RPApril Extravaganza 2018
RPApril Extravaganza is a small annual event centered around writing. Each section contains the content for that given event and the event's guidelines - be it word count limitations, rules, or other content.
This was my second year participating and I worked hard to push myself farther than the year previous by matching word limits or similar personal goals. This, in turn, means I did not proofread many of these if any of them. Any error you come across I have yet to rediscover beyond the initial posting, including contextual errors.
Please enjoy.
This was my second year participating and I worked hard to push myself farther than the year previous by matching word limits or similar personal goals. This, in turn, means I did not proofread many of these if any of them. Any error you come across I have yet to rediscover beyond the initial posting, including contextual errors.
Please enjoy.
Single Piece Events
Paw-Print: My Story - Dog
Our pets watch us dance like crazy around the house or pick up that food we dropped after the 5 second rule. They see that secret side of ourselves that we only show at home. And we allow them to see...because they can never tell another soul how embarrassing we truly are!! HOWEVER!! We are not alone in our silliness. Occasionally, we catch them doing something silly. You watch your cat go skidding over ice and then try to act like they meant to do that...or a dog trying to get through a door with a stick that is far too big!! But I’m curious and I am sure some of you are too…. What do animals do when we are not around to see them!! Are they as silly as ourselves...or do they plan for WORLD DOMINATION!! So I ask of ye, my wonderful fellow RPAer’s, what do animals do when they are by themselves! Please write in first person point of view. Minimum word count is 100 and maximum word limit is 1500
Our pets watch us dance like crazy around the house or pick up that food we dropped after the 5 second rule. They see that secret side of ourselves that we only show at home. And we allow them to see...because they can never tell another soul how embarrassing we truly are!! HOWEVER!! We are not alone in our silliness. Occasionally, we catch them doing something silly. You watch your cat go skidding over ice and then try to act like they meant to do that...or a dog trying to get through a door with a stick that is far too big!! But I’m curious and I am sure some of you are too…. What do animals do when we are not around to see them!! Are they as silly as ourselves...or do they plan for WORLD DOMINATION!! So I ask of ye, my wonderful fellow RPAer’s, what do animals do when they are by themselves! Please write in first person point of view. Minimum word count is 100 and maximum word limit is 1500
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Scribble a Little Poem
Inside all of you I can see A poet waiting to be set free! So during this month of games and fun Let that poet free to run! 28 days you have to make your rhyme Be sure it's submitted to the thread on time! It can be about love or the beach, Dogs, mountains, hockey, or a ripe, juicy peach! Only once may you enter this contest Guidelines? Restrictions?- we put those to rest! On the 30th the winner will be revealed, Until then, the badge shall be concealed! So go ahead, take a risk and try, Spread your poet wings and fly! |
The Big Boss Story
This years' prompt for the ultimate short story contest is : "All of a sudden, I realized... this was what I'd been looking for all along!" The contest will take place from 4/1/18 till 4/23/18. Min. 1000 words and Max. 3000 words. Make sure you include the prompt, in it's entirety, somewhere in your story. Vertical Divider
Time for Haiku
A Haiku is a simple poem, composed of three lines. The first and third line have five syllables, and the middle line has seven. There's no particular theme. Each participant may submit up to TWO entries. |
My two leggeds are talking again, moving about in the other area, but I have found the perfect spot in the sun where the floor is cool but the sun is warm and I just, I don't want to move. I'm comfy.
They've coming closer. Maybe I should look up? I open eye to see my human enter the area I am napping in and I raise my head. I know that. That is not normal fur. That is outdoor fur. I know my tail is thumping on the floor but I do not care. My human has come over and petted my head, my face, my back, because of it but my nose fills with the scent of outside and it makes me wake up completely. My tongue lulls out one side as I pant, looking up at my human with my tail still thumping against the floor. 'Outside?' I want to ask but my human would not understand so I don't ask. I watch, I listen, and I try and understand but their words make no sense. I know those inflections, though. My human and my other two leggeds are happy. They seem excited, even.
I get up and shake out my fur. Thoroughly fluffed, I pad over to my human and look at the other two leggeds, watching, waiting.
The smallest of the two leggeds are sitting. Are they putting tougher paws on? I watch one grab one of the tougher paws and my tail goes nuts. I start bouncing about, stretching and panting happily. I want to bark but my human doesn't like me barking and I don't want to make my human sad now that they are happy.
My human has knelt before me. Their hands are soft and gentle in my fur as they talk to me. I don't think I'm going but I lick my human's face anyways. I like how it makes them laugh and rub my face. They press their strange shaped face into the fur between my ears before getting up. I watch, staying close. Maybe they will take me with anyways.
My human is the last to step into the outside. They look back at me and tell me things that I do not understand but am familiar with. It is their way of saying they will be back. I just have to be patient.
Patient.
I can be patient.
My human will come back and they will be just as happy as when they left. Happy human is a good human.
Wait, won't they be happy? Tallest of the other two legged is with my human constantly. They do things I do; they make my human happy and they are kind like my human is, though I prefer my human's pets. Tallest two legged gives best butt scratches, though. They will watch over my human.
How long have I been sitting here? Are they back yet?
But will they? What if my human gets lost? Will tallest two legged be able to find my human?
I do not like these thoughts. Maybe the plush mound with the noise box is better for seeing them return.
I pad into the area with the noise box - one of several, in fact, but this one is favorite of two leggeds - and hop up onto the plush mound. There is a see-through behind the plush mound. I have learned how to see beyond the see-through's coverings but they are open today so I simply put my front paws on the back of the plush mound and look out the see-through, It is better than the not-see-through the two leggeds and my human exited through. I can't see if my human and the other two leggeds have returned through it.
There are loud things outside. They are safe. They give rides to two leggeds and others like me. My human's loud thing is nice. I like the back plush but my favorite plush when there is no other two legged is the plush next to my human in the front of the loud thing. There my human pets me and does collar scratches as they watch out the see-through of the loud thing.
See-through, see-through....
Maybe I should check the large see-through to the outside. Maybe human left it open. Oh! Maybe human and two leggeds did!
The ground doesn't give when I jump from the plush mound in the area with the noise box but I am able to keep traction on the soft ground. I like the soft ground. I hurry into the area for food and find that the big see-though is indeed closed. I press my nose against it to make sure. The see-through doesn't like it when I do that. It stops being see-through when I do that. Human gives big see-through baths when I do it often.
I try the hole with a not-see-through over it. The not-see-through swings into the outside and I happily push into the outside., into my outside. I book it to the outside soft ground and sniff about. There have been bunnies and birds but I do not smell the cat from yesterday. Good. I must protect my human from strange animals.
My human.
I turn and try the far side of the inside, looking for a hole in the tall thing that keeps my outside separate from the outside. There isn't one. I try the entirety of the tall thing but find nothing. I go back to the inside through the hole in the wall past the not-see-through.
I go back to the plush mound in the area with the noise box. The noise box is quiet. I like it quiet when my human or the other two leggeds are not there. I sit on plush mound and watch the outside through the see-through. I can wait.
I wait.
There are many things in the outside. I do not mind. They do not come near mine though the animals like to. The other things do not. No strange two leggeds are allowed.
I don't like being on the plush mound. It makes me tired. I get up and return to the not-see-through that leads to the outside. My human and two leggeds will return through it. I will wait here.
Maybe I will nap. Yeah, nap. I lay down on the cool hard ground close to the not-see-through and rest my head on my paws. I doze but sleeping on side is more comfortable. I lay on my side and hope my human is ok.
I miss my human.
I miss my two legged pack.
I hope they come home soon.
They've coming closer. Maybe I should look up? I open eye to see my human enter the area I am napping in and I raise my head. I know that. That is not normal fur. That is outdoor fur. I know my tail is thumping on the floor but I do not care. My human has come over and petted my head, my face, my back, because of it but my nose fills with the scent of outside and it makes me wake up completely. My tongue lulls out one side as I pant, looking up at my human with my tail still thumping against the floor. 'Outside?' I want to ask but my human would not understand so I don't ask. I watch, I listen, and I try and understand but their words make no sense. I know those inflections, though. My human and my other two leggeds are happy. They seem excited, even.
I get up and shake out my fur. Thoroughly fluffed, I pad over to my human and look at the other two leggeds, watching, waiting.
The smallest of the two leggeds are sitting. Are they putting tougher paws on? I watch one grab one of the tougher paws and my tail goes nuts. I start bouncing about, stretching and panting happily. I want to bark but my human doesn't like me barking and I don't want to make my human sad now that they are happy.
My human has knelt before me. Their hands are soft and gentle in my fur as they talk to me. I don't think I'm going but I lick my human's face anyways. I like how it makes them laugh and rub my face. They press their strange shaped face into the fur between my ears before getting up. I watch, staying close. Maybe they will take me with anyways.
My human is the last to step into the outside. They look back at me and tell me things that I do not understand but am familiar with. It is their way of saying they will be back. I just have to be patient.
Patient.
I can be patient.
My human will come back and they will be just as happy as when they left. Happy human is a good human.
Wait, won't they be happy? Tallest of the other two legged is with my human constantly. They do things I do; they make my human happy and they are kind like my human is, though I prefer my human's pets. Tallest two legged gives best butt scratches, though. They will watch over my human.
How long have I been sitting here? Are they back yet?
But will they? What if my human gets lost? Will tallest two legged be able to find my human?
I do not like these thoughts. Maybe the plush mound with the noise box is better for seeing them return.
I pad into the area with the noise box - one of several, in fact, but this one is favorite of two leggeds - and hop up onto the plush mound. There is a see-through behind the plush mound. I have learned how to see beyond the see-through's coverings but they are open today so I simply put my front paws on the back of the plush mound and look out the see-through, It is better than the not-see-through the two leggeds and my human exited through. I can't see if my human and the other two leggeds have returned through it.
There are loud things outside. They are safe. They give rides to two leggeds and others like me. My human's loud thing is nice. I like the back plush but my favorite plush when there is no other two legged is the plush next to my human in the front of the loud thing. There my human pets me and does collar scratches as they watch out the see-through of the loud thing.
See-through, see-through....
Maybe I should check the large see-through to the outside. Maybe human left it open. Oh! Maybe human and two leggeds did!
The ground doesn't give when I jump from the plush mound in the area with the noise box but I am able to keep traction on the soft ground. I like the soft ground. I hurry into the area for food and find that the big see-though is indeed closed. I press my nose against it to make sure. The see-through doesn't like it when I do that. It stops being see-through when I do that. Human gives big see-through baths when I do it often.
I try the hole with a not-see-through over it. The not-see-through swings into the outside and I happily push into the outside., into my outside. I book it to the outside soft ground and sniff about. There have been bunnies and birds but I do not smell the cat from yesterday. Good. I must protect my human from strange animals.
My human.
I turn and try the far side of the inside, looking for a hole in the tall thing that keeps my outside separate from the outside. There isn't one. I try the entirety of the tall thing but find nothing. I go back to the inside through the hole in the wall past the not-see-through.
I go back to the plush mound in the area with the noise box. The noise box is quiet. I like it quiet when my human or the other two leggeds are not there. I sit on plush mound and watch the outside through the see-through. I can wait.
I wait.
There are many things in the outside. I do not mind. They do not come near mine though the animals like to. The other things do not. No strange two leggeds are allowed.
I don't like being on the plush mound. It makes me tired. I get up and return to the not-see-through that leads to the outside. My human and two leggeds will return through it. I will wait here.
Maybe I will nap. Yeah, nap. I lay down on the cool hard ground close to the not-see-through and rest my head on my paws. I doze but sleeping on side is more comfortable. I lay on my side and hope my human is ok.
I miss my human.
I miss my two legged pack.
I hope they come home soon.
Slowly,
gently,
The days pass on.
And evermore do the woes
from that of which is not understood
ensnare and entrap each of us
each in our own mind.
Gently,
slowly,
That from with death may come.
Ebbing and flowing from the edges of sleep
daylight comes to many
night comes to few
and around us,
all of us,
we each find our souls.
Suddenly,
aggressively,
Hardships steal us away.
There is no breath to breathe
and no actions to take
for the hardships steal from us
and they steal with us
till the end of days.
Aggressively,
suddenly,
The mind and the body clash.
Illness wrought upon these frail forms
once so strong,
once so mighty,
and yet there be a dissonance between
what is right
and what is fake.
Painfully,
silently,
Nothing to be heard.
So much lost to that for which has come
should it be death
should it be life
and the woes of it all
muting voices that should speak out.
Silently,
painfully,
The nothing of the damned.
For those that have spoken
anger and hate misdirected to befall them
belittling,
diminishing,
the importance of a single being
and its unheard voice.
Carefully,
cautiously,
Reaching out towards those that see.
Once the silenced had echoed
long and hard around those hiding
but now intertwined worldwide
no single soul is alone,
Cautiously,
carefully,
Walking out into the open.
Standing up and being still
never to hold back from the fight
so close,
so long,
so that the voices of the damned
- of the forgotten -
can be heard.
gently,
The days pass on.
And evermore do the woes
from that of which is not understood
ensnare and entrap each of us
each in our own mind.
Gently,
slowly,
That from with death may come.
Ebbing and flowing from the edges of sleep
daylight comes to many
night comes to few
and around us,
all of us,
we each find our souls.
Suddenly,
aggressively,
Hardships steal us away.
There is no breath to breathe
and no actions to take
for the hardships steal from us
and they steal with us
till the end of days.
Aggressively,
suddenly,
The mind and the body clash.
Illness wrought upon these frail forms
once so strong,
once so mighty,
and yet there be a dissonance between
what is right
and what is fake.
Painfully,
silently,
Nothing to be heard.
So much lost to that for which has come
should it be death
should it be life
and the woes of it all
muting voices that should speak out.
Silently,
painfully,
The nothing of the damned.
For those that have spoken
anger and hate misdirected to befall them
belittling,
diminishing,
the importance of a single being
and its unheard voice.
Carefully,
cautiously,
Reaching out towards those that see.
Once the silenced had echoed
long and hard around those hiding
but now intertwined worldwide
no single soul is alone,
Cautiously,
carefully,
Walking out into the open.
Standing up and being still
never to hold back from the fight
so close,
so long,
so that the voices of the damned
- of the forgotten -
can be heard.
They pulled at his shoulder, urging, "We have to move, Victor!"
He shook them off, snapping, "I'm not leaving Emily alone in this!" He took a step away, slashing at the air. "Take the others and get out of here. I'll follow as soon as I find her."
The one that had pulled at him shook their head. "It's a futile attempt, Victor. Trust her to find her own way out. We cannot risk losing you too."
"Then we'll just have to go with him."
The pair looked over at the commentator, finding a hopeful expression looking back at them.
"Logan," the one trying to keep him from going started but the one with the hopeful expression shook her head.
"Come on, Peter," she spoke, happy as she opened her arms. "If we all work together, we'll not only save Emily, but we'll get Jaden back as well."
Peter scoffed. "There's no way Jaden is going to get out of this doing well."
Logan's expression broke a bit and desperation colored her hope. "He's our friend, Peter! How can you just give up on him like that? We know him and this isn't him."
"Isn't it?" Peter barked, turning on her. "He's the one that killed Orion and is now holding Xavier hostage. Clearly it's in his nature."
"Regardless of his nature," Victor cut in, drawing their attention back to him. His gaze was ablaze with determination. "I am not letting Emily try and get in there on her own." His expression softened as he put his hand out, palm down. "And I would not turn you away if you would join me." His gaze wandered over the few others that were part of their little group. "Any of you." His chest tightened. "Please. I can't do this alone."
Logan's hand settled over his first and gave it a brief squeeze. She flashed him a grin. "You'll never be alone. Not in this."
A hand settled over Logan's. "Never."
Victor looked up at the new comer and felt his chest tighten. He offered them a smile. "Thank you, Conner."
Conner nodded as two others added their hands to the pile. The one who had placed their hand on top of Conner's flashed him a smile as they wrapped an arm around Logan's shoulder, their twin mimicking them gesture for gesture.
"Same with us," the first twin assured him.
The second gave him a wink. "We've been itching to make a racket for some time now."
He chuckled. "I'm sure you two have." His gaze drifted over to the last one he hoped was with him. "Peter?"
Peter had his arms crossed, gaze elsewhere, but then he sighed and uncrossed his arms. Victor felt his heart leap when Peter's hand topped the pile. "Someone had to make sure the twins don't screw this up."
There was laughter around the group but Victor didn't care. He wasn't going to be doing this alone.
He gave a sharp nod. "Then let us get moving." He dropped his hand and turned towards the castle they were about to storm. "We need to find Emily before she gets the chance to run into Jaden."
"Leave the soldiers to me, then," Conner spoke. "We'll create as much of a diversion as we can."
"Just don't drop the castle on our head," the first twin teased.
The second added almost sassily, "That's our job."
Conner nodded, offering honestly, "I will do my best to leave that up to you, then."
The twins both clapped him on the shoulders as the man moved back towards their forces. Victor watched him leave before turning his gaze to Peter and Logan. "We need a plan to get in and find Emily." His gaze turned to the twins. 'Marcus? Derrick? Ideas?"
The pair gained thoughtful expressions before the second twin spoke, "We could find a way in."
"Then we go as a group," Peter spoke. "We'll leave the tracking to Logan." Peter's gaze turned to Victor. "I'll work from the back."
Victor nodded. "Leave any confrontations to me." He turned his gaze to the twins. "Marcus, you with me?"
The second twin nodded. "Derrick will go with Logan as support."
The first twin grinned as he wrapped an arm around Logan's shoulders. "Sounds like we'll be partners, Squirt."
She grinned. "I look forward to having your aid." She looked to Victor. "When do we move out."
"Now, if everyone is ready." He gained a collective confirmation. He looked to Logan. "Let Conner know we're heading out. Catch up with us when you're done."
Logan nodded and slipped out from under Derrick's arm. He let his arm fall, settling at his twin's side. Victor gave one last look over his team and those beyond before nodding. "Alright. Let's get going, then."
Marcus and Derrick took point, Victor behind them with Peter right behind him. They made their way to the castle and it wasn't till they stopped at the edge of the grounds when Logan joined them. She settled between Peter and Victor silently as they all hunkered down.
"Anything to report?" Victor asked in a soft voice.
Logan shook her head. "Only that we should be able to hear when they start their assault."
Victor turned his gaze to the twins. "Do your thing. We'll wait for your signal."
The pair saluted with identical grins before shapeshifting. Marcus took the grounds as a fox as Derrick took to the sky as a crow. Victor looked to Peter. "Any preparations you need to do?"
Light flared from Peter's staff and the mage was once more in his proper mage attire, robes settling around him as he pulled at the brim of his pointed hat. "No," Peter informed him. "I am ready for when I am needed."
He nodded and looked to Logan. "You ready?"
She grinned at him, bouncing on the balls of her feet where she squatted with them in the bushes. "Always. All I need is the signal."
Victor nodded and looked out.
They stayed there in silence for what felt like hours but, really, it was closer to a quarter of an hour. The sound of explosions and shouting came from first the front gates and then from the back of the castle and Victor sat up straighter, looking towards the sounds from the front gates even though he couldn't actually see them. "It would seem that Conner has started the assault."
Logan rolled forward onto her knees, pointed towards the castle as she said, "And there's our signal."
Victor looked where she was pointing, finding a fox sitting near the castle wall, a crow circling over the fox's head before taking off towards the back of the castle.
Victor was over the bushes first, Logan right beside him and Peter bringing up the rear. The sigil circle of Peter's spell wrote itself in midair around them, blazed for a moment, and went out. Auras shimmered around the three of them as they ran out into the open.
The shields took no damage and they didn't slow as the fox took off after the crow leading the way. They rounded a corner and found the twins as humans waiting for them in an alcove. A sigil circle wrote itself swiftly around each twin before blazing for a brief moment and disappearing. Their own shields shimmered briefly before becoming transparent like the others.
Logan didn't even need to ask. She was through the side entrance before Peter and Victor could slow to a stop. Derrick was right behind her as he shapeshifted into a fox. Marcus remained human, keeping pace with Victor.
There was a flash of light from behind them as Peter sealed the way and Victor looked to Marcus, directing, "Stay with Peter. I'll be the point in any confrontation. Protect him at any cost."
Marcus nodded and fell back. Victor turned his gaze back on the fox and ranger leading the charge and sped up so as not to lose them, not that they would allow it. As Logan dashed ahead, Derrick would stop to make sure that Victor and the others knew where they had gone before hurrying after Logan.
It wasn't till they were in the heart of the castle that Logan stopped. She waited for them to join her before stating, "We're going to have a problem."
"And what is that?" Victor ask, a sense of foreboding settling over him.
"I think Jaden knows Emily is here."
Victor groaned as Peter demanded, "And how exactly did you come to that conclusion."
Logan met his gaze unblinking. "Derrick confirmed that Jaden's scent is heavier over Emily's and heads in the same direction. Either it's coincidence or he's aware." She turned, pointing down the hall. "However, he turned there as Emily continued ahead. Derrick is currently seeing if their scents cross again."
"They do," a voice spoke from the shadows and a fox leapt towards them shifting into Derrick in midair. "But there may be more issues than just that. Jaden may have picked up a few companions on the way. Their scents are about equal in strength."
Victor nodded. "Follow Emily's trail." His gaze flickered to Logan. "Be quick. Knowing Emily, she may be setting a trap. We need to make sure it never gets tripped."
Derrick became a fox again as Logan took off down the hall. Victor was quick to follow flanked by Marcus and Peter. This way and that the trail led and the sounds of the battles outside ebbed in and out.
A rumble shook the ground they were standing on, dust raining down from the ceiling above them. Victor frowned, looking up. "Sounds like we're running out of time." He looked over at Peter. "Thoughts?"
Peter's expression was tight. "Move quickly. I may have a plethora of magic but even I can't bring back the dead. It would be wise to not get caught under the upper floors when they start collapsing."
"Man, I thought Conner said he would leave the destruction to us," Derrick whined.
"It may not be his choice," Victor inputted. "That sounded far deeper in the castle than their fighting."
"Whelp," Logan chimed in as the sound of armor clanking drew all their attentions. "It would seem that some of that fight has come to us."
Victor drew his broadsword and clasped the hilt with both hands. "Prepare to take them out as swiftly as you can manage. Logan, Marcus, pick off what you can. Derrick, get in close and make it quick. I'll keep what I can off of the support."
The incoming forces were startled to find trespassers so deep in the castle but they did not hesitate to attack. Logan and Marcus - ever so skilled with the bow - were efficient in taking out a good number of the forces. Victor was aware of their limited arrow count, though, and watched as Derrick dashed forward, keeping low and out of the way of the incoming arrows. Victor situated himself in the center of the hallway between the incoming crowd and the rest of his team. With a battle cry, he took out three with a single swing. That was the end of his luck, though, and the following battle was grueling.
Victor tracked the arrow count as he tracked what spells Peter used. Somehow he managed to keep himself in the fight to keep his head but even as the tank, he took a significant amount of damage. They all did.
Logan and Marcus went about retrieving what arrows they could reuse as Peter set about healing Victor.
"How is Derrick?" he asked in a soft voice.
"He'll be alright. Just a nasty blow to the head that I'll heal as soon as I am done with you."
Victor reached out and wrapped a hand around Peter's wrist. "I'm fine," he assured him. "Don't waste too much magic on me when Derrick clearly needs more attention than I do."
Peter sighed, ending the spell. "Fine. But I'm reinforcing your shield."
Victor nodded and released Peter's wrist, watching as the shield shimmered briefly when a miniature sigil circle appeared in the air beneath Peter's palm where it seemed to rest against the shield.
The spell was short and Peter was making his way over to Derrick as Logan and Marcus started wandering back from the farthest end of the hallway behind Victor looking for any arrows they may have missed. Logan grinned at him and Victor returned it, watching them pass him and wander towards where they had stood their ground where Derrick was currently being healed by Peter. It caused Victor to be isolated and he took the moment to rest alone.
A low rumble from above had him on his feet in an instant and the others whipped around just as alert as he was.
The rumble quickly turned into a cacophony of sound as the second floor suddenly collapsed into their hallway. Victor leapt away from the incoming debris, just barely avoiding being buried alive.
As the mess settled, Victor looked around. He was completely cut off with no clear signs of a way around. He made his way to the edge of the rubble pile and shouted for the others but he got no response. Fearing the worst, he hoped they would be ok as he turned and took off down the hallway. There was no time to waste with the castle coming down around him.
Deeper and deeper he went without any idea of where he was going. His only hope was that he knew Emily enough to know where she would have gone.
He ended up half right when he ran past a door slightly ajar that had voices coming from it. He backtracked and tucked his ear against the wood away from the opening. It took a moment but he recognized Jaden's voice among other voices he didn't. He caught words here and there till a single word cut through it all.
"Dismissed."
He jerked back, panicking. Looking around, he dashed over to the nearby floor length curtains and hid behind them. He prayed to whatever Saints were watching over him that he would go unnoticed and to his utmost surprise and relief, his prayer was answered for those that left the room walked right by his hiding spot without noticing. He sighed, grateful as he slipped out and hurried to the door. It was still slightly ajar and this time he peaked in.
He frowned and pushed the door open completely. There was no one there yet he had been certain that Jaden had been there. Something clicked at the other end of the expanse of a room that sounded oddly like a door failing to close. He booked it across the room and looked this way and that along the far wall and found a door ajar. He hurried to it and yanked it open, grateful it hadn't closed all the way. Had it, he would not have been able to find it. It had been made to be seamless with the wall and he let it close completely behind him.
Set before him was a long winding staircase that was intermittently lit with torchlight. He took it as quickly as he dared and soon found himself at the edge of an open door that seemed to lead into a small dungeon. In the center, strapped to a vertical surface was-
"Emily!"
Victor ran right up to her, not daring to touch her as she slowly woke. She was heavily injured and looked like she hand't truly slept in days.
"Victor?" she croaked.
"Well, well, well," a voice echoed behind him and Victor drew his sword as he turned, angling himself behind his sword. At the end of his blade several yards away was Jaden, a devilish grin on his face. "Look who decided to finally show up."
"Jaden, please," Victor urged, tightening his grip on his sword. "You don't have to do this."
"Oh?" Jaden asked, the sound mocking. "Don't I? Certainly you know that isn't right. You didn't see how Orion fell nor Xavier crumble when I took control. I did and all of a sudden, I realized... this was what I'd been looking for all along! This control! This attention! People are now listening to every word I say without brushing me aside just because I'm not as skilled as the rest of you."
"Jaden, we never meant to make you feel unheard," Victor tried, conflicted. "Please. Let Emily and Xavier go and we'll talk about this."
Jaden laughed, the sound echoing through the room. "You think a conversation will change anything? Come on, Victor! I thought you were more intelligent than that."
"Are you?"
Megan looked up towards the DM, startled. "What?" she asked.
The DM gestured towards her character sheet. "What is your Intelligence set at?"
"Oh!" Megan looked down at her sheet, fingers automatically sliding to the section she needed. It took a moment but, "13 with +2 from some trait, I think."
Her DM hummed. "Do you want to roll to see how you counter his monologue?"
"Such a beautiful monologue," one of her companions spoke, looking so pleased.
The DM chuckled, pleased, but didn't turn his attention from her. She picked up a d20, going with it. "Sure. I don't mind. Do you want me to state what I want to happen?"
The DM nodded. "!0 will be that action. I'll adjust it for higher and lower."
"Victor brushes the jab off even though it stings and tries again by telling Jaden that this wasn't the way to go about getting others to listen."
She rolled and the entire group watched as the d20 rolled about before settling on a 1.
The entire table roared with laughter and she chuckled herself before looking to her DM. "Whelp. So much for that. What happens now?"
Her DM grinned and continued:
Victor charged at Jaden no longer giving a fuck.
He shook them off, snapping, "I'm not leaving Emily alone in this!" He took a step away, slashing at the air. "Take the others and get out of here. I'll follow as soon as I find her."
The one that had pulled at him shook their head. "It's a futile attempt, Victor. Trust her to find her own way out. We cannot risk losing you too."
"Then we'll just have to go with him."
The pair looked over at the commentator, finding a hopeful expression looking back at them.
"Logan," the one trying to keep him from going started but the one with the hopeful expression shook her head.
"Come on, Peter," she spoke, happy as she opened her arms. "If we all work together, we'll not only save Emily, but we'll get Jaden back as well."
Peter scoffed. "There's no way Jaden is going to get out of this doing well."
Logan's expression broke a bit and desperation colored her hope. "He's our friend, Peter! How can you just give up on him like that? We know him and this isn't him."
"Isn't it?" Peter barked, turning on her. "He's the one that killed Orion and is now holding Xavier hostage. Clearly it's in his nature."
"Regardless of his nature," Victor cut in, drawing their attention back to him. His gaze was ablaze with determination. "I am not letting Emily try and get in there on her own." His expression softened as he put his hand out, palm down. "And I would not turn you away if you would join me." His gaze wandered over the few others that were part of their little group. "Any of you." His chest tightened. "Please. I can't do this alone."
Logan's hand settled over his first and gave it a brief squeeze. She flashed him a grin. "You'll never be alone. Not in this."
A hand settled over Logan's. "Never."
Victor looked up at the new comer and felt his chest tighten. He offered them a smile. "Thank you, Conner."
Conner nodded as two others added their hands to the pile. The one who had placed their hand on top of Conner's flashed him a smile as they wrapped an arm around Logan's shoulder, their twin mimicking them gesture for gesture.
"Same with us," the first twin assured him.
The second gave him a wink. "We've been itching to make a racket for some time now."
He chuckled. "I'm sure you two have." His gaze drifted over to the last one he hoped was with him. "Peter?"
Peter had his arms crossed, gaze elsewhere, but then he sighed and uncrossed his arms. Victor felt his heart leap when Peter's hand topped the pile. "Someone had to make sure the twins don't screw this up."
There was laughter around the group but Victor didn't care. He wasn't going to be doing this alone.
He gave a sharp nod. "Then let us get moving." He dropped his hand and turned towards the castle they were about to storm. "We need to find Emily before she gets the chance to run into Jaden."
"Leave the soldiers to me, then," Conner spoke. "We'll create as much of a diversion as we can."
"Just don't drop the castle on our head," the first twin teased.
The second added almost sassily, "That's our job."
Conner nodded, offering honestly, "I will do my best to leave that up to you, then."
The twins both clapped him on the shoulders as the man moved back towards their forces. Victor watched him leave before turning his gaze to Peter and Logan. "We need a plan to get in and find Emily." His gaze turned to the twins. 'Marcus? Derrick? Ideas?"
The pair gained thoughtful expressions before the second twin spoke, "We could find a way in."
"Then we go as a group," Peter spoke. "We'll leave the tracking to Logan." Peter's gaze turned to Victor. "I'll work from the back."
Victor nodded. "Leave any confrontations to me." He turned his gaze to the twins. "Marcus, you with me?"
The second twin nodded. "Derrick will go with Logan as support."
The first twin grinned as he wrapped an arm around Logan's shoulders. "Sounds like we'll be partners, Squirt."
She grinned. "I look forward to having your aid." She looked to Victor. "When do we move out."
"Now, if everyone is ready." He gained a collective confirmation. He looked to Logan. "Let Conner know we're heading out. Catch up with us when you're done."
