Cole had followed Itzal to the door, taking a startled step back when he saw the same figure from his dream. "I…I uh, I have windows if that works," He said, frozen for a second as he watched the figure until he snapped back to reality, "There's one in the kitchen that we could climb through." Going with Itzal was definitely a change of plan, and he would have to drop everything to go with him. Surprisingly though, he had a gut feeling that going with him was the right thing to do, even if he had to drop everything. "Can I grab a sweatshirt first?" He asked hastily, "And some shoes?"
"Windows work." Itzal nodded, quickly pulling his hair back into a ponytail. "Okay, the kitchen is good." He glanced back at the figure, then at Cole. "Yeah, grab whatever you need. We have at least five minutes before this thing unfreezes. And I can take care of it in less than that." Itzal turned to the figure, wondering how he would stop it. Killing it would be the best option, but he didn't have a sword… Or did he? Itzal pulled the thing's sword out of its hand, surprised at how well-balenced it was. He could already feel the thing straining against his will, trying to get free. There was no hesitating with this. Itzal quickly stabbed the thing through where he thought the heart was, then cut off its head for good measure. You could never be too careful about these things.
It didn't take but a few seconds after Itzal said it was alright for Cole to turn and dash up the stairs, grabbing the first sweatshirt he saw as well as socks and his most comfortable running shoes. He didn't go down right away once he had what he needed though, looking around for a slow minute. Coming back here would most likely be out of the question for a long while, so he wanted to try to remember everything that he couldn't take along. Slowly he wandered over to his bed again, lifting up the corner of the mattress and pulling a thick envelope out from under it. "I'm ready to go," Cole called down the stairs, stuffing the envelope into his pocket before turning and jogging back down the stairs, "Let's go before another one of those comes."
While Cole was getting his stuff, Itzal kept an eye on the being. He didn't want to get taken by surprise if it suddenly decided it didn't need a head to kill him. The weird crown had kept floating over its head, but after a minute or stopped and fell to the ground. Itzal frowned at it, then used his new sword to pull the crown towards him. He was a bit nervous about picking it up, but when he did, he found it to be heavy and weirdly cold, just like the sword in his hand. He'd have to inspect that sword when he got the chance, but for now he was keeping it close. It was the only weapon he had. Itzal set the crown down, then glanced towards the stairs at Cole. "Agreed." He started towards the kitchen window. Even if that thing was down, he didn't want to take any chances by going near it. Who knew what sort of stuff happened to one of those after it died?
Cole nodded, grabbing his wallet on his way to the kitchen, as well as his phone and one more thick jacket just in case. Who knew what they would need when on the run. "Wait, you need shoes," He said as he reached the kitchen, glancing at Itzal's feet and frowning, "I don't know what size you wear though and my shoes might be a little too small." Having him go without shoes though would be hard, seeing as they would most likely have to find a better path around. "Do you still have the ones you wore when you fell through the sky? We can't leave until you have a pair of some sort of shoes on your feet."
Itzal glanced down at his feet, then up at Cole. He was right, Itzal needed shoes. "Uh… I think so." He frowned, trying to remember where he'd left them. He'd taken them off… at the door, right! Itzal jogged over to the front door, wrinkling his nose at the being, which was still down. After a few seconds of looking, Itzal found his shoes and quickly slipped them on. "Okay, let's go," Itzal said, walking back to the kitchen and motioning for Cole to go first. He didn't know if there was any special thing a person would have to do to open the window, and he really didn't want to waste valuable time figuring that out.
While Itzal had been occupied with shoes, Cole had already unlocked and opened the window. As much as he hated to, he also cut through the screen so they could get out, since popping it out would take much too long and waste time that they didn't have. He nodded when Itzal got back, not hesitating to climb out awkwardly first. Cole landed on his butt in the grass, his sandy blonde hair seeming much brighter in the very early morning sun. It didn't take him long to stand up though and motion for him to come through, glancing around the side of the house for any sign of the creepy being.
Itzal watched as Cole climbed out the window, then quickly followed, landing softly on his feet. He smiled softly at Cole's not-so-graceful exit. "Do you have any place we might run to?" Itzal asked, also looking around for another of the beings. He really hadn't gone to the mortal world as much as he should have and was just a bit unfamiliar with it. It didn't help that he had crash-landed there instead of appearing. Perhaps there was one small good thing to having Cole come with him. He hated the fact that Cole had to just leave his whole life, but better that than dying. Itzal would never be able to forgive himself if Cole died.
"I'm not sure. In the city, we could maybe set up camp at an old hotel or something, but if you were thinking farther away..my sister lives in new york, I'm sure if we could get there, she would help us," Cole offered, trying to think of somewhere safe off the top of his head, "Otherwise I'm sure I could think up somewhere better once we get going." He knew this trip would be much easier if he had a car, but seeing as he mostly biked everywhere in the city, that wouldn't be an option. At least until they found someone or somewhere to get one. Stealing one wasn't something he wanted to do, ever.
