[i][u]Poppy Flanagan, Deborah Termellio, & Shannon Balore.[/u][/i] [i](Written in collaboration with Mr Allen J)[/i] --- Poppy paused for a moment, she'd already asked the one question she had on her mind. She didn't have to know much about Deborah to be friends with her. The easiest thing she could come up with was going with one she had been asked. "So where did live before coming here?" Both of the other ones she could learn later. If she remembered. Once she had her answer, the subject would hopefully shift back to her. It was rare a occassion for Poppy to have a conversation that wasn't centered around herself or a third party. Subconsiously it was uncomfortable for her to inquire too deeply into somebody present. The only exception were her old classmates. No way would she have given them anything that could have been used agaist her. Deborah fell into a differnt boat because she was older and nice. Where did Deborah come from? That was a simple question ([b]She is reflecting a previously asked question at you[/b]). She didn't live in one place, she was a girl that was always on the move. A little perk that came from living with a family that worked in the military. Well, not really a perk for other people, but Deborah saw it as a way to meet new people, see new things, and shape herself into what she is now. Hmph. "Me? I lived many different places.... My family worked with the military, I lived on-base." Deborah answered Poppy's question Fortunately for Poppy, Deborah was open about pretty much anything - It wouldn't be fair prying into other people's business otherwise. However, that was pretty much where the conversation hit a stopping point. Unless Poppy here came up with another question of course... Then again, Deborah couldn't [i]expect[/i] everyone to be good at learning about people as she was. "I haven't really been staying on-base too much since I came here," Deborah started off, "Not that I'm complaining, sweet-heart, I like it here way more." Because of a certain someone making it so much better. The idea of living on a military base seemed intriging and alien to Poppy. Two truly differnt worlds that coulden't relate to each other. She actually found herself more interested than she anticipated. Not enough to dig deeper though. It was good to here that she liked it here though. It made her think that there could be hope for her yet. Yup, the conversation's going no where ([b]Poppy is interested in my past, but doesn't want to pry too deeply[/b]). Unfortubately, she didn't know whether or not she should tell Poppy that it's okay. Deborah looked around awkwardly as she searched for something to say. "... Debs, you wouldn't believe how hard it is to sit in a cafe and eat some cake in peace." Shannon snarled as she plopped herself down on the sofa next to Deborah. Not noticing Poppy. She had a small plastic tray that had yet another strawberry cake. She [i]would[/i] have eaten it in the cafe, but there would have been another pissant that would ruin this delicious cake. "It's like every idealistic dolt wants to make [i]me[/i] the center of their attention the second I sit down...." "Um, hey Shannon," Deborah didn't expect Shannon to come up ([b]Shannon is oblivious to Poppy's existence[/b]), but that was perfect for this dying conversation. At the same time, it was awful. Because Shannon's here, and not in a great mood at that ([b]Shannon recently had some less than stellar in interactions[/b]). If Poppy says one thing wrong, Shannon would explode all over her. Though, that's why Deborah's here. To balance out Shannon's cynic mindset with her optimistic mindset. "Girl, why the hell are you eating [i]that[/i]?" Deborah pointed at the cake, "Giiiirl, you know you can't be eating like that." "I know," Shannon said, she was going to casually dodge the fact that this is her second slice. "I got my room reassigned and I just had to celebrate...." She trailed off, poking at her cake with a fork. "... I may have gotten a [i]little[/i] carried away when I moved out of her room." "Oh my god," Deborah said with a smirk, "What did you do?" "I noticed that, after her illustrious appearance in the lounge, she could use a new wardrobe." Shannon couldn't help but snicker. "Heh..." ([b]Shannon altered Vespera's attire[/b]) Deborah almost forgot about Poppy here. "Oh, Shannon, this is Poppy... I met her like a few minutes ago...." Deborah trailed off, "... Be nice this time." Hm? Shannon didn't notice this third person until Deborah brought it up. Shannon gave this girl a little look. Tiny, with some red hair. She looked a little bit like Shannon did when she first arrived on this island. But Shannon had better hair/clothes. She always did. Otherwise, this girl didn't interest Shannon even in the slightest. Of course, Deborah had to make nice with her, and of course Shannon had to get dragged in. She sneered visibly. Whatever. She would play along for just this once. "Oh, yes... I'll [i]try[/i] to play nice." She answered, she said 'try' because there was still a high chance this child could be nothing more than an annoying brat. "I am [i]Shannon Balore[/i]... What did Debs say your name was again?" Poppy glared at Shannon, then looked at Deborah questioningly before