A Map of All Our Failures [CLOSED]

The sun was setting. It painted a nice mosaic of dying light across the still lake, preparing for its rise in the East. A lone figure sat against the most prominent tree, overlooking the lake with a sad reflection in her eyes. It wasn't like it was a big surprise: Grace was well-aware that she would lose any battle she stepped foot into. Still, if it had been anyone but her... The small brunette shut her eyes tightly, unwanted tears gently leaking from the corners of her vision. She didn't like Kayla. 'Hate' wasn't a word that she felt comfortable experience, so 'dislike' would have to do. At first, she figured maybe the first person she met upon reaching the academy would be something akin to a friend, but it was clear that the older lightning rod of a girl held nothing but disdain and contempt for Grace, and she was beginning to gain the same feelings in return. It wasn't like that arrogant jerk had any idea what she was going through... Then again, it wasn't like that arrogant jerk had been told what she was going through.

For someone who had been so interested in getting out there and meeting new people, she was incredibly shy and unable to talk to anyone. She'd only met a few people. At least Heron and Leo were nice, but she hadn't gotten that same vibe from the others, and she especially didn't hold much love for Kayla or Alicia. This was just a disastrous turn of events from sunup to sundown. Grace brought her knees up to her chest and hid her crying eyes within the safety of her arms. She didn't like being here. She didn't like always wearing this stupid jacket, or having these powers, or being around herself. If he had been here, he would have known what to do... He could control these damn powers, and he wouldn't have lost that battle. What an embarrassment that was. She had been thoroughly and shamefully massacred out there. There wasn't even any small slimmer of pride for figuring out how to utilize her powers in an offensive measure; only shame and unhappiness for losing, especially to her. She didn't care if she ever saw Kayla again; all she'd do would involve gloating and rubbing her face in the loss. If only she was back in that oh-so-familiar room, with the familiar four white walls... but the past was long done. Now she was here, and she just wished so badly it could be anything but this.

Magic hummed an older song as he walked around Rosebury. He was stuck knowing older songs, because anytime he tried to listen to music his ears would be blasted out because of his powers, so he did his best to remember old songs he heard when he was a child. "I don't know or understand, you say it's hard right now. It's in my head spending all my time to keep you wide awake.." He sang in a soft tone as he walked along the street. He kept humming and singing the song til he heard the soft sound of someone crying. He was a bit to far from the busy part of town, but he was close enough to the hill.

Magic was slightly concerned. The voice the sound came from sounded a bit familiar to him. He had to think on it for a moment before realizing he heard the voice around the school before. Concern grew in him a bit more, before he decided to change his direction, and he started heading for the hill. When he was up the hill a bit ways he saw the source of the sound. "Are you okay?" He asked to the girl that was kind of curled up into a ball.

Her body froze up as she heard a voice from above her. There was someone there! Well, obviously. Besides, she was in public; maybe not a place with tons of people, but it was still in public. If she had wanted to truly not been found, she would have just locked herself up in her room. With an obvious attempt at wiping away her tears without detection, she slowly lifted up her head to stare right into the face of... well, someone she'd never actually met. She was sure she'd seen him around once or twice, but they'd never spoken, or even stopped for a second look. What'd he ask? If she was okay?

"H-huh? Y-yeah, I-I'm okay." That damn stuttering tendency was back in full force, and she found it hard to keep eye contact with the clearly concerned boy. Why? She didn't know. Maybe because she didn't actually want anyone seeing her crying. Melancholy reflection was okay, but not an outward display of negative emotion. While forcing her tears at bay, she gave him a small smile, but it didn't look all that convincing, and she was looking over his shoulder.

Magic blinked then a small frown formed on his face. She was definitely not okay. He could tell she was trying to hold back tears despite the small smile. Heck she wasn't even look at him. Mason ended up crouching down in front of the girl, "What's wrong?" He asked again, rephrasing his question. He knew something was wrong. He also heard ever little shake in her voice. Curse his power. Maybe he could play a song for here like he did for Lamia? Would that maybe calm her down? Magic still felt like he was going to fall over from the other night, but he was fine, and his power was fine too now.

Wasn't that the same question? No, it was more direct, as if he knew something was wrong. Was it that obvious? Grace bit her lip and tried mumbling a non-answer, then finally admitted at least part of it. "I just... lost in the tournament," she muttered lamely, eyes cast down to the ground. It wasn't an outright lie: that was part of it, definitely. It just wasn't the whole truth. "It's not a big deal." It wasn't, but it was. It was complicated. She fell silent after that, looking hard down at the grass that lightly swayed back and forth. She didn't necessarily want him to leave, but maybe she wanted herself to leave. There was no indication that she was going to get up, though.

