Getting off to a Roaring Stop

The chilled marble bench held a severe contrast to the otherwise pleasant spring air. Tweets of small birds resonated in the distance, though nearby was the pleasant rustle of budding roses. Chatter could be distinguished with words regarding the glorious afternoon along with the reverence of the dying winter. It only made sense to hang out around here after classes have ended. Of course, it also only made sense to stay in a space that required no close proximity with other people on your first day, either.

Pen signed documents slightly shook in his hands which sealed the deal for his new home. Tonight, after five o’ clock, his forms would be processed and he would officially become a student at Starlight Academy. For the first time since pre-k, he had a chance for a fresh start to mold himself into whatever he desired to be.

And that was a thought that warranted a feeling similar to wanting to throw up.

The advice of ‘go and make some friends’ was pushed aside in favor of trying to get his nerves together about the whole situation. Was he excited? Of course! But fears arose within him as well. What if everyone hated him? And what about… What about this new ‘power’ of his? Would he end up hurting somebody? Would he lose control? How exactly would he fit in? What if…

Before he could get himself worked up in his nervous thoughts, a slightly heavier breeze blew over the rather dainty child’s blonde hair and into the lightly clutched papers in his hand. As a result the very important documents scattered like vermin away from him, rolling down the pathway before he could react. ”Wha!” the boy yelled in panic, scrambling to his unsteady feet to dash towards the papers. Before they could touch the slightly muddy grass, his pale hand snatched up the papers with gentle conviction. A sigh of relief heaved from his nose as he realized that the situation was once more under his grasp. But as he stood up straight towards the blue sky, his foot slipped in the mud beneath his shoe and down he went with a SMACK!

So, instead of spending the day playing off his new surroundings casually, he now had scuffed up and muddy knees, a ruined old uniform, and a red hot face of humiliation.

Fun.

With a dissapointed grumble the boy frowned and looked at his now slightly scratched up and very muddy palms. He winced as he shook them of, not being able to bear to look up from his little pit. Someone had to see that. There was no way that someone didn't. He grasped the papers and held them close to his chest as he tried to sniffle back his own embarrassment. Great, was he going to cry too now?

But before he could let defeated tears slide he forced them back as he heard someone approach the pavement close to him. He looked to the grass to avoid eyesight, and braced himself for whatever may come next. But his tense shoulders eased themselves as he was asked a simple, non threatening question, one that evaluated whether or not he was alright.

The boy looked up from the ground, his freckle-peppered cheeks red with blush. With his pinkie he gently pushed up the bridge of his rounded-rectangular glasses; his green eyes a bit clouded. ”Oh um...” He pulled a sheepish half-smile, somewhat filled with worry. "I'm fine, thank you. I'm just... Er, a bit clumsy is all.” The more he talked, the more his Gloucester accent became apparent. He stood up in a jittery fashion and tried to brush off his scratched knees before facing this person. He folded dirt stained, once-white sleeves behind his back to look up at the towering... Man? He didn't want to assume as he did not want to be rude or offend. Well, the best way to know was for the boy to at least try to introduce himself.

”My um... My name's Methuselah.” With a fumble of his arms he extended his right hand in a friendly handshake. ”But you can call me Oli.” Would he accept the gesture? Ah, was he being too weird? Or too straightforward? That knots-in-his-stomach feeling returned as he hoped that this person wouldn't roll their eyes and walk away. ”What's your name?” Oli asked with another small smile and this time, an inquisitive tilt of his head.

Oli admitedly felt much more reassured with this stranger's apparent understanding. The least the kid usually got was a snicker or two, but the person in front of him didn't seem to be like like that. The instinct to cry faded away as the stranger assured that he was the same way. It was a rarity to find someone who also lacked in the poise department, especially coming from a posh boarding school like he did. He sort of chuckled with him, and gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "It does... However I usually trip over my own feet at least once a day. Can't say I haven't filled out my daily dosage now at least... Heh...” His attempt at making the best of an embarrassing situation passed with the question of healing. Was he going to take him to the nurse? Well, there was no need for the stranger to go out of the way for him! ”Oh, um.. I just scratched up my knees a tiny bit. No major harm done!" He looked down to them, seeing that somewhat small trails of blood were present. "Besides, I wouldn't want to trouble you. I really do appreciate it, though." He concluded somewhat quietly, still looking down at the ground.

The acceptance of his handshake still did a bit to lighten the mood. With this he smiled pleasantly, happy that he was now somewhat acquainted with the stranger. ”Well, it certainly is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Bill. And thank you again for your assistance.” He confirmed lightheartedly before allowing his arm to swing to his side. He leaned down swiftly to grasp the papers that feel during his dramatic scene and hoped that they weren't damaged. With a quick inspection he saw that they were alright, minus a crease or two. Hopefully they were still acceptable to turn in. On the mental note of his forms and registration items, he was suddenly reminded something he needed to ask a random stranger anyway. Not having the gall to do so by approaching another, he hoped that William would be willing to answer a question.

