The journey was a silent, psychic-fueled blur. The concrete corridors and service tunnels bled into one another, punctuated only by the sharp click of Sabrina's thoughts, which she kept mercifully to herself. Eliana, for her part, didn't struggle. She was a curious creature being led to a new, unknown exhibit. She studied the back of Sabrina's head, the tight set of her shoulders, the way her power coiled around her not like a cloak, but like a constricting snake. There was a story there, and Eliana wanted to read it.
They arrived at a door that looked identical to all the others in the residential wing, yet it felt different. The air around it was still, devoid of the psychic static of the other students. This was a place of absolute order.
The door swung open. Sabrina's room was as stark and controlled as the woman herself. A simple bed with a perfectly tucked-in grey blanket. A single, polished wooden desk with a chair. No pictures, no decorations, no personal effects. The only thing that broke the monochrome austerity was a large, window-like pane of dark, semi-translucent crystal that seemed to absorb the light.
How boring, no pictures or anything in here, Eliana thought as she judged the older woman's room. Eliana wouldn't say the out loud though, she was already in enough trouble as is. The woman let go of her with a small psychic push that sent her stumbling into the center of the room. The steel door slammed shut behind them, the lock engaging with a final, echoing thud.
Sabrina's expression tightened. She could feel the other presence, the child, stirring at the edges of her consciousness, drawn by Eliana's unfiltered interest.
Sabrina walked closer and pushed Eliana into the meditation position she had drilled into the girl by now.
Sabrina bent down to look the younger girl in the eyes,
Eliana's face scrunched up at that, not in fear, but in petulant disappointment.
Sabrina stared at her. For a long moment, the only sound in the room was the faint, almost imperceptible hum of the crystal pane. She had expected fear and resentment. She had not expected the teenager to negotiate her way out of a punishment by asking for lessons in advanced soul transmutation. But she had obviously forgotten who she was dealing with.
Eliana sighed, a dramatic, put-upon sound that would have earned a viscous correction from Sabrina had it been anyone else. Eliana had already figured out that she had a few privileges compared to the normal person. The teenager also knew that Sabrina wouldn't be fooled by her acting but it was worth it to try anyways.
Sabrina waved her hand and Alakazam popped into the room.
Alakazam nodded and Eliana suddenly felt her belt get much lighter, she stared unhappily at the other two. Alakazam popped back out of the room and Sabrina looked down at her,
Eliana briefly thought about mentioning that she hadn't been alone in there but thought against it. Why would she stop her Pokémon from getting stronger? Maybe by the time this week was over Staryu would've learned Ice Beam and she could evolve it.
So Eliana sat still, her back straight, her hands resting on her knees. She closed her eyes, but her mind was racing. Usually she and her Pokémon would be stuck in the main mediation room with Alakazam. The meditation room was a annoying, but at least it wasn't unexplored territory. Now she was stuck in Sabrina's room until further notice.
She could feel Sabrina's presence, a cold, watchful sentinel outside her mental walls. Eliana sighed quietly, at least Alakazam let their minds wander occasionally, Sabrina would never let that happen.
Eliana didn't fight the discipline Sabrina had taught her. She embraced it, sinking into the depths of her own consciousness, a silent, shadowy ocean. The surface was calm, placid, the picture of a obedient student. But below, in the dark, unseen depths, she was exploring, experimenting. She replayed the memory of the dollhouse, not with emotion, but with a cold, analytical precision. She deconstructed the psychic energy signature, tracing the patterns, the flows, the intricate web of power that held the souls captive. She was a child who had been told not to touch the stove, and was now meticulously analyzing the blueprints for the entire house, just to understand how the heat worked.
Sabrina sat at her desk, watching Eliana. She could feel the girl's mind, a perfectly still pool on the surface. She suspected that the girl wasn't truly meditating but she wouldn't step in just yet. Sabrina turned back to the papers she had laid out, and Eliana subtly opened an eye trying to see what Sabrina was doing. Finding no luck, she went back to meditating.