Wednesday, May 12th, Reiwa 42.
School was more or less uneventful today. Seul-ki is still looking at you with those eyes, and Stella is still avoiding your gaze. It should really only be a matter of time before your study date, though! In the meantime, you have someone else taking up your full attention.
Itâs been a long time since youâve visited Korriâs place, even if itâs close to yours. Youâre pretty sure itâs been months, at minimum. Definitely last year, at any rate.
And thereâs a good reason for that! Itâs the same reason she visits your place whenever she gets the chance â her parents are, to put no fine a point on it, shitheels.
(You canât even be cutesy about it. Thatâs how bad it isâŚ)
But Korriâs an only child, which makes it much easier to find private spaces in her home than in yours. Without homework as an excuse, you arenât getting that at home; and so, you stand here before this decrepit gate, without really knowing why.
âŚokay, fine, itâs just the door to a townhouse. And you know exactly why youâre here! Thereâs no reason to be melodramatic all the time, Cibby! (Just, uh, most, probably?)
Even so, it does feel a little dangerous, doesnât it? Youâve gained new abilities to further shape and understand minds, and Korri is entrusting you her heart. Youâll have to be responsible, at least a little bitâŚthough, the plus side of all of this is, you can help her so much more, too. Thereâs really no need to be scared, as long as you act responsibly!
Korriâs house is a tiny two-storey unit nestled in against a bunch of similar units, bearing a façade of flat panel siding with a bit of brick and concrete. Small townhouses like these are usually relatively cheap, as non-apartment homes go in Southern Sun. Calvina says theyâre actually a holdover from urban planning prior to the implementation of the new cities and the Reiwa Accord; Verwest is neatly nestled between both eras of Southern Sun, being dominated neither by low-rise or high-rise residences. Itâs really cramped inside, even for a family of three; that said, itâs really not so bad when itâs just the two of you. Itâs almost cozy, yâknow?
You press the doorbell, and Korri doesnât even need to check the camera before letting you in. The black-haired girlâs all smiles, bundled in yet another hoodie that hides most of her figure. âCibby! You came!â
âOf course I did, Korri! You invited me, remember?â You give your very best friend a peace sign and a bright grin. âWe donât have too too long, but we should have plenty of time for this.â
Korri reaches out, wrapping you in her arms, as if sheâd float away if she didnât cling to you. Sheâs so warmâŚto you, she really is the cutest cutie you could ever ask for. Sheâs just so lovely in your eyes, and her happiness means everything to youâŚ
You squeeze her tight. (As you might a prized possession, as if someone else might snatch her away if you ever let her go.)
âListen, Iâll make you an Americano, okay?â Korri nuzzles into you, and a pang of desire fills you for the briefest of moments before she pulls away. âThe Moka potâs been lonely, I bet, without you!â
âSure thing!â You step past the threshold and lock the door behind you. Itâs pretty dark in here, compared to your place; thereâs a lot fewer windows, and the lights are pretty dim. The air conditioning is turned up so much even you feel a bit chilly, the solar panels on top of the building pulling double duty for the sake of a family less adapted to the heat than yours. As Korri steps into the kitchen to make you your coffee, you sit down on a couch in the messy living room, worlds away from your familyâs fastidiously clean living space.
So many memories hereâŚif only they were good memories. And thatâs just for you â you canât imagine how it must feel for Korri, who has to live here. Who has to put up with the kind of people who wear false smiles to you, and then talk sorbet about you and your family behind your back.
But, never mind that. Youâre here to help Korri ease her burden. To see light, to see hope â however faint it might be.
âŚher burden?
Well, besides her family, Korriâs has a lot of trouble when it comes to the idea of âloveâ or âsexâ. Sheâs described it to you quite a few times, in your arms, in tears â sheâs not really âasexualâ, like she tells people to get them off her back (because, letâs face it, plenty of people would love to have Korri due to her âvulnerableâ image, even in the gosh-darned Reiwa era), but more justâŚdamaged. Her time in Cornwall, her ancestral home far from the shores of Southern Sun, brought her great misfortune when it comes to romantic and sexual things, lasting traumas that youâve never been able to help heal.
Even beyond that, living there was pretty bad in other ways. Sheâs told you that everyone in the old democracies believes the worldâs going to end soon, and so they act like they have nothing to lose. You think sheâs exaggerating based on a limited experience â Cornwall isnât all of Old England, let alone all the world outside Southern Sun â but the stories sheâs told definitely paint a picture of a world, a nation, devoid of hope. A world her parents rejoined, for the sake of their own greedâŚand came crawling back here, when they realized theyâd been scammed.