Logan nodded and slipped out from under Derrick's arm. He let his arm fall, settling at his twin's side. Victor gave one last look over his team and those beyond before nodding. "Alright. Let's get going, then."
Marcus and Derrick took point, Victor behind them with Peter right behind him. They made their way to the castle and it wasn't till they stopped at the edge of the grounds when Logan joined them. She settled between Peter and Victor silently as they all hunkered down.
"Anything to report?" Victor asked in a soft voice.
Logan shook her head. "Only that we should be able to hear when they start their assault."
Victor turned his gaze to the twins. "Do your thing. We'll wait for your signal."
The pair saluted with identical grins before shapeshifting. Marcus took the grounds as a fox as Derrick took to the sky as a crow. Victor looked to Peter. "Any preparations you need to do?"
Light flared from Peter's staff and the mage was once more in his proper mage attire, robes settling around him as he pulled at the brim of his pointed hat. "No," Peter informed him. "I am ready for when I am needed."
He nodded and looked to Logan. "You ready?"
She grinned at him, bouncing on the balls of her feet where she squatted with them in the bushes. "Always. All I need is the signal."
Victor nodded and looked out.
They stayed there in silence for what felt like hours but, really, it was closer to a quarter of an hour. The sound of explosions and shouting came from first the front gates and then from the back of the castle and Victor sat up straighter, looking towards the sounds from the front gates even though he couldn't actually see them. "It would seem that Conner has started the assault."
Logan rolled forward onto her knees, pointed towards the castle as she said, "And there's our signal."
Victor looked where she was pointing, finding a fox sitting near the castle wall, a crow circling over the fox's head before taking off towards the back of the castle.
Victor was over the bushes first, Logan right beside him and Peter bringing up the rear. The sigil circle of Peter's spell wrote itself in midair around them, blazed for a moment, and went out. Auras shimmered around the three of them as they ran out into the open.
The shields took no damage and they didn't slow as the fox took off after the crow leading the way. They rounded a corner and found the twins as humans waiting for them in an alcove. A sigil circle wrote itself swiftly around each twin before blazing for a brief moment and disappearing. Their own shields shimmered briefly before becoming transparent like the others.
Logan didn't even need to ask. She was through the side entrance before Peter and Victor could slow to a stop. Derrick was right behind her as he shapeshifted into a fox. Marcus remained human, keeping pace with Victor.
There was a flash of light from behind them as Peter sealed the way and Victor looked to Marcus, directing, "Stay with Peter. I'll be the point in any confrontation. Protect him at any cost."
Marcus nodded and fell back. Victor turned his gaze back on the fox and ranger leading the charge and sped up so as not to lose them, not that they would allow it. As Logan dashed ahead, Derrick would stop to make sure that Victor and the others knew where they had gone before hurrying after Logan.
It wasn't till they were in the heart of the castle that Logan stopped. She waited for them to join her before stating, "We're going to have a problem."
"And what is that?" Victor ask, a sense of foreboding settling over him.
"I think Jaden knows Emily is here."
Victor groaned as Peter demanded, "And how exactly did you come to that conclusion."
Logan met his gaze unblinking. "Derrick confirmed that Jaden's scent is heavier over Emily's and heads in the same direction. Either it's coincidence or he's aware." She turned, pointing down the hall. "However, he turned there as Emily continued ahead. Derrick is currently seeing if their scents cross again."
"They do," a voice spoke from the shadows and a fox leapt towards them shifting into Derrick in midair. "But there may be more issues than just that. Jaden may have picked up a few companions on the way. Their scents are about equal in strength."
Victor nodded. "Follow Emily's trail." His gaze flickered to Logan. "Be quick. Knowing Emily, she may be setting a trap. We need to make sure it never gets tripped."
Derrick became a fox again as Logan took off down the hall. Victor was quick to follow flanked by Marcus and Peter. This way and that the trail led and the sounds of the battles outside ebbed in and out.
A rumble shook the ground they were standing on, dust raining down from the ceiling above them. Victor frowned, looking up. "Sounds like we're running out of time." He looked over at Peter. "Thoughts?"
Peter's expression was tight. "Move quickly. I may have a plethora of magic but even I can't bring back the dead. It would be wise to not get caught under the upper floors when they start collapsing."
"Man, I thought Conner said he would leave the destruction to us," Derrick whined.
"It may not be his choice," Victor inputted. "That sounded far deeper in the castle than their fighting."
"Whelp," Logan chimed in as the sound of armor clanking drew all their attentions. "It would seem that some of that fight has come to us."
Victor drew his broadsword and clasped the hilt with both hands. "Prepare to take them out as swiftly as you can manage. Logan, Marcus, pick off what you can. Derrick, get in close and make it quick. I'll keep what I can off of the support."
The incoming forces were startled to find trespassers so deep in the castle but they did not hesitate to attack. Logan and Marcus - ever so skilled with the bow - were efficient in taking out a good number of the forces. Victor was aware of their limited arrow count, though, and watched as Derrick dashed forward, keeping low and out of the way of the incoming arrows. Victor situated himself in the center of the hallway between the incoming crowd and the rest of his team. With a battle cry, he took out three with a single swing. That was the end of his luck, though, and the following battle was grueling.
Victor tracked the arrow count as he tracked what spells Peter used. Somehow he managed to keep himself in the fight to keep his head but even as the tank, he took a significant amount of damage. They all did.
Logan and Marcus went about retrieving what arrows they could reuse as Peter set about healing Victor.
"How is Derrick?" he asked in a soft voice.
"He'll be alright. Just a nasty blow to the head that I'll heal as soon as I am done with you."
Victor reached out and wrapped a hand around Peter's wrist. "I'm fine," he assured him. "Don't waste too much magic on me when Derrick clearly needs more attention than I do."
Peter sighed, ending the spell. "Fine. But I'm reinforcing your shield."
Victor nodded and released Peter's wrist, watching as the shield shimmered briefly when a miniature sigil circle appeared in the air beneath Peter's palm where it seemed to rest against the shield.
The spell was short and Peter was making his way over to Derrick as Logan and Marcus started wandering back from the farthest end of the hallway behind Victor looking for any arrows they may have missed. Logan grinned at him and Victor returned it, watching them pass him and wander towards where they had stood their ground where Derrick was currently being healed by Peter. It caused Victor to be isolated and he took the moment to rest alone.
A low rumble from above had him on his feet in an instant and the others whipped around just as alert as he was.
The rumble quickly turned into a cacophony of sound as the second floor suddenly collapsed into their hallway. Victor leapt away from the incoming debris, just barely avoiding being buried alive.
As the mess settled, Victor looked around. He was completely cut off with no clear signs of a way around. He made his way to the edge of the rubble pile and shouted for the others but he got no response. Fearing the worst, he hoped they would be ok as he turned and took off down the hallway. There was no time to waste with the castle coming down around him.
Deeper and deeper he went without any idea of where he was going. His only hope was that he knew Emily enough to know where she would have gone.
He ended up half right when he ran past a door slightly ajar that had voices coming from it. He backtracked and tucked his ear against the wood away from the opening. It took a moment but he recognized Jaden's voice among other voices he didn't. He caught words here and there till a single word cut through it all.
"Dismissed."
He jerked back, panicking. Looking around, he dashed over to the nearby floor length curtains and hid behind them. He prayed to whatever Saints were watching over him that he would go unnoticed and to his utmost surprise and relief, his prayer was answered for those that left the room walked right by his hiding spot without noticing. He sighed, grateful as he slipped out and hurried to the door. It was still slightly ajar and this time he peaked in.
He frowned and pushed the door open completely. There was no one there yet he had been certain that Jaden had been there. Something clicked at the other end of the expanse of a room that sounded oddly like a door failing to close. He booked it across the room and looked this way and that along the far wall and found a door ajar. He hurried to it and yanked it open, grateful it hadn't closed all the way. Had it, he would not have been able to find it. It had been made to be seamless with the wall and he let it close completely behind him.
Set before him was a long winding staircase that was intermittently lit with torchlight. He took it as quickly as he dared and soon found himself at the edge of an open door that seemed to lead into a small dungeon. In the center, strapped to a vertical surface was-
"Emily!"
Victor ran right up to her, not daring to touch her as she slowly woke. She was heavily injured and looked like she hand't truly slept in days.
"Victor?" she croaked.
"Well, well, well," a voice echoed behind him and Victor drew his sword as he turned, angling himself behind his sword. At the end of his blade several yards away was Jaden, a devilish grin on his face. "Look who decided to finally show up."
"Jaden, please," Victor urged, tightening his grip on his sword. "You don't have to do this."
"Oh?" Jaden asked, the sound mocking. "Don't I? Certainly you know that isn't right. You didn't see how Orion fell nor Xavier crumble when I took control. I did and all of a sudden, I realized... this was what I'd been looking for all along! This control! This attention! People are now listening to every word I say without brushing me aside just because I'm not as skilled as the rest of you."
"Jaden, we never meant to make you feel unheard," Victor tried, conflicted. "Please. Let Emily and Xavier go and we'll talk about this."
Jaden laughed, the sound echoing through the room. "You think a conversation will change anything? Come on, Victor! I thought you were more intelligent than that."
"Are you?"
Megan looked up towards the DM, startled. "What?" she asked.
The DM gestured towards her character sheet. "What is your Intelligence set at?"
"Oh!" Megan looked down at her sheet, fingers automatically sliding to the section she needed. It took a moment but, "13 with +2 from some trait, I think."
Her DM hummed. "Do you want to roll to see how you counter his monologue?"
"Such a beautiful monologue," one of her companions spoke, looking so pleased.
The DM chuckled, pleased, but didn't turn his attention from her. She picked up a d20, going with it. "Sure. I don't mind. Do you want me to state what I want to happen?"
The DM nodded. "!0 will be that action. I'll adjust it for higher and lower."
"Victor brushes the jab off even though it stings and tries again by telling Jaden that this wasn't the way to go about getting others to listen."
She rolled and the entire group watched as the d20 rolled about before settling on a 1.
The entire table roared with laughter and she chuckled herself before looking to her DM. "Whelp. So much for that. What happens now?"
Her DM grinned and continued:
Victor charged at Jaden no longer giving a fuck.
|
Stay still, keep quiet.
There is something wrong with the people seeking you. |
How loud do I have
to be, to be heard over the noise of the world? |
The Triple Threat
How far can you twist your imagination? In this contest, writers will be given three unrelated themes to merge into a great short story! But the challenge doesn't end there - we want you to write three stories - one each week for the first three weeks of April. At the end of the month, an esteemed panel of judges will announce the winning author, as well as prizes awarded to all who managed to write a story each week that incorporated all three themes. Minimum of 300 words per story.
The trees rushed by, the windows streaked with the last of the rain. Beside him in the back of the car was his twin sister with the file they had been handed before their departure. He had already read it but that didn't mean that he wasn't thinking about what awaited them. The fact that they were given a file spoke far more than either of them cared to acknowledge.
The scene wasn't a pretty one if what the detective had said over the phone was accurate, not that he expected the detective to have embellished or diminished the scene in any way. And, if he was being honest, no scene was a pretty one.
Especially cases with children.
But this scene - this particular case - was rubbing him the wrong way. While there were the obvious signs as to why he was being called in, there was something else going on that he couldn't quite put his finger on and it was clear at how his sister was glaring at the file that she was on the same wavelength.
The car came to a stop as his twin closed the folder. He took it when she passed it to him and tucked it under his arm as the car door opened. He caught her gaze, the flick of her fingers, and he let out a breathy chuckle. He agreed with her fullheartedly. Something smelt fishy and it wasn't the location. He climbed out and nodded in thanks to the driver. He looked over the small crowd of onlookers as his sister climbed out.
"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to the location?" the driver asked.
"I'm sure," he offered in turn. "Thank you for dropping us off."
The driver nodded but said no more at the twins started towards the small crowd.
The crowd shifted around them, ebbing and flowing as people mingled at the road blocks. He looked about as he made his way through, the different scents washing over his senses and counting heads as he went. By the time they had reached the barrier, he had a pretty decent catalog of those present just by scent alone. His sister would have gotten those he had missed as she joined him and knew she had their faces recognized. She was far better at that then he was.
They were not stopped when they passed the wooden barriers. In fact, the two cops that would normally have stopped them recognized him, meaning that he and his sister were left alone. He took the first steps down the long drive and as soon as it turned, there was silence.
The trees were so thick here, even the soft murmur of those waiting at the barrier were silenced, the faintest of sounds bounding down the drive towards them only to be muffled and stop completely once they stepped far enough. All that was left was the ambiance of the forest at night and the low rumble of thunder from the storm that had just passed.
She shifted first, one second a human, the next a wolf. He followed her not a second later and the pads of his feet pressed into the damp soil. His nose flared as his ears twitched, things far more heightened now that they were fully in their secondary form. What's more was that they could now see better and they started trotting down the drive, picking up scents and watching for clues.
Whether a disappointment or the cunning of any suspects, many were familiar in the sense that they smelt of emergency personnel. A few he recognized and could name.
None matched any from the crowd yet.
The location's seclusion seemed to be working in their favor as he and his sister returned to their primary forms as they touched the edge of the main property. There was an argument going on and he was not looking forward to interrupting any sort of argument. The main antagonizer was someone he recognized only by scent. With the antagonizer was the detective that had called him, an officer, a special cases agent, and someone who was probably the field medical examiner.
It wasn't till they were a few yards away that the antagonizer snapped his gaze to them and pointed at them with a sausage finger. "And who is this?" the man demanded.
"I was asked to come by Detective Hansen." He looked to the detective and the detective nodded in greeting. He returned it. "The detective thought our skills would come in handy."
"Who is THAT?"
He felt an eye twitch when the man pointed the sausage finger at his twin. He resisted the urge to break the finger between his teeth. Instead, he looked behind him, verifying that the man was indeed pointing at his sister. "That would be my twin sister."
"You have a twin?"
The question was a simple inquiry, one that broke through the man's anger and turned most of the attention towards the approaching personnel. The questioner was a petite woman with a kind face and a curious gaze. She had someone with her he did not recognize.
He nodded. "There's a reason why it says Markette Twins in your directory. Generally most cases don't require us both but for some reason Hansen thought we were both needed for this one." He looked to the detective with a narrowed gaze. "While the file was useful, it doesn't explain why you need us both. It seems like a simple missing persons case."
It was the petite woman who informed him, "I am glad to see that the file given to you was filled to my discretion. There had been some information I wanted kept out of it in case others wanted to read it." She turned, gesturing for them to follow. "Come on. I'll show you what we left out. Detective Hansen, if you would please join us."
The antagonizer from before stopped, grumbling about agencies meddling in his work. He arched an eyebrow at the man but did not attempt to question what he meant till they were out of ear shot and even then, the petite woman beat him to it.
"He's from the local police force," she offered in explanation. "He was not at all ok with ICARUS coming in."
He arched an eyebrow. "Did he even know about ICARUS before you showed up?"
She laughed. "No but a call from a very high personnel got him to shut up." She looked at him, her eyes briefly flashing in the low light as she grinned, teeth surprisingly sharp now. "It's been fun keeping him out of the loop."
"Madam, please be nice," Detective Hansen urged, quickening his pace to be beside her.
"Any others I should know about?" he asked, returning to the main reason why they were there. "Any quillas or agir present? Any manipulators? Or is this team mostly human and vicuran personnel?"
"We have one angen and two controllers, a water and an earth. Beyond me and now you two, there are only two other vicuran present and two other humans from ICARUS."
He frowned. "Small team."
She stopped at the front door, looking back at him. "Didn't need a big one for this."
She pushed it open into what had appeared upon approached to be a rather old but well kept home of two stories. The paint on the building was fresh, the roof was relatively new, and all the windows and the front door had been recently upgraded. The house had even been washed recently. But when the door was pushed open and he stepped inside, it appeared to be abandoned, barring the curtains on the windows that kept onlookers from peeking in and seeing empty rooms and a number of lamps, each on complicated looking timers.
His sister tapped his shoulder and he caught her fingers flickering out of the corner of his eye. He voiced her comment, though it had been running through his own head. "Someone's gone through a lot of effort to make this place look lived in."
"A gardener was hired so that there was always fresh tire tracks and footprints around the property," Hansen explained as the petite woman led them through the home. "He was the one that called us."
"A vicu with rodent forms. He smelt the trouble without knowing what was wrong," the petite woman explained. "Nice man, if a bit up in years."
"64," Hansen told them, not that he cared much about the vicu's age. "Nearly had a heart attack from what he found."
They stopped at the door that he was certain led to a basement of sorts. "And do I want to know what he found?"
She looked at them, her gaze hard. "No, but you're going to see it anyways. I'd advise keeping your senses dulled. Too many have gotten overwhelmed by this."
Down the stairs she led them, Hansen behind his sister, his sister behind him as he followed the woman. He had been right, it was a basement, but it was finished, well furnished, and a mess. Even without heightened senses, the scents were pungent and made his eyes water as he covered his nose with his shirt. His sister did the same but she moved further into the space, aiming for the hallway on the one side.
"He came across the smell?" he clarified, watching as his sister's ears shifted into wolf ears, one pointed at them, the other twitching this way and that, listening.
"It had gotten so bad that even the new windows and walls couldn't hold it anymore," Hansen explained muffled behind a cloth he had produced from who knew where. The only one not covering their nose was the petite woman. Her expression was hard as her gaze swept over the space. His sister disappeared down the hallway. "It seems that whoever had been living down here wasn't much for cleaning up after themselves."
"They've been down here for months if any of the food decomposing is anything to go by," the woman explained, "but that isn't why we called you in."
A sharp whistle - one he was very familiar with - came from the hallway. The woman smiled as he started for his sister. "It would seem your sister has found why we brought you in."
He followed the same path his sister had taken and wandered the long hallway. He frowned, looking behind him at the woman, Hansen behind her. "This leads out from under the house," he pointed out, wanting a confirmation as he dropped his hand. The scent of damp soil was just barely there underneath the remaining pungent smells.
The woman nodded. "Quite a ways, too."
They walked on and at first he thought it was just a hallway till he caught sight of an open door. He jogged to it and came to a room he found his sister in.
His eyes snapped all around but there was no sign of the child that had clearly been housed there. His sister was standing in the middle of the room, holding something, and as soon as he was done looking around, he was at her side and looking over her shoulder.
It was a child's drawing, one that made him frown and want to touch but he settled for holding onto his sister's arms, smelling the same thing she had.
Her fingers twitched, and he couldn't help but agree.
This was certainly one mystery they were not going to like. Not at all.
The scene wasn't a pretty one if what the detective had said over the phone was accurate, not that he expected the detective to have embellished or diminished the scene in any way. And, if he was being honest, no scene was a pretty one.
Especially cases with children.
But this scene - this particular case - was rubbing him the wrong way. While there were the obvious signs as to why he was being called in, there was something else going on that he couldn't quite put his finger on and it was clear at how his sister was glaring at the file that she was on the same wavelength.
The car came to a stop as his twin closed the folder. He took it when she passed it to him and tucked it under his arm as the car door opened. He caught her gaze, the flick of her fingers, and he let out a breathy chuckle. He agreed with her fullheartedly. Something smelt fishy and it wasn't the location. He climbed out and nodded in thanks to the driver. He looked over the small crowd of onlookers as his sister climbed out.
"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to the location?" the driver asked.
"I'm sure," he offered in turn. "Thank you for dropping us off."
The driver nodded but said no more at the twins started towards the small crowd.
The crowd shifted around them, ebbing and flowing as people mingled at the road blocks. He looked about as he made his way through, the different scents washing over his senses and counting heads as he went. By the time they had reached the barrier, he had a pretty decent catalog of those present just by scent alone. His sister would have gotten those he had missed as she joined him and knew she had their faces recognized. She was far better at that then he was.
They were not stopped when they passed the wooden barriers. In fact, the two cops that would normally have stopped them recognized him, meaning that he and his sister were left alone. He took the first steps down the long drive and as soon as it turned, there was silence.
The trees were so thick here, even the soft murmur of those waiting at the barrier were silenced, the faintest of sounds bounding down the drive towards them only to be muffled and stop completely once they stepped far enough. All that was left was the ambiance of the forest at night and the low rumble of thunder from the storm that had just passed.
She shifted first, one second a human, the next a wolf. He followed her not a second later and the pads of his feet pressed into the damp soil. His nose flared as his ears twitched, things far more heightened now that they were fully in their secondary form. What's more was that they could now see better and they started trotting down the drive, picking up scents and watching for clues.
Whether a disappointment or the cunning of any suspects, many were familiar in the sense that they smelt of emergency personnel. A few he recognized and could name.
None matched any from the crowd yet.
The location's seclusion seemed to be working in their favor as he and his sister returned to their primary forms as they touched the edge of the main property. There was an argument going on and he was not looking forward to interrupting any sort of argument. The main antagonizer was someone he recognized only by scent. With the antagonizer was the detective that had called him, an officer, a special cases agent, and someone who was probably the field medical examiner.
It wasn't till they were a few yards away that the antagonizer snapped his gaze to them and pointed at them with a sausage finger. "And who is this?" the man demanded.
"I was asked to come by Detective Hansen." He looked to the detective and the detective nodded in greeting. He returned it. "The detective thought our skills would come in handy."
"Who is THAT?"
He felt an eye twitch when the man pointed the sausage finger at his twin. He resisted the urge to break the finger between his teeth. Instead, he looked behind him, verifying that the man was indeed pointing at his sister. "That would be my twin sister."
"You have a twin?"
The question was a simple inquiry, one that broke through the man's anger and turned most of the attention towards the approaching personnel. The questioner was a petite woman with a kind face and a curious gaze. She had someone with her he did not recognize.
He nodded. "There's a reason why it says Markette Twins in your directory. Generally most cases don't require us both but for some reason Hansen thought we were both needed for this one." He looked to the detective with a narrowed gaze. "While the file was useful, it doesn't explain why you need us both. It seems like a simple missing persons case."
It was the petite woman who informed him, "I am glad to see that the file given to you was filled to my discretion. There had been some information I wanted kept out of it in case others wanted to read it." She turned, gesturing for them to follow. "Come on. I'll show you what we left out. Detective Hansen, if you would please join us."
The antagonizer from before stopped, grumbling about agencies meddling in his work. He arched an eyebrow at the man but did not attempt to question what he meant till they were out of ear shot and even then, the petite woman beat him to it.
"He's from the local police force," she offered in explanation. "He was not at all ok with ICARUS coming in."
He arched an eyebrow. "Did he even know about ICARUS before you showed up?"
She laughed. "No but a call from a very high personnel got him to shut up." She looked at him, her eyes briefly flashing in the low light as she grinned, teeth surprisingly sharp now. "It's been fun keeping him out of the loop."
"Madam, please be nice," Detective Hansen urged, quickening his pace to be beside her.
"Any others I should know about?" he asked, returning to the main reason why they were there. "Any quillas or agir present? Any manipulators? Or is this team mostly human and vicuran personnel?"
"We have one angen and two controllers, a water and an earth. Beyond me and now you two, there are only two other vicuran present and two other humans from ICARUS."
He frowned. "Small team."
She stopped at the front door, looking back at him. "Didn't need a big one for this."
She pushed it open into what had appeared upon approached to be a rather old but well kept home of two stories. The paint on the building was fresh, the roof was relatively new, and all the windows and the front door had been recently upgraded. The house had even been washed recently. But when the door was pushed open and he stepped inside, it appeared to be abandoned, barring the curtains on the windows that kept onlookers from peeking in and seeing empty rooms and a number of lamps, each on complicated looking timers.
His sister tapped his shoulder and he caught her fingers flickering out of the corner of his eye. He voiced her comment, though it had been running through his own head. "Someone's gone through a lot of effort to make this place look lived in."
"A gardener was hired so that there was always fresh tire tracks and footprints around the property," Hansen explained as the petite woman led them through the home. "He was the one that called us."
"A vicu with rodent forms. He smelt the trouble without knowing what was wrong," the petite woman explained. "Nice man, if a bit up in years."
"64," Hansen told them, not that he cared much about the vicu's age. "Nearly had a heart attack from what he found."
They stopped at the door that he was certain led to a basement of sorts. "And do I want to know what he found?"
She looked at them, her gaze hard. "No, but you're going to see it anyways. I'd advise keeping your senses dulled. Too many have gotten overwhelmed by this."
Down the stairs she led them, Hansen behind his sister, his sister behind him as he followed the woman. He had been right, it was a basement, but it was finished, well furnished, and a mess. Even without heightened senses, the scents were pungent and made his eyes water as he covered his nose with his shirt. His sister did the same but she moved further into the space, aiming for the hallway on the one side.
"He came across the smell?" he clarified, watching as his sister's ears shifted into wolf ears, one pointed at them, the other twitching this way and that, listening.
"It had gotten so bad that even the new windows and walls couldn't hold it anymore," Hansen explained muffled behind a cloth he had produced from who knew where. The only one not covering their nose was the petite woman. Her expression was hard as her gaze swept over the space. His sister disappeared down the hallway. "It seems that whoever had been living down here wasn't much for cleaning up after themselves."
"They've been down here for months if any of the food decomposing is anything to go by," the woman explained, "but that isn't why we called you in."
A sharp whistle - one he was very familiar with - came from the hallway. The woman smiled as he started for his sister. "It would seem your sister has found why we brought you in."
He followed the same path his sister had taken and wandered the long hallway. He frowned, looking behind him at the woman, Hansen behind her. "This leads out from under the house," he pointed out, wanting a confirmation as he dropped his hand. The scent of damp soil was just barely there underneath the remaining pungent smells.
The woman nodded. "Quite a ways, too."
They walked on and at first he thought it was just a hallway till he caught sight of an open door. He jogged to it and came to a room he found his sister in.
His eyes snapped all around but there was no sign of the child that had clearly been housed there. His sister was standing in the middle of the room, holding something, and as soon as he was done looking around, he was at her side and looking over her shoulder.
It was a child's drawing, one that made him frown and want to touch but he settled for holding onto his sister's arms, smelling the same thing she had.
Her fingers twitched, and he couldn't help but agree.
This was certainly one mystery they were not going to like. Not at all.
The child's drawing in her hand was worn, the creases in the paper so fragile that it was on the verge of coming apart even with the gentlest of handling. In the center of the paper, there was a stick figure in a pink triangle dress with curls of yellow for hair. The stick figure was before a house drawn in a purple crayon that was nothing more than a square topped by a triangle with a few shapes to add the door, two windows on either side, and a circle window for the attic. Though rather normal, it was the thing with the stick figure in front of the house that had him concerned.
It was drawn with a black crayon in a heavy hand, no real form depicted beyond the mass of scribbles and two red scribbled dots for what was to be perceived as eyes. If they were meant to be something else, he wasn't sure. The stick figure looked happy, though, drawn with a large smile and two vertically elongated blue dots for eyes so beyond not knowing what the mass was or what it could represent, for all intents and purposes, it was a happy picture of a healthy, young girl with her friend, imaginary or not.
His twin's fingers flickered in the corner of his eye and he responded in kind as they both heard the movement in the doorway. There was no way they were sharing this with the ICARUS agents, not if the scents they were smelling were anything to go by. His sister carefully folded the picture as he turned towards those waiting for them. He felt her move with him, her movement making it seem as if she was just turning with him even as he felt her stick the picture in his back pocket discretely. He held the petite woman's gaze and knew Detective Hansen's human senses would not be able to pick up on his sister's deceit. The petite woman, though...
"Beyond evidence of a child living here, all we have to go off of is a scent," he spoke, his words covering what crinkling of paper and shifting of fabric there had been.
The petite woman nodded. "Any thoughts on the scent."
It wasn't a question and it caused him to narrow down what her other form was, barring she only had one. He didn't know this woman very well, only knew she was vicuran by scent alone, but he did know that she was of a breed he did not deal with regularly. He wondered if he would ever find out what it was, not that he was hoping to. Sometimes finding out about another's form did not mean pleasant conversations and hand holding.
"It's different," he spoke, his sister's fingers flickering the words. "Something we haven't come across before."
A lie, one that he knew they were not going to be able to keep for too terribly long.
He was certain the petite woman didn't believe him when she arched an eyebrow but she said nothing against his words. "Can you track the scent? I lost it shortly after finding it."
They both nodded, determination on their face. "We can," he guaranteed even as his sister's fingers flickered something else. He amended his statement with what his sister brought forth. "But there is more than just one scent in here. At least two of the scents are similar enough to cause us to think either siblings or a vicu. Then there is one that is dominating, that is fresher. Which are you wanting us to track?"
"The vicu."
He blinked, surprised by that. He glanced his sister's way and the look she was giving him told him more than any gesture she made.
Something was going on.
He looked back at the woman, offering, "You don't need us both to track the vicu. Let either me or my sister go after the other scent."
A look crossed the woman's face but Hansen was the one that made the decision. "If one of you is going after the second scent, it'd best be you, Adhara. Miko can guide us to the vicu and allow us to speak with it. This way if you do end up finding the second person, you'll be able to communicate." Hansen's gaze moved quickly to Miko. "I don't mean any offence by it."
His sister shook her head, a soft smile on her lips as her fingers flickered. He translated for her. "None taken, Detective. We would have done it that way, regardless."
Hansen relaxed and his appreciation of the detective increased. While the petite woman had some agenda, Hansen was still the same detective he had always worked with: thoughtful and considerate of others even while getting the job done. Hansen had been the only reason he had accepted in the first place. He and his sister didn't much care for ICARUS and how they worked half the time.
The petite woman shifted back a step, her exasperation showing on her face. "If we would get a move on, I would like to not lose the scent again."
He nodded and the two in the doorway started down the hallway towards the house. Miko caught his arm, though, and her fingers flickered.
-I don't trust her as far as I can throw her.-
He agreed and she knew it but that wasn't why she had voiced her opinion. -Try and stay ahead of them. If things go wrong, grab the vicu and run.-
-Do you think both were vicuran at some point?-
He flinched at that. The picture only had two 'people' on it but that didn't mean that neither had only one form. -I don't know. For all we know, the vicu could have been here long before the other scent. Which is why I'm concerned about what that woman is planning.- He gripped her arm in turn. -Stick close to Hansen if things go south. If nothing else, he'll understand.-
She made a face, not liking what he was implying, but it was a plan they both knew was needed. With a brisk nod, she left, leaving him alone in the room.
They were both concerned about the scent, the one that had been the strongest, the one that they weren't sure was the one the petite woman hadn't been talking about. Or maybe it was and whatever her other form was couldn't discern scents like theirs could. Still, he shifted to his default form, relishing in the natural in between state of his primary and secondary form as he shifted his clothing to accommodate the change. His high tech visor and headset appeared on his head, the visor coming to life after having been in some sort of subspace pocket dimension of sorts. He took a deep breath, letting the smells wash over him again before he started picking only one out, the one that had concerned him and his sister, as the visor picked out things in the room and cataloged them as a base function without any commands
He could hear the trio in the main body of the basement area talking as they started towards the upper floors. He stepped out into the hallway practically alone and followed the scent not towards the body of the house, but towards the other end of the hallway. He frowned as he smelt the other scent as well going this way, faint and far less potent. He wondered if it was because the petite woman was showing Miko where she had lost the scent or if something had changed or come up.
He trusted his twin would be ok no matter what. As dangerous as it was for them to be separated in mixed company, he trusted Hansen and he trusted his sister to hold her own when things got tough.
