Maxwell surveyed the occupants of the room from under his hood as he listened to Kanoa speak, his penetrating green eyes moving from person to person after a brief moment of contemplation, gauging their reactions to Kanoa's words. He had picked up on her uncertainty when she had greeted him. Had he done something to unnerve her? He got that kind of reaction more often than he would have liked. Regardless his own reaction was that of plain acceptance. 

A weak, short lived smile found its way to his lips and was gone just as fast. A few months ago he would not have believed a single word coming out of her mouth. It all sounded a bit too much like the fictional horror stories that his father peddled in. Hell, he probably would have never even showed in the first place. But here he was and he was ready to listen, if nothing else. If he was lucky he might even receive answers. Maxwell closed his eyes for a moment and processed what he was hearing. 

[b]“Natural huh? There's nothing natural about this,”[/b] he said from under his hood in a voice that sounded as though he was suddenly irritated. He tutted at his own words. He hadn't meant to sound angry but he was aware that that was how it had come across. He tried a different tact. [b]“This is new to me, so from my point of view there is nothing natural about any of this.”[/b] He took another bite out of the bland but acceptable cupcake. Her words made a certain kind of sense, especially after what had happened. Perhaps that was the manifestation of the so called 'tether' that she spoke of.

Since nobody else spoke up first he felt that he might as well.[b] “The name's John Maxwell, though I guess many of you already know that. Rumours travel fast in this town. I'm the guy who stepped off a bridge,”[/b] he said simply. [b]“Let's get one thing straight, I didn't try to kill myself. I don't remember exactly what happened but I get the feeling that someone told me to step off of that bridge and that I couldn't say no. But with that said I don’t remember hitting the water either. So who knows.”[/b]

[b]“Anyway I woke up...different. Since that day it feels as though a part of me is missing. That it was replaced somehow. With what I have no idea,”[/b] he knew how crazy he must of sounded but there was no point stopping now. [b]“As for what that did to me, I don't suppose anyone actually saw me go near cupcake girl,”[/b] he said before eating the last bite. [b]“Telekinesis or whatever you want to call it,”[/b] he said, not entirely convinced that that was what it was. He decided not to mention about the dying plants, not yet anyway. [b]"Pleased to meet you all."[/b]