The Pause [Adopted Book]

Fractures and Regrowth

Turquoise Steves - Health and Spirit

Turquoise Steves fade from green to blue in appearance, a change that is difficult to notice at first.  Like the Green and Blue Steves, they are usually soft-spoken and friendly.  Turquoise Steves dislike conflict, and therefore spend a lot of time by themselves, or in small groups of other steves.

Turquoise Steves have a very unusual power set.  They can't heal injuries like the Green Steves, or lead spirits like the Blue Steves.  Instead, they heal in their own way.  Turquoise Steves are good at calming others down.  They help ease stress and mediate between arguments.  However, they can also be quickly overwhelmed by large groups, since their powers don't work well on multiple people at once.  They also can teleport and are good with plants, although they don't increase growth very well.

While they are good at sensing trauma and stress in others, they often don't recognize the same signs in themselves.  This might make it difficult for them to address their own needs in a chaotic environment.

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Since I woke up, things have been... strange.

I finally got to meet both Turquoise and Tonic, who have been invited to stay here, at least temporarily.  Tonic assured me he was perfectly comfortable in the medical wing, for now.  Turquoise has been sharing Lime's room.  I'm not sure how he feels about that.  Amber's already told me he lived alone, so I'm not sure how he's handling all the new people.

Hypno's been filling me in on their power sets.  Turquoise apparently has a calming ability, which he used on me several times when I was unconscious.  Tonic has some traditional healing abilities, but also seems to be good at brewing potions and creating pills.  I can't believe Tonic was able to actually heal me.  No Green Steve has ever been that good with medicine.  

According to Tonic, my long comatose state was because I overused my energy.  That surprised me, since I didn't feel like I was using very much energy at all.  I guess the longer I've been in the cycle, the harder it is for me to use my staff.  Since I've been helping out the shades, I've been stretching my powers to do things I'm not used to, like when I built Amber's room in triple time, or levitated Lime when I saved his life.

Hypno's been extra careful with me since learning that, volunteering to teleport me if I needed to go somewhere.  It's both sweet and annoying.  I've started feeling better already.  I don't want him to baby me.

Right now, I'd finally gotten privacy in my own room.  There's usually either Hypno or Tonic hovering around, but ever since my sickness died down, Tonic's been cooped up in the medical wing instead.  As for Hypno, I could hear him upstairs, being held up by Amber.  Even if he's worried about me, Hypno can't overcome Amber's enthusiasm.

Since most of the steves had cleared out, I rummaged around under my bed, finally pulling out the mural.  A fine layer of dust had settled on the canvas, and I gently brushed it away.  I hung the painting back in place over my bed, smiling sadly at the image of all my old friends.  Right now, they felt a million years away.

When I went to leave, I was interrupted by a knock on the door.  I rolled my eyes as I opened it, expecting to see Hypno again.  Instead, it was Tonic, clutching a set of glass vials in one hand.

"I didn't wake you up, did I?"  he asked, looking at my expression.

"No, I was already awake."  I replied quickly, feeling a little embarrassed.  "I just- thought you were Hypno."  Ignoring that, Tonic pushed the vials into my hands.  I closed my fingers around them, a little startled.