Stained Pride

<div align=center>[color=06C0D0]"Well sir, it's been real. Gotta say though, it takes a real rat to even wish to cheat yourself into getting chicks to dig ya. Guess you got what you wanted to be, huh?"[/color] A grey-skinned, thin girl stepped out of the doorframe, a sly grin clear on her face. From beside her shoe scurried out a rodent, appearing to be a rather mangy looking rat. She chuckled as she placed her hands on her hips, arms draped in her rather long black hair. [color=06C0D0]"Oh relax. It'll wear off... I think. Ehh, give it a few hours. You'll be fine."[/color] She shooed it off of her foot when it futilely attempted to overpower her. From the corner of her eye she spotted the slimy man's now abandoned clothes. In an effortless motion she swiped up the wallet from the man's pocket, saying a peppy [color=06C0D0]"Yoink."[/color] before carelessly going about her way. She looked to the rat, fake saluted, and disappeared from sight, leaving the once hectic dorm room in complete silence.

As per usual for the supernatural young woman, her departure from the scene of the 'crime' was met with nonchalance. Casually, she reappeared at the head of the lunch line at the cafeteria on the other side of the school. Eh, she hadn't gotten very far in her teleportation, but this ability was a work in progress. Carelessly she picked up a lunch tray after reaching past a couple of students, and winked at their dismayed reaction. Eh, she'd pay them back later. Maybe. Without skipping a beat she flipped out her newfound wallet and handed the lunch lady a larger sum of money than necessary. Before she could give her back any sort of change she told her [color=06C0D0]"Don't spend it all in one place now."[/color] before effortlessly carrying on into the open to find herself a seat.

Being that she was on a personal roll, she couldn't care less about wanting to be exactly reserved. Nope, with confidence beaming she ducked past people, spun around crowds, and made her way to her usual seat. It was great, really, that she had a table all herself. And, in her mind, she deserved it entirely.

The well lit and pleasantly situated table practically begged for her presence as she approached, her strides jostling with the clanging of a silver teapot clipped to her side. At this point in time, nothing could stand in her way of things going her way. At least, in her mind, she hoped so. </div>

<div align=center>Well, the day seemed like it was going to be fantastic.

The young woman that had kicked up her feet flopped her head over to the side, her cyan-blue eyes narrowing in calculation. She then raised her eyebrow at his boldness, though didn’t know whether or not this man was being serious. By the expression on his face, it looked like he plenty was. Even this however didn’t seem to faze the lady. Not yet, at least.
”Funny. I was about to file a complaint too. I’m looking at a big ol’ one right now, and boy is he ugly.” She stated nonchalantly, a crooked grin shaping her face. This man have some nerve, but oh well. It’s not like she hadn’t had experience with bottom-of-the-barrel scum, right. She chuckled a little bit, leaning forward to rest her head on her elegantly folded hands.

”Who pissed in your Cheerios, eh buddy?” She asked with barely an ounce aggravation, more amused than she was irritated. Honestly, it was bewildering to see someone so self absorbed to the point of well annunciated yet petty insults. Oh well, he’d be fun to play with.

”Sorry sweetie, seat’s taken. However, if you want to sit over there…” She gradually pointed towards a table, covered in abandoned lunch trays and the occasional fly.</div>

<div align=center>The only look of slight concern came to her face as the man began to make some sort of incantations. Oh… So he was that type. Before she could make a remark on his apparent hexing abilities she watched as her lunch was thrown across the room. She grimaced in dismay to see it leave. Aw, to think she was actually hungry too. Ah well. She could make one reappear for herself anyway. So why go through the trouble in the first place? Simple- she was bored.

She sniffled with a fake cry, putting on a pouty face. ” I’m just so devastated, whatever shall I do…” Her seemingly pathetic eyes never left the man in front of her as she gestured towards her table, out of nowhere appearing yet another lunch tray, filled with food that not even the cafeteria could provide. ”Tragic, really, how your powers look like they’re nothing more than glorified bar stunts. Bet you could make an awful lot of money off an assuming drunkard, huh.” Testing fate really was her forte. No doubt the genie had a few tricks up her sleeve to at least counter her enemy… She was the apprentice of the finest, after all…

When he leaned in, she physically shuttered. Not out of fear, but… Eck, too close much? She listened patiently at what he had to say, as if charging up for some major retaliation. Narcissism didn’t even begin to describe the man’s persona, and yet ‘intelligent’ didn’t seem to quite describe him either. When he was finished, Loralei calmly turned to face him, equally as close. To be honest, she hadn’t paid attention to most of what he had to say. Then again, she didn’t really care either. ”Don’t flatter yourself sir. Besides, with that get up you look like you’ve had a lot of experience yourself on your knees…” She snickered mildly, before backing up. ”You could be Christ himself and I wouldn’t give up my seat. Maybe if you would have asked nicely, but judging by how underwhelming your sense of humility is I don’t think that’s happening, hm?”</div>

<div align=center>The young woman just let the man run his trap at this point. Obviously, he had a thing for causing a scene while being as much of a self absorbed tool as possible. To a point, it was assuming. And the woman wasn't even mad. What else was he going to do?

