by Namita Singh
immune system is strong so it’s unlikely for us to develop feverish illness. But physically? We can get hurt with that kind of fall too, especially if we fall in the wrong posture. And,” I drawl, before Neal can say anything, “We take an equal amount of time to heal. No mumbo jumbo healing.” I choose to not point out that a therian has better reflexes, so will easily prevent a fall like that. I just disclose the outcome if a therian happens to fall, howsoever unlikely it may be.
“That’s relieving.” Neal says, sarcastically.
We walk in silence. After a certain amount of steps, Neal drastically increases his pace, warily looking around. I snort at his change in behavior.
“She must be in school right now. Hold your horses.” I say to him.
Neal rolls his eyes, “You were not with her through the day, listening to her fawn over your abilities.” He shakes his head, “That girl is persistent. And wicked. I almost spilled about Aakir being my protector and how I require him to project.”
The last thing is something that even the council doesn’t know about. They know of Aakir being the protector but have decided to preserve his privacy and not declare his identity to the common folk. But the council doesn’t know that Neal requires Aakir to project, henceforth, basically requiring Aakir to conjure the future.
“You were the one entertaining her at the judiciary meet.” I point out, and then disapprovingly shake my head, “I had easily made out that Irina is just another gossipy girl. You should have known better before agreeing to spend the day with her.”
“What did you expect me to say when she approached us in that stupid, fancy get together? That she can go away and suck it up? I cannot say ‘I am gay’ because she apparently already believes that and still wants to spend time with me.”
“I don’t think she wants to spend time with you for romantic reasons.” I smirk.
Neal scoffs, “Then I wonder why she keeps giving me this creepy smile, praising me and talking about how she wants a partner soon enough. I mean, she is even worse than that gay guy we met in the party.”
“Neal,” I stress, “Maybe she wants you to envision and divine her future, probably with her partner in it.”
Neal is silent for a long, long moment, “Yeah,” he begins quietly after a while, “that makes sense.” Another pause, “Shit, I am so full of myself.” He mutters.
His admission is so unexpected that I end up laughing. There have been numerous occasions in the past where Neal has expressed pride over himself. I have never taken that as something of significance because the way I see it he probably deserves all the praise. Or at least I thought so when I used to ambiguously believe him to be the true power holder in our school. That was before he revealed his future divining ability. But now, listening to him realizing his own gloating is almost surreal. Like, I am also realizing the same along with him.
“To be honest,” I say as I sober up, “That gay guy seemed more interested in you than Irina.”
Neal rolls his eyes but doesn’t comment. Probably I am wrong. I had not accompanied Neal when Irina and her minions invited us to hang out. Neal believed it to be rude to refuse. I had not been enthusiastic in the party so I had no qualms about making the wrong impression once again. And by this simple thought, I face an epiphany.
“Neal?” I say.
“Hmm?”
“In our school…you never used to worry about what people think about you.”
“…I still do not care what they think. What’s your point?”
I raise my eyebrows, but quickly drop them, “Eh…I don’t know. I just find it weird that you seem to care what people think about you in this realm. I mean, even someone like Irina.”
Neal looks at me sideways. Feeling his gaze, I turn too. Only to be greeted by his scowling face.
“What?” I say, frowning, wondering if I said something wrong. My observation is not incorrect. Neal has been extra careful at not making a wrong impression on anybody here.
“Don’t you need these people for support against the First Realm?” he snaps.
I part my lips to say something but eventually I close my mouth, turning to look ahead as we continue to walk. Here I am, in need of the whole Ninth Realm to remove anybody else’s claims on my partner. And Neal’s reasoning has just made me realize that I have been despising this realm and its people since I have stepped foot inside the mansion. I do not even pause to consider that I am eventually making the others dislike me too. Ostensibly, Neal seems to be more cognizant of the situation and is working accordingly to portray himself as the perfect partner of a perfect therian who belongs to a perfect realm.
I sigh.
We continue to walk in silence for a while and soon another thought starts nagging at the back of my mind. I let a few other moments pass. When the mansion is dangerously close, I clear my throat.
