Singing and Sun (Leta)

[Leta]

He started off with his story relatively calm and quiet. She started off listening with a small, polite smile. As the story progressed, his voice became slightly louder, and excited. Fighting excited him, and it clearly was a big part of his life. Fighting was certainly a significant part of Leta's life as well, but it wasn't a hobby. Her past wouldn't allow her to make it a hobby. As Ric neared the end of his story, his voice came to a sudden flat tone. The fact that he couldn't fight in the end was what was most upsetting in this story, to him. She thought that was silly. He got the kid back for taking that shot, right? She would do anything to get back at her past enemies with that sort of power. She knew she was strong, but something always stopped her from "teaching someone a lesson" as that so easily came to him.

Before, and during, his story he touched her again. Once on the elbow, as a sort of jest, and once again, he took her hand to his head. This time directly to the scar on it. She ordinarily would have pulled away and given the person a dirty look, or in the right circumstances, a push. Or in the extreme, her fist connecting to their jaw. She didn't know why she didn't mind his touch. Or even enjoyed it. It was pleasant to her her. Being without one sense enhanced other sensory pleasures. Touch being one of them.

When his story ended, her face matched the tone of his voice: a tad serious.

"So fighting is a part of who you are. Like playing music is to a musician," She told him. She could respect that. If something made somebody happy and made them feel good, why not do it? "But that still doesn't explain what happened to your ear."

[Ric]

"That's the dramatic second act, my fair Leta." A play on words? My Fair Lady perhaps... Or was he hinting at the whiteness of her skin. Perhaps he was just trying to be dramatic. At this point, even he didn't know. That's what made it more amusing, when even his own words escaped the oversight of his brain. Oh, his tongue was on a roll now.

"It was roughly a year later, definitely after the 365 days it takes the earth to revolve around the sun. My gift giver had quit Muay Thai after that tournament, mostly due to the embarrassment of a broken jaw." He paused, grinning to himself as he caulked his head back a bit to admire the though of his revenge. Oh, how sweetly he remembered it.
"I happened to see the same boy, he was actually minding himself at that particular moment, just hanging out with some of his friends. Then I implied something about their mothers." He left this open to her interpretation, whatever she assumed would most likely be correct, or very close to what he'd said.
"That left me in a situation, three on one. I reveled the notion, and attacked the two lackeys first." OH JOY! He got to use one of his favorite words! In a Story! About Him! This day sure was perking up.
"I won't bore you with the tactics, but they were quickly dispatched. That's when I found a switch blade flying towards my face. It clipped my ear, taking out the chunk you felt... Or rather, didn't. I acted quickly, neutralizing the knife and proceeded to strike him over and over until I knew that fear of my being was instilled upon his body."

Perhaps he went over board with his ending. It might've made him seem like a rather dark person, a tad bit crazy, not one of the people parents would allow their children to be around... Then again, he didn't want to hang out with children, they had a curfew.

"And that's basically it. It's finally fully healed."

And the second half ended, the tale of scars came to a close. He didn't think he did the second half justice, and he doubt he came off as heroic, but at least he didn't overly brag about himself. That seemed to be another first.

[Leta]

"Ha. What in the world is a lackey?" She asked playfully.

Ric's story truly was one to remember. For him, his victims, and now her. She enjoyed it. He was passionate about it, and that made her smile. Strange, most people probably would have scoffed at his actions. But Leta could sort of relate to them. At the least, admire them. She was different from him in the way the she would never go looking for a fight. He would. But the desire for vengeance was something that they shared. She would get along quite nicely with him, she thought. He seemed pretty strong willed, and that was admirable. She wondered what he would say if she threw him a compliment. Another thing to observe through listening to his reactions.

"So, essentially, you are just so strong that you can take on anyone you want with full confidence." She smiled at him, and tucked her thumbs into the pockets of her jeans. 'Everybody likes to hear about themselves,' she thought. 'Especially if it's a compliment about their build.'

[Ric]

"Lackey, Minion, unpaid Henchmen. They're all the same thing." He explained, the jest in his voice ever so thick.

What caught him off was the fact that she complimented him. By all rights he deserved it, did he not? He honestly didn't think so. Or, at least it wasn't the fact that she complimented him, but it was the words of the compliment. He found that they didn't quite ring true, and if there was one thing about him is that he was truthful, to a fault.

"No, I'm not strong. I just have complete faith in myself that I act without hesitation." He paused for a moment, his hand coming to rest on his chin as he went into the great thinkers pose. This was mainly for his own amusement, especially since she couldn't see him, or possibly know the statue in question.

"Perhaps I'm just to stupid to know when to back down." He didn't mind taking shots at himself, who did? It was when other took shots at him that he was known to flip the switch. At least, others whom he didn't know, thus had no clue to know if they were joking or not. He, himself, he was joking, to himself.

