The Difference
Chapter 15 - Explanations, Secrets, and…
(Sarah)
A gentle dissonance of voices awaited me as I drifted out of a dreamless sleep. My mind was foggy, halfway distinguishing the noises, halfway figuring out the prickly substance irritating my back.
"… She used up her Casting strength - not only that, she got help from Water Elementals, which is her opposite element. That's the first part…"
Alay… free. Everything rushed back to slam into my addled mind, forcing me to focus wholly on the conversation and forget the itching on my back. Alay was free, Caster Hannah knew where we were, the Ellimist was in on the whole thing, and I was… no, Alay and I both were…
"But you said she's a full Weapon now. Does that mean she can't Cast anymore?" I lifted my right arm from my side and gave the marking a long look - the Elemental Crest, the sign of a full rank. A dizzying twist of vines, waves of water, tendrils of fire, and blue streaks that represented the element of Air. My commitment to my Caster…
"No, she can Cast. A full Weapon rank means she's now got some of the things it would take us years to learn - for one thing, she's unaffected by low to middle level Casts. She's also supposed to have a closer bond to her Caster but, unfortunately, her Caster wasn't part of Caster Hannah's ceremony." My hand fell across my chest as a thin ache tore into my heart. My Caster… Alay's Caster… both of them were still…
Morning, sunshine. Tobias' thought-speak was quiet, for me only. Sleep well?
Very well, I answered. But hay is a very irritating thing. Where am I?
Cassie's barn again. Alay's explaining the situation to Cassie and Ax, and to me and Marco as well - there's a lot you haven't told us. I winced as I sat up, both at the stiffness of my muscles and the undertone of questioning in Tobias' voice.
Ia… I apologize, Tobi'as.
For what? he returned with. It's not like I asked and you lied. You're allowed secrets, like the rest of us. I looked over at him in the rafters and gave him a weak smile. No one but me knows you're awake, itala, so you can roll over and go back to sleep.
Veraha, but I think to leave Alay to explain everything would not be a good idea. She does not know everything about the situation that I know.
Like what? he asked as I slowly and carefully stood. My legs were still weak, but stable enough (or so I thought) to support me if I dropped from the hayloft to the ground. But when my feet hit dirt, my knees collapsed and I fell over - sideways, remarkably enough- directly into Marco's lap - Marco, who had been sitting on a convenient bale of hay beneath the edge of the loft. He caught my waist to stop me from falling as I grabbed his shoulders for the same reason and for a split moment, I just sat there, in his lap, his hands on my waist and mine around his neck. It was… an interesting position.
That was the first time I seriously broke the number one rule of Weapons: When on a mission, allies are allies. They are nothing more then allies. I had partially broken this is developing a friendships with Ax, Cassie, Tobias, and Marco - but friends and allies are close things to began with. But anything more then friends...
"Are you okay?" asked Marco gently. I felt a blush rush to my cheeks and prayed that no one noticed it when I nodded silently. He gave me a half smile. "Then can you stand? You're cutting off circulation to my legs." I nodded again - there was a pause, in which I let myself enjoy the smile and nothing else - then I realized he actually wanted to me get off of his legs and that I really was cutting off the circulation.
"Ia Veranda!" I stood up quickly, feeling the blush deepen, this time from stark embarrassment. Alay only shook her head, either choosing to ignore me or simply holding in the mocking I knew I would get. I rarely acted like… a girl around the opposite sex. Usually, usually, I was able to simply remain myself - to a Teslahan, gender was nothing to discriminate by, jaia, nor was sexual orientation on top of that. But lately…
"Did you sleep well?" asked Cassie.
"J-jai," I replied, attempting to gather myself. I was not used to falling over, literally and figuratively. Until I figured out why Marco had such an effect on me, then… I was not sure what I was going to do until then, but in the entire time that I had been in the Animorphs world, that had never happened to me - and Marco and I had fallen into much more compromising positions in training.
"Good to see you haven't changed," chuckled Alay, patting me on the shoulder. "You're still incredibly out of your mind." I made a face at her, but could honestly think of no come back worth saying. "At least now you can help fill in these people whom you've left in the dark."
