Fera was sitting in her usual seat in the back corner of Sara Yakuma’s class, holding a clear orb that resembled a plasma ball, except it was her power that was being transmitted through the glass sphere. She rested her cheek in her palm lazily as the ball sat atop her desk, and her hand rested atop it. Inside it, blue and white lightning spread out from where her palm touched and filled the ball with glowing streaks of lightning that struck and reflected from the round interior. It was now the fifth month of the school year, two months since Copper’s death, and yet, she still found herself glancing over towards the place the boy used to sit. Marrow, Copper’s closest friend, was in his usual spot, but in recent months, he had been quiet and distant from everyone, and he had gotten much more vicious with Ferain.
Rumor was, Ferain was the killer that was running around murdering students. With the evidence being what it was, added onto the fact that she was questioned twice by the detective sent to investigate the case, things didn’t look good for her. It added more fuel to the fire, more reasons for her to be discriminated against, and it didn’t help when people like Marrow and Raven fed into this horrible gossip. Even some of the teachers around the school had been treating her differently, and Professor Yakuma seemed to be much harder on her since Copper’s murder. The only professors in the school that appeared to be on her side any longer were the headmaster, and Professor Autumn Willow, who taught team-based classes to help develop partnership skills among the pairs in the school.
All in all, the only things that really lifted her spirits nowadays was the time spent with Anita, and her training sessions with both her partner and Yarin, who had thankfully been becoming closer and kinder towards her. It wasn’t just him either, there was his partner, Kiko Mihari, a lazy ice-user, and Lilipa Nierro, his childhood friend that followed him to the academy. They were an… interesting bunch, especially Lilipa, but their time together wasn’t as often as she would have liked. Fera enjoyed the fact that she had some friends now, whereas several months earlier, she had none. There was even Mana, even if she still refused to talk about what was going on between her and Cross, and what task she had been given. Fera still saw guilt in Mana’s eyes whenever they came across one another, most likely over the first incident near the start of the year.
Between Mana’s strange ways and Yarin being busy with his own group and his own troubles, Fera found herself alone with Anita more often than not. The others were friends, but not ‘friends’, if that made any sense. They were more like companions, she guessed. They were around at times, but not always. In the end, Anita was really her only spotlight in this ever increasing darkness that seemed to always want to swallow her up. Unfortunately, she knew she wasn’t the only one being threatened in this way either. This morning, she saw Marrow resting his head on his desk, burying it in his folded arms to keep his face hidden from the world. Even Sara appearing in front of him and slapping the wooden surface didn’t stir him like it used to. She gave up trying a couple of weeks earlier, and just let Marrow do whatever he wanted. She never liked him, just like how she disliked Copper, but this was… cruel to watch. It was sad, heartbreaking even. He used to have so much energy, so much devotion, even if both were put to the wrong things, but now… Now he seemed like an empty shell that just didn’t have a purpose anymore.
“You’re getting better at that.” came a woman’s voice, pulling her back from her observing glance of the boy across the room.
Fera looked up and saw Professor Yakuma standing there, her dark hair tied back into a loose knot behind her head, and her suit in its usual teasing fashion, always revealing a bit more than Fera thought a teacher’s uniform should. “T-thanks.” she murmured, still not fully back in reality enough to give a clear response to the sudden, and frankly unexpected praise.
“The headmaster informed me of your extra lessons. It’s good to see that they’re doing something for you. Keep it up and you might actually get a real compliment from me.”
“Great.” said Ferain, without thinking much about the way the word came out, which was a bit more sarcastic than Sara seemed to like.
Her somewhat pleased expression instantly soured and she slammed a hand on Fera’s desk, almost causing her powers to go out of control and blow up the ball in her hand. “What was that, Hirigaya?”
“N-nothing. I mean, awesome, cool… Uhhh, thank you?”
“You’re such an idiot. I take it back. I’m actually surprised to see you doing anything that remotely resembles progress. In fact, keep it up, and instead of a compliment, I think not failing you outright would be a fitting reward. Get back to work and stop gawking at your classmates. You need all the focus you can get before you break another of my possessions.” Sara said, before shaking her head and walking off.
Fera scoffed and then focused on the plasma ball again, getting the rampant streams of lightning back under control. After a while, she even started making shapes on the inside, using her lightning to form them. It was a bit of a strain on her brain, but she was at least enjoying the fact that she had gotten better since starting her sessions with Yarin. After the morning classes were over, she was walking towards the cafeteria when she came across Mana, who happened to be descending a flight of stairs from one of the higher floors.
