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Gaia & Haller | Hinges
Haller goes to investigate a disturbance.
Privacy wasn’t something often afforded at the mansion, but Gaia managed to carve out spaces for it where she could. The attic was a particular favorite, as was one of the studies with a bookcase that revolved if you pulled a certain tome, but today she found herself in an empty suite on the third floor.
It was mostly quiet up here, and the fine layer of dust suggested it had not been occupied for some time. Perfect for her purposes.
A loud slam echoed through the halls as she used TK to close a door.
Barely a minute later, someone knocked on it.
"Everything okay in there?"
The girl cracked open the door and peeked out, opening it an inch further when she saw who it was. “Yes.”
Jim briefly met Gaia's eyes, then looked at the door. The first slam hadn't been particularly noteworthy. The second had been a little unusual. The third had just felt excessive, particularly when it kept happening just over his head.
"I heard you close the door a few times," he said, diplomatically. "Is it not latching right? Something I can help with?"
“I am practicing,” she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. To demonstrate, she shut the door again in his face using her TK, before opening it again. “These are a lot heavier than one would think.”
"You're still working on your upper-limit, right?" It was difficult to get a clear sense of what was going on when Gaia's preferred form of interaction with others was silent observation. So far the only one Jim knew to successfully engage her about her powers was Quentin, and the younger man had remarked that, despite appearances, they didn't appear to be true telekinesis. Jim chose to focus on this detail rather than his impression that this discovery had been made in the context of nurturing the next generation in preparation for some kind of Movement.
She blinked at him owlishly for a moment, deducing where he had received that information. “It is… not something I am used to.” Why would she be, when Gaia could just shape the world to what she wanted before?
Not used to an upper-limit? Interesting. For a moment Jim thought about trying to tease out more information. That evaporated the instant he met her frank grey gaze. It was not the stare of someone who welcomed personal questions.
"Whether you're building stamina or adjusting to different parameters," he said, "you can actually end up worse off if you push yourself too hard too fast. It's not a bad idea to develop some parallel strategies while you're building strength. Can I demonstrate?"
Opening the door all the way, Gaia nodded him into the room.
The telepath returned her nod and positioned himself in front of the door. Grasping the knob, he began to move the door back and forth as he gauged its weight. "I feel like these doors are better than they have to be," he remarked. "With all the explosive powers here maybe it'd be safer to build light, like the roof of a fireworks factory. Still, I guess it's a better aesthetic with the rest of the mansion. This is decently heavy, maybe 75 pounds. Solid. If you're already tired, it can be a struggle." Gently, he shut the door and took a few steps back.
There were two gunshot-sharp cracks, and the door fell off the frame.
An invisible force caught the solid wood before it could strike the ground, saving the hardwood floor. Haller stooped to retrieve two hinge pins from the floor, then turned back to Gaia. His eyes were almost as pale as hers.
"Door might be heavy," said the man, his voice noticeably lower and pulled with a slight drawl, "but hinges ain't. Understand?"
“Yes, I understand. ‘Work smarter not harder’.” She quoted the phrase like she was repeating what someone else had said to her. Likely Kyle.
Still, her fascination lay not in the hinge pins the man held, but in his shift of self. Gaia took in all the changes in his demeanor with a discerning eye — the voice, the eyes, the shift in posture. “It is important to know how things work, then?”
"Not necessarily. Couldn't tell you how a cellphone works, for example, but I can use them fine." The door pivoted itself back into the frame and held itself in place while the man strode forward, pins in hand. He placed the first; it slotted back into the hinge of its own accord with a solid thunk. "Helpful, though. Understanding gives you options."
“Options.” Force was what she knew best, but the maneuvers that the alter managed made her think that perhaps subtly was an art in of itself.
He was less irritating than Quentin Quire, at any rate.
Gaia’s stony facade was slowly cracking as she warmed up to Haller. She confessed, “My mind…. it has trouble focusing on such things. Like peering through a mist. Everything moves.. at a pace I can’t quite match.”
The alter knelt to get a better look at the lower hinge, his hand resting lightly against the telekinetically-supported door. His movements were confident, workman-like.
"What kind of pace?" Jack asked, not looking back at Gaia. "Too fast, or too slow?"
“Things change quickly.” A small marble floated out from her pocket and began doing figure eights, encased in a grey energy. An exercise in self soothing. “It seems easier to retreat away from it all. Sometimes it feels like I don’t have a choice.”
Jack grunted as he manually placed the second pin into the hinge. He let his telekinesis drive it home, like an invisible hammer, and straightened.
