[center] [img] https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019eb29f-6c03-72c9-b2dd-663ddac98452.webp [/img] [/center] [hr] Marlena’s face said enough. Superheroes were anathema to her, she admitted as much whenever someone asked about her prospects as one herself. She was in a hero school, among people who came from outer space and from realms beyond the sphere of man. She openly flirted with someone who came from a family that could rewrite reality and raise the dead, and she was just a no-fame kid from Brooklyn. As much as Marlena wouldn’t trade her life away for another, it was like being a fish thrown into a desert. These problems weren’t familiar to her. But Sabine’s was. At least in part. [color=b940da]”...My mom died a few years ago. Cancer.”[/color] She stuck her hands in her pockets. [color=b940da]”Some of the worst days of my life, she never saw who I am now. Our place was never the same after, in a few ways. My old man, he’s never been the same since. He got better, but you wouldn’t recognize him if you knew him when I was ten.”[/color] Her dad was always doing his best, and Marlena was used to seeing him smile. It was a smile that never quite reached his ears, the way she could faintly remember it being once. [color=b940da]”I think if she turned up somewhere now, I’d be stumped for words, too.”[/color] Sabine took for granted that she still had a parent alive. Unmotivated and unwilling, yes, but present. And her mom [i]was[/i] alive, even if she turned out to be a villain or, at least, a villain in Sabine’s own story. [color=A2797E]”I’m so sorry. Here I am wailing about my mom being alive when you lost yours. Part of me does think I should be happy, but a significant portion of me refuses to be anything but mad.”[/color] Sabine left the last part unsaid: She was alive, did that mean she didn’t love me anymore? [color=b940da]”I don’t think anyone can tell themselves what to feel. Not really. You can handle it whatever way you want, but if you feel mad, it’s for a reason.”[/color] It couldn’t be that terrible if she was alive, that [i]was[/i] a good thing. [color=b940da]”You’re angry because you grew up without her, and you don’t know why she stayed so far away. Could be a lot of reasons if she’s appearing in magical vision, but that doesn’t make it easier on you, does it?”[/color] [color=A2797E]”No, if anything, that makes it harder. Because part of it is me wondering what would life had been had she been around? And then would I be here at this school? Would I have met everyone I have come to care for? And then a part of me feels guilty for thinking I would trade it away to have her back. But either way, she’s alive and is over in the Otherworld doing who knows what? Leah always talked about facing her father, but I had never considered I might have to confront my own mother. It…it’s a lot.”[/color] [color=b940da]”I’m sure it is.”[/color] Marlena nodded. There was a sympathetic smile on her face. [color=b940da]”What do you usually do when something’s a lot?”[/color] Ha, wasn’t that a loaded question? Normally she fell into a spiral of self-doubt and shame, worked through it with some coping tools given by Dr. Whitehall, still felt bad, and then threw herself into fixing other people’s problems. [color=A2797E]”Avoidance? That’s not healthy though. I am in therapy with Dr. Whitehall, not sure if you know her. She’s actually pretty cool and the school has her on staff to help. Other than that, I panic or throw myself into something to not have to think about it. It’s why I sort of took on the role of social media manager for the team. It allows me some semblance of control to an otherwise chaotic, uncontrollable team. I mean, you saw them, bastards can’t go one minute without some type of drama unfolding.”[/color] “Bastards” was a pretty strong word. It sounded to her like Sabine needed a life. [color=b940da]”Gotta be stressful for them too, knowing people are always taking pictures of them. You don’t really get many chances to just let stuff go, do you? Let’s fix that. Your girl’s keeping April from freezing everyone and I overheard her trying to organize the rest of them, so forget about them for now. You have time.”[/color] Did she though? The longer they waited the more time her mother had out there, doing who knew what. [color=A2797E]”Please, I guarantee April will still freak out, Danni will follow, Dorian will try to hold it together, Vicky will make it worse without meaning to, Percy fainted and will likely do so again before the day is over, Andy already threw a punch, and I don’t know the other three that well but it stands to reason they will add to the stress. I want to switch it off, but I don’t know how.”[/color] [color=b940da]”Then how about we figure that out?”[/color] Marlena suggested. [color=b940da]”Your friends know how to sort themselves out, and you sound like you need at least a whole week to yourself. Can’t say I envy people doing that hero stuff… When I need to stop thinking about something, I make things. You ever try that?”[/color] [color=A2797E]”What would I make? Does social media count? I make posts and stuff and use creative tools to change things, but I doubt that’s what you’re getting at.”