Opposite Ink

Chapter 76 - The Lone

One week later...

Solis's View:
We all thanked Cross before getting out of the car. It was our first day in the twin's school. We were given our timetables and led to our first lessons. The morning went pretty well actually.

When lunch arrived, I went to the outdoor area and saw Hope, Luna and Slash.

* Hey Sol! Come sit with us. :)

* Heh..thanks..I'm okay. Have any of you seen Bloom?

* She's usually in the library, why?

* Oh, we're doing a book marathon together.

* Aww, cute!

I smiled and waved as I went to the school library; Bloom was reading as she ate her chicken meal. I quietly walked over to her and sat down.

* Hi Bloom.. :)

I whispered.

* Oh, hey, you okay..?

* Yeah..I didn't feel like having lunch in a loud area...

She smiled.

* No worries.

We got out the book we were reading at the same time and resumed where we left off.

Times passed rather quickly and soon enough, we had to go to lessons.

4pm

Bloom's View:
I was reading when Hope entered my room.

* Oh, hey.

* Heyy sis! I've got training with dad and he asked me to ask you if you wanted to watch. I think he plans on start training with you sooner. :D

* You think so...?

He nodded so I accepted the invitation. We went downstairs into the training fields. I sat down in the seating area, watching their training session commence. It was interesting. Each move was very precise, every time father beat Hope, it was as if I could calculate what my brother could've done differently to do better. Increasing swing power, adjusting posture to increase the speed of his magic, arching, it was really fascinating to watch! An hour past before they finished. Hope went to freshen up and father came to sit by me.

* How'd you like the show?

* It was really interesting actually. Am I gonna start training soon..?

Father looked down a bit.

* I'm leaning towards a yes but a part of me says you're not ready...but you need to learn at some point, right?

* Yes father, that's what I've been saying this whole time..I can prove it to you!

* Right now?

I nodded, teleporting us to the training fields.

Dream's View:
I was watching to the training observation area with Solis. Hopefully Cross hadn't finished his training with Hope yet, Solis wanted to see if he was ready to start training himself. We went out and I froze a bit.

Is that Bloom?

Yeah-

* I thought she didn't train...?

* She doesn't, I'm guessing she wanted to prove Cross a point..

We sat down.

* Why doesn't she train?

* She's not ready yet..

* How do you know..?

* She thinks with her mind, very academically rather than combatively. She's half way there...but when she's in an intense fight, she panic, freezes, closes up. In a fight, the opposition would see her weaknesses instantly.

I cringed as I saw her spawn a shield that wasn't strong enough and she got flung back. She got back on her feet quickly.

* Have you told her...?

I nodded.

* She shut down...she felt disappointed in herself. I could feel it, and so did Cross, so we decided to give her more time to understand her feelings before starting to train her.

* Bloom we should stop-

* NO! N-No please father...I want to show you that...that I CAN FIGHT!

My soul ached for her. She wanted so badly to prove it. Cross was going gentle on her and yet she still wasn't proving her point. After twenty minutes, I stood up.

* Cross, it's okay, you can stop...!

* But mother-

* Bloom, c'mon...

The fighting stopped and they both came over to Solis and I.

* Bloom, I could see your energy depleting too quickly-

* But I wasn't giving up..!

* If Cross was a villain, you could've be hurt severely. I'm not risking that sweetheart...

* Your mother is right Bl-

Bloom scoffed.

* That's what always happens. Don't you have some faith in me?

* We do Bloom, but-

* Then why can't I train??

* Sis you literally scared at shadows.

We turned to see Hope.

* I love you, but mother's making a point.

She teleported to her room and I teleported after her.

* Bloom we didn't mean to upset you, we're just trying to-

* Protect me? Mother I've heard this all before. It's very clear how confident you guys are in me.

* Bloom...

* I want to be alone, please..

* ...are you sure? If you want to be mad, you can talk to me...

* I just need to calm down by myself please...

I nodded before leaving the room with a pause before closing the door.

7pm

Solis's View:
I knocked on Bloom's door.

* You can come in..

I gently opened the door and I saw her reading a magic book.

* You okay..?

She nodded.

I sat down besides her, her head leaning on my shoulder.

* Do you have confidence in me..?

* Of course I do, I just hope they can see what I see.

She smiled.

* A lot of people don't know that I have tentacles just like my biological father. Maybe I should start using 'em.

* Wouldn't that scare your mother?

* Maybe, but it would make fighting a lot easier. Plus, I've been working on something else.

* Oh yeah?

She nodded, getting out her notebook.

* I want to understand my magic more, and I know my parents tell me or teach me, so there's only one other person to ask.

* ...who?

* My biological father.

* Bloom that's a bad idea-

* Don't worry, I won't bring him out or anything. He's in my mother's mind...so if I could extract a little bit of Outer's magic, I could talk to him in a dream.

This was a bad idea.
Smart, but bad.

* Bloom I understand that you feel like you have no other options but talking to Shattered is a bad idea. He'll get you angrier at your family one way or the other.

* I need to do this Solis...