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awkwardgtace · 11 months

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The Menace of Salt

day 19 Trickster

Mira is a house sprite who loves to play tricks, but this time things don't go quite how she planned

The Menace of Salt

Mira casually strolled across the kitchen counter. The only good thing about this human was how much she learned. This one just announced what things were for no reason. It would make it a lot easier to mess with the next one. This one left the jar of sugar out again. They were always using it.

Mira walked up, using some of her magic to push the lid off. It was just enough she could put it back in place after. She climbed up, confused when the white powder was so low. This human always kept the sugar almost all the way to the top. Mira shrugged her shoulders and climbed over the side. Magic would get her out, she didn’t have to worry.

Dropping down she fell to her knees. Everything about her body felt wrong, weak. She ran her hands over the white substance. It wasn’t sugar, sugar felt different. She knew humans had a lot of weird things they kept in jars, but nothing should make her feel like this. Nothing except…

“Salt!” she strained not to scream. She fell into salt. All her powers wouldn’t work in here, it was what she had been trying to avoid. The salt took her strength, separated her from the home that kept her alive…

Mira forced herself to her feet. This was the only way to take her out of here too. She hadn’t set up other tricks yet today. It’s the start, she wanted to make the sugar taste sour. Then she was going to try and mess with their clothes. Just making them a bit baggier, it always reverted after a few hours.

Mira had to pace, had to find a way out. If the human found her they’d never let her out. At best they’d send her away. It would take years to find another house to bond with her. This place had been so easy, she didn’t want to lose it. Plus the size of the full property gave her so much power. Only terrible things would happen if she was pulled away.

This was all assuming the human didn’t try to kill her. Surrounded by salt she was significantly less resilient. A human could actually kill her if she was left in the salt. They could crush her or-or she couldn’t think about it. Mira just kept pacing trying to find a way out.

A few times Mira neared the edge she climbed in. She jumped to try to reach it, but nothing ever came of it. She was too short, this should have been fine if it wasn’t salt. She could make the stupid white powder make stairs to get her out. She had to find a way to escape before the human found her. The longer she sat in here the more her own tricks played in her head.

Tying the string on their shoes in knots. Hiding the keys to the house and other things. Taking what the human called batteries. Unplugging things during the night. Turning off that thing they called a phone. It didn’t look like a phone, but humans were weird. That wasn’t how she should be thinking. She needed to plan a way out, at least a way once the human came here. Came to check their trap…

Mira had to stay standing the whole time. She couldn’t tell how long had passed. If she sat, the salt would only make her weaker. She was at least getting a bit stronger from the first large touch. It was the first time she wished she wore some kind of shoe instead. A yelp slipped out of her as the lid of the jar fell back into place. That meant the human was coming.

Mira braced herself against the jar walls. The heavy steps of the human made the salt bounce. Her skin burned a bit when it touched her. She had never actually seen it before and she didn’t want to stay here. The human’s steps came closer and closer, stopping near her. Her stomach fell as the jar was lifted.

Mira was thrown off her feet by the movement. Her back slammed into the heavy salt. All hope that she could regain her strength and run died. The salt moved to cover her. Burying her in the place that would be her grave. She fought to keep her head over the horrible substance. It wasn’t working in her favor.

The movement from the human stopped, but it was too late. The last jump of the salt had some land in Mira’s mouth. She tried to spit it out, but apparently that was a perfect place to bleed into her body. It was gone in an instant, the size of the stupid crystals of powder didn’t matter. Her mind was trying to focus on other things. Like the fact salt was never called powder by humans, she might not know what powder really was.

Light slowly filtered into the jar. Mira gave up trying to dig out. Instead hoping to hide herself in the salt. This would lead to her death if the human caught her. She had no idea how long her strength would be gone. All because of some stupid salt. A trap she walked right into.

A giant metal thing stabbed down right next to her. She saw her eyes reflected in it, pink and filled with fear. The metal thing moved, coming closer. She watched the reflection start dripping tears, something she thought she’d never do again. The metal was pressed down again, another drop into the offending white substance. She thought she might have been spared until she felt a pressure against her back.

It took all her control not to speak. If she spoke the human would know. The human would use that metal thing to kill her. It almost hit her, it could have gone right through her. She was dead. Her breathing grew fast as the pressure on her back increased. The pounding of her heart was making it hard to hear the mumbles of the human above her.

