"Ah, I'm sorry."
His voice was like the sound of the harmonica, odd melodies that magically graced the ears, you'd never realize it was true music until you'd see them playing the instrument itself. The sounds that air can generate with nothing but a single breath; just at the thought of it, it sent chills down her spine. Or maybe it was his voice, how soothing it was. Maybe, deep down, it reminded her of a lost memory kept locked behind an invulnerable vault. They say that peering into the eyes of another is like a vast gateway, a silent portal, and a quiet communication between the hearts of the onlookers to guess what the other was pondering. If that were true, then… June wouldn't have understood any of the thoughts this man had possibly been experiencing, for she was smitten as if gazing into the mind's eye of the universe itself.
Maybe it was because the coloration was picked from the cooler palette, being purple, or rather, a mixture between blue and violet to make that unique shape; a color akin to purple, but brighter.
"Uh, are you okay? This is kinda a weird place to be spacing out," Commented the young man, hair tied up into a ponytail, sending June to snap back to reality at the mention of her current whereabouts.
'That hairstyle…' While the man she was referencing had a different hairstyle, she couldn't help but remember his white eyes, that smug smirk of his.
Even if he would show the malice in his heart to those higher-ups at ANZEN, she could only remember the good parts. When he helped with homework, having her back battling monsters in the Remnant World. The memories of Alexander Amara, the man she was lucky to call her mentor, had abruptly interrupted her reply with a stutter,
"I-I… yeah, I'm fine. It's just- you remind me of someone.
Might I ask y-your name?"
June could recognize his face right away, while she was plain white, he was a dark-skinned male. Wearing a black tank top, sweatpants with white lines leading down to the sides of feet, all this in tandem with the brown hair stated earlier and his purple eyes… The final piece of the puzzle was none other than the cadence of this fine man to give him a proper greeting.
"Darrell Jefferson. Nice to meet you. I might assume you're the sister of Ace Wilder?" Asked the older male, wrapping a warm-wet towel around his nape with a throw from his arms, looking down to the shorter female, eyes shaking at the mention of her big brother.
"I take the silence as an affirmation of my suspicions," Stated Jefferson, looking off at the distance through the window to his front, spotting a Griffin leading a carriage just flapping its wings past to vanish behind the clouds; spring's sun shining onto the beast's fur, flowing casually with the spring's chilled air.
Shaking her head at the resurfacing memories she was victim to, June's breaths, expected to be shaky and unsteady, had remained calm. Her chest rose and fell in tandem with a calm aura surrounding her soul; luckily, thanks to the training honed to the absolute limit, even now, she didn't block anything out. Her eyes stood wide open, showing off that emerald palette to display for the new man to see… though the mention of her beloved brother had weakened her to the possibilities of torture he was enduring- there was one thing she could never unleash.
'Don't show weakness. Suffer in silence.'
Had the man she just met truly been so cruel? Then again, it was simply a query, nothing but basic human curiosity needed to be satiated. Waving away the weighing suspicions that plagued her being like cancer, she stepped forward, tying her arms behind her back, looking up to the muscular man, Darrell upturned a brow at the girl's innocent, almost child-like posture. His head turned away, directing his ear to her, Wilder couldn't help but audibly hum, her curiosity besting reasonable instincts to maintain his right to privacy.
Just play along, she thought, Reply to what he said.
"I am indeed the younger sister of Ace Wilder, but I don't associate myself with only my brother, I'm my person, thank you very much. For instance, don't you know little dear ol' me's name?" June teased, poking at his chest, a hand to her stomach pushed her away ever so gently, leaving her stricken with confusion as if a thunderbolt struck her out the blue.
"Eh?"
"June Wilder. I know your name, don't assume I don't just because I heard of your brother's case," Jefferson piled the weights he'd bought into the duffel bag, throwing it over his shoulder, tightening the strap with a hearty pull, he turned to face down at her yet again, "It's truly tragic; I heard it was an accident- that he was trying to capture the infamous Deck, but his powers got outta control. I hope you guys work things out. Nice meeting you, Miss Wilder."