responding. "My name's Poppy." There was a clear edge to her voice. Of course it had to be too good to be true that she could find a good friend so easily. Why weren't there more people her age? And then she wasn't sure if that would be a good thing. All of her past experiences had been amoung children her age. It was clear by the way she was intorduced that Shannon wasn't going to be her friend, and she had Deborah's favor. She forced herself to say "Nice to meet you." Her contempt at being treated indignantly was masked as best she could. Unconsiously her eyes fell upon the cake. Since leaving home she often found herself hungry, whereas she used to eat three meals then whenever she wanted. It wasn't fair that a person like her had yummy food when she didn't. Logic told her she must have gotten it somewhere, which meant she could too, but she wasn't about to ask. It was easier to lament on the fact her belly actually wanted food and this lady was eating to celebrate. She found herself thinking that it wasn't suprising that she had her room resassigned. "... That is a very weird name." Shannon started off. Her gaze was locked forward, most likely to avoid eye-contact with Deborah or Poppy. "I know what your parents were hitting up when they named you." She followed that statement with a chuckle. Before she casually started taking bites out of her cake. Deborah playfully pushed Shannon, while saying (with equal playfulness) "I said be nice!" She followed it with a bout of laughter ([b]Poppy is curious about the cake[/b]). "Don't listen to her, Poppy, I like your name." She let go of Shannon and reverted back to a more neutral position on the sofa. Their conversation was going so well until Shannon came up! With her gloomyness. Though, once again, it was Deborah to the rescue. Saving this conversation. She had to come up with something, so she said the first thing that came to mind, "Oh, Poppy, I've been meaning to ask you what your power is, if that's okay with you." "... Get used to that question. People take far too much pride in their powers..." Shannon spoke in between bites of her cake. Again with the name comments, there was no doubt in her mind that she'd change it when she was older. For now she had to endure them just about every time she met someone. Whether she wanted to meet them or not. What she was getting at with the parents comment didn't register with her. Though this stranger had no right to mention them, nor did she want to think about them. Deborah scored some points for defending her for what it was worth. The damage was already done. Then all was put on hold when she asked the dreaded question. Now she'd also have to say it in fornt of Shannon, who's comment did nothing to put her at ease. Pride was the last thing she felt for her power. It gave her an idea though. A false sense of confidence might knock her off guard with an ability like hers. She knew little about it herself, but they woulden't know. All she had to do was paraphrase Adam. [i]If only I remembered what he said...[/i] Giving up she decided to forgo an educated answer. The jist would be enough. "I have the power to punish people when they make me angry." She spoke as calm and clear as she could, looking slightly more towards Shannon. As not to make the point to blatant she tore her gaze away from both of them. That and her words didn't match what she was feeling. She didn't mean it, but she wanted Shannon to go away. Oh boy. Shannon rolled her eyes up into her head. It didn't take a genius (but she was close to one) to tell that what Poppy said was a not-so-subtle directed at her. Shannon looked at Poppy, keeping her gaze on her. She didn't want to turn this into a stand-off, but people quickly find out that while her power is to control clothes, she could hold her own quite well. However, she didn't know what Poppy could do. Nor did she honestly care. This didn't look good ([b]Poppy didn't take too kindly to Shannon's mention of her parents[/b]). Especially when Poppy mentioned that her power is to punish people ([b]She herself is unsure of this ability[/b]). Even with Deborah's ability to infer much better, she didn't know the exact details. It was hard to keep everyone pleased here. But it's fine. Deborah has handled these situations before. "Look," Deborah put her hands up in a stand-down gesture, one palm was pointed at Poppy, while the other was at Shannon. "I'll point it out now; I can sense the hostility in the air-" [i]My power tells me what is wrong[/i] "-And I think we should work it out, now." She turned her body to Shannon. Since she was the start of all of this, and Deborah knew exactly how to talk her down. "Silk-worm, your wise-crack about her parents hit a bit of a sensitive area...." Oh, well that explains it. Shannon shrugged. Personally, she would tell her to toughen up a bit, but Poppy is a child after all. She can't expect everyone to be at least partially ready for the world. In any case, Shannon was going to go along with Deborah, and simply apologize, "... I'm sorry then, Poppy." Whatever stops this from escalating. This was unexpected, Deborah seemed to know a lot about what was going on. Then Shannon even apologized. "It's okay..." Even though it really wasn't. "I