sailor moon (mitzi) wrote in invol_rpg, @ 2012-07-13 07:25:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! log, anton milosovici, mitzi oster |
WHO: Anton Milosovici and Mitzi Oster
WHAT: A chat
WHEN: About two hours after the arrival at IVI
WHERE: Outside the dormitories
WARNINGS: None
STATUS: Completed Log
She rounded the track, her muscles rejoicing at the chance to stretch and pound through the dirt. She'd known they had a track here, and as soon as she'd finished greeting her roommate and brushing her teeth, that was her first place to go. Just a quick change into her running clothing and she was off, jogging down the stairs of the dormitory and heading out toward the fields to stretch before she ran her hardest. Mitzi finally slowed as she ran a final lap, her iPod still blasting in her ears as she went from running to jogging, holding her hands over her head as she went. She glanced around the area and saw that she wasn't alone anymore. A blond guy was standing in the distance. She grabbed her water bottle and headed over to him, guessing that maybe this would be the second person she'd meet here at IVI. "Hello," she said. She thought she recognized him from processing, and her travel-weary mind tried to place him. Was he the young man who had had just the guitar and a bag? She'd wondered about him, but had been careful not to stare. Mitzi inclined her head to the track. "Are you a runner?" --- Anton had placed what few items he had in the dorm upstairs, then quickly made his escape, too shy to stick around to talk to the other young man he would be sharing his space with for who-knew-how-long, and fearful that his roommate might have questions to ask him. He wasn’t quite ready to deal with that yet, and after having spent the last week in cramped cell in a Bucharest police station, he wanted nothing more than to stretch his legs, breathe some fresh air, and ensconce himself in some peace and quiet for awhile. He had plenty to mull over. The first thing being that he was in Australia. Australia, for heaven’s sake. Land of kangaroos and koalas. Of all the places he thought he’d end up someday, a weird post-secondary school in the middle of the Australian outback was probably the last thing on his list, way down there with Atlantis and terraformed Mars. Still, there could have been worse places to end up. After all, it had only been his relative fluency in English that had saved him from winding up in one of the Vol holding facilities back home, and he was positive that those weren’t anywhere near as nice as this place. Anton counted his blessings: IVI seemed safe and clean, and he was relatively free to do what he pleased, within limits. Also, the people seemed nice, not that he’d said more than a few words to any of them yet. Best of all, they were all in the same boat as he was, ability-wise, so it was nice not to have to pretend he was completely normal, for once. He had just stopped to take off his cardigan and was folding it over one arm when the runner he’d seen doing laps in the distance began to head in his direction. His first instinct was to assume she was going to tell him that he was in the way, and to get off the field, and had that been the case, he would have apologetically obliged. He recognised her vaguely from intake, though he’d been staring too abashedly at his feet at the time to remember much more than that. He was about to start walking off the field when - much to his surprise - she greeted him rather than shouting at him. “Who? M-me?” he asked, startled. His eyes searched the area for anyone else she might have been talking to. There wasn’t anyone, so he could only deduce that she was, in fact, talking to him. “I’m not a runner, no. I was just going for a walk. That’s all,” Anton explained awkwardly, his accent thick. “If you want me to go, I can go, though. It is not a big deal.” The last thing he wanted to do was to get on anyone’s nerves two hours into being here. --- "Yes, you." She couldn't help but smile at his surprise, her lip quirking slowly as she realized that he was genuinely looking for someone else. Mitzi couldn't think of any reason why it would be a surprise. She imagined that, probably, a good number of the students didn't even know that a field existed, let alone would come out to it so quickly. So many others had been grumbling about wanting showers or to sleep for hours that she expected she could wait out here for at least another hour before someone else came by. Although, maybe not. Maybe this young man was the first of other explorers. Mitzi took a drink from her water bottle, her brow furrowing. "Go? No. Why would I want that? There's plenty of space for both of us." To make that clear, she smiled a bit more, the faintest glimpse of teeth as she closed in on some of the space between them, leaving him still with more than ample room around his