Veracity

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"What's going on?" I ask Koren nervously in a stolen breath, and why did he refer to me as Paige?

"I d'know, Kyo have officially gone insane." He makes sure to annunciate insane. His eyes float down to meet mine, as if to tell me something.

"What?" I croak.

"Koren?" Hera appears behind the wall, my throat tightening. "And. . .Koren's friend. . ." She eyes me warily.

What? Doesn't she know it's me?

"Hera, mind explaining what the hell your doing? I was trying to take a shower," Koren snaps, running fingers through his damp hair. Wow, he's good.

"Who's this?" Hera diverts, stepping closer to me.

He grips my arm, pulling me partially behind his back, almost. . .protectively. "Paige, my. . .girlfriend," he answers, eyes locked on the three Kyo before us.

Girlfriend? Paige? What the hell? Hera knows who I am! I am Veracity, so why is she buying this?

"Oh. . .I did not know you had a girlfriend. . ." Hera glares at me with narrowed eyes as if she's trying to remember me. "Pleasure to meet you, Paige." She holds out her hand.

I slide my fingers against her palm gingerly, managing a small smile. The familiar coldness of her touch flows through me on contact.

Hera looks disappointed, straightening her stance. "Well, sorry to disturb you. Just a few minor issues with Veracity."

"Veracity?" Koren sounds genuinely oblivious. "What? Did they escape or something?" He mocks rhetorically, grinning easily.

"Yes, actually." She frowns.

"Oh, how?" He questions, eyebrows quirked. He steps nearly completely in front of me, fingers intertwining with mine. For some reason it makes me tremble nervously, and the thought of Senry floods my mind. I don't try shaking the thoughts away this time, in fact I welcome them, and try to focus my energy on the memory of Senry's smile rather than process what's happening before me.

"Classified." Hera bluntly remarks, not a single strand of her sleek black hair moving out of place from her tight bun.

"So what are you doing in my house" He growls, expression one of boredom.

"Checking," she briefly explains.

"Well, keep looking if you want, just don't touch anything. Mom will have another fit." He warns, his grip on my fingers loosening slowly.

Hera chuckles lowly under the shield of her breath. "Don't I know it," she cackles, Koren giving a quick and breathless laugh in return, making me wonder

"Well, it was nice meeting you. . .Paige." Hera smiles arrogantly, eyes locked on mine amused. She has to be in her early twenties.

"You too," I murmur, voice register peaking higher than usual.

"Stay out of trouble, you two." The other Kyo chuckles, slapping Koren on the back with a smirk. He shrugs from the rough touch, forcing an equally as crude grin.

We watch them turn slowly, stepping into the living room. My breathing is low as I watch them briefly scan over the room, sighing in disappointment. Hera turns to give us a quick wave before exiting through the front door.

As soon as they leave our sight, Koren jerks his hand from mine, almost in disgust. "Way to play along," he spits in sarcasm.

"Well I'm sorry I'm not an actress! And what the hell was that! How did she not recognize meー"

"Wile Lotion. It's so the Kyo don't recognize your finger prints." He says, only confusing me even more.

"Wile. . .what?"

He groans, as if this is physically exhausting to him. "Most of the Kyo, about eighty percent to be exact, are practically blind, the reason why they can't memorize faces. They recognize people by the lines on their hands."

"What? How is that even possible?" I question. Is Senry blind? He seems to know me just by my face, so I don't think so.

"I have no idea. Just in their DNA I guess." He shrugs. "The Wile coats over some of the lines, so you appear to be another person. Genius, right?" He seems proud of the little bottle of thick liquid.

"Brilliant," I agree breathlessly, looking over my hand softly. "But, why does it exist? I mean, I thought humans and Kyo got along alright." Koren hands me the lotion to observe.

"Well, some of us get into trouble, and need to mask up our id's sometimes. It's just something we have in case we need it." I have a feeling when he says "some of us" he means himself.

"That's actually really cool." I smile at the small tube, scanning over the clear substance on the inside.

"Humans can be pretty cool. I mean, we have our moments." He grins, shrugging, and accepting the Wile back into his hands.

"I can't believe the Kyo left so easily." I say, peering around the corner.

"Yep, they can be pretty dumb. That's why it's so fun messing with them." He chuckles, taking the lotion into his back pocket.

"Messing with them?" I repeat.

"Just teenage stuff. You'll understand in a few years."

"I'm eighteen."

He lifts his eyebrows. "You sure? You don't look it." Now I can tell he's teasing, or something along those lines.

I pout my lips shoving past him. "Where to after the window?" I question gruffly.

He leans his hand against the wall next to the window as I perch myself on the ledge. "We'll need food. Probably ransack the Pantry," he answers.

We'll? I guess that means he's coming with us.

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