Super Supportive

121

****

Alden Thorn had learned a valuable life lesson tonight—a single moment of honesty could transform a manageable party into a gauntlet of social suffering. And that social suffering was exponentially worse when it involved Velras.

“I’ve said, I’ve always said, that girl is going to snap and kill someone one day,” a lady who Alden thought was Roman’s mother told him, leaning so close that the edge of her stole trailed through the lime ginger ale he was carrying. “You were lucky it was only a mental assault and not the end of your life. Death was watching you. Mark my words.”

Yikes, thought Alden.

Almost as soon as he escaped from that woman, he ran into a boy a couple of years younger than him who talked like he possessed superhuman lung capacity even though he wasn’t Avowed yet. “I used to think Hazel was nice, but she’s not really nice because one time I told her about my hamster, and she asked why I thought she would care, and when Tara got C and they didn’t give her Chainer, Hazel said, ‘Well what do you expect?’ And I said, ‘What does that mean?’ And she said, ‘Tara pronounces words like her tongue is made of cement,’ and I said— ”

“Who’s Tara?” Alden asked solely to stem the river of noise.

“My second oldest sister. And I said, ‘What do you mean her tongue is made of cement?’ And Hazel said, ‘Don’t you ever shut up?’ How could she say that to someone whose sister just became a C-rank? It was so mean. So I said—”

Save me, thought Alden.

“But can you really get a proper education without private tutors?” another boy asked. “I don’t know. I feel like you should be more worried than most people.”

Dare I ask why?

“A young man in your position has to be careful about presentation,” one of Lute’s aunts told him. “Let me put you in touch with my publicist.”

“Now if Aulia asks to speak to you alone…” The speaker was someone who was the stepfather of someone else who was the cousin of…Alden didn’t even want to remember it. “You call me. Tell me everything she says, and I’ll give you advice.”

“It was just Peace of Mind, son,” a man who definitely didn’t look old enough to be calling strange teenagers “son” said in an exasperated voice. “You’ve got to think these things through. Any Velra is a good catch for a B-rank, so even if they’re a little cracked around the edges you can’t waste an opportunity.”

[Alden: Where the hell are you three? Somebody get me away from this—]

“Alden, there you are!” called the voice of his savior. Haoyu bounced up, jingling with costume jewelry. “You’re needed. Over here with me. For party reasons.”

“You left me alone for so long,” Alden complained once they’d escaped.

“It was just five minutes. I thought I spotted the prize bubble with the watch in it.”

[Alden: That can’t be true! I talked to a hundred Velras.]

“There aren’t even a hundred Velras here,” Haoyu said.

[Alden: That dude over there thinks I need special tutors because I came from America. Can we leave yet?]

[Haoyu: Sure. But you were the one who thought you should stay.]

Alden sighed. After Hazel had exploded and fled from the party, his roommates had suggested an exit. But Lute was staying, and Alden didn’t want to look like he was running away after dropping the pebble that caused an avalanche.

Besides, the plan to back up Lute and facilitate his return to the Velra fold wasn’t actually shot. If anything, it seemed like it was going better than anticipated. Aulia was still acting like she was delighted to have them all here anyway.

I think me singling out Hazel as a problem and implying her presence was my only issue with the Velras might have made it seem like I really was grateful and willing to get to know the rest of them.

A grateful, willing person wouldn’t try to escape when Aulia had so openly sided with him over her own granddaughter.

She’s even scarier than I thought.

She was so…maybe the word for it was unflappable? Alden didn’t know what had gone through her head in that moment when she’d analyzed his accusation against Hazel, but he knew she’d had a thought and then acted on it immediately with the expectation that every member of her family would fall in line.

She outed Hazel’s skill. They all seem to believe that was something really extreme, and it was definitely irrevocable. And she made the decision to do it in about half a minute.

Alden looked over to where the Velra matriarch was holding someone’s baby while she talked to her son, Benjamin. Today was his seventieth birthday, and this party was for him; but he was just about the quietest person here. Benjamin was an A-rank who appeared to be in his mid thirties. He was an average-looking guy by Avowed standards, and he had a ton of kids with Hikari, the second oldest S-rank Chainer in the world.

Aunt Connie would love to hear all about this.

Alden had been so busy since starting school that they’d only had a couple of short chats. But the Velras were basically one of those reality television shows she liked dialed up to a thousand and infused with magic.

[Haoyu: Hugh is still shooting nasty looks at us.]

[Lexi: What do you expect? Alden accused his daughter of power abuse in front of everyone here. That scene has probably already been uploaded to the web.]

Alden’s legs stopped carrying him forward. The sounds of the party faded. “Oh fuck.”

Haoyu glanced at him and then did a double-take when he caught sight of what Alden was sure was a nauseous expression on his face.

“It’s nothing to worry about,” he said quickly. “You didn’t sound unreasonable.”

“What if it really is on the internet, though?”

The corners of Haoyu’s lips tipped up in a polite smile, and he blinked at Alden.

