Laura stared at Lyla from a branch of a tree. Squinting and rubbing her temples didn't help. He focussed on the image of Lyla's brain and wondered what she could be thinking.
She threw chopped logs into the air and punched it with a fist of black flames. The crackling wood propelled into a pile of the previous victims. Maybe she thought of the stench the smoke made or how exhilarated she felt when lighting the wood on fire.
Despite her efforts, Laura's telepathy didn't work. The fight with Cobra must have been a lucky accident. His magic must have done something to her. She didn't fully understand her own.
"Feel like having a meal over a campfire?" Lyla asked from the ground.
Laura looked at the pile of wood Lyla burned. The smell made her nose scrunch.
Lyla shrugged and took out a lacrima. The small crystal had barely any magic trapped inside. She threw it to Laura, who caught it.
"How's your telepathic ability?" Lyla asked as she drowned the fire with a bucket of water.
"Staring won't help. What else am I supposed to do?!"
"Our fight didn't help?"
Laura recalled waking up extremely early to train, "No. Not…" She searched for the right word, "intense enough."
Lyla complimented her on the new word before saying, "Being convinced you're enemy will kill you might help. That fight-or-flight instinct."
Laura shrugged. In the back of her mind, she noted to try reading. Jobs haven't been too busy lately, so maybe she would have time to learn.
She slid off of the branch and landed on her bare feet. The cool dirt brought a feeling of nostalgia. She took her old boots from the ground and slipped them on.
"Tairal should have finished making our clothes. Want lunch afterward?"
Laura nodded. They dropped the bucket off at their house and continued into town. Sorren walked towards them on the dirt road. He wanted someone to shop for groceries with him… And of course, Lyla said, "Sure!"
"No."
Lyla shot her a menacing look. Laura gave in reluctantly, knowing there would be no other outcome.
At least they would pick up their outfits first. Tairal saw them, finished with a customer's purchase, and jogged to the back to return with two outfits each on a clothing hanger. He made another trip to get two pairs of boots. It was obvious which clothes were made for who.
"I'm too broke for dressing rooms, but for you two, I don't mind if you got dressed in the bathroom in the back." Tairal offered. He sounded ashamed. As the owner, I should have some…
The fuzzy words echoed in her head. No one had spoken, but she heard it. Like a murmur behind a door.
"I'll go first." Lyla volunteered. She ran to the bathroom for a few minutes. Laura admired the same clothes as their last visit until she returned.
Some minutes passed by when Lyla came out with white thigh-high boots that had metal soles. She wore a grey cloak that stopped at her sides. A silver Fairy Tail emblem rested on her chest to keep the cloak around her shoulders. She wore a tight purple crop top over black spandex with the legs cut off to make shorts.
Laura ran inside next, returning wearing an outfit of black full-suit spandex under light and comfy tunic that hugged her body. It had long sleeves with gold trimming on top. From the bottom of her bust to the ends was cut open so it wouldn't get in the way when she ran. Her white knee-high boots had soles matching the wine red of her dress. The top of the boots had gold coloring.
She kept listening to all of the thought Tairal put into the design of her outfit. The spandex was made with material to keep her warm, yet easy to move in. The soft fabric of her dress appeared delicate, but took no special tricks to wash and could withstand plenty of stress before ripping. When he finished, Tairal walked behind the cash register to be paid.
The girls graciously did so. They said their goodbyes and left to shop for groceries. Sorren said they'd be going to a store another of his brothers worked at. Laura groaned in frustration.
"Come on, you liked Tairal." Lyla reminded her, "You might like Ruka too."
She couldn't run home. Lyla would get upset. So she continued into the market with them. There weren't as many stalls set up as Fantasia, but it still offered the most to customers.
Sorren took them to a large building with colorful signs on the windows. A few customers shopped inside. Shelves of crates stood against the walls and boxes and more crates filled in the floor space. They sold a large variety of colorful fruits and vegetables.
A young woman wearing a green apron welcomed Sorren from the counters opposite the front door. The wall behind her had two round doorways leading to a back room with some storage and a flight of stairs.
He greeted her and asked if someone named Ruka had arrived. She shook her head. The woman had dark skin and brown eyes with short black hair. Laura played with strands of her hair. It should probably be cut soon.
