Chapter Text
“Connor—” came a low hiss from behind, though it went ignored. The boy in question was mostly hidden behind a post of the bannister wrapped around a huge elegant ballroom. He heard his brother, but didn’t so much as turn. He was enraptured by the glittering tree smack dab in the middle of the space that the staff were currently decorating in preparation for the party that evening. It was all silver and shining and taller than him even though he was on the second floor. It was only a few feet below the crystal chandelier, and the fixture acted as the star on top.
“Connor.” The voice came from closer this time, along with a tug on Connor’s shirt. Connor reached behind himself, feeling around and catching his brother’s arm to pull him forward despite protests.
“Look at it, /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ ,” Connor urged, eyes wide and glittering, “it’s so pretty.”
“Connor.” /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ wasn’t looking, which irked Connor a little, “We can’t be out here. We’re only here at all for training, you’re going to get us in trouble again.”
Connor looked at his brother with a devilish smirk, “Only if we get caught.”
/̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ sighed and looked at the ceiling. Not that he’d appreciate that, either…
“Amanda is too busy with the party stuff to notice what we’re doing,” Connor argued, bouncing in his crouched position, like he couldn’t contain himself, “as long as we stay quiet and out of the way… /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ this is a castle , we can’t come to a castle without exploring it!”
“It is not a castle,” /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ replied matter-of-factly, “it is a mansion. There aren’t any real castles in North America, just forts and estates.”
Connor quirked a brow, “It’s a castle.”
/̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ made a low noise of annoyance.
To his credit, Connor had managed to not only explore around without getting them caught, he’d also pilfered some of the already prepared tiny foods people carried around on trays and plucked a couple notes from the upright bass laid out on the stage for the band without breaking it, which /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ was absolutely certain he would send crashing to the ground.
/̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ thought that was the extent of the adventure, success without tragedy, as they lay in bed listening to the muffled music drift in along with the light of the hall under their door.
But then there was a creak, and two little interruptions in the doorway’s light.
“Connor,” /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ spoke more sharply, because he knew Connor wasn’t getting up for the bathroom.
“I need to see it!” The insistent whisper returned where /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ couldn’t see his brother in the dark.
“We’re getting up really early,” /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ argued, already losing his patience after indulging this and being scared all day about it, “Get back in bed!”
There was a scoff that made /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ pull the covers over his head and roll over, “If you embarrass Amanda with all her business people around, I can’t save you.”
“You never think I can do anything,” Connor humphed, and /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ could picture his hands on his hips. It made him roll his eyes.
“I think you can be stupid.”
“Fine, stay here. Be boring, never do anything fun ever.”
And then the light flooded in, and then it stopped, and /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ clenched his jaw. He wouldn’t be able to sleep.
Stupid Connor.
He forced himself to close his eyes.
Counterintuitively, Connor moved away from the sounds of the party and down the back staircase that was stone, and for servants. There was a place /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ had absolutely refused to let him go, and from how the building was laid out, he thought it would lead him to the best possible seat in the house.
His bare feet were silent as he moved outside and onto the grass, the meticulously cut blades tickling his toes and making him more giddy, move faster.
He rounded the place, attention skirting past the lot full of cars until his eye caught movement and he froze in place.
He slowly turned to scan over it all, and though he couldn’t find the thing with motion… he felt something… a pull in a way he never felt before.
Abandoning his original path, Connor moved into the lot, careful, quick, quiet. He followed the pull, trying to pay attention to what it was as he did so. It was exciting, warm… somehow, it felt the way the moon did when he paid attention to it properly and relaxed the tingling in him, let it out.
There was a whine of a creak and then a little clunk, and someone huffed.
Connor sunk down, using tires to cover him when he paused, and peered out cautiously to find the source of the feeling and the noise.
There was a kid, about his size even, who was trying to close the curved trunk of an old weird black car… but it didn’t seem to stay shut.
Connor smirked, watching him struggle and wondering if he could risk going over. Amanda didn’t like him talking to anyone she didn’t specifically allow, and she’d never allowed him to talk to another child except for /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ .
The warm evening breeze pulled out towards the forest around the estate, and the kid froze before Connor made up his mind… and looked directly towards his hiding place.
Connor whipped his head back behind the tire and held his breath. It was dark out here, Connor’s hair was dark… maybe…
But little clicking footsteps were approaching, and Connor’s heart was in his throat. He moved his body into position to push off into a sprint, but the second he launched forward a voice interrupted him. He tripped in surprise and sprawled forwards onto the dense black stuff the lot was paved with.
“Hello.”
Shoving away his panic, Connor swiftly rolled over and sat up, eyes scanning over what he could see of the kid. He was standing at the bumper, not moving or charging or yelling. Just watching Connor curiously.
He was harder to see than /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ , skin darker than theirs. He had black poofy hair pulled back into a puff at the crest of his head, and he was wearing nice clothes like the people who came to parties like this.
He looked Connor over, and Connor realized he was in his plain striped pajamas, probably a mess… Amanda would be furious if she knew someone saw him like this.
“Are you from the forest?”
Connor blinked, completely nonplussed and making a correction on impulse, “Of course not. Who lives in a forest.”
Then he regretted speaking like a jerk, and felt his face heat up.
“Lots of folks. Haven’t you ever gone out in the forest? Where do you go to run?”
Connor didn’t think this kid was annoyed at him, which was really weird and probably he was wrong about it… but he looked up at the figure again. “Track.”
