chapter Nineteen
“Okay, you two. Get your asses up. Seriously. Mathieu, you have work to do. And Solomon…well, you have to surrender our leader.” Jo’s hands were on his hips while he stood at the end of the bed, having woken them up from a dead sleep.
Groaning, Mathieu reached out for any article of his clothing he could reach. The first thing he found was a shirt and pulled it on, then realized it was Solomon's. He didn’t really mind. Next he found his boxers and was soon fully dressed. He kissed the blond on the forehead before following Jo out of the room and down into the kitchen.
Which was where he was met with a roomful of pointed grins. "Oh, shut up, all of you." He muttered, folding his arms and turning about fifteen shades of red.
"Eat." Erik was the only one not smiling. His face was etched with lines of concern and annoyance. He pushed a plate of food at Mathieu.
"Thanks." He sat at the counter, "Jo, go get my book, will you? And don’t bother Solomon." Mathieu ate while Jo was gone, then reached out for him book once he was back. "Okay, Zanika, Zerieve, and Jo. You're my first victims. Come on, you three." He patted Erik's shoulder as he passed and went outside, a half eaten piece of toast hanging out of his mouth.
One of the benefits of where the resistance headquarter was located, at the top of a cliff, was that it provided large areas of space without compromising privacy. Mathieu went to a circle of large, flat rocks and sat down. The three darkness users sat as well, along with Lione. "Oi, Lione, I didn't invite you."
"Nope. I did." Jo smiled, looking at his pet.
He sighed. "Fine, fine. Hold on a second." Mathieu took a moment to open his book and read to himself:
After Shapers come the Elementals. Within these groups there are also classifications or subcategories. The elements follow the path of life: Darkness, Air, Water, Light, Earth, and Fire.
Beyond the Elementals, there are Sensers and Seers, and the more common Magic Users. However, the three latter tend to be aware of their limitations, allowing them to access their full potential without guidance.
"That's not helpful at all, you useless book..." In response to his words, the book provided a few choice phrases before it headed a new page "Conduits and Insulators". The element users of darkness are referred to as Conduits and Insulators. There are a few key differences in the types of users.
"Okay, this is what we need." He skimmed all the information for a moment. "Jo, hang tight. Zanika and Zerieve, this is for you. Darkness users are called ‘Conduits’ and ‘Insulators’, blah blah blah. 'Conduits are those who can funnel the darkness into any form they require it to take, however, they must be able to interact with it. They tend to be dependent upon their powers instead of their non-darkness skills. This can be a weakness for them.'
'Exercises for Conduits need to center around their ability to regulate the flow of darkness. Also, developing fighting skills that don't involve their element is essential to success.'"
Zanika, who had lain back on the stones while Mathieu read, stuck her hand straight up in the air, "We know how to use swords; Darcia taught us. I just don't like them."
"That's good. It means that you just need a refresher course. Talk to Darcia. As for learning to regulate your darkness, I think I have an idea. Get up." Mathieu got to his feet and stretched, then he created a dense, medium sized ball of energy. He tossed it in the air and caught it a few times. This had been an exercise that he had done when he was working on strengthening his own magic. "You see this ball? Don't let it touch the ground. And you can't touch it, either. Work together." He smiled and tossed the ball higher, stepping out of the way.
"Eck!" Zanika scrambled to her feet, pushing at the ball with her darkness as it fell towards her. "Holy! What's this thing made of? Lead?" She must not have realized how heavily it was because she had to catch it to stop it from hitting the ground. Mathieu smiled as she gave a twitch when the energy ball touched her skin and sent a jolt through her system. Zanika dropped the ball.
Mathieu rolled his eyes, picking up the ball. "I told you not to touch it."
She swore and got to her feet, "Again!" Her forehead was furrowed in annoyance. This time, she managed to stop it a few inches above her hands, then used her darkness to push it back up into the air, sending it towards her sister. “This is cool!” She said, beaming after not being zapped again. Zerieve grunted as she forced the ball back into the space above their heads.
Mathieu rolled his eyes. "Don't try to adjust your darkness to be strong enough. Use your instincts to tell you how much power you need. Quit second guessing yourselves."
