[r] young and running free

[shah]

<sup>build it up, then blow and blow, and then it all broke down and flew away. things were always so harsh, cruel and realistic. gone were the times where he actually had to site back and think about what he wanted to do. now things were more spur-of-the-moment, things he had to decide in a split second. as a newly-recruited agent of lux (he was still undergoing training), he had nowhere else to go but undergo more training to make himself one of the best. he missed his previous lifestyle where the days passed as quickly or slowly as he wanted it to. but that was no more. no longer had he the chance to sit back and think about what's going on before making his choice. now he had to decide right away.

he ran a hand through his alabaster hair. his hands were stained with blood, but they had dried and would not leave a mark on his pale hair. cerulean eyes stared quietly at the ground as he shifted into a seating position on the tree trunk. why had he returned to the forest with his brother? if he hadn't come back, things might have been different. he should have stayed back in eterna. went back to white forest and see if the professor was there on one of her backpacking trips. now, he was alone. only the silence of the forest kept his company; there wasn't even a sign of wild pokémon lurking around in the tall grass. his pokémon were in their pokéballs - just looking at their faces that said they knew how he felt was just ... shah gritted his teeth and steeled his emotions.

he didn't need the extra emotions. if he kept everything under control, everything would back off and he'd be able to accomplish something. he did resist the psychics' bullying back in eterna forest. he had forced them to back off; all he did was not give them the pleasure of doing so. and so, he wouldn't want his emotions to get the better of him and do what they were supposed to. he shut his eyes, and opened them again. he could do this.</sup>

[/sup][/blockquote]

[lurker]

It wasn't every day that Sabrina ventured into Viridian. At least not these days. The city held too many memories for her. Even with the change of hands the city has gone through, she avoided the place like the plague. Even now, she wasn't sure if anyone noticed it, and if they had, well, she was already known as peculiar woman. No one would dare to say that to her face though, at least not many.

Yet, if one were to look now, Sabrina would be there, currently walking within its thick forest. The silence of the forest was a bit unnatural. Perhaps, it was due to the reason that she came. Her mind's eye demanded it so. Much like her pair of twins, she knew just what they were, a potential pupil. That was just how it was. There was no other way to describe it. While their ability, she sensed, was weak, it called out to her all the same.

It kept her firmly on the ground and away from indulging herself in petty memories that should be -- ah, she was doing it again. The psychic mentally berated herself, being as weak to allow herself to indulge in silly, wonton thoughts. She breathed deeply and exhaled slowly, allowing herself to fall more deeply in this mental connection she felt. The actions did wonders to clear her mind and focus.

Suddenly, the "tug" was far stronger. It was if something had happened to them. The psychic looked on ahead spotting the back of a fairly light haired young man meditating on a tree stump. Unwilling to disrupt him in a less than delicate manner, she stayed where she was and called out to him using a more ... familiar method.

I suppose you must be my newest pupil.

Her tone did not reflect surprise. Though, it was rare for one at his age to be attempting to call out to her, whether knowingly or not. But, her gaze was kept to his figure, waiting for him to turn and face her.


notes: telepathy is in italics. I think I can type decently on this. c: just, uh don't expect any other formatting. orz

[shah]

<sup>((telepathy in coloured italics, thoughts in normal italics))

he could sense it. the tug of someone else who was a psychic. defensively, shah had started thinking of a solid brick wall. if that was all he thought about, then the psychics wouldn't be able to get him. for a moment, he was temporarily suspended in time, thoughts fixed in a timeline where viridian was eterna and the trees different, more sombre and less light passed through where he was sitting on the tree trunk. instinctively, the teenager wrapped his arms around his body. if they were going to pry into his mind, then they had to go away. he wouldn't have this. every time the prying happened, he felt so vulnerable, naked and in pain after the ordeal. they thought it to be for fun and practice. what they didn't know was that he'd somehow turned to visualizing them with their heads cut off and blood streaming all over the place to get over the humiliation he experienced.

