As she laid in her heavily cushioned bed, Quinn Lovelace quietly listened to each sound that she allowed to flow through her ears. Ever since the scientists at the government base began doing tests on her almost three years ago, she had discovered she had developed a heightened sense of sound. After many months of constant earsplitting noise and several nights in a row without sleep, she finally figured out how to control it. Now she is able to pick through the many sounds and find the exact one she was looking for or make them go away completely. First, she heard the loud thud that was someone falling out of bed. Then, a few moments later, she heard the light, happy barks of a puppy that most likely created by Aura. A smile danced happily across her face at the thought of Aura being up already.

Quinn yawned and lifted herself out of bed, the refreshing feel of air dancing all over her skin instantly waking up her body and mind. Soon, she was in front of the mirror tilting her head to the side, taking in her ruffled white sundress she accidentally fell asleep in and her messy hair. With a flick of her wrist and a small wave of her hand, her hair brush flew quickly to her and she brushed the knots out of her mane of vibrant honey-blond hair. Once her hair was to her liking, Quinn slipped her sundress over her head, exposing her luscious cream colored skin. She moved lightly to her closet and picked out a pair of light blue jean shorts, coupled with a white tank. As she dressed, she heard noises coming from the kitchen and quickly buttoned her shorts, eager to see Aura.

Floating a couple feet in the air, Quinn moved through the hallways and into the kitchen where Aura was, sitting in a chair with her nose in a book. She took a cookie from the counter and approached Aura from behind. Concentrating for a moment, she kicked her legs up and floated horizontally, as if she were laying on her stomach in mid air. Quinn looked over Aura's shoulder and quietly took a bite from her cookie. "What'cha readin' Aura?" she asked. Her voice was light, sweet, and a bit higher in pitch then most of the other girls, almost childlike. As she spoke, a few stray crumbs fell onto Aura's hair, causing Quinn to giggle and wave her hand slightly, sending the crumbs to the floor with a light gust of air.

Tara Bloomswood couldn’t fall asleep. It was her ninth month here and she still had trouble falling asleep. It didn’t help that she could feel the vibrations from all over the main floor.
This strange sense had begun ever since her arrival. Slowly but surely, she had been able to sense the different vibrations and tremors from the ground. She called it her ‘earth radar’. She hadn’t spoken to anyone about it yet, not sure how to explain it. She knew that she should probably tell Nikki; one of her closest friends, but something had held her back from doing so. Tara briefly wondered what her best friend was up to.

Tara ran a hand through her dark wavy locks, squinting through the darkness of her chamber.
If everyone would just stop moving around…she thought exasperatedly.
Not long ago she had heard footsteps making their way to the main room, even worse, someone had crashed onto the floor, but she wasn’t able to distinctively tell if it was the most recent arrival, Nero or the light bender, Aura.
Probably Aura…Tara thought, curving her lips upwards at the thought.

Tara sighed and slowly got out of her uncomfortable bed. Suddenly, she felt it again. The tremor that shot from the ground to her spine, causing her to shiver involuntarily. She fell back down onto her bed in shock and took a deep breath to calm herself. Lately she had been getting strange vibrations from the ground. These vibrations were different from the normal ones she got from the movement of people. She couldn’t quite explain it, but it was as if the ground beneath her feet was warning her of something coming. Something or someone.

Tara closed her eyes and imagined her garden back at home. The green vivacious plants, the exotic, colorful hues of her prized flowers, and the creatures that dwelled nearby. When she began to feel a little better, she stood up once more and made her way to the door. Lately, because of her lack of sleep she had been spending immense amounts of time hanging out in the battle arena. Thankfully, there was forest that she usually took walks in when she felt lost or confused.
It was always a little bit of a stressing point for Tara when she felt confused. It was an foreign feeling to her, since she always seemed to have an answer for everything.

“You always seem to have an answer for everything…how?” Nikki had asked her once in one of their first meetings.

Tara was smart enough to know and admit that she had a brain on the finer side. All her life she had been able to find a solution for anything, attacking things this way and that, doubling over, striking the problem again until she was able to crack it and fine the resolution and answer. Or at least find a place to start.

So how was it that at this moment in time, Tara was utterly, wretchedly, and hopelessly lost?

