The [good] soldier, Tag; Open

[James Scott]

One would think that having the type of innate magic James Scott possessed, beaches would be considered bad news for him. After all, fire and water never really mixed; so if you put two and two together, beaches plus Jimbo equaled disaster, right? Well, honestly that couldn't have been further from the truth. Ever since James was a kid, water had been almost as much apart of his life as fire had. Being born and raised in a city on the coast, it was a little difficult not to experience the ocean. According to James senior, it had to do with balance. Seeing as how fire and heat consumed his inner being and magical essence, he had to balance out those forces with it's inverse, water. “The General” had explained this fact to the his son on countless occasions, and never had his son once taken the time to actually listen. You could blame it on hard headedness, a short attention span, or rebellion against his father, but lately James Scott Jr. paid little attention to what his old man had to say. To be honest it had been that way for quite some time now. James figured if his dad could be so wrong about one thing, then what gave him the right to be correct about anything else? As far as the boy was concerned, someone who was that devoted to a system that would sooner see him dead than happy was... for lack of a better word, retarded.

It was that very rebellious spirit that drove the youngest Scott boy to the Hanan Pacha shore. His father had told him that morning to be home early, to get some sleep so he could get up bright and early and head to the base with his old man. While Jim had humored his father with a half cocked smile and an automated head nod, truth be told, he had no intention of doing as he was told. While later on he would more than likely either get home and tell his father he had gotten a flat on the high way while he was heading back, lost track of time, or had to help a buddy out of a jam before he came home, the reality of the situation was that he was breaking the law… a couple to be exact. Yes, James was a rebel for all intents and purposes; he just couldn't afford to let his dad know that, not yet anyway. There was far too much at stake as far as his relationship with his family went, and while he was reckless about most things in life, he always dealt with "The General" with utmost care... which of course meant lying his ass off every opportunity he got.

Lounging in his green and white striped lawn chair parked right smack in the middle of the sandy shores, James let his eyes lazily focus on the brilliant light in front of him. A pile of logs had been set up a mere 3 feet away from his bare feet, burning and crackling in an array of blue and yellow flames. Now, nothing would have been odd about that sight, people had bonfires by the beach all the time, in fact it was actually pretty common. What wasn't common, however, was the fact that the bonfire had been placed at the edge of the incoming tides. Each time the water rose and licked the burning logs, the mage would flick his hand, causing the flames to only grow in strength, almost as if the water fed the fire. It was a simple trick that James had learned a long time ago, a trick that would have earned most citizens like him their very own ticket to the nearest Equality Center, yet another perk to being the son of the James Theodore Scott. He was practically promised to the US government, and as far as anyone in the loop was concerned, he was merely working out his power to be a better asset to his country, at least that's what his father would tell any sniffer who dared prosecute him. As long as James used his magic in private, and didn't affect the Conventional Citizens around him, he was in the clear, at least that’s how he saw it.

Tearing his baby blues away from the flames, he rested them on the water, letting his attention momentarily focus on the moon's reflection on the ocean. Raising the bottle of beer in his left hand to his lips, he took a single swig before setting it on the red cooler next to him. There really was nothing like enjoying a couple beers at the beech by moonlight. Not only did he get a quality view, but the peace and quiet proved to be quite refreshing as well. Anyone who knew James would know him to be an extremely social creature, and for most, seeing him camped out by a fire in the middle of the night by himself would have come as a shock. Truth was, everyone, even James, needed that time to themselves, to get their thoughts straight, and hopefully get a little buzz going before hauling their ass back to battle ground they called home. With another wave of his hand, the flames blared, appearing to eat up the water as it washed over the logs. A half hearted sigh escaped his lips as he took yet another gulp of beer, emptying the bottle and tossing it aside. Just ten more minutes. He'd go back in ten minutes. Better yet, after he finished his next beer.

[Reese Morgan]

Reese was having a bad night. After the incident with Nick he'd become a lot more withdrawn. School really sucked. People were whispering about him all the time. People like Lynn Wagner didn't want anything to do with him anymore. He was technically grounded. The bike shop had cut his hours.

He was fortunate his parents had condescended to allow him tonight out with Travis and some of his other friends. According to his parents he was not supposed to spend time around Nick. They thought the other boy was a bad influence on Reese, though without understanding the incident in its entirety he didn't think they were being fair and he wanted to see Nick again, if only to talk to him about everything that had happened.

And that all would have been well and fine except Travis was being a jackass. They had spent a few hours bumming around the beach and then they were supposed to go to the movies, but Travis insisted on cracking jokes about chem lab accidents and the equality center.

