This character is just in the works, so this is.. testing topic basically. Not entirely sure if I'll keep her or not. We'll see. Anyone is welcome to join!
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I don't know my name, where I came from, or even how old I am. I don't know who you are, who they are, or even who I am. I know nothing, not of my past, nor the present and forget the future. I'm here, all by myself and with nowhere to go.

A small girl wandered on the outskirts of town, making very slow progress to the giant walls that held the city within them. The sun was going down and the night was becoming cold. The girl had nothing but what appeared to be torn rags and a big jacket on. Her hair was messy, her face with dirt on it, and no shoes.

The girl continued toward the city.

This character is also in the works, so we'll see how this goes.

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Ugh, where is he... if I don't find him soon, I'll be in trouble and probably just have to quit...

The boy didn't like to think about that, but then, even thinking that was preferable to focusing and hearing everything that was going on around him. He glanced around, keeping his thoughts active as he walked through the cold streets.

Not here... not here... and it didn't help that he was small enough to get jostled around by all the adults that seemed to come by. He bumped around, muttering apologies here and there, trying to stay away and trying incredibly hard not to lose his train of thoughts.

But glimpses of them still came through. Usually nothing comprehensible, and nothing really interesting or threatening towards him... that is, until one thought came through to him, loud and clear.

I don't know my name, where I came from, or even how old I am. I don't know who you are, who they are, or even who I am. I know nothing, not of my past, nor the present and forget the future. I'm here, all by myself and with nowhere to go.

He paused, and looked towards the source of the wandering thought. A little girl... and she looked as feeble and helpless as her thoughts seemed to suggest.

His own problems defunct for the moment, he walked towards her, following her calmly for the time being.

Now that the girl was in the city she stood out considerably. Her clothes marked her an outsider and the fact that she stopped dead in her tracks to stare at the swarms of people in the streets was a dead give away she wasn't from around there.

Where is this place?

The girl's eyes jolted from place to place, desperately looking for something that would familiarize her to her wherabouts. There was nothing that caught any attention to the girl, her eyes eased and she only lost herself in thought as as the crowds of people rushed by in front of her.

What happened... How did I get here? Where did I come from.. or have I always been here? Do I have a family? Parents, siblings, cousins, pets? Why can't I remember..

The thoughts that were not his own stood out clearly in his mind, nonetheless. He tried to focus on the image of the girl before her, blocking out the incoming thoughts from elsewhere. None of them were particularly interesting, anyway.

But this girl was. He wasn't a very good psion, but he had methods of looking into memories. But when he tried with her, to see if he could help... there was nothing there. She either had suffered some immense trauma to keep them hidden... or they simply didn't exist in the first place.

Which couldn't happen, could it?

Curious now, he continued to follow, not even realising that he wasn't being stealthy at all.

The girl wandered aimlessly into the sea of people, her pace remarkably slow compared to the upbeat and busy city. Her face stayed blank and her eyes fixated only to what was in front of her. Shoulders bumped her as she walked past the people and the small girl only continued through the busy streets.

I don't understand. I don't know anything. Everyone looks so.. so.. I don't know. Everything is so busy, there's so many people. Has it always been like this? Is it.. SUPPOSED to be like this? Am I.. am I even supposed to be here?

The girl stopped in the middle of the crowd and looked up to the sky. Her eyes became watery. Thump! The girl fell to the ground, scraping her hands to break her fall. A man had walked into her.

Am I supposed to even exist..?

The girl's eyes stared at the cold stone that lay under her. A single tear fell from her eye.

The boy had managed to sidestep the apparently egotistical man, but the girl hadn't been as lucky. Seeing her sprawled on the ground, and hearing her thoughts as they were, the boy sighed.

I'm going to get in trouble for this...

He knelt down beside her and offered his hand to help her up. "Hey, don't cry. Are you hurt?"

The girls eyes widened as the voice spoke beside her. Quickly she rubbed her tear-filled eyes and turned her head to look at him. Her eyes averted from his but she shook her head no in response to his question.

Who is this boy.. why is he helping me..

The boy smiled, though he was instinctively wary... he couldn't say anything to arouse her suspicions. He didn't know how she'd take to a psion... but many people considered him a serious privacy problem and immediately shunned him.

"Good, it looked like a nasty fall. Where are you going?"

The girl pulled herself from her fallen position to a sitting one. She stared at the ground and pondered his question for a few minutes before looking to him.

"I don't know. Where is this?"

In that time while waiting, the boy had sat down with her, studying her curiously and trying out of politeness not to hear her thoughts.

"They call this city Mednis. It's, well, it's nothing special... but it's home." He smiled a little, trying not to scare her or worry her.

"Med..nis."

