General Store Confidence (Kazu + Skyler) [Done]

[Freyalise]

Morning was cracking and Kazu was starting to lose his nerve. He was chewing the insides of his cheek and gnashing his teeth, hands under his armpits to keep warm while he scoped out the convenience store's large window.

See, he was in a dilemma. His father had given him two credit cards, and that was it for readily available funds. He was also seventeen, which meant he was underage. But goddamnit, he needed smokes! He figured out all the logistics of where to keep his smokes in the event of twice weekly dorm raids, the perfect time to nip away and sneak one. But he hadn't figured out what to do until he let a brazen idea become his only option.

He crossed the street and disappeared into the alley behind the general store, kneeling down behind a dumpster. He put his hands in his face and began to rub vigorously, molding his face around so he looked vaguely like his father and a little bit of a stranger as well. He checked his visage in an oily puddle nearby and cringed a little bit, pushing his cheekbone into symmetry with the other side, popping his nose straight, all the while in a dull pain through the process.

He looked around for some sort of paper material until he found a stack of newspapers- Perfect. He picked them up and ripped them into smaller, rectangular shapes, his fingers rubbing the ink slightly, willing the form to change from old newspaper to crisp Canadian bills. colorful stack in hand, older face on, Kazu put some finishing touches to his jacket, making it black and patching up some holes that moths had made. He found a plastic jar and decided to fake himself an identification card. This he wasn't doing so much in the dark as he was for memory: He had done his own bit of research at home when his father told him he was going to Canada, so he looked up templates for Licenses, learned crucial watermarks, even the official font. Within a few minutes he had a shiny plastic ID in his hand, his transmuted face and faked name, birth date and street clear as if it had come from the press just now.

Emerging from the back of the store he calmly walked inside and picked up a basket, appearing to peer at the wares but actually keeping his concentration so his face didn't fall. He bought himself some soap that smelled alright, toothpaste and toothbrush, face wash and moisturizer, some ziplock baggies, a box of matches, even some first aid materials, figuring it was better to have and not need versus need and not have.

Upon meeting the store clerk eye to eye, Kazu tried his best with small talk, but was really interested in ordering a carton of smokes off the shelf. He presented his ID, and for a split second he was worried it wouldn't check out. His total came under fifty and he paid, collecting his shopping bag and wishing the clerk a "good day" as he walked out the door and back around into the alley.

Kazu ducked behind the dumpster again, this time relieved and feeling victorious. He shook his head until the foreign, older features slid from his face, leaving fresh-faced Kazu instead. He ripped the box of marlboro open and popped a pack open, peeling off the plastic and smelling fresh-ish tobacco, the best smell he had witnessed all day.

He opened his matches and struck one hard, the sulfur blaze instant and bright, until he was puffing away and leaning back with his eyes closed. He'd have to keep thinking about the "money" staying in the shape of money until he left town, but damnit it was worth it.

[Lux]

From all the dance preparations at the school and the swim practices she was required to go to, there wasn't much time for Skylar to go to the city to have some alone time. Of course she had a few moments of peace while shopping for her dress, but that was the drive over to the store. Girls from both Veritas and Spiritus were ransacking the stores, stripping them of all their merchandise. The whole week at school was hearing girls talking about the most gorgeous dress and shoes they ever saw, or guys saying who they were going to lay after the ball was all over. It was exhausting even for her, which was saying something.

What also was odd about her life as of late was she seemed to be getting up earlier than usual. Her normal wake time was typically normal on schooldays and then noon to one o'clock on weekends. Lately it has been 4 am on both. Today she found herself wandering the streets of Downtown Cranbrook, which in all honesty, wasn't the dumbest thing she has ever done. She was only powerful against people that had powers. Power reversal didn't do shit to a regular attacker/ rapist.

Looking at the time, she realized she might as well get some shopping done. Skylar was running out of her favorite Acai/ Grape Seed oil shampoo and some toothpaste. It was wonderful how the schools expected you to live on campus while their parents payed a shit load of money and didn't even provide necessary living supplies. Skylar just laughed and shook her head. There wasn't anyone out to hear her anyway.

While on her way to the general store, she decided to take the back roads and alleyways for some strange reason. Maybe have some danger in her life? She didn't know, but she did it anyway. Skylar was anything but normal. And speaking of normal, while passing by, Skylar noticed a man, or a teenager in the alley. She turned and stared, the person catching her attention. And while she stared, she saw he was rubbing his face in an odd way. She was too far away to see exactly what it was. Well, shouldn't I just call this creepy alley. Skye thought to herself, about to turn around and go to the general store before he saw her, but then he did something even more incredible. He was turning an old newspaper into money! What the hell? Okay, so she really was staring down creepy alley. How the hell does a guy do that?!