She looked to the spell gaining potential energy, outwardly appearing unthreatened while inwardly preparing retaliation. She wasn't going to lose her ground, even if the situation at hand was just plain petty. Still, her pride was not to be shattered. She'd go to the ends of the earth to prove that she was the better if it meant that this man was going to get a reality check.

But once he made his self righteous monologue, she tried her absolute best not to burst out with laughter. Carl... Seriously? Well, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't expecting a 'shadow heart' or 'death man' or something bad along those lines. But Carl...? Come on, this whole situation had to be a joke. She nearly lost her concentration when focusing on this silly fact and caught the tail end of his gust of wind, though fortunately teleported to standing on the table just a few seconds later clumsily due to the attack. And now, the chair was gone. She placed a hand against her face. "Wow, that was... Counterproductive." She remarked as people began to look their way. Fortunately for nosy bystanders, the showdown had only begun.

"Easy there tightwad, you're gonna hurt yourself..." She commented, dusting herself off. "Can't tell if your skull is thick or it's just filled with air, because bottom line is that I'm not leaving." She folded her arms. "I'd hate to stoop to your level, but Christ, two can play at this game." But with a shrug of her shoulders and a smug grin, she stated "But eh, don't know if I feel like it... After all, I hate making children cry."</div>

<div align=center>In a sudden twist of events, what had gone from playful banter evolved into bitter rivalry. Though she still couldn't take the man seriously, it was clear that he wasn't going to stop until one of them may as well be dead. And that wasn't going to happen. He needed some common sense at this point.

"I don't know where the hell you're from except maybe a mental hospital. Look around bud, you aren't the only special snowflake with superpowers. You're gonna eventually walk into the wrong person, and then you'll see that you're not sir high-and-mighty." Though, with her power limitations, she couldn't hurt anybody. It was against her code and would result in the swift removal of her powers, perhaps even execution. Still didn't mean she couldn't snicker from the sidelines when he got his ass beat.

Of course, reprimanding him wasn't getting absolutely anywhere. She sighed, rubbing her temple before pulling on yet another unphased smile. "Ah yeah, another thing- I can't die. I'm immortal, so uh... Looks like we have a long time ahead of us to see who's really gonna be the best, huh." Though, truth be told, she wasn't even nearly interested in being any better than him. In fact, she couldn't care if she was better than anyone. But she was equal. Not inferior. And she sure wasn't gonna let someone tell her she was.

Well, as she really wasn't paying heed to his spells she unfortunately fell to one of them. She was going to pace towards him, but looked down to notice that her feet were stuck to the ground. Fan-friggin-tastic. But this time, she wasn't going to merely poof out like she could have. Nah, she just had to humor him a bit longer...

"Astounding." She muttered unenthusiastically before shaking her head. "Look, I'm gonna ask you one more time- go away. It's a lunch table, not the holy grail or whatever. You really shouldn't be messing with people you have no clue about, because I may just as well be more powerful than you." But of course, the truth in that statement remained to be seen. </div>

<div align=center>With a roll of her eyes she folded her arms to further let the man monologue. So, this apparent ancient man was hellbent on making sure that she was his pet. Still wasn't going to happen, and not much wasn't going to phase her. However there was something... Odd about this pompous jerk. Sure, he was rude and brash, but didn't seem to be a real threat... That was, until he started to describe his accomplishments.

Seriously, the school needed better screening of these types of people.

She then placed her hands at her hips and shook her head apathetically. Great, not only was he an unpleasant moron but evil as well. Fantastic. Oh well, she knew she wasn't going to see the butt end of his tricks. She could be partying on the moon for all she cared, and leave earth to its own devices. But that wouldn't be any fun, would it?

She shrugged her shoulders, finished with the little escapade. She snapped her fingers and disappeared from her icy trap, and reappeared to levitate right next to him, resting an arm casually on his shoulder. "Okay psycho, here's the thing- I don't follow anybody. And I don't grovel, either. So go ahead. Do your best. Punish me. But look at allllll the witnesses here..." She gestured to the now curious crowd, knowing that no doubt this entire room was filled with people of various powers. "Otherwise this is just going to be a stalemate. I'm not going to fight you. That's not how I roll, and plus my magic shouldn't have to be wasted in such a petty issue. I have people to make happy and stuff to do out of shits-and-giggles. You're not on my agenda at the moment, and I'd rather not have some angry little troll harsh my mellow." With that, she landed on the ground, hands up in the air not out of surrender but as dismissal. The teapot clicked to her belt began to trail out smoke, grey as the rain outside. Usually this meant that her power was manifesting itself, but she wasn't going to use it, right? </div>

<div align=center>At first, she wasn't going to any longer allow the man to keep talking to her. Honestly, he wasn't worth her time. She hated retreating in any scenario but he was a lost cause. In... Everything, really. She had too little care to give any measure of compassion towards him, therefore she would rather call it quits before he got too nasty. Not like her insults got to her or anything. Besides, se had wishes to grant, pranks to pull, and so much-

Oh, so no one could challenge his magic, huh.

