Day 5, Quadrant 9
12:30, Q9 time
Observation room

Tony replied with a long-tailed lecture about the after-effects of the star's explosion. Hundreds of people, all with this same weird gift she had - or rather, different gifts - and locked away here. But it was all for the best.

He was telling the truth. She didn't know why she was so sure that he believed every word he was saying, but she felt no more inclination to question it than she questioned that she needed to breathe. Perhaps it had something to do with her mind's eye, dimly overlaying her eyes, seeing his heart pulsing calmly and his easy stance. But he has to be wrong, she thought confusedly. This place is a prison, a lab; they locked me up like an animal. They don't want to help.

Unbidden, her mind flashed to a disoriented memory of a woman with live snakes coiled around her head and arms. She and Elise struggling desperately to get to safety outside the garage and the woman had sent the snake at them, like she could control them. One had grazed her skin with it's fangs and Elise... She had a dim memory of Elise looking pale and bloated, dropping to the floor.

"Maybe... We do deserve to be locked up," she admitted quietly, not to him, but to herself. She was startled out of her musings by his attempt at a joke. She managed a half-smile.

"And I was just glad to see someone not carrying a gun the size of a car. Can some people really do that? Move stuff with their mind, I mean?" She hesitated, then asked a much more important question. "And since I'm not crazy, do I get to go home?" She blinked to fight the nervous tears that wanted to break out. I'm on my own here, she told herself. I gotta be strong.

Day 5, Quadrant 9
12:33, Q9 time
Observation room

Tony's face warmed as Hali responded to his playful comment in kind. But the look that crossed her expression afterwards caused him to wait for what else she was thinking.

Her question was innocent, but a familiar pang bolted through his heart. Always the same question. Always the same answer. The world was just... So messed up.

He swallowed and managed a half-smile at her. Her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears and he found his hand involuntarily crept out towards her. But he caught himself, again, and pulled it back with a stifled sigh. "That's... Really a question for the Doctor. Who actually..." He craned his head around to look at the closed lift door. "Should already be here..."

Suddenly, just beside the lift, another set of doors slid apart. A faint whine permeated the room, echoing off the steel walls. As the silver metal collapsed into itself, an attractively decorated, comfortably furnished room slowly was revealed. Several couches, a bookcase, a desk, a coffee table with a minimalistic lamp perched upon it. It looked like a modern, cozy family living room, almost absurdly out of place when viewed from the large metal box that was the Observation Room.

"... Oh. That explains it." Tony turned back to Hali. "That's the Doctor's office. He'll be waiting for us in there. We can sit down in there, if you like. And usually there's something to drink in there too. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, whatever you want." He gestured towards the room, brows raised and lips turned up, "That OK with you?"

Day 5, Quadrant 9
12:35, Q9 time
Observation room

I am still a prisoner, she realized with a sharp pang as he dodged her question. One nice guard doesn't change that.

Her inner eye glimpsed movement and by now she had learned to instinctively shut her eyes. Beyond a pair of sliding doors - this room seemed to be all doors - was a space so furnished that it could only be described as a TV den. The chairs and endtable were dim to here mind, but the lamp threw off enough "sight stuff" for her to make it out.

Tony evidently recognized the setup. As he turned back, she opened her eyes and forced a smile. He had shown that he felt some sympathy for her, and she thought it best to keep her one ally.

"That's the Doctor's office. He'll be waiting for us in there. We can sit down in there, if you like. And usually there's something to drink in there too. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, whatever you want." He gestured towards the room, brows raised and lips turned up, "That OK with you?"

I don't really have a choice, so why bother asking? And like I'm gonna fall for the drugged drink thing? I saw that prison movie like a million times. Aloud, she said, "I... I think I'd prefer to just sit, thanks." Slowly, warily, she stepped into the office and sat on the very edge of one of the comfortable armchairs. She smiled at Tony to reassure him; her mind's eye saw his heart (or what she thought was his heart) had sped up a little, as if anxious.

Day 2
Time: Unknown
Location: Unknown
Allee didn't even feel or see it coming. All she remembered was Sam grabbing her from behind and a cloth completely covering her mouth and nose. Next thing she knew, everything was dark.