I've never heard that name before... I don't .. I don't know.

The girl looked at the boy sitting next to her, wondering why he was helping her. She turned her head to look at the people who were walking around them. They were in the way of everyone.

"Maybe we should move.."

"Yeah... that would be a good idea." He looked around quickly, and then held out his hand to help her out again. "Come on, I know somewhere where you can rest. It's close by."

... why does he want to help me, he doesn't even know me.

The girl pondered for a second and then put her hand out to him, allowing him to help her up. "Alright, thank you."

He stood and gently helped her up, taking her hand a little longer to lead her out of the main street and into a side street before letting go. "It's just a few streets from here."

He started walking, checking back over his shoulder to see if she was coming. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt ya!"

The girl stopped at the entrance of the alley to examine it before entering. She stepped forward slowly. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt ya!" the boy's voice echoed.

I'm not so sure... Why do I have this feeling that.. I can trust him..

To catch up the girl ran up to him and slowed her pace to a walk beside him. "Where are we going?"

"I live in this city, though I don't really live anywhere in particular. My guardian keeps a place nearby where I'm supposed to meet him shortly, though. There we can get you some food and clothes and a bed if necessary."

He smiled warmly at her, thankful to hear that her thoughts were trusting. It wasn't every day he got to help someone out.

The girl stopped in her tracks, raising her arms and looking upon the clothes that wore her. I suppose these aren't normal.. She looked at the boy and studied what he was wearing. Not even close.

The girl dropped her arms and blinked, realizing she didn't even know the boy's name. "What's.. your name?"

"I'm called Beck." He gave her a grin. "Not much of a name, but it's mine and I'm happy with it."

He knew that she didn't know her own name - her thoughts had said so. But appearances were appearances. "What's yours?"

The girl looked at Beck, her eyes hollow. "I.. I don't know." She looked away from him and continued to walk slowly.

What.. IS me name? Camas? Amelia? Natalie? Tamill? ...why can't I remember.

"You don't?" Beck made a mock frown, then grinned instead. "Well, that's okay... that gives you the freedom to choose whatever name you want for yourself until you remember. That could be interesting, and then that name could be special to you!"

He led her onward. "Why don't you think about it and pick one for yourself? I don't really want to call you 'girl', after all."

She looked at Beck and managed a small but hidden smile. Is it normal for people to be sweet to strangers? "I'm not really sure what kinds of names would suit me, really. I don't know many.."

The girl frowned, something obviously bugging her. She turned to Beck, her big green eyes staring at him. "What's your favourite name?"

"Mine? Well, I don't usually think of names to be honest..." Beck thought for a moment, still walking. "I kinda like the name Elise, though. It sounds pretty nice."

The girl's worried face softened and she turned to the ground trying to hide a smile. Her dirty hair fell in front of her face and she had her hands tucked in the over-sized jacket.

Elise..

She looked to him with a hint of excitement. "My name will be Elise then!" she smiled. "I like it too.."

Beck laughed a little. "Glad you like it. Alright then, nice to meet you, Elise!" He grinned, though stopped at a door in another alley that they'd reached. He put his hand up the doorknob, held it motionless for a moment, then there was a click and the door opened.

Within was a very small house... only two small rooms with a bathroom hidden away. It was cluttered, but clean. Beck stepped in, leading Elise inside. "Here we are, one of my guardian's boltholes."

Elise walked in cautiously, peering behind her shoulder while shutting the door behind her. She stepped in, looked down at the door mat and stayed in place realizing she had no shoes and her feet were dirty.

.. it's nice in here. It feels like.. like..

Elise's head drooped and she stared down at her mucked up feet, her dirty clothes and eyed the hair that fell in front of her face as she sulked. I hope this is safe.. I hope I'm not getting myself into trouble, but I have no one to trust.. I have.. no one.

Elise looked up at Beck to see what he was up to. "It's nice."

"You don't have to be polite about it... it's a bit of a dump." Beck laughed as he moved to one room, fiddling with something in there for a moment before stepping out. "But it's the closest I've got to a home, so it's pleasant enough."

He gestured to the bathroom, hearing her thoughts as she studied the dirt on her. "You can clean up in there if you want... I'll find you some clothes and some shoes and stuff. Or food. Are you hungry? Thirsty, maybe?"

Elise blinked at Beck, she smiled and stepped in. It was obvious to even a blind man that she was nervous, constantly looking around and not saying much. How did I manage to stumble across someone so willing to help..

"Thank you." Elise took note of the bathroom and before making her way to it she looked over her shoulder again. Now standing at the door to the bathroom she smiled.

"I'm a little hungry, but I would rather have a shower first.." Elise paused, looking at her feet again. "Clothes would be nice, thank you so much. You don't have to go to all this trouble, really.."

