Timeline: a Wings of Fire fanfiction (COMPLETED)

28.

Clearsight

"Hey. It's me." Listener tries to smile confidently, but I can tell she's nervous in the little things. The tap of her tail, and the way she's twiddling her talons, eyes darting around the kitchen way too quickly.

Even after all these years. She still hasn't changed, has she?

"Oh, um. Hey. Come on in." Listener barely seems to have heard me, frowning, as she glances over my shoulder.

"Clearsight. Is that... a dragonet?"

I grin, unable to help myself. "Shadowhunter. She just hatched a couple days ago."

"Aww! Look at those cute blue eyes!" Listener coos, making her way to the dragonet's high chair. "Hello Shadowhunter! I'm Listener."

Shadowhunter gurgles uncertainty, giving Listener a wary look, before swiping at her snout. I have to fight back a giggle.

"Um... If you want I can... make you some coffee?" Darkstalker asks awkwardly.

"Oh, that would be great!" Something about her voice is just a little too cheerful.

I smile a little. "Well, if you want you can pay me back by getting the little squiggle squot to eat her carrots."

Darkstalker quirks an eyebrow at me. "Squiggle squot, huh? Is that what we're calling her now?"

"Oh, hush," I mutter, swatting at him affectionately. I'm too anxious to care about whatever stupid things are coming out of my mouth right now.

***

Let me explain, okay. I promise I can give you a reasonable explanation for this.

Let me start at... a couple months before our graduation ceremony. We weren't spending much time together--not because we were ditching each other or anything, we were so busy studying and preparing our graduation thesis that we didn't have much time to spend time around anybody. Even then--I knew something was off with her.

In the way she turned down the chance to go into the city and wander cute little antique shops and market stands with fruits we'd never heard off--which was a whole tradition we had after school. How she always said vaguely that she was "busy." And I knew she wasn't; I wasn't stupid.

How when I made jokes or tried to ask her what was going, she just sort of stared out into oblivion.

And I told her all the things you're supposed to when you're worried about someone. Told her I was there if she wanted to talk, I was always there. And that I believed she could get through this, and I was proud of her, and she was loved. So loved. But... I don't really know if it did anything, to be honest.

***

And then... a party I didn't really want to be at. But Darkstalker was going anyway, and so was my best friend--and, I don't know. I was graduating school. I'd done it. I'd passed. I felt like doing something crazy. Just for a night.

That was part of it, anyway. The other part was that it was the first time in months Listener had asked me to go anywhere with her, and it felt really important. That I say yes.