PSI Cadet Nadia

[Psychonauts Fancharacter RP Blog} Hiya, I'm Nadia Ibarra! A curious, young kid hailing from Diamond Bar, California. I'm best at the confusion skill, but at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, I'm learning a lot more psychic powers! Maybe they'll help me learn why people do things? I dunno! We'll, like, find out!

[mrduckandcover-deactivated20151]

Conrad sighed. “All of us are far from fine, kid. We’ll still have to process everyone eventually, you included.” He thought that maybe that was a bit too harsh, and that maybe the stress was getting to him. Again. “Listen, we’re trying to help,” he adds feebly.

[ghostymedium]

"NO!" While Wilbert isn’t quite shouting, he’s speaking so much louder than he normally does that he might as well be. "I told you, I’m fine! I’m fine! I’m fine!” 

[telepathic-lass-blog]

"You don’t sound fine. You sound a little hysterical, actually,” Nina says matter-of-factly. “Like Mister McCarthy said, we’re gonna help everyone at some point. It’s a little silly to try and delay people who just want to help!”

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

Nadia quickly opens her eyes, looking around-- did she fall asleep? She stretches her arms out, and when she spots the trio sort of arguing, she jumps to her feet and enthusiastically walks over. She feels a lot better than she did earlier, did she just need some sleep? She notes that she doesn't hear the voices anymore, and shoves the thought out of her mind; she doesn't need to give them an invitation to come back, after all.

Brushing her hands through her messy hair, she stops next to them and grins. "Hey, guys, what's goin' on? A party?" She shakes her head, recalling the parts of the conversation she heard when sleepily eavesdropping. "Nah, just joking. But I heard that the plan was to explore Mister Wilbert's mind over here?" She tilts her head, looking at Wilbert. "Hey, Wilbert, it'll be all cool! When we get in there and see that you're fine, then we'll come right back out. That'll be okay, right?"

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

[psychicstimuli]

For all of his anticipation over being given the opportunity to play therapist for the rest of the campers, Nico’s struck silent when Nadia finishes explaining what’s been bothering her. The Nightmare attacks had accentuated fears and insecurities in his fellow campers, but he wasn’t prepared for this. He had prepared to ask a lot of family related questions, yes, but not deal with familial issues of this magnitude.

He realizes that he has to say something, though. After what Nadia had said, responding with silence would be the most damning thing he could do. 

“No, no, no,” he repeats, trying to buy himself time to come up with an adequate response beyond empty reassurances. “Don’t think that way. It’s not… back in Regina’s head, when you first mentioned this to me, you distinctly mentioned how much of a surprise what happened was to everyone, how nobody in your family knew that… there’s no way that you can blame yourself for something like that. There was no way you could have known. Nobody could have, if what you told me yesterday was true.”

It’s a brief moment of self-reflection for Nico as he struggles to work his way through coming up with anything that could be said to help Nadia here. Everyone was dealing with their demons right now, but as far as he could tell, the ones he had witnessed so far were simply insecurities sent out of control. Serious insecurities, of course, but they were still issues that boiled down to perceived shortcomings. Wilbert thought he was weak. Nico had some semblance of an idea where to start with that. Nadia blamed herself for her brother’s death. 

The thought had entered his head a few times during the last few days, but at no point had it felt like such a pressing question as it did now?

Was Nico really qualified to b-

What are we worth if we back down from this? What kind of pathetic, despicable worm is too insecure to follow through after starting something? Are you going to MAKE us look LIKE A FOOL?!

This is not just a matter of the moral obligation we took upon ourselves when we chose to pursue this field, this is a matter of helping a friend, Nicolash. Nadia is a good friend to us. How many others have treated us with the respect she’s shown?

How many others would call our work amazing?

Do not disappoint us.

“No. If your parents blame you for this, your parents are wrong. Very wrong. No one person can be held as morally culpable for something like that happening. There’s so many mental… factors that contribute to a decision to… make a choice like that, the blame can’t be placed on one person’s actions during one moment. Especially if it was such a surprise to everyone…”

He resorts to head patting as his default display of comfort. “You didn’t kill him. Don’t ever think like that.” He knows that as long as the nightmares remain, all he can do is provide a fleeting moment of clarity before these thoughts return, and maybe weaken the thought’s intensity upon that return at best - but there was no part of his mind that wasn’t pushing to do everything he could in that moment.

