Not Studying [open]

[Anonymous]

He was supposed to be training and he knew it. Often, he worked hard. He excelled in all of his classes. He did everything exactly as he was told to do it, in the order he was told to do it in. He had heard the jokes about how he must be some kind of ill-tempered robot, and he merely gave those people with their snide and oh-so-witty comments a steady look before continuing what he did best.

Bellamy Ruelle had been born to take orders. He had no qualms about taking them; he was a groundling. All groundlings were specifically bred for the purpose of listening to somebody else. In that way, he was a true product of his kind. He wondered, though, if all of his kind often thought violent things or dreamt of going on a mad rampage. He didn't know exactly where all this pent up rage came from, just that it was alleviated through exercise, both of the mental and physical variety.

Right now, though...? Right now, Bellamy lay on his back, one hand resting lightly on his stomach, the other holding a book. He wasn't actually reading, though he knew he should be. He read the same line he'd been reading for the past half hour and finally gave up. He lowered the book to his chest, finger in place so he didn't lose the page. His gaze went upward, contemplating.

[Anonymous]

So, Reav was lazing around, as usual. He could be brilliant, sure, but he never had any motivation to BE brilliant. So he usually wandered around, trying to find something to do to amuse himself. Generally, it failed. But this time, he found an interesting figure. He had heard something about him being quite brilliant, perhaps even the best Stage 3 Candidate in terms of ability. But this time, Reav found him lazing around, possibly taking a break. Might as well get a conversation going, it might be the most interesting thing for weeks to come.

"So I see even workaholics take breaks, hm?" Reav said, half jokingly. He was relaxed, and figured that if he was going to be here for the rest of his life, he might as well get somewhere with it. He watched the groundling for a moment, and then took a seat himself, relaxing in the library. No one was really ever here unless they were studying, or seeking out someone. Reav was doing neither.

He was just bored.

[Anonymous]

Nobody ever told or said explicitly that he couldn't lie down in the library, so why not? It was as good a resting place as any. Didn't some of the lazier students come here just to put their face behind a book, pretend to study, and then take a nap? Bellamy saw it happen on occasion, however, he wasn't the tattling type. There was nothing to be gained from it except perhaps a couple hallway beatings and a gigantic red target on his back everywhere he went. Brown-nosing also didn't seem to be looked upon with favor by most of the Pilots. At least, far as he'd observed. There was always a few that liked feeling important, or were amused but not impressed by such tactics. Bellamy figured he'd just keep his mouth shut, do what he was told, and stay in the shadows where he belonged. He didn't exactly want to draw attention to himself.

However, he seemed to be not completely invisible. Perhaps it was a mistake to put the book down. At least if he'd been caught reading the same line, the other person wouldn't know. Not unless they'd been watching him not turn a page. Bellamy's gaze turned to the speaker. Reav. Another stage three, like himself. Not an over-achiever by any means, but not terribly behind, either. He was probably the type who got a lot of "potential" speeches and disregarded them.

“'It is not good for all our wishes to be filled; through sickness we recognize the value of health; through evil, the value of good; through hunger, the value of food; through exertion, the value of rest'," Bellamy quoted. "Yes. I'm a 'workaholic' but even I need rest sometimes."

He remained as he was for only a moment longer before sitting up. He didn't feel comfortable lying there with somebody else watching him. He might know the value of rest, but it still made him feel lazy and slothful. As if another candidate could make judgments about him.

[Anonymous]

"Aye. But through that, no one ever learns the grey of the black and white." Reav added in, and grinned at that quote. It was one of his favourites, yet at the same time, horribly flawed. After he spoke the quote, he grinned at the comment afterwards. "So how long have you been reading that book of yours? I'm pretty sure we've been working on other things for quite some time, if i'm not mistaken." Reav said, curious. He might be mistaken but only because he didn't really pay too much attention, he did the work he was assigned, handed it back, and moved on. Never stayed in one little section too long, it was against his personality.

