Chapter VIII

"Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you."

-George R.R. Martin

Faith sat in the booth. It was quite a comfy seat, and she enjoyed the background noise of the shop around her. Coeus and Crius sat on the opposite side. Coeus sipped on his coffee, while Crius held up a muffin, tapping it against the plate every so often. Faith cupped her drink with her hands before lifting it to her lips. The warm liquid slid down her throat, warming her cold body. She shivered once before looking outside.

White frost blanketed the streets, and people walked around with layers of scarves and coats wrapped around their bodies. While Faith could not freeze, she still felt the pain and discomfort of the cold air. She wasn't fond of it.

Faith looked at the two Titans in front of her. Coeus was calm and collected in the modern world, resembling many of the younger humans in the coffee shop. Crius, however, was the opposite. His lighter hair was slicked back, and he wore a dark jacket, which Coeus had called a leather jacket. Crius always had a dark expression on his face and preferred keeping a light shave. Coeus had recently shaved off his questionable facial hair over his mouth. Faith was glad, he looked better with a clean face.

Crius gingerly took a bite of his muffin, his face changing from disgust, to confusion, and then to wonder. Faith hid her smile behind her cup as she took another sip.

"So," Coeus said, setting his cup down, "What do you propose we do, Faith?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"You know, with Lu-" Crius started, but Coeus quickly shoved the muffin into his mouth.

"With your friend's younger brother." Coeus said, glancing at he other patrons.

Faith sighed, stirring her drink with a spoon. "I'm not sure. I can sense his power, he is awake. But..."

"But what?" Coeus asked, sipping his drink.

"Well, I am more concerned with the girl who was kidnapped. She is either dead or injured gravely." Faith concluded, looking down at the brown liquid.

Crius sighed, looking out the window. "I doubt it."

Coeus frowned at his brother. "What do you mean, Crius?"

"Well, just think. If she was dead you'd have sensed it, right? And besides, if she was injured I'm sure they'd have taken her to a hospital. This is a town of the supernatural, after all." Crius said, tracing his finger across the condensation in the window.

The other two sat in silence. Was he right? It seemed plausible. Surely, she would know if the supernatural by now. If she didn't, then they'd have erased her memories, and then she wouldn't be in the hospital. But most likely, they let her remember because of what she would know about his comrades and underlings.

"We need to meet this girl, she will definitely have some information that can help us."

****

Megan let out a sigh as she sat in her bed. There was nothing to do, no one to talk to.

The guys had all gone out to do some training, excluding Tim. He was currently sleeping, at least, that's what Darrin told her.

Megan was not blind to the animosity between those two. Something happened while she was asleep, she was sure of that. Megan sighed as she moved her joints.

Most times, waking from a coma was difficult work. Regaining muscle strength was the first step, and then you'd be introduced into a new society you hadn't seen in a while. However, seeing as Megan had access to healing remedies produced purely through magic, her legs were doing much better.

Throughout her coma, her muscles would be worked, and she'd have someone animate her body for a bit, moving it around. Then, she'd have a special herbal ointment rubbed into her legs and other muscles, which was supposed to help the stiffness.

Megan grabbed the bottle of it and began applying it. She was told to do at least this much while she recovered. There was much she had to learn about the world. A lot had changed. Too much had changed.

She sighed as she began to massage her arm. Perhaps she could ask the guys about it later, once they got back.

Megan finished her daily massage. She was now incredibly bored. Perhaps she could go see if Tim was awake?

Talking to someone would be nice. She had missed a lot of this world and being able to learn about it from someone who lived it would be perfect.

Megan carefully stood up, but quickly grabbed onto the bed post when her legs quivered. She needed something to support her.

She looked around, before noticing the closet door slightly ajar. Megan wasn't much of a snoop, but in this scenario, she'd have to be.

Megan carefully made her way over by pressing herself against the wall and using furniture to support her. Upon reaching the door, she carefully opened it. Megan looked inside before noticing an umbrella. It looked tall enough to support her.

