Guardians of Anteverum City

Chapter Seven: Level Zero

So far, my Friday evening consisted of soaking my aching muscles in the bath and lying in bed icing my back. Training with Rubus had taken quite a toll on my body, so much that I had elected to stay in tonight while Faye and Ottie went to a concert Grace invited us to. I was in a bit of a mopey mood since I was the only one in my friend group not going. I doubt I could have managed to stand that long and either way I had work to do. I shuffled over to the living room and pulled my Guardians binder out from its hiding place in the bookshelf and read over everyones abilities. It is starting to make sense why each member is teamed up with their partner, though their romantic engagements still confound me.  

Rubus's enhanced defense strength perfectly complimented Sapphira's enhanced offensive strength, and thus they could cover for each other's weaknesses and be deadly opponents. Opal could become invisible while Zircon could sense people and their physical conditions, so their abilities allowed them to be close with one another like they liked to be. Esmeralda is a healer while Jaden is a technopath, so they both have a gift for working with structure and function. Do my and Reese's abilities match up? Rapid knocking on the door interrupted my train of thought.  

"Who is it?" I called out. The knocking continued and picked up pace, but no one replied. I forced myself off the couch and opened the door slowly. The person on the other side pushed it open and quickly slammed it shut, knocking me back a few steps. "What the-" I turned around to see Seira and Reese. 

"I'm sorry, Lyra! I didn't respond because I didn't want to get caught with Reese," Seira huffed. Both of them were out of breath. 

"Hey Lyra!" Reese grinned. 

"Do you two know each other?" I asked. Seira plopped down on the couches.  

"Yeah, we go way back," she replied. I grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen and tossed it to her.  

"We were in the same class in 5th grade," Reese added. 

"Anyways, we bumped into each other at the concert and since a huge group of Ventura girls were there, Reese asked if you were too and I told him you stayed home. Are you feeling okay?" she asked with a look of concern.  

"I'm starting to feel much better," I lied. Seira smiled, 

"Thank goodness. Okay, I'm off. See you guys later!" she sang out as she skipped out the front door.  

"Huh? Why did she leave?" I asked. Reese started laughing. 

"You look so confused," he said. I shot him a glare and he tried to contain himself. "When Seira said you were at home because you weren't feeling well I got worried and wanted to make sure you're still alive," he joked. "Of course, this is a girls dorm so I had to make her help me sneak in. She isn't happy she's missing the first few acts of the show, but she wanted to check on you too," he explained. I was surprised at how friendly Seira and I had gotten over the past few weeks. We had gone from barely speaking to each other to talking every day in class and occasionally hanging out after I came back from training. Even Eliza, who used to have a grudge against her, started hanging out with her. Sometimes I wonder what caused the change in Seira, but it really doesn't matter. I'm happy the way things are now. "Hello, earth to Lyra? Geez, you really are out of it. It's a good thing I came over," he jested.  

"Sorry, I was just thinking about how I've made a lot of new friends after joining the Guardians," I said with a smile. Reese nodded in agreement. 

"A lot of good things have happened since we joined the Guardians." He was right. It's funny how even though we joined because of an issue that's putting the world in danger, we've benefitted so much from being involved with them, not only as combatants but also as people. Maybe it wasn't Seira who changed. Maybe I've changed without even noticing.