[color=gray][center][url=https://fontmeme.com/fancy-fonts/][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220823/052924056ac211d2910b2f84e74e6361.png[/img][/url]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/fXH5jJO.jpg[/img]
[right][sub]Location: Training Center -> The Quad
Interactions: [color=deepskyblue]Will[/color] | Alyssa [@Hey Im Jordan][/sub][/right][/center][/color]
[hr][hr]
[color=gray][indent][indent]
[color=facade]“Will, seriously, can we take a break?”[/color] The voice of Matthew Cashmore rang out through the empty training arena, from his position on the concrete floor, the annoyance in his voice clear as day. He’d been on campus for hardly more than a week, and already his cousin was trying to kill him with training. He’d thought the trainers at Cashmore Manor were tough, but it turns out, Will had become their shining star since he’d gotten to Crystal Peak. Every afternoon since he’d arrived had been spent here, in the training center, getting his ass tossed around like a ragdoll. He was most certainly not loving it.

[color=deepskyblue]“That doesn’t sound very Cashmore of you,”[/color] Will responded, smirking as he adjusted his stance and prepared for another round. [color=deepskyblue]“I told you, these kids aren’t gonna take it easy on you, especially once they hear your last name. I’m doing you a favor.”[/color] Will could not have been less fazed. For him, training was as simple as eating, a mandatory part of his routine. In fact, the time he’d been spending with Matthew was easier than any of the training regimens he’d adopted for himself over the last four years. He’d have to get in some extra time to make up for it.

Matthew groaned and picked himself up off the floor, brushing off the shoulders of his training uniform, and putting himself into a fighter’s stance. Fists up, feet squared, mind ready. He could sense his cousin’s thoughts pushing at the edge of his mind, awaiting his call.

[color=deepskyblue]“You ready?”[/color] Will called out, flexing his fingers in anticipation.

Matthew shook his head. [color=facade]“Ready as I’ll ever be.”[/color]

And with that, the fight began. Will watched as fifteen Matt’s appeared across the arena, jumping into action. He shook his head. [color=deepskyblue]“I told you to come up with a new technique,”[/color] he shouted, effortlessly throwing two of the illusions into the wall and watching as it faded back to nothing.

[color=facade]“I did!”[/color] Matthew’s voice came from every copy of himself all at once. Will looked around, noting that the Matthews he’d supposedly taken down, were back. [color=facade]“You thought about throwing them into the wall, so I made you think you did. Pretty cool, right?”[/color] 

Will smirked. He was pleasantly surprised by his cousin’s ingenuity. Of course, it wasn’t going to stop him from winning, but then again, nothing Matthew threw at him would. This exercise wasn’t about letting Matthew win, it was about teaching him how to keep going when you’re completely outmatched. 

The Matthews began circling Will, closing in like sharks on a wounded seal. They were identical, in looks, in movement, in technique. The only flaw was that they wouldn’t be able to touch him. This was a trick, meant to make him feel cornered. [color=deepskyblue][i]Oh fuck.[/i][/color]

The moment the thought of being trapped crossed his mind, Matthew pulled it out, into the world. The concrete walls of the arena began closing in, forcing him into a very literal corner. The Matthews were gone now, replaced by the box he’d found himself in. A jab took him by surprise, catching him in the side, another came for the back of his head. He couldn’t see Matthew, but Matthew could still see him, and he was taking advantage of it. 

Will grunted as a fist connected with his face, bursting through the wall then disappearing as quickly as it came. He shook his head, and cleared his mind, and then, he let it explode outward. Telekinetic force rippled out from him, and the walls that had surrounded him only moments before, flickered and faded as Matthew was sent rolling across the floor. Will clapped as his cousin groaned.

[color=facade]“I fucking hate it when you do that,”[/color] Matthew said, picking himself up once more. 

