Ishi wacked me with her bamboo pole harder than necessary, knocking all the wind out of me and causing me to double over.
I was panting, "Ishi, give me a minute. Please."
"What's wrong with you today? Your mind isn't here." She said as she lightly hit me with her pole.
"Sorry, had a long night. Lots to think about." In fact, the only thought on my mind was going to see Marshall and Dania later.
"Oh did you now? What weird tests did my sister put you though, haha." She laughed a little sinisterly at the end.
"She made me drink poison to tell if my vitality had improved." I said, finally standing up straight.
Ishi looked as if she already knew the outcome, her mood seemed to darken. "So you are moving out then?"
She must mean out of Isola's house. She's probably worried about her sister living all alone again.
"Not exactly." I replied, "I have to stay with Isola when she's running tests. I don't know how often that will be." I tried to find a diplomatic answer since Ishi seemed like she didn't want me to leave her sister's house.
"Hmmm I have a feeling she will be running lots of tests on you. Isola loves a mystery and can't help but poke at them." She said, poking me with her pole for emphasis.
I secretly hoped that she wouldn't need to run any tests for a while, but Ishi might have a point. Isola does love to prod. I decided to just shrug in response.
Ishi did not seem to be a in good mood today, she went back to venting her anger on me during sparring practice and we never got to talk about transformation stuff. I dragged my lifeless body to the showers to clean up and change before going to see Marshall.
I did my best to make my hair look nice, and I was wearing the pants Isola gave me, which were very comfortable. I bought a top from one of the stalls in the market the other day which is like a cropped tank top with gold decorations hanging from it. Once I felt presentable I walked out of the showers with my bag and went off towards the hut where Dania and Marshall are staying.
On my way there I bumped into Ishi, who seemed to be coming from Isola's place. She looked me over disapprovingly.
"Oh, hi, Ishi. Did you see Isola?" I asked, trying to be polite.
"Yeah. She said that you should just stay at her place by the way. I was right, she's planning to use you as her pincushion for a while yet." She said, crossing her arms and sounding authoritative.
"Ah…" I said, thinking. Ishi never leaves room for compromise and her countenance tells me that she is unhappy at the thought of her sister being alone again. "That's understandable. That is why I'm here, after all." I added a smile at the end.
Ishi just grunted, looked me over one more time, and stormed off. She is so hard to read. One minute it's like we are friends, and the next she is back to hating me. I just shrugged and headed off to see Marshall and Dania. I can finally have a good meal!
*. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *
I heard a slap and yelp as I pushed the door open.
"I said no more!!! We are saving some for YOUR mate!" Dania yelled at Marshall.
Marshall sat by the table looking pitiful and licking the back of his hand which was bright red from being slapped. In the middle of the table were steamed buns which smelled heavenly. Around those were grilled meat, veggie skewers, and a large pitcher of juice.
"Am I interrupting something?" I said with humor as I walked in and closed the door, dropping my bag on the floor.
"Mika!!!" they called in unison
Marshall jumped up and ran towards me, but Dania was faster and got there first. She gave me a big hug and stuck her tongue out at Marshall, taunting him. We laughed and embraced before she finally gave him permission to hug me as well.
It was like coming home after being away for a long time. I stepped over to embrace Marshall and was enveloped by his scent, strong and alluring. I could feel his heart beating in sync with mine, our emotions and thoughts melting together though the mind link. We were thinking and feeling the same things; how we missed each other so much, and how happy we are to be reunited (again).
Dania and Marshall were like siblings now and it was hilarious to watch. She was always chastising him when he did something wrong and they bickered back and forth a bit. She was so happy to have me home that she wouldn't stop talking. During dinner Marshall held my hand under the table.
Finally they asked about how things have been going for me. I told them about how Ishi has trained me to improve my vitality though these maneuvers. I told them about how she beats me every day in training but that I feel like I'm getting stronger (which is lie since I actually feel like I'm running in place and will never catch up to Ishi).
I told them that by the end of the week, if I keep working hard, Isola can help me transform.
I thought to myself that It's bittersweet, since finally being able to transform, and master the transformation, is the last step of our journey. After that, Marshall and I will go home and live happily ever after. Dania will probably go off looking for other chipmunks too.
We will be separated again, but I couldn't ask Dania to stay. And we wont see Ishi and Isola again, because once I'm no longer Isola's patient we won't be allowed in the city. These thoughts soured my mood.
Thankfully Marshall and Dania were bickering about something and didn't even notice my change in mood. I quickly recovered and finished telling them the last of my story.
"Anyways, Isola is asking that I stay with her since she will need to do more tests. So I can't stay here overnight, but I can still come over every day for dinner and to see you guys."
"What? That sucks! And just when I thought we got you back for good!" Dania whined.
Marshall looked sad and pouted, mumbling, "But I wanted to sleep with you tonight…"
I smiled and said, "awwww, You guys make me feel so loved."
Dania looked appalled, "Of course you are loved, silly girl! You are family now." She walked over and gave me a side hug.
"My family too." Marshall said as he came over and hugged me from the other side.
Tears glistened in the corners of my eyes. For the first time in my life I feel like part of a loving family. This must be what it feels like to come home to love rather than fear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ISOLA POV:
I grumbled to myself as I prepared a pile of excuses. Ishi busted in here earlier feigning concern about Mira and basically telling me to 'run tests' on her every night. She clearly has no idea what I do here. 'Run tests' she says. Ha! Like I just have an endless stream of ingredients and a magic Time Machine to prepare all these 'tests.'
Ishi wouldn't let it rest. She refused to listen and in the end I agreed to keep Mira here and check on her every night. I have no idea what kind of 'tests' I can reasonably put her through, however. I shuffled through my pile of papers and nodded to myself, mentally agreeing that it could sound reasonable.
As long as the drink tastes awful, Mira will think it's medicine. It won't do any physical harm to her either, which is a plus. I just hate lying about this kind of stuff, but I get the feeling that Ishi wants to keep Mira here as long as she can. Even though she's my sister she can be hard to read. My current hypotheses are that either Ishi sees potential in Mira as a warrior and wants to continue training her, or that she has feelings for Mira and wants to monopolize her. Based on how badly she beats Mira during her training, I am leaning towards my first hypothesis.
Here's hoping that Mira doesn't ask too many questions. I sighed to myself.
Finally, as if on cue, Mira came back.
I had just finished making the 'potion' which was actually some herbs steeped in water for a couple hours, making it extra bitter.
"Welcome back." I said to her as she came in and put her stuff down.
"Thanks." She said back, with a listless smile.
A pang of guilt hit me and I said, "Sorry you couldn't stay with your friends."
"No, it's okay. I understand." She said, giving me a smile. "I'm here to get better."
My guilty conscience pricked at the back of mind as I grabbed the cup of 'medicine' I prepared. "Here, drink this. I'll be giving you one every night until we perform the transformation. It will help prepare your body." I said, purposely being vague.
Thankfully Mira didn't pry for more information, like the usually does. She seemed to be distracted by her thoughts. I went back to my study and buried my head in the books, hoping to distract myself again.
They will be back any day now.