Fire and Water

Who: Alexis and Wednesday
When: Lunch
Where: Cafeteria

The lunchroom was crowded today. And loud. Students chattering excitedly about the snow... most of it annoyed chattered, since it looks like they were all stuck together for a night. Which was going to feel like an eternity. Wednesday just hoped she could find an empty room, or something, and not have to sleep around a bunch of strangers. She seemed to be doing okay on her own anyway, since she was sitting alone at a lunch time and idly picking at her food. Her lighter was in one hand, her thumb flicking the flame bright every couple of seconds. After awhile, she got bored with her salad and starting playing with the flame, close to her lap so that people who were merely sitting around couldn't see. She ran the flame up and down her wrist, over her hand and got it to grow a bit after manipulating it. She wondered if she went somewhere and held it high, if the fire alarm would go off and the sprinklers would go off in the school. Because that? Would be hilarious... and fun.

Alexis was trying to figure out where she wanted to eat lunch, since sitting with Kyle would only make her uncomfortable. She knew she was avoiding the issue, possibly in hopes that it would just go away, but it seemed like he was doing the same. Rather than heading to his table, she looked around, hoping to spot Breezy or Lily, and instead catching sight of what she was sure was fire. Taking a few steps closer, Alexis slid into the seat beside the girl, watching the flame move over her skin. "Doesn't that hurt?" she asked softly, eyes wide. She was surprised, and maybe just a touch excited. She'd never seen anyone play with fire in such a way and silently wondered if it was anything like how she could move water.

Wednesday jerked her gaze up the minute Alexis sat down. The fire disappeared from her lighter as her attention was torn away from it to focus on the blond girl. She had seen her. Which, she supposed was okay, only Wednesday couldn't exactly pretend it hurt now. Especially when none of her skin burned. "No," Wednesday answered finally before smiling. "I have really... resilient skin. Or maybe just a high tolerance for pain." She lifted her hand and flicked the lighter again, running the small flame under her palm. "Nice trick, huh?"

While Alexis wasn't entirely sure she knew what she'd seen, fire was fire, and she was pretty sure that fire burned skin. Except this girl wasn't burning at all. It might just be because the flame was small, but she didn't think that was the way it worked. "Nice," she grinned. "If you have a high pain tolerance, how do you know when to stop? At some point, it's got to burn, even if you can't feel it, right?" She wasn't sure she bought into resilient skin, though that did sound interesting. Everyone had the same sort of skin, unless she was a demon or something, but Alexis wasn't ready to jump to such a conclusion.

"Yes, eventually." Wednesday shrugged and then smiled. It never burned, but that didn't mean she had to admit that. "Or maybe if you just move the flame fast enough, it never stays in one place long enough to really burn that badly. My dad was a fire breather in the circus, so he taught me a lot about manipulating fire and tolerating it." Wednesday set her lighter down on the table next to her sandwich before she decided she felt too vulnerable without it and picked it back up quickly to clutch in her hand. "I'm Wednesday, by the way... I don't know you."

"I'm Alexis," she smiled. "And your dad was a fire breather? What's he do now? Since... well, there's no circus in Marquette at the moment." That was possibly the most bizarre thing she'd ever heard, but Alexis had no reason to question Wednesday. She saw no reason to be lied to either, unless Wednesday really was a fire elemental and was trying to hide it. "Can you manipulate fire?" she asked, head tilting slightly to the side. She didn't know the best way to ask without coming out and asking.

"He's an accountant. Big career change, right?" Wednesday rolled her eyes and then grinned. "My mom domesticated the crap out of him." She had no idea if Alexis knew about elementals, or anything weird. Other than the ghosts of course. Some students seemed to be in the know, and some... just seemed oblivious or in denial. But she figured she would find out soon enough what category Alexis belonged in. "Sure... I mean, it's nothing really fancy... but it's pretty neat magic." Wednesday popped a grape into her mouth before glancing down at her lighter. "Do you want to see?" She knew she shouldn't, but since when did Wednesday ever think about the consequences before she did something?

Okay, Alexis wasn't really sure that a fire breather could just become an accountant, but she wasn't going to argue when there was no real reason to. Maybe he'd gone and gotten his degree in accounting, for all she knew. Men would do a lot for the women they loved. "If you don't mind showing me, I'd love to see," Alexis said, setting her lunch on the table. Opening her water bottle, she took a sip, waiting to see if it was magic or the work of an elemental. Working in Nevermore, Alexis had learned to tell the difference. Being an elemental herself also helped, of course.

