A portal appears behind him, and as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, carrying him along with it. Though shocked in her own right, Yatik had an enormous amount of pride swelling in the chest. She had only just begun to show half the strength her child displayed. Perhaps it was due to growing up in the village and knowing only of their customs, but it took her much longer to break free of the shackles.
“The outrage! To act so belligerently in the presence of his elders! Someone must be punished! It would appear only the High Shamaness herself can bear the responsibility of her child-”
The wizened man in the most ceremonial of garb sharply rapped his cane on the floor, a gesture that all understood demanded silence and obedience. “Sit down Laheo. It is clear that boy has received even more of the spirits’ blessings than his mother. We would be insolent to disregard one so loved by the spirits. I am henceforth allowing him citizenship to the tribe, where he will share the same status as his mother.”
“Same status?!”
“Whatever petty squabbles you have with him or his mother could never begin to share the same weight of their importance. If you have ruined the relationship with this child, you will personally receive my wrath! I make this declaration with the full weight of my position. Though I wish for the council to agree, I will see that it is so without your approval. Do I make myself clear?!”
Laheo stares sullenly at the table, but his response is clear. “Yes father.”
The other elders all seemed to wholeheartedly agree with the chieftain, and once the tension had broken, they sought to figure out just how they could ensure Anaar would return to the village. Yatik expressed her willingness to speak with him, but given his feelings on elitism, particularly by affinity, it might prove difficult as her relationship with him was only beginning. Whilst everyone else with the exception of Laheo was brainstorming how to win Anaar’s trust, the old chieftain alone stared at his mother, remembering the day a young beautiful girl saved his life, and become the hope of the village. Even more so than then, he marveled at how the child she brought into the world had already grown to surpass her greatness.
13
“Do it.”
“Will you stop pestering me?!”
“Do it!”
“I’m with Wu. I say do it.”
“Not you too Leo!”
Peter sat flushed, trying his best to avert his gaze as Wu continued moving around him to remain in his sights. They found themselves in one of their favorite hangout spots, Wu’s room, which made Wu happy that he never had to travel. Though Leo sat transfixed with his typical glazed over expression, he seemed quite intent on throwing his support behind Wu’s badgering.
“I do not understand why all of you must insist on playing matchmaker for Genny and me! Just the other day Shonte threatened to toss me onto the roof of a building if I did not ask her out!”
“It’s obvious! You are both small, self-conscious, and painfully pale. You were meant to be together. Oh, and there is that part where you two obviously like each other.”
“I beg your pardon?! I am not painfully pale!”
Wu stops his circling of Peter to glare at him for a moment. “Dude, you are like a vampire. I’m positive you have an allergy to both the sun and melanin. That’s why you two are perfect for one another. Now you can go make vampire babies together.”
“Babies?!”
Peter flushes even redder as Leo stands up and places his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Pete, it’s time you became a man. Stop being a little bitch about it and ask her out. Both of you could use some happiness. The hap can come from your penis. Simple equation. Also, if you don’t call her right now, I’m going to blow a hole in you. I haven’t used my powers today and I’m about due.”
“Not you too! I never expected you to turn to coercion like Shonte! This is unacceptable!”
Wu steps over to Leo, moving his hand from Peter’s shoulder. “He’s right man. Too far.”
“Thank you Wu for finally coming to your sen-”
“What if you damage my room or something? Take that shit outside.”
Peter’s head snaps in Wu’s direction with a look of terror and betrayal on his face. “Wu?!”
Leo grabs Peter from over the chair, the small man rendered helpless by those with half of Leo’s strength. He carries the small kicking man outside where he holds him in place once he realizes Peter’s attempts to flee. Because Wu lived only two houses down from Dan, the two of them had grown quite close, and often ran into each other on their daily routes. Dan was cresting a hill when he came to see the distressed Peter being held down by Leo.
“Hey Dan.”
Dan gives the three men a goofy wave as he approaches. “Hey y’all.” He notices Peter and points down. “Whachu doin’?”
Leo looks up from Peter with a bland expression. “Pete needs a little confidence to ask Genny out. I figure if I blast a hole in him, it will be the boost he needs.”
Dan looks from Leo to still struggling Peter, to a nodding Wu. Turning his back and shifting his bag on his shoulder he continues toward his room. “Welp, I ain’t see shit.”
Peter screams out to Dan for assistance, but his pleading fell upon deaf ears. As Dan entered his room and closed the door, the two men turned their attention back to Peter. Still squirming on the ground, he had begun to tire out, sweating profusely from the struggle despite the frigid air. Leo loosed a beam into the ground quite close to Peter’s head, the result leaving a smoldering hole in the ground.
“Next one is going to you. You know what Anaar said. I have to let the energy out or it will start to cause problems. Might a well use it to solve a problem instead.”
Peter’s body tensed in fear and then fell limp. “Fine! I concede! Just let me off the freezing ground before I catch a cold! And no more shooting!”
Leo looks back to Wu who nods in agreement. Releasing the pressure off him, Leo leans back to allow Peter to stand. As Peter is rising from the ground, he attempts to take off, gleeful that his ruse worked. Unfortunately for him he fell right back to the ground on his face as Leo had released the pressure, but held onto the leg of his pants, which prevented him from escaping.
