[Heianu/Zedd] Fire and Lightning, Very, Very Frightening

[Heianu]

The fresh meat of the school, Heianu traversed the halls, getting a sense of where things were and the like. Her green hair was vibrant as ever, the wind picking it up and almost making it look like the very flames she could conjure. Her general outfit was in carbonfiber black, nothing really flashy but it matched with her green fairly well without needing much effort.


A lot of these mages were heavily skilled, but she wasn't sure if there were any like her. Those that had a promise with power but struggled to control it. She sighed, hands in her pockets, as she roamed through the halls. Some students were obviously special, and she somehow was one of them. She wondered just how many were 'talent' show horses of a mage and how many actually clawed their way to the top.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    Weekends were always a calming break from the norm at the academy. Of course, every student still had their own studies, projects, and assignments to do. For someone like Zedd, however, taking a small break wasn't the worst thing in the world. He wasn't a workaholic like Isaah or any of the other honor's class. As long as he got the work done, that was good enough for him. He was smart enough without studying anyways. 

    Ever since his successful training run, Zedd kept the pressure up. He'd built up a decent bit of stamina, going for daily jogs, morning and night. It'd become a pretty routine sight, one that the student body had to adjust to, of course, but once they did, it was business as usual. 

    And today was just another day.

    There were whispers around about a training room demolished beyond repair. With Zedd in the spotlight more and more and running around the school building up stamina, the obvious assumption immediately locked onto him. There were many split assumptions. Zedd could barely control his own magic, there's no way he could thrash a room that badly. But what if he did? On and on, back and forth. Even newcomers to the school now had a cursory idea of the situation, even if they didn't know who this fabled lightning ball was or what he looked like.

    For anyone on the outside, it was no doubt a strange debate. But, for those at the school, someone like Zedd getting a power bump was a massive upheaval in many regards. A boy known for his explosively unstable magic made a mockery of one of the school's elites, and then right after that he gets an uptick in strength? He'd either be a bigger threat or a much more dangerous bombshell waiting to go off. Terrifying prospects. 

    Zedd, though, was completely oblivious to it all. He just kept up his daily schedule like always. His bitter resentment towards Damien blossomed into something more. Something more controlled. The young man held a deep grudge that contradicted every part of himself. A grudge that would not die until the lightning mage could proudly say he slammed Damien into the dirt and taught him, properly, what for. It was a blessing that he hadn't run into the blond-haired honor's mage since the fight. The only real good thing he could stake a claim to. 
   
    But, as it was, on this sunny, lovely weekend day, Damien was the furthest thing on Zedd's mind. Just barely there enough to keep his drive going, but not enough to keep him upset. A hard balance that the young boy fought fiercely to discover. 

    Feet hit the stony walkway. The young lightning mage's attire was lightened slightly, lacking his usual jacket and shoulder pieces, but otherwise remaining the same. Thankfully, the spring air was still cool enough that he didn't have to swap to shorts to avoid breaking out in too bad of a sweat. Music blared into a pair of earbuds, his own little mix to keep him pumped up. The wild-haired boy lost track of how many laps he was on, so he kept time through the songs. A novel idea in concept, in practice he zoned out and lost track of that too. 

    At least the music was good.

    The footsteps suddenly halted as a not so normal sight popped into Zedd's view. At Vyridel, it was easy to tell who was new and who wasn't. Little habits and mannerisms that people tended to pick up as time went on, or traits they showed when they were first getting settled in. One of the big ones was, despite there being no dress code during the weekends, students usually still stuck to their uniforms outside of training or going out for a day in the town. Newer students didn't always find comfort in that habit right away. Not to mention, everyone who'd been there long enough just had an... ease about them. 

    So, at present, the green haired girl Zedd now found himself looking at was two-for-two in the newbie department. And those were just the obvious signs that others could pick apart. Unfortunately for Heianu, Zedd could dig far deeper than just those reasons. Namely, he could tell she didn't have any friends just yet. Which meant it was time for him to strike. 
    
