Bridging Destinies

Chapter 19: A Manifestation

Namjoon thoroughly enjoyed watching Felina trounce his brothers. Especially Jungkook, who was very competitive. He realized that she had a playful, competitive streak as well, and he found it engaging. When she decided she had her fill of the games, she offered the controller to anyone else that wanted to play and asked politely where the bathroom was.  After being directed in the direction of the bathroom, she disappeared down the hall. When she did not return after more than ten minutes, he stood up and went to look for her. Seokjin watched him walk from the living room, but none of the others had noticed he had left.

When he found her in the hall, she was standing in his doorway, looking in through the open door of his bedroom, but not going in. He stood directly behind her, almost touching his body to hers, his warmth radiating between them, then touched her arm. She did not flinch or startle when he approached her, and though he was quiet, he realized she must have expected him. She asked him quietly, "Is this your room?" She half turned, for a brief moment, almost looking over her shoulder at him from the corner of her eye, then turned back towards his room.

He responded quietly, "Ya. It's mine." He took her hand and pulled her into his room with him, then turned towards her and walked backwards as she followed along. He gazed into her face as he asked, "Are you curious?" Her eyes moved from him to the things in his room, their hands still connected.

She stopped in the middle of his room and released his hand, walking to the shelves that held his collection and began to make a visual inspection of his dolls and other items. She stated simply, "I am. Yes." She went to touch one of his Kaws dolls, then hesitated. "May I?" She asked, looking back at him. When he nodded, she picked the doll up, looking it over, "It is gruesome." she laughed lightly, her tone less amused and more thoughtful, "It reminds me of a battlefield."

He was surprised by her comment and asked, "Like in a movie?"

When she shook her head and murmured, "As in a real battlefield." Namjoon didn't know what to say to that. 'Had she been in the military?' he wondered. She put the doll down and continued to look around his room, explaining, "The body exposed is too like the aftermath of a battle, minus the messiness of it, of course."

Namjoon sat on his bed observing her. The questions circled around his mind and though he wanted to voice them, he did not know if she would be forthcoming. She stopped and looked at him, "Say it Joonah. I can see you want to."

Felina moved towards him and sat next to him on the bed. He moved his body, so that it was turned more towards her and asked, "Have you seen war? I mean, were you in the military in your country?" He then frowned, "And where exactly is that, anyway?  Where are you from, originally? I don't think you are French. Your accent doesn't fit." Her lips turned up in a quirk of a smile, knowing that the questions would come eventually and when she didn't answer right away he continued, "Are you from Italy?"

She smiled more and before he could ask any other questions, she took his hand, distracting him, "I am from all over." She told him, "And yes my name is Latin in origin." Then she looked at him directly, "And yes I have seen battle."

~~~

He wasn't exactly speechless, but his thoughts had come to a halt. I watched him as he contemplated me and waited for his mind to begin to move again. His hand moved within mine to thread his fingers with my own, and I allowed the contact. His next words were direct, "So you are from everywhere, but nowhere. Your name is Latin in origin, but you are not from Italy. And you have seen war. I realize that you are purposely mysterious, for reasons you will not explain, but I wonder if you will ever be direct with me." He paused, then continued, "You are so evasive. I like it, but I don't." He explained. "I mean, how do I know I don't have something to worry about with you? I am famous. My brothers are famous. How do we know you won't pull something and expose us?"

I moved the hand that was not holding his to his cheek, gently touching the tips of my fingers to his skin, "I apologize, Joonah, but it is necessary. As I explained before, I cannot tell you everything."

He frowned at me asking, "Why?" Then he squeezed my fingers with his own, reassuringly, "You can trust me. I like you, Felina. I won't hurt you."

I considered him for several moments in silence. He appeared genuine, as was the energy around him. His thoughts rang true with his words, and yet I hesitated. I looked down at our connected hands and then searched the paths. 'Would sharing hurt me? Would it hurt us?' These were the questions I asked myself as I sifted through the potentials. The way was convoluted and I was uncertain. My eyes cleared and I looked up at him again. As I began to open my mouth to tell him I could not share with him anymore than I had, I heard inside my head and in my heart, "Trust me. Trust him." And I blinked in surprise. The voice of the Mother made my heart pound, and I gasped as I looked down again at our hands intricately linked together.

When his hand moved up to lift my chin, I was surprised, as I had been so lost in the presence of the Mother and Her words, that I did not realize he had moved. I gazed into his face, his expression curious, but also concerned, "Please be open with me?" He asked gently. I bit my lip and his gaze moved to my mouth, then back to my eyes. I watched him carefully, contemplating my next move for many moments as we both sat in silence. He waited for me to make a decision, while I determined within my mind the different arguments for and against a decision to be more open with him.

Then, as he patiently watched me, waiting, I decided. With my free hand, I slowly moved my hair back to expose my ear and removed enough glamour to expose the point that was decidedly not human. I turned my head away from him just enough so that he would see the difference in shape and as his eyes caught it, I heard a small gasp from him. I turned back and allowed my glamour to drop even more, showing the alien features that most humans had not truly seen in hundreds of years. As I revealed myself to him with the gradual release of the glamour, his jaw grew slack and his eyes widened. My face, body and Light were fully exposed to him now and I waited to see what he would say and do, watching him carefully. He suddenly jumped up and announced, "Wait here."

Not a lot surprised me, but as he appeared to grow more alarmed, I immediately groaned internally and asked, 'Mother?  Trust you?  What is this you are doing?' I opened my mind to focus fully on him, reading the energy coming from him and surrounding him, and intruded on his thoughts, assessing my safety. Though I knew nothing in his thoughts betrayed a decision to hurt me, his energy told me he was shocked, uncertain, confused and a little afraid. As he closed the door and locked it, I grew more tense, ready to spring up, if necessary. Seeing my body language, he held both hands up to me in supplication, "No. It's okay." He said, "I just wanted to make sure nobody came in and interrupted our conversation, or saw you." He explained. He waited, closely watching me, as he stood still, his position set in an attempt to soothe my fears, until I gradually began to relax more. After he was certain I would not run away from him, he walked back towards me, sitting back on the bed.

He gently took my hands in his, holding me securely. He spoke carefully, aware that I might jump and run away from him at the slightest wrong move. I felt his thoughts form as he spoke them, "So, you are either, really, um, different, or you are really just not," He stopped, feeling foolish and couldn't finish his sentence.

I nodded, "You are right. I am not human." I said into the space of his reticence. "My home isn't a place you would know. And as part of my position, I travel all over the world, regularly. I rarely return home." I explained.

He nibbled on his bottom lip as he considered me, then spoke carefully, "I feel like I'm in the middle of a movie. Or maybe another dream." This time he released my hands and moved to touch his fingers lightly to my cheek and spoke again, "But you are real. And you don't really look human, either." He paused and let out a heavy breath, "I can't believe this is happening." He finished as his hand moved up to touch my hair. His fingers threaded through my hair, moving through the waves, from my scalp to the ends of my hair as he explored the reality of my presence. When his fingers fell from the ends of my hair, his hand moved again and he cupped my cheek with the fullness of his palm. "But it is happening." He finished.

I gave him a tiny smile and with a little nod responded, "It is. Yes."