DownTown Circus [Open]

[Justin "LIBER" Gray]

It was getting a bit dark out now and it was normally time for people to be getting to end or start the day. For Justin it was time for him to start having some fun. Dressed in his black jacket and pants he walked down the street making his way by a large crowd of people. His eyes were hidden behind large orange shades and his hands covered in black gloves. As he made his way through the crowd he was easily noticed by most of the people cause of his many ear rings and his tall stature. He didn't let it bother him though.

Rather he just kept making his way towards his destination. It was only a little while before he hit a small downtown park. It was mostly empty now seeing as around here kids weren't allowed out to late and he would have the whole place to himself. Standing in front of the place he took off his shades and looked it all over. He hasn't had a lot of time to himself recently so it would be good to work out some of that pent up energy. After slipping his glasses away and loosening up his jacket he took off running towards the slide. He ran up the slide and flipped off it once he reached the top.

Running around to the other side he made his way up a few short steps and then onto some monkey bars. Using his strong upper body he pulled himself up and slipped through the bards and stood on them. Looking around he wondered what else he could do. He saw a bunch of movement in the distance of the park but just ignored it for now. Doing a front flip he landed a foot inside a ring on the side of slide and back flipped off that. Landing on his feet in a crouched position he just rolled back to a standing position and stretched a bit more.

"I really wish I could get onto some tall buildings but for now I should just stretch and warm up first."

[Rayne Ilia Golding]

Rayne walked down the street. The cool afternoon air bit at her nose as she walked with a slight bit of speed. She couldn't help but pull the cardigan around her tighter as she squeezed through the tight-knit crowd. "Excuse me..." She squeaked in a soft voice. She wasn't good in crowds like this, it reminded her of being in public school and being pushed around. She hated thinking about those memories. It was as if someone was hitting her, every time she thought like that. Sometimes she thought she could still feel all those bruises and scratches. She pushed up her sleeve, just to remind herself that they were gone.

She cast her eyes down and continued walking. Her breath seemed to get short. She needed to get out of the crowd and fast. Rayne couldn't stand crowds for more than a few moments. Crowds always led to being noticed, and there was always someone there to discriminate, someone to ask about her parents, someone to catch the poor girl off guard.

She picked up her pace and skipped out, away. It was like someone had smacked her with the fresh air. Her blue eyes widened and she hunched over, breathing deeply. She couldn't remember the last time she freaked out like that. "That's one for the books..." She muttered to herself with a smile, she always tried to take things lightly. She stood up and rubbed her eyes with her sleeves, realizing she had made it into the park. She turned around to see someone else there. Pulling her cardigan around her tightly, she stood her ground and stared, praying they wouldn't notice, although when there's only two in a place like that, it's hard not to notice one another.

[Justin "LIBER" Gray]

Climbing up to the top of the playground which was just a large area covered in a small dome. He stood up on the dome and that's when he spotted another person who entered the park. He was actually a bit surprised to see someone else here and let out a light sigh. As he looked the girl over from afar and figured he could check it out. Leaping forward he landed on a slide with ease and slid down on his feet. What he didn't take into account for was that there would be a small puddle of water at the bottom of the slide.

Seeing this he panicked a bit thanks to his dislike for water and ended up leaping in the wrong direction off the slide. His stomach his a low hanging chin up bar for little kids and he ended up flipping over it landing on the side of his face. Standing up as fast as he could he spit out some sand and just glared at the small obstacle. After a brief moment of glaring at it he simply kicked it and looked back over to the girl that was in the park. Hopping over the obstacle he walked along a single pole than ran across the park till he reached where she was. Hopping down a little ways off from her his curiosity was getting the better of him.

It wasn't normal for him to run into someone here. That went double for a girl like her. Then again looks were sometimes misleading. Speaking in a soft cold tone he looked off to the side not wanting to scare her off with his glare just yet.

"What are you doing out here this late? You lost or something?"

He looked back over to her and wondered if he has seen her before. It's possible though at the same time if she knew him she probably wouldn't of stood around in the park the second she knew he was here. Justin had enough of a bad rep in and out of school for fighting or something like that. Thinking about it just made him sigh as the frown on his face got a little bigger. Realizing he didn't introduce himself he knew his first lesson from his mother was to introduce himself to a lady. So he swallowed all the negative thoughts for now and spoke once more in the same voice.

"My name is Justin Liber Gray...."

