The X-men run missions and work together with the NYPD, striving to maintain a peaceful balance between humans and mutants. When it comes to a fight, they won't back down from protecting those who need their help.
Haven presents itself as a humanitarian organization for activists, leaders, and high society, yet mutants are the secret leaders working to protect and serve their kind. Behind the scenes they bring their goals into reality.
From the time when mutants became known to the world, SUPER was founded as a black-ops division of the CIA in an attempt to classify, observe, and learn more about this new and rising threat.
The Syndicate works to help bring mutantkind to the forefront of the world. They work from the shadows, a beacon of hope for mutants, but a bane to mankind. With their guiding hand, humanity will finally find extinction.
Since the existence of mutants was first revealed in the nineties, the world has become a changed place. Whether they're genetic misfits or the next stage in humanity's evolution, there's no denying their growing numbers, especially in hubs like New York City. The NYPD has a division devoted to mutant related crimes. Super-powered vigilantes help to maintain the peace. Those who style themselves as Homo Superior work to tear society apart for rebuilding in their own image.
MRO is an intermediate to advanced writing level original character, original plot X-Men RPG. We've been open and active since October of 2005. You can play as a mutant, human, or Adapted— one of the rare humans who nullify mutant powers by their very existence. Goodies, baddies, and neutrals are all welcome.
Short Term Plots:Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
The Fountain of Youth
A chemical serum has been released that's shaving a few years off of the population. In some cases, found to be temporary, and in others...?
MRO MOVES WITH CURRENT TIME: What month and year it is now in real life, it's the same for MRO, too.
Fuegogrande: "Fuegogrande" player of The Ranger, Ion, Rhia, and Null
Neopolitan: "Aly" player of Rebecca Grey, Stephanie Graves, Marisol Cervantes, Vanessa Bookman, Chrysanthemum Van Hart, Sabine Sang, Eupraxia
Ongoing Plots
Magic and Mystics
After the events of the 2020 Harvest Moon and the following Winter Solstice, magic has started manifesting in the MROvere! With the efforts of the Welldrinker Cult, people are being converted into Mystics, a species of people genetically disposed to be great conduits for magical energy.
The Welldrinker Cult
A shadowy group is gaining power, drawing in people who are curious, vulnerable, or malicious, and turning them into Mystics. They are recruiting people into their ranks to spread the influence of magic in the world, but for what end goal?
Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
Adapteds
What if the human race began to adapt to the mutant threat? What if the human race changed ever so subtly... without the x-gene.
Atlanteans
The lost city of Atlantis has been found! Refugees from this undersea mutant dystopia have started to filter in to New York as citizens and businessfolk. You may make one as a player character of run into one on the street.
Got a plot in mind?
MRO plots are player-created the Mods facilitate and organize the big ones, but we get the ideas from you. Do you have a plot in mind, and want to know whether it needs Mod approval? Check out our plot guidelines.
Agnes sighed. A cool breeze ruffled the leaves of a tree that stretched out far above her head and sent the pages of her science book waving. With her back nestled back against the crook of the tall behemoth, she sighed contentedly. The tree seemed to be perfectly shaped for her back. The bark was not scratchy, the grass soft and green and even her insects were beginning to behave themselves as she let a contentedness wash over her. It had been a long time since Agnes felt this comfortable by herself.
So much had happened lately that the runaway was sure that she was going to feel horrible for so much longer. Her parents resurfaced and attempted to kidnap her, her break-up with Rhythm had been difficult, and now that she was part-time gardening for the mansion, her days were fairly busy. It had been a hard time in life but Agnes had vowed that was going to live through it. Maybe that was why she found herself so comfortable right now against this tree in the mansion’s vast garden. She in the months that all this had happened, she had expected that maybe, possibly, all this would have sunk her into a much deeper depression.
But she fought it. That was the most important thing. She faced the darkness that wanted to encompass her heart and the runaway realized that she did not want to spend the rest of her life sad. Maybe that was the key to really learning how to live. Maybe it was all just a simple case of promising one’s self to remember to live.
With a small sigh, and tired of trying to diagnose her own mental health, Agnes returned to her book. The school semester was back and that meant that she really needed to get back into the mindset of a student. This was her chance to finish the schooling that she had got a chance to finish after her mutation developed. This would be her last year in school.
“Hmm,” she said with a sudden pause. “I wonder…I wonder if they’ll even let me stay here after I graduate.” She thought.
She could not imagine that they could kick her out just because she had a degree in her hand. After all there were some students and other people who lived here whom she knew had to be well into their twenties. Still though, she’d had to occupy space that could be used for another student to drastically needed the help.
