The Stacks

[Krysta Hedwig]

Krys raised an eyebrow as he took the Almanac and left. A slight smile touched her lips at the audacity of it. She was sure he did it deliberately. He had an attitude problem, that was clear and quite obviously wanted to be a million miles away. But Krys was feeling awkward. She grabbed the nest thing to the Almanac (some kind of dragon encyclopoedia) and followed the boy to the desks. She sat down opposite him and rested her chin on her palm. She watched him with a bemused grin.
"You may be a miserable git, but at least you have good taste in literature." she said, the corner of her mouth curling up in amusement. Her sickly feeling has passed and she flicked her jet-black hair behind her shoulder and fixed him challengingly with her steel-blue eyes.

[Sebastian Morter]

Sebastian sat down at the table, cooly leaning back in his chair. He felt the girl come near to him, and frowned. Who the heck is this girl? He smiled slowly as she sat down, a smirk the next best thing. "Miserable? Ouch. That's harsh" He said softly, the sauve tone not betraying his curiosity. "They're fascinating" He murmured, talking about the dragon. He smirked as she flicked her hair, "Maybe your just craving attention" He said, eyeing her cooly, the challenge in her eyes was just amusing him more.

[Krysta Hedwig]

Her face lit up with a grin.
"You're fun." she told him wth a chuckle. "And yes, they are fascinating." she agreed nodding at he Almanac. "My brother runs our colony in Romania. I adore them. Our Ridgeback Ma just gave birth. I wanted to read up on nesting and nursery habbits." she told him, flicking through the book she'd picked up, still wishing she had the Almanac.

[Sebastian Morter]

Sebastian smirked, "Am I now? Well I'll have to get to know you, before I tell you" Sebastian listened on, a little bored as she described the dragon. He pushed the book over and got up, "Then you'll be needing this" She barely smiled and went back over to the dragon section, wondering why she had this effect on him.

[Krysta Hedwig]

Krys accepted the book without a word and watched him go back to the bookshelves. She leant back and ran an appraising inner eye over him. He was giving off waves of what could only described as bitterness and at the core of it a great deal of sadness, which he was trying to repress. She frowned slightly, wondering what could have happened in his life to have created such a dark aura. He clearly did not want to be here and was very angry about it. She could feel the walls he had built up and it saddened her.
His internal emotions were conflicted and that reflected in his actions. She understood now why one second he was making funny, even suggestve comments and the next being very rude.
He fascinated her. He was like a puzzle she wanted to crack. She thought about going after him, but felt that he really wanted to be left alone.
She got up, taking the Almanac with her. She walked up behind him sowly and spoke softly so she didn't startle him
"Here..." she said, holding out the book to him. "You'll probably enjoy it more anyway. I'll get it another time." she said with a gentle smile. She nodded a goodbye and quiety slipped away again.

[Sebastian Morter]

Sebastian slipped through the books the smell bringing back unwanted memories of home. He took a deep breath, his shoulders slumping. There was something uncomfortable about the library like he was being watched. He pivoted around to find the girl again, as she gave the book to him, his expressionless face cracked for a second, betraying almost sincerity. He couldn't quite bring himself to smile, the pain and inner torment was crushing him again.

He could feel it, everything he'd pushed back. One act of kindness and everything ruined. He sniffed, pulling his head up in arrogance but he couldn't understand why. Why she had this effect on him. He blinked once, trying to clear his mind and she'd disappeared. Something stirred inside him, almost like he was disappointed to see her leave. He winced, a feeling he hadn't felt since he was a small child. He scanned the library but she was knowhere to be found, Sebastian once again found the desolation he had felt since he was 8. Anger overcame him, and soon the Almanac was in pieces on the floor. And once again, darkness overcame him.

[Krysta Hedwig]

As Krys left the library she was stopped dead by a searing pain across her chest. She gasped, bending double to keep her balance.
Anger. Hatred. Pain.
It was unbearable. She felt his uncontrollable pain, bitterness, loneliness and regret all spill over into fury. She began to weep the tears he could not bring himself to succumb to. She fell to the floor, tears pouring down her face, whimpers escaping intermittently from her dark pink lips; such a contrast to her white skin. She sobbed, hugging her knees to her chest, crawling into a foetal position.
Sometmes she hated being an empath.

[Sebastian Morter]

The shreads of paper sat at his feet like defenceless children and with that Sebastian seethed even more, he couldn't bare it anymore. He had to get out. Swallowing heavily, he vanquished the Almanac and moved towards the exit of the library quickly. A heavy weeping alerted him to something at his feet. He saw the girl he'd seen before, pouring tears in absolutley distress. A sudden anger came over him again, but not at himself or his past but at whatever had hurt her. He knelt down, his expressionless face almost cracking, but he kept it together his anger darkening his brooding eyes,
"Why are you crying?" He whispered, almost compelled to touch the foreign salty water streaming down her cheeks. He reached out, carefully and wiped her cheek before he scowled, furious at her for making him so...vulnerable. Sebastian shot up, and moved away from her.
"Why?" He muttered looking at her

[Krysta Hedwig]

Krys almost screamed with dispair when he found her there. The new wave of anger he produced was directed at her and she couldn't stand it.
"Stop it!" she wailed hysterically though her sobs, trying push herself away from him. "Please stop. I can't bare it." He was hurting her and didn't even know it. She tried to close her mind to him, but she couldn't.
"Why can't I close myself to you?" she cried in confusion. "I can't shut you out. I can feel everyting...oh god it's so excruciating. How can you live this way?" she whimpered again, wrapping her ams tightly around herself as though that may put a wall between them.
She could always block out someone's emotions by choice if she wanted to. So why couldn't she block him? It was like her chakras were wide open and she was unable to draw the power to close them.
"I feel everything." she whimpered. "Make it stop" she asked in a tiny, weak, mouse-like voice. "Make it stop."

