living seems dead.

[BENJAMIN MARKUS CARD]

we'll dance until morning light, this town should be afraid!
heaven is having a hell of a time
SKELETONS ON PARADE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The church was deserted. Just like it always was. Nothing had changed since the last time he came here last week. The dirt and leaves littering the cold floor were all perfectly untouched except for his own carefull footprints that led to the middle of a great empty room. Hardly anybody came out here, and nobody ever actually came inside while he was here. The lack of tracks also showed that it was empty when he wasn't present, as well.

Ben liked to come in here once in a while to practice his magic. With the right words from another person, he could produce anything imaginable. Literally. He was a genie. If you could wish it, he could make it. Making things for himself was a different story, however. Genies were made to gift others, not themselves. His extreme powers could only be tapped into if someone else wished, and that sort of irked him. They were his powers, and yet he couldn't use them for himself. It was a sort of rule, and using magic of his own free will was a lot harder. Like trying to force the sun to stop shining, it was virtually impossible to use his magic for himself.

But there were ways to avoid the sun.

That's why he was here. Nobody came out here. Everyone thought it was haunted or something. Ben supposed a few non-humans might come out here, but it sure didn't look like they did. Just as well, he didn't really want to meet anyone anyway.

Benjamin looked around the great empty space. So much room to work his magic. His lifted his hands like a conductor might and concentrated. For a few moments nothing happened, but very slowly smoke started to form in front of his palms. It started to take shape and form, turning a faded red and morphing into spheres. They rolled off of his hands now and floated towards the ceiling. When there was a column of smoke balls he dropped one of his hands. With the other he waved his hand in a large circle.

The balls dropped and pushed themselves out into a horizontal circle in front of him, about ten feet in diameter. He stared at the center of the circle and a flash of lightening crackled right where he imagined it would. Yellow light filled the room, tinting everything with an unnatural glow. For a brief moment Ben wondered if anyone outside had seen the flash, but he shook the thought from his mind.

*Nobody comes out here, remember?* He thought to himself, and he went back to his magic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
word count ~ 437
wanted ~ it's open!
outfit ~ dark jeans, dust-colored long sleeved shirt
notes ~ uhm, nothing for now. =D
credits ~ lrics from "skeletons on parade" by ludo.
design and content to me.

[DANIEL HENRY O'NEIL]

[i'll never let you sweep me off my feet.]
MY INFORMATION'S JUST NOT GOING IN.

The sky was wonderfully overcast today. There was a light drizzle; just enough to get you slightly wet, but not enough for an umbrella. This was just how Dan liked it. He walked down the cracked sidewalk. There were a few weeds poking their head through the miniature fissures.

A small water-skin hung loosely at Dan's side. It was topped with a smooth, cone shaped piece of cork held to the bottle with a piece of string. Dan flipped of the cap with his thumb. He took a deep breath as he was walking. He moved his right index finger forward. A stream of water came out of the water-skin. He nodded slowly to himself. Dan held his hand out in front of him. The stream of water followed. He curled in his finger. The line of water curled into a ball. It was slightly oblong. He straightened out his finger. With a slight frown, he pulled his fingers to make a tightly clenched fist. The oblong ball froze in front of him. His frown grew deeper and his eyebrows furrowed. He bit on his lower lip: a sure sign of frustration. He splayed his fingers out in front of him and waved his hand back in forth, as if wiping away his mistake. The ice slowly melted back into its liquid form. The water had the appearance of water after you poor it onto a counter. It was a floating puddle. This time he closed his hand slowly the water slowly became spherical. It was about two inches in diameter. With a satisfied nod, he maneuvered the ball of water into his mouth.

He walked past the creepy old church. A flash of light came from the doorway. Dan quizzically raised his eyebrows. He walked down the weed ridden pathway to the seemingly-not-so-forgotten church. Inside he saw a boy not much younger than himself, maybe seventeen or eighteen, with spheres of energy in front of him. He has seen him around school, but has never really talked to him. Dan allowed a soft smile to creep onto his face. "So, I'm not the only one practicing, eh? T'sup, man?"

AND TELL ME NOW I'M MUCH TOO PROUD.

word count-358
wanted-open
outfit-holed jeans, faded brown t-shirt, half zipped up green hoodie
notes-none
credits- lyrics to la roux, template to STACEY!

