Death of the Family

"Something like that," I said. I wasn't exactly sure what festival he was talking about, but that sounded about right to me - or, at least, it was enough to make the comparison for Eddie. "And don't worry - your clothes don't have to be nice at all."

I glanced over at Nathaniel. "...While we're at it, we probably should get you new clothes, too."

He looked down at his bloody outfit.

Then he gave a nod in agreement.

Nat-boy was all bloody. Eddie had forgotten about that. He looked down at himself. He was all bloody too! And his shirt was ripped. He didn't know why his shirt was ripped.

"Okay," he said.

One hour and a shopping trip later, we all looked significantly more presentable. Eddie had on a new tunic, Nathaniel got his hands on a new button up shirt and coat, and I just looked better by comparison when standing next to the two of them in their new clothes.

And now that Nathaniel was awake, we could go looking for Asmira.

"I wonder where Asmira would have gone," I mused, searching the streets for any sign of her. Nathaniel was understandably wary of everyone we passed - he had just been attacked by someone from his world. But he still turned his attention down to Eddie, going as far as offering him his hand as we walked.

Eddie cheerfully took the offered hand, "Who'd as-simira?" he asked. It was a good name. He wondered if they were a friend. He liked the idea of having more friends.

"She's an acquaintance-"

Nathaniel shot me a look before cutting me off.

"She's our friend," he said. "The three of us having been traveling together."

I didn't like throwing around that word so casually, but I resigned myself to giving a nod in agreement. "She got separated from us by someone else's magic," I added. "We're hoping that she's here, but we're not really sure."

Eddie nodded gravely, "We have to find As-simira," he said with a very serious nod and marched ahead, pulling Nat-boy along as he looked around for As-simira.

It took all of my self-control not to laugh at Eddie's seriousness. I could see that Nathaniel was struggling with the exact same thing - a smile appeared on his lips when Eddie marched ahead.

"It shouldn't be long until we-"

I was cut off by the woman in question walking out of a nearby alleyway; she was noticeably more disheveled than when we had last seen each other.

She gave us all one long, hard look before speaking.

"...Are you wearing a new shirt, Nat-"

"That's what you ask about?" I questioned.

Eddie perked up when he saw the woman. She looked strong!

"Are you As-simira!" he asked excitedly. If that was As-simira he would have completed his quest! They did it! "You're pretty," he added, because she was.

She turned her attention to Eddie.

"I'm Asmira," she confirmed. She gave a small smile as she crouched down in front of Eddie. "Thank you for the compliment."

She looked back up at Nathaniel and I.

"Who is he?" she asked.

"There you go," I said. "His name is Eddie - he's from Megara's world. We're going to find a way to get him back home."

Eddie nodded vigorously, "I want to go home. Meggie is looking for me."

He wondered if Meggie had found the right bad guy yet. She was always finding the right bad guy to ask her questions. Which one would know where he was? There had to be one. The bad guys knew everything.

Asmira knew a thing or two about children. She had never expected to raise them herself, but the children of the guard had been raised similarly to how she had been. She knew how their minds developed and their bodies grew. And while those children were little girls and not little boys, she thought there wasn't much difference when it came to their understanding of death.

She couldn't tell if Nathaniel and Skull had tried explaining it to Eddie. They very well might have. But up until a child was ten, eleven or even twelve years old, they didn't fully comprehend death. Given that Eddie seemed like he was alive, it would make understanding what had happened even harder.

She glanced over af Skull. He had been like this when Nikko died, too - determined to get her back home, even when he hadn't figured out a way to get back to his own world. The thing with Nikko had been a one-time thing. How was he expecting to get Eddie back now?

She stood back up.

"We'll find a way," Asmira said, but she knew she didn't sound nearly as convincing as Skull did. She turned back to her two companions. "What are we going to do now?"

"We just bought new clothes," Nathaniel said. "None of us seem hungry."

Skull grinned.

"I have an idea," he said. He glanced down at Eddie - Asmira had long ago decided she didn't like the look he had on his face right now, but she especially didn't like it in the context of Eddie. "If Eddie's here for a bit, he needs to understand how to use his power. I saw him use it earlier. I say we find a nice, abandoned place and show him the ropes."

Asmira and Nathaniel exchanged a look.

"...Skull, what exactly is his power?"

Skull just grinned more. "That's a surprise, Natty boy."

Asmira and Nathaniel both sighed, but knew that Skull had a point. Eddie couldn't go around without having a grasp on his abilities.

"That sounds like a good idea," Asmira relented.

After a second, Nathaniel gave a reluctant nod.

Skull turned back to Eddie. "Ready to go back to where we met?" he asked.

Eddie nodded, imitating Meggie's seriousness when she wanted him to listen to her. He wanted them to listen to him, and to know that he was very serious! He was good at things! Meggie said so herself! He wouldn't mess anything up.

"I'm ready."

It wasn't long before we returned to the building I had met Eddie in. Asmira and Nathaniel had just a bit of a worried expression on both of their faces, but I didn't pay much attention to it.

Once we found a suitably empty room, I turned my focus to Eddie. I crouched down in front of him in an awkward squat and looked him right in the eye.

"You need to try using your magic again," I said. "You have to visualize it - it happens when you get emotional, too, but it's better when you can control it yourself."

Eddie nodded again and closed his eyes, screwing is face up in concentration.

He tried to remember what it felt like when he got all big. What made him all big? He was scared then, but he wasn't scared now. These were his friends!

No, no, he had to focus.

He had to do it! Because they were counting on him to be able to do it. He did it before. He panicked. What if he couldn't do it again?

He made a small noise and focused harder.

He peeked and looked around at the others, "I'm sorry. I can't do it," he said, on the verge of tears.

Nathaniel and Asmira's stares apparently hadn't clued him in, but I decided Eddie got a pass for being a kid. "You did it," I said, giving the now much larger Eddie a pat on the back. "Something tells me it was the panicking that caused the change, and not you actually having control over it, but it's a start."

Nathaniel frantically glanced between us. "That's his power?"

"It seems like a disaster waiting to happen," Asmira said.

I shrugged. "He'll be fine - he just has to learn how to use it."