That’s the expression you’d give a kid who just told you they had some suspicions about Santa Claus.

“Haoyu…”

“It’s fine. It was edited before it went up.”

“Someone already posted it! You’ve watched it?”

Haoyu started air typing as fast as he could.

[Haoyu: You giving her the class wasn’t mentioned. It’s obvious some of what she shouted at you and some of what you said was clipped, so people will make up all kinds of things. But it doesn’t make you look bad.]

[Lute: No-no 2 offend the witch. Everyone knows. Normal business.]

[Haoyu: He’s trying to say that it’s natural for the video to be edited. Nobody here wants to offend his grandmother.]

[Alden: Then why would they put it online at all?!]

“Don’t worry,” said Haoyu. “Aulia herself backed you up. You look good.”

It’s fine, Alden told himself. He had meant nearly every word he’d said. It was just…

[Alden: I hate being the center of public commentary. I knew the drones were there, but they’re everywhere all the time. I was getting too used to them.]

“Do you want me to call Molly?” Haoyu asked.

“Your mom’s assistant?”

“She handles stuff like this. She’ll tell you it’s all right.”

“No. It’s okay. I just didn’t think it through.”

Haoyu shrugged. “We can’t overthink every little thing. Last year, a member of my parents’ hero group wore a hat that resembled a hat that some member of Superhumans At Large was wearing when she was caught, and there are still people who refuse to believe it was a coincidence instead of a political statement. And…you do not look like this story is making you feel better, so…have some ginger ale!”

Alden looked down at his cup. “One of Lute’s relatives dipped her scarf in it.”

“That is tragic. Let’s get you another one.”

******

Alden mingled for as long as he could endure it, and then he went to hide in a dumpster.

It was a very nice dumpster that had clearly never seen any garbage. He had cushions to sit on and big fake gemstones that were really battery-powered lamps to enjoy.

“The dumpsters are for children,” a little girl informed him. She was standing on the convenient stepladder that you could use to climb inside, looking down at him.

“There’s no sign that says that.”

There were a lot of bouncy balls and a large set of magnetic blocks in here, but those could have been toys for all ages. No reason for adults not to enjoy building a good magnet castle every now and then.

“Everyone knows it,” the girl said.

“I’m a child.”

She squinted at him. “Are you an Avowed yet?”

“You can’t hold that against me!”

“Hey!” said a familiar voice. Lute hopped up and landed in a crouch on the lip of the metal can with unnatural grace. “You’re in the kids’ trashcan?”

“See. I told you it wasn’t for you!” the girl announced.

“Sweet,” said Lute. He let himself topple forward and sprawl on his back on the cushions beside Alden. “You are amazing. I need to go to Chicago. You and Angela Aubergine both came from there. There must be something in the water.”

“Yes. Proper fluoridation in my youth has led to this moment.” Alden swallowed as he stared at the web page he’d pulled up on his interface. “Sixty thousand views and rising.”

“Don’t read the comments.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you doing it?”

“You don’t know that I am.”

“Of course you are. Everyone reads the comments.”

Lute crossed his arms behind his head. A piece of confetti fluttered down into the dumpster and landed on his t-shirt. The girl had disappeared from the stepladder. “Sorry, man. I should’ve mentioned that a get-together like this, with non-relatives in attendance, is pretty much always fair game for posting and gossiping about.”

“I knew. I saw the drones. I just didn’t think of myself as being that interesting.”

“In all fairness, I doubt you’d be that fascinating on your own. I’m sure it’s my grandmother’s apology and Hazel’s unhinged rant that are getting a thousand views a minute. Or maybe it’s me choking to death on chips in the background. I’ve got major stage presence.” He grabbed a bouncy ball and tossed it at the wall of the dumpster. “It’ll go through Anesidora like wildfire, but if it makes you feel better, Velra drama tends not to spread quite as widely as something like superhero news in the rest of the world.”

Alden sighed and swiped the video away.

[Thanks.] Lute sent the text privately instead of through their group chat. [I’m sorry my family made a mess. It’s what they do. Thanks for coming. Having you guys here was great.]

“And as far as I’m concerned,” he said out loud, “telling the entire island that my cousin doesn’t have the decency to keep her skill away from unwilling people was a community service.”

[Her father isn’t taking this well,] Alden texted. [I’m in this dumpster partially because he looks like he wants to do me in.]

“Hugh?” Lute scoffed. His fingers started flickering through the air. [Listen, let me tell you something about Hugh. He’s a loser. He divorced a sexy S-rank right after having a kid with her because she was cooler than him and people kept pointing it out. So then he married a C-rank that looks suspiciously similar to his first wife, but with a way weaker personality. He’s scared of his own mother, his father, his ex, his son, and obviously Aulia. He’s been trying to ride Hazel’s coattails toward glory since she was born, and Aulia just yanked off Hazel’s coat and threw it in a shredder.]

Alden tried to input all of that.

[I’m saying he doesn’t have the courage or the energy to do you in,] Lute said. [And if he did try something…we could beat him.]

