“Are you sure?”
Erica froze, her smile stuck on her lips. Yuki wasn’t asking about food now. Erica could tell from her concerned eyes and soft voice. But Erica didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t even quite sure what Yuki was referring to now.
“Yeah,” she nodded. “I’m sure.”
Yuki took a moment to stare at her, Erica’s smile dropping with every second. Then she seemed to make up her mind, hopped out of bed. She stretched for a bit before glancing over at Akira.
“Let’s go back to the apartment,” she said. “We will eat there. Maybe buy some things along the way for the meal. I’m not sure what we had inside the refrigerator.”
“Sounds good,” Akira replied. She stood and looked at the door. “Want me to go out and check to see if anyone is around? You don’t want to be seen, right?”
“There’s no one,” Erica said. Yuki raised an eyebrow, the attention warming Erica pleasantly. “I can’t feel anyone out there. It’s just the three of us.”
“Then let’s go before that changes,” Yuki said with a smile.
She opened the door and held it open with her foot as she waited for Akira and Erica to follow her out. Erica trailed behind as the other two took the lead. She watched them as their heads leaned towards each other and they exchanged various looks and expressions. They were communicating, but in a way so that Erica couldn’t hear. She noticed herself frowning and forced it away before anyone noticed. But she couldn’t get rid of the feeling of loss that accompanied it. The two of them together reminded her too much.
‘Stop,’ she ordered herself. ‘Now’s not the time to think about that. Crying in public would be very bad.’
As she tried to find ways to distract herself, the three of them left the base through the transporters. Her thoughts were saved when Yuki suddenly let out a groan the moment they stepped into Fenrir Park and fell to one knee, clutching her head. Every single worry Erica had flew out of her and she rushed over to Yuki, kneeling beside her and placing a hand on her head. Her panic lessened slightly when she realised that Yuki hadn’t fallen because of stress or anxiety.
‘Wait. No, that’s bad. That means that this is physical pain,’ Erica thought, her panic shooting right back up.
“Yuki, what’s wrong?” Akira asked, taking her hand.
“I feel like someone just threw me in the middle of a rave with no hearing protection,” Yuki replied, grimacing. “What the hell.”
Erica frowned and looked about the quiet park. There was an old couple sitting together on a bench giving them curious looks. A few birds were pecking who knows what from the brick paved courtyard. The loudest thing was the water that flowed gently out from a fountain.
“What do you hear?” Erica asked, turning her attention back to Yuki.
“Let’s talk about that later,” Yuki struggled out. She shut her eyes and pressed the bridge of her nose. Then she let out a sigh. “There we go. Let’s get back to the apartment.”
“Okay,” Erica said, confused. She grabbed Yuki’s left arm and helped her up as Akira did the same with her right. “But you know what happened?”
“I think,” Yuki replied, giving her head a little shake as if there was something stuck in it. “I’ll need to test something to make sure. I hope I’m right. Because I do not like collapsing from pain.”
“Yeah. Sounds like it hurts,” Erica said dryly. Yuki giggled.
“You don’t say,” she said, giving Erica a playful shove. “Come on. Let’s go back before I start flopping about in pain again.”
True to her words, Yuki made a fast pace as she sped through the streets of Fenrir until they arrived back at their apartment. She opened the door and marched right in before she collapsed onto the couch. Erica shut the door behind her while Akira went to the couch and leaned over Yuki, peering at her.
“I still got a bit of a headache,” Yuki muttered, her voice muffled by the cushion her face was pressed against.
“Oh. Do you want to explain what happened later then?” Akira asked. “You should rest.”
“It’s just a headache,” Yuki said, her hand flopping about in the air in what was probably a wave. “I can explain. Or really, show.”
She flipped herself around on the couch and stretched an arm out, hand splayed. Then she narrowed her eyes, mana pooling into her palm before it transformed into a ball of water. Erica’s eyes widened.
“What?” Erica said. She crept closer and poked the ball. “It’s really water. Since when?”