She bent down as best she could, stretching her body it to reach it. It took a few tries, but once she had a grip on it, she carefully pulled away, using it to support herself.

Megan gave herself a silent sheer before hobbling out of the room.

After getting out into the hallway, Megan could hear muffled voices downstairs, and the sound of humming from out a window. Megan carefully walked it the window and looked out. A blonde girl stood there, cupping the flowers and singing to them.

"Fairy, perhaps...?" Megan whispered, eyeing the girl.

A few more moments passed before Megan carefully turned around, waking down the hallway. If she could find Timothy, then perhaps she wouldn't have to be extremely bored. Megan nodded to herself before continuing down the hall, look for her friend.

Eventually she came to a door. She could hear someone muttering in it. Megan frowned before gently opening the door just enough to look through it. She peeled in, and saw Timothy wrapped up in his bed sheets, shirtless and she ended in sweat. Megan felt her face turned bright red. She was about to close the door when she heard him talking again.

"No, please...stop..."

Megan frowned. He sounded like he was in distress. Megan carefully opened the door fully before hobbling into the room. Upon making it to his bedside, she opened her mouth to say something when he spoke.

"Not yet...you can't..." Megan noticed tears slip out of his eyes.

She sat down next to him. "Timothy-" she said, putting her hand on his arm.

Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her neck. Megan let out a cry. She felt someone press against her back. It took her a moment to realize it was Timothy. His breath was heavy and uneven. Megan gulped. "Timothy...?"

Her friend loosened his grip on her before scooting away. "Megan?"

"Are you okay?"

Timothy looked at her. Something was strange about him. His eyes were sad. His hair fell around his eyes, shading them. Timothy sighed before looking away. "I'm sorry, you just scared me, Megan. I wasn't trying to hurt you."

"Oh, I know that. I was just wondering if you're okay. You look pretty beat up."

"Just tired, I guess." Timothy laughed half-heartedly afterwards.

Megan sighed, shaking her head. "Why are you lying to me?"

Timothy shook his head. "I'm not lying, Megan."

She didn't believe him one bit. She bit her lip, looking at Timothy. He glanced up at her, his blue eyes wide. Megan slowly nodded. "I believe you, Timothy."

Timothy relaxed, looking back down at his hands. "Okay." He whispered.

Silence descended upon them. Megan looked down at the umbrella in her hands. As she did, an idea welled up into her mind. She lifted it up and poked Timothy in the cheek with it.

Timothy blinked before looking at it, and then at her. "What was that for?"

"I don't know, I'm bored. I thought it might be funny too."

A small smile grew on Timothy's face. Megan applauded herself silently. She had gotten him to smile! Truly an accomplishment.

"So, how've you been these past two years?" She asked, falling the umbrella against the wood floors.

Nothing. Megan frowned after not getting a reply a few moments later. She glanced at Tim, only to see a dark look on his face. Megan was about to ask him about his appearance when he looked up, a huge grin present on his face. "Great! I got to practice more with my sword. I'm a bit better now!"

Megan smiled before silence descended again. She sighed, about to regret what she knew she was gonna do. Megan looked at Timothy's shirtless body.

Of course, she had seen him shirtless before, but that was when they were kids and he wasn't as muscular back then. Megan looked at him, only to notice two strange things.

Number one: white bandages peaked out from the blanket that he was keeping wrapped around himself. Number two: he had scars decorating his entire body. There were more than she could count. Some were in straight stacks, while others were in x's or just randomly placed all around him. Megan blinked. "Tim- what?"

Timothy glanced down, and then his face paled. "It was on a few missions. I got injured a lot before. Still do."

"Is that where the bandage cane from?" Megan asked, pointing at it.

"Yes. Werewolf got me."

"Really? There's werewolves up here?"

"There's a lot of thing sin this town, Megan. This is a monster town."

