Elizabeth Graham
Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 9:07 pm
“Elizabeth Graham?”
Elizabeth turned back toward the school to see an athletic-looking middle-aged man striding toward her, Flyer’s hat covering what was almost sure to be a bald head. “Um hi… who're you?”
“Jeff Waters, athletics director for the school. Sorry we haven’t met yet, but I promise this won’t be as bad as you think.” He offered a gentle smile.
Despite herself, she relaxed a bit. She’d been waiting outside for almost twenty minutes, which was her own fault for showing up early. “’kay. So what are we doing? I mean I know there’s supposed to be a powers test or something but I don’t really have a power so it’s not like that’s going to really be useful or anything you know?”
Coach waters nodded. “Then it’s a waste of time, in which case we might as well go for a run while we waste it. Little more exercise is never a bad thing. Up for it?”
Elizabeth eyed him suspiciously, then nodded, smiling. “Sure! Beats sitting around in some dusty room answering questions and - hey!” The coach had taken off in a run, and she bolted to catch up. Once she was running alongside, she continued, “I mean it’s not like there’s really anything else to say about it I mean if there’s some horrible mutation or whatever it doesn’t seem to be doing a whole lot so I don’t really see what the big deal is do you?”
Coach Waters shook his head, smiling inwardly at the fact that the girl was keeping up with a fairly strenuous pace, in a leather trenchcoat, in the middle of summer, talking a mile a minute, and wasn’t breathing hard. They turned the corner at the end of the block. “No power at all, huh? Well, what are you doing here then?”
Elizabeth shrugged, her pace slowing a bit as the Coach began to put some thought into nullifying her powers. “I dunno I mean something went wrong I guess and I sort of looked weird and,” she paused, taking a breath, then continued, sweating as she pushed herself to keep up. “…they said I was a mutant and my parents didn’t really…” she paused to take a breath. “Didn’t know what to do so I came here.” She gritted her teeth and forced herself to stay alongside, but she was done talking now.
Coach Waters chuckled as he ran, keeping his breathing slow and even. “It must be something that’s subtle most of the time. Your file says time manipulation. You understand what that means at all?”
Elizabeth shrugged. The dampening was done at this point. She was sweating, and even flicked her coat off and held it dangling over her shoulder, but she was keeping pace. “I dunno I guess.” She would have said more, but she was obviously at the limit of her real, natural ability just keeping up.
“Me and some of the faculty pow-wowed about that. We figure it might manifest in subtle ways, like keeping up with someone used to running for hours at a time, or feeling colder even in summer because nothing’s moving as much. Maybe even taking more time to make sure you’re breathing while you talk and run. Sound familiar at all?”
Elizabeth blinked, almost lost her footing, then scrambled to get back in step. “No.” She looked unhappy, but thoughtful.
“Like to run, Elizabeth?” It was time for a change of subject. He gradually eased back on the dampening as they rounded a corner and kept moving.
“Yup! I was really good at track and stuff actually.” She was suddenly breathing easier. “I was at the top of the school actually by at least ten or fifteen seconds on most runs.”
“Impressive. You’re obviously a gifted athlete.” It was true. Even with her power nullified, she wasn’t flagging too badly. Still, either she wasn’t catching the clear implication, or…
“And you’re obviously the nullifier-guy. Are we done now?” She looked unhappy, despite her chipper tone.
She’d been thinking after all. Waters nodded. “Soon as we finish the lap. Tomorrow, time trials.” Elizabeth blanched. “You’re stuck with this, Elizabeth, if that hasn’t already been ground in. We can’t do anything about that, and I don’t know as we would if we could. What we can do is try to help you accept it, and figure out how to use it.”
Elizabeth sighed. It was chilly again, so she pulled her coat back on. The cold wind blowing past her on a ninety-degree day seemed much less pleasant than it had the previous day. The two slowed to a jog, then stopped in front of the school. “Are we done?” she asked quietly.
Waters nodded. “We’re done. Hit the showers, and meet up with me in front of the bunker at seven-thirty sharp.” Elizabeth nodded quickly and took off. He watched carefully. If he had to guess, best estimate would be about twenty-five miles an hour. At a jog. He looked closer, using landmarks, and it looked like she was jogging based on her posture, but entirely too quickly. He nodded considering, then started moving toward the gym.
* * * * *
OOC Information:
Name: Elizabeth Graham
Nicknames: Liz
Origin: Mutation
Archetype: Defender (Kin/Ice)
Age: 14 (appearance may vary a couple of years in either direction)
Hair: Dirty blond with fading black dye
Eyes: Brown
Ethnicity: Mixed European
First Impression: Elizabeth wears the kind of clothing one would expect to see on a high-school goth; black long coat, dreary shirt, laced boots, complete with dark makeup and spiked collar. This expectation is thwarted by the fact that the vast majority of the time, she is hyper and excitable. She doesn’t go out of her way to talk to people who look like they’re already doing something, but if approached, it can be difficult to get her to stop.