Agnes nibbled on her bottom lip thoughtfully as she reached up and tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. This was a conversation to have on another day. She would deal with that when she got to it. For now all she wanted to do was get back to her studying and prepare herself. She didn’t want to think about her future, her schooling, her parents, and most definitely not her love lif-
THUNK!![/b]
Agnes jumped and immediately felt her world keel over as something hard struck the side of her head and yet bounced off as if it were nothing. Wincing and rubbing her head where she felt the impact happen, Agnes cursed silently under her breath as she massaged her hair and looked for the culprit. It was only then that she noticed the large black and white hexagons and pentagon pattern.
“Soccer ball?” she grumbled as she felt the lump that was forming on her scalp.
“Oh my god! I’m so sorry!” she heard something announce.
A teenage girl ran up to her, dressed in a leather jacket, a pale pink t-shirt and dark jeans. Her sneakers crunched the grass underneath her feet as she ran, a look of worry on her face. Her brown hair waved around her shoulders as she ran, her dark eyes full of concern and panic at having hurt someone else. As she ran up to Agnes, the runaway could only think of one thing that she kept focusing on while she came up…she had such a sweet face.
“Oh my god, I am SO sorry,” the girl announce the second she knelt down next to the runaway. “Are you okay?”
Mutely Agnes looked at the shorter girl as she knelt down, real concern showing on her face. She did not know why she could not take her eyes off of her face. She followed the lines, the contours, but quickly she admonished herself for staring too long. She shook the fuzzy feeling from her head as she sighed and took a breath. Quietly she nodded her head that she was fine though as she reached up she felt that warm area where the soccer ball had struck her head. That spot was so tender but she knew that she would be fine.
“Y-Yeah,” Agnes said with a silly smile and shook her head. “I-I’m fine. Sorry.”
The girl tilted her curiously and smiled.
“W-Why are you apologizing?” she giggled lightly. “My soccer ball hit you.”
“Oh,” Agnes replied. She mentally rolled eyes and grumbled at herself for sounding stupid. “Sorry, I guess my head is still just a little fuzzy. But, I’m fine, really.” Agnes said with a nod as she pulled her book onto her lap.
She there, looking a little meekly at the newcomer. Her concern was slowly washing away and it was replaced by a genuine mirth that brought another smile to her face. That smile…it was so cute and sweet that Agnes immediately felt disarmed…and that scared her. The last time she felt anything even close to this…it ended badly. But Agnes talked herself down. After all, this was only a meeting. The girl was probably going to take her soccer ball away and disappear from her life forever.
Yes, that was going to happen. She would be alright!
But the girl had not moved. Instead she adjusted her position so she was kneeling and leaned over a bit to look closely at Agnes’ eyes.
Agnes, a little uncomfortable, watch the girl closely, her brow arched in confusion.
“Um…what’re you doing?” she asked.
“I’m just checking your eyes, to make sure they don’t glaze over.” She replied with that smile still upon her lips. “I’d hate for you to have a concussion.”
Agnes blushed. The coloring was clearly evident on her pale cheeks as she cleared her throat and tried to stop the warm sensation on her skin. Why was this girl being so concerned? She was fine. She didn’t feel like she was injured. She turned her attention back onto the girl and look as healthy as possible…even if her stomach was a little tingly.
“I really am okay,” she said with a small smile. Spotting the soccer ball out of the corner of her eye she picked it up and offered it as a barrier between herself and the girl. “Sorry again.”
The girl actually giggled this time as she leaned back and gently took the ball from Agnes’ hands.
“You didn’t do anything…remember?”
Agnes closed her eyes and cursed herself again silently.
The girl only smiled sweetly as she offered her hand, placing the ball on her lap. “My name’s Jasmine.”
“Um,” Agnes began to feel stupid! Come on, she knew her own name, right? She sighed as she looked at the grass a little exasperated. It took a few seconds for those gears to finally keep turning enough before an odd sounding name slowly cranked out into her skull. “Ag-nes…” she finally said.
God, how that must have sounded.
She cautioned a glance up and that girl, Jasmine, was still smiling rather bright at her. The young Asian girl was still situated on her knees, her head tilted slightly. She had this look as if she were trying to make out if there were something wrong with Agnes after all, only she still had a smile on her face. The runaway felt like a curiosity that Jasmine simply could not figure out. She watched with those earth colored eyes but she did not make her appearance at all appear judging. Instead she simply sat there and waited for Agnes to return to reality and announce her name.
Jasmine smiled just a little wider, her teeth a brilliant shade of white.
“Well, it’s lovely to meet you Agnes,” she still held her hand out.
Agnes, feeling silly all over again, reached out and gently shook Jasmine’s offered hand with a smile. As her fingertips brushed into the palms of the other girl’s hand, she had to note how soft her grip felt. It was kind of funny considering that the girl seemed to be a soccer player. She had assumed that the girl’s grip would have been slightly rougher but she was proven wrong.
“Likewise.” Her reply came out quiet and small. She suddenly felt like she wanted to be a turtle just so she could hide herself.
Meekly she took her hand back and she slowly turned her cautious blue eyes upon Jasmine’s curious brown ones. There was a sweet scent in the air, thanks to the girl’s presence. It smelled almost like honeysuckle.
