Powers

Chapter 23: Mistakes

"Alright. Where did you want to go first?" Mark asked. Conveniently, the elevator door just opened.
"To Isole" I said with a small voice. Mark nodded.
"To Isole it is" he pressed the lower level button.
We then stood in front of her and Aukai. They shared a small cell. Bracelets around their wrist stopped them from any tricks. Not that Aukai was handy in this situation.
"What do you want?" Isole snarled. She picked at her nails from the corner of the cell. Her white hair was pulled up in a bun, aging her face.
"I wanted to ask you why. I know I did already, but that answer just didn't seem right"
"Well you came for no reason then" she hissed. I disobeyed the orders that the guards had given me to stay away from the bars. Instead I planted myself right in front of them.
"Isole, you were my friend. I don't want to see you locked up in here. I want to know your true motive" I tried to sweet talk her. She stood up, walking towards me.
"Watch it, Isole" Mark warned. I felt his hand on my shoulder.
"You want to know the real reason?" She was in my face now.
"I want to know everything" I responded.
"I'd say it was jealousy, but that would just be too cliche, now wouldn't it" Isole then began laughing.
"Why did you do it, Isole!?" I demanded. I grabbed the collar of her shirt.
"Because, princess, I have good motives" she spat in my face. I didn't hesitate then. I drove my fist into her face.
"Hey!" Mark then shouted. Aukai already tried fighting me from behind the bars. I went to fight back, but Mark stood in front of me, plucking me off the ground. "Back off, it's not worth the fight"
"They tried to kill us!" I yelled. I scrambled to fight against Mark.
"I know! I am aware! But we didn't die! We got shit to do today!" Mark then yelled in my face. I stopped fighting him. Now I could tell he was mad. He had something to say and there was nothing I could do at this exact moment to stop his explosion. He shoved me to the ground.
"Mark I- I"
"What? You what? Huh? Didn't mean it? Of course you fucking meant it because you can't keep your damn emotions in check! I'm sick of having to clean up your mess! You're the one who's supposed to be the Chief, not me! Fuck, it's like looking after a five year old! Grow the fuck up, Jack, or you'll never make it! They will take you away from that position because there is apparently others who are able to fill your hole! If you continue this useless fight, you can bet I will leave your ass because I'm done dealing with your shit. Go get ready for the coronation cause there might not be a wedding" Mark stepped over my legs. He stormed off, leaving me sitting there while Isole and Aukai laughed at me.
I stood, running to the elevator before I began crying. I went up one level, finding the staircase and I began running up it. I ran until I came across the roof access. I shoved the door open, finding myself on the pebbled roof. The sun beat down on it, the heat rising up into my face. I slammed the door behind me. With tears now streaming down my face, I sat myself on the edge of the building. It would be useless to fall. I wouldn't die. But still I sat there with my feet dangling over the edge.
I let the breeze dry my tears to my face. I looked down at the ground. I could just let myself fall over. I would at least fall unconscious. Maybe cause memory damage so I didn't have to remember my shitty past months. I know I've been a shit person lately. I changed after that war and for some reason I've been trying to prove I have changed. I've made an asshole out of myself. I was an ass to Mark. I wasn't fair. More than usual I had let my emotions control my decisions cause I had known how cold hearted I was throughout that war. I had sat there during that war while people died. And I just didn't care. Now I'm caring too much. Again.
Most of me was saying how much of a horrible human being I've been. Suddenly I fell back. I had felt a body hit me, it brought me back, slamming me into the gravel of the roof.
"What the hell, Jack? What was that!? You scared the shit out of me!" Mark's voice echoed in my head. He picked me off the ground, wrapping his arms tightly around me. He tucked my head under his chin, pressing the side of my head into his chest. I began shaking.
"I'm sorry, Mark. I'm so sorry for being a shitty person" I cried out.
"I can promise you that's no reason to sit at the edge of a building! Jack, I will always love you, I-I just get mad sometimes" I could feel him pulling me tighter into his chest.
"Is he alright?" I heard a voice.
"He's good. I got him" Mark rested his head on top of mine. "C'mon, Jack, I didn't mean to direct all my anger at you" Mark apologized once again. Sure you did was all I could think. I didn't respond to him once. He didn't stop trying to get me to talk. He still tried when he brought me to get ready. He protected me from the crowds of people that were trying to see if I was okay. Maybe I was still in shock. Maybe I was mad for not jumping. There were so many things that just numbed me beyond recognition. It was the exact state of mind I was during the war.
"I've got him, go to the room next, there will be someone there who will get you in order" I then heard the old woman. For the first time in the past while, Mark let me go, and suddenly I was a three year old who had lost his mom in a crowd. I began panicking.
"Darling, look at me" the woman stood herself in front of me. I wanted to look down but I was too distracted by watching Mark leave the room. "Jack I need you to look at me" I heard her again. I finally shifted my eyes to meet hers. "He's going to be back, he hasn't left you, dear. Come now, I will make you feel better" she assured. She put her arm around my shoulder, placing me on a chair. She went to stir a pot, then poured what looked to be tea into a mug. She handed it to me. "Drink up, this never fails to fix someone up." She commanded.
"What is it?" I croaked.
"A small magic brew I learned to make. Trust me, you aren't the first person I've met with a little regret. It'll help"
"What does it do?" I asked, hesitant to put a foreign liquid into my body.
