JP - Defective Soap
Klaire would wait a good fifteen minutes before returning to the bathroom to check on Tzeitel. “Everything okay in here?” She asked.
At least Tzeitel was standing now, quite a bit of body wash and shampoo had wound up down the drain because it took a while for her arms and hands to coordinate. But she was a lot cleaner now. “Yeah… I don’t know where your damned defective soap wound up.” Tzeitel muttered from behind the shower curtain.
Klaire easily sniffed out the defective soap and wondered how in the world it got behind the toilet. She wasn’t going to ask right now, though. “There are towels out here for you. Feeling any better?” She asked.
“A little.” Tzeitel glared at the damned GCS brand. She refused to shower in the dark again. She turned off the water. “I might owe you some.. A lot… of shampoo and body wash next time I’m at a store.” She reached out and grabbed a towel.
“You know, if you’re so annoyed with your scars you can always cover them up with tattoos or something.” Klaire suggested, noting how her friend stopped moving for a moment. She recognized that gesture all too well.
“I know. But that would still involve a tattooist seeing the damned thing.” Tzeitel did not like any of her scars, but she hated the GCS brand the most. She wished the words Canestone carved in her legs did not exist either, but the GCS brand… it was him claiming her forever. Tzeitel wrapped her hair in the towel and grabbed a second towel. “I… I dreamed there were two of them.”
“Ew? Two?” Klaire sounded like she wanted to vomit. “One was bad enough…” She grabbed her toothbrush and started cleaning her teeth real quick. Food always left her mouth feeling icky. When done, she rinsed out her mouth and looked at Tzeitel. “Could see if James can hook you up with the guy that did his tattoos. Well, not guy…the girl is some meta whose power is literally tattooing.”
“I don’t know… maybe.” Only a handful of people had seen the brand outside of the steam filled sauna. “Er, you don't happen to have some of my clothes here?”
Klaire gestured to the counter where she had set down some clothes for Tzeitel. “I’m always prepared, you know that.” She said with a smile. “Just let me know what you decide. James can easily call her.”
“I’ll think about it… I don’t think I could show it to a stranger.” Tzeitel said, pulling on the clothes. “Thanks for the help… I know you hate it when I get like that.”
Klaire poked Tzeitel in the side. “You’re a brat at times, but I still love you.” She said with a smile and let out a laugh. “If it helps you make your decision, I’ll go with you. From my understanding, she works for the Meta Underground a lot.”
“Thanks, Klaire.” Tzeitel’s eyes filled with tears and she hugged Klaire. “You’re always looking out for me.”
“Someone has to,” Klaire hugged her back. “Now, come on. I bet Ami has gotten into mischief with Cody by now.”
“They’re both good kids. They don’t get into mischief.” Tzeitel shook her head. “You think Ami’s happy?” She asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
"She wants to explore her power and you seem to be refusing to allow that. I've seen and smelled disdain every time you stop her." Klaire admitted. "Plus, she's hitting her teens and that means hormones, rebellious stage, emotions she's not used to...her first period."
“Geeze.” Tzeitel groaned, rubbing her forehead. Between Tzeitel, Frisk and Tzeitel’s friends; Ami had gotten The Talk. Thoroughly. Not that Tzeitel was looking forward to Ami hitting puberty, even if it was creeping up gradually and not sprung up in the space of two days like poor Cody. Tzeitel still regretted her son missing out on those years. “At least she’s free of MegaCorp. But her power… I don’t know what it’s doing to her. Cody’s aged him. I thought my power was infinite until it wasn’t.” Tzeitel’s eye flicked to her bicep, the brand hidden by her T-shirt sleeve. “It was bad enough when we just thought her power was just talking to the dead. How she draws information- she’s only eleven Klaire!”
“For all we know it might not have any effect on her like mine. It could even be like Colt’s or Iram’s was. They just have to learn to focus it and keep control. We should encourage her to use it, but keep an eye on her for any side effects. Remember Mark? He gets a nosebleed every time he uses his, which is a sign that it’s a strain on his brain.” Klaire explained calmly. “I and the twins can help keep an eye on her. Lotus and Leon are very good at hearing when things change in the human body.”
“I don’t know…” Tzeitel never got over Cody going from ten to thirteen in less than an hour. “Also what can she safely use her powers on?”
“Well, explain in detail what her power actually does.” Klaire said. “You know I’ve been so busy with the twins I haven’t had much time to see what it all is. I only know she’s used her power because the twins noticed a shift in her scent when she uses her power. They’ve noticed that about everyone, actually.”
“She draws information from things. It’s how she got the Ouija board to speak so clearly to her. Books… she barely reads them, she just absorbs them… I’m so afraid of her getting my file. I’ve been keeping it in a locked box but have been thinking I should just burn it.” Tzeitel said.
“She’ll find out about all of that stuff eventually, Tzeitel…” Klaire replied as she fixed her hair into its signature ponytail. “Her absorbing information doesn’t sound like it’s doing anything negative to her, but we can always keep an eye out.”
“I know she’ll have to find out eventually… but she’s still too young.” Tzeitel fidgeted with the bottle of pollen. “Learning by absorbing my whole file at once- that would have to do something negative to her.”
“It could also help her understand why you are the way you are,” Klaire told her.
Tzeitel shook her head, her movements jerky but also adamant. “Ami’s a child. What Canestone did to me- she doesn’t need that shoved in her head.”
“She’s a teenager…” Klaire reminded. “But, we’ll see what happens. That file does have some good memories of us both causing mayhem and misery for guards, after all.” She chuckled.
“She’s not even twelve yet, she’s not a teenager.” Tzeitel objected. “I think Canestone’s part of my file would more than cancel out any good memories.”
“I don’t think Canestone can cancel out any good memories I share with you.” Klaire bumped her hip against Tzeitel’s. “He can burn in hell while we stomp on his grave.”
“Of course that sick twisted bastard can’t.” Tzeitel smiled slightly, putting the pollen bottle back in her pocket. “That fucker is dead and gone and I hope he has suffered every minute he has spent in hell… But I don’t think Ami is ready to learn about him in my file.”
“We’ll give her a few more years.” Klaire patted Tzeitel gently on the back and knocked on the door of the room Cody and Ami were in with Riley.