((OOC: Esther's Lust has increased to 2 (1d10).  Aaand... Long post warning.  xD))<br/><br/>Amalia gave Esther's directions to the meeting place in the woods... and just in case, direction on how to find the cave, as well.  "I'll be meeting Mindy around 11.  She expects me to be alone, so I won't mention you unless you happen to show up.  Wouldn't want to get you in hot water with her, huh, Meredith?"  Amalia laughed with naive innocence.  "Anyway, if you miss the meeting, at least make sure you get to the cave by midnight!  Mindy said that part is really important..."<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Later, in the hallway.  At first, there is no response.  Just when Esther was about to give up, feeling kinda silly about the whole thing, she felt something brush against her mind.  Something... alien.  The brush was experimental, testing the waters.  Again Esther reached out... and made contact.  The meeting of... minds?... was brief, but intense.  Just for a moment Esther saw the world as the Other Thing did.<br/><br/><em>Host is conflicted / Hunger grows / Hunt again soon? / That one is a good meal / The Parasite spreads / Must contain the infection / We have been discovered / The Hunter will mark us / The Emissary is in danger / The Source is pleasant / We learn / Host will rest when the Source fades / No, Host hunts the Parasite this weak-cycle / y = 3x - 5 / Discard it, the numbers are of no use in hunting / Host seeks knowledge / WE learn</em><br/><br/>A stream of consciousness that bore no relation to how human thoughts were organized dragged Esther's mind into itself.  She saw the world not in terms of physical connection - this wall adjoins this one and they both touch the floor - but as a web of connections: This wall was painted by this person who wore these clothes and bought this shirt from this store and this person made the shirt and the pants were designed by this person and the backpack was created by this machine that was invented by this person...<br/><br/>Cold.  Cold against her face.  The floor was cold.  She was lying on the floor.  Her head hurt.  Slowly she was able to climb back to her feet.  Slowly, she pieced together her identity again - the parts of her that made her<em>Esther</em>.  It was a process that took longer than she probably liked.<br/><br/>Strangely, the experience did not entirely scare her.  It had been completely overwhelming, but at the same time there was a sense of understanding that had been lacking before.  The Other Thing was alien, yes; but<em>it was alive</em>.  It was a real, singular thing with needs and desires and hopes and fears.  She did not understand it, but she realized that she might be able to learn to.<br/><br/>((OOC: Esther's brush with the alien consciousness has strengthened her control over her powers.  She can now use Predator's Insight even if she has no Lust, although doing so has a chance to cause her to gain a point of Lust.  She can also consciously suppress the ability if she is feeling creeped out by the sudden insights into people dark secrets.  The ability will remain inactive until she consciously reactivates it.))<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Even later, in class.  Leila smiled warmly at Esther.  "Well, I just wanted you to know, you did the right thing."  She started to turn away, and then as if an afterthought glanced back.  "Hey, you wanna hang out some time?  Cynthia has a lot of good things to say about you, and I'd like to get to know you better."  The look of naive hopefulness on her face was almost painful.<br/><br/>[<strong>Predator's Insight:</strong>Leila has the weakness In Denial About Her Sexuality (2d3)]<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Paint something beautiful.  Something beautiful...  Esther tried to focus her powers on the painting, but it didn't work.  It wasn't enough.  This thing was beyond her capabilities.  No!  She wouldn't accept that.  She could do anything... Anything!  Her eyes flashed purple for a second, and she felt herself change...<br/><br/>((OOC:<strong>Rule Discovered!</strong>Esther is undergoing Degradation.  When a transhuman feeds a certain number of times (varies by transhuman rating) and then uses their powers repeatedly or attempts to use their powers in a new way, their transhuman nature permanently strengthens.  They lose another human trait, and gain a new transhuman trait.  A transhuman can avoid Degradation by reinforcing their human identity and avoiding using their powers after feeding.<br/><br/><strong>Rule Discovered!</strong>The attribute a transhuman trait falls under influences what it is capable of.  Put broadly: Personal traits are best at affecting your relationships with others.  Spiritual traits are best at changing what others believe or how they act.  Physical traits are best at modifying aspects of the physical world, or your physical capabilities.  Professional traits are best at shaping how others perceive you or treat you.<br/><br/>Since Always Gets Her Way is a spiritual trait, it is a very poor match for painting a beautiful picture (a modification of Esther's physical capabilities).  This can get a little complicated of course: If Esther had been trying to paint a picture that reflects her own nature, that would be a personal act.  If she had been trying to paint a picture that makes people feel or believe a certain way, that would be a spiritual act and fall under her existing trait.<br/><br/>In any case, at this point we need to decide what Esther's new supernatural trait is and which human trait she will lose.  It's basically your decision with input from me - as I implied above, I feel a physical trait would be the best choice.  Sight-Oriented jumps out at me as a good choice.  On the other hand, Love of the Arts is also a good choice despite being spiritual.<br/><br/>You should also consider what you want the new trait to do.  Just painting pictures is a bit narrow, but it needs to be capable of that.  Traits are also "biased" in that typically a trait will have some manner in which it can be used to help hunt.<br/><br/>The final thing to be aware of is that the new trait will have the same number of dice as the lost human trait, but with a rating of d12.  So a 1d4 or 1d10 would both becomes 1d12, but a 3d3 would become 3d12.))