This fanfic contains a lot of swearing, smoking, violence and various other mature themes.
All characters are the property of Rebecca Sugar and Cartoon Network, except for Erica and Parker.
This fanfic is written from the perspective of E. K. Brooks.
Chapter 25: Training day
It was two days later and my body was still stiff but the pain was nearly gone. My bruises had gone from blue to a pale purple and my scratches were healing nicely. I had spent the last days loafing about the house and sleeping a lot accompanied by Cake, who was well on her way to a healthy weight. Jasper had fussed over me and I almost had to force her out of the house so she'd go training with Amethyst. My adoration for her was growing ever stronger and I missed her when she was gone, but I knew she would be back with new tales of things she had seen out in the world. Today, however, she wasn't the only one heading out in the morning. I was feeling excited as I laced up my sneakers and picked up my little backpack. I grabbed the spear and made sure the little hood I had made for the blade was tied securely in place.
"Jasper, are you ready?" I called.
I heard her snickering from the kitchen. "Yeah, I'm just washing the dishes"
"Leave them! Let's go!"
"Someone's excited for their first day of training" she teased as she sauntered into the hallway.
"Yes I am" I said with a smile. We exited the house and made our way to the beach. I could barely contain myself and Jasper grinned at me crookedly.
"Don't overdo it, babe"
"I promise nothing!" I said and struck a heroic pose in the sand, making her laugh.
"That's my little monster" she said affectionately.
We arrived at the temple and I knocked at the door. To my surprise Connie opened.
"Good morning Erica, good morning Jasper" she said solemnly and then smiled broadly. She was wearing loose clothes and her hair was in a long braid on her back.
"Hi Connie" I said, smiling back. Jasper nodded at her and we entered.
"Steven, they're here!" Connie called and Steven came bounding out of the bathroom.
"Good morning! Are you excited for your first day of training?" he asked.
"Mhm!" I hummed and nodded emphatically.
"Yo" Amethyst greeted as she stepped through the door at the back of the house. "You ready, Jayster? I wanna get outta here before P goes all jedi-master on these guys"
Jasper snickered cockily and said; "Yeah, I'm good to go" then she turned to me and her face softened. "See you later, babe. Good luck today, not that you need it…" she leaned down and kissed me and I felt my ears burning.
"See you, beastie" I giggled and some golden butterflies fluttered through the air and settled in her hair before winking out. I heard Connie gasp in surprise.
"Geez, you guys are so cute it's sickening" Amethyst groaned theatrically and then snickered. "Let's go!"
Jasper gave me a last grin and then strutted across the floor to join Amethyst on the warp pad. It pinged and they vanished.
I turned to Steven and Connie and felt my cheeks redden at the way they were staring at me.
"What?" I said self-consciously.
"You really can make light!" Connie burst out. "That's so cool!"
"And you guys are just too adorable together" Steven said slyly and wiggled his eyebrows at me. It made me laugh and more lights danced around me.
"Does it always happen when you laugh?" Connie asked curiously.
"Uh… I haven't really thought about it… it just happens"
The door at the back of the temple opened again and Pearl stepped out.
"Ah, good, you're all here. Everyone on the warp pad please" she said serenely and stood with her hands behind her back. Steven and Connie ran forward, Connie picking up a duffel bag with a pink sword sticking out of it. I walked forward eagerly.
"Steven, take us to the cloud arena please" Pearl said and I braced myself. The warp activated and I felt my stomach do a somersault as white and blue light streamed past. Connie and Steven laughed and I barely had time to drift away from them before the light vanished and I fell a few feet before landing hard and staggering off the warp pad.
"Don't worry! You'll get used to it!" Connie grinned at me before sprinting after Steven up a long set of stairs.
I giggled nervously. "Well, I didn't fall on my face this time"
"That's the spirit" Pearl said with a smile. "Have you had any previous combat training?"
"I've taken karate and self-defense classes, but I've never really used a weapon. Well, I've been playing around with this for a few days" I held out the spear to her as we reached the top of the stairs, slipping the hood off it.
She inspected it interestedly.
"Where did you get this?" she asked intensely.
"Lion brought it to me the day after he took us to the Kindergarten, I thought… I thought you guys knew?"
"No" she looked confused. "Steven, come here for a second please!"
Steven ran up to us.
"Cool spear!"
"Did you ask Lion to bring this to Erica?" she asked him sternly.
"Uh… No? Wait, Erica, have you seen Lion?"
"Yeah… he came by the day after I last saw you. I thought you had sent him?"
"No! I haven't seen him since he left us in the Kindergarten! Was he OK?"
