Edited. Not a pairing. I don't own pokémon.
Psychic.
Will and Sabrina have a conversation. — Will, Sabrina.
.
"As I become twelve, I realized that my psychic powers were a gift, a blessing you could say, and I was forced—determined—to use them to become better. They were beautiful. I must use that gift. I had a goal then—I still do now of course—and it was to know everything there is to know about it. I don't yet, I don't master the ability, there's still so much for me to explore."
Sabrina covered a yawn that kept growing in her throat as she continued to listen to Will's blathering about a topic he wouldn't seem to leave. His conversations seemed to lose the point and leave for the clouds where no one besides himself understood it anymore. Or wanted to follow it, keep track. He'd lost it and it made her moody.
Sabrina span her silver spoon in her coffee—black, without milk—just to engage her hands that had started trembling. She had problems with conversation skills, it didn't interest her the slightest. Will, though, seemed too caught up in his speech—with no other voluntary audience than her—to notice her discomfort.
"Because you know, Sabrina," he continued. "Yes, you should know, you're the same as me, that this is not a skill to be underestimated. We can use them to add to our battle skills, add them to our strategy, confuse, manipulate. You do it, I know you do. We close our bond with our Pokémon and easier understand their feelings—feelings that we need to see in order to control them—and that's a bond no one's able to break."
Come on. Where did he want this to lead?
With a deep frown, Sabrina took a sip from her coffee and almost burned her tongue. The hot coffee heaped in her mouth, the taste strong and prominent, just like she preferred. She leaned back at her chair and started to drum her fingers across the table, to spill time, to let it flow away.
Sabrina forgot why she was here in the first place. Her memories were stiff at times, as they passed and faded out. There were many things that she didn't remember.
Oh, right, she was here for the conference that would be hold later this month. Due to the fact that she was a gym leader—which, at times, she wondered why she was—she had to attend to these meetings with the Elite Four—that, in some way, was over her—and report how it went with her battles, inform them if there was an original trainer in sight—often no—and tell them about her training.
Short terms, they tested her. She didn't think about that.
The risks of replacing her were almost nonexistent, not many people qualified to be one. In fact, these meetings were empty of content and became more a social round—which she hated. She wasn't interested in other people.
This man—Will—treated her different than usual. Will soon got rid of the business talk, but instead of letting them drink their coffee in an uncomfortable silence, he chose to shot her down with arrows about their psychic powers. He thought, because of their skill, that they were equal and that irritated her. They really weren't.
They were the same at one point—psychic. The difference within that simple little term was so tall and long that it could be bent out forever—they didn't think the same, act the same, for him it was a hobby, a gift. Will wanted to learn more, use it, struggle to control to reach his easy-going dreams. Sabrina didn't. For her, her powers were her life. It had been there from the start—following her around like a damned tail—and it wouldn't go away. It was there.
When she was around eight, she tried to ignore them, but they always came back. Ignoring her commands, growing without her. Trying to push them away, they returned. And Will, although probably being both intelligent and understanding, couldn't see this. For him, you couldn't see this as a curse.
"Um," she started, then let it go out. No, no idea.
She let it float by and watched as he enthusiastically waved his hands as he went on, and those golden eyes sparkled behind the mask he always wore. Sabrina started down at the table and fiddled with the cloth. Took a deep breath and looked around. This was a rather nice café in Saffron, but she rarely took time to visit it if it wasn't for business. The building was shaped like a circle, where the tables were placed in a symmetrical order she had to admit amused her slightly. Living candles on the table. She slid down the chair and felt her green-tainted hair fell in her face.
"And, I know that my power is the key for me coming this far—hey, are you dozing off, Sabrina? Are you not even listening to this utterly important topic?"
Sabrina couldn't prevent a small smirk from appearing in her face—Will had some humor, even if it came in the slightest portions. He put down his coffee on the table and locked eyes with her.
"I listen," Sabrina said, "not just very carefully."
Will cleared his throat. "Ah, well. Anyhow, don't you agree that psychic is the way to go if you want to squash every obstacle in your way? Because, it's the same as being logical. We don't rely on strength, on muscles, for we understand that they have major weaknesses they can't cover. Of course, we have weak points too—very big ones, in fact—but we know how to veil it. Make it less easy to track down."