person. She laughed and took a step back, leaning backwards before she set her things down and started stretching. "But I won't be offended if you want to keep going on your walk." Mitzi touched her toes and then stood up suddenly. "Wait, before you go--just in case you do--I'm Mitzi." She gave him her hand. --- “Oh,” Anton replied, giving her a small smile and chuckling embarrassedly. He quickly looked away and picked at his sweater nervously, for lack of anything better to do. “I just - I don’t know. I didn’t want to like, be in your way, or anything. But if you’re fine, then I guess... “ He trailed off, tucking his blond hair behind his ears, then promptly forgetting what exactly he had intended to say next. That train of thought, however, had already left the station. “I don’t have anywhere to go, though, no. The walking thing wasn’t even important. I’m uh, I’m Anton. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mitzi.” he rambled, then wiped his own palm on his shirt before accepting her hand and shaking. He smiled shyly and hoped she didn’t think he was too terribly stupid. He hadn’t had a lot of opportunity to practice his English with strangers, so he was more than a little self-conscious about saying something wrong and making a bad first impression. --- "You're not in my way," she teased. "Besides, you just saw me running. Maybe I could get around you if I really wanted to. But in anycase, no. You're not." She shook his hand and nodded slowly. "Anton," she said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, too." She tried to place his accent but couldn't. It wasn't going to be comfortable speaking only in English for awhile, but she had been practicing as much as she could before she had come, and she imagined she might as well keep trying with someone else who had an accent before she embarrassed herself in front of a native speaker. "If you want to know where things are, I can tell you," she offered. "I know the campus already." And there, she had given something that could be taken as a hint of her power, or just a suggestion that she'd already taken the tour. "I don't know what all the buildings are, but enough of them." Mitzi wondered what his power would be, and if it would be rude to ask. In Germany, at her school, there was no point in concealing it. Everyone would find out. She imagined the same would be true here. But she didn't know how Anton would feel about telling her his power. --- Anton took her offer to mean that she’d explored the campus already - it seemed a bit early to have seen it all, but she was a runner. Perhaps she even had a power like super-speed or something. It was weird for him to imagine that all of these people had enhanced abilities as well, since he’d never actually met another Vol in person up until coming here. The thought was really quite overwhelming when he allowed himself to dwell on it for too long. “Oh, thank-you. That’s very kind of you. I keep worrying that I will get lost, then get in trouble, or something.” he said honestly. It was his turn to be curious, then, and he hesitated before asking, “So. Er. Where did you come from?” He, too, was wondering about what kind of power brought her here, but as he had no experience with others like him, he wasn’t sure if it would be considered bad etiquette to ask outright, like asking someone if they were pregnant or how old they were. Asking someone where they were from seemed like a much less volatile thing to ask, and a good place to start, considering they were largely foreigners here. --- "I don't think there is anywhere we're not allowed to go," she said. "At least if it isn't allowed, it's locked. So you should be safe to walk around." She could understand his fear. This was a brand new experience for all of them, no one had attended this school in the past. Who was to say what was going to be forbidden? "Hopefully they'll be understanding to all of us. I don't think they'll be too harsh, they'll want us to send positive reports back to our friends and family." She wondered if Anton was someone who didn't want to be here. "I'm from Germany," she said. "Berlin. And where do you come from? Besides a rock band," she said in a slightly teasing voice. "I saw the guitar." --- “I hope so.” Anton agreed, though he tried not to look too wistful when she mentioned friends and family. He wondered whether he would be the only one here with no-one to send reports home to, but then tried to push that particular thought from his mind, and focus on the here and now. “Germany! Berlin! I thought I recognised the accent, but I couldn’t place it.” he said brightly. At her question, he let out a snort of embarrassed laughter and shrugged. “Oh. That. No. I was a - how you say? - “ (His nose wrinkled as he searched for the word, but came up with nothing) “...I played guitar for coins in Bucharest, but I am from