These Tears Aren't Mine

[François Laffont]

François was a very happy person. He was also in a good mood today which is why it might seem odd to other people that he was currently crying. Of course, once you know him, you also know that he often ended up with irrational behaviours after spending too many time next to other people. It was just the nasty side-effect of his mutant ability. Franck didn’t mean to break into tears. He found these mood swings to be irritating at best when they were not simply embarrassing. Like these tears. It was humiliating to end up crying out of the blue, right here at school of all places.

To see someone in pain would naturally make him sad. To touch someone in pain would make him be in pain too. And so, to end up with a crying girl in his arms, because her boyfriend just dumped her and her power was annoying and her life sucked, made him cry too. He should have known better than to ask her if she was alright but sensing her pain caused him to try and cheer her up. He couldn’t help himself. The fact that he felt everything from everyone made the boy want for everyone to be happy. It made sense, otherwise he too would be moody all the time from all this gloom.

And so Franck ended up crying as well. He didn’t want the girl to see as he didn’t want her to think he was overly emotional or making fun of her. She left, claiming she felt slightly better after this hug and pep talk, leaving Franck with all of her negativity. The fact she was gone helped him wash away the pain he got from her but he was still crying and it was why he left to find some corner where he could take care of this without too many people seeing him. He felt like he was enough of a drama queen as it was without needing people to think he was able to cry whenever he wanted.


TAG: Cassidy Laramie

[Cassidy Laramie]

Cassidy strolled along, enjoying the fresh air. He was in a relatively secluded area and was enjoying the solitude. For once his eyes didn't ache from all the colors, and the relaxing air had them shining a vibrant green. The few people he did see were easy to avoid, although he earned some strange looks from them as he walked a roundabout path, seemingly around nothing at all. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and he soon found himself in a more populated area. 

He took a winding path through the wandering students, trying to avoid walking through any powerful auras. Colors assaulted his eyes, making it hard to see as he picked his way among the students. Waves of emotion washed over him, shattering the earlier calm and spinning his thoughts and feelings into a confusing nosedive. He finally found himself outside of the crowd, once again away from prying eyes. And then he spotted the lone, deep blue aura in the corner.

Cassidy shuffled in place in awkward indecision. It really wasn't any of his business; he could just turn around and forget he even saw anyone. It would save him the discomfort of walking through that soul-crushing aura. But at the same time, he couldn't just leave him there. Whoever it was was clearly upset, and what good was his ability if he never used it! Maybe he'd even find a new friend.

Taking a deep breath, Cassidy walked over to the stranger. He wasn't feeling too bad at first, but as he got closer, the feeling of wading through syrup intensified, squeezing at his lungs and making him gasp for breath. The occasional flash of irritation would shock his skin like a zap of static electricity, making him wince. As he got within an arms reach of the student, he was surprised to find "normal" emotions at the center of the sadness. Normally emotions as strong as the depression he was fighting against blocked out everything else, but there they were, the emotions of everyday life, swirling about directly on top of their creator like the eye of a storm. Pushing his confusion aside for the moment, in favor of helping out this stranger for both of their sakes, Cassidy took a shaky breath and tapped on the boy's shoulder.

"Um, hey, are you alright? You seem pretty upset..." he asked, trailing off slightly. He hoped it would be something easy to fix; he hated seeing anyone this upset, especially when he had to stand in it.

[François Laffont]

It was very embarrassing to cry in front of other students. Franck might sense the emotions out of everyone and tell people it was okay to cry in front of him if they were sad but that didn't mean he was in any way comfortable in doing the same. The fact he wasn't even crying because of something that would made sense to the others didn't help either.

Franck never complained about his power and any side-effects he may have. It seemed kind of insulting to whine about being sad all day because someone cry on your shoulder when others risked shocking anyone they touched or burn the classroom if they ever got too stressed over something. He couldn’t allow himself to do that. But, sometimes, for example when he ended up crying in the corridor for no reason, he wished he could whine about it to someone, just to let it out. Of course, this was not going to happen and, right now, all he wanted was for people not to notice his presence. He didn’t need someone to worry for him when this was nothing.

