Two feet on the ground

Antonio Santos 22 Earthbender Heathervale Music student

[to-earth-santos]

After two hours of guitar practice, Tony had seen quite enough of tab and terrible guitar concertos. He'd even seen enough of the sheets he'd printed off himself. He closed the folder over and pressed it to his forehead, sighing heavily. "I need suggestions for another instrument to pick up."

[whitelighterharvey]

"Alright, then, Mister Santos. Do you know a particular reason why you have been having trouble staying asleep, such as stress? I know finals are coming up." Harvey wrote a few notes down about what the boy had described. "Yes. Several people, but I am not at liberty to say who those people are or what specific problems they have been having."

[to-earth-santos]

"Not really." The lie was probably completely transparent; he looked positively guilty of something. "I am a little stressed," he amended. "I feel like I haven't made any progress in my bending since I got here. Not that I was very good when I got here," he mumbled the end. "No, no, I wasn't going to ask! I know that. I just- nice to know I'm not the only one." Tony smiled weakly, not liking to be rebuked.

[christina-laurent]

"Do you just like talking all the time?" Christina asked as she kept walking forward. She raised an eyebrow as the guy named off nicknames. "No. None of those." Her parents never liked nicknames. Just Christina. She was never called any terms of endearment. She wasn’t called anything but Christina except for maybe Psychotic Firebending Bitch. "You really can’t shut up, can you?"

[to-earth-santos]

Tony shrugged as if to say, maybe you're right, it is what it is. "I do like talking. Keeps the jaw muscles strong." He couldn't walk backwards very fast, and had to keeps his hands behind him to feel for doorframes and push doors open. "You really can't smile can't you?"

[allison-watts]

"They aren’t the same bird," Allison said with a slight shake of her head. "I’m no ornithologist, but I know ravens and crows are different. They’re commonly mistaken for the other, though." That was ironically similar to how the Ravenscar and Crowsfall students could sometimes be mistaken as someone that belonged in the other house. They were all more alike than they might care to admit, though the Ravenscar students always seemed to be more prepared should things go awry than the Crowsfall students. That was only based on her observations, though. "Are you majoring in an Earth Science?"

Allison nodded, knowing of a few other students that had done either all of their undergraduate work or just some of it at another school outside Clearbrook. She still sometimes wondered what it would have been like to go to a normal university, but she knew that it would have led to too many people getting hurt, and she would never have felt as comfortable as she did at Clearbrook. “Which college?” She only knew of a few of the more prominent colleges in America, especially the Ivy Leagues, as she had briefly considered applying there before her final year of secondary school. The airfare would have been too much, though, and the universities in Scotland could offer her what she wanted.

"Well, Brightfeather isn’t just about intellect," Allison pointed out again. "Curiosity is something we all seem to possess, and some of us seem to have too much. That’s why there’s a ‘curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought it back’ banner hanging on one of the walls in the common room. And a lot of Brightfeathers are very ambitious, which goes hand in hand with curiosity and intellect. If they have a question, and there’s no answer available, they won’t stop until they have the answer." She leaned her elbows on the table as she looked at him. "What other Clearbrook stereotypes have you learned?"

[to-earth-santos]

"First things first, I'll find out when I get home. Well, I dunno whether to call it home. I guess it is home. Where was your home before here?" He'd been here for a couple of months now, though he still felt a bit new sometimes. "Earth Science? Nah, I just know about rocks and such because of the earthbending. You kind of have to understand how they work to move them, though I don't know names for things. But yeah, earth sciences wouldn't be for me. I'm not too bad with maths, but I'm not so good on sciences. I major in music. Not very academic, I know, but I love it. What about you?"

"I never finished my course in America. I dropped out and worked for a bit. Hence why I'm still an undergrad here. I think it gets confusing being different countries, but I didn't fancy being a postgrad. I'm not mature enough for that." Tony laughed, shaking his head. He still felt like a teenager most days - he forgot he was actually twenty-two sometimes. "I did maths at the University of Minnesota. Turns out I didn't like maths enough."

Tony nodded, remembering seeing it - he'd laughed when he'd first seen it. It made even more sense now she explained it. "Now I have a better idea of you and other Brightfeathers. You also make me feel my lack of motivation. I'd never get into Brightfeather. But yeah, like I said, we're the nice guys," he grinned cheekily, pointing to himself. Next, he pointed to her, "And you're the smart ones. Ascendor don't care what anyone else thinks about them. Ravenscar are a bit sneaky. Um, and Crowsfalls like jumping off tall buildings." He finished on the last one with a flourish.

[l0velylana-deactivated20141204]

"Oh," Lana nodded at him. "Yeah, it’s just this book my grandma suggested. The Maximum Ride series," she paused. "It kind of reminds me of the craziness of this place." 

[to-earth-santos]

"Your grandma suggests books to you?" Tony couldn't help his tone of incredulity, even though he realised a little late it was rude. "I mean, not that I don't think she'll have great taste. But my gran doesn't even read much. Never mind something we'd share in common." He hovered, rocking back on his heels - he had a hard time ever staying still. "Maximum Ride. Yeah, that sounds about right. Is it fantasy?"

