Down And Out;;; Open!

[Fletcher Walsh]

Always up or down, never down and out.
Dream of demons while you sleep that make you stutter when you speak.
Always up or down, never down and out.
Dream of demons while you sleep that make you stutter when you speak.
Speak now or forever hold your peace.
~The Academy Is

"Okay Fletcher, just focus now, I'm going to remove the block, and I want you to concentrate just how you have been, you're doing fine."

Fletcher took a deep breath and nodded. In the past four days, he'd begun to learn how to meditate and control his mind, how to find that quiet safe space inside him he'd never known to seek before. It lay perilously close to the space he'd shoved all of his feelings into and locked up tight, but yet seemed so far away from all of that. It was coolness and stillness, a mountain lake, a reaching plain, the broad back of his favorite horse and the motion of its feet beneath his saddle.

All of this and more, but still his heart clenched at the suggestion of dropping the block. He breathed deep and centered on that space again, but it was hard, knowing what was coming...

The wave of emotion that hit him was mild, in comparison to what he'd felt the first time. He received serenity and compassion from the teacher, and an influx of his own anxiety, but it was the remembering that undid him. The echo of that deep, soul-felt need to do anything to end the pain, even die. He lost his hold on that safe place instantly, gagging into his hand as he scrambled up from the ground on shaking legs and bolted from the training room. It was too soon. It was too much and it was too soon and he couldn't handle it so he ran.

He ran all the way outside, feeling the power block snap back into place at some point in his headlong run, but he still had to bend over and vomit into the nearest flowerbed when he finally did make it outside.

Straightening up and wiping his mouth on the back of his shaking hand, Fletcher made his way to the nearest bench and sat down. At least it was quiet out here. For now. He scowled at the thought and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

Lighting one, he put it to his mouth and pulled in the fragrant smoke. Holding it there, he didn't draw it into his lungs, but simply let it blow back out after a moment's pause. Would he ever be able to handle his power without panicking?

[Lani Hunter]

With a sigh Lani held his cellphone a few inches from his ear as his father raged at him. Sadly enough Lani could still hear his father's accusations quite clearly through the receiver. Well this was certainly the last time he let his mother pass the phone off to his dad. A small smile stayed on Lani's face as if the yelling amused him more than anything else. It was part of his mask for it he really showed what he was feeling he couldn't be out in the nice weather. Honestly he hadn't taken his father seriously since the last time he had decided to disown Lani. Nothing had ever come from that thanks to his mothers quick work. Soon enough the yelling died down and just to fuel the fire Lani said, "You done?" Yeah Lani was the king of bad life decisions. Thankfully his mother took over possession of the phone again and gave him a good helping of guilt.

The guilt was almost harder to deal with. His father had supported him through all of this, he hadn't tossed him out or disowned him. He had supported him when the rest of the family learned of Lani's telekinesis, defended him even. Oh and of course there was how when he was sick his father had stayed up all night with him and driven him to the emergency room at one in the morning no questions asked when Lani came home with a broken arm from a fall from a two story roof. Yeah, Lani couldn't quite deny that his father was a good man, he could however identify that he was not going to be a good for nothing person like his father. His father didn't have the healthcare from his job and so they had had to find a way to pay for his sister's treatments out of pocket. But that again was not mentioning the money hungry doctors that had been willing to put his sister's life at risk because they couldn't pay. Oh of course they wouldn't have done nothing but that was what it seemed like to Lani's twelve year old self. And so now even at seven... no wait, eighteen now, he hated doctors and going to them.

"Oh well," his mother said after a while of lecturing, "Are you coming home for the weekend, I'll bake a cake." Lani smiled and answered affirmatively, it was a Thursday this year and the first time he had had a birthday without his family. "Happy birthday, sweetheart," she said and they said their farewells. He pocketed his phone, he really wasn't sure why he hadn't told anyone. He didn't want anyone to make a big deal out of it, not that he was sure any of his friends would. Well maybe his girlfriend would have been a little upset he didn't tell her but oh well. He was going to go home quietly and when he came back he was going to start the fight for getting himself some more freedom around here.

