Boy of Light and Dust

Ica

Ica returned to his room not long after dropping Dayin to find Max curled up on the couch, asleep. Ica smiled at his brother and crept to his room, trying to be as quiet as possible. He stayed in his room for less than five minutes before he crept back to the door and slipped out of the dorm room. Max was still peacefully sleeping on the couch as the door clicked behind him.

He hesitated as he crossed the hallway to knock on the Daniels' twin's door. He still didn't want to deal with Jensen, but he knew he needed to figure out whether or not they'd talked to Alex.

He waited impatiently at the door, hoping that it would be Finn or Samantha who answered the door, but to his annoyance and disappointment, it was Jensen who opened the door. He supposed at least this made it easier to ask if he'd spoken to Alex yet or not, not that he wanted to talk to Jensen either way.

"Yes?" Jensen inquired; his attitude was very clear in his voice. His icy blue eyes squinted back at Ica. "Do you need something?"

You to drop the attitude? Ica wanted to say. Why did Jensen always have to be like this? "Yes," he said, matching Jensen's attitude. "I came to see if you'd spoken to Alex or not."

Jensen raised an eyebrow at him. Ica wondered if he was debating whether to be truthful or an ass. "I did," Jensen said. He'd lost the attitude, mostly. Ica was sure it wouldn't last very long. It never did. "He was willing to help."

As Ica had hoped and assumed. "That's good." He wasn't sure why Jensen hadn't told him that when he'd found out. That would have been helpful, but Jensen was nothing if not a complete asshole.

"It would be better if you'd leave."

"Why do you assume I'm here to continue to talk to you?" Ica inquired, his eyebrow raising. Why did Jensen have to be the idiot to answer the damn door? And why didn't Finn or Samantha come and control him? "I am friends with your other siblings."

"Well, it sucks that they're not here to talk to you," Jensen said as he began to close the door with a smug look.

A muscle jumped in Ica's jaw as he put a hand back out to push back on the door, not allowing Jensen to shut him out. "Quit being a dick, Jensen."

"You showed up at my door," Jensen growled. "So, I'd think about that, idiot. Finn and Samantha are busy. I don't want you here, so get out."

Ica ground his teeth together, not moving his hand as Jensen tried to push harder on the door. "Talk to me. I need to know what's going on, even if you want to be a moron," he said. Not that he really wanted to talk to Jensen. Years of tormenting and bullying would never change that, but he knew they had to get along for Dayin's sake.

Jensen looked puzzled for a moment, but then the arrogance returned in double force. "What? About feelings?" he sneered. He huffed his laughter. "As if, Ica."

Ica's free hand balled into a fist at his side. Why did he have to be so difficult? "I'm trying to be a decent person. I want to get along."

"Well, I don't," Jensen said. Ica could feel the tension between them rising. He assumed Jensen was on the verge of blasting him backward and slamming the door. "So, get out of here."

Ica took a deep breath and relaxed for a moment before he forced the door back, catching Jensen by surprise. "Listen, you dumbass. I want to get along. If we screw around fighting and doing stupid shit, we risk putting Dayin, your sister, and my brother in danger. I don't want that. I want to help, not cause more harm."

Jensen stared back at Ica, seething. "Why should I believe you?"

"If you'd get Finn in here, I'm sure he would back me up, but then again, I know you won't listen anyway because it's me." Ica waited a moment, hoping that Jensen would, for once, listen to him. At the very least, Ica wanted Finn to appear out of thin air and smack him in the back of the head. But there was no such luck.

Jensen looked as if he was contemplating getting Finn, if only to spite Ica, because that was what he lived for. And it was just enough time for Finn to pop his head around the corner. "Is there a problem?" Finn inquired, his steely grey eyes flickering between Ica and Jensen.

Jensen went from rigid to relaxed within a heartbeat and pressed a smile that Ica knew wasn't real. He didn't turn to face his brother at all. "Just fine, Finn."

Finn narrowed his gaze at the back of his brother's head, trying to determine whether Jensen was telling the truth. He must not have believed him, because he walked closer to Ica and Jensen. "Feels awfully tense for there to be 'no problem'," he said with a pointed look at his brother, as he paused beside Jensen. He glanced at Ica, who had tried to relax but was still standing relatively stiff in the doorway. "What did you need?" he inquired, his was tone much lighter than it had been when directed at Jensen.

"I just came to ask if either of you had spoken to Alex. Jensen says that he spoke with him and that Alex intends to help." Ica shrugged. It was true. He did not intend to speak with Finn or Samantha otherwise. He just wanted to know where they stood with Alex. It wasn't as if it wasn't an important question. "That's all I really came here for, but he decided to try to pick a fight."

Finn's annoyed gaze swiveled back to Jensen. Ica had the decency to feel a little bad for setting Finn on Jensen. But it wasn't like he didn't deserve it. "Seriously." He heaved a sigh. "Jensen. C'mon. We've got to work on this. You said you'd put it aside for now."

"I didn't say that I would quit being a dick," Jensen said between gritted teeth, his blue eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I just said that I'd quit picking fights. So, I wasn't picking a fight. I was only being a dick."

"What. Is. The. Difference."

Ica had to admit, when Finn was mad, he could be equally terrifying as Jensen; maybe more, depending on who you asked. Finn's steely grey eyes seemed to come alive with power, almost as if electricity rippled across his irises. The power radiating off him was amazing. Ica debated taking a step away.

Jensen seemed to realize that this wasn't an argument worth fighting and only made a face as he turned away. He walked away without another word to Finn or Ica, though there was no hiding the fact that he was beyond angry.

"I'm sorry," Finn said apologetically to Ica as he glanced back at him, his anger seeming to disappear immediately. Ica wished he had his control. "I thought that he would be better about this, given the circumstances. I'll talk to him."

Ica bit back an icy retort about Jensen's ability to cooperate, knowing that Finn truly wanted to help, even if Jensen continued to act like a moron. "It's not your fault. Don't bother with him. Tomorrow, I want everyone to meet up so we can decide, as a group, what Dayin should focus on, aside from shielding himself from tracking magic."

Finn nodded his agreement. "As long a Chloe is there, he should behave himself." He looked frustrated. Ica figured it was because of Jensen only having an interest in behaving in front of a girl rather than just being a decent person. "Thank you for trying," he said quietly as Ica turned away and closed the door behind him.

Ica smiled to himself, but only slightly. It was nice that Finn acknowledged he was, at the very least, trying. He just wished Jensen could try too.

‡

Thankfully, Max was still asleep when he got back to his room. And he was so deeply asleep that his eyes didn't even flicker when Ica picked him up from the couch and moved him as gently as possible to his bed. Ica covered Max up with his blankets and quickly escape from his room without so much as a twitch from Max.

He was dreading tomorrow when they would all have to decide Dayin's fate. Dayin had no idea what he was getting himself into, didn't understand what was truly going on. Even Max knew more than he did. It wasn't fair to him, but there wasn't much else that they could do without endangering everyone at the school. Ica wasn't exactly keen on putting Max in danger, but he wasn't about to make Dayin do this on his own when he didn't understand. He knew if they decided not to help Dayin; they were all ensuring their own deaths because the Turned warlocks would find Dayin.

Ica sighed as he flopped onhis back onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He hoped tomorrow would beeasier than it was starting to seem. They all needed a little hope.