gadabout (noun) - a person who travels often to many different places, especially for pleasure

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ now playing ; runaway kids by harbour

AMIR THOUGHT CUE
MIGHT SECRETLY BE
TRYING TO KILL HIM

"Get up."

Cue was relentless. That's something that Amir had realized the moment they started to train. Straining, he pushed himself up on his arms, heaving a heavy breath into the misty morning air. The day was beginning cool, a fresh breeze rolling off the side of the sea, into the mouths of nearby caves. It was a beautiful sight.

It would have been much more enjoyable without Cue hounding him about how important this was. But, no, heaven forbid he have some kind of break.

Still, Amir found his footing, standing up. Cue was standing before him, arms crossed over his chest, tilting his head. Less in a cute way, more in a you're doing it wrong head tilt. Course, he didn't think that Cue would say it outloud. At least not right away. Cue didn't seem like the person who liked to admit when he was wrong.

He'll find out.

Find out that Amir was not the man for this job, certainly someone else was better qualified. Anyone else, really, but for now, Cue thought he was the person for the job, and Amir would do anything to keep it that way. Unlike some of the others, or so they said, he liked it here. And yes, of course it was a little scary, but it was also so new.

It was a new chance, a new life. It had meaning and purpose, and Amir wanted it. He also wanted a set of wings, but he very much doubted that Cue would just hand them over. How would one go about wings anyway? Would he even want them now? After the little showcase Cue had put on?

He'd have to ask Echo if they were worth it.

Amir drew in a laboring breath, resetting his feet. Cue narrowed his eyes at the action, clicking his tongue. "You look like you're going to fall over."

"I am, this is exhausting."

Cue blinked, as if he was merely registering this comment. "You're tired?"

"Yes"

"Too bad." Cue took his stance, stray hair falling into his face as he shifted his feet against the ground, and Amir could nearly feel him brace himself, looking back up at Amir. "Try again."

Try again.

As if that would suddenly make him successful. As if the words, try again, actually meant anything, and not just another opportunity to show Cue what a failure he was. As if another chance might mean that Amir was meant to be here, that he belonged here, with the others.

He wasn't stupid. Amir wasn't blind, the others, they all had had such horrible, traumatic lives. All but Joon, possibly, but even Joon was more something that Amir just wasn't. All the others knew what heartbreak, what real problems, felt like. And he didn't.

Why am I even here, Cue?

Why do I want to be?

It was magical here. It was some kind of hope that maybe Amir was meant for something a little more than just a mortal life. He didn't have a sad enough life to be a main character, not even in his own story. It just seemed like everyone else had something to overcome, some big character arc, and all Amir had was the want to stay here. The desperate love for something like purpose, something like passion.

"Amir." Cue's gaze had sharpened, his voice still and steady as Amir was called back to attention. "Go ahead. Try again."

So Amir did.

The next moment he was on his back on the ground, breath knocked out of him, along with his will to try again. He was tired, didn't Cue see that?

Tired of trying so hard to prove his worth, not just to the others, but to himself. He was tired, and it was so early. The sun was barely beginning to peak over the ocean, sending a thrum of something down into its waves.

Jesus, how did Echo do this all the time?

Cue had made a mistake. Amir knew it, and it was only a matter of time before Cue realized it too. A cold chill ran down his back, into his limbs, as dread settled deep into the pit of his stomach. Maybe he'd be sent back to mortal life, with his memory erased that any of this happened. Maybe he'd be put right back in his place, with no one being the wiser. Would the others notice if he was gone?

Would they miss me?

The thought was chilling, and it sent icey vibrations down to his soul, liquifying the fear that resonated deep within him. Perhaps it was too late already.

"Get up." There it was. Cue's pestering, merciless, voice. Get up. As if it was that fucking easy. As if that magically made him less tired, and more emotionally available. There was something there, something deep inside him that began thawing the frozen feelings of his spirit.

Anger.

"I can't." It was a murmur, eyes dazed as they watched the sky above him. It was a clear day, warmth beginning to bloom in spots on his skin, the breeze steadily growing softer. Still, that deep, unrelenting feeling of impatience, of fury resided.