Ploieşti. Romania, that is.” Anton explained. “Do you have schools like this in Berlin?” --- She was glad that he didn't seem so shy anymore. He seemed livelier, and when he laughed she laughed a little with him, too. "I don't know the English word for that," she admitted. "But I know what you mean." She'd seen people doing that all the time in Berlin. It was much better than people begging. She wondered if his talent had something to do with music. It would make sense, if he was using his music to make a living for himself. "So you're not a rock star," she said, letting out a sigh as though she had actually hoped he was. "That's too bad, I was going to ask for your autograph." Mitzi took a drink from her waterbottle and then gave him a nod. "Yes, we do. How about in Romania? Several students from there have come here with me. I don't know if this is going to be much different or not. It's certainly going to be much more full with people who have powers. It's important to know who has what power, I think, if you can know it. I don't know how I'll keep everyone straight..." She snapped her waterbottle shut as she trailed off, glancing at him a bit shyly. "That's why I hope you won't mind if I'm very bold and I ask you what your power is? At my school no one minded this question, that's why I ask. But I don't know if it is impolite in Romania. If it is, forgive me." --- Once again, he wasn’t quite sure how to respond to her joke, except to shrug it off and grin. “I’m no-one,” he said, and didn’t feel as though he was exaggerating much. “You’re more likely to be an Olympic athlete than I am a rock star. I should be asking for your autograph.” he said playfully. All this laughter made it that much easier to relax and converse a little easier. He tilted his head, listening with interest as she spoke of the state of things in her home country. His eyes widened slightly when she mentioned that they (a) had a school of their own and (b) actually had multiple students to send here. Berlin was a much larger city than Bucharest, however, and Germany was more progressive than his home country, so when he thought about it, he supposed he shouldn’t be so surprised. He was intrigued, though - what would it have been like to have been integrated into a Vol school sooner than this? “Romania doesn’t have any, no.” he said, shaking his head. “You register, or you go to prison. Many times, you go to prison anyway. I’m lucky to be here, but this is all quite new to me. Maybe I should ask you for tips along with those directions.” When she asked what he’d been wondering himself, he felt relieved - and thankful - that he hadn’t been the one to take that plunge. Anton smiled at her. “I don’t mind at all! I do not know if it is impolite in Romania, as I’ve never met another until coming here, but I don’t see why it would be. I have what they called ash generation - that is, I can make ash clouds, things like that. It’s not a very exciting power, but it’s not like we can pick our own. What about you? I mean, if you don’t mind my asking?” --- "Olympic athlete? Poo, no," she was quick to correct him. "It's all for fun. I have to get my energy out somehow." She also smoked half a pack every day for the past few years. That hadn't helped her lungs. But maybe she'd do a bit better now that her entrance to IVI meant that she had to give up her smoking. It was something she had decided to brave with the belief that their forcing her meant that she could build herself a better future. "Maybe you'll play for some of us some day," she said. "Although none of us have any money anymore... So I don't know if your case will get filled, but maybe some pats on the back." When he mentioned prison, her eyes widened. They didn't send Vols to prison in Germany, they were just sent to the school for troublemakers. She wondered if that was why he had so few things. He had been in prison, and then he was forced to come here. She couldn't help but give him a worried look. There was nothing mean or delinquent about him as far as she could tell. "Did you go there?" she asked in a hushed voice. "To prison?" "Ah, ash generation," she said. It wasn't easy to think of a helpful use for that power right away, so she just nodded and decided that if he didn't offer a demonstration, she probably shouldn't ask for one. "Perhaps it would help you get away if you needed to, like a smoke screen?" She wondered what he did with his power. "I don't mind at all," she said. "The translation from German to English that we called it is 'Glass Sight.' The English word is very difficult to pronounce." She tried to pronounce cartopatromancy but failed, laughing. "I'll manage it soon. But what I do is I can call images into glass like a movie camera. People, places, things. Anything." --- “Sounds like a good idea. Maybe I should try that. I think I would go crazy just sitting inside