Familiar faces

[Koty Hura]

A good night's sleep, a stomach full of home-cooked food, a cool shower, clean clothes... Today was a good day. What went good with a good day? A run, of course. Jump-start the metabolism, flush the toxins out of the body, get some sun, feel the wind.. All that stuff about chi and zen and whatnot. The point was that on a good day, good things should be done, and running was good.. and running was what Koty was doing.

A while later, running was what Koty had been doing for some time. He was sweating and breathing hard and his heart was beating fast and he felt alive. Colors were more vibrant, his skin was tingling, he could feel everything around him and smell the Vermont air and hear everything around him.. The grass was beautiful, the track surface was beautiful, the field was beautiful, the clouds in the sky were beautiful.. Everything was so vibrant.. and with his somewhat heightened senses and runner's high going on, Koty noticed something that seemed .. familiar. A girl. With wavy blonde hair.. That wasn't all that uncommon here in the states as far as he could tell, but this particular girl with this particular hair and posture.. looked really familiar. He was sure he had seen her in the past. And not the recent past. Back in Japan.

She was walking right toward him.. She must recognize him as well. He was almost done with his lap, and he would stop to chat.. Or realize that she hadn't been paying the tiniest bit of attention to him whatsoever, and casually pretend that he simply needed to tie his shoe.. the good-ole 'Oh, it seems my shoe laces are not as tight as they should be' conflict avoidance technique..

Koty came to a stop, still breathing heavily and glistening with sweat.. If there was one positive thing about sweating, it was that his hair always looked amazing afterward. Common guy problem. Hair looks like crap until you've gotten yourself all sweaty.. Then your hair looks great. It was hardly fair, but that didn't make it less of a reality. It was trivial and vain anyway.. Koty was here to run, and he was running.. Up until he'd stopped.

Unfortuantely for Koty, it seemed that the girl had simply been looking past him. Perhaps he was wrong. If he was going to be doing introductions, he could find her again when he was far more presentable.. So.. Good ole shoe maneuver....

What Koty didn't know was that this girl was apparently very much zoned out.. and that he had stopped directly in her meandering path.. and when he'd knelt down to fiddle with his shoes, she hadn't seen him at all! The next thing Koty knew, this girl was walking right into him. Walking right into him so much that she bowled him over and fell right on top of him! .. Being a gentleman, Koty rolled back and caught her before she could crash directly on top of him.. but he was supporting her by her shoulders and staring at her with wide and fairly confused eyes.. Whatever she had been thinking about had poured directly into his mind in his surprised state, and it was all he could do to blink and stare and hold her up and try to make sense of the mess of images and thoughts that had just assaulted his conscious mind.

[Hazel Rosewood]

Hazel felt like she hadn’t slept at all. Her joints were killing her after the workout her teacher had put her through the night before. She hated his guts and boy did he know that. He only used her anger to make her even more capable of going through the hell of a lesson. Ropes, bars, jumps, all of it. Her hair was loose at her shoulders as she walked in her own little world down the street. She was still trying to find her way around the campus grounds. It was certainly easier said than done.

Her mind started to wander after a while. She just kept walking and had no idea where in the hell she was going. Her feet controlled themselves as the thoughts and memories started to flow through her mind. Some good, and some… bad. Something she wanted to forget. The day she started to figure out, how much of a freak turned out to be.

It had all started as she manifested, but it quickly blew over and her daily life began to fell into place once again. Or so she thought. After about 3 years she finally began to understand. Her mother had been acting all off a couple of days and Hazel started to notice. She did not tell her goodnight or anything in that matter anymore. As soon as no one was around them, it was like she did not even exist. That was not the only thing. One night she was unable to sleep and sneaked downstairs to get her hands on some cookies she knew was in the kitchen. On her way down she passed the living room. Her mother and oldest brother Eli were talking. “She is not my daughter anymore Eli! She has not been since she became… that freak!” – These were the only words Hazel heard. The same second her tears started flowing and she ran to her room to cry herself to sleep. The words had been tormenting her ever since.