Alden snorted. “You think?”

“I’m positive.” Lute glanced over. [You want me to give you a free Peace of Mind?]

“What? No. Come on. I’m not that upset. Decompressing in luxury garbage cans is part of my process. Every party needs a few of these things.”

He banged on the metal wall behind his head for emphasis.

“Okay. But it’s really no big deal. So if you change your mind…”

“I’m good,” Alden insisted.

“Then let’s get out of here and go back to sanity. I’ve got what we came here for.”

Alden stared at him. [Already? The Libra invitation?]

“I mean this,” said Lute, pulling a large tin of caviar out from under his shirt. “We shall eat like kings! The rest of us will anyway. I would have stolen something for you, too, but there were no expensive fruits and vegetables lying around in plain sight.”

[I wouldn’t worry about the Libra invite,] he added. [I don’t know what Aulia’s twisted mind thinks about me right now, but she’s obviously pro-you. So I bet it’ll happen.]

They climbed out of the dumpster and met up with Haoyu and Lexi nearby. The two of them weren’t alone.

“I could walk with you guys to the train,” Roman said, dropping faux pearls and dazzling bangle bracelets into one of the plastic shopping bags Lexi was filling. “If you needed some company.”

“There are four of us,” Lute pointed out. “We kind of make our own company.”

“He can come.” Lexi’s tone was that of a man who had just agreed to have his molars removed by someone wielding pliers.

Politely escaping from the party took twenty minutes. People kept stopping them to offer commentary, and there was at least one conspicuous drone pointed at Alden like he was about to do a trick. And then, right before they reached the street, they were stopped by the absolute last person they wanted to have an encounter with.

“Lute,” said Jessica Velra, “I’m so glad you decided to come. How have you—”

“Guys, this is Aulia’s daughter Jessica,” Lute said in a dead voice, staring straight over her shoulder. “Jessica, these are my roommates. We’re kind of in a hurry.”

Alden’s concerns about being filmed were completely forgotten for a moment. He almost wished Lute’s mother would recognize him from their brief encounter the other night in the hall of Laura’s apartment building. It might be easier if she caused a scene of some kind with him, instead of staring at Lute like she was about to cry.

Even Haoyu didn’t seem to have a way to combat this level of tension. His smile was forced.

Roman let out a gasp.

Good, thought Alden. He knows them both. Maybe he’ll say something helpful.

A finger tapped him on his shoulder, and when he looked toward Roman, the other boy shoved a half-finished iced coffee into his hand.

“What—?”

“Does my hair look okay?” Roman demanded.

“It’s got some confetti in it. Why?”

Roman flipped his head upside down and shook out his hair. A second after he righted himself, he disappeared into thin air. By the time Alden got over his surprise, Lute had taken the opportunity afforded by the distraction to leave. Lexi and Haoyu were following him. Nodding at Jessica awkwardly, Alden took off after them.

“All right…” Haoyu said a couple of minutes later as they walked past a club that was advertising a comedy night. “That was definitely more interesting than Konstantin’s party. I always hoped high school would be exciting, but it’s exceeding my expectations on that front already.”

“I declare our first operation a success,” Lute said in a tone so blithe Alden would never have guessed he’d just had what must have been an emotional encounter. “We survived my family. Lexi didn’t find the diamonds, but he claimed like eighty percent of the party favors anyway, and he will never run out of jewelry again.”

“They’re Christmas presents for my little sister.”

“And Alden…revealed his true nature to us and everyone else,” Lute continued.

Alden groaned.

“Righteous, politely devastating—” Lute said.

“He was polite,” Haoyu agreed.

“It made his attack so much more effective!” Lute hopped over a grate in the sidewalk.

Alden was glad they approved. And at least I know for sure now where Hazel and I stand.

He thought it would be less stressful in the long run to have it all out in the open. Now he wouldn’t have to wonder why she’d done it and what it meant and if he was crazy for being upset about it.

“There are some real idiots in the comments on that video,” said Lexi. “You definitely shouldn’t read them.”

“You’re reading them?”

Lexi shrugged.

“Most people are cheering you on,” said Haoyu.

“I don’t want to be cheered on. I want to be ignored.”

“Someone’s connected you to the gokoratch songs video Finlay posted yesterday,” Haoyu said. “It’s starting to get a lot of hits, too.”

Alden considered it. “That’s not enough of a comfort. But I’ll take it.”

“Are you really going to send that thing to your…foreign friend?” Lexi asked.

“Yes,” said Alden. “My foreign friend needs to know how much we’re all enjoying his contributions. Can we discuss anything other than the Hazel incident?”

There was just a second of silence, then Lexi said, “Lute, your cousin Roman needs a pet or something. One that doesn’t mind him talking to it for hours.”

Mention of Roman made Alden look down at the coffee he was still carrying. “I can throw this away, right? He’s not going to reappear and want it?”

“His summonses usually last around thirty minutes,” Lexi reported. “We’ll be back at the apartment. I say trash it.”

