3 Demons, 1 Goal

Intro Pt. 3

He took a deep breath, the winds the ocean had pulled in from afar tickling his ears and fluttering his eye lashes as his breath turned to icicles on his tongue. The waves were wild that afternoon, crashing about the shore and into the year's virgin sand, collecting around Eyesteinn's feet and sending a shiver pulsing up his spine. His lips pulled up into a small grin with a shivering jaw and his tightened his grip on his board, his numb fingers turning white at the knuckles. The beach was barren except for him, which made sense, considering it was twenty degrees outside, not including the winds. Even those who were simply passing by were bundled up in coats, their noses wrapped with thick scarves. The cold didn't bother him, though. He peeled his eyes open, ignoring the dryness in them as he squinted and tried to hear past the adrenaline pulsating through his body.

"Were ya' plannin' on actually goin' in, 'er were ya' jus' gonna stare at it with a creepy grin all day?" A bored voice drawled from behind him with a punctuating yawn. Eyesteinn rolled his eyes and his face slipped into a scowl, "Don't you have better things to be doing than bothering me?" The Ari scoffed. "Plenty, kid, plenty."

"As a matter of fact..." Eyesteinn said, attaching his board to his ankle, "I'm going in, now, and swimming far, far away...so, if you'll excuse me," Eyesteinn heard the Ari couch a short laugh, "Gonna freeze to death out there." Eyesteinn was already off to the waves, "Good!"~It was such a bad idea but it was so bad it was good. Eyestein's teeth were chattering as he walked shakily along the beach, clutching his soaked towel close to his form. Eyesteinn didn't have to be able to see the ari to know he was laughing at him. He shifted his glare to the faint whisps of blue fog slowly trailing behind him like the lazy oaf he knew it to be. 

"Don't be mad at me, kid. I didn't tell ya' to go in, guns blazin' for the hype." It said haughtily. "So?" Eyesteinn muttered, "You don't have to be so smug about it, anyhow." 

The Ari hummed, "Maybe~ but how is our mom gonna feel 'bout your...eh...situation, huh?" Eyesteinn cringed, "Don't ask me questions." 

"Oh," The Ari cooed, "don't tell me ou're afraid of your mommy, Stone." Eyesteinn growled and swatted at the blue mist, "Shut up you would be, too." 

"I dunno," it drawled, "a whiny little human ain't got nothin' on my type."

"And what exactly is your type?" Eyesteinn asked suspiciously. The Ari had avoided the topic for months. Eyesteinn was curious, christ's sake!"Nah uh uh," The Ari hummed, the blue fog waving a finger-like appendage, "it ain't that easy, kid." "Nothing is with you," Eyesteinned muttered bitterly, rubbing his hands together and blowin into them."Oh boo-hoo, 'I'm Eyesteinn, mommy and daddy give me everything and I'm not used to people not tellin' me shit so I'm gonna cry 'bout it now.'" The Ari mocked. "Shut up." Eyesteinn said in a low hiss, "Just leave already, you're giving me a headache." 

'Whatever floats ya' boat kid." The Ari said, pruposefully floating through Eyesteinn and sending a chill through him. Eyesteinn glare dafter the disembodied being, scoffing. The creature, or Ari, as Eyesteinn had come to call it, had appeared out of nowhere one evening around six months ago, startling the soul out of him in the middle of the ocean. Damn thing nearly killed him, and he had the gull to laugh. From their very first meeting, Eyesteinn and was obstinately trying to avoid any form of contact with it to no avail. It was like it had a tracker on him. While Eyesteinn was certainly curious about the origins and species of the Ari, the annoyance of its presence had boiled that down into momentary wonder every time the fog materialized to make a point, but the Ari remained stone-cold and tight-lipped cutting off any conversation that he deemed 'dangerous territory'.

Eyesteinn sighed, he just wanted things to go back to normal.~As much as he loved his parents, they could be insufferable. "No." His father, Sturlauger, cut him off sharply with a dismissive wave of his hand. "No more of this—" he made a face and a vague gesture, "—Surfing stuff. You have more things to be focused on, huh? Want to go study in the America? Study. No water."

"Dad—" Eyesteinn went to protest but Sturlauger put his hand up and didn't spare a glance at his son. Eyesteinn looked to his mother, Alexandra, hopelessly but she shrugged in a 'What am I supposed to do abou it?' motion."I'll do better, Dad, promise!" Eyesteinn gave his father a pleading stare. Sturlauger rolled his eyes with a sigh but just shook his head with daunting finality. Eyesteinn's face twisted with anguish and he stood calmly, picking his plate up, "I'll excuse myself." 

"Eyesteinn..." My mother said in a whisper looking at gim apologetically but he just looked away and left. 

"Wow..." The Ari appeared next to him, "no more swimmin' with the fishes for the island boy, huh? Who woulda thought..." 

"Shut up," Eyesteinn sighed dejectedly. "This place ain't sounding so much fun no more, huh, kid?" The Ari jested. "This is my home." Eyesteinn said surely as if it was the only thing that made sense. "Is it?" And the Ari left in a whisper of air, a breath across his cheeks, a suggestion in his ear. Eyesteinn shook his thoughts away, this was his home.