(2018-07-12) Talking It Through
Talking It Through
Summary: Koga is having some difficulty in the aftermath of Ashton's rescue mission, and Fionnuala offers to talk about it.
Date: 2018-07-12
Related: Fallout from this log.
NPCs: NA
Scene Runner: NA
Players:
koga..fionnuala..

Back Patio, Winbarry Esates
Thu Jul 12, 2018


The large back patio has recently been rebricked, the earthy red showing little wear. There are a few chairs and benches here and there to sit and relax while watching the view across the large greensward of grass to the ocean. To the left of the patio is a large swimming pool that is empty of water and a large canvas tarp covering it.

===

This fine afternoon finds one Koga skipping possibly a class or two. Mostly due to frustration, but also because well… sometimes he needs a clear head. And right now, that obviously isn't in his mind at all. The mostly taller Asian teenager is out on the back patio doing one of the few things that usually clears his head. Tai chi.

Except, he is not dressed in the usual outfit he practices in. In this case, he is simply dressed in shorts, a t-shirt, and his sandals have been left off to the side near the railing as he moves through the forms. One might say he is graceful more than anything as his hands move through the pushing motions, sliding back towards him and twisting around as his stance shifts.

The strange part is that Koga's body looks to be very tense. As if he is having trouble rather than relaxing in the practice of something that it is well known among the students that he does on his own with the occasional person wanting to learn here and there. Even his face is slightly scrunched up as if he is considering something beyond just the practice of the movements.

A certain shifter has returned to Shady Cove as of yesterday evening, following a visit out-of-town. Though Fionnuala has an actual home in town she is very often at Winbarry during the summer holidays, brushing up on some additional math tutoring and really just.. kicking around. She has friends here and she would miss 'em all terribly if she were to stay away for the entire holiday! Word around these parts is that Ashton Talbot had been recused recently and naturally, this is reflected in the entire student body as talk of the mission (what wasn't classified) is passed around and speculated upon. So naturally Fionnuala's ebullient ways have been damped somewhat by worry as she comes to know of there being others who have been left in a bad way, following the mission.

So, Fee does what Fee is apt to do: investigate.

She pads out onto the back patio without much direction, simply looking for a place to seat herself in the sun… and here is where she encounters Koga. The girl looks especially vivacious in a canary yellow sundress and her hair piled up high in a maddening up-do from which black hair escapes in sprigs around yellow feathers and beads which have been woven in. She's carrying with her a ukulele and a tall glass of iced tea… but she freezes upon seeing the Asian boy in some manner of routine.

Fee sets her drink down with a glassy 'clink' on a patio table, saying nothing just yet out of fear of interrupting.

Hearing the 'clink' has Koga opening his eyes half-way for a second before closing them. He even pauses in the movements, a shifting of his hands as if pushing something to one side with both before moving them back. Sighing, he moves to stand slowly, bringing both hands palm down near his shoulder before pushing them downwards to his waist and relaxing.

Turning, he finally opens his eyes fully and blinks a few times. "Oh, hello. I… did not expect anyone else to come out here at this time of day." He reaches up to run a hand through his hair, moving to pick up his sandals. "Um…" He sighs before sitting down, looking out at the lawn with a look that might as well be one of a bit of loss for a moment before it goes thoughtful. "… nice day, huh?"

<FS3> Fionnuala rolls Solarkinesis: Failure.

Interesting how what is indeed a nice day.. isn't quite reflected upon Fionnuala! No big deal! The girl sits there now, wings out and eyes watchful.. eyes that are, in fact, cornflower blue as-opposed to glowing. This is Fionnuala's natural eye-color, when she's not infused with solar energy… and the wings? Large, black… the feathers for once not speckling with light. The shifter parks her ass in a sunny chair and makes to fix that, though it doesn't hurt or hinder Fionnuala in any way to not have her 'reserves' full.

She sets her little guitar down and sips her icy drink, watch Koga as he completes his movements. She watches him all the way through his collecting of his sandals and choosing of a seat, and only when the Mystic seats himself will Fee pipe up in her pretty, fluting way. "Hi Koga," A slight smile. She looks concerned.

Sip, sip. Glass down. "If I knew you were out here I would've brought you some of this.. but, ah.." She looks to the lawn when he gazes toward it, then back to him. "How are you, anyway?" She can't help but ask. Koga's expression hadn't matched his movements.

