"Okay." Itzal nodded and sat down on the couch. He'd stand back up when Cole came back, but he was beginning to feel very tired. His head was aching, and his whole body felt heavy. Thank the stars that Cole was so nice. Itzal leaned his head in his hands but didn't close his eyes. If he did, he was afraid he would fall asleep and, tired as he was, he wasn't quite ready for that yet. To keep himself awake, Itzal pictured the faces of the gods in his mind: Elief, Finlai, and Lazare. They were still alive in his memories, though he had no idea their fate in the present. If only he had enough strength to look into the past and see what had happened right then!
Coming back down the steps with the stack of blankets and pillows was a little more challenging, but he managed. "I didn't know how cold you get when you sleep, so I brought a few blankets," Cole explained, setting the pile next to Itzal on the couch, "And a pillow. Use whatever you want." He stepped away from the couch after setting things down, though he continued talking for a moment longer. "I'll just be upstairs if you need anything so just shout or feel free to look around for whatever you need and make yourself at home."
"Thank you," Itzal said, wondering how many times he was going to say it that night. However many he ended up at, it would never be enough for all that Cole had done for him. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind." Itzal nodded slightly, giving Cole a grateful smile before turning to the pile of blankets. He didn't really know where he stood on temperature, but he was fond of how comfortable blankets could be. After a moment of thought, Itzal placed the pillow on one end of the couch and spread a blanket over the cushions of the couch. He laid down, pulling the rest of the blankets over him. Everything about that moment was perfect: he was warm, the couch was quite comfortable, and the blankets had a nice sort of clean smell to them. It didn't take long before his eyes closed, and he drifted off to sleep.
"No problem." Cole smiled lightly, only staying long enough to make sure Itzal seemed comfortable before heading back to the stairs. "Goodnight Itzal," He called, looking over at him and heading up the stairs. With Itzal comfortable and hopefully settled in for the night, Cole sat on the edge of his bed, thinking about what to do now. He was tempted to stay up a little longer, maybe get some work done, but suddenly taking in a new person had drained him even more than he already was from working. Bed it was. He slipped into pajamas, or more accurately, pajama pants and no shirt before climbing into bed and flicking off the light. Surprisingly he didn't even have to let his mind run for long before he started to feel sleepy and fell asleep.
The dreams of the gods were quite strange. He could actually be dreaming, or he could be seeing something that was happening in the world. Being the god of time, Itzal could also occasionally see things that had happened or might happen. This dream here seemed to be a picture of the past, of right as those terrible beings came to destroy them.
They had just appeared, so suddenly that none of them could react much. There had been three of them, to begin with, but more showed up. Ten might have been the final count, but they were so identical it might have been more. Itzal had tried to reason with them, to see what they were doing, but they had swung their sword at him the second he tried. Only his power over time had saved him from whatever fate those swords had in store for him. After that first attack, the rest of those beings started after the gods. None of them were ready for it. How could they have been?
Itzal woke with a start, hand outstretched as if to stop someone. He let it fall to his chest and glanced around. Dim, grey light peeked in through the windows, making him think that it might be close to morning. The dream was already slipping from his mind. Maybe that's why his hand had been outstretched. To catch the glimmers of truth before they slipped between his fingers and dissapeared.
It wasn't abnormal for Cole to have very vivid dreams when he slept, and this night was no different. Normally though his dreams didn't make any sense and were all over the place, while this one felt much more real.
He was in his living room, humming to the song playing through his speakers as he tried to fix the bookshelf he had broken a few weeks earlier. It was tedious and frustrating, the pieces broken just enough that they wouldn't stay together with just wood glue but screws seemed like too much. Soon he sighed and just glared at his project, hearing a knock at the door that he gladly welcomed as a distraction. He stood up from his place on the floor, brushing himself off as he opened the door. The person before him wasn't one he wanted to see through. It was the figure that Itzal had described, the same silver crown with tips that seemed to be dipped in human blood. The rest of the thing was just a black shadow though, swirling like smoke as it raised a sword and…
Cole woke up instantly, gasping for breath and blinking slowly. His heart was racing as he tried to calm himself down, telling himself that it was just a nightmare, it was something that would never happen. He glanced over at his clock, sighing at how early it was. He still had tons of time to sleep, but there was no way he was going to be able to fall back asleep after that.
Itzal sat up and pulled the hair tie out of his hair. He was feeling very rested, so there was no need to go back to sleep. In fact, he should probably use the time he had while Cole was still asleep to go back and see what really happened. But something was holding him back: fear. Itzal was so afraid that he would go back and see that everyone else had died, that he was the only survivor. It was selfish and he knew it, but… there was no way he could bring himself to. Itzal ran his hands through his hair, feeling his eyes start to prickle. On top of everything, he was about to cry. Great. Look at him. The leader of the gods, the one who was supposed to protect everyone. But he hadn't been chosen for his strength or his power. The other gods had chosen him because he cared. Because of his heart. And that didn't do anyone any good at the moment. Itzal blinked quickly, trying to keep the tears back, but the first one slipped through his lashes and ran down his cheek. If he couldn't even protect the gods closest to him, how would he help the other gods? Itzal covered his face with his hands, trying to keep back more tears. But it was no use. What a depressing image this was. The leader of the gods, sobbing silently on some kind stranger's couch in the early morning.