    "Yo!" He'd call, hand raised in an attempt to grab her attention. A grin formed over the boy's features. "You're new here aren't you?"

    The young lightning mage gave a nod and held out his gauntleted hand. "I'm Zedd, it's nice to meet you. Don't let the metal scare ya, it's just easier to control my magic with em on. It won't hurt you none." 

[Heianu]

Heianu's gaze flicked up, hair flashing up in a quick motion before slightly floating back in place. "Oh, uh. Hi.", she said. She eyed the kid, he had some flashy armour on. Though Zedd seemed to take notice of her staring at them and explained. So he was kind of like her, a handicapped. "Yeah. I'm new here. Name's Heianu. Nice kit.", she said, grabbing his hand and giving it a single, firm shake.

Meanwhile her stuff was more... Assassin-y? She had some items on her, but they were necessary to overcome her own problems with her abilities. The only real struggle was keeping a healthy supply. "Just really gathering a sense of my surroundings here so I'm not lost when I actually get to start my classes." She shrugged. There really was nothing more to it.

Sure there was that weird whisper of some explosive, like literally eplosive, mage that went against one of the honours students but she didn't really care. She'd probably run into that disgraced honours student before the ticking timebomb anyways.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    "I need it to make sure I don't blow myself up." He said with a laugh. "My lightning magic is volatile, unfortunately. Obviously, strong enough to get me into the academy but..." Zedd gave a small shrug. 

    "It's good to meet you though, Heianu." With a small turn, Zedd motioned for her to follow him with one of those flashy new gauntlets. "A lot of the people are pretty nice here, a few are snobs. For the most part everyone just kinda keeps to themselves and minds their own business. Of course, there's a good few that also like to get into fights, but don't let that scare you off any. As long as you can handle your own, you'll be fine." 

    Zedd paused the music that had been blaring out of his headphones, and pointed out some of the landmarks as they walked. Already he was secretly starting to dig into the new girl, opening up the book and reading through. "They've got maps for new students in the front desk, but if you're just trying to get used to the placement, nothing's better than taking a wander around. So tell me about yourself. What part of the city are you from, what type of magic do you use? I'm gonna guess fire, but feel free to prove me wrong." 

    It'd been a while since the young man got a chance to talk to anyone. His explosive display marked him as an obvious enemy of Damien. A threat to one of the key power players. No one knew if Damien would be satisfied with just that display, and they didn't want to risk becoming targets themselves. Many of the students even took to pretending he simply didn't exist. 

    Better him than them.

    The young man knew this. That he was being fed to the wolves like this now. It was isolating, and painful. Isaah all but vanished from Zedd's life, and the lightning mage only saw the honor's student at a distance, or in the classroom. And then, he'd vanish with the crowd and Zedd would be left by himself. Again.

    It certainly made the young man wish he'd stuck with normal schooling. But instead of getting down, he used that thought to instead drive him. Show them who's boss and what not. At least that was the concept.

    The boy continued to point out all the different landmarks as he guided the new girl along happily. All things considered, it was a pretty short tour. But for good measure, Zedd did have the two of them stop at the front desk for a spare map. Just in case. The young man was happier than he'd been since his defeat. A chance to talk to someone had been so rare in his life lately, that he craved social interaction more than anything now. It was something he didn't even realize, either, until he started talking to Heianu. Training took up so much of his time. That goal of revenge. That spiteful drive. Zedd completely forgot that he really was just so devastatingly lonely.

    "And that ends Zedd's grand tour!" He announced, turning back to the green-haired girl. "Any questions?"

[Heianu]

Heianu wasn't very easy to read. The easiest measures were based on her responses alone. anywhere Zedd tried to dig fell short or were simple dead ends. It seemed like she wasn't hiding too much, but there was also just a lot of missing information that she didn't seem to be guarding. She seemed fairly detached more than anything, just following Zedd around and listening to him ramble.

He seemed to know the place fairly well and was friendly enough. So that was good at least. When he started to ask her questions of herself, she just shrugged. "The outskirts of Ignis reach, the section that has a cusp with Pillar Steppes. Yeah, I deal with fire. Though that's probably a given since I'm carrying oil.", she said. She figured his guess was based on her inventory, oblivious to what was really going on.

