Immortal Memory (Iris' Atlantis 1)

20: The Cocoon

Timothy

I felt soft. And distant. I couldn't have said when I started to think of myself as a being. But, without a doubt, I was. There was a being that was me. A spirit that had a shape.

I wasn't in pain. And I wasn't tired.

I was soft. Distant. In a place where time had little meaning. My mind was made of whirling, slow clouds far above in the skies. I cared not of the mortal pressures.

My body lay rooted in the ground.

I could feel hundreds of little roots connecting me with the other roots of the swamp, feeding off the soil. Mingling with the fungal mycelia present. Absorbing energy, minerals and water.

A hard case formed, like a cocoon, over the tender processes of soft tissues forming over bones that had in them coded the formula of a human shape.

The swamp fed life in the vessel that was forming and would eventually guard my mind.

I would be of the soil. With a real physical form.

A physical form growing string by string, cell by cell, over bones of pure magic.

Valentina

After my pact with Mo my life changed. It had been changing for the whole academic year with Lavender transforming into Julia and Timothy exploding and Clover becoming slowly obsessed with modern technology. But the vampire Queen transformed my life in one short and effective shift.

In a month I had left Clover looking for a new flatmate. I could now afford a small studio much closer to the campus. The money came from two surprising sources:

After Timothy's burial, the very next day, I had received a call from a prestigious private high-school. They were looking for a Spanish teacher who could sometimes double French lessons, as their current French teacher was slowly approaching pension. That already more than tripled my income.

But it wasn't all that had happened. For I had also met with the University's principal soon after. He had taken interest in the self defense club I had somehow been keeping alive. It had received funding from the university and my self-defense courses now formed an official part of the university's gym program. There were more students taking interest than I had ever seen. And I got a small salary out of teaching the courses.

Yet, at the same time, some changes weren't visible. They weren't material.

My ankle, for example. For years I had lived in fear with it and been extremely careful not to sprain it. But now...

Blizzard was holding the cushion for me one late night as I practiced a jump kick at it. My heart skipped a beat as I landed badly on the right foot. It bent. I rolled on the tatami, trying to soften the movement.

Then I sat in a corner and laughed, bending and stretching an ankle that was just fine.

The vampire arched an eyebrow. But it was a good-natured gesture. There was the smallest of smiles playing on his lips.

Blizzard wasn't wearing his dark lenses as we were the only ones left at the dojo. I was getting accustomed to red eyes. And slowly, but steadily, I was also starting to forgive the man for the autumn. And was again enjoying his steady presence at the gym that put everyone at ease. I would never again mistake him for a student in his late twenties. But it didn't seem to matter with all that was going on.

Blizzard put away the cushion for me. I got to my feet and reached for a metallic water bottle I had left in a corner. I found it empty however. A clear sign I had stayed too late.