Breaking the Silence

The trio appeared again and Weiss looked around in wonder. Never had she before experienced anything like that. “You can do that naturally?” Her eyes sat wide as she looked up at Jacob. Teleportation was a natural thing here? How? It only existed for inanimate objects on Selia. No living being could teleport like that. The Time Witch opened portals but that hardly stood as teleportation, at least in her mind. It was simply like going through a door. Going from one room to the next. This…This was legitimate teleportation for living beings. Pokémon… What incredible creatures they were. She leaned against Tyche a bit, not really able to hold her entire weight herself. She just… She hated this, but there wasn’t much she could do about it… Jacob nodded. Yes. It’s a common ability among Psychic types. Most technology stores don’t allow you to carry your own technology unless it’s small stuff like chargers or something. Do you have any idea of what you’ll be getting? She shook her head. “No… I’m not really sure what all exists here yet. I’ve only seen a few rooms. Though seeing things with physical screens is strange. All screens on Selia are hard light with touch capacities.” This world truly was incredibly primitive compared to Selia. She couldn’t understand how such primitive technologies still allowed people to get by. So strange… She craved Selian technology, but for now, her only worry stood as getting the technology. She’d just have to deal with whatever they had here… It would likely all be bulky and nowhere near as sensitive as Selian technology. But she simply had to deal with what they had here. I’ll come in with you then.  “Okay.” They went into the store, her leaning against Tyche a bit and looking around. The store stood small in comparison to large box stores on Selia. She could see sections for a lot of things, so that definitely cheered her up. A man came up, dressed in a uniform and smiled at them. “Hello. Can I help you today?” Weiss swallowed a bit but nodded. “Um, yes… I’m looking for some mobile technology that can easily be used on the go.” She just had no idea what sort of tech existed here. Almost anything could be done on a standard piece of technology called an ethis on Selia. They came in different sizes and their screens could even be adjusted if that was a built-in feature. Calls, texts, emails, and more could be handled on an ethis, though she knew she wouldn’t find one here. She would likely need more than one piece of technology to cover all of that… Annoying. Almost nobody carried large bags as ethis were such all-in-one technology. There really was no need to carry more than just that. The man blinked but nodded. “Well, we have tablets, phones, and laptops. What sort of specs do you want?” She sighed internally. She didn’t know what sort of specifications existed on this planet. What a headache. Ethis did come in different specifications, but she doubted they were the same sort that existed on this planet. She glanced at Jacob, wondering if it knew anything about what the man spoke of. Jacob’s tail curled and it spoke into both of their minds, outlining the sort of specifications they were looking for. RAM and such were so ancient that even she, as a technomancer, barely understood what they meant. Such ancient measures of technology specifications… The lighter, the better.  “Well, then, a tablet, wireless keyboard, and phone might be what you’re looking for. C’mon; let’s go,” the man said. They followed him to the sections and, over the next two hours or so, Jacob helped her weed out different types of technology and what she needed. She truly failed to need very high-end as she didn’t plan on gaming or anything like that. Games never appealed to her, but…maybe she might need a gaming laptop in the future. She truly had nothing to do at the Union. Though the prices of the gaming laptops stood monstrous compared to the cheap tablet and such she got. The phone and tablet got sent back to behind the counter while she picked out some accessories. She found a beautiful cover for the tablet that contained galaxy-style butterflies on it in shades of purple and blue. The padded sleeve contained drabber colors, but it would help protect the piece of technology. The phone case contained a cherry blossom design. She preferred blue and purple to pink, but the pastel hues commanded her attention when she saw it. She also found a messenger bag with a beautiful wave design on it. All in all, her technology truly pleased her aesthetically in a way that ethis simply couldn’t be. Despite herself, she found herself pleased and she headed to the checkout counter once she found all of her accessories. It came up below the limit and Weiss breathed a sigh of relief. Despite all the little accessories she needed, she still didn’t go over the limit. She stood glad for that, not wanting to rile Summer up. The messenger bag didn’t cost too much, but she saw more expensive options. But all she needed to carry were the tablet, phone, and the accessories. Not