all's fair in love and war

[actualantichrist]

The four of them are sitting two-thirds of the way up an old live oak, passing around a canteen of tinny water and talking about magic.

Em wants it more than anyone. The rest of them all think she should be a psion, but she wants to be a mage, wants to paint the sky with fireworks and make clean energy and maybe become an astronaut and figure out a way to avoid the rocket equation.

Reuben, whose upcoming eclipse in March started the whole conversation, says he doesn't want powers at all and if he gets any he'll have them shut down. He wants to be a priest when he grows up, which the rest of them all agree is objectively way lamer than either mage or psion.

Faith, like any sane person, is hoping she'll eclipse, but she doesn't want it with Em's desperate hunger. If she doesn't get cool magic powers, she'll find something else awesome to do with her life. Right now she's thinking she wants to discover a new element (or maybe a new planet, she hasn't decided) and get it named after her. Fides, from the Latin for her name.

In the end, it's Jay who gets powers from his eclipse, and that doesn't work out so well for him.



The three of them are huddled together at Jay's funeral, Reuben in the stark cassock and surplice of an altar server, Em staring up at the sky like she's willing it to open up and rain fire and vengeance. Or at least rain.

The sky stays stubbornly blue. "My eclipse is in February," Faith says blankly, looking up at the moon and she sun in the sky together, so she doesn't look down at her friend's coffin instead. "Maybe I'll be the one who figures out how to bring back the dead. Maybe I can still fix everything."

"Faith, no," Reuben says, softly. "You can't think that way. You have to let him go. I hope -- I hope you don't eclipse, I couldn't bear if--"

"I don't have to do anything I don't want to," Faith retorts. "Just because you're scared--"

"Don't," Em says. "Not now. Just don't."

Faith eclipses anyway. She doesn't actually get a choice.



Virtuality is incredibly lame. She can't actually do anything, not for real. But she comes out of it with her new powers, and it's the most amazing thing that's ever happened to Faith. She can get people's attention, make them listen instead of laughing because she's young or female or a sub, and it's not easy but it's right, like catching a pitched ball perfectly and feeling it slam into your hand. People throw their attention all over the place, and she can fix that, help them pay attention to important things.

Like what she has to say.

School is boring, so Faith tells her parents she wants to be homeschooled, and what do you know, they listen. (She doesn't make them agree, of course. Even if she could, that would be horrible. She just helps them really sit down and listen to her, and understand how important this is and how carefully she's thought about it.) When she's ready she applies to the local college, and her resume is okay but the interviewer thinks she really stands out.

College is way better than high school. Class discussions are fun! Her favorite are classes with participation grades. She always gets A's in those.



They're standing by the grave when the two of them turn on her.

They tell her all the things she's been hearing her whole life, things she'd thought her friends would never say to her. They tell her that she shouts too loud, dreams too big, talks too much, that she acts before thinking, that she needs to stop. They want her to stop using her powers, to make herself less, to make herself normal.

Faith just stands there, too devastated to speak, and she cries, and when they're done she tells them that they're right, that she understands, that she's going to transfer colleges and stay with her mother's cousin and make a new start, meet new people whose minds she's never touched.

They let her go.

They were supposed to be her friends.



Faith doesn't know her aunt all that well, but of course Aunt Kelly is happy to have her niece stay with her for college. Faith's transfer application gets processed with perfect efficiency once she shows up to the office of the registrar and helpfully lets them know she really does need it dealt with soon. Kansas is no Texas, but it's okay, it'll do.

Her first class is apparently history of philosophy, which sounds unbearably boring, but it's a core requirement, so while Faith's advisor agrees that she should clearly be allowed to take something more interesting instead, no one actually seems to have the authority to make that happen. So: ancient philosophy it is.

Faith arrives early and sits in the front. After all, she'll surely have helpful insights to contribute!

Comments

[warmfeelings]

Another student sits down next to her! "Hi there! Are you new in town? I don't think I know you and I never forget a face!" She's presenting mostly like a sub - complete with a collar that looks like a charm bracelet and has six names dangling off it - but her bearing doesn't quite match. She might just be a really outgoing sub with very practical taste in shoes?

[actualantichrist]

Faith doesn't present terribly clearly herself, but in her case the "the radical notion that subs are people" button on her backpack is probably a hint.

"Hi yourself! I'm Faith, I just transferred in. I'm majoring in business but I'm thinking about transferring to international affairs! How about you?"

[warmfeelings]

"I'm Chelsea!" Handshake. "I'm majoring in psychology but I keep being told I'd be right for social work."

