Gabrielle and I were walking in silence to the apparent new wing of the College building. I was taking in the scenery until I heard her blurt out.

"I like your eyes!"

Turning to her, I raised an eyebrow confused, but she hastily continued. "Sorry, I have been thinking about it for a while, I just haven’t been able to bring them up naturally. Eye change in Psionics is quite rare so it’s nice to see. Look, we are almost twins!" She then pointed to her own purple eyes, the only major difference was my ring of red around the iris.

"Hmm, that is true, they are very alike and don’t feel the need to apologise. A compliment is just that. I also find your eyes to be quite enchanting, like two sparkling amethysts in the darkness of a cave. So vibrant and eye-catching."

At my compliment, Gabrielle turned meek as usual and began to giggle while playing with her hair. "So descriptive Apollo, but you might want to get a hold of that Oculophilia of yours before I get bad ideas. Hehe. I am just kidding!"

I scratched the back of my head hearing that. My... Admiration for people’s eyes must be more than obvious at this point, I felt a little embarrassed and changed the subject topic.

"So, Gabrielle, what made you want to sign up for this class?’ I asked and the woman looked at me with genuine concern for a moment, taking me by surprise, before responding.

"Oh, are you kidding? I love learning about aliens and stuff. The amount of crap I have seen in my service, knowing how our enemies function can be the difference between life and death. Plus, from what I have heard about Yacob, he comes off a bit odd, but is actually very nice. And to top it off, he is a certified expert on Xeno species. It’s no surprise so many people signed up for his classes this year. Look, even veterans have come back." Gabrielle said, pointing around the corridor as we walked.

She made a very astute point. There were a lot of older, grizzled, individuals present. Individuals I have not caught glimpses of during my time here. Clearly reading my facial expression, Gabrielle continued.

"Most of the people you are seeing have already graduated years ago, but have come back for Yacob’s class. It’s the first year he is teaching after all."

’Hmm’ I nodded my head. I supposed that made sense. Like what Hailey said in her first class. Knowledge was power, the more you knew the better off you and your Psionics were. And judging from the looks of a lot of these individuals with augments and scars galore, their knowledge might have been the difference between life and death.

...

Gabrielle and I hung around the corridor a little while talking idly about what we were seeing around us. Just as we got onto the subject of my science and I was about to let the woman have it, a voice suddenly spoke up from behind us.

"Gabrielle?" The voice asked like it had seen a ghost.

Turning around I let out an involuntary "Whoa" as I was greeted to the sight of an eight foot tall muscle mommy. I had seen many around the College in my time here and was not usually fussed, but since my recent growth, I hadn’t seen one taller than me so I was taken aback.

Gabrielle didn’t have the same reaction as me as she turned around and frowned up at the woman. "Yes?

I didn’t know what to expect from this random interaction, but tears from the eight foot tall woman was not it. "G-Gab Gab, it really is you. I thought you were dead!"

The woman went to hug Gabrielle, but Gabrielle swiftly evaded the muscular woman with confusion on her face. No one called her Gab Gab and any that dared to try, except her son, would not live to say it a second time. The only one that ever did was...

"Zephina?" The bafflement in Gabrielle’s voice was evident to even dense ol’ me. "W- What are y- What?" Gabrielle had lost the ability to speak and in that lull her friend? Got the drop on her and pulled her into a hug while bawling her eyes out."

"I can’t believe it! After all these years!" The women were cheek to cheek, this Zephina rubbing hers against Gabrielle like a child would their favourite teddy.

Feeling rude to just be standing there gawking, I interrupted. "Um, hi. I’m Apollo, a friend of Gabrielle’s."

The woman’s eyes stopped the waterworks in an instant as her attention turned to me. She was still holding Gabrielle close though. "Nice to meet you, how do you know Gab Gab? If I don’t like your answer, as her best friend, I might just have to kick you in the nuts."

Before I could answer, a wave of sickness punched me in the gut and those around me as Gabrielle used a small amount of her power to break free of Zephina’s grasp. "You will do no such thing Zeph. First and only warning."

Zephina’s eyes went wide hearing this as she stared at Gabrielle in shock before simply putting her hands up in defeat. "Ok, ok... Ugh what was that? It feels like my mind just shat itself..." She said, taking a moment to pull herself together before turning to me. "Well, Gabrielle, are you going to introduce me to your hunk or what?"

Gabrielle let out a long breath through her nose. She wasn’t the same woman she once was. Her guilt had drastically changed her over the years. She wasn’t the same woman Zephina knew.

Zeph, this is Archon Apollo. Apollo, this is Zephina. We grew up together in the orphanage and enrolled in the military together. We last saw each other twenty years ago not long after finishing basic."

Zephina looked at Gabrielle after introducing us. "Thats it? Aren’t you going to-"

"-Did I say anything incorrect Zeph?" Gabrielle tacked on, prompting Zephina to frown, not in anger, but in realisation of something had changed.

Her face then changed in an instant as she turned to me, pressed her arm against the wall next to me and got close. "Well, you are just my type of cupcake, nice to meet you. How about we bail on this class and we can go find somewhere private where I can sit on your face? You would like that, wouldn’t you cutie?"

I suddenly felt too many emotions too quickly and my iron will activated for the first time in a while. Stripping me of all positive and negative emotions as I just looked up at the woman as she caressed my chin. " I do not think that is a good idea, but I thank you for your interest. I also really wish to participate in this class and would not leave at this moment."

The nice lady’s face looked surprised at my change in demeanour before laughing. "Haha! Gab Gab, I think I broke h-"

"-Get your hands off him now." Gabrielle spoke low and maliciously as she pulled Zephina away from me and stood between the two of us. Zephina then commented on this. "You have changed Gabrielle."

"And you haven’t. One bit." Gabrielle said clearly and the two locked eyes for a moment before Zephina laughed once again.

"Haha! Its true! And I don’t want to! But I am kind of glad you have? Just a little, Your new boyfriend is so much cuter and better for you than Hunter ever was. You know I saw him last year? OOf, does he look like shit and-

"DO NOT SPEAK HIS NAME IN FRONT OF ME!" Gabrielle screamed out and with it a powerful Dampening effect spread through the area, forcing almost everyone present to collapse.

I watched in a weakened state as Gabrielle’s face became adorned with her tears marks below her eyes. They began burning in a deep Psionic purple. Her eyes also fully engulfed themselves with her energy and began glowing and from her back six wispy tendrils began flailing about and venting energy into the surroundings.

As those tendrils emerged, I actually felt the effects nullify on my body and was able to hear Gabrielle scream.

"You do not speak of that fuck in my presence! He is the reason my life has turned out this way! My grief! My rage! All of it! His fault without him my life would be perfect! I would have had my one by my side forever! I wouldn’t have had to grieve his loss I wouldn’t have- I wouldn’t have. *Gasp*"

A hand suddenly reached out and touched her arm, turning to the source, it was her one and only. "Gabrielle, are you ok?"

My question seemed to get through to her, her energy calmed down and the surroundings became less stuffy. The tears were still burned into her skin, but now real tears were forming in her eyes.

"Apollo."

Was all she said before she hugged me tightly and began crying hysterically. She bore her entire weight into me and while it was not a lot I allowed her to drag us onto the floor as I continued to console her. I don’t know why, but it felt the most natural thing to do. And I continued to do so, even as I saw a security team rushing over from down the hall. Even as everyone nearby were recovering from Psionic deprivation and were moaning in agony. I turned my attention away from them swiftly and whispered to Gabrielle while stroking her back.

"It’s ok, just let it out."