[BENJAMIN MARKUS CARD]

we'll dance until morning light, this town should be afraid!
heaven is having a hell of a time
SKELETONS ON PARADE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Benjamin spun around on the balls of his feet, hands still splayed out in front of him. His blue eyes scanned the guy; he looked familiar, and he recognized him as a guy from school. His name was... oh, Daniel. Daniel O'Neil. Ben didn't know him or anything, but he watched. Watching people was a lot easier than interacting with them, and it allowed his to study the actions of humans. That might sound absolutely boring to some people, but Ben had to know how humans would react. If he came upon someone who wished from him, he would be forced to comply. Knowing human nature would help him know what to expect and who to expect it from. He was really good at reading people, but Daniel was someone he really didn't know much about.

"Hey. Yeah, I was just... practicing," he replied, glancing over his shoulder. The orbs of smoke had disappeared--probably when he had turned around and lost his concentration. The smoke balls were by no means hard to make a normal basis, but a lot of effort when he was just practicing.

Daniel being here unnerved him slightly. He thought this was his place. Nobody came out here, right? Well aparantly not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
word count ~ 206 =P
wanted ~ Daniel O'Neil
notes ~ sorry it's short.
credits ~ lrics from "skeletons on parade" by ludo.
design and content to me.

[DANIEL HENRY O'NEIL]

[i'll never let you sweep me off my feet.]
MY INFORMATION'S JUST NOT GOING IN.

The guy looked a bit distressed at Dan's arrival. Dan looked behind the boy. Orbs of smoke were dissipating into the air. The right corner of his lip lifted into a small half smile, but his eyebrows slanted downwards. "Am I, uh--am I interrupting something?" He immediately felt stupid afterward. He let out a shaky little laugh. He contemplated just leaving the room, but decided that he didn't the guy's first impression of him to be worse than it already is. His eyes darted towards the doorway, anyway.

Dan tried to recall his name. It was something with a B. Bob? Billy? Ben? Something. Dan started nodding to himself--an old habit. He called out another drop of water from his pouch and popped it into his mouth. He started nodding again, then stopped.

He looked around the room. Ivy clung to most of the walls and windows. The place smelled musty and unused. Specks of mold were starting to appear on the walls, and the once beautiful stained glass windows were now coated thick blanket of dust. Most people might be repulsed, but Dan loved it. He stroked one of the the benches sitting near him. It felt a little spongy but still usable. He thought about sitting on it, but was afraid to make his audience angry. He decided against it.

AND TELL ME NOW I'M MUCH TOO PROUD.

word count-224
wanted-Benjamin Card((Sorry, about the open on previous post))
outfit-Same as before
notes-Sorry for longness of reply time and shortness
credits- lyrics to la roux, template to STACEY!

[BENJAMIN MARKUS CARD]

we'll dance until morning light, this town should be afraid!
heaven is having a hell of a time
SKELETONS ON PARADE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben shook his head slowly when Daniel asked him the question. It was true, he wasn't interrupting anything, Ben just didn't like people much, that was all. He watched as the guy looked around and stroked the bench. He seemed sort of... nervous. Just like he himself felt.

"No, no, you weren't interrupting me. I just wasn't expecting anyone to come in here. Surprised me." He tilted his head a little as he spoke, know that his words would sound funny with their slight English accent. "If you don't ming me asking, though... why are you here," his words might have sounded rude coming from another person, but Dan always sounded like a gentleman. His tone was open and curious, not threatening in any way. Again, people-watching could really help. He could manipulate himself and others, sometimes. It truely could be helpful.

His blue eyes stared at Daniel, waiting for a reply. He looked like he might want to sit down, but didn't. That was fine with him, he didn't plan on staying now that he had company. Idly he put his hands behind his back. For some reason not entirely know to him, he was self conscioud of his hands. It wasn't that they were ugly or anything, but they could do so much. He could produce trillions of wonders with a simple thought and a twitch of his fingers. People took them for granted, though, but he sure didn't.

Looking back up to Daniel he realized that he hadn't recieved an answer. Well, he might have and just didn't hear it. That would be embarassing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
word count ~ 267
wanted ~ daniel
notes ~ it's all good, homeboy (;
credits ~ lrics from "skeletons on parade" by ludo.
design and content to me.

[DANIEL HENRY O'NEIL]

[i'll never let you sweep me off my feet.]
MY INFORMATION'S JUST NOT GOING IN.

Dan started nodding again. His face relaxed a little. The guy's accent was...odd. It was English. Dan felt suddenly self-conscious of his American accent. "I saw a light. I got curious. Sorry." The guy folded his hands behind his back. Weird. "You mind me asking for your name?" He liked the guy so far. He didn't say much, but he seemed kind of cool. Quiet, but cool.

