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Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.
A beaming smile worked its way onto her face at the sound of her apparent approval. She was glad her sister and brother were so used to her appreciation of plants. Although "obsession" was a fair substitute. Most of the plants in the apartment had been at her own insistence. Made the place only feel even more like home.
The smile, however, twitched at the questions. Warmth began gathering in her cheeks, coloring them with a rosy pink. "Uh..." escaped her lips before she could stop it. Her expression turned sheepish. "I-I...Well I found it in the grocery store. I just wanted some snacks but then, ah...I saw this and just thought I should get it for you." Impulse buys weren't usually her thing. However, once a plant was involved she often couldn't help herself.
Passing off her gift, she focused past the colorful petals to her sister. "How are you though? Last time I visited Luca said you'd gone out for groceries or something for the club?" Anything to get away from the fact she'd just gone and bought even more plants.
Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.
Jez only laughed a little at the frown and response she got from her brother. She'd only been kidding, of course, but he'd taken it semi-seriously anyways. Although it was a good thing to hear he'd gotten around to unpacking. It still amazed her on some level that despite the fact her two siblings were twins, they were the polar opposite when it came to powers- quite literally. "You didn't hurt yourself though, yes?" She had to ask. While she'd never had to carry one herself she could imagine the air conditioner would be heavy. The last thing she'd want would be him throwing out his back.
"Ah." There was a slightly disappointed ring to her voice at hearing about Lori's absence. A subtle droop of the shoulders that soon disappeared. She still had Luca, so that was good enough for her. She'd just see Lori another time.
At the mention of a drink, Jez turned her attention back. "Orange juice please!" Drinks like Coke or Pepsi had never really been her thing. Something about the taste just threw her off for most of them. Juice, on the other hand, was an all-time favorite. Might've had something to do with her connection to plants. Whatever the case, she was happy to accept the offer.
Now, it was her turn to ask some questions. "So how's the club going so far?" Jez inquired, taking a seat once she'd found one and letting out a relieved sigh. Blue eyes went back to him, however. "Good? I really wanted to see it once everything was done."
Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.
That was her trainer? Jez got one look before blue eyes went wide. The kind smile on the woman's face, coupled with her friendly demeanor, helped shake her out of it though.
Smile back in place, she finished entering the room and took the proffered hand with a firm shake. "It's wonderful to meet you, Ms. Natalie!" She replied, thick accent carrying over. Intimidated as she'd initially been, the woman seemed kind so far. Plus she was going to be the girl's trainer, so she ought to get over that fast. "I'm so excited about get-"
The sentence cut off abruptly when she finally caught sight of the woman's canine companions. The next word transformed into a gasp as Jez dropped the other's hand. "Oh. Are...are those your dogs?" Trying to contain the excitement in her voice was like trying to halt a flooding river. Her eyes had immediately lit up. Already the urge to drop everything and pet one of them made her fingers twitch. However, that was rude. She was raised better. Or at least had enough self control to turn her attention back towards the one she was supposed to be focusing on to tentatively ask: "I-Is it alright if I could pet them? They're gorgeous!"
Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.
Finally: a trainer.
An officially set one, at least. Since coming back to America, she hadn't exactly been paired up with any specific one. Just a few switching in and out to help her while the pairing went on. She hadn't exactly been back for very long yet, so that was understandable. Still, it was wonderful news that she'd actually gotten someone who was going to stick.
There was only a hint of trepidation running through her as she headed for the training rooms. There always was the possibility that she might not get along with whomever she was paired with. Personalities clashing, first impressions going wrong, that sort of thing.
More than anything, however, she was excited. She was determined to try her best in both training and first impressions. Whether or not she'd succeed was...debatable. Only one way to find out.
Eventually she got to the room she'd been told about. Poking her head in, she glanced around for this supposed new trainer of hers. "Hello? I'm supposed to be meeting someone here." She announced.
Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.
It had been too perfect to pass up.
The vibrant reddish color bleeding out of the yellow base of the petals had looked all too similar to flames. Who would've thought such a pretty little thing would be in a grocery store of all places? The visit hadn't even been looking for pretty plants but rather a snack on the way to the apartment. But now that it had been spotted...
Jez carefully balanced the potted beauty in one hand. The other was busy trying to fish the keys out of her backpack. The moment they settled on the cold metal, blue eyes lit up and she took it out triumphantly. It only took a second or two more of haphazard handling before she managed to open the door and get inside.
"Lori!" Was the first word to escape her lips as she stepped inside. Excitement made it come out a little louder and faster than she'd initially intended. That wasn't stopping her though.
The door was absentmindedly shut with a hard nudge of her free elbow. Otherwise her gaze was occupied trying to find her sister. "Lori! I got you something!" Jez called out again, a pleased little smile on her face. While her siblings might not have been quite as attached to flora as she was, the color scheme of the flower had reminded her too much of her sister. While the fire it resembled didn't exactly sit well with her, she could at least appreciate how well the colors went together.
