Ambiguous Alternatives

Visiting her student's homes was nothing new to Theta. Children often left things that were of great importance to them at school, causing fatigued parents to call her in a desperate bid to get said item back. 

So it wasn't a surprise when she received a call one Saturday morning from a somewhat distressed Mr. De Serio asking if she had seen a wooden Toybi left behind on the Friday. Luck had it that Theta had seen the toy, and experienced in her role, she took it with her with the expectation of the phone call the following day. Relief was palpable in his voice when she told him that she did in fact have the toy and would be able to deliver it to their home. It should have been nothing out of the ordinary for her. 

By the time she reached the De Serio residence, Theta was truly lamenting her decision to cycle there rather than use the previous fuel in her car. On the map, the De Serio residence didn't seem that far away. Yes it wasn't in the city's boundaries at all, instead out in the surrounding countryside but it wasn't that far from the edge of the city. But what the map didn't show was the horrible condition of the road or the steep slopes she'd need to climb. 

A moderate farm house stood before her as she wiped sweat from her forehead. It was quaint. An old, brick farmhouse with a small gravel path and a meticulously maintained garden. It was picturesque, and if she was honest, exactly the kind of place she had mentally pictured for the soft spoken man and his two daughters. Briefly she threw her thoughts back to the strange woman - Skyla, the twins' older sister. A house as calm and gentle as this hardly seemed fitting for the fierce woman. So she felt safe knocking on the front door - safe from the one who had been haunting her thoughts and raised questions without answers in her. 

A feeling of safety that was born from assumptions had no legs to stand on. 

"What?" Growled a voice that had played in her mind several times over the past month. 

Theta could do little more than gawk at the sight that greeted her. 

Hair dyed navy, red, and white clung to her forehead. Water ran trails from her hair, down her face and either dripping onto the floor or soaked up by the white towel slunk around her broad shoulders. Her eyes trailed down those shoulders to her arms. Creators they were… If toned men had 'guns' then Skyla was equipped with cannons. She had forgone her typical leather ensemble in favour of a pair of grey sweatpants and a skin tight white tank top. Her dark skin was stripped with pale scars - a feature that surprised Theta, they were not self inflicted, nor did they look like the scars left behind from accidental scrapes. They were intentional. And they eerily matched the ones that littered her own body-

"What the fuck-" Skyla swallowed her curse with a grimace. "What the heck do you want?" 

Theta flicked her eyes back to Skyla’s face, which was pulled into a dark frown, scars twisting her face as her eyes shone brightly beneath the shadow she cast over her own face. Despite the good seven inches of height she had over the other woman, Theta couldn’t help but feel intimidated and even small under the intense gaze. 

An eyebrow twitched and Theta brought herself back into the moment once more. She was here for a reason, one she had to fulfill quickly before she was chased off the land by a guard dog she was not expecting. Her hand shot to her pocket.

“Ah, well.” She started. “Mr. De Serio called asking after something Echo left at school yesterday, I was just dropping it off.”

Skyla looked her up and down before giving a heavy, frustrated sigh. 

“You’re that damned teacher.” She pinched the bridge of her nose as she stepped aside. “Alright, in then.”

“There’s no need, really! I-”

Skyla cut her off with a strong look and a stronger grip around her wrist. 

“If you don’t come in for a cuppa tea, I’m gonna have to listen to another fuckin’ lecture on manners from Salvador.” Skyla hissed lowly, barely above a whisper and clearly only for Theta to hear. “So you get your damn ass inside and sit down for a drink. Or am I gonna have to make you?”

There was no doubt in Theta’s mind that Skyla had the means and methods to force her into the house, and could inflict more than just a ‘fair amount’ of harm unto her person if provoked. The muscles clenching in her arms spoke of physical strength and the scars more than hinted to experience. Not to say Theta was completely helpless and couldn’t get out of the situation with her own set of skills. But she was just a teacher and not a- well, she couldn’t be seen using those skills or people would ask questions. And the last thing she needed was the wrong person asking questions.

“Actually, a cup of tea sounds wonderful.”

“Sit down.” Ordered Skyla as she brought Theta into the heart of the house. “I’ll go tell Dad you’re here.”