“Hey, Mana.” she called out, cheerfully.
“Ferain? It’s nice to see you.” said the dark haired girl. “How have you been?”
“Honestly, not so well.” Fera answered, giving a grim grin as well.
“Mana’s sorry about that.” said her friend. “Does it have to do with… well, everything? Mana suspects it does. I just want you to know, Ferain, Mana has been trying really hard to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“How?” asked Fera, feeling like she might finally get something out of the strange foreign student.
“How?” repeated Mana, sounding surprised by the question.
“What have you been doing?” she asked, rephrasing her question. “I’ve heard you talking with Agent Cross a few times and it sounded like you’re working with him on something. He’s your dad, right? Do you know what's going on with the investigation?”
Mana flashed a look of concern for a moment, as she always did whenever Fera brought up this topic. Finally, Mana grabbed Fera’s hand and pulled her towards the closest bathroom and locked the door after making sure it was clear of prying ears.
“What are you doing?” asked Fera, almost giggling at the ridiculousness of it.
“Mana is not supposed to tell you, Fera. Mana has… Mana’s been helping with the investigation. I can’t tell you any more, but I’ve been trying to find information on the killer by watching the students, but… but I’ve always come up empty-handed.” her friend admitted, sounding defeated and like she felt completely useless. “It’s my first real job. Cross trusted me with it, and I’ve been letting him down. He won’t admit that, but I know that’s how he feels.”
“So that’s why you’ve been weird around me lately, and why you feel guilty about all of this,” said Ferain.
“Yeah.” Mana replied, glumly. “I feel like if I’d done my job better, maybe I would have been able to prevent all of this from happening at the start. I’m sorry I’ve been distant with you, Ferain. I… I didn’t know how to act around you anymore. Because I couldn’t find the killer, you’ve been getting in trouble and suffering for their crimes.”
Fera went silent for a few seconds, not exactly knowing how to respond to this. She suspected something like this, but still, there were other questions, and while she didn’t blame her friend at all, she didn’t know how to ease Mana’s guilt. Instead, she decided to fire another question to see if she could get any more answers.
“Mana, if this job was entrusted to you, did you know this was all going to happen before coming here? Is this the reason you transferred to this school?”
Mana’s golden eyes went wide and she seemed stunned. “No.” she said, hastily, almost too hastily. She sounded nervous, and like she was on the edge of giving too much away. Fera gave her a curious look and tilted her head slightly. “Honestly, Ferain, Mana has no idea what you’re talking about. How could Mana know about a killer before there was ever a person killed? That’s ridiculous.”
“And yet, you came all the way here from Crown Nation, and you knew my name before we ever met. I’m not trying to pry, if you don’t want to tell me, it’s fine. I was just curious. I am involved in all of this now, like it or not. I wanted some answers, that’s all.”
Mana gave her a sympathetic look and apologized softly. “I know, Ferain, but I really can’t say anything else. Nobody was supposed to know what I’m doing, and you especially can’t know more than what I’ve already said. If Cross found out, I’d be dead meat for sure. Look, maybe sometime soon I can tell you more, but for now, keep this a secret, okay?”
“If you promise to stop avoiding me, we have a deal.” Fera stated, holding out her hand. This surprised her. At the start of the year, she wouldn’t ever dare to shake somebody’s hand, but now she did it so subconsciously, it was almost like second nature now. It stunned her how easy physical contact had become in her nearly half a year in attendance at Olirian. What stunned her more was Mana accepted the offered handshake.
“Mana says that you have a deal, Ferain. Truth be told, Mana was always wanting to spend more time with you.”
“Well…” Fera started, nervously, pulling her hand back and holding it near her chest. “Lilipa and Anita are going shopping with me in a couple of days. Would you like to tag along?”
“Shopping? For what?” asked Mana.
“I… I don’t know.” Fera replied. “They wouldn't tell me. Anita says that I’ll try to get out of it if I know what it is, so they’re keeping it a secret. But…” she said hastily, “I’m sure they wouldn't mind another person coming with us.”
Mana’s expression shifted, and it almost looked like she was fighting back some powerful emotion. There was a glistening in her eyes that brought out the darker bronze color within the gold. “Mana would like that.” She then smiled widely. “I’ll even try to act normal if you want.”
