done a great job at preventing it.

Another wave of feelings washed over Marie, this time leaving him completely emotionally confused. It was nice. He'd wanted this, and actually holy crap she'd just kissed him. An awkward smile graced his lips, but his eyebrows knit together.

"I..." had no idea what to say, evidently.

Edited (THIS MAKES MORE SENSE.) 2013-01-26 09:57 (UTC)

Oh, no. You are DOOMED.

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