InsaneJournal

Third Person Closed


It didn't matter how many times she did it, manifesting within someone else's mind was always an invigorating experience. Dangerous, magical, sometimes frightening. Not everyone had control of where their thoughts drifted, and if one wasn't careful, they could be carried along in their wake and lose themselves and the way out. Mental landscapes were fluid things. Unsteady, and not always welcoming. Jean found the stability of landscapes tended to reflect two things. A person's true nature and their emotional state. In her experience, one was not often without the other, and knowing a person well lessened the chance that the telepath entering their mind would come to harm. Training was also essential.

She walked barefoot through the knee high grass swaying in the breeze. She had been here before. She knew where she was going.

It still amazed her how simple and how complicated a person's private space could be all at once. She was still learning how to read these generally solitary worlds. Often she wondered if peace of mind was dependent on a steady heart. If a soul was the true source of the elaborate construction of a world, or if it really all simply lay in the mind and experiences of an individual. Nature and nurture shaping the subconscious all throughout one's life. As a telepath, even she could not be sure which was most likely. Training had taught her how to manipulate her environment, how to safeguard her own privacy. But training could only carry an individual so far. Eventually instinct and character would take over.

"Josh?" she called.

The lone, massive tree - the only solid construct for miles - seemed to not be getting any closer, and she did not know if Josh was purposely making it difficult or if it was just his powers. Healers tended to be slippery mentally. It made them safer than most when it came to telepathic attack. Training - which Josh had received - helped them learn how to outmaneuver an invading mind long enough for help to arrive or to plan a counterattack.

Music drifted on the wind, as solid as a breeze. She reached her hand out, fingers scattering invisible notes like errant raindrops. The tune was peaceful at the very least. The sky above a golden blaze of setting or rising sun. Usually it was a blue so clear it was easy to get lost in.

"Josh? I only want to talk to you. Please, come out."

His stats were plummeting by the hour. They had been steadily decreasing since his surgery, but after the disaster of attempting to apply another healer's abilities to Josh had left the young man's hands burned and nearly lost them Josh, they had been sinking to lows that were starting to make the medical staff very concerned. They were running out of options, and it had been decided that Jean would travel into his mind and try to see if she could turn things around. Which would be a lot easier if Josh would cooperate.

"Josh! Josh, where are you?"

In her experience people in comas tended to retreat to comforting recreations of the world. They could be found reliving their happiest memories or running from their darkest nightmares. Safety meant everything to a person stranded in their own mind. Security was priority.

She would have brought Kevin along if she hadn't been more concerned over the damage he could wreck than the good his presence might do. Josh needed to be lured out, coaxed awake. She feared Kevin, in his highly emotional state would instead accidentally shock Josh into retreating even deeper into his mind.

"Josh!"

Perhaps if Julian weren't also in a coma, and so far away, she could have used his assistance. He was a steady person, he was well trained, he had an iron control she very rarely saw in the young. He could have helped her talk to Josh, perhaps make him understand the situation he was in, and draw him back. The closer a person was to another, the deeper they could reach them. Josh would most likely allow Kevin or Julian much further into himself than this tenuous meeting place.

She closed her eyes and reached out for him, hoping he was nearby. As she did, she realized she'd been breathing in a mixture of scents that trailed. She had no idea what the scents meant, only that they belonged to someone. Hopeful, she did her best to follow them.

The scent trail got stronger, almost visible, like a whisp of smoke that lead her through an invisible labyrinth. She already knew what awaited in the center. All around her the vast sprawl of grass swayed like a green sea. Looking up, the rich green canopy stretched above her, reaching up into an endless sky.

"There you are."

Jean eased to her knees, and leaned forward slightly to try and get his attention. "Hello, Josh."

"Hi, Jean."

She smiled. He was coherent enough to conform to her personal rule about use of first names. Jean had never seen fit to be formal with anyone within their own mind. After all, she was the guest, and often an interloper at that. "How are you feeling?"

He looked up at her, brow furrowed.

"Do you know what happened?"

He looked out across the grass, stretching his legs out before him and leaning back into his hands. Hie eyes got a far away look, and Jean turned to see what he was looking at. At first there was nothing, and then a crack of lightning and rolling thunder that shook the ground with its echoing boom. Josh curled up, arms about his legs and head to his knees.

"It's all right," she soothed. Carefully she lay her hand to his shoulder. "It's already happened, Josh."

He shook his head, hands gripping the folds of cloth against his bent knees.

"Josh, I want you to tell me what happened."

Lightning cracked again, electrifying the air. Above them the tree groaned deeply, too large to be moved so.

"What's the last thing you remember?" she asked instead, trying not to agitate the growing storm. Josh could keep it at bay or it could be upon them in the next moment.

"I'm dying," was what he said.

"I'm sorry?"

"I'm dying," he reiterated, looking up at her.

"Josh, why aren't your powers active? Did you turn them off?"

He shook his head, eyes on the storm.

"Are they dormant?"

He didn't even blink.

"Josh."

"You should go now," he told her, standing.

She caught his wrist. "Josh please, just help us. Tell me what went wrong? What should we do? Is there anything we can try?"

He looked at her without seeing her, gaze hazy.

"Josh," she coaxed.

"There is something."

"Yes?"

The wind whipped about them, her hair flying about her face. The storm had arrived.

"Leave me alone."

And he was gone.


When Jean opened her eyes, she did not make contact with anyone. Standing, she quietly let go of his hand and left the room. Josh was not the type of person to give up, especially not when it came to saving a life. 'Leave me alone,' he had said. Was it medical advice? Did he know what his powers were up to? Had he planned it this way? Or had it all been a few moments with a scared child? Who didn't want to come to grips with the gravity of his situation? Who only wanted to stay there, where it was safe and he was wrapped up in a blanket of security so deep he may have no desire to leave it?

She couldn't judge his actions alone. Reaching out with her mind, she sought out assistance. Maybe after she had shared the experience they could try and discover what Josh had truly meant. She only hoped he hadn't truly given up.