23 22: Star Child I

"CHAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSEEEEEE!"

I was jolted aware by the wall shattering screamed that now seemed to echo in my head. I quickly sat up and was taken back by the unfamiliar furniture in my room.

'This isn't my room…' I thought as I looked around. It took a few moments before the events of yesterday came flooding back. 'Oh yeah that's right, I'm at the dorm….wait where's Bone-lasher?'

"CHAAAAASSSSEEE!" Iris' bellowed. I jumped off the bed and ran toward the echo of her scream which turned out to be in the foyer. I burst through the door to see Jane and Iris cowering at the top of the stairs while Bone-lasher laid lazily at the bottom of the stairs.

"CHAAAAAAASSSSSEEEEE!"

"Godsdammit I'm here already what's all the shouting about?!" I snapped.

"That!" Jane pointed to Bone-lasher. I just blinked several times then looked to Bone-lasher then back to the girls.

"What about it?" I asked.

"Why isn't your evo in your farm crystal?!" Iris demanded.

"Because I was falling asleep and it didn't want to stay I'm my crystal while I was asleep." I replied. Iris and Jane looked at me like I was insane.

"Why the hell would you do that?!" Iris exclaimed. "He could've done anything while you were asleep! Like kill and eat us!"

I frowned and looked to Bone-lasher. While that was certainly a possibility especially considering Bone's past I didn't get the feeling that bone just killed everything for the fun of it. Its memories made it seem like killing was only a means to survival.

"You wouldn't kill them would you Bone?" I asked. Bone lifted its head off its paws then made a loud hacking noise.

<Loud, boney, nasty.>

I felt a wave of nausea wash over me, so strong I thought I was going to be sick. Bone's emotions made it clear that it thought humans tasted disgusting.

"You don't have to worry Bone thinks humans taste nasty." I told the girls. They both looked at me again like I was insane.

"How would you know what it thinks, liger sharks aren't psychic." Jane said.

"Well I don't really know what Bone's think, more like I can feel Bone's emotions. And the emotion it feels when it thinks about eating you is disgust."

Jane and Iris shared a look amongst themselves then then looked back at me. That made me feel like I had said something wrong.

"Chase, when you say you can feel Your liger's emotions do you mean you can look at it and get a general sense of how it's feeling or so you mean that you physically can feel them yourself?" Jane asked.

"I can physically feel them myself. It's like that for any evo I touch. Bone's the first evo that I could feel it's emotions without physical touch though." I replied. "And I'm judging by the way that Iris is looking at me that's not normal."

"It's not actually. In fact I've only heard of a handful of splicers being able to do that." Jane said. Bone-lasher yawned and stretched making both Iris and Jane jump. "Chase can you please send your liger back into your farm crystal…please."

"Let me see…" I sighed then walked over to Bone-lasher. "Can you head back inside Bone, you're making the girls jumpy."

<Wake>

I felt a rush of relief oddly enough. Images flashed in my head of Bone-lasher waking up on the floor and seeing me passed out. It nudges my hand trying to get back into my farm crystal but I'm still dead to the world. It feels safe in my crystal but fears being locked inside while I sleep. I'm brought back to reality. Bone's body is incased in a crystalline structure and flies into my farm crystal. A feeling of relative comfort washes over me before my connection to Bone-lasher is muted.

"There Bone's gone." I said. Iris and Jane visibly relaxed now that Bone-lasher was gone.

"Thank Ra!" Iris exclaimed then Marched down the staircase and slapped me on the arm, hard. "What the hell possessed you to let you evo out when you're not there?!"

"Ow! Will you stop hitting me Tri-clops!" I griped.

"Will you grow a brain Cosmos-head!" Iris retorted.

"That's even worse than star child." I groaned. Iris slapped me a few more times and I threw my arms up to block her. I cycled some mana through my arm and imagined it as lightning. When she went to slap me first the last time she got shocked.

"Ow!" She cried.

"Told you to stop it Tri-clops." I said with a shit eating grin.