all the time.” Anton said, unable to imagine a life of inactivity and complacency in front of a television set between classes. The thought of someday being appreciated for his playing was a pleasant one, though. “It’s okay. None of us really need any money any more, right? It will be nice to just play for fun again.” He made note of her alarmed expression at the mention of prison, and immediately tried to soothe her worries. “No, no, I got lucky. I only got caught a week ago, so I was only stuck in the basement of the police station until this place opened, then I got sent here. I might have if I didn’t know English, though - I feel bad for the ones who don’t.” he said guiltily, but then remembered he was trying to make her feel better, not worse. Luck was a relative thing, and if he’d truly been lucky, perhaps he never would have developed powers at all. He sincerely hoped she wouldn’t think any less of him now, knowing this, as she seemed like a really nice girl, and the first person he’d ever said more than a word or two to since arriving here. He tried to neaten his hair absent-mindedly again to little effect, wanting to look the least like an escaped convict as was possible. Anton nodded. “That is what I used it for, yes.” he said, though he neglected to elaborate on why he would need to get away from anyone. He raised his eyebrows as she explained her power, looking very much in awe. “Oh, wow! That’s amazing!” he said, just imagining all the possibilities for that power. “How do you do that? Just say their names, or think of them, or... ? Is it any glass or only certain ones?” He paused, wondering if his enthusiasm was getting to be a little too much. He tried to subdue himself. “Sorry, I ask too many questions.” Anton said sheepishly. --- "Maybe you should try," she said. "There's the track here, and it might as well be used. No reason to just sit in front of a computer the whole time. We might as well exercise, even if it doesn't improve our powers, right?" She smiled. "It'll be nice to hear you play. I wish I could play a musical instrument." Mitzi was relieved that he hadn't been locked up for a long time. She nodded thoughtfully. "I'm glad you weren't stuck in prison," she said. Mitzi wondered how bad the situation was for other Vols in his country, what their treatment was like in prison. "Yes, I guess it is a very good thing that you know English since you were caught." Mitzi believed that all the Germans should register their status with the government. But hearing that, should she have grown up in Romania, she'd be jailed for her power, she felt as though she could see the other side to an extent. She hoped that Romania would change their ways soon. She thought it was somewhat charming that he was trying to flatten his hair, and she wondered why. "Thank you," she said. "I give a name and then I think about them. Many people share the same name, so if I don't have a specific to think about -- like someone's brother, or their job -- then it can be harder. But it's usually very easy. And any mirror or piece of glass..." Mitzi looked past Anton and saw the Fine Arts building. "Do you want to see?" she asked, heading toward there. "I can show you one of those windows!" --- Anton pressed his fingers to his lips, thoughtful. “Maybe I will. Though I’m afraid I’ll just wind up looking crazy, running around in circles.” he said. The last thing he wanted to do was to draw more negative attention to himself. “Anyone can play a musical instrument. I could show you some things, even. It’s easy.” he assured her. He nodded in agreement. He was thankful as well. He wasn’t quite sure what went on in the Vol holding facilities in his home country, but what few rumours he’d heard were far from pleasant. Hopefully, in time they would follow Germany’s lead and take a more humane approach to their super-powered citizens. Anton had been listening in fascination as Mitzi described her powers to him, but when she offered to give him a demonstration, he perked excitedly, then eagerly followed her toward the shiny new building. “I would love to see! Thank-you! I’ve never actually seen anyone else use their powers before in person, to be honest.” --- "You could join me if you want," she said. "I go in the mornings generally, sometimes again in the afternoon if it's not too hot and I need to get out more energy. Nobody will think you're crazy if you're on the track, though. That's what it's for." She smiled at him, the smile growing at his offer to teach her some musical things. "I might have to take you up on that," she said. She'd never done music before, although she'd been interested in it. Her parents couldn't afford an instrument when she was younger or the lessons that would have been necessary, which was why she'd turned to expressing herself athletically -- track was free. "Well, good!" she said. It was exciting