The Icy Quest

Chapter 21

"Everyone, I need to go on a food raid," Tilepátheia announced a few hours later.

"You said you brought food!" Pozhar accused with a frown. "Are you now saying you didn't?"

"I'm saying that the food I brought will not last the rest of our journey," Tilepátheia corrected him snippily. "Our progress has been slowed considerably because of the damage to the ship that the fire dragon caused. We're going to have to get more food."

"Where are we going to get it?" Pagoniá asked, tilting her head.

"Well, there has to be some in the ship's kitchen," Tilepátheia reasoned. "It should be easy enough to snatch some."

"There's a flaw in your plan," Pozhar pointed out skeptically. "How on Earth are you going to get in and out of the kitchen without being seen?"

"Do you remember when I begged for us to get out of the shipping container for a little while, and we both went out on the deck for some fresh air?" Tilepátheia asked, looking pointedly at Pagoniá.

"Yes, but I don't see how that relates to this conversation," Pagoniá said with a shrug.

"Remember the dolphin?" Tilepátheia hinted.

Pagoniá had no idea where Tilepátheia was going with this question. "Yeah," she answered hesitantly, her brows drawing together.

"It wasn't really there," Tilepátheia stated matter-of-factly, as if this revelation was no big deal.

"But-but I saw it," Pagoniá replied incredulously, throwing her hands in the air. "How could it have not been there?"

"You saw it. But it wasn't there. My powers apparently go a little further than just allowing me to read other people's minds. At some point along the way, I discovered that I could also mess with the part of the mind that processes visual information. I can essentially make people see things that aren't there. Or, more importantly, not see things that are," Tilepátheia explained. "That's how I will manage to not be seen on my trip to the kitchen."

"Why haven't you used that ability before now?" Pagoniá asked with a frown. "You could have made all of our trips on deck completely safe."

"As a matter of fact, I have. The thing is, this power works selectively. I made sure no one else could see us, but you didn't realize that because I wasn't using the power on you," Tilepátheia revealed with a wave of her hand.

"So... You're saying that you can turn invisible," Pozhar clarified, his eyes wide.

"Yeah, pretty much," Tilepátheia agreed, and then proved the point by disappearing and reappearing before their eyes. "So now you understand why it would be safe for me to make a trip to the kitchens, right?"

"I guess so," Pozhar begrudgingly agreed. "But be careful."

Pagoniá and Pozhar both watched as Tilepátheia slipped out the door and continued on her way to the kitchen. Pagoniá took a deep breath and slumped against the shipping container wall, still nervous about Tilepátheia's endeavor even with the revelation of her very unexpected disappearing power.

Fifteen minutes later, pandemonium erupted on the deck. "Ghost!" someone on the deck yelled. "A ghost touched me!"

Pagoniá looked up and spotted Tilepátheia slipping back into the shipping container.

"You said it was going to be fine," Pagoniá accused her, looking alarmed.

"How was I supposed to know that guy was going to move? I was gradually making my way back to the shipping container when he unexpectedly shifted his position and brushed my arm as I moved to go around him. I was at least 10 centimeters away from him. That should have been a safe enough distance!" Tilepátheia defended. "But anyway, I got the food we needed, and no one is going to believe a guy who is yelling about ghosts. So we're fine."

Tilepátheia dropped her armful of stolen food on the floor in the middle of the shipping container. Pagoniá and Pozhar crouched down next to the pile to investigate the lunch options Tilepátheia had supplied.

Pagoniá sat back down with her food choices and relished every bite of the biscuits that Tilepátheia had managed to swipe from the ship's kitchen.

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Tilepátheia can turn invisible. Interesting. Comment and vote, please!