He stood starting toward the building when someone else came bursting out the doors. Lani was stunned still for a moment and the guy ran right past him. He turned his eyes still wide with shock. That was different. Well, not too different, not here, but definitely not normal. Lani winced inwardly when the man vomited. He never did well with seeing people do that, it always made his gag reflex go 'me too!'. He hesitated when the guy went to the same bench he had been on a few minutes previous. Should he make a break for it before the guy noticed him? No. Lani could never do that. He just couldn't walk away when he saw something like that. So Lani stepped cautiously over and dug his hand into one of the fountains retrieving a few coins.

"You didn't eat at the cafeteria did you?" Lani inquired gently smiling and trying to make a joke out of it. He narrowed his eyes a little when the guy pulled a cigarette. His hand reflexively scratched the new scar on his neck. That douche from a few weeks ago had gotten him a very nice line of a burn scar thanks to a cigarette and now the things just make him plain uneasy. He examined the coins and found a quarter dropping the rest back into the fountain. He flipped it and offered the guy a smile. "Are you alright, man?" He asked letting a little bit of concern weave into his voice, just enough to let the man know it was there but not enough to show that Lani really was genuinely concerned about this stranger. That was his problem, always had been, he couldn't walk away.

[Fletcher Walsh]

Fletcher's hands were shaking as he pretended to smoke his cigarette. He did it convincingly enough, but refused to actually breathe in the smoke. It was just something to do with his hands and his mouth. A reason to linger outside when he should have been inside. A filthy Chicago habit that he had taken up out of spite and held onto out of spite and pride. It was better than actually smoking, and it was better than other things he could have done.

At least no one was out here.

At least... that's what he'd thought until he saw another boy walk up to the fountain and dip his hand in. He hoped the guy hadn't been outside to watch him throw up. That would've been embarrassing, to say the least. Hopefully he just went on his way, and... oh.

Nevermind then.

The guy approached him, flipping a coin in the air, and even smiled at him. The joke about cafeteria food proved to Fletcher that his luck had just run dry. Damn it. He groaned and shook his head, but was able to drudge up a half smile at his own expense.

"Sadly, can't blame that."

Anxiety and exhaustion, that was all. With a sigh, Fletcher stubbed out the cigarette on the bench and let the butt cool between his fingers. He'd grown up too close to nature to ever consider just dropping the thing on the ground like most smokers did.

"I'll live. You caught me in one of my finer moments..."

The sarcasm dripped from the words, but it was directed at himself, not at this boy. Thank god for the power blocker, because he wasn't catching a damn thing from the boy standing before him, and that was just the way he liked it.

He didn't really want to talk to anyone at all, ever again. But he couldn't very well get through life that way, so he guessed now was as good a time as any. No one here knew, anyways.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani looked over the boy as he approached. He wasn't anyone that Lani had seen before. He was younger that Lani was, but probably not by much. His face remained unreadable as he memorized the boy's features. Curiosity almost immediately flared in his mind. Who was this guy? What was his power? And what had him running from the building. Maybe it wasn't concern at all that drew Lani over but curiosity. Lani smiled a little at that thought, that was just silly, of course he was concerned. He wouldn't be Lani if he wasn't. So Lani occupied himself by flipping the coin. He was enjoying moving the metal around his fingers and not using his power.

He raised a brow and shook his head a little. "Too bad," Lani said, if it had been Lani he would have lied. Of course it had been the cafeteria food. Anyone would have believed it. "That means something else is wrong," he flipped the coin watching it as it went up and back down again. Now that he had identified something was wrong it was up to this fellow to decide whether or not he would say. Either was Lani was going to do something even if getting him to the infirmary was all he could do.

