Hanging Around [Open]

Keira was sitting up in a tree in the fine autumn afternoon. Classes were over and done with for the day. So the blood manipulator decided to spend her free time out and away from large masses of students. She was always one to get tired of people easily, and ever since Halloween, she found people were very irritating. Seriously all of the people up and running around campus, shouting all night, and doing other things, got on her nerves. Maybe it was just her mind set..

The winter girl sat up on the tree branch, her legs were crossed over one another as they rested on the branch she was sitting on. There was a small cut on the palm of her hand from where her hand had slipped when she was climbing up the tree. The cut had healed pretty fast, but that didn't stop Keira from pulling out a bit of her own blood, and manipulating it out in the air. Her index finger traced small patterns in the air, and the blood recreated those patterns a small distance from her finger. It seemed like a snake following after something.

Keira was never one for Halloween.. She never enjoyed the holiday. Hell.. She never really cared for any holiday were she had to do something with her family. Especially if it involved her dad, and he was around for basically every holiday when she was younger. There was really only one holiday that she enjoyed was St. Patrick's Day. That was really the only day she could go out and enjoy everything, it wasn't made to be about family or some crap like that, that her parents made up. It was just about having fun, at least that's how she saw the holiday.

The afternoon was slightly warm, perfect for a stroll. Magnolia walked leisurely, arms swaying at her side, every now and again reaching out to run her hand against a tree to say hello. About halfway down the worn trail, she noticed a beautiful tree, large with many branches perfect for climbing. It's leaves had just begun to change color from green to vibrant orange and red. The green-haired girl smiled, and made her way over to its trunk, placing both hands on its trunk "Hello there, Maple. Your leaves are looking lovely." Maggie smiled, rubbing her hands lightly over it's trunk. The tree responded, its small limbs shaking gently, as if it was waving happily to the girl.

Keira faltered in her movements when she heard a voice below her. For losing her cosentration, the blood dropped from it's position, and onto the forest floor below, landing on the leaves with a soft pitter patter. Shit.. Keira thought as she looked down below to see that the small amount of blood land near a girl who was talking to the tree she was sitting in. This was a strange place.. that was for sure.

Suddenly, as if rain had fallen from the sky, something feel next to Magnolia's feet. She looked down at what she assumed to be a raindrop. Instead it was a dark, thick crimson droplet that stained the leaf it clung too. Startled, Maggie looked up and spotted Keira. The green-haired girl immediately dropped her hands from the tree and reached down to pick the leaf up by it's stem, careful not to touch any blood. "Excuse me...." She called up to the girl in the tree, craning her neck back so she could see her. "Are you hurt?" Mags questioned, holding up the leaf with the blood on it, as if Keira could see it.

Of course she had to see it.. "No I'm fine." Keira called down. She shifted her position, to where her legs were hanging off the branch. She carefully climbed down the tree a decent ways, then jumped down, landing in a squat then stood up straight. Keira held up her hand and showed the girl the palm of her hand where the cut was. It was basically healed, it looked like a cut that was already a few days into the healing process. "See nothing to worry about."

What was this girl, some sort of acrobat? Magnolia jumped back when the girl dropped from the tree, afraid she might get landed on and squashed. The gymnastically gifted girl showed her the palm of her hand, which had already begun to scab over and heal. Maggie leaned in, starring curiously back and forth between the girl's face, and her healing hand. "Does your gift have something to do with healing powers?" The green haired girl asked, her eyes wide and full of wonder. When she had applied to the school, the headmaster had of course asked her about her gifts, and told her that all of her classmates would be extraordinarily talents, just like Magnolia was. Ever since that day, she had been excited and terrified to learn about these other kids. Had they grown up like her, isolated from "normal" humanity? Could they control their powers? Were they pleased or angry with what they had been gifted with? All these questions and more coursed through Magnolia's mind like blood cells through a vein. Alas, she said nothing more, and waited for the strange girl to answer the one question she'd asked.

Well healing could be a factor in her gift.. Well She could get the blood to clot at a wound, and harden so it wouldn't open up again for a while, or at least til someone could fix it. "No my gift has to do with blood." Keira said kind of bluntly. She didn't really care about being nice when it came to her gift. Hell.. She didn't really care about being nice in general, you either liked her or you didn't.

Well, that made since. The blood on the leaf must be from the acrobatic girl. "So what exactly does your gift do?" Magnolia asked, cocking her head to the side. Remembering her manners, she quickly extended a pale hand in greeting. "I'm sorry where are my manners? I'm Magnolia Greene, nice to meet you." The green-haired girl smiled brightly, her cheeks flushing a little from the sudden embarrassment. Way to go Mags... she thought to herself, referring to her rudeness at just questioning the girl like this was some kind of interrogation. She had only been curious, seeing as she'd never met anyone else extraordinary like herself and her there was, a girl with some sort of blood power! The news was exhilarating to Maggie, and you could see the excitement written all over her face.