“And don’t ever think that makes your curiosity towards the world any less valid. If an incident like that drives you to look for answers… look for the reason why people think the way they think…”

A pause. “It’s a much better reason than I could ever claim to have.”

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

When she was nearing the end of her explanation, she had returned to looking at her feet. She stares in disbelief when Nico responds. "What...?" She was all so confused. "You can't be serious, are you?"

That's quite flattering but...

"Me? Having a better reason than you?" 

hE's lYing aGaIn

Oh, shut up, will you? I'm tryin' to listen to a homie.

She pauses after saying that, and the voice seems to have gone away. For now, at least.

"I... I don't know what to say, I..." she scratches the back of her neck. "Thank you? Like, um, that's really, a really big honor and all, wow!" she chuckles, smiling. "Though, you better not be handing any of your self-appointed duties to me, because you do them better, y'know? You're the one who's gotten most of the vaults when we went into the classes, I mean. Like, yeah. And stuff."

[psychicduo-blog]

After rose extinguished the flames eating up the barn, she took a step back and assessed the damage. It would take a while but she could…

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

Daichi and Rose: After rose extinguished the flames eating up the barn, she took a step…

[ghostlymedium-blog]

At first, Wilbert is torn between staying where he is (and where nothing has jumped out at him yet), and venturing into the unknown room with Nadia. At first, he decides to stay where he is. But as the Nadia turns her back on him, and the door to the room clicks shut, Wilbert suddenly realizes how dark it is in the cellar. With the badly damaged barn shifting and making strange noises above him, and who knows what hiding in the dark corners of his counselor’s mind, Wilbert becomes very sure that he doesn’t want to be alone. “Nadia! Please! Wait up!” he says, hurrying after her.

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

She stops and turns about halfway down the room, hearing Wilbert call after her. She grins. "Rad, stayin' with me!" she exclaims, waiting for him to catch up. When he does, she continues walking to the end of the hallway. She hums a little, looking around at the bare walls.

When she reaches the door at the end of the hall, she places her hand on the doorknob. "Hey, Wilbert," she glances over at him, "whaddya think's, like, behind this door?" she asks. "I bet it's really rad and stuff! Dunno what it is, buuuut..." Excited, she opens the door as soon as Wilbert gives his answer. Her face falls as she sees the wall. "...oh..." she shuts the door slowly. "...nevermind. D'ya wanna go and check out the other room now?"

[psychicduo-blog]

After rose extinguished the flames eating up the barn, she took a step back and assessed the damage. It would take a while but she could fix it; she could’ve let it burn to the ground and still fix it, it was her mind. She turned around to see how her class was doing and.. they were.. kinda gone.

[psychicstimuli]

Save a dead plant shoved in the corner, the hallway Nico enters is almost completely barren. He turns to Nadia and Wilbert.

“Alright, we’ve got three doors alongside the right side of the hall, one at the end, and a large one on the right. I’ll take the first right door, you two pan out and search the others. Then we check the door at the end of the hall, and if there’s nothing of interest to be found there, we can progress through the door to the left. Shout if you find a mental vault. Or if something dangerous happens.”

He looks over his shoulder at Wilbert. “There probably isn’t anything dangerous though, don’t worry.”

With that, Nico turns to his right and opens up the first door on that side of the hallway. He finds himself in a bedroom…

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

"Alllright!" Nadia says excitedly, hand forming a thumbs up as Nico lays down the plan. "Sounds good to me, yo!" She grins widely as Nico goes into the room closest to them. "Make sure to tell us if you find anything of importance, yeah?" She yells after him, starting to walk to the next door on the right. She glances at the door on the left. She's curious, but the plan was to go down the doors on the right, then the one dead ahead, then the one on the left. She turns her feet, but decides against it. She instead turns to Wilbert. "Okay! So, I'm going into this door, and you can either come with me or check out that door," she points at the last door on the right. "Whatever you want! It'll probably be quicker if you go that way." She doesn't wait for his decision to go into the room. She notices another door at the end of the room...

[psychicstimuli]

PSI Cadet Nadia, at your service!: psychicstimuli: PSI Cadet Nadia, at your service!:…

“There’s no need for you to apologize,” Nico says. “In fact, uhm, I think I may be the one who owes the apologies - I’m not quite sure what you’re referring to.”

A pause. “Whatever it...

[psychicstimuli]

PSI Cadet Nadia, at your service!: psychicstimuli: PSI Cadet Nadia, at your service!: psychicstimuli: PSI...

