Inyssa wasn't thankful for much. Most things in life she considered truly valuable (Barry, her Pokemon, her skills as a trainer and her analytical mind) she'd all acquired herself, without anyone's help.
All things considered though, her family's health insurance had pretty much paid for itself ever since she began her journey.
A grunt of pain escaped her lips as she sat on the chair in front of her doctor's desk. Its metal felt uncomfortably cold, since she was wearing nothing more than a hospital gown. The woman across her looked down at a stack of papers on her hand, absentmindedly biting the cap of her pen while her eyes flew through what was written in them. The nameplate on top of her desk read: 'Dr. Sandra Moore'. She looked young, probably no older than thirty.
"All right… shall we start?" she asked after clearing her throat.
Inyssa shifted uncomfortably on her seat.
It wouldn't have been accurate to say she'd been worried sick all week. After all, about half of it she'd spent in and out of consciousness, mind hazy and deliriously feverish. Even four days after stabilizing, her body still felt like someone had wrung it out like a wet dish towel. Walking more than a few steps made her lightheaded, and her appetite had pretty much disappeared. Not to mention the searing pain on her back every time she moved.
Still, she might've been slightly nervous. It wasn't every day one got told the results of their medical tests which would determine whether they'd suffered permanent muscle damage or not.
That's just what she needed, on top of everything else. She'd already gotten tired of silently wishing she could tear apart her body piece by piece and replace it with something else, so of course things had to get worse.
With a gulp she swallowed down whatever was stuck in her throat and replied. "Yeah… I'm ready."
"First, I'd say congratulations are in order." She looked over her glasses, forming a tiny smile. "I've been told you're recovering a lot faster than expected. Kids nowadays must be made of stronger stuff than in my time."
Inyssa let out a nervous laugh, trying to ignore the feeling of someone smiling smugly behind her. Even though she knew the doctor couldn't see Uxie, its presence still made her uneasy.
"Now… let's work from your lesser injuries up to the more severe ones," said the doctor. "Looks like the bruise on your leg and the cut above your eye have stopped swelling. I didn't want to give you painkillers for those in fear they might mix badly with the rest of the medicine you've been taking, and because I considered them not to be very serious injuries."
Inyssa nodded. "I didn't notice those much, to be honest. They only hurt when I touch them."
"I'm sure they'll heal shortly," said Sandra. "As for your shoulders… it seems you pulled a muscle on each. Have you been applying ice bags like the nurses told you to?"
She tried to reply, but the words didn't come to her. A memory resurfaced when she closed her eyes; she saw herself again, struggling furiously to set herself free from the Galactic bastards trying to immobilize her. She remembered the pain when they pulled at her arms with much more strength than necessary. She remembered the sound of electricity and the smell of blood and burnt flesh, though strangely enough no images were attached to those particular sensations.
It was a very vivid memory, one which vanished the moment she opened her eyes again, which flashed golden for a moment before returning to normal.
"Inyssa? Are you okay?"
She startled back to reality, and nodded weakly. "Yeah… yeah, I've been doing that. It doesn't… hurt anymore."
"As expected." Sandra looked down and wrote something in one of the papers. "Now… for the big one."
Inyssa held her breath, fingers curled painfully against the gown over her lap. This was it, the moment of truth, if one could even call it that.
"When looking at wounds caused by electrocution, there are three things we focus on," Sandra explained. "The circulatory, respiratory and nervous system. It seems your heart might've stopped for a moment after you were attacked, but we haven't noticed any irregularity or arrhythmia since then. Your lungs are fine too, as strong and healthy as ever. As for the rest…" She clicked her tongue, tilting her head slightly, "…there is some minor damage to the skin and nerves on your back, but nothing that can't be healed. You might suffer minor spasms and cramps on those particular muscles, but that's as worse as it'll get."
A throaty, weak laugh left Inyssa's throat. She leaned back into her chair and looked up at the ceiling, her breathing getting less shallow as the seconds passed.
"Thank fucking god…" she whispered. "I… guess I lucked out, huh."
Sandra pursed her lips in an attempt not to imitate her laugh. "That depends on what you consider lucky. People survive being struck by lightning all the time. What happened to you isn't much different. Honestly, what almost killed you wasn't that, it was the fever and exhaustion you arrived here with."
"I'm sturdy enough to survive that," Inyssa shrugged. "Though I kinda underestimated how taxing teleporting is on your body."
