I slammed back into the driver’s seat of my body so hard that I almost gave myself whiplash, my body arching back against the massive tree I was meditating at. I sucked in a deep haggard breath before wincing, looking down and away from the bright afternoon sun.
Why the hell did my brain decide it’d be fine to kick me out the second the wall came down? Was it too much of a shock for me to stay calm?
I winced away as a small, familiar weight appeared on my shoulder, before whipping my head around to stare directly into Emilie’s eyes. She had her mouth open and was saying things, but I couldn’t quite understand her through my own rapid breathing.
In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In... out...
“That’s it, Lea. In. And out.” Emilie leaned forward and placed her hand on my forehead. “Rough session?”
“I...” I closed my mouth before staring at my starter. How the hell did I explain... that, without getting carted off to the funny farm? “I didn’t say anything out here?”
Emilie shook her head. “Yeah... no. Your mouth was moving but the only thing coming out was unintelligible gibberish.” Emilie shivered. “Kinda spooky, actually. What the hell did you do?”
“I uh, don’t really know how to explain it, honestly.” I felt my heartbeat start to calm down and grinned at Emilie. “It helped, though. If that makes sense. I feel lighter.” I shifted in place before looking out across the clearing.
The grass around where I was sitting had been ripped out of the ground, and the dirt looked partially overturned, like someone had tilled the soil recently. Broken branches and twigs littered the ground, but what really freaked me out was the weird ass f*cking fence that dotted the edge of the carnage. Every few feet, a single stick had dug itself into the ground.
Beyond the border of the chaos, I saw May staring worriedly, but not moving to come closer. My team hung around her, giving me similar looks, and further back in the tree line, I could make out the outline of Wayne staring at me with wide eyes. An angry looking Nuzleaf stood in front of his trainers, a single leaf in hand, and Skarmory stood next to him, wing raised with an eye trained on the grass type.
What on earth did I do?
“Well, I’m glad you did what you had to do.” Emilie looked me up and down, a frown etched into her features. “Whatever that was. Is it alright to pull everyone else over? I told them to wait just in case, but if you’re good-”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I was pulled up from the ground and into a death grip. Damn it May, I wanted to hear Emilie’s answer!
“You need to stop scaring the crap out of me! Got it!” May shouted into my ear. “Since when does a meditation session turn into a scene from the exorcist? I get why it happened before, but why the hell did you do it now!?”
Before? Exorcist?
I opened my mouth, but the sounds that came out were choked murmurings as May continued her ramblings. ‘Emilie, help! Please.’
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Emilie stiffened, her eyes going wide. She lifted her hands up, and I sagged downwards as May’s grip slackened.
I sucked in a deep breath before turning to her. ‘It helped.’ I repeated the earlier phrase with a wide grin. ‘It's not perfect, but I feel braver, if that makes sense. More confident.’
‘How?’ Emilie asked.
That single word hit me like a truck. My eyes went wide, and my heart started beating harder in my chest.
f*ck me, how does a single word do this to me!? This was stupid! It’s just Emilie, calm down. It’s just Emilie.
My starter pulled back from me and teleported down as if her presence was a poison. “I’m sorry! That was probably too much too soon. I shouldn’t have pushed it. I’m sorry-”
“Stop!” I cut her off with a shout, causing both May and Emilie to lean back. “Sorry.”
Emilie was still staring at me with wide eyes from her new perch, a small boulder on the ground. May kept shifting between the two of us looking lost.
How the f*ck was I supposed to calm everyone the hell down?
'Uh... hello?’ I pushed the phrase out to everyone, hoping this would do a decent job of starting the conversation. ‘Can you hear me now?’
May leaned back at the words as the rest of my team froze in place. “So, you’re back to normal then? Well, normal for you, I guess.”
“I don’t like how you phrased that.” I narrowed my eyes at my girlfriend as she smiled indulgently. “I... kind of.”
“I’m repeating my question. How the f*ck?” Emilie glared at me.