Her eyelids slid open, and she started to register her surroundings. She was flat on her back. Whatever was beneath her was rigid, cold. It was way too cold in here.

She shivered and looked up at the ceiling. Harsh, flourescent lighting. Where am I?

The door clicked open and she sat up quickly, her hair half-falling out onto her shoulders out of its bun. A man walked in, clad in scrubs. Well, his clothing was familiar at least. Was she in a hospital? Hospital rooms weren't exactly nice, but this room seemed far too bare and sterile for even that.

"Where am I?" she asked. Her voice croaked as it came out.

"No questions, please." He stood by the metal table that she'd been placed on. "Your muscles may be a little weak," he said, holding his hand out purely out of courtesy. His whole demeanor was emotionless and businesslike. "Please come with me."

Allee took his hand--which was cold--and stepped down. He was right. Her muscles did feel a little weak. What had happened to her?

She asked him again, but he continued to stave off questions. The halls around her that they walked through did little to give her clues about her surroundings. They were completely bare, almost metal. Nothing cluttered them. The doors had tiny windows in them, but they were moving too fast for her to see anything except for a blur of lights and metal.

"Where am I?" Her question, once again, went unnoticed.

Finally, after several twists and turns, they stopped in front of a metal door. The orderly accompanying her opened it and gestured inside. "Step inside, please."

She hesitated.

The orderly repeated the command once more. Her feet dragged as she went in.

As soon as she was inside, the door slammed shut. She looked around. On the opposite wall was a black rectangle. It was made of ... black glass, or something. She wondered what, if anything, was on the other side.

The rest of the room was stark, bare. Metal.

She jumped as suddenly a piece of the wall moved. Out of it came a metal cylinder. A pole. Only about six inches shorter than she was. She jumped backward instinctively, analyzing the situation.

The pole began to move towards her, soundless. She almost screamed at the fact that it was moving towards her. But the fact that it was silent was perhaps the most terrifying. She jumped backward and continued to move backwards, trying to evade it. Finally it had her cornered. It stopped.

She let out a breath.

With a mechanical whirring, metal panels started materializing out of what seemed like thin air. They moved through the air, arranging themselves. It wasn't until it was done that she realized what it was.

A gun.

And it was pointing straight at her.

Her eyes scanned the room, looking for somewhere--anywhere--to run. She was cornered, but maybe she could outrun it for at least a little while. Delay her imminent death. Things like that.

There was a noise as a bullet fired. She immediately jumped out of place. She didn't know whether the bullet hit her, but at least her legs, and presumably the rest of her, was still in tact.

She looked over her shoulder, trying to predict where the bullet would hit. Not like she could predict a thing like that, but at least she could try.

It fired again, aiming at her head. No pain resulted. She kept running. What the heck was going on here?

She kept running in circles. The gun kept firing. Finally she stopped and banged a fist against the black glass, appealing to whoever or whatever was behind it. "Stop! Whatever is going on, I swear, I'm innocent!"

The pole stopped right in front of her and the panels began to emerge once more. She covered her head with her arms, retreating into their shelter. But the gun was at eye level--covering her face with her arms wouldn't save her. She did the only thing she knew how to do: she slid down into the corner and curled up in a ball. Hopefully that would be enough. It had to be.

She waited.

X Days after the Supernova
Location: Unknown
Time: Unknown
Vital Status: Unconscious

I am asleep. I am in a coma.

These two thing do not often run together, but in my case, they're perfectly true. I know am in a medically induced coma, because I can remember them putting me on a table and sticking needles in my arm. I know I am asleep because I'm dreaming.

I dream that all around me there is a blank white room, like a hospital ward. There are nurses that walk by from time to time and I can see from their eyes how clean everything is, how new and shiny and deadly. Occasionally, one of them will adjust the controls on my life support system, or leave the room to check on someone else. I can see how I look, lying strapped down to the operating bed, an IV dripping some kind of drug into my bloodstream. My hair is plastered to my forehead with sweat. I suppose I am running a fever.

Strange, to see myself like this. I had almost forgotten who I am, my dream is so deep. No, no; I have not forgotten, only lost it for a moment. My name is Will - Willard Sica, if my mom is upset. And I am a telepath.

