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Post by dracoon on Jul 24, 2015 11:45:37 GMT
Zach raised an eyebrow when the boy came up to them, but relaxed visibly when the boy obviously seemed related to Sela. His hand, poised to his jacket to retrieve a gun, slackened- he wouldn't hesitate at all to privately kill a civilian if it meant covering their tracks. He nodded stiffly at the boy's sarcastic question, before immediately launching into a defensive stance when Sela staggered back. Zach's eyes narrowed under his sunglasses, unsure what shenanigans the boy was coming up with but the back-and-forth looked harmless enough. He was obviously clueless to Sela's body language of discomfort, sliding his leg back before crouching down in the guise of tying a shoelace when the harried woman came over. When the woman left, he cast another dubious glance at the boy, before taking Sela roughly by the arm. "We need to talk," he stated, whirling her around and beginning to move towards the other side of the station.
Inside Zach's mind, his thoughts swirled with a million questions, but he tried to remain as stoic as his disguise would allow. One train of thought did stand out, if Sela was privy to his thoughts though- what the hell is happening, who is this brother of yours, and most of all, can we even trust him?.
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Post by Wyndi on Jul 26, 2015 4:04:32 GMT
Still queasy, Sela let Zach tug her across the station without complaint. She owed him an explanation, she knew, but she had no idea where to begin - not when she was still in a state of shock herself.
Jaden was following them several feet behind, picking his way through the crowd with ease and flashing a quick smile here and there. "I think there's a mezzanine up the stairs there," he called out to Zach and Sela, and gestured to a wide flight of marble stairs to their left. "It should be quieter up there, if you're so intent on talking." Without waiting for their response, he skirted an oncoming family of five and made his way up the stairs.
Against her better judgment, Sela indicated that they should follow him, but at their own pace. She had a feeling Zach didn't want Jaden listening in on their conversation. We don't have much time, she projected, slowing down and upping the mental barriers around her and Zach. What do you want to know?
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Post by dracoon on Aug 15, 2015 11:46:45 GMT
Everything, but you can totally make it concise. I think I can fill in the blanks, implored Zach, obviously concerned. He cast a sideway glance with his good eye, ensuring they weren't watched before staring back at her patiently. Despite how flustered she looked, Sela still looked gorgeous, mused Zach to himself, but caught himself when he realised she could hear him loud and clear in his mindscape. Hiding a blush, he pretended to be a father admonishing his errant daughter while masking his original intentions through his thoughts.
Start with just now- what did he try to do? Head stuff too? he ventured, beginning off nice and slow knowing that she was still nursing the headache from before.
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Post by Wyndi on Aug 20, 2015 4:33:07 GMT
Sela rubbed her temples again, trying to condense her thoughts into a single stream. But five - ten - twenty precious seconds ticked by with nothing to show for it, and she decided it'd be more efficient to just show Zach instead.
She sent him the fresh memory of Jaden ramming headlong against her psychic barriers, throwing the full force of his mental weight against hers. She sent him the sharp jolt that'd run through her when she realized what her brother had just tried to do to Zach, and the even sharper chills that'd settled in her spine when she saw how easily Jaden had gotten his teacher to do his bidding. Anxiety and fear pulsed through the memory too, but Sela clamped down on those before they could travel down the line to Zach.
He was right, Sela said, flickering back to Jaden's casual dismissal of her powers. I never knew he was a mutant too, not even after the thousands of times I must've skimmed his mind subliminally - before the headmaster taught me to control my mindreading. He must've already learned to block his mind from others at that point, or mentally misdirected me. Six years old and with all that power at his beck and call: maybe Jaden had every right to be condescending towards her. I don't actually know that much about him. We never really talked to each other or had anything to do with each other as children. Jaden was the talented son, the model child; everything he did made my parents proud. Where Sela's perfection had been an act, Jaden's had been the real deal.
But now Sela wondered if Jaden had simply...persuaded their parents into believing that they'd given birth to the perfect son. Which brought her back to the same troubling question she'd been mulling over for the past several minutes: just how early had Jaden's powers developed, and just how strong was he now?
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Post by dracoon on Aug 20, 2015 8:13:31 GMT
Zach reared, his fangs threatening to bare itself (the only thing he couldn't entirely transfigure completely) and stumbling backwards into the bannister. Righting himself quickly and brushing it off as a casualty of their so-called argument, he picked up a small, short nuance of anxiety and fear but pushed it aside to focus on what Sela was saying. So, and if I'm thinking this right, you think he's been messing with people's heads this whole time to make him look like the perfect good kid? he ventured back at last, trying not to feel a sense of loss about Sela mentioning her parents.
At least she actually had parents, Zach mused, considering he only had his younger sister Mindy (that was currently away herself, he had taken it upon himself to send her away the moment this had happened, and she was small and smart enough to cloak herself anyway). Though, he quickly drifted back to the conversation and tried to pay attention. So? What now? Do we trust this kid, or do we hightail it? Throw me a bone here, I'm not the psychic in this. He cast another glance down with his good eye, feeling the boy's gaze burn into his own now that he had a grasp of what he was capable of. Perhaps they weren't alone in this at all.
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Post by Wyndi on Aug 27, 2015 5:41:07 GMT
Maybe. To both questions. Now that Zach had neatly summarized their plight, Sela had to admit her speculations sounded a little farfetched. Paranoid, even. Born out of jealousy. After all, if Jaden's image of perfection really did stem from his mutant abilities, that meant an almost inconceivable level - and control - of power. Every person he's ever met. Every relative, every friend, every classmate, every stranger on the street. He would've had to influence them all to keep a consistent illusion. If Jaden were older, maybe. But to do all that at age six or seven?
But never mind that - dealing with Jaden right here and right now was the most pressing issue at hand. If we try to ditch him now, he'd be more than capable of following us. Sela scanned the mezzanine - Jaden was looking at them with his head tilted, his arms draped over the wrought iron railing with a convincing casualness. From his vantage point, he could probably see most of the first floor: there would be no way to lose him in the crowd. And his smirk, distinct even at this distance, told Sela and Zach he knew full well why they were taking an agonizingly long time to climb the stairs. He'd sped up on purpose, Sela realized with a horrible jolt. He'd been testing them to see if they'd make a break for it as soon as they were out of sight.
Sela forced herself to swallow her panic once more, shoving it as far down her esophagus as it would go. I doubt Jaden will turn us in to the authorities, at least: there's no reason or advantage for him to do so. But if he volunteered to stay with us for rest of the day, then he must have some sort of other plan or motive. And we can't find out what cards he's playing with, so to speak, if we keep our distance. She picked up her pace, returning Jaden's gaze with interest. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right?
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Post by dracoon on Aug 27, 2015 7:32:04 GMT
Fine. Your call. thought Zach to Sela, slowly trailing after her while remaining in his old man disguise, I hope you at least know what we're doing. The stairs seemed to stretch on forever but eventually they reached the second floor and Zach cast a glance around- it was by all means, not luxurious, but still let off a comfortable atmosphere. He rubbed his stomach sadly, already feeling hungry again, before looking around once more for possible exits. Zach considered how many bones he would break jumping off from his current perch, but quickly pushed it aside in the guise of looking for food.
"Gee, I wonder what's there to eat here," he started loudly, his vocal cords still that of an old man's, before he cast a very pointed glance at Jaden for recommendations. If they could force Jaden to chaperone them, he innerly mused, then it would be difficult for him to both exert his mutant powers and bring them around, it should've been a win-win situation. Though, his cluttered mind of various thoughts as well as keeping in line with his disguise quickly washed away this particular thought as he stared down at the boy with a half-smile, waiting for an answer.
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