Chapter 75 – Ferris Wheel

“Did you see that?!” Reyna excitedly called, and pointed toward the performer. He waved his hands, and a flaming lion smoothly jumped through a ring of water hovering in the air. It was so outlandish that it instantly filled the surrounding people with awe, and clapping erupted.

”I saw it, I saw it.” Sylvie smiled, and laughed lightly. Her hand darted forward to swipe a piece of funnel cake off her sister’s plate—only to freeze just shy of tearing off a chunk. The plushie, Vigil, looked up at her with red eyes that seemed to glow in judgement.

What are you looking at, punk? She stuck her tongue out at the stuffed animal, and then broke into another fit of laughter at how childish she was being. It was just a stuffed animal. Not like it actually had thoughts in that fluffy head of its—ah, his. Right, Reyna treated Vigil like treasure, so naturally she would too.

”Oh! Sorry.” Reyna’s ears flattened in distress, and she pushed the plate of funnel cake across the picnic table they’d managed to find. ”If you wanted some, you just had to ask.”

“Thanks.” Sylvie’s shoulder slumped, though she grabbed a piece anyway. It being freely given took the fun out of stealing it from her usually super observant sister.

Reyna went back to watching the performer dance with the flaming lion. She was totally enthralled by the show. Sylvie, on the other hand, remained stuck on the radiant smile on her big sister’s face. It felt like forever since she saw Reyna smile so freely and unguarded. A knot in her chest loosened at the sight.

Reyna’s fluffy ears perked upright as the lion made of fire roared out into the crowd. For the briefest of seconds, she fell back into a guarded posture and narrowed her eyes on the lion. It faded so fast Sylvie almost missed it, and Reyna’s pale-red eyes darted around the crowd. Naturally, that meant their eyes met. “Aha… something wrong?”

”I was just wondering how you haven’t gotten a boyfriend yet.” Sylvie pushed the plate full of funnel cake back across the table. “You’re so pretty.”

”Heh, well…” Reyna scratched at her cheek, and avoided her eyes. Her tail, which had been wagging softly behind her this entire time, stilled ever so slightly. “W-would you want me to find one?”

“I just want you to be happy.” Sometimes it felt like Reyna would jump off a cliff if she asked her to. She’d smile, say everything would be fine, then slip off like nothing happened. It was part of the reason Sylvie’s heart did summersaults of panic everytime her big sister was around. 

“I’m happiest when I’m with you.” Reyna grabbed her hands, and held them tightly. Her red eyes filled with a look so earnest it made her heart throb. Combined with her chaotic silver curls, she looked every bit the wild Casanova. 

The words should’ve made her happy. In truth, part of her did glow at them. Another, much larger part wanted to grab the woman by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. Being important to her older sister wasn’t bad. She didn’t want to be the only thing Reyna hedged her happiness on, though.

“You’re such a charmer.” Sylvie just sighed bitterly. It was a good thing that the handsome silver wolf in that mirror wasn’t reality, or Reyna would’ve left a trail of broken hearts long enough to reach the moon and back.

Reyna shrugged. ”I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

That’s part of the problem. Sylvie pulled her hands away, and instead leaned on her fist. “Are you enjoying the circus so far?”

”Are you?” Reyna shot back. Her wagging tail, and relaxed posture said all that needed to be said, though. 

“Yeah… yeah, I think I am.” Much more than the last time she was here, anyway. Cindy bought a ton of stuff for her, but she wasn’t exactly easy to hold a conversation with. Ugh, especially now.

Sylvie ran her hands through her straight hair roughly. It was crazy how some people changed just like that. Cindy wasn’t even the one that Awakened, yet it was like she transformed into a totally different person in the span of days.

She smoothly pushed those thoughts to the back of her head. She really, really didn’t want anything to ruin their time at the circus. Not when it felt like it was all Reyna talked about for the past week. They’d been arguing a lot lately, so it was so nice to be able to just go out and do something like this without worrying about anything. 

For the first time in a while, she didn’t feel like she had to reach across an invisible canyon to reach her sister. She didn’t have to worry about doing her best at everything to make Reyna proud. She didn’t have to worry about her stubborn older sister keeping all sorts of secrets. She could just enjoy the moment. And that? That was worth treasuring. 

