Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Your name is Dion Aquato, and you do not like the situation you're in right now. After two days of travel to pick up his runaway brother, they ended up at a place where hundreds of psychics gathered all at once, like some sort of giant hive but worse. When they found Raz, he had thought the whole ordeal was over and that they could put all this hocus pocus nonsense behind them. But nope, of course not.

Instead, we're setting up the tents, getting ready to set up camp. Out here, next to a magic waterfall, and surrounded by psychics! He had nothing but respect for his mom, but seriously, what was she thinking? Spending the night here is practically suicide.

"No complaining, Dion, please." Donatella had told him while rubbing her temples in frustration. "I know this isn't an ideal spot for us."

("That's putting it mildly.") He thought.

"But until we get things settled with Pootie and his... um, friends, we'll have to make do for now," Dion didn't bother arguing any further. She would've just ended up winning anyway, as usual. Donatella gave him a sympathetic frown. "Just think of it as another grand adventure for the Aquato's. We've jumped over higher hurdles, haven't we?" She perked back up and clapped her hands twice. "OK, kids, time for your afternoon stretch; mental exhaustion is not an excuse for laziness." Dion sighed in defeat and slumped his way toward Frazie.

He held his sister's ankles down so she could sit back up and touch her toes. "Get over yourself, Dion." Her condescending voice broke the silence. " We've slept out in the woods before; why are you choosing now to act like such a priss."

"You know damn well it's not the woods I'm worried about." All she did was roll her eyes at him like this whole ordeal was common for them. "It isn't like Mom to take her time, so what gives?" Before she answered him, she stood up and began her balancing routine. "It's because Dad was the one who convinced her to stay here for a bit." Oh, he guessed that made a little more sense; Pops had been acting weird since he returned from that camp where Raz was found. He seemed less... on edge.

He hopped back up and joined her, balancing himself on one leg just as she was. "I swear if that twerp isn't sorry for giving mom and the rest of us heart-attacks, I'm going to make sure he is. He growled and scrunched up his face, making Frazie smile in amusement. Then her eyes paned towards the entrance of the campgrounds. "Speaking of." She whispered to him. Sure enough, in walks our little escapee.

---

"I'm on it!" He was still a little sore from the fall, but he managed to get back on his feet quickly. While he was running across the decaying bridge, Dion thought he heard faint laughter coming from the direction he was heading towards. His suspicion was proven right when he saw a figure going through the unpacked crates around the tent poles to the Aquato dome.

"Hey! Hey! Get out of there!" He had figured a wild bear would come poking around their stuff. But it wasn't. Instead, what he saw made him wish it had been a wild bear.

It was that girl with the cape he saw when they were at the entrance of that weird brain building. She was holding Mitala's little polka-dot clown outfit (with matching red shoes) and had a big smile on her face as soon as she spotted him.

"Do you guys really wear this kind of stuff when you perform?" God, he could hear the laughter in her voice. He snatched it out of her hands and yelled. "That isn't mine!" She held up her hands in defense, but her teasing smirk was still present. "I never said it was, but OK."

"Ugh!"

He felt partly responsible for unintentionally leading her here. When she'd shown interest in him, his brain went a little dead, and he completely forgot the whole everyone here is a psychic thing, accidentally giving her hints that he dug her too.

In his defense, though, it's not like he got to meet a lot of girls his age, not up close and personal anyway. And when someone as cool looking as her gives you the eyes, well, what could he do?

He snapped back out of his thoughts to see that she had not left; she just continued rummaging through the crates. When she popped her head back out, he saw she was holding a large, baggy onesie that belonged to his father. "Whoa, this is wild." She stretched out the arms and held the clown suit to her chest as if she thought that thing could fit her. "You think I could take this back with me and try it on?"

("Was she serious?")

"Um, no." He took the clothing out of her hands again, though a little less forceful this time. "Why not?" She gave a half-baked pout, trying to convince him that she was truly upset. Well, he won't buy it.

"First of all, it's not even mine to give. Second, why would you want to?" He always hated having to put his stupid suit whenever they had to do their comedy routine for the audience, so why she would want to try them on for the heck of it baffled him.

Just like her pout, her answer was half-baked; she simply shrugged off his question and went back to poking around the supplies.

He had gone from a little scared to angry to just plain annoyed with her. "Fortune tellers," He muttered venomously under his breath. He threw the suit back into the crate and pulled on the girl's hood of her cape to get her out of said crate.

"What do you want?" He demanded. She scowled back at him and shooed his hand off her cape. "Yeesh, chill out, man." She placed a hand on her side as she explained. "I was just taking a break from my wako mentor, and I figured, Hey, it's not every day the circus comes to the Motherlode. So I came to check it out."

