2010-01-09:Apologies

Players:

Ethan_icon.jpg Kaden_icon.jpg

Summary: Ethan apologizes to Kaden.

Date: January 9, 2010

Log Title Apologies

Rating: PG


NYC - Central Park Lake

Bethesda fountain sits at the edge of the lake with a large terrace for people to hang out and relax. Benches sit under the trees creating a peaceful atmosphere. A dock stretches out into the lake for people to rent row boats to enjoy the entire lake. In the distance Bow Bridge can be scene crossing the man make lake.


Ethan sighs as he walks back towards the shore of the lake. In what should be clear water, a series of small platforms or stepping stones were raised last night by both himself and Dmitri. And Ethan forgot to clean up after himself and send them back to the bottom of the lake. Which is why he's own in the cold and dark when most people avoid the area after dark. Dressed in blue slacks and sweater vest, a gray button down under the sweater, black oxfords and a top coat that is also dark, he looks like a prep school student trying to look like a post-grad. He calls the flighty, nervous seeming spirits to lower another step and then the wind carries up and onto the dock so he can turn back to the water and guide them through dismissing the last two. "Oh no, high and mighty 'I need a throne' Spirit could be bothered to fix the lake. The mage has to clean up. As usual."

In the distance a small fire can be seen quickly before disappearing, this occurs a few times as Kaden walks closer. Since there's not many people about this late at night, Kaden's not afraid to use his powers. He's playing with the fire a bit letting it roll up and down his arms as he walks. Kaden was having trouble sleeping, even with Drew right there, but sometimes when he's in his funk he needs time alone. The fires tops as he sees someone toward the lake and just watches who ever is there for a bit before deciding to keep going or head back.

Ethan calls to the earth spirits and in a fit of whimsy, he shapes the last two platforms into rough golem-like figures, standing knee deep in the water. They soundlessly roar at one another and then smash stone fists together, disappearing into rubble instantly. Sure, he could have just send the stone flowing like honey back down to the bottom, but he's bored and alone and in a whimsical mood. Thus, a show. With a theatrical flourish, he flips out the tails to his long coat and turns, bowing to the non-existent crowd. Except someone is there. Somewhat with a very familiar aura of flame. Someone who /is/ flame. Ethan straightens up and tugs his coat straight. His first instinct is to fly away. But he does owe the Spirit an apology. He walks a few yards closer, stopping some ten yards away and nods. "Kaden. Good evening."

Kaden watches the show with a weird sort of interest, a mix of what the hell? and who is this guy? Kaden then recognizes who it is and folds his hands over his chest, but he doesn't go to move. "How do you know my name?" He doesn't remember telling it and it's said with a bit of an edge to his voice. He's not be friendly but yet, he's not being mean.

Ethan says, "Your friends mentioned it. Dmitri. Keith. Drew. Xane. I mean no disrespect by using it. In fact, in a way I'm glad to see you. I owe you an apology." He sounds sincere enough if overly formal and cadenced.

Kaden stays in the same spot and position he was before hand. "Oh." He says as he realizes Ethan met the others. "Apology for what?" There's still a bit of an edge to his voice as he knows Ethan pissed him off but right now, he hasn't pushed his buttons, yet.

Ethan grins faintly and says, "Being characteristically myopic. Not seeing you as a person. And then not seeing I was annoying you. And most of all for not seeing what a bad idea it was to ask the lesser spirits to hold you in place." He pauses a moment and adds, "Not that it's any excuse, but I was caught up in the /idea/ of the Spirits so much that I couldn't see the people you are. I /am/ sorry. It was rude."

Kaden has no clue what myopic means and is about to snap about the use of 'complicated words' when Ethan continues. He stops and doesn't say anything for a while, slowly lowering his arms from his chest. "Ugh…thanks. And yeah, it was a bad idea." He says somewhat coldly if ment to or not. "And uh…I…uh…I have problems….with my temper." He just leaves it at that for now.