Nero sat there, her eyes following leaves on the ground. They just rolled on by, with out a care . She placed her hand against the cold glass, and watched as if fogged around her fingers. "I guess you really don't have a care huh?" She leaned back and crossed her arms. Would this place of torment never end...? Turning away from the window she decided it was enough sulking and she needed to find someone to cheer her up.

Pushing herself off the bed she landed on the floor with a slight thud. The carpet felt warm under her feet, and she could feel it tickle her toes as she moved across the carpet to go take a shower.

...

Stepping out she wrapped a towel around herself and went to her closet to get dressed for the day. Letting the towel go she removed all the water left from her body and hair and put it all in the sink, letting it go down the drain. Grabbing whatever she saw first, Nero pulled on a black pair of baggy cargo pants and a blue tank top. It felt smooth and soft, different then what they had to wear when they were being 'tested'. Pulling her hair up into a messy ponytail, leaving few strands to frame her face, she left the room. "Oh where oh where are you all..." She smiled slightly at her own little joke, until she heard Quinn, or more or less felt the brush of air across her skin. "Quinn...your making it cold."

With a quick jump and a sharp, inhaled breath Nikki shocked to life. Nikki always slept deeply, truly the sleep of the dead. The problem was, any sudden sound woke her up instantly, and once she was awake she was awake for good. A loud thump had been the culprit of her waking, it had come from the room next to hers. A scowl spread across her face, a reaction to her extreme displeasure of being woken up so early. She loved to sleep in, despite how lazy and whatnot that made her. Turning onto her stomach, she pushed her face into the pillow and let out a low groan. "I hate people," she whined softly, "I hate them all so much." No, she knew it wasn't true. There were people she actually did like in the house, however few and far between they were. The problem was her low patience level, and people's low patience with her. The thing that rode her patience the most? Happy, peppy people waking her up in the morning.

With one last sigh, she gave up on falling back asleep. It was always an effort made in vain. She propped herself up in bed, resting back on her arms behind her. She tousled her long, auburn hair, shaking her head back and forth causing it to fall back naturally from its 'bed-head' position. One hand lifted up and ran through her hair and the other pulled the covers off her. She swung her legs off the side, dangling them and bracing herself for the inevitable cold sting the floor would give her feet. Shuddering as she dared to touch the ground, she stood up and took a long, back arching stretch. Still in her p.j.s, she strung up her hair in a pony-tail and pattered out the door.

Nikki looked around, assessing the status of her fellow roommates. Thirrin's door was open, meaning she was not in there, but she could not see her. She figured that she was sitting in the living room, by herself as usual. Aura and Quinn were chatting out in the open, bright and bushy-tailed as usual. Nikki didn't make eye contact, only looking for a second in her peripherals almost as if she hadn't noticed them. Although she tried to not be outright rude with them, she tried to stay away most of the time. After a while, their mannerisms would begin to get on her nerves. She could hear the shower running in Nero's room, no doubt where she was. The only one missing was the person who was closest to her here, Tara.

Nikki made a bee line for Tara's room, barging in with a verbal, "Knock, knock." Nikki closed the door behind her and walked over to Tara, wrapping her in a big hug. "Good morning sweet sanity, I am so glad you're up." she said, sounding a combination of exhausted and frustrated. Releasing her from the hug, she stood behind her with her arms crossed, "Alright I have a riddle for you, Mrs. smarty-pants. What is red and white and just got woken up by the magical rainbow twins." Her voice was playful more than legitimately angry, she never really disliked them as much as she always said but she was venting. After all, she was never the type to censor herself to be nice, especially when she was woken up.

Daimon had been awake for a while now. This cell was pretty big... which was a good thing since he hated small crowded areas. He'd been here for 5 days already, and ever since then, all he had been doing was reading, or just taking a walk around. He didnt even bother trying to make conversation with the girls. With a silent sigh, he closed the book he was reading. One, because he was done with it, and two, because the others were being a bit too loud... as usual. Still, he didnt complain.

