Chapter Text
It had been almost three years since the blonde elf with dashing ice blue eyes had seen the purple grasses of Eternalia- or smelled the cinnamon and mallow of Mallowmelt.
Or been wrapped in the embrace of the person he had cherished the most.
Cherished so much in fact- that he left everything he knew and loved behind just to keep her safe.
Safe from himself.
Keefe Sencen's ability, at the start, was much too dangerous to be around people.
So for the first year of his self imposed exile- Keefe had basically wandered around forests and sleeping wherever he felt he needed too- and then eventually- he began to wander around towns for food instead of foraging. After proving to himself his ability wouldn't work on animals unless he channeled raw emotions into his voice- he simply learned sign language from a deaf human he had met- the only type of person he let himself be around.
Granted he never really told the human who he was- or where he came from- as they simply had a job together and the human taught him so they could communicate while folding the laundry from the washing machines.
The laundromat was a foreign concept to Keefe- but as were a lot of generally human jobs and normalities in general- so he just let himself figure things out slowly and learned to not be surprised at much.
While he had been working there- he had felt almost content- though there was still the gap in his heart that he knew only one thing could fill- and that would be returning to his home.
As sucky as it was- the lost cities were where he was born and nothing could change the sixteen years he had lived there.
He had often found himself wondering what everyone was doing- probably having a blast without him- and as much as he hated to admit it- they had probably defeated the neverseen in the time he had been gone with him out of the way screwing everything up.
Or at least that was until that day.
Keefe Sencen stretched in his bed- his roomate- Jean Wacher- the one who taught him sign language- was already awake, getting dressed for the day ahead of them.
Their current residence was a single bedroom apartment- where they had the bedroom split in two with a twin mattress on either side as beds- each having a simple short dresser for their clothes.
All Keefe wanted to do was curl up and not even be awake- but he knew that once he was awake- there was no point in going back to sleep because the loneliness of a gap inside his stomach was too much to bear unless he was worn out and ready to pass out.
So he got up- shuffling around the disaster of his half of the room- pulling on combat boots- the closest human shoe he could find to elven ones- and tucking his lightweight soft pants into them- fastening a brown belt around his waist with his button up blue shirt tucked into that.
His hair was always the easy part- as the messy bedhead style seemed to love the humid air of the forbidden cities and would automatically floof up in waves like a beach surfer.
Though at the place where Keefe lived at this moment- in modern day Europe- there weren't many beaches for him to relax and keep a low profile at.
Did you find the car keys last night? Keefe's fingers flew rapidly as he walked out of the apartment complex in which he and Jean lived in.
The boy's dark brown almond shaped eyes blinked once and shook his jead- making another sign with his fingers.
Walk
Keefe hated that sign- even though they lived hardly a ten minute walk to where they work- there was a foot of snow- so he hung his head back for a few brief seconds before he kept walking alongside Jean.
It must've been the snow keeping everyone inside- because there was hardly anyone outside- and that made any odd colors stand out even more.
So when Keefe caught sight of a speckle of teal- he stopped midstep- his head snapping around.
It couldn't be.
But instead of seeing the person he expected- his gaze settled on an odd set of green doors he didn't remember being there.
Is everything okay? Jean asked, touching his arm so he could get his attention to read his question.
I thought I saw someone, Keefe signed slowly- his gaze still fixated on the doors. He would have thought to have noticed the doors to be there- given how important they were.
What surprised him even more- was the fact that given how close to the Neverseen he had been this entire time- and had yet to see any members whatsoever.
Was the base that inactive or was there some sort of obscurer device that had kept Keefe from seeing the green doors- and now he had probably wandered into the range where he could see clearly through the device's restricting visibility.
But he found it distinctly hard to believe he hadn't wandered into the area before- unless he had just been oblivious or distracted- but even then he still found it extremely hard to believe.
You look like you've seen a ghost, Jean added- making Keefe realize he had been zoning out.
It's nothing, I thought I saw someone I used to know, Keefe replied- still not taking his eyes off of the doors.
At this point- Jean was clearly irritated- and looped his arm through Keefe's as he dragged him to work.
The rest of the day- Keefe kept catching himself staring off into space- extremely distracted by the green doors and their nearness.
It crossed his mind that maybe he should move- but given how he experienced how difficult it had been to get settled- Keefe wasn't exactly jumping for joy at the idea of leaving everything he had behind just because a pair of green doors had showed up.
As the day wore on- Keefe definitely noticed that Jean was watching him a bit more closely than normal- as though waiting for him to start randomly staring at the wall or something of the like.
It sort of made Keefe uncomfortable as he mindlessly wandered around doing busywork- wiping the interior of the washing machines and hanging certain clothes to dry or folding the dry clothes- knowing he had a set of eyes watching his every move.