[vyllieldr]

I think so, yes, never heard of benders doing this, but on the other hand I could always be wrong, I’ve heard some practices differ from the ones in other places, as you see me using runes more, than the wand. – A small smile, seeing him so interested in how it worked. – In ancient Norse. But I gather, it depends on what runes you use. I’ve heard the Celtics work with ancient Celtic language, Hungarian with Hungarian and so on. I’m not sure how it works exactly, I could not research as much, this is simply how I’ve learned it from my mother.

Yes, actually yes. That’s why I said, it’s almost like wishing. – Tyyne shrugged, not bothered by it. – Yeah, All saint’s. Well it’s usually the time, when people visit the graves of their relatives and whatnot, we usually had some sort of gathering at night, with some food and remembering who passed. I’ve heard about it yes. I wager you love it very much, then.

[to-earth-santos]

"If other benders can't do it, I probably can't." Tony smiled wryly, playing it off lightly like he usually did, but knowing it was all too true. He couldn't even master the basics, so there was no way he had any special extra skills. "We practise a kind of magic in a way though. We're all kind of magical here." He spread his hands outward. "Wow, I wish I knew an ancient language, even if I couldn't make spells. I know a little Spanish, so maybe I could learn Ancient Spanish if that's a thing?" He bounced a little on his heels excitedly, "I learnt bending from my dad first too. Was your mum a good teacher?"

"That doesn't sound all that bad actually. Food makes any celebration. Maybe I could try celebrating that too this year. I'm a little old to go trick or treating. I do like it. Not nearly as much as Thanksgiving and Christmas though. They're the best holidays, hands down."

[to-earth-santos]

Stuck in a rut || Agnes and Anthonio

When the end of class was signalled and everyone else got up from practising their new forms to leave, Tony was still positioned in the stance. His form wasn't terrible. It was technically strong, with his feet planted the right distance apart. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the ground to rise with his movements.

He was a terrible earth bender. He would never be able to do this. Just look how easily everyone else managed. It shouldn't be this hard.

With each thought, the earth trembled a little less until he could have lost his bending skills for all he knew. In frustration, he brought his fist down on the small rocky outcrop. It shattered, like it was supposed to, but it also hurt the side of his fist a lot, which it wasn't supposed to.

He wasn't prideful, but he didn't like asking for help all the time. Still, he had to admit to himself when he just needed to go and get help. Tony shoved his hands in his pockets miserably. The closest room would be Miss Battle. Leaning his head on the door for a moment to gather some energy, some enthusiasm, he knocked politely on the door.

[thaiis-a]

"…Does it look like I eat fucking live animals in the flesh?…What? Me ever seen a dead sheep? Dude, this doesn’t even look like a dead sheep! It looks like a big blob of fur to me! Lemme guess you eat sheep?"

[to-earth-santos]

"I didn't say you eat them. You suggested that," he pointed out mildly. "But things look different to different people so you know, big blob of fur if you like. I eat sheep if it's skinned and cooked and generally served as lamb chops." Crouching down beside her, he looked at it with her.

[waterdrops-and-dancingwaves]

"That really is the only thing you can do when sick. Can waterbenders actually heal colds? Because if we can I am definitely going to have to figure out how to do that." Addison covered her mouth and coughed slightly, this cold was wearing on her last nerve. She nodded at what Tony said. "I agree. If I wasn’t a waterbender I don’t think I would want to be anything else. Plus being a bender as caused enough problems so anything more intense…." she trailed off not really sure where she was going with that though.

[to-earth-santos]

"As far as I know, there is still no cure for the common cold. But hey, you never know! There's so many talented people here, someone has to be able to do it. He or she could sell their skills, it'd be that popular." He winced sympathetically with her when she coughed. "They caused you a lot of problems?" He almost wanted to add 'too' on the end, but waited, just because he didn't want to put an unnecessary downer on the situation. "Think it can all get intense. But okay, what would you say is the most intense you can get?"

[allison-watts]

Allison was just about to agree that the environment was too noisy for any kind of meditation or prolonged concentration when the frisbee came out of nowhere. Her first instinct was to reach out to catch it, but the boy seemed to have it under control. He was definitely a bender, then, if his reflexes and agility was that good. Though they were not gifted with the increased agility of werewolves, benders often had been taking martial arts for years or maybe even just during their time at Clearbrook, and it was enough to give them an upperhand over some other species when it was required.

The kitsune looked over the markings on the disc, frowning a bit not just at the poor expletives that were all over it, but the terrible spelling, as well. If they were going to be rude, they should at least spell it right, in her opinion.

When he began to talk at length again, Allison made no indication that she wanted him to stop or that she was not listening. In fact, she was completely in tune to their conversation, as she always did find it fascinating how some people could just open their mouths and manage to continually talk. Given the circumstances, it was not as annoying as it might have been if she was trying to study, and she was glad that it was someone else doing most of the talking rather than herself. “It’s not a stupid thing to say,” Allison commented with a flicker of an amused smile. “It was actually rather courteous, so I will tell them.” She looked around the room and shook her head. “If a raven can survive this place right now, I don’t want it anywhere near my head.”