[/color] Marlena smirked, and then she pulled out her phone. She scrolled up through her photos and found a good enough picture, which she then walked over and showed to Sabine. It was a picture of a small, hand-sized box that appeared to be made of velvet. Or maybe it was made of felt, the lighting was a little odd. The lid was popped off and on it saw a small, awkwardly stacked pile of bracelets, and a necklace. They were all somewhat different. One was made out of twine and had metal shapes hanging off of it, another one was solid leather with cabochon stones placed in it. And there was a necklace that had a crescent moon splayed out, with multicolored beads strung between knots around a piece of cord. Marlena happened to be wearing that one right now, around her neck. [color=b940da]”I picked this up about a year ago, it’s fun. Then I started learning to make other stuff, like this shirt I’m wearing.”[/color] She plucked at the button-up around her shoulders. [color=b940da]”Great way to take your mind off things.”[/color] It was, admittedly, a beautiful necklace. Something Sabine would buy. But to make it? [color=A2797E]”I don’t know if creative things like that would help. I have a feeling I would try and get frustrated when I don’t do it. And yeah, I know it’s all about trying and re-trying to be good at something, but I don’t know if it would help. I think I may need something more…physical?”[/color] [color=b940da]”Like what?”[/color] Marlena assumed Sabine wasn’t coming onto her, for obvious reasons. [color=b940da]”Destroying something? Set stuff on fire?”[/color] [color=A2797E]”I work out just fine and let’s maybe steer clear of arson for now. I don’t know….ice skating was fun so maybe a sport? Or….don’t you skateboard?”[/color] [color=b940da]”Yeah, it’s how I met Chase and Ben. Do you? I know there’s a skatepark not far from here.”[/color] [color=A2797E]”Nope. Never tried. I know how to ice skate and I assume roller skating is similar, but never on a board.”[/color] Her mind was actually starting to come away from everyone and everything else. [color=A2797E]”I could…try, I guess?”[/color] Oh, hell yeah. [color=b940da]”I could show you a few things, definitely. And wouldn’t you know it, I brought two boards with me. One for just getting around, the other’s for speed. Anyone gonna miss us if we leave?”[/color] [color=A2797E]”Honestly, the fact no one else came over makes me think no. And if they do, they can suck it up. Lead on.”[/color] [color=b940da]”Cool.”[/color] Marlena led Sabine into the dorm halls first, where they went up to her room. Her side of the room was mostly boxes, notebooks and the very same box of shiny trinkets she had a picture of. There, she opened up a box and withdrew two boards. One was longer with thicker and wider wheels, the other shorter with smaller ones. Then she retrieved a small satchel and they were gone. It only took about ten minutes to reach the park on foot. At this hour on a schoolday, it was barren and empty. No one else but Marlena and Sabine were here. [color=b940da]”Bigger wheels means your board moves slower, which is good for controlling it and just going places,”[/color] Marlena explained, carrying both of them by the trucks. [color=b940da]”Same goes for a bigger deck. Takes more to go fast, but you don’t want to go flying if you’re learning.”[/color] Sabine understood all of those words separately, but she gave in to the expert. [color=A2797E]”Slower is probably better at this stage. So, how does one board?”[/color] [color=b940da]”Like this.”[/color] Marlena sat both of the boards down on the ground and stood atop the smaller one. It didn’t budge an inch. [color=b940da]”A lot of it comes down to balance. Keep your whole body [i]above[/i] your legs, not to the side. When you shift your weight too far forward or back, the board might slip out from under you. Stand in the middle of it, between the wheels.”[/color] She turned around while staying on the board, to face Sabine. [color=b940da]”The board and the wheels are made to flex, so you shift your feet forward and back to turn.”[/color] Sabine watched with intensity as Marlena demonstrated. It wasn’t so dissimilar to ice skating when it came to balance. [color=A2797E]”How do you turn then?”[/color] Sabine wasn’t totally new to skateboarding, she had seen some people do it so she knew going forward meant pushing off with your foot. But she also knew the ins and outs of it were more complex. Marlena tilted her feet downwards and her whole body remained where it was. The board moved too, and the wheels twisted, not dissimilar to the way a car’s did. [color=b940da]”When you’re moving, that motion is enough. You push with your back foot, not your front.”[/color] Sabine mentally took notes like a nerd. [color=A2797E]”So, the board moves and you use your body to control it. Makes sense. Anything else to know?”[/color] Sabine fully expected to faceplant in her first attempt. [color=A2797E]”Like, what to do when you inevitably fall?”[/color] [color=b940da]”Roll, tuck your head in, and check yourself over for scrapes. It happens. You’ll fall a lot, and get good at breaking falls pretty fast if you stick to it.”