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 Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 5:44 pm
Though Devyn raised a brow at the suggestion. It wasn’t that he doubted what Paris or Liesel might have known, but their situations were vastly different. Being a Princess certainly afforded Paris some perks, but could she know more than any other Princess of Ganymede? And what was the benefit of keeping that information to herself if she did? She knew plenty, sure.
He did, too.
“Oh? And what does Ganymede know that I don’t?” he asked, and maybe there was a hint of competitiveness in his voice. He wasn’t angry, Riker would have to try harder. It felt like a challenge, though.
Devyn loved challenges.
He leaned forward in the chair expectantly, as if he were waiting for Riker to provide him with a cascade of information Ganymede had shared with him.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 5:46 pm
Riker just shrugged, and winced because he moved his shoulder again. He probably deserved that.
“Can’t tell you. It’s secret Ganymede Knight information.”
There were secrets that he had as Reims. At least about his Wonder. The red leaves that littered the ground of a place deep under the cathedral. A stone slab that was suspiciously stained.
He didn’t really want to think about it. But he knew there must be things Ganymede knew that no one else did.
“So do you always get stuck babysitting when people are hurt? Are you, like… Atticus’ mom then? Since Mr. Gallo has a job and all that.”
Riker knew he was pushing it. He was in pain and falling into comments that could be considered sexist and misogynistic. He didn’t think that way, but he knew it got others to react, usually.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 5:54 pm
Devyn snorted when Riker insisted it was secret Ganymede Knight information. He could just go ask Paris later, it wasn’t like she wouldn’t be blunt with him.
“I don’t suppose I ever thought about it like that. Maybe. Is it that black and white?”
No, he knew it wasn’t.
“I think I am just myself, and I will fill whatever role he needs me to. He’s a good son.”
And Devyn was obviously proud of him.
“Do you think this is babysitting? You could be twice my age and still benefit from having company while you’re injured. You might be here to heal, but I was the most practical choice to stay if you needed anything. I love spending time at Sessrumnir. And the springs have been nice. I have some old aches that seem to come to life when the seasons change.”
As he leaned back in the chair, his hand rested over his stomach and he tapped it absentmindedly.
“If you were in a hospital, you’d have nurses checking in. Do they count as babysitters?”
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 5:54 pm
“Yes,” he said with no doubt or hesitation in his voice. “Half the time they don’t even care, they’re just trying to make it to the end of their shift and get a paycheck. So, I mean, I guess you’re better to have around if I had to pick.”
He didn’t like being babysat, but even he couldn’t deny that he needed the help. Sitting up was misery. Doing anything else was incredibly difficult, and he was grateful that it wasn’t Énna or Atticus having to help him to the bathroom or changing his bandages.
There was nothing he could say about Devyn and Atticus’ relationship, though. He didn’t know what it was like to be a ‘good son,’ but if anyone was… yeah, he’d guess that Atticus fell into that category. Elliot too.
Riker’s chest had tightened and he pressed his hand against it to ease some of the pressure. He was glad Atticus had a good family now. People deserved that.
“You say ‘old aches’ like you’re ancient. I mean… you’re over a thousand years old, aren’t you?” It was easier to talk about someone else than himself.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 5:55 pm
“Technically, yes.” He neither looked nor felt it. “I’m well past my natural lifespan. I don’t know if that’s because I’m stubborn or because it’s some of that magic I don’t really understand. Maybe both.”
Swords and poison had failed to kill him before, why should time succeed?
“I admit, I don’t have much experience with health professionals on Earth. I’ve patched myself up for a long time. Oh, but with the help of Effie’s magic. And Michael’s medical experience. His practice is much cleaner than mine. I got better at stitching, but when I was younger it was sloppy. I’ve got the scars to show for it.”
He spoke with no shame though; he wore his scars with honor.
“But, that’s life. You live, you learn, you get stronger.”
Riker’s hand had been on his chest for a moment now so he seemed to be suffering some withstanding pain. “What’s that, an old ache of your own or something new?”
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 5:55 pm
Riker snorted, but regretted it because it was painful. It was just funny to think that someone as prissy looking as Devyn needed a lot of experience with patching himself up. Mr. Gallo he expected to know what he was doing. He had scars on his face, and the scars on his arm weren’t hidden when he wore short sleeves. But Devyn looked like he lounged about and played with his hair and did all the domestic things.
Not that there was anything wrong with that. He was just talking big for someone who, yeah, looked like he had some muscle mass, but anyone could be a gym bunny or whatever the term was for people who just did it for show.
“No, not really something new. I guess I’m just worried about my friends. I don’t want them freaking out about…” He paused to gesture at himself.
“What, you’ve got scars from learning how to do cross stitch? That’s pretty sad,” he scoffed, but part of his attitude was the pain with every movement he took. The medicine was still working on kicking in, and Riker was getting agitated with impatience.
