[aaron matthew palmer]

Aaron had always been more of an outside person. Sunshine and swimming, jumping around, climbing trees... It was just natural for him to be out for as long as he could, the same way it was natural for him to inhale oxygen, to sleep at night and be awake during the day, to stand upright. There wasn't much he wouldn't do outdoors- there was once when he even showered outside. Given, he probably didn't get very clean on a slip and slide... but that wasn't his fault, he'd argue. And while it was rather painful, sliding naked down the slip n' slide placed permanently in his back yard wasn't something he'd soon forget.

The sky outside was clear, so everyone knew that the boy presently sitting crossed-legged on the ground was in a pleasant mood. And pleasant he was- He was sitting in front of the garden, playing with the bugs. It's at this point in time where most people raise an eyebrow and ask how old exactly is this kid? Well, he's not nine, that's for sure. He's just a little... young, for his age. He's a legal adult, sitting around and smiling innocently as he lets ants crawl over his hands... Some people walk by him, giving him weird looks. Most are used to everyone else's strange behaviour.

Strange didn't even begin to cover some people, though. Aaron was thankfully in the middle of 'crazy strange' and 'boring normal,' but he was weird enough to kneel in the dirt, disturbing the insects' lives, giggling as a ladybug tried to crawl up his sleeve... He was known for these blissful moments when you wondered whether or not the young man had seen a single tragedy in his life- no one impure could be this... innocent. Aaron was eighteen, of course he had seen some dark days, of course he wasn't... pure. But you wouldn't guess it.

this is an absolutely terrible post, I know. My first posts with a character usually are, I promise you I'll get to an acceptable length.

[johnathan doe]

Johnathan Doe had hoped to never encounter the monster again, but of course, as he woke up and padded out in his pajamas, the Janitor was trying to subdue the monster right outside his door. He’d shrieked, probably waking up half the people around him, and barreled past the janitor and the loud, scary monster. Crying, he blindly ran outside, clad in a plain pair of sweats and a white undershirt, and pushed past many other students, getting odd looks and some even cursing him in a language he barely knew in the first place. He tripped over the boy sitting on the ground, but scrambled back up to his feet and promptly hid himself in a nearby bush, the bush actually shaking along with him.

Why was he in a place where there were monsters? Was he not safe anywhere? Johnny cried harder, burying his head in his arms. He was just so scared and it all was confusing enough! To top it off, he’d torn his undershirt and his sweats were dangerously lowered in the process, although no one would see his ass or anything. He really didn’t care at that moment, though, because he was just more concerned with remaining safe.

The bush was safe, right? It was kind of like under his bed… His friend, the furry little kitten, meowed and primly walked into the bush after his master. He’d been out “hunting” (more like chasing butterflies) and saw his master hide in the bush. So, like any eager and personable cat would, he joined him. John-John couldn’t help but smile slightly and scoop up his friend, cuddling him to his chest. The kitty was soft and warm, like his bed and his...what had the lady called them, 'Sweats?' Oh well, he liked his friend and even liked cuddling him more.

He giggled slightly when the kitten's rough tongue licked under his jaw. It tickled.

[aaron matthew palmer]

It was probably just the fact that Aaron had no idea what was coming. He'd just been sitting there, leaning over himself with one hand crawling slowly out to the butterfly he'd found, blissful as can be. Completely relaxed, any guard the boy had, shed on the floor for what would happen next to scare him the nexts of tomorrow... What sort of phrase that is, I don't know, but when Johnathan barreled down the pathway, trampled over Aaron and ran into a nearby bush- sending the butterfly Aaron had been so close to catching flying away- Aaron was just a bit freaked out. The eighteen year old jumped to his feet in an attempt to lower his chances of being ran over again- another strange instinct- then bent over inquisitively, taking a closer look at the shaking bush. The boy inside was crying; though crying might be an understatement at this point in time.

The boy inside was, indeed, sobbing, absolutely terrified about one thing or another. Aaron raised an eyebrow, positively worried fir the kid's well-being; what was it that made him so afraid? The older boy eased himself on his hands and knees, crawling slowly towards the boy- it was a younger boy, he could tell now. He wasn't crying anymore, strangely enough... How does one go from being that frightened to calm and... happy? Over a kitten. Aaron smiled softly to the kid as he neared him, sitting on his knees as he spoke. "Hey," He greeted gently, feeling a little strange hanging out in a bush, but hey, it's not like he could get any weirder. "Something wrong?" he asked openly, not wanting to pry too much. He was a firm believer in giving people as many options as he could.

