Gotta keep the hope!

[Anonymous]

Waking early had become routine to Sascha, though he preferred waking a little bit later when left to his own devices. Such as three or four hours later. Today was no different than any other day, except that he had a deep desire to prove himself. He was in his second stage and he had yet to attract any attention from Pilots looking for somebody to mentor. To him, that spelled bad news, though he tried to tell himself it was because they were just too busy to mentor anybody right now. Still... If nobody thought he was good enough or talented enough to make it to the next stage, chances were... He wasn't. But he pushed his feelings back and he made himself get to work.

Sascha started with some physical work before heading to class to learn the boring bits. Once he was done with the boring stuff and after he had eaten lunch, he was free to work on the physical once more. He was a lanky guy, not very muscular at all, but he liked to run. He liked to tumble. He liked to jump. He was at his best when he was running trails and jumping hurdles and ducking from obstacles in his path. He liked running through the obstacle course. He liked it a lot more than sitting quietly and listening. While others trained with their determined face or their annoyed face or did everything that was asked of them with a sullen attitude, Sascha was joyous. It was probably not a good thing; sometimes, depending on who was around, and who was over-seeing things, he was pushed a lot harder. He supposed it was their job to make their muscles ache and their eyes droop in such weariness that they fell to sleep the moment their head hit their pillows.

Once he'd run the obstacle course with a pretty good time, he grabbed onto a weapon--his favorite were the spears or the bo-staves. He liked weapons with reach. Nabbing a practice spear, he went through some moves, his mind running. Maybe he just needed to find a way to make himself look indispensable. Anybody could run or jump, anybody could swing a weapon. It was their psychic abilities that set them apart and if one asked Sascha, his ability was... Well, he saw that it had the potential to be helpful, but... He supposed he should be thankful that it wasn't destructive in nature, right? At least he wasn't a hazard to anybody, least of all himself. Maybe it was one of the reasons he wanted to remain helpful, other than the fear that if he wasn't, he'd be turned into TRIM.

He wanted fresh air. He wanted... Out of here. Turning his spear over in his hands, twirling it slowly, he frowned as he noticed some kid crying. He walked over to her, then knelt beside her when he noticed she was holding onto her hand.

"What's wrong?" Turned out she'd hurt her wrist while training on her own. He took her hand and turned it over. Probably a sprain, but he was no doctor. Instead, he held her hand in a gentle grip and lightly ran his thumb over her wrist. She gasped at the pain it caused, almost taking her hand back, but a moment later, he could tell the pain was gone. That look on her face had been a common one back home. After a moment, he let go of her hand and eased himself back up to stand. "Be more careful next time. Not everybody here gives a crap." The smile he offered was lopsided and he waved off her thanks and walked away, heart thudding in his chest. Hopefully, nobody saw that. He never did know who around here approved of helping the others and who wanted to see a bloodbath.

[shinigamikitsune]

The ominous sound of her stiletto boots echoed down the hallways before her. Her afternoon had been cleared, pending any emergency that might arise, which was almost a given that something bad would happen. Never did a day go by where there wasn't at least one person, candidate or pilot, who was brought into the infirmary with some sort of serious wounds. It helped to keep things interesting.

A walk around the ATC would keep her close enough to the infirmary in case she was called back, she could be there shortly. Being in the ATC also gave her the chance to check and see just how the candidates were doing. Sure there were reports on all of them that she could read, but she liked being able to see it for herself. Not to mention that the people writing the reports tended to each look for different things. Sure there was a standardized system for the reports, but it could only do so much.

so far, nothing of interest had caught her eye. The younglings were getting along as they normally did, which was just fine. Perhaps today would indeed be a quiet day. She liked those, since they were so few and far between.

She was nearing the end of her walk when Rift rumbled through her mind. There's a little brat that's going around healing others. He also sent a picture of the boy, and his information through her mind.

Rift was one of the oldest dragons around, and had been a battle dragon. He didn't get to see much action these days, though he had picked Callista, knowing that as a battle medic, she would always be sent along on any major mission. She fought with the same intensity that he did. There weren't many other battle medics around, so he kept an eye out for Callista, searching through the candidates for other vitokenetics. If she got them early enough, she might be able to train them to be battle medics, if not, they'd still be sent her way eventually to learn to serve in the infirmary.

Callista went over the information in her mind, thanking Rift for the information. This one was only a stage 2, and appeared to still have a positive outlook on things still. That would work in her favor, since it was best that her medics weren't completely crushed. Who would want to be worked on by a person that had a negative outlook on life?

