P.R.C.U.: An Institute For The Extraordinarily Gifted

L
ooking up from the pie as Tory sat down, Aiden continued to poke away at it as he smiled weakly before attempting a forkful in his mouth. The sweet taste of the whipped cream followed by the tangy flavour of the pie usually brought him happiness but all he could think about was the bitterness of having two colleagues in the hospital both the result of his actions. In Minnie's case, Aiden was the one who had ordered her to the front lines, he hadn't done his job in leading the team and coaching them properly even when he knew how competetive and seriously Minnie was taking the game. And then Tara was of course injuried due to his loss of control, he inability to control his Hype Gene. Pushing the pie away, Aiden leaned back and looked at Tory. Had he failed her too today? In some ways he had, he shouldn't have allowed them to become separated and yet he did allowing Tory to have to experience her fears and have her mind penetrated by Desiree's illusions.

All in all, Aiden had failed the entire team, Strum included. Perhaps he should speak to Strum about having someone else take his place, maybe Erika would lead the team better. She had a more regimented background and stronger sense of personal discipline. Breaking the silence, Aiden finally returned Tory's greeting.

"Yeah, couldn't sleep. I thought I was hungry." He lied nodding towards the pie. "Guess I wasn't as hungry as I thought after all." It was a bit odd for Aiden to see Tory dressed in such a causal manner. Normally she put a great deal of effort, or so he at least thought, into how she looked. But right now it was obvious she had intended on going to bed based on her outfit geared entirely for comfort. Somehow Aiden felt like an illusion of his was being shattered as he had always pictured Tory sleeping in a nightie or negligee. Clearing his throat slightly, Aiden looked up at Tory as his eyes met hers before speaking.

"Hey listen," He started, his voice breaking slightly before he coughed and collected himself. "I'm really sorry about today. I shouldn't have let us get separated like that and I just want you to know I always have your back. I hate myself for letting Des and Phoebe get in your head like that. I'm really sorry I let you and the rest of the team down today."
 
She smiled as he mentioned about not being hungry, wrapping her hands around her mug and taking a mouthful. It was good, warming and a little comforting. But the smile faded as he apologised for his actions. She shook her head, pulling her sleeves over her hands and sighing, looking down at her mug before looking up at Aiden.

"Don't be sorry. I know you have my back. When I got caught in the illusion, you came looking for me. We're not always going to be able to stick together in a perfect team. In the real world, stuff like that is going to happen, and fear influences how we act. You didn't let me down. You couldn't have stopped them from getting to me. They were in your head too, Aiden. You shouldn't expect yourself to deal with your own fears, and try and have my back. You know as well as I do that I can look after myself. Don't beat yourself up. It's just a game. Okay, it's a huge game, but at the end of the day, it's not going to dramatically change any of our lives. We still have next year. And we'll have other opportunities to beat Bulltrue's collective ass and show them what Blackjack is made of. It's your first year as captain, you can't expect everything to go flawlessly."

She smiled at him and took another mouthful of her drink. Even when they'd been friends since they'd first come to the school, she didn't think that they'd ever really had a conversation like this. She didn't think he'd ever even seen her not in uniform or her trademark killer outfits. But she didn't even mind. She wasn't constantly glamorous, and she wasn't going to try and give that impression. She slept, just like everyone else.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lord Wraith
No matter how she practiced, most of the card flourishes she couldn't do. Sure, she had the theory down, hold it in this hand, split it here, and here with index and middle finger, one more with the thumb, twist, pivot, grab, change grip, get another group with the middle and ring finger supported by the pinky, turn, twist, grab, fold together and place the last pack on top. Simple. Unless you have hands that are too small to properly let the cards slide by each other without messing things up, slowing things down, and needing a third hand to push the cards in the right direction.
She already knew this, so why was she still trying? Maybe because some things she could do, and she still held out hope for someday being able to do similar card flourishes like Dynamo, though she had a feeling he might be a HYPE too.

Focussed on the cards before her, Emma heard how Minnie woke, and hurled her stomach contents into a bucket. Winching at the sound, Emma closed her eyes till the sound of half processed foods clattering into a plastic bucket stopped. As much as she wouldn't mind being near a sick person, those sounds were just too much for her as they nearly had her hurling as well.

