Remnants of the Earth
AEDOLIS => Haviah => Advanced Training Complex => Topic started by: Anonymous on May 23, 2008, 12:21:50 pm
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Vyomini was pulled from the ship unceremoniously.
“Follow me and keep quiet.”
The soldier with her was obviously a pilot; she knew because his mind was closed, she couldn’t read it no matter how hard she tried. She silently cursed her psychic abilities which were of little use to her now and they were what were going to force her into the Aedolis military…or back to TRIM.
Being a psychic and a mage meant you had several enemies and for the past few months Vyomini had constantly been travelling, stowing away aboard any vessel she could find. She was wanted by three of the world’s powers; TRIM because of her dual psychic and magic abilities, Edanith because she was a mage and Aedolis because she was a psychic. She had been safe from Aedolis and Edanith as long as she stayed away from the respective countries, but TRIM was always there, even in places as remote as Lanaes, they were there.
She had been in Dannu; a place she thought was safe, when she was sold out to Aedolis.
So here she was know, handcuffed and being shoved along by a disgruntled pilot who kept looking at here as she was a prisoner going to be tortured; which in actuality she was.
Resigning herself to her fate for now, she took the opportunity to glance at the city of Havviah just before she was pushed into a building with a big sign reading ‘Advanced Training Complex’. The city was very noisy and the buildings reached up to the sky. There were large glowing signs and big TV screens everywhere and above them ships and hover vehicles filled the sky. They almost looked like swarming insects.
“Stop gawking,” the pilot said before shoving her again.
The interior of the building was nowhere near as spectacular. It was white and bland and smelt vaguely of disinfectant and…blood? That was not a good sign.
She followed the pilot further down the corridor until she could hear a trolley being wheeled along at a leisurely pace. Said trolley then appeared round a corner and what was on the trolley could only be described as horrific.
A boy was laid on it covered in what was clearly his own blood and his legs…well they weren’t really legs. Somehow they had been crushed and looked just like bloody messes with bone sticking out.
Vyomini backed against the wall having a sudden urge to vomit. The pilot however was completely unsympathetic. He simply made a ‘hmph’ noise as if he could guess what had happened to the boy. Or probably ‘who’ had happened to the boy.
He then grabbed Vyomini’s wrist and continued to drag her down the corridor. What kind of monsters worked here? And what happened to people here, were they brainwashed or did they simply see such terrible things so often they got used to it? She had heard stories about the pilots but it seemed that the rumours paled in comparison to what actually went on there.
Vyomini walked into the back of the pilot when he stopped abruptly at an open door.
“Get in.”
Vyomini was about to tell him what he could go do but he obviously saw it coming and threw her into the room locking the door behind her.
“Stay there and I suggest you behave,” the pilot said, threateningly, his voice slightly muffled by the closed door, “Else you might end up like that kid.”
She picked herself up from the floor before kicking the door. It didn’t do any good but she felt better…a little anyway. Then again, how could she feel better knowing what happened to that poor boy? Had he talked back to his instructor or was it just part of the learning process? She guessed she’d probably find out.
She glanced around, “How strong are the walls?” she thought, “Maybe I could make a big icicle and smash my way out.”
No that wouldn’t work, even if she escaped the complex she wouldn’t escape the city. Maybe she should just explode her own brain now and be done with it…
-
This couldn't possibly be true could it?
A psychic mage?
Granted, in the earlier years of his life he had been magical, but he had exchanged that magic for the powerful abilities that was locked within his mind. Blocking off his connection to magic but allowing his mind to use such terrible power from his own brain. However, it had been years since he had seen anyone who had both magic and psychic. They had been too weak, their powers too divided between each other. That was why this was such a big surprise for him. Not a bad surprise of course. This was a good surprise.
Mostly because his name was written in the spot where it said 'Pilot Mentor' and well...he did love to see his name when teaching a new candidate.
This was a happy occasion then.
On his way to visit his new candidate, who apparently was being held in a higher security room than normal. Handcuffed even. Mildly Dangerous the form had said hadn't it? He checked the data pad in his hands once more. Yes.Volatile, Dangerous, a piece of work to say the least. Nothing he couldn't handle. At least he hoped anyway. This was probably better, he only had one candidate, while another certain Pilot had a bit more. This would be something to occupy his time. All the other pilots were off in Space for a war.
He had opted to stay behind and man the fort.
Stopping at a door he pressed a button on the side of it, opening a small slot to look inside with. It had protective glass and a force shield, just in case their little psychic mage wanted to smash something through it. She would see strange eyes, electric blue irises surrounded by a yellow of some sort. She would barely see white skin, not peach, but actual white, a soft white, near to a grey even.
"Phantastic." The voice was cold as he pressed another button to open the door. There would be no mistakes. Instantly the woman would feel a strange sensation, a presence enveloping her mind. Then pain. He was stimulating the nerve centre of her mind, sending her body into a form of shock that would make her body feel like fire was burning from the inside. "Your knees are the best place for you to be." Even if she could resist, his power was highly trained, and he knew the mind very well.
Her knees would give out, but he would keep the pain to her. A dull pain at least, that would travel around her body, he wasn't going to allow her to focus so she could use her powers.
"I am Dyerlich Lochk, Pilot of Cant Royal. I am going to be your mentor and guide, taking you on this trip through the pilot program." The pain was suddenly gone as he decided to let her mind go. However, the presence was still there. Like a loaded gun, he was ready to start to the painful process all over again in case she tried anything. He'd have a warning of her trying to use her powers.
He was an odd looking creature. It was obvious he wasn't human. Not even close to it. He was seven feet tall for one thing. His limbs seemed longer, his arms seemed to travel past his waist, allowing him to have a longer reach. He wore strange clothes, built just for him, and a strange cowl that covered his face. Well. From his nose downward she would see nothing. His hair was silver, spiked upwards and backwards with flecks of gold dotting it. Speaking of spikes, she might see as he had his back turned to her, two VERY large spikes protruding from his elbows. They curved upward somewhat, following along his arms to head toward his shoulders. He approached a part in the wall that had a handle and opened it, pulling out a grey uniform, standard for all candidates to wear.
"If you listen to what I say, you'll get along great with me. If you don't, then we won't, and I'll have to hurt you. We wouldn't want that now." It was offhand, nonchalant really, like it didn't matter to him. He turned about to face her, tossing the clothes on the floor. There was no privacy here, the door to the bathroom was locked, and so was the door to the outside. It was specially designed quarters for someone like her, just in case. There was a bed and a locker really, pretty bare bones at this point.
"Change. Now, I haven't got all day." Ooo, two naked girls in only the span of a few days. He considered himself lucky almost! Hah! He wondered how Phenyo would react to all this. Him training another Candidate, a female candidate! She might even be jealous! He made sure he kept his shields up blocking his mind, almost impenetrable barriers to stop someone like say...Vyomini from seeing his thoughts.
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Vyomini sighed and closed her eyes. Nope the room completely blocked any psychic abilities, there was no way she was getting out with telekinesis or stealing a solution for unlocking the door from a passer by. Would her magic work? Probably not as she assumed they knew she was a mage.
She stood up and leaned against the wall facing the door and stared at it, willing it to open. It was a rather boring door, plain white and featureless, like the rest of the building.
Vyomini was startled when a panel suddenly opened on the door, revealing a very odd face behind the glass. There was no way it could be human, their eyes were yellow and blue and their skin was white. Not white as in pale or dead-looking but actual white!
As the door opened she received a brief glimpse of an extremely tall long armed creature before pain ripped through her body. She didn’t even have time to block her pain receptors. She fell to her knees and couldn’t get out of her head the image of the boy on the stretcher. It felt like her insides were on fire, not a pleasant feeling when she was an ice mage.
"Your knees are the best place for you to be."
“Bastard,” she managed to gasp.
There was a few seconds more of pain before it decreased and she had a strange feeling of a presence in her mind. This pilot was highly skilled, there was no way she could beat him with her psychic abilities. His didn’t even seem human which he undoubtedly wasn’t. He was taller than most and there were spikes on his elbows. She couldn’t see all his face but what she could see was just otherworldly.
"I am Dyerlich Lochk, Pilot of Cant Royal. I am going to be your mentor and guide, taking you on this trip through the pilot program."
He was her mentor? Were the gods or whatever divine beings existed in the universe laughing at her? She already knew she wanted to leave, now. However fate had deemed that she couldn’t. She was stuck here with a crazy psychic freak who delighted in hurting people…And she sincerely hoped he hadn’t heard that.
She noticed that the pain was gone; obviously he was toying with her. He hadn’t relinquished the presence in her mind though, obviously to stop her using her powers. Not that she’d try though; she already knew he was too strong for her. Her magic might be more of match but as he was in her head he’d know whenever she tried to cast that as well. It was a lose-lose situation where she would have to choose the lesser of two evils.
The ‘man’ then went over to a concealed cupboard and pulled something grey from.
"If you listen to what I say, you'll get along great with me. If you don't, then we won't, and I'll have to hurt you. We wouldn't want that now."
“Yeah right,” Vyomini thought.
She cringed internally, how many times in the past few minutes had she thought something he was likely to punish her for? She dreaded to think.
He then threw the grey thing in front of her and it turned out to be a uniform. Well at least he couldn’t cause pain with it…Unless he was going to use it to strangle her.
"Change. Now, I haven't got all day."
