[Keaira Matthews]

i wake at the first cringe of morning

and my heart's already sinned

Despite having been the one to draw attention to the smudge on her face, the dark-haired girl didn't appear to be overly concerned with its presence there at all. In fact, Kenzi appeared tp ne wearing it as a badge of honor as she batted her rather lengthy eyelashes at her coquettishly.  Keaira's youthful face adopted a stern expression as she pretended to study the other' girl's lovely visage much in the manner that a true connoisseur of art might.  "Oddly enough, it does.  Uncanny really.  Lavender really does go well with your complexion and that soft green is a perfect compliment to the brown in your eyes. It really couldn't look better than if you'd done it on purpose, Keke replied.

A  sly grin tugged at the teen's lips as Kenzi vowed to never seduce her again. Cheekily, the brunette responded " Good, I'm not quite sure that my heart could withstand another seduction attempt from you."  Soon enough as the conversation returned to art, the gleam returned to the teenager's eye as she answered "Agreed. I have always believed that it is quite a honor when someone chooses to share their work with you because it can be such a deeply personal thing when its coming for a real place within you. It can be so raw sometimes leaving you feeling rather vulnerable and exposed. Especially when people just don't get it."

Following Kenzi's gaze up to the clock, the technopath grinned adding "Oh well, to be continued then." As Kenzi spoke of coming from a family of artists, a flicker of envy flashed in the sixteen year old's eyes. While single parent homes were  rather commonplace these days  it still didn't mean that Keaira was particularly pleased with the lack of a father figure in her life. While, she was in no way ashamed of her mother whom she thought quite highly of and even considered to be her best friend, truthfully, the teen often wondered about her father. Especially since she had developed her abilities. Did he possess abilities as well? Was he also artistically inclined? She'd long since concluded that her creativity couldn't have come from her grandparents as they seemed far too ornery for that kind of thing.

With a smile that seemed somewhat sad and more than a little forced, Keke replied "Well, I am not sure if mine is in my blood to be honest. I mean my mom is definitely pretty artsy. Not so much as a profession but in general. She's kind of crafty. She makes all sorts of things that she sells for extra income Like dreamcatchers, scented candles, hypo-allergenic perfumes and soaps.  My grandparents don't seem to have an artistic bone in their body and my father...  Thankful that Kenzi seemed interested in a demonstration of her ability, the somber expression that had previously marred the young girl's dainty features quickly dissipated.

As she slid the phone back into her pocket, the anxious teen studied the other girl's face eager to see her expression as the bell blared loudly.  The sound had obviously taken the dark haired girl by surprise as she had flinched, but Kenzi seemed to quickly regain her composure as she began to gather her belongings. Sliding out of the desk, Keaira slung her bookbag strap across her shoulder turning towards Kenzi as her classmate inquired as to whether or not she was a hacker. Laughing soflty, the brunette replied "Yeah, something like that. I am rather gifted with electronics. I can form a telepathic link with them that allows me to manipulate them fairly easily. I can essentially place phone calls, send text messages, and use a tablet or laptop without ever touching the device itself. Ranges devices like the bell require me to use another device kind of like a remote in order for it to work."

Noticing relief wash over Kenzi's face, Keke glanced briefly at the teacher before returning her gaze to Kenzi whom confirmed her suspicion of having released her hold on the teacher's attention.  "Oh, and yeah I can hack most stuff," the teen added as she fell into step with Kezni whom was heading towards the door.  Shrugging in response to Kenzi's rhetorical question, Keaira answered "Well, I would like to think that they will employ metahuman teachers that will be able to keep us in line. Or at the very least provide classrooms or buildings where our abilities will be negated to keep us from running entirely wild. In theory the school really isn't that bad of an idea, but in practice it could end up being more than they bargained for. "

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MEL @ ADOXOGRAPHY

[Kenzi Nadir]

Is it weird that she was excited for math? Kind of. She didn’t enjoy the subject, she didn’t enjoy most school subjects, but she loved meeting her classmates. School isn’t a place to learn about geometry and history. It’s a social playground, with all types of people to meet, all sorts of people to learn from. She never saw school as boring. How could it be with all these friends to make? Sure, she would be polite and listen to the teacher, and by listen she means zoning out while they talk over her. But with her new powers, she wouldn’t be disrupting the teacher’s attention if she could completely divert it away from her while she, perhaps, talked to someone. Socialized. She made sure before she came to class that she had some brightly colored pastel smudges on her cheek from her latest artistic excursion. She wanted to make the right first impression on anyone she met.

When she got to her class, she found most of the desks occupied, so she was relegated to seat at the back of the room. Despite this setback, she remained optimistic. No turning around to talk to someone, no three-sixty discussions, but she still had the other one hundred eighty degrees, and she had a loud enough voice that she could still shout out witty responses to the teacher if she wanted to. At least she didn’t get a corner seat.

Tapping her hands excitedly on the desks, she watched as a student came in late and sat in the desk next to her. She notice her recieve a look from the teacher. Did she have a reputation, or was the teacher simply a dickhead? She hoped it was the former, that would be exciting. Although the more she watched her, the less that seemed like a possibility She seemed self-conscious, apologetic. In other words, in need of some comfort. In need of a friend.

Kenzi, thanking her parent’s extraverted genetics for giving her a miniscule to nonexistent personal bubble as the girl accidently somewhat invaded her space, turned towards her and smiled. ”Hey, nice to meet ya.” She greeted warmly, offering a hand. ”I’m Kenzi, it’s my first day here.” She didn’t bother to put up any attention diversion around them. Class had just start and she doubted the teacher was ready to give the lesson yet. Plus, it always gave her a headache to control someone’s attention that much. She could handle it, she just didn’t prefer it.

