Afraid of the Dark

Chapter 2: Magic in the Air

Reela hadn't considered that Letroseli is in fact much farther from Utopia than Eutria is. She also hadn't considered that long voyages make her sick. Not seasick, sick as in disgusted by the idiocy that is humanity's decision to take perfectly good land houses and decide to slap some floaties to them to chuck to the sea and call them 'ships.' Houses shouldn't be on water. They can sink, which is fucking terrifying.

She blames her dad for bestowing on her a fear of water when she recalls him literally pulling her and Regan off a hundred-foot cliff and landing in a river. She may not have much memories from when she was eight, but she remembers details like that.

The details she doesn't remember are the 'whys.' Why were they always on the run? Why did Cree pull her and Regan off a cliff? Why did Regan let her go when they hit the water?

Moral of the story, she fucking hates ships.

She's aware that her sea-anxiety has only put her on edge, so she made a point to steer clear of Corb, Todo and Nisha, who is steering the ship. Reela doesn't mind talking to Naomi when she's tense because the woman is strangely good at consoling.

Reela isn't afraid of the Dark with Naomi around. Her ability as a Hex has only gotten stronger over the years and after Regan invented an implant to help Hexes by removing the risk of insanity caused by Augmentations, there's no longer any true danger for people like Naomi and Cree.

"Knock knock," Reela hears Naomi's voice from across the dark room. She turns her attention towards the sound, keeping her head down.

"It's open," the girl calls out. Her eyes have often betrayed her, so she has taught herself to rely more on her other four senses. She could hear five minutes ago the rattling of little metal pins slipping through the lock. She caught a whiff of ale that she could taste in the air. Focusing through her other senses let her see through the blindfold as Naomi snuck into the room to wait in silence.

She hears a snicker from the woman. "Yeah I know. You could stand to give me a more challenging lock next time," she hisses.

Reela sighs and takes a deep breath, letting a small bit of tension fade from her shoulders before she reaches up and pulls off her blindfold. She keeps her eyes closed for a second and takes another deep breath. She cautiously opens her eyes to meet Naomi's.

"But if you can't get in, I'll have to vent to Todo and I think I've already poured enough trauma onto him that he's going to need second-hand therapy," Reela leans back against the cabin bed from where she's sitting on the wooden floor with her legs crossed. She snuffs out a candle and it makes a satisfying 'hiss' as her fingertips pinch the warm wick.

Naomi sits on the edge of the bed with her elbows on her knees. Her black hair is split into four long slim braids that sit perfectly with the golden-bronze crown on her head that Todo has said used to belong to his older sister. Her dark green leather bolero jacket layering the flexible black leather armor underneath.

Naomi is honestly the main reason Reela has never wanted to cut her hair. She loves having her hair braided but she herself has not mastered the skill. Regan used to braid it for her, but that was before he started working more and investing so much time in fixing everything that's wrong with the world.

Reela couldn't really complain of course. After all, she was proud of all he was doing. She just wishes she could have returned the favor just once before he went missing.

Naomi chuckles with a soft snort as she watches Reela stand up. "Hey, second-hand therapy is what friends are for," she snickers. "Why do you think Nisha keeps me around?"

"Because she's your wife," Reela deadpans before walking over to her bag in the corner and starting to rummage through it. She pulls out the clothes Todo had gotten her for her birthday, figuring the dress part of it will do for looking presentable when they arrive. "How much longer?"