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Post by Silver on Sept 1, 2008 14:09:49 GMT
Honey's rather spectacular entrance of babbling and proceeding to accidently elbow Adela lifted Nimah's spirits a little, though they lifted for the wrong reason. She found amusing, and also rather comforting to see she wasn't the only one thrown out of her comfort zone a lot of the time.
She waited for Honey to settle and for Sharpe to mull things over and speak. She had a respect for Sharpe she didn't have for many other people. His intellect and way of seeing things was always something she would pause to think on or observe, because he obviously had a far better grasp on things than she did. Being an Angel she had to think the best in people, it was a curse and a blessing. So having someone like Sharpe, who was objective and unafraid of airing his beliefs was a wonderful stroke of luck for Nimah.
Not that she would have disregarded any of the opinions of the other teachers, but Sharpe's just seemed to make more sense. In fact he seemed to make more sense, being rather more straight talking than any of the others.
As Sharpe finished, Nimah ran her fingers across her temple breathing gently. "Its fair enough they need to have a control on their powers, but we can't keep students couped up indoors like shameful animals in a zoo. I suggest that with students who are younger, or who have problems with their powers teachers should accompany them out at least once a week in small groups so they're manageable. We could even enlist some of the help of the older students who are more experienced in the use of thier powers."
Breathing slowly again, Nimah scraped her hair back. "We need to show those on Kosaka and to a larger extent those in bigger communities that meta-humans are not to be feared and that the masses of the population are well within thier abilities of controlling their powers. In the same instance, we need to be able to chide or some how control those who would strive to undo any good work done for the meta-human way of living."
She paused, and folded her arms across her chest. Why did she feel like she was repeating herself?
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Frick was quietly unimpressed by the suggestions put forward. He now knew the basics of what was going on and what was being said, so he had a general idea of what was going on. And it was the suggestions that were annoying him. At they were suggestions. It was the fact that the other members of faculty were looking at things in the wrong way. At least thats how he saw it. Some meta-humans were making trouble. Fair enough, but from what he knew most of the trouble was coming from the human side of things, and that meant, to him, it was the humans who needed controlling and being taught.
"Look," Frick said finally, gingerly scratching a horn, "I'm not disagreeing with any of you. I think its a fine idea to teach these kids when to use their powers, morals - the whol shebang. But you're forgetting one major point: its the humans who attacked us first."
Looking around the other teachers, Frick continued, "the first report or human vs. meta conflict cam to light after a gang of humans attacked a meta who had wings. They tore his wings off, if I remember rightly and then left him to die in the street. This kid was minding his own business. Naturally metas would react, and they reacted just the way humans wanted to to react, with violence. Since then there have been plenty or wars and attacks from humans and meta alike, but its the human who attack more fiercely, and without reason. Its not only happening on the street. Kids are getting rejected from schools because of their parentage. Adults are getting turned away from jobs cause they're not 'normal'. Its the humans who brought attacks on themselves, and its the humans who need more moralising and teaching, not the metas."
((Sorry, Frick gets preachy sometimes)).
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Post by Silence on Sept 2, 2008 1:36:41 GMT
"That's always how it works. Unfortunately, it's those who will fight back that will be the villains. It's the way the world works. Very few don't fight back, and, unfortunately, they get the blunt of it. But, we have to make sure the students don't attack back. We'll just become...villains. I don't want them to be painted as evil, which is what will happen if they fight back. This is where we hit an impass...unfortunatly," Adela stated, backing up Frick slightly.
Of course, Adela was also putting a spin on it. They had to find the balance between defending and all out attacking humans. Not that Adela would say it straight out...not in her nature, but she could hint at it. Well, she couldn't help but do this. Sometimes she could irritate everyone to insanity...or as she liked to put it.
Rubbing under her leaves, she wondered when she could go outside. She needed some sunlight, but she could last a few more days. She'd just get cranky.