Sheâs been hurt, so much.
Sheâs been hurt so much, and yet still, she smiles for you.
âŚin this moment, sitting in this home of hers, knowing all the pain Korri carries with her every day of her life, the curses she bears deep within herâŚyou donât really care about your own selfish desires for her love and affection. Nor even your desires for her body, or her kiss. Even if you desire to reshape her mind, maybe that desire, in this case, isnât so bad?
Because today, you just want to understand her pain, and see her smile.
After a few minutes, Korri comes in with your coffee â a piping hot Americano from an induction Moka pot, with lots of cream and sugar, just like you like it â and you sip slowly as she lays down upon the couch, you on a chair right next to it. âItâs been a while since Iâve made it for you, Cibby, so itâs probably not great ââ
âNo! Itâs good!â You drink a bit more of it before putting it down, licking the taste of it off your lips âItâs alright. Before we start, Korri, let me ask again: do you trust me?â
ââŚalways.â
(That single word pulses across your senses, even the ones Korri doesnât know you have.)
(âŚnot just yet.)
You nod in acknowledgement, and look down upon your subject (yours). âPlease, get comfortable for me,â you say, letting Korri settle into place, closing her eyes as she once more entrusts herself to your words, your hands, your will.
ItâsâŚitâs as terrifying as it is comforting.
There so many turbulent emotions inside you, competing against one anotherâŚbut, thatâs your burden, not Korriâs. As long as you have these powers, and no one to trust with that information, youâll have to live with it, as best you can.
(You donât plan to keep it a secret forever from those close to you, but right now? It has to stay that way.)
(To Korri, most of all.)
Your hands rest upon the sides of Korriâs head, and she closes her eyes, smiling under your presence. Korriâs mind is so close, and focused entirely on you.
Your new ability â your Thought Delver, an evolution of your telepathy â shows you a new nature to Korriâs mind. The eyes that seep blood inside her brain, are merely the surface of her thoughts. Your Suggestion, and presumably your other Enchantment abilities, can shape that mind like a solid mass, making impressions within it, be it on the surface level or perhaps â and it makes your heart race, to think about â far beneath, deep within something like a soul.
With your Delver skill, you cannot leave such an impression, but you can push deep within her, and know her thoughts all the more intimately than you ever could before.
To put it another way â if Skimming, the shallow telepathy youâve been using up until now, is treading waterâŚthen your new Delving is diving in. And like diving, youâll need lots of practice to be able to do it further and longerâŚnot to mention safer.
You begin with Skimming, as before. Reading the impression of those thoughts on the surface, those sheâs consciously aware of, those sheâs actively generating.
âŚCibby seems more confident lately! I hope Iâve been helping herâŚand, I hope she doesnât think itâs weird that I enjoy this. Being in her hands, itâsâŚ
âŚitâs not a sexual feeling, you think. Nor even a romantic one. Itâs a very strong friendship, isnât it?
And yet, itâs still such a temptation. But youâll resist. In this moment, Korri needs a friend, not a lover.
(âŚfor now, anyway.)
Breathing deep to steady yourself, not knowing what will happenâŚyour sixth sense pushes beyond the surface. As you dive inside Korri, Delve inside her, the words that her conscious thoughts form fall away into images and impressions. Glassy eyes filled with reflections, like Korri is a kaleidoscope, filled with myriad pictures and memories. Flashes of the dark history, the parts of her she hides behind that smile.
(Itâs so beautiful, isnât it?)
(And yet, of course it is. Korri is more beautiful than she could ever know.)
So much of it is composed of you. Your smile, your hand, your touch. Your ability to be there for her even in the darkest of times. How lonely she was when she didnât have you, how hard it was upon the decaying, drowning island of Great Britain. How happy she was to return to Southern Sun, even if it meant her family was there too.
You were always there.
You are always there.
Cibby is always there.
I will be with you.
Cibby is always there for me.
Until hope has fully withered.
Cibby has been there, since I returned. From the first moment. Without her, Iâd be lost. I want this friendship to be forever.
You donât hesitate to kill for âhumanityâ, do you?
I need it.
Without it, Iâll go back.
Back to that place. Back to that time. I need to smile for them. I need to smile or theyâll know Iâm hurting. Or theyâll hurt me more.
Teachers. Students. Parents. Friends.
If the world ends, it doesnât matter how I feel. If the world ends, if the world ends, itâs my fault.