A sigh and Agnes tried to think of some way to redeem herself. She glanced a little at their surroundings, brushed a loose strand or two of hair behind her ear and even moisture her dry lips with subtly. She didn’t know why her brain was completely failing her at the moment but she really wished that it would stop.
A glance to the soccer and Agnes smiled a small smile and nodded to it. “I…take it that you play a lot?”
“Oh, heh, yeah, but apparently I’m not on my game today,” Jasmine smirked as she gently picked up the soccer ball from her lap and balanced it between her hands. “Hence the reason why you got clocked.”
Agnes blushed and shrugged. “Really…it wasn’t too bad. I’m fine,” she said as she reached up to brush her head where the soccer ball had smacked her. Immediately she winced at the tender spot and sighed. So…not her day…
Jasmine smiled a little sheepishly as she tilted her head again to get a closer look at Agnes. Whether or not the runaway knew the other girl noticed that wince, she didn’t know. She did not want this girl to be fawning over her or anything about such a thing. After all, she felt fine. It was not like she had been hit in the head with a brick or a rock. It was just a soccer ball. She was more caught off guard than actually harmed by it. But still that little spot on the side of her head was rather tender.
“You sure you’re alright?” she asked “That look like that hurt.”
“I’m fine, scout’s honor,” Agnes said with a smile and a nod. Slowly she moved onto her feet. Her world didn’t tilt, her mind didn’t go to mush, and her legs felt strong and stable. She grinned a little and she opened her hands to show she was fine. “See? I’m good.”
Jasmine smirked as she moved onto her own two feet, casually balancing the soccer ball under her arm. She stood at about 5’3, only a little shorter than Agnes but she already seemed just a tad feistier than the insect queen. It was only when she was sure that Agnes was about to tip over or pass out that Jasmine’s shoulder slumped a bit in relaxation.
“Well I’m glad I did not permanently injure such a pretty head,” she chuckled as she balanced her soccer ball on a single hand. Agnes immediately blushed at that comment but did her best to hide it. “So, what’re you doing over here reading by yourself?”
“Oh, ugh,” the runaway shrugged as she looked down at the book she held in her hand. “Just getting a jump start on some classes.”
Jasmine nodded but before she could say anything, a rather strong breeze caught her by surprise and sent her soccer ball flying from her loosening grip. It bounced once…twice…and then rolled before it gently tapped a younger boy on his shoes.
“Darn ball,” Jasmine muttered as she looked to Agnes. “Ugh don’t, go anywhere? Okay? I’ll be right back.”
Agnes mutely nodded as she watched Jasmine run off to collect her soccer ball again. Why…would she ask her to stick around? Agnes thought on this a moment as she watched the other girl run up to a smaller boy who was bending down to pick up the ball. But the second that Agnes saw the boy with the item in his hand, her eyes went wide. She knew that kid instantly and quickly bolted off after him in order to yell at him to drop the ball before…
FLLAAASH-POP![/b]
The ball disappeared with a tiny flash of yellow light and crackle. That was Reggie Stevens…a boy with a “gift” for losing things.
Too late. With that ceremonious Flash! and Pop! the soccer ball disappeared from Reggie’s hand with a flash of yellow light. Jasmine stood there stunned while Agnes ran up behind her, stopping the second she reached her side. Agnes lowered her head, irritated that she could not get here on time and turned her blue eyes upon Reggie. She was not mad at the boy but she knew that he should have known better. Practically everyone at the school knew exactly what his powers were and more than one have lost valuable items because of him.
Agnes sighed and gave him a look.
The younger boy, probably no more than 13, looked down a little ashamed as he reached up and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. He was a mocha skinned young man with tightly curled hair cut close to his scalp. His lanky arms hung down as he stuffed his hands into his jean pockets and looked down at his red and white stripped t-shirt.
“I-I’m sorry. I…tried, I really tried,” Reggie said a much smaller voice than Agnes could ever reach.
Jasmine looked confused as she turned her attention to the runaway. “What happened? Where did the ball go?”
Agnes placed her hands on her hips as she looked at Reggie closely, but answered Jasmine at the same time. “Reggie here has the power to ‘lose’ things,” she explained as she relaxed her posture a bit and glanced at Jasmine. “When he holds an object with both hands he pretty much teleports it…somewhere.”
“I’m…getting better,” Reggie said with a small amount of hope in his voice. “I’ve been able to narrow it down to about a 2,000 square feet around me.”
Agnes blinked. That certainly was a little better but 2,000 square feet was still pretty large. She frowned a little as she turned and surveyed the rest of the mansion grounds around them. That ball could have gone off in any direction thanks to Reggie’s power. But still she did not want to just advise Jasmine to completely forget about the soccer ball.
She turned to Jasmine and offered her a small smile. “Um…I…I can help you look if you like?”
