Dropped something. (Open)

[Yuki Ookami]

After sitting in class avoiding eye contact with any student or the teacher the bells rings and Yuki quickly grabs up her books, papers and races out the door with out a word. In her haste she neglectfully drops the paper she had been writing on while the teacher was talking. It falls on the seat and is left for anyone to pick up. It simply reads...


Things I fear

I fear trees creating shadows on the wall while I try to sleep. I fear elevators that make noise. I fear dropping a can of soda and having it fizz on me. I fear a broken heart. I fear being hit by lightning. I fear being hit by an asteroid. I fear leaving my home and forgetting how to get back.
I fear popcorn.
I fear the monster in my closet. I fear people with too many or more then normal number of freckles. I fear smells I can't identify. I fear nuns. I fear taking a big gulp of my favorite drink and finding a foreign object floating in my mouth. I fear becoming an amputee or unable to move at will. I fear losing all my powers and being forgotten. I fear losing my youth. I fear being alone. I fear spiders. I fear falling asleep and never waking up, than again I fear not being able to sleep.
I fear squirrels.
I fear losing my mind. I fear finding my mind and not wanting it anymore. I fear clothes from a thrift store. I fear Mercury poisoning. I fear being on a plane. I fear looking out into space and know nothings looking back. I fear demons and angels. I fear bottle caps. I fear getting a worm under my skin. I fear losing everyone I love. I fear dark places. I fear people that yell. I fear falling trees and the sound they make. I fear going to the class and realizing it not a dream I really am naked. I fear going to bed hungry.
I fear words like racecar.
I fear fearing things and fearing the unknown. I fear the circle of thorns. I fear scientist. I fear surgeries. I fear loud and unexpected noises. I fear static. I fear breathing polluted air. I fear food in the shape of animals. I fear sand paper. I fear being chased by a bear. I fear straws. I fear being told I'm wrong.
I fear I've written too much.

[Dusan Revenent]

Dusan sighed as the lesson went in one ear and out of the other, leaving its only record of ever having been in his possession in the confines of his notebook.

Study time tonight, I guess. He thought, none too enthusiastic at the prospect of the inevitable ordeal. He arose from his chair and grabbed his backpack, slinging it over one shoulder, and contemplated how he would divide his time that night, when, suddenly, a slight fluttering caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Curiosity, and perhaps a tad bit of distraction, got the better of him, as he took the few steps to walk over and pick it up, his blue eyes glancing over the page in one swift motion.

"That's... Interesting..." He muttered to himself, noting a few fears in particular.

"I fear losing everyone I love... I fear the circle of thorns..."

I feel you there. He thought, his expression hardening a bit as he kept looking over the sheet.

I fear popcorn... I fear squirrels... I fear straws... I fear the monster in my closet...

An eyebrow raised. Not so much there.

But it was mostly the last statement that caught his attention.

I fear I've written too much.

For some reason or another, this sentence made him believe the paper was meant to be read, which left much to be desired for its credibility. Chuckling and taking it as untrue, he swiftly mophed it into a paper air plane, tossing it in a random direction as he gathered his things and exited the room.

Hey, if nothing else, it was good for a laugh.

[Winterfrost]

Abigail managed to find the classroom for her next class, her grip tight on her backpack. At her last school her whole class was pretty much made up of the same kids from her 1st grade class. While in the past few years it became apparent that a great many of those same kids were idiots, they were, at least, idiots that she knew. While everyone she had met so far seemed nice, it was always weird being new even before you added the fact that some of her new classmates had odd colored skin, wings, horns, or any other of a number of things that screamed the fact of why they were there. Screamed why she was there.

She took a desk, putting her bag on the ground and leaning over to pull out her supplies when she noticed the paper airplane that had come to rest under her seat, some writing showing on one of the wings. She retrieved the paper and unfolded it, looking over the words.

A list of fears? Some of them, like squirrels and monsters and freckled people, made her eyebrow rise. Why would anyone fear popcorn? How stupid.

But some of it hit a bit close.

I fear being told I'm wrong.
I fear I've written too much.

For a few moments Abigail just looked at the paper, not noticing as the classroom started to fill with students. Without really thinking about it she uncapped her pen and started writing in a neat cursive at the bottom of the page.

I fear roller- coasters. I fear losing control. I fear failure.

