damaged

“I still don’t get how that bird managed to get inside.” We’ve gone over all of the windows, changing and fixing the broken screens. Several of them were in poor shape, as if they’d been worked at over time to get them open but I don’t get why or how it could have happened. It certainly wasn’t man-made, we’re on the third floor and the idea of anyone trying to break through these screens from this height just to get inside makes no sense.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Eoghan. At least she’s back where she belongs with her owner and we can only hope he’ll be carefully about letting her out and about. I don’t really want to see her again if I can help it.” I chuckle softly, shaking my head as I finish changing the last screen for this particular room. We have so many windows, I hadn’t really realized.

“You’re right on that, at least. While my arm healed in record time, as usual, the ache from her claws digging into my arm remained for a day or more, it was a really strange sensation.” It wasn’t a bad thing, I can’t complain about how the ache only lasted a day or so but it was an ache I wasn’t used to and I didn’t know what to do about it. I’ve known pain before, this was just a different kind.

“Did we get all of the windows?” He looks around the room a moment and I nod, we did get all the windows, at least in this room. I think we’ve gotten all the rooms checked, really.

“Pretty sure we did. Adela’s room has no windows, at least none that open and have a screen so we’re good. Living room is done, my office, your work room has no windows, the bedroom, the extra rooms. I think we’re good, yes.” Which is a good thing. Most of the windows are high, near the ceiling. It isn’t because we’re short, we can reach them just fine but it would have been easier to change the screens from outside but again, the whole issue is that we’re on the third floor and I don’t even think we have a ladder tall enough for that kind of thing.

“We still haven’t decided on what we’ll do about the couch.” I blink as I look at him, in the process of closing that one window just so. The AC has mostly been off as of the past week and we’ve been keeping windows opened, it does the job. The air is warm but not hot and the breeze is just fine, it does as well as the AC.

The couch has little holes and scratches in it now. The thought actually amuses me somewhat and I shake my head. “I moved the blanket from the other end over to the scratched side.”

He gives me a look and I just shrug, an amused smile finding my lips. I know what he’s thinking, I don’t have to be a telepath (oh but I am!) to know. He’s thinking that I’m just covering up the issue, that we should do something about it but honestly, it’s not all that visible and I’m pretty sure we’re the only ones who’ll ever know anything about it. I don’t see the issue. “It’s brand new, Lex, we can’t just replace it because it has tiny little holes and scratches on it. I mean, we could but that’d just be flinging money out the windows for no reason whatsoever. If you want it fixed, I’m pretty sure I could convince Quentin of having a look at it.”

His face clears up a bit. He hadn’t thought about the Quentin option though I try not to bother him about that kind of thing often. As a weaver (who hasn’t really discovered the true depth of his gift), fixing just about anything made of any kind of woven material or leather or, well just about any type of textile, is easy enough for him. It’s in his blood, literally.

“Fine, for now I guess it can stay.” I grin at him and he rolls his eyes before stepping out of the room. “I have a few small commissions lined up so I’ll go and take care of that.”

I’m fine with that, after all I have to put the last touches to the paperwork I’ve been working on to get my hands on that library so I could begin to fix it. It’s in much worse condition than our couch and it deserves more attention. I suppose it’s one of the reasons why I didn’t really worry about the couch after all.

There just are so many things in life that require more than a single glance. There are things in life that are often damaged beyond repairs. It isn’t the case with the library building and its interior though it isn’t far from. At times I tell myself it might just be easier to build up a new library from the ground up but that would just take too long. Fixing up this building will take time, a lot of it, it will require time, attention and care and I’m willing to give it all that. Which is more than the current building owner can say.

The only thing the place has going for itself just now are the stained glass windows, those are beautiful and I’ll be doing all I can to save them so they can be put back in once the work is all done. The heating system will need replaced, the electricity rewired, the lights. Everything really, is in need of an overhaul. A little at a time so people can still come around and appreciate the quietness that is a library. So they can get their books, take them home, bring them back.