Her mind stopped and so did her steps. Just for a second, were she dried away a tear starting to show in her left eye and then started walking again. She was not going to seem weak. Not here. Or anywhere else. She only cried by herself. Her memories started flowing again, running over all the times she had cried and those same words over and over again…

CRASH! She hit something hard and instantly came to a collision with it. Her knees hit the ground as she was suddenly on top of someone. He looked familiar, but that was the least of her worries. She was not her usual self. She was almost crying again and fighting for her life to hide it. Normally she would have given him a smile and a flirty comment. She couldn't do that right now. She pushed herself on her feet again and looked towards her shoes. ”I’m sorry … I didn't see where I was going.”

[Koty Hura]

Okay.. So.. Koty's good day almost seemed sinful compared to the not-so-good day that the girl that had run into him seemed to be having. Blurred and immensely heavy images.. so many tears.. A feeling of horrendous loss.. Mother. 'Not my daughter'... 'freak'. Distance.. severed ties.. A broad and impassable expanse. Oh dear.

But as quickly as she had ended up nearly on top of him, the girl was on her feet and staring at her shoes, and since Koty knew what she was thinking, it was all too easy to see how desperately she was trying to be strong. Her act was practiced nearly to perfection, but eyes did not like to lie.. The eyes of a good person liked to lie even less, and Koty could see straight into Hazel's.

"You are at no fault, I assure you. I chose a very inopportune and inappropriate place to stop to.. adjust my shoe. I demand full responsibility for the inconvenience, and I would very much like an opportunity to make it up to you." Ack, what are you doing, Koty? Too strong!

"What I mean to say is that I was about to head to the cafeteria to acquire water and a snack, and I wonder if you would like to walk with me. You.. appear as though you may need a friend. You seem very light on your feet. I can only assume you were lost in thought if you were unable to prevent our collision?"

Much better.. but still not quite right. Maybe it was right enough though. "My treat?" ...Could this be misconstrued as flirting? Gah. Social intricacies here were complicated. Wanting to walk with someone should not imply your desire to mate with them. America... Regardless, Koty would have hopped back to his feet quickly enough (though not as quickly as Hazel had) and would be brushing himself off. "My name is Koty Hura.." And then he switched to Japanese.. to test his suspicions.. "You seem very familiar to me. Have we met in the past?"

[Hazel Rosewood]

Hazel did not know what, but something about the boy in front of her seemed off. Had they met before? She had a suspicion, but her memory was somewhere else at that moment. The words kept playing in her head like some idiotic song you know one sentence off and it won’t stop continuing.

She knew she was strong. She had almost created the wall to her real emotions to perfection. Almost. One thing she could not hide was her tears. As much as she wanted to hide every trace of emotion in her face, she was not able to. She tried to keep herself from sniffle, but a little one escaped as she kept her eyes on her shoes. The flat ballerinas captured her attention or at least she tried to tell herself that. She would do anything to hide the fact that she was weaker than ever right now. She was utterly broken.

Stop crying woman! Just STOP crying! Stop being so danm weak! She finally turned her head upwards as he spoke. Her head tilted to one side as he continued. He sounded like a freaking Jane Austin movie. How in the hell would anyone be able to speak like that? She shook off the thought as he continued.

”Why would I be in need of a friend? I don’t need anyone!” she yelled, almost in desperation. How was he able to see that? She had perfected her little shell. She immediately took a step back and therefore was further away from him. She would be safer and safer. ”I was in my own thoughts, sorry” she said, trying to sound like she did not care even in the least. Her normal self was beginning to shine through again.

As he switched to Japanese her suspicions were clarified. She had seen him before. She answered him in Japanese as well. ”Hazel Rosewood and yes. I do believe we have. Maybe in Tokyo?” she asked, tilting her head to one side and looking at him a bit more close.

