Post by Phantom on Mar 3, 2023 18:10:25 GMT -6
There was nothing Deven loved more than a gentle breeze through his hair, and the feeling of the world whizzing away under his feet. Well, expect completing a stunt he'd been working on for weeks. Or hitting it off immediately with a stranger, or-
Okay, Deven loved a lot of things. He couldn't believe how great the weather was here. Even though it had only been a few days, he hoped that it would stay the way it was- an eternal spring. What he hadn't liked was the boat ride to get here. Deven had never been on a boat before, and he'd never seen the ocean in real life either- what if they ran into an iceberg? He stayed in his cabin the entire ride over, and didn't bother socializing until after everyone was gathered together and dragging their belongings into their rooms.
That was one of the moments when he felt really different. Some of the other students had bags, and bags, and suitcases full of things. So many they had to make multiple trips! Deven arrived with only his trusty half-full duffel bag. He'd learned to pack light after so many moves. His favorite stuff- clothes he liked (and trusted!) the most, his blades, and his board. Some tools too. The bag had been thoroughly "magiced" over the years to hold much more than it looked like it could, but still, in a bind he could have fit it all in a backpack if he used some old-school folding tricks and carried his bulkier gear.
The other time he felt totally different from his classmates was during the first couple of classes they'd had. Many of the other students had visible, and to Deven, incredible powers. He could just... Do his work. And he did! In fact, he was testing it out right now.
That's why he was blading around the courtyard, and up and down the various pathways. Enjoying the- in his opinion- wonderful weather. Feeling the perfectly paved path under his feet, with a huge smile on his face. He greeted almost everyone he passed- most of them by name- even the people he hadn't technically "met" yet. It was a small campus! Pretty easy to find out who was who- and if he didn't know, he just waved.
Sure, maybe he looked like a fool. Perhaps he was a little too friendly. But they were all here for the same reason, weren't they? They were a community! If he didn't know someone's name, he made a mental note to ask.
He hadn't been out for more than ten minutes and he'd already whizzed by Noah, who wasn't the friendliest person alive, but he respected his dedication to doing laps- and Pruu, who was out in the garden talking to herself, it seemed (he would later learn that she was talking to bugs- which was cool). The clown who could be his cousin, and that he wanted lessons from (he'd come around eventually). His buddy, Guy, who he high-speed high-fived- and the person he was talking to, Sam. He even gave Haneul five! (He greeted Rivalen, but he didn't wave back- he'd get him some other time!) He even passed by that "crabby" nurse that he'd already heard some of his classmates complain about, but she looked nice enough- she was probably just busy!
Oh- right- back to his skates: in class everyone else was working on improving their power, but Deven couldn't in the same way. He had to work on something though, so why not these? He wanted to make them faster, rollier! And after many hours, he was finally taking them out for a testdrive skate? Spin?
He probably should have figured out something was wrong earlier. He hadn't had to push much, and he'd been gliding around for quite a few minutes now, unaided.
Without realizing it, Deven had been gaining speed. Gradually up until now. He was turning on the path toward the dorms, ready to take his blades off, and do something more exciting than skate around greeting everyone like Buddy the Elf. Except he couldn't stop.
He was trying to stop, but my god- these skates were reinforced to do one thing and one thing only: skate- and they were gonna do it!
He hung an (in his opinion) incredibly sick uie so he wouldn't become best friends with the brick- and was now rocketing back towards the garden. Deven thought about the people he knew here, but he had no idea if any of them were really capable of stopping him. Maybe Dianna was, but she was probably inside. Mr. Choi was cool, he might help- but he could be literally anywhere. Instead, Deven got low. He'd be a lot more stable crouching than he would be standing. If things got too out of control, he could always crash-land into a shrub or something.
This wasn't any worse than skating in the really sick indoor skate park that he frequented. He could handle this! Approaching the fountain at a speed that could only be properly described as ill-advised, he had to think on his feet. And use his feet. And try not to wipe out- !
He was literally looping around the edge of the fountain, at an angle, on his skates. Holy crap, this was sick! But he was still gaining speed- and he had to stop. Jumping up and off of it, he started back down the paths again. Despite his awesome feat, he was starting to look kind of worried.
He'd circled around a few times now, but he didn't want to just call out for help, because that implied something was really wrong, and he hadn't screwed up! Deven succeeded, he just needed to stop.
By this point he was bobbing, weaving, ducking, and dodging people. Essentially performing a pavement ballet. Could he even say anything other than a word or two in passing? If he kept repeating himself, maybe someone would get the message. Or maybe they'd realize after a few loops that he was not enjoying himself as much as he had been earlier.
"I can't stop!" Well, if he wasn't yelling it, it wouldn't cause a huge scene, would it? That wasn't what he wanted to be known for- he wanted to be known for the sick tricks that he'd been inadvertently doing for the past five minutes.