Now Lani smiled, at least this guy has a sense of humor. It seemed that around here a sense of humor was badly needed. People were jumpy as anything and willing to jump on someone if they made a mistake as if they had just killed their kittens. Speaking of kittens, he would have to let Odion know that he needed to take the kittens for the weekend since Lani was going home. Well sneaking out more like it. He didn't like the fact that he needed permission to see his own family, and now that he was officially an adult he really didn't see how they could legally stop him.

His sly smile snuck onto his face when he wasn't looking and he closed his hand around the coin. "It happens," he said shrugging trying to let the guy know he really didn't care what it was that was bothering him, though deep down he was curious as a cat. "I'm Lani, by the way," he said now giving him an amused smile, "I'd offer a handshake but..." He rolled his eyes back to the flower beds. Chances were that this guy was just sick and Lani did not want to get sick. So far this year he had been the image of health and he wasn't about to risk that right before summer started.

"You sure you're alright?" He asked getting to the point. Wow Odion's bluntness was certainly starting to rub off on him. He rolled the coin in his fingers as he looked at the boy. He still seemed a little pale and shaken but from what Lani couldn't tell. Perhaps it was just that he didn't take well to vomiting, neither did Lani.

[Fletcher Walsh]

Fletcher winced inwardly when the guy shrugged and pointed out that since he'd puked, obviously something was wrong, and if it wasn't the cafeteria food, it was obviously something else. Obviously. Damn. As obvious as that inward wince had surely been on his expressive, honest face.

He'd never been good at hiding his feelings, only at repressing them.

This guy was a refreshing mixture of concern and apathy. He acted like he cared, and Fletcher believed it more because he didn't act like he cared too much. The matter of factness was refreshing after the days he'd spent in the infirmary with nurses fussing over him.

"Still adjusting to my power."

He shrugged, figuring that was a fairly reasonable explanation. He couldn't be the only person who was affected by his powers like this, right? The trainer had said side effects were normal, especially in the beginning. It didn't need to be mentioned that his nausea had more to do with anxiety than any actual use of his power.

He shrugged off the non-offered handshake, unconcerned. He wasn't the type to go around shaking hands with people anyways. More, any of his old school mates would have been happy to inform Lani, the type to go around punching people by way of introduction.

Thankfully, there was no one here who knew that.

"I'm Fletcher."

Testing the cigarette butt with a surreptitious fingertip and finding it cool, Fletcher slipped it into his pocket. He'd throw it out later.

"How uh, how long have you been here?"

Maybe it got better. Maybe this would stop feeling like such a nightmare and eventually feel like normal life. Whatever that meant.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani gave the young man a soft smile. He was trying to put on a brave face but was failing since the wince was plain as day on his face. Lani decided to dance around the subject and see if the boy would give him the answers without him having to demand them. It was a perfect chance for Lani to try out his manipulative powers. They had gotten rusty. Pilot Ridge PD was nowhere the caliber of Boston PD and so Lani hadn’t had to talk himself out of a lot of trouble lately, well besides Odion but Odion was just too good for Lani to deceive and so Lani had to come up with a different solution to that particular problem.

Examining the coin in his hand Lani feinted carelessness as he watched the coin. His eyes flickered to this guy and he pulled back the sympathetic look he longed to give him. Pity wasn’t going to get this guy anywhere. He needed to learn from his mistakes and Lani wasn’t here to give him the ‘it gets better’ speech. He could however he a shoulder to lean on. A small knowing smile danced on his face at the explanation. “Ah, yeah that would do it,” he nodded as if agreeing with himself. He had never got nauseous when he used his power and of that he was very thankful. He could deal with headaches more than he could deal with nausea.

“I take it you’re new here then?” He asked raising a brow to see if his assumption was correct. As much as Lani hated to admit it he was on a bit of a quest. To meet someone who was just as much a late bloomer as he was, so far he had been unsuccessful. Even this kid was young than him, if only by a few years. Oh well, the quest pressed on.