"Well, let's head for the city first," Itzal decided. "I don't want to get anyone else involved in this if I can help it, so if we can manage without your sister, then that would be best." He frowned, trying to think of a plan. What he wanted to do was get Cole to somewhere safe, then lead those beings away from him and… what? Beyond that, Itzal had no clue. But he was sure about separating Cole from this whole mess as soon as possible. Maybe he could try to find one of the minor gods and get their help… but that would be putting them in danger. Still, he needed a little help. And at least the gods were a little more resilient than a mortal.
He nodded, glancing around the side of his house again and deciding that they would have to chance the scary being not being dead if they wanted to get to the sidewalks and eventually to some form of transportation that could take them to the city. "If you're sure you killed that thing from the door, I think we can leave now, we have to go around the side of the house pretty close to the door to be able to get to a sidewalk and eventually to somewhere we can get to the city from." Cole didn't want to risk that thing being alive, so he wanted to make sure Itzal knew that he had killed it. Based on the dream he had last night anyway, he wanted nothing to do with these things.
"I hope I did. Its head is off and the crown had stopped floating, so I'm going to assume that it died." Itzal shrugged. He was optimistic about how dead the being was since he'd killed it with its own, strange sword. "And if not, I have its sword. I'll distract it and you can run." He glanced at Cole, then started towards the front of the house. The sword was ready in front of him, and his steps were careful. Itzal really hoped that thing was dead because killing it again would be difficult, especially if it could manage without a head. His steps slowed as he reached the front of the house, and Itzal peeked around to see if anything was waiting for them. Nothing. Itzal glanced over at Cole and gave him a thumbs up. "Which way now?" He asked softly.
As much as Cole didn't like Itzal's plan, there wasn't much room to object, so as he crept toward the front, Cole followed. He knew very well he wouldn't run if that thing was alive, he couldn't leave his guest alone to fight them. It was nerve-wracking as he watched him peek around the corner, and the thumbs up instantly gave him slight relief. Things were going slightly better without that being alive again. "Right. The busses will be the fastest way into the city, and if we're fast we can make the first bus there and be in the city soon." Cole pointed to the right, knowing that the bus stop was exactly four blocks away. Hopefully, they had enough time to get there.
"A bus. Good." Itzal nodded, glancing up and down the road before starting towards where Cole had pointed. He really would have rathered to just appear in the city, but he couldn't do that in his more human form. And changing into his true form would not be good for blending in. Those beings would surely appear as soon as he even hinted at being a god. That didn't mean he couldn't use any magic, but he'd have to be careful about it. Itzal had never even dreamed that one day, he'd have to hide in human form just to live, but here he was. "How far away is the bus stop?" He asked, glancing over at Cole. "And will they allow swords on the bus?" That was one of the problems with public transportation: they might be touchy about him bringing a fancy sword with him. He could possibly take care of that, but it would require a lot of magic. But there was no way he was going anywhere without it.
"Just over four blocks away," Cole explained, staying by Itzal's side as they headed towards the bus stop, "And as for the sword..they might be ok with it? If we can convince the driver that it's fake or just a prop or something." It would be definitely difficult depending on the driver, but there were a few that would allow it. All they had to do was hope that the driver was one of the nice ones or use Itzal's magic to blend it in somehow. Either would work Cole guessed, his pace picking up slightly the further they got from the house. He didn't want the cloak creature to come to life and attack again.
"Okay," Itzal said, nodding. At least it wasn't too far away. As for the sword… "I might be able to put a little magic on it so it looks a little less real." He didn't know if he could actually do that without passing out, but he'd give it a try. "Once we get on the bus, about how long will it take to get to the city?" Itzal felt a little bad about bombarding Cole with all these questions, but he wanted to know everything that he could about what was going to happen. Plus, knowing if he would have enough time to take a quick nap– in case disguising the sword took up more energy than he had– would be helpful in making a plan.
(Sorry if my responses are a tiny bit shorter or I take longer to respond..I'm mentally exhausted rn and I promise I'll try me best to stay consistent)
Cole nodded, thinking about roughly how long it normally took the busses before answering, "Depending on the number of stops, it takes around half an hour to the heart of the city, maybe less depending on where you want to stop." All of Itzal's questions didn't bother him, in fact, he liked them. Having answers to something made him feel important and sure about something since only minutes ago he had been forced to leave him home. Who knew when he would be able to return.
(Okay, you're good! Mental health is important. :)
"Okay." Itzal nodded. He could take a short nap, then, if he needed to. Based on how far they'd come, they only had about one block left to go before getting to the bus station, which lifted a huge weight off his chest. They were almost there.
