As the transport vehicle let you off at the door, you can tell it's a pretty impressive club. The walk way to the door was lined with many multicoloured lasers flashing all about.

"Interesting place," said Rah, walking in.  "So, game plan: Drinks and war stories, and then dancing?"

"That sounds good to us," White Fire said.

"Sure," m-Taa said.  It didn't seem too bad so far.

Rah went in and confidently ordered a drink... fruit juice with electrolytes and sugar.  It was too drilled into her to not let go completely, especially at her full size.  (Granted, alcohol might not do much to her, but why take chance?)

Of course, she wasn't quite sure what the legal age for adult beverages was on Earth anyway, but that wasn't important for her.  And didn't bother her.

Honest.

The Fires also put in an order as well.

The club seemed larger inside, it had many sound proof dance floors stacked on top of each other.

"So, Kah, Mar, we missed hearing about you," said Rah.  "What brings you here to become great heroes?"

"The Legion is the big leagues for superheroes, right?" Blue Fire said.

"What better place for use to join up?" White Fire asked.

"Makes sense," said Rah.  "And your powers...?"

"We can do a lot of things with fire," Blue Fire said.

"We bonded with fire spirits from our home planet," White Fire said.

"Fire spirits?" said Rah.  Her eyes widened a bit.  "...I'm used to meeting people who are very, very skeptical about that kind of thing.  Which is not to say that I am, mind you.  How, uh... did that happen?"

"Every generation our villager leader would meditate and then choose two babies that would be bonded with the spirits," Blue Fire said.

"So, we won that lottery," White Fire said. "Apparently it involved a very long ritual that began on suns down and took until the next morning."

"Did that involve a lot of training?" m-Taa asked.

"The training came after," Blue Flame said.

"Yeah, lots of it," White Flame added.

"We had training before and after," said Rah.  "I think they figured that we'd have a better chance of surviving the process if we were in good shape.  Awkward with a bunch of kids, though..."

"I got a lot of training in not using my powers," m-Taa said. "I didn't really train with them fully until I went to university."

"We do have quite a bit of intuitive skill, the spirit is part of us now so using it is as easy as breathing," Blue Fire said.

"Yeah, it's a lot of fun using our powers and saving people," White Fire said.

"I get that," said Rah.  "It's been an incredible rush, the times that I've used my power to protect our cities... Have you done much with yours, m-Taa?"

"Some," m-Taa said. "When I was working on my doctorate, I traveled to a bunch of different planets.  I could let loose more easily when I wasn't around other Melanians, and I started finding ways I could use them in dangerous situations."

"That's cool," said Rah.  "What about fun?  I guess a society of empaths has got to make some things tricky..."

"So, is there some kinda thing about not using your powers on other Melanians?" White Fire asked.

"Since we're all receiving empaths, broadcasting our emotions is like speech," m-Taa explained. "So picture it like being around someone who talks about how they're feeling all the time.  Normally it's fine, but if someone's experiencing strong negative emotions, it's like shouting about how angry or sad you are--there are times when it's appropriate, and times when it's not.  Our culture is based around the idea that everyone should give each other enough space that we don't force ourselves on others.

"Now picture someone who can shout directly into your brain as loud as a starship engine, and you have some idea of what a projecting empath is like to us."

"That sounds rough," said Rah.  "I'd probably want some kind of shielding.  Like earplugs."

"We have those, but they generally cut someone off entirely," m-Taa said. "We use them on those who are too fragile to handle the emotional input, or sometimes for emergency personnel who would be overwhelmed by others' pain and panic, although we also have robots for that.

"Anyway, it's not as grim as all that," she continued. "It mostly meant being trained a lot harder in control than most children were.  And we do have fun, although sometimes in different ways than other species--like, we prefer live theater to vids, because not feeling the actors' emotions feels flat and wrong."

"Huh," said Rah.  "...so you're probably up for dancing later, right?  Lots of emotion on the dance floor."

"Sure," m-Taa said. "As long as it stays positive, it shouldn't be a problem either way."

"Sweet," White Fire said.

"Because we are up for dancing," Blue Fire added.

"Excellent," said Rah.  "Do we have war stories first?  They're optional, at our age, but sometimes we have a few."

She had a few herself, but didn't want to be the one doing all the talking.  It was too easy for her to do that.

"If you want to," White Fire said.