“Pleasure, Fletcher,” Lani said with a little incline of his head. Now that he had a face and a name chances were that curiosity would send him again to take a peek at the record books if he couldn’t figure out all he wanted to know about this guy. A sly smile twisted on his face as he memorized the man’s features and committed them to memory. Perhaps this guy could be a friend or ally. Even if he was a smoker. Lani fought the chill that ran down his spine and told himself once again that his power had a good enough grip that no one would ever be able to harm him with an object ever again. Not a gun, not a knife and certainly not a cigarette.

His brow raised even further in surprise when this Fletcher didn’t discard the cigarette. A little smile grew on his face and he decided this might be an interesting conversation. “So Fletcher, isn’t that like the guy that makes the arrows?” He grinned, most people wouldn’t peg him as it but he was quite the reader and that term had come around more than once, but not as a name as a profession.

Lani flipped the coin again and gave Fletcher a shrug, “Not much longer than you,” he didn’t catch the coin but let it fall to the ground. He stooped and picked it up. “Tails,” he said meaninglessly. He grinned at Fletcher knowingly. “Don’t look so down,” he said, “No one has counted you out. After all we wouldn’t be here if our powers came with a manual, would we?”

[Fletcher Walsh]

Anxiety made Fletcher long for another cigarette. The addiction was all in his head, but his fingers craved the light weight of it between them, and it gave him something to do so that he wasn't just sitting here. Being still was something he'd never been good at, and the smoky taste of the cigarette on his tongue eased that worry.

Despite the power blocker that kept him from having to acknowledge his power head on, he still knew it was there. He was more aware than ever that everyone around him had feelings and never again would he be able to turn a blind eye to that fact. Never again would he be able to turn a blind eye to his own feelings.

Hell, why couldn't they just leave him with a power blocker forever?

He was the picture of misery, shoulders slumped in a mixture of weariness and defensiveness. Sighing, Fletcher caved and pulled out the pack of cigarettes. Remembering his manners -what little he still held onto- he offered the pack to Lani.

"Smoke?"

Maybe there was still some honest rancher hospitality left in his bones. Maybe.

"I got here a couple days ago."

He shrugged. He wasn't sure exactly how long he'd been here, he'd been in the infirmary until last night, and he'd slept for most of that time. When he wasn't sleeping, he'd been mostly pretending to sleep so that he wouldn't have to answer questions he didn't want to, or see his mom's face and whatever emotions lurked behind it. She'd only been able to come for a day anyways, and he'd feigned sleep for the entirety of her visit.

Fletcher shrugged again when Lani asked about his name, and nodded.

"It is. But I'm not. I can't. I mean... yeah."

He spared another almost-grin at his own expense for babbling words that barely made sense. Was he really that tired and out of sorts?

"What's it like?"

Fletcher wanted to know everything he could. Were they really going to force him to confront this stupid curse of a power head on, make him learn it and control it and even worse- use it? He cringed again at the last. Even to his poor moral judgement, use of a power like his own seemed unethical. He certainly wouldn't want someone riffling through his emotions.

Which brought about the terrifying realization that he couldn't possibly be the only person out there with a power such as this.

"How... how many powers are there? Do you know?"

He almost didn't want to know.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani couldn’t resist making a face as the boy went for another cigarette. There was no way he was old enough to smoke since Lani was as of today and this guy was younger than he was. He masked the judgment rather quickly and hoped that Fletcher missed it. He wasn’t sure he could deal with another person who dissected him. He smiled at Fletcher and flipped the coin a few times. His power kept touching the coin as it went in the air but for once was content to obey Lani and let his hands do the work. There was something strangely comforting about using his hands for something. He closed his eyes for a moment and felt the cold metal on his fingertips then extended his power and found that his power felt the metal but differently. It didn’t feel the temperature but felt the details and he was certain that he knew every miniscule flaw in the coin.

