i'll be there | cyan [c]

♕ || bruises

     Devin had gotten everyone all on the same page, but I needed a break. I took Ryan with me on a walk, and Mags had tagged along, not that I minded much. He was quiet, for the most part.

     I had a thousand questions that I didn't want to ask. I didn't want to seem intrusive, but if Mags is going to be around awhile, I won't be able to help it forever. "You said he wasn't abusive, right..? You looked awful, when I saw you.. I didn't see what had gone on," I trailed off.

     Ryan looked clueless, but he kept quiet and squeezed my hand. Mags didn't seem too bothered by the question. "It was the day he joined up with Oz. In a nutshell, Oz doesn't like humans. Our relationship is complicated, but he doesn't like humans. He hates that they have no respect for the supernatural- he's a demon, he thinks he the world should be a sort of melting pot for the supernatural. Humans don't matter to him.

     Barnabas agrees with him, at least that's what it seems. Barnabas is older than me- he's better than I am at magic. If anyone can blow that portal sky high and let the whole Underworld wreak havoc," he sighed, "it'll be him. I don't know if he'll ever want me again- why should he if he's got someone who agrees with him right there? Whatever," he snit. "Anyway. That was the day Bats joined with Oz- it was at a sort of military base. Think of it like Area 51 for demons. They had every right to want to kill people, there-" he pushed up his sleeve, arm wrapped in bandages. "They aren't kind to the supernatural sort."

     We stopped walking, and I watched as he stripped the bandage from his arm. His pale skin looked bruised. "It's been like this since I was there. That was originally why Bats was there- it was just a case of wrong place, wring time. I was there of my own free will, originally. I was rather stupid to think that handing myself over to humans and letting them poke at me would help them understand," he told me.

     "So he killed them?" I asked. Mags nodded, starting to wrap the bandages back around his arm. "He did, yes. I begged him not to, told him that I wanted to be there. He wouldn't have it, though," he said, "and then Oz showed up." He deadpanned.

     "Apparently he had planned to overthrow the base that day. And Barnabas saw that as an opportunity- as soon as Oz offered him a place with his team, Batsy just couldn't say no to a chance to get what he wanted." Mags shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

     "I'm sorry," Ryan spoke up softly. He looked like an ant standing between Mags and I- both of us were tall, Mags even taller than myself. Ryan looked a bit uncomfortable at first, but he'd relaxed after awhile.

     "It's alright," Mags said with a shrug. "Bruises are bruises. They hurt while they last, but they go away eventually, and when they do, things are alright. Breakups and betrayals aren't much different, I suppose. It'll get better." He said.

     Ryan made grabby hands, indicating that he wanted to be picked up. I wrapped my arms around him and lifted him. He wrapped his legs around my hips and his arms around my shoulders. "Something feels wrong," he said drowsily, nuzzling me. I looked around.

     We had walked a couple of miles, and we were pretty close to the forest. Maybe he was feeling homesick..?

     I glanced up at Mags, then back to Ryan. "Wrong how?" I asked. Ryan looked unsure as he peered over at the woods. "Bad people.." He spoke softly. "Bad energy.. Don't like it." He muttered.

     Before I could ask Mags what he thought we should do, he had already stormed off in the direction of the forest.

     With a sigh, I followed.