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 Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 5:44 pm
Ephesus was sweaty and itchy and exhausted. Even with a break to look up at the Earth and the stars, he felt like he needed a really good nap. Maybe one day they could find a good place to sleep at either of their Wonders, and that way they could stay there to clean even longer!
But for now, he was out of breath as he dragged the last of the bags to a designated area that would be used for clean up purposes. They could either figure out a way to turn the dead plants into mulch or have Michael and Devyn help them get rid of it all later.
They’d been working hard! And he was getting more and more nervous about talking to the Code again. He wasn’t afraid of the Code! He just didn’t want to disappoint it.
“Are you okay? Does your arm still hurt?” he asked Amarynthos, holding out his hands so he could see the scrape Mary got on his arm from some of the brambles they’d come across. Effie had cleaned it with the water they had, and patched it up with some antiseptic and bandaid, but they should keep an eye on it to make sure it didn’t get infected.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 5:52 pm
Amarynthos was doing a bit better than Ephesus, but probably only because he was more accustomed to activity. And yet, he was still exhausted. He immediately presented his arm for examination by placing his hands in Effie’s. “Nope. Doesn’t hurt at all, you did a good job. Thank you for taking such good care of me, I’m going to tell Michael and Devyn how you saved my life.”
He wasn’t really exaggerating; sometimes when he moved, he felt his skin tug a little, but it hardly hurt at all. He’d laughed it off before, maybe hammed it up a little while Effie was patching him up, but he felt pretty good about it all–and, they had a lot to be proud of, so a little scratch wasn’t going to slow him down, anyway. He was tired, and ready for a good shower, and probably bed. He wanted to tell Michael and Devyn everything they’d managed to do, but he supposed it must have sounded boring when all he could say was ‘we weeded and moved weeds and debris’. He’d tell his parents, they’d be proud of him.
He squeezed Ephesus’ hands reassuringly. “I saved some cookies so we could have a good snack, so let’s get something to drink and celebrate. Do you want me to carry your bag? You look worn out, Effie. You worked really hard, I’m proud of you. We got so much done! We are an excellent team.”
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 6:09 pm
Effie held onto Amarynthos’ hands and squeezed them as well, and smiled up at him when he said he didn’t hurt. That was good! He didn’t think Mary’s life was in danger, so he giggled softly in amusement, but his cheeks were still rather pink when he was told how proud Mary was of him.
“You’ve done a lot of work too! I can carry mine, it’s okay,” he promised. He didn’t want Amarynthos to carry everything! Besides, Effie didn’t want to be a burden. They made an excellent team, as Mary said, so they should share everything they had. It was only fair!
“Do you think the Code will be happy?” he couldn’t help but ask, a little nervous still, even though they’d managed to do a lot of work for just a short amount of time. “Oh, I guess the Code doesn’t really need to eat. Should we see if it wants some cookies, anyway?” If they were going to celebrate, it should only be fair that they shared it with the magical being that gave them their powers, right?
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 6:16 pm
“We can share,” Amarynthos promised, though he doubted the Code would be interested. It didn’t seem like the sort of being that appreciated sweets or wanted to get crumbs all over itself, but he was optimistic, anyway. Ephesus made him feel like anything was possible.
“I think the Code will be happy. I mean, we’re trying. We have to balance school, too, but we got a really good start on things this time, and we’re already planning for what we can do to get better. But maybe it’s got some tips or suggestions. It’s hard to know what to clean when we don’t know anything about our Wonders, so maybe it can give us a little bit of a direction if something needs to be done first.”
He held one hand and swung it while they walked back to their packs but paused when he made a quick assessment. The trash bags were neatly put away, they had their tools collected, their bags were ready to go. His weapon wasn’t where he left it, but it was small so it might have gotten kicked out of the way. Except, he didn’t see Ephesus’ either. He saw a pretty rod looking thing! But it wasn’t the little honey dipper he was used to. He didn’t know how he’d missed it before; it was gorgeous and almost looked like it was sparkling. It was probably just the starlight playing tricks on his eyes, but that didn’t make it look any less magical. “Oh, that’s neat. Did you find that on your way here? I didn’t find anything but rocks. There might still be one in my shoe.”
