The Art of Becoming

I've done my best to include as many content warnings as I can here, but I can't guarantee that I...

The events immediately after my House naming ceremony are a blur to me, even so many years later....

After a few weeks together, training and occasionally studying by myself on the estate, the Lokke...

Time passed, and I approached my one-year anniversary as the Lokke Vitras to come. At the time, I...

Despite how it might seem from other stories, Korix was not the primary focus of my life, nor was...

Elliot,   Remember to breathe, love. In: one, two. Out: one, two. And repeat. Keep doing this ...

As I took one wavering step after another on top of the garden wall, I cradled my precious burden...

Grabbing hold of my siblings’ hands, I hauled them to their feet so I could drag them behind me. ...

During yearly lesson rotations, my stints with Vaessa, the House in charge of maintaining Ibis, h...

I didn’t know if leaving the kalasa’s care this early was wise, but I wouldn’t keep my sister awa...

Ostiu was fucking cold. I’d known this from multiple people’s warnings on the subject, but there ...

As soon as the door had slid closed, I dove into my array, requesting Feena’s location. She’d las...

Eventually, an alert chimed from the console while our speed slowed to a stop, and tapping into t...

“-haven’t seen someone show such promise in ages, Talira. He’ll work well. Start the process.” W...

With my back pressed to crumbling concrete, I counted my breaths, loosely holding my rifle in fro...

I met Fyester when I was fifteen years old during a House Kirst rotation. We’d immediately hit it...

With our guide gone, Fyester looked a little lost, so I flounced onto the bed, hoping to distract...

Islae didn’t want me to leave. She wasn’t being clingy, to my relief. I’d never been sure of how ...

I’d been left alone with House Kolb’s shukusen, a situation that should and would have had my sto...

As I got dressed, I considered how best to ask the question on my mind. In the end, I decided to ...

A waking state came to me slowly with a gradual diminishment of vivid dreams leaving me blinking ...

Once we were in the outer layer, the Lokke Vitras angled us toward one end of it, moving into an ...

I imagine that you found this part of my story predictable and somewhat annoying, Elliot, but it’...

The face of the man shouting at me had been red for a solid five minutes now, and I was beginning...

My footfalls spun the conspiracy’s remaining members to me, and I held my hands to either side, s...

Well. This had been a travesty. For the love of all that might be holy, say I was wrong. Say he ...

In the Terminal, people popped into being around me with the same rattled look on their faces, bu...

The Southern Fells Travel Center was smaller than the one in Ibis, and although its layout was si...

For a while, I didn’t move, simply considering how lucky I was that evushk had let me off easy th...

The skycruiser set down, and I sat, motionless, in it. I hadn’t announced my arrival yet, uncerta...

I wondered what my parents wanted. Would they ask me to leave, taking the danger that I represent...

The tower that we siblings were standing in front of had a much shorter profile on the horizon th...

Clicking her tongue, Feena whacked the back of my head. “Inspiring speech?” she snapped. “He’ll...

Xygek’s ground level was reserved for the middle Strata: Sixth through Eighth. Most people in tho...

I hurried us toward the closest public lift, half-hoping that Fyester would slip away while my ba...

Bucking Fyester to the side, I scrambled away from him until a headboard and wall stopped me, set...

Considering what had happened the last time I’d been here, arriving at the Crescent early felt st...

Evushk held something out to me, ignoring the hysterical giggling bouncing around us, and dazedly...

I didn’t find the escape I’d longed for. My world became the interior of the cabana with my every...

The length of the road that I’d traveled earlier today, a time that seemed like years ago, went b...

The outer layer of Acceptance Arena held a reverential air, spilling over from the ceremony takin...

I landed the skycruiser far from evushk’s estate. After finding me in the Crescent, Talira had le...

My barricades against my emotions had yet to be raised again, as evidenced by my narrowing field ...

Korix and I seemed like a terrible match for many reasons. First of all, he was my teacher, and ...

A shiver ran through the aircraft, rattling stored equipment in its bins, and in the seats closes...

House Kolb speed was plenty useful in short stretches, pulling operatives or strike team members ...

Korix looked ravishing at the moment. In black dress pants and a button-down shirt with a wine-re...

Even though it was still early, people had filled the Crescent, and clumps of them were congestin...

When I returned to Feena, she looked grumpy rather than just acting like it. I cautiously approac...

Neither Korix nor I wanted to say something. If we did, our inevitable answer would become concre...

Over the course of several hundred years, House Cerullis, in their efforts to better understand o...

After we’d walked for quite a while, enough to ensure that no one would interrupt us, Korix stopp...

Ace and I left the guesthouse, circling the main building. At the first side entrance we found, I...

Leski sucked in air like a dying fish, and from the corner of my eye, I caught Niklaus glancing b...

Niklaus led me away from the dining room. He took us on a convoluted route to his office, which m...

