Untouchable

It was almost instantaneous that she felt something inside the dark halls of her mind. Her memory when she was a child, it was pulled forth to the forefront of her conscious thoughts, and it left her stunned for a moment. It was a nightmarish one, something she wished she could have changed. But she was still new and learning how her powers operated, and it would be something that would continue to haunt her to this day.

A smaller Sophia was in her room, plagued with terrible nightmares, and it was in that moment she tossed and turned. The furniture of her room inverted, sticking to the ceiling as if someone had turned the gravity off. And when she finally awakened from the nightmare, she had screamed, her furniture crashing down and leaving the room in complete disarray.

Sophia was unsure of what to say, and had no idea what had just transpired in her own mind. But Natsume…he knew. Just like us, Sophia. And she understood why now…why it was he did not want to be touched again. Still a bit shaken by her memory…she nodded slowly. “No…no that is alright. The exit is this way.”

She did not dare reach to steady him, even if she wanted to, seeing him have another coughing fit. She felt bad…if she was indeed the cause of this new pain. Hopefully…she could fix him something that would ease up on his pain. She walked slowly, not wanting to lose him in the forest, and walked with strict poise, her hands folding in front of her. “It is nice to meet you, Javier. My name is Sophia Redwall, flora expert of Floaroma.”

He nodded, cautiously following after her. “Sophia. It is nice to meet you. I’m sorry it’s under such circumstances.” He offered a weak smile at that, continuing through the forest as she led. He glanced at the Abra perched on her head again, wondering if the Pokemon also knew what that little episode meant. The Abra probably did; Psychic-types were like that. 

“Floaroma. That’s where all those lovely meadows are, correct?” He’d passed through before, and had taken his time resting in said meadow. Javier could only imagine how strange he might have looked to even himself in that moment--the man always on the move, laying down in a bed of grasses and flowers, just enjoying the sun and the breeze.

It was a nice place to live. He’d hate to screw it up. He feared he may have already made Sophia uncomfortable. Obviously he hadn’t meant to, but that didn’t change anything. Still...to find another psychic, that was something. And she was probably far more powerful than he, judging from the episode in her bedroom. It was hard to compare, of course; different gifts, and all that. But it was clear she had immense talent from as young an age as he. 

I remember and remember and remember ( I wish I didn’t )

“One of my unfortunate gifts, yes. I promise I’m not trying to eavesdrop, you just.. you think so clearly.”

Elliot laughed at his own comment, hearing how weird it sounded even to himself. Retrocognition though, not what he’d encountered before, and definitely not one he had. Maybe sometimes history was painful. It explained why he didn’t want to touch anything too old, or anything that had damage done to it.

“Sure, sure,” he said. “You drink coffee? There’s a great place nearby, and it’s never too busy.”

He gestured away from the market, toward a quiet little place on the corner, and sort of started walking before Javier could reply, giving a uick thanks to the vendor and making a mental note to maybe come back and buy the strange little burned item. He rather liked the look of it.

“Why come to a market, though? I mean sure you’ve still gotta buy stuff sometimes but there’s so much to touch here and the crowds are always a mess.” 

Think so clearly. That was a new one. “No, no, trust me. I understand,” he replied, giving the other half a smile. “Coffee sounds fine.”

He nodded to the vendor, following after the other psychic. “Ah...I’m travelling, and this was the only place in town to buy anything.” 

He remained silent until they entered the coffee shop, taking a look around and appreciating the lack of busyness. As he looked at the menu, he glanced the other’s way. “You probably already know my name, but yours?”

Javier had long ago resigned himself to what he was, and what that meant for his life. He had no real roots anywhere at this point, a singular friend in his adopted sister who he hardly ever reached out to first. He didn’t want to burden anyone, or cause any disaster, or land himself in a coma again. 

The young psychic was rather frightened for him. He looked in quite amount of pain, and being lost in a place like Eterna Forest with an illness would likely lead to an untimely demise. She would do her best to help him out of this rather grim situation, and take him into town. “Please…don’t apologize. I’m happy to help you however I can.”