Iâm not like other girls. Iâm not like other people. Iâm broken. I deserve to be hurt. Thereâs no marks on me I didnât make myself. They didnât beat me. I have no excuse to ask for help. I need to go crawling back. Iâm a genius, my grades should be good. Iâm only good for sex.
I deserve to be locked up.
Why wonât they lock me up anymore? At least then Iâll know theyâre being honest.
I canât smile anymore, except for Cibby.
I need the only light in my world. Maybe she can save me.
Millions will die. Exciting, donât you think?
Maybe she can save me before I kill someone.
Maybe not even myself.
Help me, Cibby.
Help me.
Help me.
Help me.
HĚľe̡lĚ´pĚ´ ̡mĚśeĚś ĚľâĚ´
â!
âCibbyâŚâ
Korri reaches out, and touches your face. Tears have dripped down from your eyes, before you even realized at all.
And that was only a fraction of Korriâs pain, a tiny fraction of the countless reflections within her.
FeelingâŚfeeling all of that at the forefront, feeling in such detail everything Korri has thought, all the things she hides for you behind that smileâŚitâs too much.
âIâŚIâm sorry, Iâm so sorry, Korri Iâm so sorry I canât ââ
âAh, Cibby, if this is making you uncomfortable, Iâm so sorry, IâŚâ
You sniffle, suddenly so conscious of the emotions that washed over you. Ah, you wanted to have some privacy to test your Delving, to see how youâd respond, but â but maybe, maybe it wasnât the best idea, because all that pain has hit you all at once, and you canât stop cryingâŚ
âItâsâŚitâs not your faultâŚ!â You sniffle again, the tears, the feelings caught in your throat. Korri told you that she feels emotions more intensely than others! Her mind is so beautiful, but it all hit you so hard, you canât, you just canât! âIâŚIâm so sorry! Iâm so sorry I couldnât save you! Being here â being here reminds me, that I could do so much more, I should do so much more ââ
Korri shakes her head, turning around to wrap her arms around your shoulders! âItâs notâŚitâs okay, Cibby! No oneâs here, IâŚitâs okay. Youâre here with me. Thatâs whatâs important. If youâre here, I donât mind, okay? I really donât mindâŚâ
âŚbut itâs not true. She feels guilty. She feels guilty that she made you feel this way.
And that hurts even more.
It hurts, that Korri has been made to feel this way, but it hurts even worse that she doesnât want you to feel it, she doesnât want you to feel pain because of her, even though all of her pain is justified, and sheâs the one who should be upset. She deserves to cry all the tears in the world, and that you can make her smile â truly, genuinely smile, when youâre around â is the most wonderful feeling, but itâs not enough.
She shouldnât feel guilty. For anything.
You donât know what future-past-you wants you to do with this power, besides to find love. What âsaving the worldâ means, or who the Queen is, or anything like that. Heck, for all you know she made it all up, or youâve been hallucinating ever since that truck hit you, or youâre dead and this is just the last flickers of thought before you reach oblivion.
But you make a promise to yourself, right then and there.
You will create a world in which Korrigan Trelawney never has to cry again.
Eventually, you recover somewhat from your botched first Delving attempt â and learned, you hope, some valuable lessons about going in unprepared. The coffee has gone cold.
Korriâs in your lap now, and youâre squeezing her tight. Itâs almost like being lovers, you imagine, and yet you canât imagine Korri feels the same way. Being as touch-starved as she isâŚand with you, the only person she trust enoughâŚ
âWould youâŚdo you, do you still want me to hypnotise you? Can IâŚ?â
âI would do anything for you, Cibby.â
âŚshe can say those words so easily, because she canât see inside your mind, nor can she know what youâre capable of.
(And yetâŚ)
(if itâs Korri, you want so badly to believe that sheâd say that even if she knew.)
At this point, you donât have a lot of time before you have to leave for Ritaâs class. Barely enough for a whole induction. Your library tells you that even if you intended to use I Want The Control like you never, ever should â youâd need to bring her into a trance far deeper than the one youâd feel comfortable with right now.
But thereâs time enough. To do something only you can do.
You clap your hands, three timesâŚand watch, as Korri starts to fade. As you help ease her burden, letting go of her strings, letting her sink into the couchâŚitâs a shallow trance, but itâs enough. You hold this power over her.
Youâve seen inside a girl your lessers, who could never understand her true beauty, have called âuglyâ and âbrokenââŚand you love her even more, now, knowing what sheâs survived to be here, within your grasp. Knowing that she smiles for you.
(Soon, youâll take away her pain.)
âKorriâŚwhere do you feel safest?â you whisper, from behind. (Your breath is so close to her ear. Sheâs so beautiful.)
