querulus | Etraya

/Ah./

[Color him unsurprised.

Aaaanyway.]

/Any idea how far out Solmara is? Gets a little fuzzy for me outside this bubble crap, buuuut if I patch you into my psychic network I should be able to use your brain to create a feedback loop and amplify the signal. You want any tracking data on any of your squad there? Comms, shared knowledge database, any of that?/

It’s off world. Another planet like Etraya.

( As for the other stuff, there’s a blip of gentle frustration regarding it because what. )

I can handle keeping track of everyone there. It’s staying connected with you here on Etraya I’m looking to do. I don’t even know what a link is. But I’m guessing it’s different from chatting like this.

/Look, what you're doing right now, it's pinpointing my psychic signature and opening up a channel, right? But this stupid shield around the city creates interference. And then add in the whole "off-world" distance thing? Well, now you really gotta clench your kegels, yeah? Pain in the ass to find any minds through all that shit. That is, unless you've got a pre-existing, uninterrupted connection to hang onto. With me so far?/

So you want us to... what? Establish a connection with one another?

( Quentin is... his friend, sure, but. It's still not anything he's done before with another. )

/Yeah?? Why'd you say it like that? It's a psychic connection, not a promise ring, buddy./

[Quentin's blaming Sophie for this shit. He has no proof. But he's blaming her anyway.]

/Anyway, we're not establishing anything. I've already got a psychic network using my brain as its main hub. Got it routed through my autonomous nervous system, so it's self-sustaining and runs continuously without needing me to babysit it. I can just patch you in. Like I said. Easy peasy./

( His choosing to come to Quentin about this was his idea, so. )

What if I short-circuit you by accident or something?

( This isn't him trying to say he's ~so powerful~. It's more a legit concern since his mind has a way of doing things even when he's asleep. )

/You won't./

[There's nothing but unwavering certainty in Quentin's voice. Partly because he's confident in his own abilities and defenses, but also... Nate just needs to hear it.]

( Hm. There's a moment of quiet on his end. )

Alright. What else does it involve?

[Quentin supports his bro, okay!!]

/What, patching you in? Or the network in general?/

Both.

( Because he might as well get it all. )

/Patching you in? Easy. Couple seconds of coding, and you're in. I can do it now, if you want. I guess you could, I dunno, try downloading it out of my head. Or something. But honestly, not sure if that'd even work and I kinda don't want you breaking my shit. No offense./

[Sorry, Nate. Quentin tries his best not to throw shade. But on the other hand like 15 minutes ago Nate didn't know what a psychic link was, so...]

/Network itself? Well, first off let's talk signal. Specifically, the amplification thereof. No clue if I'll be able to maintain a steady connection on my own until you get there, but I'd rather be prepared. You think you can figure out how to give me a boost?/

A boost? Sure. I can try.

( He means telepathically, right? Shouldn't... be too hard to do. )

[How... reassuring.]

/You, uh. You want me to patch you in and you see if you can like. Feel it or whatever?/

( This is really his first time ~playing with another telepath~ ok. )

Yeah. Let's see what happens. Got my fingers and toes crossed.

/Well, I've got another telepath on my team back home, and she'd definitely tell me if it was annoying or whatever. Probably with knives. Ninjas, am I right? Anyway. Hold still, you might feel a little pinch, aaaand there./

[Nate is obviously in a different tier than Kwannon, but that shouldn't matter too much. Probably. Regardless, Quentin's done this several times before, so the process is relatively simple and practiced. He reaches out and deftly stitches a bit of code in Nate's mind, a persistent yet relatively unintrusive presence in the back of his head.]

/All good so far? Not feeling any short-circuity kinds of urges?/

[He's joking! Mostly.]

( His mind is... unpredictable at times. It helps in keeping him safe — alerts him to the intrusion of others and attempts made to toy with him, but. As both Forge and Sinister had brought up, it's his lack of control that often sees his mind being the one calling the shots rather than himself, though he's been making attempts at finding the means to control his own impulses. At really centering himself within the noise and chaos and working with it rather than against it.

So when Quentin goes and does what he needs to, he makes a conscious effort to be aware of this — to tell himself that this is ok and it's just Quentin. Therefore, no being caught off guard and feeling the need to throw the other telepath against the mental walls. Or, you know, through them. )

Is that... it?

/Is that it—dude, it's a complex telepathic subroutine specially designed by yours truly to be as efficient, minimally invasive, and low-maintenance as possible. You have any idea how long it took to figure this shit out? I mean not that long, because I'm a genius, but still. This ain't your grandpa's telepathy, this is cutting-edge shit. One of a kind. So, you know, a little respect, okay?/

[Appreciate his nerdy shit, Nate! Nobody else does :( ]

( Wow. Talk about touchy. )

I meant is that all you need to do? You don't need me to do anything aside from the boost?

/Oh./

[Yep, that's it. Just "oh."]

/Yeah, that's about it. Work smart, not hard. I mean, technically it'd be easier if I commandeered some of your gray matter myself to supply any needed amplification , but hey. Teamwork makes the dream work and all that crap, right? See if you can track the signal from that macro I installed in your head back to the source. By which I of course mean me. Tell me if it seems like something you could, you know, add some extra oomph to if you had to./

( Listening to Quentin explain it all it's... difficult to understand, really. Nate being one so used to just doing, it takes him a moment to figure out what the other's going on about before he just... focuses and with that focus comes a sudden fireworks display of TK that practically lights up the connection between them. Well, there's the boost he wanted, right? )

How's that?

/Mm, zesty! Like licking a battery. Not exactly what we're going for here, but you know what? I appreciate the effort./

[Is that a little patronizing? Maybe. But look, there's only so much you can expect from Quentin. He's doing his best.]

/Telepathy, it's frequencies. Wavelengths, yeah? Try to feel mine and, you know. Match it. Would this be easier if you downloaded how to do it out of my head? You know how to download specific shit, yeah?/

( Why are you annoying, Quentin?? But he huffs and rolls his eyes before he goes about crossing his arms there. )

No. I can do it.

( And he does, it just… feels like a punch to the head when he does. Not on purpose. Just Nate coming in hard with his abilities because, you know, he’s a little frustrated and what happens when a telepath is in their feels? Stuff like this. But he has a control on it and doesn’t give Quentin a splitting headache after the initial punch there. He lines up his own frequency to Quentin’s, like slotting a piece of a puzzle into place. )

How's that?

[Look, Quentin? Isn't going to complain that much about the brain punch. He knows he's not great at the explaining part of this or at encouraging in general, and he also, you know. Talks Like That. There is a very distinct psychic impression of an OOF from his end, though.]

/Bingo! I never doubted you./

[Have a telepathic thumbs up, Nate. That'll definitely help the "annoying" thing.]

( There’s a moment of concern with the oof there, but. Quentin seems to be ok, so. Moving on, he tests the strength of their connection - stretches it as he might a rubber band and lets himself get used to how it feels. How it feels to be connected to another like this. )

Are either one of us capable of severing this? Or is it only you?

[Whatever Nate is doing over there feels a little weird, but mostly because of how the hub on Quentin's side is rooted in his subconscious. Like something poking at his funny bone. Whatever, Nate's figuring his shit out, so he gets a pass.]

/Hmm... No clue! The other telepath on my team probably isn't strong enough to break my shit even if she wanted to, and she's never tried anyway. You, though? Dunno. Can't be broken from the outside, though. Chuck tried.

Of course if I go offline so does the whole network. Offline meaning KO'd, not just asleep./

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