The moment Lorena would step into view, that smile would only grow in length, and the impromptu gift would be held out in full display. "Look! It reminded me of you!"
Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.
Fortunately the appearance of her brother stopped her thoughts from going further. A warm smile overtook her expression as she stepped forward and gave him a quick little hug. The bombardment of questions was typical, so she didn't sweat it. Jez appreciated any conversation she could have with her siblings now. "Didn't want to come in if you were home. I came here to see you after all. Class was fine though. No one broke anything or got burned in chemistry, so our teacher called that an improvement." She replied with a small laugh. They'd at least done better, supposedly, than the other classes. Questions then answered, Jez dropped her arms and actually went inside.
"How was your day though? You're sweating as though you'd just ran. Smell like it too." With a turn of the head Jez revealed the little teasing smile that took any bite out of her words. Though there was some truth in them: the hug had revealed her brother had indeed been up to something. "Did you finally start unpacking?" That was her best guess so far.
Once fully into the apartment, she shrugged off her backpack and placed it on the floor. Somewhere she wouldn't forget it- there was no need to repeat that mistake again. Though once inside, blue eyes wandered about searchingly. Happy as she was with just Luca, she couldn't help but wonder where her sister was too. "Is Lori here?" Jez asked, turning to look at Luca as she sought the nearest place to sit down.
Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.
America.
It was so exciting to be back again. Hopefully for a good deal longer than last time. The first visit had been abruptly ended without her say. The reason behind it had been understandable, and yet...still she'd felt gypped. But now they were back, and Jezebel was determined to enjoy that to the very fullest.
But right then, she wanted a little bit of home.
"Luca?" She called out as she knocked on the door. A text had been sent earlier in the day, asking to visit later once classes were over. Maybe odd, but it felt polite anyways. This was her brother and sister's apartment- while she doubted she wouldn't be allowed in at any time, it was still theirs. She'd chosen to live in the dorms once she'd returned to Bellefonte. It made it much easier to meet other students and possible friends that way.
"It's me!" A few more knocks followed just for good measure before she stopped and listened. There was an urge to just use the key she had to the apartment to let herself in. But she'd come there specifically to see Luca. If he didn't answer the door, that meant he might not be home. Something might have come up at the new club or maybe something else. As much as she liked the apartment, Jez wouldn't want to just be there alone. Even if that meant she could potentially raid the fridge and freezer. Or sit and go through every action movie she could think of. Likely while eating what snacks she found.
Suddenly the idea to just open the door herself was getting more and more appealing in her head...
AGE: 16 GENDER: Female ORIENTATION: Unsure POSITION: High School Student
♦ THE ABILITY ♦
POWER:Plant Manipulation and Empathy - The ability to manipulate a plant’s movement and growth, as well as sense its general state of being. For Jezebel specifically, her powers focus on control of the individual cells making up the plantlife. Though easier if contact is established, she can focus to cause plants' cells to multiple so that they grows at an alarming rate, or reduce the cells so that they wither.
Her empathy isn’t so much “empathy” in the traditional sense as it is detection of the plant cells' health. If a plant is healthy, then she does not detect anything wrong and it comes off as “happy.” If it’s afflicted with a disease or not getting enough water, she can sense these irregularities and deficiencies and it comes off as “ill” or “unhappy."
LIMITATIONS: Effective Range - Jezebel does not need to touch a plant in order to manipulate it, though that does make it easier for her to use her ability. The furthest her range has ever been able to extend has been 30 feet. However, the further away the organism is, the more focus it needs for her to actively manipulate it.
Living Organisms Only - Once a plant is completely dead, Jezebel’s powers have no effect on it. She cannot bring a plant to life or manipulate processed wood. If there is, however, still a portion of living cells left she can focus on those and multiply the healthy cells to create a new plant or restore the old one given time.
Plants Only - Jezebel’s powers, both manipulation and empathy, are limited only to plantlife.
Size Matters - Though her powers can affect vegetation of any size, it takes increasingly more energy and focus for Jezebel to control larger plants. A flower is much easier for her to manipulate than a tree would be.
Focus Required - Jezebel needs to focus on what she’s doing in order to successfully use her powers. If she gets distracted there is a chance the plant will grow erratically larger than intended, the cells will develop wrong and a tumor will form instead, or she could wither the plant away into nothing by destroying all the living cells.
Energy Limit - Most of the time Jezebel limits herself to influencing a few plants at a time. Anything more numerous than that takes more energy out of her to do. Additionally, larger plants require more energy. The most she’s ever done willfully has been on scale of a small garden, turning it into something of a tiny jungle. Afterwards she’d felt exhausted and collapsed on her feet to wake up to a migraine an hour later.
SIDE-EFFECTS: Passive Sensing - Jezebel’s ability to sense the plantlife around her cannot be turned off. It is always active, extending to a radius of 30 feet from her- though it’s harder to sense plants near the edge of her range. These come off as a fuzzy sensation in the back of her mind more than anything.
