It was funny how it turned out sometimes, that those with the harmless, non-offensive powers found themselves wishing they had anything but, and those with the dangerous, damaging abilities would trade in a heartbeat. Luka had never had a problem with his abilities before, they had always suited him, he thought, but now, he wasn’t anywhere near as comfortable with his lot in life as he had been previously. It wasn’t a mindset that he found he liked all that much, it just wasn’t like him; the thoughts didn’t fit as the old ones had, and the pessimism and self-reproach made him feel like he didn’t know himself anymore. It was all terribly cheesy and depressing, just another factor that made him want to shake it off, but therein lay the problem. He didn’t know how to do that. Talking to Silas, or the new counsellor, was about the only idea he could think of, and even then, that felt ridiculous. The faculty here were supposed to be able to deal with their own problems, weren’t they? Everyone else managed just fine. And it wasn’t as if he had had a major trauma overshadow everything else in his life, like Lorna.

After perching himself on the stool, Luka had managed to drift off into a daze again; it had taken him only a few seconds to do so, which no doubt spoke volumes about his current state, physical and mental alike. It was ridiculous. He needed to speak to someone, sort something out, he knew that, but there was still a part of him that told him he could handle it, deal with it by himself. Likely that was what he would continue to tell himself until something happened to convince him otherwise. Blinking twice, as if surprised that Vea was addressing him, he was quiet for a moment before he said, “Um. Okay, sure. Thanks.” Lifting a hand, he scratched it as much as he could through his hair, but it was thick and curled enough that his fingers got caught. With a faint wince he disentangled his fingers and slipped from the stool to move over and flick on the light. “I forgot to turn it on,” he explained wearily, gesturing lightly upward towards the freshly-illuminated bulbs.