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[asmywitness]

[[Tyler screens his calls - anyone who tries to actually call him, he'll text back in reply.]]

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[fingersandteeth]

[Two days after the disaster memo, he'll get a text from Steven.]

Look. I don't blame you if you're still pissed off at me about that memo. *I'm* pissed off at me about that memo. I was a presumptuous *ass* and you have every right to tell me to fuck off again.

That said, I mugged some asshole the other day and ended up with a bird like yours, so if you still want to work on the whole psychic bird translation thing, today's one of my half-days.

[asmywitness]

[Congratulations, he is still mad at you. Good call.

.........however he does want to work on the psychic training. And he doesn't hate Steven, he's just. Petty and disappointed.

So. He's not going to be nice. But he'll at least reply in under fifteen minutes.]

My training finishes in a few hours. Meet you in the gym.

[fingersandteeth]

[Steven's already been there for a while by the time Tyler shows up and it shows. He's changed into a pair of gym shorts and a tee shirt and has obviously been working out while he's been waiting. And just, well, working out in general. Man's pretty muscular, is what we're saying.

Look, at some point he'd heard that exercise is supposed to help with anxiety and tried to see if it would also help with intrusive thoughts. Eventually it just became habit.

When he sees Tyler, he reaches to send a text.]

Hey.

[asmywitness]

[Tyler doesn't blink when he sees his super-not-actually-a-boss coworker clearly having just been sweating up a storm. Meatheads aren't his Type anymore.

His Natu is still on his shoulder, and settles down a little more firmly on his shoulder when she sees Steven as well, eyeing him off intensely.]

What were you thinking for training?

[He's not here to mince words.]

[fingersandteeth]

[Steven pinches the bridge of his nose, before pulling out a stack of cards from his gym bag.]

Right. So I figure strengthening the connection between your mind and hers is probably the first step? So. We practice with that by using these cards. I show her a card, where you can't see it. You try to figure out what's on the card. Basically like an ESP test.

> prose is easier

[asmywitness]

...yeah that was. Actually a good idea.

He keeps his phone in his hand but walks over to Steven, and takes Isis off his shoulder to sit her on the nearest piece of large machinery. She looks impassively back at Tyler, as he steps away and around Steven to sit on a bench opposite them, and sits down. This way, Steven can show Isis the cards without a chance of Tyler seeing.

And he gives Steven what looks like double finger guns, except his middle fingers are straight as well. Ready.

it really, really is (+)

[fingersandteeth]

He gets those occasionally. When he doesn't have his head completely up his ass.

Steven does a return of those not-quite double finger guns and flips over the first card for Isis.

[asmywitness]

Isis doesn't look at the card. She keeps staring at Steven's face.

Tyler's just waiting with his hands in his lap.

[fingersandteeth]

"Can you look down at the card?" he asks her out loud. "We're trying to teach you to communicate with each other. You'll look down at the card and try to show him the picture on it with your thoughts."

[asmywitness]

The borb looks at the card then. Then looks back at Steven.

A few seconds later, there's the wobbly, wavering impression of a plus sign in his mind.

[fingersandteeth]

"That's good," Steven says encouragingly, "but don't send it to me. Send it to him." And he'll point over to Tyler.

[asmywitness]

Isis tilts her head, and bounces across a few steps on the machine so she can see Tyler over Steven's shoulder - he's looking a bit uncertain now, at the lack of current response.

Until he stiffens suddenly, at the psychic response in his head; then he snaps his fingers twice to get Steven's attention and show, with a look of confusion on his face, a cross with his fingers.

○

[fingersandteeth]

Steven gives him a thumbs up, then turns over another card.

"Try it again with this one," he says. "For him again too. Tyler, the boy over there, your trainer... he's going to need your help with things, so we need to get your mental connection stronger."

[asmywitness]

Natu are hard birds to read. She just stares at Steven for a few moments, then looks at the card again.

Steven gets the image first, but it's a bit halting, and disappears from his mind much more quickly this time. Then Tyler snaps his fingers again and draws a circle in the air.

∆

[fingersandteeth]

Another thumbs up.

"Good girl," Steven coos. He flips another card, then points to Tyler. "Show it to him. He likes you, you know. He just can't hear or talk. That's why you two need to get better at connecting your minds, so that you'll be able to communicate."

[asmywitness]

Isis looks up at Steven again, and gives a small chirp.

Behind them, Tyler actually makes a small noise of surprise as he sits sharply upright, frowning in open confusion.

[fingersandteeth]

What happened? Steven texts.

[asmywitness]

Steven uses the heel of his fist to point at Steven, then makes a loop around his face with his index finger.

She sent me your face, not the card.

[fingersandteeth]

Oh whoops. I think I should probably be more specific this time.

He taps the card. "Show this one to Tyler?"

[asmywitness]

Isis turns her eye back on the card, tilting her head in an almost critical manner.

Tyler just texts him. Triangle. Also, at least she knows that sending faces isn't a bad idea. It could be useful for pointing out potential marks.

[fingersandteeth]

That's true, Steven agrees. I should work something out like that with Acatl. She's getting the hang of sending images. Should I start her on sounds?

[asmywitness]

I mean, sure. That's going to be more on me to learn spoken English, though. Which, like he can do, and his expression as he sends the text isn't particularly resentful. The only time I've worked with sounds, I was judging by the vibrations in my throat.

[fingersandteeth]

Fuck, right, you wouldn't have the connection of the two in your head, necessarily, would you? And English is such a bastard language, I say this as a bilingual, the spelling is every-fucking-where.

[asmywitness]

That gets a- oh, look, it's a smile. Almost. A smirk, maybe.

Quadlingual. Auslan, Taiwan sign, written English and Traditional Mandarin. And some random phrases in other languages, as you do.

As he sends that, Isis peeps, and Tyler blinks sharply again. And texts again: That was the back of your head.

[fingersandteeth]

You have me beat with my paltry American English and Mexican Spanish, Steven texts back. At least she's practicing.