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Triumvirate Book 5 By Paradox Wolf Springs, Wyoming, Connors Residence "Well?" I, along with Kitty, looked over the dark-haired beauty that posed awkwardly before us in a pretty black crocheted dress that stopped at around mid-thigh. Lifting a finger, I made a twirling gesture which elicited the expected look of exasperation from our unwilling model before she did a slow turn and faced us once more. "If you say this makes my ass look big I may be forced to hurt you," she warned in a growl. "Your ass is fine," Kitty informed her. "But something about it just doesn't quite work. Don't get me wrong, you look great in it," she assured our friend when she looked crestfallen. "But it just doesn't...feel right." "Yeah," I agreed with a nod before rising from my spot on the bed beside the gorgeous brunette. "It doesn't really feel like you." "Considering I'm not exactly comfortable in dresses yet that's not much of a surprise," Aiden grumbled. "Not what I mean. It just doesn't suit you, who you are," I clarified. While Kitty hmmm'ed in thought I walked over to Aiden's closet and started going through it for what must have been the tenth time in the last half hour. Since we'd started this project of picking out just the right dress for Aiden's date I'd scoured her wardrobe for just the right look. While her mother had certainly made sure she had plenty of nice things, and Kitty's fashion sense made certain that the pairings of the separates worked well with one another, we still had yet to find anything that really fit the bill for a first date. I had almost given up hope and resigned myself to suggesting the red number Aiden had tried on earlier when I caught sight of a skirt and top that I'd missed earlier. Taking them down I held them up to get a better idea of how they might look on Aiden when I heard someone walk up behind me. "Whatcha got?" Kitty asked. Turning slightly, I lifted the two items up a bit to show her even as I started to smile confidently. "I think this might be it," I declared. "Hmmm," she said, not quite so quick to claim victory over the fashion gods just yet as she examined the two articles. "Potentially. She has to try them on first." "I'm standing right here you know," Aiden grumped from a few feet away. "Hush dear, the grown-ups are talking," Kitty quipped, making me giggle. "Here Aiden," I told her, "try these on. If this doesn't work I think you're best off with the red one from earlier." Handing her the two hangers she gave a put-upon sigh and trudged back into the bathroom to change. Just before the door closed I heard her mumble, "I'm going on a date, not meeting the fucking president." "Poor dear," Kitty said sympathetically, "we have so much fashion to teach her." "Knock it off Kitty," I warned her lightly, "We just went over this. Aiden has her own way and we can't force anything on her." "I know, I know," she sighed, "but it's high time she learned that people do dress for occasions other than whacking away at metal with a hammer." "Steel," we heard as the door to the bathroom open, "and I do not just whack at it." I felt my breath catch even as Kitty gasped in delighted surprise. The skirt was a ragged, kerchief designed made up of dozens of actual kerchiefs in earthy browns, greens, and blacks stitched together. The top was a stretchy black lycra blend that fitted snugly, accentuating Aiden's trim physique before terminating in a generous neckline connected to a single, cross body strap that left one of her shoulders and all of her arms bare. The overall look was wild, untamed, and perfectly Aiden. "Amazing," Kitty breathed. "I look like an apocalypse survival victim," she growled, holding out the skirt slightly to look at it. "No," I assured her, "you look fantastic. It's definitely the look for you, though we will need to do something wild with your hair tomorrow night. Where's he taking you again?" "Dinner at Wolf's Den-" "Appropriate," Kitty interrupted with a smile. "And," Aiden went on after giving the girl a mild glare, "dancing at that club. What's it called again? Lightshow?" "That's the one," Kitty confirmed before smiling impishly. "You know, if I'd kept my date with Jeremy I think that's where he planned on taking me too." "You could always go with Angela," I suggested, "Though I seriously doubt clubbing is her scene." "Not unless they changed the definition of 'clubbing' to include computer programing," quipped Aiden. That earned her a frown of disapproval from Kitty before once again she was her usual, cheerful self. "I think I'll be able to talk her into it one of these days," she said confidently, "But actually, I figured I'd try out another one of your recipes on her, Ashley, and just have a cozy little evening of snuggling and..." She broke off with a clearly lecherous grin. "Snu snu?" Aiden's not so delicate suggestion had us erupting in peals of laughter while she went about getting changed out of the skirt and top and back into jeans and a polo shirt. She left on the sexy underwear Kitty had located in her drawers just prior to the impromptu fashion show, which I was glad to see. Aiden was a beautiful girl with a great body. She'd been so staunchly opposed to showing it off lately that I was happy to see her starting to embrace her feminine side. I was just about to bring up the subject of accessories for her date when there was a knock at the door. "Come in," Aiden called, "I'm decent. Can't speak for Kitty though." The door opened and Aiden's mother came in just as the pillow Kitty threw rebounded off Aiden's head. "I'm not about to get sucked into a pillow fight am I?" she asked with a smile. "Not unless Aiden wants to take any more jabs at my propriety," Kitty proclaimed grandly while effecting a regal, nose in the air posture. When all eyes settled on the lovely bladesmith she actually seemed to consider it for a moment before shrugging. "Nah, I'm done." Chuckling, her mother shook her head before looking over to me. "Ashley, your mother is on the phone for you." "Thanks Mrs. Connors," I told her before snatching up Aiden's phone from her desk. "You really need to turn this ringer back on," I told my friend. "I can hear the phone from across the yard," she countered. "The damn thing nearly blew out my eardrums the first time it went off." Shaking my head with a sigh...did she not realize the ringer volume can be lowered on these things?...I pressed the talk button. "Hi Mom, what's up?" "Rebecca Stanhope is here," she said pleasantly, "She'd like to speak with you and your friends." "What?" I cried in shock, causing Aiden and Kitty to look over in concern. "What do you mean she's there now? Were we expecting her?" "No dear," Mom told me soothingly, "she said she wanted to come and conduct your interview with you three right away and caught the first available flight here. She realizes it's short notice and is more than willing to give you time to get home." "But....but." I looked down at my myself and was absolutely certain the off-the-shoulder top and long skirt was not appropriate interview attire. "I can't do a school interview looking like this," I protested. "I need time to get cleaned up." "Interview?" Aiden asked, her eyes widening. "That woman from Tearmann is there?" "Good thing I always make sure to look fabulous," Kitty boasted before quickly rummaging through her purse for her makeup and racing to Aiden's bathroom to touch it up. "Ashley, relax," Mom soothed. "She understands this is very short notice and assured me that physical appearance, clothing or otherwise, has no bearing on whether or not you're accepted to the school. Just you and your friends come right on over and speak with her and then I'll make all of you dinner, okay?" "Okay," I said uncertainly before hanging up the phone with a shaking hand. "So?" Aiden asked anxiously barely before I had the thing back on its cradle. "We need to get over to my house right away," I