Their other friends would laugh but Reese would just go silent and start wishing he was somewhere else. He'd had enough by the time they'd started by the theater. It was dark out and he didn't feel like spending another hour under a microscope or being poked fun at. That and he thought he'd seen the arcade where he and Nick had gone and he had an overwhelming urge to just go back there.

It was closed at that hour though, so he just stopped and looked in through the glass before trudging back out toward the beach.

It was pretty quiet at this hour. The people who were out and about were generally walking in pairs, save for a few groups of people who had fires out in the sand. Reese had done that with his friends once or twice when they were partying out later than they should have been.

Somehow it didn't ease his disquiet to just walk along the beach listening to the surf. The surf made him think of Nick and Nick reminded him of their mistake, the fact that he hadn't been registered and they had both screwed up so badly. Now nothing was the same anymore.

He eventually came upon where James was resting with his personal bonfire blazing wildly before him.

Reese wasn't really paying attention to it and then the fire seemed to surge from the corner of his eye and he started to wonder at it since it really was too close to the water. He stopped and watched it with puzzlement.

Eventually he got up the nerve to approach it and was shocked to realize he recognized the boy seated in the beach chair in the sand.

"Hey, I know you... James Scott... what are you doing out here?" He remarked. It struck him as odd that James would be out here alone. He was pretty popular and had plenty of friends he could have been out with tonight no doubt.

[James Scott]

It was actually pretty nice, sitting out there alone. Being James, he was typically in his element when he was around as many people as possible. While he wasn't exactly "Homecoming King" or anything at school, he was well known by his peers, and for the most part well liked. At parties he was typically seen in huge groups either making an ass of himself or someone else. He was a social creature, so the fact that he felt so at home in the middle of the beach my himself came as a bit of a shock to even him. Maybe it was just what a guy like him needed the solitary time outdoors. While he assumed most of his friend's were out at Houston Davis's “Just for the Hell of It” party, he was actually quite content with being there by himself. He was only a loser if he hadn't done this by choice.

With a deep breath, he leaned back in his lawn chair, extending his bare feet just inches away from the roaring fire. As the tide once again rolled in and licked his feet, a chill ran up his spine as he flicked his hand, once again manipulating the fire into growing ever so slightly. It was the mixture of heat from the flames and cold from the ocean that put him on edge, if only for that brief moment. A smirk crept across his features as he sucked his bottom lip between his teeth. It was moments like these that James loved being a witch... or an Advantaged Citizen... or a soldier… or, god whatever the fuck he was.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the new presence. The fire in front of him blared higher than ever as his body tensed in a subtle start. He had known he wasn't the only one at the beach, but most of the others were there with someone, and to be quite honest he hadn't expected to be noticed. Shifting his sapphire gaze to his guest, James took him in before leaning back. As his heart rate calmed, the fire in front of him did as well, slowly fading back to its normal flare. It was only Reese Morgan, nobody to worry about as far as James was concerned, though honestly he'd expected him to be at Houston's.

Then it hit him, Reese was one of the two guys from the Chemistry lab. Though James had admittedly skipped that day to hang out with Trent at work, he'd heard about it the second he'd met up with his friends. Jack Pryce said that Nick Dusan set the chemistry station on fire while Reese used his powers to blow it onto the professor... though in all fairness Jack was full of shit 90% percent of the time, so he didn't really take what he said too seriously. It wasn't until he heard from Lynn Wagner that she heard that Reese threw a bucket of ice water on the teacher while Nick Dusan used his water powers to drown her, that he figured there was some truth to the story. While he doubted that a good kid like Reese would get into anything like that on purpose, his curiosity had been peaked.

"Hey, I know you... James Scott... what are you doing out here?"

Arching a brow, James turned his head toward Reese, "Getting a tan," he breezed sarcastically before taking another swig of his Bud Light. He made to at least pretend to leave it at that, but couldn’t' bring himself to be an asshole. After pulling the bottle from his lips, he glanced back toward Reese and grinned. Opening up his cooler, he pulled out a fresh bottle of Bud and offered it to the blond standing above him. "We can make it a party." He wouldn’t bring up the rumors just yet, if ever. Reese looked like shit, and the last thing he needed was to get hassled about it.

[Reese Morgan]

"Umm, sure." Reese said picking up the bottle. He didn't really drink and his mother would give him hell if he smelled like beer when he got home but he couldn't bring himself to care. He was feeling strangely numb about it all. He felt as if he'd come upon a shaman in the wilderness even if it was just a fellow student sitting by a bonfire of his own making.

