I rush up the stairs, a futile attempt to run away from my problems. Monster. That's what I am, isn't it? I'm a giant raven with long sharp talons, a pointed beak, and strange eyes. I round the corner and nearly slam into someone. "Sorry..." I mumble. "DJ?" My breath hitches in my chest.
What is Ethan doing here?
And how shitty is my luck that I ran into him here?
I look up, unsure. Theo and Tunia are sitting on his shoulders peering down at me. "I uh..." "Are you ok, kiddo?" "I need a second, dad." I say, brushing past him without thinking. I gotta get away from people. "Did she just call me dad?"
I stop around the third floor, pausing in front of a door. I hear beeping from inside. Isn't this around where I saw Elian? I reach for the door handle, testing to see if it's locked. The door swings open. "I shouldn't be doin this..." I mutter, stepping inside. I open up a bedroom door. Elian lies flat on his back, asleep, on the bed. I stumble over to his side, as if in a trance.
It's odd. We all looked at this man... this traumatized, foul mouthed, fiercely loyal, bastard of a man... and decided that he was gonna be our father figure.
We just went; "ah yes, dad."
Even though he could be our older brother.
I mean... he's only 15 years older than me.
My mind swirls thinking about the woman he mentioned. Adira. Why did that name feel so familiar? I can swear I've heard it before.
Like a whispered secret.
Or a code...
I take one last look at Elian before exiting the room, a sudden determination to figure out where I've heard Adira's name before. "I think I saw a sign for a record room on the first floor..." I mumble, rushing back down multiple flights of stairs.
I almost slam into Natalie and Lane when I reach the ground floor. "DJ what the f-" "I gotta find the record room. There's something I need to look at." Natalie raises an eyebrow. "And what might that be?" "Anaideia's mother, Adira. I know I've heard that name before but I don't know where. Now can y'all help me?" Lane and Nat nod.
"The records room is in the basement, across from the main room that we're using as a stable. Here." Natalie swings open a door, revealing rows of boxes, bookshelves, and filing cabinets. "I thought this was a small room?!" I yelp in surprise. "We've done some renovating. Now come on... this may take awhile..."
It has indeed taken a while. It's been two weeks. And we've just gotten through the first section of mission logs. At first we thought it was alphabetically arranged, but they're ordered by date. And to think we haven't even started on documented rebels...
Elian still hasn't woken up. We're all starting to worry more as time goes on. The fear that he won't is slowly becoming more obvious. But Hera yells at anyone who voices that fear. Meanwhile, we're also worrying about Hera because she's due soon. And from the looks of it, there's not gonna be just one kid.
"DJ!" "What?" I yell to Lane in the kitchen. "Do you want anything before I come in there?" "No!" Lane walks back into our room, tea in hand. She plops down on the bed next to me, her hand slipping into mine. She mumbles something about being tired and then buries herself in my chest. I sigh, equally exhausted from today.
We were down in the basement from nine AM until the sun went down. So many files, and so little answers. I wonder if maybe Elian...
I groan in frustration, resting my chin on Lane's head. Of course the man has to still be in a coma. I hear a loud knocking come from our door. "Sweetheart?" "Mm?" "Answer the damn door." I chuckle and sit up, heading for the entrance to our apartment. I open the door to a panicked looking Mateo. "Oh hey dude. What's-" "Hera's...."
He doesn't need to finish his sentence.
I'm already yelling for Lane.
We rush into Hera and Elian's apartment, nearly slamming into Nat as we're doing so. "Isn't it a little early?" I ask. "Yeah. It is." There's a strange tone to her voice. One that's almost grim, and definitely worried. "We have medics helping her. The only thing we can do...." "Is wait." Lane sighs. I glance around the room.
Hade, Gabriel, and Maxine are crowded onto a sofa, talking quietly. Axl is fast asleep in an armchair. His skin is cracking slightly. And his hair.. "Hey Nat, Axl is starting to look a tad like hades." "Huh?" "Not you Hade." I hear a sloshing noise as a ball of water floats out of the kitchen, and hovers over Axl. Hade's eyes widen. "Wait Nat no-" It drops onto his head. Axl snaps awake, coughing, sputtering, and... smoking?
Oh fuck.
"NATALIE YOU DUMBASS!!!" Hade yells. Axl looks up at her with wide, confused, and slightly angry eyes. "Axl I didn't know-" I blast Axl with air, drying him quickly. He has blisters tracing the areas where fissures usually open. Axl stands, smoke still curling off of him. "I don't know what I did to piss you off, but I'm sorry." There's venom dripping off his words. "Come get me when the babies are here." He growls, storming out. "Nat, you're a pretty damn smart person. So how the hell could you forget water and fire don't mix?!" Hade shouts. "I'VE SEEN HIM DRINK WATER!!! I DIDN'T THINK IT HAD AN AFFECT ON HIM!!!!" Natalie yells back.
I feel the temperature rise and then fall like a stone in water. Hade has heat radiating off them, but Natalie is ice cold.
