wc: 2716

Grian's sharp, staccato steps echoed in the damp stone room as he strode to the exit. A fleeting touch on a particular stone brick sent him back to that little hallway, tiny crystals glittering in dark, shadow soaked corners. He felt his belt for the reassuring edge of the dagger in its sheath; yes, he was paranoid that someone was lurking. No, it was not an issue.

The place felt almost abandoned- not a single guard or resident remained, all congregated at the conference square, probably. Grian dropped the elytra over his head and looped his arms into the straps as he made his way towards the light. He shivered as he fingers tightened around the buckles, remembering cramping wings pressed against thick leather straps and a back that ached and trembled as he dreamed of a day where he could soar without the burden of those heavy appendages. Now he wished he had that pain instead of....

Never mind.

It was easy to find a way to lift off even without the loud rockets. Grian let out a small burst of magic from both hands and felt the elytra spread, suddenly weightless. It's not the same, with the mechanical motions and artificial feathers, but it did hold a resemblance, and he revelled in it. I'll take what I can get, Grian thought absentmindedly, golden energy buzzing from his fingertips to propel him forward.

The flight was a little directionless- Grian had spent all his time in the city tucked away in the desolate corner of the capital building, and had gone years without feeling sun on his back (even if the sun here was nothing more than a cold light in the sky). He glided lazily above the tall, blocky buildings- all varying shades of gray with a smattering of white, purple banners hanging from windows to celebrate the anniversary. The streets were scrubbed spotless, which was a little pointless, in Grian's opinion- everyone was gathered in that little congregation area that Xayla had talked about, anyway.

After some time of lazy flying (or so he told himself, as if his heart wasn't jackhammering in his chest), Grian heard it. It was... eerie.

More than eerie- chanting, all of one tone yet a multitude of voices, echoed down the empty streets. Grian let himself flicker out of existence, golden sparks showering the road below before giving one last boost towards a rooftop. He landed soundlessly and crouched down, scanning the crowds.

Grian suppressed the urge to flinch when his eyes landed on Xeluph, standing on a dais, hand outstretched and speaking low tones that amplified over the entire expanse of people. The city spoke as a whole- everyone's mouths moved in sync, masks glowing slightly with violet hue. The hivemind, Grian recalled, mouth dry. He'd seen it once- when he'd first been taken, the guards had spoken in unison, walking the same steps and making the same motions. It had been terrifying, but was nothing compared to what had come after.

While Grian had been mulling this over, the chanting had stopped. Xeluph was making a speech of some sort, the steady flow of galactic filling the air.

"We embrace a new era," he heard Xeluph say, "of superiority." The voice sent a shiver down Grian's spine and left him feeling unsteady, as if... as if... he was back there, and...

With a small hiss, Grian placed a hand carefully against the cold concrete of the roof, grounding himself. He was just here to assess the situation. He had freedom, he had magic, he was stronger than Xeluph.

A sound of scuffle somewhere in the crowd caught Grian's attention. He inched closer to the edge of the roof, peering down into the thick masses of wings and robes. Grian felt his stomach drop as he saw-

A boy. Probably no older than twelve, although Grian couldn't be too sure because of the mask, getting dragged out of the uniform formations into an empty space. A small girl who had been standing next to him turned, hand outstretched, and was promptly struck across the face. She dutifully turned back to the stage, and even from the distance, Grian saw the tremble in her shoulders.

Grian focused his senses in, vision turning slightly golden as he listened. The guards were saying something to the boy-

"Have you not learned etiquette?" one hissed in dripping, smoldering words. "To show disrespect like that during a speech of an Elder is punishable by death."

"I'm sorry, sir," the boy replied meekly, and Grian found himself braced to jump off the edge of the building.

It was a painfully familiar scenario, and Grian almost found himself in that training room, forced to his knees and tears pressing on his eyelids. He'd always been fidgety, unable to sit still, the exact opposite of what Watchers were meant to be. Punishments were common, and as Grian watched the scene unfold, he could hear the condemning voice and feel the smarting blow against his brow. Grian could practically see the hand wrapped around his neck, squeezing, and for a moment he grasped at his throat as if there was really something there.

The guard raised his hand, and-

Grian barely registered that he was flying until he was barreling into the guard, hands outstretched. The boy blinked in confusion as his punisher reeled backwards to some invisible force, and Grian remembered for a moment, Right, I'm invisible, before hooking the guard's neck in the crook of his elbow and squeezed.