Sophia wanted to reach out to him to help steady him…but she felt it would be a little too invasive to, considering he appeared injured. She had wandered inside the dark forested walls of Eterna more times than she would ever tell anyone. This place, while dark and mysterious, was something of a comforting space for her. People didn’t come in here if they didn’t have to, and it was a place she receded to when the world became too overwhelming.

“I can take you back to my home in Floaroma Town. My family owns a flower shop where I’m certain I can make you a tea that may help your cough.” She winced as he coughed again, going over to try and steady him. She offered her hand to him to make an attempt to lead him away without disturbing the injuries that were of unknown origins. “Follow me this way. I’ve walked these paths many times to get you out quickly.”

It was a good thing she was willing to help; Javier had not been eager to spend the night in this place. Especially considering how eager Spiritomb had seemed about that abandoned mansion. 

He nodded, giving her a wan smile and whispering a “Much appreciated,” just before coughing again, just before she touched him. He hadn’t seen it coming, hadn’t been able to step back and warn her against it. That hardly mattered, because what he witnessed left him stiff and gasping. 

He jerked away as soon as he could, knowing her hand was an offer of support, but suddenly feeling it was a threat. Not a threat from her--a threat to her. What he saw, he could tell, was a secret that was not known to many. 

He should know. It was quite similar to his own. 

The vision left him dizzy and even fainter than before, but he held up a trembling hand to ward her off as she held out her hand to him again. “Please, don’t think me rude,” he gasped out, “but please don’t touch me again at least until we are out of here.” He paused, gathering his breath again. “I will explain when we are in town. I believe you will understand.”

She might already understand, if the memory he’d just witnessed had been called forward in her own mind at the touch. It very well may have been. It wasn’t often he encountered other psychics; he could never really know how their powers would interact with his own. He dug his own nails into his bloodied palm, trying to let the pain ground him. Back to the present, back to reality. 

@retroception

“Delayed?“ Theo repeated in disbelief. “What the hell do you mean my flight has been delayed?” The more annoyed he got, the louder his voice rang. Strangers cocked their heads to watch the young man spitting venom at the woman behind the desk. Her eyes were wide and fearful, and unbeknownst to Theo, her finger repeatedly pressed the security button.

By the time he threw every curse word under the sun at her, two large men appeared out of no where to promptly escort Mr. Rourke out of the airport. Anger pooled in the pit of his stomach, and although enraged, he knew not to resist. There was no way Theo would win against two men who looked as if they could defeat a Machamp in an arm wrestling contest.

Even his own memories couldn’t leave him alone, could they?

So Javier went to the fountain. The sound of water in motion was one he found soothed his mind, and without anyone around, it was easy to enjoy it. He was standing in front of it, simply listening with his eyes closed, long coat whipping up a bit in the wind and billowing out behind him. 

As soon as he heard someone else nearby, though, he opened his eyes and stiffened, ready to move off. Maybe he’d try to get some sleep. 

But then the man greeted him. That was the other danger of nights like these: should anyone else be out and about, on occasion, they did not keep to themselves. Javier turned to face the other man, suddenly very reminded by his lack of height. 

“Hello,” he greeted in return, planning on excusing himself as soon as could be allowed. But then the other began saying something about cards. He furrowed his brow, responding with a slow “Sorry?” 

Past experiences help shape who we are currently, how we see the world. Send in a symbol and I’ll write a drabble of one of my muse’s memories. 

–

❥ - a childhood memory

♣ - a fading memory

✂ - a vivid memory

✖ - a repressed memory

✈ - an eye-opening memory

✤ - a memory that involves romance/love

☤ - a memory of death/loss

✍ - a memory of their mother

☽ - a memory of their father

♘ - a memory of their sibling(s)

✌ - a memory of a relative

↕ - a memory that may or may not have happened

♚ - a memory of something paranormal

✓ - a sexual memory