Pervert! He was actually going to watch her. Maybe he thought it would be humiliating. That wouldn’t work; she was a former TRIM subject and had been naked in front of people before. Still she considered making an ice wall as an improvised screen. Oh yes, he could read her thoughts…
Was it worth being defiant? She’d probably end up like that boy if she did. It didn’t seem worth losing the ability to walk.
Sighing, she leant against the wall and began untying her boots.
-
Well at least his luck wasn't like Kota, who would be having to deal with a snake girl. That would be trouble wouldn't it? More so a gorgon of sorts. This woman only had magical powers, which weren't too much of a worry for him. He had worked with mages before, they were interesting really, and this one would have psychic powers so the data pad said. He would have to see how strong she could be in both fields. And if she failed...well...T.R .I.M could have a field day with her. Discovering what allowed her to use both of the powers.
"I am sure you'll call me worse before the day is up." Dyerlich snorted, shaking his head. So she had seen Val then. Not a sad case that one. He learned his lesson after all...well. He was still learning it, and he would still very much so learn it.
He was smart after all, he wasn't going to just let her be free. No no, that was dangerous. They usually tried to fight, and you had to break that from them very quickly really. One had to be firm with new candidates...they were young, new, they thought different of the world.
That had to change.
"Why wouldn't I? You haven't hid your thoughts." Crazy psychic freak indeed. She had pegged him rather well. And yes maybe he did like to hurt people a little. People were a food source, and all the candidates were good for that. Not physically of course, but...well...emotio ns were a physical sort of thing for him...it was hard to explain really.
Best to leave it simple.
"Oh no my dear, I'll only punish you when you deserve it. Not to worry." Dyerlich told her with a pleasant smile. Well. To her she would only see his eyes sparkling a little. That was a good way to tell his emotion. His eyes changed, they conveyed emotions to people. They just seemed different when he smiled, or when he frowned, grinned, that sort of thing.
Dyerlich slowly took a seat against the wall, keeping him up with one foot as he laughed. "I care not for your body. Everyone seems to think I have this thing for naked females. Must be the fact that I'm male...it's a strange thing, sexuality that is. Though two different species, yet people believe all species can be attracted to each other." It was offhand, just something he thought about. However, his attention turned to her when a thought crossed her mind.
"Oh no, I wouldn't take your ability to walk. I might crush your thumbs and remove your ability to see colour but I want you to be able to run still." Thumbs were an all important thing. He'd rather be without legs than without thumbs. Thumbs were so damned useful.
"Hurry up now."
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[OOC Sorry it's not that long o.O]
Vyomini pulled off her boots and laid them on the floor.
<Thumbs huh, would losing them make that much different to a telekineticist?>
Dyerlich must have thought he won the candidate lottery, not only was she a mage she already had a fairly good grasp of her powers. TRIM expected her to have some control to make it easier for them to experiment on her. She could already lift virtually anything with her mind pretty much regardless of mass, she could read minds and speak telepathically, and she could even block some signals to the brain including those for pain. Very useful when you’re having various things injected into you several times a day.
As for blocking her thoughts…
<I don’t see the point; you’d probably just break through any barrier I put up.>
He’d probably say he wouldn’t, in which case she would suspect he was lying just like she was pretty sure he had lied about not being interested in naked women.
Vyomini slipped her hooded dress over her head. Well it wasn’t really a dress it was a sweatshirt but she was so short it was long enough to be a dress. Now dressed only in her underwear she became conscious of how skinny she had become, her ribs were quite visible. TRIM tended to keep their subjects in pretty good condition and it was only the last few months she had become so thin. It was hard to get food when you were on the run.
Her silver hair had gotten quite long as well; it was nearly at her waist. Fortunately she kept it tied back but it was still quite impractical.
She picked up the grey uniform from the floor and put it on. It wasn’t the most comfortable of things but that was a minor inconvenience at this point.
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Oh wasn't this a little bit of a surprise.
Actually it would when I know the correct pattern of brainwaves to block in your mind to stop your telekinetic powers. He had done extensive research, all of them had, they knew what parts of the mind activated after all. He knew how to put a block in place. Whether or not he would be able to do the sort of thing that he could do with say...a normal person however...a whole different matter. However her thoughts were interesting. A very strong psychic. Very...very strong.
Indeed I would. You may think you're strong but Pilots are a whole new level. Now he doubted she could lift anything with her powers however. There was a balance in effect when using telekinesis, dark matter would have been incredibly difficult, star ships and planets near impossible, and there were things that just couldn't be lifted. Despite how good a psychic she may be however, they would be seeing how good she could be at other things. Like tests, physical and mental, where psychic powers played very little part.
Dyerlich actually seemed very disinterested when she started to change. He began to inspect his fingernails and he looked at his elbow spikes and made sure they were clean and what not. Hmm, they LOOKED clean. Oh he hoped Val didn't get any strange infections from his spikes after having them through the poor boy's ankles.
That would be dreadful really.
"That's a good girl. I would hate for us to not get along. Already on a strained level with all the rest of the Candidates I believe." Dyerlich pushed off from the wall, his hands dusting himself off as he strode over to her. "There is one thing I absolutely must do however. Since you've been good so far, I'm actually going to tell you." He held up a finger, which began to grow out into a strange claw. "I must mark you with my name. Common practise amongst myself. It will hurt a little bit of course but pain is a nice spice." Dyerlich told her, really it was just as if it were nothing to him. Really it was important, a very important part of the process.
It told him whether or not he was hated really.
If they were thankful, they'd usually keep the mark. Roman had, Wulf had...Temple had left it but...that was expected. Temple didn't exactly get a long with him after all. But the boy had passed so...that was good then. Phenyo...he wasn't sure if she might keep the mark. Probably not. Well, that's how things were then.
"The only problem is where to put it...I usually put it somewhere that usually gets hidden by clothes, and the candidates MUST show off the mark at all times." Hm, there might be trouble with her. She was a mage, so what if she decided to try and using some of the healing magic to heal the scar and wound. Ah. That would just be disrespectful. That would result in him having to block her magic...or see if he couldn't get a hold of a Mordecai Band and affix it to her.
That would be a real treat to have.
"I'm open to suggestions really. I've already done across the chest, back of the neck, lower back, just above the waist..."
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Okay so he could cut off her thumbs and force it to be an inconvenience. Note to self never assume anything with Dyerlich. As for him commenting that she thought she was strong that wasn’t exactly true. She just thought she might have a better grasp of her powers than some of new candidates who came in. Physically she was hopeless, she was so small and skinny it was a surprise a strong wind hadn’t blown her away.
Being small had been advantage when she was stowing aboard various spacecraft, something she had been forced to do this several times to avoid being captured. In the end though, she had been betrayed by Teinar who themselves disliked Aedolis; the hypocrites.
Vyomini felt the back of her hair and wondered if she should pull the white ribbon out; it probably wasn’t very fitting for a pilot. Her hair would just hang in a long silver mess then though. She decided to leave it and if Dyerlich didn’t like it, surely he’d do something about it. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too extreme for such a small thing.
She had been quite surprised when he hadn’t stared at her as she was getting dressed, though. Maybe he wasn’t a pervert and perhaps it was true what he had said, he wasn’t interested because he wasn’t human. And that was fine with her, it was one thing to have a crazy non-human as a mentor, it was another to have a crazy non-human pervert who enjoyed what was essentially bestiality.
"That's a good girl. I would hate for us to not get along. Already on a strained level with all the rest of the Candidates I believe."
Why didn’t that surprise her? She guessed he must have other candidates and she wondered what they were like and how he treated them. Was the boy one of them? She paled at the thought.
He then strode over to her, "There is one thing I absolutely must do however. Since you've been good so far, I'm actually going to tell you."
He held up one of his fingers as it became pointy and transformed into a claw.
“Oh my god,” Vyomini thought, “That doesn’t look very friendly.”
She didn’t like the idea of having his name carved into her either; that sounded painful. Dyerlich carried on talking but she wasn’t really paying attention, all she could focus on was the claw.
“Erm…maybe I could give you a nice icicle to do it with instead?” she asked, it would hurt less.
She knew the answer was going to be no but no harm in asking. He might find the suggestion funny. Actually no, she reminded herself again to never assume anything. It was times like she was wished she knew healing magic. Then she remembered again that he could read her mind. Damn.
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She had been so small and skinny, but looks could be very deceiving. After all, he was a prime example. Who would think he could do such things that he could. He hadn't shown all his cards for her, but he had made a very strong impression he hoped. One that would tell her just who he was and what she should do about that. Mostly it was just 'listen to what I say and do what I say' which really wasn't that hard. Well. For most.
What was with his candidates and long hair and being female.
Not that he really wanted a long haired male for that matter. He had dealt with enough males as candidates to last him a while. His only female candidate had been a blemish, a failure on his part, one that haunted him just a little bit. These two would be successes, or new T.R.I.M candidates.
This was hardly something of a bestial manner. She wasn't a lower animal after all. They were on par for the most part. As for the crazy part, he really wouldn't comment on that. Sanity was usually a Sociological definition. A general consensus really. Just like the concept of good and evil actually. Surprising if you thought about it.
He laughed at her next thought. Yes, how could he be on bad terms with anyone? "Val is none of my concern. He does not serve under me, but I did help in his discipline however." He could have told her what he did to Phenyo. That had been such an imaginative use of his time really. He was almost proud of that.
"No, I'm afraid not. It must be with my claw, so much more personal. It will hurt, you will feel it, but you will survive." He told her simply as he eyed her carefully. Just...where to put it. Hm. Maybe across the collar bone. Ah! Yes! Of course, why hadn't he thought of that earlier? "This will be interesting, tricky even really." His other hand went to her top and he began to button the uniform, using his hand still to brush away the cloth until there was enough room. He watched her for a minute, clicking his tongue as he thought about it. Yes, she could still bear it and not look TOO sloppy.
