Can you feel it? (Travis)

[Adaryn Breslin]

Adaryn had loved the peace and serenity the Hammel Institute pond provided her. The gentle splashing of the Koi fish within the water lulled her into a sense of serenity, and it gave for an interesting drawing. The brunette kicked off her shoes, looking to see if anyone was around before doing so, and settled into the water's edge, careful not to get anything but her feet wet in the process.

The Koi paid her no mind, really. A few stray fish came and examined her wiggling toes, but as they nibbled, she'd thrash in response, as she was incredibly ticklish on her feet, and they'd scatter. Addie smiled softly, reaching behind her to grab her sketchbook and pencil, she placed the pad on her lap and began to draw.

The cool water on her feet kept her from becoming too overheated in her red, long sleeved cardigan. Most people would wonder about why she wore such a thing as a cardigan in the mid-summer months, but she let them wonder. Addie wore these sleeves for a reason, not just for show. Result of being an Empath, she supposed.

She closed her blue-green orbs for a moment as she tried to will away the thoughts from her mind. It would do her no good to fall into a depression right now. The weather was beautiful, her drawing was coming out nicely, and there was no frustration to ruin it. Addie needed to stay positive. A sigh escaped her lips as she put the pencil back to page, sketching the rock formations within the body of water.

[Travis Morgan]

Travis left the dorm, his feet carrying him swiftly toward his favorite spot. He was talking to his boyfriend again. He was beginning to feel that he was spending way too much time on the phone, but long distance was hard and he missed his Michael. Well, when he wasn't being a pain.

"Michael, stop it."

"What? It's a complement!"

"Does your mind ever leave the gutter?"

"Mmm, no. I don't think it does."

Travis gasped audibly when he came upon the koi pond, and immediately ducked behind a bush.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just.. there's a person." Travis whispered.

"Oh my god, Tray. Go talk to them."

"No, I don't wanna."

"Do you want friends, or don't you? Go talk to them!"

"I have a friend," Travis hissed defensively.

"And I totally believe you about that. Don't call me back until you talk to them. Love you!"

"Michael, don't--" he looked at his phone and frowned. "Bastard," he muttered under his breath.

Travis peeked around the bush and took a deep breath. He could totally talk to her. Hi, how are you doing? I'm Travis. Easy. It'll be easy. No need to panic. She's just a person. Very little chance that the world will end.. Okay. Go!

Travis didn't move. He was bad at motivating himself. Okay, seriously. Stop being so pathetic. Just go over there! Travis took a step forward. Then another. And another. Until he was sitting down near the girl at the pond.

"Hey," he said casually, managing not to look like he was freaking out. Hey. That's a great conversation starter, nice going. Say something else, dammit! "I'm Travis," he added with a smile. On the surface he looked calm, but the anxiety was enough to make him feel ill. He couldn't think of anything else to say, and he was absolutely dreading the awkward silence that was surely going to follow this brief exchange.

[Adaryn Breslin]

The panic hit her before the person did.

Addie could feel it run down her back, and wrap around her. Whoever was coming near, well he/she was not in the best of spirits, or had something on their mind. Something that was /not/ positive. Nervousness was usually associated with a fear of something, Adaryn had noticed. Like when she went to speak to others. Feeling like you would be rejected by someone was not something this girl enjoyed subjecting herself to, so when she heard a male voice acknowledge her, she looked up, her mouth hanging open slightly in shock. Was he nervous because of her?

This caused nervousness of her own to start circling her body in green bands. She came her to get away from this, but it seemed the world was conspiring against her. Addie bit her lip as she placed her pencil and sketchpad on the ground, the picture facing up, so should the boy look down, he'd see it. She didn't do that intentionally, but she was too nervous to care.

"Hello," She spoke quietly, "I'm Adaryn?" Was that the right thing to say? Or would he just go away because it was obvious that she was uncomfortable. Addie didn't take Drama for a reason. She was always told she was an open book, her face always showing everything she felt. Wide, expressive eyes usually helped with that. It didn't really take an Empath to figure out what she was feeling. After a long silence, she sighed.

"If you want to sit down, you can. I'll move." Adaryn stood up and began to collect her things.

[Travis Morgan]

Travis drew in a breath when the panic suddenly escalated. He pressed his hand to the top of his head. Heart pounding so hard it hurt.