"He seemed fine to me. He just showed up, dropped that in front of me, nodded and then left"
"Hmm… That's strange… Was it in this condition?" Pearl asked.
"No it was all sticky and had seeds, leaves and dirt all over it"
"He must have taken it from the Strawberry Battlefield!" Steven gasped.
"The what-now?"
"It's the site of a battle fought thousands of years ago. It's littered with material gem weapons" Pearl supplied.
"I-is it OK that he gave it to me?" I asked, feeling uncertain.
"Of course it is! Isn't it Pearl?" Steven turned to Pearl.
"I suppose… It's not like anyone was using it out there" her thoughtful look turned to a smile and she handed it back to me. I felt relieved; it would have been a shame if I had to give it back.
"Its name is 'Song bird', look" I pointed to the signs below the blade.
"So it is" Pearl said with surprise. "How did you know that?"
"Jasper told me. She said it was a masterpiece. It… It reacts to the light that I make and it… sings when it's moved" I stepped away from them and made a sweep through the air. It made a sound like a finger being dragged along the edge of a wine glass. I felt quite smug about this.
"Oh, can I try?" Steven asked excitedly and Pearl nodded to me over his shoulder. I handed him the spear and he waved it and it hummed dolefully. "Wow"
"Here, let me" Pearl said and she sliced the air in a graceful arc. This time the blade made an impressive steely sound. "Hmm. It certainly is a marvelous weapon. It's a good length for you too" she said as she put the butt of the spear on the ground and compared it to me. "Yes… This is a very good choice of weapon for you… How on earth would Lion know that?"
"He brought me Rose's scabbard before" Steven said helpfully.
"Yes, but that's not the same thing. This has some thought behind it, and Lion doesn't exactly come across as a weapons expert" Pearl mumbled and handed it back to me. "Erica, could you hold on a moment? I'll start these two off and then come back to you, feel free to warm up"
I nodded and stood back for them to pass. I put the spear on the ground and started to jog in place and do a few jumping jacks. It was a long time since I did any intentional exercise and my body protested slightly as unused muscles were forced into work. Physical activity also helped with my last day of period cramps. I was happy it would be over tomorrow, I really didn't like wearing underwear. When I felt warmed up, I started to stretch my arms and legs. My right leg proved more difficult to get going and I had to massage it to get it to loosen up.
I looked over at Steven and Connie and was stunned how fast they were moving. Connie wielded the pink sword like a pro and I was so impressed with the both of them. Steven threw his shield like a discus and Connie parried it with a happy 'Hah!'
"Excellent, Connie! Steven, remember, follow through with your arm when you throw, don't get sloppy. Again!" Pearl smiled at them and then turned around to me.
"Wow, they are really good aren't they?" I panted as Connie managed to knock Steven's shield back into his stomach with a perfect ninety degree swipe.
"Yes they are" Pearl said with pride. "Now, Erica, everything begins with your stance. When you fight with a spear the whole point is to keep your enemy away from you, but even then you want to expose as little of yourself as possible" she pulled her own spear out of her gem and faced me. "I am right handed, so I lead with my left foot. Notice how I'm facing you with my side - that is to make my body harder to hit from the front. A smaller target is harder to hit"
I picked up the spear and copied her stance as best I could.
"Good, but straighten your back and bend your knees. Yes, there we go. Distribute your weight evenly on both feet, you'll want good balance and be able to move quickly"
I felt my thighs shaking a bit.
"Your grip can be overarm or underarm. Place your right elbow at the butt of the spear and grip it, put your left hand about half way up the shaft. Your dominant hand's pinky finger should be facing away from the enemy. This is the underarm grip. It gives you great reach" she demonstrated by stretching out her arm as far as it could go "you can increase it further if you lunge forward. You have a wide angle of attack, not only are you able to strike someone directly in front of you, you can hit people to the either side. The movement is a thrust, as if you are raking leaves" she lunged forward quickly and showed me the arm movement "You can parry incoming blows, not only protecting yourself, but people around you too"
She shifted her grip and held the spear as if she was about to skewer something from above. "This is the overarm grip, the pinky is facing the enemy. This grip is great for defense" she dropped the tip to the ground, lifting the back of the spear over her head in a downward angle. "This grip has less reach and power, fewer angles of attack and is easier to knock to the side, especially if you only use one hand"
"The spear is a great weapon for single combat, but when you fight alongside one or more people with spears and shields it becomes an infinitely more powerful thing. Then you have the security to jab and thrust from behind someone else's defensive line. There are many examples throughout human history where spear wielders and shield bearers have worked together to form devastatingly efficient regiments"
Pearl swung her spear with one hand. "Now, the first thing I want you to learn is how to protect yourself. Parrying is better than being hit, but evasion is the key. You will tire quickly if you constantly have to parry, so being light on your feet and nimble will be great tools"
"Oh shi-oot" I grumbled and she looked at me. "I'm not exactly graceful, and my sense of balance is a bit… bad"
"These are things that can be trained" she said with a hint of a smile.