She'd follow quietly, taking silent notes in her head of certain landmarks. These would help when classes started, but she felt like she'd still get turned around at the start anyways. Heianu flipped open the map to glance at it. An overhead view was nothing like it in person, plus orienting the map in the direction she faced was such a pain. Though, it was something. She looked up at Zedd, the thought clicked ages ago but she wanted confirmation. "You the student I hear whispers of that had a fight with one of the honours?", she asked, pretty deadpan in expression.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    "Oh really? I'm from Ignis Reach myself!" His smile didn't fade. Ignis reach was always a nice place, in his opinion. Very warm, no pun intended. It made a bit of sense too, fire mage being from Ignis Reach and all. Zedd's digging was relatively fruitless, Heianu was about as interesting as a rock if that rock was on a cobblestone path getting kicked around by a horse. Maybe she just was better at burying stuff? No, no Isaah was a masterclass as that, and Zedd could figure him out pretty quickly. Perhaps there just wasn't really all that much to the girl. 

    And then came the inevitable question.

    The young man knew it was coming. He could tell it was on her mind. Heianu wasn't any sort of delicate either. Pretty much just a no-nonsense type of person, wasn't she? A sigh escaped Zedd's lips, one of the gauntleted hands rubbed the back of his neck. "Heh, so all those rumors reached even the new people. Guess there's no point in hiding it any." 

    "Yeah, I was the one who got his face kicked in." The boy tried to maintain the smile, but there was a sadness to it now. A bitterness. "Eheh, that's old history now, though. What's done is done so there's nothing to worry about." 
   
    Great, now she's just going to be scared away from talking to me anymore now. Well, I guess that's for the best. It's not like I want one of the new kids to get targeted just because I need someone to talk to. The young man gave a soft sigh, preparing himself for some sort of farewell or excuse to leave. It was nice while it lasted though. Hopefully she got some useful information out of this at least. 

    As long  as I could help someone out, that's fine by me.

    He stood there, waiting for something to happen. As he did, the young mage remembered Isaah. The cold look of hatred and disdain. The look of betrayal. The lightning mage felt his stomach twist into knots just at the memory. "While I'm at it, I should probably let you in on something else. I'm... apparently something called an Empath. Which, I guess means I'm just super good at reading people. It's not something I actively try to do, I just... do, you know? So, if you're more of a private person that isn't comfortable with something like that, then... I guess there's your warning?" 
    
   Even if Heianu didn't leave, Zedd couldn't let a repeat situation happen again. If the girl was withdrawn, he didn't want to accidentally pry something open and hurt her in the same manner the lightning mage had done to Isaah. He couldn't take that look of betrayal again. 

[Heianu]

"So like... what caused it?", she asked, although her expression seemed to lack the interest her question had. Maybe her personality was just guarded or flat. There had to be a reason that an underdog fought an elite, there always was.

Fortunately for Zedd she didn't seem all that bothered of the rumored event. In fact she appeared completely unbothered about it. Her brow raised slightly at the mention of an empath before relaxing back to a normal state two seconds later. "Empath, huh. Powerful stuff. Empaths don't really get the luxury to dig into my soul." She shrugged and stared ahead. "Not like there's much to hide."

Heianu really was a no-nonsense person. She was emotionally flat for the most part, at least for the time being. For the most part, she just seemed too tired or drained to really emote. But that might just be a her thing that just let her keep her cool more than most people.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    Zedd felt a mild discomfort growing. It wasn't that Heianu was hard to read or anything, it was more that she was so cold and disinterested. Combining that with his inability to really get a solid read made him paranoid that he was only making an ass of himself, or that Zedd was just making her hate him. Maybe she already did? The lightning mage shifted uncomfortably. The energy and cheer he had shown Heianu was quickly starting to falter, almost as though the girl was draining it from him. 