Dan averted his eyes from the boy's blue ones. His eyes darted around the room again. It was larger than he thought. He looked back at the guy. He was just about the same height as Dan. He stood up straight. When he talked he seemed to be in control. Or maybe Dan was just too submissive. He unconsciously began to fiddle with his fingers. He flexed and unflexed them. The soft rain pitter-pattered outside of the church. The sounded was relaxing.
He focused on that. Dan tried to inhale the sweet aroma of the rain and earth, but instead got a noseful of dust and mold. He wrinkled his nose a bit.

Dan has tried to use his powers to control weather before, but found that his powers hadn't advanced this far yet. He would have to try again sometime. His mom could. Even his little brother Kelvin could, to some small extent. He could create miniature rainclouds. Dan loves Kelvin, but this was just a bit too embarrassing to overlook.

AND TELL ME NOW I'M MUCH TOO PROUD.

word count-239
wanted-Ben
outfit-same as previous
notes-n/a
credits- lyrics to la roux, template to STACEY!

[BENJAMIN MARKUS CARD]

we'll dance until morning light, this town should be afraid!
heaven is having a hell of a time
SKELETONS ON PARADE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"My name is Benjamin Card, but I go by Ben," he replied after a queit moment. Daniel suddenly seemed uncomfortable and... well, just uncomfortable. Like he wanted to be somewhere else. Well, he was free to leave; no one was making him stay. The guy wore an expression that sort of looked like submission. Ben couldn't help but tilt his head, continuing to watch him.

"I came out here to practice some magic. It's quiet and nice out, so I figured, hey, why not, you know?" He askedm his gentle voice coming from him like a sort of cloud of sound. There was always an air of magic around Benjamin, like he would disappear in a poof of smoke at any time. Sometimes he wished he could. It was that magic that pulled some people towards him and pushed others away. Some humans found the non-humans creepy and unnatural. Others thought they were cool. The magical, themselves, just tried to get by without becoming experiments or victims of hate crimes. Humans could be most unweilding to change, Ben had noticed. This feeling was there to cover of fear of the nons, fear of their power. Some could pull of the tough and mighty look, others couldn't. Standing here, for once in his life feeling superior, he wondered if this guy was one of the humans who feared magic and showed it.

"If you don't mind me asking," he added softly, "What is your name?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
word count ~ 244
wanted ~ daniel
notes ~ none
credits ~ lrics from "skeletons on parade" by ludo.
design and content to me.

[DANIEL HENRY O'NEIL]

[i'll never let you sweep me off my feet.]
MY INFORMATION'S JUST NOT GOING IN.

"Ben, Ben. Right."Dan said mostly to himself. "I'm Daniel. But, please, call me Dan." He said to Ben. He looked at Ben. Then looked down. Dan wondered just what kind of magic Ben was practicing. He looked back up at Ben. "I came out here to practice too, well that and to soak up the rain. It's wonderful isn't it? Rain?" He finished the last part quietly.

He wished it would rain all the time. The world would be perfect. Nearly flooded, but still perfect in Dan's eyes. He sometimes wished he could have been born a Shapeshifter so he could Shift into a fish or another aquatic animal. But then he thought that if he wasn't a Water Sprite, would he even like water as much as he did? He probably wouldn't, but how can one know for sure? He was horribly afraid of the air. Not as in the air people breath, but of flying. It seems so...infinite to him. And if you fall out of the air, you most likely die. If you fall in water...well, if it's deep enough you really can't. Well, you could fall on water, but that's the whole point, isn't it? To be in water?

He thought all of this through before looking back up at Ben. He blinked several times. He hoped Ben hadn't been saying anything during his little episode there.

AND TELL ME NOW I'M MUCH TOO PROUD.

word count-231
wanted-Ben
outfit-Same
notes-n/a
credits- lyrics to la roux, template to STACEY!

[BENJAMIN MARKUS CARD]

we'll dance until morning light, this town should be afraid!
heaven is having a hell of a time
SKELETONS ON PARADE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben raised an eyebrow as Dan went on about the rain. He must be a water sprite. Magical, after all. Of course, there was a posibility he was human; crazy, but a human. Really, how many humans went and talked about an element like he did? And with that expression... Yes. There was no doubt about it, he was a water sprite.

