Lola carefully climbed down the stairs and hid around the corner leading to the living room, right as Ms. Destiny opened the door. “Shirley, I promise with my right hand to the father above, if you bang on my door like that one more time.” A low whistle escaped her guardian's mouth followed by a longer sigh. “You are not gonna like what happens next.”
“And I am not gonna stop her,” a much deep baritone voice added in a scolding tone. “You know better than that babygirl.”
A more sheepish and high pitch voice let out a nervous giggle. “S-Sorry, Ms. Myers.” Lola poked her head around the corner to get a better look. Now that they were closering, the girl was much shorter than she looked outside. However, her large puffball of brown hair gave her another six inches to her height. The man beside her was absolutely massive, he was wearing dark pants and a button up brown shirt that seemed to hug his large and broad chest perfectly. He had a completely bald head and dark but warm eyes. He stood taller than Ms. Destiny who already was pretty tall herself. He had a neatly trimmed beard but no mustache. As soon as Lola looked around the corner, the girl seemed to lock eyes with her once more. “I told you, Daddy.” She exclaimed excitedly as she pointed towards Lola who quickly hid back around the corner. “Ms. Myers has company and she is my age.”
“I can see that,” the older man said. “Destiny, when did you get a child?”
“She has been with me since yesterday, it's a bit of a long story.” Ms. Destiny said. “She is one of my people, so it is only right that I help her.”
Before Lola could fully understand what that meant. The younger girl, who Lola guessed was Shirley, asked in a bright and cheerful voice. Almost matching, Kate’s to some degree. “Can I meet her?” A new feeling of anxiety began to flood through her small body at that thought. She was barely used to Ms. Destiny yet, she didn’t know if she could handle meeting new people.
“Maybe that isn’t such a good idea,” Ms. Destiny replied. “Lola, is new to the area and is still recovering from her hospital visit yesterday. Maybe in a few days.”
A small whine seemed to escape from Shirley’s, but quickly stopped as the older man spoke up. “Don’t start all that whining, Shirley. What you should be doing is giving her a proper apology for nearly busting down her door.”
“I’m not strong enough to do that, daddy.” Shirley responded with a light giggle. “If she feels up to it, can I maybe meet her, please.” She hung onto that last word for a few seconds. “I’ll never bang on your door again, I promise.”
As her daddy started to speak, Ms. Destiny spoke first saying. “I will see if she is up to it, but I can make no promises.” Lola heard Ms. Destiny footsteps filled the hallway before she peeked her head into the living room. “I’m sorry if all of that door banging scared you, Lola. That is just my neighbors from across the street.”
“I-It’s okay.”
Ms. Destiny stepped in front of the girl. Lifting her up to sit her on the coffee table so they could be eye level. “Did you happen to hear what we were talking about, Lola?” She nodded her head a bit. “Well Shirley and her daddy Denzel Thompson, would like to meet you. I promise they are good people, Shirley might be a bit hyper and her daddy might seem like a scary man at first. But I promise, they are good.”
Lola thought on the matter for a few seconds and summoned as much of Amber’s courage and strength as she could. “I can try,” with a determined nod. “But can you be with me when they come in?”
“I wouldn’t leave you alone.” Ms. Destiny smiled down at her, one that acted like a fuel for the little courage she had in her body. Ms. Destiny stood up and walked back to the doorway leading to the door stairs hallway. “We ae in here.” Ms. Destiny than held her hand up, “take your shoes off before stepping in my house, Shirley.”
A moment passed before this girl appeared in the doorway. She looked even smaller upclose than she did in the doorway, especially now that she was standing beside Ms. Destiny. She barely stood above the woman’s knees. Not wanting to be mean, Lola got off the coffee table she had been sitting on. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she stood in front of this new girl, she definitely had the same aura that Kate often gave off. One of pure joy and happiness. This girl was excited but almost as if she could sense Lola’s nervousness. She took a small breath before walking over with a more slow and gentle touch to her once fast moving steps. She stood in front of Lola, a few inches shorter than her. “Hello,” she greeted in a gentle tone of voice. “My name is Shirley Thompson, I live across the street and I am 11 years old.” She held her hand out towards Lola. “Nice to meet you.” She added with an almost addictive looking smile on her face.
. “N-Nice to meet you too,” Lola greeted as she took a hold of the hand in front of her and gave it a small shake. “My name is Lola and I am 12-years-old… I think.” She added with a nervous grin.
Shirley tilted her head a bit in confusion at those last two words but seemed to shake them off and not question them. “How long have you been here?” Shirley asked.