[Keaira Matthews]

i wake at the first cringe of morning

and my heart's already sinned

Much to both the delight and bewilderment of her mother, Keaira had always been a model student and while her nearly insatiable thirst for knowledge played a major part in her scholastic aptitude, the brunette's perfectionist nature is what truly kept her at the top of her classes. While this typically meant that Keke placed a rather unhealthy amount of pressure on herself, the sixteen year old had always held herself to a higher standard than that of her peers. The teen didn’t ditch classes, she turned in her homework early, and often did extra credit when it was neither needed nor required. The teenager’s dedication to her studies often earned her a place in the heart of most of the teachers she’d had over the years which was one of the many reasons why the technopath now found herself a bit flustered at the harsh look that she’d just received from the Algebra instructor. Keaira had been determined to make a good impression on the teacher, particularly after the dismal performance in ballet earlier this morning.

Still, it was only the first week of classes and she had an entire year to turn things around, the optimist mused. At least her desk had ceased making that horrid screeching sound every time she moved so that was bound to put the teacher in better spirits wasn’t it? A common signal that she was perturbed, Keaira had begun to pick at her nails as the instructor sifted through the pile of papers on her desk. Struggling to remain both still and focused, Keke lightly drummed her nails against the smooth surface of the desk as the teacher lifted a clipboard from her chair. As her mind began to idle, a string of words popped into the sixteen year old’s mind. Snagging the pencil, the teen flipped open the notepad and rapidly began to scribble them down. Just as she finished her first stanza, the teacher began roll call.

A vexed expression briefly overtook the teen's face as she was forced to withdraw her attention from her poetry and attempt to refocus it on the teacher. She hated shifting gears so quickly as it most often led to her losing her train of thought. For that matter, the brunette wasn't exactly a huge fan of leaving things unfinished either. Who knew when her muse would return and allow her to finish her poem? It was at that moment that the sixteen year old realized that someone was speaking to her. A bashful expression quickly chased away her vexation as the teenager wondered how long the other girl had been attempting conversation with her. Offering a short wave in response to the dark-haired girl's introduction, Keaira replied "Oh, hey there.  Sorry, I was a bit zoned out. I can get really caught up with things sometimes and totally block out everything that is going on around me."

"Kenzi? That's a rather unique name if you don't mind my saying. Don't believe I've ever heard it before. Is that short for anything? My name is Keaira by the way. Keke for short. I started earlier in the week, but still new for the most part. I'd offer to show you around but to be honest, I still get lost myself. Hence my being late today," Keaira replied. Keke extended her hand for a shake just as the teacher called out "Keaira Matthews?"

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MEL @ ADOXOGRAPHY

[Kenzi Nadir]

She sensed the girl’s attention focused more on the teacher than Kenzi’s introduction. She seemed to Kenzi to be the typical academic type, with pencils and notebooks at the ready, eager to impress. She must be worried what the teacher thinks of her. Too worried. She felt bad. This girl needed to loosen up a little. Kenzi decided to make it her personal mission to get her to do just that.

Just as Kenzi was about to open her mouth to reintroduce herself, she felt the girl’s attention turn toward her. Her spirits lifted when the girl mentioned the uniqueness of her name. It was something she prided herself on. Anything to make her stand out, she felt quite proud of. And Keke, that was cute. An interesting jump from Keaira, but one she appreciated. She received the handshake. ”Hey Keke. And no, it’s not a nickname, it’s my real name. My parents took a bit of a leap with me. My siblings got boring old names like Andrea and Rob, although Rob is actually a nickname, his real name is Robert. Still; boring. As the youngest sibling, I got lucky.” She grinned. ”And don’t worry, I got a pretty good map in my head. Spatial recognition is kinda my specialty.“

”And don’t worry about zoning out either. I can sense people’s attention, I know when they’re zoning out and when they’re not and people zone out all the time.” It was ridiculous how much people’s attention just wandered away out of nowhere. It was an enlightening discovery Kenzi had made ever since she got her powers. So few words are comprehended, far fewer than most would expect. It’s a miracle that people are able to communicate with the competence they do.

As she was talking, she heard the instructor call out her name. "Kenzi Nadir?"

”Yo, wassup!” She hollered in response, waving her hand around. She was received by a splattering of laughter from the class and an annoyed look from the teacher. ”God, she’s got a real stick up her ass, doesn’t she.” She told Keke, using her powers to direct the teacher’s attention away from them. A couple of the students around her seem surprised at Kenzi’s blunt insubordination, especially when the teacher didn’t say anything or even seem to acknowledge her despite her considerable volume. Kenzi simply gave them a wink.

”So, what’re you writing there? If you don’t mind me asking.” She asked Keke.

[Keaira Matthews]

i wake at the first cringe of morning

and my heart's already sinned

To those that knew her best, Keaira's scholastic aptitude was rather astonishing when one took into account that the brunette suffered from a rather short attention span. While it was certainly no feat to obtain Keke's attention, maintaining it was a different matter altogether. Even when participating in a steady conversation, her mind would venture off prompting her to abruptly switch topics. The sixteen year old contributed this character flaw to her  simply being an energetic and creative being whom disliked having her energy contained for too long.

In fact, the only time that the teen felt even remotely bothered by her struggles with focusing her attention was when someone inexplicably became upset about it. Which thankfully, didn't appear to be the case with Kenzi. The dark haired girl eagerly grasped her hand and shook it as she continued on to explain her name in greater detail. Nodding her understanding, the teenager answered "I like it. It....suits you. It's actually sounds kind of exotic and is quite the departure from Andrea and Robb. I wonder how they came about it. I'm an only child, so my mom only had one chance to get mine right and personally I think she nailed it. I have met a thousand Keiras, but no other Keairas so far."