"Uh, sure. Gets things wet, I suppose, but sometimes that's for the better. And, uh, it helps things grow, of course," he said softly, still a little weary. Sprites weren't really his thing. Most were unpredictable. Water sprites were more stable, but still. Having power over an element required a sort of insanity. A small amount, but it was still there. Ben learned a lot when he watched. More than the others who watched at all, even. He took in information like a sponge. Characteristics and habits. Sprites had a certain energy about them that varied slightly depending on the element they controlled. Fire sprites were wild and energetic; earth sprites were solid and calm; air sprites, aloof and slightly wild; water sprites were the weirdest. They could be anything, practically. Act any way they chose to. Well, not exactly. You didn't really choose to act the way you do, that's also decided for you.

"It's starting to rain. I... I think I'd better be getting home or something," Ben suggested in his soft voice, the voice that made everything he said sound like an open-ended question.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
word count ~ 249
wanted ~ dan
notes ~ if you want, ask him to show off his mad
magic skills, if you want to keep it going
credits ~ lrics from "skeletons on parade" by ludo.
design and content to me.

[DANIEL HENRY O'NEIL]

[i'll never let you sweep me off my feet.]
MY INFORMATION'S JUST NOT GOING IN.

Dan's eyebrows raised ever so slightly. He didn't understand why anyone would want to stay cooped up inside when it was raining. But Dan didn't understand the behavior of most other creatures. "Alright. Well...yeah, okay. It was nice meeting you, Ben. See you around." He took one last look around the church and another one at Ben. He couldn't get a good read on Ben. He seemed really...observant. Like there was nothing you could do that he wouldn't miss. He reads people.

He obviously wasn't human, but then what was Ben exactly? Dan's best guess was a Fire Sprite or maybe even an Air Sprite, considering the smoke. But he seemed too cool he. No, not unless Dan was dreaming. Dan guessed Genie. No, that's impossible. Genies can't use magic of their own freewill...could they? Maybe Ben can...[/color] He thought. A look of awe mixed with pure curiosity flashed on Dan's face. He tilted his head to the right.

"What exactly are you, Ben?"[/b] Dan asked whispered under his breath. A mystery for another time, or maybe not. He almost hoped Ben didn't hear him. Almost. Dan took a step out into the rain. The drops smoothly caressed his cheeks. The drizzle turned more into a slight sprinkle. He brushed his arms and a collection of little drops that clung to the short hairs sprouting from his arms accumulated on his hand.

AND TELL ME NOW I'M MUCH TOO PROUD.

word count-232
wanted-Ben
outfit-saame...
notes-nopes
credits- lyrics to la roux, template to STACEY!

[BENJAMIN MARKUS CARD]

we'll dance until morning light, this town should be afraid!
heaven is having a hell of a time
SKELETONS ON PARADE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben didn't move while Dan was talking, nor when he finished. He just watched. Confident now that his companion was indeed a water sprite, he felt himself relax. While Benjamin wasn't intimidating in any way, others had tried to pick on him in the past. Power was something he liked to have, but not in a physical way. He had never won any sort of fight unless it was a battle of the mind. Brainpower he had enough of, muscles, no so much. The fact that he knew he was stronger than Dan was comforting to him, expecially now that Dan seemed a bit nervous.

Benjamin did hear Dan's last words, but he remained quiet for a moment. What was he? A genie, of course. Dan seemed to be uncomfortable in a way that almost made Ben himself uncomfortable. Almost. He waited a moment, carefully watching, before answering.

"I'm a genie. I'm trying to make things on my own, without others wishing," he said evenly. What he was doing was sort of taboo and wrong. Genies were supposed to help others and not themselves. Well, Ben was tired of that. It wasn't like he was greedy and wanted to make himself rich or something. He just wanted to know that he could use his magic whenever he wanted. It was his magic, after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
word count ~ 224
wanted ~ danny boy
notes ~ remember that it's in past tense, matt ;D
credits ~ lrics from "skeletons on parade" by ludo.
design and content to me.

[DANIEL HENRY O'NEIL]

[i'll never let you sweep me off my feet.]
MY INFORMATION'S JUST NOT GOING IN.

Dan stopped. Still standing in the rain, he turned to look at Ben. So he was a Genie. The look on Dan's face was one of awe mixed with fascination. A Genie that could use magic of his own free will. For some reason this just seemed...wrong. It was as if he saw a flying penguin. But he always wondered what held a Genie back from using his or her magic. They had seemingly limitless power, but it had to be triggered by someone else. It didn't seem fair, really. It was like granting Dan with awesome water capabilities but surrounding him with a land of earth. There was a sort of taboo keeping Genies from using their own magic. Dan wondered where that came from, but was a little afraid to ask.