With a small yawn, Daimon got up and stretched. Despite the lack of sleep, he really wasnt tired. With his hands in his pocket, he quietly walked into the main room where the kitchen was. He got himself a glass of water and looked around the cell. He tilted his head, wondering why the cell was so huge. If they were going to lock him up, wasnt is normal for them to keep him in a small room... something like a jail? Well at least that's what he saw in most movies.

The place was actually bigger than his house, where he used to live. I should start getting used to this place... he thought to himself as he placed the cup down. Daimon stared at the girls who were in the main room before proceeding on. He just wasnt the one to socialize with strangers. He walked towards the beach, and took a seat on the sand. Strange... they even had a beach here. Well, nothing really surprised him anymore after he randomly got kidnapped off the streets. Shaking off the thought, he stared at the water, looking like a lost kid.

As he lay in his new bed, Jem let his mind float back to when he arrived and first entered the cell, hours ago.



Jem sat up straight, startled by a loud thud that sounded like it came from a few doors down. Shrugging it off, he laid back again, this time pulling the covers over his head and yawning. Jem decided to go back to sleep until someone came and told him it was time to get up. He could already tell it was going to be a a very long day.

Vincent sat on the floor alone in a dark corner of the cell, he looked up at the ceiling and then inhaled He sat there trying to remember everything that had happened to him. He knew he arrived at this place only two days ago, he exhaled the air he had been holding in and closed his eyes and then images of two men attacking him flashed by him. He couldn’t see their faces, all he could see was one of them stick a needle into his arm. His short flashback faded to black and he opened his eyes.

He looked around, the area around him was quite dark. He was able to blend in with the shadows. He then hard a voice say to him “Your scared aren’t you?” he looked around and said “Is it you again?” There was no response, he then heard footsteps. He watched as masked person walked toward him, the person had long hair, Vincent could tell it was a man because the man wore no shirt, The man stopped about twenty feet from Vincent and removed his mask, his hair fell down before his face and covered it. He then pulled back the hair that covered the right side of his face, he showed his right eye which was crimson red. After showing his face, he began approaching Vincent, the man pace was slow. When he reached Vincent he bent down on one knee and looked Vincent in the eyes. He smiled and said “it has been a while since we last talked.” Vincent turned away and said “have you come back to destroy my life some more?” The man appeared on the other side of Vincent took look him in the eyes again, he then said “No, you have me all wrong, I’m just here to show you the light.” The man smiled, showing he was joking about showing Vincent the light. Vincent stood up and began walking away, the man appeared before him and Vincent began backing up. The man shook his head and said “Its quite rude to walk away when someone is talking to you. Can’t you see that I’m trying to be friendly here. If you want we can go back to the old way of doing things.” Vincent felt a tickle on his neck, he looked down and saw a pitch black snake slithering its way up from his chest to his neck.

Vincent pulled the snake and it disappeared, he looked at the man and said “you have no control over me anymore, your nothing.” The man ran up to him and wrapped his right hand around Vincent’s throat, he slammed him into the wall and yelled “you think you know it all don’t you!” Vincent’s eyes showed he was afraid, the man kept his hand around Vincent’s throat and said “You don’t know anything, I’m the one who keeps you alive, I’m the one who really runs this show, I am the real you.” Vincent wasn’t shocked by the man’s words. He just reached his left hand out and placed it against the man’s forehead and he disappeared. But when the man faded, the feeling of a hand choking him didn’t fade, he looked down and saw his right hand was choking him. As soon as he realized this he pulled it away and then gasped for air. As his lungs began to fill with air, he felt like he was going back to normal. He then collapsed to his knees and tear rolled down his face, he had just realized that he didn’t even have control over himself. His powers had control over him and there was little he could do about it.

Spencer mainly found himself wandering around the corriders of the cell and occasionally visiting the garden and the battle arena. Today Spencer was in the battle area sitting down in the middle and drawing in the dirt with his fingers. Many mathematical signs and formulas could be seen in the dirt of the battle arena when Spencer left it.

"Dang, I need to find the right strategy that will coodinate with the weight and height of every target, but it need it also coorespond with the velocity of the wind and the air temperature around it.", Spencer would mumble to himself in disgrace. Spencer was a thinker, he was always thinking about something, would it be how he managed to get captured or how to find a perfect way to dodge and counter a roundhouse kick while at the same time paralyzing you opponent. Spencer would calculate battle strategeys the most though because it was the thing he mostly enjoyed doing the cell. So there he was now out drawing in the dirt like he has been doing for 3 days.