As his eyes slowly adjusted, Connor could make out a smile. His face got warm again.
“What’s track?”
“It’s like a big flat loop with lines, so you don’t run into anyone else.”
“That sounds boring. Running into people is half the fun.”
“That’s irresponsible.”
“What’s eerie sponsble mean?”
“It means you should know better.”
“Why? People mostly don’t get hurt, and if they do, everyone stops to help.”
Connor didn’t know what to say to that, and then the boy was coming over. He held out a hand. Connor stared at it.
“Like this. Are you okay?”
Connor looked up his arm to his face. He was pretty, and he felt like the moon.
Connor took his hand, it was warm, all of Connor was getting warm.
The boy pulled him up, too hard, and Connor stumbled into him.
“Whoa. Sorry, sorry, I’m still learning…” he said gently, moving his hands to Connor’s shoulders and stabilizing him.
Connor pulled back and looked at his face close up. He was so pretty. He had spots all over his face, but they weren’t moles like Connor had and there were so many more of them. Connor wanted to count them. He was so pretty.
“I’m Markus,” he smiled big, and Connor’s brain didn’t want to work, “What’s your name?”
“... Connor.” he muttered.
“Why are you out here in your jammies, Connor?”
Connor reeled, embarrassed and ashamed, and pushed away hard. He stumbled back a couple steps and crossed his arms, “What are you doing out here?” Connor asked accusingly, “Are you stealing?”
Markus snorted, and Connor didn’t expect that either, “From my own car? Well, my dad’s car. No,” he looked over towards it, “I stowed away in the trunk, but I think I broke the latch when I got out. It won’t stay shut now.”
“You stowed away?” Connor balked.
“Yeah,” Markus looked at him again with a confident smile, tucking a hand into his dress pants pocket and looking regal, “Dad always complains about parties, but sometimes he paints after and I gotta see what he sees, to make the things he makes after.”
“But… you’re gonna get caught! Won’t your mom like… destroy you?!”
There was a little quirk to his face for a moment, then Markus let out a little incredulous laugh, “No. She’ll probably worry some, when she picks me up and dad tells her. Destroy me? She’d never do that.”
“... what does she do to you?” Connor asked, nervous about the possible alternatives.
There was another weird smile, “Talk… to me?”
Connor stared. “Are you really good at stuff, or really really bad at stuff?”
Markus laughed, a big real laugh, and it made Connor forget the dark swirling in his mind. Did… did he do that? Did he make Markus laugh? It gave him a fluttery feeling. He wanted to do it again, he wanted to experiment to confirm his results.
“I’m good at some stuff and bad at some stuff, but mostly I’m in the middle. I’m learning some stuff my mom thinks I’ll be good at. Dad says I can’t make bad art, it’s all just art, I don’t know what that counts as.”
Connor searched his mind for something else to make Markus laugh. What made people laugh? Laughing was for happiness, right?
Markus had a problem. If Connor solved it, he’d probably be happy.
“Show me the latch.”
Markus looked at him, surprised and curious. “Yeah, okay.”
And they walked back over to the car, where the trunk was indeed ajar.
Connor lifted it out of the way. “Do you have a flashlight?”
“You need a flashlight? What for?”
“To see. I need to see the mechanism.”
“Oh. Right, yeah, you’re not. Right. Um, I think there’s one in there, lemme see.”
Connor backed off to let Markus climb up into the car, holding up a little cylinder in triumph after a moment.
“Alright, stay in there and hold it up.”
Connor looked over it, but the angle was wrong, so he climbed in too. He reached back without looking to move Markus’ hand where he needed it so he could see, then reached in and moved things around. He could feel the grease on his fingers, and they moved around easily after a bit.
He found something loose and readjusted the light again with one hand holding onto it.
“I think this is it. It’s not broken, I think I can put it back on the… rail thing here.”
He looked at the parking lot, not seeing it and moving by feel. He stuck out his tongue in concentration, trying to get it to work one handed and without catching his fingers where they’d get pinched when he got it back in place.
There was a click and he yanked his hand out to avoid getting caught. He smiled and looked over at Markus, “I think I got it.”
Then he saw Markus’ face, half cast in the too bright light, staring at him. The glimmer in his eyes might have been from the flashlight, but they made Connor a different kind of nervous than before.
“Um…” he looked away and fiddled his greasy fingers across each other, “we have to get out to try it…” and then he clambered out, slipping a bit in his haste and with his hands like that but managing to stay on his feet. He stood up rigid in his sheepishness at fumbling and twiddled his thumbs.
Markus clicked off the light and followed, quietly shutting the trunk. It stayed closed.
“Oh my god you’re a genius.”
He turned to absolutely beam at Connor, “You’re a genius .”
“I… I didn’t…”
Markus grabbed his hands by the wrist, no care at all about the grease, and pulled him into a spinning kind of dance. He was laughing again, and it all made Connor dizzy in a way he didn’t want to stop. He started laughing too.
“You’re a genius!” Markus sang, and Connor tried to shush him even as he kept laughing.
“I’m a genius,” Connor sang back, in a whisper, and they slowed to a stop.
Still chuckling and giddy, Markus pulled out his golden pocket square, “Here,” he said with a kind of warmth Connor had never heard before, and he carefully used the silky, fancy fabric to clean the grease off Connor’s fingers though it left a horrible stain on the brightly coloured cloth.
That by itself felt like the most audacious thing.
