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Post by Jett Tsar on Dec 13, 2009 22:08:28 GMT -5
Jett listened silently, feeling his cheeks flush as her story unfolded. He did not know why they did so, but he felt as if he should sit still and watch her and nod understandingly. He felt like he should show her pity.
Instead he forced himself to eat his apple. While she cut her pieces from the core, he sank his teeth into the skin and ripped out large chunks of the fruit's flesh. His closed-mouth chewing was still loud due to the apple's crispiness, but it didn't hinder his ability to hear her story fully. She spoke fluidly. Jett bet with himself that she had a beautiful musical voice.
"Oh." He hummed as she concluded her tale. It explained so much, and still so little. He felt as if he could understand a bit more about this woman, and simultaneously still knew that he really didn't even know half of it.
Jett ate in silence for a short moment, giving them both time to enjoy their food. After he swallowed what was in his mouth, he asked quietly,
"Would you mind me asking what your mutation is?" And quickly added, "I ask only because you seem human in appearance. As a matter of fact, I grew up thinking I was a human. I didn't find out I was a mutant until I was taken here. Even now I don't know what it is I'm supposed to be able to do." He laughed bitterly, looking at the apple core in his hands considerably before tossing it to the side.
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Post by Manisha on Dec 14, 2009 13:20:33 GMT -5
She'd truly enjoyed this little encounter so far. You wouldn't know it to look at her but she had. When he wasn't pestering her or showering her with flowery words Jett's company was relaxing. His question about her mutation was natural considering the place and that she hadn't actually shown anyone it. Not that her power was one that could be shown in the traditional sense of the word.
"The regulations laid on me by the army stipulate that I cannot speak of my mutation."
Manisha considered Jett thoughtfully. It couldn't hurt to have an ally of sorts in this place. He could obviously take the place of some of her more loquacious unit members. The problem was, could she trust him? He seemed innocent enough. All too frequently thought innocence just ended up being a cover for something else. And if he was innocent it wouldn't be fair to subject him to anything that she might end up involved in. This internal debate didn't show at all on her face save for a slight wrinkling of her brow.
Technically they regulations that she lived by said nothing about showing people her mutation, only speaking about it. Was she willing to take such a devious course? She glanced at Jett again. Manisha just wasn't sure. Part of her, the part that was normally buried deeply within her wanted to trust him. Her military training and persona told her to keep him at as much of a distance as was feasible. Why did he have to be so bloody confusing? |
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Post by Jett Tsar on Dec 14, 2009 20:13:41 GMT -5
"I understand."
Jett said quickly, not wanting to pressure her into doing something she didn't feel comfortable doing. He could point out that the army held no sway here, but perhaps Manisha just wasn't ready to accept that part of Freakopolis yet. Everyone had their piece of sanity that they hung onto. It would be rude and possibly disastrous to take away her's.
"Well then. If you can't disclose your mutation's secret, then can you tell me what you've been up to since you got here? I assume you arrived shortly after me?" He'd been around quite a bit upon arriving and hadn't seen her until some days after he himself had shown up.
Oh sure, he was changing the subject. But her mutation was still in his mind. He would discover it. Eventually.
"I mean besides patrolling, that is." Hmm, yes, they were both familiar with her...'job'.
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Post by Manisha on Dec 14, 2009 20:52:19 GMT -5
Manisha felt as though he was humoring her with his quick response. Perhaps that was the push she needed to flaunt the rules that she'd been taught. The lieutenant hated being humored. She'd undergone a lot of it back at base before she'd proved herself to them. It had taken several missions and her completely decimating the base hot shot in a few contests before they'd stopped. Her superiors had been very pleased.
It would be easy enough to answer both of his questions by using her ability so she relaxed herself and used her mind to find his. After that it was a simple matter of forged the link between the two minds. If it worked the her next few sentences would be heard in his head rather than by his ears.
This is my power Jett. I can form links between my mind and other people's. It lets both me and the other person communicate mentally. Emotions, sensations, even sight, smell, and taste can be passed along.
To emphasize that she hadn't physically said a word her mouth remained firmly shut. If had had heard that then there was no telling how he'd react. Not everyone was thrilled when they learned about her gift. In fact a lot of people had been pretty angry and scared because of it. Manisha dealt with it all easily but there was no telling what a scared or angry person would do. Better safe than sorry were wise words to live by. |
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Post by Jett Tsar on Dec 16, 2009 17:20:09 GMT -5
Jett was waiting for an answer when suddenly a strange feeling came over him. One minute he was looking at this woman sitting across the basket from him, thinking about how mysterious she was and how little he actually knew about her. And the next, he was. . .breathing in rhythm with her.
