Evolved

35. Hallucination.

Hera was lonely. 

Jean was busy training Joel, Zeke was off somewhere in the mountains, and her dad was constantly in meetings with the other settlements. She tried to keep Theo out of her mind, but she missed him so much it hurt. She had so many things she wanted to say. Like, 'I forgive you for being a dick, I miss your stupid jokes' and, 'I'm unequivocally in love with you.'

But he needed space. He ran away. 

"What the fuck?" She groaned, slamming her face into her pillow. She couldn't keep his perfect face out of her mind. And his body... 'Oh God.' 

She needed a cold shower.

After a thorough rinse, she went to bed, and even in her dreams, she could not escape him.

...

Dawn broke on another beautiful day. 

The weather was crisp, but it was clear spring was coming. Someone cleared the ground in front of her father's cottage of snow, and Jean was already drenched in sweat, sparring on the hard earth. It wouldn't be a soft landing on the frozen dirt, Hera thought as she warmed up beside the square. She felt weaker, and her skill had dropped after weeks without training, but she picked it up fairly quickly after falling on her backside a few times. Jean went easy on her, which only made her mad. 

"Fight me properly, dammit." She panted out opposite Jean.

"Alright." Her lips curled mischievously. "Get Ivy." She barked at Joel, who sprinted away. Hera raised her brows as Jean removed her gloves and blew on her half- sharpened blood-red nails.

"Really?" Hera remarked, impressed with her boldness. "Okay." They both lowered their stances, and Hera grinned. This was more like it. She sprinted at Jean before sliding between her legs and kicking the back of her legs. Jean fell hard and spun, hands clawed, but Hera was ready and released the energy that had been rearing to come out for days. She promptly dissolved the tips of Jean's nails until they were blunt and dull. She withdrew quickly to not hurt Jean and jumped to her feet.

"I just painted these!" She shouted with a scowl before charging into Hera's core, knocking the wind from her. Jean stood over Hera and lifted her arm, poised to bite when Juno came out to play. A field of energy pushed hard against Jean's face, and she flew across the square, landing on all fours. Ivy returned with Joel and stood to the side of the square. 

"What are you two doing?" She was worried, trying to ask Hera if she was okay just with a look. She nodded and smiled at her lovely friend before facing Jean again.

Hera noticed in fascination that Jean's canines looked sharper, slightly elongated.

 "Just having some fun..." Jean rasped back. She was indeed a force to be reckoned with. If they weren't friends, Hera would be terrified. Although, Jean wasn't looking at her like a friend right then. Jean charged again, this time jumping high and wrapping her thighs around Hera's neck. Oh shit, Hera braced as she was spun violently around, painfully thrown across the square.

Jean didn't wait before straddling her back and sinking her teeth into Hera's shoulder. "Ahh!" Juno's shield delayed slightly, and Jean managed to break her skin before being thrown back again. This time, landing on her back, blood dripping from her lips. Hera rolled onto her back, trying to draw breath desperately, but her lungs wouldn't work. 

Her energy was ablaze with panic and honed in on Jean, who was just getting to her feet. Hera could feel Jean's power, stronger than ever. Her energy mingled with it and tugged slightly. Jean fell to her knees in shock, and her teeth retracted instantly.