Shifters

Findings

"Hello?" Joana called, snapping her fingers, "are you even listening?

Josh looked up abruptly, "yeah i'm here, it's-it's just a lot to process."

For the past 20 minutes, Joana sat by his bedside relaying everything that took place after he passed out. Although he did not doubt the truth of her words, he could hardly believe those fleeting dreams had incapacitated him for two weeks. She studied his reaction closely as he stared blankly into the neighboring wall. Joana honestly had no idea what to make of him. Her ability to judge someone's character had served her well in many situations, yet she couldn't figure him out. Unbeknownst to Josh, she'd conducted numerous spells and tests on him as they travelled. The very first day they met she engraved a rune of blind truth on his clothes. Had he revealed himself to be an enemy, Joana would've dispatched him then and there. Unfortunately, in her haste to escape the Looper, the engraving failed to take hold completely causing the magic to partially rebound to its caster hence forcing them both to speak truthfully. She wasn't exactly sure if he could be trusted but that sentiment changed after the spatial stream. Though he'd saved her life, his uncanny ability to remain unaffected in that isolated space was unheard of even within The Order. Wary of his power, she decided it was best to keep him at her side rather than have him fall into enemy hands. On returning Joana secretly omitted the details concerning the entire spatial stream incident from her report. Regardless of her position and status within The Resistance, she thought it best to hide these facts until more was known so as to not attract unwanted attention. 

As her thoughts shifted to the events leading up to their safe return she asked, "What happened back there?"

Looking up he stared at her blankly, "what do you mean?"

"The moment you touched that book it repelled you," she explained, observing him as she spoke, "At first I thought maybe it was enchanted and a defensive spell activated due to all the mana in the air but after you passed out it returned to its original state."

"I see," he paused, "Joana...I-I've not been completely honest with you!"

She tensed as he spoke, 'was her judgement wrong, could he really be a spy sent by The Order?'

She sat and listened as Josh relayed the full story of his time within the mirror. 

"So," she said slowly as he finished, "you're saying you have random flashes of memory when you come into contact with certain objects?"

He nodded in response, "also, it's just a theory but I feel like every item is connected to me somehow." 

"In that case, what did you see in these past two weeks?" she questioned, leaning forward.

Before he could respond, a section of the wall opened mimicking the actions of a door. A young pigtailed brunette stepped in cheerfully humming as she skipped to Joana's side, frilled dress bouncing as she went. 

"You sure are hard to find my little Cherry Jo!" she smiled. 

"Cherry Jo?" Josh repeated as Joana buried her face in her palm.

"Oh who do we have here?" the girl asked facing Josh, "it's rare for you to visit someone."

"Elena this is Josh, Josh, Elena," she introduced. 

"Oh please, Elena is my mother, just call me Elly," she said heartily.

"Your mum's name isn't-," Joana paused abruptly, silenced by a momentary glare from Elena, "why are you here Elly?"

"Is that even a question?" she replied, cheerful demeanor fading, "you of all people should know 'HE' hates to be kept waiting."

Joana's expression hardened as she stood, "I see, I'll be back shortly! If you've any questions, i'll be sure to answer when I return."