"Basically it puts a wall of sorts between your consciousness and bad memories. Numbs everything while still letting you be sane. Drink. I have to grab your stuff" she hobbled off. I looked down at the steaming liquid sitting in my hands. I was hesitant to put it to my lips, but soon found the liquid to be sweet and warm. It nearly tasted of chocolate. From my first sip, I felt a wave of peace rush over my body. Suddenly I couldn't remember anything of the war. I was aware it happened now, but didn't know what I did. I couldn't remember one damn thing about it. I couldn't even remember how I got here.
"Better?" The woman asked. She was mixing something in a bowl.
"I think so? I don't remember how I got here. I-I don't even remember what happened these past few months? I mean-"
"Don't scratch the wall, darling, its there for a reason. Now, strip down to your boxers, I have to get you ready for today" she continued to stir the semi liquid in her bowl. I did as she asked of me, ending up feeling a bit exposed, being just in my boxers.
"Alright, now what" I looked around.
"Those gold pieces, put them on" she pointed to the mannequin with the familiar gold pieces. The headdress I knew I had to grow myself once I had been given the title of chief officially. I put on the shorts provided, they seemed tighter around my thighs now. "Oh, hold on a moment, darling, I forgot" she came up to me, slapping my hand away from the chest piece I was about to put on.
"What?" I asked.
"To make your chest a bit more presentable" she said. I frowned. There was nothing wrong with it. As I'm sure I was aware of.
"What's wrong with it?" I looked down on it. It was mostly covered in chest hairs, as one should.
"The hair. If you remember from that dream walk, the Chiefs never had. It was just a silly little symbol of their status. You must continue this as well, don't you think" she put the bowl she was mixing down.
"I guess? I mean it's never occurred to me before?" I raised an eyebrow at her.
"It's a quick fix, lay down" she patted a leaf cot that had just grown on spot.
I was hesitant, and apparently for good reason. She began waxing my chest. I tried so hard not to make a sound when that strip ripped out half of my chest, but a small grunt would always escape.
"Almost done, dear" she said as I felt a strip being placed over my belly button. I shut my eyes, preparing for the worst of the pain. With one last rip, I grunted, flinching myself back into a sitting position.
"Holy crap, that hurts" I complained. I looked down at my now bare torso, making me look even more pubescent. Hadn't it been for the beard, I would have looked twelve.
"Lay back down" she waved at me.
"Why?" I asked, not wanting to sit back down.
"Just pruning the hairs on your face. After all, it's your big day, and you got to look good" she told me. I looked at what she had brought out. She brought a shaver, trimmers and tweezers. I sighed, laying back down. She then too twenty to thirty minutes plucking and trimming away at my face. She put cremes on my face that made my skin super soft.
"What's all of this for? I mean, I don't exactly need all this stuff" I wondered. I currently had some kind of mask that was drying and hardening on my face.
"It's just to relax your skin and face. Also relax you after your tough journey to get to this exact moment, Jack" she responded.
"What have I done? I don't know what I've done. Like I know there's pieces of my life missing because the last thing I remember is being in my room with Mark, growing flowers. And I know that was maybe on Monday or Tuesday and today is Friday. Before that I was on a boat in the middle of the ocean. There's nothing in those holes"
"Don't worry yourself, it will come to you soon, but for now, I'm going to clean this mask off of you, and out your outfit on" she assured. I was soon in the gold piece. It wrapping itself again around my torso, adorning every inch it reached. The head piece was placed snugly on my head.
"I have to paint some traditional markings on your face if you do not mind, then I will place the cape on and giving you a departing gift" she explained as she brought back the bowl with the thick liquid in it. She took a brush and dipped it in. I shut my eyes as I felt her brush over my cheeks, nose, and forehead. I could feel her putting small designs into the markings, but I couldn't tell what they were.
"Thank you, by the way, I appreciate you doing this" I thanked her. She chuckled.
"It's not problem, darling. I'd do anything for my Chief" she then hobbled off behind her shack. She came back with a piece of metal I never thought I'd see again. My staff. It was covered in scratches and the flower at the top had wilted.
"No way" I said in disbelief. I stood, taking it from her hand. I hit the button that released it. The entire staff extended to about chest height. The flower at the top sprung up again. The woman began putting the long, flowing green cape on me. Once again it's strange clearness with its green glint shone. But I noticed this time it had been extended.
"It's time, Chief" she patted her back.
"Wait, are you coming to the ceremony?" I asked her before she guided me out.
"Of course, I am still a higher up in the tribe and I haven't been forgotten, even if I do stay in this room for a majority of my life" she smiled. She had me walk out far enough that my cape wasn't going to get caught in the door. She straightened out her skirt before walking to me. Like the gentleman that I was, I took her by the arm, leading her down the hall. She then directed me to where it was. I was stood at a door, with her still by my side. I could hear many voices on the other side of the door, signalling to me that everyone was waiting for us. From behind me, I heard a small "wow" I turned to see Mark. He was stood in the same setup as I was in. He had markings of the Nature faction as well as his own. Who ever dressed him did an absolutely amazing job. I was in awe.
"We're about to begin" someone popped their head through. The doors then swung open, and a song began to play. It wasn't the wedding march. Instead it was a peaceful piano tune that seemed to match the calming surroundings