I winced away from her angry eyes. “I’m still scared. It’s just,” How do I phrase this? “I feel like I can fight back now. It’s not crippling like it was before. Like I said, I taught myself to be brave again.” The smile melted from my face and my heart dropped into my stomach as I felt May grab me. “Mercy.”
I received none.
May pulled me into a second bone crushing hug and a silent curse left my lips with all the air that was currently in my lungs. “I’m so happy for you, love.”
My brain stopped working, whether it was from the pet name of lack of air, I didn’t know, but I felt myself go limp in May’s arms. The air around us shifted as we started to fall forward.
“Wait, Lea-”
May stopped talking and let out a shriek as I pulled us to the ground, a dopey expression on my face. The ground felt soft against my back and the cold dirt brought me back to reality as May landed on top of me.
“Ow, okay. May, remember I love your hugs, but repeated exposure is deadly, even for me, I need you-” I froze as May slowly lifted herself up. Our gaze locked for a brief moment as she looked down at me, her hands pinning my arms to the ground, and I watched as red flooded May’s cheeks. Considering how hot my face felt, I wasn’t doing much better.
My girlfriend instantly jumped up and away from me. “I’m sorry!”
“Pel pel pel pel pel pel pel.” “Hon hon hon hon hon hon.” The laughter intermingled with each other, and I turned to glare at my quartermaster and swabbie.
“Who on earth do you think you’re laughing at?” I did my best to push through and sound stern, but it came out forced, and I stuttered the whole way through.
Apollo instantly stopped, before throwing his wing out and smacking Lucas across the hilt. The sky above started to become overcast, and Apollo groaned as rain started to fall.
“Don’t complain too much, you’re getting better.” Emilie lifted her hands up, and a large dome of water formed around us as the rain started to fall.
“Lom,” Joern complained, glancing up at the falling water.
“Yeah, yeah, you don’t mind, but we do. You can play in the rain later.” Emilie put her hand on her hip before looking at me.
I looked at the scene with tired eyes before squaring my shoulders and rising to my feet. I was done with guessing words and conversations. “Emilie.”
She stopped talking and turned to look at me, eyes narrowed. “Yes?”
“I want you to translate for me,” I said.
Emilie leaned back. “I can, but Sergei would be better-”
“You know that’s not what I meant,” I talked over her with a frown.
Emilie shook her head. “You freaked the f*ck out when I said a single word, how the hell do you think you’re going to deal with entire conversations?”
“I’ll deal.” The two words left my lips with purpose.
Emilie didn’t budge and continued to stare at me like a disappointed parent. “Tell me that again with legs that aren’t shaking like overburdened twigs.”
I glanced down and glared at my own body before shifting that glare to Emilie. “Look, I’m not ready. I know I’m not ready. I have no illusions that this is going to be easy, but,” I trailed off, my gaze softening as Emilie stared down at the ground. “We have to start somewhere.”
Emilie remained quiet, as did everyone else in the clearing. The pitter-patter of rain falling against my starter’s psychic wall was the only thing I heard as Emilie processed my statement, her lips pulled down into a frown.
“I can’t hear your thoughts at all if you don’t project them to me,” Emilie finally said. “I can’t feel your feelings or do anything else. I know where to look, but not how.”
“Emilie-”
“I’m saying all this to help put you at ease. Those are all good things and I’m not going to pry. Your head’s still safe.” Emilie stopped before smiling at me. ‘So don’t freak out when I talk in your head like this, okay?’
My heart once again started beating loudly in my chest, but I beat it down and grinned at her. ‘In that case, know that I’m going to do everything I can to be okay with where we were before.’ I smiled at her.
Emilie leaned back.
‘I trust you, Emilie,’ I said. ‘It might take me a bit to push through, but we’re better together.’
‘So, she can understand me again?’ Lucas floated right up close to me with a wide, pleased smile.
I jumped backwards, glaring at the sudden intruder, before nodding slightly.
‘Fantastic!’ Lucas bounced up into the air, and I did my best to beat back my anxiety. ‘Not going to lie, but talking to these guys was incredibly dull. They don’t get my sharp wit like you do.’
