The next morning, Chloe's eyes opened at the sound of her low volumed alarm, and she sat up with a sigh, checking the wound on her shoulder. There was still the cut, but it looked better than it had the night before. She got off of her bed and took a shower. She got dressed and headed downstairs. After leaving a note for her mom, the uniter headed out of the house and went towards Alek and Jasmine's place. Once she reached the end of the street, Jasmine joined her side. "Alek sent me a message. He said Brian is doing fine. He's still pretty injured since he doesn't heal like we do. He's probably going to need to stay with us for a few days before he can leave. But he's at least doing well considering."
"He never should have gotten hurt to begin with. i walked away from him to keep him safe, but he followed me and now he's injured, jumping in the way to save one of my lives. Just like you and Alek do. Difference is, he doesn't know about what I can do. Or at least he didn't" Chloe sighed. She was glad he hadn't died, but she was worried about how he would recover. Even with their methods to help the healing process, he was still human.
"At least you can explain about everything now and don't have to keep lying to him" she said, looking at her. "Considering he already saw some of it."
"That's another thing. I have no idea how he's going to react. I mean he's sweet and kind and caring, and he got himself hurt protecting me, risked his life, but that was before he knew I had claws and enhanced agility. I mean Amy and Paul have been my best friends forever, and even they ended up having trouble with it at times. I haven't known Brian very long, and I can't help but worry things won't go exactly as planned. You know what I mean? Though maybe it would be for the best because Alek's probably right. He's safer away from me, but I like his company. And-"
"Chloe-" Jasmine couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her as she smiled a bit at her friend, interrupting her ramble. "I'm sure he'll handle it well. He really seems to like you, which, yes is dangerous for his safety, but I doubt you having your abilities will really create a rift between you. If anything, the lack of lies might be good for both of you"
"You really think so?" Chloe looked at her friend, who nodded. "I probably have been overthinking it. I didn't get much sleep last night. I guess i never thought he would find out. At least- not for a while. And especially not like this"
"Well, at least you get to see how he handles it now rather than years down the line where he finds out you've been keeping it from him" Jasmine said. She was just worried about how her mom would react to the news. Valentina was less accepting of humans being involved than Alek was, especially considering it was humans hunting them down.
"That does make me feel a little better" Chloe admitted after a moment as they headed upstairs to the apartment.
Jasmine unlocked the apartment and headed inside before going over to the spare room that they used for nursing their more severe wounds. Chloe followed after her and saw Alek sitting up on the bed, alert.
"Did you get any rest?" Jasmine questioned, looking at Alek, who ignored it.
"Valentina didn't come home last njght. She'll be returning later today. So I didn't need to explain it to her yet" he said. "Brian is still asleep, healing I expect. Humans are more... fragile and need a lot more rest" His gaze was on Chloe now, the silent jab not going unnoticed.
The Uniter narrowed her eyes at him but chose not to comment. It was technically true that they got hurt more easily and took longer to heal. But she knew he said that to get to her, the same way he knew how to get to her about anything else. "it might be best that im alone with him when he wakes up. He doesnt really know the two of you. And this is going to be hard enough for him to hear"
"Well, I dont particularly want to see the two of you with your tortured looks of longing to each other, but we don't all get what we want" Alek said. Valentina would want one of them with them when Brian found out, even if the idea of being alone in the room with the two of them physically pained him. It would be better that he was there to make sure Chloe didn't do anything stupid, like kiss the mortal without thinking.
Looking between Alek and Chloe, Jasmine had a feeling the two of them could use a talk, so she excused herself and headed out of the room. "No one is asking you to stay. Valentina isn't even here to give you the orders." Chloe said.
"She would be if she was here" he pointed out. "In fact, she wouldn't want him here at all, and if it wasn't for him witnessing the fight, we would have brought him to the nearest hospital"
She was silent for a long moment before asking "You didn't get any sleep, did you? You were watching over Brian" Her gaze was on Alek as she remembered how he had not left her house until she got home, continuously watching to make sure her mom was okay, just because she asked.