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 6:47 pm
Ephesus froze when Amarynthos pointed out the rod. He hadn’t seen that before, but it was very pretty and… it seemed to be beckoning him. Like it was waiting for him, almost.
“No, I haven’t seen that before,” he said quietly, stepping a little closer to Amarynthos. Not because he was scared! He just… didn’t know what this strange sensation was.
He clung to Mary for a little while longer, before he finally stepped closer to the rod, reached out, touched it.
Ephesus could feel the change immediately. Something warm filled him with strength and hope. And there was the faint scent of honey--
“Mary…” he gasped as he turned to face Amarynthos, not sure what to think but… he could feel the extra power and magic.
He didn’t need to ask what happened. He just knew. And he quickly looked around to see if he could spot Amarynthos’ mister too, because it wouldn’t be fair if he was the only one to get credit for their work!
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 6:54 pm
Amarynthos felt it before he saw it, and he jerked his head so he could see him. He’d just bent over to pick up his bag–and to tuck the glass orb of his mister out from underneath it. “Effie!” he exclaimed, surprise and pride in his voice.
His hand slid through the strap of his bag and his fingers brushed against the glass bottle.
He felt something tickling through him, but he just assumed it was the proximity of Ephesus. Until the long step of his mister got caught on the bag when he tried to tug in on. He tried to shake it look but it took a second before he realized that his mister wasn’t supposed to have a stem like that.
Or–well, maybe it was, because now it did.
Realization hit him hard, suddenly, and he spun to face Ephesus with wide, excited eyes.
“You got stronger! I got stronger! –Right? Do I feel stronger to you? You feel stronger to me! You look different, too! Effie, you look so cute!”
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 7:00 pm
Oh. Oh! He could feel the sudden change. He could feel the magic and energy flowing through them, and he stared in awe and amazement at Amarynthos.
“You look so handsome,” he squeaked in his excitement, and quickly cleared his throat because wow that was embarrassing. He held tightly to the floral rod, but he couldn’t look at it when he was too busy taking in every change of Amarynthos.
He looked so mature and regal. The jacket was beautiful, but not as attractive as Amarynthos himself.
Effie couldn’t help himself as he reached forward, his hands gently on Amarynthos’ shoulders as he leaned close to kiss him. It was light and quick! Completely innocent! He was just so excited he didn’t know how else to explain himself.
Of course as soon as he did it, he felt the heat fill his face and he took a step back in case Amarynthos wanted some space.
“You… yeah you feel really strong,” he agreed, lifting a hand to his own face to try and cool the heat in his cheeks.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 7:14 pm
Butterflies were in his stomach again. It wasn’t the first time Effie had kissed him, and Amarynthos was getting as used to the kisses as he was the hugs, or the handholding.
He’d even started to look forward to them a little bit more than the others, if only because they were still significantly more rare.
Rare enough that he was eager to return the kiss, since Effie had gotten so excited he couldn't contain himself. Amarynthos leaned forward so he could press his lips to Ephesus’ nose. Which was significantly less delightful than if he’d kissed his lips, but his lips were still tingling from their last little kiss! And how could he not, Ephesus had the cutest little nose he’d ever seen.
“I’ll have to look in a mirror. I feel handsome. And strong.” Not as strong as Michael, but strong enough that he could still be really proud of Effie and himself!
“How do we use our magic?” Did they have magic now? He waved his spritzer around, and no magic tumbled out. He spritzed a few times, still no magic. It smelled faintly floral, but that wasn’t really any different than it had been before. No magic, but he was having a hard time to focus; all he really wanted to do was take Effie’s hands and dance around a little bit with him.
“Now we have to give the Code cookies. It should have given us a promotion earlier, maybe we could have gotten twice the amount of weeds cleaned up!” Well, no. His arms and back and legs hurt enough already. Squire or otherwise, they probably still would have been exhausted. “Let’s go visit the one at your Wonder, I bet it can hear me just fine over there. And yours is closer.” He took his hand and squeezed, so eager that he could have just tugged Ephesus away, but–well, no, he could kiss him again, his lips were done tingling and he missed the sensation already.
