I watch as Trigger single-handedly makes everything we need to sleep and eat with, as well as little things like curtains. Well, I suppose it’s not little for him. They’ll help keep the sun out. And the utensils will be nice, as my replicator only makes food, not dishes or silverware. I watch as Trigger makes three plates and three cups appear out of balls of light, and then sets about forming silverware. He pauses and looks at me.

“Fork, spoon, and knife? Chopsticks? What would you use most?”

“Fork and spoon and stuff, thank you.”

“Okay.” Trigger renders three sets of silverware and, after a pause, chopsticks as well. Twila has disappeared outside again, and I glance around. I realize I don’t actually know what she prefers to eat with. I settle onto one of the newly made beds, the one with blue blankets as I requested.

“Pillows!” Trigger slaps himself upside the head before glowing balls appear at the head of each bed, matching each bed’s color and pattern.

I smile at him. “Thanks,” I say, picking up the pillow once it’s finished and squeezing it in a hug. He smiles and nods, then walks outside. I watch him walk away, a bit confused. He stands just outside the doorway, watching the sunset. I glance past him, then let my eyes linger on his back. I stand and slowly approach him.

“Is something wrong?” I ask when I’m just behind him.

He shakes his head, “Nothing is wrong, I honestly feel the most right I have since getting these powers.” I consider this for a few moments, then nod and lean against the wall next to him.

“Do you want to do something else tonight?” I ask after a few minutes of silence.

He shrugs, “I need food at some point, as do you two, other than that I have no plans.” He turns to face me and smiles. “Do you?”

I smile back. “Does light other than sunlight hurt you?” I ask instead.

“Not as far as I can tell, electric lights are fine, and your soft light doesn’t seem to hurt.”

I nod. Maybe it’s just me, but that sounded more like a compliment than an objective fact, and I rather liked it.

“Okay.” I say, then fall quiet again. I spot Twila near the shore, a way to the right. She’s sitting in the sand, drawing something. As I walk closer, I see it’s a large heart with letters inside. It takes a moment as I get closer, but I see T+L and I groan. She looks up and smiles at me.

“What?” she asks innocently. I know that ‘T’ doesn’t mean her though.

I try to kick some sand over it before Trigger sees her drawings. Trigger smirks over my shoulder,

“Someone seems to think something is happening.” He says, winking at Twila, and walks to the rock bench.

I sigh and give Twila a “really?” look. She grins at me.

“You should go sit with him.” She prompts. I flutter my wings and lift off the beach instead. I fly up until I don’t think they will be in any danger, and then try to shoot flames from my hands. It puffs out in a little flare before flickering away. I try it another couple times until I feel like I’ve cooled off. I glance down and they aren’t watching me, so I fly off to the forest and relieve myself, then experiment with sending water and fire at it. Once the traces of it are gone, I fly back and swoop downwards again, settling on the sand.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Twila looks up at me, “Feeling better?” She asks. I raise my eyebrows at her.

“Why, did you want to join me next time?”

“Not particularly, but you might take him along for better training.” Twila says, with emphasis on the ‘better.’ For some reason, I don't think she's talking about more productive training. I groan and let a little poof of flame land on the sand, then flop down. A minute later, a minute full of Twila’s silent hinting, I change my mind and hop up again.

“I’m starving,” I comment, then walk back to the cabin. Twila hops up and follows me, and once I reach the cabin, I glance back at Trigger. He seems to have heard and seen everything that went on, because he smiles and lifts a hand in my direction before slipping off to the forest. I lift my hand in return, then walk inside. Twila either didn’t see or is mercifully ignoring our exchange.

“So, what would you like?” I ask Twila. She flops onto her bed. We have one in each corner, and our table is in the fourth corner. My bed is in the corner opposite the table, closer to the fireplace, and Twila and Trigger are on the corners on either side of me. I sit on my own bed and summon my food replicator. Twila thinks for a moment, then asks for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I grin.

“Sure. What kind of jelly?” I ask.

“Strawberry!” She exclaims happily. I ask the food replicator for the best pb&j it can make. 30 seconds later it dings. It sounds so much like my microwave that I miss Earth for a minute. I pull out Twila’s sandwich and hand it to her. I think for a minute, then ask for a meat and cheese and lettuce sandwich with pickles for myself. And corn chips because they are an essential component of such a sandwich. After a bit, it dings again and I pull mine out. I grab one of Trigger’s new plates so I don’t get crumbs on my bed, and sit cross-legged against the wall, my wings wrapped around me.

I’ve nearly finished my sandwich by the time Trigger walks in. He smiles at me, and I glance away when I notice a speck of blood near his mouth. It’s only been a day since I met him and learned that he drinks blood, but it doesn’t gross me out as much as I thought it would. I feel a little sorry for the animal, but knowing it’s just an animal… It’s not that different than eating meat, really, I suppose. Probably even better since the animal doesn’t have to die. I wonder if his breath smells like blood though? I try to push that thought away before my enhanced senses decide to focus on that. I really don’t need to find out. At least… not yet. Trigger nods at me, then walks over to his bed and flops down. I finish my sandwich and set my plate aside, then raise one knee to steady myself and block a bit of the light as I start experimenting. I start by making a flicker of light appear at each of my fingertips, then focus until they hover in the air, a little thread of light coming from each finger. I wave my fingers in the air, and they wiggle with them. I cut them off with a thought and form a small ball of light from each finger. I send one over to Twila. She bats at it and it flickers. I bring it back to me, and let them dance for a minute in my hand. I send a light over to Trigger, letting it bob around his head. He bats at it playfully for a bit. My other four flicker away as I focus on the one by him, keeping it going. He smiles and focuses on hitting it, accelerating his movements to incredible speeds, even by my standards. I direct it to try to weave around his hands, and split it into two smaller ones, then join it together again. He does his best to catch it, laughing at himself even as he fails. I giggle a bit, then show him what I can do with it. I pull the light back out of his reach, and then focus until it takes on the form of a little person, four inches high. Brown hair, green eyes, and fangs, and there’s a miniature Trigger standing in front of him. I float it closer and he holds out his hand. I let it rest on his palm.

He inspects it closely, “Not bad, not bad at all.” He smiles gently. I focus on a second ball of light, drifting it over to him until it stands beside the first. This one I give blond hair, blue eyes, wings, and a halo, and I let her glow a little bit brighter. Trigger holds out his other hand to give the two figures room to move around. I let the mini-me flutter her wings as she rises in the air and lands on his other hand, then turns back to the little Trigger. The little Trigger follows her, and they bump into each other, blurring a bit, then I manage to separate them. I try to have them high-five, and it mostly works. The light from their hands stays together longer than I meant, and I blush as I try to separate them again. I didn’t mean to have them hold hands… Trigger looks up at me and smiles again, none of the previous banter in it, but not threatening. I blush and lose my focus as the little lights flash and flicker out. He smiles at me.

“Are you gonna be up in the middle of the night again?” I ask Trigger quietly.

“Probably, I only need two hours, as long as I keep up on it.” He says. “Don’t worry, I’ll try not to disturb you, I’ll probably go for a run.” I nod.

“Sounds good. Good night.” I say

“Thanks for the entertainment, and good night, Lillith.” He then pulls the blankets over himself and seems to fall asleep. I didn’t realize I enjoyed hearing my name that much…

I glance over at Twila, and it seems she fell asleep during my light-people show as well, so with another glance at Trigger to make sure he’s not watching, I change my clothes to a long t-shirt and shorts for bed, then slip under my own blankets.