As an amused smile crept across Keaira's face she added "Spatial recognition is your specialty eh? Maybe I should be asking you to show me around then." Perhaps one of the most fascinating aspects of attending a school in which everyone possessed some form of special abilities was determining what everyone can do and how they did it. Keke, in particular was always curious about the hows and the whys. While the technopath realized that keeping her focus was difficult for her, Keaira at least liked to believe that she had mastered the art of appearing to still be engaged in whatever it was that she'd lost interest in. This was highly unlikely to work with Kenzi and for some reason this intrigued the sixteen year old.

"You can sense peoples' attention. Is that a natural talent or is that your ability? If its your ability then can you just sense it or can you somehow manipulate it as well," Keaira inquired. Before Kenzi could respond to her questions, the teacher called out her name which prompted the dark haired girl to shift her attention to their instructor. Her classmate's response was actually quite boisterous in nature eliciting quite the amused response from their peers. Their teacher, on the other hand, was a little less than impressed to say the least. Not that irking the teacher seemed to phase Kenzi much.

Keke giggled a little as Kenzi implied that their instructor was a bit on the uptight side. Nodding, she replied "Yeah maybe a little." Keaira's cheeks tinged pink as Kenzi asked about what she'd been scribbling in her notebook. Gesturing to the notepad, she questioned "Oh? This? It's just some poetry that I've been working on. Nothing special really. Just got to get this thoughts down as they come so that I don't lose them."

TAG: @user | WORDS: ### | NOTES: HERE

MEL @ ADOXOGRAPHY

[Kenzi Nadir]

Kenzi’s chest swelled with pride. Exotic. She hadn’t heard that one before. She imagined her parents would be somewhat upset if they heard her name being called exotic. Their names, Ibrahim and Nijah, were exotic, and they hated their names. Too indicative of the old country she supposed, wherever that may be. Perhaps exotic was okay as long as it wasn’t wherever they came from. They weren’t exactly American nationalists as much as they far preferred America to their home country. They could actually be quite anti-nationalist, but, Kenzi imagined, they were always proud that their country allowed them to be so.

Kenzi, personally, didn’t much care about her name aligning with any national identity. It was exotic. And that meant different. That meant it stood out, it was noticeable. If there was anything Kenzi liked, it was being noticed.

She didn’t reveal the rather banal way in which her parents came across her name. They simply liked the nickname for Mackenzie, Kenzi, but not the actual name, so they cut out the middle man. Boring, very non-exotic. She didn’t want to ruin the mysticism. So, she simply moved on to Keke’s name. “Really? I haven’t met any Keiras or Keairas. Well, not until now.” She said. “I’m gonna stick with Keke though. It’s so much cuter if you don’t mind me saying.”

”Yeah, I’m a bit of an artist. In fact, I probably have something on my face. Do I?” She knew she did. She checked in the mirror before she came to class. Brightly colored pastel, her medium of choice. ”Gotta have good spatial recognition to be an artist, that’s kinda what it’s all about.” She grinned. ”I probably could show you around the school, I got the whole map memorized.” She tapped the side of her head. ”I could probably draw the whole thing from memory, but to do it an any traditionally directional way would be quite boring, don’t you think?”

”No, not a natural talent. It’s part of my powers. I can sense attention, direct attention, divert attention. That’s why the teacher hasn’t been yelling at us for talking in class.” She gestured towards teacher, who had begun directing the class; she wasn’t even looking in their direction. The students around her were confused as to why the teacher hadn’t reprimanded them, but, of course, would never rat them out. Kenzi, in fact, was starting to get a bit of a headache from diverting her attention from such a big thing for so long, but she didn’t want to stop talking to her new friend, so she didn’t complain about her headache nor did she cease her diversion.

”Ooh, poetry?” Any type of artistic expression greatly interested Kenzi. She grew up in a family of artists. ”Can I see? If you don’t mind, of course. I know that kind of stuff can be personal for some people.” She added, noting Keke's flushed cheeks.

[Keaira Matthews]

i wake at the first cringe of morning

and my heart's already sinned

It was the second time that someone had referred to her nickname as being cute which was rather interesting to Keaira. as she'd met several girls with similar sounding nicknames to her own. In all honestly, she'd always thought that Keke seemed rather plan in comparison to names like Kenzi or Melody. Truthfully, the brunette was somewhat surprised that she hadn't been named something like Sage or Karma with her mother being who she was. What was even more surprising was that Kenzi had never crossed paths with any Keiras as that was a rather common mispronunciation of her name. Still, it felt nice to have her individuality acknowledged. Although if the sixteen year old was being truly honest, her name was likely the most normal thing about the teen.

While the technopath was the furthest thing from an attention seeker, Kearia could hardly say that her presence often went without notice. She was simply too "weird" to ignore, Keke guessed. It had always been something of a habit of the teenager's to inquire about names that she found unique in nature as she adored names that had a meaning to them or intriguing origins something that she suspected her own name had neither. Keaira arched a brow as she inquired "Do you mean in real life? I'm pretty sure that there is an actress that's pretty well known named Keira something or other. I don't mind Keke though. People around here rarely call me by my full name. Keke is just easier I guess."

Kenzi had declared herself as an artist, which had simply confirmed for Keaira that the smudge on the girl's face was indeed some form of paint. Although she hadn't wanted to stare at the discoloration on the other girl's face as she hadn't wanted to be rude or even point it out in fear that her potential new friend might take offense. Still, Kenzi didn't seem to be bashful about the splotches on her face at all. Nodding her head, the brunette replied "Yes, actually you do have something just there. Were you working on something just before you came to class?" Kenzi's declaration that spatial recognition was a significant part of being an artist made logical sense to the sixteen year old. Particularly in terms of memorization.