"It sounds like you want to go first," Blue Fire added.

"Well... it's a tradition where I'm from," said Rah.  "And I haven't been a superhero before, but I was a defender of our civilization from the Gargantuas..."

She spun a tale of gigantic monsters attacking a city, of engaging them in hand-to-hand combat with some allies, growing to tremendous size to engage with them.

"...and if Sura hadn't caught me falling down from that height, I might not be here to tell the story today," she concluded.  "...Well, I might, though.  I'm the toughest of our generation.  I have no idea what it would take to kill me when I'm at full size like this, but it would be a lot."

"Well, don't test it," m-Taa said. "My stories are a bit less heroic, but..."

She told a tale of when she was doing research for her doctorate, and encountered a carnivorous plant that nearly swallowed her, and against which her powers didn't do any good, until she spotted that another plant growing nearby had chemical defenses against the larger plant, and used that to make her escape.

"Unfortunately, I already had my dissertation topic, so I didn't get any new data out of it."

The Fire's tell a story about when a large number of spirits started to run wild, possessing and harming people. They had gone to meditate at the temple of the fire lord at the top of a massive volcano. There they received a vision that told them an evil sorcerer king had developed an idol that was driving unbound spirits into a frenzy. With help from the vision, they found and destroyed the idol and then did battle with the sorcerer king before capturing him and then handing him over to the authorities.

"Sorcerer king?  That's pretty cool," said Rah.  "Anyone up for some dancing?"

Dancing was going to be a challenge at this size, but heck, she was getting used to it.

"We're certainly up for it," Blue Fire said.

"Sure," m-Taa said.

"What kind of music should we go for?" Blue Fire asked.

"Something lively, with a good beat," said Rah.  "Charthump or something like that, maybe."

"I know just the thing!" White Fire said as she headed to the desk, before coming back. "We've got floor six."

"Now, then, what do you guys want to drink?" Blue Fire asked.

"...Man, what do they have here that I like?" Rah wondered idly. They didn't have the same things, but...

"How about one of those Red Zips?  They look tasty," she decided.  Some kind of fruit juice, electrolytes, mild stimulants... that sounded like a good plan.

"Indigo Dazzler for me," m-Taa said.  Mildly alcoholic, but mellow.

The drink orders were in, the twins led both of you to the dance floor. The music was loud and there were a couple other groups there, dancing.

Rah threw herself into it... at first.  Whenever someone was dancing near to her, her moves got tighter and more controlled.  She was, after all, quite strong, and didn't want to break someone accidentally.

m-Taa opened herself up and let herself flow with the mood of the floor, which was positive and invigorating.

The twins began to dance too. A bit more wild, with a strange chaotic energy to it, like their namesake.

Rah grinned, and tried to see if she could lure anyone into dancing with her.  It was just for fun, of course, but why not?  This was a time to celebrate.

The groups did slowly come together, but so far no one was dancing with anyone of the group.

m-Taa picked up Rah's mood, and began dancing in her direction.

Well, that was all right.  Rah didn't know how flirting for fun worked in this society very well-- shows were notoriously unreliable sources-- so it was just as well that it wasn't coming up.  She didn't want to break a social taboo, or come across as flirting seriously.

For m-Taa's part, her empathy let her gauge Rah's intentions pretty well, and was able to play along at an appropriate level. She remembered to make sure that her facial expressions matched the general mood.

Rah appreciated the attention, and the smile she gave m-Taa was intended to signal that...

Well, heck, an empath would figure that out, right?  So, cool.

"Are you two dating?" Blue Fire asked.

"We just met today, actually," m-Taa said. "Just going with the flow."

"I'm just teasing a bit," said Rah.  "It's just friendly fun, y'know?"

"Ah, okay," White Fire said.

Rah suddenly grinned.

"...jealous?" she asked.

"What?" White Fire said blushing.

[OOC: Reading their emotions: Empath Girl rolled 18 using 1d20+11 ((7)).]

(OOC: White is clearly jealous, Blue is to a lesser degree.)

"No worries," m-Taa said. "Just some friendly banter."

"Dating is something to talk about a little later," said Rah.  "...it's a conversation that we can have sometime, though."

"R-right," White Fire said.

"...we will talk later, though," said Rah, grinning at her.  "but you're going to have to deal with me working some things out.  I'm Chiren.  We aren't normally this size."