“You guys talked about his summonses?” Haoyu asked.

“He talked,” Lexi said in a sullen voice. “He mistook my silence for me being a good listener.”

“If you remembered everything he said, doesn’t that make you a good listener?”

Manon Barre had barely gotten any sleep since she’d made it back to Earth. Astounding how much can fall apart when I’m only gone for a few hours.

Now she was on the third floor of a building, sitting in a folding chair and watching the people in the alley below her through a window. It had been all too easy to get in. She’d simply told the owner she was considering renting this empty space at a later date, and the access code had been granted. She had an excellent reputation in the event industry. There was no reason to say no to her even if a party for a certain noteworthy family was taking place this evening.

Manon’s inbox was full of angry, confused messages from the boater, and there was an obnoxious amount of “respectful advice on the pursuit of our shared interests” from Aulia Velra’s daughter-turned-personal assistant. The first issue was being addressed one boater member at a time. Three of them were already pacified, and the others would be…as soon as she could manage it.

All the busybodying from Aulia’s little helper was unnecessary. Manon had carved the grooves that her peoples’ lives fit into. They were mostly content, and they would refocus themselves on the things that really mattered after she had devoted enough time to tucking troublesome ideas into the recesses of their minds again.

Aulia only makes my job more difficult by butting in.

Now that some of them had discovered a Velra representative would come running at their call, they were getting an overinflated sense of their own importance. That would have to be handled, too.

Manon wasn’t sure the extra work the Velras had made for her was unintentional.

It would be nice for Aulia if I was too busy tending to their petty upsets to ask her inconvenient questions about our agreement.

And there was a lot of upset right now. Manon had never suspected that such a brief absence could lead to so much mayhem, not after all these years.

The little shit thought it out. I’ll give him that.

The members’ faith in their leader, their gratitude toward her, and their affection for her would have been strong enough to withstand a simple word of warning. But a multipage essay of warning being delivered to each of them, in duplicate no less, was something else. A spoken word could be pushed out of the mind so quickly. Having so many words that so thoroughly speculated on a portion of their lives shoved in front of their eyes once and then again shortly afterward in hardcopy…

This was supposed to be the age of text messages and short attention spans. What was a teenager doing outputting research papers on Manon’s activities in his free time? Did he not have anything better to do?

You’d think someone who just came out of some kind of disaster would have other things to worry about.

And why on Earth was he standing below her right now, popping confetti balloons at a Velra birthday party?

Manon couldn’t figure it out. Had Aulia realized the boy was aware of her involvement with the boater? Had she invited Alden Thorn here as some kind of a bribe? Was he here on his own because he’d gotten wind of Aulia backing Manon and he fancied himself a sleuth?

He’d arrived with the one-eyed short boy. Jessica’s S-rank. Maybe they were acquainted, and it was just a coincidence?

It doesn’t matter. I’ll deal with him when the boater is finally settled again.

One chore at a time, and this evening’s had already been decided upon. Aulia and her assistant clearly didn’t have enough to do lately if they could engage in thinly-veiled negotiations with some of Manon’s people. She needed them out of the way so that she could re-establish control.

An attempt to do the LeafSong job without her would be doomed. It was obvious to her, but maybe it wasn’t so obvious to an out-of-touch S-rank.

So tonight we find something to distract her from meddling in my end of the business. If I keep her busy for a while, and I re-establish control fully, she’ll leave it alone for now. And…

Finding a way to make sure Aulia honored their bargain could wait just a little longer. That was going to take some more planning.

Manon watched. She waited.

This party was not hers. The people attending it were not hers. But a Rabbit with Tailor Environment was more used to working on the possessions of others anyway. And Manon’s skill had topped out some time ago, the last, lovely features settling into her mind and making her one of the very best at figuring out exactly what changes she could make to suit the owner of a space, event, or thought.

As a consequence of that, she could also tell what arrangements were less suitable.

This party had a few different people who could be considered “owners” with varying needs and degrees of connection to the space. Manon targeted Benjamin Velra first, since it was the man’s birthday.

Good lord, she thought. Did they even ask him if he wanted a party at all?

Almost everything in the alley was less than ideal for him. If she’d really been rearranging and positioning things to suit him, instead of just taking a peek, she would have ordered a getaway vehicle for the man and told him to go someplace quiet. The only things in this environment that fit him were the cake, the trash bins the children were playing in, and the wrapped gift his eldest daughter was presenting him with.

Manon frowned down at Aimi, then moved on.

She targeted Benjamin’s wife next. Hikari Velra. And she suddenly saw a dozen new possible arrangements for tables and chairs.

She cares about where people are sitting.

It was possible to learn a lot from tailoring an environment.

Not really surprising that another S-rank who’s been by Aulia’s side for so long would be interested in manipulating the various family relationships.

Before Manon could move on to a new target, the queen herself arrived.

Ah, there you are Aulia. Let’s see what suits you right now. Let’s see if a lowly C-rank can make sure it stays out of your grasp.

