(2016-09-24) Stump Speeches
Stump Speeches
Summary: Various wanderers converge around a tree stump on Paragon Island
Date: 2016-09-24
Related: None
NPCs: One odd owl
Scene Runner: NA
Players:
tabitha..rissa..diego..besa..

If there's one thing that binds creative types of all kinds the world over, it's that they tend to get highly creative whenever things are going particularly bad. Also when things are going very well, or just generally more exciting than usual. This is one of the first cases, though. Tabitha is sitting on a tree stump that's nearly twenty feet in diameter and looks to have been cut off in a single stroke with a weapon that was hot enough to singe the wood as it cut through. She's got her portable generator set up on it, along with her microamp and a few of her instruments. She's putting together the last bits of a new song.

Some people are driven by different needs, though. With skin looking greyish, almost ashen, Rissa has set out for the island with little more than a black tanktop, a set of cargo pants, combat boots, and a hip-pouch with survival knife. Her art, if one can call it that, is the art of pushing oneself to one's limits. And then discovering new limits. Finding new and creative ways to come close to death… That counts right? Still, she's minus her usual makeup, or padding (to round out her feminine shape). Her face looks decidedly androgynous as a result, with a bare masculine tent. Only her long hair really shows much of her usual appearance. It is the music that draws her out though,"That you, Tabby? I'm still working on those tricks you taught me."

Normally it's tough bordering on almost impossible to sneak up on Tabitha, since her aura is normally spread out for a good distance around her. But right now it's busy pulling the duty of being extra hands so Tabita can use her own hands to play one half of her beloved double neck guitar while the aura plays the other half as well as banging out a rhythm on a mid-size drum machine. The beat is on the haunting side of EBM and the lyrics not exactly soothing.

There's a fire in the city of pictures
Leaving nothing but ashes below
It's only forever for a day
Tomorrow is burning away

The last words cut off along with the music when Karissa calls her name. Tabitha gives a little start and looks over quickly. "Oh, Rissa!" Now that she's paying attention it's easy for her to see her new friend in the unadorned appearance. Her energy is the same no matter the topical bits used. She smiles, although her own face shows signs that it's not an expression she's worn much today. "That's good, although I doubt it's what has you out here today."

Truth be told, Rissa is looking a little androgynous. Maybe slightly masculine since she isn't wearing any padding. Thankfully, Tabitha is 'in on the secret'. "No… It's… I'm trying to expand my abilities, and I gotta git my ass kicked to make it happen. Nature is the biggest ass-kicker ever. SO… you do the math… I'm hoping to inure myself to exposure this weekend. Though it might take a while."

A pause follows, and then she looks down at herself, then over at Tabitha in envy,"Don't exactly feel pretty, but my more… feminine attire is expensive. Those inserts aren't cheap, so…" She furnishes Tabitha with a shrug. Albeit a self-conscious one. For some reason, though, Tabitha's a comfy person to be around.

Soothing or not, Tabitha gets a smile,"That was pretty. Reminds me of when I was doing the goth thing. Before. When I was… not important. The point is, you got talent girl. I been looking you up on youtube. When do you cut your first CD?"

Lately Diego has been keeping to himself and working, and on occasion working on his powers as well. As for today he find himself near where Rissa and Tabitha are. Coming gliding down from the air and landing, with a roll, on the ground. Glancing up to spot those present. "Oh. Hi." He offers with a small smile.

Tabitha nods her understanding, "It's certainly an easier and more consistent way to push your boundries than, for example, asking someone to sit nearby and steadily drain your body heat until you're at the edge of hypothermia. That might be awkward." She nods about the cost of Rissa's cosmetic attire and other bits. "Yeah, I can imagine that must put a dent in funds. Although I'm equally sure I know someone that could help with options. And we released our first two-album set just over a month ago. Our second is coming out near Thanksgiving."

Diego's arrival from above gets a smile from Tabitha as her aura solidifies to shade her eyes enough that she can see his descent clearly. She's giving him a wave when she also spots the overly large great grey owl that's perched in a tree not too far away. She frowns briefly as it seems familiar, but then she shrugs it off. "How are ya doing, Diego?" She gestures to Rissa, "This is Rissa, she's one of our newest Prometheans. What doesn't kill her makes her stronger. Rissa, this is Diego. He speaks for the trees. And with the trees…. and pretty much with anything else alive."

