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 Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 7:54 am
“If he doesn’t, I’m sure I can find something around here. I’ve got a sewing kit, I can fix it right up.” Although, he couldn’t imagine Chad complaining about oversized clothes, either. Worst case scenario, I’ll work some magic with some curtains or something.”
Clothes were among the least of Devyn’s worries, really, but he appreciated Michael looking out for him. Like always.
There was a brief moment where Soleiyu was gone, and then when he was there. Not in presence, just in aura. It was difficult to miss, and while Devyn did glance over, the Mauvian didn’t seem to be thinking much of it. He didn’t get a good look at him–aside from a very large, fluffy tail disappearing into the office, but even that wasn’t enough to distract him from Michael for long.
“I’ll stick to the main areas. Probably,” he promised, and went on to add, “I won’t go anywhere I haven’t been invited before. And nowhere that looks dangerous. I’ll stay near here so he can soak without being moved too much. Maybe I’ll visit the library and see if I can’t find something to read to him. Or I’ll show him some of Percy’s works.”
There was enough here to keep Devyn interested–and he’d make the best of it. If he was going to be here for a few days, or longer, he wanted to give Michael something nice to come back to. They had cleaning supplies, he might as well make himself useful.
“I’ll stay out of trouble, though. I promise. You will, too.” Not a question, just something he trusted Michael about. “Do you know what you’re going to tell the Reids yet?”
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 8:17 am
Michael’s lip twitched again when he was told he would stay out of trouble. No, it didn’t have to be a question. Devyn was right. He would do his best to make sure everything was fine so that when Devyn got back, there was nothing for any of them to worry about.
“He’d probably like that, if he’s an artist. Seeing Percy’s works, I mean. There’s a lot around this place that he’ll probably like, or at least enough to keep him distracted. As for the Reids… I have no idea,” he admitted with a sigh.
“I don’t want to lie to them, and I don’t want to tell them anything that will make them worry even more. I could ask them to trust me that Chad is safe, but I don’t want them to get put into a situation where they will have to lie about me telling them anything. This is just a s**t situation. I don’t know what to tell Jeremy either. I don’t want him to get caught up in all of this. I could pretend that I have no idea where Chad could be or what happened, but that means I need to tell the Reids the same thing. I’m out of ideas Dev…”
He wasn’t worried about himself, but he knew that Jeremy was a good guy and would probably follow the rules, and the Reids would be beside themselves if Chad was suddenly missing and the house was marked as a crime scene. Especially if any reports came out about blood or shattered glass or thrown beds.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 8:26 am
Alastor might not have known much about how Earth would investigate, but if they were on Alastor, he imagined that they’d all be questioned. Especially if they’d all given their name and information to Jeremy, if he’d made that report. They had concerns. They were close to Chad. Anyone looking for him would be wise to ask his friends, or anyone who spent any time with him.
Michael must have been a decent liar, but the thought didn’t arrive in Alastor’s head with any malice; he’d kept secret that he was Sessrumnir for long enough.
He’d lied, too. A lot, in his lifetime.
“It’s too bad my Council isn’t here anymore. They always came up with believable stories.”
Too bad Percy wasn’t here. He’d have known exactly what to say or do.
“Can you reassure the Reids at least that Chad said he had some place he liked to go to when he was scared? I don’t know if that’s believable. But I’d rather them think that he’s run off and is just scared and hiding than the alternative. Jeremy doesn’t need to know the difference, does he? The police will still look for him either way, won’t they? Especially if he’s the son of one of their own?”
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 8:38 am
“I can try,” Michael agreed as he looked down at Chad in the water. The transfusion was still in progress, so he didn’t do anything to disturb him. It at least looked like Chad had some of his color back.
He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and shook his head.
“That man has no right calling Chad his son. I’ll make it work with the Reids. I’ll just have to hope Jeremy doesn’t start digging too much into you. Since you’ll be gone, I wouldn’t be surprised if they assumed you might have taken Chad.” Which, he kinda did. But it was to save his life. They just couldn’t explain that because there was too much involved and too many chances for their identities to be compromised.
He glanced up at Devyn again, who was sitting so perfectly still so as not to disturb the transfusion. Michael didn’t miss the way he brushed his finger through Chad’s hair every so often to comfort him, even when he was unconscious.
“Thank you, Devyn. You’re an incredibly kind person, you know. I’m sorry you had a rough time getting people to trust you on Alastor when you were younger. People would have benefited from having someone like you looking out for them.”
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 8:52 am
At this, Alastor laughed softly and shook his head. But, it had brought a smile to his face, and it seemed to reach his eyes when he brought his gaze back to Michael. “I was looking out for them regardless of what they thought of me. That part never mattered. Would have made my life a little easier, but. I guess it kept me on my toes. Kept me working hard. Never had a chance to get complacent.”