The pads of his feet touched soil and he flicked a gloved finger. The visor's screen changed, the edges disappearing and the tunnel suddenly became visible.
He just hoped he could hold his own as well as.
There was no gauging time as he followed the tunnel that had once been a hallway despite his visor's computer actually having an accurate clock. It would tell him how long the blasted trip was in travel time and distance at the end even without his prompting. There had been a good number of other rooms he had passed along the way, some even in the tunnel system like dungeon cells, and while he did a cursory check of all of them, the scents all led in the same direction.
On and on the tunnel stretched. On and on he walked. Branches appeared here and there, his visor cataloging each one and creating a minimap in the upper left of his vision, but he followed the scents, followed them down branches of the tunnel he would never have walked had he not been following a scent. This way and that they weaved and even times down passages he would have normally missed in the complete darkness that even his visor had glanced over.
There was a flicker from the minimap and several dots appeared on it as it zoomed out for a moment. It would seem the computer had recognized it may have missed things and retraced its steps. The minimap returned to the original zoom level as he slipped into the crevice. There would be time to correct the map later. Right now he needed to see where these scents were going.
He found himself stumbling out into the heart of the woods from a crevice in the rocky hillside that would have never drawn his attention, the visor automatically changing colors and light levels with the light of a partial moon. He flicked a gloved finger and the minimap filled his view. A few gestures had the map rotating about and zooming out. Orientated with north at the top, the map appeared to be projected between the trees and he watched as the house was overlaid and then a map of the lands before a measurement between him and the house was input.
He was miles away over difficult terrain and had crossed from the home to where he stood in a third of the time. He cleared the map from his view with a swipe of his hand and input a few commands. His ears twitched this way and that as he took in the sounds of the night, his nose still on the scent he had been tracking as well as the other scents that had followed the same path. There was a chirp in his ear letting him know that he was set to proceed.
The scents started branching off and it was only a few couple yards before he was following the single scent. He shifted his wings into existence in their secondary form. Like this, he was able to shoot through the trees without worrying about clipping a wing, though it did limit his height while adding to his maneuverability. On and on he went, the minimap in the corner plotting out the landscape and tracking how far out he had gone. It wasn't till hours later that he came across stronger scent tracks. He slowed, his feet softly touching the ground where there was a sudden onslaught of the single scent, heavy as if it had stayed in the single place for quite some time. There were no scents to indicate it had been chased away or found so why wasn't it there?
He looked up and his visor picked it out the same time he did.
He leapt to the side, rolling to get his feet back under him so that he could launch himself upward, his wings taking him higher than any normal leap. He latched onto branches, his wings equalizing gravity and letting him hover there in the branches.
Beneath him was a mass of black, formless beyond the pair of red eyes staring up at him. He shifted the visor back into the subspace pocket dimension of sorts he shifted things to and from, the weight of it still on his person despite it physically not being there. He raised a hand as he slowly shifted the rest of his attire, leaving him in a pair of sports shorts and a loose tank top. "Easy," he offered, voice soft. The thing launched at him and he shot to the side, shouting, "Wait!"
He rolled in the air, coming out upright and facing the mass coiling in where he had been residing as his feet pressed against the truck of a tree. He hadn't lost altitude so he was level with the creature but he could not tell what the creature was, nor how it was just hanging there. From what he could see, it wasn't actually hanging onto anything. "Wait a moment," he spoke, voice soft and calm. "I'm not here to harm you. I just want to talk."
The red eyes didn't blink. They didn't so much as twitched and he took that as a good sign. He slowly reached back, fingers finding the picture, and he pulled it out just as slowly, making sure the thing was in clear view as soon as possible. The red eyes shifted, focused on the paper even as he was certain he had not lost its attention. A low rumble sound reached his ears and he watched as the mass seemed to become agitated as he carefully unfolded the picture with one hand. When the image became visible, the creature hissed, coiling to launch. He brought the picture before him and the creature froze, eyes on him again.
"This is yours, right?" he offered. "You kept this to remember your friend."
"SisTEr," a voice echoed about, scratchy and inconsistent.
He suppressed his wince. "Your sister was a vicu too, right?" he asked, watching the mass slowly settle. "I have a twin sister who is just like me. Were you and your sister just like each other?"
"sIstER," the voice spoke, sounding sad even as it echoed about.
"Did she have this form too or was it just you?" he asked.
"SistER Was NOrMal. freAk was MONSTeR. FReAk SufFER foR FREaK."
He closed his eyes against that, sorrow filling him as he let gravity take hold of him slowly. He eased his weight on a steady branch before vanishing his wings. "But were you always this way?"
The red eyes were on him as silence hung between them and, for a moment, he wondered if he would get an answer. But, then, "fREAK HarmEd sIsTer. seNt to bE FIXED. bEcAME thIS. sIStER cAme tO SAve freak. fREAK CauSeD SIstEr morE HaRM."
"Whoever changed you took your sister to do the same."
There was a low rumble, a sort of whine. "SIstER NEvER ComE bACK. HE sAId sIsteR NeveR COmE BaCK. fREak FauLT nOT CoMe bAck."
He tried not to growl as the itch to break someone's neck rushed over him. Whoever had been experimenting on children - let alone vicuran children - needed to be taken out before they harmed any more children. "Do you want to help me find your sister?"
"nO finD HeR. FReAk LoOkeD."
"Do you want to try one last time? I can help and so can my sister."
The creature shifted and the red eyes grew rounder. "wOLF heLP FReak?"
He offered a soft smile. "I will help. But in order for me to help, you have to do something for me." The creature curled and he quickly offered, "You have to tell me what your name is."
"FrEAK," the creature responded instantly.
He chuckled. "No, before you were called that. What did your sister call you?"
"bRoTheR," it spoke, though it sounded slightly confused.
"Anything else?" he encouraged.
There was a pause, one long enough that he didn't think he would get an answer, but then the creature spoke again. "jAmIE."
"Can I call you Jamie like your sister did?" The eyes bobbed like the creature had nodded and he smiled. "Nice to meet you, Jamie. You can call me Ady."
"adY?"
"Yeah, Ady," he replied. He offered the picture to Jamie again. "Would you like this back?"
There was a hum that rumbled through him as part of Jamie's mass reached out and took the picture with care. It vanished into the mass even as he watched it get carefully folded. He shifted his wings back in their secondary form again and asked, "Ready to go on an adventure in look for your sister, Jamie?"
He wasn't good with kids, not really, but that seemed to be enough for the child before him as he gained another hum, this one far chipper and the red eyes thinned, portraying a smile of sorts. It was all he could hope for as he stepped off the branch and let his wings bring him back to the ground gently.
It was drawn with a black crayon in a heavy hand, no real form depicted beyond the mass of scribbles and two red scribbled dots for what was to be perceived as eyes. If they were meant to be something else, he wasn't sure. The stick figure looked happy, though, drawn with a large smile and two vertically elongated blue dots for eyes so beyond not knowing what the mass was or what it could represent, for all intents and purposes, it was a happy picture of a healthy, young girl with her friend, imaginary or not.
His twin's fingers flickered in the corner of his eye and he responded in kind as they both heard the movement in the doorway. There was no way they were sharing this with the ICARUS agents, not if the scents they were smelling were anything to go by. His sister carefully folded the picture as he turned towards those waiting for them. He felt her move with him, her movement making it seem as if she was just turning with him even as he felt her stick the picture in his back pocket discretely. He held the petite woman's gaze and knew Detective Hansen's human senses would not be able to pick up on his sister's deceit. The petite woman, though...
"Beyond evidence of a child living here, all we have to go off of is a scent," he spoke, his words covering what crinkling of paper and shifting of fabric there had been.
The petite woman nodded. "Any thoughts on the scent."
It wasn't a question and it caused him to narrow down what her other form was, barring she only had one. He didn't know this woman very well, only knew she was vicuran by scent alone, but he did know that she was of a breed he did not deal with regularly. He wondered if he would ever find out what it was, not that he was hoping to. Sometimes finding out about another's form did not mean pleasant conversations and hand holding.
"It's different," he spoke, his sister's fingers flickering the words. "Something we haven't come across before."
A lie, one that he knew they were not going to be able to keep for too terribly long.
He was certain the petite woman didn't believe him when she arched an eyebrow but she said nothing against his words. "Can you track the scent? I lost it shortly after finding it."
They both nodded, determination on their face. "We can," he guaranteed even as his sister's fingers flickered something else. He amended his statement with what his sister brought forth. "But there is more than just one scent in here. At least two of the scents are similar enough to cause us to think either siblings or a vicu. Then there is one that is dominating, that is fresher. Which are you wanting us to track?"
"The vicu."
He blinked, surprised by that. He glanced his sister's way and the look she was giving him told him more than any gesture she made.
Something was going on.
He looked back at the woman, offering, "You don't need us both to track the vicu. Let either me or my sister go after the other scent."
A look crossed the woman's face but Hansen was the one that made the decision. "If one of you is going after the second scent, it'd best be you, Adhara. Miko can guide us to the vicu and allow us to speak with it. This way if you do end up finding the second person, you'll be able to communicate." Hansen's gaze moved quickly to Miko. "I don't mean any offence by it."
His sister shook her head, a soft smile on her lips as her fingers flickered. He translated for her. "None taken, Detective. We would have done it that way, regardless."
Hansen relaxed and his appreciation of the detective increased. While the petite woman had some agenda, Hansen was still the same detective he had always worked with: thoughtful and considerate of others even while getting the job done. Hansen had been the only reason he had accepted in the first place. He and his sister didn't much care for ICARUS and how they worked half the time.
The petite woman shifted back a step, her exasperation showing on her face. "If we would get a move on, I would like to not lose the scent again."
He nodded and the two in the doorway started down the hallway towards the house. Miko caught his arm, though, and her fingers flickered.
-I don't trust her as far as I can throw her.-
He agreed and she knew it but that wasn't why she had voiced her opinion. -Try and stay ahead of them. If things go wrong, grab the vicu and run.-
-Do you think both were vicuran at some point?-
He flinched at that. The picture only had two 'people' on it but that didn't mean that neither had only one form. -I don't know. For all we know, the vicu could have been here long before the other scent. Which is why I'm concerned about what that woman is planning.- He gripped her arm in turn. -Stick close to Hansen if things go south. If nothing else, he'll understand.-
She made a face, not liking what he was implying, but it was a plan they both knew was needed. With a brisk nod, she left, leaving him alone in the room.
They were both concerned about the scent, the one that had been the strongest, the one that they weren't sure was the one the petite woman hadn't been talking about. Or maybe it was and whatever her other form was couldn't discern scents like theirs could. Still, he shifted to his default form, relishing in the natural in between state of his primary and secondary form as he shifted his clothing to accommodate the change. His high tech visor and headset appeared on his head, the visor coming to life after having been in some sort of subspace pocket dimension of sorts. He took a deep breath, letting the smells wash over him again before he started picking only one out, the one that had concerned him and his sister, as the visor picked out things in the room and cataloged them as a base function without any commands
He could hear the trio in the main body of the basement area talking as they started towards the upper floors. He stepped out into the hallway practically alone and followed the scent not towards the body of the house, but towards the other end of the hallway. He frowned as he smelt the other scent as well going this way, faint and far less potent. He wondered if it was because the petite woman was showing Miko where she had lost the scent or if something had changed or come up.
He trusted his twin would be ok no matter what. As dangerous as it was for them to be separated in mixed company, he trusted Hansen and he trusted his sister to hold her own when things got tough.
The pads of his feet touched soil and he flicked a gloved finger. The visor's screen changed, the edges disappearing and the tunnel suddenly became visible.
He just hoped he could hold his own as well as.
There was no gauging time as he followed the tunnel that had once been a hallway despite his visor's computer actually having an accurate clock. It would tell him how long the blasted trip was in travel time and distance at the end even without his prompting. There had been a good number of other rooms he had passed along the way, some even in the tunnel system like dungeon cells, and while he did a cursory check of all of them, the scents all led in the same direction.
On and on the tunnel stretched. On and on he walked. Branches appeared here and there, his visor cataloging each one and creating a minimap in the upper left of his vision, but he followed the scents, followed them down branches of the tunnel he would never have walked had he not been following a scent. This way and that they weaved and even times down passages he would have normally missed in the complete darkness that even his visor had glanced over.
There was a flicker from the minimap and several dots appeared on it as it zoomed out for a moment. It would seem the computer had recognized it may have missed things and retraced its steps. The minimap returned to the original zoom level as he slipped into the crevice. There would be time to correct the map later. Right now he needed to see where these scents were going.
He found himself stumbling out into the heart of the woods from a crevice in the rocky hillside that would have never drawn his attention, the visor automatically changing colors and light levels with the light of a partial moon. He flicked a gloved finger and the minimap filled his view. A few gestures had the map rotating about and zooming out. Orientated with north at the top, the map appeared to be projected between the trees and he watched as the house was overlaid and then a map of the lands before a measurement between him and the house was input.
He was miles away over difficult terrain and had crossed from the home to where he stood in a third of the time. He cleared the map from his view with a swipe of his hand and input a few commands. His ears twitched this way and that as he took in the sounds of the night, his nose still on the scent he had been tracking as well as the other scents that had followed the same path. There was a chirp in his ear letting him know that he was set to proceed.
The scents started branching off and it was only a few couple yards before he was following the single scent. He shifted his wings into existence in their secondary form. Like this, he was able to shoot through the trees without worrying about clipping a wing, though it did limit his height while adding to his maneuverability. On and on he went, the minimap in the corner plotting out the landscape and tracking how far out he had gone. It wasn't till hours later that he came across stronger scent tracks. He slowed, his feet softly touching the ground where there was a sudden onslaught of the single scent, heavy as if it had stayed in the single place for quite some time. There were no scents to indicate it had been chased away or found so why wasn't it there?
He looked up and his visor picked it out the same time he did.
He leapt to the side, rolling to get his feet back under him so that he could launch himself upward, his wings taking him higher than any normal leap. He latched onto branches, his wings equalizing gravity and letting him hover there in the branches.
Beneath him was a mass of black, formless beyond the pair of red eyes staring up at him. He shifted the visor back into the subspace pocket dimension of sorts he shifted things to and from, the weight of it still on his person despite it physically not being there. He raised a hand as he slowly shifted the rest of his attire, leaving him in a pair of sports shorts and a loose tank top. "Easy," he offered, voice soft. The thing launched at him and he shot to the side, shouting, "Wait!"
He rolled in the air, coming out upright and facing the mass coiling in where he had been residing as his feet pressed against the truck of a tree. He hadn't lost altitude so he was level with the creature but he could not tell what the creature was, nor how it was just hanging there. From what he could see, it wasn't actually hanging onto anything. "Wait a moment," he spoke, voice soft and calm. "I'm not here to harm you. I just want to talk."
The red eyes didn't blink. They didn't so much as twitched and he took that as a good sign. He slowly reached back, fingers finding the picture, and he pulled it out just as slowly, making sure the thing was in clear view as soon as possible. The red eyes shifted, focused on the paper even as he was certain he had not lost its attention. A low rumble sound reached his ears and he watched as the mass seemed to become agitated as he carefully unfolded the picture with one hand. When the image became visible, the creature hissed, coiling to launch. He brought the picture before him and the creature froze, eyes on him again.
"This is yours, right?" he offered. "You kept this to remember your friend."
"SisTEr," a voice echoed about, scratchy and inconsistent.
He suppressed his wince. "Your sister was a vicu too, right?" he asked, watching the mass slowly settle. "I have a twin sister who is just like me. Were you and your sister just like each other?"
"sIstER," the voice spoke, sounding sad even as it echoed about.
"Did she have this form too or was it just you?" he asked.
"SistER Was NOrMal. freAk was MONSTeR. FReAk SufFER foR FREaK."
He closed his eyes against that, sorrow filling him as he let gravity take hold of him slowly. He eased his weight on a steady branch before vanishing his wings. "But were you always this way?"
The red eyes were on him as silence hung between them and, for a moment, he wondered if he would get an answer. But, then, "fREAK HarmEd sIsTer. seNt to bE FIXED. bEcAME thIS. sIStER cAme tO SAve freak. fREAK CauSeD SIstEr morE HaRM."
"Whoever changed you took your sister to do the same."
There was a low rumble, a sort of whine. "SIstER NEvER ComE bACK. HE sAId sIsteR NeveR COmE BaCK. fREak FauLT nOT CoMe bAck."
He tried not to growl as the itch to break someone's neck rushed over him. Whoever had been experimenting on children - let alone vicuran children - needed to be taken out before they harmed any more children. "Do you want to help me find your sister?"
"nO finD HeR. FReAk LoOkeD."
"Do you want to try one last time? I can help and so can my sister."
The creature shifted and the red eyes grew rounder. "wOLF heLP FReak?"
He offered a soft smile. "I will help. But in order for me to help, you have to do something for me." The creature curled and he quickly offered, "You have to tell me what your name is."
"FrEAK," the creature responded instantly.
He chuckled. "No, before you were called that. What did your sister call you?"
"bRoTheR," it spoke, though it sounded slightly confused.
"Anything else?" he encouraged.
There was a pause, one long enough that he didn't think he would get an answer, but then the creature spoke again. "jAmIE."
"Can I call you Jamie like your sister did?" The eyes bobbed like the creature had nodded and he smiled. "Nice to meet you, Jamie. You can call me Ady."
"adY?"
"Yeah, Ady," he replied. He offered the picture to Jamie again. "Would you like this back?"
There was a hum that rumbled through him as part of Jamie's mass reached out and took the picture with care. It vanished into the mass even as he watched it get carefully folded. He shifted his wings back in their secondary form again and asked, "Ready to go on an adventure in look for your sister, Jamie?"
He wasn't good with kids, not really, but that seemed to be enough for the child before him as he gained another hum, this one far chipper and the red eyes thinned, portraying a smile of sorts. It was all he could hope for as he stepped off the branch and let his wings bring him back to the ground gently.
Jamie's mass came down from the trees acting at once like goop and smoke. It was bewildering and infuriating all at one. Who would dare do this to a child?! Not to mention that vicuran children were oh so precious. How the two children had ended up in a home that would send one, if not both away and not go looking for them when they vanished astounded him.
But, then, if they had been kidnapped, then maybe they had been looked for and it simply had been too long.
He started back towards the direction of the house.
"Jamie," he spoke minutes into their trek. "How old are you and your sister?"
"sAME agE. sAME tEN."
His hand twitched to press against his chest. "And how long have you been here?"
"here hOME. hERe BeEN Since forevER."
That was strong evidence towards one theory, except...
"Did you guys live in the upper floors?"
"yEaH. BuT THeN haRm SisteR anD SeNt To rOom BeLoW. fReAK no LiKE roOM BeLoW."
"That's where you were changed, right?"
There was a rumble of confirmation but nothing verbal and he didn't press. He felt sick knowing they were dealing with possible vicuran twins that had been experimented on. Until they were able to help Jamie return to a solid form, there was no way of telling what had happened to the child.
The silence was broken only by his footfall. Whatever Jamie had become allowed the child to move about almost silently, the crunching of leaves not like the way the leaves crunched under his feet.
He tried to not let it bother him.
The minimap was back but he hadn't gestured for it. Instead, there was a brief pulse of one location before the map zoomed out and showed two locations connected with a distance count and estimated time. Miko was giving him a heads up. He sent her a ping in return, watching as his dot turned green before hers did. As much as it was a heads up, he knew that he needed to close the distance between them now that he had Jamie or he ran the risk of having something happen and not be there for her when it does. He gestured the map away, looking to Jamie. "Can you fly in that form?"
"fLy?"
"Yes, like a bird." He shifted his wings in their primary form, massive white wings stretching between the tree trunks and branches before curling against his back. "Like I can."
"fReaK fLy. freAK FolLoW Wolf-aDY."
He opened his wings again, shifting his stance wide to launch himself skyward. Jamie was there, his mass slipping beneath him only to coil and shove him towards the canopy.
Had he not been used to such endeavors or had not been expecting it, he was certain he would have broken a wing. Thankfully the path was clear and he shot straight through the trees without injuring anything. He threw his wings out at the faintest hint of slowing down and he pumped his wings as gravity cradled him once more.
Jamie was suddenly there around him, weightless but with enough form to add pressure to Adhara's body. He shuddered, asking, "Can you fly without clinging to me, Jamie?"
"hEigHT."
"Height?" he echoed, confused till he looked down. "Oh. Fear of heights." The form around him quaked at that. "Jamie, can you move to my front so that I may look you in the eye and speak?" The mass shifted around him till the red eyes were before him, watching him. He reached out, hands pressing gently against the mass as if to cup the child's face. There was a rumble of pleasure from Jamie. "I was taught a trick of getting rid of pesky fears like that. Do you want to know what it is?"
The mass against his hands went up and down, the eyes going with it, and he realized that Jamie had nodded. He offered a soft smile and leaned in a bit closer. "When fear is upon you, you have to close your eyes," out of habit, he closed his eyes as he spoke the word, "take a deep breath," automatically, his lungs filled with air before he whispered, "and say the magic words: Abra-kadabra, no fear can control me."
Tears automatically welled up within him but he swallowed them as best he could. He was certain his eyes were still watery when he opened them to look at Jamie. He could deal with his fear for his sister, his twin, later. Right now, he needed to help Jamie.
The child's voice echoed strangely even as a whisper as Jamie parroted his words back to him. "ABra-KADABRa, nO FeAr caN cONtrOl Me." Those red eyes snapped open as a shrill, broken squeal caused Adhara to flinch. "MagIC! MAgIc! wolF-Ady kNoW MaGiC!"
He chuckled softly as the mass let go of him, flying around with no fear of the ground being so far away anymore. "We need to be quick, now. Your sister is waiting for us."
"SisTeR." The mass turned to look at him again. "LEaD. WilL foLLow.
He nodded before aligning himself with the overlaid map and shot off towards the neon marker muted in the distance. So far it was still blue, a simple marker. As long as it didn't change colors, the little trick would work just fine in keeping him calm.
He gestured for Jamie to remain quiet before starting to land. He found a good solid tree and shifted his wings midflight into their secondary form, using them to negate gravity enough for his touch to be light on the branches. Jamie was there with him, up against him so as to keep close and see what he saw. Or so he presumed. He wasn't completely sure beyond the child needing physical comfort now that there was someone there to give it willingly.
It was a few minutes before the marker flickered out and Miko was outlined through the trees. There was a trail that ran right under the branch he had settled in and he could just make out his sister through the trees when her form on his visor became an outline rather than a solid shape. Two other forms were outlined and brief glimpses confirmed it was Hansen and the woman. They passed directly beneath him and Jamie and while none of them noticed them - he was certain his sister knew he was there but gave no outward appearance she had seen him or even knew there was something in the trees above - Jamie's mass was quaking against him.
He had to wait till they were well out of sight and out of hearing before he was able to even talk to Jamie. He reached over, his hand sliding through half the mass before touching something a bit more solid. "Hey, Jamie. Calm down. It's alright."
"sisTeR," Jamie choked, the word sounding weird.
His gaze snapped around where those red eyes were pointed. His visor automatically outlined Miko. "What?" he uselessly asked.
"SIStEr," Jamie repeated with a far stronger voice, shooting through the trees and a breakneck speed.
Adhara followed, secondary form wings shoving him forward as quickly as he dared to go weaving in and out of trees while Jamie seemed to simply faze through trees. He made it in time to land between Jamie and the others, primary form wings spread wide.
"SistEr," Jamie spoke, his voice causing the woman and Miko to flinch.
Adhara frowned, eyes on Hansen who was staring at Jamie's hulking mass.
"Aujamy?" the petite woman spoke, her voice quaking as Adhara felt Jamie shift behind him, curling close to his back as if to hide. "Aujamy, is that really you?"
"no sIStEr?" Jamie's voice quaked as the petite woman's had.
"Ma'am?" Adhara spoke, his voice calm and soft to draw the woman's attention to him even if her eyes remained on Jamie. Hansen had yet to even twitch.
"Always sister," the woman spoke, taking a calculated step forward as she pressed a hand to her chest. "Nelila, remember? Nerry a Lily?"
She shifted, human form giving way to a brilliant dragon one. He felt Jamie move behind him and he turned, watching as Jamie's mass mimicked Nelila's form, trying and failing to become a dragon as well. "lily SISTeR, Lily SistEr, cOme foR FReAk siStEr DID."
The tears that welled up in those dragon eyes made Adhara choke on his own and he looked away, his gaze landing on his twin. She was watching Hansen like a hawk. The only thing the man had done was tip his head back.
Nelila nuzzled the mass that was Jamie. "Of course I came for you. I'm so sorry it took me so long."
"No CaRe, No cArE. SistEr HeRE, sIster here," Jamie happily sang, his mimicked shape losing form in order to press against her chest and long neck.
"I care."
Adhara caught Miko bristling as he had when Hansen finally spoke. The man tipped his head to the side. "How did you ever manage to escape, my precious Lily? I had so hoped to correct my mistakes on your brother on you."
The growl Nelila released sent a thrill of terror down Adhara's spine but he was more concerned with Jamie's withdrawal at Hansen's words. He skitted backwards, a wing reaching out to wrap around the huddled mass not much larger than Adhara's human form. Miko moved to place herself between Hansen and Jamie as Nelila turned to face him.
"With surprising ease," she snarled. "You, however, have slipped too far. I will make sure you pay for what you did to me, to Jamie, and all the other kids you tormented."
Hansen laughed. "Please. Like you have proof. Only you and Jamie survived. It would be no trouble taking you two out along with the Markette twins."
"I would be careful saying things like that," Adhara warned, his voice steady. "You may end up eating those words."
Hansen gave him a grin that was anything but humorous. In fact, it made the man look crazed. "You think so? After all I've done, you think you and your mute of a sister will be able to take me on? Do you even know why I did what I did?"
"Why?" he drawled, automatically translating his sister's sarcastic gesture.
"Immortality."
If there had been crickets, even they would have been silent at the sheer stupidity of that statement.
"Really?" Adhara asked, his voice contemptuous.
"You're vicuran!" Hansen suddenly barked, gesturing wide. "You were born with the ability to change forms, heal faster, be stronger, and then there are others born into stronger races, leaving us lowly humans racing to catch up with something we'll never catch up on." He stabbed at his own chest with his finger. "I wanted to be beyond that. I wanted to see if I could give a normal human the abilities of the vicuran or agirian races only to discover that I had found the answer to immortality. The only downside was that it was imperfect and I needed children to gather the purest forms of the materials I needed to create the perfect version of immortality. When I had enough to test a sample from, I would use the kids I no longer needed and the results were fascinating."
Adhara shuddered but he wasn't sure if it was out of fear or disgust.
"Jamie here was one such subject. I had intended to do the same to precious Lily here but she slipped between my fingers before I could do anything."
"I'm glad I got away," Nelila snarled, barring her teeth. "It meant being able to save Aujamy."
The grin that broke across Hansen's face made every fiber of Adhara's being stand on end. "You think so?"
"Miko!" he shouted, leaping at his sister as she turned to reach for him just as Hansen uttered, "Oscuramento."
His visor translated the Italian word automatically, the word 'blackout' quickly on its tail. For a split second he thought that it was just a bluff, but then Jamie's form went rigid and spines shot from him like arrows still connected to the body of the launcher. The spines were pointed at the tips and nothing was safe from the sudden hundreds of spines flying through the air. As soon as they landed, the spines jerked and became tendrils that whipped around, flinging dirt and debris everywhere.
A spine caught Adhara in the side, going straight through to catch his sister just below her ribs on the left side. Another caught him in the back of his left thigh and grazed his shoulder before embedding itself into Miko's. They got off lucky. Nelila took far too many and was dead before the spines could even change. Adhara took some satisfaction out of all this when one impaled Hansen right between the eyes. It was better that the man was dead rather than risk him harming another child.
They were thrown into the air and he wrapped himself bodily around his sister, protecting her as he shifted forms, wings in primary in an attempt to control their decent.
He hit the ground, hard, and felt a good number of bones break, a few in his wings. The cry of pain echoed on the trees as the sound of him tumbling with his sister filled the space. They came to a stop and he could see the barricade,
He didn't dare fathom just how strong Jamie was in such a state as he cried out, "Hey! Can you hear me?! Can I get some help here!? Anyone!" His voice cracked and he fought a cough as black edged his vision. He thought he saw eyes on them. "Please! Someone help!"
His shouting rang in his ears as it seemed as those that could see them just stared.
But, then, if they had been kidnapped, then maybe they had been looked for and it simply had been too long.
He started back towards the direction of the house.
"Jamie," he spoke minutes into their trek. "How old are you and your sister?"
"sAME agE. sAME tEN."
His hand twitched to press against his chest. "And how long have you been here?"
"here hOME. hERe BeEN Since forevER."
That was strong evidence towards one theory, except...
"Did you guys live in the upper floors?"
"yEaH. BuT THeN haRm SisteR anD SeNt To rOom BeLoW. fReAK no LiKE roOM BeLoW."
"That's where you were changed, right?"
There was a rumble of confirmation but nothing verbal and he didn't press. He felt sick knowing they were dealing with possible vicuran twins that had been experimented on. Until they were able to help Jamie return to a solid form, there was no way of telling what had happened to the child.
The silence was broken only by his footfall. Whatever Jamie had become allowed the child to move about almost silently, the crunching of leaves not like the way the leaves crunched under his feet.
He tried to not let it bother him.
The minimap was back but he hadn't gestured for it. Instead, there was a brief pulse of one location before the map zoomed out and showed two locations connected with a distance count and estimated time. Miko was giving him a heads up. He sent her a ping in return, watching as his dot turned green before hers did. As much as it was a heads up, he knew that he needed to close the distance between them now that he had Jamie or he ran the risk of having something happen and not be there for her when it does. He gestured the map away, looking to Jamie. "Can you fly in that form?"
"fLy?"
"Yes, like a bird." He shifted his wings in their primary form, massive white wings stretching between the tree trunks and branches before curling against his back. "Like I can."
"fReaK fLy. freAK FolLoW Wolf-aDY."
He opened his wings again, shifting his stance wide to launch himself skyward. Jamie was there, his mass slipping beneath him only to coil and shove him towards the canopy.
Had he not been used to such endeavors or had not been expecting it, he was certain he would have broken a wing. Thankfully the path was clear and he shot straight through the trees without injuring anything. He threw his wings out at the faintest hint of slowing down and he pumped his wings as gravity cradled him once more.
Jamie was suddenly there around him, weightless but with enough form to add pressure to Adhara's body. He shuddered, asking, "Can you fly without clinging to me, Jamie?"
"hEigHT."
"Height?" he echoed, confused till he looked down. "Oh. Fear of heights." The form around him quaked at that. "Jamie, can you move to my front so that I may look you in the eye and speak?" The mass shifted around him till the red eyes were before him, watching him. He reached out, hands pressing gently against the mass as if to cup the child's face. There was a rumble of pleasure from Jamie. "I was taught a trick of getting rid of pesky fears like that. Do you want to know what it is?"
The mass against his hands went up and down, the eyes going with it, and he realized that Jamie had nodded. He offered a soft smile and leaned in a bit closer. "When fear is upon you, you have to close your eyes," out of habit, he closed his eyes as he spoke the word, "take a deep breath," automatically, his lungs filled with air before he whispered, "and say the magic words: Abra-kadabra, no fear can control me."
