Alright, I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter. Thank you to those who gave a review I always appreciate them and they make writing any story easier! I'm really enjoying this story and I hope you are all as well! And once I get this story out of my head I will hopefully have more drive to continue with WHFIL.
Anyways, on with the story…
Disclaimer: I do not own Stranger Things or His Dark Materials.
June 14th, 1993
She feels like she's in a daze, unsure as to how her night even got to this point.
She wishes she was tucked back in the warehouse, safe and sound, surrounded by her comforting blankets, allowing sleep to take over. But, that's not where she was right now.
Instead, her whole life got thrown upside down and now she found herself standing in a complete strangers house, contemplating what her next move would be.
Okay, she shouldn't be calling the guy who saved and healed her a complete stranger because there was something about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on.
"El, you okay?" a small voice pulls El from her reverie, she shakes her head and looked down at her small Anima, who's giving her a peculiar look.
El sighs heavily, as she twists the clothes that Mike had given her in her hands.
"I guess" is all she's able to say, not really sure how she should be feeling.
Her whole life just got ripped away from her. And now...now she was sitting in some guys house who apparently shared a gift just like her.
She can't shake the word: coincidence, from her mind because, was it?
And that's the question that continued to weave in and out of her mind as she sat there, staring off into space the moment Mike had shut the door.
Was it truly a coincidence that the same night she is trying to escape from the badmen that she so happens to run into Mike, who, like her, has extraordinary powers.
It's a lot for her to process, on top of the fear and worry that swirls about in her chest as her mind quickly shifts to Kali and the others.
Veda nuzzles her soft, orange-brown fur up against El's legs. El softens at the contact, the immediate connection with her own soul relieving some of the mounting fear.
"Hey, I know it's a lot to take in right now" Veda begins, looking up at El and then pouncing lightly up onto the bed to sit next to her. She rubs her head affectionately against El's arm, trying to soothe her, "But, we're safe, and that's what's important. It's what Kali would have wanted."
El nods slowly, but the stress of the day and the events that took place overwhelm her, and the warm tears begin to swell like an ocean wave in her eyes. Her vision goes blurry as El bends forward, bringing her hands to her face as she weeps quietly.
Veda continues to rub up against El in a way to calm her down. And El can feel the gentleness beginning to wash over her, but her pain still streams from her eyes, as she tries to keep her crying quiet, not wanting Mike to overhear her.
She feels like she's been crying for forever, but in reality it's only about ten minutes. When the fear and stress finally level back out, El pulls her head away from her hands, sniffling as she sits back up.
Her companion sits faithfully by her side, and El strokes her lovingly, she gives Veda a watery smile, "Thanks" she sniffs, and the fox gives her an endearing look.
"I'm always here for you...whether you like it or not" she laughs to herself and El laughs lightly in return.
The fox gives El's arm a slight head bump, "Why don't you do what Mike said? Take a nice hot shower and get ready for bed, it's late", and no sooner do the words come from Veda's mouth is she yawning, El copying in return.
"Okay", El says stifling another yawn as she carefully rises to her feet, putting light pressure onto her knee.
She winces slightly, but she can feel that the pain is starting to slowly dissipate.
El hobbles to the bathroom, flicking on the nearby light, she winces at the intensity.
Her eyes scanned the small bathroom. It's light blue walls brings an array of calmness, and it's lightly decorated with a couple of small pictures depicting the beach. El sets the clothes Mike had given her onto a nearby bench, and she finds a soft light blue towel hanging on the back of the door.
She has to laugh to herself as to how pristine the bathroom seems. She had never been in a bathroom like this in her life. It was either grungy gas station bathrooms, the small not very clean bathroom at the warehouse, or the small all white shower stall from the lab. An involuntary shudder runs up her spine as she thinks of the latter.
But, she pushes it from her mind as she smiles at the homeiness Mike's spare bathroom resonates.
El moves the matching powder blue curtain to the side and she can see an assortment of soaps and cleaning supplies lined in the tub.
