Asylum

The Dragon

Sighing I grow agitated and rather impatient. Mentally, I reach out to the stranger's back and pinch myself.

"Hey!" the man yells, whirling around to the closest person behind him: Elektra. "Touch me again and you won't have any fingers to prod me with."

His eyes are wild with unchecked rage, but at least I can see them now. They're like amber lowlights. I'll have to mix a few colors to get the right shade, but that's okay.

I fill in the man's eyes and finish the details. Now what should I call this work?

"Threaten me again and I'll burn a hole through you!" Elektra responds.

"Right back at you," he responds. That particular comeback snags the entire attention of the whole courtyard. Someone's threatening Elektra? That's rare. Someone threatening to do so with lightning? Unheard of. Our powers are all unique. No two people have the same ability. That's impossible.

"You want to go, pretty boy? You might get your gloves dirty."

Startling me, a boy hops up on the table next to me and props his feet on a bench. Eagerly, his hands form into fists and he pounds them against his knees. "Fight, fight, fight, fight..."

I elbow him in the ribs. "Leo, if the guards hear you, you're toast."

"Psh," he waves me off. "Toast is crusty and unpopular. I'm fresh and in style, baby. Those guys can't do anything to me. YO ELEKTRA IS GONNA KILL YOU, SON!" Leo suddenly bursts, seemingly out of control. "Sorry, I probably startled you, I – DUDE, I KNOW YOU FARTED AND THINK NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT IT. YEAH, I SAW YOU."

Leo Hernandez: funny guy, mind reader, inhabiting the turret syndrome. He's the closest friend I have here. Really, him and Kya are the only ones I chat with. Leo's easier to talk to because we're only one year apart. He's also incredibly hard to paint or draw. His hair sticks out all over the place and overlaps confusingly in a mess of chocolate curls. Also, his skin has the Latino color that is hard to make here.

Leo looks over at the easel and frowns. "Oh, no. You've found a new and much more appealing subject. Kill me now."

"He's just new," I tell him, shrugging. "But I don't know how long he'll last if he's provoking Elektra. He's either got bad luck or he's looking for a death wish."

Leo taps his chin and hums. "You know what? He doesn't care who she is. He thinks she...pinched him? That doesn't sound like our mystery girl..."

"Yeah, well...probably because it wasn't."

Leo hisses. "The Voodoo Doll strikes again."

"Don't call me that," I grouch.

"Voodoo Doll," he teases.

"Leonardo," I retort. He hates his full name because it makes him sound scholarly, when all he is, is a giant jokester.

"Wow, bringing out the dirty laundry. So, what do you think his power is? I can't wait to find out!" Like a child, Leo leans over, vigorously rubbing his hands together in anticipation. A part of his marking peeks out of his shirt by his neck. Leo's marking is a tattoo of his spine, which makes sense considering turrets affect the brain, which is strongly connected with the nervous system located in the...

You know what? I'm just going to watch the fight.

Elektra points two fingers to the sky, summoning storm clouds with flashes of lightning. The stranger shoves his hands in his pockets and shrugs.

"Big deal," he says to the crowd with exaggerated calm.

"Big deal?" Leo echoes loud enough for the newcomer to hear. He looks over at us. "You're about to get roasted by Zeus's apprentice and you're just gonna stand there?"