As I got dressed, I reviewed my list of mysteries, the ones that had once more begun flocking to ...

Darting back around the corner, I shot out an arm, driving Leski into the wall beside me. What w...

First, I secured Ace in the guesthouse, leaving him with an elaborate, treat-filled puzzle to sol...

Avoiding Leski for the rest of the day became the most annoying trial I’d endured in years. Havin...

Finishing off my snack, I glanced over my stowaway and almost didn’t recognize her, considering e...

Bowing, I stuttered, “L-lokke Vi-vitras.” Korix, something deep inside whispered with relief. S...

How I managed to stay on my feet was beyond me. I didn’t have adrenaline to help me ignore the pa...

Betrayal, as you know, is one of the worst ordeals that someone can experience. So many emotions ...

What was taking so long? This question echoed in me as I circled the confines of my cell with my...

On the facility’s main level, House Cerullis members were crowding the halls that had been empty ...

Shukusen Alezand showed no sign of leaving, and cursing in my head, I settled in to wait. Obvious...

I didn’t rush him. I wasn’t an idiot. If I did that, he’d just shoot me from the landing pad. No...

A mishmash of rotating colors abruptly halted with my head smacking into plastic, and my vision f...

Shukusen Talira was glaring at me like I’d offended her highest sensibilities. I stood perfectly ...

I was so tired. While this shuttle sped through the city, the light of the setting sun splashed ...

I barely stopped myself from laughing into Leski’s mouth. How had I gotten myself into such a str...

When my alarm dragged me to wakefulness, I groggily silenced it, struggling to remember where I w...

When I could think again, I frantically patted my body down while a buzz muffled my hearing. I ha...

When I extracted myself from my siblings’ embrace, I was aware of how many people were staring at...

“Why were you really in Rane’s bar?” I eventually asked Feena. Because there was no way in hell ...

My laughter filled the foyer, bouncing in the air around us, and as if a switch had been flipped,...

I was only half-aware of tracing the path to my old bedroom, and a few steps in, a message from m...

As you might have noticed, I wasn’t great at controlling extreme emotions when I was young. I cou...

Niklaus had changed since our first meeting. With sunken eyes and drawn-together shoulders, he ju...

Pheniks was, as usual, ensconced in a nest made of books, and as we came closer, he made room for...

Pheniks, Feena, and I arrived at our parents’ apartment within the hour, not long after I’d left ...

I’d never seen the lobby of House Kolb’s headquarters more deserted. A few people scurried betwee...

The full meaning of Talira’s words didn’t penetrate my thick skull until I’d almost reached my de...

When I eased into the room, Korix was sitting on the floor with his knees up and his head in his ...

Walking into the room, Feena froze when she saw Korix and me before shoving Pheniks into the hall...

Talira’s office went unnaturally still, and glancing between its occupants, I clicked my tongue. ...

The people with me seemed to agree with my assessment. Around me, blanched faces stared into noth...

As we approached my room, we slowed down while a funny look passed over Korix’s face. “She’s sle...

I closed the skycruiser’s door and headed off, waving for Korix to follow as I did. Not that he’d...

Reluctantly, Niklaus started with his story. “Before Laryse, I had a dull life. I served my lieg...

I was pretty sure that I was going to be sick. Opposite me, Niklaus looked so self-assured, as if...

“Phen? You here?” I called as Korix and I entered the Library. As the question echoed back to me...

Later that night, I slipped out from under Leski’s arm, cautiously disarming the alarms around my...

“Remind me why we’re here again?” Korix asked. The city's lights cast a glowing corona around th...

Even with an undercurrent of worry following her, Jayla looked good, much better than she had as ...

The air around Korix hung heavy on the shuttle ride home, and given how much they’d pulled away f...

Finding Leski didn’t take me long. When I stormed into my parents’ garden, she was examining the ...

I pulled Korix to me, pressing our lips together, and as I entangled my body with his, I tipped u...

In the end, I had to let them go, no matter how unwillingly. You and your family have served as a...

Carefully, I lifted the decanter on my grandmother’s sideboard and tilted it over my flask’s narr...

As if to echo my unease, Korix shifted in front of me, but we couldn’t let it overcome us. If we ...

When we reached the apartment, Ace barreled through its door to me, but like the good boy he was,...

As soon as I was out of sight, I took off at House Kolb speed toward the apartment’s sitting room...

I was busy with Korix and Leski when a message flashed into my array. Given the circumstances, I ...

As soon as I’d stepped into House Cerullis’ headquarters, I removed my camouflage disk, working m...

DO YOU SEE, BRETHREN? WE ARE ALWAYS VICTORIOUS! Pheniks, Feena, and I chase one another across...

The Ancient left me, steam and electricity billowing out of a scorched-through body. I was on the...