    "Uh, eheh... right... why...?" Zedd though back to the meeting with Yuki, having his arm twisted into fighting Damien. It wasn't noble or anything, he'd simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, the boy supposed there was just a little bit more to it now. "Well, I was an easy target. Lower class than him, my magic barely got over the cut off point to get entry to the school, and on top of that I can barely control it with outside help. He wouldn't stop going after me. I could brush it off a lot, make excuses to myself about how it didn't bother me, and it wasn't all that bad. It's not like he ever actually hit me or hurt me or anything... but... I guess I still hated it. It still bothered me."

    The young man shrugged and kept walking. He didn't have much in the ways of responses. Though, with her admitting Empath's didn't really get much out of her there was a bit of relief. Zedd didn't have to worry about accidentally peeling something back that wasn't  supposed to be. Still, the mage doubted Yuki's words. He didn't know if he was truly an empath, it always felt like there was something more. Like he was just good at reading body language and tells from a person's eyes. Maybe that just was empath shit and he was digging too deep?

    It's not like he really researched empaths.

    A sigh escaped Zedd's lips. It felt like the mood had plummeted, replaced by an air of discomfort and silence. The boy didn't really have much else to say, and talking about the fight, no matter how short, just wore on his  bones and frustrated him. It didn't help that rumors were spreading around.

    It was like all the progress he made didn't matter anymore.

    Along the way, Zedd stopped by a pair of vending machines.  One had a selection of cold drinks and cold treats, the other had simple chips and snacks. With a glance back towards the green haired girl, Zedd shrugged. "What do you want?" He asked, digging a finger into his shirt pocket. 

[Heianu]

Heianu stared at Zedd for a moment. The boy was terrible at hiding his emotions. She noted his near immediate change in tone. "It's not like it's a bad thing to fight against those who look down on you.", she said before shifting her gaze back to whatever far off point she was staring at before. Maybe she just liked to let her eyes and mind wander during a conversation. "I'd probably do the same if some jackass wouldn't leave me alone for no reason too."

She yawned in the middle of the silence, the day itself was slow and lazy so there was reason for Heianu to be so relaxed. She didn't really seem to read into the situation. But if she did, it seemed like she wasn't going to really let it bother her. Her eyes went from the sky to the vending machines in front of them after hearing Zedd stop. She walked over to look at the options in the vending machine for cold food items. "The cold cocoa, thanks.", she said. She'd repay him for his gesture later, and wouldn't let him refuse. "So, you know anyone around here? Or is it just you on your lonesome?" It couldn't be the latter right? An underdog in honours and alone? That'd suck.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    A soft 'C'thunk' noise sounded out as the can dropped down. Zedd handed the cocoa over to Heianu, then dropped a few more coins in for a can of strawberry soda, wallet returned back to the shirt pocket once done. He'd never made any attempt to really  hid his emotions. Electricity was a wild magic by its nature, and one that was bound to emotions quite intricately. The soda can hissed as Zedd popped the tab and took a small sip out of it. 

    "I 'know' people, but I don't 'know' people." Once he'd adjusted to the fizz, Zedd took a bigger gulp of his drink. "So, yeah, I'm usually by my lonesome." More so because of his fight with Damien now. Zedd opened his mouth to mention Isaah, but thought better of it. There was no point in doing so. 

    "So, what course are you in? I'm in the standard course personally, but what about you?" The young man wasn't actually in honors. His grades were average and so was his magical potential. While the top ten in the honors classes were discerned by the gold chains attached to their uniform, the other students in the honors course had the pleasure of collar pins, silver laurels to signify they were still of the elite. That being said, the honors course was also significantly small, only propping those who had the laurels up even more. 

    Now, the selection of said class was very... weird. There were curricular honors courses, and then the honors class. Here was the difference: The honors courses were single academic classes that could be taken by all students if their grades were high enough in the necessary subject (Zedd was in the Honors History, for instance). Any student in all of the honors courses had curricular honors. However, they didn't get the silver laurels unless their magical potential and performance was notable enough. For such a thing to happen, a student would need high scores in areas such as manipulation, technique, power, and so forth. If a student had high marks in at least three of those, they'd be entered into the honors class. And then, of course, there were compensations for support based abilities as opposed to combat, but the topic was complex and this detour has gone on long enough.

