Her Curse...

19 ~ Lotus

     I turned over, pressing my face to Grey's shoulder. I was awake; I just didn't wanna get up. Yuki was sleeping on Grey's other side.
     The mark on my hand was gone when I looked. It made me almost sad - it'd become a part of me. But I was happy I wasn't cursed; I could speak freely, and I didn't go crazy when I saw blood. Oddly enough, the sight of Grey's blood hadn't made me go berserk.
      At first, I hadn't been able to say anything relating to the topic of death, but it later changed to just "die." Zinnia had filled me in that it had happened to her, but with terms relating to the sky.

     The small wolf found my hand and nuzzled it. I giggled silently at Yuki's wet nose and warm tongue as he licked my fingers. Even though he was technically a wolf, he acted more like a dog. And he could pass as a dog too because of his coloring.
     Grey made a small noise and blinked open his eyes. A small blush formed on his face when he looked at me, and I grinned at him. "Good morning." I said. He smiled back at me, "Good morning."
     Slowly, I pushed myself up into a sitting position, running a hand through my hair. Yuki jumped up immediately as Grey sat up too, and nuzzled his arm. "Yuki, you're crazy." He said fondly, running his fingers through the pup's fur. I loved how he loved the pup, even though I was a little jealous. And a bit possessive.
     I leaned into him and pet Yuki as well. "But he's cute." I said, chuckling. "He is." Grey agreed. We sat in awkward silence for a moment until we both looked at each other and started laughing.

     A gentle knock on the door caught our attention. "Come in." Grey said, helping me hold back Yuki, who was barking. "Easy boy." I whispered. With a whimper, he curled up in Grey's lap. As the door opened, Grey raised an eyebrow at me.
     "Hey guys. Mom said it's time to wake up." Kira said. Amber popped in behind her, smiling. The sclera of her eyes oddly weren't black anymore. "Amber, c'mere." Zinnia's voice said from the hall. Sighing, Amber left.
     "Do all of you live here?" I asked. "Jade and I do. Amber stays here more frequently than Pearl and Ivy, and Ivy stays the least. Pearl is somewhere between." Kira explained. "Now hurry up and get ready." She said, and then closed the door.
     I looked at Grey, giggling softly. He smiled. "Let's get ready then?" I asked. He chuckled, and nodded. Yuki bounced off his lap, and then started scampering around on the floor. Like the rest of the building, there wasn't much furniture in the room we'd slept in. There were pillows on the floor near our heads, and blankets near our feet in case we needed them. Books were piled in the corner, and a pile of old-looking papers sat in another corner, with various kinds of writing utensils and multiple rolls of tape. Amber-tinted lights hung by small chains on the ceiling, wires weaving between the links. Those same lights were controlled by the light switch on the wall, by the door. Compared to the cozy, soft earthy colors around the room, the walls were storm grey, and the doors were made of dark wood.