"So, like giants then?" Blue Fire asked.

"...no, that's you," said Rah.  "A big part of my power is my ability to grow to giant size, like I am right now.  When I'm not using my power, I'm much, much smaller."

"Oh, okay, because we used to know a giant that could shrink down to our size," Blue Fire said.

Rah digested this for a moment.

"...Huh," she said.  "That's impressive.  You're already giants to me..."

The Fires both giggled at that.

"...but I'm doing pretty well at keeping the transformation up for a long time," said Rah.  "So... a good sign, I guess."

"That's good," Blue Fire said.

"Just how tiny are you?" White Fire asked.

"Hold out your hand," said Rah.  "I don't want to get stepped on, and it's crowded in here."

White Fire did so.

Rah reverted to her real size, hopping on to White Fire's hand.

"Wow, so tiny," Whit Fire said. "Like a doll."

"But no less fierce," m-Taa added.

"I don't have my full strength in this form, of course," said Titan.  "I still have some of the power, though.  And I'm still tough, too."

"That's cool," White Fire said.

"Yeah, and I get to get away from home and see the galaxy," said Rah, although there was a guilty undertone.

She hopped off White Fire's palm and grew back to her titan size.

"...some folks back home thought that I shouldn't be allowed to leave, but that's silly.  I need challenges, and there weren't enough back home anymore."

"No reason to feel guilty about that," m-Taa said.

"...No, but there's cultural stuff making it complicated," said Rah.  "And a lot of people with opinions who don't actually get what I am."

"Oh, I know all about that," m-Taa said.

"We're all superheroes here, right," Blue Fire said.

"No need to worry about those things anymore," White Fire said.

"Oh?" asked Rah.  "I'd think a culture of empaths would be more understanding of each other..."

"For people who met me, sure," m-Taa said. "Some people hear 'projecting empath' and assume I'm, if not dangerous, at least too much trouble to be around in person.  We put a lot of emphasis on not imposing on others' personal space, remember."

"Oh," said Rah.  "...yeah, okay, so your power could be kinda scary sometimes.  I guess that's all of us, though.  No big deal."

"Yeah, I understand that some other villages were never happy with anyone who had merged with a spirit," White Fire said.

"It was a pain," Blue Fire added.

"Well, that's part of the reason why we're all here, isn't it?" m-Taa said. "The heroes who are contented at home are still there, after all."

"Yeah, that makes sense," said Rah.  "This is also our real chance to make a difference on a big scale, too, though.  That's important."

The Fires nodded.

"...but now we're getting too deep," said Rah.  "Who wants to dance some more?"

"Sounds good!" m-Taa said, finishing her drink and standing up.

"Yes!" White Fire said.

"Wooo!" Blue Fire added.

The twins began to dance.

Rah danced with them for a good while.  Stamina, after all, was an area of strength for her.

m-Taa eventually decided to take a break, and returned to the table after ordering another drink.

"Something wrong?" Blue Fire asked m-Taa.

"Not really, just wanted to take a rest," m-Taa said. "I'm not really a party-all-night type."

"I'll give you some company then," Blue Fire said.

That left Rah dancing with White Fire.  She didn't know this spirit girl well, as yet, but apparently she was interested in her?  That was flattering... and there was a point where moving on was something that she needed to do.  Maybe it was a little early, but a little bit of dancing should be fine. So she did that.

In reply to The One Above All (msg # 96):

"Thanks," m-Taa said. "So, do you two spend as much time together at it seems?"

White Fire had a chaotic, very intense style of dancing, much like her namesake.

"We do," Blue Fire said. "There was much for us when we were younger besides one another."

"I have a sister, but we're not as close; kids are usually raised in a communal situation, so no one gets overburdened," m-Taa said. "Children's emotions are pretty intense."

"Nice!" said Rah, as they took a break.  "You really go all-in on this stuff, don't you?"

"Once we had been bonded with the spirits, we're not supposed to be part of our old families anymore," Blue Fire said.

"I might as well," White Fire said. "I don't like doing things only half way."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Rah.  Was that flirting?  It sounded like it could have been flirting...

In reply to The One Above All (msg # 103):

"That makes sense," m-Taa said. "It sounds sort of like entering a religious order."

"Did you go dancing back home?" White Fire asked.

