Young Writers Society

"Oh, good, you aren't hurt." Sevy breathed softly, and then got a better look at the merfrog. He smiled warmly and had the sudden urge to pat her head, which he eventually gave in to.

"Hello, Siren! It's nice to meet you. I'm Sevy. And no, I'm Tamika's..." he shot her a hesitant glance, and a flash of uncertainty crossed his face. "Friend. I'm her friend. But yes, we do both have wings, if that's what you're referring to."

He spread said wings and gave them a little flap, scattering more droplets. In turn, he gave his head a little shake, his wet hair flying.

Tamika grabbed his sleeve gently and tugged him closer to the edge, a soft fondness playing around her otherwise stoic expression.

"Y'know, getting out of the fountain may aid in the drying process. Just a suggestion." She chided lightly.

Siren chirruped happily at being pet, in some froglike imitation of purring.

Her eyes lit up at Tamika's suggestion. Here, however unlikely, was an opportunity.

"Why don't you join us in the fountain?" She asked Tamika, grinning cheekily.

Odris wondered if the culture that Zech had grown up in involved people like him appearing younger than they actually were. He didn't think he looked all that mature. He still had the lankly, awkwardly long limbs of a teenager who hadn't quite grown all the way into his body, despite almost being an adult. His hair was in a constant state of disarray because it refused to stay controlled even in a ponytail, and even his clothes - professional as they were - looked a bit too big for his body, like the proportions weren't quite right.

"I'm seventeen," he said. "I'm turning eighteen next month."


Hero kept his arms crossed and a glare plastered on his face as the panther man sat down. He wasn't like Kartiel; he never would be. He wasn't good at hiding how much someone's comments about his darkness and him being evil hurt him. He cared about their opinions too much, even if they were strangers. Kartiel could shrug it off with a smile and a well-timed joke; Hero was enough like him to understand that he felt more underneath the surface than he was letting on.

But even though he was still upset over the situation, the panther man had a point. He looked over at Lorcan and Juniper in search of an answer. The two of them had been out together for little more than an hour - Juniper had wanted to talk to Lorcan about something, and Lorcan had wanted to do it somewhere more private than either Charlotte's or her house.

"I just know that gods are involved," Juniper said, shrugging. "We haven't gotten much more information than that. Some of us got here before the rest of you did - we spent yesterday in the woods and last night in a field, being shown around by two people who live on this world."

She glanced over at Hero, and their eyes momentarily met. "I don't think it's your kind of god."

Zech reached out and wrapped Odris up in a hug.

"I'm so sorry," the tiger said, starting to shiver. "I just, he's a really good kid, and from the way he was talking about things, I thought I could see myself and it, scared me.

And you guys don't have to worry about being pushed around and worked to the bone here, right? So maybe you can give him the childhood he deserves, if only for a couple of days."



"And let me guess," Lunis said, "Nobody knows how to go back home?"

He ignored the glare from the god - Lunis had ticked off too many people for it to faze him anymore (unless it was Eremia, but he wasn't going to talk about that).

Sevy let out a soft chuckle, mischief that mirrored Siren's teasing at the edge of his mouth.

"Good luck getting her to..." he started with a stage whisper, only to be cut off by a little splash as Tamika hopped in.

She shot him a smug little look, as if to say see? I can be reckless and impulsive too. Sevy countered quickly with a smirk and a well-aimed splash, and she gave a little shriek.

"Gods, that's cold!"

It was strange being hugged by someone other than Maahes - the young djinni was quite affectionate - but Odris didn't object to the sudden close contact. Zech had apparently come from a childhood similar to his and Maahes; he didn't want to think about what he had gone through. But he appreciated Zech's offer, and knew he'd gladly take it. It seemed like they would be here awhile, and Maahes could really use the break.

It would be...nice to hang out with him like that, instead of trying complete tests and diplomatic deals with Maahes watching on the side.

"Okay," he said. He paused, then added a little more softly, "Thank you."


"Pretty much," Juniper confirmed. She tried to ignore how Hero was still glaring at Lunis; they really didn't need that sort of tension right now. She had a feeling they would be stuck together for awhile, and the last thing this world needed was an angry, hormonal god.

Letting go of Odris, Zech wiped a few tears from his eyes. "We'd better head back," he said. "I don't want Maahes to get worried. And, sorry again."



"Wonderful," said Lunis, rolling his eyes on seeing the god continue to glare at him. If the god had anything to say, there wasn't any point in sulking and whining. Lunis couldn't take him seriously, even if him being evil wasn't entirely off the table.

Siren squealed with delight, and splashed at Sevy and Tamika. Well, it was aimed at Sevy and Tamika. Lorcan, Juniper, Hero, and Lunis, Rose, and Ryder were drenched only by coincidence.

Shame Odris, Maahes and Zech weren't there.
Siren hoped that they would not feel neglected once they found that they'd been left out.

Grabbing his face, Lunis growled. He flung droplets of water off of his eyes, then looked down at his soaked fur.

