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 Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:23 pm
She didn’t speak until they were in the bathroom, and that was only to look at the cat again, frowning slightly. “...My name? I’m Brooklyn.” But that hadn’t really been what he was asking, was it? That…
This was all a mess, all of it. But, when her hand was free from Atticus’, she took a small step backwards, drawing in a deep breath and shaking her head, feeling the strange caress of the veil that covered her hair. “...My name?” She should hear something in her mind…something…
“...Stirling. My name is Stirling.” Closing her eyes, Stirling seemed to relax just a little bit. “...Page of Lysithea.” She held back the questions that were trying to flood out. Asking who the cat was, asking why they had to hide when she could do something.
“....My friend Cara is a Page and she saved me from one of these youma…I don’t know why I can’t go help too. I…” Glancing at her shoes she gave a grimace. “...I don’t have heels but I could jump on it.”
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:38 pm
When they were safely inside the bathroom, Soleiyu drooped a bit. He held his head up, but he let the rest of his body sag so he could try and see Brooklyn–Stirling–a little better.
“I knew it. I knew those were Lysithea’s symbols.”
But she wasn’t here right now, she was up on her Homeworld, and–
No, he had to think about that later. For right now, he had more pressing things to figure out.
He didn’t ask Atticus to put him down; instead, he wrapped his tail around his arm to try and give him a little extra encouragement.
“Someone’s coming to help, Stirling. Someone who’s fought youma before. It’s incredibly dangerous to awaken and have to deal with them right off the bat, you could get seriously hurt. And I can’t let that happen.” He had too many questions for her, he had to know what had just happened. “It’s going to be okay. The universe probably has a very good reason for having us cross paths when we did. Do you know how to fight, Stirling? –What happened with the last youma you ran into?”
The energy signature of a Squire flared up nearby, right by the youma.
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2022 7:07 pm
“Stirling,” Atticus quietly repeated as he lifted his free hand to wipe his eyes. Of course, tears quickly refilled them. He wanted to make sure Elliot was okay, but he knew Elliot was doing his best to keep them safe.
“Please don’t go out there,” he tearfully asked, pulling Soleiyu up into his arms to hug him. “They’ve attacked me before, too. One destroyed Elliot’s house.”
He knew they’d told her this before, so why was she insisting on going out and fighting it? She had another Page save her from a youma, and now she wanted to fight them?
Atticus sniffled, and then sobbed quietly as he took a step back so he could rest his back against the wall. His hand was trembling as he reached into his pocket for his phone. As quickly as he could, he typed out help to Devyn. He knew he wouldn’t have to tell him where. They knew they’d be walking Brooklyn home, so if Michael got close enough, he would be able to feel the youma.
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2022 7:19 pm
For a moment, Stirling just looked at Atticus, confusion on her face. Her eyes flickered to Soleiyu too and finally, the anger seemed to win out over all of the other rational parts of her mind. “Yes, I know how to fight. You have to know how to fight if you want to survive in the places I’ve lived. I know that they destroyed Elliot’s house, you told me that earlier, but…but this is what I had wanted Atticus! To be able to protect you. To be able to protect everyone. And sure, the last time I saw a youma I poked it with a stick because I didn’t know better but. I’m not.”
Not what? That stupid anymore? It had only been a few days ago.
Not that weak anymore? Well, she supposed that was true but.
“I can’t just leave Elliot out there alone, strong as he might be, he can’t do this alone, and I’m not going to stand here when I’ve been given magical powers or whatever and just let him get killed for throwing a baseball at a demon lizard monkey.”
Her hands were curled into fists and she just didn’t understand. Didn’t understand why they kept insisting that she was weak that they knew more than she did.
They didn’t have magic. They would surely have told her if they did. Would have showed her and helped her to find her own, and sure…sure the conversation had only been earlier today but. Still.
They would have told her. They had told her everything else, hadn’t they?
Stirling gave a grim smile. “Cat, you haven’t bothered to tell me your name but you asked for mine so just. Keep Atticus safe okay? He’s really great.” She shrugged. “I can handle myself, thank you. Even more so now that I’m…”
Gesturing to her outfit Stirling shrugged again. “Whatever I am.”
And with that, she turned tail and rain out of the bathroom, gripping the hair stick tightly in her fist between her index and middle finger.