"It pretty much was one," Blue Fire said.

"All the time," said Rah.  "This is actually how we dance back home.  But with a little bit more jumping."

In reply to The One Above All (msg # 108):

"So,you and White Fire...siblings, classmates?" m-Taa said. "If you don't mind my asking."

"Is it treated any differently back home?" White Fire asked.

"Siblings. Twins in fact," Blue Fire said.

"Don't know what you mean by that," said Rah.  "It's something that we do for fun, or to celebrate something.  Sometimes, it can be part of flirting with someone, but only sometimes.  What does it mean here?"

"Got it," m-Taa said. "I wasn't sure if it was that or if you just know each other really well."

"I know some places treat dancing as sacred and not as something for fun," White Fire said.

"It's fine," Blue Fire said. "Do you have any siblings?"

"Huh," said Rah.  "Well, not us, anyway.  But how about you?  What does it mean where you're from?"

In reply to The One Above All (msg # 116):

"One sister," m-Taa said. "She's a scientist too, but an entomologist rather than a botanist.  She didn't get my abilities, though."

"A mix," White Fire said. "Some are sacred, but then others are for fun."

"Ah. Did you get along well?" Blue Fire asked.

Rah nodded.

"That's fair," she said.  "Well, these are the fun ones.  So, more fun!"

Her dancing grew more energetic.

In reply to The One Above All (msg # 120):

"Reasonably well, but we aren't as close as you two; we grew up in a communal home, which is pretty standard on Melanii."

White Fire went at the same pace, it seems she couldn't dance any harder.

"So, one with a lot of families then?" Blue Fire asked.

"Yeah, and some volunteers, so anyone who needed a break could take one," m-Taa said.

Rah hand plenty of stamina... but it was still thirsty, dancing that much.

"Let's get something to drink," she said.

"That sounds easier," Blue Fire said.

"Sure, sounds good," White Fire said.

"Yeah; two people trying to take care of an unhappy child can lead to bad feedback loops," m-Taa said. "So everyone trades off."

Rah went and got them both drinks.

"That does sound like a good idea," Blue Fire said.

"Thanks," White Fire said, drinking hers eagerly.

"So have you heard anything about the Legionnaires we'll be training with?" Rah asked.  "We don't get a lot of news out on Chiren."

In reply to The One Above All (msg # 131):

"How about you two?" m-Taa said. "Was it a priesthood that raised you, or what?"

"Really?" White Fire said, clearly surprised. "Oh, sorry. Forgive my shock. Gravity Man, Cosmic Woman and Solar Flare were the three original founders of the Legion and have been on it through to today. It's kind of a big deal that we'll be training under them. You're going to be pretty famous even if you don't make it."

"Mostly, yeah," Blue Fire said. "At least until we were fifteen and then sent out to live on our own."

"Does that mean 'moved to your own apartment' or 'left in the wilderness with nothing but a knife'?" m-Taa asked.

"Well, famous, I'm used to," said Rah.  "It's just... the news we get on Chiren is all second-hand and rumors and stuff.  I was hoping someone knew what they were really like."

"A little bit of both," Blue Fire said.

"Ah, I can't really say. I've never met them in person before," White Fire said. "They are supposed to be really powerful heroes."

"Oh, sure," said Rah.  "That's a given.  But what are they actually like?"

"Now you have to elaborate," m-Taa said. "Very bad apartments?"

"They seem to be good people and have done a lot of charity work," White Fire said. "Beyond that I don't know."

"Well, when we were released, we had enough for a small apartment but that didn't last too long," Blue Fire said. "We stayed a lot if places like hostels."

"I guess we'll find out, then," said Rah.  "...so were you two well-known back home?  I guess we're going to be at least a little famous out here."

"Ah," m-Taa said. "I got used to roughing it when I was working on my doctorate."

"We were, on our home planet anyway," White Fire said. "This is our first big foray to the larger universe."

"There was some of that as well," blue Fire said.

"Yeah, I was a local hero, too," said Rah.  "...it's been kind of an adjustment, getting used to that not meaning anything.  But it's kind of a relief in some ways.  I mean, I get to be just another person here... for now, anyway."

And no worrying about who here might be either regard you as an abomination or a divine figure.  That was a plus.