Wednesday glanced at the water bottle, before her eyes ticked back to Alexis's face. The girl was sitting there with her, even though she looked like she belonged at a table with cheerleaders and jocks, and she wasn't coming across as a massive bitch so... what the hell. Wednesday kept her lighter low between them and flicked it on again. She didn't do much but look at it, pulling the energy and concentrating. The flame grew a bit higher... and higher still until it began to burn the edge of their lunch table. "Not too bad, right? I would try to blow you some fire the way my dad used to, but I think that would draw some unwanted attention this way."

Alexis' eyes grew wider as the flame grew, eventually leaning away from it. As awesome as it was, she didn't possess the kind of confidence that Wednesday did when handling fire and she would burn. "People aren't quite used the the unusual yet. Blowing fire might make people uncomfortable," Alexis smiled. "That's awesome, though. I can do something kind of similar, just not with fire." It was unusual for her to admit it, but she was pretty sure Wednesday was a fire elemental and she'd never actually met anyone like her. Maybe Wednesday didn't know the name for it, or maybe she thought it was just magic, but Alexis didn't really think it mattered. She was more interested in the concept and the proper way to expand on her abilities.

"Yeah, it probably would. Which is too bad," Wednesday sighed, looking around the cafeteria. "It would have been fun." Freaking people out! And setting off sprinklers and the chaos. Not that she disliked people enough to do that, but it just sounded funny in her head, even if it probably wasn't. Her mom wouldn't want her daughter to get suspended. Because that meant that the two of them would have to spend time in the same house longer than what was probably comfortable. "You can do something like that too? Like what?" She was curious now, because if Alexis could mess with another element... then Wednesday was sitting there talking to another elemental, which would be really cool.

"That would have rocked," Alexis said, thinking about how maybe the fire sprinklers might have been set off. Then she could really try to play. Although, being wet later wouldn't have been any fun, not with a blizzard outside. "It's not as cool," Alexis admitted. "But I can do this." Turning her water bottle on it's side, she squirted just a little into her cupped hand. At first, it did nothing, but then it came together and began to freeze, forming a little ice cube. She'd been working on freezing water all weekend, and this was what she'd been able to achieve. It was small scale, of course, but she had to start somewhere.

Wednesday watched closely, trying not to hold it against Alexis when it dawned on her that the girl was a water elemental. Water. Wednesday's least favorite thing. Still, she grinned at the little ice cube in the girl's hand before looking back up at her. "You're an elemental too, then?" It was her way of admitting to fibbing about everything prior, even if she didn't come out and say so. "And water, of all things."

Her response told Alexis that Wednesday knew exactly what she was, that it wasn't just a trick where she didn't feel pain. It made her excited and nervous all at once, to really meet someone that could actually relate to her. Sure, Wednesday was fire, but that didn't bother her, so long as Wednesday would keep her secret. "I don't normally tell people, but when I saw you with the fire," Alexis smiled, then shrugged. "I've never met another."

"Really? Your mom or dad isn't one?" Wednesday knew that it wasn't something hereditary, but she was so used to being around her mother, who was an elemental, that for a second it didn't spark in her mind that Alexis could be the only 'special' one in her family. "I don't normally tell anyone either... well, I told one boy here but he sort of figured it out too." Wednesday grinned sheepishly. "I'm guessing people in Marquette are a bit more knowledgeable to what they're looking for..."

"My mom died when I was little and my dad doesn't even know I am one," Alexis said. Maybe someday she'd work up the nerve to tell her dad, but she'd only just learned that he wasn't hunting good people with supernatural powers. It seemed like too big a jump to include herself in that group. "I didn't think it was hereditary. Is one of your parents one?" she asked. "Or is your father really a fire breather?" She could believe that, she supposed, if he was also a fire elemental. "Yeah, the people in Marquette have been dealing with a bit of weird for a while now. It wouldn't surprise me if people have gone out of their way to do a bit of research about what's out there."

"Sorry about your mom," Wednesday said. As much as her mom drove her crazy most of the time, Wednesday couldn't imagine her dying. "My mom is an air elemental... and no, my dad's not a fire breather, but I guess you have to come up with something when someone catches you playing with fire. I'm so used to being in Helena, where most people would just scoff if they heard the word supernatural. I think maybe their views are changed now, with the ghosts and everything." Wednesday glanced at Alexis's hand again. "How long have you been working on your element? Have you always known what you could do?"

Alexis wasn't entirely sure what to do with the piece of ice, now that she had it, and eventually popped it in her mouth to suck on. It was just an ice cube, after all. "I don't think they'd scoff, but it still might freak them out," Alexis said. "Depends on how open minded they are. I didn't always know what I could do, but I grew up in Florida and spent a lot of time on the beach. Once I knew what an elemental was, I started to figure it out, but even then I didn't know how to improve upon it. That's been a bit more recent. Within the last couple of years? It's not like I've been on a rigorous plan," she smiled. "What about you?"