Day 5, Quadrant 9
12:37, Q9 time
Observation room

Tony stood aside as the girl passed him and entered the small room. His muscles relaxed as he softly blew out his breath and smiled at her back. She was going to cooperate. At least so far as to not get violent.

After politely refusing his offer of a drink, she sat carefully on the armchair, poised as though prepared to take flight should a threat occur. But she took the time to smile up at him, as though in reassurance.

He knew she was cute. But dang, she really was cute.

This was all so much for her to take in. For her, the world had yanked her security right out from under her feet, pressed her under the thumb of the government and slammed her with the unspoken but oh so real threat of never being a free woman again.

But here she was, keeping a level head, trying to comprehend the enormous changes in her world and of all things, still trying to remain pleasant.

As he perched himself on the arm of a couch near the steel room doors, Tony finally noted that his heart had sped up again. Hali was so strong, so brave. Whatever happened, he didn't want to lose this girl's trust.

It was therefore to his great relief that he saw a panel in the cream colored wall slide open and admit Dr. Steele.

"Ah, excellent. Welcome, Miss Royce. I apologize for the rather nasty test earlier. We are making every effort to find another, less painful way to gather that data, but as of yet have come up with no other way.
"My name is Dr. Lance Steele. I am a psychologist and am here to help you determine and control your new powers. My end goal is to help you find a way to fit into our new and convoluted world as a free person. Quadrant 9 is a stepping stone, not an end. We will make things right."

During this speech, he had slowly approached the armchairs and settled himself in the one opposite her. Leaning back against the cushions, propping his elbows on the arms and steepling his fingers together, he smiled at her warmly. "Is it alright if I close the doors?" He nodded to the doors of the steel room. "It's letting a draft in, but if you would prefer to leave them open that is perfectly acceptable."

-------------------------------
-------------------------------

Previous Post
Day Unknown, Quadrant 9
Q9 time, Unknown
Observation room

"Oh, Doc, she's here."

Steele was at the boy's side in an instant. "Allee Miller, age 18." He shot a sideways glance at Tony. "Also small and cute."

Tony turned bright red. "Would you stop that!? I'm not looking for a girlfriend!"

The doctor threw back his head and laughed.

As he turned away from the window, the boy grumbled under his breath, "I'm really starting to think you only became a psychiatrist to learn how to get under people's skin..."

As his laughter died away into a sly smile, Dr. Steele kept his eyes on the room below him. The steel panel was sliding open and the test had truly begun.

"Mmm, your girl isn't fighting back at all... Just trying to get away as of yet..."

"Doc, please! She's not 'my girl'!"

Steele's lip twisted as he watched as the girl continued backing until she was cornered, face stricken in terror. When the pole stopped, she stopped, relaxing a fraction. Until it began to unfold into the gun shape.

Tony peered through the window, eyes narrowed. "She hasn't done anything yet?"

"Just backed away. Quickly, but with merely average human speed."

"Huh..."

They watched in silence as the gun "fired" and she fled, racing around the room, glancing over her shoulder every once in a while.

"Tracking the movement of the gun..." noted the Doctor.

Tony jumped a mile high when she ran to their side of the room and banged on the wall below them.

"Stop! Whatever is going on, I swear, I'm innocent!"

He turned slowly and looked at Steele, raising an eyebrow. "She's not attacking. At all. Why isn't she defending herself?"

Steele stood quietly for a moment, eyes fixed on the room below.

As the gun came to rest, training it's muzzle towards the girl, she merely shrank into the corner and covered her head with her arms.

"It appears as though she is going to remain on the defensive, nor has she discovered that it's a ruse..."

"That's... Like, a first for us, right? I mean, either they beat it up or they figure it out..."

Steele's long finger tapped beside the control screen thoughtfully as he watched the girl in the room.

"What do we do?"

"What we have planned to do in this situation."

Tony's face blanked for a moment.

Steele shot him a look.

"Oh! Oh. I'm sorry, I just... We've never done it before."

"Well do it."

"Sure... Sure." Tony spun on his heel and fairly dashed to the elevator lift, clapping his hand on the button so the doors slid open. "OK, this should be fun." He hopped in and waved to Steele with a smile as the door slid shut in front of him.