In reply to The One Above All (msg # 148):

"Any trouble with the wildlife?" m-Taa asked. "Fortunately, my powers work on anything that's capable of feeling fear."

"For now, yeah," White Fire said. "Probably not much longer."

"It's easy enough to scare them off with fire," Blue Fire said.

"No, probably not," said Rah.  "...well, I can deal with that.  Back home, we were all we had, and it got a little bit.  Uh.  Intense.  There's a... uh... religion back home, that believes that the Gargantuas that we have are divine beings.  It's more widespread than the official polls show.  And that creates some awkwardness sometimes."

In reply to The One Above All (msg # 152):

"Makes sense," m-Taa said. "So, have you traveled much outside your homeworld?"

"You won't have to deal with that out here," White Fire said.

"A bit here and there, but not much," Blue Fire said. "You?"

"Yep!" said Rah, smiling.  "...not sorry about that at all."

"Mostly when working on my doctorate," m-Taa said. "My thesis was on plants that communicate through a specific type of chemical, and there aren't a lot of them, so I had to travel to study them."

"What's it like being around all of these giants?" White Fire asked.

"That sounds interesting," Blue Fire said.

"Gotta say, it's weird," said Rah.  "But when I'm at maximum size, I kinda wind up overlooking it for a while.  But I can't really 100% relax like this-- I feel like I have to be moving the entire time."

In reply to The One Above All (msg # 160):

"It is, at least if you're me," m-Taa said.

"Why do you feel you have to move?" White Fire asked.

"Are they, like, sapient plants?" Blue Fire asked.

"This form, this power," she said, indicating her own body.  "It's not for nothing.  It's channeling something that exists to move, to fight, to change things.  It's a dynamic force, and when I'm using it, it wants to be doing something.  I mean, it doesn't have to be fighting; it doesn't have to be destructive.  But holding still is hard."

"Not in any way we'd consider sapient," m-Taa said. "Part of my research is to see if they could be considered sentient--as in, taking in information from their surroundings and reacting to it, rather than just automatic reflexes.  The jury is still out, though."

"Ah, I suppose that makes sense," White Fire said.

"Ah. Well, who knows, I've heard tell of sapient plant people," Blue Fire said.

"Does your spirit drive you to do things?" asked Rah, curious.

"Oh, they definitely exist," m-Taa said. "What I'm doing is the equivalent of studying animal language, sort of."

"It's hard to say," White Fire said. "We've been one for so long it's hard to say where one ends and the other begins."

"Ah, okay, that make sense," Blue Fire said.

"So, did you study anything besides spirits and your own powers?" m-Taa asked.

"That makes sense," said Rah.  "I have the power of one of the Gargantuas, but I don't perceive its ego as a separate thing inside me."

"Not really," Blue Fire said. "We didn't receive a formal education."

"Interesting. How did you get it?" White Fire asked.

"There was a whole process," said Rah.  "Physical examinations, testing, training, exposure to a... I don't know.  To the power, to see if it was compatible with me at all.  And then a process that was about two parts science to three parts ritual, if you want the truth.  There were scientists, but I don't think that they really understood how it really worked."

"Well, I don't know much about spirits," m-Taa said. "Are they everywhere, or just on your planet?"

"Interesting. I don't know anything about the ritual that gave me and my sister our spirits," White Fire said. "And no one ever explained it."

"Well, that's the one thing," said Rah.  "This wasn't supposed to be a ritual.  It was supposed to be a kind of scientific energy transfer... except that it also had a lot of ritual going on."

"They could be everywhere. I've never actually looked," Blue Fire said.

"Can you see them, or does it require some sort of ritual?" m-Taa asked.

"That's weird," White Fire said.

"Kind of, we can sense them," Blue Fire said.

"I don't get it, really," said Rah.  "Processes that somehow match resonances with ancient chants or something because that's the only way that they can get it to work."

In reply to The One Above All (msg # 184):

"As in an extra sense, or one of the existing ones?" m-Taa asked.

"Still, quite odd. I've never heard of anything like that before," White Fire said.

"I suppose it's an extra one. I just know when one's around," Blue Fire said.

"There's a running theory that we used technology to help recreate some ancient ritual, or something," said Rah.  "I dunno.  I can't follow any of that stuff.  I just kinda know, more or less, who I am, and roughly how this works."

"Makes sense," m-Taa said.  She stretched and yawned. "Sorry about this, but it's been a busy day, and I think I'm partied out."

