Young Writers Society

Siren was lying in the fountain, breathing underneath the water, contemplating the nature of many things. She had started with the butterfly that landed on her nose several minutes before, and from noses she came to narwhals, from narwhals came whales, came longevity, and loud, loud, throat song.
She poked her head up through the water, to share her thoughts with a nearby Tamika.

"Whales know everything. But we don't know how to talk to them yet. Their throat-song isn't the same as our song.

Have you tried to talk to birds? Is there a bird that knows everything?"

Tamika sat on the edge of the fountain, knees drawn to her chin, patiently listening to the merfrog's rambles. At this question, she frowned and give the smallest of sighs.

"No, Siren, I'm not-" she paused and collected herself. It was no use having to explain- again- that she wasn't in any way related to avian species. "I've never tried talking to birds, no. Though I wouldn't be surprised at this point if there was an all-knowing bird."

Suddenly, there came a violent splash, and Tamika was drenched by the resulting spray. She flinched and mopped at her eyes.

"What in-"

A coughing figure emerged from the fountain, black hair plastered over its eyes. If the hair wasn't enough to go on, Tamika relaxed at the Q*bert shirt she had recently begun to despise.

"Sevy, how did you- gods, I'm so glad you escaped, I've been worried sick, are you alright?" She gasped out in one long line, perched over the edge and looking ready to dive into the fountain herself.

Sevy wiped his hair out of his eyes, still coughing. Before he could answer, he registered the creature he had half-landed on.

"Oh, gosh I'm so sorry-" he gasped, stumbling back with another splash and helping Siren's head above water, hoping he hadn't drowned her for a frantic moment.

One moment, Maahes was trying to come up with a better way to deny Zech's accusation of him lying - even though it was true. The next, however, he found himself soaking wet, drenched by the water that shot up when multiple things crashed into the fountain he was sitting on the rim of. Maahes hopped to his feet in a hurry, lip quivering and eyes growing moist as his body did its best to imitate crying.

"Zech!" he said. He didn't really think about why Zech was the first person he decided to complain to; later he'd decide that it's because Zech kind of reminded him of Odris in a weird way. "The fountain was mean and splashed me-"

"Maahes?"

He paused in the middle of his rant, spinning around to stare at the person who had just emerged from the water. He looked really funny with his hair plastered against his head and his clothes completely soaked, but Maahes didn't feel like laughing. He perked up, darted back over to the fountain edge and promptly tackled his summoner - sending both of them tumbling back into the water.

But even though he was made of fire and air, and water made him feel yucky, he happily continued to hug Odris while both grew increasingly more soaked.

"Odris!" he exclaimed. "I missed you, Odris!"

He was surprised when he noticed how hard Odris was holding him when they sat up in the water. His summoner wasn't letting him go, even when he started to get tired of hugging him. "I'm so glad you're alright, Maahes," he whispered, pulling the djinni close. Maahes began to squirm, but gave up when he realized Odris had no intention of letting him go in the near future.

Then the monster decided to burst from the depths of the water, shadowy sword in hand as it scanned the town's center. Maahes gave a startled cry and clung to Odris. Odris tried - and failed - to scramble back. And a short distance away, Lorcan and Juniper continued to look at the various sights, too far away to have heard the splashing or his cry.

"Sure," Zech said, nodding at Rose. "I'm kinda wearing a blanket all of the time, but that part was nice." He turned to Ryder. "And what is an unlimited-"

The tiger heard the rush of air over his head. He had just enough time to look up before something grabbed him by the back of the head and yanked him into the fountain. The frigid water shocked Zech, numbing the pain of the torn fur and skin on his head. He also couldn't respond to the black mass that shifted around beneath him, before that mass grabbed him by the chest and pulled him above the water.

Zech coughed and spluttered, shaking his head and flinging drops of water everywhere. As his eyes adjusted, and as he moved his arms to prop himself against the fountain's bottom, he recognized the familiar face that now peeked out of the water.

"Lunis?" he said.

The panther paused, looking Zech over. Then he reached up, grabbed Zech by the head, and pulled him in for a kiss.

