Steel Slinky Down the Steps (finished)

The head of the slinky bent forward, making contact with the white step below, its bottom half was quick to follow. The steel worm had only one fan as it continued its slow progression down the legendary staircase of the DWMA. A teen in a shabby Hawaiian shirt, tie, and wrinkled khakis. He'd arrived at his new school very early in the morning, before anyone else had ascended these steps, before the sun had even fully come up. Prime time to launch a slinky. Robert had originally applied here because it, unlike all other schools, would allow him to embrace his interest in the paranormal. Its ridiculously long staircase was, to him, an added bonus. He enjoyed every opportunity for physical exertion and part of the reason he'd sent the slinky down in the first place was so he'd have a reason to go back up a second time. He'd only just arrived and hadn't settled in yet, they'd probably have a faculty member meet with him later to give him a tour. In the meantime, his main priority was to follow the slinky. He might even break a record.

inspiration: Jim Carrey-slinky

Today was an average day for Viola Colombo. Everything was the same way as yesterday, and the day before. Of course, some things were different as it's not always going to be the same everyday. The girl heaved a sigh as she walked towards the academy. She really didn't want to go to her boring classes, but knew her studies were important for her future, so she continued to go. As Viola was about to start her way up the large staircase leading to the academy, she looked up and noticed a boy, probably a couple years younger than her, coming down the steps with something that was too far away still for her to decipher. She paused and put her foot back down and put a hand on her forehead to block the sun in order to keep the sun out of the way as she tried to see not only what the boy seemed to be following, but who this boy was. From what she could tell, the weapon had never seen him around before.

The slinky continued its slow somersault down the stairs. Robert followed it, recording the descent on his phone. He needed evidence for the Guinness book or whatever record they kept for longest number of steps traveled by a slinky. By now the sun had come up and with it would come students and faculty, crowding the stairs on their way to school. Luckily, the bottom step was already in sight, and right now he could see only one person about to ascend the stairs. As he got closer, he could see that she was a student. At least, she didn't look old enough to be a teacher. He wondered if she were a weapon, or a meister like himself. Naturally, as he'd only just gotten here he didn't have a partner. How long did it take to pair up? She was still standing at the bottom, looking in his direction, so he figured he'd ask her once he was done recording his record breaking slinky journey.

As he continued to descend down the staircase, she could see that what the boy was following was what happened to be a slinky. How... Strange... Viola thought to herself. "Hello!" She called out. "I don't recall seeing you around here before. Are you new? The weapon asked the boy kindly.

"I Just arrived this morning." he replied, without taking his eyes off the slinky. The toy still had a couple steps left to go. He had answered her question, now It was his turn. And he wanted to know: "Are you a Weapon, Meister, or something else?" He quickly followed it with: "Have you got a partner yet?", all while he remained focused on the slinky. Robert typically worked independently, so he was eager to learn from the experiences of others in Meister/Weapon partnerships before he entered one.

"Oh cool. I'm Viola Colomba. I'm a weapon. What are you? It's only fair that you tell me what you are now that I've told you what I am." She told him, sticking out her hand to shake for when he got to the bottom of the staircase. "And no, I uh... I don't have a partner yet. I'm still looking." Viola informed him.

The coils of the slinky collected at the bottom of the stairs. Robert stopped recording and snatched the toy up, a wide, toothy grin spreading across his face. "New record!" he shouted, pumping both fists in the air. Honestly, what better way to start his school year than by breaking, or at least establishing, a record.

He turned. Viola, as the weapon had introduced herself, had her hand out. He wondered what she could turn into. Personally, he would like to use a flamethrower, though he felt he could adapt to any weapon. She wasn't partnered to anyone, so unfortunately he'd have to talk to someone else to learn more about partnerships.

Robert deposited the slinky into a canvas satchel hanging from his shoulder so he'd have a free hand. "Meister", he replied, grasping hers firmly and pumping it up and down.

It would be a lie if she said she wasn't confused on why he was so fascinated by his slinky, but that didn't really matter right now. "And your name?" She asked. "Again, I gave you mine, and I would like a name to call you by." Viola said as kindly as she could. "And what about you? Do you have a partner?" She asked curiously.

