xp_logs | Log: [Julio and Crystal]

Before Cain's announcement on the journals, Crystal runs into Julio outside. Julio tries not to stare and offers to teach her how to play Halo.

Crystal had come outside for a walk, not to work out, and as such was wearing what she considered to be a casual outfit of a not-quite knee-length skirt, halter top, and sandals, the same type of dressy-casual clothes she usually wore in the mansion. Her head turned towards a sound, a sound she discovered was caused by a ball hitting a wall.

Julio dribbled the soccer ball back and forth before sending it towards the wall again. There was no reason for this really, just something nice and mindless. One could only play halo 2 for so long. In deference to the humidity, he'd removed his shirt and tied his hair back with a bandana. He cradled the ball with his right foot when it came back to him, and kicked it against the wall hard. Only it bounced off a stray brick on the return and went right over his head.

The humidity didn't bother Crystal as her powers worked to keep her cool. Upon seeing the ball fly over the boy's head, her first instinct was to create a wind or alter the air currents to send the ball back to him. The ball hovered in the air for a moment before reversing its course and hitting the wall again.

Julio bent down to retrieve the ball before turning to face the newcomer. The breeze was a welcome change from the humid morning. As was the girl. "Hello? I do not believe I have met you yet." He didn't bother to introduce himself. As he'd found, everyone knew who he was.

"Greetings, I am Crystal Amaquelin," Crystal said, leaving out the curtsy that had accompanied the greeting during her first weeks at the mansion. It had only served to further alienate her from the others at the mansion.

"Hello Crystal," Julio replied formally, matching the tone of her greeting. "It is nice to meet you. Are you not an American?" Her accent was something vaguely European. But not at all unintelligible. Some of the people around here had a tendency to slur all their words together, making Julio feel a little stupid if he didn't understand them right away.

"It is nice to meet you as well," Crystal replied. Unlike other people in the mansion, Crystal did not thrive on gossip, and the idea that Julio had not told her his name because he assumed everyone knew he was did not enter her mind. Yes, she read journal posts and comments, but she still introduced herself to people she met face-to-face for the first time. "No, I am not an American. I am from the island of Attilan."

Julio caught the change in her tone. What had he said? Oh, right, you're supposed to introduce yourself, stupid. "Please forgive me, I was being rude. I'm Julio Richter. I should not assume people already know, but enough people are on a first-name basis with me when I have never even met them face-to-face." He twirled the soccer ball absently in his hands. "Attlian?" He racked his brain for his geography lessons. "It is near Portugal, que no?"

“~Yes, it is close to Portugal,~” Crystal answered in Spanish. “~An apology is not needed. The journal system can make formal introductions seem unnecessary, but I am not very comfortable with the idea of walking up to people and using their names without a proper introduction.~"

"Ah, es primer quién piensa tan," he grinned broadly, "~It's nice.~" Her accent was more Spain Spanish than Mexican, but it was like the difference between an English and American accent.

"Gracias," Crystal answered with a smile. Which language she spoke didn't really matter to her. She was perfectly comfortable conversing in English, Portuguese, Spanish, and French. Yes, her English had an accent to it, but people in Attilan spoke both English and Portuguese, and who really wanted to sound like an American anyway? "~The cultural difference here can be quite shocking. People do not seem to think before they speak. And they do not seem to realize that a new student may be unnerved if people walk up to them and say,~ 'Hey, you're Crystal, right?' ~without introducing themselves.~”

Julio shrugged and bounced his soccer ball. "I've chalked it up to the fact that Americans have no tact," he said, switching back to English. "So, what is it that you can do?" Julio had noted that "what do you do?" was the equivalent of "what sport do you play?" or "what school do you go to?" around here.

Crystal grinned, relieved at hearing that someone else felt the same way about the way people here behaved. "I can generate winds, form water, solidify air, play with air pressure...that sort of thing," Crystal replied matter-of-factly. "And I can even dance, too," she added with another smile.

"Mine seem to have something to do with the earth. Doctor Mactaggart and I have been working on it, but for the most part it seems all I can do is shake things." And destroy stuff. "I also have one of the highest scores on halo 2, around here." Insomnia due to nightmares worked wonders on that, though he learned to keep it muted because of his roommate's hearing. No sense in being held upside-down again.

"What is halo 2?" Crystal asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"It is, ah, a video game?" She was kidding, right? "You hit buttons and shoot things."

Crystal was not kidding. Knowing the names of the latest video games had never made it onto her list of priorities. "Oh, I see," she replied. "Yes, I know what video games are; I had not heard of that one." She hadn't really heard of a lot of them. "Hitting buttons and shooting things never seemed that exciting to me."

"Oh no, that is the point of the game. Shooting things. Usually other players, it is very popular, so you can link up and game with people from all over the place. Sometimes they have audio so they can trash talk each other. It was rather sad to have my ass beaten by some boy in England." He was aware he was running on a bit too long, but he was still trying like hell to look her in the eyes. Her shirt was not made for modesty.

Crystal believed in the idea of "look but don't touch." She couldn't keep anyone from looking at her, nor would she usually try, especially not a cute, shirtless boy who could cause earthquakes. The concept of touch was a different story: an unwanted touch was likely to earn someone a one way trip on courtesy of a large gust of wind. What she was wearing, however, was nothing compared to other articles of clothing she owned.

Shooting people online still didn't sound like a worthwhile way to spend time, but Crystal was used to people being interested in things she either found boring or had never heard about. "Maybe you can show me how to play," she suggested.

Julio blinked as he processed that, a girl wanted to play a videogame? "S-sure," he said. "I can do that. If you do not mind being in the boy's suite that is." Julio also made a mental note to keep the door to his and Kyle's room closed. Either that or pass the messy half of the room off as Kyle's

"I do not mind," Crystal replied with a smile. "I did not think that the boys' suites were any different than the girls' suites."

"Well, I would not know. I have not been inside the girl's suites. Fewer girls in ours," he added with a smile. "There is just my roommate Kyle, but he is easily distracted by squirrels, so that should not be a problem." Then he considered that Crystal might not want to be alone in the suite with him, so he quickly amended, "But he can stay, or you can bring another of the girls along," he shrugged. "Maybe they would want to play?"

Crystal had to giggle at the thought of Kyle being distracted by squirrels. "My roommate is away visiting her family." And I don't really know anyone else. "Many people who were here when I arrived seem to be off somewhere else right now. So, I will be coming alone, if that is fine with you."

"I am fine with that." He twirled his soccer ball again. "Perhaps later today then? You were obviously going somewhere and I would need to shower first. I only subject my roommate to that, and that is just because he complains so much."

Crystal nodded. "I was just going for a walk." Remembering her the roommate problems she had had, Crystal wanted to tell Julio that he should reconsider his actions, but she wasn't quite sure what to say. "I will see you later today, then."

Julio waved. "See you later." He bounced the ball once, and then resumed kicking it against the wall. Though this time with a little more enthusiasm.