Flying Blind Ch. 07

Madison looked like a cat who had gotten into the cream. She had never really dreamt that she would be a member of the in-crowd. Now, thanks to Heda and her family ties, Madison was practically the president of the cool kids. A lot of it was brainless sucking up, but it was better than the alternative.

"Okay, maybe a little. Billy says that the setup they've got is totally bitching!"

Heda grinned and grabbed a clean pair of jeans and a tee-shirt that read "Straight Outta 100 Acre Wood," with a picture of Winnie the Pooh in his gangster outfit on the front. She had even gotten the shirt so that the lettering and image were embroidered so that Madison could appreciate the Pooh. "You're scanning my ass, aren't you?" she asked after bending over to grab her Birkenstocks.

"Hmm?" Madison mumbled, not paying any attention to Heda's question while studying her ass in great detail.

"Never mind."

"Hmm!"

Heda sucked up her courage and turned around. "Hey, before we get going --"

"Oh no, no more delaying tactics. The sooner this speech is over --"

"I just wanted to tell you --"

"-- because I wanna dance and pump up the music and --"

"-- that I love you."

"-- so let's get going!" Madison finished, then took two steps out the door, then stopped with such dedication that she almost toppled down the stairs.

Heda waited in complete silence for a moment. Then she heard the stairs creak a bit as Madison's weight redistributed.

"Uhm, Heda?"

"Yes?"

"Sorry, I know things got a little hectic there, but I thought that . . . well, it sounded like --"

"I said that I loved you? Yeah, I heard that too. Mostly because I said it."

"But . . . no, I don't think you get it. I thought I heard you say --"

Heda grabbed Madison by the arms and lifted her about six inches off of the ground.

"Madison Sloan, I love you."

Madison squeaked, but it was a happy sound. "You didn't say 'Madison Sloan' last time --"

Heda smiled. "You just like hearing me say it, don't you?"

If a rainbow could truly be captured by a mortal being, then Madison's smile accomplished just that. She was so happy that she positively glowed. Then her mouth started to move, but she could not make a sound to save her life. She grabbed Heda by the hand and dragged her down stairs, past all of their highly confused friends, and then down into the basement. Madison frantically scanned her keyboard, then typed something in. Soon, a familiar tune slid into the air like a pleasant aroma.

Well, I know it's kind of late

I hope I didn't wake you

But what I got to say can't wait

I know you'd understand

cause every time I tried to tell you

The words just came out wrong

So I'll have to say I love you in a song.

Heda's heart skipped a beat, but she forced herself not to smile. "It'd sound nice with the voice."

Madison smiled shyly. "Love you," she said, mustering a bit of spice.

Heda picked Madison up and pressed their lips together. "Better."

"Best."

An hour later, the pre-semester shifter and magic-user dinner was well underway. The members of Animal House, as Heda's social group was now called, were sitting all together, laughing and feasting and having a good time. But then Reichert stepped up to the podium, and the room went quiet.

"Thank you all for coming. No, you aren't getting course credit for this, but you can't leave because I had the doors locked." He smiled, waiting for the chuckles to die down. "But seriously, I'm glad to see so many people chose to return this semester after the tragedies and horrors experienced this past Fall. I wondered if I should suggest that we all just act as if it never happened, but that would be unrealistic. It would also fail to be productive."

He stopped, looked around, and his eyes came to rest on Heda. "As many of you know, Heda Adler and her companions showed great resolve and determination in their pursuit of an evil man. Of course, they, and specifically she, were doing so in direct defiance of just about every rule that had been laid out. I can only imagine how her mother must have felt trying to raise such a foolhardy, stubborn, and too-smart-for-her-own-good daughter. I imagine that between all the headaches and gnashing of teeth, she was a source of great pride for her family, as she has become for her entire community.

"Yet I would be remiss in my thanks if I did not focus some attention on a very unlikely hero. Miss Madison Sloan," he said, waiting until the spotlight floated over to a very surprised young woman, "I owe you more than my life, and that is a hard thing for a King . . . especially THIS King . . . to say. It is hard because of a certain degree of shame."

Madison looked confused, and she gripped Heda's hand under the table.

"Madison, I once thought, as others did and sometimes still do, that those who could not have survived in our wild world in centuries past were weak. I did not realize until recently how foolish that notion was. My totem animal was as physically powerful and dominant as any creature on earth. All that strength did not save it. It was not versatile enough to survive."

Reichert looked out over the crowd. "We take great pride in our animal heritage, as well we should, but we are half human as well. And our human brethren have survived when some of the greatest, most powerful beings to walk our earth, fly our skies, and swim in our oceans have drifted into history. Why? Because of their minds. Because they used their brains to adapt to an environment that no other physical manifestation could endure. They could not fly on their own, so they built machines. They reached the moon, where not even the greatest of the bird-shifters could plant their feet."

He sighed, this admission obviously taking a great toll on him. "Madison Sloan survived for twenty years with a sharp, finely tuned mind that more than made up for her lack of sight. When surrounded by the right people, she proved time and time again to have both the brain and the fortitude to do the right thing. It was she who uncovered the truth about the evil that she survived, and that truth led to my own rescue and, hopefully, redemption. Madison, you cannot see because of a genetic quirk at birth. I have no such excuse. I believe that I may need you, the blind, to lead the rest of us whenever we seem to have lost our way."

Heda looked over and saw tears creeping out from those white eyes. Madison had stopped wearing the sunglasses when around shifters, because she no longer felt she needed or wanted to hide. Heda was happy for her friend because, as Reichert had put it, this was redemption.

"Ready to go dancing?" Heda whispered.

Madison just smiled and said, "Ready for anything."

-------- -----------------------

The End . . .