In a terrifying move she was lifted out of the jar. The human didn’t even look at her. They moved her through the air, away from them. The metal thing she was on started to turn. The awful substance started to fall from all around her. She was sliding too. Looking down she saw water, deep unforgiving water. She couldn’t swim.

“No!” she screeched.

It didn’t sound like her voice. She’d never screamed quite so loudly. It reminded her of the cats some of the old humans called feral. Maybe she was just an animal to humans. It didn’t matter, the thing holding her was still turned and she was still falling. She could see the water start to bubble. It was going to be hot, it wouldn’t just drown her it would cook her.

Time felt frozen when she looked at the human. Brown eyes that were assessing her. They looked tired, it was still early. The human would probably assume she was a dream, just find her dead body later. If she hadn’t wound up in salt it wouldn’t matter. The water wouldn’t even touch her, she could just walk on it. That wasn’t how it worked now. She was as vulnerable as a human.

The eyes burned brightly as awareness came in. Awareness that hadn’t stopped the falling salt around her. That didn’t tilt the metal so she was still on it or give her a grip to save herself. She was already gone, the human would get what they wanted. Mira slammed her eyes shut, she didn’t want to see her death.

The freefall was terrifying. She waited for the painful warmth of the water. The awful thing pulling her down like when she was a child. It was never going to release her. Her back slammed into something warm, but somehow soft. It wasn’t what she knew of water. Slowly opening her eyes she found the human staring down at her. Bobbed black hair hanging forward, casting a horrible shadow over their face.

“That was close,” they said. Their voice was light, nothing like the other humans Mira had been close to. The hand was pulled back, close to the human’s body. Fear kept her from trying any kind of run. The shadowed face became more terrifying when they smiled. “I was wondering why my morning had been so calm.”

The human walked with Mira in their hand. Taking her somewhere far from the salt and water. Unfortunately that didn’t save her. The salt was in her body, her system, she wouldn’t be able to run. The towering fingers curled over her made her want to scream. Being crushed was her least preferred way to die. She actually didn’t have a preferred way, she was usually smart enough not to touch salt.

“Hey,” they said. Mira forced herself to meet their eyes. It was hard, the shadows blocked them. It almost felt like the house was working against her. Trying to give this human the menace that was needed to drive out a house sprite. “Are you alright? I didn’t hurt you with the spoon did I?”

“What…?” Mira mumbled.

The human moved their other hand towards a wall. A bright light flicked on revealing one of the bathrooms of the home. A room Mira had visited a number of times to keep safe with her magic. The pipes here didn’t handle the water well all the time. Once again the human walked with Mira trapped in their hold. They stopped at what she was pretty sure they called a sink. The water turned on as they turned one of the metal fixtures.

Her body froze as the noise filled the room. This human was sick. They wanted to drown her on their own. It was the only reason they cared about if they hurt her. The strong flow of water almost made her shake. That would hurt, maybe as bad as the water they were heating up. Mira only grew more confused when the flow of water was weakened.

“That should only take a little bit to get warm,” they smiled at her again. She couldn’t understand. “Unless you can make it warm right away. I don’t think you’ve shocked me with hot water yet.”

The human laughed, Mira bounced in their hand. This wasn’t how humans were meant to act. Of course she’d met the ones who were here before. Multiple times she revealed herself to lure them away from things they shouldn’t touch. Parts of a house that she knew they were told not to enter. A house that was part of her and she’d protect. They all tried to grab her, hurt her, but this one was just laughing.

“Aren’t you mad?” she asked. There wasn’t a method of escape. All her traversal relied on the house answering her. The house wasn’t even listening. The salt muted her.

“About what? The pranks? They aren’t hurting anyone,” they tilted their head. Still a strangely kind smile. “Oh, do you mean because you were in my salt? I mean I don’t really care. I’ll probably replace it.”

“You… knew what I was doing?” Mira’s mind was finally catching up. The fear took a backseat as the human spoke. Their strange attitude might give her freedom if she played right. Then she’d up her tricks, avoiding their foods at least.

“Of course. You’re sort of the reason I'm here.”

“What? How would I make a human be here?”

The hand she was on moved, the brown eyes still giving her a look she didn’t understand. It was the first time a human looked at her like this. She wasn’t a pest to this one. A nuisance to get rid of. It sort of reminded her of the humans she had a long time ago. Humans who would laugh when she played tricks. They were the first she found when she went off on her own, the ones who were supposed to be here. Then they left, they left her alone. She promised herself to keep this place safe.

