Conceal || ItsFunneh AU

09 | mysterious lady

Calix smiles, a shy smile that slowly creeps up, almost like it's afraid.

"Why don't you showcase your talent more?" I study his sketch, eyes tracing over every detail.

He winces. "Oh no, please don't call it that." Rubbing a hand over his face, he continues, "I would get burned, trampled on, then thrown out like trash if people knew I draw."

Frowning, I look up at him. "Are you ashamed of your art?"

"No! No, it's not that. I just..." he trails off, unsure of what to say. "People have this certain image of me in their minds, you know?"

"So? Who cares what they think?" Oh, Lunar. How ironic of you to talk like it doesn't bother you as well.

"I don't!" Calix growls, a bit too quickly, and I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?"

"Damn, Lunar, give me a break."

We lapse into silence.

"I should go," I finally say, making a show of checking the time.

"Lunar, I—"

"I promised Rainbow we would walk home together," I cut in, hurriedly packing up. Without another word, I flee from the room, the door slamming shut behind me.

The cool night breeze hits me, and I stand there for a second, eyes closed, trying to process what had just happened. Who did I think I was, offering advice on his life? I really need to stop letting Gold's teasing get into my head.

I wasn't lying about meeting Rainbow though. Collecting myself, I walk to the bubble tea shop where Rainbow works at.

A bell tinkles as I push open the doors. Warm AC air and a song greets me. A few tables are spread around, their matching chairs flipped over for the end of the day. Plush sofa-chairs are pushed to the side as Rainbow sweeps the floor, head bobbing to the music.

She looks up as I enter. "Lunar! Hey!" The music stops. "How was your day?"

I hesitate, pondering whether I should tell her about Calix or not. "It was... fine."

"Did you have fun tutoring Calix?"

So she knows.

"Yeah, it was fine. He's really good at drawing." My mouth blurts out the last part without my brain's consent.

Rainbow raises both eyebrows and nods. Without another word, she returns to sweeping the floor.

The air suddenly feels too hot, and I step out to escape the warm AC air.

"Lunar," a raspy voice whispers.

I jolt, surprised, and turn to see an elderly woman seated on a bench. Her head is covered by a big hood, and her arms are resting on a walking cane. A hand lifts up and motions for me to come closer, and I obey. Rainbow has always told me to respect the elderly.

"You have magic."

It comes out more like a statement than a question. I blink, taken aback. This woman, this stranger, just uncovered my deepest, darkest secret. "I, uh, who are you?"

The hood tilts back slightly and a pair of dark eyes peer up at me. "That's not important, child. You have a Gift, yes?"

I scoff inwardly. I wouldn't call it a gift. "Yes, ma'am."

The old woman nods, satisfied with my answer. "I could sense the aura around you," she mutters quietly.

I think of making up an excuse and running away, but an idea suddenly pops up: What if she can fix whatever's wrong with me?

"Wait! My ability—gift—isn't working. Can you help me?" My words blurt out desperately.

"Oh?"

"I actually have elf ears, teal hair, and lilac eyes." I explain, my words—and brain—a jumbled mess. "I used to be able to cover the abnormalities using illusions, but recently, my illusion is starting to have chinks. My natural hair colour is showing, and I don't know how to conceal them."

"Show me."

I pause for a split second, quickly scanning around before I slide my hood down, revealing the glittery teal hair. It has spread from a strand to the whole underside of my hair.

The old woman's face moves into the moonlight as she inches closer to look. The moonlight reflects her irises, and my eyes widen as I realize they're purple. Not a vibrant purple, but a deep, dark purple.

Before she can offer advice, however, the bubble tea shop door tinkles open and I jerk around, my hands hurrying to cover my head with my hood.

"Lunar! Let's go!" Rainbow calls out, her back to me, locking the door.

"One second!" I turn around to ask the old lady for her name, her phone number, her Instagram, anything, but she's gone. Just like that. Not a trace left.

I spin around in a circle, searching for her, but she seems to have just... vanished. Into thin air.

"Lunar?" Rainbow comes up beside me, confusion in her eyes. "What are you looking for?"

I sigh. "Nothing."

Light gleams off something shiny on Rainbow's neck, and I catch the sight of the small circle pendant. Her "lucky charm", as she calls it.

Rainbow loves that necklace. She believes it wards off evil spirits, but I know that's not true since it has no effects on me. Having it helps her sleep at night though, so I have no complaints.

Looping an arm through mine, we walk home together. Rainbow talks about her customers of the day and I listen mindlessly, still trying to process what happened with that strange old lady.

So she knows about my ability. I can't help but think—hope—she also has something magical. Her eyes flash in my mind again, the alluding purple eyes, and I feel certain there's more to her than just an old woman.

"—right?"

I blink guiltily as Rainbow looks at me. "Sorry... what did you say?"

She frowns; not unhappily, but concerned. "You seem to be really distracted recently, ever since that day we made pizza at Calix's house. Is something wrong?"

Swallowing, I give a noncommittal shrug. How am I supposed to word my troubles to her? 'Oh, you know, my ability that has hidden my real self from you for years is suddenly not working, a stranger old lady was about to help me but you scared her away, and to top it all off, I might've overstepped my boundaries with Calix. Nothing serious, right?'

"You know you can always talk to us, right?" She's talking about our siblings. "We're your family; the closest people in your life. You can trust us. I know you like to keep your guard up and keep your thoughts to yourself," my heart aches at the sad smile she gives me, "but you have to let it out sometimes, okay? Bottling up everything isn't healthy."

I can only nod; my throat has betrayed me and is refusing to work properly.

"I love you, Lunar." Her voice is so raw of love, no secrets, that it chokes me up even more. I blink rapidly, trying to keep my eyes from leaking.

Lunar, stop it. You're being such a crybaby.

Rainbow smiles and reaches up slightly to pat my head. "Let's go home. The others are waiting for us."