Unspoken Attachment - Whereas Jezebel had originally been bothered by the constant sensation of the well-being of the vegetation around her, she has since grown accustom to it. To the point now where being taken away from any available greenery for a period of time leaves her agitated and anxious. On occasion these episodes, should they be prolonged, can lead to full blown panic attacks.
Pyrophobia - Because Jezebel can feel the slow death of the cells when plantlife is burning, she has developed an aversion bordering on downright fear to fire.
Headaches - When overusing her ability, Jezebel will often experience headaches ranging from minor to migraine levels depending on how much she’s exerted herself. In extreme cases she will even pass out.
Emotional Outburst - In times of great emotion Jezebel’s power will often lash out to the surrounding vegetation regardless of her say. This can result in a untamed mini-forest forming around her, or a disastrous crater of dead flora.
♦ THE FREEFORM ♦
It’s complicated.
I love my family, don’t get me wrong, but it’s definitely…that. Complicated.
For starters I never got to meet my mother. When I was born there were some complications with my birth that ended up taking her away from us. It was a loss that really effected the family. So when I got old enough to ask, I couldn’t help it. According to Luca and Lori she was just the best. I always liked hearing stories about her whenever anyone else was willing to talk. If I had one wish I would love to meet her.
The rest of my family was good too. I mean, we all have our faults but, well, they were my family. Growing up I was definitely closest to Luca and Lorena. Darius and Cristian weren’t around as much by that point, and Mariana had taken mom’s death…hard. But Luca and Lori were great. They’re still my best friends honestly. Nausicca, our housekeeper, was probably second to them. With the three of them I stayed out of trouble. Mostly. It’s not like I intentionally did anything bad! But I was just a kid! I got…curious.
Which was probably how I could tell things in the house weren’t, ah, perfect. I don’t expect any family is, but spending time with Luca and Lori all the time let me see a few things. I still love our father but he was definitely regimented in his ways. And apparently even stricter since mom was gone: particularly on Luca. We had a “reputation” we were all expected to live up to. Growing up that never really bothered me too much. I was still pretty young, so most of the pressure was off of me. But my brother was the last boy in the house so father was very insistent on him doing things a certain way. I’ll admit: I felt bad for him. I tried my best to stay upbeat for him- for all of us since mom was gone.
I was only five though when Luca manifested. All of the sudden, he was gone, and Lori wasn’t long after. Saying I was upset is an understatement. Even then I hated being apart from my siblings. To put it simply I turned into a brat. I insisted on seeing them as much as possible. I wanted to go with them to school despite the fact I hadn’t manifested yet- or even knew if I was going to. I’m not sure how Nausicca dealt with me. It certainly didn’t get any better when Luca left for the States.
Lori stayed behind with me, and I'll always be thankful for that, but it wasn’t the same. I wanted to see them both- to have my whole family home. So I tried keeping in contact with our brother as much as I could, but there was only so much I could do. In the end I spent more time with Lori, Nausicca and father. Though honestly it wasn’t so bad when I think about it. Different, perhaps, but not horrible. I ended up becoming closer to our father. Is my father a perfect man? No, not particularly. But I could see that there were reasons behind what he was doing- what he did. Not the best reasons, but they weren’t coming from a cruel place. It made things a little easier, and my time with him a lot better.
When I finally manifested, I think it also explained why he let me join the Luca in America. I was eleven when it happened. We had a few plants around our house. One day I just…knew how they were doing. I ended up telling Nausicca that a few of them needed more water. It was odd, but I didn’t think it was too strange. What really cemented it was when I woke up and my room had turned into a jungle. The poor little flower on my windowsill had completely redecorated the interior of my room. It took a while before I could get out even with Nausicca’s help. It was only two days later that recruiters showed up. Then I was off to America to see my brother. Honestly it surprised me how understanding father was about it. I think he knew how I felt even though I stayed happy around him.
Once I got to America, it was so exciting! Everything felt so new and different there. Plus it was wonderful to see my brother again. I didn’t realize how much I missed him.
But then we ended up back home.
I found out, and even understood why Luca wanted that. But that didn’t mean I was happy about it. Just as fast I was at St. Cadou. Which was alright, but not... There was something I loved about Bellefonte that Cadou was simply lacking. I think it was just how different Bellefonte was. Cadou simply felt like another version of home. While I didn’t mind that nearly as much as my siblings might've, I found I liked the difference far too much. And when Luca and father had a…disagreement, they finally did listen.
So after a few years, we finally returned to America- all three of us -where I wanted to finish off my schooling. I’m glad to be back, even if I hadn’t spent too much time there to begin with. Hopefully Luca and Lori will enjoy it as much as I hope to.
♦ THE PLAYER ♦
USERNAME: Gorgon AGE GROUP: 22 EXPERIENCE: 5 years WHERE DID YOU FIND US? Proboards Directory in the most wonderful accidental click ever
