ＤＥＡＬ // ENG // Love and Deepspace // Sylus ff

II ✧*̥˚𝕯𝖎𝖘𝖈𝖑𝖔𝖘𝖚𝖗𝖊*̥˚✧

A few days have passed since Alexis returned to UNICORNS. She currently slept next to Butterfly, with whom she spent most of her time these last few days, unless she was with Kian. She fell asleep in her room after watching a movie. When Alexis woke up, the TV was just running the closing credits. The girl raised herself, smiled at the sleeping Butterfly, and gently stroked her hair. Then she got up to turn off the television, but as she did so she heard a tapping on the window. She rubbed her eyes and stared at the shutter, which overlooked the night-time Linkon City. What was her surprise when she saw Mephisto on the parapet! She walked quickly to the window, opened it, and looked at the mechanical crow. ,,Hello, boy," she said, a smile spreading across her face.

Mephisto croaked softly and tilted his head to one side as he watched the girl in front of him. And he wasn't the only one, despite the mechanical crow and its perfect system, Sylus was looking at Alexis on his tablet. He was glad to see her again, but that wasn't the only reason his crow was sitting on the sill of the girl's room right now. Mephisto had brought something. He moved closer to Alexis and lowered his head. Then he opened his beak, dropping a small ball that had a knob on one side that could be squeezed. It was hidden in a secret box right in the beak. When it did, the mechanical bird looked at Alexis again, and Sylus smiled behind his tablet.

Alexis readily cupped the ball in her hand and smiled. ,,I understand,'' she whispered softly, then gently pressed the button on her side. She put the ball in her hand and saw a tiny projection of Sylus's handwriting appear above it. It was a date and a place, and Alexis understood. Sylus was letting her know where they were meeting. The girl smiled. ,,I'll be there," she said, looking at Mephisto and gently stroking his head. She stared at the crow for a moment, then saw the mechanical bird stare after her, before vanishing into a red-black mist, leaving only a few feathers, which then vanished as well. It wasn't until late that Alexis realized what Mephisto was looking at and who was looking at Mephisto.

Butterfly woke up to a sound in the room. She sat up on the bed and rubbed her eyes. When she looked at who Alexis was talking to, she just stopped. She would have recognized Mephisto anywhere. As soon as the mechanical crow disappeared and her sister turned, she looked at her. ,,You've been in contact with him? After all he's done to you?" She stared at her sister in disbelief. She felt a mixture of confusion and surprise, and perhaps anger. She remembered vividly what Sylus had done and how he had hurt her sister. ,,Please tell me you're not seeing him," she said in a low voice.

Alexis saw clear confusion and a lot of other emotions in her eyes. She took a long breath. She did not want to lie her, nor could she. She didn't want to break faith with her sister, so she arrived from the window, put the ball in her pants pocket, and walked to the bed. ,,Fly," she began, and then paused, ,,it's not that simple, you know?" she said softly, reaching gently for her hand. ,,Look, I know you don't like it... but I'll explain," she said, confirming what her younger sister had asked.

,,Isn't easy? Sis... but he lied to you and he hurt you too. I still remember how sad you were, how many nights you cried, you barely smiled," the little girl frowned slightly. She couldn't understand. She couldn't understand why she would change her mind after everything Alexis had said. ,,You're right, I don't like it because I don't trust him. And because I'm afraid he's going to hurt you again," Fly sighed.

Alexis nodded agreement. ,,Yes, I know, and I don't blame you. If I were you, I'd be scared, too," she whispered, then paused. She searched for the right words. ,,I... he... Fly, I love him. And he loves me too, I know it. Because he wants me without the protocore, that's something... Why else would he want me?" she said. ,,He made a mistake, enough of them. I'm aware of that, and I'm still partially angry with him, but... I can't help it. I love him," she said again, looking into her sister's eyes. ,,Fly, promise me you won't tell anyone, please, no one can know."