The performer moved down the aisle, and Reyna quickly scarfed down the last of the funnel cake like it was the last one she’d ever get. She popped to her feet, and stretched out. “So… Ferris wheel?”

”Let’s go.” Sylvie picked up the empty plate, and tossed it in a trash can. 

The line for the Ferris wheel was short. It was made even shorter by the VVIP bracelets Reyna had somehow managed to get. In no time at all, they were on the attraction. The cabin shut behind them, sealing the two Silver Wolves inside.

“Um… is this thing safe?” Sylvie clutched at her tail lightly. Heights… she wasn’t afraid of them necessarily. They just made something in her stomach clench warily every time. 

”You, uh, still scared of heights?” Reyna’s arm dropped onto her shoulder, and pulled her into a warm side hug. “It’s not too late, we can—“

“I’m fine.” Her words spilled out quickly. 

“if you’re sure…” The older Apex’s silver tail flopped up across her lap like the world’s fluffiest safety blanket. And she said she was bad with people… heh, yeah right. 

“Like I’d be scared of something so simple.” Sylvie immediately released her own tail, and lifted her head proudly. That pride only lasted a moment as the Ferris wheel lurched to life underneath them. Ever so slowly they were lifted into the air.

“You’re doing great, Sylvie.” Reyna fluffed her ears lightly, and a bolt of comfort went through her. 

”I’m not a little kid.” She pouted, and stuck her tongue out. Her eyes darted out to the ground getting smaller below them. The circus felt more and more distant. The noise slowly started to fade. Her lupine ears could still pick it up if she focused, ‘course. It was far off, though. 

The two sisters sat in the enclosed cabin quietly, each lost in their own thoughts. The Ferris wheel creaked sharply as the cabin reached its apex, and Reyna’s ears twitched alertly. She once more dropped into an incredibly alert expression, and her arm tightened ever so slightly.

It was easy to forget what her older sister did for a living. The woman had a bad habit of downplaying just how bad it could be. “Are you… happy?” 

It was a thought that’d been going through her head a lot lately. Did she really want to become the same? To twitch at every noise and to watch for any hint that something was wrong? The media and news showed the glamour of being an Awakened, but she was around Reyna and Quinn far too often to be swept up in that.

Reyna met her eyes for a long moment. Sylvie half-expected her to just dodge the question. Instead, she lowered her head in thought. “I… I think I am?”

Her eyes roved out over the circus. Over the smiling faces of people, children, and performers alike as they went about daily lives. Finally, they settled on Sylvie. “Yeah, yeah I am.”

In her older sister’s answer, Sylvie found one of her own. The Ferris wheel, uncaring for their hushed conversation, continued to sway and rotate underneath them.

— — —

POV: Reyna

— — —

The radio play we listened to crackled, and went to an ad break. Who would’ve thought, but the chef did it. It was always the chef… unless it was the butler? It really was hard to find good help these days. I shook my head, and closed my laptop. I just had a few things I needed to finish working on.

“Probably time to head to—“ My words caught off as I caught sight of my sister fully passed out to the side of the couch. A smile graced my lips, and I reached out to turn the radio off. “Sylvie?”

She didn’t wake when I rocked her shoulder lightly, so I scooped her up into my arms and carried her to the back of the apartment. My tail flicked up to hit her door handle. I carried her to her bed, and lightly set her down.

“Sis?” Sylvie sleepily murmured. She groggily reached out, and grabbed my hand before I could pull away. “Stay?”

“Not tonight, Sylvie.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead, which made her ears twitch around cutely. I almost gave into the temptation to lay down and hold her close as I fell asleep too. I had things I needed to do tonight, though. “Love you.”

“Love you too.” She curled back up on her bed, and hugged her tail softly to her chest. Just like that, she was out once more.

I turned out her light, snatched Vigil off the table, and headed back to my room. Vigil warmed in my hands. “Try to sleep tonight, Operator.”

”I try every night.” I set him down on my bed, and moved back to my closet. A claw from Rend stretched out, and I carefully opened up a hidden space made by cutting into the wall of the closest years back.

My hand brushed over the inhibitor safely tucked away, and picked up the Psionic Technique manuscript. The instant I touched it, a faint connection felt like it formed between me and the book. It was an incredibly weird feeling that was honestly a little off-putting.

