Itzal accepted the sword, alarmed at how heavy it felt to him. Maybe it would be better if Cole carried it. "That would be nice," He admitted. Trying to carry the sword in his sad condition would probably not be a good idea. He offered the sword back to Cole, then started to walk towards the bus stop. Itzal was looking forward to collapsing on the bus and getting as far away from the beings as he could. If he could find another god to help him, that would be even better. He'd also need to find a place for Cole to hid. If Itzal slipped and Cole ended up dying because of him… Itzal didn't know what he'd do with himself. "Ha, no. I'll try not to pass out on you until we get to the bus, then," He answered, returning Cole's smile.
Taking the sword back from Izal made it seemed heavier in a way, but he didn't mention anything, just held it tightly and walked alongside him. "As long as I can wake you back up before we miss the city, that sounds fine to me." Cole wouldn't admit, but the entire block of walking, his attention was divided between watching for any more beings and making sure that Itzal wouldn't collapse suddenly. The slightly dirty bench next to the bus stop sign seemed more inviting than normal, that was obvious, even to Cole, and he was clearly not as tired as his friend. "Three minutes until the bus," He said, checking his phone with nothing more than a glance at the time. Three minutes of being on guard.
Itzal nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem." He was grateful that Cole had agreed to carry the sword, given that most of his attention was focused on not falling over. The bench, however dirty it may be, was a blessing. Itzal practically collapsed onto it, leaning his head back and taking a big breath. "Alright, three minutes. We can do that," Itzal said, half to Cole and half to himself. He could do three minutes. That was nothing. Itzal sat up– there was less chance of him falling asleep that way– and glanced around. There wasn't any sign of scary beings around, and Itzal prayed that it would stay like that for the next three minutes. There was hardly any chance of him being able to fight off a third being, though he might always surprise himself.
As soon as Itzal had sat down, Cole took up a spot on the bench as well, scanning for any sign of the beings again. "Once the bus gets here and we get on, you can rest as much as you need," Cole said, drumming his fingers on the hilt of the sword, "We're almost in the clear for now." Every movement of anything had him ready to jump up in defense, but any time he looked around, there was no sign of any more of the creepy beings. Mostly because of how paranoid he was at the moment, the three minutes took forever to pass. Especially as the bus came into view. It took forever for it to reach them, though as soon as it did, Cole was back on his feet, holding out a hand to Itzal.
"Mmm." Itzal hummed slightly, nodding. He was really missing the old days when he didn't have anything to worry about but who was going to the mortal realm and if Lazare or Elief were causing any trouble that day. It was incredible how much everything could change in the blink of an eye. Itzal shook his head slightly. This was no time to be drifting into daydreams. He could do that once the bus got there.
The bus finally arrived after the longest three minutes of Itzal's life. Cole was on his feet before Itzal could even think about moving. He accepted Cole's hand and stood, his vision temporarily going black. Itzal blinked several times, trying to get all the spots of black out of his vision. "Alright, let's get out of here," He said softly.
(Sorry it's short)
He nodded, keeping a careful hand on Itzal's arm until they reached the bus doors and were able to step on. Cole didn't bother to try to hide the sword as they boarded the bus either, though he definitely didn't show it off as he ushered his friend into one of the seats on the back of the mostly empty bus. "Pick a seat," He said gently, motioning to the ones around them as best they could as the bus driver closed the doors and the vehicle started forward again with a jolt.
(It's cool!)
Itzal stepped onto the bus, glad that no one pointed out the sword that Cole was carrying. There was no way he would have been able to disguise it in the state he was in. Itzal dropped into one of the seats that Cole suggested and let out a breath. The seat wasn't comfortable, but at this point, Itzal could have slept on anything. "Wake me up if anything happens," He said, looking over at Cole. If anything happened, Itzal didn't want Cole to have to deal with it on his own. He really didn't want anything to happen, because if he wasn't at least partially rested when the next being showed up… well, it wouldn't be pretty. Itzal closed his eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.
"Get some rest," Was all that he said in response, taking the seat next to Itzal and trying his best to get comfortable. There was no way he was going to wake him up if anything happened. Itzal needed the sleep and Cole felt like he would be able to handle one of those beings as long as he had the sword. Within seconds his eyelids started to grow heavier but he forced himself to stay awake, knowing that they both couldn't sleep if they were being chased. Sleep could wait. He watched the streets through the window as the bus rumbled along, growing nervous at every stop the bus made even though none of the shadow creatures boarded.
