Author Topic: Change is the Only Constant (FINISHED) (Read 6509 times)

Rastul · « **Reply #40 on:** July 05, 2012, 12:34:33 pm »

"You sure .. " Syl arrived, panting. "Do run fast!"

The Candidate had given chase, once it was clear that the trio were serious about exiting his field of view. What he had not counted on was the fading of the psionic system. Without a signal to track, Axis Point fell silent, and the game became that of the time old cat and mouse. Apparently the red-haired man was more skilled than he thought, for the Candidate was lost. This did not discourage him though, for he shook his pants leg, dislodging a small swarm of mechanical spiders that scuttled around the nearby area, searching, sniffing with small electroprobes.

Syl looked around the place. "Is there another exit? I hope you didn't box us in!"

Flakeblood · « **Reply #41 on:** July 05, 2012, 04:40:26 pm »

"I...eat lots of things?" Kit looked around himself in slight surprise. 'This isn't a food store,' he thought.

Syl ran in shortly after, breathing hard. Kit smirked just a bit at the compliment.

"I've had to learn. Part of the business." He then turned and went down further into the room. "Don't worry about an exit. Most stores have a back exit for dumping trash or bringing in new merchandise without disrupting the normal flow of their business."

As he weaved through the boxes, he looked at Kay again. She appeared slightly better than before, though he was no doctor. He also wasn't in the best position to see her and had to settle with looking through the corner of his eye. He couldn't help worrying a bit about her health.

"We seem to have lost any trackers, for the time being," he explained, "We can work our way back from here, carefully."

He spotted a door in the wall he had been walking towards; he stopped. 'I wonder if she can walk yet,' he wondered, 'If not, it appears that being underground has afforded some measure of concealment.' Instead he voiced, "Are you feeling better?"

godsibb · « **Reply #42 on:** July 05, 2012, 05:05:52 pm »

"You were n...naming foods you've eaten recently..."

Not realizing she was hearing other's thoughts, Kay smiled slightly, secretly happy that Kit was worrying about her.

"Yeah, I...I can walk..." As she tried to sit up, her head started started swimming and she promptly rested her head back against his back. "J-just...give me a few minutes..."

Rastul · « **Reply #43 on:** July 05, 2012, 06:23:27 pm »

"Did she manifest her powers recently?"

Syl crouched down, staring at the girl. He raised a finger, the index, the tip hovering in front of her forehead. Hovering. Hovering. Poke.

"If you just let it out, it's easier to control it afterwards." Not that he could exactly speak from experience, the way that he was, but this method seemed to produce results with his own artificial psionics.

Flakeblood · « **Reply #44 on:** July 05, 2012, 08:12:15 pm »

Since he wasn't about to push a tired and recently terrified friend to move about, Kit just grunted assent and shifted his weight to stand more comfortably. Then he thought about what Syl had said. Had she manifested? He knew she had been restraining them but... Kit's eyes widened in shock. Had Kay just...? When had he been thinking about food? As a mental shield? He turned his head again, seeing both Syl and Kay, but mostly looking at Kay.

'...Kay. What should I try? Aw, dammit it doesn't matter. Kay! Strawberry ice cream!'

godsibb · « **Reply #45 on:** July 05, 2012, 08:29:17 pm »

Kay's face and tail twitched in surprise as Syl poked her, a small mewing noise sounding from the back of her throat. What the heck was that for?

"H-hey..." Squinting at him, she thought about his question. "No... N-not, like... Super recently. I've had my powers for a while... But I kept them hidden."

She blinked in confusion at Kit's sudden outburst, lifting her head slightly.

"Uh... T-try what...? Ice cream? Huh...?"

Rastul · « **Reply #46 on:** July 05, 2012, 09:41:35 pm »

Syl tilted his head to one side, arms draped over his knees as he looked at her from his crouch.

"Basic telepathy, it seems." He shrugged and gave a small smile. "It's not a bad start." He rolled his eyes, head immobile, to look at the red-headed man. "And you? Have you known her for long? You seem to be somewhat of an expert at avoiding the military .."

Flakeblood · « **Reply #47 on:** July 05, 2012, 10:09:20 pm »

Hyperventilating was not an option. He knew Kay had telepathy, she had told him. Still, he couldn't help a slight hitch in his breathing when she answered his mental yell abut ice cream. He closed his eyes and took his own advice, breathing deep and long. His eyes were still closed when he answered Syl.

