Hallie Green's Story

"I'm Mikhail," he said with a grin, and extended a hand. "Nice to meet you."

He noticed her shivering. It was a touch breezy, but not enough to bother him. However, he did note that girls tend to get colder more than guys. In the missions where they could afford to bring clothes, he would often pack an extra jacket or two whenever there was a girl, just to be prepared. Cold was often a worse enemy than man.

He wished he had an extra jacket now. It wasn't necessarily that he had feelings for her, but he didn't want her to catch a cold or anything. "Are you cold? Perhaps you would like to go somewhere else? I suppose the auditorium is out of the question....I wish I had brought a jacket." He sunk lower in his haunches, thinking. "Ah, I know," he remarked. He stepped a little closer to Hallie, still squatting (if it weren't for his altered gravity, his knees would be screaming for his head) and straightened his back. He cupped his palms and breathed into them to warm them up, rubbing them together afterwards. Before she could protest, he started rubbing his hands briskly up and down her arms. After about half a minute, he stopped. "Feel any warmer?"

Hallie

Frozen as Mikhail rubbed his hands up and down her arms, she stared at him with her hazel eyes, unable to react. It took her a moment to register what he had asked. "Uh...yeah sure. Warmer."

Hastily she stood up, switching her weight between her feet. Truly she was still rather cold and felt weird talking so normally with someone. "So...what...what do you do?"

She gave a not very convincing answer that she was warmer before standing up. Mikhail followed suit, and was punished with two cramps in his knees. He grimaced. "Ahhhh....ermf....that smarts..." He hobbled upright, hopping up and down a bit until his knees relaxed. He breathed out, "Phew, that's a bit better. Okay, maybe this will work better if we're standing." He breathed into his hands again and resumed rubbing her arms vigorously. In the middle of it, he heard her ask "So...what...what do you do?"

"I do many things," he responded, still rubbing her arms, "But, I assume you are referring to "what do I do that put me in this school." It's a bit difficult to explain in English, so how about I show you?" He stopped rubbing and instead grasped her arms as he released gravity's hold on both of them. In a matter of seconds, they were already floating, and before a minute was up, they were hovering about two feet in the air, standing as if on an invisible block. He smiled at her, before commenting, "Jeez, you really are cold. Maybe you should think warmer thoughts."

Hallie

Stock still, staring down at our feet, Hallie couldn't come up with any warm thoughts. She was floating. But she felt the same, the gravity hadn't changed, her feet weren't hanging. Mikhail's calm sparked with a little amusement. Of course he was amused. Peering up to him through her white hair, she changed a curious grin as well, raising an eyebrow. "This how you get all the girls to like you Mr. Mikhail? Make them fly?"

She tried to think about warm things, beaches, sunshine, a heater that was probably in her room...

Mikhail's eyes widened at what she said, and he looked up, contemplative. "You know, I actually never thought of that. I was always too busy with work to worry about things like that." He turned his head back to face her and lowered his head, looking up at her impishly, smiling cheekily, and asked eagerly with a wink "Why? Is it working?"

Hallie

Wow, turn on the charm much? Hallie nearly laughed, watching his little smile and wink act. Like he had no experience, please...too busy with work.

"Eh," she started, but smiling a little in return. "Little weird actually. Usin' your powers to woo? Isn't that like cheating?"

Mikhail pretending to pout, but laughed when she asked if it wasn't like cheating. "I already told you, this is the first time. And I didn't do it intentionally to get you to like me. Besides, from what I've heard, I'm dashing enough without being a hoverboard." He lowered the two of them down to the floor, releasing their arms when their feet touched the ground. "But, if you can believe it," he said, then dropped his voice to a whisper, "I've never actually had a girlfriend."

Hallie

Hallie's eyes widened hearing this. Really? This guy? Clearing her throat, she glanced away, surprised more than anything. Though it shouldn't have been. It's not like its uncommon. In fact she herself had never had a relationship. Accidentally slept with guys...and a girl once...but no relationship stuff. Suddenly she felt weird, throat a bit dry.

"I...well, I can. Uh...believe it that is," she began, not believing how her voice sounded. Control lost, stoic expression vanished. "I haven't...either...not really. I mean had a boyfriend. Not a girlfriend, though I haven't had one of those either."

Wow, what the hell? Did the gravity thing mess with her brain somehow?

