Shattered Mirror [Rewriting]

Chapter 14 - Sight and Stories

"You don't expect me to do this too, do you?" Everyone turned as one person toward the shifter, a tension blossoming in the room like a weed determined to strangle the life from their plan.

"Of course," Josh said quickly, his leadership not faltering, "if you can fight too, you might be able to hold your own until one of us can get to you. Every second in a fight-"

"No," Liss replied shortly, her look clouding over, "it didn't work before, why would it suddenly work now?" Bavita felt her heart lodge in her throat when Josh's fingers twitched, a tell-tale sign that he was getting aggravated by the argument their stubborn creator was making.

"You were not trained enough," Aaron, luckily, swooped in to the rescue, his voice as cool and calm as always. Josh instantaneously relaxed again in a single sub-conscious movement that the seeress could swear only she saw and felt. Not even Nom had apparently noticed anything and she was as sensitive to emotion as a fresh wound was to touch.

"I had a good week of training-," Liss started, her own look defiant against the calming vibes Aaron was sending her.

The assassin cut her off, "And it takes good, talented men weeks before they are competent in battle. You specifically should know how long it took me." Liss had no good argument after that, her chest practically deflating in defeat and for a brief moment Bavita could swear she saw Aaron's lips tilt up in the slightest of smiles.

"It's settled then," Josh drew her attention back to the topic at hand, "I think we should take tonight to rest and mentally prepare ourselves." He rubbed his hands together then nodded, finalizing the decision. Finally being dismissed but hesitating to leave Liss alone, Bavita instead took a seat next to her creator and wondered if the girl would make any attempt toward peace as she had with the others. At that moment, the chances looked slim because she didn't even acknowledge the seeress and it stung to some extent, the hurt darkening her mood even more. Liss had set Josh's mind at ease when he'd been self-doubting but she wouldn't extend the courtesy to Bavita. She'd even come to some agreement with the illusive assassin, opening up more to him than she would to anyone else but she didn't think of talking to the seeress.

'Why would she?' Bavita grumbled as she sat back, 'I've made no attempt to converse with her other than when I need to. And I haven't given her any reason to think I need reassurance. Shit, I've never needed reassurance before.' She wanted to rub her throbbing temples but held back on the urge, chastising herself for being selfish. Here she was, jealous of whatever connection Liss had made with Josh and Aaron when her creator was dealing with so much on her plate already. The seeress couldn't expect Liss to sniff out her fears and her doubts. 'Can't exactly broach those now,' Bavita grumbled some more as she turned her attention instead on Nom, hoping she could speak to the other girl about her issues. The two of them had grown significantly closer since she'd discovered Nom's odd gift and she felt at ease opening up to the other girl, conversation coming easily between the two of them. The other girl had even broached her worries about her friendship with Liss to Bavita, she'd voiced her nightmares about the betrayal and guilt she felt and now the seeress hoped she could do the same. But Nom was with Josh, apparently trying to lighten the mood with her snipes and jokes about his lack of height. Those two had also grown significantly closer. It made Bavita feel isolated. Almost as isolated as Liss must have felt when she'd hidden in her room. Or how isolated Aaron probably was concealing himself in his shadows so no one could bother him. She felt stuck in a rut with no way of escaping.

"Bav?" Liss' sudden interruption of Bavita's thoughts made her jump and her creator frowned at the response, "I'm sorry... did I startle you?" her voice was so meek the seeress could almost hear its fragility and it was enough to make her want to break with her creator. When she tried to squeak a response the only sound she made was a whimper mixed with that of a dying mouse, earning her an even more concerned look from her creator. Cursing her treacherous voice, Bavita quickly forced an "I'm okay" out, willing Liss to continue with whatever it was she'd wanted to say in the first place.