Legacy: Can't Calm The Storm

1:4

There we were... Two immortals and a god sitting on the beach at night; watching the ocean. No one spoke a word. Until Thief of Space left. She came back a minute later with a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

"Is anybody hungry?" She asked, her beautiful white eyes reflecting the moon and ocean.

J'Hero Bro lifted his head. "I'm fine, thank you."

Thief of Space yawned and looked over at me. "Aren't you hungry? Sleepy?"

I didn't answer. It wasn't like I had anything against her, I just refused to speak to anyone.

J'Hero Bro turned to face me. "Are you still mad at me, m'lady?"

I looked over at him and shook my head. Which was a partial lie.

Thief of Space munched on another cookie before commenting on the fact that her cooking would always taste like oatmeal.

"J'Hero Bro?" I asked.

He turned to face me, his eyes silver and pure. "M'lady?"

I saw his mask, and it confused me why he wore it so much. He had never taken it off. Never. "Your mask."

His eyes were clouding, hiding something from me.

I asked him again, "Your mask, why do you wear it?"

This had caught Thief of Space's attention. She looked over at J'Hero Bro. "You have nothing to hide from us."

Inside, my heart was racing. I was about to see a god's face in person! What would it look like? Would it look like my face? Would it be a skeleton of some sort? Was his face handsome- were all gods and goddesses beautiful? ...Wow, I was dramatic.

J'Hero Bro looked at the ground. His eyes were blurry with tears, but he answered, "Nobody has seen me under this mask. I do not show people." His voice was cracked with sadness, but he continued, "Its for the best."

Thief of Space was crestfallen. "Oh... Okay." She looked away.

The waves crashed on, the moon just above the horizon. I stared blankly out at the waves, watching them drift. Back and forth, back and forth. The silent sound of loneliness wanted to enslave us all.

"J'Hero Bro?"

"Yes...?"

"Were you born with that mask?"

He shifted his eyes to look through mine. "What makes you say that?"

"You said that nobody had ever seen you without the mask."

He sighed. "My family saw me without my mask, and so did my friends." He curled up his feet and rested his head on his knees. He sat there, blinking away the pain. "I wore this mask and outfit ever since-" J'Hero Bro had stopped talking. He had clutched a chunk of sand, and angrily threw it into the sea.

Thief of Space and I were silent. She had already finished the cookies, and was curled up in her cloak. Her hood was up, and she shielded her eyes from us. "I'm sorry J'Hero Bro. We shouldn't have asked," she murmured.

I nodded. "Sorry, it must be a hard memory to bear." I could tell from his reaction that it couldn't have been a good thing.

J'Hero Bro stopped moving. His tears were gone, but his eyes were still clouded with a memory. He whispered to me, "It's not a hard memory."

Thief of Space looked over at us with her bright eyes. "It wasn't?"

"Well..." J'Hero Bro's voice was barely audible. "It is hard. Believe me, I've tried... But I keep coming up short."

I sighed. "It's fine. Some secrets were meant to be hidden."

We sat in silence as the moon began to drown in the salt water ocean. I let the cold water wash my feet. Thief of Space had already taken off her bright red boots, and was soaking her toes in water and sand. J'Hero Bro was silently tearing up, and an orange glow was lighting up the woods behind us.

Everything seemed to stop moving. We all were in that position; as silent as graves. The water was still sending gushes of waves towards us, but other than that, nothing was happening.

Pale yellow strands of light were appearing on the beach. Purple, pink, and black were spread awkwardly across the sky.

Someone sighed.

It scared me, and I looked for who made a noise. It was J'Hero Bro. He was resting his hand against his cheek.

Thief of Space must have heard the sigh, too. She was watching J'Hero Bro.

That's when he ever so slightly bit his lip. J'Hero Bro had grasped his mask and was getting a good grip. He seemed like he was making the most important decision- or at least the second.

We were watching him intently. He had barely pulled on his mask when the sun had came into view. The moon was gone. It was sunrise.

The morning light was making his skin glow. He was exposed to us now, to everything. His black mask that had originally covered his mouth and nose, even his chin, was sagging. J'Hero Bro wasn't even close to pulling off his mask- if that was what he was doing.

He sighed quietly. His gloved hand was loosely holding the mask, until he closed his eyes. He relaxed, closed his eyes peacefully, and delicately slipped off the mask.

Thief of Space's mouth was a giant O when she saw his face. "You look just like a human! You look like the rest of us! Why would you hide this? Isn't this normal?"

"Not on my side," I replied. J'Hero Bro was hiding something from everyone. By his mouth on his right, was a burn. A long, permanent burn. He would have to live with the mark for the rest of time. It stretched from his mouth, to his bottom jaw, his chin, and his neck down.

Thief of Space stood up and walked over to my side. When she saw the burn, she stared. "J'Hero Bro, you never told me."

He sighed and looked up at us; standing and staring. He wasn't even going to get up. J'Hero Bro answered, "I wear a mask for a reason."

Thief of Space looked crushed. "This is different! That's a permanent burn! How long has it been there?"

J'Hero Bro shrugged. "11467 years or so," he sighed.

Thief of Space wasn't very happy. "If you had told me... Only 500 years ago, I would've been able to heal it!"

I shook my head. Nothing could heal a bruise that severe. It was dark orange, almost like a tan- but it was scorched with heat. His neck was cold and hints of frost were here and there, but you could still tell that the giant burn was there. It would remain there forever.

J'Hero Bro noticed me investigating the burn, and he blocked my view. "There's no need to stare. It goes all the way down to my feet."

My eyes expanded to twice its size. "J'Hero Bro!" I froze with fear. "THATS..."

Thief of Space finished my sentence. "...UNFAIR!"

J'Hero Bro stood up. "I have lived with the burn for over 11000 years. I will be alright."

I nodded. He was right. J'Hero Bro will be fine. One thing's for sure, he was a tough one. When J'Hero Bro was looking at Thief of Space, I outstretched my hand. My fingers grazed the injury, and he stopped moving.

The burn was hot and felt scratched and scarred like a blister- yet it wasn't. I sighed and pulled away.

J'Hero Bro shared glances with us. "I was burned by a wandering soul. He was about to kill my friends, but-" He glared sternly out at the sun, as if it were alive. "-I jumped out in front of them. I got the burn. My friends are alive, but I do not know where they are now."

Thief of Space and I were gaping at him. The Dark Magic assassin was... A true friend. He had sacrificed so much for the ones he cared for. I couldn't believe it! That was amazing! It was a friendship above all others!

"That's beautiful, J'Hero Bro."