[h1][b][i][color=A2797E][center]Sabine Bassard[/center][/color][/i][/b][/h1][center][img]https://images-ext-1.discordapp.net/external/2ndUrNC8bcfMGKlz_awzt5-t0hoXe3dmA9qYStvwvU0/%3Fq%3Dtbn%3AANd9GcQ5q9UqGOmDS9TDZ7FqMaXsCPp1EYdvDe1afA%26s/https/encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?format=webp[/img][/center][center][/center][hr][center][color=A2797E][b]Location[/b][/color]: Sometime in the Past [color=A2797E][b]Skills[/b][/color]: N/A [/center] [hr][hr] [color=darkgray]Daylight shone through the window of the secondary education school in Lyon, France. Madame Shobaine sat at her desk in the front, awaiting the meeting she had requested a few days ago. She had been dreading this talk. She often enjoyed meeting the parents of her students, those who relished their children’s education and joined in, volunteering or offering supplies to the classroom. Mr. and Mrs. Bassard were not parents she would call….giving. They didn’t hinder their daughter’s education, but they didn’t seem to support it outside of financial matters. Sabine was a smart child. Madame Shobaine enjoyed having her in class, and she got along well with the other students. But wasn’t that part of the problem? Weird as it was to say, Madame Shobaine had to deal with children and their ever-fleeting relationships. Sabine was one child whom others seemed to like. Even gravitate towards. One instance she recalled at the beginning of the school year was with another girl named Etoile. For whatever reason, Etoile and Sabine butted heads. Or rather, Etoile tried. Madame Shobaine caught Etoile saying something rude or pushing Sabine, and she nipped it in the bud almost immediately. But Sabine never cried, never got angry, never returned the energy. Instead, it seemed like Sabine was calculating something. Like if she looked at Etoile long enough, the girl’s behavior would change. And then the stroke happened. Etoile was playing outside, and Sabine was watching. Sabine often never joined in with the other kids, preferring to play alone, but she was watching Etoile intensely. Madame Shobaine was on duty that da,y but she turned her head for a second before she heard screaming and crying. Madame Shobaine turned back and saw Etoile on the ground, writhing and shunting. She ran over to check and called for another teacher to reach the paramedics. She knew some information about strokes or seizures and turned Etoile on her side so, in the off chance she vomited, she would not choke. Eventually, the girl stopped and began to cry, more likely the event scaring her. The paramedics soon came to grab the girl while Madame Shobaine got up to phone her parents. But her gaze hit Sabine, who just…stared back at her. No, she wasn’t looking at her. She was looking at Etoile. And did she have a smile on her face? [hr] Ever since that day, Madame Shobaine had kept an eye on Sabine. She first thought it was crazy; no little girl could cause something like that. But she began to notice little things here and there. Sabine getting the highest marks on a test while everyone else failed, Sabine getting extra portions at lunch, and the cafeteria worker admitting she forgot why Sabine got more than the others, are little bits of oddity. The final straw was a week ago when an ice cream truck stopped by outside the school and offered “free samples”. Madame Shobaine noted that Sabine was not present in class at that moment, excusing herself to the restroom, but was outside quickly to pick up her sweet confectionery. So Madame Shobaine had it. Something was up with Sabine, and she needed to inform the parents. The behaviors after Etoile were nothing, but if her gut was correct, Sabine was dangerous. [hr] Remmy Bassard hated having his schedule interrupted. Cosette Bassard hated having hers interrupted even more and made it everyone else’s problem. Still, the two walked into the school arm in arm. Cosette often did this to show that, yes, this man was her husband and everyone else better back off. The giant diamond on her finger did the extra work for her. So when one of the office assistants walking past gazed a little too long at Remmy, Cosette was on her like a jungle cat stalking her prey. Nothing more than a look sent a cold shudder through the woman’s body as she sped walked away. Madame Shobaine was at her desk when the two of them entered. She stood up in greeting. [color=white]”Hello Monsuer and Madame Bassard. It is lovely to see you again.”[/color] Madame Shobaine hid the fact that she hadn’t seen them since the week before school started, and not a word since. [color=white]”Please, have a seat. I appreciate you making time.”[/color] Remmy and Cosette walked to the front of the classroom. Remmy took a seat at one of the desks, and Cosette hesitated, looking at the chair like it held the plague. Remmy gave her a look before she rolled her eyes and sat down. [color=white]”Of course, Madame. What is this regarding? Is Sabine in trouble?”[/color] Remmy asked. Cosette, meanwhile, looked at her nails as if they held the world’s secrets. Madame Shobaine made a mental note to direct this towards Remmy as Cosette seemed to have other things in mind. [color=white]”First, I wanted to say I enjoy having Sabine in my class. She is remarkably intelligent for someone her age and is a joy. But…”[/color] she hesitated a bit. How does one bring this up? [color=white]”Madame Shobaine, whatever it is I can assure you we can deal with it. Please, I have a meeting in an hour.”