"I'm not so sure… I get a lot of head rushes" suddenly I felt very discouraged. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea"
"Every fighter has their strengths and weaknesses, Erica. It's just something we'll have to work around" her voice was encouraging and she beckoned me over so we stood side by side. "Let's see you do an underarm grip"
I grabbed the spear tightly and put my left foot forward.
"Good, now try an overarm grip" I shifted my grip. "OK, to parry with this keep your elbows and knees bent, so they can flex as you receive the blow – it will cushion the impact. For a counter I want you to think of it as if you are trying to leverage a huge stone with a pole, you lift with your right side – it will throw the attacker off – and then you can move in for an attack like this" she flicked the tip of the spear from the ground into the air at about waist height and took two quick steps forward in one fluid motion. "Let's try the first part"
She stood opposite me and gripped her spear close to either end and leaned it against the shaft of mine. "I'm going to push and I want you to push me off and that's it, alright? We'll go slow"
She pushed harder than I thought and I tensed up, just trying to resist the force.
"Remember to flex, if you freeze up you have no momentum and then it just becomes about who is physically stronger" she stepped back. "Let's try it again"
It went better the second time and I accepted the impact. "That's better, but try to take the brunt of the force with your legs, since they are stronger than your arms, then use that extra leverage to push back"
The third time I managed to push her off. "Good!" she stepped away from me and her gem glowed. A replica of pearl with blank eyes appeared in front of her. "This is a Holo-Pearl, she won't harm you. I want you to try to push her off and then do the counter thrust"
"Prepare yourself!" the Holo-Pearl said in a robotic voice. On the fourth attempt I managed to flick the point up and ram her through.
"Again" Pearl said and summoned another one as the first one vanished saying; "Defeat, acc-ep-ted"
I felt as if I was getting the hang of it and my breathing found a rhythm in the movement. As I grew more confident the spear whistled and whined as I snapped the tip through the air. I exhaled forcefully as I thrust the spear forward a few times and then I let out a 'Hah!' like a kiai to put more power behind it. There was a fizzle and a faint slivery blue light bent around the spear like a wave and instead of being skewered the Holo-Pearl was pushed backwards slightly as if something had hit it in the chest. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
"Do that again" Pearl said intensely as I turned to look at her. I repeated the move, but there was no light that time and the impaled Holo-Pearl vanished.
"Hmm" she said, walking up to me and inspecting the tip of my spear. "Can I try?"
She thrust it forward, saying "Hiya!" and there was a zum and a sparkle. She took a deep breath and did it again, producing a different sound and a slightly more intense light.
"Could you try something for me, Erica?" she handed the spear back. "Sing"
"What?"
"Sing as you wield it"
"Uh…" I looked around at Steven and Connie – they were occupied. "Um… what should I sing?"
"Anything you like"
I cleared my throat, feeling a bit exposed. "Uh… M-Mary had a little lamb?" my voice cracked and I had lost all my confidence in the movement and nothing happened. I felt dumb.
Pearl let out a gentle chuckle and then began to hum and do the parry counter slowly. She got a very concentrated look on her face, then she opened her mouth and to my complete surprise I could hear faint overtones in her voice.
"Pearl! You found them!" I burst out happily and butterflies danced around me.
"Join me?" she asked, panting. I fought the urge to glance around at Steven and Connie. I took a deep breath as the light faded. I knew she must have worked really hard and it gave me such a rush.
"You start" I said and cleared my throat. She began to hum again and I joined in, trying to match pitch. She began transitioning from vowel to vowel and I followed her lead. As soon as I opened my mouth lights began swirling around me in two streams of white-ish silver. They vibrated and flowed in and around each other as the tones changed and I felt elated. The color changed and became more brilliantly yellow-gold. They looked like little leaves…. Slowly we began to move as we sang, and my spear seemed to add a harmony of its own - the swirls bent around the blade like a ribbon. As I thrust the spear forward in the counter, all the lights streamed along the shaft and shot off the end and away into the distance, carrying the sound with it. I stared after it as it created a passage through the clouds that surrounded the arena.