This might just be the project I was looking for, that one thing that will keep me busy but not too much so. I know I could give these kids out there, wandering the streets, a new home if I wanted to but I don’t really have the patience for that kind of project right now, it would require too much of my time and I’m not ready to give that away. It’s still too fresh, my return to Lex’s arms and I want to be able to appreciate that for a few years more at the very least yet.

When he steps out of his work room a few hours later, I’m done with the paperwork as much as I can be. I know all I have to do now is wait. He’ll go over them, just to make sure everything is as it should be and that’ll be that. I’ll send them in to the city for them to consider my offer. I’ve put everything in there. The poor administration (not Armin’s work, of course, he works well), the way the building is a danger as it currently is. I have so many photos I’ve lost count of them but it’s all in there.

He leans over my shoulder and I smile up at him lightly. He smells of chocolate and I close my eyes, breathing in the scent of him. I chuckle and shake my head. I don’t much like chocolate though I don’t mind it now and again. The scent of it mingled with the scent of him, however, is something I don’t really get tired of. It has this distinct touch that nothing else really has and it follows him around so I can more or less always tell where he’s been or where he’s at in our home depending on where the scent trail goes.

Of course it’s not something I’ve told him, I think he might try to change his soap or something if I were to tell him and we can’t have that, nope. This is perfectly fine as it is so there’s nothing to fix. Nothing damaged here, not at all.

energy

“What are those exactly?” He looks at me with those wide-eyes, wondering and questioning. At times I think he believes I have all the answers in the world. I admit to having the answer to this particular questions and a fair few of his questions but that’s aside the point. The more time I spent with him and his brother, the more I feel like they’ve been so sheltered up to this point in their lives that they’re like two years old kids, discovering something new about life in general at every turn. I can’t decide if it’s sweet or surprising or anything else. It’s a little of everything.

I turn to face him to at least know what he’s talking about since most of his questions are vague like this. He’s looking at the can I have sitting on the book cart. It’s still sealed, I haven’t had time to open it up yet and I don’t feel so exhausted that I have to drink it just now. I shake my head, a soft chuckle escaping me and he blinks at me with those curious eyes, those strange, ever so strange red eyes of his. I’ve never seen eyes that colour before though it goes with the rest of him.

“It’s an energy drink.” I pause for all of a second because I know he won’t know what it is but I want to give him just a moment to wrap his mind around the words. “You can take it now and again when you need a boost of energy. I didn’t sleep so well last night and I know I have a lot of work ahead of me today so I decided to buy one though I haven’t opened it yet. It has a lot of caffeine, the stuff in coffee, it gives a boost. I don’t like them much, to be honest, but it’s either the drink or I don’t make it through the day without a nap.”

“But naps are healthier.”

He’s catching on quickly enough, that’s good. “You’re right, naps are healthier but I don’t really have time for a nap today, sadly.”

I shrug lightly, as if to close the subject while I start putting books back where they belong on the shelves but he’s still looking at me, as if he’s still trying to wrap his mind around something. I do find it vaguely amusing, really, I can’t help myself. I yawn and shake my head. I don’t want to drink the energy drink just yet, it’s still too early in the morning and using a second one is not in my plans.

“Why didn’t you sleep well?” His curiosity is brimming with genuine concern for my health. He’s still putting books up but most of his attention is still on me. I’d forgotten what it was like to have someone other than family be worried about me, it feels so different.

“Well for one I had an exam to study for and I admit I’ve been lazy about it and I haven’t even really looked at my books so I gave it all I had last night until I’d at least read through it. That’s this afternoon and this is why I’m sort of hoping to be able to be aware enough of things to not need the drink until then.”

“An exam for what?”

Yeah, absolutely adorable, the way he’s just drinking in all the information he’s given, even if it might not hold much importance to him. I’m half hoping he’ll give all that information to his brother just the same, repeating myself twice isn’t much of an issue but at times it turns to be a little ‘meh’.