”Oh! I am sorry if I'm preventing you from carrying on your day, but I just have a quick question.” He faltered a bit before continuing. ”I'm new here, and I haven't the slightest clue about much for this place besides the basics... What is it like at this academy? Is it much... Different than the 'outside world'?” Well, besides the 'this place is full of people with superpowers' kind of thing. Which was sort of major. ”S-sorry if this is an obvious question. You don't have to answer, really. It is just that up until a few months ago I did not even know this sort of concept existed... It just may need a little time to get used to.” He mumbled the last part, looking now shyly up to him in hopes that he could answer.

<div align=center>When Bill silently neared him, Oliver felt a bit puzzled. He said he was going to try to fix him, but how? He kept himself quiet as Bill aided him, relating to the dislike of the sight of blood. He wasn't quite a fan, either. But a look of atonishent appeared on his face when he began to heal him. His pasty thin skin had reformed over, just by the contact of this boy's hand. It was... Pretty cool, really!

Oliver looked over at his knees to see they were perfectly healed. A broad smile appeared on his face after the miracle occurred, excitement replacing former fear. ”Oh my! Thank you so much! This... This is fantastic!” He gushed out excitedly, both in the act of kindness and sheer awe of the phenomena. Secretly, Oliver thanked whatever was out there that his first encounter with another 'gifted' person had something not-so-scary as an ability. It all seemed to be from a dream... No amount of well established science could have explained anything that has occurred here. But it was true, and he was living it. A couple hours in and he could already tell this place was going to be rather interesting.

In response to his answer, Oliver nodded. Well, that was a bit to be expected. He had heard from supervisors and many others preparing him for enrollment that often times those with powerful abilities had broken pasts or mental illnesses. But there was still incentive for him to see past this, right? Besides, he was the loser in his old school. Maybe that trend might carry over. ”I understand...” He confirmed with a nod of his head. ”Then again, I guess I am, too.” He chuckled nervously. He thought of what truly made him odd, or at least in his mind. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I can um...” Now how was he going to phrase this? ”Kind of, Sort of transform into fully grown dinosaurs, and... Yeah..." The confession just sounded so odd to say out loud to another! However, he figured it was best to try to be as open with himself as possible here, and feel the same about others as well. ”Oh! Oh dear, I hope I'm not keeping you from something... Am I?” The thought popped in his head while he was talking to the older boy. His silly questions were probably keeping him from doing more important tasks, and previously he looked like he was heading somewhere. He hoped he wasn't being a burden, which would be a personal record really for fastest social turnoff. </div>

<div align=center>In a secret sort of way, Oliver was glad that at least William didn't dismiss what he said as a lie. Earlier in the day he had gotten that from a secretary, who looked at the boy as totally unable to pull off such a power. And it was understandable- he's meek, sensitive, not at all brash and proper. To transform into a bloodthirsty, ravenously harsh creature that dwarfed him by several dozen feet seemed like something impossible even in a school like this. But while he was able to become such monsters, it was as if his entire brain was substituted for the instinctual pea that was his selected reptile. In their bodies he still tried to watch where he was going, apologize for being an inconvenience, and cower down from a fight against a normal sized person. All the while, he couldn't speak, only being able to growl, roar and grunt. Being a dinosaur wasn't anything on him- the main problem was that he couldn't use his claws properly to perform tasks like homework.

After a brief spell of thinking Oliver nodded a quiet 'yes'. ”In order for me to shift, I have to clear my mind so that the instincts needed for me to change take over. It stays like this a few seconds after I shift, but I am able to gain control quickly.” He explained shyly. ”I'm most comfortable shifting into my Tyrannosaurus form, with my Pteradon coming in at a close second... Even though it is not technically a dinosaur... Heh...” He shrugged. ”As long as I can come in contact with a fossil, I can take in its data from its past life and transform.”

He nearly blushed from both nervousness from revealing much about himself and shame for talking so much. He usually secluded himself from others as to not receive judgement of any type. With so much negative feedback over the years, he learned to keep his mouth shut. But as far as the elder boy seemed to appear, he wasn't like those which Oliver grew up with. He helped him and seemed interested in his ability. And that was already a really good thing in Oliver's book.

After he confirmed he was headed nowhere, he felt relieved. At least he wasn't cutting out on his time. "I guess there's a large range of people here just judging by the two us, huh.” He commented with a delicate chuckle. Diversity seemed to be this place's rather strong point, and in every sense of the word. ”The lady at the front desk told me I must get practice getting comfortable with my ability... But I'm afraid that isn't going to happen without breaking a few statues.” Though he halfway laughed, he was also a bit nervous. He was comfortable with his powers, it was just... What were the consequences? Would he harm anyone or anything? And why were they so particular with it? He knew there had to be others who weren't quite as comfortable with demonstrating what they had on a consistent basis... Right?</div>