He rose a brow and a skeptical look flashed across his face as Fletcher held out the pack. He shifted his weight and balanced on the balls of his feet ready to run at a moment’s notice but looking like he was as relaxed as if he were being offered bubbles. The last man who had offered him a cigarette had then turned the cigarette on him and given him that nice scar on his neck. He rubbed it subconsciously and with the hand holding the coin he waved the pack away. “No, no, no,” he said shaking his head a stuttering just a little bit. He looked at the coin as it floated where he left it. “I don’t smoke.” He grabbed it again embarrassed that he hadn’t even thought about that and it had happened. He scratched the back of his head and shrugged giving Fletcher a smile.

Lani gave Fletcher a sympathetic look now that he was well out of reach of the lighted cigarette. “It’s tough,” he agreed with a nod. “It’s almost like they want you to immediately adjust to life as a meta. I don’t know about you but before I got my power I didn’t even know such a thing existed.” Lani read between the lines. It didn’t take a genius to tell that Fletcher was overwhelmed and more than a little stressed. Besides it wasn’t too often that people who were completely okay with this situation ran out of the training building and vomited in the flowers. No, the groundskeeper was not going to be happy about that. He wondered what power the guy had.

A laugh bubbled out of Lani’s throat and he gave Fletcher a warm smile and waved a hand dismissively. “Relax,” he laughed, “Just a joke.” Wow, Fletcher really was quite a jumpy fellow but on the plus side there was a little smile starting to come out. Maybe if Fletcher could figure out that they were all monsters he might be more willing to work on his power. Lani certainly knew that he might have… or not. No, he wouldn’t have. His power was too explosive and too raw. He had been terrified of it. And even now he was terrified of it. It was really only because of Odion that he was working on it as hard as he was.

Lost in his own thoughts he blinked in shock as he realized that Fletcher was talking. “What?” He blurted into empty space. “Oh, having a power?” He asked making sure he was following him right. He shrugged and rose his hands in a way that he showed that was being straight up with Fletcher. “Hey, I’m gonna tell you straight up man. It sucks.” He said this harshly but his eyes were gentle. “It’s hard and you have to work for it. It’s your power and no one can do it for you.” He felt a little hypocritical but it was a new development. Sure Odion was helping but he was starting to realize that if they really wanted to succeed with their grand plans Lani needed to take charge of his power. Had he done so? Not quite. He smiled softening his harsh dose of reality as Fletcher winced. “Don’t worry, you’ll get there.”

Lani shrugged. “Don’t ask me, I haven’t the slightest. Hey by the way, what’s your power?” He asked giving into his curiosity.

[Fletcher Walsh]

One of the things that had made Fletcher such a terror at school was his honed observation skills. He noticed things other people might not, and supposed it had come from a childhood where noticing a minute change in his father's mood would at times save him a beating.

Then there was the ranch work, where a finely tuned eye was important to catch illness or lameness in the stock before it became a bigger problem (and by doing so, also avoiding a beating). So Fletcher didn't miss the face Lani made, nor did he miss the shape of the scar Lani rubbed on his neck. Whatever the reason, Fletcher's offer of a cigarette had rattled this seemingly unrattle-able boy's composure, if only for a minute. Had he been paying less attention, he wouldn't have noticed, and as it was, he forgot about it an instant later when his eye caught the coin floating in mid air as if on its own volition.

"What is your power?"

He was a little bit alarmed by the floating coin, and relaxed visibly when Lani took it in his hand again. Coins shouldn't float in mid air, and he shouldn't be able to sense other people's feelings, and he wanted to go back to a world that neither of those things were possible.

"I knew they existed, but like, in the same way I know that the pressure of the water deep in the sea is enough to kill you in an instant. Useless fact of life that wouldn't ever directly matter to me. At least, that's what I thought."