[Rayne Ilia Golding]

She blinked, watching him hit things as he went. She frowned slightly, thinking if she was ever that clumsy. She didn't like dirt, which made her think if he was disgusted at the sand in his mouth, probably grainy and disgusting. More than likely little kids had spit in that sand, or worse. She shook off the thought and stared at the small, possibly one inch cut across his face. Those injuries weren't new to her, however. It didn't take more than a few drops of blood to cure things like that. She couldn't decide if he was showing off, or if the darkness caught him off guard and it was all an accident. Either way, she wasn't really concerned about his slip-up on the slide.

She crossed her arms and mimicked his expression. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes and tightened her lips into a thin, tight line. She shook her head, yellow ribbons intertwining with brunette locks. She knew her way around Chicago, somewhat. She was out so late because she was going across town to pick up vitamins. It was stupid, and she didn't want to admit to the stranger that she was out late because of her need for vitamins. Vitamins were embarrassing, but she needed them so she could stay healthy. Losing blood was never a good thing, no matter who you were or what your blood did.

"I wanted to be, I'm never lost." She replied in a soft, almost nervous kind of squeak. She hadn't intended for it to come out like that, but it was always her luck things like that did.

She pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and looked the boy over nervously, examining every aspect of him. She couldn't fight him, not even if she wanted to or had the ability. She returned her grip to her cardigan and pulled it tighter around herself. It was like her little shield, keeping her safe and grounded and thinking logically. She had to be a thinker in situations like these.

"I'm Rayne Ilia Golding.." She whispered back in reply.

[Justin "LIBER" Gray]

"Never lost?...."

Justin spoke in a soft voice and just looked at the girl in front of him. He really didn't expect that kind of answer though it was a strange one. To say you are never lost is to say that you will always know everything in his eyes. He didn't say anything though and instead just leaned in closer to inspect her. She had a sweet smell of sorts but also smelled faintly of blood. It was strange but for some reason he was even more interested in where she was from. When she spoke her name he just covered his face with one of his hands and wiped a bit of the blood from his cheek. Letting out a slight sigh he just continued to frown and wonder what to do now. For some reason he felt like this girl had some what of a connection to him.

"It's not really safe to be alone in the park at night. I wouldn't come here this late anymore....."

Just knew he sounded a bit bossy with his words but that's how he was. He really only wanted to look out for her but not everyone took it that way. Either way it didn't matter to him cause he is here every night so if she did come again he would more than likely be here. Upon further inspection of the girl he was so curious about he noticed that she had the same eye color as his mother. It was strange but for some reason it just caught his eye. When someone like him who has a strange eye color like red it was interesting to see the less bizarre eye color. Tilting his head side ways he figured he would bring this up before he let her go.

"So...if you're not lost then why did you come to the park so late? Meeting a boy?"

Justin spoke in a blunt voice as he saw a few headlights pull around to the front of the park. His eyes concentrated on the truck as it just remained parked and he felt his guard kick up. Looking down from the car he looked back to the girl and heard the doors open on the car. Looking at her he just spoke in a soft voice and stood between her and the parking lot entrance.

"You should probably get walking....It's getting darker..."

With that said the sound of a dog growling came into ear shot and the foot steps of what sounded like a few heavy set men were making there way towards the back of Justin. He just started taking off his gloves and hoped this girl would leave before she got in trouble. Justin already knew what was about to happen.

[Rayne Ilia Golding]

She shook her head and stood there, being stubborn. She wasn't about to let a stranger like him boss her around. She was trying hard lately to be her own boss so she wouldn't get pushed around. Some of her teachers had told her that she needed to in order to survive. With an ability like hers, it was a wonder she wasn't already drained completely. That was what her teacher had said at least, she didn't believe that though, as she couldn't see anyone wanting to do that to her. Sometimes she believed her heart was too good.

Rayne blinked when he thought she was meeting a boy out here at night. That definitely caught her off guard. She pulled her cardigan around her tighter and huffed, it was embarrassing to admit that she wasn't meeting a boy. She couldn't recall ever sneaking out to meet a boy. She lived in a dorm, why would she want to sneak out in the middle of the night, just to see somebody when she would most likely see him the next day. That was how Rayne looked at things like that, at least.

The headlights made her heart skip a beat. She wasn't expecting anybody here, as no one was ever here when she made her weekly runs across town to get her vitamins. She leaned to the side to get a better view of whatever was taking place behind Justin. She blinked as the dog came out. Dogs had a tendency to scare her, and so did the men who got out of the truck.

Once they began walking toward him, she freaked out. She jumped backwards a little. Her mind was telling her to run, run until she couldn't run any more, or at least until she got to the vitamin store. She couldn't help the guy, not even if she wanted to. She had no ability that offered any sort of offense against the three fast approaching the two. Yet when she tried to run, her legs wouldn't let her. Rayne's feet dug into the sand as she stood there. She pulled the cardigan around her as tight as possible, closing her eyes tight and shaking her head, she had decided she would stay here. The least she could do was offer to heal him.