"Got some experience with that ourselves," he said, finally turning to face the girl. "World can be overwhelming if you've been out of circulation for a while. New places, new experiences. Anything help you in particular?"
Gaia shrugged lightly. “No, not quite. The feeling of this vessel deteriorating is ever present.”
This got another grunt. "Relatable. You got any hobbies? Anything that takes your mind off things?"
“I go for walks. And read.” The latter wasn’t really leisure though. The marble started a bobbing motion, up and down. “I practice too.”
"Those are activities. I mean making something." The telekinetic gave her a long look -- not judging, but appraising. At some point his left eye had begun to darken towards brown.
"Try sculpting," he said. "Get your hands dirty, for one. Gets you feeling something outside yourself. Could serve another purpose, too."
Jack withdrew a cigarette packet from his pocket and tossed it into the air, where it hung. Positioning a hand on either side of the pack, the telekinetic began to flex his fingers. Between his hands the cardboard began to twist and warp.
"Use your hands or use your powers, either will do. Clay's soft, so it won't take much energy. You'd get some practice in." The box had now unfolded completely, disgorging the few remaining cigarettes into the air. Jack cut his eyes back to Gaia. "Might be worth your time."
Her marble tucked itself away as she watched the telekinetic shape the box. “Hm.” Perhaps his suggestion was not without merit. “This sculpting… I could do whatever I want?”
"Sure. That's the great thing about art, or so I'm told. Worst case scenario you use the clay as a projectile." With a few brisk flicks of the wrist Jack refolded the packet into its original shape, although if one was watching closely one could see the reassembly wasn't seamless; clearly fine control wasn't his priority. Fortunately very little craftsmanship was necessary when the goal was "basic container". In another moment the cigarettes had reinserted themselves, and the alter plucked the packet from the air.
"That Rogue might have some pointers," Jack remarked as he slid the cigarettes back into his pocket, "but seems to me you could get by just fine with some clay and some space. Interested?”
Brow furrowed, Gaia pondered the proposal. She supposed she didn’t have much else to do. And besides, she quite liked whatever personality was currently fronting. He was much less wrapped up in feelings. “I would like that, yes.”
While one eye remained the same pale grey his left was now fully brown; whatever conversation had just happened had been some kind of joint effort. He nodded at her, and then, having no more interest in smalltalk than Gaia herself, turned to leave.
"I'll look into it. Until then, take it easy on the doors."
Privacy wasn’t something often afforded at the mansion, but Gaia managed to carve out spaces for it where she could. The attic was a particular favorite, as was one of the studies with a bookcase that revolved if you pulled a certain tome, but today she found herself in an empty suite on the third floor.
It was mostly quiet up here, and the fine layer of dust suggested it had not been occupied for some time. Perfect for her purposes.
A loud slam echoed through the halls as she used TK to close a door.
Barely a minute later, someone knocked on it.
"Everything okay in there?"
The girl cracked open the door and peeked out, opening it an inch further when she saw who it was. “Yes.”
Jim briefly met Gaia's eyes, then looked at the door. The first slam hadn't been particularly noteworthy. The second had been a little unusual. The third had just felt excessive, particularly when it kept happening just over his head.
"I heard you close the door a few times," he said, diplomatically. "Is it not latching right? Something I can help with?"
“I am practicing,” she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. To demonstrate, she shut the door again in his face using her TK, before opening it again. “These are a lot heavier than one would think.”
"You're still working on your upper-limit, right?" It was difficult to get a clear sense of what was going on when Gaia's preferred form of interaction with others was silent observation. So far the only one Jim knew to successfully engage her about her powers was Quentin, and the younger man had remarked that, despite appearances, they didn't appear to be true telekinesis. Jim chose to focus on this detail rather than his impression that this discovery had been made in the context of nurturing the next generation in preparation for some kind of Movement.
She blinked at him owlishly for a moment, deducing where he had received that information. “It is… not something I am used to.” Why would she be, when Gaia could just shape the world to what she wanted before?
Not used to an upper-limit? Interesting. For a moment Jim thought about trying to tease out more information. That evaporated the instant he met her frank grey gaze. It was not the stare of someone who welcomed personal questions.
"Whether you're building stamina or adjusting to different parameters," he said, "you can actually end up worse off if you push yourself too hard too fast. It's not a bad idea to develop some parallel strategies while you're building strength. Can I demonstrate?"
Opening the door all the way, Gaia nodded him into the room.
The telepath returned her nod and positioned himself in front of the door. Grasping the knob, he began to move the door back and forth as he gauged its weight. "I feel like these doors are better than they have to be," he remarked. "With all the explosive powers here maybe it'd be safer to build light, like the roof of a fireworks factory. Still, I guess it's a better aesthetic with the rest of the mansion. This is decently heavy, maybe 75 pounds. Solid. If you're already tired, it can be a struggle." Gently, he shut the door and took a few steps back.