it was then that he felt a familiar, prickling gaze on the back of his neck. the same types he got when hell was about to storm his mental health. slowly, almost reluctantly, the alabaster-haired boy turned around - he snapped out of his dream. this was viridian forest, yes, but who was this raven-haired woman? he blinked once or twice, feeling foolish for assuming too much. his arms were still wrapped around him; the odd chill (definitely not the weather, this he knew) having not quite left him. he stared some more at sabrina, cerulean eyes widening a fraction when she achieved a mental connection despite his initial resistance.

this was no simple psychic.

newest pup - ...... what? one part wary and three parts perplexed, the teenager relaxed his grip on his body and watched the female. did she think that he was her pupil, or something of the like? a psychic, like the ones in eterna forest? the thoughts brought up unpleasant memories within his mind; first, there were the jeering faces and the yells of laughter, then the pain ..... mysteriously, his brother as well. dead, just like the way he had envisioned those psychic children to be. fate had an uncanny way of getting back at someone, he thought grimly, the sudden change in emotion not unmissable by sabrina. you might have made a mistake.</sup>

[/color] unknowingly, he had made his replies - mentally.[/sup][/justify][/blockquote]

[lurker]

There was a time where Sabrina's first response would have been "I don't make mistakes." But she was older and wiser now. A response like that wouldn't bring the boy to his senses. She took a moment and pondered, just what should she say. He was, judging by his first few words, a skeptical type. There was something more to it though, she'd felt through their connection. However, she did not press. It was not her way. Unless it would interfere in later training she would never attempt to find out. Everyone had their secrets.

I'll admit, the psychic began, making her way somewhat closer to the young man, it is uncommon for one to have learned of their ability so late. Her gaze flickered, becoming sharper at the idea of being wrong (okay, so it was a bit hard to not feel a bit irked at that) before changing back to their ever neutral expression. Uncommon, but not unheard of. She finished.

The psychic took this time to really take a good look at him. He was fairly thin, lanky, almost. His hands still carried the sight of dried blood. But, most of all, she took note of how protectively he held himself, as if she were an Ursaring, prepared to attack him at any moment. She was mildly amused. The more sadistic side of her decided to play on this, and she began to walk around him. Like a sharpedo to a magikarp.

You do realize we are "speaking" the same. No one else in the forest, pokemon or human alike would be able to hear them like this. Voices projected and sent to one another's mind, for their own private conferences. For someone like Sabrina it was as easy as breathing, and apparently it was the same for him as well, even if he didn't know it.

[shah]

<sup>there the voice went. prying into his mind once again, like it always did in eterna. shah could almost hear laughter ringing in his ears; a somewhat crazed glint flashed in cerulean irises. those psychics. they had better get out of his head, leave him alone, and simply because he was normal and different from them, he should have not been bothered in the first place. it was probably because he was normal that he had been picked on, he realized, but then again that wasn't exactly a fair fight. the quote where someone had to pick on someone else of their own size or abilities had never rang truer for shah.

as the voice continued, so did his staring at sabrina. it was most definitely her who was doing the talking. she could push past the resistance he had put up. inside, shah was feeling horrible, having his mental defences torn down like they were nothing but flimsy pieces of paper. he felt exposed. "what ability?" he said in a monotone, able to vocalize his thoughts instead of replying via telepathy. there wasn't such a thing as his abilities. the previous conversation was just a fluke. something he'd imagined; he knew he had thought it was cool to be able to have private conversations without anyone else knowing. but that was when he was young, stupid, and unaware of the threat that having a psychic power had upon others.

now that he knew better, he made sure to stay away from them - yet, he had bumped into this female that was telling him ... things. that he had that power, too. no, we're not.</sup>

[/color] "no, we're not." thoughts and words collided, both chorusing the same. fear; it slowly started tightening its hold over the boy.[/sup][/justify][/blockquote]

[lurker]

He shouldn't test her. She wasn't in the mood for it. But she complied for now, playing along. He will soon learn that when she is determined, she would get what she desired. Besides, whether he knew it or not, he needed this too. The power inside him had called out to her first.