"No, no!" He said quickly, backing away and motioning frantically with his other hand for her to sit back down "I'm sorry-- I didn't mean to intrude or startle you or anything, I just--" Travis stopped talking and pressed his lips together. His words were coming out too fast, and his head was starting to spin. Travis tried to breathe a little slower. Calm down.

He moved his hand from the top of his head to cover his heart. He could still feel it racing. "I'll go, if you want. You were here first." He said, forcing himself to talk slower. "I was just.. Trying and failing to behave like a normal person. Sorry. Don't worry about it."

[Adaryn Breslin]

His quick speech, and the mixture of frustration and panic caused Adaryn to stop in her tracks. He was just trying to be nice? Well, now didn't she feel like a bitch. But then again, she wasn't typically used to people wanting to speak to her. Everyone knew her as the shy girl, but apparently Travis didn't. Maybe that was a good thing. Well, it was, until she decided to screw that up.

Looking at him, she could see the distress in his features, and it was even stronger in the emotions he was displaying. He didn't realize that she could see the green and red mixing around him, and she frowned knowing that she was the reason why he felt that way. "No no, I'm just--" Adaryn started, taking a breath before continuing. "--Not used to being approached."

Dealing with the panic was not going well, as she started feeling her own heartbeat quicken. She could possibly use her power now to calm him down, but that would be rude. She had been yelled at a few times for doing that without permission. It wasn't a pretty sight to witness, and it left the girl in tears. All she was trying to do was help the boy, but he seemed to take it in an opposite way.

"No please, stay." Addie said slowly, kneeling down to place her sketchpad on the floor. To keep her hands busy, she kept the pencil in her hand to twiddle with. "But I have to ask if I can do something before... well... before you stay. Um, you're--" Should she really say this? Would he get upset? Please don't get upset... "--you're really nervous, and it is kind of making me, well, ill. Can I, um, help you with that? I can make it go away..."

God she sounded like an idiot, stumbling over her words like that. But she had to ask, as her heartbeat was steadily increasing because of the intense negative emotions and the close proximity of them.

[Travis Morgan]

He was making her ill? He was making himself ill. All the tension flying around made his insides clench. If she could make it better then...

"Yeah, go for it," he answered almost without thinking. Anything that could make these feelings less intense.

It occurred to him, then, exactly what she'd said. His nervousness was making her sick. Could she feel how afraid he was? Was she an empath? He hadn't met another one yet. Well.. He'd only talked to three people since coming here, so that wasn't terribly surprising.

Should I ask? Is it rude to ask? I really wanna ask. Another empath would be.. god it'd just be nice to have someone to talk to who understands what it's like.

[Adaryn Breslin]

Adaryn nodded slowly, a sense of relief filling her from head to toe. He didn't yell, nor did he stomp away throwing profanities her way. Instead, he sounded almost eager to get rid of the nervousness and the frustration. Because of this, the corner of her lips twitched upward slightly into a small smile. "Alright then," Adaryn said, her voice sounding slightly lighter than it had been only a few moments before.

The girl closed her eyes slowly, her mind reaching out to Travis' emotions, and she grabbed the nervousness and slight frustration (she had just recently learned to manipulate two at a time), and willed it away. And she could see the green and red fading until it was merely a glow. It was not entirely gone, but the intensity had lessened. When she had opened her eyes, she noticed the swirls of color were gone, signaling the success of what she was attempting to do.

Her own nervousness was back, but her heart rate had slowed back down. The nervousness was simply stemming from the knowledge that she would have to explain herself afterwards. It could get a bit complicated, really. "Well, um, I guess I've showed you why I am here." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm sort of an Empath... but I suppose you could call me even more special than others." If there are even others... I still have yet to see one "I not only can see the emotions of others, but I can also manipulate them."

[Travis Morgan]

Travis felt his anxiety fade. He could still feel hers, but at least now it wasn't both at once. He let out a quiet sigh as his heart stopped racing and his stomach unclenched. His thoughts stopped spinning so fast, and he could really think.

A smile spread across his face when she explained herself. "I'm an empath too," he said, "I.. I can't do what you just did. I just feel what other people are feeling." He chewed on his lip. "Sorry for ambushing you with my.. crazy." Travis shoved his hands into his pockets to keep himself from fidgeting. "I wasn't.. really.. expecting anyone to be out here, and I'm.. sort of afraid of people, so.."

