Chapter 31: Talk Later

Piper's P.o.V.

I have never been more embarrassed in my life.

I, uh... well, how about I just say Cy is a really good kisser and move on, okay?

...

...okay?

...

...oh, fine.

I was enjoying myself, okay? Like, really enjoying myself. Like, I kind of forgot where I was. I can't really describe it past that. It just felt like... she was there... I was there... we were happy. What else mattered?

So yeah, we were... making out, for lack of a better term, and I liked it. So much so, in fact, that I completely lost my sense of time.

So imagine my surprise when, with no ceremony whatsoever, the door opened and there were Starling and Dove, eyes wide and mouths gaping.

There was a full second where I just stared at them, no thought going through my head other than a feeling I had not experienced since Aerrow once walked in on me in the shower.

From beneath me, Cy half-yelled, half-growled, "Do none of you know how to knock?!"

My thoughts exactly.

Just as suddenly as she'd opened it, Starling slammed the door shut on herself, though not before I saw the near-neon red glow in her and Dove's faces.

For about thirty seconds my brain ceased to function as I stared dumbly at the door.

Dove... Starling... oh, Atmos...

All the blood rushed to my face. I have never, ever, been caught in such a situation. What... what were they thinking? What was I thinking!? What was Cy-

...

Cy...

I turned my head from the door, back to the girl, the queen, my frazzled brain remembered, that I was on top of. I looked down, expecting to see my own feelings reflected back at me, to see the surprise, the horror, the...

...

She's smiling.

Not a smirk. Not a smug grin. Not some awkward, tight-lipped attempt; just a soft, happy smile framed by pink cheeks.

"What?" I ask, confused.

Her smile grew a little.

"What!?"

She let out a small giggle. "You're cute when you're flustered."

I stared at her dumbly, caught somewhere between wanting to yell or laugh. Maybe both.

Cy glanced at the door. "Not that I'm complaining, but we should answer the door at some point, shouldn't we?"

On top of everything else, dread seeped in. Face Starling and Dove after what they just saw?

"Or," Now that was a smirk. "We could keep doing what we were doing," The smirk grew. "So long as you don't mind an audience."

I recoiled off of Cy like she was made of fire. "Cy!" I yelp, my face burning. Unfortunately, my sudden movement took me off the rather narrow couch.

"Ow..." I say, suddenly looking up at the ceiling. Cy cackled above me.

I sat up, glaring at her, but that just made her laugh harder. I rolled my eyes. "Real mature, your Majesty."

She quiets her laughter, leaning off the couch so we were nose to nose. "You make it too easy, angel." She whispered, surprising me with a quick peck on the lips.

I open my mouth to retort, when I notice that she's already up and moving. I stare in shock as grasps the door knob, and scramble to my feet as she opens the door. My eyes quickly find the floor, not willing to look at them.

"Commander Starling, Dove, a pleasure to see you both again." She says, a smile in her voice. "Is there some way I could... help... you?"

Her mischievous tone fading into confusion was enough to make me look up. As I expected, both Starling and Dove were blushing like mad, neither really looking at Cy or at me. Dove in particular had turned an unnatural shade of red, her eyes absolutely glued to the floor. Starling mostly just looked uncomfortable, making eye contact with me for all of a second before looking off to the side. Cy didn't seem to notice as she gazed over Starling's should at bright...

My whole body tensed.

Bright... pink...

My legs trembled and I fell back onto the couch.

Pink... glowing...

I looked away, eyes shut tight.

Glowing... pain... ripping... squeezing... tearing...

I gave my head a shake. No, that... that wasn't her. She was being controlled. She didn't... she wouldn't.

Soft hands suddenly grab my shoulders.

"Piper?"

My eyes snapped open.

Cy is right there in front of me, her eyes filled with concern. When I made eye contact, she flinched slightly. She swallowed, before trailing her fingers down my arms to grip my hands. I felt a tremor as we touched, but I couldn't tell if it was from me or her.

"Piper... I..." She trailed off, looking lost.

One day. I'd been away from that Atmos-forsaken crystal for only one day. Before that it had been so easy to ignore, to distract myself from its presence; Surviving on Amazonia, my new found feelings for Cyclonis, repairing that scrapheap of a Switchblade, all at the forefront of my mind, preventing me from... dwelling. Then Gale, the Wayside, the Condor; helping Cy piece together a peaceful end to the war. Meeting the girl behind the crown, the person freed from the imprisonment of her own mind for Atmos knows how long. Caring for her.

And in just a few seconds, shattered. One unexpected look at that sickly, too-bright light, and I'm back on the throne room floor, a sobbing, broken mess.

"Piper?" I hear faintly.

I blink, and feel a sharp pain from the action. I blink away my dry eyes, causing them to tear up slightly. I look down at our hands, Cy keeping a loose grip on me. I close my eyes and breathe slowly.

I remember her eyes on that day. Dark, stormy, violet, cold. Then I compare them to now; bright, clear, near-pink, warm. The way she acted, angry, sad, confused, a far cry of how she's been lately, cheerful, cheeky. Happy.

That wasn't Cy. Not the Cy I know. That was whoever had been controlling her. Whoever turned her into such a monster.

