Mistress Dizzy said
Kijani smiled weakly. So many doubts were spinning in her head. She was waiting for the moment that Connor would decide she was too much. Too much trouble, too much time, too weak... and then he'd be gone. She didn't say any of that, though. Instead she latched on to the last thing he'd said. "Do you have nightmares, Connor? I mean... I guess children have them, but I didn't know adults get them too. I knew I was different for having them, but... maybe I'm not?"
Connor didn't even have to hesitate before saying "I have had nightmares since that first simulation. Killing Ben when he was just calling out for help, every single time it isn't fake. It's real. When that...contagion in the simulator effected me...I didn't like it, and what's worse, I simony like not knowing what it was" he shrugged "but then I think back to that first power development class. How we were all like. Going against mimic when most of us knew nothing of how to fight. That class is a good memory for me. I knocked Mimic to the ground, and he didn't beat my ass for it. We've all grown since then. You remember after your fight with mimic-on the stairwell, you said to me that maybe if you knew anyone at the school well enough to trust with the reason behind barrier you had with your powers after I suggested opening up. Well, it's been what, six, seven months? And now I know. I didn't even know you then, yet I still offered help without you asking. Of course you wouldn't have, because you needed to be strong." He smiled slightly, "it's been seven months. And yet I'm still here. I haven't betrayed you. I did something extremely hard for you, making that proofed paper, but I did it because I wanted you to be happy. And you gave me real food. I'm not the same guy I was, for meeting you. And no matter what, I'll be eternally greatful for that. Just so long as you're happy and okay"
He'd gone off on a tangent, he realized, "uh. So no, you aren't different for having nightmares. Or maybe were both just different. I don't have the evidence to conclusively prove that"