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Scott wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. He was just simply passing by the Rue Bar with Mae to go into Red. But he heard his name.
If there’s anything he’s learned in this kingdom it’s that when someone says your name behind closed doors, it’s typically not a good thing. Then Mae’s name got put into the works as well…
And now he’s crouching beneath a slightly cracked open window, him and the redhead way too close to each other for comfort, long legs tangling with longer legs. Neither of them are breathing much, doing their best to listen in on the conversation being had while also not giving themselves away.
From what he can distinguish of their distinctive tones, it’s Nom and Graecie having quite a serious talk. They really shouldn’t be listening in, but…
“I just…what do I say to them? I want to explain it, but I don’t know if I can while looking like this.” While looking like what? Last the mage saw, Nom looked normal, with his deep, beautiful brown eyes, and pretty dimples that go perfectly with the other’s smile.
Wait…
What in the heavens is he thinking?
He’s not wrong, Nom is unfairly hot just in general, but he’s never had those thoughts just slide into his brain normally before.
Like, objectively, Nom is attractive, that’s always been true in his mind, but pretty dimples? Sure, his dimples are like the highlight of Scott’s day because that means he’s doing something right for once but—
He’s not helping his case, is he?
Oh well, the half-elf can only hope that his ears aren’t as red as they feel.
He almost misses Nom’s next words.
“Someone is listening to us.”
What? How could he know that? Him and Mae have literally done nothing that could’ve blown their cover.
The door slams shut and the honorary rogue ushers the real rogue to the back of the building. “Do we run?” She whispers, as she crouches in a ready stance. They could both go invisible, it should be easy enough.
“I don’t know I—” Whatever else he has to say gets cut off by eyes piercing into his skull, goosebumps raising on his neck.
The mage whips his head around to be met by…amber eyes? And is that grey in Nom’s hair?
“Oh…” Graecie exhales as she stands behind Nom, towering over the other. A distinct creeeaaaakkkk fills the air making Scott wince.
“What’s going on with your hair? And your eyes? And why are you creaking? What’s going on?” The rogue behind him asks all at once, fidgeting with her cloaks loose and fraying ends.
Nom doesn’t blunder with excuses as he may have done before, instead keeping true to his promise of honesty. “I…why don’t we talk inside the Rue Bar?” The brunette—or used to be brunette—narrows his eyes at Scott as if trying to read what he was thinking. The blonde gives nothing but a strained smile and nod.
Because those eyes. They’re still attractive on Nom, that hasn’t changed, but they’re not the warm brown that Scott wants to drown in.
They’re a striking amber that contrasts heavily from the slight pale in the other’s skin. They almost make the blonde freeze in his place every time Nom looks at him.
The brunette is looking at Scott the same way he always does but it feels colder now. He knows it’s just the color, not Nom, but that doesn’t make the voice in the back of his mind lose any conviction.
You think you can save him? He will die in your arms just like your mother and your father. The Creaking King speaks, the sound rattling into the half-elf’s tired bones. Only then he realizes how utterly exhausted he is, mentally and physically. He’s so very done with the stupid Creaking King, and he’s still recovering from Cam’s demon plague.
That doesn’t stop him from overworking himself. He needs to remember to take breaks, but there’s a war happening and this brief peace won’t last forever. After they…talk, the mage knows he will probably go back to the tower and continuing brewing potions as he pretends he’s not mad at Nom, not mad at the Gods, not mad at the universe for all the difficulties he’s being put through and tested with.
He’s fine, really. He’ll just continue being as useful as possible and it will all be fine.
Everyone you love will die. From war or from some other force they will all die, even Graecie, and you’re fated to watch them all suffer. To stay on this earth for centuries longer than the rest of your friends.
Shut up.
Mae tugs on his sleeve, signaling to him to sit down. Whendidtheygetinside? Nom sits across from him as the redhead takes the seat beside him. Scott positions himself to be mostly against the wall, though turning his head to look at the knight. He Is looking right back, his strange new eyes roving over him…critically?
No they aren’t. Scott can tell by the crease in the other’s brow and the slight downturn of his lips that he is concerned.
The blonde scoffs. Sure he probably looks like shit, but his eyes aren’t turning different colors for the mage god’s sake!
“So…” Graecie slides in the booth beside Nom, clasping her hands together. “Are you going to tell them or should I?
“I will…” With that the dragon begins telling the two what they know so far, the full-elf beside him nodding in agreement at certain points it’s seems necessary. Mae starts quiet crying as Scott brings a leg up onto his seat, hugging it as if it can hide him from the ugly truth.
“Basically you’re becoming a creaking, and so is Sausage?” The mage puts blatantly and the other winces a bit at the wording.
“I guess? I wouldn’t say me and Sausage are at the same level of ‘creaking’ though. Sausage is brainwashed, and I’m still me.” He gives a crooked grin, and Scott hates how it makes his heart flutter a bit, despite the looming dread enclosing his chest.
“Are you?” The words are a whisper, almost covered by a sniffling rogue.
“For now I am, and if I’m ever not…” Nom glances over at Graecie who takes over his train of thought, definitely phrasing it better than he would’ve. It only furthers the grief already making its nest in Scott’s stomach.
“Then we’ll take care of it.” She assures, as if the blonde is concerned about his safety.
“What does that mean?”
You know what that means, they’re going to kill him. He’s going to die by the hands of his friends and you’re not going to be able to save him.
The Creaking King taunts in Scott’s head, flashing back to one of the nightmares that has been haunting him recently.