Jefferson escorted himself out through the widened entrance, ignoring the grunts of others honing their bodies, facing forward, wiping the sweat from his forehead, and instinctively rubbing at his eyes with the tips of his fingers. Just mere millimeters away from his soles touching the carpet so the doors would mechanically open, his arm was touched by a familiar presence. Turning his head, there she was… the oddest thing about this was how her face reacted. As of right now, despite pulling on his arm, there remained no visible sources of strain over her face, no veins protruding out from within her face.
'Hmm..'
"I have a request for you. We just met and all, but I don't think it's fair you get to know everything about me but I don't know anythin' about chu. So… how would you like to go on a- uh… can we call it a 'date?'" June retracted her grip on the older man, scratching at her chin at the question she'd proposed leaving Jefferson to look curiously at her confused features,
"I don't do 'dates,' especially not with teenagers. I'm triple your age, kid, find someone else to fuck around with," His booming voice demanded, swatting her away, making her way to the doors, one hand in a pocket and the other holding the bag with one strap over one shoulder.
"That's not what I meant! Just come out with me, please! Be like a mentor or something… I… I need new friends…"
June had now spread her arms and legs out in the front entrance to the gym, garnering the silent glares of receptionists behind desks and murmurs from seated bystanders. Usually, when a younger girl begged an idler man for something like this, it didn't spell out good things for the general public. It seemed that June was unaware of this, for Darrell's face was entirely covered at this point thanks to the embarrassing scene caused by Wilder blocking the exit for him. Despite the obvious display of attention unwarranted, it was clear she was desperate, if not for anything sexual, then at least for a decent platonic connection with someone. However, he couldn't help but wonder if someone his age were the proper fit for a 'friend' for her. Well, his age… and among other things, too.
"Listen- if you're that desperate, then go to this address," Jefferson pulled out a pen from his pocket, yanking her over by her wrist and scribbling on her palm, "I'll be there by 9 pm. Now bye."
Finally, he pushed her aside, clicking the butt of the pen and letting it sink into the smooth fabric of his sweats attached to his legs, carefully exhaling. June just watched his back, not paying any mind to the scribbles of instruction that laid flat on her hand, squinting her skin over her eyes so she could harness the power of Eternal Sight around Jefferson's soul.
'Well, he's not a hybrid. But I feel like that's obvious… There's something about him I can't explain. An aura I've felt somewhere before, neither malevolent nor benevolent. I wonder..'
At least she'd gotten what she'd wanted; finally, she'd met someone who thanks to this hobby, in turn, she couldn't help but think of Kima's advice for her. The desire to be individually capable without the help of others pushing you forward. Was this that? Or maybe she was alone- but even that, she couldn't help but damn that, for she was her person. She didn't need any man, woman, she was herself and that was all she could ever want. Then again, if that were the truth, why did she ask him to 'go out?' Was it a simple desire to find new people to be surrounded by or her weakness tying her down to rely on others' strength?
All of these contradictions, inconsistencies in the way she thought and perceived herself. She seemed to misunderstand one thing, and that was solely her age, for she was emotionally immature to figure it out on her own. Maybe that was why she asked to meet with him somewhere else? If it were a woman of the same age, maybe she'd ask the same thing. Maybe… someone else could tell her-
What she was feeling right now.
The address she was given was a privately-owned gym located in the Capital's industrial district, a small building nestled into a street's corner, just squinting, she could spot the building where Kima resided some ways off in the distance. Peering through the window releasing a yellow light, Myers could be seen writing at a desk with glasses over her purple eyes, earbuds blocking any external noise to prevent possible intrusions.
"I love these eyes," June commented aloud like an impressed kid, prideful of her skills with an excited giggle… before turning her head to spot him exiting from the shadows,
"I noticed them, too. Those are artifacts, aren't they? You from Riverton?" Jefferson asked with one hand in the pocket of his pants, the other holding a paper bag with a yellow M engraved on the front,
"Yeah. I assume you are, too?" June's question was met with a nod from her newfound acquaintance.