   Back to the regularly scheduled program. 

    Zedd blinked out of his thoughts and downed a bit more of his soda. The boy led Heianu towards the park area of the school again, thinking to himself a bit. "What sort of things are you into, by the way? Actually, for that matter, too, what're you coming to this school for? Like, what's your dream or goal and all that?" Making no effort to hide his curiosity, the lightning mage's eyes sparkled a bit as he stared at the green-haired girl. 

    Outside, the breeze was calm and gentle. Nothing had changed, the sun was still high, and the weather was lovely. A beautiful day, by all rights. Zedd tossed his can away into a recycling bin and tucked his thumbs into his pockets. He appreciated the weather, even more so because he had company to spend his time with again. 

[Heianu]

"Ah, hmm." Heianu took a moment to remember her courses. "I think raw magics and combat, but both are honours." She popped open the can, making a satisfying pop despite the lack of carbonation in the drink and took a sip. She seemed more focused to better herself in combat more than anything, especially to get around her handicap and take on bounties without much issue. Her gaze still seemed aimless as ever though, almost like she was half zoned out but conscious enough to keep a conversation going.

"Things like hobbies? I guess wood carving is cool. I'd do that to pass the time if there was nothing to do. Experimenting with my magic and certain items is also fun to do whenever I find a new material I want try something with." She shrugged. "I like combat, being able to expand on my abilities as much as possible and research as many fighting techniques as I can." She nodded to herself. "It's good to make sure you know your opponent." That alone made it somewhat clear why she was there. "I don't really have much of a personal dream. Just simple stuff. Make a mark on the world. Prove that I'm something other than defective." She quietly took another swig from her can but there seemed to be something new in her expression, a quiet and underlying fire waiting to rage.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    "I guess I can relate to that, wanting to prove you're not defective." Zedd mused. He looked over his right hand and shrugged his shoulders. Given his use of those gauntlets, it was obvious he knew how it felt. Not being able to properly control magic, feeling as though something was wrong. "Personally I guess I'm here because I wanna be something greater, you know? Do something greater. I tinker on stuff like my dad, so maybe I'd be some sort of arcane inventor. Unfortunately I don't think I'd be good enough  to be an arch-mage. But, I still think I can do something more." 

    He worked the metal fingers against the palm's gem. "This place is still the best around when it comes to figuring it all out, though. So I guess I got a bit of time. I'll probably figure it out before I graduate next  year, at least."

    Zedd lacked the fiery gaze that Heianu had. Still, it was nice seeing someone who had such strong goals and desires. Even if she didn't know what exactly she wanted, that simple idea was enough for her. The young lightning mage admired her for that. With a soft grunt, he stretched his arms and let them fold behind his head. A few clouds drifted lazily in the sky, and every so often a bird or other flying creature could be seen dancing amongst them. 

    "You're pretty cool, you know that Heianu?" The boy hummed. He didn't look at her as he talked, not wanting to take them off the sky. "I mean, I think that dream is honestly noble. You know? Or, well, at least I think that it's admirable. I can tell that even if you don't show it all too much, you're still passionate about it. And I think that's awesome." 

    A smile flashed onto Zedd's features as he looked back to the green-haired girl.

    "I'll be rooting for you. I know you can do it. I mean, there's gotta be a reason you're in the honor's class." Another shrug of his shoulders and his gaze drifted away again. "I bet you could even get up the top ten. A no-nonsense fighter like you would definitely fit in with all of them up there. Heck, I bet your presence would make waves, maybe make it easier for people to accept the more magically deficient hanging out down in the basic classes, y'know?" 