Wu shakes his head in disgust. “Look at you. Untrustworthy just like all the rest.”
Peter now knew better than to attempt anything other than what the two of them wanted, lest he spend half a year just getting Wu to trust him again. Moving to his knees, he wipes the dirt from his face, thoroughly defeated. Raising his arm to his face he sighs heavily.
“Call Genny.”
Phavian laid nestled in Anaar’s arms on the sofa while Anaar recapped his experience with the village. He would have done it the night before, but in his absence, Phavian and Codi decided to take intoxication to a new level. As such, he was just returning to an acceptable human state in the late afternoon.
“I don’t get why they have such a problem with you. Your mom is like their god. Shouldn’t they be falling at your feet?”
“Firstly, there is no deification of Yatik. That I have seen… Secondly, I think she could be at best be like the pope? I’m not sure what a good equivalent would be.”
“The pope is huge! That is like the next best thing to being a god.”
“Except the pope doesn’t have children. Hence the issue. They seem to have reconciled whatever issues they have with her having children, yet somehow the actual children are a no go.”
“You are right, it makes no sense. So that’s it? You are giving up on them?”
“I might have been a bit hasty if I am honest. Most of the village had warmed up to me. People our age were ecstatic to meet me. Yatik called me afterward and apologized for the awkward situation and told me that the chief wants me to be part of the tribe. I guess that pompous guy has less influence than he thinks.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted then? Not everyone is going to like you. Of all people you are one I would have expected to never be phased by people hating on you.”
“I guess. It is more than that though. The more I learn and experience of my culture, the more I realize that I may be Native by blood, but I couldn’t be farther from it in principle and custom. Maybe just like with Yefferson, I’m trying to force something that shouldn’t be…”
Phavian stroked Anaar’s leg sympathetically for a while as they sat in silence. Phavian did not know how long it would take for Anaar to be comfortable thinking about Yefferson without falling into a state of despair, but he had a feeling it would not be something that would happen quickly. The best he could do was be there for him when he was feeling down, in hopes that he could be of some small comfort. Phavian himself found it difficult to be empathetic when all he knew of Yefferson was pain, but for Anaar’s sake he would try his hardest. Their silence was interrupted by the chime of his doorbell. Phavian flips over so he was stomach to stomach with Anaar and cranes his neck up in confusion.
“You expecting someone?”
Anaar looks at him with a dirty expression on his face. “No, and I was just about to push you on the floor because I figured you were.”
“Why would you immediately think to blame me?!”
“Because there are only two of us who live here…”
“Good point.”
The doorbell chimes again, this time Anaar pushing Phavian off him so he could answer the door. As he opened the door, he almost thought someone was pranking him until he looked down. Considering he had never invited him over, Anaar was shocked to find Peter.
“Peter… You are here! At my room… Why exactly are you here?”
“I desperately need help, and my options are limited! I do not know where else to turn!”
“Right… But I mean, what are you doing here. At my room… That I have never brought you to.”
“I could not chance you being busy, so I decided to come over. My Inquest would not tell me what room you were in, but I did remember you were in the VIP room of the Infernal Twins, and that information was readily available!”
Anaar’s face falls flat as he steps to the side to let Peter in.
It seems he doesn’t understand the concept of being busy… Just because you show up unannounced doesn’t make the person suddenly not busy…
Peter walks into the room quite cheerfully, taking in the view of the posh living quarters. Though his own home was quite nice, his family could never begin to afford such opulence. It did not escape Anaar’s notice that Peter continued on throughout his room as if he was a regular guest rather than a first-time unwanted visitor. He sighed as he closed the door, then moved to follow Peter.
As he continued to wander about, he happened upon the shirtless Phavian back on the sofa in the Entertainment Room from where he was pushed onto the floor by Anaar. Peter walked into Phavian’s vision with a smile and a wave which caused Phavian to jump with surprise.
“Hello there!”
“What the fuck are you doing here?!”
Anaar entered the room, responding to the question dryly. “I still haven’t gotten a clear answer to that…”
Completely oblivious, Peter takes a seat in one of the nearby chairs. “You see, I have a right big pickle-”
“Where in the hell are you hiding it then?!”
Peter looks at Phavian in horror, as Anaar swats Phavian, partially for his comment, and partially because he wanted him to move so he could sit down. Likely only recognizing the cue that he needed to move, Phavian sits up from his outstretched position so Anaar could sit. After Anaar was seated, Phavian immediately resumed his position, now with his head in Anaar’s lap. Anaar’s initial inclination was to push Phavian off him, but he remembered Yatik’s question, and realized he would only be doing such because Peter was present. Resisting the urge, he allowed Phavian to nestle himself into his lap, the permission granted shocking Phavian himself.
“Please disregard him. The sooner you do, the faster we can address whatever is going on. So could I get more details?”
“They had been pestering me something awful for quite some time now, but I never expected they would resort to such forceful tactics! Now I’m in a predicament that I am woefully unprepared for!”
