More Than Rage and Muscle

With the sun returning to the depths of the ocean, night fell upon the campus yet again. The sky was quickly becoming populated with the bright twinkles with the moon glazing over them all. It was only in its crescent form, but it was the most amount of light the sky had to offer during this period of time. As such, it was a perfect opportunity for Cathal to make another appearance on the school grounds. This time around his visit had much less to do with manipulation of young minds or any goal that involved some way of acquiring food or money. No, his reasons were merely for purposes of practice. The village seemed somewhat on edge about gifted folk and their powers, so for his own sake he wanted to avoid getting anyone ornery at this time of night.

The dirtily fabric cladded man strolled causally through the fields without much care. The teacher’s sense of security seemed to have lowered after they found those kidnapped child, but that didn’t quite mean he was quite in the clear. Chances that he would encounter any sort of authority of school law out this far seemed rather slim and he could potentially talk his way out of anything he encountered. He supposed he’d let the dice roll where they may. What was the worst they could do anyway?

With a quick snap of his neck he paused once he found the pristine area to begin his session. He noted a few twigs and pebbles that were definitely within his ten foot range. He forced the command through his mind and suddenly the gravity around him lightened, almost to the point that the weight of his feet were hardly having any effect on the grass below them. He leant down at one twig and tossed it with the weight of one finger and trapped it within his bubble of gravity as it just floated overhead. He did the same with a small collection of twigs and pebbles until he had a vast display of them all around his person.

If memory served him right, his father was able to single out certain objects within his range and alter their gravity individually. If he could somehow teach himself that then he’d be all the more powerful, but for the time being he was still quite the pushover. He focused on one twig and summoned all the might he could wrought from his brain, but even with that he couldn’t do much. A minute or two passed and he just got fed up with it. He quit his trial faster than he set it up and continued his wander with the remnants from the ground still following him to a certain extent. He passed by a bench and just leisurely threw it up and added it to his collection of floating objects.

Darkness had fallen over the grounds and the last remaining rays of light were still shining over the island. This is what drew Scout back out of the town and into the forest, headed towards the meadow near school. 
Scout was placing a lot of concentration on maintaining an illusion of masculinity. He was doing as little as he could to still make it convincing- after all the less he had to do, the easier it was to keep up.

Scout was well within the treeline, humming tunelessly and quietly when he saw something strange up ahead. He would have missed it entirely if not for the movements he could see out on the meadow. Scout turned his head slightly to look at whatever was occurring. A small man- well, he presumed it was a man, he knew how easy it was to be deceived- was silhouetted quite a way away, and there seemed to be branches around him, floating. Even on an island of Gifted people, Scout had to admit that was cool.

Scout saw a branch join his entourage and he couldn't help being drawn in. He decided to keep at a safe distance. No way did he want to be hit by a wayward branch, and anyway, most people don’t like being followed by random strangers they don’t know. That distance could easily be enough to keep Scout from being spotted.

When Scout saw the bench being lifted, he let out an audible murmur “Wow.” Scout was tempted to cover for a second with an owl’s hoots but it took little effort to realize that would take a lot of concentration Scout did not have and that it was unlikely to fool anyone. Instead he remained silent and hoped that the man would not notice him.

As Scout shifted his weight to see, he heard a stick snap under foot, which in itself would not have been noticeable enough, except that when Scout recoiled his right foot, a good number more broke under his weight, whose combined noise surprised Scout and would be plenty to draw the attention of the other man, even at this distance. It would be better for Scout to just reveal his location than to get a man who was clearly powerful enough to cause some serious damage to Scout worried.

Begrudgingly, Scout stepped out where he could be clearly seen. He walked as close as he dared to given the distance the bench was away, and cleared his throat, trying not to scare the man.

”That’s impressive, but who are you? Last I checked this was school property, and you need a pretty good reason to be here at this time.” 

The cloud that shrouded Cathal’s mind made it almost completely soundproof. He wasn’t entirely mindful of the sounds that echoed around the landscape, at least at first. Given that he had little knowledge on how mental powered abilities worked it was difficult for him to even wrap his brain around such simple commands as singling out an object. Considering that he only began using his powers two or three years he’s definitely behind on the bell curve already as it was. What he could do was still fairly powerful, but since he affected everything, including himself, it was still quite dangerous. He was no physicist either so that didn’t help.