My response was something completely out of character. Emilie stared at me like I was possessed and Joern backed away slowly.
I threw my head back and laughed.
Lucas POV
A dull ache emanated from Lucas’s origin point as he slunk back from the group. Phantom echoes of memories whispered in his mind that it wasn’t all that dissimilar from a headache, though that didn’t feel like the correct word here. He had no head to ache, after all.
Moments like this caused this. Happy moments shared amongst friends and family, moments of triumph against a long set enemy, shared glances between paramours...
They all brought up echoes of memories he didn’t recognize. Of times long since passed and people long since dead.
Lucas slunk down into the shadows with a smile on his sheath. So what if new memories dredged up old ones? He’d take it all in stride. He couldn’t quite recall enough to miss what he had, at least not quite yet, but if these joyful times were what brought the memories to bear, then he couldn’t imagine the life he lived before was a bad one.
Fleeting glances exchanged with a green-eyed beauty at court, the rallying cry of men hardened by battle to defend their homeland, the watchful gaze of our guardian deity...
Yes, a good man indeed. Though the wistful feeling he felt as the memories took root was something he could do without. Regardless of whatever else happened in life, those times had long since passed.
Father Time really was a dick, huh? Arceus above, that girl’s mouth was infectious.
He idly wondered if Apollo would ease up a bit once he regained more of his memories to exchange stories. He doubted it. The bird reminded him too much of his old guard captain. Old man never let things like stature get in the way of his lessons, harsh as they were.
Lucas wondered if they shared the same sense of loss.
Probably. Old sea dogs like him usually did. He supposed he should be grateful Lea had someone like that on her team, considering how green he was. This whole Ghost Pokémon thing was a bit of a ride.
A wide shadow was cast into the clearing, and Lucas frowned as he slowly peaked his sheath out of the shadows.
“Lea didn’t teach you that move so you could hide away from the group.” Joern lazily walked through the tree line, his gaze fixed on me as he moved.
“How did you know where I was?” Lucas rose up out of the ground and grinned. “This shade blends in with the other shade, in case you weren’t aware.”
Joern grinned. “The area gets darker when you’re hiding somewhere. It’s easy to spot if you know what to look for. Now stop dodging the question.”
Lucas winced, before floating down and resting his blade into the ground. Honestly, floating everywhere got old after a bit. “Caught that, huh?”
Joern nodded. “Apollo noticed you were gone and tasked me with finding you. Figured it’d be better if I came looking so he didn’t tip Lea off with a moving rain storm.” Joern chuckled. “I think you worried the old man.”
“He did not say he was worried,” Lucas deadpanned.
“He did it in his own way. It’s about as close as you’re going to get.” Joern nodded once before giving Lucas a once over. “So, talk. Why’d you dip? This feels like premium bad joke time.”
Lucas sighed. “Just feeling a bit melancholy, I suppose. Tell the old feather head not to worry so much. I’m fine.”
Joern shook his head before walking closer. “You do know you’re always welcome in the group, right?”
Lucas just started laughing. “I can assure you, I’m quite aware at this point. You’ve all made it abundantly clear, even Apollo in his own special way. Trust me, this has nothing to do with that.”
Joern stopped, before nodding. “I suppose... we can wait till you feel like sharing, then. Expect some prodding from Emilie though.”
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
“Ah, I suppose that’s to be expected. Psychic types can never leave well enough alone, can they?” Lucas winced. “I’m just glad she doesn’t think I’m plotting some dastardly plan anymore.”
“Nah, you’re too much of a dork for that. Her words, not mine,” Joern said.
“Of course.” Lucas sighed.
Neither one said anything for a while.
“You’re not going to let me hide out here, are you?” Lucas finally asked.
Joern shook his head. “Nope. Brood on your own time. Or don’t, honestly. It doesn’t suit you. Come back and chat. Maybe a few bad jokes will do Lea some good. The weird face she makes when Emilie translates for us stopped being funny a while ago.”
