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I'm going to fight for you, Talanda

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I MARVELED AT the statues of the twelve main gods that were the Firsts.

From Zeus to Hera, Apollo, Athena, Poseidon, Hades, Ares, Dionysus, and then lastly, the one we stood before, Hephaestus.

A muscular tall-looking god with a heavy ax that I was completely sure weighed tonnes in his hands, a bushy look in his eyes that looked strangely familiar as it had with Hercules.

The gods that stood before us were only the average height of a fully grown man, but that didn't take away the dominance that oozed through them.

I still felt like cowering underneath their powerful gaze and somehow I knew that back then, many humans fell to their knees before them, and in their reign, they dominated.

I owed all this to Mr. Ogustus as I had never seen statues that felt like all they needed was the breath of life to live again.

I marveled at this statue, kind of wishing I was alive back then, just to see how beautiful they were.

Behind each of the statues were faces from every civilization and religion, some bearing nearly the same look whilst others had changed drastically to fit their new surroundings, displaying new powers too.

All twelve gods, all beautiful.

I paused when my eyes trailed from Zeus, Hades to Poseidon, eyebrows furrowing when I spotted that Hade's line was nearly empty and shorter than the rest with only two statues behind him.

I turned to Lucas who was still standing beside me, his hoody was drawn over his head, but a knowing look in his eyes as I signed the question I was beginning to assume he knew I was going to ask even before I did,

"w-wheres the rest of Hades?"

I mean it was more than a millennium and he was only depicted by two other faces, the last of which seemed very much distorted as if the sculpture didn't know what to sculpt anymore.

Could it be that the very Knowledgeable Mr. Ogustus had failed to track the faces of Hades as he had so easily done with the other gods?

"Hades," he echoed though it didn't sound as much of a question as it was phrased to be, he looked back at the statue of Poseidon we stood under.

"I'm not sure," he replied plainly with a shrug, an answer I was not expecting as he seemed to have it.

"I mean," he began, eyes narrowing down on the statue of Hades, which resembled both Zeus and Poseidon with his bident (pitchfork-like implement),

"Would the god of hell have that many different faces even over the years? I would think almost every religion has a similar face of the devil," he reasoned.

"He wasn't the devil," I signed back.

"What?" he asked, full attention on me making me feel self-aware.

I blushed for a moment and I wondered how I was going to sign it.

It was a long explanation, and that meant I would have to go slow for him to get my hand movements.

"Mr. Ogutus," I began slowly, taking in a deep breath as his eyes watched my hand movements,

"Taught us of the ancients," I continued, nodding along with gestures as if trying to confirm that he was following me ultimately achieving it when his feral gaze seemed to brighten for a moment.

"Or the fallen guardians in Christianity, we call these the fallen angels. He talked of what we would refer to as the devil," I explained, "and we see that they are practically the creators of hell, as it was the ancients that ruled before the dilectus even arrived on earth."

My eyes gleamed looking at the statue of Hades, "Hades came after that, which means like Zeus, and like Poseidon, neither one of them were truly the gods of their domains until they overthrew the Titans," I explained before hesitantly turning, "or fallen or the ancients," I quickly added.

"They go by faces," Lucas replied with a grin and I nodded, scratching my wrists momentarily, eyes marveling at the statue.

"They go by faces," I signed in reply, marveling at the architecture before me, thinking deeply as I stared into the faces of the statues, my eyes traveling to Hera, Hephaestus, Poseidon, Hades, and then- Zeus.

My heart pounded within me when I spotted a statue behind him, one of his many faces, staring at me, half-hidden by the one before him.

I moved toward the statue momentarily, slipping between the statues of Poseidon and his many faces to get to the row of Zeus that stood in the middle.

My eyes momentarily glazed over the statue that stood before the one I was after.

A tall man with a horn and a long flowing robe, gold stripes on his bare arms flowing like veins full of power, eyes also different from the eyes of the stone of any other faces of gods.

His were gold, and his hands were golden dust that reflected off the lights in shimmers making him look like he was holding showers of lighting balls.

Not bolts, but balls. A ball of lightning, glimmering gold.

Beneath, at his feet was printed his face, Olorun.

I looked at this before coming face to face with the statue that stood behind him, of another face of Zeus at another time.

Odin was the name engraved at the bottom.

His hair was long and flowing with two braids.

He stood looking far out, a spear in hand, and when I looked closer a small lightning symbol was engraved right before the shaft.

On his head sat a Viking helmet, with two wings depicted on either side, and on his shoulders were two birds, each on either shoulder, half-hidden by the flowing beard that sat on him like a Viking King.

My eyes trailed down to the structure, noticing the two normal-sized wolves beside him, ears open, pointed, and sharp as if waiting for orders.

But that was not what interested me.

I stepped closer to the statue, slanting my head to the side, eyes narrowing as I gazed into the deep-set stoned eyes of the Viking God.

One of the stones and yet the other, though as lifeless as the first was given marble, almost as if it was supposed to be depicted as blind-

Suddenly, a loud screech burst through the air, causing me to turn around frantically bumping against the statue.

A hand stretched over my heart, eyes wide as I came into the deep round set yellow eyes of a large Owl, larger than I had ever seen. It perched on the shoulders of the statue Olorun, right before me.

Its head slanted to the side and it screeched again.

"Talos!" Lucas barked causing the bird to hoot at me, moving toward me as he stared the bird down with a sigh.

"She's a friend, and Mr. Ogustus would not be happy if you scared her off," he gritted out, as its large round eyes rested on him.

Lucas glanced at me momentarily, before raising an arm to the bird.

"Come," he quipped and it flew and perched right on his arm, covering it fully with its enormous size whilst I stared at it, still half scared to death because despite its size this was no ordinary-looking bird.

One wing was a shiny advanced metal tech, and so was its beak, making it look natural.

Its claws were equally sharp and I was surprised that Lucas was able to accommodate it without a scratch.

"Who let you in? I thought I left you downstairs, you big bird," he huffed petting his head as I stared widely at the two.

It only hooted in reply, eyes moving to me, seemingly less hostile.

"Talanda," Lucas announced to it, turning to me with a small smile, "our guest," he added and Talos hooted once more, a loud and yet natural hoot for an owl, sounding a bit more mechanized.

"Not so loud Talos, there's a reason I left you downstairs," he huffed, turning to me.

He gave me a lopsided grin, watching me for a moment.

"He won't bite, I promise," he added looking at me with shiny eyes.

After a moment of hesitation, I plucked some courage, my fingers pushing off of the snout of the wolf I had been leaning on in my fright, moving closer to the owl, whose big eyes stared down at me.

I reached out hesitantly, like I did the raven, stroking its feathered head, and it held still.

"That's it," Lucas encouraged with a kind grin.

I managed a smile, but my eyes wandered to the metal wing on its left, which seemed to be quite advanced, including the feathers that seemed to me designed feather by feather.

"Mr.Ogutus won't say what happened to him," Lucas explained, "all I can see is that he is getting better," he noted as the bird blinked.

I stroked his head for a second, still studying it in wonder.

"He's beautiful," I expressed, eyeing the intricacy of both what seemed like his natural self and his metal parts.

"Yes, very beautiful," came the reply, and I nodded, with a small grin, looking up at Lucas, only to find him staring down at me intently, making my heart skip a beat.

Taken unaware at the sudden intensely direct eye contact, I looked back down at the owl, my throat dry, breathing shallow.

Silence befell us for a moment, as I watched the huge fella, until it moved off of its own accord, abandoning me to the silence.

Lucas then stuffed his hand back into his hoody pocket and for a moment I thought I was imagining whatever I thought happened until Lucas requested something.

"I have to ask, Talanda," he began, his tone low, "what did you mean by you can't do this anymore?" he stated, my eyes trailing up to him, his steady gaze on me, studying my face.

My breathing seemed to become heavy.

I thought he had forgotten about our earlier altercation after all the conversations we had, but the way he said it made me realize he had been waiting for a moment to bring it up.

I pursed my lips not knowing what to say, or HOW to say it would be more accurate.

How would I begin to explain about Daya and all her threats, when I didn't even want to talk about it?

The last thing I needed was more pity, or people thinking I was too weak to handle things myself. Especially him.

I didn't want him to know that I was easily bullied although I didn't think I was ever good at hiding who I was personality-wise.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I just-" he paused, his eyes looking far out at the statues, yet I could tell his mind was even farther away, jaw ticking.