Out of her uncharacteristic panic, she pointed willfully at the glove on his hand, trying to find words. "That's different. Fashion statement?"

Mikhail watched Hallie's expression change curiously. She looked a bit startled when he said it. Her hazel eyes widened and everything. Was it really that shocking? She responded shakily: "I...well, I can. Uh...believe it that is. I haven't...either...not really. I mean had a boyfriend. Not a girlfriend, though I haven't had one of those either."

Mikhail laughed a little. "Well, I've never had a boyfriend either. That makes two of us."

Suddenly, Hallie pointed strongly at his left side. "That's different," she seemed to blurt out, "Fashion statement?"

Mikhail looked to where she was pointing and noticed it was his gloved hand. "Ah...this..." he held it up in front of him. Memories of that failed mission flitted in his mind. For a split second, everything replayed in his head. This wasn't the first time someone had asked about it, but it was still a fairly recent wound. "I suppose you could say that," he ended up saying, looking back at her, putting his hand down and smiling again. "If work-related accidents is the latest fashion trend now."

Hallie

Hallie took in his emotions, hesitant, regretful...The mixture calmed her own anxieties and she peered up to him wonderingly. Something else was there that he was avoiding, trying to push away. She couldn't quite grasp it.

Crossing her arms, she leaned away. He didn't want to talk about it. She understood.

But then a silence threatened to fall over them. In her mind she wondered about her freak out, his hand, the orientation...so many things. Out of them all however, she was most worried about the cold. Were they bringing in ice sculptures to store or what?

Part of her longed for her bed, the blankets and sheets now unpacked and thrown on in a nice heap on the mattress, a warm heap most likely. Leaving Mikhail seemed rude though. Ugh, she hated nice people. Why did he have to be nice? Why couldn't he be like every other person and ignore her? Even her friends knew when to stop talking and continue their computer games amongst their own bantering. She couldn't handle too much.

Mikhail was different though, calmer, controlled. She wondered what his "work" was in particular. Somehow she knew this demeanor came from something he used to do. It was almost military-esque. But he was foreign. Foreign military? It didn't matter though because he was safe to be around. No crazy teenage hormones making her want to shove her tongue down his throat all night.

"Do you wanna head back to the dorms? I'm seriously freezing."

"Still? Oh, that's a pity. After I worked so hard to try and keep you warm too!" Mikhail sighed, but he wasn't upset. He smiled at her and made a hand gesture, "After you."

As he followed after her, he ran through the conversation they had, trying to piece together the type of person she was. She seemed all right. Good sense of humor. Probably prone to a lot of headaches. Empath....despite her thoughts on it, it was pretty useful. You could probably manipulate it to the point where you can get whatever you want, just by analyzing other people's emotions. Plus, it was virtually undetectable. Unlike his own ability, which always kicked in involuntarily whenever he was in danger. Not that he was complaining. It had saved his life at least once, but ironically, it also ruined it.

A thought ran through his mind. He picked up his pace until he was walking next to her. "Hey, do you suppose that if I think warm thoughts, then you could leech off of them and you'd be warmer?" as an afterthought, he added, "Also, what dorm are you in?" He looked around, and unsurprisingly found the scenery completely unrecognizable. "Sorry to be asking you so many questions, but you don't happen to know how far away it is, do you?"

Hallie

"It's the 6th one, at the end of the hall," she explained, pointing. "And...I don't know if thoughts work...I haven't experimented with it really. Causes more trouble than good."

Hallie drew her key from her pocket and opened the door with the big 6 on it. Opening the door, she found James' side of the room a bit more tidy that hers because he hadn't unpacked yet. She shrugged though, tossing her key on the side table and plopping down on the mattress. Yes. Much better here. She quickly wrapped a purple blanket around her shoulders and motioned to the seat next to her.

"Plenty of blankets."

Mikhail nodded. "I see." He followed Hallie into the room and stood politely, if not a bit awkwardly, until she motioned for him to sit next to her. "Plenty of blankets," she said.

"That's a relief," Mikhail said, "It should keep you warm right?" He leaned back against the bed and yawned, stretching. "Ahhhhhh. oof. I better be careful. I might fall asleep right now." he rubbed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, "This waking up at 6 in the morning thing will be the death of me." He was really tempted to sleep right then and there, but he knew it would be rude, so he forced himself to sit up. Clapping his hands on his knees, he looked around the room. There was another bed, predictably, but much of the things on that side of the room looked...well...not feminine, that was for sure. Did they really pair up a guy and a girl together? He remembered last night's event with the fox girl. It wouldn't surprise him.

