TIME WARP: Whiteout (Adrianna)

[Lani Hunter]

April 2012

"You know I don't give you guys enough credit." Lani said as he allowed himself to fall back panting on the auditorium stage floor. Dancing was hard and he was not getting it. He never thought he would say that dancing was not only mentally challenging but physically as well, and Lani was in shape. Adrianna had been literally dancing circles around him. He closed his eyes and tried to get his breath back under control. His hair was damp with perspiration and his arms splayed to his sides as he flattened himself into the ground. When Adrianna had set about this mission to make him a dancer he hadn't expected to be put through the paces so thoroughly. Between dance lessons and rooftop running Lani was about ready to sleep for a week. Not to mention he still had no idea what motive that Red had. What an ass, Lani almost wished that if he were going to be blackmailed Red would have come out and said something already.

Lani pushed it out of his mild and cracked an eye open to catch sight of Adrianna. Why was it she looked so beautiful all the time? Lani suppressed a sigh and gave her a smile instead. He was so happy he could call her his girlfriend. She was so bubbly it was like the rest of the dark world didn't exist. Things were good now, no things were great! With the end of the school year fast approaching and Lani no closer to graduating than he was to flying, oh well, how bad could another year at Hammel be? He had Adrianna and he was working on getting away from his boss. Life was good. Or life was going to be good as soon as he cut ties with that kind of life. Maybe after he quit he'd give up stealing for good. Who knew? Either way there was no reason Adrianna had to know at all. Life was good. Lani breathed slowly recovering from the hard set they had just run.

Lani lifted his head a little bit. He hadn't intentionally ended up on the ground. He had tripped over his own two feet. Such a good thief he was. "I didn't step on you too much, did I?" Lani asked a worried expression taking over his face. Normally Lani was very nimble, but for whatever reason putting it to music or choreography and he was about as coordinated as a fish out of water. He was impressed Adrianna hadn't given up on him yet. He propped himself up on his elbows unwilling to get on his feet because that might mean he'd have to do it again.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Finishing the last step in the routine, gracefully...and standing, Adrian looked down at her boyfriend and laughed. Who'd have thought someone as great at running as he was, he would not be able to dance worth crap? It was funny to watch though, and adorable! Since the first lesson, she had to admit he was a little better. At least he could keep a decent beat now, gosh he'd been a lot worse that first time. It was nice seeing the difference now, and she liked that he was at least trying. A lot of people underestimated what dancers were capable of and they thought it was easy twirling around and doing a basic routine. Ha, if everyone took a dance lesson from one of the girls on the team and went through a day in their shoes, they'd realize it wasn't just a walk in the park. It was a long shot that anyone would try it though. Maybe she'd talk to the other girls and have them bring their boyfriends to practice one day. Most of them were dating jocks as it was, if the jocks had a hard time, more than likely everyone else would see just how physically challenging it was.

Pulling her hair over her shoulder, she plopped down beside him. It was nice having someone that wasn't just there to wear her on his arm. She didn't feel objectified anymore, not like she had with a few past boyfriends. And it was even better now that she was over her former best friend. He was gone and she was slowly forgetting him. She still had Venn and Guy as her besties and she didn't need anyone else. Adrian couldn't get over how great things were going. Her mother was doing well, getting better and she had a boyfriend that was still around even after all the crazy stuff she spouted off to him. She took a deep breath to calm her heart rate and looked over at him as he propped himself up.

"Oh no, you were fine. I've had worse dance partners, trust me," She gave him a smile and laid back to look up at the lights. Adrianna's chest slowed as she finally caught her breath and rolled her head to the side to look at him. He was gorgeous to look at. Every angle of his face, the high cheekbones and his beautiful grey eyes; she couldn't capture it on paper like she kept trying to, but it would have to do. Adri reached out to trace the angle of his cheek and along his jaw softly. She bit down on her lip and blushed.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani blushed furiously as she laughed, laughed at him. He joined in a few bleats of laughter. His smile was easy to keep around her and it was easy not to get frustrated when he was laughing. Lani didn’t think he was getting any better. He was god awful at this. They both knew how long it had taken to get him to keep a decent beat. And even now it was hit or miss if there was any sort of tempo change in the music. Adrianna floated like a butterfly and next to her he looked like a bumbling clod. Part of Lani almost hoped that he’d have a chance to show her his skills on a rooftop so she didn’t think he had no ability to be graceful. But he wasn’t sure if that would be graceful or years of muscle memory. If Adrianna was going to try to get other people to come and witness his lack of abilities at one of her practices she’d have to do a lot of bribing.