"I'm supposed to be grounded." He said once he'd gotten the cap off and taken a sip. He winced a little bit since he wasn't used to the taste of beer. "But I was going to the movies with Travis and some others. who weren't going to Houston's party tonight. Hey how come you're not there? I thought you always hung out with those guys."

This was so odd. He could have sworn the fire was responding to James's gestures. In fact, he was fairly certain it was. Either that or James knew how to time his hand motions to the fire and that seemed somehow less likely.

"What is with the fire?" He asked in a hushed voice. It was innocently put. Reese really wasn't used to being around people who were advantaged so he wasn't sure how to react when he saw things that were out of the ordinary.

[James Scott]

It didn’t take much for him to sense the uncertainty in Reese’s voice. He’d seen the guy at plenty of parties, but for the life of him he couldn’t remember if he drank or not. James had never been the type of person to pressure people into shit like drinking, but for some reason he had assumed Reese was cool with it. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. You just look like you could use something to get your mind off of… you know, shit” he decided he wasn’t going to be the one to bring it up. As far as either of them were concerned, what happened in Chemistry was non of James’ business, and if Reese wanted, they could keep it that way. That wasn’t to say that James would play dumb about the whole thing, because quite honestly that would have been pointless. The whole school at this point knew that Reese was an Advantaged Citizen, or at least they thought they did, with all the rumors it was hard to separate was fact and what was fiction. When Reese did in the end take the bottle and drink some, James shut up about it. Turning his attention back to the rolling waves.

While it didn’t look like it, he was actually listening to what Reese was saying. Raising the bottle to his lips again, he poured the golden liquid down his throat. He offered a simple shrug at the question, not really having an answer. “I don’t know, I just wasn’t in the mood I guess. Plus, my dad wants me to get up early with him and go to the army base.” His tone was dry and unenthused. It didn’t take a genius to know that it was mainly that reason and that reason alone that had him out in the middle of the night drinking alone by the beach. It certainly wasn’t because James was an alcoholic, that was for sure. “I was supposed to be home…” he glanced at his watch, “a half an hour ago, but decided to fuck it.” While he made it sound like it was as simple as that, James knew that he’d pay for his choices when he got home. If for whatever reason he was too tired to get up and head out with his dad, he’d either have to suffer through it, or get his ass handed to him when his dad got back. Either way, he made it a point not to show that fact to the boy next to him. As far as most of the kids at school were concerned, James Scott knew no fear. “Why are you out so late if you’re grounded? I figured you of all people would be at home recou-” he stopped himself. He hadn’t wanted to bring up the incident. “Uh... hanging at home. You don’t strike me as the rebellious type.”

As he spoke, he let his eyes linger on the flames in front of him, his hand flicking almost as if they were conducting some sort of fiery chorus. As his wrist went up, the flames grew, as it flicked to the left, the flames followed suit. As strange as it sounds, it was so much a habit that he had completely forgotten to hide it from his company. Apparently some people were a little sensitive about Advantaged Citizens using their magic. Go figure.

His hold on the flames in front of him quickly loosened as Reese pointed it out. Turning his head, he locked eyes with the boy at his side and grinned. While James was as far from a sniffer as you could get, he had a pretty strong feeling that Reese was an Advantaged Citizen. Hell, after the rumors, the entire school knew, or had a pretty strong suspicion. “Magic,” he said in a low tone, though not nearly as low as Reese’s had been. James just wasn’t that careful. Glancing back at his fire, he reestablish his control over it. Holding out his palm, he silently summoned a piece of the flame toward his hand. As if on command, part of the fire strayed from the rest and floated through the crisp night air the few feet it took to land in James’ palm. Curling itself into a ball, it hovered inside of his hand, dancing and crackling with itself as he pulled it closer. With a half smirk, he looked back at Reese to see his reaction. Slowly, he closed his fingers over the fireball, making a tight fist. After a quick moment had passed, he opened his hand to reveal nothing but a tuft of smoke. “Tada.”

Honestly, James hadn’t been quite sure why he’d done that. Was he showing off? Perhaps. Part him wanted to let Reese know that he wasn’t the only one, that he could at least trust some people at the school. It wasn’t like his life would be over if Reese freaked out and told someone. As bad as it sounded, this kid was infamous throughout the school for being an “unpredictable AC”, it wasn’t like anyone would have believed him if he ratted James out.

[Reese Morgan]

Reese gave James an uncertain look when he remarked on the fact that he wasn't rebellious. He really wasn't, not the way some people were. He didn't wear t-shirts with offensive slogans and he typically did what his parents asked him to.