In Riker’s defense, he had seen all the embroidery that Devyn had done. Atticus proudly showed it off, and showed them the things he’d learned from Devyn.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 6:01 pm
Now, Devyn laughed. He set the half-finished jar of soup he’d been holding on the nearest table and stretched his fingers, examining them thoughtfully. “No.”
There were faint scars on his hands, not really noticeable unless they were in the right light. He couldn’t really even see them now.
“You’re hurting yourself more than you’re hurting me with that sass,” he said, lowering his hands. He still didn’t seem the least bit ruffled but he didn’t think Riker was really trying. Maybe trying to put on a front but it was like he didn’t have the energy or heart to go all the way. “Try to relax a little more, lean back against the headboard. When you’re too tense your muscles are too tight, so you’re going to feel everything much worse.”
Riker had no reason to believe him; he was belligerent but he was also in pain. Devyn got cranky when he was out of his comfort zone and hurting so he didn’t hold it against him.
Maybe to establish credibility, or just to show off his scars, Devyn started by rolling up his sleeves. There were a few notable scars but none seemed new.
“Most of my scars came from recklessness. I knew I’d heal so I took a hit to gain the advantage. Some of them came from sneak attacks. I had a lot of people that didn’t like how I did things, back in the day. No surprise that they thought they could gain the advantage if they thought my guard was lowered. Alastor has always been known for its combat prowess and love of battle and I am no exception. Scars are a badge of honor, no matter how you got them. But, no. Most of mine came from blades, not needles.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 6:02 pm
Of course he was curious, how could he not be? He did click his tongue to the roof of his mouth at Devyn’s comment about his sass. He wasn’t being sassy! He was just saying it how it was. Or something.
Reluctantly, because he’d rather be defiant and miserable apparently, he leaned back against the headboard some more.
“What were you doing that so many people didn’t like you? Enough to try and kill you?” he frowned, suddenly concerned for Atticus. Devyn seemed nice and whatever, but if he had some kind of dark, secret past that he was now bragging to a no-longer-dying teenager about, then what did that mean for others? Should he keep Julian away from him?
He’d seen Devyn’s hands as he held them out to examine. Mostly because he’d craned his neck a little to catch a glimpse. Old scars it seemed.
He couldn’t quite agree with what Devyn said though.
“I don’t know about that. Some scars aren’t really honorable. Maybe for you, who got them in combat but--”
Riker forced another spoonful of soup in his mouth to shut himself up.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 6:03 pm
“All scars are honorable,” Devyn insisted. “No matter how you got them, it’s a testament of what you survived.” A second passed, and then he relented, “By Alastorian standards, at least. I know things are different on Earth. Some for the better. But I have never seen a scar and felt shame or pity.”
Had his heart hurt that someone he cared for had to suffer? Of course. But they were alive, and they could heal.
“Alastor is not a perfect world, nor has it ever been. But seeing the flaws is important to correcting them. We have a history–a distant history–of being, hm.” Well, there wasn’t really a nice way of saying it. “A bit too keen for the battlefield. On our world and others. Strength has always been valued as much as beauty, more or less depending on what you were born into. On my world, the Senshi was expected to wage wars and topple empires, even if only just for a show of strength. There was no value to it, no purpose. I think the elites of my world liked a busy Senshi so they made just enough trouble to keep him distracted while they kept their power and influence.”
Devyn shrugged. “I thought it was a lousy deal. I was born to a small village, far away from all of that. I’d seen people suffering. People who didn’t ask for war, people who were struggling to feed themselves, people who lost everything to disasters far out of their control. Don’t get me wrong, I love to fight. But not everyone asks for that life. I wanted to make Alastor better. Stable, secure, thriving. I thought, if we could stop tearing everyone down, they could grow. I can’t say I made all the changes I wanted, but I tried. Of course, then we had all that Chaos to deal with, so that threw a wrench into everything.”
It weighed heavily on Devyn but what more could he have done? He didn’t have that answer. Maybe Ganymede did.
“The good news is, no one’s trying to assassinate me anymore. I guess.” On Alastor, at least. He hadn’t quite made enemies like that here on Earth.
He should try harder.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 6:05 pm
Riker was quiet as he listened. There was a lot more to the story that he knew Devyn wasn’t telling him. Be it because of time or because he thought Riker was too young to understand. Maybe he wanted to protect him from whatever horrors there were. Or maybe he just didn’t trust him enough to give him any more details.
He didn’t know when he’d finished, but the soup was gone, so he gently placed the spoon down and rested his arms against the bed.
“Did you have to deal with the Negaverse, too? Will you be able to help stop them?” he asked, his voice uncertain because he didn’t know Devyn. And while he knew Devyn had a family here on Earth, wouldn’t his goal be to get back to Alastor? Or maybe to stay at Sessrumnir? Or both?