"No, I'm not going." She muttered, having a feeling that somehow she would regret saying those words.

[Justin "LIBER" Gray]

"Just stay there then. Everything will be okay...."

Justin spoke in a soft voice to her one last time before turning around to face the people who were coming. He pulled off the last glove with his teeth as the men approached holding back the dog on a large chain. The dog seemed to have a really tight collar around it's neck and Justin took notice of this right before looking up to the men. Three of them were there and they all laughed as they looked at Justin. The one holding the dog spoke while the other two just watched.

"Looks like we found a stray. The young lady looks nice. Can we play?"

Justin put both his gloves away in his pocket and soon a grin came across his face. His sharp fang like teeth showed through as he just raised an arm in front of the girl behind him. Speaking out in a slightly louder voice than what he was using earlier a slight sense of excitement ringed in his voice.

"You can try....but if you get to close...I'll bite...."

With that said the two guys around the man holding the dog started to advance. The man just laughed figuring his boys would just beat him down and then it was just the girl. What was about to happen though was going to change all those plans. Just as the first man stepped close enough to reach for Justin a loud sound of metal scraping came from Justin as a spark shot from his sleeve. A large black nail stuck into a tree behind the men a few yards back. On the face of the man was a cut and Justin just kept his grin.

Not taking his warning shot the man kept coming and the second guy jumped in as well. Sliding between the two he just captured both fists heading from them and directed them towards each other with black chains. Both men ended up punching each other and tried to turn to face him once more. The second they turned a large nail was aimed towards there left eyes. They panicked not knowing what to do and Justin just spoke in a soft voice.

"Last chance....leave...or--"

Justin was cut off by the sound of something approaching quick from behind. It was the dog and it bit a gash in his shoulder allowing the other two guys to run and they kept running. It seemed they got the hint but the man was intent on taking him down now. Using his dog as a weapon and shield. Before the dog had a chance to go after Rayne he stuck a nail through the ring in it's collar and pinned it to the ground. The man who set the dog free was about to reach for something at his side but he didn't give him a chance. The dull end of a nail struck his hand breaking it and the man started running.

For now that was the end of that and Justin looked at the cut on his shoulder and then remembered the dog that was still struggling to go after the girl. Walking over to it he grabbed onto the collar and pinned it to the ground and drew out a black nail. It looked like he was going to impale it but in one quick swipe the collar around the dog's neck was off and the dog stopped struggling. It got up calmly instead and looked like a normal friendly dog. It licked the face of it's savior and he just stayed kneeling down with his frowning serious face. The dog soon went off into the park and left Justin to be and the he spoke softly wondering what the girl was up to.

"You okay?...."

[Rayne Ilia Golding]

Rayne had backed up all the way to the slide. Her hands gripped the bars of the playground as she watched the scene. Her eyes widened as she watched, she definitely wasn't expecting the weapons. Justin was a fighter, so there was no doubt in her mind that he went to Alexander Academy, too. Only the best human fighters got to attend, and he took the men down with ease.

She shut her eyes, wishing that it would all go away. The men, the dogs, the nighttime. "All I wanted were vitamins." She muttered to herself, hating that she had chosen to walk instead of taking the nice taxi just across the street. She had a fear of taxis, but her fear of fights like these were greater. She held the cardigan around her so tight, it was like she was trying to hold herself together, like she would fall apart if she didn't have such a hold on her own body.

She held in a scream as the dog came at her. She breathed a sigh of relief as he managed to pin it down. Her eyes looked to the gaping wound across his shoulder. Blood spilled from it, and the skin seemed to just hang in pieces. It was a gruesome sight, but it was all she could look at during the rest of the struggle. She didn't have anything to cut herself with. No wound, meant no healing. Besides, her blood needed those vitamins, that she had yet to get.

She jumped, hearing him speak to her. She averted her eyes and shrugged. "I'm in one piece, am I not?" Was all she managed to squeak. Her eyes went back to the wound. She motioned for him to come closer. She couldn't heal it, it would be too risky with her vitamins so low.

Once he got close enough, she pulled him by the wrist until she was within reach. She held her hand out and closed her eyes. "Heal what has been hurt, Change the fates' design, Save what has been lost, Bring back what once was mine."

[/i] She sang softly. She targeted Life Glow to her hand. As it lit up, she looked over his wound, a sad, almost wanting look on her face.

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[Alex]

For whatever reason, he was wandering through the crowded Chicago streets late at night. He didn't really know where he was going, he just wanted to get out for a while. His dorm felt crowded today, for whatever reason he didn't seem to know that either. The park came into view.

