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“Over here, over here!” He repeated through labored breaths, his sneakers slipping through the slick mud as he and Zoe shambled down the hill and under the old, abandoned bridge. Douxie took her hand and swung her under the arch as she felt her back hit the stones, but before she could even react to that, Douxie’s frame came up and pressed her even closer against them. Only his out of breath echo whispering as a rush of magic seeped over them like a veil. “Abscondere nobis duabus!”
They waited there, breathing heavily, until the multiple sloshing sounds of footsteps drew closer and each of them held their air in total silence.
The overgrown lizards slithered by, the pack trampling over one another like globs of black oil as one broke off, looked towards the bridge, and for what felt like an eternity, stared with its three glowing gold eyes right into the direction of the two wizards, a low growl slipping out past its mandibles.
Zoe and Douxie watched it, hoping that the droplets of rainwater beginning to puddle beneath their feet were too quiet to be heard through the more enveloping sounds of the storm, as well as the distant shuffling of the nearby pack through the mud. Douxie swallowed soundlessly, the movement in his throat catching Zoe’s eye as she continued to hold her breath and wait. Without realizing it, their free hands gravitated together and intertwined almost instinctively as the other two pressed harder against the wet stones of the bridge. Neither blinked, but were already resolved to fight their way out again should this lone scout manage to sniff them out and alert the others.
But without missing a beat, the lizard quickly snapped its attention back to its pack and took off with them, their entangling sounds of searching and stomping drifting off to another part of the forest and eventually out of earshot entirely.
Safe, they each let out a deep exhale, followed by all the rapid breaths they’d been trying to catch up to the rest of them before taking shelter. Hisirdoux’s cloaking spell faded back into the bright blue runes of his bracelet not long after and his hand up against the stone relaxed and slid down the wall as the top of his head fell forward near Zoe’s shoulder.
“Well that was a close call.”
His voice was a whisper next to her ear, and whether it was the close contact, or the hot breath against wet skin, something sent a sudden shiver down her spine.
He raised up slightly and stared down at her with soaking wet hair stuck to his face around a pair of amused hazel eyes, her own bright blue gaze softening up at him as bits of pink bangs clung to her skin and the hood of his jacket.
She watched him in such a way that he felt his mind go completely empty, and all he could do was get lost gazing down at such a face.
Both felt a sudden tug in their chests as an invisible string pulling them back together, closer now than they were just before that cloaking spell had worn off, and Hisirdoux leaned forward to meet her lips in a soft (yet slightly damp) kiss. The hands that were now noticeably together tightened slightly as the other pair fell in line to match, his coming down and hers rising up as the fingers brushed together into perfect shape and intertwined.
They stayed like that for a long moment, the sounds of rain and the potential worry of the imps' returning all now drowned out by a feeling of warmth and passion that made everything else around them disappear.
Her hands unlocked and moved around his neck, the cold, wet sleeves of his jacket sending goosebumps down his skin, though he ignored it in favor of his own arms falling to press fingers against the small of her back and they kissed once more, this time a bit harder as a sharp inhale of breath broke the silence between them.
This kiss was only broken after he managed to slip on the wet ground and she laughed as the two of them tried to awkwardly get their bearings against the graffitied stone of this old bridge.
Come to think of it, they’d been around when this bridge actually held a purpose by keeping the dirt road of the village that eventually became Arcadia from getting washed away when it rained like this. Then for that matter, they had also been around through the 60’s and 80s when tagging these old stone relics became something to do on a boring night out with friends. Whether their writing was down here somewhere was a memory neither could really recall after all this time, though this particular outing might have just proven to make this area a tad more memorable than in years past.
Zoe began to chuckle, and Douxie followed quickly after, studying her and the bridge as he attempted to get himself back to a full stand. She gently pushed him once she was sure he wouldn’t fall over... not really hard enough to move him, but just enough to get the message across that she totally blamed him for all of this, and no amount of kissing was about to change her mind on that.
“Yeah, I know…” He replied with a knowing laugh, finally taking a step back and looking out after the horde that had gone far out of sight by this point. “Those little beasts were dodgy, weren’t they? Any ideas what they were?”
She shrugged.
“They almost looked like Umber Imps to me? But they sure were ugly ones. I wonder how they got all the way out here?”
“Well, one thing’s for sure, they don’t like being electrocuted!” He shot an accusatory glare back at her and gestured at the two of them to emphasize their soaking wet clothes. “Did you know you could do that without deep frying the two of us as well?”
She wrinkled her nose at him and folded her arms.
“I know what I’m doing, Casperan! You’re the one that wanted to fire on them one at a time with your little energy blasts. We’re lucky we managed to even get the few of them that we did.”
He opened his mouth to argue given her tone, but instead just swallowed it back and retracted his outstretched finger into a fist that slowly pounded away through the open air alongside any attempts he had to squabble. Then he let his head fall back with an amused breath as he grabbed for his hips.
“Ah… well I guess we both know better for next time, yeah?” With that he shook his hand through the air again with more of a disinterested stretch to follow after. “Don’t worry, Arch and I can try and wrangle up the last of them after my shift tomorrow. I’ll do a little reading and figure out more about how to trap these “Umber Imps” tonight. So… what now? Do you want to wait out the rain here or head back?”
