Mid-January. Black hole enters the galaxy p.1

Kori set the steaming plate on her table, and anxiously watched the entire process of her friends serving themselves and trying the food.

"You are sure it is not too plain?" she asked them.

Her friends quickly assured her it was not. Kori had recently been persuaded to tone her food down to a level they could all enjoy. She wasn't too convinced with the results, but her friends were eating more of her food than ever, so she accepted it.

"Kori, I believe you promised us embarrassing baby pictures," Gar reminded her mid-meal.

"I did," grinned Kori. Ever since she'd said pictures of when she had disastrously cut her own bangs as a six-year-old existed, her friends had wanted to see them. "And Blorthogm does seem a good occasion to share them."

So she brought out the old album and narrated as they went through it. The photo were she'd cut her own hair showed her with the left half her bangs gone –that was the point at which they'd caught her-, smiling at the camera like she wasn't at all sorry. That made her friends laugh. "Kori, it's your same smile in a tiny face," Vic gushed.

"This is of when I did not enjoy my hockey team," Kori said, pointing at one where she along with half the members of a hockey team of four-year-olds were ugly crying. "And this one is of when I made friends with this thing and talked to it," she said about the picture of her standing next to a house's gas outlet box. The stainless steel of it stood out against the brick wall, and it had two bolts and a dial that could be seen as eyes and a mouth.

"Aw, that's sweet," said Gar. "I made friends with pets and pretended to talk to them when I was little."

They came to a point where the pictures changed. Kori's parents and siblings disappeared, and a roughly ten-year-old Kori was now flanked by a family of hulking, somber, somewhat greenish-skinned people: two parents, a smattering of older boys, and a girl around Kori's age.

"Is this the family you lived with?" asked Raven.

"Yes, the Goranovians."

"Tell me again why your parents sent you to live with another family?" asked Dick.

"I was to be a companion to their similarly-aged daughter."

"You were just… sent to them?" Dick insisted.

Kori waved a dismissive hand. "It is just the way of high families in Tamaran," she assured them, and turned the page.

"What was happening here?" asked Vic, pointing at a picture of a ten-year-old Kori wearing a sundress and long cloth gloves that were clearly too big for her.

"Oh, there I was going through a time where I always wore gloves," explained Kori. "I think I was emulating Planet Woman's gauntlets."

"Is that where your warrior tendencies come from?" Dick returned.

"Perhaps," Kori smiled. As her friends went through the album, the nervous flutter that rose in her chest when she'd brought it out died down.

When she was little, most of those pictures had been used to tease her mercilessly. Mostly by Komila, those influenced by Komila, and then continued by the Goranovian's girl when Komila left for high school in Jump City. Kori showing them to her friends and getting a new, sympathetic reaction was an odd, cathartic experience. She'd always thought anyone would look at these pictures and see how pathetic, how hopelessly faulty she inherently was; she'd half expected her friends take a look at the album and go quiet, suddenly uncomfortable at how ridiculous she seemed in them. She'd forced herself to share them through faith alone that it wasn't the case, and it wasn't: it turned out there was nothing damning to discover in these old memories. Her friends' simple reactions showed here these were normal childhood pictures, and it was just the way they had been used that made Kori see them badly.

The boys' comments, as well as Raven's non-reaction –she was silently surveying the pictures with pleasant attention- warranted that there was nothing reprehensible to be found; Raven didn't have anything reassuring to say because there was nothing in the pictures to reassure Kori about. Kori liked the thought that the pictures were being exorcised in her friends' purifying gazing at them.

"So explain this festival to me again," said Dick.

Kori smiled wide. "Blorthogm," she pronounced. "My culture places much importance in family, but also on the companions you win along the way of your life. Meaning, your friends." She smiled at hers. "On this day, we feast and we practices togetherness. It is a simple yet important holiday."

"And it falls on your birthday month!" said Gar.

"It does," grinned Kori. "And now you have tried the… modified dish of Gurtkheni, I shall bring the tinnabulas," she said, jumping.