He was caught off guard by a twig snapping from what sounded to be behind him. His head twitched as he looked back at his collection of branches behind him. Since he couldn’t really keep track of each it was difficult to say if any were the source. Perhaps he used his power without noticing? He tried to focus his mind on yet another twig, forcing as much of his mental power on it as possible, but still nothing. He huffed and ignored it quickly afterwards. He began to wonder how his father seemed to be some sort of master of it considering the man was an absolute moron.

Cathal’s powers aside though, a new face made his appearance onto the scene. An itch of panic developed in the back of his mind since he wasn’t expecting another body out in the night so soon, but he kept a fairly straight face.

The question arose, who was he? Well, the choice came down to his real name or one of the many pseudonyms he went by. The gentleman seemed to be a part of the staff if he knew such an area was on school property and added to that his age. He wasn’t doing anything that was technically law breaking besides some minor trespassing, but he felt he could probably get away with it anyway. He shot the man a curious glare as he flicked the bench that was suspended in the air next to him causing it to spin slowly. “Cathal” he answered simply as his eyes darted from one end of the field to the next. “Well, this place promotes the practice of powers doesn’t it? I might not be a student, but I still need a place to practice. I can’t just walk around the port like this. Besides people are becoming less and less tolerant about us in the village. It would just be easier on all of us, I don’t bother the student, villagers, teachers, and I still get to practice.”

Scout could tell from the man’s expression, and the obvious fiddling with some members of his flying troupe, that he probably hadn't been noticed before he revealed himself. Still, Scout felt that this man had to be addressed somehow, and anyway he couldn't change his decision.

Scout took a step back from the bench. Although it was a small movement, he took it as a warning of this man’s power.

”Scout.” It was good to see that this man was reasonable. Scout could easily identify with what Cathal had said. The whole world was becoming intolerant of Gifteds. Scout didn't even try to argue that this wasn't a better place to practice than the village.

”You may have good intentions but you are still trespassing. It’s fair enough that you don’t want to get bothered by the villagers but why are you sneaking around a school? If something went wrong you’re risking innocent kids’- and some less than innocent ones- safety.” Indeed Scout was aware of quite a few kids with dubious pasts- not that that was a surprise- every school had troublesome students. ”I, for one, would far rather you just asked someone to help you practice.” Scout saw the man’s eyes flicking- it was hard to miss the sclera of his eyes in this lighting. He seemed shifty, but Scout couldn't blame him. If you walk into a school at night, it’s only to be expected.

”Failing that this island does have other locations than a Gifted school. No one is going to care if you go practice on some beach.” Scout realized he probably shouldn't have suggested that quickly; he probably had only given Cathal ideas and it was indisputable that it was better for a trespasser to be somewhere visible.

Scout understood Cathal’s intentions but honestly Scout would prefer to have been woken up to know about a potential intruder than for them to just get onto the grounds and do what they like with no one aware of it. ”’Easier’ is no synonym for ‘right’.” Scout considered for a second, looking off to one side before reaching a decision. ”Tell you what, I’ll practice with you. I make sure you don’t do anything you shouldn't, and in return I don’t tell the authorities.” Scout did want to act as guard- but not so much as he wanted to see what this man could do. He’d been impressed so far and besides this was an opportunity for more practice himself.

Cathal’s countenance condoled nothing much outside of dullness. His face hardly made a single change throughout the other man’s end of the conversation. Though it was questionable if not reacting to anything the man said was inhuman, he didn’t quite know since to him everything he spoke seemed fairly minor in concept. He did seem smarter than some cops Cathal had encountered in the past, so he got some points for that. Cathal didn’t really enjoy people smarter than himself though.

