Evaline nodded slowly, but then decided to change the subject.
"Who else did Oliver introduce you to?" she asked.
"Well, several people I already knew. Like Tula, and Hendrik and Mel - who both decided to play dumb, and then Alistair and Arima. They were nice, actually," he said. "And then there was Zameer, who was actually one of the first people I met before the council meeting. And then, well, Malkiel."
James had namedropped quite a few names, and Evaline filed away the fact that he had conversed with them all and remembered all of their names.
"I'm glad you think Arima is nice," she said, then let out a small smile. "She's actually my cousin."
James nodded slowly. "Oh. Hm. Does she have time powers too?"
"Well, she's my second cousin," she said as she shifted a bit on his bed to get more comfortable. "We share the same great-grandmother." She paused. "Who has a memory power. So, no, not time."
"She has a memory power, then," James concluded.
"She does. And it's less limiting than mine."
"How does it work?" he asked.
Evaline paused to purse her lips in thought for a moment. It could be out of curiosity, but James seemed especially interested to know about this one.
"The foundation is the same," she said. "You think upon a memory, and she can peer into it. If you're curious, I'm sure she'd be happy to show you a demo, if you ever see her again. She's not on the council, so I'm not sure you will."
"Ah," James said. "What about Alistair? What's his power?"
It was strange that James was casually namedropping people who were at one point significant in her life. She didn't remember mentioning the people in her life when she was in Nye, except maybe for Mel. It almost didn't feel fair now that he seemed to have all these connections to people who knew her, and she didn't have anyone she could ask about him. She wondered if this was how he felt when she was in Nye.
"Fire, basically," she said. "But like all other powers, it doesn't come from nothing. He takes the movement around him and can make flames, but it's not too strong." She paused for a moment. "Did you two talk much?"
"Not really," James said. There was a pause before he added. "We sat in silence for a bit. It was nice."
Evaline let out a small huff of air through her nose as she barely shook her head, looking out at the dark space in front of them.
"That sounds right," she said, then sighed. "You know, I've always thought you two were similar. Not the same, but... similar."
"Because we like to sit in silence?" James asked, looking over at her with a slight smirk.
"Among a few reasons," she replied with a faint smile. "I don't know. Just an old thought I had. But it doesn't surprise me that your experience with him was nice because it was minimal."
James nodded slowly.
"He minds his business," he said. "Which I appreciate."
"Zameer also minds his business," Evaline added. "He's the youngest in the council and I think he's trying to prove his worth, even though he doesn't need to."
"He seems like a good guy," James said.
"Yeah. I don't get to interact with him much, but the others seem to like him." She paused for a moment, then let out another big sigh. "But I know Malkiel can come across as not a 'good guy' - so I'm sorry if you had a bad run-in with him."
"I don't think he's a bad guy," James said. "I think he's completely justified in his concerns and his suspicions, and if I were in his shoes, I would likely be the same. The only reason it's causing me trouble is because I'm the one under his scrutiny."
Evaline nodded slowly. "He's paranoid," she said softly, then turned to face him, brow raised. "What concerns and suspicions did he have?"
James turned to face her in return, but didn't quite look at her face.
"He claimed that because of his air powers, he was able to detect changes in my breathing patterns when I was 'lying,'" he said. "He called me a liar, and tried to get me to tell him what I was hiding. He said he knew I was lying about where I was from, and he asked me why you were protecting me."
Evaline suppressed a groan as she started to wearily rub her face. Malkiel was always so exhausting, even when they avoided each other.
"He's just trying to scare you," she said. "It's true he could do that, but only if you're very anxious. Which you were, at the meeting. It's easy to lie with a straight face around him." She then let her hand go and turned back towards him as a thought just occured to her. "You know that you can just blow some air at your body the next time he traps you, right? He's really not as powerful as he claims to be."
"I have no grid for how powerful people here can be," James said steadily. "I'd rather run the risk of overestimating someone's powers than underestimating them, but that's good to know."
"Everyone's powers are contained," she explained. "For reference, the mages in Nye are much more powerful in comparison. And by powerful, I mean that they can deal more physical damage. I doubt you'd run into anyone here who could take you down by literal sheer power."
"So - Malkiel, for example. An air mage in Nye could conceivably suffocate you if they wanted to and knew how. Could he do that? Could he collapse someone's lungs?"