So, in a bout of excitement and delight, he kissed him again. Still light, but less brief than before.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 7:21 pm
The kiss to his nose had Effie squeaking with delight, and he watched in a blissful daze as Amarynthos tried out his upgraded weapon. It would at least be easier to hit youma with! And he suspected his own new honey dipper would make things a little easier on him, although he couldn’t help but wonder what kind of magic he might have now. Michael and Devyn did say they would get magic once they got more power.
Effie instinctively reached up to place his other hand, the one still holding onto the new weapon he had and not the one already holding his hand, on Amarynthos’ arm for balance when they shared another light kiss, and that turned out to be a good thing, because his head was so full of clouds and happiness that he was certain he would have floated away if he wasn’t holding on. Or, more likely, had his legs give out on him.
And then… he couldn’t help but reach out to wrap his arm around Mary to hold him tight. Just for a little while! Just long enough for his heart to settle into a reasonable pace! And then once he pulled back, he nodded with excitement.
“Okay, yes, we should go to see the Code,” he agreed, and before he could get distracted with giving Amarynthos another kiss or hug, he squeezed his hand and turned to lead the way to the honeycomb-like building where the Code was housed on a fountain in the center.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 7:34 pm
Whatever fatigue Amarynthos had felt before seemed to dissipate rapidly, and he felt like he’d gotten a second wind strong enough to keep him going. Maybe it was the fact that they had gotten stronger–or maybe Effie’s kisses were just magical–but he felt good.
He adjusted his backpack so he could carry it easily, and balanced the rake and his new weapon in one hand. It was probably a good idea to put the larger tools somewhere safe instead of carrying them back and forth, but he didn’t want to put his weapon down nor did he want to let go of Effie’s hand.
Excitement and energy burned through him and he had a visible skip in his step. His face felt warm, but not uncomfortably so; he was sure he was beaming with pride. “I’m never going to get over how pretty this place looks. I’d like if we could hang fairy lights or something, but I don’t know how that might work. It just feels right, you know? Like. This place is special. And even if it’s just up here to see it right now, I want to do it justice.”
Maybe it wasn’t the time to be thinking about decorations, but–their Wonders trusted them with more power, right? The Code had?
Maybe all they had to do was ask nicely. Well, and work for it, they weren’t going to stop there. They had things they needed to fix, and people they needed to protect. They weren’t going to stop until there wasn’t anything left for them to worry about, and maybe not even then.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 7:40 pm
Bag over one shoulder, and holding onto everything else under his arm so he could keep his hand around Mary’s, Effie cheerfully made his way towards the front entrance of Ephesus’ main building.
“Oh, that would be lovely. I bet Michael could do something that would make them solar powered. I bet we could do a lot, even without electricity here,” Ephesus smiled over his shoulder at Amarynthos, absolutely tickled by how handsome he was and how sweet he was and that he’d kissed him--
That had to mean something right? Sure, they shared a bed when they slept over at each other’s houses, and Elliot didn’t mind Atticus hugging him all the time, and he didn’t seem to mind the occasional kiss, but… Well, three was a lot of kisses in a short amount of time, and Ephesus was worried about starting to feel greedy.
Luckily he had his Wonder to distract him.
“We could definitely hang up decorations. I wonder if we can find some here. You know, things that might have been put in storage for special occasions. Make it feel more authentic. I bet the Code would know all of that.” Maybe.
“Hello!” he greeted the Code cheerfully, looking up to where it was at the top of the fountain that was currently not working. “Thank you for the extra um… power?” Was that what it was? Or just magic? He wasn’t sure what magic he even had.
“Would you like a cookie? We have some extra!”
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 7:53 pm
The ideas for decorating this place were almost as exciting as getting it cleaned up, but Amarynthos knew they couldn’t really dream about livening the place up until they had a good foundation for it. And, he was excited about uncovering all the mysteries about his Wonder. They’d already discovered a few little things, but it hardly compared to what he anticipated they’d find inside.