The homeless man scanned the fields once again as Scout pointed out a few issues he had with him wandering the area. His eyes drew toward his collection of air bound objects then back to the illusionist. “Sneaking? Kids? I’m not hiding my presence in these fields, in fact I could probably be spotted from a mile away. A gentleman such as yourself found me fairly easily, given enough time I’m sure another would have as well. As far as the students go, they have a curfew do they not? Even discounting that, my gravity fields are harmless. There are students attending this school that are far more dangerous than I am and I’m fairly certain they could be practicing their powers within the walls of Foresta. I’m not excusing myself, but I’m as much a danger to the students as they are to each other” he explained rather dully, almost hypnotic in his flat tone.

The staff member suggested the beach and as Cathal thought about it perhaps that was the better locale for his experiments than in plain sight of the school. Although kicking up sand into his field of gravity would become irritating quickly.

Cathal finally cracked a smirk at Scout’s statement of easier and right. He’d make no comment back about that one since anything he thought of sounded fairly incriminating toward himself, he’d just be better off not saying anything. Quickly afterward though, Scout provided him with a new offer. As much as he would love a free and easy offer, it was on terms he didn’t entirely like. Mostly the black mail part where if he refuted the authorities would hear about his visit. While he doesn’t enjoy conforming, it was the best option presented to him. “Sounds ideal, how many times per night do make that kind of offer” he spoke easily as he grabbed the floating bench next to him and placed it back on the ground upright.

Scout watched the man’s face as he spoke, but Cathal wasn't letting anything on.

”The point is you’re not meant to be here.” Cathal was being truthful- he was fairly obvious here- but what with some of the things that had happened at this school playing on the safe side was definitely the better option, and that meant trying to keep mysterious men away from the school building.

Scout felt his throat tighten somewhat as the man called him a gentleman. For starters, who even does that any more? He nearly laughed in surprise and had to fight that urge. ”G-Gentleman?” Surprise made his illusion flicker for a few seconds as his concentration lapsed before Scout calmed himself and put it back up. ”Let’s run over something quickly. I am gender-fluid. You are a guy- you are a guy right? I am an enby. You are a gentleman.” Scout paused hoping he hadn't messed up or freaked Cathal out. ”I hope. Sorry if I've miss-gendered you.” Scout knew he was probably being over-reactive and definitely over precautious. However Scout had enough experience that he wanted to get straight to the point. He meant that last comment jokingly and hoped that Cathal wouldn't miss-interpret that.

”It’s true that their biggest danger is themselves but you’re not helping.” Scout could think of quite a bit of damage that could be done with gravity fields. It might not be the strongest power but it was pretty destructive. ”Sure there’s a curfew, but let’s face it, there’s a ton of teenagers in there and last I checked most teenagers don’t like following rules, regardless of the punishment. Hopefully they follow curfew but they’re teenagers.” Scout actually found Cathal entertaining. The whole point of the school, surely, was to both protect and train those with powers, which clearly meant using the powers. ”Of course they’re practicing their powers in the school; but they’re allowed to do that.”

Scout didn't see this so much as blackmail so much as a friendly bargain.

Scout smiled as the man agreed; not that he had much choice. He wasn't sure if this was entirely the most responsible thing to do, but it was probably the fairest. ”About as many times as I see random men on campus so; just for you!” Scout actually liked how the man seemed to be concerned with the tidiness of his surroundings.

Scout didn't want Cathal to be making regular trips to the school in case he got ideas, and hopefully if his Gifts improved enough, he wouldn't have so much reason to come back here in a hurry. Scout figured that he may as well be helpful. ”So, what are your limits?”

Cathal nodded along with the conversation fairly easily; up to the point where the ‘man’ phased between genders right in front of his eyes. His jaw loosened at the sight, but his lips remained shut for the purpose of disguising his shock a little bit. His eyes narrowed to a glare, but reverted quickly as he remembered what Scout was capable of doing with him if he dared to cross the person. Not only did he not understand the meaning of the term ‘gender-fluid’, he was quite baffled by what purpose this man/woman had for disguising their self as a male. It was one of those ‘fish’ people he’d been hearing about wasn’t it? How disturbing.

