The Butterfly Girl: A Star is Born

The Glowstick

[Sophia]

Days passed since then. To heal and collect our thoughts on this new information. We didn't go back to the tree house for a while. And during that time, since the Twins didn't anywhere else to go, so we let them stay on our couch. We've practically gotten used to them by now. Sometimes they ask a lot of questions about things they don't understand and sometimes it's a little exhausting to have to explain everything to them. And we're trying our best, but there's still a lot that they don't understand. And that's okay. Sometimes they go out into the backyard and look at everything and sometimes they try to look over the fence despite my warnings. But they're just curious and I can't blame them for that.

Reminds me of when I was young and curious and didn't completely understand everything. A part of me still is. But I've grown since then.

Sometimes the Twins follow us around and observe us, and I've gotten used to it. A little at a time. I never liked having someone looking over my shoulder. But I know they're only observing me, not judging me.

At one point, they watched me walk around the house and asked why I was walking so strangely. I explained to them it was just my wounds and sore muscles. Usually after a days worth of fighting, Apollo and I come home with scratches and sore muscles and sometimes we walk around all stiff-like, because even doing simple things hurt when you've got three bruises on your leg, five on your arms and maybe a twisted ankle. Maybe more, maybe less. So don't worry about it too much.

Later during the night, I was sitting at my desk, lights off, laptop open, playing a game late into the night. Somehow, the Twins managed to sneak up behind me and almost gave me a heart attack when they asked what I was doing. I swear, I almost knocked Flyboy in the head with my elbow. I told them I was playing another video game, and of course they asked me what it was, and I, more or less, explained to the best of my ability the game I was playing. Even though I thought I already told them what a video game was.

Look, explaining what a video game is is a lot harder when they don't even know about the internet. Or technology. And after how long it took me to explain it to them, my mouth was dry and tired and I felt like it was about time to turn it off and call it a day. But the Twins seemed so interested in watching me I ended up playing way longer than I should have. Also because I felt too awkward to ask them to leave because I wanted to sleep. What ended up happening was I kept playing my game until I noticed the Twins both fell asleep on me while I continued to play. Basically trapping me in between them so I couldn't get up or even adjust my current position. And it made me feel even more awkward because now I was too nervous to wake them up. I was tired, and my back ached and honestly, I just hoped they would get up by themselves, say goodnight to me and leave. But they didn't.

So what'd I do?

When I noticed they were asleep, I turned my brightness down every so often (trying to be subtle) until I turned off my laptop and fell asleep on my desk. And I hoped that when I woke up again in the middle of the night, they'd be gone and I could finally get up and sleep in my bed. But they didn't leave until I woke up later that morning. I heard them shuffling quietly and closing the door behind them as I felt the sun peeking through my blinds and grazing my face. Not even five seconds after they left, I immediately got up, fell in my bed and rolled myself up in my covers. My back and shoulders felt so relieved as soon as I got up and sure, it may have only been four hours of actual sleep that I got that made me tired and a little delirious when I woke up again, but it was worth it. I can't really blame them. They were just having fun watching me and I just couldn't ask them to leave. (Because that's what happens when you're socially awkward, like me.)

When I woke up later, I pulled on my blanket cape and went downstairs. Turns out I was the first one up. Apollo was still in his room and I saw the Twins, passed out on the couch. I didn't want to bother them so I just sat in the table in the kitchen and looked at my phone until I got hungry and made a bowl of cereal for myself. I was surprised they didn't hear me laughing at stupid videos on Youtube while I was in the kitchen, so out of boredom and not wanting to bother anyone, I went upstairs and changed into the new outfit that I bought a couple of days ago.

Blue shorts and a white shirt with a little printed strawberry in the corner. But when I put on the shirt, I realized the tag was still on it. I looked around my desk for my scissors, but I couldn't see them anywhere. Then I remembered that I must've left them back at the tree house on the desk. I needed them for something and forgot to bring them back with me. So I decided to head out and go get them. I put on a jacket and slipped into a pair of sandals. I slung my satchel over my shoulder and quietly headed back downstairs and slipped through the backyard door. I carefully climbed over the fence and made my way down through the thick trees while stepping on leaves that didn't crunch underneath me, which was kinda unsatisfying. When I finally walked up to the tree house I pulled myself up on one of the branches and hoisted myself up onto the platform and walked inside. I found my scissors in one of the drawers and adjusted my shirt so I could cut off the tag. When I pulled it out, I shoved the scissors back in my bag and jumped down from the platform of the tree house. And just as I was about to head back, I heard something and spun my head around to see what it was.