[/color] Madame Shobaine flustered a bit. Again, she normally had supportive parents who wanted to be there to discuss their children’s futures. Even parents who held tough jobs still showed up willing to work. [color=white]”Yes well…I have noticed in the period that Sabine is…different. Not that being different is bad, because it isn’t. But more so…it’s…I mean I noticed..”[/color] Cosette finally decided to be present. [color=white]”What the hell is it?”[/color] [color=white]”Does Sabine have powers?”[/color] They sat in stunned silence, letting the question wash over them. Madame Shobaine blushed slightly, but held firm. [color=white]”I’ve noticed some irregularities with Sabine. Things that I cannot explain normally. A young girl earlier this year had a stroke that her parents cannot identify as there is no family history and..” “So you think my daughter caused it?” “I mean, she was there. And the girl had been harassing Sabine..” “So this girl has been bullying my daughter and this is the first time I am hearing about it?” “With all due respect, I did reach out…” “And on top of all of that, you are assigning her blame?” “There’s more to it than that!” “So let me see if I have a read on the situation. You see my daughter’s tormenter have a stroke and rather than decide it must be a medical reason lob the blame on my daughtrer on top of whatever other ‘evidence’, and I use that word loosely, you have to explain away both your failure as an educator as well as the school’s ability to ensure my daughter is protected and in an environment she can thrive in. By your admission, you said she was smart and a joy to have in class, and now I am thinking that you devised a witch hunt against her by coming up with stories to suit your needs. Powers indeed. You and this school should be ashamed!”[/color] Madame Shobaine sat back in her chair, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. Had she been wrong this whole time? [color=white]”I am so sorry…”[/color] Remmy stood up, Cosette in tow. [color=white]”Apologies are not enough. It is clear my daughter’s education is not a priority. We will be pulling her immediately. And you can take it up with the administration about why they will not be receiving future donations. Have a good day, Madame.”[/color] With that, Remmy and Cosette turned to leave. While his back was turned to her, Remmy’s face didn’t hide what he was feeling. He remembered his deceased wife. He remembered the loss, the hurt, the pain. He remembered how much it had impacted Sabine. And he remembered when he, too, first noticed some irregularities. He had been on the fence about going elsewhere. Sabine could not be trusted in this environment. He would be dealing with her later. For now, he needed to make some calls. [hr] It turned out Etoile’s family had a history of seizures. It just skipped a few generations. The test Sabine did well in while the others didn’t? The other children had food poisoning and Sabine hadn’t eaten that day. The extra portions was because the cafeteria worker noticed something and wanted to ensure Sabine had food and didn’t want to disclose it. The ice cream truck was from another child’s father. Every bit of it explained. But did that stop Sabine’s father from coming home and screaming at her? Asking for an explanation to things beyond her control? Accusations rang out and Sabine could do or say nothing to stop it. Cosette didn’t help matters either, urging Remmy on saying Sabine was ‘lost’ and needed extra attention. She needed to be away from others. After all, what was preventing Sabine from affecting Cosette’s mind? Cosette never did find that missing diamond bracelet, perhaps Sabine made her forget where she kept it and then sold it? Remmy didn’t fully believe his daughter to be a danger, but he was blinded by anger, sadness, guilt. Sabine’s mother was able to handle these situations better than he could. There was just a connection between the two of them that he never could grasp. After a tense few weeks the family picked up and moved across the ocean to the United States. It served Remmy well as his business could be done anywhere. Cosette was happy to have new places to shop at. And Sabine…. Sabine grew angry. She had always been sad since her mother died. More so since her father married the witch. But now it held anger, fury. A swarm of emotions in her chest and through her body. Her father never noticed because he assumed his daughter would be fine. He didn’t notice when she would eat fewer and fewer meals, didn’t notice her wearing long sleeves even in the heat, never noticed the anger underneath the surface. All the meanwhile Sabine practiced her abilities. Little things here and there, nothing dangerous and nothing that hurt someone else. But even then she cared little for how it impacted everyone around her. She knew she wanted to use it more, but knew if she didn’t get help from someone she could cause trouble. So when the Margaret Carter Institute opened up auditions Sabine urged her father to reach out. Once she was offered a chance, she took it. It was going to be somewhere new. No one would know who she was. And if they painted her a villain, so be it. A villain is what they would get.[/color]