Coffee on a Rainy Day (Private with Nova)

[Ela Motley]

Ela has always loved rain back in Vacou, the sound of the many droplets hitting the ground, drenching both her and her surroundings in refreshing coolness, as well as the promise of a good harvest and some respite from the sun.

But she wasn't in Vacou anymore; here in Vale, rain wasn't nearly as much of a miracle as it was back in the desert; most people here simply took it for granted or even saw it as an annoyance.

As such, Ela found herself once again alone on the roof of Beacon, arms on the railing, and simply watching the downpour happen as people below scrambled to get saved.
Her own uniform was already thoroughly drenched, but that was nothing she minded or couldn't fix with ease.
So for now, she will just watch and listen.

[Nova Starr]

Nova had a complicated relationship with rainy days. On the one hand, she wasn't such a fan of getting wet and the rain always turned the ground mushy, making it unsuitable for a night of stargazing. On the other hand, it was nice to hear the pitter-patter of rain from the safety of her room, curled up in a comfy chair with a good book and a warm drink.

Ordinarily, she'd be doing just that, but a curious sight had bothered her more than it should. On her way back from the library, she passed by the door to the rooftops and caught the silhouette of a student leant against the rails, drenched head to toe in nature's tears. Nova stopped, overcome with intrigue and a smidge of concern; after all, it's not often a happy story when a person finds themselves brooding in the rain.

She left her bags at the door and took off her school jacket, using it as an impromptu umbrella as she stepped out onto the roof. It became apparent that this other girl was, as affectionately as Nova could put into words, Amazonian, and she had to lift her jacket up a little higher to be able to see the student's face. Try as she did to hide her awe, she couldn't help but look this girl up and down in wonder. "Hey." Calling out, she stopped a few feet away. "Are you okay? It's raining cats and dogs out here!"

[Ela Motley]

Over the splashing of rain against the floor and the noise of her own thoughts, Nova's approach went unheard, catching Ela just slightly off guard, and the slightest of flinches could be noticed.

Ela turned; the surprise had already faded, with a warm smile on her face, which, just like her hands, was illuminated by a soft blue glow, coming from the strange tattoos on Ela's skin, so while Nova had to look up to see, she could at least see clearly despite the darkened sky.

"Ah, hello there, I'm quite fine, just simply enjoying the rain, it's lovely during this time of the year."
Now getting a look at the new arrival, Ela didn't recognize her, which meant she must be a first-year.
Ela moved down a little, half sitting on the railing, and now a bit more level with Nova, it was only fair after she had come out here out of worry about Ela.
How sweet.
"I apologize for worrying you and getting you drenched, it was very considerate of you to come and check on me... I don't believe I have your name yet?"

[Nova Starr]

She found herself gazing up at Ela, whose radiant tattoos illuminated her face in perfect clarity, even in the rain. The blue glow of the markings contrasted heavily with the girl's emerald green eyes, creating an almost ethereal effect that, naturally, Nova found herself gawking at. Realizing she'd missed the girl's first couple of words, Nova shook out of it and tuned in, and felt a twang of relief learning that Ela was just enjoying the weather.

With a grateful nod, she lowered her jacket a little bit after Ela sat down, now shielding her eyes from the beating rain. "It's no bother! I just wanted to make sure you're not having a bad time out here, it's never nice to see a stranger sad and alone." Predictably, water began to seep through Nova's temporary umbrella, its water-repellent properties proven poor. She manoeuvred around so that the downpour was striking her back, clutching the jacket in her arms instead. "I'm Nova."

Nova rarely forgot a face and she couldn't place Ela's at all; it was hard to forget one like hers. "And yours? I haven't seen you around before. You're not in first year, right?"

[Ela Motley]

Ela couldn't help but giggle, lifting a hand to cover her smile. As she saw Nova just stare at her face, she was tempted to tease the awestruck girl, but she kept it to herself as Nova regained her senses.

It was sweet how worried Nova was for a complete stranger; the name Nova was one she'd easily remember with a first impression like this, and how unique a name it is.

Ela frowned a little as she saw Nova struggle. Her jacket had done it's job for a quick checkup on herself, but it definitely wasn't going to work if Nova wanted to stay and chat.

Yet, Ela had a good idea of how to fix this.
She moved forward, unbuttoning her school uniform vest and putting her hand in the pocket.
"The name's Ela, it's a pleasure to meet you, Nova." Ela said as she continued with her plan, now
holding the vest over Nova like a big wing, yet that was only the first step, rock crawled from Ela's hand to her shoulder, also covering the vest, giving Nova an improvised stone roof.
"There, that should keep you dry."
Ela offered with a sweet smile, before returning to conversation.
"And yes, I am a second-year student, and since you asked that, it leads me to believe that you're new here, so welcome to Beacon, and I hope your first year has been treating you well so far."

