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128- Emails and empathy
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Bellamy looks a little shell shocked. I think he still forgets sometimes that he can’t just boss me around and stare at me to get me to cooperate like he does with everyone else. He doesn’t MEAN to be bossy, it just comes naturally to him as a result of everyone expecting him to tell them what to do and then jumping at his orders. After a moment, his eyes drop to the ground and he groans out his frustration.
“I get it. I’ll think on the issue. There’s still a few days. A lot can change in a few days.” He falls silent, then slowly, what I can only describe as a calculating expression slides into place.“Actually, if we’re changing the topic. I could use your help with something.” Bellamy switches topics fast enough to give me whiplash.“Sure, what do you want help with?” I agree, maybe a little too quickly. I’m still feeling a little bad for fighting him so hard when I know he is just worried about me. Bellamy stands from the couch, takes my hand and pulls me up then leaRelated chapters
Strings of Fate 129-Read and respond
Bellamy shifts the angle of the keyboard towards me. I look at what he has already written, it’s okay but I adjust it a little and add to it. Good afternoon, I’m sorry to hear you are having concerns about your child. It is not out of the ordinary for a child to have some issues with control over their shift at that age and children develop at different rates so based on this alone I would not be particularly concerned at this time. Is there some particular reason or observation you have made that is causing you to worry?If it would help ease your mind we could arrange for your child to get a checkup with a doctor to make sure there are no health issues for you to be aware of. Additionally I might suggest finding a mentor to help your son practice. Please let me know if you need assistance arranging this. Please keep me updated on your concerns and your child's future progress.“There, how about that?” I ask. Bellamy reads over my shoulder and when he looks b
Strings of Fate 130- Boss and brush
In the morning, I wake up early. Probably because I fell asleep fast since I was relaxed from my bath. In my dreams, I mostly watched Kiara sleep so it was mostly peaceful, if sad. The poor thing was shivering all night. Right up until the moment that something startled her awake, annoyingly, her jumping and waking up was enough to startle ME awake. For once, Bellamy is still asleep. His sleep must have been a little restless though because he’s moved off the pillows and seems to be using my stomach as a pillow instead. His arms are wrapped around my waist and he’s on a slight diagonal on the bed, his feet so close to the edge they’re nearly hanging off. The blankets are all tangled underneath him, he isn’t covered at all. Well, I’m stuck. Also I didn’t notice how heavy his head was when I was sleeping but now I feel a little crushed. Still, there is no way on this planet that I am moving before he is ready. I’ve seen the shadows under his eyes, he has been sleeping just as badly as
Strings of Fate 131- Agitation and ASMR
Bellamy heads off to his meeting after we have breakfast, although he grumbles about having to go almost the entire time. Aaron arrived halfway through breakfast but declined to have anything to eat. I’m not sure if he was just trying to be polite or something though because as soon as Bellamy leaves he begins making himself a snack in the kitchen. I perch on one of the kitchen barstools and rest my head on my hands, swinging my feet since they don’t reach the floor.“You know you could have just eaten when I offered you food the first time.” I point out. Aaron just shrugs. Right, okay then. Well, at least Aaron is a little less paranoid than Bellamy, I can probably get a little bit of time and space to myself for once. I was originally planning to hang out with Megan, but now I’m thinking that chilling and maybe messing around on my laptop watching a movie or something would be better. “I’m just running upstairs to grab my laptop and earphones, I’ll be straight back down.”