Grinning, she nodded her head in agreement, she replied "Well, remind me to ask you next time I get turned around. I suppose that if you want to do it just for the sake of being functional then a traditional directional way would be best even if a bit boring. But, if you are simply using it as a muse to expand upon your innate creativity then yes I could see why you'd think it boring. " It wasn't actually until Kenzi further explained the nuance sof her ability did Keaira actually notice that the teacher seemed to be ignoring their conversation entirely much to the mystification of their classmates. Beaming, the sixteen year old added "That's really cool. Is any part of your power innate or do you have full control of when you sense attention, divert, it or direct it? Meeting other kids with abilities is always so fascinating to me. Especially meeting those who have some control over it and have developed it to amazing heights."

Flashing Kenzi a radiant smile, Keaira lifted her notepad from her desk and presented it to the dark haired girl next to her. People rarely showed any interest in her artistic endeavors. She was really starting to like this girl, Keke mused as she said "No, I don't mind at all. Most people that I meet think that poetry and stuff like that is boring so I'm not really used to people wanting to read it. Those that do sometimes just don't get it. This one specific is just strange things that pop into my head from time to time."

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MEL @ ADOXOGRAPHY

[Kenzi Nadir]

”Keke’s not just easier it’s better!” Kenzi retorted. ”Don’t be so humble, embrace it!”

Kenzi grinned when Keke pointed out the smudge on her face. Always a great segway to talk about her passion. ”Oh really?” She said as if she didn’t know. ”This always happens to me. I’m a messy artist.” She rubbed her hand against the place where she knew the pastel was. "Is it better now?” It most certainly wasn’t, she’d only made it worse and she knew it. She wasn’t planning on washing it off until she took a shower later that night. ”Yeah, I was working on a chalk pastel piece. I work with all sorts of different mediums, but chalk pastel is really my medium of choice. It’s just so wild and messy and free! With the piece I’m working on I’m trying to capture essence of this building I used to pass by a bunch of times when I was little. It was this old, abandoned brick building. It had shattered windows and was all boarded up and covered in vines, but there was no graffiti or anything like that. It was like people respected it. I know I did. They tore it down when I was eight or nine years old, but, of course, the memory stays. I’m not drawing a figurative piece, of course. Figurative art is easy and lazy. No, I always work purely in the abstract. I use shapes and colors to create the mood, the story, the feeling. Cause that’s what art’s all about, isn’t it? Any kind of art. The mood, the story, the feeling.” She laughed. ”Sorry, you got me going. Once I start talking about art I just can’t stop. But I’ll save you the remaining six hours of my spiel, for now.” She spoke with light-hearted foreboding.

”And just to be clear, I can draw figuratively perfectly well. I just prefer not to. And I know how that sounds, but, look, I’ll show you.” She took out a pencil and a blank sheet of paper. ”Let me draw you that map…” She said as she put her pencil to the paper. She drew a perfect replication of the floor they were on, but started adding some flourishes, starting with a dragon at the end of the hallway, perfectly shaped, expressive, all in all beautiful, but she wanted to impress Keke, so she got more into it than she usually would and started on the intricate details of the muscles and the scales and the shading.

”I innately sense people’s attention,” she answered as she drew, ”but it takes conscious effort to control attention or divert it. I can’t do it accidently or anything, if that’s what you’re asking.” She erased a stay line, then smudged the graphite with her finger to create more realistic shading. ”But I totally agree with you. It is so cool to meet other people with powers! And people find some pretty creative uses for them, which I always appreciate. What are your powers by the way? I don’t think I’ve asked that yet.”

Kenzi looked up from her drawing excitedly to see the notebook Keke presented. ”Those people are crazy. Poetry can never be boring. Any kind of artistic endeavor is like a peek into someone’s...someone’s soul for lack of a better word.” She shrugged, ”I had a secular upbringing so any idea of a soul is kind of ridiculous to me, so I guess I’m talking about a metaphorical soul; a mind soul if you will.” She caught herself. ”Sorry if you believe in a soul or anything like that. I promise I won’t judge you,” she totally would. ”That’s just what I believe. I totally respect whatever your beliefs are,” to a certain degree. She shook her head. ”Enough about souls. Lemme see what you got.” She peered at Keke’s notebook. It was quite disjointed, as it was, as she said, just things that popped into her head from time to time, but still, it was fascinating. She loved peering into another’s mind, or perhaps mind soul. ”Dude, this is awesome!” She said with full sincerity. ”Keep it up! You should show me your other stuff!” She said excitedly, ”You know, if you want to. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” She added cheekily, guestering to her drawing and the smudge on her cheek. She knew she’d show Keke her artwork regardless of whether or not she agreed to share her poetry, but she figured a little light-hearted incentive couldn’t hurt.

[Keaira Matthews]

i wake at the first cringe of morning

and my heart's already sinned

To be honest there were really only a handful of things that Keaira could earnestly say that she took great pride in and strangely, her nickname had never really been on that list.  However, as she noted Kenzi's enthusiasm on the topic, the brunette began to wonder if perhaps it should be. With her attention being drawn to the smudge on her face, Kenzi  began vigorously rubbing at the blemish which only succeeded in further smearing the chalk across her cheek and in essence making the issue considerably worse.  Although as she watched the other girl trying her best to clear her face,  Keaira couldn't help but to wonder how in the world the chalk managed to get so high up on her face in the first place? Had she perhaps had some residue lingering on her hands and then dabbed her first. It would be the most reasonable scenario but then why was it so  firmly imprinted on her cheek.

Shaking her head as Kenzi inquired as to the status of the discoloration to which she replied "No, I'm afraid not. Actually, I think you might have just made it worse to be honest." As she inquired as  to what  Kenzi had been working on that her put her visage in such a state, the teen's face illuminated. Kenzi's passion for her art was not only refreshing to Keaira but resonated with the technopath deeply. It was a gift to find something  in life that could invoke such emotion not only within yourself but within others as well and it seemed that her artwork was just that.  Nodding her head in agreement, Keke responded "That's true. Art is all about the feeling.  Not just about what you feel but the ability to translate what you feel into something tangible that resonates on some level with others. Whether the beholder loves it or hates it, they feel something towards it one way or the other."