I sat down with my legs crossed on my bed, and popped open the book. The moment it snapped open, I became acutely aware of all the eyes staring down on me. I turned the heads of all my plushies except for Vigil. There was nothing I could do about the posters plastered all over my walls though. 

A shiver went down my spine, and I rubbed at my arms lightly. Not like it mattered since it was all in my head. I swept the apartment twice a week for bugs just to make sure there wasn’t anything looking or listening in on Sylvie and I. That was one line the syndicate hadn’t crossed yet, at least.

The front page of the book was totally blank, but the next several were filled with a script I couldn’t recognize. Even without being able to recognize the language, impressions of the words welled up in my mind like everything in the manuscript had been psionically imbued.

I pulled away from the book, and my tail flicked to the side. The tip of it wrapped Vigil, and pulled him into my lap. “Do you know what language this is?”

A faint red light shot out of his eyes, and moved up and down the page of the manuscript. “Orikin.” 

“What’s that?” I mulled over the word mentally. It was the first I’d heard of it.

”It’s an ancient and dead language. This unit can not translate.” Vigil watched the book intently. “Be careful, Operator. I am restricted from saying more.”

”Way to leave me on a cliffhanger,” I muttered quietly, and refocused on the weird Orikin script. If it was a dead language… Was that what the original people of Arthis were called? How ancient was ancient? Definitely before the Mire, yep? 

My attention slowly shifted back down to the book. It was… understandable? Kinda? I wasn’t reading as much as feeling what the script meant. It was an incredibly alien sensation, but one that filled me with what the writer meaning and intention rather then having to guess at it.

It was incredibly easy to get sucked into that strange sensation. I flipped page after page of the manuscript, feeling the insights and meanings of the author as they discussed Psionics. It was a struggle, but I slipped into it smoothly. Reading the manuscript, if I could even call it that, was like nothing I’d ever done before.

That alien sensation made me even more aware of something. There was so much depth to Psionics that it made me second guess if I was really a Psyker this entire time. I felt like a toddler struggling to even stand up when I could’ve been sprinting this entire time.

One page fed into another until—the last page flipped, revealing the end of the short manuscript. I let out a sigh, and the thoughts and impressions that’d temporarily filled me slowly started to fade.

“Are you finished, Operator?” Vigil asked. At some point, I’d moved him off to my side without realizing it. “It has been three hours and thirty-nine minutes. This unit was unimpressed with your attempt to sleep.”

”…has it really almost been four hours?” I scratched at my head, and looked down at the Psionic Technique. It felt like no time at all had passed since I first opened it. Binding… quite frankly, it was a weak technique. If I did it right, I’d be able to make some threads of hardened psions. That was it.

Still, it was worth trying for, at least. Following the words of the manuscript, I closed my eyes and turned my focus internal. Just as every time I activated Seek, I reached out for that familiar connection. Without a target for Seek to lock onto, it answered my call weakly.

I didn’t want Seek, though. I wanted the psions that powered my psionic ability. The moment I reached out for them, they scattered out into the void like everytime I locked onto something with Seek. I bit my lip, and let out a groan as a headache instantly started to build.

It took a lot of fighting with myself before I managed to reach out for the psions without habitually dispersing them. It was like consciously fighting a muscle memory, and trying to do the exact opposite thing. Every time I tried drew me closer and closer, though it left me feeling more and more drained. 

Hours later, I stretched out for them one last time. The connection snapped into place, and slowly strengthened. In the darkness of my mind, a stream of glowing red slowly condensed. They pulled together into a tide of red interlaced with an ugly black shade, and sparked to life.

My eyes snapped open, and I pulled that red glow into a string just as the manuscript taught me—only for nothing to happen. The connection sparked one last time, and then faded away as if mocking all of my efforts.

I let out a breath, and leaned back on my bed. The Psionic Technique manuscript warned that it would take a bunch of effort until I could get it to work. Psions were highly individual, so it wasn’t as simple as reading the manuscript and figuring it out instantly. 

My spine straightened once more, and I reached for the psions again. I tried not to pay attention to Vigil’s judgemental gaze. I probably wouldn’t have gotten much sleep, anyway.