Of course, life had a way of putting you through precisely what you didn’t want to go through. Franck was too busy trying to focus on his breathing, doing the exercises he had been taught to let go of any emotion that wasn’t his. He kept his eyes closed during the process, not wanting anything around to distract him. But something did anyway, or someone. He opened his eyes and saw a younger guy looking at him. Franck had been too focused on what he was feeling at the present moment but now that he saw the other boy, he felt how uncomfortable he was, yet also worried. Worried for Franck, no doubt, even though the reasons for the emotions he got never came along.

This resulted in Franck feeling bad. He never meant for anyone to see him like this, let alone worry. Not really knowing this guy, Franck couldn’t tell that it was how he felt that got him to come over here and ask if he was alright, the same way Franck always went out of his way to ask it to anyone he thought was a little down. Empaths didn’t appear to be dime a dozen. “I’m fine, really. It’s just...” he began, some hesitation in his voice. He didn’t want to sound like this was a burden and look like he was complaining. But he needed to give this boy some form of explanation. Then again, his calm nature and the light smile he was giving him to show he was okay must already explain a lot. He wiped the remaining tears off his face. “Thanks for asking, but there was nothing to worry about. Really.”

[Cassidy Laramie]

Cassidy tilted his head in response to his answer, his hesitation definitely giving Cassidy the feeling that there actually was something going on. Even before his mutation developed, he had been pretty good at solving other people's emotional problems. He didn't even have enough fingers to count how many times some staff member or another was going through a breakup or similar problem. And, of course, the usual answer was "I'm fine" or "Nothing's wrong".

Still, if it weren't for the fact that Cassidy had just seen the older student crying, he could have believed him. Cassidy looked all around the aura, trying to understand it. The deep blue was lessening slightly, feeling less like maple syrup and more like water, but it was still bright and oppressive. But at the same time, it seemed as if the stranger was surrounded by a bubble of normalcy. 

Cassidy peered deep into the center of the aura, slowly trying to pick out the colors. He thought he saw some irritation, and what might have been embarrassment, but the emotions were complicated and the aura small, making it hard to read. As Cassidy struggled to figure out the emotions, his own feelings were beginning to whirl inside him, slowly returning to its usual spinning tornado of thoughts and feelings. Curiosity, confusion, and concern among others were fighting for control of thoughts. Unnoticed by Cassidy, his brown eyes stirred like a cloud of silt in a lake when disturbed before settling back to an even brown. The mystery and confusion of his own feelings cleared his thoughts in some strange way, adding determination to the mix. He was going to get to the bottom of this strange aura!

After a while Cassidy realized he had been staring at Franck, trying to puzzle out what appeared to be two separate auras mixing together on one distraught individual. Pushing his own jumbled emotions aside, he rubbed one eye and focused back to the matter at hand.

"Are you sure? You don't look like you're okay," he asked, his tone still concerned. He looked away briefly, running his hands through the blue aura, feeling the light bend around his fingers and slipping away like quicksilver. It probably looked strange to everyone else who couldn't see the glow, as if randomly staring around at the air wasn't strange enough. "You don't feel okay..." he muttered quietly as the deep sadness flowed around him.

[François Laffont]

Franck was clearly embarrassed at admitting he was crying because someone’s feelings got a hold on him. He knew it was not his fault, it was a side-effect of his power, but he was ashamed of it nonetheless. He should be able by now to better control his reaction to those feelings. To feel sad or sorry for someone who was in pain was okay but crying as if the pain was his clearly was not fine. He could almost slap himself for putting himself in that situation again. Why couldn’t he just stick around the happy people and ditch those who were too down? Oh right, because he couldn’t help himself. The moment he felt someone was down, he just had to see if he couldn’t help them.

Franck also hated to think he could worry someone because he was upset. This really was nothing but of course, it had to be tough for them to know when he was crying in front of the whole school to see. Not everyone was an empath able to know he really was fine deep inside or at least would be once he’d be rid of this sadness. The boy seemed confused about his reaction and also concerned. None of these were emotions he wanted to put someone through.