[Nova Starr]

"L-likewise." Nova felt conflicted about... whatever it was that Ela was doing. Her unfaltering smile did became weary for a second, but quickly turned to one of fascination as rock solidified up the older student's hand and, eventually, along the vest to provide makeshift shelter.

She began to feel a little more comfortable about the rain and fixed her posture, standing up straight. After whispering a thank you and returning the sweet smile, Nova nodded when Ela confirmed her being a second-year student and also when being asked if she was a newer student herself. "Mhm! It's... good. Challenging. A bit of a trip so far? Uh, not literally; my parents live in the city so this isn't far from home. But schoolwork and everything is definitely a step up from combat school. Hanging in there so far, though!" She mumbled, "I think," with a dash of panic.

Then, her nose began to twitch, and she covered her face before hushedly turning away from Ela. "Excuse me," she apologized in advance, inhaling sharply. Seconds passed with Nova in sneeze-limbo, and when she'd finally thought it a dud, she cautiously removed her palm from her nose; only for it to pass immediately after. "Achoo!" Thankfully, as confirmed by the panicked rubbing of her nose, it was a dry one, but she kept her face covered in case of a second blow. "Sorry! That was gross." Her voice had become a little stuffier than before.

[Ela Motley]

Ela found herself a tad surprised, she herself had not found the first year too difficult, to be fair, she also didn't struggle with the second year while Lin needed some help with homework and extra studying, Nova had seemed very well put together upon first impression, but Ela wouldn't judge, nor comment or it, she knew how many of her fellow students weren't very fond of discussing these sorts of topics in their free time.
But the revelation of Nova also living in Vale was nice.
"Ah yes, combat school was much easier in retrospect, though no worries, even Beacon becomes much easier once you get settled in I'm sure you'll do amazing"
Ela said, doing her best to sound reassuring.
"Though it's nice to meet another Vale resident, a surprising amount of students here aren't from the area, my mother runs a pharmac-"

Nova turning away and sneezing, cut Ela off, as she yet didn't look disturbed.
"It's quite alright, maybe you should pay that aforementioned pharmacy a visit ?"
Ela asked with a cheeky smirk, which yet faded into a look of slight concern.
"Joke's aside, I've done enough standing in the rain, how about we continue our conversation in the kitchen, and I'll make you a nice cup of which ever hot beverage you prefer."
Ela offered as she motioned to the entrance, where she would follow Nova and still hold the stone coat overhead.

[Nova Starr]

'Great.' The last thing she needed was a cold, knowing how behind on her studies she already was and how much further this would hinder them. Still, Ela's joke had made her smile, and the taller student didn't seem disgusted nor grossed out by the sneeze, so things could have been going far worse. To Nova, second years always seemed so imposing and difficult to engage with, but Ela was nothing if not a refreshing aura of calm so far.

"Really? That would be so lovely, thank you!" There was a noticeable whine to her voice now that her nose was plugged up. She kept beneath the stone jacket as the pair approached the doors, seeking sanctuary from the rain. Before stepping inside, she wrang out a few droplets of water from her waterlogged jacket in the doorway, and then swiftly shuffled next to a radiator to knock some of the cold out of her. "Phew. It hasn't downpoured this bad in a long time... how are you feeling?" She looked to Ela, who'd seemed almost unphased the whole time they were out there. A small amount of guilt washed over her face as she spoke. "Sorry for cutting your chill session short. Rain is a little difficult, I'm definitely a warm-weather gi-"

Yet another sneeze cut her sentence short.

"...rl."

[Ela Motley]

Ela waited for Nova in the hall to do some warming up by the radiator, she was patient, also warming up a bit though she didn't need it much, the desert of Vacou had been so much colder at night and her own semblance drove temperatures into the negative double-digits when ever she used it, suffice to say, Ela was very used to the cold.
"I'm quite fine, I very much prefer warm weather myself, but Vacou sadly wasn't always warm."
Ela shrugged, then turning and walking down the corridor towards the communal kitchen.
"And no need to worry, rain will come again, and then you could join me, perhaps a bit better prepared, so you can actually enjoy yourself."
Ela then continued walking toward the kitchen, the corridor was quiet, only the pleasant drumming of rain and their wet footsteps being heard, as they arrived Ela knocked at the kitchen door, giving a few seconds for anyone inside to be alerted, before walking inside, no one was here.

Ela made herself comfortable, laying her wet vest over the radiator in the kitchen, putting her boots and socks right next to it, she was more comfortable barefoot anyway, plus she'd drench the floor less.