Fly sat on the bed absorbing what her sister had said. She tried to understand the whole thing. After all, she was too young for this sort of thing and didn't understand everything, but she got the gist anyway. ,,I... understand, but I'm still angry. To him for making you sad, for making you cry," she whispered, and sighed. ,,You may believe him, but I... don't." Butterfly looked Alexis in the eye and paused for a moment. Although she didn't like it, she didn't want her sister in trouble, so she just nodded. ,,I won't tell anyone," she said at last.

,,Thank you," Alexis said, gently stroking her palms, which she held in hers. ,,I promise I'll take care of myself. I promise I'll always tell you when I'm going out with him, but you can't seriously tell anyone. I'll take care of myself, really," she said, then paused again. ,,Well, I've seen Luke, too... you must miss him, too," she said then, trying to lighten the mood.

,,I won't tell anyone, you don't have to worry. I don't want you to get in trouble because of him, so I'll keep my mouth shut," she squeezed her hands, then paused. Especially when she started talking about Luke. Fly smiled slightly. Alexis told her the truth even though she didn't have to, which is why Fly didn't want to keep anything from her sister. ,,I saw Luke the other day," she admitted, ,,and he found me in the park. It was really nice to see him again. I miss him," she whispered.

Alexis blinked a few times. ,,Funny Luke didn't tell me about this,'' the girl said, tilting her head to one side, then looking at her sister. ,,Look, if you're planning on seeing him... Just promise me you'll be careful. I'm not exactly supposed to blame you, to tell you the truth," she laughed lightly, running her fingers gently through her hair. ,,Fly, it means a lot to me that you understand, it really does," she whispered softly, before leaning forward and resting her forehead against hers.

Fly looked at her sister and smiled slightly. ,,It's true I'd like to see him sometimes. I got along fine with him, and there's no one here as crazy as he was. Unless you and Kian are included," the girl said, then nodded her head slightly. ,,I'm not thrilled, but... if it really means so much to you and you like him," she shrugged. ,,Just... don't let him hurt you again, please," Butterfly said, not wanting to see her again as sad as she had been.

Alexis shook her head gently. ,,He won't, don't worry. I wouldn't let him do that anymore, and besides, if he wanted to hurt me, he would have done it by now. Also... why else would he be with me? I think this is real, and there's no harm done to us, me, or you on his part," the girl said, smiling, reaching out gently and stroking her cheek. ,,Now try to get some sleep. You have an important practice tomorrow before exams. How are you looking forward to them?" she asked. Butterfly was soon to take selective exams that would determine her eventual advancement or exclusion from the program based on her abilities.

Butterly listened to her sister. On the one hand, it made sense. Alexis no longer had protocore in her, so why else would Sylus want her sister? Maybe he really liked her, but Fly didn't believe him yet. She only hoped it would turn out well this time. When Alexis mentioned rehearsals, the girl sighed. ,,I don't know, I'm not looking forward to it. I'm more worried about it. I'm afraid I won't make it," she said, looking at her older sister. Fly put everything into the training, she tried her best, but even so she didn't believe in herself.

Alexis tilted her head to one side. ,,Why fear? Personally, I think you're good at training, Florence praises you, and so does your coach. Don't worry about it, believe in yourself, you'll see you can do it. Besides, even if you don't make it, it won't mean anything to you. You could keep training with me and live here too. But I honestly don't think you can't handle it," she admitted. ,,You're just like me," she laughed. ,,And you've got our parents' hot blood. They never gave up anything in the end either."

Fly smiled at her sister. ,,I... guess you're right. I'm certainly not going to give up, I've trained too long for that," said the girl, ,,it's more that some are there a bit longer. I don't know... I just have stage fright and I'm afraid of screwing up something I know how to do," she shrugged. ,,I want to be as good as you are because you... well... you're my Alexis," the little girl finally admitted, and then her cheeks flushed.

Alexis smiled at her younger sister. ,,You're just amazing, aren't you?'' she said. ,,I believe you. You're good and you'll shine," she said. They spent the rest of the evening watching television, and before Alexis fell asleep, she ran her fingers lightly over the small tips of her pocket. She couldn't deny that she was looking forward to seeing Sylus again.