[/color] Marlena gave her a silly smile, like it was funny. [color=b940da]”Give it a try, I’ll catch you if you need.”[/color] Sabine stared at the board briefly. Why was something so…small so scary? But she got on. Tentatively. She nearly fell off instantly, but she regained some balance. She held her arms out and tried to bring them down. She took a deep breath and used her back foot to push forward. Slowly to start. As soon as the board moved she felt her body want to fall back instinctively and she felt the board go forward while the rest of her started to fall back. This was going to hurt. Marlena stuck a hand out, and purple energy glowed under her skin. Suddenly, Sabine was neither on the board nor on the ground. She was floating, suspended by telekinetic force. [color=b940da]”Got you!”[/color] Now normally, when you were floating in mid-air from seemingly nothing, a person would freak out. But this was a superhero school. It took a lot more to faze the people who went here. So when Sabine nearly fell and found herself floating, she took it in stride. This was nothing. Plus, she was happy she didn’t slam into the ground and hurt herself. [color=A2797E]”Whoa, cool. Thanks! Okay, you can put me down. I think I know where I went wrong.”[/color] Marlena let her drop harmlessly. [color=b940da]”Takes some practice. Try again, you got it.”[/color] So Sabine did. She got back on the board, shook a bit, but regained some balance. She used her back foot again and pushed forward, remembering to hold her body center. She moved slow. She wasn’t winning any awards for speed, but she was moving forward and was not falling. In her book, that was a win. [color=A2797E]”Fuck you Tony Hawk or any other skateboarder! I’m coming for your trophies!”[/color] That got a laugh out of Marlena. She pushed off the ground, her board took off a lot quicker than the one Sabine was on. She carved lazy circles around her, wide enough she wasn’t going to smash into her but close enough they could still talk. [color=b940da]”On that board, you’ll need to push more to pick up speed, but that one’s better for just cruising around. Try turning, see how far you go.”[/color] Sabine wanted to turn, she really, did, but part of her wanted to..you know…not do that for fear or flailing and falling. But she had to try. She moved her body to the right a bit, the movement of the board following her as she drifted slowly to the right. She felt herself stumble a bit and she caught herself before she was flung forward, stepping off the board. She felt frustrated immediately, but took a beat. She had never ridden before and she sort of just did it. [color=A2797E]”Ok, need to practice that part more. Also ow.”[/color] Her ankle hurt a bit, but nothing significant. Marlena swerved over and slid one foot on the ground to slow down. [color=b940da]”Yeah, that happens. Next time, try to bend your legs instead of going forward. It’ll feel clunky at first, but most of a person’s weight is usually in their legs. So when you tilt forward like you just did, that goes with the rest of you.”[/color] To demonstrate, Marlena just… Rocked back and forth on her board. Her upper body didn’t move much, but her legs did, as if she were trying to stay upright on a ship being tossed around by a storm at sea. [color=b940da]”Make sense?[/color] No, but a piece of wood or whatever on wheels moving with speed enough for people to do jumps and spins didn’t make sense either. But she would try. Again, she stood on the board and pushed forward. Moving slowly, but faster than before. She then bent her knees and, following Marlena’s example, moved herself to the right again. This time, the board glided to the right and herself along with it. She pushed forward again and completed the turn as she moved forward. [color=A2797E]”Did I do it? Ohmygod I think I did…”[/color] She stepped off the board and it moved forward a bit before stopping. [color=A2797E]”That felt….amazing.”[/color] Marlena beamed. She stepped off her board and swung it over her shoulder. [color=b940da]”Really does, doesn’t it? You can get [i]good[/i] at it and a whole world’s gonna open up for you. Get a smaller board and you can go all out doing tricks and stuff, I use that one to get across Brooklyn and back, instead of taking a train or a car.”[/color] Sabine put off going on her phone to look up skateboards. Another thing for another day. [color=A2797E]”Yes, I can see it now. I really needed that. Thanks, Marlena.”[/color] Her mind wasn’t clear, wasn’t completely calm, but it was a lot better. [color=b940da]”You are [i]very[/i] welcome… There’s a whole park around us right now. Don’t really know how they do stuff at the school, but now’s a perfect time to just ride around and get used to a board if you want. I’ll help you find one that suits you best if you want to keep at it after today.”[/color] Sabine followed suit with practicing moving on the skateboard. She turned and glided along, falling a few times, but eventually she was able to sustain herself for a longer stretch of time. As much as she wanted to be able to do tricks, she knew if she tried she would wind up in the hospital and that wouldn’t do. She needed to be ready for their foray into the Otherworld. To her mother.