Chapter 2
Isha didn’t want to be here. When Jinx told her that she had to spend the day with her sister, Isha was intrigued. She loved listening to Jinx drone on as she would tell stories about her sister. Isha looked up to Vi, in a way. She wanted to protect Jinx as well, even though Jinx never liked it when she tried to join a fight.
The last time she tried to jump in, Jinx yelled her name so loudly Isha jumped. Luckily Chross’ underling was also taken aback, not that it mattered with how quickly a bullet pierced his head. Jinx was always fast, but the speed she reached Isha at was almost dizzying.
She gripped Isha’s face, scanning her for injuries. Her nails were digging into her face, but Isha didn’t really care. Jinx was much more sensitive about Isha getting hurt ever since the commune, where Isha nearly managed to take out Vander by sacrificing herself.
Jinx sounded a bit crazed, but she also came across as the most serious Isha had seen since the commune. “You never do that again. It’s not a little sister’s job to protect her older sis. I took on the job to look over you, and I won’t ever let you put yourself in harm’s way for me.” Isha wanted to correct her about their relationship. But she figured it wasn’t the time yet. She simply nodded, and signed out a quick “Sorry. Won’t happen again.”
Jinx’s face softened as she took Isha in her arms, “Don’t worry Mouser, I’m not mad. Just scared.” Isha nodded against Jinx’s shoulder. And if she pretended to be too tired to walk home just so Jinx could carry her, nobody could prove it.
Isha was shaken from her daydream as Vi came back towards her, before bending down to be at her level and asking for her name. Well, Isha figured that’s what she asked. Vi talked quietly, and her ears couldn’t make out all of the words. She had a good guess as to what she meant, she spent a long time reading lips. Isha responded with her name, and yet Vi only stared at her with a blank expression, before repeating the name back. It wasn’t in the way Jinx would do it, and Isha knew Vi wasn’t saying her name. She tried repeating herself but Vi didn’t get it. Even when she asked for something to write with. Was this really the amazing sister Jinx would always tell her about?
They eventually managed to reach an understanding, and the enforcer woman turned to get paper. The silence between Isha and Vi was awkward only for the older girl. Isha took the opportunity to study her (older sister’s? Aunt’s?) face. Yup, it was the pink haired woman with a tattoo on her face. Isha narrowed her eyes, distrusting. She knew realistically that this was Jinx’s sister, and if Jinx trusted her, so did Isha. But still, she couldn’t shake the memories of a fight at the temple, with the enforcer Vi over Jinx. Her fist raised, ready to deliver a fatal blow. They met briefly in the tunnels, and the commune. Before everything became chaos. Vi and her sister seemed to make up, but that didn’t answer the question about the enforcer woman.
Vi seemed to be close to her, but the enforcer clearly hated Jinx. She also didn’t seem all too pleased at Isha, but at least she was cordial. Her anger directed towards Isha’s (older sister? mother?) made the young girl wary. Isha pondered the possible scenarios if the two were ever forced to interact, and was content when she decided that she’d break up the fight between them. Preferably by biting the enforcer’s ankle. A small smile slipped over her face as she concluded that she wouldn’t let go, even when the fight was over.
A piece of paper slid in front of her, along with a pencil. Isha wanted to explain she preferred crayons, but she knew they wouldn’t get it. She settled with writing her name in her very best handwriting. She could almost hear Jinx praising her progress. Vi didn’t seem as impressed, as her face fell and she took a step back. “Did my sister name you?”
Isha didn’t understand why Vi didn’t like the name. Nor how she seemed to turn pale after she answered in the affirmative. It was definitely the best option that Jinx gave her, and besides, she liked that Jinx named her. It was only another reason to love the older girl. Isha felt herself tear up, she missed Jinx. They hadn’t spent so long away from each other since Isha’s arrest. Especially after the fight at the commune, Jinx was more protective of Isha, always hovering behind her. Isha didn’t understand why she couldn’t be with Sevika. Sevika made her feel safe. She didn’t want to be in this strange enforcer’s house. Stuck in a place where they hated the girl who saved her life, who gave her a world and taught her how to live.
She wasn’t able to make herself too miserable with her thoughts as Vi asked her what she wanted to do, with the shakiest smile Isha had ever seen.
Isha thought about it, she really wanted to build bombs. Of course, the ones she made with Jinx were always glitter bombs and made under supervision, but she doubted the fancy Piltie house had the right supplies. They couldn’t fight with their bugs, Isha had left hers home and if the house didn’t have bomb supplies, it definitely didn’t have bugs. That left one option.
She tapped Vi’s arm, who had turned to look in the distance as Isha thought about her question. She mimed drawing again, not wanting to go through the trouble of writing her answer. “Drawing? Yeah. We can do that.” Vi muttered mostly to herself. Isha only heard a yes somewhere in there, so she figured that’s what they were going to do. Vi turned away from her to talk to the enforcer-woman. She said something Isha couldn’t pick up, but the enforcer said something back and left. Her lips were too far to read, and Isha decided she didn’t like the enforcer. So she didn’t need to hear her.
