Chapter Text
If Lux had to be honest, when the light of the first star came to their aid, it brought plenty of hope washing over them like waves of cold, refreshing water; cleansing, soothing and cooling in its touch. Their planet could be saved! Right?
And of course it also brought a fair share of doubt: did she have what it takes? A child with barely anything to show of her merits; no trophy to her name like her brothers nor any experience in politics like her parents. The power gave them a chance to fight back and maybe the demacia cluster wasn't so doomed after all.
Lux had rejoiced when her best friend was granted the same honor along with her that she hadn’t even thought about how the title of star guardian came with plenty of dreadfully cruel responsibilities. She only released the possibility of a darker side to their role when she saw how pale and stiff Jinx had become upon being chosen. No smiles, no rejoicing. Jinx had always been the thinker that liked to scrutinize rather than look on the bright side and Lux had always appreciated it before the whole saving the stars business.
Naive, younger Lux thought it would pass, her friend was just adjusting. Jinx missed a couple of days of school and when it turned into weeks, Lux began to feel the pressure of it all. At nights, they’d meet up and Jinx would do her thing more and more and it felt like Lux’s voice no longer reached her or mattered like it used to. Until the day she came back like nothing had ever happened. If Lux had to be honest, the hope had turned from heartwarming to a heavy lump in her throat because a seed of doubt had sprouted in her heart.
When Janna came along like a breath of fresh air bringing with her Lulu and Poppy, their team had formed, clicking into place almost like they were a piece of the same puzzle. And Jinx had come to find it anything but boring, it didn’t feel like she was avoiding her anymore. On the contrary, her eyes felt always on Lux. What Jinx had never admitted to her hearty, new leader, and her once best friend was that she always felt like a broken, too battered to fit in their space completely. She didn’t congratulate Lux when the baton of leader hood was bestowed to her and instead started expressing her worry.
Lux remembers how frigid the long digits that caught her from the arm had felt. Digging into her skin until they marked white skin with thick red lines. She almost looked like she wanted to cry,
“Lux this is, are you sure?” Her eyes keep darting around as if she’s not certain about what she’s asking. She had never seen her glaring at someone so hard like she did at Janna, Poppy and Lulu on that day.
Lux was hopeful now that she had gained experience on the battlefield and the worry Jinx had for her, heartened her devotion to their relationship. How silly, to ever think Jinx didn’t care anymore when she knew how difficult life had been for them.“Yeah of course. As long as we’re together, there’s nothing that can stop us, right?”
Jinx hesitates, gnawing at the inside of her cheek before pulling her head back in a laugh. She’s all nods and giggles, pulling her in her side for a Jinx style hug.
“Yeah, bet it’ll be boring,” she chuckles, but Lux has to ignore how her grin is not nearly as full as usual.
Valoran city is a nice hub for star guardians and the first stop the Lux’s team makes. The star guardians history is pretty much common knowledge as the place was built as an intergalactic zone to deal with all the rising void attacks and coordinate. It’s been centuries since star guardians besides Lux’s team actually relocated to the city and had a cosmic meeting of the first star’s chosen. Lux knows there’s survivors here, refugees from lost planets and hopes she can find clues in the city of space multicultural treasures.
The weeks turn into months and Lux actually quite likes the new life on Earth. Minus the pest control duty which can sometimes even happen every night. Nothing like the jaws of a snapping giant void insectoid to get the blood pumping before their first class of P.E. In the morning.
When Valoran city is attacked by something new, things start to take a spiral for the worse. Jinx had been on edge with the increasing attacks, and that strange dog-like bipedal creature in suit just tipped her mood for the strange - well, stranger by her red headed friends’ standard. Things turn out to not be so easy anymore with a mastermind behind the attack. It’s the biggest one yet and they struggle throughout the fight to keep the escaping citizens safe. They’re on the defensive for the first time since they took on the role as Valoran’s protectors.
It’s Lux and Jinx that confront the odd void creature only to realize, this is not a void monster at all. There’s no weird purple powers or wierd coloured drools as it growls at them. The creature just…waves at them in greeting. It kind of reminds Lux of the werewolves from the stories, except this thing has one too many tails and what looks like horns on its head.
