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xp_logsWhile helping out in the Red Cross camp, Cessily has trouble maintaining her shape.
She held the box of supplies close to her chest as she walked, head down, steps a shuffle. The box didn't feel that heavy, but the stares did. She tried to read the words on top of the box as a distraction, but they weren't in English.
The box shifted unexpectedly lower. She realized that her form was slipping, melting away from the wood. She squeaked in horror and took off toward her goal building in a sprint, hands clutched tightly, cracking wood.
From nearby, Crystal caught sight of a silvery form suddenly break into a run. Her head turned, blue-green eyes following the young girl's path. A quick glance confirmed the fact that no one was actually chasing Cessily, and the boxes Crystal had been about to pick up rose into the air and floated next to her as she began to move in the student's direction.
Cess examined the damaged box with drooping fingers, silence echoed around her with all outside noise muffled by the building walls. She was almost glad she didn't need to breath anymore, or she'd be sobbing like a daytime soap star.
"Are you hurt?" Crystal's voice was heard behind Cessily several moments later, her own boxes gently touching down on the floor.
The younger woman jumped slightly at the sound of Crystal's voice. "Oh! I didn't see you come in." She turned back to the box. "No, I'm not hurt, but this box may be." She pressed her lips together in a firm effort to keep her body in its proper shape.
Crystal smiled at Cessily. "I do not believe that the box minds. You managed to get the supplies to their destination, yes? Is that not what is important at this time?"
"Huh," Cess eyed the partially-mangled box. "I suppose, I just hope I didn't squish anything on the inside."
"There is only one way to find this out," Crystal told the girl. "When the box is opened, the contents will be seen, and then we will know whether or not something has been 'squished, yes? Even if something has been damaged, it is not as though you meant to damage anything. No one will be upset with you." Or at least no one should, Crystal thought. She'd have something to say with anyone who would be upset with the young redhead.
"Only one way to find out." Cess held up her hand and stared at it for a moment. Slowly, it began to reshape, elongating and flattening until it resembled a pry bar. She wedged the end between the wood slats and prised off the top of the box. With another hard stare, her hand shifted back to normal.
"Has anything been damaged?" Crystal asked Cessily.
Cessily sifted through the supplies. She lifted out several broken plastic bottles, dripping water from long cracks down the side. Her face fell, drooping halfway down her face. "Yeah, crushed them it looks like."
Crystal looked at the damaged bottles, nodding once. "We can see if any of it is salvageable. Next time, perhaps it would be better to concentrate and have the good arrive a bit later yet intact, yes? We are here to help people, but this is also a good time for you to practice control. Transporting these boxes is not something that needs to be done so quickly that you must run to get them somewhere at a specific time."
Cessily looked down. "I was afraid I'd melt before I got here. The people, they were staring at me." Her skin started to droop again. "It's just... every time I feel people staring at me, I just want to disappear."
"Maybe they were concerned about you, just as I am?" Crystal suggested. "Even if this was not the case, you should not let other people bother you. Let them stare and carry on with what it is you need to do. Will you be seeing any of these people again in a week, once we leave Sri Lanka? Possibly, possibly not. You need to concentrate on yourself, and your task at hand, not what other people might or might not be thinking."
The younger woman turned away in shame. "Part of me knows that, just... not enough to keep me from turning into a road hazard." She gently set aside the damaged items and moved the undamaged ones over to the waiting stacks. "I could pretend they're all chickens or something. This was much easier on stage."
"If you wish to pretend, perhaps you can pretend that instead of staring, they are smiling?" Crystal moved so she was in front of Cessily. "Pretend that they are encouraging you so that you are not discouraged by the looks they send your way?"
She held the box of supplies close to her chest as she walked, head down, steps a shuffle. The box didn't feel that heavy, but the stares did. She tried to read the words on top of the box as a distraction, but they weren't in English.
The box shifted unexpectedly lower. She realized that her form was slipping, melting away from the wood. She squeaked in horror and took off toward her goal building in a sprint, hands clutched tightly, cracking wood.
From nearby, Crystal caught sight of a silvery form suddenly break into a run. Her head turned, blue-green eyes following the young girl's path. A quick glance confirmed the fact that no one was actually chasing Cessily, and the boxes Crystal had been about to pick up rose into the air and floated next to her as she began to move in the student's direction.
Cess examined the damaged box with drooping fingers, silence echoed around her with all outside noise muffled by the building walls. She was almost glad she didn't need to breath anymore, or she'd be sobbing like a daytime soap star.
"Are you hurt?" Crystal's voice was heard behind Cessily several moments later, her own boxes gently touching down on the floor.
The younger woman jumped slightly at the sound of Crystal's voice. "Oh! I didn't see you come in." She turned back to the box. "No, I'm not hurt, but this box may be." She pressed her lips together in a firm effort to keep her body in its proper shape.
Crystal smiled at Cessily. "I do not believe that the box minds. You managed to get the supplies to their destination, yes? Is that not what is important at this time?"
"Huh," Cess eyed the partially-mangled box. "I suppose, I just hope I didn't squish anything on the inside."
"There is only one way to find this out," Crystal told the girl. "When the box is opened, the contents will be seen, and then we will know whether or not something has been 'squished, yes? Even if something has been damaged, it is not as though you meant to damage anything. No one will be upset with you." Or at least no one should, Crystal thought. She'd have something to say with anyone who would be upset with the young redhead.
"Only one way to find out." Cess held up her hand and stared at it for a moment. Slowly, it began to reshape, elongating and flattening until it resembled a pry bar. She wedged the end between the wood slats and prised off the top of the box. With another hard stare, her hand shifted back to normal.
"Has anything been damaged?" Crystal asked Cessily.
Cessily sifted through the supplies. She lifted out several broken plastic bottles, dripping water from long cracks down the side. Her face fell, drooping halfway down her face. "Yeah, crushed them it looks like."
Crystal looked at the damaged bottles, nodding once. "We can see if any of it is salvageable. Next time, perhaps it would be better to concentrate and have the good arrive a bit later yet intact, yes? We are here to help people, but this is also a good time for you to practice control. Transporting these boxes is not something that needs to be done so quickly that you must run to get them somewhere at a specific time."
Cessily looked down. "I was afraid I'd melt before I got here. The people, they were staring at me." Her skin started to droop again. "It's just... every time I feel people staring at me, I just want to disappear."
"Maybe they were concerned about you, just as I am?" Crystal suggested. "Even if this was not the case, you should not let other people bother you. Let them stare and carry on with what it is you need to do. Will you be seeing any of these people again in a week, once we leave Sri Lanka? Possibly, possibly not. You need to concentrate on yourself, and your task at hand, not what other people might or might not be thinking."
The younger woman turned away in shame. "Part of me knows that, just... not enough to keep me from turning into a road hazard." She gently set aside the damaged items and moved the undamaged ones over to the waiting stacks. "I could pretend they're all chickens or something. This was much easier on stage."
"If you wish to pretend, perhaps you can pretend that instead of staring, they are smiling?" Crystal moved so she was in front of Cessily. "Pretend that they are encouraging you so that you are not discouraged by the looks they send your way?"
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