Young Writers Society

Arin perked up when she saw that there were even more newcomers. She made a beeline over to the two and eagerly introduced herself and her boyfriend. Sune, on the other hand, noticed that they lacked the fear that the others had also been missing. Bo really did seem to be the only one with the reaction that he had expected.

"I can't say right now," Sune said, keeping his voice low as he finally answered Bo's question. "And I think a corner would work, if we make sure we're on the other side of the room."

Bo tried to like, smile or something. To maybe look less like he was about to pee his pants. Nothing like re-living terrifying memories in front of the face of a potential enemy and murderer! What a way to wake himself up and get his blood pumping! A real thrill! Hahahah...

He managed a grimace of a fake smile, then quickly decided against it. That just made him look like he had to go to the bathroom.

"OoOK then uh! To the corner we go!" He said, heading towards the corner furthest from everyone before with wide eyes and a strained smile as he tried to not hyperventilate.

Sune felt a pang of guilt when he saw how terrified Bo was of him, but that was the entire point of this conversation. He wouldn't have approached him in the first place if he hadn't been afraid.

He followed Bo over, Arin still cheerfully engaging with the other people there. Though it was partially because she honestly enjoyed the conversations she was having, he knew another part was because she had sensed that he needed a distraction.

He came to a stop when they finally reached the corner.

And immediately realized he had no idea where to begin.

Shoot.

He took a deep breath. Cleared his throat. Tried to think of something - anything - that would suddenly calm Bo's nerves. But no matter how hard he tried thinking this through, he couldn't come up with the right thing to say.

"I'm not going to feed on you," Sune hesitantly said. That was a start, wasn't it? He glanced down at his hands, then up at Bo's chest. It was only later on that he would realize how badly that could have been interpreted; it looked like he was debating going back on his decision. "I just wanted to talk because you're rightfully terrified of me."

Bo wasn't sure how much his heart could take. His nervous smile disappeared when the reached the corner, and he simply stared at Sune with wide eyes.

He wasn't going to feed on him.

Bo wanted to be comforted by that, but when Sune's eyes went to his chest he could feel his heart stop. Then Sune kept talking. At least Sune could agree that Bo's terror wasn't misplaced. Then the nervous smile returned.

"O-okay I - I just. Like. I was this close," he lifted up his thumb and forefinger, drawing them very close together. "-To almost getting killed by a wraith before so I'm just, uh, trying not to freak out, you know? My friend saved my skin but I try not to think back to that uh..." his gaze fell to the floor as images of the entire Atlantis thing running through his mind. He looked down at his hands, closing them, for a moment, thankful he was in his own body. His original body.

Wow. This was all Kartiel's fault.

He cleared his throat. "But uh! I'm glad you don't want to uh! Kill me!" He said with a strained smile, only for it to wane again. There was no way this wasn't awkward.

Sune returned the smile with a smile of his own, though this one was for completely different reasons. He was just grateful that he had been right on his assumption. Bo wasn't afraid of him based on his appearance; he was afraid of him based on what he was.

Wait.

Bo was still afraid of him.

While that fear was the reason he had approached him, it wasn't like he wanted him to still be afraid! He frantically tried up to come up with a surefire way to convince him that it was alright. Of course, Arin was good at explaining things like this and he wasn't. If he wasn't so flustered, he might have just given an explanation. But he was growing more flustered with every passing minute, and the only way he could think of gaining the man's trust was by putting his hand on his chest.

Considering the difference in height, it wasn't the easiest thing to do. But they were close enough in height that he could somehow manage - he was able to press his hand up against the man's chest, and move the fingers in just close enough so he could almost entirely feel Bo's muscles underneath his shirt. It was just as close as a wraith would have needed to be if they were going to feed on someone. The notable thing was that he wasn't; wraiths, by instinct, wanted to feed when they were in a position like this.

Bo was quickly starting to regret agreeing to meet in the corner with his back up against the wall when Sune leaned in. His eyes followed Sune's hand and if he wasn't nervous before (though he was) he was definitely nervous now. He was starting to get really sweaty - despite himself - which only made it all the more uncomfortable when Sune touched his chest.

His mouth twitched. Sune was not doing a good job of building his case.

"U-uhhh," he stared down at Sune's hand. "Sune? Wh-what uh - what are you doing?" He slowly reached for Sune's hand and pried it off gently.

"I'm showing you that I'm not a wraith," he said, then immediately recalled feeling that Bo's heart had been racing when his hand had been on his chest. Add in his tone and his current appearance, and Sune suddenly realized how big of a mistake he had made.

He fully drew his hand back and hid it behind him, feeling deeply guilty for even trying something like that in the first place. He couldn't even bear to meet Bo's fearful gaze - why did he ever think that was a good idea!? All he could do was just stare down at the ground. Could he walk away now? Was that an option? Because, in all honesty, walking around now was sounding far better than having to deal with his own stupidity.

"I'm uh, okay uh, if - if you're not a wraith then... what are you?" he asked, voice squeaking a little again. "I mean, cause... you look a lot like a wraith."

"I know I do," Sune said, shifting uncomfortably when he heard Bo's voice squeak. He hesitantly raised his head and looked in the direction of the other people in the room. "Let's just say that I, um, have technology that lets me change my appearance. And it only works with me. And Arin, but it doesn't work to the same extent."

It was a far cry from the truth, but he doubted Bo would believe him if he said anything else. Magic wasn't exactly commonplace, and the few times people had learned the truth had ended, for the most part, horribly for him and Arin.

Bo raised one brow, looking over at Sune's friend, who he assumed was Arin. "So like... you mean like super sci-fi stuff or like, some magic or whatever? I mean - like, I get we're all probably from different universes or realities or whatever at this point. And it's not like it matters. Well. To me, anyway. This isn't my first... rodeo." He grimaced slightly at his last word. "I... I don't know why I used that saying. But anyway. Yeah."

Sune finally looked back over at Bo, his embarrassment forgotten in lieu of his confusion.

"What do you mean?" he asked, furrowing his brow. "That's-that's impossible."

Bo smiled awkwardly. "Lot's of things are possible dude, if you just believe."

Sune ran his fingers through his hair, frantically glancing at the other occupants of the room as he did so. Bo was the only one who had the expected, normal reaction to seeing a wraith. The others hadn't been afraid. But they also hadn't been kissing the ground that he walked on, which meant they weren't wraith worshipers. And everyone knew what a wraith was. Even planets that had been protected from them for years would have legends or paintings depicting them.

But how had they gotten here, then? Where even was here?

He stared down at his own hands. "I guess it is possible," he muttered. Arin said he did that a lot, but he always was too distracted with whatever he was talking aloud to himself about to stop. "The Other Place is technically another dimension from what we've been able to figure out, and I can go between here and there with relatively little trouble. But there wasn't any sort of summoning ritual, and how would that explain the people who aren't like us?"

Bo shrugged, beginning to walk away from Sune, assuming that the one-on-one confrontation was over, since it was only because he was a wraith - or rather, looked like one.

"I dunno. Maybe magic? Or Kartiel?" he said the name with emphasis, giving a quick look around, half-expecting a reply. But when there was no response he only sighed. "I don't know, man."

"M-Magic?" he repeated, eyes wide.

Sune hurried after him. He reached out and grabbed onto Bo's wrist. The way he said it didn't suggest that he was making a poor excuse for a joke. He honestly believed that magic was somehow behind this. And, for someone who had spent almost his entire life chasing after bits and pieces of that, those words were a miraculous thing to hear.

His grip on Bo's wrist tightened. "You-you've encountered magic, then?"