The next day Nicoleta stood before the same oak doors again, but her longing died before those door, again like yesterday she walked away, not to her room though
She wandered away, walking past various doors. Not stopping until she stumbled upon two glass doors that led inside a place with colour, and a canvas.
Nicoleta walked inside, hands trembling slightly, she looked outside.
A flash of red and orange flew by the gigantic windows, Nicoleta moved closer to the glass craning her neck to look at the phoenix soaring through the sky.
A soft melody flowed through the air, a slow serene melody that forced relaxation on Nicoleta, it sounded so beautiful yet.. so sad all at once.
Another phoenix joined the first and sounded its own melancholy music harmonising with the soft almost sad tone. Another joined the two and before Nicoleta knew it they were about ten phoenixes singing a song no chord, string, drum, or voice could imitate.
Shivers ran through Nicoleta's bones, the melody flowed through her veins, ran across her bloodstream, the world stopped moving, everything else stopped existing for the beautiful song.
They circled each other in the sky spitting fire into the circle, together they shaped it into a bigger phoenix.
They spread out and each phoenix made some shape with their flame, one particularly close phoenix, blasted flame toward Nicoleta, making her stumble back, blinking repeatedly as the fire formed into a female face.
It was her face.
When it disappeared ocean blue eyes that could only belong to Levi, stared intensely at her.
He bellowed a soft greeting to her, tilting his head lightly before joining the song once again.
Nicoleta nearly fell running around the place to collect every colour, brush and a much bigger canvas.
She was glad to see the phoenixes still engaging in their enchanting song, still making fire look like sculptures.
She moved closer to the scene with all the needed things to capture the beauty before her, the beauty of the phoenixes moving in perfect understanding of one another.
They woved so many images at once she wasn't sure which one to paint.
Levi flew past all of them and they followed him as he neared the window, Nicoleta wasn't sure to wave, smile, or disappear. Her paint brush shook in her hands as they all stared at her, pupils narrowing.
When they moved back and circled once more, she knew immediately what to capture onto the canvas.
When she finished the painting long after the phoenixes had flown away, the glass doors very loudly opened. When Nicoleta glanced behind her ready to burn the painting from whoever had walked in, she was calm to find that it was Levi, yet then again -she thought- that made it all the lot worse.
He closed the door slowly, his brows raised, "am i allowed here?" she wasn't sure how to respond, she made a shrewd sound at a poor attempt to say something.
"Umm... it's- it's a public space" he smiled, "you don't seem very sure of that" Nicoleta chuckled, shifting left to cover the painting. Levi glanced at the sides that were visible then to Nicoleta, he frowned a little, "it's fine if you don't want me to see it" his words didn't match the look on his face, Nicoleta told herself if the reveal turned out badly she could always cease to exist.
"It's okay- " Levi shook his head, "it's yours Nicoleta- i came to remind you of dinner- " but she had already stepped away from it.
He stared for what felt like a decade, taking slow steps toward it, Nicoleta inhaled a deep breath.
He reached his hand toward it, then glanced at her, she nodded stiffly. He gently ran his fingertips across the painting tracing it all the way down to where she had written her name.
"I couldn't find a name for it- I'm bad with the names" Levi shook his head, "it's amazing" he traced his index upward. "Is that me?" His finger was on a blue eyed phoenix with glimmering wings, "very egotistical of you" Nicoleta wanted to bury herself somewhere no one would find her.
Why? Why would she utter that? Why would she even think about it?
Levi chuckled, "well you can't blame me, it's the only with blue eyes- also the only one with intricate detail oh- and uh.. look" he looked at her, "I didn't think i sparkled" she looked away from him as her face heated up, "i was just- just trying to make it more interesting" Levi tilted his head, nodding with a smug smile on his face.
"Sure, and everybody else being a blur also- " she began to wonder if walking the halls naked would be less humiliating. Nicoleta turned Levi away from the painting, "that's enough looking" she said, pushing him toward the door, he hardly resisted chuckling, "it's really good tho honestly"
"Really?" he turned around, "yeah, it's great, from here, it looks like a picture not something painted" Nicoleta stared at the painting, at the blue morning sky that had become night outside, "you're amazing" he whispered, Nicoleta had a feeling that was more of him thinking out loud than anything, still she found the flattery very endearing.