"Get up." Usually, the tone of voice would immediately make Amir stand. Not this time. Because he was tired. Fuck Cue, he deserved a little reprive, because Amir wasn't perfect, invincible, or apparently cut from stone and sculpted by the gods like Cue was.

Amir was immortal, but he was still human.

"I said no, Cue-"

"I know what you said-"

"No, you don't." It was a borderline hiss, that seething anger deep inside of him, lacing his words. Venom lingered in every breath. Cue wasn't listening, and that was the problem. Amir pushed himself up in a swift motion, rising to his feet. Cue still towered over him, but Amir couldn't really bring himself to care. "You aren't listening, Cue. I said I was tired, I need a fucking break, not all of us can be perfect."

Cue blinked at him, almost flatly, which was all the more infuriating for Amir. "I never claimed to be perfect."

God, that isn't what I'm saying. Amir looked onward, with disbelief. That fury churned into an incredulous feeling, spirling in spikes into his thoughts. "I meant, I know that, I just- I meant..." He didn't know what he was doing. What he was even saying. That burst of courage he'd had was suddenly gone, replaced with some kind of unknown gibberish. He wanted to make Cue understand, he wanted him to be able to see.

It hurt to breathe.

Why couldn't he just understand? Cue was magic! And perfect! And he always seemed to know what he was doing. Cue was in control, all the time, but couldn't he see he had made a mistake picking Amir?

Of all people, why him?

That fury. Swirling, seething, brewing. It changed, as it most often does, to something bitter. To something saddened, and upset, and full of sorrow. Amir wasn't good enough. He couldn't even do this stupid training right. Couldn't keep up. He couldn't do this.

"Amir." Cue's voice had noticeably softened, into something not unlike him, but something quieter. It was still that steady, brute force, promising power and strength, but it was gentle now.

"I can't." the words came out embarrassingly soft, nearly trembling with overwhelming emotion. How stupid. He couldn't even keep his emotions in check. Could he do anything right?

There was a long pause then, and for a moment, Amir thought that Cue might have left fully, then there was his voice again. Soft. Like it had been before. "Have a seat."

Amir did as he was told, staring at the ground, scrambling to keep any sense of control.

Cue, continued to speak. "I did not choose you because you were weak." Slowly, Amir raised his head, staring at the broad form before him. The question burned on his tongue, his mind prodding him to say it, so why did you? Cue didn't seem to even need the question, the asshole that he was. He remained standing, hands clasped behind his back, but looking at Amir with all of the intensity of the sun that lit up behind him, rising in full bloom. "Tell me, what did we do today?"

"I failed." Amir blinked, but shame began brimming up inside of him, to the bottom of his heart, but Cue nodded, as if he expected this answer.

"You kept trying." He reiterated, reaching up to rub his jaw in thought. "You tried again, no matter the outcome of the last time." Amir opened his mouth, to offer some kind of protest. This was an elementary lesson, one of those old children's books you read in first grade. The one's about never giving up. Cue held up his hand to stop all arguments, continuing. "Have you ever been rejected by someone, Amir?"

Rejected?

Like - romantically?

"Yes." Lingering shame flooding his face and cheeks. Cue, thankfully, made no comment. He had been rejected actually, not that long ago. She had been beautiful, she was beautiful, and she'd been so kind to let him down easily. Telling him that it wasn't romantic love, he was feeling, but rather a connection because of their newfound abilities. She was right, but that didn't mean it hadn't hurt.

"After you face rejection, Amir, you don't want to try again sometimes." Cue took a step, sitting down as well beside him, quiet for another breath. "That doesn't mean you never should, right?" Cue looked off, towards the ocean, almost wistfully, and for a moment, Amir thought he saw some form of longing in his eyes. It was gone as quickly as it had come. He looked back, inhaling deeply. "People have crushes all the time, you know that. Having crushes is a lot about facing rejection, facing failure, and trying again anyway." There was a soft, almost breathy huff, it could have been a laugh, but there wasn't really any way of knowing. "You didn't actually think I wanted you to beat me, did you?"

Cocky bastard.

Although, the words did offer some emblem of comfort. Of course, Amir wouldn't have been able to beat him. Cue had had millenia to hone his abilities, Amir had less than half a year. It was silly now, to think that Amir even stood a chance. There was still the question, though.

"So why did you pick me then, Cue?"