(Oh gosh I'm so so sorry, I thought I responded by it must not have sent >-< )
"It was just a dream," He mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he slipped off his bed and stood up, "A sick, twisted dream." Cole wanted to get back to sleep desperately, seeing how early it wasn, but first, he needed a glass of water. Groggily, he pulled on a shirt, blinking through sleep clouded eyes and making his way down the stairs. Even as tired as he was and as dark as the living room, it didn't take him long to notice that Itzal was crying once he got down the stairs. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked, rubbing his eyes and slowly walking towards the couch and his sobbing guest. Getting water still was pressed in his mind, but now he had more important things to worry about, if Itzal wanted him to help or listen that was.
(Oh, yikes, you're good!)
Itzal looked up when he heard Cole's voice and tried to dry off most of the tears. "Um…" He started, not really sure what to say. What was wrong? Everything was wrong. All the other gods were either dead or close to death and he could do nothing. "Everything, I guess?" Itzal finally said, blinking quickly. His voice was small, much smaller than he wanted. He just hoped Cole would continue to be nice and not try to take advantage of him. Well, if Cole tried anything funny, Itzal had all of his power back. It would be easy to escape… but he didn't want it to come to that. Cole was nice, and Itzal liked him. "But it's fine." He added, biting the inside of his cheek. He was totally fine, totally– okay, he was lying. He was not fine. Nothing was fine. But Itzal didn't want to take up any of Cole's time with his problems.
Concern filled his half-asleep eyes and he slowly sat down on the edge of the couch, staying away enough to give him personal space if he needed it. "I'm right here if you want to talk about it," Cole said gently, "Or if you would like, I can get you some water and tissues and give you space." He didn't want to overwhelm Itzal or make him uncomfortable so he gave him both options. Either way was something he would respect, he knew from experience that people dealt with things differently, and maybe his guest needed someone to talk to, maybe he needed time to sort out things himself.
Itzal looked over at Cole, his eyes shinning slightly with unshed tears. But he was determined to stop feeling sorry for himself. He could and would stop those beings, even if it meant he died. But as long as he died instead of the other gods, it was fine. "I'm just worried about the other gods," Itzal said softly, taking Cole's first offer. "I really want them to be okay, but…" He shook his head slightly, eyes dropping to the ground. "I can't make myself look back and see what happened. I'm too scared I'll find out I'm the only one who made it out of there alive." A small laugh bubbled out of his mouth. "I don't know why they chose me. I can't protect them all." Itzal buried his head in his hands, feeling a wave of hopelessness wash over him.
"They probably weren't choosing based solely on the ability to protect," Cole responded, his voice as soft as his movement was when he reached out and rested a hand on Itzal's shoulder, "Being a good leader takes more than raw strength or power, they chose you for your other gifts besides that. And anyway, you are all literal gods, no one of you probably even expected for there to be something more powerful than yourself." He cringed internally at his attempts at making his guest feel better, reminded at how bad he was at these types of things. "Being worried is natural, and if you're too scared to see what the actual outcome is, maybe it's best to believe that they're alive until you want to look back." The unshed tears in Itzal's eyes made him even more concerned, enough for him to squeeze his shoulder lightly in reassurance.
Itzal listened to Cole, surprised at how comforting a single hand on his shoulder could be. His words helped as well, and Itzal gave Cole a small smile. "Thank you," He said softly, blinking and wiping away a few more tears that had fallen. Somehow, he'd have to figure out a way to thank Cole for everything that he'd done. He had no idea how, though. But Cole's words and his presence gave Itzal a burst of courage. It might not be looking back, but he could at least see how long he had before those beings came after him, if they did at all. Itzal closed his eyes, looking forward in time. It hardly took any time before he saw those beings bursting into the house and grabbing him, and– oh, stars, Cole. Based on how quickly he'd seen them come, they didn't have long before those beings came. Itzal's eyes flew open and he looked at Cole in alarm. "They're coming. I have to go. Thank you for everything." He shot to his feet, a sort of panicked feeling welling up inside him. Could he get far enough away from Cole before they came for him? The last thing he had wanted was to put Cole in danger.
"No problem," He said gently, smiling back at Itzal. Cole watched as he closed his eyes again and he retreated his arm, relaxing into the couch with a yawn. It was comfy on the couch, comfy enough that when Itzal looked over at him urgently, he almost didn't know what was going on. He got the gist soon enough when he shot to his feet though with Cole standing up moments later. "Wait, what do you mean they're coming? They're coming here? How soon?" He asked. There was no way to tell how fast these things were, but he knew that if Itzal wanted any sort of lead he had to leave as soon as possible, "Do you need anything?"
"Yes, they're coming. I don't know when, but it's soon. I don't know how soon." Itzal shook his head. It was difficult to tell at the moment, but he was sure it was pretty soon. "I need to leave. I can't put you in danger." He started towards the door. He didn't even have shoes on, but he couldn't stop for that. This was going to happen, he had known it would happen, but he hadn't wanted to acknowledge it. Itzal flung open the door, ready to sprint out of the house, but instead of the early morning light, all he was met with was shadows.
"At last," A voice hissed, slipping into Itzal's mind like a knife. He winced, then raised his eyes upwards. The shadow was a robe/cloak thing with a hood covering its face. That terrible, blood-dipped crown was floating above the being's head, giving off a soft silver light. "Itzal Deltemps of the Arbre Deities. You thought running would help." An arm appeared from the folds of the robe, holding a terrible sword Itzal remembered. Before the being could even think about swinging the sword at Itzal, he threw up his hands, freezing the being in time. He whirled around, already knowing he couldn't hold the being for more than a few minutes. He'd have to get out of there, and Cole would probably have to come with him, at least until Itzal could get him to safety. "I'm so sorry, but you're going to have to come with me. Do you have a back exit?"
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.
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