His nose smelled fresh blood, which seemed to be close by. He felt his black converse hit the sand and he moved towards the two who were standing at the end of the park. He sauntered over to the two, pulling his sweater down because it rode too close to his neck. He felt compelled to help the boy, just because he reminded him of Jayden. He closed his eyes and focused his mind, trying to be as calm as he could.

He put his hand on the boy's wound, which would only cause pain for a second. His hand burst into green flames, and the boy's wound slowly started closing, and his skin repaired. Alex winced, and blood began to stain his V-Neck sweater. He felt his skin break open, like a dog was attacking him. He lifted his hand from the boy and the flame died out. He lifted his shirt, revealing his abs, and he lifted it to the point where he could see the gash. Skin was literally falling from it.

Pain shot through his body, and why he helped the boy, he didn't really know. Maybe it was because he looked like Jay, or maybe it was something else. That aside, he turned so he saw both of them and looked down. He lifted his head again after moving his foot and pushing the sand around. "I'm Alex."

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[Justin "LIBER" Gray]

"That's good...."

Justin reached up gripping the wound as blood covered his hand and it ran all the way down his arm towards his other hand. It dripped small drops of blood onto the ground and he just winced lightly. Looking up he saw Rayne call him over so he did without hesitating. Walking over he sort of wondered just what it was she wanted. When she started to sing and then glow his eyes opened up wide in surprise.

He didn't expect this at all but this would mean she most likely went to the same school. In a way he just felt annoyed he didn't notice it sooner. Then again how could he of known unless she told him. It wasn't long before another person was heard coming up behind him but before he could react being so distracted by the girl the next thing he knew his wound was covered in green fire.

As the wound disappeared a nail slipped from his sleeve into his hand as he glared at the guy who was touching him randomly. Watching him he noticed that all he did was take his wound and for some reason that just upset him a bit even though he was sort of thankful. Hearing him state his name bluntly after it just upset him a bit more as he slipped the weapon back into his sleeve. Speaking in a cold blunt tone he just looked at the guy who showed up wondering what he was thinking.

"Why did you do that? I would of been fine. Don't be doing unnecessary things like that. I don't need people getting hurt cause of my mistakes it's a bother."

Justin was just frustrated that he slipped up and now someone was hurt but he couldn't help but be angry. It was the type of person he was. It just pissed him off that he did that and now was given his pain. Looking at the girl that was here he realized they were all most likely from the same school. This whole time he thought he was doing a good job in avoiding people like this but he was wrong.

"Was there a field trip planned to the park I didn't hear about?.....Damn..."

[Rayne Ilia Golding]

She wasn't expecting another person. She leaned against the slide and pulled the cardigan around her tightly. "We get any more people here I'm going to have a heart attack.." She sighed, rubbing her arms. She looked over to the other named Alex, examining the blood seeping from the wound. She raised a brow and stared at the wound. By healing one, she guessed, Alex gained it.

She looked back over to Justin and grabbed his wrist. She slipped her hand into his sleeve until she felt something cool. She pulled out the chain and looked at the nail. She closed her eyes, and with her free hand, held it over Alex. "Heal what has been hurt, Change the fates' design, Save what has been lost, Bring back what once was mine."

[/i] She sang, a bit quicker than the first. She had to act quickly while the glow was still there. She pulled the nail out with the glowing hand and sliced it across her palm, nearly four inches, and deep enough to make her cringe in severe pain.

Little tears of blood dripped from the nail as she dropped it and grabbed Alex with her glowing hand. "Hold still.." She whispered, keeping her gaze on the wound instead of looking at either boy. She pressed her bloody hand onto Alex's shoulder, letting all the blood seep into the exposed flesh and skin around it. She hated doing things like this in public, and she was only making herself sick, stretching herself to her limits.

The glow died out on her hand, and she pulled back her hand, still bleeding and aching with a sharp pain. She looked at the shoulder in satisfaction before standing up and holding her hands behind her back, clenching them together to try and stop the blood from dripping out.

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[Alex]

Alex turned as soon as the girl lifted her blood-covered hand. "No one gave you permission to be a douché. That's my job. If you don't appreciate a little help when it comes your way, you'll never get anywhere in life." He did his best to control his anger because the boy there was driving him absolutely insane. He felt the wound heal, and he turned to the girl. "Thanks, but it looks like you need to lie down. Do you live on campus? I'm willing to take you home, but I'm pretty sure you'd rather spend your time with My Little Princess over there."

