Nathan and Sooraya, Saturday afternoon

[x-cable.livejournal.com]

Sooraya's out experimenting and Nathan's out flying when the two of them, together, make an interesting discovery. Sooraya then proves that yes, she is just about the perfect student.


Sooraya paused on the wide expanse of lawn under the shade of a particularly tall tree, holding up one hand in deep contemplation. The sleeve of her tunic didn't so much as flutter as she watched it, and she smiled. Today would be a good day to practice her powers.

She had been practicing for some time with Dr. Moira, mostly what the red-haired woman called 'voluntary control', which Sooraya understood to mean 'not turning into a pile of sand whenever she got frightened or startled'. This was very important, of course, and over the past month she had gotten much better at it. So much so that Dr. Moira promised they would begin working on the next part, moving about, when they could. Sooraya wasn't entirely sure how this would turn out, but she trusted the doctor to know what was best.

And, of course, if she tried to practice on her own, well, Dr. Moira had never advised against it. Taking a deep breath, Sooraya focused very carefully on what she was about to do. There was no sound, no flash of light or ground-shaking rumble, but a moment later where there had been a girl clad in dark, loose clothing there was now a pile of sand sitting on top of a pile of dark, loose clothing.

High in the sky, almost too high to be differentiated from the sun, a firebird looped lazily back and forth, almost idly. Nathan had a thousand and one things to do on the ground, but he needed the fresh air and the relaxation rather badly. It had been a long work week.

The pile of sand did nothing at first. In fact, it did nothing for quite a long time. Eventually, however, it did do something: it twitched. It wasn't a very big movement, and it could've easily been explained by a passing breeze, except there was no breeze. The sand twitched again.

When he was in his exoskeleton, his vision was always altered. Even after the self-lobotomy, when he could no longer do molecular level TK, he could still see the lines of force, the potential energy in everything. Apparently the two things were entirely separate.

And as Nathan glanced down at the ground so far below, he saw something that could only be a flicker of telekinesis. Not strong at all, and had he not been looking directly at that spot, he would never have seen it. But chance was in his favor, and he swooped down to take a look, curious.

By now the sand had begun to shift more, tiny frissions running over it. Almost as if sensing that someone else was near they began to draw together, and by the time Nathan alit on the ground Sooraya was once again standing there, her cheeks a little flushed.

Nathan was staring in shock - and a certain amount of delight - at her. "~Sooraya Qadir,~" he said, mock-severely, although his eyes were dancing. "~You've been hiding things from me!~"

The girl looked up at him, half-shocked, and bit her lip bashfully. "~I am only practicing,~" she replied. "~I have not tried to do that in a long time.~"

The severe look broke into an enormous smile, one that seemed to combine both pride and wonderment. Like most telepaths, Nathan was usually fairly restrained, keeping his thoughts to himself beneath tightly controlled shields. Right now, though, he was almost projecting, his psionic presence several sizes larger than usual out of sheer joy.

"~You were practicing. Do you know what you were doing?~" He laughed, and barely restrained himself from stepping forward and giving her a hug. "~Moira suspected, but she wasn't sure... you were moving around, I'm guessing. And if I saw that right, you were doing it telekinetically.~"

"~I was?~" Sooraya felt a surge of happiness to know that she had succeeded in moving, if only a little, and a moment later a second wave of emotion, mostly confusion. Telekinetically? She had seen Nathan and Rachel do plenty of things with their telekinesis, but she had never ever suspected that she would be able to do something like that. "~How can you know? You were not even close to me, and I know I did not move that much...~"

"~It's hard to explain.~" Nathan hesitated for a moment. "~Can you try it again? Just so that I can make sure?~"

"~I...~" Sooraya pursed her lips thoughtfully, then nodded, threading her fingers together. "~I will do that, yes. And you will look away, when I am... coming back to myself?~"

"~Absolutely,~" Nathan said and half-turned. "~I'll look away as you change, too...~" Anything to make her comfortable, so that she would be able to duplicate what she'd just done.

With another nod Sooraya took a breath, pulling her hands apart and forcing herself to relax. Now that there was pressure she hoped she would be able to do it again... she knew Nathan wouldn't be angry if she couldn't, but she wanted to make him proud.

All her practice with Moira was paying off, however, as she was able to regain her sand form easily enough, her slight figure changing to the strange pile of sand on the ground once again. It was still for a moment, and then once again it began to shiver.