By the end of the day- Keefe was more antsy than the time he was waiting for Foster to wake up after drinking an ounce of limbium- and that lasted for a three day span.
Maybe his current anxiety was because of how long he had been able to go without having any interaction with the elves at all- that combined with how Keefe wasn't one hundred percent sure he had complete control over his ability because he hadn't been in stressful situations where he could prove that.
On his and Jean's walk home- under the soft lamplight that casted warm yellow beams of light over the still crisp glittered snow that lay in blankets over the ground- piling on the sides of the roads where the plows had pushed the drifts aside.
You should go check it out, Jean's signed statement caught Keefe off guard as Jean stopped walking, making Keefe realise that they were standing in front of the house with the green doors.
I really shouldn't, Keefe's hesitant reply made it clear that he was really close to doing it regardless of his own safety.
But then the door opened- and the figure that stood there- in what was probably the most embellished Neverseen cloak Keefe had seen- was definitely not someone he had been expecting.
He was stunned into silence as the vaguely familiar face of Fitzroy Avery Vacker looked down at him from the open door.
At that moment in time- Keefe was suddenly grateful for the scarf he had pulled up over his nose- and the hat he had stuck on his head his most of his hair.
He wasn't sure how Fitz would've reacted to seeing himself again, though knowing his best friend- it would've probably resulted to anger unless something changed in the past three years.
Though it just now clocked that something must have changed because Fitz was standing there in a Neverseen cloak, a small circlet on his forehead that had a teal tint that matched his eyes. He had a scar now that ran through one of his eyes, making the iris of his left eye an almost white foggy color in comparison to the bright blue of the other.
Other than that- his hair was more closely cropped around the back- almost shaved- with his hair on top grown out enough for it to be pulled into a messy topknot.
While he looked so much older- so much colder- there was no mistaking the boy's identity.
Keefe thought that Fitz would just ignore him and Jean as they started to continue walking on their way- Jean catching clearly the vibes that they weren't going inside the house anymore.
And it was lucky Jean didn't ask any questions either.
At least that's what Keefe thought until someone grabbed his arm- and pulled him away from Jean.
After a few moments of scuffling- Keefe and Jean were detained by two other neverseen members- who kept their faces covered so Keefe couldn't tell who they were- even if he knew them.
Fitz murmured something about taking them both to the second floor as he pushed open the green doors to let the Neverseen members haul Keefe and Jean inside.
Keefe was just glad that he was still wearing the telepathy restricting earrings he had managed to steal from the neverseen ages ago- while piercing his own ears hadn't been fun- it was one way to ensure that Sophie wouldn't find him- and now it made sure that Fitz couldn't find out who he was.
Jean and Keefe were forced to stop in front of a large set of doors a little ways inside the gleaming silver interior of the house, which was labeled conveniently with light green glowing words in the enlightened language- test room.
Keefe didn't like the looks of that- especially not when the doors opened and inside was about a hundred tables with bonds where the ankles and wrists of a human or elf would be bound.
Nor did he like the three cylinders of green ooze hanging from the wall- nor the sharp needles laid out neatly against the wall on top of a flawlessly cleaned metal table.
Only then did Keefe notice a group of neverseen members pulling a form off of one of the tables.
Keefe wanted to throw up when he realized what was going on, and it was clear the uneasiness he felt was mirrored in Jean's gaze.
"Fitz what's going on?" Keefe finally muttered, not able to help himself from asking as the morphed human was hauled through the large open area that led to a section filled with hundreds ages all containing similar creatures.
Fitz jerked to a stop as he turned on his heel to face Keefe, who, to his credit, did not back down or flinch in any way.
"There is a reason then why I can't hear your thoughts." Fitz all but growled, nudging his chin at the guard holding Keefe, who pulled off his hat and scarf, reveling Keefe's face to the group.
Whoever Fitz had been expecting- Keefe knew it hadn't been him, he could feel his shock and dread all the way from where he was standing wafting through the air.
"Contact Lady Gisela- tell her we found him." Fitz started to order- but Keefe found himself shouting- making everyone freeze in their steps.
Keefe had never nulled so many people at once- and he hadn't been expecting the lashbacks of doing so to hit immediately- knocking him to his knees as his head spin.
There had to be at least fifty neverseen members- let alone the humans they were mutating that Keefe couldn't help but nullify in the process.
Keefe didn't pause to think as he recollected himself- releasing Jean from his own ability's grasp so the boy could run.
Jean did however, assist Keefe out of the building, pulling his arm over his shoulder.
Before the green doors shut behind them- Keefe glanced behind him once to lock eyes with the frozen Fitz with one question slicing through his heart- barbed with betrayal.
Why?
Heyyy!! I finally got A03 setup so yes this is the same story on wattpad as well as on here because some people requested that I use a03 instead- and here goes uwu
-Bay Logan