The rainbow seekers guide to seeking rainbows

Nico

Nico's leg caught on a stick.

It grazed his calf, and the few drops of rain that made it through the rather thick canopy of leaves made it sting slightly. Nico hoped it wasn't bleeding.

Although there really wasn't much point hoping for anything, not now anyways.

If anything, Nico was actually grateful for the rain.

It made him feel better. Made him feel like that was what he was meant to do, because Nico took the rain as a blessing of sorts. He always liked it when it rained. The rain seemed to...reinforce his thoughts, reinforce the feeling that this needed to happen. The rain reinforced the notion that what Nico was doing was the right thing.

No, it was no mere notion, it was the truth.

A fact.

Sighing, Nico pushed another branch out of the way, wincing as a particularly large amount of water dripped onto the cut on his leg. It stung, and Nico was finding it extremely hard to ignore the feeling. Was it a punishment? A hint of the pain to come? Well, it wasn't like Nico could read the mind of the sky.

"Thank you," he whispered under his breath as the rain intensified.

In this weather, Will wouldn't be as concerned if Nico was late. In this weather, there were probably traffic jams everywhere. Nico had been held up before on particularly rainy days - and oftentimes Piper would ask him to stay a little later to help out. People liked to enter the establishment for shelter, and it would be Nico's job to ensure they bought something.

It would be a while before Will realised something was up.

A great thing.

Even if Will found the motorcycle, an unlikely outcome, Nico doubted Will could trace his steps. No, Nico has covered too much distance for that to happen, and asking other people wouldn't give him much information. He would probably call the police, but by then...

Nico would be dead.

So, no, Nico wasn't particularly worried about that side of his problems. What he was more worried about was the actual execution of his plan, pun unintended.

He emerged from a small thicket of bushes, and smiled at an old man who appeared to be hauling falling trees back home as firewood. Odd he was doing it in the rain, but Nico wasn't going to question those specifics. He didn't know anything about wood or firewood or fires apart from the scientific stuff.

"Good afternoon," Nico said when the man looked at him.

"Is it afternoon already, son? Golly, I hadn't realised. My wife will probably be scampering around like a headless chicken with her scones." He looked at Nico oddly. "And what are you doing out here, son?"

"Nothing much," Nico said with a sigh, trying to come up with something convincing. "My little cousin ran off while demanding to play hide-and-seek, so now I'm finding her."

"Did she? Well, I hope the two of you don't get too wet, son. You're welcome to stop by if the rain gets too heavy - be warned, Miranda will make such a huge fuss over you. She'll think you're adorable." The man went back to his wheelbarrow, which was almost full of wood. Nico wondered he he was going to move it.

"Thanks."

The man dipped his head before shuffling off, and Nico continued through the thick greenery, heading towards the motorway which would be the death of him, quite literally. He should've chosen a better route, maybe stopped in the emergency bay of the motorway or something. In hindsight, that would've been much smarter.

Well, like this Nico could think a little bit more.

"Nico! Nico? Where are you?"

Nico ran through the park, looking for a tree to climb. The sky was overcast, and the clouds looked like they were about to burst, but neither he nor Bianca cared. All the trunks of these trees were too smooth.