Her eyes shone with residual laughter and he felt warm and welcomed by her brown eyes and he admired the light that caught in her hair and eyes. They hadn’t been together all that long and he was already head over heels for her. He was just glad that things like commitment and the ‘l’ word hadn’t come up in conversation yet. He knew Adrianna and he knew she liked him the way he was. He wanted so badly for her to like him so he kept his mask up. It was slowly getting more real every day. “Worse than me? Egad!” Lani cried in shock laughing at his own joke. But in all seriousness if there were people in the world that were worse at dancing than Lani he’d love to meet them. Maybe they could form a support group.

A smile crossed his face and he tilted his head a little and kissed her fingers. He loved the way she blushed. “You don’t have to lie to me,” Lani said giving another chuckle. “How did you get so good at this? Did you mom teach you?” He asked curiosity taking over and he cocked is head at her. He had yet to meet her mother but he had heard wonderful things about her. It was devastating how close she was to the end. Lani didn’t know what he would have done if Caroline hadn’t been able to get surgery to remove her tumor. She wouldn’t be here and Lani sincerely hoped that they found some miracle cure for Adrianna’s mother. He wished many years unto her, still. Adrianna was so bubbly and happy, it would break Lani's heart to see her hurting like that. It broke his heart every time she cried. But it was nice to have someone who could relate to the terror of a family member having cancer.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrianna wasn’t so much laughing at him, as she was laughing at the way he flopped on the ground as if he couldn’t move anymore. It was comical seeing him flat on his back in exhaustion. Even the most physically fit people got winded from dancing unless they had killer endurance. Adri would be interested in mimicking that power, especially during one of the competitions. It would definitely come in handy. She wasn’t thinking that Lani looked like a bumbling fool by any means, in fact quite the opposite. He had trouble with the footwork, but it was clear that he could do a lot of the moves as long as he got out of his own head. The only reason he was having such a hard time was because he couldn’t connect with the music. If anything she’d try to get him to improv, but she doubted that it would happen. She wouldn’t mind teaching him more flowing and sensual dances either, but his hips were a little stiff and needed work before they got into that stuff.

She was being careful this time around with the relationship. Rushing would only cause it to end like all the others. That was the last thing she needed. It was best to keep things light and not so intense. The only intensity needed was for making out, which they didn’t really do a whole lot of. Boy did she wish they would start though. He had such a perfectly shaped mouth, it was so tempting. Giving him a nudge, she playfully glared at him. “You are not that bad, at least you don’t just rage quit like a lot of other people would have by now. I mean honestly, you’re making progress.” Okay it may have been slow progress, but she wasn’t going to say that. Adrian was proud of the progress he had made because it showed that he at least cared enough to do something. He wasn’t just half-assing it.

Adrian’s heart hammered against her chest when he kissed her fingers and she turned a darker, less flattering shade of red. She scooted closer to him, keeping her hand against his cheek and using her thumb to brush against his skin. The physical contact was reassuring and comforting because he was real and she wasn’t just making him up. Sometimes she wondered if all the others had been made up by a very active imagination that she had. “Practice, classes and yes, my mother was an amazing dancer before she got pregnant. She’s pretty much lived out her dancing dream through me, luckily I’m not bitter about it,” She said with a giggle. Adrianna liked talking about her mother in a positive light, the way she wished she could all the time and would if it wasn’t for the cancer. Amelia was strong, and just as she kept saying, she’d pull through this and come out on top. Adrian was starting to believe it, especially with the way her mother had been sounding lately, so healthy and strong.

[Lani Hunter]

She wasn’t kidding. Lani was spent. He felt like he had when he had first started training. It was hard and it was grueling, but at least Adrianna was infinitely more patient and gracious than any of the people who taught him to steal. Lani wondered if in a different world he would be able to dance. He smiled to himself, in a parallel universe perhaps. Lani was happy here on the floor where he wasn’t expected to move in any sort of rhythm. Lani grinned at her laugher, it sounded like bells on a clear winter morning. Looking like a loon with a grin on his face Lani watched her as she moved and marveled at her grace. Maybe that was the difference between dancers and thieves. Dancers were controlled and focused on the music. Thieves also had to have absolute control but they thrived on thinking and silence. That might explain why he was having problems getting out of his head.