Looking up she saw Minnie turn her head and look her way. There was a pained expression on the face of her teammate, which was not a surprise. Shifting her focus from her little endeavor with the cards to the woman on the bed, Emma placed the cards on a nearby table and got up.
The moment her fingers let go of the cards, they faded, going back to their original spot.
Em reached over to the light switch as she shook her head. "I didn't see you between the darting off on Puggles' neck with Erika, till a little while ago when I came into this room, so anything you said then has gone unnoticed by me." Emma said, dimming the lights. Even though she hadn't used any substances herself in the past, it seemed like a smarter thing to do than keeping the room decently lit.
"And since I came in you didn't say much of anything until you put that bucket away." Em continued as she sat back down.
"How are you feeling now, aside from probably a major headache. Is there anything I can do for you?"
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lord Wraith
Hunter finally arrived at the campus medical center Minnie was staying at, only having nearly decided to walk back towards his own room once during the trip. As he had made the walk he noticed how strange it felt to walk the pathways and halls of the school without the chaotic noise he was accustomed to; whether it be the thoughts of his fellow students screaming at him, or the blaring music from his MP3 player. Although he would never admit it to himself, Hunter almost missed the noise. Almost. It was more-so from how discomforting complete silence had become to Hunter; the overwhelming sounds had become very much a part of who he was, whether he wanted it to be or not. So, even though he had enjoyed the peace and quiet at first, it had begun to unnerve him. With no thoughts to hear, it almost seemed to Hunter as if everything were dead, which wasn't a feeling that he was comfortable with. So the sounds from the nurses and doctors at the infirmary were a nice welcome as he stepped into the door.

"Excuse me," Hunter said, stopping a passing nurse. "Do you know where Minnie..." he hesitated, trying to remember her full name. He was a little ashamed that he hadn't ever familiarized himself with her last name. "Uh, Minavita... Um, a girl in her early twenties, dark skin, shortish hair. Came in with..."

The nurse stopped him with a smile, and a raised hand. "No need for all the detail, young man. We only have three patients right now, and Minavita is an unusual name anyways." She consulted her chart briefly, and then pointed towards the left hallway. "Two doors down on the right. She already has a visitor, so you can just knock and go right on in. I'm sure she'll appreciate your company when she wakes up."


Hunter looked at the door she mentioned, which he could just see from where he stood. If someone was already in there, most likely a Blackjack member, and probably Aiden, Hunter wasn't sure he wanted to go in himself. Besides, he had only stopped by to check up on her condition, not to stay and spend time with her. Hunter worried that if he did stay he'd give the impression that he wanted to be friends when that wasn't the case.

He stopped the nurse again as she began to walk away. "Will she be alright, though? Everything's... everything is good?"

She flashed that same reassuring smile she probably used a thousand times a day in her line of work. "Says right here that she'll be just fine. Don't worry, aside from a headache and a little vomiting your friend will walk out of here as good as new."

Out loud, he thanked the nurse as he stepped back out the door to return to his dorm. But in his head he cursed at her assumption. "Not friends." He repeated over and over. "Not her friend. I don't have friends."
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lord Wraith
"I didn't see you between the darting off on Puggles' neck with Erika, till a little while ago when I came into this room, so anything you said then has gone unnoticed by me." Emma stood as she answered, dimming the room's lights, an action Minnie was silently grateful for. The harsh glare of the lightbulbs had been threatening to overwhelm her senses again. She continued as she returned to sit back down, and Minnie watched the subtle grace in Emma's movement. "And since I came in you didn't say much of anything until you put that bucket away."

Minnie, who had been propping herself up on her elbows, let herself back down, lowering slowly flat onto her back. "Gooood." She let out, dragging the word out in a long, flat tone. Emma asked her a question and she almost missed it, her own thoughts - and head - whirling. "I'm feeling rough. But in one piece. Worse than any hangover I've ever had, and I've had a few." She rolled her head to the side, looking at Emma. "Not really. I'll have to ride it out. If it was something a Juno needed to fix the nurse would have done it by now." She paused.

"How did the game go, in the end? What happened?" Minnie wasn't sure why she asked. Formality, she guessed, but she'd been in Strum's team long enough to know he'd called the game off after she went down. Or up, depending on your way of looking at it.
 
Made sense that this was worse than the worst hangover ever. It wasn't 'just' alcohol that she was dealing with after all. She was well aware that a Juno would have fixed up anything that could be fixed by now, but she had meant it more in a way of if there was anything she, right here, could do aside from dimming lights and not talk too loud. Didn't matter, she'd have to work on getting her intentions worded better. Thinking in two languages was difficult...

Shaking her head Emma thought back to the game. "After your creature hit you the game was instantly canceled. Though even if you hadn't been taken out the game still would have been cut short prematurely. Aiden accidentally knocked out whatsherface." She had forgotten her name for a moment honestly, but that wasn't much of the point. "Chances were sooner or later the game would have been canceled anyway with the rate of competition some were going. On all three teams things got kind of violent. It just happened to be at that moment."

Repositioning herself in her seat she had vaguely heard a voice in the hallway, but hadn't instantly placed it as one of the team's voices as there were both female and male Junos that walked these halls.
"In the end they gave the 'win' to Libra because they had scored that first point." Emma shrugged. "But at least no one managed to even touch, let alone move, our egg." She grinned, half proud of that feat.