didn't mean to threaten you. I'm sorry too." Her words were insencere. Not because she wasn't sorry, but because part of her did mean to make her reap what she'd sown. Now that she thought about it she had started to think differntly withn the past year. Maybe it was part of her power. In any case it was now a part of her. Now Poppy was begining to think that maybe she up and leave them. Like she was considering earlier before Deborah changed her mind. "It is fine, yes? It won't happen again." [i]Begrudgingly[/i]. Shannon replied, very calmly. Whatever ended this confrontation. Good. Everyone was kissing and making up. Deborah closed her eyes and crossed her legs. Putting her arms on the back of the sofa. "It's good that you two kissed and made up. I don't think the janitor wanted another [i]mess[/i] to clean up." She said in a teasing tone towards the two. "Just remember, Poppy," Deborah started off, raising one finger, "Nothing ever gets by me. So if you have something to say, just lay it out there. Because if I have something to hear, I'm not afraid to hear it. Learning won't hurt anyone." "... Because of a certain magical gift, that is." --- [i][u]Karlie Davis, Sylvia Bertose, Jake & Gabriela Valos[/u][/i] --- And so the quartet skipped through the rain to the cafe, or maybe that was just Karlie. She didn't look behind her to see if the others caught on. It crossed her mind that maybe she should stop by the dorms for a change of outfit, but she didn't want to risk them dispanding. In any case it wasn't the outfit that was the problem. Had she wanted to look more 'normal' her safari gear would have been the way to go. The main problem was that it would take forever to dry. Perhaps if they stayed in doors long enough. While wearing the outfit it had a degree of restance to moisture, but that didn't do squat since she put it on soaking wet. Once inside she grabbed onto the nearest unoccupied booth and swung herself into it. It always amused her when people come in and sit there eyeballing everyone before deciding on a seat. In her mind the choice was very simple. Booth or table. She did consider a window seat favorable though. Even if there wasn't much to look at. While the siblings were largely indifferent to Karlie, Sylvia was yucking it up.. It became apparent to them that Sylvia enjoyed Karlie. Jake had created an illusory umbrella to shield all of them from the rain. That was the fantastic part of Jake's illusions. How they can be solid. Regardless, the trio walked up into the cafe behind Karlie and got in the same booth she did. Not too snazzy of a place, but Jake and Gabe have seen better. Unfortunately, they just have to settle for second-best. A waitress walked up and asked what everyone wanted. "We just want some regular coffee please." Jake raised a finger and answered the waitress. "Oooooooooh, nothing for me." Sylvia answered the waitress, before quickly adding on, "I got everything I want right here!" The waitress walked off to get what Jake and Gabe asked for. "... Hopefully the coffee here won't taste like ass." Gabe snarled as she watched the waitress storm off. Bleh. Nothing of importance here. So let's see what Sylvia's bestie has in store for them, just what she can offer to the group in terms of entertainment. Because so far, Gabe wasn't too thrilled with Karlie. Probably because she doesn't know jackshit about her, but maybe Sylvia knows her better than they do. Then again, Sylvia's a fool. "So, Karlie, what the hell is with that lizard get up...?" Gabe had to ask. "Don't tell me yer' one of [i]those[/i] people...." Gabe turned her eyes towards Sylvia, who seemed to be laughing. When she turned her eyes to Jake, he seemed to be leaning forward with a palm attached to his face. "... Here we go again." Jake muttered under his breath. "Well, there was a jungle expedition and thought it might be cool to bring along. I never got to wear it though..." Karlies voice sunk on this note, then shot back up. "So when I woke up I decided to wear it to go see Henry!" She had no idea what kind of people Gabe meant. "Do you like it? I have plenty go around." At this she snickered. Very rarely did anyone take her up on that offer. If she didn't have her power even she wouldn't be wearing costumes around all the time. Despite popular beliefe she wasn't some drama geek before getting her power. Still she had particpated in a few plays, so she certainly wasn't agaist them either. "Oh yeah, I should probably mention I have fashion power manifestation." That was always quite a mouthful to say. It woulden't be suprising if her power name was the longest part of her normal vocabulary. The quiet "No" was drowned out by a voice, a voice mimiking hers, loudly saying "Yes!" Gabe looked around for a second, confused as all hell. But she knew that it had to be none other than Jake Valos's brand of trickery. Indeed it was, Jake knew Gabe was going to say no to Karlie's little offer, and he had to do something to keep the conversation going - Because Gabe wasn't going to do it. "Asshole..." Gabe whispered to Jake. Conceding to defeat. Which meant that it was up to Jake now. He decided to take hold of this conversation. Karlie mentioned that her power was Fashion Power