章 106: Harmonized
Walking into the kitchen, he was a bit surprised to find Veronica seated there. She stood up without a word and gave a small kiss to his cheek. Unknowingly, they both touched and held each other's hands.
"What are you doing here?" He asked with a small smile. Veronica pretended to be offended by the question. "Why? Can't I visit you without purpose? I can leave if you want to!"
Michael just chuckled and placed reached over her waist, pulling her into a hug. She did a little hop and wrapped her hands around his neck. From there she dangled with her feet a few centimeters off the ground.
With a small giggle, they separated, then seated themselves at the table. Veronica recounted her day, starting with learning about the Ethereal Plain with Suze, then going to church and learning more about the world's history.
She also told him about her meeting with Ted, and she finished the story with the encounter of June. Then she told him her decision.
"...Are you sure? Once you place it in, you won't be able to take it out... It will be a struggle to match all your outfits to the earring!" They both laughed at that. It was clear he was trying to cheer Veronica up, but she wasn't in the mood.
This was a very important decision, and it terrified her. Her knowledge about danger levels was still skewed, but Michael told her each time just how dangerous this decision was.
"Of course I'm not sure, but what choices do I have? If what it says about anti-divination is true, then it is necessary that I wear it... Also, I needed to save Tom..." Next to her, Michael reached over and grabbed her hand.
She looked at him with uncertainty and sadness, which caused a minor pain in his heart. It was never good to see the person you love suffering.
"Then let's do this!" He said, trying to sound enthusiastic.
Veronica looked around, with a bit of confusion. "Right here? What if something goes wrong? Can't we go someplace more private? We could go to the recreational room!"
Michael's face took on a shade of red as he shook his head. "Yeah, no... Not the recreational room, that place is very much occupied..."
The confusion on Veronica's face deepened, and she thought about what could've caused Michael to react that way... When she figured it out, her face went bright red, too.
"Uhm... How long do they usually... last?" She spoke awkwardly, and Michael pretended to cough as he answered. "I don't know, since I'm not a pervert... But if I had to guess, then I would say an hour or two..."
Hearing this, Veronica's face went from embarrassed to surprised. "Damn, Billie is a lucky gal. My partners never lasted even remotely close to that!"
Michael's face cleared from its redness too, and he spoke with a stupid grin, while staring into Veronica's beautiful pink eyes.
"Well, then prepare yourself! As an Ascended, my stamina is much higher than a regular human's!" He said confidently, while Veronica just chuckled. "Boasting? Really? Will see if you can back up those words!"
With the bit lighter atmosphere, Veronica's mind went back to the earring. She reached into her dress's tiny pocket and pulled out the pair of jewelry.
The gold finish glinted in the gas lamp's low light, same as the two different colored stones.
Staring at the earrings, Michael's mouth changed from its grin and became a thin line. He eyed the accessory as Veronica lifted both and put them near her ears.
"Which one is better, blue on left and brown on right, or brown on left and blue on right?" She said, while moving them from one ear to the other.
"I think you should see yourself in a mirror and see for yourself. It's your body after all, so you might as well decide which way you like it the most..." She stared into grayish-blue eyes with a hint of annoyance.
"You know I asked you as an honor... You will see me from the outside more than I will see myself! Also, it's obvious that you care about style and fashion, so stop trying to be chivalrous and decide which earring goes into which ear!" she said, her tone holding a hint of anger.
The longer the process took, the more time she had to question herself, which was annoying.
Michael stared at her with his mouth agape and eyes widened. It took him a few seconds to shake himself out of his reverie.
"I think the blue should be in your right ear, and the brown in your left. Since the right is your better side, the earring's color will only cause a small imbalance, while the brown will improve your left, since it matches with your hair... But switch sides if you want to. You look stunning either way!"
He smiled with that annoying smirk of his that she loved. Veronica looked at the earrings uncertainly, then decided to trust Michael's sense of style. What he said made sense, and she knew that her right was better in most ways. These colored earrings would hopefully balance out the sides.
"Could you help me put them in?" She asked a bit sheepishly, but before she even finished, Michael was already standing next to her.
He held out his hand, and Veronica placed both earrings inside. Michael moved with extreme precision and slow speed. He gently held her right earlobe with two fingers, then applied a bit of pressure so it would stay in place while he pushed the small needle through the flesh.
It was quite awkward to wear earrings and other piercings as an Ascended, since the body would think they are wounds, and heal them up. Taking piercings in and out was quite the chore.
The first earring went in with ease, Veronica didn't even make a sound. She felt a small pressure grow inside her mind. She guessed it was because the other pair was still missing.
Michael repeated the process on her left. Veronica didn't know that either her pain tolerance increased or Michael was an expert in piercing ears, since she only felt a small prickling sensation, before it faded away completely.
When both earring were inside, the pressure in her mind instantly dissipated. She reached up and touched them. They dangled a bit with each movement.
Just out of curiosity, she tried pulling on them, but they weren't moving even a little. She then tried pushing them out, but again, they stayed in place.
With a wet cloth, Michael was gently cleaning the blood around the wounds, while Veronica just sat there idle.
She was already feeling the effects of Mind's Eye. It was a very tiny buzzing sensation in the middle of her forehead.
It was strange, instinctively she knew where were Ethereal Items and Materials were within a few meter radius, but this radius was increasing with each passing moment.
The Dancer's Rose in her pocket began buzzing too, but it was different and constantly changing. Veronica, confused by the pocket watch's unusual reaction, so she took it out, but the buzzing persisted.
The sound was morphing, like trying to find the right rhythm...
Michael was still cleaning Veronica's other ear, when she suddenly gasped and grabbed onto her head. He instantly became concerned and knelt down before her, staring straight into her eyes.
They were moving around without stopping, like they weren't able to focus on anything.
She was breathing heavily, like she was exhausted, and a small bead of sweat ran down the side of her face.
"Are you okay?" He asked with worry. Veronica's eyes focused and a small, uncertain smile appeared on her face.
"I... I think so... Still unsure, but I think I'm fine now..." she said while gulping down air.
Michael breathed a sigh of relief, then gave a small kiss to the palm of her somewhat sweaty hands.
"Don't scare me like that... What happened?" He still sounded uncertain, but as Veronica's heartbeat and breathing stabilized, he did as well.
"Well, if I'm not mistaken, then my Mind's Eye radius rapidly expanded, which caused a sudden influx of information... It overloaded my brain for a second..." she said while taking a deep breath and sighing out the remnants of her exhaustion.
"That makes little sense... It was supposed to increase gradually, not explosively..." Before he could say more, Veronica lifted the Dancer's Rose and placed it in Michael's hand.
He felt a tiny buzzing inside, but there was an undertone buzz that felt different. It was like a perfect harmony between the two buzzing.
"I don't know how or why, but the Dancer's Rose harmonized with the Earrings of Dissociation. It increased the Mind's Eye's threshold, which caused the information to assault my mind like a bullet."
Michael turned the pink pocket watch over his hand curiously. When he opened it, the clock wasn't working, which wasn't surprising since it only worked for Veronica.
He handed back the watch and sat down in the seat on Veronica's left.
"Okay, if you think you are fine, then let's talk a bit about your new powers, and if you want to, we can test them out." Said Michael in a serious tone.
"That's great, but do you know how to get this buzzing to stop? It's really starting to annoy me!" She said while stroking her forehead, where the feeling originated from.
Michael just chuckled a bit and said... "Sure..."
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