[Ferris Felwinter]

[open to Sector members]

Ferris sat at his desk and eyed the stack of papers that had accrued there while he was gone. Most of it was files he had requested himself, for this or that case. Some were new cases that had come in and were often assigned to him for initial investigation. Being one of the few non-Gifted employees of Federal Sector of Investigating Special Occurrences, he saw a lot more deskwork than anything else. Which was fine. He'd signed up for this job, in a way, even if being in the office wasn't always his favorite. It at least allowed him to do the detective work his enjoyed, some of the time. And made it much easier to explain to his wife that he was working for a private firm, rather than a secret government organization. 

Ferris sorted through the files, most of them just in initial stages, strange happens around certain people or places while they were trying to determine if there was a Gift involved somewhere. Sometimes there was, sometimes there was nothing, sometimes it wasn't the person they were looking at who had the Gift but someone they knew. Therefore, he often his cases and so did many of the other detectives. Presently he had a vast array: 

The Bottomless Dumpster
The one about the woman w/ the pink hair
Unseen arsonist No. 3
Zachary Conners?
The Disappearing Chase Chaise Lounge
Aurora Apartmentalis

Some were more creative than others, but these were unofficial names. Each file had details about a person, place, events, times, in more or less detail that he was left to look into. The best ones had some amount of video footage over strange events or an audio file or transcript of an interview of a witness, some before having their memory wiped it was clearly Gifted activity. He sifted through police flock camera footage, made some calls, looked up people through records and online, and worked on write ups for what might be something for them to look into. More often than note, he recommended observation follow up or to leave something alone, as events were either coincidence or it was clear the Gifted individual wasn't presently causing problems. 

Other times, as with the potential arson and other crimes, be they mundane or superhuman in nature, required further investigation and action. Some of which, hopefully, he'd get to take part in.

But for now, he had finished with most of the stack, sending a few off for oversight while the others he would keep looking into. But after lunch. He headed downstairs to the cafeteria, loosening the collar on the hated dress shirt and glad he wasn't required to wear a tie. He'd much preferred flannels and jeans and boots to the pressed shirt and dress pants and black shoes but it wasn't a casual day for him. 

[Bridget Lacey]

[nospaces]

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright

Yeah, sometimes ya gotta lose 'til ya win,It's alright, it's alright, it's alright

[break]

[attr="class","BRID"]

---

[break]


Over the last few weeks she had been having a hard time sleeping. Last night wasn't an exception. She’d had to put on a bit more makeup than normal, adding enough concealer to hide the dark circles under her eyes. By the time she had to head out the door, she was already feeling irritable and dog tired. She considered calling out sick for the day, but what good would that do? Then she’d just be tired and irritable at home, wasting her PTO on a day when she wasn’t doing anything enjoyable. No, PTO wasn’t the way to go. Pushing through was the better option. [break][break]

As much as she wished she had a call out or something other than the mountain of backlogged paperwork to keep busy with, so far the day had other plans for her. She sat at her desk and stared at the pile of files, knowing that she needed to look over and finalize the reports, but not wanting to get started. At least if she got through her pile, the next time she was cornered by Josh he wouldn’t be able to lecture her about staying on top of her work, not letting it get so far behind. She bet that he’d been a teacher’s pet in school, probably the kid who was always asking what the homework was when the teacher hadn't assigned any yet, the guy who always went overboard, [break][break]

With a heavy sigh, Bridget cracked open the first file from the top of the pile. The only way to get through it was to get started. [break][break]

By lunch time, Bridget had made some progress but was beyond ready for a break from staring at documents and computer screens. [break][break]

When she got to the break room Bridget went to the fridge and grabbed out her chickpea, avocado and feta salad. She looked around and didn’t see anyone she would normally eat lunch with, so she found a mostly empty table instead and walked over. “Mind if I sit?” She motioned to the empty seat across from Ferris. She didn’t know him well, but he wasn’t sitting with Josh so that was a plus for his table. She didn’t really wait for his answer before sitting down in the empty chair, figuring if he really had a problem with it he’d tell her. [break][break]

---

[break]

Ferris Felwinter [break]
Give a shout for changes or if anything doesn’t work

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[Ferris Felwinter]

Ferris had opted for chicken fried rice from the cafeteria and rather than sit in the main space, he returned to the break room. It was quieter there, less people to stare at him and remind him he wasn't as useful as they were here, as if they needed to overcompensation for their job. Not that he blamed them too much. At least when he went home, he wasn't having to hide anything. He looked up from where he had stretched out at the table and was scrolling through his phone, straightening up to make space for the newcomer.