Well, she supposed she had a little time.

With a poof of fog she reappeared across from him once more, smiling. "I walk away from nonsense, not a challenge." She looked around to the audience that seemed to gather. This was going to get interesting. "You talk the big talk but I haven't seen anything yet. You see..." She snapped her fingers. With the motion, the ice she had become trapped in reformed itself into a nice little ice sculpture. Nothing threatening really, but comparing the two's magic was like apples to oranges. "I may not have told you, but I'm a jinn... Or as many know me, a genie. In case you don't know that means with the right words I can do anything. Hell, if bet that I could probably let someone copy your powers, given the right word." She smiled deviously, before laughing lightly. "But I'm not going to do that. You see, my magic is different from yours. You like to wave around your powers like a kid with a shiny new toy. I'm just along for the ride with mine, and really I live to make myself and others happy. And goddamit, it's the best job in the world." Her eyes glanced at his orbs, a false pitying expression coming across her. "You must be so lonely, no wonder why you're such an ass. All this power that only serves to fuel your ego... So sad."

"But of course, stupid is as stupid does. You'll never learn, and you're just a sad, sad man. Wanna challenger? Fine. You have one. But rest assured, you'll learn why it's not a good idea to go messin around in things you can't handle."</div>

<div align=center>That was it. He had pulled the final straw. Though she still remained not phased, she didn't want to brew up apocalypse-sized vengeance and her being one of the few to survive it. Out of something petty, too. Well, she couldn't exactly tell what he wanted. He wanted a challenger, but every time she had tried to step up to the plate all he did was talk really inflated talk and brag that they were no match for him. So why bother? Well, at the very least he wanted someone he could lower and run his mouth to. But she had listened long enough. All she wanted to do was just embarrass him or show him that he's not as hot as he thinks he is. But then again, she didn't want to underestimate his power. God knows what those spheres would do.

So she had to be careful yet play it cool. God, he was really fired up now. Going to insult her species, her thought process, and her cynical yet serious jab at what a socially inept person he seemed to be... Well, if nothing was going to sway him she had to keep playing along. She didn't care, for herself anyway. She was connected to a being far older than her, and her mentor truly was a master at his powers. And he could kick that guys ass. Or, at least she hoped to believe. When he came close, her own eyes narrowed, not once looking away from him. She folded her own arms and let him speak his own powers. He had to have a weakness somewhere... And she had all of eternity to find it.

"Eh, you're right. Besides, I wouldn't do that anyway. Too messy." She dismissed with a wave of her hand. Although, she could perhaps duplicate his mind... Nah, waste of time. "Ooo, and nice evil laugh you have there keep on practicing and you may just be slightly intimidating..." She snickered with a sarcastic shrug. "I'm not scared of you. I'm really not."

To his final remark, she giggled just a little, and leaned against the table. "Hmm... I guess I am. I'm a big joke if you haven't noticed. So, naturally, I don't take anything seriously. Including you. Hell, especially you."</div>

<div align=center>It seemed now was the time to make a choice. Was she going to drop the whole incident and let the man have cocky satisfaction? Or was she going to fight him… And let him have cocky satisfaction? She was damned if she did and damned if she didn’t. Well, it just boiled down to how bored she was and what kind of risks she wanted to take. But life was too short (for a mortal, anyway) for her to play it safe. It was go time, and she had a feeling her opponent was just as antsy.

[color=06C0D0]"Well, I guess it’s settled then."[/color] She smiled, cracking her knuckles. [color=06C0D0]"Let’s have a little… Hm, I wouldn’t say battle, but I guess scrimmage… Anyway, whatevs. Just don’t disappoint me, eh?"[/color] And she treated the situation as if it were just a mere arm wrestle or something. Totally wasn’t like he was going to kill her or anything. Even if he managed to end up doing so, at least she went out in a bang.

From out of a wisp of her hand appeared a cloud of light grey smoke, the other joining it. Her illusionary abilities would have to be able to pull her through, as she leaned on nothing else. Her position only changed slightly in the emergency that she needed to get out of the way. [color=06C0D0]"Let’s go."[/color]</div>

<div align=center>It was go time. Unfortunately for her and benefiting her opponent, the young woman was completely incapable of using her magic to bring any sort of harm to him. She couldn't even magically inflict a paper cut. But that wasn't what the fight was about in her mind. All she had to do was bring them to a draw. After all, she didn't think of herself as a higher being. Equality was of the essence right now, and at the very least she wanted to bring him down to size.

As a first move and through her predetermined anticipation, she was lucky enough to catch the attack before it hurdled into her. Quite literally, actually. The fireball was cast towards her, and with a poof of grey smoke a fancy metal frying pan appeared in her hands. She readied herself in a baseball batter position and clocked the fireball back towards him due to its supernatural deflecting ability. With the rally completed she swung the pan by her side, the teapot attached to her belt making it seem like she was a walking kitchen pantry of sorts. "Aw c'mon Carl, you gotta do better than that!" She grinned cockily, tossing the pan up and down before it disappeared into thin air. "Let's try that again, Hm?"</div>