“Well we’ll detain him, and figure things out from there.”
The half-elf nods, trying to keep his face blank even though he knows that he’ll be called upon for that. “Would you like me to prepare potions for that scenario?” His voice wavers slightly, but he avoids Nom’s gaze, focusing on the pink knight. Hewon’tcryhewon’tcryhewon’tcry
The elf tilts her head. “I suppose? Yes that may be beneficial.” She opens her mouth to say more, her eyes catching on the dark circles under his own before Scott slides out of the booth, Mae moving accordingly to let him.
“I’ll see you all later.”
Don’tcrydon’tcrydon’tcry
“Scott,” The knight calls out from behind him. The man in question does not stop. hecan’tstop heneedstosavehim heneedstoprotecthim hecan’tfailagain
Ah, yes, run away from your problems, despite the fact they shall always chase you. How uncharacteristic of a nature mage. Though I suppose you’ve always been one to drown yourself in work if that what it takes to save others. How selfless, but those efforts are rather in vain.
The door pushes open with a rough swing and Scott feels like he can breath again. Dead plants tease his vision but he ignores those, focusing on the bright flowers entangling his feet.
You can’t escape me, and Nom can’t escape Lady Death. We are inevitable.
“I can damn sure try.” He mumbles to himself. To the Creaking King. Except he knows it’s not really the Creaking King. It’s just the version of him that terrorizes his nightmares and nearly his every thought. It’s the version that his subconscious has made of him.
His feet move of their own accord shoving him towards Blue Kingdom, towards the never-ending mindless work of brewing potions. (Sorry would you rather him say it’s entertaining? That one should slap a content warning onto watching bubbles rise and fall?). A singular voice rings out from behind him.
“Scott? Where’d you go?” The blonde looks at his hand and, sure enough, he’s invisible. Well that’s convenient. He pushes himself to walk a bit faster, almost stumbling on his own feet.
Something hard snaps into his side, a blur of brown and black, and then he falls. Wind rushes past his face, mussing his honey blonde curls.
The ground itself moves to accommodate his landing, soft as a feather.
Well it was until a barricade of metal and wood crushes into his ribcage, taking away any chance he has at breathing. The instinctive spell to cast his ability cracks, and Scott can only hope that isn’t the same for his bones, with the heavy weight above him.
Amber eyes pierce into Scott’s skin.
Nom smirks, self-satisfied, and, despite everything bad and wrong in the world at the moment, the blonde can’t help but savor it. Because it’s so utterly Nom it hurts. The Creaking King can never take away his dimples. “I found you.” His dragon tail wags a bit from behind him. Another thing the Creaking can’t take away. Hopefully.
An ongoing bit Scott has is to just go invisible and dance around the knight, avoiding all of the others attempts at breaking his concentration.
He’d smile if this wasn’t the one time he didn’t secretly want to caught. The mage squirms a little bit, breathing heavily restricted.
“Yes, you did. Could you get off me now?”
“Are you just going to run away again?”
“I wasn’t running. I have things to do.”
The other winces once more before slowly getting off of him, offering a hand that Scott hesitantly takes, avoiding the spikes.
“And what are these ‘things’?”
“I told you already, potions.” Scott begins walking again, going through the gate of Blue Kingdom as Nom follows closely behind.
“Scott.”
“Nom.”
“Are we not going to talk about this?”
“What’s there to talk about?” Out of the corner of his eye, Shandrea appears briefly, seemingly meditating next to the waterbed.
“Scott, really?”
“Genuinely what do you want me to say, Nominal?” The path to the mage tower is a bit less worn than the others but he prefers it, the overgrowth of the woods soothing his nerves a small bit.
“I want you to be honest to me. I was honest to you. What’s going on inside your head?”
“I—I’m fine.”
“That’s not what I asked you. I asked you—”
“I know what you asked me I’m just—” The door to the tower creaks a bit, and Scott winces, it reminding him of a very different creak. “I’m scared okay? Happy now? I’m terrified, and I’m angry. I’m just so mad at everything. I’m mad at you for crossing the line from bravery into stupidity. I’m mad at the Creaking King for handing you that choice. I’m mad at the universe for making this all happen. I’m just mad and I’m scared for you and I don’t know what to do, okay?!” He throws his hands up, voice shaking with every word.
The harsh amber eyes staring at him soften, almost returning to their brown nature. “You’re doing great as you are. I’m not completely defenseless Scott, I can fight off the Creaking King, okay, I won’t let him take me.”
“But how can you be sure? He’s basically a god. Sure, you’re strong but to that level?”
“Listen, there’s a lot of maybe’s up in the air, but I’m here now, right? I’m here and I will fight tooth and nail to stay, okay? I’m not planning on going anywhere.”
“Maybe you’re not planning on it but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.”
“It won’t, Scott.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I won’t let it.”
The blonde lets out a sigh. “Okay, Nom, I trust you. Now I’m going to brew some potions if you—”
“No you’re not.” The dragon cuts him off, crossing his arms.
Scott raises a brow. “Oh really? What am I going to do then?”
“You are going to go to bed.”
There were a lot of things Scott expected. That was not one of them. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“I’m fine.”
“When was the last time you slept, Scott?”
“I don’t know, it’s fine though.”
“You are going to go to bed, the potions can wait.”
“Can they?”
“Yes they can.” Nom grabs his arm and starts dragging him out of the tower, making the other stagger in his wake.
“Fine. You’re going to bed too though!”
The knight shoots him a grin over his shoulder. “Fine.” And everything in that moment really is just fine for the first time in a while.