Tancred Torsson knew that his powers made him almost invincible. But, every now and then, he found himself wishing for someone else's power.
Or,
Five times Tancred wanted someone else's power, and one time they all wanted his.
Lysander
For as long as Tancred could remember, he and Lysander were always friends. They rarely left each other's company. They knew each other better than their own fathers, and their fathers knew them from back to front, inside and out. If one of them knew something, it didn't take the other long enough to figure it out.
Many people pointed out how Ying and Yang they were, dark skin, light skin, dark hair, fair hair, dark eyes, light eyes, the boy who brought rhythm of a drumbeat when he got mad, and the boy who brought lightning when he was as well. But they were friends.
Nonetheless, when Tancred watched Lysander scare away even Manfred with his ancestors, he couldn't help feeling just a teeny, tiny bit jealous.
They had been cornered, by Eric's trolls. Seems even after the sisters left town, the boy came back to try and take back Bone Academy. Tancred had brought down thunder and lightning, to no avail, when drumbeats were heard.
Lysander's ghostly ancestors made quick work of the stone statues while the two boys watched. After watching Eric run away, as they had no idea what they would do, both of them turned and started walking towards Bone Academy. Forget storm powers, Tancred thought, falling into step beside his best friend, I want spirit summoning.
Emma
Tancred always wanted to fly. It was a fact that only him and Lysander knew. It was that what first made him notice Emma, and then latter fall in love with her. He was no longer in denial of his feelings for her. Above all else, Tancred did not want to pull a Paton.
The sky had been Tancred's domain since he was five, when he first discovered his abilities. He may of have controlled the weather, but he had a special connection to the air.
So when he saw Emma, soaring through the air, he knew that he wanted her powers more than anything. "You know, they could of have just said that you can shape shift" he complained to her.
Emma just shrugged. "They would probably think I was like Asa then." Nodding, Tancred, Lysander and Emma walked into art, where they were painting birds.
Emma closed her eyes and drew what it looked like through the eyes of a bird, something she knew very well.
Tancred's bird was beautiful, a phoenix soaring in the air. But he didn't want to draw a bird; he wanted to BE a bird, so he could soar high into the air.
"Forget spirit summoning", Tancred grumbled under his breath," I want to fly."
Olivia
Tancred wasn't sure to be happy that he was no longer under Joshua's spell, or annoyed at how they did it. He chose the latter.
But Tancred had to admit, Olivia's talent was useful. And fun. And entertaining. And- okay, it was a pretty cool endowment.
But despite how cool it was, Tancred never saw a real reason to be jealous of it. It wouldn't be useful in a fight, especially if they knew her powers. While he could conjure up real lightning to crash against doors, and, if necessary, people. She could make things appear that wouldn't hurt you.
And yet, as he sat through what had to be the most boring maths class since the beginning of ever, and watched as Olivia made small animals walk over her desk, Tancred couldn't help but want it.
Forget flight, Tancred thought, I want illusions.
Branko Twins
Before the twins had left town, Tancred used to get hit with books and pencils by them a lot. And, he means a lot. The twins must of have hated him just as he them.
And yet, despite that, Tancred liked their powers. It was kind of like the wind, but different, easier to control and less . . . slippery.
Move anything you want with your mind? Sign me up, Tancred thought as he watched Indez or Idith, it was almost impossible to tell the difference, made someone's books float away from them. Looking down, Tancred frowned when he realized that they were his.
A bright streak landed not ten centimeters away from the twin. Shocked, she dropped the book, and Tancred went and picked it up, ignoring Manfred's glare. He flinched when a pencil hit him in the head, ad his breezes didn't stop it.
Sighing, Tancred ducked down and finished his work, but not before looking up to see the two girls lift a bookcase. Tancred frowned down at his page. Why couldn't I of have been given telekinesis, he wondered.
Billy Raven
Of all the powers Tancred thought he would be jealous of, it wasn't communicating with animals. I mean, sure, it might be useful for entrainment and possibly useful in a fight, but other than that, it would be quite boring.
Problem is, Tancred liked animals, he did, but because of his talent, most of them were easily scar away. But to him, that still wasn't the problem, nor was the fact that every animal got along with Billy.
No the problem began when Tancred accidentally got himself locked in a closet for two days. You don't want to know, trust me. For some reason, the lock was made in such a way that if someone slammed it, the part that holds it falls down, trapping whoever thought this was a coat closet.
Well, this is bad, Tancred thought, crouching down and trying to get comfortable on the floor. Oh, he could of have just blasted the door open, but that would take effort, and willingness, neither of which Tancred had at that exact moment. Plus, he completely forgot about them as well.