When he was done, flapping the square once and pushing it back in his pocket, Connor didn’t want to stop. So he reached out and held Markus’ hand, like he would to lead /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ around to keep track of one another. Markus held him right back without so much as flinching.
“Do you wanna see something really cool?” Connor offered, breathless with excitement and giddy with the fear of being caught misbehaving.
Markus looked at him, elated, and nodded, “Yeah.”
Connor led him back towards the house and out of the lot. He rounded the side closest to the woods, opposite the driveway, and stopped at a trellis up against the wall. He looked up at where there was a small window jutting out of the roof. He hadn’t found where inside you could get to it, and he was pretty sure it was the attic. The attic, where the chandelier was bolted to an alcove where it could be raised for cleaning and maintenance.
“We have to climb.” He looked over conspiratorially, “You’re not scared of heights, are you?”
Markus shook his head, looking nervous for the first time Connor had seen. Connor gave his hand a squeeze. “It’s okay. I’ve climbed these kinda things a bunch. Do you want me to show you?”
Markus nodded emphatically and looked over. He smiled, warm again.
Connor looked away, face hot, and nodded. “Okay. Look where I put my hands and feet and how I grip. You wanna stay close to the um… the boards or whatever, these posts here. That’s where it’s the most sturdy.”
He let go of Markus and started to climb, way slower than usual so Markus could see how. And then quickly, scrambling up easily and over onto the roof. He peered down over the eaves to watch.
He should be quiet.
But he couldn’t help whispering encouragement.
“That’s it! You’re doing it!”
And he took Markus’ hand when he made it up, helping him onto the shingles and back from the edge.
“That wasn’t so bad, right?”
Markus took a deep breath, but smiled when he was done, “Right.”
Connor motioned for him to follow and they crawled over the roof towards the window. It was latched, but Connor had expected that. He reached fluidly down to the sheath on his ankle and pulled his small silver knife. The latch was insultingly simple, and he unlocked it in a couple of seconds.
He looked over to Markus for approval, but his smile fell off when the other boy was frozen; staring at him with a wide-eyed horror.
Connor, in turn, also froze.
“I’m sorry.” Connor whispered, because he didn’t know what for but he really really was.
“Why… do you have that?” Markus whispered back with a swallow.
Connor looked at the knife in his hand, then quickly put it away, sliding his pant leg over it, tugging it down though it was hidden already.
“I proved I could use the wooden one…” he explained fearfully. He always messed things up and he never knew what it was he did.
“That’s not—” Markus closed his eyes and took another breath. His hand shook a little, but his hold was solid as he took Connor’s hand again. He kept his eyes closed, seeming like he was concentrating.
Connor waited with fearful anticipation.
“Are you going to hurt me, Connor?”
“Not—” Connor stumbled on the words, swallowed and tried again, “Not on purpose, never on purpose. I just mess up sometimes, I don’t mean it, and then people get mad at me and they don’t tell me why so I can’t fix it,” he held on tighter, sure Markus was going to yank away from him and look at him the way people did when this happened, when he did something wrong he didn’t understand, “I want to fix it, I promise, I don’t mean to be such a disappointment—”
There was a hand on his face, and Connor realized he was crying, big pearls of water running down his cheeks. Markus’ expression was… new. He moved his hands gently to brush the wetness away. He was… maybe sad?
“Who told you you’re a disappointment?”
Connor blinked. He hadn’t expected that. “My… my mother. And… teachers. It’s…” Connor looked away, and now his face was hot with something more familiar, “It’s a ‘common consensus’.”
Markus’ voice was still soft, but it was also so very strong. Like he believed what he was saying beyond any doubt, “Connor, if your adults won’t tell you what they don’t like you doing, how could you ever learn anything? It’s the adult’s job to show you how, and if they won’t, you aren’t the disappointment.”
Connor looked up at Markus in shock, and watched his frown curl into a wicked smile.
“Those people are the disappointments.” He said, putting his nose in the air. “That’s what my mom says, and she’s the smartest person ever. Everyone comes to her to ask about stuff.”
Connor let out a nervous, humorless giggle and a sniffle. He wiped his face off on his sleeve and whispered so quiet he thought Markus wouldn’t hear him, “Don’t let my mother hear you say that.”
“Your mother sounds like she sucks.”
“Markus!” Connor hissed, but he couldn’t push down a sincere smile.
The boy just shrugged. Then he smiled back, “What were you gonna show me?”
Remembering why they were up there in the middle of the night ran through Connor like electricity. He didn’t let go of Markus as he turned to carefully open the window and pull him in behind.
“The best seats in the house.”
It made moving around the room, a maze of crowded storage, more difficult… but Connor refused to drop the warm, reassuring hand in his. Markus didn’t pull away either, and that made Connor feel bold.
He saw what he was looking for and moved carefully towards it, light filtering up from the floor in the middle of the simple room - an easy guide even when they had to take several detours.
When they made it over, Markus looked curiously at the deceptively simple square in the floor, the area around it clear, heavy bolts sticking up.
Connor finally released him and moved to follow a wire fed along the divot of the floorboards to find what he needed; a metal box of buttons and levers.
“What is this?” Markus asked quietly.
Connor smirked, eyes alight, “I saw them test it.” He found the slowly descending numbers and grinned at Markus, “You don’t wanna wait ninety minutes, right?”
Markus had a wobbly sort of smile, “Not really?” He admitted.
