Chapter 58 : Tempus fugit (The imprint)

 

Midtown High, Queens, New York, 3th of April, 10:23, in Iris’ mind.

 

Iris was dozing off when it started.

 

Loved-cherished-blood-sister-Aria was assisting at one of her classes that she didn’t need to but chose to anyway because she-host wanted to have a normal teenagehood, whatever that was supposed to mean.

 

The empirical data Iris had gathered by watching through her she-host’s eyes were inconclusive. From what she had gathered, it consisted mainly in consenting to be clustered in little rooms with many members of your species that shared your biological age. There was also a lot of mating parade involved, a consequence of a chemical imbalance in the thought-center, an issue that seemed typical at that biological age for those humanoids.

 

When it didn’t involve her she-host or her team-friends, Iris found it extremely confusing. She was convinced that with a little bit more context, she should be able to understand better what the other humanoids were doing.

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Yet, she wasn’t really interested in understanding either, if she had to be honest with herself.

 

Here she was, daydreaming about future hunts and cute outfits to fashion for her she-host while a slightly older of biological age humanoid was teaching the other humanoids how to write better in their language.

 

She had been extremely proud of herself this morning when she had made Aria a beautiful strapless velvet dress. It was even rather sober if you made abstractions of the ‘fabric’. A bit classy, even glamorous.

 

If she understood the terms right. She still hesitated about their definitions since she had to translate emotions into words when she interpreted Aria’s memories.

 

She had been a bit cross when Loved-cherished-blood-sister-Aria had, as usual, made it all the color of grief-sadness-regret. It had been such a cute purple dress! Made for a beautiful flower like her she-host!

 

But all of that suddenly didn’t matter.

 

Because her mind was suddenly more than it had been the previous second and she was already starting to panic.

 

So, Iris did the only thing that she could think of when confronted with the unknown.

 

“It has started, blood-sister.” She told her she-host immediately, assuming that a certain scenario was happening.

 

“[Excitement, concern, worry, haste] : Alright, I’m getting us out of there. Stay calm, sister.” The answer came immediately.

 

Iris was both excited and terrorized.

 

Excited because it had taken way more time than her she-host and herself had thought it would and terrorized because Loved-cherished-blood-sister-Aria’s powers were immense.

 

And Iris had just started to imprint them after waiting for many seven-successive-planetary-axis-revolution.

 

It all started with her mind. That piece of herself that was always so intimate with her blood-sister and even more so since she had started to feel not quite like herself and Loved-cherished-blood-sister-Aria had chosen to share her burden.

 

Iris felt it getting wider, expanding beyond the limit of her thought-center and her biomass.

 

She was suddenly aware of so much more, hearing voices-unsaid that she never could have heard before.

 

She could even hear the light-bulb-that-shine-like-stars babbling to her now.

 

So caught up in the thought-tempest as she was, Iris didn’t really notice when her she-host started to make her way out of the classroom.

 

She was too focused on that all-encompassing understanding of all that is alive and mechanical, ever growing around her. It took her barely seconds to have an outlook of everyone’s thought in the classroom, a few more to catch on to those next to theirs.

 

When Loved-cherished-blood-sister-Aria stepped into the hallway, Iris was aware of every thought in the school and every affects of the computers, the electrical grid and the cars in the parking lot.

 

“This is… So much.” She confided in her she-host, metaphorically grindings mental teeth to mock-show the strain put on her mind while it was still a new sensation.

 

Iris feared only one thing and it was losing the burgeoning and feeble control that she had on her newfound abilities.

 

“[Worry, care, excitement, haste] : Don’t worry, we’ll have all the quiet in the world in a few moments. Just hold a little bit longer.” Loved-cherished-blood-sister-Aria soothed her, [Hugging] her mentally.

 

Trusting her she-host, Iris shut all external stimuli aside from those of her newfound mind-eye as her she-host called it.

 

It was still expanding as Loved-cherished-blood-sister-Aria power-walked in the direction of the nearest window.

 

Blessedly for Iris, she soon recognized the strange feeling of being squeezed through a too tight pipe sideways.

 

Loved-cherished-blood-sister-Aria just teleported outside.