Nathan turned back and just stared. It was easy enough, even out of the exoskeleton, to focus on the lines of force - and lines of force there definitely were, in that shivering pile of sand. "Amazing," he said quietly. There were delicate patterns trying to form, and he smiled again, in wonderment.

Even more amazing was the fact that, a second later, there was the distinct impression of hand in the grains, only half-formed and distorted, but a hand nonetheless. It faded quickly and the sand resumed its random stirrings.

Nathan turned away - reluctantly - until he had his back to her. "~Change back, Sooraya,~" he said softly.

There was the sound of fabric rustling quietly, and when she spoke again to tell him it was all right to turn around, he found her fully clad and looking up at him expectantly. "~Did it work?~" she asked, trying to keep the anticipation out of her voice.

His smile was slightly more restrained, but the warmth was still there, and the undisguised affection in his eyes as he gazed down at the girl was still mixed with pride. "~You were moving telekinetically. I was right. Not only that, but you started to do something very complicated with your sand-self... oh, Sooraya, the things you're going to be able to do once you've learned all you need to know.~" The possibilities were very interesting.

"~Do you think so?~" Oh, just the idea of it... "~I never expected that I would be able to do anything more. But being here at the school I have learned so much, and I want to keep learning more...~"

"~Sooraya, you're the perfect student, do you know that?~" Nathan laughed and sat down on the grass. "~How did I ever luck out.~" The big smile came back. "~You realize that since it's telekinesis, I'm the best one to be giving you some additional lessons on top of the powers class.~"

The delight that Sooraya felt at this news was undeniable as a grin spread across her face, and she sat down neatly beside him. "~Really? Because I cannot think of another teacher I would rather have.~"

"~Depending on how precisely it develops, I will probably ask the Professor to consult... but of the telekinetics left around, I'm definitely the most qualified to teach this level of fine control.~" He gave her a curious look. "~How does it feel, when you do that? Are you tired after? Any headaches?~"

"~Hmm...~" Sooraya pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. It was getting a little cooler outside, and while she was used to cold temperatures, her clothes were pretty lightweight. "~I don't have headaches, I just feel... tired. I have not practiced very much, thought.~"

"~It's something to be aware of, when you do practice,~" Nathan said. "~There's no reason to push yourself too hard as you learn.~" For a moment his voice was reflective, his eyes staring off into the distance - or into the past. "~I try to remember that, when I'm teaching. It's hard sometimes, because my teachers didn't.~"

"~I'm sure you will not make that mistake,~" Sooraya said with absolute assurance, smiling happily. "~And I do not think I will have time to practice this too hard... there is too much other work to do.~"

"~You're learning bad habits from me,~" he chided gently, the smile taking the edge off the words. "~You don't need to be working all, or even most of the time.~"

"~But I want to. There is so much to learn, and things to do for people to make them happy, and I like that.~" What Sooraya didn't say was that she wasn't sure how long she would be able to stay there, and she wanted to get the most out of it while she could. "~I don't mind it, and I don't think it's bad, really.~"

The smile stayed on, although Nathan's eyes were suspiciously bright as he gazed down at her. "~I remember that this place seemed like a dream to me, when I first came here. But it's been two and a half years, Sooraya, and I haven't woken up yet...~"

A dark shadow flitted over her face, though it was gone as soon as it had come. "~I know,~" she said, nodding and looking down at her knees. "~And I am so lucky to be here. Thank you for bringing me here. I will make you glad of it, I promise.~"

"~I already am,~" Nathan said simply. "~Every moment of every day, I am.~"

Sooraya quelled a nervous flutter in her stomach and smiled at her knees, thanking Allah once again for bringing Nathan into her life and bringing her here to this wonderful place. "~Maybe, if you are not too busy, you can give me some exercises for telekinesis so that I can practice?~" she murmured.

"~You're in luck. I think I know just how you should start,~" Nathan said with another smile. Some of the meditation patterns would serve as a good basis. Her telekinesis, even in an untrained form, had been very tightly-focused, almost delicate.

"~Thank you. And then, I will make you a 'sub sandwich.'~" Sooraya beamed at him; Cain's meal had become her new favorite treat to make for her friends. Of course, when they came in Cain-sized portions, said friends were usually a little overwhelmed... "~They are very good, you'll like them.~"