Another Name (SU fanfic)

19. SHADOWS

Ever since The Beginning the people of Enim has had mental powers, the Feslish telepathy, and the Tighdels empathy. Both abilities are based on links that allow perception, when partial, or also evoked reading and manipulation, when full. The connection can usually be cut or left dormant by any part at will, it has up to planetary range and remains paused by default when further. Persons who don't have an established link will usually perceive only the uncontrolled intense thoughts or emotions of others nearby and what they choose to share, which is normally limited to their presence.

Last night, on a remote Tighdel town, everyone dreamed about an old local story.
Over a thousand years ago there was a mean unbeliever who spoke against God, he told his gifts would bring chaos and getting ready to receive them would weaken the body and curse all future generations. The heretic was given a choice: execution or exile, and he left never to be seen again. They say his ghost has haunted the town so God grants no gifts to its villagers ever since.

This morning a foreigner woman, the janitor of the powerful man who once avoided a massacre, enters the bar.
She looks exhausted, like she drove all night, which is criticized by the male elders along with the amount of skin she hides. Anyway, her luxurious small vehicle soon draws more attention than her.
She lets the kids touch it, take pictures with it, and even get in it and pretend it's theirs while she watches the scene taking a big glass of the typical energy drink. The waitress is the only one who doesn't seem impressed by the high-end transport, she's more interested in the foreigner's hands and their calluses.
Waitress: "Where did you steal it from?"
Unimportant Janitor: Chuckles. "One can't work hard and be rich?"
Wt: Shows the marks on her hands. "No."
UJ: Sights. "I'll have to give you truth then."
'Give truth' is show the emotions 'aloud' while speaking so the ones around can sense whether someone is being sincere. That's what the janitor does.
UJ: "That beauty outside, is mine. I payed for it with money earned almost honestly. And that..." Wiggles her fingers. "...is just a responsibility I chose to attend."
Made her statement, the foreigner makes her emotions private again.
She's not telling the waitress, or anyone else, that she has enough mental strength to lie, even in full links. That's how she got her job. Her boss thinks she's as mad as he is, but she only shows him what he wants to see.
Wt: "And what is a rich almost honest girl..."
UJ: Corrects the waitress. "Woman."
Wt: "Darling, are you over a hundred?"
Tighdels end their adolescence when they're about fifteen years old, but they have second maturing phase, from their juvenile to their full-grown appearance, during their fourth decade. Normally, a fifty years old female would already be referred as woman, still elders tend to treat the others like children longer.
UJ: Smiles almost tenderly. "Yes."
Wt: "Ok. So, what is a rich almost honest woman, who regularly gets her hands hurt, doing in the middle of nowhere?"
UJ: "Resting after work."
Wt: "What work? I want to get rich too."
UJ: "It's not the kind that makes one rich. It's the kind that makes you feel you have to pay for it." Ends her drink. "Today, find an anchorite."
The waitress maintains a dormant link with a lone man who lives in the mountains. When he needs something he can't get he activates it a moment and leaves a note in a remote hiding place along with various forest fruits or handcrafts as payment. She gets pale because she always kept the deal secret.
Wt: [Could this girl possibly be both mind reader and empath?... It can't be... she doesn't look like she lives under water, and her tail is normal... Stupid! These are myths. It's impossible, impossible! She has to be talking about someone else, definitely... Still, forced links are easier when sleeping... and she feels she has to pay... but a hole town in a night?... No way! Only God knows all the secrets of the mind, he guided our dreams... maybe to test us to finally grant the town a gift... Anyway, it can't be that poor lone man. He just doesn't like people, plus he's very religious... and no one is over a thousand years old...]
While she's lost in her thoughts the janitor stands, walks to the counter, returns the glass, and pays.
UJ: Kind. "Are you feeling fine? You lost some color."
Wt: Forces a smile. "Yes, yes."
UJ: "All right. Keep the change."
Wt: Notices the generous tip and her faked smile turns into a real one. "Thanks!"
UJ: "You're welcome." Slowly takes two steps backwards. <Feel the shadows.>
The waitress can hear the unspoken words in her head, but immediately thinks she was too busy looking at the money to see her costumer pronouncing them, she also assumes it's some kind of weird vampiric salute as it suits someone wearing a full black outfit and lots of make up.
The foreigner laughs softly, turns around and walks out of the bar, then waits leaning on a wall until the kids notice her and leave the vehicle alone.