SALTBURNT | hex club group chat.

[powerhungry]

HEX CLUB/PINK SLIP GROUP CHAT. SILCO HAS ADDED YOU TO THIS CHAT. 42 people: Silco, Gwen, Faith, Hawk, Neon, Buffy, Cassian, Devon, Koby, Shadowheart, Stephen, Yeko, Zephir, Dean, Tara, Wanda, Jake, Saber, Sanji, Adrian; Ani, Peony, Bob, Yelena, Valentina, Sam, Max, Tristan, Parisa, Qimir, Thresher, Armand, Shauna, Cellar, Roza, Iggy, Isolde, Peter, Wally, Danny, Eddie, Teddie.

Comments

[kobes]

[the little spark of consciousness that is koby -- bubblegum pink, like a sunrise, flickering like the first rays peeking over a horizon -- gives a pleased little sort of flutter, sweetly bashful.]

Thank you. It's harder, since we haven't really talked in person since February, and I wasn't exactly myself then.

I could find you easier because we're more [a pause, ellipses.] familiar.

[viver]

[ He likes the connection. It almost reminds him of how he interacts with other living pieces of nature, either his direct creations, their descendants, or their mirrors from other universes. ]

We are, aren't we. Have you always had this gift?

[kobes]

[zephir feels -- not quite like anything else koby's used to, bright and vivid in a way he can't look at too long, like looking into the sun reflecting off a still sea. he likes it, though.]

No, it only awoke back in November. It's called "haki", where I'm from.

[viver]

Haki. What else does it do, now that it's awake?

[kobes]

It tells me where people are, what they're doing, their emotional and physical state, if they're injured, things like that. Eventually I can use it for fighting, apparently, but that takes a lot of practice.

[viver]

[ Zephir responds, wondering if he can poke back, like a playful strum of fingers on a musical instrument. A wave back from the other side of the river. ]

I'm sure you use it very responsibly, isn't that right.

[kobes]

[there's a surprised flicker, then the unseen equivalent of someone waving both hands very excitedly and hopping up and down.]

I try to? It's a lot of power and I wouldn't ever want to use it to hurt someone or make their lives harder.
I'm not very good at it yet, either.

[viver]

I'd say you're off to a wonderful start.

How can you be sure that you aren't doing that? Hurting or making people's lives harder. Since it's a concern.

[kobes]

Thank you, that's very kind of you to say. ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

I try not to probe into people's emotions without asking. Usually just a little nudge is the most I do. And I can tell if I'm hurting someone with it, since their emotions sort of bleed into mine.

[viver]

But you don't ask for permission, do you.

[ Coming from someone who genuinely doesn't care — but he is curious. How does Koby make up and follow his own rules? ]

[kobes]

Well, I do, before I go
Deeper. It's very different, what I'm doing now and what I CAN do. It's sort of overwhelming.

I can't un-feel people just existing around me, though. That's part of what's difficult about it. I feel everyone all the time, whether I want to or not.

[viver]

That must be overwhelming, when you were only made to be one person.

So this would be you opening the door, rather than stepping into someone's space and going through their things. Do I have the right idea?

[kobes]

[a pause, nearly too long.]

It can be, yes. It's harder to be in large groups, now.

That's it exactly, yes. Or -- knocking at the door, if I'm not sure whether it'll backfire badly or not.

[viver]

Large groups like ours?

[ Or is the number of people working in Silco and Ani's businesses still tolerable? ]

And if the person doesn't want anyone knocking at their door?

[ Like, say, the man everyone is looking for right now. ]

[kobes]

Sometimes? I can usually handle breakfast, so fifteen or so people is my lower limit. It's good practice, though, to be in groups like ours. It helps get me used to crowds. I'll need to take breaks, though.

They'll tell me.

[a touch grimly, matter-of-fact -- if someone doesn't want koby anywhere near their mind or emotions, it's usually easy to tell within moments.]