Giggling a little as Kenzi vowed to spare her the entire six hour spiel, the sixteen year old added "That's probably a good thing because this class is only 45 minutes long."  Indicating that she was in fact just as adept at figurative art as expressionism, Kenzi withdrew a piece of paper and began sketching a map of the hallways. Which were in and of themselves quite impressive, however as her muse took over what was once a simple map soon became an intricately drawn dragon with scales that were practically 3D.  "That's beautiful. You're attention to detail is amazing," Keke breathed as Kenzi continued drawing even while explaining the limitations of her ability.  When the topic shifted to her own abilities, the technopath's dark orbs lit up as she replied coolly "I can show you better than I can tell you."

With the teacher still quite distracted, Keaira dug her phone from her jacket pocket. Sliding her finger over the home screen, Keke unlocked the phone . Casting a brief glimpse out of the door towards the hallway, the brunette's fingers quickly flew across her keypad for several minutes. Sliding the phone back into her pocket, the teen lifted a finger towards Kenzi as if to save 'Wait for it.' Suddenly, the bell blared loudly prompting the teacher to cease her scribbling on the chalkboard and turn to look at the clock in utter confusion. "Oh, class is over already? Time must have caught up with me. Maybe the closk needs to be reset. Oh, well. Class dismissed! We'll pick this back up tomorrow."

Pulling her backpack into her lap, Keaira neatly tucked her notebook and writing utensils into the bag as Kenzi evaluated her work. The subject of souls had actually managed to catch the teen by surprise. Having not grown up in a traditional Christian household, it was quite difficult for Keke to put into words what she believed in but she could say for certain that the presence of souls had never once been mentioned by her mother. in anything she suspected that the pair of them believed in reincarnation. So perhaps more or less one's spirit which she supposed could be a variation of a soul. Or synonymous, even.  Beaming at Kenzi's praise, the teenager nodded eagerly as she answered "Sure, anytime you want to see it. I'd love to see what you were working on before class. The fruits of your labor if you will. I also write short stories if you're interested in that.  I've started like thousands of novels, all unfinished because my mused is always in overdrive and I get more ideas before I can complete one. Someday though."

TAG: @user | WORDS: ### | NOTES: HERE

MEL @ ADOXOGRAPHY

[Kenzi Nadir]

Kenzi chuckled good-naturedly at Keke’s observation about the smudge on her cheek and waved her hand dismissively. ”I’ll take care of it later. In the meantime, I hope it’s very flattering.” She posed with her head down, looking up, making her eyes appear bigger, and batted her eyelashes facetiously, ”What do you say? Does it make me look sexy?” She grinned. ”Does it bring out the brown in my eyes?” She fluttered her eyelashes again, and then broke down laughing. ”Sorry, sorry, I won’t seduce you like that again, I promise!” She laughed.

Her laughter tapered off as Keke related to her opinions on art. “Yeah, exactly!” She agreed. ”It’s an expression of something that can’t be translated directly. You can’t tell someone an emotion, it has to be felt, and that’s what art does, whether it’s art art or music or literature or jewelry or acting, it’s all about that special communication you can’t get anywhere else. It’s all about-” She cut herself off, laughing. ”I promised I’d save you the six hour speech,” she looked up at the clock, ”and you’re right, I don’t think I could fit that into forty five minutes.”

Kenzi’s grin widened at Keke’s compliment. ”Thanks, I’ve had a lot of practice. Art is basically my life. Shit’s in my blood man, everyone in my family is involved in some kind of artistic practice. My father’s a jeweler, my mother’s an inventor - which I certainly consider an artistic endeavor - my sister’s a musician, and my brother was an actor, but he gave that up to start a family and stuff. He’s a salesman now, though he still takes part in plays when he has the chance." A hint of disdain came into Kenzi’s voice when she mentioned her brother’s lack of an artistic career, but she tried to reign it in. She loved her brother, and she didn’t want anyone having a bad opinion of him, especially if they didn’t know him.

”Ooh, show me, show me!” She chanted excitedly. She watched with wide eyes as Keke took out her phone. She watched Keke’s fingers carefully, but she had no idea what she was doing. She let out a few excited giggles as Keke held up her finger. Metahumans were so cool, and it was so cool to be a part of them. It was partially why she joined this school, to meet other metahumans and feel like she was part of something, something special. And seeing other people’s abilities had to be the coolest part of the whole experience.

Kenzi flinched as the bell went off. She wasn’t expecting that. She followed the teacher’s gaze to the clock. It was forty five minutes later than it had been last time she checked. Her grin widened as the teacher dismissed the class. She quickly but carefully stuffed the drawing in her backpack - she would finish that later - then stood up, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. ”Cool! So are you like some super hacker or something?” She asked. Then she realized, with the class being dismissed, she no longer had to hold the teacher’s attention. She let go, and felt a wave of relief wash over her. ”Thank god, that was getting fucking exhausting.” She rubbed her temples, just now noticing the throbbing in her head. ”God, my head hurts like fuck!”

”Cool, we’ll exchange art stuff!” She said, returning to socializing to distract herself from her massive headache. ”This school was a stupid idea. How the hell do they plan to keep kids like us under control?” She let out a little laugh, ”Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they don’t, and I’m glad they have this school so we can learn about our powers and stuff, but how the hell do they expect to keep us in math class.” She gestured for Keke to follow her. ”C’mon, walk around the school with me a little bit. We’ll burn some time before the next class is supposed to start.”