Nico isn’t about to let something like that slide. “Me? I’m doing fine. And I think I might be the only one here who really is at the moment. As soon as I get the opportunity, I am going to ensure that I do everything within my power to make sure this situation is resolved, but first and foremost I need to know what’s troubling everyone. Something is clearly bothering you. I can assure, I am the person you want to talk to if something is bothering you.” He scans the room with his eyes, looking at each camper crowded within it. “It’s my job to listen when people are being bothered by something.” It technically wasn’t his job, considering that he was eleven and didn’t have a job. But if he could have a job that was certainly the one that he would have, and that had to count for something. Especially under the current circumstances.

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

Oh, dang it. She was really hoping he'd drop the subject. "Wait, whaddya mean, the only one?" She doesn't bother to glance around, she doesn't want to look at anyone. Hell, she barely wanted to look at Nico, but they were talking. She realizes that she's digging her nails into her arms, and places her hands into her lap. Her fingers then fiddle with the merit badges pinned to the hem of her pants.

oH anD How aBouT THat? yOu cAnT shOW FoR thoSe baDges, yOu doNt hAVe poWerS.

She takes a deep breath. Okay, okay, maybe talking about it will help the thoughts to go away, yeah? It's worth a shot, anyway. "Okay, yeah, you're right, something is botherin' me..." she thinks for a second to figure out how to say it. She had essentially bottled it up until now, never speaking of it in detail, ever. Just reading the label of the event. "Um... like, you remember in Levitation Class when I mentioned my little brother... right?" She makes eye contact with him now before continuing, "Well... I... my parents always blamed me for it, because I was supposed to watch over him that night. And I didn't... and now, I'm kinda starting to believe it was my fault, just... just a little?"

More like a lot. "But, but, I didn't kill him, it wasn't my fault! I didn't, right? That's gotta be the truth, that I didn't, 'cause if not I don't know what to think! The foundation of my personality, the part of me that wants to know everything of why people do things, was created from that event! Like, if it was my fault he... co... committed suicide, then, like, that foundation must be cracked and flawed, because that was not, not how it was supposed to be started on, or... does that make any sense? I'm repeating the same things and, like, it's, like, not making any sense to me..."

[psychicstimuli]

PSI Cadet Nadia, at your service!: psychicstimuli: PSI Cadet Nadia, at your service!:...

"There's no need for you to apologize," Nico says. "In fact, uhm, I think I may be the one who owes the apologies - I'm not quite sure what you're referring to."

A pause. "Whatever it is, I certainly don't believe you're lying about it if you came to me."

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

oH bUt eVERyonE knOwS

hE'S lyIng

"But everyo--" she stops herself, shaking her head. "...No, nevermind, my fault, sorry for bringing it up. Right. Thanks." She tries to smile, but it's more of a grimace. She returns to a frown after a few seconds, looking down at her feet. "It..."

Should she tell him? It's odd that no one would know, everyone in her household knew. She doesn't know if she can explain it without freaking out again. She wraps her arms around her chest, nails digging into her upper arms again. "S...o... what's up with you...?" She's trying to stay calm and get the attention off of herself.

It probably doesn't work very well.

[psychicstimuli]

PSI Cadet Nadia, at your service!: nikolaus-mestari:Marzena leads Nadia away from the GPC, making sure...

Nico was siting in the lodge, intently watching the gathered campers and waiting for the counselors to gather when Nadia approached him, slumped down next to him, and buried her face firmly in his scarf. He had been intently focusing on Jack and Junior from across the room, so the sudden tug at his scarf catches him off guard.

"Wh-" He begins to bring his hands to his neck, but quickly cuts himself off when he realizes that it's Nadia.

It concerns Nico to see another one of the people he considered a friend at this camp so distraught, but another part of him can't help but take pride in the fact that someone has actively sought him out amidst this conundrum.

Nico slowly lowers one of the hands he had brought up to grasp at his scarf back to his side, and pats Nadia on the head with the other. "What's wrong?" With the level of variation that these nightmares seem to be manifesting, He figures its best that he let Nadia try explaining things first.

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

She lets go of his scarf when he tugs at it, sitting a bit straighter. She takes a deep breath before actually looking at him. "Sorry..." she murmurs. "Um... you... you believe me, right?" she asks quietly. It doesn't even occur to her that he has no idea what she's talking about. She just wants reassurance. She doesn't want to let this get to her, it hadn't in the past, and it shouldn't now.