Tears automatically welled up within him but he swallowed them as best he could. He was certain his eyes were still watery when he opened them to look at Jamie. He could deal with his fear for his sister, his twin, later. Right now, he needed to help Jamie.
The child's voice echoed strangely even as a whisper as Jamie parroted his words back to him. "ABra-KADABRa, nO FeAr caN cONtrOl Me." Those red eyes snapped open as a shrill, broken squeal caused Adhara to flinch. "MagIC! MAgIc! wolF-Ady kNoW MaGiC!"
He chuckled softly as the mass let go of him, flying around with no fear of the ground being so far away anymore. "We need to be quick, now. Your sister is waiting for us."
"SisTeR." The mass turned to look at him again. "LEaD. WilL foLLow.
He nodded before aligning himself with the overlaid map and shot off towards the neon marker muted in the distance. So far it was still blue, a simple marker. As long as it didn't change colors, the little trick would work just fine in keeping him calm.
He gestured for Jamie to remain quiet before starting to land. He found a good solid tree and shifted his wings midflight into their secondary form, using them to negate gravity enough for his touch to be light on the branches. Jamie was there with him, up against him so as to keep close and see what he saw. Or so he presumed. He wasn't completely sure beyond the child needing physical comfort now that there was someone there to give it willingly.
It was a few minutes before the marker flickered out and Miko was outlined through the trees. There was a trail that ran right under the branch he had settled in and he could just make out his sister through the trees when her form on his visor became an outline rather than a solid shape. Two other forms were outlined and brief glimpses confirmed it was Hansen and the woman. They passed directly beneath him and Jamie and while none of them noticed them - he was certain his sister knew he was there but gave no outward appearance she had seen him or even knew there was something in the trees above - Jamie's mass was quaking against him.
He had to wait till they were well out of sight and out of hearing before he was able to even talk to Jamie. He reached over, his hand sliding through half the mass before touching something a bit more solid. "Hey, Jamie. Calm down. It's alright."
"sisTeR," Jamie choked, the word sounding weird.
His gaze snapped around where those red eyes were pointed. His visor automatically outlined Miko. "What?" he uselessly asked.
"SIStEr," Jamie repeated with a far stronger voice, shooting through the trees and a breakneck speed.
Adhara followed, secondary form wings shoving him forward as quickly as he dared to go weaving in and out of trees while Jamie seemed to simply faze through trees. He made it in time to land between Jamie and the others, primary form wings spread wide.
"SistEr," Jamie spoke, his voice causing the woman and Miko to flinch.
Adhara frowned, eyes on Hansen who was staring at Jamie's hulking mass.
"Aujamy?" the petite woman spoke, her voice quaking as Adhara felt Jamie shift behind him, curling close to his back as if to hide. "Aujamy, is that really you?"
"no sIStEr?" Jamie's voice quaked as the petite woman's had.
"Ma'am?" Adhara spoke, his voice calm and soft to draw the woman's attention to him even if her eyes remained on Jamie. Hansen had yet to even twitch.
"Always sister," the woman spoke, taking a calculated step forward as she pressed a hand to her chest. "Nelila, remember? Nerry a Lily?"
She shifted, human form giving way to a brilliant dragon one. He felt Jamie move behind him and he turned, watching as Jamie's mass mimicked Nelila's form, trying and failing to become a dragon as well. "lily SISTeR, Lily SistEr, cOme foR FReAk siStEr DID."
The tears that welled up in those dragon eyes made Adhara choke on his own and he looked away, his gaze landing on his twin. She was watching Hansen like a hawk. The only thing the man had done was tip his head back.
Nelila nuzzled the mass that was Jamie. "Of course I came for you. I'm so sorry it took me so long."
"No CaRe, No cArE. SistEr HeRE, sIster here," Jamie happily sang, his mimicked shape losing form in order to press against her chest and long neck.
"I care."
Adhara caught Miko bristling as he had when Hansen finally spoke. The man tipped his head to the side. "How did you ever manage to escape, my precious Lily? I had so hoped to correct my mistakes on your brother on you."
The growl Nelila released sent a thrill of terror down Adhara's spine but he was more concerned with Jamie's withdrawal at Hansen's words. He skitted backwards, a wing reaching out to wrap around the huddled mass not much larger than Adhara's human form. Miko moved to place herself between Hansen and Jamie as Nelila turned to face him.
"With surprising ease," she snarled. "You, however, have slipped too far. I will make sure you pay for what you did to me, to Jamie, and all the other kids you tormented."
Hansen laughed. "Please. Like you have proof. Only you and Jamie survived. It would be no trouble taking you two out along with the Markette twins."
"I would be careful saying things like that," Adhara warned, his voice steady. "You may end up eating those words."
Hansen gave him a grin that was anything but humorous. In fact, it made the man look crazed. "You think so? After all I've done, you think you and your mute of a sister will be able to take me on? Do you even know why I did what I did?"
"Why?" he drawled, automatically translating his sister's sarcastic gesture.
"Immortality."
If there had been crickets, even they would have been silent at the sheer stupidity of that statement.
"Really?" Adhara asked, his voice contemptuous.
"You're vicuran!" Hansen suddenly barked, gesturing wide. "You were born with the ability to change forms, heal faster, be stronger, and then there are others born into stronger races, leaving us lowly humans racing to catch up with something we'll never catch up on." He stabbed at his own chest with his finger. "I wanted to be beyond that. I wanted to see if I could give a normal human the abilities of the vicuran or agirian races only to discover that I had found the answer to immortality. The only downside was that it was imperfect and I needed children to gather the purest forms of the materials I needed to create the perfect version of immortality. When I had enough to test a sample from, I would use the kids I no longer needed and the results were fascinating."
Adhara shuddered but he wasn't sure if it was out of fear or disgust.
"Jamie here was one such subject. I had intended to do the same to precious Lily here but she slipped between my fingers before I could do anything."
"I'm glad I got away," Nelila snarled, barring her teeth. "It meant being able to save Aujamy."
The grin that broke across Hansen's face made every fiber of Adhara's being stand on end. "You think so?"
"Miko!" he shouted, leaping at his sister as she turned to reach for him just as Hansen uttered, "Oscuramento."
His visor translated the Italian word automatically, the word 'blackout' quickly on its tail. For a split second he thought that it was just a bluff, but then Jamie's form went rigid and spines shot from him like arrows still connected to the body of the launcher. The spines were pointed at the tips and nothing was safe from the sudden hundreds of spines flying through the air. As soon as they landed, the spines jerked and became tendrils that whipped around, flinging dirt and debris everywhere.
A spine caught Adhara in the side, going straight through to catch his sister just below her ribs on the left side. Another caught him in the back of his left thigh and grazed his shoulder before embedding itself into Miko's. They got off lucky. Nelila took far too many and was dead before the spines could even change. Adhara took some satisfaction out of all this when one impaled Hansen right between the eyes. It was better that the man was dead rather than risk him harming another child.
They were thrown into the air and he wrapped himself bodily around his sister, protecting her as he shifted forms, wings in primary in an attempt to control their decent.
He hit the ground, hard, and felt a good number of bones break, a few in his wings. The cry of pain echoed on the trees as the sound of him tumbling with his sister filled the space. They came to a stop and he could see the barricade,
He didn't dare fathom just how strong Jamie was in such a state as he cried out, "Hey! Can you hear me?! Can I get some help here!? Anyone!" His voice cracked and he fought a cough as black edged his vision. He thought he saw eyes on them. "Please! Someone help!"
His shouting rang in his ears as it seemed as those that could see them just stared.
Five Words, One Story
Anything can inspire you to write. A movie, a song, a picture….a collection of random words posed to you by a strange Scottish lady? Excellent!! Every Friday five things will be posted. It is up to the writer to make them into a short story!! Let your imagination go wild, dream up a land where frogs and kettles coexist in harmony or a terrifying tale of a motorbike driven by a killer pigeon!!!! Entries may be anywhere from 500 to 1,500 words!
Each week's words are in bold.
Each week's words are in bold.
He was bent low over the handlebars of his motorbike against the harsh setting sun. His scarf, red from the blood of his enemies, snapped and waved behind him in the wind, a flag of who he was as he made his way across the barren desert. There was no sign of relief from either the heat or the unstoppable thirst that ate at him. What water he had was long since dried up and it was only him and his trusty motorbike taking on the expanse of desert.
With no sign of shade or water, he pressed on with the hope tha-
A sandstorm came out of nowhere and a horse suddenly appeared.
"Mom! Amy's messing up my story again!"
The afternoon sun was high above the backyard. A boy was kneeling in the sandbox with a toy motorbike in hand, a red ribbon tied around the driver's neck as if it were a scarf. In front of the boy was a girl younger than he was with a plastic horse in the way of his toy.
"Bryce, she just wants to play with you," a woman called from the deck, a dripping watering hose in hand. "Why don't you include her in your story?"
Bryce made a face. "But she's too little! She'll just mess everything up."
"You could always learn how to play with her," his mom offered, voice amused.
Bryce rolled his eyes. "But I don't want to."
"Then I don't know what to tell you." She looked at him, serious but kind. "However, that sandbox is for both of you so you have to share. I understand that it is upsetting when you want something to go a certain way but things change regularly and being willing to work with the change instead of against it will make things easier."
Bryce made a face again. "I don't want to."
His mom chuckled. "None of us do, love, but it is what it is." Amy plopped down in the sand, plastic horse still in hand as she watched him. Bryce scooted away, not at all happy with her presence. "You will learn to be happy with being able to adapt to new things easily in a few years."
"No I won't," he spoke stubbornly, nudging his sister's approaching toy away with his hand.
"Ok," his mom said and the conversation fell away as she went on watering the plants.
Bryce, for his part and with one eye on his mom, scooted his sister to the farthest corner of the small sandbox. She giggled, clapping her hands as best she could with the toy horse still firmly clutched in one. Situating himself once more, he went back to his storytelling.
Time was running out. He needed to make it to the other side of the desert before-
Amy's hand wrapped around the ribbon trailing behind his toy and pulled hard.
"Hey!" he shouted, yanking on his toy to get the ribbon out of her hold. She was holding on much tighter than he had realized and the ribbon stayed in her grip. "Let go!" She giggled, finding this an enjoyable game as he yanked on it again. "Let go!"
He gave one last yank and the head of the motorbike's driver broke off, the ribbon slipping from the rest of the toy with it. He watched it bounce off of Amy's forehead. He sat there too stunned to feel anything as he watched his sister's eyes well up with tears.
She started crying and suddenly he was mad, very mad. His favorite toy was now missing its head and it was all his sister's fault. Without thinking, he picked up her plastic horse and threw it as far as he could. It bounced off the nearby fence and landed in the mud.
"Bryce!"
He flinched and, just like that, he went from being very mad to suddenly very scared. He looked up, defiance still keeping him from actually cowering and he gave his dad a look. However, instead of looking angry like Bryce had thought the man would be, instead the man looked very calm. Bryce folded his arms and looked away as his dad squatted beside the sandbox. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Amy get picked up and jealousy rushed through him. Why wasn't his dad holding him? He was the one with a broken toy.
"Hey, bug-a-boo," his dad cooed. Amy's crying calmed to sniffles as her attention turned to their dad. Bryce didn't look over but he kept listening. "Does your head still hurt?"
There was an affirming hum along with another sniffle.
"Do you want me to kiss it better?"
Bryce didn't hear nor see what she had done but he was certain she had nodded, forehead nestled on their dad's shoulder. There was the sound of his dad kissing Amy's forehead. "All better?"
Probably another nod for his dad turned his attention on Bryce. "Bryce." Bryce looked over even though he didn't want to. His dad reached out and ruffled his hair. "You ok, buddy?"
Bryce shook his head. "Amy broke my toy."
His dad's head tipped to the side still completely focused on the boy. "It was an accident. You know that, right?"
"But she pulled on the ribbon!" Bryce shouted, flailing his arms.
His dad nodded. "That she did, but her intent had not been to break the toy, had it? What had she wanted to do?"
Bryce frowned, already used to his parents and their odd ways with dealing with these kind of things. "She wanted to play with the ribbon."
"Right." His dad shifted so that he was sitting crosslegged by the sand box. "And had she been older, what would you have done instead of yelling at her?"
"Asked her to let go," he grumbled, looking away.
"And since she's younger, what do you have to do instead?"
Bryce sighed, annoyed. "I have to be careful and understanding. I have to give her something else to play with."
"And if she wants to play with you?"
Again Bryce sighed but this time he was kind of resigned to it all. "Then I take the time to play with her till she is distracted by something else."
"Correct. Now." His dad shifted Amy to his other leg. "What would you have felt had the toy broken and hit you in the forehead?"
"Upset," he spoke without thinking. "And confused."
"Right. And then how would you have felt had someone thrown your toy into the mud after that had happened?"
"But my-" Bryce started, angry again.
"I know, Bryce," his dad soothed. "Can you answer the question for me, at least?"
Bryce grumbled for a second before he did. "I would have been more upset."
"Right." There was footfall on the other side of the sandbox and Bryce looked up to see his mom walking over, hose in one hand, freshly rinsed horse in the other. His dad continued talking as his mom handed Amy her horse. "Sometimes we do things out of our emotions we would not like others to do to us. When that happens, when we do something we would not like, we apologize. We say sorry and mean it before correcting our actions or making amends. Sometimes others will not want to hear it but I'm sure your sister would be happy if you were able to apologize, mean it, and do something different."
"But what about my toy?" Bryce asked, not willing to let that piece up.
His dad smiled. "Your mom's already fixed it."
Bryce looked over and found that indeed his mom had fixed it. The biker's head was back on and the ribbon back in place as a scarf. He took it when his mom handed it to him. He turned his toy over, mulling all this over for a moment, before turning to meet his sister's watching gaze. "I'm sorry, Amy," he said and he meant it. "Do you still want to play?"
Her face lit up and she squirmed out of their dad's lap back into the sand. His dad reached out and fixed the sunflower barrette holding back Amy's hair before stepping away with his mom. Bryce settled back into the sand and placed his toy before him. His sister placed her plastic horse beside the bike.
The journey for freedom from the hot sands would be long and hard for both of them, he was certain. As his red scarf trailed behind him in the wind, he looked over at the rider beside him, a girl on top of a strong horse, a sunflower tucked into her braided hair and the sun glinting off of the shackles around her wrists and ankles. She was beaming at him and he smiled back behind his scarf. It would be worth it, though, he decided. There was no other companion he wanted on this journey than her.
It was her freedom they were fighting for anyways.
With no sign of shade or water, he pressed on with the hope tha-
A sandstorm came out of nowhere and a horse suddenly appeared.
"Mom! Amy's messing up my story again!"
The afternoon sun was high above the backyard. A boy was kneeling in the sandbox with a toy motorbike in hand, a red ribbon tied around the driver's neck as if it were a scarf. In front of the boy was a girl younger than he was with a plastic horse in the way of his toy.
"Bryce, she just wants to play with you," a woman called from the deck, a dripping watering hose in hand. "Why don't you include her in your story?"
Bryce made a face. "But she's too little! She'll just mess everything up."
"You could always learn how to play with her," his mom offered, voice amused.
Bryce rolled his eyes. "But I don't want to."
"Then I don't know what to tell you." She looked at him, serious but kind. "However, that sandbox is for both of you so you have to share. I understand that it is upsetting when you want something to go a certain way but things change regularly and being willing to work with the change instead of against it will make things easier."
Bryce made a face again. "I don't want to."
His mom chuckled. "None of us do, love, but it is what it is." Amy plopped down in the sand, plastic horse still in hand as she watched him. Bryce scooted away, not at all happy with her presence. "You will learn to be happy with being able to adapt to new things easily in a few years."
"No I won't," he spoke stubbornly, nudging his sister's approaching toy away with his hand.
"Ok," his mom said and the conversation fell away as she went on watering the plants.
Bryce, for his part and with one eye on his mom, scooted his sister to the farthest corner of the small sandbox. She giggled, clapping her hands as best she could with the toy horse still firmly clutched in one. Situating himself once more, he went back to his storytelling.
Time was running out. He needed to make it to the other side of the desert before-
Amy's hand wrapped around the ribbon trailing behind his toy and pulled hard.
"Hey!" he shouted, yanking on his toy to get the ribbon out of her hold. She was holding on much tighter than he had realized and the ribbon stayed in her grip. "Let go!" She giggled, finding this an enjoyable game as he yanked on it again. "Let go!"
He gave one last yank and the head of the motorbike's driver broke off, the ribbon slipping from the rest of the toy with it. He watched it bounce off of Amy's forehead. He sat there too stunned to feel anything as he watched his sister's eyes well up with tears.
She started crying and suddenly he was mad, very mad. His favorite toy was now missing its head and it was all his sister's fault. Without thinking, he picked up her plastic horse and threw it as far as he could. It bounced off the nearby fence and landed in the mud.
"Bryce!"
He flinched and, just like that, he went from being very mad to suddenly very scared. He looked up, defiance still keeping him from actually cowering and he gave his dad a look. However, instead of looking angry like Bryce had thought the man would be, instead the man looked very calm. Bryce folded his arms and looked away as his dad squatted beside the sandbox. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Amy get picked up and jealousy rushed through him. Why wasn't his dad holding him? He was the one with a broken toy.
"Hey, bug-a-boo," his dad cooed. Amy's crying calmed to sniffles as her attention turned to their dad. Bryce didn't look over but he kept listening. "Does your head still hurt?"
There was an affirming hum along with another sniffle.
"Do you want me to kiss it better?"
Bryce didn't hear nor see what she had done but he was certain she had nodded, forehead nestled on their dad's shoulder. There was the sound of his dad kissing Amy's forehead. "All better?"
Probably another nod for his dad turned his attention on Bryce. "Bryce." Bryce looked over even though he didn't want to. His dad reached out and ruffled his hair. "You ok, buddy?"
Bryce shook his head. "Amy broke my toy."
His dad's head tipped to the side still completely focused on the boy. "It was an accident. You know that, right?"
"But she pulled on the ribbon!" Bryce shouted, flailing his arms.
His dad nodded. "That she did, but her intent had not been to break the toy, had it? What had she wanted to do?"
Bryce frowned, already used to his parents and their odd ways with dealing with these kind of things. "She wanted to play with the ribbon."
"Right." His dad shifted so that he was sitting crosslegged by the sand box. "And had she been older, what would you have done instead of yelling at her?"
"Asked her to let go," he grumbled, looking away.
"And since she's younger, what do you have to do instead?"
Bryce sighed, annoyed. "I have to be careful and understanding. I have to give her something else to play with."
"And if she wants to play with you?"
Again Bryce sighed but this time he was kind of resigned to it all. "Then I take the time to play with her till she is distracted by something else."
"Correct. Now." His dad shifted Amy to his other leg. "What would you have felt had the toy broken and hit you in the forehead?"
"Upset," he spoke without thinking. "And confused."
"Right. And then how would you have felt had someone thrown your toy into the mud after that had happened?"
"But my-" Bryce started, angry again.
"I know, Bryce," his dad soothed. "Can you answer the question for me, at least?"
Bryce grumbled for a second before he did. "I would have been more upset."
"Right." There was footfall on the other side of the sandbox and Bryce looked up to see his mom walking over, hose in one hand, freshly rinsed horse in the other. His dad continued talking as his mom handed Amy her horse. "Sometimes we do things out of our emotions we would not like others to do to us. When that happens, when we do something we would not like, we apologize. We say sorry and mean it before correcting our actions or making amends. Sometimes others will not want to hear it but I'm sure your sister would be happy if you were able to apologize, mean it, and do something different."
"But what about my toy?" Bryce asked, not willing to let that piece up.
His dad smiled. "Your mom's already fixed it."
Bryce looked over and found that indeed his mom had fixed it. The biker's head was back on and the ribbon back in place as a scarf. He took it when his mom handed it to him. He turned his toy over, mulling all this over for a moment, before turning to meet his sister's watching gaze. "I'm sorry, Amy," he said and he meant it. "Do you still want to play?"
Her face lit up and she squirmed out of their dad's lap back into the sand. His dad reached out and fixed the sunflower barrette holding back Amy's hair before stepping away with his mom. Bryce settled back into the sand and placed his toy before him. His sister placed her plastic horse beside the bike.
The journey for freedom from the hot sands would be long and hard for both of them, he was certain. As his red scarf trailed behind him in the wind, he looked over at the rider beside him, a girl on top of a strong horse, a sunflower tucked into her braided hair and the sun glinting off of the shackles around her wrists and ankles. She was beaming at him and he smiled back behind his scarf. It would be worth it, though, he decided. There was no other companion he wanted on this journey than her.
It was her freedom they were fighting for anyways.
He could hear them coming and he wasn't sure if it was confidence or them accepting what was coming next that caused them to not even attempt to sneak up on him. Though, they could be trying for all that he knew. The castle certainly echoed something fierce and he wouldn't put it passed them to fail at stealth.
The crescent moon above seemed to mock him as he closed his eyes against its light, the evening's soft breath caressing him as he stood at the open window.
The door behind him creaked at it opened and he opened his eyes but didn't turn around. He listened to them approach, to those that had hesitation in their steps and to those that stepped without it. The group paused halfway in the room but one came a stop between him and the group and he knew who it was even before he turned around.
The room was bathed in the yellow light of torches, a sharp contrast against the blue white light of the moon that was his only light near the window. He had put out the torches on this side of the room for that effect alone. He figured if this was his last stand, he was going to make it look good.
"It seems you have found me, dear Hero," he teased, the smile easy and his arms opening in greeting. It was easy to fake this. He had done it enough times before to know how to pretend he was the villain they saw him as. "Did you miss me that much?"
"Enough, Neryk," the hero spoke, their voice weary and the name actually sending a spark of annoyance through him. "It's time this whole cycle ends."
"Oh?" he drawled, his lips curling into a sneer as he looked at them in disdain. "And who was it that initiated this whole cycle, Kyren." The name was spat as if it disgusted him. It certainly wasn't pleasant to say. "I have told you many times that this is not my doing. It is yours."
The hero shook their head but there was no fight behind their eyes. They truly looked as tired as they had sounded when they had first spoken. "No, it isn't."
He scoffed. "Fine. Continue being blind." He unsheathed his sword and gave them a vicious grin. "I'll just continue enjoying this till the day this cycle finally crumbles."
He wasn't sure how he managed to lie so perfectly because it certainly wasn't anywhere near the truth. He was tired of this repetition, tired of the hand he had been dealt, and he had tried correcting it, tried breaking it, but no matter what he had said, the hero wouldn't listen. And now they had the audacity to say they wanted it to end? It just made him even more tired.
Their swords clashed without him paying much attention. They had done this dance so many times, he could predict their every move with his eyes closed. They had been fighting for so long, nothing they ever did took him by surprise. Not even their cohorts surprised him anymore, not with the number the hero had been through over the cycles.
But just as he had learned the hero's way of fighting, the hero had learned his and their battles now lasted hours. He was certain one had lasted a full day but that was nothing compared to how abruptly this one suddenly changed.
They had ended up on the balcony. They always ended up somewhere where one of them would be cornered. As of late, the hero had started becoming the victorious one. This time was no different and he found himself up against the banister, the roaring of the river and its waterfall several 100 yards to the east white noise as he worked to remain on top even with himself being cornered and the hero bound to win.
A slash at him forced him backwards and his back collided with the banister harder than he had intended.
The crack broke through the white noise of the water below as he realized he was going farther back than was safe.
The horror on the hero's face was new as he fell backwards off the balcony, watching as they leapt towards him with an outstretched hand and missed, the butterfly birthmark on the inside of their left wrist stark against their skin as their armor shifted enough for it to peak out.
The water was ice cold when he hit it but what killed him was the rocks at the bottom of the waterfall.
It seemed to have been enough, though, for he woke up groggy and in a new body with memories of a simple life, a modern life. It had been quite a few cycles since they had ended up in a modern era. Certainly wasn't futuristic if the torn jeans he was wearing and the tv in the corner were anything to go by. At least this time he was an adult living on their own. The last time he had ended up in a modern time, he had either a family to deal with or had been a kid.
Those had always been the hardest. Even with the ones that had families or relations that weren't very kind or loving, there was always someone there to shower him in unconditional love and companionship. Those were the hardest to leave.
He slowly moved to a sitting position the couch. Memories of the life he didn't actually live told him that waking on the couch was a common occurrence and he wasn't looking forward to sleepless nights of nightmares. At least he was in an era where the tv and media player had timers on them to shut off after a certain amount of non-use time. He hated the ones where he woke up to white noise or the sound of some show playing on the tv. He hated the ones that had alarms to wake him upon cycle change too. Those meant he had no time to acclimate himself to the new cycle.
Pushing himself to his feet, he started to wander the apartment. It wasn't overly big but it was enough and clean enough to have him comfortable with the space. Maybe this cycle wouldn't be like previous ones. Maybe he would actually get to live a normal life.
He doubted that whatever deity was controlling his cruel fate would be that kind.
The apartment was cleaned and reorganized before the sun set 12 hours later. Hungry, he entered the kitchen to see what he could throw together with what was in there. There were several containers of leftovers and he grabbed one, the memories of the life before his arrival informing him what the food was supposed to be and when it had been made. He glanced at the closest calendar. The food was still good and he went about reheating it.
There was a knock on the door when the microwave beeped. He glanced towards the door frowning but he took the time to remove his freshly warmed food and a fork from the silverware drawer before he even moved towards his front door to answer it.
He pulled it open with the fork in his mouth, a bite of the surprisingly delicious food resting on his tongue. He blinked at the person on the other side, not at all concerned with the fact that he was currently shirtless and in sweat pants. He had every intent of going to bed after his meal and his unexpected guest was not going to change that.
He arched an eyebrow at them as he pulled the fork from between his lips, chewing on his bite.
The stranger didn't seemed to need him to speak for their raised their left hand, baring their wrist for him.
He choked on his food when the butterfly registered in his brain.
He glared at them, snapping around what food remained in his mouth, "How the fuck did you find me so quickly and why the hell are you here?"
"I want to talk."
He gave them a flat look but the hero never looked away. Instead, their calm gaze met his and, for the first time since this all began, he realized he was probably looking at the closest accurate reincarnation of his foe. Dark skin, darker eyes and hair, and the pale butterfly birthmark, all of it on a toned male body. He was still white as he had ever been with the same brown hair and brown eyes. Plain, bland, and with a crescent moon birthmark on his right hip that even now was visible. He hated all of it.
"About what?" he challenged, not moving from where he stood with his dinner still in hand, fork included.
A look crossed the hero's face. "This."
They were across the threshold, hands soft and warm on his cheeks as their lips clashed.
{Continues in Week 3 - Fatal Fantasies}
The crescent moon above seemed to mock him as he closed his eyes against its light, the evening's soft breath caressing him as he stood at the open window.
The door behind him creaked at it opened and he opened his eyes but didn't turn around. He listened to them approach, to those that had hesitation in their steps and to those that stepped without it. The group paused halfway in the room but one came a stop between him and the group and he knew who it was even before he turned around.
The room was bathed in the yellow light of torches, a sharp contrast against the blue white light of the moon that was his only light near the window. He had put out the torches on this side of the room for that effect alone. He figured if this was his last stand, he was going to make it look good.
"It seems you have found me, dear Hero," he teased, the smile easy and his arms opening in greeting. It was easy to fake this. He had done it enough times before to know how to pretend he was the villain they saw him as. "Did you miss me that much?"
"Enough, Neryk," the hero spoke, their voice weary and the name actually sending a spark of annoyance through him. "It's time this whole cycle ends."
"Oh?" he drawled, his lips curling into a sneer as he looked at them in disdain. "And who was it that initiated this whole cycle, Kyren." The name was spat as if it disgusted him. It certainly wasn't pleasant to say. "I have told you many times that this is not my doing. It is yours."
The hero shook their head but there was no fight behind their eyes. They truly looked as tired as they had sounded when they had first spoken. "No, it isn't."
He scoffed. "Fine. Continue being blind." He unsheathed his sword and gave them a vicious grin. "I'll just continue enjoying this till the day this cycle finally crumbles."
He wasn't sure how he managed to lie so perfectly because it certainly wasn't anywhere near the truth. He was tired of this repetition, tired of the hand he had been dealt, and he had tried correcting it, tried breaking it, but no matter what he had said, the hero wouldn't listen. And now they had the audacity to say they wanted it to end? It just made him even more tired.
Their swords clashed without him paying much attention. They had done this dance so many times, he could predict their every move with his eyes closed. They had been fighting for so long, nothing they ever did took him by surprise. Not even their cohorts surprised him anymore, not with the number the hero had been through over the cycles.
But just as he had learned the hero's way of fighting, the hero had learned his and their battles now lasted hours. He was certain one had lasted a full day but that was nothing compared to how abruptly this one suddenly changed.
They had ended up on the balcony. They always ended up somewhere where one of them would be cornered. As of late, the hero had started becoming the victorious one. This time was no different and he found himself up against the banister, the roaring of the river and its waterfall several 100 yards to the east white noise as he worked to remain on top even with himself being cornered and the hero bound to win.
A slash at him forced him backwards and his back collided with the banister harder than he had intended.
The crack broke through the white noise of the water below as he realized he was going farther back than was safe.
The horror on the hero's face was new as he fell backwards off the balcony, watching as they leapt towards him with an outstretched hand and missed, the butterfly birthmark on the inside of their left wrist stark against their skin as their armor shifted enough for it to peak out.
The water was ice cold when he hit it but what killed him was the rocks at the bottom of the waterfall.
It seemed to have been enough, though, for he woke up groggy and in a new body with memories of a simple life, a modern life. It had been quite a few cycles since they had ended up in a modern era. Certainly wasn't futuristic if the torn jeans he was wearing and the tv in the corner were anything to go by. At least this time he was an adult living on their own. The last time he had ended up in a modern time, he had either a family to deal with or had been a kid.
Those had always been the hardest. Even with the ones that had families or relations that weren't very kind or loving, there was always someone there to shower him in unconditional love and companionship. Those were the hardest to leave.
He slowly moved to a sitting position the couch. Memories of the life he didn't actually live told him that waking on the couch was a common occurrence and he wasn't looking forward to sleepless nights of nightmares. At least he was in an era where the tv and media player had timers on them to shut off after a certain amount of non-use time. He hated the ones where he woke up to white noise or the sound of some show playing on the tv. He hated the ones that had alarms to wake him upon cycle change too. Those meant he had no time to acclimate himself to the new cycle.
Pushing himself to his feet, he started to wander the apartment. It wasn't overly big but it was enough and clean enough to have him comfortable with the space. Maybe this cycle wouldn't be like previous ones. Maybe he would actually get to live a normal life.
He doubted that whatever deity was controlling his cruel fate would be that kind.
The apartment was cleaned and reorganized before the sun set 12 hours later. Hungry, he entered the kitchen to see what he could throw together with what was in there. There were several containers of leftovers and he grabbed one, the memories of the life before his arrival informing him what the food was supposed to be and when it had been made. He glanced at the closest calendar. The food was still good and he went about reheating it.
There was a knock on the door when the microwave beeped. He glanced towards the door frowning but he took the time to remove his freshly warmed food and a fork from the silverware drawer before he even moved towards his front door to answer it.