"Does anyone have a towel?" he said.

Ryder nodded, handing Lunis a towel.
"That is definitely some cold water. Uhm. Hi there, new people!" he said, wiping some water off his face.
"I'm Rose, Princess of Ekon, but you probably don't know where or what that is," the pink haired girl spoke, before gesturing to her travel companion, "This is Ryder, and we're glad to make your acquaintances." They both bowed slightly toward everyone nearby, although they didn't worry with Maahes, Zech and that other new guy. Too far away, too much effort.
"Now, our original plan was to go out and maybe do some supply restocking and information gathering. We're looking for the Artifact of Erel, or so the voice said," Rose paused, looking up at the sky for a second.
"Righto, let's first wait for everyone."
[~]

"Very interesting, don't you think, Kuro?"
A cat purred in reply.
The shadow against the wall was gone before anyone noticed.

[~]

Once everyone had gathered in their makeshift meeting place of right next to the fountain because Siren refused to leave, Rose cleared her throat and began speaking.

"Ryder and I originally came to get our equipment enchanted, but uh...now we've got you guys to see to. So, I propose we split into two groups! One will go with me to the market place, while the other group will go around town to maybe ask if anyone knows anything about Erel," Rose said.

"If anyone gets lost, we come back here after two hours, okay?" Ryder added, pointing to the fountain.

"It's okay," Odris said, already heading back towards the alleyway's exit. The humming had stopped - Maahes probably heard them approaching. "I would have probably thought the same thing if our situations were reversed-"

"Odris!" Maahes suddenly exclaimed, surprising him with a tight hug the moment he left the alleyway. He tried to lean up against him, but his current form was just too big and Odris was just a little too small - Maahes easily towered over him right now. "Can we talk about what I did yesterday now? You're done talking to Zech!"

Odris grinned. "Sure, Maahes."

The djinni gave a triumphant cheer, then promptly launched into what Odris was sure going to be a very long story - Maahes tended to have trouble summarizing even the shortest of events, and this had taken place over the span of two days.

Even by the time they finally arrived back at the fountain, Maahes was only just beginning his story - he was talking about how he had found a bunch of people in the woods.

Yes, this was going to take a very long time.


Lorcan and Juniper - now partially as soaked as Hero - glanced over at the resident god of darkness in the group, who was still dripping water as he gave one last glare in Lunis's direction. "Hey, Hero?" Juniper hesitantly asked. She didn't know him half as well as Lorcan did, but he wasn't all that bad. "Do you have your sunglasses on you?"

He froze.

That was a no, then.

"We need something to cover your eyes," Lorcan realized, glancing around in search of anything that would work. Even a cloth would work - he knew Hero hated wearing those instead of the sunglasses, but what choice did they have? Hero hadn't expected to be suddenly whisked away to another world.

"Whatever we do, I wanna be with Odris and Zech!" Maahes declared, clinging to the boy who had appeared in the fountain. Juniper gaped at the two. That was Odris? Maahes had made him seem so old, but he couldn't have been that much older than her! He didn't even look all that important - he just seemed like a kid who could have gone to her high school, bags under the eyes included.

Maahes seemed to think for a moment before turning to Odris. "Can we go to the marketplace, Odris!? I want to see all the cool stuff!"

"I'll go with you guys," Zech said, looking down at Maahes and Odris. Maahes seemed a lot more at ease, especially around him and Odris, and Zech didn't want to let either of them out of his sight.

The tiger could feel Lunis come up from behind. "Count me in," the panther said, dumping a wet towel over Zech's head. As Zech pulled it off, he heard Lunis whisper, "I'm not letting you out of my sight again."

Zech rolled his eyes.

Lorcan, Juniper and Hero exchanged a look. Lorcan knew they still needed to find something that could cover his eyes, but it was something they could search for while they did the task they eventually chose. He felt like he already had a pretty good idea of what they would be doing before Hero opened his mouth; he wouldn't want to be stuck with Lunis, who had managed to quickly get on his bad side.

"We'll go to town and ask," Hero decided.

"Before you do," Juniper hurriedly added, "do you have anything Hero can cover his eyes with?"

Lunis shook his head. Rummaging around in his pockets, he pulled out a small roll of gauze and tossed it at the god. "Here," he said, "But I better get it back when you're done with it. I only have the one."

Hero easily caught it. After studying the gauze for a moment, he glanced back at the panther man. "Thank you," he reluctantly said. He didn't want to give him the satisfaction after how he had been treated, but he was grateful for something to cover his eyes. He easily unwound some of the gauze and wrapped it around his eyes. Cutting off a bit with a clean cut of darkness, he tied it in a sturdy knot and handed the gauze back to the panther.

His vision was significantly impacted now. Details were blurred, and everything appeared darker. But it was a sacrifice he had to make if he wanted to avoid any trouble, so he crossed his arms and waited for more instructions on what they were supposed to do.