He noticed that the groundling had moved from a laying down position to a sitting position, perhaps showing that he wasn't comfortable with his image at that particular moment. Interesting. Reav was not one to delve into the past, but he was one to keep quirks or characteristics about people, and filling curiosity with facts. He didn't state them, usually, just stuck to the facts.

Ah, well.

[Anonymous]

"I take it you're a grey area, then?" Bellamy said with a slight lifting of his eyebrows. He was aware of black and white. He didn't much care for grey areas, though. Probably because he'd spent a great deal of his life being told there was one or the other. No in-between. To be honest, he'd always considered himself more of the black than the white and it had nothing to do with ear and tail color. He'd been conceived in shadows, born in them, and raised in them. It was no wonder he embraced them with far more vigor than the light.

Bellamy spared a glance down at the book. It was some text on history. Bellamy loathed history. There was no truth held in these pages, just the lies of the victors. Although occasionally, one could ferret out the truth if they tried hard enough, dug far enough. And just what was a bunny--how he hated that derogatory term--if not a digger?  

"We did move on. This is more for recreational purposes. Or you can think of it as 'extra credit'." He was somewhat surprised Reav even remembered what they worked on. He'd always had the impression he didn't read anything. Just pretended to or found the spark notes. "Is there a reason you're talking to me?"

[Anonymous]

"I am." Reav said simply, and sighed. He figured he was a grey area mainly because he didn't really care about much. Politics, wars, none of that really struck him as something to worry about. If he was thrown into it, one thing would come to mind: Survival. White was good, Black was bad, and Grey was Neutral. And in Reav's mind, White was stupidity, Black was the unknown, and Grey was survival. And he figured this one fit in with Black more. Just because he had that... impression.

"Extra credit, huh?" Reav said, and sighed. He really was a workaholic. Then he asked him a question, instead of the other way around. "Well, the main reason is that i'm bored. The secondary reason is that you're the only one who's not a complete moron." Reav said, fairly serious with the last one. Honestly, most of the other guys seemed like completely brick-heads. Could beat the crap outta ya, sure. But give them a simple math equation would stop them dead for at least five minutes.

So, here he was.

[Anonymous]

Grey areas reminded Bellamy of indecision. Not choosing one or the other because they might regret it if they chose. Which was a slight irritant; if one couldn't take action and responsibility for those actions, what was the point in their existence? Another thing he loathed? When people equated dark with evil, just as he believed those in the light weren't always innately good. There was this, and there was that, but nothing was absolute. Perhaps it was just labels that annoyed him. Or maybe the fact that he found comfort in shadows meant that he felt akin to them and more ready to understand them. Why was he on about this, anyway? He was giving it far too serious thoughts for a passing conversational piece.

"I can't be the only person in this entire ATC who isn't a moron." Sure, he excelled, but though he was thinking person and an analytical one at that, he had to say the probability that he was the single smartest person in the building wasn't very high. Especially given the higher candidates and the Pilots themselves. Or the older smart types who were found later and thus still gracies. He could do the math; he didn't want to.

[Anonymous]

"You aren't, but they seem to be few and far between. Besides, you don't seem to get too much contact from others." Reav said, and shrugged. He was always the person to seek out the one that had little contact with others, it was just a thing. Why go talk to the one that always gets attention and can be seen as egotistical from a mile away when you can talk to someone who stays away from those people, and can have better conversations? He shrugged, and then watched the groundling for a few moments before looking around. Man, it was desolate in here.

"Besides all of that, you were the closest." Reav said, noting how lazy he sounded. He was, it was where he appeared non-motivational. He disliked doing things without motivation, either, so it lead to him having this sort of attitude. It made him enemies, a few friends, and sometimes the tutors gave him slack. But that was almost always because he did his work even though he didn't like it, and never really complained. He could enjoy silence and peace...

But sometimes, like this time, he wanted a conversation.