“Right.” Connor turned to the box and carefully rolled a dial, the numbers flipping quickly until they got to about nine minutes.
“What are you doing?” Markus asked, nervous and intrigued.
“Making a star fall, just a little early.”
Connor thrust out his hand as he turned to face Markus again, tingling now all over.
Markus took it, and Connor led them back to the square in the floor, sitting down on it cross legged. Markus joined him easily and looked around.
“Now what?”
“Now we wait nine minutes.”
The excitement was present, but had leveled off as they relaxed into whispered conversation and Markus teaching Connor a game with their hands, tapping fists in a pattern he picked up quickly and then didn’t want to stop.
There was a jolt, the floor beneath them lurching. They were both surprised, hands instantly down to balance them. Markus looked over fearfully. Connor looked back with a wild grin and pulled on Markus’ shoulder.
“Get down!” He urged, even as the platform lowered.
They moved onto their bellies, the descent slow and jostling them again in a way that made Markus hold too tight for a second when it stopped after a few feet. Connor looked over, impressed by his strength.
They were just under the ceiling of the ballroom, suspended by thick black cords on the section the chandelier was bolted to.
“We’re out in the open,” Markus hissed, genuinely afraid.
“The angle is extreme,” Connor explained, “and we’re distant, and they’re all at least half drunk. No one will see us as long as we don’t yell.”
The cheers of the crowd at the final accent of the grand tree died down, and then the band started up again.
They were facing the stage, and had an excellent view of the players and some of the dance floor.
Markus relaxed by degrees as they continued to watch without drawing so much as a squint in their direction. He began humming along to the band, and Connor looked over in awe.
“You know this song?”
Markus hummed another few bars before looking back with a soft, contented smile, “Yeah! I can’t remember what it’s called, but I can do part of this one on piano.”
“Whoa…” Connor breathed out, and Markus looked away again.
“It’s… not a big deal. The keys light up.”
“That’s so cool.”
Markus looked over at him again. He threaded their fingers and looked at Connor like he hung the moon, “I think this is really cool. You’re cool.”
Connor perked up, taken aback.
Then he looked out at the band as they started something that moved faster, with trumpets and saxophones.
He felt so light, he could lift right up into the sky.
It made him bite his lip and think of doing something reckless… er. Reckless-er than this whole night, the day leading up to it… it was likely to end in a terrible punishment, but Connor felt empowered somehow and incredibly bold.
He looked over at Markus, who was bobbing his head to the beat, quietly humming along and mostly hitting the notes.
“Do you know how to dance?”
Markus looked back at him, eyes almost alight above a nervous smile, “Won’t people see us if we’re moving around?”
Connor was floating on the giddiness in him, nerves tingling, “Probably not…” he pushed down a giggle as he rapidly flapped his hands lightly on the platform like drumming, “...but I… if I don’t move, I feel like I’ll explode!” He whispered even so, excited.
Markus’ smile cracked, wobbling a little as it did, “Exploding would be bad,” he seemed to be feeling the same electricity Connor was, “we shouldn’t let you explode.”
Markus pushed his hands down and did a little hop to get both feet under himself at once before standing. Once again looking down at Connor with a big smile, he offered his hand.
“Dance with me, Connor?”
Looking up at him again like this really did make Connor feel so happy he thought he would cry or actually explode, and he grabbed Markus’ hand eagerly, pulling himself as much as being pulled to his feet.
Then, not letting him go and slowly devolving into giggles, Markus confessed, “I don’t really know how to dance, I just kind of throw my arms and legs around.”
Connor thought for a second, then leaned over to peer out into the grand ballroom below them as the song kept on. There were different movements he didn’t remotely recognize, but at least some of the people were doing something he had, to some degree, been taught.
Connor straightened up and nodded seriously, and Markus snorted another repressed laugh that made Connor lose his concentrated expression.
“I can show you,” he said with more confidence than he felt, “I know a couple easy ones.”
He let go of Markus’ hands and realigned them, the other boy curious and cooperative and moving to position easily where Connor put him. Connor put Markus’ hand on his waist, it made more sense for him to lead, and stared down at their feet.
“Okay so… um, I think you push your… this foot,” Connor shifted his left foot out to the side towards the direction of their clasped hands, “put your foot back next to mine.”
Markus obeyed, and Connor felt oddly proud of himself somehow. He kept his head down and pulled Markus along with his other foot as he replaced it beside the other, “Just put your feet where mine go but backwards,” he glanced up to see if that made sense and saw Markus also had his face down. He was concentrating too, but in a less… tense way than Connor had ever seen on anyone. He looked more like he was having fun than trying to be perfect, and that didn’t… make sense to Connor. Even as it gave him a sort of… reaching out feeling in his chest. It was similar but less… anxious… as the feeling he got when /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ picked something up faster than he did.
Markus looked up at him, probably because he’d stopped moving, teaching, to stare and think.
Connor dropped his face again, “Um, right, good. Then step back as I move towards you,” he pushed his foot, just lifting his weight enough to slide it across the floor of their little platform in the sky, to brush Markus’ back and step into the space he’d just left. “And the other foot comes back in line again.”
Connor did the steps again slow, turning them as he went and trying to ignore the pace set by the music flowing up to them.
Markus giggled again, “Not back and forth? We don’t have enough space to do like they do.”