Koga shrugs, "Frustrated…" The Mystic looks down at his sandals, growling a bit not unlike his other form is known to sometimes. Setting them down beside the chair, he sighs as he pulls his knees up to his chest to rest his chin on them. It is a bit of an unusual posture for him, but that probably is due to the frustration itself.

"You know, I am starting to wonder how it seems you are always around when I am having problems usually." He sighs. "I was on the mission to rescue Ashton." Perhaps that is the reason, but well… the young man is just staring out at the lawn. He hasn't really looked at her other than when he moved to sit down. "I… have seen such before, I have even been a target of such before, but…"

The winged girl isn't a stranger to body language. Words are generally never needed, more often than not, to convey things. The curled-in position speaks of a great many things to Fionnuala and she humms softly in her throat. She is about to respond until Koga finally lends words to his plight. Fee listens.

"It's a talent, I think.." Fee offers but silences to hear things out, her eyes rounding. Koga looks away and Fionnuala has a dozen questions, though she will not hasten to pick any one of them. Not even the obvious, which has been answered already in Ashton being back. No, no. Something is eating at Koga and the girl takes another contemplative sip of her drink. Koga is staring off and Fee won't push him to look at her or even speak, until he sees fit to. All there is in between is the girl's companionable silence, and Fee poses her query when she figures it's best to do so.

"Do you wanna talk more about it? Tell me more? What happened…?"

It takes a moment or two before Koga answers. "Three people died." He states simply. The frustration is on his face. "None of them students or faculty or even Unit 23. Just…" Going silent, he continues to look that frustrated. Almost as if he was going over the events again in his mind. Again and again. It isn't an easy thing for him to do it seems, especially as he seems to not be staying calm at all.

Raising a hand to look at it, he frowns. "One of them I know I could have stopped. He was right there. He had the knife in hand. I was in my Brave form. I could have jumped them both, put a barrier around the knife, done /something/… and I didn't because I lost track of the real danger. I even knew he was some sort of sorcerer for kami's sake!"

His voice raises a bit near the end before he goes silent again, apparently having explained it a bit more than he wanted from the looks as he glances at her. The Asian teen shakes his head. "What is all the power that I do have worth if I can not even stop something that close to me from happening?"

The mention of anyone being killed serves to bring a moue of sadness to Fionnuala's face. She is silent and watchful as she listens to Koga's recollection of the awful events and watches him as he explains it. There's no question of how much this troubles him. She's almost ready to urge him to take a breath, but holds off.. he's still talking.

Seconds later, when Koga seems to be getting more upset, Fionnuala lifts a hand and leans forth to rest a hand on his forearm, assuming he's close enough and allows it. "Breathe. Take a deep breath, Koga." She bids the boy, not wanting to dismiss his emotions but hoping to help him stay centered.

"I'm suspecting there was a lot happening… like, a lot. Sorcerers? How many of them were there, do you think? I bet it got chaotic.. you had to keep track of not only yourself but whomever was with you… and if there were the likes of sorcerers there, it couldn't have been easy to be aware." Fionnuala offers worriedly.. she wasn't there and she's feeling her way around in the dark with what she is being told. She treads carefully.

When Koga goes to further doubt himself, the winged girl's expression hardens a touch. "You're still learning to embrace this power, Koga. You've told me that it's… harder to control, right? Hard to focus sometimes? Imagine trying to do that while surrounded by chaos!"

The hand on his forearm does help him to calm down at least. He takes a deep breath, then looks a bit calmer. "Three that I could sense… well, two and one unknown. I believe the last was a spirit of some sort. In my other form, and even sometimes as myself I can… sense mystic energies. Like a month or two ago when I found you in the attic, I could see the flow of your magic in the air. I knew about them, even pointed them out… but…"

He looks upwards, towards the sky rather than the lawn. Then he blinks a few times. "… I did get shot at… with all the chaos, maybe I lost control? Bryce had the main group under control… Quinn managed to put one of the sorcerers to sleep… Loukanos was getting Ashton away…" A brief look of frustration comes over his face. "I did lose control a bit. I should have cast a barrier around those guards instead of going to hand to hand."

Looking at her, he still looks frustrated, but at least a bit calmer. Figuring out what he could have done differently looks to have helped him, perhaps. "… is it always like this whenever the school does missions? Is there always the chance of people being lost?"