“Is that one of those pocket monsters from Lulu’s games?” Jinx asks, cackling as she aims her gun right in between of the fuzzy ears where the forehead should be.
Lux anticipates her move, running to the only point the creature can dodge to get a better shot at aiming her full powered starlight laser beam as Jinx liked to call it. What she doesn’t expect is how fast this anthropomorphic animal-person, or whatever it is, can move and finds a big, furry hand - it’s more sharp nails, pointy and gleaming black, than hand actually - grasping her staff.
“Hey now. That’s not a very nice welcome,” The canine muzzle shifts into a scary looking smile that’s nearly all teeth but her staff is pushed away. Maybe the enemy is descended from sharks, she thinks humorously, and it's wondered if Jinx's mood is rubbing off of her.
There’s the time for one held breath that cannot be longer than a tick of a clock when she’s suddenly thrown back a few steps. “Oh, look at that, you guys are good. You win.”
“What?” Lux doesn’t feel animosity as the talking monster jumps away and makes a run for it. It leaves her confused, frozen in place, unable to reason the situation she thinks of going back to her team for damage control when wind rushes by her side and she’s nearly toppled over as Jinx runs past her.
“Hey where are you going? It’s dangerous,” she shouts, trying to grab at her friend and she does follow a few steps, “Jinx”
Her silhouette already looks so small, like an ant scurrying back to its home, Lux knows it's useless and she’s not going to catch up. This was not the plan. Stick together was the plan but here she was, Star guardian Lux, great leader stranded on some rooftop and screaming her lungs out.
“ JINX ,”
Jinx doesn’t listen. She rarely does. And sometimes, she has this little intrinsic thought ‘Not how Powder had’.
If Lux had to be honest, maybe she didn’t listen enough to Jinx either.
Jinx follows the evil star destroying overlord, like an angry streak of red starlight soaring to the final destination camouflaged among the neon lights of a commercial district. It’s the first star nemesis they’d met in centuries if the history of star guardians is to be believed. As far as she’s concerned, all this dark star and first star business is that she is skeptical, on the other hand, finding a boss dude waiting for them in a fight with voidlings? She can’t pass this up. This might be the key to get out of this prophetic chosen bullshit.
The two of them are zipping across streets and she can feel the adrenaline rush when she almost catches up to their twin tail until it curves into an alley. And it’s a little unfair, Jinx thinks, she only has two legs and can’t run on four or turn into a big, fluffy quadrupedal. By the time she makes the turn, that asshole is wiggling those claw fingers and vanishing into a portal.
“Well, shit,” Jinx groans, asher annoyed familiars formed back by her side. They seldom made sounds, evidently today was an exception and they chirped in a mind breaking manner that put Jinx tantrums to shame, that they didn’t get a good fight in the end was abominable.
Before Jinx could utter her signature phrase, her boot caught something under it that crinkled under the pressure.
“I’ve seen this before,” Jinx muttered, straightening the fairly new wrapper. The idea that came to her was so nonsensical it wasn’t just worth debating with the others. “No way, can evil overlord have dropped this?”
Could evil star overlord be…?
“Nah, no, nope, unless…nah…”
Turned out her gut feeling about having seen that brand of food was actually spot on. Except that boss dude was not a star guardian nemesis or whatever. It might have not been that evil overlord either. Right now, this was just a simple, ordinary classmate.
‘This is madness. Littering happens, it’s not impossible that someone just dropped trash. Coincidentally in that alley? Whilst the city was evacuating.’
The person of interest sat two seats behind her, to Jinx’s right. The one odd thing about this student was that the teachers could never get her to stop coming to school in the male uniform. Fenri had just complained how she was too tall for the skirt to be comfortable. Eventually, Illaoi had taken her side pushing the excuse that the uniform sizes were pretty insensitive to actual living, breathing students and the school only made them look good for the pamphlets. IIlaoi being a capable conversationalist won the school board over and Fenri was allowed to wear whatever she was comfortable in.
‘Granted, we’re high school students living a double life as star guardians ,’ And that’s enough to think that the baddies could do the same just as easily.
And there was the double tails business which was rare to see although the colour didn’t add up. Fenri’s coat was light, the colour of moonlight and something not as white as snow nonetheless invoking a fascination unlike any other. Their enemy coat on the other hand could only be described as akin to the darkest coal that felt that if you touched it you’d get sucked up in a black hole.
