The Elegy of Valentines (Michael/Amor/Charlatan/Invite)

Michael stared down at his phone, wondering if the reply would be instant or take a few minutes. Instant was not the one, so he just slipped it into his pocket and returned to focusing on the conversation. Which was the child he was talking with lecturing him on even bringing things up. That was how it seemed at the very least. ”If we’re splitting hairs here, I said I was trying something different. Not losing weight or becoming mister universe.” Michael paused and then sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. ”alright that was shitty of me. What I’ve been doing hasn’t been working, I’m not getting the results I want so I’m trying something else.  I hear that’s something people do when they want others to like them,” It sounded strange from someone like him, wanting people to like him. Normally Mike wouldn’t have given two shits but here he was.

”What does lightning have to do with surfing? Afraid you’ll get electrocuted along with the ocean or something?” It sounded almost ridiculous but he couldn’t be for sure with this kid. Even still they were done with their meal and he likely had the whole thing paid for by now. His phone chimed, though he finished off his drink before looking at it. Eyebrow quirking when he saw what looked to be a dancing shark emoji, fully animated and everything.

”Ah, that explains it,” He chuckled a little, returning the text.

been talking with dad again? He always texts like that

Anyhow. Was wondering if you were busy, needed you for a sec if you weren’t busy

Something about chatspeak never sat right with Mike and so he never typed it when texting or otherwise. Sean teased him about it often, though that didn’t change what he did. ”got any surfing clothes or do you plan to just get those clothes wet? Think we might have a few things around your size around my home…if Silus doesn’t mind. He might not mind,” A small shrug followed, Michael waiting for the kid to finish up whatever they had left before standing.

”It’s fine. Trust me, I’m used to it.” The boy said with a smirk in response to Mike saying that it was shitty of him to burst out the way he did. The boy simply let it roll off of his back, not seeming to mind in the slightest. He had honestly been used to Flynn doing that, and before that he had a half-twin that would do the same thing. It was more endearing to watch people recover than it was hurtful to see the outburst. He began eating his food at an increased pace, hurriedly shoving it into his mouth.

”Well I mean...yeah? Massive body of water, and being on a surfboard that means I’d be the tallest thing out there. I’d basically be a convection rod.” He said, not even stammering or thinking to acknowledge his mispoken word. He simply took another bite of his food and watched as Mike seemed to go back to his phone for a moment. He was curious, but he didn’t pry. He didn’t snoop either, which was a feat of discipline for the small pup.

he txt’s like that because it’s a txt. U shorthand everything so u can simulate the efficiency of talking thru typing. the reply came from Silus, though there was a pause from the boy sitting on the ledge of the bay window in his home. He watched the rain fall but his head cocked to the side when he read Mike state that he needed him for a moment. He had never seen that one before, and quickly pressed the volume down and power buttons to take a screenshot, just because he knew one day he would need this to remind himself. sure? Where u need me? daddy said u went 2 give something back 2 sum1.

”Uuuuhhhh…I can get these wet...well I’ll take this off but yea. No this is good.” He said after a moment of his eyes rolling at the top of his head, his mind going through the dry clothing he had available at his hideout. He remembered that not long ago he dried out some clothes he had to clean with some dial soap and stale water. His eyes pressed together with the thought of how bad that soap tasted to him. He nodded then, affirming that the clothes he wore were good enough. Mike had been on the phone when the waitress brought the bill and the small boy quickly seemed to swipe the check with nearly inhuman reactions.

”It’s part of my culture, it’s mine.” He stated as if that somehow explained his desire to pay for the meal. The boy seemed to empty out his pockets a bit and then placed a single dollar back into his pocket and closed the small black book. He then handed it to the waitress and began to stretch as she walked away. Pup then stood and began to pat his stomach and look across the room. ”I’ve got no idea where we’re going...” He smirked at his haphazard confession.

”Is that a thing?” Without even giving Pup a chance to respond he began googling it with his phone and then set it down. ”so that is a thing, and I’m never going surfing during a storm ever again,” He felt a little ashamed even for not knowing something so obvious, though here he was admitting that he might have not known something. Not that it was considered impossible for someone to not know something. Afterall, he liked to pride himself in his knowledge and even power. Knowledge was power afterall, depending upon who you asked anyway.  Still, while he talked with his friend he was also texting his younger brother which happened to remind him of why he was here in the first place.

