Cloud No. 9
"Tally, this really isn't that hard!" Abigail grumbled; her face impatiently grimacing.
The Bellweather Unit had a free period and was catching some air between classes. An icy blue sky stretched over Fort Salem, the sun was shining and there was not a cloud to be seen.
This was, as the three discovered quickly after Conscription Day, almost a unicum for the place, as many of the resident cadets and soldiers carried more or less pronounced abilities to influence the weather. The cliché that witches caused storms in order to escape on their brooms was by far no coincidence - even if the part about the broom was utter nonsense. What was Salva for?
A certain witch named Abigail Bellweather took particular pride in her ability to manipulate the weather. It was in her blood, her ancestor Jem Bellweather had turned things around in the Battle of Juarez through her outstanding skills and mighty sacrifice. Did it probably stem from the heritage that the Bellweather family's surname referred to rain, storm and sunshine?
It was this pride that led her to constantly pester her sisters with additional exercises that went far beyond the usual curriculum of meteorology. She challenged Tally and Raelle to broaden and deepen their knowledge.
"You must try harder," she urged the other two - a blaze in her eyes that some who did not know her well could surely mistake for arrogance. "A well-crafted hurricane or a carefully placed bolt of lightning can save your life once in a dicey situation!"
Raelle had dropped out rather quickly, as weather forecasting was simply not her gift. She had tried really hard at the beginning, after the initial quarrels with Abigail had been sorted out. But "to be keen to try" is still only mark D, so she had capitulated. She would not be coaxed about weather by Abigail any more. So, it came about that Bellweather concentrated her eagerness on Tally.
This had put the redhead in this predicament. Instead of spending her free time with a hot tea and a good book or going to the Memorial Halls and studying the artefacts of past centuries, she was now supposed to conjure up death and destruction in broad daylight under a cloudless sky. Most of the time, her skills were not even adequate for a mild summer rain.
"Make an effort!" exclaimed Abigail.
"I'm trying, Abs," Tally replied defiantly. Her brow furrowed in concentration and her vocal cords began to ache at the unfamiliar tones she had to produce to alter the weather.
"You must feel and absorb the atmosphere around you," Abigail hissed sternly behind her.
Maybe you should become a Drill sergeant, Tally thought silently.
Her eyebrows drew even closer together and she shut her eyes with strain. It should be possible to conjure up a cloud, shouldn't it? The theory of the conjuring was quite clear to her, but the sounds did not want to form accordingly in her throat.
Behind her, she heard Raelle laughing softly. How had she managed to escape Abigail's almost fanatical clutches?
Amused, the blonde said, "Abs, don't be so hard on her. Tally's just not a weatherman!"
"Who are you calling a weatherman-"
"Are you saying Bellweathers are mere weathermen, shitbird-"
At the same time, the words beat down on Raelle and she involuntarily ducked her head. Abigail punched her in the shoulder, "Don't get smart with me!"
"As if I would dare," Raelle countered mischievously.
Abigail just snorted contemptuously and turned to her other sister.
"Tally, dear, one more time," she began to declare. She looked at the redhead insistently. "You need to let your mind flow and stretch your senses in all directions."
"Like you do with your senses when boys -," Raelle remarked snarkily from the background. A scowl from Abigail made her stop mid-sentence.
"Breathe the cold air", Tally inhaled deeply. It smelled earthy; it had rained during the night. It smelled like autumn leaves and mushrooms.
"Feel the sun's rays on your skin", Tally felt the warmth of the low sun, nowhere near as powerful as it was at the height of summer.
"Concentrate. Listen to the colors of the wind-"
"Like Pocahontas?"
"Shut up, Raelle!"
Tally, feverishly trying to concentrate while her sisters bickering like an old married couple, mustered all her energy and prayed to the Goddess that this time she would succeed. Tiny gray threads formed in her mind, becoming more and more condensed. Sweat formed on her forehead, she was trying so hard. In her mind, she clearly saw a jet-black cloud forming, with lightning flashing inside. She almost heard the rumble of a distant thunderstorm and snapped her eyes open, "Do you see that?"
Puzzled, Abigail and Raelle looked at her. "What exactly?"
Nothing.
As clearly as she had seen it in her imagination, as much as she had been listening inside herself - the weather was simply unchanged.