A long, thin piece of metal to the eye would do something to anything. She knew that for a fact
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2022 8:24 pm
“Wait,” Soleiyu yelled, but the bathroom door swung shut behind her. He stared at it for a few seconds and then turned to Atticus. “It’s okay,” he said, and headbutted the boy’s forehead gently. “Breathe, Atticus. It’s okay. I don’t know how well you know her, I don’t know how strong Atticus has gotten. I only have one type of magic I can use, and it knocks me out when I do. I’m sure he can handle it. Maybe she can, too. I just–”
He looked back at the door like maybe he hoped to see her there.
“Lysithea is my bonded Senshi, I’ve never seen, never heard of a Knight of Lysithea. I don’t know what’s going on with her. I need to find her. As soon as I know you three are safe. I’m sorry. Do you want to go out and help them?”
They might need the help.
Amarynthos was holding his ground decently enough when Stirling first made it out. He was trying to lure the thing away from the bathroom, but as soon as he saw movement, his head instinctively jerked to the side. He could see Stirling running towards them, and panic flooded him again because she didn’t have magic! He didn’t even know what the youma could do. So far it had screeched and hissed and pounded the ground with so much force that there were several deep holes from where its fists had collided with the Earth.
He held his weapon tightly in his hand; he hadn’t tried to use his magic, hadn’t tried to dust it. He just needed to buy time; he knew Michael and Devyn could be here soon.
Stirling was getting closer, and he half turned to tell her to keep some distance. He wanted to warn her about the creatures arms. They were longer than they looked–or, maybe that was its magic. He knew the youma had struck the ground well out of what should have been range for its arms, and he’d nearly gotten hit before.
He’d been able to dodge then, he’d been paying attention before.
But now, just as he opened his mouth to call to Brooklyn and warn her, the youma gave a demonstration, instead. It swung its arm to the side and it stretched, a little less than twice its normal length, and slammed into him.
Amarynthos had been grounded, prepared to defend against a forward blow if need be–not a side blow. The strike hit him so hard he went flying through the air, hit the ground, and rolled a good few feet through the grass. He’d made an audible noise of pain when he hit the ground, but he looked like he was trying to fight through the disorientation and push himself up.
The youma didn’t seem like it wanted to give much time to recuperate, though; it drew its arm back and stood on its shorter hind legs in an effort to tower over the Knights. It let out a hideous, scratchy wail as it bared its sharp fangs to the Page. Outnumbered as it was, it was ready to fight back and even the odds.
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2022 8:40 pm
The way Brooklyn -- Stirling snapped, startled him. She was angry. About what? Them trying to keep her safe? She didn’t know what youma were really like, and they were better off waiting for someone stronger to come and help them.
While Atticus didn’t want to leave Elliot by himself, Stirling didn’t know him nearly as well as Atticus. He’d watched Elliot grow over the years. He’d watched his baseball games, his track meets. He knew how fast Elliot was, and how strong he was. Elliot was able to carry him all the way home from the park without magic.
But Atticus couldn’t get in a single word. She left him with Soleiyu before he could say anything.
Why wouldn’t she listen to them? Why wouldn’t she trust them? It wasn’t fair. He didn’t want her to protect him, especially at the expense of her own safety, or the safety of anyone else. She was only in high school. No matter what delusional ideas she had of grandeur that came with magical powers, she couldn’t protect everyone, and thinking that she could was exactly what was going to get people hurt.
Atticus knew he wasn’t physically strong. He knew he was emotional and probably wasn’t worth listening to, but he cared about her, cared about Elliot and their families. He also knew when he needed to step back and ask for help, and with this? They definitely needed help.
He was sobbing and slumped to the ground by the time Soleiyu headbutted him. It snapped him out of his worry and dread over what could happen to Brooklyn and Elliot. Was it wrong of him to want to wait for his dads? Was he making the wrong decision? He was scared. He wasn’t a fighter. He didn’t want to do something that would end up getting anyone hurt.
“I’m going to help,” he sobbed as he scrubbed the tears from his face, hoping it was dry enough when he reached out to wrap both of his arms around Soleiyu to give him a squeeze. “The Negaverse tried recruiting her, Sol. She tried asking me and Elliot to join--” Atticus tried explaining to Soleiyu, wanting him to understand his hesitance with powering up.