She inches her hand forward and turns on the water which gushed into the tub, she then flicks on the showerhead.
Slowly and surely, El removes her heavy dark clothes from around her body. She sits gingerly on the toilet as she removes her pants, careful of her knee. She sighs inwardly seeing her once favorite pair of jeans are ruined due to the blood and Mike having to cut them open, she tosses them to the side.
With her pants tossed to the side she takes a moment to look at her knee, and she still marvels at Mike's powers, she casually glances out of the bathroom and her eyes land on the comfy white bed.
Her mind flashes back to just a handful of minutes ago, where, Mike had daintily carried her into the room and gently laid her onto the bed.
His words were as smooth as honey, and his kindness just pulsated from his aura. She had all but lost it when he had removed her shoes, making it official that she had to stay.
When their eyes met, a connection formed between them. They had only known each other for an hour, but it had felt like a lifetime, like they were always meant to be together. Her heart had twitched at the thought.
And then, she launched herself into his arms, burying herself into his warmth, wishing she could feel that aura forever. She allowed herself a moment of weakness as she cried into his shoulder. She would never be able to thank him for everything he had done for her.
She had found herself slightly embarrassed when she finally pulled away, she hadn't even noticed that he had adjusted themselves so that she was practically sitting in his lap. El knows she was blushing furiously at the realization, but hoped that Mike saw her redface as a mere sign of her crying.
Then, his gentle touch. She wanted to swim in it for eternity. It was something she had never experienced in her life, for El never thought she actually would, but the way Mike looked at her, and treated her, it was as if she was made of glass.
And it made her heart beat even faster when he too had said he felt the undeniable connection between them.
Her mind begins to wander into the deeper parts of her mind as she thinks about soulmates.
'Could he be yours?' her heart whispers dangerously in her ear, but El shakes herself out of her thoughts, "No" she whispered to herself, chastising her heart for even mentioning it to her.
She lets out a long breath as El moves her hand to the water that cascades down into the shower, and it's very warm, another thing she is not used to.
El moves into the shower gingerly and closes the curtain. She can't help but let out a hum of contentment as the warm water surrounds her. El's shoulders drop and the tension from the day melts away.
She allows herself time to just allow the spray to hit her. Finally, she finds shampoo and lathers the delicious scent of strawberries into her hair.
It's as if the grime of her life is being washed away. The thick hair gel that usually coats her brown hair dissipates as the soap attacks it.
She can feel her soft curls coming through, something she doesn't notice very often. The cheap soap that she and the gang usually shares is barely surmountable to whatever she is using now.
El allows herself to spend time washing her body and marveling at how amazing a warm shower actually feels. The one in the warehouse barely getting above room temperature. This however, is heaven.
Once El finishes in the shower she grabs the nearby towel and marvels at its softness as she wraps it around her body. The steam from the shower dances slowly around her, coating the mirror in a filmy haze.
El raises her hand and wipes away at the steam, revealing herself in the mirror.
She can't help but stare at her reflection, rich amber eyes stare back at her, her hair no longer held straight by the gel, but it now cascades gently just past her shoulders.
For some reason, it makes her smile, there's something about the way she looks that makes her feel different. She lets out a long breath, and moves back into the room.
Slowly, she pulls on Mike's clothes. The sweatpants are baggy, and swim past her feet.
Even Veda lets out a laugh as El pulls the navy blue sweatshirt over her head, and it envelops her.
El tries to dry her hair as best as possible before she sets the towel to dry and lays down in the extremely comfortable bed that entices her to relax.
"Wow, this bed is amazing!" Veda coos as she moves to El's other side and makes a couple circles before lying down.
El hums in acknowledgement, as she lays in the comfortable bed and gazes towards the ceiling. She uses her powers to flick off the light, and darkness envelops her.
She doesn't hear much from the usual noisy city, but she can feel her eyes weigh with heaviness. With one last yawn she allows sleep to overtake her.
Holy shit. Is the first thing that goes through his mind the moment he goes into his bedroom and closes the door behind him, setting his back against the wooden object and sliding down it slowly.