"Interesting," White Fire said. "But I suppose it's getting late."

"It's fine, let's head back," Blue Fire said.

"Yeah, I should probably rest before tomorrow," said Rah.  Her stamina was impressive; she could stay out all night.  But better not to.

When the two of you arrived, you could see White and Blue Flame at a table.

Rah walked up to the pair, at her large size.  (Why discourage White Fire, after all?)

"Hey," she said.  "How are you two doing?"

"I'm okay," Blue Fire said, she had a black eye.

"I"m doing pretty well," White Fire said.

"How was your test?" Rah asked.

"Ugh, we had to help a prison satellite that was in the middle of a riot," White Fire said.

"That sounds intense," said Rah.  "Blue got hurt?"

"I did," Blue Fire said. "One of them got a lucky punch in."

"That can happen," said Rah.  "So what are you two feeling up for?  Drinks and talking?  Dancing?"

"Some food and rinks would be good for now," Blue Fire said.

"Sounds good," m-Taa said.

Rah sent an order in and sat down between the Fires.

"We had to go to the formal signing of a peace treaty," said Rah.  "There was a lot of bureaucratic nonsense."

"Ah, so it was boring then?" White Fire asked.

"Until it was attacked, yes," m-Taa said. "Then it picked up considerably."

"Yeah, there were supervillains," said Rah.  "Wasn't a bad fight, as these things go."

"How did that go?" White Fire asked,

"So-so," m-Taa said. "We apprehended one, but the one I was fighting got away."

"Stopped them, caught one, drove another off," said Rah.  "It's not a perfect record, but it's pretty good, if you ask me."

"At least  you didn't get punch in the face like me," Blue Fire said.

"I had to fight a psychic battle," m-Taa said. "I'm not used to aliens with strong defenses like that."

"Well, I guess tough foes are inevitable," said Rah.  "I'm sorry that you got hit, Blue.  I'd comfort you, but I don't want to make your sister jealous..."

"I'm glad it went well for you both," White Fire said.

"Reasonably well," said Rah.  "What are you two feeling up for tonight?"

"I'm up for some dancing after the food," White Fire said.

"Excellent," said Rah.  She did look at what the others said, though.  Fair was fair.

"I'm just  going to take it easy," Blue Fire said.

"I'll see how I feel when we get to that point, but I don't mind being on the sidelines," m-Taa said.

"Dancing after food it is, then," said Rah.

The food came quickly.

Rah ate hungrily.  This size always did that to her.

m-Taa ate more slowly, but steadily; the mental effort she'd put forth earlier had drained her reserves.

Soon enough the food was done and White Fire headed out for the dance floor.

Rah went to join her.  Why not?

"How are you finding everything?" Blue Fire asked, leaning back more with a glass of alcohol.

White Fire was dancing, again, not the most skilled, but she sure did so with a lot of passion.

Passion was fine!  Maybe dating a giant could work out... Rah danced with her, flirtatiously, but still with tight control.  Giant size, fragile world.  Even the world of giants was fragile-- she'd confirmed that.

In reply to Blue Fire (msg # 226):

"It's certainly a change of pace," m-Taa said. "Not unwelcome, though."

White Fire moved in closer as well.

"Do you think you're gonna make it?" Blue Fire asked.

Well, this was nice.  They should talk later... now, of course, was dancing.

"I think so," m-Taa said. "I need to find someone I can train with in mental combat, though; my people are vulnerable to my powers, and we don't tend to fight each other, so I don't have enough practice in breaking down strong mental defenses."

Soon enough, the song ended and White Fire was looking kind of tired.

"You could try asking Cosmic Woman," Blue Fire said. "She has a bunch of psychic powers."

Titan wasn't-- her stamina was almost literally divine-- but she was sympathetic.

"Want to get a drink and chat?" she said.

"Good idea," m-Taa said. "That's on top of getting physical training, of course.  I have a force field belt I should probably start using."

"Sure, it's been an exhausting couple of days," White Fire said.

"Probably for the best," Blue Fire said,

Rah sat, and got a drink for White.

"...so," she said.  "Last time, it, uh, came up that you might be interested in me.  Is that... still a thing?"

In reply to Blue Fire (msg # 239):

m-Taa looked over at Titan and White Fire. "Do you think we should make an excuse for them to be alone?"

