Change is the Only Constant (FINISHED)

[Flakeblood]

'Dammnit,' Kit thought, 'Why is it always the cryptic ones in a crisis?'

He had been in enough similar situations that he was now certain the stalker knew something. That nonchalance he projected was either an impressive calm or complete denial. Kit glanced meaningfully at Kay, covering her hand with the one of his she wasn't gripping. He spoke soothingly to her, though he was nervous himself.

"Every now and then, you have to make weird friends." 'And if he's just a nutjob, we'll leave,' he finished his thought firmly.

[godsibb]

Even though she wanted to leave, and leave fast, she slowly nodded at the floor, trusting Kit's judgment. Her headache was steadily getting worse, but she was determined to hold on a little longer. Hopefully, they would be leaving soon.

[Rastul]

"Stress," Syl took a sip of the tea, "degrades serenity of the mind." He purposefully avoided mentioning 'psionics.' Surely his new companions would be smart enough to catch on. Syl gave them both a smile, meant to distract.

"My name is Syl. What brings you here?"

Blue lights winked in the background. A small trickle of people slowly filled the empty space.

[Flakeblood]

Kit moved and sat down across from the stranger--Syl. All the while, he made sure to keep a grip on Kay, and watched to make sure she wouldn't trip or bump into the seat next to his instead of sitting on it.

He turned to Syl, watching stonily as he so calmly sipped his tea.

"Just business. Or prospective business. We are leaving soon though."

[godsibb]

Kay slowly sat down next to Kit, sitting on top of her bag. She wasn't listening to the conversation, focused solely on not losing control. The pounding in her head was getting louder; she wouldn't be able to keep this up for long.

[Rastul]

"Your partner seems to be in stress. Can you try and calm her down?" Syl nibbled on a biscuit. He had sunk into his own flitty nature, which allowed him to cooly detach himself from reality. In this state, something similar to meditation, he was able to exert higher amounts of control over his manifested psionic abilities. The reduction in his signature had almost returned things to normal, but a few lights still winked on and off, picking up the girl's presence.

"Having her relax is the key to getting out of here without trouble. Cake?"

[Edit: 2 am! Sleepy time   ]

[Flakeblood]

Fantastic. One of the things Kit was unfamiliar with. He had notice Kay's growing nervousness, but he did not know the best way to reverse that. Even so, he decided to try. After leveling a withering glare at Syl, he turned to Kay.

"Kay," he said intently, "I have committed myself to your request. I intend to see it all the way through. Relax."

Kit then took a long breath through his nose, using his diaphragm to push it out. "Take a deep breath, all the way down to the bottom of your lungs, then release slowly," he instructed.

[godsibb]

She knew Kit was talking to her, though she paid no attention to what he said. Even so, almost as though she sensed his breathing change, Kay took deep, slow breaths, trying to calm herself down. It helped only a little, but she felt she could keep going a little while more. Holding her head in her free hand, she gave Kit's hand a small squeeze, both to thank him and to urge him to hurry.

[Rastul]

"The less worried you are about taking a vacation, the more Haviah will let you take it."

Syl unhurriedly took another sip, his eye lids sleepily at half mast. He contemplated the swirls of milk in the tea, seemingly hypnotized by the way they twisted and mixed into the black mother liquid.

The area around had nearly returned to normal.

[Flakeblood]

Kit nodded in satisfaction as Kay calmed herself further. It seemed to be having the desired affect as well, since more people were coming back into the area.

With a short huff, Kit returned his attention to Syl, waiting for a better explanation. As helpful as Syl had been, Kit was going to leave if he had nothing else to say. He wasn't about to push his luck and keep Kay in Aedolis longer than necessary. They had to leave soon.

[godsibb]

Was it getting brighter? Kay squeezed her eyes shut, suddenly sensitive to the light. Rubbing the side of her head, she swayed slightly in her seat, feeling nauseous. The pounding in her head had grew to a pulsating throb, and she felt like someone kept jabbing the side of her skull with their finger. The unexpected onslaught of a migraine completely threw her off; she tried to warn Kit they needed to leave now.

"....w...wait... I...c-can't..."

[Rastul]

"..."

Syl watched her intently. Things really didn't seem to be working out. Alarm slowly grew on his face as he turned to look at the red-haired man.