He twisted his foot on the ground, concentrating on not letting his nerves ramp back up again. He didn't want to screw this up.

[Adaryn Breslin]

This time, she allowed herself to fully smile, her nervousness replaced with glee. So she wasn't alone, after all! Years of being here and never truly meeting an Empath had taken it's toll. Since this was a mental power, typically the training was individualized, depending on how advanced the power was. For example, they had said that Adaryn had the most advanced form of Empathy they had ever seen. In the beginning, they actually had a bit of trouble trying to get them to use her power correctly, having very little to go on as to how her manipulation worked. But they managed, thank goodness.

Adaryn wrapped her arms around her midsection, and shook her head as he began to fumble over his words. She may have not been a people person, but she could already tell the boy wasn't going to hurt her, and that was really all she needed to know.

"Two things," She started, her words still soft. "First off, I can relate. Well, uh, people aren't very kind, and well, that's why I thought you wanted me to leave." Was it sad that she started stereotyping people, when she hated being stereotyped herself? It was hypocritical, but she chose not to dwell on it now, as she felt his nervousness bubbling up again. Resisting the urge to reach out and grab his arm in a comforting gesture, Addie continued, "And second, you need to relax. I can already feel the nervousness coming back. I promise I'm not going to insult you and make you uncomfortable, Travis. Uh, I hope you can do the same for me."

It wasn't the most stress free conversation that she ever had, but it was a start. She took this moment to sit back down at the edge of the Koi pond, and she moved her gaze so it rested on him. "I kinda came here to draw," Adaryn pointed toward the Koi pond and then her sketchbook, "So, uh, if you want to join me, maybe we can talk?"

[Travis Morgan]

Travis bowed his head and stifled a nervous laugh when she mentioned that he was getting nervous again. He pressed his lips together, then covered his mouth. It was a strange mix of glee and anxiety. He was so glad to have met another empath, and so anxious about getting this right (whatever the hell that meant). But he nodded his head and took a deep breath when she promised not to make fun of him, and asked for the same in return.

"Of course," he said. Travis didn't have a mean bone in his body. If he hurt somebody, it was always an accident, and he always felt soul-crushingly horrible about it later.

Then Adaryn sat down at the pond again, and told him that she came here to draw, and invited him to stay and talk. Travis' face lit up. "Yeah," he said, sitting down next to her, "I like drawing too." He smiled, his anxiety fading as he got used to her presence.

The fact that she liked to draw helped a lot, honestly. He liked to think of himself as sort of an artist, but he generally kept it to himself. Comments like 'That's so good! I wish I could draw,' made him deeply uncomfortable. He felt like he had to apologize for being good at something.. and feeling like that eventually made him a little resentful, even though he was pretty sure he should just take the damn complement and move on. He was bad at taking complements.

"Can I see what you're drawing? If you don't mind, I mean."

[Adaryn Breslin]

Adaryn adjusted, elevating her knees to use as a place to place the pad, and to hold it against. It also gave her a better view of the pond, while she drew, so she didn't have to continuously look down and back up. Addie found that become a bit stressful on her neck, and her posture.

Angled herself so she could see both the pond and Travis at the same time. Maybe this could work within the drawing, as well. But she would have to see. Drawing him may make him uncomfortable, and that was the last thing she needed. "Yeah, it's a nice release to this power. Nobody really gets that it speaking about it to people who don't understand does nothing. That's why I like to draw what I see." She started rambling as she penciled in the waves that she saw when Travis had first approached her. She looked over at him when he requested to see what she was drawing, and she handed the book to him.

Addie didn't feel she was perfect, but she was proud of what she was able to do. It was no Michelangelo, but she managed. Adaryn was detailed, and tried to make sure everything was perfect. For some reason, as the boy looked over her work, she craved his approval. Did he like it? Or should she just throw it out? "So, um, do you like it?"

[Travis Morgan]

Travis felt warm when Adaryn handed him her sketchbook. He knew what it meant to share this. He was protective of his own sketchbook. It was where he kept a part of his soul, and he was afraid of letting people touch it. Non-artists didn't understand that putting their greasy fingers on his drawings was rude, or that they shouldn't dent the edges of the page. Travis felt that being handed another person's sketchbook was a deep expression of trust, and he was flattered.