"Mother fuck" I said and a graceful slow tendril of light writhed in the air like a snake. I felt absolutely stunned. I had to sit down.
"I would have to agree…" Pearl said breathlessly.
"What was that!?" Steven asked excitedly and skidded to a halt in front of us.
"Something new" Pearl stated and grinned. "This is fascinating… Did you notice it changing color?"
"Yeah, it… It seems to depend on how I feel?" I kept staring at the corridor it had made in the clouds.
"My abilites depend on my emotions too!" Steven exclaimed. "This is so cool!" he patted my shoulder.
I started to laugh as a thought hit me. "Ahahaha!" the butterfly lights appeared again, this time they were multicolored. "I'm the fucking Dovakhin!" did I dare try it?
"The what?" Pearl turned to me.
"The Dovakhin! The Dragon Born! From Skyrim!"
Connie gasped and I held up a hand to high five her. She grinned and obliged, making my hand sting like seven hells.
"Sorry, I high five hard. Erica you have to do the thing!" I exchanged a look with her and I knew she was thinking the same I was.
"I mean, I have to try, at least once, right?" Connie nodded at me and looked excited. My heart was pounding and I felt a little light headed with giddiness. I stood up and took a few steps away from them and took a deep breath.
"FUS-RO-DAH!" I screamed as loud as I could and was instantaneously blown off my feet as a small bright white thing shot in the other direction. I hit the lowest step of the seats that surrounded the arena and crumpled to a heap, wheezing. I lifted my head and tried to see where the white thing had gone but it had disappeared.
"OH MY FREAKING GOSH!" Connie yelled and ran over to me smiling, but looking terrified. "Are you OK?!" Pearl and Steven joined us too.
I gurgled and spat out some blood, but smiled and started to laugh hoarsely. The butterflies were there again, fluttering around me. My back hurt a lot.
"Oh my stars!" Pearl exclaimed and crouched down beside me. "Erica, you have to be careful! We don't know how this works yet; don't do anything more like that, please!"
"I am the Dragon Born" I grinned drunkenly.
"What is she talking about?" Pearl turned to Connie.
"It's from a computer game! You play someone who uses magical 'Shouts' to do things like blow stuff up or call down dragons! Oh man!"
"No way!" Steven said with stars in his eyes. "I wanna be the Dragon Born too!"
"I'll Fus-ro-dah your face!" Connie giggled and struck a pose.
"Nuh-uh, cuz I'm gonna fus-ro-dah your face first!"
"Steven, Connie, get back to training please. Work on your aim, Steven. Connie, I want you to get that spin attack down pat" Pearl said with authority and the two kids straightened up.
"Yes ma'am" Connie said and took off, Steven grinning "OK, Pearl".
Pearl took a deep breath. "Erica, you hit that step pretty hard"
I sat up slowly, groaning. "Hah, it was worth it. Jesus"
"How am I going to explain this to Jasper?" she said exasperatedly.
"Huh? Oh, don't worry about that, it'll be fine"
She looked at me worriedly and sighed. "I think that's about enough for you today… I would advise you to be careful until we know how it all works – I'd like you and me to test it out, without Steven and Connie. Somewhere… closer to the ground" she looked over the edge of the arena.
"Hah, yeah that sounds like a good idea. Ow" I rubbed my back.
"Maybe Steven should try to heal you?"
I thought it over for a second. I felt kind of done with being in pain for now. "Yeah… Will it work though?"
"Hmm, I don't know. But it's worth a shot" she said with a another sigh. "Steven!"
The boy came running over. "Yeah, Pearl?"
"Could you heal Erica?" she asked gently.
His eyes went wide. "Of course!"
He licked his hand and slapped it onto my arm. A warm sensation spread from his touch and I breathed a sigh of relief as all my aches and pains vanished. I felt a thrill of hope and fear and touched the back of my head. The scar… It was still there… I didn't know how I felt about that… The scars from the shark were still there too. The only thing that seemed to have changed was the injuries of the last few days. I wrinkled my brow and touched my belly. The cramps hadn't gone away either.
"How… How does it know what to keep?" I said quietly.
Steven looked at me questioningly. "What do you mean?"
"Never mind" I filed the thoughts away for later. "You guys look really good out there"
"Thanks! That stuff you did was really cool!"
"Yes, I know" I said with a smirk. "Thanks for the heals, dude"
"You're welcome!"
