#sp codell

As he sat and sipped at water—he was too small to really hold his liquor, Amber could only hold hers because of her contract—he was lost in his thoughts until Codell sat across from him. He was also just drinking water, and set a pad and pen in front of him. He didn’t look like he was going to use it, and it only had a couple of sheets of paper left, but it was there. Gil inched his hand toward the pad, looking to Codell, and Codell nodded, pushing it toward him.

Gil suddenly felt overwhelmed by pressure. What would he say? What could he say without letting on that he couldn’t stop looking at Codell’s icy blue eyes that seemed to hold so much below the surface? What would conceal that he kept just picturing Codell holding him, how his lips might feel…damn it, he really was pretty far gone. He finally settled on “Are you doing alright?” and pushed the pad and paper across the table to Codell again.

It took a moment, but Codell responded. “Yes, I’m alright. Just wanted a little space and felt that I shouldn’t make Hikari interpret for me when they have…other plans.” Gil chuckled, noting how Vandi’s hand snuck into Hikari’s, how they were ever so slowly sitting closer and closer to each other…

“Are they together?” Gil asked.

“No,” Codell replied a minute later. “Well, not quite. They had sex, but I’m surprised they’re still flirting, since Hikari usually doesn’t like to focus on the same person more than once. They like to bounce around.” Gil nodded.

“So, um…is there anything you want to know? About me? I don’t know, I’m not the best at idle conversation,” Gil settled on after about five failed attempts to think of something witty. Even that, he felt awful about pushing across the table to Codell, but it would have been even worse to sit there, attempting to think of a response and not coming up with anything at all.

“It’s alright, I’m not the best at idle conversation either. What do you do when you’re not working as a detective? I suppose that’s something that’s usually asked?” Oh praise the gods, Codell was just as awkward as he was. Granted, Codell’s awkwardness seemed to just come from not being used to talking to people, rather than having a rapidly burgeoning crush, but at least Gil wasn’t the only one struggling for words.

But this was a difficult question to answer, one that Gil knew shouldn’t have taken as long as it had taken. For years, he’d spent every spare moment with Her, since that was what She demanded. “Well, I, um…I sew some, actually, when I do have a moment. Mostly just mending clothes but I do really enjoy it, I wish I could do something more artistic.” It was true; Amber’s clothes tended to take a beating in the arena, and she didn’t have the patience to sit and sew. Gil did, and he was happy to help mend things for her.

Surprisingly, Codell’s face lit up. “I make quilts for a living,” Codell replied, and for the first time since they’d met, Gil saw a real, genuine smile from Codell. Oh gods. Oh GODS. It was short and passing, but even the admission that he made quilts for a living brought out a whole new dimension of softness within Codell. Gil could feel himself absolutely melting into a puddle, but he managed to send over a reply. He pushed the pen and paper over, and Codell’s hand brushed his as they exchanged the pad.

Through Gil’s haze of oh gods our hands TOUCHED, he managed to note that Codell wasn’t replying. He seemed frozen, off in another world, and his thoughts were…oddly veiled. Maybe he was having a vision of the future. After a moment just sitting, Gil was at a loss. He couldn’t exactly get the pad, because Codell was holding it, and it didn’t seem like Codell would be able to read it in his state. So Gil did the only thing he could think of.

Codell! Codell! Are you okay?

Codell’s whole body started, and he looked at Gil for a second with what could only be described as mute horror. Gil could hear a sudden spike of terror, freaking out, and the sentiment of Fuck, he’s in my mind! Gil attempted to reach for the piece of paper, but Codell stood fast, almost knocking his chair over. His hands shook. Gil opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Codell left, as fast as he could without outright running back to his room.

Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it. He’d managed to terrify someone, again.