âIn the dark,â she whispers in return. âI only feel safe when itâs dark, and I canât see. It means no one can see me.â
Darkness is a friend to people like Korri. And in Southern Sun, where the heat scorches the city and lingers in the humid atmosphere, darkness is a welcome reprieve from the burning light.
You had this idea earlier, so youâre already prepared. You have your phone, linked in to the houseâs windows and lights. The other is still on Korriganâs head, rubbing her temple in a slow circle. You tap your phone, andâŚ
The windows dim and darken. The lights in the house are still on, but the sun cannot reach her.
âKorri, Iâm going to switch off all the lights. With each light that goes off, youâre going to sink into tranceâŚâ You go into the induction, with your words, with your voice. Guided by your librarian, you muster up that strength you have within you, that blooms so powerfully when you hold a girlâs head in your hands. That strength, which can guide Korri into a land of safety and comfort, so very far from her memories of the Duchy of Cornwall.
Your voiceâs power has increased with Charisma and experience â and of course, confidence and resolve â helping things along, helping Korri sink so heavy and perfectly and wonderfully in your strong arms. But truth be told, itâs mostly that Korri is helping the trance herself, because she knows how itâs supposed to feel, and can bring herself down too.
So cooperative. So lovely. It helps heal your heart from the reflection of her pain, knowing that your power can make her happy.
Korri nods her assent, and your left thumb carefully taps your phoneâs screen, your Dexterity letting you work with perfect timing and grace.
You switch off the kitchen light.
Korri sinks.
You switch off the entrance light.
Korri sinks.
You switch off the upstairs lights.
Korri sinks.
You switch off the living room lightâŚ
And darkness takes you both, only the light of your phone briefly illuminating your surroundings before you turn it off, placing both of you in pitch darkness.
You used to be afraid of the dark, once, when you were in kindergarten. But Korri told you that darkness was a friend, and you never, ever forgot.
You reach out to hold Korriâs hand. âCan you feel my hand, Korri?â
âmhmâŚfeels nice,â she says, in that entranced voice you so love. (At least in the darkness you wonât ruin the moment by seeing Korriâs surely beautiful hypnotised faceâŚ)
âDoes my hand make you feel safe?â
âmhm.â
You squeeze that hand tighter. âI want you to remember my hand, Korri. I want you to remember how it feels to be here, with me, in the darkness, holding my hand. Can you tell me how it feels?â
âwarm, and safe,â says Korri.
âThen keep that feeling inside your head. Whenever you want, whenever you need, you can imagine my hand. And you can have all those warm and safe and nice feelings, and Iâll be there with you, in the dark, protecting you. Helping you.â
ââŚokayâŚâ
âWhenever you need, wherever, just hold my hand. And Iâll save you, Korri. Like I always have.â
âokay.â You can barely see it, even with enhanced Adaptability, but you know Korriâs smiling. âthank you.â
âŚyou stay there, for a while, in the dark, and hold Korri so close in your arms, until itâs time to go to class.
IfâŚif you can do something like this with your hypnosis, with your control, then your powers are worth it.
Youâll do your best to save the city, save your future, but if you can just make Korri smileâŚ
itâs all worth it.
Ashen one, bearer of the curse....... I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.
To be fair, the reference is 100% on purpose.
ING is kind of composed of a bunch of disparate thoughts and references about various forms of media, particularly music, vaguely squished together with some gum and bits of string. I get away with it mostly because I'm the only one who gets them.
Hell, somehow no one ever figures out where I got the name 'Rita Sternbach' from! Well, maybe we'll find out later?
Thanks for the chapter!
If the world ends, if the world ends, itâs my fault.
Was this double up intentional?
Korri's mindset is pretty fractured, so yeah!
ah, and now i'm caught up, a couple days late! this has been a lovely read as always, thank you!
I found this story yesterday and already would die for Korri. She must be protected.
Good thing Korri has a sword-wielding maiden to protect her, huh?
@queenfiona A very good thing.
âŚCibby seems more confident lately! I hope Iâve been helping herâŚand, I hope she doesnât think itâs weird that I enjoy this. Being in her hands, itâsâŚ
It's... left unsaid, darn it!
I think you can guess what she was going to say. đ¤
Cibele may know a bit better than she did before, but she's still far from understanding the feelings of others. Still, her heart's in the right place! Hopefully once she massages Stella's brain into place, she'll be a bit more forceful?
From previous chapters I could infer it was bad.
But it was worse.
Korri's had a hard life.
(...well, haven't we all?)