Verse

"Should we be worried about her?" I asked, unsure whether Verity was still within listening distance. My concerns were brushed off with a round of shaking heads and one dismissive brush of the tail. The latter cut straight through my worry and caused a feeling of warmth that extended to the core of my being.

Amari looked like she had something to say. I plucked at a string to raise my eyebrow.  She turned to give Ruin her attention instead, but not fast enough to hide a smile. I drew what I now knew for certain to be my favorite of the sisters into a tighter hug. Citrine was the one least comfortable having the attention of others. I also got the sense that she was most sensitive to how I was feeling. Learning the nuances of the many sisters had made for an interesting way to spend my bed-ridden recovery period.

"That girl is carrying a burden she is not ready to share." Ruin now served warm beverages in an attempt to restore what warmth was lost from proximity to Verity.

Amari and I reach reached out to give her arm a reassuring touch. We were all here for each other, that included Ruin too.

She sighed. "Nothing for it but to maintain a supportive environment and keep an eye out for if she spirals." Ruin was careful to hold our gazes as she spoke. I or Amari would have to follow up with her later in the day then.

Whisper gave a much more affirmative nod. "In some ways she knows exactly what she wants." She said this with enough confidence that brought the hint of a smirk to Amari's lips. We had been speculating that Whisper was doing better in some ways than ever. Whisper clutched at her warm beverage as she continued. "In other ways it feels like she is starting from scratch. I think she just needs some time."

"Then it is time she will have." Ruin finished handing out heated beverages and was now circling back around with a hand full of flavored spheres that would dissolve in the mouth or in the drink.

We tried not to show our discomfort around Verity. She was dealing with symptoms largely out of her control as far as we understood it. Knowing we could recover from her encounters with simple sweets and a bit of warmth helped alleviate the physical component of the interactions. Although that apparently was not the extent of it.

Ruin decided to change the topic. "So, how are the needles treating you?" Ruin passed Whisper a floral flavored sphere before retreating to give the girl her space.

Whisper lifted the sphere of candy to her mouth with ease between her new finely pointed fingers. "Being delicate is new for me." She took a moment to appraise the yellow candy with all eight of her red eyes. "The fine control and precision is appreciated." She tugged at a length of scarf around her neck, apparently only half finished but already an impressive length. "There is a certain satisfaction in taking the lead as opposed to delegating all the time."

Hearing how Whisper found uses for her many tiny companions had made for fascinating conversation during our last meal together. Ruin had suggested trying out appendages that would allow her to work in tandem with the thread spinning companions. Time would only tell if Whisper settled on keeping the needle fingers, but having them as a sometimes thing that brought her a restorative satisfaction was more than enough to make it worthwhile.

Finally being in a body that felt right opened the door to seeing the world all sorts of fascinating ways. I almost felt like I could reach out and pluck at the layers to Whisper's words. It was with newfound clarity that I could look back at how easily Whisper discerned that I could never make a body of sand atop a thunderous core my own. She had even said outright that I was reaching for something that no longer belonged to me. Whisper had changed her presentation a half dozen times now since I had first met her, but each and every one was an amalgamation of features that somehow still suited Whisper.

There remained a sense of discomfort in everyone here that I was only now becoming sensitive to. I could only marvel at how Whisper so openly attended her first day of school with a small army of insects at her beck and call. Or why I was willing to start a fight with my sister instead of asking questions. Ruin had heard all of that and decided I was willing to carry and protect based on what? A good word from Amari?

I looked at my friends for what felt like the first time really seeing them as such.

Whisper seemed more a conscious representative of insects and arachnids than committing to any single kind.

Ruin was a patchwork of scars and muscle that had just admitted to shedding the armor to be vulnerable once more.

The differences from one Amari to another were subtle, but they were each just as quick to cling to those they bonded with.

These were my precious friends who had been there for me when I needed them most.

I found Amari lacing her fingers between mine. Her thumb plucked at one of the strings serving to run through and connect my fingers to the rest of me. The sensation that vibrated to my core caused me to experience a shiver. It was an electrifying sensation that shocked me out of my thoughts. With my now undivided attention, Amari held my gaze. "What do you think?" There was a knowing look in her eyes. "About Verity."

I bit at my lip a little harder than intended. Some things about this body were more sensitive than I wanted. She would know what was on my mind. Feeling how tense and taut my strings had been had probably given her a good indicator that something was bothering me. I was not entirely sure how she and her sisters differed from Verity and I, but I had guesses.

I plopped a sour sphere into my drink and watched the sphere dissolve into the shape of a cloud. I sat for a while, wondering just how much I wanted to say. "I think I would feel a lot more comfortable if I knew what happened after I got swept away by the Night lady."

Ruin twitched. I tried so hard not to conjure the visual component that accompanied the memory of her being struck by father.

Whisper sipped her drink and said nothing.

"I know it's not fair of me to ask you reopen fresh wounds. You all did so much for me and I cannot thank you enough for that. But if Verity is not going to open up on her half, the least I can do is share what you gave me the strength to walk away from." That drew eyes at least. Amari's expression remained a mask. She did however gingerly rest her head on my shoulder.

I took a deep breath and attempted to confront the discomforting feelings that I had done my best to distance myself from.