That's what he would have preferred. Maybe something different would have been alright, something like fire starting, or x-ray vision. Something cool. Something he would have chosen when asked as a child "if you could have any super power you wanted, what would you choose?"

He never would have chosen empathy, that's for sure.

He was grateful for the other boy's honesty, even if it wasn't what he was hoping to hear.

"What do they expect from us, with our powers?"

Would they let him get away with the bare minimum, or was he going to have to master his power completely before they released him from this glorified prison?

When Lani asked him what his power was, it was Fletcher's turn to make a face.

"Empathy."

A cruel joke of genetics, that.

[Lani Hunter]

The new man was quite an interesting character. Lani turned a measuring eye on him and considered if this Fletcher could be a friend of a foe. But from the conversation it was more likely the former and of that Lani was glad. He really didn’t know too many people around here and was always excited to meet new people. And help them if he could. It was nice to find someone who was newer than he was, someone that he could give advice to instead of being given advice.

Lani didn’t notice that Fletcher noticed. Instead Lani was glad to believe that he was just as good at putting his mask up as he used to be. He smiled a little at Fletcher’s unsettled expression. Apparently this guy wasn’t used to floating things. It wouldn’t be the first time that Lani had gotten that look though. He grinned at Fletcher and caught the coin in his hand. He opened his hand and the coin floated up out of his hand. “Telekinesis,” he said before dropping it back in his hand. Lani couldn’t keep the sly smile from his face as he looked at Fletcher. He wasn’t sure how many telekinetics there were here at Hammel, he was sure of at least a security guard, but they didn’t seem to come around too often.

Interested by his answer Lani pressed on. “Do you have meta relatives?” He asked curiously. He had never heard about them in school or even on the news. It must be a very well kept secret. After all he knew his boss didn’t know about them, at least not that he showed. “Yeah, it’s kind of like one of those ‘it’ll never happen to me’ things.” He commented with a shrug. He sympathized with Fletcher, he knew what it was like to be torn out of his life and into this strange world. Down through the rabbit hole but without a way back or a way to wake up from this waking nightmare.

With a smile Lani looked down at his hands and at the coin that he could move. It seemed impressive but he didn’t know how to control it. Odion was helping him get better but he was still having problems understanding himself. And that was perhaps his biggest challenge. So when Fletcher asked him that question it didn’t take him very long to answer. “Flight,” he said looking up toward the sky imagining the feeling of the wind through his hair. “How about you?”

Lani eyes softened and he wished he had been a little gentler, but then it wasn’t going to do Fletcher any good to lie and tell him it was easy. Lani shrugged, “It depends really. I mean you have to have control over your power but it’s mostly up to you. They can keep you here though.” He frowned a little bit of bitterness coming through his teeth. Again somewhere he was standing in his own way.

Lani’s brows came together and he gave him a soft look. “I’ve heard that’s one of the hardest.” He nodded to himself as if he were agreeing with himself. “But you just got it right? So you’ll have quite a while to get control. You’ll get there,” Lani finished lamely. He was never really good at doing the whole motivating speech thing.

[Fletcher Walsh]

Telekinesis. Of course. That made sense, now that he thought about it. He guessed he was just too overwhelmed to really think about it yet. There were so many other thoughts going through his head right now to get to wondering about the powers of everyone around here.

"That is pretty sweet."

He had to admit that despite himself, he was impressed. A power like that was useful. Lani could fetch things he needed, or send things away, or he could throw things. How easy would it be to defend himself with a power like that!?

Fletcher shook his head at Lani's next question, bringing him back out of his thoughts. Maybe there was a silver lining after all.

"Nope. Mom told us about them. She knew one, once."

He still hardly knew the details of that story, only that the older he got the more he was certain she was only telling the barest bones of the story, and she had never really meant to tell him at all. It had been one of those rare moments in his childhood that he remembered a whisper of affection in her voice and a softness that always left her the second her husband stepped into the house. When she'd mentioned it, her eyes and her voice had sounded far away, and her lips smiled in a way that seemed involuntary. Fletcher remembered the warmth and nostalgia more than the actual story, now.

