Philosophy in Motion - Open

[Deleted]

As a general rule, Twitch was frugal.  He owned very few things that were worth money because he didn't have much and because he just didn't care for material things.  One exception was his bike.  It had cost him a pretty penny even used, but when he'd been a courier it had been necessary.  Even after he started teaching he couldn't let it go though.  Now was no exception.  Sure there were plenty of practical reasons to have a bike (especially when you didn't drive), but Twitch knew in his heart that practicality had nothing to do with it.  It was imply something he loved to do.  It gave him back a sense of freedom that he'd lost when his ability was crippled. 

He'd been on the trails for a few hours at this point.  Sweat stuck his clothes to his body but his mind had gone to a blissful empty space where he thought about nothing.  There was only a pleasant, blank hum.  His muscles burned from the work but he knew they weren't over-worked.  He would be sore later at this point but he'd enjoy every damn second of it.  He registered the scenery in an indifferent, tunnel-vision sort of way.  He knew he was passing through woods and at some point he the trails had taken him farther from the lake and into a more wild area.  

His speed slowed as he came to a slightly cleared area where a wooden picnic table and benches stood lonely and abandoned beneath the broad branches of a few trees.  Gradually his senses broadened and his thoughts began to seep back through the white noise in his mind as he leaned his bike against the table and stretched, catching his breath.  Against the dull browns and greens of a desert wood in autumn he stood out like a sore thumb.  The long sleeved athletic shirt he wore was primarily black but striped wildly with bright orange.  His only concession to the heat were long cycling shorts that bared the lean, knotted muscles of his calves and the smattering of scares worked into the pale flesh.  The most obvious was an ugly line that raked up the back of the right from ankle to knee.  

Twitch didn't sit but paced slowly as he let his heart slow and his breathing steady back to normal.  The light in the area had changed and he was startled to realize that it was getting late.  Nearly sundown.  

"Should head back soon," he muttered to himself reluctantly.  

[OSAMU HEBI KATŌ]

He had been running for so long he couldn't really remember where he was anymore. One thing about Desdemona was that it was very easy to get lost among the trees and bushes. At some point everything just looked the same. He still enjoyed having the woods so close to the school though, it made it easy for him to trick unsuspecting students and staff into following him and getting them lost. Having them fall into the traps he set was also easier when they couldn't see them through the brush and fallen leaves. All in all, Osa liked the woods very much. And appreciated all the hard work it put in to being useful for him.

However this morning he was a bit on the panicked side. He didn't look like his normal self. He appeared to be younger, fitter, closer resembling one of the students than his normal form. He had decided to go for a jog this morning but didn't feel like looking like himself as he did so. Often he would switch his appearance so he could walk about the school undetected. But this morning he had picked the wrong disguise. Only a few minutes into his jog and he was recognized by one of the female students.

Needless to say Osa panicked and started to run off into the trees. Just because he could appear like someone he wasn't, didn't mean he had their memories and mannerisms. Usually he had to study someone for a few days before he could truly master them. And even then he had faults, he just couldn't know everything about someone without being them. Most times he wouldn't bother trying to look like someone particular and just changed a couple of his features so he couldn't be recognized as Osamu. But this morning he was grumpy and instead of trying to focus on a few features, he just changed them all to look like a kid who had been outside his office window. Which ended up being a huge mistake, the girl had followed him for awhile, calling out the name Ryan! Over and over again. At least he knew who he was.

But then the trees started to blur together into one massive blob and he lost his way. Osa had prided himself on being able to navigate the woods well enough, but then again he had only mastered a small portion of it. And if he had to guess he was probably closer to the lake, than the school, and this part of the woods he didn't know at all. As he tried to figure out just where he was he noticed that it starting to get harder for him to breathe. He stopped running in a clearing, the muscles in his thighs and his sides were aching as he took in deep breaths.

Before him he noticed a grouping of picnic tables and besides them a figure with a bike. Osa inwardly groaned, his heart started thumping in his chest. The last thing he needed right now was to have someone else recognize the face he was borrowing. With the pain in his legs too much to bear he started walking in circles, trying to determine for himself where he was before he bothered the other person in the clearing. He raised his face to the sky and let out a soft sigh.