A cacophony of laughter echoed through the clearing as Lucas floated up out of the ground. “Well, I suppose there’s nothing for it, then. I’ll cut to the quick of the matter and liven her spirits.”
“How can you liven anything up?” Joern asked with a grin.
“This is why you’re my favorite. No one else plays along.” Lucas took the lead and started floating back towards the clearing. “Besides, just because I’m dead doesn’t mean I don’t have plenty of life left in me. Don’t make me break out my A material.”
Joern chuckled, but his pale face gave way to his true feelings. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”
“Liar.” Lucas smiled as the rain bubble came into view.
Old memories be damned. He had new ones to make. Besides, he was the best example on the face of the earth. Ghosts didn’t have to be scary.
That was a lesson he would take to heart, even if he didn’t have one.
Normal POV
The rainstorm above me had finally dried up and I grinned down at my psychic type. The full squad had disappeared back to their corners of the training field, and that left me with my starter, who was doing her best to look as innocent as possible on her stony perch.
‘So, what exactly did I do while I was out?’ I asked, point blank.
Emilie recoiled back as if I’d just punched her in the stomach. ‘What do you mean?’
My mind briefly rebelled at the intrusive thoughts before I shoved my anxiety down and waved my hand around, highlighting the clearing. ‘Emilie, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the clearing is trashed. Brawly’s probably going to be mildly angry that I tore up the training ground he just fixed, and I would like to know how this happened.’
‘I-’ The words died as it looked like her tongue got stuck to the roof of her mouth.
“Emilie!” I said aloud, groaning as she shook her head. “Why are you so tripped up about this? Does it mean something bad? Am I losing my marbles or something? What?” That gnawing pit in my stomach seemed to get worse as my mind conjured up new worst-case scenarios.
“It’s nothing like that!” Emilie pulled me out of my own head before putting her hands over her mouth and looking away with a blush.
“What is it like, then? I imagine this is something that I should probably get a handle on, don’t you think?” I tilted my head and looked down at her.
She bit her lip before sighing. “You can move stuff with your mind when you’re under intense duress.”
My eyes went wide. “THAT IS SO f*ckING COOL!”
Emilie smacked her forehead and groaned. “No, not cool. VERY not cool. It’s f*cking terrifying. Do you want to know how much crap you’ve thrown at me while you’ve been out of it?”
“Meh, you’re fine. Oh, I need to figure out how to practice with that! I never have to get up for a remote again, I don’t have to touch the hair wad May leaves in the shower anymore, oh the possibilities are endless!” I was bouncing up and down on my toes and I didn’t care.
“Okay, first off, ew.” Emilie glared up at me.
I stuck my tongue out at her. “Ew all you want, you don’t have to touch it.” I shuddered.
“SECONDLY, you aren’t freaked out? At all? I mean look at this place. You drove wooden stakes into the ground, for f*cks sake!” Emilie’s glare was getting more severe the further into her rant she went. That was probably not good.
“Look, it’s just another thing I need to practice with, right? I know you won’t let anything bad happen and once I work with it, I’ll be able to control it better so that I don’t accidentally stake my friends and family like they’re dollar store vampires,” I said.
“Bordel de merde, you’re, ugh!” Emilie teleported away.
I winced as a loud crashing sound echoed through the tree line. f*ck, that probably wasn’t good.
Emilie reappeared in front of me, the picture of calm decorum. “Okay, I’m good now.”
“What exactly did you do? And what does ‘Bordel de merde’ mean?’” My tone was slightly manic as I looked in the direction that I heard the crash from. I couldn’t see anything, but that just meant that whatever she did was bad.
“Not answering either of those questions. Can we get on with the training session, please?” Emilie begged, her left eye twitching.
“I...” I still wasn’t sure if that was all there was to this. Considering Emilie somehow got May to cover this up, if her earlier comment was anything to go off of, there was probably more that I wasn’t getting.
I probably wasn’t going to get anything else from Emilie, though. If that blow up was anything to go off of.
