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 Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 11:13 am
There were a couple of places that Reims could think of taking them to until the youma decided to leave the area. It felt like a bit of a waste to go to his Wonder, knowing that he’d not be able to for about a week after. Something about his body needing to regenerate the energy to get there or something. The other choice was the Moon, but there was a chance that the Code would see Cassidy and immediately offer him a position as a Moon Knight.
It wasn’t that Reims thought Cassidy would be a bad Moon Knight! After all, if Maisie was one, and Atticus and Elliot, then Cassidy would probably be just fine.
But Reims also felt guilty about pulling Cassidy into this. Well, he hadn’t really pulled him into it. He was trying to keep him out of it. And out of a youma’s mouth. Or tentacles. Or whatever this particular one had.
Maybe Yvoire would know what to do with Cassidy, and thoughts like that was probably why, when they disappeared from Destiny City and reappeared in another place entirely, they were outside at the end of the bridge that crossed the river separating Yvoire from Reims.
A nearly frozen river.
Snow covered the ground, pristine and white, and despite the mostly clear sky, little flecks of ice seemed to be flittering around them. Above them was a very clear view of the closest planet to them, its earthy colored swirls of storms clearer than any image NASA could provide.
“Sorry,” Reims winced, already shrugging the jacket from his shoulders, pausing only to pry his fingers out of Cassidy’s grip. The cold didn’t bother him so much, but Cassidy was dressed for Earth’s summer, and not the Ganymedean winter they’d stepped into.
He held the jacket out for Cassidy to put his arms through the sleeves, or just wear over his shoulders or whatever, while Reims also tried to catch a glimpse of any activity from Yvoire’s castle. There didn’t seem to be any lights on -- magic, of course -- nor was Yvoire walking around in the snow. He was tempted to write him and see what he was doing, and if he wanted to meet them there, but he remembered how it would be difficult to explain things since they both knew Cassidy, but Cassidy didn’t know it was either of them. Oh, and Yvoire didn’t know Reims was Riker, which also made things difficult.
“That’s Yvoire. I’ve got a friend who is the Knight in charge of protecting that place,” he nodded to the castle across the river. And then he glanced over his shoulder to the gothic looking cathedral, decorated with stained glass and statues and gargoyles.
“That’s Reims. We share names with the Wonders we protect. Uh, or at least clean up. I don’t really know what we’re protecting them against. At least not now. Hopefully none of those youma will show up here. Oh,” he paused again with another wince as he tried to start ushering Cassidy towards the cathedral and out of the cold. He glanced up at Jupiter in the sky.
“Uh, we’re on Ganymede. It’s, uh… Jupiter’s largest moon.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 11:16 am
Cassidy was dressed for ninety degree weather, not ice and snow.
The shock of being somewhere very different from Destiny City might have stunned him for a moment, but the longer he stood there, the colder he got. His teeth were chattering even before Reims offered his coat.
He was staring across the frozen river, trying to take in the sight of–whatever this was–with such intensity that at first he didn’t register the cold. His body did, but his mind was somewhere else completely.
Without thinking about it, he adjusted his bag so he could slide his arms through the sleeves of the offered coat. He didn’t look at Reims, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the entirety of everything else around him. His bag slipped from his fingers and that seemed to startle him back to the here and now. He balled his hand into a fist and released it twice, all the while rubbing at his wrist with his good hand before he crouched and picked his bag up to sling over his left shoulder.
“Oh, you weren’t kidding,” he said, sounding only slightly incredulous.
He felt the sudden urge to fuss with his hair, to try and freshen up. He did what little he could but he didn’t move from the spot he stood. There were no footprints around them. They hadn’t walked here, they’d just arrived.
He had ignored Reims’ ushering, maybe not intentionally, but now that he was aware of it he started to move towards the cathedral. His teeth were still chattering, but going from one extreme to the other had him feeling a little dizzy.