 

The sensation repeated itself a few more times and Iris knew peace once more.

 

Seeking comfort and familiar warmth, she forgot Aria’s clothing duty in favor of oozing out of her.

 

Materializing herself on her belly, her arms seeking the familiar neck that she loved hugging so much, Iris enlaced her she-host.

 

At this point, the feeling of the catalyzation of the life-substance was known to her on the tip of her non-existent digits.

 

Iris didn’t need to open her eyes to know that the both of them were far away from any thinking beings, in the sky above the clouds.

 

The sky had become a familiar retreat away from the other humanoid for her she-host, doubling as a feeding ground for herself for many seven-successive-planetary-axis-revolution.

 

Iris mock-exhaled as she buried her head into the crook of the neck of her she-host.

 

The thought-tempest had abated for now, she could now focus on the imprint.

 

“Better?” Loved-cherished-blood-sister-Aria softly asked, hugging her torso in turn.

 

“Way better.” Iris confirmed aloud, mock-sighing to show her relief.

 

“Perfect.” Her she-host exhaled in turn, her [Anxiety] dissipating on the merged-mind, “Take all the time you need, we’ll stay here for as long as it takes for the imprint to finish and make it so you can handle it.”

 

“Could you teach me?” Iris timidly asked.

 

Loved-cherished-blood-sister-Aria did her little throaty laugh that Iris found so amusing.

 

“I can certainly try.” Her she-host gently answered, [Love, care, amusement] ringing.

 

Basculling in their merged state, Loved-cherished-blood-sister-Aria started to show her.

 

How to filter all the unsaid-voices around them to make them more tolerable.

 

How to only acknowledge the useful feedback of the electrical and mechanical minds.

 

And how to tame the unseen wild beast with so many invisible appendages that she could now control with her mind.

 

It took hours for both of them to fine-tune all of Iris' new stimulus adequately, using her she-host mind as a teaching aid now that she could feel it even more intimately if it was even possible at this point.

 

They even had to hide themselves in a fluffy-yet-cold-cloud-that-fly at some point so that Iris’ focus didn’t get impaired by too much life-substance flowing through her biomass.

 

When Iris finally opened her eyes again, she was so much more than she had ever been.

 

She finally felt complete, the second half of her she-host, her true life-long partner.

 

Loved-cherished-blood-sister-Aria was softly humming under her breath, one of her hands playing with Iris’ mock-hair.

 

Iris slowly nuzzled her she-host's neck, rejoicing both in the sensation of wholeness she was now feeling and the fact that she had passed this ordeal.

 

Sharing her she-host mind, she had been aware of what it was like for her to use her powers.

 

Yet, Iris still had underestimated the constant strain it had been on Loved-cherished-blood-sister-Aria’s mind.

 

There was a difference between being aware and knowing.

 

Despite all the future problems it was bound to bring to herself, she could only feel happiness.

 

Loved-cherished-blood-sister-Aria and her were now even closer than before, able to work in tandem on absolutely everything.

 

Iris was now craving for a hunt, to have an opportunity to align herself fully with her she-host and discover with her this new realm of possibilities.

 

She had an inkling that they would be soon unstoppable, an existence unparalleled on this planet.

 

***

Above the clouds, somewhere above New York City, US airspace, the same day, 15:12

 

I feel Iris’ physical manifestation finally stir after hours of inactivity and my humming quietens.

 

I slowly and gently disengage our bonded-state now that it isn’t needed anymore, letting her appreciate her newfound capabilities on her own.

 

It had taken way longer than it should have for it to happen, but my blood-sister had finally imprinted my abilities in true Klyntar fashion.

 

“Are you alright?” I softly ask her, squeezing her a bit closer.

 

“I feel better than ever.” She admitted, her star-filed voice dripping with happiness.

 

I chuckled softly as Iris squeez me back.

 

“I’m a little scared though, blood-sister.” She hesitantly adds after a beat, her neck distorting to look me in the eyes.

 

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle all of those unsaid-voices all the time…” She softly explains.

