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 Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 8:31 am
Devyn had spent much of his free time on Alastor, and it seemed like it had been paying off. Things had been a little worse for wear the last time Michael had been there, but Devyn had been between tasks and started too many projects at once. Now, things seemed to be coming together. He’d finished a handful of projects on his last trip here, and he’d been all too proud to show Michael his work.
It was also his last check to make sure things were safe enough to bring the boys up without worrying too much.
He thought it was safe; he hadn’t had any issues since they purged the Chaos. A few things were a bit unkempt, but he’d managed to sort things out.
The goats were still around, with bright gold paint on their horns. Devyn had eyed the two that had arrived without any and noted that they were still coming in from somewhere. There were two little ones, still nursing. He hadn’t bothered them, but he had been delighted all the same.
There were more creatures around, and he was quick to point them out to Michael. They weren’t afraid of people in the slightest, and Devyn had been here often enough that they weren’t surprised to see him. Most of them ignored him, but some of them meandered close enough to see what he was eating. He’d shared, of course–brought extra for them. Not that they needed the food; Devyn had shown Michael the garden he was growing.
It was small, but he had a few different crops growing. He lamented that nothing was ripe enough to share yet, but that hadn’t stopped the crows from breaking open a large white gourd and pecking it clean. Two of them were nesting in it when Devyn showed up, and either out of apology or mockery, they hopped over and threw some seeds at his feet. They’d hopped away with the same enthusiasm, flapping their wings and cawing like they’d told each other a funny joke. Exasperated, Devyn had pocketed the seeds and continued on his tour.
Half an hour later they brought him some golden feathers they’d picked from a molting goose, and Devyn had braided these into his hair while they walked. The crows had liked that so much they brought him more, and now Michael had a few in his hair, too.
The Hall only took up a brief portion of their trip; Devyn was happy to show the repairs he’d made, and the new fence he’d had to put up to keep the goats out of the garden–the rabbits were the new problem, but he didn’t have the heart to be mad at any of the animals that had shown up. He was delighted to bring Michael to the Golden Oak and its thick, expansive canopy of leaves. It was more alive than he’d ever seen it.
The real reason for this trip was to take Michael to Arista.
He’d cleared out the pathway, and though weather and time had faded the once well-traveled road, the remnants still remained. He’d used the fallen trees to help with his fence, and what he couldn’t use he rolled out of the way. He thought Alastor must be helping him, because between one trip and the next he noticed that the ground seemed to swallow up the debris that had been too large for him to handle on his own trip.
But then, his world was curious. Arista had seemed faded and worn when he’d first visited after the Chaos was gone, and on his second trip it seemed more vibrant. He hadn’t done any repairs to it but by his third trip he noticed that it seemed cleaner. A building he’d seen sloping now stood completely straight, and cracks in the wall seemed to have faded completely. He wasn’t sure if someone else was here helping clean and repair things, though he’d spent enough time calling out and looking for them that if he wasn’t alone they should know that they’d be welcome company.
In the absence of people, he could only assume that the power that flowed from his Core was revitalizing more than just the Hall.
He’d had to make some repairs, but the Hall was one thing–a city was another. There was more there than he could manage alone, and he’d told Michael he didn’t look forward to handling this task alone. Or, even with Michael’s help. It was too much for two people when the world had so much else that needed tending to.
Maybe that was why the world was helping. Arista had always been a cornerstone on this world–a place where war and despair had been chased away. Atrius had seen to that, and Marius afterwards, and–
There were others that came after those two, but Devyn couldn’t remember their names. They carried on the legacy of those two, but never enough to mean more to him than they did. Atrius’ statue still stood, polished and spotless in town square. Vain, as all Alastorians were, but he deserved to be memorialized. Devyn couldn’t remember much of what changed about the town after Marius had passed, so he had to wonder if the magic Alastor was putting into reviving it wasn’t based more on his memory than what it was. Some buildings seemed in various stages of change, some amalgamation of past and–less past.
