The best thing in life? [open]

[Gideon Rede]

Gideon wandered the grounds of the Braddock Estate keeping to himself. He was thinking about his conversation with Steve and also the one with Teri. He'd spent some time meditating to bring down his lust for battle, to see his enemies broken, and hear the lamentations of their women. Now he simply wandered aimlessly as he was now prone to doing.

[Haley Crusek]

Gid would find his lamentation disturbed by inane thoughts of lip gloss, cute country singers, a flirtatious text conversation, and thoughts about how hungry a certain tiny Texan was for lunch. As he rounded a corner, there was Haley, glued to her phone with earbuds in, sharing her thoughts unwittingly with most of the immediate vicinity.

[Gideon Rede]

Gideon rubbed the back of his neck as the wave of thoughts washed over him.

"Your mind is open to the world, Ms. Crusek. I'd suggest closing it and also the doner kebab the cafeteria is serving."

Gideon sounded...tired with a touch of something else that was hard to pin down.

[Haley Crusek]

Haley froze mid-seated dance move and looked a bit embarrassed.

fuck. Sorry, sorry. How much did you hear?

"And what the hell is a doner kebab?"

[Gideon Rede]

More than I needed to, but don't wor-

"-ry I'll try to avoid telling anybody about your favorite lip gloss," Gideon said switching from telepathic to talking out loud quite smoothly. "Spit roasted meat, and vegetables all stuffed into a pita.I think they're better known as gyros back in the states."

[Haley Crusek]

"OMG those are amazing! I know where I'm going next," she grinned, clearly relieved and trying much harder to shield her thoughts.

"So what are you doin?"

[Gideon Rede]

"Clearing my head and killing time," Gideon said then smirked, "And apparently running into all of the nascent telepaths."

[Haley Crusek]

...the hell does nascent mean she thought louder than she'd intended.

"Me too. Most of my classes got cancelled. Dunno what the hell is going on."

[Gideon Rede]

It means you're new to your abilities.

"Unfortunately, since they revoked my X-Men credentials I don't know much," Gideon said, "But it must be big because the whole campus feels...nervous. Like a herd ready to stampede."

Gideon rubbed the back of his neck as he tried not to think about the possibility of a coming storm.

[Haley Crusek]

Damnit. Not a good day for me and keeping my inner monologue to myself. Sorry.

"So you can kinda...sense that stuff?" she asked.

[Gideon Rede]

"I can," Gideon said, "But most telepaths can feel peoples emotional states and surface thoughts to a degree though some are more...attuned than most. In my case I was always more attuned to the fear and pain of others. Being able to sense emotions on a larger scale is a matter of practice or raw talent."

[Haley Crusek]

"I guess that makes sense...I can kinda feel that stuff. It's...just usually only with whoever I'm really close to. With lots of people kinda just get....like static. All the thoughts just sorta run together. Really gives me a headache."

[Gideon Rede]

"It wasn't long ago that I would hear the fears of everyone around me no matter how hard I tried to shield my mind. Before you start to work on filtering the thoughts of others you probably want to work on shielding your own mind," Gideon said, "As you learn more about using mental shields you'll get better at filtering out the white noise that comes from being around large groups of people. Proper shields will also help prevent you from getting headaches. You'll still get them, nose bleeds, and insomnia. All the benefits of telepathy."

[Haley Crusek]

"Fucking stupid power. Just wish it would go away and leave me with my tk." she grumbled.

[Gideon Rede]

"All mutants say that at first," Gideon said, "The super strong mutant who keeps breaking things, the feral mutant who keeps losing themselves to animal instinct, and the telepath who can't help but affect the minds of those around them."

"There are some wonderful things you can experience as a telepath. You can explore the astral, mindscapes, you can gain knowledge, and communicate with others across great distances or in ways more intimate than any conversation. Don't consider it a curse until you've gotten the chance to explore your true potential."

[Haley Crusek]

"...the astral?" she asked, perplexed.

[Gideon Rede]

"The astral is a dimension created by the thoughts and emotions of all living things," Gideon said, "Every idea that mankind has come up with is represented in it. From gods, to hell, and certainly things much less... straight forward. That is the simplest explanation I can think of."

[Haley Crusek]

"Whoa....and it...it's a place? Like...you can go there?"

[Gideon Rede]

"Yes," Gideon said, "Telepaths are some of the few who can explore the astral."

[Haley Crusek]

"Okay...I guess that could be pretty cool...have you been there?"

[Gideon Rede]

"Quite a few times. It's something every telepath does eventually," Gideon said, "It's a very strange, beautiful and sometimes extremely dangerous place. It all depends on which part of it you're exploring and what emotions or thoughts formed that area."

[Haley Crusek]

"How do you go there...do you just like... dream or something?"

[Gideon Rede]

Gideon sat down on the ground as he tried to think through what he was going to say.

