The Deep: TToaLG Mini-episodes

The Downfall of My Senses

Chapter 9.01: The Downfall of My Senses

---

Tsuki lay on her bed, wearing shorts and a tank top. Bandages were wrapped around her feet and a cold damp rag rested over her eyes and temple. Her hair was out of her usual braid.

The girl had a terrible migraine. Her head wouldn't stop throbbing and her neck felt stiff, it didn't help that she felt so disoriented. 'I can't focus enough to heal myself. My senses are amok and that's not helping me right now. I can't even manipulate my energy to block my hearing for at least five minutes!' Tsuki's mood worsened when she could hear the bickering Nekton siblings. She didn't care what they were arguing about, all she wanted was for them to stop.

"Tsuki tell Fontain that-" Tsuki hissed when the light turned on in her room. The throbbing got worse.

"Antaeus lower your voice. Your yelling is not helping me right now." Tsuki pulled the pillow over her face, cutting out the light that passed through the rag. Ant and Fontaine immediately forgot about their argument when they saw their friend's condition. They were a little confused because Ant wasn't yelling. It worried them when they could hear the pain in her voice.

"Do I need to grab mom? You're not looking so good." Fontaine walked over to Tsuki's side, Ant following behind her.

"No, I don't want to bother her. Just turn off the light, or dim it, and be quiet around my room." Ant walked over to the panel on the wall and dimmed the lights to the lowest setting. He didn't want Fontaine or himself to trip because it was pitch black in the room.

"Are you sure you don't want mom's help? You seem to be in a lot of pain." Fontaine slowly lifted the pillow off her friend's face.

"I'm sure... This just happens when my senses get overloaded. I just need silence but it's hard to get that on this sub." Tsuki lifted the rag on her face and looked over to her friends, "My ears just keep picking up everything near me."

In thought, the oldest of the three put a hand to her chin. "I think I have something that can help." She walked out of the room, leaving the younger two in the room.

"How come you're not healing yourself if you're in pain? You can do that, right?" Ant asked. He grabbed a water bottle that sat on her desk and handed it to her. His friend shakily swung her legs over and grabbed the bottle. The rag that covered her eyes fell onto her lap.

"It's hard, my mind can't stop focusing on the pain. My brain is on overdrive." Tsuki let out a small groan as she rubbed her head. "I'm good at limiting my senses, but sometimes one of my senses can be overloaded, causing everything to go in whack." She took a small sip of water before she spoke again. "It hurts really bad because my brain is processing all of this information at once."

—

Tsuki was now laying in bed. Fontaine came back with Kaiko in tow a bit after Tsuki's conversation with Ant. Kaiko told Tsuki that it reminded her of a migraine when she learned of the symptoms the girl had.

Fontaine gave her friend some earplugs that could help with the noise problem and Kaiko brought an ice pack and another cool rag. The girl now has the ice pack behind her neck with a cool rag over her forehead. Kaiko draped a blanket over her, "Sorry for bothering you guys."

"For the millionth time, Tsuki. You weren't a bother." Fontaine sighed.

"She's right Tsuki, your health is important so don't be afraid to ask for help." The mother made sure the blanket covered Tsuki's shoulders. "Get plenty of rest." Kaiko only got a nod in reply.

Fontaine and Kaiko left the room first, leaving Ant there. "I'm going to be in my room if you need anything, okay?" Ant stood by the door.

Tsuki had a small smile, "I will Antaeus."

She was now left in her room alone. Her hand that held the one earplug that wasn't put in moved to her uncovered ear. A sigh left her lips when most of the noises were gone. The warmth of the Nekton's kindness and their care helped her to relax. Exhaustion is set in her mind and body. Dark sapphire eyes fluttered close and her breathing slowed. The sound of her heartbeat lured her closer to sleep.

~~~

Tsuki just turned five when she gained her powers. "Come on mom! Teach me already!" It had been a week since she got her abilities and now she wanted to learn everything she could.

"Okay, okay! You're gonna pull mum's arm out of socket my little howler." Yua laughed at her daughter's excitement. She remembered being this excited when she got her powers. There was one part of her mind that worried, did her daughter get her powers too early?

The two reached the lake near their home. It was surrounded by the forest, isolated and protected. Yua got into a stance and started to push and pull the water, creating small waves, "Remember Tsuki, water is a powerful element. It can erode and break rocks, extinguish flames, and grow strong like the winds. But people forget that water is first calm and gentle."

The mother looked in shock as her daughter began to copy her, and did it with such ease. This took her at least a few days to be able to copy her mother. 'Now I wish I was able to convince my mom to move with me. I think I have a prodigy on my hands.'

—

Yua was running with her daughter in hand. Their clothes were covered in dirt and ashes, and they had a backpack on their backs. "Mom! Stop, please! My head hurts!" Tsuki cried out in pain. The mother scooped up her little girl and ran into a cave.

A large wolf stood up and growled, but stopped when she realized who it was. "Sorry Yuki, they found us," Yua whispered softly as she sat down and started to tend to her child.

"Little howler? What's wrong?" Yua pushed down the girl's hood. Two black and white wolf ears popped up.

"My head hurts...and my ears k-keep ringing." Tsuki sobbed. Her hands try to dry her face, but the tears kept coming.

The mother was panicking, the hunters destroying their home must have caused her daughter's hybrid mutations to come out prematurely. All of the noise and shouting sent her into a sensory overload. It hurt her heart at this information. Her daughter's little body wasn't ready to handle this power.

Yua wrapped Tsuki in her arms and cloak, holding her close. Yuki lay down next to her human friend and the human pup, providing some comfort. Her hand ran through the two-colored hair, energy collecting in her palm to soothe the pain. "Oh, great moon of the sky~ Watch over us as we rest our heads tonight." Yua began to sing a lullaby to calm her daughter, and hopefully the wolf in her.

~~~

Just before Kaiko went off to bed, she wanted to check in on Tsuki. The poor girl slept through the rest of the day. It worried her when Fontaine dragged her to Tsuki's room, saying she wasn't feeling well. She spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what caused it.

The marine biologist narrowed it down to what happened in the cave. She noticed that Tsuki seemed to have higher hearing than them and could see better in the dark during their time together. It was a theory that higher frequencies, loud noises, and bright lights can cause her to have migraines. It made sense now when Tsuki would purposefully avoid or won't stay long in certain areas or around things, especially specific equipment.

The door to Tsuki's room slid open and Kaiko could see that the girl was still asleep. She walked over and removed the ice pack and rag. As she set them to the side on the desk, Tsuki began to mutter.

Kaiko looked up and saw her still asleep, thankfully. With a sigh of relief, she fixed the blanket. The words may not make sense to her since it's spoken in another language but she could tell that it was meant to be a song of sorts.

"Get better Tsuki," Kaiko whispered as she ran her hand through the girl's hair. She made her way out of the room, missing the small smile on the sleeping girl's face.