Itzal's dream started with nothing. He was standing alone in what looked like a burned-down forest– probably the Underforest if he had to guess. This scene was a reoccurring one in most of his dreams, but he really didn't want to be thinking about it at the moment. It might be true this time, after all. He blinked, and the scene changed.
Itzal was standing in a field in his true form. There was nothing around him, and he was alone. It was the beginning when he was the only god. He'd just appeared there, his name and purpose burned into his mind. He was to take care of this world. Itzal had never really wondered why he had been given the world, or who had created it. He'd just been happy that he got to take care of this beautiful place. But now… Itzal was starting to wonder. Where had he come from? Had anyone come before him?
Cole kept his dutiful watch as Itzal dreamed, lost in his thoughts. He had just been forced to leave his home with a god he had met less than a day ago and was running from beings that he still didn't know any more about other than they wanted said god and himself dead. At least it was a change of scenery from his daily routine. That's what he tried to focus on, that he was doing something he never would've done before. It made it easier to sit on the bus calmly and watch the view out the window.
Itzal's dream changed again. He was back at Cole's house with the decapitated being. Two more of the beings were standing around the dead one, staring at it.
"He did it," One of the beings said to the other. "We have to hurry. If he is lost, then we are lost."
"Yes." The other being agreed solemnly. "He should have never been given the power. None of them should have." The first being nodded. "And what of the mortal?"
"He doesn't need to die. When we catch up to him, his memories will be wiped. Unless you think that a bad idea?"
"No. The mortals don't need to suffer for their misguided worship." Both beings hummed and all three disappeared, leaving Cole's house free of any unordinary presences.
Itzal woke with a start, unsure of what those dreams meant. "Are we close?" He asked, looking over at Cole.
"Five minutes away from the first stop we could get off at, ten from the one in the center of the city," Cole replied casually, blinking several times to keep his eyes open. At this point, it was a constant battle not to even doze off, so Itzal's sudden waking didn't even startle him. He was focused on watching for the beings, as well as watching over the sword and his friend, even if it was getting more difficult. "You can get a few more minutes of sleep if you don't want to get off at this first stop."
"Okay." Itzal nodded and stretched. Even though he'd probably only been sleeping for twenty-ish minutes, he felt much better. "If you want, you can sleep for the last ten minutes," He offered. Cole looked tired as well, and Itzal felt well enough that he could afford to give those last minutes to Cole. It wouldn't do either of them good for someone to be tired. "Here." Itzal held his hand out for the sword. "I can take that now if you want." He gave Cole a reassuring smile and hoped that Cole would take up on his offer. Itzal felt bad enough that Cole had to flee his house because of him– he didn't want to deprive Cole of sleep as well. Plus, Itzal wanted a little time to think about what his dreams had meant. Were they a warning, and if so, what were they warning him of?
Cole nodded, handing the sword over reluctantly and leaning back on his seat, "Wake me up before we get there please." That was all he said as he let his eyes close and crossed his arms over his chest, trying his best to not accidentally shift and lean on Itzal even if it would've been comfier to sleep. All he needed was a few minutes of sleep anyway, just enough to get him through the day or at least until they were somewhere safe.
Itzal took the sword carefully, wishing it had a sheath or something so he wasn't worried about it cutting someone accidentally. "I will," He said, hoping he could figure out what stop to get off on. Well, it didn't matter anyway, because it wasn't like they were going to a specific place. Just… as far away from those beings as they could get. Itzal glanced out the window, his mind wandering towards the dreams he'd had. What in the world did those beings mean when they said that he shouldn't have been given 'the power'? What was the power? Did those beings… make him into a god?
Within minutes, Cole was fast asleep, happily forgetting about everything that was going on right now in exchange for a peaceful and dreamless nap. The bus rumbling over the road did keep him slightly awake, as well as made him shift around in his seat, leaving him barely leaning on Itzal after one sharp turn. He still didn't stir though, just pulled his arms tighter around himself and settled against the god.
Itzal continued to stare out the window, his mind still whirring. Why had he never given his origins and the origins of the world he looked after any thought? And what in the world had he and the other gods done to get these beings wanting to kill them so much? How had he failed– Cole leaned against him, interrupting Itzal's train of thought. It was probably a good thing because those thoughts were eventually going to drag him into a state of panic. For the rest of the ride, Itzal tried not to think about the beings chasing after him, or any of the things that had happened. After what Itzal estimated to be ten minutes, the bus paused at an important-looking stop. He guessed that this was the place they wanted to get off on, but if it wasn't, it didn't really matter. "Hey, Cole," Itzal said, gently shaking his shoulder. "We're here."