He pulled it open with the fork in his mouth, a bite of the surprisingly delicious food resting on his tongue. He blinked at the person on the other side, not at all concerned with the fact that he was currently shirtless and in sweat pants. He had every intent of going to bed after his meal and his unexpected guest was not going to change that.
He arched an eyebrow at them as he pulled the fork from between his lips, chewing on his bite.
The stranger didn't seemed to need him to speak for their raised their left hand, baring their wrist for him.
He choked on his food when the butterfly registered in his brain.
He glared at them, snapping around what food remained in his mouth, "How the fuck did you find me so quickly and why the hell are you here?"
"I want to talk."
He gave them a flat look but the hero never looked away. Instead, their calm gaze met his and, for the first time since this all began, he realized he was probably looking at the closest accurate reincarnation of his foe. Dark skin, darker eyes and hair, and the pale butterfly birthmark, all of it on a toned male body. He was still white as he had ever been with the same brown hair and brown eyes. Plain, bland, and with a crescent moon birthmark on his right hip that even now was visible. He hated all of it.
"About what?" he challenged, not moving from where he stood with his dinner still in hand, fork included.
A look crossed the hero's face. "This."
They were across the threshold, hands soft and warm on his cheeks as their lips clashed.
{Continues in Week 3 - Fatal Fantasies}
{Continues Week 2 - Life Cycles}
His breath caught in his throat as his mind zeroed in on the other's lips pressed against his. He reached out and blindly grabbed at the other, fisting their shirt when the fabric touched his fingertips. He pulled them close, egging them on as his tongue sought theirs, the rush of sensation - of the taste - wrapped around him so thoroughly that he was dizzy from it.
Just as with everything before, the hero pressed him, tongue fighting his in the heated kiss, not letting him dominate even as he tried to. But, then, that was the only thing he was trying to dominate in.
The higher parts of his shoulders pressed against some wall meaning he had nowhere to go as the hero pressed fully against him and he didn't even know they had moved, had thought the vertigo was from the kiss, but the pressure brought his attention away and their hands were pressed against his skin under his shirt, caressing his ribs from the front around to the back, fingers trailing down his spine-
He broke the kiss, gasping for air he hadn't realized he needed and it made everything seem sharper and he was shaking, sucking in air as the hero's lips and teeth found his jaw, his neck, and he wanted....he wanted....
"Wait," he rasped out, pulling to gain distance.
When had he buried his hand into those locks of hair?
"You," he said breathlessly, body quaking as one of the hero's hands rubbed up his back. "You wanted to talk." He tried to pull himself together before they did something they both regretted. "We need to talk before," a breath, a much needed breath, "before either of us no longer can."
The hero's pupils were dilated, hair a mess, and looking well kissed and far too gone in all of it that he feared they wouldn't respond. He wasn't certain he was up to trying to stop them if they simply kissed him and continued on as if he hadn't spoken. He might just catch the hero's face in his hands and say screw it before kissing the life out of the both of them.
But the hero pulled away, nodding as they blinked as if waking from a dream. "Right," they spoke. And again, as if they were making sure they had said it, "Right."
They pulled away but they were still close, a hand still against the bare skin just above his pants on his hip. "We need to talk. Couch?"
He stepped forward, legs shaking and he was scared he would collapse, would not be able to make it to the couch before he gave into the need for more, for so much more, but then he felt the couch cushions against the back of his legs and he was sitting without remembering that he had even walked there and their hand was still on him as they sat sideways on the couch, facing him and he couldn't breathe-
"So," he spoke, the word a bit shaky but it cleared his thoughts enough for him to bring himself back together, not that it helped him with choosing the rest of his words. "Is it true attraction or just some way of relieving some stress?"
The hero looked taken aback. "What? Why would it be anythin-"
"Because we've been fighting for countless cycles," he cut in, his cheeks burning. Because he had been asking himself for cycles and here he was with his highest fantasies coming to life and he was question it with the hero. "Cycles of us striving to take the other out and you arbitrarily decide that it's a good'a cycle as any to outright kiss me."
"You kissed me back," the hero countered almost like they were defending themself. A bark of a laugh leapt out of his throat. The hero's cheeks colored a bit and he found himself enjoying it- "so clearly I'm not alone in this."
"Yes, but I've been pining after you since before the cycles began," he countered, though it was a tad bit of an exaggeration and a slip of the tongue, not that he had much to lose with telling the truth. While the hero certainly was attractive in every reincarnation, their personality was less than desirable in the beginning. It was as he watched them grow stronger and more confident - and more beautiful - that he found himself falling for them without realizing that was what he was doing. "And where you had freedom for whatever you desired, I was stuck in the role of the villain, forced to strangle my emotions till they haunted me in my dreams."
The hero flinched but there was a fire in their eyes he recognized. "There was no way I was going to move on feelings like this and you know it." Their expression broke and the fire nearly went out. He wished it had stayed. He was familiar with arguing with them. "I would have loved nothing more to have stopped this nonsense when I realized what I was truly feeling all those cycles ago."
"And how long has it been?" he asked, his voice weak, the heat gone when they had none to give him in return.
"Bronze strawberries."
That enough for him to know which one and he flinched back as if they had smacked him. He snarled, "Must have been right before because you were vicious that particular cycle and the ones that followed."
"And I am so sorry for that," the hero blurted, startling him. "It doesn't matter what kind of thing we were caught in. I had no right to take my frustration and confusion out on you. None."
He stared at the hero, confused but strangely soothed by their words. He reached out and covered their hand with his, gaining their gaze. "Regardless of what happened, we now have this between us clear as day. And as much as the array of bronze strawberry statues still haunts my nightmares," he shuddered and they squeezed his hand, sympathetic and regretful, "I am more than happy to stop these violent cycles even if this is the only one."
He was certain it was bliss that filled the hero's expression before the hero's hands were on his face again as they kissed him. His back hit the couch cushions and for what seemed like a blissful eternity, his word was nothing but that kiss.
Searing pain filled his chest, one that he was very unfortunate to recognize as being stabbed in the chest. He hissed as the hero pulled away enough for him to see their smirk but not whatever they had driven into his sternum.
"Are you stupid?" they drawled, adding a brief amount of pressure to his chest. He gasped in pain. "Did you really think that you, the villain, would ever have a hero fall for you?" Another increase of pressure just to decrease. "You're pathetic."
And again.
"Vile."
And again.
"Pig."
And again.
"You will never have this."
And again.
"Never."
He couldn't breathe and his body reacted by instinctively sending him into a coughing fit. The pressure on his chest and whatever was over him vanished as he rolled onto his side as he hacked up far more liquid than was safe and probably vomiting while he was at it. A cold breeze washed over him. Or maybe it was warm for he realized he was drenched from head to toe and any touch of air against the water on his person seemed to freeze him. He shuddered, suddenly very cold as through his watery gaze he caught sight of a moonlit lake. He blinked once, twice, and the scene cleared, showing the Moon next to Venus in the sky, both shining as brightly as ever.
He jerked when something brushed against him and he whipped around to find the hero standing before them, a dry cloak outstretched between them as if the hero was making to cover him in it. He took them in, eyes wide with whatever emotion he was drowning in.
They were sopping wet, trembling, and flushed. Their breath was coming in pants as if they had taken great effort and it took him a moment to realize they were armorless, long blond hair sticking to everything, even their cheeks and forehead, blue eyes filled with both relief and concern and it made him sick.
"Get away from me," he growled, shoving at their offered aid as he stumbled to his feet choking on disbelief - a dream, it had only been a horrible, torturous dream - as he righted himself back in the cycle. "Haven't you done enough?"
Hurt crossed the hero's face and regret was bitter on the back of his tongue. He didn't take it back, though. Instead, he turned away from the hero and their cohorts and started for the castle, ignoring the cold - the sorrow - strangling him as he ignored the shouts of his name as he stumbled.
And fell.
His breath caught in his throat as his mind zeroed in on the other's lips pressed against his. He reached out and blindly grabbed at the other, fisting their shirt when the fabric touched his fingertips. He pulled them close, egging them on as his tongue sought theirs, the rush of sensation - of the taste - wrapped around him so thoroughly that he was dizzy from it.
Just as with everything before, the hero pressed him, tongue fighting his in the heated kiss, not letting him dominate even as he tried to. But, then, that was the only thing he was trying to dominate in.
The higher parts of his shoulders pressed against some wall meaning he had nowhere to go as the hero pressed fully against him and he didn't even know they had moved, had thought the vertigo was from the kiss, but the pressure brought his attention away and their hands were pressed against his skin under his shirt, caressing his ribs from the front around to the back, fingers trailing down his spine-
He broke the kiss, gasping for air he hadn't realized he needed and it made everything seem sharper and he was shaking, sucking in air as the hero's lips and teeth found his jaw, his neck, and he wanted....he wanted....
"Wait," he rasped out, pulling to gain distance.
When had he buried his hand into those locks of hair?
"You," he said breathlessly, body quaking as one of the hero's hands rubbed up his back. "You wanted to talk." He tried to pull himself together before they did something they both regretted. "We need to talk before," a breath, a much needed breath, "before either of us no longer can."
The hero's pupils were dilated, hair a mess, and looking well kissed and far too gone in all of it that he feared they wouldn't respond. He wasn't certain he was up to trying to stop them if they simply kissed him and continued on as if he hadn't spoken. He might just catch the hero's face in his hands and say screw it before kissing the life out of the both of them.
But the hero pulled away, nodding as they blinked as if waking from a dream. "Right," they spoke. And again, as if they were making sure they had said it, "Right."
They pulled away but they were still close, a hand still against the bare skin just above his pants on his hip. "We need to talk. Couch?"
He stepped forward, legs shaking and he was scared he would collapse, would not be able to make it to the couch before he gave into the need for more, for so much more, but then he felt the couch cushions against the back of his legs and he was sitting without remembering that he had even walked there and their hand was still on him as they sat sideways on the couch, facing him and he couldn't breathe-
"So," he spoke, the word a bit shaky but it cleared his thoughts enough for him to bring himself back together, not that it helped him with choosing the rest of his words. "Is it true attraction or just some way of relieving some stress?"
The hero looked taken aback. "What? Why would it be anythin-"
"Because we've been fighting for countless cycles," he cut in, his cheeks burning. Because he had been asking himself for cycles and here he was with his highest fantasies coming to life and he was question it with the hero. "Cycles of us striving to take the other out and you arbitrarily decide that it's a good'a cycle as any to outright kiss me."
"You kissed me back," the hero countered almost like they were defending themself. A bark of a laugh leapt out of his throat. The hero's cheeks colored a bit and he found himself enjoying it- "so clearly I'm not alone in this."
"Yes, but I've been pining after you since before the cycles began," he countered, though it was a tad bit of an exaggeration and a slip of the tongue, not that he had much to lose with telling the truth. While the hero certainly was attractive in every reincarnation, their personality was less than desirable in the beginning. It was as he watched them grow stronger and more confident - and more beautiful - that he found himself falling for them without realizing that was what he was doing. "And where you had freedom for whatever you desired, I was stuck in the role of the villain, forced to strangle my emotions till they haunted me in my dreams."
The hero flinched but there was a fire in their eyes he recognized. "There was no way I was going to move on feelings like this and you know it." Their expression broke and the fire nearly went out. He wished it had stayed. He was familiar with arguing with them. "I would have loved nothing more to have stopped this nonsense when I realized what I was truly feeling all those cycles ago."
"And how long has it been?" he asked, his voice weak, the heat gone when they had none to give him in return.
"Bronze strawberries."
That enough for him to know which one and he flinched back as if they had smacked him. He snarled, "Must have been right before because you were vicious that particular cycle and the ones that followed."
"And I am so sorry for that," the hero blurted, startling him. "It doesn't matter what kind of thing we were caught in. I had no right to take my frustration and confusion out on you. None."
He stared at the hero, confused but strangely soothed by their words. He reached out and covered their hand with his, gaining their gaze. "Regardless of what happened, we now have this between us clear as day. And as much as the array of bronze strawberry statues still haunts my nightmares," he shuddered and they squeezed his hand, sympathetic and regretful, "I am more than happy to stop these violent cycles even if this is the only one."
He was certain it was bliss that filled the hero's expression before the hero's hands were on his face again as they kissed him. His back hit the couch cushions and for what seemed like a blissful eternity, his word was nothing but that kiss.
Searing pain filled his chest, one that he was very unfortunate to recognize as being stabbed in the chest. He hissed as the hero pulled away enough for him to see their smirk but not whatever they had driven into his sternum.
"Are you stupid?" they drawled, adding a brief amount of pressure to his chest. He gasped in pain. "Did you really think that you, the villain, would ever have a hero fall for you?" Another increase of pressure just to decrease. "You're pathetic."
And again.
"Vile."
And again.
"Pig."
And again.
"You will never have this."
And again.
"Never."
He couldn't breathe and his body reacted by instinctively sending him into a coughing fit. The pressure on his chest and whatever was over him vanished as he rolled onto his side as he hacked up far more liquid than was safe and probably vomiting while he was at it. A cold breeze washed over him. Or maybe it was warm for he realized he was drenched from head to toe and any touch of air against the water on his person seemed to freeze him. He shuddered, suddenly very cold as through his watery gaze he caught sight of a moonlit lake. He blinked once, twice, and the scene cleared, showing the Moon next to Venus in the sky, both shining as brightly as ever.
He jerked when something brushed against him and he whipped around to find the hero standing before them, a dry cloak outstretched between them as if the hero was making to cover him in it. He took them in, eyes wide with whatever emotion he was drowning in.
They were sopping wet, trembling, and flushed. Their breath was coming in pants as if they had taken great effort and it took him a moment to realize they were armorless, long blond hair sticking to everything, even their cheeks and forehead, blue eyes filled with both relief and concern and it made him sick.
"Get away from me," he growled, shoving at their offered aid as he stumbled to his feet choking on disbelief - a dream, it had only been a horrible, torturous dream - as he righted himself back in the cycle. "Haven't you done enough?"
Hurt crossed the hero's face and regret was bitter on the back of his tongue. He didn't take it back, though. Instead, he turned away from the hero and their cohorts and started for the castle, ignoring the cold - the sorrow - strangling him as he ignored the shouts of his name as he stumbled.
And fell.
"Oh, wow!"
The hall was full of people as he entered the building, a small hand held securely in his as his partner pressed their hand into his back, fingers clenching fabric. He want to reach back with his free hand but there wasn't room and his partner was ok. The touch hadn't turned clinging or desperate yet; they were just making sure not to lose him in the crowd.
Said crowd ebbed and flowed this way and that, people moving to where they needed to be, whether that was a queue for entry tickets or towards the true entrance of the establishment. Some, however, like the little hand tugging on his, were making their way to the first thing on display upon entering the building.
"Daddy, it's a T-Rex!" the little one pulling on his hand exclaimed happily, bouncing up and down in glee. It brought a fond smile to his face to see the child so filled with joy and amazement.
He scooped the little one up, hefting them onto his shoulder. "Big, isn't it," he commented, settling their weight properly on his shoulder. "It could gobble you up in one bite." He grinned at the blue eyes watching him. "Want me to feed you to the t-rex?"
He moved to heft the child higher up towards the open maw of the skeleton high over their heads and the child squealed, squirming in his secure grasp as he took a good beating for his effort. He laughed even as their words, though all in play, echoed right along with the rest of the din of the hall.
"No! I don't want to be dino food!" the child squealed between giggles and he brought them down into his arms where they squirmed and laughed as he held them close and hit a few of their tickle spots with quick, gentle fingers. "Daddy!"
He laughed again - breathless even - as he situated his little one on his hip, their head finding his shoulder as they breathed heavily from the exertion. He turned to his partner, their fingertips slipping from his back.
"Did they say they were meeting us in one of the exhibition halls?" he asked, reaching out and running a hand over the hair of the younger child his partner was carrying. The little one looked at him from where their head was tucked up against his partner's neck, brown eyes large beneath the mop of black hair.
"Near the caveman exhibit is all I was sent," his partner replied, shifting the little one's weight up again.
He nodded. "Then let's head in."
They started towards the entry point, weaving this way and that through those waiting for others to purchase tickets or those making their way to do so. They broke free of the worst of the crowd and he was quite happy to see the lines to enter were short and moving quickly. He looked to his partner. "Do you want to undo the strollers now or wait?"
"We can undo one," his partner spoke, shifting the child to their hip. "My arms are starting to die on me."
He reached out and carefully removed one of two umbrella strollers from his partner's back, padded against causing his partner pain by the backpack there full of needed supplied, like the old cd player with the books and their cds for when the kids got bored and needed something quiet to do. The stroller unfolded with a good shake and he pressed down on the lock bar to secure the frame open. He stepped on one wheel lock before pressing his foot against the other wheel.
His partner knelt before the stroller and placed the small child they had been carrying into the seat, buckling them in. The little one squirmed a little bit but was quickly placated with a raggedy stuffed dog pulled from the backpack's side mesh pocket. He let his partner take the stroller before hefting the child on his own hip up a bit higher.
He walked with his partner to one of the entry gates that was a bit wider and made with strollers in mind, not that they couldn't go through the normal gates with how compact the simple umbrella stroller was. Regardless, the gate attendant was welcoming and considerate, happily scanning the digital tickets before giving both kids stickers and sending them on through. The one in the stroller paid the sticker on their chest little mind while the child he was carrying seemed ecstatic. "Daddy. Daddy, look. It's a T-Rex like the one at the front. Except it's not bones."
He chuckled, looking down at the sticker. "So it is!" he happily agreed. "And it's green, too."
"I like green," the child stated proudly, like it was some achievement.
He smiled again, hefting the child back up onto his shoulders, this time situated so that their legs were on either side of his head. They wrapped their small arms around the top of his head as their feet tucked under his arms. He clasped his hands to their knees, knowing he wasn't going to be able to carry them for long like this but it made the next part easy at least. "And it's a fine color to like."
This way and that they weaved through the light crowd. Despite what they had first seen, the museum was large enough to swallow the crowds and make it seem as if there were only a few others there with them.
"This one?" he asked, staring at the direction placard next to a hall. He wasn't blind but he certainly couldn't seem to find the hall they needed.
"Should be," his partner stated and he reached up. Hands secure around the child's torso, he carefully lifted the little one up and over his head to place on the ground. "Alright, tiger. Daddy's getting tired. Do you want to ride in the stroller or do you want to walk?"
Their little hand found his. "I'm ok to walk, Daddy," they spoke, words reassuring as they patted his hand. "You just rest."
He smiled gently and pressed a kiss to the top of their head. "Thanks, kiddo."
He looked to his partner and they gestured at the placard. "Should be through this hall and down the one on the left."
"I'll follow you, then."
Walking side by side with the little hand in his, they started down the exhibit hall. But just as children will do, both grew intrigued by the things in the hall and there were many times they stopped to stare at the exhibits. The older practiced reading as they read to their younger sibling what the different informational placards held.
He never let them wander too far and neither did his partner. Together they kept an eye on both children even as they took a moment to fold the umbrella stroller and transfer the pack between them. His partner sighed in relief when he took the many items and their weight off of their shoulders. He secured them on his back before reaching out and rubbing at his partner's neck lovingly, reminding them, "You could have spoken up sooner. There's no need to wear yourself out. They'll do it well enough for us."
His partner chuckled as they shadowed the children to the next display. "I didn't want to burden you after having carried a growing toddler on your shoulders. Children get heavier as they grow, not lighter."
He chuckled, pressing a kiss to his partner's temple. "I appreciate the sentiment. I still would prefer if you spoke up. We are in no hurry and can take breaks as needed." The children laughing drew his attention. They were holding fake antelope ears to their own, marveling at the change in sound. "They will certainly need many. This place is still massive."
His partner hummed in agreement but said no more.
They ended up running into the others. The group suddenly grew from his family of four to several families equating to nearly 20 people. There were a lot of a children, all excited to be together and hang out and it took some corralling to get everyone together and towards the main event space. He quickly scooped up his smallest as his partner walked with the older child.
"Come on, sunshine," he softly spoke, nestling the child close to his breast. "It's best if we don't let you get trampled, huh?"
The child burrowed close before resting their cheek against his chest and watching the world. He ran his hand through their hair a few times before securing both arms around the child and following after the crowd.
He watched as the older child received several balloons tied together to create a spear that was quickly smacked against his partner's head. Even as he and his partner laughed at the antic, he wasn't sure who thought it was such a good idea to give children things they can smack others with.
The hall was full of people as he entered the building, a small hand held securely in his as his partner pressed their hand into his back, fingers clenching fabric. He want to reach back with his free hand but there wasn't room and his partner was ok. The touch hadn't turned clinging or desperate yet; they were just making sure not to lose him in the crowd.
Said crowd ebbed and flowed this way and that, people moving to where they needed to be, whether that was a queue for entry tickets or towards the true entrance of the establishment. Some, however, like the little hand tugging on his, were making their way to the first thing on display upon entering the building.
"Daddy, it's a T-Rex!" the little one pulling on his hand exclaimed happily, bouncing up and down in glee. It brought a fond smile to his face to see the child so filled with joy and amazement.
He scooped the little one up, hefting them onto his shoulder. "Big, isn't it," he commented, settling their weight properly on his shoulder. "It could gobble you up in one bite." He grinned at the blue eyes watching him. "Want me to feed you to the t-rex?"
He moved to heft the child higher up towards the open maw of the skeleton high over their heads and the child squealed, squirming in his secure grasp as he took a good beating for his effort. He laughed even as their words, though all in play, echoed right along with the rest of the din of the hall.
"No! I don't want to be dino food!" the child squealed between giggles and he brought them down into his arms where they squirmed and laughed as he held them close and hit a few of their tickle spots with quick, gentle fingers. "Daddy!"
He laughed again - breathless even - as he situated his little one on his hip, their head finding his shoulder as they breathed heavily from the exertion. He turned to his partner, their fingertips slipping from his back.
"Did they say they were meeting us in one of the exhibition halls?" he asked, reaching out and running a hand over the hair of the younger child his partner was carrying. The little one looked at him from where their head was tucked up against his partner's neck, brown eyes large beneath the mop of black hair.
"Near the caveman exhibit is all I was sent," his partner replied, shifting the little one's weight up again.
He nodded. "Then let's head in."
They started towards the entry point, weaving this way and that through those waiting for others to purchase tickets or those making their way to do so. They broke free of the worst of the crowd and he was quite happy to see the lines to enter were short and moving quickly. He looked to his partner. "Do you want to undo the strollers now or wait?"
"We can undo one," his partner spoke, shifting the child to their hip. "My arms are starting to die on me."
He reached out and carefully removed one of two umbrella strollers from his partner's back, padded against causing his partner pain by the backpack there full of needed supplied, like the old cd player with the books and their cds for when the kids got bored and needed something quiet to do. The stroller unfolded with a good shake and he pressed down on the lock bar to secure the frame open. He stepped on one wheel lock before pressing his foot against the other wheel.
His partner knelt before the stroller and placed the small child they had been carrying into the seat, buckling them in. The little one squirmed a little bit but was quickly placated with a raggedy stuffed dog pulled from the backpack's side mesh pocket. He let his partner take the stroller before hefting the child on his own hip up a bit higher.
He walked with his partner to one of the entry gates that was a bit wider and made with strollers in mind, not that they couldn't go through the normal gates with how compact the simple umbrella stroller was. Regardless, the gate attendant was welcoming and considerate, happily scanning the digital tickets before giving both kids stickers and sending them on through. The one in the stroller paid the sticker on their chest little mind while the child he was carrying seemed ecstatic. "Daddy. Daddy, look. It's a T-Rex like the one at the front. Except it's not bones."
He chuckled, looking down at the sticker. "So it is!" he happily agreed. "And it's green, too."
"I like green," the child stated proudly, like it was some achievement.
He smiled again, hefting the child back up onto his shoulders, this time situated so that their legs were on either side of his head. They wrapped their small arms around the top of his head as their feet tucked under his arms. He clasped his hands to their knees, knowing he wasn't going to be able to carry them for long like this but it made the next part easy at least. "And it's a fine color to like."
This way and that they weaved through the light crowd. Despite what they had first seen, the museum was large enough to swallow the crowds and make it seem as if there were only a few others there with them.
"This one?" he asked, staring at the direction placard next to a hall. He wasn't blind but he certainly couldn't seem to find the hall they needed.
"Should be," his partner stated and he reached up. Hands secure around the child's torso, he carefully lifted the little one up and over his head to place on the ground. "Alright, tiger. Daddy's getting tired. Do you want to ride in the stroller or do you want to walk?"
Their little hand found his. "I'm ok to walk, Daddy," they spoke, words reassuring as they patted his hand. "You just rest."
He smiled gently and pressed a kiss to the top of their head. "Thanks, kiddo."
He looked to his partner and they gestured at the placard. "Should be through this hall and down the one on the left."
"I'll follow you, then."
Walking side by side with the little hand in his, they started down the exhibit hall. But just as children will do, both grew intrigued by the things in the hall and there were many times they stopped to stare at the exhibits. The older practiced reading as they read to their younger sibling what the different informational placards held.
He never let them wander too far and neither did his partner. Together they kept an eye on both children even as they took a moment to fold the umbrella stroller and transfer the pack between them. His partner sighed in relief when he took the many items and their weight off of their shoulders. He secured them on his back before reaching out and rubbing at his partner's neck lovingly, reminding them, "You could have spoken up sooner. There's no need to wear yourself out. They'll do it well enough for us."
His partner chuckled as they shadowed the children to the next display. "I didn't want to burden you after having carried a growing toddler on your shoulders. Children get heavier as they grow, not lighter."
He chuckled, pressing a kiss to his partner's temple. "I appreciate the sentiment. I still would prefer if you spoke up. We are in no hurry and can take breaks as needed." The children laughing drew his attention. They were holding fake antelope ears to their own, marveling at the change in sound. "They will certainly need many. This place is still massive."
His partner hummed in agreement but said no more.
They ended up running into the others. The group suddenly grew from his family of four to several families equating to nearly 20 people. There were a lot of a children, all excited to be together and hang out and it took some corralling to get everyone together and towards the main event space. He quickly scooped up his smallest as his partner walked with the older child.
"Come on, sunshine," he softly spoke, nestling the child close to his breast. "It's best if we don't let you get trampled, huh?"
The child burrowed close before resting their cheek against his chest and watching the world. He ran his hand through their hair a few times before securing both arms around the child and following after the crowd.
He watched as the older child received several balloons tied together to create a spear that was quickly smacked against his partner's head. Even as he and his partner laughed at the antic, he wasn't sure who thought it was such a good idea to give children things they can smack others with.
Writing Marathon
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This event forces writers out of their comfort zone and into the challenge presented. Every day a new prompt will be available for writers to look at and take up the challenge of. The writer is given 48 hours to complete the prompt. Each entry must have 100 words but can go over. There is a maximum of 1000 words.