[Keaira Matthews]

i wake at the first cringe of morning

and my heart's already sinned

Despite having been the one to draw attention to the smudge on her face, the dark-haired girl didn't appear to be overly concerned with its presence there at all. In fact, Kenzi appeared tp ne wearing it as a badge of honor as she batted her rather lengthy eyelashes at her coquettishly.  Keaira's youthful face adopted a stern expression as she pretended to study the other' girl's lovely visage much in the manner that a true connoisseur of art might.  "Oddly enough, it does.  Uncanny really.  Lavender really does go well with your complexion and that soft green is a perfect compliment to the brown in your eyes. It really couldn't look better than if you'd done it on purpose, Keke replied.

A  sly grin tugged at the teen's lips as Kenzi vowed to never seduce her again. Cheekily, the brunette responded " Good, I'm not quite sure that my heart could withstand another seduction attempt from you."  Soon enough as the conversation returned to art, the gleam returned to the teenager's eye as she answered "Agreed. I have always believed that it is quite a honor when someone chooses to share their work with you because it can be such a deeply personal thing when its coming for a real place within you. It can be so raw sometimes leaving you feeling rather vulnerable and exposed. Especially when people just don't get it."

Following Kenzi's gaze up to the clock, the technopath grinned adding "Oh well, to be continued then." As Kenzi spoke of coming from a family of artists, a flicker of envy flashed in the sixteen year old's eyes. While single parent homes were  rather commonplace these days  it still didn't mean that Keaira was particularly pleased with the lack of a father figure in her life. While, she was in no way ashamed of her mother whom she thought quite highly of and even considered to be her best friend, truthfully, the teen often wondered about her father. Especially since she had developed her abilities. Did he possess abilities as well? Was he also artistically inclined? She'd long since concluded that her creativity couldn't have come from her grandparents as they seemed far too ornery for that kind of thing.

With a smile that seemed somewhat sad and more than a little forced, Keke replied "Well, I am not sure if mine is in my blood to be honest. I mean my mom is definitely pretty artsy. Not so much as a profession but in general. She's kind of crafty. She makes all sorts of things that she sells for extra income Like dreamcatchers, scented candles, hypo-allergenic perfumes and soaps.  My grandparents don't seem to have an artistic bone in their body and my father...  Thankful that Kenzi seemed interested in a demonstration of her ability, the somber expression that had previously marred the young girl's dainty features quickly dissipated.

As she slid the phone back into her pocket, the anxious teen studied the other girl's face eager to see her expression as the bell blared loudly.  The sound had obviously taken the dark haired girl by surprise as she had flinched, but Kenzi seemed to quickly regain her composure as she began to gather her belongings. Sliding out of the desk, Keaira slung her bookbag strap across her shoulder turning towards Kenzi as her classmate inquired as to whether or not she was a hacker. Laughing soflty, the brunette replied "Yeah, something like that. I am rather gifted with electronics. I can form a telepathic link with them that allows me to manipulate them fairly easily. I can essentially place phone calls, send text messages, and use a tablet or laptop without ever touching the device itself. Ranges devices like the bell require me to use another device kind of like a remote in order for it to work."

Noticing relief wash over Kenzi's face, Keke glanced briefly at the teacher before returning her gaze to Kenzi whom confirmed her suspicion of having released her hold on the teacher's attention.  "Oh, and yeah I can hack most stuff," the teen added as she fell into step with Kezni whom was heading towards the door.  Shrugging in response to Kenzi's rhetorical question, Keaira answered "Well, I would like to think that they will employ metahuman teachers that will be able to keep us in line. Or at the very least provide classrooms or buildings where our abilities will be negated to keep us from running entirely wild. In theory the school really isn't that bad of an idea, but in practice it could end up being more than they bargained for. "

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MEL @ ADOXOGRAPHY

[Kenzi Nadir]

She giggled good-naturedly when Keke insinuated her smudge was purposeful. Shit, was she on to her? ”Well I’m glad it suits me.” She smiled, seemingly unfazed. ”And good color analysis. Couldn’t have done it better myself.” In the back of her mind she assured herself she could’ve done it better herself. She did, in fact, do it better herself. But she was still impressed with Keke’s abilities. She spoke like someone with true artistic knowledge, despite her facetious demeanor.

Kenzi smiled wider, glad that Keke was relaxing in her presence, feeling comfortable enough to joke around with her. Looked like her quest to find a friend was coming to fruition. ”Oh yeah, I know that feeling.” A lot of her more experimental artwork had just left people confused. She’d get a lot of “I don’t get it” and “it’s just colors and shapes” and “a four year old could do that.” As much as she didn’t act like those comments hurt her, they really did. She’d developed quite a thick skin over the years, but even the thickest of skin can be penetrated when one is bearing their soul. She saw how her sister’s lack of success for her personal work tore her apart and Kenzi swore she wouldn’t become like that. She’d find an audience. She hoped.

She could help but notice Keke’s tone towards her family, in particular her father. She sucked in a sharp grimace. ”Oh man, is family a touchy subject for you? I’m so sorry dude, I didn’t know.” She apologized brashly yet sympathetically. She knew a great number of people had family issues including, she assumed, her own parents - they’d seemed to disown the family they’d originated from - and she always felt a great pang of empathy for them. It didn’t seem fair that she’d get this perfect family and others had to grow up with difficulty. She wished everybody could have the kind of parents and siblings that she did. There seemed a great injustice in the world that others didn’t get the same upbringing as Kenzi.

The whole subject of family seemed to shift the tone of the discourse to something much more tense. She didn’t like it, it was uncomfortable. Luckily, Keke seemed to bounce back when she started talking about her powers. Kenzi’s eyes widened as Keke explained her abilities, ”Dude, that is so cool! Man, I love meeting people at this school!” She exclaimed, hoping her enthusiastic tone would fully restore the comfort of their interaction.

