8: Ticking Down

"So, Eir, how did you find us so fast?" I ask, as I get comfortable in her living room; the laundry machine rumbles in the background. "And in such a weird place like the woods."

"Ah… I just happened to be in the area," She says.

Uhuh… 'just happened' to be there.

I bet she's totally saying that because she was trying to hunt down the one behind the attack — my secret identity, the Primordial Sovereign, isn't she? If I had to guess, our stream locations were tracked and revealed to her.

Whatever. This wasn't the first time. Struan is good, but not that good. I'm just glad Ethan's friend got there before Eir did… Hmm… but I still shouldn't discount the possibility of a super impersonating the man…

Eir seems to have gotten a hold of herself, as she starts asking the questions now.

"You have a lot of explaining to do. You are a super?? Since when?"

"Ew. What are you? My mom?" I snarl.

"You wish you had one!" Eir hisses back.

"... You're right…" I say.

"Ack! Sorry! I-I didn't mean it like that… just got caught up in the moment," Eir says, apologetically. She struggles for words, but I put my hand on her shoulder, reassuring her.

"No, I was asking for it. But, anyways, wanna go to the Eagle Super Academy with us?" I ask.

"What about tuition?" Eir asks.

"What… tuition?" I say. I had no idea you had to pay for it… but given the very expensive state of education in America, I can't say I'm too surprised.

"Wait! Before that, how did you know I am a super?" Eir asks.

"Aren't most people?" I ask.

Eir shrugs, accepting my answer that wasn't really an answer.

"And Struan? I'm assuming he's a super too. What can you do?" She asks, looking at the exhausted teen sitting slumped next to me on the couch.

"Uhh… I use fire?" Struan responds, saying the first power that came to mind but that wasn't one he used for me — it is the unspoken rule between us. After all, his strongest ability, or rather most versatile one, is that he can recreate any ability he sees first-hand, even if from a distance.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have much of a grasp on how his own power works; as time goes on, any ability he copies grows exponentially weaker until he sees it again. For instance, about a month after seeing a strong fire ability, like the one Torch used against my dragons, the most he will be able to do is make a small, candle-sized flame.

"Aren't you always cold?" Eir asks.

"Minor details," Struan says, waving his hand in front of his face dismissively.

"I'm not sure if I believe you…" Eir says.

Struan rolls his eyes and holds out his hand, creating a small, swirling ball of fire, reminiscent of the ability of a certain spiky-haired, orange-clad anime ninja.

"Alrighty, then." Eir says, surprise written on her face. Even though Struan is a bit strait-laced, I seem to rub off on others' perception of him.

"So, asking again — Eagle Academy?" I ask.

"And, asking again — tuition?" Eir counters. "I'll be fine, but will you be able to pay if you don't receive a scholarship? I'm fine with going if you're sure you'll be able to pay."

"Eh, we'll figure something out," I say. After all, how much could tuition possibly cost? "We already got accepted, anyways."

"If you're sure…" she says, "but, it doesn't seem like your thing."

"Well, since we are on this topic…" Eir says tentatively, looking off to the side. She takes a deep breath before she begins to speak again, her voice solemn. "I have something to tell you… I'm—

"—Lightbringer, yeah?" I interrupt.

"You knew!? Since when!? How!?"

"I dunno, it was easy to put together. You're our best friend, of course I pay attention to you!" I say.

That super sweet answer is probably something she will love and believe… Although, it's not necessarily all made up. To be honest, I wasn't fully sure it was her until today either — not until I saw how she almost instantaneously responded to the explosions and dragons.

"Awww!" She squeals and hugs me, then her expression slowly changes. "But… I feel bad. How could I have not known you both were supers until now?"

I just shrug in response. "We don't use them much? And I'm not going to turn into animals in the middle of class. We never talked about this before, either."

"Ah! But you haven't told anyone else, right? Please don't tell my parents!" Eir begs.

Struan and I nod, agreeing not to reveal her secret to anyone without her permission.

We spend late into the night talking, and finally Eir is looking more like herself. Even Struan seems to have lightened up a bit.

Eir pats her lap as she stands up. "Get some good sleep. The next ranking exam is tomorrow."

Hol' up. Already?

***** ***** *****

The night is still as I lay in the bed, staring at the ceiling, but sleep doesn't come.

Struan… he's been growing increasingly distant from me, constantly irritated with what I say and do, but I guess that's just how it has to be.

I desperately hope that someday, in the distant future, we will still be able to walk side by side; but by that point, if or when things go wrong, it will be much too late to talk. By then, he won't have much say. Even now, I do my best not to sway him, but there's only one way to be sure of what he truly thinks and feels.

I lay there, thinking of my next steps until I can't take it anymore. There is always the possibility that he will start to sincerely hate me. With a sigh, I slide off the bed and creep over to the desk under the window, pulling open the blinds.

Snow gradually begins to fall, turning heavier by the second, blanketing the land. The already quiet neighborhood, free of any nearby major roadways, becomes even more hushed.

I gaze out the window, — this is a nice change of pace.

The moonless, starless night is surprisingly bright, illuminated by the street lights and the orange light reflected back down from the clouds.

Feeling a presence, I turn to look behind.

"Were you watching me long?" I whisper.

"No," he simply states.

I turn back to the window to look at the snowflakes lazily drifting downwards.

"Ama… Can we talk outside?" Struan murmurs.

I gently nod and follow him out the bedroom door.

One of the floorboards loudly creaks, so I flinch and quickly raise my foot and step somewhere else.

There is something more exciting about naturally sneaking out, as we have the potential of getting caught. A little giddy feeling lifts both of our spirits for a brief moment.

But… I have a feeling that these shared, fleeting moments are numbered.

The fresh snow creaks under our boots as we head behind the house. Eventually, we reach the brick wall encircling the neighborhood and stop.

"Ama… please… I can't do this anymore. Can we please stop?" Struan pleads.

I place my mittened hand on the wall as I listen to him.

"Is there anything I can say or do to get you to stop?"

I slide my hand down the wall, feeling the woven fibers of my mitten intermittently getting caught on the rough surface. Turning to face him, I just give him a small smile that doesn't quite reach my eyes.

"What… What makes you stop when you do? Maybe we can work something out together?" Struan asks.

This… is a bit unexpected. So, he noticed? I'll bite.