to her, too, to have the chance to show off her skills. She walked briskly to the window and ran a finger lovingly across the glass, feeling it speak to her. She resisted the urge to just call up an image, turning to look at Anton over her shoulder. "Can you think of someone you'd like to see? Or some place? It can be something you're familiar with or not. Is there some place you've always dreamed of going?" --- Anton was surprised and grateful for her offer of allowing him to join her. It had been a long time since any ‘normal’ folks had wanted to hang around with him of their own volition. “Well, okay! I mean, if you don’t mind. I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.” he said enthusiastically, growing comfortable enough now to be able to throw in a joke: “Are short shorts mandatory?” He smiled when she took him up on his own offer. Music was his main passion, and it was nice when he had someone to share it with. “I’ll show you anything you like. You’ll do amazingly, I promise.” he assured her. He waited with anticipation for her to call up an image, but when she asked him what he wanted to see, he really wasn’t sure how to answer. Perhaps a lot of people would have wanted to see where they had come from, and had he been alone here, that might have been what he’d have done. As it stood, though, he’d only just met Mitzi, and he didn’t really feel like sharing that much of his life any time soon. Consequently, when he thought about places he dreamed of seeing or going, he could think of so many, and yet could not choose any particular one. “I don’t know. I can’t pick! What is your favourite place to look at?” he asked her. --- "If I minded I wouldn't have invited you," she pointed out. At his joke she gave a hearty laugh, nodding enthusiastically. "Yes," she said. "Short shorts are mandatory. It's the only way someone should run." Not that her shorts were that short, but imagining Anton in short shorts was amusing and, hey, he'd offered. "But we can't forget headbands," she said. "You'll need that as well if you're going to come running with me." She grinned, wondering if he'd actually do it. Mitzi was thankful for his offer, and he seemed so genuine about helping her learn music. She hoped that this was a good sign, and that maybe this would be the start of a friendship. One thing was for sure, she was definitely planning on taking him up on his offer once things got a little more settled. "I have too many favorites," she admitted. She didn't want to show off any boring images of home, so she finally settled on something. Focusing her energy, the reflection in the mirror shimmered before starting to glow with a clear image of the Hawaiian coast. Mitzi touched the mirror so that the image kept moving, like a camera was gliding. The sand and ocean sparkled and the greenery was near bursting with color. "Now..." She wiggled her fingers and suddenly the image was a grove of trees and bamboo, with no sign of life for the first few seconds. Mitzi tried moving the image around. "This is where--" she started, but then a little panda bear rolled into view and she stopped and laughed. "There. Those are two of my favorites, ones I put up when I want something nice to watch. If you'd given me something I was unfamiliar with it wouldn't have been this clear. These are just practiced," she said with a shrug. --- Thankfully, Anton didn’t have any short shorts, or a sweatband, for that matter. He hoped Mitzi wouldn’t be terribly disappointed when he showed up the next day, wearing the exact same outfit as he was wearing now. If she was, he’d just have to make it up to her in music lessons, he told himself. He fell silent as she touched the glass and the scene began to form, revealing a coastline and beautiful scenery he’d only seen in movies or on television. And then, just as easily as it had appeared, it dissolved, revealing a bamboo forest, and then... “Oh my god!” Anton exclaimed, as the bear popped into the picture. He had not been expecting that. He turned to Mitzi, his smile wide. “This is so awesome! You’re amazing! I wish I had powers like yours!” And then, unable to help himself, he turned to watch the little panda some more. --- Mitzi grinned broadly as Anton exclaimed, giving him more space to see the image. She always loved it when people appreciated her skills. Some thought too quickly of the negative aspect--judging her immediately for what she had the power to do instead of what she did with her powers. She knew that being able to spy on anyone in the world meant she could easily invade privacy, but she was careful with her powers and she didn't like to be made to feel like a creeper. "I'm--no, not amazing" she protested, blushing slightly. "It's just what I happen to have been given, or born with, or however this happened to all of us. Maybe there's a reason and purpose behind these powers... For