Upon hearing his cry, the shadow monster turned its attention to Maahes and Odris. It raised its sword up and directed right at Odris's face, glowing white eyes narrowing from among the shadows. "Where am I?" it demanded. Its voice was harsh and cold, and Maahes didn't like it in the slightest. He clung to Odris a little tighter. He was good with scary things, but monsters and darkness were scary!

But it was threatening Odris, and Odris was just an Alteran. Maahes frowned and loosened his grip. That wasn't good! It could really hurt his summoner, and he didn't want something to happen to Odris right after he saw him again. Much to Odris's apparent alarm, Maahes hopped up to his feet and took a big step towards the monster in the fountain.

It faltered, sword tip awkwardly stuck between him and Odris.

"Don't you dare hurt Odris!" he told it, even though his voice was shaking and he really want to go back to hugging Odris. He didn't think much of what he wanted to do - he just let the wind burst from his fingertips, sending the monster back into the fountain with a startled cry. The monster's sword went flying out of the fountain and skidding across the ground.

This caught the attention of the two sightseers. Maahes could hear Juniper and Lorcan having a conversation when they saw the sword, and then suddenly both of them were rushing over to the fountain and heaving the soaking wet monster out from its depths.

"Be careful!" Maahes warned them. "It's a monster-"

The darkness suddenly melted away to reveal a kind of normal looking teenager - the only funny thing about him was his glowing white eyes, but he did seem pretty normal besides that. "Lorcan? Juniper?" the boy asked, eyes growing wide as he saw the two. The sword that was laying on the ground near the fountain disappeared as well.

Maahes gave a startled yelp when he felt a hand suddenly touch his shoulder, only to relax when he realized it was Odris pulling him close. "This is like the cabin again, isn't it?" Odris questioned. Maahes gave a quick, eager nod, even though he really couldn't see Odris's face from the angle he was at. "This time we're not going to let anyone know the truth about you, alright-"

Maahes cut him off with a nervous, guilty laugh.

Odris groaned behind him, fully understanding the reason for you. "You already told them, didn't you?"

"They're cool with it," Maahes informed him, spinning around so he could look at his summoner. "I even made some new friends! One of them is behind you. His name is Zech and he's really nice and furry."

On hearing his name, Zech pulled back from Lunis, looked up, and blinked.

The fountain was a mess. The panther hadn't been nearly the only person to fall into it, if all the strangers and the water splashed around the fountain were an indicator. First, Zech focused on the kid who was being held up by Juniper and Lorcan, especially the wisps of darkness that dissipated from him. And he had white eyes. Well, that certainly explained some of the shouting earlier.

Still, that wasn't as big of a problem (especially since Juniper and Lorcan had caught him) as the man standing next to Maahes. Zech growled.

"Who is that?" Lunis whispered, following Zech's gaze.

"Odris," Zech said. "Treats Maahes like a slave."

Looking over at Odris, Lunis wrinkled his face. "That kid? Really?"

"He's probably older than he looks," Zech said. "Maahes changes his appearance all the time, and Odris is probably the same thing he is."

"What thing?" Lunis said, but Zech had already gotten onto his feet and walked over to Maahes and Odris.

Zech stiffly reached out a paw to Odris. "Hello," he said, ice in his voice. The panther quickly got up and stood behind him, leaning over his shoulder.

Odris was a diplomat and a scholar, and he had gotten to both of those occupations due to his ability to observe the world around him. It wasn’t hard to notice the cold tone to Zech's voice, and it wasn't hard to see that his hand had stiffened when Zech had held it out to him.

"Hello," Odris said, keeping his tone almost too polite as he took Zech's hand and gave it a small shake. He cast a small glance at Maahes out of the corner of his eye, trying to figure out how Maahes could have seen him as nice; the spirit's gaze was narrowed, and his cheeks were puffed out as he kept his lips in a thin line.

"Why are you being mean to Odris?" Maahes demaned, letting out the air in one big burst. "Odris is my friend, Zech! It's not nice to be mean to a friend's friend!"

Eugh, he wasn't good at hiding emotions. Granted, as far as Odris was concerned, Zech didn't want to. But Maahes didn't need the stress and anxiety of a fight between his friends (if Odris could be called one). The tiger needed to come up with some excuse and hope that Maahes wouldn't be too perceptive.

