Mists of Celeste - an Ateez Fanfic

act one ➻ part ten

The water is cold under your bare feet. The red moon cascades dark light over the lake, and you glance around in search of your typical companion. The water swirls around your ankles as you wade through it, moving closer to the shore. Daichi is at the edge again, squatted down on the rocks. He prods at the pebbles beneath the water with his fingers. As you get closer to him, you see that he's drawing small patterns in them. They are familiar ones, the same design that lines the skin along your spine. You bring a hand to the back of your neck just at the thought of them.

"You messed up," Daichi says once you're within a couple feet of him. A frown comes to your lips. "You used your abilities. In front of many people. You could have been caught, Umiko. Do you not realize that?"

"I do."

"Then what were you thinking? Have you grown to be that careless?"

You don't answer the man; instead, you turn away from him to squeeze your eyes shut and try to reign in the anger that bubbles in your gut.

"Do you wish to be caught? Should the military take you back and use you as a siphon? Why be careless now, Umiko? For what? For lives that don't matter?"

You spin on your heel and kick up some of the black water. It smacks Daichi across the eyes. He flinches away from the attack but doesn't make much of an effort to block it. He wipes the water away from his face.

A moment later, you find yourself flat on your back in the water. Daichi hasn't budged an inch, and you know that he's using his own powers to attack you. You pull yourself up, clothes weighed down by the water, and lunge towards Daichi. He doesn't even lift a finger to send you crashing to the water again.

"You are careless and juvenile. Too much is slipping through, and you are allowing it. You must hide your markings. You will be caught if you don't. You are already dangerously close to exposing yourself. Whether you want to face it or not, there is a Siren nearby. You must acknowledge it and guard yourself properly against him."

"Busy?"

The voice drags you out of the reverie, and you lurch forward as you pull yourself out of the dreamscape. You blink at the scene before you, the black landscape of space looming before you without end. You hadn't even realized that you let yourself slip into the dreamscape while awake. The man who spoke comes up on your right.

"You're up!" You exhale, surprise in your tone as you look at the man who smiles like a Cheshire back at you. You haven't seen him since Yunho carried his scarily limp body off the transport ship. It's a vague memory, especially since your body was still overrun by the adrenaline in your system. You do remember trying to follow Yunho only to be stopped by Jongho. The Berserker had told you to head back to your room and get some rest while Yunho worked his magic, and you had no choice but to do just that.

"Yea, none the worse for wear," San laughs out. He scratches at the back of his neck. "Slept for three days straight though. I'm mildly impressed with myself. Almost pulled a you there." He sends a cheeky wink your way. You scoff at his remark, reaching over to punch his bicep. "Ouch! Hey! Go easy on the goods. I'm still fragile."

"Oh, quit whining. If you have enough energy to make fun of me, I can hit you." You roll your eyes before looking back out into space. "What was Yunho's verdict?"

"Overexertion," San answers with a sigh. "Using my powers too much in a short period of time. I'm good to move around but I should avoid things that could be taxing. Which means no sex."

"Oh, you poor thing." Your elbow finds San's side as you utter the half-hearted reply. He whines at the impact. "Don't complain too much or you'll overexert yourself again."