He had thought about the shoulder, but then the requirement of keeping her shirt off that shoulder would have looked silly and make her out to be a sloppy dresser. Even if it did get a little bit covered, the other Pilots and Candidates no doubt would understand why she would keep the top of her uniform a little more open.
It was quick now, his finger scraping across the skin. The claw was like a scalpel, cutting smoothly into her flesh, though rather deep. There would be a scar left of course, a very painful spot for the next few days. He was humming even as he did this, like a great painter finishing a masterpiece. He even seemed to glow a little. It was the pain. He was feeding on it. He made damned sure she didn't block this pain. Oh no.
She'd feel it.
"There, all done." He went to the locker and pulled out a medical kit and smiled as he took up the molecular regenerator. She wouldn't be needing this. He pocketed it, deciding not to break another expensive piece of equipment. Instead he got out some gauze and some medical tape for her. "Bandage yourself up, then we'll go for a nice walk around the ATC. Maybe get something to drink, all this running around has made me a little parched."
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"No, I'm afraid not. It must be with my claw, so much more personal. It will hurt, you will feel it, but you will survive."
She didn’t think he’d say yes to her suggestion of an icicle. Of course he wanted to inflict the most pain possible. That had become very clear the moment she walked down the corridor when she first arrived. She sincerely hoped she wouldn’t end up so heartless.
Dyerlich looked at her appraisingly for the minute, probably thinking where to put it. Hopefully it wouldn’t be somewhere too painful but from what she had learned about him so far she knew it would be.
“This will be interesting, tricky even really.”
The non-claw hand then began unbuttoning the top of her uniform. Unsure what to do she just froze, hoping that maybe if she didn’t squirm too much he wouldn’t be more ruthless than normal. Carving your name into someone’s clavicle though wasn’t exactly normal. At least not as far as she was aware.
He clicked his tongue and looked at her collarbone thoughtfully. Then he suddenly began.
The pain was unbearable and unconsciously she grabbed his wrist as if that would make him stop. Where his claw had pierced felt on fire. It was like a scalpel cutting into her skin. From habit she was about to block the pain with her abilities but Dyerlich had made sure she couldn’t. He was even humming as he worked and seemed to be glowing.
She had been a TRIM subject but at least she had been able to block the pain when they were carving her up. They certainly hadn’t mutilated her in such a way as Dyerlich was.
"There, all done."
The area around her collarbone throbbed and she could feel blood dripping down and between her breasts. He obviously knew it would leave a scar. She’d be stuck with his name engraved on her for the rest of her life she bet.
Vyomini clamped her hand over the wound in an attempt to make it hurt less whilst he pulled out a medical kit. So he had just wounded her and was immediately letting her patch it up? He must not want her to bleed to death, how nice of him.
He produced out a strange machine that Vyomini had no idea as to what it was then put it his pocket before passing her some gauze and tape.
"Bandage yourself up, then we'll go for a nice walk around the ATC. Maybe get something to drink, all this running around has made me a little parched."
She glanced around for something to wipe the blood up with, and judging that the only thing near enough was her ribbon, which was in fact only really a long thin rag, she untied it from her hair with her free hand. Her hair was in her way now, almost completely covering her face but it was better than bleeding until she passed out or died.
She mopped up the blood, then quickly placed the gauze over her wounds and taped it in place. Sloppy but she’d never had to treat an injury before.
Vyomini almost wanted to laugh when he became so…jovial. She wiped her hands on the rag then got to her feet.
-
Not everyone does end up like me. You will understand when you meet the other pilots. His voice wasn't coming from his mouth, it was almost like it were beside her ear. Using telepathy again. A favourite little trick of his really. Being able to sway the mind so much.
Dyerlich was almost like a butcher, or maybe even a doctor. Well. Doctors helped people...alright. That wasn't true. The people who had helped free him from his temporal eddy had been doctors but...not the kind usually associated with that word. They were different kind of doctors who did what was needed in order to get their job done. Just a bit different from the regular doctors who took oaths of 'Do No Harm' and what not. That wasn't available here even to the medics really.
Heh.
He found it interesting that she came from TRIM. How did she manage to escape, alive for that matter? He had done his escape in a most timely fashion. Mostly because he had become incorporeal, their scans had barely been able to pick him up. So he just waited for them to leave. Luckily it wasn't on the station itself, but on a planet instead. If it had been on the station, no doubt he would have been captured and become another experiment.
Funny how life turned out sometimes.
"It's a sad thing that I can't keep my candidate's uniforms clean of blood even on their first day." Dyerlich thought back to all those moments, each one of them sunk into his mind. No matter the candidate, they squirmed. Oh they squirmed and they were in pain, no matter if they tried to block it even. Each was a meal in it's own, but meals only came with food for him. There was no beverage to go along with it, and that was just horrid. His body didn't demand a drink really, though his throat a little dry, he could go without it. But, why? It was just around the corner, down a few corridors, that sort of thing.
Dyerlich waited for her to finish cleaning up her blood. Long hair. Always the long hair. He could easily cut it, give her a nasty little scalp job right here even. Didn't have to be straight or even, just had to be short and out of the way. Who couldn't do such an easy task. Hmm...maybe later he would get Phenyo and his new Candidate...erm...w hat the devil was her name.
He looked quickly to the data pad, picking it up to inspect the name. Ah. Vyomini. Alright. Ahem. Make Phenyo and Vyomini cut each other's hair. They'd have to start getting along sometime after all.
"Good show, let's be off." His arm fell about her shoulder as he escorted her to the door, opening it up and ushering her outside. His arm never did leave her shoulder as they asked, and she would note he walked rather fast. It was the longer stride, which allowed him to move much quicker even at a 'slower' pace to himself.
"You should think yourself lucky. You might even end this day with nary a bruise nor scratch or broken bone." Dyerlich told her as they rounded a corridor. It took a few minutes but they were finally in a rather large place. There was seating everywhere, and a place to gather food and drinks. Dyerlich saw nothing but grunts, normal military personnel in line, so he immediately cut to the front. Not a single person in line even seemed to care.
He was a pilot after all.
"Two large glasses of ice cold water please." There was no need to be rude to those you worked with, and who kept your people in tip top fighting shape. Dyerlich had learned this a while ago. They were soon given two large mugs, almost pints even. Dyerlich took one, and he gave one to Vyomini. No sitting though, that was an idle thing, and he just had to show her Lartech after all. "Come come, walk and drink. I'm going to show you the Dragon Pen." A nice sip of the water made him feel so much better. It was crisp, cool, and even a little sweet. It was terrific. Even something so simple like water could be so amazing sometimes.
-
Not everyone does end up like me. You will understand when you meet the other pilots.
That was a bit a relief and admittedly she had only ever met two pilots, both today. Only Dyerlich and the one who had brought her in who didn’t seem all that bad now really just a little grumpy and irritable. Better than being the type of person who carved their name into people.
The mark still throbbed and she suspected it would for a few days. Hopefully it wouldn’t look too bad since she had to keep it on display. It didn’t sound like she’d be the only one with an unusual marking which was some comfort she supposed.
"It's a sad thing that I can't keep my candidate's uniforms clean of blood even on their first day."
Vyomini glanced down at her own uniform, the chest area had a big red patch on it now and some blood had dripped down onto her thighs and around her waist. Well…it was a little more interesting than the grey…It smelt though and blood wasn’t a pleasant thing to have under your nose all day.
"Good show, let's be off."
Dyerlich put his hand on her shoulder and seemed to steer her down the corridor. His legs were so long compared to her’s though it was hard to keep up. He probably did it on purpose.
"You should think yourself lucky. You might even end this day with nary a bruise nor scratch or broken bone."
“Umm…good,” Vyomini replied, she might as well talk to him, she’d probably be stuck with him for a long time.
She was a little put off by the ‘might’ though. As much as she hated to, she made a mental note to behave, making sure she blocked her mind for that particular thought. Why make him think she was scared of him. Okay she was a little but who wouldn’t be after someone carved your name into you. This man she assumed pretty much held his fate in his hands and there was no way she was going back to TRIM.
He guided her a bit further before they entered a large area with seating and a place to get food and drink, clearly some kind of canteen. Vyomini didn’t find herself surprised when Dyerlich walked straight to the front of queue. It seemed that psychics had higher status here, as the brief thoughts that drifted to her from those in the line told her. That was to be expected she guessed, someone who could read you mind and blow it up naturally held the most power.
“Two large glasses of ice cold water please.”
Vyomini was glad he asked for only water she felt she would be sick with anything else the glasses were rather large however.
"Come come, walk and drink. I'm going to show you the Dragon Pen."
Dragons? She actually felt excited at that, she had never seen one but heard they were magnificent creatures. Before she had been at TRIM when she lived on the Libra people often told her stories of them and had always wanted to meet one.
“Do you have a dragon partner Dyerlich?” Vyomini said before adding, “Sir.”
Probably that was a stupid question, he was a pilot so he would but it just slipped out. She couldn’t help it, she was curious.
She took a sip of the water…Did it taste sweet?
-
Heh, his habit of carving his name into people was nothing compared to some of the other things that the Pilots did. He could be a lot more tame than some of them. Then again, compared to some other pilots, he was rather mean. It all depended on perspective, and who you judged him against. After all, each Pilot was different, mostly, so it was just another perspective thing at this point.
