Alesha bit her lip. Her sister was probably the person she could trust the most to keep this a secret. Layla had always clashed with her parents, so she could be counted on to keep it from them, and since she was already confiding in her about secrets that the Alliance cared enough about to pass a law to keep them hidden, clearly she saw Alesha as someone deserving of her trust. That trust made Alesha feel like she owed her sister the truth.
She decided to take the leap.
"Well, ye--"
What? She couldn't get the words out.
"Ye--, That isn'--"
Seriously, what was happening?! System?!
[You are not allowed to divulge my existence.]
But she's my sister! She won't tell anyone, I can trust her! Alesha felt desperate. Just as she was about to confide in someone who she could trust, was she about to discover she didn't have a choice to begin with?!
[You are not allowed to divulge my existence.]
Alesha felt like crying. The lonely existence that all protagonists in those web comics and novels were consigned to, she wasn't exempt from it? She could accept keeping this from her parents since they would most likely, in well-intentioned but misguided efforts, effectively hand her to the government on a silver platter, but if she couldn't tell her sister… if the System was going to physically inhibit her from confiding in her sister, then that meant she couldn't tell her friends, either. Who had hopefully not been in town when the Attack occurred. This line of thinking suddenly overwhelmed her and she felt incredibly alone.
[You will always have me!]
"Shut up, you stupid System," she aggressively thought in its direction. "You're no emotional support at all."
During this internal exchange, Layla simply watched in concern. "Are you alright, Alesha? … Something else changed, didn't it? Do you need to go to the doctor?"
Alesha snapped to attention, brushing her hair out of her face with one hand. "No, I'm fine. Nothing else changed, just my eyes, I'm alright." The words felt like poison as they left her lips. Alesha had always been an honest person, too honest in some people's opinions. Though those opinions were probably formed due to the times when she was honest to the point where it lacked social tact.
Layla didn't buy it. After explaining to her sister about the fire's bizarre effects, Layla hadn't missed how reflexive and unintentional Alesha's response about having caught fire was. Alesha was trusting and honest. This often meant she was easy to read. Thinking back, Layla realized that Alesha had been pretty fixated upon the fire's effects. She hadn't cared much at all about the creatures that attacked the other cities or asked if other streams had shown a better view of the fire-breathing creature (which they had, to a minor degree). All of this together led her to the conclusion that, for whatever reason, Alesha was hiding something. She felt disappointed that her sister didn't feel that she could trust her, but what could she do? Maybe there was more going on than met the eye.
"Alright, Alesha, just remember that I'm here for you. I still think the fire did more than just your eyes but I won't press you on it. When you want to tell me, I'll be ready."
This tore at Alesha's heart. She wanted to tell her sister, she really did. But this damn System could apparently physically stop her from doing so. Still, the sentiment warmed her. "Thanks, Layla," she said with a smile, crawling across the bed and wrapping her in a hug.
Releasing her, Alesha sat back and rested her weight on her hands.
"So…" Layla ventured, "I guess I knew more about the Faxton Tragedy than you did, haha."
"Yeah," Alesha said with a chuckle, "I guess you did."
"Do you know what you're going to do now?"
Alesha looked up at the ceiling, letting her head flop back. "No, not really. My university was pretty small, and it was in Faxton, so it's kinda just… gone now, isn't it?"
Layla watched her sister sympathetically. "Yeah, it's totally gone. There were only 15 survivors of the Faxton Tragedy, and you were the first one to wake up."
When Alesha gave her a funny look, Layla asked, "What?"
"There were 37 survivors, Layla. I was told there were 37 survivors."
Layla's eyes shot wide at this. "... What?!"