"Hmm?" Was Cole's only answer as he slowly opened his eyes and nodded. Clearly he was still waking up from his nap as he stood and started off of the bus, making sure that Itzal was right behind him as he did so. The last thing he needed was for both the sword and Itzal to be left on the bus. "Should we try to hide out in a hotel? Or keep moving?" He asked once they were safely off the bus, stretching and letting out a final yawn. He was very thankful for the nap, already feeling how much more awake and alert he felt.
Itzal followed Cole off the bus, making sure to keep the sword close to his body and away from prying eyes as much as he could. "Uh…" Itzal trailed off, considering the options Cole had offered. He really wanted to get as far away from those beings who wanted to kill him, but at the same time, it might do good for them to regroup a bit and figure out a plan. They could do that while they moved, as well, but they might think clearer if they didn't have to be constantly on the lookout. "Well, I want to get away from those beings, but we should probably figure out a plan first. So… hide in a hotel for now, maybe? What do you think?" He asked, looking over at him. Itzal wanted to make sure Cole had a say in this decision.
He shrugged, looking at Itzal and thinking for a minute, "A hotel sounds fine..though we have to find one that they wouldn't think to check if we want to stay any longer than a night." Cole started walking away from the bus stop as he talked, making sure to stick to Itzal's side as he wandered down the sidewalk. "But getting out of a city would probably be smart too..if there are any more of those things, we won't be able to kill them without people watching and freaking out."
"Hmm, yeah." Itzal nodded. "Well, I'll leave finding one of those to you, because I'm not familiar with those." He smiled slightly and gave Cole an apologetic look. Itzal was once again annoyed at how little he knew about the mortal world. "Yeah… becoming criminals on top of everything would not be ideal. We'll have to figure out something to do about that…" He frowned, glancing around for a few seconds to make sure they weren't being followed. There weren't any beings that he could see. At least people would probably freak out if they saw the beings, which would give them a heads-up.
"I can find somewhere for us to stay. We also need to figure out how to disguise that sword," Cole added with a half-smile, his mind already whirring with possible places they could stay. Somewhere less conspicuous seemed good, but the thought that the beings might know they would go someplace not well known also crossed his mind. Without knowing anything more about these beings, he couldn't be sure what would be best. Going with what felt right seemed to be their only deciding factor on where to stay at this point. So as the pair headed further from the bus stop, Cole kept his eyes open for any signs of hotels anywhere.
"Yeah…" Itzal nodded, looking down at the sword. He was trying to keep it as close to his body as possible which, as it turned out, was a really awkward way to carry a sword. Having a sheath would be amazing, but those beings seemed to just summon the sword when necessary. Itzal could do that too, but it would sap energy– not a lot, but when battling those beings, any and all power needed to be going towards fighting them. The same went for disguising the sword: he could, but he probably shouldn't. Maybe they could find a shop with some magical amulets or charms that could do the job. He was pretty sure those kinds of places existed. "If you see any shops that might have magical charms that could disguise the sword, tell me," Itzal said softly, glancing over at Cole. He should probably be helping Cole in the search for the hotel, actually. Itzal turned his eyes forward, searching for a shop that might have what he needed.
A confused look crossed Cole's face and he glanced over at Itzal, slightly embarrassed but asking, "Like the fake magic crystals and stuff that are sold at shops?" As far as he knew, there were no magical powers in any of the items sold, but if they were what Itzal was looking for, maybe he didn't know that they were mostly fake. He would still keep his eye out for them though, even as most of his attention was on looking for a nondescript hotel they could stay in.
"Yeah. Some mortals think that those things hold power– and they're right. They're just not using them correctly, so naturally everyone assume it's all fake," Itzal explained. "But I know how to use them to our advantage. Well, the ones that are actually real." He could tell Cole was a bit skeptical about the magic, but Itzal was positive he could find at least one actually magical crystal or charm somewhere. Zoe was always dropping them everywhere, just to see if the mortals could actually figure them out. Itzal had never really liked it when she did that, but now he was very glad. "But, uh, I'll focus on looking for someplace like that. You focus on the hotel." He gave Cole a small smile, then turned his attention back to searching for a place that would have real magic.
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