"Yeah, I think so." Itzal cradled the charm in his hands for a few more seconds, then nodded. "Let's get this and get back to the room." He sent a quiet thank you to Zoe, wherever she might be, and headed towards the counter at the front of the shop. "Hello, I'd like to buy this."
"Eh?" The person behind the counter looked up from their magazine. "Oh, okay." They stared at the charm in Itzal's hand for a few seconds, then told them the total. Itzal barely hid a smile– if this person had known the charm was actually magic, they would have asked for way, way more. At least it wouldn't cost Cole too much money.
Cole followed Itzal with a soft smile, waiting by his side as the cashier rattled off the total. Thankfully it wasn't extremely expensive, and he was able to pay the person easily as he set the bills on the counter and nodded to him. "Thank you," He said, glancing over at Itzal with a look of excitement in his eyes. Hopefully, this charm would work to conceal the sword, otherwise, they were down to only a few other options on what to do.
Itzal kept staring at the charm, which earned him a weird look from the person on the other side of the counter. But there was a part of him that was afraid it would disappear if he looked away. The person opened their mouth, maybe to tell him it was fake, but Cole set down the money and they decided against it. Itzal finally managed to tear his eyes away from the charm to look at Cole. "Finally," he said softly, hope written all over his face. "Let's see if this works, eh?" He pushed the door open and stepped onto the sidewalk, holding the door for Cole.
"Let's hope it does, otherwise that's just an expensive necklace," Cole replied, smiling softly at the look of hope and excitement on Itzal's face, "Back to the hotel I'm assuming?" He stepped out of the store, stopping on the sidewalk as he glanced around and focused on his friend, waiting for agreement so they could start their walk back. The charm still didn't look like anything special, and to say Cole didn't have doubts was a pure lie.
"Yeah. That wouldn't be good." Itzal pressed his lips together. There was almost no chance he was wrong about the magical properties of the necklace, but he was still a bit nervous. "Yeah. We should try it as soon as possible, just in case." He curled his fingers around the necklace and started towards the hotel, making sure Cole was with him. The edge of the necklace bit into his palm, reminding him that the necklace still existed. Please, Itzal found himself praying, please let this work. And please let those beings stay away for as long as possible.
Cole didn't waste any time, walking alongside Itzal but slowly pushing the pair to walk ever so slightly faster. Mostly it was because he wanted to see if the charm really worked, but also because there was a sinking feeling in his gut. Like something wasn't right. Maybe it was just from eating the donuts too fast, or maybe it was signaling the beings were back. He didn't want to risk it either way, and so he smiled at Itzal and motioned to the charm, "So, how long of a spell or whatever do you have to do to get that to hide the sword? Is it complicated?"
Itzal noticed that Cole was walking faster, but he simply matched his pace. It was understandable that Cole wanted to get back to the hotel as quickly as he could. Itzal himself was itching to get back to the sword. "It would take longer for a mortal to do it, but since I'm a god, it won't take as long. It's not that complicated, I just need to concentrate really hard." Itzal explained, looking over at Cole.
“Ah ok, well then I’ll let you concentrate as hard as you need when we get back to the hotel room.” Cole nodded in understanding, quite relieved when he could see the hotel come into view. When they reached their room he had no clue what to do while Itzal did his thing. With the uneasy feeling in his gut he hated to do anything that let his guard down, but at the same time he was craving a hot shower. Deciding when he got to the hotel is what he concluded.
Itzal's pace increased when the hotel appeared. The longer he was away from the sword, the more anxious he got. A being could pop out at any time, and he wouldn't have something that could kill it. He was practically jogging by the time they got into the hotel. Itzal didn't pay attention to the weird decor as he hurried towards their room. "The moment of truth approaches," he said nervously, stopping in front of their door. They just needed a couple more minutes, and then everything would be alright.
Cole matches Itzal’s speed almost exactly, ignoring the weird looks they got as they ended up almost jogging when they reached the hotel. He counted the numbered doors one by one as they passed them, stopping at theirs. “We’re counting o this charm.” In a smooth motion he pulled the key from his pocket and opened the door, holding it open for Itzal to step in after him.