******

An interesting thing about Tailor Environment that most non-users didn’t understand—the owner’s wants and needs both mattered when it came to arranging a perfect space. The skill balanced those things, but it didn’t tell Manon how it was balancing them or what the client’s actual thoughts were. She didn’t need to know to do her job, so she didn’t.

But she could often guess anyway. For example, if the magic indicated that a family heirloom should be placed in a highly visible but otherwise awkward location, that probably meant that the owner was so fond of it their desire for its presence outweighed practicality.

Is this something Aulia wants? Or something she needs? Manon wondered, watching the woman make her way through the crowd with that way she had about her that most older Anesidorans would probably recognize even if she were to suddenly inhabit another body.

The woman’s ownership of this party was so strong from the moment she appeared that Manon could see the whole puzzle, and what suited Aulia most right now wasn’t her own comfort…but Alden Thorn’s.

It wasn’t the easiest thing to pick up on, but it was there to an experienced eye. For this space to suit Aulia as well as it could in this moment, a particularly nice decoration should be moved into Alden’s line of sight. One of the confetti bubbles—no doubt containing a party favor he would like—ought to be shoved in front of him.

What’s this about?

Aulia moved through the crowd so swiftly that Manon barely had time to understand what her skill was telling her. Figuring out why it was telling her such a thing would no doubt take hours. She had to move now.

It suited Aulia for the boy to be comfortable. It suited Manon for Aulia to have some trouble.

And Alden deserves to be miserable, thought Manon. Sometimes the universe gives us such unexpected opportunities.

As Aulia engaged him in conversation, Manon looked for an opening. She couldn’t exactly toss a chair out of the window and smash the boy over the head, though that would no doubt get the job done. It would have to be handled the subtle way. Which wasn’t simple.

These weren’t her people. On-the-spot thought rearrangement without something that resembled acquiescence from the owner of the thoughts wasn’t really what the skill did, but there was a way if she found exactly the right type of person with the right mental state…

She tried Jessica first because weak people were usually easier. Then Cady Velra.

Without much hope, she tried Alden himself and found he wouldn’t work either. Even at LeafSong, she’d barely managed to push a couple of his thoughts to the back of his mind—suspicions toward her, she was now sure. And that had probably only been possible because a boy on his first assignment was so tense in so many ways that having that tension reduced suited him.

Next, she targeted Hazel Velra—Aulia’s daughter, though everyone seemed on-board with politely pretending she was a great granddaughter.

There! A piece I can move.

Manon couldn’t read the thought. To her, it was just a shape she was allowed to access and fit into a new slot. To guess at what it was, she would have to know Hazel well or be down there reading the girl’s expressions and listening carefully to what she said. And that wasn’t possible.

But with all involved parties targeted and her skill working at its absolute maximum, Manon could tell that nudging this thought forward in the girl’s mind would somehow make the environment less pleasant for Alden and less ideal for Aulia.

Sloppy. But it will have to do.

She focused her full attention on Hazel Velra. You’ve got something inside of you that’s bothering you, don’t you? Something you need and want to let out so badly that you’re about to burst with it. There’s a part of your mental environment that it would feel so good to let out, but some other pesky concerns are holding you back.

For this to be doable on the fly, when Manon had never even spoken to the girl, it must have been like that.

Let me help you, Hazel. You’ll feel more at home with yourself if you go ahead and say what’s on your mind.

She lifted the shape of the thought toward the light. Then, she waited.

Body language over the past few seconds indicated that Aulia was doing a fair job on her own of making Alden Thorn uncomfortable. While Manon was identifying Hazel’s usefulness, he’d been shooting a panicky look at the boy with the eyepatch.

Eyepatch had said something. Then Aulia had laughed, making a dismissive-looking gesture with her hand while she leaned toward Alden. He’d fixed his eyes on Hazel and replied.

There had been some back and forth while Manon worked, and now…

“I am your granddaughter!” Hazel shouted so loudly that the words carried over the music and up to Manon’s window. “I am your protégée. I’ve done everything you ever asked me to, and you gave my S to that whiny, lazy little whiff the second he was selected!”

So that’s what the idea eating away at you was, Manon thought while the girl below continued her rant in full voice. Some of the things she said were contradictory. Some of them made no sense. But Manon knew what Hazel was really saying.

So childish. Such a common feeling and always so useful to me, though this is definitely the most dramatic result I’ve ever had from pulling it out of someone.

Manon wondered if she’d needed to do anything at all. To be snapping like this, the girl must have been on the very precipice of her self-control. She might have lost her head any second without Manon helping her get it out of her system

This isn’t fair, Hazel Velra was screaming at the top of her lungs, using far more words than necessary. My life is unfair.

Manon smiled. Hazel was revealing grievances, wants, and weaknesses galore. She was a volatile creature, but volatility was only a problem if you planned on managing someone longterm. If you just wanted them to give you information or stir up trouble for someone else, it was a useful quality. The girl had spent her entire life at Aulia’s knee. And here she was having such a terrible day.

