Petals on The Moon || Reyna Ramirez-Arellano x Fem!OC

VIII

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Hello again.

We were in a stinky smelly tunnel and walked forward, with Jason leading the way, since he had the most monster training and understood his abilities well. I don't even know my own abilities. I thought I was just really lucky when that Apollo girl fell asleep. Then I decided to venture my luck again with the guards. I didn't know that putting people to sleep with a touch was a genetic attribute.

I think that bothered me a lot, though. I found myself annoyed that I shared that with my father. It was one thing to share Somnus as an ancestor of some sort. I could pretend I was original, because my father wasn't around. But now I knew me and my father weren't like the other children of Somnus. Now I knew I was more like him than I thought.

Maybe that's why growing taller bothered me, too. My dad is a very tall man, and I hoped I took after my mother, whom I assume was a very typical Japanese woman- that is to say, short. I figured I had won the genetic lottery in that regard, because I have been fairly average my whole life. But I am currently in a growth spurt and know how statistics work. Theoretically, a girl is fully finished growing one year after her first period. I don't know why this is, but this is what I was told at the doctor. So, I have no idea how much longer I have to grow.

And that's terrifying. I don't want to be tall! Tall girls are always noticed really easily, and I don't want to be noticed. I've already caught some heat because everyone thinks I'm lying. I'm about to catch more heat when they find out I broke like, sixteen rules by dragging Reyna and Jason into a spooky Labyrinth. I can't deal with being tall on top of all that! I'm already proportioned like my father- that is to say, too-long limbs and very little muscle tone. This might be admissible if I remained at my current height of five feet, four inches. But I can't be extra tall and gangly. That's just a terrible combination for a teenage girl.

But I digress.

We found my string, which was now severed, lying in front of us. I was very terrified to think that it was cut and we had no way out. The scenery was also different, indicating that the maze had once again changed. But then the string started dragging backwards, and I squeezed my legs together for fear of an accident (yes, this sounds bad, but I was very terrified and didn't want to look bad).

"Uh-oh."

"Suki, stop saying that," Reyna complained. "Jason, can you sense any monsters?"

"Yes," Jason said, "but, it's like they're all around. So, it's not any help. Suki?"

"Smells like poppies," I said, keeping my account consistent. "No death."

"No death is good," Jason agreed.

We continued to walk forward. Jason complained about his racing heartbeat caused by the energy drink. Reyna mostly found it disgusting and complained about the sour taste on her tongue. As the smell got stronger, I decided to take the lead, agreeing that it'd be best for me to warn them in the event that Somnus did a bad thing, such as attack.

It didn't take long for that breeze to come by. Hands were touching me all over, very gentle and not moving, but it was unsettling. I shivered and tried to ignore the pressure of their grip on me and continued walking forward, wondering what could cause such a feeling, when the maze suddenly brought us to a chasm. I held my arm out by my sides in a t-pose to block Jason and Reyna, who promptly stopped and peered over my arms.