“I didn’t want to learn to drive when I was your age but Magali lately managed to change my mind and I took the classes. Being behind the wheel is not an issue but it’s all the laws and the how to’s and the rest, I have the paper-based exam just a little after noon and I have the practical exam, the one where I’ll be behind the wheel, after that.”

He nods, his eyes still wide and curious but I think I can mostly see what I wanted to see, understanding, in his eyes. He gets it.

“I’m sure if you asked Armin he’d let you have a nap in the back room, it’s quiet and dark back there.” I had given that a thought but I figured that I was here to be of help, not to be in the way and to just laze back. I don’t feel quite exhausted enough but I see something in what he brings up though. I know the energy drink will do its job but I hate taking them, tends to leave me feeling sick for a while after the boost runs off so maybe, just maybe I should have a rest.

“I might just do that, to be honest. You’re too smart for your own good, Agni.” He sticks his tongue out as I take my drink with me and I head off towards the front so I can have a few words with Armin about the chance at maybe having myself a slight nap in the back room. I’ve done it before, just once and it had done me some good.

“So you’ll be able to drive around after that? No more bus-taking?” Mira’s eyes are wide as he sits next to me on the stairs. We took an early lunch, the place is quiet and Armin said we could. Agni decided he’d stay inside and have his lunch with Armin after we’d had our own. I don’t mind, really.

“Yup, once I go through my exam and I pass, of course, I’ll have all the paperwork I need to be able to drive around. I already have an old car, though it’s Magali’s and she doesn’t really drive it around anymore, so I will be able to get around easier and it might just make things better. I can drive you guys home on rain days or storm days and Eoghan won’t have to leave his place to do it.”

He nods, taking in the information and putting it somewhere in his mind for safe keeping, I guess, while he takes a bite of his sandwich. That seems to be the easiest of meals for all of us still at this point. Before too long we’ll be eating warm lunches and I’m actually looking forward to that. I love warm lunches, they warm you up from the inside just right.

“Is that why you disappeared into the back room this morning?” I laugh softly at his question. I guess he and his brother haven’t really had time to talk but I don’t mind, it happens.

“I was tired this morning because I spent most of my night staying up to study for my exam and I was really tired, so a nap helped me a little, I feel better.” He frowns this time and I have to wonder why, really. I don’t think I said anything that could warrant a frown.

“You didn’t have to come here if you were tired, though. You could have stayed home until it was time to get to your exam place.” Ah, I see now. I shake my head, a soft smile offered to him.

“I wanted to see you guys. You two are like my little luck trinkets and if I spend time with you, I feel luckier and if I feel luckier, I’m bound to do better during my exam.” And he blushes, a nice, deep sort of colour. I chuckle softly and lean back somewhat against the outer wall of the library. I wasn’t trying to get him blushing but I can appreciate the sight of it. They’re beautiful, these twins, in their own, so very unique ways.

“Good luck, thank.” He leans closer, kissing my cheeks and it’s my turn to blush though I laugh softly and brush it off as a natural reaction to close contact and affection.

“Thank you, Mira. Now I should get going, you tell your brother I said he had to behave, or else.”

“Or else.” He nods, a grin on his face as I stand, dust myself off and start off towards the bus stop I need to get to. It will be strange, having my licence so I can use the car but I don’t think I can complain, it’ll make a lot of things easier.

wild parrot

“Eoghan, why is there a parrot in our living room?” I was expecting that question and I’m not sure how to answer it other than by being absolutely honest with him.

“It flew in through one of the windows?” I call back quietly from the kitchen where I was in the process of trying to fix myself up some food. I hadn’t had time to eat just yet since this bright-coloured guy was waiting for me in the living room when I first got up.

