two idiots and a turtle (a kotlc fanfic)

chapter eight: in which they finally meet again

a/n: hey after this chapter I'm going to be taking a bit of a break from writing this. i need some time for school and my other projects. it won't be that long, though! probably like a week or two. <3

***

keefe

"Think of something that makes you angry."

Something that makes me angry?

My first thought is of my father, of his stern gaze and his stupid slicked back hair and his condescending smile and 'you're simply not good enough, Keefe'.

My next thought is my mother, of her cold ice blue eyes and all her manipulations and schemes and lies and her stupid legacy  that gave me these powers.

"Now, rein in your emotions. Calm yourself down and don't strike out with them."

But my mind keeps going, not stopping for anything now.

My damned legacy and these weird powers and I keep hurting people and can I always control it? I didn't control it when I hurt Tam and what if Tam never wakes up I wish I could find a way to wake him up-

"Keefe!"

Oralie places something in my hands, and it takes me a moment to realize that it's Shelly. I latch onto how calm Shelly is, and use that to calm myself down. Then I open my eyes, staring into Oralie's steady azure gaze.

"Sorry," she apologizes, "you weren't responding when I called your name, so I used your, uh, emotional support turtle."

"Oh." I stroke Shelly's shell and pet her head. "Thanks."

Oralie tilts her head like she's listening to faraway music only she can hear, and considers me for a moment, before she holds out her hands for another round of emotion-wrangling.

"I think that we should probably stay away from the topic of anger," she gives me a small smile, "Let's do something different this time. Try feeling my emotions."

Hopefully it's not too painful. I gulp, gingerly taking hold of her hands.

Even when I'm not touching someone, I can usually feel a faint waft of their emotions in the air. But with Oralie, since she, too, was an Empath, she could hide her emotions well enough that I couldn't feel them. So, naturally, I was expecting her emotions to be more concealed, even when I made physical contact.

I was wrong.

Calm and worry and right and wrong and fear and sadness and hope and happiness and what ifs and whys and-

I gasp and pull away, clutching onto Shelly, grasping for that pool of calmness.

Oralie's voice is soft when she speaks. "It's a lot, isn't it? Try that again, only this time, keep hold of yourself. The emotions might feel like a current, but you can't let yourself get swept up in it."

"H-how?"

Oralie sits back in her chair with a sigh. "There's a human tale I've heard, about a river called the River Styx. If you went into the river, it would make you invulnerable, but only if you had a worldy tether, a connection, that kept you from losing yourself and dying. In the stories, it was a physical connection, but a mental connection should work, too."

"So what you're saying is that I need to think of something to keep me from being overwhelmed?"

Oralie's eyes sparkle as she smiles. "Exactly. Are you ready to try again?"