Connor was still looking at their feet, moving a little faster as he relaxed into the pattern and Markus came along more easily, “It doesn’t feel right without the turning, it feels gross.” He tapped his feet rapidly on the floor as they did it right, and to the beat, for the first time. He looked up at Markus, glowing, “We just gotta be careful not to go over the edge.”
“I think we’d have trouble getting away with it if we did that.”
Connor snorted, louder than he was comfortable with, and took his hand off Markus’ shoulder to stifle it, “That is an understatement.”
Markus looked at him then with something softer, unfamiliar… “Exactly right.”
Tingles ran over Connor’s entire body, and again he wanted something, felt something, he didn’t know what but he again felt like something in him was building up to explode, but it wasn’t fear or excitement.
He bounced up and down on the balls of his feet and replaced his hand and pulled Markus back into step. He funneled that explosive glee into the dance, and whirled them around in a circle on the square that was just for them. Him in his bare feet and plain pajamas, and Markus, regal in his smart suit, shoes snapping little clicks on the wood as they moved. It made Connor float when the sound lined up properly with the music, and he concentrated on keeping them in time; to keep that feeling going.
They moved like that, Connor lost in it, until the song ended. They, together, came to a stop and looked at one another.
They cracked, giggles broken up by hushing one another, and Connor thought he’d never laughed so much at once in his life.
Was… was this what having a friend was like?
Connor loved /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ , they often played… well, sort of. But never anything like this, and /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ was always a worrywart, always telling Connor to be more careful, to be quieter, to sit still so the Madam wouldn’t hold his hands down on the table.
But up here, now, with this other new person… a person his own age who laughed easily and unabashedly… Connor felt free.
Another song started up, and Markus was humming again and watching the people below them.
He looked back at Connor with his eyes big and lit up, they were lighter than his own, more like /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ ‘s maybe, but he couldn’t see clearly, not enough light.
“I wanna try something.”
Connor felt the moon again, Markus felt like the moon all lit up when it was full, and Connor didn’t even care what it was. He nodded almost frantically, because if Markus was the moon then Connor was a star.
“We gotta switch,” Markus explained, moving his hand to Connor’s waist. It made Connor perk up and settle more at the same time, somehow, to be held like that. He almost forgot he had to move, too.
Then Markus frowned, “No wait… I think you need to turn around…”
Markus let him go, and Connor felt like he’d lost something even as he did as he was asked.
Then Markus, counterintuitively, moved around to his front and took his hands, thinking still, and crossed them over his chest, like he was trying to get Connor to hold his own waist. That wasn’t… so bad.
And then Markus went behind him again and took his hands, moving close enough they were back to front.
“Do you trust me?”
They were of course always whispering, so that wasn’t new, and Markus didn’t touch him even with his breath… but something about that whisper behind him tickled in Connor’s brain, and he squirmed a bit and giggled.
“Yeah,” Connor replied, though Amanda had told him several times how careful he had to be with his trust, how she was the only person he should give it to.
But Connor also wasn’t a good liar, and he didn’t even want to try.
Markus started swaying with the new song, and Connor joined him in a sort of circle for a couple of steps before Markus’ grip on him tightened…
There was an intense, sharp spike of fear as Markus pushed him out to twirl him, to the end of their arms, when Markus’ firm hold on Connor’s hand was the only thing keeping the force of that push from casting him over the platform’s edge… that just as quickly became a surge of elated exhilaration that made Connor laugh a little too loudly. He couldn’t help it, the joy bubbled up out of him and when Markus pulled him back in he crashed into him on purpose, hugging him and holding on hard and cackling wildly.
Markus started laughing too, taking Connor’s weight enough his bare feet skimmed the floor as he spun around one way then the other, like that was still dancing somehow.
“Again!” Connor insisted, his voice only barely still a whisper as he pulled back and bounced in place and clapped his hands in front of his chest, “Do it again!”
Markus looked proud and excited and took Connor’s shoulders and pushed him back around like it was nothing. This time, Connor put his hands in place and wiggled his fingers out behind himself for Markus to catch onto.
He did, swaying them faster as the tempo built up, the band cresting higher to meet them, “Ready?”
Connor nodded, “Yeah yeah!”
Markus pushed him out again and Connor almost fell over because he was already laughing from his belly, so Markus had to pull him back a little more to the middle of the platform as he doubled over, holding Connor upright by his hands.
“Shhh!” Markus tried, but he was laughing too, almost as much.
And then he wasn’t, and he crouched down to face Connor and put a finger to his lips.
Connor, still caught up enough to not be worried but more than willing to listen, forced down a few more chirps of laughter and watched, curious but not at all cautious.
Then he heard it, as the music swayed back down.
Creaks, the sound of footsteps on stairs. They wouldn’t be hearing that from anywhere in the house but…
Both boys froze as they heard a voice, somewhat muffled, from somewhere on maybe the edge of the open attic, “-my head if it’s a malfunction. These people take this kinda shit so seriously…”
They looked at one another, Connor fearful and Markus… trying to push down a laugh. It helped Connor feel less sick with the idea he’d be caught, and he gripped Markus a little tighter. Markus stopped his almost laugh and frowned, eyes looking over Connor as they stayed very still.
“Your heart is going so fast…” Markus whispered.
Connor swallowed with the idea it was loud enough to hear, the idea it would get them caught just from that alone, and squeezed his eyes shut, “If my mother finds out I did this…”
The person was slowly moving into the attic, a flashlight’s beam roaming from the far corner over the sea of boxes, their voice a little clearer, “I can’t believe they won’t let us just organize this place, ’s like a damn maze…”
They paused as someone too distant to understand called up at them, and they turned around (or the beam of light did) to call back, “I got it!”