James's little game both fascinated and stressed him out. "Travis and the others were going to the movies... I had to twist my mom's arm but she let me go. I think she feels sorry for me."

He wanted to talk about the magic though. He wanted to talk about the fact that James was being a dumb shit and anyone could see them out here with his big flashy bonfire and if they got caught Reese was not going to just get a slap on the wrist.

But he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Don't you worry someone will see?" Reese asked. He had tested a few more sips of the beer and was slowly becoming more used to it. Unfortunately it was only adding to the numb feeling he had about home and family and school. He felt as if he knew the answer to his question before he had even asked it.

Of course James didn't care. If he cared he wouldn't be out here. If he cared he would not be drinking beer. If he cared...

Reese decided he probably wasn't cut out to be much of a rebel because he did care still. Except... it was easier to ignore that he was doing something wrong if he had someone there with him who was wrong too.

He ran his fingers back through his hair and sat down in the sand well away from the edge of the water. "That's neat though." He said of the fireballs. "I wish I could do something that cool."

[James Scott]

James nodded at Reese's response. It must have been nice to have parents who did that, felt sorry for you when things got tough. Knowing James' dad, he'd probably say he deserved it, and that it served him right for being careless. "You're lucky you're mom's so cool about it. You know, about your gifts. I know a lot of guys who would have had the shit kicked out of them if they were in your position," not to say that Reese hadn't. Hell, James didn't know what went on in the Morgan household... though for some reason he didn't think it was anything too traumatic. "So how are Travis and the others?" he asked with a hint of a grin. If he had remembered correctly, Travis had been part of the gossip brigade. Part of him was surprised the guy hadn't shunned Reese completely. Maybe Trav was more genuine than James gave him credit for.

A playful smirk spread across the boy's full lips as Reese voiced his concerns. "Take a look around Reese. Nobody around here cares, or even notices." He glanced back behind him at the few couples walking across the beach, and the teenagers wandering the shores fooling around. "It's in the middle of the night, in one of the most infamous make out spots in town. It's all about timing, Morgan. That and location," he pointed out, before taking a swig of his beer. "A Chemistry lab for example..." well there went his attempts to leave recent events out. He couldn't help himself. Reese Morgan was the last person who should be lecturing anyone on proper magic decorum.

Leaning back in his chair, he took one last sip of his beer before setting it down in the sand at his side. "The perks of a fire mage," he breezed casually, shifting his gaze from the fire to Reese once again. "It has a pretty nice wow factor." If he ever wanted to impress someone... well, someone who wasn't terrified or offended by magic, all he would have to do was bust out the pyrotechnics. "What about you? What's your claim to fame?" Sure there were rumors about what Reese could do, but James for one knew how often they were all full of shit, he wanted to hear it from Reese.

[Reese Morgan]

Reese sighed then frowned and looked back toward the lights of the buildings just beyond the beach. "Travis is an asshole. He's been picking at me almost since school let out. He asked me about what really happened and I told him but he kept telling people his own version of it anyway. He thinks it's all fun and games."

He looked at the fire then. "It's not though. It's not fun and games. This is life and I don't get to choose whether or not I'm considered 'normal'."

He thought about the other question. He could have answered verbally, but the temptation to show off was a little too strong. After all, James was making an all out spectacle.

The only time he really practiced or played with his magic was in his room. Some people might have thought it strange but he had the ceiling of his room hung airplanes, gliders, birds all dangling from strings at different heights. Sometimes he'd send ripples of wind through the room to see them move. He rarely made big gusts because his mother got upset when the doors shook on their hinges.

So here and now he looked more deeply into the fire, the light shining on his eyes and casting a yellowish glow upon his face. He brought up a hand extending his fingers outward and allowed the winds to flow around him.

At first it was a little haphazard as if the wind had naturally started to pick up around them, flicking at the bonfire but then he shaped it just a little bit, turning it, spinning it around the fire. A smile glimmered across his features as the air began shaping the fire into an oddly pointed tall shape jabbing upward toward the sky like an arrow.

It was hard to maintain though so he let go of it almost as soon as he had it and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"I can float too... but it's hard to stop." He said. And that was very true for him. He found that once his feet were off the ground he had trouble planting them again. When he thought about it, it seemed that floating was his natural state of being and whenever he gave in to it, he was reminded of that fact.