Evaline had to stifle a laugh. "He wishes he could do that," she said. "The worst he could do is probably make you feel a bit out of breath."
"But he can also make it impossible for someone to move, which - though it couldn't kill them - could make it easy for someone else to swoop in and finish the job," James countered.
"And a gust of wind would take that all away and untrap you," she countered back. "Like I said, just blow on your arm if he's holding it with air. Everyone has a weakness, and his weakness is - ironically - more air."
James hummed.
"Noted."
Evaline stopped to think for a moment. "I think if your false power was real, then your weakness would be not knowing what was real or not," she said. "If you can call that a weakness. But that would be my guess."
"Would it be very sportsmanlike for me to ask about everyone else's powers and weaknesses?" James asked. "I don't mean to sound paranoid, but I know I probably am. I'd just like to... know. Just in case."
Evaline smiled in amusement as she laughed through her nose. "Sure," she said. "I understand. Who do you want to know about first?"
James hummed.
"Tula. What's her power?"
"She has a transmitting power," she said. "People can see through her eyes. It's fairly low-risk, but I'd say that the weakness would be that it requires close connection, and it's not a perfect process."
"By close connection, do you mean physical proximity or relationally?" James asked.
"Not physically," she answered. "It requires trust. It's like you're in her mind. It's the same concept as me being able to see other people's memories if they trust me. It wouldn't work on strangers you've never talked to before."
"Makes sense," James murmured. "So... Zetya, was it?"
"...Katya?" Evaline corrected.
"I've met a lot of people today," James mumbled. "Yes. Her."
"Don't worry about it," she said with a small smile. "But Katya's able to send and receive radio waves without a radio. She's basically our communicator. Pretty handy, except for when she accidentally sends a sleep talk message."
"Huh. Interesting," James commented.
"You have no idea what a radio is, do you."
"I have... maybe the basest concept of what one might be," he said defensively. "But no. Not really."
Evaline let out a breathy laugh. "I'll show you mine the next time I visit. It's basically - in simple man's terms - a talking box that enables you to talk to other people in different areas."
"So it's a form of long-distance communication?" James clarified.
"That's one way to put it, yes."
"So, the poor-man's equivalent might be sending a carrier bird, but instead of it taking hours or even days, it's immediate?"
Evaline couldn't help but smile. It was oddly endearing how archaic and old-fashioned James's mind worked sometimes.
"I'd say so," she said. "Although, I don't know of any trained carrier birds around, so it wouldn't be the poor-man's equivalent anymore."
"Just the ancient man's equivalent," James muttered.
"That's right. That's you," she teased.
"So - the powers. What about Hendrik?" James asked.
"He has limited pheromone control over himself," she said. "Basically, he can change how he smells to animals and other predators. And, I guess, to other people, if he wanted to smell good." She paused for a moment. "Hendrik is actually the one who gave me Ellie. He's pretty good with animals."
"That... huh," James said.
"Like I said," she said slowly. "Looks can be deceiving."
"No I was just thinking of-- oh, never mind," he said, shaking his head.
Evaline narrowed her eyes at him. "What?" she prodded.
"Does that give him a keen sense of smell then, too?" he asked.
She paused to think for a moment. "You know, I never asked. I'm not sure. Why?"
"He sniffed me," he said.
Evaline still stared at him with her eyes narrowed. "He... sniffed you," she repeated. "Like a dog?"
"It was audibly noticeable, if that's what you mean," he said.
"I think I'm asking more of why he sniffed you like a dog."
"Evaline, please let me have some dignity left by the end of today," James said lowly.
Evaline laughed and shook her head. "So, he sniffed you and slapped your bottom. I think he's the dog in this scenario."
James turned to look at her, scrunching his face up in visible discomfort. Though he didn't say anything, he seemed to be asking her: "Really? Why?"
She decided to take this win silently.
"Well, in terms of weakness, I would say he's not able to really affect a person," she said instead. "Just animals who have less of a complex brain than we do." She paused for a second. "Though, now that I think about it, that's probably why he's muscular. So he can compensate for that."
James turned his face away and seemed to not want to comment on that.
"Okay. So. Mel. I know she makes illusions," he said. "Is that all?"
Evaline nodded. "That's all. She has to focus on the illusion, so her weakness would be to - well - distract her. It's really not that difficult."
"And Zameer?"