As I descended through House Cerullis’ headquarter, I set about dismantling as much of its securi...

“Zaeden! I need you come back, kuvesk.” Hurt is the world is the world is the world is my- “Fig...

Once we were a good distance from headquarters, I requested direct connections between my compani...

Feena was right. Below us, way to fucking far below us, the Preserve soon gave way to a beach and...

Ostiu had fallen behind us a while ago, and with us once more over the sea, we were flying betwee...

“Should I do this?” I asked. Korix would know what I meant, just like he’d known my plan since I...

The strangest aircraft I’d ever seen slowed to a stop beside me with only a faint whir coming fro...

I easily caught up with Pheniks, but when I pulled alongside his aircraft, I slowed down, peering...

Waiting in the foyer of shukusen Talira’s office, I examined her latest acquisition, another pain...

My grandmother’s office was in shadows with the glow of the city’s lights lending it an aura of m...

So, now you know how I became who I am, and if you must judge me, do it. I can no more deny my pa...

Elliot, So, you’ve stayed, despite all the horror I’ve shown you. What would it take to drive yo...

Emotionally drained, I sprawled beside Cambris with her wife, Liala, on the other side of her. Af...

When an alarm roused me, the Southern Fells’ moors were racing below my skycruiser with the river...

Leski, as usual, cuddled Korix and I just as fiercely as we always did with her. She and Korix mi...

From the many pilots available to me, Third Stratus Damari had been my favorite for years. I like...

As I glided onto the street, I hoped my desperate need for my partners’ imparted comfort hadn’t b...

Mother Time, I hated assembles. They were pointless, a complete waste of time, but even still, th...

Nerves set in when our guests started arriving. It was strange for me because I loved social gat...

As I drained my drink, a mixture of cheering and laughter blended with the first chords of a whim...

I decided that my emotions didn’t matter. How I was feeling could never matter, so instead of dig...

Or that was what I thought until Damari crouched beside me and my partners. “Looks like I was wr...

Talira made me join her in a public place for most of our meetings. I thought it was a reminder o...

When I reached my floor, I found an unoccupied room, locking the door after I’d entered it. Makin...

It always went like this. Life intruded on my emptiness in bursts, the times when Maikle or his a...

While I traveled across the park to my next mission, I examined the two people I was supposed to ...

I was already awake when my alarm went off, working on the problem that had become my obsession i...

Amelise left me alone, and pasting the connector’s pads to either side of my neck, I sank into a ...

Talira made me a whiskey sour as soon as I walked into her office. Shortly after I became the Lok...

With a shuddering gasp, I straightened in my seat. A blanket fell over my senses as I fumbled for...

When I returned to the nursery, Korix was sprawled on the floor while Leski was transfixed by her...

It was amazing how much time compressed when you were panicking. I could swear that I’d just been...

I hadn’t gotten far with Pheniks’ defense when the skycruiser landed in our grandmother’s hangar....

Is… is that why he hated me? Fucking hell, is that why he kept himself so distant over the years?...

When I walked into her office the next day, Talira took one look at me before wincing. “Did you ...

With my lung’s contents bursting from me, I lowered my rifle. “Damnit, Feena, you can’t do that,...

Unfortunately, I had one more stressor to handle before I could get started on this mission. Les...

Ahead of me, Third Stratus Laylah glided down the hall, drawing stares as she talked in an almost...

“You think that Alan would surrender to those from beyond the stars?” I said, staring at Damari. ...

When I entered Laylah-Feena and Rylan’s private cubicle, Damari was doing a good job of maintaini...

I ran into Laylah-Feena near our cubicle. “There you are!” she said. “Where did you go? I couldn...

For what seemed like the thousandth time, I read the fifth line of this process again, somehow ke...

After Feena had left, I wrote up my daily report for Talira, like I’d told her I would. I hadn’t ...

The state I was in concerned me. I wasn’t fuzzy, and this evening’s events had continued in a seq...

I watched Leski leave the library, and once she was gone, my hand fell away from Korix as swiftly...

When I reached House Kolb’s headquarters, I entered as if I belonged, even with my status declari...

When I reached Feena’s apartment, I entered it without announcing my presence. “Get dressed, dea...

Harvel just would not make this easy for me. I had to give him credit. He’d most definitely been...

Once we were inside Drav’s headquarters, we headed for a receptionist, sitting behind a welcome d...

So, now you’ve met one of the few people I’d sacrifice everything for. My child. By now, you’ll ...

I wasn’t going to make it. My blasted P.I.G. had given out too far from rescue, succumbing to the...

Korix had been right, as usual. Jak truly was a decent cook. After enjoying a last bite of my me...

I led the way through my home, wondering why my sister was keeping quiet. Usually, she’d be chatt...

Somehow, I made it into the house before I completely lost it. I sprinted for an enclosed space, ...