“You know, I’ve got some pretty good painkillers back home, and I’m sort of wondering if maybe I took the wrong dose before I left earlier today. Except, I know my imagination isn’t this good, and the last time I had any hallucinations it was the lunch lady from third grade and her skin was melting off.”
He looked at Reims for a second, like he was really seeing him, and then looked back to the Cathedral as he continued walking towards it. “I don’t have dreams like this either. And if this was going to be a trick, I can’t figure out how you’d have done it. You’re not going to have to kill me now that I know all your secrets, right?”
He pulled Reims’ coat a little closer; he was shaking almost uncontrollably but continued to trudge forward. He wasn’t sure how Reims seemed so unbothered by the cold but maybe that was just another type of magic.
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 11:16 am
It wasn’t so much that Reims wasn’t affected by the cold, but he knew it wasn’t as bad as it would have been had he come there as a civilian. And he had long sleeves and pants while Cassidy… had very small shorts and barely any sleeves.
It was fine, though. He was now wearing the jacket so that would hopefully stave off the cold until they could get inside.
“You really had hallucinations like that?” he glanced curiously and with concern at Cassidy. That sounded pretty traumatic for someone in third grade. Was that because of another injury? Or maybe he’d been sick? The painkillers made sense since he was still recovering from his accident. And apparently had a heart condition.
He frowned a little as he headed towards the front doors, although he seemed to be focused on making sure Cassidy didn’t slip and fall. Would it have been weird to offer to carry him? Probably. He had to remind himself that this was Cassidy, and while he felt more comfortable knowing that Cassidy didn’t know he was Riker -- similar to how he felt more comfortable around Yvoire and Énna as Reims -- he still didn’t want to push his luck.
Thankfully, it seemed as though Cassidy only gave Riker a hard time about things.
Except the comment about how he wasn’t joking about his appearance earlier… -- No, that was because he was Reims, nothing more and nothing less.
“If I wanted you dead, I would have left you with the youma,” he sighed. “Are you expected home? Like… I want to give it enough time to move on before heading back, but if you’re going to get in trouble, or if you need medicine for your-- heart or whatever, then I can take you back as soon as possible. But, I mean… I’ve got food here, too. And a place to rest.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 11:17 am
While Reims sort of had a point, he hadn’t actually seen the ‘youma’. For all he knew, it was just a ten pound rat monster.
Cassidy could have defended himself against a big rat.
“I mean, I’ve got a curfew,” he answered. You weren’t supposed to tell people you were home alone or that no one was expecting you, he knew the basics. ”But I guess I’ve got a few minutes.”
Absentmindedly, he drew out his phone and–oh, no service.
That kind of made sense if they were by Jupiter.
He pocketed the phone and kept walking. He never went faster than Reims and never strayed far from his side. “You’d really escort me home? That’s so Knightly.”
Of course, the creepy cathedral in front of them made him arch a brow but it wasn’t like the building was ugly. It was unlike anything he’d ever seen in person. He couldn’t help but stare at that, too.
And then again at Reims, who seemed so worried about him. Maybe he shouldn’t have lied about the heart condition but he was going to hold onto it for now if he thought he could get any sympathy out of it. He still didn’t exactly know what was going on here, after all.
Even if Reims did seem to be giving him honest answers.
He shuddered and crossed his arms tighter, snuggling into Reims’ still warm coat. It was a nice gesture. There was something familiar about him, even if he couldn’t quite place it. Maybe it was just stress playing tricks on his mind.
It was crazy to think that there were other people out here–with magic. On other planets. He wasn’t sure if this was fantasy or sci-fi. “Do you live up here or is this just sort of your secret headquarters away from Earth?”
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 11:17 am
Reims nodded in understanding as they continued to shuffle their way through the snow and ice to the front doors. There was a smaller side door that he went to and pushed open. It was significantly lighter, after all.
The inside of the cathedral was surprisingly warm compared to the freezing temperatures outside.