“So,” I begin, “You and Ananya, huh?”
From the corner of my eye I notice how Neal instantly grits his teeth, locking his jaw in place. He suspires loudly before turning to look at me.
“Can you not say her name again in front of everybody else?” he says.
I roll my eyes, “I was quite surprised, so, didn’t think before uttering her name in front of everyone.”
Neal frowns, “Why surprised?” he huffs.
I stare at him.
Neal’s frown deepens at my stare then he pointedly shrugs at me.
I look around once, my eyebrows pulled by my hairline. Then I turn back at Neal, “So,” I cautiously start, “it’s no big deal that you sleep with her?” my tone ends up implying this as a rhetorical question.
Neal rolls his eyes, “Cut your mental images a notch. I don’t ‘sleep’ with her. It was just once. And we were kids. Curious kids who had just had their first sex educational class.If you have a best friend of the opposite gender, you tend to get even more curious.”
I frown, “So…you both…”
Neal shrugs, “We are most comfortable with each other and we both were fine with losing our virginity to each other. And this was like two years back. We don’t even think about it anymore. But,” he pointedly looks at me, “that doesn’t mean that you start spreading the news like fire. Don’t you dare say Ananya’s name again.”
“Hey, I didn’t say her name intentionally, okay?” I snap. “It just took me by surprise.”
“If you had an extremely close female friend then you wouldn’t be so surprised.” He turns to frown at me, “And actually, I am very surprised that you’re a virgin. Like, seriously? What happened to Jocks ‘swimming in panties’?”
“It was ‘Ray swimming in panties’, not the Jocks.” I correct. “And it’s not like I haven’t done…stuff…with girls. I just didn’t go all the way.”
Neal grimaces, “Why?”
I shrug, “Didn’t feel like it.” I mutter.
Noticing my reluctance, Neal drops the subject. I am glad that he does. Discussing my virginity with my partner is not something that was on schedule for me. Besides, I am myself not sure what reason is there behind my reluctant indulgence in sex. I am a usual hormonal teenage guy, it is something expected of me. Yet, I remember the two times in my past when I had turned down my dates for their explicit suggestions. It just did not feel right, for whatever reason. Before this whole headache that dropped on me since I found my partner, I had full intentions of losing my virginity before eighteen years of age, probably with Natalie. But now, I am not so sure where I stand.
We walk through the huge front yard of the mansion in silence and even climb the infinite stairs absolutely mute. It’s not an uncomfortable silence, no, it’s far from it. The thought actually makes me smile. It’s with very few people that I manage to find comfort when there is an air of reticence. I am glad Neal has made to that list.
Entering through the doors of the mansion, I realize that the doors are open twenty four-seven. I have never seen them close. The main gates in the front yard are however usually close, requiring an access card
that has been granted to us for the span of our stay here. But I don’t know if that is much of a hurdle for a therian. The people in this realm seem to trust each other wholeheartedly.
We cross the foyer and enter one of the hallways. Neal is observing the infrastructure by tilting his head upwards and watching the intricate, renaissance designs on the ceiling. He is enough confident to not watch ahead while walking or he has enough trust in me that I will not let him fall. The thought actually makes me roll my eyes.
“Hey, look-” is all Neal manages to say. Before he utters those words, I sense his arm moving towards mine, probably to grab my arm and make me look at whatever he is watching. My reflexes immediately make me coil my arm away from his touch, almost unconsciously. I know that the thought lingering at the back of my mind is responsible for me snapping away from Neal suddenly. I do not want to experience his touch again. Oh, scratch that. I should not experience his touch again. Because God knows that I want to. Ethan was right about the theory regarding this. Once I have sensed Neal’s aura, I prefer it to be constant around me. Now I know how good his touch feels, in a non-gay way, and that has also just made me constantly yearn for it. My desire is completely unacceptable, irrespective of it being platonic. I cannot exactly ask Neal to start hanging out with me, hand in hand, like a pair of pansies, simply because I covet it. It is best if I curb my craving. If I experience Neal’s touch again, then my