“If they’re watching her -- if the Negaverse finds out that Elliot and I --”
He was trying not to cry again, but he liked his life now. For the first time he was happy. But Brooklyn’s blind desire to be magical might end that if their identities were compromised. Did she not care what her actions caused? If the Negaverse found out…?
Atticus took a deep breath and wiped more tears away as he stood. He knew they were running out of time.
The aura of a Squire filled the bathroom, and soon Ephesus exited but held the door open for Soleiyu to follow.
“Mary!” he let out a startled gasp of horror, turning the corner only in time to see him trying to get up from the ground. The terrifying youma was already turning on Stirling --
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2022 8:56 pm
Stirling had no idea who the black haired person was who managed to get hit by the creature, she had a suspicion but…it wasn’t worth thinking about right now. It would only distract her.
The youma was ugly, and it was clearly trying to show them both who was boss but.
“You good?” Was all Stirling managed to say before she drew herself up to her full height and moved towards the youma, hoping that while it gave a display of threat, she could do something.
It was no worse than Martha back at the childrens home. A sixteen year old who was about to age out and had a complete and utter god complex. She had seen the way the older girl loomed over others, and she had managed to get a few good hits in before she got her a** handed to her but…
The sound of another voice calling out for a ‘Mary’, almost distracted her, and the fact that she could feel? Feel the owner of the voice and that it was coming from where she had left Atticus…
No. Nope. Not the time to think about it.
Swiftly, Stirling jammed one fist into the creature’s stomach, and came with the fist that still clutched the hairstick right for the youma’s eye.
She could take care of herself. And if these two were who she thought they were…well. They would see. And most likely end their friendship but. Whatever. If they stayed alive, that was all that mattered.
“Can’t let them see that you’re afraid. Sharp teeth and claws or not, you can’t ever let them know you’re afraid.”
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2022 12:54 pm
Was he good? No. The breath had been knocked from his lungs. He couldn’t see. His vision was black, and sounds were muffled. His head hurt, and his arm hurt. Amarynthos pushed himself up but it hurt. It felt like everything was moving in slow motion, and it didn’t help that his senses were all jumped up. He could taste blood in his mouth. Brooklyn’s energy signature was by the youma.
Soleiyu’s energy signature was nearby, and Ephesus’ too
Everything was hazy but he was pushing through it.
The youma screeched, he heard that.
The fist at the creature’s stomach seemed to have nearly no effect, but by some miracle Stirling managed to impale the blunt hat pin into the creature’s cheek. It reared back and screeched with such ferocity that spittle flew from its mouth onto the Page. It jerked its body to the side, whipping at her with its rodent-like tail as it tried to draw back.
Now, with three enemies–and a cat–the youma seemed to realize that maybe the odds weren’t in its favor. It looked like it was about to bolt towards the treeline, but Soleiyu didn’t want to let it escape, not when he was certain he’d just seem a trail of dust coming from the creature. He guessed it had expended so much of its energy that it had worn itself out; it probably wouldn’t be too difficult to dust it now. He hoped.
He was small and fast, and just before the youma could run off, he planted his feet on the ground and fired his laser at it. He poured all of his energy into the blast, and it was no surprise that he swayed on his feet at the same time the youma did.
The beast was rigid, stiff and paralyzed. Soleiyu wouldn’t have used the blast at all if he hadn’t been certain that the others could take care of him while he recovered.
It bought Amarynthos enough time to get up. He was sure he’d mumbled, “I’m okay,” to Ephesus, but his thoughts all seemed to have blended and blurred together. All he knew was that he had his weapon in his hand, and the youma had lashed out at Brooklyn, and he didn’t want it to hurt her. He felt like he was going to throw up, and he still hadn’t gotten a full breath of air since he’d hit the ground, but he still had full use of his right arm and he took advantage of it. While the youma’s back was turned, he hit it with as much force as he could muster. The metal rod was weighty, but the glass bottle at the bottom gave him a little extra power as it slammed down on the creature.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2022 2:15 pm
Ephesus let out a surprised yelp and skidded to a stop when Soleiyu not only caught up to him, but fired off a blast of… energy or magic or something at the youma. Oh, but he did not look like he was going to have much energy on his own to do anything. Ephesus was worried about Amarynthos, but Soleiyu was important to him, too. He carefully scooped the large white cat up into his arms.