The rest of her surveillance cemented the fact the subject was pretty ordinary, except she’d have these little protein bars to snack on and was stealthy enough to never get caught. She had a bad habit of stuffing her pockets with the wrappers and forgetting them there. The same that Jinx had found by the portal.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Jinx thought, if anything her impression of the girl was curious. Especially because a week before she’d been successful in scaring a bunch of kids that decided to gang up on the ‘delinquent third year’ for some petty revenge against Jinx. Nothing new, if they hadn’t outnumbered Jinx she’d have been fine. So Fenri’s assistance was pretty welcome.
Jinx squeezed her duffel bag that was hiding her familiars in a crushing hug, and blew a raspberry, “We’re women of action right my kiddies? Let’s just check this out,”
And she really thought it would only be a false hunch. It’s just a little whim, maybe it’d be fun and she’d get to call it even. Jinx hated owing favors, that’s all there is to this little investigation.
Fenri looked up from her book, she’d been rocking her chair precariously and the sound it made as she came back to a proper sitting position was grating to the nerves.
“Hey, I still owe you for last time. Do you fancy something from Braum’s?”
‘Yeah, definitely as stupid hunch.’ She thought when the girl accepted her proposal with a curt nod. Bored and quiet didn’t equate to an angry, malicious dark star minion being in their midst.
And she really wanted to think so because Jinx enjoyed it. It was only a normal outing with a normal friend. No star guardian business, nobody judging her or telling her to do better than her best as if it's so easy to change her core being. It was so nice Jinx started to wonder if they were chosen hero’s or willing sacrifices all over again.
It was only a whim, a curiosity, like an itch she needed to scratch that bled out when she followed Fenri upon realising she turned into an alley that was definitely not taking her anywhere. Just a dead end, so Jinx’s sense of adventure just peaked. And her hunch was proven right.
Fenri cursed, kicking a can to the wall of the alley, it bounces away rolling sadly until it’s stopped by Jinx’s boot. The portal was buzzing behind her, no hard evidence needed when you could see it with your own eyes.“Well guess you caught me,”
What neither expected was that they ended up being pals anyway. Their fight takes a spectacular 3 minutes, enough time to transform and point their own weapons at each other.
“You…are kidding me right?” Jinx says nudging the side of Fenri’s head with her gun.
The wolf monster doesn’t flinch and actually looks close to yawning. A dead fish would have more vitality.
“Yes, I’m not really feeling it,”
The answer rubs her as delicately as sandpaper against delicate skin. It’s boring in the sense that she’s lost all appetite for a good fight.
“You’re kinda weird, and that’s okay with me,” she decides, letting Fenri swat the starlight shooting gun away.
“What if you regret this?”
“Eh, whatever wolfy, you know consequences are there to be faced and all that,” she mutters, lowering Shiro and Kuro and having them turn back into their fluffy balls of black and white fur. ‘Having someone on the other side might prove useful in making sure Lux doesn’t get killed,’
“I’m…not a wolf,”
“That’s what’s bothering you?! Ha!”
‘It’s her smile ,’ Jinx thinks, it’s definitely the way her lips curl up, dimples pushing cheeks up the cute, pink rounded edges of her cheeks. That’s why she came back. Seeing Lux happy always made her feel pretty good.
It was funny how it all started, the Lux before being her best friend had been a little princess coming from a world that was the total opposite of her everyday life. She’s the goody two shoes who talked to her on the first day of school, years back when she wasn’t a jinx, when she was just a little, shy girl with a penchant for clumsiness. And it turned out it wasn’t just to be nice, Lux was a curious child and pretty weird herself.
Jinx found out that maybe they weren’t so different, burned by expectations coming from all around them. Lux wasn’t just a pampered, sheltered princess and her heart burned for true justice. Enough to scald herself, Jinx thought fearfully. The sleepovers were fun -their favourite thing- especially when her dads had been in a good mood. She’d always flaunt about her cool older sister too.
Lux was the only one who knew her before becoming Jinx. The first time her inferiority complex had turned into her signature shit eating grin and she had exploded a whole room in a rain of bright pink and blue phosphorescent paint, Lux had still stuck to her side till morning. Lux had taken her new personality in stride, vowing that they'd never part all over again.