The guard choked and tried to press on his forearm, hand scrabbling against fabric and the golden wrist cuff. Grian' lip curled into a snarl, vaguely aware that another guard was coming, and another- This was a dumb idea, he thought to himself as he dug an elbow into the side of the guard's head, letting the Watcher drop to the ground. I don't regret it.

He turned and saw the boy sitting wide eyed on the floor and remembered why he was here. Ducking past the moving guards and slipping under waving arms, Grian placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Go back to your spot."

The boy nodded vehemently and scrambled up, glancing around him in some sort of attempt to place where Grian was. Grian's breaths were coming quick now, after using his magic to keep himself hidden, but he couldn't stop, not when this opportunity to just fight was right in front of him.

The crowds were still standing still as statues, for fear of punishment, but the tension and confusion was palpable, and from Grian's position he could see the furious look on Xeluph's face before it was wiped clean and replaced with a courteous smile. The guards began to summon flames, holding them out in front of themselves, and Grian recognized it to be the revealing fire that...

He snapped his arm back a second too late- the glimmer of a wrist cuff and the dark fabric of his gloves came to view, and the guard pounced. Grian dropped to the ground and rolled, the guard closing in on nothing but turning with a flare of lilac wings. The flames were thrown Grian's way, and he muffled the urge to gasp as the heat passed by his shoulder and dissolved into the air.

Now that there was something to target, Grian considered dropping the disguise entirely and leaning into the fight entirely, but before he could think, the guards were moving towards him with their spears braced. Grian jumped as one stabbed where his leg used to be and leapt upwards. He could feel his elytra snap open as he let a small burst from his hand, letting the momentum carry him up and onto the shoulders of one of the guards.

The knife that had been on his belt was in his hand in an instant, and with a quick in out the guard was dropping, purple blood leaking from the slash on his neck. Grian used the falling body as a jumping pad, taking hold of one of the guards' arms and flinging him into another. The two went down in a pile of limbs and feathers, and Grian took the opportunity to crack their heads together.

In the background, Grian could hear Xeluph's voice, and now an entire section of Watchers joined, wingbeats thundering in his ears. This isn't a fight that I can win without hurting innocents, Grian realized, shuddering as his eyes landed on a child, probably no older than six, moving forwards with stumbling steps as the crowd swallowed her whole.

Grian let out a burst of energy, carefully colored violet, and cursed himself and his impulsiveness- The elytra spread again, and now he was gliding, and people were reaching, and the bodies pushed against each other and the palms raised against him began to glow-

His eyes landed on Joel, stepping forward through the momentum of the crowd, but looking for all the world like he just wanted to go home and take a nap. Grian shook out the arm that had been revealed, letting the invisibility sink into his skin, and dove for Joel.

Joel made a choking noise as Grian perched onto his shoulders, reeling backwards. Grian jerked his head down so that it was close to his ear, and hissed, "It's me."

"You bloomin' idiot," Joel growled after a moment. "I can't believe the all knowing and all powerful Xelqua is-"

At the name, Grian kicked off, and Joel stumbled forwards. He flew a tight circle and landed right behind Joel, whispering, "Never use that name again, and stop looking like I'm talking to you. I have to get out of here and I don't know-"

"Oh, shut up," Joel muttered. While his tone was brusque, Grian could practically see the gears turning in the man's head. "Just run off or somethin'," he said absentmindedly. Grian stuck close to Joel's back as the Watchers began to fan out in search of him and flinched when he heard Xeluph's voice.

"Watchers, we will let this fool serve as an example," Xeluph growled, hand outstretched towards the crowd. The hairs on the back of Grian's neck stood straight up, and he involuntarily pressed closer to Joel, shivering.

Joel sobered up. "Can't you just leave the way you came?" he asked quietly, moving in a less populated direction.

"I have to use magic to lift off," Grian whispered. "I borrowed Etho's elytra."

"Etho!" Joel said happily. "How's he doing?"

Grian gave him a small flick on the back of the head. "Focus."

Joel sighed, moving into a little alleyway and holding out a purple flame. "Stay away from me, unless you wanna be revealed." He gave a little sweep, illuminating the dark corners, as Grian dutifully ducked away from the arm.

"Xoel? See anything?" came a gruff voice; Grian turned, clamping his mouth shut. A cursory glance-over revealed a small golden pin on his chest- a general.

Joel snapped up, stumbling as he bumped into Grian's shoulder, and placed his fist over his heart in the Watcher's salute. "No, sir," he said smoothly. "This way's empty." His voice didn't hold any tremble, and the man nodded and moved on.

