Some Thing Called Myself (Complete)

LXIX: Something Truthful (Part Two)

01:35 AM

They were exhausted by the time the other Sents and beyond-fleshers decided to find their improvised tents. Slowly, the celebration died down around Granny's house, the flow of alcohol and conversation stopped, and Mara's squad offered to escort Teresa to the edge of the lake. Mara welcomed the walk like a child cooped up at home for too long. As she walked—the tall, dewy grass moistening the hem of her jeans—Mara thought about the training she'd just gone through.

Thanks to her friends, she now had a better understanding of hand-to-hand fighting and her own powers. Tai had asked her to show how fast and strong she could be, and Mara did. There was power in recognizing what she was. There was tranquility, too—she knew she wouldn't have to hide her Zombieism anymore. She'd have her friends around to help her navigate it. They accepted her the way she was and, more importantly, she accepted herself.

Still, there was something eating up at her thoughts. Numa. If Numa was really the Keeper in Teresa's story, what did it mean for Mara? The uncomfortable feeling of being played with came back. What would an Entity this old want with a twenty-eight-year-old queer artist from Brazil?

"Hey, you wanna talk?" Tai said in a low voice. They'd been quiet up to this point; maybe they could feel the tension on Mara's shoulders. "You're looking like that again."

Mara considered asking, Like what exactly? but she didn't. She knew what Tai meant.

She hummed and looked at them. This was supposed to be nothing but a glance at their profile, but she met Tai's eyes, and that visage gave her pause. Tai looked so striking under the moonlight. Something squeezed in her chest; an age-old desire fuelled by nothing but the purest affection. This was the person who had believed in her from the beginning. Someone complex, yes, who gave into their passionate ideals and fought for what they believed...someone who hurt her. Someone who apologized. Someone who would surely do all that again, given the opportunity.

Now, more than ever before, Mara could feel how much Tai was attracted to her. And while she had heard Bernardo confess his feelings for her, Tai's feelings suffused from them in waves, clear as day in their every movement, every reaction, every silent and understanding gesture.

That thought awakened the butterflies in her stomach, yes, but Tai's passion was like a flame. All-consuming and dangerous to be around. 

Like a moth might feel before the boiling sun.

Mara cleared her throat and averted her eyes, her cheeks heating up. As they walked, there was the gentle noise of conversation at their backs and water lapping on the lakeshore somewhere in front of them.

"I'm just thinking about Numa," Mara finally answered. "If we ever meet again, they'll have a lot to explain."

Tai hummed and let the conversation wither back to silence. When they reached the lake, Mara and Tai stood side by side on the edge of the water while Teresa and Mimi talked about the biometal of the mermaid's armor. Godo yawned for the third time in as many minutes; this time, though, he stretched his muscular arms above his head and let out a little grunt, interrupting their conversation.

"I'm dead. I can't stay up for another minute," he said.

Mimi and Teresa shared a look and laughed, but it was the latter who spoke first.

"I'm gonna head back to the nest then," said Teresa. "I'm sure Uah will give me a sermon for staying out so late when we have so much to do tomorrow." She grimaced.

"He'll give you a salmon," Mara said. The group groaned, and Mara chuckled. "What? I thought it was funny."

"Tell that to my sister. I'd love to see her reaction." Teresa entered the lake and laughed at Mara's grimace. The water was shallow for nothing but half a meter before it dipped into dangerous depths. She was already fully covered when a strong, orange light swirled around her legs. When it dimmed, her clothes were gone, and her tail back—a long, fiery-orange tail that was hard, straight, and barbed like a witch fish. Teresa waved, making her many necklaces dangle over her flat chest, and dove, her tail splashing water and disappearing a moment later.