Most of their conversation before and after the point of reveal seemed so meaningless in comparison. Some sort of illusionist or shape shifter going around disguising herself as the opposite gender. Of course Cathal delved into the negative aspects of the situation, his mind had a tendency to do that often. He’d express his distaste for it, but under the circumstance he’d rather not. Besides, he could perhaps spin his own web of lies around the man’s, or woman’s. He’d prefer to identify Scout as an it for the time being, but if he didn’t appreciate being called a gentleman than odds were he didn’t enjoy that either. The question then was what the hell he would call this thing? “No, I’d say I’m exactly what meets the eye. Nothing more or less” his tone still seemed somewhat off put.

Cathal would have voiced his opinion on the matter of teenagers breaking the rules that if they were to break the rules and ended up hurting themselves that it would be their own punishment, but again too cruel for the ears of an ally. Even if he said so in a joking manner. “The dangerous ones are allowed to practice in doors? Isn’t surprising this school is always so low on funds.”

His limits? He already slipped out his ability, though it would have been fairly prevalent without him saying much. Objects were floating around him and if the gender-fluid was within four meters of him then the effect was already fairly obvious. He wasn’t relying on any intimidation factor and given that she was a teacher from Foresta she could help him unlock his potential. More so then himself alone anyway. “My powers are an area effect, everything around me will be effected by my powers whenever I use them. That makes using it problematic when I don’t want everything to float around me like I live in space.”

Scout watched Cathal carefully for his reaction as he spoke. He didn't seem impressed. Was this just surprise or was Scout being judged? He would have quite liked to have known either way. ”I’m guessing you don’t want an explanation then.” Cathal definitely seemed confused at the very least but Scout wouldn't mix that with curiosity.

He seemed rather judgmental about it. Scout hadn't seen that look in a long time; and he hadn't been so hurt by that look since his parents broke up. It was as if Cathal had already given up on trying to understand. Something about the man’s tones made Scout feel as if he was the “less” the man spoke about. ”And I try to be what meets the eye, but unfortunately illusions are not indefinite.” Cathal had already seen some of his powers- there wasn't a lot of point pretending he was any more powerful than that or hiding what he could do. Scout was tempted to let down the illusion, as it clearly wasn't going to be helpful right now, but that felt like giving in somehow.

”I’ll tell you if you are using the wrong pronouns, tons of people do it.” Scout had been addressed as “it” too many times to not be prepared for it. Most people react like that when they find out that someone identifies as non-binary. It was either that or just being totally acceptant, and clearly the first option was more likely.

”Every public school is low on funds. Most schools nowadays have some Gifted people anyways, even if they don’t know it. Besides it’s far better they do it where we can monitor than outdoors some place where anything could go wrong.” Scout paused before continuing. ”If we had a student who overused their powers and fell unconscious, most people would agree it would be better to have them practicing somewhere safe where we could find them, rather than wherever they feel alone.” Scout thought this sounded tremendously obvious but he went forward and said it anyway. ”As a lot of the staff have powers too, I’m sure between us we could handle anything that a student could achieve.” Scout didn't add that repairs may still cost quite a sum and take some time- he’d heard about the damage some of the students had made. Scout cleared his throat. He was a geography teacher not some safety inspector.

Scout nodded to the man’s explanation. ”I presume you are already controlling as far away as you can.” That came out as too much of a dare really; it sounded like Scout was challenging the man. ”I meant, more as in, is there a limit on how much stuff you can lift or how much you can affect?”

An explanation? Cathal hardly wanted any of the sort. If anything he’d need an elaboration from Scout to completely understand, but an understanding of the way a person lived their life was hardly something that interested him. “Other people’s business is hardly my concern. I don’t need to hear it, you’re welcome to voice it however” he answered with a shrug. Even if the illusionist did go through with an explanation, that didn’t mean that Cathal had to listen to it. He might if his ears catch an interest in something though.

There was a laughable amount of irony in the man’s statement. Using disguises to try and be what meets the eye. There was an obvious tragedy to the person’s way of identifying their self and possibly a way to exploit that as well. How was a different question of the matter. Cathal wasn’t sure if there was enough for him to feed off of in order to turn this into a leech of a relationship, but even he could besides teaching him a few pointers on his powers he saw no further benefit besides that. Unless Scout had an enormous amount of money, but given that he was a teacher that was highly unlikely.