Cool. Well I’m apparently going to be at the beach, so maybe meet me somewhere around there? He looked up to Pup with a narrowed glare as the male paid the bill, and frowned. tell “daddy” I said hi He chuckled to himself, though he never gave Silus any real problems with that. It was the concept of innocence that humans so loved to have their children perpetually in.

”Sure you want to get those clothes wet? Well, I can’t tell you what to do,” Michael sighed, standing up and motioning for the male to follow him out of the restaurant, digging through one of his subspace pockets for what he was supposed to give him. Waiting a few minutes when they were outside to actually remove it and give it to him. ”not sure what this is but my piece of shit dad said I should give it to you,” Why he was doing it only he could say but he was doing so anyway.

The boy walked out into the world and immediately looked over the skies as rain still seemed to drizzle at a much slower rate. He seemed to let out a small, pleased humming noise as he stepped about. The air was warm, but the rain still had a chill to it that caused an inherent conflict within the child’s thoughts of the deluge. He was ALREADY wet to an extent, it didn’t matter much if he went for more of a dip than the downpour they were in earlier.

”I mean I’m gonna have to get changed anyway so I don’t mind gettin’ wet.” He replied, not that he was attempting to neglect help, but he was self sustaining, and even when help was subtly offered he simply missed the offer, or didn’t seem to think of it as a genuine kindness one wanted to do. It was basically a polite gesture that no one wanted to follow through on, so in being polite he played it off as if he had what he needed. It was a longstanding thing he had been experiencing. Besides, accepting help meant that he was taking from someone else that they may need later.

Mike followed him a little, though eventually took out the strange object that was supposed to make its way to him. He studied the strange pattern and the almost scale-like exterior. The boy reached out and placed his hand on the thick chunky metal box, gripping it before looking at Mike with a perplexed look. It was somewhat heavy and seemed to have some heft. As he held it out in his hand he looked to Mike and cocked an eyebrow.

”W-wait. What? Your dad...” He was suddenly cut off as his handprint on the device seemed to light up a solid green before the strange scales one the front all seemed to fold in, collapsing on themselves to reveal a pair of glasses. On the bifocals there was a white card with a golden script. ”Woah...”

With his free hand he looked over the card as a small look in his eye, aware of nostalgia hit him before he looked at Mike with a slight smile, though one of suspicion as well. He chuckled a little before he reached in to tuck the card away, pulling out a pair of thick rimmed black glasses. Pulling them from the box he pulled the arms out and slid them on. As he did he watched as the world around him melted a surreal amount of colors away. Mike’s face went from a dancing wave of lights to the traditional flesh hue that a normal person had. The street went from asphalt tainted with slick pools of purple to slate black. The world seemed more limited...no, it was more tamed this way. His eyes were wide in wonder as he turned to Mike and laughed.

”This is...WOW. THAT’S your actual skin color? I’m kidding” He said with a laugh as he dove at Mike and wrapped his arms around him briefly. He squeezed then released as he stared at the man’s shirt then shoes. Then he looked over his sleeve. ”Thank you! This is the best birthday gift since...probably the wolf. Yeah...definitely the wolf.” He said with a sense of unparalleled joy. The boy was grinning ear to ear, looking and staring at everyone through their teal colored eyes. The focus was shifted to the ground and trees, it was what one could imagine a blind child seeing for the first time.

”I can’t wait to see what the sand ACTUALLY looks like...” He said as he started to walk in that direction, then looking at Mike once more, looking for direction. The thing in his hand seemed to trigger and seal shut. ”So uh...who is your friend that we have to see?”

”Get as wet as you want, I won’t stop you. That sounded weird to say outloud,” Michael stated and then realized how strange those words might have sounded coming from his mouth. So, he made a mental note to never say them in reference to the male ever again. Outside was when he gave him the gift and let the kid open it, however that had worked. His expression didn’t give away what the gift was beyond a pair of sunglasses, though he did wrap an arm around him as if hugging. This left the young ethereal looking at him with a mixture of confusion and even shock, unable to respond.