"Yeah." Itzal went straight to the closet and grabbed the sword. He hurried to the bed and sat down, laying it down on his lap. Itzal carefully wrapped the necklace around the hilt and handle of the sword. After taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and held his hands over the sword. The magic in the charm sparked, a glow visible to mortals emanating from it. Now, all Itzal had to do was instruct the magic to disguise the sword. His fingers twitched, and the glow spread out over the sword. It took a few minutes, but eventually, the whole sword was glowing lightly. Itzal took another deep breath, then dropped his hands towards the sword, stopping them an inch before touching the sword. The glow soaked into the sword and disappeared, leaving only a slight shimmer.
(Sorry for disappearing! I was gone for the Fourth with friends but I'm here now!)
Cole had planned to take a shower while Itzal did his thing, but one glance at what he was doing and he found himself watching the entire time. He didn't bother to hide his look of amazement and wonder either, just watched until the sword had absorbed the glow and had disappeared almost completely from view. "Wow," He finally managed, blinking to make sure he hadn't imagined things, "Magic is definitely real I guess."
(Okay! You're good! :)
Itzal looked up, smiling at the wonder on Cole's face. "Yeah, it is. This thing should be good to bring around anywhere with us now." He picked up the sword, looked at both sides, then laid it down on the bed beside him. Although he hadn't needed to expend any magic on disguising the sword, directing the magic into the sword and telling it what to do had been challenging, mentally. Itzal let out a breath and leaned back until he was lying next to the sword.
"Perfect," He nodded and then motioned to the bathroom with a tiny smile, "I'm going to go shower quick then if you don't need me to do anything right now." There was more than a chance that the beings could come back while he was showering, but he ignored that chance. Right now was most likely going to be his only chance to do so for a while, before they were on the run from the shadow creatures and whatever they wanted to do with Itzal.
"Alright," Itzal replied, lifting his head slightly to look at Cole. "If anything happens, I'll yell or something." He let his head fall back onto the bed. While Cole was taking a shower, he could relax and let his mind recover. It was probably not the best idea for Cole to take a shower, but Itzal didn't want to stop him if this was the last time he could. His gaze drifted towards the ceiling and his entire body relaxed. Any thoughts he was having at the moment were quickly shifted to the back of his mind.
Cole gave him a thumbs up and slipped into the bathroom, starting on the daunting task of figuring out how to work the shower as soon as the door closed. It took him a few minutes but he got it working and slipped into it, happy with just how hot the water was. Normally he didn't have a preference between hot or cold showers, but this one felt amazing, almost relaxing. Too soon it ended though when he shut off the water, but at least the bathroom was steamed up and warm as he stepped out.
Itzal continued staring at the ceiling, his breaths slow and even. Images floated lazily across his mind: a rare meeting with all the gods… granting a small child's prayer… someone screaming, a being with a sword, blood splashed across pavement– Itzal gasped, blinking quickly to get the images out of his mind. Sitting around with nothing to think about wasn't really working out for him. Instead, he focused on the sounds of Cole's shower. Those were calming noises, though they ended soon enough. Itzal blinked rapidly and launched into a mental performance of one of his favorite mortal songs. All the while, though, he was on the lookout for any of the beings. None had shown up yet, for which he was glad. Then again, that might just mean that they were gearing up for a huge attack later… but for now, he would be glad they weren't knocking on the door just yet.
It didn't take long for Cole to dry himself off and slip back into his clothes, drying his hair as best he could with the towel before finally hanging it back up and stepping back into the room. "Do you need to take a shower?" He asked, running a hand through his hair to try to get the sandy blonde strands to not stick up as much as they already were. With a shower out of the way, he felt much better and more relaxed, much less worried about the threat of the beings coming back as well.
Itzal sat up when he heard the door open. He looked over at Cole, noticing how much calmer he looked. A shower would be nice, and he would probably feel much better after it. But what would happen if the beings came and attacked Cole before he could do anything? He couldn't take that risk. "No, I think I'm good. Thanks, though." Itzal gave Cole a smile and rested his hand on the sword. "Um… what do you think we should do now?"
"Well, we could stay here and rest for however few minutes we have left, or we could go explore the city more. Depends on how long you think it'll stay this peaceful," Cole replied, sitting on the very edge of the bed and glancing at him and the sword, "We do have the luxury of the sword being disguised too now, so if we did go into the city we could always bring it with." He didn't mind either way, knowing that his only request was a nap that he wouldn't get. Not while they were still being chased.
"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.
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