[Anonymous]

"There's a reason for that."

However... True. It was true that Bellamy didn't interact with others. He liked it that way. However, a conversation with one of the instructors surfaced to memory. "If you don't work well with others, you're going to end up TRIM'd. Don't say I didn't warn you, Candidate Ruelle." Bellamy didn't really fear being TRIM'd, but he also didn't relish it. He'd heard that being a Pilot afforded certain quirks. And if this was his life--and he'd really already accepted that it was--then he really ought to do what he could to make it to the end and secure himself a damn good dragon, too.

The thing was, Bellamy's often aloof and rude demeanor were also a shield for his own inability to properly interact with others. Carrying on a conversation took a lot more out of him than the average person. He didn't know the art of small talk. He was more a "straight to the point" type. "Is there a reason you're talking to me?" His own words echoed in his mind. Reav had given an answer, but Bellamy had no idea how he was supposed to respond to it. He was inept at this; his best kept secret. He'd rather people thought he was an elitist snob than shy and speechless. What am I supposed to talk about? What do other people talk about? He had to make some kind of effort. Opportunities like this didn't knock everyday. Because Reav was right; Bellamy didn't make a habit of talking to people, and people mostly left him to his own devices.

"Why did you come to the library in the first place?"

[Anonymous]

Reav shrugged at his first reply, and then sighed. There was always a reason. He knew what happened to those that didn't become 'perfect'. Many people he had seen attack another without reason or had been too quiet had been TRIM'd, for them to be experimented on. They weren't usually the best sort, but the odd few that were actually rather good got sent there. This made others realize what was at stake. Usually. Reav sighed at the memories, and then found himself being asked a question.

"It's called the art of wandering. On a more serious note, the library is not where an egotistical person would be hanging out, correct?" Reav replied, and watched the groundling for a moment. "Quite the opposite, and besides, the best of people are usually either the strange ones, or the quiet ones." Reav said, grinning. He was neither, but Bellamy fit into the quiet part. Why did he say what he did? Because usually, it was true.

Usually.

[Anonymous]

"Wrong. An egotistical person could be found in the library if they were elitist about their intelligence, for example." He knew people thought that's what he was, and he was just fine with it. He assumed that Reav was teasing him with that remark and it annoyed him. Why was he going around saying the best people were quiet or strange? Was that some kind of remark about him? Barely veiled, if so. Bellamy frowned slightly, sub-consciously tracing the gilded words on the book he held. He knew books were outdated and musty. He knew he could have downloaded what he was reading onto a screen. But he preferred being grounded in reality--maybe it was his ingrained nature--and he preferred an actual, solid book in his hand. Yes, with pages to turn. Even if they outed him when he was only pretending to read.

"That guy is picking his nose," he said in a deadpan tone. He didn't point, he didn't even nod his head towards him. It was as if he'd just said he liked reading and wasn't observing others even when he appeared to be lost in his own mind. "I'm sure he's more interesting than I am. Why don't you ask him why he does it in public?"

[Anonymous]

He was interesting, that much was sure. He pointed out right from wrong when he wanted, and it amused Reav quite a bit. Not because he was mean, really, but only because his observation skills allowed him to point this out and figure out people. This groundling, however, was quite a piece of work. Hard to analyze, y'know? But Reav never made it feel like he was trying to size people up, it didn't allow many good relationships to occur. His head turned to see the person picking his nose, and he sighed.

"Y'know, if you really want me to leave you alone: Tell me. Be blunt about it." Reav said without a look of amusement in his eyes. Was he annoying this person? How the heck could he tell? The groundling didn't so much of what he was feeling at that certain moment, but Reav was fairly sure that he was trying to hide the fact he was annoyed by Reav's presence.

Shrugging, he prepared to move off.

