"You're doing what?"
Joey is surprised at Kyle's subdued reaction when she brings up her plans while they are getting ready for the trip to the hospital. Kyle's stern expression tells her he’s just getting started. "No I'm sorry, I am lost here. Because quite frankly, I think you are suffering from either delusions of grandeur or a severe case of post-traumatic stress."
He's pulling his beard again, which he reserves for his most anxious moments. "I was there, Joey. I saw Reeves cut in half and I can still hear his screams, and that horrifying realization he was dead the moment Val carved a path through him. You did the best you could, but I don’t know if anyone could have saved him. I was there fighting for our lives in that goddamn dungeon of a vault. I was there to watch Val beat the ever-loving hell out of all of us after Drenar should have blown her to pieces with her own detonator. And I am not okay. I am so far from okay, that I don't know if I will ever be okay. Which is why I know you're not okay.”
"Kyle, I get it. We saw people we know die. The funeral services are going to be starting in the next couple of days. I'm going to be bawling my eyes out and be an utter wreck. And when I'm done grieving, I am following James, Angela, Julia, and Drenar to wherever this takes us. We're going to go stop Valosterla and her entourage of killers from wrecking our world. And everyone else who helped her." He slumps, and shakes his head.
“Joey. Last night, I said talk to Drenar, not–”
“What, sign up for something a little crazy?” she finishes impatiently. “It is crazy. But there is so much more I can do alongside them, than waiting around to pick up my life off the blood-stained halls of Asqualia.”
“Joey, this whole week has thrown everything off kilter. I wanted you to be there for them, not throwing yourself onto the frontline.” Kyle puts his hands on his hips and then lets out a soft exhale. “Look, I like these guys too, but…are we sure we’re ready to sign up for a suicide mission, Joey?”
“I knew I was in this the second King brought up Drenar’s mom, Kyle. Do you know why?”
“Why?” She sucks in a deep breath before she lets out her theory.
“Because he knows she’s alive–he hinted at it with that last phrase of his, the same thing that Drenar’s mom always used to say to him when he was younger. I have a feeling that she might be alive, because of him.” Kyle gasps in shock, and stammers for a response.
“That–Joey, it makes no sense! Why would he save Val–the biggest psycho I’ve ever heard of–and in the same lifetime, save the Champion of the Valkyries? What the hell is this guy’s endgame?!”
“I don’t know, and so far, no one does. This means, I think we need to find out, at a minimum. The only way I can do that is go with Drenar, and show the world there’s a group out there that will stand for what’s right, if no one else will." He sighs in resignation, but his eyes are filled with focus.
He's steady and calm–Kyle could be so emotional at times, and he occasionally lets it get the better of him, but not this time. “There’s no talking you down, is there? I care about you Joey, you’re my friend, but this…this is scary. We are gonna be against the world. And I don’t have limitless bravery like you, or Angela, or Drenar. I’m just an arcanist who builds stuff, I’m no tough-as-nails warrior.” She takes a step closer, one hand on his shoulder.
“Kyle, you stood with the rest of us. That is more than anyone ever could have asked.” He smiles faintly.
“I wasn’t there because anyone asked me. I was there for a friend. And her friends, too,” he responds quietly. “You know, I would never let you go on a death wish mission if I wasn’t there alongside you. You and I… couldn’t make it work, and maybe I was pushing for the right thing at the wrong time. I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I should have known better than that, and that you needed more time.”
She lets out a quiet breath, and slowly dips her head. “Maybe I’m getting to that point, Kyle. Because someone else besides you knows what I am…and treats me like a human being, and a friend. And I think that’s all I’ve ever needed.”
“And the rest of them?” he crosses his arms, and leans casually on the wall.
“Given what I know of Julia's sunny disposition, pretty sure she will be more likely to squeal in utter delight. As for Drenar, he apparently has a thing for fox girls. I think it started as a random joke between him and Julia before this chaos, but, welllll…” she trails off, while Kyle rolls his eyes.
“Uh-huh. Am I gonna have to go smack some common sense into him–”
“Kyle,” she says in a disapproving tone.
“Alright, fine. Look, let’s be real, Joey. We're not adventurers. We're not heroes like the Valkyries, who have decades of rock-solid training, an unwavering level of trust and teamwork, and the best weapons and equipment that are the envy of the world. We're glorified scientists, who sit in a lab with a nerdy lanyard, doing relatively boring stuff that quite frankly isn't going to even budge the needle on the scale of mage-kind. I don't want it to sound unglamorous, but that's what we do." She's unmoved by that declaration.