Strings of Fate 132- Internet and instruments
After about an hour I can see that the tension has left him and he now looks almost sleepy, kind of like I was before he came home upset. I’m glad my relaxing videos worked for him too. I don’t know what kind of other stuff he might find soothing. To be fair, it could also be that he is curled up on the couch with me and it’s really comfortable. It’s hard to stay angry in a position like this. I swap to the internet browser and ask Bellamy what helps him feel relaxed. He pushes my hands aside to type in;Ryann Gale. I laugh and hit search. Not a lot comes up. There’s a reference to me in some school news bulletin from several years ago before I graduated. Some links to my social media, but it’s mostly set to private so you can’t see much. “I’ve searched you before.” Bellamy admits. I raise an eyebrow.“Really? When?” I ask. “Not long after we met. I was curious about you. Just like now, it didn’t give much in the way of results. I was almost desperate enough t
Strings of Fate 133- Food and freak-outs
My jaw drops open and I turn to Bellamy to see if he is as flabbergasted as I am. He looks mildly surprised, but nowhere near as shocked as I am. I suppose the difference is that he hasn’t spent his whole life wondering about the mark, he’s only been curious about it for a few months. He hasn’t invested anything close to the amount of time and energy I have put into trying to work out what the hell my stupidly unique mark is meant to mean.“It- it’s the same as mine!” I stutter out. Bellamy leans in closer to examine the picture.“You’re right, it is fairly similar.” He observes mildly. I let out an irritated breath, how can he not see what a big deal this is?“Similar? They’re practically identical!” I object.“Not quite. The threads on her arm twist in a slightly different pattern to yours. Admittedly, you might not notice the difference unless you were comparing the two.” He clarifies. I shove my sleeve up and stare at my arm. He’s right. How is it that he has my
Strings of Fate 134- Relevance and registration
Bellamy’s alarm screeching wakes me up in a hurry. Okay, so maybe it isn’t actually screeching, but it feels like it is. I lie still for a moment as Bellamy wakes up and scrunch up my eyes. I wonder if I can reach his alarm from here… and break it. Why did we set it so early again? We had something on… we were going to- I bolt upright. That’s it, we’re going to contact the registration office to find out if Kiara is registered as anything identifiable. We’re going to find out how she’s linked to me! All at once, I’m not so sleepy anymore. Beside me, Bellamy reaches to turn off the alarm, and chuckles at my sudden wakefulness. He himself still looks a bit drowsy. He reaches out and pulls me back down beside him. I let him pull me down, but make a slight noise of protest. We have an important task to do!“The registration office won’t even be open for at least another half an hour. We have time.” He soothes. My eyebrows furrow.“Wait, then why is the alarm set for now? It’s no
Strings of Fate 135- Charge and control
I cross my arms and stare at Bellamy in a combination of irritation and bewilderment. He looks pleased with himself and I don’t think he’s noticed that something is off yet.“What the hell Bellamy!” I complain, may as well make it clear since he’s being a little oblivious. He seems a little stunned.“What’s wrong? I thought you would be happy you’ll be getting some answers soon.” He asks, his head tilted to the side and an innocent expression on his face. Does he really not realise what he just did? Also why is his puzzled expression cute? That’s not fair! It makes it really hard to be annoyed with him.“You… you just registered me… as… well, you know!” I stammer out. Why do I feel like half of my arguments with Bellamy circle back to him making a decision without my input and me objecting. Not to mention he usually seems to get his way too. I’m sick of having the same argument over and over again. We really need to figure this out.“I just wanted you to get the info
Strings of Fate 136- Cheeks and cheating
Ten minutes later, I find myself walking outside with my arm looped loosely around Aaron’s. It has been a little overcast all day, but it’s like the universe is sensing my mood and doing it’s best to combat it because the clouds cleared up practically the moment we stepped outside and now it’s pleasantly sunny. Although I am starting to wish I had a pair of sunglasses with me. Aaron is wearing some and I’m kind of jealous. I’m still mad at Bellamy, but going for a walk was definitely the right choice. I’ve been cooped up for nearly two weeks and the fresh air is everything I didn’t know I've been missing. We stay within the boundaries of the Shifter compound, I’m exercising my independence, not trying to get myself killed. We wander aimlessly, often passing Shifters, some of whom wave at me or greet us. I vaguely remember meeting some of them during my tour of the compound with Megan and while we’ve been hanging out. From my understanding, not all the feline Shifters live here, but