"Oh, right...," White Fire said. "I am."

"They have a table of their own," Blue Fire said and then smiled. "Or are you going to reveal your feelings for me?"

"Well... are you all right with the issues with me?" said Rah.  "I'm bigger than you, but I'm also really strong.  I have to be careful.  And when I'm not like this, I'm very short, and that's my original form."

In reply to Blue Fire (msg # 243):

"I hadn't planned to," m-Taa said dryly. "You don't need to be an empath to see what's going on with those two, though."

"I don't think it'll be a big problem. Pun not intended," White Fire said.

"Do you have a lover back on your world?" Blue Fire asked.

"Not currently," m-Taa said. "I had some relationships in college, but couldn't maintain them while doing my research.  My people don't do well with long-distance relationships."

"All right," said Rah.  "Well... if you don't mind... uh, my other issue is the risk of memories of my, uh, late ex coming up.  It's been a year and change, but..."

"I'll help you in anyway I can," White Fire said.

"I suppose not. What kind of range do your powers have?" Blue Fire asked.

"Just be understanding," said Rah.  "They tell me that it just takes time."

"About the range of hearing," m-Taa said. "We can sense normal emotions from someone in the same or next room, more or less, while stronger emotions are like shouting.  Someone you're attuned to you can sense at a longer range, kind of like how mammals are attuned to the sound of their children."

"I'll do everything I can do to help," White Fire said.

"Ah, I thought maybe the powers would help a long distance relationship. Looks like I was wrong," Blue Fire said.

"We have trouble relating to people when we can't sense their emotions," m-Taa said. "It's okay for normal communications, but staying in touch over a subspace link feels wrong.  Same reason we prefer live theater to vids."

"Thank you," said Rah.  "So... uh, yeah.  Us.  We can do that."

"Ah, that does make sense," Blue Fire said. "I hadn't considered that."

"That's good. I'm happy," White Fire said.

"So what's your tradition on these occasions?" Rah asked.

"I'm not opposed to the idea down the line, though," m-Taa added.

"I don't really know. They never explained it to us," White Fire said.

"Ah. Got your eye (mind's eye?) on someone?" Blue Fire asked.

"Well, I mean in your home," said Rah.  "When you date someone."

"Not especially," m-Taa said, "just keeping my options open."

"That is what I mean. They didn't want us dating," White Fire said.

"Ah. A sensible approach," Blue Fire said.

"What?" said Rah, baffled.  "Why not?  We were the protectors of our entire world, and nobody expected us to be single."

"Religious reasons, I think," White Fire said.

"Does your religion have one of those weird chastity things or something?" Rah asked.  "Uh, sorry if that came across as judgy.  I just don't understand that kind of thing."  Koja, or even Solism in general, certainly didn't hold to that kind of practice.

"So, is there anywhere you plan to visit on Earth?" m-Taa asked. "I've only been here a couple of times."

"Not that I know of, but there was a lot they kept us in the dark about," White Fire said.

"I don't know much about it," Blue Fire said.

Rah raised an eyebrow.

"You were an important spiritual figure, but they didn't tell you anything?" she said.  "Suspicious, honestly."

"It's a very varied planet, because it has a lot of climactic zones, and its culture is highly pluralistic," m-Taa said. "It's interesting just to travel around to see how different everything is."

White Fire shrugged.

"It was how we were raised."

"I suppose  I should check it out sometime. A lot of Legionnaires seem to come from there or from colonies of it," Blue Fire said.

"So what did you get to do with your time?" Rah asked.

"Yeah, it's odd how most species don't have multiple Legionnaires, but that doesn't seem to apply to humans," m-Taa replied. "Maybe it's because I don't think of my empathic abilities as a superpower, unlike someone who acquires an ability they weren't born with."

"Various rituals and religious performances. Fighting off the occasional invader or giant creature," White Fire said.

"Dunno. I don't get humans either...but then I haven't really tried," Blue Fire said.

"Technically not that different from my time, honestly," said Rah.  "I mean, the rituals were military, mostly... except that half the stuff the Titan corps does is Koja practice disguised as military tradition.  And we probably fought giant creatures more than you.  But we did get time off to celebrate or relax or whatever."

"They tend to wear broadcast emotions fairly openly," m-Taa said, "but they also put a lot more emphasis on facial expression and body language than I'm used to."

