Wasting time

"Wow." He raised his eyebrows, impressed. "Three powers, and they're all actually useful. You're lucky..."

And then he was quiet for a little while, partly because he didn't feel he really needed to talk and partly because he was trying to figure out how the walk down would go, with his good leg slightly less so. He shifted his leg uncomfortably, wishing it would hurry up and stop leaking blood everywhere. He liked these jeans...

Finally, slowly, he pointed upward, turning his head back to better see. "Eagle." He told her, following it with one finger until it dissappeared. "This place... It's got forests, lakes, mountains - it's right next to an ocean, for that matter... I can't understand how people can spend so much time in the school."

He shook his head, shifting his leg so she wouldn't be able to take a closer look. "Hospital? No. I just slipped, fell forward. Unto a rock. Stupid, but it doesn't hurt." That was probably because of the painkiller he'd taken for his leg about halfway up, but he didn't see any reason to mention that. No pain was no pain, no matter what the reason. "I caught myself with my hands, so it's not as bad as it could have been." He peeled off a glove to prove it, holding up the less scratched of his two hands.

He grinned, glad to be off the topic of his well-being. "Well, she's probably right... If I thought I could actually control my powers, I'd probably be living in the classroom." A pause, and then "did you fly up, or walk?" he asked - he was still wonderng how she'd been able to get all the way up the mountain without him seeing her first, and this was the first logical explanation he'd come across.

"Aw... Cheater." He grinned, teasing her. "Here's the cripple, climbing it all by himself, and you get to just fly up." A pause, and "it is a nice view," he admitted, poking his cane at the pebbles at the foot of the boulder, sending them careening down the slope of the mountain. He'd come up the easy path, and cut across to the difficult one - steep edges and craggy rocks were so much more interesting then a gentle slope with flowers growing here and there.

"On the other hand, flying up a mountain is also good practice for powers. Ta-da!" He raised his eyebrows, pulling his glove back on the badly scratched hand. "There's really nothing I can do to practice, though... I've only used my powers about three times, with disastrous results." He held up his cane as evidence of this fact, offering no explanation other then that.

He was taken aback by her comment, so much so that he didn't notice her until it was too late for him to get his guard up. At least it was diluted... He hadn't learned much he didn't already know. "Atalia Donatrice, you can't touch me. Really. It's, it's unfair for me to know everything about you; you'd hate me. You would." His face was earnest, grave. Everyone said they wouldn't mind, had nothing to hide, but then he'd accidently touched them and they never acted the same. His own sister didn't want to see him, felt uncomfortable whenever he was around. He didn't look forward to the day they'd give up on him, send him back home where she'd get all serious and quiet whenever he said hello, like she didn't want him knowing any more then he already did about her.

"Maybe you should be more careful with those powers. Wouldn't want crutches now would you? I sure wouldn't!"

He nodded, staring off at the cloudy, non-descript sky as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. "My baby sister," he half-mumbled, fiddling with the cane again. "She was... I'd take crutches - I'd take a wheelchair, a hospital bed - in a second." The corners of his mouth twitched upwards, and he turned his gaze back to Atalia, eyes boring straight into hers. "She hates me now." He laughed shortly, shaking his head in disbelief he still couldn't shake.

The shock, the tiny bit of hurt written on her face sent a tidal wave of guilt his way, and he frowned it off. "It's not... I can read your thoughts, your memories, feel your emotions, and I can't stop it. I can - if I try, I can dim it almost everywhere, but not if you take me by surprise; I just don't want to take any chances and learn anything you don't want me to know."

He shrugged, not really knowing the answer. "Because she had... Secrets, ones she didn't want anyone to ever know, and I was healing her for so long and I couldn't stop them; I didn't even know what was happening, and I could see her memories, hear her thoughts... She thinks she deserved to die. She thinks I wasted my leg on her. She hates herself, and she hates me for finding out what happened." He felt stupid, telling her everything. He barely knew her, and the way he felt so comfortable around her annoyed him.