"You've got to be kidding me," she wailed. Was she such a lost cause? Was she even able to contribute anything to her unit if she couldn't even master the basics of meteorology? How was she going to become a valuable soldier if this went on like this?
Raelle watched her sister struggle with her inner frustration. She herself had felt how much pressure it could be when others expected too much of one. She gently put her hand on Tally's shoulder and said, "Don't be so hard on yourself, Tally. Try a memento of something that is very moving to you..."
What moves me very much? What is that supposed to be?
Tally bit her lower lip in uncertainty. She really tried hard to complete basic training to the best of her ability. She had come to Fort Salem against her mother's wishes. Thus, she felt she had to prove to herself and her family that it was the right choice to be here. That it was important to fight for one's country, even if it meant painful losses. It was necessary to fight the Spree with all means and to protect mankind from its evil. This is what General Alder had inculcated into the new cadets at the beginning of basic training in powerful pictures.
Alder had gazed with a fiery expression into the faces of the young women and evoked their disdain for the Spree. Had her eyes perhaps lingered for a brief second on Tally?
... Huuh!?
Craven's eyes widened in surprise and she shook her head involuntarily. Where did these thoughts come from? Why did she think of General Alder, of all people, when Raelle had just said that she should think of something that moved her?
Well, if she was completely honest with herself, Alder did move her. Just thinking the name Sarah Alder back and forth in her head seemed sinful. It felt like deflowering a rose petal. Alder was a hero to the nation and fought for the good of the United States for more than 300 years. She made decisions that no one else dared to make and carried them, with all the consequences, on her shoulders, never once folding. The woman was made of steel, cold and calculated. And yet there was also this soft, almost tender side - the way Sarah spoke to the fosterlings. How she found a kind word for cadets who suffered from homesickness. How Sarah dealt with Anacostia.
Wait, when did General Alder suddenly become Sarah?
Involuntarily, a smile crept into her face, which showed her dimples. From the beginning, even before Conscription Day, Tally had always admired - even idolized - Alder. She had always followed the general's accomplishments. How surprising could it be that the seemingly aloof woman also had another side - even if it rarely surfaced?
And those ice-blue eyes that could captivate and root you with one look. Just the thought of it sent shivers down Tally's spine. A look that could kill ... or excite. When Alder was amused and relaxed for a moment in her otherwise rigid role as General, was there even something like ... a flirt in that gaze?
"-ly! Look!" exclaimed Abigail.
At the same time, Raelle exulted, "You did it!"
Puzzled, Tally looked around. What had happened? What was it all about? Then she saw it ...
Oh.
A pink cloud had formed above her head.
Shaped like a heart.
Abigail asked, amused, what Tally had been thinking about. Meanwhile, Raelle carefully reached out her fingers to touch the puffy heart. Did she always have to touch things?
Distantly in her consciousness, Tally heard a door open nearby and the clatter of heavy army boots.
What the hell?
And then her eyes were caught in shock by a taut figure who had just stepped out of one of the nearby buildings. Her hair was tightly braided. Seven elderly women in tow.
Eight pairs of eyes were looking in the direction of the Bellweather Unit. One of them was ice blue.
As if paralysed, Tally stood between Abigail and Raelle, who were still congratulating her on having managed to create a weather phenomenon. Even if it had become a pink heart cloud - after all!
Goddess, please open the ground and swallow me whole.
Why here and now of all times? Usually she didn't succeed in meteorology, and just when Sarah Alder appeared in front of her a few meters away, something like this occurred.
Tally swallowed and wanted to turn away. But then she saw it out of the corner of her eye.
Sarah Alder looked amusedly at the heart cloud and smirked.
And winked mischievously at her next…?
She then turned on her heel and the biddies followed her in line. Some of them looked at Tally, brow furrowed, before they began whispering among themselves. The last of the biddies even gave Tally a curious look over her shoulder as they walked.
It wasn't until Abigail smacked her on the back of the head that Tally snapped out of her trance.
"Ouch, what was that for?" she asked indignantly.
"You're in love and you didn't tell us," Abigail scolded with an amused glint in her eye. Raelle demanded curiously, "You have to tell us everything."
Most certainly not.
"Tally is on cloud nine", Abigail exulted.
She was in deep, deep trouble.