He didn’t understand it and there wasn’t really anyone to ask. He didn’t mind, though. He didn’t trust his memories, anyway. Maybe it had always looked like this.
There were things on his world that should have faded but had withstood the test of time. He didn’t doubt that his attachment to them was what preserved them after this long. On the hill, just across the river, three gravestones watched over Arista. A patch of golden flowers grew over them, and stretched only to the nearby tree that shaded them.
Devyn had spent the last half hour talking about Arista–about the art, the lore, the history. He’d pulled a few weeds while they walked, fixed a few loose bricks, and did small maintenance. He didn’t really seem to be thinking about it as he did it, it was just ingrained in him as he meandered about.
He’d zigzagged through the town; there was certainly a more straightforward route to have taken, but he seemed to have deliberately avoided some areas.
Arista wasn’t the beautiful, immaculate town it once was, and Devyn expressed disappointment for that too, but it was short lived. In nearly the same breath he was optimistic again and promised he’d get it cleaned up so Michael could appreciate it for what it should be.
Though the sun was still fairly high in the sky, he’d said he had a nice place in mind for them to have dinner together, and it was already well and packed up in his subspace. He was excited to show him how a heat stone worked, but had been vague about where their dinner date would be. ‘You’ll like it’, he’d assured more than once.
The river was moving slowly today; it had been a while since the last big rain and there was something calm about the way the water moved. While it might have been possible to swim across it, Devyn insisted against it as they moved to the riverbank.
“The water looks calm, but there’s a current waiting to sweep you away. It’s not so bad if you’re in a boat, but if you’re just a kid trying to swim across the water it’s not the best experience. I want to take you to the other side, though.”
As they walked along the river, he swung Michael’s hand. “I used to come here a lot when I was a kid. The frogs were bigger over here, they were more fun to catch. Easier to find, harder to hold. I don’t see any today, but next time we can go looking. I want to bring Atticus and show him how to do it.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 8:43 am
Michael couldn’t help but smile as he walked with Devyn, indulging him by helping to swing their hands together. It was nice to hear about Arista and hear about all of Devyn’s memories and adventures. There were times that Michael could have sworn he knew some of the things Devyn told him, but Devyn might have just already told him about it before and was repeating the story. Which Michael didn’t mind.
He was curious about where Devyn was taking them, but since he couldn’t get a straight answer from him, he dropped the topic. For now. He would try to bring it up again when Devyn least expected it, probably.
“You really think Atticus would like catching frogs?” Michael couldn’t help but laugh, but he paused, still smiling and shook his head to correct himself. “Actually yeah, he’d do anything you wanted him to try.”
It was sweet, the way Atticus followed Devyn around. It took some of the pressure off of Michael to pretend to know what he was doing when it came to being a dad. Devyn was obviously a natural.
“Let me guess. You tried swimming across the water,” he sighed, but only because he could imagine Devyn still trying it, despite the warnings he offered Michael about the current.
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 8:49 am
Devyn huffed, but the smile never left his face. “I was young, I needed a challenge. And I’ll have you know, I’ve made it across that river before, several times. I probably could now, too. But we won’t have to swim.” He almost seemed to have a skip in his step.
He knew Atticus was a bit of a shadow sometimes, but he had never minded. He hadn’t had much of a good influence in his life before, and if following Devyn around could undo any bit of the damage his ‘father’ had done, it was more than welcome.
Atticus was good company, too. Devyn was proud of him. “The bank drops off quickly in some places. I haven’t checked to see what the water’s done to it over time, but there used to be a few places where you could walk in knee deep and not have to worry about being swept away. I know it’s not really his thing,” he admitted. “But I don’t know how childhoods on Earth work. It was one of those things I looked forward to when I was young. You didn’t need anyone else, you could just play by yourself. I didn’t have a lot of friends, so I had to find ways to entertain myself,” he shrugged.
It was a lonely childhood, but he still had fond memories. He just wanted to share whatever good he could with Atticus.