The lift hissed down and Tony's fingers drummed against his thigh uneasily. By the time the doors opened again, he had ran over the details of the procedure in his mind three times to refresh himself. While he'd practiced it a few times before, this was the first time he'd ever actually used it in a test.

As soon as the doors opened, he sprinted towards the gun with remarkable speed for his bulk.

"Stop, stop!" His voice held a note of alarm that was flawless. He skidded to a halt and jammed his fingers into a slot on the side of the gun base.

"Get behind me!" he barked to the girl, yanking a panel off the gun and grabbing a handful of wires. Jerking his hand back, the wires ripped out in a shower of sparks. A loose wire brushed against his hand as he pulled back and the small jolt of electricity made him grunt.

The gun's whirring slowed to a halt as smoke puffed lazily from the spitting wires and burned casing spilling out of the silver post. For a moment, the only sound in the room was the heavy breathing of both the boy and the girl.

Finally, Tony took a deep breath and closed his eyes, then let it out and opened them again. His hand crept up to rub the back of his neck as he turned slowly to face the girl.

The first thing he noticed is that Dr. Steele had not been exaggerating when he said she was cute. Face to face, looking into her wide eyes, Tony was struck by the truth of that statement. The faint flush that slowly suffused his cheeks was therefore quite real.

A corner of his lip twitched upwards awkwardly, exposing the dimple. "Um, hi. I'm... Gosh, I'm sorry about that. I don't... That wasn't... Um... That wasn't supposed to happen. I don't know how... Gosh I'm sorry. Um... Are you alright?"

Day 5, Quadrant 9
12:39, Q9 time
Doctor's Eval. Room

Tony perched himself on the arm of a couch near the steel room doors, a rather curious expression crossing his face. Before she could try to decipher it, a flash of motion to her left directed her attention to a panel in the cream colored wall. It slide open quietly as through it walked a man all in grey. His short hair was silver, his eyes were burnished steel and his clothes were all muted metal tones. No one else could have looked so professional or in command with that single-tone palette. Hali shivered involuntarily - there was something eerily off about him, inside him. She was too new to this to pinpoint what, though.

"Ah, excellent." His voice, like his outfit, was cool and neutral. He continued smoothly speaking and moving until he sat across from her, his attitude relaxed. As he spoke, she blinked rapidly, trying to overlay her inner vision with what her eyes saw. She was most worried that he was carrying a gun or a taser, but couldn't find enough of the sight stuff in this space to make sure. Then he wanted to shut the doors. Yes, she thought sarcastically, inside a lab built to hold crazy people, you have to watch those drafts.

"Sure. Not like I'd get anywhere by running," she pointed out, hoping it came off as braver than she felt. One thing he'd passed over - being free - had caught her hopes, but she sternly squashed it to the back of her mind. Stupid people bought that line. And Tony had made it quite clear she was not getting out.
"So, what are my powers, then?" she asked, directing her question mid-way between the two and trying to keep smiling. "I don't wanna wake up in the middle of the night with my hair on fire." As she often did when sitting, she started rubbing the arm of the chair with her fingertips, diverting her ADD need to move.

{-------------------------}

X Days after the Supernova
Location: Unknown
Time: Unknown
Vital Status: Unconscious

No idea how long I've been here. I try to pass the time by narrating dramatically to myself, or by looking into the nurses' minds. I'm not in full control - I guess that's what the drug is for - so it's harder than usual. But still, a guy's gotta do something.

Now, it's not like you think of telepathy. In vid games, when there's a telepathic character, you normally just have to look at a CPU - computer personality unit - and concentrate. Bingo - other guy's thoughts stream to your head in a convenient speech format and you know what he's thinking. People aren't like that, not really. It's way cooler.

Each brain is different, and you can't just zip from one to another. It's kind of like test driving a bunch of totally different cars. And not all people think in words. Some people think in print, like subtitles on a movie screen. Some just see the movie or screenshots; their minds are like an endless roll of the way they feel, think or remember. Pretty easy to read that kind of mind, if you've seen enough sitcoms. The hardest ones are the guys who think in abstract. It's like code; each color or shape means something to the person thinking it, but to me, it's just a jumble. So you have to study it and watch for a while before you get the pattern down enough to guess at what each thing means.