This, Manon thought, is an opportunity.

“You and I have a lot in common,” the Rabbit woman said, shaking her head sympathetically.

She’d been going blah, blah, blah for a long time. Hazel had paid attention to enough of the chatter to know they didn’t have anything in common at all. And her bare feet were freezing against the marble floor. This sofa was hard as a rock.

Why did I agree to come with this annoying stranger? she wondered.

Because she’d run away from the party sobbing. Because she’d assumed the black sedan that had stopped for her had been sent by her parents to carry her back home in privacy, and the second she’d gotten in the woman had spoken as if she was affiliated with the family somehow. One of the help, Hazel had assumed. Someone from Grandpa Corin’s office possibly.

And when she’d realized the Rabbit was just one of those people who wanted to suck up to a Velra…well, Hazel didn’t mind. Maybe if she disappeared and refused to answer her messages for a while, her family would understand how badly they’d treated her. Her parents and her grandfather could’ve stood up for her. Instead, they’d just flapped their lips pointlessly and cringed.

My skill…they took my skill from me.

She couldn’t believe this was really happening.

The ability was only useful on Earth if people didn’t know she had it. And she wasn’t required to get consent before using it like so many of her relatives needed to before they used their own skills. It was a privilege she’d earned for herself, a product of her giftedness and her effort. Her one solace for the rank disaster.

That boy…

I didn’t do anything wrong. It wasn’t a big deal. But Grandma sided with him. It’s like Lute all over again. She thinks they’re special even though they haven’t done anything to earn it.

At least Lute was an S. At least he’d gotten it at fourteen. It was nothing he deserved, but it was something.

Alden Thorn had just been a delivery boy for Hazel’s Chainer.

She felt almost numb. The video filled her eyes, the opacity just low enough that she could still see the woman sitting beside her, eating the karaage she kept offering to share with Hazel.

Hazel had taken a few pieces. Her mouth felt greasy, and the comments under the video pierced her eyes.

“You know it can feel really good to get things like this off your chest,” the woman said. Manon Something. Somewhere in all the blahs she’d managed to convey that she was a contractor of some sort for Hazel’s grandmother. Like that was a special connection they shared.

Grandma probably doesn’t know her name either. She probably smiled at her once, and this old lady thinks it meant she mattered.

Hazel reached for another piece of the chicken and chewed it. She wiped her fingers on her dress. She could never wear it again now. It would make people think of Alden Thorn announcing that she was too dangerous to be around.

Maybe she did want to get something off her chest after all.

“He’s not stable.” She gestured at the video in front of her eyes even though Manon couldn’t see it. “People shouldn’t just believe whatever he says. Avowed who spend months in bad situations usually come back damaged. It’s sad, but it’s the truth. I guess that’s why he’s so upset about his Peace of Mind. Because he’s got problems. He’s overreacting, and people are too ignorant about wordchains to realize what I did wouldn’t have been that bad to a normal person.”

Manon was quiet for a beat. Then, she brightened.

“Hey! Do you want to trade stories? I actually know Alden a little bit. I’ll tell you some embarrassing things about him and you tell me about…oh, whoever you like! Who’s done something embarrassing around you lately?”

That sounds stupid. Why would I gossip with someone like you?

“I think I’ll go,” said Hazel, standing and heading toward the door.

“Not just yet!” Manon sounded so disappointed. “I’ve even got a few pictures of him in a funny costume. Let me just grab the tablet I keep my Triplanets photography on.”

Pictures? Hazel frowned. Maybe it would make me feel better.

The Rabbit woman rummaged around on a bookshelf for what seemed like too long.

Why doesn’t she just send me a copy through our interfaces?

Tech could be better and more convenient for capturing photographs and video. Hazel loved her drone and her phone. Maybe Manon was the same.

She stood beside the shelf watching Manon scroll very slowly through a photography folder on the tablet. “Aulia thinks I use social media too much,” Hazel said. “I told her it was my outlet, but she doesn’t understand. ‘Hazel, why don’t you get a productive hobby?’ But it’s not like making fans isn’t productive. And now they’re going to think all the wrong things about me because of Alden.”

“Aulia doesn’t care about your interests?” Manon asked in a surprised voice. “But you’re her granddaughter!”

“She keeps saying she expects me to be mature. She’s not always mature. But I have to be.”

“The older generations aren’t always fair to the younger ones. I’d apologize on our behalf, but your grandmother is quite a bit older than me.”

“When she was my age she’d already had her first child. I don’t think she even knows who Grandpa Corin’s father was.”

“It sounds like you’re more responsible than she was.”

“I’ve been working on the Triplanets for years. I think I understand more about the real world than most people.” The large, sideways timeglass on the bookshelf caught Hazel’s eye. It looked out of place with the rest of the decor in the apartment. She reached up to tap the metal case that held it idly, and she frowned as it slid along the wood.

Wrong.

She didn’t feel like she’d tapped it that hard.