Pitch gives him a look, "What are you worried about?" his companion voices Mike's concern.
Mike buries his face into his hands letting out a loud groan, not responding to Pitch's question.
What was he worried about?
Was it the fact he just met a complete stranger off the street, rescued her and healed her? Was it that they each had their own powers? Or, was it the way his heart beat rapidly against his chest each time their eyes met one another?
No matter what his worry was, Mike wasn't really sure as to how to deal with how his life had honestly just got flipped around.
He had a million questions to ask her, and he didn't even know where to start.
"You worry too much", Pitch says dryly as he moves to his small bed set beside Mike's. The Anima moves in three quick circles before he plops himself onto his bed.
Mike finally removes his hands from his face and glares at his Anima.
Sometimes Mike never understood why he and Pitch were so different.
For most people and their Anima, they responded in the same way, reacted to the same emotions, they meshed with one another. But for he and Pitch, it seemed almost like Pitch was Mike's consciousness in physical form, not his soul.
Mike found it frustrating sometimes as to how Pitch would voice, his own concerns swirling in his own head before he even knew what was bothering him. It was as if Pitch was one step ahead, and it annoyed Mike, but he never admitted it to his Anima.
So, instead Mike huffed and pulled himself to his feet.
"Take your own advice, take a shower or something, you reek", Pitch says nonchalantly, his eyes closed.
Mike rolls his eyes as he shuffles to his bathroom. "Already on it" he throws a hand in his Anima's direction.
Shutting the door, Mike quickly disrobes and tosses his now ruined suit off to the side. He's thankful he has many more to spare.
He turns on the water and waits for it to warm, and while he does, Mike leans into the sink, his hands holding himself steady. He slowly raises his head and looked into the mirror. He sighs when he sees the dark rims already beginning to form beneath his eyelids.
He can feel the exhaustion finally washing over him.
Steam starts to surround him and without a second thought Mike moves into the shower and stands beneath the stream of water.
He begins to think of the girl, El, who is only about twenty feet away from him.
Truthfully, he can't believe what he learned tonight and it's been difficult for him to process.
She's like me, echoes through his mind as the water trickles down his face. He still can't believe it.
He closes his eyes and El is the only thing he can see.
Her rich amber eyes, her soft but tender looks. His heart jumped in his chest and Mike has to place his hands out to the shower walls to steady himself.
He had never felt like this before with any girl that he met. Yes, there was an obvious attraction to some woman, but...there was something different about El.
Mike slowly opened his eyes, the water blurred his vision slightly as he did so. There was something about her, her whole being that pulled Mike to her like a magnet and he couldn't explain it, honestly, it scared him.
He allowed his mind to wander and play as he tried to come to terms with the night as he finished up his shower. Emerging from the cloud of steam of the bathroom as he headed to his drawers and dressed in his night clothes.
Settling into bed his brain only continued to hum with anticipation of morning. He shut his eyes and willed himself to calm down, sleep finally finding him.
The bright sun cascaded into his room, and fell directly into his eyes.
Mike grunted as he turned himself over mentally scolding himself for forgetting to shut his shades in the night.
Blearily, he lifted his head and looked over at his alarm clock.
8:36 flashed at him and he harrumphed into his pillow, closing his eyes and willing himself to get more sleep.
But then, his mind was wide awake, reminding him of what had occurred the night before.
El, the name danced teasingly through his mind. There was currently a girl in his apartment, and it wasn't either of his sisters who were usually the occupants of his spare room.
Pulling himself up into a seated position Mike rubbed at his tired eyes. He looked over the side of his bed and saw that Pitch was still curled up and past out.
Mike sighed, this was another thing that was unusual. Most humans and their Anima's slept and woke at fairly similar times. Not he and Pitch. Once Mike was up, he was up. But Pitch, he could continue to sleep for quite awhile, sometimes Mike would have to shake the wolf awake so that they could get going for the day.
But, Mike put this aside as he cast his legs out and stood from his bed, stretching out his sore shoulders.