     Ten minutes later, both of us had gotten changed, and Grey had helped me brush my hair. We walked out, and Yuki ran over to another one of the rooms in the hallway we were in. This one had its door propped open with a small wooden block. There was a soft noise from inside, and Yuki barked. "Hey, Yuki!" I chased after him, cautiously peering into the room.
     There was a computer in one corner, with a short stack of books next to it, and a small instrumental keyboard. There was a shelf along the wall next to the door, with a few stands on it, headphones in some of them. There was a guitar case on the bottom shelf, and clothes stacked on other shelves. The corner In the center of the room was a single stuffed animal of a dolphin on top of a green pillow. The light hanging from the ceiling looked normal, however it probably was tinted as well. Yuki was in the corner, next to a tired looking girl who had a sleepy smile on her face. Under her was another green pillow, and she had a thin grey blanket covering her legs and feet.
     "You're a good boy." Jade cooed softly, her voice husky with sleep. "Hi." I said, awkwardly waving, shifting my feet beside the dolphin stuffed animal. "Morning." Jade replied, yawning and sitting up. "Is Kira awake yet?" She asked, sending Yuki my way. I noticed for the first time she pronounced Kira's name differently than everyone else. She softly rolled the r.
     "Yeah." I replied, nodding. "Great." She rubbed her pink eyes with her hands, and then stood up, stretching and popping her back. Yuki jumped up, attempting to reach me, and I picked him up. With an emotionless expression, Jade said, "I'll be in here if you need me."
     I nodded, and walked out, holding Yuki in my arms as he attempted to lick my face. "Jade?" Grey asked. "Yeah." I replied. "We should see what Zinnia called us out for."
     "Mm-hmm." I smiled, and followed Grey as he began leading the way down the hall. We passed the doors of the others. One of the doors had the letter P in blue on the door. I guessed it was Pearl's room. Another had burn marks, and that was probably Amber's. The other two were blank, however Kira's was most likely the one next to Jade's.
     At the end of the hall, we opened the door to the main room we'd walked through before. The one with paint cans on the floor. Zinnia was sitting behind Amber, who was on her phone, and combing the young girl's hair. Amber looked up at us, her eyes black again. The change was odd. Both of them were sitting on the pillows on the floor, their legs crossed. Kira was pacing by the door to Zinnia's room, muttering something to herself.
     "Hi." Amber said. Zinnia glanced up at us as well. "Are you two up and ready for the morning?" She asked. Grey nodded, and I managed to nod as well, changing my hold on the small wolf pup in my arms. "Perfect." She smiled. I noted that the paint on her arms from the previous day was gone.
     "Alright done. Don't burn it again in the candles." Zinnia warned. "Thanks." Amber replied, standing up, before heading to the door and walking out. The light that came in from the door was bright and blue, making me realize the fact that all of the few windows had been either blocked by blackout curtains or boarded up.
     "Where'd she go?" Grey asked. "Home. She doesn't live too far." Zinnia explained, and then put two fingers to her mouth and whistling. Jade appeared next to her a few seconds later, startling us. "Nee-chan!" Kira ran over and grabbed onto her arm. With raised eyebrows, Jade looked at her younger sister. Nee-chan? I asked in my head. Grey and I shared a confused glance, before Yuki finally broke free of my arms and leapt to the ground.
     Zinnia chuckled softly as Yuki bounced on his hind legs, trying to reach Jade and Kira. The sisters knelt down, giving him the attention he begged for, talking in low tones. Kira had an anxious look on her face, but Jade's face betrayed nothing of what she was thinking. "As much as I don't want to see you go, I have to send you home." Zinnia put a hand on each one of our shoulders.
     I frowned. I didn't really want to go home. I would be reminded of my parents' absence, and I would have to patch things over with my friends. I...wanted to put that off for a while. "I know it's not...the best option. But I can get you guys to the bus to get to Morgana. Or Primrose."
     "Wait...I don't...remember ever telling you where I'm from." Grey said slowly. "I checked your memories." Jade said, looking up. Her face was still void of all emotion. "She can do that?" I asked. "Alter them too." Kira said.
     Jade lightly hit her younger sister on the head. Zinnia took a deep breath, "Point is, I can get you two to the bus, and get you home. However, if it's not a problem with you I would like to ask a favor."
     Grey looked at me, and I looked back. We stared at each other for a minute, before looking back at Zinnia. "Jade and Kira go with you." She said. At the mentions of their names, the two looked up, and Yuki barked, annoyed that they had stopped playing with him. "Mom, but-" Kira started, and then stopped. I remembered her question from the previous day, What's it like outside Callo? "What?" I asked.
     "It's unfair that they've never left. And they could benefit from it." She glanced down at Kira. "Along with the fact that Kira has been dying to leave for awhile and they don't have to stay with me anymore. Mentally."
     "Where would they stay?" Grey asked. "I can stay anywhere with an electrical outlet." Jade said. "Technically they could stay in the bottom floor of my old house. I just...can't...go in.." I suggested, my voice growing softer. Gently, Grey put an arm around my waist and pulled me closer.
     "We'd have to share a room but it could work." Jade said. "Jade, don't look into people's minds for no reason." Zinnia scolded. The green-haired girl simply rolled her eyes and stood up. "Aunt Marissa and Uncle Silver died there." She said. Hearing their names hurt, and I looked down. "I guessed as much..." Zinnia said, moving a hand to her heart and tracing a shape I didn't recognize.
     "It's fine, honestly." I murmured, covering up my pain. "Are you sure?" Grey asked softly. I hugged him, but I nodded. "Then it works?" Kira asked. There was excitement in her voice. "Yeah." I whispered quietly, so only Grey could hear. "She said yeah." Grey said.
     Yuki nuzzled against my feet, and I giggled, letting go of Grey. Zinnia was smiling softly.
     "Then it's decided."

AH
I feel bad-
Me and my friend were going to go outside after she finished her math homework but I didn't get the notif on my phone and she texted me an hour ago, but now my phone turned off and I tried reaching out to her on Wattpad but she hasn't responded yet-
And I don't want her thinking I ghosted her-

AHH

AnYwAy-
This chapter was posted 10.02.2020