"What's a koja?" White Fire asked.

"That does sound like it'd be difficult," Blue Fire said.

"Koja is a religion," said Rah.  "Or someone who practices it.  Basically everyone who follows it is a Chiren, as far as I can know.  It's kind of a Solan sect?  Or derived from it?  We don't talk much about it to outsiders, and officially, only about one in ten of us actually follow it.  But it's still everywhere, and even Chiren who say outright that they're CJD or Universalists or something still bow their heads a bit when the Great Bell rings."

"Let me know if I'm not emoting visibly enough," m-Taa said. "I've learned to do it when dealing with aliens, but it's not a natural habit."

"Ah, okay. I see," White Fire said.

"You've been doing fine," Blue Fire said.

"Is it like that for you?" Rah asked.  "Your practices underlying everything in your day-to-day life?"

"Thanks," m-Taa said, remembering to smile.

"We did kind of...escape from the temple," White Fire said.

"Has it been hard for you being around non-empaths?" Blue Fire asked.

"Wow!" laughed Rah.  "Okay, that's a story I've got to hear!  Tell me more!"

"It's easier when I can keep my barriers up," m-Taa said. "Non-empaths don't know how to damp their broadcasting, and don't usually understand how much it can be for us, even when they're not doing anything."

"It wasn't that amazing. We just waited until most of the temple was asleep and then flew off,' White Fire said. "Then spent a while hiding in the woods."

"Ah. My apologies then," Blue Fire said.

"Okay," said Rah.  "But why?  And what happened after that?  How long were you hiding in the woods?"

"You're fine," m-Taa said. "It was more of an issue when I first went off-planet and hadn't learned to be careful about crowds yet."

"We got tired of them hiding things from us and went out to try and experience things on our own," White Fire said. "We tried going to other towns and villages, but the people would just instantly bow down to us. We lived in the woods for probably a month or two while we gathered up things to sell and get some money so we could leave the planet."

"Ah. That makes sense," Blue Fire said. "How did you learn to deal with it?"

"...hiding things?" said Rah.  "Like what?"

"A mix of strengthening my defenses, getting used to alien emotions, and learning my limits," m-Taa said. "Our culture values giving people space to people when they need it, so I had to make it clear to others that's what I needed."

"Some crystals that had rare elements, rare fungi that's quite expensive, those kinda things," White Fire said.

"That makes sense. Our powers were harder to control during bits of extreme emotion," Blue Fire said.

"No, I mean, what were they hiding from you?" asked Rah.

"Most non-empaths need some training to restrict their emotional broadcasting," m-Taa said. "It's like learning to slow your heart rate; you can do it with focus and feedback, but it's not something they learn normally."

"Nothing sinister or anything," White Fire said. "They just tried to keep us from experiencing the outside world and we got sick of it."

"Well, that's understandable," said Rah.  "That you'd get sick of it, I mean.  I'm glad that you were able to.  So how long ago did you leave home?"

"I've never thought of that," Blue Fire said.

"Well, let me know if you ever want to practice," m-Taa said. "I assume we'll get mental defense training, but empathy and telepathy aren't the same thing."

"A bit over three years ago," White Fire said.

"It probably couldn't hurt," Blue Fire said.

"Wow," said Rah.  "You've had a crazy time, haven't you?  I guess we're both kind of exploring the galaxy now."

Not a lot of Chiren ever left their homeworld, after all.  The phrase "It's a big galaxy" took on a new meaning for them...

m-Taa looked down at her wrist. "Not to be rude, but I think I need to get going; I need to hydrate and get some rest for tomorrow."

[OOC: m-Taa is looking at her skin, not a watch. :)]

A voice came over a speaker.

"Folks, it is now last call. We will be closing soon. Thank you for attending The Golden Meteor on this Glorb Memorial Day."

"We are, but it looks like we'll need to explore elsewhere now," White Fire said.

A voice came over a speaker.

"Folks, it is now last call. We will be closing soon. Thank you for attending The Golden Meteor on this Glorb Memorial Day."

"You're right, it is getting late," Blue Fire said.

"Well, I mean," said Rah, moving closer.  "I can think of some ideas as far as that goes..."

"See you tomorrow, then," m-Taa said.

"Oh, my...," White Fire said, but followed you out.