I felt a presence brushing against my mind, immediately making me tense. It wasn't unpleasant, just unexpected.
My eyes close, the vivid blue brushing against my golden consciousness.
Gold, just like Kal said my eyes were. Was this was had been stirring in me since I met Auri?
I felt the warmth that emanated from her mind, soothing mine for the moment. I could feel the connection between us, that this was destined for us to come together. To stop the Ra'haam.
When I looked around at my squad, I was surprised to see similar colors. Three in particular.
Kal's was a shimmer of violet, threads of golds almost hidden beneath his restless nature.
The same gold I can see in Scarlet and Tyler too, though it's extremely faint and I almost miss it.
Tyler meets my eyes, freezing for a moment. I can see the question in his eyes, the confusion.
I make my mind a soothing presence as it brushes against his, and I see him relax, ever so slightly. I can feel the tension in his body, in his mind.
The anger and fear that grips him.
His determination and passion.
The moment between us ends as soon as it begins, Kal and Tyler in the middle of setting up a rifle on a tripod, one of many defenses.
Kal's eyes met mine, and I let my mind touch his too. I see his eyes widen, his lips parted in a perfect O.
I can't help smiling, the first time seeing him genuinely looking shocked. It turns into a grin, lasting a few moments before he turns away from me.
Though my elation only lasted until I looked at Auri and Cat, Auri gripping our Ace's hand tightly. I walked over, kneeling down to take Cat's other hand.
The flickers of Tyler and Kal's minds were nothing to prepare me for this.
Cat's mind is a mess of vines, like the world around us. Auri's mind is already trying to burn them away, the midnight blue sweeping at the tangle.
I lean my consciousness into hers, her blue streaked with my gold. Together we burn it, turning the vines to ash.
Cat audibly cries, but its not enough. This thing has taken over so much of her, pushing what is left of Cat into a small corner of her mind.
Auri and I lean into it, Cat's emotions pushing at us like a defense.
Like the spitfire that she always has been. The sting of her pain, her anger, are nothing that I haven't encountered before and I push harder. Auri follows suit, and we puncture the defense.
I squeeze Cat's hand, my other finding Auri's to bind the three of us mentally and physically. I can feel Auri shaking and Cat weakly squeezing my hand.
Beyond her defenses, I see the Cat the Scarlet always told me was there, the Cat that Tyler loved. The reds and orange of her mind spun and danced soaring around my and Auri's consciousnesses.
I feel the pain of losing her mother, my own grief raw and open for her to see at losing my own. The small, scared girl that was left after Orion.
I share my adoration of Scarlet, my love for Tyler as our minds dance easily.
Aurora shows us her love for her mother, her sister, her special place under the trees. I wish I could have seen more before Cat tries to shove it away.
I try to show her my favorite study spot at the academy, nights spent reading in my Uncle's office, the tender smile Kal gives me and only me. But those are pushed away too.
