Inside & Out Ch 12: The Blue Glow, Testing Out Ones Power!

(Charlotte)

Charlotte sat crisscrossed on her bedroom floor, the thick Zeyvari history book laid out in front of her like a brick of mystery. Lina had her legs propped up on Charlotte's bed, lazily tossing a pillow into the air and catching it, while Finn sat beside Charlotte, his eyes scanning the shelves in her room like he was stalling for something to say.

"So..." Charlotte broke the silence, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, "what do you guys think the academy's actually going to be like?"

Finn perked up. "Oh, it's one of the top Sentry schools in the whole country. You'll get state-of-the-art training. Combat, history, Zeyvari communication theory, all of it. They've got equipment that could scan a Zeyvari colony from a mile away."

"Maybe," Charlotte replied, twiddling her thumbs together. Her voice lacked its usual spark.

Lina turned her head toward her, tossing the pillow aside. "Okay, I know that tone. You're still feeling weird about all this."

Charlotte gave a small shrug. "It's not that I'm ungrateful, I just... I didn't ask for this. I didn't apply for anything. I blinked and now I'm some glowing miracle kid with a ticket to Super School."

"That's putting it mildly," Finn said with a small grin.

Lina sat up straighter. "Hey, look. I get it. This whole thing is overwhelming. But you're not alone, alright? You're strong, Char. And if anyone can handle this, it's you. That kid on the street is alive because of you."

Charlotte gave a small, appreciative smile. "Thanks, Lina."

"Now," Lina continued with a playful smirk, "enough of this depressing energy. How about we... test your powers?"

Charlotte's eyes widened. "Wait, what? No. No way. I don't want to blow up the wall or vaporize your face or something."

Finn raised his hands like a surrendering hostage. "Come on, give it a try. We'll stand back. If you melt the floor, we'll just blame it on a lightning strike."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Wow, great plan."

But after a few seconds of internal debate, she finally nodded. "Alright. Just... stay back, okay?"

Both Lina and Finn scooted away, as Charlotte closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. She focused, trying to summon that feeling again—the pressure, the warmth, the energy that had overtaken her on the street.

Seconds passed. Then a full minute.

Nothing.

She furrowed her brow and tried again. Still nothing. No hum, no glow, no mysterious white void. Just awkward silence and the sound of Lina lightly kicking her heels against the bedpost.

"Maybe..." Lina began gently, "maybe that book has some answers? Like a manual on how to... spark or whatever?"

Charlotte opened her eyes and gave a small sigh. "You might be right."

She leaned forward and flipped open the book again, her fingers skimming over the delicate, rune-filled pages until something caught her attention. A passage written in clean, flowing script, tucked beneath a drawing of a glowing silhouette.

"To awaken one's power fully, one must locate the Zeyvari within—the one that lies dormant, yet connected to the Sentinel soul. Among the billions that inhabit the host, there is one that resonates. Close your eyes. Feel them crawling. Searching. Let them be known to you. One will answer."

Charlotte blinked and reread the words, slowly.

"That's... not creepy at all," she muttered under her breath.

But still, she nodded and closed her eyes again, this time following the book's instructions. She focused not on the glowing power, not on trying to force anything—but instead on the sensation of what lived inside her. She tried to feel them.

And she did.

All of them.

It started like a static buzz across her skin. A weird, tingly pressure—like hundreds of invisible ants walking just beneath her surface. She winced slightly, resisting the urge to scratch her arms. It wasn't painful, but it was definitely... unsettling.

"They're everywhere," she whispered to herself.

Each Zeyvari, tiny as they were, moved with purpose—some near her back, her scalp, even between her toes. The sensation was enough to give her goosebumps. But she kept concentrating. Searching for the one.

And then—warmth.

A sudden, subtle bloom of heat right in her right ear. Not uncomfortable, but strong enough to stand out. Like someone had placed a small candle just beneath her earlobe.

Her eyes opened, and this time—her hands glowed.

Bright, brilliant blue energy pulsed gently across her fingertips and palms like they were dipped in starlight. She stared in awe.

"Whoa," Finn breathed out.

Lina practically squealed. "That's it! You did it!"