"Robert Holmes" he replied, removing his hand from the handshake. "And no...I don't". He put his hands in his pockets "How long does it take for the school to partner you up with someone?"

"That's not really how it works. The school doesn't assign you a partner. You're responsible for that. And if you can't match soul wavelengths with the person you want to partner with, then you have to find someone else until you finally find someone that you connect with and can match your soul wavelength to." The weapon informed the young meister.

Oh, so it was an individual effort. He was interested in working with a partner, but he'd been told he wasn't the best when it came to socializing. Though many weapons would probably want to work with a Meister in a professional relationship, so since the school wasn't involved in picking out partners, he could hold tryouts. "And how would I go about matching soul wavelengths? How many times have you done it?" He'd come to this school only knowing a couple things beforehand, so he could have the experience of learning all he could at the DWMA.
As an afterthought to learning she was a weapon, he added: "And what kind of weapon are you?"

Wow, he really doesn't know too much does he? She thought to himself before shaking the thought away. Come on Viola, it's not like he's experienced. Take it easy on him. "It's uh... You don't really have any control over it. Some people's souls just don't match up, and never could. From the stories I've heard, it's all been luck and fate." The weapon told him. "I've uh... I haven't matched soul wavelengths with anyone yet..." Viola replied. "What kind of weapon am I? Well, contrary to my name, I'm a violin."

"No, that's not what I meant. Suppose I wanted to see if we were compatible, how would I go about doing it?" She admitted to having no experience doing this before, but it didn't hurt to ask.

When she mentioned being a violin, he couldn't help but snicker. A violin was a musical instrument, not a weapon, though it must be the music she plays that earns her weapon status. "Do you, for instance, play the exorcist theme to free people from possession?"

"To be completely honest... I don't actually know. I could probably explain if I had experience, but... I don't." She replied. Viola was starting to like this new guy... Until he proceeded to make fun of her weapon form. "I will have you know, that just because I'm a musical instrument, that that doesn't mean I can't hurt people. I use soundwaves to attack. And no, I don't, that's ridiculous." She replied with a snark, crossing her arms.

Unfortunately, he was right. When she said she had no experience, that included figuring out the compatibility of soul wavelengths. Now he'd have to speak to one of the faculty members if he wanted a live demonstration, or at least visit the library simply to learn more. It'd crop up in class eventually, but he didn't want to wait.
"Oh don't get me wrong, a violin can definitely be used to hurt people." He snickered again. "If you hit someone over the head with it." As he said this, Robert took a seat on the bottommost step of the DWMA stairs. "But it's obviously the sound waves that could really do the most damage. I mean, listening to a poorly played violin, that can drive anyone mad." He started playing with his tie, colored a sickly yellow and dotted with images of various postage stamps. "I think anyone, given the option, would rather be attacked by a mugger than have to listen to someone who couldn't play a violin. At least with a self-defense class, they have a chance against the former. When it comes to the latter, they'd probably give all their money away just to get them to stop." As he talked, he noticed others were approaching the steps to head to class. "But since you're basically a magic violin, when you said sound waves, you obviously meant music that, when played, can do more than simply drive the enemy insane. Any regular violin can be played poorly. And since you can't, apparently, free people from possession by playing the exorcist theme, what can your music do?" He leaned forward, and almost seemed to be examining her, his chin resting in the palm of his left hand, the same arm propped up partially by his left knee.

She gritted her teeth. " I am not used to hit people over the head." The anger was beginning to grow in her and it was starting to show in her face. "I can never be poorly played. Not everyone can wield me, which also means that not everyone can play me. Only someone that knows how to play the violin can wield me." Viola snapped at the meister. So far, the boy was digging himself further and further into her "never talk to again" list. " Well, my music can do a variety of things. Defense wise, I can do a variety of things to stop whoever I'm against from attacking me or anyone else. For example, I can make them drop everything they're doing and dance, or laugh uncontrollably. Offense wise, I can send out soundwaves that can break anything fragile, like glass. Or I can make the ground shake violently." Of course, those weren't all her abilities, but there was no need to tell Robert everything she could do. " And before you go about insulting me again, I would suggest you think about the fact that you can't do what I do, along with the fact that you've never seen me in action. So you have no right, to judge me on something that I can't control. I was born this way. Deal with it. "