[Anonymous]

See how much he failed at this? He'd been talking to Reav for probably all of five minutes and he'd already managed to scare him off. It was just like him. Rude, condescending words just spewed from his mouth. It probably looked effortless. Reav seemed... Maybe disappointed? In his actions. Or words. Bellamy lowered his gaze. "Teamwork is what stage three is all about. You're going to have to make a conscious effort. This might be the hardest stage for you." No kidding.

"That's not what I meant. I just figured he'd." Bellamy halted his words right there. He'd very nearly said more rude things. Something along the lines or implying he thought the booger picker had more in common with Reav. Did he think that? Not really. He didn't know what to think. Booger picker was likely to be TRIM'd. Reav? He did all right, even though he seemed to lack motivation. That would get him in trouble, though. In the future. Bellamy would rather die than talk about inner feelings and insecurities. So instead, he admitted it: "I'm probably going to be TRIM'd. I need to work on my teamwork." He wanted to kill himself as he said the next part: "Need anybody to train in teamwork with?"

He was ready for the rejection.

[Anonymous]

Reav heard words and he stopped to turn his head just enough to see him, and he spoke of being TRIM'd. That was never good, and then he listened to the last bit he said. This stopped Reav, and he looked uncomfortable for a moment, and scratched the back of his head. "I guess... not like I really get any requests due to the... incident during my Gracie period..." Reav said, the first two words the only thing he really said, as he mumbled the last bit. What did he do? Well, some pyromaniac decided that attacking people was fun, and went after Reav. What did Reav do? Turned him into a ragdoll effortlessly, throwing him around. He ended up quite beaten up, but Reav didn't go overboard, just knocked him unconscious.

However, that still gave him a label of a real dangerous person. He wasn't being a show-off, either, he just protected himself. Reav sighed, and then shrugged. Might as well make a friend... if this one would be his friend, anyways. Suddenly, it hit him. Reav hadn't seem him really positive for a while, maybe he was lacking any sort of positive view about himself? It wasn't far fetched, but it wasn't the most reasonable answer...

Reav, lacking telepathy, needed a sharp awareness in order to survive around here, and so he was always working like this.

[Anonymous]

I guess was a very lackluster response, although it wasn't as if he should have expected more from Reav. Lackluster was his general perceived outer shell. It didn't take much for Bellamy to wonder if it was just the outer shell and not a reflection from within. He didn't probe or pry. He might have the usual telepathy, but he wasn't particularly talented at it and he disliked the idea of other people doing it to him--he kept a block up at all times--so why would he do it back? (Unless there was something urgent he wanted to know.)

Bellamy didn't have to read his mind, however. His sense of hearing was heightened and he could hear him muttering something in a low, barely audible tone. Gracie period? Incident? Observant as he was, he thought he remembered that. Not that it bothered him in the least. They all had horror stories, particularly from their gracie days.

"Then it's agreed," Bellamy said, as if this was a business transaction. Now what? Were they supposed to try and work together? To do that, they'd need to figure out who was good at what and where their weaknesses were. He'd start with the nicer question. "Where do your skills lie?"

[Anonymous]

Reav felt slightly anxious himself, although he kept most of it hidden. He watched Bellamy until he responded, and he nodded, slightly relaxing. Not enough to be noticeable normally... but if the groundling was observant enough, he would have noticed. He heard him speak of, basically, what he was good at. "Well, besides having the ability to control gravity and creature shock waves with it, I guess i'm good at physical means of gathering information and a fairly good observer." Reav said, and pondered.

"Due to my lack of variety in my psychic abilities i'm fairly good at countering other skills, like remove oxygen for fire, making it as dry as a desert when faced against water, all by using gravity to move it away." Reav went on, figuring that was what he was best at. It was how he beat the fire user, he removed a needed ingredient. "What about you?" Reav asked, watching him again, figuring that he might as well learn as well, and he gave quite a bit of information.