"Honestly, it's none of your business..." In, out. "We met only recently." In. Out, in. "And of course I can avoid people," he opened his eyes and said, "I generally hang around the Cancer. I end up doing quite a bit of smuggling."

He paused before thinking in a rather tired way, 'Kay? Geez, this is...' A sigh. 'You... you feelin' alright?'

godsibb · « **Reply #48 on:** July 05, 2012, 10:51:34 pm »

Finally realizing that she was hearing Kit's thoughts, Kay gasped, sitting up.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I-I didn't know... I mean, I can't control..." She fidgeted uncomfortably on his back. "Yeah, I feel okay... You can put me down now." Even if she couldn't read his thoughts, she could feel him taking deep breaths and knew her telepathy was making him feel uneasy. Maybe if they weren't so close, she wouldn't be able to hear him think.

Wondering if she had telekinesis too, Kay also couldn't help but note how...different Kit sounded in his mind.

Rastul · « **Reply #49 on:** July 05, 2012, 11:19:04 pm »

Syl could and could not understand them. Psychics often ended up relying on their powers too much, handicapping themselves by training their body in a narrow specialization. They missed subtle clues in the body language, the furtive glances of the eye, the way the hand brushed the shoulder. The disturbances leaking from the girl's mind seemed to be settling down, and with a bit of luck they would be able to move out soon. It was probably about time he split off from them anyhow, as he did have his own agenda to push.

He stood up, arching his back and sending a small chorus of cracks into the air. It was a bit on the chilly side in the basement, to preserve the received goods.

"Sounds like you're calming down. That's good!" Syl filed away the factoid (not that it would really help, unless he spent a few minutes chanting it to himself) about the red-headed man. A contact on Cancer would certainly be useful.

Flakeblood · « **Reply #50 on:** July 06, 2012, 10:24:07 am »

Embarrassment and shame made Kit's stomach contract. He hadn't meant to make Kay feel guilty. Slowly, he lowered Kay down, her tail tickling his hand for a moment.

"It is fine. I know you are not doing it purposely."

This he knew for a fact. Over the past few days, she had not once tried to read his mind. This thought made him feel even guiltier, and he internally cursed like a sailor. Trying to suppress and embarrassed flush, he turned towards Syl, who was standing again. Whether he had been talking to Kay or himself, Kit wasn't sure. He decided to give a brief nod anyway. Kit looked at Kay and Syl; their group seemed about ready to go on.

"We can't stay here much longer. Shall we check the situation?"

godsibb · « **Reply #51 on:** July 06, 2012, 12:17:05 pm »

Once on the ground, Kay rubbed her head, feeling an infinite amount better than before. She felt as if a huge something was lifted from her mind, and letting her telepathy go free like this felt good. Unfortunately, of course, she could still hear Kit think. Pointedly trying to ignore his thoughts (though she couldn't keep from momentarily making a shocked face at his mental cursing), she looked over at Syl, giving him a small smile. Resisting the urge to start asking him a bunch of questions, she looked between him and Kit.

"Thanks for the help, you guys, really. Sorry for being such a burden like that." She then put her hands on her hips, back to her usual energetic self, although the energy seemed a little forced. "Alright, let's go check a situation!"

Rastul · « **Reply #52 on:** July 06, 2012, 12:37:32 pm »

Syl looked around, taking stock of his surroundings. Even though their pursuer was only a Candidate, if they were being serious there were many other methods by which they could be found.

He placed his hands on his hips, a pensive gaze on the pair. Whatever they ended up doing, as a group they had to reduce their signature to avoid being detected again. He sighed, reaching to the port at the back of his right ear.

"Remind me what we were doing?"

Click. Syl pulled out that small metallic tab and dropped it into his pocket. He still smiled at them, but his eyes had become blank. The psionic sizzle that would have emanated from him was entirely gone. Although he seemed friendly, he had a standoffish slant to his posture, and he seemed to be questioning their presence with his smile. His mind was white static.

Flakeblood · « **Reply #53 on:** July 06, 2012, 03:25:59 pm »

The flush finally made its way onto Kit's face, once he noticed Kay's fleeting shock. He realized what he had just been thinking, so instead focused on their situation.

