Her Imperfections

Chapter One

"I got in!" Dex exclaimed, sitting up like a spring.
Sophie jumped up from her flopped position on the floor and felt her stomach do somersaults of excitement, "Really, all of them?"
Dex nodded and held up his newest gadget, 'The Mitnik." He named it after a human hacker Sophie had told him about and the name stuck. The gadget itself was barely as big as Dex's palm, a jumble of wires and bits of metal stuck together. It was far from neat, but it did the job.
"What do they say?" Biana asked, climbing onto Sophie's bed and peering over Dex's shoulder.
Sophie, Fitz, and Keefe watched silently as the pair scanned the texts. Eventually Fitz stopped them, "Well?"
Biana looked crestfallen and Sophie flopped back to the floor. Biana confirmed their disappointment."They're mostly about discovery of magsidian, people who were involved in utiziling it, the chemical properties, nothing useful."
Dex shrugged, "I beg to differ."
Keefe rolled his eyes, "Well I'm with Biana. We've been sitting here for hour waiting for you to hack in and now that you have, there's nothing about the Neverseen in there."
"Well what did you expect it to say, 'Oh and by the way the Neverseen has used magsidian this many times and here's why and while we are at it, would you like a detailed outline of their plans?'" Fitz shot back from across the bed.
Sophie groaned before Keefe could answer, "Stop fighting. I get we're all on edge. Listen, Dex, why don't you send us the files and we can all go home, rest, look over them in our own, and discuss it tomorrow?"
Dex nodded and started furiously typing into The Mitnik. Biana grabbed her notebook and pens from the floor. They didn't even bother looking her notes. The page had been blank for weeks.
"Done," Dex slipped off the bed, "I'll see
you tomorrow."
Biana opened the door and Dex followed her out. Keefe and Fitz fidgeted from their spots on the floor. Sophie could tell they both wanted to talk to her, alone, but she gestured to the door.
Sophie couldn't tell if the files were going to help them, but she was excited to at least have something to do. "See you tomorrow."
The boys brushed past her, both of them taking the time to nudge her shoulder. Sophie was glad once Keefe was on the other side of the door, her emotions no doubt being a roller coaster of embarrassment. Sophie pulled out her Imparter and jumped to her bed, getting at least six pillows before opening Dex's message.
Bianca was right. There wasn't anything at immediate glance that looked helpful. Sophie sighed and prepped herself for an afternoon of disappointment.
Sophie didn't get far before she heard a knock on the door. Edaline was already in her room by the time Sophie looked up. She put down the Imparter and gave Edaline a quick hug, "Hey, what's up?"
Edaline clasped her hands and smiled, "I thought today you and me could bake something. Mallowmelt, perhaps."
Sophie looked at Edaline's eager eyes then back to her Imparter. "I can't, I have to review the files on magsidian."
"Nope, not today!" Edaline grabbed Sophie's Imaparter and Conjured it away. Sophie groaned as Edaline pulled her from the bed and down to the kitchen. Sophie didn't have too many memories of baking. In her human life, her mom had always done that for her. And in the Lost Cities there was no time to bake between school and trying to stay alive.
The kitchen suddenly looked different to Sophie, more cozy. The light was much warmer and the counter top was covered in various glass bowls, a row of bags behind them. Edaline handed Sophie an apron and she managed to tie it in the back before washing her hands.
"You've been really busy you know." Edaline stated while emptying one of the bags into a bowls, a bright purple powder.
Sophie eyed her mom nervously, but Edaline didn't seem mad. Just disappointed. Which was a million times worse. Worried she would say something and mess it up, Sophie waited for Edaline to speak again.
"I saw your friends practically dragging themselves out of your room, so I'm guessing what ever you heard wasn't good news?"
Finally something Sophie could answer. She took one of the bowls from the counter and gave the thick batter a quick stir, "Dex got into the restricted files, but there doesn't seem to be anything helpful."
"But it's more than that. What is it?" Edaline asked.
Sophie wished she could have just shrunk away. She was never very good at opening up. Keeping her eye on the batter Sophie asked, "Am I a good leader?"
Edaline was silent and Sophie had to look over to make sure she was still there. Edaline was just looking at her with an open mouth. She took the bowl from Sophie's arms and pulled her into hug, kissing her in top of the head.
"Of course you are. Remember, the Council choose you to lead Team Valiant. The Black Swan will choose you to be their leader when the time comes. You were always born to be a leader Sophie."
"That doesn't mean I'm a good one. I just happen to have all these abilities, making me the obvious choice unfortunately." Sophie mumbled into Edaline's dress.
"I wish you could have been given the luxury of a choice Sophie, but you are going to have to fight for one."
Edaline released her on that ending and Sophie stood still for a few seconds. Her mother smiled at her face and brushed some of the purple powder off her nose, "Go clean up and come back. I'll get it into the pan while you're gone."
Sophie nodded and threw her apron onto the counter before closing her bathroom door behind her. Sophie splashed her face with a handful of water and wiped her face roughly with the towel. Suddenly, a small spiral of pain burst behind her eyes.
Sophie grunted and press the palms of her hands into her eye sockets. Her heart sped up with the pain and Sophie tried to stumble her way to the door, spots dazzling in her eyes.
Before she could even get to the door and voice cut though her mind, slicing the pain away.
Hello, Moonlark.