I wasn't surprised to see Teri's face pop out of the water with her cheerful expression as she waved hello to me.

"Oh, hey!" I turned around and walked towards her as she leaned on her arms.

"How's everything back at home? Are you doing okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're good. We're doing pretty good."

"That's good. What about you, is your leg okay?" Teri said as she looked down at the spot where my leg used to be scratched.

"Yeah, it's better now. A little sore, but it's fine." I said.

"Oh good, I'm glad to know you're doing well. But, there is a reason why I came up here. I actually came to see you," Teri said shyly.

"Wait, really?" I asked, confused.

Why does everyone come to see me?

"Um... hold on a second. Stay right there." Teri said and she ducked beneath the surface for only a moment before coming back up, her Mother's trident in hand. I was confused as to what she was doing with it.

"You see... after the day we were all attacked. I realized I wasn't doing much to help you on my own," Teri said as she looked down.

"What? But you did help us. You found that secret cave where Apollo was. You saved me from breaking my neck."

"Yeah, I guess I did." We both laughed for a moment until Teri turned serious again.

"That is true, but I was talking about when we were fighting that scary creature when we were helping Apollo escape. I was too scared for myself to help you get Apollo out. But when you came over to protect me... I didn't know what I was thinking. I should've been fighting alongside you. I just couldn't find the courage," Teri suddenly looked up at me, "That's why I wanted to ask you..." she trailed off and looked away for a moment.

I tilted my head in confusion.

Teri sighed, "I just wanted to ask you if... you could teach me to fight?" Teri held up her trident towards me. Her words left me stunned. But I could tell from the tone of her voice and the expression on her face that she was serious. It felt like I stood there for a long time, trying to find the right words to say to her while also trying to think of a response. I really didn't know how to react to this.

Teri suddenly tilted her head up and looked me straight in the eye. (However my gaze couldn't meet hers.)

"Please, Sophie? If there ever comes a time where we might get attacked again, I want to be able to fight alongside you. If I want to protect my kingdom and my friends, I want to be able to know how to fight. And since you know so much from experience, I thought maybe you could teach me?"

I suddenly made eye contact with her unknowingly and I couldn't break away from it. Her desperate face pierced right through me. She was being sincere.

Okay, okay fiiiiinnne! Just stop looking at me like that!

"Well... okay, I guess I can show you some things."

Teri suddenly lit up with joy and I swear I thought I saw her fins twitch.

"Oh thank you, Sophie! I'm so grateful for this! Can we start now? I've got almost all day, that should be enough time right?"

Teri pulled herself out of the water, trident in hand and stood in front of me. She held out her trident and I nervously grabbed it.

"Here, show me what you can do."

"Uh....."

I looked down at the weapon in my hands. It was a little heavier than I thought. But I knew nothing about using a trident. I haven't even held one of these things before, let alone see one with my own eyes!

I didn't think this was the way to start out, so I walked over to the base of the tree and set it down. I could tell Teri was confused with what I was doing. I set my bag down along with the trident and walked back towards her.

"I think we should start with something simple." I said.

"Oh, really? Like what?"

I suddenly had an idea.

"Well... do you know how to punch?" I asked, unsure.

"Punch?" Teri looked at me, obviously confused.

Perfect, then we'll start here then.

First things first, I taught Teri the basic self-defense position. Each move after another, I started coming up with new ideas.

"Okay, so basically I'm gonna teach you a few self-defense moves."

"Self-defense?"

"Yeah. They're very basic moves that everyone should learn. Basically, if your ever in trouble you can use these moves whenever you're threatened." I explained.

Teri nodded and watched me closely.

"Okay, so first I'm gonna teach you how to punch."

"Okay."

"Okay, hold out your hand like this." I raised my arm up, palm out. She repeated my movements and I told her to keep her arm the way I positioned it. Because we didn't have any punching bags or anything I would just be using the palm of her hand. I also reminded her that I wouldn't actually be trying to hurt her, I was just demonstrating. She understood this and readied herself.

"Okay, you see how I'm holding my hand out like this?"

"Yes."

"And I keep this arm at my side like this?"

"Okay."

"And then you do this."

I jabbed Teri's palm and she gasped at the impact.

"See? That's how you punch."

Teri looked down at her palm for a moment as if she finally understood everything. I demonstrated a few more times, quickly and lightly punching her palm before I finally decided to let her try. I held my hand out wide and waited for her to make a move.

"So... I just stand like this?"

"Yep. Then just punch as hard as you can. You'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, just punch it. Don't hold back."

"Okay."