It was a good thing that Franck didn't pay too much attention to the boy’s eyes. He was too busy fidgeting. He didn’t want to add discomfort to his growing pile of emotions from others he had to deal with right now. He didn’t get why he was so curious. He was concern, he felt that, but he seemed mostly curious and he didn’t think it was the kind of emotion one normally had when asking someone if they were all right.

Franck shouldn’t be too surprised he insisted. He was doing the same whenever he met someone who felt down as he probably looked like right now. He suddenly realised this might actually be annoying to asked like this over and over. He’ll have to remember not to insist too much next time. Perhaps it would prevent such a situation to happen again. He startled however at the boy’s words. He was not feeling okay. This was the kind of thing he would say. “I don’t feel... wait, are you an empath?” he asked. He personally didn’t like answering that question as he too often believed people would next tell him their feelings were personal and he should mind his own business. He had a sheepish smile thinking he might have just thrown that boy in the same situation. “I am too. I... I swear I’m not sad. I just get some residual feelings after I’ve been around someone for too long, especially when the emotions were particularly strong.”

[Cassidy Laramie]

It took Cassidy a moment to process the question. He was still pretty new at the whole "mutant" thing, and he was starting to realize he had a lot of new vocabulary to learn. But the rest of the student's explanation clarified things immensely. It definitely explained why it seemed like he had two auras. It was as if the other person's sadness was clinging to him, pressing down on his emotions just like it hung heavy against Cassidy's skin. He did wonder though; he'd never had this happen before. His emotions may be mixed up and confusing, but he'd never been emotionally affected by other auras, just physically.

In any case, the sadness seemed to slowly be lessening, returning Cassidy's lung function mostly back to normal. The older student's emotions seemed to be strengthening, filling up the space as it tried to put itself back to normal. But Cassidy was too excited to even try to read it; his brown eyes changed, shifting to a happy, hopeful, bright yellow and white. He hadn't even considered that there might be another person that had a mutation like him. 

Cassidy practically bounced in place, staring up at Franck with wide, innocent eyes. "You can see it too?!" he asked, grinning and gesturing outwards at the aura surrounding them, completely oblivious to the letdown he was setting himself up for. 

[François Laffont]

Franck was usually not the first to bring out the ‘what’s your power’ question. He thought it was personal and so was something one should be allowed to them when they were ready and not before. But the words this boy used intrigued him. He could be a telepath too, he supposed, and insisted because the boy was crying but had no sad thoughts in his mind. Then again, he did say that Franck didn't feel right. Not look, not seem or any other synonym, feel. Anyway, Franck thought he didn’t risk anything in asking.

He also didn’t mean to confuse the boy any further even though he seemed to achieve just that. The confusion didn’t last too long however as Franck explained everything and it finally made some sense. There were still traces of it and Franck assumed it was because the boy must still have a lot of questions. It wasn’t easy all the time, to feel emotions but not know the reasons for them. It sometimes required a lot of guesswork on Franck’s part. He was also unaware that he might have caused any physical trouble to him. Franck didn’t mean that and if he was used to feel what everyone else around him felt, he wasn’t used to people able to do the same with him and react more or less in the same way he would.

Franck noticed at last the change in the boy’s face. He suddenly realised that his eyes looked a lot brighter. They were, in fact, of a very unusual, unnatural color. His question left Franck perplexed however. “See?” he let out, frowning, “I don’t see anything, I... feel it. You can see emotions?” This turned out to be a similar yet very different power. He looked at the people a few feet away from them. They were too far for Franck to get a proper reading of their emotions but he could sense some of it, like a song played in the distance you would only catch the beat of. Nothing to know exactly what they were going through. He looked back at the boy, the only one he knew exactly how he felt. And he was seemed pretty excited all of a sudden.

