Description: Ingrid runs into a relaxing Zach in a SouthTown park. They catch up on old times, as it were, and Zach learns a thing or three.
It's Monday afternoon in Japan and the spring thaw is on. It's not the warmest of times just yet but there's not a flake of snow to be found, and it's at least bearable without winter jackets and scarves. This means that the use of the popular Southtown park is raising greatly, people out and about walking their animals and playing in the relative warmth. Well, the ones that don't have anything better to do, anyway. The sun peeks out behind a low cloud to warm things up even more.
Exiting the campus of Seijyun High is one of these people with nothing of relative importance, one Ingrid Holmann. She's actually wearing the school uniform on a lark today as well, and it seems that her normal outfit isn't the only skirt she wears with a petticoat. She seems to be enjoying the newfound sun, stretching a little as the warmth hits her and looking up to see how long it will last before it's obscured by another cloud. From the looks of it, a few hours at least.
She walks down the pathways of the park without an intended destination, a happy little smile on her features. For the most part she seems to be keeping to herself and watching the others who are enjoying themselves. It's not quite as enjoyable to her as, say, a busy mall, but a walk in the park itself can be fun too.
Ingrid, oddly, is not the only psion in the park.
Zach can be found sprawled out across one of the unused picnic tables, legs bent and one crossed over the other at the knee. He has a pair of headphones on, and must be listening to something with a beat if the occassionally twitching foot is any indicator. He also has a book that he is reading.
Ingrid can, no doubt, sense his presence easily: Wild and untamed like the last time the two met, bit with the slightest hint of refinement. Maybe the bedroom door is thicker, muffling more of the music. But the music can still be heard. He has not noticed Ingrid yet; he's engrossed in his copy of "White Night" by Jim Butcher...
Though Ingrid can feel the presence of anyone not concealing themselves, those with fighting abilities always seem to stand out from the crowd to her. She's far from disinterested in an ordinary person, but there's something about a fighter that draws her closer. There's something familiar about this one she feels, though it's been so long since last she met with Zach that it takes her until she actually sees him to put two and two together.
She doesn't make a beeline for him when she first realizes he's there, but rather simply continues around the park on a rather meandering path, following the walkways until one of the ones she happens to cross heads in his direction. And so she approaches, first along the path and then stepping off of it when it won't get her any closer, the smile on her face warming when she finally recognizes Zach for who he is. "Good afternoon, Zach. How are you?" After a moment she has a slight laugh at her own expense- she just noticed he was wearing headphones.
Zach ignores Ingrid for a moment. It's not intentional; he's just wrapped up in his book. Dresden Files FTW. He listens for a moment longer when his brain finally processes that someone is approaching his personal space. His eyes go wide, and he throws himself into a roll, sending the book flying into the air. He lands hard on his feet, in a low crouch when he sees who it is. He blinks once, and then remembers that his book is about to fall. He dives for it, looking a bit clumsy in the process, but manages to catch it.
He blinks at Ingrid, finally recognizing her as he pulls the headphones back. Catchy music that sounds like a cover of something else wafts from the speakers a Zach grins a bit.
"Oh. Hiyya, Ingrid. Long time no see!" That inattentiveness is going to land him in a world of trouble, just you watch.
If Ingrid is startled by his sudden movement, raised eyebrows are the only indicator of this. When he realizes who she is, and that his book is in trouble her smile changes from being a mainly friendly one to a mainly amused one. The question on her mind is whether or not he's going to be able to find his place the next time he starts reading it.
"Yes, it really has been, hasn't it? Too long, really." Ever in control of herself, the humor is kept from her voice. "I hope I'm not interrupting you too much, though. I just saw you here and thought I might say hello and catch up a bit." And it really is as simple as that.
Zach shrugs a bit, still grinning as he reaches into a pocket to shut his music off. He snaps the book closed with the other hand; he shouldn't have too much trouble finding his place again. "Nah. Just enjoying a day off," Zach says as he looks Ingrid over. He doesn't recognize the uniform, or that he is not too far from Seijyun High. He's still kind of new to SouthTown. "What about you?"