too much to carry, but in her weakened state, it may still be a lot of weight for her…  Don’t worry so much. Even if you were a bit over the limit, she wouldn’t have freaked out. Jacob’s voice echoed in her mind and startled her a bit. I’ve been her roommate for several decades now. She did have temper issues when she was younger, but not so much anymore. She’s had therapy since then and has spent a decent amount of time in Ecruteak City to master her powers. She’s very mindful and she definitely wouldn’t explode on you of all people. Weiss looked down as she leaned against Tyche. It’s just…hard to let go of the past several months of my life. She would likely worry about people exploding on her constantly. She had been forced into boot camp after being drafted and that set her up to be sensitive around anger. Then add in her torture… She shuddered a bit and gripped Tyche’s fur gently. The Ninetales turned her head around and looked at her, worry in those red eyes, tails shifting a bit. Do you need help? Should I attack him? Weiss shook her head. No… I triggered myself. He didn’t do anything wrong.  If you’re certain… I am. Weiss turned back to Jacob and the cashier who rung them up and handed the bag to Jacob. With the additional weight and size of the boxes, she doubted she could carry it all right now. A bare tablet would be no issue for her, but for right now…  They exited the store and Jacob held his free hand out to her, having slung the messenger bag with the technology over his shoulder. A smile sat on its face and she hesitantly placed her hand in his. Within the instant, they stood in the Ranger Union again. Come on; let’s go get these set up for you.  “Okay.” She remained leaning against Tyche and they made a short way to the library. He led her to a table and they sat down. It amused and baffled her to see things fly through the air as if attached by strings. Definitely much faster than her attempting to do it herself. He could do multiple things at once and not be limited by her own physical ails from the extended months of torture. She just… Even ‘mancers couldn’t do things like this with magic. Such a novel experience to deal with. Eventually, he sat the two pieces of technology in front of her and smiled at her. Go ahead and set them up. She took them and struggled a bit with setting them up. All of this, so unfamiliar to her. All people on Selia maintained government-assigned accounts that automatically synced with them if ever they needed to update or upgrade an ethis or any other device. No physical sign-in required. She struggled to come up with a password that she would remember that met the arbitrary requirements for these devices. And a pin? All that kept this safe was a pin? Any technomancer worth their weight would easily be able to crack through a pin in a moment. Then again, this planet didn’t have technomancers… Maybe it was enough for this world… There were psychics in this world, ones that could easily read someone’s mind… Unnerving for her, but she would have to deal with it. Not much she could do about it…  But once set up, she smiled softly and started typing. Not used to physical buttons at all, but used to the set up. Strange, that, but she wouldn’t complain whatsoever. Free access to information at the tap of a finger and digital notes… She couldn’t complain too much.  However, she did look over at Jacob after a bit. “This may be a stupid question, but how does the money system here work?” His tail curled. Ah that. It’s not too hard to understand. All regions do share the same currency, but they have different names for it depending on region. In Almia, they’re called flow coins, in Fiore they’re called peace coins, and in Oblivia they’re called guardian marks. 100 is considered the base amount, though things can go under 100. It’s not exceptionally common unless you’re in a 100 coin store, though. They exist for things like craft supplies and such.  “I see… It felt exceptionally expensive to me to be spending 30,000 on a tablet, but if 100 is the base amount, it’s not quite as much as I think it is. Unfortunately, I’m not sure of the conversion rate between ekri and your ‘flow coins’ which is frustrating.” She wished to pin it down, but there seemed no way to do so. All of this, so incredibly frustrating. She certainly stood glad that all her needs got taken care of, but still… The frustration of moving to a new world and not understanding a thing got to her. She truly just wished to live her life, though she knew that wouldn’t happen anytime soon… Not with the no doubt PTSD, possibly C-PTSD the torture infliced on her.  Do you want some time to just mess around with your technology? “I would, yes…”  I’ll leave you to it, then. If you need anything, just yell my name into the mental void and I should be able to get here pretty quickly. “Thank you.” Jacob nodded and got up, leaving her alone. She shifted her focus back to the tablet, happy to simply focus on learning this new technology and have something she’d been bereft of for so long.