⌭ Emerald Eye ⌭ [Part II]

“Fucking litebrite!” Azra boomed, cratering a large boulder with her fist. No debris or sediment sprayed, though it did cause a localized quake in the forest clearing. It was more like the boulder had been scooped out, or pushed inward. Reshaped in a manner.

Demlo’s always such a snooty asshat about everything. He and that damn Oscar never tell me stuff. I HATE being kept in the dark. Azra’s frustrations pummeled the forefront of her thoughts as she paced, huffing breaths of exasperation before adding another crater to the boulder with more foul words.

“Language!” A small voice protested from above. Azra craned her neck to look at her little sister Ari. The girl balanced with outstretched arms on a mound of clay cubes. Hopping from one to another.

“You’re gonna fall and die stupid. That’s not a jungle gym!” Azra snapped. Completely ignoring her retort, Ari perked up. “Couldja make it one?! That be so coool.” She cheered.

Azra scoffed, annoyed at the child’s ability to pick and choose what she heard and how she heard it. “I’m not kidding, Ri. Get. Down.” She commanded

Ari scowled, folding her arms. “Don’t be mean to me. Be like Oscar, he's nicer than you are and he’s not even my brother.” She pouted defiantly. Her sister had enough. Of everyone. Swiftly Azra kicked a rock in front of her with a barefoot— she never wore shoes.

The projectile flew through the cube turning it and the stack into a viscous sea, shorter than the stack. Ari lost her footing and was tossed to the ground landing square on her bottom. Azra’s expression bore a smile one might get from feeling a pleasant breeze.

“Gaaah! Ya big jerk! I'm telling NYONA!”. Ari whined on her side. She bit into each word while massaging away a possible bruise. Suddenly her older sister looked starkly apprehensive. “No you're not. No. You-are-not.”

Ari stood now massaging for a moment longer, before grinning wildly. “Catch me if ya caaaaaan— BLLLLLLRPPP!” The girl threatened, motoring her tongue wildly, before darting for the surrounding forest.

“HEY! Get ur’ tiny ass back here!” Azra shouted following. Just as she entered beyond the trees, colorful buds began to sprout about the branches and bushes, ambushing her with ghastly scents and peppery mists.

Damned brat! Azra couldn’t stand how intentionally her sister could use her gifts. In the early days of the war between Delegates and humanities remains, Demlorai explained the abilities of the wielders in four categories. Agra’s was Augmentation, while Ari’s was of the Evolution class.

Of all the things she could’ve gained dominion over— she gets goddamned plantlife? Literally endless things to be annoying with! Coughing and hacking through the plant mists, Azra ducked, sliding beneath a large pink and blue branch as it wound into her path.

She scooped up a palm full of dirt turning it into a smooth and durable clay like mask. Slamming a fist into the ground she created ascending pillar steps in front of her to get above the trees.

Vantage point, pipsqueak. Truthfully she’d never come close to catching Ari, even before gaining her powers. Once they’d gotten them however, Ari thought it’d make games of tag more fun. She was an astute youth and managed to convince Demlorai it could be an aspect of training. A simple ploy that forced her older sister into childish games. And irrational anger. Azra was unreasonably competitive with— well, pretty much everything.

The steps were far from perfection, odd protrusions of soily earth arranged close enough to one another, but only if one was exceptionally athletic. Azra bounded from each one with perfect rhythm.

Just as she reached the top, she could see Ari bobbing between the brush beneath. “I’m coming for your aggravating little head, you speedy devil spawn!” Azra roared through her mask, amplifying her voice. Her young counterpart with similarly raven black hair looked up with her mane trailing behind her and gestured with a very specific finger.

Getting the rise she hoped out of her older sister, she smiled. Much like Azra, Ari was a lithe and swift little thing. Hooking a hand around a branch and propelling herself further beyond the trees, she tapped the passing branches livening their roots and buds.

“Wakey, wakey! Stop my sister from chasing me!” She cheered through excitement-fueled laughter. Despite the possibility of being caught and catching a sibling beat down, Ari was enjoying herself. She really had no intention of telling on Azra, but knew the threat would lead to what qualified in her small eyes as ‘playtime’.

She continued her mad dash turning bushes and branches into prickly, spongy or coily, tendrilly things. All that she touched seemed to become sentient as a flytrap, with hyper elongated roots. Some minus the roots entirely. Just odd footed plant things stirring chaos like nature’s own little devil imps. They hurled themselves at Azra, following their tiny masters orders.

Deftly the older girl avoided the evolved menacing plants , with acrobatic flourishes and feints. Ari was just about out of the forest and Azra could see the med bays housing in the distance. "Nyona’s wooden spoon will not, touch me today. I swear." Azra affirmed to herself. Taking a deep breath in she jumped from a pillar and plunged into the next with both feet, cratering through it and shooting straight towards the earth.

It split into four large skinnier pillars and shot into the sky as Azra landed. Using the kicked up dust and dirt Azra formed a cloudy spiral staircase and raced towards the a loft pieces of earth at incredible speed. She ran along each pillar punching down along the way raining a blockade of house sized rocks around her sister. Ari attempted calling forth more large vines to clear the path, but Azra’s shower of mighty stone pinned them down.

Azra landed behind a trapped Ari admiring her work of stacked stones nearly fifteen feet high. The little girl looked up in awe and turned to face her sister with the largest of eyes, staring for a moment and then, “That was FREAKIN’ amazing!!!”. Suddenly Azra’s satisfaction at cornering her meant nil. "You were all like smash and crash! And then I was like swoosh and whoosh! But then you just boomed and banged and holy crap that was awesome Azzieeeee!"

Ari rambled in exclamations and comic book onomatopoeias striking poses as Azra looked on with weariness slapping a palm into her face. “And then! And then"— BRBRBRBRRR. A rumbling of the earth shook everything a round buckling the sisters at the knees. Azra’s blockade began to collapse. "Ari!" She shrieked as a large stone came hurtling towards her.

Ari put small arms over her head and tried to cover herself with thick vines, but they weren’t going to layer fast enough. Suddenly green pulses of energy began precisely Swiss cheesing through the debris. Careful not to break the pieces in a way that would make them more dangerous. When the trembling stopped and the stones were finished falling. Azra looked to see an unharmed Ari peeking through vines as they came undone.

"Could this day get anymore awesome?" She mused to herself.

"Dear god I can’t wait for Oscar’s return. Disaster Duo sibling patrol is killing my will to live." Both sisters looked up into the anxiety ridden mug of egg. He sighed deeply, mechanically gauntleted palms still alight with a lime afterglow. Pointing he said, "I’m here for the small ones assistance, but you’re needed too Ass - ra."