Cecil immediately begins thinking, instead of in English, in an obscure dialect spoken only by a single village of tree-dwelling humanoids on some planet that only existed in the universe of one of his previous lives.

Until he has a better idea of what is going on, this is probably the only defense he has against telepathy.

Ginger quickly stops what she is doing, opening her physical eyes as she closes her mental ones, and blocking her face with her arms. "I'm sorry!" she calls desperately to Harry. "I didn't know it was there!"


"I wasn't trying to use my powers on any person," she retorts, both annoyance and hurt evident in her tone. "I was just trying to get a feel for the area and our situation, and..." She pauses, feeling somewhat flustered. "The point is, I wasn't targeting any person that I knew to be present. Of course I wouldn't do that to a friend without permission. I just didn't expect there to be... uh, something else present." She peeps cautiously at Harry (as she's currently rather afraid to look at him), trying to gauge from his expression (and his expression only) whether he would be offended by her sharing more detail about what she saw.

"It was a bear, wasn't it?" Pretty asks Ginger, "I knew it! The man looks like a bear man, am I wrong? Alrighty then, all to town who's going to town!" Pretty hops off his staff and points it towards wherever Beorn pointed.

"Well that was a lot of hullabaloo about nothing," the Lady says, flicking hair out of her eyes. "Though you DID pester our host a bit, Ginger."

She thinks for a moment.

"If you can read minds, or something like it, can you capture a picture of a place from someone else? A very specific picture, mind. And then drop it into someone else's head?"

"I could try," she replies. "I'd need two volunteers: one to conjure a picture and one for me to plant it in. And I'd want to step a few paces away from our host," she adds timidly. "I don't want to be a nuisance."

"S'alright miss. You can tell the others. Not like I'm hiding or anything. I have him under control. He's always angry about something. You only have to worry about him when I'm angry about something, and I'm one of the most placidest... is that a word? placidest? individuals you'll ever meet. Still though, unwanted... stimulation helps to bring'm out, which is why I'm out here. Not too much stimulating about this place, eh?" He waves a hand. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it."

As you might've noticed, he's talking with a bit more of a country drawl now. He looks fine - calm - but there's a slight feeling that it is a forced calm. Much like how you would think a big boulder sitting on top of a volcanic vent would feel, if you had an odd mind and were searching for a decent metaphor.

With the bear-man's approval, Ginger tells the others what she saw. "It was... startling," Ginger continues, with an involuntary shudder. "I wasn't expecting anything like that. I guess I didn't really know what to expect, but I figured the experience would be more... well, placid." Her eyes move briefly to the bear-man again. "Yes, placid is the word. Maybe I'd see things of interest highlighted with a gentle glow, like A Beautiful Mind." She stops and tilts her head a little, realizing that she can't quite remember what A Beautiful Mind is. She seems to find it rather disconcerting to have things come out of her mouth that she can't quite explain.

She lowers her face into her hands for a few seconds, her hair falling around it like a copper curtain. Then she stands and inhales deeply. "So, does anyone want to try The Lady's proposed experiment?"

"I'll volunteer," Stocky offers. He turns to the Harry first though, "Forgive me for asking, but is that bear part of you, or a result of something else, like a curse or some such?"

"Beautiful minds have gentle glows?" asks Enver, mildly amused. Then he begins growling quietly, and lies down.



In short, he's trying to placate any angry bear spirits that may be in the area.

"The mind you'll be projecting the image in is mine," the Lady says. "So I'm the second. I'm pretty sure that I can transport myself and others to any location I wish, so long as I know where I'm going. For instance --"

The Lady disappears from her seat by the fire in a whirlwind of blue sparkles. She reappears standing next to the entrance of the large tent in a whirlwind of orange sparkles.

"That's a rush!" she says, stumbling a little, shoving the end of her spear into the ground for support. "And also, a bit tacky. Really, sparkles?

Anyway. I can't go somewhere unknown, but if it is made known to me perhaps I can get there. So, Stocky, if you can give Ginger an image of somewhere quite open, a VERY open space, we can see what I can do or not do. If I reach the location safely, I'll be back in a shake. If not, well, on to the next life, I suppose."

"You sure you wanna go somewhere I'd dream up?" Stocky says with a grin. "Too bad my options in this world are kinda limited."

Stocky's face develops a glare of deep concentration.

"You're welcome to start whenever you're ready," he says after a moment.

Ginger closes her eyes and concentrates. This time, she makes sure to avert her mental gaze from the bear. She focuses on Stocky's mind, and finds it receptive. She searches for the image he offers and finds it. The openness of Stocky's mind to her grants her full access to the image. It's more than just visual: it's the sum of all Stocky's sensory input from that place and his feelings while he was there. She gets the impression that she would even know if he was suffering indigestion at the time, and finds the whole experience a little overwhelming. However, she retains control of herself, and having acquired the image, she then turns her attention to The Lady and attempts to transmit it to her.

The kid is an absence in Ginger's senses. It is as if he doesn't exist.

It takes a moment for Ginger to sort through Stocky's memories - eventually she figures out the trick (or perhaps remembers the trick?) of skimming to recent memories. She does note however, there's a darkness hovering far in the back of Stocky's mind - the memories that they all have locked away.

The Lady does indeed receive the image quite nicely. Still though, the details only go so far. Barring spending a long time in a particular place, it's hard to have all of the information - the minor details fade from the memory. It's enough, however, for her to recognize the location and make the attempt to teleport there, if she wishes.

Meanwhile, Harry shakes his head. "The only curse it cames from is my own. Just punishment, so to speak. A bit of a lesson, to teach me control over my anger." He holds up a hand and flexes it into a fist.

Enver gets the vague sense - more of a feeling really - of a disdainful snort coming from a bear's nose.

Feeling the image land safely in Ginger's mind--the essential bits, at least--she relaxes and opens her eyes again. She walks back over to the fire and sits, taking a few deep breaths.