The cool tides of the beach swept into the sand, parting around the form of the figure sitting in the saturated soil. Zachary did not know why the waters did this, but accepted it without question. He had been kidnapped. He was shoved into…wherever this is. And there was a beach indoors. The waters motion was of no concern to him.

He was wearing a blue pair of swim trunks and a white shirt. Even though he had a slender form, he did not enjoy taking off his shirt, and would not want to in this environment anyway. Who knows who- or what- could be watching him? His large, bright blue eyes stayed fixed on the water’s ebb and flow. He was drawn to the water, although he had no idea why. The beach around him seemed to take the edge off of his fried brain. His eyes fluttered around, trying to contemplate what had happened.

He was here for…three hours? Four? He had not seen a clock since his arrival. Yet since he had arrived, he had stayed in this spot, not counting the walk here. He had seen a few people. A few of the men here were quite attractive, yet given the numbers, Zachary was certain that he would end up alone. He traced a line in the sand with his finger, the water rushing into the groove and erasing the lines.

Zachary pulled his knees up to his chin and wrapped his arms around his shins. He stared out at the beach, the water continuing its path around him.

Joseph couldnt keep still. One minute he was sitting in his room, the next he was in a hallway walking out towards a garden. He hated to stay still. He decided to go back to the original room but couldnt remember how he got there. So he just wondered around looking at the other people that were here with him. he was dazed out when he produced a fire ball and started to throw it back and forth between his hands. He could tell he wouldn't like this place there wasnt really anything to do, so he just went back to his room and layed there on his bed for a while, even though he knew he wouldnt be there for that long. While laying in the bed he couldnt help but think, why am i here? HE got bored and walked around again, this was going to get boring quick.

Thirrin wasn't sure exactly how many people were here now. She looked around the room, dark eyes searching for someone to speak with. Of course, part of her knew they'd just back away from her dark presence, just grimace and spit at her like they always did. She stood from her spot in the armchair and, after suffing her hands into her pockets, turned and headed towards the battle arena part of the cell. It always helped relieve her of the constant stress on her shoulders to go and release some energy.

The brunette stopped before the small lake in the center of the odd area; none of them really understood how such plants could live underground, but none really bothered to ask either. Frowning lightly, Thirrin raised her left hand and concentrated on a shaded area of the water. There was a moment of silence before it began to move. Soon enough there was a figure, a manlike person that was walking atop the water as if real. "And do part," she whispered, dropping her hand and watched as the figure writhed before dropping back to its depths.

“What’cha readin’ Aura?”

Hearing Quin behind her Aura casually turned a page, “ A book of course.” Smiling, she closed her book only to turn to her friend with a slight glare at the breeze and crumbs. “It is VERY difficult to keep one’s hair in an evenly separated mess, the simplest little gust can unbalance it!” Pretending to fluff her messy pigtails, Aura giggled as she stood and grabbed an ice cube out of her ice tea. And as if right on cue, she heard Nero saying Quinn was making things cold. “Indeed, we should probably return the favor.” Holding a sly smile, Aura quickly shoved the ice cube down the back of Quin’s top. “And good morning to the both of you.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Aura caught Daimon walking in and getting a glass of water, then staring at them a bit before leaving. Grabbing her own glass, she proceeded to the sink to quickly wash it and try to stuff down the knot forming in her throat. Yes, it was ridiculous of her to be upset over a boy not speaking to them, even if she did wonder about him a lot; but all of that could be blamed on the ridiculous experiments. She could remember a time when her emotions ran normal, and not much of anything bothered her; but after being kidnapped, her emotions spiked. The entire first year was a emotional rollercoaster she had to learn to control along with her powers; now she just had to stuff everything aside and appear normal…except for the whole ‘creating beasts out of light’ deal.

