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Lorna sighed as she stretched her arms over her head, a smile on her face as she tilted her head back and inhaled the relatively fresh air of the park. Better than being cooped up inside the Sanctum. She still had yet to talk to her father about anything she'd spoken to Crystal about. Which, as the days dragged by, was proving to be more and more stifling.
At least with Tommy nearby, she figured the speedster would arrive at any second with hot chocolates or something, she wasn't alone. Even if it wasn't the rule of three that her father had insisted in.
Brown hair was tucked back and under a wooly cap with knitted flowers, purple and pinks bright and cheery. It matched her scarf and mittens perfectly. Even if her winter jacket had a mismatching pattern, it was certainly in fashion and new.
A glance was offered toward the girl that walking opposite of her and she smiled politely.
*
Windy casually turns away from the marker of the oldest Oak Tree in the park, or whatever small and useless fact was now stored away under that straight black hair, and continued on her way. The distant noise of the city faded in the thick growth and old paths save for the occasional buzz of a cyclist easing past or a large group tittering away in passing.
So accustomed was the young woman to the bustle of New York's populace that she trusted her small passage through would be unmolested by the courier who was taking a short cut to make his delivery as quickly as possible. As he banked around the corner, she was unconsciously crossing the intersection of paths, putting her on a crash course with the bicycle. The brakes locked up, the tires began to skid, and the messenger had the audacity to shout an obscenity at Windy, who for the most part, blinked and looked confused by the oncoming collision save for a setting of her jawline and a muttered,
"Oh shi-"
*
The world was, if she so chose, alive with metal and the alloys of steel, iron and colbolt to her sight. Considering that she still had no idea who had sent the Absorbing Man after her, Lorna choose to keep her senses peeled, despite the comfort of the public park. So when the bike came whipping around the bend behind her, she simply stepped out of its path, as natural as if she'd heard it rather than sensed it.
What she hadn't considered was the fact that others around her didn't have such a skill.
As the brakes locked, as the tires skidded against salt and melting ice, her hands flew up out of instinct. A push of her magnetic powers stretching outwards followed, nudging the bike out of the otherwise sure impact with the pedestrian.
"Watch out!"
*
The bike went careening past, the cyclist dragged by the momentum forward even as the metal seemed to tilt impossibly sideways. Windy took a step to one side as casually as one may open a door, the chain snapping, and the entirety of the mess turning in on itself as the vehicle and its pilot were finally wrenched apart. The man was on the ground, doubled over around a massive split of flesh surrounded by road rash, blood beginning to well up to the surface of the cut even as he gasped and swore and turned all that vehement indignation on Windy who was still trying to collect at comprehensive sentence besides,
"Uh-"
To describe her current emotions on this near disastrous collision. His anger washed out over the two women as a breeze played against their clothes, struggling to his feet as he barked out,
"Orientals like you are only good for one thing, and that's-"
The breeze drowned out his words as it picked up a few knots, slamming into them with a howling insistence that demanded immediate submission. The ends of that deep purple scarf caught up in the breeze, tangling with her black hair as the woman looked askance, hitched up her bag a bit higher, and turned to be on her way while the 'victim' in the situation attempted to struggle to his feet despite injuries.
*
Lorna was already rushing over when the bike finally impacted the pavement and the chain snapped, unloading the biker with impunity. As he surged forward with venom on his lips she was trying to cut in. "Hey, are you—"
Then he was insulting the poor woman and Lorna's expression tightened into one of righteous anger.. that was utterly cut off by the sudden gut of wind.
The brunette stumbled, but managed to center herself well enough to not go tumbling over into the rather rude man as he was knocked off his feet. Lorna frowned, spinning around as the gust gentled and the girl started away. "Hey!"
A skid of boots against sand and salt of the icy pavement followed, "Are you okay?"
*
The farther away her steps carried them from the man on the ground, the weaker the breeze became, until it was nothing more than a teasing entity in the cold air and she could finally hear that somebody was following her. She turned and raised her hands, the coffee still in one of them and steaming idly in contrast to the recent bout of chaos its owner had passed through. It was obvious from her eyes that she expected it to be the man on the bike, and when it was a stranger instead; she tilted her head just a little while attempting to process the question.
"I - uh - Yes? Thank you for asking. I think he was far worse off than myself, but then again, these pathways aren't designed for bicycle use like that."
If she felt bad about the man's condition, it wasn't evident in her voice, a calm justification for his circumstances and how they put only himself at fault.
*
A shrug followed as Lorna shifted her coat and straightened her hat back into it's proper place as the strange wind died down back to the nothing the weather had been previously. She frowned faintly, glancing back over her shoulder down the path she'd come from and then back. "He sounded like a major jerk. Yelling at you like that. Seriously. Who does that? Totally not cool."
"But you almost got hit because him! Geeze." She arched a brow as she glanced around, shaking out her hands.
"What an utter moron."
*
Windy regards the direction they had come from with a haughty disregard and a light shrug, her small frame angling shoulders and raising chin in an elegant confidence.
"He was injured. And late. Perhaps he will lose his job. It's easier for people to blame others than take responsibility for their faults."
There was a light humor that took her lips, angling the corners up as she chuckled and let out a sigh,
"Regardless, I am happy that I am neither of those things right now. I have exams later this evening that I cannot afford to miss."
*
Lorna grinned, "Yeah, well he sounded like a loser anyways. Serves him right for being a jerk. Lousy customer service and all that." She folded her arms over middle, then thinking better of it and shoving them into her pockets.