Still, that didn't erase the memory of what she did, or the outright fear that crystal gave me just by being in its presence.

I need to talk to her about this.

I hear a cough of to the side.

...once were alone again.

I open my eyes and meet Cy's gaze. The worry in her gaze makes my lips curl slightly.

"I'm okay, Cy." I cut her off before she can speak.

The frown on her face doesn't change. "Are you sure? Because-"

"Really Cy, I'm okay. But, um... we need to talk... later." I add glance to the side

She nodded slowly. "Okay. Later." She gave my hands a small squeeze, before standing up.

I watch her turn, and bring my attention back to our company. Dove stared at me, concern and confusion in her gaze. I gave her a small smile, watching as the tension in her shoulders loosened slightly, but not by much. Starling, however, worried me. She was glaring at Cy with narrowed eyes, an accusation on the tip of her tongue. I sent a pointed look her way (trying my hardest to ignore the pink glow on her shoulder). She caught my look, her gaze softening a touch, but quickly turned back to Cy.

"What. Was that?" She questioned.

Cy matched her glare with a cool look of her own. "It's a long story. And rather personal at that."

"That's not an answer."

"It's not my place to give one."

Before Starling could retort, I stood up. "It's nothing, Starling." At her questioning frown, I continued. "I've just had... bad experiences with that crystal type. I wasn't expecting you to have it with you."

Starling kept looking at me, not satisfied with my answer. Before she could keep questioning, Cy asked. "On that note, I would like to know why you have my staff. And why you felt the need to burst in uninvited."

Starling glared at her, before speaking. "A bunch of the Commanders want to speak with you privately before the meeting tomorrow."

Cy raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Really? And why's that?"

Starling folded her arms. "Frankly, I don't know. Suzy Lu just said something about you meeting before."

Cy's eyes widened. "Suzy Lu?"

Starling nodded. "Yeah, and apparently Blister and Burner want to meet you too."

"The Third Degree Burners..." Cy pondered. She put a hand to her chin. She turned to Dove. "And I assume the staff was your idea?"

Dove gave a nod. "Yes, et was. When I got ze call, I figured you would want your staff back for ze meeting."

Cy nodded, smiling. "Yes, I do. And thank you for taking care of it."

Dove smiled back. "No problem."

Cy walked up to Starling, holding out her hand. "Commander, if you would?"

Starling just looked at her hand, causing Cy to roll her eyes. "Commander, trust me, if I had any nefarious schemes in the wings, I would have already done so." When Starling didn't move, Cy smirked. "Besides, as an Ambassador, don't I have rights to my own property?"

Oddly, Dove flinched a bit at her words. Starling merely narrowed her eyes again. "You know an awful lot about Atmosian policy."

Cy ginned broadly. "'Know thy enemy.' One of the first lessons my grandmother taught me, and the one she reminded me of the most. Even had this little saying of hers: 'better to see the blade you know about-"

"-then feel the one you didn't.'"

I blinked, as did Dove. I looked from Cy to Starling, who seemed slightly confused herself.

Now it was Cy's turn to narrow her eyes. "Yes... how did you know that?"

Starling shook her head slightly, before meeting Cy's glare with a roll of the eyes. "It's an old saying. One of the instructors in the academy said the same thing nearly everyday."

Cy looked at her for a moment, seemingly accepting the explanation. Once again, she held out her hand.

Starling stared at it, before letting out a sigh. Tentatively, she reached behind her and grabbed the staff. The crystal atop it flared briefly, making me flinch. Starling gave me a sympathetic look as she held out the staff for Cy to take. She gave her a look that practically dared her to try something.

Cy ignored her, reaching out and gripping the staff. As Starling let go of it, Cy held it in bother her hands, smiling slightly, before frowning. She gave the staff an experimental twirl, spinning it several times in a circle, before holding it steady, looking confused.

I stood beside her. "Something wrong."

She glanced at me. "Hm? Oh, its nothing. Just... feels a bit off for some reason." She gave the staff a good once over, even sending a cascade of lightning jetting down its surface. To my relief, when the electricity died down, the light from the pink crystal had died down to only a dim glow. Cy scrutinized it for a moment, before shrugging. "It seems okay. Nothing's damaged. Guess I imagined it."

With no warning, she simply let go of the staff. But instead of clattering to the ground, the staff just hung in midair, seemingly defying gravity. With a twitch of her fingers, the staff glided through the air, over her shoulder, and slid itself into the sheath on her back.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "One day, you have to show me how you do that."

She sent me a soft smirk. "Maybe. Now then, shall we be off?"

Starling let out a huff. "Might as well. Not like the streets are getting any emptier." She moved towards the door.

"Aw, yes." Cy quipped, following her out. "I'm sure the huddled masses will have something new to gossip about shortly."

Dove's head snapped up, looking panicked. As we walked into the hallway, she cleared her throat nervously. "A-About that. There's something we heard on the way here..."

A/n: Not to much to say this time, other then I'm going back to work this week, which means, Yay! Paycheck!, but also, Crap! Less free time. Aw well, I'll muddle through.

Hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time!