Ela got to work, she had been here many times and while the kitchen at home was well...more home than this, she spent plenty of time in here, so she was very familiar with the whole establishment.
Soon enough, the water boiler was boiling, two big mugs were on the counter and Ela had assembled a row of different types of coffee and tea's, as well as a big ol' glass of cocoa powder.
"Here, take your pick, I'm most partial to this one, a certain professor got me into it."
Ela said as she filled herself a stove pot with espresso powder and water, putting it on the stove as she waited for Nova's choice.

[Nova Starr]

Nova followed Ela into the kitchen, bags clutched in one arm and her jacket in the other. The fact that it was just the two students in the kitchen set her mind at ease; she didn't like to get in the way of others when they were going about their culinary business, especially when she was a walking germ-spreading machine. In any case, Ela didn't seem too worried nor fussed about that fact. After laying any non-essential wet clothes on the radiator like the taller girl did, Nova settled into a cushioned seat, clutching a pillow tightly.

She watched Ela set about the kitchen, clearly familiar with where things were kept and how to make hot drinks. Soon, there were options aplenty set on the counter, which Nova could just about see from where she'd been seated. "That looks great," she replied, pointing out the beverage recommended by a 'certain professor'. "Thank you, again. Sorry if I say that a lot. It's nice to have company today; cold aside, it's been a bit of a day... ugh." Shaking her head, she closed her eyes for a second, breathed, and then put on her best smile. "Never mind, sorry. I won't bring the mood down." With a sigh, she looked to the ceiling, her head flopping onto the chair's backrest.

[Ela Motley]

Ela smiled at Nova's choice of espresso, a fine choice. What she had in her stove lot should be plenty for two mugs, while Ela had originally intended to use this for her own refill, she would simply put on a second pot if either of them wanted a refill.

Yet Nova's complaint and the smile, which Ela could easily tell was forced, made her pause, a slight frown on her face.
"It's fine, you're more than welcome to voice your grievances."
She offered a kind smile, then turning around as the coffee was done, Ela poured herself her coffee, adding both sugar and milk as she liked it and then walked over to join Nova, her own mug in one hand and setting down a small tablet on the table next to Nova.
A mug, reading "shit happens, coffee helps" the coffee pot, plus milk, sugar, and cream were on the tablet, allowing Nova to pour her coffee how she liked it.
Ela took a sip of her own, sighing in bliss as both caffeine and warmth coursed through her system.
"If you want to, you can tell me about your day over coffee."
Ela offered, looking up from her own mug.

[Nova Starr]

Ela's invitation for Nova to voice her grievances was met with a chuckle. "If we get into all of them, we'll be here all night."

A short time passed before Ela laid the spread of coffee and condiments on the table. Nova shimmied in her seat to reach for the sugar and couldn't hold back a smirk after noticing the mug's joke. A teaspoon of sugar and a splash of milk later, and Nova was coddling the cup in her hands, taking a mindful sip of the freshly brewed coffee. Like a warm hug, she embraced the heat, and then met Ela's eyes, offering her a weak smile. "If I talk too much, if you start getting bored, please shut me up?"

Having set down her coffee, she traced her finger around the cup's rim and pursed her lips, trying to decide where to start. The doozy of a day had her mind in fifty different places, so it only made sense to start at the beginning. "So... there's this guy, Flash something, I think he might be a second year? Anyway, he's a total ass and a bully. He was picking on some boy in the cafeteria, so I told him to go away. And then he did that thing, you know? Like where guys say, 'Oooh, look, your girlfriend's here to protect you!'" Her stuffy voice turned whinier as she imitated the bully. "Like, what is he, five? Anyway, I might have... well, unloaded a carton of apple juice over his pants. Like, crotch to ankle. Which he didn't like at all. He sort of screams, gets all flustered, shouts, and leaves, and I thought that was the end of it, y'know?"

Her finger slipped from the cup, causing a splash of liquid to topple onto the table. She mumbled "shit," coughed, and continued. "Anyway, uh... so, cut to right before last class. I'm in my room, late, and I'm about to leave when I hear this psycho's voice in the hallway. He and his buds are talking, stuff like 'she went down here' and 'which one is hers'. " A splash of unease washed over her face as she searched Ela's reaction for validation. "Like... what the fuck? I'm not going crazy, right? That's seriously messed up?"

[Ela Motley]

Ela, while listening to Nova, felt her heart sink.
A frown quickly found itself on her face as she just sat there, holding her mug and looking at Nova in concern, only taking a sip as Nova spilled some coffee.
Nova was, what, here for a couple of weeks maybe?
And a second year student, some of the seniors she's meant to look up to and turn to for guidance were threatening her safety in this grand academy meant to raise and nurture the student it harbored and this was what Nova had to deal with?