Unprompted shows of affection were just not things he was used to. ”I…uh…you’re welcome,” Michael managed, momentarily stunned. Not through an attack but just something as simple as a hug. Perhaps this explained so many things, though he didn’t know what exactly. ”Someone got you a wolf? That…sounds like a total Shael thing actually,” Mike noted with a sigh, already mentally mapping out the section of the beach he was going to take the young man. ”have you never seen sand at all? They not have sand where you’re from?” This world his friend was from was starting to sound stranger and stranger, though he didn’t say more than that about it. Insulting someones homeland could be a sore spot to some.

”Well, the beach won’t be too far away. It’ll take a little while on foot, unless you want me to carry you or whatever,” Normally he wouldn’t offer something like that but he wasn’t often talking to friends. People he had positive opinions of and didn’t hate. ”my friend? No, we’re talking about my little brother. Have a surprise for him but…well that’s a long story. One I might not care to tell,” he pulled his hood up, keeping the rain from soaking his hair and looked off in a seemingly random direcition. ”won’t take long. Just have to give him something, though I guess I can do that while we’re at the beach.”

“Yeah...it uhm. Well it was a long time ago.” Pup said, the comment about the wolf causing flashbacks of the fire and flames. A quick blink and reaching up to the glasses as if to take them off, it seemed to register at his touch, the thin smooth frame seeming to buzz a little as his finger touched it, the sudden shake then caused the lenses to dim from shaded lenses to clear ones, able to be worn indoors. He smiled slightly and decided to leave them on. Heshoved his hands in his pockets, not even realizing how awkwardly Mike had reacted to his sudden burst of affection.

”No uhm. Not really. I mean, I come from a place where it’s nothing but snow.” The boy said with a smirk, though he knew that it wasn’t like Mike could have known that. He didn’t know where the boy came from, he didn’t know where he had been. Didn’t even know why he was here...though truthfully Pup didn’t even remember that one himself. “Plus with my sensory thing, I see a bunch of colors at all times, taste different things. Somehow these glasses cancel that out! So seeing what sand and snow ACTUALLY look like...like a normal person. It’s kinda exciting.” He wasn’t sure about how or why they managed to do this, but it was honestly the most amazing gift he had ever received, and he was trying to understand why Mike would be hesitant to take credit for such a thing.

All the while they continued on their way towards the beach. They had decided to head there next and do some light rain surfing, or at least some warm sand. Mike seemed to be full of good ideas, except the part where they could be a lightning rod. But he didn’t ask the boy to surf with lightning at least, so that was great. Though eventually Mike gave the offer to carry him, he shook his head with his zealous smile. ”I’m okay. Feet don’t stop working on your name-day. Let’s go see your brother!” The child had a permanent sense of joy just radiating from his face as he seemed to walk and just take in the entire scenery in. Things he had obviously seen before he was now looking and watching as if he had never seen them before. He kept muttering and remarking about colors, and even a couple times it looked like tears were welling in his eyes.

”You have no idea how great this is. Everything is so calm...” He said, a sigh of peace and wonder as he bit his lip, looking and staring at people from across the way. Eventually they had managed to reach the beach. The high concrete walls and rail guards and handrails stretched the sidewalks, large concrete stairs led down onto the boardwalk as wooden planks spanned down towards the water. There, sitting on the sidewalk was a boy with familiar brown hair, though a large hoodie on, zipped up and his hands buried in the front pouch. The boy seemed to look over and saw Mike, a small smile on his face as he stuck his hand in the air lazily before putting it back into the pocket. On the sand of the beach there was another figure, a taller boy with short auburn hair and blue eyes. Tanned skin and a pristine white tee shirt attached to a navy blue pair of shorts.

“Hey!” the tiny voice rose up to greet Mike, though quickly the small boy stood up and looked to pup, observing his coat with a strange level of interest before looking back to Mike. He seemed happy to see his older brother, though there was a heavy look of exhaustion and just general malaise on the boy’s features. Large indigo eyes with heavy lids and dark circles. “Uhm...Hi.”

“Oh hey. Wow...” Mike said in response, as he looked up to Mike, then back to the other boy, the one that had to be not much younger than himself. He tried to find any relations he could between the two, settling on just a few of their features, but finding himself staring back at the younger brother in an almost entranced way. Silus arched his eyebrow and seemed to smile a little when noticing, then his eyes shifting to Mike curiously. He was far too polite to ever say it, but he was silently asking Mike where he found this kid.