He shrugged, because it was a long time ago.
He felt it now, sometimes.
But he still had all the memories. Clearer now than they had been before, even.
“But it made me who I am, and I suppose that can’t be so bad if you’ve got so many nice things to say about me. Thank you, Michael.”
He didn’t apologize for the trouble, not this time. They both knew it was the right thing to do, and if it hadn’t been, he knew that Michael would have told him. They would have figured something else out. Maybe Michael would have had to tell him to butt out, warned him that it wasn’t his business, reassured him that there were people who were capable of handling this.
But, he hadn’t. He’d been here every step of the way.
Ahead of Devyn, sometimes.
“If Jeremy digs, he digs.” He shrugged. “Soleiyu can just make me some disguise, too. Or I’ll dye my hair or something.”
He said it flippantly enough, but he couldn’t help but reach out to tousle his hair a bit and run his fingers through it. He didn’t want to change his hair. He would have if he had to, though. If that was what it took to make things go back to normal.
“Tell Jeremy whatever you need to if it means that you stay safe. I’ll manage. I’ll make my way back to you. And we’ll figure out something for Chad. His father didn’t deserve him. And Chad deserves better. So I just hope,” he glanced at the boy, “that when he’s done healing physically, he’s got enough strength left over to heal the rest of that damage, too.”
Almost dying was hard enough already even when your father wasn’t the one who wanted you dead.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 9:04 am
It was always good to hear Devyn’s laughter, even if it was quiet. And when Devyn smiled, Michael couldn’t help but smile as well.
“I have plenty of nice things to say about you,” he agreed as he stood up in the pool and carefully stepped over where Chad was lying so he could take the blood pressure device and then Chad’s wrist to check how he was doing.
“He’s a strong kid,” Michael said confidently as he looked down at the barely teenager in the water. “He might not realize it yet, but I think with the right support he’ll be able to really flourish. Especially with you and the Reids watching out for him.”
Maybe it was wrong for him to try and distance himself. He didn’t know Chad very well, but Chad had also seemed suspicious of him, or untrusting, which was fine! Michael understood that. He also knew how dangerous it would be for someone to get close to him, both for himself and them. Jet had threatened to kill everyone he cared for and loved…
He didn’t want to add more people to that list.
“We’ll figure out a way to make it work. Oh, but don’t do anything to your hair,” Michael insisted as he reached up to also fuss with the long black waves, putting it back into place from where Devyn messed with it.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 9:11 am
Alastor showed no sign that any of this was weighing on him. The necklace was steady, and he didn’t even look like losing any of his blood was affecting him in the slightest.
And yet, when Michael slid his fingers into his hair and tried to fix what he’d done to it, Alastor just leaned against his hand a bit. Steady, still. As unmoving as he could manage, just to make sure that he wasn’t messing up Chad’s chances with a speedy recovery.
“Well, all right. I’ll keep it how it is. For you.” Teasing, obviously, but there was something unmistakably affectionate about it.
Devyn was tired. He’d been burning energy all day. More than usual, given how much he had worried about Chad. It was late, that wasn’t helping.
“If I’m going to look after him, I’m lucky I’ve got you to look after me.”
He knew didn’t make it easy.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 9:18 am
When Alastor leaned against his hand, Michael paused for a moment. There was no real rush for him to pull it away, right? Besides, when he had an excuse to be this close to Devyn, he could see just how bright his eyes were as they melted from gold into ice. Alastor was making no effort to move away from him, and if he leaned a little closer…
That would be a horrible idea. There was nothing other than Michael’s delusions that Alastor… what? Might like him more than as just a friend or companion? Alastor said he trusted him, that he was lucky that he had Michael to look after him. Michael didn’t want to ruin that by doing something unwanted.
So he made himself straighten up and looked down to check the device for Chad’s blood pressure. There was no blood immediately noticeable in the water, so that was good. And the crystals were only decent enough lighting that he was almost positive Alastor couldn’t see the color in his cheeks.
“I think that should be good,” he said as he put the device to the side of the pool and turned back to Alastor. “Here, I’ll take yours out first.” He had a cotton ball, gause, and bandaid ready to go. It was just a matter of getting everything undone before moving to Chad next.
“Need help carrying him up to the bedroom?” he asked, because of course he was going to assume Alastor would be staying in his room. As in… Devyn and Percy’s room.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 9:23 am
“I’m not sure, I’ll let you know in a minute.”
It was reassuring to think that maybe Chad had everything he needed, and now that it was over, Alastor finally looked at his arm and made something of a soured look. He didn’t like the needle but hadn’t fussed about it before.