"That it is. It's not the nicest thing when I have to discipline my candidates because they can't listen. They try to make everything so hard on themselves when it's so easy to stop the pain." Just don't talk back and do what you were told. There was nothing easier than that. But all of them fought, and discipline was then needed. Very needed.
Dyerlich was used to his status, used to being able to do almost what he wanted. Walking to the front of lines was rather fun actually. After all, they could wait for just one more person, and usually when he cut into a line it was for something trivial. New holo-disc came out, he needed something to drink or eat, and hate was the perfect emotion to get from that. Aggravation and what not. Fun times indeed!
"All Pilots do. Psychically linked to a dragon. No matter how far I go, I can always hear her." Dyerlich sighed as he just realized something. He had sipped water through the cowl. Ick. Muttering to himself he raised the glass to his mouth and used a pinky finger to pull down the cowl. At least it was just water, it would dry in a few minutes. Vyomini would see that...there was nothing wrong with Dyerlich's face. No disfiguring scars, no weird mouth or teeth. If his eyes weren't so odd and his skin wasn't white he might even pass for human!
He took a long drink of water, completely finishing off the beverage. The glass was passed off to a person in the hall, they barely even had time to figure out what just happened. Dyerlich made sure to pull the cowl back up over his face, hiding it from view again. The wet spot had all but disappeared thankfully.
They had left the main building by this time and were standing face to face with a very large building. It had two obvious entrances, one for humans, and then one very large hanger door for the dragons to get out of. Dyerlich opened the smaller door, ducking slightly as he led her inside. It was huge, and rather sterile for that matter. Rows of pens lined the walls, stacking upward as well. The building looked mainly empty for that matter too. Dyerlich led her to one of the few dragons there. It was a large creature, though more slender than most dragons. Skin shined like gold, her front left claw made of mechanical parts it seemed, either that or just a glove that it wore. Right now the large creature was relaxing, laying down almost curled up like a cat.
One eye slowly cracked open to address them.
That's not Phenyo. This can only mean you have another Candidate. The voice that filled their minds was feminine, a rather nice voice for that matter. "Yes, this is Vyomini, she's a psychic mage. Vyomini, meet Lartech." The dragon in question gave a small snort as she closed her eye. Pleasure to meet you dear. I trust he hasn't been too rough on you? Though, judging by your shirt you've had his little initiation already.
-
“All Pilots do. Psychically linked to a dragon. No matter how far I go, I can always hear her.”
Vyomini thought that didn’t sound too bad, unless you got a really nasty dragon. But you were partners with it so you had to co-operate…right? Well she couldn’t really judge, she hadn’t met a dragon yet.
Vyomini had to suppress a giggle when Dyerlich tried to drink his water through his cowl. Normally she it took a lot to make her laugh but she guessed she was nervous. Hopefully he wouldn’t punish her for it.
When he lowered his cowl to drink properly she was a little surprised that his mouth was fairly normal. She was expecting shark teeth or fangs or something…Maybe a snake tongue. The mental image almost made her shudder.
No Dyerlich just looked…well human except his skin was white and his eyes were an odd colour, but then again her hair was silver which wasn’t particularly natural.
They continued down the corridor until they reached a large door with a smaller door next to it. Obviously the big door was the dragons’ and the small one the pilots’. She had the random thought of why both didn’t use the same door but she assumed it was the status thing again. The dragons were more important so they got a different door to the ‘lowly’ pilots.
Vyomini followed Dyerlich through the smaller door and was amazed by the sight inside; dragons. Not many, but still, dragons! Some looked just like the ones from the stories where as others had mechanical parts. There were many pens as well stacking horizontally and vertically like giant pigeon holes.
The one Dyerlich led her to was on the ground and housed a rather slender dragon with gold scales and a mechanical left claw. It seemed to be asleep at the moment, or maybe just relaxing.
Then one of its eyes opened and glanced at the pair.
”That’s not Phenyo. This can only mean you have another Candidate.”
The dragon spoke using telepathy but it had a pleasant female voice. So Phenyo was the name of Dyerlich’s other candidate. Was she male or female? From the name it was hard to tell but she supposed it didn’t matter, what did matter was whether they were friendly or not.
“Yes, this is Vyomini, she’s a psychic mage. Vyomini meet Lartech.”
The dragon snorted, ”Pleasure to meet you dear. I trust he hadn’t been too rough on you? Though judging by your shirt you’ve had his little initiation already.”
”Yes…” Vyomini said back also with telepathy, then added, ”You’re beautiful…”
It was true, Lartech was beautiful, more so than Vyomini had imagined. If she got to work with such creatures maybe there was an upside to being a pilot. And Lartech didn’t seem like a horrible dragon, she seemed nice. It was actually hard to imagine Dyerlich was her partner.
-
Sometimes he just didn't really...think too much. The cowl wasn't really clothing for him anymore. It was really...part of him. He had worn it for at least two hundred years now, just a little more than that really. Had it been so long already? Time just flew by when you didn't have to worry about something like aging. He only wished he didn't have to remember the time or date and he'd be set.
"Surprising, aren't I? Nothing wrong with my face. Just a cowl." Dyerlich sounded amused by her thoughts. A snake tongue. Heh. He was all normal. Well. Alright. He was normal for the race that he was. Not really normal compared to a human. Probably the size...or the limbs...or the spikes...or the hands growing into claws thing.
Alright, so the humans weren't that close to him, and he wasn't that close to them.
As Dyerlich entered the smaller door with his Candidate he laughed. "Or, it's because dragons are gigantic so they need a bigger door to get in and out of." What could have expected? The dragons needed their space after all. They needed....well they needed A LOT of space. Dragons were funny like that, some being as big or even bigger than a normal dragon. Lartech wasn't a bigger dragon, she was...well...slim and very fast.
Why thank you, aren't I just though? With her eyes closed still she reached up with her real claw and ran a hand over her head, over the fins that was...probably sort of like her hair in a way.
"Alright, we get it, Lartech is beautiful." Dyerlich rolled his eyes and sighed. Always people were complimenting her. Maybe they were just scared of her though. He really wouldn't doubt that. She was a dragon.
Don't mind him Vyomini. He's just angry that he doesn't get complimented much. Lartech teased as he just smirked a little bit at. "Hey, I'll have you know that Phenyo DID say I was handsome." Dyerlich looked a little proud as he dusted off the front of his shirt. Lartech just snorted, never opening her eyes. Fine Dyerlich, fine. You can go anytime you want now though. I was having such a nice dream. There was a large turkey involved. Just about to catch it...
That was his partner. A little lazy, but she didn't have much to do at this time.
-
Why thank you, aren’t I just though?”
“Alright we get it, Lartech is beautiful.”
Was Dyerlich jealous? Or was he just sick of people complimenting the dragon. Maybe it was both. Vyomini wondered if Phenyo had been as excited by the dragon. If Phenyo was male he’d have probably been really male about it and acted like he was interested. If she was a girl though, she would have to really stupid or blind not to comment on how pretty Lartech was.
Don’t mind him Vyomini. He’s just angry that he doesn’t get complimented much.
So he was jealous. She found that a little strange, maybe he was more human than she thought…well not really ‘human’…
Dyerlich smirked, “Hay I’ll have you know that Phenyo DID say I was handsome.”
Fine Dyerlich, fine. You can go anytime you want now though. I was having such a nice dream. There was a large turkey involved. Just about to catch it...
Either Phenyo was gay or really wanted to get on Dyerlich’s good side…or they were a girl. The second option was more likely. Vyomini was slightly happier by this, she could relate to a girl better.
She found it quite sweet that Lartech was having a dream you’d imagine a cat or dog to have. It almost made her seem cuddly until you considered the claws and teeth.
Suddely Vyomini heard a loud noise behind here her. She wheeled around and found herself standing in front of an enormous dragon; certainly much larger than Lartech. It scales were dark purple, and it was a lot more muscular than the Lartech.
Unlike Lartech who seemed to be built for speed, this one was clearly for attack. Armour covered its back, shins and neck and on his head was a helmet with holes for its ears and horns to poke out. Its tail was largely untouched until you got to the tip which bore two lethal looking spikes.
“I see you have another pathetic female candidate,” the dragon said gruffly.
The dragon’s voice was deep and booming. It was a male voice that seemed to echo around her head in a far less pleasant way than Lartech’s.
“Did you drive Phenyo to suicide or was she just sent of to TRIM?”
[OOC That's Latona's dragon Tenebrous (http://http://remnants.spiritsoftheearth.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=26&p=56#p56) feel free to g-mod him ^^]
-
You couldn't really see it on Dyerlich's face but he looked a little grumpy at this point. Always getting teased by Lartech. It just wasn't funny! Then again, he didn't...care that much about what people thought of him. Sure a compliment or two might be nice right? Ahem. It must have been the negative emotion thing. Yes. That's all it was. He resigned his fate back to not caring once more.
The noise behind them got his attention and Dyerlich looked over his shoulder at it. To see another dragon. Oh great, Tenebrous. How fun might this be. He turned around to face the dragon, an eyebrow raised at it. He looked goofy in that helmet, he really did but...to each their own right? He preferred Lartech with as little armourment to her, so she could fly under the radar so to speak and have the speed advantage while hitting hard in weak spots.
That was why he liked her so much.
"Hello Tenebrous. Still a sour old grouch aren't we?" Dyerlich said, his tone polite but his eyes hardened. "And I wouldn't say any of my candidates are pathetic. All of them have such merit. Phenyo is alive and well, she's around right now." He wasn't exactly sure where but he knew that she was around. He was busy dealing with this girl anyway. Educating her on her new life and what not. Besides, Phenyo didn't really seem like she wanted to be around him much, so for the time being he respected that.
