The Nightscape

A Twisted Mind

Everyone looked at each other, somewhat confused and unsure of what to say. It was such a simple and yet such an odd question. 

"Don't you know your own name? The one your parents gave you? What your friends called you? What you call yourself?" Anya ventured after a moment, tone gentle but prompting. The smile fell from the boy's face and he frowned at the floor, clearly confused. 

"I think I did have a name, before the long dark, but during that time it went away. I can't remember what it was anymore, so now I'm just Me. But I think I liked having a name, so I would like a new one. You've all been out here all your lives, so you must be able to think of something to call me. Something that fits me well, like a glove." He said, suddenly perking back up and smiling round at them expectantly. The seven exchanged looks, a little uncertain. 

"How about we each suggest a name and then you can pick which one you like?" Ettie suggested in a half bored drawl. Her brother looked at her, a mix of discomfort and surprise on his face. He was still getting used to hearing her speak, as she hadn't said anything since he had first run away from home with her. The fact that she still wouldn't speak to him didn't help, either, as she appeared to have always held a grudge against him for taking her away from her father. The boy laughed and clapped. 

"Yes, yes, of course! I like that. Everyone give me a name, and I'll pick my favorite, and keep the others as back ups in case I lose this one as well." He decided, waiting for them all to speak up. 

"Okay then, I'll start. Zeus." She suggested. King of the Greek Gods; Lyra had to admit that it seemed to fit him, what with the ridiculous amount of power he seemed to wield. However, she also didn't like the implication that they were his subjects, and Gods alongside him. Ettie didn't seem to mind it in the slightest; instead, she appeared to enjoy the self aggrandizing implications. 

"How about something a little more normal? Like Malcolm?" Lyra suggested, though she could see that nobody else, including the boy himself, was too keen on that idea. Anya gave her a funny look and laughed. 

"You want him to have a normal name? He's got a soul with all seven auras and powers that people didn't think wasn't even possible, and you think that a normal name will suit him?" She asked her incredulously. Lyra shrugged and scowled, making it clear that she wasn't going to backtrack and come up with a ridiculous name like the rest of them. "Eh, fine, you can choose to offer whatever name you want anyway. I suggest Ireus." Anya said, sitting back on her pile of pillows and looking at the others. One by one, they all suggested similarly grand names, aside from Lyra. Ildir, Ardos, Zidros, and Sigdite were given by the other five, all names that had come from stories the Flickerers had told each other over the generations, each  a hero of one of their respective clans. The boy's smile widened more and more with each suggestion, until he was wriggling with excitement. 

"Brilliant names, brilliant, all of them! Well, not Lyra's, but that's only because a load of other people already have that name, and I don't want to share my name with anyone who's still alive. I also don't want to share any of you, but we can talk about that later. Anyway, I have decided that I will take the name Zidros, because he was my great great grandfather so I don't think he would much mind me stealing his name. Thank you all for helping me. I now have a name, which means we can move onto the next point of the agenda: the first steps to our plan." He declared, puffing his chest out with pride. Anya and Lyra exchanged worried looks. 

"Sorry, but before we go onto that, can we just backtrack to the 'you don't want to share any of us' bit'?" Lyra asked, saying what everyone there was wondering. 

"Yeah, that sounded fairly ominous and I, for one, would quite like some context on that." Anya continued, leaning back on her palms with a raised eyebrow. Zidros just smiled at them both.