And just as Connor started to shake, Markus let go of his hands and wrapped his arms around Connor and squeezed. Squeezed so tight Connor felt like it was pressing his fear right back underneath his skin.
He opened his eyes, tilting toward not Markus but that feeling in them both, the one of his star and Markus’ moon… and his brain started working again.
Markus backed off and looked at Connor with a smile, “She won’t find out.” He said, like he knew it for sure.
And Connor believed him. He nodded, the exhilarant joy returning slowly to him.
Markus looked down and carefully moved backwards to the edge of the platform. Then he looked at Connor with a crooked smile, still pushing that laughter down.
“Here,” Markus hissed a whisper, setting his legs apart in an even stance and putting his hands together, fingers laced, like a step. Connor recognized it, but Markus explained anyway, “I can toss you back up. I’ve… done it before.”
Connor looked at the height, “That’s too far!” He whispered back, but the light was threading through the space again, whoever it was had to be coming right to them, “I–”
“Connor,” when he looked back, Markus had a glint in his eye and a wild, confident smirk, “I can do it.”
There was a not unpleasant shiver up Connor’s spine. He nodded, transfixed, because at that moment there wasn’t a possibility in his mind that Markus could be wrong.
He backed up, careful of the ledge, judged the distance he’d need to take to get speed and not miss his step, and set his face.
He ran at Markus, setting his foot and feeling just a hint of hesitation /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ never had, and then a force he wasn’t expecting that launched him up into the air.
He went higher than necessary, but his body remembered how to adjust from the courses at the gym and he tumbled forwards into a roll that took power out of his momentum.
He sat on his haunches just a second, blinking, before scrambling back over with the intent to help Markus up after him… only to catch Markus jumping to the thick wire, tugging himself up hard enough to launch, and landing clumsily on the ledge a little ways from Connor, trying to keep his balance by wildly waving his arms but falling on his butt anyway.
Connor stared at him, and he had a huge smile on.
“That was so cool!” He said, as if there wasn’t big big trouble honing in towards them, “Last time I did that with Simon he fell on his face!”
Connor tried to not let that distract him, grabbing Markus’ hand and tugging, “Simon sucks, let’s get out of here!”
Markus let himself be tugged up and around the boxes, Connor listening intently past Markus pushing down his giggles. He set his face, clenching his teeth together, trying not to let himself get caught up and laugh along too. It was really hard.
The person coming towards them— having to double back and saying words you shouldn’t say about it— was in the general direction of the window… they’d have to hide and let them pass to get back out.
Connor’s eyes scanned quickly over the boxes but he couldn’t see the pattern. He frowned and looked at Markus, “Boost me up.”
Markus didn’t even question it, /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ would have at least asked why. He just made himself into a step again, braced, and helped Connor keep stable as he peered up over the maze of furniture and boxes.
He stepped back down and looked at Markus, dead serious, “There’s a wardrobe, it’s… I think we can get there first. If we stay quiet, we can maybe let them past so we can get to the window again.”
Markus, again, just nodded. He let Connor lead him, give him orders… Connor’d never been allowed that before, he was the one who had to listen. Even, most of the time, to /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ . Even though he was technically older. That never seemed fair.
There was a tense moment as Connor was checking the hinge for a squeak, when the light came so close it was around the corner… Connor stood frozen— panicking would make noise— staring at the corner with his heart in his throat…
And then the light took another wrong turn, and Connor had to concentrate, keep on with what he was doing, though his limbs felt like noodles.
The wardrobe was nasty. It smelled like dust and something like grease or wax or something… but it felt even worse. It felt like… clawing, like something sticky and sick.
Connor got in anyway, those feelings weren’t important, and helped Markus settle (he didn’t seem to like it any better than Connor did, at least, shoving the pocket square full of grease over his nose and holding it closed and breathing through his mouth), and closed the door carefully. He decided against leaving a gap; they could listen and take their cue from that.
It was tense, and Connor wished he could cover his nose, too, but the problem wasn’t with his smell. He didn’t know how to cover whatever was taking in the bad feeling.
Connor tried to calm himself, but the longer they were in there, now the person moving much too slow, the worse he felt. He was itching, too. To do something, anything, but he couldn’t think.
There was a flutter of a touch, like… like a warning so he wouldn’t jump, across the back of Connor’s hand where it was getting tense on his knee. He opened his eyes, but he couldn’t really see Markus.
It… didn’t matter. It didn’t matter, because Markus took his hand, and then the other, and started the motions for the little game they’d been playing while waiting for the star to fall.
And then every time their hands brushed, tapped, the feeling of the moon and something else, something more, came through stronger. It built, covering over the bad feeling not entirely but entirely distracting Connor from noticing it.
Connor felt much better as they played, and he was playing with his friend, though he did feel a little bad because Markus didn’t have another hand to cover his nose with.
Connor didn’t know, didn’t remember to care, how long they did that. It was Markus who stopped, grasping Connor’s hands, paused, then pushed one to the door.
Connor listened intently, but the movement was much further now.
He nodded at Markus before he forgot he wouldn’t be able to see that, and felt stupid. He tried to ignore it, thinning his lips and carefully pushing open the door so it wouldn’t creak or catch. He peeked out, but the light was indeed closer to the center where the ropes hung.
