Power Troubles

Poison-Star

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Aug 22, 2014
185
It was finally warm enough to wear flip flops! Avian was so excited to hear about the warm forecast, she immediately changed out of her school uniform and into a sundress, sun hat, and flip flops. She skipped down to the woods to break in some new ones her mom had sent her. The winter had been hard on her. She couldn't go down to the beach or the lake whenever she wanted because of the cold. Even when spring came, Mother Nature couldn't make up her mind! Going from hot to chilly, from sunny to stormy, Avian never knew whether to dress for warm, cold, or rain! But now she was sure the warmth was here to stay at last! Summer was her favorite season by far. As she finished her festive little nature walk, her flip flops flipping and flopping against her soft feet, she noticed she still had an audience. Turning around at the edge of the woods, she saw an entire entourage of birds!

Having freak bird powers, Avian was used to being constantly accompanied by feathered friends. In fact, the locals could always tell she was coming by all the seagulls hopping along with her. But the birds following her today would not be welcome in the city. Buzzards, hawks, eagles, and one massive Harpy Eagle were all perched in the trees behind her, waiting for her to continue leading. How could she though? She couldn't lead all these birds of prey into the city, they'd cause havoc!

"Ok, now, that's enough for today," Avian said in her sweet voice, giving a few weak waves.

But the birds stayed put.

"Go on, now!" Avian laughed a little, now flinging her arms out to shoo them away.

A few hawks twitched at her actions, but still did not leave. Avian tried to remember all she had learned that year on her powers. Outstretching her arms and opening her palms at the flock, she shut her eyes and concentrated. Mustering all her will power and confidence, she tried her hardest to will them away. When she opened her one, visible eye, she saw that not a single one had left.

"Uuuurgh!" she let out a groan of exasperation, "Just go!"

When she saw that nothing changed, she shook her tiny fists in rage and slumped to the ground against a tree. Had all her studying been for nothing?
 

ReD

Sex & Death Everywhere
Inactive
Aug 4, 2013
6,766
Bat Country
Lochlann was having a bad day.

Without his amulet, he was pretty much at the mercy of the elements. He was a water horse first, not a human, and though this shape was as much a part of him as his horse-shape, he wasn't meant to stay in either for extended periods of time.

Of course, you couldn't really be a murderous horse in class, so Lochlann had been spending a lot of time as a man, and not a lot of time as a horse.

It was bound to happen eventually, but Lochlann was thinking of all the things that could have triggered it: a monsoon, a hurricane, getting pelted by water balloons. Instead, it had been the feel of the morning mist dampening his skin when the sun rose. The sun! It wasn't even raining!

So he'd dropped his books, taken off to the woods, and spent the day running through the island as a horse. He had to admit, he needed it; he'd forgotten how great it felt to have hooves instead of hands, to actually be a monstead instead of pretending not to be. He'd killed and eaten a deer--a deer!— by dragging it under a waterfall and tearing into it.

Only now it was the mid afternoon, and Lochlann really needed to get back and explain to someone why he'd missed all his classes. Only...he was having a really hard time trying to stay human. Everytime he tried to turn back, the air around him would shimmer like a heat mirage in the desert and he'd feel the magic working and then...he'd still be a horse.

He'd tried three times as he'd walked and finally, finally gotten it when he heard someone say "Uuuurgh!Just go!" from the other side of the tree he'd been passing.

He was about to apologize and say he didn't even know anyone was there until he recognized the girl in the sundress and said, surprise in his voice, "Avian?!"

He didn't even notice the large mass of birds perched ominously above them.
 

Poison-Star

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Aug 22, 2014
185
Avian covered her ears, trying to block out the annoying squawks of her stalkers. Then a voice broke through the calls. It sounded strangely familiar. She peeped out from under her sun hat to see who it was, and she saw a friend. Well, she wasn't sure if she could classify him as a friend, she didn't know much about him herself. Nevertheless, she greeted him like a friend.

"Lochlann!" she grinned, jumping up from the ground, "Hey! What are you doing out..."

Her followers interrupted her question. She noticed a few of the hawks had flown off from his presence, but the ones that stayed were now squawking at him as if they were protecting their territory. The harpy eagle was spreading its wings out to make itself more intimidating, in hopes of scaring the stranger away.

