Episode: 6.9

--- Prosperity ---

She blinked as her consciousness began to fade back in, though the edges of her vision were still filled with dancing shadows, and fluttering butterflies as she tried to remember what happened in the last few minutes.

The boy, he… (he was distracting the mask…)

Her head ached as she tried to remember.

She… (was making butterflies…)

Her eyes throbbed enough that she had to force them shut.

And then… (…)

She felt something wet and sticky on her mouth before wiping at it and looking at her hand, taking note of the odd dark red liquid that coated it.

(That’s… weird…)

A giggle bubbled up her throat.

She glanced around, enjoying the sight of several butterflies glowing numerous colors as they fluttered around the wreckage.

“Wow,” A voice laughed watching the remnants of her swarm drift around the torn and damaged area as he walked closer. “I mean I knew you Wonderlanders were something else, but that… that was just… wow…”

She shifted a bit on her heels as she turned to the voice before smiling as she caught sight of the boy who had helped her, (that was nice of him.) “Thanks.”

For a moment the boy gave her a weird look, before handing her a dark rag he pulled from one of his pockets. “You’ve, um, got something on your face…”

“Oh, thanks.” She smiled, tasting something funny and metal-y in her mouth, before wiping at the strange fluid that had gotten on her face somehow.

The boy nodded with an odd look in his eyes and a slight smile of his own before passing her on his way to check on the fallen mask.

“Think she’s down for the count?” She wondered, watching as her (friends) fluttered closer, the little (dreams) looking to help however they could.

“Looks like it.” The boy told her before frowning. “Huh, that’s not normal…”

“What isn’t?” She asked only half-paying attention, as her (friends) danced all around her.

The boy paused for a moment before looking back at her, his pupils like pinpricks. “You know what a Malcontent is?”

“Sort of?” She shrugged, having heard a few bits and pieces about the Deviancy but nothing really memorable (or fun) beyond their higher than normal threat rating. “Why?”

The boy’s pupils grew a bit larger as he tilted his head a bit to each side, before shaking his head and saying. “I’ll tell you after I’ve figured it out.”

“Okay.” She nodded as a few of her (friends) landed on her fingertips.

Deciding to let it slide for now, she gave the area a once over, taking note of the various things the fire deviant had torched while trying to attack them, as well as the way the Sanctuary soldiers that had been watching the fight were starting to look a little antsy.

“Uh…” She paused, realizing she still didn’t know the boy’s actual name. Shaking her head, she walked around the boy before waving her hand next to his head to try and catch his attention.

“Hm?” The boy eventually turned, glancing at her with a curious look, as the black mist he kept manipulating drifted off his hands in (pretty) spirals. “What’s up?”

“Not to be a bother, but…” She swallowed already feeling a little embarrassed about having to ask, but knowing it was better to ask for help. “Do you mind carrying me out of here? Those guys are looking at us really rudely and I don’t like it.” She explained throwing a hand towards the line of Sanctuary soldiers behind her with(out) a pout.

“Yeah, sure.” The boy nodded as he patted the black mist off his hands, “Any idea where you want me to drop you off?” he asked with a touch of concern. (Aw, sweet!)

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“Um…” She glanced around, trying to remember where exactly she lived, before just pointing in the vague direction of her house. “That way.”

The boy followed her finger before nodding. “Alright.”

As he walked towards her, she took note of the way black mist began to creep and crawl from beneath his boots, before climbing up his legs, the occasional strand of darkness falling and drifting through the air.

“Hold tight.” The boy told her wrapping an arm around both of hers, his shadows creeping off his hand and wrapping around her stomach and waist to make sure he didn’t lose his grip.

Without another word the boy leapt off the ground, an explosion of black smoke launching them through the air and towards a nearby roof top, a thrill filling her as the wind rushed past them.

(Just like a rollercoaster!)

“Pull your legs in.” The boy told her, as she felt him shifting her weight a bit.

“What?” She asked, turning from the coming building and towards the boy.

The boy’s arm released her for a moment, and she nearly screamed as they hit the rooftop, before realizing his shadows were still keeping her safely in place, while his hand was pulling at her leg.

Seeing that she wasn’t panicking, the boy immediately removed his hand “Sorry, but it makes things significantly easier for me to move if I don’t have to worry about your legs hitting anything.”