‘Right. What did you come up with while I was out of it?’ I asked, hoping me slipping back into a mental dialogue would prompt Emilie to do the same without asking.
Emilie looked at me for a long moment, her brow knitted together as she stared up into my eyes from her perch, as if weighing her options. ‘Guardsphere was more or less already done. I do that whenever I make a dome around myself. It’s a little hard to see if I don’t have your eyes to look through, but water’s fairly see through.’
I had my hands clenched through that entire explanation. f*cking damn it, at least it was getting a little easier the longer we did this. ‘And the other three?’
“Lea, I appreciate you wanting to push through this, but if you need a break-”
‘I want your voice in my head,’ I said, cutting her off. ‘I want to hear what everyone has to say in their own voice.’
Emilie sighed before glaring up at me. ‘Yeah, yeah, you’ve said this I don’t know how many times.’
‘I’ll say it however many times it takes to make sure you understand.’ I stared down at Emilie’s aqua bubble and grinned. ‘Now then, the other three?’
‘Jade Strike is also something you’ve seen me do before.’ Emilie lifted her arms up, and a pair of water fists rose up from the soaked ground. ‘The faster, less powerful version of the Emilienator fists. Good for getting in, punching something, and getting out fast.’
‘Your favorite, then. That’s two options down, now for the last two. Spin Dance and Bullet Rain.’ I listed those last two level one arts with a grin, eager to see what my little genius had come up with.
Emilie winced. ‘I, uh... Had a few ideas, but I haven’t exactly perfected them.’ Emilie shook her head. ‘At all.’
The pit in my stomach ebbed slightly as I leaned forward, my brain latching onto the chance to see something new. “Well, show me the work in progress, then. I wanna see.”
The floating water fists dissolved into the sphere as it started to spin faster. Long spikes extended out from the construct as they picked up speed, but the attack never got faster than spin cycle down at the laundromat.
‘The idea was to just create a spinning buzzsaw of water, but... this is about as fast as I can make it go.’ Emilie glared out from her bubble at the moving water. ‘It’s also really hard to see when I do this, so I thought we could save it-’
“To punish people who get close.” I nodded along before looking at the spinning attack with a frown. “Is it a volume issue, or is this-”
“How much water I control isn’t an issue, this is just how fast I can control it,” Emilie complained.
I narrowed my eyes, but before I could say anything she threw her arms out and the Guardsphere pushed out and away from her, reforming into a bunch of mini water shots. They pelted the tree behind me, and a tiny bit of bark was blasted away on impact.
‘Sorry, I’m just annoyed. That was Bullet Rain, by the way. That one’s a little easier to mess around with, because I get to use physics to make up for my speed. It’s literally just the rock throwing exercise, but I’m making the rocks out of water.’ Emilie waved her hand from side to side in front of her. ‘I can whip the attack around like a psychic sling and launch the balls while focusing on the central point of each sphere to keep them compact. Yes, that is as hard as it sounds.’
I never took my eyes off the tree. “I mean, it’s hard, but it looks like you got it?” I did my best to keep my voice steady, before realizing something. “Wait, isn’t that just what Gawain did on the beach?”
“Shut up!” Emilie’s glare could almost be qualified as a move. “THAT was far more refined and potent than that weak ass bastardized version of what could be fine psychic motor control. Honestly, comparing ANYTHING I do to what that idiot is capable of is-”
“So yes,” I said, a cheeky grin splitting my features as I closed my eyes.
Emilie growled at me, before teleporting up to my shoulder and poking my head multiple times.
Wait, I think she might be trying to punch me. That’s adorable. “Oi, don’t attempt violence against your trainer.”
“Nah, I train myself, you’re there for moral support,” Emilie shot back.
“Alright, miss smarty britches, what’s wrong with that one then?” I asked, before reaching up, grabbing her, and moving her back to the rock. “Preferably explain from a safe distance, and mentally.” Those last two words were accompanied by a glare.