“The old owners don’t want you alone,” they said. It sounded so normal, but it didn’t make sense. The old owners, the only ones she didn’t chase off, were a long time ago. Long enough humans would forget the strange occurrences in their home. Just how they were supposed to.

“I don’t understand. I-I chased everyone out of here. I…” Mira tried. The eyes on her kept her from admitting she wanted to chase this human out too.

“I have an idea, why don’t you get cleaned up and we’ll have breakfast together? I’ll let you know what you apparently haven’t known for a long time. Deal?”

Mira stared at the water from their hand. This was what she needed. A moment to run, but the sink was high. She couldn’t get home… She wanted to know how she brought humans here. So she nodded, she would do what they asked. The hand she was on moved and Mira slid off into the slippery sink.

It was hard to keep her balance, especially when the human walked off. Each step rumbled through the house and nearly knocked her to her knees. The water wouldn’t remove the effects of salt, she knew that. Still it would be nice to forget the feeling of the horrible offending substance.

Staring at the constant flow of water felt weird. She’d always kept the water slight, or took a bath. There was a warmth coming from it that she’d never tried to imagine before. Her water was cold, she never tried to warm it up. She reached a hand out to the steady flow. The water was warm and soothing. Mira stepped forward, standing under the warm water and just taking it in.

Time passed and all she could do was stand there. It was a strange calm feeling. The feeling of the horrible salt faded easily under the water. She could almost feel the house answering her again. Drinking some helped even more, but it didn’t restore the full connection. It was like the house was right at the edge of her reach. Waiting for her to grab hold and be part of it again.

The calm was disturbed by the heavy steps of the human. It was the way she used to feel comfortable with the first humans. The ones who she honestly missed. They were the only humans that were kind. Her family had ones that were cruel. It’s why she knew about the dangers of salt and water.

The steps continued, but Mira didn’t bother leaving the stream of water. The human would control it; she would just experience it. Their steps stopped near her. She was glad she’d moved to sit in the steady stream. Reaching out left her empty, the house was still too far. She worried eating the salt would lock her away from all houses forever.

“Are you done?” they asked. Their voice was kind, it was easier to hear them now when she wasn’t so afraid. Mira climbed to her feet and stepped out of the steady stream. The wind away from the water was cold, enough to make her shiver. “I guess that’s a yes.”

The stream of water ended. She missed it already. The giant hands of the human came close and she tensed. They didn’t grab her, just held one of the weird rough cloths near her. Hesitantly she reached out, it was softer than it looked. She tugged on it, making the human let go, and wrapped it around her. The human was still smiling at her.

“So, do you want to eat while you dry off or dry off first?” they asked. Mira bit her lip, she couldn’t get out of here. The water hadn’t saved her from the effects. She still couldn’t have the house help. If she could, the substance of the sink would make stairs for her, easily falling back into place when she was done.

“I… can’t get around on my own right now…” she admitted. Her cheeks brightened at the gasp above her.

“You can’t?” Their hands came close, surrounding her. The fear from earlier entered her heart again, but she had no choice. “What happened? Did I hurt you? What… I-I can I hold you? At least get you out of the sink?”

Mira nodded, hands quickly closed in on her. She wanted to run. Instinctually begging the house to stop this encroaching grab. Instead the hands succeeded in surrounding her. Pushing her into a palm, still wrapped in the strangely soft yet rough cloth. She was brought up from the sink, up towards a worried and nervous face. A face that didn’t match what she knew about humans.

The hand stopped at their chest, holding Mira to their heart. The rapid beat actually made her smile. She thought the human wouldn’t care, but here they worried. They watched her with nerves and concern. They saw… they saw someone to care about.

All those thoughts died as the human started to move. The larger space covered by one movement left her scared. No matter what this human looked to be, she was in danger. The salt kept her from her safety. It made her something humans could kill. Mortality was terrifying to face.

The heavy steps continued to add to her fear. When the human approached the room with food Mira wanted to jump. There was a chance she’d survive it. A good one too. It just wouldn’t get her away, she couldn’t get in the walls when she couldn’t move them.

The hand holding her moved away from their chest. She was set on the table, the palm tilting to slide her off. She stumbled to her feet, dragging the cloth with her. She grabbed it and folded the cloth beneath her for a seat. The human pulled out a chair, the noise making her flinch. They offered her an apologetic look before taking a seat. In front of them sat foods Mira never ate. Along with the fruit she usually stole.