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Post by Ai on Sept 2, 2008 16:37:32 GMT
Aislynn glanced over at Nimah and then Adela. "I'd be willing to take some of the kids out... I mean, it'd be fun and I probably have the most un-busy schedule." She smiled. The young math teacher had already gotten to know some of the students who were in their early teenage years - the ones who would need to be accompanied by a responsible adult or older student - and she was sure that Asa would feel more comfortable if her older sister was with her. Celeste wasn't too sure about Abigail or Callisto, though. Abigail seemed nice, but a little reserved and she hadn't exactly connected very well with Callisto.
"And the older kids would probably be good at getting the younger students out more, too." There were a number of college-aged students around Kosaka... and several more who were juniors or seniors in high school, responsible and had good control over their powers already. As Aislynn fingered a strand of pink hair, she began to daydream about what might happen if the students were allowed to go out on their own.
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Sharpe waited for Aislynn to speak and Frick and lastly Adela before he added his opinion and thoughts. He was able to pick up on general annoyance in the room and could tell that some of the teachers were more tense than normal; this was not an empathetic sense and in no way could he read emotions that one meant to keep hidden, but he had become rather adept at reading facial expressions over the years. Coupled with telepathy, this allowed him to gather a fairly accurate read on almost whomever he chose.
The professor knew he was often the least likely to hold the peace, but he would attempt to do so now. Attacking the humans would give the media - which, of course, was controlled by mankind - more material with which to chastise them. Being impatient and fiesty had gotten him into trouble before; fighting back usually was not the best choice. There was a slight twitch in his left eye as he remembered the old saying: fools rush in where angels dare to tread. To be foolish could get you killed... or worse.
"In the most recent-" this word was emphasized "-string of events, humans have been responsible for beginning the violence." Sharpe looked over at Frick and locked eyes with the warlock for several seconds before continuing. "However, that may not have always been the case through history; we cannot say for certain who started what."
There was another pause and Sharpe pushed his thin-rimmed, black glasses closer towards his eyes. "There has been violence on both sides, but we are evolved from them, not they from us; you can hardly expect them to set the precedent of non-violence if that is all their species has come to know and respect." After taking a class on evolutionary biology, Sharpe had come to realize that the species that were more evolved were expected to act more intelligently than those that were not.
The professor's voice was cold, calculating and snide as he spoke. Surely he was jaded; after years of dealing with both humans and metas as he had, who wouldn't be?
"Above all else, we cannot afford to attack the humans." He lifted an eyebrow at Frick, openly showing his disagreement with the warlock rather than making it known only mentally. Sharpe glanced over at Adela. They needed to come up with a strategy before anything happened; like in chess, it would be foolish to rush into battle without knowing what one was up against. "At least, not until we have a solid strategy..."
There was a cold glint in his eyes that flashed for a brief moment. Playing devil's advocate could be amusing and possibly helpful, but Sharpe knew that this wasn't likely to please Nimah one bit. However, no one was stopping him from doing so discreetly.
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Post by Silver on Sept 12, 2008 20:51:14 GMT
Nimah was beginning to find the air in the room tightening and stuffy. She was tempted to unspread her wings and flap them a couple of times, just to clear things a little.
This was not how this meetin was meant to turn out. She didn't want the teacher's bickering, however subtle it was. She needed them on her side. The students needed them on there side, else they wouldn't have a chance when they left the safety of the haven Kosaka was meant to be.
She inhaled softly, and ran her fingers across her temple. Planting her hands on the table she leaned forward, deciding the best way to deal with this would be to be forthwright and stubborn. She was meant to be the headmistress, and she was going to do a good job of it. That much she was sure on.
"Gentleman, and Adela," Nimah murmured, keeping her voice calm and level as she spoke, "please do not misunderstand me. I want to teach these student how to use their powers. No doubt there will come a time when they will need to use their powers as Professor Harris has mentioned, human attacks on metas are becoming more and more common. And metas are always going to fight back, it is the way history goes."
