Jaded Series (Books 1-2)

Jin felt a small smile tug at her mouth as she watched Basima cheerfully fretting over Liraz as they all made their way back to their cabin. The blonde had been asking questions almost non-stop to the smaller girl, who moved her head for most responses while whispering a few more elaborate ones.

Basima had managed to confirm that the girl was indeed just barely sixteen in Earth years, only a few weeks off Karam. She also learned that Liraz and Pax shared a Whisper father who had died along with her mother in an unfortunate lab accident that had the side effect of giving Liraz some odd Natural Talents before ever stepping into the Tower.

"You know she's going to notice if you keep staring at her like that," Hadia's voice quietly teased from beside her.

Jin huffed in annoyance and finally tore her eyes away from the bubbly ball of sunshine practically hopping through the forest in her excitement. Leveling a flat look at Hadia only made the woman grin wider in obvious triumph of having caught her.

"We've already talked about that. I'm not going to do anything."

"Except pine from a distance," Hadia jabbed again.

She rolled her eyes but couldn't argue. Jin had been drawn to Basima because of the similarities she shared with Phoenix and it was those same similarities that she was attracted to. The ability to keep smiling no matter how bad things seemed to get around them was a special brand of intoxication to her. She wanted to drink it like a person stranded in the desert.

There were other parts of Basima that she recognized as different from Phoenix, though. Basima was more religious for one. She also wasn't used to the pain and depression that came from incurable illness that Phoenix had grown up with. However, they both still managed to cling to that innocent naivety that Jin felt the urge to try protecting.

Basima tripped again just as the cabin came into view and Jin involuntarily felt her body jerk forward in response to catch the woman who managed to catch herself.

A snort of laughter from beside her had Jin forcefully focus on her [Poker Face] Talent to keep the flush of embarrassment from her cheeks. Hadia called her out anyway, "You're staring again."

She decided to ignore her that time, instead glancing toward where Karam and Alim were conversing with a mixture of signs, magic writing, and lip reading. Jin didn't feel her body completely relax until all of them were back in the protective barrier surrounding the cabin.

Instead of letting the group go off to rest though she got their attention and asked, "I know we spent quite a few points to get Liraz on our team here—"

"Where she's safer," Hadia made a point to add, as if reassuring Jin that it had been the right call.

"Yes, but I wanted to get a consensus about what we should buy from the shop next and sleeping arrangements. There are only five beds and—"

"She can have mine," Basima injected. "I've barely used it anyways."

Silence fell for a moment. Jin was surprised that Basima was willing to admit that and Hadia seemed to be suppressing a laugh. Alim looked confused for a moment before signing, "Did I just read that right? Where has she been sleeping?"

Karam seemed to be able to understand those signs enough to shrug in response and say, "I have no idea. I seem to always wake up late without the sun shining here properly."

"Where's not important," Jin muttered while signing, pointedly ignoring Hadia's trembling beside her. "What's important is that everyone is getting enough sleep." She turned to Liraz and asked while signing for Alim's sake, "Do you want to be part of the watch rotation?"

Liraz simply nodded, hugging a ball of slime to her chest as if it was a pillow.

"Fine, you can have the last watch then if nobody objects." When nobody spoke up, Jin continued, "Now back to the shopping. Are we still wanting armor for Hadia first?"

"You're in melee just as often," Hadia pointed out.

"Yes, but I can disengage faster than you can now. I'm better at dodging so you're the smarter choice for armor."

"I agree with armor for Hadia then you," Alim signed. "but then I'd like to get a Knowledge Tome. Crystal Caste Rituals will be extremely helpful to us for both fighting and improving our base's capabilities."

Jin nodded. "Makes sense. I know I'd like to get Karam some kind of weapon eventually, too. That first room of the Trial made it very clear that if we get swarmed and can't protect Kar, we're all dead."

"I know it's probably less important, but can we please get the hygiene kit?" Basima begged them, even using the Whisper signs to make sure Alim understood. "I know Kar's been helping with the smell, but I'm dying for a hairbrush."

Glancing at the others, they didn't seem to argue the request but Hadia gave her a smirk, as if silently judging the fact that she probably wouldn't ever be able to tell Basima 'no' for any non-life threatening request.

