"David, how old are you?"
"Fourteen." he finally answered, sounding like he had done something wrong.
Makoto blinked at him in shock. Fourteen? He was two Makotos in height and three in width and still in his early teens? Wow.
Lost in his befuddlement, Makoto almost missed the way David's shoulders slumped and how he seemed to draw in on himself. He was a self-conscious, awkward kid who had probably never been treated as such since his manifestation and Makoto's questioning had only made him feel worse.
Riddled with remorse, the Vermilion was wracking his brain again, this time to find a way to make the boy feel better.
"Should I try replicating your ability?" he asked in the end, sliding his upturned palm in David's field of vision. "If it works, we could maybe figure out how to control it. You know, together?"
David whipped his head around, his gentle brown eyes wide as saucers. Makoto patiently waited for his answer, his hand hovering between them. They could hear the lively chatter from around the fire pit, the air filled with the clanking of pots and pans. Shrill laughter broke out, followed by exclamations to keep it down.
A breeze blew by, ruffling the strands of Makoto's messily tied up hair. The more seconds ticked by, the stupider he felt. He was beginning to consider retracting the offer altogether when a large hand landed heavily atop his. David uttered a barely audible "Okay", his eyes trained on the yellow writing of Makoto's T-shirt, visible above the V-neck of his leather vest.
"Okay," the Vermilion repeated, activating his ability.
It was said that activating one's ability was a very personal and unique feeling. Makoto had never discussed it with anyone, so he didn't know what it was like for them.
In his case, when he allowed his replication to awaken, it felt a little like releasing a breath you didn't know you were holding. Sometimes, when somebody was falling asleep they forgot to breathe and the body would flinch, jump-starting the process. That's what his replication felt like. It's what happened now as he allowed his body to memorize and copy David's power.
He released the boy's hand seconds later, for he didn't need more than that. Then the wait began. The telekinesis activated when he'd snapped at Ethan and the healing when he was begging Amanda not to die. Both those abilities were tied to one's psyche, whereas an Umber's powers were mostly physical.
Activating an acquired ability felt a whole lot different than doing so with his own. He had to think about the foreign power real hard until something began feeling different in his body. Telekinesis prickled at the tip of his fingers, while the healing burned deep in his chest.
David's ability felt like he was being stabbed on the top of his head but from the inside. It wasn't long until a pair of horns sprouted from his skull. David gasped in surprise beside him, but Makoto paid him no mind, too engrossed by the stabbing feeling now emanating from his rear.
"Oh no," he mumbled, paling as he realized he was also going to grow a tail.
While the growth in itself was as smooth and quick as that of the horns, having to unzip and lower his jeans in order to allow the newly grown limb to slip free was the most mortifying experience of his life.
The tail was long and thin, the same ivory tone as the rest of his body. It ended in a tuft of black fur, similar in color and texture to his hair. His whole face was aflame, the embarrassed blush coloring even the tip of his ears.
To make matters worse, David was shaking beside him with barely repressed laughter. At least his mood had been lifted...
Somebody snorted nearby.
"What the hell, man?" Ethan guffawed from a few feet away, because of course he would bear witness to his humiliation.
Ethan doubled over, his echoing laughter attracting more people. He wasn't the only one amused by Makoto's predicament, as chuckles and giggles filled the air with every new arrival. Makoto wished the earth would just open up beneath him and swallow him whole.
David tensed beside him, obviously feeling guilty from putting him on the spot. A group of giggling girls joined the growing crowd which only served to increase Makoto's mortification tenfold as he spotted Amanda among them. He buried his face in his palms, unable to face her like this. The whole idea had been plain stupid.
Hidden behind his hands, he missed the small frown that formed on Amanda's brow as she took in his embarrassed form, David's guilty expression and the peals of laughter all around them.
Suddenly, everyone went quiet and Makoto wondered if maybe his earlier wish came true and he did have a hidden power that had allowed him to sink into the ground.
Silence gave way to surprised mutterings that were slowly growing panicked. Curious, Makoto peaked over his fingers and remained frozen at the sight before him: every single person in the vicinity had sprouted a pair of animal ears and tails. He blinked a couple of times, wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him, but no.
His gaze immediately found Amanda who was proudly sporting the round ears and fluffy tail of a chinchilla – her favorite animal. She was watching him with a small smile and a mischievous glint in her eyes. Warmth spread through his chest as he realized she had done this for him. Heavens, how he loved her!
He wasn't the only one who realized it was her handiwork, for soon enough a rabbit-tailed and eared Minah confronted Amanda, drawing every other person's attention to her.
"Did you do this?" Minah asked, clearly unhappy.
"Yes," Amanda breezily answered. "Now we all match."
Somebody squawked indignantly and as Makoto's eyes landed on Ethan, it was his turn to burst out laughing. The Ocher had an impressive, feathery tail spilling out of his leather pants, as well as a little crest atop his head. All that was lacking was the beak and he would've made for a splendid peacock.
The look Ethan was throwing Amanda had lost all of its cockiness. In fact, as people slowly got over their initial shock, they began realizing just what she had done. Their surprise morphed into awe with just a hint of fear at the extent of her power.
"Aww, it's not real, though," Dita lamented as she held her limp jaguar tail in hand. "Can't you make it so that I can actually use it?"
"No," Amanda said.
