She was grinning proudly in response to Bonacci’s grumbling of unfairness when Otus and Solus reached the ferry docks. Solus and Otus shared an amused glance before following their friends.įib won, to no one’s surprise. “Hey, no fair!” Bonacci took off after her. “C’mon! Remember? Geddy said he had today off ‘n was gonna show us some new shop in Advent!” Otus perked up, nodding excitedly at the activity he didn’t even begin to recall. “We only get so much time outta classes.” Otus shrugged sheepishly.įib bounced on her toes. “You gotta stop sleeping in on the weekends, dude,” Bonacci noted. Solus rolled his eyes while Bonacci snickered. “It’s only been a few minutes,” Solus pointed out. “We’ve been waiting for you forever, Otus!” “ Finally !” He blinked in surprise as Fib gave a sigh of fake exasperation. With that, he released her, waving goodbye as he exited the house. She pat him on the back, giving him a quick peck atop the head. Otus nodded, giving her what was originally meant to be a quick hug, but his hold lingered a little longer as his dream flashed through his head again. “There you are,” he turned to see his mother, standing at the stove with kettle in hand. He ran his fingers through his hair once before dropping down to the first floor. He hopped out of bed, disregarding his confusion he felt and pulling his boots, trinket belt, and gauntlets on with ease before clipping his cloak quickly over his shoulders. He couldn’t see the source of the voice, but it was so familiar he knew exactly who it was regardless.
He blinked, glancing off the side of the loft. “Otus?” The voice sounded again, below him. He looked down, finding his hands pressed into a bed. He gripped the blanket under his hands, breathing steadying quickly as he fought off the shaking in his arms. Otus shot up in bed, startled awake by both his name being called and his dream. The light faded as quickly as it appeared, and Otus pried his eyes open to peer at the blurry totem.Ī ball of light shot out, and everything vanished into a dark silence. His energy was draining, all his strength used up and sleep becoming much more of an ideal. With a flash, a cold, bright light enveloped him, and Otus clenched his eyes shut. He heard boots skid behind him, the others sliding across the room, away from him. He lowered himself, trying not to fall almost instantly, a second gust came right at him, knocking him out of the air. The wind picked up, as if coming from the floor, setting Otus off balance in the air. When the top piece clicked into place, however, the totem glowed much brighter. It occurred much the same as the first, as did the top. He struggled up again, feeling both weaker and stronger, and moved to the next section. It then pulsed, knocking Otus off his feet entirely. For a moment, the totem glowed, as if considering the action. The shouts of the others were going between incoherent and too loud. Otus clenched his fists, and forced himself to his knees.Īs he reached the totem, he used it to pull himself to his feet, then started pushing the bottom section around into place. The second they had their bearings, they tore straight back to Molstrom, barely sparing glances his way as they passed. He tried not to flinch as Geddy and Alphonse suddenly flew past him, barely catching themselves before they landed too hard on the floor. He crawled, slowly and painfully, towards the totem that was mere inches from falling away, costing them their chance.
His other hand came forwards as one foot braces against the floor and pushed him a little further. Otus struggled, planting one hand against the ground and pulling himself towards the totem. A glance back told him why all three of his friends were fighting to keep Molstrom from moving forwards. The others were shouting and grunting in exertion.
He couldn’t make out what he was saying, but he could guess. The searing pain that came with whatever the relics had done causing every movement to be so much harder than it should have been. Otus’ head pounded he fought to even keep his eyes open.