Emilie muttered something I couldn’t quite hear before lifting a hand up. Water rose up from the ground before forming into a medium sized, see-through ball. Emilie clenched her fist, and the ball shrunk down to a dense, blue orb. She lifted her other arm and water started to rise up around her, but at the same time, the ball started to expand.
“Ah, got it. You can’t do this and other stuff at the same time. That’s honestly not that bad, considering this is supposed to be a distance option, and the attack looks powerful.” I kept giving a side eye to the blasted tree that Brawly replanted.
Legends above, he was not going to be happy with us, huh?
“Like higher level opponents aren’t just going to close the gap instantly and one tap me.” Emilie rubbed her cheek as she finished.
I winced at the reminder before sighing. “Yeah, we need to be mobile against faster opponents, which means that Bullet Rain needs to be at a point where you can multitask...”
Wait.
“There’s nothing really for it except to practice, honestly. I just-”
“Can you spin the blue orb?” I asked.
Emilie turned away from the floating ball of water and looked at me. “What?”
“Spin the ball. This is the densest you can make it, right? Can you spin it?” I asked again.
Emilie frowned before looking down at the orb. “I, think so?” Her head tilted to the side as the words left her mouth. “It’s kind of hard to tell. The ball doesn’t really have defining features.”
“Well, let me just,” I reached out and placed my hand on the ball. For all that it was supposed to be a liquid, this was probably the smoothest solid object I had ever held. I couldn’t push into or mold it at all. “This is so weird.”
“Do you feel it moving at all?” Emilie asked.
“Not... really?” I replied. “I honestly can’t tell. It’s like this thing isn’t causing friction. How the hell does that work?”
“I’m doing this by focusing on a single point and pulling the water in as tightly as I can. I guess the water is just... very equally distributed?” Emilie asked.
The fact that neither one of us knew what we were doing kind of worried me.
“I get that pop factor by letting go of my control at the point of impact. The water expands violently against whatever I’m hitting.” Emilie waved towards the tree as she finished explaining.
“Got it. I was kind of hoping training one could help train the other, but if neither one of us is sure that this is actually doing anything-”
“I’m spinning my focal point, at least, so I’ll probably get something out of it. Doing this constantly is a good focus exercise, at the very least.” Emilie smiled at me again.
“Good, in that case, we’re also adding the tried and true. Make as many orbs as you can and go up when you think you can handle another. We’ll have you hitting things with balls in no time,” I said.
“Sure-” The word died on Emilie’s tongue as she glared up at me. “How is it that I’m five years younger than you? Please explain why I’m the more mature between the two of us.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m just having a serious discussion about your balls.” Ah, seventeen going on nine. I don’t care. Emilie’s expression was making this worth it.
Emilie gave me a deadpanned look before teleporting away. I chuckled before sitting back down on the ground and leaning against the tree, wincing slightly as the cold surfaces brushed up against my skin.
What now? I chased away my entertainment. Wait, I don’t need to be with them anymore to bother them. Score!
A small rain storm started a small distance away, kicking up a small, chilling breeze. I frowned, closed my eyes and focused, reaching out for one of my teammates in particular. ‘Apollo?’
‘Eh, captain?’ His voice deeper than before, and his tone sounded gruff.
‘Just checking in. You were doing a pretty good job of keeping your ability in check, and I was wondering what was up?’ I asked.
Apollo laughed through the connection. ‘Aye, this is a bit trickier than I was expecting, but I’m gettin the hang of it. It’s like working a muscle, really. Mostly I let loose because the first mate told me too. She wanted more water to work with.’ There was a brief pause on the other end. ‘What on earth did you do to the poor lass, she was madder than a Gyarados on her cycle.’
I winced, both at the mental image and the reference. ‘Apollo...’
‘Won’t make the comment again, cap,’ he cut me off before I could even finish.
‘Right, well, I had a bit of fun at her expense. Honestly, I think she’s just going through withdrawal. She’s usually more fun to mess with.’ I frowned at my empty shoulder. ‘Want to work on speed training while Emilie’s using you for her practice?’ I could practically feel the wince through the bond.