Charlotte reached up and touched her right ear, that warm sensation still gently glowing. "It's in there," she muttered. "The Zeyvari that's giving me powers—it's... in my ear?"

Finn grinned. "Well, at least now you know where your literal inner voice lives."

Charlotte let out a laugh despite herself. "Seriously, what kind of magical alien chooses an ear?"

Lina shrugged. "Better than your butt."

"Thanks, Lina," Charlotte groaned with a chuckle. But as she looked at her glowing hands, her smile softened.

She didn't know why her Zeyvari had chosen such a weird hiding place, or what her powers even meant yet—but for the first time, she felt just a little closer to understanding herself.

***

Kael crouched against the curved, fleshy wall of the goddess's ear canal, his gloved hands scooping thick clumps of golden wax into a translucent canister strapped to his side. The air was surprisingly still today, and the vibrations from the outside world were mild, which made for a decent morning on the job. The wax, though unpleasant in smell and texture, was actually one of the most valuable natural resources for the Zeyvari. Hardened wax was used as structural adhesive, fireproofing insulation, and even a source of heat in some colder zones. Gross, yes. But important.

Still didn't mean he enjoyed smelling like old ear cheese at the end of his shift.

"Can you believe they're still digging through every noble house?" a voice called out from the other side of the canal.

Kael looked up and saw another blue approaching, balancing a long-handled scraper over one shoulder. The man's name was Breno, a broad-shouldered, six-eyed older worker who always managed to start a conversation no matter how dirty the work.

"They still think it's one of the yellows?" Kael asked, wiping his hands on a sanitized cloth before jamming it back into his belt.

"Yep," Breno said, kicking aside a pebble of dried wax. "Emperor's apparently furious. All the royals have been examined and re-examined, but no signs of awakening, no glow, no nothing. Now he's threatening to send search orders into the red districts. Can you believe that?"

Kael furrowed his brow. "A red? That'd be rare. Has that ever happened before?"

Breno scoffed. "Not once. Not in recorded history. Yellows are the only ones with the kind of neural resonance needed to connect directly with the goddess—at least, that's what they say. Maybe the emperor's just grasping now. He's desperate."

Kael didn't respond immediately. He felt the weight of the scraper in his hands, felt the gentle thrum of Charlotte's pulse vibrating through the inner ear walls. All around him, his fellow blues worked in silence, brushing, scooping, sanitizing. It was hard, honest work. And yet...

He turned away from Breno without another word, stepping deeper into the wall's narrow groove where a thicker deposit of wax had collected. He jabbed the scraper into the edge and began carving it out in smooth, steady strokes.

But then it hit him.

A wave of warmth, like his blood had suddenly turned into sunlight. His breath caught in his throat. His muscles tensed—not from strain, but something else. Something... alive. Something familiar.

His scraper clattered to the floor.

Kael gasped, grabbing onto the fleshy wall for support as light bloomed beneath his skin, subtle at first—barely visible beneath his gloves and sleeves—but then brightening, surging from his chest down to his fingertips in shimmering pulses of blue.

"No... no, no, not again," he muttered under his breath, heart thundering in his chest.

He knew this feeling.

That heat. That tug. That overwhelming pressure like something ancient and enormous was staring directly at him. Like the entire body around him suddenly knew who he was. It was just like the moment in the goddess's mouth. That strange white void. The glowing. The disconnection from reality.

"Kael?" Breno called out from behind, voice echoing across the chamber. "You alright?"

Kael spun away, trying to hide the glow under his arms, but he could already feel it bleeding through his skin. His vision blurred. His heartbeat sounded like war drums in his ears.

This couldn't be happening. He was a blue. A blue.

"I have to go," Kael choked out, stumbling toward the support cable anchored to the upper cartilage. His hands trembled as he latched onto the harness. "Tell the foreman I... I dropped my scanner. I'll be back in a bit!"

"Kael, wait—what's going on? Are you glowing?"

But Kael was already swinging out of view, the warm light trailing behind him like a dying comet.

It's not real. I'm hallucinating. It's a side effect of ear wax fumes. I'm just tired. Overworked. That's all...

But deep down, he knew it wasn't. Something inside him was waking up again. And this time, it didn't feel like it was going to go away.