Most of these nurses think in subtitles. Most common way, I think. It's easiest to just see life and add your little caption. And most of them are captioning about the Supernova. So it's still big news. That means I can't have been out for too long. Good. 'Cause I need to get out of here.

Parksville, Erbaine
Palisade National Park
Parker Mountain

Luisana's eyes darted toward the direction of the sound, heart pounding. What was that? She was out of breath, both from being physically tired and stressed from the past few days' events. She looked at Terra and Loretta. They, herself included, looked exhausted and beat.

Lifting the hem of her pant leg, she revealed a black knife sheath strapped to her calf. Lui pulled a hunting knife from it and handed it to Terra. "Stay here. If I'm not back in 10, find a safe place to hide. I'll catch up with you later. I can find you easier than you can find me now."

With that, Lui turned and pushed aside a low branch. When she had put a good amount of distance between them, she stopped.

Circling around in the small clearing, she took a breath. There was so much to figure out, but her thoughts were unorganized and chaotic.

Within a few minutes, her mind became consumed with one thing: the urge to hunt. Her resistance lasted only seconds.

Before she knew it, the leaves on the forest floor were being crushed underneath the leathery pads of wolf paws. Eyes and ears alert, she set off to find exactly what she was looking for.

And she would find it.

X Days after the Supernova
Location: Unknown
Time: Unknown
Vital Status: Unconscious

Argh! I'm so bored!

I have been trying for... Well, I don't know how long. But the point is, I'm trying. And have been for long enough to drive me crazy B-O-R-E-D. I think my new brain fights drugs better than my pre-powers brain. And I can almost hold off that woozy fog long enough to grab one of the nurses' minds. I just need, like, two minutes. Enough to have them yank the IV cord and undo the restraints. It's easy enough, when my brain isn't so stupidly slow.

On the other hand, as my sister never fails to point out, it doesn't require hospital drugs from my brain to be slow. I mean, after all, I did get captured. Should have seen that plot twist coming. No hero is ever welcomed by his home town - every vid game follows that trope. But I was so excited! I mean, seriously! I spend a few minutes hiding inside my basement, in the wreck of my vir-vid-sys (that's short for virtual-video-system in geek speak). When I finally climb out to the post-Supernova Brink City, I'm a telepath. Just instantly. No effort, no painful body writhing. Just like that, I'm a superhero. Who wouldn't go telling people?

Well, if I ever get a second chance, you can bet I'll be a shadowy vigila--

Wait.

Wait a sec.

No, no. Yes! My IV bag is being changed! I get a few minutes where the drugs aren't as powerful. Just one good command should do it... That's it, nursey; just leave the bag unhooked. Yep, now walk away. You changed the bag and everything's fine. Good girl. No one's escaping here.

Day 3
Burg

Irene circled around the front of "her" building, a faint smile of satisfaction forming. It was in very sad shape; it was an old toy store, which one could discern by peering through the dirty windows and seeing some of the items still on the shelves. The sign had mostly fallen off, and all the information printed on the windows--the store's name, the hours it was open--had faded away. The top of the door frame liked like had been crushed by something falling on the top of the building, some time in the past, though whatever it was had since been removed. It was in quite a state.

At least, it looked like that. Irene had done her best to make it look like it was in a state of ruin, to keep away any prying eyes. In reality, the store was in fine condition when she'd found it, aside from being abandoned. In all likelihood, it would probably be open right now, if it weren't for, you know, the end of the world happening a couple of days ago. But, since the owners apparently had higher priorities than minding their store, and Irene needed a place to live, so she adopted the place, and modified its look.

And now, it looked... agh, not perfect. Despite the fact that the windows were supposed to be filthy, Irene could clearly see one of the rows of toys, one that held a variety of brightly-colored stuffed animals. In fact, they were so visible that they almost looked like they were in front of the window instead of behind it, depth perception regardless. Those animals must've been good for attracting customers; they were what caught Irene's eye when she passed by. And, apparently, she remembered them too well; they were firmly fixed in her mental image of the front of the store.