"I'm surprised that you're still here. I thought for sure Latona had been sent off to space with the rest of the Cardinals. A pity really, but I'm sure if the war goes into full scale we'll be able to just correct that won't we?" The dragons went with the pilots, even if they went to space. Therefore, Tenebrous would have to accompany Latona into space. It might teach the dragon not to call his candidates pathetic, and it might also teach Tenebrous not to insult him. Dyerlich counted it as an insult. He had very little candidates go to TRIM, and only one who had died here.
Saying that one of his newest candidates was already dead or at TRIM was a rather insulting comment.
"Come along Vyomini. We're leaving."
-
“Tenebrous is scary,” Vyomini thought, “He keeps looking at me like he’s going to eat me.”
Her opinion of dragons had drastically altered in the last few seconds, some were nice dragons like Lartech and some were scary. What if she got a nasty dragon as her partner?
“Hello Tenebrous. Still a sour old grouch aren’t we?”
Dyerlich said it politely but even Vyomini could tell he didn’t like the dragon. That was good, she wasn’t the only one.
"And I wouldn't say any of my candidates are pathetic. All of them have such merit. Phenyo is alive and well, she's around right now."
Tenebrous snorted indignantly at the comment but continued to glare at the pair. Vyomini got the impression the dragon glared at everybody. If he was ‘a sour old grouch’ what was his pilot like? She assumed they would be someone just as grouchy and mean.
"I'm surprised that you're still here. I thought for sure Latona had been sent off to space with the rest of the Cardinals. A pity really, but I'm sure if the war goes into full scale we'll be able to just correct that won't we?"
Vyomini didn’t know all that much about the war. In her travels she had heard snippets and knew it was happening but not the details. She supposed the pilots that still remained in Aedolis must be those who were training candidates
Tenebrous snorted again, “That girl would get killed the minute she steps into battle. She’s hopeless.”
Was Tenebrous insulting his own pilot? What kind of the relationship did the two have? And ‘Latona’ was female; she found it hard to picture a woman riding the gigantic beast. She kept getting a mental image of a tall, stocky woman with a shaved head.
"Come along Vyomini. We're leaving."
She was happy to oblige, just wanting to get away from the male dragon. It flapped its wings a couple of time before flying up to one of the stalls a few rows up.
“Are most of the dragons like Lartech…or Tenebrous?” Vyomini asked nervously.
She sincerely hoped the answer was not Tenebrous. And she kind of felt sorry for Latona, being partnered with a grouchy dragon like that.
-
((*intrudes on your thread*))
It took nearly half an hour to find and catch Dyerlichs 'scent'. A lot of concentration, a lot of thinking. Also a lot of assuming. He'd been at the dragon-keeping-place the other day, so once she found a semi-trace of him, in some hallway or another, she'd followed it right to the Dragon Pen. She was about to give a triumphant whoop of joy, when she saw something silver. What was that? Blinking, Phenyo stood by the door on the inside of the Dragon pen, arms crossed over her chest, purple hair done up in a messy pony tail. Lightly tanned skin, made the pink designs on her face and lips stand out. Needless to say, Phenyo stood out about the candidates the most next to the gorgon-snake-chickie.
Of course, premature aging, which was the only thing Phenyo could think of as to why this girl had silver hair, would also draw attention. Rubbing her hands together, quietly, she was about to go and say Hi, when a rather large dragon, a large purple dragon wearing a helmet - snork - walked up behind the pair. Hmm, maybe he'd eat her. It spoke too, oh joy. Wincing also at the loud voice, her eyes leered at it when it called her pathetic, asked if she'd been suicidal, or sent to TRIM.
Ouch, ego burn. It hasn't even been a week since she got here, and another dragon, one she didn't know existed, was already asking if she'd done herself in. Pfft, yeah right. Very thankful for her long pointed ears, Phenyo didn't even have to try to pick up the conversation while Dyerlich was speaking. Aww, he said she was still alive. How sweet. Still leaning against the wall, Phenyo could only watch, not to keen on barging into their lovely conversation.
Uh-Oh. Conversation was done. Phenyo watched, rather impressed, when the dragon lifted himself up effortlessly. While Phenyo couldn't look past them being giant lizards - And she was the last person to ever thing a lizard could be gorgeous - she could appreciate the graceful and majestic quality to them. Well, the smaller ones at least. Phenyo was sure that if she ever got another chance to ride on Lartech, and trusted Dyerlich a little more so that she was sure he wouldn't just push her off - even if she had all those belts and buckles to keep her in - she would have enjoyed the ride so much more.
Right! Back to reality.
"That was one assy Dragon." Phenyo stated, walking over to the pair, her hands at her side, the collar of her uniform pulled back and displaying the pink name on the back of her neck. Dyerlich. The flesh was tender and pink, by all means it should still be an open wound, but her elf blood allowed her to heal small things just a little faster, of course bones went at the same rate, and her ribs still hurt like a bitch.
"Dyerling, I found you! Do I get a cookie? I followed your scent thing, well, not really, but I caught it, and I was coming here to ask Lartech where you were, but here you are!" Her arms were up in a clear Phenyo fasion and she slowly let the fall back down. It was a little girl. Phenyo blinked at her, then looked at Dyerlich and rose an eyebrow. "Your kid? Your hair colours the same, and she's just as bony as you are. Don't look as creepy as you do, though. Is she a half-whateveryou are?" Obviously not trying to be friendly, but not being out right mean, she smiled towards the girl. "I'm Phenyo, the suicidal T.R.I.M goer."
Of course she'd introduce herself as something the Dragon said, it seemed to suit her. Not actually, but it was backwards enough. "Is Lartech sleeping?" This question was directed at Dyerlich, "We have girl things to chat about." Which was an obvious lie, Phenyo met Lartech once a day ago, but it felt nice to be able to breath. Away from watchful eyes where everything she said could stack up against her and cause someone else pain.
-
Dyerlich almost feared with what he could feel in the back of his mind. His Candidate was coming to see him then. Or maybe she wasn't. She had perhaps even just came to say hello to Lartech. She had been one of the nicer people to Phenyo after all. It would make sense to him! Still he just dreaded this. No doubt something bad was going to happen or be said.
However, he focused on Tenebrous till the dragon flew away. "How should I know? Dragons are just as intelligent as humans, even more. They had their own personalities just as humans do." He used the word humans very liberally. Anything that was humanoid really. It was just a general statement that he used, since he wasn't a human.
"Wasn't he just though?" Dyerlich smiled under his cowl at the new woman who walked over to them. Phenyo. Ah, his little pink girl then. Heh heh. Wait. Dyerling? "Well if you want a cookie you'll get one." He just rolled his eyes, not really listening much to her. Until it sort of...caught his attention.
His eyes narrowed for a moment before they softened.
Best to take this a different route actually.
"No, not my child. You might get to see what a child of mine would look like, if you're good." His hand suddenly went to her ears, slowly running along the length of the slender ear before his hand was gone. "This is Vyomini, a new candidate put under my charge. You get a new playmate even." Dyerlich told her with a small chuckle. "If she were a Celestial Phantasm like myself, her eyes would share similar colouring to my own, and she would have the elbow spikes." And since he's already seen her devoid of clothing, there was nothing on her elbows.
He could sense another one for that matter.
"She's relaxing yes. Best not to disturb her." Dyerlich knew she had nothing to ask the dragon or discuss with her. She was easy to read, her thoughts so open, they were so fun to just listen to. Most of the time anyway.
"I'm surprised you came to find me though, but good that you're here." His arm came out suddenly and wrapped around Phenyo's shoulders, pulling her to his side as he started walking. His other arm did the same with Vyomini, pulling her to his other side.
"Now, where to go with my two little beauties I wonder." Dyerlich said with a small smirk as he looked down to the two of them. Vyomini hadn't done anything bad, there was no reason to break any of her bones or bruise her up, and Phenyo was doing the same thing for that matter. Behaving.
"You're both on such good behaviour...I'm not sure what to do...should I...treat you both to ice cream or something?" He really wasn't sure what he was supposed to do at this point. Was he supposed to be nice to them and reward them or what...? Usually he just didn't hurt them and gave them a little praise. Just what the hell was he supposed to do?
-
"How should I know? Dragons are just as intelligent as humans, even more. They had their own personalities just as humans do."
So she might not be paired with either a nice or nasty dragon. There was a whole spectrum of personalities. Well hopefully it wouldn’t be one that insulted her.
“That was one assy Dragon.”
Vyomini looked up and saw a girl walking towards them. She was a little bit taller than her but not as much as Dyerlich was. He towered over both of them. Like Vyomini, her hair was an unnatural colour, purple and she had triangle markings on her cheeks. Her ears were strange as well; they were bigger than normal, more like elf ears.
"Dyerling, I found you! Do I get a cookie? I followed your scent thing, well, not really, but I caught it, and I was coming here to ask Lartech where you were, but here you are!"
"Well if you want a cookie you'll get one." Dyerling…er…Dyerlich said rolling his eyes.
The girl glanced toward Vyomini, blinked, then raised an eyebrow.
"Your kid? Your hair colours the same, and she's just as bony as you are. Don't look as creepy as you do, though. Is she a half-whateveryou are?"
Vyomini blushed slightly at the implication she was Dyerlich’s child. She didn’t look like him did she? She didn’t have spikes all over her body, she was just human…her hair was a little unusual but it was the only thing that was.
