Chapter 51: Sea Salt and Strawberries
Guys, I'm kind of blown away. Like, the amount of support I got before I disappeared honestly made me tear up. I'm just... thank you.
And I would have let you all know I wouldn't be able to update for a while, but when the deadline rolled up I wasn't in any state emotionally to care. And then finals rolled around and, well, you know how that song and dance goes. For most of the past couple of weeks I've either been getting over my grief or studying or working on some sort of paper. It was just insanely stressful and this story just honestly fell on the wayside. And then I took a week off to relax and work some more on this chapter, and here we are. I'm sorry for disappearing on you, I was just really emotionally compromised and I couldn't really deal with a lot. But I'm a lot better now, so hopefully the next time I don't update, I'll at least let you guys know why. XP And thank you again for being so understanding.
That being said, this chapter was supposed to go up a few days ago, but I spent most of the weekend doing errands or looking for volunteer work. I'm actually going to visit family in Poland for a couple of weeks, so I really don't see the point in finding a job when I'm just going to leave soon after. (Plus, volunteer work looks great on a resume, especially in college). I'm not going to be leaving until mid-July, and then this story will go on another mini hiatus until sometime in September. I'll try to update at least once before I go back to school, but I can't promise anything.
Also, I think I made I small error in the AN from chapter 34. When I said interracial marriage in Brazil isn't a big deal, I wasn't wrong, but I wasn't right either. Racism is still a huge problem in the world today, and Brazil is no exception. It's just slightly less of a problem over there than in some other countries.
With all that said, on with the chapter!
A tic mark appeared above Kimiko's eyebrow, and she put down her video game console. "Why do I suddenly feel the urge to kill?"
Valerie looked up from her book and gave her friend a concerned look. "The boys are probably being idiots again."
"But they're always idiots, that's nothing new!" Kimiko whined.
Valerie took a sip of her tea and let the tangy taste of hibiscus wash over her tongue. After a moment, she swallowed and said, "Maybe you're annoyed for a different reason? Like, Omi's pilfering through your cosmetics again?"
Kimiko then stood up, nearly spilling both cups of tea and the little teapot. "That's probably it!" she realized. "He thought it was candy that one time, so why not?" She then ran out of the plaza and down towards the dormitories, smoke billowing up from the tracks she left behind.
"But, I don't actually think…" Valerie trailed off and sighed audibly, going back to her pulp fiction novel. It wasn't anything she hadn't read before, and it was something she had wanted to reread for a while now. But right now the words were swimming before her eyes, and the throbbing pain of an incoming headache was already making itself known. Giving up on reading for now, Valerie merely took a lemon tea cookie and dunked it in her drink before eating it.
The cookie was misshapen but tasty- it had been Kimiko's idea for an calm, afternoon tea break, so Valerie figured she could make some cookies to go along with it, because why not? Kimiko would probably enjoy them, and Valerie had noticed that their friendship seemed a little one-sided recently. Kimiko had helped her with so much and didn't see her introverted nature as a problem- baking cookies that she would enjoy was the least she could do. Valerie had found a simple enough recipe to follow, and while the treats looked odd, they tasted pretty good, especially considering her lacking culinary skills. Right now, however, the citrus taste paled in comparison to spicy chai tea and madeleines.
Arya hadn't contacted her since that first time, just like she said she would. And Valerie was getting frustrated in looking for answers. Her extra training, while certainly helpful, wasn't satisfying even a little bit of her curiosity. And the Book of Alexandria hadn't made itself known yet. Altogether it left Valerie an annoyed, frustrated mess.
A soccer ball suddenly rolled near her, and Valerie could feel her lips tug into a smile in spite of herself. Standing up, she bounced the ball upwards so that she could kick it between her two knees. And then, with practiced ease, she lifted the ball towards her forehead and smacked it, sending it towards the waiting hands of Raimundo Pedrosa.
The Lusitanic boy whistled lowly. "Dang girl, I almost forgot how good you are at sports."
Valerie sat down and readied the teapot. "Yeah, well, it's not like it comes up a lot. Wanna join me?"