“You’re always normal, Mana.” Fera stated. “Even if you’re not very consistent with how you speak.”
Mana laughed and to Fera’s surprise, she pulled her into a tight hug. “I’ve been feeling really lonely lately, Ferain. Thank you.”
“Then you should have said something. Do you want to eat lunch with Anita and me?”
“Can’t. Mana needs to go talk to Cross. She has a job to do, you know?”
“Don’t work yourself too hard, okay? And Mana,” Fera said, as her friend reached for the door. “Quit blaming yourself. I don’t blame you, and neither does anybody else. I think you’re doing a great job.”
Mana seemed choked up for a second so all she could do was reply with a brief nod. She hastily left the bathroom and Fera was soon to follow her out. She had to hurry to meet with Anita before lunch was over or her partner would never forgive her. That was at least what she always said whenever Ferain was late, and she found it cute, to be honest. If Ferain really had to be open about what she thought, she found a lot of things about Anita cute. Her silver hair, her bubbly, positive attitude, her supportive nature. The reality of the situation was that Ferain had never felt this way about any other person before. It was a… unique feeling, like a lightness in her chest and a floating in her stomach. When she was around Anita, there was an odd warmth in her heart and her brain always seemed to be in other places, especially nowadays.
It had been so long since Ferain had real friends that she wondered if this was normal between two people who were close to one another, or if there was something else going on with them. She kept quiet about this, of course, and continued on as if nothing was out of the ordinary. To some extent, she even thought that after some time, these feelings of hers would go away or go back to how they were when they first met, but that didn’t seem to be the case. It was instead getting to the point now where even training was difficult to focus on. Instead of watching for Anita’s incoming attacks, she focused more on her body in a different way, like how soft her skin was or how good she smelt.
Soon enough, she found their table in the cafeteria and for another time since lunch started, she was left surprised by something. The table wasn’t just occupied by Anita, but also Lilipa, the small girl that always followed Yarin around. Today, her long black hair was white as snow, and her eyes were an even brighter yellow than Fera’s, which already was bright enough to appear glowing in certain lighting. This was Lilipa’s power, the ability to change her body at will, though she did say one time that small changes, primarily eye color, had a tendency to change on its own. Lilipa was only about four feet tall, give or take an inch or two. She really was the size of a child in every way, despite actually being fifteen, just like Anita and Ferain. She had her bag on the chair and sat atop it so she could get a little bit higher over the table. It was an odd sight, seeing a high schooler needing a boost in their seat, and watching their feet kick back and forth over the floor.
Sometimes, Ferain found it difficult to not forget that Lilipa was her age, especially when she sometimes had a childish enough nature to match the appearance. Ferain took a seat beside her, across from Anita, and set her bag down at her feet, leaning it against the leg of the table they all shared. Anita appeared to be ignoring Lili’s presence, seeing as they didn’t really get along. It wasn’t that they didn’t like each other, in fact, Fera suspected Anita really did enjoy the girl’s company, they just fought a lot. Anita enjoyed teasing Lili, who always had a bite to counter Anita’s bark.
“What are you doing here, Lili?” asked Ferain.
“That’s what I wanted to know.” Anita said, begrudgingly. “Don’t you have Yarin’s side to be glued to?” she added.
“Yarin is in the middle of something with Kiko at the moment. They had some errand to run for a teacher, or something like that.” Lili answered, and she seemed to be just as upset as Anita did. Fera knew that Yarin and Lili were nearly inseparable, though she wasn’t exactly sure how long they had known each other, or how they met. She knew they were childhood friends, but that was the extent of her knowledge. “I don’t see why it’s a problem anyway.” Lili snapped. “We’re friends, aren’t we? We’re even going shopping for the sw–”
“Hey!” Anita shouted, interrupting her, before looking nervously towards Fera, who now gave Lilipa a curious stare. “It’s supposed to be a secret.” Anita then muttered.
“Why? It’s just a shopping trip. Eh, it’s not my problem anyway.” Lili then stated, before taking a sip from the juice box she held in both of her hands.
“That doesn’t really answer why you’re here at our table.” Anita pointed out.
“Cut her some slack.” Fera said. “It’s alright for her to hang out. Oh, and speaking of the shopping trip, I invited Mana along too.”
“Really? You got her to come out with us?” asked Anita, stunned enough to stop midway through taking a bite of her lunch.