“I might need you to carry me up to the bedroom.” He sighed, obviously indulging in his own dramatics. “I might not make it to the bedroom with him, though. Might try to set up camp somewhere close to the springs, just to make it easy on him. He’s going to hurt when he wakes up, and I know the more time he spends in the springs, the better he’ll heal. I mean, I’ve got some cream that might help, too. But if you’ve got anything he can take to help with the pain, I imagine he’s going to handle a stab wound with a little less grace than you do.”
Even if he was sure that Chad was used to being hurt, being stabbed was something very different than a scrape or bruise.
Absentmindedly, he stroked Chad’s hair again, a little worried that he was still unconscious, but…
It was for the best. He didn’t have to deal with pain. He could sleep, and his body could try to heal.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 9:28 am
“I’ll admit I’ve forgotten how far away the room is,” Michael said as he finished removing the tubes and needles and wrapped them up to be cleaned or disposed of, depending on what Soleiyu wanted to do with them. “It’s hard for me to think about distance when you’ve been distracting me.”
Again, the honesty was slipping out. He had lost track of distance in Sessrumnir, because it never seemed long enough that he got to be there with Devyn. Not that he was going to say that out loud, but still.
“We can find somewhere closer. Or we can just set up an extra bed in the office,” he suggested, glancing up to see if he could catch a glimpse of Soleiyu, but he was apparently busy working. “I can go find some bedding and clothes for him. Towels too. And yeah, I’ve got pain medicine with me that I’ll leave here,” he said as he reached down to gather Chad back up into his arms once Devyn seemed content with brushing at his hair for a little while. Michael didn’t want Chad to get too hot from the water.
“Poor kid,” he said softly with a frown, barely able to control his frustration and anger at what Chad must have been put through before that night. The soaked shirt made it easier to see the marks where he suspected his father had grabbed him earlier.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 9:43 am
“Doesn’t make sense to me,” Devyn mused; his eyes had found the same bruise under Chad’s shirt. “But I guess, a lot of things still don’t.”
He rubbed at his arm where Michael had bandaged him up, mostly out of habit. It didn’t hurt; Michael had done a good job taking care of him. Like always.
“I’ll stay with him while you’re doing that. I appreciate it, Michael.”
He appreciated everything. He knew Michael wasn’t doing this for him but he deserved all the thanks in the world, anyway. “He’ll appreciate it too. I’m sure he’ll tell you how much when he wakes up. I don’t need a bed or anything, I probably won’t sleep much. The chair’s good enough for napping, I think.”
But, he didn’t want Michael to worry, and he wasn’t going to slip into bad habits again just because he wasn’t around.
“As long as he’s comfortable for now, I can manage the other stuff. Is there anywhere you don’t want me? Anything you don’t want me to touch?”
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 9:54 am
“You’re welcome to whatever you want,” Michael said easily and without really thinking about it. But it was an easy response because he trusted Devyn with everything, so of course he would trust him with his Wonder. After all, it was as important to Devyn as it was to Michael, he suspected.
“Here, hold him for a minute. I’m going to get my cape,” he explained as he waited until Alastor could get a good hold on the unconscious kid without having to put him down again. Once Alastor was comfortable, Michael powered back up so he could remove the cape from around his shoulders and helped to wrap it around Chad to keep him warm as he cooled down from the hot water.
“He’ll be okay,” Michael said, and then paused for a moment before sighing. “Physically, at least. He’s lasted this long, so I think he’ll still manage with the right support.”
And obviously Devyn and the Reids were good support.
“I’ll be back soon.”
It took Sessrumnir a little bit of time to locate everything he was looking for. He found clothes for them to change into, as well as clean jugs and cups for fresh non-Spring water that they could get from various faucets that seemed to be marked with a green crystal carved into an oak leaf to signal that it was safe to drink. He even found a couple of relatively thin mattresses that he was able to roll up and tuck under his arm. The clothes and blankets and towels were all packed into a bag, but they should be easy to sort through.
He found Alastor and Chad in the office with -- well, he could only guess that the cat ears and tail belonged to Soleiyu.
“I was wondering how you put together so many devices without thumbs,” Sessrumnir said in greeting as he placed everything down.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 10:22 am
“I don’t need thumbs,” Soleiyu said easily; he didn’t even look up from the little device he was working on. “They just make things go a little quicker.”
His tail was a giant like this, and though it twitched a little behind him it didn’t lift off the ground. Probably for the best, given how massive it was. “Can’t use this form back in Destiny City without drawing a lot of attention but I don’t have to worry about the Negaverse finding me out here.” He had another form, without his ears or tail, but it was so horrible. He hated the way he felt like another person, like a human. He didn’t envy the Senshi who had to hide their true forms just to fit in, but he was comfortable in both of his natural forms.