Irene glanced up and down the street, trying to assure herself that no one was watching. Well, this street was full of all kinds of shops which, given the current state of the world, were strictly luxuries. Other than the occasional looter, no one was really interested. Irene turned to the window--well, more importantly, the illusion she had put up in front of it. The illusion went down for a moment or two, but Irene remembered the details well enough. After that brief lapse, it returned, looking exactly the same--except, this time, nothing was bright enough to be seen through the window. Okay, much better. The last thing she needed was for someone to realize that everything they could see here was fake. That'd raise unnecessary questions.

Irene opened the door again and quickly pulled the door shut behind her. She hadn't bothered change the inside of the store; that would've taken too much effort. That did mean that anyone looking in through the open doorway, though, would've noticed the difference. Hmm, she'd have to consider that in the future. Not to mention she needed to ensure that her mind didn't wander, creating more glitches in her otherwise 'perfect' illusions.

As Irene headed for the back of the store, where she'd set up her makeshift living quarters, she couldn't help but mutter aloud, "None of this would be necessary if I could remember where I used to live...."

X Days after the Supernova
Location: hospital-like lab, name unknown
Time: Unknown
Vital Status: Conscious

Okay, easy. Keep breathing. Eyes closed. Gotta sell it.

Darn, I have an itch!

Oh, would you man up?

Would you stop arguing?

Technically, I'm only fighting with my own partially drugged subconscious. But it keeps me occupied. And I really do have an itch.

It's been... maybe twenty minutes since I managed to make the nurse unhook my IV. In a normal person, that amount of time would do very little towards waking up. But of course, I'm not normal; I'm exceptional.

Ah, there it is! One of the guy nurses has come back in to check on... Hmm, I guess there must be someone else in the alcove across from me. So I'm not the only prisoner. Interesting. But distracting. I need that nurse to undo these restraints.

He's obviously not going to do much on that high of a dose. Those restraints would be more useful on someone else.

Let him think it over for a minute. Yes, he's coming over! And that's one... Two... The arms... And the chest. Keep still. Absolutely still.

Alright, I need coffee. Stupid night shift, watching the freaks...

Freak, huh? Get out of this room, give me some time to acclimate and I'll show you "freak". Freakishly cool. Hmm, now I want coffee.

He's leaving!

For the first time, I'm looking at the room with my own eyes, not someone else's. It's plain and clean, fluorescent lighting humming eerily. Okay, first thing: figure out where I am. Second, find a place to hide. And possibly something to eat. Look out, villains; the Master Mind is back.

OOC: As an FYI, I'm putting thoughts that Will plants in bold italic, and people's own thoughts in regular italics.

Arida: Day 3
De Mon Estate

Candice considered her own thoughts for a few minutes, then dropped the stub of her cigarette into the fire and then walked back over to her reading perch. She picked up the leather bound book and examined it.

"I've read so much about men who changed the world from behind the scenes, and the men who changed it on the scenes. I loved the Virgin Queen and how she always managed to stand up to them and manipulate them to do what she thought was best. But it was always history. Fascinating history, but never more than a collection of stories," she said softly, turning and walking back toward Chris. "I never thought I'd have to figure out how to use it myself."

She glanced up at him, then back down, hugging the book to herself.

Burg:
After a While

Part water, part fish, part human. She moved slowly through the water, inspecting the ironworks that had sunk to the bottom of the harbor. The ships were still, no movement at all on the top of the water. She turned over and stared up at the lantern light, floating at the bottom of the harbor. If she wanted to leave the water, now would be best. No one would be around, except maybe a watchman. She could handle a watchman. Still, she lingered, afraid to break through to the cool air above. She continued to watch the light as it dimmed, then it went out altogether. She waited, but no one bothered to rekindle it.

Ever so slowly, she moved up to the surface, pausing just inches away to inspect what she could see. The change between water and air distorted the buildings, so finally she surfaced, her head and shoulders sliding out of the water. She blinked several times, the second lid on her eyes finally sliding away, giving her clear vision of the surrounding area. Her eyes were sharper in the dark now, she realized, even than they had been a few days ago. After a moment, she slipped her hands up and grabbed at a bar. It was a little too far. She sighed, then slid below the water, swimming down to the murky waters. after a moment, she gathered her strength, and dashed to the surface, breaching in an elegant arc. She landed on the peer on her feet, but after days of swimming, she was too unsteady and collapsed, coughing, water dripping off her face and hair.

