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 Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2024 1:11 pm
After everything the Code told them, Ephesus dreaded seeing what became of his and Amarynthos’ Wonders. His parents offered to go with them, if they thought they needed any extra support. But they also made it clear that they believed the boys were strong, and if anyone could help their Wonders, it would be the two of them working together.
Still, nothing could have prepared him to see their Wonders in such a sad state. It was as though the nearly two years they’d been putting effort into getting things to heal and grow had been for nothing.
Ephesus covered his mouth with his hand in momentary despair as he saw brown and gray replacing the once vibrant and shimmering landscape. There were no bees, no butterflies. The flowers had wilted, and everything had lost its color. Even the once white building looked gray in the wake of whatever caused this.
He squeezed Amarynthos’ hand, and took a deep breath, and lowered his other hand to his side.
“Okay,” he said with sad determination. “We can fix this.”
They’d already discussed a game plan before arriving. Try to get to their Code pieces and then they could meet where their Wonders bordered each other so they could meditate together. As long as they were able to get to their Code pieces, then they’d be one step closer to helping set things right again.
“I love you,” he said to Amarynthos as he turned to give him a soft kiss -- a temporary farewell.
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Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2024 6:43 pm
Amarynthos’ Wonder had hardly been in a better state than Ephesus. His brows had knitted together and his lips settled into a frown. It wasn’t a hopeless state, it was just disappointing.
They’d fixed things before, they could do it again.
It just sucked to see it like this now.
If he were being honest, he didn’t want to leave Ephesus’ side. But, they were safe here. And, practically speaking, the faster they got their Code pieces, the faster they could fix this. He’d meditate better with Ephesus next to him, and this would save some time.
“I love you too.” It was easy to say up here on the Moon. One kiss wasn’t enough so he took one more–no, two more, and then squeezed his hand. He forced a smile. “I’ll see you soon. And then we can do a tour and see how our Wonders are doing so we can plan on where we want to start. If I’m a little late, it’s just because I want to make sure the bears have enough to eat.”
…And he wanted to make sure they were okay. His stomach was in knots but he put on a good front and stepped back with a wave. “But I’ll go fast.”
He could run.
“I’ll see you soon. Send me messages if you miss me!”
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Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2024 7:06 pm
Ephesus relaxed a little with each additional kiss, and nodded when told to message Mary if he missed him. Oh, but he would always miss him.
“Oh! Wait!” he gasped, suddenly remembering. They didn’t often use them since they were always together, but now seemed like a good way to keep track of things. “Did you want to use these?” he asked, pulling the pair of earrings from his subspace.
He didn’t want to bother Mary if he was going to be busy, but it would be faster than sending messages. And this way they would be able to make sure the other was okay faster.
“I want to know right away if the bears are okay, too.”
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Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2024 7:31 pm
Amarynthos paused mid step. “Oh! You’re so smart, Effie.” He trotted back over and held out his hand for one. “I would have liked to read your letters, but I’d like to hear your voice even more. And you’ll know as soon as I do when anything happens. I might be able to show you pictures if I think hard enough?”
Ideally, he’d see only good things. He didn’t want to admit that he was afraid he might find something else.
He didn’t like to see their Wonders in such a state. He hoped that resonating with the Code was going to be easy. He didn’t know if it would just magically fix things, but there was power in hope so he intended to pour his whole heart into it.
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Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2024 7:43 pm
Ephesus handed an earring to Amarynthos, and then quickly clipped one to his ear, before reaching out to brush some of Amarynthos’ hair out of the way so he could have an easier time with his earring.
Okay, not really. Ephesus just wanted an excuse to be close to him before they parted ways.
One more kiss and Ephesus forced himself to hurry off towards his Wonder.
‘I miss you already,’ he sighed as he carefully stepped through the wilted flowers. Maybe that was a bit dramatic. ‘Oh gosh, I hope that doesn’t make me sound too clingy-- oh! Sorry, I’m still not really good with using these. Sorry,’ he winced, feeling his face flush.
