ι נυѕт ωαηт тσ вє ησямαℓ αgαιη [¢яуѕтαℓ σηℓу]

[~echo~]

It was quiet. Too quiet.

Calida looked around her, nervous for no discernible reason. Despite being alone in the woods, as far as she could tell- she was still nervous. Her mother had made her this way, all those years ago. Threw her out into the street because her power was "unnatural" and "wrong." She growled under her breath and fought the urge to burst into flames. Instead, she drew some water from the air around her and took a sip from the pool in her hand. Calida looked around again, still nervous.

(Blah. No muse....)

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Not too far away, a young man dropped from the sky. Not really dropped... more like floated. He glided down to the earth as if gravity had no effect on him--which it didn't. He landed gently and strode through the forest with a sense of purpose, though he had none. He just wanted to be alone for awhile. Well, he was always alone, but around other people. Alone in a crowd. He hated that feeling. So he came to the forest to forget the pain and the regret and the never-ending loneliness.

[~echo~]

A few minutes later, by chance- or was it?- Calida strode into the same clearing he was in. She saw him and instantly, her eyes widened. She immediately burst into flame and held two flames in her hands. "Who are you?" she said forcefully.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

He started and whirled around. His body tensed when he saw her, and not just because of the flames. He hadn't expected anyone to be out here. "I could ask you the same question," he said. His voice sounded calm, but every muscle in his body was humming. Fight or flight. That was the question. He was extremely adept at both.

[~echo~]

Calida let her body return to normal, but kept the flames in her hands. "Calida," she said carefully. "And now, I hear, it's customary for you to reply with your name."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"Jonathan," he said, his voice as tense as his body. He glanced at the flames in her hand. "That's really not necessary."

[~echo~]

"I'll be the judge of that," she said. "Where are you from?"

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"The city a few miles from here," he said. "What are you doing in the middle of the woods?"

[~echo~]

Little by little, the flame in her left hand reduced to little more than a flicker, then disappeared altogether, leaving only the flame in her right. "I was just walking. Thinking and walking."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Jonathan let out a breath, but he remained tense. "You're powerful," he said. He tilted his head slightly, studying her. "You can control water, too. Interesting. Most elementals can't control conflicting ones." He seemed to be talking to himself more than her now.

[~echo~]

"I didn't know that," she said. "I'm never really around people like myself." She played with the fire in her palm, tossing it up and down a few times.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"I've been around a lot of mutants," Jonathan said. "With all kinds of powers. You're not the first elemental I've met."

[~echo~]

"Are you one?"

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Jonathan managed a small smile. So apparently she hadn't seen him drop from the sky. "Yes," he said.

[~echo~]

She gazed at him curiously, her head cocked slightly to one side. "What is your power?"

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"I can sense yours, for one," he said. "The others... well, it's easier to show you, and I'm afraid you don't trust me enough to not shoot a fireball at my head as soon as I start moving." Not that she'd be able to hit him... probably.

[~echo~]

She backed up a few steps and gazed at him. "As long as you don't get too close, I won't hurt you," she said reassuringly. "I don't trust you, but if you aren't too close, it's easy to keep you in check."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Jonathan frowned. As soon as she knew what his powers were, she might fry him for the heck of it. He could move fast enough that she probably wouldn't realize what was happening before he took her out, if he wanted to. Finally, he shrugged and crouched down. After basically turning off his gravity, he jumped into the air, shooting upward at super-speeds, thanks to his second power.

[~echo~]

Calida watched, pretty impressed with his power. She stood with her hands crossed to show him she meant no harmz

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Jonathan lighted back down a minute later. "Are you going to tell me what you're doing in the middle of the woods? It must have been a long hike out here."