Zech slumped his shoulders and shook Odris's hand for just a bit too long. That was when the tiger remembered he was still in the fountain. Eyes drifting over to Maahes, Zech monotoned, "I'm wet. I don't like being wet," shaking some of the water off of his arms for good effect.

"But could we talk somewhere in private?" he said, looking back to Odris. "If we're both your friends, Maahes, we might as well be friends with each other. And I have some questions to ask him."



Lunis made his way over to the two people dragging a third one out of the fountain. He didn't have a clue where he was, what was going on, or who those people were, but he wasn't about to ask Zech any questions; he knew when the tiger was angry.

"What's his deal?" the panther said, gesturing to the kid they'd pulled out of the water. "And what's with those eyes?"

Maahes looked up at his summoner's face, studying his expression for a moment before setting his face into a look of deep concentration. "I don't think Odris wants to talk to you right now," he declared. Odris tried to sputter out a word of protest, but Maahes had no intentions to stop talking - Zech was acting really weird, and Odris didn't seem to like that. "He's talking to you like you're a politician."

Maahes glanced back at his summoner.

"He's not," Maahes clarified.

"I didn't think he was," Odris said.

"That's good, then," Maahes decided. "You would have been wrong if you did - Zech's the opposite of all the mean old guys we have to deal with!"

Odris made a noise that sounded kind of weird, almost suspiciously like a mixture between a snort and a cough. Maahes frowned in response, and Odris quickly regained his earlier composure. "I'll talk with you," he agreed, looking Zech over. "Just let Maahes stay nearby while we talk."


Lorcan didn't recognize the man who had just come over to them, but he apparently knew Zech from the conversation they had briefly held. He glanced between the tiger and the newcomer, trying to figure out if his name had come up in any of the conversations that they had previously had. Was this...Lunis? Had that been his name?

"I'm a god of darkness," Hero plainly said, folding his still dripping arms as he glared at Lunis. Lorcan let out a quiet sigh at his best friend's response. He didn't like not being the one addressed when he was the topic of the conversation. "My eyes are normal for gods. What's your deal?"

Eugh, a clever move. If the conversation went south, Odris could just bring in Maahes. Zech wanted Odris to be the openly horrible type, but it looked like that wasn't going to be the case.

Fine. It would cause too much suspicion if Zech refused, and he wasn't going to back out now. "Sure," Zech said with a shrug. He stepped out of the fountain, then gestured to a small alley between two of the buildings. "How about there?"



Pausing to listen to the kid's explanation, Lunis groaned and pulled a hand down his face.

"Thought I was done with this other worlds and evil gods crap," he mumbled.

Face sagging and eyes drooping, Lunis looked into the god's eyes. "There's nothing to me," he said. "You, though, you're the god of darkness. I haven't heard good things about darkness. So, once again, what's up with you?"

Odris looked in the direction that Zech had gestured to. "That sounds like a good place to talk," he said. It sounded like a horrible place in all honesty, thanks to how secluded it was, but at least Maahes could linger relatively close without overhearing the conversation. Odris went climbed out of the fountain, Maahes following close behind as they approached the alley.

"I'm going to go in there, alright?" Odris told him. "Stay by the opening, and don't go too far. It shouldn't take long."

"Okay!" Maahes agreed. He frowned again. "I don't get why Zech wants to talk to you alone, though, Odris. He was fine talking with me earlier. Did I say something mean to him?"

Odris shook his head. "Don't worry Maahes," he reassured him, "you're doing very good today."

The djinni beamed.

"After I finish talking to Zech, we'll talk about what you've been up since yesterday," Odris promised, and Maahes looked even more happy than before. He started to cheerfully hum as Odris took a deep breath and entered the alley.


Hero let out an honest-to-god growl under his breath, and Lorcan looked like he as ready to fight the newcomer - Lunis, maybe? - when he made a comment about "evil gods", so Juniper decided it was time to do some quick damage control before things could get out of hand. "Hero's a good person," she said, wisely pulling Hero to the side and stepping between him and Lunis. "He just happens to be a god of darkness. You're not the first person to think he's evil because of it, so you might want to avoid mentioning it - it's a sensitive topic, as you can probably see."

