//[insert]// denotes thoughtspeak, mind-to-mind communication, which will be explained, just not in this chapter ~~~ Worth, with a frightened squeak, held up a hand, her eyes begging for Much to stop fighting this woman. Much looked down at her, the angry, hurt look in his eyes fading as he knelt. "How do you feel?" She nodded, her dust-streaked face glowing when she smiled. //I feel fine.// "Good." he patted her knee, not condescendingly, "I w-was worried." //You needn't have been.// "Well, I was." She laughed silently, covering her mouth with one hand as her thin shoulders shook. //That's your problem, brother.// The woman squinted down at the twins, and Worth fearlessly met her gaze. Her green eyes possessed a strangely deep quality that the human girl had never seen before- there were untold emotions inside them, but they were locked away. She extended her mind, trying to break the barrier, but there was nothing. Worth pressed a little harder. *How strange. It's never been this difficult before.* Usually, the human girl could see thoughts with little to no effort. She pressed even harder, and to her great surprise the woman doubled over, clutching at the sides of her head, as if in pain. "Panther?" Much queried. "Make... her... stop..." 'Panther' gasped, sweat beading on her forehead, as she extended a shaking finger in Worth's direction. That's when Worth saw it: for the briefest instant, a thought broke through and floated in the Panther's green, green eyes. The world shattered before Worth's vision and was replaced by a series of searing impressions, sharper and more painful than anything she'd ever felt before. ~~ Chains. Foul laughter. Sweat. Screams that did no good, because there was only one person there to hear them, and he reveled in them. Staring, greedy eyes with reptilian pupils, the colour of heavy, fire-laced smoke. A velvety voice whispering, "Is it really so hard to give up?" ~~
"Make her stop!" the woman's voice broke into a high-pitched, throat-raw scream as she stumbled, then fell to her knees, "She doesn't know what she's-" The words abruptly ended as Worth broke eye contact, her expression confused and suspicious. What was //wrong// with this woman? "Never," spat Panther, as she pulled herself to her feet, her gloved hands shaking violently, "Do. That. Again." "She didn't do anything wrong," Much protested, shielding his sister. His shoulder-length blond hair whipped about him in the wind. Panther turned suddenly, her fingers around Much's throat. Not squeezing tight, but just enough to make him uncomfortable. Worth squeaked again, inwardly frustrated at the only noise her throat could make. "Tell your idiot sister never to do that again," the words were husky, and the thief's eyes flitted to Worth, making eye contact for an instant, "She doesn't know... she doesn't unders... she..." An instant was enough. //Much?// Worth's mental voice was hesitant, her gold-flecked eyes much wiser than her years. "Yeah?" he asked, not looking away from the woman. //Nevermind.// *I know her name.* *** Song: Human- Christina Perry (both twins, but especially Worth)
