Bliss (Open)

[Seth Calloway]

(I'm going under the impression that Tyler wants me to post first and give him more to work with, as he was telling me before. If I'm wrong, I'll delete this post.)

"Not everyone has the determination to build up a tolerance for it, and some are less inclined to even bother trying."

The words were spoken as Seth dropped the lighter into his pocket, in reply to Charlotte's sentiments on smoking. Seth's own addiction to the nicotine had been self-induced, not as a result of peer pressure or the like, but rather, a desire to have something to fall back on that was guaranteed to bring relief. It may have brought on a dependancy, and would likely cause problems in the distant future, but at the moment the cigarettes did their job effectively.

It seemed the girl would not give in to his request so easily, not without some sort of information in return. Even as she spoke, Seth removed the cigarette from his mouth, flicking the ashes onto the ground before replacing it once more, silently relishing the feel of the nicotine in his system.

"Well, if they weren't like-minded, I'd imagine they'd want nothing to do with me. But don't misunderstand me, I'm not quite as secretive with how I do things, unlike others you may have met in the past. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if you don't skip school for the next few days, a good deal of your questions for me will be answered. Of course, I'd be happy to answer any others afterwards, it's not particularly hard to find me."

The sophomore was fairly certain he'd satisfied Charlotte's curiousity for the moment, and so, would simply wait for her to give him the information he'd requested. His left hand dropped to his pocket, simply to give it a place to rest as Seth looked expectantly towards the female junior.

[Kyukaku]

Kyukaku's frown deepened. Despite whatever efforts the two had tried to be polite by not blowing the smoke his way; with two cigarettes giving off smoke into the air it was hard to avoid. Especially after Charlotte gave him a brief glance, signalling that she didn't want Kyu to move too far.

"Yeah..." Kyu cut in, waving his hand in front of his face to clear some smoke. "Well then, for someone who's so open you really seem intent on keeping some secrets for those next few days."

Kyukaku's tone drastically shifted to a more cold one, the talks about going against the administration without outright giving information way too reminicent of Stern for his taste. He narrowed his eyes before cutting in once more, answering the question himself, not to out shadow Charlotte, but to better answer it. From his knowledge, Charlotte only came to see his little show here, while Kyu had known the man from the start, all the way back in Varron.

"Stern Mason was a very smart man. He kept secrets for months on end here, fooling those around him, and causing those who knew him to question his motives time and time again. He rallied the students against the pillarship, not all of them of course, but the more liberal ones. He put up a pacifist front, pretending to be nothing but another Ghandi. But trust me, he was far from one."

[charlotte]

"He attempted to incite a riot to prove the system was faulty," Charlotte said immediately following Kyu's statement, almost seamlessly continuing the story.

"He put up a pacifist front at first, staging rallies and protests and the like, and at a walkout and staged a fake shooting, making it look like he'd been killed. The Principal had already called in backup that day, and the police stopped the riot. Stern was taken into custody afterwards.

"I heard he also sent a package to the press, but that only made the situation worse for us in the end, since MacMillan instated the Watchers. He must have appealed to school boards through his connection to get the motion passed."

She took a second drag, taking a slight step to the left; Kyukaku now visible in her peripherals. Charlotte turned to exhale the smoke, removing Kyu from her line of sight and putting Seth in her peripheral vision, but only momentarily as she turned her head back.

"So what's your story then?" She said to Seth, turning the subject back to that of his vaguely mentioned 'group'. She raised an eyebrow, considering the bluntness of her statement before she said it. "Are you planning to take over where Stern Mason left off?"

[Seth Calloway]

"Interesting. He was better than I assumed."

While Seth made no physical movements, his mind was racing a mile a minute, his eyes remaining on Kyukaku for the moment in an effort to discern the man's thoughts. The similiarities between his own plan and Stern's were apparent, though the methods differed enough for Seth to have confidence in his own actions. The thought that Stern had such a reputation made the sophomore somewhat disappointed to hear of his incarceration. No doubt there was much they could have taught one another.

Or at least, Seth may have had a use for his predecessor.

"You could say that. You could also say that I've improved on his formula."

Slowly, Seth's eyes made their way over to Charlotte, taking a light drag from his cigarette just as she finished. After Seth had savoured the feeling, the smoke was forced out of his lungs, blown up and to the left out of his mouth, before his lips once again took the shape of a self-satisfied grin. For some reason, Seth had started to take an odd sense of amusement from the fact Charlotte continued to smoke, despite her comments earlier.

"Stern was smart, I'll give him that. However, as far as I can see, his plan had some fatal flaws. First, it was dependant on sympathy from the student body. No matter how much of a martyr you are, there's no guarantee you'll get the support you need. The whole of mankind are fickle, cruel creatures. The mere existance of the Watchers proves that." A small laugh escaped from the sophomore, though he continued on as if it hadn't happened.

"And of course, the plan was centered around himself. Rallies, protests, a fake shooting... if he didn't need to be at the centre of every plot he came up with, he may have succeeded. It's a shame, really. If he had accomplished his goal, I would've had a much harder time with my own.

A riot's fun, sure, but I'm looking for a war."

[Kyukaku]

Kyukaku had heard enough, this Seth obviously wasn't one of the good guys. He stepped forward, standing just to the front and side of Charlotte, closing the gap between himself and Seth. He gave a quick glance to Charlotte before turning and facing Seth fully as he crossed his arms and opened his mouth to speak.

