[.tempy, torie.] War, what is it good for?

Jared was frustrated.
The kind of frustrated where no matter what you did nothing would get rid of it unless you faced the person who caused your frustration head on. The reason for his frustration? Well, that was simple really- Erin's stupid, needed-to-go-to-hell boyfriend.

The audacity of the guy! Seriously! What gave him any right to leave his baby sister in the dumps and then come back and magically make everything right again!? Rolling his eyes, Jared happened to be mixing various potions- causing lots of explosions; which eventually made him the only person in the court yard. Groaning loudly, Jared stood up and started to pace around- flowers chasing after him thanks to a potion he had accidentally thrown on them. Turning around abrubtly, the flowers froze as if children being caught sticking their hand in the cookie jar "Go away, just go back to sleep." He muttered to them with a small sigh. Scurrying away from him they went back to their beds, all animation somehow leaving them for the time being.

Alex roared in. Well, his motorcycle roared. Alex himself was rather silent. He had needed to get away, and yet he felt not a bit better about anything. Mexico! He had made it to Mexico last time.

This time he could barely make it to the edge of town. Because she had asked him to stay.

Once upon a time he had had a fantasy where he was about to kill Erin. A day or two ago, he almost fulfilled that fantasy. And Erin still wouldn't listen to reason. Alex knew who and what he was. His father knew who and what he was (and disregarded that knowledge in his quest to control Alex). His mother knew it, and tried to guide it to more productive pursuits.

Explosions. What was going on? Alex veered sideways and the heavy machine skidded to a stop. He didn't get off the motorcycle just yet, but he DID check to make sure the rose he stuffed into his jacket was still there. Yep, and it was undamaged. Good.

He pulled down his goggles and finally realized who the other occupant of the courtyard was.

The moron that just so happened to be related to his girlfriend... Great.

It seemed nice outside. For a few good weeks, life seemed... Boring. Nothing had happened. After what had happened a few months ago, it was surprising how silent everything seemed to be. Nothing exciting had happened with Amy either; she would have heard about it. Even the gossip passing through the other students wasn't interesting. Bob loves Kate, but Kate loves Joe. Same old, same old. A new twist here or there, but mostly the same gossipm just different people.

A little rumble made her want to go outside. Clara pulled on a small sweater before pushing open the doors to the courtyard. She scanned the area without looking and sighed. One person she had not seen in a long time. Perhaps, if they were to talk, they could start up where they left off....

No. Why should she care? He obviously did not. A wave of hostility hit her and made her body sit on the steps she stood on. Something out here was angry. It seemed to be big; either a large object or many objects. Was it Jared? She scanned the area again and picked up another person. Could it be both of them? It didn't seem likely. Clara had never seen the other boy before, except for maybe that day with the crazy guy.

She didn't get back up. She sat there, crossing her legs, adjusting her shoes and leaning against the back of the other stairs. This could turn out to be very, very interesting.

Hearing the roar of a motorcycle, Jared automatically turned around and spotted the one person who depised most on this whole earth. With no thoughts about consequences in his mind, Jared started to walk toward Alex angrily - "Do you know how much trouble you've caused Erin?" stopping infront of him Jared resisted the urge to punch the son-of-a-bitch for now. "You stay and then you go, decide on something before she tears her heart out- if she hasn't already." He rolled his eyes, remembering Erin the other day looking perfectly fine- it was pure magic on how such a stuck-up guy could do that to his baby sister.

[ooc; I think Alex and him agree on something, Jared thinks he should go away too. xDD]

Alex silently kicked his bike's kickstand down and dismounted. Rising to his full height, he missed Jared's height by about an inch. In a low voice imperceptibly seething with bridled hatred, he asked, "Did somebody ask to hear your opinion?"

This boy was useless if he couldn't convince his younger sister that somebody was no good for her. Alex just didn't have time for such people. As it was, he didn't think Erin would be very happy if he beat this idiot up. So he would try to ignore Jared. "Stay out of my way," he growled.

He kicked his bike's kickstand back up and stood there, waiting for the other boy to stand aside. All the while, the rage inside him kept building. What right did this guy have to come to him about Erin? The moron had had his chance to tell her to get over Alex. Not only that, but he was unable to protect her from the many dangers at this school. Alex... the necromancer... there had Jared been then?