It wasn’t as if he’d have managed a relationship anyway. In his last relationship, She had absolutely hated when he signed the contract. And granted, he had signed it to hopefully help see through Her abuse, but…it really hadn’t worked. He’d just stayed in a relationship because part of him was broken, and even as She broke him more, there were times where she put a couple of pieces together and he felt whole again. Maybe he was doing that here. Maybe he was just so starved for affection from someone who wasn’t Amber that he just…was projecting.

No matter what, it wasn’t going to happen. He’d driven Codell away. He shared a quick look with Amber, letting her know silently that he was heading back up to their room, and just sat on the bed, trying to combat the wave of self loathing.

Maybe he just was too broken to love or to be loved.

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Codell’s POV

He was holding Gil’s hand as they looked into each other’s eyes, and he could feel himself melting inside. Gil took back his hand for one minute, but it was only to sign “So I know you don’t like kissing, but are you okay with me kissing you on the forehead?” Codell felt himself nodding, and Gil came forward, gently pressing his lips to Codell’s forehead. Never once had Codell craved the sensation of a kiss, but the light touch on his forehead was heavenly, and he could feel himself blush. “Aww, you’re cute,” Gil signed, and Codell moved his hands to sign something back…

The moment Codell heard Gil’s voice in his head through the vision, his anxiety spiked tenfold, yanking him out of his vision and slamming him into the real world. Gil could read his mind. Gil. Could. Read. His. Mind. It wasn’t something that was in the forefront of his consciousness and fuck, it probably should have been. If he was reading his mind, and had sent him a thought during the vision…that meant…it meant he could have heard…

Immediately, Codell stood, with no explanation, consciously trying to drown his thoughts out with ANYTHING besides the vision that had hit him like a brick as he noticed vaguely that Gil had a nice smile. And with anything besides Gil having a nice smile. Codell wasn’t much for sexual attraction, but a smile like Gil’s, with understanding and kindness woven into it, the way his eyes got all soft when he smiled like that…don’t fucking THINK ABOUT IT!!

After a moment of being frozen like a deer in the headlights, Codell managed to move enough  to step away from the table. Gil seemed at a loss for words and was about to communicate something to him, but Codell did NOT want him anywhere near his mind. He bolted, almost running up the stairs to the room that was his. He couldn’t get the key in the lock fast enough, couldn’t yank the door open and get in fast enough. Gil hadn’t followed him, but there was no way that he was going to take that chance.

Codell slammed the door behind him, bolted it, moved as close to the window as he could. As if that would help. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Fuck. His stomach turned, his heart was about ready to beat out of his chest. Fucking shit. Back to the window, he sank to the floor, chest heaving. This was not happening, this was absolutely not happening. After a moment of consideration, he took a breath and prepared to probe into the future that he thought he’d seen. Like someone poking at a wound that may or may not be healed, he reached into himself.

His heart was fluttering and as he opened his eyes, he saw Gil laying in bed next to him, looking at him with a smile. “Morning,” he signed before pressing a gentle kiss to Codell’s head. His hand made its way to Codell’s, and before he knew it their fingers were intertwined, and he was leaning more into Gil’s embrace. Codell vaguely registered that Gil’s hand was incredibly soft, and seemed to fit neatly in his. Gil wrapped Codell in his arms securely, and Codell had never, ever felt safer in his life.

Fucking shit.

Codell yanked himself out of the vision, but he couldn’t deny that he wanted the vision to continue, he wanted nothing more than to have Gil loving him. He found himself yearning to see Gil’s adorably sheepish expression, see the way he looked at him. And the fact that in the vision, Gil had learned sign for him…Codell could feel his cheeks turning bright red, full of heat. Yes, there had been something that came up within him when he saw Gil, so gentle and innocent, but until now, Codell had been able to shove it away, and he couldn’t decide whether to be thrilled about the future he’d seen or terrified that it might come to pass. And…visions only came that abruptly if it had to do with something that was important, something that was very very likely to happen and mean a big change. So the fact that the vision had hit him over the head like that at the barest touch of Gil’s hand on his…that meant…

No. Absolutely not. There was no way.