Both gave him an annoyed, 'butt out' look, but he just smiled and waved them off. Then he turned to the other two, hands on his hips, "Okay, Jo. You're up."
"I already know what my section says. Meditation and learning to control the release of my darkness. I can do that by myself." Jo wrinkled his nose.
"Excuse me? I didn't tell you what you're doing yet," he grinned at them, "you, my dears, are going to play a game of capture the flag." Jo snorted as if it were a joke.
Lione, who had a tendency to stand in the background and be invisible, nodded in silent agreement.
Jo, realizing Mathieu was serious, frowned. "That'll be boring with only two people."
"But you aren't playing regular capture the flag, Jo. Lione is going to be the flag; a human flag that can prevent you from touching him with his wind. Which is the point. You need to learn to be selectively vicious." Mathieu smiled, "if you can get a single tag on Lione by the time Zanika and Zerieve's practice is over, I'll let you do your training by yourself. If you can't, I get to supervise all of your meditation sessions."
"Waa!" Jo's botton lip stuck out. "Fine, Mathieu! You just wait and see!"
"Lione, stop him and the first drink is on me tonight."
The raven gave a small smirk before raising a hand in front of him. Mathieu felt the tingle at the base of his skull again, but he ignored it, realizing it was the shift in air pressure around him caused by Lione. "Come at me, kid. And try to be a challenge."
"Don't worry there, pet. I'm surprisingly mean." Jo grinned sweetly at his counterpart. They were well balanced against each other, in both personality and stature. While Jo was outgoing, childish, and sweet, naturally appealing to people; Lione was quiet, shy, and tended to put people off. Jo was cute with his button nose and short height, whereas Lione was tall with a hard jaw and sharp eyes. Yin and yang. But it was more than that. They understood each other. Jo made Lione feel comfortable enough to come out of his shell a bit, resulting in a smile here or a chuckle there. And Lione gave the brunet the devotion and attention he needed, never leaving his side.
The time they spent together was reflected in how they moved in sync with each other. Jo would feint this way, spin that way. Lione would retreat, always just out of reach even without his wind to protect him. On the rare occasion that Jo got close to the raven, Lione would just smile and stop his hand in its tracks.
Around and around the two went. Not far away Zanika and Zerieve were in a silent struggle of their own, but not with each other. Whenever either of the girls seemed to be getting the hang of it, Mathieu would adjust the density of the energy ball. Sometimes lighter. Sometimes not.
It made Mathieu smile watching the clones work. Sometimes, they would have to hunch down to avoid being hit by the ball and receiving a jolt, while at others they would hit the light version of the ball, sending it sailing up until it was just a speck, causing the two to stand stock still until it started to fall back towards them. Occasionally, Zanika would slam into her sister when she was distracted. Both would be sore later.
~*~
Mathieu chuckled as he watched Jo and Solomon having a heated debate over an illegal chest move. He sat on the counter in the kitchen of the headquarters, a beer in his hand. On his left and right were Erik and Lione respectively, sitting on stools, and Darcia leaning with his hip against the counter on the other side of Erik.
Jo hadn’t managed to touch Lione, while both Zanika and Zerieve had nearly dropped from exhaustion when Mathieu had called it quits. Everyone was in the adjoined living room and kitchen, talking with those around them in a companionable way. The room was serving its function, being large enough to hold everyone at once.
Erik’s face was set in a frown as he watched the duo causing a commotion. “They should quiet down.”
“Jo is just having some fun. He knows he’s wrong,” said Lione, who then took a long sip of his beer. “Solomon knows it, too.”
Mathieu smiled softly, “Solomon is good with Jo. Better than the rest of us, I think.”
“And you handle Solomon better than the rest of us. And not just in the bedroom, from what I understand.”
Darcia laughed and Erik’s frown deepened. “We all have someone we can handle. So, Lione, let me pose this question to you: why were you poking around here when Kiev found you?” The older raven said, looking at Lione.
Lione looked at the floor for a moment, thinking about how to respond. “I was looking for my father.”
Mathieu’s jaw tightened as his teeth clenched. He realized now why Lione had seemed so familiar when he had seen him the first time in the holding room. Their nose and jaw were nearly identical, as well as the deep look they had in their eyes. “Your father was Nathan.” Mathieu said, remembering the whispered way that Nathan had asked him if he was Lione in the end.