told them quickly. "All of us. Apparently she's doing our interviews together." "That's rather unusual," Kitty observed, coming out of the bathroom and tucking her compact, eyeliner, and mascara back in her purse, "Interviews are usually done individually so the interviewees can't influence one another." "Well," Aiden surmised as she hung her date outfit on the closet door so it wouldn't get wrinkled, "This is a school for mutants, not mention it's Canadian. They probably do things differently." "Maybe," I allowed, gathering up my own purse and following the girls out of the room, "It still seems unusual." Once we'd piled into Kitty's car, with me in the front seat and Aiden stretched out in the back, she backed out of the driveway and headed down the lane that would take us out to the main roadway. It was roughly a fifteen-minute drive to my house and I suspected that the nervous bouncing of my foot would continue for the entire drive. "Ashley, relax," Kitty told me, glancing briefly at me before returning her eyes to the road, "We're doing an interview for school admission, not whether or not you get a new kidney." "I know, I know," I said, nervously re-crossing my legs, "I just really want to get into this school. If they decline my application, then I won't have any choice but to apply to Whateley." "You could always just go to school in Wolf Springs," Aiden suggested. Glancing at her friend in the rear-view mirror, I shook my head and sighed. "I thought about it, for maybe a minute or two. The problem is, I need to learn how to control my power if I want to be able to effectively use it. Tearmann and Whateley are the only two places that have people who can teach me without me worrying about some kind of ulterior motive." "Not everyone's out to get you Ashley," Kitty told me gently. "I know that," I sighed, "and I think I'm getting better about my whole paranoia issue, but it's not like I can just turn it off like a switch, you know?" I felt Aiden's hand reach up from the back seat and give my shoulder a comforting squeeze. "We know, that's why you'll have us there with you. She's interviewing all three of us, remember?" In all of my nervousness about the upcoming interview I'd actually forgotten about that little fact. Yes, I was nervous and even a little scared, I had no idea what this woman was like after all, but I would have Mom and my friends there with me too for support and strength. It did bother me a little how I sometimes desperately needed support from others, but that was just one of the many issues that I was working through and I'd like to think I was finding more and more success with it. Besides, as a wise man once said, sometimes it takes more courage to ask for help than to act alone. Wolf Springs, Wyoming, McKinnon Residence Rebecca Stanhope had been working with and helping mutants for many years. Having trained at Whateley Academy herself some years ago, she had seen first hand how more than a few young people often had difficulty balancing their extraordinary abilities with simple social interaction. More than once she had been witness to a student go down a dark path, overcome by power that they either had little control of or that they had simply relinquished themselves to. It was one particular case of this that had been the primary influence for her to peruse work in the field of psychology...that and her empathic abilities. While Rebecca knew she couldn't help everyone, the desire to do as much as she can had been a driving force in her long and respected career. Still, it could be trying at times, as the elegant streaks of gray in her light brown hair could attest. Rebecca was drawn from her inner musings as Rowen McKinnon set the cup of steaming tea before her with a smile. "So how are things in the psychology business?" she asked. "Pretty good," the other woman replied, picking up the cup and taking a sip with a smile. "God I miss this. Why did you have to be three grades behind me in school?" "I've offered to give you the recipe," Rowen pointed out with a cheeky grin. That elicited a smirk from her former classmate. "Having a distinct lack of magical ability tends to...blunt its effectiveness." The light jab only garnered a careless shrug gentled by a warm smile. "It's not my fault I was born a witch and you were born an empath." "Yes, yes," Rebecca said with a wave of her hand, "you've told me plenty of times before. So, I was wondering if I could ask you a few things before your daughter and her friends arrive." With a curious tilt of her head, Rowen settled herself more comfortably in one of the chairs in the living room. "I thought you received very detailed files on Ashley." "Now Rowen," the psychologist chided, "you know just as well as I that you can only get so much from words written on a piece of paper, or a computer screen as the case may be." "Fair enough," the witch allowed, sipping from her own tea cup, "but Ashley hasn't been with me for very long so my knowledge of her is rather limited." "So sayeth the quintessential mother," Rebecca teased, distinctly remembering how Rowen took it upon herself to care for many of her fellow classmates. "Actually, I was wondering if you could tell me how she has been doing lately, emotionally speaking. I've read through the events from San Francisco, of course, and I know that it was very traumatic for her, so I'm wondering how she's been coping with it." Sighing, Rowen leaned back in her chair and Rebecca noticed her expression cloud with worry. "She still has nightmares about it, though thankfully not every night anymore. For the first two weeks she would wake up at least once a night screaming because she was either reliving the memory or her imagination made it worse in some way or another. These days it seems to only happen maybe once or twice a week." "That's good," the psychologist said encouragingly, "it means she's working through the pain of the experience and not letting it be an overriding factor in her life." The smile Rowen gave her friend was pained to say the least. "That's just the tip of the iceberg. She's been coping with severe anxiety and paranoia whenever she's in public. Here in the house and walking through the woods out back she's fine, but if she has to be out amongst people she turns into a frightened little mouse just waiting for the cat to pounce." "And yet, she has friends now?" Rebecca asked, her voice deliberately pitched to project confusion. The chuckle uttered by the witch was one of knowing. "Rebecca, please don't try those psychoanalytical tricks on me. Yes, she has friends now, Aiden and Kitty. She only just met them a few days ago, ironically enough after almost getting run over by Kitty's friend." That caused the psychologist's eyes to widen with unfeigned surprise. "That's quite...interesting. Can you elaborate on what happened?" Briefly, Rowen related to her friend the events that occurred in which the three girls met for the first time. "They didn't become friends immediately," she informed Rebecca, "But that's how they first met one another. I had Aiden and her parents over for dinner that night and..." she sighed and closed her eyes and it was clear that she was experiencing the kind of pain only a mother can know when her heart breaks for her child, "Ashley had an episode. She later told me it was a combination of the events in San Francisco being brought up along with the knives on the table, but she had a debilitating panic attack that had her running out of the house and into the forest." Nodding, Rebecca made several notations on her tablet. "Was that the first time she reacted in such a way?" "As far as running as though her life depended upon it, yes. Thankfully, Aiden ran after her immediately and eventually brought her back. Apparently they talked for quite some time at a large, hollowed out log Ashley goes to sometimes when she's feeling overwhelmed. From that point on, the two of them seem to have grown quite