"No, not my child. You might get to see what a child of mine would look like, if you're good."
Dyerlich then stroked the girl’s ears. Okay…that was unexpected…Was he teasing her or did he actually…Okay, stop that train of thought right there!
The girl then smiled at her, "I'm Phenyo, the suicidal T.R.I.M goer."
So this was Phenyo, she was more lively than Vyomini was expecting. She didn’t seem like the sort of person who would just roll over and let Dyerlich boss her around. She seemed to be walking a little stiffly though. Broken ribs? Possibly; it gave Vyomini all the more reason to behave though. Whether Phenyo had been injured by Dyerlich or not the thought made her feel queasy.
"This is Vyomini, a new candidate put under my charge. You get a new playmate even."
“Um…hello…” she replied.
"If she were a Celestial Phantasm like myself, her eyes would share similar colouring to my own, and she would have the elbow spikes." Dyerlich continued.
“I am human,” Vyomini said, “My hair’s just an unusual colour.”
Vyomini couldn’t help thinking that Phenyo couldn’t really judge, her hair was purple and she had elf ears!
Remembering what the old dragon had said, Phenyo didn’t seem the type of person to just give up and kill herself or ‘break’ and be sent to TRIM.
"Is Lartech sleeping? We have girl things to chat about," Phenyo asked
"She's relaxing yes. Best not to disturb her. I'm surprised you came to find me though, but good that you're here." Dyerlich replied.
He then pulled the two girls towards him and wrapped his arms round their before starting to walk.
"Now, where to go with my two little beauties I wonder." Dyerlich said smirking, "You're both on such good behaviour...I'm not sure what to do...should I...treat you both to ice cream or something?"
Dyerlich was scarier now he was being nice. He was just not the sort of person you’d expect to be friendly and his practice of carving his name into his candidates contradicted this as well.
”Is he always this bi-polar?” Vyomini said telepathically to Phenyo.
-
Though it would have made Phenyo feel great. She wasn't as tall as she looked, the only part kept of her old wardrobe, which she missed the most, were her old boots. Giving her at least an inch of height that she didn't have before. Making her a whopping five foot three instead of five foot two. Phenyo waited her to do something, and waited, and waited and smacked at Dyerlichs hand when he brushed at her ear. A flush stained her cheeks and she glared at him, then shuddered and just gave him a dirty look.
"Ha! If I'm good? Don't you mean if we fuck?" Phenyo had her hands on her hips and she was looking up at him, fairly put-out by the petting, "And besides, you call it a reward, I call it a punishment.". Just the thought of screwing him made her skin crawl, the idea of being pregnant was just... Too much. She could only imagine little four limbed white spiders. Ewwww.
"I should have you know now, that I don't play well with others." Her said deadpan, her eyes lightless and her lips straight. The colour on her lips of course made her have a bit of an added expression, they always did that anyway. Of course, she smiled though when the girl said hello, then waved back at her, not feeling like repeating herself, the dragon knew who she was, Phenyo could only assume everyone else did, too.
A smirk drew on her lips when the girl defended herself and her lack of hair colour. "I can see that. But why is your hair white? Pre-mature aging? I know that humans don't have white hair, never have, never will, and you don't look very albino. I look funny because I'm not human, but I'm sure my ears gave that away, eh?" Phenyo remarked with a firm nod, her arms having moved from her hips to cross over her chest, then her eyes caught the gauze at the other girls collar. She morbidly wished that her mark was there instead, it was a pain pulling back a high necked collar to show off the back of her neck, far too much work to show off a pink scar.
Phenyo made a funny gwaking noise when she was pulled to Dyerlichs side. Wincing at the unwanted, and unneeded weight his arm put on her torso. Besides, ice cream was gross. Too cold, too wet, too sweet. Yuck. "Eh, you two have ice cream." She ahemed ducking under his arm and following along, blinking and looking at Vyomini when she heard that voice in her head, and scent they left behind when they did... Well... Anything that involved her brains, too. General messages to everyone didn't 'tasate' different, but specific messages, like this one, tasted like someone. This one would be Vyomini. Phenyo would have to remember that.
And since she'd been a psychic for all of a week, that she'd known, Phenyo just looked at the back of Vyominis head and spoke out.
"I don't think anyone is bi-polar. Besides, Dyerlich having a personality doesn't make him bi-polar." Phenyo blinked, "My first day, i had claws down my back, a name on my neck and broken ribs." then she shrugged, "The next we had a nice breakfast together." she pursed her lips and looked up at the back of Dyerlichs head. "You'll get used to odd personalities faster if you have one yourself."
-
"If you would like to put it bluntly yes." He gave a small shrug of his shoulders, not really caring. That was a little blunt, but it was true. Mostly. He still wasn't sure if he could actually impregnate someone from this world. He really didn't want to find out all that much, have one of the Aedolis Prostitutes with child would have been a rather big strain. It sounded like it would really hit his reputation something fierce.
Dyerlich gave a small laugh as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Really. You seem to get a long great as the older sister for most of the candidates. I would say that is getting along well." Maybe even after a few days Phenyo was getting annoyed with that particular persona. She just didn't want to be the crutch for everyone to lean on, more so since she had no crutch of her own. It almost made him feel bad.
"Hair sometimes changes colour Phenyo. I have seen plenty of young people with naturally coloured white hair. Stress, genetics, it can all explain it." He didn't find white hair so odd really. It was normal for him. Mostly normal. He had silver hair though, with golden splotches and flecks in it. Which made him seem so...shiny perhaps? Like he glittered almost.
"I was just throwing out idea, it doesn't have to be ice cream." He really didn't know what to do. How to treat them and all that. If he SHOULD start treating them yet. These two were different. Phenyo was very different. She wouldn't be broken so easily, but her rebuilding would go smoothly he hoped.
A few thoughts in the air, a specific one meant for Phenyo was easily listened in on. Bi-polar? That was a disorder wasn't it? He was pretty sure he didn't have this disorder. However, the audacity of the girl was astounding. Heh. Phenyo learned not to keep anything to herself, not when asking a question like THAT.
Because he didn't like it when someone couldn't just ask him something to his face. To sneak around with psychic powers was just rude. I hope you don't plan on protecting her because I'm going to hurt her in a few minutes. Her first lesson to learn, to ask a question about myself, to me, not sneaking around trying to ask someone else. Vyomini wouldn't be able to hear the psychic thought as it arrived in Phenyo's mind.
"You Phenyo? Odd? I don't believe it." Dyerlich grinned slightly as he kept the two of them from leaving. Dyerlich wasn't going to let Phenyo escape either. His arm went to behind her, wrapping around the top of her back and clutching to the side of her arm, keeping her pressed against his side. She was going to stay right by his side. After all, she had come to visit him. What could she expect?
"Now, where for us to go...where for us to go..." He was already thinking about a torture routine for Vyomini. Hm. Burn her perhaps? Maybe play around with her mind? Oh yes...he could play with her Orbitofrontal Cortex...ah hah. Yes, mess up her decision making then. That would be appropriate perhaps, since she had already poor decision calls.
Heh heh.
Perfect.
-
"I don't think anyone is bi-polar. Besides, Dyerlich having a personality doesn't make him bi-polar." Phenyo blinked, "My first day, I had claws down my back, a name on my neck and broken ribs." then she shrugged, "The next we had a nice breakfast together."
Going from hurting you to having breakfast with you was a bit of extreme though…Then again, Vyomini didn’t really know that many people. You didn’t get to socialize when you were in TRIM. In fact she hadn’t had a proper conversation with anyone in nearly 4 years.
"You'll get used to odd personalities faster if you have one yourself." Phenyo added.
Vyomini suspected Phenyo hadn’t spoken back because she didn’t now how to use telepathy. That led to question as to how she had been discovered. Vyomini had gotten caught because she mentioned to someone in Daanu she was psychic; maybe Phenyo telekinetic instead of telepathic.
She had spoken out loud so chances were Dyerlich could hear or could at least read Phenyo’s thoughts. There was also the possibly her block hadn’t worked on Dyelich at all and he had heard the moment she said it. But surely he wouldn’t take offence at something like that...Would he? If he was reading her thoughts, however that was rude anyway.
Then she realised what she had just thought. Oops, if you had to watch what you even thought, this place was going to drive her crazy.
Dyerlich retrieved Phenyo, "Now, where for us to go...where for us to go..."
“Why did I get a chill all of a sudden…” Vyomini thought.
-
Once Phenyo had finished speaking she looked at Vyomini, expectant for a reply. None. Her lips pursed and she looked around for a moment, okay. That was.... Rude. The purple haired shortie shrugged it off and continued to walk, stuffing her hands into her pockets and heaving a sigh and rolling her eyes when Dyerlich made his lovely comment. Just throwing out ideas. Phenyo pictured someone writing 'Ideas' on a piece of paper and throwing it out and she chuckled before shaking her head and walking again.
Then his voice entered her head. Phenyo winced slightly. Why...? That wouldn't be nice! "Hey! I've thought some pretty nasty things of you." She said holding out a hand and trying her best to wiggle away. "Besides, she's just scared shitless of ya, Dyerling." Phenyo reached up a hand to pat him on the chest and then gave him a wide smile before pursing her lips and then looking at the ground in front of her.