Drying her glass and putting it up, emotion gladly set back to happy. Aura leaned back against the cabinet and looked around, figuring that most of the cell mates were probably out and about; though she hadn’t spotted one boy she was curious about. She had heard that a new boy had arrived who had control over light like she did; and being curious, she wanted to meet him. “I think I’ll be right back, I haven’t met the new light boy yet. Ya’ll are welcome to join me, but the curiosity is getting the best of me.” Smiling, Aura pushed herself off the counter and started counting room doors until she found the right one and knocked on the door. She couldn’t help but feel that she was being a bit pushy meeting him, but Aura couldn’t help but remember what it was like when she first arrived; but at least she had Quin during that time…but who did this boy have? Biting her lip, Aura knelt down on to the ground and looked underneath the crack of the door. Not seeing any feet anywhere, she was happy to see that there was plenty of light spilling in from the hall into the boy’s bedroom; and just the right amount she would need. Concentrating on that attainable light, she slowly formed the form of a dog, then that of a golden retriever. With the paws now the only thing she could see, Aura watched as the dog went over to the bed then disappeared from her limit sight as he jumped up onto it. Now satisfied with her personal alarm clock setup, Aura leaned against the wall and waited.

Ciera sat wide awake in her bed, she didn’t sleep much because after all darkness was her element. She found if she slept and dreamed, her dreams would take form in the shadows, including nightmares. It was safer for her and for everyone else if she just kept sleep to a minimum. Now, as she laid in bed, staring off into the pitch black, she heard a thud and she sighed. “Oh dear God it’s up.” Ciera sighed out, referring to Aura. Ok, just stay in your room and don’t come out..you need to eat and drink though. Damn the need to seek out nutrients in order to live! No doubt if she didn’t make an appearance soon, Aura would send in that blasted puppy that was bright as hell! With a sigh, she drug herself from her bed, changed into her normal attire, then stepped out. Looking about, she tried to avoid anyone but as she began walking her eyes caught sight of Aura seeming to be waiting on their new guest. “Spying are we? Or is it stalking? Funny, those are normally my past times so exactly why have you picked them up?” Her voice was flat and dripped with venom as she spoke to the probably peppiest member of their group.

Tara felt her best friend coming towards her room before she entered. She smiled to herself, the stomping from her friend wasn't the most subtle. When Nikki entered, she embraced Tara.
"Alright I have a riddle for you, Mrs. smarty-pants. What is red and white and just got woken up by the magical rainbow twins." Nikki grumbled after releasing her friend. There was a flash of amusement in her friend's overall annoyed demeanor and Tara couldn't help but laugh.
"Hmm... I have no idea who you could be referring to." Tara replied, in mock seriousness making Nikki, in turn, grin. "I guess your heard them too, huh?"
Nikki rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her red locks, "Heard? It was more like felt!"
Instantaneously, Tara felt movement shoot up her legs, and she winced.
Oh...you have no idea.
"Anyways, I'm starved, wanna go get breakfast?" Nikki smiled, opening the door.
"I was actually on my way to the battle arena." Tara replied, biting her lip.
I need to get away and think.
"Don't leave me with them...." Nikki teased, then smiled, "Alright, I'll meet you there afterwards."
She hugged her friend once more and made her way out, but before she left Tara spoke, "I think we need to help the new arrivals," Tara said quietly, not looking at her friend. "I heard most of them arrived. I think...the other fire elemental is here." she finally said, meeting her friend's gaze. There was a momentary silence that passed between them.
I know you've been struggling with your power, fire is such a fierce, difficult power to control. I can't believe you were able to control it so easily. Tara said, communicating the message with her eyes. "You've been so lonely...you've felt like nobody could understand you...even me. But maybe... maybe these new arrivals can help us.
Tara gazed into her friend's eyes and watched understanding flash through Nikki. In that instant, Tara knew they understood each other.