Adrianna was his first girlfriend and having heard what happened to her Lani was determined to change things. So long as they kept going nice and slow. Lani got chills when she was near and his heart hammered, but he wasn’t quite sure what to attribute those feelings as. The point was he was happy and he wanted to stay happy and have her stay happy. Lani’s eyes brightened at her compliment and he found himself smiling. “Really? You think so?” Lani chuckled a little bit preening over the thought of making progress. “I suppose I’m just too stubborn.” That wasn’t to say he didn’t get angry when he couldn’t get it. Or rather frustrated. But that fueled him to push harder. Strive for perfection, that was a fickle thing as perfection was far beyond anything anyone on this Earth could achieve.

Lani smiled and felt his own face heat when she inched closer. Her hands were so gentle, so soft. He looked up at her with interest as she started explaining. Laughing Lani couldn’t find a way to relate. His father had tried to pressure him into sports but it had just never taken. Something about Lani and authority figures never went so well. He always ended up being a smart ass and running so many laps that it hardly became a punishment. Then he tried track and it just took all the joy out of running. “Well that’s good, you’re a very good dancer.” He said and pushed himself up a little to give her a kiss. He rested back on his hands and rested his head on her shoulder. He leaned against her letting more and more of his weight rest against her. He hoped she didn’t mind him being all sweaty.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrian smiled at him and nodded, “Of course I think so. I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t.” Which was true, she didn’t believe in lying to people about small things such as progress. Granted, she didn’t want to upset him by saying he should just quit while he was on top, but she’d never lie to anyone. It was all part of this innocence that she had, as far as she was concerned no one lied to her. It was a naïve way of thinking, but she wanted to believe that the world was a good place and that things happened for a reason. Her mother’s cancer was a test of the relationship Amelia had with Adrian’s step father (which clearly hadn’t been a very strong one). Her father’s abandonment was so that she could have such a close relationship with her mother. All of the men in her life leaving her was to strengthen her and show her what she was doing wrong.

“You’re very stubborn,” She laughed. It didn’t take much for her to see just how stubborn he was. Who knew, maybe more stubborn than she was? Though she didn’t think so because she had the same stubbornness as her mother; Amelia was one of the most stubborn people anyone would meet. It was entertaining thinking back to before she manifested, when she was living with her mother and would go to the diner while she was working. Amelia and Mags (the old woman that had more or less been like a grandmother to Adrian) would argue and both of them were very tenacious in their arguments. Mags always won because she was old and had a lot of experience in arguing, especially with the line of business she was in.

Adri grinned, “Why thank you. And you’re a very good…uhm runner.” Snorting softly, she giggled and kissed him back, before settling back on her elbows. As he rested his head on her shoulder, she stroked his hair softly and with every movement, she felt the weight of him rolling over on her. Adrianna laughed and scrunched her nose, “Laniii, you’re all sweaty.” She didn’t mind though, she was sweating too. Maybe not as much, but still. She giggled and continued running her fingers through his hair, “Are you comfortable?”

[Lani Hunter]

Lani was grinning, absolutely glowing from the praise. He was motivated again, even though that last move had knocked him on his rump. It was probably best to declare that enough for one day. It would be nice to end on a high note for once instead of pressing his luck and ending it on a sour one. Lani was just so determined to get it. It was all of the spinning and feet moving. There were altogether too many moving parts. And not to mention he was trying to follow a routine she had taught him. So long as Lani kept an eye on Adrianna he could fake knowing what he was doing. Wiping his brow Lani smiled at her. “Well, that seems like a good way to end the day, then.” Lesson over. Lani was done. He was tired and he wanted nothing more than to stay here and not move.

A laugh burst out Lani’s throat at her blatant comment. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” Lani snickered giving her an impish grin. If they were going to try to out stubborn each other Lani was absolutely sure he would win. Partially because he was stubborn and partially because he couldn’t back down from a challenge. He ground his teeth a little in frustration. He still couldn’t believe that guy had chased him down. What’s worse, he knew Lani was a thief and Lani knew this Martin kid was a thief as well. But he didn’t know what he wanted. That was enough to unsettle him. That didn’t mean he was going to let it control him. If Martin wanted a fight then he would more than willingly wipe that smirk off of the other thief’s face.