"I would totally do it if there were any way to segway gracefully into that conversation. I can't exactly walk up to people and ask them to hit me until my eyes twitch all funny." Then again, they already kind of ARE twitchy, considering how hyper-reactive she can be. Like now! When she dodges behind Tabitha as a BOY makes himself known. Rissa looks utterly mortified. At least Tabitha's proper use of pronouns heads off the 'yes, I'm a girl' conversation.

"Hi." Yeah. Eloquent, she is. "Sorry. I don't have my face on." Pause. She looks at Tabitha again,"Options? Howso?" She makes a mental note to hit itunes when the weekend is over. From behind Tabitha, she also sticks out a hand for shaking,"I feel… like I should make some sort of druid commentary, but I'm not a proper sci-fi geek, so I just bork it up. Nice to meet you, Dee." Pause. "Tenacious Dee. Like the band. That's a good nickname."

Tabitha grins as Diego does a quick handshake then sort of smirks at the bit about druids. "Well, that is his codename." The grin gets a big larger and maybe even a bit more honest when Rissa starts in on Tenascious D, "Now that's a band I miss, although sometimes Jack Black will get the crew together for a night or two at a club." Once Diego sort of shies away a bit, she starts to split her attention between talking with Rissa and keeping some momentum going on the song work. Fortunately she has the advantage of non-human neural wiring that makes this easy.

"On the subject of options, my orphan sister is a wizard with clothing. She's the genius behind all of our band outfits, and about half the clothes in my closet since before album sales she and I were on a strict state-issued stipend. If you want, I can introduce you to her as the gothy girl you are and you can decide how to handle things from there." Then she shrugs and sort of ducks her head down a bit, "As for the other thing, we'd want to do it under supervision, but it's something I can do to help push your limits."

The girl watches Diego shy away curiously. Still, she doesn't push it. Instead, she finds a patch of ground to set on, and lays her head against the side of the stump. It's not easily visible, but she's not practicing seeing through the tips of her hair. Always pushing the limits. "I liked 'The Metal'. That's always my favorite." She clenches her toes a little bit inside her boots.

"I could totally see my way to floating my clothes-budget to her. I…" She pauses,"… I guess I can just say it. I mostly dressed goth originally because it was like… you could get away looking girly that way. And then my pallor set in. But now I'm in a safe space, I really… wanna explore my femininity you know? I wanna wear cute clothes, and go on dates, and watch vapid gossipy shows. I mean, there's more to it than that, but it's all stuff that everyone seems to take for granted." She chews her lower lip in thought,"So… you can help me with… pushing my limits? A lot of people have so far found my desire to push my power… disturbing. I get it. It's painful, but… pain takes on a new meaning when you're actually using it to make yourself safer, you know?"

Tabitha does a few more guitar riffs from the song she's finishing, working on music is almost an autonomic response for her so she doesn't get distracted from talking with Rissa. "Yeah, and you can find goths pretty much everywhere, too. Hell, I live on a fishing island off the coast of Maine and even we have a fair size population. And yeah, there's a lot of androgynous fashion in that set." Then she grins at the outpouring of girly girl, "Well, then the Hurricane With Hips will be a good guide for all that. Hell, she even managed to get me into an outfit straight out of RWBY and I'm about as tomboy as it gets."

She nods about the help with pushing limits. "Yeah, I've got a few things I could do to help your body adapt to more extreme situations that nature alone can't offer safely." When the talk turns to pain a shadow of sorts passes across her expression and her guitar playing goes off key briefly. "I… let's just say that I'm very glad my own powers keep me from feeling pain for very long."

The girl sits to fold her legs beneath her and watch the woman. She definitely catches the girl's discomfort and moment off-key. "It's strange for me. My own experiences compared to most of the student body are pretty tame. And I'm just so jazzed to BE here. To me, just being able to go to class in a skirt is amazing. Noone's been cruel, at least o my face, so far. NO ONE."

Rissa seems to consider this though,"I don't have the figure for anime, but… If it looks good and at least a little girly, I'm up for it. I look Morticia Adams, but I feel Betty Cooper." Archie Comics, she is definitely not. "It's why I'm Prometheus, you know. I'd take your pain if I could. The world, really."

Tabitha gets back to herself pretty quick after the shudder and seems to be back to her original mood from earlier. "Yeah, there are some interesting stories around here. And some fairly mundane ones, too." Then a quick grin, "Well, as mundane as you can get when you've got powers." Her small smile gets warmer as Rissa shows her excitement for being herself here. "Yep, that's my favorite thing about this place. The worst thing we have is a rumor mill, and even that doesn't actually get viscious."