She made her way towards the coordinates that Rift had given her, not being too far away from where she was. Turning the corner, she saw the young candidate, and took a moment to assess him for herself.

[Anonymous]

The girl was fine. What was it about people who needed help that called out to him, anyway? Was it the vitokinesis? Or was it just his nature? Or were the two linked? It made him wonder, ever since he was dragged to this dreadful place. Empaths, for example. Were they all nice people because they felt other people's feelings? Or were there cold-hearted jerks out there who rejected everything they felt? And did all people with really strong telepathy--so strong they couldn't even control it--did they somehow become smarter people, wiser people? Because they could hear and understand everyone's thoughts?

Sascha's own telepathy wasn't really that strong. Moderate, really. Not too weak--he could reply to thoughts sent directly to him, but not so strong that he was barraged with unwanted thoughts. And even though he'd been taught that he should keep his mind blocked, he didn't remember to very often. He only caught thoughts directed straight at him, or particularly "loud" thoughts. Otherwise, it was more like a buzz in the background; he knew the minds were there, but he wasn't skilled or interested enough to go invading their private thoughts. It was a little scary knowing that the pilots and some of the older, higher stage candidates were really skilled at it, though. They could be reading his every thought... Right now. It made him anxious, before realizing it wasn't as if he was thinking anything naughty or evil or against the country. He was just being wistful--wishing he wasn't trapped here forever, wishing he had control over his own future--and entirely too nice for his own good. Kinda funny, he felt like he had to watch his back when he was nice. Shouldn't people who were mean be the ones looking over their shoulders? What was so wrong about being decent? This place bred bullies and depressed people... It was Sascha's biggest fear that they would one day break him down, too.

He sighed. Time to get back to work. Narrowing his eyes, he set his mouth in a thin line of concentration. He had some jars set up around him. His goal was to take them all out with the spear. If he was really talented at some kind of telekinesis or implosion, he could have combined that into the attack, but he wasn't skilled at either--in fact didn't even possess such skills. So he had to rely on his actual physical training. He spun the practice spear and then went at it. "Raww!" He swung the weapon around and smashed two jars, three, four, five. He hit another with the butt of the spear, then swung it up--then down--to hit the last one. He stood straight, regarding the destruction. Wait...  Bravo! He got all but one! Almost as if bored, he nudged it with the spear to knock it down as well.

He was about to get back to his training and find more jars when he saw a woman. A pilot? For a moment, he was paralyzed. He glanced at the girl candidate, who was now off doing her own workout, before looking back towards the pilot. He swallowed. Was he going to be yelled at? He never knew what would happen here, it was all so backwards. Deciding to push it all back, he swung his spear back and looked to the ground for a moment--getting his bearings, gathering his courage--before he went over to the woman. He saluted her, fighting back the urge to wipe the sweat from his brow.

"Pilot..." He didn't know her name. "Greetings. Can I help you with anything? Are you looking for somebody?" He smiled, even though he was quaking on the inside. She looked extremely no-nonsense with that expression... And... As his gaze traveled down, her boots were intimidating. The kind that could probably kill a man if used correctly. Or incorrectly, depending on how a person saw it. Maybe she really was just looking for somebody. Maybe it had nothing to do with getting booted or punished.

[shinigamikitsune]

"Stage 2 Candidate Sascha Levitan," Callista spoke in a clear, crisp voice. While it seemed this candidate did not know who she was, it was always good to remind the candidates that the Pilots knew who they were... well at least those pilots that took the time to find out. It held higher intimidation factors when an authority figure knew who you were right away.

"I am Royal Pilot Callista Sterling, Head of the Infirmary." This way the youngling would know who she was, without having to actually ask her. It was a bit of a grace, but it also was laced with hints of intimidation again. Declaring whom a person was ensured that the other would pay attention from then on. It would never do if the person was distracted wondering who you were, when they were being spoken to.

"I was alerted to a Healing Event that took place here moments ago, and have arrived to investigate the source."

More like you were curious, and wanted to see if you could snatch up another candidate. It's been a while since you've had one, and you always pick the tastiest ones. Rift rumbled through her mind in a teasing tone.

Oh hush now... she retorted. You were just as curious, informing me of this boy. Though I must admit that he doesn't look like much right now.

In her mind, Callista could see the ancient Battle Dragon shrugging. Perhaps, but then again these tasty treats can't all start out as warriors like you were when you first came to us.

She mentally shook her head at him, and turned her full attention to Sascha now. "Please give a full report on what took place."