[Koty Hura]

Koty.. suddenly looked a bit nervous. He steeled himself and took a step forward, eliminating the extra distance Hazel had put between them and looking her directly in the eyes. "I know that you were lost in your thoughts.. and I know what thoughts you were lost in. Or I know a version of them. Everyone needs a friend, Hazel. At least one. I believe that we missed the opportunity to be friends at Eisai, but second chances are not to be scoffed at. Would you please join me?"

Strangely enough, Hazel's tell was actually the fact that she had a shell. Shells were fantastic at keeping people out, but rarely as invisible as the person wearing them thought they were.. even if Hazel's was quite good in most circumstances. In this case, her shell had been forgotten about until she had been ripped from her memories when she had inadvertently walked right into someone.. And in this case, she couldn't lie. The person she had stumbled into had seen what was occupying her mind. He was a touch-telepath.

"Or if you do not wish to accompany me to the cafeteria, would you care to run a few laps? Running has always been a reliable way for me to clear my head. At the very least, the track should be a place you can wander without stumbling over anyone else. I will walk or run with you.. to help keep you on track."

The bad thing about shells, though, was that they were notoriously hard to crack.. and if the person wearing them refused to come out, startling them (or letting them startle themselves) was almost a sure way to keep them locked safely inside. If Koty was going to actually find out anything about this girl.. help her out in any way, he would have to get lucky and have her refrain from completely withdrawing back into her shell. Shells were soundproof and completely opaque. It was impossible to see or understand what was inside when it closed. Already Koty was grasping at straws. He could share her grief and understand her pain.. but only if she was willing to share it.. and it was remarkably seldom that someone was willing after they'd not even meant to share it to begin with.

Still, one surefire way to get a shell to open up, at least momentarily (long enough for someone to run away) was to light a fire underneath it.. and Koty admitting his knowledge of Hazel's issues.. was, while keeping the metaphor, a bit like a freshly lit match.

[Hazel Rosewood]

Hazel suddenly became more and more desperate to get away from this person. She knew she had seen him before, even talked to him. It was possible, but all she could think about was getting away from him as soon as possible. Her eyes widened as soon as he spoke again. He… knew? How on earth could he?! A vision of them? Ohh.. crap. He was able to see. Her thoughts began planning an escape. ”Everyone gets lost in their thoughts once in a while. That does not mean that I’m in need of anyone. I have friends’ thank you very much.”

The coldness in her tone was back. Hallelujah! Now she would be able to hide the fact that her heart was about to jump out of her chest of sheer desperation. She was usually good at hiding every drop of emotion in her body. She was the ice queen for crying out loud! She was the girl who never gave a crap and never showed anyone her true side. These thoughts made her stop crying. She was finally back in her shell. That was what she kept telling herself.

”You are a serious creeper, you know that? And you talk like you just came out of a freaking 18th century movie. Don’t you ever talk like a normal teenager?” her words sounded bitchy and they were, but there was a suspicion behind them. She was generally curious to why he spoke like that. It was so… formal and old.

Without a single word she started to walk. Not away from him, but around the track like he asked her. It was purely to clear her head. She felt like just running like hell away from him, but she did not do that. Instead she looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at him.

”You coming or not?” Her words were utterly emotionless. She did not give a crap about him, but hey. He asked and she could always just leave if he became too boring.

The shell started to surround her again as more bitchy comments came from her. This was how she protected herself. By not letting anyone even close to her heart. Not again. Never again. She would rather only show this side of her, than actually have one see her true self. This was the only way she felt safe. Only her brothers knew her real side and she intended to keep it that way.

