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Maggie chewed her lip, which has been paled by the bitter wind. She was clearly very upset and overwhelmed by the situation. She shuffled her feet, kept her teary eyes darting around, chest heaving with every gulp of air that she took between sobs. She pulled up her sleeve and pointed to the little black watch on her wrist.
"Leon said he would be here when the big hand would be on the 2 and the little hand was on the 12." She paused slightly. "But now the big hand is on the 5 and he isn't here" She sent herself into a fresh bout of tears. Colby offered to help, but she couldn't see how. "I'm supposed to be home now and I should have had a shower by now and everything is messed up." Maggie didn't cope very well when her routine was disrupted.
She began to step back and forth, an almost transparent and fuzzy projection of sherlock behind her, though his presence of him didn't calm her. How could she be calm when everything was turning up side down!!
The woman was getting scared now. Leon was usually here by now, and all sorts of anxious thoughts were going through her head. If he wasn't here, how would she get home? She didn't drive, and she couldn't take the bus because she would get distracted, and she wasn't very good at counting money out. And she couldn't walk because she didn't know the way.
And if he wasn't there, who would help her make dinner, and help her do her chores and stop her form getting upset if something went wrong. She wrung her mittened hands together, her breath sending puffs of steam up into the air before her.
But someone greeted her. For a fleeting moment she assumed it was Leon. But Leon didn't greet he r like that. Her brief expression of relief faded in a snap, and the girl looked back to her feet.
It was Colby. Even his nickname for her didn't enthuse her. She just wanted to go home and eat some soup and have Leon back. Colbys well meaning words only upset the woman further, and tears began to leak from her frightened eyes. "I... Don't... Know... Where Leon... Is" She stuttered out between heaving breaths, tugging at the pieces of yard which dangled from her scarf
Maggie had been waiting for Leon for a while now. She wasnt very good at telling the time, but the shadows of the trees had moved a good distance. She sat on a bench, wrapped up in her thick coat, scarf, bobble hat and mittens: all a soft shade of blue. It was cold, but the sun was still in the sky and its rays reflected on her pale, freckled face. Her red hair sprawled out from beneath the woollen hat in coils of knotty curls.
The woman wrung her hands nervously, tapping her foot. Where was he? Surely he hadnt forgotten her!
Maggie wished Leon would appear now and rescue her. But she was alone now and she knew as an adult she had to do this alone. She slid down to sit upon her table, spine arched against the wall as she pulled her knees up to her chin. The wild tangle of hair atop her head shook a little with her body and the young woman sought to look anywhere but at woman and the dog.
In her peripheral vision she saw what Natalie was doing, and it sent a nervous whine from her lips. Why on earth would someone willingly put their arm in a dogs mouth? Maggie went to cover her face with her paint stained hands, Dr Doolittle dissappearing now that she was to nervous to focus on keeping him around.
But there was a long silence, and nothing bad happened. Maggie pulled her hands ever so slightly away from her face, and very softly pointed to the German shepard. "Police dog.." She mumbled
Things had gotten a little to much for her within the school, so Maggie had taken refuge within the coolness of the forest, armed with a good book, and Sherlock beside her. Armed with nothing but a thin cardigan, she was shivering, but it was easy to ignore, secure within the warm worlds which sprung from her book. The mythic lands gave her safe refuge from her fears and the slight tantrum she had only an hour beforehand when a teacher tried to touch her. Though she didnt react to being touched most of the time, this was someone she didnt know, nor was it someone she trusted.
Maggie had grown somewhat expectant of interaction she didn't want nor consent it. It was one of the many things she had learnt to deal with in one or another. The girl hadn't seen, or heard him coming, oblivious to the world and buried deep within her work.
The touch at first frightened her, and her whole body jolted. Quite suddenly, a slightly distorted Sherlock popped up beside her, stern faced and calculating as his eyes focused on the boy. Maggie turned, eyes wide and locking into the space just beyond Rowan.
It took a moment for her to realise that she still have the head phones on. She pulled them off, her hair bouncing slightly as she bobbed her head in slight nervousness. "What?" She muttered, almost bluntly though she didn't mean it like that, she had just been taken by surprise
Maggie had found a secluded corner within the cafeteria. Nestled between walls, a great spread of colour dusted paper laid out before her. Each page was decorated with saturated drawings and illustrations; small sketches Maggie had done very quickly. She liked doing speed sketches; it was always a thrill to see how many pieces of scruffy art she could pump out in an hour.
She wore a pair of noise-cancelling ear phones, just incase a flock of screaming girls would happen into the canteen. It was a good way to avoid shocks and surprises. Her unbrushed hair coiled around the earphones, strands falling into her colour stained face. Hues of the rainbow adorned her pale skin, come from the pastels which the girl had been using.
The dogs sank to the ground, and Maggie, still nervous, began to knock her pale knuckles together. Despite the woman's reassuring, Maggie remained tense and Dr Doolittle still sat before her.
"Dogs are bad... Dogs bite... Dogs are bad" Maggies fear for the canine species cane from a wrong timed run in to her parents late at night while they were watching Cujo. And they f course, being as young as she was, how else was she supposed to see dogs then as killers?
Maggie had hoped that she had managed to escape the dogs.
The door creaked open, and Maggie stood upon the table, pressing her back into the corner. Her disheveled hair swayed as she bobbed her head nervously, a little, anxious groan escaping her lips as the dogs came into view. Sherlock began to dissolve and in his place stood Dr Doolittle (Rex Harris's verison of course). After all, who else should Maggie call upon but the king of animals? Maybe he would make the dogs go away.