He quietly made his way to his door and pried it open slowly, unsure if El had awoken yet.
His eyes did a quick survey of his apartment and with a sigh of relief, Mike finished opening his door and padded out into his living room.
He glanced over to his spare bedroom and found that the door was still closed, and he couldn't help the smile that pulled at his face.
"Good" he whispered aloud to himself. He wasn't sure why he was happy to see that the girl was still behind closed doors, but a part of himself realized he was relieved to see that she had stayed.
Apart of his worry throughout the night would be that once night had settled she would slip out into the night.
Mike made his way to his well stocked kitchen. He began to fiddle with his coffee maker. A thought popped into his head, 'Did El like coffee?'.
He took another quick look at the door and huffed. He knew absolutely nothing about this girl, other than she had powers and was in danger.
So, as he silently debated with his own self, he finally decided to add a bit more coffee grounds and water to his coffee maker. I can always warm it up again later, he reminded himself.
Once the coffee maker began to come alive Mike turned his back to the counter and leaned against it.
With his arms folded over his chest he continued to glance anxiously towards El's door, wondering, worrying if his original thoughts had been true.
Maybe she just shut the door when she left, his brain alarmed him.
"Again, you worry too much"
Mike whipped his head over to the voice of Pitch who was giving him another teasing look.
He tried to act as nonchalantly as possible, "I don't know what you mean,'' Mike shook his head at the wolf.
Pitch chuckled, "Hmmm, seems that you're worried about the fact that the girl might have left in the middle of the night".
"El", her name is out of his mouth before he can even register it, Mike casts a cautious look over to the wolf.
Pitch quirks an eyebrow up at him, a teasing smile dancing on his lips.
"If you want her out here, whip up some breakfast. Maybe some bacon, that always gets me up" Pitch teases as he comes to sit by Mike, looking up at him expectantly.
Mike rolls his eyes, and he can't help but pat the head of his companion.
"Alright" he sighs as he moves towards his refrigerator, searching through the contents before he stumbles upon the pack of thick cut bacon. He removes it along with the carton of eggs that sits beside the package.
He tries to move quietly around the kitchen trying to not make too much noise, hoping the smell of cooked bacon awakens the girl and not his noisy habits.
Mike sets to cooking the bacon, and within minutes his apartment begins to fill with the all too familiar aroma.
He cracks open a couple of eggs and gets them ready as well. Mike can't help but cast hopeful looks over his shoulder as he keeps waiting for his guest door open.
His heart sinks each time it doesn't open.
He busies himself with sipping at his coffee and paying attention to the meal in front of him. Half way through he decides to put a couple pieces of toast into the toaster.
Sighing heavily, Mike shakes his head, "What am I doing?" he half whispers to himself through clenched teeth as he takes a look at the smorgasboard of food that he has finally finished.
Just as he cascades a worried hand through his thick hair, thinking about how much of a loser he is, he's startled by a small voice.
"Wow, that smells really good".
Mike whips his head around almost giving himself whiplash as he gives a surprised looked to the girl who has finally vacated her room.
He's pretty sure his heart stops when he sees her.
She's actually surprised by how well she slept, and for once, no dreams haunted her mind throughout the night.
The light from the three windows overlooking the city streams in through the blinds, but it's not the sun that awakens her, it's the growl of her stomach.
She sniffs the air and a pleasant aroma attacks her nostrils. It pulls her from her slumber.
"Mmm", she sighs heavinly as the salty smell enters her room.
"Wow", El turns to see Veda standing on her tiptoes beside her as she casts her head upwards sniffing the air.
Veda looks to El, "What is that?" she asks quietly.
El shrugs her shoulder as she slowly pulls the soft sheets away from her body as she tiptoes across the fluffy white carpet to place her ear gently onto the wooden doors surface.
She closes her eyes and listens intently. Then, she can hear the sizzling, and clanking.
El can't help but smile she turns to Veda, "He must be making breakfast" she shrugs as she moves towards the bathroom.