The guy continued to turn one thing into another until he finally was pleased with the outcome, and then he headed towards the general store. She blinked curiously, and decided it was time for a little fun. Sure she could get raped or something, but what fun was letting someone who could turn ordinary newspaper into money go?

She was very nonchalant about everything, making sure to see him go into the store first, and then casually strolling in, going down the aisles trying to locate the certain necessities she wanted to buy while still making sure he was in sight. When he went to the register, Skylar followed shortly after, paying for her items quickly. But by that time, he was gone, and Skye cursed under her breath. She pushed her way out of the store, and when she didn't see him, Skye decided to check back in that alley. She noticed a teenager, about the same height and build as the man that she had just followed, smoking a cigarette from a newly opened pack of marlboro. But the only difference was he had a different face. Why does he have a different face?

Deciding the curiosity was getting the best of her, she walked closer to the mystery guy, bagged items still in hand. "Yo!" She called once she got closer. "How the fuck did you just do that?"

[Freyalise]

Kazu nearly inhaled his cigarette when he heard a female voice to his immediate left. He fumbled, looked up, and stared into the eyes of a gorgeous blonde. No, not just gorgeous, a girl of Venusian beauty, though he daren't say it out loud. She was staring expectantly at him, half enraged with curiosity and another totally puzzled. He didn't count on having any witnesses, and certainly not one that would approach him. I should have gone away further to smoke, he thought in retrospect.

Standing up, Kazu got a good look at her, legs to head. She didn't look threatening, but snitches come in all forms, so he was on his guard. "Dunno what you're talking about. I paid a hobo to buy me smokes." A flimsy excuse, since he still had his ID on the floor, but he was hoping she wouldn't look down.

[Lux]

"Seriously? You honestly think I am that much of a dumbass?" Skylar may have been blonde, and she had her share of blonde jokes made about her, but in no way would she ever believe that. She placed her free hand on her hip, shaking her head. "Because I know that you could not have walked up to some random bum who was wearing the same clothes, was about the same height, and had the same build as you?" There was something interesting about this kid and she knew it.

When she had first seen him, he seemed to be much older than he looked now, even with slightly different facial features. But everything that he had, including the clothes on his back, pointed towards him being the same person. And since she had a power herself, it didn't come as much of a shocker. "Plus, I saw you do some weird shit with paper and a plastic jar before you were in that store." Well, now didn't she seem like little miss stalker. "You turned paper into money just as easily as rumpelstiltskin could turn straw into gold."

[Freyalise]

He internalized a groan, feeling her hook her talons into him. She maybe drop dead beautiful but he got the feeling she had a cop personality. He wanted to be done with this quickly and quietly, but he wasn't sure what would buy her silence. Yes, I fully expected you to believe me the first time.

What was worse was that she was piecing things together quite fast, and she had witnessed with her own eyes his transmutations. what was he supposed to do, convince her that she was seeing shit? That hand on her hip gave him the tip-off that she wasn't a woman who could be swayed like that. Still, he thought it was kind of funny that she'd mention that ugly little troll, even if they were nothing alike.

He leaned against the dumpster to relieve his anxious stance, keeping his cool, and digging his hole of lies a little bigger. "Yeah, I partied too hard last night and lost my stuff in this pile of filth. I don't see the crime here."

[Lux]

She clenched her jaw, knowing the he wasn't going to answer her questions honestly anytime soon. Shit, if she had another power like water manipulation and somebody saw her use it, she would do the same thing. But she didn't have the power to manipulate water, she had the power to either reverse the effects of someone's power, or essentially have the power turn on the user. It was effective in a fight, but no other time. Wait, if it was a power this guy had, she could just as easily use reverse the effects, turning whatever he changed back into the whatever it originally was.

She saw the ID by his feet and smiled, picking it up in her hand and running her hand across it. It felt like an actual ID. He even got the watermark right, which she found was very impressive. But she looked at the picture. "Funny how the guy's ID is right by your feet, and this was the man I saw walking out of the store buying a pack of Marlboro. The same one you have. " Well, wasn't this a fun investigation. Maybe she could become a cop. Naw, she didn't think she could deal with people always lying to her on a daily basis. "You know, I am seriously curious to see what this really is." And in an instant, after a bit of concentrating, the ID returned to it's original state, a plastic jar.

"Let me just say that whatever power you have, it is fucking impressive."

[Freyalise]

He was frozen still as she bent over and examined the ID at their feet. Kazu clenched his jaw so tight his lips were pursing, a vein in his temple popping out. He was trying very hard not to over-react, like pull the wall between them, or turn the dumpster into a metal horse to ride on. But what could he do, snatch it out of her hand? That meant instant exposure! Shit! The exact thing I wanted her to ignore!

He felt like he was underwater, overwhelmed with stress, her words sounding muffled to his ears. He was trying his hardest to keep the ID card and the rest of the "money" in their transmuted form. Kazu felt something, like a tugged thread being severed, and his ID card was returned to it's plain, ordinary plastic jug in her hand.

