Chapter 12

The metal pot was literally licked clean. By someone with an exceptionally long tongue. Fen and I chatted the rest of the evening, exchanging memories and laughter. A few of the others even joined us, sharing their own stories. When it was time to turn in for the night, he escorted me back to the tent I had woken up in. “Fen, I haven’t seen Niralessa or Corin all day. Where’d they go?” I asked as we walked. “On a collection mission.” I gave him a curious glance. “Collecting what?” “Strays.” “Strays like you?” He nodded. We arrived at the tent and stopped in front of its entrance. I wanted to keep talking—and possibly do other things—so I invited him inside. “Oh. No.” He shook his head a little too vigorously. “It wouldn’t be proper.” Proper? What kind of guy didn’t want to sneak into a tent with a girl? Before I could say anything else, he bid me good night and rushed away. I stood there, openmouthed and confused. *** Later that night, as I lay in the bed of furs, thinking instead of sleeping, I heard a rustling movement in the darkness. “Hello?” I pushed myself up on one elbow and called out, hoping maybe Fen had changed his mind. Sorry, it’s not Fen. “Oh, hi, Tessia! I haven’t seen you since this afternoon. You missed dinner.” I heard the soft scrape of dirt as she came closer and sat on the ground beside me, her dark silhouette barely visible. I didn’t know if you wanted me near you and your thoughts. “I can take a little embarrassment, don’t you worry about that. What made you come back? And so late?” Sometimes, when I can’t sleep, I listen for others who aren’t sleeping either. It makes me feel less alone. She paused. Your thoughts about us were very positive. And then you thought nice things about me. It made me feel good. So I came back. I smiled. “I’m glad you did.” Nirrin, how come you’re not like the other Normals who run from us, or do bad things to us? The thought of someone doing bad things to these people made me angry. “I was taught to think the best of people, until they give you a reason not to. That always made sense to me. I mean, why be rude for no reason?” But we look like monsters. I snorted. “A monster isn’t what you look like. It’s what you do. Your actions reveal who you really are. Bren taught me that too.” An image of Bren came to mind, her aging gray eyes looking so kindly upon me. A pang of guilt pushed its way into my thoughts. Bren would be worrying about me. Bren seems wonderful. I would like to meet her someday. “I think you’d like her,” I said softly. “Maybe you can come with me when I go back.” A beat passed. Niralessa says everyone outside of Camp is bad. I couldn’t stop the hurt feelings from flooding me. If Niralessa really thought this, then why did she send me out there as a baby? Assuming she was my mother in the first place. We had yet to talk about that. Irritation replaced the hurt feelings. Tessia remained quiet. “You followed my thoughts, didn’t you?” I said quietly. Another beat passed. Yes. I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it. Are you mad? “What do you think?” More silence followed, while she presumably sensed my feelings. You’re not mad. Well, you kind of are, but not at me. How come you don’t mind sharing your thoughts with me? It scares everyone else. I shrugged. “I have nothing to hide, I guess. And, actually, maybe this is a good thing. Because sometimes when I’m talking, I lose sight of what I’m trying to say. If you pull the thoughts directly from my head, then there’s no misunderstanding.” I never thought of it that way. The way you think is different from everyone else. “You think so?” You’re very open, with your thoughts and your acceptance of others. And you expect other people to be the same. But most people are not. “You’re right. They’re not.” I sighed. Did that make me strange? You’re not strange. More people need to be like you. “Aw, that’s sweet.” I reached out to pat her hand in the darkness, but she recoiled. I waited for her to say something, but she didn’t. “Tessia, do people hit you?” My jaw tightened at the thought of anyone hitting helpless children. Whoever it was, I’d have to punch them. Or get Fen to punch them. That might be a better idea. No one touches me. “Then why—” Too much sensation comes through touch. It was kind of neat not having to finish putting my thoughts into words. I thought about what she meant by too much sensation. “Does it hurt?” Not physical pain, no. I waited for her to explain further. You’re very curious. I chuckled. “Bren says it’s one of my best—and worst—qualities.” I heard a series of small huffing sounds, which I assumed was what a snicker sounded like when one had no voice. I couldn’t imagine not having a voice. Being unable to speak was unfathomable to me. Like not breathing. You were hoping I was Fen when I came in. Why? “I was hoping to find out more about these recruits he was talking about—the reason he was in Foresthome.” I peered at her in the dark. “Do you know anything about that? They’re not forming some kind of army, are they?” I heard the scrape of dirt again as she reshuffled her legs. “Tessia?” Niralessa says it isn’t enough that we rescue Aberrations. My stomach tightened with unease. “What does that mean?” I listened to her take a breath. And another. “Will you get in trouble if you tell me?” Yes. I pressed my lips together. Everything always seemed to come back to that woman, and she wasn’t even here for me to confront her! I thought about Tessia’s sweet temperament, and how I could probably convince her to tell me. She seemed to trust me, like a friend. I sighed. But a true friend wouldn’t manipulate to get answers, especially if it could get her into trouble. No, if anything, it was my role to get into trouble. I excelled at it. “It’s okay. I’ll find out some other way. We should both get some sleep.” Thank you. She stood and brushed off her dress. True friend.