“How about you tell me the right ones? It’d be a lot easier on both of us than trial and error.” Cathal wasn’t even sure if there were any gender neutral pronouns outside of just referring to a person by their name or as it. There had to be some, but they were outside of his range of knowledge. Being relatively uneducated a lot fell into that category.

“Under that circumstance, sure that would work. There’s plenty more wrong than that though. Sure you could monitor them if the user went unconscious, but is that really your biggest fear when it comes to the students with more destructive powers? Say a fire bender makes an accident, no matter how quick you are to react on that it’d be far safer if the accident took place outside than in. Case by case would work out better, not generalizing. What a student can achieve is not the point though, it’s what they can’t control. To my knowledge there are quite a few were-beasts within Foresta, your preparedness can’t always can never truly predict those.”

His eyes scanned the floating sticks around him momentarily. “I don’t focus on objects” he replied as the twigs around him rained back to the ground. “I control the entire area around me, whatever is caught within my fields will be affected. My range is about two arms lengths around me. I lift nothing, the sticks had no force acting against them one way or the other.”

Scout was actually very relieved. Continual repetitions got annoying after a while and although he would have done it if Cathal had asked for it, bypassing the explanation was good news. Besides his carefully run-over explanation was unlikely to be a useful illustration for this man based on how he had reacted.

Scout could see that Cathal didn't follow his reasoning, and he couldn't help running over it quickly. ”I mean, I try to show how I feel, and if that changes I try to show the change. I mean, if you woke up tomorrow in a woman’s body, you would still think of yourself as a man, right? So you’d probably still want to try and look like a man if you could.”

Scout smiled at the man’s suggestion; he really would love to do that. ”I would, but it’s not that simple. You have a fixed view of yourself, which means you can have fixed pronouns. Being gender-fluid I don’t have that, so as long as you don’t start referring to me like an animal, it’s okay. I normally use xe, though.” Scout knew he was blathering a little, but he felt like it was relevant so he wasn't too bothered by that. He had at least tried to answer the question straight. Scout would not really have minded too much as long as the man didn't start referring to him as “it”.

”Well, I’m not in charge of power training. Personally, I think practicing in the courtyard would be better but I’m not going to go around forcibly changing things.” Honestly this was true; it would be far safer. It was still in range of any staff who may be needed, but if something went wrong the school was unlikely to face any major damage.

”So it’s really just you taking force off the area not specific objects.” Scout found the information useful, but he struggled to explain how to be helpful. He thought about how his dad had taught him. ”I know we have different powers, so I won’t be an amazing help. However I do know that’s a pretty small area to be working in.” Scout knew that various factors effected how far he could keep an illusion up from. ”Personally, using a less intricate illusion makes it easier to keep it up at a distance. Maybe a similar thing works, if you tried to keep it at a lower force, where it would increase your range. You've probably tried this before, but it is worth a shot.”

So, from the way Scout described it and Cathal interpreted it, the man switched genders on a day to day basis based on how he felt that morning. Surely Cathal can’t take his literal word for it and his explanation was no doubt just an example over his concrete reasoning, but that’s all he had to go off of before he began to seem like he took interest in it. Why it would matter which gender he took on any day seemed rather pointless since he could never truly be that gender, but rather pretend to be. Perhaps he liked the certain attention or attraction of being a specific gender in social situation, but anything expanding beyond that made him squirm in distaste. Although, it was his mind that was assuming such promiscuity and not the person in question, so who was the one truly in the wrong?

“Heh, I’d be a lucky man if that happened” he spoke rather drolly. A female Cathal may haunt the dreams of many future generations to come. “I’d probably still think myself male, yes. Although how would one define the feeling of being male over female? In this hypothetical situation, I’d lose my high levels of testosterone with this new body, so if that were so would my mind act like a male’s mind would?”

