Arcamania

Where We Fit Pt.1

One of Fin's favorite pastimes was gathering war snacks. Sometimes, when Orferio's rumbling thoughts and faint impressions of his aggressive feelings became too much, Fin liked to dip.

The downside to possessing his friends' bones meant taking on all the strange little quirks their watered down versions of their powers provided.

Headaches. Mind reading. Subtle hallucinations.

You know, the works.

Though, it's not like he had to worry about that anymore.

A swell of shame washed over him.

His powers—all of them—were gone. He was vacant. An empty shell of who he was.

It was as if he died all over again.

Fortunately, Fin was still able to eat. Haeri couldn't take away the gifts that came with being a literal abomination to humanity because it was unnatural and not Maiden-given.

Perks of being a Shatter, he supposed.

Fin glanced over his shoulder, looking for Orferio's lingering shadows. He'd managed to slip away when the ex-war general decided to take a shit. Fin knew it was better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission when it came to finding snacks. He knew his friends would appreciate keeping their cranky attitudes at bay. Especially Orferio.

Stars knew how long he had to put up with it all to learn the secrets of keeping their snippy remarks at bay.

He scoffed at himself, amused at the irony of everything. Everyone often gave him strange looks when he accidentally said something a little too on the nose and it was a maddening struggle to not say everything outright.

Because... Once, long ago, he might have been a normal Gyaa-erkain. A normal, living, breathing human being.

Once, he was an over-curious Academy scholar—a bit like Maya—and found himself in trouble. A bit like Maya.

Maybe that was why he'd taken such a liking to her.

Everything she did and said reminded him of one of his closest friends from long ago, Marina. He supposed he might have been projecting, but the similarities between the girls were startling. From how they smiled. How they teased him.

Maya didn't know it yet, but they were going to be best friends.

Like he and Marina used to be.

Fin shoved his hands in his pockets and surveyed the small gas station. The weight of exhaustion and unmet hunger pulled at his bones and made him overly aware of every driver in each passing car, or the pets people kept in their homes, and even the workers standing around in the back of every business he walked past.

He could feel them.

Their heartbeats.

Their life brewing behind their souls.

It was there... waiting to be taken.

Fed on.

Fin bit the inside of his cheek as he forced himself to look away for fear of the consequences from a potential lapse of judgment.

Up ahead, he spied a heart of gray. It glowed like a radiant ghost, echoing in familiarity and he couldn't believe his eyes.

Somehow, he'd found Maya.

But... her soul felt quieter than it usually did.

His pace quickened as he moved to approach the sweatered figure. "My sweetest, Maya. You are a sore for sight eyes."