Silence like thunder

“Because they were born with it,” Victor concurred. The girl in the park had come to him because he’d been reading up on Yveltal and Xerneas after his encounter in the temple and she’d taken interest in the book’s cover. During there conversation the topic of affinities had been brought up and she’d told him she’d been born with her dark affinity, something he hadn’t known was possible.

Victor stayed silent when Mingze replied that the wounds could have been worse. The other didn’t understand that was exactly why he was worried for him. If something like this were to happen again, it might not end so well and with Mingze bent to do this alone, there wouldn’t be anyone to help him.

Now that he’d calmed down, Victor realised what he’d done and apologised. “I won’t,” he promised the other. In the moment he hadn’t known what else to do, but now Victor didn’t like how he’d been in his anger and desperation.

Victor chuckled at the joke, albeit a bit awkwardly. They’d found a kind of equilibrium, but that balance was still fragile. “I don’t think so. But I haven’t been in Cerynia that long yet.” He had never even encountered someone with an affinity when he lived in Galar and while he’d been reading up on affinities, there was still so much he didn’t know.

“No,” he answered when Mingze asked if she’d told him her name. If she had, he didn’t remember it. “But we spoke about Xerneas and Yveltal. And then she told me she’d been born with a dark affinity which had given her claws and pointed ears.” He’d thought they were the result of some strange fashion choice when he’d first glanced at her, but as they’d talked more he’d realised they were real.

He’d thought the same when he’d first encountered Ren, but had comprehended her horns were a part of her much quicker because of his earlier meeting with that girl. “Though maybe it is more common than we know,” he continued with a shrug. “I know someone else, but she has horns.”

While it seemed that they might be talking about the same person, neither of them was entirely sure about that. Victor knew just as little as Mingze about how it worked. All the girl had told him was that she’d been born with her affinity and that was why she looked the way she did, and he didn’t think Ren would be able to tell him anything more. She’d told him about her memory loss and he doubted she would know more about this.

“It is,” Victor agreed. “Affinities are a lot more complicated than I thought when I came here.” Affinities had seemed like a miracle that could help improve the world. The advances medicine would make if all doctor’s possessed water affinities. Now he’d seen the difficulties that came with them as well. An affinity like his was a nightmare when you were unable to control it.

Affinities were complicated, that was one thing they could agree on. When Victor first came to Cerynia he’d never expected to find out they were even more strange than he’d anticipated, let alone for him to receive one himself and for it to turn his whole world upside down.

The tiredness showed on Mingze’s face once more and now that Victor’d calmed down it made him feel guilty for barging in here like he’d done. “Yes, of course,” he spoke quickly and apologetically. He walked towards the door. “Sorry again. See you,” he apologised again before he left the apartment.