‘Okay, just be careful about thinking too hard. You're supposed to be focusing on getting to the Code so we can help it. Oh, I left my backpack up in my room. I can get that and bring it down for the Code. Ugh... Mary is so kind and sweet. I hope his bears are okay.’
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Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2024 11:54 am
Amarynthos stayed still while Ephesus fixed the earring on him, and almost before he’d turned back around he was trying to make sure he wasn’t thinking about how nice Ephesus looked, or how cute he was, or how fast his heart was beating.
He bit his lip and, for as hard as he had to try not to think of those things, his heart still swelled when he got to listen to Ephesus’ internal monologue. It was cute!
He didn’t tell him that he could hear his mental musing. He didn’t see the harm in it, and he didn’t want to embarrass him. Maybe it was a little selfish to work so hard to keep his thoughts to himself while enjoying Atticus', but he couldn’t help it. He had thoughts buried, fairly deep, that he didn’t want to deal with right now. And, when–if–he was ready, he wanted to be able to choose the right words, not just make a mess of things with splashes of broken thoughts and emotions.
‘You’re plenty good at using them, Effie. I miss you, too. The bears look unhappy but so far they seem okay. They look really cute. You’ll have to come pet them.’
Thankfully, none of them seemed injured. The cubs had big eyes and looked relieved to see him, and a few had run over, already expecting snacks. It was difficult to keep going when he just wanted to scoop them up and hug them, but he picked up who he could and swapped out one cub for another every few steps as they trailed after him.
The damage to his Wonder wasn’t impossibly difficult to fix, it was just hard to see. There were patches of flowers that looked like they were trying to grow, but he could tell that the bears had been hungry and trying to eat whatever looked fresh. Many of them were trampled.
They weren’t dead. Just dying.
So there was still time to save them. Things were worse the closer he got to his Code Piece but aside from dislodged bricks and things that had been knocked over it didn’t look too bad. If you excluded the flowers. Everything that had been damaged or knocked over could probably be cleaned up within an hour so he wasn’t too worried about that at least.
‘We’ll have to feed them, they keep following me. My flowers look pretty bad. How’s your Wonder holding up?’
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Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2024 4:29 pm
‘Oh, I definitely will. I miss them, too,’ Ephesus responded with both worry and relief. He was glad that the cubs were okay, but he wanted to make sure they had enough to eat.
‘My Wonder has looked better,’ he admitted, but even through the earring, he sounded like he was trying to look at the bright side, even if his heart ached and he felt discouraged by how sad everything looked.
‘The fountain is dry. We’ll just have to get it working again. Maybe we just need to get it to start running again. It’s probably just blocked, or maybe just turned off.’
He only stayed long enough in the courtyard to see what damage had been done, and to make sure the Code was still there. It was, but it looked like it was flickering weakly, like it was tired. He had originally thought about putting it in his backpack to carry, but it seemed so sad and weak that Ephesus couldn’t help but approach it, climb up onto the edge of the fountain, and gently scoop the orb into his hands.
He held it close to his chest as he climbed back down and made his way back out to the field.
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Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2024 8:15 pm
‘Yeah…I’m not sure, there’s a lot of dirt that’s been kicked up around here. I can’t tell if it’s from the Code or if the bears were digging for food. Ah, what a mess. But I got the Code. It’s looking a little sad. Probably because it misses you so much. I’m on my way back though.’
He’d never seen his Code piece look so small, so tired. It had taken him longer to scoop it up into his hands because he was afraid of hurting it.
Maybe the Code couldn’t feel pain, maybe it was immortal, but Amarynthos still cared. And just in case, he was going to treat it right.
He cradled in his open palms as if he had his hands full of water and he couldn’t afford to spill a single drop.
‘I’ll feel much better when we figure out how to resonate with it. And then we’ll have to figure out where to start fixing things up again. At least now we have all the experience and supplies, I bet it won’t take us as much time to get things back in order.’
He was careful, but he was hurrying.
‘Oh! I see you, Effie. I’d wave, but my hands are full.’
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Posted: Thu May 02, 2024 7:11 pm
It was easier not to spill all of his thoughts when he was so busy listening to all the sweet things Amarynthos said. It made him feel more at ease, even if he was anxious about their Wonders being a mess, and the poor bears not having anything to eat.