Stirling had already attacked the youma. An action that had his heart racing and made him feel light headed. But it looked like her attack and the blast from Soleiyu was enough to give Amarynthos enough time to get up and attack it once more.
He could have cried in relief when the already disintegrating youma burst into a cloud of dust with the impact of Amarynthos’ weapon.
Hoisting Soleiyu to be more comfortable against his shoulder, Ephesus hurried the rest of the way to Amarynthos’ side, looking at him with tearful concern. Making sure he wouldn’t drop the Mauvian, he used his freed hand to gently wipe away the blood from the corner of Amarynthos’ mouth.
“We should sit down,” he suggested, carefully tucking his arm around Amarynthos’ waist to keep him upright, before looking around for Stirling. “Are you okay?” he sniffled, although he was still visibly upset by everything that happened.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2022 2:17 pm
The youma’s tail was had delivered a stinging blow, but luckily, the outfit that Stirling wore provided some padding to withstand it, she was sure that there would be a bruise but…it wasn’t the worst pain she had felt in her life, and she would be fine. She was out of breath and was holding her side by the time that the dark haired boy had made the creature turn to dust just as Cara did, and she let out a sigh of relief.
Stirling glanced over at the blonde boy and gave a small nod. “...I’m fine, thanks.”
The way he was holding the cat, the way he was tending to the dark haired boy, it pretty much solidified her suspicions and…she felt utterly lost with the knowledge.
It made sense though. Why they wouldn’t trust her with such things. Why they didn’t want her to bother to try but.
Her feelings were hurt, they were really hurt, and she was wondering why she had ever bothered to let her barriers down in the first place, she wasn’t someone to rely on. All they had wanted her to do was cower and hide, and she couldn't do that. She hadn’t hid from something frightening since she was little, and she learned her lesson then that if you hide they just come back to make things worse.
“If um…if you two could let me know how to get out of these fancy duds I’d appreciate it…but I should be getting back…curfew and all.”
It was nowhere near time for curfew yet but. She wanted to be alone. Wanted to think.
Didn’t want to have the truth just thrust in her face that she wasn’t good enough.
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2022 6:01 am
Amarynthos glanced up at the new Page.
He knew Brooklyn knew. When he didn’t know was why she was trying to leave already. He didn’t protest when Ephesus wiped the blood from his face, and even though he’d tasted it before he still seemed a little surprised to see it.
Soleiyu rested against Ephesus and breathed a soft sigh of relief when he felt the youma disappear. He wasn’t as glad to hear that Stirling wanted to leave. He didn’t want to lose contact with her but he didn’t have the energy to run off after her just yet, and he wanted to make sure the boys were okay, too.
“You’ve been out later than this before,” Amarynthos said quietly, because he was pretty sure she was lying about curfew. He didn’t know how that made him feel. He didn’t want to keep her here, but his emotions were all scrambled right now.
Amarynthos leaned against Ephesus; he just needed a minute to collect himself. He’d be fine. He could almost breathe. He didn’t sit down, not yet.
“You just have to imagine what you were wearing before. You have to–” Amarynthos coughed again, but managed to cover his mouth. He wiped the rest of the blood from his lips.
Soleiyu turned his head so that he was resting his cheek against Ephesus’ shoulder while he looked at the girl. “You have to clear your mind and breathe for a minute. It might feel a little bit unnatural. If you give me a few minutes I can explain it, I can explain everything. I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”
Amarynthos was quiet for a few seconds more; he didn’t feel any other energy signatures, but he couldn’t clear his head, and he couldn’t focus enough to power down. He knew he should; he didn’t want to draw any extra attention to themselves now that the trouble was gone. He just needed a minute. “Don’t leave just yet,” he requested. “Please.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2022 6:39 am
Ephesus was worried about Amarynthos. He hadn’t seen the youma hit him, but if he was bleeding, either he cut the inside of his mouth or he had internal injuries that needed attention.
And while Stirling’s words registered, it was Amarynthos’ quiet, concerned voice that pulled his attention away from his injured boyfriend.