[Sebastian Morter]

Sebastian pulled back, her hysteria alarming him.
"Stop what?" He muttered frustrated.
"Bare what!" He said, his temper rising. Suddenly it all clicked, "Your an empath." His eyes widened but he was too enthralled by her.
"What am I emiting?" He asked her slowly, watching her try to physically block him out. He was fascinated, but something stirred deep inside.
"I can't" He muttered defeated, not understanding what he was outputting. Sebastian frowned, he had no idea what was wrong with her. Ofcourse empath's felt every other person's emotions, but even the least skilled ones learnt to block everyone so that they could survive. It was instinctual. But Sebastian sat back down, her voice moving something inside him, he almost felt....sorry for her.What is she doing to me! I'm not like this!

[Krysta Hedwig]

Krysta was exhausted by the onslaught on emotion. She lay shaking in the dark corner of the corridor, her reathing shallow and quick. She managed to openher eyes but they were red and sore. She was unable to focus on anything so she just stared into a blurry haze of light and shadow. Occasionally a whimper left her lips.
His emotions had changed. She sensed guilt and even pity. But mostly she felt his confusion. She was confusing him. She choked back a sob, knowing her tears were infuriating him. She couldn't handle another bout of his anger.
She was shivering now but her eyes were coming int focus and she could make him out now, kneeling beside her. His face was a plethora of emotions, all of which she feel.
"Why can't I close myself to you?" she whispered. Absent mindedly she reached out and touched his arm.
And then it happened: The strongest mind-meld Krysta had ever felt. It was like a two-way stream suddenly opened up between them. She saw everything and so did he.
She saw his parents; Lydia and Edward. She heard the screaming fights, empty bottles littering the surfaces, his Mother drunk; thrashing him mercilessly. She felt his fury, his pain and frustration. She saw Durmstrang and felt his love for the place, Gindlewald's symbol etched into his heart. She saw the Cruciatus spell that went wrong and the flogging he recieved in return.

She screamed in pain and the meld was broken. She stared at him in horror trying to get her breath.
"What...what happened?" she asked. That had never happened before in her life. Yes she could put thoughts in people's head, but she'd never etracted them before. Not like this. This was new.
She looked at him wondering if he'd had the same experience. She wondered, in horror, what he had seen of her life. How much did he know?

[Sebastian Morter]

Sebastian watched her terrified form as she struggled to hold herself, the dimly lit corridor illuminating her pale skin. He felt his face crack, "What is wrong with you? Why can't you block it?" He asked, almost sincere but he was trying to keep his voice even. He heard her whimper, his heart constricting, but it was deep and Sebastian barely felt it.

He chewed his lip, her choked sobs betraying her own exhaustion. He could feel the backs of his calfs straining but only one thing was on his mind. Her. He didn't even know her name, but she fascinated him. And he felt her watching him, but he supressed the anger. He wasn't going to hurt her again.
He shrugged, trying to appear non-chalant. He tried to pull away, her touch foreign and unknown but his whole being pulled towards her and he saw her life flash past in brief flashes. He saw her struggle with becoming an animagus, the grief after her mother left, the difficulty growing up, the desolation, the affair with the slytherin girl, Danika, Kelly killing the headmistress' baby and the twin-core. His eyes grew, alarmed as he pulled back with a yelp.
"What happened..." He seethed at her, knowing immedietely what had happened. He could feel the pull as it ebbed away, only linking them mentally. He frowned, wondering what she'd seen.
She repeated his question and he squinted at her, "What happened girl" He said, looking down at her, the ache in his legs a dull throb.

[Krysta Hedwig]

She stared at him. His life had been so miserable an she now understood the rage that brewed within him. She frowned. The pain had stopped. Her mind had closed. She smiled with relief and closed her eyes, chuckling slightly.
"Our minds melded." she explained, though she had a feeling he already knew that. "You saw parts of my past. I saw parts of yours."
She fell silent. She wasn't really sure what to say now. She was far aware of what he knew about her and didn't know what to do about it. She was so relieved she had regained control of her mind, the magnitude of the situation hadn't quite sunk it.
"Well since you know so much about me you may as well know my name." she said in a serious tone. "I'm Krysta." she said, holding out her hand formally.

[Sebastian Morter]

Sebastian watched her gaze. Wondering how her view of him had changed, almost instantly he felt she scars on his back and arms itch. Wincing he nodded, "What did you see?" He asked her evenly.
He thought of all the gruesome memories he'd try to forget, everything laid out in front of her. He squinted, trying to supress the anger, he didn't want to hurt her again that felt wrong. But he didn't want to remember, and had told noone of the horror that had gone on. Now a stranger knew everything. Somehow the anger didn't appear as much as he'd thought.
"Melded? Meaning what?" But he had an idea.
He took her hand, a little reluctantly. "Sebastian Morter." He murmured.

[Krysta Hedwig]

As their fingers touched she half expected something to happen but she just felt his skin, cool and kind of smooth. It surprised her. She expected his hand to feel rough, considering the life he'd led.
"Our minds connected and latched on to each other. They exchanged memories. As for what I saw..." she trailed off, uncertain how to say what she'd seen without either upsetting or angering him. "...I saw your parents...how they treated you. Jeez, Sebastian, I'm sorry."
She felt guilty. His memories were private and she felt like she'd stolen then, even though it hadn't been deliberate.
"That's never happened before, I swear. I don't know why it did. What id you see?" she asked nervously. Not sure she was going to like the answer.