"Maybe she's nervous! I'm sure she'll ask you questions once she finds out you're only half as scary as you look." A solemn nod and Phenyo began to chew on her lip, looking over Dyerlichs chest and blinking at Vyomini. "She DOES talk right? On purpose?" Phenyo shrugged again and then grudingly, put a hand of her own on the hand on her arm and then leaned back over to look at Vyomini before giving Dyerlich a look that requested his silence for a moment. "Look, kiddo. I can be surrogate big sister or I can completely ignore you and your problems, your choice."
Then she leaned back and tilted her head up and looked at the ceiling.
"Anything you have planned for us today, Dyerlich?" Phenyo squinted the lighter of her green eyes and she blinked a few times before walking.
-
Perhaps they were right. It wasn't really rude to listen in on thoughts of people who had the power to stop that from happening. Dyerlich was just able to hear their thoughts and they werent trying to stop him. Well. In a way, she had tried, but her attempts were futile and pathetic, not as impressive as they could have been though. It was a fickle thing, and he really did just want to teach her a lesson about being polite.
He did move his hand to give Phenyo's shoulder a little squeeze. "Don't call me Dyerling." He didn't like it. He was alright with Daddy though, that just amused him for some reason. It sounded so funny. The thought of him being a parent was hilarious, but on the same level, he was a parent. He raised the Candidates technically. He had raised a few of the pilots here too. He had made them what they were. Sure his fatherly techniques were a lot more brutal but they had survived the brutality of the pilot program.
And Phenyo just had a cute way of saying it.
Dyerlich was JUST about to open his mouth to say something in response to her comment about Vyomini not talking but then she gave him al ook that made him keep his mouth shut. Alright, he'd let her do her thing then. That was fine by him really. It was adorable anyway, seeing her try to be the mother hen for the Candidates.
Speaking of Hens, he still had to find Seiteki and talk to her. That message would have to be sent off eventually. He just had so much on his mind and so much to do that he really needed to get all of this out of the way first. The Candidates were a top priority at this point.
"Well, I did have a few ideas, mostly making you two study. You've got a lot to learn, and I'm sure that Vyomini should catch up on everything she has missed really." Dyerlich said as he gave a shrug of his shoulders. Really he wouldn't be needed that much until the second stage of training. Mental training for their powers.
"So Vyomini, you're not going to be a lot of trouble for me right? By all accounts I should just send you back to TRIM, since that's where you came from. I'm sure they would love to get a subject back that had been freed by pirates." Oh, her mind was so easy to peek into. Like reading a data pad that told him everything. She could try and hide it but...she really wasn't that good at it.
A pity really. He would teach her in time though.
-
Vyomini was still wondering if Dyerlich had been offended, if he hadn’t been then she could probably expect more pain in the near future.
“Hey! I've thought some pretty nasty things of you. Besides, she's just scared shitless of ya, Dyerling."
Phenyo’s words broke her from her reverie however. She wasn’t ‘scared shitless’ of Dyerlich!...Okay maybe she was…a little. How could Phenyo not be scared of him? Maybe she was just very good at hiding it. Why would someone deliberately try and provoke him though? Perhaps Phenyo’s act wasn’t one at all; maybe she wasn’t scared of him in the slightest. If that was the case Vyomini envied her.
"Maybe she's nervous! I'm sure she'll ask you questions once she finds out you're only half as scary as you look."
She felt the purple haired girl’s eyes on her, "She DOES talk right? On purpose? Look, kiddo. I can be surrogate big sister or I can completely ignore you and your problems, your choice."
“Um…I’m sorry,” she replied, “I’m just not used to talking much…”
"Anything you have planned for us today, Dyerlich?"
"Well, I did have a few ideas, mostly making you two study. You've got a lot to learn, and I'm sure that Vyomini should catch up on everything she has missed really. So Vyomini, you're not going to be a lot of trouble for me right? By all accounts I should just send you back to TRIM, since that's where you came from. I'm sure they would love to get a subject back that had been freed by pirates."
She hadn’t even been thinking about that…He had delved deeper into her mind than she thought, so her blocks weren’t working at all. Then it struck her what he had said. She really didn’t want to go back to TRIM, she would make sure to be good if that was the outcome if she wasn’t.
“Please don’t send me back there…I’ll be good.”
She knew she was pleading but TRIM was a horrible place which still haunted her. Being a pilot was a lot less bad than being there.
-
Steady mismatched green eyes looked up at Dyerlich. "Yeah, fine, I won't call you Dyerling." grumbling as she began to lean all of her weight on Dyerlich. Make her stick to his side like glue? He'd regret it! Though she had a feeling her leaning on him would do little. Seven foot tall man that he was. And Psychic. Telekineses and all of that fun stuff. Phenyo bet it came in really handy when you rearranged a room and it's furniture.
Phenyo looked towards Dyerlich and gwaked. Study. Learning? Phenyo had already gone through some type of school thing. And now there was more, about brains and psychic powers and whoopee. Her expression fell and she pouted, why did gods hate her? She'd been a good girl, sort of. Okay! Fine! She hadn't been a good girl apart from killing people and being a semi-prostitute.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Phenyo looked around, her lips pursed, though her head quickly whipped back towards the two when Dyerlich made his comment about being sent back to TRIM.
Sent back to TRIM?
Huh?
Phenyo, knowing little about TRIM was confused. How had the little girl gotten out of it? Space station. Space. Escaping. That just did not wo- Pirates. Phenyo, still confused, tugged on Dyerlichs sleeve and just stared up at him with the funniest confused expression.
"How could pirates break into a space station?" Phenyo blinked and tilted her head, a hand going up to play with her hair. "Why would they want to get.... Lab rats?"
-
She had to be careful around a psychic, and one like Dyerlich who didn't take much to boundaries. At least not with candidates, and certainly not with his own candidates who really had no choice. If they wanted him out of their mind, they'd need to earn that respect, and they weren't really doing that. They would get to that though. It was still very early. He couldn't expect his candidates to just up and earn his respect.
It would be fun to see what they tried though.
"I'm glad to hear it." Dyerlich told Vyomini with a smile. Well. Not like she could see him smile, but she could see his eyes and those just seemed to be different with his expressions. It was a good way to tell what he was thinking.
Dyerlich looked to Phenyo as she spoke, smirking at her. He had barely noticed her leaning onto him of course. Why would he? She was trying though, but he had nice balance at this time. After all, his arms were about both of them. It was nice to have candidates again, very nice indeed.
"Well, they break in through the docking station I assume, as for why I'm not sure." He cast his eyes over to the young girl at his other side. "But I'm sure she has such an interesting story to tell about that. I bet there won't be many more of them, I'm sure TRIM will be working on stopping that from happening." Not that he cared, he hoped of course he would never end up there, if he did it would be a little ridiculous of course. Considering he was a pilot. There would be irony there, since TRIM had helped him to escape from the Eddy, and then he managed to slip away from them unnoticed. To think that was over two hundred years ago.
-
[OOC Reall short o.O]
Vyomini hated that Dyerlich had found out the circumstances of her escape. It meant every time she did something he didn’t like…or possibly if she wasn’t progressing as a candidate at the rate he liked, he could hold it over her head. And she knew it would always work. As much as she disliked the idea of being a pilot it was better than being a ‘Lab rat’. She hated that expression and was a little annoyed when Phenyo used it. It suggested the subjects were animals, they were certainly treated like it were still human…or somewhat anyway.
“Please don’t call trim subjects Lab Rats…they’re people…”
Hopefully Phenyo wouldn’t ask about her escape as well, even though Dyerlich basically suggested it. The past was past right? And Phenyo seemed like the type of person to look to the future and not back.
-
A shrug of her shoulders and Phenyo all but hung off of Dyerlich. He wanted her to be attached to his side? She'd give him some dead weight to lug around. Ha. Make her walk beside him. It wouldn't work forever but it made her feel a little better about being forced to be beside him.Vyomini seemed meek and timid.
Which was probably good.
Meek, timid little things didn't lash out, or speak up. If they were smart that would be even better. Pass with flying colours, live. Phenyo shook her head slightly, only upside she saw about passing this little Trial of Life was that if you won, you got to live at the end. As a slave to Dragons. Sexy. Phenyo snorted silently and looked towards Vyomini, seeing a limb. Or what she thought was a limb.
"Ah. I'm pretty sure they're Lab Rats." Phenyo said, solemnly, for some reason, she couldn't quite figure out, she just couldn't be nice.
Maybe it was the past two days. Absolutely horrible days. "They get tested on, but are kept like pets. When they die, they die. No big loss. I dont know about you, but that doesn't scream 'People', to me." She shrugged and then poked at Dyerlichs arm and side "Well, are we going? I could be doing other important things! Like studying!" Phenyo smiled up at him, good mood vanished.
Well, she could only hold onto a fake good mood for so long. It was about time she got pissed off anyway, right? Phenyo sighed and then rubbed at her arm and make an almost pouting face "Sorry, Vyo, that was mean and uncalled for." Another nod and Phenyo looked around rather awkwardly.
Though she was still very curious as to what they would be doing.
-
Heh. Doing something like holding TRIM over someone's head wasn't imaginative for him. He'd only send her there if she failed outright. It wouldn't be something to lord over her with. It was the final act. If he said he would send her to TRIM over and over again, it would get old and stale. The threat would be just a threat, never an action. He liked only actions, because they got results. A few threats here and there might get something accomplished in the end but...it wasn't as useful.
Dyerlich looked to Phenyo for a moment. Things were getting tiresome with her practically trying to be dead weight. Not that he minded, he'd carry her if he really had to. It would seem like a nice thing until he dropped her into a pit or something that was full of dangerous chemicals, scorching liquids, or even a mild form of liquid nitrogen.