[actualantichrist]

"Well, I've known you for about two seconds, but the evidence so far suggests people keep being right! Are you from around here?"

[warmfeelings]

"Born and raised! What about you?"

[actualantichrist]

"I'm from Corpus Christi, way down south. I've never even been to Kansas before -- well, driven through, but that doesn't count."

(Chelsea is so nice! She's really paying attention, it's great. Faith beams.)

[warmfeelings]

"I've never been to Texas! What's it like?"

[actualantichrist]

"Big, and hot! Tasty food, too, I can't say I'm impressed by the Mexican restaurants here."

[warmfeelings]

"I've been told that but I guess I've never had really good Mexican so I don't know any better."

[actualantichrist]

"Well, tex-mex still isn't even supposed to really count, so people from Mexico probably feel the same way about what I like. So do you know anyone else interesting who's signed up for this class?"

[warmfeelings]

"Oh, I know everybody in school but I'm not sure who-all's signed up here, let's see, who's here already - Sarah! Hi, Sarah, this is Faith, she just moved here from Texas!"

"Hi Faith!" says Sarah, a plain-looking bespectacled dom. "Welcome to Prairie Village!"

"And that's Jeff and that's Andrew but it's no good talking to either of them before they're caffeinated, I'm sure they'll say hi later - that's Tess and Minnie, aren't they cute? Hi Don!" Wave wave wave. Don comes over and gives Chelsea a kiss and a pinch on the arm and she giggles. He sits on the other side of her.

[actualantichrist]

Faith aww's at the cuteness. "You really do know everyone, don't you? Hi Don!"

[warmfeelings]

"Hi, nice to meet you," says Don.

"Don, this is Faith, she just moved here from Texas! Faith, this is one of my doms." Indeed, Don is the fourth charm on her collar after "Afton", "Sam", and "Laura" and before "Ben" and "Michelle".

[actualantichrist]

"You're sure set for doms!" Faith comments. "Not that there's anything wrong with that," she adds immediately. "I just don't know how you have enough hours in the day!"

[warmfeelings]

"It's worse than that, she's got four subs too," says Don.

"That's only if you count Michelle as both," says Chelsea, "I'm not dating ten people. Yet! I can't think of a single thing I'd rather be doing with my time, though, and most of them have other partners too. And they all get along really well!"

[actualantichrist]

Faith blinks. "Wow. I'm suddenly feeling like the small-town Texas girl, I don't think I knew anyone at home who was dating more than, like, two people. At least not seriously. You must be very organized!"

[warmfeelings]

"About people!" beams Chelsea. "I can be a scatterbrain about anything else."

[actualantichrist]

"It's still a good skill to have! Would it be terrible of me to take advantage of you to help me meet people? Starting out in a new place is so hard, and I bet you know all about who's worth knowing."

[warmfeelings]

"I'd be delighted to introduce you to people! But I think everybody's worth knowing in their way so what sorts of people do you want to meet first?"

[actualantichrist]

"Um ... people who are really good at what they do, I guess, like, people who are good at school stuff are always helpful to know. Or at organizing interesting things to do, or dealing with emergencies -- maybe someone who's good at sports, I've been wanting to pick something up." Grin. "Don't need someone who's good at people, I'm keeping you around for that one."

[warmfeelings]

Chelsea laughs. "Afton's a tennis coach! I can just bring you home with me after school to meet him. And hmmm - oh hi, Joe!"

Joe appears to be the professor but doesn't react (except to smile at Chelsea) to being called by his first name. He passes out syllabi and gives an introductory lecture.

[actualantichrist]

The professor should really be paying more attention to Faith. Look at her, she's sitting right in front, putting the syllabus in her binder, what a responsible student, he should be able to tell she's going to be at the top of the class. That's okay, though, she can help him notice when she raises her hand and points out that thing about Plato. It's a good observation! She wouldn't want him to overlook it.

[alicornucopia]

"Excellent point," Joe says, and apparently Faith is in agreement with this other dead philosopher who they'll discuss in month two.

[actualantichrist]

Sigh. Dead white doms. She knew history of philosophy was going to be boring.

At least she met Chelsea! Chelsea is interesting.

[warmfeelings]

That particular dead dom was actually Middle Eastern but he didn't mention it and used the Latin transliteration so Faith's mistake is understandable. Hardly a mistake at all.

Chelsea makes plenty of smiley eye contact with Joe and nods when he makes assertions but she also texts during class.