close." "That's good. It's important for her to have people other than family in her life that she can trust. What about Kitty?" "I will admit that I was hesitant for Ashley to associate with her at first. Kitty is somewhat...mature," Rowen explained delicately. "How so?" Sighing, the witch waved her hand about trying to grasp at the right words. "She dresses rather provocatively and acts the same as well. Do you remember Toni? Kind of like her," she said after receiving the understanding nod. "From what I know about the young lady," Rebecca said, looking over some information on her tablet, "it would seem that this is not entirely in her control." "That's what Ashley told me," Rowen confirmed, "though she wouldn't tell me why. She said it wasn't her place to talk about it." "That's quite a caring and mature attitude about it. I'm afraid I'm bound to the same kind of ethics as your daughter so I can't say either, but I will tell you that by all accounts Kitty appears to be a fine young woman and doesn't pose any kind of danger to Ashley, morally or otherwise." "That's comforting," Rowen said honestly. "She became a part of their little group the day after that dinner when she and Aiden showed up at the house after a run through the woods and Kitty had hurt her ankle. I'm not entirely sure what happened to bring them together so swiftly since they were in Ashley's room for most of the time, but whatever it was they have been nearly inseparable since." "Having spoken with Aiden's parents already, and consulted with Kitty's friend Angela, it seems that they are quite good for one another." "I agree," the witch said with a smile. "This is the first time in months I've seen Ashley truly happy. She was very excited about attending Tearmann." "I'm curious," Rebecca said, putting her tablet aside and shifting so she was sitting more comfortably, "why did she choose Tearmann over Whateley? With you being an alum I would have figured that would have been her first choice." "I tried to convince her to go, believe me. It seems like she has some rather strong feelings when it comes to the way Whateley addresses student housing and social interaction. You're aware of the sex change caused by her mutation?" Rebecca nodded. "Well when she found out about Poe and how all trans students are housed there she was quite upset about the segregation, not to mention the manner in which the remaining student body was divided." "I have to say, that always kind of annoyed me too," Rebecca admitted. "Really?" Rowen asked in mild surprise. "I never had an issue with it." "Spoken like a true resident of Melville," countered her friend lightly. The blush to Rowen's cheeks formed quickly. "Ashley kind of hit me with that one too." "She's not wrong," the psychologist pointed out. "After I graduated and went on to college I took a really good look at Whateley and compared what I thought about it before and after I attended. Before I went, I was so excited because I would be around mutants like me and didn't have to hide who I was. After, though, I realized that while it's certainly a good school and deserves its reputation, I found myself questioning more and more how they handle their students." "Is that why you applied to work with Tearmann?" Rowen surmised. "As a matter of fact, yes," Rebecca confirmed with a smile. "I spent a year doing an internship there. I got to see first hand just how the school operates and I have to say I was very impressed by it. If the girls are accepted, I think it will be a very good place for them." "If?" Rowen asked archly, lifting a challenging eyebrow. "Rowen," her friend sighed, "you and I are friends, and from what I've received on these girls they do seem to be fine candidates for enrollment, but I still have to be impartial on this. Plus, I'm not the only one making this decision. We have a committee that oversees applications and makes sure that the students who attend won't cause a great deal of trouble both during school and once they've graduated. It's one of the ways we distinguish ourselves from Whateley." The hard look Rowen gave her was clearly that of a protective mother wanting only the best for her child. Rebecca understood this and didn't begrudge her for doing it whatsoever. Still, she was glad when she saw the woman relax and nod in understanding. "I appreciate that, but I'm sure Ashley will more than prove she would be a great fit in the school." No sooner were the words out of her mouth then both women heard the sound of a car pulling up outside followed by several doors opening and closing. Moments later, the front door opened and Rebecca watched as a beautiful girl with unnaturally bright red hair practically ran inside. "I'm sorry we took so long," she said breathlessly, "I tried to get Kitty to drive faster but-" "It's fine honey," Rowen assured her daughter as she stood and moved to hug her warmly. "Rebecca understands this was short notice and we had a lovely time chatting while we waited." As she watched mother and daughter lovingly greet one another, Rebecca watched as the other two girls casually filed in behind their friend. While there was a certain level of anxiousness and trepidation that one would expect from someone about to go through an important interview, the two seemed far less concerned about it than their friend. "Hello," she greeted, standing to smile warmly to all of them. "I'm Rebecca Stanhope. I hope I haven't inconvenienced any of you by my sudden arrival." The dark-haired girl, Aiden, shrugged carelessly. "We weren't doing anything important." "Not important?" the other girl, Kitty, exclaimed in disbelief. "We were getting you ready for your first real date." "Kitty, try and have a little perspective here," Aiden chided her mildly, though Rebecca could tell there was affection there too. "The hard part was already done," Ashley pointed out, glancing over at Rebecca with a look that the psychologist instantly recognized as uncertainty coupled with a subtle shift in posture that placed her mother as a barrier between them. "Well hopefully I won't take too much of your time and you can get back to it. I remember how much time it took to get the perfect first date outfit put together." Kitty opened her mouth to say something and was immediately silenced by a quick elbow to the ribs by Aiden who gave the brunette a look with those interesting golden eyes that clearly said, "Behave." Reaching out with her power, she lightly touched on each of the girl's emotions and was rather surprised by what she discovered. While Ashley was quite nervous, an understandable reaction to something she considered important, there was also a certain level of distrust that was clearly directed at the psychologist herself. At first she was confused why this might be until she recalled that the men responsible for her trauma had been in positions of authority in her respective fields. While the girl might not know her occupation was that of psychology, it was clear she considered Rebecca in the same league when it came to authoritative power. In regard to Kitty, the girl was actually quite aloof about the situation. While it seemed that her interest in attending the school was genuine, the possibility of rejection didn't seem to be of great concern to her. Whether that was a product of her mental conditioning that she had been briefed about or simply a lack of care regarding furthering her education remained to be seen. Aiden, on the other hand, was a bundle of roiling emotions. It seemed as though she was torn between a rather strong sense of protectiveness towards Ashley, annoyance at Kitty's ambivalence, and her own nervous excitement about the upcoming interview itself. Underneath it all, however, was the strong, almost overwhelming primal urge to run and hunt. She knew about Aiden being a shifter, and that by all accounts she was considered a werewolf, but up to this point she didn't realize how strongly that aspect affected