"Hmm, wonder if it's for us?" Veda teases from the bed as El examines herself in the mirror.
El rolls her eyes as she runs a hand through her matted hair. She huffs, as she looks at her reflection.
El then begins to examine the drawers in the bathroom and silent cheers when she finds a brush. She can't help but begin to stroke the wooden tool through her hair as she watches her brown locks bounce to a more natural appeal.
Once she's done she takes a nearby wash cloth and wipes at her face. Satisfied, El exits the bathroom and sits herself on the edge of the bed.
She catches another wiff of the food, and her stomach growls loudly.
Veda laughs, "Why don't we see what he's cooking up?" she suggests with a gleam in her eye.
El looks down at her lap and shakes her head, "I...I don't know, I mean…" she stops short, not really sure what to say.
Veda huffs, "Well, we can't stay here forever, besides, I'm hungry too".
El looks into her companions face, and then her deep brown eyes. With a small laugh El nods, "Okay" she sighs as she slowly gets to her feet and makes her way towards the door.
Her hand hovers over the door handle, contemplating.
Will he be okay with us coming out? Her worried mind asks her.
"El, come on, it'll be fine", Veda encourages her.
And, as if her stomach agreed with her companion, it gives another low growl.
So, with a deep breath El places her hand on the cool doorknob and slowly opens the door.
It doesn't take her long to get to the kitchen, and then, she sees him.
She's pretty sure her eyes widen when she sees Mike turned away from her. His hair is a wild mess, and he's still dressed in his pajama pants. El flushes at the sight.
She can see that he seems worried, as he runs a slow hand through his hair, he's muttering to himself.
El decides to break the silence, "Wow, that smells really good".
And no sooner does she speak does Mike whip around to stare at her. She's taken aback slightly when she watches him give her a once over, his mouth dropping open slightly.
She knows she is flushing madly at the way he's looking at her. And she's not really sure if it's in awe, or disgust.
But then, he smiles. A really dorky, lopsided grin, and El's pretty sure she melts right there on the spot. Cute, echoes through her brain.
"Uh, hi...uhm, good morning!" he all but shouts at her as El stays rooted in her spot as Mike slowly approaches her.
He winces slightly at what he must realize was a bit of a loud greeting. But El can't help but grin at his cuteness.
"Good morning" she whispers back. She holds one of her sleeved hand up to her mouth, a shy tendency of hers.
"Did..did you sleep okay?" he gestures to her, and El nods.
"Yes, your bed is really comfy" she smiles at him.
Mike nods eagerly at this, "Yeah, I've got two sisters who come and stay sometimes, so the bedroom tends to stay up to their needs, and the bathroom too".
"I noticed there was a lot of floral scents in there" El tries to add to the conversation, but she flinches slightly at her awkwardness. She was also slightly relieved to discover that it didn't seem like Mike had many female visitors.
Mike seems to notice this because he laughs lightly.
"I'm sorry, this is just kind of-" he moves his hands slightly and El answers, "Weird" she scrunches her face, giggling.
Mike laughs, "Yeah, exactly" he sighs.
El only nods as they both stood there in silence, shifting on their feet uncomfortably.
Mike then straightens, "Oh, uh, I made breakfast, want to eat?" he gestures towards the mound of food that is placed out on his island.
El's eyes widen at the assortment of food. Bacon, eggs and toast are all piled high on individual plates and her mouth waters.
"Uh-" she starts, feeling as if she is imposing, but Mike just about reads her mind.
"Don't feel like you're imposing, I mean, we said we'd sit down and talk today and, well, you can't do that on an empty stomach, can you?" he looks at her with his sweet brown eyes and El softens immediately.
She looks down at Veda who is nodding vigorously her bushy tail wagging eagerly.
El looks back up at Mike who's giving her a look and El flushes again, "Okay" she says gently and Mike's body seems to sag in relief.
"Alright, cool" he announces nodding his head eagerly as El approaches him.
"Cool" she returns with a smile as Mike hands her a plate.