“…Yeah. My Ma said that she didn’t know where he was living, but that he was with the resistance, so I should try the headquarters. I knocked, but no one answered, so I thought that maybe people were busy and I came inside. Kiev found me looking through some papers for some reference of my father. I’m not very talkative when I’m…taken by surprise.” Lione rubbed at the label of his bottle. “I haven’t seen him at all, though, so maybe my Ma was wrong….”
The three others sat there silently before Erik fielded the statement. “She wasn’t incorrect. Unfortunately, you’re a bit late. We buried him just over a month ago.”
“You’re…kidding…” Lione said slowly. It seemed that the liquor was helping to loosen the young man’s tongue.
“No.” Erik said, shaking his head.
Mathieu reached out and grabbed his shoulder comfortingly, “Your father was a good man. I was honored to know him.”
Lione looked away, “This is unbelievable. I came to find him to tell him that his wife was dying, and I find out he’s dead.”
Solomon’s head snapped up at Lione’s statement. Mathieu wasn’t sure how the blond had managed, but he knew Solomon had heard.
“Nathan’s wife?” Mathieu said, asking the question that was clearly on everyone’s mind.
“Yeah,” Lione nodded, “just after I was born, Elise tracked down Nathan and told him that he has something important to do. He left me and my Ma to help out them people, so I never knew him. But she got sick a few months back, and I thought he deserved to know. Now she’s alone…”
Tesla, I need you for a moment. “If it’s alright, I’d like to provide some help…” Mathieu said, looking at Lione.
“What do you mean?”
Mathieu picked up Tesla as the Shadowrider ran into the room and skidded across the counter. “I want to have Tesla take one of my healers to your mother and see if he can help her. It isn’t much but…I think it’s what Nathan would have done.”
“I’d…I’d really appreciate that. She can do stuff, too. Like we can.” Lione said. “My Ma is in our house. It’s along the border of the Outer Zone, at the southernmost point.”
“Alright. I’ll be right back.” He got down from the counter and carried Tesla to where Elric was sitting beside Kiev, both listening to Mina humming softly. “Hey, can I interrupt for a minute?” Mina gave him a small smile and quieted down. “Thanks, Mina. It’ll only take a moment. Elric, I need a favor, if you can spare it.”
Elric adjusted his glasses higher up his nose, looking at Mathieu. “Sure. What can I do for you?”
Mathieu sat on the arm of Mina’s chair, “Lione,” he nodded over his shoulder at the raven, “has a mother who is ill. Tesla knows where the house is, if you’ll let him take you.”
Never able to turn down someone in need, Elric got to his feet and held out his hands for Tesla. “Absolutely. I will return with her as soon as I can. Tell Avanon that I have gone, so she doesn’t worry.”
“That I can do. Please, do your best to help her. She was…Nathan’s wife.”
“I’ll do my best.” Elric promised, and disappeared with Tesla as soon as they were clear of the others, leaving an empty chair. Mina started to hum again, and next to them, Solomon and Jo finished their game of chess.
“Did you bring it, Mina?” Solomon said, leaning back and touching his sister’s hair over his shoulder.
She rolled her eyes. “Of course I did. Should I go get it?”
Solomon nodded, and Mina stepped out of the room. Mathieu took that moment to go grab a stool from the kitchen area, not looking at Erik. He still hadn’t come to terms with the man being his…father. He shook his head slightly and carried his stool to sit by Jo.
Mina carried a large black case into the room, one that Mathieu immediately recognized as a cello case, and set it at her brother’s feet. Mathieu’s heart ached as Solomon pulled the string instrument out; after his own had been broken years ago, he had never touched another, even though he had promised Avian.
Solomon picked up his bow and nodded to Mina, who stood at her brother’s side as the room fell into mostly silence, all attention on the twins. “Softly Mina, softly.” Solomon commanded. She hummed in understanding and started to sing in a light, high voice. Her song dipped and weaved elegantly, creating a beautiful pattern that soon Solomon started to play into, timing the tempo of his cello with her voice.