He'd seen the woman enough times, though he was pretty sure she worked a different department than he did. Something with a B probably? They'd talked about paperwork before. He caught a glance at her ID badge before she sat down. Bridget. Familiar, but it didn't help him with anything else. "Did Josh unchain you from your desk for good behavior?" Thankfully the man in question wasn't in the room. Ferris' tone was soft and serious, making it very clearly not a rhetorical question. But the detective had a weird way with humor.

"That looks pretty good," he noted of her salad. Not that he was a salad guy, but he was sure a toppings guy. Which could mean a lot of things. Nachos, tacos, rice bowls, omelets, sundaes, salads too... Which reminded him of his own food so he dug in.

[Bridget Lacey]

[nospaces]

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright

Yeah, sometimes ya gotta lose 'til ya win,It's alright, it's alright, it's alright

[break]

[attr="class","BRID"]

---

[break]


Bridget smirked and choked back a laugh that would have come out a little too loud had she let it out. It seemed everyone was irritated by Josh today. For the life of her, Bridget didn’t know how Luck saw the best in the guy, but she figured there had to be some redeeming quality at least. She just had yet to experience a positive interaction with him. [break][break]

“He’s so pushy about getting reports finished, right?” She gave a beaming smile and shook her head. “He’ll be thrilled when he finds out I’m only a month behind now instead of three months behind on my reports.” [break][break]

She was well aware that her tendency to disregard finishing reports was an issue, but she couldn’t bring herself to care much about it. She was good at the other various aspects of her job, so the higher ups didn’t tend to bother her about it. They always got done. Eventually. If there was something pressing she could pick it out and finish it quickly, but honestly? She felt like most of their paperwork was just busy work, and she had better things to do with her time. [break][break]

“It’s actually the first time I’ve made this.” Bridget scrunched her nose. “I’m usually more of a junk for lunch kinda person, but I’ve decided I should make an effort to be healthier.” She laughed. “We’ll see how long it lasts. Your lunch looks pretty good.” She stirred the contents of her container and took a bite. If she made this again, she’d add grilled chicken. That would definitely make it a bit better, not that it was bad now. It was good, but it was just missing something. [break][break]

“So have you been stuck in paperwork hell today as well?” [break][break]

---

[break]

Ferris Felwinter [break]
Sorry for the wait. Let me know for any changes.

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[Ferris Felwinter]

He was glad Bridget found it funny. The detective rarely had it in him to summon the passion required for the word 'hate.' But sometimes Josh rubbed him the wrong way. Still, Ferris wasn't usually on the man's bad side. Considering he got a lot less "additional duties" being one of the few unremarkable people in the office, he had a lot more time to finish reports. So much that he usually got reports from others to finish too.

"Nothing happens without paperwork," Ferris noted with a shrug. And then he winced at hearing she was an entire month behind. But she was right, it was better. Sure, some if his investigates weren't that pressing, but she wasn't in investigations. She was in...he racked his brain for the last time they had discussed paperwork. She did language work but something else high stakes. "You're improving," he noted, instead opting for the positive. "Good behavior indeed," he added with a chuckle. He liked Bridget and would rather she not get penalized or canned just because of the government's filing system and demand for paper trails.

Ferris nodded. "Don't usually eat lunch," he said. "But it's been a long morning." He took a lunch break of course, but food and him had a checkered past. Usually, his mental illness and his meds didn't measure with him but he had found skipping lunch helped him actually feel hungry during the other two mealtimes of the day. "It's alright," he agreed. He could probably make better chicken fried rice at home. Maybe the kids would love that.

"Just worked my way out into purgatory this morning," he said vaguely with a nod. He had plenty to do, but it was more with research than filing. "Should get some camera logs to sift through and other database access to research soon. Work on anything big recently?" He asked. He knew she was Gifted (not just because it was indicated on her badge, Sector tracked their own, after all), but whether that was something she used in the field or not he couldn't recall.