Ethan fights back a smile, lest Kaden take it as an insult and just nods semi-gravely. "Well, we all do at times. And you're welcome. I should have done that when I first erred." He pauses a moment and then nods again. "Ethan. Ethan Swift. It's a pleasure to meet you properly." He does smile a little on that. Apparently nearly provoking a battle doesn't count as 'properly' to the young mage.

"Kaden…Kaden Miller." Kaden says and he usually doesn't give his last name but he's trying, he really is, even if there is an emotional shell around him. "So…you met the others. All of them?" He says and it's hard to tell if he's surprised or upset by that.

Ethan nods and says, "All of them. Apparently independently. It would seem that fate had a hand." He smiles faintly and says, "And they are all quite remarkable in their own ways. Dmitri I met in mutant town, you here, Drew was surfing home from one of his islands, apparently, Keith flying over my school and Xane frequenting a tea shop where I stopped to get warm." He shrugs. "With magic, little is coincidence, but in this case it's coincidence /to/ me."

"I really don't know about fate or magic or anything." Kaden says as he doesn't believe in stuff like fate. "Yeah well I come to the park often…I like fresh air." After growning up where he did, it's just nice to have that freedom. "The others…they're cool. And yeah, Drew likes to go off to his islands."

Ethan smiles again. "They are! Very different and yet somehow a little bit the same." He shakes his head and says, "At the risk of making you angry again, I just wish I could figure out how you fit in with the lesser spirits I have contact with." He holds up a hand, "Not that I'm questioning you or want to treat you like a lab rat or anything. It's just frustrating to finally meet people who are semi-close to my own gifts and then find out I'm not that close at all, either in terms of raw power or finesse or how we perceive things." He laughs a little and says, "I was hoping for cousins and got neighbors who think I'm a pest."

Kaden nods as he listens and then holds up his hands. "Okay, I don't know shit about magic or spirits. I just know what I was told which wasn't much. I just know that some how I was chosen to be this for better or for worse. If I wanted it or not." He says looking at the ground and sitting down, letting the earth underneath him heat up with his power. Kaden doesn't like the cold. "You treat me like a lab rat, and we're gonna have more than words."

Ethan shakes his head. "No, no. I wouldn't do that again. Meeting you, getting you angry and then meeting Keith and Drew, I understand now that you're people, not just very clever lesser spirits." He walks a little closer, getting off the dock and calls the earth elements to make him a simple bench out of the flagstones of the path. Watching the fire spirits dance around Kaden in a ring that the Spirit can't see, he smiles a bit enviously but doesn't even think of touching Kaden's element with him around this time. "And the magic stuff is … magic stuff. I'm sorry you didn't have a choice." He pauses and says, "I've always seen the lesser spirits but I made a choice to learn to call them."

"Of course I'm a person you…." Kaden stops himself and lets out a sigh of frustration trying to hold back his anger. "I don't see anything, I just can feel the others, this….connection. There's nothing special just that I am what I am. For better and for worse." He says with a shrug as he watches Ethan for a bit. "Even if you explained to me what you did or how you did it, magic, I probably won't understand."

Ethan smiles and says, "I'd dispute the nothing special. And don't worry. I didn't understand it either until I started getting lessons." He pauses and says, "Incomplete lessons, I'm learning." After a moment he reaches under his coat, trying to reach a nagging itch as he continues, "And to be honest, a lot of what I /did/ think I understood is proven wrong by a world that has people like all of you in it. Which is amazing." He seems to mean it when he says having his world-view blasted is a good thing. He rests his elbow on his leg and his chin on the hand of that arm in almost the classic 'thinker' pose, obviously lost in his own mind for a moment. "But in any case, it must be …wonderful… to have others with whom you share a connection." There is just a hit of a wistful tone at that.

Kaden lets out a huff at something Ethan says and doesn't comment. He also doesn't fully know what Ethan's talking about. It's a bit of awkward silence before Kaden speaks up. "Yeah….it is." He says quitely looking away from Ethan as there's a lot of emotion in his voice as he says that. "They're…my family."

