leah knew her outlook on life was not one that the majority of the population would hold, but to survive the things that she and her sister did it was the only way she could think of doing so. life was hard and extremely dark, what harm could a little light do? though, she was finding it hard to maintain that line of thought when the world was crashing down around her. thankfully, she was not alone. she was never alone, and the fact that emma had found her during this disaster only confirmed this.
“emma,” leah practically yelled in response as she buried her head among the curve of her sister’s neck, her good hand already gripping onto the back of her shirt as if her life depended on it. “i’m sorry, i’m sorry, i’m sorry,” she sobbed over and over again, refusing to remove herself from her sister’s body. “i just – i couldn’t – i wanted – i tried…” fractured sentences were the least of their worries as a beam cracked on the ceiling near them. they needed to move. pulling back just enough to see her sister’s face, a blood covered hand cradled the older’s cheek. leah then rested her forehead where her hand was moments before, her body already absorbing some of emma’s energy to restore her own. “i didn’t mean for this to happen. i’m so sorry, emmy.”
leah had only wanted to do the right thing. what was the point in having these powers – outwith her deranged father’s end goal, that is – if they couldn’t do some good with them? weren’t the enhanced supposed to save and protect those that couldn’t protect themselves? she had grown up with stories about heroes and legends and maybe, just maybe, she once thought that she could do the same. now she had the ability to do so and – and the dead still fell. “o – okay,” she nodded slowly, biting her lip as she attempted to prove that mind over matter was stronger when it came to pain. “but - but emma, we’re not alone in here. there – there are more, and i – we – can’t leave them. what are we going to do?”
Fire, and ice. The ying, and the yang---that was the epitome of the two sisters. What was going on in that moment was ironic and, like everything else about them, completely reverse: While Leah was sobbing in her arms about all those people she couldn’t save, Emma’s skin itched with the desire to steal them herself before those explosions could. She craved to feel that heat of the human body as it faded against hers. Her body bumped, livid and needy, to kill. Kill. Kill. Teeth greeted tightly, huffing out long breaths as she tried to push away those thoughts and focus on the cure her very soulmate was willingly sharing.
Warmth. True warmth cloaked her surroundings. It was in Leah’s cells as she absorbed her cool to heal and on Emma’s shirt as her little sister’s hot tears pooled on it. The blonde felt that familiar warmth rush through her, reach her heart, making it beat just a little faster, like always. In her arms, lied the one person on the entire planet who had the power of making her feel empathy. Not for anybody else, but for her. The feeling was so strong, so apparent, that it managed to distract her mind from what her body requested. At least for now. “Sshh, shh.. It’s alright. I know, little star,” she whispered into her hair as her free hand caressed it gently. “Don’t you cry, yeah? It’ll all be alright.”
One thing Emma hated almost as much as not getting things her way, was having to sit back and think before she acted. What had happened today, it wasn’t like her. Were they on 2050, she wouldn’t have stopped Leah from helping and she would’ve hidden somewhere to destroy. To take. But the past was fragile, just like the future. They’d taken a risky choice to travel where they did, when they did, and they couldn’t afford to ruin it now. Emma couldn’t do it by killing, Leah couldn’t do it by saving. For their own sake. “Listen to me,” she protested gently, sitting up enough to grab her sister by the shoulder and pour her gaze into hers. “We have to leave them. For us. For mom. Think about her. What if someone you save now, changes our future? What if she never finds her husband? What if we never find him?” She couldn’t call the man who did this to them, her dad. She never would. “She’ll end up drinkin’ again, us doin’ this will be for nothin’. Leah, we have to get outta here to save mom.”