Jasmine tilted her head and watched Agnes closely before a smile gradually began to grow wider on her lips. Finally she nodded encouragingly.
“Okay.”
Agnes smiled a little brighter as well but that quickly faltered when she glanced down to see Reggie trying to sneak away. Quickly her hand shot out and grabbed him by the back of his shirt.
“Ah no you don’t,” Agnes announced as she spun him around. “You go that way,” she said as she gave him a gentle nudge in a random direction, “And we’ll go this way. If you find that soccer ball, don’t touch it. Just…come get us. Got it?”
Reggie nodded before he suddenly bolted off down the direction that Agnes had pointed him to. She shook her head as she watched him go and then turned to look back at Jasmine. The teenage girl had her hands inside the back of her jean pockets as she casually waited for the runaway to return. When Agnes did, Jasmine beamed as she now moved her hands into her jacket pockets.
“Ready?”
Agnes nodded as she joined her at her side. “Yup. Let’s go find us a soccer ball.”
Their quick search was quickly turning into a longer quest. Agnes and Jasmine had already checked one area and now they were moving on, but as they reached their next destination, Agnes had to cringe a little. It was the mansion gardens. That place was practically a maze and as much as she did not want to go in there, she knew that it was well within Reggie’s 2,000 square foot range. If that soccer ball had landed anywhere inside that garden then there were far too many hiding places for it to be. But maybe, as long as there were two of them searching, they would have a better chance of finding it?
Agnes stood at the entrance of the garden and glanced over to Jasmine who looked just as intimidated by the massive amounts of high bushes, flowers and trees she could already see. The girl took a breath and glanced over to Agnes.
“We’re going in there, aren’t we?” she asked with a sort of hopeless sigh.
Agnes gnawed thoughtfully on her bottom lip as she nodded. “Yup.”
One more look at each other and finally the two teenagers stepped into the entrance and started their exploration.
Bushes of every type formed pathways through the garden, all of which was made to showcase various types of colorful flowers, plants, trees and statues. The garden had a real beauty about it. One that maybe the runaway think of the Garden of Eden. Though of course there was no half-naked man and woman running around living without sin, but the garden was so diverse and well kept that it looked as if some higher power had placed it here simply for their enjoyment. The cool breeze that ruffled the trees sent the sweet scent of the flowers wafting across her nose and rustling tickled her ears, giving her the sense that the garden was only too happy to have visitors traveling its trails.
Agnes momentarily forgot herself as she smiled a bit and paused, looking at some of the flowers. It was only when a soft hand placed itself on her shoulder that she was brought back to reality and turned back to face Jasmine.
The girl looked at her curiously but still with that smile on her face. That sweet and enduring smile.
“Agnes? Any luck?”
“Oh,” Agnes blushed and nodded. “No. Sorry. I was just admiring some of the flowers.”
Jasmine nodded as she looked about. “They really are beautiful here,” she knelt down to gently caress the soft, velvety petals of a rose. She stood and glanced back to Agnes. “They’re well taken care of.”
“Oh yeah? How do you know?”
“Well,” Jasmine brushed her hands off her jeans as she stood. “I like studying about them. I actually take horticulture as my major when I graduate this year.”
Agnes was very impressed with this girl, if not just a tiny bit jealous. It seemed like Jasmine already had her life figured out, or at least part of it. Agnes herself still had no idea what she wanted to do, or even if she’d be able to do it. She loved plants, she loved music, but how could she possibly spin any of that into a career? She did not believe she had the smarts for horticulture, nor did she ever really think she was talented enough to make a career out of music. She sighed.
Jasmine on the other hand, smirked and laughed. “Is it funny for me to want to be a horticulturist with a last name like Blossom?”
Agnes paused. Slowly she turned to face Jasmine, a small smile on her face. “Blossom? Y-You’re name is Jasmine…Blossom?”
Jasmine blushed a little as she stuffed her hands in her pockets. “Uhh…m-my middle name is…is Honey.”
Jasmine Honey Blossom? Agnes smiled and barely managed to keep herself from laughing. Not that she wanted to make fun of the girl but the name just made her stomach tickle.
Jasmine smirked as she saw Agnes’ expression, one she had seen too many times before. She rolled her eyes, pretended to look off to the side as she tried to hide her smile. Hands on her hips she took a faux-irritated stance (which was hard because she was still smiling) and shook her head.
“Go ahead, laugh! Do it before you explode,” she said.
Agnes did laugh, but not in a mocking way but in a shared mirth that was infectious enough to make both girls laugh. It was only after a few seconds that they finally calmed down and Jasmine Honey Blossom grinned.
“My parents are weird, okay?” she laughed. “They thought is sounded cute when I was kid. Now, I could wring both their necks.” She sighed as she stood there, watching Agnes attempt to stop her giggling. As Jasmine did, she watched the runaway’s eyes, momentarily losing herself in those crystal blue depths. Quickly, though, she shook herself from the daze and tried to hide the reddening in her cheeks. “Um, I guess we should keep going.”
