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 Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2022 5:03 pm
With all of the monsters and people who were trying to hurt and kill others, Atticus knew that it was going to be dangerous. It would be dangerous no matter what, but now that they had magic for themselves, he knew he and Elliot wouldn’t be able to run away from everything dangerous, willing or otherwise.
And if Elliot was going to put himself in danger, because he cared so much about helping people, then Atticus wanted to be there to help him.
“Really? You’ll train us?” he chirped, a bit excited for the-- oh, it was probably going to have to be a lot of running around. Well… if he could learn to keep up with Elliot, then that was okay. “I don’t know if I can fight, but I’ll try.”- Michael wrapped his arms around Oliver when he hugged him. He didn’t mind that there were tears, just as long as Oliver knew he was safe. And that Asher and Elliot were safe, too.
“It’ll be okay,” Michael promised as he rubbed Oliver’s back, holding him close to shield him from the rest of the world if that were possible. He looked up at Asher to nod to him, and gestured for him to come close too if he wanted. Even if it was just to hug Oliver, although Michael obviously had nothing against hugging them both.
“I know how much you’ve both been through. And I’m sorry. I’ve tried keeping myself out of your business for this long, but I can’t do that any more. Not with this,” he tried to explain. He needed them to know that he was doing his best with the resources he had. And it just happened to be a trust fund that he only got access to about five years ago.
“If it’ll make you feel better… I mean… I can have contracts written up saying that you don’t owe me anything. I don’t want you thinking that I’m going to turn around and make you pay me back for any of this. And if you wanted to quit your jobs or… if you wanted to do something else. Take a year or two off to travel or write a book or do anything you’ve always wanted to do but couldn’t because of money. Please... I’ll cover it. Don’t make me beg because it’s not a pretty sight,” he tried to joke, but he was also trying not to get emotional as well.
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2022 5:10 pm
“There’s more to training than just fighting. Sometimes you have to be better at talking, or running, or being able to change someone’s feelings about something. Sometimes knowing first aid and being able to provide backup is a life saver. We’ll try a lot of things, we’ll see what you’re good at. Even if you’re not the best at fighting, it’ll be good to at least have an idea of how to defend yourself. Being a Knight can be a little rough when you first start, you don’t really have useful weapons and you don’t really have a lot of magic you can tap into. But we’ll get you started with the basics and we’ll go from there. I imagine Michael and I are going to want to go out with you two while you just get started so you can get a feel for everything, but we’ll probably want to start practicing in other ways, too. We won’t work you too hard. I don’t want you going through what I did. But, if you work hard enough, eventually you will get magic, and then it won’t matter if you can fight or not, sometimes that magic does the work for you. Or, you get a Summon. A fancy creature to help you fight. Princess, she’s a summon. And she’s vicious when she needs to be.”
He spoke about her with love and adoration and–sure, most of his information about Knights came from Percy, but Michael was here and seemed to have had a similar experience with Sessrumnir so things couldn’t have changed that much, probably.
There wasn’t a Knight Academy, so they’d have to do the best they could.
-
Oliver shook his head, but it wasn’t really clear what he was saying no to. Asher wore a grateful, tired smile, and though he came closer he didn’t interrupt their hug. Oliver needed it. Maybe Michael did, too. “Thank you, Michael. I don’t really have words to thank you properly. I don’t know what we did to get a friend like you.”
It hadn’t been an easy start. They’d been working since they were in high school, in one way or another. Not necessarily because they wanted to but because they had to if they were going to get anywhere. They’d moved themselves to Destiny City, put themselves through school, cut costs everywhere they could. Wanted a family and gotten so lucky with Elliot. Worked harder to make sure he lived a happy, comfortable life.
They weren’t going to quit their jobs, but the fact that Michael was trying so hard to make things easier for them, after he’d already done so much–
As if saving their lives wasn’t already more than enough.
Contracts didn’t matter. Sure, they should probably have them for legal purposes, but Asher trusted Michael completely. Neither he nor Oliver thought Michael would try to pull the rug out from under them.
“We’ve never been on vacation without you, I don’t think we’d know how to travel. And if we’re going to stick it through for that retirement, we probably shouldn’t take off of work. Besides, with El and Atticus starting high school soon, I’m sure we’ll all feel better being able to stay close. And you know if you need anything at all, obviously we’re here for you. Just, um.”
Asher glanced at the house Michael was offering them. “A stone’s throw away.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2022 5:16 pm
Atticus nodded in understanding. Okay, so like the Code said, he didn’t have to fight to be useful. That was a relief. He was just glad that it wasn’t just the Code who thought that. Well, he knew Elliot would support him too, but since they would be getting training from Devyn, it was good that he understood that.
“I think Princess is sweet,” he chirped, but he knew that Elliot probably hadn’t seen her yet, so he would try to not spoil too much. - “I could say the same about you,” Michael said as he continued to rub Oliver’s back as he hugged him. Michael wasn’t very good at making friends, much less those who stuck around. But he had been fortunate enough to be almost like a third father to Elliot -- if he was being honest with himself.
“Then we’ll need to take advantage of the summer months. Make sure the boys get to experience summer vacations and spend time with us. Is that okay?” Because he certainly would have liked more time with his father.
But he smiled at Asher and nodded in agreement. “Thank you,” he said softly, because without them, he didn’t know where he would be.
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2022 6:25 pm
“I think Princess is sweet. The next time we’re on Sessrumnir, we’ll ask Michael if we can spend some extra time with her. You’ll see. Maybe we can all take another trip up there and practice some.” He didn’t know if Michael still needed some time to recharge, but he did know that after all the hard work he’d done helping the Reids, he deserved a little more time to rest.
He rubbed Atticus’ back again and encouraged, “Eat what you can. You’ll probably need your strength, and you two have been working so hard. We’ll figure out what we’re going to do and how we’re going to start your training later. Maybe tomorrow.”
Elliot nodded; he took another bite of his pizza and leaned against Atticus. “Well, whatever we do, we’re gonna do it as a team. I’m going to look after you no matter what, Atticus, and I know you’ve got my back. We’ve already gotten this far. We’re going to do our best.”
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Asher nodded thoughtfully. “Anywhere you want to go, anything you want to do. Whatever plans we did have are all up in the air right now.” Asher didn’t sound upset by it, just tired. They’d had a busy few weeks and he hoped this was the end of all the bad news, but.
One day at a time was good enough for him. He had everyone that mattered to him.
“Devyn and Atticus keep talking about the aquarium,” Oliver said, finally drawing away. He stayed close in case he needed to have another hug. “Maybe things will calm down a little bit. Maybe it would be good to get the boys out of the city for a little while, too. Whatever you want.”
He wiped at his eyes quickly. “We trust you with everything, Michael. Thank you. Whatever you think is best.”
They were family, after all.
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