She looked at her additions for a long moment. God, this was stupid. Being here just made her feel out of sorts. She picked up the page to throw it out when the teacher walked in. So instead Abigail folded the list up and tucked it underneath her book.

By the time the class was over Abigail had forgotten about the list. In her rush to gather her things she left behind the list, carefully folded on the desk.

[Storm Scream]

Jessica bolted down the hall, trying to get to her next class and get a good seat. So of course, she was stopped by Sam, and Kat, and Yuki, and Noah, and...

By the time she got to her class, most of the desks were taken. She swore under her breath, seeing the front row of seats taken up. She plopped into an empty chair, dropping her book bag onto the floor beside her. The clock showed 9:57...she had three minutes. She dropped her head onto the desk and was going to close her eyes when she noticed the piece of paper, folded neatly in front of her. She raised an eyebrow in curiousity.

Hmm...I wonder who was writing notes in class... She grinned a little, then looked around her. Everyone was engaged in conversation before class started, so she quickly opened the note and began to read. The handwriting looked vaguely familiar, and it was clear two different people had written on this note. Even when the bell rang, she put the note on top of the page in her notebook, not really paying attention to anything the sister was teaching...her eyes darted over the page, small pains poking at her heart.

I fear a broken heart...I fear leaving my home and forgetting how to get back...I fear becoming an amputee or unable to move at will. I fear losing all my powers and being forgotten...I fear being alone. I fear spiders...I fear losing everyone I love...I fear being told I'm wrong.

Jessica suddenly felt very blue, even more so than usual. She felt like she had read someone's very intimate thoughts, thoughts not meant for her to see, and yet she felt like she was looking into a mirror on more than one occasion. Some of the fears were just...weird...and she couldn't help but laugh at a few places. But then she got to the second person. Whoever it was had written three lines. She tried hard not to giggle at the first. Then she frowned, breathing slowly, trying to keep her composure.

I fear losing control.

She instinctively placed her hand over her thigh, and instantly felt a wildfire erupt. It was almost nauseating, and she struggled to calm down.

She sat the rest of class, not paying attention to the teacher, not looking at the list in front of her. She doodled absentmindedly on the piece of paper in front of her, and on more than one occasion caught herself just making lines on the paper in short, fast strokes.

"...will finish the lesson for today. You have a few minutes before the bell will ring, so I'll go on ahead and let you use this time to start on your homework..."

Jessica woke from her daydreaming. The blank paper in front of her was now filled with black lines criss-crossing absent-mindedly across the page. A few of the stray marks had accidently found there way onto the edge of the list. She sighed, then leaned over the paper of fears and wrote under the previous line, right under where the second person had written about their fear of losing control. It was in all caps, and when she was finished it seemed to glare at her unforgivingly.

I FEAR I ALREADY HAVE.

She got up, closing her notebook over the list and stood up as the bell rang. She was walking out as a short kid with spikes coming out of his arms ran into the room, nearly impaling Jessica. She dropped her notebook, papers going all over the hallway. She blushed, turning a deep purple in her embarrasment, and gathered all the papers she could before standing up and walking quickly away, leaving the list behind her, right outside the door, along with the paper of black lines right under it...

[Gravwarp]

Bryan walked into the classroom, still annoyed at the joker who had spit their gum on the hallway floor. He made his way to the front of the class and after taking his seat; the boy noticed the piece of paper that had gotten stuck to his shoe without his knowledge.

Carefully pulling it off his sneaker, Bryan's first instinct was to ball the forgotten sheet up and toss it in the waste bin. As his hands closed around the sheet, he saw a glimpse of the writing upon it.

The words "I fear..." piqued his curiosity.

Carefully unfolding the sheet, he read through the laundry list of fears that were laid bare on the paper. He saw the different handwritings on the page and knew others had added to the original author’s work.

He debated a long while reading and re-reading the strange list. Taking note of the fears that he shared with these strangers. In his own small precise block writing he added the following…

I fear letting down my friends.
I fear that I’m not strong enough.
I fear that inner voice that wants to take the easy road.

He gently folded the paper again, unsure of what to do with it. He decided to show it to Ves at lunch. When the bell rang; a late student brushed quickly by his desk, nudging him and his books. As the Sister began speaking, Bryan glanced down to his desk and saw the paper was gone.

He looked around on the floor for it but there was no sign of the list. He sighed quietly and focused on today’s lecture.