This is why she can’t just abandon her. Nor the team she led. The other girls were alright; she would admit openly that much - Jinx would never say just how much fun it was to be with them -butshe knew it’s not quite the same way she feels about Lux. She’s not stupid though, she can feel Janna’s stares, hardened on her back - hears the words in her head before she even utters them. ‘ Calm down, don’t make anything explode,’
‘Jinx don’t do this’. ‘Jinx act more like a star guardian ’. Blah blah yadda yadda. She’s a little bit tired that there seemed to be a brand of sorts on how to fight an enemy that wants to kill you.
“I need space Lux,” she admits, squeezing the hands in hers and letting go. She just can’t conform and be someone she’s not. “Just…see ya later, okay,”
It’s kind of cinematic, how she flies off into the burning orange horizon with Lux calling her name. Would put to shame any movie out there. Her familiars stick to her side making those weird snuffles and grunts, uncharacteristically chatty. Jinx, this one time, is the one that doesn’t feel like responding.
Fenri always keeps the window to her room open which makes it easy for Jinx to sneak in. She’s surprised to actually find her home, napping away with her tails tucked protectively around her body and so it’s impossible can’t resist the urge to kick.
“…ow,”
The howling wolf looks at her perplexed, half awake and beady eyed.
“Let me stay a few more days,”
“And you couldn’t wait till morning to tell me this,” she groans, stretching before jumping out of bed.
“It is morning, it's like 4am. Besides, you’re barely here, in your spacious apartment with all your luxuries and you still insist on staying in some cave with all the monsters and evil villian’s monologues going.”
There’s a nerve struck and Fenri’s looks doesn’t seem so friendly anymore.“I keep telling you, that’s none of your business ms star guardian,”
“Eh, worth a shot. Invading the enemy stronghold always sounded like a quick solution,” Jinx shrugged, avoiding a pillow to the face as Fenri grumbles about her lack of sanity. “how did you even get this place,”
“Star Guardian relocation program baby. Earth’s taken her fair share of refugees.” Fenri yawned, her twin tails stretch in a straight line as she cracks the kinks in her back.
“And you don’t feel bad being on the side that’s trying to destroy everything we love on this planet?” She shrugs, she can’t quite understand that train of thought.
Fenri’s demeanor changes, it appears almost lifeless for a moment. “It’s kind of complicated. Just like how you’re here talking to me instead of having a sparkly and fuzzy star guardian glitter party with rainbow flavored pancakes and candy or whatever,” she says clearly annoyed, “I’m guessing I can’t ask about Lux?”
“Touché,”
Jinx drags herself to the room she’d been using, staring at the half made bed and sighing. A nap later- one that lasts about 10 hours- she feels a kick at the side of the bed.
Fenri stands on the side of her bed buttoning up a shirt and looking a little guilty. "Get up we're going to the arcade,"
"You hate crowds, it’s Saturday is gonna be packed…” she stops to gasp at the possibility, “Aww you trying to cheer me up?"
“Move it,” Fenri hisses, throwing her off the bed to her feet.
Most of the games have Jinx's name in the top 3 high scores, especially the shooting ones. Most of those actually have her as the no 1 top score, so it’s no contest when Fenri plays against her some zombie shooter. It’s not like she’s bad, it’s just that some people were born to obliterate their opponents at video games no matter the skill set you employed.
“Oh dang it, died again,” she says, almost inclined to stomp her foot like a child. Jinx manages to soothe her pulling her along for the next game.
It’s in the middle of their racing game that Fenri starts acting stranger than usual. Wiggling in her seat and peaking at her without trying to appear subtle.
“Listen, is everything ok with you guys? I mean, star guardian business, you know, um…that's really risky especially when not everyone is united.”
“Didn’t you say we shouldn’t get involved in each other’s business.” Jinx feels like a vein in her head was going to explode just trying to stay calm when replying.
Fenri replies in stride and she almost sounds like a snapping wolf. “Yes well maybe I’m worried because you’ve been hanging at my place for days and I’m the evil overlord,”
“I said I was joking. How should Ihave known you’re like a miniboss,”
“Jinx, I’m not kidding, there’s star nemesis. Enough to confront your Star guardian friends and more. The ones I’m with, I’m…they’re determined. They’re driven by personal interest. And they’re not the only ones,” Fenri thinks of Tyr, the leader of her faction. The trio under him right now is experienced, capable and united in their hatred for everything the first stars chosen symbolised.