"thank you"
"Dinner? i know you're hungry" she furrowed her brows, "my stomach did not growl- " he shrugged, "it's phoenix thing- "
"I'll uh.. meet you there" he turned to leave when Nicoleta stopped him, taking hold of his elbow, "don't tell a soul about this" she had enough attention already. art was hers, painting was hers, she wanted to keep it.
"My lips are sealed."
Nicoleta walked over to the painting.
She stared hopelessly at the stained canvas.
At blue skies behind the phoenixes hooded around each other drawing a face in the sky with their fires.
The face was hers, and she couldn't help but think she didn't do them enough justice, despite Levi's words, the painting still seemed amateur to her.
And perhaps it wasn't a bad thing, amateur was better than a blank canvas.
She sighed and looked outside wondering what life could have been like
without phoenixes, sectors, training halls, the sparring competitions, Westinsenson son… her powers.
Wondering what it would be like to be a normal girl, what it would have felt like to be in the kitchen when the fire from the pan was increasing.
If she would be scared, or as calm as her father.
If she would be a famous artist, or if her step mother would still have her model for her at special shows.
Flashes of her father's scared face, his trembling hands as he caught her in his arms, the tears that fell on her cheek and slipped to the ground.
She remembered her step mother screaming.
How would that picnic have gone if she didn't get mutated by the meteorite?
What if she grew up normal, went to school, painted, modeled against her will, laughed, cooked, and cried with her family?
Why couldn't it be like that?
But as she thought all those things, she also thought about May and Charlotte, Evan, Levi, her classmates, and everyone who was kind to her leading up to that point.
About Zylith the bubbling healer who probably jumped with joy when she saw Nicoleta win.
Her friends, her powers, this was all part of her life now.
And ten months ago she would have hated any part of it, but now.... Nicoleta covered her painting and glanced at the night sky once more, the stars seemed to wink at her.
Now it wasn't so bad.
Nicoleta quickly fell into her old artistic ways after that day, scribbling on papers with pencils. shading, sketching, drawing, water coloring, oil paintings, and paintings. She switched Ateliers, just to make sure Levi or anybody else she knew wouldn't walk in on her, especially when most of her art was about him.
One of those days she would grow tired of drawing the same face over and over again, and be struck with inspiration to paint the face of a name she had seen many times during her time of excessive reading, James Westinsenson.
She stepped out into the halls, hoping to find a book with an illustration of him, or at least one that described his facial features.
She rushed into the library covered in paint.
Unlike the week before there was life in the library this time, only one individual but life nonetheless.
He wore a black uniform which was covered up with a long coat.
His dread locked hair was tied back into a pony tail, with one hanging by his temple.
He was tall, and seemed very muscular.
Nicoleta walked up to him quietly. "You are exceptionally stentorian" he said, his voice low, and deep.
Nicoleta stopped, confused, was that supposed to be English.
"What- ? " He didn't allow her to finish her sentence, "your thoughts" he said, as he removed a book and flipped it over.
"My thoughts?" He nodded, before placing the book back.
Nicoleta stepped closer, she noticed him going for a book she did not enjoy, "I wouldn't recommend that" he nodded, and went for another.
"What do- " again she didn't finish her sentence before he answered, "what is your name?" he turned to look at her.
Nicoleta was struck for a moment at the sight of him, he was mesmerising, his eyes were a beautiful shade of coffee brown, a couple of shades lighter than his dark chocolate skin.
The windows in the library were not many, but still he shimmered in the sunlight.
What a sight. He would look great in a painting.
"Thank you" said the boy, what was he thanking her for? She didn't say all of that out loud, did she? Nicoleta blushed, she couldn't have.
That would have been embarrassing.
"Um… Nicoleta" she reached in for a handshake, he shook her hand firmly.
"Alexander- Leonardo Alexander" she nodded, a small smile making way on her face, "nice to meet you Leonardo" he seemed slightly surprised when she mentioned his name.
"Well, what do you recommend then?" He asked later, running his index finger along the spines of the books. Nicoleta tapped on a title right to his left.
He smiled and took it, then removed a book, and gave it to her.
"This might be what you are searching for" she looked down the book, 'James Westinesen of Mission control' read the title, she flipped seven pages ahead, and written on page one, was a description of James Westinesen.
Unfortunately for Mr. Westinesenson gone was the desire to paint him, and overflowing was Nicoleta's itch to capture Leonardo as soon as possible.
"Thank you. But I don't think I need it anymore"
After that Nicoleta wandered into the library not to read, but to catch Leonardo and possibly draw him without his knowledge or somehow draw him in her mind long enough for her to do him justice on the canvas.
