Foliage and Fromatas (Open)

[quibby]

A cool breeze stirred the otherwise warm summer air, rustling the leaves on the oak tree against which Samuel Williams was leaning. Thankful for the fact that it was Saturday, one of his two regular days off, Sam had decided to spend it outside composing. His trademark broad-brimmed black hat lying on the ground beside him, Sam was clad in his normal 'casual' gear: blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a tee shirt- a black one with the words "I'm not crazy... I just do bad things when I don't get my medication," written on it in bold letters. Typical state of dress for a day off. In his hands were a clip board and pencil, the paper attached to the board bearing ten equally-spaced music staffs, the topmost page showing notes and rhythm markings. There were more on the bottom of the stack.

Pausing in his work, Sam took the opportunity to look toward the mansion that had been his home for the past five years. He had come in, expecting to be teaching classes. How wrong he had been. Apparently, the school had had their eyes on him for quite some time. Yes, teaching would eventually be part of his job, but this was his first year actually running a class. The past four years had been spent learning all over again, sometimes in a classroom setting, sometimes in an office, sometimes in the Danger Room, sometimes in this very grove.

Four years he had learned, and he had seen many new faces coming and going. He taught a vast majority of the students that he could currently see, either in classes or instrumental or vocal lessons. Some of the others were either teachers themselves or X-men. Sighing ruefully at that, Sam returned his attention to the music. Violence did not translate well to music; it created an unpleasant dissonance in an otherwise harmonious existence. Despite the good that he knew his power could achieve, Sam was loathe to use it against another person, except as a last resort. As much as he wished to be a more active part of the team, Samuel couldn't bring himself to be a full-time X-man, settling instead for being there only in the upmost need, when Samuel Williams became Mindblast, a derisive title from his youth.

"Ah, get your mind out of the blues, man! It was never your style," he muttered as he read back over what he had written. Of course, a stronger gust of wind had to come up as Sam was opening the clipboard, sending all of the music dancing in the breeze. Stifling some strong oaths, Sam muttered, "I've heard of a melody getting away from you, but this is ridiculous!" Mentally lifting himself to his feet, Sam started his pursuit of his music.

~Samuel Williams~
-Mindblast-

[conduit]

Rayen had lifted her head from meditation when a voice came across the lawn towards the makeshift home the electropath had made within the woods surrounding the X-mansion.

It took her a few minutes to shake out of the sedation she had settled herself into before curiosity took her.

Wandering towards the voice, she watched the man write and talk to himself. She knew his face from around the mansion, but never learned his name. Was he an X-Man? If he were she likely would have seen him in Baltimore. Or at the meeting prior to it.

Moving through the trees like some sort of wood elf(or, as it always occurred to her, like some stereotype of her heritage), Rayen silently observed him. There was a warmth in the way he frowned in thought. He must be writing poetry, or a letter to someone he cared about very much. She smiled a bit to herself, considering it.

When the music got away from him across the lawn, she stepped from the trees and bent over, catching one page, then another, looking up only as he approached.

She smiled a bit, almost cautiously. "Someone's telling you we're due for a little rain, I think..."

[quibby]

In his mad dash to catch the escaping music, Sam didn't notice the woman who had stepped out of the woods until he turned to return to his spot by the tree. He couldn't tell much more than that the woman had dark hair, which was spilling over her face as she chased down his work. At his slow approach, she finally straightened up, the final piece of escaped paper in her hand. Her face was a deep tan, like a Native American or possibly Asian. With a cautious smile, she said, "Someone's telling you we're due for a little rain, I think..."

Sam shifted his attention from the woman to the western horizon. Indeed, there were dark clouds coming in; he guessed that they'd be at the Mansion in about an hour or so. With that settled in his mind, Sam returned his attention to the younger woman. Or at least I think she's younger... Some of these mutations make it hard to tell, he thought. Smiling in gratitude, Sam said, "Thank you. There are times when music should soar, but I don't think that that was one of 'em." Not even glancing at the music in her hand, Sam offered his own hand to her. "I'm Samuel Williams, or as some of the students call me, 'that music guy.' I've seen you around the mansion, but I regret that I do not know your name, Miss...?"

[conduit]

Rayen didn't want to touch him, afraid she might suddenly zap him, but figured she was just being overcautious, and hesitantly reached out her hand to shake his. Smiling faintly, she nodded.

"Rayen Tandaka. I'm Forge's sister. I'm training for the X-Men, but they're setting me up with a class here soon. You're teaching, right?"

She offered his paper to him.

[quibby]

The woman hesitantly offered her hand, giving Sam another faint smile as she said, "Rayen Tandaka. I'm Forge's sister. I'm training for the X-Men, but they're setting me up with a class here soon. You're teaching, right?"

Taking the proffered papers, Sam mentally cursed when he realized that he hadn't numbered the pages. Sorting out the score would be difficult, to say the least. He'd deal with that later, though. Sam shrugged in response to Rayen's question before saying, "It depends on what class you're taking. I teach music here, though I am sometimes asked to help with the telekinetic students who come to the school. If you mean Danger Room simulations, probably not. I'm just as much of a student in that aspect as anybody else here."

For some reason, Rayen struck him as jittery, as if she was afraid of hurting him or something. Probably has something to do with her mutation, whatever that is, Sam thought. With a wry grin, Sam added, "So, unless you're learning how to sing, play an instrument, or read music, I don't know if you'll be in any of my classes. The invitation is open, of course." Of course it was. Music was too important to be left by the wayside, in Sam's mind.

[conduit]

(ooc: no need to quote the previous post hon, it's right here. )

Rayen chuckled, and shook her head. She was young for a teacher at 25, she guessed. At least around here. "No... I meant 'class' as in teaching. If a few things can be worked out that is. Most likely physics... unless they have a specialized class on electromagnetics."

"So you're a telekinetic I suppose?"

[quibby]

(OOC: Sorry, it's just part of the way that I learned. I've been doing similar RPing for the past six years, and some habits are hard to break. Another habit that I have, as you've probably guessed, is somewhat wordy posts.)

IC: Shaking his head with a smile on his face, Sam slapped his forehead overdramatically and said, "Sorry, I assumed you to be a student. To answer your question more properly, I am a teacher, yes. This'll be my first actual year teaching, but I've been a resident of the mansion for the past five years." One of these days you're going to have to learn how to be more attentive! Regaining some of his composure, Sam couldn't resist a joke at his own expense. "I guess that my mistake either says something for your appearance or for my eyesight."

A ray of light peaked through the thickening cloud cover, suddenly reminding Sam of his hat, still sitting by the tree. Without taking his attention off Rayen, he mentally reached out to it and lifted it off the ground, floating it to his outstretched hand. Taking the hat from his invisible grip, Sam said, "Yeah, I'm a telekinetic. It can make life interesting at times, but it's overrated, I think." A slightly sadistic chuckle escaped Sam's lips as he added, "There's only so many times one can rip the pants off a bully before one grows tired of the joke." And only so many times that you can be called 'freak' by everybody you know. Covering the depressing thought quickly, Sam said, "You mentioned electromagnetics. Is it safe to assume that your power has something to do with electricity?"

[conduit]

(ooc gamer wang. nice! welcome to panacea.)

Rayen smiled, nodding. "That's right." She looked back at the forest. "Well, I should likely be going back."

Turning towards the trees, she frowned to herself. WAS she a bit too young to be teaching? She's have to ask Forge.