"Is that dessert?" asked Vic.

"It is a traditional necklace worn amongst participating friends!" announced Kori, and she went into her room.

"How much do you think she makes up about her culture because we don't know any better?" Gar whispered.

"Shh," returned Vic, chuckling.

Kori came back and presented jingling necklaces. "They are worn for the duration of the festival." She put them on each of her friends.

In Kori's hands they hadn't look as heavy as they turned out to be once the four of them had them on.

"How long is this festival?" asked Raven, rubbing her neck.

"Korina Myronovna."

Galfore had stepped into the living room and spoken in a commanding, chilling voice that made Gar choke on a soda and all of them freeze up.

None of them had ever quite gotten used to Galfore's ways. He always spoke formally, and he always looked angry, and they always froze when he called Kori, wondering what she'd done to get in trouble.

But then Kori would smile sweetly and go, "Yes?" And they would turn and Galfore would be standing there with a pink apron and a basket of clean clothes, asking, "Where do you put these?" or "What do you want for dinner?"

This had happened a lot; and they knew Galfore was never angry at Kori. But they couldn't help starting whenever Galfore came into the scene like that.

This time, the man was standing with the wireless phone in hands. "Phone for you. Your brother."

Kori jumped up, saying, "Thank you!", and her friends went back to breathing normally.

"You could kill someone with these things," Raven said, touching the necklace.

"They're so heavy. I'm gonna hurt my neck," said Gar.

"Maybe it'll make you sprout a few muscles, string bean," said Vic.

Meanwhile, Kori had moved to the window to talk. "What? Ryan, are you sure?" she asked, in Tamaranean. "But why? …My birthday? …Yes I know, but… No, of course it's good! …But are you sure? …Okay. Thanks for the warn—thanks fortelling me."

Kori came back with the phone resting on her shoulder. "Friends," she said, and conversation stopped. "My older sister will be coming to visit me for my birthday."

They paused at her face. She didn't look happy or unhappy. She looked… spooked.

"That's… good?" tried Vic.

Kori's face broke out in a large smile. "That is wonderful! Oh, I have not seen my sister in so long!"

She turned around and went back to the window to keep talking with her brother.

"Wait, so we're actually gonna know Komila, the former terror of Murakami High?" asked Gar.

Dick frowned. "I'm sure she wasn't as bad as like, Jade. I mean, she's Kori's sister."

"We'll have to wait and see," said Raven.

On receiving back the phone, Galfore quickly asked Kori in Tamaranean, "Do you want me to move us out of the country and cover our tracks?"

"Galfore…" Kori looked somewhere between reproaching and grateful.

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Remember. Komila always lies." Kori smiled at her guardian even as her eyes twinkled in rebellion. It gave Galfore a pang: Kori always thought maybe this was the time she and her sister would get along.

"I thought that was your brother calling," Dick told Kori when she returned to the couch.

"It was my brother telling me my sister is coming," Kori explained. "She wanted to surprise me. But Ryan knows I do not like surprises."

"So when's she coming?" asked Gar.

"Tomorrow," answered Kori with a slightly manic smile. "Tomorrow my sister arrives in the country."

Komila did not arrive the next day. Or the day after that. She arrived four days after Kori expected her. Four days after Ryan said she'd left Tamaran. Kori didn't think too much of it; it wouldn't be unheard of for her big sister to make a stop in some other country and lounge there for a few days. Inside, she thought it was a power play for Komila: in case someone had spilled to Kori that she was coming, this was her way of still surprising her.

She knocked on the door to Kori's apartment, entered like the hurricane she was, and hugged Kori with feeling. "My little sister!" she exclaimed in Tamaranean.

"It's been too long," replied Kori.

Komi looked inside the apartment. "Hey, Galfore."

Galfore nodded gravely. "Komilka."

Kori made to help with one of her sister's bags, but Komi stopped her and switched hands. "Oh no, take this one! That one has a surprise for you, and it's for later!"