Manifestation? Jake had no idea what that meant, but he was going to take a guess here.. "Fashion manifestation? I'm going to take a guess and say that you get different powers based off what you wear...?" He asked. "Yes!" Sylvia answered for Karlie. "And it's a pretty bitchin' power... but I like my power more. It fits a musician like myself." Oh boy, power conversations. Gabe rolled her only eye. She didn't care for them. Because she felt it best to show people her power. Through setting them on fire with lasers! "Oh, really? I have some stuff here, but it's all drenched. Back at my room though... I got everything!" Just a tiny exageration. It was enough for Karlie, but at the same time she never missed an oportunity to expand her wardrobe. "Yes really." Jake said with a smirk, which caused Gabe to make a loud "Ugh" sound. Sylvia beat her to answering Jake's question, and it was a good excuse to change the subject. The whole sharing her costumes was meant to be joke in most cases. "Yeah, I could switch between like a dozen costumes and still be be able to outmatch your beats." "Pttf!" Sylvia loudly said, "You. Wiiiiish." She retorted. In truth, she knew that Karlie could match her if she has the right outfit on. Then again, Sylvia was not intending on fighting Karlie, like, ever. This was bravado! When the waitress came back Karlie asked her for a Red Bull. She was an energy junky amoung other things. Eating desert for breakfast, getting hyped up on a regular basis. Everytime she came down from one thing it gave her excuse to seek something else. It wasn't quite a dependancy, however if she could avoid feeling strung out all the better. The twins got their coffee, and weren't disappointed. "My, my, my..." Jake started off, "This isn't that bad of a coffee, don't you say?" "... I've had better." Gabe said before she retreated back to her coffee. It didn't seem fair to let Karlie talk so much about her power and share little in return. At least that's what Jake thought, "Well, Karlie, I should probably return the favor..." Jake snapped his fingers, and created an illusory fountain made of stone. It sprayed rushing water. "I'm [i]the[/i] master of illusion. To the point my illusions are more or less real... Try touching it and find out." Jake pointed at the fountain. Karlie dropped everything else and starred in awe at Jake's fountain. She ran a mitted hand through the illusory water and retracted it without feeling any more wet. "That is so cool! So, like, could you make icecream that tastes like icecream?" To her it'd be the best thing ever to have the flavor without the fat. Not that it was going to stop her. The fact that an actual icecream was only an order away was irrelevant. She woulden't trade power for any other, but if she had too it'd be for one like that. The waitress came back with her energy drink, and she drank most of it in one go. Maybe Gabe also had an awesome ability, though it was going to have a hard time topping that. "... Your wish is my command." Jake gave Karlie a sly smirk as he snapped his fingers. The fountain disappeared, simply faded out of existence. Merely because he didn't want the extra effort that came with maintaining multiple illusions. A cloud of smoke appeared in front of Karlie's face, and when it faded away, there was a floating ice-cream cone. Vanilla. Karlie didn't say which flavor, so he went with vanilla. This wouldn't taste like no regular ice-cream, Jake and Gabe once had the chance to taste [i]premium[/i] ice-cream. It would be absolutely delicious! "Jake Valos does it all." Sylvia inserted with a smirk. She leaned back in her chair and threw her feet on the table. She started casually playing her guitar to provide a little atmosphere here. Gabe leaned in and whispered into Jake's ear, "Make her ice-cream taste like ass." "No." "Don't act like you don't know what [i]ass[/i] tastes like." Gabe pulled away, giggling. It was actually happening, icre cream out of thin air. Karlie snatched it sceptical that it wasn't real until licking confirmed it. Not a mark on it. "Whoa! Then I bet it doesn't melt, and if you dropped it no big deal. I'm so jealous!" It was extremely rich and creamy. So sinfully good that she might have actually stopped to consider the calories of the real deal. "I don't think I've had any this good before..." She licked it vorasiously then pasued. "If you could do this forever I don't think I'd ever stop." There wasn't a hint of sarcasm, truthfully the only reason she normally did was because she had too. "... Do it, Jakey, make her taste ass." Gabe tried to quietly tempt Jake yet again. Which was casually brushed off. Jake took pride that he managed to brighten up Karlie's day, since getting bum-rushed by a tidal wave tends to do that. "It's not just regular ice cream, it's the best of the best...." "... You're really eating this up, aren't you Jake?" Gabe said to Jake, at least this time, she spoke out loud. She crossed her arms and had a raised eyebrow poised at Jake. "Just remember you won't get full off of it. You'll only taste it." Jake told her, "And yes, I can do this long as I can concentrate..." He told Karlie a rather large weakness of his, but that's fine. It's not like miss fashion can use it against him.