“You also build crazy stuff, Kyle. You’ve synthesized an equivalent Valkyrian steel. I think with Levine, Nick, and the rest of them, we can form a smaller team that is far more effective than an army.” She's lucky he was able to get the sample out of the lab--who knows what the condition of their equipment is going to be when--if they ever get to it? It could be a true turning point, if he can make more for the team. And work on his prototype magitech power armor with the full design realized.
“Oh, strategizing without me?” Angela slides around the corner, looking less injured and more alert, and flexes her arms confidently. “I was wondering where you guys were, Drenar was getting everyone together to talk to the overwatch raven.”
“Say what?” Kyle blinks and just mouths the word like he can’t believe what he heard.
“Kiera? You know, the Valkyrie that’s also Julia’s mom?” she adds with annoyance. “We’ve all agreed we aren’t going to chew her out, but I’m worried Drenar’s gonna lose it at her. For reasons.”
“You mean like lying to you guys your whole lives?” Kyle proposes. Angela shakes her wavy hair and sighs.
“Among other things.” She puts a hand up out of caution. “I know we all want to scream at her. I get it. But we need her on our side if we’re going to do this dangerous stunt of restarting the Luminaires on a formal level.”
“Teenagers screaming at their parents. Glad those years are behind me,” Kyle says with a smirk. Angela rolls her eyes.
“Yes, I know. My parents are upstairs now, along with Drenar’s guardians. This is going to be a bloodbath, probably.”
“Theirs,” Joey growls. Angela laughs at this and pats her shoulder.
“Okay, I know your feelings on this, but we really can’t though?” She can't help but marvel at this a little bit–this fearless teen is advocating for peace, when she was ready to rip Val limb from limb only two nights ago. And, she has magical abilities no one has ever heard of, besides her drakensoul? This one will have to be played cautiously. No doubt, everyone will want to blame the teenagers. “Hey, uh, Joey, one other thing…I don't know how this is going to go at all. This is the first time I've drawn a blank.”
Joey gives her a reassuring smile. “That makes two of us. Hey one quick question, what color are my eyes?”
“Eh? Still lavender. Why?”
A thought has occurred to her. Why do so few people see her eye color? She looks in the mirror and it's still that lavender shade she's known her entire life. Yet Angela, Drenar, and Julia had all seen it. It's a spooky coincidence. “Eh, nothing. Random question.” Angela lets out a sigh.
“Only in magic land will I ever get a question like that. Is it because you're a…well…”
“I don't know if it's tied to that.”
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“It is.” The three of them turn around to see Nick, his arm still in a sling, and looking like he needs another few days of healing. He'd just come down the stairs, and looks worn down. Angela drifts over to him and says something quiet.
She feels anxious. Everyone around her is finding out. But Nick, ever the professional, smiles politely. “Joey, I've known since the second time I accompanied Amaranth in your field expositions. I…know someone else in a bit of a similar situation.” Joey casts a sidelong look, then it hits her.
“Damn. My only clue was–”
“--Subtle enough that I dare not say it aloud,” Nick cautions. He goes back to his relaxed posture. “Angela, help me get this sling off.” She gives him a questioning look, lips pressed together.
“You broke your shoulder pretty bad, Nick. even with your draconic healing, you need another few days. Don’t let your stoicism cause you more pain, alright?”
Her and Nick? I thought I got a vibe from them earlier! Angela whirls around and taps her finger to her temple. Her psionic microphone is still stuck in the ‘on’ position, and Angela lets out a strangled groan.
“Seriously, this has never happened to you before?”
“What happened…” Nick squints his eyes, and looks back and forth between her, and Angela. He gasps in surprise. “No. No way. Just like that?”
“Yep. Welcome to the weirdness, Nick, we are off the rails on a crazy train,” Angela replies. “Also, why didn't you ever mention Joey as…”
“Because it wasn't my place to say. I’ve known enough Kin who try to live a normal life without the crazies harassing them for the simple offense of existing in this world.” He tilts his head toward her, ever the professional. “I'll just throw it out there, half of us already know. You don't have to hide anymore.”
“Hang on. How is it that you knew?” She is curious about how these strange bedfellows managed to deduce this, in part as learning for the future.
“Uh, Joey? I'm a magical creature expert here. I’ve known since we met, when Amaranth was out on field exercises with you. It’s kinda hard to hide the unique scent of a Kitsune after three days in the wilderness with no shower,” he shrugs. “The cinnamon scent is a really good mask, though. That threw me off for quite a while.”
Ugh. My body betrays me. It’s unfortunately true, and she voices her frustration. He still smiles politely while she’s stewing over this inconvenient truth. “Body scent isn’t the result of bad hygiene,” he states matter-of-factly. "You are quite a lovely young woman by any kinship measure, with a deep passion for knowledge.”