her. In fact, she could almost attribute that protectiveness towards Ashley as a subset of her wolf mentality. That was, of course, if she hadn't just made a curious discovery regarding the redhead. "Why don't I get everyone some tea," Rowen suggested, drawing her daughter out of their embrace. "Becca, do you need a refill?" "I'm fine, thanks Rowen," she said as she took her seat once more and patiently waited for the girls to do the same. As her friend headed off to the kitchen, Rebecca watched as the three girls joined her in the living room and took a seat. While Kitty selected one of the chairs and practically displayed herself in it in a rather seductive and alluring manner, Ashley curled up in the corner of the love seat and was immediately joined by Aiden. They weren't exactly crushing against one another, but Rebecca could see Aiden subtly taking Ashley's hand as a gesture of comfort and receiving a squeeze of thanks from the nervous girl. "First of all," Rebecca started, "I want to thank all of you for showing interest in Tearmann. With so many young people wanting to attend Whateley we truly appreciate you making our school your first choice." "Whateley's not so great," Ashley blurted before quickly covering her mouth with her hand. The psychologist chose to ignore the look from Aiden that practically dared her to deny her friend's statement and smiled. "While I'm a graduate of Whateley myself, I certainly do understand and appreciate your feelings about it. In point of fact, I think I just might share many of the concerns you have regarding it and was part of the reason why I chose to take employment with Tearmann." "And what might those be?" Aiden challenged, though Rebecca gave her credit for making it sound more like a genuine question than an attack. "The issues regarding student segregation when it comes to living space, the types of individuals allowed to attend, things like that. It's actually one of the reasons for the formation of the Tearmann Institute." "Because it's the Irish word for sanctuary or refuge?" Ashley asked hesitantly. "Actually refuge is the Welsh translation, but yes. The purpose of our school is to provide a kind of safe haven for our students to learn and understand their abilities. It's rather difficult to do that when you have to worry about potential supervillains on top of your typical teen pressures." Kitty cleared her throat slightly and sat up a bit, brushing some of her hair back with a flick of her wrist. "Not to sound like an uppity bitch or anything, but we already know this. Ashley did a lot of research on the school and told us all about it. That's why we applied." Before Aiden could follow up on the disapproving glare she cast towards the brunette, Rebecca smiled and nodded. "That's fair enough. I'm glad you did some extensive research prior to submitting your applications. It shows a good deal of foresight and maturity. Why don't we just get right down to it then. Should I even bother asking why you all want to attend?" The girls looked at one another for several moments before Ashley finally spoke up in a clear, yet slightly timid voice. "I know this might not be a deciding factor for Kitty and Aiden, but I want to go to Tearmann because they don't force you to fight." Though Rebecca immediately knew what the girl meant by her statement, she cocked her head slightly and lifted an inquisitive eyebrow. "How do you mean Ashley?" "There's no combat requirement," she explained. "Or at least, no requirement that you have to wear an armband signifying you're non- violent and paint yourself as a target for every bully in school. I don't want to fight," she said emphatically, "I want to learn how to use my powers to help people, not hurt them. Never again," she whispered in a haunted voice that matched the sudden change in her eyes. There was something there, something that wasn't in the files Rebecca had been provided. While she knew that Ashley had suffered from a significant trauma, clearly it hadn't only been kidnapping and torture that she had experienced. If she was accepted to the school, that would definitely need to be something that was explored if she had any hope of fully recovering from what had been done to her. "And your convictions," Rebecca told her, "Are exactly why the school doesn't have the same requirements regarding combat that Whateley does. What about you two? What made you want to apply to Tearmann?" she asked Aiden and Kitty. "Well," Aiden said, clearly choosing her words carefully, "I'll echo what's already been said, but a big factor for me is the location. I guess you already know about me and know I'm not a big fan of big cities or urban life, and just the...wild nature of where the school is located really appeals to me." Rebecca nodded, having suspected that Newfoundland's largely undeveloped landscape would be a significant draw for the wolf girl. "I will forewarn you, hunting is regulated there and you would need to apply for a permit to do any hunting of big game like moose and that particular activity is tantamount to a provincial pastime." When Aiden nodded her understanding she directed her attention to Kitty, who actually slightly bored. "To be frank," the girl said, surprising Rebecca with her sudden change of tone from vapid teen sexpot to cultured intellectual, "After reviewing the differences between Whateley and Tearmann, I noticed that because of your smaller student population, you're able to effect smaller class sizes. Since it's been widely proven that smaller and more intimate classes foster an increase in individualized attention, Tearmann's students would statistically possess a stronger and more diverse education than one where with a larger student population." While Rebecca just sat and blinked at the nearly doctorate level of rationalization that Kitty had just uttered, Aiden merely rolled her eyes while Ashley giggled softly. "I'm going to guess that your files didn't indicate that I used to be a rather highly regarded neuroscientist," Kitty inferred with a grin. "They did not," Rebecca confirmed as she attempted to recover from being put off-balance by her incorrect psychological evaluation of the girl. "I don't have the knowledge and education I once had," Kitty told her, "but I still have the intelligence cognitive abilities." "Well," she said as Rowen returned to the room with a tray of cups, "we will clearly need your assistance in updating our records should you be accepted." "I'd be happy to help with that," the brunette said graciously as she took one of the offered cups of tea. "Thanks Ms. McKinnon," she chirped, throwing Rebecca for a loop as once again Kitty became the vivacious teen girl displaying herself in a way to showcase her gorgeous body. "You're very welcome dear," Rowen said, grinning at Rebecca's wide-eyed look. "How are things going?" "Quite well so far," the psychologist said as she busied herself by flipping through screens on her tablet. "Well, I'll be in the other room if you need me," she told them, though it was clear she had directed her words towards the girls. After giving Ashley's shoulder a gentle squeeze she headed out of the room once more. "Ms. Stanhope," Ashley said quietly once her mother had departed, causing the woman to look up from her tablet with a curious expression, "can I make this a little easier?" "Make what easier Ashley?" she asked, setting her tablet down as she peered at the girl with interest. Before answering, she looked to Aiden, who gave her a confident smile and a nod. "All of us want to attend your school," she said, returning her attention to Rebecca, "and all of us have different reasons, but the bottom line is we want to be able to learn, both from educational and power perspectives, and honestly we don't think we would get that nearly as well from Whateley. None of us are criminals or want to be criminals and while all of us have some stuff we're dealing with...some more than others," she