“So, do you just want some fruit or do you want to try what I was cooking?” they asked. She stared at it. The thing they cooked had salt, the salt would make her trapped even longer. She just pointed at the fruit. They lifted a slice of apple, it was bigger than Mira. She took it in her hands as soon as they held it out to her, taking a bite quickly.

Together they sat in silence. Mira stayed nervous, especially watching the human take bites as big as her. She didn’t want to know how things would have gone if she didn’t scream. There was always a chance she could have failed to react. That she would have landed in the water. When the human grabbed a piece of apple to eat it added to Mira’s fear. Bigger than her and easily devoured.

“So…” they said eventually. “Should we start with names? I’m Kaya.”

“...what if I don’t want to tell you?” she asked. There was some fear of what her name would do. How humans would act… If they’d try to change it.

“You don’t have to, but I wouldn’t mind knowing my roommate’s name.”

“Why do you know about me? Humans aren’t supposed to know about me.” They pushed the plates away, a feat Mira could never achieve without her magic. Kaya crossed their arms and set their head on their arms.

“Well, the people who actually own this place knew about you. They told me you play a lot of tricks, they just call you Trickster since they don’t know your name. They only saw you a few times, but it was enough to prove it to them.”

“They… they saw me…” Mira pushed the large apple slice away and hugged herself. She thought she’d been hidden back then. They just were weird.

“Yeah they did. They actually moved because you were here. I guess I should probably ask this now, but you are a house sprite right?”

“Does anything change if I wasn’t?” They laughed again, shaking the table Mira sat on.

“Nope, but I wanted to know if they were right. I think I’m the only one they gave the full story to actually. They said I made them think of you. I think it’s just cause I’m friends with their grandkid.”

“I don’t understand. What’s a grandkid? Why does any of this matter?” A hand came close, cupping around her.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to confuse you. They left because they were going to have a kid and didn’t want that child to hurt you. Originally they were going to move back, but it just wound up better they didn’t. I needed a job and my friend’s family needed a new groundskeeper.”

“I…”

“I take care of the plants. What the others before me were supposed to do. The house is under your care after all.”

“So… why send the other humans? Why didn’t they ever stop sending the other ones? I don’t… you’re making this up.” Mira let the cloth fall and stood, glaring at the human. So what if her magic was down, she wouldn’t be made a fool of. “Why are you making up all this when you set a trap for me anyway!? Just do what you wanted to, get your revenge. The humans finally won.”

The fingers around her came closer, she forgot they were there. “I’m not lying, I didn’t set any trap either. I mean, you just got stuck right? I didn’t have a lot of salt and was hoping the jar would mean I stop dumping it all over my food all the time. The loose cap trick gets a little wasteful.”

“Liar.”

“You don’t trust people much do you?”

The smirk on Kaya’s face made Mira annoyed. They didn’t get to judge her when humans had always been awful. She almost drowned well before finding her own house because of humans. She folded her arms, wishing she could be on equal footing. She wanted to face them with her power, with her safety.

“Why would I trust humans!?” she shouted. Kaya jumped back. “The ones when I was born tried to drown me. They said one house sprite was more than enough. The next two always laughed at what I did. I almost trusted them and they left. Then a string of people always mumbling about the main house whatever that means. Trying to trap me, drown me, injure me, crush me, anything to get rid of me. Always thinking they won before going to the rest of the house where I’d scare them off. Just like you. I’ll scare you off too. Humans don’t scare me!”

Mira had forgotten her position again. The fingers closed in around her, blinding her. All she could see was the brown flesh surrounding her. Kaya was going to crush her. This time she wouldn’t come back from it. The house was still too far away. No matter what she did she couldn’t reach the energy that meant she’d survive what a human could do to her. The energy she borrowed from her family as a child to survive.

“I’m sorry,” they whispered. Mira tried not to shake in their hold. “They didn’t know. They knew you were getting angry, if they knew they would have just come back. I know they would have because they specifically asked me to try and meet you. To try and be your friend because they’ve gotten older and won’t ever be able to come back here for more than a visit.”

“What does that mean? I don’t understand!”

“What do you know about humans?” Mira ducked under the fingers and ran out of the hold. Kaya didn’t come after her. She was allowed to stand out in the open facing the human again.

“You’re cruel, hate when we’re inconvenient. Come and go all the time. Do weird things… That’s mostly it.”

“So you don’t know about aging?”