("A likely story.")

"Plus." She added, "Sometimes I just need to socialize out of my main circle of friends, ya know?" He couldn't say he did. All his life, he felt like he never needed anyone but his family to talk to. Sure he didn't have a whole lot in common with any of them besides acrobatics, but he got by with who he had.

The girl lifted herself up onto one of their large pedestals, crossed her legs, and asked, "So, when are you guys planning your next show? Gotta make sure me and the others get front row seats."

Dion blinked in surprise. "Wait, what do you- why would psychics want to watch-" This was definitely some sort of trick; she's trying to plan something by getting all her psychic friends near his family without looking like a threat, probably to try and chase us all away from their headquarters because... because... well that's just how fortune tellers are!

She was still looking at him, waiting for an answer. He needed to think of an excuse quickly. "Um yeah, well, I don't think we'll be staying here long enough to start selling tickets." He pointed at the top of the highest support beam. "I haven't even gotten our dome up yet." That last part was clearly true, hopefully, good enough for her not to be suspicious.

It took a few seconds before she responded. "*sigh* Lame" She sild back down and picked up something that was on the side of the crate she was looking through a little while ago. It looked like a skateboard... but with no wheels? He jumped back when two glowing green spheres appeared under it. ("oh, that's why.") Her board started lifting her up in the air; he would be more terrified if it didn't look kinda fun. "I'll just have to come back and ask another day."

("Rats,") he thought, ("I'll have to think up another excuse before that happens.") "-by the way." He shook his head, and he was brought back to attention. "Wha?"

The girl bent her knees and hovered just a little lower so Dion could hear her. "I said, my name's Gisu, by the way."

("Gisu? Huh...") For a moment, Dion wondered where she was from and if the name had any meaning to it. He also just noticed how thick her eyebrows were, which really shouldn't be attractive to him, but somehow she made it work. "Aaaaand?" Again, Gisu was staring at him with expectancy. He really needs to stop falling into a daze every few seconds. "Your name is?"

"Uhhh.." He couldn't form any words, not when his mind was so focused on eyebrows of all things.

Her small smile dropped and rose back up. "Fine, you don't have to tell me." She glances to the side with her arms around her head. All of a sudden, her cocky smirk returned to her face. "I'll figure it out myself." ("What did that mean?") Before he could ask, Gisu was already riding back to the cave entrance.

He exhaled loudly and swiped his sweaty palms on his vest to dry them off. "Glad that's over." He said to himself. ("For now, at least.") Finally, he could get back to what he actually came here for.

"Now... how to get those ropes down."

Chapter Text

Wednesday: You wake up to the sound of your mother crying and an empty space in the bed you and your siblings share. Razpution had run away.

Thursday: We got a call from some lady that told us Raz was training at a summer camp for psychics, the things we were taught at birth to be afraid of. Your dad decides to bring him back by himself. When mom had asked why only he should go, he had revealed that he all this time was a psychic as well.

Friday: Dad comes back late at night but does not have Raz with him. Those fortune tellers took him on a mission. A mission that took place underwater.

Saturday: They finally had gotten to Raz, but they were stuck there for a few days because of the little dipshit. So he took out his frustrations on his little brother and ended up saying things he shouldn't have.

Sunday (Yesterday): Dad had broken down when he started to remember things he didn't want to. Nona, turned out to not only be psychic but THE psychic that cursed the whole family, killed our real grandmother, and drowned the entire country of Grulovia.

So yeah. This week had been pretty stressful for him.

Dion was sitting in front of one of the scenic viewpoints of the waterfall... or water-rise? Whatever. His keens were pressed against his chest while his arms were wrapped around his legs. His face was flushed, and his eyes were heavy. All his attempts to keep himself from crying were failing.

He knew he shouldn't be; he hadn't been through nearly as much as his pops had. He couldn't even imagine all the traumatic thoughts that must be going through his head right now. And yet his old man had not shed any tears in front of them; he was too strong to do that in front of his children.

Dion had tried to act the same way, tried not to show how much these past few events had been messing up his head. He didn't want to worry Mirtala, Queepie, or his already stressed-out mother, but he just couldn't keep it in. He had to excuse himself from the campsite once he felt hot tears on his cheeks—much to his mother's concern.

While he was trying to even out his breaths, his mind wandered back into those unpleasant thoughts he had been having.

(My family is falling apart! Are we even a family anymore? What's going on?!)

The words were practically screaming in his head. Now he felt like he was on the verge of a migraine, and his eyes started to burn a bit from all the saltwater spilling out of them.

It was no use; he couldn't stop all these bottled-up emotions from leaking out. So he gave up and allowed himself to cry freely. He only hoped no one heard his small whimpers and sniffles echoing off the tall trees.