And then there was that feeling of alienation that she’s breaking apart from them. And she doesn’t really want this planet to be destroyed. Stuff is enjoyable; good food, fun night outs with friends. It’s almost like she’s back home with her old gang.“There’s a really dangerous star nemesis, she already has a record of star guardians trophies,”
‘And she looks like a kid cosplaying her favourite cartoon character which makes it all the more creepy.’ Except she can’t outright say it, that old gang of hers, it isn’t all gone. Not yet. And that thought keeps Fenri from giving anything more than hints.
“Are you sure you should be telling me this?”
“No,” she mutters thinking ‘I owe this second chance to Roskva,’ and it’s really time to shut up lest she says something that drowns her in the sorrowful guilt chaining her every step.
There's a flick to Fenri's ear, the first movement since she deposited herself behind Jinx after crashing her car. She’s stopped playing with the phone and watching the race.
Jinx, perceptive as ever, seems to feel the sudden change. "What?"
"Your buddies are here,"
"Come on Lux,"
"Just one game,"
Lux is standing with her arms crossed eying the path leading to rhythm game. She loved the thing. She liked being a normal high school girl and having a jolly good time with her friends. Going to cafes, taking selfies, movies and all that. ‘But duty calls, first and foremost, ’
"It's never one game with you," she says but it's evident she's relenting. She really likes the way moving her body just melts the stress away even though her score was abysmal. Turns out fighting monsters every night didn't give them any sense of boppin' to the music. Usually Jinx would…
Right, the Jinx problem too.
"Janna is gonna kill us. She's waiting for us to order take out,"
Poppy isn't giving in today.Hands on her hips, she retaliates, “We just had lunch, just an hour!”
“What about our chores!” Lux points out as her last line of defense.
The best employed double puppy eyes Lux has ever experienced has her cave. It wasn’t fair that Lulu and Poppy were teaming up on her, dragging her the moment they passed by the arcade and insisting on this break. It wasn’t that their chores couldn’t wait or that they couldn’t have a detour.
‘What? Does being star guardians mean we’re allowed no fun? ’ Jinx would surely tell her if she were here.
"Fine,fine just one," she tries to sound determined but she already knows it'll be at least an hour.
Right behind her, in the most conspicuous manner that has her shooing people away, Fenri is peeking from behind a console relaying their positions to a contemplative Jinx.
"Shit," Jinx mouths, taking a quick look at them herself from behind the safety of Fenri's broad back seemingly not convinced of the girl’s report. God bless the tall, wide frame of hers that could hide her scrawny self. Jinx grabbed the twin tails trying to cover herself further, to completion, maybe she could imagine herself in some mountains getting sucked up by the snow.
Fenri finds this so uncharacteristic she just blurts out encouragement. "Go talk to her,"
Jinx pulled on her hoodie in obvious disbelief of her suggestion, earning a smack of a tail to her face.
“Go,”Fenri insists and Jinx's mouth twists into a scowl.
“This will end badly,”
“Or it’ll end just fine, go, go, go or I’ll make you,”
“Jinx!” Lulu darts away from pulling at Lux's skirt and heads straight to hug Jinx's leg. It’s unexpected when Jinx crouches to ruffle her hair but maybe she’s just caught by the sudden happy howling of her name. Even Poppy greets her with less harshness than usual.
“Hey there, arcade day? Does Janna know?” Jinx grinned, awkwardly standing 2 meters away from Lux when she’s usually accustomed to letting her whole weight hang on her childhood friend in a half hug.
Lux isn’t even sure how to act. They’re supposed to be distant and confused, there’;s so much to talk about and no one to tell them where to start but it's so nice to see her that Lux immediately adopts Lulu’s example and tries to be lighthearted. “P-Please don’t tell her. Haven’t even decided on takeout,”
“Oh right, it’s takeout Saturday. Want some suggestions?” Jinx smirks,she’s always full of suggestions from new, risky power moves to fight the monsters to new places to try out. Yet her taste in food is safely comparable to her carelessness in battle: adventurous to the point of reckless.