“She’s kind of weird.” Lilipa mentioned. “I don’t know if having her along is a good idea.”
“Like you’re one to talk.” Anita grumbled, before finishing her bite.
“Yeah, I did, and she’s not that weird. She just likes to mix up how she talks.” Fera said.
“Yeah, and she keeps everything she does a secret. Does she even have a partner? What powers does she have? Why transfer here in the first place? If you ask me, there’s too much off about her, and she’s a little crazy, I think.” Lili stated, after finishing her juice.
“Those are actually some good questions.” Anita pointed out. “We’ve known her since the ship but we still don’t know much about her. The strange agent is her adoptive father, and she has a habit of talking in the third-person sometimes. That’s about all we know.”
“Maybe our trip can be a chance to learn more about her. I mean, she was sort of my second friend since leaving home, and I want to get to know her better. And, Lili, you’re not one to talk about partners. I’ve never seen yours either.”
“I don’t have one.” Lili said, nonchalantly.
“What?” gasped Anita.
“Yeah. I was assigned some random girl when I got here and we didn’t really get along. I knew we wouldn’t. The only partner I ever wanted was Yarin, so I went to the headmaster about it after getting to the school. I told him that I would rather drop out than have another partner.”
“So he let you go without one?” Anita questioned.
“Yep, obviously. I guess you really are the smart one, Sparky, she really doesn’t have much going for her besides her pretty face.”
“Don’t be like that, I have some other features as well.” Anita said, and she leaned forward so her breasts touched the edge of the table.
Lilipa glared angrily at Anita’s chest and then back up at her face with a murderous gleam in her eyes. “At least I’m not a cow.” she then growled.
Anita’s eyes began glowing but both of the girls jumped suddenly in their seats while letting out small squeaks, mostly from surprise, Fera suspected. Now, both of their gazes were locked onto Ferain, who had a guilty, but pleased expression. She held up a finger and smiled.
“Keep arguing and I’ll do it again.” she promised, and a blue arc of static crackled at the tip of her finger.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“Not a good idea.” came Yarin’s chilling voice. Fera turned to see him walking up with a book open in one hand, and his eyes scanning its pages intently. Kiko was at his side, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his pants. Yarin’s crimson eyes flitted upwards to look at Fera over the top of his novel. “You’re getting better but I wouldn’t recommend using it on your friends just yet.” he added, closing the book and glaring at Lilipa. “As for you, I told you to wait for me at the gym.”
Lilipa stuck out her tongue playfully. “You know me, Yarin, I never listen.”
“I know, and it’s going to get you in some real trouble someday.”
“Let her be, man.” came Kiko’s lazy, docile tone. “She’s old enough to wander around on her own, even if she looks like a runt.”
“Runt, am I?” snapped Lili, and between her ‘fierce’ childish growl, and the kicking of the feet that didn’t reach the tiled ground, Kiko could only respond with a chuckle.
“Runt.” he repeated, grinning slyly.
Fera saw Yarin shake his head as a look of exhaustion found his youthful face. He then turned his gaze on her. “Ferain, I want to test you tomorrow.”
“Test?” she repeated, surprised at the finality to which he said it with.
“Yes, a test,” he answered. “I have some other commitments coming up that will be occupying my time so I need to see if I can leave you be for a while. If your training has come far enough, I intend to let you continue on your own for the time being.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” said Anita. “I mean, the headmaster himself asked you to teach her. Do you think he’ll be okay with you stopping the training?"
“I already spoke to him about it.” said Yarin. “He knows, and he agreed. If your training has come far enough, Ferain, he has given his permission for our lessons to cease. Of course, I wouldn’t mind continuing them later, but for the time being, I’ll be quite busy.”
“That’s alright with me, I suppose. I don’t really have a reason to refuse anyhow. Can you tell me what you’re doing?” she asked.
“Good try, Prodigy, but he won’t even tell me what’s going on.” interjected Kiko. “He is the strongest wielder in the school, who knows what could be taking up his time.”
“Strongest.” spat Lili. “I don’t think you could sound more like a leech.” she added, with a faint snarl while crossing her arms over her chest.
“I’m not a leech, I’m a lucky leech.” Kiko admitted, grinning lazily as he put a hand lightly on Yarin’s shoulder. “Isn’t that right, bud? I’m here for emotional support while you carry our way through the school. We’re a perfect duo.”
