Upon Vestia: Chapter Thirty-Five

"perhaps this is something we should discuss with the telepaths on board, if any wish to volunteer or... have any suggestions for ways to reduce the risk?" Armin suggested, he cuddled Luna just a bit closer.

"Yes, we need someone else to do it. We can't risk you," Vestia told Starr. She was with Armin on this. "A skilled telepath, and as strong a shield as your people can set up. And then we cross our fingers it's enough. We just don't know what this demon is capable of, and we need to be very careful."
She considered, "I think it's likely that the star dragons are the best telepaths for the job, but I suppose there are a few others available. Kay's out of the running though, Esk refuses to have him in his head."

~~
"You'll have to find out when I make it!" Ellie said, smiling back.

"As are the kids, Silence and Ivor. They are strong telepaths, but I wouldn't want them traumatized by this." Starr said.

~~~
Shane chuckled and nodded "I can't wait to see it."

Armin nodded. He was worried and scared.

"Yeah, that's definitely a good idea," Vestia agreed. "Nobody who isn't mentally prepared to handle this. That leaves... not many options. I don't think we should ask Swarm to do it either." They were so fragile compared to the bigger crew members.

(Which other telepaths do we have on the ship? I'm only remembering the dragons and Tala right now)

~~
Ellie got to work on a hat for Shane.

(um... Swarm technically but they're more projection only.. uh.. Ivor, Silence, Kay, Dragons, Tala, Shane... anyone else? )

(That's all I can think of)

(Sounds right to me. And Starr and Vestia just ruled out most of them, oops?)

(lol, are we going to archive before we continue?)

Done!)

Shane made another hat while Ellie worked on his.

~~~
Starr looked to Armin and Luna then to Vetia's camera "I'll call on Omega, he's skilled." She said softly.

"All right, the only option other than him is Tala I guess," Vestia said. "Think it's worth asking her too, or should we just send Omega over to Esk?"

~~
Ellie finished Shane's hat after a while, it was a tricorn hat a bit like her own, only with lots of blue glitter. "We should probably find feathers for these, or else make foil feathers," she mused. "Foil feathers might look cool."

"Ask Tala, Esk can pick between them if she even wants to try." Starr said gently.

~~
Shane chuckled softly "Foil feathers might look great, maybe we can paint them?"

Vestia explained the situation to Tala, the risks of it, the shield Starr's people were going to set up, and the fact that Esk had agreed to have his mind searched.

Tala considered the idea for a bit, then nodded and declared that she was willing to give it a try if Esk wished her to. She understood perfectly well that Esk was going to hate this, and that he had every right to be picky about who he wanted reading his thoughts.

~~
"All right, Tala's willing to read Esk's mind if he wants. Are your guys ready to do this?" Vestia asked Starr.

~~
"Or just glitter-ify them," Ellie said cheerfully. She already had glitter in her clothes, oh dear.

Starr nodded and stood, going over to hug Luna and Armin before leaving for the brig, meeting a small group of dragons along the way.

~~~
Shane chuckled "Glitter gets everywhere." He warned playfully

"The, uh, mind reading team is coming over now," Vestia told Esk and Matt. "It's... quite a few people, sorry."

~~
"They're going to be checking Esk's mind pretty soon, just so you know," Vestia told Kay. "I don't know if you want to be there, or if Esk will even let you, but I thought you should know."

~~
Tala joined the group on the way to the brig, so they'd probably all arrive together.

~~
"I already have glitter on me, so hey, why not more? And we know it'll end up on you too whether you wear a hat or not," Ellie said with a laugh.

Kay looked worried, he nodded gratefully and headed to the brig. Whether Esk wanted him there or not, HE wanted to be there, just in case things went horribly wrong.
Was that paranoid? Oh heck yeah.
He brought sedatives.

---

Esk sighed. "Fine..."

Matt frowned. "You gonna be okay?"

"Who knows..." Esk shrugged.

Matt nodded. "I'm sorry."

Starr and the dragons would arrive with Tala. She went over to Esk and dipped her head "You have a choice, Tala or Omega to search your mind to be sure it is clear. The rest of us will try to make a shield so she cannot transfer to another."

~~~
Shane chuckled and looked at his hands, yep, covered in glitter from helping with the hats. "I just mentioned paint so they look more like feathers instead of the glitter."

Tala flicked her ears in greeting at Esk. It was getting kind of crowded in here, especially with her there.

Vestia was watching Esk carefully. Just in case.

~~
Ellie smiled at Shane. "That is a good point. We can try it on a few of them, then."

Shane grinned and went to get the paints and brushes so they could use them too.

Esk looked at them all. Perhaps it was a good thing it was fairly busy now, he didn't immediately notice Kay who hung back, clutching his tablet to his chest and keeping out of the way.

Matt struggled to his feet, resting a lot of his weight on his crutches so he could get out of their way.

"And if it fails? What's your plan?" Esk asked warily. His gaze went from face to face. Tala, or a complete stranger. Actually, a complete stranger was a better option he felt. He'd probably never have to look the guy in the face again after this.

Ellie started making foil feathers while she waited for Shane to return. She tried a few different ideas for designs, she wasn't sure how best to do this, since she'd never actually made foil feathers before.
It was fun to figure out.

~~
Tala considered Esk with some suspicion. "I think we should not tell Esk more of the plan than has been told," she said. "We do not know who is listening." She was suspicious about this.

Shane returned with a box of craft supplies, setting them all on the table. "Here we are, a bunch of supplies for us."

~~~
"Right, we know the plan, you simply must choose who you want to check for her." Starr said softly.

Esk sighed. Tala had a point. "Fine..." He pointed to the guy he didn't recognised. " How do we do this then?"

Starr nodded "Omega will check for her, the rest will have a shield." She said, moving to let Omega get close while the rest of them move, some shifting to make more room.