KOTLC Sokeefe One-Shots, Alternate Endings, etc

The Girl: part 1 (Fitz POV)

"Is this you?" he asked, pointing to the picture.

She nodded.

"I thought so." He squinted at the picture, then back at her. "I didn't realize your eyes were brown."

But apart from the brown eyes...she didn't seem human.

"Uh...yeah," she said, sounding confused. "Why?"

He shrugged. "No reason."

"Are you in this class? she asked.

He smiled again. "No." Then he pointed to the hulking greenish figure they were standing in front of. The sign indicated that this was an Albertosaurus, which was preposterous.

Humans.

"Tell me something," he asked. "Do you really think that's what they look like? It's a little absurd, isn't it?"

He wasn't sure why he was doing this. He wasn't supposed to talk to her, and really wasn't supposed to be making pointed remarks at the way humans got everything wrong.

But something, instinct maybe, drove him forward. He needed to figure her out before he left.

"Not really," she said, looking at it. "Why? What do you think they looked like?"

He laughed. "Never mind. I'll let you get back to your class. It was nice to meet you, Sophie."

He turned to leave—feeling strangely reluctant—but then dozens of small children ran into the exhibit.

He watched as she closed her eyes and brought her hands to her head, rubbing her temples. She looked like she was in pain.

Wait a minute...

Could she be a Telepath?

Testing his theory, Fitz lowered his mental defenses.

The result was an overwhelming amount of noise. Far more than what their little voices were causing, the deluge of mental voices hit him like a melder to the brain.

Well...he'd obviously never actually been attacked with a melder, but that was how he imagined it. In only a couple of seconds, his head was pounding, his hands springing to his forehead as he rebuilt his mental barrier, thankful for the quiet.

He looked up at her and saw that she was now watching him. Her eyes—her brown eyes—held confusion and mistrust.

She couldn't be...could she?

"Did you just...hear that?" he asked, amazed and bewildered.

Had he really just found...her?

He watched as she went pale. Then, she gasped and took a step back. "Who are you?" she whispered.

His eyes widened. "You did--didn't you?" He moved closer, not wanting to be overheard as he whispered, "are you a Telepath?"

She flinched.

That was a yes.

"You are! I can't believe it," he whispered.

She backed away again.

"It's okay," he said, holding out his hands in front of him, trying to calm her. "You don't have to be afraid. I'm one too."

She froze, staring at him open-mouthed.

"My name's Fitz," he prodded, stepping closer.

She continued to stare, taking him in, and he thought he understood why. She had to be living in such fear of discovery. And now probably assumed he was messing with her. "I'm not joking," he assured her.

She wobbled on her feet and looked like she was going to collapse. He reached out and grabbed her arms, steadying her. "It's okay, Sophie. I'm here to help you. We've been looking for you for twelve years."

He'd actually found her.

She started to panic.

And then she bolted.

"Sophie, come back!" Fitz shouted, chasing after her.

He followed her back outside into the polluted, smoky air, but that didn't slow her down. If anything, she just ran faster.

"Wait!" He called. "You don't have to be afraid!"

But in her fear, she ran with apparently no concern for where she was going or what was happening around her.

He watched in horror as she ran out into a street--with a car careening straight toward her. He was nowhere near close enough to save her, but it wasn't going to stop him from trying.

But the driver of the car swerved, barely missing her. Instead, it hit a streetlight. The lantern broke off and plummeted toward her.

This he could save her from--even though it meant risking exposure.

But he didn't need to. Some sort of instinct had taken over and she reached out with her hands--staying the lantern with her telekinesis.

With her telekinesis.

This was definitely the girl they'd been looking for. And she had excellent control for someone who didn't even know she was an elf.

He couldn't help but admire her a little—with some training, she was going to be insanely powerful.

But he couldn't think about that yet—first, he needed to minimize the damage. He approached her carefully, watching as she stared in shock at the lantern hovering in the air above her.

"Put it down," he told her.

She shrieked and dropped her arm, sending the streetlight hurtling toward them.

"Watch out!" Fitz shouted, yanking her out of the way, thankful he didn't have to use his telekinesis to stop the streetlight again. Even humans had their limits on what they wouldn't notice.

They tumbled to the ground, Fitz taking the impact of hitting the pavement right before she fell on top of him.

For a moment, neither of them could move. They simply stared at one another, wide eyed.

"How did you do that?" he whispered.

"I have no idea." She sat up, slowly shaking her head, clearly confused.

"We need to get out of here," he warned, pointing to the driver of the car, who was staring at them.

"He saw," she gasped, looking panicked again.

He stood, pulling her to her feet as well. "Come on. Let's get out of sight." This time, she didn't resist as he held on to her and led her down the street.

He let her decide where they would go--hoping that would help her trust him and not run away again--and they ran together in silence for a while.

And while they ran, he was deep in thought.

Sophie Foster was definitely an elf...but she had brown eyes.

And she thought she was human...but she knew to use her telekinesis.

He also wondered what she was thinking. He needed to know if she planned to run from him again—especially if she planned to tell anyone about meeting him.

But the strangest thing happened when he stretched his mind toward hers.