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 Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 7:28 pm
“How long do you think it’s going to take for them to come check on us?” Atticus asked as he glanced over his shoulder in the direction of their houses. He knew the adults were trying to give them some space to just be kids and enjoy the summer, but after everything they’d all gone through, Atticus couldn’t blame them for being anxious.
But they were Pages of the Moon! They were magical -- somehow. It still didn’t seem real.
Atticus pushed himself back and forth on the swing in the park, his hand was reached out to hold Elliot’s next to him, so his feet never really left the ground. It was strange knowing that everything had changed in a matter of weeks. Not only was he permanently disguised from anyone recognizing him from his life before, thanks to the help of Soleiyu and the Code, but Elliot and his dads had moved into the house just across the backyard from Michael and Devyn.
So even if they couldn’t spend all day, every day holding hands, they lived so close to each other that they could run over to each other’s houses in less than a minute.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 7:37 pm
Elliot just laughed at the question–not because it was a bad question, but because he’d been thinking it, too. “I’m surprised my dad hasn’t ridden by on his bike to ‘bring us a snack’ or something. Or, Devyn hasn’t come running around the park to make a sweep.”
He didn’t blame them for being worried, not with everything he knew about the war
Elliot leaned against one of the swing’s metal chains so he could comfortably lounge while he held Atticus’ hand. He kicked off the ground in sync with Atticus, just to make sure their contact didn’t break.
“Although, it’s too bad,” he mused, a bit playfully. “I could use a snack right now.”
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 7:46 pm
Atticus giggled quietly at the thought of Oliver or Devyn showing up with snacks. Maybe they would both show up and check on them at some point. Especially if there were monsters waiting to jump out at them. Well, Atticus had met Devyn there.
And then something rustled in the bushes, and Atticus gripped Elliot’s hand tighter as he sat up a little straighter.
“What was that?” he whispered, obviously alarmed by the sudden noise.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 8:10 pm
“What was what?” he asked, but he had turned to face the bushes too–even before he realized where Atticus was looking. He’d tensed a bit, and dug his foot into the ground to stop the swing. Just to make sure he didn’t miss anything.
There were youma out here. Atticus had been attacked before. He’d been attacked before.
“...If it’s something bad, Michael will show up,” he said, but there was something doubtful in his voice–not because he didn’t trust Michael! It was just because he was afraid they might get hurt before he could show up.
If it was a youma.
No one else seemed to be around; they’d been alone at the park, and it wasn’t like there were any cameras to record anything. “...Should we power up, just to be safe?”
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 8:17 pm
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Atticus easily agreed as he stopped his swing when Elliot did. He didn’t know what was hiding, but if it was something dangerous then they should at least be prepared.
He wasn’t used to powering up. He’d only done it a couple times before, but that was okay. It was just… natural, right? Like breathing.
Atticus didn’t let go of Elliot’s hand when he closed his eyes and breathed.
He felt the power wash over him, but there was a gentleness to it, like moonlight -- Oh, that kind of made sense.
Ephesus stood from the swing then, if only so he could get in a better position to run if he needed to. And to try and protect Amarynthos if he needed to. But--
“I can’t feel anything,” he squeaked nervously. They were supposed to be able to feel youma, right?
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 8:28 pm
Though it was still strange for him, Elliot didn’t seem to have any hesitation when powering up to Amarynthos. He kept a good grip on Ephesus’ hand as he rose from the swing, cautious and uncertain.
The bush was still for a moment, but–
No, it moved again. Something was making noises-strange, unfamiliar noises.
“I can’t feel anything, but.”
There were a lot of different types of youma. And a lot of different types of monsters! Just because they couldn’t feel it didn’t mean something dangerous wasn’t hiding in the bushes.
He squeezed Ephesus’ hand briefly. “...Want me to go check?” He was already clutching his weapon in his other hand. He wasn’t sure what he could do–mist it? Throw it? He was ready to use it, though. Just in case.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 8:54 pm
When asked if he wanted Amarynthos to check the bushes, Ephesus immediately, and vigorously, shook his head.
“What if you get hurt!” he gasped, but made sure his voice was as quiet as possible. “If you’re going to look, I’m going to, too,” he insisted. He’d stepped closer to Amarynthos out of instinct, and clutched the honey dipper in his other hand.
“But… we should probably get rid of it… if it’s a youma.” For all they knew it might have been a kid hiding in the bushes, trying to escape a youma. Kinda like himself.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, we’ll be okay,” he insisted, although he didn’t sound too confident about it. He wanted to wait until Michael or Devyn showed up, but… what if it escaped? “You go one way and I’ll go the other?” he suggested. Maybe if they circle around it, it’ll… disappear or something.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 9:02 pm
“You’re so brave,” Amarynthos praised, squeezing his hand instinctively. “We’ll be okay. That’s a good idea, good plan.”
Reluctantly, but responsibly, he dropped Ephesus’ hand and nodded firmly. “Okay. Let’s do it. We’ve got this.”