Agnes meekly nodded and slowly continued on with her again. Where was that soccer ball?
“So I go running out of my room, dressed in my pajamas and chasing my sister cause she just started a war between by favorite teddy bear and my doll and the pair of them are wrecking my room! She’s screaming, I’m chasing her, my parents are chasing us and the whole house just goes nuts!” Jasmine recited with a loud laugh of her own.
Agnes laughed so hard she shook her head as she strolled through the garden alongside Jasmine. As the pair of them continued their search for that damned elusive soccer ball, they had begun to fill the awkward silence and glances with chit-chat, which gradually turned into a conversation, and further evolved into an all out explanation about one another’s lives. The runaway had never thought she could actually carry on a conversation like this, but thankfully Jasmine had decided to be the first to break the ice concerning pasts.
As it turned out, even though Jasmine was at the school right now, she was not a mutant. At least not that she knew of. The only reason she was at the mansion grounds was because of her sister Rose. Rose was younger than Jasmine and had the ability to temporarily grant sentient life to toys, dolls, stuffed animals, etc.. She was brought to the school in order to get her powers under control and to give her a safe transition, Jasmine visited and spent nearly every weekend with her.
This past year Jasmine had been allowed to stay the summer and bunked with her sister. It seemed to Agnes that they two of them had a close and absolutely great relationship, something which it made her feel just slightly jealous. She remembered what it felt like to have a similar relationship with her own brother Dante, but then he left her. She thought that they were so close but the first chance he got to escape their house, he did. He left her to fend for herself…and looked what happened with that.
But Agnes did not let thoughts of her brother drag her down. Instead she turned back to Jasmine and just grinned as the girl went on with her story.
“Anyway, we finally caught her, she apologized, I accepted and I forced her to stop making my Sally Dollie and teddy bear battle to the death,” she smirked and giggled a bit more. She finally sighed as she turned to look back at Agnes. “What about you?” she asked as she slipped her hands gently into the back pockets of her jeans. “Do you have abilities?”
Agnes turned away, anticipating this question but really not wanting to answer it. Her mutation, well, a lot of people had a hard time dealing with it. Not everyone was nice and friendly when it came to bugs. And there was a even fewer number of people that could handle the fact that they lived within this unsuspecting teen’s body.
But as Agnes glanced to Jasmine, she sighed as she realized that she really could not make herself lie to her. For whatever reason, it just was not in her to do.
So…she nodded.
“Yeah, I’m a mutant,” she responded as she turned and continued to survey for that ball. Now would definitely be a good time for it to appear, if only to steer their conversation. But, seeing nothing and noticing that Jasmine was looking at her expectingly, she finally spoke up. “But, my power, well, it’s just…not the best kind. Definitely not that interesting…”
Jasmine looked at Agnes curiously. It was obvious that the girl knew Agnes was hiding something, but instead she only smiled encouragingly as she leaned over and nudged her playfully with her elbow.
“That’s okay. You don’t have to tell me,” she said resolutely. Instead she paused in their walk, thought for a moment and then grinned sweetly. “Well, why don’t you tell me whatever you want to tell me about yourself? If you want to.”
Still the search was ongoing. Though the topic had finally switched to Agnes, which made her just slightly uncomfortable, Jasmine seemed to realize this and decided to not press her on the issue. Instead she allowed Agnes to decide what she wanted to speak about. Which was good because as uncomfortable as Agnes really felt about conversation with a stranger, for some reason she did not mind talking to Jasmine. The girl had this aura about her that really just made the runaway want her to stick around longer and being quiet and reclusive was not going to do well for that.
As the strolled, Agnes began to chit-chat about various topics: including what she was taking in school, her sister Gina, and the fact that this was her last year in school as well. Agnes seemed to be ducking from the topic of her past. Though she was sure that was obvious to Jasmine, the girl did not force her to make any talk she did not want to.
That just made the runaway all the more comfortable.
Jasmine seemed to listen intently to everything that Agnes said. It was not like she merely said such a thing for the explicit purpose of not making Agnes feel left out, but it really did seem like she wanted to know about her. Agnes was a little unused to this so as off as it seemed, she gradually felt herself growing more comfortable as she chatted.
“So then, I jump out of the display case dressed like a zombie and completely scare the bull out of the guy that had started to chase me! He totally freaks and falls over and I swear he must have wet his pants!” she laughed as she retold the story.
“No you didn’t!” Jasmine laughed just as hard as the pair of them moved through the garden trail.
Agnes laughed so hard as she recalled that guy’s face and shook her head. “That taught him not to mess around with me or my sister.”
Jasmine giggled still and nodded her head. It was only when they rounded another corner of the trail that Jasmine suddenly paused and looked up into a hefty looking tree that grew out of the corner of the garden. She squinted her eyes as she peered closer before suddenly pointing up into the tree.