[mrduckandcover-deactivated20151]

“Regina, can you hear me? Are you going to be okay? Hang in there! Alright, everyone! I’m going to run to the treehouse and get my Psycho-Portal and try to fix her up! If I don’t come back in an hour, assume I’ve died! See you all later, or, failing that, in Hell!” he cries as he runs to the door. “Stay safe!”

Once outside, he does a quick check of the lodge’s exterior for traps, which turns up empty. Then he sets off running to the treehouse, avoiding painfully unpleasant thoughts all the way. Once there, he restocks his pockets with gloves and tissues, and drops the Psycho-Portal in on top. Then, reflecting on how sick he was of running around everywhere, he picks out a couple of first aid kits, some cans of disinfectant, a change of clothes, and a stack of towels (everyone could use more towels) from his belongings, and makes his way back with his supplies in his arms.

He reaches the main lodge without encountering anyone else, and opens the door with his elbow again. “Alright, I’m back, I’m still alive, and I’ve brought extra towels!” he announces as he sweeps the door open the rest of the way with his foot. He turns the flashlight off and runs to Regina, whose condition has not improved during his absence. He drops his armful of stuff onto a nearby table, where he sits down and catches his breath and steadies his hands. “Okay, let’s do this,” he says. Pulling his Psycho-Portal out of his pocket, he takes careful aim and tosses it at her forehead.

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

nikolaus-mestari:

Marzena leads Nadia away from the GPC, making sure to look both ways before exiting the enclosure. No way she wanted to run into another telekinetic bear. “Main lodge,” she replies shortly. “First things first, though, I gotta find some oak. Y’know where any oak trees are ‘roundabouts here?”

The question turns out to be redundant; there’s a pair of oak trees along the nature trail cutting through the wilderness. If Marzena ever bothered walking on the path, she would’ve seen them earlier—of course, then she also wouldn’t have gone to the GPC and found Nadia. As it is, she now has another person to help her carry an assortment of old dead twigs back to the main lodge with her. She keeps looking down at Nadia as they head back to the main lodge, making sure the kid’s still with her and not going insane.

Marzena does a quick headcount as she enters the back door of the lodge; looks like everyone’s here. She drops her oak twigs on the table next to the box of morning glories and motions for Nadia to do the same. Taking another, slower look around, Marzena scowls when she sees what eczema guy and the levitation teacher are doing at the other end of the room. She’d hoped for a chance to work on the Psychonauts, especially with the golden opportunity of them being weakened by nightmares—the levitation teacher especially, since she’d proven to be fairly resistant to Marzena’s earlier attempts at hypnosis. Guess there’s still the other two, Marzena reminds herself, but for now…

She grabs one of the towels and starts tearing at it, pulling the threads off to use as string. She’d overestimated the amount of morning glories she needed for the outside ward and this time she was working with limited quantities, so she tried to conserve as she tied together a few bundles. Four should be good enough for now; if she needs more later, then she still has a whole bunch of oak twigs and half a box of morning glories.

Now for the fun part. Marzena glances around the cabin for one of the Psychonauts; the guy who helped her drag the levitation teacher around is still cowering by the front door. He looks sane enough. With a resigned sigh, Marzena picks up her bundles and walks over to him.

“Hey,” she says shortly, stopping in front of him. “Mind helpin’ me with these?” She brandishes the bundles at him. “I can’t do pyrokinesis.”

Nadia was surprisingly quiet after being rescued from the GPC by Marzena. She gathers the twigs at her request, and walks silently to the main lodge with her. She places them down when told, and glances at her to see if she needed anything else. When she didn't, that's when she walks over to where Nico is. It's fairly obvious she's distraught, skin flushed and eyes still puffy from crying. She murmurs a greeting as she sits next to him, leaning over and burying her face in his scarf. Well. Okay.

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

Isolation

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

Try as she might, Nadia couldn’t get her mind off of her brother Nero’s death. The nightmare was constantly taunting her, and she just wanted it to stop. She had stopped digging her nails into the padding of the GPC by the time Marzena had come around to the area, but she just curled up, back against the pod’s wall, and started digging her nails into her upper arm. She was just a mess of emotions at the moment, not even caring that her arms were starting to sting. “No, it’s not me, I swear to God, it’s not!”

She doesn’t hear Marzena from inside the pod, though she could hear Nadia. Nadia doesn’t say anything else coherent, instead sobbing and murmuring what could be made out to be a series of “no”s. She’s never remembered the event this clearly, nor has she ever dwelled on it this long. She would almost suspect someone’s interference, though her mind is steered away from the thought. Besides, she’s in the GPC, who would even get through the pod to her? It has to be her, it was always her, never anyone else.

