Page 7 of Raven

Most shifters had other abilities. Some had only slight things that they didn’t even notice, others had huge abilities that had the potential to drive them insane. For me, it was this. To feel others' feelings, to feel their bodies. I could feel the hunger of a starving person, the pain of the injured, and the sorrow of the grieving. With Tia, though, it was something else.

I’d figure that part out later.

I could soothe too. Maybe not take away everything someone was feeling. That’d be unfair. Emotions had purpose and they were part of the experience of living, but sometimes they needed help. I could calm fear and anger with touch, could dissipate pain with focus, and ease suffering when it was needed.

When she started to calm, I felt that too, felt it inside me like a slow lap of the sea lazily brushing back from the shore. She leant into me, putting her head to my chest. Whether she realised what she was doing or not, I had no idea, but I gave her the comfort woman and panther seemed to need.

If I were to ask her why she’d just done that, she’d not know. People came to me like this, too. It was as if something unconscious could sense what I could do, and they gravitated towards it—towards healing.

Gently, I put a hand to her hair, and then stroked down. “Do you want to come back to my place? I have some balms there, instead. We can clean up and I’ll walk you home.”

Nodding, she wiped her eyes, then moved away and out of my comforting zone. “Sorry. I’m not normally like this. I don’t know what’s come over me.” She had both hands to her face again as she let out a breath. When she moved her hands, she looked to me. Her eyes reflected mine in a way. The green in them, the panther inside, pacing, needing, wanting. “I think it’sthe move. Maybe.” She shook her head, a small laugh escaping her. “Sorry. You must think I’m nuts.”

I tried to hang my bag over the opposite shoulder, because the strap that had broken, was the one I used, and when it didn’t hang right, I just held it. “Not at all,” I reassured her, understanding more than she might realise. “You’ve had a shitty day.”

We started walking. She’d calmed now, even if I did catch her looking around her, checking every nook and cranny. When we stepped across the mouth of another alleyway, she stepped closer to me. “A shitty week. I should have realised it was going to go this way when I turned up at my accommodation on Monday.”

“Something wrong with it?”

She scoffed. “No. It’s fine, it’s ... There was a mix-up and they put me in with two Human girls.”

“I can guess how that went down.”

“ And I have an assignment due. Some practice essay so the tutor can assess, but I’m not allowed to use the desk in our room, even though there is space for me.”

“Ah.” I nodded back to Spy Glass. “Hence you came out here.”

“I would sit on my bed and do it.” I had no doubt that was the only part of the room she was allowed to touch. “But then they make as much noise as possible.” She stopped talking and stopped walking. “Shit. See, you didn’t need to know all that either. Maybe I should just go home and go to bed. Sleep it off.” She went to step back, I stepped with her.

“It’s okay. I get it. My place is only a couple of blocks from here. Come with me, we’ll get that cleaned up and I’ll walk you back.”

She peered at me, and I could almost read every thought echoing around her head. “Are you sure? I really don’t want toput you out. You’ve already given me your shirt, rescued me, and listened to my random complaining, which by the way, I’m stopping right now.”

I couldn’t help the smile that pulled at my lips. “It’s all fine.” I had that effect on people, too—the talking. I always chalked it up to my link with emotions and being able to feel theirs, because maybe they could feel my sincerity and empathy, and maybe that drew them to me, and made them talk. The older I got, the more I saw it. It wasn’t unusual for patrons at the bar to tell me all their problems. Especially patrons who were Other.

“Maybe you need to be up early. You’ve only just finished work.”

I shrugged. “I don’t sleep too much generally, but in a few hours, I’ve got another job to go to, then I have classes all day, so I don’t go to bed, or I’d sleep right through. Normally, I just go home and chill on the sofa, shoot some things on my game.”

She mock frowned. “That sounds like important work.”

“The shooting or the classes?”

Her frown morphed into a smile. “Both. As long as you promise it’s no bother it’d be a great help. Becky and co would only start their crap if I went home looking like this. Claiming I’d be infecting the bathroom and they might catch what I have.”

FOUR

It didn't take long to reach the block where I lived. It was three blocks, not the two I mentioned. I'm not even sure why I said two. Perhaps it was some irrational fear that if it seemed too far, she would leave? Who knows.

I opened the main door to our building and winced. The emerging stench was horrendous. I hadn't even considered it during our walk over. It was a mix of urine, sweat, and the smell of something dead that had been left in the sun for a week—all combined. I can't even begin to describe it accurately.

Without uttering a word, I led Tia through the eye-watering smell to the stairs—the lift was out of service again—and up to my floor.

My flat, which I shared with my mother, was on the third floor, fifth door along. Thank God the lights in the corridor were out, so Tia couldn't see all the stains and marks that blemished the carpet and walls. This place was far from being the Ritz.

I couldn't get us to my door quickly enough. "Sorry it's only small," I said as I unlocked the door and pushed it open.

Her gaze swept over the place, and she smiled. "No, I like it. It's cosy," she stepped inside. "Is it just you here?"

---