READ WEBNOVEL 93: Unwelcome and Unexpected Return
“Catherine, huh?” I asked slowly, rolling the name around on my tongue as I stared down at the smaller girl. “Yeah, I reckon it fits you pretty damned well actually. Pretty too, but with some interesting connotations. Catherine sounds like a pretty girl who is startlingly intelligent, but unassuming on the surface. Seems like, well… you, actually.”
The smile that broke out across Catherine’s face was radiant, tears springing up spontaneously in the corners of her eyes. “T-thanks Ryn,” she squeaked, voice full to the brim with emotion.
“Hey, come here,” I murmured soothingly, opening my arms. “Come here, Catherine.”
She accepted the hug with a breathless, joyful giggle, and it was all I could do to stop tears of my own. What she was feeling right now, it would be a transformative experience, as if physical healing was occuring within her brain.
It’s hard to describe to someone who hasn’t experienced it, that feeling, where it seems like your shattered and muddled identity has just formed whole for the first time. Imagine a mirror being broken, but run in reverse, the separate, jagged pieces all spinning impossibly through the air until they slot themselves into their rightful places. Sure, you can never fix the cracks that the stress of dysphoria has wrought on your soul, but if you look past those cracks, you can see a bright and vibrant person in that miraculously rebuilt mirror.
“It feels so… so crazy to hear you call me that,” she laughed, leaning back to peer shyly up at me. “Was it like this for you?”
“Hearing your name for the first time?” I mused, thinking back on that day in the bathtub, when Esra had just thrown the name at me like a towel. “It felt incredible… although I didn’t really get to experience it all in one hit like you. I’d only just seen myself in a mirror at that point, plus I was learning that magic existed and like… everything.”
“Oh geez, yeah… and Esra is a lot sometimes,” she laughed, smiling a pure, happy smile up at me. “I’m glad you were there to help me, gosh.”
“Does this mean you’re admitting that you’re trans and like things as they are now, by the way? I don’t believe we’ve talked about things…” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
“U-uh… no?” she stammered, cheeks going red in the process. “Maybe? I… oh shit, I think I just did… I mean, people have basically just been saying I am, without me even… but like, I didn’t… well…”
It would have been impossible to smother the look of amusement I gave her if I’d tried. Her bumbling was just adorable, and hilariously funny. It was the typical thing that trans people did while they were still unaware, spouting nonsense like, “Yeah, I wish I was a girl, but that doesn’t make me trans!” and, “I just think I’d be better as a girl, it doesn’t mean anything.” All you can do is roll your eyes in that kind of situation.
“Okay, well it doesn’t really matter anyway,” I told her instead, giving a shrug. “Kind of a useless label, given that you’re wandering around in a body that makes you happy, and now with a name that also makes you happy.”
“Thanks,” she grinned, gaze turning bashfully to the ground before bouncing back up to meet mine again. “It’s all so confusing, but at least I have time… and I’m safe from nasty people.”
“About that…” I winced, remembering the altercation I’d found myself in while cutting stone. “I met a pretty aggressive student earlier and got some pretty messy transphobic vibes from her. Be careful okay?”
She agreed with a nod, exasperation plain on her face. “Geez, really? We kinda have bigger problems to worry about.”
“I know,” I sighed, placing a hand on the top of her head for a moment. Lips quirking into a smile, I continued “Things like getting network access! Ready to go undercover?”
Two big brown eyes lit up with excitement. “Hell yes! I made a spell like yours that masks my mage looks, we can pretend to be normal students and sneak around!”
“Awesome,” I laughed, then feigned a passing thought. “Just… pinch me if I start humming the mission impossible theme song.”
“Oh my god, please don’t,” she groaned, rolling her eyes at me.
I winked. “No promises.”
****
Walking around the campus as just two regular girls was an interesting experience. We were both still achingly beautiful, there was no way around that without getting into more intense illusions, and neither of us really wanted to cover it up anyway. Being pretty was nice.
That is, apart from the stares we got from people, but at least it was nothing too far out of the ordinary. Just two good looking girls going about their business.
Avonside campus on the other hand, was a bit of a mess. It had started off as a fairly small university, without much funding and not a whole lot of attention. As the years had gone on though, it had expanded, buying up land around itself and putting it to use.
This haphazard expansion had led to some very odd little twists and turns, with buildings wedged between each other or at odd angles. I loved it personally, but I was one of those weirdos who just hated straight lines and squares in architecture. So boring.
It was especially helpful now, as there were many hidden and aging buildings that had been relegated to storage duty. All we had to do was find one that had a usable ethernet plug and we would be good to go.