Silence. There wasn't a response, and for a while, there were only the soft sounds of the morning. Bird calls resonating within the forest that hid their houses. Amir didn't press, even if he wanted to.

"Do you want the real answer, or the one I'm going to give you?"

"The real one."

"I can't tell you." It was a shrug of a response, Cue rising to his feet as he said the words, rolling out his shoulders. Amir responded with an equally unsatisfactory statement.

"That's a load of bullshit."

For a moment, for one tiny second, he swore a flicker of some kind of smile ran over Cue's face, but he turned away too fast for Amir to confirm it, and instead only stuck his hands in his pockets, shrugging again. "Oh well."

Dramatically, Amir sighed, pushing himself up as well as he fell into step right behind him. "Fine. What's the response you were going to give me, then?"

"I was going to say that I didn't know."

Amir rolled his eyes, "That would have been a disaster for everyone."

"Yes, because I, Cue Hathor, go around late at night just picking people off the street to become immortal." A familiar tone of voice, almost sarcasm, laced the words.

Amir paused, staring at the broad frame of Cue's back. "Did you just . . . ", a smile quickly worked its way to Amir's face as he quickly caught up, to walk beside him instead. "Did Cue Hathor just make a joke? Was I supposed to laugh, oh my god, I have to tell Freddie about this."

Cue's face quickly morphed into a scowl, and he shot a scolding glance to an absolutely ecstatic Amir. "It was a moment of weakness."

"A moment of weakness, oh my god." Amir paused again, former shame and anger absolutely dissipated by this point. "I'm gonna tell Asia and Joon." He grinned, feelings soothed for the time, although they still lingered distantly. "I'm sure they would love this information."

"No one will believe you."

Gleefully, Amir ignored him, practically skipping ahead to walk in front of him. "Cue Hathor, comedian to the stars."

There was a long, regretful sigh, and Cue shook his head slightly in almost disbelief, heading for the door of the main house. Amir, cheerful as ever, trotted right behind.

It was now that he actually realized Cue was shirtless, the scars on his back mapping out in lines of deep red. Some of them were old, some new. Sure, Cue was muscular, but the scars that lined up and down the joints of his spine were so . . . interesting. Some were from his wings, but some didn't look like they were related to his wings at all. They spiderwebbed into his shoulder blades, down into where his rib cage was set.

There's no way his wings did that.

"Cue?" Amir thought for a moment, about asking, but something stopped him. There was a vibration deep in his chest, a stuttering beat, that told him to wait. So instead, Amir turned his attention to the wings. "Could I have wings?"

He watched as Cue's hand stilled on the doorknob for a moment, his body stilling at the question, before his motions resumed, swinging open the door to the main house, and taking a step inside. 

"Why do you want wings?"

"Why wouldn't you?" Amir countered, following him into the house, and into the warm smell of whatever Echo was making in the kitchen, likely with the recruitment of someone in particular. Cue didn't respond, so Amir tried again. "Could you give them to me?"

Cue paused once more, but this time he turned to face Amir, raising his eyebrow. "I can't." He shook his head. "I can't give wings to people, I didn't give Echo her's."

It was his turn to frown this time, curiously tilting his head, expecting an explanation.

Cue relented. "You get wings when you need them. They come in when you need them the most. It's an instinct thing. When you need them, they'll show up."

Amir looked towards the kitchen, for the glimpsing figure of Echo, before looking back at Cue. "When did Echo need them?"

That time, Cue looked towards the kitchen as well, where the quietest sound of muted singing began flooding the halls, and sweet-scented arcana spilled into the walls of the house. "That's not a story for me to tell."

"When did you need them?"

To think that Cue was incapable, that he needed them, once upon a time, was nothing short of unimaginable, but Cue looked to him, and that wistful, longing emotion that he'd seen earlier, was there.

It was a breath of a response, nothing more than a whisper. "It didn't matter. I was too late."

And then he turned, and walked right back out the door without so much as a word.

꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎

ophelia !!

seventh chapter done !

i hope you all enjoyed it !

happy thanksgiving to all 
those who celebrate it! i'm
so glad to have dedicated 
readers like you all !

ilysm !!

[ what is your character's favorite holiday ? what's a special memory that have associated with it ? ]

answers ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