Ghost
They weren’t a team, no. But Levi had based her statement off of what she’d seen—They were alike in a way, with what they could do. Well, sort of. He had better control over what he could do, and she barely knew how to handle it when it made a guest appearance into her day. She looked at him, then looked away, keeping her silence for just a moment longer. A word he’d said stuck out in her head a bit too clearly. Conduit. It hadn’t come out in the form of a question, it was a blunt statement that twisted up everything inside of her and made her feel… Well, it didn’t make her feel any better about what she was capable of. In fact, it left her feeling worse, because people didn’t exactly view conduits as good people.
Taking an uneasy breath in, Levi shuffled her feet and finally looked back up at him, the remnants of whatever expression she’d held while looking away having slowly started to fade. ❝We’re not a team, no. That’s not what I was trying for. I just—Well, we have something in common.❞ Clearly. He was what she was. It was unsettling and at the same time, a relief, as strange as that was. Biting her lip, she let out a heavy sigh. ❝Conduit. It feels like such a dirty word… I kinda hate that. But really, there’s nothin’ I can do about it.❞ Well, the conversation had certainly turned awkward in a matter of words and trying to make light of a very dark situation. She probably would have been better off keeping her stupid mouth shut.
He had dismissed her humor—Understandable, as it had been off-colored and kind of a bad way of easing the stressfulness of a situation that she really didn’t need to interject herself into anyway. A moment passed where she had considered his last question—What did she want? She wanted her old life back, where she wasn’t hiding in alleyways or running away to keep herself safe and alive. Since she couldn’t have that, she wanted to know how to control the things she could do—But that wasn’t looking like a possibility for her. Mind back-tracking for a moment, Levi sighed. ❝Good to know it’s not a regular thing, I guess. As… Stupid as this is going to sound, do you ever…❞ She paused. God, this was stupid. ❝You ever find yourself afraid of what you can do?❞
Now she would slowly make her way back to his question—His question from before. About what she wanted. It wouldn’t be to change her history or the fate that she’d now found herself faced with, as that wasn’t something he could help her change. It wouldn’t be for help with understanding and utilizing her abilities—Really, he didn’t look like the type to help her out there. What did she want?. ❝What do I want?❞ Like a parrot, she repeated his question, another deep breath escaping her body as she looked to him, and then to her hands, which she had absentmindedly moved in front of her. She looked down at them, flexing her fingers, studying her palms. Then she looked back up at him. ❝I want to get out of here—I want to go somewhere I can catch my breath for just a little while, before I have to start running again. But I also want to know how the hell to use what I can do properly, if there’s even a way to do that.❞ Why had she said that? Hadn’t she just been telling herself that he didn’t look the type to help?
❝Isn’t that what most people like you and I want? To get away and be safe, or to use what tools they’re given properly.❞
He never thought he suffered from the misplaced optimism of the doomed, the vermin of the city. No, he considered himself the purest of pessimists. He had his answer, least satisfactory as it was the answer to a rhetorical question. He didn’t blame her for answering though, who knew how to view a man in a situation like this. For all he knew she could believe him to be the densest of them all. ❝Dirty? Is that really what you think? Then how about bio-terrorist? Sound good?❞ All but clean, and in no way unsullied. The latter was the dirty, he knew from experience. He had been both, called either, though neither quite fit. He preferred his name. ❝What’s your name? Go with that. Holds more strength than our powers combined, if you ask me.❞ He forced casualty in his tone and physical language, however even when he shrugged his troubles of conveying it showed. He meant it, every word. ❝Afraid? Not of my powers, they don’t change anything, I am still the one who decides, if I use them or not, and how.❞ There was one thing, he deemed it common knowledge though, especially amongst people like them. They could view themselves as ‘people’ much as they pleased, others certainly would not. The only thing to be afraid of, was people without their abilities. And perhaps those that were once small with the ability to reach those that once looked down on them given to them. Those were the only ones to dread. ❝It doesn’t sound stupid at all, to those that understand that now, we too are normal.❞ David and Goliath would always collide, but not all men are Goliath, and gentle giants were never meant to be slain. In his book, more often than not David was the brute.
He analysed her words carefully, as he had learned few spoke without reason, and to listen was better than to speak. But already had he let too many words fall from his lips. There was a difference between a threat and danger, and he was willing to see where the limit was. ❝There’s a way.❞ he nodded, letting his eyes stray from her. Experience perhaps, but his best guess was at his own. ❝Quit running.❞ His eyes fell right to hers, he wanted to see just what that meant to her. He had ran, fought, and watched, enough so that he could run again. This time without cowardice, this time he would run a path he made himself. ❝Most people, but do you actually want to be most people?❞