[Bridget Lacey]

[nospaces]

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright

Yeah, sometimes ya gotta lose 'til ya win,It's alright, it's alright, it's alright

[break]

[attr="class","BRID"]

---

[break]


As right as he was about paperwork, especially within the government agencies, it was still Bridget’s least favorite part of her job, so she just scrunched her face and shrugged. “Unfortunately, you’re right about that.” She agreed. “Yeah, I guess that’s an improvement.” [break][break]

Ferris commented that he didn’t normally eat lunch, and Bridget couldn’t imagine. She always had to at least carry a snack in her work bag, because if she was out all day she would get too hangry if she didn’t stop and eat at least something. She didn’t know if it was a blood sugar dip or what caused it, but she wasn’t one of those people who could skip lunch and be okay. Probably because she didn’t tend to eat a substantial breakfast, usually sticking to a yogurt or sometimes a string cheese as she was rushing out the door in the morning. [break][break]

He asked if she’d had anything big recently, and Bridget thought back to the teenager and his mother that she’d responded to. That wasn’t technically a Sector incident, so it didn’t really count anyway. “I’ve had a lot of translation callouts lately, and those are fun, sometimes. Always interesting, at the very least.” She smiled. “Better than being stuck at the desk, anyway.” [break][break]

She was still trying to shake off the emotions that had been brought up with the mother and son, the way it made her remember Jordan and how their relationship came to an abrupt end. How Jordan thought she was born wrong, that she was an abomination. She hated the fact that people feared the things that they didn’t understand, that the knee jerk reaction was to believe it was evil or bad in some way. [break][break]

She wasn’t evil. She wasn’t bad or born wrong. She was just a woman, trying to live her life and trying to do some good in the world. [break][break]

---

[break]

Ferris Felwinter [break]
Let me know for any changes.

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[Ferris Felwinter]

The way she looked at him about the food thing made it clear she wasn't a 'go hungry' type. He wasn't either, if he had a choice. But some things weren't really a voluntary choice. He only shrugged at her expression and continued to eat. Maybe the fried rice was better than just 'alright.' Though it could use a little more sauce and less salt, he wasn't so invested as to want to get up mid conversation. Plus, he didn't want to risk vacating one of the few breakroom chairs only to have someone take over.

Ferris leaned back as Bridget thought his question over, watching the way she grew a bit distant, that look in her eyes, how she sat in the chair, that her food seemed almost forgotten. He hummed as she settled for something non-specific. So maybe it wasn't anything 'big' or she just wasn't interested in sharing details one way or another. He knew that feeling sometimes around here. Talking about some of the things they saw could be...difficult. Which was why there was an in-house therapist. And why he avoided her. "Sounds a lot better than the usual at least."

"Well, you ever need a partner on anything, let me know," he said firmly. "Though not much for translation," he noted, once again sounding serious but maybe trying to be funny. It was always hard to tell if he was joking. He could speak French but knew very little else so he doubted he would be much help. "What languages do you speak?" They'd been through all the small talk often, but he'd never really asked Bridget what she did and there was a whole lunch to fill in.

[Bridget Lacey]

[nospaces]

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright

Yeah, sometimes ya gotta lose 'til ya win,It's alright, it's alright, it's alright

[break]

[attr="class","BRID"]

---

[break]


“Definitely better than the usual paperwork and boring meetings.” Bridget gave a smile, only half forced. She’d take a pointless meeting today if there was one, it would be a good break from the monotony of finishing up reports. She’d even take one of those meetings that could have clearly (and should have) just been an email instead. Anything for a distraction. [break][break]

At least she wouldn’t be stuck at her desk and she’d be around other people. Some of which weren’t annoying, though she couldn’t say that about all of them. [break][break]

He offered up assistance, should the need ever arise. From what Bridget could remember, he did something with investigations, but she couldn’t remember if it was specific or just a general investigations sort of position. “I’ll let you know, for sure. You’re in investigations, right? There might be a couple cases I could use some assistance on, actually.’ She asked to confirm, just in case she was misremembering their previous conversations. [break][break]

Bridget smirked at his comment on translation, then his follow up question about what languages she actually spoke. It was a common question she got, and one she had a couple standard answers to. But he knew she was Gifted, so there wasn’t much need to give a short list. “Most of the common ones I’ve got pretty much on demand at this point. Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian and Russian. I’m pretty good with Mandarin and Cantonese too, but as long as I’m talking with someone who is fluent for a minute or two I can pick up just about anything quickly.” She shrugged. [break][break]

“Maybe if it’s something I’ve never been exposed to before, or only a few times, it could take a little bit more than a couple minutes, but not much longer.” She sighed and shook her head. “If only reading and writing languages was as easy. If we’re talking about what I can fluently read, that’s limited to Spanish, Russian, and French. Some of the other languages I can sort of read, but it takes a lot of double checking myself.” [break][break]

---

[break]

Ferris Felwinter [break]
Let me know for any changes.

