"Hmm." Itzal considered the options, his fingers tapping restlessly on the sword. Resting sounded really nice, but he had a sinking feeling that they'd almost run out of peaceful moments. "We should probably not stay in the same place for very long. I have a feeling those beings are coming soon. Exploring the city could be interesting and confuse them a bit," Itzal finally said. "Unless you want to rest a bit, and then I can keep watch," He added, looking up at Cole.
"We can go back out into the city," Cole agreed, nodding with a hint of a smile, "That's fine with me." Even though resting a little sounded good, Itzal was right. Staying in one spot for very long wasn't a good idea, especially if they didn't know how many of those beings were coming after them. With the sword properly disguised now too, they would be much safer walking around.
"Alright." Itzal stood up and grabbed the sword. "You can lead. I'll probably get us hopelessly lost," He laughed lightly. It might be interesting to learn a little more about the city with Cole. It might even be fun. At least, if he could get his mind off of the beings after him. Itzal started towards the door, trying to figure out a comfortable way to hold the sword.
Cole laughed and nodded, messing with his damp hair and trying to guess how to make it look good. "I mean, I wouldn't trust myself fully not to get us lost, but I know my way around the city." He dipped into the bathroom for one second longer, finally getting his hair to lay correctable before making sure he had everything and meeting Itzal by the door, "Anywhere, in particular, you want to go?" He opened the door for him, waiting until they were both out before closing it and following him through the hallways.
"Well, that works!" Itzal said, waiting for Cole by the door. He still hadn't found a nice way to hold the sword and wished it had come with a scabbard. Or, at least, he wished he had a belt or something to stick it in. Itzal walked through the door and down the hallway. "Not really. But I also don't know what this city has to offer. Is there anywhere you think I should see?" He asked, glancing over at Cole and shifting his grip on the sword again. He would be really strong by the time this whole thing ended if he continued carrying it like he was.
(Oh my gosh I'm so sorry, I thought I replied but it must not have sent D:)
"Well, if I was able to, I would love to show you the entire city, but I suppose the best places are probably the shops and maybe the zoo or park. What do you want to see first?" Cole shrugged, then motioned to where the sword would be in Itzal's hand and added, "I can carry it for a while if you want. I know it's not light." He didn't mind carrying it, especially if the beings came back and Itzal needed to focus on freezing them.
(Oh, dear! You're good.)
"Huh…" Itzal frowned. He didn't really feel like going shopping, and fighting one of those beings in a closed-in space wouldn't be very fun. And people around them might acciendtily get hurt. So, that left the zoo and the park. Between those two, he wanted to see the park more. "Let's look at the park," Itzal finally said with a smile. "Oh, yeah. I'll tell you when I'll need you to carry it."
Cole nodded, starting towards the set of doors that led out of the hotel with a small bounce in his step, "I think you'll like the park here, they have food vendors everywhere, and there's even a small lake that has ducks who we can feed bread to." Almost every time he came to the city, he ended up wandering around the park, seeing as it was a calm place in a sea of business. He never had someone to show around and walk with though, and frankly, he was very excited.
"That sounds wonderful!" Itzal grinned at Cole. It was really nice to see how excited Cole was to go to the park, and frankly, he was excited too. Parks were really calming, and lakes with ducks sounded really fun. He wanted to be able to walk around with Cole uninterrupted, with no fear that the beings might attack him. "I can't wait." Itzal opened the doors and stepped outside, holding the door for Cole. Although he was usually the person people prayed to, Itzal sent a small prayer to the universe that they wouldn't have to leave the city just yet.
"You know, this might actually be nice. We're not being chased by beings at the moment, it's a nice day out, and maybe I can even learn more about you," Cole said, smiling and nodding in thanks for the open doors before leading the way towards the park. He was excited to see the ducks, no doubt, but the idea that maybe he could actually learn about the god he was traveling with.
Itzal nodded in agreement, tilting his head up slightly to catch the sun. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Cole wanted to know more about him… it made sense. And he probably deserved some more answers. After all, Itzal had made him flee his home. He should know who he was traveling with. "Alright. Ask away!" Itzal glanced over at Cole with a small smile. He was ready to answer almost every question he could come up with on his own and hoped that he could answer any others Cole asked.
"How old are you?" He asked, smiling back as he weaved around people, leading Itzal towards the park. It wasn't terribly far away, only a few blocks, but he wanted to spend as much time there as he could, so he was trying his best to keep a good, if a little fast pace. Cole was sure if they could even spend a little time at the park this day wouldn't be a waste, no matter if any of those beings came after them again or no.
Itzal frowned, trying to remember just how old he was. It was… a long time, that was for sure. Thousands of years… but how many thousands? "Um…" He trailed off. "We all kind of forgot, but I think it was… six thousand years, maybe? About?" Itzal shrugged, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Sorry I couldn't answer that one more concretely. Do you have any other questions?" He looked over at Cole, keeping pace with him.
Cole shook his head, still smiling easily, "It's alright, being that old makes it hard to be exact. What's your favorite season? If you have one that is, I don't know if the god's world even has seasons." His smile grew as the metal fence surrounding the park came into view and he pointed it out easily, "Theres the park I was talking about. It's pretty big, and there's normally not many people around the lake in the middle of it."
Itzal let out a small breath, glad Cole was fine with his less-than-adequate answer. "My favorite season?" Nobody had ever asked him that and he had to think about it for a little. "I think it would be spring. I just love all the little flowers and the rain and new life," Itzal finally said. "We don't have seasons where the gods live, but I always liked looking at your world and seeing spring in all it's glory. Zoei always had a fun time with it, too." He followed where Cole was pointing and smiled. "Wonderful! I can't wait to see the lake."