“I don’t know. I found out like five minutes ago,” Yuki shrugged.
Then with a wave of her other hand, the ball solidified until it became a ball of ice. A small frown and another wave later, lightning crackled about the ice.
“How about naturae?” Akira asked in a whisper.
“I think I can do that too, but I need a plant and my head is starting to really kill me right now,” Yuki replied. “When we stepped out into the park, the elements started assaulting my head for attention. I managed to turn it off though, but they’re still there whispering.”
“Whispering?” Erica repeated. She tilted her head.
She had never heard of elements whispering. When she found out her aptitude for lightning, she had heard a song. A song that she couldn’t quite hear the words to, but could feel the meaning to. Others she had spoken to had said much the same thing. Elves seemed to only see visions.
“Can you understand what’s being said?” Erica asked.
“Kind of,” Yuki said. “Why?”
“I’ve never heard of the elements whispering words, much less words that could be understood. That’s interesting.” Erica turned to Akira. “How about you?”
“Me? I don’t know,” Akira replied, frowning. “I’ve just been able to use the elements since I was born. Or really just the earth. All the other elements are deaf to me. I’ve never heard it speak to me. We understand each other without need for words.”
“Huh. Interesting.”
“Why do you ask, Erica?” Yuki said.
“I’ve never heard of elements speaking,” Erica shrugged. “Lightning sings to me, but I can’t understand it. I’ve heard the same from other demons I know. It might be different for elemental demons like Akira, Tiar, and Zoe though.”
“Oh. That’s interesting,” Yuki said.
“Yeah. Just a little.”
They stopped speaking and silence grew between the three of them. Erica wasn’t sure what to speak about. She thought over what Yuki had said about the elements whispering to her and couldn’t make sense of it. She wondered what those elements said.
“Akira, can you check the fridge?” Yuki asked, breaking the silence.
Akira complied and went to the fridge, opening it. Her head moved around for a bit as she checked the contents of the fridge.
“It’s kind of empty,” she said as she closed the fridge door. “We didn’t have time to buy groceries lately, so I guess that’s to be expected.”
“Mind going out for me to buy some things?” Yuki said, pushing herself up until she was sitting. “I don’t think I can go outside right now.”
“Alright. What do you want me to get?” Akira asked. She went to the couch and leaned on the frame, their faces inches apart
“Whatever you think is good,” Yuki replied with a small smile. They stared at each other for only a moment, but it was long enough to make Erica uncomfortable.
“Then I’ll get going then,” Akira nodded. She looked at Erica who quickly averted her eyes from the two of them. “Do you want to come with me, Erica?”
Erica thought it over. She didn’t want to stay with Yuki along right now. Yuki had an odd ability to see what people were feeling that rivaled some succubi that Erica knew, including herself. On the other hand, Yuki seemed to be in some pain and Erica didn’t want to leave her by herself like that.
“I’ll stay,” she decided. “I’ll take care of Yuki while you’re out. You’ve been doing it for two days, so it’s only fair, right?”
“I mean, you helped me as well.”
“No, you did most of it. I wouldn’t say what I did was really helpful.”
“But it was?” Akira said, her head tilting. “I’m sure if Yuki knew, she would think the same.”
“Fine,” Erica said with a laugh. “I’ll take some credit then. Now go buy your things.”
“Yes, mom,” Akira grinned. “I’ll be back in thirty.”
“See you later then,” Yuki said, with a wave as Akira left the house.
Then it was just Yuki and Erica, sitting a little away from each other.
“So, how’s your head right now?” Erica asked, trying to fill the space between them.
“Still hurts a little, but it feels just like a normal headache,” Yuki replied. “I’ll see later if that’s still the case.”
“That’s. Good?” Erica wasn’t sure if that was the correct word.
“Anyway. Erica,” Yuk said, her voice growing serious. She looked right at Erica, right into her eyes. “Speak to me. What’s wrong?”
Erica’s chest constricted.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have stayed.’