She tried to sound as confident as possible, something which had never been her strong suit unless she were talking about Pokemon fighting. Still, it was the lie she'd chosen and she needed to stick with it. She'd told everyone except Barry that she'd escaped Team Galactic's grasp by stealing someone's Pokeball and using their Pokemon to teleport away.
"You're not the first to make that mistake," said Sandra, apparently not noticing her lie. "Most people think using a Pokemon to teleport is like opening two doors in different points in space and stepping through them. In reality, when your body is teleports it loses as much energy as it would've expended covering that distance on foot. Roughly." She made a 'so-so' gesture with her hand. "In the past people have died of exhaustion by trying to teleport themselves to other regions. Your case wasn't as bad, though you certainly came close."
While the thought did make her feel like a Charmander whose tail someone had dumped a bucket of water on, she was shocked to realize how accustomed she'd gotten to the sensation. The words 'You almost died' didn't seem to carry the same weight as before, after everything she'd been through.
That's… good? She thought, biting her lip. I… think?
"Despite your rapid recovery, I'd suggest you stay here for at least another week before we discharge you," the woman said. "Just to be sure."
She let out a sigh. "If I have no other choice…"
"You don't," Sandra smiled. "But let's try to make the best of it, all right? Give your body the rest it deserves."
Inyssa smiled back, and it surprised her how easily it came to her. Normally smiling to people other than Barry was something she had to prepare for. Even then, she noticed a hint of nervousness in the doctor's smile. As the silence in the room grew, she looked down first at her papers and then at the other side of the room, where close to the door lay a tall piece of furniture much like a wardrobe, only flat. The dual doors were wide open, a six foot mirror stuck to the inside of each one.
Sandra finally spoke, "We can postpone it if you…"
"No," said Inyssa, jaw set. "I'll do it."
She stood up, the muscles on her back flaring as if they were being stretched to their limits. Slowly she turned toward the double mirrors, and did not move. Strange, considering that's exactly what she was telling her legs to do.
Come on, she chastised herself. Putting it off won't solve anything.
Sandra placed a hand on her shoulder, and with premeditated care she helped her make her way there. As soon as she stepped in between the mirrors her breathing became shallower. Infinite copies of herself stretched at her right and left, all looking equally brittle, while another endless row of Uxie floated above her. She felt its invisible eyes on her back. Quiet and observant. Curious.
"Whenever you feel like it," the doctor reminded her.
Inyssa let out a sound which could've been a throaty 'yes' and, wanting to get it over with as fast as possible, undid the straps on the side of her gown and let it fall to the ground.
She closed her eyes just before the image appeared on the mirror, and hated herself for it. What was she, a fucking child? All she'd been through, all the times she'd looked at death in the face, and it was her own body that really terrified her? She'd seen herself naked in the mirror before, even if the sight made her irrationally furious. She was better than this. Pushing her fear to the deepest part of her mind, she forced herself to open her eyes and look up.
Her blood turned cold. There wasn't any fear, or sadness, only shock.
Gruesome was the first word which came to mind, and if she were fully aware of what she was thinking she would've considered it pretty accurate.
She could see the exact place where the attack had hit her. A few inches below her left shoulder blade there was a patch of burnt flesh the size of a fist. The skin was wrinkly and mangled, and it reminded her of the disgusting film which formed over milk as it boiled. It was painful to look at, yes, but if that'd been as far as it went Inyssa could've at least reacted normally to it. Unfortunately, there was more.
From the center of the burn mark grew dozens of thinner, vine-like scars, each of which broke off into a dozen more as they carved their way through her body. On her back they reached up to the base of her nape and down to her tailbone. And on her arms…
O-oh my god…
Another memory flashed through her eyes. Suddenly, she was a child again. Her tiny hands grabbed onto Shadi's arm strongly as she tried to bury her face on her sister's coat, afraid of the painting she'd just seen. Afraid of that terrible woman, of her bloody sword and the boundless rage burning behind her eyes. She remembered the way her bare arms looked. Those vine-like scars carved onto them, twisting around each other like ropes of fire.
They weren't exactly the same, no. Inyssa's had a different shape, more resembling lightning bolts than flames, but it was hard to ignore the similarities. They curved the exact same way along the length of her arms, and both ended at the base of their palms.
"I know this can be a lot to take in…"
She barely registered the doctor's voice. Her gaze was set, unblinking, on the image displayed in front of her. She didn't move, couldn't move, her bones feeling made of ice.
