Galen let loose a deep sigh, something nagging at him. He didn’t like being caught places with such feelings constantly bothering him. He had learned to follow his intuition, and right now his intuition was telling him that something very disagreeable was happening, or was about to happen. It didn’t matter which, not really anyway, there were others stronger then him who would take care of the problem, he was just a student and students were not trusted with anything other than their homework.

He stared at the blank screen flush with the surface of his low desk, he wasn’t much for homework, or any work as far as that went. Galen, though he had resigned himself to the power which grew in him day by day, was still not so sure whether or not he liked the idea of using it as his mother had. What he really wanted was to just be normal, to just like everybody else. It sounded weak, the whole normal thing, but being “special” was overrated. Especially when it meant sleepless nights and what most people called “visions” haunting his every decision. Some embraced the ability, learned to face their inevitable future, they came here to learn how to use their knowledge, learned how to decipher the meanings of the almost unintelligible images. Galen was not there for any of those reasons, however, he was there to learn how to suppress his power, get rid of it.

He knew that his mother was disappointed in him, but that was all right. She had been a Spirit Seeker, she had a lot of pride staked on him, the only one of her cubs to have the same ability. he would not put his own happiness and mental health on his family’s desires. His mother had not, after all, even raised him; why should he bother about her ego? Galen shook his head, he was kidding himself... he was worried about his mother, and that was why she always came to his mind when he pondered the honor of his decision to stifle his power. She had always helped him, always supported him, even though he knew that she desperately wanted him to follow in her paw prints.

::Galen...:: Speak of the devil... his mother’s voice seemed to drift through the air, telepathic though it was, a perpetual whisper which she seemed to insist on using at all times unless something was very very important. He could, however, since that there was some urgency to her coming. He turned to face her, the tall thin creature which had approached silently, her wide ears watching him more closely than her useless white eyes ever could.

::Mother.:: He greeted her, getting to his paws in respect. ::What brings you here?:: Something told him that it had to do with the bad feeling which had been creeping up on him all day.

::I suppose you really do not know?:: He was silent, not willing to talk to her about his “failings.” She upheld his resolve, but still tried to persuade him otherwise at times. He didn’t feel like arguing with her now, he was just too tired, too drained. ::It is not good...:: She trailed off, turning her head a bit to the side, as though trying to look through her blindness at him, at his expression, though Galen knew that she could pick up more than just that with what she did have. She was sniffing him out, listening to his heart and blood flow, analyzing his “path” as she referred to it as.

::Yes, mother?:: He prompted her further, hoping that she would come out with it soon. She had come a long way to see him, it might be important... but then again, knowing her, it might not be so important. His mother had been led through life on whims, most true, some not so true. She often let her worry for her offspring blur the things that she saw... it had brought her to him more than once.

::Your sister is gone, Galen.:: She said, her words accented with a sort of pressure which made the male feel sick to his stomach. He forced himself to swallow, to keep listening. His sister? Armentine? Where would she have gone? He could feel himself panicking. ::According to the officials, she has taken a ship and left Federation space.:: Galen could not breath, he could not think. This was his fault! Armentine had always been jealous of his abilities, powers that he did not even want, but they had been friends... that was, until he started to rub in the fact that she could not “see” as he did. It had been arrogant, mean but Galen had been bitter. It was just too ironic that they each had what the other wanted...

::Gone?:: He muttered, not really hearing what she was saying to him.

::Only you can find her...::

::No... no... I can’t.:: He turned and stared his mother full in the face, pleading with her blind eyes. ::Mother...:: For a moment she was silent.

::You were given this gift for a reason.:: She uttered softly. ::You will not be able to escape it until you accept it...:: They were words that he dreaded, but somehow Galen knew them to be true. He was just too strong... these powers too developed to be gotten rid of, it was too late for him.

::What must I do?:: He forced himself to say. His mother stepped close to him, her ears pulled back so that she could nuzzle him comfortingly.

::You must go to the City of the Stars...:: She said, as though in a trance of some kind. ::And you must wait for her... she will come.::