February 8th: Need - 300 words - When your character needs them, they are there.
Chiaotzu burst into their room, his heart hammering high in his throat.
"Chaozu! Monster!"
Tien leapt at him, gripping tight to Chiaotzu's pyjamas and burying his face into the telepath's stomach.
"Tien?" Chiaotzu took a breath. "What's wrong?"
"Monster!"
He wouldn't say anything else. He couldn't. Panic had gripped his young mind and wasn't letting go. The cot was a no go. As soon as they drew near to it he began to wail again. With a soft sigh Chiaotzu hoisted the toddler up into his own bed and crawled up beside him.
"It's okay, Tien. Shh, I'm here. I've got you. It's safe."
Tien didn't calm down. He continued to wail and cry and clutch at Chiaotzu's shirt, nestling close. Frustrated tears burned in Chiaotzu's eyes and he wished again that his mother could be here. She had always been able to calm him down with just a gentle thought.
The bottom dropped out of Chiaotzu's stomach. His mother had been so good at calming him down because she had already been in his head. When he had been small his psychic powers had been immense and totally uncontrolled. His mother, a powerful telepath in her own right, had had to infiltrate his mind and set up her own barriers to stop him hurting someone.
That was why he'd felt her loss so acutely. His mind had been completely private again for the first time in his memory.
He looked at Tien. The toddler had stopped crying but his breath was still coming in low gasps and his eyes were wide and staring blindly ahead. Panic wasn't letting go. Chiaotzu had to save him.
Moving slowly and carefully so as not to frighten the toddler again, he leaned his forehead on Tien's and linked their hands, fingers entwining together.
"It's okay, Tien…" He hesitated. "Remember how I told you about…about my powers? About how I can talk to people from very far away?" Tien stared at him blankly, his eyes wide and unseeing. "I'm going to teach you, okay? It won't hurt. I'll never hurt you."
The physical contact was a start. It meant the touch of his mind would hopefully not panic the boy further. Holding his breath, he reached out telepathically through the connection of their foreheads. Tien's mind was thrumming with nervous energy, and the toddler was starting to hiccough with the intensity of his gasps.
Tentatively Chiaotzu touched the boy's mind with his own. It recoiled, and Tien became very stiff in Chiaotzu's arms.
It's okay, Tien, Chiaotzu said telepathically. He kept his voice low and soft, kept the movements of his mind slow and gentle. He didn't want to hurt Tien. That was the last thing he wanted.
"Chaozu," Tien mumbled. His locked muscles loosened. The weight on Chiaotzu's forehead increased as Tien leaned into him. "Love you."
I love you too, Tien. Now our minds are linked. If you're ever scared or worried or lonely you can reach out with your mind and I'll be there. Okay?
Okay…
Chiaotzu blinked. That had been a telepathic response, not a verbal one. Tien had a talent for telepathy it seemed. While lacking the raw psychic power that Chiaotzu possessed, it was still impressive he had caught on so quickly. Shen would be so proud.
A cold needle pierced the warm centre of his heart. No. This was fine. He could just pretend that Tien wasn't catching on. That he was struggling with it. Shen wouldn't test him, not now, not when he was so young. He'd be safe for now. That was all that mattered.