Issue 1 Downtime

Theresa wrenched her gloves of her training uniform off as she entered the training area locker room. She wrenched open her locker door and threw the gloves into the locker with as much force as she could manage. She leaned against the locker and started trying to take deep breaths. Her hair looked as it she had attempted to have it in a pony tail, but now a decent bit was arrayed in frazzled strands around her head and what was still in the pony tail had turned into a wind-blow poof.

((Open))

"New look for you?" Brigid grinned, changing into her training uniform.

She reached up and pulled out the band holding her ponytail in place, letting the rest of her hair frizz out as well. "Who knew controlling the elements could be so damn hard?" There was a hint of frustration in her voice, but she didn't appear out-and-out angry as her entry had suggested.

"Hey, I was just trying to lighten the mood. Are you alright?"

A couple of more deep breaths. "I think so. Just... frustrated with myself. Failing repeatedly for an hour will do that to you I guess."

"You were trying to fly?"

"Nothing so lofty," she said, looking sheepish. "I was trying to keep wind from blowing on me."

"Maybe you need to think about what you were trying to make it do to accomplish that."

She sat down on the bench in the center of the aisle and pondered, "I was trying to make it flow around me. It seemed like every time I tried to get a hold of it though it slipped away."

"How close to you were you trying to split it out?"

"Three or four feet in front of me maybe? Basically trying to keep clear air in that space."

"So maybe it's like a leverage thing? Would it be better to divert it further out?"

"Maybe? I don't know. It's like trying to pick up sand."

"Or like water. It's easier to start further upstream, yeah?"

"That's something I haven't considered. Does wind have a source?"

"It has a direction at least, right?"

"It does. This is some serious one-hand clapping kind of contemplation."

"It can't all be looking sweet while guitar solos play," she chuckled.

"One can hope. What're you up to?"

"Was gonna get some time in, but I can be convinced otherwise."

"Just farting around or doing something specific?"

"They've upped the ante on the objects I'm supposed to try to control my impulses on. I'm allowed to have pointy things now."

"Oooo. Can I watch?"

"You realize the only way it looks interesting is if I slip up, right?"

"Maybe I'll learn something about properly applied force?"

"You just want to see me get scissors stuck in the wall," she smirked, heading into the Danger Room.

Theresa grabbed her gloves and followed, "If it happens, it happens."

"Yeah, well, at least I'm getting better."

She loaded up the program, and a small pedestal with a number of items on it materialized in front of her. Scissors, a letter opener, a serving fork and a ball-peen hammer.

"They started me juggling things after I got comfortable holding them. I guess the idea is to keep me focused. Throwing things is just following my natural urge for the shortest route, but juggling you have to keep it going."

"Makes sense," Theresa nodded, finding a place to sit against the wall.

"They're keeping the weight varied, so I still have to feel out the items a bit. Have to keep them turning well enough that I'm catching the right edge of them, and keep them going up in the air. It's weird, because I kind of have to push for a different sense on them."

She started first with the letter opener with one hand, then after getting that going she added the serving fork into the mix.

Theresa leaned back and watched, not wanting to break her concentration while she was juggling sharp objects, even if the safeties were on.

"Don't blink," she smirked, adding the scissors in, followed finally by the hammer.

"You're good at this."

"Well, sorta," she said as she continued juggling, focusing on the rhythm as she bit her lower lip.

"One might even say 'naturally gifted'," Theresa said with a smirk.

"You weren't here all the times I screwed it up."

"True, but I think you have a leg up on me when it comes to juggling."

"Well here's the thing. I still have to concentrate because a hammer... kind of wants to be a hammer. Is that weird?"

"Nope. Makes perfect sense. When I create a cloud, it still sort of wants to do what it was originally intending to do, so unless I force it to do something else, it'll just go back to whatever it was before I created it."

"Yeah, but if I put a hammer down it's not going to hit anything on its own. It just feels like it wants to when I pick it up."