"Fun? I hardly see any fun in anything we're talking about. Stern can think whatever he wants about his motives, but he was always hurting somebody no matter what he did. In those riots countless numbers of students had been injured. Where's the fun in that?"

Rather than allow Seth, or even Charlotte, a chance to reply; Kyukaku reached out with his right hand, where he would grab the cigarette from Seth's mouth. If he wasn't stopped, Kyu would flick it down to the ground, and put it out with the toe of his shoe. Not only was he dissatisfied with the smoke in the air that close to him, but he was dissatisfied with Seth Calloway as a whole, and he had no problems being blunt about it.

"A school's no place to wage a war. I'll be damned if I'd allow you to treat these students as pawns like Stern Mason did."

As Kyu spoke, his left hand would reach for the lapel of Seth, gripping it tightly. He inclined his head, staring into Seth's eyes in what would seem like an intimidation tactic. However, Kyu wasn't the type to use intimidation as a weapon, and rather brought his eyes closer to Seth's to insure that he would see he was completely serious on this fact. While everyone waged their personal wars, the simple students were the ones who suffered.

[charlotte]

The cigarette swiftly came from her mouth, held between her index and middle fingers, and Charlotte simply dropped it, half finished, at her feet. Her leg lifted, the toe coming down upon the still burning cigarette, grinding it into the dirt to put it out.

Like Kyu, she had heard enough. Tyler Scott had beat her to the point, however, and acted, leaving her standing on the sideline for the time being.

If there was one thing that she hated most, it was a disruption of general peace. The minute Seth Calloway had confirmed her belief that he might be planning to take up the cause Stern Mason had left unfinished, her expression turned sour, and her already strained mental state had shifted to the hostile spectrum.

The second Seth had uttered his attempt to begin a war, she was positively livid with a rage that boiled beneath her face of calm, and very nearly radiated from her eyes.

She didn't speak, however. Tyler Scott had voiced her opinion right along with his own, and putting out the cigarette had been the only statement she wanted to make at the moment.

[Seth Calloway]

The sophomore's grin never left his face, even when Kyu pulled the cigarette from his lips, nor did it disappear once the older man grasped him by the lapel, Seth making no move to hamper his actions. Had he not been a man of decent self-control, Seth would have burst out laughing just from how rapidly the situation had changed.

"So quick to make threats against someone you know nothing about? No student is a pawn, or I'd be forced to label myself one as well. I've been called many things, but a pawn is not quite what I'm going for."

Slowly, so as not to be mistaken for an overtly hostile action, Seth's left hand rose to grasp Kyukaku's wrist, the intention mainly to keep the smaller boy from stretching Seth's shirt. Charlotte's motions had not gone unnoticed, the fact she had put out the cigarette causing a small measure of disappointment to cross his features briefly. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted, but it would have ended eventually. Despite the fact Kyu's face was much closer to his own, Seth's eyes and words were directed instead to the female junior.

"I'm guessing you agree with him. It's a shame, really. Just because my work is distasteful, it doesn't make it any less necessary. The Watchers need opposition, and the student body needs to rid itself of their authority. This war would have happened without me, only without my guidance to keep it from getting too far out of hand. Peace is rarely obtained with peace."

[Kyukaku]

"I don't need to have known you very long to already tell your kind. You're one of them. You're the opportunist; you take advantage of the situations laid before you to get what you want. You don't care who gets in the crossfire as long as that goals acquired."

As he spoke he felt Seth's hand upon his own wrist. Immediately after he was finished speaking Kyu would give a small shove with that hand before letting go. Thanks to the size difference, it was unlikely Seth would even move a total of a foot in distance, but it would reinforce Kyu's point of standing firm.

"War or no war...I'm sure you aren't the man who's going to bring us peace."

Kyukaku stated his last words in a low tone, offering nothing else before sharply turning on his heels and facing Charlotte once again. The last statement had been directed to her, and if she chose to continue conversation that would be up to her. For now at least, Kyu had enough of Seth Calloway and would like to be out of his company before he was compelled to strike down prematurely whatever threat he's likely to become. He's wait at Charlotte's side, crossing his arms over his chest. It would be up to her when they left, for Kyukaku wasn't goin to make decisions for her, though he certainly didn't plan on leaving her here with Seth either.

[charlotte]

(OOC: I'm terrible. Writer's block is too )



As Kyu came to stand beside her, Charlotte felt suddenly drained, and entirely not wanting to standing in a hostile area. Kyukaku clearly wanted to leave, but continued to stand for what she guessed was an intent not to leave her alone with Seth.

They had both acted openly hostile to Seth Calloway - Kyu moreso - and Charlotte now wanted little more than to sleep to recover the seemingly endless amounts of energy she had lost.

"Yes, I agree with him," she said, visibly weary.

"There's a reason we have authority, and a reason its not students like you and me. I hope for your sake you think you know what you're doing."

She turned then, away from Seth to hide her barely-audible sigh. A gentle nudge to Kyu with her shoulder and Charlotte began walking away, mulling over the greater revelations she had happened across so far, until yet another one fell in her lap.

She laughed as she walked, not one of defiance, or warning, or mocking, but one of the simple joy of realization. Revelation sounded familiar, and it fit as well as anything else when held next to the name of Seth Calloway.

Charlotte continued her light laugh-giggle as she walked, not knowing exactly what was so funny about the sudden thought, or how best to stop laughing. The sincere hope that she would not offend anyone did not stop her mirth.