As her worry and concern for her junior faded, they gave rise to a new emotion, one Ela had not felt directed at another person in a long time, anger.
Her frown stiffened into a hard line, hands tensing and clenching around the mug she was holding, accidentally putting a crack in the ceramic.
The light prick of the broken shards at her hand reminded Ela where she was and what she was taught to do in a situation like this.
She took a deep swig, letting the warm mix of caffeine, sugar and milk calm her nerves as she placed down her mug on the table, crossed her legs and fully turned her chair towards Nova.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, as you put it, that is seriously messed up. Thank you for confining in me, Nova. I hope it helped you as much as it will this school....this isn't the first time Flash has acted up, but stalking one of our junior members to her own room, with friends, is a new low even for him."
She slowly leaned forward, looking at Nova with the calm expression she wore before, now only a determined glare could be seen in the usually serene eyes.
"If you wish, I could go talk to the professors and see to it that Flash gets his just deserts and gets reprimanded appropriately"
She offered with a kind smile, yet...maybe it was her having taken a great liking to Nova in the short time they have met or that her little sister Lin was rubbing off on her.
"Or..."
Her smile grew a bit nervous, twirling her long locks, as she went over what she was going to offer Nova right now.
"We could make sure that he leaves you and the rest of the first years alone permanently."

[Nova Starr]

Nova witnessed Ela phase between an array of emotions, feeling sorry for the poor soul on the receiving end of such a scolding. Thankfully, though the older student's body language made it evident that the girl was out for blood, it justified Nova's thoughts and feelings about what happened earlier that day. It also brought some level of comfort; if Flash was to walk through the doorway, she knew that Ela was going to deal with him, and that meant everything to her in the moment.

Then, Ela confirmed that she knew the boy. Suddenly, the situation became a little bit more real. He wasn't just a random face in the crowd after all. He was known for his miscreant predilections. Nova, unsure what to think about the situation, met Ela's eyes when the girl suggested ratting him out to the Professors. "Hmm..." she mumbled despondently. Pursuing such a route came with a burden of proof, of which she hadn't any. Just as Nova went to say something, though, Ela spoke up again, offering a new solution.

"Uh... permanently?" Suddenly, she was curious, if a little nervous about what that meant. "As in, like... uh..." She didn't really know what to say. "I... I don't know. What if he doubles down? He picks on that poor guy in cafeteria and nobody does anything to stop him, I doubt he's worried about the consequences of his actions."

[Ela Motley]

Ela was not very surprised that Nova immediately caught her meaning, she was being a bit cryptic to give herself more time to think this trough, but as she was prompted on it Ela came to the same conclusion again.
"You are correct, Flash has and will never care about any sort of reprimands, which is why he was willing to chase you to your own room."
Ela took a second to remind herself of the many times she herself had dragged flash to detention, with the other student giving some sort of comment along the lines of "I don't care" or "What ever" as he was being punished.
But, him caring or not caring about the punishment wasn't going to be an issue if they pulled this off.
"We currently lack evidence right now, but it should be easy to gather some if you confront Flash again, if he acts against you. When he does, record it, I will come to your rescue and..."
Ela paused for a second, she wasn't entirely comfortable with this, but Flash had proven to be a continuous problem, one she would fix.
"... We will get Flash expelled for invasion of privacy and harming a junior student. Then his indifference won't matter anymore"

[Nova Starr]

"Right." Ela had a good point, and it only clicked for Nova when the older girl spelled it out. To do nothing just encouraged him to do worse, if not to her then to somebody else. If she wanted the violence to stop before it could really come to a head, the pair needed to nip the Flash problem in the bud.

The plan was simple, if not unnerving for Nova given her role in it. "And he'll be his own downfall. Getting him expelled feels like a lot, but he so deserves it. Not sure how I feel about being the bait in all this... if there's even a small chance it stops him from doing what he does, then whatever. It's worth the risk." There was a twinkle set in her eye when she smiled. After a questionable day, there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

For the first time in a few hours, she felt at ease, and enjoyed a sip of coffee as she pondered exactly what they were going to do to trap him. "Mm. How should we do it? It won't take much to get him going, but I'd rather not run into him in the dorms again. I doubt he's dumb enough to try something serious in public, like the cafeteria. Though, he is a total moron," she said, lips tugging into a half smile.

