There was a crackle of a warm fire, wisps of ember reached into the black sky as the girls settled for the night. They managed to find a secluded area, shrouded by trees, but cleared enough for them to set up camp. Yoona, with Jessica’s help, managed to assess and treat Taeyeon’s wounds easily, before the blonde turned and did the same with her. Tiffany kept quiet the whole time.

They were battered and torn, they all could use some rest. Jessica offered to take watch, but Yoona declined. She said she had somethings to think about, leaving Jessica to watch over both Taeyeon and Tiffany. If Jessica didn’t see the rise and fall of Taeyeon’s chest she would thought the girl was dead, she didn’t even stir when Yoona had gently sat her on the ground near the flames.  

Tiffany sat right next to the sleeping girl with her knees pulled up to her chest. While holding Taeyeon’s hand she too had fallen asleep, leaving Jessica alone in her thoughts. It was strange, they weren’t as jumbled and confusing as usual. Jessica felt that her past was murky at best, but it was more than she could ever dream of.

    It only took her a few seconds to come to terms with it, she never really knew much of her mother, the women Tiffany told her that left shortly after her powers started to flare. Going through every image in her mind, the blonde could only find blurry instances of what she believed to be her mother. She saw straight black hair and pale skin, that’s all she could muster.

On the other hand, she saw her father clearly. A bright happy man with brown eyes and long scraggly blonde hair that was tied back, and that stopped at his broad shoulders. Jessica remember when she was younger saying that her father had the build of a gym-leader, he wasn’t as bulk, tall, and overbearing as one, but it fit him all the same. He was actually quite affectionate and happy, but Jessica saw it, somewhere behind that smile was grief and longing for her mother.

She also remembered an instance where she had straight black hair, and her father commented quietly, ‘Just like your mother’. Of course her hair did fade out to be as blonde as his as she grew up, but her father would say she looked more and more like her mother each day. Jessica could feel the amount of love her father had harbored for the women, it wasn’t hard to miss.

Though deep down inside, she hated being compared to her. Before Tiffany had told her that her mother left to keep her safe, she hated her with a burning passion. How could such a amazing women, as her father describe, abandoned her so young? How could she had missed so many of her birthdays, her accomplishments, her failures, her nightmares, and still be such a great person?

When her father would say that Jessica reminded him of her, she felt offended. The girl would never abandoned her own like her mother did. She wouldn’t leave her father to fend and take care of himself. Now, however, she wasn’t sure what she thought of the women. A part of her was filled with hate and resentment of her, while the other was filled with grief, understanding, and longing. Jessica wanted to meet her, it was true. She wanted to meet the women who made her father’s eyes sparkle and made him smile from ear to ear, the women who made her.

She wasn’t sure what she would do if they met.

The blonde stared into the fire, glancing up to look and make sure Tiffany and Taeyeon were still there. She was worried that someone would come guns-blazing while they were at their weakest. Yoona told her that her blue eyes had faded long ago, but the lingering traces of the blonde’s powers did not go unnoticed. Yoona called it will-power to protect Tiffany, Jessica called it sheer luck. She doubted she would be able to do it again, but Yoona reassured her long before they made camp, that the blonde was only getting a handling on her powers, and that with each passing day they get stronger.

    It scared the blonde honestly, they still had plans to go to HQ so she could get proper training and what not, but the idea of war didn’t settle well with her. What would you expect of a city-girl, who had recently moved out of her father’s home to essentially ‘grow-up’ as she described it? Sure, Jessica knew how to defend herself, her father made sure of that since he felt that ‘a pretty girl needs to know how to handle herself before she can handle others’, but this...this was something even he couldn’t prepare her for. She had nearly been killed or kidnapped at least three times in the past two weeks, and it still made her sick to her stomach on how close she was to dieing.

She wasn’t cut out for this, but she knew she couldn’t ignore it. It was her choice to get involved and she’d be damned if she didn’t go through with it. Jessica was a stubborn person, in her many mistakes and decisions, even now, she was stubborn to identify what she thought about Tiffany.

Jessica labeled the girl as a childhood friend and nothing more, but the longer she was around her the more the label came loose and was replaced with something else. Yes, she cared for the girl, she felt it was her responsibility to, but she wasn’t sure how far she would go for her. Surely Tiffany was attractive, bubbly, happy, the seer opposite of what Jessica would consider as her type, but it was easy to see that Tiffany was something she didn’t want to let go. Maybe it was because Tiffany knew her a little more than expected, maybe it was because even when things got bad, the girl still held a smile that made Jessica feel a little bit happier to be alive.

The blonde constantly shook the thoughts away; Tiffany was a friend. Nothing more, nothing less. Nothing more. Nothing...nothing. Jessica couldn’t even find a word to describe Tiffany. She felt it wasn’t her place to...yet. The thoughts eventually hushed themselves as Jessica leaned back to look at the sky. Never had she seen so many stars in between the leaves and branches of the trees. It was definitely a change of scenery for the girl, having been kept in the city for so long, she was amazed at the sight.