Because no matter how powerful she was, Amanda couldn't directly affect living and breathing creatures. At most, she could attach fake limbs to their bodies - a fact which people were slowly beginning to realize as the tails and ears easily fell away when they pulled at them.
"Shame," Dita said as she watched the tail disappear.
"Not really, no," Eddie, who hadn't been particularly pleased with his labrador attributes, said. "Also, lesson learned: do not make fun of each other or Amanda will turn you into a frog. Now scram, everyone back to what you were doing!"
The crowd slowly dispersed, excitedly murmuring to each other about what had just transpired. Ethan sullenly walked away, the look he shot Amanda devoid of its usual warmth. Makoto leveled a grateful smile at Eddy who winked back at him.
Dita was busy staring at his newly grown horns and seemed to be on the verge of asking him something ridiculous before her boyfriend grabbed her hand and dragged her away. Minah left with the group of girls who weren't giggling anymore.
Amanda joined the two of them and plopped down on the log beside Makoto, curiously running a hand over his horn. He blushed again, but this time it was for an entirely different reason.
"I'm sorry," David said in a small, miserable voice.
Makoto swiveled around to face him.
"Don't be, it wasn't your fault," he insisted, his mismatched eyes searching out the giant's. "I did this to help. And the offer still stands."
The look David gave him was filled with so much hope and gratitude it washed away any remnants of Makoto's previous embarrassment, replacing it with the certitude that he was doing the right thing.
* * * * *
Sarai came to pick them up about half an hour later. Although not as angry as before, Theo was still sulking and avoiding Marcy's gaze, who was shooting him fleeting glances, seemingly hesitant about what to say to him. Her guilty expression mellowed him out a little, though he stubbornly refused to speak to her. If Sarai noticed the tension between the two of them, she didn't comment, happily rattling off the day's schedule instead.
They began the tour with the dining hall which was as big as the teen had said, taking up nearly the entire first floor. Despite the early hour, quite a few people were milling about, all of them clad in their dark uniforms. They passed by a table where a bunch of burly men were hollering with laughter and went to stand in line behind a chattering group.
Theo glanced around in silent surprise, taking in the different interactions, suddenly reminded that in the end, CS officials were still human; they ate, they slept, they made friends, they laughed and chatted and cried and lived. He grabbed a tray just as the woman in front of Sarai turned around to look at them.
"My, my what's this?" she asked in a sultry voice, casually slipping her fingers through her long, ginger curls.
There was no denying she was a beautiful woman, with her toned, curvaceous body, wide green eyes that sparkled with mischief and pouty lips. She jutted her hip out and brought her hand to rest on it, the movement causing Theo's eyes to land on the red band attached to her wrist. Another Vermilion. She flashed Sarai a genuine smile, before sizing the pair up. Her eyes lit up with appreciation as they landed on him.
Theo wasn't blind, not to his own reflection nor to the way people looked at him: he knew he was attractive. As such, he was used to getting a lot of attention and only smiled politely at the open appraisal.
Sarai shifted aside to allow the woman to get a better look at both of them.
"These are potential new recruits. This is Theodore Moore and his friend, Marcella Abbatucci," she said in a friendly voice, before turning to face them. "And this is Callie."
"Theodore, hm?" Callie practically purred. "And this is your friend Marcella. Just your friend?"
"Yes," Theo amiably answered, fighting back a smile as Marcy snorted behind him.
They spent almost all of their time together and they were often mistaken for a couple. Apparently, a lot of people thought that because they hung out and were both attractive meant they were perfect for one another.
"We're not each other's type," Marcy said as she grabbed another tray.
Which was her way of saying that neither of them was attracted to the opposite sex.
"I see. Such a waste," Callie said in a tone that inferred the exact opposite.
A lanky man with large square glasses muscled his way between Callie and Sarai.
"That's quite enough of that, Lady Diva," he said in a nasal voice. "Not like you stand a chance."
That last part was said with a conspiratorial wink aimed at Theo. The newcomer was shorter but broader than him with long, muscled limbs and wide shoulders. His brown hair was the kind of disheveled that informed Theo he had spent a long time in front of the mirror that morning.
"Beat it, four-eyes," Callie hissed, all pleasantry gone from her voice. "Nobody asked you!"
"Don't get your freckles in a twist, gorgeous," the newcomer supplied, mirth dancing around in his dark brown eyes. "Just here to check out the newbies. I'm all yours after."
Callie released an indignant huff and turned her back on them, stomping over to the head of her group. The brunette chuckled as he faced them again. Sarai was shaking her head and she shot him an exasperated look.
"She's going to make you pay for that," the teen said.
"She'll try." he struck out a hand at Theo with a small smile."The name's Cassius. HQ's most indispensable member."
Theo took the proffered hand and shook it, not certain what to answer.
"Cassie is the CS's only Telepath," Sarai said as a way of explanation.
Theo released the man's hand as quickly as if he'd burned, his eyes widening in shock. Cassius took no offense at the gesture.
"No worries, mate. I only read the minds of the baddies," he jovially said, giving his shoulder a friendly slap.
The Ocher's face split into a grin as his eyes landed on a group of people further down the line.
"Gotta go, catch you guys later, yeah?" he sped off before either of them could answer.
Theo watched him go in bewilderment, slightly overwhelmed by his exuberance. He even forgot he was fighting with Marcy as their eyes locked. She shrugged, advancing in the line.
Sarai caught the exchange.
"Yeah, Cassie can be a bit hyper," she said with a giggle.