"Of course. You asked me to. He's important to you"
"Thank you" Chloe said softly, looking at him. She couldn't help the way her heart fluttered in her chest at the thought of him doing that for her. And yet how she felt about him didn't really compare to the feelings she had while around Brian. But that was a relationship that could never happen, and even entertaining the idea brought Brian closer to death, every time they got close enough that they could kiss.
Before Brian even opened his, eyes, he felt this searing pain in his side, He gritted his teeth a little and forced down how painful the wound in his side was before looking at where he was, confused. Though the longer he was awake, the more he recalled of what had happened before he lost consciousness. The man with blades and throwing stars that felt eerily familiar, the way Chloe and Alek fought him, the... Maybe he lost too much blood because he could have sworn he saw Chloe with claws coming out of her fingers.
"Brian?" the girl in question said, distracting Brian from his thoughts as he looked over, taking in how breathtakingly beautiful she was. The way her wavy blonde hair hung past her shoulders. She wasn't wearing the dress she had been wearing the last time he had seen her, which made him wonder if it was still the same day and she had simply changed clothes or if it was another day.
"Chloe?" Brian said, looking at her as she joined his side, taking his hand and squeezing it lightly. The blonde teenage boy, Alek, left the room to let them talk alone.
"I'm here" Chloe said after a moment, looking down at him and taking a seat on the edge of the bed they were resting on.
"What's going on?" Brian questioned, his gaze finally tearing from her and traveling around the room in confusion. There was a desk on the other side of the room with medical supplies on it. "Where are we?"
"My friends Alek and Jasmine's apartment. What do you remember?" She looked at him inquisitively with a mix of worry and relief. Worry because he was hurt and because of what she had to tell him. Her insides twisted with guilt and nervousness over telling him and how he might be upset she hadn't told him sooner, especially when she mentions how she had repeatedly endangered his life by being close to him, by having feelings for him. But part of her was also relieved that he was awake and that she could finally tell him the secrets she had been keeping, to fill in the blanks of multiple events that had occurred since they had met.
"You ran away from me after I told you how I felt. I followed you a little and was about to just go home when I heard the fight going on. Which I guess was real based on the sharp pain in my side" Brian said, looking at her.
"It was real" Chloe confirmed, looking at him in concern. "I'm glad you're okay. Well, alive at least. You'll be okay. You just need to rest and recover"
His gaze fell to their hands, and he pulled his hand away a bit to hold hers differently. He flipped it over and looked at her fingers, easily being able to see the claws in his mind, but her fingers looked like ordinary fingers now. "Before I passed out, I thought I saw-" he stopped, unsure if he could get the words out without sounding completely insane. "Nevermind. It will make me sound crazy."
"Crazier than a knife and throwing star wielding assassin attacking us?" she questioned, looking at him.
"Yes, crazier than that. At least that way I could chalk it up to some crazy lunatic being out on the streets and not something bigger" But despite the desire to tack on a normal human excuse, it still felt to him like there was something bigger going on, something Chloe wasn't telling him. "I might have been imagining things. I did lose a good bit of blood. But I could've sworn I saw-"
"What is it?" Chloe asked, wanting to know if he would actually tak to her about what he had seen. It was a lot to take in, and she wanted to explain things to him calmly and carefully, but she also wanted him to trust her, to communicate with her despite the cat talons he had seen the night before.
"You had claws coming out of your fingernails" Brian said, "but your fingers look as they normally do now. It doesn't make sense. And the way you and your friend Alek fought that guy- Like you had done this kind of thing before."
She was silent for a moment, trying to find the right words to be able to explain to him everything that he deserved to know. A small sigh escaped her lips, and she pulled her hand away from him. "It's not as crazy as you think" She raised her hand up and made her claws eject from her fingernails.
Brian scooted up a bit, wincing in pain at the movement before looking at her with an alarmed expression on his face, the kind that is a natural reaction to suddenly seeing something you had no idea was possible. Chloe watched him nervously, waiting for his real reaction to kick in once he processed that the claws were in fact very real. He hesitated before reaching for her clawed hand and looking at it with interest as he held it. She was careful, making sure not to accidentally scratch him with her claws like that time she had accidentally dug them into her.