Yarin shook off his touch and glanced back at Fera. “Anyway, you can also consider this a warm-up for the advancement test coming up soon. You are taking it, I assume.”
“I… I don’t really know.” she replied, avoiding her mentor’s watchful gaze. “What if I hurt somebody again, like with Copper and that one guy from the team game?”
“Then you hurt them.” Yarin said, coldly. “You have enough control now to hold back when needed, seeing as that was our primary focus for the first couple of weeks. As long as you’ve been keeping up with the exercises, you should be fine. Plus, wielders are naturally tough, and are more than capable of taking a few powerful blows.”
“I-I’ll think about it, Yarin, but don’t hold your breath.” she said, glumly.
“Fine, but whatever your decision, I want to see you at lunch tomorrow for the test. We’ll do it privately in the gym, I’ve already arranged it with Headmaster Hakamura. Make sure you’re there. As for our training tonight, I recommend you take a break and get back to it tomorrow. Rest up and get ready for it, I won’t be going easy on you. Lilipa, come on, we need to get going.”
“Aye, sir.” Lilipa said happily, saluting her closest friend. She slid off of her bag and scooped it up in her arms before chasing after Yarin. She turned and gave a gleeful wave to both Fera and Anita before running to catch up to the two boys, who had not waited for her.
Later that night, Ferain was lying restlessly on her bed, staring up at the ceiling as some stars from a blue nightlight covered it with its pattern. The band she had on the nightstand beside her bed beeped, signaling that another hour had come and gone, meaning it was now midnight. Ever since lunch earlier that day, she had no way of calming the racing concerns in her mind, and the conflicted emotions in her heart. The advancement test was only a few short weeks away, if that, and she knew she should be excited to take part. She had learned a lot in her short time at the school, and if she really wanted to prove what she could do now, this test was the way to do it. There was something she couldn't shake, however, a nagging feeling that gnawed at the back of her mind.
“What if it makes people hate me more?” was the question that ran around constantly. Ferain had come to terms with the fact that there was no pleasing everybody. No matter what she did, it always seemed to earn her more and more hate, so why would this be any different? Anita had even said as much, though Fera didn’t need her partner to convey that since she was already wondering this for a while now. The conclusion she came to originally was that passing the test would feed into the idea that she had been lying since the start, and had only recently wanted to start putting in any effort. It was stupid, impudent even, but there was no way she could prove them wrong.
“Are they wrong?” she asked herself, holding her right hand in front of her face and letting thin blue veins of lightning crackle between the fingers. “I was always afraid of them, but to say I never had any control would be a lie. It took a lot of effort to keep myself from exploding on a regular basis. Plus, I did intentionally hold back my powers during the evaluation for the scholarship test. There is some truth to it though.” she then admitted to herself. “The mess during the classification exams was real enough.”
Ferain sighed wearily as she draped her arm over her eyes and shook her head slowly. After a quiet exhale, she sat up and found herself sliding out of her bed. The oversized hoodie she wore was gray and stopped at her thighs, covering just enough to hide what needed to stay hidden. She walked towards the door, running a hand through her tangles of brown hair, and pulled it open to meet the quiet of the still apartment. The hall and the rooms past it were only lit by faint traces of moonlight, and there was a pleasant, lonely quiet to the atmosphere. Or, there normally was. In place of the silence, she heard something that sounded like music, though it was muffled. Fera’s head turned to the right, in the direction of Anita’s room, which seemed to be the source of whatever this noise was. It was a soft humming sound, almost like a guitar, and as she grew closer, Fera grew more certain that it was just that. She had seen a few instruments in Anita’s room, but she had never heard the girl play them before.
When Fera neared the door, she heard the strumming more clearly. It was steady and sounded quite skillful. To her, it also sounded melancholy, bittersweet, and made an odd longing well up inside of her, even if she didn’t know what she longed for. The strumming suddenly stopped and there was a loud bang against what sounded like wood.
“Dang it.” Anita growled, from the other side of the door, unaware still that Fera was listening. “Why can’t I figure you out?” Anita asked, and Fera assumed she was talking to herself.
Ferain didn’t know why her feet brought her here, but after finding her courage, she knocked on the door and committed to whatever this was. From the other side, she heard sheets rustling and the soft footsteps of her partner walking towards the door. It opened slowly and when Anita was in the doorway, she noticed that she was holding her left arm behind her back while her right hand was gripping the knob.