Keira shook the girl's hand. "Keira Abell." The winter responded. What exactly did her gift do? Well there were many things it could do, so many neither she or the writer could name them all. "I can manipulate blood. My blood, your blood, any blood for that matter." As long as the blood existed she could manipulate it. The winter shrugged slight, though she didn't quite understand why the girl was embarrassed about it. Keira didn't really care if she had forgotten to introduce herself or not.

Magnolia's eyes widened,, and she sucked in her breath. "Wow that's amazing! I've never even heard of a gift like that!!" The green-eyed girl said. You could tell she was very interested in Keira's abilities. Her curiosity overtook her and she asked yet another question. "Are your powers, uh... difficult to control?" She said, her eyes almost level with the Keira's. Maggie had always had trouble controlling her powers. When her emotions got out of control, some sort of plant usually sprouted out of her hair. It was embarrassing at times, and could lead to some questioning stares if it happened in front of the wrong person. However, here she could sprout all the foliage and flowers and fruits that she wanted. Here she was in a safe haven, where she was just as peculiar as the next person. That factor alone had made her decision to move away from Florida and to the Academy.

Keira shrugged. She always found it easy to control the smaller parts of her gift, but she got tired easily from using it. Though she knew it could react with her emotions, because of some certain events that have occurred. Let's just say it was best if she stuck with her not caring attitude. The winter girl crossed her arms. "Kind of." She wasn't really one for talking to much, but this girl seemed to like Keira's company, so Keira didn't mind talking too much.

Magnolia could sense the girl's laid back attitude, kind of caring but not really. She shrugged it off though, not everyone was as interested in other gifted people like Magnolia was. Her whole life she though she might be the only one, until her mother told her about the Academy. It was a leap of faith to leave everything she'd ever known behind, but what an exhilarating leap it turned out to be. Magnolia smiled at the girl. "I find it extremely hard to control my powers in times of emotional disarray. I'm sure it's easier for someone like you though, you seem very laid back." She said, biting her lip. Had she said too much? Maggie sincerely hoped she hadn't offended Keira. She quickly added, "I mean that in the nicest way though, Keira." Blushing a tad, she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear that the wind had flown astray. You could see the beginnings of a rose bud growing from her scalp, just behind her left temple.

"Even if you meant some offense by it, I probably wouldn't take any. You don't have to worry about offending me. Just don't bring up parents and you will be fine around me." Keira wasn't going to say why. It was just a good warning to know about. Keira never had a problem with her mom, she loved her mom. It was her dad that she had issues with.. But it was better to say parents so people would just think it was the typical teenager problem.

Keira blinked when she watched the rose bud appear in Maggie's hair. Now that was impressive, and actually caught Keira's interest. The winter moved slightly closer to the girl looking at the bud. It was a rose bud. A common flower, and a favorite among many, but there was always an elegance to a rose in Keira's opinion, even if it was just a bud.

The girl spoke, and said that she took no offense to what Maggie had said. That was a weight off the girl's shoulders. She never wanted to offend anyone, and was actually a sweet girl with good intentions. "I'll take a note of that." The green haired girl said, with a warm smile. She'd come to the academy to branch out, and it seems that was just what she was doing. The conversation was light and airy, and it was like a breath of fresh air to Magnolia, who was used to talking about the same things over and over with her parents. It was almost as if she had been a maiden locked in a tower with only her parents to keep her company her whole life, and now her real adventure was beginning. In the woods, with this girl she'd only just met.
She noticed Keira's eyes stray towards her left temple. With gentle fingers she reached up and felt a bud growing just beneath her hair. At the touch of her fingers, the bud began to open up into a light pink bloom, warmed by Magnolia's soft caress. She blush a deep crimson, embarrassed at the flower sprouting out of the side of her head. She quickly tried to make amends for the phenomenon. "I'm sorry. Like I said earlier, my gift is hard to control. When I get excited or frightened, just about anything will sprout out of my hair." The girl babbled quickly, untucking her hair to cover the now blooming rose, to much disappointment. It stuck out of the side of her head like a sore thumb. As if sensing her aurora of dismay, another rose bloomed quicker than the first, just shy of her hair line. This only caused Maggie to blush more. Sometimes her powers were so embarrassing.

Why would she want to cover it up? It looked pretty, and it complimented her hair. Also the hair covering the flower just made it look weird rather than slightly normal. So enough another rose start blooming off of her head. "You're fine. They actually look rather pretty. I don't know why you want to cover them up." Keira commented. If she had Maggie's gift Keira would have flowers in her hair all the time. They would most likely be primroses though, since they were her favorite flower.