The next morning had initially begun on an extremely awkward note. Especially when taking into consideration that she was wary of touching absolutely everything, so in order to give herself some peace of mind, Esper decided to make sure less than ten percent of her skin would be visible until further notice.
She had gotten dressed with full coverage in mind which led to her opting to wear jeans, a large sweater, a thick pair of socks, and her favorite pair of gloves. Esper was only lucky it was winter, else she would have gotten asked a few questions she didn't particularly want to answer.
Meeting the amused gleam in her grandmother's eyes with a cheeky smile, Esper ate her food as quick as she could. Grabbing at a one of the many napkins on the table, she wiped at her mouth and politely asked to be excused.
"You may," Her Gran said with a small chuckle as she spotted the impatience on her small face. "but I have to ask, what in the world has lit the fire under your little behind?"
Dual colored eyes met dual colored eyes and the young blonde flashed a grin.
"I'm gonna go on an adventure." She admitted with a nod. "I'm gonna go figure out what my superpower is!"
Mary-Ann's gale laughter echoed through the air as mirth danced in the corners of her eyes, and the old woman gave a happy sigh.
"Well you get on then and go find that superpower," She cooed before she firmed up a bit. "but you also better be sure to go find a mattress in three hours as well."
Giving a little pout Esper glanced up at her gran through her pale lashes.
"Aw shucks gran," She said, never more aware of her southern accent then she was now. "do I look like the kind of kid who would shirk a nap?"
A single silver brow went up and the young blonde snickered to herself.
"Okay I am," Esper admitted. "but I'll definitely be sure to get my rest today."
"Mhm, you better or I'll come find you and you'll won't get a taste of those pastries you like so much for a long while Adelaide Esper Brandon." Her grandmother threatened as she slid away from the table and made for the foyer.
Esper winced minutely at the combined force of her full name and the threat before she decided to focus on something a bit more demanding.
Like her current 'psychic' predicament.
The first thing she had done this morning - besides put on her arsenal of protective clothing - was sneak her way to the attic to reaffirm the fact that she had not been hallucinating and that her vision was in fact, a vision.
And surprise surprise, it wasn't a fluke.
Honestly how could it be when she saw all the same images from last night, this morning?! She had rewatched everything down to the very last minute detail and there was no mistaking what her mind processed.
Esper had even so far as to touch a few more photographs and even some of the old antiques stored up in the attic. And let her just say, she would never be able to look at that old mannequin the same ever again.
Shuddering faintly Esper took a seat on the floor and stared in contemplation down at her cloth covered hands.
She needed to experiment.
She had an ability that she didn't know how to control and she knew she needed to figure it out, if only for her sake.
Esper couldn't go around being afraid to touch everything she came into contact with, it wasn't a good look. For her or for the people who would bear witness to her odd and frankly concerning behavior.
She knew about psychics, people who had abilities that defied the mind and apparently Esper was one of them.
Esper could utilize psychometry.
Esper could touch an object and see its past.
Or at the very least, that's what it seemed like she could do.
The first thing she needed to figure out was what could she touch without inciting a vision. Staring at her gloved hands she carefully pulled the cotton off before brushing a single finger against the floor and was shocked to high heaven to hear the sound of glass crashing against the floor. Head snapping up at the figure of her grandmother hurrying out of the kitchen, Esper blinked in surprise.
"Esper Imma need you to stay outta the kitchen for a while," Her gran huffed. "Periwinkle don' gone and knocked over my cookie jar."
Giving a little smile at the mention of the mischievous cat the blonde haired girl nodded her head in assent.
"Sure thing Gran," She said. "tell Winkle I said bad kitty."
Turning to give a tiny but affectionate glare to the black tabby winding around her ankles, the elderly woman rested her hands on her hips in full disapproval.
"I reckon you could tell him yourself." She said as she shooed the tiny kitten away. "Oh no you don't mister, there will be none of that right now. Especially after all that darn mischief you caused in my cooking space!"
Laughing a little bit at the display, Esper cooed to the cat and with little preamble the tiny baby wandered over and rubbed her head against her palm.
"I'll keep him here while you clean up then Gran." She offered as she scratched behind his ear. "That way you'll be able to get your bake on."
Finally abandoning her mild indignation, Mary Ann graced her granddaughter with a smile and turned to head for the kitchen.
"I'll do just that I reckon," She said as she turned the corner. "and you'll taste the best brownies you've ever tasted before!"
"All of your brownies are the best!" Esper called and received a gale laugh in return.
"Aren't you just the charmer!"
Grinning down at the baby tabby the dual-eyed girl ruffled behind his ear once more before she noticed that she was using her ungloved hand to pet him.
"Well I had been petting him with my bare skin for a while before I became a psychic." She muttered as a black paw patted her cheek. "So there has to be a catch to this then."
Thinking back to her experience in the attic, Esper wondered what was the connection between the objects. If she was to go out on a limb she would say age, seeing as both the picture with Mary Alice and the antiques were old but what about the newer photographs she had touched? There was one she had seen with her when she had been a baby being held in her mother's arms and she had managed to get a vision about that just fine.
She supposed it was just a rule of thumb that she could use psychometry on photographs because pictures have been said to capture emotion in their frames, but that didn't explain the lamp.
Esper knew that according to other psychometrics objects had an energy field that transferred knowledge regarding its history but if that was a universal concept why couldn't she see the history of everything she touched?
Scrubbing a hand down her face Esper blew a raspberry.
Maybe she wasn't strong enough? In the X-men franchise, the psychic mutants tended to have to train their abilities before they could do some of the more difficult things, maybe that applied to her as well.
Maybe since she didn't have any training she was only capable of picking up the visions of objects that carried an emotion? In all the photographs she had touched there had been something of great effect happening and she knew those antiques had come from a rather exuberant cousin of theirs so maybe that was it?
Hearing the jingle of a bell, Esper glanced down only to spy the collar she had made when she found out that gran was going to bring home a cat and an idea came to her.
She remembered how excited she had been when she got the news that her Gran was going to buy a cat. She remembered how she had implored for her Grandma to purchase her a collar so that she could decorate it in celebration of the new kitten. She remembered, in an acute fashion, just how happy she had been when she saw Periwinkle wearing the gift she had made for him and maybe, just maybe she would be able to see that particular memory if she touched it.
And what a surprise, she had been right.
Jumping back at just how strong that vision had come to her, Esper grinned and barked out a laugh.
"Adelaide hunny," Her Gran called, concern coloring her southern accented voice. "are you okay in there?"
Taking a breath the blonde child nodded her head even though she knew her grandma could see it.
"Yeah I'm good!" She answered as she cuddled up with the now purring Periwinkle. "I just figured out my superpower is all!"
Edit: 4/13/18
