Shhh, It's Quiet.

[Anonymous]

Maybe there was something wrong with him. Vaughan sat in a hallway, his head down. His only ‘friend’ was Nika, but that was like talking to a well executed puppet. It was nice while they were together, but then Vaughan would leave and he’d feel empty. There was no lingering nice feelings, his chest felt empty.

“Fuck, I’m a huge bucket of angst.” His lack of speaking made people leave him alone. They’d say hi and he’d usually just smile, unable to speak back. Some of them had learned to shield their minds, but not get around the mind speech thing. Leaving him unable to communicate. Making him a quiet big... Blah.

His fingers pushed through his hair, the roots were black, the rest the bright flaming red he’d came here with. It felt like he’d been here for ages but... It hadn’t been that long. A bemused smile on his face. Lost a mentor, lost his virginity, lost his voice, lost a roommate. Vaughan looked down at himself and plucked at the candidate uniform, lots his originality. His fingers clenched and he slammed his fist against a wall.

Fucking pilots. Fucking candidate program. It made him mad that he couldn’t scream. Making loud noises in your head just didn’t cut it. By the time he went off on his mental tangent of loss and anger, he was breathing heavily and his fists were clenched. Calm.

If he didn’t start calming down he’d be in more trouble than he’d ever want to admit. It was either be a brainless slave or go be a test subject. Standing up he pressed his forehead to the wall and moved a hand to his chest pulling at the uniform. Still hadn’t gotten a new roommate, so it wasn’t too terrible or embarrassing when he ‘didn’t’ cry himself to sleep.

He had yet to meet his new mentor. Did he even get one? Maybe he wasn’t good enough. Vaughan chewed on the side of his thumb and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. He was better than this, stronger. Licking his lips he rounded a corner and spotted a library, an almost relived smiled was on his face as he wandered in and took a seat. It was quiet in here. He’d grown to like the quiet.

[Anonymous]

Alaric had planned on having this meeting a while ago, but work and other things had kept piling up. And on some level, he was a little afraid. He had never had a candidate before, hadn't ever wanted one. Only because Gabe had asked had he agreed to take Vaughan.

What if he ruined the kid? There was no way he could fill Gabe's shoes. But he couldn't hide forever. Vaughan was only a gracie, so he wouldn't be too involved in his training. Still, the alien knew he was just using that as a reason to put it off.

His tail swished behind him, unable to hide his agitation. Been a while since he came to the ATC. There were a lot of mixed memories for him here. Even a lot of the good ones were a little tainted with Temple dea-missing. Nothing was official yet. Temple could still come back.

How cute. He isn't going to be coming back. And he never liked you much anyway. He just put up with you because Gabe pities you.

Can...you ever say anything nice?

It is nice. I am being honest with you.

We have this conversation a lot. Please don't be.

So sensitive. It's why no one likes you. Your candidate is just to the right. Alaric felt Kazef's amusement before the dragon left his mind. He had been happy when her dragon had chosen him. He had no idea what he was in store for.

He turned the corner and spotted the boy sitting against the wall. That hair was starting to look pretty crazy. Approaching, Alaric squatted down so he was a little more at the boy's level, though he was still quite a bit taller, "Vaughan? It's nice to meet you." Alaric smiled, fangs flashing, "I'm Pilot Echo Alaric Eftwyrd, your new mentor. You can call me Alaric."

[Anonymous]

Whoa, he was... big. Amber eyes went wide and he blinked a few times. This guy looked like he could rip him a new one! His eyes were drawn to the claw at his hand and he swallowed, rip him two new ones. Or maybe one really big one. He went a little pale and blinked a few times. This was his mentor. Fangs. Oh god, Vaughan was so dead. A normal human pilot killed his vocal cords, Vaughan didn’t want to imagine what this one could do to him.

There was a slight hum of disappointment in his gut. He was just Vaughan now. Not Vaughan the singer of IF. Just a stupid Stage One candidate who couldn’t talk anymore.

“I’m... Vaughan. But I guess you know that.” He gave a sheepish smile, what if this Pilot had his mind closed off? Would he still be able to talk to Vaughan? A confused look was over his face and he stood up, his back still to the wall, pushing his fingers through his hair. He licked his lips and loosened the top of his uniform, showing Alaric the scar, hoping that would be enough reason why he wasn’t actually talking.

Hey,wait. If this was his mentor. No, had to make sure he could hear him first. “Um... Pilot Ef... Alaric? Can you hear me?” Vaughan singular claim to fame, telepathy, only available because he’d gotten his voice stolen. He’d had no trouble hearing voices before, but now he could shoot them back. He supposed that was kind of neat.

[Anonymous]

It stung a little, seeing the fear in the kid's eyes and feeling the energy off it rushing over him. The little empath was projecting it everywhere. Alaric was well aware he looked scary to most humans, his race and been built to be hunters, but it still hurt a little to see that look in some kids eyes.