“There! I see it!”she announced with a happy cry.
Agnes turned and followed her gaze. As she peered closer, she too finally saw it as well and beamed at their luck. Reggie had lost one of her favorite shoes earlier in the year and she still could not find it. They must have really had luck on their side.
“Come on,” Agnes replied as she jogged over to the tall tree.
Looking up, it was not hard to miss the black-and-white soccer ball that glared down at them from between the branches. Even in the thick foliage of the tree, it was rather easy to see. But the problem was that it was still rather high up and as lithe as Agnes was, had never really had much experience climbing trees. She looked down and spotted a few rocks. Picking up a handful she threw them with all her might at that damned soccer ball but they were merely deflected off with a hearty laugh from that ball.
She sighed.
“Well,” Agnes said as she peered around. “Let me go get someone to help us.”
“Don’t be silly,” Jasmine announced as she stripped her jacket off, revealing her pink shirt underneath. “Just give me a boost.”
Agnes arched a brow as she looked at her. “Jasmine…”
“Don’t worry, I used to do this all the time! Come on,” she said as she moved near the tree. “Just interlace your fingers so I can step up.”
Agnes sighed and shook her head. She was not liking this idea but it seemed like argument with Jasmine was going to get her nowhere. Instead she decided simply to do as the young lady asked. Leaning against the tree, Agnes laced her fingers and lowered her hands.
“Just…don’t fall. I don’t know if I can catch you.”
Jasmine paused, looked at Agnes and grinned just a little sheepishly. “I trust you.”
Agnes felt just a little uncomfortable being this close to Jasmine. She knew that there was nothing that she should worry about but still, after her time with Rhythm, Agnes just did not want to feel attracted to anyone. But damn is Jasmine did not make it hard for her. The runaway glanced away awkwardly before she interlaced her fingers and offered the step-up to Jasmine. As soon as the other teen came close, she placed her extremely soft hand on Agnes’ shoulder before she followed through and placed her tennis shoe in Agnes’ hand. With one leg arched, Jasmine counted down while Agnes tried to think of anything else…
“Three…two…one!” Jasmine announced.
Agnes proceeded to push up with all her might just as Jasmine reached for a higher base on the tree. Agnes, though taller than Jasmine, was not the strongest girl in the world. But as she assisted in helping the girl up, she had to note that she did feel a little lighter than she had expected. Strengthening her legs, Agnes tried to keep herself stable as she held Jasmine’s leg still. Once Jasmine had a firm grip on the tree, though, she shouted for Agnes to let go.
She stepped back…and Jasmine’s came falling out of trees.
A breath of relief escaped her lips as she watched Jasmine hoist herself up and knock her soccer ball out from a nest of branches it was hiding in. Once it bounced to the ground, Agnes wanted to cheer. The ordeal was over! The soccer ball was found, rescued from a tree, now they could go back to parting ways and-
“Uh…t-this tree a big taller than I thought…” Agnes heard Jasmine shout out.
Agnes tilted her head as she looked up. “What does that mean?” she shouted in reply.
“I…I don’t think I can get down.”
“What?!” Agnes replied as she looked up at her. “You said you knew how to climb trees!”
“Up, yes! Down…that’s another story!” Jasmine grumbled back.
Agnes sighed as she began to pace. She looked up at Jasmine who looked like a cat caught up a tree, unable to find her way back down. She wanted to shout that Jasmine that she knew that this was a bad idea. That she should have listened to her in the first place and never gone up there. But as she looked at her face from the ground, Agnes knew she could not…at least not right now. Maybe later though.
The runaway shook her head as she walked up to the tree and looked up at Jasmine.
“Jasmine! If you can climb up, you can climb down! I’ll help you!” she announced.
Agnes could see the girl shaking her head. “N-No! I’ll fall!”
“Jasmine! You said you trusted me, right?” Agnes said as she stood beneath the tree and saw her nod her head. She smiled encouragingly and nodded in response. “Okay then! Trust me now! Now start climbing down!”
Jasmine visibly shuddered as she seemed to be trying to talk herself out of it. But slowly and ever surely she began to make her move. Keeping her stomach pressed against the tree, the girl slowly inched her way down, stretching her leg down to Agnes’ waiting hands. Slowly and ever sure Jasmine made her way down until she was safely within Agnes’ arms…
First one shoe shakily reached down. Once that was firmly in her grasp, Agnes watched as the other began to descend. Jasmine’s entire body seemed so tense that the runaway was fearful that she could break her if she gripped her too hard, but the other girl hardly gave her a choice. She was so shaky and terrified about the possibility of falling that Agnes had to strengthen her grip to make sure that she did not actually drop her. But as she held on, slowly she could feel the girl calming down, her anxiety leaving, her calm state of mind returning, as gravity began to feel ever closer. But that was not to say that Agnes still did not blush fiercely at their encounter.