Lani blinked at her for a moment then she snorted and Lani lost it. He could barely kiss her from laughing so hard. Lani’s smile grew as he leaned more and more heavily on her. “Uh-huh,” Lani replied ignoring her sweaty accusation. He was just a little damp, right? Besides she was sweaty too. Together they hopefully wouldn’t be able to smell each other. Though all Lani could smell was her perfume and it was intoxicating. Lani closed his eyes loving the feeling of her fingers against his scalp. “Never stop doing that,” Lani told her with a sigh of contentment. Now he knew why men would do anything for a woman, one head scratch and he would agree to pretty much anything.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Lani could be as motivated as he wanted to be, Adrianna didn’t plan on moving. The longer she sat there, the more she started feeling the after effects and exhaustion. Get her dancing consistently for a few hours and she had no problem, give her a ten minute break between each set, she was a goner. It only hit after she took a breather. “I agree completely, I vote for just staying here sprawled out on the stage,” She said with a tired laugh. Adrian would have no problem falling asleep right here, especially if she was curled up beside him. He was comfortable-looking. And if not, the stage wasn’t all bad. She threw her arms over her face and took deep breaths for a bit before propping up on her elbows again.

Adri laughed, “Of course you will. Not that it’s a bad thing.” In fact, it was better than someone just not putting up a fight. That was something she’d never be able to handle. Adrian didn’t like fighting, but she liked arguing because it made her feel like she had a reason to fight for something. She didn’t think he’d be able to beat her in an out-stubbornning contest. As quiet and sweet as she was, she had some bite and her persistence fed into it. Sure, Lani seemed like he could hold his own, in fact she knew he could, but it would be a close fight between them. She just hoped it didn’t come too soon because she was content with their blissful relationship. It was rare that she could have something like this, and she was in no rush to ruin that.

She glared at him playfully when he laughed at her and nudged at him before she kissed him. He leaned onto her more and she laughed harder, “Lani!” She curled up around him, positioning herself (surprisingly considering his body weight was pressing down on her) so that his head was positioned in her lap and she was sitting up. Her fingers brushed along his temples and down his neck. If she wasn’t a dancer or a party planner, she’d go into massaging people, she’d been told she was fairly good at it. Adrian leaned down and kissed his cheek, “What if I do?” Her fingers slipped away from his hair and down on the floor, her expression teasing.

[Lani Hunter]

Motivation was a fickle thing. When it came to useless things, generally Lani was very motivated, when it came to simple things, important ones that had more sway in his life tended to not get very much motivation. Lani smiled and set to make himself more comfortable, here sprawled on the stage. “I like that plan, it sounds like a good plan.” Lani chuckled softly to himself. He was dangerously close to just flattening himself into the stage until he melted in with the wood. He was terribly tired, more than just from dancing. He hadn’t been getting much sleep lately. What with worries over that Martin kid and struggling to make his quota he was being worn thin. He felt as if he could fall asleep anywhere, so long as it wasn’t his own bed.

Joining her in laughter was easy, it was so infectious and he loved it. “And don’t forget it.” Lani chuckled. With Adrianna all of his problems seemed to fade away. He should be worrying about his boss and he should be worrying about the lack of sleep he was getting but he was comfortable here and now and everything seemed smaller when Adrianna was around. He looked up into her warm brown eyes and gave her a quick kiss. He loved those eyes. He could stare into them for hours. They were like warm hugs waiting to take him in. Not like that redhead’s eyes. Those were as inviting as ice. Why was he even thinking about that kid’s eyes? He shook his head a little and set to make himself comfortable.

It was like Lani collapsed all of his own ability to hold himself up when he leaned more heavily on her. He didn’t even assist a little when she adjusted. If she were to decide to leave him he would have smacked rather pathetically into the stage floor. If Adrianna wasn’t careful Lani might fall asleep here, and he was a heavy sleeper. He smiled with residual laughter and his skin tingled where she touched it. She did have a way with her hands and it was so relaxing. Go figure, he hadn’t even won their race and he was getting a massage. Lani let his eyes slide closed as her fingers soothed his muscles. Lani smiled a little and cracked an eye open to give her a half glare. She was so cute. Lani grinned impishly and pushed himself up on his hands until he was level with her. “I shall be forced to tickle you,” Lani said with all the gravity of a war passing from his lips.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

If Lani did fall asleep in her lap, she wouldn’t mind it so much. Not that it would be a good thing having him weighing her down, but hey didn’t he have a power for situations like that? She could just lift him a bit or push him off or something. As long as he didn’t go flying everything would be just fine. She wouldn’t want to leave him there though, so more than likely she’d need something to wake him up. There were plenty of powers to pull from. She could go dreamwalking or freeze him out or something? So many possibilities and a devious mind like hers. Well she’d just cross that bridge when she came to it. No use in picking on him while he was still awake. At least picking on him with different abilities. He was in for a treat with her, but he had chosen of his own free will.