Ever since Codell had signed his contract, he’d isolated himself on principle. For one, people with powerful contracts tended to attract trouble, as far as he knew. His abilities were best kept secret from that reason, and keeping that secret from a best friend or a partner was out of the question. But even that wasn’t the biggest deal, he could potentially have a friend if that wasn’t an issue. However, that wasn’t so for a partner. Another problem for a partner was his asexuality. He wanted romance without sex, and as far as Codell knew, sex was on the table for the majority of people. Being around Hikari and people like them didn’t help that impression any. And then, if someone managed to see past the danger, past the perceived “brokenness” of someone who didn’t want sex…Codell was deaf and mute. A person would either have to be content with notes for the rest of their life or learn to sign, settle for a partner who would never be able to admire the sound of their voice, whisper in their ear, soothe them with murmured sweet nothings. Finding Hikari, who managed to not mind the danger and knew sign, was a miracle in itself, and he was as far from a romantic partner as Codell could get. And Codell told himself that he was fine with that.

But as he curled in on himself, relishing even the memory of the slight sensation of a hand holding his and a tender smile meant just for him, Codell’s heart ached almost unbearably with years of suppressed loneliness.

He could no longer deny that he ached for something more than a friendship offered him right now. Sure, joking around was all well and good, but there was so much more. Codell ached for someone to hold him gently, listen to his insecurities, look at him like he was more than just the intimidating mute who knew too much. Someone to make him feel loved instead of just tolerated or left around for convenience or knowledge. Hikari did some of that, certainly, but Codell wanted more.

It had been fine to live without that sensation, Codell had thought. But now that he had it, he was all too aware of how empty he felt. It felt like going without food so long that you’ve forgotten about hunger, and then taking a nibble of food and feeling the hunger pangs more powerfully than ever before; having a taste of it brought nothing but pain and yearning, yearning for something that could never come.

Codell excelled at many things, and human interaction was not one of them. Impressing another person? Out of his league. Expressing his feelings? Absolutely not. Even if Codell managed to make himself understood, his conversational skills were lackluster at best, and his charisma was…spotty, if one was being generous. Any available person would see everyone else before Codell, would choose any other human before him. And even though it made sense, it didn’t make it any less heartbreaking.

As Codell thought over all of this, again and again, the feeling of inadequacy and loneliness began to swallow him, suffocating him. For a moment, it felt like he wouldn’t be able to breathe. But then, the memory of the vision came back, the memory of that fucking perfect smile that made Codell suddenly feel like he was more than just the seer, that he was worth more than his contract. It ran through his mind one final time, and that was enough to get Codell to gasp in a breath.

That gasp turned into a sob that wracked his whole body, and for the first time in what felt like years, Codell began to cry.

When they finally got to Codell’s room, he let Gil in and then shut the door behind him with an inquiring look at Gil. Gil nodded, awkwardly standing until Codell sat on his bed and motioned for Gil to sit in. He could feel the bed dip to the side with Gil’s weight, something that Codell hadn’t really felt in years, and the way that Gil’s hip just barely grazed his before Gil scooted away…Gods, the sensation threatened to kill him right then and there. It took a moment without Gil doing anything for Codell to remember why he’d come, and get up and get a pencil and paper. Surely, he was blushing, but Gil thankfully didn’t say anything. He just took a breath and began to write with shaking hands.

“So, I…I haven’t looked in your mind. That’s, a really bad way to start this. But. I’ve not listened at all. Because…I know your privacy is really important, and…ugh. I should cross this out but. I wouldn’t really have much of a chance to do it if I was…speaking? Out loud? Anyway…I just…I like you. A lot. I have feelings for you. And I have been dying to see if you felt the same, but I thought it was…only right? To ask like this instead of looking? Sorry to put you in this position, I can leave if you want me to.” Gil couldn’t meet Codell’s gaze; he looked at his feet as Codell read. Which was for the best, given that, the minute that Codell read what Gil had written, he froze. He couldn’t tell if he lost all color or turned bright red.