She grins again when the Addams Family is brought up, "Hey, Morticia is a sexy lady and I'd dig in and climb Lurch like the mountain he is." She makes a noise in her throat that isn't quite a purr but comes close. Then she nods about team choices, "I chose Athena because of things my caretaker taught me growing up, and then stayed there after regaining my memories because it's still the kind of person I want to be… I just have more reasons now."

"I have… seven brothers and sisters. So… big family. My parents do pretty well. I just suffered a lot because of my… identity issues. Kids at school were rough, and the family didn't really 'get it'. Thought it was a phase. It wasn't until my heart stopped in the hospital that they realized that maybe they needed to listen better. It's not a super-happy story, but it's hardly the roughest. Plus, I don't feel like I want to die anymore." She admits it so casually. As if it were a common desire."

Rissa shifts in her seat, suddenly managing a bright red blush through her ashen skin. "Oh god, what's that even like? Like… I was hating my… stuff for so long… I never felt… 'sexy'. And now I get to feel more like myself. Don't hate my body so much anymore. Attraction. Does it hit you all at once, or does it just… creep up on you? My hormones are really starting to do their thing and I'm… noticing all kinds of stuff I never did before… and I wonder, is that something I'm going to star noticing?" Her expression is embarrassed, but definitely curious. "There's something… fortifying about finding new reasons to validate things you already believe. Old things made new again."

Tabitha nods her understanding, "Yeah, I've always had a big family, too. At the orphanage there was never less than about ten of us, and sometimes a lot more. And in my life before that, there were fifteen in my sib-creche." She shifts her seat so that she's facing Rissa, slinging her guitar to hang from her back. "I'm glad they started paying attention, and that you're past the wanting to die part." She dimples and pokes a finger at Rissa's forehead, "That means we get you, and I'm all for that."

Then the subject shifts to blush-worthy topics and she tries to hedge her bets, "Well… I might not be the best person… I'm not even human so things have always been different for me. I was a… VERY early bloomer by human standards, and in one way or another I find nearly /everyone/ attractive. But sometimes it's quick and sometimes it takes a while, it's different for each person. But yeah, it's only going to happen more often as you go."

Tabitha seems not to be exactly slowing Rissa's blush-reaction. Nope, with her behavior it's only making it worse. Rissa's skin is warm, even if she doesn't exactly look too healthy. Squirming even occurs! "Pfft. I'm only special in the sense that everyone here is, really. But thanks."

Cue a definite squirm at the talk and the attention. The subject is apparently either unaccustomed or uncomfortable for her. "I've literally never had someone else to talk to about this, and you're the person I arguably have gotten to know the best here, though I get along with Schuyler pretty well. He's a nice guy, for a freshman." Of course she thinks that. "I can't even imagine what that's like. For me, I didn't really… get those urges for the longest time. When you don't feel sexy, you don't really get… turned on, I guess? Now, though… Like, just lately, I swear the skin on my chest is getting ready to crawl off of me. Everything's so sensitive, and I'm noticing all these… smells. And sometimes my eyes linger and I'm not used to it… It's very confusing. Mostly, though, I think about romantic stuff. Life is kinda strange even without powers."

Tabitha dimples at Rissa with a downright evil gleam in her inhuman eyes, but she does shift away so she doesn't continue to contribute to any discomfort. She shrugs at the 'only special along with the rest' comment, "Don't sell yourself short and no one else can, either." Her face twists up a bit when Schuyler is mentioned, but the expression fades away before too long. "I'm not Sky's biggest fan. To me he takes the whole 'Masters family' silver spoon thing too far, but that could just be the orphan on a budget talking."

As to the rest, Tabitha has to think a bit. The topic isn't one she's ever had to put much thought into before, and she doesn't want to rush through and pick the wrong words. "The way I deal with feeling attracted to almost everyone is I keep it to myself most of the time. I mean, I'll flirt with some people, and get expressive with the ones I've figured won't be offended or creeped out, but mostly I just stay quiet beyond that." Then she shrugs so that the guitar lifts on her back a bit, "And channel as much of it as I can into my music. There's a reason why some of our released songs are of the steamy variety."