And Vaughan was still a kid. He looked hardly old enough to be here, though Alaric knew he wasn't the youngest candidate by far. And the poor kid had gotten messed up already, by Shiloh. A bully was always a bully he supposed.

As he was aware of the boy's throat injuries, he had made sure to not shield from telepathy and could hear Vaughan just fine. It did startle him a little as the boy stood up, Alaric standing as well, his expression confused. Was...he stripping? Flushing a little, Alaric held a hand out, starting to stop him when he realized he was just showing him his throat.

Nodding, Alaric coughed, feeling a little awkward, "Uh, yes. I can hear you just fine. I'm not shielding. You've gotten pretty good at telepathy. Though...uh...I suppose you had too...." Great. Way to state the obvious there Al, "So...yes. I'm going to be your mentor now. You are still a Gracie, so there wont be a lot I'll be working with you on. But I wanted to meet you and, well, you know, if you ever need to talk or help with anything, you can always talk to me." He knew he was rambling, but Alaric couldn't stop. He was nervous as all hell, not wanting to mess this up.

[Anonymous]

The red head was rather surprised at how awkward the big blue alien reacted. Like he felt out of place and awkward. Vaughan was still unaware of his ability to project his feelings or he’d probably tried faking being excited or ... Something. Pushing his hair back, he did the collar up and pursed his lips, puffing out his cheeks.

Listening, he could exactly interrupt, Vaughan watched Alaric. A hum of disappointment at the lack of, ‘hey you’re that IF guy,’ what would he be known as now? That freaky red-head? The strange boy who can’t talk? The ‘hey, I think he used to be able to sing’ boy? Vaughan took a breath and blew it out slowly before closing his eyes and calming himself down. Getting angry at his situation wouldn’t help anything. But.

His eyes flashed and he looked at Alaric, his eyebrows went up. “What can I do to get my voice back? They can heal it, right?” He missed using his voice, he missed screaming into his pillow in a fit of anger. Vaughan missed singing, but the chances of being able to do that were slim. His fingers were in tight fists and he was sure to keep his gaze down, just incase Alaric didn’t like people staring at him.

[Anonymous]

Alaric was actually well aware of IF and who Vaughan was. He had a bit of a thing for Jace and he liked the music. But it felt a little....wrong to be fanboying all over his candidate. He was pretty sure he was supposed to be all....aloof and cool. Gabe was so much better at this stuff then he was. He had never taken a candidate before for exactly this reason.

Then he asked the awkward question. The one Alaric had been hoping to avoid, though he knew that was unlikely. Taking a deep breath, Alaric rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, yes. They can heal it. I don't know if you would still be able to sing or not, but you would be able to talk." He took another deep breath, his stomach tightening, "But before that can happen...do you understand why it happened? What it means?"

Shiloh was an asshole and a bully and Alaric didn't agree with what he had done, but he did understand it. Vaughan was having a hard time realizing where he was and what the new rules were. While it wasn't the way Alaric would have taught it, it was a lesson that needed to be learned.

[Anonymous]

Vaughan was frustrated. He pushed his hands through his hair before letting his head thump against the wall and he closed his eyes. His opinions meant shit here. All the Pilots were the same, they’d cover each others asses before they’d consider listening to a candidates opinion. Sure he spoke back, was a little insulting to another candidate in front of a Pilot, probably insulted the Pilot too. The punishment was total bullshit though.

Maybe he should keep his own little journal, written with pen and paper. No one would think of something like that, would they. An annoyed snort and Vaughan looked like he wanted to laugh. Wide Amber eyes turned towards Alaric and he stared, the heel of his palm quickly moving to his eyes to get rid of the tears. He could live without singing. Vaughan sucked his lip into his mouth and took a breath.

Being defeated wouldn’t keep him alive. “I spoke back to a Pilot. I didn’t roll over like a good little doggy and no, I don’t completely understand what point this,” Vaughan indicated towards his neck, “I supposed to make. Do you have any idea how frustrating it is? To not be able to speak? I’m not looking for a pity party, but this is pretty fucking annoying. I can’t call down the hall to people, I get freaky looks because some candidates are just too good at blocking their minds so I’m just sitting there staring at them.”

Vaughan sighed, pushing his hands through his hair again and squeezing his eyes shut. What was the point of this punishment? Respect? “I don’t understand. I don’t understand why you’re my mentor now, I don’t understand what I did wrong to get switched, and I don’t understand what this is supposed to teach me. This doesn’t make me respect anything, it doesn’t teach me a lesson. It just frustrates me, because I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing besides being a good boy.”

[Anonymous]

Alaric gave a small sigh, his expression sad. He didn't like doing this to anyone, but the kid really needed to learn. To understand the situation he was in, that the rules were just different here. "Well, I can imagine it's pretty awful. But you attacked a Pilot. You need to understand where you are Vaughan. The rules you are used too don't apply here. Here you get to role over like a good boy when a superior tells you too. You do not talk back. You do not question. And until you learn that, you don't get to talk."