[Koty Hura]

As quickly as Hazel had run into Koty, she seemed to be rapidly panicking and throwing her shell up around herself even more rapidly. One second she had been solemn and apologetic, and now she was becoming course and defensive and aggressive. In honesty, the change made Koty.. sad. Feeling the need to hide what one was actually feeling was bad in two ways to Koty.. First, in that someone felt the need to hide what they were actually thinking or feeling.. and second..... that he was a telepath, and while his ability was generally 'invasive' as it was, it was all the more invasive to someone like this.

Her shell was back in full effect, though. Or very near full capacity. Defensive, dismissive, mildly insulting. For a moment it seemed like hope was lost and Hazel was just going to angrily walk away, adding Koty to her list of things that noone would ever know about, that she would never think about, that would remain hidden and bottled up. For a short while he was at risk of becoming the 'escaped-from mistake'... but as she started to walk away, it wasn't toward the dorms. It was along the track.. and even though the tiny flaws in her shell told the observant person that she wanted to get away (desperately) she instead played the neutral card.. Keeping up her cold demeanor while.. seemingly reaching out at the same time. Hazel was a confusing person.. but an interesting one. And one who definitely needed a friend.

Koty didn't speak but instead nodded, jogging to catch up and assuming Hazel's pace once he was next to her. "Yes, everyone is entitled to get lost in their thoughts now and then, and you are correct. That does not mean you need anyone. But I am inclined to question the quality of your friends if you are so distracted that you walked straight into me and none of them are around to help you through your troubles. Real friendship shares the good and the bad. As for the way that I speak.. My first language is Japanese, and I simply prefer not to use contractions. If something is worth saying, it should be worth saying clearly and concisely without silly apostrophes and shortcuts. I do not mind others speaking more casually, I merely have no desire to pick up the habit myself."

Well, that had been a mouthful.. And extremely direct. In fact, to the person that didn't appreciate such directness, it might have come across as argumentative or even rude. Koty had hopes, though, that Hazel might appreciate it, given her apparent bitchy outward demeanor.. or at least that she would be able to understand and accept it. --If she chose to stick around for any length of time, that is.

"I would like your permission to show you something. May I, please?"

If Hazel agreed, Koty would casually reach over toward her and touch her forearm... and in the instant that his fingers touched her skin, her mind's eye would be full of a memory. The memory of the moment Koty had experienced quite recently, looking up at a very different Hazel.. on the verge of tears and overwhelmed. The memory would include his thoughts on this, as his eyes scanned from her overall posture, to her facial expression, to her eyes and how very shocked and sad they looked as she stared at her shoes. The memory then jumped forwards and Hazel would be able to watch herself quickly morph back into the fake front of herself.. and she would be able to feel how it actually hurt Koty to watch it happen, how he wished she could see how differently she looked..

He would remove his fingers from her arm and continue walking at whatever pace Hazel set in silence for a brief moment.. "That girl looks to me like someone who is very much in need of a friend. Someone with nothing to gain from hurting her and no agenda. Someone she is able to trust with what is beneath the front she displays to the world."

[Hazel Rosewood]

Hazel needed to get herself together. She could not let her shell break that easily again. Luckily she was able to become herself again in just a few seconds. She was not used to being like this. Her shell had never broken down like this. Not in front of people. The only times she had broken down for real was a couple of days before, as she just came to the school and found out that one of her brothers refused to talk to her. It was not Eli, but Jack had been one of her closer family members to. Now he refused to even look at her texts.

She knew she was hard to find out. Most people only saw her as a bitch and that was fine by her. There was no need to hide the fact that she was a bitch most of the time. If people had trouble understanding her personality, they would see her as a selfish bitch and hey.. She was. Sometimes at least. She knew what she wanted and got it by every means necessary.

She looked over her shoulder once more to see him jogging to catch up. She felt the need to start running, just to get some fresh air to her face and some coldness in her lounges. It sounded more and more tempting and she soon started to walk faster than usual. She did not run, but her pace was a lot faster than it normally would be when you walk. It was almost a jog. She refused to look at him and instead kept her face forward, looking around the track. There were surprisingly few people considering the time of day.