He’d rather have paws than not have his tail.
“I’m almost done, too. It’s rudimentary, I don’t have all the pieces that I need. But it’ll give you some communication. Just give it up to fifteen minutes between sending and receiving messages, if you can. I’ll try to get improved models made but I wasn’t anticipating any of this so I didn’t bring much of anything.”
This was still impressive for Devyn, who seemed to think that anything less than a day was good timing. He was sitting in the chair and had Chad bundled up in his arms in Sessrumnir’s cape. He hadn’t wanted to put him in the cot while he was still so wet, but he hadn’t wanted to just leave him lying on the ground. Alastor hardly looked like he could have been comfortable, but he’d fallen asleep in stranger positions than this.
As soon as Michael entered, he seemed to wake up immediately.
He didn’t want to miss anything between now and when he had to leave, and even if Devyn wouldn’t say it there was a heaviness to the necklace. He’d gotten used to Michael being around.
Saying goodbye when he went to work was one thing–he knew where he was. He could reach him easily. He knew when he’d be back.
Peter wasn’t at the house right now.
He didn’t want him to go back to an empty home.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 10:38 am
As someone who has had the use of their thumbs all their life, Michael didn’t argue about what made things a little quicker or not.
And if he was being honest, he wasn’t really paying attention to whatever Soleiyu was working on when he caught sight of Alastor in the chair with Chad. He’d been feeling the heaviness in his necklace grow over the last hour or so that they were there, but now that it was almost time to leave, he suddenly wasn’t sure how he was going to manage by himself. Not after being so used to Devyn being there.
Still, he offered him a smile and started getting everything set up that he’d brought with him. The thin mattresses were laid out first, one on the floor, perpendicular against the wall and cot, and the other on the cot itself. Sheets and blankets were pulled from the bag he brought with him and spread out on each bed, along with a couple pillows and several extra blankets. He didn’t have to tell Devyn where more blankets were, and there were several cabinets full of towels in the shower rooms of the Springs.
Next he was digging through his subspace. He took out pretty much everything he had. His medical supplies, extra emergency candles and flashlight. He pulled out the food and water bottles he had stored for emergencies. All the food had a long shelf life, so they would at least have something to eat, in addition to what they’d brought before.
Finally, he pulled out Elliot’s sweater that Chad had borrowed, and To Kill a Mockingbird, which he placed on the end of the cot. The box of jewelry he kept, if only because he didn’t want anything getting lost by accident.
“I was going to give Oliver and Asher that book back to try and tell them without telling them that Chad was okay, but I think it will give him more comfort to have with him. Maybe you can take turns reading to each other,” Sessrumnir suggested as he stood near the two with his arms crossed thoughtfully over his chest.
Oh, and he was also grateful to Soleiyu for working so hard.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 10:44 am
Alastor made a face when Michael suggested reading the book to each other, but only because he was much faster reading in his head than reading out loud. But, if it would make Chad feel any ounce of comfort, he supposed it was worth it. He was sure there were some books from Alastor here, maybe he could read those to him, too.
Sessrumnir had everything he could think of, and seemed to be doing everything he could to make sure that they’d be comfortable for as long as they were here.
…Which felt like too long already.
“I suppose that sounds like a good idea. I’ll have to get him in dry clothes and get him tucked in after you’re gone. I’ll keep an eye on him and if anything doesn’t seem right, I’ll come back to Destiny City. But I’ll try not to.”
Something about the way Michael was talking made it obvious that they were going to have to say goodbye soon and Devyn knew he couldn’t just let him walk away. Especially because Soleiyu had just put his tools down and seemed like he’d finished his project.
So, he thought he should get up. He felt bad, having to move Chad again, but he seemed like he was still sleeping and Devyn had done everything in his power to make sure that he was moved slowly and carefully. He rose from the seat and lifted Chad as though he was made of brittle glass, carefully laying him down on the cot, finally. Sessrumnir’s cloak had absorbed most of the water but he didn’t want to let him get cold and sick on top of all of this.
“Is there anything I can do to make anything easier for you? You’ll come back as soon as you can, won’t you?” No, he didn’t mean to sound needy, but he also wasn’t ashamed about wanting the reassurance. He knew that Sessrumnir would come whenever he could, Devyn just wanted him to know that it was more than just necessity. He didn’t want Michael to forget that he wasn’t alone. He wanted to tell him to call someone to come over, to make sure that he was able to sleep. To make sure he didn’t forget to eat, or get too reckless.
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