"Ah!" Avian suddenly gasped, "You need to step back a bit! They don't like you so close!"

She put her hands on his shoulders and gave a weak push to signal for him to back up.
 

ReD

Sex & Death Everywhere
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Aug 4, 2013
6,766
Bat Country
"Lochlann!" she grinned, jumping up from the ground, "Hey! What are you doing out..."

He was going to ask her the same question--well at least, he thought he was, but she was interrupted by....god what the hell was that?

Lochlann looked up at the bunch of birds that were squawking at him. He didn't know too much about birds, but they all looked angry, and one of them was huge.

"Ah!" Avian suddenly gasped, "You need to step back a bit! They don't like you so close!"


Lochlann put his hands up to show he was empty handed and took a few steps back, saying "There there...nice birdies..."

He made a nervous glance towards Avian. He said, "Shouldn't you step back, too? They're really freaking out!"

Of course, it's highly possible the birds were freaking out because they knew what might happen. Lochlann felt a sudden lurch in his stomach, like the ground lifted away on a roller coaster, and he grabbed onto a nearby tree. oh god please dont turn into a horse, not right now, not right now.
 

Poison-Star

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Aug 22, 2014
185
As the "intruder" backed away, all the birds began to calm down, but they continued to stare at him menacingly. They still had their feathers ruffled up to look bigger.
"Shouldn't you step back, too? They're really freaking out!"

"Oh, no," Avian shook her head, "All birds like me, they just don't like strangers,"

Then she backed up closer to the birds as if they were her protectors.

"That's my power, I control birds. But I'm not very good at controlling my powers, though so..." she began to explain when she noticed Lochlann in some form of pain.

He had grabbed onto a nearby tree and looked like he was about to retch! She wanted to go and help him but then she knew the birds would freak out if she went closer to him. So instead, she stayed by her guardians, looking on at him in worry.

"A-are you ok?!" she asked urgently.
 

ReD

Sex & Death Everywhere
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Aug 4, 2013
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Bat Country
"Oh, no," Avian shook her head, "All birds like me, they just don't like strangers,"


They seemed to calm down when Avian backed up, which Lochlann thought was very interesting. Of course, his stomach was rolling, and he felt a little dizzy, so he leaned against the tree.

"That's my power, I control birds. But I'm not very good at controlling my powers, though so...A-are you ok?!"

Maybe...ah shit, maybe he shouldn't have eaten that entire deer. The hooves probably weren't agreeing with him. He leaned against the tree, took a deep breath, and some of the dizziness abated.

"Ah, yeah, sorry. Side effect of my power is sometimes I make bad decisions," he explained, giving her a reassuring smile. His eyes flicked back up to the birds.

"Still, birds, that's really freaking sweet. They don't seem to like me though, but that's probably because I ate a seagull once--" His eyes got wide and he looked at her, then at the birds, then back at her and laughed. "I guess I shouldn't say that too loudly though, should I?"
 

Poison-Star

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Aug 22, 2014
185
Avian sighed in relief when he smiled. He seemed to be pulling through.

"Still, birds, that's really freaking sweet."

"Really?!" she exclaimed, her voice squeaking a bit from going too high, "No one's ever said that before! I always thought bird powers were really lame! That, and I obviously can't control them very well.

The harpy eagle sidled closer to her on its branch and seemed to be studying her intently. She reached up and stroked its big, fluffy back. It barely reacted and in fact seemed to be enjoying the attention.

"And don't feel bad. These are birds of prey so they're often overly protective of me. They'll shout at pretty much anyone who gets too close," she said with a dreamy look in her eyes, lost in the harpy eagle's form.

She wished she had brought her sketchbook with her. Had she known a harpy eagle would be with her, she would have come prepared with 6B pencils and paper. Then she turned back to Lochlann.

"So I've told you my power. What's yours?" she asked innocently.
 

ReD

Sex & Death Everywhere
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Aug 4, 2013
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Really?!" she exclaimed, her voice squeaking a bit from going too high, "No one's ever said that before! I always thought bird powers were really lame! That, and I obviously can't control them very well.