‘Aye, captain. I doubt I’ll ever be as fast as I was as a Wingull, biological differences and all that, but getting used to this new body of mind would be a good idea.’ The line goes silent.
I leaned back against the tree and sighed, feeling drained. I forgot how tiring this could be.
Well, that and the eldritch horror show my brain put on.
‘Oh, by the way,’ Apollo’s voice suddenly reappeared in my head.
My eyes snapped open and jumped up, banging my head against the tree.
‘Your lass is making her way over to you, I don’t really need her help anymore,’ Apollo said.
Why did his voice sound teasing? His warning apparently came too late as the sound of giggling filled my ears.
‘Thanks Apollo.’ I turned up towards the giggling and smiled. “See something funny?”
“Just you being a dork. You doing okay?” May walked over before turning around and sitting next to me. “No lingering effects from meditation? Not going crazy from the voices in your head?”
“Yes, mom. I’m fine,” I said.
May flicked me in the forehead. “I love you, but please don’t ever call me your mom again.” She shivered before reaching up and rubbing the faded bruise on her neck. “Ever.”
I winced, before looking away with a blush. “Got it.”
Warmth radiated up from my hand and I shifted to look down. May had wrapped her hand around mine.
“How have your hands been?” she asked.
I winced. “I uh, I haven’t really checked-”
May started pulling one of my gloves off, a frown on her face. “Lea...”
“I know, I know. I should be keeping track of them and not hiding them all the time. I hate looking at them. You know I hate looking at them.” I leaned back as the angry red skin glared back at me, before glancing back and tilting my head. “Huh, the scar tissue really is starting to fade.”
May beamed down at the sight before flipping the hand over. They were still heavily scarred, but the redness had faded, and I could see little bits of white start to peek back out from where my nails used to be.
“They still look freaky, but... I guess not as freaky.” I lifted the hand up and looked it over.
May flicked my forehead again. “You’re not freaky, you're my girlfriend.”
“Babe, I did this while I was meditating.” I waved my hand around. “I’d say I’m pretty freaky.”
May winced. “Emilie clued you in, then?”
I nodded.
“I didn’t want to hide it, but she made a fairly convincing argument. You handling it okay, then?” May asked.
“May, I have superpowers, what exactly is there to handle?” I leaned forward and poked May’s side. “Something else I don’t know about?”
“I... Emilie didn’t, of course she didn’t.” May groaned before looking away from my face. “Telekinesis isn’t really something people just... learn, Lea.”
“I mean, I learned-” I stopped talking as what she said caught up to my brain. “What exactly do you think that means?”
“You probably inherited your ‘gifts’,” May said. “Emilie thinks that’s why you’ve been blasting through your training exercises. Did Eve ever mention-”
“No.” I cut May off with a sigh. “Granted, getting her to talk about Mom or Dad was a massive chore, so I kind of just... stopped asking.”
“You okay?” May tilted her head and grabbed my hand again.
I smiled. “Like I said, I’m fine. Don’t really care how I got my superpowers, all I know is I got them, and I’m never touching one of your hair wads ever again.”
May pulled her hand out of mine and smacked the side of my arm. “Lea!”
“Cry about it. Maybe clean up the shower before you split if you don’t want me to complain.” I laughed as May crossed her arms and looked away from me. Her pout was adorable.
“Maybe I should just go back to hanging out with Apollo.” She stood up and I grabbed her hand, pulling her back down to my level.
“I’ll be good, I promise. I like hanging out with you.” I smiled when she let herself be pulled.
May snuggled up to my side and smiled at me. “I don’t trust you for a minute, but I like hanging out with you too.” She yawned and closed her eyes. “Though I might take an afternoon nap, if that’s alright with you. You’re cozy.”
“I suppose there are worse fates than being used as a pillow.” I yawned. “Honestly, I might join you. I’m wiped and you’re warm.”
“Hmm...” May grumbled.
I smiled before letting my eyes close.