“No way, I don’t live here, but I like to come here to get away from-- you know… normal life,” he shrugged, making sure Cassidy made his way inside before shutting the door behind him. “It was a lot worse maybe a year ago. Glass and stone everywhere. This place was really run down. I’m still cleaning it up, but it’s a lot better now,” he explained, clearly proud of how nice it looked. At least comparatively.
Most of the places he could reach had been dusted and cleaned. Above where he could reach still looked like it had been cleaned, but not as well.
“I can only come here maybe once every couple weeks, so I usually plan out what I’m going to spend my time doing but…”
He could have gone to the Moon, but he felt more comfortable at Reims. It would be okay. Two weeks would pass faster than he knew.
“It’s okay, there’s not much more for me to do,” he shrugged, but didn’t rush Cassidy through in case he wanted to look at the interior or the stained glass or whatever.
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 11:23 am
Cassidy sort of wanted to go in through the big doors but he didn’t protest. They looked so large and formidable. He wanted to see them up close.
Maybe if he’d been dressed for warmer weather he could have enjoyed looking around more. For now, he shuffled inside eagerly. Almost immediately, he breathed a sigh of relief. Reims’ coat was still pulled tightly around him, and he’d stopped a few feet from the door so he could take his time and look around.
“Wow. This place is…”
For a moment, he forgot his words. Amazing? It seemed too casual. Beautiful? Not pretty enough. Creepy? He didn’t know if it was the chill from outside or something else rattling his bones.
Cassidy was awestruck and it took him a few seconds just to realize he didn’t know how to describe it. He was obviously impressed but nothing he could think of really seemed to do it justice. He gave up trying to describe it and just shook his head. “Something else. Like, wow. Did you take pictures so you could do a before and after? I mean, this looks good. I feel like I just blinked and landed in Europe.”
Actually, Jupiter’s Moon was way more impressive but it wasn’t like he could go home and brag about this. Probably.
With Reims moving forward, Cassidy finally managed to take a few more steps forward, too. He wanted to warm up quickly and though he didn’t think Reims would leave him behind, he could only handle being so much of a burden. Especially when it seemed like he was an accidental guest messing up Reims’ carefully laid plans.
“So I messed up your schedule some? What were you going to do on your next trip here?”
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 11:24 am
Reims was very clearly pleased with the compliments his Wonder was getting. He puffed out his chest a bit and there was a little bit of a skip in his step as he made his way to a room off to the side of the main building. Inside was a fireplace, along with a couch that looked like it had been very thoroughly cleaned, and a small table where food that didn’t require refrigeration were laid out. Some required heat to be enjoyed, but there was a small kettle hanging above some fresh logs.
“Oh, I was going to practice some on the organ. And then clean some more. I’ve been trying to organize the books that have been scattered about but I can’t understand what anything is. Different language, I mean,” he explained, nodding to the bookcase against the wall, filled with books that were nothing more than decoration at the moment.
“But you didn’t mess it up. I’m glad I was able to get us here. I wasn’t really looking forward to fighting that thing, whatever it ended up looking like. I usually end up hurt one way or another. So, uh… do you need to sit down? How’s your heart? You’re not going to, like… die suddenly, are you?”
Oh no… now Reims felt even worse for telling Cassidy that he thought he’d died when they met up for the first time in months.
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 11:26 am
Cassidy barked a laugh, but if it had been forced he at least seemed to find genuine amusement in something. “No, I don’t think so. I’m pretty durable. But I was lying about my heart back then. Sorry for scaring you. I thought I’d be a less appealing kidnap victim if I had health complications, but you put too much effort into making me safe and comfortable so it’s not fair to drag that out. I do have medicine I take but I’m not going to die if I don’t. Thanks, though.”
It seemed like they’d found somewhere to settle down, so he carefully lowered his bag as he looked around. This room wasn’t as impressive as the others but it was far cozier and that made it his favorite room, for now.
He sank down onto the couch, curling up as much as he could in Reim’s jacket. He wanted to kick off his shoes and tuck his knees up under the coat too but this was okay for now. He eyed the fireplace thoughtfully but shook his head and watched Reims instead.