----

Tara sprinted towards the battle arena, it was the only way she could remotely ignore the vibrations.
God.. I need to learn to control this 'thing'...
When she slowed, the pain shot up her feet once more causing her to falls to her knees in dizziness and shock.
Please...just make it go away... Tara begged feeling her chest compress with pain and distress.
Tara squeezed her eyes shut and began to slowly stabilize her breathing. She needed to calm down and think.
Think, fix the problem, find a solution, define the source. It was what Tara was good at. It was in her nature.
Steadily, when Tara felt her body relax somewhat, she took in a deep breath and began to count the imaginary beat inside her head.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7...Wait a second--
Tara snapped her eyes open when she realized the beat wasn't imaginary and it wasn't coming from inside her head. It was from someone...it was a heartbeat.
She lifted her head and was shocked to see that there was a boy a few meters away from her. Tara froze and instinctively stiffened in bewilderment and fear when she realized she was somewhere on the beach. The boy was sitting on the sand, resting his head on his arms. When Tara's senses finally flew back to her, she began to analyze her predicament. He was turned away from her, but from the way he was sitting, Tara could tell he was concentrating on something. Tara swallowed in fear and curiosity as she sensed something intense and dangerous about this boy.
His heartbeat is unnaturally strong...but...why do I sense something different...?
Then suddenly it flashed through her mind.
Death. Destruction. Loss.
Tara sucked in a breath and made no movement towards or away from the boy.
Then suddenly she realized something. She couldn't feel anything. No vibrations except for the boy's unusually intense heartbeat.
What the hell is going on?
Now, Tara wasn't one to go in and barge questions. Tara was definitely a strategist. It was in her basic character to watch and analyze something or someone before making her move.
Watch, observe, then make a decision.
So that's exactly what she did.

Daimon realized there were newcomers. Well that really didnt matter to him. Come to think of it, he still wasnt sure why he was brought here. Rubbing the back of his neck, he continued to stare at the water. Something seemed to move, but he wasnt sure. Tilting his head he started to concentrate, but stopped when he felt someone watching him. He looked back, and sure enough found himself staring at a girl. She looked uncomfortable, like there was something terribly wrong. But she was staring at him. Was he making her uncomfortable? If so, why? He never said a word to any of them since the day he got here.

Daimon forced himself to look away from her. He brushed his fingers gently across the sand. His eyes drifted back to where the girl was standing. Now he was starting to feel weird. With a small sigh, Daimon got up and started to walk down along the beach. He noticed there were a few others here as well. A girl seemed to be concentrating on the water, as if waiting for something to happen. He watched for a second before moving his gaze back down onto the sand.

"Thirrin, where are you?" came a voice.

The brunette was sure it had been in only her mind, since Naomi usually only talked telepathicly. She rubbed her temples and, kicking at the surface of the water, turned to face the entrance of the battle arena. The scientist was always bothering her, trying to cheer up her perminantly depressed mood. "What do you want?" she thought in a groan.

"To hang out!" the younger telepath replied, voice a little down. Naomi was standing at the edge of the forest, eyes upon two others in the arena.

But Thirrin didn't care if others were around; she'd long since given up on trying to give people a good impression of her. "Leave me alone, Naomi," she said aloud, voice traveling to the girl. "And stop trying to cheer me up. I've been here for three years. I'm done trying to please you scientists." The brunette turned and strode off, past the boy at the edge of the water and the girl who was watching him. She took a nice shadey spot under a tree, twisting her fingers around the stem of a power. It shriveled in her touch as she gritted her teeth, and, frustrated, she pulled her knees to her chest and placed her hands to her head.

When Tara saw the death elementress, Thirrin, Tara immediately heightened her senses in shock.
How was it that I didn't feel her? How could I have missed her...?
Tara narrowed her eyes in calculation, trying to determination the source of her sudden and unexpected loss of her earth radar. Tara snapped out of her thoughts and when she realized the boy had seen her, she instantly felt exposed and insecure. A look of confusion had passed through his expressions as their gazes locked for a moment.
The only thing Tara could feel coursing through her body was the abnormal heart beat of this boy. It was somewhat calming but at the same time Tara's insecurity grew bigger. It didn't make any sense that the only thing she could feel was his heart beat. After a minute, the boy broke his gaze and glanced away in an uncomfortable manner, causing Tara to blink rapidly.
Well...of course you're making him feel uncomfortable.. you're staring him down like a hawk.
However, Tara couldn't help but curve her lips upward in a small smile. When the boy stood up to move away, Tara was only semi-surprised when she didn't feel any vibrations from the ground at all. Tara quickly shifted her attention to Thirrin, and winced inwardly. Thirrin had be at this place the longest, yet she seemed like she was always alone. Tara knew that the others didn't exactly think Thirrin was the kindest person, but Tara wondered if maybe there was more to Thirrin that everyone thought or knew. She watched as a plant shrivelled at Thirrin's touch and Tara flinched.
But... it's not her fault.
Turning her head slowly towards the other direction, she saw that the boy was gazing off towards the water.
God...how are we all so different but similar at the same time...? We're all so lost...