Mira tilted her head, “Of course I know about aging! You stop like we do when you reach the right age!”

Kaya shook their head, Mira felt a new kind of fear. “No we don’t. We don’t stop aging, we keep going until we die.”

“Humans don’t die… that-that isn’t true.”

Mira couldn’t accept that. She was sent off because the humans wouldn’t ever leave. The ones who hated her would be there forever. It was why the one raising her told her she needed her own place. Where it wouldn’t happen again… Her body shook as tears slipped from her eyes.

“Yes we do, I… I don’t know how your life has been, but we do. The ones you knew it’s been at least sixty years since they lived here. They just couldn’t come back and now they aren’t strong enough to live here. The house is too big for them,” Kaya’s words were soft. Mira didn’t flinch as the hand came to surround her again. If humans could die, what was she supposed to do? Why did she have to leave? Why did everyone tell her as soon as she was old enough? Why did they send her out before she’d stopped aging…

Mira couldn’t stop her tears from falling. The few things she knew in her life were lies. There was no reason to scare off the humans if they weren’t going to be there forever. She didn’t need to work so hard. She could have just hidden away from them to survive until they died. The fingers curled closer, locking her against the palm.

She was slowly lifted off the table. Brought close to Kaya’s chest. They held her against their heart, the thumping beneath was calming. It broke Mira’s walls, letting her cry against the shirt. Everything she knew about humans had been a lie. A lie she blindly believed for her whole life.

“Hey,” Kaya’s voice hit her bones. She managed to look up at the face staring down. One that looked kind. “I have an idea. Why don’t we start over?”

“What does that mean?” she asked. Her voice sounded quiet after her tears. Starting over was as terrifying as the disconnect she still felt.

“It means,” they put her down, a whine almost escaped her. She didn’t want it to end. They held out a single finger in front of her. “I’m Kaya, I’m the new groundskeeper. I hope we can be friends.”

Mira stared at the finger, shaking hands reaching out for it. She dug her fingers into the soft skin, looking up at the kind brown eyes. “I’m Mira… I hope we can too.”

“There, we started over. Now you can ask me anything about humans and all I want is for you to let me know if you need something.”

“You… aren’t gonna ask about house sprites? Or why I got so upset?” Kaya shook their head.

“No, you can tell me when you’re ready. Why don’t we spend today together? I can show you some things you might enjoy.”

“I…” Mira looked into their eyes. Nothing, but kindness stared back at her. “I… don’t know when I’ll be back to normal. If I’m still not ok after the things you show me will you still help me?”

“Of course, that’s what friends are for.”

#gt #giant/tiny #giant tiny #g/t #g/t writing #gt writing #gianttiny #gt community #g/t community #oc: mira #oc: kaya #gt july 2023 #gt july #gt july trickster

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whoevenknowswhatimwriting · 17 days

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Chapter 5

WOO! feel good about my progress, plus i'm over 5000 words now! check trigger warnings, as always!

Dare needed more information. The blood dripping from his hand had stopped in the time that he’d been waiting, at least, so it wasn’t that bad. Unimportant. He’d get it checked out later.

Kaya had tied the prisoner to a tree, strong, complicated knots around a wide trunk. They were leaning against it, ducking slightly to avoid branches stabbing them in the eye. They looked casual, but in the way a practiced motion is casual. You do it so many times you forget how much work it took to learn how.

Resting a hand gently on Dare’s arm, Kaya stared up at him, brows furrowed slightly and lips in a tight line.

“Are you sure you want to do this? Right now, alone? At all? I saw you earlier, and there was something in your eyes… I don’t ever want to see you like that again. I don’t ever want you to look that trapped.”

The thing was, he didn’t. Dare would give his eyes, his horns, his tongue, his teeth, he’d give almost anything to keep from having to do this. But he did, he had to, because he couldn’t spend the rest of his time free looking over his shoulder for a threat he couldn’t even picture.

“I know. And, thank you. I’m glad you thought to bring a knife, even if I wish you hadn’t needed to use it. I need to do this, though.”

Kaya sighed but smiled, or maybe it was a grimace. It didn’t matter, she relented either way.

“Fine. But I’m staying within yelling distance, in case you need me, all right?”

“Yes, thank you. I owe you.”

“Then stay safe, okay? As a personal favor, or a way to pay off a debt. And take this,” she said, pressing her knife into his hand, gentle but firm.