Oh. I performed an extra Force of the Traveler’s Body just now. I remember. Over by the door, right before walking over here to stand beside Manon and see the pictures. She could even feel her own imbalance, but it never bothered her the way other peoples’ did.

How strange that I let it slip my mind.

Hazel enjoyed the whole set of wordchains in the Force of the Body family. She liked turning the sweep of a hand into something explosive. She usually elected to cast a single one on an ordinary day though. Why did I decide to add another one?

“Most people aren’t thinkers,” Manon said. “Or doers. They just exist. You’re different. I can tell. Can Aulia not see that about you?”

Hazel frowned. “What did you say you did for my grandmother again?”

“I run a little side business for her during a certain annual event. We’ve been partners for almost fifteen years.” Manon looked at the timer. “Unfortunately, my payment was supposed to be time with Horatio Qu—”

“So that’s it. Everyone wants to know when the healer will be back.” Hazel rolled her eyes. “He’s just being a whiner. Aimi barely hit him with the car. He yelled about the Gloss threatening his life and then requested assignment to Artona III for a supplemental Healer school. He’ll get over it soon enough and ask to come home. According to Grandma, he doesn’t even like other planets.”

Manon’s smile was strained. “That’s good to know, but ‘soon enough’ for someone as old as Horatio or your grandmother can be rather long to the rest of us…anyway, where were we? You were telling me that Aulia expects maturity from you even though she isn’t always mature herself!”

“Do you even have embarrassing pictures of Alden Thorn?”

How would she? That’s right! That was the thought I had. That was why I cast the extra strengthening chain. Because the pictures sounded unlikely, and I thought she was a little creepy. The way she ate that chicken wasn’t normal.

Alden and Manon were both Rabbits, but Alden hadn’t been on Anesidora for long. Why would they know each other? Why would they know each other well enough for her to have pictures of him in ‘a funny costume’?

It sounded like a fiction the woman had invented just to make Hazel talk to her for longer.

“I do,” said Manon. “From a job we did together. They’re on this tablet.”

Lie.

Hazel didn’t know Alden. But she knew about him. He’d only had the one job. The one that had ended badly. It was so ironic that the job had been at…

LeafSong. That school of all places. No wonder Grandma has completely taken leave of her senses when it comes to the delivery boy. She probably thinks the universe is shouting his name.

Hazel started to turn away. She was going to march out the door and leave this pitiful lying Rabbit to her pitiful little life. And then…the rest of the facts pulled themselves together.

“The LeafSong Entrance Examinations?” she asked slowly. “Is that the job you mean?”

“Yes,” said Manon, smiling at her as though she’d said something flattering.

In that moment, Hazel Velra understood everything about the past few hours.

She thinks I don’t know what she does at that school. She thinks it’s such an important secret that Aulia wouldn’t share it with me.

“You know I have more than one contract tattoo with my grandmother,” Hazel spat. Her anger was boiling up inside her.

Manon stared at her. “More than one?”

“You think she wouldn’t trust me with information? Me?”

The nerve of this woman. She did that…to me…!

“I can’t believe she’s paying someone like you with Horatio!” Hazel couldn’t repeat the precise details of Manon’s work even to the woman herself, thanks to a rule in one of the contracts. But she would force out every biting truth she could manage around the limitations. “You don’t even do anything hard! All kinds of people could do that job. And we don’t really need it. Grandma just thinks having you do it might one day give us something interesting. You’re useless. You should be fired.”

Manon’s eyebrows were heading toward her graying hairline. “Now calm down. There’s no need for us to have an argu—”

“Are you trying to do it to me again? You think I don’t know what you can do to people? You think Grandma Aulia wouldn’t tell me something like that? I. Matter. I know things. I know who you are!”

Manon’s face paled.

“You were there to pick me up right as I ran away from the party!” Hazel shouted. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

In the corner of her eye, where she’d minimized the video, a commenter was saying her dress made her look like a convenience store burrito.

“I would never act like I did today! I would never say things like that!” Hazel slapped her hand against the bookshelf so hard that a ceramic figurine fell off to shatter on the icy floor. “You made me!”

“I didn’t!” Manon said.

“I don’t believe you! You Swayed me. Why aren’t you doing it now? Did your C-rank skill run out?”

“I’m not a Sway! Listen, Hazel, I understand you’re—”

She was reaching out toward Hazel with a hand.

Hazel’s own hand wrapped around something heavy on the shelf beside her. She swept her arm through the air.

All of her favorite daily chains were with her, defending her from the evil madwoman who stood before her. Hazel was graceful, accurate, strong.

The timeglass connected with Manon’s temple. There was an impact. A warm spatter. The soft but weighty thud of a body collapsing to the floor.

Hazel stared down, chest heaving. She felt cold and hot. The air smelled like blood.

“C-contract,” she said, “call…call my grandmother. I need her. I need her right now!”

In her hand, unseen, a single grain of sand slid from one side of the fifteen-year timer to the other, marking the passing of another minute.