Cathal couldn’t quite understand the purpose of using complicated pronouns if the man wanted to identify himself as a male during this outing. If he wanted to be treated as a male in a social manner, why would he refuse to be referred to as male? Was the sole reason for the purpose of the reveal that he wasn’t actually the gender he was showing himself to be? Was it some sort of game he liked to play with people? The more he tried to understand it, the less it made sense to him. “Xe? Why would you even bother to disguise yourself as male if you didn’t want to be identified as one?”

The man offered suggestions, but as he said he’d hardly have any good information for him to use given the differences in their powers. Why was Scout useful to him again? His level of usefulness was degrading fairly quickly, especially after he admitted he wasn’t involved in power training courses. Cathal would give him the benefit of the doubt since they had a deal in order; perhaps he could give out a little bit more advice. “Regardless of the intensity, the radius always seems to be the same. Even if it isn’t it’s not too impressive of a difference.”

Scout carefully watched the man’s face wanting some sign of his emotions to come through clearly. He didn’t seem entirely comfortable, but he did seem to be fairly calm about it, which was something. ”It’s kind of just how I feel most comfortable at any point.” Scout knew that was a bad explanation, but he would rather get on with actually practicing than just talking about himself.

Scout couldn't help laughing at Cathal’s reaction. He definitely saw the joke there, as it was an entertaining notion and his reaction perfected it. ”In theory yes, but is your identity just a mix of hormones? Doctors could inject you with oestrogen but that wouldn't make you female.”

”It’s not a disguise, it’s an expression. Besides, you said you would prefer a single answer to the corrections. It’s easier for both of us.” Scout wasn't even quite sure what the man meant. Just because he normally used one set of pronouns didn't mean he couldn't use another. He really would not bother wasting energy on an illusion he didn't feel was necessary. The simplest answer was just that he would not do that. ”It’s not like I’ll be offended if you say he, and I will correct you if you get it wrong, anyway.”

It seemed like a shame that his abilities seemed to be so limited. However Scout’s abilities as a teacher on the subject seemed to be more so. Scout took a few small steps away from the man. Scout didn't really have much experience with how other powers work, and from what the man had said any obvious routes to improvement seemed blocked. However, Scout figured his attempts to increase his accuracy and detail in illusions could be helpful to Cathal. ”I know you have probably tried whatever I've already told you, but it’s always worth a shot, right?

“It’s easier to drop an illusion than create one so I guess that it would be easier to drop an object from a gravity field instead of just lifting one. Instead of just lifting one thing drop the others one at a time.” Scout paused, clearing his throat. ”So to lift one thing create a field as normal and then try dropping objects. I know it sounds dumb.” Of course Scout was assuming that their two powers worked in similar ways, but it wasn't beyond possible. Given how many telekinetics could help people with various other kinetic-based powers, it certainly was possible that their two powers could both be controlled similarly.

#6ba0dd
Outfit

Instead of returning to her dorm as the sun sank below the horizon, Lisette had decided to explore Foresta at night.  With its lack of heat and brightness, she often preferred the nighttime to the day, despite the darkness and general unawareness of anything that might be hidden in the shadows.  Her overactive imagination liked to create monsters hiding in the shadows, lurking, waiting to leap out and attack.  In the back of her mind, though, she knew that with her necklace, she always had an escape route--the sky.

The stars twinkled brightly overhead, glitter on a bed of inky velvet; crescent moon lay lazily among wispy cotton clouds.  The Brit wandered the path that seemed to lead to a tall, lonely willow tree standing proudly in the middle of a grassy meadow, taking in the general silence of the night.  Of course, there was the ever-present sound of hooting owls and chirping crickets, but those were peaceful and relaxing, unlike the loud clamoring of daft people who needed to put a sock in it.

Out of the corner in her eye, Lacey caught a movement, and her heart began to race irrationally.  She tried to reassure herself--it was probably just an owl.  But upon resting her gaze in the spot a few moments more, she saw more movement.  And if she quieted her breathing, she could hear something... 

With a sigh of relief, she realized that it was just two people talking, quietly.  Taking a chance, in case there was something else out here, Lacey walked in their direction.  "Hello?" she called out tentatively, hoping she wasn't interrupting anything.  Well, obviously she was interrupting their conversation, but hopefully it wasn't something too important.  And hopefully the two males wouldn't react too violently to being disturbed, as she might.  The spring night air was crisp, and a shudder ran through her with the passing of a breeze.

