Katrina's hand shook as she turned the handle to her bedroom door. She glanced guiltily at her oboe, which had been her excuse to get out of doing the dishes this evening. She didn't have much time to practice these days, and she didn't actually have time for it today either. That was the thing about leading a double life, there weren't really enough hours built into a day for living twice.

Her project today was something that she hadn't practiced in awhile, but would come in incredibly handy in case she ever wanted to slip out of one life temporarily and into the other one. It was a simple enough idea, originating with the pillow under the blanket routine. Katrina just planned on doing it a little more convincingly.

She tossed her hairbrush onto the bed, approximately where she'd put her head while she was sleeping. Then she pulled up a chair and oriented herself to face the hairbrush. She stared at it, making the hairbrush into herself in her imagination. She concentrated on how the strands of hair would fall on the pillow and on how her eyelids would flutter as if she were dreaming. Next, on how...

Except, that didn't look right. What did her eyes look when she was asleep anyway?

Katrina shoved her chair away from the bed and paced across the room, why was it so difficult to concentrate today? She glared at her mirror, closing one eye, then the other. It didn't seem to have the same effect as when both eyes were closed on someone else. The wrinkles were all wrong.

She kicked the chair on her way as she stomped over to the bed and flopped down. She could get the position right, at least. Legs here, arms this way...

Staring at the ceiling, she couldn't help but think of the Oracle Shop. She didn't have a reason to go there today. No meetings scheduled. No missions on which to report back. That didn't mean she didn't want to go there.

She liked it there, feeling like she was part of something and could actually make a difference in the world. She wasn't told she was too young or not practiced enough. She wasn't left behind or left out on missions. And she liked the other kids there: Letitia, the twins, Jude, all of them. Especially their leader. He walked into a room and everyone in it felt more inspired just by being there, he energized them, and, maybe most importantly of all, he cared about each of them.

They weren't just soldiers to him, or students, or team mates. To him, they were people. Each unique. Special. Loved.

She would go back there. Tonight. She could already tell she was going to be too antsy to sleep. Which meant that she was going to have to finish the illusion of herself sleeping soundly in her bed so no one would discover that she actually wasn't.

Katrina jumped when the door opened, sending her textbook flying, “Geez, mom, don't you knock?” The hairbrush was, for the moment, actually a hairbrush. Luckily.

Claire looked hurt, but asked what she came to ask anyway, “Some of the kids are starting the Star Trek Movie downstairs, I thought you might want to come watch it.”

I'm studying like you are always bugging me to do, she wanted to blurt out. Katrina bit her lip instead. She didn't want to seem like she was up to something. Nor did she want to hurt her mom's feelings any more than she already had. Normally she wasn't so jumpy. Normally she would have loved the opportunity to ditch study time for a movie. So. If she wanted to seem normal she had to watch it.

“I- I'll be right down.” She glanced at the clock, estimating the time she'd be able to sneak out. That movie was going to take hours.

Her mother took another long glance at her, as if checking to see that she was alright, “I'll pop some corn for everyone, then.” She didn't sound fully convinced.

Katrina put on her best smile and used her most sincere voice, “Thanks, mom.”

Now that seemed to do the trick. Her mom smiled a real smile back now.

“See you downstairs.”

Katrina felt jittery all the way there. She blamed it on her nerves; all this sneaking out at night was making her completely paranoid that she was going to get caught. Every noise in the night made her leap for cover... until she remembered that she could simply be invisible, and even then she was jumpy.

The movie had finished so late that she had almost decided not to come. She had even laid down and tried to go to sleep, but hadn't been able to. She had tossed and turned until her bed looked like a tornado had hit it, with sheets and blankets and pillows every which way. In the end she had decided a walk might help calm her mind. Then, once she was walking, her feet led her almost automatically to the front door of the Oracle Shop.

Since it was late (very), the door was locked. When she knocked, though, there was still someone awake to rustle around and come answer it.

Eros' curious expression melted into one of concern as soon as he recognized who was standing there, “Katrina, are you alright? Come in, come in.”

She nodded, she was alright now. The warmth of his greeting completely melted away her nervousness. Everything was going to be okay.

“Is everyone asleep already?”

Eros nodded.

“I couldn't sleep,” Katrina admitted, yawning. “Though now I feel as though I could just about crash anywhere.”

“Feel free, we have plenty of couches and you know our door is always open to you. Except, of course, when it is locked in which case you need only to knock.”

Katrina smiled sleepily, “Thanks Eros. I think I will take you up on that couch offer.” Just a nap, that was all she needed. She'd set her cell phone to wake herself up when it was time to go home again.

“I'll fetch an extra blanket.”

Katrina hadn't had anyone tuck her into bed in a long time. It felt homey.

“Sweet dreams.”

A whole army stood aligned, backs straight, ready to face the future. Their banners flapped lazily in the breeze, unconcerned with the prospect of soon flying over a reddened battle ground. The general stood in the center.

A tall figure, an adult among children, and beside him a boy with sunglasses. The boy lowered the glasses and caught her eyes over the rims. Together, they fell through time,

Once again she was racing along the oracle's flume, riding the current of time ever forward. Colors flashed by, iridescent with possibilities. Alternate paths cropped up here and there, forks in the road, but the current had already decided where they were going.

Onward.

She caught flashes of particular images as she whizzed past, but if she tried to look at them straight no, the colors blurred and ran into nothingness, lost in time.

Faster and faster the waters flowed, dashing against days, splashing over weeks, throwing all possibilities over the edge of a cliff. In the end, all the waters poured into one place; the lake of destiny.

She floated there, in a tiny boat without a paddle, finally still and able to see what was happening. Up above, in the stars, a great battle raged. Asteroids bullets flew across the skies and worlds burned.