[ It's not the word that Jake would use for it, and it's not the word that he's heard others use for it here aboard the Ximilia, but it's a strange sort of comforting how immediately resonant Jake finds the boy's explanation. An energy that moves through all things, that pulls people together and pushes them apart, that never really goes away but instead recycles again and again.

Upon their eyes meeting, Jake's smile falters. Being considered dangerous by those around you for something beyond your own control... it's something Jake himself had fallen victim to, taking up arms on both the right side and the wrong at different points in his life. He scoots closer along his own back to sit alongside the boy. ]

If someone's only dangerous in your own mind, that's no reason to hurt them. You have a gift, kiddo. I know it probably doesn't always feel like one, but being in touch with the world around you is a good thing. Even if means things hurt a little more than they do for other people.

[ It was no wonder the kid seemed so moved by the fate of this place. Of course he would. Cal was experiencing it in real time, all the time. ]