Disclaimer: JMS owns all.
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[See a penny]
It had been a child's dream. Not an ordinary child, but a telepath's. She wanted to make things dance with her thoughts. It never worked. So she blew bubbles instead, and as they were caught by the wind she imagined she was the one in control. Of course, that didn't stop the instructor from pronouncing her telekinetic abilities to be nil.
[Pick it up]
This metal tasted bitter. Cold and harsh. A whole landscape, of peaks and troughs, of rivers and caves. She tried to call it beautiful. A deep breath, slow and determined. Preparation. It didn't stop her from recoiling when she reached out. Pain seared through her head, hot and bitter. She pinned the badge back on and decided to try something else.
The lucky penny was placed on the table.
Unpleasant as an alien mind, but she wrapped her thoughts around it anyway and pushed. Its movements were ugly and imprecise.
[And all that day]
It was dark when she finally stopped. Her heart was beating too fast and her skin was covered in a film of cold sweat. It took her a few moments to get a glass of water but that didn't help the nausea, or her headache.
Her sleep was restless and broken. She found herself jerking awake at every noise, afraid that she had been the cause. How would her raw abilities interact with her dreams? There was no teacher now. No boundaries on experimentation. No protection from mistakes.
She opened her mind to the background noise to remind herself she wasn't alone.
When she started mistaking random thoughts for real noises, she was afraid she had gone mad.
[You'll have good luck]
It was a perversion. Even her own kind would fear her now. And now she knew she had to keep it a secret, she desperately wanted to tell someone. Anyone. Whisper it into the thoughts of the next stranger she saw.
It was just one more way to keep her isolated. Apart. One more barrier between her and the rest of the universe.
She wondered why Jason had cursed her to be alone.
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[See a penny]
It had been a child's dream. Not an ordinary child, but a telepath's. She wanted to make things dance with her thoughts. It never worked. So she blew bubbles instead, and as they were caught by the wind she imagined she was the one in control. Of course, that didn't stop the instructor from pronouncing her telekinetic abilities to be nil.
[Pick it up]
This metal tasted bitter. Cold and harsh. A whole landscape, of peaks and troughs, of rivers and caves. She tried to call it beautiful. A deep breath, slow and determined. Preparation. It didn't stop her from recoiling when she reached out. Pain seared through her head, hot and bitter. She pinned the badge back on and decided to try something else.
The lucky penny was placed on the table.
Unpleasant as an alien mind, but she wrapped her thoughts around it anyway and pushed. Its movements were ugly and imprecise.
[And all that day]
It was dark when she finally stopped. Her heart was beating too fast and her skin was covered in a film of cold sweat. It took her a few moments to get a glass of water but that didn't help the nausea, or her headache.
Her sleep was restless and broken. She found herself jerking awake at every noise, afraid that she had been the cause. How would her raw abilities interact with her dreams? There was no teacher now. No boundaries on experimentation. No protection from mistakes.
She opened her mind to the background noise to remind herself she wasn't alone.
When she started mistaking random thoughts for real noises, she was afraid she had gone mad.
[You'll have good luck]
It was a perversion. Even her own kind would fear her now. And now she knew she had to keep it a secret, she desperately wanted to tell someone. Anyone. Whisper it into the thoughts of the next stranger she saw.
It was just one more way to keep her isolated. Apart. One more barrier between her and the rest of the universe.
She wondered why Jason had cursed her to be alone.
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