A question popped into Dan's head, but he was afraid to make himself look stupid. He asked it anyway. "Uhm, Ben? Have you ever tried, you know, like, telling yourself a wish? Or having someone make wishes for you? Like, I don't know, having someone go 'I wish Ben could do what he wants with his powers.'?" Dan said with a shrug and a half smile. It seemed to make sense to Dan, but he hoped he didn't offend Ben.

AND TELL ME NOW I'M MUCH TOO PROUD.

word count-213
wanted-Ben
outfit-same
notes-sorry it took so long to reply
credits- lyrics to la roux, template to STACEY!

[BENJAMIN MARKUS CARD]

we'll dance until morning light, this town should be afraid!
heaven is having a hell of a time
SKELETONS ON PARADE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben smirked and shook his head slightly. Yes, it seemed realistic and simple when you thought about it like that, but it sure as hell didn't work that way.

"No, you see, a genie's magic comes from the words "I wish". A genie cannot simply wish for something, because they know what they want before the wish, and whatever force controls the magic doesn't recognize our own wishes." He tried to explain, rubbing his hands together.

"You see, the magic we make comes from inside directed out, and it blocks out thoughts and such already inside. Someone makes a wish and I know exactly what to do. I wave my hands and there it is. I can't... just wish on something and expect it to show up."

Ben winched; this explanation wasn't going well at all. Maybe Dan wouldn't understand it and just leave. He was already standing outside, after all. Maybe he would think Ben was a freak--weird, if you will--and decide it was better to get away instead of facing a syco.

He shook his head.

*You are letting you imagination overpower you again, Benjamin,* he chastised himself mentally. "I am sorry if you were looking for a more specific answer. I really don't know how to explain it all."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
word count ~ 212
wanted ~ danny
notes ~ noneee
credits ~ lrics from "skeletons on parade" by ludo.
design and content to me.

[DANIEL HENRY O'NEIL]

[i'll never let you sweep me off my feet.]
MY INFORMATION'S JUST NOT GOING IN.

Dan smiled. He didn't exactly understand what Ben was saying, but he didn't really expect an explanation in the first place. Some things are just better left unquestioned. Well, so Dan thought anyway. Ben looked a bit uncomfortable. This unconsciously pleased Dan, though only slightly. A Genie who was trying to use his own magic. How rebellious. Dan felt a sort of admiration for Ben. Trying to solve the secrets to his own race, pushing the limits of his own abilities, this kid just earned his coolness points.

Dan realized he was still standing outside in the rain. His arms hung down by his waist. He splayed his fingers. It looked as if a invisible barrier was surrounding him. Water drops dripped down. the dome around him. There was nothing there; Dan just caused the water to not touch him. Before he walked back into the church, he clenched his left fist. Stray drops of moisture flowed form his clothes to gather in a large ball of water in front of his fist. He as momentarily distracted by the orb of water. He shook his hand and let the ball of water fly out into unkempt yard. He took a step back into the church. He wanted to try something. "So what if I said, like, said 'I wish it would rain harder.'?"[/b] Dan wanted to see how far did Ben's power extended. He wanted to see if he could do something a Sprite could.

AND TELL ME NOW I'M MUCH TOO PROUD.

word count-245
wanted-Ben

notes-psyco,silly. ;D
credits- lyrics to la roux, template to STACEY!

[BENJAMIN MARKUS CARD]

we'll dance until morning light, this town should be afraid!
heaven is having a hell of a time
SKELETONS ON PARADE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben clenched his teeth together for a moment, his gaze sharpening. This was exactly what he didn't want to put up with. People tried to abuse genie powers to get what they wanted. It was part of the reason Ben wanted to learn to control his magic.

"Then your wish is my command," he said softly. There was a warmth spreading through his stomach, and it made his fingers itch. It was the magic boiling up inside of him. Slowly he raised one arm with his palm facing the ceiling of the church. For a moment nothing happened, then there was a great rumbling. Thunder crashed loudly, and a great flash of lightening lit up the church through the windows. Static filled the air, and the sudden clapping of the rain did nothing to make it go away.

Outside the rain was coming down in sheets. The forcast had only called for a light rain. Well, the weathermen would be wrong again.

Ben stood in the middle of the room with a funny expression on his face. His work being done, the magic had gone away, but he had managed to save some of it. He looked at Dan to see what his reaction was.

"And there you go," he said softly, slowly walking towards the guy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
word count ~ 217
wanted ~ dan
notes ~ shut yo face, asian! ;D
credits ~ lrics from "skeletons on parade" by ludo.
design and content to me.