“It flew in through one of the windows? You’re kidding me right? This is a wild parrot, it can’t have- there are no wild parrots in France, Eoghan.” Baffled, I think, is the only term I can use to describe the tone of his voice right now and I have so snicker, I can’t help myself. It’s rare that I manage to baffle Lex and I haven’t even tried that hard. Not that I was trying to, of course.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Lex. I got out of bed this morning, came into the living room, mostly zombie-like because I was still tired but I’d heard the thunder and there it was, waiting for me, perched on our perfectly good couch and I’m sure it’ll need some repairs.”

“Well, someone has to have lost their bird, we can’t just keep it here.” I figure we could though we have nothing for it, no food, no spot for it to do whatever it is birds do when they need to empty their bladders or what have you. I’ve never had a bird before in my life though I’ve seen more than my share over the years.

“It’s pouring out there, we can’t just fling it back outside and hope it finds its way back to wherever it might have come from.”

“What kind of idiot keeps a parrot as a pet but let it keep its flight feathers? I’m not saying they should keep it caged or anything but if they’re letting it roam free they should at least make sure it won’t take off this way. Don’t we have an animal protection place around here?” That thought hadn’t crossed my mind. Not a lot had actually crossed my mind. It still was too damned early in the morning for me to worry about much of anything except for the fact that I was hungry and I’d been woken up by the thunder reminding me we’d left a few windows opened overnight for the cool air to flow.

“How about we eat something and then you call the animal protection place and I’ll see if I can’t get this big bird to come along on my arm or something. We can’t get much of anything done if it won’t even come anywhere near us, let alone getting it into the car. Unless you want to switch roles?” I know he won’t switch, some animals are more sensitive to his gift than others. I think Adela honestly doesn’t care but I’ve seen a lot of birds just sort of flee him. Cats keep their distances for a while before they’re all over him and dogs tend to be sort of wary but after a while they come around too.

So we ate, he found the number for the animal protection place, I can never recall what they call it in this place, and he called. They told us they couldn’t come to pick it up but we could drop it off at their office and they’d take care of it until its owner showed up. That was going to be interesting for the simple fact that it was pouring out there and since I’m the one who’d managed to befriend the bird, Lex was going to have to head out there in the pouring rain to get the car out at least up front.

I mean, we both could have gone out, me with this huge bird on my arm, both with umbrellas, trying to get into the car but there were a lot of flaws with that idea. For one, any time Lex tries to approach the bird at all, it starts to freak out so we could head outside, the bird freaks and it takes off. We figured we’d take the old van, he’d be up front, driving and I’d sit all the way in the back.

So I let him get dressed, take an umbrella and he heads down by the elevator while I take the stairs quietly. By the time I’m down, he is more than likely in the garage and he’s getting the van out and up front. He parks it as close as he can so I only have a moment or two under the rain and he comes around to open the door before he steps away.

I take a moment to just breathe, I look up to the bird, just watching me, curious more than anything else and I step outside, briefly under the rain and into the car. Before the poor bird has any idea of the mild wetness to its wings, I’m inside, settled and Lex is closing the door. He rounds up to the driver side again and gets in. I’m just hoping it’s a short drive.

It turns out to be a longer drive than I might have wished and I guess Lex was too close to the bird for its comfort because before too long it was flapping and trying to flee—not that it had much of anywhere to flee—and all I could do was reach for its mind to try to calm it down. This isn’t really how I had pictured my day to start.

When we’re finally at the place, my arm is somewhat bleeding in places but I know it’ll heal. Lex repeats the motion of parking the car and rounding up to the back to open the door before he steps away. I guess I’m thankful that someone saw us parking up front and came out to meet us with am open umbrella. I would have been soaked by the time we’d been inside and I don’t think this bird still would have been on my arm.

We leave it inside where someone takes over as arm-perch. They thank us for bringing it in since someone had already called asking if they’d seen her as it turns out the big bad bird of doom is a pretty girl. We nod, we head back to the car and we sit there for a minute or two, just trying to wrap our minds around what just happened.

I look down to my arm and the healing welts and I shake my head with a lot note. “We’ll have to replace the screen on that window.”