Rissa wrinkles her nose, and eventually allows herself to blush a little bit,"I'll take your word for it. He hasn't said anything about it to me… Mostly, he just seems excited to be able to talk to someone in sign language." Feeling the need to challenge herself a little more than sitting can, she climbs onto her hands and is soon walking/standing on them. A look of concentration passes her face, and then she informs the girl,"I just figured out a trick… I'm using my knee cap and the sinovial fluid in it to process my sense of balance… so this way, it feels sort of like I'm right-side up."

Weirdo. Still, she's trying it out at least. Thankfully, she remembered to wear a sports bra under her shirt, so she's not flashing anyone. And if her musculature is more appropriate to a slender young boy, well… it's early yet, darnit! At least her abs are in good shape! "That's a shame. This place, part of the charm is being unapologetically and unashamedly yourself. It's part of why I like Felicia. She just says everything on her mind. You should feel safe doing so, too. It's not your fault you feel that way, and voicing attraction isn't the same as obligating someone to respond." As for steamy? "Yeeeah… I may have heard some of them. I hope I feel that way about someone some day, but it's nice sometimes to just hear it." She's quickly getting the hang of this 'walking on your hands' thing. "I'm rooting for ya, either way. No worries."

Tabitha watches as Rissa starts to handwalk, then just raises her eyebrows at the knee trick, "So your ears are in your knees now, or just the balance part?" She shrugs about Sky, "I'll just leave him to his own devices. His sister is more pleasant to be around, I think. And she's also in Athena so we have that in common." As for the being yourself part of the conversaion, "Before I can be myself I have to figure out which of the different people in here is myself." She gives her noggin a tap as she says this. "There's at least three different… not quite personalities, but points of view up there. Sometimes it's hard to tell which one of them is in at the wheel." She smiles and nods her head in a formal manner at the last part, though. "Thank you, it's appreciated and reciprocated."

"Just the balance parts. Some of the small bones and detritus in my knee are sort of serving as otoliths. One day, I'll learn to delegate my thinking to another part like my butt. Then the jokes will never end." Aaaand… flop. She falls onto her face… and comes up with a bloody nose. Rather than scream, cry, or whimper, she just pinches the thing closed. "Gravity always wins." As if this were a minor inconvenience, she just sort of… continues talking. "That's what I get for showing off. Anyway, three different points of view? Sounds diverse. I hope I eventually make a good impression on all of them. Anyway, no worries. Plenty of people don't know what they're thinking about doing until they do it. You're in good company. And you ARE good company. So it's good to have you on my side." She tilts her head back and just keeps waiting for her nose to stop bleeding. I think my power hurt Sky's brain the other day."

Tabitha winces at the fall and the bloody nose, "I can fix that if you want, or do you heal fast too?" Then she shrugs when the talk goes back to her personality issues. "Well there's the pure Tabitha viewpoint. She's seven years old and lived her life in a Maine orphanage, getting her powers after a group of bullies kicked the crap out of her." She pauses a beat before continuing, her voice subdued. "Then there's Lilith. She emerged from a womb tank just over seventeen years ago and… she was a mercenary commander among other things. She's not as cuddly as Tabitha." That's putting it mildly but no point in scaring her new friend. "The third is basically me today, a mix of the two. Although sometimes I shift one way or the other." Then she smiles, "And yes, you've made a good impression on all of me." Then she raises an eyebrow, "How did you hurt Sky? Bad interaction with his mental stuff?"

Rissa smiles a little bit,"If you'd like. I don't heal fast, but I heal clean, if that makes any sense. Like… everything gets patched up with time. You… actually that might… really help my learning curve, so to speak. If it's not too much trouble, but with the crap I've been through, a busted nose is… not exactly high on the list of owee. More… annoying."

She lets her eyes drift over her hand to the Tabitha,"Sounds like you've had quite the breadth of experience. I just had bullies, ya know? It's kind of like you're an extreme expression of the human condition. Drifting back and forth through who we were and who we are. Trying to build some whole out of it all…"

"I think it's good you have them all. They're part of you, and if that's how you got to who you are now? Then that's something important. You're special. In a way few people are. You're practically a shoo-in for a female role model." Rissa shows no signs of insincerity either. She wears her heart on her sleeve. "Just conjecture, but… I think he tried to make mental contact with 'the voice'."

<FS3> Tabitha rolls Aura Surgery + Reaction + 2: Great Success.