Her heard a bird chirp nearby, and it seemed that everything was dying down. The entire city started to grow quiet at the early morning just after midnight approached. He circled in the park, and then looked up at the sky.

"If you're trying to be all good, I'm not forcing you to. Feeling pain is a natural feat, and don't pretend like you're the only one that ever needs to feel it." He closed his eyes and an image of Annabeth flashed into his mind. Her mouth open and her eyes wide as her body gasped for air. His eyes flashed open and he felt a tear slide down his cheek. Now he didn't dare turn around. Thinking of her... it always tore down his facade.

He moved the sand around again. "We have class tomorrow. I'm going back to the Academy." He moved until his shoes hit the concrete and he started moving back towards the lot, looking for the area where he parked his car. He wasn't exactly excited to go back to school the next morning, but it was necessary.

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[Justin "LIBER" Gray]

"That's not the point....Whatever I don't care any more."

Justin didn't want to end up fighting in front of this girl any more than he had to. He was taught violence around women wasn't good and he shouldn't of even cursed. Letting out a sigh he watched the girl at what she did next. This girl was just as bad as this guy now. A slight sense of frustration fell over him but he couldn't help but just let it slide. He couldn't do anything after all now that it was done. He looked at the end of the nail with a bit of blood on it and looked at her. What kind of girl just did this sort of thing. These two were a real pain in the ass was all he could think as he just shook his head. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a roll of clean bandages. Holding it out towards the girl he just ignored the words of the other guy right now. He was just to annoyed to care about anything else.

"Here use this. It will keep the cut clean and stop the blood."

Justin pretty much forced it upon her as he pressed the roll of bandages gently against her. Putting his gloves back he just wondered what the hell was going to happen next. That was when he heard the other guy say he was heading back to the academy. The thing was Justin didn't live there and didn't really know if he wanted to go any where with this guy. Now that she went and hurt her hand though and looked the way she was he wasn't going to leave Rayne. Looking at her he spoke in a soft tone and hoped she wouldn't be doing that again any time soon.

"You did lose a bit of blood. Maybe you should get something for that cut though first....If not I could at least walk you back....."

[Rayne Ilia Golding]

She looked at her feet as Alex spoke. For a moment, she thought she was mad at him, and she couldn't understand why. She helped him, and he acted like she did something wrong. True, hurting yourself was never a good thing to do, but it stopped him from feeling so much pain, as the wound did look pretty severe. She knew that she would be very grateful if someone helped her like how Alex helped Justin, and then she helping Alex. Maybe that was why she never seemed to hit it off with any guys, because she didn't understand them. When in all honesty, she didn't.

She didn't say a word as Alex continued his rant. She wanted to speak up, tell him off. But it would do her no good, she was just a girl that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She tightened her lips and held her hand tighter, the blood drying and becoming sticky in her palms. She meekly took the bandage and wrapped it around her wounded palm. She nodded as a thank you toward Justin and looked back at Alex who was walking away. She still needed those vitamins if she wanted to actually do something in class tomorrow. Her blood was her power, and without healthy blood, she'd be stuck in bed until she could get her vitamins. She was stupid enough for healing Alex, and he didn't even seem to care.

Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the back of his head. "You could at least be nice." She whispered, running her bandaged hand over her sleeve. She didn't want to say anything loud or really insulting to him, as she was afraid of him. She shuffled her feet in the sand, looking out to where the store was, nearly 10 blocks away. Although Alex was right about one thing, it was getting late.

She lowered her head and looked to Justin. "The reason I was out here is because I needed vitamins.." She admitted in a sigh, her cheeks flushing from embarassment.

[Alex]

That's when he heard her. He whipped around and came to a stop in front of her. "You don't even understand. I know that you've done a kind deed, no matter how much it pained you. But you don't realize how hard being nice is for me. I wasn't always this way. But that isn't something I'd expect you to understand." His body shook with every word and with memories of Annabeth flooding back. He felt two tears fall, one on each side of his face.

"It doesn't matter who I was, or what I look like. Hiding emotions behind a cruel facade never is good enough for anyone. I wouldn't expect either of you to understand, because you're so busy with tiny problems like getting attacked by some stupid ass punks." He started to calm, and his body stopped shaking as he reached the end of his statement.

He turned to leave, after fishing something out of his pocket. He dropped a small bottle on the ground. They were his own vitamins, vitamins that were used to help restore the energy of nearly every superhuman student at the Academy. Most didn't need them, but he did and he needed them desperately, and this was his last bottle. But he dropped it anyways. He felt hard crust around his shoulder, the blood drying on his sweater, so he took it off, revealing the tight undershirt he wore underneath. Sure he was cold, but it was better than being uncomfortable.

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