"This type of scarring is common to those who have been hit by lightning or by some electric Pokemon's attack," Sandra continued. "In the medical field it's referred to as a Lichtenberg figure, though most people know it by the name 'lightning flower'."
Inyssa wanted to laugh. She didn't know why, it would've been incredibly out of place, but still she couldn't help it. Something about what she'd just heard was terribly funny to her.
"As I said before, there is very little chance of these scars causing you pain or discomfort after you leave this hospital. However…" There was a short, heavy pause. "I'm… afraid there's only so much your body can do to heal them. Eventually they will fade from that bright red to a pale silver, but I don't think they'll ever fully disappear."
Somehow, she'd known that from the moment she'd seen them. The way they looked, the way they felt, there was a certain finality to them, and as she spun her arms to examine every inch of the burning spider web of scars, she might've come up with an idea as to why.
You made your bed, now lie in it. That phrase came to mind, and Inyssa couldn't help but smile.
"I apologize for not being able to help you further," she heard Sandra say behind her. "I know it must be hard, but if you need any–"
"No, it's fine."
Her fingers curled strongly into fists, and the stretching of her muscles sent a slightly painful shiver throughout her body. As she closed her eyes, she could almost feel a small crackle of electricity surging through her scars, which made the hair on the back of her neck stand up on end. She felt Uxie smile behind her.
When she spoke, her voice carried some of the strength it'd lost during the past week. "I… kinda knew something like this would happen eventually. Honestly, I was ready to deal with much worse." She remembered the day she'd dug Bertha's grave, how her thoughts had been similar to what she was thinking now, only much gloomier. "These are just cosmetic, like you said. If a few scars is the price I have to pay to stay true to myself and oppose Team Galactic… then I don't have a problem with it."
She turned around to face Sandra, arms raised to the side and a lopsided smile on her face.
"Besides… they look kinda cool, don't they?"
Sandra shone her a tender smile, nodding.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"That they do, yes. I'm… glad you're taking this well, Inyssa. A positive attitude will work wonders toward speeding your recovery."
To tell the truth, Inyssa wasn't feeling very positive at the moment. But… so what if she'd forced herself to say those words; wasn't that what it meant to look on the bright side? She was proud of what she'd done and no one could take that away from her, but until she could also learn not to feel bad about it… where was the harm in slightly faking it?
A positive attitude… she thought, smiling. God, I'm starting to think like Barry.
Despite her best efforts, a slight blush tinted her cheeks. The idea didn't bother her as much as it would've done so a few months ago.
The examination only lasted for a couple more minutes, in which Sandra explained how she should take care of her body after she left. What ointments to use for her scar, what pills to take for her somewhat latent fever, etc. Inyssa was about to leave, hand already on the doorknob, when she heard her speak once more:
"By the way…" The tone of her voice felt less formal as she spoke, "…everything I said to you today was from me as a doctor. But… there is something I'd like to tell you as a citizen of Celestic."
Inyssa looked over her shoulder, brow furrowed in confusion.
"You know, I was attending the Festival of Spirit with my daughter when… it happened." She gulped, looking down. "The look in that man's eyes… he passed right by us, you know. I feel confident in saying that I've never been more terrified of anyone in my life."
Absentmindedly, she lowered her glasses and placed them on top of her desk. Her eyes set on Inyssa, the same stormy grey as those of Cynthia and every other Celestic citizen she'd seen.
"And yet you and your friend chose to stand up to him, you chose to protect us," she said. "It might not mean much coming from someone like me, but… in the name of my town, my family and myself…thank you."
Inyssa didn't know why those words stunned her. She didn't know why she failed to come up with a response or to even say something back. She'd been thanked before for doing stupid, reckless stuff, right? Why would this be any different?
And yet, as she thought that, the answer was pretty clear in her mind. Before, she'd been too stubborn to accept her actions as anything but selfish and self-serving, because that's what she believed herself to be. Maybe if Sandra had told her these things a month or two ago, she would've dismissed it with a wave and a smile, never to think about it again.
But this time, it was different. Pride sprouted from the depths of her chest, and she couldn't stop herself from smiling widely. Her eyes stung, and for once she didn't feel bad about who she was.
All and all, it was the first time Inyssa really felt like a hero.
"T-thank you too," she muttered back. "And uh… farewell, I guess."
Sandra did something strange; arm still at her side, she brought her left hand over her heart and formed a half-circle with her thumb and index finger. Inyssa felt like she recognized the gesture from somewhere.
