State of mind

After staying silent for some time, Eve started explaining "Well, it's just that-"

"Should I explain?" Robert asked. Both he and Lucian were standing at the door. "It's just a theory that I have."

"What is it?" Jin asked.

"Well, I discovered that people gain additional abilities when placed under life-threatening situations for a long time, they get additional abilities. After some experimentation on myself and more volunteers, I figured out a pattern." Robert explained. "Each person gets an ability that is somewhat related to what their brain thinks it lacks. let's take you all for example. tell me what you got and I will explain what you might have thought you lacked."

Ray went first, "complete camouflage"

"Ability to blend into your surroundings as you have problems with that."

Rose went next, "Seeing mana flow."

"Ability to sense mana around you because you can't control your own."

"Mana absorption," Sarah said.

"Mana, obviously."

"Night vision." Tom joined.

"Sight in darkness because your mana sense doesn't work well in a darker, colder environment."

Jin said, "Mana shield."

"Protection to your body as you rely on attacks alone."

"Ranged attacks." Robin followed.

"Range, obviously."

"Vital point probing." Seraphina named her ability.

"Efficiency in combat."

Issac thought for some time, "What about my Thought Projection?"

"Your inability to share your worldview with just words."

"Oh."

"Okay, my turn." Cerene raised her hand, "What about my marked object summoning?"

"That's what you are calling it?" Robert looked disappointed in the name, "It's the result of your lack of vigilance and worries that you might lose your weapons."

"Boundary creation," Finley said. "What about it?"

"It makes up for your lack of speed in an open environment."

"Domain manipulation," Anya announced her ability name.

"It's the result of your regular escape strategy. Helps you escape and evade enemies easier."

"Underwater breathing." Terrence joined the discussion.

"That's a new result, as it might have been different had I put you somewhere else." Robert thought for an instant, "Maybe it's indicative of your adaptive nature."

"What about my earth constructs?" Aisha asked.

"It's a counter for your fear of running out of arrows."

"So my pocket space is for storing my knives?" Sylph asked.

"Precisely. You all are catching up quickly."

"So let me guess." Evan said, "My heart immunity is to aid my fighting style without worrying about damage to myself."

"Correct." Robert slowly turned to Eve. "Now, it all gets to you. Do you want to explain your ability or should I do it?"

"Its…" Eve hesitated for a movement. "I can create solid clones of myself that help me in fights."

"Does anyone have an idea why she manifested this ability?" Robert asked everyone.

No one said anything. They were thinking, but Robin had already come to a conclusion before others. "Deep down, she only trusts herself. Am I correct?"

"Why does everyone come to the same conclusion?" Robert was clearly annoyed, but he continued nonetheless. "I think the clones are a manifestation of her nature of carrying every load alone."

the group started murmuring, trying to make sense of what Robert just said. not everyone was on the same page as him, and it was creating a dense atmosphere in the room that no one risked moving through. tears welled up in Eve's eyes, but didn't dare fall down. Just then, a soft warm feeling started emanating from Robin as he moved forward, slowly vaporizing the dense feeling in the room.

"You're wrong, sir," Robin said. "We all know her better than you do, and I think even you can see how most of us disagree with your hypothesis. I know her more than anyone in this room, so I can confidently say that those clones aren't what you make them out to be."

Everyone turned to look at him as if asking for further explanation. He walked over to Eve, knelt down, looked her right in the eyes, and said, "What do you want to do? should I tell them?"

the tears that were filling her eyes finally started falling down her face. no words came out of her mouth, she just stared at Robin's face, and he nodded in response. He turned around with an absolute expression on his face, his aura changed from a gentle flame to a scorching sun. The sudden change was so abrupt that people avoided looking at him. The expression on his face was a mix of anger and regret as if he was going through a painful memory.

After what was mere seconds, Robin noticed the discomfort he was causing and apologized. "I am sorry, I got worked up. Let me explain the situation completely so we all understand what is happening with Eve."

Everyone sat down properly, waiting for Robin to explain his side of the story. Eve had stopped crying, but the tears had left a barely noticeable mark on her cheeks. Robin stepped in front of everyone and took a deep breath. "I am sorry about earlier… The thing is, I was worked up over something that you all have no idea about. I feel like I owe it to you all to explain what it was. if you all would allow me, I have to tell you what happened in both of our lives before we joined the Academy, Please bear with me."

Robin started explaining the story to everyone. "Both I and Eve were raised together in the Langston estate. My uncle had an affair outside his marriage, which compromised his reputation as well as his marriage. Eve was claimed to be the result of that affair. Her arrival broke his marriage, and scarred the Langston family's reputation." Eve didn't say anything. She patiently waited for Robin to explain the story.