 

“You’ll manage.” I sooth her with a smile as my hand combs her tentacly-hair, “And if you don’t at first, I’ll shield you from the worst of it. It’ll be good practice.”

 

“Thank you.” Iris shyly answers, nuzzling my neck once more.

 

“Tell me when you’ll be ready to go back to the city,” I carry on, “We can stay here a while longer if you want.”

 

“I think I’d like that.” She answers thoughtfully, “It’s rare when I can hog you all for me during school days.”

 

“It never happens.” I comment archly.

 

“That’s why it’s rare.” She answers seriously.

 

I chuckle.

 

Time stretches lazily for a while as I levitate us slowly out of the cloud we were hidden in.

 

As weird as it sounds, I feel Iris stretch, or maybe melt would be more accurate, in contentment when the sunlight bathes us once more.

 

“Did you tell the others?” My symbiotic half asks after a beat.

 

“I told Gwen that you had a situation and that I needed to take care of you before pretending to be suddenly sick to everyone else’s benefit.” I answer, “A handy suggestion and I was out of there.”

 

Iris remains silent for a moment.

 

“I’m sorry,” She starts, “You had to leave because of me.”

 

I shrug lazily.

 

“No skin off my nose, really.” I answer soothingly, “I can take a day off from pretending to be a normal teenager for your well-being.”

 

Iris stays silent, probably unconvinced.

 

I sigh.

 

“You know that I’m indulging, right?” I start softly.

 

“I know.” She answers, “But it means so much to you.”

 

“Yes, it does.” I admit, “But it’s also incredibly selfish on my part. I shouldn’t have used my powers to have the opportunity to play the bubbly schoolgirl, but here we are.”

 

I look skyward, mulling over my thoughts.

 

“I thought about it a lot.” I carry on, “And the fact remains that I’m wasting time in school while I could do more if I remained out of it.”

 

“I’m conflicted, really.” I continue softly, “We don’t have that much time before the shit starts hitting the fan, yet I have fun talking nonsense at lunch with my friends, cruising in class because I’m so beyond human intellect at this point that it’s not even funny.”

 

“But I don’t want to lose that either.” I kept going, “The semblance of normalcy looks to be more important an anchor to reality than I would’ve ever dreamed it to be. I think that it’s all that allows me not to blow off a fuse and keep training on the side.”

 

“I need it, yet I’m feeling guilty because I’m indulging.” I slowly articulate.

 

“All work and no play…” Iris says amusingly.

 

I snort.

 

“Yeah, it’s kind of like that.” I admit, “Doesn’t stop me from feeling a tad inadequate amid squabbling teenagers when I could already pass all the degrees I need.”

 

“It’s important that you stay near the others though,” Iris points out, “And I’m fairly confident that Gwen, Flash and the mean one can empathize.”

 

I chuckle.

 

“You’re still not over Cindy’s first impression?” I ask, “Even after all that time.”

 

“No, I’m not.” She huffs, which makes me laugh under my breath, “She keeps throwing me funny looks each time I’m here.”

 

“Everyone does so.” I drawl amusingly.

 

“Maybe, but I have the feeling that when it’s her it’s impolite.” Iris sulks back.

 

“You know she developed a hyper-resistant silk that can be used to create new outfits for Gwen and Cindy, yes?” I ask amusingly.

 

Iris tenses.

 

“Would you stop sulking if she was to allow you to play a bit with it?” I wonder aloud, my eyes going skyward.

 

Iris’ answer is a playful bonk on my head, which my white curliness dampens.

 

“Fine.” She grumbles, “But I’ll be the one designing them!”

 

“Will you promise me to behave around Cindy?” I ask her archly as my eyes drop into hers once more.

 

She squirms on my torso for a beat.

 

“...I’ll promise.” Iris answers sulkily.

 

I chuckle.

 

“You’re using that to bribe me into being polite with her.” She accuses me after a beat.

 

“Is it working?” I ask as a smile curls the corners of my lips.

 

“It does, blood-sister.” Iris answers, “And I don’t like it.”

 

Floating carelessly in the sky in my naked and golden glory, my arms full of a sulking symbiote, I wonder for the nth time at how weird my life has become as I smile.

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