"IT DOES WHEN HE HAS A FUCKING LAVA VEIN EXPOSED!!!" I slowly back away, trying to get as far away before Hade lights like a candle or Natalie freezes the entire room. "HE LOOKS HUMAN, OK?! I DIDN'T WANT HIM TO GET BURNED!!!" "HE'S HALF FIRE ELEMENTAL!!! I ASSURE YOU HE'D BE FINE." Gabriel jumps to his feet, getting between the two. "Will both of you calm down? Natalie was trying to help and fucked up in the process. Hade, I understand you're upset but you need to calm down." He says sternly. Hade huffs and sits back down. Natalie sits down in an armchair. The room temperature returns to normal.
Thank god.
A loud scream echoes through the apartment. All heads turn towards the room (I assume) Hera is in.
The kids are on the way.
I hear a thud come from the other bedroom. "Isn't that where... OH." I'm on my feet and moving before I know what's happening. Hade is too. We race to the door, Hade swinging it open and almost hitting me in the face. For a moment, everything is still. Just Hade and I at the door, staring at a confused Elian lying on the ground. But then Hera screams again, and something protective and savage ignites in Elian's eyes. "Where's my fucking wife?"
"In labor." Hade responds as we rush to his side. "WHAT? How long have I... I pulled a DJ, didn't I?" Elian mumbles, running a hand through his hair. "Oh so that's what we're calling it now?" I grumble, pulling Elian to his feet. He leans on Hade and I as we lead him out into the living room. "ELIAN!!!" Caleb says, grinning. Gabriel glances up, sighs in relief, and mutters something in french. "Nice to have you back." Natalie says with a smile. Elian laughs awkwardly as we help him onto the couch. I plop down next to Lane. "Nice to be back. So... what'd I miss?"
Dead silence.
Ez shifts, looking slightly uncomfortable. He's sitting oddly close to Damien. Huh...
I squeeze Lane's hand.
I can feel about five gazes burning into my skull.
"Well...." Maxine starts.
"I got snatched and joined this mess." Ez pipes up.
"I quite literally died." Lane groans. Elian cringes, glancing over at me.
"I..." My voice seems to fail me. "Went feral." "Killed an entire battalion." "Ripped Anai's eye out." "Ok, thank y'all for finishing that sentence." I growl, glaring at Hade, Karson, and Damien. Elian shifts uncomfortably. "You what?" He squeaks. "Long story that I'd rather not talk about right now. I have a question though..." I say, thinking of how to word it.
Eh...
Fuck it.
"Who the hell is Adira?"
"Well, as you know, she was Anai's mother. She was like an elder sister to me, and she's the reason I joined the rebellion. Everything I told Anai is true. Eligio did kill Adira. It was after a failed assasination attempt. She tried to kill my brother in his sleep, he woke up, grabbed her daggers, and killed her. Her plan was to kill Eligio, grab me and Anaideia, and go. But... that's not how it happened."
Something feels off. Like there's a piece missing.
"Did no one hear her scream? I have a feeling, from what you've told us, she wouldn't have just gone silently to her death." Natalie says. "No... I didn't..." Elian says, his brow furrowing. "Did you see a body? I mean even if you did..." Hade trails off.
Damien scratches the back of his head.
Lane touches her back gingerly.
I rub my neck, remembering the sight of all that stone falling down on top of me.
"No, I didn't see a body. Or hear a scream. But can you try to understand this? I've spent over ten years trying to come to peace with the fact that I fucked up and lost my niece because of it. If Adira is alive, that means she left everyone she loves behind. And that's not the Adira I know."
Hera screams again.
Elian jumps up... and immediately collapses. Hade catches him, helping him back onto the couch. "You're still weak, dumbass. Don't try to walk." "I need to be in there, Hade." There's an edge to his voice. "I'll crawl if I have to, just please... let me see my damn fiancée." Hade sighs, slings Elian's arm over their shoulder, and starts towards the bedroom with an annoyed grumble.
It's been almost 10 hours. We've been sleeping on and off, getting woken up by the occasional scream, though they're becoming farther and farther apart time-wise. Then, finally, a baby's cry echoes through the apartment. Moments later, a second loud shriek. "Oh my god there's two." I hear Damien mumble. Ez opens his eyes as Damien gets up. He looks around flustered, and then quickly composes himself.
They're not slick.
At least Ez isn't.
"Nat, go get Axl."" Gabriel says, jumping up. Natalie nods and rushes out of the room. Moments later she returns with Axl and, strangely, Kit. "Where's my cousin?" they ask. I raise an eyebrow. "Who...?" "Hera, you dumb bitch."
Oh.
That explains so much.
"But you don't..." Caleb trails off. "Albinism." Kit shrugs. They turn back towards the door. "Hey, calm down. She's fine." "DJ, I lost her once. I can't again." I sigh and motion towards the door. "Go ahead."
Kit disappears into the room. I glance over at Lane. She smiles and plops her head on my shoulder. "It's been a chaotic few days, huh?" She asks with a small chuckle.
I look around at my assorted friends.
At Maxine, Gabriel, and Hade, who are joking around on the couch.
At Damien and Ez, who are talking with a slightly worried Caleb looking on.
At Karson and Mateo, who are fast asleep.
At Natalie, who's already back to laughing with Axl.
Those oblivious idiots.
Yes, our own little "family" is chaotic. Hell, we nearly die every other Tuesday. But... between nearly dying, rest, and actually dying... we laugh. We joke. We cry.
We live.
So yeah... it's crazy
But...
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
Sorry I'm a tad late... have some (pretty much non canon. Just felt like drawing angst) art.