Being someone's guiding partner for power testing isn't very difficult. Sara spends most of it sitting in a provided bean-bag chair with a lap-desk full of rocks and beads (and rocks in the process of becoming beads), stringing bracelets, and slowly working her way through a bag of pretzels.
Wendy's job is much more difficult.
She found an agent, the same ones who Teddy didn't like much. Vanguard. His complaints sounded like positives, to her.
They have sent over an experienced esper trainer who has worked with telekinetic espers before and his advice and exercises have been really helpful, honestly? She's practicing a lot of precision and small moves over and over, the power equivalent of tricky finger exercises. It's neat. Also, reflexes. And pushing with correctly calibrated levels of force.
The backlash builds up pretty quick. She comes back to Sara after an hour or so of leaving, and-
"-Um. Is it okay if this time I take my shirt off?"
Sara puts her lap-desk to the side as she sees Wendy approaching.
"-oh, yes, that's fine. Would you like me to take mine off as well?" She's wearing a sleeveless shirt, having removed her sweater at some point. "I would prefer to leave everything else on, for now, until we can discuss better."
"Um. Right sure of course."
...Gaaaaah this is embarrassing. Push past it. Itchy exposed skin is bad and the answer, guiding, is just a few actions away.
Off with her shirt.
"I'm sure I'll get used to everything in time. But a lot of stuff is confusing and - raw? Right now."
She pulls her own shirt off and shifts around to leave a nice spot where Wendy can cuddle up.
"I remember, yes. Esper norms are very different. But you have time."
Wendy cuddles up and relaaaaaxes into pleasant, plentiful guiding. However seems likely to have the most skin contact without being too awkward.
"Mmmmm... I mean, I thought about it and decided esper norms seem fine... Ish. So to speak. But, uh, not all at once immediately, I guess. Guiding is so nice, and that covers for a lot of it, like a lot a lot. But... Getting over the hill or something. It's still anxious-making, at first."
Sara pulls Wendy a little closer and squishes her against her side.
"Mhm."
She's silent for a moment, then:
"I had a... Pushy partner, when I first awakened. I did not care then, I just wanted to kill dungeons. I hope you do not let any eagerness push you past your boundaries. I will do my best not to."
"Oof. That's rough. Should I ask, or not? Because I can see so many ways for 'pushy partner' to elaborate, and many of them are... Well. I wouldn't want to talk about them."
"I think your first few ideas of what may have happened are probably right. Just be careful, yes? Tim seems fine, from our conversations, but we are so far apart, you will probably need secondary partners, just in case."
"I... Suddenly moving a long distance for better guiding is probably an example of being hasty. Isn't it. It's so nice." What if her face was touching Sara's shoulder.
Sara is happy to snuggle her in that position too!
"I think so, yes," squish. "Especially given the Confluence, and how little time you have had to adjust. I will still be here in three months, you know?"
Assuming she survives the Confluence, anyway.
"I'm not about to go into Arrakis or Volcanic Range or anything silly like that. I might not even do dungeons in the confluence at all. Except... Well, you have to at some point if you're going to at all, and - um, my agency is being polite about it but I've taken a loan and they're going to be providing a lot of training and stuff and not getting anything out of me yet, and it makes me anxious. Especially the loan. I - uh - do you wanna hear about my troubles or nah."
"I want to hear," she nods, "If only so I can find some way to tell at them if they are taking advantage!"
"-Not the agency, they haven't done anything. Yet. As long as it's better for the bottom line to play nice with me they will, that's how this shit works so I just have to... Make sure that's true. And that does mean dungeons, eventually. But I was more meaning, uh, I live with my mother and not my biological male parent who I refuse to call anything more familiar. He's... Annoying, and he abandoned mom to fend and care for me herself, and I swear to god he shows up RIGHT after hellweek and is all buddy buddy and - Mrrrrrr! Shutting up now, I'm making myself too upset." And she was kind of squeezing Sara a little bit. Deep breath. "Sorry. But he obviously just wants some of that sweet, sweet esper money, and fuck him."
Sara has pulled on her durability a little bit so Wendy can squeeze as much as she likes! As a bonus, it also means that her backlash can reduce more quickly.
"Have you talked to your lawyer about him? They may be able to assist you in some way."
"...Yeah, I did. I didn't really understand what the lawyer was saying but there is paperwork in motion, apparently. I told my agent to take care of it please, I just, I don't want to have to think about him. But Mom does still like him, somewhat, for some reason. And if I get nice things for her and she shares them with him that's fine. I guess. Mom's fine. But anyway, she's also kind of drowning in debt because of me and dad, so taking another loan even one they're willing to give me because I'm an esper is really nervous-making."
"Oh, yes, that makes sense. I suppose there isn't much I can say to make that better, you will just have to see it take care of itself, yes?
"Are you going to move out, do you think? You could get emancipated, maybe."
"Vanguard Agency rented a new, much nicer house for both of us, as um, part of the loan deal. I don't really think I'm... Ready, to live alone. And I also kind of want to finish high school. At a nicer school than my old place. Full of bullies and bad teachers. It's - I mean, it's awful whenever the confluence happens, but right after I finish awakening, too. Probably should limit myself to, like, one or two dungeons a week max if I even do any."
"That seems sensible. Maybe you could run some of the dungeons that get left by the wayside some while all the high rank dungeons are appearing everywhere? I always worry about those.
"I'm glad you're continuing school, though! I did, too, after everything. Do you have an eye on one?"
"Not really. I know that a lot of fancy schools might be... Culture shock and a lot of pressure to do well academically. And academics is not the most important thing to me, I think."
"Oh, no, I meant... In life. Using my powers well and being a good esper is going to be most important long term! But I don't want to be uneducated, but also some parts of American high school seem very pointless... So, I suppose I really don't know."
"Mhm! I finished high school like that. So many espers awaken before finishing, I'm sure your agent will know how to handle it!"
"Let me text her before I forget it."
She's going to make sure to do that before saying anything else.
"...The trainer guys were saying I'm going to be better for hitting certain kinds of monsters and might treat me like an artillery unit. Trotted out to snipe particularly troublesome monsters from long range, if they're pierce vulnerable, or psychic somehow, and then hurried back out. And special ammo and stuff. Also demolition, apparently I can break concrete way more efficiently if I get the technique down, and it makes sense, but I haven't managed it..."
"That should be safer for you, for now," she nods, "I'm glad. That gives you time to get training, if you want it, and train your power, too. Awakening immediately before a Confluence is... Rough."
"...Yeah. I'd find it a lot easier to just not though if, like, the dee arr tee folks were more, um. That thought made a lot more sense in my head. Have you ever heard someone say 'ACAB', ayy, cee, ayy, bee?"
"Em... Yes? 'All cops are bastards', yes? Does that apply to the DRT? They don't exactly police anyone, or not very much."