Scout made some good points, but as always Cathal had another slew of counterpoints. He was not an expert on the biological workings of the human body, but he had a general knowledge about it if not lower than. “Well, not necessarily, but Introducing new chemical hormones to the brain would no doubt alter the way one person would think even if only slightly. Loss of identity wouldn’t be entirely out of the question, in fact loss of sanity might also be a factor in this situation. I digressed.”

As the man put it, he wasn’t disguising himself as male, but instead he was expressing himself as one. Cathal still didn’t quite see what the point the gender bender was trying to get across. For what purpose would he need to be establishing himself as a different gender than to use it for deception? Perhaps it was Cathal’s err since he hardly saw point to social outings that didn’t benefit himself in anyway. Even excluding that though, he still lacked an understanding for it. “Regardless of its purpose, you said you wanted to be accepted as male so I don’t see why you’d prefer to be referred to as anything otherwise. Fine though, xe it is then” he stated passively, avoiding to raise his voice because of the convoluted way this person preferred to live. It was outside of Cathal’s rational reasoning to pursue this subject any further.

At last though, the teacher was starting to make sense to him. Even if the man himself passed his idea off as unintelligent, the gravity manipulator saw it otherwise. It was simple, but he hadn’t really considered that. His method of training was similar to what the man instructed the difference though was that when he lifted the objects around him, he tried to outright crush his targets. The way the man suggested it seemed so simplistic, but perhaps that was why he didn’t consider it. He nodded to the person opposite to him and began to scour the area for his twigs once more, bundling them into one hand.

As Cathal finished gathering his collection of sticks, he returned to a standing position and his gaze fixated on a young woman who showed interest in them, whether or not it was a little or a lot. Cathal would have enjoyed it so much better if it was this girl that approached him first over the strange ‘male’ he’d been talking to for who knows how long. His brow raised at the new person as he ruffled his jean jacket. “Good evening” he eased back at her. She could have become a potential liability, but with the teacher breathing down his neck it’d be difficult for him to use any of his mind games on her. Another time perhaps. “Out for a moonlight stroll I see” he turned to the moon or lack thereof and then back to the true female. “Unfortunate that it does not show its true form tonight.”

Scout agreed that it could affect how you thought slightly, but with little else that Cathal said. Besides, the small differences shouldn’t make any big change in your self-perception. Scout shook his head. There was some use in looking up about your identity. ”Two hundred people annually, just on the west coast of the US, get sex-change hormones, so I think we’d know if they drove people crazy. I’m pretty sure they’re meant to recall any kind of drug if there’s even one case of insanity, unless that would risk a life. Plus, tonnes of menopausal women get pills for it and I really doubt that any of them go bonkers because of it, and they do all seem to maintain their personalities fairly well.”
 
Scout smiled, having clearly made some kind of progress with Cathal, and with him having not flipped out in anyway. He was glad that the man seemed to have dropped this. What felt like a hundred repetitions of some form of badly-worded explanation was far too much, and Scout was glad to have an end to the interrogation.

Scout knew a passive attempt at powers- doing things in the easiest way, whether it be counter intuitive or not- helped to focus what he wanted to do. Forcing the air to do what he wanted never worked, or rather he could never do anything impressive like that. When his powers worked it was more like persuading the area to follow his whim.

Scout watched Cathal as he turned, noting where his eyes fell. Scout twisted around, surprised at the girl’s sudden arrival. He was surprised to see a student out this late.

Scout rolled his eyes at the man’s comment, aware that the man was jibing him. He weighed up between showing his irritation, trying to do something with his powers, or just ignoring it, and he decided on the last. If he over-reacted that would just be encouragement.

”Hi there.” Scout didn’t recognize the girl, but given how recently the teacher had arrived at the school, that was no surprise. Scout cast a quick glance at Cathal as if to remind him of what he had said about teenagers following curfews. Now Scout was glad he was out here. He’d much rather that the students had some kind of adult supervision around anyone trespassing on the property, but he tried to keep his face neutral.