Suri pulled the blanket tightly around her and discretely wiped her face as Dante quietly strode back towards the living room. Trenton being upset shouldn’t have bothered her, but it did. He was crabby and disagreeable, but she definitely hadn’t meant to upset him. She could be such a pain. All she could ever managed to do lately was mess things up.
When a large hand gently patted the crown of her head, Suri’s watery eyes tilted upward. She expected to meet the soft smile Dante seemed to permanently wear, but instead he lowered his hand to his side, his expression distant like he was caught in a day dream.
“Are, uh, are you okay?”
He blinked, slowly becoming cognizant again. “Yeah. My bad. Mind if I sit?”
Suri scooched aside to allow him to sit in the spot that he had nodded towards. The leather cushions indented as he lowered himself down onto the couch and his long legs seemed to bend awkwardly in the limited space between the edge of the seat and the coffee table. He placed the bowl of soup that he had warmed up onto the table.
“Hungry?”
Suri sniffled. “I thought that was yours.”
“I’ll make another one later, no big. You, uh, seem like you could use it”
She didn’t disagree. Carefully, she picked up the warm bowl, holding it in her hands as she exhaled in relief. “Thank you.”
Dante turned on the television. Suri ate. The two fell into a comfortable limbo, watching reruns of an old sports game. Within seconds he was repeatedly telling her what a complete disappointment the game was. Something about ‘defense acting like they had no sense,’ he had said. After she had had enough time to put the broth in her system without hurling or sobbing, he spoke to her again.
“You probably got a lot of questions, huh?”
She timidly looked towards him. He was clearly more reasonable than the other two, or at least she liked to assume from his lack of yelling and glaring. In fact, his cool demeanor was almost infectious, spreading over her like a wave. If he was offering to hear her questions, maybe even answer them, there was no better time to ask.
“Earlier, at the school, that… What was that?”
“Phoenix.” He said the name like he was picking up shards of glass. “He used to be a Troupe Member with us. Someone Fae and I knew.”
“You know him? Wait, um, what what’s a Troupe Member?”
Scratching his ear and drawing her attention to the ombre blue dye in his tightly coiled hair, he looked around. “Let’s start with the basics. It’s like,” his grey eyes settling on the bowl in her lap, he lowered his voice to a whisper, “It’s kinda like soup I guess.”
Suri gazed at the ceramic bowl in her hand. Her stomach couldn’t eat much more than the broth, so she could make out chunks of celery, potatoes, and carrots poking through the flavorful liquid. She snorted.
“What?”
“Troupes are like soup. The bits of food are like the Troupe Members,” he explained. “Troupes only got about three or four Members in all, including a Director. That’s the person in charge of the Troupe. Think of them like the bowl. They hold everything together. Well, on a good day.”
She bit her lip in thought, stirring the floating chunks of food. Learning was never really her thing, but somehow, she wasn’t entirely confused.
“So, Troupes are small groups led by someone called a Director.” Dante nodded, and she sat upright, a bit more comfortable from this small understanding. “What’s the broth then?”
“Most important part of the soup.” He smiled proudly at his analogy, noticing the teen was quickly catching on. “Troupe Members all share their energy, like a bowl of broth that they all soak in. The Director manages who gets what, but if it ever dries up or isn’t given out to each Member properly, then the whole thing ain’t really a soup, huh?”
Suri scoffed at Dante’s conclusion and gazed down. Pouting her lips in thought, she turned the utensil in her hand before holding it up to him.
“Does that make me the spoon?”
Dante laughed in appreciation at her comparison. “Nah. The soup ain’t part of the whole thing.”
“Well, um, what does that make Phoenix then?”
He looked her over carefully, clearly deciding if he should explain anything else. He shifted in his spot, the couch cushions grumbling in disagreement, and his eyes darting down the hallway and back to her.
“Phoenix wants to be a Director. He’s trying to impress these guys in the Nexus, a group of Directors that keep the Troupes in check. Being a Director can make you a lot more powerful. You can become a Nexus delegate, and usually it helps increase the strength of your Aptitude.”
“What’s an Aptitude?”
Before Dante could respond, a distinct voice with a curt tone joined their conversation. “Someone’s rather curious.”
Trenton stepped into the room, his arms crossed, and dark eyes narrowed at Dante. Clearly, he wasn’t pleased with the topic of conversation. Suri sunk in her seat again. This was not turning out to be a good day.
Fae entered the room as well, walking by Trenton with a healthy amount of side-eye as she moved to sit heavily on Dante’s lap. Suri returned the soup bowl to the table. She didn’t really expect an answer to her question, which made it even more surprising when Trenton responded to it.
“An Aptitude is a manifestation of a singular Troupe Member’s energy. When they are initiated into the Troupe, each Member develops a personal, unique ability. Phoenix, for example, can create illusions, manipulate your senses, and alter your reality. It’s my understanding from what Fae has shared with me that you may have experienced his Aptitude today, in fact.”
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