[Cassidy Laramie]

Cassidy deflated slightly at Franck's answer, and his bright, unnatural eyes swirled back into brown. His smile flickered for a moment, but he quickly replaced it back to where it was before, out of habit. He'd probably never admit it, but he wished he could find someone else who could see the auras too, someone who knew what it was like. Still, this was the first time meeting anyone who had a similar power, which he supposed was cool by itself. Except, he was figuring out that it was a double-edged sword; Cassidy was able to read the older student's emotions, but the student could do the same for him, far more clearly than Cassidy's eyes ever betrayed.

"Oh. That's cool," he said, trying to put some enthusiasm in it to cover his disappointment, although he figured it was a futile effort. He struggled for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain his power. He had a feeling this wasn't going to be the last time he was going to have to explain it to someone.  "Yeah... it's like, everyone sorta has this glow around them, and it changes colors to match what the person's feeling. Like paint!" he explained, finally finding a decent metaphor for how the colors changed. "And sometimes when they feel really strongly, the light gets thicker, I guess, like water, and walking through it... is not super comfortable," he continued. Now that he started explaining, it was easier to keep going, although he wasn't sure if he was being understood or not.

Cassidy followed Franck's gaze, looking over at the other people around them, taking a look at their auras. Most of them were pretty average and hard to make out from where they were standing, but one stood out and made him snicker. A female student was staring at her phone, smiling, her aura bright pink and yellow. Cassidy subtly pointed her out to the other student with a nod, slightly enjoying showing off. His power wasn't something that most people found impressive, so it was a rare opportunity. He shielded his mouth with one hand and whispered to Franck, "I think she has a boyfriend~"

[François Laffont]

The eyes changing colors intrigued Franck greatly and it probably showed, not only in the emotions the boy could pick but also on his face. He kind of was sorry for him their power weren’t that similar in the end. Not that Franck was very surprised. None of the empaths he met so far seemed to have a power exactly like his. Maybe it was different for all of them. Still, in the end, they were able to sense other people’s emotions and it made Franck conscious that he had to be careful. He didn’t think he had anything to hide particularly but he knew how a simple thought could sometimes generate an emotion and there was no need to put this boy through this. He already did but making him think he was upset when the tears he shed came from the residual emotions he got from someone else. Speaking of tears, Franck wiped them off his face. He embarrassed himself enough thanks to these.

Franck did get the disappointment in the other student. He nodded as he tried to picture how his ability worked. A glow changing color depending on the emotional state you were in. “Like, how they call it... an aura?” he asked, wondering if he got it right. Those New Age fanatics liked to say someone’s aura was of a certain color, that seemed to fit. Franck paused though, as it made him realise something. “It must be terribly hard on your eyes sometimes, when the feelings are strong,” he let out. He knew how rough it was to walk in a crowd. It was even harder for him to be in a crowd where they all felt pretty much the same, like during a concert or a game. He wondered what was harder on him, many different colors or lots of the same. “I know what you mean. I don’t see emotions but I feel it. Like... I don’t really know how to explain it. Like a garden, and everyone is a plant with its own scent. When there are a lot of people, it’s hard to tell where I’m getting the emotions from, or even tell them apart unless I focus on someone in particular.”

Franck felt as though his explanation was not as good as the boy’s. He had never been really good at explaining. It was hard because he just felt it and it was hard to explain how you can just feel something and still have it make sense. He looked in the direction the other boy pointed at and saw a girl. She was too far for him to really pick anything but apparently he could see her aura from this distance. And Franck was impressed. “Really? I don’t get much from here. That’s impressive,” he said to him before staring back at the guy. “I’m Franck, by the way,” he introduced himself with a nod of the head.

[Cassidy Laramie]

Cassidy caught a wisp of light orange swirling around Franck's aura, and noticed him staring at his eyes. He gave an embarrassed chuckle and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, they changed again, huh? They do that... I can't really control it, it just happens. They sorta match what I'm feeling," he explained. He didn't blame the other student for being curious, it was a pretty weird thing, even among a school of mutants. Cassidy was thankful that he was merely curious and not any other negative emotion.