“She’s just gonna check to see if we have anything colorful.” Vi explained, her smile seeming less strained. Even though she spoke quietly to Isha’s ears, her words were slow enough for her to understand. Isha wondered if she should tell Vi about her hearing, but decided she would eventually figure it out. Especially if she lived up to the stories Jinx would tell her. Isha tuned out for a second, even though she registered Vi’s lips moving in the background. She took in the large kitchen, with a pantry that seemed bigger than the couch fort she slept in. A twinge of anger popped up. How dare someone who tried to kill Jinx have it so good. She bared her teeth as she considered biting the enforcer when she got back with the colors.
She got the victim wrong as a hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder, and she didn’t hesitate to close her teeth around the intrusive fingers. It took a second to register the shout as Vi’s, but Isha still didn’t feel bad. It wasn’t her fault Vi decided to grab her, she should’ve known better. It seemed she really became a Piltie.
“Shit kid, did I scare you? I’m sorry-” The words came at Isha like a downpour, but she didn’t even try deciphering them. She really didn’t want to be here. She wanted Jinx. Jinx never would’ve grabbed her when she was lost in thought. Jinx knew to knock on the table to get her attention and to always bring all of the colors when they drew. This time, Isha couldn’t stop the tears, sniffling as she pressed her hands to her eyes.
She expected the tentative hand on her arm this time, so she didn’t lash out. Isha looked up, barely able to see Vi’s face over the brim of her hat. Another rush of sound overwhelmed her, and she let out a sob. Isha tugged her arms free, and grabbed the pencil again. CANT HEAR.
She wiped away the rest of her tears as she took in Vi’s face. Vi began again, at a snail’s pace, “Is everything okay Isha?” Isha rolled her eyes and scrawled down NOT DUMB. TALK LOUD NOT SLOW. Vi flushed red, and Isha giggled as she realized Vi’s face nearly matched her hair.
Her laughter stopped abruptly as she saw the enforcer coming back down the hall. Vi noticed this, and turned to her with a comforting look on her face. “Hey, I know you and Cait got off on the wrong foot. But she’s really sweet. I swear. You’ll get along great.” This time Isha could hear her. And she talked at a normal speed. The look on her face combined with her tone of voice caused Isha to relax, finally understanding how this was Jinx’s older sister.
The enforcer-woman, Cait apparently, slid a tiny box of crayons towards her. Isha heavily considered going for her fingers, but decided to make it look like an accident later. She looked up in time to see Cait say, “Why are you yelling at the poor girl, she’s going to go deaf.” Vi sputtered for a second, but before she could get out an explanation Isha shoved the piece of paper towards Cait. She tried to raise her eyebrow in imitation of the best unimpressed expression Jinx made. Now it was Cait’s turn to get out an apology before turning away in what Isha hoped was shame.
She made a face at the crayons, before realizing Cait couldn’t see her displeasure at the meager array of colors. She could make do though, she could draw with all of the colors she could wish for once Jinx was back. She decided to begin drawing, might as well pass the time as quickly as possible. She wanted to make the enforcer as uncomfortable as possible, and found that the best course of action would be drawing Jinx. A family portrait would be a good idea. She couldn’t get all of the colors on Sevika’s arm, but it would be good enough.
Vi began sketching something out, and out of the corner of her eye, Isha saw Cait sit down and open a book. Gross. She finished her favorite trio (being herself, Jinx, and Sevika) and decided to add Vi. She was farther away, but Isha liked her enough. She thought about adding Cait being shot by Jinx, since she already drew Zapper, but she figured that wouldn’t go over too well. She didn’t want to get kicked out after all, she just wanted to toe the line.
After looking over at Vi’s drawing, she was surprised to see that it was of Jinx. But she looked different, almost like she was Isha’s age. Vi caught her looking. “Yup, that’s her. When she was younger of course,” She smiled down at the paper, “I’m not the best artist, but that’s how I still see her. My little sister.” Her eyes became sad, and Isha decided to cheer her up by showing the new family portrait.
Vi’s eyes widened, and she took the paper gingerly. “Is that me?” She whispered, before shaking her head and repeating it louder so Isha could hear. Isha turned her face down so Vi couldn’t see the blush forming along her cheeks, and nodded. She almost ended up biting her again in the span of an hour, as she was suddenly pulled into a hug. As she would later admit to herself, it was the second best hug she’s ever received (second only to Jinx).
As she pulled away and was met with Vi’s radiating smile, she couldn’t help but be infected with the joy. She jumped off of the chair, and tugged Vi’s hand to get her to stand up. A look of pure mischief crossed her face as she sauntered up to Vi, before freezing right in front of her. As she looked up to meet Vi’s gaze, her smile widened as she touched her leg, and got out a muffled, “tag” before running down the halls. She got a good head start, before she heard Vi begin to laugh, and the steady rhythm of footsteps begin behind her.