The Thrill of Darkness

Part 46: Using Words

Antioch is pronounced an-tee-ock.
Djinn is pronounced jin.
Carry on.

Jericho's POV:

"RISE AND SHINE, GEEK SQUAD! IT'S FOUR O' CLOCK, WE GOT SHIT TO DO!!"

I jerked awake and sat up straight in bed, shocked out of sleep by Virgil's magically magnified voice blasting through the hallways. I clapped my hands over my ears and groaned as he sounded the alarm again:

"WAKEY WAKEY, DEATH AND BAK- OW!"

There was a sudden scuffling sound accompanied by a few curses and grunts before a softer and much more pleasant timbre sounded:

"Heeeey guys, sorry about that," Virgo's disembodied voice chuckled, "Could you all gather in the lobby real quick? Um, thanks."

With that, the building was silent except for the grunts and groans of my companions as they forced themselves back into the world of the living, so loud I could hear them through the walls. I heard Felix shout something from somewhere beyond the door that included the words 'purple emo' and 'murder.' I sighed and rolled out of bed, reaching for my clothes. This was going to be about as pleasant as a root canal.

Ten minutes later:

"Alright, everyone here? Do we need to do a roll call? No? Good." Virgil groused when we sat in the lobby. I looked around to check, my mother hen instincts telling me I should probably do a head count anyway.

'Marzia... Mark... Sean's gone... wait, where are-'

"Well I guess we don't count, huh?" Came Anti's snarky tone from off to the side. We all turned to see him and Atticus making their way into the seating area, both of them looking more than a little peeved.

"Exactly! Glad we understand each other," Virgil agreed. I winced at his distant and scathing tone. Virgo seemed to wilt a little, as if physically affected by her brother's foul mood.

"Virgil..." I began warningly as Anti and Atticus both stiffened. Anti's new aura began to brighten in agitation, but I had the feeling it was unintentional.

"What? He's right, you know," Felix supplied coolly. This time, Mark was the one to step in.

"Felix. Stop. You're not helping," he snapped. Felix just scowled and sunk into his chair, not bothering to respond. Mark sighed and put a hand to his forehead in exhasperation.

"Marzia, can't you talk some sense into this idiot?"

"Hey!!" Felix shouted indignantly. Marzia automatically tensed as the question brought the attention of the room onto her.

"I personally couldn't care less whether they stay or go," Marzia said stiffly, "But I will stand with Felix and trust his instincts."

I was about to protest, but was shocked into silence by the last person I would have expected to intercede:

"ENOUGH!!"

All of us turned to Chica in surprise; The normally sweet and good natured dog was growling lowly in a way that she usually reserved for battle, her golden hackles raised and teeth bared as her eyes flashed threateningly. Even Mark stepped back warily at the sight of his best friend in such a state.

"You idiots are acting like children! And the fact that this is coming from a dog says a lot."

Chica snarled and shook her head before continuing. "I couldn't understand English until three weeks ago. But three weeks was all it took for me to be disgusted with the way you guys choose to use it."

"Chica..." Mark whispered.

"Lemme finish, Mark. I've been wanting to say this for awhile," Chica huffed, placing a paw on his leg in a very human gesture that reminded me just how intelligent she was.

"I didn't understand it before, didn't understand the process. Do you guys realize how incredible language is? It's amazing.

"Countless combinations of otherwise meaningless sounds come together to create thousands of words with a thousand uses each. I've seen everything in Mark's mind. I've seen everything he's seen and know everything he's heard and read like the memories are my own.

"You can use words for beautiful things; You can write timeless stories about a 'boy who lived' and saved the world with a magic wand and an invisibility cloak. You can use your words to write a love song or wedding vow, or to write poems about ravens who knock on doors at night. You can use them to to make an inspiring speech about a world-changing dream, and then write about how the dream of that one man went down in history and changed the world forever. There are infinite possibilities. infinite!! And you...

She turned to felix and approached him slowly, anger in her eyes like I'd never seen. Felix got up out of his chair and stumbled backwards, retreating warily.

"You, a friend of my best friend. You, a man that I admired even when I couldn't understand him...

Felix's back reached the wall. Chica jumped up and put her paws on his chest with a threatening growl.

"You use your words to hurt a boy you know nothing about, and chastise a man who changed his stripes for the better. Look at him, Felix! He's good. They are good! Can't you see that? Can't you sense it?!"

All eyes in the room turned to stare at the two in question.

Atticus was holding Anti's hand.

"Virgil and Marzia, this goes for you too," Chica continued after pausing long enough for her words to sink in. The Djinn tensed up, but for the first time since I'd known him, said nothing in his defense. Chica removed her paws from Felix and walked back over to Mark, drawing a sigh of relief from Felix. She sat tall beside her best friend and fixed them all with the sternest expression I had ever seen from a dog.

"I want you three to ask yourselves a question. When people talk about you, when they write about you... what words do you want them to use? What kind of story do you want yours to be?"

With that final blow to their consciences, she fell silent. Mark got up and sat on the floor beside her and began running his fingers through her fur as she turned away from her audience dismissively, curling up to lay her head on his leg. Felix, Marzia, and Virgil were all looking at the floor, shame written all over each of their faces. After nearly a minute of complete silence, Virgo cleared her throat.

"Um, well anyway," she said slowly, "Virgil and I have something to show you all."

I've heard people say that they think Anti is gay, so I'm putting a vote to it:

Say 'I' for gay, or 'nay' for not gay.