"That's it comet breath! " Iris snapped as she fanned her hand.

"Comet breath?" Jane laughed as she descended down the stairs. "Iris what does that even mean?"

"I don't know?! You know how hard it is to come up with an insult that revolves around a farm crystal!" Iris griped!

"I don't know, Tri-clops came pretty easy to me." I replied. Iris flipped me off and turned to stomp off. Jane and I shared a short laugh then followed Iris.

The room that Iris walked into turned out to be the kitchen. I froze when I walked through the door as did Jane when we saw a tall man dressed in a expensive chef's uniform standing in front of the stove. Iris had walked right past the guy in a huff and plopped down at the kitchen table. She didn't notice the guy was there until she looked up and saw Jane and me staring at the guy.

Iris made a gesture to Jane, silently asking who he was. Jane shrugged and made another gesture that I did not know what it meant. The two went on back and forth for a few moments while I just rolled my eyes and walked up to the marble island and knocked on the counter. He stops what he's going on the stove and turns to us.

"Oh you three are up!" The guy said happily.

"Yes…who the hell are you?" I demanded.

"Barton Jones, I'm your private chef." The man answered. I turned to Iris and Jane.

"Did Nigel mention anything about a chef last night after I went to bed?" I asked.

"No he didn't." Iris replied eyeing Barton suspiciously. Barton frowned and shook his head.

"That old codger of course he forgot about me…" Barton said switching from the universal standard to English. I was surprised to hear another English speaker even though his accent told me he was British.

"He might be old but I wouldn't call him a codger." I said switching to English as well. Barton's eyes bulged out of his head as he looked at me.

"Holy shit you speak English?" He asked.

"What do you think?" I replied. Barton smirked.

"With an accent like that you're probably a American or just really uneducated."

"At least I don't sound like I'm constantly chewing snuff." I replied copying his accent.

"As a personal chef I hope you know how to cook more than some bangers and mash or a spot of tea."

"I sound nothing like that! Makes me sound like I'm from Chadwick." Barton gasped then tried to copy my accent. "At least I don't sound like I'm making 'shine up in the holler."

"Now that was just insulting, I'm from the Midwest not freaking Alabama!"

"Okay I don't know what you two are saying but someone better start speaking universal standard." Iris said.

"I think he checks outs." I said switching back to universal standard. "He has a terrible Midwestern accent but he doesn't seem legit."

That was enough for Jane. She walked up and smiled at Barton extending her hand to shake.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Jane Yearwood." Jane said pleasantly. Barton's eyebrows jumped up as he shook her hand.

"Yearwood? Of the Havershame Yearwood's?" Barton asked. Jane smiled pleasantly and nodded her head. Barton's expression turned almost reverent and he gave a slight bow.

"It is a honor to meet you Lady Yearwood." Barton said. Jane smiled and motioned to Iris.

"This is my best friend Iris Stone."

Barton looked like he was about to have a aneurysm as his eyes darted back between both Jane and Iris.

"It's an honor my ladies. Is there anything I could make for you?"

"I'm not really sure. Why don't you make us all your breakfast specialty." Jane replied.

"Of course! Right away." Barton said then quickly went to work making food. Jane walked over the kitchen table and sat down next to Iris.

"So how long are you going to wear those clothes star child?" Iris asked with a impish smile. "You look like a homeless beggar."

"Well I would have changed if I had my clothes or I wasn't woke up by a loud monstrous Tri-clops." I griped and crossed my arms.

"The collage staff delivered all our luggage a little while ago and left it in our corresponding living rooms." Jane said.

"Thank the gods." I said. I turned and headed back towards my living area.

I rushed back into my living room and found my luggage lying beside the couch, in my rush to Iris and Jane I past right by them and didn't notice. I smiled and quickly opened my largest suitcase which had most of my clothes. Checking to make sure everything was there I then went through all my other suitcases and smiled when I confirmed everything was there.

'Great, now for a shower.' I thought.