Her fists clenched by his words and her knuckles started to turn while. She turned her head towards him. ”I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but I don’t need a shrink okay? I’m fine by myself! I just moved here so I would danm well be surprised if any of my friends were here to help me as I fell. I don’t need to tell anyone about my so-called troubles. I’m fine god danmit!” Her voice started to get more and more desperate as he kept pushing her. She switched over to Japanese afterwards. ”I can’t agree with you on that. It’s much more easy to use contractions and it sounds old-school in the way you speak."

She just nodded as his question. She was a little annoyed by him, but at the same time curious. He reached her arm and a memory hit her mind in an instant. It was… her? How on earth? She felt every second, heard his thoughts and most importantly: Saw herself. She saw herself almost crying and that did it. She shook her head to get back to reality and took a step back. It made her stumble to the ground as he spoke.

And in just a second, the shell was broken again.

”I guess it won’t help trying to hide it. Her voice was almost like a whisper. He would barely be able to hear her. ”Are you that someone?”

Still sitting on the ground she looked up at him with tears starting to show in her eyes.

[Koty Hura]

Koty had been somewhat startled when Hazel broke contact with him.. Sending something as vivid as an actual image, let alone full memory took a bit of concentration, and he didn't recover from it fast enough to reach over and cushion her fall. Her shell had been obliterated once more, at least for a little while, and a very sad, quiet, and lonely girl was sitting on the ground before him.

Koty took a knee to make sure she was alright.. Close enough to hear her whisper, but not close enough to reach out and touch her. He kept his distance right after he communicated with someone telepathically.. In case they were royally freaked out or offended. He didn't and them to feel threatened or like he was going to grab them and force their head full of visions or suck every worthwhile piece of information out of their head. He didn't want to scare people or be rejected because of what he was.. Then she spoke, and he let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"I cannot un-see what I have seen.. and I cannot promise to be that someone. But if it will help you, I am more than willing to try. I cannot and would not force you to confide in me, and I cannot blame you if you wish never to see me or communicate with me again. These things are your choice. What I can promise is that I can keep your secrets, that I have no reason to want to cause you harm, and that I can do my best to be a friend to someone in need." He reached into a pocket and slid on a fine grey cotton glove, standing and offering his hand to her to help her up.

In Japanese, he continued, "You are welcome to take my hand or to refuse it and I will not hold it against you. Just please keep in mind that a weight shared by another is half the burden to you and half as likely to crush you beneath itself.."

[Hazel Rosewood]

Hazel still needed a few seconds to get over the fact that he could practically see into her mind. It was a bit creepy. No one in the world knew what she was going through. She never told anyone about this “secret” and now… Now she did not even need to do it. He saw it all by himself. Fortunately she did not get hurt. Her fall was slowed down a lot by her hands. It gave her a few scratches at most. The only thing was the chock it had given her.

After a deep breath she tilted her head up to meet his eyes. She was not offended in the least. You would maybe think she would be, but that was surely not the case. In a situation like this she could not be herself, or what people thought to be herself. She pushed herself up a little, so she was not sitting properly on the ground with her hands in front of her. One of them bleed a little from the fall, but her eyes lay on Koty so she didn’t notice it.

”You mean, you can’t un-see it like, ever? That must be a hell of a lot to take in, if you do this on a regular basis. I can’t imagine being able to do what you can do. It would be a weakness for me and not a power of any sort. She took a few seconds and then nodded. What did she have to lose? ”I would like that.” She looked at him with a raised brow as he took on the glove and quickly figured that it had to be some sort of wall for his power. She took his hand and got herself on her feet again.

”Tha… Crap I’m bleeding” she said and looked down at her right hand were a little stream of blood was flowing and hitting the ground beneath her in tiny drops.