Tabitha nods as Rissa gives the okay for healing, "Sit up and hold very still." She scoots over to be sitting across from Rissa and shrugs out of her hoodie. Under her t-shirt the visible portions of her arms and chest are covered in an intricate array of glyphs in a variety of markings and languages. The glyphs on her forearms are starting to grow up her hands and fingers in a vine pattern that glows with a healthy forest green. She places her finger tips on either side of Rissa's injured nose and at contact there is a flush of warmth and energy from her to the other girl. In less than a minute bone and tissue knit as if they'd never been damaged in the first place. The only sign the nose was broken is the blood that already flowed.

Then when it's done, Tabitha removes her fingers from Rissa's face and there is a reversal of the energy back into her. She sits back with a breath like she's been punched in the gut and a light 'snap' can be heard as her own nose is broken. The blood that flows from her injury isn't red but rather a dark forest green mixed with gold flecks. Her eyes water as she reaches up and sets her own broken nose, but it's clear that the injury is already healing at a rapid pace. She nods to Rissa while this is happening and she gets her bearings again. "Bullies suck enough, but I agree most of the time that there's a good side to having all of this in my head." The whole role model part makes her blush, though so she focuses on what happened to Sky, "Well that wasn't particularly smart. He come out of it alright?"

Rissa certainly seems curious as she views Tabitha's 'body art',"Oh, sweet. That's super pretty. Did yo- Oh, those aren't just attoos." Yes, she going to follow glyphs and marks because, darnit, they glow! Power-expression is a curious thing alright. "Hold still? That I can do." In fact, she certainly can. She doesn't breath. Doesn't twitch a muscle. She even switches her blood flow to her liver, eliminating even so much as a pulse! Perhaps uninteresting. It's still jarring for her to be so used to pain, only to have it LEAVE.

She winces though as she sees the girl's nose break in place of her own. "Ooooh! I didn't mean to make you hurt." She makes a sad face. At least it doesn't stick around, anyway, since the girl heals quickly. "Oh wow! I made YOU blush. What's not to like? You're super-talented, you're nice, you're a knock-out, and you have crazy-awesome powers. Sounds like a really good role model, personally." Rissa looks smug at that, though she still looks abashed at the physical discomfort caused to the girl. "Anyway, Sky… I get the feeling overconfidence is one of his defining problems."

Tabitha wiggles her nose a bit as it heals. She reaches over and unplugs her generator from her instruments and holds the end of the cable in her aura. Electricity arcs around the end of the cable before getting absorbed into her aura. Her nose heals more quickly as this happens. "All I'll say is take some time to get to know me more before you decide I'm all that. Not that I don't appreciate the vote of confidence." Hey, she's got an ego like anyone else. She nods to Rissa's observation about Sky, "You're probably right about that. Of course it's not an uncommon failing around here." She gives her arms a rub as the vine glyphs fade back into the ones on her forearms. "And no, they're not tattoos. They're a part of me, and have been since I was created. No idea what they say, and it changes sometimes, but I'm pretty sure they're where my powers come from."

"No one's perfect. We've all got flaws. God knows I've got mine. But it's less about you being 'all that' and more about you possessing qualities I already look up to. It's not like I'm going to try to emulate qualities I find negative." She winks. "That being said… You know this stuff better than me. If I have questions about dating people and stuff, can I come to you like I do about the voice-thing?" Rissa watches the 'recharge' with clear curiosity. "I suppose I have one advantage there. Hard to get a swollen head when your powers revolve around getting the shit beaten out of you." She laughs suddenly,"I'm sure I'll manage given time, though." A more easy smile as she hops back up to her feet,"So the symbols are for you what the 'voice' is to me, then. Albeit, a little bit less communicative, huh?"

Tabitha grins at the wink, "Well, I'd hope not. I'd hate for you to start overthrowing dictatorial governments without backup." Then she winks and nods, "But yes, for what it might be worth I'd be happy to answer questions the best I can." Then she laughs at Rissa's next remark, "Yeah, getting your ass handed to you does wonders for keeping ego in check. And yeah, something like that. Translating them has been a long term project. My caretaker says a specialist has been contacted, but also said that she takes her sweet time about things." Her attention is distracted by movement. When she looks over she sees the oversized great grey owl winging out over the training grounds.

"Eh. After the first four or five collapse into anarchy, I should have it down. I live for the day I'm bullet-proof. Those things scare me. I'm not there. Yet." A pause and she points right at the owl. "That's been around here several times now… Well, like twice. Friend of yours?" She shrugs helplessly, at any rate. "I tried asking The Voice about them, but as usual, he doesn't generally tell me any secrets that don't revolve around certain subjects narrowly focused on me." She spreads her hands helplessly. "He's… got a lot of knowledge, but he's like a spider monkey when it comes to real intellect."