“And for bringing me up here. It would have been really awkward if I did get attacked by some monster and got hurt, I’ve only been back in town for a few days. And school’s going to start soon. I’d have been really upset if I missed the first day.” He didn’t sound like he’d been worried at all, but his expression had settled into a familiar lazy smile.
“You know, you don’t really look that old. You can come sit next to me if you want.” He patted the empty spot on the couch next to him. “You have to be going back to school soon too, right? What would you have done if you got hurt?”
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 11:28 am
He’d been lying about his heart? Reims let out an exasperated breath, but he was both relieved and flustered that he believed him. After everything -- the car accident and the whole situation with his parents -- Reims thought it was pretty shitty to have a heart condition too. But since he was faking it…
Reims then clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth and planted his hands on his hips as he frowned at Cassidy. “Not that old? Seriously…”
He supposed that was a good thing, though. If he looked too old, well… that would probably be creepy.
“If I got hurt? It wouldn’t be anything unusual,” he shrugged. “Rub some dirt in the wound and walk it off, I guess.”
He eyed the empty spot on the couch where Cassidy had gestured to join him, but he turned to the fireplace instead. He took a couple of the logs out so the ones there would burn in a shorter amount of time, and grabbed the long necked lighter from the mantle so he could get a fire started. He already had some kindling set up, and was grateful that his Wonder seemed to replenish it every time he left and came back.
Once the fire was crackling and growing on its own, Reims made his way over to the couch and awkwardly sat down next to Cassidy. He kept his hands on his knees, picking at a thread that wasn’t there.
“But some injuries are a lot worse than others. I’ve been really lucky so far. And I’ve got some good friends who will look out for me. Oh, and a couple have healing magic, so that’s super useful.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 11:32 am
For a moment, Cassidy wasn’t sure if Reims was going to join him on the couch. He couldn’t complain about a fire though, so he watched him as he got one going. It was probably just his imagination, but the room felt warmer as soon as he saw the first stick catch fire. He felt warmer when Reims joined him on the couch.
So stiff! So nervous!
He had magic and a sword, why was he acting so shy around Cassidy?
“Healing magic?” he asked, and shifted positions so could face Reims better. He planted his elbow atop the back of the couch and rested his cheek against the palm of his hand.
“What sort of healing can they do?”
There was a lot to unpack about what Reims had said; he wanted to ask about the injuries Reims was referring to, but for a brief second that was a bit of barely concealed hope in his voice.
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 11:37 am
Reims knew why Cassidy was asking about the healing magic. He’d thought about it, too. He wanted to ask Atticus to take a look at Cassidy’s injuries. Maybe get his dad to bring him to that healing springs Atticus and Elliot talked about. His injuries weren’t that old. And surely any little bit would help.
“Uh… normal healing, I guess?” he grimaced and then sighed. He pulled back his white shirt sleeve so Cassidy could see the scar up his arm, practically from wrist to elbow. It was the freshest one he had at least.
“This was pretty bad, but they patched me up. Uh… this wasn’t from a youma, though. It was glass.”
He was trying to be careful. He didn’t want to make it obvious that he knew Cassidy was injured. Or was at least recovering from being injured.
“You, uh. You said you were going back to school soon? That sounds… neat.”
Oh, that was a horrible attempt at a conversation. Reims cleared his throat, wondering if it was just too hot in the room.
“That jacket looks nice on you. I mean… I guess I just like my jacket, so that was kind of weird to say.”
Stop, stop… talking more was clearly just making things worse.
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 11:42 am
Cassidy immediately leaned over to investigate the scar. Reims had offered it for inspection so it wasn’t rude! “Wow, that looks bad. I mean, it looks like it could have been worse. How does that magic work? I mean, ‘normal healing’ is like, you go to the hospital and they do surgery and stitch you up and then if you’re lucky you get some cream and medicine to help, and then you wait a few weeks. So what can their magic do?”
He still had a scar so obviously it wasn’t perfect, but it was still magic. He curled and uncurled the fingers of his right hand.