Granted, he’d known that this was a possible future, but there were a LOT of possible futures, and frankly, he’d expected with everything that had already gone wrong, that no roads he’d taken would have led to this one. Codell knew that he was not charismatic or romantic or…really anything of the sort anymore. He was a gilded person—attractive on the outside, simply because he put a lot care into his appearance and not necessarily due to any natural assets, but with nothing real beneath.

And yet, Gil had seen what was beneath. He and Codell had long conversations about the things that might be beneath. Codell had shared more with Gil than he had with…anyone, really, since the contract. And Gil was still here.

Codell opted for brevity in his reply; Gil already looked like he wanted to disappear. “I have feelings for you as well.” It was a short sentence. Simple. But when Codell went to hand it to Gil, it seemed like everything in his body was stopping him. His heart was in his throat, he felt like he might even vomit. And he wasn’t even doing the difficult part! He knew Gil had feelings for him…yet it didn’t feel real.

Finally, in one, shaky movement, Codell shoved the note at Gil. Let it sit in his lap. He couldn’t bear to watch him read it. So it took him a bit by surprise when the paper slipped back onto his lap. This time, it only had five words.

“So…can I kiss you?”

Fuck.

Fuck.

THIS was exactly why romance was not going to go well. THIS was why Codell was convinced that it would stop before it even started. Because…he really did adore Gil, maybe even to the point of…love…but the thought of mashing their lips together, potentially with the exchange of tongues and saliva, was not anything that really appealed to him. He wanted to be close to Gil, yes, but the lip-on-lip contact was not something Codell had ever fantasized about. Kisses were supposed to be some incredible, dreamy thing that made the world stop spinning. Codell knew they wouldn’t be that for him. But maybe he was judging too quickly. Maybe he was just assuming, maybe it would be wonderful and he’d have just been worried about nothing.

“I’ve never kissed anyone before. So I won’t be any good. But yes.” The yes took a moment to write, and Codell’s usually elegant handwriting wavered. But Gil didn’t seem to care. He looked at the note, and the smile on his face, the perfect, wonderful smile, was worth whatever the hell this was about to be, and Codell knew it. So as Gil leaned in for the kiss, instead of being as nervous as he thought he might be, Codell felt a smile tugging at the corner of his cheeks as he let his eyes slip shut.

Their lips met.

That was really all that could be said for it, at least from the action itself. Their lips met. It was…awkward, and strange, and Codell didn’t really know what to do with his mouth. Gil pulled away, came right back, and Codell just wasn’t sure how to reciprocate. It was…strange, not necessarily something he’d ever crave again.

But the feeling of Gil’s body against his, Gil’s hands slipping into his, Gil’s quick breaths huffing against his skin, the closeness, was amazing. Codell would never crave the contact of lips, but the way that one of Gil’s hands slipped out of his hands and moved to rest on his hip, then his back, then to pull him closer…he’d be fantasizing about that for days, weeks, to come. And after a moment, he gained some courage and rested one of his hands on Gil’s hip as well. The kiss only lasted a few moments. The lip contact itself felt like it took far longer, but…the feeling of closeness was interrupted far, far too soon.

“Okay?” Gil signed. Codell nodded, reaching for the pad and paper. It would be better to tell Gil right now about his sexuality. Granted, it might not have to come up SOON, but if Gil wanted to do more than making out, anything of the sort, and if this was going to lead to sex…well, Codell would rather just have a taste of something and have it taken away rather than end up living a lie.

“It was amazing. But I figure I should tell you. I don’t…experience sexual attraction. I loved being close to you and holding you but I thought I should let you know that I don’t have much desire for sex, if any. Just. So that we didn’t start something and end up disappointing you.” He took a deep breath and passed the note to Gil. And…surprisingly, when Gil saw the note, he…chuckled? Started…laughing?