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[Ferris Felwinter]

Even Bridget's casual, unofficial, and likely to never come up 'I'll let you know,' was more hopefully than anything he got from upstairs. She at least made him feel heard and that went a long way. He gave her a more honest, if just as brief, smile.

"Detective. General investigation grunt work. I've requested more specialization or to head larger cases, but the brass usually denies it. Something about 'non-Gifted liability'." As if all Gifted were better both socially and in a firefight. He found the implication frustrating. Bridgett was a translator and she got more active work than he did. Of course, that was likely the other side of her job. Her Gift had no affect on her ability to defend herself and the detective felt like everyone should find that implication by their bosses offensive. Ferris knew he could handle himself if it came down to it, but the point was for things not to come to violence or the need of someone like Bridget. "I'll even do the paperwork," he added. Of course, any agent that handle a case needed to file something with it, but he didn't mind taking the lead.

She began listing languages and once she hit the fourth one, he realized that had to be her Gift. He knew it was something social. Especially as she suggested she only needed a few minutes where it took most normal people at least a few years. He continued to eat while she continued to explain, and he did his best to commit her ever growing skill set to memory. Her mentioning reading being involved answered his initial technical question, of if her Gift was simply translating in her head or if it was a true 'learning' of a language. Sure, it might be doing the heavy lifting of memory, but provided she saw enough writing or heard enough words, she really only had to fill in her vocabulary and she was fluent. "Incredible," he said softly. "Pensez-vous en anglais, ou la langue que vous utilisez prend-elle le dessus?" he asked, shifting to the only other language he knew mostly as part of the thought experiment he posed.

"Anyway, seems like your Gift comes in handy around here." He knew Los Eurasia got a lot of outsiders, so it stood to reason why she was so busy.

---

[Translation]

SPOILER: Click to show

“Do you think in English, or does the language you use take over?”

[Bridget Lacey]

[nospaces]

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright

Yeah, sometimes ya gotta lose 'til ya win,It's alright, it's alright, it's alright

[break]

[attr="class","BRID"]

---

[break]


He confirmed that he was a detective, working in investigations. It made Bridget a bit wary to talk with someone who was not Gifted and in charge of investigating Gifted. She’d chatted with Ferris a few times before though, and she didn’t get a bad feeling from him at all. Not that she was the best judge of that, given her history, but she tried to keep from overthinking any of that. Ferris was a coworker, and he’d been nice enough to her. [break][break]

“Oh, I definitely know how they can be with that.” For Ferris it probably felt like he was being held back from the excitement. For Bridget and at least some of the others, it felt more like they were disposable to the agency, like they didn’t have as much value as non-gifted employees. She wasn’t about to whine about that though. Regardless of the reason, she was glad for the cases she got even if it was because they didn’t value her as much. [break][break]

When he said he’d even do the paperwork, Bridget laughed. “I might hold you to that.” She stirred her chickpea salad and took a bite, thinking about the cases she had that she needed someone to follow up on. She did have a couple that were going to need to go to a detective, cases that ended well and needed to be followed up with. Like the guy who was trying to use his persuasion to start a cult. When it was time to go check up on him, she could absolutely ask Ferris along and fill him in about what happened when she’d gone out there. [break][break]

He gave her the perfect chance to show off a bit. “Je pense généralement en anglais, sauf si j'utilise la télépathie avec un locuteur non anglais.” She wasn’t sure that he knew about that gift of hers, far less people knew about that one and her being omnilingual. “Quand as-tu appris le français ? Était-ce votre langue maternelle ou votre deuxième langue ? Parlez-vous d'autres langues?” [break][break]

She was probably asking too many questions, but Bridget was fascinated with bilingual and multilingual non-gifted people. She always wondered how it worked for them, if it was hard to switch between languages or if it just happened as easily as for her when they were already fluent. “I love being able to communicate with just about anyone. It doesn’t work for things like sign language though. Just spoken languages.” [break][break]

---

[break]

Ferris Felwinter [break]

Let me know for any changes. [break]
(Also, I only speak English fluently so Google translate was used for the French. I’ll put the translations below.)