”Thaaanks? Uhm, Mike?”

”Nothing but snow? Sounds like Antarctica,” It was the only thing he could offer to something like that, imagining only a white snow that never melted and an eternal winter hell he would not tolerate. It made him shiver just thinking about it. There was some explanation about the glasses, synesthesia explained and him wondering why he knew what the condition was called. He could’ve taken credit for the glasses, but something about taking credit for something Zell did just annoyed him. It caused the pit of his stomach to coil up like a viper, leaving him feeling sick even thinking about it. Pushing back these thoughts, he moved them to the beach.

”They don’t but they sure don’t make you go any faster,” Was all he said, though he walked alongside the happy looking male with that strangely positive smile on his face. Was it the glasses? Could have been though he didn’t question it, instead letting him have that moment for as long as he wanted. Eventually the two did reach the beach, waves washing against the shore and rain still pelting them on the head. Not that it bothered him now, running in rivulets down the hood of his jacket. There was something calm about the beach, enough that he hunted down a spot he enjoyed, and one Jordan liked to swim through. Well, he was a water dragon so that was a matter of course.

Michael gave a small shrug and looked down to Pup. ”I have some idea. The beach is one of the places I go to relax, a little cliché I guess,” he admitted, brushing a few strands of hair from his forehead and looking around to see how many humans were here. That was when he saw his brother, shaggy haired and…did he always look so tired? Michael was never used to his sibling being so battered looking, though perhaps he was used to the ethereal concept of not needing much sleep.

”Hey Silus, you don’t look so hot.” Michael paused, smirk shifting into a neutral line. ”well that was rude. Anyway, I asked you here for a reason and it’s not just to show off the fact I do have friends. Even if I’m sure dad would say he fits better as your friend,” He seemed to be digging around his pockets, until he seemed to grab something and withdraw it. The questioning tone in the males voice brought about a raised brow, though he didn’t say and instead produced a medium sized lacquered black wood box from his pocket of many things. There was a sigil on the front, a needle entwined within thread/ ”had a friend tell me where she came from this kind of holiday was for more than just people you’re married to or dating, people you care about so I thought you’d appreciate a gift. ”

Without really listening to any arguments, he pushed the box towards his younger brother until he accepted it. ”Open it up. I…uh…want to make sure I got the right thing,” He’d continue just looking at him until he opened the box. Revealing a collection of 5 paintbrushes, handles composed from a solid and durable wood he was sure could survive fire, water and even explosive force. The bristles were soft and flexible, able to hold paint and give the kind of strokes he was promised would please the most discerning of artists. ”thought since you were artistic and into fingerpainting you might enjoy some brushes for proper easel work. Shael told me I should’ve gotten one of those too but…well I can’t pull one of those out of a magic coat pocket as easily.”

This felt awkward, like he were expecting a firing squad but he just went through with it.

”I’ve been...losing sleep.” Silus said as he looked to the person who was staring at him. Mike then seemed to recognize that it was rude of him to say such a thing, something that caused Silus an internal shock. His expression hardly changed on the outside, only offering a shrug and saying: “It’s true though, no worries. I don’t...know that my friends stare at me like this?”

”Who's staring? OH! Me, sorry.” Pup seemed to sheepishly chuckle, give a slightly nervous smile and then seemed to take a step back and begin looking all over the beach with a sense of purpose. Silus was amused by the strange kid, but his attention went to Mike. The tanned young man seemed to notice or overhear some kind of comments from Silus, turning and rushing through the sand to come over and stop at the bottom of the stairs.

Mike had produced a small wooden box with a fine finishing. The box appeared to have a needle and thread engraved into it, making Silus’ mind pop up to the strange reality mender, The Weaver. The moment he remembered her, there was a sharp pain in his head. There was something about that encounter? Maybe it was that whole day. Silus examined the box carefully before it was popped open. On the inside were a set of five different brushes. Each brush had an unidentified type of wood, though the bristles were soft and malleable. There were a great number of possibilities, though he wondered how long they would last. They were good quality, to be sure. He began to twirl the small paintbrush around his fingertips, a rather dexterous display before smiling widely and putting it back in the box.