Sabrina had to say that Will's enthusiasm was rather impressing.
"Have you noticed this, that all the psychic gym-leaders—In Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and even Unova—are highly ranked in the League? It's because we have something others don't. They're not like us."
Here we go again, Sabrina thought, losing track in the conversation again. She didn't really like being put under a specific headline, although in this case he had a point. Will wanted to spill out to the whole wide world that they were different. For him, perhaps it felt alright, but when it came to her she wasn't so sure. She never knew how to relate to her power. She only knew it was there and that she was stuck with it.
"Look at this," Will moved on, raised the spoon in mid-air without lifting in with his fingers, spun it around twice with an eager glance from his eyes. The fact that he hadn't even touched the spoon made some of the guest stare with open mouths at his little performance. "And then," he continued, moving his index finger slightly, "this." The spoon got bent, before Will let it fall to the table. He looked at her, probably searching for some kind of reaction. "That's something only we can do."
Sabrina rested her chin in her hands. "Of course. But that's all you can do with it right now?"
Will gave her a quick look. This wasn't what he'd expected from her. "What do you mean?"
"Maybe this," she snorted, her hands turning slightly green. She pointed two fingers at the spoon—soon enough it cracked in two. After this, she moved her hands, forming a structure—it exploded in pieces. Will gaped, and his mask slid down a bit, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Oh!" Will said, now in a much softer voice. "I think I've underestimated you. That's not good."
Sabrina narrowed her eyes. "Don't do that. The fact that you're an Elite Four doesn't mean I'm useless." Carefully, she avoided saying his name. It seemed too personal, somehow, for what she wanted with this. If she wanted something, she didn't really know.
He smiled. "I know, I know, teen points to you. A question, have you ever thought about aiming for the Elite Four, Sabrina?"
"No."
The obvious question after followed soon: "why?"
Sabrina sighed. He was moving the car to her personal sphere again. Then again, maybe that wasn't too bad. Will seemed alight, even though he talked too much. She took another sip of the coffee, wondering how much she would tell.
"I never thought of it," she admitted at last. "I don't search after fame."
Will grabbed his glass and leaned forward. "And what do you search for? Come on; it's not a shame sharing thoughts to other people."
For her, it was.
What did he even care? She didn't understand that. She hated when she didn't understand.
"To be honest," she said anyway, "I don't know. I want to understand, my power, that's all." She stopped there.
"You must be proud of your power. Compared to you, I'm nothing. Is there something more to learn?"
Right now, she had regret, but it was too late to stop. She had let out the pig from the sack.
"I can tell you this, everything I had aiming for, my powers got in the way. I had too much, I never knew how to control it. People around me feared me, avoided me, because I was dangerous. Stated dangerous, anyway.
Because of this, I had no friends. At first, I didn't miss it. There was nothing to miss. I didn't know about a changed life. I told myself I didn't need any. That it was best this way. With this decision decided, I locked myself in my room and concentrated on my powers alone. Wanted to become better, that was everything. And yes, I did become better, I did evolve. Soon, though, it started to consume me. I stopped to care about my family, who really only wanted to help me. They were a hindrance, I pushed them away. Soon, they stopped trying. When I turned sixteen, I destroyed our house from roof to ground."
Will's lips were slightly separated. "House?"
"Yes. That's how it went. I'm sorry today for my parents. They only wanted to help me. I didn't see that, never told them that I appreciated it. I never did. Only know, when it's too late. It's cruel, to know this, but that's destiny. I have to live with it."
"I'm sorry", Will said. "I didn't know."
Of course you didn't. "Don't be. I hate pity. I want you do consider this—natural talents mustn't always be appreciated. It isn't always bliss, it can be a curse too."
"Of course. Well, seems like you've taught me a lesson today. Interesting, I didn't see that coming."
"You're welcome," Sabrina said sarcastically. "I'm glad for your high thoughts about my knowledge."
"I didn't mean it like that. But oh, look at the time," he said and looked down at his wristwatch. "I must go. I've a meeting with the Elite Four. Please don't ask me what it is about, I've already forgotten."
"Sounds promising."
"No," he said. "Do I have the honor of seeing you again like this?"
"No," she smiled. "But my foretelling says otherwise."
.