verb ~ become evident to the mind
NOVA

Phoenix stumbled into the room, body tense and on high alert, but I raised a hand to stop him. I couldn't tear my gaze away, focused on the little wolf standing on two feet.

'Is he...'

I widened my eyes as though to silence him, before reaching my hands out to Freddy. He stared at them with a confused brow, before once again, he did what he just did moments ago.

He took a step.

My body burned with anticipation, and soon he took another, and then another. He stumbled like a drunken man, waddling like a duck as he staggered closer, and closer.

Phoenix was silent, and still in the same position he entered the room. He daren't move, and neither did I.

Freddy babbled, stopping halfway toward me before eyeing Phoenix. He giggled softly, flapping his arms in the air before continuing his waddle toward me. The moment his warm torso touched my fingers, I was pulling him into me with a sharp cheer.

"You did it! He did it!" I screeched.

Phoenix moved, finally coming to stand beside me. He laughed loudly, ruffling Freddy's hair as our son clapped his hands.

"I knew he would." Pheonix beamed. "I said he would just start walking. You just wait, soon he'll be speaking in full sentences with us."

I laughed happily, kissing a very confused Freddy on the head. He squirmed in my hold, his tiny, damp hands shoving me away by the cheek.

"Ba!" He complained.

Ba also means no.

Just thought I'd let you know that, too.

"Oh, you're growing up too fast." I murmured.

"Ba!"

"I think he wants down." Phoenix mused.

I parted my knees, letting Freddy slide to the floor. He wobbled on his feet, taking a single step before collapsing back to his knees. I laughed softly, watching him crawl to the open door.

"I think he is saying he's fed up with being in here."

Phoenix watched him crawl away with a smile. "He's growing so fast."

My heart ached for an entirely new reasoning now, and I rubbed my chest as though it could cure it. I can't believe I just witnessed his first steps. How is he growing up so quickly already? It felt like mere days ago when he was small enough to fit across my forearm.

"Dinner is ready. You coming?"

I didn't miss the way his eyes briefly scanned the portraits surrounding us, only to pause at the one I was currently doing.

"What's that?" He wondered.

I turned, finally seeing what I had been creating, only to pause. My eyebrows furrowed, and I stared at the figure with a frown.

"I don't know." I muttered.

There was a clatter in the family room and Phoenix cursed, running from the room to deal with Freddy's destruction. I stayed where I was, my eyes running over the various textures and shades on the page.

It was a man on his knees. Clad in only a pair of pants, his shoulders hunched over his thin frame. He seemed sad. Rope tied his wrists together and there were fresh cuts on his skin. His wrists and inner elbows were bleeding, the dark blood dripping down his forearms and over his thighs. With his head hung low, I couldn't make out who it was.

He had a sharp nose, but his mouth was too distorted, and his eyes were looking down. His forehead was creased, and I knew by looking at him, it was from sorrow. I ran my hand over the top of his head, realising I had dug the pencil in a little too hard and dented the page. He had little hair, but I could see tufts like shredded feathers surrounding him on the ground.

The room he was in was small and dark, with not a window, door, or light to be seen. It was like he was trapped, and he had given up his will to fight. The rope that bound him wasn't tight, but loosely frayed as he stared down at his limp hands.

He'd given up.

I was confused, so utterly confused.

My hand dropped, tracing the outline of him, but then I felt another texture. Just below the harsh dents of his head, there was something small and round. I frowned, leaning in closer to see the detail, only for my blood to run cold as I recognised it. My rough handiwork had hidden most of it, but I could see what it was this close.

His ear.

Or the small amount that remained.

I stared, wide-eyed, as the realisation crashed down on me.

It was Pollux.

Again.

But...

This wasn't Pollux.

This couldn't be Pollux.

What did this mean?

What's happened to him?

Was it just my mind?

Was this Pollux's mind, or reality?

Where was his hair?

Why was he bound and not fighting?

Why was he bleeding?

I was certain it was blood, and I was certain it was Pollux. Despite being a sketchy grey-scale drawing, it was too uncanny to overlook.

What did the rope mean?

Was he bound by his secrets, his thoughts, his emotions? Did whatever happened with Clover hurt him that much?

No.

Something else.

Something darker.

The shadows curled around him, dancing with his silhouette until he nearly disappeared. A large blurring mass softened through my burning eyes. I blinked, tears forming on my waterline.

I didn't like this.

"Nova?" Phoenix wondered.

I blinked, looking away from the photo. He was by my side in an instant, his spare hand curling around my jaw. He pulled me closer, peering into my glossy eyes with a scowl.

"What happened? Did something break?"

My mind.

"I don't understand." I whispered.

"What? Don't understand what, my love?" He murmured, running his thumb across my mouth.

I swallowed, staring back at him as though he could make it all make sense. Phoenix was my safety blanket; my security. He was the voice of reason; the angel on my shoulder. And yet... I doubted even he could help me out of this one.

"It's Pollux." I whispered. "That's supposed to be Pollux."

"It is?" He frowned, peering down at it. "He has no hair."

I shook my head, staring at the drawing. "I think that's his hair. It's gone."

Did he shave it? Pollux wouldn't touch his hair; it was one thing he valued as much as his own life.

Was it metaphorical? Did his loss have such a severe impact that it stripped away his identity? Were the bonds that held him together broken? Why was he bleeding? Was it self-inflicted?

Was this all just one big metaphor?

Look harder.

Belle started to cry, and Phoenix murmured he would wake her. I listened to him walk away, Freddy silent in his arms despite his sister's wailing.

I leaned back in my chair, staring back at the picture with something more.

I have phoned him once a week since he sent me that ominous text, and not once did I receive a reply. In fact, the past few didn't even get marked as received. I just assumed his phone wasn't charged, but now I was thinking more intensely.