He-him-hem-self? Yeah, why not.

"But I'm to young to think I'm unbeatable. But not having the will to act won't help me progress." Was that a profound statement? Some sort of personal growth? Sounded like a fortune cookie. He might've stolen part of it from Liam Neeson from Batman Begins. Maybe.

[Leta]

His reaction to her compliment wasn't quite what she expected. He sort of attacked himself. Hmm. Modest.

"Confidence and faith in one's self is strength. All this," She reached up and touched his bare arm. Lean muscle. "It means nothing if you don't have the confidence to use it." She wondered if it was weird to touch him unannounced. Oh, wait... She could only assume it was okay. She slightly lifted her eyebrow at him as if to say "your move, chum". She was getting more comfortable with him. That was nice. When she first walked up, she didn't know what to expect, but she wasn't disappointed.

'The bell to signal the end of lunch should be ringing soon', just as she finished that thought to herself, the bell rang. It was an obnoxious addition to their conversation. She sighed and hung her head a bit. She didn't want to leave, not like she had a choice. He was still standing very close to her. If she got up, she would be pressed against him. So instead, she lifted up her head, and lifted her eyebrow in the same fashion as before. This time implying a "what now?"

[Ric]

"All very true."

That's all he had to say. Honestly, that's it. There was no hidden meaning, no joke to come forthwith, that was it. When she reached up to touch his arm he reached up, gently cupping her elbow as her arm brushed his. He didn't know why he did it, just a natural reaction he guessed. When it came to confidence he was overflowing, so that most likely naturally progressed into other aspects of his life.

When he heard the lunch bell chime it's tolls, subsequently ending the free time to eat, chat and be merry, he couldn't help but frown. What a depressing what to end such an interesting conversation. There was finally someone he'd met up with that he didn't start throwing fists with, and now he was drawn into the promise of bringing sleeping gleeky to the nurse's office. Oh, how tricky the fates may be.

"I'd like to meet you again. I assume your going to head to class now, and I did say I was going to bring the sleeping wonder to the nurse." He paused, normally this is where two teens would exchange numbers, would it not? But, he wasn't sure if she even had a phone. Certainly she could memorize the pad and location of the numbers to dial, but that was an assumption on his part, not fact.

"Do you have a phone, or some way for me to get a hold of you?" Another genuine question, two in an hour... Hell, two in one day, it's a record.

[Leta]

She dug in her pocket and took out a small, obsolete looking flip phone. She had memorized the numbers, and letters on her phone, for basic operation. She knew how to send text messages, (thoui they usualy came out whth a few typos) however, due to obvious reasons, she could not read the screen for incoming messages, or to see who is calling. One of her roommates had taught her how to use it. Coincidentally, that same roommate found ways to troll her by sending her messages anyway.

"Do you have a pen?" she would ask. If he did, she would write her number on his arm. She hoped to leave him wondering how she saw the numbers she wrote, because little did he know, she memorized that too. She would turn her "gaze" back to him. "Also, I am usually around the city at night. If you ever care to find me," she smiled at him. "Curfews are for children."

[Ric]

So she did have a phone, an older model, but that made sense. The newer ones were build around sending texts, emails, scrolling through the internet, and playing applications. The fact that they were a phone was more of a second function then anything else. He himself simply had a krzr, something his family picked up from a friend of a friend, and got a cheap plan to put on it.

Asking a half naked man for a pen seemed a bit optimistic, she was lucky he had pockets in his shorts, and a t-shirt a twenty or so meters away. A pen was a bit of a far cry for someone who didn't even attend a class on a regular schedule. He was to busy with his personal agenda to worry about social studies. Hell, the one time he did go they ended up talking about geography, it didn't help him with his social skills at all. . . He ended up punching someone in the face in the middle of it just to get sent outside. Ah, Good times.

"No pen, just say it to me, I'll remember." While he'd sometimes mix up numbers while reading them off a piece of paper, he rarely, if ever, forgot a phone number. It was just an innate ability that he had. It went beyond just phone numbers. His memory was very keen, when applied.

Curfews! Children! For! She's A Mind Reader! Or there was just a heavy bit of coincidence, but either way, freaky-deaky. Another joke known only to himself. Oh, how he had so many of these. But that did prove an excellent chance to bump into each other.

"I'll have to keep an eye out for you then. Perhaps you'll have to listen for me."

[Leta]

Hmm. She should have assumed that he would be without a pen. Whatever. No harm, no foul. She instead told him her phone number, confident he would remember it. Not that it was a difficult one to remember (It wasn't for her at least. The last 4 numbers spelled her name on the keypad.). 667-5382. She even made it into a little tune. But she would never sing it to him, or anyone else for that matter. That was silly to even consider it. She slid her phone back into her pocket just as he was saying something in regards to her being out late. She had to admit, there were many advantages to her home life. No curfew, being one of them.