“Sorry, sorry,” he signed. “I…one minute.” He scribbled out a reply and passed it to Codell. “This is amazing, I was…terrified you’d want to have sex right away. Because, well, I suppose I should be honest too. I was…born in a “female” body? I still have breasts and…I don’t have the parts you might think I have? I was afraid you’d find out at the wrong time, and that it would put you off when it came to sex, but if you aren’t into sex, then I don’t need to worry about that. As long as you’re alright with it?”

Codell read the reply, and immediately felt himself grinning so much that his cheeks hurt. He nodded. “I’m fine with that,” he signed. A lot of things made sense—the strange futures where a woman called Gil “Gillian” and made him upset, futures where Gil underwent some sort of surgery or spell. He had suspected, but hadn’t looked much into it, since it didn’t really matter. He cared about Gil as a person, not as a gender, and that wouldn’t change.

“Really?” Gil signed back. He was grinning radiantly, and if Codell had thought that his previous smiles were amazing, this one was almost like looking into the sun. As he saw that smile, Codell could feel himself melting inside, overwhelmed by love for this amazing man right in front of him. It was handsome, adorable, perfect…there were no words to describe just how wonderful seeing that perfect smile was in that moment. “I thought that I’d never find someone who was alright with my body. I was afraid you’d be angry.”

Codell shook his head vehemently, motioning for the pad. Gil gave it over to him, and within a moment, Codell passed it back with a scrawled note. “Of course not! I mean, I was afraid you wouldn’t like me if I didn’t want to have sex. But…I like you for much more than your body. I didn’t develop interest for you because I wanted your body. I…I care about you, Gil.”

As Gil read, tears even started to well in the corner of his eyes. “Are you okay?” Codell signed. Gil just nodded and scooted next to Codell, resting his head on Codell’s shoulder. Codell moved a tentative arm around Gil’s body, and quickly signed “Okay?” with his free hand. Gil nodded into his neck, and pressed a gentle kiss to Codell’s cheek. Now that kiss…it was a gesture that Codell could thoroughly enjoy. It made him feel so thoroughly loved, so wonderful…he could have a million more of those and never have enough.

It was perfect. Just what had been fantasizing about. Hopefully he wouldn’t find a way to ruin it.

Yet the woman was somewhere else entirely. Suddenly, there was a darkness engulfing her. A man with a milky white eye and a twisted grin stood behind her, having appeared out of nowhere, and with the darkness, he managed to phase into her. He saw through her eyes, heard through her ears, felt everything she felt. And, within a moment, he stood, and she stood with him. He forced her to take a dagger out of her pack, and stood over the still-stunned man. The man did his best to scramble away, but the woman moved with an unearthly strength that was not her own.

Suddenly, there was nothing but blood. ——— The woman again.

This time she stood above a body, holding a sword. The body of the man who had been controlling her. Wisps of power all exploded from the wound, seeming to fly out and attempt to find their owners. A very small light entered the woman, and she experimentally touched a cut on her arm. It healed, but instead of the darkness, a light rose up behind her. A person who looked similar to her, but still a little different, came up to her and gave her a hug, sweeping her off her feet.

Another person—Hikari—also came behind them, and turned the first person around, gave them a kiss. A few other people also seemed to be around, celebrating. There was a victory. ——— She screamed as the man began to take her over, fighting against every single movement. A small, feeble light within her seemed to rise up, and it did its best to combat the shadow. It kept being stifled, kept being stamped out, but each time, it rose up again and started to fight again. The person who looked like the woman from before was screaming something, something that couldn’t quite be made out. The woman was screaming too, but somehow there was a sense that the woman in particular was unable to make a single sound. Everything began to collapse in on itself, shadow and light warring, no one could reach a hand to the woman, she shook, her body convulsed, blood started to trickle from a corner of her mouth, and…

Codell gasped in a breath as the sensations of the world around him slowly began to seep into his consciousness. It was bright, midday, the sun high in the air, and he could feel his eyes vaguely aching. Had he zoned out looking in its direction? Probably. His left hand was curled around something soft—one of the quilts he’d been selling. He sent a silent thanks to the gods that he hadn’t been trapped in the visions for long, and that despite being out in the middle of the street, selling wares, that nothing seemed to have been taken. All his quilts were there, including the one that he had been working on before unconsciousness began to take him. As he took stock of everything, he mouthed a curse; the hand that had not been holding the quilt had been holding the needle, and though he’d managed to escape being stabbed, he’d bent the small thing at almost a ninety-degree angle.

