"Okay… I think I understand most of what happened there." Hope muttered, her hands free of any money.
She rested her back on the bed's headframe, pondering over the story told by her boyfriend.
Sat against her, John quietly stored the money spread in his bag while leaving Hope to her thoughts. He zipped it close and placed it by the bed's side before patiently waiting for more words from Hope.
Thankfully, his wait wasn't long. Hope soon lifted up her head and looked directly at John as a serious expression took over her face. "First of all, I was right about something happening to you without me there. But, you know what I am most surprised about this trip of yours? And it's not the fact that you seemingly befriended who tried to end my family at some point or because that place doesn't seem as gruesome as I thought?"
"Hm, what is it?" John asked.
"The fact that you took a beating." Hope smirked.
John, however, wasn't as humored about the fact as his left eyelid twitched and his lips thinned. "I am sure I said I subdued her in the end."
"Yeah, but then she swooped your ass." Hope said back, her smile widening. "That may sting, dear, but it's the truth." She cupped his cheek with her hand, trying to comfort him.
John wasn't one to retreat from her touch and simply enjoyed her soft touch. "I know…" He sighed. "And for some reason, that bothers me way more than I expected."
"How much?" Hope softly asked, pulling him closer to her.
Going along with her guidance, John quickly found himself with his head on her lap. "Enough that I've been thinking about it many times on the way back."
As she listened to his answer, Hope gently stroked his hair. "Does it really bother you that much that you lost in a physical fight against a vampire more than five centuries old and who's been training and fighting for almost the same amount of time?"
"Yeah."
Her boyfriend's bluntness brought a smile to Hope's lips. "Well, I think it shouldn't." She disagreed with him. "I can't think of anyone our age who would be able to win in a physical fight against someone like her."
Well, I can think of many of them. And not only our age, but younger as well. John thought, starting up at her. "Do you think a newly turned Original vampire would be able to do it?"
Hope was caught by surprise by the question. "Ahn… I have no idea, to be honest." She replied while playing with his cheeks. "Maybe? That is the best answer I can give. You should ask my aunt for a clearer response."
I can do that. But apparently, I won't get an answer so soon. John did his best to hide his urge to frown from Hope. And I can't even tell her that very possibly her aunt is heading to the middle of Texas to possibly behead a group of people because of me. "I will do that later."
"And what are you going to do now?"
"Besides cuddling with you? Ouch." John's response earned him a playful pull on his cheek. "Well… Since I've been thinking about this fight a lot, I spent some time thinking of ways to get stronger as well."
"More than you already are?" Hope asked.
"Well, obviously, it wasn't enough to fight against a vampire on equal terms." John said, his expression shifting to a more serene one. "You know about it, but before enrolling in the school, I wished to travel around the world and see more of it. And in this small trip, I was lucky I could get myself out of that situation. But when I travel farther away, what is the guarantee that I will have that everything will end perfectly fine?"
Hope silently mulled over the words, her fingers still tracing the edges of his face while memories resurfaced in her mind.
Although he didn't consider himself the most perceptive person in the world when his abilities were off, John still wasn't someone who couldn't notice the slightest bit of emotions going over Hope's eyes.
"Why do I have the impression you don't like the idea?" He tenderly asked.
"Because you are a perceptive person." She replied, her hand resting over his cheek. "Tsk… It's just, I don't have very good memories of what happens when people want to get stronger or more powerful."
Immediately, John realized what his words might've sounded to Hope's ears. How could he forget that throughout her life, she was tormented by certain figures that wished to acquire more power through her?
"Hope, I-" John tried to sit up, intending to apologize to her.
However, going against his wishes, Hope kept him pinned on the bed with his head on her lap.
"I know, I know… You don't need to apologize for such a thing." Hope softly muttered, knowing what was going through the mind of her boyfriend. "It's just a small scar in me that resurfaced, but it's not your fault that it still bothers me a little. I wouldn't ever think of you as the same kind of person as those who hurt me."
To reassure him, Hope placed her lips on his forehead, giving it a gentle kiss. "So, please, don't feel bad just because I still am not over some things of my past, okay?"
"Okay…" John quickly accepted, not finding in him the will to refuse anything she would ask right now.
Seeing his subtle mellow expression, Hope chuckled quietly. "So, what are you exactly planning to get stronger? Some kind of training?"
"Something like that. I'm still thinking about it." John replied. "I can't just patiently wait to get passively stronger or for my soul to reach certain thresholds by itself."
"What do you mean by your soul reaching certain thresholds?" Hope blinked in doubt.
A playful smile bloomed in John's lips. "You will see. Soon, hopefully." He rubbed his head against her thighs. "It will be a good surprise."
