Tops shoved his hands deep into his pockets, looking at the sky. The stars weren't very visible tonight – they rarely were anyway, in the industrial city of Revend. He sighed, looking back down. He kicked a small rock, quiet.
Sirek was working late again tonight. For the last few weeks, he had been. It was upsetting, truthfully; some nights he wouldn't even come home. Tops would sit up all night, waiting for his boyfriend to come home only to get more and more worried for every second that passed by…
He shook his head now. He knew Sirek wouldn't quite this job. Tops had tried to get him to quit it many times before, yet to no avail. He wouldn't stop, of course. He'd never stop… the job made Sirek miserable. Not to mention the many wounds he showed up with every time….
Tops stopped as he heard something odd. It was like… muffled crying. He looked around, confused. He was silent, trying to listen closer.
He glanced at a small alleyway. Was that where it was coming from? Slowly, he moved towards it. Yes, it was coming from there… it was slowly getting louder, yet still noticeably quiet.
Tops entered the alley. He spotted a small foot from behind a large dumpster. Who was hiding behind there? he thought. Slowly, curiously, he moved closer.
He moved closer and closer… until he could peer around the dumpster. He saw a small kid, covered in dirt, clothes all messed up. The kids eyes widened as they saw Tops, and they let out a yell, pushing into the wall behind them.
"Hey, hey," Tops said, crouching down. "It's ok, it's alright… I'm not going to hurt you."
The kid didn't stop yelling though. Their voice became a bit strained already. Tops gave him a small, encouraging smile, unsure how to soothe the kids fears. The kid was panting heavily now, staring straight at Tops.
"Are you ok? Do you have family nearby?" he asked gently. The kid didn't seem to understand him, still breathing heavily. Tops gently reached out, placing a hand on the kids foot. The kid immediately looked at his foot, fearful.
"It's ok," Tops said gently. "I won't hurt you."
Slowly, the kids breathing became a bit calmer, but he was still very scared. Tops held out his hand carefully, still smiling gently. "Will you come with me?"
The kid just stared at Tops. They felt… slightly less scared. It was odd. Like this man, he wasn't… going to hurt them. But how could that be true? He was big… like the others he was with, he was old, he… he had to want to hurt them, right?
What choice did they have? If this guy wanted to hurt them, he would. And there was nothing they could do about it. But… but if he didn't…. Who knew? There was no way of knowing to the kid. All they could do is trust him…
So they did. The kid took Tops hand slowly, closing their eyes tightly. But he wasn't yanked up, as they expected. They were gently pulled closer and helped to stand.
The standing didn't last long, though. Tops caught the kid before they fully fell. The kid had been running so long, they were so tired they had barely noticed their legs were aching.
"Woah," Tops breathed, holding the kid. "Are you hurt? Oh, never mind… we can deal with that at home."
Tops paused, looking at the kid again. He only now noticed their eyes were a bright, yellow-brown color. They were so young. They couldn't have been older than ten….
For a moment, Tops saw himself in the kid. He himself had ran from home at such a young age… he had gone through so much, alone for so long. He had wished someone were there to help him… he set his face in a determined look. He'd be there for this kid.
"You'll be ok. Everything will be ok."
"Fuckin what?" Ruk asked, staring at Aleson.
"Don't curse, Kuruk, it makes you look more a fool than you are – and trust, it's bad enough alone," Aleson said, not looking at his younger brother. He was too busy scribbling on the papers that littered his desk.
"You're kiddin', Wings. You're fuckin kidding!"
"Kuruk," Aleson said softly.
"Aleson! There's no way I'm doing that! You know why?"
"Enlighten me," Aleson sighed. Ruk slammed a hand on Aleson's desk, making the older look up at him in distaste.
"She's a bitch!"
"Kurukkan," Aleson said in an exasperated tone.
"She is, Aleson! A fuckin' bitch – she only wants money!"
"Then give her the money, we'll get over it anyway."
"That's not it, Ale. She's the worst, just a bitch! You shoulda seen the ball, Wings, she was boutta murder Silas – Oh, gods, Ale, don't make me do it! She's, she's—"
"Important," Aleson interrupted, standing. He was taller than Ruk, so he leaned on the desk, locking eyes with his brother. "Very important. She could help my plan go along smoother. Besides, Ruk… if you hadn't fought those damn—"
"I didn't fight them!" Ruk shouted in anger. Aleson paused.
"Who did, Ruk?"
"Orah, the bitch! I thought he wouldn't keep all of them ali—"
"Excuse me?"
Too late, Ruk realized his mistake. He froze, unsure how to proceed. Oh, he fucked up, he fucked up bad…
"Orah? You don't mean the same Orah I told you not to go around ever again? That Orah, Kurukkan?" Aleson's voice was laced with anger. Ruk went to defend himself further, but he saw Aleson's eyes get brighter – he was sure a purple smoke came from the left one.
"Look, Wings," he said cautiously, "I haven't seen him since."
"Oh but you knew I didn't want you around him then. Didn't you, Ruk?" Ruk was silent. "Didn't you?"
"I did, Aleson, but seriously, I didn't think it was that ba—"
Aleson slammed his fist on the table, silencing Ruk. Ruk watched as Aleson took deep breaths, attempting to calm himself.
"So you disobey me. Strike one. You start a fight in Sino. Strike two. You fail to even win the fight, strike three… it nearly starts a war, strike four… You're doing this, Ruk. Or else you will get a worse punishment."
Ruk held back a snort. It wasn't out of humor, though. Only one thought bounced around his head that he didn't dare say.
What could be worse than dating Lia?