Teri adjusted her stance before finally letting her arm swing and struck my palm hard. I reeled my hand back afterwards and shook it out because she punched me a lot harder than I was expecting.

"Oh, are you okay? Did I hurt you?" Teri worriedly asked. I turned around, holding my hand and shaking out my wrist.

"No, no! You just... ah, you're just a lot stronger than I thought you were."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. Uh, here. Try that again." I held out my hand again and this time, I braced myself for her incoming strength.

"Are you sure? I don't wanna hurt you."

"No, it's fine. You're not gonna hurt me, it's totally fine."

"Well, if you say so."

Teri jabbed me a few more times. I'll admit, when I told her not to hold back, she took it seriously. She had way more strength than I thought she had. By the end of that round, I thought my hand was about to go numb, but I assured to Teri that she didn't hurt me at all.

"So, is that it? Is that how you punch?"

I turned around, "Yep, that's how you punch." I strained. I watched Teri spin around in joy for a moment before she came back to me and asked me to teach her more. Of course, I obliged and this time I'd show her how to evade an incoming punch. For this, I let Teri do a slow punch as I demonstrated how to avoid it. The only two ways I knew how to avoid it was to quickly move out of the way or swipe it away quickly like a parry. It took a moment for her to understand, but I think she got it for the most part. I practiced this move a few more times before I decided to let her try. She wasn't sure if it was alright at first because she didn't want to hit me on accident. But I always had to let her know that it was completely fine. Even if she did accidentally punch me on accident, it was just practice.

I stood my ground and Teri prepared herself for my incoming attacks. I punched slowly and let Teri try to avoid it. Her reflexes were a little slow, but I let her practice as many times as she needed before I finally punched at full force and she was able to avoid it completely. As an added bonus, I turned around for a moment before I came back with multiple punches and she quickly dodged each of them. She was quickly impressed with her new skill. But there was one more thing I wanted to teach her.

"Okay, you know how to punch, you know how to evade. This time, I'm gonna teach you how to block."

"What's that?" Teri asked.

"It's when you stop incoming attacks. Stand there, I'll show you." I had Teri stay int he same spot and told her that she would try punching me, and I assured her once again that it was perfectly fine if she hits me. For this, I kinda needed her to punch me to really show her.

"Okay, so when you punch I'm gonna put my arms up like this. Just watch what I do, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

Teri did a few slow punches and each time she got close, I'd put my arms up together and block it. I noted not to keep her arms too close to her face or the incoming punch might knock your arms back and hit you in the face anyway. After a few good punches I took a moment to show her different ways to block. The first is just the usual putting your arms up and ducking your head. Or you can put your arms up in an X formation. If you do that I told her that she should put her other arm in front first instead of her dominant arm so she has strength to punch back afterwards. After that, I told Teri to punch me as hard as she could and show her a real block. Teri of course wasn't sure because if she could punch that hard she didn't want to hurt me. And at this point it was getting more exhausting to reassure her that it was fine more than I was teaching her the actual moves.

"Okay, so when I say go, you punch me, okay?"

"Got it."

"Okay, ready?"

"Yeah."

"Okay..... and go!"

Teri punched me and I quickly raised my fists and blocked her attack. We did this a couple times before I told her to stop. I was a little worried that I had my arms covered in bruises, because she got me pretty good. But I did tell her to punch as hard as she could. So in a way, I think that means she did good. I asked her if she wanted to try blocking and she said she was totally up for it. She adjusted her stance and for these few rounds, I'd let her know when I'd punch and then I'd punch without saying. She'd just have to rely on her reflexes to block when I moved.

She was slow at first, but first after a couple punches she was starting to get it. She watched my hands rather than looking at my face. Once or twice, I spun around behind her and tried to get her from behind, but she reeled around and raised her arms up high. A couple of strikes later, we were starting to get tired. One last punch and I asked Teri if she wanted to take a break. Teri agreed and we both relaxed. She walked over and sat by the pools and massaged her palms. I walked over to the tree house and picked up my bag. Apollo had messaged me.

Where U at?I'm a the tree house. I'm teaching Teri to fight!

Really? That's cool! I'll be over in a bit.<

I put my phone in my pocket and sat near Teri.

"Apollo's gonna come over in a bit." I said.

"That sounds great! We can train together!" Teri smiled brightly.

"Thank you for teaching me. If we can keep this up, we can learn new skills and be ready for a real fight! I couldn't have done this without you."

"No problem. I'll teach you everything you gotta know."

"So, when are you gonna teach me how to use my weapon?"

"Probably not until later. There's still a lot to learn."