Steven went back to Connie and I got to my feet and picked up the spear. Pearl went over to the kids and gave them pointers. I sat down closer to them to watch, taking out a banana and a bottle of water. Pearl set them up with a couple of Holo-Pearls and they fought fiercely. I whistled and clapped encouragingly, snapping a few pictures on my phone. After a while I felt restless and started to spin the spear in my hands, if nothing else it looked really cool. Pearl threw me a glance and I mimed zipping up my mouth, which made her grin. I practiced the stance and the parry counter in silence, feeling thrilled that my muscles seemed looser than before.
"OK, I think we're gonna call it here, great work today!" Pearl called after a while and Steven's shield vanished with a twing and Connie sheathed Rose's sword and put it back in her bag.
"Lunch time!" Steven threw his hands into the air and ran toward the warp pad.
"Hey Connie" I said and she walked over to me.
"Yes?"
"Do you have any tips for the warping?"
"Oh um. When I first joined Steven I had trouble too. I imagined that there was a roof above me that I couldn't possibly go through" she said shyly. "Now though, it's just something I do without thinking, because I know it'll be OK"
I dipped my chin looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Clever girl… Thank you"
She sniggered a little and ran after Steven.
I thought as I walked after them, picking up my stuff. Visualize something that would keep me in place and trust that it would be alright. OK. What would keep me in place? Roof like Connie? That felt a little claustrophobic. I didn't want to be stuck, I wanted to be immobile… Hmm.
I joined the others on the warp pad, still lost in thought. There was a ping and I snapped back to reality as my stomach did a flip and I started to drift sideways.
"Naaaahhh-OOF!" I smacked into the ground with my left side.
"Oh dear" Pearl exclaimed. "Are you alright?" Steven and Connie looked down at me too.
"Hneh, I'm fine" Steven pulled me to my feet and I dusted myself off, trying not to feel embarrassed.
"Do you want to join us for lunch?" he asked.
"Uh, sure, that'd be nice, thanks"
"Great!" Connie smiled.
"What do we want to eat?" Steven mused. "Pizza?"
"My parents said 'No fast food'…"
"Oh… We'd better make something then. How aboouuut…" he put his head in the fridge. "Hmm… There's a bunch of left overs. We could make a sort of buffet?"
Steven began to take stuff out and Connie and I joined him.
"Oh, we could make Pyttipanna from this" I said, grinning.
"What's that?" Connie asked.
"It means… Tiny bits in a pan? Kind of? You just fry up boiled potatoes, some meat, onions and eggs. Oh and then drown it in ketchup. That bit's optional, though"
"Sounds good to me!" Steven said. "What do we need to do?"
"Just chop it up and fry it. It's Sowegian student food. Cheap and easy to make" I smiled.
"Oh, I think you can get that at IKËA" Connie supplied. "That's from Soweland, isn't it?"
"Yeah" I nodded.
We started cooking and after about fifteen minutes it was ready to serve.
I shoveled a forkful into my mouth. "Oh, this takes me back" I grinned as I chewed. "When I was at school, this is what I would make for my house mates in the middle of the night when we were studying for tests"
"What did you study?" Connie asked interestedly.
"Hah, animal husbandry and natural sciences. It's a bit of a strange combination – it's weird when the person teaching you physics is also the one who teaches you how to shear sheep"
Steven and Connie laughed with their mouths full.
"Oh, I remember when the people of this town used to be shepherds…" Pearl said reminiscently.
"I met a goat once" Steven said "I named him Steven Junior. But, I think it was a girl goat really"
"Pah, goats! They are really clever, not like sheep at all. We had some at school, and they were the biggest couple of troublemakers there ever was. They would break out of their pen and go devour the principal's garden or wreak havoc in the greenhouses. No potato was safe!"
"Ohh, I would really like to meet some animals too. Or have a pet, but my dad is allergic" Connie said a bit sadly.
"There are hypoallergenic pets" I said to try to cheer her up.
"Yeah I know. I've gathered information about them for years, but my mom wouldn't let me have one anyway, even though I explained to her about the psychological benefits of having an animal companion. You're so lucky you have Lion, Steven"
"Hmm. I haven't seen him in a while now though... Has he come by your house again?" Steven asked me hopefully.
"No, sorry. I haven't seen him"
The mood in the room dropped and I exchanged a look with Pearl.
"Oh, you know what though?" I said as I remembered the new addition to Jasper's and my household. "Jasper found a little kitten in our garden the other day" I pulled out my phone and showed them the picture of Jasper holding Cake in one hand at the kitchen table.
"Aww, look at its little nose!" Steven squealed and Connie giggled.
"I think she was a stray. We've been feeding her and she's very cuddly. Guess what her name is"
"Uh… Queenie? No, Bianca!" Steven tried.