muttered, seemingly to herself. "It's nothing that should prevent us from being accepted to your school." For several moments, silence hung within the expansive living room while everyone digested what the young girl had just said. For Rebecca, it was just as she had hoped, that despite the trauma she had suffered she wasn't willing to simply curl up and hide away from the world. She clearly wanted to overcome her past and do something good and important with her life. While the other two didn't say so, she could tell by the expressions of pride they had for their friend that they too shared in the sentiment. While she couldn't outright say it before presenting her notes to the enrollment board, Rebecca was quite confident these girls would be receiving acceptance letters in short order. "Would it be really inappropriate if I did a slow clap right now?" "Yes!" both Aiden and Kitty exclaimed at their friend before all three dissolved into emotional-cleansing giggles. "Well," Rebecca said with a pleased smile, "I think I have more than enough to present to our board. All three of you seem to be fine young women and regardless of whether you attend our school or not I do think you will all go on to great things." "How soon will we know?" Aiden asked anxiously. "I'll be flying back tomorrow and will present my opinion to the board shortly after. I think it would be fair to say you'll receive word from us one way or another in about a week." "A week?" Kitty moaned. "It's not like they can just make a snap judgement," Ashley reasoned, "Most schools take a month so that's pretty fast." "I guess," the brunette bombshell grumped and folded her arms in a pout. Gathering up her things, the psychologist went and shook each girl's hand before taking her leave with one last goodbye to Rowen and the promise to keep in touch. As she walked out to her car she was already dialing a number into her cell phone. The other line picked up at the moment when her phone's connection linked to the Bluetooth in her rental car. "Ms. Stanhope," a smooth, male voice intoned over the line. "How did it go?" "Very well," she said as she navigated her vehicle down the drive towards the main roadway. "Each of the girls seem to be fine, intelligent young ladies with good heads on their shoulders. I do have a few concerns but nothing that would even remotely preclude admission to the school." "Are there any special considerations we should take into account during the board's evaluation?" "They do have a very close bond," Rebecca noted, "particularly between Ms. Logan and Ms. Connors. You may wish to make a note that their admission would almost certainly, in my opinion, require them to be roomed together." "And Ms. Blake?" Unable to hold back the sigh of frustration, Rebecca shook her head. "That one is something of an enigma. The files we received are somewhat sparse regarding her history, but by all accounts, she appears to be a highly intelligent young woman with a rather overactive sex drive." "How the hell did you come up with that?" the man asked, losing its smooth and proper connotations and reverting to a more casual tone. "Did she make a pass at you or something?" "Nothing so obvious," the woman assured him, "it's more in what I observed. I'll put together a more detailed report tonight and send it to you, but again it's nothing that would prevent her application from being approved. Would it be possible for you to acquire any further information on her history?" "Actually, no," the man sighed, "apparently she was the victim of some kind of experiment that transplanted her formerly male mind into the body of a teenage mutant. The process ended up wiping all of her memories. The only thing we know, and IT only just came up with this about twenty minutes ago, is that she used to be a neuroscientist by the name of Keith Blake. Apparently it was his research that allowed the mind transplant to happen but all of the information on the science of it was destroyed, along with his male body, in some kind of industrial espionage incident at Westlake Industries where he worked. Beyond that, we've gotten a hold of educational records but they're kind of moot since she doesn't remember any of her education." "True," Rebecca allowed, "But it does speak to her level of intelligence. Can you make a notation of it in her record for me? There's more to what happened than a simple mind transfer and amnesia." "Sure. I'll see you when you get back." Breaking the connection, she directed the car out of Wolf Springs towards Laramie. Regardless of the fact that the board still had to convene and approve the admission for the girls, she started mentally working up therapy plans to help each of them through their specific issues. Wolf Springs, Wyoming, Buckman Rental Property Angela sat back from the laptop with a sigh and took a sip of coffee before looking over at her cell for probably the tenth time in as many minutes. Resisting the temptation to call Kitty and ask how the interview with the rep from Tearmann was becoming more difficult with each passing moment. However, she didn't want to ruin any chance her friend... and lover?...had at making a good impression and getting a phone call right in the middle of the interview wouldn't exactly set the best tone. That wasn't to say she wasn't sorely tempted to deliberately screw things up for Kitty. When the gorgeous brunette first mentioned wanting to attend the school in Canada, Angela thought her heart would drop right out of her chest and through the floor. While this might have been before the events from the previous evening, the one that culminated in one of the most mind shattering nights of pleasure she had ever experienced, the blond hacker had still harbored a secret desire for the lovely amnesiac. While she had fully appreciated Kitty's beauty back when she had been male, it had been in more of an intellectual kind of way. The girl was hot, he had a job to do and help her, and that was that. It wasn't until fate had thrown them together, after flipping the switch on her sex that is, that she truly began to truly appreciate just how special the girl was. Initially, Angela had expected her to become nothing more than a constantly aroused whore fully engulfed by the sex slave persona that had been programed into her mind by Sinclair and his crazy friend. However, that opinion rapidly changed when the girl showed that while her default was certainly sexy and sultry, it wasn't all there was to her. She also possessed an incredibly keen and scientific mind, when it was able to break through her mental conditioning, as well as a kind heart that never hesitated when it came to helping others. Remembering how Kitty had leapt into the middle of that group mugging some poor woman back in Kansas City made the hacker smile whimsically. Even though she'd been grossly outnumbered, Kitty hadn't even hesitated putting herself in harm's way and attacking the group of thugs with everything she had. The end results had been both surprising and hilarious with the gang running with their tails between their legs. Afterwards, Kitty and Angela realized that, along with the ability to create energy blades, Kitty possessed greatly enhanced agility and stamina along with some rather impressive combat instincts. It was no wonder that, after this, she had been more than a little anxious to really test her new abilities out. But this event served to have Angela look at her friend in a whole new light from that point on. While she had certainly been Kitty's friend up to this point, it was seeing her selfless act of heroism that started her on the path to truly falling for the girl. Which was why it had been so hard keeping her feelings about her buried beneath layers of casual conversation and talk about computer code. While she still retained her almost pathological need to immerse herself in the digital universe from her days as a man, Angela found she didn't possess quite