Komila had never been a homebody, so after settling in, looking through Kori's room, taking a quick shower and changing clothes, she told Kori, "Get dressed, I'm taking you out shopping. Look," she drew her sister closer and opened her wallet. "Mother left me her credit card. I'll get you anything you want."

Two hours later Kori was wearing an entirely different outfit; except for underwear and socks, everything was new, and she had on more jewelry than she usually wore. They stopped at a café, where Komi took out a small finely wrapped box. "Early birthday present."

Kori opened it to find a beautiful emerald necklace that made her gasp. "Oh, it's so lovely." Komi had always had the best taste.

"It's from Istanbul. Glad you like it." Komi flipped her hair back; she currently had it straightened, and it fell to her lower back, dark and luxurious. She rested her chin on her palm and leaned in closer to Kori. "So. What are your plans for your sixteenth? What are your dreams?"

Kori told her she had no plans, because she didn't want to tell her sister the truth—that all she wanted was a five-person house party and a sleepover with her friends.

Her sister took her hands. "Korinka, this is your sixteenth birthday. You can't let it slip away! But don't worry. I'll make sure you have a banging party. You leave everything to me. Damn, thank God I'm here, right?"

Kori's friends knew to expect Komi when she met them for pizza that night. Kori had texted them beforehand. Half an hour in, she was watching her sister entertain her friends with tales of her world travels.

"…And that's why Nepal is still in my top five favorite trips ever," she was saying.

"I can't believe you've been to the Pashupatinath Temple," said Raven, who'd been hooked when Komila related the cultural part of her travels. "It's one of my dream destinations."

"I'm learning all sorts of new things about Raven tonight, you guys," Gar commented, earning a half-hearted glare from her. Since he was sitting next to her, he bumped her shoulder with his. "What? You're not usually this talkative."

"Oh, I've been told I have that effect on people," Komi said bashfully.

"I'll believe that!" laughed Vic.

"I can't get over how similar you two look," said Dick, looking at the sisters.

"You and lots of people," said Komila. "Lots of folk think we're twins and one of us dyed her hair. And a lot of people, when pressed to say who's older, think Kori is."

"Nobody says that," Kori said quietly.

Komi turned to her sister and pinched her chin. "Aww. It's because she's chiller than me. They're perceiving your inner peace, dear." She turned back to her sister's friends. "They say she's like the old lady, non-partying version of me."

Kori seethed with uncharacteristic exasperation. Her friends smiled guiltily at what they perceived as Kori being lovingly roasted.

"And you guys are exactly two years and six months apart?" Gar asked.

"January 23rd and July 23rd," confirmed Komi. "People always said we were like night and day. Don't you see it?" She reached an arm around Kori, and messed up her hair in the process. She held their faces together so the others could see they were near identical, save for the fact that Komi's hair was black and her eyes were brown. "The sun and the moon."

Vic said, "Wait, so you're eighteen? And on your second year of college?"

"I skipped fourth grade. Funnily enough, Kori was almost held back that grade. Weren't you, Korinka? Can I please tell that story?"

Kori felt forced to be game, as always. "If you must. I will get more fries."

It was an impossible choice Kori knew well: staying and being aware of what Komi said to her friends, or running away so she wouldn't to hear it. Historically, Kori had always gone with the latter. She ran, because by the time Komi arrived, those friends wouldn't be her friends for long anyway. But she didn't want to think that was going to happen with these friends too. Not this time. Not these people. These were supposed to be her forever friends.

She sat to the counter and waited for the fries. When she looked back, her friends and Komila were roaring with laughter. She guessed her sister had told the story after all.

Kori couldn't even blame them for being swept up by Komi. Her sister was a rock star. She filled up a whole room; the air felt empty when she left. They were so outwardly similar that there was always a moment of comparison between them, and Kori always came short.

Even in their own family, Komi was the planet around which the rest of them gravitated, like mere satellites. Or she was the black hole that swallowed everything. Sooner or later, everything went to her.