He sucked in a breath and stood up straight, flashing a quick smile, before he began to carefully tip-toe around the bush as best as possible. He couldn’t get a good view of what was in the bushes, but it couldn’t be too big if it could hide in there. He’d rather have a small youma he could jump on than a big one–as long as it wasn’t the same amount of power, just crammed into a little body.
But it was okay! He was staying optimistic, and moved slowly, carefully, trying to catch sight of the creature so they could make their move.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 9:10 pm
Oh, he immediately missed Amarynthos’ hand when they parted ways, but he knew it had to be done if they were going to take care of this youma.
Ephesus chewed nervously on his lip, but quietly tiptoed his way around the opposite side of the bush.
He could hear something inside. Something chewing away at something, or… or scratching something. A youma? It had to be! What else could it be?
Suddenly, the bushes moved again, and something jumped out!! Ephesus shrieked in horror and instinctively threw the little golden honey dipper as hard as he could!
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 9:19 pm
The something looked like some sort of rodent–a squirrel?–but Amarynthos suddenly only saw black. He didn’t register any pain until he’d stumbled back–just enough to trip over a root and go down.
It had happened so quickly that he hadn’t really had time to process any of it, and he didn’t even have time to think that maybe he should try to push himself up. He could hear his blood rushing in his ears. He could see the stars in the sky above him, obscured only slightly by the thick leaves of the tree he’d stumbled over.
He heard something scrambling away from the bush, into the forest. Was it the youma? –Had it run away?
“Wait, get it,” he said, and tried to push himself up. He was seeing stars, and the moment he lifted his head the headache hit. He raised a hand to brush over the sudden lump, but as soon as he felt it he just looked confused–and then, a little relieved when he saw Ephesus.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 9:25 pm
It was a squirrel that sprinted out, although what it was doing up and scrounging around so late at night, Ephesus had no idea.
But what was now more concerning was Amarynthos on the ground -- right where Ephesus’ honey dipper had been thrown.
“Oh--! Oh no, oh no, I’m so sorry!” Ephesus sobbed as tears sprung to his eyes and he raced to Amarynthos’ side. “Are you okay? Oh no, I’m sorry, I thought--!”
It didn’t matter what he thought. He’d been reckless and ended up hitting Amarynthos in the process of trying to defend himself against what he thought was an attacking youma.
He sobbed and collapsed to his knees beside him, before maybe dramatically throwing himself over Amarynthos to hold him.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 9:31 pm
“Sorry?” he asked, a bit dazed. It took him a few seconds to process that Ephesus’ honey dipper was next to him. The dramatics might have been comical if he wasn’t immediately worried about Ephesus’ tears.
“Wait–power down, or Michael’s going to get worried. We have to text him that we’re fine. We’ll head home in a minute. Effie, it’s okay, I’m fine.” He still wanted to laugh–not at Ephesus! “I tripped over the root, you didn’t hurt me.” Well, there was the welt on his forehead, but he just shook his head a little and hoped his bangs fluffed out enough to cover it.
When he powered down, he expected it to be the same, and wrapped an arm around his friend. “That was a good throw, though. Maybe you should try out for baseball, maybe you could be on my team,” he teased. He knew sports weren’t really his thing, but he was trying to make him feel better.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 9:41 pm
Atticus powered down as Elliot suggested, but he continued to keep his arms around him as he sniffled, feeling horrible about hitting him.
“You think so?” he sniffled, not sure if Elliot was being serious about the baseball thing, or if he was just being nice. He guessed he was just being nice, because Atticus really wasn’t a good runner, even if he could throw. The ball would have to be hit right to him for him to be useful.
“Can we just watch a movie or something?” he asked, still sniffling a little, because that sounded like a better idea than being out when youma and squirrels could be around. He was glad that Elliot was okay about going home though.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 9:54 pm
“Yeah, I think so. We can watch a movie instead. But I want to lay with my head in your lap, you can help me hold the ice there. I’m glad you hit me and not that squirrel, I bet you would have knocked him out.” Or worse, but he didn’t want Atticus thinking about that.
“If you can hit our enemies like that, I bet we’re going to take out a lot of youma.”
He poked at it again and couldn’t seem to help himself so he just kept feeling the lump. “Tomorrow, I’m going to grab some of my baseballs and we should practice our aim. Well. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe we’ll have an easy day instead. We’ll see. But you did good, for real. I’m proud of you.”
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 10:08 pm
“That’s a good idea,” Atticus agreed, because practicing on how to throw would probably be really useful. And maybe he wouldn’t hurt Elliot by accident again.
“Yes, you can put your head in my lap. I’ll take care of you. I’m really sorry,” he said again, but he was likely to keep saying it. Even if Elliot was proud of him (and it made his cheeks flush red and he had to try not to smile), he didn’t want him to think he was a liability. He wanted to be useful!
“Come on, before Michael comes to find us,” he said, but not before leaning close to press a kiss to Elliot’s forehead where the bump was.
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