"Zameer gets asked a thousand times a day to charge batteries because he's able to take..." She trailed off, deciding to dumb it down a bit more and make it more simple for him to understand. "Basically, he controls electricity. It powers the gadgets you see around, like my bike. But he has to get that charge from somewhere, and I believe he relies on thunderstorms, but I could be wrong. So, he's all spent out if there hasn't been a storm in a while."
"Is his power only useful for powering different devices? Or does it have other applications?" James asked.
"He could probably give someone a shock and frizz up their hair," Evaline said. "If that's useful."
"Probably only for pranks," James said. "So, not really."
"I'm sure he'd be ec-static to hear you propose him pranking others," Evaline said with a small goofy smile at the pun she thought of on the spot.
James looked over at her with a small smile and scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"Hilarious," he said.
"Thanks," she said, then widened her smile a little. "It's a... shocker."
It was a really bad pun and joke, but she thought it'd help James smile a bit more, even though it was silly.
James's smile widened just a little.
"It seems your humor is electrifying," he said straight-faced.
Evaline tightly pressed her lips together to repress the smile from turning to a grin.
"I should start charging you for my jokes," she said in the same tone.
"You're just on a roll, aren't you?" James said, also suppressing a grin.
"No," she said innocently. "I'm on a storm." She repressed her own groan at the back of her throat.
"Okay, that one was bad," James said with a laugh.
"What can I say?" she said with a shrug, but smiled when he laughed. It seemed genuine, even if it was small. "I like to keep my audience guessing."
"So many surprises," James said as he leaned back on the bed, propping himself up with his arms behind his back. He let out another sigh as his smile faded and then looked back at her.
"So... I guess that leaves Oliver, then," James said.
Evaline couldn't help but notice that he brought up his name last. She wondered if that was intentional.
"You can probably already guess that he has time powers too," she said.
"I'd assumed, yes," he said.
"His works differently than mine, though," she said, although she wasn't exactly sure how much James remembered her limitations. "Actually, his power isn't far off from the one we made up for you. He can go back in time too, but his strength is the ability to see different timelines."
James nodded.
"Does he go back in time the same way you do?"
"Well... how much do you remember of my abilities?" she asked, deciding to use his answer as a reference point to build up from.
"Well, I remember that you can go back in time up to ten minutes from wherever you are in the present. Effectively, undoing however many minutes or seconds you go back as if it never happened in the present timeline. And I remember back then, you said after three consecutive uses of the power, you would start to feel side effects," he answered.
Evaline nodded slowly. Some things had changed by now, but still - James remembered the gist of it.
"Oliver's power works a little differently," she said. "I come from a family that maximizes time travel. He comes from a family that maximizes seeing undone timelines. From what he's told me, he can only really go back in time whenever he's in danger. I don't know how long, but it's probably not more than a few minutes, if that."
James nodded. "So... the timelines he sees. Are they ones that have already happened or are they possible ones that may happen or haven't happened yet?"
"I don't think it's possible to see timelines that haven't happened yet," she said. "But he's able to see past the timeline that was undone. Say, if I undone the last minute just now, he'd be able to hone in on that and see what happened days after that minute happened, even though it never did happen, even to the time traveler. So, in a way, I suppose that's like looking into the future. A future that never happened."
"That sounds like it might get difficult to sift through," he commented.
"It is," she agreed. "That's why he only focuses on a select few people and the timelines they've undone."
"Would he have seen me flicking grass at you?" James asked.
Evaline sighed. "He could, yes," she said. "I don't know why he'd look into that, though, since it was fairly uneventful and he knew I was taking you to Terra."
"Can he see into any timeline at will? Or does it just... happen?" James asked.
"To be honest, I'm not so sure," she said. "He hasn't told me explicit details, nor does he seem to want to share. But he's told me a long time ago that he thought he was seeing ghosts. So from that comment, I'm thinking it's like a daydream that presents itself upon him. I don't know."
James nodded slowly.
"That sounds more like a burden than it is useful," he said softly.
Evaline stared at him for a moment, mildly entertained to hear his opinion with a perspective that was different from hers and other people like her.
"It's funny you say that," she said. "It's one of the more coveted abilities. All other time travelers only know when someone else went back, but he'd be able to see what they went through. It's free information without any of the effects."
"So, essentially, he's able to gather information. Like an informant," he said. "But only on other time travelers and whoever was involved with the things they undid."
"That's right," Evaline simply.