She was going to leave?
Ephesus stared -- momentarily distracted again when Amarynthos coughed up blood -- feeling a strange weight of cold in his blood. He remembered the anger in her voice when they were in the bathroom. If she hadn’t run out when she did, maybe Amarynthos wouldn’t have gotten hurt.
“Your friend is hurt and you want to run away,” he said, his voice shaking as tears filled his eyes once more.
It wasn’t like him to be confrontational. After all, that was how he survived for so long. He wasn’t a fighter. And he was frequently afraid. But she spoke of being afraid like it was a bad thing, when instead his fear helped keep him safe. He wasn’t a coward, but he knew when he needed to hide, or run, or fight.
The tears in his eyes weren’t of sadness or fear this time. He was upset. He felt the strange prickle of anger, because Amarynthos was hurt and she didn’t care.
He could hear the hurt in her voice, and he hoped she could hear it in his -- but somehow, like everything else they’d asked of her in the past several minutes, he didn’t think she would hear him. It wasn’t often that Ephesus stood up for himself, but Elliot and their families were slowly helping him build up a sense of self worth. And when Amarynthos was hurt, of course he was going to be upset that someone who claimed to be their best friend was being selfish.
Instead of worrying about himself, worrying about his injuries that he didn’t need to sustain, Amarynthos was worrying about someone who was supposed to be their friend, but sure wasn’t acting like it.
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2022 6:44 am
For a moment, Stirling glanced between the two of them, her eyes narrowing further. “...My friend? I’m sorry, but I don’t think I know either one of you, and the cat still hasn’t given me his name so there’s that too. If you’re saying that you are my friends.” And she raised her hands, making quotation marks, her own eyes beginning to sting with unshed tears. “I’m not sure I’d believe it. How could you just. Lie to me? Ask me to tell you things and just…not tell me that you had magic powers? And then make me go run away to a bathroom like I’m some coward. I’m not a coward. And I’m not weak. Despite what you keep insinuating!”
Her voice was growing close to a whine, getting louder and more upset as she spoke, everything just spilling out at once.
“I don’t understand what’s going on, but how dare you blame me for him getting hurt when you made me leave? When you made both of us run and hide like children.”
Reaching up, Stirling scrubbed at her eyes, trying to stop the hot spurting tears and control the snot that was beginning to drip from her nose.
…She had large sleeves though, so that was good. “I don’t care if I’ve been out later, I just don’t really want to be here right now. I’m confused. And I’m really, really tired of you two thinking I can’t do anything.”
There was nothing to say to the cat, nothing to do about the cat, she still didn’t even know the cat’s name, but she did manage to do what the fake Elliot said and a moment later she was back to being Brooklyn, her new fancy…magical hair stick vanishing into the night.
…and that was that, she supposed. Her time as something wonderful, something new and strong and amazing was over.
“I was wrong to think I could make friends, I guess.” Brooklyn’s words were soft and she shrugged out of Atticus’s jacket, holding it out to the blonde Squire and looking away.
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2022 7:04 am
“Brooklyn,” Amarynthos said, and even if he really did want to keep his powered form up for a little longer to reap the extra power it gave him, he powered down, too. The dizziness hit him again, but he planted his feet firmly on the ground and rested against Ephesus. “Stop it. It’s not childish to run away from a youma. It doesn’t make you a coward. Nobody said you’re weak.”
He could taste the blood again and he wiped his lips on the back of his hand. “You’re putting words in our mouths. And I get that you’re upset, but I never thought you can’t do anything. Look, I’m sorry.” He sounded stressed, and part of it was just because he hurt. Part of it was because he didn’t say those things, and he didn’t feel that way at all.
“If you’re confused and upset, I don’t think it’s a good idea to run off. And if you’re going to be mad, fine. I didn’t tell you everything. I got hurt because I got distracted. I’m used to having people trust me. And if you don’t, fine. But nothing I did or said was because I thought you were weak. It’s because I’m used to teamwork.” He had to take a break and suck in a breath; the black was fading from the corners of his vision and he was feeling a little better, but he knew he was going to be sore in the morning. Or tonight. Or right now.