She walked with Keke out into the hallway, glad Keke was keeping step with her. ”I like it how it is. It’s like the wild west, but with people who can shoot flames out of their hands instead of bullets out of a gun. And also happens to be much more civilized.” She looked at Keke, eyes glimmering, ”Really goes to show the inner goodness in people, dunnit.” She smiled. Kenzi had much philosophy about the inner good in people, but that’s another six hour monologue for another time.

Now what to do? They could just wander around the school, go exploring a bit, but that sounded kind of boring. Suddenly, she had an idea. She looked at Keke mischievously, ”You know what, I heard rumors that there’s a secret underground tunnel in the school. You wanna go find it!?” She asked excitedly. She had no idea if there was any truth to the rumor, but walking in the hallway she thought she heard someone mention something about it in passing. At the very least it was worth checking out.

[Keaira Matthews]

i wake at the first cringe of morning

and my heart's already sinned

As Kenzi  continued to display nonchalance towards the smudge on her face, Keaira couldn't help but to feel a little envious. Not only  was the girl's artistry so strong that even her mistakes appeared to be intentional, but the confidence with which she bore the mark was admirable. The brunette   was certain that even If for a moment, had someone pointed such a thing out to her she'd have been mortified.  Perhaps that was why very few if any of Keke's hobbies were messy in nature. A sheepish grin flickered across the sixteen year old's face when Kenzi complimented her color analysis. Shrugging her shoulders casually, the teenager  replied "My mom paints so I guess I picked up a few things from her. She doesn't do it professionally or anything. It's more like a hobby. She tried to get me into it, but I just don't have her eye I suppose. Nor her talent for that matter."

Much to her dismay, the teenager was all too familiar with the pain invoked by one's work being poorly received or misunderstood. In fact, her work was so often misconstrued that somewhere along the way, the technopath had just come to expect that this would always be the case. Thusly, she no longer sought understanding  as much as she merely sought acceptance..Nowadays as long as her audience didn't trash it, Keaira could mostly handle the reader not quite understanding where she was going with it or what it was supposed to mean. It could perhaps be said that Keaira possessed the absolute worse poker face in existence.  Particularly, when the subject of her father was broached.  As hard as she tried to conceal her feelings when it came to her father's absence they always seemed to rise to the surface in one way or another and Keke  absolutely hated that. 

As such, it came as no surprise to the brunette that Kenzi had picked up on her reluctance to discuss the man that had contributed to her creation.  Still, the teen was frustrated with herself  for failing to better govern her emotions.  Stricken with the urge to clarify, the sixteen year old responded "Well, my family as a whole isn't exactly a touchy subject. It's really just... my dad. He's not really... around, you know?" It was strange to hear herself say those words aloud as the lack of a father figure had always served as ammunition to those of her former classmates that already doubted her worthiness to be among their ranks. Many of them whom incessantly ranted about their father offering up a punishment that seemed quite unjust in their privileged eyes or having little time to dedicate to them as a result of a rigorous work schedule while she was perplexed as to why they weren't grateful that their father was present at all.

As Kenzi's eyes widened to the size of saucers, the technopath giggled.  "Oh, same! Already I've met a guy that can fly, a girl that can turn into a mermaid... I'm still trying to figure that one out and a girl that can actually shoot lasers out of her eyes," Keaira gushed. Nodding her head in agreement to Kenzi's analogy, the brunette added "It is unchartered territory, that's for sure. Especially for a lot of kids who are used to having to hide what they can do. Abilities like ours are fairly covert in nature. I can't imagine what it must be like to have something that's harder to conceal. Like an ability that alters your physical appearance drastically."

Stepping out into the hallway Keaira continued " Yeah, I suppose it does but honestly I don't think I have met a person here yet that I can say I suspect has any true evil in them. I mean I'd say a few chaotic goods at best. For the most part I think that the bulk of the kids here are just looking for a place to belong. Trying to figure out what their new 'normal' is. Especially those that haven't had their powers for that long." A brow gently arched as Kenzi mentioned a secret tunnel. IT was the first that the teen had heard of it but admittedly, Keaira was intrigued.  Was skulking the campus in search for a secret tunnel the good, smart, or right thing to do? Probably not, but would her curiosity let her be without discovering the truth of the matter? Definitely not. 

Guided more by her curiosity than her desire to endear herself to the faculty, Keaira replied "Well, it's not like I have anything better to do. Let's go for it."

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MEL @ ADOXOGRAPHY

[Kenzi Nadir]

”Hey man, anyone can paint!” She encouraged, then leaned in close and lowered her voice. ”Or at least that’s what I’m supposed to say. It’s mostly the kinda thing you have to be born with. Sure, you can teach yourself, but you’ll never be able to reach the talent of a natural-born painter.” She leaned back and slapped Keke affably on the shoulder. ”But you can always just paint for fun! You don’t have to be good at it to enjoy it!” She grinned. ”What do you think all those adult coloring books are for?”

”Mm.” She hummed with sympathy and understanding as Keke clarified her family issues. ”I gotcha, I gotcha. I don’t have personal experience with that kinda thing, but I’ve had plenty of friends with missing parents, split families, etcetera. And empathy is a big part of being an artist, if we’re still on that subject.” She smiled. ”I may not be an expert on the whole family situation but if you need to talk, I’m here!” She gestured to herself. ”I’m here if you need to talk about anything really. I’ve always been told I have a very good shoulder to cry on, so to speak.”