[Koty Hura]

"I am capable of forgetting just as much as you or anyone else.. But it is difficult to forget that a person had depth beyond what they show the world. I cannot un-learn of your troubles and past.. and I would not choose to if I were able." Koty helped the girl to her feet, noticing that she had a minor cut on her hand about the same time that she did. Luckily, no blood had gotten on his glove. He wasn't sure if his telepathy would work with a blood link, and he honestly didn't want to find out.

"Yes.. you do appear to be bleeding. Here." And with an almost effortless motion, he ripped a long tear across his shirt from the bottom. This shirt was meant to get beaten up and be replaced, it was no big deal. Would he have still done the same thing if he were wearing nicer clothes? ..Possibly, but it would have required a bit more thought.

"Raise your hand, please." If she did, Hazel would find that he quickly wrapped theh chunk of cloth (it was still clean) around her hand twice and tied it neatly into a knot to hopefully help stop her bleeding. "It is not a professional bandage, but I have nothing else available. I would be happy to escort you to the infirmary if you believe you require it. Are you alright to walk?"

No, her injury shouldn't do anything even remotely similar to incapacitating her, but some people went into shock easily.. some got very queasy at the sight of blood, some just freaked out about getting hurt. better to ask than to assume, at any rate. What happened next was up to Hazel, and Koty would give her all the time she needed to weigh her options and decide where she needed to go.

[Hazel Rosewood]

”It must be some burden to be able to look that far into someone’s mind. I would not like to experience that, ever. Why… Why would you choose not to forget it, if you got the opportunity? I sure as hell would…” Her voice got a little lower as she spoke the last part. She would. She would like to forget all of it if she could. Just get a sudden amnesia and then never have to deal with any of it again. Maybe it was going a bit too far, but in her current state of mind, she would have done it without even thinking twice.

She did not even get to say anything, before he tore a piece of his shirt. Why? That was the only thing going through her mind. She had been a total bitch to him ever since they meet and yet he still helped her? There was something mentally wrong with that boy. She looked down herself. Would she have done it? Not a chance.

She raised her hand as he told her to and let him wrap the cloth around her hand. It was not a bad cut at all. Just a little scratch, but she did not want to complain. The little knot he made would make the blood stop just fine, she just needed to clean it at some point and then it would be fine. ”No need for that. It’s just a little cut. I just need to clean it and then it will be just fine, but thanks. You didn’t need to tear up your shirt for a little cut like that.”

Blood was not at all a problem for her. Someone would probable pass out if they got hurt like that, but she was not one of those people. She looked at him and started thinking. What now? She had no idea what to do, so instead of standing in front of him like an idiot, she turned on one heal and started to walk down the track like the first time.

She walked in silence, but did a small gesture with her hand to make him follow.

[Koty Hura]

Koty had waited in silence with a polite stare up until the point that Hazel had jumped back to her feet and started walking. He also caught her hand motion, and rose to follow along, jogging to catch up. At least this was a decent cool-down. Now.. onto what she'd said.

"As for my ability, it is a privilege. One not to be disregarded or thrown to the wind. I have the ability to see for myself what a person cannot express in words, and I can just as easily show someone what I cannot express. I may forget, over time, but I can truly understand a person. Beyond their programming, the things they have trained themselves to do or not to do. It is nearly effortless for me, and as much as it may be a burden it is exactly what it is."

He stopped speaking for a few moments to stretch out his arms and shoulders. "With you as an example.. Your shell is already rebuilding itself. Without my abilities I would never have known the person beneath it. I would never have known the weight you carry or why you act the way you do. But I do know. And I do understand. Even if not one other soul ever knows, I know. That is our bond, now and forever. I see through the way you act, I know that beneath the surface there is a hurt and confused girl, and I believe that fate has put us in this situation to prove to you that knowing of your past is not a reason for a person to find you weak or to belittle you. I would never do such a thing, and I believe that if you had more faith in people, you may find many more that would defend you and be thankful to know your depths as well."