From somewhere behind him, someone began to play a harmonica, while out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ayame drumming a beat on the table in front of him. Next, Elise started sing in a deep counterpart to Mina, while Enak flitted into the room with some sort of compact harp. In an eerily strange harmony, the room filled with a song that befitted the resistance. Mathieu stood from his seat and took Jo’s hand. The music was upbeat, if slow, and he and Jo began to dance. They did some sort of slowed down two-step. The music continued for a solid ten minutes before the energy died away, Solomon’s cello the last thing to stop playing. The blond man played a few more notes, letting them hang in the air.
Mathieu laughed happily into the silence. It only took a moment until, as with the music, everyone joined in and the room was rocked with laughter. And for him, it was cathartic, releasing all the tension he had been feeling over the loss of Nathan, taking over as the leader of a resistance he barely felt entitled to be a part of, organizing an invasion, having his father’s identity sprung on him, and dealing with Solomon’s crap until he was able to get it together. By the time he was done, he was hunched over, gasping for air.
Kiev stood up, wiping her eyes, and whistled. “Alright, everyone. As we all know, today is a very special day. Liberation Day marks the date of when Korinth took its independence from Unith, giving those of us who are different a safe haven. Those who were first freed were thankful for having somewhere to be accepted. On this day, I’m thankful for the people who have let me into their lives, giving me somewhere that I belong.” As she spoke, beers were starting to be passed around.
Enak, who was sitting on the floor, raised his hand, “I’m thankful that I’ve had a chance to meet all of you, instead of staying locked up in the Sky Pillar. It’s not nearly as scary out here as I thought it was.”
Zanika nodded, “And for the fact that people like me more than Zerieve.”
“Oh, shut up.” Zerieve growled, “I’m glad that I’m not trapped on a deserted island with only you. Bitch.”
Mathieu closed his eyes. “I’m thankful that I’ve met the people I have, even though some of them severely pushed my self-control to not slap the living crap out of them.” His eyes opened and flicked from Solomon to Erik, both of whom grinned guiltily.
“I wish you had smacked them around,” Darcia said, then raised his beer, “to friends, family, lovers, those we can stand and those we can’t, the ones who kept us going when we were sad, and the ones that made sure we were grounded when things seemed too good. To them, to you, to me. Cheers.” A chorus of ‘cheers’ followed his short speech, then drinks were drunk.
Erik pounded on Darcia’s back, smiling. “Damn straight. Who’s hungry?”
And that got everyone into an excited frenzy for food. It took Solomon, Erik, Mathieu, and Avanon working together to feed everyone in the headquarters, including the two remaining Shadowriders. They made a whole host of steaks, potatoes, corn, and gravy. Then, a different group cleaned the dishes, and everyone retired to bed. Or they tried to.
“No, Jo. You can not sleep in here.” Solomon stood blocking the bed, his arms crossed over his chest.
Jo’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Just because you finally took notice of Mathieu and slept with him doesn’t mean we’re changing the sleeping arrangements.”
“You must be joking, child. Mathieu doesn’t want you in here.”
“Yes he does! And Lione doesn’t know anyone else here.” Jo retorted, hands on his narrow hips.
Solomon pointed to the door, “Then go make some new friends.”
The brunet ducked under his arm and jumped onto the bed, clinging to Mathieu’s middle. “Matt! Tell Solomon that Li and I can sleep in here, too.”
“Jesus, all of you just lie down and shut up.” He groaned, putting a pillow over his face.
Jo gave a noise of victory and snuggled into the bed against Mathieu. “Thank you! Lione, you can lay here.” Mathieu felt the bed shift as Jo pat his friend on the head.
“We won’t be alphabetical…” Lione said.
Solomon sighed from the other end of the bed. “So you’re the one…”
“What?”
“Well, I found all of the spices in the kitchen alphabetized. And then the books in the library,” the blond said in a flat tone,
“I do it without much thought. My apologies.” Lione replied.
“What part of ‘shut up’ escaped the comprehension of you two?”
After that, the silence was filled with a guilty quality. Mathieu smiled contently, and was nearly asleep when the raven gave a small sigh. “That man didn’t return with my ma…”
“If it was late when he finished, he may not have wanted to move her at night. I’m sure they’ll be here in the morning. Can we sleep now? Please? Really, please?” Mathieu groaned, then rolled over onto his stomach.