This was a continuation from RPApril Extravaganza 2017's Writing Marathon. Prompts are bold in each entry. Day 01: The Fool
A static, low and faint, filled the void. After a while, other noises joined it: the shifting of cloth on cloth, a pair of rubber soled shoes connecting with ceramic tile rhythmically, a door opening and closing. When the door opened, more noises were heard, though none were truly distinguishable. Though, if things were being heard right - and far clearer once the door closed - there was electricity buzzing, something sparking, and the sound of several different liquids doing several different things. The something sparking stopped, though, when the door clicked shut. "Aw, Diggory. I was wondering when you would be showing up." There was the sound of movement but it was not as close as the original sounds had been. It was about the same distance as whatever had been sparking. "Hard to get much work done when I'm lacking my assistant." There was a pause filled by the ambiance of the room before a chuckle was formed by the voice speaking. "Well, come on." Again, movement, and this time the voice sounded muffled, as if there was something in the way of the sound. "I doubt you need an engraved invitation." The sparking sound picked up once more. "What is the Crystal Heart?" a new voice asked, this one much louder, as if it was coming from the same point as the shoes on the tile had ended just beyond the door. This time the first voice gave a chortle. "We have been working on this project for five years and just now you are asking what it is we are making?" The voice became muffled again. "Please, Diggory. I am sure you could answer that far more eloquently than I can." The rubber soled shoes against ceramic tile picked up again at a much faster pace, the sound of rubbing cloth as equally hurried as the second voice, the much louder, much closer voice spoke urgently, "No." The sound of shoes stopped as something solid hit a hollow surface, the rubbing cloth dying away. "What is the Crystal Heart?" "Where did you get that?" the first voice asked, voice grave and heavy as it came from the left, much closer now than it had been originally. "While I had been cleaning the lab last week like you had told me to do. It was open to this." "You should have well and left it alone," the first voice spoke, though it sounded as if it wasn't aimed in the same direction anymore. The sound of sparking kicked up again. "How could I have left it well enough alone when the goddamn title was what we were working on!" the first voice challenged at a higher volume. "That is nothing but a fairy tale!" the first voice shouted. "IT'S A GODDAMN WEAPON!!" bellowed the second. The ambiance of the room was deafening. The second voice spoke again, softer but still as sharp. "Professor, I am not stupid. I may be naive, but I am not slow. I have found probably most of what has been written about this to have a very good idea of what you are attempting and I can't let you." The first voice laughed. It was sharp, it was brief, and it was anything but humorous. "Let me? LET ME?! You expect me to believe that my lowly assistant can stop me from creating the ultimate tool for creation?!" "It is a weapon of mass destruction!" the second voice countered, a plea on the edge of the words. "Professor, this will not only kill this planet but every planet in existence. Every star. Every planet. Every single molecule will be destroyed if you manage to create this." The following silence was far longer than anything else. There were clicks and clatters but it was irregular and not always in the same location. Finally, the second voice spoke again. "Please, Professor. Don't go down this path. You do this, and everything we've been doing, everything we've created up to this point will be for not." The first voice gave a low chuckle. "You think it will all be for not? That all this will be for not!?" The first voice got louder, as if its source had gotten much closer, yet the volume of the voice dropped to a threatening rumble. "This was all for the final product, Diggory. I gave my life to this project, I gave you a life with this project. A homeless boy starving on the streets with no where to call home, beaten nearly to death. I took you in, I gave you a purpose." There was the sound of something shifting and though the voice's volume did not change, it moved away, causing the appearance of being softer. "And now you see it fit to bite the hand that feeds you. You are a fool, Diggory." The voice spoke, muffled as if directed elsewhere. "Leave. Now. Before I call security." "I'm sorry, Professor," the second voice offered, heavy with emotions that were indistinguishable between each other. There was the sound of something being picked up and then a heavy book softly thudding close. "But if either of us is the fool, it is you. You will only bring your own destruction with this plan of yours." The first voice exploded. "GET OUT!!" A silence settled that even the ambiance of the room could not fill. It seemed to last for an eternity before there was the sound of shoes scuffing against tile before softly connecting rhythmically with the ceramic. The rhythmic sound stopped in exchange for the sound of the door opening. There was a pause with the sound of shifting cloth. "I hope it works, Professor. If not for everyone sake's, then at least yours." The door clicked shut, shutting out the sounds of the room left behind. He opened his eyes with either the dream or the memory rolling about through his mind. Electricity shot down his spine at the slightest twitch and he hissed in pain. Day 02: Deja Vu
The rain wasn't helping anything. Every drop was like tiny needles pelting against his skin and all he could do was lay there in torture unable to move out of pain. An odd sense of deja vu washed over him as he stared up at the dark clouds. He wasn't sure if it was from the battle or some memory he clearly could not recall. That dream - or had it been a memory? - had been without visual cues to tell him much about what had been going on but the conversation, the way things had sounded, had been more than enough to inform him that he either had some other dude named Diggory's memories buried in him somewhere or he was not who he believed he was. Or both, seeing as he was now lacking his crystal, whatever it had been. The fight with the Other was hazy. He couldn't quite remember much of it or what transpired after the crash clearly but he was able to discern that he had been rather unfeeling through it all in more ways than one. Whatever had caused that had ended as soon as his crystal had started to shatter and even now he knew that whatever had been affecting him was not as more rain pelted against him feeling like knives against his skin and the emotional drain he was feeling from everything that had transpired up till that point. His thoughts wandered to his friends, his companion, if those that had the crystals had survived their removal. While his hadn't been removed, he certainly had his shatter on him. That alone left the question of what had become of him. From what he could see, he hadn't moved from where he had been embedded in the ship's side but that didn't actually mean anything. He couldn't actually see the ship nor any of the metal to actually confirm that but the trees at the bottom of his sight and the horizon he could see at the bottom edge of his vision seemed familiar enough to dictate he hadn't moved. The sound of crunching gravel grew from his right and he slowed his breathing in an attempt to hear over the rain. It sounded possibly like boots but that was the extent of what he could discern against the rolling rain. Then, suddenly, a fabric draped arm was above him, blocking the rain pelting him in the face. The sound of the rain shifted and he was swallowed by the sound of the droplets hitting the water resistant fabric as a very unfamiliar face looked down on him. "Whatchya doing layin' in the middle of a rain storm?" the stranger asked, their voice reminding him strongly of Advena, it was alarming. The stranger's bright brown eyes roved over him, quickly answering their question for themself. "Jeez, buddy. Did a bear get at ya? You look a wreck." He tried to speak, tried to ask something, but the words caught in his throat and he started coughing. Excruciating pain flared from his chest and echoed quite profusely all over his body. The figure above him flailed, frantically trying to get him to still while also trying to keep the rain off of him. "Hey! Easy, buddy!" the figure exclaimed, a cold hand pressing against his soaked chest. "Try'n lie back without hacking up a lung, would ya?" He did it as best he could but now that he was half curled upright, the thought of putting pressure on his back again seemed like a really bad idea. The figure was much stronger than he had anticipated and they forced him back down, earning a hiss from him as his back came into contact with something that was not the smooth-ish surface of dented metal. He cracked an eye as he was pushed back and found that wherever he was at, there was no ship, no crash, and the thing he was lying on was some sort of rocky space. He couldn't figure enough of it out with the blurry glance to understand any of it. There was a shout from his right and the figure turned, looking towards it. "I'm alright!" the figure shouted, the angle at which they were shouting causing their arm to move a bit and let some of the rain past. "I found someone! 'e's in real bad shape!" Again he couldn't make out what this supposed other person was saying but the figure above him seemed to be able to hear it just fine for they responded with, "Yeah! Thanks!" The figure looked back at him, brown eyes gleaming with some strange joy he didn't understand. "Just hang tight, buddy. My friend is comin'ta help carry ya back to our place. I would do it on my own but I don't think I could make it the entire way without having to stop a few times." This friend, it turned out, was some sort of animal. The thing was massive with hoofed feet larger than his fist and a body that certainly was several good times larger than he was. The creature's head lowered and the black nose pressed against his neck, the breath warm but the nose itself cold. The black eye he could make out on this side of the creature's head was a bit daunting but what drew his attention were the things growing from its head. Two great branches of very sharp spines curled up from the creature's head, shaped in such a way that it reminded him of hands curling together as if to cradle something. It did so in such a way that if the creature lowered its head and charged, anything in its way would be skewered. He was immensely grateful the creature seemed to be very aware of the danger its head piece seemed to be for it moved its head above him careful to not catch him or the figure that was keeping him covered from the rain. Day 03: Black Sheep
The figure above him laughed, pushing the great beast's muzzle skyward. "Come off it," they urged, grinning. "No need ta treat th' poor fella like a log ya wanna scratch on now. Come on." The creature - far larger than this stranger and certainly far larger than himself - took a few steps back as the figure pressed against the creature's chest, throwing its head back and snorting in supposed disdain as it shook its head, nose towards the clouds. He was in awe. "You gettin' inta mischief, North?" a new voice asked and this burly, bearded man came into Diggory's sight where the creature had been, large hand coming up to meet the nose brought down and in the man's direction. The man rubbed at it, eyes narrowed on Diggory. "Sure 'e ain't a Black Sheep?" "Nothin' to say 'e is," the figure still covering commented, shrugging, "and with the state he's in, does it matter? He needs help." The man hummed behind his beard, the frown clear in the man's expression. "Fair enough." The man squatted beside him, eyes narrowed. "So, got a name?" Diggory nodded, wincing at the pain the gesture caused. The figure twitched, looking to the man. "He just got through a coughing fit from tryin'ta talk," the figure spoke. "I don't think we should be having try anythin' till he's tended to." The man grumbled, though it almost sounded like a growl. "Fine," the man huffed out, getting closer. "Hold North still, Bien. I'm gonna pick 'im up." "Wh-wait!" he coughed but the man's large hands were sliding under him as the word left him and he was hefted up off the ground. He wasn't sure if he passed out or not from the pain but it certainly didn't help that he was suddenly shoved onto the creature's back. Being upright was worse than laying back down. Everything hurt, his head pounded, and nausea played at the edge of it all. The figure clambered up onto the creature's back in front of him and then the man clambered on behind him. The man's broad chest was the only think even keeping him upright. "North, home. Nice'n gentle like," the man ordered. The creature snorted before it started towards the direction it had come. Thankfully – whether from the man's directions or from the creature's own natural talent – the ride was much smoother than he had expected especially with nothing between him and the creature's back. No, wait. He looked down and there in the gaps between the three of them being pressed together on the creature's back was some sort of fabric. A heavy blanket, maybe? It was hard for him to tell without touching it with his fingers but said fingers were numb – probably from the rain – and even attempting to touch the fabric meant moving and that meant more pain than he was already in. "How ya holdin' up?" the man asked, beard tickling Diggory's neck. "Fine," he spoke, a light cough following the word. His throat was raw and he was now very thirsty. He tried to ignore it as he added, "And my name's Diggory." This cost him and this time the coughing nearly caused him to pass out from both pain and a lack of air. It was when it came to an end that he was aware of the man's arm around his torso holding him firm against the man's chest. Even through the layers of clothing the man was wearing he could feel the heat pouring off the man and started to shiver. He hated that he was becoming aware of things after the fact. Otherwise he would have asked for something warm by now. His numb fingers should have clued him but he had been rather preoccupied by the fact that any movement was pain and any less pain was a blessing. "No need ta go killin' yerself there," the man spoke, his voice grave. Diggory wondered if the touch of concern was real or him just hearing things due to being light headed. "You ok?" Diggory nodded even if that made his headache worse but it was better than talking and causing another fit. "We'll get some fluids in ya and then yu'll be able to talk without much trouble," the figure riding in front of him replied, grinning. "Then we won't have'ta worry about hacked up lungs." The man behind him hummed in agreement. The ride was quiet after that as the rain continued. A short while after the brief conversation, the man loosened his hold in favor of wrapping Diggory in part of the man's outerwear. Diggory's shivering intensified at that point but he figured it was a good sign as his hands started to ache as they were warmed as well. There was nothing guiding the creature through the trees, no rope, no reins. And from what he could tell with being sandwiched between the two strangers was that neither of them were steering with their legs, if that was even a thing. His mind was foggy on that but the information seemed sound for some reason. The trees parted ahead of them and the creature dipped its head in time for Diggory to catch sight of what had to be these people's home. A cottage made of stone and wood stood proudly on a plot of land in the middle of woods. There was a good amount of clearing between the home and the line of trees but there was no denying the sense of being in the woods. The house itself looked old yet well taken care of. There was a garden against the far corner, ivy and vines climbing the stone walls and hanging from the wood roof. The entire thing was picturesque and Diggory was certain that it looked just as stunning in direct sunlight as it did now in the downpour of rain. "Welcome t' our humble abode," the man offered. "For now, you are welcome to stay here." Day 04: Cowboy
He didn't know how to respond to that. The creature came to a stop by the door and the man slid off first, taking his outerwear with him. Diggory gave a hardy shiver at the sudden cold rain pelting him. The man’s large hands pulled at him and he found himself settling into the man’s awaiting arms through the wave of blinding pain. His vision came back shortly after they had entered the home and he took in the space. The entryway was rather clear of clutter and mess but the rooms Diggory could make out were a wreck. There were things crammed every which way, items stacked and piled in precarious places, and a plethora of everything else that, despite the rather clean mess, the place felt very homey, well lived in, and welcoming. Instead of entering either of the rooms Diggory saw – one being the kitchen at the end of the hall, the other the living space to the man’s left – the man took him up the stairs, the figure dashing ahead of them and entering the door at the immediate top left of the stairs. They left the door opened and he found them following right behind. Unlike the rooms downstairs that were clearly lived in, this room seemed rather untouched. He frowned, watching as the figure threw open the windows. The roof’s overhang kept the rain out but let the cool air in. He quickly discovered this had been done for a reason for not a moment later, the figure was ripping the blankets and sheets off the bed, a cloud of dust billowing up from the bed. The man took a few steps back into the hallway but the windows did their job and swept the cloud out the pair of windows on the far wall leaving a coughing figure at the foot of the bed. The man chuckled, the sound rumbling through him from where he was resting against the man’s broad chest. “Could’a toldja that was a bad idea, Bien.” The figure rolled their eyes, balling the sheets up. “Yeah, yeah.” They shoved the ball of sheets and blankets into a corner before going about remaking the bed with fresh sheets from the dresser in the hallway. The figure also put down what looked to be a tarp. With the mattress covered, the man walked over and set him down. The mattress gave a little and there was far less pain than what he had been expecting as the tarp crackled beneath his weight. With a nod, the figure said, “I’ll go see if we have anythin’ that’ll fit ‘im,” and dashed out the room. The man chuckled, shaking his head before focusing on Diggory. “Any complaints against me changing yer clothes? Yer a right mess and theur soaked through.” Diggory shook his head. “Just be careful,” he spoke carefully, earning only a small cough for his effort. The man nodded and got to work. “If it helps,” the man offered nonchalant, “Bien’s gotten ‘imself inta quite a number of twists even as ‘e grew olda and I’ve been raisin’ that boy sense ‘e was born.” Diggory chuckled, only to start coughing. The man’s large hand settled on his back, supporting him as the fit ran its course. When it was done, the man helped him lay back down carefully as Diggory offered, “Not sure if that helps, but thank you.” He gave a few more coughs but nothing like a fit. “So Bien is the boy that had found me, North is your creature,” he coughed again, “but I don’t know your name.” “Armridge,” the man offered, solemn. “Ya can call my Ride if Armridge is too much.” Diggory offered him a smile. “It’s no more a mouthful than Diggory and I don’t have a nickname in turn.” Armridge chuckled. “Fair point.” The man was ever caring, making sure to keep Diggory covered even as he removed every single piece of wet clothing. Diggory felt his face burn at that face but he could not deny that not being in wet clothes of any type was nice. The sheet over him was warming up against his body even as the tarp stuck to his bare skin. During the wait for Bien to get back, Armridge collected something for him to drink as well as a bowl of hot water and some rags. “Bien will be bringin’ the medical supplies when ‘e’s done,” Armridge explained. “So, till then, let’s get ya cleaned up and on those fresh sheets instead of on that tarp.” He was given one of the rags to cover his dignity while Armridge washed him. As much as he would have preferred a bath, this stung enough to remind him that it was probably not the wisest of things to do. The process wasn’t terrible, though, and he was on the clean sheets in no time at all covered by several layers of blankets and sheets. “I got what I could reach,” Bien announced upon arrival with arms laden with a ridiculous pile of things. “Seriously, Bien? Ya could ‘ave made a few trips,” Armridge scolded even as he went over to help. Bien’s grinning face was quickly revealed. “Aw, come off it, Pa. Ya know it was fasta in one trip than th’ four it woulda taken.” Armridge huffed but said no more. This time Bien helped Armridge with Diggory, though they had let him slip into undergarments in privacy even as he nearly passed out from doing so. From there, his many injuries were tended to and he was dressed in soft clothing. He almost looked like a mummy wearing clothes by the end of it. Only his head and right hand were left mostly bandageless. By the time Armridge was tucking him in, Diggory was exhausted and ready for a good amount of sleep. “Alright, cowboy,” Armridge directed at Bien. The youth hopped off the foot of the bed. “Let’s let ‘im get some sleep.” Day 05: Mistaken
“Ok.” Bien grinned at Diggory. “Sleep well, buddy! If you need me, I’m at the end of the landing.” “You ‘ave chores ta be gettin’ to,” Armridge scolded gently, shooing a laughing Bien out the door. Armridge took the handle of the door and looked back at Diggory. “I’m across the landing and in the room at the very end on yer right. The bathroom’s the door next ta Bien’s.” Diggory nodded. “Thank you.” Armridge nodded as he closed the door. The door clicked shut and Diggory heard the sound of footfall on the stairs. Settling into the warm sheets, a breeze from the one window that had been left open washing over his face, Diggory felt right to sleep. He woke without knowing if he had even dreamt. The world outside his windows was pitch black as the sound of rain told him that any moon or stars that would be out were behind clouds. Not wanting to get up, he burrowed deeper into the covers only to discover what had awoken him. Frowning, he sat up and listened hard. There it was again; a sound, almost like muffled voices. He got up and carefully walked to his door. It opened a crack without a sound and he pressed his ear to the gap to listen. “-mistaken. He is to come with us.” “An’ who’re you to decide where ‘e goes?” Armridge countered sharply. “Sir, please. We’re not trying to cause you any grief. We truly are companions of his and wish to get him home.” Diggory frowned. Though they said they were companions of his, he didn’t recognize either voice. “Hey!” Bien’s voice suddenly shouted. “Where’d’ya think yer goin’?” The floor outside his door creaked and Diggory leapt to his feet. The door flew open and banged against the wall as the figure on the other side lowered their foot from kicking it in. Diggory skittered back towards the far wall, hands coming up and feet splayed to give him the best stance. His attacker raised their hand. Light pooled in their palm and the hairs on the back of Diggory’s neck stood on end. He threw his arms up before his face, forearms crossed as he braced for the attack as it was released, his mind flickering to the damage that could happen to a home so full of knowledge and memories. The attack slammed into him but he didn’t really feel it. Instead it seemed to press on him till it dissipated and he looked over to find that an opaque barrier had formed and his attacker was lowering their hand. The barrier rippled and vanished as he uncrossed and lowered his arms, standing up. They stared at each other only for them to both jump when Bien exclaimed, “That was so cool!” Diggory snapped a wide-eyed gaze on Bien’s face peaking around the doorframe as a stranger stood directly behind his attacker. Said stranger quickly shook off her shock when Diggory met her gaze and the stranger glared at his attacker. “Honestly, Neryk. Could you have done anything more threatening?” Diggory’s attacker shrugged. “I had to make sure it was him.” “By attacking him!?” “Ah, excuse me,” Diggory asked, cutting in as Armridge and a third stranger joined on the landing. “But, who are you guys?” The stranger that had berated Diggory’s attacker smacked her forehead. “Great. Just great!” She rounded on the stranger standing next to Armridge and shook a finger at him. “You said that Diggory would be here!” “He is!” the stranger on the landing squawked in defense, gesturing at Diggory. “That is Diggory.” “He’s not wrong,” Diggory quickly interjected. “My name is Diggory but I don’t think I’m the right Diggory.” “No, you’re the right Diggory.” All eyes snapped to Neryk but Diggory didn’t care about the other. He frowned at Neryk as his attacker lowered their hood. He stared. There, standing before him, was Advena. Or, at least, he thought they were Advena? It was hard to tell so he asked. “Advena?” Neryk nodded, their expression softening. “Welcome to our true world, Diggory. Sorry about not finding you sooner and for attacking you. I had to make sure you truly were you.” Diggory frowned, too many questions springing up as he blurted, “How did attacking me dictate I was me? And what do you mean true world?” Neryk – or Advena, Diggory was so confused – smiled softly and that expression certainly was familiar. “Your second question will take some time to answer, Diggory. However, your first, not so much.” Their expression sobered. “You were always quick to respond magic against magic and each person that has magic has a specific magical signature.” “So he is a Black Sheep!” Armridge exclaimed sharply. Diggory frowned. “Black Sheep?” “A group of magic users that work for a foe you’ll hopefully never have to face,” Neryk responded immediately. Diggory shuddered, memories of the Other’s attack coming to mind. “Please tell me it’s not like the Other, is it?” Neryk’s expression closed off and Diggory closed his eyes against the sudden wave of dread. He reached out and used the dresser to keep him upright as he tried to come to terms with that. “The other?” the female stranger parroted, confused. “One of the Professor's elite subordinates we.....encountered,” Neryk replied. Diggory flinched at that, his eyes snapping open and landing on Neryk. “Professor?” Neryk nodded. “We have yet to discover what his true name is.” “No, Advena,” Diggory urged, taking a few steps towards them. “No, I....I think I know this Professor.” A sudden tension filled the room. “Or, at least, I know what he had been trying to create?” He shook his head, pressing the wrapped heel of his left hand against his left eye. “I don’t understand what it was I had dreamt before I was found,” he dropped his hand and looked Neryk in the eye, “but I had a conversation with this Professor. I knew what he was attempting.” Day 06: Kittens
"Do you remember what it was?" the stranger by Neryk demanded, taking a step forward. Whether an instinctual reaction or a thought through motion, Neryk's arm snapped out, cutting the stranger off. She took a startled step backwards, eyes flickering to Neryk. "I apologize," Neryk offered. They lowered their arm but their hard expression did not change. "Force of habit." The stranger nodded, though she looked rather uncomfortable. She asked again, this time much calmer, "Do you happen to remember what the Professor had been trying to create?" Diggory frowned. The dream was almost nonexistent in his memory now as most dreams have a tendency of becoming when left to time but there were fragments and impressions of what had happened. He closed his eyes, trying hard to dredge up anything more as he offered, "A lot of it is faded now but I remember it just being voices and sounds. I didn't see anything but I heard all of it." "Like, from a closet?" Bien asked. Diggory's lips quirked towards a smile. "No. It was as if I had my eyes closed." He opened his eyes and looked to Neryk and the stranger standing beside them. "He spoke to me, spoke my name, and I spoke in turn." He shook his head. "It was like a memory more than a dream but I don't remember it beyond the dream." Neryk's voice was gentle. "What do you remember?" Diggory fell silent for a moment. "I remember how certain sounds didn't seem right without knowing what made them or only becoming certain when someone spoke of it, whether it was me or the Professor talking." He took a breath as his left hand twitched. "I remember that we spoke of the crystal hearts, but there was something more to them, like there was some significance behind their creation." He blinked before turning his focus back on the stranger next to Neryk. "That's all I remember, though. If there was anything more – anything significant – I don't remember it." The stranger sighed, looking mildly put out, but she smiled gently and offered in a warm voice, "That's quite alright. I'm just glad we have somewhere to start, now." Diggory frowned. "What do you mean?" It was the stranger in the hall that answered. "We – as in us and a resistance group of sorts – have been trying to figure out what that man is up to," he explained. "No one had any ideas, especially none of the low tiered lackies, and none of the higher leveled subordinates would say anything about the matter one way or the other. It's been rather frustrating not knowing if they knew or were kept in the dark like everyone else." "How wide spread is the Professor's reach?" The stranger beside Neryk spoke. "Global, we think." She shook her head. "It's hard to gauge, really. While he's got a few groups that behave like gangs, there are a number that travel around and work in certain locations so it's hard to tell if his reach is truly global or if he simply has people all over the world." "And the Other was one of his subordinates?" Diggory asked Neryk. "Not just some singular bad guy?" Neryk nodded. "Though, I'm not sure why the Other was gathering the crystal hearts if the Professor's goal is with the crystal hearts." The stranger in the hall chuckled. "Jasmine's going to have kittens over this." Diggroy frowned. "Jasmine?" "The head of all this," the stranger by Neryk explained. "The one leading the charge against the Professor." "The majority of those working for her call her Madam, though she does go by Madam Jasmine," Neryk added, giving the stranger in the hall a flat look. "Some, however, find they can be more familiar with her that others." The stranger in the hall shrugged. "Hey, at least I'm not actually using her given name. It's still her code name." "He has a fair point, Neryk," the stranger beside them stated, touching Neryk's arm cautiously. "If Madam wasn't ok with it, he wouldn't be calling her by it. You know how traumatizing she can be when she wants to be." The stranger in the hallway shuddered as Neryk relaxed. Diggory wanted to know more, wanted to know why that seemed to not only ease Neryk but also cause the stranger in the hall to react like that. But they were interrupted by heavy footfall on the stairs. A third stranger came to a halt just out of Diggory's line of sight. "Madam wants us all back at Base. Something big's gone down." The stranger on the landing nodded, his face set. "We'll be out in a second." He turned his gaze back into the room, specifically on Neryk. "We have to go. Either wrap this up or finish it later." Both strangers dashed down the stairs, Armridge following behind them. Bien, in turn, rushed into the room and up to Diggory. "Are ya leavin' already?" Diggory nodded, smiling gently. "Yes. Thank you for all you've done for me. It really helped." Bien beamed at him. "Glad we found ya, then." "Neryk! Let's go!" the stranger from the landing shouted up the stairs. Neryk approached Diggory and wrapped him in their cloak. The weight was more than he expected but it was warm and covered him more than the clothes he had been put in. Neryk guided him out with a hand on his back. Bien bounded ahead of them, taking the stairs two at a time. Armridge caught him at the bottom, chiding the boy but letting him go. Diggory stopped before the man in spite of Neryk's pressing. "Thank you," he offered, clenching at the edge of the cloak. "For everything you've done for me. I'll do what I can to return the favor and the clothing." Armridge raised his hand. "No need for any'a that. Just take down those Black Sheep and th' Professor'n we'll be even." Diggory nodded and followed Neryk out. Day 07: Birthday
The rain was still going strong as they stepped outside, though it had become a light drizzle at this point. Diggory paused just outside the safety of the house and turned his face skyward. It was pitch black beyond the edge of the roof. He couldn't see the top of the trees even though he knew they were there. The trees themselves were being illuminated but what light ghosted over their bark was too dim to truly see into the branches. As soothing as the rain itself was, the whole scene was rather haunting. He brought his gaze back down to Earth, finding himself staring at two vehicles that were strangely familiar even though he was certain he could not remember riding in one. Neryk added pressure to his back and he glanced over. The rain was glistening off of the illuminated strip around the upper rim of Neryk's high collar and down the left side of their chest. The purple light from their collar made the underside of their hair glow in a faint purple that contrasted against the sharp blue white that the vehicles were giving off in a way that was equal parts ethereal and unnerving. They're eyes were kind, though, reaching over and pulling the cloak tighter around his throat. "Are you ok?" He nodded, comforted by the familiarity of them tending to him. He wrapped his hands around theirs, stilling their touch. "Advena," he asked softly against the sound of the rain, "who are we?" Neryk's – or was it Advena – gaze softened. It made them look rather sad. "I'll tell you when we get a moment to breathe, I promise. But, for now, I need you to just trust me on this." Their expression hardened. "And whatever you do, do not let anyone else know that you do not remember who you are. It would be unwise." Diggory felt his heart sink at that as his chest tightened. Hide that he didn't remember? How did they expect him to do that? Still... Swallowing thickly, he nodded and let their hands go. Neryk withdrew, turned, and made their way to the second vehicle. Diggory took one last look at the house. Armridge and Bien were standing in the doorway, both looking far more somber than he would have liked. The moment they noticed his gaze, though, the looks were replaced with grins and waves. He returned the gestures but his smile felt tight on his face. He wondered if they could see how fake it was from there. Movement drew his gaze towards the left of the house where the garden sat. There, in the near darkness, were a set of eyes reflecting the light of the vehicles and a body faintly outlined in the darkness. The branches of thorns on its head seemed to glow of their own light, though, as the creature turned its head and continued walking beyond the side of the house and out of sight. The whole thing make him shudder and look one last time at Bien and Armridge. Who exactly were these people? Turning away, he hurried to Neryk's side who was standing by the open back door of the second vehicle. Their gaze was searching but for what he couldn't tell. He slid across the seat to the far side against the other door. The vehicle was rather spacious even with the wall separating the back seat from the front. He frowned at it softly as Neryk climbed in beside him and closed the door. There was a lurching sensation in his stomach but there was no actual sense of movement. There wasn't enough light to see by outside to gauge how fast they were going if they were even moving in the first place. "How long will it take for us to get to base?" Diggory asked, wary of asking anything too showing with not knowing who could be listening. "Half an hour," Neryk informed him. "Which, honestly, isn't terrible. You could have ended up on the other side of the planet." Diggory hummed but wasn't sure how to respond to that. As much as it was useful, he found that it didn't really answer any of his questions. He sighed, resting his head against the window. "Hey." He opened his eyes and looked over at Advena – no, wait, it was Neryk now, right? - as they gently squeezed his shoulder. "You can lean on me if you want to rest. I doubt that will be overly comfortable for an extended amount of time." He offered them a soft smile. "Probably not." He shifted so that he was leaning against Neryk's side. The only thing about that, though, was the fact that Advena was shorter than him, meaning that he had to shift around a bit till he found a good enough position. In the end, it turned into him leaning sideways on the seat as Advena put their back into the corner of the seat and door so that his forehead pressed against their neck as it was nestled between them and the seatback. He fell asleep rather quickly, not that it did him any good. When Neryk roused him, he felt more exhausted than when he had settled down to nap. He grumbled to himself, not at all conscious of the words he used, but it was clearly something loud enough and coherent enough to make Neryk chuckle. They ran a hand through his hair, the gesture kind and endearing. "Just a few more hours and you'll be able to get some real sleep." "I know," he sighed, rubbing at his face. "It's just been a long, what, day? Year?" He gave a breathy laugh. "I'm so out of touch with time, I don't even know if my birthday passed or not." "It hasn't passed yet," Neryk assured him and he looked up to find their expression serious. "You still have a few months till your 24th." For some reason, that didn't make him feel better. Day 08: Reflection
The door opened and Neryk climbed out without hesitation. Diggory couldn't help but pause. Beyond the vehicle was a well illuminated place, one full of people. It made his wary. He followed Neryk out and looked around. He hadn't been wrong on his first take of the place, but the entire area was enclosed. There was a low ceiling above and the people milling were all slowly making their way towards one of the sides of the massive space. That side happened to be the one he and Neryk were dropped off in front of. Neryk leaned in close, their breath ghosting over his ear as they explained carefully, "There's another few levels above and below us for parking. This is the main pick up and drop off location with guest parking and a few different lots." "When you said base, I was thinking some secluded location with a few dozen people," he replied tightly, his voice barely audible beyond his lips pressed to their ear. "This is not what I expected." Neryk nodded. "I know," they acknowledged, though this time they simply spoke softly as they turned to lead the way. "I'll explain it in detail more when we're closer." He sighed, wondering now how many times he would hear that till he actually got answers as he followed behind Neryk into a building that made his brain feel funny. The area they entered wasn't all that extravagant, though it was well maintained and looked rather new. There was tile throughout the wide hallway leading towards the main area of the building. Here, Diggory found his footfall faltering. Even in what he presumed to be the dead of night, there were a ton of people coming and going in the expansive space. The ceiling was so high above their heads that there were walkways crisscrossing their way towards it for three floors above them. The ceiling itself had massive sections of windows which he was certain would illuminate the place greatly when the sun was out. But with the darkness outside, the massive space was illuminated by not only the lights hanging from the walkways or mounted on the walls. Two massive chandeliers hung from the high ceiling made in such a way to light up every level without being blindingly bright. Neryk simply took hold of his wrist gently and guided him through the mass of people. He brought his attention back to Neryk, taking in where they were leading him and kept in mind where they had come from. Down a normal sized hallway and then left at a crossing. They walked this hallway for quite some time. They walked it so long, in fact, that they were soon isolated. Just as Diggory was about to ask how farther, Neryk pulled something out of an innner pocket and passed it over a sign as they walked. There was a chime from the sign. A door ahead of them clicked. Diggory arched an eyebrow. Well, that would explain that, then. Neryk opened the door to reveal a small space. There were two vending machines on the left wall and an elevator directly ahead of them with no button. Neryk passed the same thing over where the button should be and there was another chime, this time from the elevator. The door slid open and Neryk stepped in. He followed at a sedated pace. The door slid shut and the elevator started to drop. "How far down?" he asked, certain this would be a normal question. "Till it stops," Neryk replied. "I don't know which floor they're having this meeting at." The walls around them, barring the one the door was on, seemed to suddenly vanish and he jumped, spinning around to find himself overlooking a massive underground duplicate of the main space upstairs. He pressed his hand against the glass as he took in the walkways and the main floor beyond his reflection as they continued their decent. The elevator slowed and came to a stop on the main floor. He stepped away from the glass and followed Neryk out past the few personnel waiting for the elevator. Neryk again led the way but now it was clear that most everyone was heading to the same location. However, instead of following the crowd, Neryk broke off and took a side hallway as soon as they approached it. Diggory glanced back but there didn't seem to be anyone that noticed. "Our meeting is with the Madam," Neryk explained. "Their meeting is not." Diggory wasn't sure if that actually explained anything. There were a few people entering the room still when he and Neryk arrived. Where Diggory hesitated to cut in front of those entering, Neryk had no such hesitations and simply grabbed his wrist before dragging him into the room. The space was a decent sized conference room and almost all the chairs were full. Neryk guided him all the way to the other end of the table where there were the most seats taken yet still a few empty. Neryk placed their hands on the back of the chair to the head of the table's right, both of which were empty. Neryk pulled the chair out and looked at Diggory. He suppressed the chill that went down his back, suppressed the urge to look at all the faces to see their reaction as he walked over and sat down. Neryk pushed his chair in and then stood against the wall behind him. He noticed they were not the only one to do that. There were three others standing against the walls. It left Diggory feeling rather exposed. All but three chairs filled: the chair directly across from him, the chair to his right, and the chair at the head of the table to his left. If he had felt exposed before, he now felt isolated as well. Someone crossed to the chair at the head of the table, grabbed it, and took it away as the lights dimmed. Day 09: Apology