Anaar was doing everything in his power to keep his emotions even. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally kill his mentee in a fit of annoyance. “Which is…”
“I have been forced to ask Genevieve out for an entanglement!”
Phavian cranes his head up from Anaar’s lap. “Entanglement? Sounds like a booty call to me. I see you Petey!”
Anaar sighs, disregarding Phavian’s commentary. “Normally I would say no one could force you into such a thing, but given your stature and your friends, I am willing to give you a pass. Was it just Jeonwoo and Leo, or did Shonte add to the pressure?”
“I have the distinct feeling I would no longer be alive if Shonte was involved…”
Phavian gives Peter a knowing point as if to say, “You’ve got that right!” as Anaar proceeds with the inquiry. “So did you just ask her to be your girlfriend since you already have a relationship, or are you starting with dating? I’m going to presume the latter, because if it were the former and you were here, I would be expecting more wails and tears of sorrow from rejection.”
“Damn babe, that’s savage.”
“I agree! Why do you immediately think I would be rejected?!”
Anaar sighs dejectedly. “This is going to take much longer than I would like… I’m not saying you would have been rejected, I am taking into consideration the only reason you would be here saying you have a problem is if you had been rejected. Why would you go out of your way to come tell me she accepted?”
Peter looks down sheepishly. “Oh, I see. I would suppose that makes sense…”
“Back to the issue at hand, can you please finally tell me exactly what it is you want from me?”
“I need your help with this whole dating affair! I have no idea what I am doing, especially on such a unique campus! You are supposed to be my mentor!”
“Yes, I assist you with acclimating to campus, and other academic and school related pursuits. I’m not your event planner.”
“But you are supposed to be my friend! Why is it so hard for you to help me!?”
“As opposed to the friends who put you up to this in the first place? I don’t know why you thought I’d be a good resource-”
Phavian pipes into the conversation after finally growing tired of being quiet. “Really?! I don’t know why you would come to him of all people! He is absolutely the worst person to help you with this! Why does everyone come to him for these things?! You’d be better off asking Hobb…”
Anaar gave Phavian threatening squeeze to his shoulder, even though he was thinking something quite similar. When Dan had asked him, he was happy to help, mainly because it was for his two closest friends, but also because he felt like he owed them for all the turmoil he put them through, even though he was clueless to the situation. In Peter’s case, while he liked Genevieve and Peter, he had no desire to go through the hassle. Phavian’s room had been repaired, but since it had been so long, he had simply remained living in Anaar’s room. Even if he did have another place to stay, he was not at a place in his relationship with Peter where he would be willing to give up his room or put Harston through the trouble. He had not even invited Peter over yet.
“I don’t know what I could do help you. Though I don’t like hearing it, Phavian is right.”
Phavian springs from Anaar’s lap immediately. “Oh god. Oh god. Someone, quick! Record this! Did you hear that?! He said I was right! He never says I’m right! This day will go down in history-”
Anaar tugs Phavian by the pajama pants, pulling him back to the sofa where Phavian tumbles backward into his lap. So used to being pushed out of this position, Phavian accepts the gesture happily and stops what he is saying. Anaar did not expect such a positive response from something so minor, but he now had Phavian where he wanted him as to prevent further outbursts.
“I am at a loss now! Romance is not exactly my forte…”
“Anaar’s neither, so you were barking up the wrong tree anyway.”
Anaar gives Phavian a forceful prod in the side which causes him to double over in pain. Smiling innocently at Peter, Anaar moves to wrap up the exchange. “Sorry I was of no help Peter, but sometimes that is just how things play out. Let me know how it goes though. Wishing you the best!”
Anaar expected Peter to understand the hint and take his leave, but instead, the small man sat sullen and shaking. Before Anaar knew it, his melancholy had given way into a flood of tears. Through choked sobs, Peter could be heard disparaging himself.
“I knew this was a bad idea! I am worthless and no one wants me. I am too small, and have nothing redeemable for anyone to value. I let others push me around and do nothing about it. No matter how hard I try, I’ll never measure up to a normal person…”
Phavian having slightly recovered from Anaar’s attack, gazed upon Peter in the utmost sympathy. Though he had never felt that way in his adult life, he remembered feeling similarly as a child before he manifested. If Peter had made it to adulthood and still felt that way, Phavian could not imagine the depth of the pit Peter must be in. To make things worse, he was about to make a fool of himself to someone he had feelings for. Spinning in Anaar’s lap, Phavian leans close to Anaar’s ear.
“Are you really going to leave him like that? I mean, look at the kid. He is a fucking mess.”
Anaar’s face falls flat as he responds. “You know I can hear your whispers just fine without headbutting me, right?”
“Oh shit. I forget about that. Still, what about your little guy?!”
“I fail to see how this is my problem, or what you expect me to do about it.”
“What about the thing you did for Maggie and Dan?”
“Out of the question.”
“Why not? It isn’t like it costs you anything really, and you did it for them.”
“If I have to explain the difference between Maggie and Dan, and Peter and Genevieve, then we are the ones with problems.”
Revelations (Song of Sophangence Book 4) Page 20