"Until we meet again," she said. "May the moon always guide you."
----------------------------------------
Barry hated waiting. Despite his mother's best intentions, patience was the one thing she'd never been able to pass on to him. At no point did that become more obvious than at a time like this, being told that he needed to stay in the hospital for at least two more days.
"But daaad!" he whined, his free hand holding onto a sleeping Auri. "Niss is getting discharged tomorrow, and she was more hurt than me!"
Palmer, who walked alongside him through the hospital hallway, smiled apologetically and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. He carried himself with his typical, contagious energy and exuberance, despite the heavy bags under his eyes.
"A broken arm ain't something you should scoff at," he said. "I know it's frustrating, but sometimes you gotta know when to take a break. If you keep having life-risking adventures every day then you might end up like me!"
Barry chuckled, though without much enthusiasm. Looking down, he was met with the grim sight of the white case currently holding his right arm hostage. The nurse had told him he'd been lucky, that it was a clean fracture and it wouldn't take much to heal, but he was having trouble looking at the bright side despite her encouragement.
To make matters worse, Palmer would be leaving soon, just like Sarah had done a couple days ago. He understood, of course, there were only so many free days they could take from their jobs, especially when they were helping stop Team Galactic, but it still stung a bit.
At least I have Niss, he thought with a smile. It'd been almost two hours since he'd left the room for an examination, and he was already starting to miss her. He unconsciously hugged Auri closer to him, earning a sleepy snore as a response.
"All right kiddo, here's where I drop you off," Palmer said as they reached the door to their room. "Gotta go make some calls, make sure I haven't been fired yet."
"They'd need to find a better Frontier Brain for that," he smiled. "And I know that's not gonna happen."
Palmer placed a hand on his head and shuffled his hair enthusiastically. The gesture was one Barry had been at the receiving end of a million times, and it felt as reassuring as ever.
"Remember what I told you: your mom and her boss will drop off in the afternoon to talk to you kids. Try not to say anything too irreverent, or she'll end up blaming me," he said with a cheeky smile. "Go off, now. I'll see you later."
At first his intention was to obey and enter the room, but as his hand hovered over the doorknob, something hard forming on his stomach, he couldn't help but blurt out the question.
"Dad… is mom angry with me?"
Palmer was caught off guard. Not very noticeably, his face simply scrunched up a little, but Barry could feel it. He tapped onto Mesprit's power, turning his eyes golden and searching for a slight change in his father's emotions. He'd kinda gotten the hand of it lately, but he never expected he'd have to use it on him.
Anxiety, panic, apprehension. They hit him like gusts of wind, each one slightly different than the other. After a few moments Palmer managed to reign himself in, and his emotions went silent.
"I… you know it's not like that, kiddo." His smile was forced. "It's just, you know. I'm not good at… these kinda things."
Barry stopped himself from sighing. That was just like him; whenever Palmer didn't feel like discussing a touchy subject, he'd blurt out the same excuse. Barry still loved him, but it was a frustrating habit to deal with.
"It's okay if you gotta think about what to say for a while," said Barry. "But I'm not leaving without an answer."
Geez, I'm starting to sound like Niss, he thought with a smile.
Palmer rubbed the back of his neck, sighing. "Your mom's… just worried, all right? Between all her work and you two getting caught up in increasingly more dangerous situations…" He struggled to find his words for a moment, "Look, Sarah's not a trainer like us. Our pride, our… wanting to help even if it's not the logical thing to do, she thinks it's all stupid and pointless. And though I'm a Frontier Brain I gotta admit, sometimes she's right."
"We were just trying to do the right thing," he argued. "Does… does she really think we're stupid for that?"
"Sometimes there's a lot of different ways to do the right thing," Palmer shrugged. "You kids chose the high risk, high reward option. I can't blame you for that, honestly I would've done the same, but there were probably better ways to go about it than throwing yourselves at that monster and hoping you'd win."
Barry looked down, the gold in his eyes dissipating into a brown which reflected shame like a mirror. He felt another hand on his shoulder. It felt less reassuring the second time.
"It's nothing against you or your friend. Sarah just… hates that kinda mentality, and the idea of lone heroes in general. To her, heroism is inspiring others to act instead of doing everything yourself." He didn't say it, but there was an implied 'Even though she's working herself to the bone to keep you out of trouble' in his voice.
"I'm… sorry."
"Don't. It's not your fault you're like this, you have most of my genes after all," he said. "And I know there's no way in hell I can keep you from trouble, but at least before you do something dangerous remember that we worry, and we love you. All right?"
