Who are you again? (LION!)

[Blink]

The indoor track at the ATC had actually become one of Aspen's favorite places to be. Of course, she showed up with the rest of the candidates for drills but also often found herself here during free time. It had become something almost as therapeutic as when she played.

So there she was, earbuds in, running at first beside a pack of other candidates that were still lingering during the last minutes of their class. And as per usual, her illuminokinesis was present, making her appear duller than normal. Half the time it was in effect she didn't even realize it, almost a natural shield from all eyes at this point in her life.

The burning in her legs something that kept pushing her forwards as she matched the beat of the upbeat song ringing in her ears. She had managed to keep a pretty good pace up until the song moved on, switching to one of her personal favorites.

The moment the song started Aspen could visually be seen loosening up. All of her movements becoming fluid as she quickly broke away from the group, running out in front of them making it look like a cake walk. Her legs and chest were on fire but she didn't care because in this moment Aspen felt truly free. Free from all the standards placed on her by their society and free from the past she was running from. Sometimes it even helped her to picture her parents standing at the starting line, the end goal being to put as much distance between her and them as quickly as possible. Then they couldn't reach her... no one could.

How long she went on running at full speed like this she didn't know. Aspen had gotten so caught up in the moment that it wasn't until the song switched again that she had realized she zoned out. When she finally did stop she looked to see the pack of candidates she had broken away from still halfway on the other side of the track. It was a small victory in her eyes, next time she would try and lap them.

Jogging over to the edge of the track Aspen's hands very quickly found her knees as she hunched over to catch her breath. Beads of sweat were rolling down her face and the muscles in her legs were still pulsating from the rush. Some may call this feeling agony but for Aspen, it was truly riveting.

As soon as she was able to catch her breath she stood back up, placing a hand on each side as she looked around to see if she could pinpoint any familiar faces... nope.

[Lion]

It was a long ass trip from Havina to the ATC. One that Gavrian Levanksy didn't make often. Being Squad Leader of the Copperheads meant largely staying in Havina, and Levansky wasn't fond of commuting between the two. Admittedly the trip wasn't that far. And could be made easier between that elitist suburb and Haviah proper than say all the way from -shudder- Solarta.

Gavrian was here on official business, and was down to meet her Candidate. One Aspen Brookes. She'd heard things about the other Brookes sister here in Haviah, and really didn't know what to make of her. If the stories were true, Gavrian pretty much had her work cut out for her with this Aspen.

She was a Stage 3, illumokinetic. Not unlike Gavrian's own psionics. But furthermore if this kid was going to be a brat, she was afraid she was going to have to break some legs.

"Hey, anyone seen, Brookes? Uhh, short... And uh, short?" she asked one of the Drill Instructors. Pointing her toward the indoor track certainly narrowed down the search. Gavrian didn't have the patience for that shit. This wasn't a mission. This was a meet and greet, and figuring out what the hell she had to do to make sure her Candidate wasn't TRIM'd.

"Brookes!" she called out, voice gruff and shifted around a set of Candidates that were walking past her. They made way for the Pilot Noble and she rolled her shoulders. Oh man didn't being back here at the ATC give her all kinds of flashbacks. And none of them were good. "BROOKES! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE NOW!" she screamed. The track...eugh.

[Blink]

Moving when the rest of the candidates had finally caught up Aspen walked a bit behind them, music still blaring in her ears, each step matching the beat of the song roaring through the buds. She thought she may have seen a few candidates turn to look at her, the reason though was unknown.

If anything it made Aspen slightly uncomfortable that someone would just turn and randomly look at her like that. Was she really that creepy? Did people really just feel the need to stop what they were doing to turn and take a glance at the freak show? Aspen had gotten so caught up in thinking about what it could possibly be that they were staring at that she didn't even see the woman causing them to part. She was too busy just trying to get the hell out of there.

And then the song switched....

That momentary pause between tracks happened almost perfectly in sync with Gavrian screaming for her to get her ass moving. It was such a shock that Aspen literally fell back, slamming her ass on the ground as a mousy shriek escaped her throat. It was quick, also involuntary, but Aspen's usual manner of keeping herself 'just one in the crowd' almost pulsated by the fear. Her mind's natural defense to such an attack warping what people would see around her, manipulating the way images and lights reflected off of her. For the briefest of moments, Aspen had gone almost completely invisible.

And she thought running like a madwoman was a way to get her heart racing. Turns out all she needed was a scary as hell pilot screaming her name for who knows what reason.

Now on the ground, Aspen was breathing like a petrified animal, her eyes wide like she was on the brink of a heart attack that would surely take her at any moment. Who in the hell was this woman? AND WHY WAS SHE SCREAMING FOR ASPEN OF ALL PEOPLE!?

"Oh god, she is here to take me away. I'm getting Trim'd today..."

The fear multiplied at least ten fold as Aspen's ability pulsated again, her figure almost flicking out of existence for a few short seconds. She wasn't ready to die, she wasn't ready to give up. She thought she had been making progress not failing!

"L-listen" Aspen held a defensive hand out. "J-just give me another chance. I can do better! I know I can"

[Lion]

There she was. THERE! SHE WAS! The little runt!

Gavrian really wasn't going to explode, but nor did she want to stand out here with her tits in her hands in the middle of the ATC. She had shit to do. Get back to Havina and all that. Buuut wait.  What was happening?

Gavrian said nothing despite the blithering rage she was sure was about to explode, there she was. Going invisible very briefly, or practically translucent. And she was practically going off the rails. "Hey. Hey! Look....  Kid, I'm afraid your numbers up. And it's time to make or break you. There ain't no ifs ands or but about it. So...  Why should I give you another chance?"

[Blink]

The woman's response caused Aspen to question what she initially thought. She had seen how someone getting Trim'd was supposed to go down. Her roommate before Vanessa a prime example. They showed up, offering little conversation other than asking names before dragging away the girl that Aspen hadn't even had a chance to know the name of. They were only roommates for one day...

This led Aspen to wonder if this woman wasn't a Trim officer then what or who could she be. In a matter of seconds, Aspen had gone from panicking to using the tools taught to her at the ATC for problem-solving.

"You should give me another chance because you are not here to Trim me."

Aspen pushed herself up from the floor and brushed off her knees. "I can also tell you're not one of my instructors. You're not inquisition, so that means Havanah didn't send you either. I've never seen you before, so you can't be that important around here."

She herself was piecing it together as she stated the facts.

"However, based on the credentials on your uniform I can see you are a Pilot Noble. So you are important somewhere. Maybe stationed somewhere other than Haviah."

Despite the facts, Aspen's voice was still slightly shaken. It would take her quite a bit of time to shake off the fear she was feeling moments before. Not to mention the fact that she had just called a Pilot Noble unimportant in a sense. Not disrespectfully of course, but she could see with her luck it being taken the wrong way.

She took a moment to wrap her earbuds around her Com and stick it in her pocket. Now was definitely not the time to be listening to music, even if it did help keep her calm. It was just as her hand touched the lining of her pocket that she pieced the last bits of the puzzle together, causing her body to tense up all over again.

"P-Pilot Noble... G-Gavrian Levansky of the Havina C-Copperheads?"

It all began as horror stories when Aspen was told by her fellow Candidates the rumors that circulated around this woman, the woman who was supposed to be her mentor. She was ruthless, frightening... scary as hell. " Check, check, check" Aspen thought to herself as she compared the rumors to what she was seeing now.