"Oh. This time, sing the ABC's to let me know where you are." She laughed and smiled. Oh how lame her jokes were.

He was still standing very close to her. She still felt his body heat and heard his breathing quite clearly. If he chose not to move, she would simply stand up straight off the wall, ending up against him until he would move to the side. Tardiness wasn't particularly an issue for her. It didn't matter. However, she didn't want to keep the "gleek" or "lackey", or whatever his name should be, from the nurse.

[Ric]

"Well, my A Capella rendition of the ABC's is quite riveting." he mused, finally taking a half step back and moving to his left, kneeling down by the slumbering sophomore with the peculiar case of a head wound injury. He'd have to devise a story for the nurse... He slipped and hit his head against the wall. Numerous times. Meh, she was a high school nurse. She wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a multiple point of impact blow and a single blunt for trauma. He had nothing to worry about. Besides, he was the one so kindly bringing this kid to her. He was a hero. A deviant, asshole of a hero.

"Normally, I'd just call your phone and let you get my number that way." Heave-Ho! And the unconscious had risen! Up onto a shoulder. "But I don't think that really applies to you."

Can't see the number, can't really save it in contacts, can you? Unless you have every name memorized and it's in complete alphabetical. But that seemed like more of a hassle then just remembering the number. Which, for his own, he didn't. He had never given it out, he hadn't even actually looked at it before. He was pretty sure it was sitting either on his bedside table under a magazine, or in a desk drawer. He'd need to find it, and actually use it.

"And truthfully, I don't know my own cell phones number yet. So I'll just hope you pick up when I call you." Turning with 180lbs of dead weight on your shoulder seemed over exaggerated, but with the legs swinging out and nearly causing the body to fall Ric had to let out a small grunt as he exerted himself to catch the body.

"I'll come find you next time."

[Leta]

She stood up as he stepped away to pick up the unconscious student. Ric was either very strong, or this kid was puny as fuck, because he seemed to lift him effortlessly, excluding the small grunt as he turned around to leave. He didn't know his number, and that was fine with her. If he wanted to talk, he would call.

"I'll come find you next time." He said. That was likely. Leta kept to herself at night, unless with someone she knew. She would tend to stick around in areas with few people, possibly smoking a cigarette, just listening to the sounds and feeling her environment. The night felt so electric in comparison to the day.

"I look forward to it." She said to him before making her way past him. Her steps were methodical, and had a certain rhythm to them. Her hand ran along the wall, feeling the many grooves, imperfections, and the sheer roughness of it. She turned around with a smile to tell him, "I enjoyed lunch with you. Good luck with..." she gestured to his new sleeping friend. She would wait for his response, and then continue on her way down the length of the building, until she came to her left turn, then making her way to her next class.

Physics class was typically her least favorite class. Throughout the whole class, she would keep her head down on her arms, and facing the window. She would be loosely paying attention to the lesson, and remain completely silent until the teacher would ask her, "Leta, can you explain how kinetic energy relates to impact?" She hated teachers who called on her when her head was down, but she would sigh before grudgingly responding, "Kinetic energy is the energy of an object in motion. The higher the velocity, the more kinetic energy, causing a harder impact." She would immediately lay her head back down and face the window, thinking back to the thud of the student's head impacting the wall. Today was one to remember.

[Ric]

"Me too, perhaps next time actual food will be involved." He smiled back softly, his eyes trained on her own before turning to leave the other way, this time had a more firm grip on the torso hung over his shoulder. The legs still flailed about as though detached from the body, but the Micheal Flatly impression wasn't as impressive when the feet weren't on any sort of hard surface. Two steps forward and he paused, peering back over his body-free shoulder watching as the tall, bare foot, interesting girl walked around the corner. On her way to make attendance for some sort of class that Ric would problem skip if he was enrolled in it.

"Tch, dammit. Wait here." He spoke to the sophomore, seeing as no one else was around, and placed him down on the grass before running back to grab his shirt. He looked slightly more presentable after wiping the dried blood off his face with the bottom of his black shirt. He also appeared less sweaty, a bonus.

A slight jog and a pick-up and he was back to carrying the unconscious head wound student. He dropped him off in a waiting room chair for the nurse, then played a game he'd never played before. 'Nicky-Nicky-Nine-Doors'. He hadn't the faintest clue where the name came from, but still knocked and bolted down the hall, making it to the stairs before any first aid responder wanna-be saw him. He went towards his locker, making a quick decision as to go to class or head to the weight room. Weight room won with an overwhelming applause inside his head.

As he headed there he thought over the conversation during lunch. He was still particularly interested. There must have been more to talk about, and there was more he could ask. Just needed the time. And now, he just needed to call. Another mental check next to the note to find his cellphone and he swung open the door to the weight room.

- End Thread -