"Oh, wow..."

(Oh crap!)

Gisu was standing behind him, shuffling her board around in her hands awkwardly. "Um...I could come back another time if you want?" Her voice was sympathetic, which just made him feel even lamer. Of all people to see him like this, why did it have to be her?

Dion franticly tried to dry his eyes and nose in a panic; one of the last people he ever wanted to see him like this was her, all huddled up and pathetic looking. He couldn't believe he was thinking this, but he kind of wished the family curse was real. Because now more than ever, he just wanted to jump into the river a drown himself. (Here lies Dion; he died of humiliation.) That's what they would write on his tomb. He just knows it.

She interrupted the metaphorical scenario playing out in his head with a light cough. When he looked back at her, she held out a napkin for him. It took Dion a few seconds to process what she was offering, but he eventually took it to dry off his face.

Gisu plopped down next to him, waiting for him to finish. Once he was, Dion stuffed the napkin into his pocket and made a mental note to find a waste bin for that latter. The young acrobat was hesitant to meet her gaze again, worrying about the judgemental or condolence looks she might be giving him, but Gisu didn't wear any expression. It seemed like she was the one wanting for him to speak first.

"I'm-" his voice started out a little high-pitched, so he cleared his throat before continuing. "Um, sorry you had to see that."

Gisu gave him a half-smile and said, "No biggie, sorry I walk in on you like that." She looked down at her shoes, looking for the right words to say to him. "Do you... want to talk about it?" She murmured.

Dion could tell she was just as uncomfortable as he was when it came to this kind of thing. Best to spare them both of any more humiliation, he figured. "Nah, no offense, but I doubt you could relate." He said while waving his hand dismissively.

Her smile fell, and she rubbed the back of her neck like she was pretending she had an itch there. Did he say the wrong thing again?

(Nice going, ass.) He scolded himself.

"I may not be able to relate or offer a solution-" she started, "but just getting all that stuff off your chest could help you feel better. I mean, at least that works for me when I got shit on my plate, soooo."

Dion wished he would stop being rendered speechless whenever she talked to him. He didn't want to freak her out with his mouth constantly opening, only for him to say nothing.

"I mean no pressure, but hey, judgment-free zone right here, limited time only." Her selling point was at the end of her sentence when she pointed at herself with both her hands and flashed a grin. Gisu's smile must be contagious because he almost grinned back.

So Dion sighed and laid all his metaphorical shit on his metaphorical plate for her.

"Lots of fucked up shit has been happing. And it's happening way too fast; I can't keep up, one problem came and then another, and we haven't solved any of these problems yet, really."

Gisu crossed her legs, making herself more comfortable for his upcoming rant.

"It's just- my whole life- hell, my family's whole life, we lived on two rules. Don't go in the water and don't trust a fortu- um psychic." He had to catch himself there, but he carried on. "That was just our reality, what we learned at an early age, and we were encouraged to think that way. Now... ugh, I don't know anymore; five out of seven of my family members turn out to be what they told me to fear all this time." He took a moment to gather his thoughts. "And they just expect me to go along with it!?" He paused again to pinch his temples, making his frustration clear.

Gisu scratched her palm with her thumb, thinking of the right thing to say. "Hmmm... I think I get it. It's kind of like if a mouse found out it was living with a family of cats."

Dion shrugged. "I guess that's one way to put it." (a little weird way to put it.) he thought but held his tongue. "But it's not just that." His eyes were starting to haze up again. "When Raz ran away, I didn't think it was a big deal. I thought once dad brought him back. He would have moved on from this psychic stuff. That he would get back into the routine and help us with the circus again." He took a shaky breath, trying not to fall apart again. "But he hasn't, and now he might be staying here permanently." He wasn't sure how this was allowed or why mom hadn't fought harder agast it, but that seems to be the route Raz is taking. "Fuck.. even Frazie is considering staying here too, and Nona is running off with the bastard the messed up our lives in the first place?!"

He realized his volume was rising when he saw Gisu lean away from him with wide eyes. So he pulled himself back. "I just... feel like I'm losing everyone, and if I am, I don't know what will happen to me once there all gone."

Dion felt ashamed that all he was thinking about was himself. He knew he was one of the least affected by all the travesty that took place, yet all he worried about was what would happen to him, not Pops, not Pooter, just him. He could only imagine what Gisu must think of him now.

She held her poker face for a few moments till she started speaking. "My sister ran away from home too." Dion looked surprised until Gisu corrected herself. "Well, ok, she didn't really run away; she was kicked out of my aunt's house. Also, she wasn't actually my sister. She was my cousin." Now Dion looked confused.