"Me? I'm just returning from a rather uneventful day at school. I've joined Seijyun in order to help me brush up on my Japanese. It's the one thing my tutor can't help me with very much, I'm afraid. Though it does allow me to participate in the school's extracurricular activities." Which is the real reason Ingrid's attending the school, if one were to actually check into it. The Norwegian smiles a little, and then adds, "Other than that I'm simply having a little walk around the park. I've been here often to get to school, but I haven't actually taken many walks so I felt that maybe I should now that it's warming up."
She tilts her head to one slight slightly, "How is your training going? The last time we met you were struggling a little with your control. Has that improved at all?" From the way he spoke the last time they met it's a certainty in her mind that he's been practicing in training, so she's simply asking about the results and cutting out the intermediate question.
"Still am, some days," Zach says frankly. "The fighting... helps a bit." He shrugs a bit. "It... the energy easier to access now." Zach frowns a bit, "Doesn't always work =quite= the way I want it to some times, and other times I'll do stuff that I'll watch on the videos later and wonder how I did that..." Zach pauses for a moment as he shoves his hands in his pockets, "If that makes any sense, anyway."
Ingrid nods, "It sounds like you're still having a bit of trouble, but also making progress. I've never heard of something quite like the last thing you mentioned, though. It sounds... almost as if your power is reacting more based on instinct than actual intent. I suppose there's nothing preventing something like that from happening. I imagine it could also be quite useful in some cases, when immediate action is required rather than careful decision."
The blond lifts a hand up and idly twirls a lock of hair with her finger, "I'd say your making some good progress. I'm sure it's going to get better for you over time. That's what it took for me- a large amount of practice and time."
"I think the way that I am thinking about it now helps," Zach says. "More like a potentially dangerous tool than something that will surely kill me." He frowns a bit, rocking on his heels.
"Though there are days where I wish I could do subtle with it," he admits. "I think it'd be a lot more useful if I could do something less than flagrant, y'know?"
Aprile ow
"That's a much better outlook, I agree. It's something you have to live with regardless of everything else." Ingrid looks upwards for a moment, "I do find it interesting how differently we view our powers, though. As I told you before, I've always seen my power as a gift. I have no idea what my life would be like had I never had this power."
The small young woman thinks, "Subtlety... I'm not sure if I know of any training exercises that you could use for that. If your problem is being unable to control your..." she thinks for a moment on how to phrase this, "output, then that could be very hard. I'm afraid I'd be of little use helping you with that, other than to say that's something that will probably come with greater control overall."
"I know what my life would be like without it," Zach answers readily. "My power came suddenly, and violently. Changed /everything/," he says. Zach is quiet for a moment.
"There's this guy I work for," Zach finally continues. "Apparently he has it too, but... the way he uses it is just way different. He teleported once," Zach says, his surprise at the happening evident from the tone of voice at the end of the statement.
"I see... mine was the same, though it happened when I was very, very young. So early that it feels like I've had it my whole life." Ingrid nods and lets him have his quiet moment, not interrupting.
"Oh yes, I've seen someone do such a thing before as well. Her name was Athena, I believe. I think I'd be rather interested in such a technique myself. The utility would be almost unending." She then thinks for a moment, "There's only one other I know of that has such an ability, but I don't suppose he'd be the type you'd fall in with. He's a huge man who wears a uniform and has a rather expressive hat. Also a sizable chin."
Zach shudders when ole Big Jaw is mentioned. He's seen enough pictures. "No, Alma does not have a big chin. He's something of a pretty boy, actually."
"I fought her once," Zach says. "She wrecked me, too. I think she's been doing the whole fighting psyker thing a lot longer, though." Zach shifts his weight from one foot to the other. "I've met a couple of other people who use what we use, but it seems like most fighters just sling chi around."
"Alma? I had no idea he could do that. Alma would certainly be an excellent person to help you. I had no idea he was able to use his power in quite that way, though. Of all the people I've met he seems to be more in touch with himself and his power than anyone." Ingrid is, simply put, full of wonderful things to say about him. And it luckily looks like Zach doesn't need to be warned of Mr.Chin, so that unhappy thought can be brushed aside.
