An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Chapter 13: Angels in the Homebase
Excerpt below cut.
“Grah, stupid thing!”
A foot-long cylindrical object was chucked into the air and flew into a stone wall. There was a loud CRACK, but the portal key remained unscathed. The brick it had been thrown against, however, had crumbled.
Isyris stood in the center of the living room, sweating and panting from exertion.
A small, round figure stood in the room’s archway, leaning up against the stone. Masaru silently watched with an amused smile as the sheep aggressively continued to throw, slam, and pound the key in a fit of unrestrained rage.
After a minute, he finally spoke. “Having trouble?” he asked, his smile splitting into a wide grin and voice dripping with smug delight.
Isyris jumped, startled. He had been so focused on unleashing his anger that he had not noticed the other was there. Voice nearly an octave higher, he looked away in embarrassment. “Er. Masaru—”
“Oh, would you look at that? He does know my name,” Masaru teased and approached closer.
“Do not start,” Isyris huffed. “Of course I do. It is just a habit.” He picked up the portal key once again and held it up. “What is with this thing?”
“It is in one ear and out the other with you,” Masaru grumbled. “Did you not hear what I said earlier? It is indestructible.”
A look of mild disbelief crossed the sheep’s face. “Yes, but… this indestructible?”
“Seems so.” The rat sidled up to the sheep and sat down beside him on the floor. “Have you tried anything else that I have not?”
Isyris looked down at his hands. “Can’t. All out of magic juice, I’m afraid.” He looked up at Masaru with a worried gaze. “I barely managed to get me and the kids out of the subway. Jett was too attached and was making things difficult. Had I not been able to push through it, we would have been found.”
He let out a weary sigh, looking Masaru in the eyes. “I am currently running on fumes, so to speak. I do not have much more I can give.”