Finally, she looked around. It was deserted, true. But she didn't know where she was, who was around, or even who she was anymore. Before she had been Xandria Martinez, professional swimmer.

Now she was a creature.

Arida: Day 3
De Mon Estate

Chris gave a half smile at Candice and her lofty ambitions. "I do believe if any woman could be capable of doing all that now, in our current situation, then it would most definitely be you, miss De Mon."

For once, the charming bounty hunter actually meant the flattery he was speaking. It was a strange feeling, really, to sincerely mean something you say to a woman. The last time Chris had done that was with... well, never mind. It wasn't good to dwell in the past anyway.

Burg: Day 5
Early morning

Steady... remember to concentrate on the water, not on what's around it.

A soccer ball sized orb of sea water steadily emerged from the dock near an old ships hull and moved around the motionless figure sitting atop a shipping crate. The water sphere tumbled and turned as though it was a piece of glass being molded in the fire, yet it did not lose any of its liquid.

... Hmm, this is too easy. Time for something more challenging!

The figure on the crate suddenly moved to a standing position and began gesturing with its hands in dance-like fashion. As the figure moved, tendrils of water sprang out of the nearby docks and began weaving around the figure. With a sudden outward gesture of its arms, the tendrils of water shot out in all directions around the figure then gently splashed back into the bay.

"Well, that went better than expected." Selena said with a grin as she stretched out her right hand towards the water ball, still floating in the air about two feet away from the girl.
---------------------

While everyone else at Lawrence Manor was still asleep, or presumed to be asleep, Selena had slipped out and down to the abandoned shipping yard at Burg harbor to practice. Despite the ominous sight of rusted ship hulls and various cranes, pulleys, etc. Selena found the shipyard to be surprisingly relaxing. The only concern was to not bring attention to herself with all of her water manipulation....

Arida: Day 3
De Mon Estate

Candi looked down, then back up at Chris.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "Will you help me, though?"

Burg: Day 5
Xandria stared up at the swirling water, then rolled over and ran for cover. She slid behind some crates and shivered, trying to pull her shirt down to cover her legs. She managed to get her knees up against her chest, and hugged them close, trying to steady her breathing and make herself as small and as invisible as possible. The water was gone. Whatever had caused it, she didn't know, but she wasn't sure she wanted to.
She stared at her feet for a few minutes, thinking. She needed food, but before she could get any, she would have to look normal. Clothes, first of all. And then food. But if someone knew, if they figured it out...bother being a professional swimmer! She sighed, thinking, then slowly stood and tentatively walked to the edge of of the crates and slowly looked out. There was nothing. She took a few more steps, looking up and around. A splash made her turn to stare at the harbor, where the water rippled, then returned to being still. She turned around, looking for whoever might have done something to disturb the water, but could see nothing. She ran behind another shipping container, then slowly turned to face it. There should be bars on the side--how did she know that?--and she could use them to climb up, get a vantage point. She did, making a bit more noise than she would like, and then stood, looking around. There was nothing.

Arida: Day 3
De Mon Estate

"I suppose I could. Never had much practice in helping a mass exodus, though." Chris looked down at the flames in the fireplace contemplatively before continuing.

"I'm sure I can find something to do, though. I'm in."

Burg: Day 5

A sudden noise from the direction of a bunch of old crates startled Selena for a moment, causing her to drop the water orb which dispersed on the floor with splash. In the old shipping yard with all the metallic surfaces around, the simple splash of water sounded more like a barrel full of liquid crashing to the ground.

Quickly ducking behind a large rusted gear, Selena silently surveyed the yard. No movement or sign of anyone lurking about.... That's good, I guess.

Still, the young woman was not fully assured that no one was actually there. As quietly as she could, Selena slipped behind various stacks of crates and other odds and ends as she made her way around the periphery of the housing.

As she turned a corner, the sight of another young woman standing atop a shipping container met her eyes. Wait... what is she doing here? And who is that?!?