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 Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2024 10:20 am
“I’m okay,” Sessrumnir quickly said in the hopes of reassuring Alastor when he nearly collapsed. Alastor’s fast reflexes meant he was still on his feet, even if everything seemed to be twisting and turning.
The Code had used its power to bring down the barriers protecting the Knights’ Wonders, but for some reason, breaking through the barrier to his Wonder took more energy than Sessrumnir was prepared for. He’d never had to use so much energy to just get there. Even with someone with him. And Alastor had his own means of getting to the Wonder, so Sessrumnir doubted bringing Alastor was the issue.
“Took a lot out of me. Don’t know why. I’ll be okay, but we should hurry.”
There was no use in hiding things like that from Alastor. His husband would worry, regardless. And probably more so if he didn’t know what was going on.
The Wonder itself felt heavy. Sessrumnir was already irritated by the cold sweat that had started to break across his forehead from the effort of fighting whatever was trying to keep them out. Even as its Knight, Sessrumnir felt as though his Wonder was working hard to protect itself. But against what?
They’d arrived outside of the entrance to the Grove of Remembrance. It was possibly the most sacred place in all of Sessrumnir, and known only to those who truly called Sessrumnir their home or had devoted their lives to the Wonder. It was a vast and dense forest where those who passed were laid to rest, protected by Sessrumnir against the raging storms Jupiter was known for.
But it didn’t take longer than a few steps into the grove to see what had put the Wonder into overdrive.
Something had caused the barrier to shatter.
Rain poured down leaving large puddles that drowned the wildflowers that were usually in bloom. Wind shook the trees and snapped branches, leaving debris all over the usually well manicured forest floor. Lightning cracked and thunder boomed deafeningly overhead. Sessrumnir flinched back from the noise, bumping into Alastor in a feeble attempt at escaping something he knew he couldn’t turn back from.
“I’m okay,” he insisted again as he squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his hands over his ears. It was thunder. It was just louder than usual. He knew he needed to get to the Code piece deeper into the grove. The longer they stood there, the more soaked they would become. He just needed to get his heart to calm, and to stop jumping every time there was a lightning strike.
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Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2024 8:34 pm
Alastor had felt some measure of resistance when they arrived, and as Sessrumnir was not naturally unwelcoming he could only assume that The Code had either failed, or some other safeguard was in place to keep people out. He wasn’t even feeling the worst of it. There was an uncomfortable weight that was unnerving. It was worse for his husband.
A simple storm was sometimes enough to make Alastor’s bones ache, and to remind him of the most substantial of his scars. Storms on Jupiter were worse.
Which was most certainly not helping Sessrumnir right now.
The Grove was in a horrible state, all things considered. Alastor did not give himself time to observe and calculate; the time for thinking could be later. The time for acting was now.
He already had an arm around Sessrumnir to support him, but he shoved his free hand into subspace to extract two small earrings. “I know,” he reassured. “You’re okay.”
Sessrumnir might not have heard him with his hands over his ears, and with reluctance, and only out of necessity, Alastor brushed one hand away. He put one earring on himself, and the other on Sessrumnir. He was fishing around in his subspace almost immediately, and though he had to shove a good few things around to find what he was looking for, the noise-canceling headphones weren’t too difficult to locate. He smoothed Sessrumnir’s hair before he put them on, one side at a time. Then, he wrapped both arms around Sessrumnir and held him close.
Wind and water weren’t any real threat to them.
The wildflowers and trees, those could be fixed. Even if Alastor’s heart ached to see the Grove in such a state.
‘You’re okay,’ he said again. He picked Sessrumnir up and held him so their chests were pressed together. He didn’t know if Sessrumnir could feel his heartbeat, strong and stable, but he hoped he could.
‘It’s a bad storm, Michael. I’ve got you. Can you hold onto me?’ It didn’t matter either way, Alastor had a good grip and he held the Knight close as he took long strides across the grove. He didn’t want to see it in this state, he didn’t want Sessrumnir to see it like this.
‘I’ll take us wherever we need to go. You can relax, we’ll fix this.’
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2024 7:42 am
Sessrumnir didn’t resist when Alastor moved his hand away. He immediately knew what Alastor was doing, and was grateful for his quick thinking. In his current state, Sessrumnir doubted he would have been able to string together enough thoughts to do anything but shrink away from the cracks of thunder around them.
He knew Jupiter’s weather was intense, but it seemed even more heightened now. Or perhaps he was just extra sensitive to the noise at the moment.
The headphones helped.
He kept his eyes closed as Alastor lifted him. He wrapped his arms around his shoulders when asked to do so, and pressed his face against Alastor’s neck to just breathe and will himself to calm down.
‘It’s a bad storm,’ he agreed, almost as if he had to confirm it to convince himself. ‘Thank you. I’m okay--’
He knew it was probably useless to say it, but if anything, it was for himself more than it was for Alastor.