It was Cassidy's turn to be curious as Franck explained his power. Small, shiny flakes of light orange appeared in his brown eyes like gold in river water. He was trying to figure it out, but he thought perhaps it was just something explainable. Trying to explain weird feelings to someone who couldn't feel it must be difficult; at least people could relate to colors. "Yeah, I get what you mean," he said, only half-telling the truth. He wiped his eyes again. "Sometimes they do, but it's not so bad I guess, y'know, compared to other people..." he trailed off, and immediately regretted that statement. Blue flickered in his brown eyes like static before it was pushed off into a permanent brown. It was hard enough dealing with his eyes complicating things by revealing his emotions, but now he was talking to someone who could immediately tell what he was feeling without even trying. Cassidy was beginning to wonder if this was how everyone felt around him.

Cassidy brightened up a bit at the introduction. "Oh, right! I'm Cassidy," he introduced himself. He'd been so caught up in the conversation that he'd completely forgotten to introduce himself. He gave a small smile at the compliment. "Thanks," he replied, although not as completely enthusiastic as it could have been. "That's just what I do, I guess. It's pretty...cool," he said, slowly spinning and fidgeting with the mood bracelet around his wrist, cursing his own hesitation. His earlier statement drove a wedge of self-doubt through him that he couldn't push away. And of course, Franck would probably pick up on it, much to his dismay. It was like walking on eggshells; his usual methods of smiling and assuring others he was fine to focus on their problems was crumbling in this new world of strange abilities. His brief time at Bellefonte had humbled him, perhaps too much.

[François Laffont]

The closest Franck had seen to color-changing eyes ought to be eyes that seem to change colors depending on the weather. Like his blue eyes that can look a little grey when it was raining. That boy’s eyes however did a lot more than that. It really changed of colors in the meaning that, at one point they were brown and they were not the next minute. And apparently, judging on how he talked of this, it seemed to happen a lot. This fascinated Franck. Eyes changing colors based on your feelings. “Fascinating. And what does a golden color mean?” he asked. Sure, Franck felt most of what he had been going through but he still asked. “It matches the emotions on the surface or what you feel deep down inside?” He figured the brown color probably was his natural color and so didn't ask about it.

He noticed once again the change in the boy’s colors. They remained brown but there was something in them. Franck recalled how people talked of sparks in the eyes. Well, it seemed to fit perfectly here and perhaps more than what people normally implied it. Because he could see colors and not feel the emotions, Franck wondered if he could really understand. It was not something that was easy to explain. Everyone was able to feel empathy for others, it was human, but Franck brought it to a new level. When he said he shared someone’s pain, he literally shared someone’s pain.

He nodded, fully understanding what he meant. “I don’t like complaining either. How can you whine about having mood swings when some could easily die from their side-effects if they aren’t careful? I can be a pain though,” he said. He normally wouldn’t admit it annoyed him for the reason he gave the boy. He felt like he was being a diva if he complained on this, no matter how much of a burden it could sometimes be.

He smiled to Cassidy now that he knew his name. It wouldn’t be too hard for the older guy to remember this name. And he thought he might not butcher it too much. Some names were hard for him to pronounce right because he ended up saying it the French way. It was not to mock the person, it came naturally to him, especially when he already knew someone in France with that name. Then again, he would like to see them say his whole name right. If, by any luck, they finally said François properly, the name Guillaume would be the death of them.

The attitude Cassidy had around him was not unusual to Franck. This didn’t mean he liked it, but he was not the first one who was not sure how to act around Franck because he could picked everything he felt. “It is. Some call our power lame, because you can’t really show it, but it’s useful. And I don’t know how I would react if I could turn everything I touch into ice or lift things with my mind,” he admitted. Franck wanted to find a way to bring the boy back to his relaxed self around him and for that, he needed to find what would make him comfortable.

[Cassidy Laramie]

Cassidy thought hard on Franck's questions, his eyes lightening to light grey and orange as he tried to puzzle out the confusingly deep questions. "Well, it depends on the gold... Like, a yellow-gold would be happy, but an orangeish-gold would be more like curious or surprised," he tried to explain. The colors could be quite confusing, especially when they mixed, forming complex emotions. The second half of his question was the tricky part, though. "Huh, never thought about it too much. I guess it's what I'm really feeling, not what I try to make people think I'm feeling," he admitted. He'd spent a lot of time faking his feelings for the benefits of others, but that time was coming to an end now that his eyes gave away his deceit. 