Lux doesn’t really feel like caring that last time Jinx chose the curry had nearly turned her into a fire spitting star guardian. It’s nice to be talking so casually again. “That would be nice actually, you…you could come over,”
There’s an awkward silence until Poppy pushes to stand in between them and shakes her head. “Nuh, uh Jinx has horrible taste in takeout, it’s not her turn this week anyway, it’s mine!”
“Just because your taste buds are puny does it mean we all have to suffer?”
Friendly squabble ensues and it’s like nothing ever changed. They’re a star guardian team hanging out, having fun and taking a break from saving the world every single night. Except…
Jinx taps her shoulder and points with her thumb behind her at the figure leaning game against a game console lazily watching them. She recognizes her as a classmate and the girl Jinx has been hanging with lately. The ones the teachers called a problem child. “Do we have room for one more?”
“Jinx, no,” Fenri takes exactly three steps to come up to the group and hisses her distaste of the idea. She is a little surprised when the number one sweet little goody two shoes from school seems less than happy to see her. Fenri can hear the sad chirp of Star fighters 3 game console behind them as someone loses to the final boss and almost feel like it’s her fate to go out like a sad little pixel villian. ‘That’s a glare, that’s one mean looking glare,’
“Jinx made a friend,” Poppy gasped, shaking Lux from her frozen disbelief, “We gotta see this, absolutely, tell us what this loser has been up to,”
Fenri fidgets on the spot feeling horrible, caught in a cage as Jinx promises murder if she opens her damn mouth. This is literally the enemy stronghold she’s getting sucked into. “How about a game? Then maybe I can give you some tidbits on who has the best local cuisine for takeouts?”
Lux went from gaping to scrutinizing her with a frenzied look. She seems to catch herself shaking off her strange mood and manages a tense smile, “Sure, I…that’s super helpful. Sounds nice yeah,”
Poppy looks at her like she’s gone wacko all of a sudden and pulls Lulu along to the older games section leaving them with the simplest of explanations. She had a penchant for the old whack-o-mole even if it glitched and didn’t hold the score properly.
“Oh that sounds fun!” Fenri squeaked, pushing Jinx towards Lux, “and Jinx can show Lux her new score on uh star frenzy shooters, cool right? See ya,”
The trio trotted off without further ado leaving the pair to stand awkwardly in the middle of the chatter from the bustling arcade, kids roaring at the top of their lungs in conjunction to the sounds of buttons clicking, joysticks being forcefully moved around and the occasional curse from the sore loser of the day.
Jinx shakes her head, with a huff she points out, “So, they ran off huh,”
“Umm, yeah, I’ll call them when it’s time to leave, or something,”
“Right,”
“Yeah, umm,”
Jinx snickers, grabbing Lux’s wrist and pulling her along and Lux immediately falls in line with her longer stride. There’s a twinge of a memory in her mind, a time when they were younger and it was Lux that would lead. When a younger Jinx's hand was small, cold and trembling in her slightly larger one and she had to comfort her when things got rough. It’s all different now, Jinx has to slow down so Lux’s shorter legs can keep up, her hand is bigger, she has those long fingers like a pianists and her own hand is safely tucked into hers. Not to mention, their older siblings aren’t there to duke it out with the monsters to keep them safe.
Those monsters weren’t so supernatural but it had not been this hard to connect to one another. “Jinx, what happened to us?”
Jinx seems to have been having similar thoughts or maybe she knew her so well, she didn’t have to read minds to guess what she meant. “We grew up, Flashlight. It’s not so bad once you find a new rhythm for all the high school teenage bullshit. It’s the star guardian business that’s a little tricky,”
Lux laughs, leaning onto Jinx side and they stumble a few feet through a couple of kids that try to pick a fight. Jinx makes quick work of intimidating them and waves it off. “I guess I just don’t understand what’s so tricky about saving the world,”
“And I don’t understand how losing yourself is part and parcel with your so called justice of saving the world,”
“Jinx, I…”
“Save it for later, we’re here!”
Lux’s mouth snaps shut as she stares at the colorful neon highlights of the arcade games title as all the lights flash about the whole platform.