The tiger squeezed his way into the alley. He'd misjudged how big it was, but he still managed to make it far enough inside that he was pretty sure Maahes wouldn't be able to listen. Maahes seemed pretty distracted by whistling anyways.

"What's wrong with you?" Zech hissed, glaring down at Odris. "I heard from Maahes that you've been making him work constantly. On top of that, you've been poking and prodding at him to figure out what he is. And he's a kid. I don't know what kind of enjoyment you get out of trying to control him like that, but it doesn't matter. He doesn't know any better. But I do, and I'm going to make sure you do too."



Lunis blinked. He didn't know how to respond. The girl was a lot shorter than him, and didn't look nearly as strong as him, but wasn't afraid of him. Either she was more powerful than he'd believed, or she was just extremely defensive of her friend. Which, combined with how well she answered all the questions he didn't ask, kinda defused the whole 'god of darkness' fear.

He focused on the eyes of the god's companions. They didn't look controlled, and they didn't act like it, but he couldn't be sure. "I'm guessing you know him, then?" Lunis said, pointing to the god.

Juniper nodded in confirmation.

"I do," she said. She thought it had been obvious from the way that she had worded things, but she still was fairly new to the stranger, magical side of the world. "He's my friend."

They weren't half as close as Charlotte and him were, or even him and her brother, but Charlotte's relationship with him bordered on dating and Levi just had a way of getting close with even the most unfamiliar of strangers.


Odris clenched his fists at his side.

So that was the reason for him wanting to talk to him alone. Maahes hadn't been wrong in his assessment of Zech's character - not that Odris had doubted him. Even though Maahes had the gullibility of any kid, and a tendency to get incredibly excited about the simplest of things, he did have a knack for understanding the people around him.

"I don't get any enjoyment out of it," he said. He was trying to keep his voice calm, but it was hard. Zech wasn't like the people he usually dealt with when it came to Maahes; they were politicians that wanted a taste of his powers to fight against the Ori, or scholars that bordered on mad scientist. Zech was different. He didn't have an ulterior motive in mind. He just wanted to make sure Maahes was alright, and already saw Odris as an enemy.

To make matters worse, Zech was tall and very intimidating.

"And I don't make him work all of the time," Odris said, knowing very well that his statement would do little to help. Maahes was only six years old; even working to begin with was too much, but how was he supposed to change a system when the other diplomats and political leaders barely took him seriously because of his own young age?

"Maahes is incredibly gifted," he continued. Maahes continue to cheerfully hum at the opening of the alley, a stray lyric or two worming its way into the tune. "My-our society likes rewarding gifted kids with more work. I'm not going to pretend that it's right. It's not. But I...I can't do a lot right now. I've been doing my best to get them to cut back on how much time he spends in the library and in my laboratory, but they don't want to listen to someone like me. They think I'm too inexperienced. I don't know what Maahes has told you about my job, but I'm a diplomat and a scholar. I've been trying to improve my standings as both of them so I can be given more respect and power by the other people on our world. It'll take some time, but when I finally do, I'm going to give Maahes the childhood he deserves."

He took a deep breath.

"I know that you don't like me much," he said. "I think you have a good reason not to. But I promise I'm doing the best I can to make things right for Maahes."

"I," Zech said, then bowed his head. He raised it after a second. "How come you can't already give him the childhood he wants? After everything he said, I was pretty sure you were this old, powerful, brilliant adviser kind of guy." He squinted. "Just how old are you, anyhow?"



"Figures," Lunis said. He scowled, sitting down and resting his back against the fountain. The panther couldn't quite trust any of them, but they hadn't made any moves yet, and he was still too relieved to have run into Zech.

"So, what's the situation? What kind of mess are we stuck in this time?"

Siren blinked up at her rescuer, and patted his chest gratefully, as was only polite.

"Thank you." she wheezed. She was not really that winded, she just had a wheezy voice.

Oh no. What if she had accidentally caused Sevy to believe he had hurt her?

"I am Siren. Pleased to meet you. Are you Tameeka's brother?" asked Siren, in a chirpier voice, to let him know she was fine.

She awaited his answer exitedly, ignoring the being of darkness, the argument, and everything else that was going on.

She was still standing in the fountain.

She would still be standing in the fountain for as long as she could get away with it.