The woman then disappeared through a doorway, closing the door behind her. Theta wasn’t exactly a fan of following orders with veiled threats hanging over them. And so after she heard the kettle begin to boil, she stood up once more to survey her surroundings in a more ‘hands on’ way. The room wasn’t all that big, she could cross from one wall to the other in roughly ten strides. It was warmly decorated as any proud family home would be. Framed photos of the family on various trips or special occasions hung on walls and displayed on the sideboard and mantle. Drawings in various styles - clearly from different children - were stuck on the walls alongside the photos, and those on the mantle were joined by crude figures and bowls handmade from clay. A beautiful blue glass vase stood proud in the centre of the mantle piece. It held a beautiful bouquet of various different flowers, only a few of which Theta, with her limited botany knowledge, could identify. Purple tulips were the easiest to identify, carnations of both white and red, flowers that looked like big daisies with purple instead of white petals, and branches with soft, round leaves were inserted into the bouquet. She reached out with a hand to touch one of the soft petals. 

The kettle abruptly stopped whistling. 

She froze, ears pricked for any noise.

There it was. The sound of a door opening and the soft click of boots as someone entered.

Quickly, she retracted her hand and by the time the door opened once more, she was already sitting on the sofa. The red head of Mr. De Serio appeared, shortly followed by the rest of his diminutive figure. His hand trailed uncertainly on the wall as his head swayed from side to side, as if he was trying to find something… 

Oh! He was trying to find her. 

"I'm sorry for the intrusion, Mr. De Serio." She said in lieu of a greeting. 

The man in question gave her one of his trademark soft smiles as he finally came to face her, head no longer needing to pivot in search. He walked towards her, hand still on the wall, fingers gently grazing over it - no doubt detecting small landmarks and defects she could not see. His knee gently bumped into a small wooden side table that lay just beside the right arm of the sofa - the arm that was not occupied by her. Using the table as a guide, Mr. De Serio sat down with more grace and poise than she would expect from someone of his condition. It didn't escape her notice that he left his hand on the side table beside him. In the distance of the kitchen, Theta could hear the tinkle of a spoon on porcelain. 

"You have a beautiful house, Mr. De Serio." Praised Theta. 

Before the other replied, Skyla reentered the room, holding two steaming mugs. She shot Theta a glance, one that held weariness but none of the anger she had previously displayed. 

"Here you go Dad."

Skyla placed the mug onto the table, spinning the mug around to press the handle into Mr. De Serio's palm. His fingers curled around the handle with a smile. Once Skyla's hands left the mug, he lifted it up and brought it slowly into his lap, holding it with both hands. 

"Thank you dear." Mr. De Serio said with a smile. 

Skyla grunted out a response. She did not extend the same curtesy to Theta. The mug was simply thrusted towards her, hot tea threatening to spill over the rim. Regardless, she took it with a smile and a 'thank you'. 

"Right," Skyla announced once both mugs had been handed over. "I'm off to the gym Dad." 

"Skyla we have a guest!" He protested. "Surely it can wait a few moments."

Her face darkened once more but Theta noticed the look was not aimed at her father. It was aimed at her.

"Fine." She growled, all but throwing herself into an armchair. "A few moments."

That seemed to placate him as he sat back calmly and sipped at his tea. Skyla leaned back in her chair, arms crossed - Theta did not focus on the rippling of muscle under skin, no matter what anyone says - and fixed a venomous look towards her. She felt heat rise and congregate under her collar. How could one woman be so intimidating? It wasn't fair. 

"Oh I should probably give you back what Echo left behind." Theta said when she felt the press of horns and points into her thigh. 

Skyla watched her closely as she pulled out the little wooden Toybi. Before Theta had a chance to offer it to Mr. De Serio, Skyla snatched it from her hands. When had she moved-? 

"How did you get that?" She demanded. 

Theta blinked up at her. 

"Echo left it in class?" 

Skyla growled again, rubbing her free hand down her face. 

"Of course she did." Was all she said before she stormed out of the room. 

Leaving Theta to stare at her retreating back. 

"You'll have to forgive her." Mr. De Serio said softly. "That toy means a lot to her." 

"She's upset that Echo almost lost it." Theta finished for him. 

He nodded in agreement. 

"She's lost a lot in her life and doesn't want to lose anything else, even small things like that."

Theta wanted to ask him to elaborate on that statement but the moment she opened her mouth, Skyla walked back in. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at Theta, almost as if she had heard everything that had been said. That wasn’t possible… Was it?

