Finding Keefe (Sokeefe)

Fury

Several attempts had been filed by Magnate Leto, that arranged Sophie meeting with him in the principal's office.

She knew of these due to all of her mentors constantly informing her of them. The reminders resulted in them curiously side eyeing her wondering what she must've done to get called there several times.

But Sophie ignored all of the attempts, fleeing to a new ditching place during the periods of time she was supposed to be meeting with him.

He never knew of these places, and he was most likely frustrated with her, not that she even knew. She hadn't seen him around often. He was probably watching her from a distance to avoid further humiliation and pain.

The gnomes that had encountered her in her hiding places seemed to understand that something was wrong, and were nice enough not to report anything to Magnate Leto. They probably still had some lingering warmth for her due to her helping to find a cure for the dangerous plague. They also must've known her relationship to Calla was precious before the sweet gnome had sacrificed herself, so they always respected Sophie as well, checking in with her and providing her with everything she might've needed.

For example, a kind gnome by name Plure had found Sophie hiding behind one of the several intensely sculpted bushes around the campus, closer to the far end of the campus, far from the entrance, and gave her a blanket to keep her warm from the chilly afternoon winds. It was an especially invigorating experience, sitting in the soft grass and breathing in the flowery aroma of gorgeous florals.

At lunch Sophie sat alone, all of her friends either too angry, scared, or respectful to come over to her. Respectful being they want to grant her some alone time with herself, which Sophie appreciated. Most of the time though, they didn't know where she was. She commonly went to random areas around the school and just sat there, without food, or poking at some random food and taking one or two bites. The campus was so huge that Sophie swore she was finding new areas every single day, which made it harder for others to find her too.

She was extremely skinny now, and severely underweight. Dark bags drooped beneath her now sunken, pretty, brown eyes. To finish off the 'look', her lower eyelids were now rimmed with an irritated red and were extremely puffy. All of her features seemed a little less alive. There was no color in her skin. It was pale, ghostly even, with a grayish pallor. She was so frail that she couldn't feel much fat on her body, just skin and bone. She was also very dehydrated. But she was so emotionally and physically depleted, that her body never once begged for food or water.

In the mornings Dex and Biana always tried to start conversation with her, but she ignored them, zoning out. A tiny part of her felt bad about it. She was probably being overdramatic. And stupid. And a jerk.

They never looked offended though. They seemed to know how much of a toll the recent events had taken on Sophie.

Marella and Linh meanwhile gave Sophie space and just occasionally nodded their heads in greeting or tilted them in a way that said, 'You good?'

Sophie never really nodded back though, she always just met their eyes, and they seemed to understand from there.

The others meanwhile, either were completely upset with her, scared of her, or just didn't have much of an opinion on the storehouse fire.

All ways, the rest of them didn't so much look in her direction.

Could they not see the pain that Keefe leaving had caused her?

Or did they not care?

Aren't friends supposed to support in times of need?

Or where they even friends in the first place?

Was she being selfish?

Or were they being selfish?

All her time in the lost cities, there had been many moments of criticism directed at Sophie, calling her selfish and stupid. All moments sprouted of anger and rage. And most of them came from Fitz.

The name almost made her blood boil.

He talked to her. Oh yes, he spoke to her.

But not kindly.

When he passed her, he would often say things along the lines of,
"Are you proud of yourself? Putting the rest of us in danger? Thinking of only yourself? Making Keefe leave?"

Each word should've stung, should've felt like a stab to the heart. Especially the last one.

But again, Sophie didn't feel that.

The words ricocheted through her brain, settling and growing her tiny emotional capacity.

But back then, she couldn't feel it.

Now she could.

It was tiny, microscopic even.

Not nearly enough to inflict.

But it was there.

The kind of anger that arose in an inflictors chest.

The kind that made villains want to unleash pain onto the whole world.

The anger that made glass shatter and plants wither.

The anger that made anything in its path burn to ashes.

The nasty kind of anger.

The refreshing kind of anger.

That had been pent up in Sophie for ages. For every infuriating and rude thing said.

For every face off with the Neverseen.

For every frustration and dead end.

For every loss.

For every glint of guilt.

For everyone who had doubted her, called her weak and useless.

And for now it was merely a speck. A minuscule sliver.

Waiting to be grown, grown, grown, until it would be pounding in her heart and head, begging and screaming to be let out. Thrashing and flailing for control.

And with that anger, acid brewed in her stomach. Venom rested on her tongue, with a fresh coat of bile. Energy buzzed in her limbs, ready for violence.

It was all there. Sophie just wasn't fully aware of it. But nevertheless, it was there. And it was deadly.

~ Hey! I'm glad so many people are enjoying this! I just want to put out there that the next part might have a bit of a delayed release due to me working on a long chapter for my other Sokeefe story, 'Mrs. Sophie Foster-Sencen'! If you want to check that out you can! Anyway, thanks again for all the support! Love you all so much and hopefully this'll be updated soon (I sorta already began writing a bit of it- shhhh I was supposed to be working on the other story!)
Sincerely,
Your author 💕 ~