nose and mouth. Jason and the others watched three such victories before he grew bored.
"Kelly, I nearly forgot to tell you. Isaac wishes to speak with you, when you have the opportunity."
"Yeah." her voice was quieter than usual and she was looking down. "Hector told me earlier but he wouldn't say what it was about."
"I believe Isaac disapproves of some of your decisions and wishes to encourage you to change your behavior." Oddly, Samantha and Keridwyn both stepped forward and placed a hand on Kelly's shoulders. "I do not believe I will learn anything further from watching these matches. I will see you both, back at our home." Kelly was still looking down, Samantha was speaking softly to her and Keridwyn was staring at him. Strange. "Have a good day, ladies."
----
CHAPTER 5: PRIORITIES
----
Residence Area
Isaac was walking home, alone. His first session had left him feeling raw, like every bit of his soul was exposed, but also clean. It wasn't a good description but it was the best he could come up with. He knew that this hadn't fixed anything, that feeling of frustrated rage and black hate was still there, but it felt like a good start. Therapy wasn't mandatory, not for him, but he'd be coming back next weekend. He wondered if Jenny would be there again.
It was strange. She always seemed so happy, full of energy and life. Then again, if someone didn't know about his incident during combat ranking, Isaac probably seemed perfectly normal. Self-controlled, maybe a little intense sometimes, but normal. Isaac didn't know for a fact that she'd been in the medical area for the same reason as him, but it seemed likely. His thoughts were interrupted by an enormous bird landing in front of him, a bird whose body blurred and flowed, turning into a tiny blonde girl with pigtails.
"Where the Hell do you get off!? You're not my father; you don't get to have opinions about the way I live my life!"
What the hell? She was vaguely familiar, the shapeshifter that had had such a bad reaction during their first combat class. Why- wait, shapeshifter? Oh shit.
"K- Kelly?" he asked.
"That's Trainee Protean to you, you jerk." There were tears in her eyes.
"No, oh no, I'm so sorry Kelly." His mind raced back over everything he'd said, everything Hector or Jason had said. It seemed so obvious now. "Kelly, I didn't know!" he pleaded.
"You- what?" her face was flushed, tears running down her face. What could he-?
"Kelly, think back. You never told me your power." Please let her listen, he had to make this right.
"I... but Jason said... you said I was making the wrong choice." Her voice quiet, broken with sobs. Oh God, he'd hurt her so bad.
"Just, just give me a minute to explain, okay?" Careful, this could go so wrong.
"Kelly, I never knew what you could do. I didn't know your power. When you got here, you met Jason and Hector first, right?" She nodded, hurt and betrayal written across her face. "I bet when you met them, you explained everything, right?" She nodded again, a little calmer. "We didn't meet till breakfast, that Monday. They never told me. I had no idea."
"You didn't? But then, what Jason said..."
"Kelly, I only ever saw you when you were a guy and I didn't know what you could do. I told them I was worried because I thought you were skipping training sessions."
"Skipping...? Isaac that doesn't even make sense! This is the Citadel. They don't take anyone but the best and everyone knows that!"
"Well, yeah. That's why I was so worried about you. I thought you seemed like a good kid and I didn't want you getting kicked out."
"Oh." The anger was gone but she hadn't relaxed yet. Isaac watched as Kelly seemed to almost shrink in on herself. "So you really didn't know. But... but now you do." She looked up at him, and he could practically hear the part of that sentence she'd left unasked. Now that he knew, what
"Kelly, I nearly forgot to tell you. Isaac wishes to speak with you, when you have the opportunity."
"Yeah." her voice was quieter than usual and she was looking down. "Hector told me earlier but he wouldn't say what it was about."
"I believe Isaac disapproves of some of your decisions and wishes to encourage you to change your behavior." Oddly, Samantha and Keridwyn both stepped forward and placed a hand on Kelly's shoulders. "I do not believe I will learn anything further from watching these matches. I will see you both, back at our home." Kelly was still looking down, Samantha was speaking softly to her and Keridwyn was staring at him. Strange. "Have a good day, ladies."
----
CHAPTER 5: PRIORITIES
----
Residence Area
Isaac was walking home, alone. His first session had left him feeling raw, like every bit of his soul was exposed, but also clean. It wasn't a good description but it was the best he could come up with. He knew that this hadn't fixed anything, that feeling of frustrated rage and black hate was still there, but it felt like a good start. Therapy wasn't mandatory, not for him, but he'd be coming back next weekend. He wondered if Jenny would be there again.
It was strange. She always seemed so happy, full of energy and life. Then again, if someone didn't know about his incident during combat ranking, Isaac probably seemed perfectly normal. Self-controlled, maybe a little intense sometimes, but normal. Isaac didn't know for a fact that she'd been in the medical area for the same reason as him, but it seemed likely. His thoughts were interrupted by an enormous bird landing in front of him, a bird whose body blurred and flowed, turning into a tiny blonde girl with pigtails.
"Where the Hell do you get off!? You're not my father; you don't get to have opinions about the way I live my life!"
What the hell? She was vaguely familiar, the shapeshifter that had had such a bad reaction during their first combat class. Why- wait, shapeshifter? Oh shit.
"K- Kelly?" he asked.
"That's Trainee Protean to you, you jerk." There were tears in her eyes.
"No, oh no, I'm so sorry Kelly." His mind raced back over everything he'd said, everything Hector or Jason had said. It seemed so obvious now. "Kelly, I didn't know!" he pleaded.
"You- what?" her face was flushed, tears running down her face. What could he-?
"Kelly, think back. You never told me your power." Please let her listen, he had to make this right.
"I... but Jason said... you said I was making the wrong choice." Her voice quiet, broken with sobs. Oh God, he'd hurt her so bad.
"Just, just give me a minute to explain, okay?" Careful, this could go so wrong.
"Kelly, I never knew what you could do. I didn't know your power. When you got here, you met Jason and Hector first, right?" She nodded, hurt and betrayal written across her face. "I bet when you met them, you explained everything, right?" She nodded again, a little calmer. "We didn't meet till breakfast, that Monday. They never told me. I had no idea."
"You didn't? But then, what Jason said..."
"Kelly, I only ever saw you when you were a guy and I didn't know what you could do. I told them I was worried because I thought you were skipping training sessions."
"Skipping...? Isaac that doesn't even make sense! This is the Citadel. They don't take anyone but the best and everyone knows that!"
"Well, yeah. That's why I was so worried about you. I thought you seemed like a good kid and I didn't want you getting kicked out."
"Oh." The anger was gone but she hadn't relaxed yet. Isaac watched as Kelly seemed to almost shrink in on herself. "So you really didn't know. But... but now you do." She looked up at him, and he could practically hear the part of that sentence she'd left unasked. Now that he knew, what
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