"Pathetic."
A voice, deep and ancient, rumbled with contempt.
"I should've known conjuring a human would end in disappointment. Such a waste of my power."
Orion floated helplessly in the darkness, his body curled and suspended between stars. He couldn't move. Couldn't speak. All he could do was listen to the disdainful words.
"You were given form by my will. Gifted a body where none should exist. And this... this cowardice, this wretched self-pity, is what you offer me in return?"
Amidst the stars before him, space ruptured. A jagged fracture tore open the void, splitting into the maw of a cosmic entity. Its roar shook everything, roaring with fury as it dove to devour him.
Gasping for air, Orion abruptly sat up. His body was drenched in cold sweat and his heart racing. He wheezed, wiping his forehead and smearing the sweat.
'The fuck was that?'
He looked around, eyeing the boys' empty beds and the familiar, unfriendly green hues from the window.
'When did I pass out?'
Clang, Clang, Clang
Metallic banging brought his attention back to the door, and with a painful groan, his body shaking as he moved, he stood up. The room was spinning, but curiosity over the noise that woke him pushed him forward.
In the ladies' room, Vi was sprawled out across the sofa. Mylo's ball bounced in her hand before she violently threw it against a metal panel beyond the couch. She looked agitated.
The others had gone out to get some food, leaving her to brood while Orion lay unconscious in the boys' room. Vander had, of course, gone off to settle matters in the Lanes between the search and cleanup.
Clang, Clang, Clang
Catching the ball mid-air, she sat up and hunched forward, her forearms braced against her knees. Vi gritted her teeth, her eyes darting across the ground as her grip tightened on the ball.
"Everything was going fine," Vi muttered bitterly to herself. "Vander was starting to trust me but then he showed up."
"Within a day, he had Vander's ear... and he has his jobs too."
She knew she was jealous. The ball slammed into the metal panel again, echoing the frustration inside her chest.
Vi stood up, fists clenched, and began pacing the room before collapsing back into the sofa with a defeated sigh.
A faint smile tugged at her lips as memories of the alleyway fight and the Old Hungry flashed through her mind. The image of Orion standing over the corpses, blood-drenched and unmoving, replayed like a haunting but cool scene. He had looked so much like Vander in that moment. So stubborn, so reckless... so willing to shield the others.
Her admiration curdled into guilt. Shame clawed at her gut as she curled into herself, arms wrapped tightly around her knees.
"I almost got someone killed," she whispered, her voice cracking. Tears welled and trickled freely down her cheeks.
"Tis' but a scratch!" a humorous, weary voice called out.
Vi flailed wildly, startled, scrambling to recompose herself but it was too late. Her tear-stained face and puffy eyes looked up at Orion.
Despite looking pale, weak, and glinting with sweat, he smirked. She chuckled weakly between sobs, unable to fully mask her embarrassment.
"You weren't supposed to hear that," Vi muttered, her voice distorted with emotion. Orion descended the stairs, and she hastily wiped her tears away. "Or see this," she added, her tone laced with frustration and vulnerability.
"You should be lying down," she sniffed, eyeing his condition with concern.
Orion wasn't sure what he would find. He thought it'd be Vander or one of the boys fixing something but instead, he'd stumbled into Vi's breakdown, unnoticed from the doorway.
His gaze shifted to Vi's bed with the saxophone and various singer posters lining the wall. The only one he recognized was the Zaun Diva, Scratch.
Curious, his eyes returned to the saxophone. "Gonna impress Scratch with some jazzy tunes?"
"What?" Vi blinked, confused, following his gaze. "Oh, yeah."
She sniffled, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"I go to her concerts whenever I can. Her smaller gigs are supposed to be better, but Vander won't let me go."
She mimicked Vander's deep voice, "'When you're older.'"
"Why aren't you resting? Vander had to carry you because you were out of it."
Orion shrugged, shakily stepping downstairs over to the armchair.
"I woke up bored and now I'm curious."
"About what?"
She looked more relaxed despite her eyes still being watery.
"Isn't her music more rock-and-roll? Screaming and metallic guitar solos?" Orion asked, mimicking a guitar in his hand.
Vi stared at him, disbelief written all over her face, before launching into a passionate explanation.
"Are you kidding? Saxophones totally have their place in rock and roll! It's stylish and cool and I've heard her collaborate with saxophone players!"
She suddenly jumped up, running over to retrieve her saxophone.
"It doesn't matter if it's a saxophone or a guitar as long as it sounds good! She delivers a message. She creates hope for a better future!"
"But is it rock if there's a saxophone?"