“Isn’t this the new…I thought we were going to that shooting game,”
It’s the new star guardian themed rhythm game and even though it's a little embarrassing seeing their caricatures grinning back at them all over the console. It looked absolutely bomb, and there was barely a line for it to booth. Jinx shows an attendant some ticket of sorts and they’re quickly pulled into the queue.
“We can play that later, this thing has a two player mode and everyone has to book a turn to get in on it. I can help you out for that high score,” Jinx squeezes her hand looking quite proud of herself.
“I have two left feet Jinx,” she whispers, Lux can’t help but feel touched by the gesture. And there’s a little train of thought that she can’t help think this almost feels like a date.
Jinx grabs her wrist and helps her up the last few steps leading to the platforms. Their turn is just around the corner. “I have your back all the time, nothing can ever stop us. You know you can still call me when you need a hand,”
Lux smiles, blushing prettily and follows her as they get called by the attendants. She adds a little jump onto the platform feeling strangely good about it all. Giddy and electrified by the rush of the sudden feeling of fun to come, she beckons Jinx on the platform next to her.
“Come on. Come on,”
For the first time today, it’s Jinx that’s left stupefied only to get pumped up by Lux’s enthusiasm in the next second.
“Yeah, yeah. Coming boss,”
“You okay big guy? You look like its the end of the world,”
Lulu pats Fenri’s hand as Poppy’s words barely register, the little quiet girl points at the moles popping out of the console holes.
Fenri blinks feeling like she’d traveled back from a million miles away. And whacks the next mole that pops out so hard the console vibrates and the lights turn off for split second.
“Whoa, there, take it easy,” Poppy smacks her hip with the plastic hammer, she’s got a smile that kinda looks a little angry plastered on her face, “What did the game ever do to you,”
“S-sorry. Was just thinking of some troubles,”
Lulu and Poppy look at each other and nod, they had an inkling what that meant considering how solemn their apartment had become with the quiet Jinx had left in her stead.
“Anything we can help you with?”
And Fenri feels the tendrils of guilt wrapping around her heart, she thought she was now a cold and unfeeling foot soldier for the dark stars minions, if anything, after all this time. After all the tragedies that she’d seen star guardians bring along with their so-called light of hope. Maybe it was just their destiny to struggle and they didn’t mean harm per se. These kids were kind too. And it’s always the nice ones that bite the dust first.
“Sure,” she says, making up a convenient excuse on the spot, “was wondering which of the top 3 contestants for takeout you guys would like.”
Lux can’t grumble about Fenri, it’s like she was a godsend chore master and it would feel horribly ingrateful to mention the way she doesn’t sit right with her. The girl helped them finish all their chores in record time. The groceries hanging loosely on her arms as they walked back to their place.
Lux feels a pang of irritation as Jinx gravitates around Fenri, jumping around animatedly motivating the conversation until she breaks off from the group and comes to walk by her side. Her heart decides to flutter excitedly and it’s almost magical, the street lamps illuminating their way back home,it was a shame the evening lights prevented them from seeing the stars.
It’s a little chilly in this time of year that’s not quite winter any longer and not yet spring - thankfully, she’s wearing Jinx’ leather jacket snugly covering her whole frame - rolling up her sleeves for the tenth time she musters her best smile. They’re most likely gonna get grilled with 20 questions and then some from Janna because it is way past the time they had agreed to be back home. Lux is hoping the takeout they’re bringing back will placate her, the texts had been mostly positive emoji when they mentioned it so she had high hopes for the future of their group’s life points.
“Didn’t think Janna was a big fan of Hawaiian, but these bowls seem tasty,” Jinx initiates the conversation with ease, it seemed like a talent to Lux who always felt hyper aware of her position and how she should seem to others, lately.
“Well, you’re the least picky out of us funnily enough.” She nudges Jinx who pushes right back until Lux is clumsily hopping on one foot to keep her balance.
There’s a sharp pull at her elbow and she ends up crashing face first into Jinx’s chest.
“T-thanks,”
Fenri is entertaining the other two with ease. There’s a quietness about her that’s obviously hiding a most gentle heart but Lux feels a disquieting sort of emptiness, as if there’s nothing defining about this person. Just another chess piece going through the destined motions.
“Are you sure about this…Fenri, Jinx?” She asks feeling suddenly breathless.
