She could resist you, you know that. That’s what makes this so special. You’re ${character.name}, and you’re a telepath, a strong one. The minds of most people are open books, to you. You can read their thoughts, even bend their wills to yours. It takes a conscious effort to shut them out, most of the time, a constant cacophony of mundane chatter that you ignore like conversations in a crowded room.

But she was different. You met by chance, at a meaningless party for the sort of tiresome people you normally tried to avoid. She was attractive enough, in an ordinary way: dark-haired, with piercing green eyes and a serious, intense demeanor. But when you tried to touch her thoughts, the way you always do, you met a shining wall of resistance, the natural resilience of a truly strong mind. You didn’t even know her name, until she told you herself: ${What is her name?}. You started to talk with her, really talk. Her words were intoxicating, precisely because for once, you didn’t know what she was going to say. But by some stroke of good fortune, she actually seemed attracted to you. You couldn’t be sure, couldn’t see what she was thinking, but that made it even better. You asked her out, and she accepted.

You meet her several times after that, doing the things that ordinary people do. You go to dinner, watch movies, go dancing. You take any opportunity to spend time with her, this fascinating, opaque enigma. You find yourself genuinely enjoying her company.

And then finally, she invites you in.

You’re in her small, well kept apartment, sitting beside her on the couch. Your eyes meet, and then your lips touch, and then…

And then her defenses drop, and her mind opens to yours. She’s like you, you realize. Another telepath. You feel a sudden rush of sensations, jumbled thoughts and raw emotions, as her consciousness floods into yours. Your minds merge, and you hear her inner voice for the first time, clearly in your thoughts: