Hector's eyes drooped as he listened to his mathematics teacher talk about something he didn't understand in the slightest. Garovel was resting on his shoulders, so there was no one to stop Hector from drifting off.
It had been an eventful night. It was the first time they had patrolled the city without a specific purpose. And finding trouble at random was not as easy as Hector thought it would be. Garovel found a building fire, but by the time Hector reached it, firefighters already had it under control. They followed a police car around for a while, but it only led them to places where people had called in noise complaints or some such thing.
After a while, however, they switched tactics. Garovel haunted a series of seedy bars and strip clubs until he heard rumors of some river operation on the east side of town. And by the end of the night, Hector had trounced three dozen thugs, sunken a boat full of illegal weapons, and fled from the police. His motorcycle had earned a few bullets holes, which he patched with iron. There was no saving the paint job, though.
He'd argued with Garovel briefly about attending school. Hector thought it was a waste of time with everything else going on, but the reaper seemed adamant that he at least make an appearance, if for no other reason than to abate worry from people who hadn't seen him in two weeks. Hector agreed, but only on the condition that Garovel use the opportunity to rest.
So far, Hector had yet to see Micah or any of the others, but the day was still young. And as soon his first class let out, Sheryl came up to him.
"Hector!" said Sheryl, smiling. "How have you been?! We were starting to think you moved away or something!"
He averted his gaze as she cornered him against a wall and a line of lockers. "I, uh..." Garovel wasn't awake to help him. He froze up.
"Is everything okay? Am I making you uncomfortable again?"
He definitely did not want to answer that.
She frowned after a moment. "I'm sorry," she said. "I get it. Don't worry. I'll just leave you alone from now on." She started walking away.
"N-no," he said, gritting his teeth. "Please don't... um..."
She turned. "What?"
"You're not, uh... I mean... I don't want you to leave." He tried to look at her face, but her renewed smile was too much for him.
"So why haven't you been around school, then? Were you sick or something?"
That would be a serviceable lie, of course, but he decided to stick with one story. "I got a job. It's been, uh... very demanding."
"What sort of job requires you to miss school? Like a family business type of thing?"
"N-no, it's, um... well, it's difficult to explain."
"Oh yeah?" She looked at her watch. "Well, I do actually have to go. I've got tennis. Um. Tell me more about it at lunch, okay? I'm sure everyone else is curious, too."
"Ah--okay..."
And she was gone again, disappeared into the passing stream of students.
'Smooth,' said Garovel.
Hector's brow lowered. 'You're supposed to be asleep.'
'I was awoken by the sound of you lying yourself into a corner. What the hell are you going to tell them, exactly?'
'I have an idea... I think.'
'Is that so? Don't tell me, then. I want to be surprised.'
'Go back to sleep, already.'
'Fine. But wake me up at lunchtime.'
Hector smirked faintly. 'Okay, I will.'
He waited for lunch to arrive, barely staying awake for his next class and giving up entirely for the one after. None of the teachers mentioned his absence at all, but he supposed he should have expected that, given how overcrowded each class was. They surely had more important things to worry about than the whereabouts of a single student.
When lunch arrived, he found himself seated at the table with everyone, receiving their questions and intrigued faces. After all that had happened to him, he had to remind himself of their names. Nathan, Janine, Gregory, and then of course Sheryl and Micah.
"...I got a job in private security," Hector explained.
'Really? I was guessing you'd go with metalworking.'
"Security?" said Sheryl. "You mean like a bodyguard?"
"Kinda, yeah..."
"I didn't think people under eighteen could get work like that," said Micah.
'Oho. What now, genius?'
"It's... an unusual arrangement, um... just... It's difficult to explain."
'What a cop-out! Boooo!'
"What do you mean 'unusual'?" Gregory asked.
'Ha!'
Hector looked between everyone. "Um. Well, uh. This wealthy guy... he hired me. D-don't ask me why. I don't really know. But um. It's pretty rewarding work. I mean, I enjoy it."
'Wow, Hector.'
"There's just one problem," Hector added. "My boss. He's kind of a jackass."
'Oh, you dick.'
Micah's brow rose. "Has your boss been making you miss school? That's not legal, is it?"
"N-no, I've been choosing to miss school..."
"That's no good!" said Sheryl. "You shouldn't skip so much. What if you aren't able to graduate?"
Hector frowned. "Ah, uh... I-I think that ship may've already sailed, actually..."
Her eyes bulged. "What?! You're kidding!"
Hector flushed with shame and looked down at his food. It was some kind of meat-like blob covered in sauce, and the sight of it didn't do much to make him feel better.
"Do you need a tutor?" Micah asked.
"Yeah, do you need a tutor?" Sheryl echoed.
"Um, I, ah..."
'Uh-oh. Where is this going?'
"What do you need help with?" said Sheryl. "I'm pretty good with geography. Gregory's a math nerd."
"Hey, I'm not--"
"Yes, you are, shut up. Micah, you're good at something, aren't you?"
"Hell no."
"Yeah, you are! Biology! You're good at biology!"
"No, I'm not! I cheat, I swear I do!"
"Yeah, right, you goodie-good! Nathan, Janine, what are your best subjects?"
'Hector, what have you done?'
'I don't know, but I'm scared...'
"Hector!" said Sheryl, making him flinch. "C'mon! Give us your address, and we'll take turns tutoring you!"
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Battonburg was a quiet little town. Buildings were architecturally ornate but never more than three stories. The small roads remained quiet, even in the middle of the day, and as Geoffrey looked for a place to park, he spotted a familiar reaper waving him down. He pulled into a diner and got out of his sleek, white sports car.
Ozmere floated over to him, with Moss lumbering not far behind. 'Hello again,' the reaper said.
"Hello. What are you doing here?"
'We wanted to make sure you didn't wipe out the entire town.'
Geoffrey pouted. "Aww, but that is the easiest way. I do not need to ask around about Colt if I just consume all their souls and read their minds."
'Geoffrey, please. That sort of thing will attract the attention of the Vanguard's aberration hunters. And trust me when I say that would not be fun for you.'
"Bah."
'Don't be like that. We'll make a game of it. We'll talk to various people and if someone seems like they know something useful, THEN you can eat their soul. Agreed?'
"Oh, very well."
'Good.'
"Is Desmond here, too?"
'No, he and Ezmortig are still in Sescoria. There is still much that needs overseeing. Our reinforcements arrived the other day, and Desmond's been trying to help everyone get situated without drawing too much attention.'
"How is your plan going, by the way?" Geoffrey asked.
'Well, Prince Gabriel has been cooperative, though he doesn't know the full extent of our plans, of course. The King, though, has been resistant. To his credit, he didn't concede any ground until Desmond ripped his arm off.'
"Ooh! Can I have the arm?!"
'Um. I'm not sure what we did with it. Sorry.'
"Aww."
'If you'd stayed, you could've torn it off yourself.'
"There is no need to rub it in."
'I'm pretty sure we'll have to kill the King sooner or later. You can still come back and be a part of that, you know.'
"Hmm. Let us find Mr. Colt quickly, then."
They visited the diner first but found no useful information. Geoffrey immediately wanted to kill the last person they talked to out of sheer disappointment, but Moss hoisted him over his shoulder and left the diner.
It would be some hours before they finally found a candidate. The elderly receptionist of a ratty motel paused to think a moment when Geoffrey asked about a man with two babies.
"Hmm." The man smirked. "Perhaps if I had something to refresh my memory..." He tapped the wooden counter in front of him.
"That will not be necessary." Geoffrey looked at Ozmere, who nodded. He grinned as the red shade poured forth.
The man's scream died in his mouth, and his eyes hollowed out into flaming shadows.
Geoffrey could see the memories. An entire life--dimensioned and complicated, sad and happy, regretful and grateful.
It bored him.
He searched for the face he wanted to see, as simple as if the memories had been his own. "Ah!" said Geoffrey. "Hello, Mr. Colt."
'Do you know where he went?'
"I know who to ask next."
'Lead on, then.'
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Hector made it to the end of the school day. He was anxious about carpentry club, as he figured it to be the only other place where his absence might have been noticed.
To Hector's surprise, he was not hounded with questions from the other club members as soon as he entered the room. He received an occasional glance and nothing more, which stirred a mixture of emotion in him. On the one hand, he was all too glad to not be the center of attention again; but on the other, it reminded him of lonelier days, of that old feeling in his chest, as if his heart were being slowly squeezed.
'This shit again,' said Garovel, shaking Hector out of his morass. 'They were worried about you when they thought you'd been injured, but I guess that's worn off now.'
'It's fine. In fact, it's probably better this way.'
'Okay, Hector, it's time to tell me why the hell they're ignoring you like this. It's annoying me, and I want to know.'
'Ugh...'
Lance entered the clubroom, saw Hector, and immediately started walking over.
'Aw, dammit, c'mon!' Garovel pointed a bony finger at Hector. 'You're gonna tell me before we leave here today!'
'Okay, fine...'
"Hey, Hector," said Lance. "I was starting to think you'd quit the club again."
"No, I've... just been, ah, busy."
"Mm." Lance smiled. He put his backpack on the table and rummaged through it. "Have a look." He pulled out a pair of gauntlets.
Hector's eyes widened. The ornate lines along the interlocking finger parts were particularly impressive, he felt. The fingertips were all pointed, almost like claws, and he could see that Lance had used more than one type of metal to achieve the varying tones of gray. "Wow..."
"Told you I could do it."
"You sure did..." He went to pick one up, then confirmed Lance's nod before inspecting it more closely. "How'd you get the metal so smooth? You couldn't have just used a hammer."
"No, I used my uncle's furnace and molded all the big pieces from a melted state."
"That's really awesome..."
"Thanks. What about you? Did you ever finish your helm?"
A bit hesitant, Hector retrieved the helm from his bag and put it on the table.
"Whoa," said Lance. "This is really smooth, too. Cast iron, isn't it? You have access to a furnace, too?"
He wasn't sure how else to explain it, so he just said, "Y-yeah."
"Are you gonna add some ornamental lines to it?"
"Uh... m-maybe."
"What do you think about making a full suit of armor?" said Lance, and Hector blinked. "It'd be a pretty big project for just one person, but between the two of us, I think it'd be manageable. Maybe enter it into a competition or something."
"Uh... that, uh..."
"If you don't want to, that's fine. I was just thinking of making some greaves next and got to wondering."
"Ah, no... I mean, uh, sure. That sounds... pretty cool."
"Yeah? Awesome. I was thinking we'd make various parts independently and then piece them together later."
"Hmm." Hector scratched his forehead. "But, uh... well, that could be a problem if we don't, um... correlate our measurements or whatever."
"Ah, you're right. Maybe we should make the breastplate together, then. Once that is done, we can take proper measurements and then split up to make the smaller stuff like the gorget and pauldrons and such."
"Gorget is for the neck, right? What're pauldrons for?"
"Shoulders. There are lots of other parts to choose from, too. Vambraces for the forearms. Couters for the elbows. And tons of others. We could probably spend the rest of the school year making all the different things."
"I see." Hector eyed the gauntlets again as a quiet thought struck him.
"We can get started tomorrow, if you like. Just come over to my uncle's place after school. He's got lots of scrap metal we can melt down and use."
"Ah, o-okay..."
Lance gave Hector the address and then ventured off again.
Garovel floated over his shoulder. 'Looks like you're going to be a busy man from now on.'
'I, ah...'
'This is basically what you've always wanted, isn't it? Having friends to spend time with and so forth?'