"No, no, she looks more like a Snowball! Or, hmm, maybe a Trixie?"
"I'll give you a hint – Jasper named her" I said with a smile.
"Destroyer! Ripper! Uh, Massacre!" Steven guessed enthusiastically.
"Shinobu! Oh, Ghost!"
I was taken aback by the violent nature of the names and I couldn't help but feel a little hurt. But they were smiling again. I decided to let it go and gave them another hint.
"No, it's something very sweet"
"Sucrose?" Pearl tried. I smiled at her.
Steven furrowed his brow in ferocious concentration. "Hmm… Cookie? Peaches?"
"Marshmallow!" Connie said loudly. "Because she's white!"
"All wrong" I smiled. "Give up?"
They nodded together.
"Her name is Cake"
"Oh my gosh!" Steven said and clapped his hands to his cheeks.
"That's so cute!" Connie smiled broadly.
Pearl looked more than a little surprised and I raised an eyebrow at her. "Would you like to meet her?"
"Yeah!" Connie and Steven said together.
"Great, are you doing anything after lunch?"
"We were just going to hang out here" Steven said. "Pearl, you're coming too right?"
"Well I…" she looked at Steven's smiling face and relaxed a little. "Sure, I'll come and meet Cake"
We finished our food and Pearl insisted on doing the dishes before we left. I took the opportunity to have a smoke outside and get a moment to myself. The four of us left and headed toward town, Steven and Connie running ahead.
"Gudars skymning, they have a lot of energy" I said in an undertone as they dashed away.
"Hah, yes they do. It's hard to keep up with them sometimes, I can tell you"
"I believe you, Pearl" something niggled at me about this, but I couldn't put my finger on what. It had something to do with Steven and Connie though. Ugh. Frustrating.
"You did well today, Erica. I'm quite curious to see what you can do. I thought it was just light manipulation, but there was mass to the things you produced"
"Mass? Like, I made an actual thing?" I was surprised.
"I think so, well at least the last thing you did. It looked like a ball of light and it took out a chunk of rock of one of the statues and bounced off. What you shot with the spear might have just been sound and light though"
I felt stunned.
"I think you have a point about it being connected to how you feel. Have you noticed what colors the lights have?"
"I think the butterflies are gold. There was silver and pink too. And… " I remembered kissing Jasper and seeing all the colors of the rainbow.
"And?"
"A-and I think I saw purple too, at some point…"
"What color was it in the Kindergarten?"
"I don't know, I didn't see. But when you and Steven were arguing it was like… green?"
"Hmm…"
We had reached the boardwalk and Steven and Connie stood waiting for us.
When I opened the door and stepped inside I called out for Cake. She came trotting in from the garden, meowing squeakily.
"Oh my gosh, she's so tiny!" Steven whispered.
"Hello, little kitty" Connie said as the white kitten walked up to us. Cake began to attack the laces of my shoes as I untied them, making even Pearl chuckle.
"Are you hungry, precious?" I asked Cake softly and she focused on my face and meeped, eliciting a chorus of 'Aww's from the others.
I put some wet food in a bowl and she threw herself over it hungrily.
"She'll probably want to play after she has eaten. Do you guys want something to drink?" Connie and Steven nodded. "There's soda in the fridge, have at it. Pearl?"
"Actually, some tea would be nice"
I put the kettle on and rubbed my belly as my cramps intensified a little. It was probably time for another round of painkillers. When the water boiled I poured two cups and refilled the kettle so I could get some water for the hot water bottle too.
"I'm sorry Pearl, we only have tea bags"
"Oh, that's fine" she said and waved a hand.
We went into the garden and after a minute Cake came trotting out, licking her chops. I called her name and she came to the sofa.
"Jasper found her over there in that corner. I have no idea how she got here, but I'm glad she did. Yes I am, sweetheart" I said and picked her up. She head butted my chin affectionately. I put her back down and she traipsed up to Connie and sniffed her leg. Connie leant down and held out a hand and Cake sniffed that too and then rubbed her cheek against it.
"Hi Cake" she said softly and stroked the kitten's head carefully. "Oh, she's so soft"
Both Connie and Steven sat down on the ground and Cake went over to inspect him too.
"Here" I held out a piece of string. "She really likes to play with this"
Connie began to drag it along the ground and Cake was instantly in play mode, dancing around and pouncing on the string. Connie and Steven laughed at Cake's antics.
