Beast Speaker, Monster Tamer

11: Hide and Seek, Origami Style

She was running. But no matter how fast she ran, the voices followed. She hated it, she hated the voices, it was almost as bad as the silence that followed.

Her mother's voice, "STOP RUNNING,"

"DON'T COME BACK,"

A flash of red, a familiar head of hair, "MONSTER,"

The ground gave way beneath her and she fell.

Falling.

Falling.

Pain.

Elise jolted up in a mess of sweat and tears. Everything was too much, the blanket, the bed, her breathing. The girl stumbled to her window and threw it open. Leaning dangerously far out, she took in heaving breaths of the chilly early morning air. The nightmare was already fading from her mind but the fear lingered. Elise couldn't help but give a full-bodied shudder as the cold wind blew over her skin.

Be careful, Elise.

She tiredly swiped a hand down her face. I got it.

Elise moved away from her window and grabbed her phone just as the morning alarm rang. The light of the device shone against her weary eyes and drove away the last of the terrors. How is it possible that I had a full five hours of sleep and feel like I haven't slept at all?

The girl hauled herself and her backpack downstairs, where her brother was nursing a cup of coffee next to a sleepy Sewaddle. Pan eagerly greeted and Elise gave him some head scratches.

Blaziken, in an effort to cheer her up, said, What a coffee addict.

Rousing commentary, Blaziken.

Is it possible to be addicted to coffee at nineteen? "Coffee again?" Elise asked, scooping a hefty amount of rice into her bowl and taking out some natto and an egg.

Lucas smiled. "Oh yeah." He squinted and asked, "Are you okay, kid?"

Chopsticks violently mixed up the natto. "Normal. Mentor went to work already, right?"

"Yeah. Do you want some coffee?"

The natto was put on the rice. Elise shook her head vehemently as she cracked the egg on top of the fermented soybeans. "Absolutely not! I'm not becoming a coffee addict like you. I'm pretty sure it's not helping your sleep schedule either."

He gave her a grin. "Stop coffee-shaming me." The smile dropped from his face and Lucas gave her a serious look. "You get sleep problems too. Have you considered the therapy that we talked about with our uncle?"

"I... don't need it, Lucas," Elise said. "I'm perfectly fine as I am... no need to bother—"

"You're not bothering anyone, stop saying that!" Lucas interrupted, slamming his hand down on the table and scaring the Sewaddle awake... "You need to stop shouldering all of this yourself. We're trying to help you!"

The girl shrunk into herself and picked at her food. Her stomach churned and Elise didn't look at him. She felt guilty that now her brother was worked up over nothing. "I'm sorry..." she said.

Lucas sighed. "There's nothing to be sorry about. I just want the best for you. After all," he said, golden eyes darkening. "I let them hurt you like this. I should be sorry."