[break]

--“I usually think in English, unless I'm using telepathy with a non-English speaker.”[break]
--“When did you learn French? Was it your first language or your second? Do you speak any other languages?”

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[Ferris Felwinter]

Ferris considered this work the same as when he had done private detective work. Of course, he'd worked for himself in conjunction with the police and been a lot more directly involved. There wasn't someone else to pass a case up to if things got dangerous or weird. Sure, they got dangerous or weird more often now but he didn't see why that meant he couldn't be directly involved. Besides the fact that yes, some Gifted had been mistreated by those without and might not be so comfortable around him. But Ferris felt that treating everyone the same made sense. They were still people. Just people who had specialized skills.

He could tell something in her tone didn't identify his joke, but most people didn't get his humor. “I know I'm not that special but I know how to handle myself.” He wasn't going to start a fight or take out half a city block. Most of what he looked at was observation, after all. Criminal cases were fewer and far between. Usually. But that would be more up his alley.

He raised an eyebrow. Telepathy. He knew many Gifted had a suite of skills and not just one. He supposed it made sense that Bridget could read minds too. It fit with her language understanding in a way. If a lot more…active, than the other ability. “Ça a du sens.” He wasn't sure what to say about the telepathy but in all his conversations with Bridget, she had never given him a reason to be uncomfortable.

Bridget's barrage of questions earned a smile. “Quand j'étais petit. Je suppose que l'anglais est ma langue maternelle. Mais j'ai grandi en parlant français avec ma mère.” He shook his head. “Just two. Would like to pick up something else but…not much time for it.” He shrugged and then offered her a compliment. “Tu parles bien le français.” All she lacked was an accent. Though certain words she said she clearly had heard them said natively and mimicked that.

She brought up sign language by happenstance and it was amusing because that was what he really wanted to pick up as a third language, as it were.

“Interesting. Your Gift works from sound then? You think that's a limitation or something you can develop?” Ferris didn't understand Gifts that well, but if they were skills, passive or active, then it made sense they could be developed further. “Or maybe something your mind reading can help you learn to do?” Since people didn't always think in words. Some were more visual, after all.

---

[Translation]

SPOILER: Click to show

“That makes sense.”

"When I was little. I suppose English is my first language. But I grew up speaking French with my mother.”

"You speak French well."

[Bridget Lacey]

[nospaces]

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright

Yeah, sometimes ya gotta lose 'til ya win,It's alright, it's alright, it's alright

[break]

[attr="class","BRID"]

---

[break]


When Ferris commented that he wasn’t that special, but could still handle himself, Bridget realized that her tone may have betrayed some of the apprehension that she felt that had absolutely nothing to do about him personally. She knew that her leftover trauma from what happened with Jordan would have to be dealt with at some point, especially if it was going to bleed into her work, but she didn’t want to face that just yet. [break][break]

“I have no doubts that you can hold your own.” She gave a small smile, hoping he hadn't taken any unintended offense in her tone or words before. “How do you feel about cults?” She asked, wondering if it was a case that he’d even be interested in delving into. While she was good at responding to crisis situations, the follow up was never her strong suit. She wasn’t the greatest at investigative work either, and knew that these kinds of cases needed someone who could keep up with that, someone who could continue to check up and do their due diligence. And it sounded like that might be right up his alley. [break][break]

He explained how he’d grown up speaking French with his mother, though he claimed English as his first language. It sounded like he grew up bilingual, which wasn’t too uncommon. “Personne dans ma famille ne parle autre chose que l'anglais. Ce n'est que lorsque nous avons accueilli un étudiant ESOL dans mon école que j'ai découvert que j'étais omnilingue.” [break][break]

She smiled when he complimented her French. There was no use dismissing the compliment, or explaining that it got better the longer she used it and when she was surrounded by the language. Those were details that she’d discovered about her gift over the years. Full immersion made it the easiest, but as long as someone was speaking to her in the language frequently enough, she could retain it. Some languages though, ones that she rarely encountered, she would lose completely until she encountered it again. [break][break]