Cupping sand with her hands, she blew the sand towards both the death elementress' and the boy's direction, using her powers to manipulate the sand, carrying it down towards where Thirrin and the boy was, brushing it gently against both their cheeks in a simulated blow kiss.
Unhurriedly, Tara stood up and walked towards the forest, a ghost of a smile dancing across her lips.

Nikki sensed that there was something wrong with Tara, she just seemed off. She asked whether Tara wanted to eat with her, despite not being hungry. It was more an invitation to talk than eat. Nikki got the answer that she was expecting, that she wanted to be by herself in the arena. That’s where she always went to think and be by herself, and Nikki never bothered to follow her. Sure, she had tried some times, but it never seemed to work as well with Nikki there. After a while, Nikki just let it be, finding other things to do while Tara left to think. A small sigh let out her lips, she hated when Tara was upset like this, it seemed to bother her almost as much as it bothered Tara. It wasn't even so much that she saw that Tara was upset, because she always managed to get over it after she went to go think, but that she never felt the need to even so much as mention it to Nikki. They were best friends and yet they never truly spoke about anything. It was a little upsetting to say the least.

Nikki's eyes followed Tara as she left the room, leaving Nikki alone. She sat on the bed a few more minutes, simply thinking of what to do with herself. After a while, Nikki unhappily got up and pattered to the door. Her shoulders were slumped and her face was in a small smirk as she carefully opened the door and shut it behind her. People seemed to still be in the kitchen, re-affirming the fact that she was not hungry. She was not in the mood to be bombarded with smiles. However, she was not opposed to finding the new residents. A couple more guys had come in last night while she was sleeping, and she was hoping to find someone she could tolerate and would tolerate her. She couldn't just be friends with Tara. No matter how close she was with her and how much she liked her, she needed more friends. With this in mind, she silently headed down the hallway which held the new people.

Turning down the hallway, she created a small ball of fire that she rolled around in her hand. It was a small exercise that was easy enough to control and still tuned her powers. Plus it was something to do while she walked, something to keep her hands busy. She had one in each hand, tossing them and rolling them with each step, feeling the comforting warmth across her skin. She had trouble controlling anything much larger than this, usually creating bursting infernos which left her hands and arms charred and burnt. She winced slightly as she looked down at a decent sized burn mark on her arm from her latest mishap. It had almost all healed, but it had left a mark. At least it had gotten her out of training with the scientists for the last week, it would have been more if burns didn't heal so quickly on her. It was the one thing that did, and it wasn't really a riddle as to how. But this small exercise made her feel in control, and that was enough to put her at ease for the moment.

The row of doors held one of two possibilities that she noticed while walking by them. They were either closed, in which she was not going to intrude, or they were open and empty. Her eyes rolled as she neared the end of the hallway, she felt as if she had wasted energy. That was, until she reached one of the last doors. This door was cracked open and she suspected it to be empty, but it wasn't. It had been last night, though. She peaked in, feeling a bit nosey as she tried to identify the figure who seemed to be on the floor. She put out one fire ball in her hand and dimmed the other, putting it up to the door crack to allow her to see better into the dark room. It was a boy, or a man rather for he was seemingly older than she, kneeling on the ground in the dark. And was he...crying? She couldn't tell, even the small light from her hands could not allow her to make out every detail. She could tell that he had long, dark hair and that she most definitely had not seen him before. Despite not wanting to be rude, she felt she should do something. After all, he had not done anything to her...yet. With a whisper, for she did not want to startle him too much, she asked, "Ummm, are you all right?".