He opened it enough for them to get out, not letting go but guiding Markus behind him and towards the window to escape.
They didn’t stop, climbing out and down and into the parking lot, even when they reached what Connor had assumed was their destination; Markus’ dad’s car.
But Markus charged on past him, pulling Connor now, giddy again and contagious with it.
“Where are we going?” Connor hissed a whisper, though they were no longer really anywhere they’d be easily stumbled across.
“There’s a place, I think, out here. Dad said he’d bring us when Leo’s older if he could. He said it’s where he met my mom.”
And indeed, past the lot was a path, laid with circular stones enough to hop from one to the next down it (so they did), that cut through the dense wood past the obvious line of the property.
The stones were smooth, set in the firm dirt trail along the almost hall-like meticulously maintained emptiness between the lush greenery surrounding it. They were cool on Connor’s feet, and made a little slap when he landed with both feet properly. He eagerly moved from one to the next, delighting in the sensation of it. Markus’ shoes clicked, but he was moving on one leg like the narrow bits of a hopscotch, and Connor liked that too. He tried to time them on an off-beat.
And then, sort of jarring him with the failure of the path to continue, Connor looked up.
They were in a large break in the trees, the edges all trimmed nice and straight in a huge circle that surrounded a… pond? A small lake? Connor didn’t know how to define it…
The water was still, the moon’s reflection pulling harder on Connor than the body in the sky, sitting there like a second vast starry void coming from the Earth itself.
Directly down the center, from the path down stairs carved of the same stark white stone as the path circles, was a fancy wooden dock with a gable roof, all of it carved into shapes and patterns. The posts along it, symmetrical and pretty, had spheres and knobs and ovals all up them.
It would be so easy to climb them.
Connor was a million percent not allowed to climb them.
He absently followed down the steps to catch up with Markus, who was spellbound by the area and out on the dock already. Connor couldn’t blame him, but there were smooth stones along the shore that pulled his attention away, and he veered off to look at them.
By the time he’d gathered his favorites, the ones with the right shape and size and fit right in his palms, Markus was sitting out on the end of the dock, shoes and socks messily cast off beside him, pant legs rolled up to his knees… but his feet weren’t long enough to touch the water.
Connor, pockets full of rocks, curiously and cautiously approached. This was another one of those things, people had opinions of how things should be done that he wasn’t warned about, and then they got mad at him.
He didn’t know if he was allowed to join Markus there.
But his curiosity beat out his patience; he walked up silently, and in as unobtrusive a manner as he could muster, Connor lowered himself onto the end of the dock a ways down from Markus.
“I think… I think I get what Dad sees when he paints.”
Connor warily looked over at Markus, but he was still gazing out over the water, “So you… think it’s pretty or something?”
Markus’ face slowly scrunched a little, brow pinching, and he looked over at Connor. Sad? Not happy. Connor was certain he wasn’t happy, “The woods isn’t sposed to be like this.”
Connor scrunched his own face around his confusion and tilted his head. He absently took out a rock, rolling it between his palms as he looked out over the space again. He didn’t see anything wrong; it was, in fact, completely perfect. It was like Amanda’s garden at home, but simpler and much more… straightforward.
“I don’t see the problem.”
“It’s like… it’s like someone carved out a part of… the woods is alive, one big alive thing, and someone carved out a chunk of it and made it into something it’s not. Because they liked the lines they can tell what it is, instead of the ones that are the way the woods are.”
Connor looked out over the lake-pond and thought about that. It didn’t… really make sense to him, but something in what Markus said… hurt.
“It’s perfect.”
“Exactly,” Markus agreed distastefully, and Connor looked at him, more confused than ever, “nothing’s perfect. If everything was perfect, nothing’d be alive.”
Connor… really didn’t understand that. But he did think he knew enough to see what bothered Markus.
He set his face and stood up, the rock warm now from moving it in his hands… and threw it into the crystal clear water, as far as he could.
Markus jumped a little when it hit with a dense, wet plomp. He looked over at Connor, wide-eyed, and Connor pulled another rock out of his pocket. He held it out in offer, trying to smirk but his mouth was twitching again, which made him self conscious, which made it twitch more.
But then Markus lit up again and scrambled to his feet, now also bare as he came closer and took the rock and chucked it. It went way further than Connor’s had, almost to the other side entirely, and Connor’s little twinge at that failure fell off at the sound of Markus’ laughter.
Connor’s smile stopped twitching and he dug out another rock.
This one, Markus kept in his hands, studying it though the lamps out there were dim. Connor took out another rock to smooth between his hands while Markus was looking at admittedly, a cool looking rock.
“You’re throwing these away?”
Connor shrugged, looking out at where the ripples were still spreading, the edges of each of theirs would collide, hopefully before they were too small to see. “I can’t take them with me.”
“Why not?”
Connor looked at Markus, but he didn’t seem to be joking, “Because… you can’t just… keep rocks?”
Markus looked like he was reading Connor right back, like that didn’t make sense to him.
“Whatta you mean, you can’t keep rocks? You just bring ‘em home and put ‘em somewhere.”
“But they aren’t for anything. That’s just clutter.”
Markus looked at Connor like he had two heads, “You don’t got anything you got just ‘cause it’s pretty?”
“That’s just clutter, unless there’s a social reason to have it.”
“... that sucks, Connor.” Markus said emphatically. He tried to give the rock back, “You should! You picked this because you liked it, right? You should keep it.”
