chapitre 6: discord’s start

Shion yawned sleepily, putting a hand to her mouth. She’d been burning her candle at both ends recently, she and Wilhelm had been invited to numerous parties and then of course, it was time for midterms at her college…

Only reason why we’re getting all those invitations now is that they want to grab some of Wilhelm’s press over the dig. She thought. And give the gossip rags something to talk about… She blinked, cricking her neck from side to side in front of her computer. If she could get this paper done, then she’d have more time to practice those mental exercises Wilhelm had told her about. Apparently she was a telepath, able to pick up on people’s thoughts and speak to them mentally.

“You need to develop a set of mental shields to protect your mind. People have a lot of thoughts running through their mind at any given moment and if you hear them all, you’ll go insane. Wilhelm also suspected she might have more skills than just telepathy, but one thing at a time.

I hope he’s safe. Considerably more pragmatic than Wilhelm, Shion had accepted that had feelings for the white-haired man. The hard part was getting them out, every time she tried to say something…another something would come up. She sighed, eyes flicking over to a picture frame, a photo of her and Wilhelm horsing around at a party. He looked so happy…she looked so happy. Ah, screw this; I’m not going to be able to get any of this done. Saving her work and turning away from the computer, she focused her gaze on the pile of books on her bed. As if obeying some unseen command, they slowly started to float up into the air, wobbling a bit before going perfectly still. The brown-haired woman smiled, gently flicking her hand at the pile. One by one, the books floated over to the bookcase, inserting themselves back inside.

I wish I could do something bigger, but he says this is best for me currently. This brought up another series of questions for Shion. Settling down on her bed, she looked up at her ceiling, reaching over for a pillow and wrapping her arms around it. Wilhelm had adjusted to her ‘powers’ all too well for her personal comfort, and over the past months had not shown any qualms about showing off his own to their ‘training’. For the first time in a long time, Shion had felt secure and safe…but now she was feeling uneasy about feeling that way. It seemed like everything was just too good to be true.

Why is it that I keep expecting the other shoe to drop? One slender hand gently ran over the pillow in a back and forth motion. Surely this is just some type of anxiety…

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He’d never felt so alive. The joy he’d been feeling over the past several months…Wilhelm shivered with the intensity of it. Shion was a perfect student in her powers, soaking up everything like a sponge. Their relationship had grown even closer, threatening to go past teacher and student, past friendship. Yet the white-haired man found himself hesitating, how much of it was the result of him substituting himself for the Anti-type?

Contact and Anti-type are created for each other... Just as how Yeshua and Maria were. Wilhelm closed his eyes at the lance of pain that went though him at that thought. Unconsciously he lifted his left hand to his heart, opening his eyes and looking at a red string that had appeared on the wrist.

Watchers only come in pairs. Even now the those words and the cruel voice that had uttered them still had the power to rip at his soul, to make him doubt himself. And how ever since then, he’d been aware of the differences between him, Yeshua and Maria…

How he had no memory.

Or his coloration.

Even his wings… Another shiver racked his frame, and Wilhelm dragged in a deep breath.

Not now. He had his duty. If he could train Shion properly, keep her safe, everything would be alright. It must be the stress of everything causing me to worry so. For Vector had finally obtained permission to dig in Kenya, as he stood there in his home in Japan, Masuda was toiling away underneath the harsh African sun. First Shion, then Vector, then the dig, and Shion again… I’ve got just a bit much on my plate at the moment. Drawing in a deep breath, he lowered his hand. We have training today. I can’t afford to be lax now, not at this point. For the white-haired man was considering telling Shion the truth…about everything. It is only fair after all. If I were in her shoes, I’d be starting to get suspicious that everything was going just a bit too well. Her powers are still unstable; our cover could be blown with one simple mistake or accident. And if that happened, Wilhelm wasn’t very certain of his capability to keep the situation under wraps.

First things first.

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Shion sat up as she heard a gentle knock on her door.

“Yes?”

“It’s Wilhelm. May I come in?” The dark-haired woman quickly put the pillow back, smoothing her hair and outfit.

“Sure!” The door entered and Wilhelm came in…electing to stay near the doorframe.

“Are you busy at the moment?”

“No, not really.” Shion responded. “Um, you know you can come in if you want, you don’t have to stay there.” To this the white-haired man shook his head.

“Oh no. It wouldn’t be proper of me.” Yet he was having a hard time trying to keep his eyes locked on Shion’s own emerald ones. Against the soft blue of the sheets the brunette was a striking contrast-where had these thoughts come from?!

Stop it. Gentlemen don’t think such thoughts. Wilhelm resisted the urge to shake his head. The stress must really be getting to me. “It is time for our training again.” He said. “You’re progressed very well, I am hoping to show and begin you on much more advanced skills today.”

“Have you figured out what my other powers might be yet?” Shion asked, standing up.

“Unfortunately no.” Which was the truth. “It’s turning out to be a much harder puzzle than I thought it would be.” Wilhelm hesitated to call what he, Yeshua, Maria and Shion wielded ‘magic’, that word had such…unpleasant applications with it.

We’re still trying to puzzle out the energies of this planet and we’ve been here for how long now? No, best not to call their skills ‘magic’. “It’s best if we don’t worry about it anyway. With how ill you’ve been recently, I don’t want to aggravate your body past anything it could bear.”

“It was just a little cold, Wilhelm.”

“A little cold that lasted for over a month.” The white-haired man answered. “Your health has been taking a downward spiral recently Shion, and at this stage of your training, you can’t afford to be running on half-power.” An idea came to him as he spoke those words, it would be a good idea for Shion to have something that had some of her own power on her, in case she ever did run out. “Let’s begin, shall we?”

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A frown crossed Maria’s face as she went through a stack of books in Wilhelm’s study.

I’m sure it was here someplace… The dig in Kenya had already produced several artifacts, some of which were tablets inscribed with what appeared to be ancient Aramaic. Wilhelm had been able to get one flown to Japan for her to study, in the hopes that it contained something about their current mission. Where is that…ah! She pulled out a worn journal. Cassandra’s writings…hopefully this will help. Settling down at a desk, she pulled a pad of paper towards her and opened up the journal. Let’s see what I can gleam from this…

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It was quite simply…a joy to see her practice. Hypnotized, Wilhelm watched as Shion went through the motions of the basic Ether spells he’d taught her today, using the planet’s elements as a source of power.

She’s stronger with fire Ethers. That bit of information he tucked away. And she just might be a very good healer-that’s something we have to try out later on.

“That’s enough for now.” He said, stepping forward. Shion frowned.

“Can’t we do just a little bit more?” She pleaded. “It’s so soothing and relaxing…”

“You need to rest.” Wilhelm said sternly. The exercise had brought a flush of color to Shion’s skin; she was all but glowing-clothes damp slightly with sweat and sticking to her slender body. The white-haired man shook his head again, attempting to keep his thoughts from going down that path.

“I don’t want to push it, you’re still recovering. Please, go and relax yourself…I’ll be in shortly.”

“I’m fine! Really!” Shion protested, stepping away and spinning around. “Everything is…” Her skin went pale, and all of a sudden she hit the ground, unconscious. Wilhelm started.

“Shion!” Immediately he was at her side, cradling her in his arms and patting her cheek gently. “Shion?!” The brunette moaned slightly, her green eyes fluttering open.

“…Wha? What happened?”

“You fainted.” Wilhelm said, his voice filled with worry. “Stay still, I’m taking you back inside.”

“No, don’t!” Shion protested. “I’m okay…” She tried to sit up but failed, sagging in the white-haired man’s arms. “…maybe not…”