Ephesus was as lovely as he remembered–better now, actually, but he wasn’t sure if he was just looking at it through rose tinted glasses.
The Code piece glowed as brightly as ever, hovering and sparkling where they’d left it.
He chimed in, “Thank you! We really appreciate it! Did you hear us talking about wanting more power?” He was already twisting to pull the cookies out of his bag, but when he was met with only silence, he slowed. The Code neither responded to their praise nor their offer of cookies. He handed one to Ephesus, and nibbled on one himself, but the Code didn’t speak.
And yet, it wasn’t unnerving. He had the sensation that it was paying attention to them, and sometimes it seemed to light up a bit more. It didn’t feel like the light was ignoring them, it just sort of felt like–
Well, he hoped the Code couldn’t read minds, because it kind of felt like talking to a dog. Who didn’t want cookies, but still.
It didn’t seem to bother him, and after a second he continued enthusiastically, “We were kind of loud. But we wanted to come visit and say we really appreciate it. We only just got started on our Wonders, but we’re really excited. I hope it’s okay that we only visit you here, next time we’ll visit you at Amarynthos. But it means a lot to us that you trusted us.” With their wonders. With more power.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 8:15 pm
Oh, maybe the Code didn’t feel like talking? Ephesus understood that. Sometimes he just wanted to be left alone as well. Actually, ever since becoming friends with Elliot, Atticus hadn’t wanted any time alone. Maybe that was really clingy of him. But before he didn’t have anyone who actually seemed to want to spend time with him, so maybe that was the difference.
He took the cookie from Mary with a quiet thank you, and watched the Code as it pulsed gently with light. It was like it was alive and there, but unable to communicate with them.
Or maybe it was communicating with them, and they just didn’t understand.
Effie took a step closer to Mary so he could bump his shoulder up against his. And as he did so, something that sparkled caught his eye. He thought it was a coin or two at first, thrown into the old fountain, but when he stepped forward there appeared to be a set of dusty, but still sparkly looking earrings.
“Mary, look at this,” he said and reached into the dry basin to pull out the two cuff earrings with what looked like four pointed stars. Immediately, he could feel something magical about them, he just wasn’t sure what.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 8:24 pm
Amarynthos immediately tilted his head to the side to inspect the sparkling little things. “Oh, Ephesus is full of pretty things. Who would just leave these here? They should be somewhere safe. I mean, I guess there’s not exactly much of a threat of thieves or anything.”
He looked around as if he expected to find whoever had lost them before he realized that it was probably a silly response. They were the only people here, but…
“What are we supposed to do when we find treasures? I don’t think the Code mentioned that.” He turned to face it again, waiting for some sort of instruction, but direction never came. The Code just glowed warmly, gently. It reminded him of one of his fathers’ reassuring, encouraging little smiles, but he couldn’t quite place why.
It didn’t seem mad that they’d found anything. It almost even seemed like it was glowing brighter, though. Maybe it was just a trick of the light. He turned again to look at the little earrings. “We should find somewhere safe for them. Maybe you’re supposed to take care of them?”
He didn’t miss it this time; he was certain the Code lit up again.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 8:35 pm
Ephesus was certain he saw the change in the Code’s glow as well as he held the earrings in his hand. He stared curiously at them for a few moments, and then rubbed one between his fingers so he could clean it off a little. When that wasn’t perfect, he shrugged the bag off his shoulder, and regretfully let go of Amarynthos’ hand so he could pull out a bottle of water to carefully pour over them in his palm.
Once they were clean enough, he lifted one to his ear to clasp on.
But…
There was something special about them.
“Mary, could you try wearing this one, please?” he asked, not sure if he was maybe just making things up in his head, or if there was something about the earrings that spoke to him.
He watched as Amarynthos took it and put it on --
Maybe I’m just going crazy, but there’s something strange about these earrings. And wow he looks so handsome. I hope he can’t hear how loud my heart is.
Ephesus watched curiously and with awe. He wasn’t sure what magic there was, but he hoped to find out.
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