Jax's First Day (Open)

At the edge of the courtyard there was a puff of smoke that swirled up into the air, leaving behind a single figure. Jax looked up, watching as it faded into the distance, and only once it was gone realized that it could easily be mistaken for fire or otherwise a signal for people to flood the area. His smoke was snow-white, not dark, but that didn't mean people wouldn't come investigate it anyway. "Oops," he said aloud, popping one of the handful of bite-sized chocolates he carried into his mouth. With a shrug he turned back to the courtyard, his sea-blue eyes studying it curiously. He hadn't yet decided what to think of this school, or even if he was sure he wanted to be here, but it was better than nowhere and he didn't have much choice.

Now to figure out where exactly he was supposed to go from here.

"Lyra," he said to himself, looking around. He was supposedly assigned to the Lyra dorm, whatever that meant, but how to get there and what he was supposed to do next he wasn't sure. This was exactly why he'd avoided school in the past, aside from the bullying and traumatic family life, of course; people never seemed to explain the complex inner workings of high school, and the fact that this one was dedicated to the 'gifted' didn't help. Wasn't there supposed to be some sort of new student committee or somebody sent to show him around or something? He didn't even have a class schedule.

Originally, the professor had been sitting at the roof. It was one of the most frequent places one could find him at, the other being the library. He had been cloudgazing and had almost drifted off, caught in tangled thoughts regarding his future and his goals, when he saw smoke in a distance.

"Hmm..." he hummed, squinting his eyes a bit to focus on it. It didn't seem to be continuous, more like a burst. It came from the courtyard. Had someone used their power? There didn't seem to be more smoke coming, which would have indicated a fire, but Ignatius thought he could check it out, mostly because he was bored, but also because the courtyard had quite a lot of trees and there was a danger of fire if a fire-wielding student was being careless.

A few seconds later, Ignatius appeared out of thin air at the courtyard. He was relatively careful, and with a quick glance from a hundred feet away, he had determined that no students were present. He tried not to teleport at the location of unaware people, so as not to startle them.

He was fairly sure that he was at the location the smoke came from, but he couldn't see something that was amiss. When he turned to look to his left though, he saw a student. "Oh..!" he said, realizing that someone had seen him appearing out of thin air, and hoped not to have startled them. Then, he looked at the tall guy better. Was he the one who had created the smoke? 

Ignatius had studied the files of all students, and had an eidetic memory. If he had the feeling that he hadn't seen the guy's face before, he was probably right. Especially those eyes, they were quite remarkable, he would have remembered.

"Hello there...are you new here?" he asked with a calm and soft tone, even offering a small smile. He was 28 years old, so not very likely to be mistaken for a student, but he was rather youthful for a teacher and he didn't emit this aura of authority.

Jax popped another chocolate into his mouth and chewed slowly, studying the guy. His entrance had certainly startled him, but, then, he wasn't used to being around others with powers. The fact that there was enough of them to populate and staff a school had been shocking enough, much less actually seeing them in action. It'd take a while to get used to it, he was sure.

By this guy's age Jax guessed he wasn't a student. Some sort of staff, probably, which meant he was most likely at least somewhat more qualified to answer questions. "Yeah," he said finally, answering his question. His casual tone hid his surprise well, and as he spoke the handful of wrapped candies vanished without a trace. He shoved both hands into the pockets of his jacket. "I'm new. Do you know where and what Lyra is and-or what's supposed to happen from here? 'Cause they seem to have glossed over everything past the showing up part."

It was obvious that Ignatius had been observing the youth with focus, because then the wrapped chocolates vanished, he blinked once in surprise. A few theories formed in his mind within seconds, about what could have happened to them, but for starters, he just laughed softly at that last remark.

"They have, haven't they? It's okay, I'll show you to Lyra." he remarked in a kind manner. "But first, just let me ask, did you see or create some smoke around here? It's not bad or anything, it's just that solving this will put my mind at ease, a bit." he said, his tole mild so that the student wouldn't consider the incident something bad.

Ignatius then fixed his glasses and started walking slowly towards the school building, nodding the guy to follow him. "How did you learn about the Academy?" he asked curiously. Curiosity was one of his main personality traits, and that simple question had earned him all kinds of answers before. 

"Also, don't you have any kind of luggage with you?" he asked. Of course, if the person was some sort of mythical being, perhaps they didn't have possessions, but at the same time, it was unlikely. Ignatius believed that the lack of obvious baggage could be related to the previous disappearance of the chocolate.

"Ask a lot of questions, don't you?" Jax muttered as he followed him, still looking around to take in as much of the school as possible. He raked his dark hair out of his eyes, a gesture that made the nerves he was trying to hide clear. Though he'd never admit it, Jax was entirely out of his element here. He'd spent the last seventeen years surrounded by normal people, most of whom hadn't had a clue that he was any different, and not only was he unused to being able to use and discuss his power freely but the idea of a new start still seemed more of a dream than a reality.