She did it, she killed Nero, right?

[nikolaus-mestari-blog]

Someone’s definitely in there. “Alrighty, kid, I’m gonna get you out,” Marzena shouts. She takes a couple steps back, looking at the GPC door. It’s not going to be easy, but those psi-blasts helped her vent a bit of her extra anger, so she’s feeling confident that her mind is clear enough for her to open the door with TK. She puts both hands to her temples, focusing hard, wedging her grip in the crack of the door… Come on…

With a groan and a loud snap like something metal breaking, Marzena manages to pull the door of the GPC open. She staggers backwards, breathing hard. Inside the dome is that girl from earlier, laying on the floor and mumbling something incoherently.

“Hey, kiddo,” Marzena says, coming up to the door of the GPC but no further. No way she’s getting stuck in that deathtrap. “C’mon. I’m gettin’ you outta here.”

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

mUrDERer!!!

"Shut u--" she begins to shout again, but the GPC door opening jolts her out of the thought, at least, momentarily. She stares right at Marzena for a few seconds, blinking a few times to get the tears out of her eyes so she could see who it was. Once she realizes who it was, she was a bit reluctant to decide to follow, but she wants to be away from just her own mind right now. "...Yes, ma'am!" she says, trying to be cheerful, but her voice cracks and she still looks miserable. She stands up, legs wobbling a bit, and walks out of the pod. There are bright red imprints on her palms and her upper arm where she had been digging her nails into her skin.

"Where... 're we goin'?" she asks, quietly. The bad thoughts seem to have retreated, for now at least. We'll see how long this lasts... she things glumly. Well, not all the negative thoughts. Just the ones about her brother.

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

Isolation

[nikolaus-mestari-blog]

Marzena finds herself retracing the steps she took ages ago when looking for some sort of secret lab that was rumored to be hidden under the camp. She hadn’t found it—Regina had made sure of that—but she finds herself wondering if such a secret lab would be nightmare-proof. As much as she hates the idea of relying on Psychonauts technology, she’s in a bit of a bind and is grasping at straws. She paces around the outside of the fenced-off area surrounding the GPC, keeping an eye out in all directions. She’d heard that there were psychic bears in the area, but she didn’t see any of them. Maybe they’d all got scared off by the nightmares and were now outside the wards…

Wait. Is someone screaming? Marzena stops and peers through the fence at the GPC. Is someone trapped inside one of those things?!

Marzena runs around to the front of the enclosure where the gate is hanging open, the lock laying uselessly to the side. She starts heading toward the dome that she thought she heard the screaming from and immediately freezes. What she’d thought was a smaller dome on ground level was a very large, very angry bear, turning to face Marzena with its beady eyes.

Marzena’s first instinct is to grab her pocket watch, but she stops herself. A squirrel or a deer might be easy enough to hypnotize, but a psychic bear would be a long shot. The bear is coming towards her—there isn’t time to think of a plan B. Quickly putting two fingers to her temple, Marzena holds out her other hand in finger-gun formation, focusing all of her frustration and anger. She sees the bear stop, holding out a paw as though to grab her—she feels its telekinetic paw wrap around her waist—

BANG!! Marzena’s finger-gun goes off and hits the bear in the ear. The bear roars, its grip on Marzena dropping, but it’s not defeated yet. While it’s distracted, Marzena runs to the side, getting out of the way of the gate. She takes up her position again as the bear turns to face her. BANG!! BANG!! Two more psi-blasts hit  the bear in the shoulder and chest. It stumbles backwards this time, clearly thinking of retreat. Marzena continues moving to the side, circling the bear and forcing it toward the gate. Finally, the bear gives one last feeble growl and leaves, although not before Marzena lands one last shot on its rump as it runs out the gate.

Dropping her stance, Marzena sprints up the walkway to the GPC dome where she thinks she heard the screaming. She knocks on the door. “Oi, you in there?” she shouts, hoping they can hear her through the metal.

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

Try as she might, Nadia couldn't get her mind off of her brother Nero's death. The nightmare was constantly taunting her, and she just wanted it to stop. She had stopped digging her nails into the padding of the GPC by the time Marzena had come around to the area, but she just curled up, back against the pod's wall, and started digging her nails into her upper arm. She was just a mess of emotions at the moment, not even caring that her arms were starting to sting. "No, it's not me, I swear to God, it's not!"