“I’ll make it up to him, though. Do you think he’d be interested in seeing how we made paint? I planted some of the flowers in the garden, in a few weeks they’ll have big enough petals that we can grind them up and make a good batch. That seems more in line with his interests. Will you catch frogs with me if he doesn’t enjoy it?”
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 9:12 am
“I think he’d like to do whatever you like doing,” Michael answered honestly. Atticus might have his own interests, but he was pretty quick to jump up and agree to do whatever Devyn was doing. Even if it was something like catching frogs.
“But making paints is probably more up his alley,” he agreed and took a moment to lean close and press a kiss to Devyn’s temple as they walked. “Of course I’ll catch frogs with you. I bet Elliot would be pretty good at catching them. He’s fast. Might give you a literal run for your money,” he teased, but even though Elliot was young, he was still actively training and needed to be fast for his position while playing baseball.
“We’ll make sure the boys have a good childhood, don’t worry.” Or at least make sure it was better for Atticus. Elliot had Oliver and Asher, so he lucked out.
“I know I already told you, but I was moving around a lot as a kid, so yeah, I know what it’s like to not have any friends. Chris is seven years younger than I am, so he wasn’t the best playmate, but I did what I could to watch out for him when we were growing up,” Michael hummed thoughtfully, although he was still narrowing his eyes suspiciously at Devyn when he made the point of saying they wouldn’t have to swim.
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 9:22 am
“Elliot could be fun. But if he’s catching frogs with me then Atticus is, too. Whether he likes it or not.” He smiled fondly, and even if Atticus was a bit more delicate than he was, they still had a lot in common. They could appreciate beautiful things, and they could work on their projects together.
“As soon as I get the okay from you that it’s safe to bring them up, we’ll have to spend a day here. I didn’t want to talk to Peter until I had your seal of approval on everything, since I know how much you watch out for your brothers. I know you wouldn’t want to let him get involved in anything dangerous.”
Like organizing Alastor’s treasure archive and sorting through his artifacts. Devyn had started the job, but if he was being honest, there were just too many things, and he was certain he was better off trying to do more than categorize and sort them, and figure out if any were actually still useful.
But that was for later. For now, Devyn was guiding Michael to a somewhat large building. The buildings of Arista were not always distinguishable for what their purpose was, but it was built close enough to the water that it was easy to assume it had once been used as some sort of warehouse or storage unit. There were far larger units along the river; this one seemed more keenly kept, and a bit more decorative. Someone had spent a good amount of money to see it constructed well.
Devyn had a visible bounce in his step as he stopped before the entrance, and he dropped Michael’s hand so he could slide the heavy door open for them.
Inside, light filtered through the dusty windows, but someone–Devyn, obviously–had gotten it mostly cleaned up in here. The floors seemed completely resistant to the water that flowed beneath them, and the room had an air of richness to it. Tall shelves with materials and tools were spread out through the room, and framed maps were preserved on the walls.
The building itself would have been worth admiring, but Devyn hadn’t brought Michael here for that.
Docked inside, where it was safe from the elements, was a boat of elegant design and strong build. It was old, and a bit worn, but it was floating just fine. Devyn might not have cared much for them, but even he could appreciate its beauty. And, its familiarity.
It shouldn’t exist, by all rights. It was old–older than he was, and it had needed its fair share of restoration over the years. Like most things on Alastor, it was crafted with form and function in mind as much as beauty.
Atrius had always said Virgil’s boat would outlive them all with the care he’d put into it, and Devyn thought that both of them would be proud to know that it had lasted this long. By no small miracle, he assumed, given how bad the flooding had been in Arista over the years since they’d passed.
“Come look at this, it should be in a museum, I think. It’s gorgeous. Honestly, the epitome of Alastorian resilience, though. Virgil would have had a heart attack if he’d heard me say this thing should be out of the water and on display, though. He didn’t even like to take it off the river when it needed repairs. I found it in one of the warehouses upriver and I floated it down here. The warehouse was in poor condition, I’ll probably have to take care of that soon. The wood was rotting up there, I busted up the floor and wall pretty bad to get this out, but once it hit the water, it almost seemed to have a mind of its own. I didn’t even have to try and navigate the currents, it just settled in and made its way here. I cleaned it up some, but I didn’t do more than dust and scrub so I’m sure it might need some fixes before it’s in perfect shape again. What do you think?”