Because that is the main issue that I think bugs me to that point. All our windows have screens to keep bugs out and somehow, just somehow, there she was, perched on our living room couch as I closed that window. I didn’t even notice the screen, I think I was too shocked by the sight of her.

“We’ll change the screen before too long, don’t worry about it. How’s your arm?” He asks the question with genuine worry as he starts the van so we can head back on home. The wipers are going at their fastest speed and we can barely see where we’re going. This is not a day to be outside and I’m going to have to make a note to offer to drive Armin and the kids home tonight. I was so busy worrying about this bird that I didn’t even think to offer them that much this morning, I hope they made it to the library as dry as possible.

“I’ll be all right, these are going to be healed within the next couple of hours. She had a pretty frigging strong grip and I honestly hope to never see her again.”

pure __________

I don’t recall seeing him this bright eyed before. There’s always been a shadow in his gaze. It was there this morning too when we briefly met up at the library before he headed off to his own job. When he popped in this afternoon with smoothies though, his eyes were so clear and bright that I thought for sure there was something different in his life, something new.

Turns out I wasn’t all that wrong but when he first told us I couldn’t understand a single word he was saying. Mira seemed to understand more of what he was saying than I was so I ended up asking him about it after we’d gone back home, of course.

“So what’s remission?” That was the first word I didn’t really know the meaning of and as he chopped up vegetables and I prepared the broth for our soup, he told me. He explained that it was something close to a temporary diminution of the severity of a disease or pain. I guess that made sense. I still didn’t know what Cyrille had meant when he said his sister’s cancer was in full remission though.

“You remember when he told us that Magali was undergoing chemotherapy?” Of course I remember, it seemed like something that was supposed to help her but she looked tired and Cyrille didn’t seem like he really wanted to talk about it so I’d honestly just put it to the back of my mind and I’d more or less forgotten all about it.

I nod to answer his question but then realize he has his back to me so I make a little ‘yes’ noise so he’d go on while I add the first batch of veggies into the soup.

“Well, chemotherapy is used to treat cancers. Cancers are sicknesses that can kill you and a lot of them can’t be treated. That’s the easiest way I can explain it.” He drops the rest of the veggies in a bowl next to me and starts to work on tearing the chicken into smaller pieces so we can add it at the end of the soup preparation. “So when he said she was in complete remission, it means that she’s not going to be in pain any more and there’s no sign of the cancer in her though it doesn’t mean it’s completely gone. The real short version is that she’s healthier and pain free now and that was just a really happy and joyful moment for him.”

When I think about it, as it is explained this way, it makes sense. It really does. If Mira had cancer, though I don’t even know if that’s possible, I would want him to be in remission as fast as possible so he wouldn’t be suffering, I can understand why Cyrille looked so happy and so pleased with life in general. It also explains why he didn’t really stick around long, just long enough to tell us about Magali before he was on his way.

I love simple meals like these, just a light broth, a lot of vegetables, some meat, some noodles and voila. A warm, nourishing meal that came together pretty easily and can just as easily be warmed back up again and that’s the point of it all. I can’t say it fills me with joy the way Magali’s pain-free days do with Cyrille but I’m pretty happy with that kind of thing.

We both send him a text message after we’ve eaten to ask him to give his sister our best. We’ve only met her briefly but she seems really important to Cyrille so I don’t see why we wouldn’t be nice to her. That just seems to make sense really. He doesn’t message back and that’s just fine too, I’m sure he’s no where near his phone and he’ll get these messages before he goes to bed or after he’ll be getting up tomorrow morning. The world isn’t about to end because he doesn’t answer.

The dishes are washed and cleaned, put away and we settle into the living room for a few hours before we head to bed. It still is too bright outside to even consider going to bed at this point and I don’t think we’d get any sleep just yet.

“How did you learn about all this cancer stuff?” Well, I have to ask him, I’d put that thought behind me when it had been brought up since he didn’t really seem to want to discuss it, after all.