”Hey Mike!” The southern accent passed in as the tanned boy seemed to beam a smile. He then looked to the small boy with Mike, his eyes widening with a deep confusion as he looked at the black peacoat that he wore. A few times of the blue eyes blinking he returned his focus to Silus and then Mike, a small smile returning.

“This is cool...Thanks Mike!” Silus said with a wide smile, placing the container into his pocket, then stepping forward and opening his arms. The second time in the day that Mike was hugged, though this time the affection was more obviously warranted. Yancey smiled, a look of satisfaction on his face as he then looked to Mike and nodded. He then looked to Pup and cocked his head to the side, a look of mistrust being conveyed as he leered.

”So uh. I didn’t think about you...Who’s your friend Mike?” He asked, noticing that the boy was now looking to Yancey with a small smile on his face and a look that seemed to be nothing but trouble. The boy cocked his head to the side and seemed to mirror the tan, larger boy in a way but where one mistrusted the other one was an almost infectious curiosity. Silus had released mike and turned to see the two with their heads slightly to the side.

”All we’re missing is Shael and the Dogsquad is complete.” Silus said with an almost weary sounding sense of humor. He smiled kindly, but his eyes shut for a moment as the term Dog-squad seemed to trigger something in his mind. Why did he say that? That had no context or precursor for this joke. Why did this humor him so much? He turned to Mike and motioned towards the sand. ”I’m gonna let them stare at each other. You comin’?”

”Ignore him, he usually doesn’t do that,” Did he? Mike didn’t actually know but he hadn’t stared at him like he were some manner of strange alien before. Apparently not, because even the young human sounded  a little awkward when he realized he had been staring as well, having the manner sot look sheepish when it was pointed out. Well, that was humorous enough for him to chuckle at the concept. Followed by looking up to see someone else approaching. Tanned with a distinctive accent and constantly a shadow for his little brother. Deep within he felt a part of him that riled and raged, though it was easily ignored. The hug from his younger sibling didn’t conjure as awkward a response, though he didn’t find himself lost for words all the same.  Which in the end made sense. He never found himself really expecting or garnering displays of affection aside from those it seemed were expected to.

He offered a small wave to Yancey, eyes narrowed as his mind tried to reach for something and was lost. He didn’t feel this normally around his brothers friend did he? ”Think nothing of it. I thought if you were going to be into painting you should have the high quality stuff. That’s all,” The fact Silus of all people felt comfortable enough to hug him would have been comical if he were so inclined to laugh at painfully ironic situations. That’s when the question came about his friend once again, though this time from not Silus individuals. He licked his lips, looking at Yancey for a moment as his mind tried to dial up the information once again and found nothing of worth. Still, h didn’t feel comfortable letting that vulnerability around these people like he did before.

”We met on one of my many adventures. Vampire party if you would believe it, though I think he was pretending to be a vampire at that point,” Was he? The words came from his mouth without him needing to think about it as if someone else had put them there. They tasted strange and he rolled that taste around his mouth as he shrugged. ”well I was hoping to just give you the gift but if you want you can join us in the surfing. I’m sure with you around the danger of sudden lightning strike might not be such a big issue, ” This was followed by a smirk, raising a hand palm down a few inches as what looked to be a luminous silver surfboard formed under it. He knew what they looked like well enough to craft one without worrying about doing it wrong. Perhaps he was trying to learn as a git for Jordan or perhaps he wanted to surf; who knew?

”You’re free to join too Yancey. Well, not that I expect you to listen to me even if I told you to go away,” With a casual motion of the head he directed their attention towards the waves.

”I do it all the time. I just stare at people. Mostly when….oh right.”
The small boy said, as if he were actually explaining himself, but then he stopped after he had noted that the explanation wasn’t required. He watched as Silus was invited to join them surfing, to which the younger seemed to go wideyed. He smiled and agreed, though seemed to almost slip past the other two. Yancey and Pup had been there staring at each other for a minute, before Mike had told Yancey that he was welcome to join. To which Yancey actually broke away from the older child and followed behind Mike with a wide smile.