"My grandfather forced my uncle to take responsibility and take her in." Robin continued, "Her mother was a nice lady. She always took care of me when my own mother fell ill. never making me feel like something bad was gonna happen. She was like a second mother to me after I lost my own mother." Everyone looked at Robin, trying not to make any sounds.

"What did she get in return for that service to the family? less than nothing." his voice started shaking with anger, "All the adults were cruel to her, being the worst example for us. Soon, the older cousins of mine started picking up their habits as well. they badmouthed her, assaulted and made her life hell in general."

Robin sighed deeply as if reminiscing about a good memory, "Then came the one who changed it all. Son of my uncle, and my older cousin, Zach. he was the one in line to inherit the title of family head, despite the problems caused by his father. He was a great person, probably the only one in our family to treat Eve like his own."

"Was?" Issac asked, breaking the tension a little.

"He is still alive, don't worry." Robin assured everyone, "He is just… not that great person anymore. He changed after a certain incident happened. That incident is linked to what feeds Eve's mental turmoil as well. Do you understand what my family situation is at the point of the story?"

Everyone nodded in response. Robin looked at Eve, asking for permission to continue further. She took a deep breath and said, "Thank you."

That was all the permission that Robin needed to continue. "A certain report came in from an anonymous sender. It was a DNA test. It had said that there was no match between my uncle and Eve, that she wasn't his daughter, not a part of the Langston family. Just to confirm if it was true, Zach took the charge and had another test performed on him and Eve. and the results weren't in her favor."

"What do you mean?" Sylph asked.

"The tests confirmed that Eve isn't related to the Langfords," Robin explained. "Her mother was confronted, and so was my uncle. uncle confirmed that he did have an affair with that lady while married. and her mother… She said that she was taking advantage of his guilt to get her daughter a good home. when we asked who her father was… do you want to tell them what she said, Eve?"

"She said 'I don't remember. Why does it matter?' in front of everyone," Eve answered, "She said she didn't know who my father was!"

Eve was clearly distraught and started screaming as she answered. Robin walked over to her and knelt down, looking her in the eyes as he held her shoulders, "It's okay Eve. It's all in the past now. that life is over, isn't it? you're okay."

She calmed down almost immediately. sitting back down, she said in her classic snarky style, "You haven't completed the story yet. do that first."

Robin smirked at her and got back up, "Then what followed was the worst family drama I had ever seen. Zach forced his father out of the family, along with Eve's mother. Eve was forced to change her last name, and although she was allowed to live within the estate, her own mother started blaming her for getting kicked out of the family. she was forced to live on her own, we were 7 at the time. freaking 7 year old."

Eve got up all of a sudden and pushed Robin down. "stop freaking out so much. It's okay now. you were there for me, weren't you?"

"What was that for?" Robin was annoyed, "But yeah, I was there for her. She was a friend to me before anything. and I hated to see her that way, so I asked Zach to make sure no one badmouthed her ever again, it made him a villain for the whole family. he was forced to make tough decisions and it all changed him. he is not as nice, but still cares about his family."

"So how does this relate to the relationship between her ability and her past?" Finley asked.

"Did you not listen?" Evan snapped, "he just gave a full f*@king reason for why she can't trust others."

"Be nice Evan," Terrence intervened, "Fin, she was abandoned by her own family, her mother used her to get a life she didn't deserve. and being on her own since 7 years old didn't have a good effect on her either."

"So neither Master Robert nor Robin is right? or both of them are right?" Jin asked.

"Both, both are partially correct," Lucian said. "Eve has had problems trusting people because of the way her life has been. This forced her to keep doing things alone. both resulted in her creating a shell that only a few people enter. Now, she has a cloning ability that makes it so that she can work with only one she trusts the most without being a burden on others. how does that sound for a hypothesis?"

"Excellent," Robert answered. "I am sorry for jumping to conclusions. I am happy to see that you are able to become friends with others in your team. Again, sorry for intruding."

"It's okay sir," Eve replied. "Maybe not telling them about my past was what was causing me to worry about them not trusting me."

Issac jumped up all of a sudden. "Now, my turn for a backstory. so it all started when I was born, both of my parents failed to-"

"Shut up Isaac, we had enough backstories for one day." Jin pulled him down. "Let's head out for now. I am ready for some rest after all the torture our captain put us through."

Everyone had a good laugh as they headed home. This bond between the team members, their trust in each other as well as the influence they have on others, was all going to make them a better team. I wish I could say that this was that easy.