Rising Shards

Esther stifled a laugh as both Myles and Charmaine poked at the devices in front of them.

”So it’s like those big video walls,” Charmaine said. ”But...small.”

”And they won’t turn on,” Myles said.

Charmaine could get hers to light up, but it blinked away quickly. Myles couldn’t do the same, and kept grunting each time she failed to get it to work.

Esther had gotten into hers, but didn’t find the contents particularly interesting. The group was in another lesson about the world they’d fallen into.

There was a novelty to all the information inside the device, but otherwise it was like a lot of the technology Octa had shown them, bright and colorful, but it made her feel hollow. None of it could replace a print book, and she wanted this lesson to be over so she could get back to her favorite, which thankfully had survived the journey from her old world to this strange new one.

Sai managed to get into their tablet and find some sort of drawing feature. Ash got about as far as Esther, but focused on helping her sister get into her tablet.

”Yeah, I don’t think this one’s for me,” Myles said.

”You barely tried,” Ash laughed.

”I tried enough,” Myles said. She leaned back, eyeing the hallway outside. Octa had stepped out for a moment. ”What do you think of all this?”

Myles met Esther’s eyes when she said that. She had done this plenty back home, and the others did as well. Esther wasn’t exactly sure how, but she became the leader of their small group, taking on the role even more so after they were separated from Auren, Esther’s guardian.

Myles said it was because Ether’s decisions tended to cause less explosions than her own, but Esther wasn’t sure if she could remain the leader. But the others relied on her. In this case, she understood what Myles was asking her.

”I don’t know,” Esther said. ”Obviously we can’t go anywhere right away. But...”

”It feels a bit prison-y, doesn’t it?” Myles said. ”And I would know.”

Myles had been imprisoned more than once by the regime Esther and the others fought against more than once.

”It does,” Esther said. ”But I don’t think Octa...” She wasn’t sure how to put it. Octa was cold, a bit aloof...but she wasn’t uncaring. ”I’m not sure about the others, but Octa at least has our best interests at heart. I think.”

”I hope you’re right,” Myles said.

”Me too,” Esther bit her lip, then winced, still not used to the fangs. A sour emotion wormed into her, one she couldn’t immediately place.

”I know that look,” Charmaine said. ”Homesick?”

Charmaine was very good at reading expressions, and her ability was spot on again.

”I think you’re right...” Esther said. ”I keep expecting to wake up, be back where we should be.”

”Yeah...” Ash said. ”I understand that completely.”

”And...I feel like I failed,” Esther said.

She had a mission back home. A quest to save her home from evil. And she couldn’t complete it.

”You didn’t,” Myles said. ”We did everything we could. I know that doesn’t make it hurt less.”

It didn’t, but there wasn’t anything Esther could do about it. She poked at her tablet again.

”Sai, can you show me how to get to that drawing thing?” Esther asked.

Sai looked surprised to be spoken to. ”I can try, yeah. What for?”

”I want to try and draw some things from home, so I don’t forget,” Esther said.