    ”Yeah dude! Let’s go! You ever surfed before?” He asked Mike with an excited smile and tone. He walked alongside Mike after catching up to him, then looking out to the ocean with an intense interest, his almost glowing blue eyes shifting about as if he looked for something. The boy seemed to be almost infectiously happy, looking about and taking in every last detail with a vivacious level of interest. It was a mixture of adorable, dorky and maybe minorly annoying as he stared. Silus would watch with a small smile as well, seeming to enjoy having his friend back from whatever hole he had disappeared to.

Pup eventually seemed to stroll behind, moving through the sand with wide eyes and a smile of his own, looking down at it before squatting down in it and burying his hands into the soft earthen surface. He then took off running to catch up with an ear to ear smile that seemed to match Yancey’s level of enthusiasm. Meanwhile Silus seemed to be on the happier side of moderate, noting that while he still had a strange feeling of emptiness, he truly did enjoy this day more than any day he could remember in a long time.

”So...Vampire party?” Silus finally asked, deciding on a subject that would strike up a conversation. Pup seemed to look at him and awkwardly rub the back of his neck as he laughed about the story.

”Yeah, your brother was actually pretty awesome. He saved my life and totally hasn’t been holding it over my head.”

”That is suspiciously specifically pointed out...”

”Oh, no! Not at all. I mean he hasn’t invoked a life-debt or anything. Which is pretty cool considering where I come from.”


”Yeah hey, vampire party? What’s this kids deal?” Yancey asked Mike rather quietly off to the side. He seemed to eye the small boy with a level of mistrust. It was common for Yancey to view new people this way, he was very similar to a dog. But his love and affection were endless once you managed to prove you were part of the family or their groups of chosen friends. Mike was part of this family, and Yancey was fiercely loyal. One just had to hope his caution and his particularly inquisitive tone wasn’t misconstrued as something else.

Down by the shoreline, the slightly older of the two boys took his shoes off, seeming to stare at the sand and what it had done to stick and remain trapped within the shoes. The other seemed to simply shake them before the sand began to almost animate and jump off like cartoon fleas from a treated object. The smallest one tooh his hoodie off and folded it compactly, placing it on top of his shoes. Then his socks went on the top of the hoodie and then his shirt on top of those. He looked down to his shorts and then out at the water. The slightly older boy seemed to mirror this, like the way a child attempted to mimic others in order to attain similar results.

”Never mind, he does do that all the time I guess,” Michael rolled his eyes, though his expression didn’t shift from the mildly amused one it bore only moments ago. Still, his offer to surf was there and Yancey was the one to enthusiastically agree to the proposal. Mike wasn’t sure if Silus enjoyed surfing, but perhaps that didn’t matter. He was always too nice to turn down most things from his own experience. Something about his enthusiasm always bothered him, though perhaps that was just his own personality. ”been once or twice. Comes with being around Jordan,” Granted, it also involved a larger water dragon occasionally causing him to crash into the water.

Still, that infectious energy was enough to get him moving without the two younger males who seemed to be talking amongst each other. Well, Pup needed friends around his own age since he insisted that none of this was right anyhow. The surfboard shaped construct was nestled under his arm, leading him and the tanned boy to the shore lapped up against by the constant waves. Vampire party came up behind him, though before he could response Yancey asked the same thing.

He blinked, chewing his lower lip and trying to drum up the memories that came with the night. It was a night right? Made sense considering that vampires had to sleep during the day. ”Long story involving some vampires and I think a pumpkin. Osiris likes to run these big mixers, I happened to get invited and that was it,” Michael shrugged, wondering how much the young male even knew about the vampire king. Did non-vampires know anything about that ancient terror? Not that he feared him by any metrics, though he did know not to piss of the wrong people and get himself into trouble. There were many others Osiris could call to be an issue.

”Don’t know anything about his deal though. We get along well enough and something tells me he doesn’t have too many friends,” Michael shrugged, kicking his shoes off, followed by the socks and rolling his pant legs up as far as possible. ”don’t think too hard on it Yancey. Jealousies an ugly color on you,” His tone took on a more playful tone for a moment, pinching the tan males cheek for a moment before seeming to toss the board towards the sea and disappearing for a brief second.  

Pressing the soles of his feet against it and skidding along the surface of the water and through some weaker waves. He knew how to surf, though he didn’t really need people to believe his words. Skimming along the waves that seemed to fit the activity and just waiting to see if anyone else joined in on the fun.