Nina's hair was sprawled out onto her pillow, her neck was sweaty and it felt as if she had woken up in a bath tub, head to toe with a sticky wet feeling. But she was only in her bed, with the sun dancing on her face and resting on her fingertips and everywhere else. Reaching for her hair, moving in out the crevices of her neck she noticed the open window. She barely ever opens the window in her room because bugs gravitated inside were the higher lights burned brighter.
She realized she was put into bed, it was neither a choice or an action she choose. Getting up, she looked over her slightly broken balcony to see Maven, sitting down on her rug, reading.
"Good morning," she called out. Maven lifting his head to see Nina's hair dangling over her shoulder as she looked down at him.
"Good afternoon you mean?"
"Noon?" Nina straightened her back to look at the old clock that balanced on her desk, it was in fact past noon, three twenty nine to be exact.
"What happened?" She looked down back at the boy.
"You don't remember?"
She shook her head.
"We swam until midnight I think, you were so tired and angry I had to carry you back home."
"Did I fuss?"
"No, but you were hungry which did cause you to rise out of the bed a few times."
She wanted to laugh, but when she didn't remember anything within that span of a few hours, she worried whether her mouth and her brain stayed connected. She would hope that Maven knew nothing she didn't want him to know.
The stairs still made the same squeaky sound when her small feet made it down to greet Maven, but his eyes did not meet her but remained glued to the book.
While putting up her hair, she looked past his shoulder. "What are you reading."
"Something I found in the shelf, if you don't mind."
"Its fine, I never read those books. What is it about?"
"About Ciron, and how the country developed."
She sneered, "when have you ever been into geography?"
"I'm not, but in Norta, Ciron was considered a dead country since most of it was uninhabitable land, so I never learned about the place."
"Does it interest you?"
He looked up at her, "Its mostly about the reign there and their folklore."
"Folklore, like witches and ghost." She sat down, crossing her legs next to him, easing her way to get a closer look of the picture that was presented next to the text.
"That's not folklore." He turned to her and smiled at her surprisingly dumb words. "More fake stories that have some meaning behind them. Like desert demons or spirits."
"I can't imagine living in the desert, so hot and no trees."
"Have you've been."
As getting up to make her ritual tea, she scoffed, "I've never made it past Norta. All I've seen is snow and humidity." She turned back at the scholar, "Have you?"
"No, but I feel like I would like it."
She smiled, and she barley smiled. Maven was really growing on her, in a way she was hoping wouldn't happen. But every laugh, every smile, every hand on shoulder put her stomach in a twist and made her pale skin blush. And as well as she held her emotions in, she slightly hoped he would take notice, even though it would be a sin against her younger self.
The warmth of the water boiled slowly and remained the only sound in the house until she jumped from the sound of Maven closing his book.
"So, what do you do on a Friday?"
"You've been here for about a month and a half now, I think you know what happens on a Friday."
"Yes, you leave." His voice caught her off guard, she chewed on her mouth, hoping it could distract her from the next question he was destined to ask.
"May I come?"
If it were anyone else, she would say no, but his voice reminded her of a child with desperate intentions, if she looked at him, his eyes were guide her to a yes in seconds. Resting her hands on the kitchen cabinet, her knuckles turned and dug deep into the counter top.
"Why?" Her eyes remained lowered to his shirt rather than his eyes. He was standing close to her, which made her heart louder in her ears and neck. He smelt of fresh pines and sweet plums which, deep in her thoughts, wondered how he taste.
"Because, to be honest, I'm bored."
"I've taken you to town already."
"Yes, but remained quiet about me."
She finally looked up, "You know why."
He bite his lip in protest. As if the fire was burning, the room began to sweat, heat poured in the room even though it was bitter outside. She finally realized it was Maven, turning the room into a melting pot.
"Maven?" Her voice remaining like a mothers. When his eyes still glared and his lip still tucked, she said it again.
"Maven!"
She couldn't tell or didn't think to reach in his head but if she had, she find bits and broken pieces of Elara's voice screaming at him. As if pieces of glass was scratching and stabbing at his conscious thoughts.
Why aren't you in Norta you fool
Idiot
Coward
Go back
Fight
Burn it down
Take it Back!
"Shut Up!" He blurted throwing back Nina a few steps in terror.
She had finally realized that some of the strings that she snipped in his head remained intact, and Elara was breaking him into the monster he used to be.
"Maven, here I can help." She reached for his temples but before her fingertips could reach Maven's hand caught her wrist and began searing her skin off like meat.
She gritted in pain but she did not scream. Tears filled her eyes and she tried to pull away. "Maven, let go, Maven!"
His eyes looked blank as if he was not looking at her, but his mother.
