Hali wanted to look out the window for himself, so he started forward. But as he did, his foot kicked something on the ground. He stopped, peering down at the object that had skittered to a stop in front of him.
"This wasn't here earlier," he said, his brows drawing together as he bent to pick it up. "What is it?"
Spoiler
I set up the translator thing.
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7
James looked back at Kratzer with a frown. He was about to retort, but then he looked at Maahes. He wasn't keen on staying with the adults just for the sake of safety but with a kid involved...
James sighed through his nose. "If it's literally outside the building we hardly have time to argue."
"Fine, but if we're going to split up we should at least go in pairs."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
Maahes noticed Hali grabbing something out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't comment on it. He was too focused on James and his insistence to leave to face whatever he had seen in the window. "I want to go, too!" Maahes declared, scooting over to James. "That way I can make sure you aren't stupid, James."
James's brows drew together and he looked down at Maahes, surprised at his comment and slightly offended. He wasn't being stupid. He was trying to protect them. He was expendable and they weren't.
"No, you're staying here."
Spoiler
@Featherstone would you uhhh maybe wanna just have kratzer speak reason along with maahes since james is being difficult lol
Maahes gave an angry huff. "You can't make me," he said, keeping his arms crossed. "I'm smart and resourceful and can fight with my-"
He paused. Wait, he couldn't use his magic, could he? That was why he couldn't change his form, which was also a problem now that he was thinking about. But that didn't matter. He was still smart, and he was still resourceful, and he was definitely not being stupid like James was.
"I can fight!" he eagerly corrected. "And Odris has always said that there's strength in numbers, so having pairs would be really stupid when there's four of us! We should all go out together to find what you saw."
"Nein," Kratzer said firmly. "You are staying here. That's final. James and I will be plenty enough to fight whatever it is, if a fight is even what's required."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
"You can't make me," Maahes repeated, this time asserting his claim with far more force in his voice. "The moment you leave, I could leave too! I could even go to the door right now and leave-"
His eyes widened. That was actually a good idea! If he left first, then James and Kratzer couldn't prevent him from leaving. And, better yet, they expected him to follow. They didn't expect him to lead the way! And then Hali would be left alone, and would follow them so he wouldn't be alone. It was as simple as that.
Feeling quite smug for coming up with that solution - and the look on his face clearly saying it - Maahes darted over to the door and stepped outside. He made sure to get a few feet away from the building so they couldn't easily get him to go back inside.
Children. He loved them, but in the name of the Lord they could be difficult.
"Maahes!" Kratzer barked, muttering a few choice words in German as he sprinted after the boy and pushed his way outside. "Maahes, it's dangerous, get back here. Please."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
Whoops. It looked like Kratzer had noticed what he was doing a little faster than he had expected. Frowning, he darted a little further away from the building. Now he was standing at the foot of a tree, one that he was fully intent on climbing if either James or Kratzer tried to get him to go back inside. Neither one of them would have been able to climb it as easily as he could, and then he could jump down once they were a little farther away.
"Hey!" yelled Hali, his speech clumsy. His fist tightened around the object as he stared at Maahes, who seemed to be trying to leave. "You are--you are going to abandon me to struggle with the human language by myself?"
Just then, the thing in Hali's hand started to make noises that sounded like human words. He jumped and dropped it onto the ground. "This crazy place and its equally crazy contraptions," he muttered, backing away.
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7
James cursed under his breath as he hurried out after Kratzer, leaving the door wide open. He looked out at Maahes standing under a tree. He didn't have to guess that Maahes would climb it to keep them from controlling him.
"Look! Just - come back! Fine, we can look around together, alright? Just don't-" he stopped when he heard words come from behind him from inside. It wasn't Kratzer, and it wasn't Maahes. It was... Hali? But it didn't sound like his voice. He spun around.
"Was that... was that you?" he asked, looking at Hali through the doorway.
Hali glanced down the thing and hesitantly picked it up again as words he understood started to be emitted from it. He looked at James, a puzzled look on his face. "Yes. Is this device translating what we're saying?"
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7