“I want to stop them,” he said still quietly, picking at some of the loose threads that didn’t exist in the blanket. “I don’t want them to hurt anyone else.”
He was quiet again, but when he looked up at Devyn there was a clear determination in his eyes.
“Can you teach me how to fight?”
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 6:05 pm
Devyn would have said yes even if Riker hadn’t looked so resolute, but his conviction was impressive and admirable.
“I think that’s a good idea. When you’re healed up, yes. I can teach you everything I know.” Riker was athletic, and he already had some experience, so Devyn already assumed it wouldn’t be so different from teaching Elliot. All the better if they could spar together.
“I didn’t have to deal with the Negaverse on my world, I had a different breed of Chaos. But no matter the form, Chaos can only ever corrupt and destroy. People from Earth helped me fight what was on my world, so I’ll do what I can to stop them here on Earth, too.”
Not because he owed them a debt; he’d have helped regardless. But, still. Earth was his home now, too.
“I don’t want them to hurt anyone, either.” They’d already taken from the people he loved.
Riker hadn’t eaten this much before but Devyn didn’t draw attention to it. He was glad Riker had been able to stomach it all, and he hoped it would help him heal. It must be miserable spending so much time in bed, even without being in pain.
Devyn hated to imagine it; it made him want to get up and run around right now.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 6:05 pm
With confirmation that Devyn would teach him, Riker quietly nodded. He was still sore and occasionally in pain. He missed his friends. He was restless and wanted to get up and move around, but he knew he had to recover.
“No offense, but I don’t want to do this again,” he mumbled and tilted his head back against the wall.
At his hip, he could feel the dog shift so she could rest her head against his legs. Cautiously, he reached out to brush the side of her cheek with the back of his fingers.
“Do you think we could ever get rid of all the Chaos on Earth? Like… be rid of the Negaverse?”
In his heart, he knew the only way to do that would be the Negaverse all dying or purifying. It was likely not going to happen. They would be in an endless tug-of-war, offering whatever resistance they could, while also not seeing any improvement.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 6:12 pm
Devyn cracked a small grin when Riker said he didn’t want to do this again. He nodded in silent agreement. There had been a tension in the air before, but Riker seemed to have relaxed a bit. It was inevitable, someone could only resist Princess’ charm so much.
“I do,” he answered. He’d given it a moment of thought, so it wasn’t something he said without thinking about it. He’d spent a lot of time thinking about the possibilities.
This was a war, but he found himself holding back. He’d been cautioned, when he first arrived, that many of the soldiers were young and ignorant. Easy to corrupt in their youth, the Negaverse had simply led them astray.
…But there were a lot of them, and they grew stronger, more corrupt. Unchecked. Given leniency because of their age.
Riker could have been killed tonight. Devyn didn’t know the agent who had attacked him, but maybe they were his age.
If Devyn had to choose between a Knight and an Agent, the choice was clear. No Knight could pull a starseed, could destroy a soul. But a Negaverse Agent could. Unflinchingly. They didn’t even know how much damage they were doing. Or, maybe they did know. Maybe it was worse–maybe they just didn’t care.
“I don’t think it would be an easy process.” If it were, they’d have done it already. “But I think there’s good reason to have hope. On my world, the Chaos was widespread. It reached every corner of Alastor. And yet, it had only a single source. A stone, small enough to hold in your hands. Something so small, capable of so much damage. If there’s something like that here on Earth too, then the Negaverse is just hiding it somewhere safe. For all their army, for all their power, maybe there’s just a single stone that needs to be destroyed.”
Maybe.
Devyn shrugged. “But I haven’t ruled out a more hands on approach.”
It was a heavy topic and he wasn’t sure that he wanted to talk about the practicalities of killing Negaverse agents with a young man who had nearly died.
For all his life, Devyn had wanted to avoid the moniker of a killer. He didn’t want to be a monster.
Sometimes it was just necessary.
He’d rather send a soul to the cauldron to be purged than lose one forever.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 6:13 pm
A more hands on approach…
Riker frowned quietly to himself, but nodded. He knew what that meant. He’d almost been a victim of the other side doing exactly that to him. If they continued to take a passive role in everything, how long would it be until all of his friends were killed?
Maybe, like on Alastor, there was a single source of Chaos. It was likely very well guarded, and they had to account for the different kinds of Chaos that there seemed to be, what with the Dark Mirror Senshi being a thing. Not that he’d met any. Not really. But he knew of them.
“I’ll heal quickly so we can start training then,” he decided, closing his eyes as he rested against the headboard. It would probably be a pain if he fell asleep like this, but he was just resting… and Princess was preventing him from scooting down again, anyway. Oh, and because it would hurt.
He had no intention of being helpless like this again. Nor would he accept his friends getting hurt. Not if he could help it. If that meant having to train with an alien, then so be it.
Fin!
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