"Vercha, forgive me," I said to the others. "I have a tendency to assume that, because I know things, others know them as well." Alay snorted and shook her head.
"It's not a tendency, itala, it's a daily happenstance. You do it all the time!"
"I do not!" I countered. "I do not assume all of the time!"
"Like hell you don't!!"
"I do not!"
"You do, and don't argue with me, because you know I'll win." The way she said it, with an arrogant tone only Alay could perform, and a simple aura of superiority around her, was enough to make me give up then and there and just roll my eyes at her - sometimes, you have to quit while you are ahead. And sometimes, when it's Alay, you just have to quit.
"That is regardless," I stated firmly. "There is much that needs to be talked about. To begin with, the Ellimist, I am told, is the cause of this."
We had guessed that, itala, said Tobias. Though we were a little confused onto the 'why' behind it. I shrugged.
"I do not know either - but he has told Caster Hannah that we are safe. I have told Caster Hannah that her two favorite students are Controllers. She was not amused." Alay snorted.
"I wish I could have seen that," she answered. "Given, if wouldn't be the first time I've see Caster Hannah pissed." I grinned, remembering all of the times we, as partners in crime, had been on the receiving end of Caster Hannah's anger - Alay and I had been the best Weapon Trainees, but also, the most troublesome.
"Alay, compared to the lecture Head Caster Healer Eryn received, you and I have been lucky." She arched an eyebrow, but said nothing. "Caster Hannah also said something that might interest everyone - apparently, us four have been given the morphing power."
"All?" asked Alay and Marco simultaneously. I nodded, even as Ax continued with,
That cannot be. If they had the morphing power, surely the Yeerks would have morphed!
"Not necessarily," spoke up Cassie. "If the Yeerk hadn't known and Alay herself hadn't known then… if you don't know you can do something, why even try? The Yeerk certainly would have looked stupid trying to morph." I nodded, agreeing completely with Cassie, and heard Alay chuckle.
"Epsil would have loved to have the morphing power," she said darkly. "Greedy bastard that he was. Nothing was ever enough for him…" She shook her head. "Never mind. He's dead and I'm not and I have a Mission, damn it."
"That's the psycho spirit!" said Marco with mock enthusiasm. Alay glared at him and opened her mouth to retort, when suddenly Cassie gasped.
What is it, Cassie? asked Tobias. She tilted her head back to look at him.
"We start school on Monday," she answered. "Summer break's over. Why that came as a sudden revelation is beyond me, but I somehow feel like… it's important." Marco stifled a groan of disappointment.
"Oh, that sucks," he stated. "I'd much rather have another Summer Break, especially after the way this one's been going." I looked up at Tobias with a look of confusion.
"I do not know what "school" is," I answered. "Or "sucks". Is that like hokey?"
"Hokey"? repeated Tobias. Where did you learn that? Marco looked slightly sheepish, but said nothing, so I said nothing to Tobias. Oh, I get it. Marco's been teaching you bad English. Way to go, Marco.
"It's not like it was intentional!" returned Marco. "She's already got most of English under her belt - it's hard to remember she has the total combined English skills of a fifth grader." Alay came up and poked me in the forehead before smacking Marco upside the head.
"Her translator chip got fired, you moron," she told him. "She knows English, she just can't speak it."
"Hey! I remembered why it was important!" said Cassie, interrupting the war (again) before it began. "Sarah has to go to school too. And since she has no idea what that is, we have a problem."
"Slightly," grimaced Marco. I was confused again. How was it a problem? Just what in the five hells was this "school" thing, anyway?
"For crying out loud," mused Alay. "It's not a hard concept. Sarah, school's like the Academy, only, since they don't have Weapons and Casters here, I'm assuming your school focuses more on academic pursuits." She looked to Cassie, who nodded. "How do your days of the week work here, if this "Monday" is coming up?" I knew that one, though I still did not understand it.
"They have seven day weeks, itala," I answered. "Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday - then it starts all over again."
Wow, I'm surprised you remembered that, commented Tobias. I made a face up at him.
