L Words

Itki shut her eyes against the fluorescent light, turning her head away from it as much as she could.  Her hands were bound behind her back, and a collar was fixed around her neck that chained her to the wall.  They took the stick she'd used as a cane, so it was hard for her to stand on two feet, so she sat, miserably, in the corner.  She heard the grinding of metal on metal and knew someone had opened the door.  Gradually, she let her eyes adjust to the new light, trying to make out who'd come in.  

"You sure it's safe to enter?"  Someone said.

"It's chained, has no weapon, and the room is bound."  Another voice, female, said.  "There's nothing it can do."  A man in a white coat stepped close to Itki, pointing a strange device at her.  The woman leaned against the wall near the door, holding one of those metal things that smelled bad when they were used.  The man took a step back, taking something from inside his coat.  

"Beginning replication test."  He said, twisting the device.  The man disappeared, and the woman watched Itki closely.  Itki wasn't sure what they were expecting, but they apparently didn't get it.  The man reappeared, putting the device back in his coat.

"As expected, the subject cannot replicate the cloaking device, painting a clear limit to its abilities.  Now, we'll try the Fallotus."  He gestured to the woman and she walked in front of Itki, disappearing.  Unlike the man, she did it of her own power, and Itki could see the miasma coiling off where she was standing, radiating as she used her power.  Itki willed her miasma to do the same, and disappeared soon after the woman.

"It can easily replicate any display of power shown by a Mirum, but it can only copy what it has seen.  You might not be able to see it from there, but the creature's eyes flickered before it camoflaged, gaining pupils and grey irises.  But, upon binding the room..."  He pulled out another device and pushed a button on it.  The wall behind Itki grew cold, and started to hum..  The woman's miasma surged towards it, and she turned visible again, looking as though she had the wind taken out of her.  Itki's miasma was coiled around her too tightly, and wasn't affected by the wall.  "...The creature is unaffected."  The man finished, turning to the corner opposite to Itki.  He appeared to be talking to a metal box with a single eye that had been watching her ever since she was brought here.  "This suggests a new string of Minians, which could mean the resistance is already developing technology against our traditional binding."

There was a long pause, then a voice came from the box.  "Move it back to maximum security, and report back to me.  We just might turn our loss of the stone into a gain."  The man nodded, but stepped away from Itki.  The woman, who was still doubled over, struggled to stand up before walking to Itki.  "Don't feel like you have to help or anything."  She said as she approached Itki.  She fumbled with the chain that bound Itki to the wall, and took the chain in her hand.  "Walk."  She commanded Itki.  Itki dropped her camouflage and tried to stand.  She scampered a couple of steps before falling on her face, unable to catch herself.  The man tried to help her up, but she snapped at his hand, hissing.  The woman yanked her collar, dragging along the ground.  The man followed behind, his expression somewhere between scared and sorry.  

They walked out of her former cell, and the door automatically closed and locked behind them.  Itki had managed to get to her feet and was struggling to keep up.  She wished she had her stick.  She wished Myron was here.  She wouldn't mind the mistreatment or constant poking and prodding if she just had someone to talk to.  She'd been around him for weeks, but still hadn't been able to copy his speech.  It was tearing her up knowing that nobody could understand her.  She started losing her balance and fell again.  The woman didn't even look back.

"Just wait a second,"  Itki tried to say.  It never came out as anything more than chittery gibberish.  "I can't walk upright!"

"I think it's trying to speak."  The man behind her said.

"Great, maybe you two can get to know each other."  She replied, still dragging Itki.  They turned down another hall, and Itki had to roll to avoid the corner.  They passed by what looked like another escort, someone was being marched toward the room they'd come from while a man behind him tossed a fireball between his hands.  Hope sparked for the first time since she'd gotten here, whenever that was, and Itki watched the man closely as they passed, absorbing every detail she could.  His miasma gathered on the surface of his skin, coalescing and condensing into fire wherever he commanded.  He needed to constantly feed miasma to the flames to keep them burning, and if he ever hesitated, they started to die.

When she had what she needed, she closed her eyes and concentrated, which was only made more difficult being dragged around.  She'd need to use enough miasma to generate heat, enough to melt the chain, but she needed to make sure it didn't escape her hands.  She started rubbing her hand together, remembering how the man's miasma was bubbling on the surface of his skin.  Her own miasma started to mimic it, and she curled her fingers around the handcuffs, laying down on them to cover them up.

"Is it really necessary to drag it?"  The man asked.  Itki opened her eyes and saw he was walking beside her, looking at her with concern.

"You know what these things can do; I want to get it back in a cage as soon as possible."  Itki could feel the cuffs melt into her wrists, but her newfound powers dulled the pain.

"That's strange," The man said, staring into Itki's eyes.  "It's eyes just changed.  They have pupils like before, but this time they have red irises."  He looked at Itki's hidden hands, but noticed the haze of heat too late.  Itki brought her hands in front of her, some bits of molten metal still clinging to her.  She stretched her arms out, sending gouts of flame roaring toward the woman.  She turned too late and went down, screaming and trying to pat out the flames, dropping Itki's chain.  Itki turned and ran, leaving the man to help the woman put herself out and tend to her new burns.  She wasn't sure where she should be running, she'd been knocked out when they'd brought her here.  

Itki kept running and closed her eyes, trying to remember anything she'd seen that might help her.  She remembered how Myron had brought her back through an red thing with miasma flowing through it.  The structure of it was complicated, and she had no idea where she'd end up, but Itki decided it was her best shot.  She changed how her miasma flowed, letting it run freely through her rather than keeping it on the surface.  Her arms started to glow red and translucent with energy, just like that woman Myron had told her about.  She'd never seen a rift being made, but Myron had described it as 'Reaching into where you are and pulling yourself somewhere else.'  

Itki reached out, gripping nothing and pulled her arm towards her chest.  Nothing happened.  She tried again and again, to no avail.  An alarm started blaring through the halls, and she pulled her ears down below her chin to keep the noise out.  She tried to make the rift again and again, hissing with annoyance as she failed and failed.  The red glow spread through her arms, to her chest and around her whole body, making her more and more transparent until she could look down and not see her feet.  People came from down the hall and around corners, yelling and shooting.  The bullets seemed to pass right through her, but Itki had barely noticed them.  

This power had a strange kind of danger to it.  It wasn't built around the controlling of miasma, but rather, the acceptance of it.  There was a strange lustful whisper in her ear, urging her to give in, let the miasma do the work.  The gunshots faded, and all she could think about was Myron's goofy smile before hitting her head on something.  She was laying down somewhere, feeling extremely nausous.  The last thing she remembered was being picked up, and a familiar voice calling for medical help.