“That can’t be the only way you knew,” she counters. He shrugs and puts a hand out as if to further explain.
"Well, that, and when we were running for our lives from a Kryngaxx, you climbed twenty meters up a tree in your human form." Oh right, that misadventure--she really couldn't explain that one as uncanny athletics. "Also, your slight obsession for eggs and fish. Bit of a cultural taste, me thinks."
"I do not have an obsession with eggs!" She does though, she thinks unhappily.
"Cobb salad with eggs, hard-boiled eggs for breakfast, egg sandwich–" Kyle stops listing things when the wild-eyed Kitsune glares at him. "Oh, it's true, Joey."
“Of course, you would notice these things,” she groans. The number of people who probably know is growing too high, by her count. She runs her fingers through a few stray strands of hair dangling in front of her face and sighs. The worst has come to pass, and disaster hasn't struck. Maybe there is hope. “I know you guys aren't judgy, I picked up on that pretty quick. Not so sure about the other people that are going to be in that room,” she adds after a second of hesitation. “But uh…seriously, I'm still feeling a little anxious about this one. Do you know how many people at the academy knew? It was like, three. Including Kyle. I pulled that off for four years. You guys have unmasked me in less than four days.”
“We are super weird people,” Angela says with a smirk. “We sniff out weirdness like it's a mini-game lately! Julia has the top score. And Drenar’s a distant second. He tries.”
They'll fear your power. They'll call you a rat–
Shut up, ghost. She makes her decision in a heartbeat and takes a step back. “You know what, if Val's going to spend her entire focus murdering us at every turn, I might as well go out in style. Besides, I did promise Angela she'd get to see this.”
“Uh, Joey, we might want to stall on this a bit–”
She lets out a huff and turns to Kyle, wearing an expression of feigned annoyance. “Look, if I keep waiting for the right time to do this, I'll never do it. I'm tired of living with a wayward glance behind my shoulder, and there's now an army of depraved killers who know who we are. Gotta say, the prospects of facing flak on this one are pretty low. I'll either end up dead, or prove to the world that Kitsune can be heroes, too.” His eyes light up, and he wears a lopsided grin.
“Well, it was nice knowing you, Mitsune.” Angela lets out a snort, puts a hand to her mouth, and tries to suppress a laugh. She fails miserably and breaks out in laughter and can't stop, and Joey peers at her with curiosity.
“What's so funny? It’s just my middle name," she states with annoyance, but Angela still can’t stop laughing. This is a decidedly very not-Angela reaction, so it must be for a reason. “Uh…Kyle, you broke her. I have like one chemical to fix this, and it isn’t a good one.”
Angela manages to stop laughing for a second, and puts a hand up to wait. “Oh Joey, you have no idea how much that made my day. Love Hina.”
“Eh?” Her anime obsession in her early teens clicks into place when she mentions the name, and she groans when she realizes the connection. “Kitsune Mitsune…really?!”
“I think this means your parents are just criminally dorky,” Angela said while trying feebly to regain her composure. Even Nick cracks a smile, much as he tries not to, and subtly clears his throat.
“What it means is that I will poison them for this!” she snarls. “Of all the boneheaded things my parents have done, that has to be the dumbest way I’ve ever been subtly outed as a Kitsune!” She raises a shaking fist in the air. “Soooo dead.”
“Not gonna lie, that one is pretty obscure by most standards,” Kyle says reassuringly. She turns and gives him a baleful eye.
“You knew.”
“Joey, seriously…wanna know how I first knew?” He taps his temple for emphasis, and she doesn’t even have to activate her psionics to hear him, he bites his lip as if he's embarrassed. You uh…wag your hips a little bit like you have a tail still.
If she still had her fur right now, every single strand would be bristling on end, and she glares at him. “That is how you knew?” She can’t believe this, she doesn’t wag her hips when she walks around–does she? She sucks in a sharp breath and points at him. “You are now required, on pain of death for failure to comply, to let me know when my appearance doesn’t match par, Kyle.” He goes pale at this very explicit threat. Angela puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder while she’s still trying not to laugh. This is embarrassing to the extreme, and she feels a flush of heat on her cheeks.
“I think you’ve successfully terrified him, Joey. Now, shall we save that wrath for the crowd upstairs?” She glances at the hallway back to the upstairs floor and relaxes the tension in her body.
“Alright, fine. I guess this one can wait a bit. But let me do this on my terms, alright guys?” She glances at Angela and Nick, who both give a firm nod. She lets her arms go relaxed before taking a slow breath, ready for the worst. “Let’s go face the music.”
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