Settling down next to her, Raimundo hid the soccer ball behind him and waited patiently as she poured the red tea into the small white cup. "I can't help but remember when Kimiko had to pour us all tea from that ridiculously heavy teapot," he reminisced, cupping his cheek with his hand.
"I know right? There's a reason we were using this smaller one," Valerie noted as she set down the cast iron pot. "Kind of sucks that Kimiko ran off like she did, though."
Raimundo arched an eyebrow. "Why'd she run off in the first place?"
Valerie winced. "I may have convinced her that Omi was riffling through her vanity again."
He made a slight 'hmm' noise. "Well, you wouldn't be entirely wrong. I overheard him announcing that he needed to defeat Mario, so I bet he's looking for her gaming consoles."
She gave a snort. "Of course he would do that."
"Okay, what kind of drink is this?" Rai suddenly asked after putting the cup to his lips. He eyed the crimson liquid suspiciously. "It's too sour for normal tea."
Valerie raised an eyebrow. "It's hibiscus with orange peel and rosehips. It's supposedly good for your heart."
"It's weird."
"It's my favorite."
"Well, of course it is," Raimundo said, giving her a smirk.
Valerie merely rolled her eyes and said, "You're incorrigible."
"I don't know the meaning of the word."
"Of course you don't," she said as she shoved a cookie in his mouth. Prevented from talking as he was, Valerie made to enjoy her odd-tasting tea. Strangely enough, her headache had abated.
So, naturally, it came back when Dojo slithered into the room, holding up the Ancient Scroll of the Shen Gong Wu. "Hold on to your hats kids, we've got- am I interrupting something?"
Val and Rai quickly looked at each other before he sighed and asked, "There's another Shen Gong Wu?"
"Oh, right."
Suddenly finding themselves in the room where the Ancient Scroll was normally held, Dojo quickly explained the new Wu to the five monks and Master Fung. "We've got an odd one here- the Book of Alexandria."
Valerie could feel her breath hitch and her eyes widen. Her body thrummed with impatient energy as Omi asked, "Why is this particular Shen Gong Wu odd?"
"Considering all the other Wu we've got," Clay pointed out.
"Well for one thing, no one knows what it does."
"Huh?" Question marks blipped around the heads of all five monks.
"Very few people have been able to wield the Book of Alexandria," Master Fung told them. "It requires five keys to open, and the text is supposedly written in an alien language."
"Hmm, maybe it's Atlantian," Valerie wondered out loud, for now ignoring her need to go get that Shen Gong Wu now.
"Will you let that go already?" Dojo griped.
"Never!"
"Maybe it's not written in Chinese," Kimiko pondered. "I mean, the Book is a book, not a scroll. Maybe Dashi had the text written in a language only very few people at the time could understand."
"But why would he do that?" Clay scratched his head, lifting up his hat to do so.
"We must go after the Book and find out!" Omi declared, pointing a finger at the ceiling.
"But don't we have to find those five keys first?" Raimundo pointed out, his voice more annoyed than anything. "They could be scattered all over the world for all we know."
"Ah, but that's the beauty of it," Dojo said smugly. "Dashi hid all five keys in the same city."
"…Logically speaking, it makes sense," Valerie pointed out in response to everyone else's befuddled expressions. "Anyone would think that looking for the keys would be like a worldwide treasure hunt, so no one would suspect them of being near each other."
"Where are these keys?" Omi asked curiously.
Flying through the air, on Dojo's back
"City of Love, here we come!" Kimiko cheered as they flew past the Eiffel Tower.
"Never thought I'd be back here so soon," Valerie mused as she looked past the Tower and eyed the Latin Quarter.
"Didn't you live in France once upon a time?" Clay asked her, giving her a curious smile.
"I did. In Paris's 5th arrondissement."
"You mean where they have all those prestigious high schools and colleges?" Kimiko arched an eyebrow at that.
"Yep," Valerie said, popping the 'p' at the end.
"Your parents must truly have valued your education to have you live there," Omi told her proudly.
She tried to hide a wince. "You could say that. I wouldn't put it past them to use it as bragging rights."