Jin rolled her eyes at that smirk and brought up the store display. They had emptied Alim and Basima's points earlier to trade to the Workers and dipped into Hadia's for the rest. After all the monsters in the Trial and the Champion kill, Jin had a total of 135 points to spend. Five went to the hygiene kit, and Jin was surprised when a large box appeared at her feet.

It was around three feet in each dimension and the others in the group seemed equally surprised. "Is it normally this big?" she asked the others.

Basima shook her head and bent to grab the slip of parchment folded on top of it. Reading aloud, they all seemed even more surprised by the note. "Lucky you! As the first Sect to select cleanliness over other options, you get the special bonus of cosmetics! This will not be shown on the Network and should you make it out of the Tower, secrecy will be expected to remain. We'll know if you spoil it! From, Rabbit."

"Cosmetics?" Jin questioned.

"Yes! This explains how the Lovers always seemed to look so perfect all the time!" Basima squealed excitedly. "I always wondered if it was some kind of weird Talent they all manage to get somehow."

Cautiously lifting up the wooden lid, a plethora of supplies Jin had no name for seemed to be awaiting inside. Basima immediately gasped and grabbed what looked like a hairbrush but had runes, dials and buttons on it. "A Prism Brush?! Oh my gods! Thank you, Rabbit!"

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Alim leaned forward next and grabbed something that looked like a sponge and he smiled as he signed to Jin, "Practically endless soap. It'll ensure we can all clean properly now."

Karam took his turn to grab an item, almost reverently holding what looked like a paintbrush. "It's a Rainbow Tinter. It can change the color of whatever fabric, leather, or metal it touches."

Jin snorted a laugh. "So it really is just purely cosmetic items. No practical fighting applications?"

"Well, you could make our silver outfits camouflaged to help blend in without relying on the cloaks to cover everything," Hadia pointed out. "But basically that's the extent of it." She glanced into the box herself but seemed slightly disgusted by what she saw. "Bunch of face paints as well, and impractical hair ornaments and Mundane jewelry."

"You don't like jewelry?" Jin asked with a raised brow.

"I don't like the message that people need to decorate themselves to be considered beautiful," Hadia corrected. "If this is what the Lovers normally get, it sends a pretty clear message to the people watching that their natural appearance will never be enough to please others."

"Oh come on, Dia," Basima said with a roll of her eyes, but already busy brushing the tangles out of her blonde strands. "It's fun to dress up and feel prettier than normal. It makes me feel special."

"You're already special without it," Jin said before registering the words had left her mouth.

Hadia and Karam both stared at her incredulously that time, and Basima flushed furiously. Jin immediately pulled on her [Poker Face] to avoid matching Basima's blush. Liraz and Alim seeming completely oblivious as they dug through the box was the only thing keeping Jin from not running into the cabin to hide in her embarrassment.

"Anything else of note?" Jin managed to say in the next moment, desperately trying to get the focus off her.

Liraz lifted up some white fabric and smiled as she said, "Enchanted clothes. They will resize themselves and slowly repair over time."

"Good for casual wear in the cabin or if our current clothing gets completely destroyed somehow," Jin said with a nod. "Not as protective as the Sliksilk we're wearing, though, if that's all it does."

"Is that a dress?!" Basima cried out. Liraz offered it over to her and she happily squealed again. She stood up then and grabbed Karam's arm to pull him along and called over her shoulder, "Hadia! Bring the box to your room and help me and Kar surprise Jin!"

Hadia chuckled as she moved to comply, and Jin couldn't help but ask, "What did that mean?"

"I think she said it would be a surprise, Sky Girl. Just hang with Alim and I'll come get you later," Hada replied then gestured with her head for Liraz to follow. "Come on, I'll show you your room and you can help with Basima if you want."

Liraz gave a small smile and trailed after Hadia as she effortlessly picked up the whole box and carried it into the cabin.

Jin still felt confused about what was going on and turned to Alim for answers. He looked at her for a long moment before smirking and asking, "Should I put a sound proofing barrier on the room you'll be sharing with Bas tonight?"

Thank whatever god gave her that [Poker Face] Talent as she felt the heat creep up her neck at the insinuation and shut that shit down hard.

"You know it's creepy and starting to get obvious when you use that Talent, right?" Alim continued signing when she didn't respond in the slightest. "It's okay to act human around us."