As he waited for a response, Aaron took the chance to get a better look at the boy. He was obviously younger than he, but by how much, was hard to determine... Of course, if he was going by actions, he would have guessed around five, six; the boy gave new meaning to innocence, cuddling the kitten that seemed to symbolize him perfectly as he hid in a bush from whatever horrors lurking inside the building. Now, one could easily tell going by size alone that there was no chance in hell that the kid was six, so Aaron would have guessed around fourteen- the kid was small, still had that boyish look on his face. But there was something in the discrete angles in his jawbones, the look hiding deep in his eyes... That convinced Aaron that he was a bit older, albeit not by much.

Aaron bit his lip, not really knowing how to deal with this situation but going with whatever his family did to him whenever they found him hiding from something he found scary. Because no matter what age Aaron diagnosed the kid as, he kept thinking he was talking to a toddler- you know, using that odd, squeaky voice, asking them random questions, smiling a lot. "I'm Aaron," He gave with a soft, sweet smile, running hand through his own hair- not out of awkwardness, but because he felt leaves in it. "Wh.. What's your name?"

[johnathan doe]

Johnny looked up, fearful for a split second about the intruder in his hidey hole. But, then he realized that this person was not going to harm him and he sent him one of those dazzling shy-little-kid-smiles-that-just-melt-your-heart. He barely could make out the words the man spoke, understanding that it was a question in concern for his well-being, or something like that. With the sheer concentration of a small child trying to get his point across with a limited command of the english language, he managed to get out, “Biiig…monster. Loud, scawwy.” He had the lisp of a small child just learning the language as well, it seemed.

The kitten meowed indignantly and gently pawed at his master to let him down. As if he were speaking to a person, Johnny apologized cutely and set the little brown kitten on the ground. The kitten shook itself out and began to clean his fur.

I’m Aaron. Wh.. What’s your name?

Johnny blinked, taking the time to process the complicated words. Finally, he understood and his face lit up proudly as he said, “My name Johnny.” It wasn’t the best English, but John-John was proud of it, as he should be since he hadn’t known a word of English a mere week before. These people had things they called each other called…names? He wasn’t sure, but the people had given him one as well: Johnathan Doe, although he was addressed as Johnny for the most part.

Truly, Johnny was the size of what someone would consider a thirteen or fourteen year-old, although the doctors guessed he was around the age of sixteen. He’d come to the academy severely underweight and he was actually wearing children’s size clothes. Once the kitten was finished with his grooming, he bumped his head affectionately against Johnny’s hand and the young man scooped his friend right back up again. “Kitty?” He asked, holding out the little kitten, wondering if the nice man wanted to pet the soft, warm kitten. Cause it was fun!

[aaron matthew palmer]

For a moment, The kid looked up to Aaron in fear as if he expected him to rip him to shreds or something. As if he were approaching a wounded animal, Aaron gently lifted his hands as if to say hey, I'm not going to hurt you. Probably made him look pretty odd, but you know, the boy was hiding in a bush; How strange could Aaron look? Aaron gave the boy another smile, and that seemed to do it for him- He gave him the youngest, largest, most innocent smile Aaron had probably ever seen, a smile that fit perfectly on his face. It seemed to take a while for him to understand what Aaron was asking, as if he didn't understand... What was wrong with him? Did something happen to him that had caused him to act like a toddler? Maybe it had something to do with his power, being able to age himself. Maybe he really was two years old.

“Biiig…monster. Loud, scawwy.” At this Aaron frowned slightly, scooting a bit closer to the boy as he let the kitten he had been cuddling with down. "A monster?" He inquired, coking his head a little to the left in question. He hadn't seen any monsters around, and he'd been here for almost two years... Had he just not looked enough? Had someone been pulling a prank? "What kind of monster?" Maybe it was someone trying to be funny. He knew there were a few particularly nasty conjurers hanging about that would get a kick out of making little kids run for their lives at the sight of a fire-breathing dragon. He really wouldn't be surprised if this was the case... "What did it look like?" Aaron's guess was that it was simply something he himself didn't find frightening- The boy acted so young, it could have been anything.

Again, it took him quite a bit of time to process Aaron's question as to what his name was, but he looked very proud when he answered in that cute little-kid way, “My name Johnny.” He looked so proud; just the look on his face could have forced the smile already present on Aaron's face to grow into a grin, had it not been for the name... John. The four-letter syllable brought to mind a thunderstorm, crawling into the bed of a young man with the same name six years ago, hoping for a little bit of comfort through the night... And receiving much more. John. He hadn't thought about him for a while, had he? The foster child at the end of the hall that took more from Aaron than anyone else had. Maybe it was best to just forget him. "Johnny... hm. It's nice to meet you." He fought the urge to hold his hand out to him, getting the feeling that it would do more harm than help- he didn't know if Johnny was still jumpy from his 'incident with the monster' or what.

