ᴍᴏᴏɴʟɪɢʜᴛ ᴀꜱꜱᴀꜱꜱɪɴꜱ「 ˢᵒʳᵘʸ ᵛˢ ˢᵒᵏᵉᵉᶠᵉ 」

14 [faint]

When Sophie returned to Havenfield, her head was more clear than when she stormed out of Elysian.

And she instantly regretted her hot headedness because now instead of sitting awkwardly in a room with Keefe and her father, she was sitting awkwardly in a room with Grady, Edaline, and her bodyguards.

"Where were you, Sophie." Sandor growled, "None of my trackers were working, and I couldn't get a scent of your trail anywhere. You teleported and somehow fried the trackers—where did you go, and where is Mr. Song?"

"Cool your tits, Sandor, guys," she sighed and tore through her hair, everyone still glaring daggers at her, "I was fine, I was in the Forbidden Cities. Tam took me there to cheer me up, and is still there because and I quote: 'I just need a little more time away'."

"That doesn't explain why your trackers were fried and you didn't even bother to contact us."

She rolled her eyes, "I teleported in the middle of a thunderstorm, it's rainy season in the Forbidden Cities, it must fried the trackers, and all my gadgets, and my mind—I was honestly passed out for most of my time away."

A truth within a lie. Those were the best lies.

"And you couldn't leave us a note?" Edaline was suspicious, but also when wasn't she? Sophie loved her adoptive mother, but sometimes she was just a little overbearing—more so than Grady because of what happened to Jolie.

"It slipped my mind, mum." And she accentuated her words with a rub at her temples.

"You've been having a lot of 'slips in your mind' recently." Grady grouched.

Sophie had to try really hard to withhold her eye roll at their protectiveness.

"I am an adult—"

"No, as a human you would be an adult, but you're an elf, Sophie, and elves only reach maturity when they stop aging."

She felt her nostrils flare as she tried not to glared at her adoptive father, and she felt another bloody headache forming.

For the rest of the lecture all she did was nod as she dazedly stared into the distance, rubbing her temples until that no longer prevented the headache.

So to get out of what had to be hours more of glares and disapproving sighs, she could either faint—or teleport out of there...but if she did the latter she would be in more trouble than before.

The former it is then.

"...Sophie, you need to know the consequences of you actions—" Grady didn't get to finish his overbearing speech.

Sophie's eyes rolled to the back of her skull, as her body limply began descending to the floor, her body mass making her roll head first off the chaise. She almost hit the ground when Grady—or who he assumed was Grady, caught her.

"Fuck!"

If Sophie could show her amusement she would. He never swore. Like ever.

This was a first—her adoptive father was usually calm, collective even—it was the first time he was ever really out of character.

"Grady!" Edaline snapped, like this wasn't the first time he'd sworn.

"What!" He scowled right back, "I have a right to be mad, she keeps pulling her 'disappearing Sophie' trick and every time she comes back she is drained or hurt or—UGH! Edaline, you have to understand—"

"Do you think that I don't," her mother said, a little broken hearted, "I understand better than most, and as my husband you should know that. Gods, I know, I know this is what happened right before Jolie died, and I'm fucking terrified. Never believe anything else."