As he attempted to bend it in the right position, Codell surveyed the street. He’d never blacked out like that before in public. Generally speaking, his visions came to him when he attempted to trigger them, and he generally only had them hit him unawares when he was somewhere that connected to what he saw; for example, he had asked Hikari about a certain town, and then had a vision in that town moments later. They so rarely just came about like that…maybe something here was connected, in an odd way.

Shaking off the sensation, Codell examined the needle. It wasn’t perfectly straight, but it’d do until he went home to get a new one. Lugging all his wares out to the market district wasn’t easy, and he attracted so few people as it was. Hikari had said something about being “more personable,” but it wasn’t the easiest thing for a deaf mute to be personable. He couldn’t really hold an interesting conversation unless the person in question could sign. And the only person he’d met that could do that was Hikari. Who, now that he thought about it, might be interested to hear that Codell had seen him kissing someone and not immediately taking them to bed.

Well, alternate futures. It wasn’t particularly likely.

Codell turned his attention to his quilt, examining the bright patterns and the intricate detail. Now that Codell couldn’t hear or speak,  his eye for detail improved markedly, giving him an ability to sew intricate patterns, distinguish between colors and fade one seamlessly into another in a way that seemed almost impossible to achieve with blocks of fabric. Living in silence gave plenty of time to recreate beautiful mountain views in quilted fabric, bringing an art that was once thought to be simply “homey” into an art form of its own. And if people managed to get past the stony exterior and the strangely all-knowing stare, they would have the opportunity to buy a truly resplendent piece of artwork.

Yet few did, so often Codell simply sat, beneath an awning so as not to burn his fair skin, sewing in…well, it was always silence for him. But few tried to talk to him. Today wasn’t an exception, aside from the vision.

That is, until a taller brown-skinned woman in a dress, slightly too nice for this area of Elion but dirtied from travel, walked through the street, looking a little bit lost.

He had seen her before.

This was what had triggered the vision. She had come to Elion. The girl who Codell had seen constantly, in all his visions, as being vital to the future of the world, and who would have the highest probability of succeeding with his help and knowledge. Not even considering what might happen, he ran into the crowd, jostling people left and right, until he managed to get to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She whipped around, and the person with her immediately put a hand on their sword. Shit, this did not look good. Codell would just explain, he’d just…

“I need to talk to you,” he signed, but the woman and her companion just looked confused. Motherfucker. Because he’d isolated himself so thoroughly after he signed his contract, he only had really interacted with Hikari, who could sign, or someone he could write a note to immediately. Human interaction was always premeditated, he’d always thought through how to communicate, and now, he’d acted rashly and was paying the price.

The woman and her companion seemed like they were about to leave, and Codell was turning bright red. He was utterly mortified, but for this woman’s sake, he had to explain to her what was going on. She could hate him now, as long as she’d let him help her later. Alright, she didn’t understand sign, so it’d have to be paper notes. Those were at his stand, which was across the road. It wasn’t a large distance, but for what he needed right now, it could have been an ocean away to Codell. He tried to gesture for them to come with him, but the woman’s companion just looked at him suspiciously. And the woman was starting to tug her companion along with her, seeming to say that they should just ignore Codell.

Desperate and unthinking, Codell grabbed the woman’s hand and started to try and guide her to his stall.