Hector glanced at the reaper, then back down at the address. 'Y-yeah...' He couldn't help smiling. 'I just never thought it could actually happen...'
'Heh.'
Ms. Trent poked her head out of her office. "Hector," she called out. And he thought he was in trouble until she added, "Glad to see you're back."
He gave a blushing nod.
And then he was alone again. He looked across the other club members, wondering if any of them were going to approach him, but when none did, he decided that he had satisfactorily fulfilled Garovel's request to make an appearance. He started for the exit.
'Hector,' said Garovel. 'You said you'd tell me your history with these people.'
'Fine...' He took a breath as he entered the hall. 'Basically, ah... well, one thing you have to understand about the kids in the club is that, uh... they're very... well, they're very close-knit. They, um. I mean, I wouldn't call them a clique, exactly, but... they have some of those qualities, I guess.'
'Go on.'
'And, uh... there's this couple. Katrina and Jamal. They're sort of like the group's leaders. The alpha couple. And, um. One day, I, uh... I kinda... I mean, I... ah, man, this is... just...'
'Hector, c'mon. Spit it out.'
'I, uh... I saw them having sex in the clubroom.'
Garovel stared at him a moment. 'Uh. Huh.'
'Yeah... I mean, I just walked in on them and... yeah...'
'What did you do?'
'I ran away. Which... probably wasn't the right thing to do. They'd seen me. So... maybe I shoulda just talked to them, but... I... that... there was just no way...'
'I can imagine.' Hector proceeded outside through the front of the school. 'But, um... anyhow, to make a long story short, uh... I mean, I wasn't going to tell anyone about what I saw... but I kinda... ended up telling Ms. Trent.'
'Ah. Damn, Hector.'
'Yeah... I-I tried not to tell her, but... uh... Ms. Trent already had her suspicions, I guess... and... she sorta cornered me... and I just... I don't know. I couldn't lie about it. And I should have...' He shook his head. 'I really fucking should have...'
Garovel gave a sympathetic shrug. 'You just told the truth. Why does everyone in the club hold that against you?'
'Because... Katrina and Jamal were both expelled, and now they have to repeat a year.
'Oh. Yikes.'
'I hadn't, uh... I hadn't actually done anything wrong, so... they couldn't kick me out of the club, but...'
'They ignored you until you just left on your own.'
'Pretty much...'
'Is that when you decided to kill yourself?'
Hector sighed. 'When you put it like that... it sounds even more pathetic...'
'Sorry.'
'It's fine...'
'Well. They sound like the kind of friends you're better off without, anyway.'
He shook his head again. 'Garovel, no offense, but... you don't know what the fuck you're talking about.'
The reaper raised an eyebrow at him. 'What?'
'I'm sorry, but... that's the sort of thing that people only say when they already have friends that they're comfortable with. It's not the same when you're rejected and completely on your own... "Just find new friends," people say. "Friends who will treat you better." Yeah. Right. As if that's so fucking easy. I mean, that's the whole problem to begin with...'
'Hmm. I see your point.'
'And besides... isn't it still better to, y'know... try to accept your friends for who they are? Faults and all? I mean... it's not like I'm perfect, either...'
'You're surprisingly opinionated about this,' said Garovel.
'S-sorry.'
'No, it's fine. I understand. But those club people still seem like a bunch of dicks to me. And having sex in the clubroom was a stupid thing to do, anyway.'
'They're not dicks,' said Hector. 'They're just... very protective of each other. A lot of the kids in that club have pretty rough home lives. So they rely on each other a lot. And the two people I got expelled... from what I'd overheard, um... they were having sex at school because their families didn't want them seeing each other anywhere else.'
'You learned that much about them just from listening?'
'Y-yeah. I mean, I could kinda... infer some stuff, but yeah.'
'Hmm. Well. I'm sorry you weren't able to become friends with them. But if you had, then you and I probably wouldn't have met.'
Hector paused a moment. 'If only.'
'Fucking cheap shot.'