In helping to lower Jasmine down, Agnes had to hold the girl closer to her. As she began to ease her back to the earth, the runaway’s hand caressed the girl’s sides, feeling the curve of her legs, followed by her hips and then her waist. Separated only by the fabric of clothing, Agnes actually held her breath as she felt her fellow teen’s body brush against her own. The scent of honey brushed across her nose again and Agnes cautioned a glance to see that Jasmine was nearly face-to-face with her now, her ebony hair casually mixing with her own thanks to that ever welcoming breeze.
Her arms wrapped tightly around the other girl’s waist, Jasmine’s own hands placed gently on Agnes’ shoulders, she didn’t even notice that Jasmine’s feet had already reached the ground. Instead the pair of them simply stood there, still slightly embracing as the peered closely at one another.
Blue eyes locked with brown…
Pale cheeks flushed with crimson…
Shaky hands slowly began to pull away…
Agnes blinked briefly as Jasmine looked away a little confused. The pair of them remained closed as they slowly began to untangle their arms from one another. As they did, Agnes was the first to take that slow and reluctant step back. The smell of honey still locked in her memory as she tried to shake the thought away. But it was prove more and more difficult, even though she separated space between herself and Jasmine.
It was only then that she finally took a soft and shaky breath. Her face felt so warm now that she thought for sure that she must have had a fever…and yet at the same time she knew that was not true. This was no illness…it was something else…
A glance to the sighed and Agnes immediately spotted that fallen soccer ball, the instigator of this whole mess. Pulling herself further away from jasmine, she moved over to that fallen sphere and so wanted to kick it clear over the hedge of this garden. But as she stepped up to, she casually leaned down and picked it up. It felt light, yet solid in her hands. Tucking it gently under her arm she cautioned another look to Jasmine and spied that the teen had been watching just as closely.
Step…step…step…
She walked back to Jasmine and held out the ball.
“I…I think…um…we were…looking for this?” she whispered.
Jasmine glanced between the ball and Agnes before a shy smile spread across her lips. Nibbling on her bottom lip she nodded as she slowly reached out and retrieved the wayward troublemaker. Once she had the ball in her hand, she tucked it safely under her arm and nervously seemed to glance off to the side. Agnes had apparently decided to follow suit.
It finally took her last bit of nerve to smile again and speak up.
“Um…c-come on. I’ll walk you out.” she said. God, why wouldn’t that blush go away!
The walk back to the mansion had to be one of the most awkward and quiet walks that Agnes had ever had in her life. As she followed the path through the garden that led back to the entrance, she tried her best to not look at Jasmine. So far the teen had done a very good job of simply disappearing into the landscape around it. It was as if she were little more than a shadow at the corner of the runaway’s eyes. She could see here there, silently following but she did nothing to outright display her presence and Agnes herself was too shy and awkward to actually look over at her.
What if they made eye contact again? What if they tried to talk to each other? Not that there was anything to be embarrassed about. Back there, at the tree, that was perfectly innocent…right? She was only helping her down from the tree. They did not kiss or anything out of the ordinary. Even if Agnes felt a small pang of attraction towards the girl, she was refusing the acknowledge it. That was why she didn’t want to look at her. One more look into those eyes unprepared and she was fearful of what else she may say.
Besides, she didn’t even know if Jasmine actually liked girls. She probably had a boyfriend. She was too sweet, too nice, and too pretty not to have a significant other. And on top of all that, Jasmine didn’t say anything either! She instead looked so embarrassed and mortified. God, what if Agnes had really made her feeling uncomfortable?! The runaway sniffled a silently and said nothing to her. She needed to forget this night.
Agnes sighed and buried the memory of back at that tree, of the sensation of holding the girl so close, of the feeling her body so close to her own. So…she let the idea drop…
She sighed as she stuffed her hands into her jean pockets. The silence was indeed getting rather maddening but she did not want to force conversation that could lead to more awkwardness. So, defeated, she resorted to again saying nothing and merely looked out across the beauty of the garden that was slipping past them.
Only a couple more twists and turns and Agnes recognized one of the flower bushes…and then another…and another. They were making their way out, they were finally about to escape their solitary confinement together. They would part ways…she would never have to worry about embarrassing that sweet girl again…
“Agnes?” her sly shadow suddenly piped up.
Shaken from her thoughts, Agnes stumbled briefly against the dirt path and turned to Jasmine as she walked. She still refused to meet her gaze, but she was looking in her general area at least…
“Yeah?”
“Um…thank you, you know,” she said with a shy smile as she looked to the ground. “For helping me get my ball back. I appreciate it.”
Agnes took a steady breath and smiled as she nodded her head. Slowly, ever slowly she raised her gaze to meet Jasmine’s and sighed. “I’m…glad I could help.”
Another glance up and Agnes spied the entrance/exit to the garden. It was definitely a beautiful sight to these sore and bewildered eyes.
