Sakura's Journey Chapter 5 A Precious Gift
Staying home was so boring. Not that I missed school, no. Most people there were bullies and if not, they just ignored my existance entirely. And it's not for classes either, no, my school was pathetically easy. Or maybe I was just too good... No, it was mainly because I missed Daemon that I found it boring. Sure, I had Squible and a massive quantity of video games, but I missed my only friend. He did visit me after school and I was thankful for that, I was waiting for him now. It was only 3 o'clock though. It's been 2 days since I grew my tendrills. I had learned to move them by now and I was currently holding up a peanut butter sandwich while Squible gnawed on it. He flicked his little bushy black tail around, his face covered in the tasty stuff. My dad had taken the time off work so he could watch over me and help teach me how to use all my powers. It was still a big shock for me.
I went to lie down on my bed, wrapping my tendrills around myself as I gazed at my ceiling. I had spent my whole life watching my dad use his powers. I had spent my whole life expecting to get some of my own, but after age 8, I had given up. It's been years I doubted them. Maybe those marks on my back were nothing but a coincidental birthmark, I'd think. But here I was now. I raised a single black and shadowy tendrill to inspect it. The sensativity had dulled down and I had enough controle to feel comfortable with just living by now. The first day was hell for me and I was still pretty clumsy. As if on cue, the dark appendage went flailing against the wall when I was startled by my squirrel jumping up on me. I ground my teeth, trying to keep back a cry of pain. They hurt less, but they still hurt. I had learned how to calm animals. My dad did it a lot. He could do it to people too, but he told me I wasn't ready. I looked into the creature's little black eyes and reached out to him with my mind. I made sure to only brush up against his conciousness so not to overwhelm him with the vastness of my mind and began to think calm thoughts. I smiled when I noticed his tail stopped twitching and he laid down on me, slowly closing his eyes. I reached out and scratched behind his ears.
"Little nature's spirit." For the second time, my tendrills flew out, two of them hitting the wall. I hadn't heard my dad coming. He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that...I thought you'd sense me." I took the now sleeping squirrel and gently set him down on my pillow before sitting up. My dad sat next to me, looking attentively at my back, observing every single movement I made. At that moment, seeing him next to me, so many questions were brought back to the surface of my mind. I burried my face in his old grey and blue striped scarf. It smelled old and worn and was soft and warm from all the time he had been wearing it. "Daddy, where did you get your scarf?" He chuckled and released his own tendrills, wrapping me with them. I shuddered as I felt their cold contact against my own. "Well, my grandma made this for me. She gave it to me the day I changed for the first time..." His eyes had gone distant and I felt the sense of nostalgia coming off of him. The air darkened a bit though as he went on. "She died later that same day..." I felt my smile dissapear. My dad was six years old when he had gotten his powers. It must have hurt so much...both physically and emotionally. He looked back down to me, his sky blue eyes meeting my hazel-grey ones. "I've had it for years. It always reminds me that I have family that loves me, and that I'm more than just an ordinary person."
I decided to ask the one question that was really troubling me though. "Dad...what's gonna happen when I...y'know...when I ch-change?" I looked down, taking hold of a strand of my thick hair. I subconciously coiled my tendrills tightly around his waist. He chuckled a bit. "Well, first things first, stop constricting me please." That brought my smile back and I loosened my grip a bit. I felt static wash over me, calming me down. So this is how Squible feels. I can see why he likes it. He looked at me for a few seconds, as if trying to find words. He then hummed and looked away at the furthest corner of the room. "It's like...well...it's hard to describe. It's so far in my memory, but I do know it's a very distinctive feeling. You'll know it when you feel it. And don't worry about a sudden painful change like growing these." He said the last part gesturing to my tendrills. "You can feel it coming. Trust me." I nodded, feeling a bit reassured. I knew they'd send me back to school as soon as I mastered the use of my tendrills and learned how to retract them, so I was relieved that I probably wouldn't end up changing in the middle of class or something. That'd be a sure way of going from "freak" to "monster"...
I looked up to him again. "But, dad...I mean like... I don't know... I've always been excited about getting powers and all that and I've always wanted to be a slender like you, but that part always escaped my mind..." He tilted his head to the side. "What part?" I looked down again. "Losing my face..." I said it as a simple whisper, but he heard me. I felt the comforting sensation of static going through me once again. He grabbed my face and tilted it back up so I would look at him again. "Kura, look at me. I still have a face. It's not permanent, and nobody is forcing you to change to your slender form, or even use any of your powers after the first change." I looked down and nodded. "But daddy, how will I see?" He grinned and ruffled my hair. "You'll know it when you live it. Won't be too long now." I smiled, despite feeling an awful knot in my stomach. I knew he sensed my anxiety. I could feel his mind against mine. His already gentle expression softened even more. "Kura, look at me." I looked up at him and he raised a hand between us. I tilted my head to the side, in a way similar to the way he had earlier as I watched the skin tone go from tan to white. His eyelids fluttered shut only to seem to melt away along with his lashes and bushy eyebrows. His hair fadded and he grew quite a bit. I'm not sure how I knew when he returned his focus to me, seeing as he had no more eyes, but I felt his gaze fall back to me. There was a long moment of silence before I hugged him and burried my face in his belly. I felt calm. I knew I'd be ok.
His long pale fingers brushed the hair out of my face and he grabbed hold of the brown locks and held them back. "Sakura, would you like a present?" I looked up to his face, or lack of one. Present? I think I stopped breathing when he reached up to his neck and unwound the old scarf. He then proceeded to wrap it around my own neck. I was speechless. he had had that thing every single day for over 30 years! I finally found my voice. "Dad?...Are you sure?" He smiled and laid my hair back in it's wild and fluffy mane, a few strands falling in front of my eyes. He chuckled again and I sensed the amount of care coming from him. "So you know that you have family that loves you." I burried my face in his stomach once again, this time crying. I know it was just an old scarf, but it meant so much. I started giggling myself. "Please don't die today, daddy." He laughed and, had my mother been the narrator of this story, she'd have gone on and on about how amazing that sound was. Well, I guess I just went on about how amazing the sound was for her... Anyway, he hugged me tightly again. "No, Kura. I promise." He released me from his embrace and stood up. "I'm gonna go to Johnny and Angie's now. Their dog is acting kinda funny and I want to make sure he's ok." I nodded, clutching my new scarf tightly against my chest and watched him dissipate in a cloud of smoke. I looked at the time. 4:27! Daemon would be here in no time! And now that I had better use of my tendrills, I could go back to playing in the yard with him like before.