"The only way," he urgently began, "that I know of to take a vacation from Haviah is to do it in a calm, orderly fashion. I don't know of any other way."

He drunk the rest of the tea in one gulp. "If that isn't possible, the only thing we can do is go underground. Somewhere electromagnetically shielded." A glance at the girl confirmed; spouts of energy spit from her skull, the drips from the dam now small, highly pressurized streams of distortions. Some of them shot straight across the room, 'splashing' off citizens who were oblivious to their effects.

[Flakeblood]

There was only one thought running through Kit's mind. 'Escape.' There was no way he was going to hide out for an inordinate amount of time. He wasn't going back on his word either; He promised escape, not hiding.

Deciding they needed to leave, as per Syl's advice, he gripped Kay's shoulder with a firm hand, steadying her.

"Easy. I understand."

Kay's behavior was worrying him. Her apparent headache seemed to be making things harder on her. Kit got up from his own seat, suppressing the urge to flee and projecting a steady calm instead. He turned to Syl.

"Calm and orderly it is."

[godsibb]

Right then, Kay's shields dropped, her telepathy spiraling out of control. Already mentally fatigued, she was overwhelmed by the sheer force of several people's thoughts entering her mind at once and immediately passed out.

[Rastul]

"Catch her!!" Syl lunged forward, reaching for her arm, eyes open in shock. The blue lights winked on again. No choice. Need to hide somewhere.

"We need to get underground somehow!"

A screech. The citizens looked into the sky with glee. A Pilot was approaching; most likely a junior, or if lucky, a candidate, still green and wet behind the ears.

[Flakeblood]

Kit cursed as Kay fell unconscious. Luckily, the fact that both of his hands were already holding her slowed her tilting, and Kit was able to lean over and get a better grip.

Then the Pilot came. There would not be any way to get through security now, not with the Pilot's eyes upon them. Quickly but carefully, Kit pulled on Kay and rearranged her onto his back. It looked as though they'd have to circle around a bit until the Pilot lost sight of them.

"Let's move," Kit stated, recalling several nearby shops that looked as though they had underground storage. Their earlier meandering had been more useful than anticipated, it seemed. He took off towards one of them, weaving through dense crowds and small spaces, hoping to make himself more difficult to track.

[godsibb]

Feeling herself being moved, Kay's eyes blinked open. Not sure what was happening, she watched blankly as crowds of people passed by, their thoughts drifting in and out of her mind.

"....it's loud..."

[Rastul]

Syl followed them, glancing over his shoulder.

Their tail (for real this time) was just a candidate Pilot, who weaved through the air on a hoverboard of some sort, whether through his power or not was unknown. He touched down behind them, expertly flipping off the board and landing with perhaps a small wobble, but this was unnoticed by the crowd, who did the usual requisite cheering and ogling.

The candidate did not have to look around, for winking blue lights immediately directed his eyes to the quarry. Unhurriedly, he made his way to them, parting the crowd as a ship's bow through water.

[Flakeblood]

Kit would have answered Kay then and there had he not been saving all his air for running. He noticed that Syl had followed, but the Pilot seemed to be behind them as well.

'Well, damn,' he thought. He then remembered who was following them and started mentally chanting the names of the foods he had eaten for the past few days.

Kit flew around a large group of people who were staring at the Pilot and, once behind them, dashed to his left through a narrow gap between buildings. Hoping the cover had done some good, he exited the gap to find himself with two storefronts to choose from. Left, or right?

His decision was made when he noticed the owner for the right one turn to grab something from the back room. He slowly made his way inside, so as not to attract undue attention. Luckily, the only ones in the store had their backs turn to some merchandise and were arguing about it. Kit slipped to a door marked 'Employees Only' and turned the knob. It was unlocked.

He opened the door and found a short set of stairs leading to an underground storage room. He slipped inside and made his way halfway down before pausing, waiting for Syl. He took this opportunity to look at Kay from the corner of his eye.

"Feeling better?" he worried.

[godsibb]

Downstairs, where there were no other people's thoughts to hear, Kay was finally able to concentrate. She blinked several times, trying to figure out where they were.

"....nh, a...a little. W-what's going on?" She paused. "You eat a lot of different things..."