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Strings of Fate 203- Beads and bonding
“Well, I think that it might actually be nice having an extra person around the house. Extra security and company. Besides, you spend most of your time here anyway. Might as well save you the commute. That is, as long as no one else has any objection?” I say pointedly looking at Megan. Sure, Bellamy could object but I already know that he won’t. Megan briefly makes eye contact with me, gives a slight nod, then finds something to stare at on the ceiling. She is clearly trying to look like she doesn’t care but she is blushing bright red. True to form, Darrien is watching her closely trying to work out how she really feels about my suggestion. Realising that she isn’t going to provide any input, he decides to push it a little. “Megan? I would like to hear your opinion. I am still courting you and I don’t want to screw anything up by making a decision like this without your input.” Darrien says clearly. His voice is mostly calm with just the slightest hint of anxiety as he monitors her r
Strings of Fate 202- Calories and clothing
I wake up late in the morning, it might even be early afternoon. I wriggle around a little which prompts Bellamy to do the same, he is apparently already awake. He raises a finger to his lips to shush me before I speak and I can see why. Kiara is still sleeping, lying in the bed between us. She is still loosely holding onto my arm, even in sleep. I slowly disentangle myself from her light grip and slide out of bed. Bellamy follows, clearly doing his best not to jostle her and wake her up. She definitely needs the sleep. She was restless for a good part of the night and almost definitely was having nightmares, but she seems like she’s sleeping soundly now. My own sleep was blissfully quiet. No visions or anything thank goodness. I’m looking forward to having several weeks of steady sleep and so help me if anything tragic or dramatic happens for the next few weeks then whoever is responsible should probably be terrified of me. We step into the hallway to talk without disturbing Kiara.
Strings of Fate 201- Touch and trust
I cross my arms in irritation. “Kiara would never! How would she even do that? She’s just a kid!” I object. Dr Dae rolls her eyes at me.“Oh calm yourself girl. I’m not saying she chose to murder anyone. I assume that she was forced to comply somehow. You’ll have to ask the girl when she’s ready to talk. As for the how, the child is a Reaper.” She says it as if it’s obvious but it really isn’t. I know that Reapers exist, but they’re the kind of Magic that most people have heard of but no one has ever met. I suppose Kiara’s dad must have been a Reaper too and why the MRO was so secretive about her markings. Most people are kind of scared of Reapers, they’re kind of the boogeymen of our society. Mostly because they can kill on a whim. All it takes is one touch and they can free your soul from your body. Obviously with no soul you die, and I guess your soul moves on to wherever souls go when you pass on. I suppose that a Reaper would make sense for the representative of Atropos. Her add
Strings of Fate 200- Healing and hunger
Since Kiara probably isn’t up to braving the stairs and she really doesn’t want to be carried around everywhere, we decide to ask Dr Dae to come up to the bedroom. It’s actually kind of weird having so many people in here. Bellamy is a fairly private person, he doesn’t generally invite people to hang out in his… our room. Dr Dae shuffles in clutching her usual bag. I’m surprised that Bellamy isn’t carrying it for her because it looks kind of heavy, but I suspect that she wouldn’t hand it over anyway. I immediately greet her.“Thank you so much for your help. Your contact has become a great friend and she’s a huge part of the reason we were able to find Kiara here.” I nudge Kiara gently with my elbow and give her a little smile. She looks very small and delicate in the oversized, mismatched clothes with her hair dripping down her shoulders. She’s so pale that the bruises on her skin stand out and look even worse than they actually are. Dr Dae gives me a half nod of acknowledgement then
Strings of Fate 199- Clean and covered