She wondered if he was putting it together yet without her explicitly laying it out for him.
"So hypothetically, nothing you ever undo is truly private," he said.
"That would also be correct," she said. "It's rather annoying."
"I can see how that could make him a capable spy," James said.
Evaline stared at him for a second, sitting up straighter. "A spy?" she said. "For who?"
"Whomever he needed to," James said. "At the very least, he could collect information for whomever would want it. If he were the kind of person who could be persuaded to profit from it. Though I can see him being more personally motivated to gather information, from what little I know about him."
"Gather information," she echoed. "About me."
"I'm not saying he is," James said. "I was just... hypothesizing about how his power might be used."
A sad smile tugged her lips as she sighed again. "I know. But you should also know that this is nothing new for me. His family runs Sector 1 - the capital, I suppose, you can say. And the only reason they run it is because they're able to control the rest of the government. As in, other time travelers. To keep them in check. This is all common knowledge for me. I'm fully aware that he's been mining information about me for years."
"So that's why people without time powers aren't allowed in government. It's about control," he concluded.
"That... might be one, yes," she said. "But it's also about change and peace. Or at least, that was the brainwashed version fed to me when I was young. In my opinion, everyone in the government wants control, and it's an endless, timeless fight."
"That's every government," James said with what sounded like a faint, almost bitter laugh.
"You're not wrong," Evaline said with a sigh, and then looked back at him to offer a small smile. "I guess even though we're from worlds apart, we can share similar opinions about how power-hungry our governments are."
"Show me a government free of selfish ambition, and maybe I'll change my mind," he said.
"I think you're more of an optimist than I am," she said as she stretched her back from sitting up straight too long. "I don't think that exists."
James scoffed.
"Neither do I," he said. "That's why I said that."
She hummed in thought. "I do remember you telling me at some point that you'd like to make sweeping changes to the government if you could. So at least an idealized version of it exists in your head."
"Yeah," James said dismissively. "Maybe somewhere, forgotten in the deep recesses of my mind."
"What, you lost your optimism in the past five years?" she teased.
"Among many other things," James said. "Yes."
It was supposed to be a simple thought experiment and lighthearted conversation, but Evaline couldn't help but wonder what the serious implications were behind his words.
"...Like your cooking job," she said instead with a small smirk, hoping to steer it back to a more playful mood.
James glanced at her, barely smiling.
"Yes," he said. "And my cooking job."
Evaline met his eyes for a moment, and she could tell that he was tired. Exhausted, probably, because of the long day. She was too.
"But you haven't lost your insomnia," she mused. "I take it you're still not tired?"
"That's not really how it works," he said slowly.
"I know," she said, offering a tired smile. "Doesn't hurt to ask. I'll stay up as long as I can to keep you company, though."
"I don't want you to exhaust yourself on my account," he said, sitting up a little straighter.
"I'll be fine. Besides, I could sleep in while you get up and do you farm chores. I know you still have to do them."
James hummed.
"Okay," he said, sounding too tired to argue.
"But if you're too tired to talk, we don't need to," she added. "Sometimes it's just nice to sit in the company of others for a bit."
James glanced over at her, and it looked like he was attempting to smile, but his eyes still looked exhausted.
"I appreciate your friendship, Evaline," he said softly.
Evaline wasn't expecting that response. It seemed to come out of the blue.
"Oh," she said as she shifted on the bed again, but then glanced at the couch. "Well. I do too. Appreciate your friendship, I mean."
James's smile seemed to grow a little bit, and he hummed a small laugh in the back of his throat.
"Why don't I heat up some water and we could both drink some of that tea?" she offered after a small silence passed. "And then we could read until we're tired. Or at least, until I'm tired, I suppose."
James nodded.
"That sounds fine. While you're making the tea, I think I'm going to change. So just... don't look," he said as he got to his feet.
Evaline nodded. "Sure. Of course. I'll give you privacy."
She got up on her feet and started to make her way to the kitchen, but first lit up some more candles so she could see better. That, and so they could later read without squinting in the dark. After lighting up several that James already had out, so sifted through his shelf to pick out a pot so she could fill it up with water.
"I hope you don't mind that I changed into your clothes," she said as she pulled a pot out. "I didn't bring a change of clothes with me. I'll return it, of course."
"I don't mind at all," she heard from behind her, along with what sounded like the shuffing of boxes. She recalled that he put his clothes in boxes under his bed. "I'm not worried about it."