“Yeah, it seems to be completely sound based. No sign language, no written language. At this point, I’m sure it’s just the natural limitation of the ability.” She shrugged, unbothered by it. Sure, it would be great to be able to read and write in a language as easily as it was to speak it, but she wouldn’t let that stop her from enjoying what she was able to do. “I don’t think telepathy would really help with it, at least it hasn’t so far. And I prefer to try not to use it most of the time anyway.” She didn’t like invading other people’s privacy without a reason. Of course, sometimes, thoughts just bled over unexpectedly, if someone was really passionate or upset about something. But for the most part, she had to actively use that ability, and even aside from the rest of her reasons, it had consequences to using it too much. Headaches, nosebleeds, dizziness. She knew it wasn’t painless for the other person either, not if they fought it at all. The more someone resisted, the worse it was for both of them. [break][break]

---

[break]

Ferris Felwinter [break]
Let me know for any changes.[break][break]

Translation[break]

SPOILER: Click to show

[break]
“No one in my family speaks anything other than English. It wasn't until we got an ESOL student in my school that I discovered I was omnilingual.”[break][break]

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[googlefont=Hurricane]

[Ferris Felwinter]

Ferris accepted that, at least in the specific way Gifted people were, well, 'gifted,' he couldn't compete. But that wasn't the point. Just because someone couldn't compete at pro level baseball didn't mean they were bad at the sport. And just because they were a terrible pitcher didn't mean they couldn't be a phenomenal catcher. It was all about finding one's place, in work, in the world, in a family. Sometimes, he'd like to not feel like a bench warmer.

"Cults?" While a bit of a non sequitur, It wasn't a question entirely out of left field; they dealt with all sorts of levels of human depravity and insanity for every 'normal' person just trying to find where they belonged. "Let's just say my only out of 'normal' organized religion was to join the military. So..." he tried to think of a 'safe for work' way to phrase his true feelings on the matter and had to settle for something far short. He shrugged. "I don't condone that shit. You been looking into one?" If he had to guess, that was where the topic had come from.

He grinned briefly. "Bet that was a fun moment." To find out she could piece together words and sentences and then all of a sudden be near fluent. "Language courses must have been a breeze. Well, besides the risk of someone finding out," he added, tone just as serious as ever. Easy credits unless someone caught on that either she knew the language well enough to not need the class, or a major risk of someone finding out a bit more. At least, with her Gift, it was a bit easier to play 'dumb' and just claim to be good with languages. Still, probably was a lot more stressful then.

It was interesting to hear Bridget speak a bit more in depth about how her Gift worked. At least to some degree. That was what always fascinated him. Sure, it was a sort of 'magic,' but Ferris was the sort to believe that there was something more explainable beneath it, at least to some degree. Like Gifted had access to some other part of the human psyche or something.

"Fair. Most people can be...private." He hesitated, food forgotten for the moment, curious, but not sure he should ask. Still, Bridget had humored him with his other questions. "Is it...hard to not use one of your Gifts that often?" Like not flexing a muscle maybe or not speaking French ever again. Not that he was all that keen to volunteer. Especially the more...mental Gifts made him uncomfortable at times, but he was trying to get a handle on that.

[Bridget Lacey]

[nospaces]

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright

Yeah, sometimes ya gotta lose 'til ya win,It's alright, it's alright, it's alright

[break]

[attr="class","BRID"]

---

[break]


Bridget held back a chuckle when Ferris compared the military to a cult or religion. She could see the parallels, certainly. While she hadn't realized he was a former member of the armed forces, it made sense. She wondered if that was part of what led him to working for the Sector, or if there was some other way he ended up on their radar or vice versa. [break][break]

“Yeah, a couple months ago I got called out for this guy, he has persuasion, and he was trying to convince some people to follow him. He wasn’t very good at it, and some family members had gotten upset and it became a thing, a bit of a standoff when we got involved.” Bridget gave a bit of the background that she’d skipped at first. “Well, it’s due for a follow up soon, and those aren’t really my strong suit. I’m good in a crisis, but I suck at interviews and dealing with calm situations.” She wasn’t sure why it felt so much harder. Probably because she hadn't ever trained as much for that. All her training, while it was a lot, was very specific and narrow in scope. [break][break]

Bridget couldn’t help the small smirk that spread when she thought about the first time she realized she could understand and nearly instantly speak another language. She’d been at the grocery store, the Piggly Wiggly, with her mama. There were two women in front of them, having a conversation in Spanish. One of them made a comment about the five year old Bridget, who was watching them intently, and Bridget spoke back to them in Spanish. Her mother was surprised, but quickly lied and said they had a family friend who taught her the language when the other women asked, also surprised she’d understood them. [break][break]