Cassidy was relieved that Franck understood how he felt about the side-effects. Having to deal with sore eyes and various other physical ailments from standing near people seemed so minor compared to some of the things other people at the school had to deal with. "Yeah, it still sucks though. Especially the way people... act... around me," he said, his speech slowing down as he suddenly came to a guilty realization. "Oh jeez... I've been doing the same thing! I'm sorry!" he apologized profusely, his eyes a cobalt blue. He'd just been thinking about how he'd need to be careful with his emotions around Franck, just as others had done to Cassidy himself.

Franck's assurance helped his self esteem greatly. He'd said their power was cool so firmly that it was almost impossible not to believe it. A smile flickered briefly across Cassidy's face at the thought of what weird powers he could have. Sure, he'd have to deal with side effects, but it didn't stop him from wishing he could do something cooler. Especially considering that other people had dangerous powers, yet he had nothing powerful to defend against them if they decided they didn't like him. "I guess you're right. Still, it'd be pretty sweet to be able to do something crazy like that," he admitted, flashing Franck a lopsided grin.

[François Laffont]

Franck couldn’t see auras and he never thought or studied it enough to know about colors and what they should mean on an emotional level. He had no idea what color his aura was right now or even if he could call it an aura. Cassidy tried to explain a little, by telling him what the color of his eyes could mean. “So, yellow would be for happiness and orange curiosity? A positive form of curiosity, if that makes sense,” he said, hoping he got it right. He thought it made sense for yellow to be happiness, it was a very bright color. “So every tint means different emotions? That cannot be easy all the time, how can you be sure what people are feeling exactly?” Franck asked. To him, it was easy. He just felt it. It seemed to work differently for Cassidy. He nodding, trying to understand what he said to explain what the color of his eyes could reflect. “You mean your eyes would reflect your sadness no matter how hard you try to look happy?” he said, again, hoping to get it right.

If understanding the different aspects of their power could be complicated, Franck had no problem agreeing with what the boy said about the side-effects and people’s reaction. “I know what you mean. Sometimes, they don’t remember when they come to you but then they realise you know they are not feeling as good as they try to pretend, because no matter how hard you want to believe it, you know better. I hate when they change of behaviour because of this. Especially when they suddenly feel bad for me because I have to go through the mess their emotions are right now,” he told him. Franck could even take those who disliked him because of what he can perceive in them better than pity. It seemed so hypocrite to be the one pitied when the other person was the one suffering. He had a little, indulgent smile as Cassidy apologized. “It’s ok. You are not the worst, believe me. Sometimes, I’m so used to know how people feel that I forget they can’t do the same with me, you know?”

Sure, Franck didn't like when people thought they had to act a certain way around him because of his power but he knew he couldn’t be helped. At least at first, until they knew him better. Cassidy didn't know him, he would excuse the boy. “Yeah, I guess our powers aren’t really impressive. But it’s useful. A lot more than throwing fireballs or electrifying anyone you touch. I’m sure those who have that kind of power wished they had something more like us.” Franck accepted he was an empath. He had no choice in this after all, it would seem a waste of time to sulk on this.

[Cassidy Laramie]

Cassidy smiled as Franck seemed to be figuring out how Cassidy's power worked. All his questions were getting Cassidy thinking, pushing him towards a slightly philosophical approach towards his power. "Well yeah, I can't really know for sure what anyone is feeling. But I can take a really good guess, and practice makes perfect. Isn't that what we're here for?" he asked rhetorically, finding himself now lost in thought. "And yeah, that's how my eyes work. It basically shows what my aura would be if anyone else had my power and could see it," he explained. That was probably the simplest way to explain it.

"Y'know, it's only fair, now that I think about it. If I can tell what you're feeling, shouldn't they be able to do the same to me?" he mused. Of course, they would have to take the time to learn what all the colors meant in order to do so, but then it'd be their fault if they couldn't understand, not anything he was doing to them. "It's actually a kinda cool idea. Complete transparency," he announced, spreading his arms in an overdramatic gesture. "No lies, no hiding feelings. Makes me think the world would be a better place if everyone had this power..." he wondered aloud, staring off into space.