Jared glared at Alex, not saying anything but plotting everything out. He was close enough to do it, and he was quick enough Alex probably wouldn't think twice. A paralyzing potion was in the belt pocket closest to his hand, and that was the first thing he thought of because Jared knew right off the bat he wouldn't kill this guy. Oh, he wanted too of course; but killing wasn't a choice- nu uh, no way.

Instead of saying anything else, Jared simply stood there with his hands by his side- flexing them occasionally. He was getting ready for a quick draw, and damnit he was going to win.

He knew then that this was probably going to boil down to a fight; Erin's brother obviously thought that he had some kind of issue with Alex and this hesitation to let Alex pass only meant one or two things. He could be weighing his odds in a fight, or he could be planning something. In anticipation, Alex began to pull the moisture out of the air around them...

He sighed and kicked the kickstand of his motorcycle back down. Without warning, he lashed out at Jared's sternum. It was in the same breath as the sigh, but with hatred instead of wistfulness. He'd been looking for a fight anyways.

Alex knew that this wouldn't solve any of his problems, but it would sure as hell make him feel better. Blow off some steam, so to speak.

Just as soon as as Alex started to move, Jared grabbed for his paralyzing potion- his plan being that the glass would cut his fist and then the potion would get into his blood system. Secretly thankful for his heightened senses, Jared barely managed to block Alex's punch with the potion in his hand. Alex's fist ended up crushing the bottle, and Jared knew that in only a few minutes his hand would start to go numb. The potion would then spread throughout this body, slowly but surely. If he was correct, it should spread through his whole body within two hours and then slowly fade within the next. Always and only temporary.

Alex's jaw tightened. If Jared was anything like his sister, then Alex had very little time left. If he wanted to redeem himself before whatever the hell that potion did started happening, he would have to do it fast.

Luckily, his atmospheric water was collected. About two and a half teaspoons of it, to be exact. In milliseconds, he had it all put together in a little globule and he did something he had never really tried before.

He sent the water up his foe's nose. As far back as it could go- hopefully, if he had this right, he could get it stuck so that Jared would start choking. Even if he didn't, there was a good chance that that particular maneuver would distract the boy enough to gain the advantage.

His hand was bleeding from several cuts- Alex wondered if there was a way to possibly explain this to Erin without mentioning the altercation with her brother...


Meanwhile, he tried to call more water to his aid. Even a tablespoon or two could become tiny shards of ice. For each cut Alex got, he planned on returning the blow tenfold. Teach that moron not to mess with him...

He was breathing just fine until the water seemed to cut off all air circulation. Attempting a gasp, but failing- Jared was totally caught by surprise. Although, he still had a chance before the lack of air took...

Wait.
Did he still have that potion that him and his sister had created together?

Acting quickly, he felt around his belt for the place it would most likely be. As he felt a bump, he quickly pulled the clear potion out- and acting upon pure hope that it was the correct potion; he smashed it against an area where one of his lungs would be. The effect of the potion would simply be that, it would enter in through the pores of skin and perhaps cuts (if any were made). After that it would find it's way to his lungs, the potion itself being just like taking a deep breath of air. It wasn't the best, but it would buy him time nonetheless.

Being quick, Jared grabbed potion that would mix up Alex's senses. He popped it open and emptied the cotents in the air. Little white tiny bits that looked like snow floated through the air, but that was simply a distraction- the real threat was what was unseen and woud quickly be inhaled by Alex in his next breath. Of course Jared wasn't in danger of his own potion for the time being, A.) He couldn't breath, B.) He had an antidote.

The effects would simply smelling something that wasn't there, hearing sounds to late, and seeing an object somewhere that it wasn't. Having no doubt that the potion would take affect quickly, Jared ran forward and aimed a punch at Alex's nose before he ran completely out of air.

Two boys stepped out of a blue van, one of them light and fair, the other's features shadowed and dark. Taking their particular bags from the trunk of the cab, they discussed something of importance while their parents (whom neither of them resembled closely) turned the car off and locked it.