Tabitha's laughter distracts her from the owl, "Well, it does become a lot easier when you've got a mad scientist and a small guerilla army backing you up. and yes, I hope you live to see that day. Dying before then would just suck on principle." She puts the generator cable down now that it's been drained of all its energy, then starts to wipe the dark green and gold blood away from her face. Some of it disolves into a dark brackish powder when she wipes it on her pant legs. She shrugs about the owl, "No, but I haven't just seen owls like that around here. There was one in California before Becca, Sierra, and I got our asses kicked by a Triad hit squad. There's a tickle of something in the back of my mind, but nothing solid. I'll probably turn it into a song at some point." She listens with interest as Rissa talks about the Voice, "Interesting. You're right, it's a lot more talkative than my power source but it sounds… I don't know… frustrating?"

The girl bends down, hefting a baseball sized chunk of rock, and eyeballs the owl. "Is it a bad thing? You want me to get it? I'm pretty sure I can…" She looks doubtful though. She'd rather NOT hurt an animal she's sort of assuming is endangered. "Lately I've been thinking death in general would kind of suck. Which is nice." Implying she didn't always think that. "Wow. Even your bloodstains clean up. And it can be. It's not a… friend. Not really. But for sixteen years, it's been the closest thing I had. It doesn't judge. It doesn't denigrate or insult. It seems to care that I remain alive. When I got beaten the first time, I remember losing consciousness. I was somewhere… vast. And alone. Things were confusing… and my memory gets a little vague, but I feel like I grabbed onto something… And when I woke up, it was still there. And I wasn't alone." Rissa still frowns though,"Wow. Triads. I got shot by a mugger because I wasn't very good at the vigilante things. Your life is kind of complicated, huh?"

Tabitha waves off the rock throwing, "No, don't beam the owl. It's a bit creepy but unless it turns into someone hostile I think we can handle a bit of creep." She looks down at the ash streaks that used to be her blood and shrugs, "That's a design feature. The man that created my kind didn't want anyone to be able to take genetic samples and copy his work. So any tissues that become separated from the whole break down like that." She reaches up and gives her nose a squeeze and tweek to check its healing.

Tabitha and Karissa are sitting at the edge of the island's central forest on the stump of a large tree that looks to have been severed in one blow with a heated weapon of some kind. They're sitting and talking with each other. Some of Tabitha's music gear is on the stump as well, although it's currently unpowered. Tabitha nods to Rissa's description of how she first encountered the Voice that guides her powers. "That does sound comforting. And yeah, the lives of Coral Springs students to tend to veer towards the interesting. The Triad thing was to help a friend whose father had gone missing."

"Sign me on if you ever want or need help. I don't know you super-well, but any challenge presents a chance for me to grow." She's kind of a hound about these sorts of things. "Your… designers really thought of everything, huh?" Rissa paces, thinking this piece of info over.

Right now, Karissa could easily be mistaken for a young boy but for her long hair thanks to the shirt and pants she wears (none of her usual padding is being worn). "Do people ever think your weirdness is creepy? People think mine is creepy a lot. Someone said it was 'horrible'." She looks slightly offended. "It's not bright and happy, but it is what it is." She seems lost in thought. "So how often DOES this stuff tend to happen to you?"

Besa's taking a walk, he does that. The teen has on a fedora, goth tee that says has the logo for Miss Peregrine's Home For Pecular Chilrden, and jeans. He's humming some song, and moping along to it as he goes. He's a weird sight, happy, but dressed goth.

Tabitha nods, "I'll give you a holler the next time something rears its head, or the school decides to send us out on a dangerous mission for class credit." Because that's happened before, too. She nods about her designer, "Father is a paranoid, delusional genius with his own plans for the world that aren't good. So yeah, he thought of a lot of things." She chuckles at the question about how often things happen. "Let's see… the Hondouras mission, a few attempts by my creator to recapture me including an attack on the VIP event during the Standing Tall finale, and the Triad thing. There's been other events I wasn't involved in, though. It gets busy around here." She spots Besa walking and gives him a wave, "Hey there!"