He was okay. It was just a bad storm. It was just loud thunder. It was the electricity in the air making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
He had to get to the Code -- Alastor was taking him there. He had to calm down -- he could feel the steadiness of Alastor’s heart and hear the soothing calm in his voice though the earrings they shared.
The Code piece was deeper in the grove, he knew that. In the center of a circle of trees, protected inside a small shrine.
It had been beautiful to see the last time he visited. Now…?
The wind was stronger now, and as they approached the clearing, Sessrumnir knew to lift his head enough to see the piece of the code spinning erratically, as though caught in the center of a vortex. The little shrine had been broken apart, and the ground was muddy, but all the water that should have been pooling there had been pushed away by the wind.
Lighting struck a tree nearby, and the bark flying off the tree drew a very different memory from Sessrumnir. Of metal and fire instead of water and wood. His arms around Alastor tightened, and he wasn’t entirely sure what thoughts were transferred to him, but he hoped it wasn’t everything, if only for Alastor’s sake. A visit to the Code piece wasn’t supposed to prompt his own thoughts -- memories -- of blood and death.
‘I’m okay,’ he thought again, stubbornly, pleadingly. ‘Can we get closer?’ If he could focus on the Code, then maybe his other thoughts would subside.
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2024 9:14 am
Even if Sessrumnir wasn’t transferring images into his mind, Alastor would have known something was wrong. The taste of blood kept him in the present. He was biting his cheek. It gave him something to focus on, to keep himself grounded.
Sessrumnir was warm in his arms, but the wind and water was cold and biting.
How was he supposed to clear his mind and resonate with anything here? Alastor drew Sessrumnir closer and was determined not to feed into the chaos. The storm was too strong, the damage was too extensive. He couldn’t tell what memories were his and what were Sessrumnir’s.
He had no magic, no gadgets, to help. He couldn’t patch up the barrier in any meaningful way to help Sessrumnir. ‘Of course,’ he answered, instead of letting any of his negativity or concern spill over. Sessrumnir didn’t need that.
Alastor would protect him from whatever elements he could. Sessrumnir didn’t need him coming undone, or thinking too deeply. Alastor cleared his mind. He thought of things that comforted him. If he was going to share anything with Michael, let it be things to bring him peace.
Kissing Michael. The morning sun on a fresh spring day. The golden oak on Alastor. Atticus carefully crafting his next masterpiece. Summer’s sunset kissing the water. Princess wagging her tail. Sessrumnir’s springs. A fresh cup of coffee. Fireflies on the river under the moonlight. Claire’s lasagna.
He stepped over debris and kept his arms wrapped tightly around Sessrumnir, like if he stretched far enough he’d be able to protect him from all sides. He wished he could protect him from his memories, too.
He was close now, but he didn’t want to intrude on the Code. He didn’t want to put Sessrumnir down, either, but.
‘I’ll do anything I can to help, Michael. You’ve got this. You’re doing a good job. Jupiter’s throwing a temper tantrum, but it’ll pass.’
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2024 10:39 am
His heart was heavy. But he could feel the thoughts from Devyn, could see the images that filtered between them. He knew he was probably quite pathetic, being unable to focus on things. For being unable to stand on his own. For not knowing how to tell the difference between thunder and artillery.
The shrine was broken. The Code piece looked frantic, chaotic. But as they drew closer, and as Sessrumnir forced himself to nod to Alastor and gently maneuver himself to get out of his arms, something changed.
Maybe it knew they were there to help, or maybe it was something else, but as Sessrumnir got to his own feet once more, a dome seemed to appear around them and the Code, protecting them from much of the wind and keeping the water from drowning them.
Thunder still cracked overhead, and Sessrumnir kept his hand on Alastor’s arm as he closed his eyes to settle himself.
He let himself think of all the things Alastor thought of, grateful for Alastor’s patience and understanding. Grateful that the Code was doing what it could to help. Maybe this assistance was from the cornerstone piece? Maybe it was something else.
‘I don’t know how long this will take,’ he admitted remorsefully. He didn’t want to keep Alastor there, but he knew he needed him if he wanted to fix things.
He flinched again as more thunder rumbled and shook the ground around them, but closed his eyes and placed his free hand over his heart -- over his starseed.
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2024 12:54 pm
‘It won’t take long,’ Alastor reassured, with no evidence to back it up. ‘I’ll be here with you for as long as it takes.’
Neither of them knew how to quit, and they were both dedicated to Sessrumnir’s well-being. Alastor might not have liked the rain or storm, and as the wind whipped around it made his stomach sink to think of all the damage done to the grove–and who knew where else.
‘Just do your best. Take your time. You’ve got this,’ he said, in a steady, confident voice. He kept his hand at Sessrumnir’s back in a present connection, just to remind him that no matter what he was facing, he wasn’t facing it alone.
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