“I mean–yeah, I’m starting school. I don’t blame you for liking this jacket, I really don’t want to give it back. I will. Once it gets a little warmer. Sorry, I’m freezing. Are you? Do you have a blanket or something we could share?”
Maybe he was being a bit dramatic about it; he’d already started to warm up but there was still a chill in the air.
“I mean, since we’ve got nothing to do but wait, we might as well get comfortable. And I’ve got a lot of questions, so you should settle in. I’m not trying to be annoying. It’s just interesting. And I really want to hear more about this magic. Can it heal anything?”
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 11:46 am
As Cassidy leaned close, Reims couldn’t help but lean back a bit. It felt weird with Cassidy so close. Not necessarily a bad thing, but he felt like his heart wanted to race a bit more than usual. Was it because he was anticipating Cassidy to drop some mocking comment about something? No, he wasn’t Riker right now.
“Uh… I’m not really sure,” he grimaced, but kept his arm out for as long as Cassidy seemed to want to look. “I guess I could ask them? I know one of my friends was really hurt -- from one of the people who basically control the youma. He was burned pretty bad, but there was something they had that healed him. Why, are you planning on getting hurt?”
Reims knew why. He wanted to check with Atticus and Elliot too. He knew they’d tried getting an opportunity to help Cassidy before with their magic, but it was always so hectic at the hospital, and then Cassidy left the city.
Now…? It might be too late to really help him, but if there was a little relief their healing could give, it would be better than nothing right?
Luckily, he had the excuse to gently pull his arm back and stand up from the couch so he could collect a blanket from a nearby basket. It was a large blanket, but there was only one, so Reims shook it out and draped it over Cassidy’s shoulders and around him.
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 11:53 am
Why was Reims so sheepish? Shouldn’t he be boasting about being so cool and powerful, and having magic and some gorgeous building on another planet? He’d just had just been puffing out his chest, why was he suddenly so meek?
“I don’t have cooties and I’m not going to bite you, why are you so squeamish?” he asked. As soon as the blanket was draped around his shoulders, he thought about scooting closer to Reims but he didn’t want to make him unhappy. Cassidy would definitely freeze up here if left to his own devices, and it wasn’t like he had any way to get back to Destiny City if this went south.
Maybe he should have been on his best behavior so this didn’t turn into an abduction.
Although, Reims really wasn’t giving a strong impression that he even wanted Cassidy to stick around, he seemed so–what, shy? Uncomfortable? Nervous?
Cassidy glanced down to make sure his shorts weren’t riding up or something.
No, they looked fine.
“I’m not planning on getting hurt, if that’s what you’re worried about. Just curious. You know, all of that sounds pretty scary.” Getting burned horribly, having their souls snatched…
Cassidy was quiet for a few seconds but his eyes found Reims’ face again. “How do you handle all that?”
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 11:54 am
Reims settled back onto the couch, but gave Cassidy enough space between them so it wasn’t like he was getting into his business. Although he mumbled about how he didn’t think he had cooties or anything ridiculous like that. He was just trying to be polite, or something.
The question caught him a little off guard, and he frowned thoughtfully as he leaned against the arm of the couch, turned just enough to be able to look at Cassidy.
He wasn’t sure why he thought it was a strange question from Cassidy. Maybe because he was always trying to get on his nerves, or tease him. Maybe he was feeling out of sorts because he wasn’t on Earth. But it really sounded like Cassidy cared… or was at least curious.
Eventually he shrugged a little and shook his head. “I just do, I guess. What else can you do?”
If he didn’t handle things, then he would be leaving others -- his friends -- to handle things on their own. So he could grit his teeth and keep moving forward, even if it meant carrying those who needed some extra help. He didn’t mind. He liked being able to help and be useful.
“It’s scary, yeah, but there are worse things,” he shrugged again, although he hated the lingering habit of his to just shrug about everything. “I mean… at least I can come here if I need to get away from everything.”
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