Mercutio took a sip from his mug, holding it close to his chest. It was odd but Theta noticed the fingers of his right hand - the one not holding the handle - were hanging over the rim of the mug and grazing the surface of his tea. How was he not getting burnt?

The harsh clearing of a throat pulled her attention away from Mercutio and back to Skyla who had since sat back down, her legs and arms crossed. Her brows were pinched as she scowled. One of them seemed to be shaved? Wait, no. It was sliced through by a scar? How had she missed that before? It wasn’t exactly small, stretching down a good portion of her cheek and going over her eye - which was a bright blue, a stark contrast to the red of the other eye. Did the scar cause that or was she born like that like Theta herself was? 

Skyla didn’t seem to appreciate the staring. Eyes narrowed further, corners of her mouth turned down. The glimmer of a sharp, white tooth was visible…

“So Skyla.” She eventually said, fingers running over the rim of her mug. “What do you do? As a job?”

The other remained quiet. Her face was impassive and Theta felt sweat begin to drip down the back of her neck. Had she overstepped? Was that the wrong question to ask? Oh god was she going to be-

“Security.” Skyla said gruffly.

“Well ah… That seems fitting.” Was all Theta could say.

Beside her, Mercutio swelled with pride. He said something about how his daughter was protecting others and how proud of that he was - but Theta wasn't listening. No, she was focused on Skyla. On the flinch so slight anyone with duller eyes would have missed it. On the barely there twitch of her eyebrows and the flick of her eyes away from her father if only briefly.

Guilt.

Guilt she wanted to hide despite Mercutio's… condition. Was she hiding it from Theta? That didn't seem right. There was something else going on here.

Her thoughts and Mercutio's ramblings were interrupted. By the low buzz of a mobile phone. Skyla pulled her phone out, tapping it awake. Her eyes did not run from left to right as if she had received a text message. A small smile tugged at her lips as she gave a slight fond shake of her head.

"Right," She announced as she stood up. "Dad I really have to go now. Kan's at the gym and by the looks of things, she won't be for much longer and I wanna get a training session in with her."

"She texted you?" Mercutio asked with a frown. "Is she in trouble?"

"Nah." Skyla shook her head despite it being a pointless action. "Fen sent me a Snapchat - Kan's been challenged by some guy to a weight lifting contest. And of course she's winning and he ain't too happy about that."

Mercutio laughed and finally relinquished her. She walked past him, gently patting him once on the shoulder as she passed, picking up a duffle bag on the way. She disappeared around the corner. Moments later they could hear the roar of a motorbike. 

"She wasn't wearing a jacket or helmet was she?" Mercutio asked softly as he took another sip of his drink.

"Ah… no she didn't."

Mercutio shook his head with a heavy frown.

"I didn't think she was. I wish she wouldn't be so reckless."

The things Mercutio could discern from sound alone always amazed and frankly scared her sometimes. If it weren't for the clear damage to his eyes, she would have thought he wasn't actually blind.

"Who is Kan?" She asked instead. "If you don't mind me asking, of course."

Her concerns were waved off.

"She's my sister - well half sister. There should be a picture of the four of us next to you, unless someone has moved it."

It had not been moved as it turns out. On the windowsill beside her a delicate silver framed picture stood. Gently she picked it up and brought it closer. The photo in the frame was of Mercutio and three other people. Mercutio - easily identifiable to Theta only because she knew him well - was the shortest of the four and stood somewhat towards the middle. The arms of the two women on either side of him were draped over his shoulders in a half hug. The woman on his left was of average height but strong built wearing a leather jacket and for some bizarre reason, a single glove. The other woman was an absolute giant - no doubt she was taller than even Theta herself, who was no short stack - her hair was a deep pink and her face was decorated with heavy but beautiful make up. Another man stood beside the shorter of the two women, his arm linked with her's. And if it weren't for the deep red eyes and longer, navy hair, he would be a mirror image of the woman.

"She's the one with the very short red hair." Informed Mercutio. "The one next to her is her twin brother, Fen."

"And who's that next to you? She looks familiar."

"Ah that's my other half sister, Aro-"

"Wait! The Aro? The actress?"

His laugh was soft and almost musical. When she glanced over her shoulder at him, she noted that his mug had been placed on the table beside him and his hand was attempting to hide his smile.

"Yes, that Aro. That's the reaction I usually get - she is rather private about her family in interviews. I could tell you all sorts of stories about Aro and the rest of my family."

"Please do."