“I went and talked to Armin after we got home that day. I was really curious and I wanted to know more. I didn’t understand what Cyrille had talked about and I told myself that Armin was best placed to know about human illnesses. I could have asked Eoghan but I don’t think I really would have gotten the same kind of answers.”

It makes sense, in a way. If course it’s saddening to think that Armin knows about these human illnesses because he’s at least half human and it brings back to the surface the thought that he might just be dying long before either one of us. This isn’t really something I like thinking about, it hurts to know that he’s not really like us. That he’s only a little like us and that he’ll be gone before we wish he were.

I grump softly at the thought and I shake my head. Mira seems to take the hint as he chuckles softly and bumps his shoulder into mine. “We could watch a movie.”

Watching a movie might not hurt. Our collection is small and we don’t have direct access to Eoghan’s collection upstairs but we have a few DVDs of our own. Mira leaves me to decide on what we watch and he heads off into his room for a few moments. When he comes back, it’s with a bag of popcorn and I have to wonder why he keeps it in his room though I don’t ask. I admit at times I might snack a bit on whatever I find in the cupboards and I’ve eaten my way through stuff he was keeping for later, so I guess it makes sense.

He sticks his tongue out at me as he notices me watching him wander back into the living room with his bag of popcorn and I shrug sheepishly. It’s not the end of the world, we’re both still learning to adapt to this life we have here with this roof and these clothes and this job we have.

It’s a bag of already popped stuff, it’s half his size and I can’t recall when he might have actually bought it, I would have noticed something this big coming home with him. Maybe he asked Eoghan for it, that could be it. It doesn’t really matter much. He takes a turn into the kitchen and I figure he’ll put some of the stuff into two bowls before bringing it back into his room. I know he has it now but we have a rule, if it’s in our bedrooms, we leave it alone, that being, if someone’s in his room, I don’t touch it, if it’s in mine, he leaves it be.

Finally I decide on a random movie, not even looking at the box as I put it into the player and as I’m settling back down to get it started, he puts down the two bowls on the low table. He settles next to me and stretches.

Today has honestly been a good day. A great day for Cyrille but a good day for us, the worst of the school rush has died down again so we’re not running around like crazy to get the books these folks needed anymore and that’s for the best. Mira tripped several times on the way to get books and then back because people were almost shoving and pushing to get their hands on what they wanted, it was crazy.

People are crazy.

on a sailing ship

All around are wide-eyes and surprised faces. I’ve been on the yacht just a few times this summer, my life has changed somewhat drastically after I decided to move back in permanently with Eoghan. I think this was the best decision of my life. I’ve just spent less time doing those things I had grown into the habit of doing more often because I’m busier with him, I’m busier with our growing family.

I had offered to bring them all here at one point to let them see what it was like though I guess it slipped all of our minds up until now. The weather is still nice and warm on this early September day and we all had little else to do, or in the case of the twins and their new-found friend, it was a good excuse to do something new.

We all piled into the new vehicle and I have to admit that Eoghan has done a great job in picking it out. It is absolutely spacious and more comfortable than I had expected cars with room for eight to be at this point. I’d thought we’d still have to use our old van. It still is in the garage, we don’t want to get rid of it quite yet since we both figure we might have needs for it still.

We piled out at the dock and I led our little group down to where the yacht was settled and waiting right there, as if it had been expecting us. I miss spending some days out on the water but I know that with all that is going on, that’s just currently not a possibility. I’m thinking of making sure we can be on board during the holidays though, at least maybe for new year, we could even invite anyone else they see fit to not leaving alone on such a day. Water here doesn’t really freeze over the winter so it’s a possibility.