"How often do you hear about bird powers though?" Lochlann pointed out. "Most of the time it's things like 'oh i can move things with my mind' or 'oh i can light stuff on fire by concentrating really hard' but bird powers seem like something really unique and special. It must be so cool, though. Can you talk to them, or just sort of tell them what to do and they know?"

He watched her pet the biggest of the birds, and Lochlann slid down against the tree to sit down both to make himself seem smaller and because he was getting really dizzy again.

"And don't feel bad. These are birds of prey so they're often overly protective of me. They'll shout at pretty much anyone who gets too close," she said with a dreamy look in her eyes, lost in the harpy eagle's form.


"That's good to know," he admitted. He did feel a lot better knowing it would happen to anyone, and not just him. He ran a hand through his hair, looking at the birds. "I wish i could pet one like you could. They always look so soft."

"So I've told you my power. What's yours?" she asked innocently.

Shit. She did tell him about her powers, and he'd seem like a dick if he didn't tell her about his. It wasn't neccesarily that he was embarrased by them--although he sort of was--but because that'd be like saying hi I'm a known killer who happens to eat cute girls, which you happen to be, and we're alone in the woods and I'm having a hard time staying human. Yeah. That would totally go over well.

"I'm uh," Loch said, sighing. "I wasn't born human. I'm a shapeshifter, sort of."

It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the entire truth, so he still felt bad about it. "Only I can only turn into one thing and it's nothing cool like a wolf, or a bear. I met a shifter who was a buffalo, once. That was cool. He got a lot of 'bull in the china shop' jokes after he accidentally turned in the lunch line and knocked all the dishes over."
 

Poison-Star

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Aug 22, 2014
185
Avian felt herself blush at his praise. No one, not even herself, had ever considered her powers "unique" or "special". She pulled her sun hat down a little bit in bashfulness and dug at the ground with her flip flop.

"Can you talk to them, or just sort of tell them what to do and they know?"

"No, birds can't understand human speech. I can only seem to will them to do things...and even then, they sometimes don't listen. Kind of like how these guys won't go away," she sighed, "In fact, they mostly respond to my emotions: becoming happy when I'm happy, or even aggressive when I'm scared. That's why I have to be careful with my temper. I don't want anyone's eyes to get pecked out."

"I wasn't born human. I'm a shapeshifter, sort of."

Avian wondered what his original form was. She was going to ask him, but his funny bull story distracted her for a moment. Just imagining a man suddenly popping into a bull in a lunch line made her giggle.

"Heheh! That's really funny!" she laughed, a few of the hawks making strange calls with her, thinking her laughter was some form of communication.

"So what is your form, if you don't mind me asking?" she cocked her head to one side curiously.
 

ReD

Sex & Death Everywhere
Inactive
Aug 4, 2013
6,766
Bat Country
"No, birds can't understand human speech. I can only seem to will them to do things...and even then, they sometimes don't listen. Kind of like how these guys won't go away," she sighed, "In fact, they mostly respond to my emotions: becoming happy when I'm happy, or even aggressive when I'm scared. That's why I have to be careful with my temper. I don't want anyone's eyes to get pecked out."

He got a demonstration a moment later when she started to laugh and a few of the hawks made some interesting noises in response. He watched them, fascinated.

"That must be hard," he said, "Controlling your emotions, I mean. Or at least, it'd be hard for me. Seriously everyone on the island would be blind by now--i'm so grumpy, and I think worrying about that all the time would make me more grumpy, and well, you can see what sort of endless cycle that must be."

He sort of shifted just a little bit closer to her, then stopped, still sitting down, waiting for the bird's reactions. "How uh...how did you learn about your powers? If that's not too much to ask."

"So what is your form, if you don't mind me asking?" she cocked her head to one side curiously.

Ah shit. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, suddenly becoming very interested in what was on the grass. "Only like...two people outside of administration know, and I'd sort of like to keep it that way. So I'll tell you, but, um, please don't tell anyone else but I'm a —"his breath caught and he grabbed onto the tree again, closing his eyes and scrunching them shut.

At the rate this was going, he was going to end up showing her what he was instead of telling.

....."I'm going to be sick," he said instead, and got up as quickly as he could without scaring the birds.
 
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