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 10:03 am
When they got close to the building, Michael didn’t have to know what it was to know what it was. Even worlds apart, there were only so many purposes for buildings so close to the water, and of that size.
He felt like he was holding his breath when Devyn let go of his hand to open the door. And sure enough, a beautiful boat was waiting for them on the other side.
Michael made no attempt to hide his curiosity and interest. He immediately approached the vessel and reached out to --
Almost put his hand on it. But he stopped himself. It wasn’t his boat, after all. He didn’t want to do anything without permission. He knew enough about Virgil and who he was from Devyn. The Harbor Master of Arista, and a man who mentored him over the years. Strong and quiet, but not silent on the things that mattered.
“She’s beautiful,” he murmured, in clear awe, but seemed to snap out of his thoughts for a moment to give Devyn a somewhat exasperated, worried look.
“You took her on the water without knowing--?”
He stopped himself, because he wasn’t trying to make it seem as though he didn’t trust Devyn’s judgment, but he knew that Devyn was a little more haphazard about things than he should be. Michael couldn’t help but worry. But it seemed pointless to do that when Devyn was safe and the boat was docked and out of the elements, and Devyn was obviously proud of his accomplishments. And Michael was as well! He just knew how upset Atticus would be if anything happened to Devyn. And Michael would obviously be upset too.
“Well, if you got this thousand year old boat to float from one location to another, I think it’s safe enough for Peter to come check things out. And as long as the boys aren’t out of our sight, I know they’ll be excited to come back, too.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 10:10 am
“I can swim,” Devyn reminded, perhaps a bit cheekily. Despite whatever currents the river might be hiding, he was still confident in his swimming. He gave himself enough reasons not to trust the river, if he proceeded with the caution that he should have he might have such distress when faced with large bodies of water and fast currents.
“You can touch her. She could use a kind hand. I was a bit rough, I think. Virgil tried to teach me how to handle her, probably because it was just something he was comfortable talking about more than anything he thought I would ever use. You’re better with things like this than I could ever be. Do you want to try it out? If you don’t think it’s safe, I pulled out a canoe, too. That, I know how to handle.”
It was far less impressive than the boat was, but the canoe was currently resting atop two crates. Just in case.
Devyn doubted Michael would prefer the canoe, but he wanted to make sure he had all his bases covered.
“Virgil would be ashamed if we chose the canoe over this boat, though. It’s only a last resort. He’d want to know it wound up in good hands. I thought, if this was in good condition and got whatever repairs it needed, maybe we could get around Alastor a little easier. Of course, I’m not qualified to make that call.” He planted his hands on his hips as if he was contemplating all of it, but he still tilted his head to look at Michael. “Is that something you’d be interested in? I mean, she’s no Eulalie. But she’s got her own charm, doesn’t she?”
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 10:19 am
Michael felt a little bad about his nagging. He knew Devyn said he could swim, and he believed him. But he also knew he had a lot of bad experiences where water was involved and started associating that with all water, he supposed.
He couldn’t help but look away from the antique boat so he could watch Devyn as he put his hands on his hips, and forced a sigh so he didn’t have to acknowledge the way his heart seemed to flutter whenever he stood like that.
“Definitely not a canoe,” Michael decided easily, and allowed himself to reach out and touch the side of the boat. The design wasn’t so foreign tha he didn’t think it should be able to float, but it was definitely not based on designs from Earth.
“She looks like she just needs some time on the water,” he said quietly, more to himself than Devyn. Because it was probably weird talking about a boat like it existed as a person or something of that nature. But he really did feel like they all took on their own spirit after a while, as silly as that seemed.