[James Scott]

To be honest, James had always hated guys like Travis. The fact that they felt perfectly justified for giving a nice kid like Reese a hard time was aggravating. "Fuck Travis," he stated rather bluntly, causing the flames to momentarily flare. His emotions and impulses seemed to be almost directly connected to his powers. "And fuck normal," if Reese wanted to get deep, James could get deep. He had two and a half beers in him, he was ready to talk comfortably about almost anything. "The only reason people like Travis give you a hard time is because their jealous. Either jealous or scared, depending on who it is." He let his hold on the fire dissolve as he continued to talk. "Normal is over rated, and the only reason people like us get hassled is because they know what we're capable of, which is a hell of a lot more than them." While James honestly didn’t have anything against Conventional Citizens, he had a problem with people treating people differently because of magic.

He watched as the wind coming in from the ocean picked up, focusing around the fire in front of him. An amused grin tugged at the corners of his lips as the flames were contorted into a pointed swirl. While it only lasted a moment, James was thoroughly impressed. "Wind..." he said to himself, before glancing back at Reese. "That's pretty sweet. Nothing like the rumors I heard about you in the Chemistry lab," he admitted half heartedly, though he made sure to send the boy a smile afterwards, simply in attempts to make it clear that it was all in fun. "You know the more you practice, the more you can do. You shouldn't be scared to experiment."

James had never been one to shy away from using his powers, then again it was welcomed in his home. His father always said the more he practiced his powers, the more control he'd have over them, and in time he'd be able to do a hell of a lot more than just the basics. It was probably one of the only things the boy was thankful for at home. Unlike a lot of his AC friends, he was able to use his magic without feeling guilty about it. In fact it seemed to be just as much a part of his childhood as school was. According to his dad it was simply basic training started earlier.

"You can float?" he arched a brow, as if daring him to prove it. While part of him really was pushing Reese, testing the other boy's limits, the other part was genuinely curious.

[Reese Morgan]

Reese felt a nudge of excitement at the notion of kicking off the ground but then he remembered just how hard it was to stop doing it. It really didn't help to have James egging him on.

"I could float before I could walk." He said. He was still trying to talk himself out of it. He drank a little more of his bottle of beer. He didn't realize he'd drunk half of it already, but it was starting to taste better to him now.

He couldn't stand leaving that dare hanging in the air though and finally he just crumpled and got to his feet. "OK... watch." He said. Then with a laugh he gave himself a little jump and then held himself in the air at least a foot off the ground. It was so easy to do it was as if the air itself was just holding him there.

With an odd laugh he slowly rotated himself upside down and then right side up again. "What do you think? I could make for an awesome gymnast."

[James Scott]

He could float before he could walk. See, for James, that was just proof that their powers were as much a part of them as any their arm or leg, or their voice. Why the government felt that it was ethical to force them to shut it off was beyond him. It's why he felt bad for guys like Reese. He saw the look in the boys eye the moment the dare was presented. He had been itching to use his powers, most likely because of all the time suppressing them. Anyone in his position would have been eager to use them.

While James saw the brief, silent debate in Reese's head go on, he somehow had a feeling his desire to show off would trump the desire to blend in. So, after leaning back in his seat, he watched the boy do as he was dared.

Part of James was envious, the power of wind meant he had the power to fly, an ability he'd always wanted... not that burning things or turning your body bullet proof was bad either. "Nice," he commented, kicking back in his seat to take in the view.

Then, of course, Reese decided to get a little more bold. When he flipped himself upside down, James couldn't help but laugh, nodding at the comment. "At least" he pointed out. James had to give the guy credit, he had balls, whether he knew it or not. While subtly messing with the size of a fire or making fist sized fireballs was daring, Reese was floating in mid air, flipping himself upside down; it was a lot more prone to getting an odd glance. As bad as it sounded, it gave him a mischievous idea.

Glancing past Reese, he pretended he saw something in the distance behind him. "Dude! Morgan, I think that group of adults over there saw you! Shit!" He pretended to freak out and quickly reached for the beer at his side as if he were going to make a run for it.

[Reese Morgan]

Reese felt sudden panic at James's words but it wasn't enough to drop him flat on the ground because rather than his power cutting off when he was scared, it tended to get trippy.

A burst of air nearly flattened the bonfire and in Reese's haste to get back onto the ground he found himself hanging up,side down and trying to claw at sand.

But then when he realized there weren't any lights coming from that direction and there really wasn't anyone there he wondered if James was just fucking around. That's when he realized that even though James had picked up his beer hurriedly, he wasn't actually moving.

"Fuck you!" Reese yelled.

Once he'd gotten his bearings and righted himself he glared sharply at James.

"You know what? You're as much of an asshole as Travis. I'm done with this. I'm going home." He threw what was left of his beer bottle into the fire and started away on his feet at long last.