"I can't believe that we're in different dorms. It's so stupid. You're my TWIN, for Pete's sake." This was the blond one, bitterness barely concealed in his tone.
His brother agreed with a nod, but his attention was elsewhere. Damon was watching the fight with a measure of horror- were students allowed to do that to each other here? One of them seemed seriously hurt- and nobody was trying to stop it! He paused in his walking and his brother noticed the fight too.
"Oh, cool!" Angelo waited for their parents to nervously pass by them before leaning close to Damon and whispering, "The discipline must be LAX here! This place is great!"

Angelo hurried ahead to catch up with their parents, who had seemed rather worried about the discipline themselves. Damon remained behind, trying to muster the courage to intervene.

"Damon, c'mon. Don't dawdle!"

He started as the boy on the ground roared, then trotted into the building after his family.

---


Alex narrowly avoided the punch (through some odd kind of luck because he could have SWORN that the punch wasn't as close as it had been), but he toppled backwards over his motorcycle in doing so. That would have been bad enough for he was sure that now he wouldn't be able to get up. Half of his body just wouldn't move. Unfortunately, there was more. The bloody machine, overbalanced by his weight, fell right on top of his unparalyzed arm.

It was then that he realized that something was wrong with his senses- he FELT the motorcycle break his arm before he heard his own voice cry out... and the bike appeared to be still standing in its place. That's what that last potion thing must have done. Alex was angrier than ever, and now physically incapacitated. He closed his deceptive eyes.

At least he knew he could trust the pain... and Jared's cowardice had thrown down the gauntlet. If that's the way things were going to have to be, Alex would not hold back. A surge of a familiar feeling, of that which he enjoyed so very briefly at the lake, fueled his rage. With a roar, he struggled enough to open the already-oozing lacerations on his arm to take advantage of the water mixed with the clear fluid that made up his unique blood.

At this point, it didn't matter. He was going to hurt Jared even if he had to hurt himself in order to do so. He might weaken this battered shell, but he would have more water to work with. Up to a quarter of a cup of water to work with now, he used it to form shards of ice (thanks to the snowflake idea) and they zipped around him.

Sometimes they clinked off his motorcycle (Alex was no longer sure what he was hearing anymore), but he soon had enough of the razor-sharp bits of ice to expand his sphere of influence. They would cut whatever they came into contact with. That's all that mattered, really. He sent a few flying out at random, hoping to hit something, anything.

Then he remembered... the water he'd sent into the moron... it was still in there... He made it freeze into a spiky ice cube- not lethal if the boy managed to cough it out... but most certainly painful. He managed a growling sort of chuckle... this was going to be interesting. In the meantime, he was going to feel out an underground water line and tap into it.

He no longer felt... the dark sort of power from a few moments ago, but his rage had been pushed beyond normal limits. It was an act of temper that made Alex vow that he would not let Jared walk away from this.

A strange and dark kind of influence hit him, but it was only seconds after when his throat felt like any second it would break in half (causing him go back into his natural mindset). Falling to his knees, Jared gagged in a desperate attempt to get the ice out of him when something just occurred to him: firstly, he had something to melt this annoying and painful thing in his throat; and secondly, the fight would be ending soon- enough time should have passed by now, making Alex completely paralyzed.

Desperately searching the pockets in his belt for the same kind of liquid-fire that Erin had given Alex, it was to late when several different razor sharp bits of ice cut him all over his body. By the time they passed by him, Jared was covered in more blood than Alex. With his previous potion still wandering through the air, Jared's senses altered- which caused more havoc to him then it would to a normal person, seeing as how everything was multiplied. Unable to keep his bearings, Jared fell forward- passing out.

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Erin walked out into the court yard a split second after Jared fainted. Accessing everything, her eyes widened in horror- and then in angry. What the hell? What the hell! rooted to where she was, Erin hesitated- attempting to figure out whom she should aid first and why they were fighting in the first place. Her brother and boyfriend, why couldn't they just get a long?