Diggory clenched at the cloak he was still wearing as the wall behind the head of the table flickered and came to life. A nondescript woman appeared on the large screen, though she herself was not over imposing in size. Smaller screens all around her started flickering on revealing an individual or a room of people till the whole wall was filled with faces. "Thank you for gathering so quickly on such short notice," the woman spoke. Her voice was calm, gentle even, while still holding a stern note. "I have asked all locations and their key members to gather for this telecommunications due to the dire situation that is at hand. I did not want to have to waste time visiting each one individually and awaiting responses from others." "We are always happy to assist, Madam," one of the men spoke. The woman gave a smile that didn't seem overly kind to Diggory. "I'm sure." she stated plainly before her smile fell away. "The information I have received is not good. The agents at the ICARUS branch have come across what the Professor may be working towards." The room exploded with sound cutting her words off and not even half of it came from the speakers. It seemed like everyone in that room was trying to talk over one another, to be heard, and in the chaos he came to realize that he was sitting in among the ICARUS branch members and none of them had any idea what she was talking about. The room suddenly rang silent and Diggory realized it was because his voice was echoing through the room. "Enough of this," he was saying, somehow on his feet without remembering standing. The words kept going as his face displayed a disgust he wasn't sure he was actually feeling and his gaze flickered to those on the screen as well. "Shouting, arguing, and trying to ask questions now is nothing more than a waste of time. If you lot would just keep your traps shut and let the Madam actually speak, I'm fairly certain you would find that all of this was unnecessary." The silence was deafening but he refused to sit quite yet. There was an air of challenge and the impression that if he sat now, he would lose whatever he had gained over the people present. Instead, he turned, facing the screen and meeting the Madam's gaze. "I feel an apology is in order however I do not believe that it should come from me unless you see otherwise." The woman chuckled, the sound melodious and far more amused than anything prior. "I feel that they have been reprimanded enough without needing to apologize."Her expression turned a tad fond. "It is good to have you back, Diggory. You certainly were missed." He offered a dry chuckle. "Only by you and so few, Madam." The woman nodded and turned her focus back to the masses. Diggory sat back down feeling far more drained than he had any right to be. "For those of you that do not know him, Diggory is one of the original members of the ICARUS branch and has done many things for this organization. However, Diggory has been MIA for the last four months. He had been sent in to gather intel about the Professor's whereabouts and plans only to lose contact a week into his assignment. When we did not hear of him after the assignment was to be completed, we assumed the worst and have been proven half wrong. One of the Professor's elite had captured Diggory and others, subjecting them to countless horrors." The woman fell silent for a moment but no one else spoke. "However, it is because of this that we have now gained a better insight to what the Professor may be working to obtain." Again, it seemed her gaze settled on him for a second. "There is evidence that the Professor is looking into old lore surrounding an artifacted called the Crystal Heart." A low murmuring filled the room like static but it wasn't enough to drown out the next words she spoke. "For those of you unaware of what it is, I have a brief explination before I need each branch to set out and find out if the Professor is truly looking into finding or creating the Crystal Heart." There was the sound of shuffling papers but no one spoke. It seemed as if everyone present was holding their breath and Diggory found his mind wandering to a half remembered memory. An old book, pages flipping. "Legend tells of an artifact called the Crystal Heart," an old illustration appears before his mind's eye, "that holds limitless power. Whether is it is simply a source of untapped energy or grants some sort of ability is not clear." Old pages were slowly flipping before his mind's eye, impressions of what is written on them filling his mind. "However, one source has stated that the Crystal Heart is not to be used lightly. As easy as it is to create with it, it is equally easy to destroy with it." A paragraph saying the same thing – though not necessarily word for word – was focused on. "It should stay out of hands that would abuse its power and, if at all possible," word for word started to appear in what seemed to be the last page of the given section on the old pages, "the Crystal Heart should be destroyed." There was a burst of noise but Diggory ignored all of it. He didn't care as he half gestured for Advena, his mind full of the information from those pages and other pages he had supposedly flipped through. Advena brought their head down next to Diggory's and he reached up, pulling at them so he could whisper into their ear, "When was she informed about the Crystal Heart?" Day 10: Glare
"I had only told you and a few others when you found me." Advena – no, Neryk – pulled back enough to place their lips against his ear, his head and the back of his chair preventing anyone reading their lips as Neryk's head and the back of the chair had done for him. "I told the Madam about our experience, about the crystal hearts you and I had possessed and how they had seemed important to the Other. She must have just gone with it." He frowned but let them pull away. He wasn't so sure he believed that. The chatter suddenly quieted down as focus returned to the woman. "These are the parameters I leave you with," she spoke, her voice grave. "Be extremely careful looking for the Crystal Heart. Should you find it, do not touch it, do not attempt to move it. Contact me and I will make sure those that have been cleared arrive as quickly as possible to deal with the artifact. Should we find it, we will be attempting to destroy it." The glare she sent through the screen was threatening. "We will not be taking the risk of someone using it. Am I understood?" There was a ringing of "Yes, Madam" from the room as well as those on the screen. She gave a brisk nod. "Good. Now. Be quick. We do not have much time left." Without another word, her face vanished from the screen and the other smaller screens started turning off. Those in the conference room started moving about, chatter becoming so loud that it turned itself into white noise. Diggory rubbed at his face only to remember what he was wearing. He stared down at his wrapped hand, feeling an ache there that felt more than just fatigue. "A-" He caught himself and tried again. "Neryk." They appeared at his side, bending over to be more level with his gaze. He looked to them. "I would like to leave now." He waved his hand between them. "I'm sure these need to be changed after everything anyways." Neryk nodded. "Of course. If you'll follow me." He stood up but no sooner had he straightened was he approached. He didn't recognize their face. They gave a shallow bow. "You are expected in one of the small meeting rooms." "By who?" Diggory drawled, too tired to be cordial. "By Madam Jasmine." He blinked at that, feeling Neryk going rigid at his side. He glanced their way but their expression was neutral. He looked back at their messenger with a sigh. "Alright. Please lead the way." The messenger bowed again before turning and leading them to the side door near Diggory's chair. Beyond the door was a hallway with doors on either side. It was long and it was creepy but Diggory dutifully followed his new guide trusting Neryk to have his back. Nothing spectacular happened. In fact, the entire walk was rather boring. It got so bad, he started counting doors just for something to do as they followed the hallway as it made a 90 degree turn this way and that. He had reached 23 by the time they arrived at the necessary room. The messenger opened the door but did not enter. Instead, they bowed and Diggory passed through with Neryk behind him. The door closed behind Neryk, leaving their guide outside. The room itself was rather barren. There was a table and a few chairs but that was it barring the few items resting on the table's surface. Neryk walked around him to the table, inspecting the items as Diggory took in the room. There were no signs of cameras or tech of any kind but even barren walls can be deceiving. He walked over to Neryk as they picked one of the items up. He realized it was a shirt as it came unfolded in Neryk's hand. "Turn around," they softly directed and he did as they said, turning so that his back was to them. He felt the knuckles of their fingers brush against his shoulders for a moment before the touch left. It returned again. "Here." He looked over his shoulder to find Neryk holding a shirt towards him. "Put this on. Pants will have to be trial and error." He nodded, taking the cloth. They took the cloak from his shoulders and took over undressing him when his hands wouldn't cooperate. With his shirt off, it was easy to see that the bandages were in desperate need of changing. Someone seemed to be aware of this because Neryk simply picked up a pair of scissors that had been among the first aid materials and started cutting the bandages away. He hissed as cold metal brushed against still raw cuts and abrasions. Something beyond exhaustion pulled at him at the reminder that he was still very injured and had been moving quite a bit since he was found. Sickness was probably clawing at his system, too, but he couldn't remember what to look for when it came to any of the sicknesses he could be getting. Time got away from him as he seemed to nap with his eyes open and sitting upright because when Neryk pulled him to his feet, all of his bandages had been replaced and all that was left was for him to finish pulling up the new pants they had obviously started dressing him in. There should have been embarrassment there. Maybe he was too tired to care at this point. He pulled the zipper up and fastened the button as Neryk pulled the cloak back around his shoulders. It was warm and he shuddered, now aware of how chilled he had gotten. A knock landed on the door they had entered through as his hands fell free from the front of his pants and the cloak settled closed around him. The door opened as Neryk took a step away. They both turned to faced the door proper. Day 11: Answers
The door opened and only Madam Jasmine entered. Diggory frowned. "Am I right to presume that this is a personal meeting, then?" he asked once the door clicked shut. Madam Jasmine smiled gently. "Is it so wrong for me to want to see you?" Her smile was contagious as one of his own pulled at the corners of his mouth. "I am not the right person to answer that, Madam." Her smile fell as her expression turned concern and a little sad. He blinked, glancing at Neryk. Had he done something wrong? "You don't remember me, do you?" He looked back at her, surprised. That seemed to be all the answer she needed because she walked around the table and right up to him. He realized then that she was shorter than he was by nearly a head. With them nearly toe to toe, she had to crane her head back to meet his gaze. She had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen on a person. Her hands were warm when she carefully pressed them to his cheeks. Her smile was drawn tight across her face. "I am glad that you are alive and in one piece, if nothing else. We can deal with your memory later." She took a step back and Diggory suddenly ached to have this woman's hands upon his face again. "Neryk, keep an eye on him for me, please." Neryk bowed low. "Of course, Madam." Diggory frowned, taking a step towards Madam Jasmine as the woman turned to head back to the door. "Wait," he called out, stalling her departure. "That was it? That was all this was about?" Her eyes landed on him and he wasn't sure what to make of her expression. "In a way, yes, this was all I had intended to do," she confirmed. "The least I can do for you is make sure you are well attended to, including clothing and medical supplied." She gave him a soft smile that made her look tired. "That and I wanted to make sure you truly were alright with my own eyes." She turned her gaze to Neryk. "When his memory returns, contact me immediately." Neryk dipped their head. "I will." Madam Jasmine nodded. She looked towards him one last time before exiting the room. The whole ordeal left him frustrated and he turned an unamused gaze onto Neryk. "Let me guess, answers have to wait a little longer." Neryk offered him a smile but there wasn't much humor in it. "Unfortunately." Their expression turned serious. "You will get answers, Diggory. I promise. It just needs to wait a little longer." He let out a sigh, rubbing at his face. His hand twinged and he pulled it back to stare at the bandages. He clenched his hand into a fist. "Fine." He looked over at them again. "But I'm holding you to it." Neryk nodded but said nothing more. They exited the room after Madam Jasmine but there was no sign of her in either direction. Diggory wasn't overly surprised. His fingers found the cloak's fabric again as he trailed after Neryk, trusting them to get him home safely. Speaking of... "Hey, Neryk," he called out, words slow as he figured out what he wanted to ask with possible ears listening. "Are we finally leaving?" Neryk looked back at him, a soft smile on their face. "Yes. We should have a car waiting for us outside to take us home." He relaxed. "Good," he sighed. "I'm getting sick of being here." Neryk chuckled but they had already turned around. "As am I." Their walk back seemed to take forever. At least the elevator ride was short. Diggory looked around when they stepped off and wasn't surprised to find they had ridden the same elevator up they had down even as he had gotten turned around on the lower floor. He walked at Neryk's side towards their ride, confident he knew where they were going. That is, till Neryk suddenly turned left. Blinking, he jogged a few steps to get at their side again even as he gestured the way they had been going. "Not getting picked up where we had been dropped off?" "There are protocols we must follow to keep you safe," Neryk explained nonchalant. Diggory gave them a flat expression. "Why?" Neryk offered him an amused smile. "Because you're important." Diggory's flat look only got flatter. Neryk laughed, the sound like chimes on the wind. He was certain he didn't hear that sound enough. Their ride was awaiting them in a secluded location. Diggory thought that this was not only overkill but more likely to get him killed than protected. However, there were no attacks and they weren't confronted as they entered the vehicle and the vehicle started moving. Or, at least, he assumed it started moving when he had the same dropping feeling in his stomach. If nothing else, Neryk relaxed, settling into their seat fully. Diggory sighed, sinking into the cushion of his seat. "How long of a ride this time?" He asked, rolling his head on the seat to look at his companion. "Five minutes, if that," Neryk offered, reaching over and tugging the cloak closed around him. He wondered if it was because they were bored or nervous that they did so. "Once there, get some rest. I'll answer questions in the morning." He frowned slightly but didn't counter their words. Instead, he settled back into the seat and stared at the ceiling, mind running even as his thoughts seemed to be dulled and those 'five minutes, if that' seemed to take an eternity. But, as with most things dealing with time, the five minutes ended as he stepped out of the vehicle after Neryk in front of a home he did not recognize. Even after entering the building he still didn't recognize any of it. "This way," Neryk softly directed. He followed them up the stairs and down a hall to a sparse bedroom. Day 12: Elephant
It looked unlived in. There were no personal touched to the room but the closet was full of clothes he expected would fit him and there were trinkets and what not in some of the drawers in the furniture present but that was the extent of what he could find as evidence of his living in the room. With a sigh, he wandered into the closet. Supposedly Neryk's room was beside his but he had heard their footfall on the stairs. Either they hadn't planned on sleeping or they expected him to not notice. Annoyance burned low and hot in his gut as he pulled at clothing at random. He ended up with a large shirt and soft pants that seemed well enough like sleepwear without him recognizing most of what had been in there beyond 'pants' or 'shirt'. The bed at least was soft and smelled of something familiar even if he couldn't remember. He curled up under the covers and hoped his dreams would be peaceful at least. Slowly color bled into the darkness, some swirling this way and that, others fading in only to fade out. Something collided with his gut, pushing the breath out of him if only briefly as he leaned over whatever the rounded object against his gut was. "Look!" he exclaimed, his left hand going out to point at something. "Look! An elephant." A chuckle that seemed all too familiar rang through the air. "That it is, my boy." Something ruffled his hair that caused happiness to flood through him. He pressed against the touch almost needily. "Do you want to wander the reptile house one more time before leaving?" He felt his feet settle against something hard as a certain set of colors settled in front of him. "Can we?" he asked excitedly. "Of course!" He was running. He knew that with how his feet were hitting the ground and how all the colors seemed to blur in a specific direction. He could hear laughter as his feet left the ground. His stomach rolled for a brief moment till pressure rolled across the back of his shoulder and down his back, his feet hitting something solid as he shoved himself upright once more. "Excellent!" a voice oh so familiar shouted from some distance. "Well done, Diggory." A smile - no, a grin broke across his face as he felt determination settle in his system. He was shoving harder at the ground, pushing harder as he felt himself prepare for action. A hard shove and a different kind of sinking in his stomach. His hands wrapped around a metal bar briefly as it seemed the world rushed by before the sensation was gone and it felt like he was flying. A rough texture collided with his hands and he grunted, pushing against it. There was the sound of scrapping, the sensation of his feet not quite holding traction with whatever he was wearing on his feet. But the thing stilled and he needed not to push anymore. Stepping away from whatever it had been, he looked about even if he couldn't make out anything, not even the colors swirling about him. There was coughing to his right, to the direction he had been looking. "Good job, Diggory," an oh so familiar voice urged him, something softly colliding with his shoulder a few times. "That seemed to have stalled the blasted thing. How are you handling? Anything overtaxed or in need of attention?" He flexed his hands and shifted his weight but there didn't seem to be any such thing as he offered, "Not that I can tell." "Good," the voice spoke again. "Come here. I want to check you over anyways." Cold metal settled against his hands as he leaned back against something. He could feel whatever it was against his lower back in a solid, rigid line. A different voice, a new voice, spoke. "So that is all you have to offer me." As much as it should have been a question, it wasn't. "Yes," he returned, the word sharper than he thought necessary. "As it should be. After all that I was subjected to, I would think it best that I didn't remember much." The other sighed, sounding tired even if all he saw was some color faded in the darkness. "Ok." There was shuffling and the color got bigger and became several colors. "But should you defect, I am taking you out." "Of course," he spoke as if this was a given and it shouldn't be any other way. "Just tell me where you want me and I'll go there." "MOVE!" someone new shouted as a body collided with his, sending him sideways. His entire left side hit what felt like ground but it didn't stay that way. His arm wrapped around the body against him and he forced them to roll with him. Something was in his hand. It jerked along with a sound he didn't recognize. He was up on his feet, the body no longer against him. He moved this way and that, rolled here, kicked at something there, and punched another thing in the process of setting up a second kick and triggering the thing in his hand again. Silence settled as he slowly lowered his hand and he turned. Darkness was everywhere, even underneath the colors he could see, but here was a scene he could see, even with the haze that seemed to obscure his sight. He approached the debris, moving a few pieces of it off of a table before heaving the table upright and over. It thudded against the floor and he offered his hand to Madam Jasmine. "Come on," he spoke, his voice calm. "Let's get you out of here." Her beautiful eyes shone bright against her dirty face as she took his hand. He hauled her to her feet as she spoke, "You never did answer my question." He gave her a soft smile, answering, "No, Ma'am. I'm on my own." Day 13: Debate
The room was dark when he opened his eyes. He shifted under the sheets and found that while it was dark, it wasn't a complete darkness. There was light seeping in at the bottom of the curtains covering what he was going to assume was a window as well as reaching in under the door and through the closet. That one confused him the most so he pushed himself upright and went to explore. He found that there was a bathroom beyond the closet. The door was ajar and the frosted windows uncovered. The space was well laid out and crafted and he set about utilizing the space as bits of his dream swirled in his mind. It certainly had been an odd one. He half remembered the conversations and what had happened but the last scene seemed to be burned into his brain. Madam Jasmine and him had been having a conversation of some sorts when something happen, something big. And, for whatever reason, that meeting had led to the Madam having an isolated meeting with him and behaving so oddly upon her arrival. He couldn't fathom what had brought her behavior about. Despite the feeling that most of what he had 'dreamt' had actually been memories, he didn't actually remember anything. There was no context, no actual things he remembered beyond the fragments of fragmented conversations. He stilled with his hands on either side of the sink looking up through his lashes to gaze at his reflection. His head was bowed enough to cast his face in shadows from the light over the sink. He looked exhausted but it was him. He recognized his face, his features, everything, so whatever had happened, whatever would happen, he was still himself. He pushed off the sink and finished what he had been doing. He exited his room not much later after that, the door clicking behind him as he looked about the quiet hall. There wasn't much sense in exploring till after he had answers so he headed towards the front door, looking to find the kitchen. There was an inkling of where the kitchen would be in the back of his head he had no reason to not follow. Down the stair and right around the last post of the stair's railing, he walked down the hallway till it ended with a door that led into the kitchen. He wasn't overly surprised he had found it even without remembering the place. He was certain that most of it was engrained in him if he had originally lived there. Neryk was there, though. Diggory hadn't been overly sure what he was wandering about for till he found his companion and he suddenly knew exactly what he wanted to do. "We safe to talk freely here?" he asked, his voice coming off sharper than he had intended. He amended, "I still have so many questions." Neryk looked up, silverware still in the bowl of food they had been stirring absentmindedly as they stared at some file. He didn't move closer to get a peek at what it was and Neryk simply closed the folder without drawing any more attention to the stack of paper. "Certainly you want to eat first," Neryk started and – whether that had been intended to be a distraction or not – Diggory cut them off. "This is not up to debate, Neryk," he spat. "You promised me answers and I want them now. Are we safe to talk freely here?" Something flashed in Neryk's eyes and he didn't know what it had been. Had it been anger? Annoyance? Or had it been something else entirely? It had passed too quickly for him to track, at least, and Neryk did nothing more than sigh and give in. "Yes, we're safe to talk freely here," they confirmed, gaze turning to him once more. They gestured at one of the table chairs. "It would be best if you sat down. I doubt all of your questions will be answered in a timely manner." He crossed to the chair and sat down, running his hand through his hair. A twinge seemed to shoot up his arm from the gesture and he made a face as he lowered his left hand to the table. He opened and closed it trying to get the feeling of having no strength to go away. "What did you mean by true world?" he asked, turning his gaze from his hand to their face. "What had the Other done to us for that to even be a statement? Why can't I remember any of this life?" Neryk shook their head. "To be honest, I don’t know either." Diggory gaped at them. "What?" Neryk offered him a tight smile. "I don't remember this word. Not really, at least. But I had gained enough information having woken up before you did that I had pieced quite a bit of dreams you're no doubt to fake it till it returns." "Will it?" The question was beyond his lips without a thought, not that it mattered. Neryk answered it anyways. "Some will," they assured him, "but I don't know how many will return for you." Their face twisted into frustration. "There is something that I can't quite remember that is specifically focused around you. Something important." "Do you remember the Professor or is that just me?" he asked tentatively. Neryk shook their head. "Just you for now." He frowned. "You think you will remember him?" Neryk shrugged. "I'm not about to bet I won't remember him. The Other had taken us both, remember?" "Were we the only ones? Madam Jasmine had mentioned there had been others captured with me." Neryk leaned back, crossing their arms. "If there were, I don't know who they were at this moment. I can find out if that is what you want." Diggory shook his head, raising his hand. "We have other things that are more important that locating people we may not even know." |
Day 14: Rainbows
"Things like why the Other had grabbed us and how he had not only put us in a different world, apparently, but also implanted fake memories." He looked to Neryk, eyes wide and a bit frantic. "I don't have any memory of this place, of these people, yet I remember being five with my mother in the castle learning about technology and ruling a kingdom." A distraught expression crossed Neryk's face and he almost took back his words in a panic. But their expression became calm before he could utter any words and they spoke before he could even try. "I do not like answering you with things that give you nothing in return. Even with that, all I remember is that life as well," they offered, their gaze tired. "At least, what I was permitted to remember. That world, that life, is all I know, and I don't know if that means that we are from that world brought here as impostors or if the Other truly did mess with our minds." He buried his face in his hands, elbows pressed into the surface of the table. Their hands were gentle against his arms and he looked at them through his fingers. Sunlight was shining through a high window, catching a few ornaments in the kitchen just right to reflect a few rainbows across the walls. One splayed across Neryk's arms. "Even with how little I remember between both worlds, I doubt we are in opposing thoughts when I say whatever the Other had done to us had something to do with the crystal hearts you and I possessed in that other world." Their hand trailed up his left arm, caressing the mark that dictated where his crystal heart had been. It sent pain up his arm but he ignored it. "You still have the marks from yours, the damage it had done to you." He shook his head, denying her words. "It didn't do anything to me till it shattered." The sunlight faded like a cloud had obscured it source. They gave him a flat look, pressing into the back of his hand with their fingers. "This? This is not from shattering." They grabbed at their shirt and pulled it open. There, where their crystal heart had been, was a scar in the same exact shape as their piece had been. "This is what a shatter mark looks like." They gently grabbed his arm as they released their shirt. "This is something different." Diggory didn't know how to reply to that and simply let the silence fall between them. Neryk's hands disappeared from him and he almost asked for their touch to return with how suddenly cold those spots had become. "Diggory." He brought his head up, meeting their gaze. "I do want you to know that I have no idea why there is a name difference between here and there." Their expression closed off a bit. "But I do know that calling me Advena would be a bad idea. I don't know the specifics but it would be best if you didn't ever call me it again, as much as that will hurt us both for now." Diggory nodded. "Anything else I need to know about?" Neryk leaned back, a soft frown on their lips. The ambient noise from outside muffled by the home itself filled the brief silence. "Madam Jasmine sees you as a son of sorts," they finally spoke, "not that I have any idea why. Your past is so shrouded in mystery, even I was unable to gather much about you while I was looking for you. For some reason we're both enigmas here and that puts me on edge more than it probably should." Their frown deepened. "You weren't near me when I awoke. In fact, I was utterly alone and wandered into a major city before I had people that knew me pick me up. I instinctively reacted to someone shouting 'Neryk' so that's the only reason why I even gave them a chance." They closed their eyes, their frown flattening out. "Not that that helps much." They opened their eyes again, meeting him with a look that was relaxed and curious. "I was able to learn that you are a very talented magic user." "Magic?" he asked, amused and disbelieving of their words. Neryk smiled. "It's actually a thing in this world. A good number of their technology is based around this particular addition to this world." The smile fell slightly. "However, this puts a figurative target on both our backs being magic users. Not everyone can do it and it took me some time to relearn only a fraction of what I knew. You, supposedly, work with it instinctual, though I haven't seen you use it beyond our first meeting here." Diggory hummed a confirmation. "As far as I know, that's the only time I used magic." The sentence was strange to say and even stranger to hear himself speak. Magic, honestly. "And for some reason, Madam sent you to gather information about the Professor despite your high value to her." Neryk frowned. "I don't think that the situation is overly good in this world if she was willing to risk your safety." Again he hummed his agreement but Diggory simply looked at his hands resting on the table as his thoughts slowly sorted themselves out. Side by side it was easy to see the faint blue lines that spiderweb across the back of his hand and up his arm. There were other injuries from his encounter with the Other that were raw but nothing was bleeding anymore, which was nice. His mind didn't want to seem to function properly, though, and he got caught on only one idea. "So we need to gain more information." "Correct," Neryk spoke. He looked up. "Alright. Since you are more familiar with what is expected here - and if you are alright with it - see what you can dig up about who we are." Day 15: Warning
"Try being as discrete as possible. Should nothing arise from the Professor during that time, we'll go from there." Neryk nodded and stood, bowl in hand. He waited till they were at the sink before calling out, "Oh, and Advena?" They met his gaze as the glass clinked against the sink. He could see the warning in their gaze even as their expression was kind and curious. He offered them a soft smile. "Please be careful. You are the only thing here that I can remember and trust." Neryk nodded. "Do you have any other questions that I can attempt to answer?" He chuckled. "Plenty but none that are in dire need of being answered." His smile fell. "Will you be going out now? Or are you waiting for something?" They shook their head. "Only thing I was waiting for was you." They met his gaze. "I'll find what I can as quickly as possible so please stay in. Without knowing how this world works, it would be safest for both of us if you stayed hidden away." They shifted their weight. "I don't think anyone will visit. Unless it is the Madam, I would suggest pretending to not be here." He smiled. "Was planning on sleeping anyways. I'm still exhausted." He wondered if Neryk relaxing was from his words or not. Regardless of what it had been, he watched them finish tending to their bowl before exiting the kitchen. He listened to them move about, tracked them till they got beyond hearing range with how big the home was. The cloud moved again. He watched the light bouncing off the the water in the sink shift and move on the wall playing with the shadows and rainbows. There was a sense of having done this before, of having seen these shadows of light and dark play together in this same space like it had been a dream. He wondered whose home this was. Was it his or was he just bumming off of someone at the moment? "Diggory." He pulled his gaze away, finding Neryk standing in the doorway of the kitchen ready to leave. Their gaze was curious but the look in their eye was serious. "Anything you need from me?" He shook his head, vocalizing, "If I think of anything, I'll send you a message." He frowned, gaze going to theirs. "How exactly do I send you a message in this world?" Neryk crossed to him, passing him a device. "I had already thought of you needing to contact me so I grabbed the one that had been originally yours while I grabbed mine." The device itself was no bigger than his palm and rectangular. It was deceptively thin for as he tried to break it, it bowed but did nothing more, no signs of stress as he looked it over. "Feel free to play around with it to get a hand of using it." They reached over and tapped the center of the thing twice. It lit up and Neryk gently pressed his thumb over the digital clock. The screen changed, showing buttons and bubbles and windows of all kind as Neryk explained. "You can press your thumb anywhere you want. I believe you have your middle finger registered as well." He looked up at them but they shrugged. "I don't know why I think this but I think you used to double tap with your middle finger on the back before holding said finger to the other side and it would unlock and view on this side." They pulled the piece of tech from his hand and rolled it over. The screen appeared on the back, though it was like the back had become see-through even as all the words were in the right direction. "Huh," he voiced. "Nifty." Neryk tapped on one of the buttons. It opened a full screen window and they pointed at an icon that was them with their name. "Just tap my face if you want to call me. Press here-" they pressed the spot and a new window opened, "if you want to just send a text message. Either will get to me but I may not answer the call and just send you a text message instead." He nodded, looking up at them. "Find out what you can. I'll be here." Neryk gave a brisk nod before turning and heading for the front door. He listened and waited till he heard the front door close before standing. He traced Neryk's footsteps till he came to the door. He looked out the windows but there was no sign of his companion. Satisfied, he turned and started up the stairs as he slipped the device into a pocket. The questions of who he was – of who they were – urged his feet deeper into the home, urged him to explore the home to see if he could find anything there. Just sitting and ditzing around with tech while Neryk was out looking for information seemed like a waste of Neryk's hard work. He quickly discovered that whatever secrets the home held, he wasn't going to find them easily. While the place was well furnished, it felt more like a hotel or a staged home than something actually lived in. Each room held furniture but there was a massive lack of personal items and any trace of any other people having been there. He scoured each room in hopes of finding something but the only two rooms that seemed to have anything were his and Neryk's so it came as a surprise when he accidentally discovered a stairwell behind a bookcase. He hadn't even meant to pull on it and it had moved revealing a staircase leading towards what he supposed was the attic. A chirping came from his pocket, startling him. He fumbled with his device. As it settled in his palm, he found a message on the screen. This is your only warning. Leave your past alone. Day 16: Avalanche
Day 17: Perfection
Day 18: Let it snow
Day 19: Spaceship
Day 20: Caterpillar
Day 21: Travel
Day 22: Communicate
Day 23: Insanity