I sat back in the sofa and had a smoke, pulling my legs up to sit cross legged. I smiled at the kids and then looked at Pearl. She sipped her tea and was gazing lovingly at the three of them playing and laughing. She really was like a mother to him… The thought I had had before Lion had taken us to the Kindergarten bubbled up in my mind again; what must it feel like to know, without the shadow of a doubt, that someone loves you enough to give their life for yours? Not in the Romeo and Juliet way of overdramatic teenage angst, but in a familial way. Parents. Children. Siblings… That niggling feeling was back again. Did it have something to do with family? Children? That felt about right. I felt like I wanted to be alone all of a sudden. And I could probably do with a shower. An intense image of blue and red lights flashed across my mind, and with it came the sensation of my hand slipping out of someone else's grasp. It was over in less than a second but it made me shiver. Where had that come from?
"Erica, do you have time to meet tomorrow afternoon?" Pearl asked.
"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Yes. I think so"
"Good. I know a good place for us to go where we can experiment with your abilities" she smiled at me and I tried my best to return it.
"That sounds great"
They stayed around for another twenty minutes or so, Steven and Connie taking turns with the string and making Cake jump high into the air. I waved goodbye to them at the door, holding Cake in my arms. When I put her down she trotted into the living room, I followed her to pick up some laundry and found her lying stretched out on her back in the middle of our bed. It made me smile a little.
The warm water cascaded down my back as I sat on the floor of the shower. Why hadn't Steven been able to heal my scars? Connie had said he was able to fix her eyes and Greg had said he had mended his broken leg. They seemed like much more… complex things than a few scars and messed up nerves. Connie's thing had been old, I'm assuming – it wasn't a recent injury. But Greg's had been. The damage I had taken today and earlier this week had been totally eliminated, I didn't even have any bruises left. So it couldn't be like a time limit on his healing power… But… did I even want the scars to go away? I had told Steven not to try to heal my ear – I reached up to it and to my surprise I could feel a slight bump as if there was a scar. I got out of the shower for a moment and inspected it. It looked just like it had healed in the normal way, like it was a few months old maybe. I stared at it until I started to shiver and went back into the stall.
I had told Steven my thoughts on scars being lessons… Maybe that was it? He knew that about me, so maybe he decided only to help with the recent injuries. But when I had asked how he chose what to leave behind, he seemed to not know what I was talking about. It hadn't helped my cramps either for that matter. Hmm.
Maybe… maybe it didn't fix things that were already healed? The scar at the back of my head was more than fourteen years old now, but the shark bite was from around… three weeks ago? I looked closer at my leg. Were they paler? I ran my fingers over them and the nerve damaged ones still tingled at my touch. But… wait… Steven had healed me before today! When me and Pearl got in that fight – he had stopped me from bleeding out. My scars hadn't been affected then either… So they must be considered healed then. I sighed. They were never going to get better. I never thought they would, really, but… If magic couldn't heal you, then nothing would. I felt a strange relief at this and relaxed against the wall.
After a while I got out of the shower and looked at myself in the mirror.
"I am the Dragon Born… kinda" I said aloud with a smirk. It had felt… amazing – at least in that split second before I slammed into the stone seats. The shout was really supposed to send out a powerful cone shaped, invisible pushing force – but I counted it anyway because it was created by my voice, just like the Dragon Born's shouts. It was unbelievable that I could do something like that. Me. How many times had I wished I could do magic? Probably thousands… And now I could. I felt a surge of excitement. What would I be able to do?
Sound and light. Sound and light.
I realized I hadn't sung in the shower and felt a little cheated. Pearl had asked me to not try anything like the Fus-ro-dah-thing again, but I could probably get away with something smaller… right? I mean, the butterflies didn't seem to hurt anyone. Why were they golden? Hmm. I tried saying 'Ha ha ha' aloud, but nothing happened. So it did need the feeling behind the laughter too. Maybe it was like the feelings were the water and my vocal chords were the turbine. Combine the two and you got… electricity.
I went downstairs and made myself a cup of coffee, hearing the neighbor's car pull out of the driveway. Should I rent a car? Or, get one? I had a pretty nice one back in Great Breton. I felt a sting as I remembered when Christina had helped me pick it out a few years ago.
Coffee cup in hand I went out into the garden and sat down in the grass next to a sunbathing Cake. She woke up and wanted to play. I pretended my hand was another cat and pounced on her. She jumped and swiped at me like a ninja and I just had to laugh, she was so cute. The butterflies appeared and she stared at them and chittered before trying to catch them. The little lights tried to settle on her and she tumbled around on the ground, trying to bite her own back. I took this opportunity to tickle her belly and she bit my fingers and scratched my hand with her hind legs.