She saw and torn those feeble mental shields he had put up, attempting to shy away from her, and almost scoffed. While it might have been decent against other psychics, they weren't her. She knew how to get through them, even if it was a pain.

A brow rose when he had spoken aloud. His voice, the tone, was so familiar already. The tug was strong, indeed. "Yours." was her reply. Short simple, had her tone carried any emotion it would have sounded so as matter of fact that it would have sounded as if she were taking him for a fool.

However, that is not to say she did not hear the fear in his voice. The tone. How he'd unconsciously said it both aloud and mentally. It was rare to find someone who wanted to be psychic. It wasn't something that could be chosen off the top of one's head. It was never a choice. But, once one had learned of it, cultivated it, it was something they couldn't live without. Or so she believed.

Mentally, she reeled herself back, temporarily closing the connection between them and spoke, as most humans did. "I would not waste my time traveling here if I was not sure my endeavors would be fruitful. And you are the only other person here." While as neutral as his had been, there was a touch of finality to them, as if she had closed the "book" on the mysterious case of whether or not he was as she was.

[shah]

<sup>his ability, it seemed, had been calling out to this stronger psychic. he should have expected it somewhat. there was no way he could keep running and hope to outrun it one day; it would catch up and clamp its jaws over him. and then there was nothing to do but follow obediently, like he had in his pursue for survival. first his brother had been suspected of aligning with nox, then the execution happened swiftly; there was nothing else for him to do but to side with the other side. that was what he had gotten from the event: if he was with this side called 'nox', he would be executed without further trial. that left the other, single side to align himself with.

the situation with sabrina seemed to be the same as well. things were running well beyond his control, and he had to run to follow it instead of running away from it. "so this means that there is only one truth," he said finally, fear forced away from the end of his statement. the lux president had took him under his wing to train him to be a spy, because of some unknown reason. this lady, now, sought him out because of the powers he had - similar, but not as powerful as hers. "there isn't another path, is there?"

his gaze moved to the forest grounds. physical conversation was one thing - and he preferred it - but speaking normally in her presence was almost labouring. ... so what do you want now? and ... please. your name.</sup>

[/color] if he was going to die - shah was sure it would happen one of these days - then he might as well know the names of everyone who had spoke to him or offered him something. least he didn't, wouldn't feel alone and left behind in the dust. the teenager always had his insecure side, which had become even more raw during the events of the days past.[/sup][/justify][/blockquote]

[lurker]

"No." The psychic deadpanned. It seemed as though her words were finally starting to get to him. He was finally starting to understand the situation he was in. He needed this well more that she wanted him.

If there was another way, would he leave? Or would he tell her to leave again, stubbornly backtracking from all she had done to convince him. She had not seen another path, but it was not wise to trust such things. Paths twist and turn, even a experienced seer has difficulty finding their way. Besides, he looked as though he was going to stay in this area, meditating until the rotted and merged with the earth around him.

She paused in her steps, and took in his figure. The defeat in his tone told the gym leader everything she needed to know. That she had gotten her way. Her blood red eyes practically twinkled with a dark sort of mischief, much like those of a Seviper.

However, he had dared to ask her name before introducing himself. The older psychic knew she would have to each him a thing or two about manners. It didn't matter how frightened one was or how they detested such a thing. Around her, more importantly, towards her, there was a certain amount of respect that she demanded. (Maybe she was a bit biased though, due to his disbelief and feeble attempts to dash whatever she was saying.) "My name is Natsume Kobayashi, but you will call me Sabrina, your new master."



Notes: k. So "speaking in italics" is both telepathic and spoken. Master / Teacher, it's all the same to her, man. She just wanted it to sound more intimidating.