She doesn't hear Marzena from inside the pod, though she could hear Nadia. Nadia doesn't say anything else coherent, instead sobbing and murmuring what could be made out to be a series of "no"s. She's never remembered the event this clearly, nor has she ever dwelled on it this long. She would almost suspect someone's interference, though her mind is steered away from the thought. Besides, she's in the GPC, who would even get through the pod to her? It has to be her, it was always her, never anyone else.

She did it, she killed Nero, right?

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

Isolation

After Marzena told her to stay put, Nadia pretty much left as soon as she and Jack couldn't see her. She didn't want to leave Nico there, but he's usually fine on his own, and she was kind of freaking out-- who was she? She explained who she was, but, really, who was she, and why was she at camp, and why did Jack listen to her? She was just really confused-- and she had no idea what Marzena could do. She decided her best option was to get the fuck out of there before she witnessed trouble. She didn't want to leave camp, that's dumb, but what safe place in camp could she go without using any psychic powers... 

Aha, the geodesic psychoisolation chambers! She thinks triumphantly. She heads over to the GPC and Wilderness Area, and reaches the gates. She frowns when she sees the padlock on it. "Okay, well, that's not what I expected." She glances at how tall the fence is, and glances around to see if she could climb up high enough to jump it... then realizes that's a really, really bad idea. "Ah, no, don't want to shatter any bones, not today at least..." she mutters, unpinning her Levitation badge and taking the safety pin. "Alright, let's try this out for a spin!" she says, preparing herself to pick the lock.

See, the good thing about having brothers is that you learn little tricks like this. Though, I doubt this is very legal. Ah, well. Not in the mood to think about legality issues! She manages to pick the lock, throwing it off to the side and pushing the gates open with some difficulty. She walks up the ramp to a pod, opening the door,  kicking it like she did last time, and looks around. No one's here, which could be good, and could be bad. One one hand, that lady doesn't know she's here, but on the other hand, neither does any one else. Hmm, maybe she should rethink this....

Unfortunately, someone else had plans for her. She hears growling, and it's close. Really, really close. Uncomfortably clos-- oH GOSH WHAT'S HAPPENING WHY AM I FLOATING. She freezes as she's picked up by some unknown force, and when she realizes that the source is the psychic bear that Conrad was talking about once, she flails, attempting to be free of the telekinetic grip. She shudders when she gets close to the bear, and suddenly... she's just dropped. She falls on her butt, but quickly scrambles to her feet. She doesn't even question it-- she just runs, to the safest place she knew that it couldn't catch up to or get her at, the pod. She manages to close it, and slumps against the padded wall, breathing heavily.

"That was terrifying..." she mutters.

iF yOu wEre FAsteR You could hAve prEveNtEd iT.

She shakes her head. Where had that thought come from? No, no, she can't think those thoughts. 

YoU wEren't oF aNY heLP to hiM.

yOUr fAulT. yoU'rE hIs sIsTer.

yoU'rE suPPOsed to hElp wIth thE buLlIes.

Nadia shuts her eyes tightly. "No, no, nono, no, no!" Yes, true, if she hadn't stayed out so late, the day she was supposed to watch after her brother, Nero... it's possible, it's possible he wouldn't have killed himself. "It's not my fault, no, it's not!!!!" She digs her nails into her palms, in a futile attempt to stop the thoughts. The pain might distract her, for a second maybe, but there's no escaping this.

And as she's in the GPC, she can't distract herself with anything else.

pArenTS ARe alWays riGht.

She shakes her head. "No, no, no, they're wrong!" she shouts. Her parents had blamed her after Nero's death. She was supposed to watch over him, though ordinarily he could have been left on his own. They theorized that she force-fed him the pills, the ones he overdosed on. They said it was because she was jealous of him, though they couldn't pinpoint a reason why she would be jealous, nor could they find any evidence that Nadia did it.

But people tend to have their way of thinking their idea is correct and there was no other possible option. They also have a way of ingraining blame into a young child's mind, more easily done when they're shaken up from a traumatic event such as a death of a sibling.

She buries her face in the padding of the pod's floor, digging her nails into that instead of her skin. "No, I'm not useless, I didn't kill Nero, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't!!!!"She's getting flashbacks of that night, and it's not very pleasant. All the while, all the self-blame she's endured over the years surfaces, and it swarms her mind. Her shoulders shake, trying not to cry. "No, nononononononoonnonooooo..." she moans.