He abruptly became aware of her so much so that at first he got confused and considered the possibility that he was her. Looking at her face was like stroking the notes of the song that buzzed in his head. All traces of her being something or someone foreign left, and a deep peace settled over his soul. He knew her. Better than he knew himself. Not with facts, but with existence.
With the surge came an overpowering wave of euphoria. Jett's mind eased into a blissful lull across the plains of the swirls and twirls of the green hills and the yellow wind. Her presence within him strummed a cord in his soul that produced a sound with no sound that cried and sang louder than any sound there wasn't.
Jett's dark eyes hazed. His face warmed, and his body turned from that of an aching teen's into strength and support and utter relief. He was weightless, and yet he knew he could throw mountains if he wanted to. He laughed, not because any particular thing was funny, but because laughing seemed the best human response to his enigma.
And then she spoke. The heavens opened and her voice flooded over him, lulling his head back between his shoulders, causing him to sigh as if the weight of a thousand suns had been taken from his hands. Jett breathed for a moment, recovering from the current of emotions--all pleasing--, before replying. He too spoke directly into her mind, though his eyes found hers as if he were speaking.
I see.
That was the only thing he was able to concoct. Everything else in him acted as if it were no longer a part of him. He had surrendered totally, not of his own will, but it had happened none the less. Her affect on him was like a drug. Jett was high on Manisha. He longer for more. Without really knowing he knew that she could give him more. That there was something she could do to expand this sensation.
Deep inside, beneath the ocean of inexplicable feelings, Jett felt panic. Somewhere, somehow, he knew he was losing himself. And yet he didn't care.
Though he mentally said nothing more, Jett's eyes said everything he planned to do. The thoughts of his future actions did not instill themselves until he was already crawling over the basket, his body moving to overpower her's, his lips aiming to find purchase in her neck.
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Post by Manisha on Dec 16, 2009 21:34:32 GMT -5
The emotional backlash that she always experienced with her powers was not what she'd expected. Normally confusion, anger, and fear reign supreme in the minds of those she touched for the first time. Jett responded to her ability in a manner that was totally foreign to her experience. He was nearly euphoric. Manisha's own lips curled up slightly in a grin. At this level of emotion it was exceedingly difficult to remain detached from the feelings she was recieving.
Jett's reaction drove all thoughts of sharing her own experiences with him. She had her hands full, metaphorically speaking, just trying to prevent herself from being overcome. Additionally she was making an, so far futile, effort to calm Jett. It was about this time that she found the undercurrent of fear in him. He was afraid of loosing himself, somewhere down deep.
The strategically sound option would be to try and amplify that feeling as best she could. For possibly the first time in her life though Manisha knowingly forsoke the strategic option. She didn't want Jett to fear her. It would be an easy thing to do. Judging from his reaction to the burnt woman all she had to do was show him the things she'd done in the past. And yet she intentionally held back those memories as best she could. Manisha did not want that at all.
So absorbed was she with sorting out this issue that the obvious solution of cutting the link did not occur to her until she felt Jett's lips touch her neck. That shocked her right out of her trance like mental state. The link was dropped like a hot potato as Manisha placed both hands on Jett and gave him a forceful shove.
"No. I do not want that Jett."
The statement was delivered in a slightly shakey version of her normal tone. You could even call it emotional if you liked. The fact was that Manisha was still dealing with the backlash of Jett's reaction. Were it an emotion she was used to in this situation it wouldn't be so hard. This on the other hand lingered and made her feel...strange. |
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Post by Jett Tsar on Dec 17, 2009 20:40:31 GMT -5
Everything was wonderful, and then suddenly it all stopped.
The abrupt severing of the link was more jarring than having been shoved. Jett ended up on the flat of his back, gasping for air, and all he could think about was how dull the world seemed without the buzz. The human ache returned. The slithering worries and stresses of the world crawled back into his conscience, lining his happiness and joy, serving as an omnipresent Devil's advocate.
Jett groaned.
His back was starting to hurt now too. He wondered what he'd say to Manisha when he recovered. He didn't like the fact that although he was no longer brainless he still wished she hadn't shoved him away. And he didn't like that tugging feeling in the back of his mind. The prodding that felt as if he was still connected to her. He didn't like it because he wanted to plunge back into the blissful unawareness that her mind induced upon his.
Jett stared up at the sky and mouthed, I do.
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