“A day now,” Lola looked past Shirley’s large puffball of hair and gave Ms. Destiny, a smile. “And I really like it here, M-Ms. Destiny is really nice.” The taller woman gave her a small smile in return, turning over to speak softly with the tall man standing beside her. He truly was a bit taller than Ms. Destiny and looked even stronger built than the woman. Large oaks for legs and a chest that seemed to be carved from stone by a sculpture. Now that Lola was getting a better look at the two of them standing side by side. She could see a gentle golden hue flowing off her guardian but there was nothing to be found on the taller man. Lola looked down at her own hand that still connected to this other;s girls, and while it gave off a sharp white hue. Shirley’s did not. She was so used to seeing those different kinds of smoke coming off people that it was strange not seeing one. Maybe that was what Ms. Destiny had met earlier, they had jepei and this family probably didn’t.
“You're lucky,” Shirley said, coming closer to whisper in Lola’s ear. “Ms. Myers always seemed so cool but she didn’t really come over when my daddy invited her. She looks a lot happier now that you are here.” Shirley pulled away before carefully bringing Lola over to the taller and darker skinned man. “This is my daddy,” she introduced with a big smile. “He is really strong, and smart.”
Lola looked up at the taller man with a pair of wide eyes starting to form. He seemed even bigger now that she was this close. “H-Hello sir,” she greeted as she held up a very shaky hand. Kinda scared that this man might accidently snap her wrist off if he shook it.
He dropped down to one knee to make himself a bit smaller but even than he still dwarfed the two girls. “It is nice to meet you Lola, my name is Denzel but you can call me. Mr. Thompson if you like.” He took her hand in his practically swallowing it whole in his much larger hand. There was a gentleness to him that made him feel smaller than he looked. “I look forward to getting to know you a bit more.” The man rose back to his full height before looking at Shirley. “Alright we aren’t gonna hold you two up anymore than we have. I am sure this little one still needs to rest and get adjusted to her new environment. Come on, Shirley, we need to get home and you have homework to do.”
Another small whine escaped Shirley’s voice, but she nodded her head causing her large hair to nod with her. “Okay, Daddy.” Shirley ducked passed Lola giving her another wave. “Bye, Lola, come over and play when you are ready. I will be waiting.”
Lola stood in the hallway with Ms. Destiny as the father and daughter collected their shoes and stepped outside of the house. Lola gave one more small wave but when the door closed, a sigh of relief escaped her lips. “They really were really nice,” she said looking up at Ms. Destiny who had set a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you for staying with me.”
“It was no problem, I am honestly surprised that Shirley could be so gentle. She is normally a little fireball that never can seem to calm down.” Ms. Destiny gently began to lead Lola towards the kitchen, helping her get seated into a chair. “Now do you want a small snack before dinner?”
“Yes, please.” A few minutes later, Lola was relaxing on the living room couch. Her eyes snuck on the television as she watched a new movie on what was called Disney plus. About halfway through her snack of apples that could be dipped in a very sticky and nutty tasting sauce called peanut butter. Lola closed her eyes for just a moment and in that moment. She found herself not in the living room but back in her own room, with Ms. Destiny sitting on the edge of her bed. “W-What happened?” Lola looked over at the clock on her small desk and the numbers now read 5:45 in the evening.
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Her body began to grow smaller and shorter. From an average sized child of 12 years old, to what could be considered a small toddler. Yet trapped in that small body was the brain of a genius, a mind that never forgot. Her pajamas that once fit snugly on her now barely fit her smaller frame. Her hair became dark blue, and her eyes shared a matching color. As Mystic fully took control of Lola’s body. “Sorry Lola,” Mystic mumbled under her breath as she carefully climbed off the couch. Choosing to forgo the pajama pants and underwear that now could not fit her tiny frame. Leaving them in a small pile on the floor. The pajama shirt being enough to fully cover her entire body for the time being. Almost looking like a nice dress now. Mystic quickly made her way out of the living room, not before grabbing one of these apple slices for herself. She had no reason to eat but it looked much better than the slope they got from Jessica Eden. “It tastes sweet.” She noted to herself before peeking her head out of the doorway. She could hear sizzling and whatever Destiny was making smelled amazing.
Mystic looked up at the large set of stairs in front of her, cursing slightly under her breath the sheer amount that would take her upstairs. “Didn’t think this part though, did you Mystic?” A sharp sigh of annoyance escaped her mouth as the disapproving voice of Ember filled the air around her.
“Shut up,” Mystic grumbled as she began to crawl her way up the stairs one by one. “What do you want, Ember?”
Mystic looked up to see the girl in question sitting on the top of the steps. One leg crossed over the other, and her head resting on her chin. “Oh just looking at the hypocrite struggle to get up the stairs.” Mystic’s face flushed a deep red color as she increased her speed a bit to avoid this embarrassment. “All the scolding and complaining you give us about taking over Lola’s body just for you to do it twice now.”
“I only do it to protect her.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Ember mumbled. “Want to tell me what you are doing, cause I doubt you are taking over to go and play with Lola’s new toys. Maybe try to go read one of her books in her room?”