Could be fun.
"I'm afraid she's right Vyomini. They are nothing but experiments while in TRIM. Maybe if they escape they can be people." Maybe. It was a big maybe. TRIM wouldn't settle for all these escapes experiments. Vyomini alone must have really...REALLY set them back something fierce.
"I really am not sure. Lartech is off patrolling, classes aren't in session right now...I was just going for a walk really." Dyerlich was far from a sociable person. He had no clue what to do with his candidates when it came to 'off time' really. Though, perhaps Phenyo was correct. Studying would no doubt be the best use of their time. Let's see...Stage One...the grace period. That meant that they were studying the basic Aedolian stuff. Mathematics and applied sciences, as well as history.
"Well we have two choices I suppose. I can send you back to your rooms to study the Principal Dynamics of the Dyson Sphere and its correlation to the Atomic Breakdown of a Star..." Which while advanced, and rather useless and boring, still had some good points, it would help them to learn later on about the weapons they might be using. "Or the second option is the two of you can agree on something we should go do."
-
Vyomini couldn’t help being angry at both of them. Yes the people at TRIM were treated like animals and yes they were seen as merely experiments. But when you were in TRIM, your humanity was really the only thing you had, the only thing you could hold onto to so you didn’t go insane. It was a wonder she hadn’t.
Unlike Phenyo, she was not a confident, defiant person, she was a coward, weak and easily bent to whatever force pushed most strongly against her. She counted herself luckily for the brief period of freedom she had, even though she’d been running for her life the entire time from TRIM, Aedolis and Edanith. And obviously, Aedolis had won the hunt.
Just like when the Pirates had ‘rescued’ her, she was just a prize, a resource, nothing more…Now she thought about it, if she hadn’t been a person in TRIM, she wasn’t now either, just a mind to be moulded to will of the Aedolis and the Dragons.
As for Dyerlich’s suggestion of what they should do, she found she didn’t care. She just felt like curling up in a ball until she managed to forget her sudden realisation of just how little her life meant. Too bad she didn’t know how to erase memories yet.
-
Phenyo perked up at the thought that she didn’t need to be close to her mentor all the time, a thought struck her and she smiling brightly at the both of them slyly sidestepping under and around Dyerlichs arm doing a little twirl thing before pulling the elastics out of her hair so it dropped down and covered the back of her exposed neck. Take that, Tall, White and Spooky.
Wiggling her fingers at the pair she smiled brightly at Vyomini, “Do what he says to get out of getting punished, but other than that? He’s no so bad, right Dyerling?” A soft tender smile was sent towards Vyomini and Phenyo began to walk backwards, her hands out slightly and her purple hair bouncing against her back at her uneven steps. “Cheer up, hmm? If you smile more often you’ll be happier!” A grin and Phenyo stuck her tongue out towards Dyerlich.
”I’m going to visit Val, the kid needs some… Hugs or something.” A solemn nod and she flicked her hair, if he wanted her to wear it up when she wasn’t around him, he’d have to chop it all off.
Hopefully he didn’t hear that.
A quick glance around and a bit of a worried expression she quickly turned around and took off down the hall at a break neck speed, heading to where she figured the infirmary was, hopefully it was in that direction. She’d be pretty screwed if it wasn’t.
Hopefully she wouldn’t run into any walls or glass doors. That would be hard to cover up.
((OOC: Baaah sorry for posting… Never >_< Carry on and has funs~ <3 ))
-
Dyerlich glared slightly at Phenyo as she wiggled and suddenly removed the elastic from her hair, letting it cover the back of her neck and the name he had placed on it. Oh that wasn't going to fly at all. "Hn. Indeed Phenyo." There was nothing to smile about right now, since he was going to have to punish Phenyo. He had told her to expose his name at all times, to never cover it. This was a direct violation of his orders, and that was never a good thing was it.
"Well, have fun Phenyo." He gave a dismissive wave of his hand. He wondered how to go about this. An easy way would be to simply cut it. However, she was openly taunting him after all, so he'd perhaps have to burn it all off. Yes, light it on fire. That would be an interesting thing to see. If she was quick enough, she might be able to find some water before she went completely bald. Hrm. Bald Phenyo. He didn't like the image of that. Cutting would have to do.
With Phenyo gone he looked down toward Vyomini, his newest candidate. "She is right, you do need to smile. Your life does mean something. Keep that in mind. If you pass this program, you become a whole new person, with a whole new life. You never have to worry about people trying to take you away, because you'll have the entire nation at your back." He would have liked to say that the Pilots were like a family, but there was a lot of tension, a lot of teasing, and a lot of hate. Sort of like a family at least.
"You are a person Vyomini, not a prize, not a resource." When he said this, he stopped walking, turning to look at her, and to get her to look up at him as well. "Keep that in mind. Now, tell me what should we go do? Would you like to see the Armoury, look at some of the Aircraft, go to one of the Holographic Simulators, we could go outside and meet my dragon if you like..." There wasn't really...fun things to do around the ATC was there? It was perhaps a little...bland here. Then again, this wasn't an entertainment district, it was a Training Compound.
-
[OOC o.O I am really sorry I didn't realise you'd replied o.O My bad]
Vyomini was a little confused when Phenyo suddenly pulled the ties out of her hair. She must be deliberately trying to annoy Dyerlich since her hair now covered her mark. That did not seem like a sensible thing to do. Neither did calling him ‘Dyerling’.
She flinched when he then turned to her. He was saying she needed to smile more….That was unexpected. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to be ‘a whole new person’ though. She liked who she was. Maybe she wasn’t the most confident of people but she didn’t want to become a trained slave of Aedolis. Not that she had any choice. And not being taken away was dependent on her passing. She wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to pass.
For some reason though, her mentor telling her she was a person made her feel better, a little anyway. It was probably because he was the last person she’d expect to try and cheer her up. In a way it was humorous, it just seemed so out of character. But Phenyo was probably right, even though he clearly wasn’t he still acted ‘human’. And has all the many layers of personality like a human.
When he asked her what to do she wasn’t sure what to say. The armoury didn’t sound fun and if they went to look at the aircraft she wouldn’t really know what she was looking at.
“Um….can we go to the Holographic Simulator please.”
-
((Damn, you shoulda reminded me about all this yo!))
Dyerlich had a great many of layers to his personality. Though he wanted order and for people to obey, he did want people to like him. He wanted things to go smoothly, and he didn't want his candidates looking at him with hate, or thinking about hate. While he would do his job with efficiency, he wasn't doing it 24/7 with them around. Only when he had to with them. That's what it took. Moderation. He also wanted to show he wasn't abusing them, but he was correcting them. That's what the punishments were. Of course, they wouldn't always be physical, sometimes it would be mental after all.
He stood there, waiting for her to tell him somewhere to go, rubbing the back of his neck. It was even more weird since she was a female, and she was very young. He felt like Roman. Then again, he had trained Roman, and taught Roman about uh...the natural changes of males. Being two hundred wasn't all that great really. It was really..troublesome at times.
Dyerlich gave a nod as he put his arm about her, preparing to lead her toward her newly picked destination. "Shouldn't be any trouble at all Vyomini." With that he started to walk, ushering the girl along with him. She was so tiny and adorable. "I have to ask you something. Since you're so young. You've gone through puberty already correct? I'm not going to have to explain the changes? Nothing like there being blood, strange feelings, abnormal hair in places, that sort of thing?" Blunt and to the point. He didn't even blush at it. Humans went through a strange time where they grew, their skin became all...odd, things started happening to their bodies. That was just them preparing for becoming adults.
He really felt lucky that he was created fully formed. Him with acne? It'd just be embarrassing really.
-
[OOC Short and sucky >.<]
Vyomini was taken aback by the very random and unexpected question from her mentor. And she instantly felt her cheeks heating up. Why would he ask that? Did all the mentors ask that question? Was it just because she was young or because she hadn’t had the most normal upbringing?
“Y...yes…you don’t need to explain anything…”
She had started her periods about a year ago and had been told by the doctor it was normal. She wasn’t sure why they happened but it probably didn’t matter. And she’d rather not ask Dyerlich….Then she remembered yet again he could read her mind…Oops.
-
((No worries))
Dyerlich only asked the question because he assumed she might not have had such knowledge or insight. So if she didn't, and she hadn't any idea about it, he would have to educate her. Of course, that would mean he had to go onto the VCN, and he would have to get some information about all of it. That would be trouble really. He didn't much want to go through...this particular explanation. However his smile spread, which to her eyes was just a twinkle in the corner of his eyes when she answered him.
"Good, perfect, this is what I like to here." He laughed slightly and nodded at her, those little thoughts of her so amusing. "Too late my dear. I'm going to send you a data pad later on and I want you to read it over. It will have information about puberty. I will be reading your mind so I expect for you to really read it." The perks of being a psychic of course. He could read the mind as much as he pleased. For the most part. he had to work on some minds, but candidates were open to him.
It was good. Very nice really.
"Well alright. Let's see here....ah. This room." Dyerlich was abrupt in his stop, pulling Vyomini into a stop as well. He pressed a button and opened the door, moving inside with her as he went to the control console. A few buttons were pressed on it and he tapped his chin. Where to take her...where should they possibly go..."Let's see...how about...we go to a beach then?" He pressed a few buttons and the small room was suddenly transforming. Suddenly there were on a rather large beach, the sun was shining over head, there was the sound of birds in the air, the ocean waves crashing against the shore line. It was nice, though perhaps a bit warm.
"Well, do you like it?"