“Are you sure?”
Erica froze, her smile stuck on her lips. Yuki wasn’t asking about food now. Erica could tell from her concerned eyes and soft voice. But Erica didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t even quite sure what Yuki was referring to now.
“Yeah,” she nodded. “I’m sure.”
Yuki took a moment to stare at her, Erica’s smile dropping with every second. Then she seemed to make up her mind, hopped out of bed. She stretched for a bit before glancing over at Akira.
“Let’s go back to the apartment,” she said. “We will eat there. Maybe buy some things along the way for the meal. I’m not sure what we had inside the refrigerator.”
“Sounds good,” Akira replied. She stood and looked at the door. “Want me to go out and check to see if anyone is around? You don’t want to be seen, right?”
“There’s no one,” Erica said. Yuki raised an eyebrow, the attention warming Erica pleasantly. “I can’t feel anyone out there. It’s just the three of us.”
“Then let’s go before that changes,” Yuki said with a smile.
She opened the door and held it open with her foot as she waited for Akira and Erica to follow her out. Erica trailed behind as the other two took the lead. She watched them as their heads leaned towards each other and they exchanged various looks and expressions. They were communicating, but in a way so that Erica couldn’t hear. She noticed herself frowning and forced it away before anyone noticed. But she couldn’t get rid of the feeling of loss that accompanied it. The two of them together reminded her too much.
‘Stop,’ she ordered herself. ‘Now’s not the time to think about that. Crying in public would be very bad.’
As she tried to find ways to distract herself, the three of them left the base through the transporters. Her thoughts were saved when Yuki suddenly let out a groan the moment they stepped into Fenrir Park and fell to one knee, clutching her head. Every single worry Erica had flew out of her and she rushed over to Yuki, kneeling beside her and placing a hand on her head. Her panic lessened slightly when she realised that Yuki hadn’t fallen because of stress or anxiety.
‘Wait. No, that’s bad. That means that this is physical pain,’ Erica thought, her panic shooting right back up.
“Yuki, what’s wrong?” Akira asked, taking her hand.
“I feel like someone just threw me in the middle of a rave with no hearing protection,” Yuki replied, grimacing. “What the hell.”
Erica frowned and looked about the quiet park. There was an old couple sitting together on a bench giving them curious looks. A few birds were pecking who knows what from the brick paved courtyard. The loudest thing was the water that flowed gently out from a fountain.
“What do you hear?” Erica asked, turning her attention back to Yuki.
“Let’s talk about that later,” Yuki struggled out. She shut her eyes and pressed the bridge of her nose. Then she let out a sigh. “There we go. Let’s get back to the apartment.”
“Okay,” Erica said, confused. She grabbed Yuki’s left arm and helped her up as Akira did the same with her right. “But you know what happened?”
“I think,” Yuki replied, giving her head a little shake as if there was something stuck in it. “I’ll need to test something to make sure. I hope I’m right. Because I do not like collapsing from pain.”
“Yeah. Sounds like it hurts,” Erica said dryly. Yuki giggled.
“You don’t say,” she said, giving Erica a playful shove. “Come on. Let’s go back before I start flopping about in pain again.”
True to her words, Yuki made a fast pace as she sped through the streets of Fenrir until they arrived back at their apartment. She opened the door and marched right in before she collapsed onto the couch. Erica shut the door behind her while Akira went to the couch and leaned over Yuki, peering at her.
“I still got a bit of a headache,” Yuki muttered, her voice muffled by the cushion her face was pressed against.
“Oh. Do you want to explain what happened later then?” Akira asked. “You should rest.”
“It’s just a headache,” Yuki said, her hand flopping about in the air in what was probably a wave. “I can explain. Or really, show.”
She flipped herself around on the couch and stretched an arm out, hand splayed. Then she narrowed her eyes, mana pooling into her palm before it transformed into a ball of water. Erica’s eyes widened.
“What?” Erica said. She crept closer and poked the ball. “It’s really water. Since when?”