Evaline found the pitcher of water - thankfully already full - and poured the water in the pot. "I think I fit in more wearing overalls," she mused. "Now it looks like I know how to farm."
"Remarkably, outfits can do wonders for convincing people that you belong," James commented.
"I take it that people dressed similarly to you at the party then? Not a suit and tie."
"I was probably still the nicest dressed person there, but by no means overdressed," he answered.
Evaline lit the stove and then placed the pot on top, looking down at the water and waiting for it to boil with the root. James would probably finish dressing before it would start to bubble.
"It's a good thing you changed then," she said. "Maybe you can wear the suit again when you want to impress some farmers around here."
She heard a faint laugh.
"Oh, sure," James said. "That'll be really impressive."
"Maybe you can just wear it one day and not tell anyone," she teased. "Imagine: Josiah driving by and seeing you working the fields with a suit. He'd probably pass that sight along to others."
"Evaline. I would never ruin that suit by working the fields in it. For one, it would be a waste of resources. Two, it'd be uncomfortable. Three, it's just not necessary."
Still averting her eyes, Evaline walked along the wall and bent down at the bookshelf as James talked. She held a candle while running her finger along the spines of the books, trying to figure out which one she pulled out.
"You're right," she said. "But consider: your clothes are all dirty, and you just got rained on. Would you casually wear the suit around the house by yourself, then?"
"Well if it came to that, then I--"
Suddenly Evaline let out a high-pitched screech as she stumbled back and dropped the candle and the book she just pulled out, because there was a giant, fluffy mouth hiding in the space of the book. She let out a nervous laugh as she started to crawl away backwards, but then panicked and picked up the candle she had dropped.
To do that, she quickly turned around the reached for the base to not touch the hot wax, and in the midst of the confusion and panic, she happened to look up at and noticed James just barely finishing pulling up a pair of pants. He was turned around without a shirt, and although it was dark and he immediately whirled around to see what the commotion was about, it was hard to miss seeing the three, giant scars on his back.
"I -- sorry," she said as she looked away sheepishly and steadied to candle on the floor. "There's, um, a giant moth on your bookshelf."
"I'll get it," he said.
Evaline flicked her eyes up and down at him as she noticed that he quickly grabbed a shirt off the bed and slipped it on, but she averted her gaze before he could fully notice.
"Sorry. And thanks," she said again as she got up on her feet and then took a few steps back to make room between her and the atrocious moth.
She watched as James walked over the bookshelf, easily spotting the giant moth.
He leaned down a little, gingerly reaching for it.
"Okay there, big guy. We're taking you outside," he said softly as he grabbed the moth with his bare hands, pinching its fluffy body.
Evaline couldn't help but scrunch her face in disgust as she watched him pick it up to take outside, but even though it was a horrid mouth, she still found it a bit endearing that James treated it like a living, breathing, normal, harmless creature. And it was. Even if it was a bug. And a moth.
He walked to the door and opened it. His arm extended out of view and when he turned back around and closed the door, the moth was gone.
"All better," he said. "You're okay? You didn't burn yourself from dropping the candle, did you?"
Evaline sighed a breath of relief as she glanced around the room and decided to set the candle on top of the side table next to the couch.
"I'm okay," she said. "I didn't burn myself. Thanks for asking, though - and for taking care of it." She let out a small laugh. "I usually don't mind bugs, but... Moths? Not a fan."
"Well, if ever I'm around, I don't mind dealing with them for you," he said with a small nod and slight smile. "Hopefully there aren't any more in here, though."
Evaline shivered at the thought before plopping down on the couch, scooting to one side in case James wanted to join her.
"I hope not," she said, glaring down at the offending book she was holding and then turning it around in her hands to make sure it was bug-free. "But... thanks. I'll try not to screech in the future."
James scoffed and plopped down on the other side of the couch.
"I would tell you that you can screech all you want," James said. "Because I know you won't abuse that privilege."
Evaline shot him a funny look and then shook her head and half-rolled her eyes. "Good guess," she said. "I'll only let you hear it once a month. So, check in with me next month."
"Listen," James said in mock defense. "I've known people who would deliberately scream just to try and get under my skin. I have to add that caveat."
Evaline grimaced. "That sounds awful," she said. "Please tell me they weren't one of your friends you travelled with."
"Well... I wouldn't put it past some of them," he said with a small shrug.
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