“And I didn’t have a lot of time to tell you what I was going to do or fill you in.” He drew Ephesus a little closer because he needed that support right now. He was fine. He didn’t think he had to say it for Ephesus to understand it. Maybe he’d have liked to sit down, but he could manage for a little longer.
“I’ve never seen a Knight awaken like that. That’s not how it was for us.” He had no doubt that she’d already figured out that Ephesus was Atticus, not when she was handing his jacket back like that. “I had hoped to go ask someone who knew more about Knights and magic. I’m not an expert, I’m still new to this. I was going to ask–actually, Soleiyu, that’s the cat’s name–I was going to ask him. And the thing that gave me my magic. I don’t know. I don’t want to fight, Brooklyn. There’s so much to this that you don’t understand. That I don’t understand. We promised we would be careful with our identities. There are more people involved than just us. And now you have to be careful, too. So–”
He was out of breath and coughed again, and the black spots in his vision were back. He leaned against Ephesus again and said, “I need to sit down for a minute. I just need to catch my breath, I’m sorry. I’m okay, I just landed kind of hard.”
He didn’t want Brooklyn to decide to run off though; he didn’t want the Negaverse to find her, didn’t want her to wind up being reckless or thinking she was in this alone. He half turned to her and said, “I know you’re upset, but we didn’t blame you for anything and we didn’t call you weak. Atticus is one of the strongest people I know and I don’t think he’s a coward at all. I don’t think things are just that black and white. But I’m glad you got your magic and I’m sorry that I upset you, Brooklyn. I wasn’t trying to insult you.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2022 7:10 am
He couldn’t stop the tears. He couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe as he broke down into quiet sobs. Here he was, trying to offer support to Amarynthos -- to Elliot as he powered down. To try and keep him upright, to try and hold Soleiyu after he’d used so much energy, and instead Ephesus couldn’t even keep his legs from shaking.
He could feel Elliot leaning against him, and did his best to keep himself upright. He wanted to cover his mouth, to muffle the sobs, but he had one arm holding Soleiyu and one supporting Elliot. He tried holding his breath -- it helped that he could barely breathe already. And he wanted to power down, too. But he needed to use his magic. And he needed to make sure another youma wouldn’t sneak up on them while they were all upset and exhausted, especially in Soleiyu’s case.
Nothing she said was making sense.
Of course they were her friends. If they weren’t, then why wasn’t she concerned about where her actual friends were? He knew she was smart and clever, so of course she would have figured it out. Right? So why was she acting as though she didn’t know? He could hear the venom in her voice.
They never said she was a coward. They never said she was weak. If anything, if they’d been cornered in the bathroom, Atticus knew that he would have had to rely on her more than he would have been able to fight, himself. He didn’t want her to have to protect him. He wanted to be able to protect each other.
He didn’t blame her for Amarynthos getting hurt, even if he didn’t know the what ifs of the scenario that played out. Elliot had been the one to ask them to run and hide. Atticus trusted Elliot, so of course he was going to listen to him. But they were children. They were only high school students. He wasn’t blinded to the fact that they couldn’t do everything, even if they wanted to.
But the dagger that plunged and twisted into Ephesus’ gut was when she tried giving his jacket back.
It felt as though his heart was physically breaking. Because what did this mean? If she wasn’t their friend, was she going to find the Negaverse agent that was trying to recruit her and tell them everything about them? He could hear Elliot trying to reason with her, and he nodded in agreement.
“I’m s-sorry,” he blubbered, his face red and blotchy from being streaked with tears. He wanted to explain himself, to tell her Elliot was right about everything and that he was just scared and worried about Elliot being hurt.
Which--
He forced himself to focus on Elliot again, furiously blinking away the tears but ignoring the jacket Brooklyn was trying to return. He was still gasping for air as he gently helped Elliot sit down in the grass and leaves, placed Soleiyu more comfortably on his lap, and then pulled his baton from the subspace pocket he kept it in until he needed it.
“I’m sorry,” he sobbed quietly still, this time apologizing to Elliot and Soleiyu. It took him a little while to focus on channeling his magic, but after a few moments, a comforting smell of honey filled the air around them and the honey dipper was placed gently against Elliot’s torso.
He appreciated Elliot saying he thought he was one of the strongest people he knew, but at the moment he sure didn’t feel like he was worth the praise.
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