"But this does not mean that we will be teaching them how to attack-" she looking directly at Sharpe at this point, making it quite clear she did not appriciate his attempts to play Devil's Advocate, no matter how much she respected his opinion, "and we will certainly not be condoning it."
She continued smoothly, removing her hands from the table and standing straight, "our aim is to keep these students safe. Correct. We can teach them to use their powers, we can teach them ethics and morals. We can do our utmost and we will. But, at the end of the day when they leave these gates permenantly we cannot be held responsible for their actions. If we have taught them as well as we can, then there is no responsibility held upon us. But - while they are here, it is our responsibility to teach as well as we can when to use their powers and how to use them well."
Nimah finished. For the moment, and sat down in her chair. She left the room silent for a few minutes before quietly clearing her throat and shuffling a few papers.
"Now... the next order of business is one not quite so pertitant as the newspaper cutting, but is still quite important. We're to have a new member of faculty joining us very soon, a Mr. Gabriel Jordon has taken up our advert for a head of nursing, and will be joing us in the next week or so. I hope you'll all make him feel very welcome. He's a meta-human, and has had some issues with persecution like the rest of us."
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Post by Ai on Oct 5, 2008 0:43:28 GMT
Upon being the sole recipient of Nimah’s best glare, Sharpe lifted an eyebrow slightly. Since she continued before he could make a defence for himself, he would use thought-speech and send his thought in her general direction. “Did you not listen to what I said before? It would be foolish indeed to attack, but I am not going to discourage the use of powers for defence. They should learn how to defend themselves in a way that is effective and causes the least amount of damage to deter the opposing party.” That thought was much more pointed than any of his previous messages and it was directed mainly towards the Headmistress.
Though he generally did not encourage fighting back, Sharpe knew it was even more impractical to believe that the violence would go away on its own. It had not gone away on its own when he was in high school and nor would it now. Idiots would still exist, both as meta-humans and as humans and there was little that could be done about that.
As Nimah spoke to them, Sharpe was silent and his hardened black eyes stared up at her. He held quite a bit of respect for the Angel Headmistress, even though she was almost too nice at times. “There is a fair chance that the government will still hold us responsible for the action of our students, however.” Sharpe’s voice was much quieter than Nimah’s had been and he spoke in an almost drawling cadence. He was silent as he watched for the reaction of the other faculty members, both to what he had just said in response to Nimah and Nimah’s second announcement about the new staff member. He had not been particularly pleased with Mr. Jordan’s application, but there had been no red warning signals in the interview.
Sharpe was pretty sure he was rather unique among the meta-human population; he had not faced persecution because of his powers. There were other reasons he faced bullying and persecution, but never because of his powers.
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Post by Silence on Oct 5, 2008 1:02:05 GMT
Adela listened with a careful silence. So far, she just saw World War II all over again. She shuddered a little in her seat, and shook her head slightly, the leafy hair fluttering on their own. Looking at Sharpe, she nodded slightly, before explaining herself.
"Ja, the government will persecute us for the actions of our students, or former students. It is human nature to blame others for their problems, but that is not the issue we must deal with. What we need to do, in my opinion, is prepare for the day when they will try to make us the scapegoats. We need to show that we teach them morals, ethics, how to control their powers, and how, in the end, it's their choice of why they did whatever it is the student did. Or showing that it was the attackers fault, if it was in self-defense. We must also listen without leaning towards a side; human or other. In the end, we must also pray that the students that graduate from here make good decisions, and do not provoke anger. To be the ones to listen and not retaliate, to show people that they are no more dangerous then anyone else out there. No more dangerous then a madman with charismatic skills, or an idiot with a gun," Adela explained softly, in a way that did not ask for agreement, or even for anything other then to listen.
Her voice also showed something else; patience learned through years, wisedom gained harshly, and a small plea that they just try their best. They could not control the actions of the students, but they could show them that the best way was the silent way. To stand a test of time to slowly watch the world change.
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