"Is that a good place to land?" Dojo inquired as he flew parallel to the Seine.
"I doubt it." Valerie thought for a moment. "Try the 20th arrondissement. It's got a lot of immigrants there, so no one would suspect us of grouping together."
"On it!"
Because it was Dojo flying them there instead of a commercial air flight, they arrived at the subdivision in a matter of minutes, ducking behind a crumbling building built centuries past. Hidden in the shadows, everyone huddled together in a circle with Dojo on Clay's hat.
"Okay, I can remember the location of where each key is," the reptile explained. "I'm gonna need a map though."
"I can sort of draw one if you want," Valerie said, shrugging. "I'm no artist, but I can give you guys a rough outline of the city." Kimiko quickly handed her a paper and pencil from her fuzzy black cat backpack and, kneeling on the ground, she began to draw a giant snail shell. She marked where the Seine River cut through the city and scratched out the size of each district, numbering them as she did so.
"Like I said, it's rough," Valerie reminded them as she gave Dojo the pencil. The reptile then looked at the map and, scratching his chin, eventually marked each area where the five keys would be located.
Holding up the paper, Valerie said, "Okay, so we've got the 1st, 5th, 7th, 12th, and 14th arrondissements. I'll take the 5th since I know that place best. And I'll check out the bouquinistes along the Seine. The Book of Alexandria will most likely be there."
"Why is that?" Omi asked interestedly.
"Because those book stalls normally sell antique books along with contemporary stuff."
"So, naturally, you visited there a lot," Dojo said, amused.
Puffing out her chest, Valerie smugly retorted, "Naturally." She then handed the crude map to the others. "I'll go on ahead. I'll let you guys know if I see Jack or any else on our bad guy list. Mantis Flip Coin!" With that incantation she flipped out of the shadows and onto the nearby roof. Quickly returning a wave at her friends, she ran across the roof and flipped onto another.
She could finally hear it, her name weaving itself into the wind, hear the voices calling out to her. They were low, melodious, down right joyful if Valerie had to be honest. It was a wonderful contrast to the horror she felt inside the center of the Earth, when the Aether tried to forcefully rip her soul from her body and have her travel up, up, beyond the sky itself. All she felt right now was energy thrumming underneath her skin, telling her to move, move as fast as she could to the Seine.
Valerieyou'resocloseValerie
She was. She could feel it.
Back in the alley
Raimundo blinked at the spot where Valerie had disappeared, the sun getting in his eyes. He blinked and looked away from the rooftops and turned back to the others. They all seemed just as bewildered as he did.
"Well she seemed…enthusiastic," Clay stated, giving a concerned look.
"Must be because the Shen Gong Wu is a book," Kimiko pointed out, seemingly at ease. Everything about her today spoke of a relaxed individual, from her black cat-themed stockings to her cream-colored boots to her matching cream and black sweater dress. A fluffy white beanie was nestled in her messy bobbed hair, giving her a look that wouldn't look too out of place in a coffee shop.
"Or it could be Valerie has finally realized her sworn duty as a Xiaolin warrior, and is now eager to rid the world of darkness!" Omi proclaimed, cheeks red with happiness.
It took all of two seconds for everyone else to say, "Nah."
"Anyway, how are we divvying this up?" Raimundo asked, pointing at the map. They really needed a better one- they all already knew what the keys looked like, but they needed a proper way of getting around to find them.
"I got the first district!" Kimiko crowed. "I've always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower."
"Go for it," Clay told her with a smile. "I'll see about the 14th. Pretty sure that area's like New York and we don't want Omi getting lost again."
"That only happened once!" the little guy snapped. "It will not happen again!"
"In that case, you'll take the 12th," Raimundo said. "I'll take the 7th district."
Kimiko and Clay flashed him knowing looks over Omi's head, and it took all of Raimundo's willpower not to blush heavily. Instead he responded back with an indifferent arched eyebrow before Omi declared they were splitting up. Dojo quickly slithered onto Kimiko's shoulder and Raimundo jumped away, using his parkour skills to get near the Eiffel Tower by using the rooftops. Only then did he let his face go pink.