Oops! Time to go hide herself somewhat behind Tabitha! She doesn't have her face on right now! "Ack. A boy!" She's getting good at taking cover. "I feel like that's my cue to slip away into the forest mysteriously." Rissa waves to the approaching boy despite herself as she begins to peel away for the less 'crowded' part of the island. "Tabby, tell me more about your father and his plans later? I'm feeling the shy coming on, but thanks for keeping me company. We'll get pizza or… something you like eating anyway, in town. My treat."

Besa waves and then frowns softly as Rissa tries to slink again, "Hello…I can keep walking…" Dark eyes look over to Tabs trying to decide what to do, he doesn't want to chase a friend of ear's away.

Tabitha is rather small to be getting used as a shield so much. But she doesn't do more than grin over her shoulder at Rissa, "Y'know… I do have a thing that can help." She focuses on her memory of how Rissa looked when she first arrived at Coral Springs and gives her aura a mental twist to cover Karissa in an illusion of femininity to match how she's presented herself in the past. Nothing new in her clothing, just some added curves and slightly reduced masculine features. Hopefully it's enough to help. She gives Rissa a quick nudge with her elbow and whispers, "Look down. It's just a trick of the light, but I hope it helps." To Besa she shakes her head and shrugs, "We've just been hanging out when our respective weekend plans intersected. What are you up to?"

People tend to go with what they know. And Tabitha is plucky, so even if she lacks size, she's get moxie! Or some other ineffable unexplained quality. Cover has to have moxie! Still, Tabitha pulls a good 'trick',"Nono, it's okay. As usual, Tabby hasthe best solutions. Still, I DO need to get back to my training. Kisskiss." Yes. She just said 'kisskiss. She does take a moment to view the illusion with a low whistle,"You've got, like, one of the most versatile powers… You're going to go far, you know that." She murmurs in a lower voice to Tabitha,"Thanks. My… ego is really fragile. But I'm guessing you already noticed that fact. I don't know if it's a big deal to you or not, but it is to me." She makes air-kisses in Tabitha's direction to match her earlier words, then turns to slink off,"I owe you. You two have a good time, okay?"

Besa smiles warmly, the worrisome from dissipating, "I am just walking. It is good for my mind." He gives a small , slightly confused way as Rissa kiss kiss's at tabs and then leaves, "I did not mean to interrupt, Tabitha. I am sorry."

Tabitha shrugs, blushing a bit, "I help where I can, you don't owe me a thing." She gives Rissa a quick bow of her head as the other girl heads out. She maintains the illusion as far as her aura can reach, but by then Rissa will have passed out of sight. She then shakes her head to Besa, "You're not interrupting. Rissa just stopped to talk on her way to train in the forest. We got a little sidetracked. I was just working on some new songs." She gives him a smile, "Just a lot of us picking the same path today."

Besa ahs. The fedora moving with his nodding head, "Good. I would not wish to drive a friend of yours away." he smiles, looking down at the instruments, "Good. New songs are good for your soul." A soft, warm chuckle, "All paths cross."

"As all paths must diverge. Our feet tred the same path, though our souls are forever severed." Tabitha's words carry a certain weight to them, and her voice doesn't sound /quite/ like her own. It still comes out as English, however. She blinks a few times and in a tree not far away an overlarge great grey owl hoots a low call. "I think that would make a good lyric." She smiles at Besa as she starts to pack up her instruments and support gear since her generator has been drained. "I'll have to work on it sometime. How is your pottery coming along?"

Besa smiles, although there's a hint of something sad to it, "Yes. Yes it would." The packing is watched and he head tilts, "Do you need help? My throwing is good. Liam's pot has been made. i am going to start making coffee mugs to see if the tea shop would like to barter for them." Barter? He's so weird. He then smiles, sligthty lopsided, "It would be nice to have coin for things."

Tabitha nods her approval of this, "Sounds like a good idea. Having your own money does make things a bit less tedious. Although the word we use these days when exchanging something for currency is sell, not barter." She finishes packing up her instruments, the job made quicker with the use of her aura, and she stands up with the items held in her aura behind her. "I should head back inside, see if I can find Rebecca. I'm sure that Daxton will be back tomorrow, but I'm not sure she is."

Besa's cheeks puff to, a hard to see embarrassed flush tints his cheeks, "Oh course." Some words he's just having trouble with. He nods, "Yes, Rebecca was very upset." It was complicated, that's all he could get out of the girl, and he didn't want to pry. A warm smile is offered and he takes a step backward, out of her way, "Have a good rest of the day, Tabitha."

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License