(Pardon my absence, I was visiting friends that I really missed)
"Spring is really pretty, I agree…the only thing that sucks is the pollen in the air," Cole agreed, laughing and thinking back to the spring. He always looked like he had a cold, with a runny nose and no sense of smell because of the pollen in the air. "It's very gorgeous though. Especially here at the park." As he talked he wandered down one of the gravel paths, seeming to follow a path that he knew by heart.
(You're good!)
"Oh, I guess that's true." Itzal nodded. He and the other gods couldn't really be allergic to anything– at least, that's what he thought. Based on how wrong he'd been before, it might end up that they could be allergic to something. Not pollen, though. "Yeah. Oh, I bet it is," he sighed, looking around him. This place was really pretty and he was glad Cole was showing it to him. Hopefully, the beings wouldn't show up and ruin the peace.
He smiled at Itzal as they continued down the path pointing out the very edge of the lake through the trees that lined the path when it was visible. "It's not a huge lake, but there's a bridge that goes over it, and benches along it if you want to sit here for a while and just take a break." Cole cut through the trees once they got closer and more of the lake was visible, taking a shortcut towards an old stone bridge across the well kept grass.
"Oh, it's perfect!" Itzal grinned. He'd seen many natural wonders– even helped create a few– but right now, that lake was the best thing he'd seen. Maybe it was because it was the most relaxing thing he'd seen since he fell out of the sky onto Cole's front lawn. Or maybe it was because Cole loved it and was showing it to him. Although he wanted to relax and stop worrying about everything, he knew that he couldn't. It was beautiful, but he couldn't let down his guard too much.
Cole's smile grew brighter and he nodded, slowing down at the start of the bridge and walking up onto it. He didn't focus on where he was going, just walked with his eyes on the lake until he reached the center of the small bridge. There, he stopped, leaning on the stone railing and glancing over at Itzal once again with a happy smile. "It's not much, but it's the closest thing I have to seeing the ocean around here. Going there some day has always been on my bucket list."
Itzal grinned and followed after Cole. "I'm sure you'll be able to–" He started to say. The sight of one of the beings standing on the other side of the bridge wiped away anything else he was going to say. "Cole!" Itzal exclaimed, holding up the sword and running the last few steps to the center of the bridge. Those beings had the prefect timing. Right as he was about to finally be able to relax a bit, they had to show up. "Get out of here," Itzal warned. "I've gotten rid of you before, and I can do it again."
"Of course. That's why I brought reinforcements," The being said, a bit of humor in its tone. Itzal scanned the area, finding another being stepping out of the shadows behind him. They were surrounded.
Even as Itzal shouted his name, it took Cole a few seconds to pry his eyes away from the lake. As soon as he saw the being though, his eyes widened and he rushed to Itzal's side. "What are we going to do?" He asked in a hushed whisper, glancing back and seeing the other being behind them, "It's going to take a lot of work to deal with them both..Especially in public like this." If dealing with the beings wasn't difficult enough the first time he had to do it, Cole was dreading it even more this time. Not only were there two, but there were other people in the park, and it was two more lives he had to end..even if his own life would end if he didn't do this.
"I don't know… I'm not sure if I can freeze two of them at the same time. I'll try, though." Itzal frowned. "Right now, we just need to hope no one comes near us." The beings still hadn't made a move– they seemed to be waiting for him to act. That didn't make him very confident about their chances. "Here. I trust you know what to do." Itzal handed Cole the sword and took a deep breath. This would be difficult, but there was no way he would let them hurt anyone else. The second before he decided to act, the beings lept at him from both sides. Itzal yelped in surprise and flung one hand towards each of them. The beings froze, one of them freezing with its sword only a foot away from Itzal. The sword jerked forward an inch and Itzal gasped. This was even harder than he had thought it was going to be. "Quickly, please." The words were soft and labored. The beings were fighting against him more than ever, and the sword slipped forward another inch. Itzal's hands were shaking an enormous amount, but he didn't let either of them go. He couldn't, because if he failed… then Cole and everyone else could be in danger.
Cole took the sword gently, his hands already shaking just from the thought of what he was going to have to do again. He nodded anyway though, and his eyes flicked between the two beings. Just as he brought the sword up to get it ready to swing, the beings lept, causing him to freeze for a milisecond, or at least until he heard Itzal's plea for help. That got him into motion, and slowly he nodded again, stepping forward and taking off the first being's head in one motion with his eyes pressed shut. It didn't help the guilt he got from killing these things, but he pushed the panic out of his head and let out a shaky breath, stepping behind Itzal this time and copying the same motion to the other being, also trying to ignore how much the being's own sword was inching towards Itzal. As long as he didn't think about it, it was fine, that's all he was able to tell himself as he once again decapated the being, then lowered the sword to the ground, letting the tip of it just rest on the ground. "Any more?" He asked, glancing around and wrapping his hands tighter around the sword if only to hide the shaking.
The second the first being died, Itzal let his hand drop to his side. His breaths were coming in sharp bursts and the hand extended towards the other being was shaking too much. The edges of his vision were turning black and he felt as if something was pressing on his lungs, restricting his breathing. Itzal managed to stay in his feet right up until the other being dropped. This was too much for him. The black at the edge of his vision rose forward until he could only see a small pin prick of the world. He dropped to his knees, hanging into consciousness by a thread. But he needed to make sure all the beings were gone. Though, if there were more beings, there was no way he could stop them. Turning his head required so much more effort than it should, be he couldn't see any beings around them. Itzal opened his mouth to reply to Cole– though how he would talk when he could barely breath was questionable– but found he couldn't. He felt his body falling towards the ground and the last of his consciousness left him as his eyes fluttered shut.
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