Stupid friends knowing about his stupid crush. He'd done a pretty good job of keeping it low-key if he had to be honest, but it must not have been as good as he thought if the more perceptive members of the group could pick up on it. Then again, all five of them lived together; they probably noticed that Rai always seemed to smile a bit more around Valerie, or that he was always interested in what she was reading, or the way his eyes lingered on her lips when she unconsciously bit them while worried- and now his face was brick red.
Ugh. Crushes were the worst.
But perhaps that was why Rai had noticed just how… strange Val was acting? True, the others had noticed as well, but he thought that the strangeness had truly started a while back, when Valerie's powers manifested as white and violet shields and she would collapse from exhaustion afterwards. Everyone else's powers were overwhelmingly offensive, while Val's was a mixture between that and defense. Was it because of her role at the Dragon of Aether, the sole forgotten Greek element amidst more common ones?
And now Valerie was actually honest-to-God excited about finding a Wu. Before she always came at the quest with a calm, logical disposition, but now she was enthusiastic. Was it because the Shen Gong Wu was a book, like Kimiko said? In that case, why did Raimundo have a feeling there was something more to this?
He quickly shook his head. He was already inside the 7th arrondissement, and he had a key to find. He could worry about his stupid crush and her problems later. Hopping down from the rooftops, Raimundo quickly ran past ancient buildings spruced up with fresh paint and fragrant flowers, making his way around the outside of what he thought was the Musée d'Orsay, a giant of a building that looked like a chateau covered in soft gold, especially when the sun hit it at just the right angle.
"Now, if I were a tiny key that could fit in the palm of my hand, where would I hide?" Raimundo muttered to himself, rubbing at his chin. "A museum could be a decent starting place. Now where'd I put my wallet-?"
RaimundoPedrosa
He whirled around frantically, not caring who he bumped into in the tourist heavy street. His chest heaving, he could hear the echo of a legion of voices- male? Female? Something else entirely?- ringing in his ears. What was this? What actually was this? Voices in his head? Schizophrenia? Insanity? What was going on?
You'resoclose
Close to where?
And then he just knew. Turning on his heel, Raimundo crept into an alley and jumped onto another roof, turning in all directions until he saw the Hôtel national des Invalides, Napoleon's final resting place. A compulsion was telling him that the key was there; energy was thrumming underneath his skin, sparking from his fingertips, telling him to go, go, go.
So he did, using the wind to propel himself faster, faster towards the renovated museum, sweat beading at his temples, the breeze rifling through his hair. It should've taken minutes, but it only felt like seconds until he was hopping across the rooftop of the Hôtel, and even then it felt too damnably slow.
You'realmostthere
Raimundo looked up in a daze, eyeing the golden crown at the front of the museum. Leaping towards it, he softly landed, his feet touching gilded tile (was it actually painted with gold? Just how rich were French aristocracy before the Revolution?) his hand grabbing the bottom half of the ornate crown. His other hand touched something loose- no, it couldn't be, it was too easy-
But it was right there, glinting in his palm. An ornate, dull gold key, the metal warm despite the cool breeze. The symbol for wind- his element- was engraved in flat disk at the very top, painted in snow-white paint.
Raimundo stared at it, then clenched his hand around the key. Something told him Valerie had answers.
The 5th arrondissement
The Latin Quarter was definitely a place Valerie would live in. It was filled to the brim with college students, all coming in from small restaurants and bistros, spilling out from libraries and bookstores. The air itself seemed to crackle with intelligence and vitality.
Raimundo peered over the crowd, looking for a girl clad in worn, comfortable jeans, a green button up plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up the elbows, a black tank top, black Converse sneakers, and waist-length wavy brown hair that always seemed a little frizzed when loose. Knowing her, she would be hovering near the bookstores- he smiled at the thought. But then he frowned, knowing that finding the keys came first. Perhaps she was near one of the universities...?