Right about now, she thinks she would have fared better getting mauled by that bear.

[psychicstimuli]

More like Psycho-Nots: psychicstimuli: “Was that last bit an attempt at a pun? Oh, bravo....

"Your aggression is telling, Jack. I didn't imply that it was your fault. I simply implied that you had a knowledge of the circumstances that led to the event. The smoldering ruins of the girl's cabin are Marylin's doing, yes. But you're only kidding yourself if you think you can try to tell someone who knows the circumstances that led to the cabin's destruction that you don't have something to hide."

Nico shakes his head with a long, exaggerated sigh. "Is this really all about some resentment towards my scientific studies? Do I sense a culture clash of some sort here? That's very childish, Jack. I certainly hold no qualms towards those who so actively choose to remain steeped in tradition and spirituality, just as you should hold none against those who hope to move us forward. What do I know about the mind? Mental worlds? I'd say just as much as you, Jack. Just different aspects. Different kinds of information. You can name the varieties of psychic developmental trees, can you explain why they branch off in such a way? Why these things develop the way they do?"

He knows he's getting under Jack's skin - and he knows that feigning ignorance to this fact is the key to continuing to do so. "There's no reason to be so adversarial, Jack. You are interested in the 'how to', and I am interested in the 'why does.' You enjoy to build upon what we we already know, and I seek to discover what we don't. But they all lead back to the same place. There's no reason to take issue with people who choose to seek the means to progress."

He leans in. "Would you rather our future as a community still be sneaking about in backwoods, chanting, lighting buckets on fire, and almost getting incinerated by twelve year olds?"

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

Nadia folds her arms and taps her foot a few times before getting fed up. She tries to just listen to what Nico and Jack are saying, but she can't help but try to intervene. "Wait, wait, waaaaaiitt!!!!!" she says quickly, volume increasing at each 'wait'. "Okay, okay, okay, sorry to interrupt, no I'm not, haha, this is getting really intense, but, I'm way out of the loop. For one thing, you can't just leave me out of this argumentationing or whatever, like, that's not cool, I can hear most of it, just let me hear all of it,

"Anyway, when you guys say 'Marylin', are you talking about Mary? Mary? Mary destroyed that cabin? Why? What? I can't say anything about your beliefs or studies, really, but, what? And, I hope you don't mind me saying, but, Jack, that's a lot of stuff and I wouldn't expect anyone to know any of that, let alone all of it. Trees and flowers and metals have psychic effects? Wow, learn something new every day, rad!"

She brushes her hair out of her face again. It seems to cooperate this time, or at least, cooperate longer. "But, really, I need to be filled in and you two need to stop arguing because, heh, this isn't sweet at all and I can't just stand here and watch it unfold! Please, please, please stop insulting each other and if you must, must, must do this, at least keep your voices calm," she stares at Jack, "and don't make passive-aggressive remarks." and as she says this, she stares at Nico.

"So. What's this about incantations or whatever and flaming buckets?"

It's clear that Nadia's upset because of Nico and Jack's argument. She's holding her hair off of one eye, one hand on her face, and other hand playing with the hem of her shirt. She's taking deep breaths, not just because she said everything above really quickly, but because she's just about ready to cry. Wow, good going guys. 

[psychicstimuli]

“Excuse, me?” Nico says, appearing a mere few feet away with his hands on his hips.

[laughingalonewithmycards-blog]

“You heard me, stupid,” Jack retorts, grabbing his crutch and pulling himself to his feet. “I know you did, because you gotta spy on everyone, don’t you?” 

[psychicstimuli]

Nico rolls his eyes. “Well, aren’t you just an abundant repertoire of creative insults.”

He gives a callous shrug.”But now that I’m here, and now that we’ve brought up the subject of me seeing everything that goes on here, I’m going to have to ask you where you put my journal.”

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

"Wait, wait, wait, guys, hold up." Nadia looks nervously between the two of them. Oh dear. They obviously don't get along very well. Is it even possible to be friends with two individuals who don't get along? She's never had this problem, and it would be fairly devastating if she weren't friends with someone she's met, or at least on good terms with them. "You're sure that he took your journal, Nico? Think about it for a moment, did he really? You don't wanna make a, like, false accusation y'know." 

oh gosh why did i say that what if he thinks i'm against him and i can't be friends with him what would i do then

[laughingalonewithmycards-blog]

Nico has friends? Jack wonders. “Uh, is he acting… weird? Or is he just like that?”