She lifted a brow at him.
“As much as I would enjoy making out with you under the old bridge some more, I think we’d better find somewhere to dry off, don’t you think?”
He blushed a little and started awkwardly scratching at his face. It wasn’t what he’d meant by the option, and Zoe knew that, but flustering him brought a deep satisfaction to her smile as she delivered a quick little peck up to his lips before stepping back out into the rain with open arms.
“Well come on! We don't have all night!”
He chuckled and shook his head, hurrying after her and instantly regretting losing their umbrella and giving her his only jacket.
“Oh fuzzbuckets! That’s COLD!” He made a few other loud exclamations, running faster as Zoe’s laughter trailed ahead of him and then just slightly at his heels.
“So, are we still on for Niffins and burgers this weekend?”
“Of course!” he called back. “Granted I survive long enough to finish off the umber imps, and make it out of this bloody rain!”
“Not to mention an entire day of customer service!” She reminded.
“Yeah, it’s going to be a long Friday...” he admitted, his voice already sounding tired even though the day hadn't even started.
Zoe delivered a soft punch to his bare arm and winked as she continued shouting at him through the rain.
“Well hey, here’s hoping it goes better than our run in with the imps!”
“Oh, I don’t know...” he started, his voice a little more suggestive. “It wasn’t all bad?”
She punched him again, this time a bit harder, but now with a blush forming at her cheeks as she tried and failed to hide a smile.
He chuckled back at her and the two stopped running as soon as they were finally at the edge of the highway and one of the large bridges leading into Arcadia.
Compared to these, the little stone one forgotten to time out in the middle of the woods didn’t much measure up, but that was history and mortal ingenuity for you? Douxie supposed. Always making things bigger and more complicated. The future was like that, big, mysterious, complex. He’d lived to see hundreds of futures, and all of the technology it brought, some of it good, but it was a lot different than some of the centuries they’d been through, that was certain. It was a lot to adapt to after all this time.
Still, just having little moments like these with Zoe was enough to remind him of the simpler things in his life. A simple bit of magic that made all the other change and uncertainty to come more bearable. Though he had no idea when Merlin would ever come back, or how long the peace would last now that the Trollhunter was gone from town, not even how many more dangers and futures he’d live to see, he always had his duty to protect Arcadia and everyone in it from mystical creatures until Merlin’s return... and at least Zoe was there to make things all the more fun while he laid low. No matter where he and Archie went over the years, she always found them and tagged along in one way or another. Throughout all the time he’d known her, Zoe's presence was yet another constant that he relied on in his life, and thinking back now about all the trouble they’d been in together over the centuries brought a small smile to his face as they walked.
“What’s that look for?” she asked, smirking up at him as he reminisced to himself.
Without reply, he flipped her soggy hood back and ran his fingers through her hair, ruffling it up, much to her protest before kissing the side of her head and backing off while she debated pushing him into oncoming traffic.
“What the heck was that for?!”
He shrugged, and offered back a cheeky grin.
“Just thinking is all?”
“Yeah?” She flipped the hood back up and gave him a playful, yet threatening glance. “Well can you do it without making me want to push you off the bridge?”
“As the lady wishes.”
He offered up a teasing bow and she had half a mind to kick him, but settled for a sideways grin and another warning look instead.
“Let’s just get back. You know Archie hates going out in the rain, and I wouldn’t want him to worry about you too much and come out looking.”
“Sure. Stick around and I’ll make some tea?” He said, though it sounded more like a request, and one she’d gladly take him up on.
“Sounds good.” She shot him one last teasing look and stuffed her hands down into the flooded pockets of the jacket. “Though, I’ll probably need to borrow more of your clothes when we get there until these dry.”
There was another nervous chuckle, but one with a more confident nod to follow, and Douxie returned the look only to smile back at her with a bit of red flushing up around his cheeks.
“You know, I think I just might be able to live with that.”
ELSEWHERE...
The horde of creatures stopped at the feet of a knight clad in green armor so dark it could almost be called sable. This being who exuded dark power and a malicious aura had a voice to match as his words came out a hiss of command.
“Have you found it?”
The beasts were unresponsive, though the knight ran his fingers along the damage done to one of the mephits and instantly recognized the wicked touch of magic from their apparent encounter of battle.
“A wizard…” he growled knowingly. “So, they’re here after all, I see?” With one wave of his mighty arm, accompanied by the sudden clash of thunder, the green knight ordered, “Go! Spread throughout this city and draw the wizard out! Where there is magic, Merlin will surely be close by. I won’t lose track of them again. Now move!”
The shadow mephits did not wait for a second order and scrambled off again to hunt their quarry as the knight waited in the rain, a flash of lightning blinding the forest in a brief instant before revealing the clearing entirely empty.
There was something dark coming to Arcadia, and it brought with it a new set of challenges for all beings of magic to face, its sights now targeting the unsuspecting apprentice of Merlin with a new challenge he could never be fully prepared to face. Soon, Douxie's world was about to change, but for now he still had just a few more hours left of a simple evening ahead, and one day he might look back and appreciate just how truly precious his last day in waiting would be, after several lifetimes of wishing they would at last be over.