“Yeah she’s cool. Mostly,”
What’s that supposed to mean? That’s absolutely reassuring, and here Lux thought sarcasm wasn’t really her thing. Lux’s dilemma makes her tone harden. “ Jinx ,”
“What?”
And here it was, the tone that meant the fight was on. Lux is tiptoeing around the issue, avoiding eye contact and making a weird sound with her lips when she’s chewing on them.
Jinx takes her silence as an opportunity to read between the lines. “If she’s my friend, she must be a bad crowd huh? I attract those types, don’t I?”
“That’s not what I mean. It’s…”
“Yeah, sure Lux. Let’s just go, okay?”
They remain silent for the rest of the trip, getting concerned peaks from the trio leading the way. It's a small comfort that Jinx doesn’t leave her side.
The conversation would have remained stale if it wasn’t for Janna being an exceptionally welcoming host. Fenri is stiff at first but is actually a very pleasant and courteous conversation partner. Janna has a lot of history tidbits that their guest seem really interested in.
And dinner is pleasant if the tension in the air wasn’t marinating their food to nearly tasteless. They’ve all been staring at the only two that have yet to utter a single syllable since they sat at the dinner table.
“Beats them not talking at all,” Poppy whispers to Janna who didn’t seem to share her optimism.
When she finds Lux watching Jinx leave with Fenri from the balcony of the apartment it’s a little too hard to keep herself neutral. She knocks on the window and the door creaks open ever so slightly.
“Hey,” Lux greets her with the vitality of a canned fish.
“Hello to you too,” Janna murmurs, shoving a hot cup of steaming cocoa into her hands before she could refuse it, “to warm you up,”
“Thank you,”
Janna throws her arm over her shoulders bringing her closer to shield her from the night’s frost winds. “Give her time Lux, she’s…more sensitive than you think. And…”
‘A very smart girl,’
Lux sighs, thinking about all the gadgets in she'd left in her room and all the times Jinx’s crazy plans actually got them out of trouble. “I know I just, miss my friend, I guess,”
“Hmm, I hope, that’s all there is to it,” Janna says cryptically,
Fenri takes the portal that night, it’s the first time in weeks she hasn’t visited the little bubble realm she created when she first woke up. A rusting sword, resemblant of a feather, one that will never feel the wind as it cuts through the air into sinking into its target. A long time ago, it was a vibrant green but now its colour withered to a mangy excuse of a replica of its former self.
What Fenri hadn’t expected was the little critter hanging on its hilt. It had a long body like a weasel, the hair on it stood up kind of like the spines of a porcupine. It sniffed at her with its muzzle and tilted its head to look at her with clever, brown eyes.
“Huh, you look terrible, little guy,” she inched slowly trying to touch the purple, smoking blotch on the creature’s shoulder. “How did you get in here little one?” Probably the lost familiar of a fallen star guardian who proceeded to hiss at her curling into a ball and became a solid, spiky mass as it rolled away and nearly nicked her.
“Oh, whoa, there,” Fenri huffed, shoving her hand into her pocket and rummaging for a treat. “Come on, I know I still have one left, Aha!”
Breaking a piece of the snack, she lowered it towards the ball of fluff turned into razor sharp daggers and patiently waited until it unfurled, sniffing at the treat and licking its lips. When it started to munch on it, it was a lot easier to give the little one some first aid and bandage it up.
“Can’t really call you just ‘creature’ if I’m gonna let you stay until you heal,” she told it, rubbing along the soft fur along its back. It has a fiery attitude but it’s not so bad once you get past the whole danger ball situation. “How’s Chilli sound?”
There’s an indignant squeak from her lap but it doesn’t run away and instead Chilli rubs itself closer to her. It reminds her of how Jinx is with Lux and her mood sours once more. She’s supposed to be on the lookout for what happens on Earth, not befriending her best friend’s enemies.
Yet here she was, never having considered the star guardians enemies. A fake, a coward and completely lost like a child without its parents.
“Oh, what am I doing?” Fenri asked the sword, hoping to get enlightenment. There was none coming from the inanimate object of course.
A few feet away, by a portal leading to the darkest of lost realms. A lone figure stood watch with her arms crossed and a stern expression.
“Yeah, what are you doing, old friend?”