When his eye peaked open, she giggled and looked him in the eye when he sat up to be at her level. Adrian smirked and leaned in close to him, giving him a quick peck and scooting back quickly before he could get a hold of her. The last thing she needed was to be tickled. Then again, being tickled by a beautiful boy such as Lani wasn’t all bad. It did have its perks. She didn’t think he’d chase her though and as long as he didn’t, she wouldn’t run. If all went well, they could end up curled up together on the floor comfortably instead of running around the stage, though it did sound a little fun.

To cuddle or to chase? That was a difficult choice because good things could come from both.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani would be worried if he were dreaming and Adrianna showed up. The one place that people didn’t have to hide was in their dreams. And Lani’s dreams had slowly been getting darker and more nonsensical. Lani was sorely tempted to start in on some dozing but that would be rude and Adrianna was here to converse with. He found himself smiling. Could he stay here forever and just pretended he had no problems at all. It was perhaps the hardest part about leaving Adrianna. As soon as she was away and his mind had to focus on something else and usually that something else weighed heavily on his shoulders. Perhaps once, just once he could have someone else hold the world. Though, Lani knew that these were his mistakes and he had to fix them. He didn’t want any help and needing help would be a sign of weakness.

Stunned for a moment by the kiss Lani’s smile soon turned sly as he watched her wriggle away and out of reach. She had just disclosed some very important information. She was indeed ticklish, which meant Lani had an advantage but it also meant he needed to be careful if she decided to reciprocate. Lani rolled over on his stomach and watched her scoot away. He was on his feet it a moment and he wondered if she would panic and start running. If she did then he was going to show her how good a runner he was. He gave her an impish grin and sighed as if unhappy with the end result. “Alright then you have given me no choice.” He gave her a dashing smile and flinched in her direction.

He couldn’t hold back laughter that bubbled up his throat. Things were great and life was looking up. Every day seemed to have new challenges but also new blessings. If his life was going to continue in this upper trend there were things he had to do to close out the darker side of his life and he was never going to let Adrianna see that side of him. So he lied, lying was easier than any of the other rough results that might come from honesty. He sighed, he wished he could be honest but honesty brought danger. He couldn’t bring that, not when he was so close to it all being over. Part of his optimism he knew was unwarranted. Chances of his boss letting go without a fight were slim and Lani was having to keep an eye out more and more for people coming after Adrianna.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrian had to admit she never really wanted to walk through other people’s dreams. She was a pretty upbeat and bright person but even her dreams got to be dark and scary sometimes. Why would anyone want to go through that and see how dark other people’s minds were? She was content with just sitting here, wrapped up with her boyfriend and enjoying the time she spent with him. It was probably one of the best parts of her day, and if she didn’t get to see him, talking to him via text or phone call was the highlight. He just managed to brighten her day even when she was already in a great mood.

She braced herself as she scooted away from him, ready to bolt if she was worried he was coming after her. If tickled, she would find a way to retaliate, and it would start with seeing if he was ticklish. Her eyes widened with her smile as he stood and she chewed on her lip, waiting. Adri’s eyes narrowed and she kept light on her feet, the beauty of being a dancer was also that she could sprint away before most people reacted. Giving him a laugh, she narrowed her eyes and scrunched up her nose, “You wouldn’t dare.” This was going to be an interesting thing, running around in circles on a small stage. It was one thing to dance because you didn’t travel so far, but running wouldn’t be easy.

He jolted in her direction and she squeaked, but only took a step before freezing again. She really just hoped she didn’t trip and injure herself like she had a knack for doing.

[Lani Hunter]

Dreams were strange a complex places. They could be bright and they could be dark, or they could be somewhere in the middle overlapping between dimensions and philosophies. It was just as likely to get into a dream of someone killing another person, as it was to get someone dancing in a field, just as easily as it was to get someone with wings to fly and transfigured into a duck. Lani shrugged to himself unsure why he was thinking about dreaming. He’d been so tired lately that dreams hadn’t bothered him when he did sleep. Maybe he was just tired. That had to be it. Lani’s power moved lazily around the room under the careful control of Lani it didn’t move anything but had an annoying habit of touching. Lani’s power was still like a two year old. Always wanting to touch and do things it wasn’t supposed to.