There was no need for a verbal response, Barry simply turned toward him and let himself be hugged by his father, landing his chin on top of his shoulder.
In the back of his mind, something stirred. For a moment he thought it could've been Mesprit waking up, but excitement left him as the legendary Pokemon's voice didn't sound inside his head. It hadn't spoken a single word to him ever since the attack, or more specifically ever since Niss came back with Uxie.
Still, whatever was Mesprit's problem, that was definitely it just now, he could feel it. Was it something he'd done?
Though, just as he began wondering, Palmer had come to the conclusion that so much fatherly wisdom at once was unbecoming of him. As such, he decided to sully his own record just a bit.
"All right, I'll stop hogging your time and let you go back to your friend." He pronounced the last word with a strange, deliberate intonation, something Barry wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't seen Palmer wink as well. "After two hours apart you must be missing her. Why, at your age me and your mom couldn't take our eyes off each other for two seconds!"
Barry's hair felt like it stood up on end, a wave of heat rushing to his cheeks.
"D–DAD!"
----------------------------------------
Barry noticed two very different things as he entered the room, eyes locking onto Niss.
First was that he felt relieved. An unconscious reaction, one which he knew would be hard to get rid of. It hadn't even been two weeks since that day, since the moment he'd seen her vanish into the air along with that man. He remembered the fear that had flooded him then, the fear that it'd be the last time he ever saw her. The past few nights, he'd found himself waking up abruptly and in a cold sweat, looking to the side to make sure she was still in the room with him.
Such an experience was not something he could get over so quickly. It'd be some time before the fear of losing her eased a bit.
The second –and most important– thing he noticed was Niss' reaction. The moment he'd opened the door he saw her staring down at the screen of a tablet she held, brow furrowed tightly. However, as soon as she heard the sound her body shook. Eyes going wide, she lowered the tablet to the sheets of her bed and looked up at him like a child who'd been caught doing something inappropriate.
They stared at each other, frozen, for a couple seconds.
"H-hey…" Barry said as he closed the door behind him. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. It's fine."
Her voice sounded strained. She cleared her throat and looked around the room, in that way she did whenever she wanted to avoid staring at someone. Were it not for Auri's soft snores, the room would've been completely silent.
Really? Barry thought, raising an eyebrow. He didn't even need Mesprit's powers to read her emotions, not that he would've done so without her permission.
"How… was the examination?" she asked after a moment.
"Good. They said it'll probably heal fast," he shrugged. "Also, dad told me that mom and someone else from the Association would come visit in an hour or so."
"Right. Yeah."
Without saying another word she shuffled her feet out from under the blankets and stood up, eyes squinting in pain as she did so. As she turned around to grab something, he caught her wiping part of her face with the sleeve of her sweater. He could've sworn he also heard her sniffling.
"Niss, really. Are you okay?"
She paused, shoulders tensing. Then a moment after she turned around and smiled. "I'm fine, dumbass. Might've caught the sniffles thanks to the cold, but that's it."
Barry narrowed his eyes in that 'I don't believe you, now stop being an idiot and tell me the truth' way that Niss was accustomed to. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to notice. Either that or she intentionally ignored it.
"I think I'll go take a shower," she said. "The spiffier I look when Sarah visits, the sooner she'll believe that I'm feeling better, and I'm aching to get out of here as soon as I can."
She said all that in a fast, hurried tone and left for the bathroom before Barry had a chance to stop her. Not that he'd do something like that, but it would've been nice to at least have the chance to.
What the heck is up with her?
Once again, he expected Mesprit to say something, to crack a joke or make an insensitive comment toward Niss. Once again, he was disappointed. Letting out a sigh of defeat, he approached his bed and placed a sleeping Auri on top of the pillow. The Togepi frowned in her sleep at first, but the softness of her new bed must've counteracted the fact that she was away from her trainer, and soon she was snoring peacefully once more.
"Jeez, you sleep more than Niss," he whispered, smiling. "Guess it's because you're so li–"
His voice drifted as he spotted a familiar glow coming from Niss' bed. Through the thin fabric of her sheets filtered the light of the tablet's screen, flickering on and off in a uniform rhythm. Barry stared at it, an idea forming on his mind.
It was a bad idea; he acknowledged that right out of the gate. Problem was, knowing one of his ideas was terrible seldom kept him from doing it anyway. His entire life stood as proof of it.