"What are you?" Brian asked, looking back at the girl he loved, not letting go of her hand. He had never really heard of anything like this actually existing. It was something out of a fantasy novel rather than something that happened in real life. Granted, coming across a throwing star wielding assassin wasn't exactly a common occurrance either. Throwing stars were far from any usual weaponry. He wasn't even sure where would buy them if they wanted them.
"I'm something called Mai. So are Alek and Jasmine. Supposedly we are mortal descendants of Bastet-" Chloe began explaining but Brian interrupted her, recognizing the name of the goddess.
"The cat goddess of Agent Egypt. I read a couple of stories about her when I was a child, among other things" Brian said, remembering what his mother had read to him as a bedtime story, per his father's request, who was never available enough to ever read a bedtime story to Brian or do anything with him besides practice fighting. "She was one of the daughters of the sun god Ra."
"I'm not much of a mythology person" Chloe admitted. "But yes the cat symbolizes her. It's how I have my claws, night vision, enhanced agility and a few other abilities"
"How long- Have you always known you were ... Mai?" He asked her curiously, wanting to know more about her and about this previously hidden part of her life.
She shook her head a bit. "I knew that I was adopted, but I didn't know anything about my birth parents, much less that I was part of a race that are descendants of a goddess. I only found out the day after I met you, but that gene started showing itself the day before. That was how Alek and Jasmine found me. Before that, there weren't any signs of me being what I am."
"At least you know more about them now. Even if its just the species they are that makes you what you are. Or did you find out even more about them since you discovered your abilities?"
"No, I don't know anything about them besides that they were Mai. And that the adoption was back channeled. Honestly, it just makes me want to know more. About what they were lie, when their abilities developed, if they had known ahead of time or if they had been unaware like I was"
"I get it. I mean, I always knew my parents, but I guess finding out something about them, especially that big, would only increase your desire to learn as much as you can without them" He squeezed her hand a little, comfortingly, before realizing that he was still keeping a hold of her hand and let go of it, thinking about how she had quite literally run away from him as well as she could while wearing heels. It was possible the only reason she hadn't pulled away was because he was injured. And he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable.
Chloe nodded a bit at his words, glad it made sense to someone, not that she had really talked about this to anyone else beyond asking her mom if there was anything else she knew about the adoption. "I'm really glad you're okay. When you passed out, I was worried you wouldn't wake up, but you'll be fine. You just need to get some rest. Jasmine thinks you should probably stay another night and then take it easy when you get home."
"Maybe, though it might be better if I leave tonight" Brian said. "Are you going to stick around?" He wanted her to stay, to have her for company and to find out more about the real her, bur he also knew she had other things to worry about than an injured friend that would be alright, even though she was very caring about her friends (something he very much loved about her).
"I can't. It's a school day" Chloe reminded him. "And then I have work after. But Lana will probably close up the shop early, and then I can come straight here and be here until I have to go home."
"Right" Brian said. Normally, recently, he had been keeping track of school days like he had back when he was in school last school year, but his mind was currently occupied in thinking about this newfound information about Chloe King and the world as a whole. He wasn't thinking about the day of the week, just that he wanted to know more, more than she had already told him. He wished he could remember more about the stories his mother had read to him when he was a child, but the memory of it was fuzzy besides the basic information. "Well, I'll see you after work then"
"Do you want me to bring you back anything?" she asked, looking at him.
"You don't need to get me anything" Brian said. He could manage a day without worrying about food, especially if he spent most of it sleeping like he was sure he would.
"It's fine. It's not a problem," Chloe said as she stood up from the edge of his bed. "After all, I'm the reason you got hurt, remember? You leapt in front of a throwing star to try to save me from that guy that was after me."
"You don't need to do anything for me because of that. I was just trying to make sure you were okay."
"I know you were, but you need to eat. I'll pick up some food on the way over" Chloe said.
