"Do you ever think much about the future?" Khamuel, sprawled on his side on the grass lawn, squinted across the space that separated them. Hanael looked up from his book at the sudden question.

"...maybe too much." He smirked to himself.

Khamuel frowned a little, and then sat up, idly brushing grass and seeds from his hair.

"What do you mean?"

Hanael sighed, trying to think how to best explain it in words. But he'd promised himself to be honest about these things with Khamuel, so he had to try. He put his book aside, and drew his legs up towards his body almost unconsciously, wrapping his arms around them and leaning his chin on his knees.

"I... can see things. Sometimes."

"You can see the future?" Khamuel's tone was suitably awed, as was his expression. "I didn't know Walkers had that sort of power!"

"You did say you hadn't met many of us," Hanael replied archly. Maybe a little too much so, for Khamuel's lips twisted a little, and he sat back on his hands, looking away. Hanael sighed.

"It's not easy for me to comfortably discuss any of this with... anyone. Maybe all Walkers feel that way," he temporized, and Khamuel looked back at him, still frowning. Then the little one's expression relaxed.

"Maybe all of us who are outside of humanity are like that." He tangled the fingers of one hand in his hair, twisting it idly; a sign, Hanael had come to realise, that he wasn't comfortable with where the conversation was going. "So will you tell me.. what you see?" Sure enough, he was changing the topic. But Hanael didn't mind too much.

"It's... hard to explain. It's not visual so much. It's more like.." he trailed off, grasping for words that suited the feeling. Finally he shrugged his shoulders. "Imagine if someone whispered in your ear and then suddenly you just 'knew' something. Bam, just like that."

Khamuel's eyes crinkled at the corners. "So it's like someone uploaded a file into your brain?"

Hanael smiled; Khamuel had always had a much better imagination than him. "Exactly."

Khamuel tilted his head to one side, and his fingers came free from the mess they were making of his hair. "Do you get to choose? What you'll know? Or does it just... come to you?"

Hanael shrugged a little. "It's a bit of both. I can try and direct it.. but it doesn't always work. And sometimes things just come to me that I wasn't even aware I wanted to know."

"And you've acted on it before? The things you came to know?"

Hanael nodded silently, thinking how different his life might be right now if he hadn't. He couldn't even begin to explain, so he didn't bother trying.

"..have you ever seen anything about me?"

Hanael turned his head. Khamuel's deep red eyes were focused on him, narrow and intense, and the boy's fingers were tangled in his hair again, but still, unmoving.

Hanael took a deep breath.

"No," he said, as evenly as he could. And hoped Khamuel couldn't tell when he was lying. But some things were better not known.

Khamuel stared at him for a long time, but finally he looked away, and his hand dropped from his hair.

"I hope you never do," he said softly.

Hanael closed his eye.

"I hope so too," he said. Once had been more than enough.