As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm orange glow across the sky, Zazm opened the front door to his house and behind him Jahanox followed inside, their footsteps echoing on the floor of the empty house as they made their way to his room.
The excitement from their earlier conversation about the threads still lingered in the air, but Jahanox's expression was clouded with frustration and sadness about the cat from earlier.
Zazm seemed to notice this, he pointed at the corner of the room, "Go and sit there." Jahanox looked at Zazm in confusion but decided not to say anything.
He simply went and sat there crosslegged, "Now what?"
Zazm stared at him blankly for a while, before he finally broke the awkward silence between them.
"Try to use your mark. Just close your eyes and try to think about using it." Zazm spoke in an excited tone but Jahanox didn't understand it, he tilted his head in confusion and asked Zazm .
"Think about using what? I can't see threads like you, so what am I suppose to imagine?"
Zazm put a hand on his forehead, "The marks, they feel somewhat alive, don't they?"
Jahanox nodded at his words and Zazm continued, "It feels like there is an energy coming out of them. I want you to focus on that energy and try to bring it out or something."
"Bring out energy or something.... Yeah that's not helping, Zazm" Jahanox spoke in an irritated and confused tone.
"Nox... Listen just do it, you'll understand what I mean." Zazm let out a sigh and sat down on a chair.
"Here goes nothing" Jahanox closed his eyes, his entire body suddenly felt extremely hot, his mind went blank, the world around him fading into a blur.
He focused on his mark, intricate lines etched into his skin and tried to clear his mind. Time seemed to have stop flowing, the sounds of the outside world muffled by the weight of his concentration.
Second turned into minutes, and the silence in the room grew heavier. Jahanox felt a flicker of frustration creeping in. He opened his eyes after what felt like an eternity, disappointment washing over him like a cold wave.
"Nothing happened," he said his voice barely above a whisper and frustration eminent in it.
He was frustrated until he look up and saw his friend sitting on a chair, his eyes were widened from shock, the excitement of earlier was nowhere to be seen.
"Zazm?" Jahanox called Zazm out, who seemed to have been lost in his thoughts. Zazm quickly regained his wits and looked at, Jahanox who leaned against the wall, his eyes filled with disappointment.
"Y--yes?" Zazm looked at him and spoke in a hurried way.
Jahanox waved his hand Infront of him dismiing him from his thoughts, "I said nothing happened, I tried everything I could think of. Yes, I felt the energy but that was all.... Nothing else."
"Ah..." Zazm breathed, a low chuckle escaping from his mouth, his lips curled into a slow smile, a chilling contrast with his eyes that were now glowing with excitement and shock.
"Is that really what you think?" He leaned back on his chair his smile widening as he asked his friend.
Jahanox felt a sudden chill run down his spine, Zazm was looking at him like he was some kind of rat in an experiment laboratory.
"Oi? I'm not some lab rat" Jahanox spoke covering his face with his hands.
Zazm seemed to realize what he has done, "Oh I-im sorry.... I got a little too excited." He put a hand on his forehead and started massaging his temples.
Jahanox put his hand through his hair, he looked at Zazm, who was once again lost in thought. He decided to bring him back to the world,
"Your expression tells me, you are more than satisfied with the results. So, mind telling me what happened?"
Zazm shrugged with with casual carefree attitude before he said, "I don't know?"
A vein popped on Jahanox's forehead, he gave Zazm a death stare. Zazm felt goosebumps through his skin. He raised his hands, imploring Jahanox to calm down.
"It's not that, I don't want to tell you. It's more like I can't put what I saw into words. You remember I told you, our threads were extremely unstable?
When you started to draw out energy from your mark, your threads became extremely vibrant and golden hue appeared in them. It was the first time, I saw a colour in the threads.
And.... I think I may have a way to confirm what your mark is related to."
Jahanox raised a eyebrow, scepticism etched in his face. "Really? You think you can read my powers just by looking at these threads?"
Zazm simply nodded at his words, Jahanox wasn't convinced, he looked at Zazm with a gaze that clearly said 'Now you are feeding me bullshit'
Zazm let out a sigh, "Threads... I don't understand them myself but I'm sure about one thing and that is they are connected to every living being they flow out of.
During class, I focused on everyone, aswell as teachers and I realized everyone's threads move differently from one another. It's like the same principal for everyone having different fingerprints.
Up until this morning the threads were extremely vague but the more I focus on them, the more they seem to open up to me like they have their own will.
The reason I was so surprised was because, I saw a colour in your threads, they glowed slightly golden at first but their colour got dimmer as the time passed."
Jahanox was listening to it all, it was a little hard to imagine it all but he got the jist of it. He raised his hand using it as a support to lean against.
"And? What does it mean? Golden colour and then it became dim?" His tone filled with curiosity. Zazm nodded and continued,
"I think the threads are also connected to our emotions, at first you were extremely excited to discover something but as the time passed you were disappointed because nothing happened.
And that's when the bright colour started getting dimmer. What I'm saying is that the more I look into the threads the more I understand them. So, just give me sometimes, I'll experiment with different methods."
Jahanox got up from the ground and jumped onto the sofa, "Yeah! Well... What else can we do. Anyways now that you can see the colours, can't you pretty much read how a person is feeling?" Jahanox looked a little concerned now.
Zazm slightly tilted his head at his words, "No, I can't see the colours not unless I absolutely focus on the threads like I did and, I started seeing the colours of your threads a minute or two before you got up."
Jahanox looked confused here, he suddenly got up and looked at Zazm, "What do you mean? Are you telling me you can only see the colours when you absolutely focused on the threads for a certain period of time?"
"Bingo!" Zazm exclaimed. "So I can't read the emotions of others. Atleast, not yet."
"I mean you can do it with focus, so it's not like you can't do it...hahah" Jahanox let out a dry laugh.
"You want me to stare at someone for several minutes like a weirdo?" Zazm glanced at Jahanox his gaze asking for the answers he now owe him.
Jahanox simply shrugged his hands, "What's wrong with that?"
Zazm raised a brow and started to count something on his fingers, "Starting at a boy for too long will make him think, I'm looking for a fight.
Staring a girl for too long.... No! Even simply staring at a girl could make my face get another mark.
Staring at old people or kids will take me to a trip to jail."
Jahanox innocently looked at his friend, "You already get into fights alot. So, nothing new in that.
You should be happy a girl will slap you and we all know Jail is just a room."
"You see unlike you, I'm not so desperate that a hit will make me happy. Unlike a certain someone, I'm popular with girls. Oh and...." Zazm looked at Jahanox with a menacing smile before continuing
"If you don't stop now your threads might start fluctuating."
"Fine fine. Now getting back to the point, how long do you think will take you to do all this stuff?" Jahanox's question made the air between them thick with silence.
Zazm stayed quite and finally looked at Jahanox, "Atleast a month.... I will have to look closely at threads and by that I mean extremely closely."
Jahanox got up from his place and picked up his bag, "Well you know we have exams in 3 months. I'm afraid, I won't be able to help you. I have to focus on my exams." His voice was stern and serious.
"Prioritizing studying over everything that's just like you but don't worry, I'll experiment on my own threads and I will also be busy because, I have to study and research them." Zazm spoke in a soft tone.
"Very well.... Then that's that..... Let's play superpower superpower after exams... See ya" Jahanox tone was playful as he waved his hand to Zazm.
"Alright see ya.."
With this the two friends went their own ways for a little while. With Zazm fully focused on his newly found threads and Jahanox prioritizing his studying and grades over everything else.
______________________