sui generis

“I’m not here to watch you.” Rachel told Kate. Her voice was in opposition to her older cousin’s. It was calm, level, and direct. Rachel bent down to her side. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I know Noah meant a lot to you.”

Rachel did her best to pull up and pin back Kate’s hair so it wouldn’t get stuck in her eyes. She looked a bit silly with her hair like that but they weren’t preparing for a beauty pageant were they?

“It’s not your fault, Katie.” She affirmed. It was hard not to hear, to feel, what Kate was feeling. Especially when it was so strong. Rachel leaned her head against the side of the bed and imitated Kate’s posture, watching the ceiling carefully as if it would give her further insight into her fellow time traveler’s troubles. “You weren’t his watcher. He wouldn’t want you to see it as your failure.”

Noah had meant the world to her, had meant the chance to return to her own. To return to her parents who would never know what became of her. Maybe she wasn’t his watcher, but she felt like she should have known. They should have been able to sense Sinister and his presence, but it seemed with every step they moved forward he’d already covered before they came to know him. It was confusing, and nauseating, and she longed for home now more than ever. 

Rachel’s hands in her hair, the comfort simple touch brings, lets her stay grounded rather than float off into the air again. The weightlessness of ceasing to exist only to crash down to existence once more, somewhere unfamiliar and very far away. Twice already she’d drifted in that abyss, and she loathed to do it once more, and she had a sneaking suspicion she would again.

Her eyes are bleary, but the crying has stopped at least. Hand hanging off the bed, she finds Rachel’s ginger mop and strokes down the side of her head gently. “If anything happened to you...” Or Oli, or Arlo... “I don’t know how long I can hold out.” Stashed away inside of her was the energy that had brought her to life, the very piece of the Phoenix force ripped away from her mother to allow her to escape from Sinister shortly after her birth. And if she let it, it would drive her mad. But she doesn’t let the suggestion linger long, knowing that even speaking about the possibility gave it power. Sniffling, she sits up straighter. “But how didn’t we know? You didn’t feel anything, right?”

7 Years: Kate grew up in the past timeline where she was tossed into the future through one of the rips in time when she was fifteen. I’d like for her to have more of a connection to the past timeline besides her parents, maybe a best friend or significant other. 

Born To: Kate’s powers are stronger than she realizes, as a mimic she’s maybe even picked up things she wasn’t aware of. With Noah gone, she’ll need a mentor to access those powers. 

Lorna finds herself grinning when the other girl laughs, pleased by it. She’s a little surprised when the girl turns down the offer, and starts turning away to go back to her book when the other steps in properly. “Lorna,” she replies, taking the extended hand. “Nice to meet you, Kate.”

Now — @impersokxte

Rachel didn’t need telepathy to be burdened with Kate’s sadness; her ears worked just fine. She could tell that her cousin was trying to stifle it and it made her pause a moment outside the door. Maybe if she left her for just one more hour… But she knew she shouldn’t. She’d already given Kate an extra hour. It would be bad to leave her any longer. For the mission, sure but more importantly Kate didn’t deserve to feel sad forever. She rolled her eyes thinking back to what Arlo had said, “Keep an eye on her.” Kate might be a bit soft but she wasn’t exactly a child.

Rachel pressed her ear to the door making sure one last time that Olivier had in fact left. The only sound she could hear and the only mind she could feel belonged to Kate. “Katie…” Rachel whispered, tapping gently at the door. “Mind if I come in? Arlo told me what happened.”

Olivier had things to do, he couldn’t always be by her side. Holding her hand. All this power she had, her mother’s and her father’s. It was useless in saving Noah, in bringing him back. What could she do in her anger? It was better to cry then risk following in the footsteps of her father and blowing everything up. So that’s what she does, knees drawn to her chest and head and back against the wall. She cries, the ceiling fan a blur through her clouded eyes. Noah had taken care of her, he picked her up and dusted her off and gave her a home. He gave her a chance to find her way back to her actual home. And now that she was here, she wondered if it was all worth it. 

Hearing Rachel outside, she looks over tiredly. Tired from crying and from hurting, and from missing her parents. Noah included. “Hey...” she says hoarsely. She lifts her hand, using her mother’s power- their mother’s power, to open the door. It swings open quietly and Kate offers her the worst attempt at a smile known to man. Her lips instantly fold, trying to keep her crying at bay. Sometimes she thought maybe she felt too much, and that’s why Arlo did things like this. Sent their cousin in his stead, because he did the exact opposite. He buried everything, especially pain, deep inside of himself. But Kate couldn’t do that, because she knew if she did then someday she might just explode. “You don’t have to watch me, you know. But I appreciate it.”

Lorna notices the girl’s eyes on her hair, used to people looking at it, and instinctively tucks it behind her ear. “Really. Or maybe I just missed him. To be honest, not being able to shut up seems pretty common around here,” she replies with a shrug and a smile. “Maybe I can help you? Find him?”

Kate can’t help the laugh that bursts out of her at that. It was true, everyone here always seemed to be prattling on. Maybe if she wasn’t busy crying so much she’d be talking a lot too, not that it was a luxury she had with what she had to hide. “Um,” she looks around. He probably wouldn’t like that. “No, that’s alright.” But she didn’t want to be alone again either. She steps inside the kitchen properly and leans against a counter. “I’m Kate, by the way. Kate Nathans.” She extends a hand, the fake last name still feeling strange in her mouth and like an affront to her parents.

Lorna leans against the counter behind her, eyes examining the blonde girl in front of her. Looking at her properly, Lorna’s pretty sure she’s seen her around once or twice, but they’ve never spoken. “Can’t say I’ve seen anyone like that in here.”

Kate’s eyes are drawn to the girl’s green hair. In her time it would have been a dead giveaway that she wasn’t human or normal. Here, Kate found many people dyed their hair unnatural colors. It was something she thought her dad would surely balk at if she suggested. Especially since she’d inherited her sandy locks from him. She leans against the opposite counter, like she’s trying to mimic Lorna’s informal disposition. “Really? He’s kind of hard to miss, like a pole,” she jokes. “And he really can’t shut up, so you must have at least heard him in passing.”

@impersokxte

“Hey. Did you need something?”

Kate’s eyes are drawn to the voice that greats her when she walks into the kitchen. She wasn’t exactly new but she did have a habit of looking lost. “Uh, I...” She smiles but it is wavering. “Nothing, just looking for someone. Oli, er, Olivier. Tall, skinny bloke.”