Connecting? Her eyes grew round with sudden realisation of what that might be, and then everything made a rational sort of sense. Why he'd been staring in the first place, if the aura he saw around her constantly leeched at those in the vicinity. She must stick out like a rainbow in constant flux, which sounded kind of pretty if probably disturbing for him since they apparently weren't supposed to do that.
"No," she admitted. "It's just like breathing, I can't control it. It must've scared my parents, but at least they gave me to someone who was willing to help. I learned ways to cope." These days she understood that what her parents had actually done was dispose of her to a man whose job it had been to rid them of the problem, though since her uncle never had she chose not to dwell on that dark beginning. The loss panged in her chest even now. She missed him a lot.
As they paused by the doors the duplicity stung again, a little sharper now the skin contact deepened her sense of him. Friendly as Tobias was, he was also a stranger; she tried her best to skate across only the surface of his emotions, but there was a war within. One her nerves tried hard to ignore since it was already too late to turn back. More eager questions lined her tongue, but they swallowed back down when he pushed open the door.
She peered from almost behind his shoulder at the sheer opulence within, enough to rival the grandeur Damien chose to surround himself with. Far more than Asha was either accustomed or comfortable with; she barely had enough credits to her name to purchase the coffee she'd had downstairs. Her grip on Tobias tightened lest he think it okay to let go as the woman presumed to be Rowan greeted them.
Her arms flung wide, her smile bright, and the emotions rolled off in strong agreement. Asha could feel it plucking a shy smile to her lips, drowning out the ball of true wariness she felt in the situation. The man with her buzzed in a carefree way that might have been easy to latch onto and smother her genuine reaction. But the attention of both in that moment was almost like drowning, and though pleasant as those emotions were -- certainly nothing to be fearful of -- she could feel herself panicking under the press of them. "Please don't let go yet," she whispered quietly into Tobias's shoulder. At least not until she'd had time to adjust.
"No," she admitted. "It's just like breathing, I can't control it. It must've scared my parents, but at least they gave me to someone who was willing to help. I learned ways to cope." These days she understood that what her parents had actually done was dispose of her to a man whose job it had been to rid them of the problem, though since her uncle never had she chose not to dwell on that dark beginning. The loss panged in her chest even now. She missed him a lot.
As they paused by the doors the duplicity stung again, a little sharper now the skin contact deepened her sense of him. Friendly as Tobias was, he was also a stranger; she tried her best to skate across only the surface of his emotions, but there was a war within. One her nerves tried hard to ignore since it was already too late to turn back. More eager questions lined her tongue, but they swallowed back down when he pushed open the door.
She peered from almost behind his shoulder at the sheer opulence within, enough to rival the grandeur Damien chose to surround himself with. Far more than Asha was either accustomed or comfortable with; she barely had enough credits to her name to purchase the coffee she'd had downstairs. Her grip on Tobias tightened lest he think it okay to let go as the woman presumed to be Rowan greeted them.
Her arms flung wide, her smile bright, and the emotions rolled off in strong agreement. Asha could feel it plucking a shy smile to her lips, drowning out the ball of true wariness she felt in the situation. The man with her buzzed in a carefree way that might have been easy to latch onto and smother her genuine reaction. But the attention of both in that moment was almost like drowning, and though pleasant as those emotions were -- certainly nothing to be fearful of -- she could feel herself panicking under the press of them. "Please don't let go yet," she whispered quietly into Tobias's shoulder. At least not until she'd had time to adjust.