"Who cares? It sounds good and her singing is amazing! Her lyrics show our struggle and she lets us scream with her!"
"Okay, I get it! Why don't you show me how you play it instead?"
Her fingers fiddled with the saxophone excitedly while Orion tiredly slumped back in the chair, watching the gears turn in her mind as she tried to decide what to play. She was already there before he even finished suggesting it.
'At least she's not thinking about-'
Orion flinched.
It was like someone trying to learn the trumpet for the first time. Disjointed, breathy, and nowhere near in tune. She tried to make it soulful, dragging out some notes and forcing others. It was a chaotic, jarring cacophony.
But Orion could tell she was really trying. He smiled and nodded each time she glanced over nervously, searching for reassurance.
He thought he heard something through the noise but gave up when Vi picked up the beat and volume. Exhaling slowly, he sighed internally, resigning himself to the chaotic performance.
------------------------
"Vi's honking again!"
Powder shouted in an accusatory tone, clamping her hands over her ears while she stood inside the entrance to the Last Drop.
"Who's going to tell her to stop this time?" Claggor asked worriedly, delivering a pointed glance at Mylo. "I did it last time."
Mylo ran a hand down his face and groaned. "Fine, I'll stop her before we go deaf."
With Mylo leading the charge, they made their way to the stairway that led down to their rooms. The cacophony was deafening at this proximity.
"Vander?" Powder yelled, hands still clamped over her ears. "What are you doing?"
Before the open door, Vander stood leaning against the wall. A faint, knowing smirk tugged at his lips as he raised a finger to his mouth, hushing the group.
The trio slowed down and peeked inside the room. Their eyes went wide before quickly shuffling away, snickering.
"He's been caught by the monster!"
"Should we save him?"
"No... it's too late. He's done for."
Powder giggled, one hand clamped over her mouth while the other remained firmly pressed to her ear.
She plopped herself down on the steps, shoulders shaking as she struggled to contain her bubbling laughter.
------------------------
'I've gone deaf.'
The ringing in his ears wouldn't stop. By the time she finally quit playing, Orion was mentally and emotionally drained on top of his physically damaged body. He slowly exhaled with relief, careful not to let Vi notice.
Not that she would. She sat lost in the joy of her "amazing" work.
"I'm sorry, Orion," Vi muttered. "Just like with this saxophone... I'm not a very good leader. And I was jealous..."
'Thank god she knows. I don't even care about the leader part at this point.'
"Ah- er..." Orion fumbled, struggling to regain his composure. "That's not true. Well, outside of the saxophone. You're what I lack."
A smile flickered across her face before she glanced up at him. "How so?"
Orion hesitated, gathering his thoughts.
"People look up to their leaders, right?" he asked rhetorically. She nodded, and he continued. "Why's that? Because the leader represents what they believe in, what they want most, but more strongly and openly. They express the hearts and minds of everyone around them."
He leaned forward slightly off the chair, his tone measured. "A leader with a cause but no smarts might falter. But a leader who has smarts but no passion or connection to people's desires? Many would ignore you, wanting their emotions and hopes fulfilled first."
"Decisions made by the latter can be cold and without regard for people, drawing ire despite having a similar cause. Also, what, or who, determines that you're 'smart,' anyway?"
Vi's brows furrowed in thought as she clutched her saxophone tightly, taking her time absorbing the onslaught of words. It took a few moments before she gave a wry smirk, her tone deliberate but with a playful touch, "Back to patience and think before you act, huh?"
"Mhm."
Orion's head flopped back against the armchair, the room spinning intensely again as he heard a barely audible, "Thanks…"
"Huh?"
"But I'm not accepting you because of a few words! You've barely hung around, and I haven't seen you lead. Obviously you can fight, but..."
"I get it. Just don't beat me up yet."
"Pfft."
What happened next was far from what he expected. Vi set down her saxophone and briskly walked toward him. Worried by her sudden movement, he stood up in anticipation of something violent. Instead, he found himself embraced in a sudden, light hug.
"Thank you. I'm sorry about before," Vi whispered, her tone genuine and full of remorse.
Orion froze, arms awkwardly at his sides, not exactly reciprocating the embrace.
He felt stiff from her emotional outburst and opted to pat her head as a strange but sincere gesture of comfort. "Ah... it's alright?"
He felt her head nod against his chest before, just as suddenly, she pulled away. He tried to catch her expression, but she was already striding toward the exit, leaving him confused.
'That was some weird shit.'
From outside the door, he heard a mix of noises and Vi's annoyed "Weirdos," followed by giggling, a deep rumbling laugh and the sound of shuffling feet.
'Ah. The gang heard.'