He turned to Hallie. "Just curious. Who is your roommate?"

Hallie

Hallie sighed, glaring to the other bed. "James." She snuggled with her blanket. Mikhail seemed tired, nearly laying down completely beside her. She looked to her disheveled blankets and nodded. "You can lay down if you want. We're not going to the orientation. I'm not anyway."

Mikhail nodded. "I see. James....well, I'll just assume that whatever guy walks in here is him." James. Jesse James. Jesse and James. Meowth, that's right. Mikhail was in the middle of remembering the Team Rocket spiel in Russian when Hallie interrupted his thoughts. "You can lay down if you want. We're not going to the orientation. I'm not anyway."

Mikhail was wondering if she wasn't a fan of Pokemon and spoke when she did on purpose, but then he remembered that she wasn't a mind reader, but an emotion reader. In any case, he was grateful that he had her permission to take a nap. He sprawled next to her on the bed and looked up at the ceiling, blowing a stray hair away from his face. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

He fell asleep quickly. Instantly, images of the failed mission played out in front of him. His two team members. The bomb. The trip wire. The elevator shaft. The broken leg. The code. The wire. The explosion. The pain in his left hand. The blood. All the blood.

He snapped his eyes open, his breath hitching. He looked at Hallie and wondered if she noticed his quick breathing. That blanket was practically eating her. He turned away and held up his arm, reading his watch. He had only been sleeping for a minute. It felt longer. With a sigh, he dropped his arm over his eyes and steadied his breathing. When his heart rate had calmed down, he removed his arm and folded his hands together over his chest. Staring up at the ceiling, he wondered about the aftermath of that mission.

"Can I ask you a question in the future?" Mikhail asked Hallie, still looking up at the ceiling.

Hallie

Mikhail either wasn't a good sleeper or something was eating him. Either way, Hallie closed her eyes and pulled the blanket tight around her shoulders, breathing slowly. Part of her wanted to leave the room so she wouldn't absorb any of his hectic emotions, but then it cut off. His eyes were open just shortly after they had closed.

Can I ask you a question in the future?

Hallie eyed him, his controlled emotions hard to read. It was refreshing. "Um...sure. But why in the future?" She pushed her hair out of her face and turned to face him full on, watching him stare up to the ceiling.

"So I can ask it anytime," Mikhail explained. "And because asking to ask a question is still a question, and I wanted to clarify that I had yet another question to ask."

He could just see Hallie's face through his peripheral vision. She was cute, in her own, quiet, almost sullen way. The white hair was interesting. He didn't understand the white haired trend...why not wait until you're older and actually have it? Her eyes were probably her best part. Hazel...brown and green. Warm and cool. An intriguing color.

He stopped thinking about her appearance and went on with his question. "Do you ever wonder why we have the powers we do? Like, is it something genetic? Are we unknowing test subjects from an experiment a long time ago? Or, even, is it some magical, fate-like thing that makes us all "special"? And what defines what power we get? Is it random? Or does it have to do with our personalities?" He turned and looked straight at Hallie, "Do you ever think about those types of things?"

Hallie

Eyes widened, she absorbed all the questions. "You do know that's more than one question..."

She laughed though and nodded. "All the time. Feeling kinda cursed and all sparks such thoughts. But yea...it's a little weird right? Like, why are we here? How did they even find us?"

Mikhail laughed. "You're right. I guess I got a bit carried away." He listened to Hallie's answer and nodded in agreement. He laughed a bit at the last part. "I always wondered that, but more for how they found everybody else. I know how they found me. By the way," Mikhail turned until he was on his side, facing Hallie, "When did you first get your powers? Did you always have them, or did they happen later in your life?"

Hallie

Mikhail was getting comfortable and his emotional wavelengths streamed steady. Hallie was glad she could have a normal conversation with him. "Later on," she answered. "A little after my mom threw me out and my dad got me my own place. I was hanging around a lot more people and then one night...well, I noticed something was off. Lets leave it at that."

She shrugged out of her memories of that night. "How 'bout you Peter Pan?"