Magic looked at her for a moment. "The way your voice sounds tells me it is a big deal." He said before sitting down in front of her. He knew he may end up here for a while, so crouching for a while wasn't gonna be pleasant. With his power he could hear any shake in the voice, any crack that may happen, or any falter. Or anything a person tried to hide under their breath. He sometimes considered it a bit nosy but sometimes it was useful for certain situations. "If you want you can tell me about it."

Damn her voice for betraying her like this. Well now he was next to her, meaning any attempt to leave would end up seeming rude, so she just sat there, unsure of what to do. She didn't feel all that comfortable admitting these kind of things, but it certainly wasn't doing her any good to keep them bottled up inside. With a soft sigh, she decided she could tell at least some things, and anything that didn't get said was probably either not important or too personal. "I-I just don't get my powers... a-all that much. Th-this place d-doesn't suit me a-all that well. I-I wish I was b-back home." That was true, at least. She did wish she was back home. Well, she more wished that he was here instead of her, but that wasn't something many people would understand. She lifted her head to look at the boy; did anyone here know him? Or was he just some student no one cared to remember? The thought wasn't a pleasant one, and it took all she had to not let more tears fall. It was an awful feeling.

Yep there was a lot going on in her mind at the moment. That was easily heard, as well as seen. "Well I don't feel at home here either, but I try to make the best of it. And getting powers? I don't understand mine all to well yet, but that is why we are here to understand our powers." He wanted to go home as well but he knew he wasn't welcome there. "My power randomly, I guess you could say activates sometimes.." He said with a slight frown. All the time... He thought.

Apparently he understood. "I-I've gotten a bit better at controlling it, b-but..." She hesitantly showed him her right hand, where darkness was shallowly playing around upon her pale skin; a consistent bout of nerves tended to get her powers riled up, but she didn't have any outlet to release them. She wished that they'd go away, but that clearly wasn't going to happen no matter how hard she wished. "I-it doesn't always work out." She gave him another, slightly more curious look. His powers activated randomly? What were they, then? "Wh-what are your powers? I-if I can ask..." she finished meekly.

When Grace showed Magic her armed, Mason founded it a bit weird to see a power actively displayed on someone's skin, but Beata was full of surprises so it didn't really surprise him. His power? "I can manipulate sound or the vibrations that make sound. My power, when it randomly activates, only really amplifies sounds for me. It allows me to hear even the slightest sound, though I usually end up with a headache because it sometimes makes sounds too loud." He said to her, not really mentioning how when he is angry his power will increase the damage he causes. He doesn't need to scare her.

Grace shyly nodded, thinking his power was pretty interesting. Then again, the whole school was pretty interesting, though rather daunting simultaneously. It wasn't a great combination for her, but she was here. She couldn't just… leave. How would he feel if she up and quit? She would have to tough it out. Next time, she promised, she'd stay in her dorm crying rather than out on some hill. "H-how come you're up here? I-I mean, y-you c-can be a-anywhere you want, b-but I d-didn't… s-see anyone here." She stumbled terribly over her words, realizing how rude they sounded, and how nonsensical they were on top of that.

Magic lifted a hand, and rubbed the back of his head. "Well uh... I had heard you, when I was down in Rosebury. I got a little concerned so I came to check it out, and here I am. I have heard your voice around the school before so I knew it was another student.." He stated. He didn't know exactly what to do to help the girl feel better, but he wanted to try. "What do you not get about your power?" He asked hoping he could somehow help with that.

A light blush crossed her cheeks. Of course; his powers. He must have heard her crying. How mortifying. Her gaze dropped back down to her feet as she mumbled in embarrassment, "O-oh... U-uh, I just... c-can't control it well. I-it roams around my skin, a-and I can't concentrate enough to... to get it to work." She had finally learned some offensive moves with it - for how much good that had done - but it didn't stop the darkness from running up and down her arm without permission. She didn't yet know what to do about that.

"Sounds like a mental thing, just like mine.." Magic said as he thought aloud. "It may be responding to your emotions.. Mine does. The best way I keep control is to stay calm.. He said in a soft tone.. She probabaly already knew that, and he was just repeating something she already knew. Boy did he feel kinda stupid.

Yeah, that was something she had reasoned out. The problem wasn't that: it was how to stop her wayward emotions from causing her powers to freak out. A problem she was having great trouble solving. "Y-yeah, I-I, uh… have trouble staying calm." Maybe there was a class for that. Or maybe that was power control… If those classes had grades, she'd certainly fail them. Ugh.