Besides, they'd learn more about each other by working together.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, sometimes Bellamy wondered why he'd been stuck in this place at all. His control wasn't really as bad as some of the people here; he'd been a part of an assassin's group growing up and part of being an assassin was learning control. It hadn't been too big a step to try and figure out his abilities and how to control them with the aid of the leader. They hadn't wanted him to be found out anymore than he did, but eventually, he was--and here he happened to be. He'd been such an asset to the old group, too. And if he'd ever missed anything, he sort of found that he missed the leader, at least.

Okay. So the matter at hand: Reav's skills lay in gravity, shockwaves, physically gathering information, and observing. The countering bit he offered was interesting, and could definitely aid them in the future. He nodded slowly.

"That sounds...good." He paused as he tried to decide how he'd list his own skills. Again, he thought they were much more suited to his old life, his old occupation. Not piloting a cybernetic dragon. He wondered if he had anything to offer in a partnership.

"I can... teleport." He started off with the easy one. That was easy enough to understand. It had taken him some time to get used to doing that without spilling his guts all over his new destination--but he'd keep that to himself. "Astral projection... Basically anything that involves...dimensio nal travel." He needed to stop pausing as he spoke. It was probably giving the impression he was unsure of himself. "I have another ability, but it's nothing new to groundlings. Just the implosion thing." And that came with a bag of goodies.

[Anonymous]

Reav listened to Bellamy, his focus on him, watching him with interest, and was quite content. For once, he was having a conversation. A strange one, but a conversation altogether. Teleportation? Interesting, he never had seen teleportation in action. Now he was really interested. Implosion? Well, Reav could possibly imitate that effect, to a point. Not perfectly, and it would drain him, but he could do it.

"Hm, here's an idea, why don't we go down to the training room and talk about our powers and how we use them as we demonstrate them. That way we will have a fairly good idea of what our powers do." Reav said, and then pondered. "And possibly find new ways to control our powers, hm?" Reav said, grinning. It'd be interesting to see what happened... besides, each power had different way of controling it. With gravity, it was mostly trying to find a shape and an effect. With teleportation... was it more of a image?

Ah, well they would soon find out.

[Anonymous]

Wow. Reav didn't waste any time for a person who gave himself off as a perpetual time waster. He already wanted to put their abilities to work? It wasn't as if Bellamy minded. In actuality, he'd rather be doing something than sitting here with his eyes glazing over. Perhaps this little exercise would wake him up some. Plus, it'd be nice to see Reav's abilities in action--and show his own rather than try to explain it.

"Sounds like a plan." Bellamy got up, tucking his book beneath his arm and going to the door. He wondered how Reav meant to discover new methods of controlling their abilities. He'd been lectured and tutored and run through exercises a thousand and one times and he didn't think there was an "easier" way. Control was eventually maintained, yes. And he didn't lose his lunch every time he teleported anymore. (Though it depended on distance whether he felt nauseous or not.)

[Anonymous]

Yes, Reav was seen as a slacker until he found some form of motivation. If that motivation happened to be practicing his skills, so be it. Especially if it helped develop them in new ways. Reav glanced back to make sure Bellamy was following, and entered the training room. It was desolate, thankfully, meaning they could go pretty wild. Reav hated when it was cramped, he had to be so careful... His power was dangerous, as usual.

"Well, don't know how to explain this... but here goes." Reav started. He held his hand up, and within it, was an orb. He seemed have some pressure on his fingers, as they were curling towards it closer and closer. "This is a sample of my raw power, completely unchanelled, alright? Now, I think of a shape. Disks are what I usually shape it." Reav said, the form shifting into a flat disc, rotating slightly, visible, but somehow without color.

Sighing, he figured he might as well show what his power actually did. "Blades due to repelling gravitational pulls, shields due to force pulling the object away, or forcing it back." Reav said, feeling like one of the instructors. He sighed, and then watched Bellamy. "Do you have a limit to your power? Like range, size, or if it's attached to something?" Reav asked, curious.

Maybe he could think of something Bellamy hadn't?