"Pretty much the same... only I grew up in Montana, not Florida. My mom was able to figure it out before I was, so that was a big help... not having to learn on my own and everything." She grinned at Alexis. "It's just figures that the first elemental I meet outside of my mom is a water elemental..." She wasn't going to admit she had a massive phobia about water. Not yet anyway. "Wouldn't it be nice to melt all the snow outside, and then you can just... wash all the excess water out of the way so we can all go home?"

"I think it's kinda cool that you're a different element," Alexis grinned. "I know it means you can't really give me any pointers, but still." She didn't know much of anything when it came to fire, and wondered if water could actually put out a water elemental's fire. It'd be fun to experiment with at some point. "I wish I was at the point where I could move the snow, but no dice. With my luck, we'd end up with a huge ice cube and the doors frozen shut. Though, maybe you could melt it... and then I could wash the water away."

"Sounds complicated, doesn't it?" Wednesday shrugged. "I bet if we tried it, we would end up freezing the doors shut, like you said. Or burning the place down. But we can experiment someday, you know? When it's not shitty outside, and there's not as many witnesses. Like I said, the only other elemental I know is my mom and she's no help... like, ever."

"It might be a better experiment when we're not already trapped inside," Alexis agreed. Burning the building down or adding to the cold both seemed like poor options given their current situation. "I'd love to play around with it, though, and see how it works. Can your mom blow out a fire you create? I have to admit, I don't know a lot about air elementals."

"I've never actually experimented with my mom," Wednesday admitted. "I mean, she probably could. She's pretty good at what she does. But she tends to want me to... not play with fire in the house. We're not really that close either, so we just sort of do our own thing."

"That makes sense," Alexis shrugged. "I mean, with the fire in the house. My dad would probably freak out. Be worried that I'd freeze all the water and bust the pipes or something." Actually, her concerns were more along the lines of him having to deal with a supernatural daughter. Just because they'd had their little talk, didn't mean he'd be pleased with her new powers.

Wednesday nodded. Parents were always wary of their children and their abilities, supernatural or not. "Well, I can mostly control it, but I guess if there was a chance it got away from me... then yeah, she'd not want it in the house. It's great though! The more you learn and learn how to control it... there's almost nothing you can't do. I read in a book once, that when you reach a certain level, you pretty much become one with your element. Can you imagine that?"

"I'm still not really sure what that means, but yeah, I'd read that too! Does it mean that I can become water? And if that's the case, what happens if, say, I get splashed apart? How do I become human again? There's a lot I don't really know, so I'm kinda nervous about just trying it. Not that I'm at that level yet!" Alexis laughed. "I mean, I just learned how to freeze water, so I've got a ways to go."

"I think so... you become your element, which is kind of freaky. But I think that's for an elemental who's... maybe really old? Or experienced." Wednesday laughed and shrugged. "I don't know all the details of it... I don't know how you would become human again, or if you could die in your element? I guess you... figure that out as you go along."

Alexis didn't think she'd enjoy being stuck as water, so hopefully it wasn't something she could do by accident, especially if she could die as water. Like for Wednesday, what if someone put out the fire? It was a frightening thought! "I think it'll be fun to figure things out as we learn more. Like if I can make a whirlpool on a large scale, instead of just in water bottles."

"You could make your own bubbling hot tub in your bathtub," Wednesday pointed out. "How awesome would that be? Or if you're swimming, make some really fun, high waves to surf in on... even at the lake." Though the thought of doing either made her feel nauseous, she thought it was cool that Alexis had those powers. Wednesday much preferred just being warm year round, no matter where she lived. "Surfers would probably pay you thousands to hang out with them. No more waiting for that perfect wave."

"Oooo, that would rock!" Alexis said, eyes widening. "I could make my own waves! Do you surf? Cause I'd totally want someone to come with me!" She hadn't gotten a chance to surf since she left Florida and she missed it dreadfully. At this point, she wasn't even sure she'd be able to make it to her feet, but it was worth a try, especially if she could learn to control the waves! "Now I've got all these reasons to get working on what I can master," she laughed.

She grinned. "I don't surf, no..." And she would never, ever surf in her entire life. "I, ah, don't do very well with water." Alexis would be lucky to get Wednesday to even go to the beach with her. "How about you totally master the waves, and then let me know and I'll come watch!"

