Forgotten; Worshipped (Imported from Ao3)

33

Aaron shifted, uncomfortable. His hood still off his head, his hands itching, his fingers hurting, to put it back over his head. He felt vulnerable, naked, he hated every second he had his hood off, every second he was visible to all, though it was only Hercules who was ever nearby. He gripped tightly at his own arms, to keep his hands from moving to his hood to pull it over his head. Each time his hands were so close to giving in to the itch and pull the hood over his head voices of the spirits from the Winding Woods kept whispering horribly to him.

He says he loves you, but he really doesn't. He loves your face, but not you. And you refuse to show it to him! How can you expect him to stay foryou? He will leave you if he can't see your face!

And these echoing whispers kept his hands from pulling the hood over his face, forcing him into this horrible nakedly vulnerable state. His fingers hurt from the itch within them, and he gripped at his arms more tightly. It hurt, but he kept his grip tight. He knew the spirits were wrong, he believed James when he said that he shouldn't listen to them, that they weren't speaking the truth, but everything inside his mind asked what if they did speak the truth? The thought haunted him, keeping his hands tightly at his arms, keeping his mind occupied, consuming it whole, leaving nothing, scarcely a piece of mind unconsumed by the uncertainty that question alone brought upon him. The discomfort at the thought. How he almost felt betrayed. It was a spiral towards an abyss, one he had sworn never to wander towards, but as he slid down this spiral he found he had hardly a say in the matter.

He was startled out of his train of thought as Hercules walked back into the library. Aaron realized he had been staring at the same book in his hands for at least an hour. He felt dirty, like there was dried blood all over him. He scratched at his arms, trying to get it off, but it just wouldn't, no matter how hard he scratched and rubbed. He whimpered quietly as he drew blood, immediately covering the spot with hid cloak, hiding it from Hercules, which would have been a ridiculous notion just a day ago.

Hercules had a short note in his hand, reading over it with a raised brow in either interest or confusion, or perhaps a combination of the two, Aaron observed. Hercules looked up from the note once he arrived at where Aaron was sitting, his face changing into a curious expression, as though he was noticing something. His brows furrowed in worry, but he seemed to disregard the thought or, worse, the observation that had worried him. Hercules handed the note over to Aaron who skimmed over its little content with a brow raised in curiosity.

The note simply said that James would be in the moon if they wanted to move on to the water temple by the washed away fisher town. It said nothing more than that and Aaron hummed with a frown. He nodded, though.

"I suppose we could take a break, what do you think?" Aaron asked and Hercules raised a brow in confusion. Hercules stayed silent for a moment with a questioning look, almost as though he were disturbed.

"You want to take a break?" he asked, "I thought you wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery as soon as possible?"

"I do, but, you know, we can't keep pushing without a pause for ever. A few days break, what do you say?" Aaron smiled sweetly. Hercules hummed, scratching at his arm, suddenly unsure of himself.

"I mean, if you want. I suppose we can put in a few days to relax," Hercules replied and Aaron smiled delighted, a false smile that Hercules recognized. He opened his mouth to address it, but promptly shut it as his mind scolded him not to, as he didn't know whether Aaron wanted it addressed or not. He left it, thinking he was secure in his belief that Aaron would tell him anything that bothered him. At least, he hoped he could be secure in his belief.

But he couldn't help but notice this strange feeling, something he recognized, but which had long passed, only to resurface this very moment. He felt a distance to Aaron. There was something between them that just didn't fit right there. The distance he felt between them was small, something he knew, somehow, would be something he would be able to cross and fill again, leaving it behind, but... it felt wrong, whatever that thing was between them that had created this small distance, and it was microscopically small. However wrong this felt, his mind refused to let him address the matter.