"You are full of those, aren't you?" Hope asked with a smile.
John shrugged. "It's part of the package."
"Haha, sure it is." Hope lightly laughed. "Now, how about we go have some lunch? You didn't have the opportunity, right?"
"No, since someone lured me to come faster and abandon what seemed like a delicious meal in a road diner." John pinched Hope's cheek, making her smile strangely cute.
"Sowwy."
Letting a chuckle escape his lips, John let go of her cheek and slowly sat up. "Well, since you offered. Shall we?" He reached his hand out towards her.
Not hesitating the slightest, Hope took hold of his hand and both of them walked towards the door before leaving the room, with their laughter echoing in the corridors as they found a joyful comfort in each other.
…
At this point of the day, there weren't many students in the cafeteria since it was already past lunch time.
But in one of the tables placed near the corner of the room, a small group of friends was sitting around it. They were chatting among themselves, sharing their recent experiences.
One of these experiences was John's small trip to Vegas, with him letting some parts in the dark. But still, what he revealed was enough to shock his two friends.
"Damn, that sounds like a place from a Blade story." MG muttered, already imagining the scene.
"Hm, now that you mention it." John said, realizing the casino sure fit the ambience from the vampire-hunter stories. "But in contrast to Marvel's vampires, the ones there were way more restrained in my opinion. They were at least educated enough to drink blood from glass cups instead of making it rain over them."
"I still find it gross." Josie commented, momentarily putting aside her watermelon juice.
MG looked at her. "Then what do you think of us drinking from blood bags?"
"Somehow better than from a cup." Josie replied, just momentarily locking eyes with MG. "Drinking it from a cup makes it so… ordinary. As if the blood carried no weight, that it was just a simple drink and not something so essential to someone's life."
"I… think I get what you mean." MG's look dropped, a little contemplative now.
Noticing how the mood of the table was getting to a not so good place, John quickly intervened. "Well, in the end, it was a good trip. I even got enough money to pay my bill with your father." He looked at Josie. "So, you can wait for an expensive birthday gift this year."
Josie naturally smiled. "I will." She nodded.
Then, he looked at MG. "MG, do you want to go to that store you mentioned before? There are a few comics that I would like to get a physical copy of."
Just as quickly as his mood dropped, MG suddenly had a brightful expression. "Sure!" His tone turned cheerful. "There are some new graphic novels that I want to buy as well. Maybe an action figure too." He rubbed his chin, giving the idea much thought.
While MG mumbled over what he should exactly get from the store, John turned to Josie again. "Hey, are you ready for tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow?" She tilted her head to the side.
"You didn't forget, right?"
"Hm…" Josie frowned, seemingly trying to remember what he meant.
John narrowed his eyes at Josie, trying to read her expression..
"You are a good liar." He said after some time, bringing a fork to his mouth, a piece of meat on it. "But you can't fool me, girl."
Immediately, Josie dropped her act. "What gave it away?"
"Hm. I just believe you are not the kind of person to forget something we decided barely a few days ago." John replied.
"I see." She curtly nodded in understanding.
"Also, your left ear apparently twitches when you lie." John pointed at her ear which was barely hidden by her hair.
As an instinctive response, Josie reached out to her ear and raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I didn't know about that."
"Now you do." John replied.
"What are you two going to do tomorrow?" MG asked, the curiosity taking him back to the conversation.
"John is interested in my body a little. In its magic aspect, to be more specific." Josie replied.
Yes, thank you for specifying. Only half of the phrase makes it sound strange. John thought, continuing with his meal.
And a little bit subtly, he pinched Hope's rib, getting a small cute reaction from her as she dropped her rice off the fork and glared at him.
Hehe. John quietly chuckled before returning to the conversation.
"I want to see exactly how a gemini witch works with magic. Just saying that they can absorb from their surroundings doesn't satiate my curiosity."
"I see. It's a little similar to what we and Mr. William did to learn how exactly vampire hypnosis works, right? " MG sounded slightly interested in the topic, crossing his arms over the table. "Will Lizzie take part in it as well?"
"No. I invited only Josie since I only discussed it with her." John replied, turning to Josie. "But if you want to invite your sister, I won't have a problem with it."
"Okay." Josie flatly replied, not so thrilled or uncomfortable by the idea.
Vish… It seems they had a fight. John thought, looking at Hope through the corner of his eyes to get a confirmation.
Hope curtly nodded, confirming his thoughts.
"Also, besides observing Josie, I wish to see as well if I can teach her and even you–" John directed his voice at Hope. "something very interesting."
"What?" Josie asked, her tone turning up a notch.