Ingrid's head nods, "Yes, and me as well. Her power truly is something to behold. She seemed a little jaded with fighting, though, which is somewhat sad." The blonde thinks back. How many other psion's has she encountered? Not many, that's for sure. "We do seem to be a special sort, don't we? I do like to think that the power I have is my own. Perhaps it's simply a thing I have in my head, but to me knowing that the power you use comes from within yourself and is unique to yourself is very empowering and comforting."
Zach is thoughtful for a moment. "Hadn't thought of it that way," he admits with a slight frown. His thoughts wander to someone he knows, and has been paying very close attention to of late. His gaze tracks towards Seijyun. .oO(Didn't Hotaru go there too?) he wonders for a moment.
"Hey. Do you know a girl by the name of Futaba?"
"Hotaru Futaba? I've met her once, during a fight with the Neo League. She seemed like a very kind and polite young woman. Someone I'd like to met again." She lets out a soft sigh, "I really have been horrible about keeping in touch with my friends while I've been in Southtown. It's been a year and a half and already I seem to have fallen out of touch with so many of them." Ingrid smiles a little after this, "Though with any luck I'll run into them again, as I have with you today."
Zach's frown grows a bit more as he looks at the school. He looks at Ingrid for a moment, thoughtful even with the frown in place. "Could you do me a favor?" he asks. "If you see her at school? Let her know I wanted to talk to her?"
"Of course, Zach." Ingrid looks towards the school herself before looking back to the young man, "Is something wrong? You seem a little troubled all of a sudden." And she would know, though he may not be aware of her empathic abilities.
Zach is still frowning. "I... it's hard to explain," he answers. "You'll understand if you talk to her, I'd bet. I think she's just confused right now. At least... I hope that's the case." He shakes his head, as if to fling the thought out of his brain. On to happier subjects or something, even if he has no clue about that whole empathy thing. "I'm sorry, here I am giving you trouble on such a nice day."
Ingrid's face maintains a thoughtful look as he speaks, "Is that so? I suppose I'll have to try and look into the matter then. I do hope she's alright." The young woman then holds up a hand and waves it dismissively, "Oh, there's no need to apologize at all Zach. I have nothing against concern over one's friends. It's something I rather admire and respect." She wraps her arms lightly over around her waist and smiles. "I often feel that friends are the most important asset that can be had. Struggling alone is an amazingly difficult thing to do, and it's surprising just how far a little bit of encouragement can go."
Zach chuckles, "I know how it is. A lot of my progress is on account of her. She's... been a bit of a driving force in some ways." He grins a bit more, "Guess I just want to return the favor, y'know?"
"Then there's no problem asking me to help you get in touch with her, surely. I'm happy that you want to help her in her time of need, if that's what this is." Ingrid nods to his question. "I know exactly how you mean. As I said, it warms my heart to see you wanting to look after your friends in such a way."
Zach blushes a bit, as he shrugs. "'Swhat friends /do/, right?"
"Yes, but sometimes people don't always realize that." The blonde lets out a soft laugh, "Some even have as hard a time accepting help as others do giving it. Everyone is different, but it's very nice when friends do manage to look out for one another."
Zach shrugs again. "I've always been something of a curiousity. My parents are still married, after all," he quips. His watch starts beeping, drawing a bit of a startled look from the youth worker. He checks his watch, then frowns.
"I gotta go. Need to get to the library before it closes," Zach says hurriedly as he snatches up a bookbag. "Catch you later, Ingrid!"
"Is that an oddity?" Ingrid wonders aloud about married parents. Hers certainly are, though she's from good old Norway. She looks curiously towards the watch, and then smiles. "Very well. It was wonderful meeting up with you again, Zach. Hopefully the next time won't take nearly as long." She gives him a quick curtsy before he can dash off.
"It is in the States," Zach calls over his shoulder a moment before he takes off at a run.
Log created on 16:24:47 03/17/2008 by Zach, and last modified on 19:37:00 03/17/2008.