Wrong Place Wrong Time Part 2
Jojo
Some ways away, shivering like a newborn, Jojo could only gaze out helplessly from his vantage point behind a rock as his tunic was examined by both adult and child alike, whilst frost settled into his exposed chest and arms till it reached the marrow of his quaking bones. That boy was smart. Too smart, onto Jojo like a bloodhound. At this rate it was either he stayed still and eventually got caught; or make some attempt to get back his clothes, then make a break for freedom. It pained the borrower to have to let Sindri down, but this was getting too dangerous, even for him.
“C’mon, just ignore it! Listen to your dad.”
As if to spite him, the great mountain of chalk muscle took that moment to look round in all directions whilst slowly kneeling, ignoring his plea, and whispered back as if he knew Jojo was listening, “ If that is clothing, then we are being followed.”
Oh great, the hulking beast of a human was onto him now too.
The boy was looking above, trying silently to slide round to the man’s back unnoticed and be his extra set of eyes. “If Sindri didn’t tell us about it, then maybe it’s someone he cares about. Maybe they’re friendly?”
“We cannot be sure of the dwarf’s intentions. Always expect the worst.”
Arms crossed and furiously rubbing away at scrawny arms, Jojo could spot with precise, doe-eyes the tunic in question: the boy’s left hand. Both were looking in every which direction and checking their perimeter, if he made a move too suddenly or too out into the open they’d spot him for sure. There was one thing the borrower realised he had on his side though. The younger bean wasn’t focusing inwards towards the direction of the tunic, and his father wasn’t focused on it either, if he could keep them from focusing there long enough then he’d have a clear sprint shot at the item.
Time to distract.
Scanning the floor for something to throw, a fallen acorn sat close by. Easy to lift, makes lots of noise, perfect, but where to throw? Up above the two, a low hanging branch full of dead leaves, even more noise to make them look away from the floor where he’d be running. Waiting for both beans to look away from his position was what took the most amount of time, time he didn’t have if he was to survive with his arms and back beginning to cramp up and chest heaving with the energy to keep his body functioning. C’mon just look up!
There we go! Both icy eyes on the canopy. Taking focus once more, the boy stretched cramped limbs and javelin chucked the nut. The sailing seed caught the boy’s eyes first as he knocked an arrow, tunic falling from the boy’s hand in his haste. MOVE! Sprinting out from under the canopy, Jojo honed in on his prize, hands posed forward to snatch and run on a beat. The flick of the arrow echoed above as the fur became visible to Jojo’s eyes. Just a couple more steps!
“AAAGGHHH!”
A white hand slammed infront of his view. SHIT he forgot to check the dad! Running too fast there was no way to slow down, the boy smacked into the fingers and went sailing over till he landed on his back. Seeing stars was an understatement, the wind had been knocked right out of his ribs. He couldn’t see.
“You.”
A grasp like burning, welded iron snapped round, irritating fresh bruises and scrapes. Hissing and panting hard from exhaustion, the struggles and squirms were rabbit kicks in the solid jaws of the wolf, vainly ineffective. There wasn’t a prayer of a chance at escape now. The safety of stable earth was swapped for delirious changes in gravity, which direction was he facing now? Huffs of boiling fire seared sore skin, and it became clear as bronze turned ashen, He was in front of the mouth. The borrower boy couldn’t help but shut his eyes
“Open your eyes.”
Nonononononononooooooooooooooo.
“Hey!” The human boy.
The tremor that started without knowledge settled under the voice of a fellow child, enough to open a squinting eye. A smile like the sun was his reward. That, and a voice with gentle teasing on its tongue. How could he be like that at a time like this?
“Heyyyyy, sorry to scare you. Was this yours?” The very clothing in question held aloft, temptingly just out of reach. It didn’t stop Jojo from trying to lunge for it though.
“Give me my tunic back! I’ll leave you the fuck alone if you give it back!”
A voice of thunder clashed the air and left small ears ringing. “Why were you following us?”
“I wasn’t! I’m after the whetstone Sindri wanted!” The grip only tightened. Worryingly, a creak was starting to strain from the ribs, pressure building behind eyes that were beginning to bulge.
“You LIE. Sindri sent US after the whetstone.”
The boy butted in at last, grabbing the titan’s shoulder and forcing the two to meet eyes.“DAD STOP! Remember when we met Sindri, he was hesitant to let us go on this quest? It must be because he sent him first, and was worried about us meeting.”
Stone coils loosened their choke hold, and at last Jojo took a deep breath, coughing. The borrower could taste blood, but it was now or never to plead his case. “He’s right. Sindri let me go after the whetstone when he said it hadn’t been collected. I was trying to do him a favour, but that stupid crow attacked me thinking I was a rat. I’m not trying to follow you so please, just let me go.”
Both child and adult shared a silent yet violent conversation, trying to get the other to back down. Blue of the maelstrom clashing a tsunami of liquid gold.
Bearded lips curdled.
“...Fine.”
Suddenly going loose, there was no time to grab or find purchase. The borrower fell with a cry, no warning from the great palm, straight into the danger of open air.
“NOT LIKE THAT!” The distance was cut short, snatched out the air like a hawk catches a bluebird. Limbs stuck out awkwardly between the delicate fist, and rather uncomfortably, but a heave of relief that had caught its way into Jojo’s chest without permission let itself loose shakily. The other boy saved him. He hadn’t needed to but he still did so and was being nice. Perhaps he had been wrong about the young bean, but his fear had been justified with that beast of a father. The borrower couldn’t help squirming further into the soft fingers, even as they entrapped him in what should’ve been his worst fear. Being caught in hand by a human. The hand tightened closer in response, pulling closer to the fur he must’ve been wearing.
“Father, he’s not a threat. You shouldn’t be so rough!”
“He is a nuisance.”
“Regardless!”
Plainly ignoring any further comment, the parent just kept on track towards where he was before. “We cannot stop now, we have only so much time.”
A sigh from above.
Fingers unfurling overhead, the borrower looked up in response. Smoothing soft covered his face as a response.
“Here, sorry for taking your tunic.”
Putting the tunic on, Jojo could breathe properly at last, blood not quite so sludgy in his veins as he thawed properly. From here, the face was a little distorted (and kind of hard to take seriously) but the look was unmistakable. The bigger boy wanted to say something more.
“What’s wrong?”
Lips quirked anxiously. “I know you said that you wanted to be let go and go back, but if you’re after the whetstone too there’s no point in us leaving you behind. How about this, I‘ll take you with us so we can find the stone together; just because father is being rude doesn’t mean you’re a nuisance. If Sindri sent you, you’re alright in my eyes. Besides, we can talk on the way there!” The whispered voice of the larger youth was pleasant, if a bit unnervingly warm seeing as where that warmth came from wasn’t exactly safe. The offer was in his best interests, there was no doubt about that, but did he really want to be held by a human the whole way? Sure, it would be nice to be around someone his age, but he was still a stranger.
And his dad was fucking terrifying.
Seeing hesitation, the bean pleaded even softer, “Please? I’ll keep you away from my dad.”
... “Only if you keep me as far the Hel away from your dad as possible.”
That beaming smile from before returned. “I will.”
