[closed] i was strolling through the park one day

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[closed] i was strolling through the park one day

Who: Karl Aurion, Sophie Bai
When: 2/14 afternoon
Where: The park
What: Super strength isn't all it's cracked up to be.

[Some days just make someone need a moment to themselves. Today feels like that sort of a day for Karl. It isn't a bad day or anything, just a long one with so much to do and too little time. Most of what needed to get done had been done by now. Just a trip down to the station in a bit and then home and then sleep left. Before dealing with the station and the unavoidable headache it'll likely induce, a nice stroll through the park felt a great idea. He didn't come down for walks through parks often, but sometimes being outside and surrounded by nature helps more than any aspirin. Karl takes in a deep breath and then exhales. Yes, this is nice. Very nice.

Right up until those kids come out of nowhere and almost run right into him. The collision gets avoided, if narrowly, but the suddenness of this leads to a small amount of inattentiveness. This inattentiveness is the reason Karl fails to notice the large patch of ice in front of him up until he feels the friction beneath his feet magically disappear. His eyes widen as he feels himself about fall and the unlucky guy tries to grab onto the nearest stable object, this particular object being the handrail of a park bench.

It gets grabbed!! Only with one slight miscalculation: forgetting about the super strength, or rather, forgetting to hold back that super strength when grabbing onto the rail. Thanks to this oversight, a loud CRACK rings out through the park and gets quickly followed up by a loud CRASH. Guess who just completely broke off the rail and then fell flat on his face? The genius redhead sprawled out on the ground still clutching that rail, that's who.]

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[ Sophie likes the park. It's where she goes after school sometimes, or just for walks on the weekend - though today is the former, a breather after school. In warmer months, she fully plans to keep her shoes off, like she did for a little while before the snow started...but now she's just making due with thin-soled shoes, even if it muffles her more than she would like.

She's sitting on her usual bench, cane balanced upright between her knees as she leans back, face tilted up to the weak winter sun, when the CRASH happens. And, more than that, the CRACK.

Sophie's face turns immediately towards the sounds, her head tilting, even as she tries to process the information.

Did that just...what just happened? No, she sort of knows, but...

Numbered. So Numbered. ]

...Did you just break the bench?

[ ...Oh wait she should also ask: ]

Did you break your head? I don't do healing stuff.

[Face hitting pavement (even if snow covered pavement) leaves someone momentarily dazed and seeing pretty stars in front of their eyes. This would be why no freaking out over someone having seen him do something abnormal for a human takes place. Instead, with a small groan and while rubbing his throbbing forehead, Karl pushes himself up right into a sitting position.]

I'm all right.

[His pride, on the other hand, took a nice, hard hit. Someone seeing a grown man fall due to ice and then... break off a metal hand rail with his bare hands...... Karl's eyes widen as the realization finally hits him.

Well... shit. How to even explain th--

Wait, had she just said something about not doing healing stuff? No normal person would say that nor react so calmly to what happened. Maybe that voice sounds a tad familiar, as well. Karl relaxes, if only slightly, as he turns to look at the individual on the bench. No, definitely not anyone seen before.]

...And yes, I suppose I did break it.

[Caution practically drips off his voice. Threading carefully will make it easier to come up with excuses later if this girl proves to not be a Numbered.]

[ No one who wasn't numbered could break a bench like that. Sophie's pretty sure the handles are metal, not just wood - sure, there was a chance he wasn't, but now that he's spoken to her...

...Well, she's not good with faces for obvious reasons, but Sophie has always been very good with voices.

She grins almost immediately, laughing. ...At Karl, unfortunately, but at least she's not mean about it. Sort of. ]

Niiiiice going, Grumbles. Was it the wood part or just the metal? I can fix the latter, not the former.

[ It's easy enough to offer, although she'd have to be sure no one else was around before starting that up. ]

[Great, now this girl's laughing at him. Laughter well deserved, yes, but still pride wounding. Then again, what pride did he actually have left? With a resigned sigh at the fact the answer happens to be -10 by now, he starts picking himself up off the ground while still holding the broken rail.

On a positive note, the numbered question gets answered with one single word: Grumbles. Not only is this mystery person's identity revealed (well, to the point that they've spoken before), but their Numbered status, as well. Now standing up right, Karl turns all attention towards her while simultaneously realizing that that nickname isn't going away any time soon, is it?]

Just the metal.

[Wait, rewind with that. Karl raises an eyebrow.]

You can fix it?

Yeah, if it's just the metal. [ She gets to her feet, feeling along the bench for the metal part that snapped and picking it up, running her hands over it. ]

No one's watching, right? [ Sophie's tapping her foot even as she asks, but her vision is as muffled as ever, even with how thin these soles are. She'd left her cane on the bench, laying it sideways where she'd been sitting.

...She's pretty sure it's clear. Placing the arm where it'd normally go, Sophie kneels down next to that side of the bench, first bending one side to hook together; it's a little difficult one-handed, and takes a few seconds of concentration to compensate, but then she's freed up her other hand to work on the other side. ]

[Only now does the realization that she can't see strike him. A brief glance gets spared at the cane on the bench if only to confirm it. Needless to say, Karl doesn't hesitate in answering the question that otherwise may have be easily answered by looking around.]