The woman spoke, and only then did Maggie realise she was even there. Maggie gulped, and didnt take her eyes off the dog. "D-dog" She said in a loud, panicked voice.
Maggie, all things considered, had managed her first week at her new school very well. It was stressful, and there had been one or two little bumps in the road, but she had managed to stay relatively calm.
She stepped along the shiny floor of the halls, careful to avoid the seams between the tiles. She kept her eyes to the floor, avoiding and dodging those in the halls. She was quite content on her way to her art class when a woman came around the corner. Not that Maggie really registered the woman. It was the dogs that she saw.
A hulking, monstrous, police dog (at least that's what Maggie understood German Shepherds to be) and a smaller dog. There was a rise in panic in her chest as she dodged into a classroom that was luckily empty. She clambered on top of a table in the corner.
Sherlock appeared beside her, sitting in silence with his ever calming presence. Maggie bobbed her head slightly, trying to remember all the times Leon had told her to breath and relax
Maggie has the ability to create, shape and manipulate illusionary projections which cause those around her to see and hear things which are not there. This is through the manipulation of light and sound waves which are formed to create shapes, colours and audio. The projections have a slight translucency to them, and often a soft glow. The sound also has some slight crackle to it, and can sound like an old tv.
LIMITATIONS: -Though Maggie can make the projections appear at will, they can also appear during episodes of strong emotion. -The longest Maggie can hold a full blown projection is an hour straight, but more 'relaxed' projections which are less intense can last longer. -The longer projections are held, they tend to fizzle out and gain a 'static' and glitchy look before they disappear. -The sound portion of the projections are harder to maintain, and often fade away before the visual aspect -More intricate projections require more intense focus, but smaller, simpler projections can be done almost subconsiously. -Quality of projections is based upon memory; the more frequent a projection is, the better the quality and the less required focus. -Projections are limited to her imagination
SIDE-EFFECTS: -Distorted sense of reality -Hallucinations -Believing that projections are real -Headaches -Confusion -Nose bleeds -Dizziness
♦ THE FREEFORM ♦
Notes from Leon Ramos on Maggie Holmes
I’ve known Maggie for fairly long time; since she was 10, I think. For the most part she’s quiet and shy, but I guess she liked me. At least, I hope so! Because when you’re liked by Maggie, you should consider it an honour.
I officially became Maggie's carer when she was 14. Before then I merely watched out for her and helped when I could in school. Maggie has high functioning autism. She is very clever, theres no denying that. She has a fantastic memory when it come to books; especially Sherlock Holmes. The girl can quote you the entirety of the book. Its amazing to watch. She is also capable of creating stunning peices of art; even if they are a little abstract. She does struggle a lot woth maths, its just not her thing. Money doesnt seem to be something she can grasp the concept of either.
Maggie does get overwhelmed with with certain things. Loud noises like music or thunder, bright lights like lightening or camera flashes, and change. Change is a big thing that seems to affect Maggie the most. When she gets overwhelmed, usually she becomes very disorientated and upset.
Socially, shes awkward. The concept of body language and facial expressions seem foreign to her, but as time has gone by, she does understand the basics like smiles and frowns. Jokes and sarcasm dont compute with her, and if you speak to her, you have to be serious about it.
And you need to understand that her avoiding eye contact and not letting you touch her isnt personal. It just makes her uncomfortable. It makes her anxiety worse.
But, like i said, she's a clever girl. One I knew was going to be extraordinary. Which I suppose was proven to me not long after.
I was there when she manifested. It was when she was around 15 years old, I believe. Maggie had gone back to my house, as she usually did when her parents were too busy with work to be home and pick her up until later. Later in the evening, a terrible thunderstorm rolled in. Maggie isn’t very good with loud noises or bright lights, so she wasn’t having a great night. She was starting to panic, so I went to get a book to try and read to her. But when I got back, I swear there was a stranger I’d never seen before standing beside Maggie clad in a deer stalker and trench coat. Obviously I feared the worse, and went to get this man out of my house...
But then I realized he looked oddly familiar. It took me a second because I thought I’d surely been mistaken. But no! The man standing before me was Sherlock Holmes, down to the very last detail. Not only that, but Maggie didn’t seem at all disturbed by this “ host.” In fact she seemed calmer than ever. But within a few seconds, Old Sherlock had fizzled out and disappeared. At the time I just put it down as too much coffee and the storm getting to my head.
But then a day or so later, Mr. and Mrs. Holmes open the door to some recruiters! Turns out our Maggie is a mutant! So they ended up sending her to a special school called St. Bethany.
The transition into a new school and a new way of life wasn’t easy for Maggie. I can’t imagine it’s easy for anyone honestly, but Maggie suffered. Eventually Sherlock ended up making regular appearances. He usually does when she gets overwhelmed; he tells her to be logical and to be calm. I know it’s just Maggie's own mind saying those things, but I guess having her hero with her helps her.
I’ve also seen her drag other creatures from her imagination to cope. One time we got caught in a crowd within the halls of St. Bethany’s, and quite suddenly a blurry dragon appeared. Of course the students parted and we managed to get out.
Since then Maggie has gained control of her powers, and for the most part Sherlock is the only one who makes a regular appearance. We moved over to America a few months back; it was actually Maggie's idea. She wanted to take art at Bellefonte Academy, and after a lot of thought, we figured it would be a good idea to let Maggie spread her wings. Though her parents were still understandably worried. So in the end I came with her and applied for a position to teach at the same Academy. I owed Maggie and her family that much and more.