She returned to the group with the fries. Komi smiled at her. "I was telling your friends I can't believe you're making them wear tinnabulas."

"It's a part of your culture, right?" Raven asked.

"Sure!" said Komi. "Among children."

"It is not for children," said Kori. "It is for everyone to do."

"Well, I'm tired of doing it for years and years," Komi rectified. "Guess it makes sense you're not, though."

"What'd you mean?" asked Dick.

The sisters looked a bit unsettled they were asked—like they'd forgotten the others could hear them. "I never got to celebrate Blorthogm before," said Kori.

"Why?" asked Vic.

"Oh, we always moved around so much," said Komi, who had recovered from the weird moment. "And kids that age, you know, aren't always loyal."

They left it at that, and Kori's friends refrained from asking more. Komi's phone buzzed; she looked at it and a smile spread on her face. "Okay. What are you all doing tomorrow night?"

The next night, Komi rang the bell at Angel Edenfield's house. The Five stood back.

"Are we really gonna party with Jade and Angel?" Raven asked Dick.

"Well, they are Komi's old friends," shrugged Dick.

The door opened and Jade and Angel came out, laughing and hugging Komi.

Further inside the house stood Kitty, quietly surveying Komi with a critical eye.

Kitty came out onto the porch, dispelled Angel and Jade with a flick of her wrist, and stood before Komi like she wasn't a full head shorter than her. "So this is the legendary Komila? I see the standards in Murakami have gone up for queen bees."

"Am I supposed to know who you are?" was Komi's bored return.

"I'm the girl who's gonna replace you," was Kitty's daring reply.

Gar got the mental image of a little Chihuahua earnestly barking at a magnificent and confused Hound.

"I'm not surprised you're a disappointment," Kitty kept going. "I couldn't expect much from someone related to that loser," she nodded at Kori.

The condescending smile evaporated from Komi's face at that last jab. But she quickly put another, more dangerous smile back on, cocking her head at Kitty. "Slow down, sweetie. You don't need to try so hard, I'm not your absent mom."

Here Victor gasped. There were rumors that Kitty's mom hadn't bothered to see her daughter in years.

"You think you can insult my little sister because some people at your school decided you're hot shit?" Komila went on. "Let me guess. You're the type of girl where everyone turns to you where you enter the room. Everyone's always fawning over you, falling over themselves to please you—guys want you, girls wanna be you. Is that right? I'll let you in on a little secret," Komi's hand came down on Kitty's shoulder, making her flinch, "this is where you peaked. Here's what's gonna happen once you're out of your small town fish bowl. You'll spread yourself thin to join a prestigious sorority, only to spend four years as their bottom feeder—then you'll wind up right back here, forever reliving the past while everyone who knew you laughs at you, and still it won't quite register that your best days are over. Although…" She used the same hand on Kitty's shoulder to pull her back and made a show of looking her over. "That is if you get into college in the first place."

Kitty's face had long gone pale. Kori could see her inching backwards, like Komi's hand firm on her shoulder was the only thing keeping her out in the porch.

"My sister and I have been all over the world," Komi continued, "and we've met far worse bullies than you. Far smarter, more ambitious—that's why she'll never be scared of you."

Komi finally removed her hand from Kitty's shoulder and turned back to the group with a flourish and a smile. As soon as she was released, Kitty disappeared inside the house.

Kori's friends were in heaven.

"Dude, Kori, your sister is awesome!" said Gar, holding his knees.

"That was brutal," said Raven.

"I wish I'd gotten that on camera," said Vic, only now removing his hand from covering his mouth.

Kori wasn't sure her friends really grasped the extent of her sister's evil genius, though. To present Kitty with a dire future in which she'd be pathetic in ways she wouldn't even perceive had seemed to tear down her entire externally-validated sense of self. Not only that, but Kori had it on good authority her sister had no idea who Kitty was prior to this moment—everything from her mom being neglectful to her sorority dreams had been a cold read.

