R U [ I ] N E D

Telepathic Memory Hacks Blow (His Mind?)

"Don't you go getting excited all at once..." Erzia mumbled sardonically before awkwardly clearing her throat at having more than half a dozen pairs of eyes all trained on her at once. "Staring isn't exactly polite, guys." That comment had most of the group averting their gazes, save for Braedyn— who was still utterly distraught that he couldn't pick up even a single thought from the Runeholder of Skill— and Reighn— who was staring at the girl as if she was simply the most majestic creature he'd ever seen. Soleil nudged him— rather aggressively— in the side, drawing a grunt from her cousin as he turned to look at her with a scowl.

"Seriously, Sol?" he grumbled.

"Stop it," was all the sorceress has to say on the matter before helping Rina to take a seat and rest.

"We're just in shock," Callan started, finally managing to give Erzia some semblance of an explanation for their odd behavior. "We set out thinking we were going to have to hunt down all the other Runeholders. No one ever imagined that one would find us..."

"How did you find us, exactly?" Phoe asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked expectantly at the other girl.

Erzia's expression was almost bored. "Oh, that. I try to keep tabs on the other Runeholders as best I can, all things considered, and it's pretty easy to get news about the three of you that live in the capital." She looked at the three standing together before her, pointing to them one by one. "The other telepath is Braedyn, the rune of Selflessness. Which makes you the Grand Commander's son— Callantine, the rune of Humility. And that leaves you, Commandant Ellinor's protege— Phoena, the rune of Bravery." Erzia nodded knowingly as Brady fidgeted. "Calm down, it's just process of elimination," she insisted with a roll of her eyes and a half-grin. "I knew that one—" She waved over at Sol. "—was in La Cierna, so I figured I'd head this way and see if I could catch the rest of you. Looks like luck was on my side."

The next question, which came from Brady, was one that all three had begun to ponder considering what Erzia had told them. "Do you, perhaps, have any idea where the last Runeholder might be?"

Erzia nodded. "Maybe. I heard a rumor that his family fled Gwyrholm for Taetha before he was born. I looked into it, and an unusual character caught my attention... They call him the Puppeteer of Pryska."

"Heading to Taetha isn't exactly an easy journey..." Phoena muttered, glancing between Brady and Cal.

"No, it's not," Erzia cut it, "and no offense, you you guys are a bit of a mess."

Phoena's eyes narrowed, and both Brady and callan were relieved that for once, that cold stare wasn't directed at either of them. "Excuse me?" the blonde tapped her fingers at her side and impatiently waited.

"I doubt I'm supposed to comment on all of what's causing problems here." Erzia looked pointedly between Callan and Phoe before continuing, "but mostly, I'm want to know why that one hasn't done something about the absolute hack job someone did on Callantine's head." Erzia stared intently at Brady, shoulders bobbing, "Well?"

Braedyn's eyes widened at her words, but it wasn't like he could stop her from bringing it up. Too late now... "Well what, exactly?"

"Well, why didn't you fix it?"

Callan stepped between the two telepaths and waved his hands. "Back up. First, please just call me Callan. And second, what would he need to fix in my head?"

"Your memories," Erzia said simply. "He didn't even tell you about it?" She turned back to Brady with a shake of her head. "Tsk, I'm disappointed."

"Hey, I couldn't fix it, so I didn't want to freak him out!" Brady protested.

"A bit freaked out now, buddy, so you failed there," Callan mumbled.

Erzia just sighed heavily. "Look, Braedyn. There are a lot of telepathic abilities, and most telepaths only have innate ability for a few of them," she explained, "Take me for example. I can only read one mind at a time, but others can hear the thoughts of a whole room." Brady gulped at her pointed stare, but Erzia was unbothered and went on, "I can also restrict a person's movements with my mind... there aren't many who can do that. Memory manipulation is a rare talent too, and whoever repressed and replaced Callan's memories was clearly good. But I think you could reverse it, and my intuition on these sorts of things rarely fails."

"I can't."

Erzia shook her head. "Wrong. You're afraid that you can't, so you're not willing to try."

"I can't."

"Brady." Callan dropped a hand lightly to the other boy's shoulder, and more so than anything, the telepath was startled by the fact that Cal has used his name and so seriously. "If you can fix whatever it is that's wrong with my memories, I want you to try... and even if it doesn't work—"

"Even if it doesn't work, there's only a minor chance that he comes out of it worse off."

Phoe didn't like the sound of that one, and even Sachi had drawn close again in curious but anxious manner. "You'll have to be specific about what worse off entails here."

"Uh... as in he probably won't become a fleshy vegetable that we'd have to lug around because Braedyn turned his brain into goo?"

"Like I said, I'm not doing it!" Brady shouted, "I won't be responsible for that."

"But Brady... if it's what he wants."

Braedyn turned, his complexion paling at Phoena's quiet words. "You're all insane."

He started to pace away, tossing his hands in the air in utter frustration, when Erzia called after him. "I can try to walk you through it?" She offered.

Brady slowed, looking back with furrowed brows. He drew in a long breath exhaling deeply, slowly, as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Is it worth it? What if you regret it after you know the truth?"

"It's worth it. The truth is always worth it."

Brady felt a nervous sweat making him clam up, but he couldn't tell Callan no when he knew how strongly the shapeshifter felt about regaining the memories he'd lost. So, it seemed that Brady would be living up to the namesake of his rune. If he was acting of his own self-interest, he would never have agreed to this, yet he was willing to bear that weight if it meant helping his friend.

"Okay." Brady looked to Erzia, resolved in his decision. He would try not to create a comatose prince for Phoena to revive... He was rather convinced, after all, that he'd get stabbed (again) if things turned out so poorly. "What do I need to do?"