"You have a confusing week and year," I told him, for the fourth time. "It's not simple, like the Teslahani." Alay snorted.
"If that's simple, then I'm a Taxxon," she said coolly. "Regardless, what day of the week is it now?"
"Thursday," answered Cassie. "Which leaves us less then four days until school."
"Four days is plenty of time," said Alay, shrugging. "Just because Sarah acts like an idiot doesn't mean she really is one… all of the time, anyway." I rolled my eyes.
"Itala, I think I liked it better when you weren't the one talking."
Chapter 16 - … and Plotting
(Alay)
Sarah's awake. I nodded to Tobias, who was kind enough to state the obvious. When Sarah woke up, she was as loud as a cattle stampede and about half as graceful.
My name is Alay. I have a last name, but it's one the Teslahani gave me, so it's not really my last name. Orphans don't usually have last names, but Teslahani don't suffer a child to not have a family, so I have one now, as strange as it may seem.
I grew up in the remnants of New York City, making a life and learning tricks and fighting amongst the broken, twisted buildings. I can break out of every prison known to man - spend two years dodging police and it's not hard to figure out. But I couldn't escape when Visser One ordered my home destroyed - I was sent to the Academy, to put my skills to a good use. Well, most of them. There isn't much call for thievery in the Academy… unless, of course, it's to cause minor trouble for the many, many irritating, egotistical students in said Academy. And boy, are there a lot of them.
It was on the way to the Academy from my home that I met Sadie. She was very quiet, very reserved, the exact person I had always imagined a Caster would be. Then, of course, when I reached the Academy, I was put in first year classes with a set of twins already known for causing problems - Sarah and Emily. Sarah was the only Cross in the class, but it was obvious she was less focused on Casting and more on fighting. That's why we became training partners - because, given half a chance, she can focus and since whatever she can do, I can do better, it makes me work hard on focusing myself. There's also the simple fact that her style of fighting is the exact opposite to mine - long handled halberds and glaives to close combat knives and short swords. It makes practice interesting.
Thank you, Tobias. Is she planning on coming down anytime soon?
Hopefully - yup, there she goes. Sarah slid off the edge of the hayloft and landed on the ground in the worst possible position - straight legged, no where for the shock of the sudden stop to go. Her knees crumbled and she toppled over - directly into Marco's lap. He grabbed her faster then I had assumed he would, or could, and for a moment, they just sat there, while I debated laughing at them - I had already laughed at Marco, and given him the business as well, for his little crush on Sarah. Weapons don't "crush" while they're on Missions, therefore, his feelings were completely boundless.
At least, I had thought they were.
Tobias, tell me I'm not seeing what I think I'm seeing… A thin blush had spread to Sarah's cheeks and her skin had paled slightly. Okay, so the feeling were reciprocated - they weren't supposed to be, but they were. Damn it…
How is that bad? asked Tobias, as Marco asked Sarah if she was okay. Isn't it good if she likes Marco back?
Because he's a distraction, and a big one at that, I replied as Sarah jumped up, apologizing profusely for cutting off the circulation to Marco's legs. Not only that, he's an ally and her student, which makes it all the more worse. It's supposed to only be a plutonic relationship…
And yet, you don't sound too against the idea. Damn thought speak, damn damn damn it. Outloud, I could control the tone of my voice, but when it what I was thinking, it was impossible. He knew I was thinking about this…
After today, I'm thinking she needs a distraction, I told him thoughtfully. She's throwing herself into this too much and thinking too little about the consequences of her actions. She needs more time to just… not be on a Mission. So, then, that means a little constructive plotting in order, atala mi itala.
Why do I have the feeling you plan to involve me in this?
Because I do, mostly because you're a good judge of character - and you've been watching Sarah and Marco interact in training, not to mention you know Marco better then I do AND I know you're just dying to help Sarah get her sanity back on track.
.… Damn you. I grinned.
Don' t worry, this will be fun.
End Book I, The Difference
There you go. The entire first book of The Difference. I'll have the beginning of the second book up soon, but it will be its own thing so watch out for it! Also, check out It's the official site and stuff for The Difference. ^_^ Enjoy!