[Eddie Amplitude]

Eddie was the last to exit the classroom as usual to avoid another headache in the crowded hallway. He noticed a sheet of paper covered in shoe prints in the corner nearest to the door. As he knelt down to pick it up he noticed it was a list, a list of fears.

Several different shades of ink and styles of writing told him that at least a few other people must have added their own fears to the original.

Eddie walked down the now empty hallway reading through the list, stopping on occasion when he came across one that hit home.

The auburn haired boy got out his pen and decided to add his own.

I fear that I'm not good enough.
I fear my own secrets.
I fear myself.


As he walked outside to go back to the dorm, a strong gust of wind blew the sheet of paper out of his hand, away to places unknown. Eddie could have chased after it, but it didn't really seem all that important.

[El Nuevo Diestro]

Diego had been reminded recently how long he had still to go....and how the disagreements in the voices in his head had allowed him to relax some. That was to some extent good, or so several others had tried to tell him, but he was definately falling behind in his progress towards mastery, towards proving he was worthy, and that was a delay with consequences that looked back at him out of every mirror.

"Cut across Major Circle along obtuse chord, simultaneous rotation, reestablish footing, forward step, slice, slice, parry, dodge...." The litany of Destreza echoed in his head, moving into ever more complicated movements; later, the Diestros would go over the theory, describe the geometrical principles of moving at this angle, moving along that arc. Describing how to move so that a step and a shift puts your sword where their defense isn't, puts you where their attack is not.

"....hop, spin, thrust, sli-" A sudden movement by the corner of his eye caugh his awareness, and the voices adjusted; unexpected opportunity is never to be wasted. "No, shift, sidestep, dagger parry"

An unexpected gust of wind allowed the sheet of paper to wrap around his dagger hand instead of be impaled. He could hear the buzz of annoyance of the voices in his head as the writting caught his eye and instead of simply freeing the errant page he reached to grab it. His brows furrowed as he began to read. Fears? Wait.....popcorn? What?

Diego figured some of the ones he didn't understand had some sort of American context.....or was some American slang...he hadn't encountered yet. That was usually the cause of that kind of confusion. He definately didn't know what "popcorn" or "bottle caps" was slang for, but he made a mental note to try and find out. Still. This was....interesting. Maybe this list was some sort of purging thing. He could certainly understand a need to purge fear; it was something the Diestros aided him in, the purpose of one of the Rituals of his Order. It seemed to be something more than one person had taken part in.

Focusing on pushing the voices (mostly speaking along the lines of "ignore this sillyness!") far enough into the background to gather some of his own thoughts, a process getting easier week by week though never easy, he managed to pull out a pen and scrawl:

I fear the end. I fear the enemy.

He finally did as the voices requested, and let the paper go back into the wind.

[Elly]

It had either been fly all the way to campus or miss class, and Elly was pretty sure Sister Moltar was just itching for an excuse to pile on more "community service". She came in low over the treeline, then landed awkwardly on the largest branch she could find and waited for the students nearby to leave. "Conceal until needed, already." No one was close enough to see the flash in the leaves, as pink, gold, and white became black, yellow, and plaid. Thankfully, she'd been wearing her uniform and backpack when she'd "gone on duty"; she could skip the dorms and go straight to class.

She was about to lower herself to the ground when she saw the paper. It looked like it had been caught in the branch for a while, probably blown there by all the wind they'd been having that month. Odds were no one had seen it since it wedged there. She pulled it free and leaned against the trunk carefully.

"I fear," "I fear," "I fear"? Rather depressing list. Kind of ridiculous too. "Squirrels"? She realized the handwriting changed after the first seven lines or so, then again, and again... she got to the last line. "The enemy" could mean anything, but "the end..."

Without really thinking about it, she dug out a pen and binder, and scribbled in "I fear I won't survive tomorrow." After a moment, she followed it with "I fear I'll never have my own life back." Now THOSE were fears worth being scared of; none of that "racecar" silliness.

She stared at the page a minute longer, then her pen darted across the page one more time, almost punching a hole in the page with the period. "I fear no one will ever take me seriously again."

What was the word they'd used in English, meant getting your emotions out on paper for relief? Started with a "Cath"... well, whatever it was, she was feeling it. She'd burn the page or something after she finished class, but...

