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Etho watched the new recruits from a distance.
He doesn't understand why it was only now that Ren has decided to gain more recruits. They didn't need anymore. Grian—one of their newer, but skilled agents—was trying to train one of the new recruit. It was a short man, slightly taller by Grian by an inch or two, who had brown hair and a dyed, green streak that stood out in their dark, black uniforms.
Etho has heard that Grian and the 2 newest recruits were close friends; apparently, Grian had to kidnap them into this hell hole. Poor guys. Etho knew the recruits were chosen personally by the Watchers, so it wasn't really Grian's fault, but everyone hated it here. When Etho was taken in, he wanted to go back out; he didn't decided to live here for the rest of his life.
Etho watched as the green streak guy yell in frustration, then stormed out to the quarters. Etho saw Grian sigh, which he took as his sign to approach him. "Short temper. That's not gonna get him anywhere," Etho observed, walking up to the dirty blonde avian. "Yea, he does, but he would be so excited to learn stuff like this. He's a naturally good fighter," Grian shrugged.
"Why's he so down then?" Etho asked. "Y'know, Etho. This. This place. He's stuck here forever, we all are. I guess he just doesn't wanna be. He's still accepting that this is his life now," Grian frowned, turning to face Etho. "Timmy or I are usually able to crack his shell. But it hasn't been working so far," Grian sighed sadly.
Etho stared at the door of the sleeping quarters, where the guy stormed off into. "Say, what was his name again?" Etho asked Grian. "Joel." Joel. It rolled off of Etho's tongue. It suited him. "Alright. Consider Joel's shell cracked," Etho smiled briefly, before entering the sleeping quarters.
Etho carefully opened the door, knocking a few times then closed it behind him. The sleeping quarters was one of the darker rooms of HQ; Etho saw Joel sitting on his assigned bed, hugging his knees to his chest. His back was to the door, he didn't bother turning around to see who walked through. Etho flicked the light switch, the lamps on the night stands turning on.
Etho slowly walked towards Joel, standing in front of him now. Etho cleared his throat. "Joel, was it? The new recruit?" Etho asked, seeing Joel's eye catching him. "Yea. Do you need something?" Joel replied, mumbling. Etho sat next to him on the bed, the bed dipping under him.
There was a short pause. "Etho," Etho said, Joel's head turning to face him, his knees still close to his chest. "My name is Etho. I've been here for about 3 years now, maybe," Etho finished slowly, calculating the number of years he's been here. In the corner of his eye, Etho saw Joel look at him. "Bloody hell, 3 years? I can't last a day in here," Joel replied quietly, Etho turning to face him.
"I know how you feel. The denial that you're trapped in here forever. Accepting the fact that you'll never be able to escape," Etho muttered, the faint memories of his arrival here at HQ. "I'm not trapped here. I can just sneak out. I was planning to do that anyway. What's stopping me?" Joel asked, facing Etho completely now. Etho looked at him, then turned his whole body to look at Joel. He took Joel's wrist, then rolled up his sleeve, showing a strange mark, resembling a portal of some sort, glowing slightly purple.
Etho saw Joel's eyes go wide. "What the.. why is it glowing? I don't remember getting his..," Joel mumbled. "Because you got it from Them. I have it too," Etho answered, rolling up his own sleeve to reveal the same mark. "It's enchanted. It allows the Watchers to know if you leave. They don't really need this mark, since They see everything, but it's just a painful reminder," Etho added with a sad tone.
"I never believed in the Watchers. It was always a children's tale just to scare them and get them to sleep," Joel told him. "Yea well.. I guess they're real. You friend, Grian? And his sister? They're Watchers. That's what I've heard, anyway," Ethos shrugged, noticing Joel's eyebrow raise. "So, since you now know it's impossible to escape, I suggest adjusting. Make new friends; there's gonna be more recruits soon. It'll help you move on easier," Etho smiled, remember how Tango and Skizz helped him adjust better to this awful hell.
"I guess you're right. It is fun to finally show off my amazing skills," Joel boasted, feeling better now. Etho gave him a playful eye roll. "But it's not impossible to get out of here," Joel added, Etho raising his brow. "Did you not just hear what I said? The mark?" Etho bluntly stated. "Well, Etho, that's cus you have no faith. Together, with Grian and Pearl, since you say they're Watchers or something, I'll find a way to get out of here and prove you wrong," Joel said confidently, puffing his chest out.
Etho looked at him in confusion; why can't this man just accept the fact he's stuck here forever? He saw Joel's gaze soften, his smile remaining on his face. "To get us both out of here. To get all of out here," Joel smiled softly, Etho looking at him. He looked at all of Joel's facial features carefully; the way his brown eyes looked different in the lighting, the green streak contrasting to the rest of him. His pink lips curved into a beautifully shaped smile. Etho felt his face heat up a little.
"But, I guess you're right. I'll stick to this life for now," Joel sighed, walking towards the door then opened it. Etho's eyes followed him. Joel looked back at him one last time before he exited. "Thanks for that. It helped me better, somehow. Like magic. And I promise, Etho, I'll get us out of here,'" Joel smiled again; is it just Etho or does he look prettier?
Joel closed the door behind him. Etho felt butterflies in his stomach. He felt hot in his face.
Maybe this new recruit wasn't so bad.