Posted Jan. 19, 2019, 9:20 a.m. by Civilian Michael Conrad (Black Sparrow CO) (Tony Findora)
Posted by Civilian Halai Cosgrove (Head of Science and Terraforming) in Black Sparrow- Akem’s Quarters (Trip to Tyrellia)
Posted by Civilian Michael Conrad (Black Sparrow CO) in Black Sparrow- Akem’s Quarters (Trip to Tyrellia)
Posted by Civilian Halai Cosgrove (Head of Science and Terraforming) in Black Sparrow- Akem’s Quarters (Trip to Tyrellia)
(snip)
IC: Akem let out a low, light laugh. “And why is that?” he pondered aloud with a hint of flirtatiousness as he allowed his hands to mold to her muscles and still work out any remaining knots.
“Because your hands are magical, and with my life lately I could use this way more often,” she replied languidly.
After her reply (if any), he spoke up. “If you would like, I could have you lay out on a padded bed. It may help work out this knot and any other I might find in your back?” He allowed his hands to slip down as he said that, thumbs lightly grazing her spine as his fingers put light pressure hoping to find anything else to work his hands on. “Or if you have any specific requests, I would be happy to oblige.”
-Akem
As his fingers pushed lower onto her back, he’d see the top of what was a very intricate, widespread and colourful tattoo peeking out the top of her shirt. “There’s a couple spots that are particular tight and lying down would definitely be easier.” It was practical and at the same time she could hear something in her tone that she couldn’t quite decipher.
Rather suddenly, Halai sat up and turned around on the chair so she could look directly at Akem. “I need to know,” she said urgently. “Fill me in. I know you can feel what is unusual about me, just as I can with you. You tell me what yours is and I’ll tell you mine,” she challenged with a slight smirk.
~Halai Cosgrove
A bemused look spread over Akem’s face. “I am a deltan. My species is known to have a more evolved brain than that of humans. We feel everything with more intensity and we enjoy it! We also possess an acute awareness of empathy or telepathy. We can perceive what one desires and hope to satiate such things. It could also be that my natural pheromones are effecting you. As far as I know, you could be sensing any or all of these things.”
Arms braced across the top of the chair-back, Halai tilted her head slightly as her intense gazed remained focused on him. Aha! That was it. Why she didn’t guess that before, she didn’t know, but it made sense now. Would his pheromones affect her as they might others? Well, she couldn’t be sure, but she doubted it since a part of her own gift required her to shield reception at least partially.
He took a step forward, eyes briefly looking her up and down and finally looking into her own. “I think I’ve told you mine, and I am willing to answer any questions you may have after you tell me yours,” said Akem, fully aware of how close they were now.
-Akem
“Okay, but my kneeling on this chair like this is going to undo all your hard work to relax me, so…” Halai turned back around and slipped off the chair, moving to the bed. She slipped off her shoes and socks, wiggling her toes to let them feel the texture of the carpet. She then settled herself cross-legged on a corner of the bed, giving space for him should he wish to accept the invitation.
Akem silently observed her every move. He moved to the bed as well and accepted her non-vocal invitation.
“It’s hard to explain, but I think you may be one of the few who might understand,” Cosgrove said simply to begin. “My mother’s people, the Tyrellians, have gifts, as I will explain to the others when we meet. Like you, we are an aware species. If you think of psi-gifts as being on a spectrum, telekinesis is on one end and no perception or very little awareness is on the other. Empathy could be said to be a third along form no perception and telepathy falls in the two-thirds mark. Tyrellians fall on the low side of the spectrum, but we do register. The thing is Akem, that some of our oldest texts suggest that Tyrellians actually fell higher towards empathy, but that some had other sorts of gifts. Somehow we lost them, or stopped using them and thus the general population doesn’t know they have them or how to use them.”
“I’m different… somehow. I’ve been… awakened to my abilities through a series of events that have opened me up in ways I couldn’t have ever imagined.I’m a mirror, Akem to the emotions, wishes and desires of others. But it’s one sided. So, imagine feeling an emotion and reflecting it back to the other person without necessarily knowing it. You might think that that reflected emotion is your own as well.”
Akem nodded as he listened. He was intrigued by what she was sharing and he was sure to pay close attention.
“Before I learned this, I was subtly coerced by the emotions of others, led to take actions I might not have naturally on my own. I’ll never truly know back then what was my own true needs and desires versus those of the people around me, especially those I had deep attachment too. But now, I have done the work to learn how to shield myself and selectively allow or disallow the mirror to function. So long as I am in tune, I am protected.”
If Akem had eyebrows, they would have raised as he nodded with an understanding smile. “Quite fascinating!”
“And yet, that’s not all,” Halai said with a slight laugh, her serenity once again shining as though her entire being were backlit. “There is a tangible… instinct, if you will. The Clerics all it the ‘korsiolo’, and it guides me. It provides feedback of sorts that functions in conjunction with the mirror. Though… that being said, it is often a distinct thing. It has its own sort of energy and I can feel it. Sometimes it makes its opinion clear by creating a sense of warmth and light within me, or other times it remains annoyingly silent.” What would he make of this all? Would he think her mentally unstable? Billie had a hard time understanding it all at first, but she had loved Halai and so it became something that made sense. Akem didn’t have the personal history with her to have that sort of belief. Or did he? Would his own sense of everything show him that she wasn’t making this up? That it was real and tangible? “I could show you,” she blurted out after a moment, as if worried that he’d run away laughing.
~Halai Cosgrove
Akem’s grin broadened. “If you are concerned that I will not understand, do realize that I can accept what you say to be true. I am intrigued to see it, though how would you propose we do that?” he asked curiously. There were still things he could share about his mental abilities, but he had not actually tried it with a non-deltan. He did not voice it though. He merely expressed great curiosity and trust with Halai, though there were certainly undertones of attraction in the mix as well. And why shouldn’t there be? He relished the time they were sharing inwardly as he waited to hear her reply.
-Akem
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