Sept 16: During Afternoon Classes

[Teri Napliotis]

Teri is sitting on the lawn, eyes closed, and enjoying the occasional glimpses of sun coming through the clouds. Next to her is an open notebook she's writing on, a grasshopper on her shoulder seemingly paying attention to what she's writing writing while she herself obviously does not. Every once in a while the critter chirps and she crosses something out on the pad and corrects her notes.

[Marcus Kingston]

Marcus had most of his classes squeezed into the morning so now he had some free time. What better way to spend it but conquer yet another game in his collection before a new class or random mission popped up? He was just about to pull out his PSP4 when he noticed the new girl sitting by the tree. He approached her.

"Hi there. Sorry if I'm interupting, were you doing homework?"

[Teri Napliotis]

Teri opens her eyes and looks up. "You're not interrupting. Not much anyway. We're actually in class right now. Kind of."

She keeps on taking notes while she's talking, only seeming slightly distracted and keeping her sentances somewhat short.

"The sun's poking through the clouds for once. We didn't want to waste that and sit inside."

[Marcus Kingston]

"Really? How are you doing that?" He asked curiously. "It's not Astral projection or something is it?"

He looked up towards the sky and nodded in agreement. "It is a really nice day so I get what you mean. Almost makes me wish classes haven't started up."

[Teri Napliotis]

"One of us is sitting in the class-room." She nods at the locust keeping watch over her note-taking.

[Marcus Kingston]

He knelt down, staring at the cricket for a moment. "Oh. So you talk to insects? That's pretty cool." He smiled. "What do they talk or think about usually?"

[Teri Napliotis]

"We're not sure if you'd call it talking. Normally they're pretty dumb. We on the other hand are smart enough to go to college." She flashes a grin. "We think it's because something's linking us together."

[Marcus Kingston]

He chuckled. "Well, you are here afterall. Especially if that cricket's uh.." He looked down at Teri's notepad. "Telling you what the teacher's saying."

"Oh! I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Marcus."

[Teri Napliotis]

"Nice meeting you, Marcus. We're Teri." She seems to think a moment and then extends her hand out to Marcus.

"And it's not telling us what it hears. We just hear it. We see and hear and feel and think everywhere we are. Unless we spread too far. Then we turn stupid."

[Marcus Kingston]

"Nice to meet you Teri." He took her hand and shook it softly.

"Oh. So that's how it works? I think that explains why you're all so smart then. You're all one with each other." He pondered, it seemed like he wanted to ask something.

[Teri Napliotis]

She tilts her head in a slightly jerky motion. "Go ahead. We're hard to offend."

[Marcus Kingston]

"Was it hard getting used to that? When your power first appeared? Like, were their thoughts filling your mind all the time?" He assumed Teri's power was just some sort of telepathic link with the insects. Either way, he always thought powers like that were really intriguing.

[Teri Napliotis]

At that she actually closed her notepad, remaining rather quiet for a while, thinking and she comes to the conclusion that Marcus is genuinely interested.

"We... don't remember much about the time before we were. And yes, our mind was full of thoughts and still is. We tried to piece together what happened, but it doesn't fit. We remember a bike. We faintly remember searching for food. Always searching for food. We were many many more and then pain. And then suddenly we were thinking. So many new thoughts. And feelings. We tried to understand it, but we couldn't, so we decided on the things we knew were true. That I was Teri once and I was alone. And that now we are Teri still, but we are many."

[Marcus Kingston]

Marcus tried to piece as much of that together as possible. Was how she was now some sort of accident? At the very least, it was a sudden change. He frowned as he listened to what Teri had to say.

"Oh..I see." He didn't feel like prying anymore. It may of not been the best of memories for Teri. He did ask one question. "Well, are you happy with how things are now Teri?"

[Teri Napliotis]

"Sure, why shouldn't we?" She looks at Marcus as if perplexed by the question.
uncomfortable butheasked didhewanttoknow? polite? offended? creepedout?
"Sometimes we feel a little out of place, even here, but we're never really alone, so it doesn't bother us much."

[Marcus Kingston]

"That's good then." He looked down in thought. "My power only gave me one really big issue once and after that it just disappeared. So sometimes I tend to forget really about how peoples' powers can really mess with them or be detrimental or just hard to deal with."

He looked up at her. "So, I was just asking if you were doing okay. It seemed like it. Then again, you just met me so I don't really think you'd go off saying something everything you feel. I thought I'd still ask regardless."

[Teri Napliotis]

"Well, we appreciate your concern regardless of if it's needed." She chuckles. "What's your 'power' then?"

[Marcus Kingston]

He smiled. "I'll show you." He reached into his backpack and pulled out a pencil. He held it out and it started to grow gradually until it was five times bigger.

[Teri Napliotis]

"Supplying giants with writing utensils, we see." She grins. "We guess that works on anything?"

[Marcus Kingston]

He laughed. "Yeah. Pretty much. It does work on just about anything. I could make that cricket on your shoulder bigger too."

[Teri Napliotis]

"Oh, living things too?" She curiously peers at the insect on her shoulder.

[Marcus Kingston]

"Yep. I would try it but I think it'd probably freak out some of the students that'd come by." He chuckled. "Noo. Giant crickets!" He said playfully.

[Teri Napliotis]

"That's propably true. People can be pretty squeamish about it..."

[Marcus Kingston]

"Speaking of that..what happens if one of the little guys get hurt? You don't feel it do you?"

[Teri Napliotis]

"We do. It hurts, but not much and only if it dies. We don't know for sure, but we think if more of us would get hurt or die it'd propably be worse."

[Marcus Kingston]

"Oh. That sucks. Hm, are they any stronger than normal critters?"

[Teri Napliotis]

"Not really, but thanks to birds we've gotten quite good at dodging out of harms way."

[Marcus Kingston]

The pencil shrunk back down and he put it back inside his backpack. He looked over at the grasshopper again. "Man. Your power's cool. Getting to be in class but not really be there. Just how much of the school are you watching?"

[Teri Napliotis]

"We're everywhere! No but seriously, only the classroom at the moment. It doesn't reach endlessly far and we prefer sticking together. Besides, people would propably be really uncomfortable if we'd spread all over the place just to watch everything."

[Marcus Kingston]

"That would be kind of funny if that were the case and people knew you power. 'Is that grasshopper..watching us?'" He smiled, amused by the idea. "So, what's your major?"

[Teri Napliotis]

"Oh, we're majoring in Law. And journalism as a minor. It seemed a good fit, what with the whole 'watching people' possibilities.", she smirks.

[Marcus Kingston]

"That does sound like a good fit. You'd find out a ton and no one would even know you were around."

[Teri Napliotis]

"Yeah, awfully convenient. How about you?"

[Marcus Kingston]

"Media Arts. I've always been into gaming and stuff so I figured I'd try for that."

[Teri Napliotis]

"Like... computer animation and things? We'd say 'neat' or something trite like that, but to be honest, we don't know much about those things."

[Marcus Kingston]

"Yep. That's it. Heh, it's okay. Not everyone's too into that stuff anyway."