PART THREE: IMPULSE

Chapter Eleven

| EUROPE, EASTERN FLOOD ZONE |

"Again," I groan from the grass beside her. My head had been resting on my fist for so long that It might have left a dent. I felt my voice begin trailing into the background, along with my thoughts...

She thrusts her palm forward and strains her muscles, clearly desperate for something to happen.

"Again." Did I remember to close the ship's hatch? It would be frustrating if a dreg stole some glimmer from me. Those little shits.

She tries once more with her other hand, before grunting and running her hands through her hair. "This is ridiculous, why are you even here? I don't need you to consistently moan the same thing for hours straight. If that's all you're going to say then I can do this myself. You're not even giving me any advice anymore."

I straighten my back and gesture toward her. "Well we're making progress, aren't we?"

"No!" She argues. "We've been doing this for days longer than you said we would. I've just been… pushing the air! Or clicking my fingers! Or jumping off of rocks!" She balls her hands and starts strutting away. "You claim that I'm a 'paracausal soldier'!? Well nothing is happening! And I'm getting sick of you!"

I quickly push up off of the ground. "Hang on, you're getting sick of me?"

"Yes!"

I follow her through the grass as she shuffles along the riverside. "You don't get to have that luxury! I've been forced out here by the Vanguard to watch over a clearly incompetent guardian and teach them how to use their own fucking powers, and after a whole week, that guardian has made little to no progress! Obviously something is wrong with you! You're fucking usless!"

Her ghost appears beside me; his shell pressing together as if he was the one I was insulting. "Well maybe here's our answer!" I shout. "Did your ghost malfunction before he resurrected you? Did he pick wrong? You're the one fucking everything up just by being alive! Maybe you shouldn't have even been brought back in the first place!"

She stopped in her tracks, turning her body around and facing me directly.

...and there was a shimmer in her eyes.

"Thanks," she mimed with her lips.

"Oh fuck off, do you really think this is on me?"

She tries to discreetly wipe her eyes with the cloth she carries, but doesn't respond. Her ghost hovers over to her shoulder.

"I just…" What the fuck am I supposed to say to make this better now?

"Leo," she mutters.

"No," I contest. "Okay listen, you haven't said it directly, but maybe you're right, I've been kind of a dick these past few days." I suddenly didn't know what to do with my hands. "I tried to be nicer after you asked but we've both been getting frustrated and it just hasn't worked out well. You don't have any fire or arc or space magic yet, cause you're useless... and I don't have any good advice."

I take a deep and long breath. "Maybe we should take the time to try to properly figure this out. I'll help you. Like, actually help you."

Her gaze quickly falls away. As if I was too disgusting of a thing to look at. She adjusts the cloth wrapped around her shirt and stares into the rocks of the shallow river.

"That was my apology by the way," I clarify. "Pretty sure you're supposed to say 'thank you', or 'apology accepted' or something along those lines."

"Well, it was quite a crap apology."

"How would you know, you were basically born yesterday."

"Rude."

"Well, it's true."

She shakes her head. "It's been a couple of weeks, Leo. And it feels longer…" She tightens the blanket around her and begins picking at the fluff. "You know, when my ghost resurrected me, it was like years had passed. Not that I feel ancient or immature. I definitely feel my age. But I woke up as if I had already been living, but now without any memory of anything. I know that seems contradictory…"

"Yeah, I know what it's like. Um, been there."

"Well clearly you don't know everything."

"Never claimed to."

She looks at me as if I was wearing giant shoes and a big red nose.

"Okay fine," I admit. "Maybe I've been acting as if I know everything. But really, I have no idea what I'm doing."

"I figured," she mutters, with an almost inaudible exhale.

We wait for a while by the riverside and listen to the water cutting around the rocks. The wind had picked up a little bit so our loose clothing began to flap around. How am I going to show her how to use the light? I've never seen someone so… shit at it. We need to try something else, and we'll definitely need more time. Doubt Grey will give me it. He'll probably just strip me from this task; give it to someone more competent. Could this be my only shot at joining the Vanguard?

I was startled from my thoughts when a voice shouts over my shoulder.

"Hello!" It was Callisto, who had materialised beside me.

"Callisto, you can't just keep appearing without warning."

"The Commander is contacting us. It could be urgent."

Would you look at that? Speak of the devil.

The Story Continues... 12/09/22