"Well, my aunt and her husband were all about their public image, and being psychic wasn't widely expected where they were living. So when Jaleh started developing her powers, they weren't too happy. Jaleh tried to hide them as much as she could, but she didn't have full control back then, so now and then, they would slip out at school or in town, and people would start freaking out and blame the parents for Jaleh's mishaps."

"One night during a family diner, she had become so anxious that she accidentally made all the china, mirrors, windows, pretty much anything made of glass shader. So just a few days later, they just forced her onto my mom, saying that freaks should live with freaks."

(Wow, pretty sure they didn't need a psychic child to look bad, their lovely personalities would have been more than enough to repel a crowd.) Dion thought.

"I was too young to understand what was going on at the time; I just thought I was getting an older sister. I had no idea how traumatized and heartbroken she was feeling. We're all used to and happy with the changes in our lives now, though. Jaleh made herself at home, we got some bonding done, and my mom and I haven't had to deal with my wicked aunt and her tool of a husband since then."

Dion let out a quiet, breathy laugh at her last statement. He only realized now how similar he and the aunt's mindset were, though the big difference was while said aunt wanted to get rid of any psychic members, Dion wanted his to stay.

His mind wanders back to all the harsh things he told Razpution and how he yelled that they were better off without him. It's not like he meant any of it or anything, he was just tired and angry, and it was his fault in the first place. As much as he wanted to believe that, he knew he was just making excuses. He'll have to apologize soon; it's the least he could do for him.

"I know it's not exactly the same scenario your going through, but I thought it would be similar enough to share." Gisu ended her tale.

Maybe Dion just wanted to hear her talk more, but he started asking more questions about her family and trying to find more similarities to his while doing so. He didn't even realize how long they had sat there talking till he heard his mom calling for him.

"Dion? Dion! My little anatroccolo, where did you run off to?" She wasn't close enough to see her, but she wasn't too far to not hear her clearly.

Dion felt disappointment grip his chest. He didn't want to stop chatting with this girl.

He waited a few seconds until his mother's cries faded before speaking again. "Maybe you should sneak out of here while you can. My mom would not approve of me sitting so close to a blood drinker."

Dion swore he could have heard a record scratch when he saw Gisu's reaction to his words. "A what?"

His brow raised. "Um, you are psychic, right?" He feels like this should go without saying.

"Yeah..."

"Isn't that what you guys do? Drink human blood to recharge your powers or something?"

"What?!" She stood up in shock. "Where-" "Where did you hear that from?"

Dion was feeling a bit wary at this point. "Uh..." "My brother."

"Uh-huh, and how old is your bother?"

He bit his lip. "Four and a half."

The burst of laughter from her was sudden and loud. She threw her head back and gripped her sides due to the cramps she was giving herself.

Immense embarrassment washed over him. "So, it's not true?" He asked as he got up from the ground as well.

Gisu had to catch her breath and wipe a tear at the edged of her eye. "Of course, it's not true. Raz is psychic. Did you really think he went out at night to drink blood?"

He... never really thought about it.

It had only been a month ago since Raz revealed to his family that he was psychic. At the time, Dion was still in denial about that. Even when his brother levitated things right in front of him, he had somehow convinced himself that he was faking to get attention. So the idea that Raz could have taken his blood while he was asleep never even crossed his mind. "So if the blood-drinking thing isn't true, um, what about the bedbug thing?"

"Oooh. This I got to here." She leaned herself on the railing, her undivided attention fully on him.

And to think he was vulnerable to her less than a minute ago. He was not in the mood to be teased by her now. "Ugh, forget it." He was about to head back to camp until she pulled him by the arm.

"No, no! Please ask me anything." She sounded frantic but genuine. She held up her hand in some sort of mock pledge. "No more laughing. I promise I got it all out of my system."

He was hesitant, still a little self-conscious about his lack of knowledge of her people. While he was trying to decide what to do, he hadn't noticed her taking a step toward him.

"Come on. I know you want to stay a little longer with me. Di~on~."

She sang his name like a song that, combined with her toothy smile, it was getting increasingly difficult to keep his face from turning red.

It took a lot out of him not to stutter just this one word. "Huh?"

"That's your name, ain't it?"

"What the hell?! Have you been reading my mind?!" Dion wrapped his arms over his head in an attempt to shield his cranium from any further invasions.

"No... well yeah," she admitted, "but that's not how I learned your name."

"Then how-"

"That's what your mom was calling you." She gestured in the direction you both heard Donatella with her thumb. He remembered Gisu saying something about finding out what his name was on her own.

(I guess that's why she said it like that.) He won't be getting that image of her out of his head for a while. Welp, if she was offering an ear to him, he might as well get this question out of the way. "Well, this is a little weird to ask, but I got to know."

"Go on."

"Are crystal balls actually-"