“I don’t have to tell you anything,” Mystic said, gasping for air once she reached the top of the stairs. Only for her to round a corner and look up with pure dismay at the next flight of stairs. “Just go back to wherever you were and leave me alone.” Mystic looked up the stairs again and found Ember now sitting at the top of this flight. The first set had six steps and this next flight seemed to have at least 15.
“See I would do that, but I have a feeling you are going somewhere you aren’t supposed to be.” Mystic ignored the girl as she began another slow and steady climb of these steps. She was the physically weakest and slowest of the bunch, and without the proper height to really go up their stairs. It was a painful and agonizing experience for her. By the time she made it up the steps, she was covered in sweat and her head was spinning like a top. “That is what you get for trying to go through this woman’s stuff.”
“J-Just shut up!” Mystic snapped. “You may be content with this situation but I am not. She knows our tormentor, they have history, history that she is not telling Lola.”
“Maybe cause it isn’t our fucking business!” Mystic shook a bit at Ember’s firm tone. “Maybe just maybe, we stumbled into the best possible situation we could have. She has history with our tormentor, she hates her for reasons she isn’t telling Lola. If she hates her then this is the safest place we could have possibly ended up!”
“Why do you stay that?”
“Because if she hates her then she will protect Lola with her dying breath to stop her!”
Mystic leaned up against the wall, trying her best to catch her breath. “And what happens if this is all a lie? What if she has a silver tongue and is a great actress? What happens when this woman betrays Lola’s trust and she loses control of her anger because of it?” Mystic narrowed her dark blue eyes at the 4th of the seven. “What happens then, Ember!”
“I will burn her to death if that happens.”
“And take the entire block with you.” Ember looked away from Mystic her fists balling up into tight fists. “I will find out what I need before this all gets out of hand, cause if you destroy the block because I was right. What will happen? Lola will be arrested and Jessica Eden will move right in to take her right back. This is all a sick experiment that woman is doing, you know it, I know it.” Mystic turned her head as another of the seven appeared. The 2nd of the seven, Lola’s strength. “And you know it, Amber.”
The lion-like girl lay nearby, her dark brown hair a bit shorter than it had been in a while but was slowly regrowing. Her long tail resting beside her. She seemed weaker than Mystic had seen her look in a long time. “I barely know what is happening, I just know that when logic and anger meet. It is a combination for trouble.” Her voice was deeper than Lola’s and stronger sounded even in this weaker state. “All I care about is that we are still in this house, so how about one of you tell me what has been happening?”
“I will tell you, when I finish what I am doing.” Mystic said, taking a breath before beginning to walk towards the room in the far back. Ember appeared in front of her, a bit of her orange and red hair burning at the edges. “Move, Ember, do not interfere in my.” Mystic gasped as the girl grabbed her by the shirt and lifted her a few inches off the ground.
In a flash Amber appeared before them, slamming a hand on Ember’s wrist. “Stop it, now!” Amber ordered as a growl began to escape her lips.
“She is pissing me off, cause she is gonna ruin this for Lola if she keeps digging in places she shouldn’t be.” Ember said in a violent but calm voice. The girl released Mystic allowing her to fall on the ground once more. “I will not sit by and let her do something that won’t hurt her but it will hurt Lola.” Ember turned her eyes onto Amber. “And if you truly were her strength and protector you would do the same. Crazy how rage and anger seems to love her more than her wisdom and strength!” That was all Ember said before she faded away in a flash of orange and red jepei.
“She has a point,” Mystic looked over at Amber in shock. “If you are wrong, this will only make this woman mad, and what happens if she takes her anger out on Lola.”
“You will protect her like you always do.” Mystic responded as she kept making her way towards Destiny Myer’s bedroom. She froze as a very hard hand was set on her shoulder.
“Mystic,” Amber said in a serious sounding voice. “I am tired of fighting… I am her strength, her protection, her courage. That is who I am… but I can’t protect her if I am tired, and I am tired of fighting every single day. So, so tired, I wanna sleep, I wanna be a kid. So don’t ruin what is good because you are scared of what might be evil.”
Amber let her shoulder go before fading away back into smoke. “And if you see Lola, tell her I am okay, I need time.” Mystic found herself alone in the hallway, with nothing more than her own thoughts.
“None of you understand… None of you have wisdom.” Mystic whispered to herself as she hardened her heart and mind before finally reaching the end of the hallway and setting her hand on the handle. Right as she was about to pull it down after a very long effort of standing on her tiptoes. She gasped as another tail wrapped around her waist and lifted her up and draped her across her back.
“What are you doing?” A firm voice spoke, as she found herself across the back of Destiny Myer’s animal spirit. A large tiger that she had named, Milaka. “And if you respond with none of my business, I will not be so happy.”
“It doesn’t concern you,” Mystic mumbled. “I was just exploring, I want to see if this place is truly safe for Lola.” Mystic could only watch as the tiger spirit began to lead her back towards the stairs. “Damn it.”
“Language little one. “
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