[Anonymous]

The way she spoke made him instantly feel like he was in trouble. He hardly ever knew what he was in trouble for, just that it happened more than he'd like and it was never safe to assume he'd done nothing wrong. There were all kinds of things he could have erred upon, for instance, maybe the terrible way he practiced? Maybe he was dedicated enough? Maybe he was far beyond the others and didn't even realize it because he was just that stupid? (Maybe it didn't even have to do with today. Maybe the other day, when he'd accidentally on purpose tripped another boy for calling him a name had to do with this. Oops. Could they prove he did it on purpose, though?)

Royal Pilot Callista Sterling. Head of... Infirmary? He blinked. Maybe it really was about tripping that boy. What did he do wrong? Did he go off and claim his ankle was broken? He'd been walking just fine afterward. Although, he wouldn't put it past that person. The dirty look he'd thrown at him promised trouble later. So he tattled? He was all ready to get an earful of it when she continued on in her brisk manner. Healing Event? For a moment, he was completely befuddled. And then he recalled the girl. And he turned red. She knew about that? She was alerted? How? He glanced around him, wondering why it was just now dawning him that they were likely watched every moment of every day. How embarrassing. Moments of little things like pulling out a wedgie or discreetly picking his nose and flicking it on a wall went flashing through his mind... Yikes. Was it just him, or was he getting redder by the moment?

Shuffling his feet, he decided he better just ignore his own stupid little mistakes and get on with what she wanted to hear. Chancing a look back up at her, he thought she must be the impatient type. That meant she'd be liable to smack him across the back of the head if dawdled. (Or worse, if she was as scary as some of the Pilots were rumored to be...) So he recounted the events in his mind and tried to order them as best as he could.

"I heard somebody crying," he said, then hesitated. Was it all right to help her? Some acted like it was a crime, but if she was really Callista Sterling, head of the infirmary--and why wouldn't she be?--then she must help people all the time. That gave him more confidence and he relaxed a little. "I investigated the sound and it was a girl. Another candidate. I think she might have been a gracie. I didn't ask. She hurt her wrist, training. So..." He shrugged. "I healed it."

There wasn't much else to it. He looked towards where the girl was now, happily chatting with somebody like nothing bad had ever happened. He turned his gaze back to Callista. He might as well ask, since it had been bothering him. "Am I in trouble, Royal Pilot Sterling?"

He'd heard stories of doing things one pilot didn't like. He didn't want something cruel to happen, like somebody walking over there and snapping that girl's wrist in half just because he thought he'd been doing her a favor. It wasn't her fault, after all. He wondered if that meant he'd be the one with a snapped wrist and grimaced. Yowch.

[shinigamikitsune]

Nervous.

That was the first thing that Callista could sense from the young male. It made her smile inwardly, that even now, she still held the ability to make others nervous with her presence alone.

Rift was rambling on about they boy blushing, and how he liked them like that. Meant they were still young and fresh, tender to eat. Not like those older ones, all tough and serious, which meant they didn't taste as good. Callista mentally rolled her eyes at him, knowing that he was trying to get a rise out of her while speaking with the candidate.

She listened to Sascha retell his account of what happened, and nodded slowly. Picking up on his looking towards the girl, she looked in that direction as well. From this distance, it appeared as though the healing was sufficient, and the girl was fine. Callista turned her attention back to the young male.

"While you are not in trouble, I am going to have to ask you to refrain from healing people in the future. You are still a candidate, and healing others without official permission could get you into trouble with other Pilots." There were those Pilots out there that were known to not allow their candidates to accept healing through vitokenesis, since they wanted them to feel the pain of healing naturally. "In the future, you will ask if the person needs assistance, then escort them or instruct them to report to the infirmary."

She took a moment to look him over again, he really did have potential. "Sascha, do you enjoy helping others in need?" It wasn't a question that candidates were normally asked. Then again, most of them didn't have the vitokenesis ability. In these days, it seemed that the majority of candidates being accepted now where those who had abilities that could potentially be more destructive. Callista wasn't sure if Sascha was suited to be a battle medic, but she could at least help him develop his healing.

[Anonymous]

He didn't know whether to be relieved or ashamed by the Royal Pilot's words. She said he wasn't in trouble; that was a good thing. She also said that he was to refrain from healing others again. That seemed like an easy enough demand to make, maybe even a practical one, but it was difficult to see himself in that situation again and not do a thing. Royal Pilot Callista didn't say he was to do nothing, though. Just to aid the person over to the infirmary.