The moment his hand made contact with the woman’s, the woman’s companion drew their sword and looked like they were about ready to stab Codell. He dropped the woman’s hand, tried to frantically gesture for her to come with him, right then, but she wasn’t listening, she just looked afraid, passers-by were staring, and there was now a sword point at his chest. He had not had a vision of THIS interaction. Truth be told, he wasn’t quite fond of how it was going so far, but had little to no clue how to fix it. Codell tried to back away, but he just bumped into a couple other people, and the woman’s companion was yelling at him, and he could catch a little from reading their lips, but it wasn’t enough, it just wasn’t…

A stable hand on his shoulder broke him from his panic. Codell whipped around an saw…Hikari. Oh, thank the gods. He couldn’t quite see what Hikari was saying—his lip reading was poor at best and he wasn’t in a good position to see Hikari anyhow—but it seemed to calm the people down. He took a deep breath until Hikari tapped his shoulder.

“What the HELL were you doing?!” Hikari signed. Their signs were big, fast, frantic. “They’re saying you practically assaulted them!”

“This is the girl from my visions, I need to talk to her about what’s going on! If she’s around me she’ll have more of a chance of succeeding and we might be able to make this work! I needed her to come to my stand so that I could write something out and explain! What other alternative did I have?!”

“Quite literally anything besides grabbing a random girl! Anything would have made that interaction go more smoothly! Ugh. I can’t believe…fine, I’ll smooth this over. But you owe me one.” After a conversation that Codell only really caught bits and pieces of through the lip reading, the woman pointed to Codell’s stand. Codell nodded, and started to walk to the stand. “Her name is Serilee,” Hikari explained as they walked. “Her sibling’s name is Vandita, but they go by Vandi.”

“Okay. Thank you, thank you.”

“Now it’s your job not to drive them away more than you already have.”

“Oh, shut up.” Once Codell made it to the stand, he hurriedly rummaged through the quilts and found some paper and a pencil. He quickly scrawled, My name is Codell. Then, he stopped for a minute. Stared at the paper. Gods, was there a way to say “I’ve seen you in visions for months now and I need to come with you so that you can succeed in the things you’re doing” without sounding like a crazy person? After a few beginnings and crossed out words, he finally settled with “You looked a little lost, and I wanted to help. Are you looking for something in particular?”

Seri at first reached for the notepad, but then Hikari shook their head and started talking to Seri. As she spoke, Hikari signed, interpreting. “I’m trying to find out more about…contracts? And magic,” she said. “I need to know more. And we thought maybe a big city would have some resources for us?”

“Shit!” Hikari yelled, and immediately jumped back in the river. Amber took the opportunity to lift the man into the air and slam him into the ground. Niko didn’t bother to see what happened after that—he just ran to the river and plunged a hand in once he managed to get ahead of Codell and Hikari. Hikari shoved Codell at him, and Niko started to pull Codell out. In a moment, Hikari had managed to get out of the water and was helping pull Codell to shore, and Niko was checking vitals.

“He’s not breathing,” Niko reported, and put an ear to his chest. “Heartbeat’s there, but it’s not strong.” He pulled Codell’s shirt up and saw what almost looked like burn marks that would definitely scar, spiderwebbing across his chest.

“Can you do something? Anything?” Hikari demanded.

“Rose, grab my kit. I’ll see what I can do.” Niko heard Rose reaching into his pack, and he started to do chest compressions to attempt to regulate the heartbeat and get it going how it was supposed to. But he was stopped by a tap on his shoulder from Seri.

“Let me,” they murmured.

“But doesn’t your magic…” Niko began.

“I don’t think we have time to worry,” Seri insisted. And sure enough, as Niko looked at Codell, he knew she was right. He couldn’t survive without breathing much longer, and his heartbeat was slowly stopping. Once that happened, he was beyond anything Niko could do.

But he had no clue how powerful Seri’s magic was. It was Codell’s best chance.