After they got home, Bridget’s parents had a long talk with her about being careful.[break][break]

“We only had Spanish and French, but I took both. The hardest part was explaining to my teachers why I could speak so well but didn’t read and write the languages yet. It was still very easy though, and I was glad for the chance to learn to read and write both languages.” She sat back in her chair and laughed quietly. “My mom always told everyone her best friend taught me. No one really asked more questions, thankfully.” [break][break]

She was glad for that. She didn’t know how they’d have handled anyone poking further into it, or what risk it could have brought to the rest of her family. [break][break]

Bridget nodded, agreeing. People were private, and they deserved their privacy. When he asked if it was hard not using one of her abilities often, she was quiet for a few seconds as she thought about how to answer. “I don’t know if it’s hard.” She began, thinking over the best way to describe it. “It’s like, background noise.. Thoughts are always there, and I could try to tune in and listen. It takes more effort to focus on a specific person and try to listen than it does to tune it out, usually. Sometimes, people think too… loudly. Then it’s hard to block it out. Or if someone touches me unexpectedly it can be harder. But mostly, it’s harder to push into someone’s thoughts than it is to block them out.” [break][break]

She wasn’t sure if that explanation would be enough, if it would make sense. But it was the only way that she really could describe it. [break][break]

---

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Ferris Felwinter [break]
Sorry for the long wait. Let me know for any changes.[break][break]

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[Ferris Felwinter]

For Ferris, it was the mental Gifts that made the hair stand up on the back of his neck. He knew it wasn't the power, it was how people used it, but people were allowed to be nervous around guns or attack dogs and not necessarily blame the gun or the attack dog. So too was his complicated relationship with powers. He did his best not to think about it in his everyday life. But like this... Bridget mentioned a guy persuading people like a Jehovah's witness might go door to door handing out fliers and the knowledge that this wasn't just persuasive words but a 'force' that was playing with people's freewill... Solicitors were bad enough normally.

At least this guy didn't seem to understand his own Gift. He grimaced as she explained the situation, understanding why she had been asked out. Deescalate the situation. "Seems like there are more of those around, the more Gifted there are," he noted. Not that he thought the cults were all Gifted. Normal people seemed just as keen to control and benefit from those with Gifts as they were afraid of them. It wasn't a great cycle. "I don't usually get individual cases to investigate," he admitted, which was his own language for explaining he didn't do much follow up, just like her. "But my goal is usually to keep things calm. Let me know when," he agreed, offering a faint understanding smile. They were all here for different skills, but the goal was the same.

Ferris nodded. Speech comprehension and reading and writing were different. But he imagined that being fluent helped with interpreting texts. Eventually. He couldn't imagine trying to explain to his "We all learn words first...but acing a speech test and flunking the written... I would have paid to see you argue your way out of a test," he laughed at the concept of teenage Bridget going toe to toe with a high school language teacher and being more fluent than they were.

Her reply made it clear he hadn't asked the right question. Not that he was sure what was the right question, but Bridget was a good sport about it. He remembered his food enough to take a few more bites, finished it up. From the sound of it, it was like another sense. That suggesting she didn't use it was like suggesting he didn't use his ears. Sure, hearing something and really listening were different, but it wasn't a sense he could simply turn off. "Ah. My bad. Thanks for the explanation," he said in his usual, more reserved tone. "Like how it's easier to tune out a conversation on the other side of a restaurant than it is to listen in," he offered, trying to come close to an example that he could understand. So maybe it was a simple, stupid way to put it but Ferris would be the first to admit that sometimes, he could be pretty simple and pretty stupid. His oldest daughter told him that sometimes. Come to think of it, the younger one did too.

He did give her a look though. "Touch makes it easier?" A lot of powers seemed to operate that way. Whether it was a rule of the Gift or simply something that helped a lot of people focus, he wasn't sure. He wasn't paid the big bucks to try and dissect how Gifted people worked. But he wondered if that made more casual and more intimate gestures more difficult for Bridget. He hadn't actually thought about that before and it was a good note to bring to his wariness about other Gifts. "I bet that makes it easy to tell how someone feels about you when you kiss after a first date," he said.