"You are a little rascal, aren't you?" I said, giggling and pulling my hand away. I wasn't surprised, and I wasn't angry that she had done that – it was a game cat's played with each other – and she hadn't drawn blood. I drew a deep breath and the butterflies winked out. Cake looked up at me disappointedly.
"I'm sorry, Cake, I don't seem to be able to keep them around" I stroked her head and she blinked at me slowly. I smiled and sang;
"Lille katt, lille katt, lille söte katta, vet du att, vet du att, det är mörkt om natta?"*
Pale pink and silver ribbons twirled slowly through the air and Cake stared at them, mesmerized. I repeated the verse and pulled out my phone to take a video of her trying to bat them with her paws. I'm sure both Connie and Steven, hah, and Jasper, would love to see that. I put some music on, turning on the shuffle feature. The first song to play was Gobbledigook with Sigur Ròs. It was in Icelandic, but I knew a few of the lyrics – many of them were 'lalala' so that helped. I got to my feet and sang and jumped around – that song had so much positive energy! Cake stared at me like I was crazy, but then she sprang after me and the new pink and silver lights. Lacrimosa followed Gobbledigook and I slowed my movements to match the somber tone – this song always made me imagine someone taking their dead man's walk up to the gallows. This was an excellent song to use overtones on. I strode determinedly through the grass, waving my arms as if I was conducting. As the overtones joined in a third little ribbon of palest gold sort of wafted tremulously just above the others. As the song ended I was panting, it was hard to sing even when you weren't moving, and even harder with overtones. I grinned as I heard the opening of Cherry Bomb by the Runaways. I strutted confidently across the overgrown lawn. The lights were deep pink and white and more angular than before. I was singing more forcefully now and they jumped around like mad when I got to the chorus – to Cake's delight. I was getting out of breath, but the next song was Bad Reputation by Joan Jett – and you can't not sing along to that song. To both my own and Cake's surprise the golden butterflies joined in as I belted out the last 'Not me!'
Someone started to clap from behind me and I staggered round, panting.
"Shit, girl, you got some pipes!" Amethyst dropped down from the fence and landed softly. Jasper followed, chuckling.
"That she does"
I was too hyped up to feel embarrassed and made an elaborate bow toward them.
"Oh this is my jam! It's going down! I'm yelling timber!" Amethyst started to dance around the garden as Timber with Pitbull and Ke$ha started, I giggled and joined in. She was word perfect on the lyrics and we sang together, lights whirling around us in sparkling waves of white and gold butterflies. Her dance moves were excellent, and they didn't make me feel self-conscious about mine. As the song ended she picked up my phone from the ground.
"You got an odd mix here, E. Whoa, what's this one?" she pressed a button and the intro to The Dresden Dolls' Coin Operated Boy began to play. "It's so… weird!"
"I'm glad you like it" I panted with a grin and the lights faded. "Hi, beastie. Sorry, I got carried away"
Jasper chuckled. "I like it when you sing, babe" she walked up to me and I put my hands on her hips and stood on tip toe to kiss her hello. "How did your first day of training go?"
"Pretty well, I'd have to say. Pearl showed me some spear fighting basics and I got to see Steven and Connie – they are fucking amazing"
"I know, right?" Amethyst grinned.
"And I did a thing… Well, two – several things. First, when I was practicing with the spear against a Holo-Pearl, I made a kiai – "
"What's that?" the purple gem interrupted.
"It's like, you add a 'Hah!' or whatever when you attack – it made like a wave that pushed her – it – backwards. Then Pearl asked me to sing and at first I was really embarrassed but then she sang and she has found her overtones! We sang together and did the combo – and I shot the light and sound away with the spear! It made a hole in the clouds!"
"Whoa!"
"Really?" Jasper asked, sounding enthusiastic.
"Overtones – is that why Pearl has been singing non-stop?" Amethyst punched me playfully on the arm. "It's disturbing my naps, you dork!"
"I guess" I smiled at the Amethyst. "Then I had this idea… There's this game called Skyrim, it's great – you play this character that uses their voice to do powerful shouts – they're like dragon magic – I had to try it out. I said the words to the most famous one and it sort of made a white thing and it shot off! But it sent me flying backwards too" I shrugged and grinned. "That's not how that shout is supposed to work, you're supposed to send things ahead of you flying, not yourself, but, I don't know – it still felt really cool"
"Dude…" Amethyst breathed.
"Pearl asked me to come with her tomorrow afternoon, to test out what I can do – away from people. I'm kind of psyched" I smiled. Jasper chuckled and pulled me into a hug.