"Rai?" He whirled around to see Valerie right behind him, giving him a confused look. She had her amber necklace and key in hand, as if trying to tie the silver cord so that the golden key could somehow settle next to the square of amber. She must have decided against it, because she asked, "What are you doing here?" as she put the necklace back on her collarbone.
He shrugged. "Found my key fairly quickly. Felt like someone told me where it was." He watched pointedly as Valerie dropped her hands and looked thunderstruck.
"You heard them too?" she asked, her voice quavering. Raimundo felt guilty- she may have known something, but it was obvious that whatever it was freaked her out too. "I'm not going crazy?"
"Unless we both are," he told her honestly. She sagged with relief, closing her eyes and unconsciously leaning forward so that her forehead rested against his shoulder- holy crap was she always this short? He could tuck his chin over her head quite comfortably- and his face was brick red again. Goddammit.
Out of the corner of his eye he could see a handful of people watching them, either smiling or sneering. He could vaguely hear someone make a derogatory comment; Raimundo didn't known much French, but he knew enough to know that someone was making fun of how Valerie's paleness contrasted with his darker complexion. He'd read articles online on how racist Europe could be, but no one liked to talk about it, preferring to imagine the continent with rose-tinted glasses. It was the same in Brazil; while racism wasn't as bad as it was in Europe, it still happened with unfortunate frequency.
Raimundo sighed wearily and asked, "Can we not do this in the street? This is awkward."
Valerie lifted her head and blinked, getting her bearings. "Oh right, we shouldn't be out in the open. Jack might be waiting." She then took his hand and quickly led him down the sidewalk. Rai took a peek at her face, seeing no signs of pinkness. Did this girl ever get embarrassed? Or was she so in control of her emotions that she outright refused to blush?
Valerie continued to speed down the sidewalk, practically dragging him along. He didn't mind, to be honest. Her hand was small and warm and fit comfortably in his larger one, and it felt… right. Almost natural.
And then Valerie looked up and hissed, "Jack-bots!" before throwing him into an alley. She then ran up to him, grabbing his arm and dragging him deeper into the passage, which was surprisingly trash-free. Rai figured Parisians cared quite a bit about their historic landmarks. It was fairly dark though, leaving very little room for sunlight to filter through.
He then looked up to see the Roman-esque robots slowly flying past them, hovering above the crowds of people and looking this way and that. And then the robots continued their path, slowly escaping their sights. How no one else noticed them was beyond Rai.
"Are the Jack-bots looking for the keys too?" he wondered, still glaring up at the spot the robots had just been.
"Knowing Jack, he's probably waiting until we actually find the Book of Alexandria and the keys before swooping in to steal it for himself," Valerie stated, her voice calm and logical. It always seemed to be like that, harmonizing with how low her voice normally was. It was never deep, you couldn't define it that way, but it always seemed more… mature for someone her age. It was uncanny, but then again, that described Valerie fairly well.
She then held up her key. It looked just like his, except the engraved Aether symbol (Wŭ Xíng) was painted a deep purple. Raimundo quickly took out his own and compared the two. "Doesn't seem like much," he noted.
"Neither do most of our Wu," Valerie pointed out before handing him the key. "You keep them. I don't exactly have a backpack for me to store them in." She had a point. Giving her a onceover merely added to the fact, which was why he quickly put both keys into one of the many pockets of his cargo pants.
…But, once Rai returned his hand to where it was earlier, he finally, finally realized just what kind of position they were in. He was hovering merely half a foot from her, both of his hands planted on the wall too close to the sides of her head. And to make matters worse, he had unconsciously leaned his head downwards to better hear her talk, making their faces dangerously close to each other.
"Oh, so you finally noticed?" Valerie asked him, her smile teasing. She had a perfect view of his too red face, which she took with a certain amount of smugness. Leaning casually against the building, one leg bent so the sole of her foot was planted against the bricks, her arms crossed, she had the air of someone perfectly in control, and quite frankly she did. Raimundo's brain was fritzing, his breathing turned erratic. He was supposed to move away, but he was rooted to the spot, and it wasn't like anyone was going to call them out, they were too far deep in the alley.
Valerie cocked her head to the side, looking up at him curiously. "Well?"
