Mirrored Conflicts (a Sokeefe story)

Chapter 6: The Conversation

...Sophie Foster?

Sophie almost squealed at her success. I can't believe that worked!

Are you transmitting to me, or am I officially going insane? Keefe asked her.

I'm transmitting, Sophie confirmed. Can you hear me if I transmit a little quieter?

Yeah—actually, keep it at that volume. Your first transmissions almost gave me a heart attack, Keefe joked, once again showing his unexpected sense of humor.

It was almost alarming how quickly he was able to make her feel comfortable despite the fact that they did not know each other and were supposed to fight each other, actually.

You have a Cognate, right? The Vacker guy? How does he not pee his pants every time you reach out to him?

Sophie laughed despite herself. Don't be gross.

I'm not. I'm being for real. And uh... wait. If you're in my head, are you searching my memories?

Sophie realized she could definitely do that if she wanted to—and it might actually be the right thing to do in this situation, according to the Black Swan. But she really just wanted to talk to him right now—a meeting of her own terms, instead of his. (But it was actually great that the Neverseen hadn't made him a telepath, since she was pretty sure he had no way of blocking her.)

I'm focusing on what you're saying—I promise, Sophie told him. Though some of his loudest thoughts were buzzing around them, and she couldn't help but catch a few things. For example, he was really freaked out that she was able to reach out to him, but definitely happy to hear from her again, and certainly a little guilty for wanting to talk to her. But he also seemed worried they'd get caught communicating.

Is this a bad time?

Nah, the people I room with are really heavy sleepers, he thought, waving off her concerns. She caught the names floating around the words in his mind: Ruy and Alvar.

Her stomach twisted. Right. Of course he would know Alvar. Because Alvar was with the Neverseen, and so was Keefe.

It's a good thing, too, since I definitely flailed a little when I first heard your voice in my head, and I definitely don't want to have to be explaining that to them.

So you haven't told anyone at the Neverseen that you talked to me? Sophie said, glad he'd made the same decision as her.

Nope. Did you tell the Black Swan?

No, she admitted, feeling like she was writing something in stone, or sealing something for good.

Then this can be our little secret. Neither of us have to tell anyone we aren't always trying to kill each other.

Something about the words "our little secret" resonated too much. A part of it was terrifying and made her want to run to the Black Swan and undo the lies she'd covered up with, and the other part was thrilling and made her want to meet and talk with him secretly forever...

She shook off the feeling. This did not have to be a big deal. He was just objectively the only person in the universe who could understand what she was going through, and they had that mutual understanding. Inside this conversation, they could pretend they weren't nemeses. That was all.

It wouldn't change a thing when they faced each other in battle.

So, talk to me, Moonlark. You reached out. What's going on? Did something happen? Keefe asked her.