Shades of Violet
Sabrina was very, very thankful for her shields. The thoughts running around her mind weren't the nicest, or most polite, and her- student, she supposed- seemed rather touchy.
At least it explained a few nagging mysteries!
He felt like a psychic pokemon to her, because he was a psychic pokemon! He was both young and old; obviously physically mature, with mental maturity to match, but probably only four or five years old. The feline pokemon were like that, racing through their infancy and kitten-hood, and then spending the rest of their lives as mature adults. It even explained why he didn't have any actual training for his telepathy. If he'd been caught very young, young enough that his powers simply hadn't developed yet…
Okay, bad thought, Sabrina thought, and bit the tip of her tongue. Psychic pokemon had the mentalities most like humans. Some species of pokemon couldn't care less if their progeny were captured. Psychics, at least the vast majority of them, were fiercely protective of their young ones. Mewtwo was a powerful psychic, and therefore his parents were powerful psychics. What had stopped them from rescuing him from whatever trainer had captured him? Even if he'd had siblings, one of the adults would have remained with the kittens, while the other would have gone to wreak vengeance.
Unless the adults couldn't. If they had been too badly hurt, or worse, killed…
Sabrina kept her coolly indifferent mask up, when all she wanted to do was offer comfort. Poor fellow, growing up without his parents. He must have escaped his trainer, but he wouldn't have been socialized to his own species. The wild pokemon probably drove him off. Without mental shields, they would be doubly hostile.
She did wonder what his species was, exactly, but maybe he was a crossbreed. It didn't matter, anyways.
Once Mewtwo had settled back down on the rock, Sabrina cleared her throat. She could hear, distantly, his thoughts, but she politely ignored them. At least he was trying to be quiet.
"So, the first thing you have to know is how a person shields," she said, and propped her chin on one hand. Now, how had her old teacher, Merric, put it? "You have to ground and center," she began, only to be interrupted.
What is grounding and centering? Mewtwo asked, staring at her like- well, like a predator with prey in sight.
So, the very basics then. That wasn't so bad, at least he didn't have anything to unlearn. "You've already got a bit of a grasp on it, instinctual and all, but obviously it's time to stop taking baby steps." It was a risk, but Sabrina had told Skull to stay nearby but out of sight, and to rescue her if she were in any danger.
She dropped her shields.
Immediately, she was bombarded by- everything. Everything and anything. Mewtwo- Firebrand- Marina down at camp looking for something to eat and Gale nervous and pacing because Sabrina hadn't taken her along, Bolt practicing with Silver- the local pokemon as they went about their lives, their voices quiet and not so much voices but simply glowing sparks in her mind's eye, drifting through the woods.
Mewtwo recoiled from her as if she was something dangerous, his eyes wide and, dare she think it? Impressed.
She's strong, he thought, his emotions bands of color and texture Sabrina couldn't interpret. Then, his thoughts darkened. If she's this strong, then she can challenge me, and I-
"That's enough of that," she snapped, interrupting him before he could complete the thought. "I want you to watch. Do you see how I am right now, how my energy's reaching beyond my body?" Far beyond her body, she knew. To the full limit of her range, it felt like.
When Mewtwo's eyes focused on her again, and she sensed the full weight of his attention, she began to work.
First, she gathered in her energy, condensing it, wrapping it around her and inside of her, until it was coiled around what she privately thought of as her 'core', her center of being. While her energy was varying shades of lavender, her core burnt white-hot, like a miniature sun centered in her chest, just below her heart. If it ever went out, her psychic powers would be gone forever.
She could feel Mewtwo following along with what she was doing, on a deeper level then telepathy. She could feel his understanding of this part of the work, it was similar to what he did when fighting. Well, time to introduce him to something new.
With the gathered power, Sabrina reached both inside herself and into the ground, anchoring herself as she shaped more of her power into shields as thin as tissue paper. That blocked out most of the pokemon in the area, though she could still feel Mewtwo and Firebrand, Bolt and Silver, and especially Gale. Slowly, so he could continue to follow what she was doing, Sabrina layered on more shields, until they were at normal thickness, when she was in a city.
She opened her eyes, and looked up at his astonished expression. "That is grounding, centering, and shielding," she said. "Want to give it a try?"
Of course! But- how?
She didn't smile, though she wanted to. It seemed a simple demonstration had shattered his reluctance to being taught. He needed to know this, she wanted to teach him. Why fight it?
"To start, I want you to turn your focus inward. You should be able to feel your power, and it all comes from your center. Right here, in fact." Greatly daring, she reached out to point at Mewtwo's chest, almost touching him. His tail twitched, but he didn't move away.
She leaned back, and watched with her mind's eye as he struggled to comply with her directions. He might have thought his progress was non-existent, as he tried and failed to find his center. Sabrina, though, was quite pleased. She only knew of two or three other psychics that had grasped 'grounding and centering' so quickly. All he needed to learn now was how it felt to do it all himself.