    His laugh was a sweeter sound, a different sound from all the bitter and somber tones of earlier. It felt nicer to have someone who actually talked to him and tried to keep a conversation going, instead of someone who just brushed him aside. For what it was worth though, as much as Isaah played off that he was annoyed with Zedd, they both knew that Isaah had at least tolerated Zedd's presence. And that had been enough. A nice relationship dynamic that allowed the two to coexist. Zedd let out a sigh, bitter once more that the concept of empath's and what-not had been brought up and disrupted their relationship. 

    Even if Isaah was cold, Zedd still saw him as a friend, and still missed him dearly. 

[Heianu]

Heianu looked at Zedd briefly and then back out to the sky. His change in tone felt lighter and happier, and his words felt genuine. After she finished chugging the rest of her drink, Heianu tossed it into the bin. "So...Know of any good places to just chill in silence?", she asked. "It's just for whenever people from class get too overwhelming." Aside from learning the route to her classes, Heianu just wanted a quiet place to relax away from most people. She didn't seem to socialise too much, but would in small amounts like with Zedd here.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    A soft breeze gently flowed through the park area, rustling the leaves of newly flowered bushes. The park area was encased by the school itself, and had many pathways, trees, open areas, and recreational places for students to use to unwind. Playing fields for games, magically protected sections for students to practice magic, and aside from the grand and towering  tree's, other plants had come to add to the beauty. Rows of flowers and neatly trimmed bushes, plants both common and exotic. Some planted for looks, others for function, as a Support Course student demonstrated by plucking one for use in a medicinal salve. 

    "A nice place to relax? Well, aside from just being-" He waved his hands out towards the open space in a grand motion. "-this massive area, outside of school a music shop called Gorilla Groove opened up and a lot of students like to go there to hang out and shut their brains off. You could also use the training rooms for personal use. Meditate, study your spells, it's pretty private in there so you can do whatever without anyone spying in on you or interrupting. Otherwise, there's small spots under the trees or nearer to the gardens where you can just relax."

    To prove his point about the park, Zedd picked out a spot under one of the trees, overlooking the fountain as he plopped down with a contented huff. His gauntlets rattled slightly as the clunky chunks of metal were dropped so suddenly to the ground in such a manner, but it wasn't anything that would cause lasting damage. Hell, Zedd wasn't even sure he could do anything that could leave lasting damage on them.

    That engineer in Hurricane Keep certainly knew how to make things last. 

    With a small sigh, the young lightning mage slipped the goggles off his head, and set to work cleaning the lenses. When he had them propped up out of his eyes, the elastic served to keep his wild and frenetic hair away from his face, but with them gone the mess became blatantly apparent. Dirty-blond hair cascaded around his face, barely held aloft only by the latent static the young boy gave off. 

    It was an interesting look. A different look. And it really just went to show how long the boy's hair actually was, when it wasn't properly tended towards it's normal styling. Hints of it could be seen when his goggles were down over the young student's eyes, but it still looked noticeably different from when they were on. It was like taking a peak in towards his roots.

    After wiping off some dirt from the azure-tinted lenses, Zedd shuffled the goggles back on, first dipping them down to his neck, then lifting them back up. Kept the hair up and helped keep it from getting caught. The young man returned them to where they were, resting atop his brow above his eyes, hair flipped back up out of his face just how he liked it. 

[Heianu]

"Hmm..." It didn't seem any of those places were where Heianu wanted to be. She watched him go off to show her how relaxing one of the places were, but she figured he didn't quite seem to know what she meant. Their personalities seemed to differ there. Zedd seemed to be the more social type, whereas Heianu liked a bit of alone time.

She figured she'd look for a more personal safe spot on campus for herself later. She looked around and then towards the sky overhead. There was no blue sky anymore. It was likely one of the advanced students was practicing on an outside training area but the sky was now filled with clouds. They lacked darkness that would bring forth a rainstorm, but it came with a chill that said it wasn't going to be a cloudy day either.

It became clearer what was happening as cold flakes of snow began to fall softly before a sudden wind kicked up harder and forced the weather into a blizzard within a couple of minutes. Heianu turned and jogged indoors, she didn't want to get sick because some idiot was out there creating a snowstorm out of nowhere when the weather was warm.