Their fingers brush slightly and there's an intensity there that surges through El like never before. She almost drops the plate at the sensation. And Mike has to re-grip the plate to stop it from falling to the floor.
"Sorry!" El stammers quickly as she now locks both of her hands firmly onto the glassware.
Her eyes peered upwards to see if Mike is mad at her, but instead, she sees his soft eyes and slight smile as he shakes his head.
"It's okay" he stammers out, letting go of the plate, and El ponders as she sees his face begin to redden, as he turns away from her, reaching into his cabinet and grabbing another plate.
El is silent as she grabs a couple pieces of bacon, an egg and a piece of toast, she goes to move when Mike stops her with a laugh.
"Is that it? Please, help yourself, and Veda too" he nods to her companion.
El flushes, "I uh-" she starts, but feels very embarrassed, not sure what to say.
Mike shakes his head, his wild black hair going every which way. "Don't worry, I made way too much food so please help yourself".
And at this El's stomach gives a betraying growl, causing her to flush even more red as she sighs and piles even more food onto her plate.
Mike gently handed her another as she fills it for Veda.
They move in silence as Mike gets a plate ready for Pitch, both she and Mike nearly bump into each other as they both turn to give their Anima's their own breakfast.
Small laughs escape their mouths as Mike gestures for her to move first, and he follows. They place the plates in front of their Anima's who begin to eat ravenously.
Mike chuckles again as he moves to grab his own plate, El following in turn.
He leads them to his small nook that consists of a small round table, four wooden chairs sit around it.
Mike sets his plate down and scoots himself in.
El hesitates slightly, and Mike looks up at her.
"You going to eat standing up?" he flashes her a teasing grin.
El shakes her head as she moves slowly towards the seat next to him. Gingerly, she sets down her plate and looks at her food.
"Oh!" Mike's voice startles El as she whipped her head to him, her eyes widening at his sudden outburst as he begins to stand, "Forgot the forks, and syrup" he says as he hustles back towards the kitchen.
As Mike moves away, El looks out the large window before her. The sun has already risen and the buildings flash the sunlight this way and that. There's something serene about the whole thing, and El feels her mind begin to go blank.
She's only pulled out of her daze when Mike puts a fork in front of her eyes.
"Here" he says, and El takes the tool from him gently. He then places a bottle of maple syrup in front of them.
She eyes it curiously.
Mike must see her skeptical look because he reaches forward and chuckles lightly, "I didn't know if you liked syrup with your breakfast" he shrugs as he opens the bottle and begins to shower his eggs and bacon in the golden liquid.
El of course loved maple syrup, it was one of the few luxuries, along with a box of eggo's that Kali allowed her to splurge on every once in awhile. However, lacking in eggos and any other breakfast foods that were usually accompanied by syrup, El's eyes widened as she watched the man before her add it to his eggs and bacon.
She must have been staring because once Mike finishes with the bottle their eyes meet and he gives her a shy look. "Sorry, I know it's a little weird, but I've done it since I was a kid. My friends and sisters always pick on me because of it".
He almost sounds ashamed for his habit, because he almost cocoons himself as he raises his shoulders and tries to hide his face from her as he slowly picks up his fork and pushes around his food.
El doesn't know why, but his action makes her sad. It makes her begin to think of just how many other times in Mike's life had he been ridiculed for small things. It was almost as if he spent his life trying to hide his quirkiness.
But, there was something about his awkwardness that El couldn't help but find endearing, and if she wasn't lying, attractive.
So, with a bold move El reached her hand forward and grabbed the sticky bottle of syrup. Popping open the top she began to swirl the liquid from it's bottle as it cascaded down onto her eggs and bacon.
When she's done she places it before her, and turns to look at Mike, who's looking at her gobsmacked.
She gives him a smirk as she picks up her fork and cuts into her eggs, now drenched in the sweet syrup, she brings it to her mouth.
"No, you don't have-" Mike starts, but El has already shoved the eggs into her mouth and she chews thoroughly.
The sweet, saltiness awakens something she's never experienced before and she finds that it's delicious.