That frustration does turn to a bit of sadness, as if perhaps something occurred to him in the realization of what he asked and the rest of the events.

<FS3> Fionnuala rolls Solarkinesis: Success.

The shifter goes on with listening, her expression shifting from sadness to astonishment here-and-there. She nods to Koga's mention of sensing energies — not a bad thing — and follows his gaze to the sky as he continues to talk it out. "Lots was happening. Gunfire is always very disorientating.. it's loud and crazy. Doesn't help when there's people there trying to hurt you. Anyone would lose control in that circumstance, yeah? And with bullets flying.. you did what you felt had to be done at the moment." She's trying to be reassuring, and at the same time not make light of the scenario. Koga's transformed body can't be an easy being to control.

At the next look of frustration, Fionnuala gives his forearm another soft squeeze. She's watching him when he looks back to her, and finally the girl's lips pull into a sad little smile. It's not a happy one, just knowing. "I've kinda been there… I've been on missions where people nearly die. I was there when the original school was destroyed and we lost students, and teachers. I'll never get over that, you know. One of those students was a boy who always asked for help with literature homework. You don't ever forget." Fionnuala leans back, wings twitching. There, in the feathers: winking lights of solar energy. She's charging.

"There's always a chance, Koga.. I hate to say. It bugs me too. Which is why I'm trying to work on skills to help protect the people that I work with, not just the people that need saving."

"That sounds like a good goal. I could probably work on a few things like that, too. I know I could use a means to get around quicker at least, perhaps some ways to make sure others are not hurt? I can only keep the focus on myself so much when it comes down to it."

Koga shakes his head, "The good news is that I am apparently bullet proof when transformed at least…"

The knowing smile has him shaking his head, "… I still wish I could have been here to help with whatever that was. Dinosaurs are not exactly something you miss every day fighting of. Is there word on when we are supposed to move back to the school? I find myself a bit… curious as to what it will be like at least."

The boy seems calmer, which is good. Fee may not be able to help entirely with what he is mentally battling, but to be calm while doing so is important. Once certain that Koga will be okay, Fee eases back and reclines some in her chosen seat, kicking her flip-flops off and wiggling her toes in the sunshine. "That's a good start! It's still a way to get to know that other form and dictate how it works… you're not going against what it wants to do, I guess.. but you're doing something to help protect others. If that… makes sense?" Asked shyly as she scritches lightly at the side of one nostril.

Fionnuala looks sideward to her now-empty drink but finds herself content in not wanting more. "Hey, there's one thing you figured out during a crappy situation! You could even become a shield for someone, if push comes to shove and somebody gets crazy with a gun. That's a big deal!"

"I don't know much on when we are being transferred. Why am I thinking… August? It'll be a fresh start. I'm gonna miss this place, but…. I'm a bit excited, too." Fee admits.

That has Koga rolling his eyes, "Oh, sure, I'm a human shield now." That has him shaking his head, "All I need is some cape that I can just spread out to make myself a whole wall, too."

Laughing as he sits back in his own chair, he looks up at the sun. "Hm… I know. This place has almost felt like a second home. I know I might move back to Japan some day, but I wish I could find a way to travel to here as well so easily. Maybe I could find some means to make a portal or something? I like the… energies? The feel, I suppose? Of the town. Both good and bad."

Leaning back in the chair, he closes his eyes and grins, "Oh… I could see that as being something eventually. Find a way to make mystic portals… charge to get from the school to the city. Perhaps I should ask my parents if that is even possible."

"And he is called…. WALL MAN.." Fionnuala drops her voice into as close a baritone as she can manage.. wish is hard because her timbre is naturally light and chipper. She sounds like a woman straining with constipation. She laughs softly and shakes her head. "Corny, I know.. just.. it's a big deal. Guns are one of the biggest causes of hurt and death in the world, y'know.. because of the quacks out there who use them badly. To be able to weather bullets and KEEP them from hurting someone, even just one person, is a big deal." She tempers her jab at humor with logic, but won't linger too long on the subject. Koga's bit of laughter is a welcome thing.

"You better get cracking on that portal, then. It's all good that you intend to go home but you have to figure out how to come back quickly. That's an order." Fionnuala says haughtily.. again, tries to. It's another bad impression.. it's hard for the girl to be anything but friendly. "Because this IS your second home, like it or not. Just, ah.. make sure to really pinpoint where those portals will drop you." Said with no shortage of mischief.