Elizabeth turned back toward the school to see an athletic-looking middle-aged man striding toward her, Flyer’s hat covering what was almost sure to be a bald head. “Um hi… who're you?”
“Jeff Waters, athletics director for the school. Sorry we haven’t met yet, but I promise this won’t be as bad as you think.” He offered a gentle smile.
Despite herself, she relaxed a bit. She’d been waiting outside for almost twenty minutes, which was her own fault for showing up early. “’kay. So what are we doing? I mean I know there’s supposed to be a powers test or something but I don’t really have a power so it’s not like that’s going to really be useful or anything you know?”
Coach waters nodded. “Then it’s a waste of time, in which case we might as well go for a run while we waste it. Little more exercise is never a bad thing. Up for it?”
Elizabeth eyed him suspiciously, then nodded, smiling. “Sure! Beats sitting around in some dusty room answering questions and - hey!” The coach had taken off in a run, and she bolted to catch up. Once she was running alongside, she continued, “I mean it’s not like there’s really anything else to say about it I mean if there’s some horrible mutation or whatever it doesn’t seem to be doing a whole lot so I don’t really see what the big deal is do you?”
Coach Waters shook his head, smiling inwardly at the fact that the girl was keeping up with a fairly strenuous pace, in a leather trenchcoat, in the middle of summer, talking a mile a minute, and wasn’t breathing hard. They turned the corner at the end of the block. “No power at all, huh? Well, what are you doing here then?”
Elizabeth shrugged, her pace slowing a bit as the Coach began to put some thought into nullifying her powers. “I dunno I mean something went wrong I guess and I sort of looked weird and,” she paused, taking a breath, then continued, sweating as she pushed herself to keep up. “…they said I was a mutant and my parents didn’t really…” she paused to take a breath. “Didn’t know what to do so I came here.” She gritted her teeth and forced herself to stay alongside, but she was done talking now.
Coach Waters chuckled as he ran, keeping his breathing slow and even. “It must be something that’s subtle most of the time. Your file says time manipulation. You understand what that means at all?”
Elizabeth shrugged. The dampening was done at this point. She was sweating, and even flicked her coat off and held it dangling over her shoulder, but she was keeping pace. “I dunno I guess.” She would have said more, but she was obviously at the limit of her real, natural ability just keeping up.
“Me and some of the faculty pow-wowed about that. We figure it might manifest in subtle ways, like keeping up with someone used to running for hours at a time, or feeling colder even in summer because nothing’s moving as much. Maybe even taking more time to make sure you’re breathing while you talk and run. Sound familiar at all?”
Elizabeth blinked, almost lost her footing, then scrambled to get back in step. “No.” She looked unhappy, but thoughtful.
“Like to run, Elizabeth?” It was time for a change of subject. He gradually eased back on the dampening as they rounded a corner and kept moving.
“Yup! I was really good at track and stuff actually.” She was suddenly breathing easier. “I was at the top of the school actually by at least ten or fifteen seconds on most runs.”
“Impressive. You’re obviously a gifted athlete.” It was true. Even with her power nullified, she wasn’t flagging too badly. Still, either she wasn’t catching the clear implication, or…
“And you’re obviously the nullifier-guy. Are we done now?” She looked unhappy, despite her chipper tone.
She’d been thinking after all. Waters nodded. “Soon as we finish the lap. Tomorrow, time trials.” Elizabeth blanched. “You’re stuck with this, Elizabeth, if that hasn’t already been ground in. We can’t do anything about that, and I don’t know as we would if we could. What we can do is try to help you accept it, and figure out how to use it.”
Elizabeth sighed. It was chilly again, so she pulled her coat back on. The cold wind blowing past her on a ninety-degree day seemed much less pleasant than it had the previous day. The two slowed to a jog, then stopped in front of the school. “Are we done?” she asked quietly.
Waters nodded. “We’re done. Hit the showers, and meet up with me in front of the bunker at seven-thirty sharp.” Elizabeth nodded quickly and took off. He watched carefully. If he had to guess, best estimate would be about twenty-five miles an hour. At a jog. He looked closer, using landmarks, and it looked like she was jogging based on her posture, but entirely too quickly. He nodded considering, then started moving toward the gym.
* * * * *
OOC Information:
Name: Elizabeth Graham
Nicknames: Liz
Origin: Mutation
Archetype: Defender (Kin/Ice)
Age: 14 (appearance may vary a couple of years in either direction)
Hair: Dirty blond with fading black dye
Eyes: Brown
Ethnicity: Mixed European
First Impression: Elizabeth wears the kind of clothing one would expect to see on a high-school goth; black long coat, dreary shirt, laced boots, complete with dark makeup and spiked collar. This expectation is thwarted by the fact that the vast majority of the time, she is hyper and excitable. She doesn’t go out of her way to talk to people who look like they’re already doing something, but if approached, it can be difficult to get her to stop.