“I-it’s not just you..anytime I touch someone, or have them touch me I get these hot flushes…”” Amari mumbled, “It’s worse with you, like this…” She paused and quickly added, “N-not that this is a bad thing! I Just…” She sighed, it was difficult for her to focus right now. Her frustrations unbeknownst to her, coming from devious sigils her brother placed on her in her youth. Ones intended to control and twist her into things that were better left unmentioned.

Amari jumped at the question. Attracted? What did Jake mean by that? “Huh? Do you mean, if I find him...pleasing to look at?” She turned her eyes toward the path ahead of them. “I...think so. He’s usually so clean cut. Well presented, even after fighting. It’s...admirable.”

“Oh,” Jake looked as though a foul smell had passed beneath his nose, despite the pleasant aromas of the forest. “He is rather annoyingly perfect, isn’t he? I suppose if you find that kind of thing admirable… it does sound like you’re attracted to him. But that doesn’t explain why you have the same feelings when you touch m-- anyone. I’m sorry for bringing it up, Amari… but don’t you think this could have something to do with what your brother did to you?”

Amari felt her heart sink, her arms loosened from Jakes arm before sliding away as she stood still and he continued forward a few steps only to turn back and give her a worried glance. Amari was silent. Why? Why did Jake have to bring that up? Amari shook her head, it was clearing already.

“Maybe it has something to do with you…” she mumbled.

“Amari, what-”

She didn’t let him finish, “It’s all ...worse….intensified with you! So maybe its YOU! Why try to bring up something I don’t..I don’t want to think about? I don’t want to...I don’t…” She crouched down to the dirt riddled path and clasped her hands over her head in an attempt to block out the sound. She forced her eyes shut. No. She didn’t want this. She begged for this to stop. This uneasy feeling.

Amari wasn’t ready to confront that sordid and horrifying past. Flashes of what he did danced across her mind, his false honeyed tones, the venomous glint in his eyes. Was that really true? Was Jake onto something.

“Dammit…” She whispered.

During her battle with herself, something around her responded. Small sprouts of greenery erupted from the ground where there was only dirt and pebble before. Then grass, even small yellow daffodils.

“Amari!”

She didn’t hear him, she chose not to. She pressed her hands tighter to the sides of her head. Go away… just go away...just go away…. the newly sprouted flora grew toward her, some of the sprouts slowly beginning to entangle her sandled shoes.

“Amari!” She heard his voice a second time, then felt the warmth of his hand around her wrist as she was pulled up and away. “Amari.” Jake pleaded. “Look.” Still holding tight to her wrist Jake pointed to the spot she had been sitting in.

A ring of grass, vines and flowers.

“What?”

“Amari… you did that. How did you do that?”

“I just… didn’t want to be around anything anymore…” I wrestled my hand away from his and approached the circle.

“Amari! Don’t, we don’t know what that could-”

“It’s ok…” Amari whispered, she wasn’t entirely sure why. But she felt it...she felt that it was ok, and that this was what Breaker meant. It was so obvious now, without the muffled feelings of heat and frustration from constantly clinging to Jake...it was so painfully obvious.

It was just a shame that whatever ‘that’ was….Amari hadn’t a clue on. “Joshua was right… “ Amari whispered, whispering Breakers name as her hands danced over the new saplings, they seemed to positively react to her touch, growing toward her hand as it shifted.

“I don’t know what this means…Jake?” Amari asked, looking up at him, eyes begging him for answers that he didn’t have.