It was a day like any other - a day of classes and studying. Though Effex had technically graduated last winter, his instructors had encouraged him to take advanced courses, as he had high potential. The sun shone warmly on his sable hair and white skin as he carried a box of books from his dormitory room to the slightly smaller room that would serve as his office while he tutored high-powered young students. He could assist the newcomers in his room, but his office had one thing his bedchamber lacked - psi-shielding in the walls. Younglings who had no prior training in handling their telepathic gift were prone to being so loud that they could give the non-gifted piercing headaches. A slight tingling sensation enveloped Effex when he was a few paces from the library, and he stopped, knowing that he was being transported somewhere - it had happened before without warning when some young gifted made an error. When the tingling faded away, Effex cast his mind for Ragis (a doubly gifted young man who could teleport any thing or anyone from anywhere) as he looked about. Failing to find Ragis shocked him, but not so much as the bright blue sky. The sky was always purple in the daytime at home - which surely meant he'd been transported to another planet, with only his box of books for company. Effex set the box down on the lush verdant turf, and looked around. Nothing but trees and grass and clouds for miles. He sat down beside the box and flipped off the plasticized lid. Once they found the gifted who transported him, they could fetch him home again, and the closer he was to ground zero, the easier it would be. Selecting a book at random, Effex sprawled out on the grass and began to read. By luck, he'd chosen one of the driest texts he owned - a scientific work delineating how to identify a gifted the hard way - the easy way, obviously, was employing a strong enough gift to identify a gift in another individual. Not knowing how long his retrieval would take, Effex resolved to read the text through. By the time he neared the end of the third chapter, the sunlight had dimmed considerably, and then, with sharp wet splats, large raindrops fell onto the open book. Effex wiped them off quickly with his soft shirt sleeve and placed his book back in the box, deftly closing and latching it. No need to destroy the books, even the dull ones. The rain began to fall faster, and a quick look heavenward informed the transient gifted that this would be no sunshower. Without as much as blinking, the young man transformed into a sable-marked ferret and climbed into the box through the hand hold. Nestled in amongst his volumes, Effex-the-ferret allowed the drumming of the rain to lull him to sleep. * * * Dellin concentrated carefully, picturing the purple ball on the table before him, and then the green basket halfway across the room. His amber eyes were half closed and he watched an imaginary purple sphere make the journey the ball was supposed to take. The ball quivered, rose slightly off the table and then a sharp sound shattered the boy's concentration, and he 'dropped' the ball and watched it bounce once and fall off the table. It did not reach the floor before it shimmered and reappeared motionless on the tabletop before Dellin. Try again. The mental voice of Instructor Ragis said calmly. Clear your mind and then levitate the ball. Dellin exhaled sharply. Wasn't that what he was doing?! Jaw clenched, the dark skinned lad forced the ball to float above the tabletop by sheer willpower alone. Alas, when he tried to move the orb horizontally, it fell from his mental grasp to the floor. Float it, Dellin. Don't try to throw it into the basket. Ragis said calmly. Dellin looked towards the wall, the aftereffect of staring at the ball on the table creating a yellow orb on blue. "I'm trying!" Dellin snapped, standing up. The whipcrack of his gift caused a sable-haired man near the library to vanish, which wouldn't have been quite so bad if Dellin hadn't vanished as well. * * * The rain poured down over the blue and scarlet wings of the dragoness Eeppoth, drenching her rider. I like rain. the female blue said absently. "I do too - except when I have to wear it." Gem half snarled. I'd jump back to VellaCrean, but the chill between is bad for baby. Eeppoth gently reminded her rider, who'd become pregnant as a result of her blue's second flight. She didn't mind, considering that she and Red and been trying anyway. "I know." Gem said, looking at the ground ahead. "What's that white thing?" Looks like a box. Eeppoth said. It's getting wet. Should we pick it up? Gem considered briefly. "Yes, let's. We can find out who it belongs to and return it - or have it returned - after the storm." The blue slowed her speed and dropped down, backwinging gently to land before the box. Eeppoth picked it up gingerly in her forepaws, and held it close to her, springing skyward with her powerful hind legs and sweeping the wet air with her crimson wings, which would carry them back to VellaCrean. * * * Dellin stumbled slightly as he found himself on a sandy beach. The water cool and calm, the yellow sun warm. He blinked. The sun was yellow in a blue sky. The untrained gifted crumpled, and fell to the sand unconscious. He would soon realize he'd thrown himself to another world entirely.

-- Effex' Story -- Dellin's Story