Silas was quiet as he sat on the floor with his back against the bed. He glanced at Aarav, who was still asleep in the chair. He felt his chest hurt a bit, fearful for his friend.
Wait… no, he thought. Aarav was awake. But… how had Silas known that? His chest would rise and fall in the same rhythmic way. He wouldn't move, his eyes were closed, yet… yet something was different.
Aarav shifted now. It was only a little movement, a turn of his head. Yet as he moved his head, his mouth moved as well. If he hadn't been staring, Silas would've missed it. "Ok," he mouthed. He was ok.
Silas glanced at Ash, too busy with a knife – where did that one come from? – to see Aarav.
Both Silas and Ash jumped as the handle to the door started to click. Ash jumped to her feet, again smoothing and brushing off her shirt. She stood straight, as tall as she could, as the door opened. And in came… a woman.
This woman… she was tall. Like Amer – yet, perhaps a little shorter. And she was gorgeous.
She wore a blue dress with white lacing across the top. There was also thin, white gloves that stretched all the way up her arm. And her hair… it was blonde – though, there were hints of grey –, and curled beautifully. There was also a small yet expensive-looking crown on her head.
Crown? Silas thought. Was she some sort of royalty? No, there was no royalty around here – everything was run by the Don's. Perhaps she was royalty, though? Visiting a famous don from across the seas? He wasn't sure.
The woman gave him a sweet smile now. "Hello, my child."
Silas felt his ears redden at that, but he didn't dare say anything, still unsure as to who this woman was. She glanced at Aarav for a moment, before turning to Ash and muttering something. Ash bowed her head, stiffly exiting the room, leaving the three alone in the room.
"I do hope my husband wasn't too harsh on you," she said with a sickly sweet smile. "Oh, you must be so confused, so worried…."
As she spoke, the woman stepped closer. Silas didn't like this. He could feel his heart pounding faster and faster with every step she took. It was as though she were a darkness, a force of evil that surrounded him, encompassed him. He couldn't escape it, though. All he could do was sit and allow it to happen.
"My name is Tahika. And you are?"
Silas didn't answer that question. This made Tahika frown, and with that, all signs of good intent, all hints that she wasn't going to hurt him vanished. He began to shake now. She could see this, he knew, and her expression softened – but only slightly.
"Oh, child," she said, Silas trying desperately to hold down any hate he had in him, "I will not hurt you! I just need you to cooperate, you understand? My husband… he is not as kind as I am, you see; he would not tolerate your… blatant rudeness."
Silas sat still as he took this in. Before he could, though, Tahika placed a hand on his arm. He tensed, and tried to pull away; she, however, had other plans. She held onto him. Silas had to admit, he did not expect the strength this woman had.
Then something odd happened. Slowly, a tingling began, starting at where she was touching him. He stared at his arm as it slowly began to spread. It reached his fingertips quickly, and as soon as it reached his shoulder, it spread. He wasn't exactly limp, but as he tried to move, he realized he couldn't.
The oddest thing, however,… was that he wasn't panicking. He wasn't breathing hard, he wasn't trying to move desperately, as he thought he would have… he just… was still. He was calm. And… he wasn't sure that was all bad.
"There we go… you understand why I do this, don't you, my child? I cannot risk you hurting yourself on accident…."
That made sense, Silas thought. He was quiet for a while. She was very motherly, wasn't she? She had a nice smile, and her voice was soft and sweet…
"Now, I need you to answer some questions for me. Can you do that, my dear?"
"Yes," Silas said in a breathy way. He felt so relaxed, he was having trouble even getting his vocal cords to truly work.
"Good, you're doing good. What is your name?"
"Silas…," he said. "Silas Ace."
That was odd, he thought briefly. He didn't often tell people his last name… But that thought was quickly dismissed as he saw the smile on this woman's face. Of course he had told her – look at her, she couldn't be harmful…
"That's a wonderful name, dear. And your friend?"
"Aa-… Aarav…," he said slowly.
"What is he?"
Silas frowned a little. "I'm… not sure…."
"He cannot leave you. Is he a spirit?"
"I don't know…," he said slowly again, trying to rack his brain. He felt a hand brush his cheek, bringing his attention back to Tahika.
"Don't worry about it, darling, we'll speak about it later. Now… where are your parents, my child?"
Silas frowned a little. "Gone," he said, voice barely above a whisper.
"That must be awful… you aren't that old, are you? Probably a teen still… How old are you?"
"I am… I'm… I'm an adult," he said, slowly getting a little more frustrated.
"Of course, darling. But your age… what is it?"
"I… I… twenty… twenty-two," he said, still having trouble with speaking.
"Oh, dear… My, you are quite young."
"I'm not," Silas rasped. Tahika stared at him a moment. She frowned a little.
"Oh, no, of course… you see, I am fifty, dear. I am simply old," she said, giving a small, odd giggle. It didn't feel quite right, Silas thought. But he ignored it.
"Oh…," he said slowly, as though that answered everything. Tahika took a deep breath, pausing a moment. Silas simply waited, staring off slightly.
"My child… do you know why you're here? Why you were brought here?"
"No," Silas said. He answered that question quite quickly. Ever since he awoke in this strange place, for the hours he was kept here, that was all that went through his mind; why? Why was he here, what did he do? Though, what Ash said… she had said something… something important… not to say something to her?
"Well, you see… a few men, they said you were hanging around an enemy of mine. You wouldn't do that, would you, dear?"
"Who?" Silas asked slowly. He felt like he knew who it was, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it….
"The Naši brothers. Koska, Kurukkan… and Aleson."