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

“Huh?” she asks, blinking rapidly once or twice in confusion. “Is he acting different? Or do you mean, like, weird compared to a normal person’s behavior? And it’s entirely possible that he could act differently around you and me respectively, though he doesn’t seem like a person that would do that to me.”

She shrugs. “Gonna have to be a little more specific than that, sorry for the trouble! But, yeah, of course he has friends! I mean, at the very least there’s Wilbert, Fritz, and me!”

[laughingalonewithmycards-blog]

“Wilbert? Really?” Jack hadn’t seen Wilbert hang out with Nico. Well, except for at the very beginning of pyrokinesis class. “Why do you hang out with him? He’s kinda… I dunno. Mean. I mean, at least he is to me.” He puts his chin back on his knee. He’d actually kinda liked Nico when he first met him, back before he had to leave to get his cast. But after that whole conversation after levitation class…

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

"Yeah! During levitation, and near the end of pyrokinesis was the most obvious times, I think. Oh, but, wait, the end of pyrokinesis was kind of a mess, it's understandable that you didn't notice. Actually, I don't blame you for not noticing, because you probably weren't really looking for it, that's cool!" She puts a finger to her lip, "hmmm"-ing a few seconds. "Really? Y'think he's mean? What did he, like, say or do?" This is interesting. She actually wonders if Nico was eavesdropping on this conversation right now. She looks around, raising her eyebrows like, 'are you here, invisible? Are you hearing this?' She returns to a normal expression as she looks back at Jack, awaiting his answer.

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

“Oh, really? That’s a shame. I accidentally locked Fritz in the GPC once, that… wasn’t exactly my shining moment.” She chuckles quietly. Yeah, she’s not proud of that.

Once the subject changes, she smiles and tilts her head slightly to the right. ”Yeah! I think Nico’s one of my best friends here, if I had to put a label on it.” 

[laughingalonewithmycards-blog]

Nico has friends? Jack wonders. “Uh, is he acting… weird? Or is he just like that?”

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

"Huh?" she asks, blinking rapidly once or twice in confusion. "Is he acting different? Or do you mean, like, weird compared to a normal person's behavior? And it's entirely possible that he could act differently around you and me respectively, though he doesn't seem like a person that would do that to me."

She shrugs. "Gonna have to be a little more specific than that, sorry for the trouble! But, yeah, of course he has friends! I mean, at the very least there's Wilbert, Fritz, and me!"

[laughingalonewithmycards-blog]

“Oh. Uh, I broke my toe. In the GPC. A couple days ago.” Was it really only a couple days ago? It feels like forever. “Uh… I’m not tired. So I came out here.” He looks up at Nadia as she brushes her hair out of her face. Didn’t she used to have a headband? Was that one of the things that he…? Jack looks down very quickly, staring at the sand.

“You… You hang out with Nico, right?” he asks hesitantly, looking to change the subject. Plus, this way, maybe he can find out what Nico’s deal is besides being completely insane.

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

"Oh, really? That's a shame. I accidentally locked Fritz in the GPC once, that... wasn't exactly my shining moment." She chuckles quietly. Yeah, she's not proud of that.

Once the subject changes, she smiles and tilts her head slightly to the right. "Yeah! I think Nico's one of my best friends here, if I had to put a label on it." 

[laughingalonewithmycards-blog]

Jack looks up when he hears the footsteps, but doesn’t reply right away when Nadia asks for his name. Well, kind of asks for it. He knows he’s seen her around before—doesn’t she hang out with Nico?—but if he remembers correctly, this is the first time they’ve actually spoken.

“Jack,” he replies shortly. He glances at her hands. “Uh, it’s okay. If your hands are dirty. I don’t care.” If he weren’t so preoccupied with other things, he’d probably ask her what she’d been digging for. Jack was no stranger to dirty hands; he’d had a number of “archaeological digs” in his backyard when he was younger.

[inquisitivejuvenile-blog]

"Well, nice t'meetcha'!" She sits down next to him. "So, what're you out here for?" She hopes that he'll respond the second time she asks it, though she understands if he didn't want to. She's just practically a stranger coming up, and asking him things as if they were buds already. She would find that a little odd, herself, but oh well! "And, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your leg? I wasn't told-- which actually might be a good thing, right? Hear from the source, not information passed on through people which may become distorted?" She brushes her hair out of her face. Dumb headband being misplaced, this is really annoying.