He stood there, staring at her palm, shocked. How did she do that?! No one can undo my transmutations! He took the jar from her hand and inspected it closely, not understanding. After his brain finally processed her words, he looked up at her, eyebrow cocked at the use of the word "power."

"I guess the cat's out of the bag, you got me. And thank you, I've worked really hard on it-- But tell me, how did you turn it back without a glyph?"

[Lux]

"You aren't the only one who can do crazy shit. Though, your power is a lot more useful than mine. I mean, if I could take a piece of paper and turn it to money, I'd be a very happy person right now." Skye stared at the plastic in his hand, still wondering exactly how he managed to turn that into an ID card. It had at least 10 times more plastic than the ID had, and then he even managed to put an image, text, and all of the official markers on the ID. It took a skilled hand to do that, she knew, because it probably took a lot of control. Even seniors like her weren't even in complete control of their power yet. "My crazy power is just power reversal." Skylar said casually, a smile on her face.

"So tell me a few things. First thing, how about I get a name? Then, ya know, a real age? I can guarantee you aren't as old as that fake ID said you were. You are too good looking to be 35." He was attractive, Asian, and tall. She never really was attracted to Asian men, but this guy was definitely an exception. "And before you give me the same question, I'm Skylar, but people just call me Skye. I'm 18." Well, almost 18. She still had another week, but she wouldn't say that just in case he was over twenty. No need to ruin a perfectly good conversation, right?

[Freyalise]

He stood there and took it in with all senses, his brain hashing it out in a quick instant. If I can transmute without glyphs and she's basically the antithesis of any super power, then she can undo transmutations without glyphs... and maybe even re-reverse so that she, personally, can transmute...

Kazu discarded the jar and looked back up at her. No longer seeing a threat to his secret, in fact a boon companion, he went back to appreciating her beauty. Too bad it's winter, I bet she has some sweet legs... But he was also having a hard time trying to look past the fact that she was so fascinating, from an alchemist's standpoint. He tried not to think of all the things he'd want to do with her in the lab, and instead thought about what he wanted to do to her....

"I guess you've earned it. Hi Skye, My name is Kazu." He flashed her a half smile, hearing her somewhat buried compliment and knowing he could still flirt even if she was kind of out of his league. "I'm still seventeen, which is why..." he gestured to the discarded jar on the ground.

"I'm assuming you go to one of the schools up there?" He was desperately hoping she was in his school; The hope of maybe sitting near her in class was still bright. He was beating back his imagination to not get ahead of its-self.

[Lux]

"Kazu," She said a bit distantly, trying out his name on her tongue. It came out smooth, and she found herself loving the simplicity of it. Though, she was sure it was short for something. She didn't ponder on it though. If he wanted to tell her, he would. One would expect someone who just forced an answer out of another, would try and force something else. Skylar was only curious because it involved something she had never seen before. But a full name that she probably wouldn't remember anyway? She was perfectly content with the name Kazu.

After getting his age and his name she found herself scanning him from head to toe, much like he had just done with her. It wasn't hard for her to tell when she was being checked out, anyway. He was tall, and when she said tall, she meant tall. He was about a good foot taller than her, reminding her of just how much she hated being as short as she was. Being 5'2'' was horrible, especially when the men you enjoyed looking at you were skyscrapers compared to her. With women it was a little bit different. She could be the short one in the relationship, but there was the occasional one who was even shorter than she was, which was perfectly fine with her.

"Mhmm. It's my last year in Veritas, thank God." If he was asking, then he must be in either Veritas or Spiritus, but since she had never seen him in any of her classes or the hallways, she was guessing the latter. "And you?"

[Freyalise]

Kazu's sparkling hope of staring at her thighs in class died when she admitted she was a Veritas student. Okay, so it was probably a slim chance anyway, and his father was wrong, the girls are smoking hot, but it was still sort of a disappointment. Now he felt her eyes on him, even though it was pretty plain to see that she was sizing him up. He always felt like he was at least a seven on his off days, hobo clothing included. Tall, striking features, and a definite "bad boy" aura always made the girls look twice. He tried not to look like he knew he was sexy, because that was a definite turn off for girls, and he had a good feeling about Skye.

He tried a friendly smile. "I'm new at Spiritus." and he bit off a bitter 'unfortunately' from the end of that statement. "Well, new to the entire area, actually. I'm from California, I got in last night."

[Lux]

"Ahh, well in that case, I feel sorry for you. In Spiritus, you can't get away with shit, and then you can't even wear what you want. I'd prefer not to look like a typical schoolgirl, though most men would beg me to play in that outfit." A tie, knee high socks, skirts, and a white blouse. It definitely wasn't something that she ever fantasized about, but that didn't mean other people didn't.