Heathervale. She was hardly surprised, and at his question about Brightfeather being the “smart ones” she just nodded. “We’re little more than that,” she said, holding her hand up with her thumb and forefinger about an inch apart. “Just a little.” She moved her arms to fold them, leaning back a bit more. “Have you been at Clearbrook very long? Or are you still learning the ins and outs of the academy”

[to-earth-santos]

Tony knew her name now, but he couldn't figure out what Allison was. Everyone could look just like a person most of the time. Nothing she said gave it away at all. A lot of the people at Clearbrook were beautiful and often athletic looking in some way because a lot of things required physical training. The only ones he could ever usually pick out were the fae who had a distinctive air of elegance. It felt a little rude to ask outright though, so he just waited for an opportunity to find out. Either that or he'd ask someone else.

"Ravens are pretty tough. I think. Or it might be crows. Are they the same bird? I can never remember if there's a difference. I can't say I know much about birds. I know a bit about things that live under the earth though." Not that he'd ever been that into nature, but he would encounter various creatures when he attempted to practise earthbending. It took his mind off his failed attempts, not to mention he'd been told it was good to learn from creatures that moved easily in harmony with the earth.

"Yeah? Well, we're a little more than the nice guys." He held up his fingers in a similar signal, grinning. "I haven't, not really. I went to college first- or university. I'm from America. But I decided to come here so I've been here for half a year maybe? So I know a bit about things, but I'm still a newbie. You can tell me about Brightfeather then."

[whitelighterharvey]

"You can definitely come to me about that," Harvey said, motioning for the earthbender to sit down on the bed. "Believe it or not, several people have been coming to me about sleep issues. Are you having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or both?"

[to-earth-santos]

"Staying asleep. It's like five minutes in and then five minutes out. I can't-" Tony sat down, smiling awkwardly as the springs creaked loudly on the bed. "I can't tell when I'm asleep and when I'm not half the time to be honest. Wait, really? Several people?"

[l0velylana-deactivated20141204]

"You didn’t answer my question," Lana brought her eyes up to meet his. 

[to-earth-santos]

"I was just gonna ask what you were reading." Tony shoved his hands deep in his pockets, feeling a little nervous under her stare.

[vyllieldr]

Well, it’s not  all that hard, if you know the language. Basicly there are basic things some runes can do and what they cannot, just like spells, you have to know them, and then you command them with a simple word. Of course it takes practice, like everything else does, otherwise you could use it for something entirely different, than first intended. For instance, the word meant mend in English that took care of your clothes, but it I would not have concentrated properly or I don’t know, would not have payed enough attention, I might have ended in healing a wound I did not see. - A smile, dismissing the sudden surge of rambling. - It sort of is like wishing, if your think about it.

 - Oh well please do not mind me if I try, even though I gather I would be the billionth one to do so. No, we did not have Halloween at home. All this dressing up thing was really new to be honest, we did have All Saints’ day though, just never the night before.

[to-earth-santos]

"But just witches, right? I couldn't cast any spells or anything. So what language do you speak? I'm guessing they don't speak English in Scandinavia." He continued to pick at his clothes, examining the woven threads that he couldn't pick out with the naked eye. He couldn't do anything so detailed with his earthbending - though that might just be for lack of skills. "With the same word you can heal a wound or mend clothes? This seems like a vague science."

"All Saints' Day? Alright yeah, I almost forgot that's the other thing it's called. Do you do anything for that? Go to church or something? Halloween is great, you're going to love it. It's bigger back home - that's America - but it's still really great here!"

[christina-laurent]

More sarcasm. Great. Christina hung her towels up on the hooks underneath the shelf. She crossed her arms over her chest as Tony continued talking. “Sorry. I have a short term memory when it comes to people talking to me in a bathroom.” She pursed her lips. “I like Antonio more. I’m Christina. I don’t like any nicknames or shortenings of my name. Now are you going to move or will I have to move you?”

[to-earth-santos]

"Fair enough. So do I probably." Tony wasn't sure whether it was meant as a compliment, but he took it as one since saying she liked Antonio more was the most pleasant thing she'd said as they talked. "Hi, Christina. I'm guessing you don't go by Tina, Chrissie, Christie..." He started walking back towards the door, still facing her, pushing it open behind him. "You are kind of moving me either way."

[thaiis-a]

Thais looked up with a blank expression on her face, “Wow…Is it? Cause I literally have no fucking clue.” She then continued poking at it without a care in the world. 

[to-earth-santos]

"So it's not yours? That's good then. I think. Haven't you ever seen a dead sheep before?"

[l0velylana-deactivated20141204]

"I can sense your presence. What do you want?" 

[to-earth-santos]

"Scary how a lot of people here can do that."

[whitelighterharvey]

"Hello. I have you down here for an appointment. What seems to be the problem?"

[to-earth-santos]

"I didn't know whether to come to your or not." Tony felt like he was back in a school office, entering through the clinical looking set up. "It's just about sleeping. Thing is, I don't sleep much."