With Eoghan back there to ‘take care’ of everyone, mostly to make sure they were all as comfortable as possible, I take us out to the quiet waters. We’ll only be spending a few hours out here but I’m hoping they will be enjoyed by everyone. I would have made this an overnight trip if it weren’t for the fact that I know that Quentin and Yael haven’t prepared for it to be an overnight trip and they need to be home for the cats to at least feed them at some point later tonight so they don’t go hungry. I also have Adela to look over as it nears her feeding day as it is.

I find us a quiet, out of the way spot and lower the anchor so we won’t drift off, that wouldn’t be a good idea though I know I’d be able to get us back home without an issue even if that were to happen.

“I think Armin might suffer from seasickness.” Eoghan pops up behind me as I’m preparing to step out from the seat and I blink at him, a sheepish sort of shrug offered. It’s a first trip for everyone, there’s no knowing who might not have sea legs or not at this point. “So I walked him down to one of the beds to settle down for a little bit and see if it’s really seasickness of if he’s just nervous at the idea of being on the water.”

I nod and smile at him before we both head back out to the rest of our guests. Mira is wide-eyed, just staring at the water, at the sky, at everything that surrounds them. Agni’s gaze on the water seems to be a little less certain though there’s curiosity in him. It’s comforting to know we might be able to convince them of coming back and again for little trips out. Cyrille seems to be more interested in the yacht itself and I guess that I shouldn’t really be surprised.

It’s not that I’m saying that because he grew up in a family where money was not an issue, that he automatically knows about yachts and expensive cars and everything else but at times it helps. He’s just walking along the sides of the main cabin, letting his hands brush along the material quietly. I leave Eoghan to the rest of the crew and wander off to see if perhaps I can’t have a sort of discussion with our newest addition.

I’m aware that he’s just a friend to the twins but I suppose I am a papa bear much the way Eoghan seems to claim I am and I am curious as to their well-being.

“You seem to have better footing than most everyone else today.” He startles somewhat, looking up to him and I smile down at him gently, trying to let him know I’m not here to pry, just making conversation. He looks out towards the water a moment and shrugs. Then he looks back towards the rest of our little group and away again.

There’s something on his mind, if Eoghan was with him, we might know but it’s just me and this kid right now so I can’t really do much of anything about it, else than be up front and ask. “There’s something bothering you, it seems. I’m all ears if you have no issues with opening up to some guy you really don’t know much of anything at all about.”

My words come out with a gentle chuckle, as if to let him know that he doesn’t have to if he doesn’t feel like it and that I’m not going to twist his arm to get him to open up. He looks out to the others again and he shrugs before looking back out to the water.

“I don’t know, the more time I spend with you guys, the more I feel like there’s some sort of déjà vu. It mostly happens around Eoghan, it’s like my brain is trying to tell me that I’ve known him before but I can’t place him and in my mind’s eye he hasn’t even changed and that’s just not possible so I’m trying to wrap my mind around it all to understand.”

Okay, so this kid might just have a better memory than we gave him credit for. Eoghan did say he’d spent time with his parents nearly fifteen years ago, the kid couldn’t have been more than three so it’s surprising that he might have any memories of that time, still. I might have to bring it up to Eoghan but I doubt we’ll have to do anything about it.

“Could have been someone who looked a lot like him, the genes are pretty strong in his family and all the men have really similar traits.” That’s how usual cock and bull story though most people tend to believe it. It explains why some people might think they’ve seen us a decade or two ago and can’t believe how we’ve somehow not aged at all, which if course is impossible by human terms.

He shakes his head and looks out to the sea a moment before he excuses himself and heads back towards the little group. I follow him, keeping a few paces away. I know he’ll be spending most of the time out on the water with the twins and I’m fine with that, they’re friends and that’s what friends do. Quentin and Yael had wandered off to the upper deck to settle and I now Eoghan won’t want to leave Armin alone, I’m good with that, I like learning more about him, he’s one of us, in a way and it will hurt when he finally goes, be it in this lifetime or in another one if his mixed-blood somehow offers him a slightly longer lifespan. I’m not holding my breath on that account but it can’t hurt to hope a little.