It wouldn't occur to him until much later that Haneul had grimaced when they high-fived, and that maybe that was the cause of his current predicament.
Okay, Deven loved a lot of things. He couldn't believe how great the weather was here. Even though it had only been a few days, he hoped that it would stay the way it was- an eternal spring. What he hadn't liked was the boat ride to get here. Deven had never been on a boat before, and he'd never seen the ocean in real life either- what if they ran into an iceberg? He stayed in his cabin the entire ride over, and didn't bother socializing until after everyone was gathered together and dragging their belongings into their rooms.
That was one of the moments when he felt really different. Some of the other students had bags, and bags, and suitcases full of things. So many they had to make multiple trips! Deven arrived with only his trusty half-full duffel bag. He'd learned to pack light after so many moves. His favorite stuff- clothes he liked (and trusted!) the most, his blades, and his board. Some tools too. The bag had been thoroughly "magiced" over the years to hold much more than it looked like it could, but still, in a bind he could have fit it all in a backpack if he used some old-school folding tricks and carried his bulkier gear.
The other time he felt totally different from his classmates was during the first couple of classes they'd had. Many of the other students had visible, and to Deven, incredible powers. He could just... Do his work. And he did! In fact, he was testing it out right now.
That's why he was blading around the courtyard, and up and down the various pathways. Enjoying the- in his opinion- wonderful weather. Feeling the perfectly paved path under his feet, with a huge smile on his face. He greeted almost everyone he passed- most of them by name- even the people he hadn't technically "met" yet. It was a small campus! Pretty easy to find out who was who- and if he didn't know, he just waved.
Sure, maybe he looked like a fool. Perhaps he was a little too friendly. But they were all here for the same reason, weren't they? They were a community! If he didn't know someone's name, he made a mental note to ask.
He hadn't been out for more than ten minutes and he'd already whizzed by Noah, who wasn't the friendliest person alive, but he respected his dedication to doing laps- and Pruu, who was out in the garden talking to herself, it seemed (he would later learn that she was talking to bugs- which was cool). The clown who could be his cousin, and that he wanted lessons from (he'd come around eventually). His buddy, Guy, who he high-speed high-fived- and the person he was talking to, Sam. He even gave Haneul five! (He greeted Rivalen, but he didn't wave back- he'd get him some other time!) He even passed by that "crabby" nurse that he'd already heard some of his classmates complain about, but she looked nice enough- she was probably just busy!
Oh- right- back to his skates: in class everyone else was working on improving their power, but Deven couldn't in the same way. He had to work on something though, so why not these? He wanted to make them faster, rollier! And after many hours, he was finally taking them out for a test
He probably should have figured out something was wrong earlier. He hadn't had to push much, and he'd been gliding around for quite a few minutes now, unaided.
Without realizing it, Deven had been gaining speed. Gradually up until now. He was turning on the path toward the dorms, ready to take his blades off, and do something more exciting than skate around greeting everyone like Buddy the Elf. Except he couldn't stop.
He was trying to stop, but my god- these skates were reinforced to do one thing and one thing only: skate- and they were gonna do it!
He hung an (in his opinion) incredibly sick uie so he wouldn't become best friends with the brick- and was now rocketing back towards the garden. Deven thought about the people he knew here, but he had no idea if any of them were really capable of stopping him. Maybe Dianna was, but she was probably inside. Mr. Choi was cool, he might help- but he could be literally anywhere. Instead, Deven got low. He'd be a lot more stable crouching than he would be standing. If things got too out of control, he could always crash-land into a shrub or something.
This wasn't any worse than skating in the really sick indoor skate park that he frequented. He could handle this! Approaching the fountain at a speed that could only be properly described as ill-advised, he had to think on his feet. And use his feet. And try not to wipe out- !
He was literally looping around the edge of the fountain, at an angle, on his skates. Holy crap, this was sick! But he was still gaining speed- and he had to stop. Jumping up and off of it, he started back down the paths again. Despite his awesome feat, he was starting to look kind of worried.
He'd circled around a few times now, but he didn't want to just call out for help, because that implied something was really wrong, and he hadn't screwed up! Deven succeeded, he just needed to stop.
By this point he was bobbing, weaving, ducking, and dodging people. Essentially performing a pavement ballet. Could he even say anything other than a word or two in passing? If he kept repeating himself, maybe someone would get the message. Or maybe they'd realize after a few loops that he was not enjoying himself as much as he had been earlier.
"I can't stop!" Well, if he wasn't yelling it, it wouldn't cause a huge scene, would it? That wasn't what he wanted to be known for- he wanted to be known for the sick tricks that he'd been inadvertently doing for the past five minutes.
It wouldn't occur to him until much later that Haneul had grimaced when they high-fived, and that maybe that was the cause of his current predicament.