“Fera?” she gasped. “C-can I help you with anything?” she asked, sounding nervous, like she was caught doing something she shouldn’t.
Fera too was stunned, but this was because of the way her partner looked presently. Anita’s room had a window that let in the perfect amount of moonlight. The soft gleam of silver washed over her friend’s body, acting as a gorgeous backdrop that made Anita appear as some sort of angel. Her silver hair was a bit of a mess, seeming as if she had run her hands through it several times over in frustration, and she was only wearing a pair of shorts and a pink tank top. Still, none of this took away from her natural beauty. If anything, the sight made Fera’s heart race even faster. If she had been looking for a way to fall asleep quicker, it was becoming increasingly clear that this was not the solution she needed to find.
“I… I-I don’t know.” Fera softly muttered. “I couldn’t sleep, and I… I’m sorry, I’ll head back to my–”
“No!” Anita hurriedly said, louder than she probably intended it originally. “I mean, since you’re already here… Perhaps, if you wanted, you could come in?” Anita’s face went bright red but she quickly shook her head. “I couldn’t sleep either, so maybe we can help each other out.”
“S-sure.” Fera said, and Anita smiled at the response.
She stepped aside to allow Fera to enter, and she didn’t fail to notice how Anita kept her left arm out of sight. She decided against asking about it, and instead walked over to the bed, where Anita offered her a seat at the end of it. Anita hopped on near the head of the mattress and pulled the sheets over her body to cover herself. She wrapped herself up tight, like a cocoon of some kind, and then nestled comfortably into her makeshift nest.
“So, something on your mind?” asked Anita, her silver locks of hair falling around the light blue sheets that acted as her cloak. From Fera’s place, Anita looked more like a small child than she ever had before, and seemed like she was waiting for somebody to read her some sort of bedtime story to help her sleep. Fera, however, had no such thing. The only things she could offer up were discontented worries and possibly well founded self-doubts.
“What am I doing here?” Fera asked herself, silently staring into the gleaming irises of her gray eyed companion.
“Go on, tell me.” Anita said, almost bouncing in her seat. “I know something’s up, might as well spill the beans.”
“It’s the advancement test.” Fera admitted, finally.
“Oh? Not the test with Yarin?” asked Anita.
“There’s that too, but I’m more concerned about the other one. So much could go wrong, and I just don’t want to make a mistake. Also… I don’t know… I just… don’t feel ready. I’m scared. It might make everything worse instead of better. It might make people hate me more. Or… what if I fail? What if I take the test and fail in front of everyone? What if…” Fera looked away and felt all of her doubts rising to the surface now, and she appeared to be unable to push them back down. “What if it proves that I don’t belong here?”
“You belong here just as much as everybody else.” Anita said, firmly. She had a serious tone in her voice, and when Fera looked up, she saw a fierce, fiery passion in her stormy eyes. “You won’t fail, and you know why? It’s because you’re strong, and you’re brave, and you’ve been trying really, really hard.” Anita threw off her sheets as she leaned forward, putting her arms in front of her to support herself. Fera saw how red Anita’s cheeks were becoming while the moonlight danced across her pale skin and bright hair. “You won’t fail because you do deserve to be here. And so what if you don’t go up a level? They don’t mean anything, the headmaster said it himself. So what if the other students still hate you? They don’t matter either.”
“Anita?” gasped Ferain, as Anita crawled a bit closer, so that their faces were only a few inches away from one another.
“You’re perfect the way you are, Ferain, and you shouldn’t keep doubting yourself. You’ve gotten really strong, and you’ve done it so quickly that it’s crazy. You’re worth so much more than you give yourself credit for and I hate how you keep pushing yourself back down. That’s not the girl I lo…”
Anita stopped abruptly and let out a quiet squeak of surprise as she pulled herself back. She quickly hid her left arm again before pulling the sheets back over her body, apparently collecting her composure once more.
“Anyway, you won’t fail, Ferain, even if you don’t go up a level. I guess… that’s what I wanted to say. Just… don’t give up on yourself, okay? You deserve better than that.”
Fera felt her heart beating in her chest, and her hair was standing on end as a shiver ran through her body, which felt significantly hotter than it had before.
“R-right.” stammered Fera. “I… I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t. You’re right, of course. Umm… anyway… That music you were playing, you seemed frustrated.” Fera said, trying to shift the topic, and hoping Anita would talk again so she had time to regain her own composure.