No, you're in the clear.

[He doesn't even need to look thanks to super-hearing. The closest person is a good distance away, far enough that being seen isn't an issue.

Once the bench fixing begins, his eyes watch her work closely. Had she just bent metal without breaking a sweat? Impressive. Though nothing gets said right now so not to interrupt, a mental note gets made to inquire about how that had been possible.]

[ It's pretty quick work, although uh, some of the filigree stuff may not look as well done as before. It looks not broken and she is still in training, okay. We should take the win, here.

Sophie stands up after she finishes, though, looking proud regardless. ]

There! Good as new. So don't go breaking it again, y'hear?

[A small, if slightly amused hmph comes at that. Breaking benches is what he does, Sophie! Do not take away his happiness!]

I'll try not to.

[Only try, though, he can't make any promises. But really, he appreciates her help more than she realizes and his voice definitely carries an appreciative tone to it when he speaks again. Anyone would be grateful for someone sparing them from fines and headache inducing questions.]

Thank you for your help in fixing that.

[ Man, that was almost a verbal smile, Karl. Don't give her a heart attack here... ]

Hey, no problem. The more practice I get with metal, the more useful I'll be. Pretty sure, anyway.

[ And you'd be surprised how hard it is to find metal stuff that you feel safe practicing on...

Though Killian gives her scrap metal to play around with, because Killian is a bro. ]

Have you been breaking stuff on accident a lot?

[Hey he does smile once in a blue moon!! It's like a mythical creature that comes out once every 50 years when Jupiter aligns properly with Nebraska.]

A wise and correct mentality to have.

[Smart kid who could fix benches? A kid right after Karl's own bench-breaking heart.]

Not so frequently as of late, but upon first gaining this increased strength, I'd ended up breaking numerous things, my own furniture included.

[That poor poor coffee table never stood a chance. And the chair that got kicked. And all those dishes grabbed too hard. And the handle to the bathroom. And that chem desk at school, too.]

[ Mythical creatures don't count, Karl. ]

Didn't you break a desk once, too?

[ AND YOU REFUSED TO TEACH HER HOW...Clearly Sophie can break stuff on her own now, should it be made of metal, but. ]

I feel like we need some sort of power mentorship program, here. I mean, a lot of people have to be getting back super strength and stuff...maybe the oldbies can teach the newbies a thing or two.

[They so do! His smile IS a mythical creature come to life so it totally counts. And maybe he sighs to himself at that wonderful memory of the poor desk. The fact no one had caught on until it got fixed properly is nothing short of a miracle.]

That had been me, yes.

[HEY IT IS NOT HIS FAULT HE ONLY GOT ONE THESE FUNKY GEM THINGS!! IF HE GETS A SECOND IT'S ALL HERS. Plus, fixing stuff like this beats needing to learn how not to put a hole in your car due to braking too hard.]

A mentorship program may not be too bad a suggestion. Getting used to these abilities by oneself can result in a lot of needless, if costly damage.

[Most of his furniture required replacing. Tables, chairs, glasses, his laptop keyboard... Yup, costly.]

Someone not me should suggest it. I suggest you suggest it. ...Or I guess I could, but...man, it wouldn't be a bad plan. I mean, all the super strength people keep posting all "woe I broke something" and maybe we could like, tone down the property damage a little.

[ Surely they need to start trying to mitigate the property damage thing at some point. ]

Potentially decreasing property damage cannot be called a bad idea.

[The less magically broken lamp posts and whatnot, the better. Granted, forming a little help club would take some planning about where to meet and all. Hmm, eh, why not? He'll think about it.]

I'll give it some thought and, if it hasn't been suggested by the time I've finished thinking then I'll considering doing so.

Be sure to give me credit for the idea, hey?

[ Because hey she can help out too.

...By suggesting people who are more inclined to organize things do so. ]

Naturally. The idea had been yours so the credit belongs to you.

[Whenever he gets around to posing the idea, he'll make sure to mention her. Ah, wait. Karl realizes something's missing, something necessary in order to give proper credit.]

Though, giving credit would prove easier if I knew your name.

Sophie Bai.

[ She...never even realized they hadn't exchanged names, but considering Sophie uses nicknames for a lot of people she meets, this isn't too surprising. ]

How about you?

Karl Aurion. A pleasure, Sophie.

[Ever polite, this old goat.]

As promised, I will give credit where it's due when I propose the idea.

[A word he does keep true too! ~~Even if like 2 months later.~~]

Nice to meet you, too, Karl.

[ AND SHE WILL BE APPRECIATIVE... ]

How long've you been Network, anyway?

Since May.

[Almost since those fun April lights that started it all. Old guy be an oldbie.]

Yourself?

Uh, August.

[ WHAT A GEEZER, MAN. ]

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[closed] i was strolling through the park one day

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