It was plain to see why Komila had ruled every school she'd been in.

When her friends were out of earshot, Kori heard Komi take her former friends aside. "What's going on here? Who the hell was that little girl and why are you letting her tell you what to do?"

"Komi, you don't know her," Jade said. "Kitty may not be smart, but she's fucking relentless."

"Yeah, her dad spoiled her so much she doesn't know what no means!" said Angel.

"I can't fight her every second of every day, it's exhausting!" added Jade.

Komi looked down at them with her hands on her hips. "Pathetic," she sentenced. "I left you a kingdom, and for what? You're letting a sophomore run the school." They hung their heads under Komi's look. She shook her head in disgust. "You've always been nothing but followers." Komi looked up, realized Kori was in hearing range, and her eyes softened. "Sweetie, what are you doing here? Go chat with your friends. I've got some catching up to do here, but I'll be there in a sec!"

Kori's return to her friends wasn't so big a comfort—they were discussing Komila.

"Kori, your sister's a badass," Dick told her.

"I bet when you two were little she was always defending you," Vic said.

"We were never in the same school for long," Kori said noncommittally.

"Dude, she's making me wish I had a cool older sister who had my back!" said Gar.

Komi returned to Kori's friends, Jade and Angel in tow. "Okay! You guys ready to go to the best party anyone's ever been in?"

And that reminded Kori of why she was dreading this night. Kori hated that her sister would see she hadn't gotten better at parties. When they got to the venue, she stayed in areas her sister couldn't see her.

After a while, she allowed herself to step outside. She'd had a drink, but she had recently resigned herself to the fact that she didn't even like alcohol. Party after party, she always kept assuming that being a bit tipsy would make her more at ease with herself, but if anything it was the other way around. Feeling intoxicated made her self-conscious, and tenser than ever. The effort not to appear drunk put her on edge and ended up giving her a headache. She never got happy-tipsy.

It was Dick who found her in the roof of the club where she'd retired. "Hey, there you are."

Kori forced herself to smile. "I wanted a little air," she said, cringing at how awkward she sounded. And now they had Komi to compare her stilted speech with.

But Dick didn't seem to notice. He was laughing as he sat next to her. "I'd never seen you like this."

She looked up, confused. She was too paranoid, too spread thin to try and guess what he could possibly mean.

"All little sibling cranky. It's… sweet." He faltered because he really wanted to say 'insanely cute and charming and adorable', but dialed it back.

Kori smiled, sincerely this time. Leave it to her friends to be able to purify all the bad things she felt. Dick only saw that Komi was telling stories and made Kori embarrassed. This was normal, this was even sweet.

"I never had siblings," Dick went on, "But I guess that's what older siblings do. Embarrass the younger ones."

"Oh, it is very much their right," said Kori, feeling better. "Although I cannot bring myself to do that with Ryan."

Dick smiled, and she imagined his eyes twinkled beneath his sunglasses. "No, I didn't think you would." He stood. "You ready to go back in?"

She let him take her back to the party, and imagined she could enjoy herself the rest of the night.

So this mid-January arc is a short one with two chapters. This arc wasn't in the original outline for this story (as is the case for most others minisodes and mid-month chapters), and it came from the fact that I was like "No, I talk so much about Blackfire, I HAVE to add her in at some point."

And then it was two of the easiest chapters I think I wrote for this entire series? Like it just happened under my fingers even as I came up with things about the sisters' dynamic I hadn't previously thought of? (More on the dynamic and Kori's feelings about Komila in the next chapter) I don't know why, it was one of those magical chapters where nothing I came up with went against the flow of the story or future plot, so what I threw at the wall stuck. As a planner that's a miracle ^^

If you have a moment check out the song Redshift, specifically the cover by Julia Nunes, it's full of space metaphors and kiiiinda fits the tone of this chapter, in that it's a highly emotional song from the POV of someone watching circumstances unfurl that are out of their control.

~The Lighthouse