“Would you like to give me the tour? I might need you to point out where everything is,” he admitted, if only because he didn’t want to assume he knew where things were. “I’ve handled some pretty finicky sailboats before, so I think I can work with her.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 10:54 am
Devyn laughed. “Well, you’re welcome to make yourself at home here. Virgil’s spirit isn’t going to haunt us. Probably.” He seemed amused at the idea and the smile lingered on his face as he hopped up to the deck. Was it a bit more dramatic than he needed? Could he have gotten up there in a normal way?
Yes. But he was excited, and that meant that he had a lot of energy.
He extended his hand to help Michael up. “He’ll have done no haunting, he went peacefully. There’s not much of a tour I can give you here, though. I mean, it’s a boat. We didn’t have the technology you have on Earth so it’s pretty simple. Well, no. I take that back. Virgil’s probably rolling in his grave now, the disrespect. He’d be offended if I said this was a simple vessel. She was the fastest in all of Arista, you know. Fastest I’ve ever been on, really. She could compete with the larger boats out on the ocean, but he didn’t like to take her out there. Something about the salt. He said she could have made it across the ocean and he might have tried if his heart wasn’t here. I’ve never been, you know. The storms made it too dangerous. That, and everyone knows there are things in the deep that you just don’t agitate.”
Another reason for Devyn to be cautious around the water, but he didn’t seem afraid. He had more important things to do than worry about sea monsters.
For now.
“I put the sails on, but you should check them before we try to go anywhere. I think I did it right but I’m not an expert. I made sure there were no holes or tears, though. There’s the wheel over there, some navigation tools. I didn’t bring any maps since I just want to go across the river. Oh! A tour. If you want to see something interesting, you should see if you can find where I carved my name.”
He gave Michael a look. “I was young, don’t think ill of me. I don’t know if Virgil ever even found it. I’m sure he would have scolded me if he did.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 11:47 am
Michael gave Devyn a somewhat skeptical, but mostly amused look. He felt as though he would have liked Virgil, or at least he would have had things to talk to him about as far as the water and sailing was concerned.
Maybe Percy would grant him some memories of Virgil so he had more of an idea of what he was like.
“There’s more to it than just being a boat, especially if it’s the fastest in all of Arista,” Michael said without really even knowing, but knowing. He followed Devyn’s lead, but was a little more cautious when it came to getting up on the deck. Michael was already looking around for how the sails were attached, where the rudders were, if there were any blind spots he might have to worry about.
A little smile pulled at his lips when he heard Devyn carved his name somewhere. Somehow he could see Devyn doing just that.
“Oh, you’re going to give me that but not give any clues?” he laughed, reaching out to run his hand along the railing and then look up at the mast and sails. “I could never think ill of you, don’t worry,” Michael promised, letting go of the railing so he could reach over and wrap an arm around Devyn’s waist, pulling him close for a moment to give him a quick kiss.
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 11:54 am
For the most part, Devyn stayed out of his way while he got accustomed to the boat. He knew only the basics of this thing, and guiding it downstream was really nothing impressive.
He appreciated the kiss, and leaned into it, but he didn’t hold Michael’s lips for long. It wasn’t every day you got to play around on a very old, very impressive boat like this. Or ship. Devyn wasn’t quite sure where to make the distinction.
“You want a clue? I’d just turned eight and hadn’t hit my growth spurt yet. I was hiding from my Council. They forgot my birthday. I know, it’s stupid,” he said, and laughed at himself. “I waited all day for someone to say something. It was my first birthday without my parents. Without my friends. I don’t know what I expected. I mean, a few sweets would have been nice. For someone to tell me I was getting so big or doing well, that would have been nice. I was working hard. No special breakfast, nothing at lunch. When dinner came around I didn’t even have an appetite. I kept waiting for someone to bring out a cookie or something. Nothing, everyone was too busy. I ate by myself! My little heart broke, Michael.”