"Excuse me, sir, do you know the way back to the school?" He approached the figure with purposeful strides a smile on his face as he tried to appear more friendly than he normally was. He raised a hand to wave at whoever it was and stopped a few feet away from them, not wanting to get too close.

TAG @twitch WORDS six two five

[Deleted]

Twitch stretched, delaying getting back on his bike. He didn't really want to head back. He glanced at his bike, st his hands on the handles, and wondered if he could make it back without riding in the dark. Then he remembered his little jaunt out of th bar the day before and felt his stomach roll. He tasted an echo of the metallic taste of bile. Then his fingers convulsed, squeezing the brake briefly before he pulled his hands away from the bars and curled his arm up to his chest.

He thoughts were interrupted by a friendly voice. Twitch turned, worn dog tags clicking against his chest on their old ball chain. He raised his other hand to wave back, acknowledging the he'd heard him. "Get a little lost? Gotta be careful with the curfew." A pleasant, gentle smile rested easily on his face. He was in a good mood. Besides, as the guy came nearer, he looked like a student. Twitch did a quick mental run through- there were a lot of different students in his classroom but he had a good memory.

More than good, though he'd never really noticed it. It was bet for places but faces didn't escape him long either.

"Ryan, right? From Philosophy 101?" He rubbed a hand over his closely shaven head and took a step closer. Something seemed off- the voice not quite right, the body language different. He couldn't say for sure because he didn't know him well, but he thought Ryan was less formal than that normally.

"Why don't you walk with me back. Is everything alright?" He grabbed his bike, this time keeping his fingers away from the brake so he didn't accidentally stall it while he was rolling it along. Knowing what direction was back to school wasn't hard- he had a good innate sense of direction and he could see which way the sun was setting. He remembered the general geography of the area and from there it was pretty elementary.

OSAMU HEBI KATŌ

[OSAMU HEBI KATŌ]

It was just his luck. Osa's mouth went dry when the figure called him by name. Not his name of course, but the name of the student he had mimicked. Why did he choose today to look like a student. He would have been better off just running around as himself. He wasn't going to be able to talk his way out of this without revealing who he was. And that couldn't happen. No. He needed his secret, it's what helped him trick students into following him into the woods, it's what gave him the freedoms he needed to go about the school without arising suspicion.

Osa stopped a few feet away. His hands going up to rest on his hips as he continued to take deep breaths. His torso and thighs were killing him, there was no way he could run off right now, and the other had a bike. They'd catch up to him easily, then what? "Yeah, tell me about it. I just ran a little too far today. Pushing myself for..." Oh, what the devil did people train for? "A triathlon." Well, it could have been a worse lie.

He studied the figures face for a moment before the realization hit him. It was Mr. Doyle, the Philosophy teacher. Osa had only spoken to the man once, but had an extensive file in his office with his name on it. He didn't know much about Mr. Doyle's gift, but he knew there was something there. He had dropped his investigation a few weeks ago when someone more... exciting, crossed his path. But that wasn't something to think about now. Now was a time to figure out how to get back to the school without losing his current appearance. Now that he had a buddy to travel with.

Osa inwardly groaned. What had he done to deserve this? That's a stupid question.

"You're Mr. Doyle, right? Sorry, I'm not so great with faces." He offered him a smile and reached his arms across his chest. Stretching the muscles in his upper arms. He didn't know how strong this form of himself would be, but he needed to prepare for anything. "I didn't mean to interrupt you. You don't have to escort me back. Just a point in the right direction will do." Osa found himself suddenly aware that he had no idea what Ryan sounded like. What weird sayings he might offer up at a moment's notice. How well did Mr. Doyle know Ryan? And if they had a close bond this could prove disastrous.

Inwardly he shook his head. No, school had just started up again, there was no way they could have a close bond yet.

TAG @twitch WORDS four five one
Lalalala, Osa's out of his cage! Anyone can join!