Niss is gonna kill me if she finds out.
With that thought clear in his mind, he grabbed the device from under the sheets and turned it on. The screen came to life, showing him an almost empty Home panel, most of which consisted of a colorful wallpaper of that one shounen anime Niss loved, with a few apps sprinkled here and there.
None of them seemed opened, but he knew better. He pressed the square button on the lower right corner of the screen, revealing the last app Niss was looking at. It looked like an internet forum of sorts; the top part was covered by a banner which read 'Sinnoh League Challenge and General Trainer Discussion', and the page itself was opened to a specific thread where the users were discussing…
His fingers tightened, making the tablet's sides creak slightly.
O-oh…
The name of the thread was 'Inyssa Dawn/Barry Paladino Official Discussion Post', and the messages on the displayed page read as such:
----------------------------------------
VenusAureous
Not gonna lie, not a big fan of the rookies we're seeing lately. These two have been making a lot of noise but I don't think they're anything to write home about. I saw their fight with Fantina online and it was acceptable at best.
Also I feel like they're kinda soapboaxing and bullshitting us with that whole "Fighting Team Galactic" schtick. Yeah, I'm just gonna believe you coincidentally run into them all the time. Sure.
What are your thoughts on the matter?
CakeOfLies
Overrated. Next.
Arceus-Dakimakura
Barry: Cute/Badass-looking + cool attitude = win.
Inyssa: Meh. Looks like a tired vampire.
0bliterat0r
I like the girl's style I guess, but what's up with that resting bitch face? I haven't seen a single pic of her in which she's smiling.
AlderFan001
I don't buy into the Team Galactic stuff either, but I appreciate them trying to at least set an example for other trainers. Also from what I've seen they're actually pretty good and their team is badass and diverse.
0bliterat0r, fuck off. Her appearance has nothing to do with what we were discussing. Besides, grown ass adult criticizing a 17 year old's looks? How pathetic can you be?
0bliterat0r
Nice to see your white-knighting isn't reserved just to the good-looking trainers out there.
I'm just telling it like it is, appearance is a big part of being a trainer and a Champion and if you don't have what it takes then you just don't. Tell me with a straight face Sinnoh wouldn't turn into the laughing stock of the continent if we replaced someone as cool and beautiful as Cynthia with… whatever the hell this kid is.
I could accept that Barry kid, but Inyssa… yeah, no.
ModSakura
Remember to keep it civil. This is your first warning; I'm not above closing the thread if things get out of hand.
Punkerst
I'd be a lot more inclined to defend her if she weren't such an asshole. Any of you hear the rumors of how she acted when she was in Pastoria?
What's there to be angry about? Your parents are paying you to go on a trainer journey and you decide to be a dick to everyone you meet? No wonder people don't like her.
Also yeah, she's not exactly Cynthia levels of pretty, is she?
AlderFan001
You guys are unbelievable, seriously. A bunch of adults with too much free time criticizing a kid just because you don't think she's 'hot' enough to be the Champion.
I'm out, this thread is a fucking shithole already.
UmadBronzong
Honestly I'd like her to become the Champion just to watch all the nerds rage. It'd be priceless.
----------------------------------------
Barry had to put the tablet down before anger forced him to throw it across the room. He could feel his heart beating fast, the blood rushing to the skin of his hands and face, making them itch.
His eyes flared golden, and immediately that rage turned into panic. Funny thing about the powers he'd gained from Mesprit: just like he could feel what other people felt, his own emotions were broadcasted to everyone close to him if he didn't control them. He closed his eyes tight and breathed in and out, slowly easing the burning knot which had formed in his stomach. The last thing he needed was for Niss to feel his anger from the other room and figure out what he was doing.
After almost a minute the heat faded, though it didn't mean he was feeling better. Shoulders down, he looked at the tablet on his lap and sighed. Reading more wouldn't make him feel better, it wouldn't change anything, but he couldn't help but be curious. Niss had probably felt the same way, that's why she'd kept reading, why…
That's why she was crying.
The thought felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. He didn't understand… why would people say stuff like that? Why would they go out of their way to insult Niss when she'd never done anything bad to them? They didn't know her at all and yet they were casting a lot of judgment on her, based on nothing but rumors and appearance.
All appetite left him as he stood up from her bed, leaving the tablet under the sheets like he'd found it. It was just so unfair, he thought. Why couldn't they see how cool and nice and pretty Niss was?
Why couldn't they see her for who she was?