He answered the questions one by one. "The smoke was me. It's the easiest way to travel, and fastest. Especially in open spaces. And between the fact that I'm broke and nobody was gonna shell out for a plane ticket or anything there wasn't much else in the way of options for how to get here. Sorry, I didn't really think about people seeing it until after. As far as finding out about this place, I finally gave up ignoring that thing, whatever you guys call it. The pull or whatever. An old friend told me about this place. She's never been here but she knows about it, and I figured, why not? And no luggage. It's hard to turn anything that's not me to smoke, and I didn't have much that couldn't be left behind anyway." He shrugged, as if he thought nothing of it. "Clothes and stuff are easy to get more of."

Ignatius kept walking, his mood quite pleasant. He was having a conversation with a new student, and this always helped alleviate the boredom. "Oh, it's fine about the smoke, don't worry about it." he reassured him, waving his hand even as the pair kept walking. "Turning them to smoke?" he then said, his tone of voice as if he was inspecting that phrase in his mind from all angles. "I see, I see." he said, deducing that the guy probably had a teleportation skill somewhat similar to the one he had. Perhaps this student could be one he could teach and help out.

"Foresta Academy is a good place, you'll see. You can make friends here and have some fun, enjoying your teen years. The school schedule is not too demanding, though you will learn a lot, and there's a certain amount of versatility. Plus, there's even combat classes if you're into that." he said, though he sighed a bit at that thought. His own field was getting deeper into the power itself, helping the student analyzing it and finding more applications. It was not about combat and battle tactics, but still, his courses were one on one, on flexible basis and...well, non-existent for the time being, since no student had asked for his tutelage.

"And are you a human, or are you a mythical being of sorts?" he asked. He was rather direct and straightforward, but he was smiling and had a lighthearted tone. Perhaps it could make one unfamiliar with the place think if people were so casual about their nature in a school full of mythical beings and gifted humans. As they walked through the courtyard, a few students could be seen here and there, in groups or alone. They looked pretty normal, apart from two guys who were controlling floating sticks, most likely with their minds, and were waging a telekinetic-fencing match of sorts.

He shrugged. "Not much for combat. I'm kinda useless when it comes to that. I wasn't lucky enough to be born with any actual useful, cool powers, unfortunately. I'm sure there's something, though. This seems better than regular high school already, so that's nice."

At his last question Jax only laughed. "There's been some debate about that," he said. "As soon as I figure it out I'll let you know." His blue gaze wandered towards the floating sticks and he watched them as they passed, one eyebrow raised. It was like Hogwarts around here. Finally he sighed and shoved his hands back in his pockets, figuring he should elaborate before more questions were asked. He'd rather get through with it than be interviewed about it; he was already planning on being enough of a curiosity here, being the new guy. "Someone compared me to a genie, once. I guess that's the closest thing. To put it simply, I travel through smoke and grant wishes. I have no clue if that means I'm a literal genie or what--all I know is that's what I can do and I was born with it."

Ignatius raised an eyebrow at the guy's words, and even stopped walking to regard him. "Don't say that. I firmly believe that there's much more to every power in the school. It simply need to be discovered, it needs to be looked into at a deeper level." the youthful man said, looking at Jax's eyes from over his glasses. "That's what I'm supposed to be doing here, helping students with that..." he said, in a more relaxed and lighthearted manner, and continued walking again.

"A genie, huh? Now, that's interesting. Can you grant any wish you want? Like, can you make me taller or make two people fall in love?" he asked in a rather relaxed manner, and as the pair walked into the academy's building, Ignatius reached out with his hand and picked up a leaflet from a stand right next to the door. "Of course, it's pretty fine if you don't want to answer me." Ignatius then added, in a tone as if he had just remembered that, and well, it was the first time that the thought crossed his mind, that perhaps Jax was only speaking because he was a professor.

"I don't know all the rules, but I know I can't mess with love," he answered. "I think life and death are off limits, too, going off of past experience, but I haven't exactly experimented. And I can't grant any wish I want. I don't really control it." Another chocolate, identical to the ones he'd been eating before, appeared mid-air and he caught it in his mouth. "About all I can do is conjure little stuff. Glad to know people here think it's interesting, though. On my end it sucks."

As they entered the building he slowed down, eyes wide as he examined the place. He was pretty sure he'd never walked into a room as fancy-looking as this one, and almost wanted to stop and make sure he wasn't tracking mud in or anything. A part of him wondered if they really wanted a foster-care kid with a rough past marring the pristine hallway. He let out a low whistle as he looked around. "Wow. How loaded are the people who run this place, exactly? You must really know what you're talking about if you work here, huh?" he asked as he caught another airborne candy.

Ignatius listened intently and nodded, taking mental notes of the limits of the power. It did seem to resemble what genies had been portrayed as. Was this guy really a genie, or perhaps hailed from one? Or was Jax's power something entirely different, that he would have to figure out on his own?

He couldn't but laugh softly when he heard the guy's remark about how the hallway looked. "Well, it does seem quite expensive. But even though I work here, the Academy's funds and resources is not something I'm aware of." he said in a lighthearted tone as they walked.

