002

[expiries.livejournal.com]

[Rolo, to say the least, is paranoid -- more so than usual, to the point all he can think about is that (or the lack thereof) as he sits in the corner of the cafeteria again, idly holding an uneaten sandwich with no intention of consuming it anytime soon.

Various persons had struggled with a multitude of odd problems as of late. Taking that into account, he'd gone to his dorm when Oz hadn't been around to try again and again, but to no avail. And that realization (why isn't it working?) is now eating away at him as he stares off into space, too engrossed in his thoughts. Frankly, it's irritating to no end and starting to put him in a most foul mood.

Then his sandwich catches fire. The sudden heat snaps Rolo back to reality and he looks down to see that . . . oh. His sandwich is on fire.]

U-uh -- !?

[He extends his arm to hold the sandwich at a distance away from himself. Given the moistness of the bread, the fire hasn't spread much. More importantly, where did it even come from?]

Comments

[pilotypical.livejournal.com]

[Anemone hears the commotion from her place in the kitchen and peeks out...and promptly shrieks in terror, grabbing the fire extinguisher from the kitchen wall, and rushes over to Rolo.]

What did you do?!

[expiries.livejournal.com]

[That's a question he can't answer because not only does he not know, he's busy contemplating where to drop the sandwich and can't spare Anemone even one glance.

In the process of swinging the sandwich to the side, he knocks a bowl of soup over in her direction.]

[easilytriggered.livejournal.com]

[Zephyr's actually just a table over, and while he had been minding his own business, it's not every day that you see sandwiches burst into flame.]

Nice trick. You into some sorta fancy cooking?

[expiries.livejournal.com]

[He glances at Zephyr, seemingly lost in mild panic as he holds the sandwich between his thumb and index finger.]

I didn't do this . . . !

[On purpose, anyway.]

[easilytriggered.livejournal.com]

[He grabs his cup of water from his table, comes over to Rolo's and dumps it on top of the sandwich.]

You sure you didn't do that? People have been getting some pretty weird skills lately.

[expiries.livejournal.com]

[That would do it. He promptly drops the sandwich onto a napkin while looking sheepishly up at Zephyr.]

That's true, but . . . if it really was me, it wasn't intentional.

[easilytriggered.livejournal.com]

Kinda makes it more dangerous that way, doesn't it? [Zephyr takes a chair and sinks into it, disregarding whether or not Rolo wants him there.] Do it again. See if you can control it this time.

[Whether he actually wants to help or whether he just wants to see something burning again, it's... a bit hard to tell.]

[expiries.livejournal.com]

[He nods rigidly and uncertainly, then eyes the sodden sandwich. For one, it's wet, and for two . . .]

I don't know how.

[At best, he's only got one lead, and he'd rather not share that.]

[easilytriggered.livejournal.com]

Really? No clue at all?

[He shrugs.]

Then again, took me a while to get used to my new abilities, too.

[He grins and makes a loaf of bread appear on top of the sandwich.]

[expiries.livejournal.com]

[He looks down at the sandwich, surprised to see the loaf of bread. Then he reaches a conclusion as he raises his head back to Zephyr.]

. . . Materializing bread?

[The most anti-climactic kind.]

[pyromatics.livejournal.com]

[Sitting off to Rolo's right just off by a few seats, Zuko's head snaps over in that direction at the sudden burst of flame. He's been around fire his entire life, he's worked with it, manipulated it, struggled to control it, struggled to master it...

For a minute Zuko can't help but stare at the sandwich, unsure HOW he managed to lose control and set it on fire like that. Then he sees Rolo holding the sandwich out in front of him, notices how the other male cadet isn't flinching from the heat or dropping the sandwich and being burned--]

...how are you doing that?

[Zuko's come over now, a not so pleased knit in his brows.]

[expiries.livejournal.com]

U-um --

[One quick glance at Zuko, then Rolo looks around for a way to get the sandwich out of the way and settles with dumping it into his soup. He's not hungry enough to miss it, and he's drawn enough attention with that slight cry from earlier.

With the bread soaking up the soup, he sheepishly turns back to Zuko. Briefly, he wonders why the boy looks displeased when all Rolo did was set his own sandwich ablaze.]

I don't know. I'm not even sure if I did it.

[pyromatics.livejournal.com]

Then who did?

[His eyes dart from the soup-soaked sandwich to Rolo and then to look around at the cadets looking in their direction.]

[expiries.livejournal.com]

[Rolo doesn't look around, because he himself doubts that excuse.]

I don't know . . .

Are you angry? It's not like it caught on your clothes.

[pyromatics.livejournal.com]

No. I'm not angry.

[Zuko looks at Rolo again.]

...why didn't you say something about being a firebender?

[expiries.livejournal.com]

[ . . . oh.

He knows.]

Firebender? What's that?

[pyromatics.livejournal.com]

Someone born with the ability to create and manipulate fire using their chi.

[expiries.livejournal.com]

. . . Then it must've been someone else. I wasn't born with any abilities like that.

[destroyforalice.livejournal.com]

How can you do that?

[expiries.livejournal.com]

O-Oz!

[Act first, answer later. After contemplating for a split second longer on what to do, eyes shifting right to left and left to right, he unceremoniously drops the sandwich into his bowl of soup. Goodbye, lunch.

He turns his attention back to his roommate.]

It just . . . happened.

[destroyforalice.livejournal.com]

Just happened? You mean it was sudden or something?



That's rather odd either way, nothing I have seen before.

[expiries.livejournal.com]

[It just happened. He couldn't help it. While he doesn't grace Oz with an answer for the questions, he figures it's self-explanatory enough.]

A lot of unusual things have been happening around Garden. It's more than just this fire.

[destroyforalice.livejournal.com]

Really? I haven't noticed anything too off.

[expiries.livejournal.com]

You probably weren't around when they happened.

[Unless Oz is used to strange goings on. That'd be another story.]

[destroyforalice.livejournal.com]

I've been here for a few weeks, you think maybe it started before then?