the same focus she once did and that could be directly attributed to one Kitty Blake. And then last night happened. If she were honest with herself, Angela never dreamed such a thing would ever happen. She had been certain she would be forced to live out the remainder of her days only as close friend without ever crossing that particular physical and emotional boundary. Now, all of that had changed, and so had Angela's priorities. Before, she had been mostly concerned with maintaining their manufactured identities, increasing their finances, and simply monitoring Internet traffic looking in their direction. Since last night, however, Angela had started actively exploring options for the two of them on a more permanent basis. This involved hacking into various school districts to gauge how difficult it would be to forge records, checking on current housing prices to see what a reasonable offer would be for the house they were staying in, and even doing a little research on getting them a second car. Well, they'd be getting rid of the R/V once they didn't need a mobile residence anymore. That was when Angela had realized she was doing the oh so stereotypical girl thing and practically filling out the wedding invitations after one night of insanely good sex. What's more, the idea of Kitty going to Canada to attend school had filled her with an unaccountable level of dread. Would being so far from each other for such extended periods of time cause her feelings for the hacker to wane? Would she find some other gorgeous girl whose looks were enhanced by the exemplar mutation that Angela would just look like a dowdy grandmother by comparison? All of these fears had led Angela to actually begin the process of locking away the carefully constructed identity she'd created for Kitty so the school wouldn't be able to find any kind of record about her and thus reject her application. The insanity of such thoughts had her coming to the understanding that she was putting her own needs before her friend's and thus treating her like the object those sick bastards had tried to change her into. For Angela, finding a place in this world wouldn't be difficult at all. Even though she was currently sixteen years old, she still possessed the thoughts, memories, experiences, and knowledge she'd accumulated from over two decades. Considering her 'job' wasn't exactly your standard, legal variety, coming up with college degrees and seeking gainful employment were far from necessary and could really be put together quite easily should the need arise. Kitty, however, did not have the same luxury. While she certainly possessed her former self's remarkable intelligence, she didn't have the knowledge and experience that Keith once did. This meant she would need to learn everything all over again. Given her remarkable intellect, this would undoubtedly happen very quickly, but it needed to happen regardless if she was going to make her way in this world. Even if it meant losing her, Angela came to understand that it would be cruel of her to stand in Kitty's way by denying her a proper education. Yes, she loved the gorgeous girl, and that meant she had to be willing to make sacrifices to ensure her happiness. That was why, a short time ago, she had fully unlocked Kitty's identity and records, allowing the prodding digital fingers of Tearmann Institute to finally be able to retrieve all of the information they would need about the girl she'd come to love. "Whatcha doing?" The sound of the very subject of Angela's deep introspection suddenly whispering in her ear had that blond hacker jumping in her seat and uttering a startled squeal before spinning around and glaring at her amused friend. "Don't do that," Angela nearly shouted. "Well sorry," Kitty said, though clearly wasn't, "But I called your name several times and you just sat there. If you didn't hear me after that last one I was ready to start licking your ear and see if that got a reaction." Somehow, Angela managed to repress the shiver of excitement that came from imagining Kitty licking anywhere on her body and instead looked excited when she asked, "So? How did it go?" "Pretty good," she said with a happy smile and flopped down onto the sofa. Okay, flopped wasn't really an appropriate word for anything Kitty did. Floated was a more accurate description, followed by a seemingly careless yet eminently sensual display of her body in its snug dress as she lounged like a contented cat. Angela wouldn't have been surprised to hear purring coming from her any moment. "The woman, Rebecca Stanhope, seemed pretty impressed with us, especially after I went all scientist statistics on her," she said with a giggle. "What do you mean?" Angela asked, closing her laptop and walking over to sit down on the opposite end of the couch, automatically drawing Kitty's feet into her lap so she could lightly massage them. "I quoted how statistically smaller class sizes foster more effective learning environments. Apparently whoever processed our applications obviously didn't do that deep of a background check on us and had no idea I used to be a neuroscientist." "Sloppy of them," Angela muttered while keeping her eyes averted so Kitty wouldn't see the guilt in them because, despite her quite aloof demeanor, the sexy brunette was actually quite observant. "Well, not everyone can be a genius computer expert like you," she boasted with an affectionate smile. "Flattery will get you everywhere," Angela grinned and lifted one of Kitty's dainty feet to give the side of it an affectionate nip, causing her to squeal. "Listen," Kitty said, drawing back her feet and curling them beneath her so she was kneeling on the couch, "I was thinking." "Oh hell," the hacker muttered before giving her friend a teasing smile. "Bitch," came the affectionate retort, "But seriously, why don't we do something tomorrow night?" "Like what?" Angela asked with a curious tilt of her head. "Well, why don't we go out somewhere? Like dinner and maybe the club after?" At first, the idea sounded great, until she remembered that those were the exact plans she'd had with that Jeremy guy and her heart sank. "I don't want to just be some replacement for the date you were supposed to have," she told Kitty. Her eyes widening in clear surprise, the young woman shook her head vehemently, sending her chestnut locks flying in a graceful and sensuous way only Kitty could manage. "No, no, you're not a replacement, not at all. I canceled my date because I wanted to be with you, not him. I want that date to be ours. He was the replacement." Angela had her doubts. After all, due to her mental conditioning Kitty was essentially a rather sexual creature, and bi-sexual to boot. While she hadn't met a lot of nymphomaniacs, it wasn't hard to fathom one bending the truth just to get themselves laid. "I want to believe that," she allowed, "But you have to understand why I might question it." To her credit, Kitty nodded in understanding before taking her friend's hands in hers. "I do, believe me I do. But you also have to believe that I've always wanted to be with you. The only reason why I never made a move-" "You flirt with me like crazy all the time," Angela pointed out. "Flirt, yes, but I've never made a full-on pass at you and that's because I didn't want to push you. Before last night, I was never really sure that you wanted me the way I've wanted you." "Kitty," Angela sighed, drawing her hands from her friend's grasp, "I know you believe what you're saying, but I'm not blind. I know just as much about your mental programing as you do, probably even more so, and I know just how strong those impulses are. Yes, you may feel strongly towards me on an emotional level, but I also know that it's more than likely that you won't be able to control your physical reactions if the opportunity presents itself. That isn't your fault," she assured her as Kitty's expression began to darken, "It's the programming they