Blah, what a mouthful. It was hard sometimes trying to explain things verbally. It would be so simple to just reach over, touch her arm like before.. She could feel Koty's worldview. See it for herself. Understand it. But that wasn't fair, and it was not the way to encourage a person to make progress. Without the active decision to let someone in on her own, Hazel would never become a better person.. Maybe she didn't even want to. It was just silly to force change on someone that didn't want it. Talking was simply sharing a viewpoint. Telepathy, with the weak minded, could sometimes act like programming. It was something that freaked Koty out a bit.. and he wanted nothing less than to program someone.

[Hazel Rosewood]

Hazel did not look back at him as he rose from the ground. She kept her head forward on the track, jogging along the gravel path. At least the thought it was gravel. It felt like it under her shoes, as the ground cracked a little under her feet with every step.

”A privilege? I would call it a curse, but suit yourself. Although I can see, why it would be pretty handy sometimes, I still can’t picture myself being able to see that far into someone’s mindset. I have a hard enough time to figure my own shit out and being able to have someone else’s too. That would be far too much for me to handle. I don’t know how you do it.”

She kept looking at the track as he continued speaking. It was quite a speech, so she had to figure out how to respond to his words. Even he must have known that it was a mouthful and she had to give him a proper answer. He deserved that much after helping her like that. It was more than many of her friends had ever done. Now that she began thinking about it, those people were not remotely close enough to her to even be called friends. They were more like followers. This made her sigh, as she looked at him and started to form a response.

”It’s easier for me to build up a shell. I have never told anyone about this and you are right. You would not in a million years have known this, if you didn’t have the ability you do. It’s not something I like to tell people and sure as hell not something I’m particularly proud of. You may know, but you can’t understand. You won’t be able to understand, unless you experience it for yourself. Ability or not, this is not something that can be understood by touching my arm and looking into my head. I am not weak. I have never been. I will never be. Faith in people? Right. They would laugh if they knew all this. I have always been the tough girl. If they knew this, I would be pushed down in a second. I’m not having that.”

[Koty Hura]

"You call it a curse because you have shut yourself off from the world. You use a guise of.. bitchiness and being untouchable to avoid risking that anyone experiences who or what you are. I would compare it to masking an excellent sauce with far too much salt or pepper for the sole purpose of hiding what makes it good on the chance that one person would pick out what he or she does not like about it. Instead of showing real flaws for someone to pick out and understand and weigh for themselves, you display and act proud of one huge, glaring flaw so that noone will ever see past it. You call my ability a curse, but I call your fear a curse that makes mine a blessing in comparison."

Harsh words, sure, but if Hazel was caught off guard enough by them to actually think about them instead of simply casting them off and ignoring them, it might sink in a little. She could keep acting the way she acted... but if she payed any attention she would know that Koty was right.

Koty stepped in front of Hazel, faced her, and came to a stop. "You want someone to understand your pain?" He stared directly into her eyes with a steel expression, raising his arm. "Show me. Face it, think of it, touch my arm. Then I will have experienced it for myself. Your memories, your thoughts, your emotions.. all become mine. What I do is not 'watching' memories. What I do is copying them. Exchanging them. Experiencing them. They become mine. Only your fear makes you weak. And the only thing you fear is losing the tiny speck of faith you cling to in people. You fear that more people will be like your mother. You convince yourself that others would shun you, ridicule you, hate you if they knew that you have a reason to act so coarsely. These are lies you tell yourself again and again. Nothing more. They are your blanket of safety, but one day it will fray and fall to pieces and you will have noone who has seen who you truly are to go to."

Wow, that got a bit dramatic... Koty continued standing dead still, blocking her path, presenting his arm to her. "So show me, prove me wrong.. Or choose and embrace fear."

If she laughed, avoided the question, or dodged around him, Koty would shake his head and start walking back toward the dorms so he could get cleaned up and go about the rest of his day. Simple as that.