Timelines Collide

Chapter 21: The Moonlight Speaks

"Alright Joseph, here's the deal."

Those are the words she chooses to start with. Her tone is calm unlike with her sisters, yet even I can detect that hint of annoyance as she continues

"Not too long ago I got a call from Lincoln and Loran checking in on your progress. Assuming you would've left if you were finished, both of them permitted you to sleep on the couch for the night. With that being said, if anyone doesn't trust Joseph enough in that regard then they can watch him themselves if they see fit. I would also recommend, Joseph, that you don't have Lana associate with you without our knowledge first." Her eyes scan across the hall. "Does everyone understand?"

I glimpse over at Lola who keeps her head towards the floor, then at Lavender whose face can't keep its eyes from rolling. Then there's me. My mind still processing everything said, all I can give is a blanket nod.

"Excellent," she says putting her hands on her hips. "I wish you all a good night and if you need me, you know where to find me." She then twists her hips away and tells Lavender to show me where the extra blankets and pillows reside.

Lavender's eyes along with her same-named colored ponytail continue to roll like an unstable clock as she walks in the opposite direction of everyone else past their rooms. She doesn't tell or direct me to follow. It's only when Lisa nudges her eyes at me before entering her room, that I know to follow her.

We walk the whole way down the hall and not a single word is spoken between us. Finally stopping, she throws me a blanket that was so nice and folded before entering her hands and walks past me towards the stairs while she carries the pillows. Following her down, I pause letting the echo hit her ears like a plasma bolt popping off in the distance. 

"Look Lavender, what's your problem with me?"

She doesn't look nor turn toward me. All I can see is her body tightening along with her fists that are only covered by the pillows she has in her hands. 

"My problem with you is that you think you can just walk in here all willy-nilly in a 'costume' asking for our aid. Yet Lincoln, Loran, and all the others can't see how dangerous you really are. I know a fighter when I see one."

I scuff, "Hmph a fighter? What do you know about such a thing."

Now she turns, eyes boiling over. Her fists look whiter than the pillows she throws up on the couch. I openly expect her to show me by fists alone what a fighter is, but she doesn't move. She tilts down her head, closes her eyes, and exhales out the crisp golden air. In the end, her white fists became pale, and her eyes are sunken like moments ago. She then walks past me without saying a word. I only watch her stop in the middle of the stairs and say

"Just know Joseph, don't expect any friendliness out of me. If you are a fighter, things like that must be earned. That I know."

Baffled is all I can think of. Like she has the right to such things, then I remember how right she truly is. Back in my time, fighters, soldiers, and warriors alike must earn respect in one way or another. Heck, it leads to us respecting some of our enemies and vis-verses. 

That realization also has me remember what my Lincoln told me before he died. I put myself on the couch letting my eyes lose themselves in the colors of the ceiling.

I should be trying to make friends with these Foliums, instead, I'm making more enemies. And believe me, I have plenty of those back home. Every thought starts to flood in all at once like a hammer as it mashes everything together. Not only do I have to build Lisa's devices, but I also have to fix her machine in the quickest time possible, not to mention that she wants to bring back allies.