Xaviers!

There was a tree on campus, in a location where a tree normally wouldn't be on campus. That was peculiar.

It was also vibrating, as if it was trying to uproot itself. That was also somewhat peculiar. Perhaps even more peculiar than it just standing there to begin with.

((open))

Nika is standing a couple feet away, eyeing the tree warily. It could just be a student and it probably is, but she can't bring herself to turn her back on this clearly suspicious tree.

"Hey." she says with a slightly raised voice, leaning down to pick up a small pebble and toss it at the tree.

"Gah!" the tree said, as the bark briefly flashed into something more fleshlike before returning to normal. "What did I do to deserve that?"

"Nothing? Usually trees don't talk. Or feel pain."

"Yeah, well, welcome to XU," the tree grumbled, continuing it's efforts to uproot itself, shedding leaves as it shook violently.

"I mean... you look like a tree, you're gonna be treated like a tree. What if I'd decided to climb you?"

"You throw rocks at trees regularly? Did no one ever read you the Lorax?

Under normal circumstances, I'd be fine with it, but these are not normal circumstances."

"I'll say, sitting around as a tree is hardly normal. I'm sorry I hurt you though, I guess."

"And what's so not normal about sitting around as a tree?" the tree questioned her. "What's so wrong about that?"

"Hey, if you want to be a tree, be my guest. But you probably shouldn't get upset about being treated like one."

"That's not...urgh!" Will said, frustrated.

"I don't mind being a tree, generally. I mind being a tree against my will."

"Someone turned you into a tree?"

"Yes, that exactly. It was the other Will. I'm supposed to be following him around, and he just...left me here."

"Other... Will? And he just ditched you here as a tree. How does that even work?"

"If I knew how it worked, maybe I wouldn't be stuck," Will complained.

"The other version of me, come back from his exile in crazy Miriam land. I was following him, and he just suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders and forced a shift.

He's a real...a real butthead, is what he is."

"Want me to find someone who might be able to help you?"

"I dunno, you could try throwing another rock at me."

"I could just leave."

"Oh, I get it, ha ha. Make like a tree and all that."

"What?" Nika blinks before it clicks into place and she groans at the accidental pun. "No I meant literally walk away. I'm sorry I threw a rock at you, but you're being really obnoxious about it. You should be glad I didn't use my power, really."

"So, you hit me with a rock, and I'm the one being obnoxious?" Will sighed. "I apologize. Thank you for not using your power."

"Listen, you want help or not?"

"Yes, please," the tree sighed. "I need help."

"Because you're stuck as a tree. Would it help to uproot you?"

"I honestly haven't a clue. I suppose it's worth a shot..."

"Hmm... I'd have to find a way to attach something to you that wouldn't cause you any pain."

"Oh, you're not going to hurt me. Your rock was more startling than anything else. It's wood; you can't really hurt wood."

Nika tilts her head slightly and gives Will a disapproving look for a moment.

"Well, that makes it significantly easier." She opens the zipper on her tracksuit jacket and reaches inside, producing an anchoring bolt. "Heads up." The bolt seems to snap into an alignment in mid air as Nika uses her power on it and a moment later it shoots forward, right into the tree. "Ready?"

"Gah! Little warning next time!" Will said, not expecting the power to be so, well, powerful.

"Alright. Now, be careful with this next bit!"

"Don't think there's a careful way to do this, but I'll try."

Nika closes her eyes and focuses. Most of the time she just uses her power instinctually. A feeling of restlessness that travels out from her and into and object that's capable of holding it until it coalesces into a direction of her choosing. A constant jittery ball of potential energy that comes into focus along rigid lines and only requires the slightest push to tip over from potential to actual movement. She exhales and pushes her power into the anchor-bolt again. Not so much a question of whether she has enough force to do it, but rather a matter of not pushing too hard and simply tearing the bolt out of the wood. A careful push and the bolt jerks the other way. It's embedded pretty deep and the surrounding wood is tougher than the soil so in one sudden motion the Will-Tree is violently torn from the ground at a 45 degree angle.

Nika used the proper amount of force to remove a multiple thousand-pound tree from the ground, and she was successful!

The problem, however, is when that same amount of force is suddenly applied to a 150-pound lump of clay. What was enough to simply pull a tree out of the ground is more than enough to send the lighter mass rocketing straight for her.

Which is why Nika found herself smashed and briefly enveloped in a mass of squishy clay, as the tree deformed and shuddered from the force of the extraction.

The bolt goes sailing off into the sky in a straight line after tearing free from the lump of clay. Not that Nika notices, having a substantial chunk of clay thrown right at her and stumbling backwards until she keels over and hits the ground.

"Little... little warning next time!" she echoes Will as she tries (more or less in vain) to pull handfuls of clay off of herself.

The clay slowly began to pull itself together, gradually forming into a more humanoid shape on top of her.

"Ohmygosh, are you OK?" it said, as soon as something resembling a mouth began to form.

"Just startled..." she says, sounding vaguely grumpy about being caught off-guard.

"Well, I apologize. I didn't expect the shift back to be so sudden, or I would have warned you. I don't want anyone to get hurt after all."

"Uh-huh. Here, hold this." she says, handing Will the rock she'd tossed at him initially.

"Um, OK," Will said, holding the rock. "Is there a reason why?"

"Yup."

And then the rock, along with Will, assuming he holds on to it, goes rocketing off into the sky at a 45 degree angle away from Nika.

"WHHHHHyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy" Will shouted, as he was sent rocketing off into the distance.

Nika gives him a mock-salute as he goes flying off, a very satisfied smirk on her face.