Angel sat in the armchair, focusing on his breathing. In and out. Life-force energy ebbed and flowed around him in pulsing waves. Electric. It filled him like fuel. He shut out all other external sensations. No more obnoxious ticking of the clock in the kitchen, or the scent of cigarette smoke from the ashtray beside him. Glowing warmth was all he could feel until it consumed him.

Ever since he began working on his powers with Kismet a month ago, he started to feel comfortable in his own skin, like it was finally ok to be still.

Yet frustration bubbled under the surface.

Why can't I be like this all the time? Why do I have to hide this part of me?

The vicious swirling and rapid rush of Kismet's energy pressed in on him to the point of distraction. He'd gotten better at meditation over these past few weeks, but still, he could not shut out the tumultuous rush of her energetic current.

He peeked an eye at Kismet. She sat on the couch amongst the folded blankets and pillows that made up her bed. The dim light of evening filtered through the picture window and reflected gold through the dense curls piled on her head in a high pony-tail. A textbook held open in her lap. Her quick eyes raced across the page.

She noticed him looking at her. "Can't focus?"

"I can," he said. "Looks like you're the one having some trouble?"

"It's hard to shut it out today," she said, sighing. "I think I've read the same paragraph five times. Everything is especially loud. Maybe I didn't get enough sleep."

"Do you need my help?"

"I can't keep relying on you to make it better." She closed her book and looked at her lap, fiddling with the frayed pieces of the throw blanket covering her.

"I don't mind." Angel got up and sat next to her on the couch.

He extended a hand. Slowly, she reached out and took it. Relief softened her features and she relaxed her shoulders with an exhale. She gripped his fingers tighter, easing into the feeling.

Gradually, the pulsing of her energy steadied. It still did not fully align with the deeper stream beneath but the two no longer grated against each other so heavily. Angel had yet to find anyone else with such a duality, and it intrigued him.

She took her hand away and wouldn't look at him. "I shouldn't get too used to that."

"Why not? It doesn't bother me at all," Angel said. He leaned back, getting comfy against the pillows.

"As nice as it is to finally have some peace in my head, you can't be around all the time. If there was some way to bottle your resistance up like some kind of pill, I totally would, but I gotta figure out a way to shut it down on my own."

"Why squish it at all?" he asked. "You're really not being fair to yourself. You don't want to use your powers at all? Ever?"

"People get hurt," she said softly. "Nothing good ever comes from it."

"What if you had permission? We use our abilities here all the time. I'm not used to all this secrecy about it. Our abilities are just parts of us, ya know? I couldn't live without my wings, or imagine what it would be like not to be able to hear or see as much as I do. It would be like a chunk of the world was cut out from under me. I get it, shutting it out is important, but that's just one part of it. It's like how I can choose to filter some noises or see closer or further away. It's about control and choices, but to keep yourself from it entirely is like a sort of death I think."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Kismet looked at him with those piercing eyes of hers. Every bit of her seemed so soft and fragile. All but her eyes. They were the truth of her.

"It's dangerous even with permission," she said. "The mind is a complex and delicate thing. I don't know if I could ever learn enough about it to navigate safely. Sometimes killing off parts of ourselves is the only path to growth."

"Stifling your abilities isn't the same thing as pruning off a few bad branches. Don't you want to feel alive?"

"Not especially."

"Don't tell me you came all this way to be normal?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"That's all I've ever wanted."

I wish she could see how wonderful her abilities are.

"What if we found a spot where you could tune out the voices and relax a bit easier?" Angel asked.

He got up and stretched, still feeling the energy flowing under his skin. Angel never wanted to be without this feeling ever again.

"Where are you thinking?" Kismet tossed the blanket aside and got up.

"The woods might be a good spot? It's far enough away from the village, but not so far we can't make it back in time for supper."

"Ok, I'll leave a note for Nyx so she won't get worried."

While Kismet went to the kitchen to write the note, Angel decided to wait outside. The late afternoon heat began to dissipate as the cool ocean breeze rolled in. Butterflies landed on the over grown clovers and he could smell their sweet nectar.

When Kismet stepped outside, she hurried down the deck stairs to join him on the lawn.

"Ok, let's go," she said.

"Are you sure you don't wanna fly?" he teased. Ever since the day he scooped her off the sidewalk, she had refused to fly with him.

"I'm good," she said and led the way down the sidewalk. The wind whipped her curls loose from her pony-tail.

"Ugh, but walking is so slow," he complained, quickly catching up to her.

"That's fine. I like to walk. There's lots of time to think."

"Well, what are you thinking about?"

She fixed her eyes on the sidewalk ahead of them, nibbling the frayed ends of her hoodie sleeves.

"The council meeting is tonight," she said.

"Are you nervous?" He didn't need to ask. It pulsed off of her in nauseating waves.

Surely, Watcher Liz will approve. Kismet's been working with her at the library all this time, there's no way she'll say no.

"Where will I go if the council says I have to leave? The Academy?" she asked.

"It won't come to that," he assured her. "I have no clue what Julian's problem is anyway. Plus, we don't even know for a fact your telepathy is an issue. Nyx was guessing."

"It's a pretty good guess," she muttered. "People like their secrets."

Angel frowned. He hadn't considered that before, and it made him uncomfortable. "What would Julian have to hide anyway?"

Kismet shrugged and turned down the next road. Her energy shifted, but Angel couldn't quite figure her out. The sour tang of anxiety was sharp, but he couldn't discern it. There was something in the way she turned that he couldn't quite place.

He decided not to push the issue and followed her down the road. Wrens and finches chirped in the silence between them.

"Did you want me to try and talk to Julian and figure out what his deal is?" Angel asked. "I haven't spoken to him since we argued, but I could try -"

"No, that's ok," she said quickly. "Let it be. I don't want to make anything worse."

Angel laughed. "No way you'd be the reason for making anything worse. Things were already pretty bad before you got here." He stopped walking and she turned to look at him over her shoulder. "No matter how things pan out, it's not your fault. Ok? One way or another, I'll make sure you get to stay on the island."

She stared at him with wide eyes. "How? I don't want you to do anything crazy on my account."

"Don't worry about it. I don't do anything crazy on anyone's account but my own." He started walking again and she struggled to keep up. Just thinking about Kismet getting kicked off the island for her powers made his blood fit to boil.

What gives Julian of all people the right to say what powers get to be here and what ones don't?

They neared the end of the road and the edge of the forest. Angel stepped off the sidewalk and into the ditch, moving the brush aside with his body. Kismet followed him as they moved through the trees.

Soon, they found an overgrown trail and Angel guided her along, avoiding roots and rocks. The thick canopy of leaves sprinkled a spackling of light onto the ground below, dancing across the dead leaves and pine needles.

"You're a lot sweeter than you give yourself credit for," she said.

Angel laughed. "I think Nyx would disagree."

"She cares about you a lot," said Kismet. "It doesn't take a telepath to see that."

"I know," he sighed.

The trees thinned and parted as they stepped into a circular clearing. Sunlight cast shadows flickering across the forest floor. The damp moss was soft and springy under Angel's footsteps. Kismet stepped under the light, gazing upward, looking around.

"This place is perfect," she said. When she looked at him again, he could have sworn tears shimmered in her eyes.