"And Cali? That is pretty cool. I am from Colorado, Denver to be precise. I came to Canada when I was 10." The reason wasn't something she ever wanted to talk about, so she just left it at that. To get her mind off of the reason, she looked up at Kazu and gave him a half smile, searching her pocket for something, anything, that he could probably work some magic on. She found a folded up piece of paper that had her Algebra homework assignment written on. Skye put her bag on the ground, getting tired of holding onto it. "So Kazu, You think you can work this into some cash? Maybe give me a little show?" It was worth a shot.

[Freyalise]

Oh please, would you? Kazu had to fight to keep his knees straight, trying not to show that he had the mental image of Skye in a school girl outfit and it was turning him on. He couldn't fight the fantasy even if he wanted to, so he let it happen, partitioning his brain so his horny thoughts didn't bleed through to his spoken words.

"Yeah, I read the Spritus rule book last night, or at least tried to before almost dying of boredom." He shrugged, though, not very agitated with the restrictions on him. No reason for Skye to know he was a recovering drug addict and got used to people invading his privacy. It ultimately just made him a better liar and sneak. "However, I'm a bit cleverer than they think, so I'm gonna try to get away with some shit this semester." He smiled a toothy, cocky smile, proud of his plans.

Kazu watched as she pulled a paper from her pocket, a piece of algebra homework. At first he thought she was asking him to complete it for her, but all she wanted was another demonstration. With her eyes fixed on him and hoping he'd say yes, he couldn't refuse, taking the paper from her.

"Well, I can do something simple, like this." He twisted the paper and it kept twisting itself into a rose, paper petals blooming inexplicably. In a moment it twisted backwards into a flat but rumpled piece of paper. "Sure, I could make you money," and he did, a whole sheet of counterfeit Canadian bills, crisp and watermarked. "And of course you can have a portrait of yourself." This was a little harder- The ink on the paper was wriggling like snakes until lines formed a nearly perfect sketch rendering of Skye's face. The ink-squiggles even copied her expression as Kazu watched her, but soon the paper was back to normal- With new ink squiggles filling out her homework. "But I think I'll just give you the answers." And he laughed a little, amused that he could so brazenly show someone else his power, even if they were ducked into an alley.

[Lux]

Too bad he isn't in Veritas, She thought. God knows what kind of magic and hell he could cause with me. Though Tanner might not like that. Skylar laughed mentally as she thought of her best friend back in school. Why he came up at a time like this, she had no clue. Skye was always one for some adventure and something to just over all spice up her life. Whether it be from swimming, skipping, or wandering the downtown area at dawn, it didn't matter much to her. What she looked for in life was fun things or people that she knew would give her a run for her money. Kazu seemed to fit that part rather well.

"Understandable. The only part of the Veritas handbook I took interest in was the sports. Veritas has a killer swim team, and Spiritus is always trying to out do us. It never works though," She wore a triumphant grin, proud that for the last four years she was able to keep the swim team on top. Spiritus always did everything in their power to keep their swimmers in perfect health a fit. Skye even heard that they upped the room searches to three times a month, but that was probably just some hearsay bullshit. "Well, good luck then. Personally, I'd like to see what you get away with. Spiritus is known for it's room searches." If Veritas was as bad as Spiritus, Skylar probably would have gotten expelled by now.

Oh my god. When that man worked his magic, it truly was a beautiful sight. He was turning the simple piece of paper into a rose. It was a brief transformation, but it was enough to make her eyes widen, and her mouth hang open just a bit. But he didn't stop there, creating money, and then an actual portrait of herself. It was made with such impeccable quality that she had a hard time believing that he was even doing it. But as she watched it turn back into her algebra homework, she blinked a few times to make sure what she had just seen was real. "You have magical fingers, Kazu. I'd like to see what else you could do with them." Of course she was talking about other things he could create, or rather transmutate. But she also understood the double entendre associated with that phrase. Skye gave him an innocent smile as she took back her math homework. "Thanks, I appreciate it."

[Freyalise]

"I imagine they won't find anything," he said absently. Imagining Skye in a swimsuit was almost too much, and he felt his nasal capillaries threaten to rupture and cause an embarrassing nosebleed. He shook it out of his thoughts... Kind of. He focused his energies instead to change the color of the dumpster, casually morphing through the rainbow.

Kazu kept his victory grin behind his teeth as he committed to memory her wonder and amazement at the simple manipulation of a piece of paper. If she thinks this is great, she should see what else I can do when I don't look like a tramp...

The "magic fingers" comment was it for him, and he cracked a smile, feeling his was a bit more sinister than her innocent, blue-eyed smile. he could swear he saw a sparkle in her eye, just for a second. Is she flirting? Or is she serious? "Anytime, Skye." He let her name lift off his lips and decided instantly his next move.

"So before you go your way, Is it possible I could see you again? Maybe Saturday night?"