illyris, p. parker ¹

vii. the strange case of dr. vee and ms. illyris

"I've just... I don't know I've been thinking about things, how different my life is now," Thea explained softly. "I'm like two people in one body and one is so, so different from everything else. It's not an Illyris thing, it's me. I've always been proud of that but no one else can understand my powers or who I am. Obviously, I don't expect them to but it's a thing now. It's tangible."

Bex tilted her head sympathetically. "That's not true."

Thea raised an eyebrow, smiling weakly. "I was kind of lonely growing up, B."

"You weren't lonely! You had me!" Bex argued indignantly.

"I meant before I met you. Besides... Yn gaomā shifang nyke syt nyke daor." Thea watched Bex's eyebrows crease in confusion.

"I don't know what that means but that's probably the point," Bex conceded, catching Thea's agreeing smile. "You're really embracing that double-agent life, huh? It's like the Strange Case of Dr. Vee and Ms. Illyris. Lemme ask you something: Have you ever considered just going by your birth name?"

Thea wore a wavering smile. "I've thought about it. Like, it's just a name and I want to be more in touch with my culture, what could be better? I don't know... it feels a little late now."

"Well, it seems like you've arrived to this gig at the perfect time, huh?" Bex mused. "Is Peter the, uh, 'agent-side' of you?"

"Look, he gets me in some impossible way," Thea explained, holding the straps of her backpack tighter as a soft blush rose to her cheeks. "I've never met someone our age do good things— hero things." Catching the cheeky grin plastered on her friend's face, Thea shoved her arm. "Shut up, it's not like that."

Bex eyed Thea like her bullshit meter was ticking in the red zone. "Alright, alright..." She pointed at her warningly. "But if I see him at our booth at the Coffee Haus, then we'll have a problem."

"Someone's a little afraid," Thea teased, slipping her history book in her backpack. She had an inkling what the day's lesson would be about considering their study in ancient civilizations.

Bex scoffed, her chin held up high. "I'm not afraid of anything... except dudebros and leprechauns."

Thea rolled her eyes, stopping in her path. "Leprechauns aren't real."

"I know what I saw!" Bex fired back, wearing nothing but severity on her face.

"Fine, fine, look, I've got Decathlon practice after school so don't wait up." Thea stopped in front of her history class, wearing a lopsided smile. "It's the last one before Nationals." Her shoulders moved in a small dance and she sang, "Two more days and I'm freaking out."

Bex grinned, walking backward as the passing period bell rang above them, signaling thirty seconds left in the break. "Don't worry. You're gonna carry them."

Thea peered into her classroom. The oddly dramatic and theatrical Mr. Brackett flipped his striped scarf over his shoulder, doing attendance quietly as his students began settling in. Thea walked in quietly, making eye contact with Ned who beckoned her over. Mr. Brackett believed seating charts limited students' freedom and allowed them to sit wherever they wanted, prompting her to take a seat right behind Ned.

"Hey, you guys figure out what that energy core is built on?" she whispered, her eyes darting to her sides cautiously.

"Energy co— oh, the glowy thing," Ned remarked, pulling out his notebook. Thea smirked at the Star Wars-themed stickers that littered the entire front cover to the point where she wasn't sure what color it originally was. He flipped to the very back, handing it discreetly to Thea.