‘I see you too,’ he thought back. But couldn’t quite stop himself from thinking, ‘Mary is so sweet, I love him so much.’
Maybe a little aware that he might have been thinking too loudly about some things, Ephesus hurried to where the invisible border that separated their Wonders, and carefully knelt down into the grass and dying flowers to get comfortable.
“Do you want to sit back to back?” he offered. Not because he didn’t want to see Amarynthos! He just didn’t know how much he could concentrate if he was distracted. “Oh, our poor Codes,” he sighed, looking down at the sad little orb in his hands too. “It’s okay. We’ll make sure everything gets fixed.”
Somehow.
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Posted: Mon May 06, 2024 6:22 pm
Once more, Amarynthos didn’t tell Ephesus that he heard more of his thoughts than he might have wanted to share. It summoned another smile to his face and his heart swelled with love. He didn’t think a solid thought, but he felt so much love. Amarynthos didn’t even realize that he sent a flash of that feeling through the earrings.
As Ephesus settled onto the ground, he did too. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. I’ll feel more stable leaning against you.”
Maybe he could even feel his heartbeat, too.
He had to adjust a little, just to make sure that he and Ephesus were in the perfect place, right at the barrier where their Wonders met. When he was comfortable, he sat up straight so Ephesus could get settled, too. He cradled his Code in his hands. There wasn’t really a physical form to stroke, but he brushed his thumb across the side and hoped that it might bring the Code some comfort.
When he felt the warmth of Ephesus’ back, he relaxed a bit. His breathing came easier. He knew he had to clear his mind but he already felt like he could. He always felt calmer with Ephesus.
This didn’t seem so impossible.
“Are you comfortable?” he asked softly. The smell of dried grass and flowers carried on the breeze that gently tousled their hair.
He closed his eyes and breathed.
He was comfortable.
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Posted: Wed May 08, 2024 5:41 am
With all the warm thoughts and feelings shared between them, it was easy for Ephesus to settle into comfort, especially with his back against Amarynthos and his little Code piece cradled in his hands against his chest.
“I am. Thank you, Mary,” he hummed contentedly and closed his eyes to breathe in the scent of everything around them. Even with everything wilting, nothing smelled like it was decaying. It just needed some help getting back to how it was before.
Being able to focus on Amarynthos’ presence and warmth was enough to let him focus on the Code piece, and on himself as a Knight, and on the Wonder around them. There was still so much hope in his heart that the sad state of everything now was just a minor deterrent. It wasn’t as though everything had been scorched by fire. And the bear cubs were still well, just hungry.
His heart calmed. Not from the love he felt for Amarynthos, but from the trepidation he had when first seeing their Wonders. He knew things would be okay. It would just take their patience and devotion, which he knew he and Mary were more than willing to give.
It was a while later that he opened his eyes again. The Code piece in his hands seemed back to normal size and was no longer pulsing sadly. He smiled at it before glancing up to look out at his Wonder.
He tried not to bother Amarynthos, but he was pretty sure he’d gasped with pleasant surprise. The flowers around them were no longer wilted, and it seemed as though they had some guests as well. The cubs had gotten curious, but were apparently only somewhat deterred by Ephesus’ tiger sitting majestically nearby with her massive paws crossed one over the other and staring at the cubs as if to dare them to interrupt. Which meant they had to go and bother the tiger, instead. She didn’t seem to mind them climbing on her, as long as they didn’t interrupt the two Knights.
Ephesus smiled and laughed softly, but put a hand over his mouth to try and give Amarynthos a little more time if he needed it.
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Posted: Wed May 08, 2024 12:27 pm
Amarynthos’ eyes were still closed when he heard Ephesus gasp. He’d been lost in his thoughts, like something in a dream-world. He saw bits and pieces of thing sand people, just out of view. In some ways, it felt like drifting down a river and trying to take in all the sights when you could only see them for a fraction of a second.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on what he was seeing. When he tried to slow down the images in his mind, he couldn’t make sense of anything. He kept thinking about Alastor, but that wasn’t very helpful.