“Th-that didn’t stop you earlier.” She pointed out, still feeling a little shaky as her heart began pounding in her chest, and the spots finally began to leave her vision.

“Yeah but jumping in straight lines to dodge is a lot easier than trying to maneuver over everything, especially with my center of gravity thrown off.” He shifted her ever-so-slightly for emphasis.

Part of her wanted to remind him of the way he’d been dancing around explosive fireballs mid-air, but given how he was doing her a solid, she decided to drop it for now. “I get your point… I guess…”

The boy gave her a huff of amusement and a roll of his eyes, before continuing on their little trip, this time making sure she kept her legs pulled in, something that honestly made the ride more fun, since she wasn’t being dragged around like a ragdoll.

The entire journey giving her enough time to let the last of the spots fade from her vision, and her head clear from whatever over-usage had knocked her out. (Something I’m going to have to explore at some point.)

“This far enough?” The boy asked breaking her from her thoughts as they drifted through the air, giving her an aerial view of the area around her neighborhood.

“Yeah, just, um,” She looked everything over, faintly noticing the way the boy had started giving off more of his black mist, as their decent slowed, before pointing to a rooftop she knew had roof access. “Put me down over there.”

“Got it.” The boy nodded before making some acrobatic twist that she could just barely understand, as he somehow redirected their fall towards the rooftop. As they landed on the roof, an eruption of black mist exploded out from beneath them, completely killing their momentum as the boy set her on her feet.

The moment he let her go, she finally noticed the fact her legs had reached some half-way point between over-tensed and asleep, causing her to nearly stumble if the boy didn’t reach out and catch her.

“Careful there.”

She nodded, taking another second to test her weight as she slowly got feeling back in her legs. “Alright, I’m good.” She told him, taking a step away.

The boy nodded, before looking around the rooftop, eventually his gaze landed on her favorite view of the city. One that blazed with startlingly warm colors as the late afternoon sun shone off the various windows as well as the skyscrapers that could be seen just on the horizon, casting both the sky and the brickwork of the closer buildings in a soft glow.

“Huh… that’s some kind of view…” The boy told her, before taking a leap to sit on the rooftop’s raised ledge.

“Yeah…” She smiled following his gaze. (It’s my favorite in the whole city…)

After a moment she followed him to the ledge, before leaning against it, not quite willing to sit on it like he was given how a fall from this height would probably kill her, though she had no problem sharing the view itself with him.

“So, um,” She started, kicking the ground a bit as she tried to figure out how to break the silence. “Thanks for… all of that, back there.”

“Eh, I’ve faced worse.” The boy shrugged, before giving her a grin. “At least this time I had a beautiful dance partner with me.”

“Yeah.” She rolled her eyes with a smile, idly pushing some of her hair back from where it’d blown free from behind her ear.

With that, they fell into a semi-comfortable silence as they gazed out at the city.

A silence she had to reluctantly end, as she finally remembered she was running late to her and her mom’s café. What’s more, if her mom happened to see that mess with the rampaging dragon lady on the news, she’d likely be in the middle of a panic attack, given just how late she was.

“So, I’ve, um, I’ve got this thing I’ve got to get to…” She told the boy, gesturing

The boy blinked, before realizing their moment was over and giving her an awkward nod. “Ah, right, right… Yeah, I should, uh, get going too.” He pointed behind him, as he started turning to leave. “It was, uh, nice meeting you.”

“You too.” She agreed with a smile, her arms behind her back.

The boy had barely taken two steps away before he paused and swat his forehead with a hand. “Almost forgot!”

He turned back to her with a smile, before sticking his hand out. “Since the fights over… My name ‘s Ariel. Ariel, the Shadow Knight. What’s yours?”

She stared at the hand before her, and at the boy who’d either just saved her life or put it in twice as much danger with his insane plan, while also remembering he fact he’d promised her a proper introduction once things had calmed down.

She took his hand offered hand, before pausing as she tried to come up with an alias of her own, since all Deviants used an alias in public. “Call me, um…” She remembered her mom’s old nickname for her when she was a little terror. “Tempest…” She tried, tasting the name on her tongue as something in her seemed to click.

(Yeah… Tempest… That, that feels right.)

She smiled, before giving him a more confident nod. “Call me, tempest.”

His smile grew even brighter, enough to draw a smile to her own face, despite the traumatic day she’d had.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you Temp-y.”

Her smile died a cruel death.