Quinn squealed and lost the small amount of concentration it took to keep her floating. With a loud thud, Quinn hit the hard kitchen floor and clawed at her back in a fit of giggles. Eventually she got hold of the ice cube and tossed it across the room. She was back in the air within moments and the refreshing feeling of air streaming all over her body returned. Quinn gave Nero a look and twirled her hand in a circular motion, sending a gust of wind in Nero's direction and watched her wet hair clear away from her face instantly. She giggled again and smiled at the other elemental as Aura said she was going to visit the new light elemental. Quinn called out to Aura as she headed down the hallway, "I'll come with you. I want to meet him too!" After grabbing a couple more cookies, Quinn headed down the hallway and noticed Ciera talking to Aura.

"Hi Ciera!" Quinn said cheerfully to the Dark Elemental and leaned on the opposite wall facing Aura. Ciera seemed to glare at at Quinn as was about to speak when the door Aura was standing near opened and a boy with silver hair emerged, Aura's glowing golden retriever directly behind him. Quinn looked at him and giggled, her cheeks filling with color. The boy was in nothing but a pair of blue boxers. He was slender, tall with creamy skin and absolutely gorgeous. "Hi!" she said, smiling brightly at the boy and extending her hand towards him and unknowingly sending a slight breeze at him.

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Just as he was drifting off to sleep, Jem thought he heard the sound of paws on the floor. With a groan, he turned over on his stomach and pulled his pillow over his head. Suddenly, something heavy was on him, he struggled under whatever it was and pulled himself into a sitting position on the bed. Once his eyes adjusted, he could see that what had jumped on him had been a rather bright golden retriever. A little confused, he slipped out of the bed and just stared at the dog, unsure about what to do about it. As he ran his hand through his silver hair, he heard voices coming from outside his door. Quickly, he opened the door and found himself face to face with three girls. The one who spoke first held out her hand and Jem felt a slight breeze hit the center of his chest, he lifted his arm groggily and shook the girls hand. Pulling his hand back he glanced at the other girls. One had black hair and was dressed in pretty much all black, the other had an an odd shade of brown hair and was dressed in very soft, light toned green and brown. He kept his gaze on her, taking in her bright green eyes as he scratched the back of his head and ruffled his hair. "So," he said calmly, his voice gentle, "Which one of you sent in the alarm clock?" He gestured to the dog that had followed him and was now by his side, his eyes falling on each girl before finally resting on the brunette with the bright green eyes.

Aura shook her head as she spotted more cookies in Quinn’s hand, but her attention was drawn over to Ciera as she spoke. “Morning! And no, I’m waiting actually; but if you want to have similar past times you could always give me lessons. We can spy together!” Laying on the brightness thick and sweet, she knew that it would get on the dark elementals nerves; but not enough to actually make her angry, just… annoyed. About to add a bit of sparkling butterflies to the morning greeting, the door to the new boy’s room opened and she couldn’t stop the blush that started on her face; noticing that Quinn was having the same problem. Waiting as her friend greeted him first, she couldn’t help but be confused why the boy kept looking at her; but hearing his question Aura couldn’t help but smile and raised her hand. “That would be me. I wasn’t even sure if you were in there or not, but it’s a lot better than the annoying beeping alarms. I’m Aura, pleasure to meet you.” Holding out her own hand, she smiled even brighter; if that was even possible at this point.

Ciera stiffened as Quinn's happy greeting crawled its way up her spine. "Fantastic, another one." Why were all the sparkliest people attracted to her? It was like some cruel joke of the universe and it didn't get any better as Aura was unnaturally happy. Ugh, it left a bitter taste in her mouth and she could only manage a sneer at her. "I'd rather eat a pine cone than do anything with you but thanks for the offer." Before she had a chance to shoot off anymore insults, the door Aura had been waiting outside of opened and out came her trademark bright dog along with a new guy. Squinting her eyes at the dogs brightness, she discreetly looked to a corner that was shadowed and used it to create a large snake. Slithering behind them all as they exchanged greetings it quickly gulped Aura's dog before disappearing, leaving a satisfied smirk on Ciera's face. "Ah, much better."

Joseph suddenly woke up once the smell of something burning. He looked around before relizing it was all in his head. He didn't want to fall asleep again so he got up and began walking around. He was on his way to walking outside when his stomach began to growl. He turned around and started towards the kitchen area. He got lost a couple of time being this was only his second day there. When Joseph finally arrived he saw some girls having a conversation. He gave them a simple hello and continued into the kitchen to find himself something to eat.