If the Code was trying to tell him something, it was speaking in riddles he couldn’t solve.
It wasn’t stressful; Mary didn’t feel rushed or flustered. He cracked an eye to see what had drawn Ephesus’ attention. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the bears on Ephesus’ tiger. She was so patient with them. They meant no harm, but they were curious and eager. One was trying to curl up to sleep but the other two kept prodding her with their big noses.
He was so distracted by them that it took a moment to see the rejuvenated flowers, or to notice how healthy his Code piece looked.
Whatever weight he’d carried in his chest seemed to have been carried off by the breeze, and he released a long-held sigh.
He looked over his shoulder at Ephesus and wondered if it was possible to fall in love any more than he already had. He was young, so there was a rational, argumentative part of his mind that said there was so much he hadn’t seen or experienced, so how could he know? But there was another part that wondered why he should even think to look when he saw perfection in Ephesus.
Amarynthos’ heart was pounding embarrassingly strong in his chest, so much so that he didn’t know if the laughter that tumbled from his lips was because of the bears, or Effie, or at himself.
He leaned over to kiss his cheek. “Wow, she’s so patient. I should have gotten my summon out to help babysit.”
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Posted: Wed May 08, 2024 4:37 pm
The kiss had his cheeks flushing with color, and he smiled up at Amarynthos, clearly charmed by him. Now that everything had been rejuvenated a bit, he didn’t feel so bad about adjusting himself so he could lay down in the flowers beside Amarynthos.
The tiger let out a little huff and lifted a paw to gently rest over top of one of the cubs that kept wiggling around, as if to get it to settle down some. It didn’t look like she was using her full weight.
“Have I mentioned lately how handsome you are?” Ephesus hummed, one hand over the Code as he let it rest against his chest, but he reached out to place his other hand on Amarynthos’ arm. He liked being close to him. He felt warm and safe, and Ephesus loved him so much.
“I had a strange daydream, I think. There were a lot of books, and a big tree, kind of like the one on Alastor. I don’t remember much else, but I kept feeling like I was missing you.”
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Posted: Mon May 13, 2024 4:36 pm
Though the cubs squirmed and flailed, they weren’t doing so with any frantic need to get away or escape. They seemed to think she was playing too, and several of them had already begun to purr. It wasn’t quite the same as a cat, but the deep rumble from their tiny bodies was an easy indication that they felt safe and happy.
Amarynthos did, too.
He laid down next to Ephesus, resting his Code piece gently over his stomach as he hooked Ephesus’ arm in his own.
“Lately? No, I think it’s been a few minutes. I suppose that means it’s time for me to remind you how good you look, too. I’ve been thinking it so much that sometimes I forget to say it out loud, too.” One more kiss on the cheek. No, two. That was enough for now. “I had a weird dream, too. A lot of pieces. They flashed so quickly that I almost got a headache. I don’t know what to make of them. I felt like I was on Alastor? Or I kept thinking about it. I wonder if I forgot something up there. I was missing you, too. But I don’t know if that was the dream or just because I couldn’t see you.”
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Posted: Wed May 15, 2024 6:41 pm
“On Alastor?” Ephesus repeated, his smile from being kissed fading a little with confusion and concern. “That’s strange. It didn’t have anything to do with when we were helping to get rid of the Chaos there, did it?” he wondered, hoping it wasn’t an ill omen.
“Maybe we could talk to Daddy about it. I’m sure he’ll have some ideas. Maybe… Or maybe he’ll let us visit again. If you did forget something, then it might be good to try and find it,” he suggested, but really he was trying not to sound too worried about whatever strange dreams Amarynthos was having.
“But… now that you mention Alastor. I feel like my dream was on Sessrumnir. Oh, but we’ve been there recently, so maybe that’s why I was thinking about books.
At some point, the tiger had given up trying to keep the cubs from climbing all over her, and flopped into the flowers as well. And if she happened to be using her tail as a toy for the cubs to try and catch, well… it seemed like it would be harmless.
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