"Itzal Espaitemps of the Arbre Deities." Itzal's steps faltered and he nearly fell over. They'd found him already. "You're a tricky god to pin down."
"Cole, run," Itzal said softly, glancing at him. "I'll take care of him and meet up with you at the stop after." He stopped moving and turned around to face the being. It looked exactly like the other one, down to the blood on the crown. "Stay away!" Itzal commanded, holding up the sword.
"I'm not leaving you here alone with that thing, I'll take my chances," Cole replied, his voice quiet but strong. He had spun around immediately at the voice, hands coming up into a fighting stance that would most likely do nothing more than make him feel safer against the being. Now that he was face to face with a live one of these, he was honestly scared. This one was much more real than the one in his dreams, and much more alive than the one outside his house. Even if he wouldn't admit it, Cole was sure instantly that if this thing tried, it wouldn't take more than one sword swing to end his life. Itzal was the only thing keeping him alive at this point, and the beings infatuation with Itzal.
Itzal sighed. Cole wasn't leaving, which would mean he'd have to watch out for him as well as himself. Still, it was nice knowing that Cole wouldn't abandon him at the first sign of danger. As weird as it was, it gave Itzal a warm feeling in his chest. "Alright, but be careful." He took a few steps towards the being, his stolen sword still held at the ready. The being still hadn't moved or pulled out a sword. That was good, at least, unless it meant the being would attack them both with some kind of magic, in which case that was bad.
"I will not stay away," The being said, a sword identical to Itzal's appearing in its hand. "You and the other gods must all die." Itzal wanted to ask the being questions, such as 'are the other gods still alive?' and 'why do you want us dead?' but he knew he couldn't. More of those beings might be coming towards them right then, and he was sure he couldn't take on more than one. The being started towards him, signaling it was time to act. Itzal took a deep breath, then flung out his hand towards the being. It froze, but Itzal could feel it actively fighting against him. Freezing two of them within so little time was taking a lot out of him, and he didn't know if he could keep it there and kill it at the same time. "Um…" Itzal looked over at Cole, an apologetic look on his face. "How opposed are you to killing that thing while I keep it frozen?"
Cole watched the encounter with a narrowed glare at the being. His hands stayed up in fists the entire time even as Itzal froze the being. It was only when he was asked about killing the thing that he glanced over at the god, a slightly concerned and confused look on his face, "I mean….I don't want to kill the thing in the least..but I can if you really need me too." If there was any other way, he would've declined, but a feeling in his gut told him that this was the safest way.
Itzal glanced over at Cole. He felt terrible asking him to do such a thing, but there was no other way. "I'm sorry, but I need you to." Keeping one hand towards the being, he quickly flipped the sword so the point was pointed towards the ground and held it out to Cole. "Cutting off the head should work." Itzal gave Cole a tight smile, then looked back at the being. The sword in its hand twitched slightly and Itzal gritted his teeth. Why in the world was this so hard? He took a deep breath, alarmed at how much his hand was shaking. But he couldn't let that creature to free while Cole was near it.
It would've been pointless to try to hide the look on Cole's face, one that showed just how much he hated everything he was about to do. He grabbed the sword from Itzal, keeping his hand from trembling as he lifted the heavy sword and stepped over to the being. "I just swing at its neck, right?" He asked quietly, lining up the blade. Thinking over what he was doing just made it feel worse, and so he tried not to think about it, whispering to himself over and over, "I can do this." Seconds later the sword did its job, somehow held steady in Cole's trembling hands until the being's head was separated from its body.
Itzal pressed his lips together, hating the look on Cole's face. If only he had been just a little stronger, then Cole wouldn't have to go through this. "Yeah," He confirmed, nodding slightly. The creature's sword twitched again and Itzal hoped Cole wouldn't notice. The second the being's head was cut off, Itzal let his hand drop. A sudden wave of dizziness swept over Itzal, but he fought it. If there was one thing he didn't want to do right now, it was pass out. He blinked quickly and clenched his fists to try and remind himself of what reality was. "Good job, Cole. I'll take the sword back." Itzal held out a hand, trying to stop it from shaking. When that was, for the most part, unsuccessful, Itzal just hoped Cole wouldn't notice.
He silently held the sword back out to Itzal, frowning when he saw how much the god's hands were shaking. "I can carry it otherwise..you look seconds away from blacking out," Cole offered, his focus turning from what he had done to worrying about how much strength Itzal had left, or his lack of said strength, "We still have another block to get to the bus stop, and I can't fight off any more of those things while carrying you there." It was a very feeble attempt at a mix of humor and concern, and to go with it, he tried to smile a little bit.
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