Chameleon | ONC 2020

13: Confession

She woke up to the sound of beeping. Sterile white light tried to pry her lids open, poked her into wakefulness against her will. She wanted to go back to her dream. She couldn't remember what it was about, but it had been a long time since she had slept deeply enough to dream. She had been quite enjoying herself.

Someone touched her hand, and she jerked awake. Her face almost immediately settled into a scowl, and her eyes squinted automatically at the invasion of light. It was far too intense.

"Chameleon?"

She turned, and her neck creaked like a rusty gate. She felt like she'd been dropped from a height; her entire body rang with pain.

Green eyes met hers. Someone held a glass of water in front of her face. Chameleon struggled through the daze, stung by déjà vu, and finally brought Lilac's face into focus. The woman smiled, haloed by the bright overhead light, which picked out silver flecks in her hair.

"Did it eat me?" she slurred, then woke up properly. An alarm went off as she sat bolt upright. Lilac put the glass of water down and pushed her back on the bed.

"You're in hospital," Lilac said, "Don't panic."

"What happened? Did anyone hurt you? What..."

"Shh. I'm fine."

Chameleon looked up, and found Lilac's sorrow cloud still hovering there. "You don't look fine."

She didn't; she had several cuts on her face and dark bags under her eyes. "I bet I look better than you."

"You always look better than me."

Lilac smirked. "Debatable."

Chameleon flushed.

"Coran brought us here. He won, by the way." Lilac sniffed. "He's pretty busy making sure everybody on the territory knows he won, but at any rate, he didn't think you'd want to see him." Lilac's expression made it very clear what she thought of Chameleon's ex. Chameleon hoped, vainly she thought, that the two had not met while she was asleep. An embarrassing part of her still didn't want to hurt Coran more than she already had. If she tried hard enough, she could pretend that the last thing she'd heard from him was a remnant of her dream, even though she knew it wasn't.

"I don't," she said, and meant it. "I never thought he'd...I didn't realise...." She met Lilac's gaze. "I don't know how I'm ever going to make this up to you." Lilac made as if to wave it off, but Chameleon grabbed her hand, surprising both of them. "No, this isn't taxi money or a few coffees. I almost got you killed."

"You didn't make me jump on the back of a ghoul with only a bannister to hand."

"That's not what I..."

"I've dealt with this stuff before, Chameleon, believe it or not." Lilac's lips pursed. "It's partly my fault. Coran came to see me about you while you were elsewhere. He came into the clinic before hours and I said some things I shouldn't have. I had no excuse. I know better than to wind up a werewolf and I still did it. Granted, I didn't anticipate that that was the kind of mob he ran, and if I had I would have been a lot more careful, but it remains. It's not all your fault." She smiled. "And you certainly shouldn't apologise for asking for help. I should've helped you find a way out of your situation, not stuck my oar in like an idiot."

Chameleon thought about that, fighting through a haze of painkillers to work out what Lilac was saying between the lines. "It was pretty cool," she muttered, "when you jumped on its back with a bannister."

"I try my best." Lilac looked down, face reddening, "I liked that dress."

"Shut up."

"I'm serious."

They looked away from each other. Chameleon said, "I saw your cloud. I can still see it."

Lilac didn't respond.

"My real name is Kate." Chameleon took a long, deep breath, feeling Lilac's eyes on the side of her head. "I only ever told Coran that before."

"Well." Lilac's voice was very soft. "It's nice to finally meet you, Kate."

Yeah, Chameleon thought, it's been a while for me too. And she pushed down an almost hysterical urge to laugh.

"I made a deal with a sorcerer," she said instead. "That was a crappy idea, wasn't it?"

"If he tries to give you an extra head or send you into the next dimension, I promise I'll step in," Lilac said, grinning. "But I am incredibly flattered that that crappy decision was made on my behalf."

Chameleon's face turned hotter than ever, and it reminded her of something she had never been brave enough to ask.

"Do you...do you have like a payment plan...or something...for counselling?" This was so difficult; why was this so difficult? Of all the jobs she'd run, the things she'd seen, why was asking for help one of the hardest?

"For you," Lilac said, and when Chameleon glanced her, her face was hidden by her hair, "I won't charge. As long as I get your first tattoo."

Chameleon stared at the hospital door, fighting tears. Something heavy felt like it had just left her shoulders, allowing her to breathe for the first time in years. Her chest felt like it was swelling; it was almost alarming.

"I'm guessing that's a yes," Lilac said, and Chameleon finally looked at her, but Lilac was staring at a point just above her head.

Chameleon's heart stuttered. "You can see it?"

"I can see it." Lilac's fingers crept over Chameleon's. "And we're not going to let it go out."