So, for the next two days, Tancred Torsson was in a closet. He did not cry for help , that would of have single handedly destroy his reputation. So, e decided to wait.
It wasn't even the hunger r thirst that really annoyed him, although it was annoying. It was the boredom. Mice would sometimes walk in and out, and they would squeak at the story boy, before scuttling away again.
The door finally opened, and Tancred saw Mr. Phills, the newest workman, gaping at him. Standing up, Tancred brushed te dust of his cape, and walked out with dignity, as if getting stuck in a closet was an everyday occurrence her at Bones. And, now that he thought about it, it probably wasn't.
Sometimes he saw the mice, specifically a dark grey one with a black stripe on his back. Every now and then, Tancred would find him near his bed. And sometimes, when he was lonely, he imagined the mouse, that he had decided to name 'Akila' being his physiologist, because, reasons.
"I wish you could talk to me Akila" Tancred moaned, as he turned the page in the book he was reading "it would be nice to know what you were thinking."
Tancred
Tancred Torsson was annoyed. No, beyond annoyed, aggravated, seething, infuriated, incensed, see, he was so mad, he decided to break out the fancy words.
For some reason, Bone Academy had decided to give their students extra homework, and TESTS. Add that in with the fact that Akila had been missing for the last two months, and because of that he hadn't been able to get a proper night sleep in, four days? Because he was so aggravated that he kept blowing the covers off is bed in a rage.
So, when he finds out that Eric, The Branko Twins and Miss Tiplin and Joshua have returned, does he take it in his stride?
Hell yeah he does. Because he's Tancred Flippin' Torsson, and vaporizing enemies is the perfect way to blow off steam to him.
Lysander's plan was very simple, Olivia cause a distraction, while he and Tancred attack, with Emma in the sky, and Gabriel, Billy and Charlie for back up.
But he's Tancred Torsson, and if he doesn't want to follow the rules, he won't. "Tanc!" Lysander hissed as his friend pushed past them, and stormed [pun] down the street towards the enemy. Even Mrs. Tiplin took a second to get over the shock.
Eric reacted first, and an army of trolls began to march towards the weather boy. Without missing a beat, Tancred glanced at Eric, and swung his fist down. A sharp bolt of lightning struck the ground right in front of the boy. The shock wave alone sent Eric flying back and unconscious.
Satisfied that he was out of the way, Tancred turned his attention to the Branko Twins, who, along with Joshua, seemed to be trying to draw him nearer. As he felt himself being pushed, Tancred looked up above them and a strong gust of wind sent the two flying through the air, landing a mile or two away from town.
Joshua, realizing that his biggest defense had been broken, glanced desperately at his mother, who raised a hand, presumably to cast a spell. The look Tancred shot her made her stop in her tracks.
Joshua smiled at Tancred, and, despite already knowing what the younger boy could do, Tancred really wanted to smile back. As he fought to keep a straight face, he was aware that Joshua was now doubling, and then tripling his efforts to charm the blond boy.
All the other endowed children winced as they saw Tancred stop. Charlie leaned into Olivia "get ready to do the spider trick if all else fails" he hissed, and she nodded. Emma, who was in the skies at the moment, frowned at their lack of faith.
What happened next, nobody had been expecting. Instead of succumbing to Joshua's will, Tancred forcefully drove his heels deep into the gravel ground, and resisted. Over and over, he repeated the spider on his head, him electrocuting Emma, him helping to try and kill Charlie's parents.
Mrs. Tiplin was shocked that, after a few minutes, it was Joshua that looked away. Acting quick, Tancred lifted him up into the air, before bringing down a lightning bolt so close, that Joshua's hair singed .
Mrs. Tiplin was now unsure. She could easily take on Olivia, she could diminish Lysander's ancestors, put a spell on Gabriel, but she could not, under ANY circumstances, control the weather.
The bolt that came down was strong enough to leave a crater. Breaking through a brick wall, Mrs. Tiplin slumped, unconscious on the ground.
Ignoring the shocked and awed faces, Tancred marched past his friends, muttering over his shoulder "are you guys coming or?" It wasn't a real question, but they seemed to think it was, as they scrambled to follow.
Later, Tancred was reading, with Akela, who had been found beside him, he heard the others whisper. "Did you see him?-" "Yeah and he was like-" "And then he-" "he just-."
And then, in a slightly whiny tone, Olivia exclaimed "I want storm powers!" The others made noises of agreement, and Tancred had to smile. Yeah, it was pretty great.
