Tetra of The Fall

24 - A Tired Tet

Chirp chip shudder chirp

Flutter

"Mmn~" My limbs began to stir, mind slowly dawning to wakeness. Strangely, I felt squashed, contained and compressed beneath my blankets. After another groan and a shudder, my knees moved up and under, arms unfolding to support my full yet slight weight.

Why was I sleeping on my front? I never sleep on my front...

As a gentle yawn soon bellowed, a slight buzzing and a light appeared on my bedside table. At first, my head automatically disregarded my new makeshift alarm - all until my blurry vision somehow made out Emirah's face on the screen.

Tap!

"Yaaaa-aaaaaawn. Phew! Hey Teti"

I frowned. Apparently this nickname's popularity was rising. "Don't call me that. What's the time?"

"Ahn. Nyep! Uhh... like, tennish? Wait, did you just wake up as well? You did didn't you?! Jeez... Hold on"

A scuffle of the microphone sent my ears twitching to the pitch spikes. In a quick fit of irritation, I pressed the speaker button, tossing the phone to the bed with a sigh. I stood with a stretch, arching forward as I always did, appreciative that this morning didn't start like the last.

Ley sickness... an acute intolerance to the Sea of Ley. Who knows what would happen if I used those gates now? All the horrible stories that plague those things... I'd probably fall unconscious, ending up who knows where and possibly when... Sounds rather dangerous. But waking up and being able to use the amount of energy that I did to break that alarm clock - that was absurd. Connected to the sickness or not, if I could only do that on command...

"Mwah~ Emirah? What is it?" Nihilla's voice whispered over the mic. Stretches now done, I began to move to the wardrobe.

"Jeez, is no-one in the loop this morning?" Emirah groaned.

"Nope!" I called, slipping on my shirt. "Emirah says it's tennish by the way"

Nihilla's surprised gasp crackled an echo through Emirah's speaker. With my skirt now clipped around my waist, buttoned shirt hanging freely and tie correctly knotted, the next thing was my hair.

My head feels kind of itchy...

I stopped with a sigh, undoing all the progress until I was back to my underwear.

"Aevid messaged me a minute or two ago. Well, it might have actually been ten because I fell back asleep, but anyways. She wants us to meet in the courtyard by lunch"

Stepping over to the phone, I pressed on the speaker icon once more. Holding it up to my ear, I suddenly blinked, remembering where I put my towel.

"I'll be over soon. Just having a shower"

"Aye~"

Beep!

.         .         .

The glass shower door closed behind, what little clothing I had on now strewn about the tiled floor. In the back of my head, a thought kept nipping at my conscious mind, telling me to cover up despite being alone. So strange.

Brrt!

"Bah!" I yelped, icy cold water spraying from the shower head despite the hot tap being turned. Since we were so late to get up, I suppose most of the hot water in my hallway has been used. Down the hall there was a Schofield and a Ceres both competing in beauty one-upmanship. Perhaps today's challenge was good smells and cleanliness... if only I had fire magic. Then I could just heat the water myself.

Magic...

"Ah~ that's it~" I sighed as the hot water began to hit.

I squeezed a line of jelly into my open palm with a frown.

I'd never thought of what magic I wanted. I suppose I never thought I'd get this far... but I don't want fire - I know that much. Something flashy would show the world - prove to my manager that he's forever wrong about me. But as for battle effectiveness? Apparently the brighter it is the worse it is. Energy efficiency was always a good line of thought in magic - that is, unless you're Tepia.

So something invisible?

Tingles tickled my neck as the ends of my fingers rubbed softly at my scalp. Foamy, crackling bubbles began to viscously seep in, coating with their smooth, strawberry smelling goodness. Silicone free and nutritious enough you can feel it, this expensive luxury was a fortnightly drain on my wallet.

But oh was it worth it. Such a basic pleasure.

No. I don't particularly want to encroach on Nihilla's style. I feel like she's certainly claimed the whole 'dangerous stealth' thing - even if she is incredibly approachable. Without a doubt Emirah will go flashy. Although her third holster remains a complete mystery, it would be safe to reason that something to enhance her weapon's effectiveness is her most clear choice. And for things that go boom, flashy is about your only choice according to the book.

But me?

I don't have a signature weapon... or a style. I've been forced into melee through lack of a better option. I have Schell's Thorn, yes, but do I want my last resort to be my primary weapon...? And what kind of magic could possibly enhance something like Schell's Thorn?

Warm water soon transitioned as I moved, once spraying down my front, now waterfalling gently through my hair, streaming down my back to clean what would be twintails. Maybe I should try a shorter haircut? Long hair is difficult to manage. When it gets windy, long hair takes the shape of a peacock tail... ugh. But would it be too different for me...? Perhaps... I don't want to encroach on my image after all.

Splurt! Spa-!

"Shit." I muttered, a thought suddenly striking me as I tossed the empty conditioner bottle. It landed neatly inside a wire basket, slipping by a few other similarly empty containers.

How long does a parfait keep for? Even though the Draav pockets preserve any food placed inside - the crispness and freshness as good as before - they can still go off. I wouldn't particularly enjoy scooping smelly parfait out of there. What a waste that would be...

Brrt! Brrt!

"Ha~" I stood still as the remaining water dripped down, arching my back slowly as I breathed in softly. My right arm lay pinned behind my neck, shoulder offering a satisfying tension and click as my other hand hovered at my waist, ready to support my bruise. A dark blotch would resist my stretching, extending across my right - a horizontal mark running from just next to my navel, around to my side, just above the pelvic crest.

With a shake, I moved to get dressed.

This was a painful spot. Just moving my stomach would result in a subtle throb. So breathing, coughing, twisting, raising my leg too high. Even the swing of my hips as I walked - dampened as I cared little for the femininity - hurt enough to notice. Of course, we Draavs wouldn't yield to such minor ailments. We're used to cuts and scrapes after all.

I winced as I pulled on my skirt, once again for the shirt and yet again for my hair ties - followed by a small, black bow.

Enhanced healing should fix it up in no time. Or if it proves really troubling I could get someone to properly look at it. Maybe use some magic therapy or something neat like that. Certainly wouldn't be my first time this week.

But for now, it was just minor enough to ignore for the most part. It'll be fixed in a few hours. So for the time being, this would simply have to hurt.

But I'm pretty used to injury.