"Well, yes, but aren't ones living in town usually passive?"

"This was one in a pack outside of town. A, uh- scouting mission. We were doing a routine check around the perimeter of the town when we were jumped. One of my favorite shirts is gone now, but at least I am alive."

Megan glanced at him. Something was off. It was strange. "Are you sure you're not lying to me about anything?"

"Why would I like to you, Megan?" Timothy asked, cocking his head slightly to the side.

"I don't know. Just- don't lie to me, okay?"

Timothy nodded, pulling he blanket up higher on him. "Do you want to talk more? 'Cause if so, I'm gonna need a shirt."

"Sure! I'm bored, so-"

"Just let me get a shirt on and I can give you a tour." Timothy said, carefully getting up.

Megan noticed him wince as he slowly got out. The bandages wrapped around the bottom half of his torso, and Megan could see even more scars peaking out form under them. Megan bit her lip before looking away. A few moments and winners later, and Timothy had a gray sweatshirt on. He was still in his boxers, though.

"Are you gonna put anything over those guys?" Megan asked, pointing at them.

Timothy looked down, and his face turned bright red and his eyes wide. Did he not know he had boxers on?

He carefully bent down, letting out a groan as he picked up a pair of sweatpants. Timothy slowly pulled them on, and then turned around to face her. "Let's rock and roll!"

****

Troy sighed as he held the phone to his ear. "Yes, mother. I do realize that I missed some schoolwork."

Leyna shook her head, taking another bite of the steak. Michal sat in front of her, his mouth full. He was currently holding in laughter as he kept glancing at her boyfriend. Leyna gave him a dark glare before shoving some more steak into her mouth.

"No, I really don't need to talk to- hey sister."

Michal laughed silently and then took another bite of his food. Leyna sighed. "Leave him alone, Michal."

"What? I'm just laughing at his inability to say no to his family. You got a family guy, Leyna."

"And? I'd prefer that over someone who enjoys abandoning their family."

As soon as she said that, Leyna felt a hand gently rub her thigh. She glanced down and saw Troy's hand on top of it. Leyna bushes as he gently squeezed it. Michal looked between the two of them before grimacing. "You both are disgusting."

Troy pulled the end of his phone away from his mouth before looking at Michal. It could be worse he mouthed. He then winked, causing Leyna's face to turn even redder and Michal to choke on his food. Troy then turned back to talk on the phone. "No, really, I don't have to talk to- hey Damian. Did Mom force you to talk? Yeah, that's what I thought."

Leyna sighed as she took another bite of her food. Michal had essentially forced her to come out to dinner with Troy so Michal could 'make sure he is fit for you' and when she tried to tell him that he knew Troy, he simply replied with 'but I don't know him when he's in a relationship with you' and so far it didn't seem like it was going well. What with Troy's innuendo moments ago.

Michal took a drink of his soda, probably trying to call himself down again. Leyna was about to ask Troy what was taking so long when he pulled his phone away and hung up. "Sorry about that. My mother thought it necessary I talk to every member of my family, even though I told her I was out with friends."

"She's your mother. Most people wouldn't question them anyways. We forgive you." Michal said, nodding.

Things descended into silence. Leyna sighed. At least it wasn't an awkward silence. It was more a silence from everyone eating food. She was about to take another bite of her food when suddenly everyone's phone chimed.

"What now-?" She huffed, pulling her phone out.

Leyna read the text message, her eyes going wide. She looked up at the others. They both had similar expressions. Was it true?

They quickly stood up, and Troy immediately called for the bill and Michal for boxes. Leyna gathered their things and once everything was packed up and paid for, the group rushed off.

Leyna really hoped that this message was real.

****

Hey guys, sorry for the long wait!

I've been busy with school and such, so I haven't had much time for writing. But, I'm trying to get back into it. Hopefully everything works out!

Anyways, what'd you guys think of the chapter?

Was it worth the wait, or was it completely boring and bland?

-Paige