We all turn to face Alex in confusion. I glance up at Bellamy to see if he has any idea what’s going on but he looks just as lost as the rest of us. I continue to stroke Kiara’s hair trying to keep her calm. “Explain.” Bellamy says firmly. Alex flushes red under the attention of everyone in the room. “Uh, well. I assisted Miss Gale in updating her registration with the MRO, and uh, since her position is one of… well almost authority, over the fate’s representatives the updated registration reflects this. So she should be able to make decisions about Kiara’s care like an Alpha would for their Shifters or like a Coven leader would for their Witches. Admittedly it’s a very small group of Magics, but according to the Magic Registration Office, she is in charge of it.” He explains, his voice starts off weak but gets stronger as he becomes more confident in what he’s saying. The police seem a little stunned but I guess Alex isn’t technically wrong. If Kiara were a Shifter, her Alpha would
Strings of Fate 198- Stolen and sure
When we pull up to the house, there’s a police car waiting. There are two cops standing by it, one looks bored and irritated and the other has a fake ‘customer service’ type smile plastered on his face that I know well from experience. Yeah neither of these guys want to be here. They’re probably pissed that we made them come down here. Not to mention uncomfortable being in the Shifter compound. Non-Shifters aren’t invited here often, although I suppose that isn’t exactly true anymore with all our new friends stopping by regularly. Standing beside them looking awkward and uncomfortable is Alex. I bet they’ve been taking their impatience out on him. I narrow my eyes at them and prepare myself. One snotty comment and I am going to tear into them, it’s been a long night. Bellamy parks the car and I wait for him to get out. He speaks with the police briefly and Alex escorts them inside the house. Bellamy returns and opens the door next to Kiara. “Hey, can I help you get inside? The police
Strings of Fate 197- Leaving and leaning
As we step outside, I’m confused to find that I actually have no idea where we are. I really was just running and following the tracking spell. I don’t know how far I ran. It’s a good thing the others are here to bring back the cars because I would be wandering all night trying to find my way back. I’m also fairly sure that I left my phone in the car when I jumped out in a hurry. Kiara clutches my hand tightly as the cars pull up on the street in front of us. “Megan, Darrien. You stay here and speak to the police when they arrive. Direct further questions to me. Shaun, you stay with them too.” Bellamy directs as Shaun hops out the car. At Megan’s insistence he stays a good couple of metres away from us.“Yes Alpha Kane.” He responds cheerfully. Aaron and Rio also climb out of the vehicles. Rio stops to chat with one of the other Shifters whose name I still don’t know. Aaron immediately approaches me. Actually a better way to phrase it is that he storms over. He looks almost angry. Or
Strings of Fate 196- Rescue and retreat
Darrien is the closest to her and he sees her at the same time I do. He takes a step towards her and she whimpers in fear. He freezes and backs away slowly, trying not to startle her. I gesture for everyone else to stay back and take a few steps closer. I stop a good metre away from the little table and then slowly lower myself to the floor. Kneeling down so that I can see her properly. Kiara is covered in soot and I can see little trails of tears smudging around on her face. She is still crying and whimpering. I am careful to keep my voice gentle and calm. “Kiara?” I call her name. She doesn’t answer or look up, but her whimpering quiets a little and I can see her tensing up like she’s listening carefully. “Kiara sweetheart. You’re safe now. You can come out. We can get some something to eat, you can have a nice bath and some clean clothes. How does that sound?” I try to sound soothing. Her crying stops and she looks up at me with wide, teary, red-rimmed eyes. She doesn’t
Strings of Fate 195- Smoke and smothering
Look, I’m no fighter and the Shifters move way faster than I can even properly process in this stressful situation. I watched the Shifter woman leap towards the redhead (I have got to learn these people’s names!) and the next thing I know, both women are screaming and the living room is lit up with blue flames that are steadily growing. I watch as Shaun and Darrien leap at the Shifter woman and help her tear off her burning shirt. Bellamy takes the chance to shift and a few moments later his large black cat form is launching towards the Witch in an attempt to knock her down. He pulls back at the last second as flames light up in front of him, spreading and essentially splitting the room in half with us on one side and the Witch on the other. She’s completely trapped, both by us and the fire which is steadily going out of control. There is smoke in the air making it hard to see what’s going on and the smoke in the air is making it difficult to breathe. My throat is so dry and my lung