He was slowly getting it, she decided. "No, move more slowly," she said, stopping him from yet another try. "Just because I did all that at warp speed doesn't mean you can, or should. Especially not while you're just getting the hang of it."
You are hardly as strong as I am, Mewtwo snarled, obviously frustrated.
Sabrina shrugged. "Well, no, but I do have at least a decade's worth of experience on you," she pointed out. "How old are you anyways?"
He didn't answer, merely shook his head and went back to trying to center himself. He went about it much more slowly, this time.
Sabrina finally called a halt after three hours. Mewtwo was getting tired and frustrated, her butt was numb, and simply watching someone work on the rudiments of psychic work was boring. "I don't know about you," she said, getting to her feet, "but I'm starving. That's certainly enough for today."
But I haven't begun to shield yet! Mewtwo protested, his paws clenched and tail lashing the air.
"Hey, it took me three months just to get where you are now, so relax. You're learning quite quickly." Sabrina tapped one finger against her chin, and considered her student. Did she dare? She wasn't even sure if it would work, or if she could hold it for more then a few hours. But how could she not? He was, as he'd pointed out, much stronger then she was, with a greater mental reach. "There's something else we could do," she said, and scowled when he looked sharply at her. "No, I don't want to teach you psychic fighting, I have enough of that in my day job!"
Then what?
"Look, what I think I can do is maybe give you some temporary shields. I'm not sure how well it'd work, or how long, but if we don't quiet your telepathy you're going to have trouble eating and sleeping, if you're not having issues right now."
Mewtwo looked away, pacing beside her as they walked back to the mouth of his cave. Would it take you very long to set up? he asked.
"Not so very long," she replied. "And we'll know right away if it's even possible or not. I don't know. I've never done this for a pokemon before, but your mind isn't all that different from my students."
He stopped walking, and stared down at her. Very well, he said.
Sabrina nodded, and stretched her mind towards him. It would have been even easier if she were touching his forehead, but with them so close, it really didn't matter. In seconds, she was fashioning a makeshift shield out of his own power, and a touch of her own. Judging by his wide eyes, he could already notice a difference.
It wasn't a proper shield, not by a long shot, but at least it quieted things down for him. Sabrina backed away, keeping a careful eye on the shields. They didn't fall, but she couldn't judge their longevity.
"Well, that's the best I can do," she admitted. "Normally, there would be at least three other psychics to keep an eye on the shields and keep it from falling, but I do need to sleep at some point."
No, this is fine, he said, his eyes still very wide. Even if it falls in five minutes…
Even if it fell in five minutes, he would still have had a respite. Sabrina nodded. "Well, if you're sure, I'm going back to camp. I have several anxious pokemon to calm down."
Judging by his arch look, he was curious, but couldn't quite bring himself to ask. She took pity on him, and explained.
"Gale thought you'd kill me, and she doesn't even know you're a pokemon."
Oh.
Sabrina chuckled, and went to get Firebrand tacked up so she could go back to camp.
Gale finally finished her lecture, her ears pinned back against her head and her eyes narrowed. Sabrina sighed, and held out her arms. "I know you were worried," she said, "but I was quite safe. Skull was watching the entire time."
The tyranitar looked up at the sound of his name, and then went back to digging in the dirt. Sabrina wasn't quite sure what he was doing, but he seemed quite intent on it. Maybe he was just making a bed.
Gale hissed that she didn't quite trust the dark type. She certainly didn't trust this powerful psychic, especially not now she knew he wasn't human. A human was dangerous, a pokemon more so. Psychic or not, he was a wild animal.
"I'm taking every precaution," Sabrina said. "Really, Gale, you're being quite paranoid."
Didn't Sabrina think she should let Lance know what was going on? Bolt asked, before Gale said something their trainer could take offense at. After all, this was something Lance had made them do.
"Good point. Is camp distinctive enough for you to teleport back?" Sabrina asked Silver. The alakazam nodded. "Good. We'll go now. I want everyone to behave while I'm gone. Keep an eye on Marina and Firebrand, would you?"
Gale sighed and nodded. Sabrina set the espeon down, and walked over to Silver's side. "Alright," she said.
The alakazam wrapped one arm around her shoulder, and then the world disappeared. For an eternity, it seemed, they floated in an electric blue mist. Then, with a jolt and a thud, they landed in the middle of Lance's living room.
The man himself yelped and jumped to his feet, a bowl of popcorn falling to the floor. Sabrina eyed her cousin with ill-concealed amusement. "Having an evening in?" she asked, and sat down on one of the overstuffed chairs Lance collected. She returned Silver to his pokeball, and smirked at Lance.
"What- aren't you supposed to be in the mountains?"
"Distinctive camp," she replied, and sighed. "Could you look any more like a stereotypical bachelor?" she asked.
Lance looked down at his worn jeans with the holes at the knees, and his ragged sweatshirt with the sleeves chopped off. "Only if I got a potbelly," he replied. "Did you just miss me so much you had to visit, or are you here for a reason?"