Fletcher grinned when Lani said flight, thinking for the first time in a long time that maybe this guy knew what it was really all about.

"Invisibility. Flight was always a top contender, though."

He'd always had a hard time choosing between the two, but invisibility invariably won out by a nose. Flight was no good if someone stronger than you got hold of you and held you down to earth, but if they couldn't see you then how could they get you and more importantly how could they hit you?

The information about his learning was less encouraging, and Fletcher's grin faded. He didn't want to confront his power at all.

"I guess I can just learn the basics and they'll let me go then. Hopefully."

Even as he said it he knew it was easier said than done. He couldn't sit still with his power for thirty seconds without panicking. Lani had seen the results of the first attempt.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani smiled a little bit as Fletcher made the connection between the flying coin and his power. It wasn’t hard to see that Fletcher was rattled so why not let him know that Lani was struggling just as much as he was. Easy enough. Because then he would have to admit that he was flawed. There were people he knew who were more than eager to let him know about his flaws without him having to point them out on his own. Lani shrugged in response. “It has its perks,” he replied with a sly smile implying that he had used his powers for to his advantage.

Sure Hammel tried to press the importance of using powers at appropriate times. It was just that Lani seemed to be unable to get it through his head that sneaking out and stealing were not appropriate uses of power. His eyes were alight with mischief as he had really only recently realized the full extent of his power. Of course he wasn’t good at it quite yet but he really was only limited by his imagination. Well that and the weight of the object. It was true that gravity was proving both his best friend and worst enemy. He smiled a little, ironic that the only reason he understood and could have dialogues with his physics teacher was because he could feel the forces. It was pretty cool he had to admit.

“Hmmm,” Lani hummed as he pondered this. So it couldn’t really be genetic could it? If it was then someone in their families would have to have been a meta. And someone before them a meta. So that led Lani to wonder where metas had come from. Who was the first meta and why had they formed? How had so many powers come about? Some of them weren’t genetically controlled, after all if someone could shift into a dog didn’t genetics hold that they had dog DNA within their cells? All of that was really beyond Lani’s pondering abilities and so he filed it away for future curiosity and decided a trip to the hidden books in the library was in store. “I wonder how it happens,” Lani mused entertaining the idea of discussing this rather complex question with this new person. He really wasn’t sure if he would put up with Lani’s rather confusing thought process.

Lani matched Fletcher’s grin and nodded thoughtfully. “I don’t know invisibility always seemed kinda creepy.” He shrugged really unable to say anything more on the matter. It wasn’t like what they were discussing was extremely heavy but something about the potential of someone being there that Lani didn’t know was unsettling just because of the nature of his work. However could someone invisible hide from the telekinetic if he could feel their clothing? If invisible people could wear clothing at all. But that was a question for another day.

It made sense to think of the powers in a combative way but Lani was really only thinking of the freedom the wind would create. So wonderful. He had gotten a few brief thrills in his attempts. Extremely brief, but enough to let him know it was worth trying. Lani nodded and gave Fletcher a little sympathetic smile. “Hopefully, but don’t you want to really control your power?” Lani paused for effect before continuing. “I mean empathy is a powerful thing. And there is a lot that could be done with it.” He nodded to himself, it was the same with telekinesis or any power really. One thing he failed to mention was that it was also dangerous. Not in the same ways that Lani’s power could hurt someone but sometimes the mental scars were worse than the physical ones.

“I take it that was attempt number one?” He asked with a little smile to soften the sting of his question. He gestured at the door Fletcher had come out of. “Came out of that door like one of your arrows,” he said grinning at his own clever play on words. After all if Fletcher fletched the arrows then he certain came out the door like an arrow.