Ijael closed the door quietly, taking one last glance at his sister before closing the door softly behind him. Sighing, he made his way back to the living room of Rojarre's quarters, feeling drained. Rojarre looked up from the dishes as Ijael strode to the kitchen, picking up a hand towel silently and beginning to wipe what he'd washed. Rojarre bit his lip, not sure whether to speak or not, knowing that somehow, Ijael would blame him. However, he was shocked when Jae spoke.
"She's exhausted, she didn't want to go home, you heard her, she wanted to be here... near you." There was no anger, no emotion in his voice as he stacked the dishes, unsure of where they went. He knew he could have pulled the information from Jarre's mind, or Ari's, though he was afraid of wiping her out. "You're... you're her comfort zone, she feels safe here. Sometimes, when we're in our quarters, with Masouna nearby, she'll come into my room, want to sleep on the floor, saying she feels like she's being watched. It doesn't happen often, but lately, it has, and now, after hearing what I did, I know why. She knew, Jarre, I could hear it in her voice when we talked. She knew all along, somehow, I was the one who was blind."
Rojarre nodded, taking a deep breath. "She's older than her years, she always has been. I've heard that said before, though every time, I scoffed at it, thinking it was impossible. Somehow, through all this, I think she did know, like you said. The times..." he trailed off, and Jae raised an eyebrow, wanting him to go on, "the times we play Rakettobo-ru, that she's over here... I think that's her way of letting off the responsibility she has, of being nineteen." Jae grunted an agreement to that, never liking to admit that he was wrong about someone, especially that guy that was his sister's best friend.
"Tell me something..." he asked, pausing to make sure he had the blond-haired man's attention. "You're not really a ladies' man, are you?? You play the game, use all the moves, but you don't care about any of them, and you hardly ever make it out with them. I've seen you, Varus doesn't know what to make of it, except to say that you'd never hurt Ari. Why do you do it then??" Rojarre thought for a moment, really thought about it, realizing that brushing it off could mean the difference between a truce and a larger stumbling block.
"How do you tell your best friend you care about her, when all she wants is a friend, Jae?? The answer is, you don't. You play the game, hoping you'll find someone like her, and never do. I'm sorry if that wasn't what you wanted to hear, but I think you knew about it." The dark-haired man shook his head, a smile coloring his countenance. "Perhaps I did."
The two men smiled at one another, finishing the dishes, a bond between them if only because they both cared about the same woman, though in different ways. The rest of the evening found them playing Hachitama, similar to pool, only the sticks were aimed not by their arms, but by their minds, obviously a few different rules. As Jae and Ari had ported most of the things they'd required, the two men camped out in the spacious living room, off where the game room with the Hachitama was located. As Jae lay there, waiting for sleep to come, he thought about the discussion they'd had, the plans they'd made.
After Keigharia had told him what the dream had consisted of, Jae couldn't help but believe her, especially with the painfully dark conversation he'd heard from Umrinc. Things were starting to get very strange, leaving him with questions he had not answers to, and answers that he didn't like. Unless he was mistaken, from what he could figure, which obviously Ari had known somehow, they'd been taken from their parents, who had been unable to protect them. It hadn't been a willing sacrifice, and from what Keigharia could feel, it hadn't been from Irayleu'minmuy either. He knew little about what kind of life was out there, past the lush reaches of the main continent, though he'd been to a few of the other ten, and to one of the four islands on holiday.
Deciding on what course of action to take had been harder. It was notable that Keigharia didn't want to leave her only friend, though it was necessary. She'd argued on their leaving abruptly, stating her reasons plainly and logically. "First off, we can't leave without anyone knowing, it's not possible. During the day, we'd be seen, at night, we'd be one of the few Vetturas out after lock-down, and we'd be pulled over for sure. They clock everyone that leaves, and we can't go on foot, it's not safe, regardless of our gifts. There are natural dangers we wouldn't be able to avoid. Second, what do you think would happen if Umrinc discovered we'd left?? As if he doesn't have some sort of constant guard on us, as well as around the city. He knows you're catching on, but hopefully, he won't think that you'd tell me everything, not with Jarre around. He'd be livid if we left, and I for one don't like the idea of engaging his wrath, after what I've seen him capable of."
"But I told you, I heard him say that our shifting isn't genetically altered, that it's inborn. Inborn!! Genetically altered means that there are ways of controlling that, he already told us, but, if I'm understanding his fear correctly, inborn shifting can't be controlled by him, or anyone but ourselves. We're too heavily warded with magic, which is already to his disliking, and you know he only tolerated that when you stood up to him, and told him you'd find a way to win, and he tried to bind your gifts. Imagine what we could do if we could only figure out how to use that power, become one with it!! If our senses are heightened now, they would be ten times so!!"
Keigharia shook her head, sighing in frustration, trying to make him see. "Don't you remember what happened when he tried to bind me?? That infuriated him, and he spent days on end trying every spell he could think of, and the most he could get was a bind that lasted ten minutes, and it didn't even cover most of my gifts, just the flow from my hands. I snapped the bind, but that's beside the point. The point is, how many lives would we be endangering by leaving?? Anyone we've ever spoken to would be in danger. How can you forget what he did to my cat when I decided to go with Rojarre without permission?? I was only thirteen, but he didn't care. Remember??" Her eyes took on a look of pain at the thought. Umrinc had killed the cat, and left it at the door of her sleeping quarters, drained of its blood, with a note attached thanking her for offering to let him use her kitty for such a blessed sacrifice. She'd cried for days over that cat. Now, she shivered at the memory.
"Then what do we do?? He'd going to come after us soon, what are we going to do, sit around and let him??" She shook her head, as the wheels began to turn. Both men could see this, and leaned forward, knowing that, if this were anything like the other things she'd come up with, it would be good.
"Yes, we wait, but we don't just sit around. Umrinc can't monitor us in places where privacy is expected, no required. Besides, there are ways to ward us from his vision, our activities at least. We've got a lot to do, and not much time." She turned to Rojarre. "Your life will be forfeit if you stay, or if you go, by association to us. If you walk away now, perhaps we can get you transfer pa-"
"I didn't abandon you when Umrinc made sure to put enmity between you two and the rest of the academy students, and I'm not going to now." He looked at both of them, eyes serious, attitude somber. "You have my word, by forfeit of my life, that I will never betray you, and my word is my bond. Speak freely, let me help you plan." He was rewarded with a huge smile from his best friend, and a nod of acceptance from her brother. "Alright, then, the first thing we have to do is figure out how to shift at will, night or day, not just when we're angry. If we can master that, then we have to figure out how to direct our powers through the shift. I think that, if I remember right, our bodies are the same physically as human or leopard, so we have to keep doing what we do to stay in shape, and I have to start lifting."
"We can do this," Ijael had agreed, and he thought that now as well. We can do it. If she thinks it will work, then we'll be able to. I've got to find some way to get into the computer base with trace... that should be fun, and find out where we came from. I've got to hack in, and find our files, see if there is anything about our birth. With that last thought, he drifted off to sleep, feeling as he did his sister's restless tossing and turnings. He sent waves of calming towards her, hoping it would ease the stress she was under, and dropped off into a dreamless slumber.
Beginning the End
