Earlier that day, Sophia Smith was invited to visit Charlotte Evans’ office.
It was depressing how seemingly everyone in her class got along so well with their Morpho partner, except for her – Her relationship with Strapholynne was troubled. She would go out on her own all the time, disobey Sophia’s commands and give her glares that, if looks could kill, Sophia would’ve been dead weeks ago.
Currently, Strapholynne was sleeping inside of Sophia’s bag again. Since she was out all night all the time, she would usually sleep all day long, with the exception if she was needed on duty, where she would jump up and fight like it was nothing. It was curious how Strapholynne was so advanced in fighting and morphing in comparison to the other Morpho partners, despite everything.
It was 7:30 AM on the dot when Sophia knocked on the wooden door to the Elite Defender’s office.
“Come in”, her voice sounded from inside, and Sophia entered the office.
Charlotte’s office was very clean and minimalistic, yet had a unique and elegant style with golden framed furniture. There was a desk with a computer and a bouquet in a vase, two chairs, a couch and a drawer. The couch had a fluffy pink pet bed on it, where Charlotte’s partner Cinq was napping in. Ironically, Cinq was a bit too large for the bed and both her head and her tail hung over.
Charlotte was sitting behind the desk and greeted Sophia with a smile. “Take a seat, Sophia.”
Sophia nodded and sat down in front of Charlotte, her bag carefully rested on her lap. Her gaze went to the flowers on the desk. “They’re pretty...!”
“Thank you… I’m gonna visit my mother after work. They’re for her.”
“That’s nice…”
“So… You wanted to talk about your partner… right?”
Sophia nodded. “I’m… I don’t know what to do anymore.” She laid her hand on her bag. “I feel like I’m a disgrace to the Defenders… I can’t even handle my own Morpho Partner…”
“Mh…” Charlotte typed something on her keyboard. “Strapholynne has always been a troublemaker. We have notes that she has escaped our facility multiple times, even before she was your partner. However, she has always returned.” She faced Sophia. “She always returns to your home, right?”
“Uhm- yeah....”
“This means she accepts you as her partner at least.” Charlotte folded her hands. “But you will need to learn how to control her. I know it’s not easy with a partner as rebellious as yours. But I believe you can do it.”
“Really…?”
“Hmhm. I had similar problems with Cinq.” Charlotte looked at Cinq, who woke up from her nap and blinked with a grumpy looking expression. “I was specifically assigned Cinq because the Defenders assumed I would have an easier time with her than anyone else, because of my experience from the FBI. But even I had trouble with her.”
“What do you think I should do?”
“Strengthen your relationship with Strapholynne. Force her to spend time with you outside your duty. Even if she will hate it at first… You will need her not only to accept you, but to respect you as her work partner. In our job, the humans are a higher rank than the Morpho Mons. A lot of them don’t accept it… But we have to work with the rules.”
“Okay…” Sophia patted her bag.
“Also… You may have to work on yourself as well.” Charlotte tilted her head. “You are a very skilled individual. And I see a lot of potential for an excellent Defender in you. But you need to strengthen your personality.”
“My… personality?”
“You need to be able to give orders confidently, and to not give in when someone questions your authority.”
“I- I don’t know if I can do this…”
“You will have to. Otherwise I don’t know how the apprenticeship will end for you.” Charlotte crossed her arms. “Do you understand?”
Sophia gulped. “Yes, Ma’am.”
“Good. You are now dismissed. Don’t be late to class, or Mr. Franklin might try to put a curse on you.” Charlotte smiled again, like she was trying to uplift Sophia.
“Ah-!” Sophia got up and saluted. “Thank you Miss Evans- I won’t fail you!” She turned around and left the office.
~~~~
It was the end of the day and Charlotte packed her stuff. She had been working overtime, as usual. Leaving tasks unfinished just wasn’t her style, and she always looked after everyone more than she strictly had to.
She was supposed to call Mrs. Williams to inform her about her son’s suspension, but decided not to, as she had a bad feeling about her. The last thing Charlotte wanted was to be responsible for someone hurting their child. She knew that kind of horrible feeling too well.
Luckily, no one seemed to have noticed that Charlotte neglected this specific duty.
Picking up the flowers from the vase, she was about to leave when a voice stopped her.
“Charlotte.”
She turned around to her Morpho Partner.
“Can I come with you?”
“Cinq…”
“We are partners, right?”
“Right…”
“Are we friends, too?”
“....” Charlotte looked away.
“You told the child she needs to strengthen her relationship with her partner.” Cinq jumped off the couch. “We should strengthen ours too, right?”
“Right.”
“I want to reach my Bestia form. I don’t think I can do it without you.”
“...” Charlotte nodded. “You can come with me. But promise you will behave around my sister. She’s still scared of you.”
“Mh…” Cinq walked next to her. “Promise.”
“Let’s go visit my mother first…”
~~~~
“Hi, mom. Hope you like the flowers…. I brought Cinq along, too.”
Charlotte got on her knees and placed the bouquet on the grave. “You always loved dahlias…. I remember every summer you brought a new dahlia plant to our home. Sadly, they have all withered by now…” Charlotte chuckled. “I hope you’re having great company up there… I wonder if you’ve ever met our cats?”
Cinq sat behind Charlotte. She was frowning as she did not really understand what was going on in front of her.
“I hope you’re happier wherever you are…” Charlotte got up again. “I promise I will bring Janet next time. She’s been doing great, y’know. We’ve been living together for almost two years now, and she’s grown into the most amazing young woman. I know she misses you too.” She pulled out a handkerchief and lightly patted her eyes. “Sorry for being so busy all the time. I will come back next week. See you…” She grabbed her bag and left the graveyard to return to her motorcycle.
“Charlotte…” Cinq looked up to her partner. “Are you okay…?”
Charlotte faced her, and gave her a warm smile. “Sure. Don’t worry about me.”
“Okay…” Cinq puffed a cloud of smoke out of her nose. “I’m sure your mother would be proud of you.”
“... Yeah. She would.” Charlotte got up on her motorcycle and put her helmet on. “Hop on Cinq, I’ll get us takeaway on our way home.”
“Okay!”
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