"W-what?" he squeaked, averting his eyes.
"You don't know?"
"Don't know what?"
"Okay, now you're just playing dumb," she huffed, annoyed. At least she didn't look so smug anymore.
Slightly glaring at her and momentarily forgetting his embarrassment, Raimundo snapped, "What are you talking about?"
"Oh for Christ's sake," she hissed. And then Valerie grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down, her head tilting slightly. And then she kissed him.
Wait.
…no, this was actually happening. This was actually happening may day may day holy shit-
Her lips were soft and tasted like sea salt and strawberry lip balm. Her hands on his shoulders felt hot, too hot, but he didn't want her to let go, even when his own skin seemed to overheat. Rai tried to make his hands move, to maybe grab her arms and hold her closer, maybe envelop her in a hug, but they were fused to the bricks behind her, giving him the stability he needed when his legs turned to gelatin.
Vaguely he wondered what he tasted like, but then he got a whiff of lilacs and suddenly his eyes were closed and he was pressing harder, eager to taste sea salt and artificial strawberry and get lost in the sense of Valerie, Valerie, Valerie-
And then she forced him back, and Raimundo took a minute to breathe. His body was electric and tense, as if he were about to spring into action. His heart was beating fast, too fast, and he wondered if marathon runners ever felt like this.
But then he looked down and saw that Val was in the same state at him: panting slightly, as if desperate for air; lips a dark pink color and bruising; crimson painting over pale cheeks. But her eyes made Rai's breath hitch in his throat. They were wide, with the pupils blown out, and the forget-me-not blue of her irises had darkened so that they were almost violet. Freshly kissed was an amazing look on her, he decided.
Finally, Valerie broke the silence, her voice still so damnably calm. "You get it now?"
Raimundo, who didn't trust himself to speak, merely nodded.
She then bit her lip, and he had to suppress a gulp. "We should probably call the others," she groaned. "We have to let them know that Jack's nearby."
"D-do we have to?" Raimundo asked, his voice slightly higher than usual. Valerie stared at him in slight awe, before the smugness returned full force. He glowered at her.
"We don't have to…" she said, teasing out the words. "It would be the proper Xiaolin thing to do, especially since the Book is supposedly overpowered."
He raised an eyebrow. "Did Master Fung say it was?"
"No, but we need five keys to open it," Valerie pointed out. "Plus it's written in an alien language. It probably holds some sort of dangerous power."
Raimundo groaned. "Ugh, we probably do have to warn them. But first things first." He then unstuck his hands from the wall and lightly gripped her upper arms, forcing her to stay pinned against the wall. A brief look of alarm flitted across her features, before smoothing into a mask of annoyance. Giving her a leer, he leaned his head in closer, his breath ghosting over her ear. He was about to say something, until:
"You know I can kick your ass up the street and back, right?" Valerie told him, her voice annoyed, but the pink staining her cheeks said otherwise.
"I know," he chuckled, moving his head and affectionately looking down at her. She was no longer smug, but there was a curious mix of annoyance and longing in her eyes that told him she didn't mind the loss of control, not really. She just needed to retort back, something he understood perfectly well.
Raimundo briefly wondered if her lips still tasted like sea salt and strawberry lip balm, or if had wiped that away the first time. He leaned down to check, her hands clutching at his chest as he pressed harder this time.
They did.
I love writing from Raimundo's point of view, his reaction to Valerie's teasing is so precious. And then I get to write Valerie's reaction to Rai's teasing from his perspective, and I'm just sitting here, having fun. It's just so nice writing from a different view point, I should do it more often.
On a more serious note, yes, Europe is incredibly racist- I should know, I have family over there. You just don't really hear about it (especially in the States) because no one wants to talk about it. I mean, Europe is full of fairy tale castles and idyllic lakes and other wonderful, beautiful things; why would you want to think about all the bad stuff when you can get away from it all? But Europe has a dark side, and people really need to start opening up about it.
All in all, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, especially since quite a few of my earlier chapters weren't exactly up to my usual standards. Then again, I am literally my own worst critic.
So, thoughts anyone?