Koga raises an eyebrow at her, "Oh, I am sure that could be some odd mishaps when learning them. Dropped into someone's bedroom by accident, or from a couple hundred feet in the air… oh, the ocean would be an odd one… ummm…"

Koga grins a bit at her giving him a codename. "… I doubt wall man would stick so much. I think that is the one thing I am missing. Some sort of actual codename… and you are right. I do not want to try it against some of the tougher guns, even so. Hand guns? Easily. But something like a rocket launcher? I am not sure if I want to know whether I am able to withstand those or not unless I have to."

There is some manner of mental imagery forming in Fionnuala's mind, and she breaks out in chiming laughter. She is definitely picturing Koga dropping into someone's room, be it bedroom or living room or just somewhere that sudden appearance of a superpowered Asian boy would shake things up. Giggling behind a hand, she peers through her fingers with eyes that are beginning to shift from blue to honey-gold. "Oh Gods, steer clear of rocket launchers… baby steps."

A sigh, and the girl holds fast to this light-hearted manner of conversation to the best of her ability. Sometimes breaks such as these in the midst of hard thoughts make the process easier! She smiles at him then, picks up her empty glass and presses it to the side of her face, enjoying the chill of the condensation. "So prior to this.. what have you been up to? How has your summer been? I haven't really seen much of you for awhile." Fionnuala asks of Koga, genuinely curious.

"Mmm… well, I'm having to save for a new wardrobe. Otherwise, I have been good. Mostly getting to know a few new students, helping out where I can." Koga shrugs a bit, giving a bit of a grin as he managed to get a laugh out of her. "I swear we keep getting more and more in the summer. I almost want to consider getting a teaching degree and splitting my time here and back at home in Tokyo."

He rubs his chin, "That might not be a bad idea… I could run the antique shop part time, portal here… oh, wait. Time zones." Koga makes a face at that one. Dang it. Of all the craziness, a simple thing like time zones is probably what will throw him off it seems. His grin at her humor has him considering, for a moment.

"Otherwise, I have been taking a few classes. Mostly self defense, some from Rain's sensei. Bastion is surprisingly helpful as far as using a spear. Not something most use these days. Umm… what else?" He looks considerate, then laughs, "Oh, did I tell you an old friend actually moved to the city? Her father is in the army, so I knew her from a couple years ago."

The girl listens intently, her black nimbus of messy hair bobbing and twitching with every nod that she gives. "You noticed too?! I guess we kinda have to.. we had this rush of new kids, all of a sudden. Maybe it's just easier to bring them in at the tail end of the year so they can adjust before classes." Fionnuala considers, leaning forward to swat away what looks like some sort of bug from her toes. Turns out it was a butterfly! Huh.

"Well y'know… makes you wonder what else is out there for Super schooling. It can't just be this place, right? Whose to say something can't be spearheaded to bring the awareness to other parts of the world. Other cities and countries." Fionnuala ponders, "But makes me wonder… were you wanting to be a teacher, someday?" Hey, it's worth asking! Or maybe she just heard him wrong.

"I'm glad your lessons have been going well an—oh! Isn't that neat! What's her name? Is she powered too or will she be going to the public high school in town?" Fee leans forward, wings quivering lightly.

Koga gives a wide grin. "Her name is Madison. She will be coming here. Apparently she has something she calls 'warging' as far as what she can do. It is a bit odd at times, but I find it interesting."

The whole teacher question has him pause. As if he was being thoughtful for a moment or two. "… you know, I think I might. At least lessons in self defense, perhaps a few for the more mystic students. I might even research some of the myths and legends around the world to see what I can do there. Teaching… could be fun."

The whole idea of another Super school being out there does give Koga a bit of thought. "You know, I am… not sure. I mean, there has to be another one somewhere, but I am unsure as it would take at least government support or a really, really rich person to do it."

"WARGING?!" Fionnuala pipes up, "Like.. Game of Thrones warging!?" It's so nice to be here on these grounds, she can just belt out her amazement without worry of unsettling others. Suddenly the shifter suspects that Koga.. may not know of what she means. "I heard of the term in a series.. it's when you can slide into the mind of an animal and operate through the animal. Is that what it sounds like?" She asks excitedly. Poor Madison, not even here yet and she already has a fan.

