"Not always... Sometimes, you have to find it."

But there was a curiously still form of smile from Beth's face as they walked. In fact, curiously still everything; her walking gait and pose seeming calculated for more of a silky-smooth glide than natural tremors or the up-and-down of an uneven surface should have allowed for. Feet touched the ground, walked along, yet, the girl's torso and curve of spine remained oddly constant.

"And, really, who's to stop you from simply taking what the world freely offers? It shouldn't be about where your power comes from... It's about what you do with it."

The world around Valerie, for just a split second, came to a sudden, almost complete halt. A moment where time was going so slow, it was as if she were walking through treacle. Nothing perceptible, save for a smooth pulsing wave of distortion. Like heat, yet... Not. No difference in temperature. Just a pulse.

And then, without ceremony, the world sped back up.

"Tell me, are we far from that awfully long road, the... 'Strip', yes, that's what they call it, isn't it?"