Armen's POV:
"And... there! Your wounds should be 'ealed." She says with that odd accent pushing through again.
I cautiously remove my bandages to reveal three scars laying upon my arm, no blood, just the remains of a stupid mistake. I cringe at the sight of it, this weirdo said she could heal me yet there's still this...
"Healing magic has it's limits." They speak, seemingly reading my mind, "I'm not the greatest healer in the world, if you want to get rid of those scars then learn to do so." Harsh.
"Oh yeah!" They nearly yell, "You damaged your iris so things will be a bit... brighter? Yeah. So be careful of the sun." her tone is a mixture of excitement and wonder, this crazy maniac has been following me since the old house. I've not been hurt but it sure as hell is weird.
Upon removing the bandage, I realise she's right. What seemed dim is now as bright as cursed fire. Squinting doesn't make it fade and closing my right eye only shoots pain into my head. Blinking a couple of times I'm able to adjust a bit, but the contrast in light doesn't seem to dull... I sigh in slight aggravation, I hope this doesn't complicate things in the future.
I wrap up the stray bloody bandages as I start to question things. The key thing being; why is she helping me? I have no clue of who they are yet they know me and refuses to tell me her name. She has some déjà vu around them but that alone won't help me figure it out.
"Tell me your name." might as well go for it, again.
"No! Stop being lazy and figure it out yourself." She claims, flumping onto the bed.
I roll my eyes, they land on the scars plaguing my hand. Almost instinctively I rub it, maybe to get rid of it or maybe to calm it down. I don't care and instead I return my focus to tall freak swinging their legs around. Her clothes are way to small for her, they're frail and dirtied beyond recognition. Like Drake, she lacks shoes which could hide the scratches and clear sores littered on their long feet. Along their neck dangles an oval shaped necklace, almost like an eye. It's see through with a black frame, she catches my eye as I do my examination but I refuse to look away and instead glare her down.
"Is this really the 'hanks I get?" They snarkily jests.
"Yes. I never asked for help. I don't know who you are, I don't know who you work for but whoever they are, I don't care and I wont owe them anything. So you can go away, stop helping me." I demand. It's mean but I'm still shaken from... yeah.
"Jackass. I don't care about your selfish wants, Who I work for don't matter and I will 'elp you." She claims, irritated.
"Why? Why help me?"
They looks away; her amber eyes show hesitation, "I made a promise... and... I intend to keep it..." she whispers to herself.
"To who?"
"..."
She avoids my gaze as I ask again, this time anger clouds my voice. I'm done with this quiet treatment.
"Look. Tell me who it is so I can tell them to fuck off! I don't need help, I don't need your help and you sure as hell don't need to be following me! I am sick of being told its nothing. I'm tired of you refusing to answer me. I'm done with everyone treating me like a child! I deserve to know." I try not to yell, afraid of the others hearing, but I make sure she knows I'm annoyed.
My breathing is shallow as I stand there, waiting for an answer. It's quiet, all the noise if from outside. Their bland expression doesn't help, are they contemplating? Has she decided? Who are they? Hope picks up when her mouth moves.
"No." then all hope is gone, "Look, you are - literally - still a kid. You didn't grow during those four years, maybe a bit mentally but sure as hell not physically. As for the person, he's long dead. At least I hope he is. I made a promise to him and the promise of a friend overrules the order by my boss, so if you want me to fuck off I'll do so, it just means that all of your lives will get harder." my stomach seems to drop at her words, who is her boss? What do they want with us?
"I... I don't think my physical appearance really accounts for my mind anymore but... fine, I won't ask who it is... but now I'm interested in who your boss is." I claim, how far can I push this?
"Don't bother, you'll only figure that out if you remember who I am." she declares with smugness, "And for your sake I hope you don't remember." They mutter the last part, just loud enough for me to hear.
"Why shouldn't I remember? I've lost a lot of memories and I do plan on regaining them." I announce.
Her fingers pinch the bridge on her nose as she takes a deep breath, "Armen. Look at what happened after you remembered one thing. You're unstable and unable to process the past. So instead of searching for reasons to end your life, how about you find a way of coping first. You couldn't handle it hours ago so what makes you think you can handle it now?"
She remains upon the bed, arms crossed with eyes glaring at me. Glancing away, I rub my arm as the scars itch. "I'm not going to end my life. I'm not going to do anything like that! I promised Grayson and I won't go back on it, I never want to do that again... I am ready. I am prepared. I can handle the truth."
"You can't." They reinforce, "Just drop it."
"No!" I scream, "Leave me alone! I don't care if you want to stop me. I don't care if you wont tell me but I will find out. So leave me alone! Leave me be!"
I close my eyes and get into a defensive position. My shallow breaths drown out the constant yelling. I keep my eyes shut firmly, I just want to disappear. I just want to hide. I just want to- my eyes shoot open, disruptive shaking interrupts my thoughts. I quickly shut them again before peering out the right eye. I hear someone shouting my name. It's... Drake? He's looking at me with such a worried expression. I analyse my surroundings, they've changed. Behind me is the shed and through the half-shut window I can see that woman smiles victoriously as she waves goodbye, promptly teleporting away.
"Armen?!" Drake shouts once more. I flinch as a small ringing comes and goes through my ears.