There were two gunshot-sharp cracks, and the door fell off the frame.
An invisible force caught the solid wood before it could strike the ground, saving the hardwood floor. Haller stooped to retrieve two hinge pins from the floor, then turned back to Gaia. His eyes were almost as pale as hers.
"Door might be heavy," said the man, his voice noticeably lower and pulled with a slight drawl, "but hinges ain't. Understand?"
“Yes, I understand. ‘Work smarter not harder’.” She quoted the phrase like she was repeating what someone else had said to her. Likely Kyle.
Still, her fascination lay not in the hinge pins the man held, but in his shift of self. Gaia took in all the changes in his demeanor with a discerning eye — the voice, the eyes, the shift in posture. “It is important to know how things work, then?”
"Not necessarily. Couldn't tell you how a cellphone works, for example, but I can use them fine." The door pivoted itself back into the frame and held itself in place while the man strode forward, pins in hand. He placed the first; it slotted back into the hinge of its own accord with a solid thunk. "Helpful, though. Understanding gives you options."
“Options.” Force was what she knew best, but the maneuvers that the alter managed made her think that perhaps subtly was an art in of itself.
He was less irritating than Quentin Quire, at any rate.
Gaia’s stony facade was slowly cracking as she warmed up to Haller. She confessed, “My mind…. it has trouble focusing on such things. Like peering through a mist. Everything moves.. at a pace I can’t quite match.”
The alter knelt to get a better look at the lower hinge, his hand resting lightly against the telekinetically-supported door. His movements were confident, workman-like.
"What kind of pace?" Jack asked, not looking back at Gaia. "Too fast, or too slow?"
“Things change quickly.” A small marble floated out from her pocket and began doing figure eights, encased in a grey energy. An exercise in self soothing. “It seems easier to retreat away from it all. Sometimes it feels like I don’t have a choice.”
Jack grunted as he manually placed the second pin into the hinge. He let his telekinesis drive it home, like an invisible hammer, and straightened.
"Got some experience with that ourselves," he said, finally turning to face the girl. "World can be overwhelming if you've been out of circulation for a while. New places, new experiences. Anything help you in particular?"
Gaia shrugged lightly. “No, not quite. The feeling of this vessel deteriorating is ever present.”
This got another grunt. "Relatable. You got any hobbies? Anything that takes your mind off things?"
“I go for walks. And read.” The latter wasn’t really leisure though. The marble started a bobbing motion, up and down. “I practice too.”
"Those are activities. I mean making something." The telekinetic gave her a long look -- not judging, but appraising. At some point his left eye had begun to darken towards brown.
"Try sculpting," he said. "Get your hands dirty, for one. Gets you feeling something outside yourself. Could serve another purpose, too."
Jack withdrew a cigarette packet from his pocket and tossed it into the air, where it hung. Positioning a hand on either side of the pack, the telekinetic began to flex his fingers. Between his hands the cardboard began to twist and warp.
"Use your hands or use your powers, either will do. Clay's soft, so it won't take much energy. You'd get some practice in." The box had now unfolded completely, disgorging the few remaining cigarettes into the air. Jack cut his eyes back to Gaia. "Might be worth your time."
Her marble tucked itself away as she watched the telekinetic shape the box. “Hm.” Perhaps his suggestion was not without merit. “This sculpting… I could do whatever I want?”
"Sure. That's the great thing about art, or so I'm told. Worst case scenario you use the clay as a projectile." With a few brisk flicks of the wrist Jack refolded the packet into its original shape, although if one was watching closely one could see the reassembly wasn't seamless; clearly fine control wasn't his priority. Fortunately very little craftsmanship was necessary when the goal was "basic container". In another moment the cigarettes had reinserted themselves, and the alter plucked the packet from the air.
"That Rogue might have some pointers," Jack remarked as he slid the cigarettes back into his pocket, "but seems to me you could get by just fine with some clay and some space. Interested?”
Brow furrowed, Gaia pondered the proposal. She supposed she didn’t have much else to do. And besides, she quite liked whatever personality was currently fronting. He was much less wrapped up in feelings. “I would like that, yes.”
While one eye remained the same pale grey his left was now fully brown; whatever conversation had just happened had been some kind of joint effort. He nodded at her, and then, having no more interest in smalltalk than Gaia herself, turned to leave.
"I'll look into it. Until then, take it easy on the doors."
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Geez, I'm being dragged all over today