Eliot looked at Anubis accusing him with his eyes, how can anyone pass by without alerting Anubis, he must be getting lazy in his duties; we’ll have to fix that. He wasn't to disappointed though that his clothes got stolen, they smelled horrible and was pretty much covered in thrall blood; at least they didn't touch his weapons; luckily you could buy clothes from the cluster market for dirt cheap. He brought a pair of black combat boots, and a white thermal long sleeve with a black bomber jacket to go over it all for ten points.

After purchasing the items, he felt like that odd feeling he’d get sometimes when someone's looking at him; he turned around only to see Thomas and Genesis eyeing him suspiciously.

“...Can I help you two with something?” Eliot asked wondering why they were looking at him like that.

“Sorry you just seemed different, I can't explain it. Did you buy an ability or something this morning?” Thomas asked while taking a seat next to Eliot.

“..No, not really.” Eliot replied while putting on his clothes it was a tough effort because his body still ached from the thrall fight coupled with the ritual; he couldn't decide if he should tell them about the book of Tut and the rituals. He weighed the pros and cons of letting Thomas know and realised there weren't many downsides, keeping secrets gets you killed, he needed allies to keep him alive and trust builds the strongest relationships. He decided that he would talk to Thomas about it and hopefully get a few answers to some questions he was wandering about in the process.

“Eliot, c’mon  what's the point of not sharing, holding out on us in the middle of the apocalypse. We need all the info we can get and aren't we friends, right Thomas?” Genesis said eyeing Thomas hoping for a little backup.

Thomas felt awkward he wanted to know but then it wasn't really his business. He didn't even know their relationship evolved from brief acquaintance into friendship, he would be lying if he wasn't happy at the idea of friends. It was hard having mates with the kind of father he had, made it difficult to open up to people. So instead of dismissing Genesis he played along.

“I mean I don't want to pry, but we did kill all those thrall together. I'm pretty sure there's no better bonding method.” Thomas said shaking his head.

‘Okay Thomas is one thing, I could see him being my friend but Genesis?’ Eliot thought but decided what the hell, he told them about the ritual and explained to them what ‘recludam’ was and how there were many different ways to unlock it, its not like they won't eventually figure it out. He left out his Method Of Loci ability and most of the details from the book, he didn't trust them that much. They both looked thoughtful after he explained to them that he got all of this through a 500 point book.

Genesis instantly opened her satellite and went through its listings. Eliot left her to it, he looked at Thomas who was still in thought.

“What ice ability did you purchase?” Eliot tried asking nonchalantly but it came out a little forced.

Thomas didn't even hesitate “It's called the Frost Initiation, it allows me to manipulate ice and be immuned to the cold.” Thomas paused and looked uncomfortable before asking Eliot “Did you purchase any ability other than the book?”

Eliot was glad he got it right when he was looking the ability up. “...Maybe” Eliot answered Thomas’s question with a slight shrug eyeing Genesis briefly. “Quick question how does it work when you form stuff out of ice if you don't mind me asking.”

Thomas seemed to understand why Eliot was so tight lipped, he didn't trust Genesis. ‘That makes sense, can't just disclose everything to random people. He felt like a fool now forcing him to talk about the ritual and his book.’

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“...I'm not sure I just do it, I think about what I want the ice to be and concentrate really hard and then it just happens.” Thomas demonstrated by making an Ice cube form in the middle of his palm.

“The smaller it is the less I have to focus.”  Eliot was astounded, after unlocking his recludam he could literally watch the magic being used in Thomas’s hand. He had to focus but he could see the small magic dust start to move to his palm and merge forming into the ice cube.

That explains it, abilities probably give people inate knowledge on how to use them without the need of prior knowledge or awakening at least for some of them. The difference with the two is that abilities probably can't become much stronger until the person goes through the recludam, when they obtain a method of enhancing their magical capabilities and therefore strengthening their system abilities or at least for the magical side of the ability list.

“Wow there’s a lot of books in here. I can't decide which one I should get.” Genesis said throwing herself down between Eliot and Thomas. Eliot noticed that her floating hands were nowhere to be seen.

“What happened to your other hands?” Eliot asked

She looked confused for a second and then smiled “Oh those aren't mine, I took them off someone from the group, I gave it back because there were giving me a killer headache. I saw you eying them last night, if you want I can get them back for you, especially since your magic revolves around hands I can see how that can be useful.” Genesis said with a wicked smile.

Eliot wasn't entirely opposed to theft especially if it benefited him, but he couldn't get rid of the uneasy feeling he got from Genesis.

“Why, what's in it for you, why are you even here with us right now instead of with your friends?” Eliot questioned giving her a level stare.

Genesis’s smile faded and she looked at both Thomas and Eliot. “Do you know what that group did after the satellites appeared? Absolutely nothing, they gathered around and discussed what they should do, a few people brought something from the market but that's it. After that Merrick stepped up and told everyone not to buy anything until the situation is clearer, than the spires popped up and the satellites told everyone to leave the city. Merrick instead told everyone to stay put and stay in their flats and wait it out until help comes. Of course everyone listened, Merrick has a lot of charisma and he's friends with everyone so they took his advice. Then you two pop up with a fucking wolf, covered in blood and grime like hardened warriors, aiming your gun at people without a care in the world. While we were inside biding our time playing it safe, you two were out there surviving making decisions that allowed you to live until this moment. So you asked me why i'm with you guys, it's because I don't want to die I want to survive. So if stealing those hands gets me to be apart of this group i’ll do it a hundred times over.”

Eliot processed Genesis's words and realised she made a fair argument, they did look pretty badass when they arrived last night; but he wouldn't take everything she said at face value. He looked at Thomas who apparently has been looking at him for a while now, waiting for him to make the decision. Eliot wasn't even sure he wanted her to join their duo, she brought nothing to the table and he just wanted to get back to his family; but how would he do that with just Thomas.

“How many points do you have?” Eliot asked after debating in his head if he should bring her or not.

“200 but I have an ability.” She answered immediately looking hopeful with her big brown eyes. ‘Damn those eyes.’

“Wait you just said no one had abilities.” Thomas added

“I said they didn't get an ability, i'm not an idiot. I got this ability called Spectral, it allows me to phase through things. That's how I got the floating hands without them knowing.” Genesis said with roguish pride; she then pushed her hand directly into the couch, demonstrating her ability.

This changes everything, her ability was useful and it would allow her to be better protected than they were. Eliot looked at Thomas

“Well since we're apparently a team now, what do you think Thomas?”

“...I'm okay with it, I guess.” Thomas agreed with letting Genesis join their rag tag group of renegades even if she creeped him out a bit. He was honestly glad that they were officially a group because he had no other place to be, he could care less about his father and when they were leaving the department store he saw his aunt's dead body covered in rubble. Just thinking about it made him want to cringe, but on the bright side atleast he had friends now.

“Now that it's official, you were saying that other people brought items from the market right?” Eliot questioned

“Those words may have crossed my lips.” Genesis said giving him that same devious smile, this time Eliot returned one of his own.