[color=deepskyblue]“Most people do. Of course, if you had made those walls tangible, it would’ve been a lot harder.”[/color]

Matthew rolled his eyes. Sometimes he wondered if Will thought about anything besides getting stronger. [color=facade]“How many times am I gonna have to tell you people, the illusions don’t work like that. They’re just thoughts, I don’t even know what I’m gonna get half the time.”[/color]

[color=deepskyblue]“That’s ‘cause you’re underestimating yourself.”[/color] Will closed the space between them, fixing his cousin with a knowing look.  [color=deepskyblue]“Trust me, Matt, I’ve seen what illusionists can do. Not to be too cheesy, but belief is half of the equation.”[/color]

[color=facade]“If I could, don’t you think I would’ve already?”[/color]

Will smiled. [color=deepskyblue]“[i]I think,[/i] that you are just the tiniest bit afraid of what you can do,”[/color] Will said. [color=deepskyblue]“That’s normal though. I was scared of myself when I first got here, hell, I think it just means you’re on the right track. You [i]should[/i] be cautious with your powers, but you don’t need to be afraid of them.”[/color]

Matthew stayed silent. It was easy for Will to say that. Will was perfect. It didn’t matter that he could throw a punch without even lifting a finger, he would never, ever, go bad. It was so far outside of the realm of possibility, Matthew couldn’t even comprehend what that reality looked like. Him though? He was the son of Alexander Cashmore, and maybe the world didn’t know what kind of man he was, but Matthew did. He knew it was the powers that made him that way, and he knew that his own would lead him down the same road. How could they not?

[color=deepskyblue]“Same time tomorrow?”[/color] Will said. Most days he was so wrapped up in training that social cues were lost on him, but he could tell when Matthew was over a conversation. This was certainly one of those times.

[color=facade]“Do I have a choice?”[/color]

[color=deepskyblue]“Sure you do. The choice between me, Athena, or Lyss. Who do you prefer?”[/color] Will smirked and cocked his head, already well aware of the answer.

[color=facade]“I hate you,”[/color] Matthew said, giving his cousin a weak punch to the shoulder before he headed for the showers.

[color=deepskyblue]“That’s the spirit!”[/color]

[hr]

Matthew emerged from the Training Center, feeling sore and more than a little bit dejected. His first week at Crystal Peak left something to be desired. His closest friend was still his cousin, and people wouldn’t stop looking at him whenever he spoke. The Cashmore name was following him like a plague. Surely, he was not cut out for this.

Whether or not that was true though, he was here, and he didn’t see a way out. If he dropped out, his father would likely disown him, or worse. He’d probably rearrange his brain until he wanted to be here. At least right now he was himself. 

Reluctantly, he made his way towards the quad. Matthew was not a social person, in any conception of the term. If he could’ve gotten away with spending the next four years alone, he would’ve leapt at the opportunity. Of course, his family would never allow that. Will and his father weren’t the only Cashmore’s trying to shape him. His sister had decided that he would be joining her band, because Matthew Cashmore didn’t get to make decisions for himself it seemed. 

A piece of him wanted to believe that this was a friendly gesture from his sister. If it was Will, he wouldn’t have doubted it. His sister was many things though, and selfless wasn’t one of them. He figured there was something in this for her, and he also figured that she’d be a mythic bitch if he flaked on her. The least he could do is show up and be as unimpressive as usual. 

When he’d passed through the Quad on his way to the training center, it had been something of a ghost town, save for the clubs setting up their stands. Now though, it pulsed with life, and thoughts. He could feel the surface thoughts of the crowd bearing down on him, and it took all his self control not to supplant their thoughts into reality. He stood on the outskirts of the crowd, too afraid of himself to let himself be enveloped by the throngs of people. He pulled out his phone and began texting his sister, possibly because he was a good, and honest brother, and possibly because he was a glutton for pain. Who knew?

[quote]To: Lyss
[color=facade]there are too many people here. do i have to come to this?[/color][/quote]

[/indent][/indent][/color]