"I'll pass on you laughing at my expense," she retorted, but that just caused him to give that breathy laugh she rarely got to hear, then turned to drag her toward the garden to get some work done.

"Why exactly are we keeping this shit in my room?" Hadia asked her as Basima finished setting up the tall, foldable mirror next to the door.

She grinned back at the slightly older woman. "You said you were a former Lover, so you know how to use all this stuff, right?"

Hadia huffed in annoyance as she finished adjusting the shade on the lip paint stick in her hands. "Yes, but I never enjoyed wearing the stuff. Are you wanting to show Jin the light 'don't destroy my innocence' look or the darker 'toss me in the bed and fuck me' look?"

Basima's eyes went wide at the question before she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. Hadia chuckled and said, "Going for innocent. Check."

Glancing toward Karam, she noticed he was pointedly ignoring the conversation as he focused on coloring one of the dresses she had claimed for herself. Liraz hadn't stopped by, seeming to want to settle in her own room first. Basima moved closer to Hadia and quietly asked, "Which do you think Jin would prefer?"

The question made Hadia freeze for a moment before sharply looking up and asking, "Are you asking seriously or are you just wanting to tease her? 'Cause if it's the latter, that's a bit messed up even as a joke."

"I mean… you and Alim seem to tease her a lot."

"Jin's not interested in us like that, and neither of us seem to remind her of the person she left behind in a whole other world," Hadia retorted, giving her a flat look. "It's not on you if Jin's attracted by who you are, but it is if you're going to use that attraction as a weapon against her. We have enough to deal with in here that you don't need to give her false hope if you've got no intention of reciprocating her feelings, whatever those might actually be."

Basima bit her lower lip in mild worry before quietly admitting, "I'm not planning to hurt her. I am… interested in her too. I just don't understand her feelings either and I'm not exactly sure what I feel either. I was just wanting to… I don't know… Thank her somehow? She's been constantly putting herself at risk for all of us. I figured looking pretty for her would just be something I can actually do to make her feel… I don't know, happy? Relaxed? What do you think she feels when she looks at me?"

Hadia gave a sigh. "I honestly don't know. That stupid Talent makes her harder to read the better she's getting at using it. I swear she's using it everytime she looks at you now."

"But she keeps looking at me. I'm not imagining that, right?"

"Yeah. She does. But like she said, you remind her of someone else. You'll have to ask her yourself what she's feeling." Hadia paused to look her in the eyes before adding pointedly, "And you need to figure out how you feel either way if you don't want things to get messy. That last thing our group needs is something fracturing it."

"You think I'll break our group?"

"I think you need to not play with Jin's emotions in this regard. If you like her, then great. If not, don't string her along into thinking otherwise. That's all I'm trying to say." Hadia lifted the small stick of lip paint and said, "Now come here and open your mouth. Don't jerk away while I put this on."

Basima obeyed and carefully remained still as Hadia put the pale pink color over her lips. "Eyes next?" she asked after rubbing her lips together to smooth out the slightly clay feeling paint.

"Kar was making the dress green and blue right?"

"Yeah, to make my eye color stand out more."

"We'll go with a pale pink for the eyes and cheeks then too. Some black kohl will help make the eyes stand out more, too."

"I've never used kohl before."

Hadia shook her head and muttered, "Count yourself lucky then. That shit makes my eyes water every time and basically ruins it from the tears. We'll do that before the cheek powder in case you react the same."

Basima nodded in agreement as Hadia reached over to grab the next item from the assortment spread out on top of the box they were using as a table now. "Thanks, Dia. I know you don't like this stuff, but I appreciate you teaching me."

Hadia offered a soft smile. "It's fine. I'm pretty sure this will guarantee you the popularity point for tonight, though."

She laughed and shook her head. "Jin deserves it more after taking out that enemy waiting to kill all of us."

"Maybe, but I think after we're done here, Jin would vote for you instead, too."

Basima blushed again and found herself secretly hoping for some reaction or sign that Jin actually felt more than just nostalgia when looking at her. Her heart skipped a beat when she registered that thought and realized that she knew the answer to Hadia's earlier question. She… she liked Jin and wanted Jin's longing gaze to be for her and not some memory.