"From the very beginning, every fiber of my being screamed that I was owed something. The first memory I can call mine was being torn apart from Verity. Initially I suspected that she consciously clung to something in the process that left me feeling hollow. It took me a while to separate all these feelings. But when faced with another Stormfolk, my parent, that hunger returned stronger than ever before. I've been self conscious enough that this feeling felt distinctly separate from everything else that has bothered me. Suddenly the thunderous core I had been clinging to felt like it was going to eat me alive." I paused a moment, no longer able to distinguish the dissolved sphere of flavor from the liquid around it. When I drank, nothing remained of the taste of water. There was only the bitter sour taste of the candy sphere. "I wondered since if that bottomless hunger was what caused Storms to grow so big. And now I worry Verity is still clinging to something similar. When Whisper described what was going on with her I just thought she was out of balance or something. But now I can no longer untangle these ideas in my mind. I will not share some things said in confidence to me, but I suspect I am not the only one that sees something in her." A part of me wanted to talk to the Chorus again, but there were only so many places I could be at once.

The look on the faces of my friends hurt to look at. Maybe approaching this how I did made me a bad friend. But while I worried about them, I was outright scared for Verity. "I'm sorry." I offered, my voice now a whisper. "I am just really uncomfortable shrugging what is going on with Verity off. I know we're all tired and hurting, but I am terrified she's still dealing with something scary."

What felt like a respectful silence settled in the absence of any willing voices. A part of me suddenly did not want to have this conversation.

Ruin was the first to speak, her voice grave. "She said she wanted to win. And that no cost was too great. Even still, it felt like she was holding back. Like she was not willing to hurt us."

"But now it hurts to just be near her. And I don't have the heart to stay way." All eight of Whisper's eyes were on me. I nodded. "She got what she wanted, I think. But she hasn't done anything with it."

Ruin supplied the missing context. "She plucked out her parent's heart, or something approximating it. Whatever it was caused the whole place we were fighting in to collapse and retreat."

Verity cut off a piece of the Storm in my stead. It had been my original plan, but I had misguided selfish reasons for doing so. What was I missing?

"I think." Amari made it a very pointed interruption. "That you all need a distraction. Not that this isn't important, but I think you're all right and trying to help to an extent. I just think some time spent engaging in other activities and getting to know other students here will be a productive use of your time. That, and it sounds like Verity needs some time to make up her own mind about some things." She bounded to her feet and fished out several rolled up pieces of paper from an inner robe pocket.

I accepted a copy and unrolled it to find stamped information that denoted the Who, Where, and When, followed by flourishing script that had to be hand written detailing everything else.

I looked at the others, noticing that the flourished script differed in style from paper to paper. I wondered if the many component parts of Chorus had different handwriting or if another helped them compose the messages. "I know the Proving Halls are on the lower floors, but how which one is Marble?"

Ruin shrugged.

Whisper shook her head once.

Citrine Amari shared a grin that barely contained her excitement. "The Marble Hall is one of the domains where Defiance is played."

Another round of lacking in recognition was shared by the rest of us.

"Okay. First of all you need to understand that it was once a celebration of expression and reflection. It has since grown into a game of some importance to most of the students that attend classes here."

"What kind of game?" Ruin already sounded interested.

"Hmmm, I never took enough interest that I would feel confident telling you about it." She turned to Ruin specifically. "You had orders you wanted to pick up from the Halls of Creation, right?"

Ruin nodded. "Yeah. I was going to ask if one of you could help me carry things back up."

Whisper took a step forward as she spoke. "I had been meaning to put in a bulk request for some new materials. If that isn't too much trouble, I would like to at least tag along for that." She seemed a little hesitant.

"Not at all." Amari clasped her hands together. "That settles it. We'll all go together. It's better you all hear about Defiance from its fans."

All eight of Whisper's eyes blinked at once. "You're not letting me get out of this, are you?"

Amari's tail swished playfully. "I have no idea what you could possibly mean by that."

Ruin and I shared a concerned look.

"I was close to royalty." Whisper explained with a wistful smile. "Defiance, although I knew it by another name, pays homage to parts of the world I lost. In a game of reflection and expression, Amari seems to have gotten it in their collective heads that a soldier would provide a first hand perspective that most of the students here lack." She glared daggers at Amari. "You're not the blood addled sister are you?"

Amari offered an innocent smile that I was not sure Tourmaline had the capacity to express. "As far as recruitment methods go, this would be a rather poor attempt."

Whisper shook her head. "I was clear to the Headmistress that if I ever attended Orbital Hall, it would be as a student. My contribution to these rites would go no further than designing period pieces for others to wear. Making a game of recent history has always felt kind of gauche."

Amari nodded along in agreement despite provoking the reaction from Whisper. "I would much prefer a tasteless game hosted in a safe environment to prepare students to grapple with grim realities of the world than growing up with living it." It was her turn for the mask to slip and share in Whisper's wistfulness.

"Okay," I said. "You have my interest. Besides, I've been stuck in my room for days. It is long overdue to commission some decorations. I'm up for a trip to and from Hall of Creation. After that whatever the Chorus has in mind at the Marble Proving Halls?" Amari and Whisper nodded in agreement.

We all turned to Ruin, who had a curious look in her eyes. "Don't look at me. If there is a game to be played, I want to win it."

The four of us shared a laugh. Even Whisper found amusement in the honest admissions of friends.