The party was ending. As the last few guests exited the alley and a team of low-rank Brutes and Shapers began the clean-up, Aulia was situating a tiara on top of Miyo’s head.

A call notice came in.

“Fine,” Aulia said with a sigh. She winked at Miyo’s questioning look. “Your cousin’s calling. Do you want to place a bet with me on whether it will be an apology or not?”

“Not,” Miyo said at once. “A thousand argold.”

“Done!”

This was their little game.

She had the call go to audio only. “Yes, Hazel dear. Do you have something to say to me?”

“Grandma,” Hazel sobbed. “Grandma, I killed the Rabbit.”

“Ow!”

Aulia had accidentally yanked the tiara through Miyo’s hair. “What did you say?” she asked in a steady voice.

“I k-killed the R-rabbit.”

Aulia clasped her hands in front of her chest. The graffiti on the wall behind Miyo switched to an image of a tongue and a lollipop.

“Repeat yourself, please,” said Aulia.

The lights of her interface flared and shifted, screens changing rapidly as she requested and paid for information. The boy had last been seen in public entering his dormitory with Lute and the other two. Hazel’s last known location was an apartment building near Nautilus Needle.

Aulia exhaled.

“Hazel, Alden Thorn may very well be an extraordinary friend to this family one day. I’m sorry you’re having such difficulty adjusting to a slightly different reality than we had planned, but I see no reason to indulge your behavior any furth—”

“Not that Rabbit!” Hazel’s voice was nearly a scream. “Manon! The LeafSong Rabbit. She tried to user her powers on me. I had to…I had to kill her. It was self-defense!”

The grating sound of chairs and tables scraping against concrete filled the alley as the cleanup crew began to put them away.

“That’s the third time you’ve made that face tonight,” Miyo noted, rubbing her scalp.

Aulia glanced at her.

<> Miyo said in Artonan, sweeping a hand straight down over her own face and making her expression blank.

She was getting an interesting attitude now that she was a teenager. Aulia couldn’t appreciate it at the moment.

<> Miyo asked. <>

“Indeed you do,” Aulia said. “One moment, dear. Hazel, I’m so happy to hear about your decision! Practicing your skill and serving others is a good way to make up for that shameful display earlier tonight. Our friends will be pleased to have you around full-time.”

“W-what?” Hazel asked. “Grandma, there’s blood everywhere. But it was self-defense. I swear. She was doing things to me with her powers.”

“Don’t just rush off!” said Aulia. “Where are you? I’ll send someone for you. You need to come home and pack.”

“Is Hazel going somewhere?” Miyo asked.

Aulia nodded at her. “Important news,” she said to both of them. “Hazel plans to become a volunteer on the Triplanets. She’ll be leaving us soon.”

“Volunteer?” Miyo asked.

“Yes! That’s an option for us Chainers. If you feel a call to service and choose to deny your own comforts and sacrifice your rights to payment and time off, they won’t refuse you!”

Miyo raised an eyebrow. “So she’s trying to avoid the backlash from that video. How long is she going to stay?”

“A long time,” said Aulia in a thin voice. “She’s probably going to stay there a very long time. I suggested volunteering shortly after she affixed, but she was feeling such a lot of disappointment about her rank that she refused. She’s had a change of heart. Would you like a car, Miyo?”

“Me?”

“You are such a wonderful granddaughter.” Aulia leaned over and kissed her on both cheeks. “I think you deserve more than a thousand argold. Let’s get you a license. And a car. Or a helicopter. You pick.”

Alden took a deep breath and let himself slide beneath the surface of the water. He’d gotten a turn in the claw-footed bathtub. Finally.

And all I had to do was ask Hazel Velra to stay away from me. Easy-peasy.

He let air escape from his nose and bubble to the surface.

Recovery sauna time had done wonders for him after Monday’s gym class, but he was still achier than usual. The hot water was good. He could feel his auriad, loosely looped around his fingers from the spell he’d been practicing while he soaked, drifting.

It would be fun to have the wordchain finished for the obstacle course tomorrow, he thought. But I think I’d have to stay up all night hacking away at it. Friday’s a better goal.

A notification light in indigo, his high priority color, appeared and he accepted it with a thought as he pushed himself back up for a breath of air.

Oh, it’s just that.

He’d been hoping it was Boe. Instead it was a notice that Manon Barre had updated her social media page. He clicked through to look at it because he couldn’t stop himself and saw, to his surprise, that the new post was her special away animation again.

She got summoned? She only just got back.

The hourglass turned over.

Maybe they’ll keep her for longer than a few hours this time. One or two of the boater members might still want to escape from her. If they’re not all like Laura…

No. He was supposed to be letting this one go. He’d done what he’d set out to do. If it hadn’t helped, then it hadn’t.

Alden ducked his head under the water again.

I wonder how long it will take to make an ice cube in hot water like this with my freezing spell?

His auriad stopped drifting around in the water so much. He felt a few of the loops tighten around his fingers.

He smiled.

******