Niko nodded and moved aside, and Seri knelt next to Codell. She closed her eyes, and in a moment, silver magic snaked from her fingertips around Codell’s torso, wrapping around him. He practically glowed, it went beneath his skin, and illuminated the lighting scars, turning them into a haunting art piece on his chest. It took a long, long moment, with the magic weaving in and out and through Codell’s whole body, but eventually, the passage of the magic from Seri to Codell ceased, and Codell’s chest slowly began to rise and fall again. Niko knelt next to him and put an ear back to his chest.

“His heartbeat’s back to normal,” he reported, voice shaking. This was…beyond what he could have even imagined. Codell had been, quite literally, on the verge of death, and this magic had ended up bringing him back. But as he was finishing up examining Codell, he heard a scuffle behind him.

“Amber!” Vandita gasped. When Niko turned, he found Seri, a knife in her hand, being pinned to the ground by Vandita and struggling. Her eyes were not their normal brown—they were almost milky white, haunting as she looked around, seeming to see everything.  And her struggles…Vandi was having trouble pinning her down, which didn’t make sense. Vandi was taller than their sister, more well-muscled, better trained, and had the advantage of their whole weight on their sister. And yet, it looked like Seri might manage to get Vandi off.

Amber jumped in and knelt down next to Vandi. “I’m gonna put her in a choke hold and hope that’ll get her to pass out.”

“What?! No!” Vandi gasped. But Seri managed to throw them off, and if Amber hadn’t jumped in at that second…the unearthly speed with which Seri had moved might have meant she could do serious damage. Immediately, Amber knelt on Seri’s hands, and pressed her throat. Seri gasped for breath, not finding it, and in a few moments, as her struggles weakened, her eyes faded back to brown for just a moment before she passed out entirely.

“Damn it,” Vandi murmured, their hands shaking. That single word seemed to sum up everyone’s sentiments, and Vandi aggressively rubbed at their eyes. They knelt next to their sister, feeling for a pulse. When they presumably found one, they held her hand tightly and worriedly bit their lip.

“Hey. It’s fine. She saved Codell. And if this happens again, I’ll just do the same thing. It’s fine,” Amber repeated. Vandi nodded, but it didn’t seem as if they really believed it. “Here. Town isn’t that far. I can carry her.”

“What about Codell?” Hikari began. But just as they said it, Codell gasped in another breath and coughed, eyes opening very slowly. Immediately, Niko turned back to Codell.

“How do you feel?” he asked, with Hikari translating. It took Codell a moment to sit up, but with weak, shaking hands, he seemed to sign back.

“I think he’s saying he feels dizzy, but okay. His signs are really shaky,” Hikari reported after a second.

“Okay. Codell, can I have your hand?” After Hikari translated, Codell nodded, and Niko felt for his pulse. It was definitely too fast, which would account for the shakiness, but that likely could be attributed to whatever his body had just gone through between the lightning strike and the healing. “Alright. This is doable. He’ll be fine,” Niko told Hikari, who was still looking Codell over with a look of concern. Then, Niko rummaged through his pack and found a small vial. It was intended for patients whose heartbeat was irregular, but it would work in this situation—it relaxed the heartbeat and steadied it a little. “Here, drink this. It should help with the sensation fairly quickly.” Codell nodded, and after Niko uncapped the vial, Codell drank.

It took a moment, but Codell’s shaking ceased just the smallest amount. “Thank you,” Codell signed to Niko—it was a sign that Niko had managed to remember.

“You’re welcome,” he replied, watching Hikari for the sign and mimicking it back.

“Okay, I’ll carry Seri. Let’s get the fuck into town,” Amber proposed.

“That’s a good idea,” Niko replied. He reached out an arm to Codell as he stood, and Codell took it to steady himself. With Hikari on his other side, he seemed as if he was stable enough to walk the rest of the way without too much worry. Amber had lifted Seri over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and Vandi hovered right next to her, watching their sister like a hawk. Worry was written all over their face. Rose just stayed next to Niko, taking his herbalism pack and carrying it gently. And Gil…Gil was watching Codell, with worry and guilt.