"Obviously, it involves magic. To be more exact, it is how I manipulate magic." John said, his words attracting their attention. Even MG's, someone who had nothing to gain from it.
While he wiped his mouth clean with a napkin, John continued with his explanation. "As you all may be aware, witches use magic that comes from within them, and through this magic they can also channel the magic in the surroundings to cast their spells. However, they can't absorb it, correct?"
"Yes." Hope replied.
"But in my case, just like Josie, I can't produce magic. However, for a few reasons, I don't suffer the same problem as her or Lizzie that needs to touch someone or something magical to siphon their magic." As a demonstration, the wind in the cafeteria started to swirl a little, an effect of John's dominion over it. "And one of the reasons for it is that I can naturally do something that I like to call 'Resonance'."
"Sounds like a thing from an Iron Fist comic or those cultivation novels I once glimpsed." MG commented, much interested in the conversation.
So he reads those as well. John thought. Right, I have to remember to pay a visit to Tales of Demons and Gods since I didn't end the novel. "Well, the concepts aren't much different from what you are thinking. To not make things much complicated right now, think of Magic as something similar to certain phenomena in the physical world. For example, electromagnetic waves. Just like them, magic has a certain frequency. And what I simply do to control all of it is resonate with it."
"Ahn, I think I got it." Josie muttered, thinking a little too deeply about it. "Basically, you control the surrounding magic by yourself and attract it to absorb it, right?"
"In simple words, yes." John nodded.
"Okay, but how do I exactly resonate with it?" She asked, troubled on that part.
The other two were curious as well and locked their eyes on John, expecting for an answer.
And answering their wills, John had one. "For that, I use my soul."
"Your what?" Josie asked, widening her eyes.
"My soul." John repeated his words, a soft chuckle escaping towards Josie's reaction. "I know, it might sound a little bit strange even for us, but that's how it works. Basically, my soul resonates with the surrounding magic and thus I am capable of using it however I wish as long as it is under my control. I can simply use it or store it for later use."
As he then wished, the wind stopped and everything in the cafeteria went back to normal, as if nothing had happened.
"Neat." MG said, his eyes glowing in fascination.
However, different from him, someone that didn't even consider him to be able to learn such a thing, Josie was much more serious since John's words were towards her, someone who lacked the common abilities of a witch – producing her own magic.
Resonating… with magic? And using my soul for it. How is that even possible? Josie asked herself, very troubled by these questions.
Despite being a witch and having been in touch with the supernatural her entire life, there are still certain aspects that Josie will find strange when facing it. And certainly, something as ethereal as the soul would be one of them.
In all her lessons of magic and the grimoires she secretly read from Alaric, the soul was something just rarely mentioned. It was stated to be the source of magic of every witch and besides that, almost nothing else was said.
So, for this reason, it wasn't unsurprising for her to go silent in thoughts when it was told she would be taught on how to use her soul to somehow control the magic in the environment.
And apparently, she wasn't the only one to share this doubt. But different from her, Hope decided to voice it.
"And how are you going to teach her to use her soul and resonate with magic?"
"That I don't know yet." John replied quite frankly, making Josie's expression drop. "As I said, I want to see if I can do it. From my point of view, I think I can teach you. I just have to figure out a way to do it and also to better express myself about this process. After all, for me, this is as much a natural process as it is blinking or breathing."
"I see…" Josie muttered, taking a deep breath to organize her thoughts. "Well, even if it ends up not being possible, I will thank you for trying in advance." She said, slightly bowing her head.
But John simply swatted it off. "We are friends, you don't need to thank me for that. Besides, I am considering it an experience for me as well, so I'm far from losing anything here."
"If you say so." Josie nodded, looking at the bit of juice left in her glass. "Hm, since this little meeting of ours will probably be this important, I will call Lizzie. It would be better to not leave her in the dark about something like this."
"I have no problem with that." John took a more relaxed posture after explaining everything. "Well, since it seems it will be a busy day tomorrow, I will go now. It's been almost two days since I've slept and I am missing my bed."
At the end of his words, John stood up and everyone followed along, preparing to head out of the cafeteria.
After they parted from the others, Hope and John climbed up the stairs, with the young man now full of food and a little bit of sleepiness clouding his mind.
Waving his hands around, John closed all the curtains in Hope's room and the door before throwing himself on her bed.
Right after, Hope laid down by his side, welcoming his embrace as they covered themselves under her blanket.
"Good night."
"It's the middle of the afternoon." Hope commented.
"It's the intention that matters." John replied, closing his eyes and calmly waiting for the call of his dreams.
————————————————
A/N
If you wish to support me, give me your power stones and if you want to read 3 chapters ahead, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n
patreon . com / Endless Phoenix 186 (remove the spaces)