Private Finished accidental meetings

Without having to hear an answer from Caspian --just by seeing the look on her face, Hal was already getting the feeling whoever those were, they weren't good news. And then hearing their voice all but confirmed his suspicions. Were these guys bullying her!? God, some people, he swore.

He was told the guys name, one that was not all completely familiar but it rung a bell. More likely because he kept away from guys like him for most of his years in the academy. But he'd know a face like that though. Hal sighed, "Well then, 'guess I know why we're hiding up here then," he muttered under his breath almost a little irritated. He couldn't fault her, but the timing wasn't good.

Hal considered scaring them off, he'd been trying to hone his electric abilities since it showed itself in full force back in March. For a moment he seemed to raised his hand, pointing towards the group before he dropped it next to him. No, he couldn't do it yet. If he messed up, he wouldn't know what kind of damage he could do with it.

"So," he then turned to Caspian, "how do you usually make them go away?"

Hal curiously stared at the gloves' glow as it responded to it being removed, curious about it's purpose. HIs question easily got an answer when Caspian touched the trunk and right before his eyes blades erupted from the surface. His eyes followed the trail where it eventually led to the group of rowdy students until it surrounded them.

The teen had to stifle a laugh, "Well, not exactly scaring them off, but I guess that does the job," he said jokingly. She put back the gloves on, but the glow was already gone though before he could ask, she was already on her way down. Hal hesitated a little -- on his astral body, he could have simply made the jump straight, but he probably would end up with at least a sprain if he did it now. Climbing down the old-fashioned way then he went, avoiding the sharp edges of the swords that could hurt him if he made the wrong move.

Getting down seemed more difficult, what with the new presence of blades protruding from the trunk of the tree that hadn't been there before. As he reached the ground, Hal gave a curious glance at the blades. They weren't fake and yet, it didn't seem like they were summoned and coincidentally appeared from the ground. It was as if it grew from it, like how plants would sprout from the soil. Peculiar -- he'd never seen anything like it.

Turning back to Caspian, "Okay, I guess, that's one trouble out of the way? We should probably go elsewhere for real. I don't really like that guy's face." It was an attempt at humor, but he didn't really like the looks the guy was giving them. He didn't even need to look twice to confirm.

Hal walked ahead, muttering quietly as he passed her as if whispering a secret, "There's a little lake over there with a good clearing but we should take a detour over here so they wouldn't realize where we're headed." Hal had to wait for her to reply before he would lead her away to the place in question.

It was nice to see her smiling bright, Hal thought, compared to how withdrawn she was earlier it was a refreshing sight. The ambient glow from her gloves seemed to radiate, lighting her up in a way a sunset would. His eyes seemed to soften for a moment, find slight comparisons to another silver-haired girl he'd almost mistaken her as, but he shook the thought away as he led the way around the trees.

The pair pretended to leave the forest, going out the way they came; Hal wouldn't have expected her to do anything and assumed the "growth" of blades would have vanished on its own later, or the guy would break his way through -- at least after he and Caspian had got away from him and his lackeys. And well, she did do something: she willed the swords away and as planned, the little group fell for their ruse and ran back into the school. They probably think he'd led her back to blend into the crowd. That would be ridiculous though -- both Caspian and he already knew neither of them would willingly jump into that sea of people.

Hal smiled at her when she turned to him then, a little sneaky smile of someone who just pulled a successful prank on an unsuspecting victim -- or in this case, Edward and his minions--before he turned around, nodding towards their destination.

The lake closest to the school was possibly the largest one, in the distance one could see the mountains appearing above the horizon if they stood by the lake shore. Sunlight reflected off the surface of the water. The lake was Hal's sanctuary, as do many other students, but there was a corner he kept to himself, a rock formation toward the southwest side of the lake. It was visible to anyone who walked into the area, hiding behind it keeps him away from observing eyes. He hummed as he heard Caspian marveling at the sight.

He didn't go any further down there to his hiding place, deciding to settle where Caspian found it comfortable to sit instead. He noted as he walked to her side that her gloves had lost its glow and he wondered why. "Nah, it's not really much trouble. It's good you have something on you to keep them away," he said, sitting next to her and admiring the lake view. Right then, he found the right timing to ask, "What was that though?"

Uh oh, bad topic. Hal rubbed the back of his neck anxiously; he's met a few people who had issues with how they gained their abilities and not a lot of them were open with it. He lent an ear to her though and heard her story, despite feeling a little bit guilty for bringing it up. Curiosity often got the best of him but depending on what he's up against, it could either go wrong or bring him some newfound knowledge.

He couldn't seem to find the words to reply with when she turned to him with a smile that looked too forced to be anything comforting. Hal tugged on the laces of his sneakers unconsciously as he watched her pull her gloves back again. "Mm, no, I don't mind. Sorry for digging it up," he spoke softly.

Hal broke awake his gaze when she laid down on the grass, turning to the ones around his feet and picking on them instead until she poke again. Only then did he turn back to her with a curious look. He heard Edward say the word "Sword Birth" earlier on when he was taunting. If that was the case, he was mocking her. Because, it was likely her abilities were the 'imperfect' version, right? Hal sighed heavily.

Silence fell between them, with Caspian having stopped before she finished her words, and Hal trying to find his own. Curiosly, he looked towards her, gauging her expression but nothing seemed to show. Trying for a different approach he spoke up, "You know, I did know one other guy who had the same powers," he said, trying to test the waters. "The guy used to shout out that he was the son of a demon general or something but I was pretty sure I never sensed any demonic aura on him."

It didn't work; she didn't bite on the bait. Still, it seemed to pull her out of the blank space where her mind seemed to wander. Hal had to stifle a laugh as the wind blew her hair around her face. As soon as he met her gaze, he cleared his throat, looking towards the water and pretending he didn't see, but the tell tale curve at the corner of his mouth would have given him away.

The movement from his side made him turn back to her, curious, and his eyes caught the glow of the glove once again. He wanted so much ask about it but it felt like she wouldn't want to talk about what it all means. She was difficult to read, Hal thought to himself. His eyes were trained on her hands as she touched the ground and, for the second time, he was able to see her power at work. A little part of him felt envious, but the bigger side was in awe. He remained on his seat, even as Caspian stood up to test her creation.

"Seems highly ambitious of them," he muttered. Whether or not she had heard it, he wasn't sure but when he continued, his voice was louder to hear. "It's sometimes terrifying to hear that there are people like that who know about the things Veil have been trying to keep and they try do to things like that," he mused aloud.

Hal was startled when the girl had moved to sit in front of him, evident how his shoulders jumped, though he relaxed when she spoke. He smiled softly as she chuckled shyly. "Hey, don't worry about it," he told her. "You don't have to apologize; At least you've got an excuse, I... I just get nervous around big crowds, honestly. But I grew up with a lot people so it's really dumb." Hal laughed it off as usual. Pathetic, he though, but all of that aside. "But hey, at least... at least you're out of there. The people you'll meet here aren't gonna do whatever those scientists tried to do."

His eyes fell back into the gloves, curious more than ever as it glowed a new color than before. Without meaning to, he spoke out his thoughts. "I've been wondering what those symbols on your gloves do. They look like runes but I'm not an expert with them." Only after the words have been spoken did Hal realize his mistake; he froze up when he did. Carefully, he raised his gaze to watch how she reacted.