Just in time to save Aaron from the wave of nostalgia he was drowning in, the cat Johnny had just recently let down pawed on the younger boy's hand, allowing him to scoop his small body up. “Kitty?” Johnny offered vaguely, and for a moment Aaron thought he was trying to confirm the name. "Yeah, Kitty." he said softly, then noticing how the boy was holding him out to the eighteen year old. "Oh!" He exclaimed softly, using his left hand to gently pet the thing's head. "Mm. He's nice. You've got a good kitten." He smiled at the boy, his hand idly petting the feline's head. This had already proved to be a rather interesting day.

[johnathan doe]

It took Johnny a moment to figure out what Aaron wanted to know about the monster. Smiling when he realized it but pouting when he realized he didn’t know any other words to describe it than “Loud and Scawwy,” he put his finger to the dirt and began to draw. With an intense concentration, he carefully drew out a crude shape of a vacuum, with a few added teeth and a mean face, because that was how Johnny saw the vacuum – mean and scawwy. Kitty sensed his distress at even just thinking about the monster that had scared him so many times.

He just didn’t understand that the vacuum meant him no harm. That it was a tool, it didn’t have teeth, and couldn’t really hurt him.

He pointed at the drawing. “Dat.” Even the drawing scared him.

He sent Aaron a shy smile and nodded when Aaron greeted him. “Kitty is friend. Soft, warm.” He smiled brightly, pulling the kitten back to nuzzle the little kitten with his cheek. Kitty meowed and licked Johnny’s cheek affectionately. The teenager giggled and nuzzled him again. “Pwetty kitty.” It was obvious that the kitty was very important to him. “Aaron have a kitty?” In his opinion, everyone should have a Kitty.

[aaron matthew palmer]

It seemed to take Johnny quite a bit longer than normal to figure out what Aaron had meant, but that was all right- the longer the eighteen year old spent in the younger male's presence, the more he found himself acting as if he were talking to one of his two, three year old nephews- though they would be around five now. It was strange to think that it had been almost two years since Aaron was 'taken'- that was, assuming that they weren't in some warp in time, and if and when they were released, it was the exact same moment that they were taken. If that were so, the fact that Aaron was quite a bit taller and older looking would take a lot of explaining, especially to his parents.

He doubted that was the case, though- two years had passed, both in and outside those looming walls, and there was nothing he could do to get around that fact. And it would be two more before he would get to see his family again, it felt- he had come close to harnessing his power, but not close enough. He had seen people come and go, made friends, made enemies... any they would all graduate, up, up. Away. And yet, he stayed behind. Johnny smiled, apparently figuring out Aaron's words and dragging the young man out of his reverie, but the gesture soon turned to a pout- sending a frown to Aaron's face.

It took the older male a moment or two to notice Johnny's drawing in process, and even longer to distinguish it- even after it was done. "a..." He tilted his head slightly so he could see it from johnny's perspective- "Johnny!" he laughed softly, shaking his head. "That's a vaccum, not a monster." He scooted closer to the boy and gave him a small half-hug, taking a moment to scratch behind the kitten's ears- so what, he liked cats. "It's just a machine the janitor uses to clean the carpets, silly."

And that was that- the boy was definitely some form of three year old in a sixteen year old's body. He was just so cute, though- and not in the way Aaron normally meant. Johnny was like a little puppy; he even looked the part, to Aaron. Some people look quite exactly like an animal, and he brought small, clumsy puppies to Aaron's mind. Which made his love for his cat rather humourous... “Kitty is friend. Soft, warm.” Aaron smiled, leaning slightly forward to pet the thing again. "Mmhmm." he affirmed, watching Johnny and his kitten nuzzle each other, Johnny giggling. “Pwetty kitty.” Aaron nodded, still silent as if he was waiting for what Johnathan would say next. “Aaron have a kitty?”

Aaron shook his head, "No, not here." he informed. "But back home, I lived on a farm, so I had a ton of animals. Lots of kitties."

[johnathan doe]

Johnny’s brow furrowed cutely. Aaron didn’t seem to be afraid of the big, scary monster. He looked up at the older boy. “Not…monster?” Kitty enjoyed the affection, as did Johnny – he liked hugs. “Butbutbut it’s big and scawwy…loud.” The poor kid seemed afraid of the drawing he himself had drawn. A hand jutted out to erase the scary face, a quick shudder taking over Johnny’s body. Too scary.

Upon mention of lots of Kitties, Johnny seemed ecstatic. “Lots of Kitties? Are dey pretty kitties?” Then, something hit him. “Not here? Where?” Johnny didn’t understand that this wasn’t home. That it wasn’t any of their homes. It was the only place he’d known.

Kitty licked Johnny’s hand affectionately, not liking the boy’s distress. To anyone other than Johnny, it would seem suspicious. It was almost as if the kitten was trying to comfort the boy in a way that animals don’t usually comfort. It was almost as if he had a bit of a humanlike personality.