Young Writers Society

He didn't quite trust her, but that didn't stop Aegeas from taking the tissue. Even if he hated to admit it, he liked having some company. "It still makes more sense than aging twelve years in a few minutes," Aegeas said, blowing his nose. "Why don't you just say you're not the girl? I'll believe you."

"Because I am her," she said, "and I don't like lying."

She sat down at the base of the tree. Even if the boy didn't believe her, he at least wasn't running away. He seemed like the type who liked to run. Which wasn't all that unfamiliar to her, considering that the time leading up to this had been spent trying to run away from home.

"I wish I could say that," she added. "It would probably make things easier for both of us. But even though our conversation before wasn't a long one, I don't want to deny the little connection we made with each other. I know it sounds silly, but I really valued moments shared between people - I've learned not to take them for granted."

Aegeas rested the back of his head against the tree. He closed his eyes, feeling the rough bark against his claws, as well as the wind that gently blew through his fur. In a place as unfamiliar as this, it felt strangely calming and nostalgic (but he didn't remember ever being a forest like this one, so it was probably the forest trying to mess with him, and he wasn't going to fall for the nostalgia). "I still think you're lying, but, it is nice to have someone to talk to."

"I can't agree with the first part, but I can agree with the second," she said. She had never been in a forest like this before, but it felt comforting to see under a tree with someone friendly to talk to. She just wished she understood what had happened to her - hopefully, it wouldn't happen again.

She looked up at the otter above her. "What are you doing in this forest, if you don't mind me asking?" She knew he was bound to ask her about what she was doing, so she tried to come up with the best explanation for someone so young. "Someone mean said I had to come in, or he'd hurt my friends when he found them. He wants me to look for something, but I don't really know what that something even looks like."

"I just came here because I thought it looked cool, is all," Aegeas said. He sighed. "But it's a boring forest and I hate it. There's nothing interesting or scary, other than the people."

As he finished talking, he noticed what looked like a thorn bush beneath another tree. He scowled. He despised thorns. He didn't really know why, though. They were sharp and dangerous and his parents had told him to stay away from them, but he'd never been hurt by them before. Some vague memory tugged at his thoughts; Aegeas immediately started thinking about something else. He wasn't going to let this forest get to him.

"So, what's it like to be human?" said Aegeas. "I can be human whenever I want to be, but I don't want to. You guys can't swim as well."

She looked back at the forest ahead of them, just in case something or someone suddenly appeared. "That's a good reason for not being human," she agreed, resisting the urge to laugh at the way he said it. "It's...Well, it's a little difficult. It would probably be easier not being human, but I'm me. I can't change that. Sometimes it's frustrating - I can't do half of what my friends do, and I always seem to be the one they're protecting."

She thought for a moment.

"But it's kind of nice," she admitted. "I know I have my own problems, but they seem so small compared to what my friends have to deal with. I think humans are lucky like that."

"That sounds really boring," Aegeas said with a huff. "I don't like problems, but I think it'd suck if I had to be protected all the time. I want to protect people. I like protecting people. I-"

Something flashed through his mind. Something unpleasant, something that made his fur crawl, but he couldn't quite place it. He hesitated, then crossed his arms. "You get the idea. Do you think there's way you could just, not be human?"

It was really hard not laughing at his comments, but she was somehow keeping herself from even giggling at what he was saying.

"I don't think so," she said. "I could become something like a vampire or werewolf, but it's hard being them. Vampires can't go out during the day and have to drink blood, and werewolves get fur everywhere on a full moon."

Aegeas reached a foot down to poke at the human with a small claw. "Having fur everywhere isn't a bad thing," he said. "Only once a month is. Who would do something like that? Or drink blood, gross."

"They can't help it," Quinn said. She was really struggling not to laugh now - he just kept saying increasingly more hilarious things. "And I guess being a werewolf wouldn't be bad for you. But you know how you don't like the thought of being human? I don't like being anything other than human."

Ciaran hovered towards the edges of the little group, keeping half an eye on his son as God and Lucifer spoke, as Gabriel worried over Quinn being missing. As God just rested Ethan on his hip while his son rambled on in a mix of English and Irish Gaelic. He frowned, tilting his head to listen closely. They were...discussing...looking them? He cleared his throat and stepped forwards, closer to the group.

"Did anyone see where they went?" he asked, gaze flickering over to Ethan. God still held him and he wasn't sure how to deal with that yet, so he left it. Something to consider later. Right now, it was best if they found Quinn and the otter boy. "And I'm truly sorry for Ethan's behaviour..."

"That's weird," was the only thing Aegeas could think of saying.

"It's alright," God reassured him. Despite what he said, he put Ethan gently down on the ground. It wasn't that he didn't want to hold him anymore; he just had a slightly different priority with who he wanted to hold.

He moved over to Lucifer and put his arm around his shoulder, giving his brother (it felt right to call him that still, even though he guessed he was technically his dad now) a comforting squeeze.

"I didn't see where she went," God answered.

"I didn't, either," Luci quietly added. Even though armor was far from comfortable, Lucifer still managed to look absolutely content as he cuddled into God's side.

Gabriel let out a groan. "I thought I could keep an eye on her," he said. "I need to find her. She's only a little kid, even if she's more capable as her older self than most people are."

Taber poked his head out from the entrance of the building. Hopefully no one noticed that he'd been hiding and hyperventilating the last few minutes. "Do we even know where they went?" he said, stuttering ever so slightly as he gripped onto the doorframe. "Aegeas? Tristan? Azazel? Anyone?"