Because of her frequent visits to the library they without discussion formed a duo book club, Nicoleta forcing herself to read to accomplish her mission.
Over time however, she found herself enjoying his company just as much as she wanted to paint him, Leonardo was easy to talk to, he might have been hard to understand every now and again, but he made for great company.
They shared one important thing in common; they were both introverted.
And that alone made him an ideal friend.
On Tuesday some few days after they met, Leonardo removed the dictionary from the fiction aisle. He sat down and the noise the book made echoed across the entire library.
"Is that supposed to be fiction?" He nodded, "my sister, Nora, she takes pleasure in reading- this particular novel is her heart's treasure"
"You have a sister?" he nodded, flipping a page of the gigantic novel. "Mother read to her when she was but a babe" and she's been reading ever since? Nicoleta thought. "precisely" said Leonardo, he flipped another page.
"How old is she now?" His eyes softened ever so lightly, "eight" he said, the stern tone in his voice soft and -she wasn't sure whether her thoughts were accurate- but.. nurturing, he had this look in his eyes, the same look her father had when he spoke about Valerie. The same look he always had when he spoke to her.
"She must be adorable" he didn't deny it, "she looks like you" Nicoleta laughed, "yeah right"
Leonardo didn't seem amused, "I'm being earnest" she lifted her brow, "is it implausible to you simply of the fact that i and my sister have melanin?" He asked, crossing his arms, the turtle neck did very little to hide his biceps. But that wasn't the topic of conversation.
"Precisely- and you have failed to give me an answer" she swatted an invisible fly away, opening the closest book to her, "no of course not- it's just you you... ha.. have more defined features! yes! that's it" Leo's lips crooked lightly into a small pretty smile, one that belonged on a canvas. Leonardo was truly a sight to behold.
"I doubt that" he answered, she scrunched her face, "I'm sorry- " Leo didn't look angry, if anything he seemed amused.
"And I appreciate your compliments. " He said. Nicoleta wanted to sink into a hole, had she said all those words out loud?
Again?
"She is most fond of picture books" Nicoleta furrowed her brows, "Nora"
"Oh yea- yeah. that's nice. did you ever read to her?"
Leo frowned, the spark in his coffee eyes disappearing, "I haven't had the chance to meet her" Nicoleta closed her book, "you have never met your sister?" she wanted to cry on his behalf. It must have been awful to see someone, to hear their voice, and only hear them through a speaker, and see their face only on a screen, to know so much about them but never through your own experience with them.
She couldn't imagine how miserable that must have felt, "I'm sorry Leo" he shook his head, unbothered. "it is not so salient as it might appear" she blinked away tears, before bringing over a different book with her telekinesis.
Nicoleta looked at him for a hot second, "um... I- well i hope you get to meet her soon" she flipped open the book, tossing Leonardo a sympathetic look.
It was two weeks until her stay in sector 1 would come to an end, when she learned why it seemed so easy for him to understand her.
Nicoleta flipped through a page realising that it had ended only when she saw the blank paper.
What kind of ending was that? She stood up, and was stopped by Leonardo.
He brought the sequel to her with his telekinesis, and gestured for her to sit down.
"Did- ?" He didn't let her end her sentence before answering, like before.
"Yes I enjoyed it," he flipped through a page of his book, and looked at her.
"What?" He asked, Nicoleta had a suspicious look in her eyes. "How did you know what I was going to ask? How do you keep doing that?" he shrugged.
"When we first met you said something about my thoughts" Leonardo closed his book, sighing a little.
"I'm a mind reader Nicoleta" her jaw dropped, "I can't believe it- why did you keep this from me- " realization hit her like a door.
"You- " Nicoleta's flame bubbled furiously in her chest.
"You have been reading my thoughts all this time!?" She slammed her burning hand on the table turning the acacia wood blacker and blacker with each passing second.
Leonardo, calm as ever, stood up and placed all the books back on their shelves with his telekinesis.
"Calm down" she threw a fire ball at him, which he dodged effortlessly.
"Calm down!? Calm down!?- they're my thoughts, mine!" The table turned to ashes under the heat of her scarlet flame.
"You had no right Leo" he held her shoulders gently, "I know, and I apologize" he bent down slightly to her eye level, Nicoleta's flame calmed.
"Please forgive me?" She sighed, anger still bubbling, but she held her flame back.
"Fine. Only if you teach me how to make my thoughts 'quiet' " he smiled, straightening up. "As you wish"