The paper bag riddled with visible stains was placed between the two, Jefferson allowed his legs to dangle just over the edge. Blue-violet eyes reflecting the madness of the sprawling metropolis, Jeff's breath invisible to the world around him, his fingers magically took apart the wrapper hiding the burger from view.
"I can't tell which is a better place to be. Riverton's like a concentration camp, they handpick the individuals who show the most potential and experiment on them for the Founder's selfish gain. And here- they just… I don't know how to describe it- the justice system is kinda…" Jefferson took a bite at the front of his cheeseburger to further interrupt what he was planning on stating.
"The basis of innocence until proven guilty doesn't exist. I know my brother did the things he did, there's evidence to prove it, but… I can't help but feel like they just wanted to imprison him because his power posed a threat to the invisible higher-ups of this world. It's so irritating. I never even got the chance to fight for him," June unleashed an exhalation at the mention of the justice system, her brother's innocence, there was no debate for while he was guilty… she couldn't escape the fact that she could've done more to avoid the way things turned out, "I just hope he's okay wherever he is now. His ex told me that I shouldn't worry about him, that I should focus on myself- that I don't need anybody. That's why I started exercising; to feel better about myself mostly emotionally."
"Not physically?" Darrell inquired further, simply turning his head to the side, taking a quick bite out the side of the burger, the younger girl of the two shakings her head at the mention of her emotional state.
"I was already getting there when I started working out; I worked alongside my brother to find the Jester's Deck," June scratched her nails against her nape then gently exhaled, to which Jefferson couldn't help but turn his head at the mention of her brother's ex and the words spoken to the white-haired teen.
"I'm not gonna question why you're talking to your brother's ex, to begin with, but I disagree with what she said. What with that you shouldn't worry about him- that you should only focus on yourself. I think that advice is more for an adult who works every day and meets tons of people, or rather who has a lot of family members that compensate for a lack of friendly contact. But, you're a youth, a teenager who should be in high school… not to mention humans are social creatures. Tell me, June, why did you take her advice when you love your brother more than anything in the world?"
She couldn't help but flutter her eyes at the mention of her contradicting feelings, like a bottomless well-absorbing advisor regarded as useless, the memory of Kima's words faded to nothing but ash. A distant recollection damned the world's abyss, claiming to be forever lost, June chuckled at the way she was before. Those words she thought as she first left the gym maybe a week or so ago… maybe now, with the guidance of someone else- someone more experienced with the way the world worked, she could change into what she truly desired.
"I want to change. I want to be a… capable individual."
Jefferson wrapped his burger up, placing it back into the brown paper bag, he poked at the fries she was holding so tightly, leading Wilder to meet his eyes and then spot the salty sticks stuck into the crimson-red container. Her nod wasn't immediate, more with a solemn tone as it rose and fell, guiding one of the fries just between her lips.
"What do you mean you want to be 'capable'? Like, you wanna be stronger emotionally?" Jefferson's voice could be titled equivalent to that of a mermaid's singing reverberating out from the trenches of the sea, so calming to the nerves, sending just the right enough of chills down your spine to be eager of what he'd say next.
"I-I guess… but when I said that thing about receiving emotional betterment, I did say 'mostly emotionally.' I…
I want to be needed by someone. I don't want anyone to leave anymore, I just wish everything would turn back the way it was in August when we were all together… I want someone to show me that it's still worth living. I just want to be worth something to someone."
In another time, where Kima's penthouse had resided, her fingers tapping away at a black keyboard, the white screen shining onto her pale face… until she heard the sound of someone's voice. Someone familiar.
"And here I thought you'd fled outta fear," It seemed the time has come to face the demon itself, for her fingers were drawn to the computer to close the screen… Myers looked directly ahead to spot her feminine figure awaiting there in front of the door, wielding her father's Blackened Blade in hand, "You stupid bitch."
To Be Continued.