Robert watched as Viola gritted her teeth. However, he remained unfazed. It almost looked like she was smiling, except she was pissed rather than happy. Apparently she couldn't take a joke. "Well, obviously. Violins aren't clubs, they're too fragile." He wasn't trying to insult her. But as with many people over the years, he'd managed to do so without even realizing it. "Pfft. I wasn't talking about you when I mentioned poor violin playing. You're getting defensive over nothing. I meant in general. The screech of violin strings has got to be one of the worst sounding noises in the world. And anyways, how do you know you can't be played poorly? You admitted you never had a partner. If, as you say, all it takes is a skilled musician to wield you, it should be easy to find a meister with that kind of experience. Oh!" He snapped his fingers.

"Unless you're worried about getting the same reaction from others that you got from me. That they won't see your violin form as worthy of being called a weapon." He listened as she relayed her various abilities in her weapon form. "Hmmm...Fascinating." Learning about these various talents intrigued Robert. Well, anything supernatural was likely to intrigue him.

He already knew he couldn't do what she could do. Not that he wanted to be a violin. If he were to turn into a weapon, he'd rather be a flamethrower instead. And since she mentioned it, now he wanted to see her in action. She likely wouldn't agree to using her techniques on other students, except probably him, and she didn't seem like the kind of person to willingly damage public property. So instead he hoped to see how her powers worked on glass. Noticing a nearby empty bottle, he picked it up and set it on one of the white steps. "Well how about we rectify that? Let me see what you can do. You can partially transform at least? Enough to give a glass shattering demonstration?" He was somewhat dismayed when she said she didn't have control. She might not even do it simply out of spite.

Addison and Lydia were headed up the stairs to their classes not too far from Robert and Viola when they began to overhear a conversation. "That's gonna escalate into a fight," Lydia commented, frowning. "We should break it up, probably. I don't think we've seen that kid around here before, Lyd. He could be dangerous or something," Addison muttered. "Oh, you just like to break up fights," her sister chuckled before Addison started to force her to move faster. Rolling her eyes, Lydia followed along.

"Hey, don't be a dick to her," Addison called out as they approached the two. Lydia placed a hand on Viola's shoulder and smiled gently. "You don't have to prove anything to him, you know," she muttered while Addison's head turned to Robert. "Don't be mean to a girl. Do you have any class in the slightest?" She demanded.

Robert was certain he could get Viola to calm down, maybe even get a demonstration of her ability. But time had rolled on and soon other DWMA students were arriving for class. And two of them had, unfortunately confused Viola's sudden (and totally unnecessary) outbursts as proof that he was being intentionally nasty to her. He turned to confront the pair. "For your information, I'm not being a di-" What the...no friggin' way...His eyes widened. He'd only ever seen pictures of them in books. But up close. "Wow." He mouthed. He was so distracted by their conjoined appearance that he almost forgot why they'd engaged him in conversation in the first place. "I...I wasn't being a dick to her" He stuttered a little, the shock of having met conjoined twins hadn't yet worn off. Though he quickly regained his composure. He knew what definition she was going for when she said "class". He simply decided not to go down that route. Folding his arms, he responded: "No...I'm still getting settled in. I'll probably have class tomorrow."

"[color:5ae1=61E898] I'm getting defensive because what you're saying is offending me! " She growled. " Like hell you're getting a demonstration. In my mind you've done nothing to deserve one. Even if I could use that skill of mine in a partial transformation." Viola turned her head to see who laid a hand on her shoulder. When Lydia started muttering to her, she nodded. "I know. But thanks. " The violin said in response with a smile.

"Wow, you're pretty dumb," Addison mocked, sneering at Robert. "I meant class as in respect. And judging the way that you just looked at us, I'll have to go with no. Stop harassing her, would you? You clearly aren't welcome here, so just move along you rude brat."
Lydia didn't look thrilled at her sister's way of handling the boy, and she cleared her throat loudly. "What is it, Lydia?" Addison demanded. "Well, insulting him isn't gonna make the situation any better," she pointed out.