She stared back, and for maybe twenty seconds ignored the pain. Focusing on her gift, he reached into his mind and fought Elara's harmful voice. It seemed to work as his hands were slipping from his hard grip and she finally pulled away and fell to her knees.
She clutched her burned wrist and let the tears flow down her cheeks without making a noise. Maven eyes were back to life as the blue began to swim with life and realization.
His heart almost broke, seeing the small girl hug herself from the pain, hair covering her face and tears.
"Nina!"
Crouching down he took her wrist and saw the burn and blisters, immediately realizing it was his hand that caused her so much pain.
"I'm sorry, I didn't... I didn't mean to-"
"I know."
Her voice sounded in defeat and rubbed her burn. She looked up like a child, tears soaking into her cheeks. It was a cold and quiet noise that stood between them as they both kneeled on the dirty floor in broken feels.
She bite her tongue from wincing every time she touched a sensitive part of her wrist were the blood still burned.
Maven felt her pain as she shivered from fear and felt he had to do something, and if it were him he would want a hug. Slowly, he pulled her to his chest and wrapped her fragile body underneath his.
He didn't hear any crying but knew she was broken, and knew why.
He was getting better, had been better, but a sign that Elara was still in his mind, and took control meant her was still not himself, for the monster had not been dead but only healing.
It was a bearable moment of silence as Nina rested with her tea and Maven went back to reading. She began to ask to read aloud for her and Maven voice was shaky from the incident but broke through the thought as he watched Nina smile slightly with the tea in her hand.
"Ciron has been known to hold spiritual animals to there people, as the people who lived there before colonization related there old and new spirts to the animals that walked among them."
"That's interesting, what do you reckon is my animals?"
"I don't know, maybe a swan."
She laughed quietly, "those long neck geese?"
"Huh, no... what about me."
"Oh, easy. A wolf, a lone wolf."
"Don't lone wolves normally die off because there originally pack animals?"
"Not you. You can thrive with your wits rather than your brawns."
He thought about it, how many looked to his smarts rather than his powers.
"And not to mention, they are beautiful animals."
His heart rose like the blood in his cheeks, becoming a white smooth haze that Nina took notice.
"Have you ever gotten a tattoo?"
"Odd question?"
"Well, I'm sure you've seen my back before, the sssnake." She said, spitting her tongue out like the animal. He assumed by now, it wasn't only tea in her cup.
"I've never thought of getting one."
"Would you like one." She through her blanket off her bare legs and went over to the closet that held jackets, candles and other random stuff to pull out a box with black bottles and needles. He hadn't even said yes and she was determined to scar his skin. The thought made him itch his wrist.
Her wrist was already covered in white bandages.
She moved her hands, placing the ink, needles, alcohol and other stuff on the table in front of him.
"I guess I'm getting one then."
"It was a given."
He watched as her burned wrist moved swiftly arranging everything.
"Is there something you want in particular, a place?"
"I don't know you choose."
Maven turned to her and sat in front of her on the couch. Her eyes glided over his body which gave him an almost exposed feeling.
"How about the back of your neck?"
"My neck?"
"It won't hurt?" She lied.
He hesitated but turned around. She smiled and smoothed her fingers through his neck, lifting his curls. He shuddered from the contact. She was aware of it too. One prick of the needle sent him off guard and he twitched from the pain.
He had remebered what she was putting in her tea and thought again about the idea, but he didn't want to pull back.
"Sorry, just relax."
And as the words drifted into his ears, every nerve in his body turned to liquid, and felt nothing. As if the sense was no longer, his other senses bloomed like flowers. He heard the ink sink into his skin like water going down a drain, and focused on Nina's breathing, smooth and never coming off it pattern.
His eyes focused on the blanket that draped amongst the couch, patterns and shaped covering it completely and how much the wood smelt like home, a home he had never been to in his youths.
"Done."
"Done?"
"Yes. I'll grab a mirror."
Before he could touch his open inked wound, Nina warned him to leave it alone.
He grabbed the mirror and another one Nina held. He shifted the handle until he could see the wolf. It was wolf howling, a simple drawing that required no depth or detail, just a continuous line that took form of a wolf.
"Do you like it?"
He stayed staring, causing Nina to worry and put down her mirror first. Maven turned his body to her and smiled.
"I do."
A smile rose in her cheeks, lips and ears. His head swirled.
She turned to the clock and with an instance her smile faded and instead her lips tucked behind her teeth.
"Is everything ok?"
She looked down and then back up again. "We can leave in an hour."
His eyes screamed with excitement but also fear.
Her head was screaming how bad of an idea it was to bring him along, but she had her mind and other things to numb her feeling. He could numbed as well.