(ooc; I'm thinking we might not need Clara now, seeing as how Jared was a wimp and passed out. : O xDDD)

Alex's head began to hurt from trying to keep his senses in line. There wasn't much he could do about it, but he couldn't keep up the random movements of the ice shards up for much longer. Seeing as he couldn't confirm if Jared had backed off already (or better, if he'd been defeated by a mostly paralyzed water bender trapped under a bike WITH a broken arm...), Alex held out for as long as possible, the shards dancing around the air near him.
They caught the light and shimmered like the scales of a fish... then dropped out of the air. They made musical tinkling sounds as they hit the ground and a couple opened new cuts on his face and made holes in his shirt upon landing.

Without a way of channeling his pain and rage into his power, he finally gave into the semiconsciousness that so deliciously beckoned. Vaguely, he wondered if the rose that he'd brought back for Erin was still intact...

Erin, glancing back between her brother and Alex finally decided to go to Alex first. Running forward, she fell to her knees by him and pushed his motorcycle off of his body. What had this idiot been thinking trying to fight with her brother? And what on earth had Jared been thinking? Frustrated, but attempting to be as gentle as she could; Erin knew the first thing she had to do before she could use any of her potions. Placing both of her hands on his broken arm, being as quick as she could she snapped his arm back into place. Flinching at the snap, she hesistated for a moment when she reached for a potion that would speed up the healing process. Did he really deserve this right now? She frowned and glanced back at Jared, who seemed to be as in just much pain as Alex was.

Rubbing her eyes with a sigh, she knew she wouldn't be able to deny either of them a healing potion. It was really as simple as that... No matter how much she wanted to spite them for such an idiotic move, she didn't want either to keep permanent injuries that she wouldn't be able to fix. Mumbling to herself about how stupid she was, Erin lightly poured some of her healing potion onto Alex's arm to help it heal quicker and then poured a little bit on any small bleeding cut she could see.

Staring at Alex's face for a moment, her attention was then brought to the hand that had been used to punch Jared just moment earlier. Realizing that it was still bleeding somewhat, she gently picked it up and stared at it for a moment. Was that...? Eyes widening in horror, Erin quickly pulled out another healing potion and poured it into the wound- hopefully that would get rid of some of the paralysis.

Not bothering to wait and watch it heal, Erin quickly stood up and walked over to her elder brother who happened to be gaining some of his consciousness. Getting of course another bottle, Erin poured it roughly all over Jared's body and waited impatiently for him to come around. The ice that had been in his throat had melted, and he could breath easily again.

Getting up with an aching body, Jared spotted his sister and smiled just as her hand went flying across his face. "Whaaa?" Jared stumbled back stunned, "What was that for?"

"How dare you paralyze my boyfriend!" Erin yelled at Jared, kicking him in the shin. Jared stumbled back with a flinch, and Erin continued to follow after him- beating the poor boy up. "Did I ever say you could?! No! Did you pick a fight with him too? I bet you did, you're not allowed to come anywhere near him now, do you understand me?!" she yelled all of this as she threw various kicks and punches at Jared, leaving him helpless- all he could do was really run away from his sister since he was already attempting to heal from his other wounds.

Alex came around when he thought he heard yelling. A fairly recognizable voice was chewing his adversary out- dammit, that meant that Alex had lost. His jaw tightened and he wondered if that meant that he was unparalyzed now. He tried to move- nope, it wasn't out of his system yet. All he could do was turn his head slightly, feel the pain receding a little.

Receding? So she had started healing him before this little shouting match began. Lovely. Well, he hoped that she wouldn't get too bent out of shape that he'd fought with her brother... then again, maybe it would convince- nope.

"...you're not allowed to come anywhere near him now, do you understand me?!" Well, damn. That hadn't convinced her of anything... except, perhaps, that he was weak. He frowned. More training was in store. He was not going to lose another fight, dammit.

He gritted his teeth and, with great effort, pushed himself into a sitting position. Alex noted with relief that his senses seemed to be back to normal and most of his cuts were gone. Good. Also, his arm (though rather tender) didn't seem to be broken anymore. "Thanks, Erin," he thought, the corner of his mouth turning up wryly as his light eyes noted her treatment of Jared.

To move right away would be stupid- he still didn't have full control over his muscles. He would have to sit there for a while longer.