Ferain didn’t expect Anita to be that serious about defending her from herself. She knew Anita would obviously try to cheer her up, but not like that, not that enthusiastically. Then there was the word she stopped short of saying.
“Love?” Fera wondered. “Was that what she was going to say? But… It’s normal for close friends to say that, of course. We’re like sisters or something, or really close friends.” But even after thinking that, even after trying to convince herself that was the case for the reason of not getting her hopes up, there was another voice in the back of her mind. “If that’s the case, why did she stop? Why did she seem so embarrassed by it?”
Fera shook the thoughts away as she focused on Anita’s wondering glances, which quickly found the guitar she had set down beside her. Anita ran a thin finger along the sleek, mahogany surface of the acoustic instrument, as lovingly as a mother would touch their child. A thin crease of her lips showed that she was grinning, but it didn’t seem like a positive expression this time around. It felt, to Fera anyway, like a darker emotion, such as anger.
“A song I’m working on.” Anita muttered, before plucking a brass string on the aged guitar. “I… Well, it’s kind of embarrassing, I guess. It’s not really a power, per se, but I imagine that each person has a music about them, a specific tune or melody that fits who they are. Whenever I meet a person, I like to find that melody, but I’ve been having a lot of difficulty with this one in particular. I can’t pin it down.”
“How long have you been trying?” asked Fera.
“Close to six months. You see, there’s this person I ran into and I don’t know, I guess they’ve been growing so fast, I can’t lock in their sound. It keeps changing, and I’m pretty conflicted on how I feel, and I don’t know how they feel, and everything seems like a jumbled up mess right now. I keep trying to find it, that perfect melody, but I can’t. Nothing I play feels right.”
“Sounds aggravating.” Fera softly murmured.
“Quite.” Anita agreed, in just as soft a tone. “Out of everything, I would say that this is bothering me the most. I’ve never had this sort of trouble before now.” Anita looked into Fera’s eyes and she smiled, this time much more warmly, but it still seemed like she was searching for something, something that would help ease this ache of hers. “It’s not a big deal, I assure you. Just a personal problem of my own making.”
“Before, you said that we might help each other.” Fera pointed out. “Maybe I can help. I’ve never touched a guitar before, but perhaps… I don’t know. Maybe I won’t be of much use, after all, only… I hate seeing you upset… so I wanted to help.”
“Maybe you can,” said Anita.
She grabbed her guitar, revealing her left arm, but as she prepared to play the instrument, Fera could only see the top side of her forearm, which seemed to be the part she was always hiding from view. Fera knew it was wrong of her to be so curious, or to at least be trying to secretly catch whatever it was that Anita was trying to hide, but she couldn’t help it. Still, if there was something there, it had to be on the underside, the place that Fera could not see. Though, she had to admit that maybe it was always just coincidence, and Anita didn’t have anything to hide in the first place. That was, of course, always a possibility.
“Here, I’m going to play what I’ve got, and I want you to tell me what you think. Easy enough, right?”
“I-I suppose so.” Fera said, hastily, snapping out of her curious staring and hoping Anita did not notice. “I have to admit, Anita, I don’t really know what I’ll be listening for. I don’t even listen to music that often.”
“Still, I think your input will be valuable.” Anita said, with a loving gleam in her glistening eyes of dazzling moonlight.
Anita closed her eyes next, and softly began plucking the strings at the base of the guitar. Her left hand fingers were delicately, and expertly, dancing across the fretboard. It was a slow melody, one that made Fera feel like she was in a forest in the middle of the night, but it wasn’t scary, it was peaceful. There was a soft rain falling around her, but she remained dry, and the sounds of this drifting tune could be heard from the distance, like it was echoing all around her. It made her feel calm, but like how it sounded in the hallway, it also had hints of melancholy and sadness. Fera had never heard anything like it before, but it still felt familiar somehow, like she knew it from somewhere. There was a rising warmth that started in her stomach and began filling her body, going to her heart and lungs, before finding its way to her lips, where whatever it was desired to be let free. Ferain closed her eyes, opened her mouth just a bit, and began to hum along with the tune.