"I... I guess I can do that," he said, although he wished that if he had the power to do more, then he'd like to do more. There was no rebelling against a Pilot. Not if he wanted all his body parts. Not if he wanted to make it through the program with good marks. And he really, really didn't want to go to TRIM. "I mean, yes ma'am! Royal Pilot Callista!" He saluted for emphasis. He would do what he could when he could. But there was no real reason to disobey her. He had no intentions to, but he couldn't always plan for the future.

Her next question surprised him, though. He'd been looking at his shoes, then around the training area, then back at her and trying to pretend he wasn't as nervous as he felt and then she'd gone and asked him that. It was a strange question, especially coming from a superior. Not one he'd been asked before, that was for sure.

"Yeah," he finally admitted, swallowing. She wasn't going to reprimand him for caring about people, right? He regarded her with curiosity now. She was one who worked in the infirmary. Surely she had to care a little herself, right? Not really, the more he thought about it. Some people had abilities that didn't mesh well with their personality. She could be the type who didn't give a crap, she'd just been saddled with a power that helped others. But... As he watched her, he thought she didn't seem like that type. She was still scary, yes. She still looked like she'd give him a good tongue-lashing if she ever caught him stepping out of line. But she didn't look mean for no reason.

"I like to help people. Whatever I can do..." He trailed off, thinking of how he'd gone and offered to tutor a gracie. It seemed he tried even when it didn't involve his ability.

[shinigamikitsune]

Callista watched the boy, seeing the changed in his body stance as the different thoughts flowed through his mind. Reading body language was a good skill to have, especially in a place full of people who knew how to hide their thoughts. Many of them failed to realize that their body language could give them away.

"It is not wrong to enjoy helping others, though with the environment that the ATC has doesn't encourage such behavior. Also, you'll find that the further you progress through the stages, the more suspicious other candidates will be of your willingness to help others. This can't be avoided, so you shouldn't allow it to bother you." Which she knew was easier said then done.

[Anonymous]

Sascha wondered why helping others wasn't encouraged. When it came right down to it, didn't they have to help one another eventually? It was hard to wrap his mind around all the possibilities his future had once had and how narrow they were now. Like many others before him, he wondered why he had to be found, why he couldn't just keep his ability to himself. That stupid drive to help people, he supposed. It was probably to blame for a lot of the dumb things he'd done in the past and now it just happened to catch the attention of somebody he wasn't sure he wanted to be noticed by.

"Um, so," Sascha started, feeling even dumber than usual. She was asking him a lot of questions, but he didn't know if she was willing to answer any of his. "If I'm not in trouble--well, that is... Are you here to lecture me? And why do they get suspicious? What do they think I'm going to do? Inject something weird in them? I don't even know how to do anything like that." Now that he'd started, the questions just kept spilling. "And if it's not wrong, how come it's frowned on to help classmates? If there's a battle, am I supposed to ignore everybody else? Then what's the point of being here? If I can't help people with my ability, what's the point?"

[shinigamikitsune]

Callista listened patiently to all of Sascha's questions, though she didn't intend to answer all of them directly.

"As I am sure you are aware of, there are those candidates who have mentors. Each mentor has a different way of handling their candidates. Sometimes that method also influences on how the candidate is allowed to be healed." She was certain that Sascha had heard about Val, the candidate who'd had his legs smashed with a sledge hammer the first day he was here, for mouthing off Pilot Roman.

"If you were to heal one of these people, whether they accepted it or not, you and the person you healed would be in trouble." She paused to let him think about that for a moment.

"Also, healing people while your power is so raw can be dangerous as well. Simple healing is fine, but without proper training, you could end up healing something in a way that will cause more problems later on."

[Anonymous]

Heal something the wrong way? Sascha had never before thought of that. Now he reflected upon it with horror. He glanced back at the girl he'd helped. Would she suffer complications later because he was inexperienced and young and raw? He felt a little sick just thinking about it. He nodded. He also now understood what she meant. Should he assist somebody who had been punished for a reason, he'd likely be punished... Even worse. The idea of having his legs smashed, for example? (Or worse) Didn't sit so well with him. He swallowed and nodded for a second time.

"I understood." He lowered his head. This was worse than a lecture. It was a bite of reality, getting him in the ass. "I apologize for questioning your authority." He was just glad she actually told him what was what instead of evading everything with a superior attitude. How would he learn that way, anyway?

"Would it...?" He started the question, then felt his face warm up. What if she flat out turned him down? But he had to at least ask. If he didn't, he'd never know. "Would it be all right for me to hang around the infirmary and learn a few things? I promise I won't get in the way!"