Put an ass in a hat...

Travis Ashe

Travis had no reason to be in the dorm rooms of Starlight Academy. He didn't go to school there, he didn't work there, he had no friends that were there at that particular moment, he just decided to be there. Maybe he'd meet someone new, or some, new animal that only lurked in.... school dormitories? No, he really had no reason to be there.

As he walked through the student lounge of the dorms, he heard his pet Coaliander yip. After years of being with the little fellow, his almost doglike barks were like a second language to Travis, and he could practically hold full conversations with him. This particular noise was one of curiosity, and Travis turned immediately. He followed the point of Coaliander's rounded nose, and saw a young boy sitting in a lounge chair playing chess with... something? It looked half like a ghost and half like a robot, and definitely deserve the curiosity.

Travis couldn't help but shake his head. All the students here amazed him. Each one after the next sporting a seemingly different power. He thought of his mother, and how she had been disgusted and afraid of his power. How could such a world exist where most of the people on it knew nothing of the wonders it beheld.

Have no purpose to be there in the first place, Travis decided to go make a purpose for himself. He wandered over to the boy with Coaliander on his heels, suddenly glad that his middle school roommate had been overly obsessed with chess. As he was walking over, he saw the half ghost half robot disappear and the boy put his feet up on the board. He had knocked over a few of the pieces, but Travis could still make out the game.

He leaned over the boy's chair and moved a piece, making the boy's terrible position now somewhat salvageable. Though Travis wasn't extremely intelligent, being forced to play chess multiple times a day had made him somewhat smart on the subject.

Travis smiled down on the boy from above, still learning over the top of his chair. Coaliander peeked around the side.

"Nice game you've got there."

Travis Ashe

Travis couldn't help but roll his eyes. Was he so old? All the newer students always mistook him as a teacher. But why shouldn't they? He had no real other reason to be on campus. Perhaps he should take up teaching, just to have a reason to be on campus.

"Ah, no, I'm not a teacher." Travis extended his hand to the rigid boy. He seemed to still, like he was calculating every move he made. He suppressed a shiver. "The name's Travis Barker. I went to school here a few years ago. I'm just wandering around now, but nearly everyone here knows me, so no one really cares."

He wasn't sure why, but he felt the need to explain himself to the boy. Like he owed him an explanation of who he was and what exactly he was doing. It wasn't necessarily unpleasant, but he couldn't help but be curious about the boy and his odd ghost thing. He seemed to have fairly good control of it, for his age. And his tone was awfully... cocky.

"Your game just intrigued me so I thought I'd stop in and fix it."

But Travis could be cocky too.

Travis Ashe

Travis was usually a rather contained person. He sort of liked to melt into the background. It made him happy. However, every once in a while, he'd find a person that would draw out his mischievous side. It didn't put him off, in fact, he rather liked it.

He walked around to the chair opposite the table where the ghost had been sitting and sat down in the chair. Coaliander followed and plopped down on the floor next to him. He glanced sideways at the game pieces that littered the floor. Solitaire? Like playing against himself. Interesting.

"The power classes are useful, you know. You ought to try paying attention to one some time. Then maybe you could beat yourself in checkers."

He wasn't trying to be cruel. He had no intention of offending the boy. He was simply playing along. This boy had set the rules, and he was going to play by them. He liked the way his words tasted as they escaped his lips. However, there was no reason to be rude.

"My name's Travis Barker. Care to play against a real opponent?"

He gestured to the pieces on the floor. He wasn't sure if he could beat the boy, but he'd give it a shot. Not to mention, I'd give him a chance to learn a bit more about him.

Travis Ashe

His original objective forgotten, Travis flourished in the idea of putting himself against someone, especially someone as cocky and full of himself as Ian. Travis wasn't the cocky type, but he certainly liked the idea of a challenge here and there.

"I'll be redqq, of course." Travis said. It had been a while since he played checkers, but he was confident that he could at least put up a fight.

"So," he started. If he was going to be stuck here a while, he might as well get to know the boy. "Is that how they admitted you? Found out you have the super magical ability to play yourself at chess?"

A little ruder that Travis wanted it to sound, it got his point across. It wasn't like his power was anything special either. Being able to control animals was certainly not the best power he had ever discovered here at the school, but Ian was new. Perhaps he didn't have full control over his powers like he had thought previously.

He reached forward and moved a piece. The first play didn't really take much thought, so he could spend the majority of his brain power focusing in how to get information of of a kid like Ian.

Travis Ashe

The more he played this boy, the more Travis found himself both liking him and hating him at the same time. He made his next move slightly less quickly, as the second move required a bit more thought than the first. He only paused to glace up as a slightly transparent bust of the odd opponent Ian was versing earlier appeared behind him. It was staring at him with a glassy, unfeeling look. It was so hard to decipher, and Travis seemed to believe that the harder he looked at it, the more secrets it would reveal. Unfortunately, it was gone as quickly as it appeared. Travis quickly returned his attention to the board in front of him.

"Him? Oh, yeah. His name is Coaliander. He's a flare demon."

He could sense that his reference to Coali as a dog was meant to spite him, but not too many people were as knowledgeable about classifications of all types of beasts, so many other people had made the same mistake. Perhaps he would win the silent sass war as well as the more tangible red and black one that sat in front of them. Though it was extremely early in the game, Travis could tell that both would be a bit of a challenge.

"How about your dog, does he have a name?" Travis smirked, referring to the odd ghost he could conjur.