“I don’t know. I found out like five minutes ago,” Yuki shrugged.
Then with a wave of her other hand, the ball solidified until it became a ball of ice. A small frown and another wave later, lightning crackled about the ice.
“How about naturae?” Akira asked in a whisper.
“I think I can do that too, but I need a plant and my head is starting to really kill me right now,” Yuki replied. “When we stepped out into the park, the elements started assaulting my head for attention. I managed to turn it off though, but they’re still there whispering.”
“Whispering?” Erica repeated. She tilted her head.
She had never heard of elements whispering. When she found out her aptitude for lightning, she had heard a song. A song that she couldn’t quite hear the words to, but could feel the meaning to. Others she had spoken to had said much the same thing. Elves seemed to only see visions.
“Can you understand what’s being said?” Erica asked.
“Kind of,” Yuki said. “Why?”
“I’ve never heard of the elements whispering words, much less words that could be understood. That’s interesting.” Erica turned to Akira. “How about you?”
“Me? I don’t know,” Akira replied, frowning. “I’ve just been able to use the elements since I was born. Or really just the earth. All the other elements are deaf to me. I’ve never heard it speak to me. We understand each other without need for words.”
“Huh. Interesting.”
“Why do you ask, Erica?” Yuki said.
“I’ve never heard of elements speaking,” Erica shrugged. “Lightning sings to me, but I can’t understand it. I’ve heard the same from other demons I know. It might be different for elemental demons like Akira, Tiar, and Zoe though.”
“Oh. That’s interesting,” Yuki said.
“Yeah. Just a little.”
They stopped speaking and silence grew between the three of them. Erica wasn’t sure what to speak about. She thought over what Yuki had said about the elements whispering to her and couldn’t make sense of it. She wondered what those elements said.
“Akira, can you check the fridge?” Yuki asked, breaking the silence.
Akira complied and went to the fridge, opening it. Her head moved around for a bit as she checked the contents of the fridge.
“It’s kind of empty,” she said as she closed the fridge door. “We didn’t have time to buy groceries lately, so I guess that’s to be expected.”
“Mind going out for me to buy some things?” Yuki said, pushing herself up until she was sitting. “I don’t think I can go outside right now.”
“Alright. What do you want me to get?” Akira asked. She went to the couch and leaned on the frame, their faces inches apart
“Whatever you think is good,” Yuki replied with a small smile. They stared at each other for only a moment, but it was long enough to make Erica uncomfortable.
“Then I’ll get going then,” Akira nodded. She looked at Erica who quickly averted her eyes from the two of them. “Do you want to come with me, Erica?”
Erica thought it over. She didn’t want to stay with Yuki along right now. Yuki had an odd ability to see what people were feeling that rivaled some succubi that Erica knew, including herself. On the other hand, Yuki seemed to be in some pain and Erica didn’t want to leave her by herself like that.
“I’ll stay,” she decided. “I’ll take care of Yuki while you’re out. You’ve been doing it for two days, so it’s only fair, right?”
“I mean, you helped me as well.”
“No, you did most of it. I wouldn’t say what I did was really helpful.”
“But it was?” Akira said, her head tilting. “I’m sure if Yuki knew, she would think the same.”
“Fine,” Erica said with a laugh. “I’ll take some credit then. Now go buy your things.”
“Yes, mom,” Akira grinned. “I’ll be back in thirty.”
“See you later then,” Yuki said, with a wave as Akira left the house.
Then it was just Yuki and Erica, sitting a little away from each other.
“So, how’s your head right now?” Erica asked, trying to fill the space between them.
“Still hurts a little, but it feels just like a normal headache,” Yuki replied. “I’ll see later if that’s still the case.”
“That’s. Good?” Erica wasn’t sure if that was the correct word.
“Anyway. Erica,” Yuk said, her voice growing serious. She looked right at Erica, right into her eyes. “Speak to me. What’s wrong?”
Erica’s chest constricted.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have stayed.’