“Hey, what happen to getting some rest?” Yoona’s voice snapped the blonde out of her trance. Jessica shakes her head slightly before smiling sheepishly.

“Sorry, after today I don’t think I really can get some rest…” Jessica replied.

“That’s a first, you slept for like...two days before we decided to come out here. You weren’t even that injured either.” Yoona said walking towards her.  She takes a seat near the fire, warming her hands before leaning back.

“It’s nice don’t you think? Being out here with some friends and you have the perfect getaway.” Yoona commented. Jessica nodded, she knew what the girl was trying to do. All Yoona did was try to make everyone relax. It was amazing that the girl was being calm as she was now. It made Jessica wonder, what was going on in that head of hers, what of the plans and dreams, maybe fears, that plague the girl after being tossed straight into battle time and time again.

“You’re probably wondering what I think of this entire mess. Two injured comrades, one untrained rook, and me, someone you can consider a veteran to the battlefield.” Yoona said. Jessica was surprised but didn’t exactly show it.

“You sound like you’ve been doing this all your life.” Jessica said. Yoona chuckled.

“I have.” She replied. There was a slight pause before Yoona spoke again.

“Jessica, have you ever felt like the entire world is against you for no reason? Be honest, I can tell when you lie.” Yoona said.

“You mean like now?” Jessica asked. Yoona paused.

“Not necessarily now, but it's a good example of it. My entire life, I’ve been tossed back and forward between Half-breeds and Humans, neither really wanted me around, but Half-breeds cared for me more.” She explained.

“My father you see, was a half-breed as well as his father before him. It became a generational thing with the males in my family, but then I was born with twice the amount of strength and power as my male counterparts. My oldest sister was normal, she didn’t have to worry.  My father was thrilled that he had another daughter, but he was scared.” Yoona said.

“Of what?” Jessica asked.

“To lose his little girl, would be to lose his wife. My mother had passed shortly after I was born. It broke him, but he was determined not to lose me too.” Yoona replied softly. Jessica was fairly impressed, Yoona was telling her quite a lot about her family, when Jessica barely knew her own.

“He and my older sister gave me everything, which I am grateful for, but that didn’t hide what I was, or preferable what I am. It wasn’t long before my oldest uncle found out about my abilities.” Yoona said.

“Next thing I know, at 9 years old, I am taken from my father and my sister and sent off to be trained just as my uncles, cousins, and other male relatives were before me. It shattered my pop's heart, but he knew it was coming. My sister now takes care of him and I attempt to get in a letter or two to him monthly.” Yoona added.

“That didn’t stop the pain though. For any of us. Dad was broken, Sister had a lot more problems to deal with, and me, a child, felt so alone that she thought no one could hear her scream. Training was a pain, I did anything and everything to get out of it, whether it was getting myself in trouble and sent away to think about my actions or sneaking out and attempting to walk home on foot.” She said.

“I couldn’t fight it for long. Someone knocked some sense into me and I was determined to prove myself. I was trained and hardened by the many teachers my uncle set up for me. I am a girl, but I was still an Im, I could handle anything. Says a lot of my low self-esteem and emotional issues, don’t you think?” Yoona asked.

“You? Low self-esteem? I don’t believe it.” Jessica said.

“Nah, I just do a good job of hiding it. I’m terrified of everything, thinking that I will never be heard or that expectations are too high for even me to meet. But look at me now, three new friends and a smile still on my face. I’d like to thank the high-heavens for letting me live for this long.”  Yoona smiled still glancing up at the sky.

“My point is, that you’re not the only one whose confused.” Jessica paused, not saying a word.

“I ask myself everyday, what if my mother had live long enough to see me now, would she be happy? Appalled? Proud? Scared? I’ll never know...but I like to think she’s super proud and is cheering me on from wherever she ended up.” Yoona looked over at Tiffany and Taeyeon.

“Those two, Tiffany and Taeyeon, have been their for each other for a fairly long time. Tiffany keeps Taeyeon grounded while Taeyeon keeps Tiffany from getting herself killed. It’s nice to have someone like that. I sure wish I did.” She said.

“We should stick together too, two girls with confusing family backgrounds, questions on top of questions about the world around us, trying to make sure everyone else is okay before us, and etc. Someone needs to keep you grounded while someone needs to keep me from getting myself killed.” Yoona turned to look at her. She raised her hand up and out in Jessica’s direction. The blonde stared in disbelief.

“So, what do you say? Friends? Or maybe in this case, Partners?” Yoona asked. Jessica thought about only for a few seconds before grabbing the girl’s hand.

“Partners.” Jessica said. Yoona smiled as she gripped the blonde’s hand slightly. Jessica gripped back. The two pulled away, the smile never leaving Yoona’s face.

“So what’s on your mind? If we’re gonna be partners, might as well tell each other stuff.” Yoona said now sitting cross leg, and a little bit closer to the blonde. Jessica took a deep breath before telling her everything, minus her conflicting thoughts about Tiffany. It was nice to talk about it with someone who understands, even if it’s only by a little.