He smiled as he looked over the page. She did life studies. Travis' sketchbook was filled with more abstract things. Things that just spilled out of his head, and if he didn't draw them he'd be overrun. He wished he could draw from life, but it was much harder than it seemed. His drawings never looked like the thing in front of him, and that was frustrating. Sometimes he could draw people from life, but that was hit or miss. Still life, though, Travis would need some actual training before he got the hang of that.

"I do," he said, turning his head to smile at Adaryn. "This is really good, I like it." He handed her sketchbook back to her gently. "I try to do life drawings sometimes, but I usually get frustrated and quit."

[Adaryn Breslin]

His smile made her body warm inside, her cheeks burning a bit brighter than they had once been. So he liked her drawings? Adaryn figured that he would, but because of that little voice in her head that told her that she would never amount to anything, she couldn't be sure. Plus it had just been started, really nothing but guide lines and general shapes. There were some area's that were starting to be penciled in, and were more detailed than others, but the fact that he saw the potential was nice. And frankly, a bit flattering.

She put out her arms to grab the book, and as he continued, she cradled it in her arms. Adaryn wasn't much of an abstract artist, but it wasn't uncommon for her to have a few abstract pieces. Normally, like Travis was saying, she drew 'life drawings'. Or general scenes from nightmares in her head. Either was common, since her mind has not left her alone since she had arrived here. Briefly, she recalled the labyrinth dream that she had, and it caused her to outwardly cringe. At least that boy had helped her through it, even if he was a figment of her imagination.

"I'm really patient, I guess. But life drawings seem to help me escape my reality, as odd as that sounds." Her voice was slightly shaky, but she tried to regain her composure as her anxiety level started spiking. Why did she have to bring that up? Damn mind, why do you have to be so relentless? "I can capture the beauty and purity of a moment, and it will stay beautiful and pure until that picture is destroyed. It's nice to be able to do that..." Adaryn bit her lip. She needed to calm down. She couldn't look crazy. Not now. Oh please, not now.

[Travis Morgan]

Travis quietly stopped breathing as the tension took hold again. He looked down at the still water, listening to Adaryn and trying to discern the source of this new anxiety. Was it him? It wasn't uncommon for him to randomly become anxious, especially while talking to people. But just a moment ago he was fine.

He looked up again when Adaryn stopped talking and noticed that she was worrying her lip. Oh. Was it her? He looked at the water again, breathing slowly. Remaining calm. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, but he didn't want to stress her out.

For Travis, being asked about his feelings was awkward and stressful. He spent so much time mulling over other people's feelings that it was often strange to talk about his own. Never mind that he couldn't fully understand what it was like not to be aware of the emotions of the people around him. Even before his ability suddenly burst into full manifestation not that long ago, there had always been this instinctual knowing. He just always seemed to know when someone needed a kind word, and he didn't always have to ask if someone was okay. It was strange, for him, being asked that question. Couldn't they tell?

Travis dipped his fingertips into the water, watching the ripples. She said it helps her escape her reality.. that's when she got tense. "I don't think it sounds odd," he said, his voice gentle. "Everyone's different. You do what you have to." He glanced at her, unable to decide if he should ask her what was wrong, or change the subject. "Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked, figuring it was better to let her choose. "You don't have to. I just noticed.." He trailed off. He didn't need to tell her that he could feel her anxiety. She knew how it worked.

[Adaryn Breslin]

It was odd. It was odd not having to give hints to people to show when something was wrong. The boy beside her could feel the anxiety spiking, and she felt horrible about it because she had just got done calming him down, only to turn around and do this. Adaryn reached down and attempted to will away the anxiety, but only grasped onto the emotional strings that were curling around her mind. She didn't have enough grasp to fully make it stop, but managed to lessen the anxiety slightly.

So now she was on her own, really. She would have to make it stop by other means. Talking about it wouldn't help, and it would reveal her secrets. So her next best option was to change the subject, to get herself smiling again. Maybe Travis could help her. But Adaryn knew she would have to take the initiative.

"N-No." She shook her head, eyes closed tightly. "Talking about it will make it worse. But maybe if we could change the subject it would help." Adaryn turned to face Travis so he was directly in her line of sight. Hugging her knees to her chest, she continued. "So how does it work for you, Travis? Your empathy, I mean. How can you tell the emotions? Do you see them? Or do you just feel it?"