One just like that… actually. Thinking I’d found what we were looking for, I motioned for Catherine to follow me, but a small hand whipped out to stop me in my tracks.
“What was that?” she blurted, tone hushed and brows crinkled into a frown. “Oh… it’s gone… Ryn, I think we need to go and take a look.”
“Why? What did you see?” I asked in confusion, but she didn’t wait to answer my question, instead taking my hand and dragging me into an alleyway.
“Follow, stay quiet,” she hissed, expressive brown eyes now deadly serious as she snuck along on quiet tread.
Giving a mental shrug, I did as she asked, keeping behind her while we made our way down the alley. Afternoon creeping in as it was, the light in the cramped space wasn’t incredible, but it was more than enough to make out the silhouette of a man at the other end, disappearing down a side passage.
Okay, Catherine had seen someone we apparently needed to follow… interesting.
Twists made way for turns in our chase as we followed the mysterious guy through the hidden paths of the campus. I was beginning to wonder if he’d seen us and was now trying to lose his tail in the maze.
Eventually however, my smaller sister put a hand out once more, halting me before I barrelled around the next corver. Finger to lips, she motioned towards it, and we both edged our way up as silently as we could manage.
“What took you so long?” a masculine voice asked gruffly.
The next voice pinged my memory, but I couldn’t figure out why. Definitely male though. “I got lost dude, give me a break. You’re the one who needs my help anyway.”
“Your boss promised a lot, but that bitch arrived anyway and where was the help?” the first voice hissed, anger raw in his voice.
“We didn’t get enough time, she moved far faster than we expected. Plus, we told you not to mess with her, but you didn’t believe us,” the second guy grouched. “She’s stronger than we thought too, my boss needs… backup.”
“Too late, because she kicked my boss out of Avonside and now we’re off headed north,” the other man hissed in frustration.
Taking a chance, I leaned over the top of Catherine and took a peek at them. Dark as it was, I didn’t really see much, other than two guys talking outside an open door into a forgotten building.
“That’s… north is towards the Donians though, my boss said they’re kinda crazy dude,” the second one warned, clearly taken aback.
“Crazy is a relative term, to us they sound like the only sane people on this ring,” the first guy shot back, clearly done with the whole conversation. “What have you got to offer that will make my boss want to turn around?”
“I… well, safety for one thing,” came the hesitant reply.
“Safety?” the guy who was clearly one of the cops guffawed. “My boss ain’t after safety dude, she’s after revenge. We all are.”
That seemed to finally harden the unknown dude into annoyance. “Typical. Fuckin’ cops always looking at the little picture, huh? I’m pretty dumb, but even I know that going for the quick emotional win is a dumb idea.”
“There it is, knew we couldn’t trust you,” the cop said defiantly, and with that he turned for the door.
The second guy was faster though, hand flicking out, wreathed in orange vines. The spell was effective, a quick, quiet blast of fiery energy and the cop fell forward with a thump, burning hole burned through his chest.
“Dumbass, still think you have power with your dinky little guns, huh?” the second guy scoffed at the body, kicking it for good measure. “Even after what Ryn did to you and your mates… stupid fuck.”
A tugging on my sleeve brought me back around the corner and out of sight. Catherine and I shared a look of wide eyed worry and confusion. Clearly those two were not our friends, but apparently from different factions?
Nodding frantically back down the path, Catherine silently indicated that we should get the fuck out of there, and I couldn’t agree more. We had no idea how powerful that mage was, and the fact that he spoke english with an american accent was rather worrying. Just who the hell was he?
Our rush to get away was aimless, silence making way to a headlong spring through the campus until we were figured we were safe. Thank fuck for this whack ass campus planning, or lack thereof. As we’d just experienced, it was pretty hard to follow someone through the twists and turns of this place.
“Holy shit,” Catherine puffed, little cheeks pink with the exertion of our escape. “Holy shit…”
“Well, the cop is dead—“ I began, but she interrupted me.
“That was James!” she blurted between gasps for air. “That was James, that boss of his he was talking about must be Fennimore!”
I was floored, because she was absolutely right. “Wow… how do I keep forgetting that James exists? And that was him? He’s a fucking mage now? We need to find Troy, the wifi can wait.”
“Isn’t Troy with the obrec right now?” she asked, eyes wide with just a hint of excited worry.
“Yeah, pretty sure… let’s go,” I nodded, and this time it was my turn to lead her by the hand. James being here was bad, really really bad. Apparently he’d gotten here before us too? My gut twisted with worry. What kind of shit had he already done while he was here?