Lani smirked at her and found himself grinning in a way that truly made him look devious. Lani opened his hands to her in an innocent gesture that failed to translate to his face and eyes that danced with a devilish light. “Oh, wouldn’t I?” He asked her a laugh slipping out of his lips. Just the fact that she flinched had Lani holding onto his sides with laughter. She was so cute! How could he have not fallen for her? And that little noise! It made him just want to cuddle up with her and smother her in his arms. Technically Lani could use his powers, but that would be cheating. And he also couldn’t trust it not to send her flying one way or another. No it was definitely best that he kept his power to himself. Besides she could use his power and he wasn’t really sure how that would work out. They could end up being evenly matched.

Lani faked left pausing just long enough that she might think he was going to stop again. Then he went right and flew after her his eyes full of glee and his lips curled like an imp’s. Lani had done fancy footwork and ducking and dodging to get away from cops, perhaps he could use that same skill in an opposite manner and try to catch her. Lani reached out to grab her intent of tickling her to death for her crimes against massaging his head.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrian kept her eyes locked on him and when he gave her a smirk, she laughed because he looked adorably mischievous. He tried to play innocent and she shook her head. It was hard to believe innocence when he was smiling so wickedly. Her eyes narrowed and she giggled at the scene playing out. It was like they were playing out a bad movie. “You better not, Mr. Hunter. I will retaliate,” She said in warning with another laugh. She flinched in an attempt to take off and he burst into laughter which in turn made her laugh even harder. It wasn’t fair, he kept distracting her and it was going to get her caught and tickled. She thought for a moment, going through her ability arsenal that she had been working on building up and she tried to see if she could sense anything in the general vicinity that would give her a helping hand. Telepathy lingered about and she smirked.

Perhaps it was cheating, or maybe she was just playing with her sources? Either way she wasn’t getting caught or tickled.

He faked left and she could see it as soon as he thought it. Adrianna acted as if she’d go the way he intended, but then she faked him out and ran away faster than he could grab her. He reached out and she danced around him, slapping at his hand. “Oh no you don’t,” she probably looked like a little kid with the way she was prancing around, not exactly running, but rather dodging any attempt he made at grabbing her.

[Lani Hunter]

Raising his hands in mock defense Lani couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. He placed a hand over his heart as if he were forcing it slow from a great terror. “Oh my, Ms. Carstyn you are quite terrifying.” She didn’t have to know he was ticklish, he just had to make out like there was no fear in that. Which was all bluff, but sometimes all Lani had was bluff and he did rather well with it. Lani’s mind wasn’t on movies it was about snagging his girlfriend, oh he’d most definitely tickle her for a few moments but he really just wanted to cuddle like they had been before. That had been so comfortable and he liked being near her. But now the game had begun and it was a challenge that Lani couldn’t back down from. His ego was sometimes the largest individual in the room.

Lani blinked in surprise as she faked him back in return. He turned to her his mouth hanging loosely open in shock. He had been so sure of that one. He tried again, and again. Each time it was the same. How was she doing that? Lani stared at her his mind working on how this was happening. Was he that transparent? He was for a moment forgetting about Adrianna’s power, he assumed that she had to touch someone in order to get their power. He stopped going after her and now pondering her tricks. He narrowed his eyes at her as she started to prance away. It was like she knew what he was thinking. Lani smiled, maybe she had touched a telepath recently. How was he going to foil that? If that was even what was happening. But that would be cheating. She wouldn’t cheat would she?

Internally Lani wanted to deny it but a stronger part of Lani’s mind called out deceit. On the outside he was smiling again, enjoying their game. Faces flashed in his mind as if tracing off all the people who had cheated him. Faces known only to thieves and in darkness. He ignored it and shoved it back into his mind and started working on a way to snatch her into his arms. Lani the realized if she was reading his mind she would wonder at his thoughts. That brought a significant amount of panic into him. So he thought of her and he focused on her and then his thoughts digressed to the imagination and he knew exactly how he would distract her now. He thought of her, the first time they met and his thoughts from there about how attractive she was an how much he wanted to catch her. Then again thinking of how good she looked at the club. With these things on his mind he moved hoping to catch her listening to his thoughts and startle her in the present.