They both let out a small breath of relief. "Are you sure you can't just lift off?" Joel asked, frustration creeping into his inflection. "I don't want to get into any trouble either, and I'm sure no one would notice. I could say it was my flame or sumthin'." Grian quietly followed him into another street, thinking hard.

"...I could, but I do want to do something," Grian admitted, watching as Joel sent a purple flame down the street. "I'm tired of sitting around."

Joel tossed a glare over his shoulder. "Grian, look, I know you're capable, and we all know that you're the strongest of possibly anyone alive, but-" He sighed. "These things do have consequences. You'll have your moment, but we cannot risk any positions that we already hold in this war."

"I-"

"Grian, there's no argument," Joel insisted, brushing past. "Get out of here, and fast. You're contradicting plans. You- go back to the base, and be quiet about it, alright?" He paused, a muscle working in his jaw. "We all want to fight. You'll get your chance, just- please, go."

Grian didn't respond, only backing away with a pounding heart and (invisible) face quickly turning red. I was naive to come here, his mind supplied shamefully, and Grian shook his head, feeling curls bounce against his face.

With a small lilac burst, he carried himself up and into the air, letting the elytra carry him away. Joel seemed to look around for a bit to see if Grian was there before giving up and leaving. In the back of his mind, Grian could feel the tendrils of anger trying to sink into Joel, but he knew- Joel's right. I'm being a- a child, picking a fight with a kid much older than me. That said, he was still angry, and in his humble opinion, rightfully so.

But as his eyes landed on Xeluph, a vicious claw sank into his mind, whispering, Just one thing. Even though his heart leapt out of his chest, begging him to stay away run escape leave from the horror torture pain, Grian pressed forward.

He swept downwards towards the stage, landing with a soft thump right behind the Elder, unceremoniously placing his hands on the man's shoulders in between giant wings. Xeluph jumped, feathers puffing up and trying to whirl around, but Grian tightened his grip, leaning down to whisper, "We will triumph. Good always wins over evil, and you can't change that."

It was liberating. The way Grian could feel Xeluph tense, the way he could see a cold drop of sweat roll out from under the mask, all meant fear. And one day, Grian would channel every ounce of fear this man had ever given him right back into that damned heart, and cause him every ounce of pain he'd ever had to endure under that cruel hand.

The moment his hands left Xeluph's shoulders, the man was whipping around, hand braced with flaming magic, but Grian had already gone.

As Grian twisted into sky, he heard Xeluph insist, "We are not evil."

~~~

Etho blinked in a bit of shock when Grian came swooshing down the hallway, eyes thunderous.

"Grian, you good?" he asked a bit tentatively. Grian paused, eyes turning towards Etho, and he involuntarily felt a shiver go down his spine at that bright gaze. It took a moment for Etho to recognize that expression- anger.

The man in question mouthed words for a moment, before settling on, "You shouldn't have given me that elytra," and storming off.

"Oh, snap," Etho sighed, watching as Grian made his way into a random room and closed the door. He carefully closed the book he was reading and placed it down on the table next to him.

"Was that..?" came Bdub's voice. Etho slid off the chair, sighing again.

"Yeah. I guess something went wrong."

"Oh, well, no duh," Bdubs said a bit sarcastically, rolling his large eyes. Smoothing his face into something more serious, he said, "Should we go check up on him?"

Etho paused for a moment. "I... I'll go."

Bdubs sputtered for a moment. "You?"

Etho shot him an offended glance. "Is that so surprising?"

A giggle left Bdub's lips. "Well, no, but you're not exactly the fluffiest guy around!" He paused. "Well, actually, your hair begs to differ."

"Excuse me," Etho said, running a hand through bouncy white strands. "I can be plenty comforting, just wait and see."

Bdubs shrugged. "Okay, but tell me what happens." He nudged Etho with an elbow.

Etho couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his face. "Yep. Don't worry."

"I will!" Bdubs called after him.

Etho sighed a third time, smoothing out his shirt and adjusting his mask. All he had to do was talk to Grian, a man who probably could kill everyone in the base and explode. Simple. Easy.

Well, Etho Slab wasn't one to step down from a challenge.

(He should probably stop thinking of comforting a friend like a mission, but whatever.)

etho slab heh

theres a lot of thoughts just swirling in my brain for this story, and probably only like 20 percent actually make it to the google doc :,) but hopefully yall are liking it!

see yall next week! thank you for reading! have a good day or night, wherever you are <3

-Ete