Lyla walked around the store with disinterest. They didn't know what to buy and didn't have a Colander to annoy them. Laura leaned against one of the front windows, watching the people outside. The spot she stood in wouldn't be in the way of others.
Nostalgia crept in. Not the pleasant kind, but not horrible. People walked down the stone roads outside to shop, work, or hang out. She could find so many little moments to jump around the corner and snatch the food from the vendor's hands. Occasionally, she could snatch some money for future use.
A soft, "Shit!" played in her ears. Laura whipped her head to a young man with brown hair tied into a short ponytail. He crawled on the floor to catch the produce he dropped from a large paper bag.
Laura crouched down and helped pick them up.
"Thank you." The flustered man sighed. His heart pounded in his chest and he kept his golden-brown eyes to the floor. He wore the same green apron as the woman. He must be Ruka.
"Sorren…" The woman at the counter sighed.
Ruka took the refilled bag to Sorren and whispered, "Our next bar trip is on you."
Great, they were both drunks.
After paying, the group left and would split ways. Unfortunately, Sorren invited them to come to his Mother's house. Lyla would visit now and then. She would say how good the woman's cooking was and how friendly Sorren's little brother, Uragi, was.
Sorren let himself in through the front door of a two-story house, announcing himself and that he brought a friend. They walked into the living room with a couch and living chair around a fire-place. The walls were covered in family photos and every surface had some trinkets or decorations.
A doorway beside them led into a decently sized kitchen where an older woman with red hair and golden brown eyes cooked over a stove. Steam escaped the giant pot and a sensational scent flooded the first floor. Sorren placed the groceries on a countertop beside her. The woman noticed Lyla and Laura and welcomed them with a smile.
Laura stayed in the corner of the house, not sure how to respond. Lyla smiled back at the woman and plopped on the couch like it was her property.
The girls didn't speak. Laura didn't want to start a conversation. Instead, she returned to the cramped photos. They were hung in no specific order. One had the father cradling a young baby beside three young boys playing in the mud. Above that hung a young man with a younger version of the mother hugging. Based off of the bags in his hand, he was leaving.
There were never more than five boys in a picture. They all had brown hair except for the youngest, who had hair like his mother's. Sorren was the only one in the family with pale blue eyes like his father.
The Colander's house, if Sorren hadn't grown up in it, was the safest place Laura could be in.
Sorren's back! A young man's voice echoed in her head. It pulled her from her thoughts. No one responded to the comment. The first person to speak was Lyla.
"What's up, Uragi?" She asked. A man around their age entered the living room from a walkway next to the sidewall of the kitchen. He had red hair and wore a brown vest and pants over a white button-up shirt.
"Hi, Lyla. How're you doing? He said. Uragi passed the couch and to the armchair beside it. He noticed Laura near the front door and his legs buckled.
"Ya doin' hi how?" His young voice cracked as he fell on his next step.
Sorren popped his head through an empty window in the kitchen's sidewall, stifling a laugh. Laura twisted her face. If she could teleport like Lya, she would. And she would pretend as if Uragi had hallucinated her.
Lyla jumped up from her seat and suggested Laura and her return home. Laura quickly hurried out the door with Lyla close behind.
"I'm tired of people. I've had enough!" Laura complained as she stomped ahead.
"What? Uragi's nice. He didn't mean anything."
"I met three Colanders and still stuck with the fourth! I'm done."
"You can't hate Sorren's family just because you hate him." Lyla said, "Why are you two even like that?
Laura kept her eyes on the ground. Only their footsteps kept complete silence at bay. She watched the stone road turn to dirt and the smell of fresh grass filled her nose. It would be stupid to tell Lyla. She couldn't fully understand why Sorren taking her away from Laura was so infuriating.
Why can't she tell me? Lyla said. No not said. Like the previous occurrences, It echoed in Laura's head. Similar to fighting Cobra. Though the words were fuzzy and difficult to register.
Laura looked up and watched Lyla walking beside her. She didn't look back as if she were waiting for an answer. She kept her eyes ahead. It was brilliant!
"Can we keep practicing our abilities?" Laura asked. Now Lyla looked back. Her lips pursed.
"Uh, duh," She said, "You gotta catch up!"
A/N: Sorry about the late update. Things have been busy for me and Syaleo. My work opened back up so I've been working a lot and she just moved so it's a bit chaotic for us both. I hope you enjoyed the update though! If you did, please let us know, we love hearing feedback.