crammed into your head, but I just...I just can't pretend that you sleeping with other people won't bother me." By this point, Kitty's face had completely closed down, showing no emotion whatsoever as she stared at her friend. "So," she said carefully, "You basically think I'm just some kind of out of control slut who spreads her legs for anyone that shows interest in me?" "Not on purpose," Angela repeated, "but I know that the Kajira Program still has a really strong hold on you and you can't control it." "I see," she said quietly, shifting so she sat quite primly and meticulously smoothed out her skirt. "So essentially I'm in the same vein as a drug addict or an alcoholic in that I have a disease of sorts that prevents me from controlling my actions." "Yeah...no," the blond girl said quickly. "I don't know. I just know what I've seen about the program and what it's done to you. Yeah, right now you want to be with me, but if you get accepted to that school, and you probably will, you'll be up in Canada in a school that is guaranteed to have some seriously gorgeous guys and girls there that make me look like an overweight housewife while I'll be stuck back here in Wolf Springs. Are you telling me that your programming wouldn't kick in if any of them offers themselves to you?" The silence that hung in the air so thick enough Kitty's energy blade might not have been able to slice through it. While Angela sought to catch her breath after such a rant, the girl in question just stared at her with shock and disbelief at what she'd just heard. So many things went through her mind at that moment. Anger, doubt, sadness, and so much more. That this girl, the first person she'd ever given herself to freely, lovingly, and without any kind of bullshit mental programming, truly seemed to believe that she was incapable of staying true and keeping her legs closed. Never in her short time of awareness had she experienced such a level of hurt. "Fuck you Angela!" she snapped furiously before leaping from the couch, storming out of the house, and slamming the door. She didn't even look back when she heard the door open again and Angela calling out for her to come back. Instead, she yanked open the door of her car, threw herself behind the wheel, and tore off down the lane leading from their house. As she raced through the night at a speed that was certainly inadvisable, particularly due to the tears that were causing her vision to blur, Kitty had no idea where she was going. It was out of a sense of desperate instinct that had her hands and feet manipulating the vehicle through the darkened streets of the town and sheer luck that she didn't plow the car nose-first into a tree or off into an embankment. By the time she pulled up at a house she was fully sobbing and her movements were jerky as she lurched from the car and stumbled up the steps onto the front porch. Even as she pounded weakly on the door she sank to her knees and cried openly, not even bothering to wipe the tears that streamed down her face. When the door opened and she looked up into a wide and concerned emerald gaze she tried to speak, but simply couldn't form any words past the tightness in her throat. Without anything being said, a pair of gentle hands helped her to her feet and guided the weeping girl inside. Wolf Springs, Wyoming, McKinnon Residence "Has she said anything yet?" Shaking my head, I poured the hot water from the kettle into two cups before adding a steel diffuser to each containing chamomile. "She isn't quite done crying yet, but she's not just flat out sobbing anymore." Sighing, Mom sat down on one of the two stools arranged at our island kitchen counter. "Do you think it has something to do with Angela?" Shrugging a little, I went and got some milk and sugar to add to the cups once the tea had diffused. "Maybe. Probably," I allowed, "but I don't want to put words into her mouth." "I understand that," Mom said as she went and opened the oven door after the timer had buzzed its completion, "but you may need to help her along at least a little bit. When a girl is suffering from heartache, a lot of times they need a little encouragement to talk about it and that means making a few inferences now and again." Lightly bobbing the diffusers before withdrawing and depositing them in the sink, I added milk and sugar to one in the way I knew Kitty liked it. "I wish my power worked to heal damaged emotions as well as bodies," I sighed, "It breaks my heart to see her so sad." "It's part of being human," Mom told me as she transferred the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies to a plate. "We need to experience the bad emotions to appreciate the good ones that much more." "Doesn't mean I don't want to just make the hurt she's feeling go away." When I felt the hand on my shoulder I glanced over to see Mom smiling proudly at me. "And that's what makes you such a good friend sweetheart. The best thing you can do for her is simply be there as someone who will listen without judgement and offer her a shoulder to cry on." Nodding, I arranged the two cups of tea and plate of cookies on a tray. After Mom had given me a loving kiss on the forehead I carried the load up the steps and into my room. "I thought some chocolate might be a good idea," I announced quietly as I closed the door. The girl that looked up from her place curled up at the head of my bed was barely recognizable as my gorgeous friend. Her hair, which was normally immaculate in a wild, sexy bed-hair kind of way was not simply wild and unkempt. Her makeup was long gone since her crying had completely destroyed it and required a good scrubbing, leaving her fresh faced and clean and still remarkably lovely. It was more proof that she didn't need cosmetics to be beautiful but I knew better than to try and argue that point with her, especially now. Since she was taller and had a shapelier figure than I did, the only thing I could offer her by way of night clothes was an oversized sleep shirt that hugged her curves like a second skin and didn't quite cover her panties. It was a far cry from her usual, put together, sexy self, and yet it made her seem so much more real and less untouchable. "Thanks," she said with a watery smile while she dabbed at some moisture from her eyes with a tissue, adding it to the small pile that had accumulated on my covers. "I really hate bothering you like this this late at night." "Hush," I chided her gently and set the tray down on my desk before handing her a cup of tea. Taking my own, I sat down at my desk chair, crossed my legs, and silently waited for her to tell me what had happened. For several minutes neither of us said a word, we just sipped from our tea in silence with the occasional sniffle coming from her being the only sound in the room. When I offered her the plate of cookies she gratefully took one and nibbled on it, moments before cramming the whole thing into her mouth and then snatching another one. "God these are good," she mumbled around a mouthful. "Yours or your Mom's?" "Mom's this time," I confessed, "she insisted. So what happened?" Swallowing the last of her second cookie, Kitty hesitated for a moment before grabbing a third, this time just nibbling it. "We had a fight." "You and Angela?" I guessed. Her nod confirmed my suspicions. "I suggested we go out tomorrow on a date since I'd canceled mine with Jeremy to be with her and she suddenly starts going on about how I'm basically some nympho freak who'll let anyone fuck me that gives me a suggestive look." While the subject matter shocked me, I made sure it didn't show on my face as I nodded and took a sip from my tea to buy some time and choose my words carefully. "Did she really call you a 'nympho freak'?" "She didn't use those words," Kitty admitted, "but she said that because of the mental conditioning I got she fully expects me to have sex with anyone that makes the offer, especially if I get accepted to Tearmann because there'll