The Great War: Chapter 65
Special communication
There’s been a persistent tickle at the back of Yumi’s head for the last while, which makes for reviewing the inventory report extremely difficult. She raises a hand and scratches just behind her left ear as they twitch irritably, trying to swat away whatever is causing this strange feeling. But it’s not a surface itch that she can reach. It feels to be under her skin, buzzing in the base of her skull. Crawling around, trying to make sense of her mind. She’s not sick, is she?
Her eyes pound with pressure. There’s a soft yet distracting ring in her ears. She sees the words on the paper before her, but for whatever reason, the more she stares at them, the less they make sense, like the information is being stolen away from her mind.
She runs her hand down her face. Stars above, she can’t help but think. I can’t focus like this…
[Yumi?]
Yumi jumps with surprise. “JAE!” she cries out aloud. Her head spins around, searching for her friend. She knew she heard Jae’s voice, so loud and clear in her ears, and yet Yumi is alone in her office. Her weariness fades ever so slightly, becoming a soft yet melodic background hum inside her head.
“Jae?” she asks the room again, confusion setting in. She’s not hallucinating now, is she? Should she just go lay down for a little bit and wait for her head to clear?
[Yes,] Jae’s voice sounds again, this time a little strange. First it starts flat, then changes to happy, and ends a little shocked. A brief breath, one that makes her ears tingle, before the warbled voice speaks again, [Yes, it’s me.]
“Where…?” Yumi breathes. Though, now, she has a sneaking suspicion where she’s hearing Jae. The only question she has now is how?
She hears Jae laugh nervously, and a sense of strange unease settles on Yumi’s shoulders. [I’m a General now. Oh!]
Yumi can’t help but laugh back. Clearly, that’s not what she wanted to say, or at least not right now. Good to know I didn’t choose wrong, she nods.
[And the Spirit agreed,] Jae adds.
Hearing that makes Yumi smile. That’s good to know. But then she frowns. Wait, she heard that?
[I did,] Jae replies, just as stunned.
This isn’t based on thought, is it? Yumi wonders.
[It might be,] Jae answers almost right away.
Interesting… Already, her mind is churning with all sorts of thoughts and ideas. It’s a strange method of communication, one she didn’t think was ever possible. But now… there’s so much that could be done now. For one, securing the safety of the roaming healers across Korodon.
[I can see a little, too,] Jae adds. [And hear.]
The buzzing in Yumi’s head grows ever so slightly. No wonder she was feeling so strange! Jae, somehow, was watching her, too.
[I don’t know, either,] the General admits quietly. [I’m still getting used to it.]
Well, don’t do it too much, Yumi replies. I can’t focus with you doing… that.
[Sorry.]
She turns to face her desk, her work waiting for her to return to it. Could you… stop now?
[I’ll try,] is the timid answer, and Yumi feels her cheeks warm with blush. She raises a hand to the side of her face to feel it. Why is she blushing all of a sudden? Jae sounds like the embarrassed one here!
The background buzzing dulls, though it doesn’t completely fade away. It’s enough to get a couple clear thoughts in, at the very least.
What magic for the Great Spirit to bestow upon any being, let alone Jae. If this were any other time, she’d ask more about how it worked, if she knew at all. The Spirit should have told her how to control such a complex power at the very least. She already appears to have some sense of how to use it.
Communication through thought… Can she use it on any being? What are the limits to it? Surely it’s not just between the two of them…
She drifts over to the office door and opens it, peering down at the makeshift infirmary below. The energy in the air has shifted. Many of the healers scowl to themselves, bothered by something they can’t seem to put their fingers on. Others continue with their duties at their own pace, yet they, too, look around at their peers with mild concern.
Jae is quiet, though her presence still tickles the back of Yumi’s mind.
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