Cassidy nodded in agreement about the uncomfortable nature of non-empaths, snapping back to reality. "That's why I'm gonna work on not hiding anything I feel. Not like I could if I wanted to anyway, right? Maybe if I'm more honest, I can inspire other people to change," he declared, making up his mind in the spur of the moment. Perhaps he was just being naive, but he suddenly felt as if he really could change the way people thought about the world. It was funny how this had started out with just trying to help someone; just talking to someone who understood was inspiring Cassidy to try things he'd never thought possible.

Something Franck mentioned stood out to Cassidy in the midst of his odd inspirational high. He grinned, streaks of yellow cutting through his brown eyes. "Oh yeah, you feel what everyone feels right? Well, I guess I should apologize in advance for what you have to feel any time we meet, huh? My feelings aren't always this, uh, stable," he said with a grin, spinning his finger around his head in the general sign for "crazy". Some people found this sort of self-deprecating humor sad, but Cassidy just found it funny; especially since his moods had been all over the place through the conversation, not exactly the usual definition of "stable". Most of the time he felt as if a tornado was wrecking havoc inside his head, mixing up his feelings to the point he couldn't figure out how he felt in the slightest. "I'll just call it even for the next time I have to walk through a cloud of someone else's problems," he laughed, his tone light and joking.

Cassidy thought over Franck's words about their power. He had a point; powers like that really weren't all that useful. The only thing those powers could do was create destruction and cause pain. Their power could be used for better things, for helping people. "Heh, well, I bet they would rather just not have a power at all, but we can't always get what we want, right?" he said with a slight smirk. They were all stuck with their powers, whether they were welcomed or not.

[François Laffont]

Franck chuckled as Cassidy pointed out he was here precisely to better understand and control his power. “You’re right. It’s just... I can’t give people an explanation as to why I know they are feeling like this. No aura or particular sensation or anything. I sort of just feel it, I guess. It makes it hard to explain to people, I wish I could just say that someone’s tint means this particular emotion,” he explained, playing with one of his ears, pulling the earlobe and all as he was slightly uncomfortable for the confusing way he expressed himself. Like he said, it was awfully hard to explain as he simply felt things.

He nodded as he brought up his eyes. “It’s sort of nice, I suppose. I tend to forget not everyone is an empath,” he added with another chuckle. He just said it would be fair for others to know how he felt. Franck had no way to tell people, other than the obvious way, the one everyone did to express their emotions. Perhaps it was a little easier than for some, since Franck could be an emotional guy. It was the downfall of constantly dealing with emotions, he often let them take the best of him. The fact Cassidy liked how, in the end, people could read him also as easily as he could read them made Franck feel bad a little. He couldn’t offer that to people around him. Did that make him a bad person? He didn’t want to think it could. Cassidy seemed more inspirational than he was and it was weird to Franck as he was used to be everyone’s pillar. He offered him a smile despite all of this. “That might make the world better. Or turn everyone into drama queens,” he let out. Although he tried to joke while saying this, he had the feeling it sounded too serious.

He offered a more genuine smile to Cassidy as he apologized for his emotions playing yoyo. “It’s ok. I think you’re well placed to know there is always an emotional bubbling at the surface and it can change quickly depending on what you think or see,” he told him. He had no problem with the rollercoaster ride his emotions were putting him through. He could handle it relatively well, so long as he was not touching him. Besides, right now, the guy was pretty positive and being around enthusiastic people was always something nice. “It’s not easy right? Groups. I can take it better when they don’t all feel the same but events are very difficult for me. If I go to a game, it’s a pain every time our team makes a point,” he said with laughter in his voice. He should probably be sad about it, as he loved being around people and wished he could attend such events, but he was fine with that. It was something he had to accept. Maybe he’ll get a better control of it over the years. For now, he can still watch games on television. “No, we can’t,” he agreed with Cassidy.