be students there that are exemplars." Now I was starting to get a better understanding of what was happening. I knew a little about what had been done to Kitty back in Pennsylvania when it came to the process that had transferred her male mind into the girl sitting on my bed. The people who had done it intended to make her a sex slave, but she'd managed to break free of the programing before it had fully taken hold, leaving her with a kind of residual hyperactive sex drive. Honestly, from what she told me about how strong the urges were, I was amazed that her first time had been with Angela yesterday. "And she's worried that if you go to Tearmann that you'll fall for some gorgeous exemplar mutant and forget about boring old her," I finished for her. "How can she even think that?" Kitty cried. "I mean, God knows I had plenty of chances to sleep with someone while we were on the road. Hell, I got propositioned at nearly every stop we made. But I didn't take any of them up on it, not once," she stated, pointing at me emphatically. "I wanted to, God knows I did, but I didn't, because it wouldn't have been right to do that to her after everything she's done for me. I mean, I wouldn't even be here right now if it wasn't for her," she said, her eyes widening with a combination of horror and...excitement? That part must have been her programming influencing her a bit. "I'd probably be on some rich guy's yacht naked and on my knees feeding him grapes or in some sheik's harem, and probably loving every second of it while screaming for help inside. I owe her everything!" "Have you told her that lately?" I asked quietly as she snatched another cookie from the plate. "The night we...made love," she corrected at the last second when I could see she was ready to use a more vulgar iteration of sex. "I told her exactly that." Well there went that idea. If she hadn't told Angela how much she appreciated her and everything she'd done I might have had an angle to work off of. Now I had to try and reason out just what had caused such a sudden rift between the two lovers. That's when it hit me. I don't know why I hadn't seen it before but I suppose I could attribute it to the rather twisty and screwed up dynamic all of us possessed. All of us, including Angela, had been guys just two months ago. Now, all of us were girls and had been flooded with a soup of female hormones that was altering our physiological and psychological responses in ways we'd never experienced before. For Kitty this was no big deal, she had no memory of what it was like to be a guy so it felt completely natural to her as if she'd been this way her whole life. For Aiden, Angela, and I it was something we were still trying to adjust to. For Angela, that meant... "Kitty," I said, changing tactics, "One thing you need to understand is that Angela came from a completely different mindset just a few weeks ago. Back then, she was a guy with the admittedly simpler mindset when it came to dating, sex, and love. Not only that, but computers were pretty much her life. Then you came along and all of her priorities have changed. You know she loves you, right?" "I guess," Kitty mumbled lamely with a little shrug. "Well think about it from her perspective for a minute. You're a gorgeous girl who could have anyone you want. Not only that, but you're incredibly sensual without even trying and have the built in mentality for sex. No, you're not some slut that will fuck anything with a heartbeat," I assured her when she glanced up, her eyes snapping with anger. "But all of us, including Angela, know that that kind of mentality is still lingering in your mind even though you're always fighting against it. When you add that to the very strong likelihood that we will undoubtedly meet some rather attractive exemplars at the school it really is only natural for her to feel extremely self- conscious." "But Angela's beautiful," Kitty argued, "I don't want anyone else but her. That's why I canceled my date. Hell, I only accepted it in the first place because she hadn't even indicated she wanted to be with me and I was getting a little stir crazy." "I understand that," I told her, moving from my chair to sit on the bed and take her hand, "and I think deep down she knows that too, but we're talking about a computer geek who has suddenly achieved the computer geek's dream of scoring the hottest babe around. Regardless of the fact that she's an attractive girl too, you have to remember there's still going to be some serious self-doubt happening with her." "But she doesn't need to doubt it," she moaned and I barely managed to snatch the cup out of her hand and prevent its content from spilling all over my covers as she buried her face in her hands. "I don't know how else I can prove that to her. If it wasn't for this fucking programming in my head-" The rest of what she said was lost as she began to cry softly. Setting our cups on my desk I gathered her into my arms and held her close, letting her grip me as tightly as she needed to while sobbing out all of her fears and frustrations. As I gently shushed her and kissed the top of her head I once again wished there was something more I could do to help. That was when I felt it. Without consciously doing so I realized I'd activated the part of my power that allowed me to diagnose a person and determine their injuries or illnesses. Since Kitty wasn't injured or sick I shouldn't have sensed anything other than a very minor bug here and there that I'd learned was common in everyone. Since the only other time I'd used my power on her I already knew what her injury was, I hadn't had the occasion to actually do any kind of diagnosis on her before. When I did that now, however, I was immediately struck by the incredible wrongness that was contained in her brain. While I was no neurosurgeon and I had absolutely no clue what normal brain activity looked like, I could feel the aberration that was contained within Kitty's. It could have been caused by her mutation, but my instincts told me that wasn't the case. This was something wholly different, a dynamic change in neural pathways that was anything but natural. Was it possible that this could be what I thought it was? Without allowing myself any opportunity to think or talk myself out of it, I pushed my power into Kitty, pumping that healing energy into her. Distantly I heard her gasp of surprise but I ignored it was I felt those neural pathways flicker and pulse in an effort to resist my power. I don't think so, I growled in my mind as I shoved more and more of my power into her. Those abnormalities within her neural framework didn't stand a chance and were obliterated in microseconds before my power rapidly began to re-stich them together and eliminate the damage they had done. As the world rapidly began fading away, I managed to hold on just long enough for my power to complete its work before I let unconscious drag me down into darkness. **** "Come on Ashley, wake up honey." The sound of Mom's concerned, yet not panicked voice drew me back to the waking world. Moaning softly, my eyes fluttered before opening and I saw her leaning over me smiling gently while Kitty and Angela stood behind her looking at me worriedly. Wait, Angela? When did she get here? "Wha?" I mumbled weakly. "Easy," Mom ordered, gently pressing me back down on what I now realized was my own bed when I tried to rise, "rest a little longer." "How long?" I whispered, licking my dry lips. "About ten minutes," she told me, holding a bottle of water to my mouth and carefully tipping it up to allow the cool liquid to ease my raw- feeling throat. "Kitty," I said, suddenly remembering why I'd been knocked out in the first place. Looking over, I could see the girl was looking quite shell shocked within the protective embrace of her blond lover. "Are you okay?" She nodded jerkily, though it seemed like it was more reactionary than a conscious effort. Oh God, please tell me tha