Then considered the woman's words, "Exams? Dang. That sucks. Where do you go to school? I go over at the Frost Institute. I can't say I really get exams 'sides Midterms and Finals. Makes those a real head ache though. This past semester? I was in the library for like twenty hours. It was a major drag." She wrinkled her nose slightly as she spoke, at ease and confident as she chatted to the strange woman.
*
Windy gestures up the metaphorical streets towards the campus of New York University, an eyebrow raising at mention of the Frost University. It must be a small private college as she hadn't heard of it, though it didn't really matter. Getting an education as a woman in this country was hard enough. Taking a sip of coffee while the woman chattered away, she nodded slowly and then asked,
"Twenty hours total or?"
It was unspoken, but it was in the lilt of her voice she seemed to find this number surprising.
*
A small laugh escaped Lorna as she considered. "Well in total, I guess. I think? Okay, it's an exaggeration somewhat. But my bio-chem final was a major drag. I'm trying to go for a science degree, mostly wanting to get into geo-physics, but I have to take all the freshman level courses first. Which means all kinds of classes that I'd rather not have to take, but eh.. the whole 'well rounded' college experience is a thing." She wrinkled her nose at that.
"It's pain with my GPA when I have to take things like history.. not especially good at it. So gotta work extra hard at it." She shrugged, "More time in the library and all."
"I'm Lorna by the way." She offered with a grin.
*
Windy laughs despite herself as she reaches up to readjust her scarf, the gust playing with the edges of the fine fabric as if it were a living thing.
"Oh. I spend a lot of time studying. I know the feeling."
She did not clarify that twenty hours seemed like dreadfully insufficient time to prepare for any exam, but also knew the rigors of her academic lifestyle were not typical to women her age. The degree option Lorna was pursuing was cause enough for surprise, and if she stuck with it, Windy had respect enough for the field alone.
"Windy. Nice to meet you."
*
"Nice to meet you too. I'm glad you didn't actually get hit by that bike too." She laughed slightly, a sheepish sound as the wind continued to play around the area despite the weather otherwise having been particularly calm.
"Yeah? What's your major?" She tilted her head to the side as she walked along side the other young woman, an easy, carefree smile on her lips. Despite the chaos of the last few weeks, Lorna remained fairly positive.
"I'm much more interested in the practical and lab work portions of some of my classes. Though, I did pick up an interesting book on plate tectonics theory. It's just so cool when you get into the paleomagnetism aspects with the magnetic field reversals. Came out just last year by Doctors.. Heezen, Dietz.. ugh, I forget the rest. There's a bunch of them that worked on it." She flushed and rubbed the back of her head.
"Sorry, there I went just.. babbling about science.."
*
The sunlight filtered through the leaves above, Windy's pale features tipped back just a bit to catch what rays could break through across her flushed cheeks. In the natural light, the effects on her eyes, the rouging of her lips, the blatant femininity that seemed to be part of her poise could be taken in slowly, plus the expert attention to detail that worked with an inherent natural beauty. She listened demurely, she smiled at the appropriate times, she was polite but easy to talk to in the way all quiet but beautiful things are.
"I don't mind. I've heard far less interesting rants from some of the other students. I'm pursuing a degree in teaching, specifically secondary education in history, socio political realms, geography. I've traveled enough that I think I could make the lessons matter more than they usually do when presented as flat paper and old text."
*
By comparison to the sunlit beauty, Lorna looked downright earthy. Brown hair, green eyes and cheeks that flushed with every instance of high emotion on her pale cheeks. European by jaw and cheeks, she was pretty, but not particularly elegant in her snow boots and winter jacket.
"Ooh, man that's totally groovy. I've never been out of the states. Heck, I haven't been outside of New England. I mean, sure I went to Cape Cod for the summer as a kid and up to Maine a few times on holiday, but like.. That's about it. I can't say history is my strong suit. I mean, some parts sure.." She shrugged.
"But that's totally cool that you've been all over. I bet you'll make a great teacher. I know if I had a teacher that had actually been some where that they were talking about that I'd be way more interested. All my teachers were kinda boring though. Lectures. All of 'em."
*
Windy nods at her words, seeming to be the less talkative out of the two so far. To her anecdotal analysis of the education system, as well as its shortcomings, Windy turned dark eyes sidelong and appraised her with a casual weighing,
"All of them? I've never had that experience."
And it was true. In the teachers who had respected her as a student, she had never been bored. Those that dismissed her or left her to fend for herself due to her ethnicity or her femininity - well, she worked doubly hard to make them regret that oversight.
*
A shrug, "I came from Upstate. Small town and all. My parents, their grandparents.." She blinked as she said, once so easily and now? Well now was complicated. Still, only a beat passed before she continued. "Like I said, small town thing. Same teachers that had been there forever and knew and taught my parents.." She sighed, and made a face.
"So there wasn't much variation. I just had lousy history teachers when High School came around. Pretty cool science ones. Might be why I like science better. I dunno." She shrugged and glanced down the split in the path.
"Well, I gotta go track down my nephew. He was supposed to be getting hot chocolate." She jabbed a thumb in the opposite direction.
"It was nice to meet you Windy. Stay safe out there, yeah?"
*
Windy smiles and waves as she turns the other direction, hitching her bag a bit higher on one shoulder as she called over the other one,
"Of course. It was a pleasure, Lorna."
And as she diverted away from the other girl, the light breeze seemed to follow her, the midafternoon once more quieting into the idle stupor of a sun waiting to set.