He seemed amused, and leaned against the railing as he spoke. “So I decided to run away. Off to Arista, in the middle of the night. Atrius was out at a political conference but I didn’t find out until after I was in town. I was too stubborn to go home. Virgil’s boat was docked, it was a clear night. He used to leave early, before dawn, so he could be back by lunch. I snuck aboard and found a nice little hiding spot. I was going to jump off wherever he went. In hindsight, I don’t exactly know what I’d planned to do, but it made sense at the time. I was so upset that everyone had forgotten about me, I thought, ‘I’ll just carve my name right here, that way no one will forget about me’.”
He didn’t give away any clues to where he might have hidden, but there were only so many easily accessible places he could have reached. He made sure to keep his eyes on Michael so he didn’t accidentally look at his would-be hiding spot.
“So I did. Except, I fell asleep afterwards. I didn’t even hear Virgil when he showed up. When I woke up he had breakfast for me, though. Not something he’d usually eat, pastries. So I know he got them special for me. We were already halfway down the river by the time I got up. The sun had just come up over the horizon but not over the trees. I remember the sky clearly, I don’t know why. It was just a normal sky. I found out Virgil wasn’t just doing a delivery, he was picking up Atrius from his conference, too. So I wasn’t able to jump ship and start my new life somewhere else, not with the both of them keeping an eye on me. And they made me tell them what was going on. Of course, I was just looking for someone to listen to me. I don’t think I’ve changed much, I’m sorry that you have to hear all of my stories,” he laughed, but he wasn’t really sorry. He got to make another bridge between his past and his present, and he thought that he’d heard enough stories about little Michael from his mother that it was only fair. He was the only one left that could tell his own stories.
“They brought me home by the end of the day. It was nice. Atrius must have talked to my Council, they had a little party for me that weekend, so it wasn’t so bad afterwards. Atrius came to get me my next birthday, too. And a few after that. He gave me a key to his house, probably so I wouldn’t sneak onto Virgil’s boat the next time I ran away. It worked. But every time I had a chance to, I checked that my name was still there. My name’s carved into a few places on Sessrumnir, too. But you know, young men and their bad habits. Can you get this thing across the river? I have presents for you over there.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 12:03 pm
“Of course I can get this thing across the river,” Michael practically sputtered with mild exasperation. He didn’t even know Virgil, but he felt offended for him! Not really. He loved Devyn and knew Virgil must have been fond of him, too.
Michael leaned in to give Devyn another kiss, but then took a step back so he could continue inspecting the sails and the ropes to get acquainted to where everything was. He stopped at the wheel to gently turn it one way and then the other. Just to get a feel for it.
“So you were little and hiding somewhere that couldn’t be seen by anyone else,” he hummed thoughtfully. “If it were me, I would have put my name under a banister or something. I remember when I was younger I went to this fancy hotel and for some reason the artist or designer or whatever you wanted to call them, decided to carve these elaborate details under the railing where no one else could see. The hotel was--”
He paused, because suddenly he couldn’t remember.
There was a strange, unsettling feeling that rested over him. It wasn’t bad, but he didn’t like not being able to remember exactly where he went when he was younger that had a banister like that.
“You can tell me every story you have. You know I don’t mind. I enjoy them. We’ll make sure to celebrate every birthday. For you and Atticus, which I think is coming up soon,” he frowned thoughtfully, because that was easier to think about than his suddenly poor memory.
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 12:21 pm
The corner of Devyn’s lip twitched into a smile when Michael seemed so keen to defend the vessel, and maybe Devyn had been a bit uncouth with his words just to hear what Michael would say. He wasn’t disappointed. Virgil wouldn’t have been, either.
And he got an extra kiss out of it.
Although, Michael had been ready to tell a story of his own and cut himself off abruptly. Devyn didn’t know why, whether it was just because he changed his mind or because there was some bad memory rooted to that one. He watched Michael but he didn’t press him for more information.
“I was laying on my back when I carved my name, if that helps. I’m lucky to have you and your patience, Michael. I know I talk a lot.” Making up for lost time, he’d always say. He was just a social creature and didn’t like to think that there was any part of his life that Michael might not know about.