"Geese, You don't need to be so loud..." I say, cradling my ear.
I take a second look around me. I'm definitely outside... but how? I was inside now I'm out... I spot Grayson behind Drake. He's staring at me, bewildered. I lower Drake's arms as I go to rub mine before deciding against it.
"Are you ok?" Drake questions.
I nod, eyes still focused on Grayson. Considering how I've just gotten these injuries, he must be confused as to how they're healed. He catches my gaze and runs his hand through his fringe, sighing as he places them on his hips.
"How did you get out here?" He asks, eyes locking onto mine.
"I-"
"How are your injuries?" He interrupts with a hint of aggression.
"Well-"
"I'm guessing that it's all fine now."
"SHUT UP!" I yell making them both flinch back, "Just let me fucking speak!"
They both stand there, sharing a concerned look. My hands shake as I attempt to recompose myself. My emotions have just gone haywire. It's horrible. I hate it.
"Look. I don't know how I got here. I don't know how they healed so quickly." I half lie, taking quick breaks in-between sentences.
Dejectedly, I avert my gaze as I feel judgement flow through me. I cautiously return my gaze when Drake speaks up, asking to hold my hand. What? I roll my eyes and slowly raise my hand as he holds it, his grasp is tight and unforgiving which takes away from the surprise as a spiral of purple dances around us. Even though it seems safe, it puts me on edge and if I didn't know him, I'd be running for my life. My arm keeps shaking, randomly jittering, trying to get away, trying to hide away. I want to be alone again but knowing my emotions are apparently 'unstable' I don't press hard on it.
"Armen. Calm. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm trying to help." He claims, the calmness in his voice shakes, revealing a pain filled tone.
I gulp as I stand there, giving a questioning look at Grayson only for him to shrug, also unsure of what's happening. This lasts for little moment. None of us dare to speak. The silence is horrible but yet everything seems to be calm. Everything feels safe. The itching has stopped, the aching is gone; even my eye feels better. I look at Drake who is clearly struggling, however, this becomes more apparent as he lets go. He stumbles backwards; the purple smoke disappears into the sky. His breathing is laboured and all the colour seems to have drained from his face. We help him stand only for him to wince as pressure is reapplied to his ankle. I glance at Grayson who tells me to wait as he rushes off to his room, leaving me alone... I hear a muffled chuckle; I rotate around to see Drake faintly smiling at me.
"Armen. You have magic. You actually have magic!" He slowly says, his speech weak and shaky.
"W-what? How?!" Worry fills me. This is a good thing, right? Magic is good... well... in the right hands it's good. I guess past experiences may've had a toll on me. Still... It's a good thing right? So why am I so worried, why am I so scared? I look to the ground, it would make sense but how does Drake know? What about Grayson? What-
"I've learnt a little trick. It's quite draining but, it works." he starts, I rest him upon a rock as he gets ready to explain, "It looks into someone's soul, access things they don't know or what they don't want to share- don't worry though, I simply looked at your mana... you have so much mana, so, you have magic."
I shuffle uneasily, magic... it's not a kind thing and honestly, I don't want to use it. But... maybe I could learn healing magic, and get rid of these scars.
"Along with that, you can see their life force. Yours is abnormally low... to any unknowing mage you'd be assumed dead or dying. Anyway, with all that mana you have it must've healed you wounds. You must've teleported!" he exclaims gleefully. "Isn't it great? I can show- teach you some moves. I may have some books leftover..."
We both turn to Grayson as he re-appears with a light pink-maroon tinted potion upon opening he seemingly forces Drake to drink it. He downs it in seconds and thanks him. Colour slowly returns to his face as he relaxes.
"This is cool but... magic... I-" I stutter, "I don't want to hurt people..." whispering to myself.
"You won't hurt people. There's different types of magic, you could learn defensive or healing!" his excitement sadly doesn't reach me.
"Yeah... I guess..."
He smiles gently, "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe."
I gratefully smile back. Safe...? I hope so... Despite the potion, Drake's still feeling weak, so Grayson and I help carry him to his room where him rest, at first he was hesitant to sleep but after assuring him he rests, we leave him alone, wandering around I notice Grayson's movement are cautious, tired, weary.
"Are you... ok?" I inquire.
He stops and quietly sighs, "A lot has changed... I want to stick by you two. I want to help you but... it's all different. You and Drake aren't the same compared to back at the base."
"Well, getting possessed might've contributed to it." I say jokingly, though he didn't seem to receive it.
He runs his hand through his fringe before turning to me, "I trust you Armen. I hope you'll trust me too... even if I change. Right now. I am me. If I- I don't want to... never mind, I'm talking nonsense..."
There's no such things as nonsense. There's some sense behind what he's saying, a sane thought trapped in there somewhere. I won't push, but I'll trust him... I'll try my best to.
"I want to help both of you. That's one of my goals... anyway, if you need a place to sleep you can stay in my room, I have a sleeping back I could use." he offers and I accept, I don't want to enter that cave again.
"I will in a second. I need to be alone for a bit... okay?"
He nods, heading back to his room. The air is cooling as the sky gets ready for night and sun prepares for a new day. Today was... chaotic and crammed with emotions. I doubt I'm going to forget this day even if I try... maybe tomorrow will be dull, hopefully it'll be calm...
It won't be... will it?