[Ela Motley]

Ela thought about it for a bit and then a bit longer, not because she couldn't think of anything...but too many things, she knew Flash wasn't the brightest, but even he had common sense, while his short temper was an easy answer to exploit she knew the guy had learned to reign in his anger, but there was one thing she knew he couldn't handle, peer pressure.

"The idea is simple, you need to catch Flash when he is with friends, preferably his two closest "friends" rather lackeys, Speedy and Zippy. He can't afford to look weak in front of his peers due to the reputation he's built up.... So if you pretended to film yourself doing something, "accidentally" spilled juice on him again while walking by we should be able to get him to chase you, especially if we were to make sure that you'd use the same type of juice as you had previously... Then you simply run into your dorm room, slow enough for him to follow and before anything bad happens to you, I'll stop him, I could be waiting in your dorm pretending to help you with homework."
Ela slammed her fist into her palm, looking pleased with herself, then looked toward Nova, something she hadn't done in the last 10 minutes, blushing a little as she had just realized that she had been rambling for a while, most of what she had said was coherent, but Ela had paused to just think or talk to herself.

"I-I'm so sorry for rambling, it's a bad habit."
Ela stammered, highly embarrassed now, as she looked at her still half full mug, scratching the back of her head just taking a deep sip to quickly calm down, not the time to get embarrassed Miss Motley, you have a bully to boot out of Beacon.
"Regardless, I think this is a sound plan."
Ela continued, looking calm and friendly again.
"If you are confident in your acting talent then all should go well, I'm more than comfortable handling Flash and his friends for a while, as you know my semblance lets me cover myself in stone, which can take a harder beating than any of them can dish out, so I'll just be blocking your doorway until the professor comes around."
Ela explained with a smile, yet did frown a little.
"The only issue I can see is them somehow slipping past me, they are all second years like me, the reason they're so close is also my big issue, their semblances are all speed enhancing semblances, Zippy's allows him to ignore friction, Speedy has incredible reflexes almost as if he could see the future and Flash's...well he's just incredibly fast, so fast it's a security risk, and he never uses his semblance in an enclosed space due to the fear or running into walls, he most likely won't use it to chase you due to that, but he could use it to push me away."
Ela continued, as a smirk formed on her face.
"I have an idea...as long as you don't mind your room getting a bit cold."
Ela exhaled for but a second, the air around Nova chilled almost instantly as from Ela's mouth came frost and on her hand gathered ice, which melted as Ela put her mug back into her palm.
"I could freeze them in place, if you are fine with having to do some drying afterward."

[Nova Starr]

As soon as Ela began to blurt out her thoughts, Nova felt engaged; nay, absolutely locked in, as if the plot of a high-school drama novel were unfolding before her very ears. She drew a sharp breath when Ela slammed her fist into the table, more from exhilaration than shock. She noticed Ela's pause but had nothing to add herself - in fact, she was onboard with everything. All of it. Not a syllable of the plan was off-kilter.

Although, some time later, after Ela had described Flash' weakness (and, for that matter, a weakness shared by his allies), and how a deep-freeze might lodge them in place until they could all be accosted... Nova's posture was more than a little uneasy.

For one, she suddenly felt cold. As if she were standing in front of an open fridge-freezer, feeling the cold air pulsing out from within. A sensation she could only fend off by wrapping her hands around her mug, before sipping another mouthful of coffee. "I mean... school might have something to say about the carpet damage. But.. okay, really silly question. They'll be, like... okay, right? I mean, Flash will physically be okay, right? I mean, I've seen people frozen in the Vytal festival before and all, but it feels... scary?" She shook her head. "Sorry if that sounds weird. Your semblance is so unique, just promise me the plan's not that dangerous?"

[Ela Motley]

Ela could feel the worry in Nova's voice, she really was just adorably sweet, she couldn't but smile as Nova expressed her worry for her bullies.
"I assure you Nova, Flash and his friends will be fine, physically, getting kicked out of school will probably not be fine, I won't fully freeze them, so they'd crack like a popsicle if that is what you are worried about, I'll concentrate my attack on their legs, that they way their semblances are useless, an ice shackle so to say."
Ela assured her with that patient and calm smile once again, the compliment? she received regarding her semblance did not go unnoticed.

"And thank you, I'm glad you like my semblance?"
She asked, tilting her head a little, she wasn't entirely sure what Nova meant by unique.
"Speaking of which, I should make sure I'm all topped up for this, just to make sure I can keep you safe."]/color]
Ela said, as she took out a small pouch from her coat, pulling out a piece of ice and earth dust, both about the size of her palm, Ela looked them over for a second, before gingerly biting down, the dust breaking apart like Ela was eating some chips.
The glow of the marks on her body, got noticeably brighter, she could probably illuminate this room by herself now.