After I’d reached my study, Feena waited in a corner while I made the room secure. She only relax...

I found Baely first. Sitting in a hall, she was leaning against the wall across from Leski’s stud...

Talira was making me stand for this meeting. I’d walked into her office, and not a single chair h...

On stepping inside House Cerullis’ headquarters, I headed straight for the welcome desk with Feen...

Feena started surging for her feet, but my fingers, hooked in her belt loop, sent her crashing ba...

When we reached Feena’s apartment, I hardly registered it, although I was surprised that my uncon...

I was still considering today’s events when I reached my destination. Fortunately, Damari was the...

In the small room I’d rented, Gretchen and Luisa tangled ever tighter around each other, fighting...

“You must promise to keep this to yourself,” Orin said. Having never seen Kirst’s shukusen so se...

While Sanya found a spot to sit amongst the pillows surrounding the holodrama plate, I poured mys...

I hated assemblies. I might have mentioned this before, but it was doubly true today. Tension wa...

I don’t have much to say this time. I’m sorry, Elliot. Even remembering this part of my life take...

It was too loud in this room. Around me, shukusenth and First Strata filled the air with their sh...

Turning on my heel, I headed back toward a room full of self-important people, all of whom were f...

When someone sat on the bench beside me, it was enough to drag me out of my lethargy. Most people...

When I met Pheniks at his apartment, I said nothing to him. I said nothing as I led the way to a ...

Glancing at the empty moors around us, Pheniks frowned. “We’re here? But there’s nothing… wait. ...

Forgive me for the interruption, Elliot, but there’s something I should explain before we get int...

At the scientist’s nod, I stepped into the lift, quickly descending, but when I stopped, I was su...

I was impressed by the lab that Talira had confiscated for the scientists to work from. Deep in H...

For the one hundred and forty-sixth time, I stared down the display of a cannister, identical to ...

Leaving Feena and my mother behind, the rest of us traveled to House Drav’s headquarters in silen...

After the assembly had concluded, I wandered to the lobby of House Drav’s headquarters in a haze....

From an initial scan of the hangar, I’d say the Chosen kept a neat base of operations. Everything...

An hour or two into the flight, I was still agonizing over whether leaving my family behind had b...

For a supposedly irradiated to hell part of Lutov, the Tainted Lands seemed to be thriving, to my...

I stumbled toward the dropship, only now noticing how much my body had started trembling. That wa...

Throughout my life, I’d speculated about what the Collective would be like, but who wouldn’t do t...

I’ll skip a few months here. I honestly don’t have much to tell you about them. When it came to ...

My current set of targets was playing it exceedingly safe, which had made hunting them down diffi...

When I came back into view, my target was trying to escape, but of course he was. In his situatio...

Korix and Leski looked… I didn’t know how to describe how they looked. I couldn’t focus on their ...

Something unexpected dragged me out of my dreams, but then, dealing with the unexpected had becom...

Before investigating Calia’s safehouses, I had to finish my hunt for the targets I’d been trailin...

Leski followed me as I made for where Kolb scouts had last spotted my targets. I wasn’t sure how...

It was quiet when we arrived. No one was outside of their homes, and there was no breeze to stir ...

When we reached House Kolb’s headquarters, Korix took one look at us before pulling Baely into a ...

It took quite some time, but eventually, I extracted myself from the apartment, heading for House...

Two months had passed, and once again, I found myself exhausted beyond measure. This time, howeve...

The person making the connection request must understand why my answer had been so delayed becaus...

After three months of repeating it, I was getting sick of having this conversation. Over my palm,...

When Baely and I arrived at the dissenter’s island, Korix was waiting for us with his hands folde...

So, now you know, or at least, you should. I suppose I was vague enough that you might not unders...

Leski was waiting in the hangar for us when we got home. If the outline of a familiar hallucinati...

I couldn’t move. If I did, I was afraid I might collapse into a puddle on the floor, and I didn’t...

Absolute chaos had been unleashed at this most momentous of gatherings, and it wasn’t helping me ...

Unlike in the chamber I’d just left, a deadly quiet infected this assembly. Each of the shukusent...

I placidly waited while my grandmother secured the room, although I couldn’t stop myself from dou...

We started our search for Sanya on the outskirts of Xygek. To my great surprise, Korix led us to ...

Our next destination was on the other side of the city. As we set down, I wondered why Korix had ...

We’d set down a while ago, but I couldn’t bring myself to find out where we were. Throughout Kori...

Writing up the report didn’t take as long as I’d thought it would, if only because Korix had made...

When it came to Damari’s formal Dispersal, their sister had been exceedingly kind to me. She’d de...

I’m sorry if that got too sappy for you at the end, Elliot, but I need you to understand this par...

Elliot,   I’ll start this part of my story with a qualifier, love. It will be… strange. I’m he...