"H'oh boy, right. Reason for the visit." Sabrina rubbed the back of her neck with one hand. "Well, I found the psychic."
"Yeah?" Her cousin leaned forward, his eyes narrowed. "You took care of it, right?"
It? She bristled instantly, before forcing herself to relax. Lance didn't know, couldn't know. "Him, and I'm working on it. He's just a kid, Lance. He didn't know what he was doing."
Lance's eyes widened, and he leaned back. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Sabrina said, and shook her head. There was simply no way she could tell Lance that Mewtwo was a pokemon. For one, Lance wasn't a psychic. He simply wouldn't understand. He would think that she had to capture Mewtwo, for the safety of the people. Doing that, though, would probably drive the pokemon insane. No, she would create a fiction that Mewtwo was human. Everything else, including her vague plan of bringing him back to her gym for further training, would stay the same.
Mewtwo would probably argue about further training, but she'd just have to think up arguments for it. She did have time for that.
"So? This kid?"
Sabrina blinked, and looked out the window. "Not really much of a kid," she murmured, quickly deciding on what to tell Lance. "His name is Matthew, and he's like I am. Late bloomer."
Lance just about turned blood red, blushing. "Oh. So, what are you doing?"
"Basic shielding for now. I can't take him any closer to people, the noise would drive him mad right now. He's learning fast, though. I think he'll be able to shield in a week or so. Certainly within the month."
"So long as you have a plan."
"Don't I always?"
Lance smirked, and brushed back pale green hair. "Yeah, right. Hurry on back, cuz. Your foundling's probably worried about you."
She doubted that, but didn't protest. "I'll update you when we've actually made progress. What's been going on in my absence?"
"The usual, nothing urgent. We'll send a message if we need you."
Sabrina nodded, and let Silver out of his pokeball. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders again, and teleported them back to camp.
The pokemon were quite obviously relieved to have her back, Gale especially. Sabrina just shook her head and went to work making dinner. She was hungry, and tired, and had to prepare for tomorrow's work with Mewtwo.
Her head hurt.
Sabrina was in two places at once. Her physical body was lying down in the tent, breathing evenly, looking asleep. Her physical body was asleep, in truth, though her mind would get no rest this night. Not until she found what she was looking for.
Her mind-body stood outside the tent, looking up at the night sky with eyes that couldn't see. I'll be back by dawn at the latest, she told Gale.
The espeon hissed, her tail lashing angrily, before her anger collapsed. Very well, she said. Take care.
I shall.
Dream walking was Sabrina's own, personal talent. She could go into the dreams of others, or use her gift to go into her own memories, reliving them with the clarity both of hindsight, and of having it happen in front of her all over again. She didn't often use it, but it was useful, at times.
She turned, and walked back into the tent, and into her own body. She was pulled down and in, in and down, into a dream-memory that turned into pure memory.
She stood at the back of a classroom. The room was empty of all but two people, herself and her teacher, Gary Muldoon. As always, remembering Merric made her heart lurch. He had been old enough to be her great-grandfather, and so very there it had seemed that he would be able to outlive her. In her memory, he stood tall and strong again, with a full head of hair, though it had gone gun-metal gray long before she had been born. His eyes had been- were, in the memory- blue, like storm-lightning.
She could see herself, seated in one of the desks, too young and too small to sit comfortably in it yet. This was a high school, she remembered, and her memory-self barely six or seven. Not yet young enough to have more than a glimmer of psychic power. Her dark green hair had been cropped short, so it hung about her face in tufts. She had worn glasses then, thinking they had made her look so grown up and smart.
Sabrina smiled at the memory, then turned and walked away. It wasn't what she was looking for. She needed actual lessons, not Gary teaching theory.
She stepped through the wall, and into a new memory. Merric, now, her actual teacher, the man who had stepped up and kept her from going insane.
They were at her home now, in the very posh living room. Sabrina was both watcher and participant.
She was nervous, cradling the tea cup in hands that trembled. Merric was calm, in contrast, hands resting lightly on his knees. He was handsome, she thought, his brilliant red hair threaded with silver. He was smiling, his eyes alight with amusement.
"Nice to know I meet with your approval," he said.
Sabrina looked up, her eyes wide, pleading. "What's happening to me?" she asked, and nearly sobbed aloud. "Why is this happening? I know what to do!"
"There, there." Merric patted the air with one hand. "It's alright. You're just a late bloomer, that's all. Late bloomers are always powerful. You haven't learnt how to put the earplugs in yet. I'm going to teach you how."
Watcher-Sabrina stepped back, unable to stand the emotional tumult she had gone through then.
She watched the lessons, moving from one to another, remembering what Merric had taught her. How he had taught her.
She finished by dawn, rising up out of her memories into her body, and let herself rest. She would go meet Mewtwo at midday. She needed real sleep now.