Dare nodded, then steeled himself. Plan ahead, ease into it, start off with small questions. Get them talking if you can. You never did learn how to talk to people, always had someone to do it for you.

Dare found a rock nearby to sit down on, crossed his ankles, and looked over at the stranger. Now that their helm was gone, armor discarded and locked away, he could see long hair trailing down in a tumult, dull cloth tied around their temples to keep it out of their eyes.

Silence. It seemed like he’d have to be the one to start the conversation.

“So. What’s your name?”

They glared back and asked, “What’s yours?”

Dare didn’t flinch, didn’t pull back. He couldn’t, a mask slipping over his features like a second skin, familiar as old scars and old grief.

“It’s Adonis,” they said with a sigh. “Not that it’d matter if I learned yours. Our lord warded it, no one who works for him can do anything with it. Takes a lot of effort to keep you safe from the average soldier, but he found a way. Jealous, our lord, I suppose.”

“Not my lord. Yours, maybe, but not mine.”

Adonis laughed, harsh and short, pale lips curling sardonically over paler teeth that seemed sharp in their bitterness.

“He’s as much yours as we are his. But, fine. My lord is looking for you.”

“I could tell.”

“He won’t give up. If I’m missing for too long, he’ll know where you are. Everyone had somewhere to search.”

That’s right, that’s right, he won’t let you go. Remember every time you’ve tried to run before. This is further than you’ve made it before, but every other time was the furthest as well.

“Fine. Then what do you suggest?”

“Let me go home. I won’t tell where you are, not if I can help it. I won’t.” There was something in their eyes, something scared and desperate, and something else. Something familiar. Light eyes with pupils in slits, the same as Dare’s.

He pulled back, assessing. Adonis had no horns, ears shorter than that of the fae, but now that Dare had noticed, he couldn’t stop seeing evidence. Rough scarring around the edges of their ears, as if they’d been cropped short, like those of a fighting dog. The cloth around their hair, perhaps hiding the sawed-off stumps of horns. And their teeth, sharper than the average human’s, canines long points against the back of their lips.

“You’re fae, aren’t you?”

Adonis brought a hand up to their eye, as if they wanted to rip it out, get rid of any hint they might have of a past cut away from them. Instead, they nodded slightly, jaw tight.

“Are you okay? You can probably stay here, if you want, but it might be an issue if C–” Dare choked on the name, stripped of its title and honor. He started again, “If he comes looking.”

They sighed, and slumped against the trunk of the tree, sliding down into a crouch. Leaning their head back against the bark, eyes closed, Adonis responded, “No, I can’t. I have one week to return, or else… Well, it wouldn’t be death, I wouldn’t be useful dead, but it’s something I’d rather avoid.”

Dare nodded. Dug his fingers into his thighs. Took a breath. Relaxed his grip.

“And if you return without me?”

They shifted, trying to balance without use of their arms, and replied, “I can’t lie, but I can try to talk around it. If my lord found out, though, he’d have my head. It would have to be something set up. Something planned.”

“And we have a week to plan this?”

“No, we have a week to get me back to the keep. We have… about five days to plan, then we have to execute the plan, and then I have to leave.”

Dare sighed, walked closer, and knelt to put a hand on the rope. “If I untie you, are you going to attack me again?”

“No, and… Can I ask a favor? Keep my name to yourself, please.”

He paused where he’d been sawing, stone edge of the knife pressed against the rough braid of rope, then put all his energy into one final slice, rope unraveling and falling to the ground. Adonis flexed their fingers, testing movement, before Dare pulled them into a clumsy hug, loose and all-consuming.

Adonis pulled back slightly, resting their forehead against his shoulder, and asked, “Is that a yes?”

“Yes.”

They looked up, relief cascading over their face in an expression Dare was familiar with, the same he’d seen when they’d locked eyes the first time.

He smiled back, sad and scared and understood, and stood up, offering a hand to Adonis as he did.

“I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

A pause, long and shifting, with the trees whispering childhood songs through their leaves.

They took his hand, and winced as they pulled themself up, arm tensing and tightening the edges of their stab wound. Dare’s hand pulsed with pain in sympathy, a reminder of a place that was home and was not home and could never be home. He peered at it, red-brown blood breaking through gray skin like dirt on a stone tile floor, and held it out to Adonis.

They stood confused, then brandished their arm like an acknowledgement and a plea for help in unison. By every god whose name he couldn’t remember, he wished he could save them both, and by every song the trees sang, he’d try.

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