"Mama? Why are you yelling?" A voice was suddenly heard from the top of the stairs, prompting the duo to turn towards it.

’A child?’ Vezzrah wondered, confused, she had seen no child in all her dreams... Not at this time anyway.

The child then spotted Vezzrah and eyed her wearily as she held her stuffed toy close to her chest.

"Lele, ignore the alien, it is just a friend of Apollo’s. Would you like breakfast?"

Hearing Apollo and friend in the same sentence, Lele broke her barriers. With the stories Miss Ethel tells the class about Apollo and his outer family, it made sense he would have alien friends, he was that awesome!

After making her way downstairs, topaz in hand, She suddenly stopped upon realising something. "Why is Elias asleep? And why is there food everywhere?"

Sophia walked forward and escorted Lele past Elias. "Well, Lele, it’s like this. Most humans are gigantic pussies and cannot keep consciousness when seeing an alien up close. My chef is one of them. Now what do you want for breakfast?"

Lele took the answer at face value, Sophia was honest about most things after all. "Cereal. Can I do it myself? Topaz wants to watch."

Sophia nodded. "Very well, but make a mess and I will eat your fingers... I already have enough to clean up." Sophia then watched the child run out of the room while giggling before turning to Vezzrah, who asked. "Who was that?"

"Leilani, or Lele for short. One of my underlings, Jinx, brought her here after grooming her enough. Why? You cannot have her, she is my practice for when Apollo gives me babies."

Sophia watched as a look of clarity came over the alien, she assumed.

"Oh, that is Leilani? Ok, I’ve never seen her without her extras. That’s why the name didn’t connect in my mind. Anyway, back to it. Apollo said help me. It is imperative I have one of those shirts, now please, I must insist on this."

...

"Thanks for coming. I just want to make sure we are still alright." I said as I took a sip from my drink.

After finishing our latest session in my lab, I noticed a particular friend of mine rushing out straight away. Again. After asking her to stay behind, I asked if she wanted to grab some lunch.

Mindy pushed back some hair behind her ear and smiled. "You are offering to buy me lunch, killer. It would be hard to say no." She joked before continuing. "But I sense some tension in your shoulders. Is everything alright? I’m not in trouble am I?"

I shook my head instantly. "No, you aren’t in trouble. Actually it’s the opposite. I just want to make sure I’m not in trouble."

Mindy gave me a look that perfectly translated as. ’Bro, what the fuck are you talking about?’ So I explained.

"Mindy, after my years of isolation with Orchid, you are the first friend I have made. And I know after the whole incident, you needed to go off on your own to find peace, but after reuniting, while we have been cordial and friendly to one another, I sort of feel like I haven’t seen you enough, whenever we have class together or something, you always rush away right afterwards and don’t really stick around. It’s probably all just in my head, but I am just making sure that we are ok and that we are still friends?"

My questioning had made Mindy put her hand on her heart and showed a cute expression. "Aww, Apollo. That was adorable. Yes, you big lug. We are still friends. How could we not be? I owe you more than can be put into words and feel for you-" She cut herself off.

"Ok, I understand your worries. It’s true, I have been doing exactly that, but not because I am ignoring you, or trying to avoid you, silly boy. I am just taking full advantage of my situation. I never expected to have Psionics then Boom! You, you mad bastard, showed up and awakened me. I’m capitalising. Taking advantage of every second I have to try and catch up to you so I am not a liability in the future. My every waking hour is in class or training or in the library consolidating what I have learnt in class and training. You are a good man Apollo and now we are back in each other’s lives, it’s going to take more than you think to get rid of me this time."

"Oh..." I said, embarrassed. "I bet I sounded pretty self absorbed thinking you were ignoring me huh? Sorry about that."

"Not at all. Apollo. Come here." Mindy reached across the table and kissed me on the forehead. "You are just an open book. It’s actually scary how open you are. I could tell you were asking me from a place of love and concern for me, because, in truth, I have been acting a bit hectic, I will not deny that. I also know for a fact it was not coming from a place of self absorption, because if it was, I know you wouldn’t have reached out to me because you would be embarrassed. Now, are you going to tell me I haven’t hit the nail on the head? Because I have, haven’t I?"

I just scratched the back of my head and looked away shyly. ’Am I really so easy to read?’

"Yes, you are." Mindy said before scrunching her nose playfully and taking a bite from her sandwich. After swallowing she continued. "How about this, since you want so desperately to spend some time with me, and I am so magnanimous, how about after shooting in a couple days, we do something? I’ll invite some other people to come hang out as well so I don’t forget?"

I smiled at Mindy’s thoughtfulness. "That sounds perfect, thank you." The two of us then ate our food for a while before I commented. "By the way, it’s nice seeing you without your glasses on, have you started to accept the fact that they are just stunning?" I asked, in reference to her eyes

Mindy then began coughing but quickly recovered. "Dude! No flirting while I am in the middle of chewing. People die that way... But yes. They are my eyes and now I am getting better control over my power, I don’t feel the need to hide them, plus they make my hot friend happy to see them, so I keep them out now."

"You have a hot friend?" I asked, intrigued, but Mindy just gave me a condescending look for a moment. Then she pressed that look harder after a few seconds of me just staring at her before I got it. "Oh! Me? Haha! Yeah, it’s true. Your eyes do it for me."

She then rolled her eyes and finished her sandwich before asking. "So, do you have anything else planned for today?"

Just as I was about to explain my plans, someone at the bar shouted. "Mary! Turn that up! Please!"

Mary did as asked and at the bar the news began to play at a loud volume. "-Confirming the reports made the other night of the recently Departed Archon, Axel Belnevis. Our sources confirm that he was in fact murdered by the serial killer known as the Sanguine butcher. For those that don’t know, the Sanguine butcher was a serial killer in the middle worlds active no more than six years ago before suddenly ending their killing spree."

’Atta girl’ I couldn’t help thinking. My cute little murder hobo had completed one of her tasks.

"The murder of Archon Axel Belnevis, however, has uncovered a horrific underage grooming scandal that has been terrorising the planet for decades, making us speculate if the butcher did this in an act of vigilante justice? The lead detectives on the case however, declare that this is not the case and the sanguine butcher murdered the Archon in ulterior motives that they are not at liberty to discuss at this time.

The lead detectives have given us a select image of the crime scene. They believe the butcher was trying to send someone a message with this abhorrent crime and wish to act as the delivery service in hopes the recipient might come forward in efforts to capture the butcher or at least identify them.

Be warned those at home, the following image shows serious degrees of bodily mutilation committed by an individual with a sickeningly twisted mind. We warn you now, if you are eating, stop. And of course, if you cannot handle gore of any kind, look away now."

Having the opposite effect for everyone in the bar, everyone’s eyes turned to the tv’s all around and a moment later, many regretted their decision.

My eyes went wide in shock. ’CRAZY WOMAN!’ I couldn’t help thinking as I looked at the ’art’ Keyla had made with this man’s entrails. He deserved it for trying to kill my Kathrine, but she went too far with what she did.

Before me on the screen, while a lot of people struggled to figure out what they were looking at, I had no problem. A meaty, bloody portrait of Jewel’s mating body’s head was on display. Keyla got the smallest details correct with the materials she was using.

Still, that was incredibly reckless, also it 100% confirmed it was her doing as no other human/ hybrid bio form, except Ronnie, knew what Jewel’s mating form looked like. And while it was nice, even in this iteration, seeing Jewel’s darling face, Keyla would be getting some time over my knee the next time I see her for exposing a massive secret, even if no one else would understand her art’s true statement.