I took a small break yesterday to do stuff that was being neglected, but introductions to my characters are back on... Enjoy this one it is pretty close to home in many ways...

Pulse

No more sunny days. In six more days Jennifer Sunstar would be heading back to Portland Oregon. She missed Reese and her friends, but she always felt so good coming back to the Silver Creek reservation and spending time with her Ak'éí, maternal grandmother in her ancestors Dine tongue. The Navajo of Silver Creek were fewer in number than some tribes, but they seemed to hold onto their beliefs and culture so well. She embraced her heritage, but sometimes being part of it was a painful reminder of what had been lost. Her real name was Jóhonaa’éí So' her people’s words for the Sun and Star, and her white name was Johanna Sue, but that always felt so European that she chose Jennifer Star instead since it seemed more American and that resonated better with her allegiance to her roots.

Her brothers were soldiers like her Father and Grandfather before them. Even a lot of the women fought in various conflicts. Naabaahii, warriors each and every last one of them, in fact that was their family sir name, Warrior. Tough as sin the Naabaahii were, and the whole reservation looked up to them to settle disputes and disagreements. She carried on this tradition at her high school up north and she was good at it. She didn’t need to fight often as most just did what she said, but those that tested her wished they hadn’t. Her clan was half So' Dine'é (Star People) and half Naakai (Spaniards), and they were very proud people. Whenever she was angered she could feel the presence of that history flow through her and her true nature seemed revealed.

The Sun soaked into her skin making her feel alive and refreshed. She was light skinned, but she never burned or freckled. She carried long, dark-red hair, an obvious throw back to her Spanish ancestry, and hazel eyes of golden brown. Lithe and fit she could have been a model, but that life was never suited for her. Instead she would graduate high school and get her degree in History and hopefully teach.

A soft buzzing reminded her of her life and she felt the need to ignore it once more. That stupid phone had been going off all morning and the fact that it was ‘smart’ was not going to save it if it ruined her vacation. She stayed in touch with Reese and a few of her friends, but the others she would get back to when she got around to it. The buzzing was back. She tried to block it out but it went off yet again. This time she forced herself to roll over off the chaise lounge and grab it. Forty seven missed calls. Again it went off but this time she saw that it was Reese.

“Hey babe, sorry I was just relaxing and…” She stopped as Reese interrupted.

“Have you seen the news? There was an accident or something here. Some kind of rare meteorological occurrence, according to the news.” He paused and some people were killed. I have been out all day with Shinji and Jae trying to find friends and help where we can, but it’s bad. Someone said it was worse downtown and I can’t get a hold of Vanessa or Kevin. Have you heard from them?” He was frantic and Reese never lost his stoic demeanor unless it was truly as horrific as it sounded.

The heat from the sun was causing her skin to become hot to the touch and she felt weightless behind the onslaught of images and thoughts circling her mind.

“Sweetie, are you and your family okay?” His foster parents were a little strict but they were good to him and Jennifer always liked his foster mom.

“Yeah, yeah they are good. Thanks for asking, I am just glad you weren’t here. Have you heard from anyone?” He was always reassuring and this made her breathe easier despite the heat of her skin.

“Let me check my missed calls I have a lot.” She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at the call log. Most were not that important, just casual acquaintances checking in or checking to see if she was okay. She would let them know as soon as she was done, but one of her missed calls was Vanessa’s number. “Vanessa called. Can I call you back babe and check in with her?” Vanessa shared a foster home with Reese growing up and had become shik'éí dóó shidine'é (her family).

“Yeah, I have been worried sick about her. Let me know what she says.” He paused and took a deep breath. Jennifer, Ayóó'ánííníshní…” and then the phone was silent once more.

She was speechless. It was always implied but they had never said that they loved one another. It was very true and she cared so deeply for Reese, but to hear him say it to her in her own language was magical. She was lifted off the ground by the sensation and was her heart was on fire. She knew that when she got home that telling him how she felt was the first thing she would do. Grounding herself once more she called Vanessa’s phone. Straight to voicemail. She waited a few minutes and called back. Same result. She noticed that she had a voicemail or two and after skipping a few she found Vanessa’s. She played it listening to the message while gripping her chest as if to hold in her heat.

“Jennifer… I wish I could hear your voice. He’s dead, Kevin’s dead. I killed him Jennifer. I am too now. I can’t live with this and just return back to my life. I need to get away from it all. I don’t want you to be confused, but I need to tell you exactly what happened and why I need to go…” She then explained all that transpired. The horrific, the fantastic and then the even more horrific followed by the unbelievable. This couldn’t be Vanessa; this had to be someone else playing a joke. Nothing like this could happen to someone she cared so much about. Vanessa wasn’t capable of these things. The rage was causing her to boil. The sun was now aimed directly at her it seemed; as if a magnifying glass was amplifying it and aiming right for her attempting light her on fire. She cried and the tears sizzled against her cheeks. Victim and Killer? No way was this real. Then the call ended. If it was true and she was savaged like that then maybe between that and the incident with natural disaster she might have had a breakdown of some sort. Either way her rage was now alight and she was ready to explode. She couldn’t protect her, she wasn’t there, but that didn’t excuse her responsibility to her family. She pulled her phone away from her ear and stared at the screen as if the image of Vanessa as she was depicted on her caller ID was all she had left of her. Her eyes were shocked to see the screen was warped where she was holding it, like it had been left on a burner on low heat for a long time.

She cried hard now without any self consciousness and felt the heat flow in waves through her trembling body as she hit the ground on all fours. What about Reese? Once he found out he would lose his composure and be beside himself. The ground was now no longer beneath her feet. She was swirling through the air and reality was warped through ripples of heat on concrete. She prayed to her ancestors to help her make this right. To make her stronger and give her what was needed to protect her family. The Sun took her then and wrapped her in its core. Cradled her and told her that everything would be fine and that as long as she was with it him he would give her what she needed. Every cell in her nearly naked body was alive soaking in his warmth. Penetrated deep and bursting with the necessary power to avenge and protect those she loved. Flame colored hair was actually alight and her hands were glowing with a light that was the Sun’s equal. She could stair into his eyes and she was his forever. She screamed and a beam of pure solar heat shot from her hands and carved through a nearby cliff face. This was her gift, her power that she was bestowed by her guardian and she intended to use it. She was no longer going to wait six more days. She was going there now. She turned in the air and soared above the cloud cover that she past toward the Northwest. She would be there soon and she knew that the first thing she needed to do was to find Reese and tell him that she loved him as well… Then Vanessa… and then she was going to remind people of the magic that once existed in this world before it too was raped and violated so much that it shut down and refused to share that magic with us anymore. She was Jóhonaa’éí So' the Sun Star and she was the Suns servant to this world; his Ats'oos vita' or Pulse.

Her only concern being was that the Sun was not as welcome in the northwest often and hoped its Pulse would be. One thought rang out echoing at the edge of her mind. No more sunny days.