“Do you think we should do something big for his birthday? I wanted him to be able to invite all of his friends, but I also sort of wanted to just do something with the family.” He considered this for a moment and then shrugged, because it was easy enough to just throw him two parties if they wanted. Atticus had plenty to make up for, no doubt.
“I don’t want to overwhelm him. Elliot and I were talking a bit. He’s going to ask you if you can help him make a shelf so Atticus has somewhere to display his collections. Apparently his drawers are getting a little full. I was thinking I could take Atticus out for the day while you two work, if you’d be interested? I’ve fixed up a jewelry box for him, I thought we could give him that, too. It’s hard to come up with presents special for a birthday when I want to give him everything he could ever want any old day of the year. Hard to hide presents from him, he’s a very clever young man who’s sure to notice if we’re up to anything.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 12:31 pm
“I think that’s a good idea,” Michael nodded in agreement. “We’ll have to see what we can build for him. Might be nice to have something set up for all his collections and art. Might need to be a full wall of shelves,” he hummed thoughtfully as he tried processing what he should help Elliot build. They’d probably have to get Elliot’s input on how large they needed everything to best suit Atticus, and it would be important to have Elliot put his personal touch on things.
“I can’t believe it’s almost been a year. We rescued him on his birthday last year, didn’t we?” he frowned as he started working on getting the ropes untied from the side so they could get the boat out onto the river. “Hopefully this and every birthday from now on will be better. We’ll just do two parties if he’s okay with that,” Michael shrugged, clearly able to read Devyn’s mind on these things. Or maybe they just thought similarly enough that it worked out.
“Were you under some stairs?” he went back to the mystery of where Devyn carved his name, and started looking around to see where he might have been to do just that.
“You can talk all you want, Devyn. I promise.” He would have kissed him again, but he was curious to see what Devyn had planned for them.
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 12:38 pm
“No, no stairs,” Devyn laughed. He joined Michael in pulling up the ropes, though he drifted to the other side so they could finish quicker. “But it is here on the deck. The door downstairs was locked. Do you know, I didn’t even pack a bag when I ran away? I wasn’t very good at planning back then. I just had some snacks in my sleeves. Oh, speaking of.”
He powered up and reached into his sleeve, pulling out a few granola bars and dried jerky. He powered down and pocketed them, though it was a bit of a struggle to get them to fit into his pockets with how tight his pants were. He opened the granola bar and took a bite as he moved to untie the next rope. He must have inhaled it because he was talking again just a few seconds later.
“You can’t see it when you first get on, and once you’re at the wheel you’d have to go out of your way to see where I was. But Virgil was pretty thorough, I guess.”
Or little Devyn hadn’t stayed curled up and hidden as well as he’d thought.
Two feet of wooden seating lined the majority of the main deck, and there was just as much space beneath that–no doubt for storage and cargo. There were only two sides of the ship visible when boarding from the side they had, and from the wheel it was easy enough to see nearly everything. The mast behind the wheel left a bit of a blind spot, and there would have been more than enough space for a child to tuck himself under the seat and hide.
There still would have been enough space now–if a trunk hadn’t already been strapped into the spot already.
A nice trunk, black and trimmed with gold.
For all that Devyn had talked about not being sure if the boat would make it across the river, he sure did put enough faith into it to pack something up here on his last visit.
Devyn hadn’t looked there once since he got Michael on board.
“He’ll have a good birthday this year. Don’t build too many shelves, we might need to save some for Christmas.” Another holiday that was still new to him but he liked it more now that he got to actually experience it. “A year’s gone by so quickly.”
So much had happened so quickly–not that he was complaining. For the most part, he’d had so much good come into his life since he got here.
“Things used to go so slowly. Like every day was the same as the last. Or worse. But it’s not like that anymore.”
He finished the last of the ropes on his side and meandered back to Michael, offering a bite of the granola bar, and a kiss on his cheek. “Now I have you. And Atticus. And honestly, everyone else. I’m very happy now. Every day with you is a present itself. Getting you a birthday present is going to be harder than getting something for Atticus.”
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