"You were not a burden," he said simply.

He didn't know much about psionic powers, but he had seen what happened when mages kept their powers bottled up. This situation had been a lot less painful than the sudden explosions his siblings had accidentally shown him. Also, Kay really did seem to be feeling better, even if she was trying to force a little too much bravado. He nodded his assent to Kay's statement though, watching as Syl seemed to be thinking. At this point, he probably knew the best way to avoid a Pilot. Kit had never had an encounter with them, and had only vague stories to go on.

The something entirely unexpected happened. After he watched Syl drop what looked like a metallic chip in his pocket, the kid's expression became completely different. Kit looked at his eyes, the way he held his body, and the muscles that were no longer being used in his face. Astonished at the change, Kit immediately thought of the odd device he had noticed on the kid's head. It seemed to be part of --if not the entire-- reason that Syl's attitude changed. What had it changed to though?

Remind him, he had said. Had he perhaps... forgotten? Forgotten what? Kit's mind whirled with all of the possible choices and implications for the current situation, trying out each possibility in a brief conversation in his mind. During this, he just loosely crossed his arms and let his eye half-close in contemplation. He ended up picking the simplest question.

"I don't suppose you had something you were going to use to help us escape the notice of that Pilot?"

godsibb · « **Reply #54 on:** July 06, 2012, 04:38:26 pm »

Kay flashed Kit a grateful smile, trying not to giggle when she accidentally learned about his siblings' explosions. Her eyes roamed around the room, wondering where they were- seeing as she wasn't entirely focused when they first came in- but she quickly looked over at Syl when he asked what they were going to do. She frowned slightly, worried how different he seemed, and slowly realized that she hadn't been hearing his thoughts. She couldn't tell if this was because he was psychic and he was preventing others from reading his mind, or if he was just thinking about nothing. Either way, Kay got a feeling of...white from him. It was a little unsettling and worrisome.

Rastul · « **Reply #55 on:** July 06, 2012, 07:09:24 pm »

"Escape? Pilot?"

Syl laughed, looking around. "We're in a meat locker! What are you talking about?"

The next obvious question in his mind: "Who are you and what am I doing here?" was something he had learned not to ask. Most of the time he found himself with fuzzy memories of the past couple of hours, but he had long learned to train himself to embed a few key memories and procedures so he would not forget.

Flakeblood · « **Reply #56 on:** July 06, 2012, 09:41:12 pm »

Right. So, he had forgotten at least the last 15 minutes or so. Kit ran one hand through his bangs and thought some more. Well, Syl had said to remind him, so he might as well.

"We are currently being pursued; we have fled here and are safe for the time being, but I suspect that will not last long." Kit thought a bit more. "I have no experience with Aedolian Pilots," he grudgingly admitted, "Especially considering their psionic abilities. So you tell me how we escape unnoticed."

godsibb · « **Reply #57 on:** July 06, 2012, 10:03:18 pm »

Kay was definitely confused by Syl's behavior, but chose not to ask any questions yet as Kit explained. She noticed he mentioned it earlier that a Pilot was after them and he now just confirmed in her mind that they were indeed being chased. Biting her lip nervously, she peeked inside her bag to see if she had anything that could aid their escape. The only useful thing in it was her laptop, but she didn't know how that would help. Not sure what to do, she simply kept quiet, listening to Kit's and Syl's conversation.

Rastul · « **Reply #58 on:** July 07, 2012, 05:27:51 am »

Syl snapped his fingers.

"Easy! All you need to do is exit in a calm and orderly fashion .." His eyes widened as he made a small leap of logic. The only reason why they would be chased was ...

He smirked. "One of you is a psionic, I'm guessing?"

Flakeblood · « **Reply #59 on:** July 07, 2012, 09:35:19 am »

Kit could have smacked his own face. As it was he just stared, wondering if this is what it was always going to be like for him. Considering that Syl did make the connection though, the situation could be worse.

Kit turned slightly towards Kay, nodding towards her in a way that indicated she was the psychic, but he added in a questioning glance at her. She seemed to be holding something in. 'You c'n ask. 'S fine.'

Author Topic: Change is the Only Constant (FINISHED) (Read 6509 times)

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