Ethan smiles faintly and says, "Good. You're lucky. All of you." He stands at that, pacing a little and occasionally scratching his back. It's become such a common discomfort that he doesn't even notice it consciously. He looks away over the lake and says, "Dmitri's actually been very helpful in getting some of my thoughts together with a problem I was having. Xane fed me. Quite the cook. Drew healed me. You taught me some humility. If I didn't know better, I'd think that we were in a post-modern Dickens story." He turns back before Kaden can grump at him and shrug, "Which is a really pretentious way of saying that you've all been worth knowing thus far." He stuffs his hands in his pockets, the cold bothering them a little and asks, "So, why the park in the middle of the night?"

"Xane, he's a great cook." Kaden says, his voice has an odd tone like he's not sure if he should be nice or not. "Drew…he's become my closest friend." The person who was the first to get Kaden to open up. "And who the hell is Dickens?" It goes to show how educated Kaden is, not very. "It's by Keith's place and I just wanted to get out. Sometimes fresh air is nice when you can't sleep. What about you?"

Ethan grins at Kaden. "Dead English guy. Paid by the word so he wrote a /lot/. Overrated." Apparently, he's beginning to loosen up. And being more informal helped with all the other Spirits. His eyebrows quirk a little as Kaden mentions sleeping at Keith's but he just nods. "Same thing. Without getting all arcano-babble on you, something is messing with my magic. And me. It's hard to sleep because of it."

Kaden nods. "Yeah, I just read what I have to to graduate my GED class." And if Kaden doesn't notice the excessive scratching he's not going to notice an eyebrow quirk. He's not not observant. "What's messing with your magic? And you?" He asks as he leans back on the ground. Ethan didn't ask any whys of Kaden so he just leaves it with him at not being able to sleep.

Ethan blinks at the GED reference, just saying, "Well, some people aren't book worms." He considers evading the questions but given who and what Kaden is, there is an off chance that he might have some insight. "The spirits are distracted. I'd almost say spooked or paying attention to someone else. Which is weird, because as far as I can tell nobody else can see them. So I'm thinking something's moving in their world that /I/ can't see." He pauses and adds, "And um, I seem to have picked up a tan. Without going in the sun. And other stuff. I think it's tied to my first attempt at doing the superhero thing. I think I, we, the group I was fighting alongside, screwed up."

"That sucks." Kaden says even before he can stop himself from spitting out the reponse. Sometimes he's a jerk without even thinking about it, years of building a shell around yourself. "So wait, you're tan now and your magic stuff isn't working as well, sorry but, I don't think I can help you there. I'm just fire, I'm not special like these things you talk about.

Ethan blinks and then chuckles. "Yea, it does suck. And in part, I call the lesser fire elementals. So perhaps some of it will show through to your part of the spirit world." He shrugs, "Or I'm just completely mad, listening to dream teachers and thinking I see things that nobody else sees." He sounds a little worried about that. "I'm beginning to wonder."

Kaden eventually stands up and shrugs. He doesn't really have a ton to say cause that's just he way Kaden is. 'So, what is that that's got you wonering." He's still not fully sure abou the spirit world but he lets Dallas tlak.

Ethan shakes his head. "It's hard to define. I'm just not comfortable in my own skin." He reaches up to touch his brow at that, still feeling the warm sensation of the 'blessing' imparted there. He lets out a snort and says, "And I'm whining. So, why can't you sleep? Anything a master of the mystic arts can help with?" That last is said in such an obviously self-denigrating tone that nobody could mistake it for anything other than an attempt at humor.

Kaden stands up and shurgs. "Just mind wnandering that's. I ugh..should get back before Drew gets worried that I'm nother. There's also a Kaden politely going. "I..hope go find your not so…werid." He says watching Ethan for a bit. "G'night."

Ethan smiles at that statement and then blinks. Drew would worry …at Keith's apartment? Well, maybe they like communal living. "Good night. And thanks for letting me whine. Hopefully I can return the favor someday."

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License