"You said you have chosen Lyra, correct? What was it that pulled you towards that dorm? A fine choice, as any, if I may also add." the youthful man said as the pair now walked along with a few other students. One was even flying close to the ceiling, lazily even.

"Words," he said, gaze traveling upwards to study the flying student. He didn't comment, figuring it was probably one of those things that he should just accept and move on. "I like words. Languages, writing, anything like that. Pretty much the only things I was good at the last time I attempted an education were foreign languages and English classes, so..." He trailed off, shrugging. "I'm not Tolkien or anything but it's something. And words are important. People phrase wishes wrong and my magic goes screwy and messes everything up. It's like the genie lore about your wishes going wrong but I can't stop it."

He looked the professor up and down for a moment as they walked, thinking. Was it weird to be talking like this to a staff member? He'd never dream of talking about this kind of thing with any of the teachers he'd had in the past--of course, none of them had popped into being in front of him and started talking about magical powers. "So are you a teacher or what?" he asked.

Ignatius couldn't help but halt his walking and look at Jax, his eyes showing his surprise. "Oh? Is that it then? In many myths, genies deliberately messed with people's wishes, but you say that in your case, it's because of wrong phrasing? Has it ever been that you have a choice, to...decide, in a way, how a wish can be fulfilled, a wish that could have multiple interpretations?" he asked curiously, and then started walking again.

Soon, the pair was walking up the luxurious staircases. "Ah, yes. I am a professor of sorts, but my classes are...well, on a one-on-one basis...and optional." he said, and in his mind, he sighed as he added "and non-existent, for the time being. Oh well."

"What I do, is essentially learning a weaker version of the student's skill, looking into it through a few means and experience I've gathered, and while learning it, I also help the student delve deeper into it as well. You can think of it as "help from the inside", since I'm learning the power along with the student." Ignatius explained.

"Of course, it's optional. Many don't like to share their powers. It's perfectly reasonable." Ignatius asked, his tone a bit more absent-minded. "I was in Pyxis." he then added, perhaps a bit surprisingly, revealing he was a student in the Academy as well. "Things haven't changed too much. More professors, more students. It's nice here. My name is Ignatius Cross." he then added at the end, realizing he hadn't introduced himself. While doing so, he turned to give the student a small smile.

"Nah," he said, shaking his head. "I don't have any control. Maybe someday, but I doubt it. When somebody makes a wish it just happens." Despite his words his tone was casual, as if none of this bothered him at all, and his face betrayed nothing. It seemed that he truly didn't care about his lack of say in his power's performance, or the opportunities it provided for others to use it to their advantage. He listened as the professor described his classes and caught another chocolate, going on what was probably an unhealthy amount of them in such a short time. "I'm not an expert on this whole world or anything but that sounds like the kind of thing people would like here," he commented. "I mean, the whole point is to learn your powers, right?" When Ignatius introduced himself Jax paused, realizing he should do the same. "Jax," he said after a moment. "Um, Jax Garrett. Not short for anything, just Jax. I get that a lot. People always think it's short for Jackson or something. I guess just Jax is weird."

Ignatius shook his head negatively and smiled. "Jax is fine, really." he reassured the student and nodded. He was thinking the entire time, deeply so, and he made the assumption that Jax didn't like it much that his power was beyond his control. He knew he could be wrong, that Jax could very easily be indifferent...Ignatius assumption was based on the thought that who wouldn't want control over their power?

"Here we are, Jax." Ignatius finally stopped walking. "Do you see that door? That's where Lyra starts. From what I've seen, students from Lyra might be a bit eccentric sometimes, but when they open up a bit, they make good friends." he said, hoping to encourage the new student. Then, he passed him the leaflet he had picked up before.

"This is a map of the school, it's for you, and on the back, it explains your schedule." he informed the student. After that, he remained quiet for a few seconds, as if thinking to himself, before speaking once more, his tone a bit more serious and quiet. "Jax...if you face trouble with your power...if you wish to find a way to control it...I want you to visit me. We might be able to do something with it." he said, and managed to smile a bit. He knew that the boy's power was a rather rare one, and didn't easily classify in a general group of powers that could be taught in a similar manner. It probably needed a more specialized handling.

"You can find me at the library or the roof. Or, if you ask around for Jones, perhaps they can direct you towards me. So...have fun in Foresta, Jax. It's just as important as learning." he reminded with a smile. He knew he wasn't acting like a typical professor, and perhaps he had lost that "respect towards authority" aspect, but he didn't mind much. His days as a troubled student weren't too far behind him, they were quite alive in his memories.

"Thanks," he murmured, taking the leaflet and skimming through it. It would definitely come in handy. He looked up and studied the door to the Lyra dorm, hesitant. He had no idea what and who would be behind there, and the professor's comment didn't comfort him much. He'd always been good at charming people into liking him, at least when he bothered to put in the effort, but that was with normal people; who knew how students here would react to him? Before arriving here he'd only met one other person like him, and he'd only spoken to her twice and was fairly certain the only reason she'd bothered with him in the first place because she'd felt sorry for him.

He forced a smile, nodding at his offer. "I'm fine for now, but I guess we'll see what happens. If I need any help I'll come looking."