”Mermaid? Do they need water to survive? I imagine that might be a difficult power to deal with.” Kenzi mused. ”And lasers? Are they like Cyclops? Do they need like a special visor or something or can they just do it on command?” She rubbed her chin. ”I probably would’ve heard of someone with uncontrollable laser sight, so I’m guessing the latter. But I’ve only been here like a day so I dunno.” She shrugged. ”I actually think it might cool to have a power that manifests physically like - and excuse the continued X-men references here - Beast or Mystique or something. Boy the X-men sure had a thing with the color blue didn’t they.” She brought her finger back to her chin. ”Anyway, it would be like a statement, like shouting to the world, ‘I’m different, this is who I am and I’m super cool, so deal with it,’ or something. That’s how I’d think of it anyway, though I know most people aren’t quite as outgoing as I am.”

Kenzi pointed both her thumbs at herself. ”Chaotic good, that’s me!” She grinned. ”And I guess some people could use a ‘normal,’ but personally, I try to avoid normal like the plague. Once something becomes normal, I immediately try to change it up. That’s why I came here! My family’s all the way back in Missouri, and Missouri is boring as fuuuuuck. I needed a change of scenery, needed to bring some excitement to my life. I thought a school full of metahumans might do the trick, and so far it seems to be working!” She smiled, ”Also, you into D&D or was that just a vague reference, cause I’d love to get a campaign going. I have so many ideas.”

"Sweet!” Kenzi announced as Keke agreed to follow her plan. ”I bet the doors down there are locked, so we’ll have to find a staff member…” Kenzi swept the hallway with her eyes as they walked. ”There!” She shouted quietly as she saw a janitor mopping the floor. ”Alright, you stay back.” She directed Keke.

Nonchalantly, she walked up to the janitor. ”Hey, I think you missed a spot.” She pointed toward the ground, directing all the janitor’s attention toward that spot on the ground. He grunted and started mopping up that area. Meanwhile, Kenzi snuck around and carefully unhooked a set of keys from the janitor’s belt loop. She smiled wide and silently held up the keys toward Keke, then gestured for her to follow as she made a quick getaway down the hall.

[Keaira Matthews]

i wake at the first cringe of morning

and my heart's already sinned

Having always fancied herself as something of a wordsmith Keaira tended to focus perhaps a little too much on how things were phrased even in expressions as common as "Everyone can paint." While the statement lacked sincerity coming from Kenzi whom she had already determined possessed a preference for natural talent in artistry, it was still undoubtedly true. Everyone could paint in the sense of performing the action. Anyone could go through the emotions especially if they had been formally instructed, but there were certain things that's simply couldn't be taught.  Offering a casual shrug Keke replied "That's true, I mean even if I took classes and learned all the techniques, I still might not ever have the eye for color or imagination that you do. When it comes to my art then I always like to put my everything in it. Bare my soul if you will. My just for fun hobbies are typically in no way artistic. I guess that's just the perfectionist in me."

Never really grasping the concept of a rhetorical question, the brunette grew still for a moment before adding "Well,, studies show that most adult coloring books have no artistic purpose at all.  It is actually supposed to be therapeutic in nature and help them destress. It has something to do with activation of the cerebral cortex." As Kenzi volunteered herself for emotional support, a soft smile lit the sixteen year old's face. In her circle of friends back home, the technopath had always been the one that others turned to for support. This even seemed to be the case for her mother at times. It was a little odd for someone volunteering to place herself in that person for her, yet endearing at the same time.  For all intensive purposes, Keaira had always been very open about what weighed heavily on her mind, but the young woman's heart was a different matter entirely.

When it came to things that were truly painful such as her father's absence and how she felt about it, Keke tended to keep these feelings bottled up. Which was likely the train of thought that prompted the teen to reply with a simple "Thanks, I will keep that in mind and I really appreciate the offer." The summary of Ivy and Melody's abilities seemed to really capture the attention of the other girl as Kenzi unleashed a barrage of questions seemingly all in one breath.  Laughing softly, Keke answered "Well, the only one that I can speak to with any any validity is the mermaid who is my roommate currently. Surprisingly, no, she doesn't actually require water to survive. However, she does need it to keep her skin from drying out. I think it has something to do with the scales. It is a pain to deal with because it totally works just like in the movies. She gets hit with water and BOOM, she's a mermaid!"

As she said this aloud, the teenager chuckled a little. Only within these walls could she make a statement about seeing a girl turn into a mermaid and not be concerned that she would immediately be hauled off to an asylum.  "As for Mel, she isn't like Cyclops. She has control over it. Or at least I assume that she does as she isn't forced to wear a visor to keep from incinerating anyone. She's also one of the few people that I've met so far that does actually have physical characteristics of her ability. Her eyes change color. They're really gorgeous and unique but I'm not too sure she thinks so. I definitely support not being afraid of being different but I think for some of us that's easier said than done. If you're around people that are open minded about metas then I think it would be awesome to make that 'I'm different, deal with it' statement, but if you are around people that are very opposed to metas to the point of being antagonistic, aggressive, or even violent having something that makes it undeniable that you're a meta can be terrifying and dangerous," Keaiar continued.

Smiling brightly Keke added "Well, I actually like to think that the emergence of metas are redefining 'normal' Eventually, we will become the new normal. To be honest, I actually don't mind normal too much. It helps keep me balanced.  I live in California were the concept of normal is actually pretty relative. I've lived with abnormality so long that normality fascinates me. I tend to make my own excitement so I am never really lacking for it. Oh, and no it's not an obscure reference. I do play D&D ass well as many other games. I have been told that I am quite the dungeonmaster in fact."

While Keaira was still quite skeptical that there was any chance a tunnel would exist underneath a building that appeared to be that modern, Keke was still intrigued about what the purpose of said tunnel may have been. What was its historical context? Who had this land belonged to prior to the school acquiring it?  So many questions... As her overactive mind continued to generate possible scenarios, Kenzi had slipped away to speak with the janitor only to return with a set of keys.  The brunette turned to follow Kenzi as she scurried down the hall asking softly "So, where do we start? Do we even know when the entrance to said tunnel would be?"

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MEL @ ADOXOGRAPHY