the meantime I prefer to use my mirrors for simple entertainment." She leaned in a bit closer to make the mirror focus in on the panda bear, so Anton could get a closer look. --- The thought that she could use her powers to spy on anyone hadn’t even occurred to Anton, who was so enthralled with the picturesque scenery and exotic animals that it was hard to contemplate much else. He stared at the images like a curious child watching magic tricks for the first time. It took him a moment or two to finally snap out of it. “There’s no need to be so humble,” he complimented, and meant it. “I really do think it is amazing. There’s nothing wrong with doing something just for the beauty of it. What is life without art, right?” --- Mitzi leaned against the wall, one foot also pressing against the smooth surface. She considered his words thoughtfully. "I do think it's amazing that it's possible. Sometimes I get a little afraid that the next time I try the power will suddenly be gone. It comes with a lot of responsibility, but I'm proud of it..." Twisting her head, she could see the panda still rolling in the grass, reaching for bamboo. She slowly started zooming away from the panda, the view in the mirror lifting until a portion of the forest, then the forest, and then even more land were all visible in the camera. "No one's ever called it art before," she said as the camera zoomed out. "You really think it is?" It was a tool to her instructors. Something for her to master for utility, not for self-expression. --- He nodded, thoughtful. “Even if it was gone, I suppose you could go back to normal life. Only you’d always have the memory of what you once could do,” Anton said. He’d never really considered the idea of losing his powers to be anything but a good thing. If it weren’t for the whole ‘Vol’ thing, he could go home. He could go back to school, and Ploieşti, and... well, nevermind. He supposed it was probably different for people who actually liked their powers and who had good ones. And then the panda was gone; it was probably for the best, being that it was hard to concentrate with a squat, waddly teddy bear frolicking around in the nearby window. “I think it’s art. I mean, why not, right? You created it. You master it. It’s one of a kind. It’s beautiful. You can use it to express whatever you want.” Anton listed all of her artistic qualities while counting them off on his fingers. “I suppose if you think it is, then it is. That’s what matters.” --- "I'd miss it," she said. She knew that not everyone felt that way about their powers. Maybe Anton wished to be rid of his, she didn't know. She watched him carefully as she spoke. "It's become so natural to be watching something almost all the time." And she'd be sorry to have to stop going to school, and to not have a good job waiting for her when she finished. "Perhaps I should think of myself as a filmmaker," she said with a smile. "It's 'documentary' film in English, yes?" She laughed a little at that. "Because I can't control what happens in the mirror, I can only bring you to the place and let you experience... But I like to think of it like this." She nodded at him, smiling. "Thank you, Anton. Even though I'm tired from all the traveling, you're making me feel even more excited about coming to this school." --- Anton nodded, smiling. “You are the first of your kind. A visionary.” he said. “And no, thank-you. You are the first one like me I have ever met, and the first one at this school, so thank-you for being so nice. It means a lot.” He could only assume whoever he met next would be as nice as Mitzi, though she had set the bar high for further introductions. Still, he didn’t want to overstay his welcome, and he didn’t want to keep her for any longer than she wanted. “I guess I should let you get on your way, yes? It was a pleasure to meet you, and I’m sure I’ll see you on the field again soon.” --- She blushed again, shaking her head a little nervously. She couldn't live up to that sort of expectation. "No, really Anton," she protested. "Nothing like that. And you don't need to thank me for nice. Unless you're certain you do, under which circumstances I'll have to thank you for being so nice and complimentary to me." She wondered at him having never met a Vol before, but decided that was a question that would be well suited to another time. "I should get back to my room," she said. She needed a shower and a nap before deciding what to do next. "Have a nice walk around. And it was really a pleasure to meet you too." The glass winked out, the image of the country of China gone. She started walking backwards toward the dormitories. "If you want to run tomorrow... I'll be there at six o'clock in the morning." She waved. She'd gone ten steps before she turned around with a laugh and pointed at him, her fingers like a gun. "Don't forget the short shorts!" |