The Last Resort / Addie

[Tatum Reynolds]

---

The problem with having empathy as a power was that it could only be practiced on other people. For Tatum this was a problem. She already had problems in social situations, and most people didn't like the idea of anybody playing with their mind and not having control over something so personal. Of course, she could always practice by force, but her morals did not agree with that. So instead of controlling stranger's emotions she simply read them the best she could - and that's exactly why she sat at the pond, observing the few people who wandered in and out.

Tatum focused on a guy and a girl sitting on a bench opposite of her. They seemed to be arguing in a quiet rage, unaware of her presence. She watched the girl's mannerisms which suggested she was angry, the way her hands trembled and her eyebrows creased. As Tatum reached into her mind she felt the overwhelming sadness. If she wasn't careful she would mistake the girl's sadness for her own, and the emotion would invade her feelings. She pushed it back and shut off the connection, not that it was actually shut off, more so lessened. She didn't realize that she hadn't been breathing until her lungs gasped for air and she took in a deep breath. It wasn't always like this when she read emotions. I must be distracted. She thought with a sigh and decided to head to a more secluded place to get some privacy.

She picked up the half eaten sandwich next to her and quietly made a retreat to give the couple some privacy. Neither seemed to notice her presence. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her washed out jeans and enjoyed the gentle breeze that lessened the heat of the day.

The walk to the auditorium was short, and when she got there Tatum was relieved to see there were no other people in the dimly lit room. She smiled to herself and made her way to the piano that sat just below the stage, her fingers already twitching with anticipation. She brushed her hand over the polished wood and dusted keys and sat down on the bench.

Her fingers did the rest.

She had no sheet music to go off of as she played, but her fingers danced across the keys by memory of her favorite music to play. What she ended up playing was more like a mixture of various music that she'd played over the years. Her mother had been a women of many talents - piano being one of them. A few lessons with her own mother being the teacher was all it took to find Tatum's passion. Finally, something she had the patience for.

She noticed a shadow in the corner of her eye and immediately stopped playing, surprised she hadn't sensed the person enter. "Sorry," she muttered, "I thought I was alone."

[Adaryn Breslin]

Isolation was common, though not as frequent, for the Empathetic Manipulator. It was how she managed to recuperate from the world around her, from all the emotions that were thrown her way and all the shielding she had to do in order to avoid the side effects of her power. While some days she could manage it without even thinking about it, other days it seemed to be much more difficult.

So Addie got away.

The auditorium had normally been empty unless there were assemblies about to occur, or there were assemblies in progress. Only once had she encountered another student in there while she was, and the encounter had come out as a positive one, so Adaryn continued to come back and sketch.

The more time that passed by, the more she had to draw and put onto paper. She had more pleasant dreams as of late, though that didn't mean she was completely free of her nightmares - no one ever was. But those positive dreams had given her inspiration, along with the aura-like emotions that surrounded her peers on a daily basis.

With a pencil pressed to a sketchbook, she hardly noticed the redhead come in until the music started playing.

It threw her for a loop, truth be told, but Adaryn didn't speak. Instead, she moved to get up and leave, hoping not to bother the girl who was playing beautifully.

"No, don't be sorry..." Adaryn said when an apology was spoken, "You didn't do anything wrong."

[Tatum Reynolds]

Tatum didn't usually play for people. She liked to play for her family, because it reminded them of her mother. It was a beautiful thing how Annabelle Reynolds lived through her family, like how Daniel liked to paint and Tatum liked piano. Her paintings hung on every wall of their house. She missed her mother terribly. It usually came in waves, like tonight, when her heart was heavy with the memories that the piano keys sang.

The girl in front of her seemed shy, but Tatum wouldn't let the opportunity to make a new friend get away. She was always in need of new friends - or any, for that matter. She managed a small smile and stood up from the bench. "I never see anybody else when I'm in here. Do you come here a lot?" She asked, figuring that the girl did. Tatum was usually up at night anyways.

She noticed a sketchpad in the girl's hands. "Do you draw?" She asked, suddenly interested in the stranger. "My mother - she used to paint. Sometimes sketch. Do you mind if I look? I mean, you did hear me play." She laughed lamely and ran a hand through her tangled red curls to loosen them. She had almost no boundaries when she got to talking to somebody, always reluctant to share much personal information but not afraid to ask anything else depending on her mood. She wasn't always an introvert, and since this girl seemed similar to her, they might get along well.

"I'm Tatum, by the way. Empath." She didn't know why she felt the need to share her power, because she usually didn't, but somehow she trusted the girl to an extent. Hopefully she wasn't freaked out by empathy.

[Adaryn Breslin]

Adaryn blinked in confusion at the amount of information being given to her. Questions were being asked that she couldn't seem to keep up with, and then there was the introductions that had been bombarded at her. Adaryn's stomach clenched nervously at it all, but she swallowed it down. "Woah, woah. Please, slow down." Adaryn said, clutching the sketchbook to her frame as a lifeline.

"First question - yes, I do come here often. It's a retreat when I need one." Adaryn started, since that was the one the girl had said slowly enough for her to catch. The red head in front of her seemed very sweet, meant well, but her approach was very overwhelming on Adaryn's end.

The next question, or rather two questions, caused her lips to purse in discomfort. Her drawings were her own to see, and when others asked her, she didn't necessarily enjoy showing them. But this girl seemed to give her somewhat of a 'I did this, now you have to do this' type of situation. "I'm really not comfortable with showing my drawings, sorry.... Tatum."

What made things even more confusing was that she mentioned her power, which nobody ever did. Really, it didn't matter to any of the population of hammel unless they were curious. It was a regular highschool in that sense, considering that nobody asked. But she was an empath, which was half of what Adaryn was.

"That's cool... What kind of empath?" Really, she didn't know what else to say.