"Sure. I'll see if I can find something." Beck paused. "Hope you don't mind a boy's clothes, because that's kind of all I have..." He laughed a little bit. "The shower is just in there, so call out when you need the clothes and I'll stick them through the door."

He smiled, then quickly turned and busied himself with making the place slightly more presentable. He moved quickly and surely, as if he knew the small hovel perfectly.

Elise nodded, turned and made her way to the bathroom. She looked to the mirror, her green eyes staring back at her. Her hair was an absolute mess, it looked like a bird's nest on top of her head. Sighing she dropped the coat from her shoulders and let her clothes fall on the ground.

I shouldn't be trusting him. He's a stranger who picked me off the streets.. but.. but for some strange reason I feel that I can.

The shower turned on.

I don't know..

Beck continued working, cleaning up here and there but mostly just ordering the clutter a little more. In his travels, he picked up some clothing that looked about the right size for Elise... some older clothes of his, and clean too.

Satisfied, he moved over to the kitchen and got himself a glass of water. Only then did he stop to think about what he was doing. He was just a young man with minor psionics, yet he'd randomly taken a strange girl under his wing and started helping her. Sure, her thoughts had sounded needy, but... given that he was used to clinging to survival in the busy city of Mednis, it wasn't something that one would consider typical.

No matter. His guardian would likely have something to say about it all, when they got back.

Elise finished up in the shower and now stood at the door of the bathroom. "Umm.. Beck." Her voice was soft at first and then a little louder. "I'm ready for those clothes if you found them."

I feel like such a burden..

"Thank you for all this again!"

Beck was startled from his thoughts by her words... and her thoughts, once more. He quickly gathered up the clothes and tapped on the door, opening it just a crack and holding the clothes up to it.

"There you go. I'm looking away, I promise!" He did look away too. "And don't worry about it. I don't have much, but you're free to share it."

Elise jumped a bit at the sign of the door opening, she giggled as she took the clothes from Beck. "I trust you. Thank you so much, these are perfect. A lot better than those smelly clothes."

Elise gently closed the door and quickly dressed. Reappearing in the kitchen area where Beck now was she wore a baggy white flannel shirt and some over sized black pants. Her sleeves were rolled up and the collar still sticking up, it was quite clear that beneath the clothes was quite a tiny girl.

"Hi."

Beck wasn't an overly large person himself, so seeing how Elise was practically swallowed up by the clothes made him blink in surprise. "Hi. If that's, um, too big, I can look around for something else. There's bound to be something a little more to your size in here..."

No sooner had he said that than he was rummaging through the hovel again.

Elise waved her hands as she walked toward him. "No, no, no! It's OK! This way I can bundle up and tomorrow I guess I'll be going to the market." She smiled slightly and then looked away in embarrassment.

Elise only stood about 5' and looked to weigh no more than 90 lbs. Her hair, still wet, dirty blonde and only dusted her shoulders. With the dirt off her face it showed a girl with fair skin that had a slight golden tint to it.

Beck hesitated, then put back down the items he'd lifted up and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry... force of habit, I suppose. Always running around for my guardian and all."

He took a moment to study her, taking in her features quickly. He wasn't very big either, somewhat thin, though he looked fit and healthy despite that. He stood only a couple of inches taller than Elise, and his skin was pale. In constrast, his hair was very dark, and his eyes were a dark brown too. He wasn't overly handsome, but he seemed bright and cheerful.

Elise noticed his eyes taking note of her, she blushed slightly but did only the same. I'm so lucky to have come across him.. I would still be in the streets if it wasn't for him.

"That's alright. You're guardian?" Elise questioned.

Beck smiled, though it was more at her silent thought than any memory of his guardian. "Yeah. I'm an orphan, no parents, but I got picked up from an orphanage by my guardian when I was little. He has a few places throughout the city that he frequents, a few of them places like this, and I tend to stay at this one. I just keep it all running while he does attends to his business, and I keep him company."

He failed to mention that he'd been singled out for adoption because of his minor psionic abilities, and his guardian's interest in that... but that wasn't really important.

An orphan..

Elise listened carefully to Beck's story. "I see. It must've been nice to have someone take you in." She smiled softly. Elise then turned and made her way to a tall book case, she looked in amazement at all of the books.

I wonder if I'm an Orphan... or if I have parents, or had parents.. I can't remember anything.

Beck got back to fixing up the place, though there wasn't that much to do. It was simply a matter of keeping himself occupied so that he couldn't really hear Elise's thoughts.

"You're free to any of those books," Beck said to her as he moved to the kitchen. "What's in them is varied, but you might find some interesting. Can I get you anything?"