There was the exit to the gardens. Agnes stepped through and into the openness of the Mansion grounds and an immediate sense of relief filled her lungs. For some reason, being inside the garden she was beginning to feel so claustrophobic and hot. She felt as if there was some heavy fog draped across her shoulders and face that made her feel so uncomfortable and just completely drained her every bit of energy that she had. She did not like feeling like that but try as she might to shake it off, it simply was not going anywhere. Thankfully though, away from the garden, she was slowly beginning to feel better.
That is until she turned and spotted Jasmine standing awkwardly off to her side. Immediately that flush filled her cheeks again and Agnes adverted her gaze once more.
Jasmine seemed to be suffering from the same debilitating condition. Her pale cheeks had turned a fierce red and all manner of speech seemed to have now escaped her. The smaller girl looked down at the soccer ball in her hands and gently passed it from side-to-side.
As she did such, Agnes herself seemed to be caught in her own confused state. Standing out in the grounds, the runaway gnawed on the inside of her cheek thoughtfully as she meekly stared at the very interesting green grass. She too was completely at a loss as to what to say next.
God, it was not like she professed an undying love to Jasmine and she was rejected! They were having such a good time. They chatted and laughed and joked around as they were looking around for the lost soccer ball. But now there did not seem to be anyway to clear this haze of befuddlement that had set down around their heads. Agnes felt so awkward even looking at the girl now.
But she knew better. She knew why she was feeling like this. She felt guilty, though she didn’t want to admit it, for being attracted to Jasmine. Not that such a thing was inherently bad, it was simply that she did not even want to think about dating right now. After all, she didn’t even know what Jasmine’s orientation was. She could be straight and the last thing she wanted was for her to feel even more uncomfortable.
She sighed and mentally chastised herself.
Stop being stupid! It was nothing! she fiercely thought as she finally screwed up her courage and looked up to Jasmine’s waiting gaze.
Jasmine smiled shyly as she awkwardly shifted from one foot to the other.
“Umm,” she started to say. “D-Did…uh…did I thank you, you know, for helping?”
Agnes smirked and nodded her head as she casually wrapped her arms around herself. “Uh, yeah. Just, you know,” she said with a gesture back to the garden. “When we were coming out. But, you know, you’re welcome, again. It was my pleasure.”
Jasmine giggled lightly but there was still that awkwardness between the two of them. In was like an impenetrable wall that refused to be knocked down between the pair of them. The girl sighed again as she gently carefully tucked the ball underneath her arm again and seemed to be trying to avert her gaze from Agnes.
“Um…I…I guess I should get going,” she mumbled. “Belle is probably wondering where I’m at.” She nodded lightly, referencing her younger sister who actually lived here at the mansion.
Agnes nodded, thinking there was little else to say between them. “Uh, yeah, it was…nice meeting you,” she said as she held out her hand for Jasmine to shake. “See you around.”
The second that Agnes felt Jasmine take her hand, that blush wanted to overtake her pale skin. At least this time she managed to fend it off. She smiled brightly at Jasmine, not wanting their parting to end any more awkwardly than things currently were. She shook her hand, they smiled and shared a quiet good bye began to turn to their separate ways.
Agnes paused as she wrapped her arms around herself again and watched as Jasmine walked away, heading back to the mansion, her soccer ball gleaming from underneath her arm. The entire way she watched her, her blue eyes following the curves of her body once again, trying not to look but at the same time be unable to do anything but that. As she watched, she remembered feeling those curves, her hands that had brushed over her form as she helped her down from her tree. The smell of honey once again filled her nostrils from her memory.
She was trying to shake her but it just was not shaking loose.
The only thing she could tell herself was that she had to stop, she needed to stop over analyzing this. She was attracted to the girl, nothing wrong with that. But it needed to stop there. Nothing happened. Yet still her mind kept reverting back and she remembered that awkwardness in Jasmine’s eyes. Was there, maybe, something there? Did she feel something too? Agnes could not be sure but she did not want to chase the young woman down and ask her. That would appear way too desperate, at least she thought so. Besides, these feelings were still new to Agnes. She needed to learn that a harmless crush was fine, so long as it stayed that.
Soon Jasmine had turned a corner and disappeared, having glanced back at Agnes only once and waved. Agnes responded in kind until the girl was gone. Once she had disappeared, it felt as if a great tension removed itself from her body. Agnes slumped slightly as she remembered to breathe again. Arms hanging at her sides, she took one shaky breath after another before she finally felt her composure return. That meeting…it was just so...
She didn’t know what it was.
Shaking her head she turned and reclaimed her spot against the tree and once again retrieved her book in order to read. She would distract herself with preparing for classes…that ought get her mind off this odd meeting. At least she hoped it would.
But even as Agnes settled against the tree and splayed the book open upon her knees, she could not focus on a single word. Instead…all she could concentrate on was the smell of honey…
