Over the course of the next week, Kinson spent his free time meditating. It might have been his imagination, but it seemed to be getting a little easier. After a particularly strenuous practice, Kinson looked up to find Trevor staring at him.
"Why are you meditating so much all of a sudden? I've never seen you do it before," Trevor asked curiously.
Instantly, Kinson's mood soured.
"Those idiots at the university literally never even mentioned that I should meditate to practice! Apparently, due to my background and psionic talent, they never even assumed I could amount to anything more than a class 1, so why bother?" he said. "I've never really seen you meditate, so it never even occurred to me that I should do the same."
"Oh, that's because we typically do it in our advanced studies. The vast majority of students that are capable of attending at Titan usually automatically qualify to enter their chosen program, so we don't practice much," Trevor explained. "I just thought you did it while we were there."
"Man, this is a mess," Kinson sighed. "But at least I know why I'm still in class 1."
"Well, it's not like you can get stronger by breathing."
"Whatever. From this point onward, I'm going to be practicing over time! No more slacking for me!" Kinson said.
"Okay, but don't forget to take breaks too. If you work yourself too much in training, it could have negative consequences. I heard that a fourth year student did that, and ended up permanently crippling himself. I don't know if he can even manage to use his ability, right now," Trevor warned.
"Wait, there was something like this too? Man, she didn't even mention that part," Kinson felt a headache coming.
"Who's she? Someone special?" Trevor grinned.
"No, just this girl I work with. She's the class 7 I was telling you about. Her name's Kael," Kinson explained quickly.
"Hmm, I'll have to keep a close eye on this development," Trevor muttered.
"What was that?" Kinson asked.
Trevor shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'm headed off to get some practice in myself."
"Okay, have fun doing your telekinetic thing." Kinson waved goodbye.
He stood as Trevor walked out the door. That guy was probably right. There's no reason to stress too much about practicing. Even if getting injured was a low chance, it was better safe than sorry.
Distracted by these thoughts, Kinson almost missed a phone call. It was a number he didn't recognize.
"Hello?" he answered in a pretty neutral tone.
The man on the other end answered almost immediately. "Yes. This is Griffon. There's been a little bit of a change, and we need to talk. Are you free right now?"
"Uh, yeah. I just finished meditating, so I don't have much to do before bedtime. Where are you at?" Kinson responded after taking a glance at his phone's time.
"I'm outside your dorm. See you soon," came a rather startling reply.
Kinson put his phone down, feeling a little unsettled. They had just talked earlier in the day at the BPI building, so what happened in the meantime? He went to the window, and saw a familiar face outside. Griffon was looking around the passage, as though on guard against something.
He opened the door and called out a greeting. "Hey Griffon! Would you like to come in? No one else is home."
"Sure, why not. I can't stay long though, I have a few more contacts to make." Griffon walked in, having to duck under the doorframe.
Kinson showed him to the couch, then sat down across from him on a kitchen chair. "Sorry about the mess. What's up?"
Griffon looked around, confusion apparent on his face. "Mess? This place is basically spotless compared to my room back in the day," Griffon laughed.
"Oh really? I never expected you to be a messy kind of guy," Kinson nodded, feeling relieved.
"People change. After the army, it was hard to return to the same lifestyle. War does things to you, things you can't forget," Griffon said quietly.
The atmosphere turned a little strange. "Oh, sorry about that," Kinson apologized awkwardly.
"Haha, no worries. But, that's sort of related to why I'm here, actually," Griffon said lightly.
"Huh?" Kinson's heart beat faster. "War?"
"Nah, just danger. Are you aware of the situation with the space pirates?" Griffon asked.
Kinson nodded. "Yeah, I've seen the news a few times. According to what I heard this morning, the government still isn't sure what they are gathering about, but it can't be good."
Griffon leaned forward, looking right into his eyes. "That's not entirely true. They might be here for you."
Kinson felt a shock go through him. That couldn't be right. "No way! What are you even trying to say?' he said, feeling defensive for some reason.
"Don't get so worked up about it. Do you remember how I mentioned that information about our group had leaked? Well, one of my sources claims that these pirates might be trying to act on that information," Griffon casually stretched.
"Really? Doesn't that mean we're in danger, then?" Kinson found himself struggling to adjust to this development.
"That pretty much covers it," Griffon nodded.
"Shoot. That's pretty intense. It's a little exciting, to be honest," Kinson said.
Griffon's eyebrows shot up. It was his turn to be unable to adjust to the situation.
"Didn't I just tell you pirates are after you? Wouldn't you normally be a little scared?" he asked in amazement.
"Not really. When mars fell, I came face to face with death itself. I only saw it for a few moments, but that was enough. Its horrifying gaze is seared into my memories forever, and I shake just thinking about it. How could something like pirates compare to the nightmares?" Kinson explained matter of factly.
"Man, you'd make a great soldier," Griffon muttered. "But that's besides the point. As it stands, you're basically useless in a fight. That girl, Kael, is about the same. As such, I'll be staying close to here in case something happens. I've called you, so you have my number. If anything happens, feel free to get a hold of me," Griffon expressed.
"Okay, I'll do that. But isn't there an easier solution?" Kinson asked.
"Is there? It's not really that hard for me to move, though. I've done it dozens of times," Griffon rubbed his chin.
"No, not that. Why don't you just teach me how to fight?" Kinson felt rather excited about this. He could roll up to school and show off a few moves to everyone. If that didn't impress the girls, what would?
"Hmm," Griffon thought about it. "Were you bullied as a kid?"
"What?" Kinson was dumbfounded. Where did that come from?
"Alright. I'll consider it, and check with the boss. Thinking about it, it wouldn't be a bad thing for you to be able to hold your own. After all, if you manage to get serious about the deathdream, and end up encountering something while accidentally walking, you might die if you're not prepared," Griffon concluded.
Kinson gulped. He had never even considered that. He couldn't help but recall the evaluation deathdream, where he stood in the shoes of Richard, a Vietnam soldier. If he actually entered a deathdream, he would likely come face to face with danger every step.
"Yeah, I'd rather not die."
"Okay then. That's a good suggestion, one I'll follow up with Andres about. Anything else before I go?" Griffon asked.
Kinson shook his head. "No, I don't think so."
He showed Griffon out the door, then quickly saved his number as a contact. As he sat back down, he suddenly felt a lot less confident about deathdreaming. Just how real was the danger presented there? He wished there was someone he could ask, but no one seemed to have the answers.