"That'll work," Alexis grinned. She could understand being a fire elemental that wasn't fond of water, even if she didn't have a real issue with fire. Course, she didn't want to get too close, but who did? "I can make waves to watch and maybe you can build us a bonfire." That had been a serious pain to make by hand, but with Wednesday helping, it should be a cinch.

Wednesday grinned. "Yeah, that sounds like fun... it would be a lot more fun than anything else I've done here so far." She glanced up at the clock, wishing that they didn't have to go to class. The least the teachers could do was let them slack off, if they were all going to be stuck. "I guess that'll have to wait until it gets warmer, right?"

"Probably," Alexis said, wishing that wasn't the case. "It'll be too cold otherwise. You might be able to get close to the fire without getting burned, but I'm not that confident." Spring seemed a long ways away at the moment, which was really too bad. Alexis supposed she would have to get used to being stuck in doors, or at least find new things to do out in the cold. Maybe she could play a bit with the ice.

"I'd probably be able to walk through the fire and not get burned," Wednesday said with a nod. "I wonder if being a water elemental means you would never like, drown or something. Not that that would ever be something to experiment with! But it's still an interesting thought. Your superhero name could be Aquagirl or something equally as cheesy."

"I know that I always pop up before I run short on air, but I'm not to the point where I can breathe water or anything. That would be pretty awesome, though. It'd be like, like learning to scuba dive without needing an air tank!" Alexis grinned. If she could do that, then just wow. She'd want to live somewhere with warmer water, but it would be so crazy cool. "But if I'm gonna be a superhero of any sort, I'm not gonna be Aquagirl," she laughed. "What would you be?"

"Aw, now see if you would be Aquagirl, I would have been Flamegirl! We would be unstoppable." Wednesday sighed dramatically. "I guess I could be FireWoman or something. Or do I need something cooler?" She had never dreamed of giving herself a silly nickname, but it was still pretty amusing to think about.

"Well, maybe if we're an unstoppable duo, I could deal with Aquagirl," Alexis grinned. "I definitely like it better than AquaWoman or AquaChick. Or WaterGirl. That makes me sound like the girls that run water out to the guys on the football team." And she definitely didn't want to be mistaken for them with her crazy superhero name that would never be used. "Flamegirl is better than FlameWoman any day."

"Okay, so yeah, Aquagirl and Flamegirl... we belong in DC Comics or something. Though it's pretty funny, since our elements are total opposites from one another," Wednesday pointed out. "But we'd be like the Odd Couple! Only not a comedy."

"Could be an action comedy or something like that," Alexis smiled. "I definitely don't want my life to end up a drama series." Lately it seemed a lot like that, though anything was subject to change. Maybe if she hung out with Wednesday a little more, things wouldn't be so over dramatic.

"I don't know if I'm funny enough for a comedy." Wednesday quirked an eyebrow. "Though we may be unintentionally funny! Like 'Get Smart' or something. I think in this town though? It's probably more drama than anything. Everyone seems to be so serious lately... grim faces and everything. It's nice to have a silly conversation with someone." One that didn't include fire and brimstone, like every freaking day with her mom.

"Seriously," Alexis agreed. She wasn't incredibly fond of the heavy mood that had come down like a blanket over the world. She wondered when it would lighten up or if it would at all. It was impossible to tell. "We'll have to hang out, see if we can't have some fun and lighten things up." And maybe they could play with their elemental abilities, if only on the small scale.

Wednesday nodded, thinking that it would be a good thing to get out of the house and hang out with someone decent. "Definitely! Here..." Wednesday reached into her page to pull out a pencil and scrap piece of paper. "This is my cell," she said, scribbling the number down on the paper. "Whenever you wanna hang out, just call me, okay? I'm pretty uber new so as of right now, I have no social life."

Alexis waited, then took the pencil and wrote her own name and number down, then tore the paper in half so that Wednesday could keep it. "It's cool," she smiled. "I'm kind of new myself, but I'm pretty good about keeping up with what's going on, when there is something. And even if there's not, it's still nice to have someone to chill with." Especially someone she didn't have to hide as many secrets from.

Wednesday nodded in agreement. She then folded the paper and slipped it into her bag as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. "Sounds good to me." She smiled at Alexis and stood from her chair. "Thanks for spending your lunch with me... I don't feel so dorky when I've got someone to sit with."

"Anytime," Alexis smiled. "I'll have to catch you tomorrow and drag you over to my table. It's always better when you're not eating alone." She was sure Breezy and Lily wouldn't mind. Another friend could never hurt. "See you later!" Alexis waved before heading off towards her next class. That had been a much more interesting lunch hour than she could have ever planned.