She was never a singer, and while she perhaps didn’t sound terrible, she doubted she was anywhere near the levels of a professional artist. Still, despite this, and despite her usual shyness to express herself in such a way, even in private, she let her voice carry and intertwine with the melody. Anita didn’t seem to mind either, seeing as she continued playing the song. In fact, an angelic hum joined her own, and she knew that her partner was mimicking what she was doing. Fera soon stopped as Anita slowed down again on the playing. After the final two strings were hit, and their soothing tunes carried in the mostly silent room, Anita finished with a slowing, breathy hum. Her voice faded into silence, her eyes slowly opened, and Fera was stunned into speechlessness as their gazes met once more. Anita’s face was empty, there was no curving of her lips in either direction, and her eyes seemed lost and unfocused. Fera felt as if she might look the same, feeling also that it would be impossible for her to think or act for some time.
There were no other noises now, just their breathing, which had grown somewhat quick in the passing seconds. It was just their two silhouettes, backdropped by the silver grace of the night’s subtle glow. Anita seemed to be thinking, and after several more seconds, she ran a hand along the curve of her guitar and smirked.
“Perfect.” came a muttered disturbance, though it was still nearly a whisper. In this quiet, however, even that much seemed to be as loud as a gunshot.
“A-are you sure?” Fera murmured, quickly, wincing as her breathless question cut through the strange atmosphere that had been built around them.
“Positive. I think you’re what it’s been missing.”
“Nonsense. You’re just saying that.”
“I don’t normally just say things, Ferain. Thank you, and I’m being serious. You helped me a lot.”
Fera blushed and rubbed the back of her neck as she looked away, trying to hide her swelling embarrassment. “I’m glad. Anyway… It’s getting late. I should probably go back to my room and try to get some sleep. Your song helped, so I might be able to now.” Fera started to slide out of the bed when Anita’s hand quickly grabbed the sleeve of her shirt. Fera looked back and saw that it was Anita’s left hand, and on her forearm, she saw… “Anita?”
“You showed me yours.” Anita said. “It’s… only fair.”
Fera still stared silently, too stunned to speak. Anita’s left forearm had thirteen white lashes, starting where her wrist met her hand, and going up towards the bend where her elbow was. They all seemed shallow, and all reflected some of the silver light leaking in through the panes of glass beside the bed. It wasn’t necessarily the scars themselves that caused Fera’s astonishment. It was the fact that Anita, of all people, would have these particular scars. Anita, who seemed so positive, who usually was the optimistic and bubbly one of the pair, and she had done such a thing to her body?
“They’re disgusting, I know.” Anita said, softly. “I hate them. They make me sick. It’s only natural that you would hate them too. That's why I hid them for so long.” she added, looking towards the floor to further avoid Ferain’s searching looks.
“No, I don’t. I don’t think they’re disgusting at all. Only, I don’t understand. Why did you…”
“I was stupid.” Anita answered. “For some reason, I thought it would be the only way to vent all of my frustrations. I didn’t have anybody else to take it out on. I only had me.” Anita paused for several seconds, and Fera was content on giving her the time she needed to start again. “Hey, Ferain, can you sleep in here tonight? I still don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep, and I don’t want to be alone.”
Fera accepted that Anita was done talking about her scars, and she accepted that they were a part of her, no matter what she said or would say. And she had said the truth, Ferain did not mind them one bit. Anita accepted her own horrible blemishes, the ones that were constant reminders of her terrible past, so Fera knew she could accept Anita’s just as easily. She smiled, despite her concerns with sharing a bed with any person, primarily due to her powers, and nodded.
“Okay.” she said. “If you want, I don’t mind.”
Anita beamed at this and after setting the guitar down in between her bed and the nightstand next to it, she shifted to give Ferain enough space to lie down beside her. They were both back to back, Fera facing the open room while Anita faced the wall, which didn’t feel right to her, but that was what Anita decided. She closed her eyes and tried to fall into a slumber, but there was a nagging question that still lingered in her thoughts, one that needed to be asked before it would let her drift off.
“Anita?” asked Ferain.
“Yeah?”
“Who’s song was that?”
She heard Anita’s familiar giggle and felt the shake of her head. “Yours.” came her reply, and while Fera suspected it, it still came as a surprise.
“I really liked it.” Fera whispered.
She felt Anita shift, but she did not say anything afterwards.
“Anita.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m going to do the test. I’m going to pass it too.”
“I know.” Anita said quietly, and this was the last time either of them spoke that night. Soon, they were both breathing softly, and their minds were far away, lost in their dreams.