She swallows and looks at Mike, smiling. "That's so good!" she hums as she moves to the bacon and almost moans at the same, but almost better taste that surrounds her taste buds.
She hesitantly peeked over to Mike, who has a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
"You...you really like it?" he asks.
El nods appreciatively, "It's really good, you're a really good cook" she comments stuffing her face with another spoonful of eggs and bacon, and as she says the words Mike flushes, and El finds that she really enjoys it when he gets all flustered.
They continue to eat their breakfast in a quiet state, and El finds herself comfortable with the whole situation. Which she finds incredibly weird, because not even ten hours ago she didn't even know Mike existed, now, here she was, eating breakfast in his apartment.
"Mike, that was very good" Veda approaches them at the table, sitting herself beside El.
Mike looks down at Veda and gives her a smile, "Thank you" he nods in appreciation.
Just then Pitch moves to sit beside Mike, "Eh, could have gone a little lighter on the bacon" the wolf teases and Mike throws the wolf a look.
"Shut it, Pitch Black" Mike grumbles and the wolf rolls his eyes.
"Pitch Black?" El asks the question stumbling out of her mouth before she can catch herself.
She holds her hands up over her mouth and Mike only laughs.
"It's fine, you can ask about his name" he then teasingly ruffles the wolfs black hair.
Pitch snaps at him playfully. And it's then El can see on Pitch's muzzle, he has a smattering of white spots, almost impossible to see, and El smiles realizing that they are a reflection of Mike's adorable freckles.
Wait, adorable?, her mind questions and El inwardly cringes, she immediately tries to shake her thoughts away and she's thankful when Mike speaks again.
"Yeah, my sister named him actually?" Mike says rolling his eyes, them falling onto El as he reclines in his chair.
"Your sister?" she repeats and Mike nods.
"Mhm, you see, Pitch has always manifested himself as a dark black animal, even when I was born," he explains.
El nods, showing that she is listening intently.
He smiles to himself, "First a vole, then a rabbit, a frog-" El watched Mike cringe at the mention of Pitch being a frog, "Then a black cat for most of my teenage years, and now-" he gestures to Pitch, "A wolf" he shrugs.
"My sister Nancy thought it was funny that Pitch was also so black, like my hair, so she called him Pitch Black, and it just stuck".
El nods, smiling genuinely at Mike's story, she always found it fascinating what other creatures people's Anima's appeared as over their lives.
She knew that Anima's reflected where a person was in their lives. And sometimes it had to do with the environment a person was raised in as well.
"What about you?" Mike's voice brings El's attention back to him.
She quirks an eyebrow at him.
He gives her a shy look, "How did you get the name Veda, it's unique".
El sighs, she knows that the whole point of her staying there last night was for her to explain what had happened to her and why she had been running away. Not just that, but she was sure that Mike had a million questions about her own powers, which she had yet to show him.
Mike waits patiently fiddling with his hands in his seat, allowing El to take her time.
Letting out a huff of air, El slowly raises her head and Mike's dark eyes are already awaiting her.
El swallows before she speaks, "Veda" she starts, "Was the first name I was able to read off of one of the lab workers name tags".
She watches as Mike furrows his eyebrows.
El pulls her lips in tight before she continues, "Veda was one of the few female lab workers and I liked it. My Anima had gone so long without a name, and it just seemed to fit" she shrugged her shoulders looking down at the being she spoke of.
"Lab, what lab?" Mike gives her a look, and El gives a tight smile.
"The lab...where I was born, raised and...tortured" she feels her voice warbling slightly as Mike's mouth drops open in shock at her words.
Alrighty, I'm going to leave it there because I know this will go well into the next chapter and I needed to get a new one out sooner rather than later.
What do you guys think? I know this chapter was a bit wordy and I needed to get it leading up to this discussion, but I hope you all enjoyed it.
I really do appreciate and read EVERY review I get on my stories and I REALLY love them and they fuel my writing.
So, as always PLEASE REVIEW! Stories thrive on them! Thank you!