"Okay" he agreed finally. "I'll be here when you get back"
"Just make sure to get some rest." The Uniter stood up and left the room, walking over to Alek, who was sitting on the couch. "Hey" she said, walking a little towards him. "How are you feeling?" Guilt swelled up inside once again at the sight of his bandaged wound, and she had a feeling she would continue feeling guilty for Brian and Alek both getting hurt well after their wounds heal. She hated how they were both so eager to take wounds for her and risk their own lives, especially Alek who knew she had a few more lives left.
"Better than last night," said Alek, who didn't fail to notice that she had waited until after her long conversation with Brian to ask how he was doing, though he knew he was moving around better than her human was, which was good considering last night she had nearly killed Brian."I'm taking the day off from school and keeping an eye on will be at school with you"
"Alright, I'll be back here after work to check on both of you and make sure you're healing up well. Do you have any idea how long Brian is going to be here?" she asked curiously.
"Well, I doubt Valentina will want him around very long. Besides, the wound wasn't as bad as it looked. It missed everything vital, so it was a lot of blood but not a lot of actual life threatening damage. So he might be able to go home tomorrow, take care of his bandage, and keep an eye on it. Pain killers will help."
She nodded at that, a bit relieved. He had seemed mostly alright, but hearing it from Alek, someone she trusted who had more experience with this kind of thing than she did, helped ease up her worries. Surely he was right, even if Brian didn't have the same kind of healing they did. They would both be alright soon enough. "Good. Let me know if anything happens, with the Order or you or Brian."
"I will" Alek said as Jasmine headed out of her room, ready to head to school."Though they seem to go after you the most."
"Are you ready to go?" Jasmine asked, looking at Chloe, who nodded in confirmation.
The two of them left the apartment and went to school, where it was difficult for Chloe to concentrate on her classes or whatever it was that Amy and Paul had going loved them, but the two guys she was interested in were both injured because of mere thought of what had happened kept her mind , she tried to push them out of her mind the best she could so she could get through this school day.
When Valentina returned to her apartment later that day, Alek was resting on the couch, his shirt off and his side bandaged up treatment helped stopped the bleeding, but it still hurt him a that he let there be much signs of the pain, especially now that Valentina had returned.
"What happened?" Valentina asked, approaching him.
"Chloe is worst she got was a grazed of the Order came after her last night, and I protected came back here and took care of the wounds, and Jasmine brought her home" Alek explained."And now Jasmine is at the school with her"
"I am glad that at least one of you is protecting Chloe right if Jasmine is not here, then who else is here?" Valentina asked, hearing the other heartbeat she caught the scent."And a human, no less"
Alek pushed himself up with a slight wince."Her human friend Brian witnessed the attack and got pretty brought him here. He'll be okay,"
"You brought him here?" she questioned.
"He saw us fight, our claws, and he didn't know about the Mai.I figured it was better to bring him here instead of letting him leave with questions and panic. Chloe explained to him what happened this morning when he woke up."
"You did well"Valentina said after a moment, looking at the teenage boy that was like a son to her after raising him for the past several years."We will deal with this Brian boy"
Alek nodded at her words."Jasmine and Chloe will be here after Chloe's job,"
"Alright, you should get some sleep and work on healing"she said.
"I will rest, but I'm not tired.I promised Chloe I'd make sure he was alright"Alek was torture seeing the way Chloe looked at Brian and how much concern she gave when all Alek wanted (besides Chloe's safety)was for her to look at him that it didn't matter how he felt, not right did matter was making sure this human that she was fond of was safe.
"Very you should get rest if you do start to feel tired. You'll be on Chloe watch tonight."
"I will" Alek promised her before watching as she turned to head towards the door."Are you leaving again?"
"I have some more business I realize I need to attend to. I'll be back soon" she said before leaving the apartment, and Alek knew better than to further interrogate her. If she wanted to let them know what was going on, then she would tell them.
Valentina was glad nothing fatal had happened to the human, considering all it would do would spark more conflict than they were clearly ready to if this boy needed a good bit of time to recover, Valentina would need to pay a visit to ensure that Whitley Rezza did not cause things to end up bloodier than they already were.