"You should try a little bit of kindness. I know he reacted weird to us, but everyone does. Anyways," Lydia turned her head to Robert. "I'm Lydia, and this is my sister Addison. What's your name?" She asked with a warm smile.

The glass demonstration wasn't going to happen. She couldn't even give one if she wanted to. Apparently she was still offended by what he said. "Well, that's a shame."
He turned to speak to the rude head. "And you must be the evil twin! Nice to meet you!" He replied, sarcasm evident in his voice. "And no, I wasn't harassing her, we were having a lovely conversation, and now I've apparently offended her. Intentionally? No. And yet she's affronted nonetheless." Her sister didn't look too happy with the way she addressed him. She even said as much. Robert spoke to Addison "She's right. You know what turns a lot of heads? Having two heads! Even a dumb simpleton like me realizes that." He put his hands in his pockets. "Hello Lydia, Assidon, sorry my tongue slipped, Addison, I'm Bob."

"Well sorry that making jokes about someone's weapon form when you don't even know the person, and don't know if they'd realize your joking, or even appreciate that kind of joke, offends me." She rolled her eyes. "Tsk. Is that a nickname? Cause you told me your name is Robert." Realizing that what she said might be taken out of context a few moments later, she quickly stepped in to explain what she said. "I mean nothing harsh by that, I just want to make sure you didn't lie to me, or to them, about your name." Viola said.

Addison was positively red in the face by the time the boy finished speaking. "Well, sorry that I'm just trying to defend someone who looked like they needed help being rescued from an asshole!" She exclaimed, scowling deeply. Now, Lydia even looked mad. That was a rarity.

"You don't talk to my sister that way, no matter how mean she is to you!" the silver haired girl exclaimed, tears sparkling in her eyes. "Well, I guess I can see why she was affronted. Your normal way of speaking.. You're a complete bitch." Addison growled, glaring at Robert.

Dammit. He would've willingly shared his name with Lydia, but she was...close to Addison, who he'd rather give a made up name to, to distance himself from her. And he would have given a fake name to the both of them, seeing as they were conjoined, but he'd already given his real name to Viola, who would definitely call him out on it. He could've just introduced himself as Robert, but he decided to go with Bob instead, because why not? "I didn't. Boys named Robert are called Bob all the time."
Viola seemed to have calmed down, come to some kind of understanding with him. Which sucked because now she might take his responses to Addison as evidence that he was some kind of a-hole, even though Addison had been nasty to him first and he was just responding in kind.
Speaking of Addison, Robert's mouth curved into a faint smile. His comments had caused her to go red in the face. Good. Her sour attitude really rubbed him the wrong way. Hell, even Lydia was admitting that Addison had been rude to him. "No Addison, I'm a male human, not a female dog."
As for Lydia, Robert could see that she was on the verge of tears. His faint smile was gone as soon as it had appeared. Lydia had tried to be a mediator, a role that was more suited to their misunderstanding. She'd tried to show him kindness. He was disturbed to learn that real life conjoined twins really could have differing personalities. Naturally in their conjoined state...Now he felt more sorry for Lydia. She was clearly very devoted and attached...heh...attached to her sister, enough to defend her even while admitting her flaw. Viola and Addison had said it, though sarcastically, and he felt he should say it, sincerely. "Sorry...Lydia". It was spoken softly, but just loud enough that she could still hear it.
And since he'd already said it once, he turned to Viola. "Sorry for...offending you...apparently." And then he was gone, up the steps, camouflaged by the crowd of students heading to school. He didn't leave because of Addison. He left so that he'd have the chance to at least pretend his apologies to those two girls worked out in the end. There's a slim chance they would've forgiven him, but he didn't want to stick around in case they didn't. He certainly didn't forgive himself for things he'd done in the past. Besides, he still had plenty to do in the future. Like establishing his record breaking slinky trip down the DWMA stairs to the world, and starting his new life at this prestigious school.