@fromhacker-tohero + lokelani
lokelani hadn’t known what to expect when she found a journal of her grandmother’s, a carefully enclosed blue crystal, and a family history that found like a fairytale. she certainly hadn’t known what to think of it when at her lowest, at that awful place her parents had sent her too, she’d called out for gordon and it had worked. two years later at 17 lokelani was the newest inhuman to go through terrigenesis, and felt more like herself than ever before. but over the past few months gordon had pulled away as her transitioner and it felt as though there had been a shift in the community. when someone showed up that had gone through terrigenesis the old way, everyone was in an uproar.
the teenager didn’t understand the hate though. why people were so furious, if everyone believed all inhumans had a purpose, surely this had all happened for a reason. it seemed to be the only thing people could talk about lately, and it made kel happy that she was up earlier than most. with a warm hoodie pulled over her, lokelani made her way to a spot she’d taken to drawing in. this morning she had chalk with her and was planning on sketching the root system beneath the stones of lai shi. only when she arrived to the secluded area the woman everyone had been talking about was there.
“good morning,” lokelani greets softly as she approaches. there goes my peaceful morning, how am i supposed to practice feeling and sensing plants with someone watching me? i was going to map the roots under the city, try and see if i could learn how old they were and see if i could feel the soil around them. gordon thinks my eyes changed to allow me to see through the plants, turns out he’s been too busy with her to help me really learn that skill.
“you must be skye, no one mentioned you were such an early riser.” be nice, be nice, be nice. just because gordon has had to spend time dealing with more important things doesn’t mean it’s her fault. you had time to prepare for your transition, she didn’t. jiaying is always telling you that as the youngest you have to represent after life well, this is what she means.
lokelani offers her a small smile and does her best to remember the manners that were (literally) beat into her as a child. “sorry i’m lokelani. i’m usually the only one up at this time. if i was interrupting your training or something i can go elsewhere though.” that was too nice kel. the stone is broken in more parts here, weeds and grass peak through at the edges and it’s the easiest place to tap into what’s below the surface. not to mention no one lives over here. setting down the chalk and her water bottle, kel nervously picks at the skin on the back of her hands. she hasn’t talked to an outsider since she came to afterlife, only leaving once to collect her belongings and seek medical care when gordon first collected her. “i wake with the sun, its part of my gift. so i come here a lot because it’s the oldest part of the city and no one lives over here. it doesn’t have the best view but i think it’s the most peaceful.”