He just didn't know how much they understood as he followed them out of the house. He waited patiently as they locked the door, gaze going out to the world around them. While he now remembered it, it was still odd to see all of it after what the Other had done and made him belief. To think he believed he had been a Prince, of all things. It was honestly a ridiculous thought now that he was back home. "You alright?" He looked over at Neryk, curious. Their expression was open but held little emotion. He smiled gently, answering their inquiry. "Just thinking of what the Other had put in my head, is all." He looked out over the world, noting the car waiting for them. "I can't believe he had me believe I was a royalty. I certainly don't feel like that now that we're back. Far from it, actually." Neryk hummed, stepping forward. He fell into step beside them automatically. "I'm sure that the Other had figured it benefited him in some way." "Like how?" he asked, laughing. "Did he expect me to become weaker somehow? More susceptible to his ways or something?" Neryk opened the back door, looking to him with a blank expression. "Or something." He frowned, confused. Did Neryk know something he didn't? The ride to the diner and the surrounding shops was rather painless but once they were there, he was unable to keep his opinion to himself. "This is insanity!" he exclaimed, almost overwhelmed by the number of people there and all that was going on. "How do they all fit in this small area?" "By forfeiting personal space," Neryk ground out, pressing their hands into some stranger's back so as not to get trampled as the stranger suddenly changed direction. "Why so many people in one place?" he asked, not seeing any reason for the crowd. Neryk grabbed at the back of his jacket, stopping his forward momentum just in time to avoid being crushed by someone flying through on some sort of personal vehicle small enough and permitted for use on walkways. It reminded him of a bicycle, just without the wheels and the frame a bit different. "Do you see any shops not so crowded?" he asked Neryk. "Any preference?" "Knickknacks and oddities," he happily replied. Neryk rolled their eyes. "Of course. This way." Neryk took him by the hand and led him through the crowd. Diggory held on tight and let his gaze wander, Even with his memories back, this was amazing. The variety of people - from families and couples to individuals and street merchants - was incredible and while some part of him remembered seeing such varieties before, the part that had been the prince of that other world was still flabbergasted at all of it. They entered a shop that wasn't dead but it certainly seemed like it compared to the crowd outside and Diggory quickly found the air to be stifling. Neryk released his hand and he made to grab it but missed. They vanished from sight as a small group of people got between him and Neryk and he was left in a strange shop with his head spinning. He reached up and covered his nose and mouth. What was going on? What was in the air? "I never thought I would ever meet the person affected by the insense," a voice muttered behind him and Diggory spun around as he brought his arm up to ward off the stranger but whatever was affecting him as such was affecting his ability to keep his balance in such a motion and he started to fall towards the floor in a way he wasn't going to be able to save himself from. He would have fallen completely but the stranger that had snuck up behind him caught him by the arm before he could get a good look at him and yanked him back upright, using his arm to spin him back around and keeping themself out of sight. Their grip remained unnecessarily rough. "Easy now," the stranger whispered, their voice heavy. "No need going and damaging the merchandise." "Most of this is worthless," he returned, though he wasn't sure why he was keeping his voice down. He should be calling out for Neryk or for anyone that would come save him but he didn't. He was certain that the person holding onto him was about to either kidnap him or stab him. Or both, though he wasn't sure in which order. "That would mean you were worthless but that, I can assure you, is a total and complete lie." The stranger jerked on his arm and he hissed in pain. "Let's go." Whelp, he mentally added a check next to kidnapping. "We have someplace to be." Something pressed into his back and he added a check next to getting stabbed on his tiny mental list. Two for two and he wasn't sure he was happy about that. "Try anything funny and I'll make sure you can't walk." He shuddered but complied, quite enjoying the ability to walk, thank you very much. The stranger either worked their or lived there for he was led down a side hallway to some rickety old door and was forced to watch the stranger unlock the door with an ornate key awkwardly from behind him. The door sung inwards revealing a set of stairs that looked far older than the building itself. He frowned but didn't get to ask about them as he was shoved forward and directed to the top of the stairs. He very willingly placed his foot on the first step in an attempt to keep from being shoved down the stairs. The only light currently lighting a small section of the stairs came from the door but that quickly vanished when the stranger shoved the door shut, the sound of the lock clicking into place taking away his only way back to Neryk without the stranger's key. Day 24: Mirror Mirror
For a few seconds he continued down the stairs blind but then there was a crackling noise behind him that wasn't so much as jarring as it was surprising. A soft light filled the space as the sound of shaking liquid reached his ears. The light got brighter till he could almost see the 15th step ahead of him, barring his shadow. The stranger shoved at his back again, barking, "Keep going." The urge to give the stranger a flat look was so strong, he almost looked back completely to give the stranger a piece of his mind. He caught himself before he could, though, and focused on not tripping and falling all the way down the seemingly endless staircase. His foot touched flat ground causing him to stumble. He blinked, confused. When had he reached the bottom of the stairs? He whipped around forgetting about the stranger but his gaze went right over their head as he looked towards the top of the stairs but was unable to even see a sliver of light from the door he knew was there. The stranger shoved him back around none so kindly and he stumbled to the ground, hands scrapping against the abrasive surface. "What do you think you're doing," the man barked rhetorically. "Keep moving. We're wasting time." He shook his head, looking to the stranger. They were holding the light behind themself and obscuring it so that there was only the stranger's faint outline in the darkness. "I don't understand. What happened to the stairs? I thought we still had a long way to go." He got the distinct impression the stranger sneered at him as they shifted their weight in front of him. "What are you talking about? That is the same amount of stairs there's always been. You must be more broken in the head than I had initially thought." The stranger's words took on a dangerous note. "Maybe you really are worthless." He caught the glint of a blade. "No,! Wait, wait!" he exclaimed, scrambling to his feet and into the hallway they had ended up in, hands up towards the stranger he was backing away from. "I'm up, I'm moving. See? Heading the way you want." The stranger huffed, gesturing. The blade of their knife caught the low light again. "Then turn around and start walking again." He did as he was told and started walking, the real threat of being seriously injured if not killed suddenly around his neck like a noose and he found that it was getting difficult to breathe. The space changed, not that it was visibly noticeable what with the stranger still obscuring the light but he felt it with how the air seemed to shift and the walls fall away. Or, at least, he had thought they had fallen away. There was a flicker out of the corner of his eye but when he went to look, it was gone. Another, like a tiny prick of light glowing where there shouldn't be light made by fatiguing cells, appeared elsewhere and he whipped his head around, bewildered as more and more appeared till his mind made sense of what he was actually seeing. The tiny bit of light hidden behind the stranger was being refracted off the walls in an odd way and he found the words tumbling from his mouth before he could stop them. "Mirror Mirror on the wall, what befalls us in this hall?" "Be quiet," the stranger behind him snapped but he was already trying hard not to burst out laughing in hysteria. No matter how strong he thought he was or ever had been, he had his breaking points and it would seem he had found his. The stranger shoved at him again as his footfall slowed due to his hysterical laughter that was slipping free in tiny fits that were growing longer. "Keep moving," the stranger barked with the rough touch. His eyes snapped wide as the laughter finally escaped and he spun around in such speed that even he was startled when he captured the stranger's arm under his leg and pulled his kidnapper off balance. The motion and subsequent falling ended with the stranger landing on their chest on the floor with his knee in their back. The man groaned as he quickly took what he found was a large glow stick from the stranger's hand and relieving them of their weapon as well. His laughter quickly died but he didn't move from where he was kneeling. "Well," he offered, putting his full weight into the stranger's back. "It would seem that the table has turned." The man beneath him chuckled and sudden foreboding rushed through his veins. "Not that it's going to help you much. You have no choice now but to continue." He frowned. "What do you mean?" The stranger sucked in a wheezing breath before informing him, "You can't go back and you won't even if you can. You will continue walking down this hall till its end and there the End will begin." His heart clenched in his chest and his head snapped up to look towards the end of the hallway that was shrouded in darkness. "The Professor." The stranger huffed a chuckle. "Of course. Who do you think would go through all the trouble of creating an incense that affected only you? I thought the Professor was crazy but it worked. In all the years I had watched that shop, you are the only one to ever be affected by it's scent." He looked down at the stranger, their face poorly lit so much that he doubted he would remember their face by the end of this. "If I get up, will you be following?" The stranger tried to shrug. "Probably not. My work is done. You won't turn back and that is all the Professor wanted." The stranger's face twisted into trepidation. "Though, the Professor may have been preparing to surprise you or something. Probably." Day 25: Lullaby
He frowned, gaze going back to the end of the hall. It was hard getting himself to stand up but the stranger only moved about to sit against the wall. They waved at him, commenting, "You'd best be going. The Professor's been waiting a long time to come face to face with you after all these years." He nodded, offering the stranger the glow stick. "You'll need this to get back up the stairs." The stranger fished into a pocket and removed something. A crackle and a second later, the second glow stick was glowing faintly and getting stronger as the stranger shook it. "I'm good." Nodding once more, Diggory turned and started down the way he had been heading. The walls really were refracting the light oddly and it wasn't making any sense even as he was able to see so far with such low light yet not able to pick out the details of the floor or the walls themselves. On and on he walked, the only sound echoing off the walls his footfall against the stone floor. Something caused him to still and he slowed his breathing, making it shallow to silence it so that he could listen. There, on the edge of his hearing, was a noise. He started walking again, footfall now urgent. The closer he got, the clearer the noise became and it turned from a simple noise into changing notes and from changing note into something that sounded almost like words. By the time he was starting to make out discernible words, he had long since recognized the lullaby for what it was but he wasn't sure how he knew it. The hallway turned and he found himself abruptly facing what seemed like an endless stairs with a tiny wooden door barely visible from where he stood. Clenching the glow stick, he started climbing. His forehead hit the door and he jerked back, his foot finding the step it had just left. He glanced back, seeing the distance and not understanding how he had made it to the top so quickly. Breath in his throat, he reached out and turned the handle. There was the sound of the inner mechanisms working but the singer kept singing the lullaby. The door swung open without a sound and found the space beyond dark. He closed the door, realizing he was in someone's home. It was old and far older than any home he had ever been in before and that was saying something. He recognized the architectural era almost immediately but it had been from studies than actually seeing such architecture. There had been repairs made - he could make out the newer materials crafted to mimic what was replaced - but the majority was well kept and original. It was bizarre, to say the least. The lullaby very clear now. He wasn't certain how it had made it all the way down the stairs and down the hall when standing at the door, the voice wasn't overpowering nor overly loud at that. He followed it towards the front door where there was an opening into a sitting room. There, with their back to him, was a woman rocking back and forth, head canted to look at whatever was cradled in her arms. Back and forth she gently bounce, the words sliding from her lips so painfully familiar that it brought tears to his eyes. "Did he finally fall asleep?" He jumped, startled, and skittered sideways, back hitting the edge of the opening as he looked at the man standing roughly where he had been. The woman turned as he brought his attention back around. In her arms was a bundled shape, a little pink face peaking out just beyond the edges of the blanket completely wrapped around the child. The woman looked exhausted but her face was bright with a smile. "Yeah," she offered softly, reaching out towards the man. Said man was already crossing to her, capturing her hand to kiss the knuckles before holding it close. "I think the worst of it has finally passed." "Thank the stars," the man sighed and Diggory watched as the man pressed a tender kiss to the woman's forehead. He was confused. Why weren't they saying anything to him? Why was he being ignored? "Do you know who that child is?" "Gah!" This time his back hit the stairs and he glared at the ghost of the original Diggory just as solid as the last time and smirking at him. "Don't do that. Are you trying to kill me?" The ghost gave a bark of a laugh. "If I had been trying to kill you, you'd be dead." The ghost's eyes turned to the couple as they moved to sit on the couch. "And then I would be free of the torment of dealing with you and existing beyond my time." The ghost looked at him again as he approached slowly, gaze going from the ghost to the couple cuddled on the couch. The ghost repeated, "Do you know who that child is?" "If you're asking, it's either you or the Professor," Diggory pointed out and the ghosts chuckled. "That babe is indeed one of those two. Do you know which, though?" "You?" Diggory guessed flatly, knowing the ghost would correct him if needed. A knock sounded on the door, cutting off any answer. The male got up from the couch with a kiss to the woman's cheek before going to the front door to answer it. Seeing as the ghost hadn't answered him, Diggory followed the man to the front door, assuming that whatever was about to transpire was important. The lock clicked open and the door swung open easily enough. Beyond the door was a man close to the same age as the man that had just opened the door. The man on the other side of the door beamed. "Good morning, Professor." Diggory's wide eyes snapped to the ghost. "Wait. What? But isn't the child..." Day 26: Criminal
The chatter at the door was white noise as the ghost looked at him. "The Professor we know is the man standing outside the door. He and our father were colleges and best friends, having known each other since they were boys themselves." The ghost looked back at the two men and Diggory followed suit to watch as both men entered the living room. The woman happily greeted the Professor, the other man wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders. "In another year, I lose my mother to illness. I never got the chance to get to know her and it changed my father." A solemn tone colored the ghost's next words. "I belief a part of him died when she had died. The Professor had done what he could to console the grieving man." The area changed, became more dreary. The child now looking to be well into its second year of life was wailing in a corner not looking good. The man - the child's father - was on the couch, face buried in his hands. The door unlocked and the Professor entered. Immediately he crossed to the child, picked him up, and went about tending to the little one, all while the father just sat on the couch, face obscure. "This is criminal, John," the man called from the kitchen as the sound of water filled the silence. "You could get Diggory taken away." "Don't care," the man muttered, voice muffled by his hands. "John," the Professor berated but the man leapt to his feet, barking, "I don't care, Richard! I can't do this day in and day out, tending to that...that thing when it reminds me so much of her." "John!" The Professor - Richard - came storming in, child still in the kitchen. Diggory suddenly hoped that the Professor had made sure the child would be ok left unattended. "That is your son you are talking about." "He's no son of mine!" John shouted back. The smack echoed in the space and Diggory was surprised that the Professor hadn't punched John instead. He certainly would have. Richard pointed a finger at John. "I have lost my own wife and my two daughters along with my brother and his wife, leaving only me and my nephew. I have done everything for that boy because he is all I have left of my family. You should be doing the same for your son." John shook his head but the man was shaking. "I can't do this on my own." Richard clasped him on the shoulder. "Then don't. Come finally live with me and Andrew. There's certainly plenty of space for you two in that large house. I can even ask Beth and the others so that it's not just the two of us." John shook his head. "But all of her things, the memories..." "I'll have movers come in - really good movers that will be careful and meticulous - come pack everything up. There are many empty rooms at my house. I can give one to storage." The hand on John's shoulder tightened. "Please, John. You're killing not only yourself but your son." A burst of giggles came from the kitchen and both men looked towards it. After a moment, John sighed and relented. "Alright. I'll go throw together a bag for both of us." Richard looked back at John. "Take as much time as you need. Andrew is at school and you and I are both off today. I'll watch Diggory till you're ready to leave but I am walking you out of this house in time to be back at my house to have dinner with Andrew, bags or no bags." John nodded and started for the stairs as Richard returned to the kitchen. The house shifted, changing to something Diggory was far too intimate with to be comfortable. He whipped around, eyes wide as he asked, "Why are we here?" "This is the Professor's home." Diggory's gaze snapped to the ghost. "No." The ghost looked over at him. "This is also my childhood home." "But why am I living in it now?" The ghost shrugged, turning to go up the stairs. "I don't know. But it would be best if you saw what comes next for yourself." Diggory fell into step behind the ghost and up the stairs they walked to one of the rooms he had known as unoccupied. When they entered, the room was completely different. There were things everywhere and the room itself was clearly lived in. Sitting on the bed in the room were two boys, one about three or four, the other closer to eight or nine. The younger was sitting on the older's lap as the older boy read from a picture book. "-for there was no other place to live, than to live at a place called home." The older closed the book, looking down at the younger. "Want another one?" "Andrew?" Every head in the room turned to look at the doorway. Richard was standing there, a soft smile on his face. "Do you mind coming here for a brief moment?" "Sure, Uncle." The older boy freed himself of the younger, making sure that the younger had something to do before following the Professor out into the hall. Diggory shadowed the youth. "Has he spoken to you yet?" Richard asked softly. Andrew shook his head. "Not more than what you've heard." Richard nodded, his expression concerned. "Why don't you go ahead and show him the attic tomorrow, then. I'll clean it up a bit so that you two can play up there. I'll set out some games and I'll make sure you two can take lunch up there as well." "Are you sure?" Andrew asked. "I thought I wasn't taking him up there because he was too young?" Richard smiled gently at the boy standing before him and placed his hand on top of Andrew's head. "I don't want him going up there on his own quite yet because, of that." Day 27: Memory
"I do think he is still too young to be up there, but with his father still not back, I think it will help if he has a secret place for when things get harder for him." Andrew covered Richard's hand with both of his, nodding. The mood of the hallway shifted, the light changing along with the furniture and items Diggory could see in the other room. The youngest child dashed passed them in a fit of giggles aiming for the entrance to the attic. Diggory followed without a thought, watching as the toddler pulled on the bookcase. It swung open and, still giggling, the little boy darted beyond. There was a pause as the boy yanked the bookcase closed and up the stairs he dashed. The space was a bit more empty compared to when Diggory had been in the attic and there was a clear play area laid out beneath the farthest window. The boy, however, darted behind a stack of boxes unable to quell his giggles completely. "So this is where you've hidden away at?" Diggory instinctively took a step back as John came up the stairs. The man looked strained but happy. There was renewed giggling John slowly stalked towards the stack of boxes and the giggling intensified with each creak of the floor that got closer. "Gotchya!" John shouted as he dived around the boxes and little Diggory squealed, laughing outright as his tiny feet thundered across the wood floor, John laughing with him as the man gave chase. John managed to grab little Diggory and the pair collapsed on a beanbag in the play area, both panting heavily. The joy was very clear as John asked, "So, why are you hiding up in the attic all by yourself?" "It's my secret place!" little Diggory exclaimed, turning around in John's hold. "No one will ever think to pull on the bookcase to find stairs!" John chuckled. "True. But I know where it is. Does that mean it's still your secret place?" "Of course!" Not only did little Diggory sound exasperated as if this was a given, the little boy had even rolled his eyes as little kids do. "That way, if something bad happens, you know to come find me in our secret place. And then we can hide here together till the bad thing goes away." There was a pause as little Diggory picked at one of his father's shirt button. "And you'll always find me, right?" John gently reached out and coaxed little Diggory forward enough to press their foreheads together. "No matter what, I'll always find you and make sure the bad thing can't get you. I promise." "This doesn't stay, does it?" Diggory asked, gaze on the father and son. "No, it doesn't," the ghost confirmed as the scene grew dreary. Little Diggory was still little but clearly a little bit older and was huddled up against Andrew under the farthest window crying. Andrew was running his hand through the smaller's hair whispering as the rain drowned out the words. Even from there Diggory could see the massive bruise on the boy's cheek and throat. "My father became an alcoholic when I started school. I think my interest in my studies reminded him too much of my mother." "Are these your memories, then?" he asked as a flash of lightning changed the scene. "In a way." The thunder shook the building and a muffled whimper sounded from behind a tower of boxes. Diggory felt his heart sank as he slipped into the space behind the boxes and found Andrew and little Diggory curled together in the alcove in the wall. It was probably not more than a year after the last memory but it was clear a lot had happened to the two boys. Another jarring rumble of thunder that Diggory felt in his chest and little Diggory whimpered again, this time into the hands that he had pressed over his mouth. Andrew's arms tightened around little Diggory's small frame as shouting started to echo up the stairs. Both boys flinched at the sound of wood breaking and Diggory did as well. The ghost was very stoic in all this, not even reacting visually to any of this. The shouting grew louder as people stormed up the stairs only to pause to continue arguing. Diggory watched as Andrew gently pressed a hand over Diggory's ear, the other against the boy's chest. Diggory's heart went out to Andrew. Eventually, John - drunk and not alone - started yanking boxes out of the way. His cohorts helped make short work of the pile as Richard finally made it to the landing after having shoved off a few guys. But by then little Diggory was already being yanked out by his father and passed off to one of his buddies. Little Diggory's stuffed rabbit that had been cradled between the two kids hit the floor as both little Diggory and Andrew screamed for the other. John didn't let Andrew out of the space, several of his buddies helping as John pulled a gun. This time Richard's screams joined the chaos but the man was taken out with a blow to the head as the buddy with Diggory started down the stairs. Four gunshots rang out, all of them pointed at the alcove. Diggory sucked in a breath, taking a step back even as the world melded into a different room of the same home. "Are you ok?" the ghost asked. He shook his head in answer as he watched Richard entering the dining room, a bandaged little Diggory sitting at the table looking broken. Richard placed the bowl of food in front of the child, sitting in the chair next to him that was a few feet away. Little Diggory barely reacted. "Diggory?" Richard asked, his voice gravely. "Can you eat something for me?" No response. Richard leaned back after a small while and sat in silence. After a moment, he pulled out an envelope. Day 28: Catastrophe
"Diggory, I wanted to wait till you were better to talk to you about this but the courts want an answer as soon as you can give one." Richard placed a piece of paper down on the table, the two creases from how it had been folded making it curl. "While the courts care little on your opinion, I thought it best to at least give you the option to speak up." Silence but Richard didn't seem to be put off by this one. Instead, he waited. When no response was given after some time, he flattened the paper out and said, "These are the options the courts are giving. Your father is fighting hard to get you back with him but the courts are offering you a way out. They have approved two options: either you can live with me and I become your guardian or you are put in the foster system till you can be adopted." Silence again but Diggory noticed the tears welling up in the little boy's eyes. Richard seemed to notice because the man moved to hug the boy but stopped before the motion could become apparent. Instead, he turned the motion into him putting his hands on the table, fingers intertwined as he waited. It was the right thing to do because a choked sob escaped little Diggory before the boy asked in a raspy, weak voice, "I don't want to leave Andrew." That was a shot through the heart for Diggory and the Professor, for tears sprung to both their eyes as Richard was unable to keep from touching the boy now. He wrapped the boy up in a big hug, tears steaming down his face as he croaked, "I know, my boy. I know. And I would be more than happy to have you here but Andrew..." The rest of his words seem to catch in the Professor's throat. "But Andrew isn't here anymore, Diggory. He's with his parents now." "No!" wailed the little boy. "He can't leave! He promised he would stay! He promised!" There were no words to describe how painful that was for Diggory to not only witness but to hear. He could feel the phantom echoes of little Diggory's agony and he looked to the ghost. The once stony ghost was hunched over, a hand pressed to their mouth. Beyond the hair blocking his view, tears fell fast and hard towards the floor. Diggory reached out, not sure what he was going to do but he knew he wasn't going to just leave the ghost alone in that sorrow. His touch brought the ghost's attention to him and from one instance to the next, the pair were holding onto each other in a desperate attempt to keep the emotions brought on by the scene from breaking either of them completely. When they pulled apart, Diggory felt horrible but the ghost looked better, calmer. Rubbing at his own face, he looked around and found they were at some zoo. Little Diggory, now a good year or two older, was running up to the railing of the elephant exhibit, pointing towards the large creatures milling about. ""Look!" little Diggory exclaimed. "Look! An elephant." Richard chuckled as he came to the boy's side. "That it is, my boy." He ruffled little Diggory's hair affectionately and little Diggory pressed into the touch. "Do you want to wander the reptile house one more time before leaving?" Little Diggory hopped from the railing, excitement and slight apprehension coloring his expression. "Can we?" "Of course!" The world melted and the zoo changed into an indoor obstacle course of sorts. There were many people running about - most in their late teens, early twenties if not older - but Diggory's gaze was drawn to the smallest form sprinting down a long strip. Little Diggory wasn't so little anymore, now almost 13 or 14 years old. One of the groups started laughing at something as little Diggory leapt over a wide pit and rolling on the other side to maintain momentum as he kicked himself back upright. "Excellent!" Richard shouted from a chalked off area. "Well done, Diggory." A grin broke across little Diggory's face as the teen pounded towards the parallel bars. He leapt over the shorter one, his hands catching the higher one and flinging himself upwards towards a high platform. The world shifted again and this time they were somewhere Diggory couldn't make out beyond being in the midst of a catastrophe. Little Diggory, now in his late teens, scrambled forward, hands collided with a section of what seemed to be wall started to fall towards him and Richard. Memory Diggory held his own, slowing it enough for Richard to shove something up against it, stopping it completely. Richard coughed from the dust as he walked over to memory Diggory, patting his shoulder. "Good job, Diggory. That seemed to have stalled the blasted thing. How are you handling? Anything overtaxed or in need of attention?" Memory Diggory flexed his hands and shifted his weight but there didn't seem to be any such thing as he offered, "Not that I can tell." "Good. Come here. I want to check you over anyways." The world shifted again but Diggory paid it only so much attention as he commented, "You and the Professor became family, then." The ghost nodded. "He became like a father to me after my dad's horrible treatment of me with his buddies the night he killed Andrew. Ever kind, ever present, and yet he started to change just as my father had." Diggory looked over as the door opened and he was suddenly hit with a strong deja vu. "I think all the loss finally caught up with him." "Aw, Diggory. I was wondering when you would be showing up." Memory Diggory was standing near the door, book in hand as Richard pushed a pair of welding goggles up. "Hard to get much work done when I'm lacking my assistant." Memory Diggory didn't react. Day 29: Adventure
"Well, come on," Richard encouraged, turning back to his work. "I doubt you need an engraved invitation." "What is the Crystal Heart?" Memory Diggory asked. Richard gave a chortle. "We have been working on this project for five years and just now you are asking what it is we are making? Please, Diggory. I am sure you could answer that far more eloquently than I can." Memory Diggory crossed the room in a few long strides, the young man approaching his late 20s looking conflicted. "No," he countered, almost slamming the old book against the metal worktable. Richard's gaze snapped to the book. "What is the Crystal Heart?" "Where did you get that?" the Professor asked, voice grave and heavy. "While I had been cleaning the lab last week like you had told me to do. It was open to this." "You should have well and left it alone," the Professor spoke distractedly, turning back to his work. "How could I have left it well enough alone when the goddamn title was what we were working on!" memory Diggory challenged at a higher volume. "That is nothing but a fairy tale!" the Professor retaliated, slamming his tool on the workbench. "IT'S A GODDAMN WEAPON!!" bellowed memory Diggory. The ambiance of the room was deafening. He spoke again, softer but still as sharp. "Professor, I am not stupid. I may be naive, but I am not slow. I have found probably most of what has been written about this to have a very good idea of what you are attempting and I can't let you." The Professor laughed, the sound sharp, it was brief, and it was anything but humorous. "Let me? LET ME?! You expect me to believe that my lowly assistant can stop me from creating the ultimate tool for creation?!" "It is a weapon of mass destruction!" memory Diggory countered, a plea on the edge of his words. Diggory felt the phantom pains of betrayal even as he didn't see it on the memory. "Professor, this will not only kill this planet but every planet in existence. Every star. Every planet. Every single molecule will be destroyed if you manage to create this." The following silence was far longer than any previous. Finally, memory Diggory spoke again. "Please, Professor. Don't go down this path. You do this, and everything we've been doing, everything we've created up to this point will be for not." The Professor gave a low chuckle. "You think it will all be for not? That all this will be for not!?" The Professor got into memory Diggory's face, his voice dropping to a threatening rumble. "This was all for the final product, Diggory. I gave my life to this project, I gave you a life with this project. A homeless boy starving on the streets with no where to call home, beaten nearly to death. I took you in, I gave you a purpose." The hurt on memory Diggory's face was masked by the furious sneer as the Professor drew back. "And now you see it fit to bite the hand that feeds you. You are a fool, Diggory." The Professor turned back to his work. "Leave. Now. Before I call security." "I'm sorry, Professor," memory Diggory offered, choked with emotions. He picked the book up and closed it. "But if either of us is the fool, it is you. You will only bring your own destruction with this plan of yours." The Professor exploded. "GET OUT!!" Memory Diggory barely reached and for the longest time the pair had a standoff. Memory Diggory eventually stepped away, crossing to the door. At its threshold, he paused and looked back, offering a final word. "I hope it works, Professor. If not for everyone sake's, then at least yours." The door clicked shut and the room melted away, leaving behind some dingy basement, his kidnapper dozing at the bottom of the stairs that led back up to the shop above. There were boxes and crates everywhere along with an assortment of furniture and random things shoved on shelves. One crate was glowing faintly and he crossed to it, already suspecting what was within. Sure enough, tucked into the crate was a crystal in a simple heart shape, smooth and perfectly rounded edges all the way around down to the single point at the bottom and the indent at the top. There were no imperfections anywhere inside the crystal itself where a soft light seemed to be coming from. Diggory stared down at it. "Please tell me that's the last of our adventure down memory lane." "Probably not," the ghost spoke. He didn't look their way. "Why was it only a near-perfect artificial crystal heart could find the real one?" "Resonance," the ghost offered, though that within itself was vague. The ghost must have noticed because they elaborated. "Those of the same vibration or frequency usually attract. If nothing else, an artificial crystal heart that matched the Crystal Heart's vibration would be able to find it. It also helps that there are memories contained in both that are of the same events." He looked to the ghost, finding them watching him with an expression that appeared just as drained as he was feeling. "So why did the Professor want it? "He wanted to bring his family back. I had figured it out and knew the consequences if he'd been able to try. I just didn't go about stopping him the right way and, in the end, never managed to help him as he had helped me." Diggory looked back down at the Crystal Heart. "Can this really bring back the dead?" "No." He looked at the ghost but the ghost gazing at the Crystal Heart. "Nothing can, not even a mythical object like this." Diggory's gaze drifted back. "Why not?" "Because it had been made that way." Diggory's head snapped around, finding the Professor standing near the stairs. He didn't look like he was beyond 110 years old, though. Day 30: The End
Instead, the man appeared to be in his early to mid twenties, the same age as the first memory. He leaned towards original Diggory and asked, "Another ghost?" The ghost nodded, offering in turn, "Though I can only speculate on how." The Professor- Richard offered a soft smile. "My soul was encased in the Crystal Heart, much as my Diggory's soul is encased in the crystal heart you hold. The only difference was that it happened without me actually having much say in the matter." Diggory frowned as the ghost beside him took a step forward, voicing, "I don't understand. Surely you've been alive all these years." The ghost eyed Ricard's ghost warily. "Haven't you?" Richard's expression turned a note sad. "No. I died the same time you did. In fact, it was the act of putting your soul into that crystal heart that bound mine to the Crystal Heart." "You're kidding?" Diggory couldn't see the ghost's face to properly interpret that one line and Richard's solemn expression didn't help either. "Do I have any reason to lie? Anything to gain?" Richard asked in turn, hands going out to either side. "I died in the aftermath of the explosion, though I don't remember specifically how my life was ended. I just know that it did and it hadn't been as peaceful as yours." Diggory took a step forward. "But how did you get in the Crystal Heart?" "The Crystal Heart is a collection of souls and magic, of memories and dreams. It is truly a heart crafted by those that give it life, and sometimes that life isn't given so willingly." Richard shifted his weight. "When I realized what was holding my soul from crossing on to wherever souls go after death, I felt no need to fight it. I wanted to find the Crystal Heart and now I was bound to it." His head tipped slightly to the side. "It didn't hurt that I could create a corporal form without needing to be summoned and I could see the ties that bound the Crystal Heart with the one housing my Diggory's soul." Richard's gaze shifted to the other ghost. "You had been right, Diggory. I was a fool, a madman driven by the grief of losing his family and his best friend all in the same day. I had tried to pretend that I wasn't as affected as I had been by being the best I be could for you and I failed. "I failed you, I failed your father, I failed Andrew and my relatives. I failed the world focusing on the Crystal Heart, and I failed future generations by creating a persona that grew long after I was gone no thanks to anything I did as a ghost. "I failed...because I am flawed like every other human in existence and I had been denying myself that fact since the start of this whole mess." There was a shift out of the ghost beside Diggory but he didn't look. "There are no words that I can offer you, Diggory, to repair any of the damage done by me or your father, None beyond the reassurance that I was stopped before I could do something stupid, before I could condemn a world to oblivion." Richard's gaze settled on Diggory but he knew the ghost's gaze was looking through him to the Crystal Heart beyond. "Even being a part of it, I do not know the purpose of the Crystal Heart." The ghost's gaze focused on his face. "I do not know who the current person carrying on the Professor persona is, nor do I know what their intentions are. I have not been in a corporal form in many years." Diggory looked to the Crystal Heart. "Should we just destroy it, then?" Ghost Diggory shook his head at that, arguing, "We can't destroy the Crystal Heart. There is too much that would be lost if we did so." Richard hummed an acknowledgement, not surprised by the other ghost's counter. "As much as I would be inclined to agree, it is a far greater risk of someone trying to use it for something it wasn't made to do compared to losing the knowledge contained within." Richard's gaze fell onto Diggory once more. "Besides. I believe it is no longer up to us to decide what happens from here on out." Ghost Diggory sighed as Diggory watched Richard, frowning slightly. "Ok," Ghost Diggory accepted. "I look forward to seeing you again, Richard. In whatever capacity that is." Richard gave the other a happy, fond smile. "As do I. Take care, Diggory." The ghost disappeared but Diggory's chest felt like it was burning. He pressed his hand against his sternum where his crystal heart was at. He looked back up at Richard. The ghost was watching him, expression serious. Richard met his gaze again. "You do know that following through with your intent will not be the end of this, right?" Diggory turned to the Crystal Heart as it seemed to shine brighter. "Even if this isn't the end, it will be for the majority." He met Richard's gaze again as he pressed his palm against the Crystal Heart. "And that's all that matters right now." The man at the bottom of the stairs jerked awake with a grunt. Groaning, he shoved himself to his feet and, figuring it was long past time that he got back to work. He moved to start up the stairs when an open crate caught his eye. Frowning, he crossed to it only to find the thing empty. Scoffing, he picked the lid up and moved it to the corner with the other empty crates. Honestly, how many times did he have to tell the kids to put the empty crates together? He climbed up the stairs and entered the hallway only to stop. Standing near the shop was a woman and an androgynous person. "Madam, I truly do not know who you are talking about." |