"I just think friendship goes both ways," he began, eyes stiffing back in mind, "you can't just quit it. Not without a proper explanation."

My heartbeat was loud within me. I saw in his eyes what I could only describe as disappointment and maybe even pain and a hint of frustration in his eyes.

"And even if you feel like you can't tell me," he added, pausing for a moment, "I hope you know I'm smart enough to put things together. You can show me," he added, "and I'll know."

I couldn't stop how hard my heart was pounding or how self-aware I became of my environment.

One look into his eyes and I knew he knew why I said what I said, that I didn't need to explain.

He knew what Daya had done.

However, even if I did want to tell him all she had said to me, what kind of a friend would I be putting him against her? when I knew exactly what she meant to him.

"I couldn't ask you to-" I began slowly signing, but he cut me off.

"I meant what I said before Talanda," he gritted out, his jaw ticking momentarily, I don't need you to protect me."

His gaze shifted to mine, " I know Daya quite well, and she's made it clear what she wants," he paused and my eyebrows arched at this.

He shook his head at that statement, pausing for a second, and I spotted a set of sharp teeth from his slightly parted lips as he breathed out harshly, before his eyes narrowed again on me, swallowing, his tone softer.

"She won't do it again." he plainly stated as if concluding.

One I didn't foresee until it clicked.

He had talked to her.

I paused at this realization but I wasn't relieved at it, I was quite disappointed that he did.

Much like him, I didn't want him to protect me.

I was already delicate, and now I just felt weaker.

"I don't need you to fight for me," I signed fast, blinking fast, as the feeling drove within me, a sheet of tearlike glass beneath my eyes, one that would not pour that I knew and yet remained.

He scoffed at this, "I didn't do it because I thought you couldn't do it for yourself," he reasoned, "I did it because I'm the one that got you there in the first place. And I was angry at her for everything else, even the things she may have been right about it," he explained causing my eyebrows to arch.

"When I met you at the library, I didn't mean to run into you," he explained, pausing for a moment, "but I did know who you were when I sensed you," he started.

His gaze searched mine for a moment and my heart ran its race, guessing and almost fearing what he would say next.

"I knew you were her roommate, Yes and to answer the question of why you when there were so many others, the answer is simple. I wanted to know more about her, through you," he stated honestly.

The answer was like a dagger. I had to look away, feeling a little cloudy at the thought, my eyes stinging.

I remembered the first time we met and the question he had almost asked and it all clicked.

Daya was right, I was being used.

"Talanda, it wasn't to make her jealous or anything like that," He added, earnest eyes following mind, "I was-" he stopped for a second, " I was too enamored with her to even think of pretending to like someone else for her attention," he paused.

I just, I wanted to know, what she was like when she wasn't with me," he stated, before shaking his head, a look of pain crossing his eyes, before suddenly pulling down his hoody.

I could see the dark veins that crossed his neck and just how depleted he looked.

His hazel eyes darkened to feral for a second too long, "but then," he added, his eyes now on me, eyebrows arching as he stared down at home, eyes clearing.

"We had that fight and then I met you in the maze," he chuckled softly, "and it was suddenly more to me than just her. It was someone who wanted to listen to me, who gave me the time of day, someone that made me feel..okay."

My breathing hitched at this.

"Talanda I like spending time with you and every moment since then, I've treasured. I know now, heck, I've always known that I care more about how you feel about me than I'd ever care about how I thought I felt about her. So don't say you can't do this anymore, because this is the one thing I have, that I can't afford to lose," He took a step closer to e towering over me-

"All I'm saying is, I know you can fight for yourself, but," he huffed, his tone low as he stared down at me, "I'm going to take a few swings too."

A small smile crossed my lips for a second, unable to contain myself, and he smiled too, but it faded softly, eyes searching mine.

A foreign emotion, different from the one he just had, crossed his eyes, as they turned that low feral for a second.

He seemed to be studying my face, my heart beating harshly within me too as my smile disappeared.

His tone was low, and different when he spoke, seemingly almost dazed,

"I'm going to fight for you, Talanda," he stated, a blunt seriousness to it, making my eyebrows arch for a second

But the sound of the distant bell brought me from my gaze looking around.

"That's lunch," Lucas grinned.

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What do you mean Luca? 👀

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