Polarized

Garden Talks

Skye peeked through the gates of Silver Run's garden, and her senses were bombarded by a hodgepodge of flora. If this garden resembled anything, Skye thought, it wasn't an orderly collection of neatly-trimmed flower beds for sure. No, a much more accurate descriptor for it would've been something that's half-jungle, half-swamp, and half abandoned cottage where a witch used to live and grow ingredients for potions that turned children into frogs. Or something like that. 

"Luka!! If you're in there, can you come out please?!" Hyacinth shouted from the garden's entrance. No response. The healer mage faced Skye and Ivan, a deflated look on her face. "I don't think he's here," Hyacinth said. "I'm sorry."

"Wait," said Ivan, leaning into the gateway. "Let me try something." 

Hyacinth stared quizzically. "Try what?"

"Hey! Weed man!" Ivan yelled into the masses of foliage. "Come out or your ass is grass!"

A disembodied voice spoke up from the bushes. "Ivan?"

"Mind if I stop by for a visit?" Ivan asked. 

"Sure."

Skye took in the full view as she followed Ivan into the garden. Seedlings sprouted from cracks and crevices. Tendrils tangled themselves through the garden's gates. Greenery grew, bushes bloomed, and weeds withered in the soil. A lone willow wept over the walkway.

Suddenly, Luka sprinted over from the direction of some shrubberies. "Ivan," he said annoyedly, "you should've told me you were bringing your sister."

"Oh, guess I forgot to remind you," said Ivan. "Can she stay?"

"Yeah," Luka replied. "But next time, don't bring unexpected guests."

***

Skye, Ivan, and Luka sat under the shade of the weeping willow, and Luka removed his hood, revealing a mess of sandy brown hair and forest-green eyes. "What brings you here?" He asked the Everson siblings.

"Well, we were at HACF and Skye was about to get tagged," Ivan started. "And then I ran into Juliana, who I recognized from our video calls. Then she asked how my work was going."

"Work?" Skye piped up. "What kind of work?"

"Y'know, looking for aura-havers in need and spreading the word about Avriya to as many of them as possible…" 

"While guarding the secret from possible enemies?" Luka asked.

"Yes. And from Skye," Ivan responded. "But only until today. When Juliana's group infiltrated HACF and took Skye away in their van, I had to explain to her what was going on so she wouldn't panic and ice the vehicle."

"So you were working for Juliana this whole time?" Skye asked, her eyes wide.

Ivan nodded. "Exactly."

"For how long?"

"Since last summer." 

Skye crossed her arms. "And you didn't tell me until now? Why?!"  

"You know why," Ivan said as he side-eyed his sister. "Because of your obsession with mages. If I told you about Avriya earlier, you'd be begging Mom and Dad to let you go there without thinking things through."

"And why is that a bad thing?" Skye asked.

"Our parents may not hate aura-havers, but I doubt they'll let you go to an invisible island and train with mages just like that. Especially with Cloudgate's ban on magic," Ivan responded. "Plus, how do we know that our parents won't tell anybody about Avriya? Isn't there a chance they'd find the part about keeping it a secret strange in the first place, and not take it seriously?"