"It's not easy to describe," Gideon said, "You have to step across the veil between our reality and that of the astral. It requires opening up fully...it might be easier to simply demonstrate. If you open your mind to me I'll take you across briefly."

[Haley Crusek]

"Okay!" she said perhaps overly enthusiastically, hopping up and then sitting down cross-legged in front of him on the ground. "What do I need to do," she said trying to relax and open up her mind.

[Gideon Rede]

Gideon's power wrapped around Haley's mind. Haley would feel as if a figure was taking her hand though Gideon's physical body had not moved.

"Keep your mind and open and hold my hand tightly, youngling. This will not take long."

Haley would feel as if she was rising upwards. The air seemed to grow denser and eventually they found themselves at what felt like a barrier. She could feel Gideon's mind flowing into the barrier. Haley could feel the power of Gideon's will, his desire to cross the threshold dissolve away the barrier between worlds. The transition once the barrier broke apart was...abrupt. Haley would find herself in an open field.

[Haley Crusek]

Haley blinked and looked around. "Oh...wow. This is...wild. It's like...it doesn't even feel like a dream. It feels real,"

[Gideon Rede]

The whole field seemed to radiate a sense of peace. Simply being there seemed to make you much more relaxed.

"It is real," Gideon said apparently standing behind Haley, "This is the Sea of Tranquility. A small part of the astral and one of the safest."

[Haley Crusek]

"So you weren't bullshitting about there being some real scary shit here then? Seems so hard for...anything to be wrong here."

[Gideon Rede]

"This is a place created by mankind's thoughts of peace," Gideon said, "There are other places created by our fears, our desires, our dreams, our ideas of heaven, and also of hell. An ever expanding landscape that represents every facet of mankind."

"Your avatar in this plane is an example of that. It represents who you really are, the things you've done, your hopes, and how you think of yourself."

[Haley Crusek]

Haley looked down at herself and realized that she had changed--for one, she was quite a bit taller, and looked much older. Se was wearing a pair of tiny shorts, a short-sleeved plaid button down shirt that exposed her midriff, and a white cowboy hat. And of course she had fancy boots.

"Oh wow. This *is* cool. " she grinned.

[Gideon Rede]

Gideon smiled slightly at Haley's reaction to what she was seeing in the Astral. Gideon shifted his weight and Haley would hear the sound of metal sliding against metal.

"Consider what your avatar represents," Gideon said, "You may discover something about yourself. The Astral is one of the few places outside of your own mind where your subconscious is on display. Understanding yourself in this way can help you use your telepathy more effectively."

[Haley Crusek]

"Can you change what shows up out here? Or is this one of those things that's like....just...YOU?"

[Gideon Rede]

"Who you are changes over time," Gideon said, "You can alter your avatar to conceal things about yourself if you desire to. You can return to the form you have in the real world if that's what you wish. However, I've never thought much of doing so. This shape is who I really am. It serves to remind of me of the things that I've done."

[Haley Crusek]

Haley looked at herself. "Man, why can't I look like this in the real world. This is awesome!"

[Gideon Rede]

"Because the avatar shows everybody around who you are," Gideon said, "It doesn't allow you much...subtlety. I certainly wouldn't be able to attend school here if I were to walk around in this form."

[Haley Crusek]

Haley finally turned around to face him and did a bit of a double take at his astral form.

"So uh...what does all of...that...represent?"

[Gideon Rede]

Gideon looked at the fresh blood on his hands. He looked at the blood stained and damaged armor he wore. Armor nearly identical to that he wore during his time as Apocalypse's horseman of war. The final touch was a broken sword on his back.

"That there are some paths that leave you more damaged than others," Gideon said, "My path left me stained with dirt, blood, smoke, fire, and death. It left me excommunicated from the thing I'd... dedicated myself to. I did some terrible things as War and that amount of blood and the consequences of it do not simply wash away."

Somehow despite Gideon's words there was a feeling of hope radiating from him. The symbols on his armor nearly hidden by detritus were not those of Apocalypse, but instead looked much kinder.

[Haley Crusek]

"How'd that guy who attacked us in New York convince you to join him then?"

[Gideon Rede]

"With lies," Gideon said, "Beautiful lies that we were going to pursue something noble. That we were going to make mutants stronger, better, and respected. That we were going to level the playing field with humanity without needing to wait decades. Even without the threat of violent death I might have joined, but that threat certainly pushed me forwards."

"Apocalypse can be very...persuasive, so even once I realized what we doing there was no going back. He used technology and other more mundane techniques to make sure the horseman stayed loyal. In the end only the intervention of the headmistress allowed me to regain...myself."

[Haley Crusek]

"What's she really like? The Headmistress? I've heard she's like. One of the most powerful telepaths in the world. And I'm guessing she is if she could undo the sorta stuff that crazy guy did to you."