“Tell me about each time you’ve used your powers. We’ll work backwards from there.” Theia mused quietly. We sat across from each other in meditative positions. My palms were placed over each other neatly. My eyes were closed and my breathing was even. In the back of my mind I couldn’t help comparing it to yoga grifter bullshit but what did I have to lose at this point?
Sanctuary flashed across my mind. Different images of battlefield wreckage, children crying with dirt-streaked faces as monsters reached out for them.
I clenched my fist, willing my spirit to calm down. Don’t fucking lose it. The world in Sanctuary wasn’t even real.
“Vacuum. I used it to suck up debris and ruins, cleaning up the area.” Things were simpler then.Despite all the chaos, I was actually happy.
“What else?”
The image of Penny’s grinning face as she nestles in her moms bosom warmed my heart.
“Recycle. Whatever I took in with Vacuum, I could change one material to another. Then there’s my favorite, Refurbish. You saw me use that with the statue.”
I could hear the smile in her voice. “Destruction and reconstruction in a way that you design. Is there anything else?”
My skin started to crawl. Corre when he was corrupted into a feral beast. Oceanus and Tethys when they were poisoned by Rupert for a power boost.
“Purification breath. I take things that aren’t right, tainted things—I purify them. Sometimes I use it creatively too.”
I’m aware that I’m handing her my entire move list but beggars can’t be choosers. I wanted answers about this system and I’m gonna get them.
“Those are the things that you can do with your class. Now then, what happens when you give someone else a class? Guy, I can see his [Superhero] tag over his head but only you can tell what it does.”
Wrinkling my nose, I shrug. “It didn’t exactly scream his stats when I gave it to him.”
“I see. Try not to get frustrated.” Has she not met me? “Tell me how you assigned him his class then. Was it on a whim? Did you pick it?”
I shook my head. “No. It was above his head like…like he was made for it or something.”
“Or it was made for him by you. Sapphyra, you have a deep bond with Guy both from your dreaming life and while awake.”
I blushed, shrugging. “Tell me something I don’t know…though I still can’t explain how we dreamed of each other from across time and space.”
I shifted uncomfortably as she giggled.
“What’s so funny? I got something on my face?”
“No. No, it’s not that. Have you heard of the egg festival?”
This again?
“Yeah. Guy briefly talked about it. I even asked him what happens when he cracks his egg” I paused—trying to recall what he said,”…he never got back to me about it.”
“That’s probably for a good reason. He might be embarrassed to tell you that his egg most likely pointed to you.”
My eyes flew open, “excuse me?!”
Her eyes danced with amusement. “When an egg hatches during the festival and your soulmate is somewhere, it will point you in their direction. In Guy's case, I wonder if it didn’t point him to you and in doing so—connected you two across time and space. It’s very romantic and the first I’ve heard of it. Though believe it or not, that's not the weirdest egg hatching story I’ve heard.”
“Okay, back the fuck up because what? I think you’ve had your third eye open too long, try blinking. There's no way Guy's egg opened just to tell him ‘hey, sorry, she's stuck in dreamland’. Make it make sense, lady.”
Another giggle, it was draining my nerves.
“Sapphyra, you are a dragon. Your husband has ties to werewolves. You’ve fought aliens and demons but a soulmate from across time and space is where you draw the line? You make it make sense.” Theia leaned forward, propping her chin up with a smirk.
Well fuck, she had me there.
I sighed, rubbing my temples.
“Pretending that it’s true, what does that have to do with giving him his class?”
“It establishes a pattern. I noticed that Oceanus and Tethys were also given classes though theirs were more generic in nature. [Water Maintenance]. You gave them a class without bonding deeply with them.”
I crossed my arms, breathing in the citrusy scent of lemon cleaner I’d used a few days ago.
“When I brought them back to Corre and Silla’s, I asked them a bunch of questions and felt around for who they were. It was almost like a—”
My menu flashed. A word appeared in bold. [Interview]
“Is that what I did?” I whispered, reaching up to press it.
[Interviews conducted: 3.] [When Master Custodian, or, M.C determines usefulness to society and trust is built, role is granted to interviewee.]
My nose wrinkled as I glared at the screen.
“How about not talking like a soulless robot.”
[Recalibrating] [Is this better? I can start cursing if you like.]
“No. Still too polite. Listen, if you’re my system, you gotta be able to keep me on track—not put me to sleep.”
[Recalibrating…well if you’re gonna be a bitch about it, I might not work for you.]
I chuckled, nodding my head. “There we go. That’s my system alright.”
[And now you know. So, what's on our shitlist today?]
Theila squirmed in her seat, frowning. “You’ve turned your system loud…and very vulgar.”
“Just how I like my women.” I said offhandedly. “Today though? I need you to tell me how to get my wings back so I can fight this bastard.”
[Yeah…that ain’t happening, captain.]
“Excuse me? What do you mean it ain’t happening?”
[Bitch, I said what I said. Your wings are locked behind your job. Something you’ve neglected for weeks since you got out.]
I sighed heavily and ran my hand down my face.
“Are you telling me I have to do a bunch of cleaning in order to unlock my wings?”
[I mean, I’m not the one called “Master Custodian”. It’s not just a fancy title. You have to fix shit and cleanup stuff. You have all these abilities but all you do is fight with em’. That's not your lane anymore babygirl.]
I was not about to get chewed out by a damn calculator.
“Okay, enough. You sound just like Wyatt but a lot less cute. Tell me how many things I need to rebuild to get my wings back.”
[Well since you asked so politely, I’ll make it easy on you. Pick a city block and fix it up. That should be more than enough.]
My jaw dropped, “an entire block? That could take me weeks!”
[I’m sorry, depresso-espresso, are you in a rush all of a sudden?]
Well…she had me there. I was and I wasn’t in a rush. I needed to find Wyatt's body but a little time to clean up, time to heal? It would probably do me some good.
“You can stop grinning, Theia. I can feel your smug smile all the way over here.”
Her giggle evolved into a full on belly laugh. She wiped away a stray tear and peered up at me beneath her dark lashes.
“I’m just happy someone can make you sit down for once. Think of it this way, the more time you have to do your job, the less others will bother you.”
Guy and Wyatt immediately sprang to mind. I sighed, shaking my head ruefully.
“Yeah, no. Somehow I doubt that.” Glancing out the window, I drank in all the damage in the marsh. Beautiful and toxic, but the sturdy foundation beneath it all called to me.
I smiled and stood up, trying to psych myself up for this a little more. “Alright. Let’s go play city-builder.”
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