"Well, I'll look forward to meeting her then. Is she shy, outgoing…? I don't wanna scare her the first day!" Fionnuala exclaims, setting her glass down once the heat from her face does away with the water droplets. She glances toward the distant beach.. a swim may not hurt, later.

"I bet you'd be a fantastic teacher. You just have that really good nature about you." Fee offers without missing a beat, watching Koga. "I could do with more pointers on how to defend myself with what I got. I mean…" She holds out her hands, palms-up, to rest upon her knees… looking down at them. "I have this ability in me, this magic that I can adjust and turn every which way… but nothing is really defensive. THe wind magic can come close but… it's tricky.."

That has Koga blinking a few times. "Oh, she did say she borrowed the name from there." The sudden exclamation has Koga nearly jumping out of his seat. Yep. Oh boy. That is not going to be an easy one. He seems to consider, "Eh… a bit shy… you can't miss her. Probably one of the shortest girls you will see, dark skinned." He considers, "Last I saw her, she had braids in her hair a lot. If she looks like she might run, mention you know me and that I threatened to tell you about Tokyo Myu Myu." He winks, with a cheesy looking grin on his face.

"Hm… well, most abilities as far as I was told in magic can be used both offensively and defensively… mine, eh… you have already seen it in action. I can add lightning to a barrier to make it repel someone instead of their simply running into it as well, I suppose. Nasty shock from what my father says when I first tried it. I swear he still holds my putting that on the garage door against me." Koga looks considerate, "What is the magic you are having trouble with?"

"Tokyo.. Myu Myu?" Fee asks outright with an amused little look. "I don't remember ever seeing that one! How old were you guys when you knew one another? Kids? Was that something ya'll watched together?" The girl claps her hands together once, merrily. "Oh, is she an anime nut? She'll be in great company!" Said without an ounce of guile. Fee, being Fee, is just looking for more common ground to welcome the new kid with.

She giggles once more, but grows serious as talk veers back toward Mystic knowhow. "Well, I've been working to convert the solar energy that I absorb into a sort of mystical energy … so I can use it beyond simply glowing and casting the solar energy out like, a beam or such. So it's like.. converting energy into magical usage. It's a bit weird. I recently figured out how to turn sunlight into a curative force." Fionnuala admits with a glimmer of pride. "But then I'm really working to understand the wind magic.. I don't know how to do much with it beyond manipulating the wind to do things like blast things away or move gently.."

That has Koga looking thoughtful. "The light magic is actually one of the easiest, I think. Have you tried to place it as a shield? Like just a round or oval shape, or even like a wall in front of you? Hm… wind is a bit tougher."

Koga looks thoughtful on that one for a few moment. "Oh, and pretty much. I am surprised that we recognized each other. We had to be… 10, maybe? It was years ago. Ah, it was a show about magical girls of all things. I watched it with her because I grew up liking the whole heroes changing clothes. I am sure you can see why?"

"But as for wind… hm… it could easily be used as a shield, I think. Use it like you said, to move things away, but in force. Make a tornado around you and it could probably be good enough to deflect thrown objects, maybe bullets… I do not know how strong either is for you, but well…" He shrugs.

"Maybe I can ask one of the tech heads to stream that show for us," Fee says with a cheeky grin as she stretches out her legs and picks up her glass. "Or would that get you into trouble? It sounds like a fun show! As for magical girls changing clothes, I was out of my mind excited when they rebooted Sailor Moon. The right way…" Fionnuala says with an imperious little sigh. Yup, no worries about Fee being judgey…

"I think I'm really gonna explore that more, when we're back into the swing of things when the new school opens up." The winged girl proclaims, pushing up from the chair and looking with alarm at the marks that the slats in the patio chair made in the skin on the backs of her legs. Bah. "Maybe you can help me out?" Fee asks with another smile. Something buzzes in her purse; an alarm in her cellphone. "But hey.. I gotta get back in, Koga. I need to meet up with my math tutor again for an hour or so.. but I'm here for the evening! Maybe a bunch of us can go for a swim!" The girl exclaims.. but her expression softens.

"Don't be too hard on yourself out here. Ashton is back and alive… you helped with that. The nasty stuff that happened couldn't have been any worse than what they planned for him, if there were sorcerers involved.."

Koga smiles, "I think that might be fun. Swimming and all. See you around." He shakes his head, laughing. "And if you do that, I will make sure to have her around just for kicks."

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