Damn! Class! She stuffed the paper hastily into her backpack, then lowered herself to the ground, straightened her skirt back into place, and ran helter-skelter for the school building.

Halfway there, the paper slipped free unnoticed and drifted in the wind again.

[Kylie Sheldon]

Running with her Satchel bag always close in tow, Kylie was late for class as usual. She was on her way to a Biology test that she hadn't quite studied enough for, and suddenly stopped in her tracks, distracted by a piece of paper lying nonchalantly on the ground. She picked it up, and tilted her head to one side as she read what had been written on the paper. She felt a sudden sadness ebbing at her, reading the assorted message of what had to be numerous people's feelings conveyed onto a single piece of white parchment.

She wiped the glistening tears forming at the corners of her eyes away and pulled out her favourite white and blue clicky pen...

It's my favourite because it clicks!

..And proceeded to underline two lines

I fear being alone.

I fear losing everyone I love.

Before writing in the beautiful, flowing cursive that always baffled the teachers and her peers that she could write so well:

I fear losing Hope.

Clicking the ink back to it's home inside the pen, Kylie wiped her eyes one more time, then folded the corners together and allowed it to be caught by the wind, her usual bubbly demeanour returning to her as she watched it float on the Spring breeze.

Class!

She remembered what she was originally doing, and resumed her frantic run towards the classroom, already knowing that she was in for another scolding, but at the same time feeling somehow lighter...

[Kali Jade]

She was sitting on a bench in the courtyard, enjoying the spring sun when it brushed across the top of her raven hair.
The crinkled edges still showing neatly folded lines from before. Blurred footprints showing the papers journey.

Curious she picked it up off the ground and carefullyopened it.
She was so careful with the edges. Careful not tear in case it was something important.

As she read the words so many had written she couldnt help but to imagine and feel how the people writting must surely have felt.

But who's paper was it? And why ws it floating around?

I fear a broken heart.
I fear leaving my home and forgetting how to get back.
I fear losing my mind. I fear finding my mind and not wanting it anymore.
I fear losing everyone I love.
I fear failure
I fear letting down my friends.
I fear that I’m not strong enough.
I fear that I'm not good enough.
I fear my own secrets.

These were the fears she shared with the many who had written.
She knew how bad a broken heart hurt.
She knew the fear of losing your home..... not of forgetting how to get back to it. But being told you were not wanted in it any longer.
She did fear losing her mind... but with the attacks going on , and the Rikti using thier mind control tactics who didn't?
More than anything she feared losing the ones she loved.
More than once she felt she had let her friends down ... that too she feared.
There had been times she feared being good enough, not pretty enough, not skinny enough... sometimes she still did.

I fear people with too many or more then normal number of freckles

She ran her fingers lightly over one cheek as she reread those words. The spots she hated so much on her skin now seeming to bleed right through the paper in her hands.

I fear the end. I fear the enemy.
I fear losing Hope.

These were the worst of all fears.

Kali repostioned herself on the bench as she read. One leg pulled up and tucked under her to serve as a bit of a desk.
She pulled a purple gel pen out of her purse and carefully printed her own words at the bottom of the list.

I fear not being able to fear anymore.
I fear not being able to feel... and I fear feeling too much.
I fear grubworms in the pages of books.
I fear .... not knowing how to face my fears.

She looked at the words she had written for a moment and decided that was enough said.

Refolding the paper as gentle as she had unfolded it, Kali held it up in the air and let it slip away into the spring breeze.

[Yuki Ookami]

Yuki steps off the shoulder of the cement step onto the sidewalk in front of the main hall. She stands for a moment gathering her thoughts and gives a cheerful sigh as she looks up into the sky. The blue sky only seperated by the few lines of clouds parting the wind by fast moving jets. It was a cold but clean day. The sounds of bombs shacking the wind can be heard form miles off where the Rikti are still fighting for a beachhold. Yuki shakes from the thought but forms a smile and walks to her after school meeting. The paper flies across the court yard being lifted by the sun warmed ground. The wind blows the note over her head and takes it away on its journey. Yuki countiues walking unaware of the impact the venting of her fears and soul has had on others. How there venting and bearing of the soul has impacted even more.
She says to her self unconvincingly. "I don't fear anymore. I don't fear any-." She is starttled by a shockwave of a far off battle. Yuki stops to look around her, as though at any moment something could attack her. She quickens her pace and heads off.