Connor frowned, something sharp beginning in his chest, “I can’t…” He didn’t know why it was important Markus not give it back, but he was trying to, and that felt really bad, “I’d get in trouble and it’d just get tossed out.”
There was a lull, Connor’s eyes not focused initially. When he did look at Markus properly, his face had… sunk.
“That’s awful.”
“It’s just a rock.”
As if to demonstrate that fact, Connor chucked the one in his own hand into the lake, upsetting the mirrored surface again. Good. The mirror felt weird and he didn’t like it.
He pulled out another automatically, a black one that was so nicely smooth all over and dense when he pushed it against his palms back and forth.
Before he could launch that one, too, there was a touch on his hands and he flinched.
Markus wrapped his hands around Connor’s and pressed them together more, “It’s awful anyway,” he said stubbornly, and then he closed his eyes and seemed to calm, and the moon against Connor’s hands felt right… and he started to think he could see how the moon on the lake, though symmetrical and satisfying as such, could be wrong.
“Even if they take this away,” Markus said clearly, he looked like he was praying, almost. Praying to the moon, maybe, or… to… Connor? “they can’t take how it feels. You can remember how it feels.”
Markus’ hands mimicked the motion Connor did while rolling them, encouraging it, and he was so warm. It felt like the warmth was soaking in through their skin, through and into the little black rock.
Connor, suddenly it seemed to him, did not want to throw away the rock.
It felt like something was happening.
And then Markus perked up, looking down towards the path, and whatever spell or prayer or feeling there was over.
“My dad’s car is starting… he always leaves early…” Markus sounded frustrated by that, and it made Connor’s stomach flutter in a not bad sort of way. He looked at Connor, “I need to go.”
It was still such a disconnect to think of Markus going willing to his parent and declaring he’d been doing something he shouldn’t and just… getting a ride home out of it. Without any terror about the consequences. As it was, Connor would have to meticulously check himself and his pajamas for evidence to avoid Amanda ever finding out at all.
But Connor, more than that, didn’t want to lose the first friend he’d ever made.
Though…
“Are we friends?” Connor blurted out in a panic.
Markus got an odd look on his face, but it included a smile, “Of course we are, why wouldn’t we be friends?”
Something big flooded into Connor at that, flooded enough to fill his eyes, and they dropped down on the wood of the pier as Connor bounced in place from the whole of whatever this was, this feeling like nothing before it.
Markus hugged him, spinning around just once, “Of course we’re friends!” And Connor, selfishly, clung to him and let out a laugh unlike the others, unlike any other he’d made, like almost a cry but not at all because this was the release of something, the dropping of something so heavy it felt like it had weighed down how good Connor was able to feel.
He felt so good, so happy.
Markus stopped and backed away, taking Connor’s hands and looking at him like he was trying to say something with his eyes, “Even if I’m far away, we’re still friends. I’ll ask my dad if you can come over sometime.”
Then he let go and started down the dock, pausing and stepping in place, “I really have to go or I’ll miss him. I’ll see you later Connor! You’re really fun!”
And then he was gone, running off like a shot down into the darkness of the carved out path through the woods.
Connor stood on the dock, staring, almost questioning if it had happened at all.
Then he raised his hand to look at the little warm black rock in his hand.
He really couldn’t keep it.
But he wasn’t going to throw it away either.
Instead, Connor set his face and tossed aside the rules. He climbed the post there at the far end of the pier and slipped the rock onto the beam across and inside the rafters.
He clung to the wood, easy like he thought with his bare feet gripping and keeping him stable, and looked at that little proof that Connor had a friend. It was hard to see even then, and especially after he jumped back down.
Even if he couldn’t keep the rock, he could keep it safe.
Then as he turned, he noticed that Markus had never put his socks and shoes back on. Connor huffed a laugh. He certainly couldn’t catch him, and he couldn’t take them either.
But Markus was allowed to run around wild, evidence against him wouldn’t do anything.
So Connor carefully rolled the socks up, placing them in their respective shoes, then lined them up properly and left them to sit primly on the end of the docks.
He delighted in throwing the rest of the rocks from his pockets out into the lake, ripples all across it in every direction, and then Connor turned and walked back up to hopscotch his way over the stones and return to the house, and get whatever sleep he could with the excitement of the night still buzzing within him.
/̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ would regret not coming, when he told him all about what he’d done, what he’d seen… who he’d met.
The next dawn, despite not enough sleep and no chance to tell about his adventure yet, Connor was completely elated. He skipped, holding /̷̭̌̓~̵̞̿|̵̨̅͐ͅ[̷̥͓̑|̷̨̳͐͛-̸̰̈́;̵͇̕/̷̭̋͜-̵̛̙̃\̷̰̺̎͠/̶͈̪̍~̶̟̈́o̷̺̽̐|̷̲͛͂ ‘s hand even though he didn’t have a reason to as they went down a long gravel road towards a large stocky building made of stacked rocks and something Connor would have to ask about to hold them together. It was a mass in the depths of the woods.
Connor didn’t care, he felt like he could do anything, be anything. He’d done something amazing, and didn’t get caught, and made his very own friend.
He stopped and stood properly beside his brother, though he still held his hand, as Amanda stopped in the empty lot in front of the lifeless building and looked them over.
“You both have graduated past your practice weapons. Today is another graduation.
“Today, you will make your first kill.”