He wanted to soften this blow somehow, but he couldn't. Vaughan needed to toughen up or he wouldn't survive. He had to stop acting up and accept what had happened and where he was. But it made Alaric feel a little ill, "Well, when Alaina died, Gabriel had his candidates taken away. He asked me to take over for him."

The tall alien shook his head, "That is what you need to figure out Vaughan. You need to be a good boy. You need to learn to take orders and respect your superiors. That is what this program is for. To teach you to become a soldier. It is hard and it will get harder."

[Anonymous]

Oh yay.

It will get harder.

He didn’t want to hear that from the giant blue alien. Didn’t want to imagine it. Be a good boy. Fuck, when had he ever been a good boy? Sure he was a good boy for Jace, but that was... For Jace. Not some crazy bunch of bastards who wanted to exploit his brain powers of mind-speech and whatever else he had.

After pulling at his hair and trying his best not to have an immature temper tantrum, his face was quite red and he squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted to scream! Just one scream. He took another breath and smoothed his hands over his sides, to rest on his thighs. Good boy. Good boy. Good boy.  He could start chanting that to himself when he was pissed off.

Vaughan didn’t never thought he was an angry person, but this... This just pissed him right off. He’d grow. Be better. He could do that. “Can you help me? I mean I think I got mental speech pretty down-pat.” He bit his lip and then looked at Alaric. He wouldn’t need to be good at psychic stuff until stage four. He didn’t even know what he could do. Nika could manipulate blood, some could see the future.

The hell could Vaughan do?

Picking at his lip he puffed out his cheeks and bent down at the waist. “Please don’t think I’m a lost cause. I’ll try being better, I’m sorry about my previous temper tantrums, Sir.” It took a lot of effort not to mention being a robot or acting like some brainless sheep, but if he thought of Pari and Jares and Jaces and being alive in another five years or so he could be the sheep. Be the robot. He could do that.

He was strong before. He could do it.

[Anonymous]

"I can help you. Your telepathy is good. But right now, I think you should focus on other things." Alaric rubbed the back of his neck. He felt for the boy, but that spoiled, entitled attitude needed to change. As much as he hated that the boy was here, he was and he needed to learn.

And the boy's thoughts were quite clear that he wasn't really understanding. Maybe Alaric would talk to Gabriel about this one. He didn't know how to reach this kid. And he really didn't want to have to go ask Roman's advice. That was not a happy thought.

Alaric reached out with his clawed hand, lightly patting Vaughan's knee, "I don't think you are a lost cause. You can get through this place if you try. I will do everything I can to help you, but this place...it's not like any place you have ever been. You are in the military. Orders need to be obeyed. If they aren't, you and the people around you will die. You have to learn how to work with people you don't like and do things you didn't want to do."

He didn't like being mean, he had always wanted to be a nice mentor. But it wasn't working out the way he wanted too.

[Anonymous]

Almost, almost rolled his eyes at that. Almost. Vaughan restrained himself though, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and nodded. Focus on other things. Vaughan bit his lip and then looked away, would it be too forward to say that he wasn’t actually practising? Would that make him suck at everything else in comparison? Looking away he stared at the ground, trying to sort out his thoughts.

“I’m not intentionally practising telepathy... But it’s my only form of communication so I guess I used it more than I should. Or something.” He stared at the claw for a moment, half expecting it to tear through his legs like butter and he visibly relaxed when it just pat his knee. Vaughan could come up with a billion excuses, reasons why he wasn’t doing as well as he possibly could.

He took a breath, storing up air for words he wouldn’t physically say, couldn’t say. “Can you help me? I could use some direction. Besides ‘follow orders’. I don’t quite understand what I’m supposed to be doing. I mean, as far as I know my goal is to not get sent to TRIM. I don’t even know what Pilots really do...” He blushed and looked away, he’d been wrapped up in his own world until now. Music, his family. He knew of pilots.

Honeslty had no idea what they were for though besides being cool.

[Anonymous]

"Oh, it's fine that you use it. Obviously. I can help you try to refine it if you like." Not that Alaric was amazing with his own abilities. He had never gotten much control over them, but he was good enough. He hoped, "I just wouldn't worry too much about your psychic abilities right now. All that can come later."

He moved his hand away from Vaughan's leg, and nodded his head, "Of course. I am here to help you. Right now, just get used to being here. How this place works. That...well...you have to follow orders." The alien shifted, leaning back against the wall, "As for what Pilots do...we protect this nation. We run this nation. And we lay our lives and the lives of the people who serve us down to protect the people living here. We..." Alaric paused, not sure how much he should say, "We are not all good people and we don't always do good things. But we keep the ones we care about safe."

For Alaric, he sold off parts of his soul so that those he loved never had too, "Though, in the more literal sense, we are the leaders. We control the army. And we go on a lot of missions. Get sent in to do what no one else can do." Alaric flushed and gave a small laugh, "I'm sorry. I'm not very good at answering these, am I?"

[Anonymous]

[Dropping thread due to lack of response]

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the heads up. I'd archive it but I still have no modly/admin powers. Sorry.