My every instinct screamed at me to not stop. To keep going.

The voice in my head, my conscience, my wolf, whatever it was, was urging me to look.

Look harder.

See more.

Think vividly.

I blindly reached for my notepad, flickering through the pages.

Anything

Anything at all.

Come on, Pollux.

What is it?

What is my gift trying to tell me?

Darkness.

Solitude.

Pain.

Sorrow.

Loss.

I stopped at the page where I had written his text messages.

It was so unlike the Pollux I knew.

Much like Phoenix, he spoke with full punctuation and rarely forgot important capital letters. He didn't enjoy using multiple lines for a text, and never sent my name as a hello.

I thought it was because he was emotional.

I thought he was hurried and heartbroken. So much so that he didn't put any care into his message at all.

But what if he did? What if it was the opposite this entire time?

What if he put so much thought into this that I'd be stupid to miss it?

This wasn't his normal texts. This wasn't his normal conversation.

This wasn't normal Pollux.

Why did he forget basic spelling but used correct punctuation?

Nova.

Me.

It was me.

Easy enough.

Hope youre well. Everything out here is great.

But then.

Life is odd. Please, dont worry if you dont hear from me for a while.

Pollux, you know I am going to worry no matter what.

He hopes I am well. Instead of asking me, he states it. Then he says he is fine but that things are odd? He keeps contradicting himself.

Perhaps I need to ignore the words.

Did the text mean anything else? How many words were there? What Easter eggs has he-

Wait.

Wait.

Hope youre well. Everything out here is great. Life is odd. Please, dont worry if you dont hear from me for a while.

H.

E.

L.

P.

Help.

The capitals!

The fucking capitals!

I scurried for a pen, rapidly writing everything I read on my art pad. And then, and only then, did I lean back in my chair and stare at the page wide eyed.

Nova.

HELP ME.

I'M IN DANGER.

The pencil clattered to the floor, my heart constricting and my stomach churning with unease.

He was in danger.

That had to be it.

There was nothing else to this message. The words didn't mean a single thing when his message was so loud.

Tears burned in my eyes, my head spinning.

He was in danger.

Pollux was in danger.

My brother needed help.

He sent me that text so long ago.

So fucking long ago.

It was all my fault.

He... He needs me.

What have I done?

I staggered to my feet, stumbling toward the door. My vision was tunnelling, and I knew I needed to lie down before I passed out.

My throat was closing, my breaths short and choppy as I blindly scrambled to the sofa. I fell to my knees before it with a sharp choking cry, and before I could get my body onto the cushions, the darkness caught up with me.

I vaguely heard Phoenix shout for me as I tumbled, and instead of my mind falling blank, it fell into a whole new one entirely.

"Pollux?" I called.

But he wasn't here.

I was in a strange building, but it... It made me feel peculiar. I didn't like it as I wandered the halls, and I definitely didn't like it when nobody came to my attention. After a boring time of wandering endless white hallways, I tried doors.

All of them were locked, and I gave up and stood solid in the hallway.

Closing my eyes, I exhaled my anger. It wouldn't do me any good getting worked up when this was a vision that I couldn't control entirely. I could sway it, perhaps, but it always led me to places.

I suppose I had no choice but to wait this one out and see where it led me.

Eventually I heard a murmuring of voices and faint heartbeats. I couldn't smell anybody though, and quickly hurried toward the room that held the sounds.

The door was open a crack, and I slithered through like I belonged there.

I expected to see Pollux shouting at somebody, or crying out in alarm.

But I didn't.

My brother was nowhere in the room, and the recognition of the male in front of me just left me even more confused than I was before.

At first look, I thought it was Charlie. The hair was the same colour, and he was a similar height, but this guy's locks passed his shoulders. And as he turned his face, his jaw and nose were sharper.

"I didn't intend for this to happen!" He snapped.

There was another presence in here, one that rippled too strongly for me to grasp. It was a male, too, and I hesitated as I eyed the cloak around his neck.

I knew that cloak.

"You cannot expect to play the other side when you decide you don't like us anymore." Apollo spat. "You gave us that information willingly, and thanks to your observations, we can make our move."

"But you said it was surveillance!" He snapped. "Not... fucking this!"

"That happens with war, pup," Apollo snapped. "You chose this-

"I chose nothing!" He seethed. "I was a child!"

"It is the same thing." Apollo tutted. "Deal with it."

The brown-eyed man was seething, his body shaking with anger. Apollo, despite his blurring face, did not hide that well from me. I eyed his clothes, his hands, his neck, his hair... I took in every detail I could before this vision vanished. As they continued to bicker, I looked around the room, too.

It was a make-shift office, and the entire building screamed abandoned.

"...we will do it soon." Apollo murmured. "The new year will bring more than good will to neighbours."

"You're going to kill people who don't deserve it." The brown-eyed man raged. "I can't let you do that. It isn't their fault. It is that fucking family's fault."

"They hold the most potent blood in the world and refuse to give it up. Their power is too strong. With both lycan and ancient blood, they can rule the fucking world!" Apollo spat. "We have to remove the bastards before we can take the country, pup!"

"They have a name." Brown-eyes grunted. "You can at least use it when you speak so fucking lowly of them. They are your blood family, after all."

Apollo rolled his eyes. "Family is not by birthright, pup. When they chose to be on the wrong side of history, you have to make some cuts."

"I can't believe you're going through with it."

"It will happen. You cannot prevent it." He hummed, almost happily. "Now, leave."

I sucked in a sharp breath as he turned. Unable to tear my gaze away from the freckled, brown-haired man that tortured our borders.

What has Kasper done?