Boy of Light and Dust

Ica

They sat holed up at his parents' safe house for what seemed like forever. He knew it had only been a few days, though he couldn't remember if this was day three or day four, but he was getting antsy. What was taking so long? Was Max alright? He couldn't send an air message to ask. It would risk giving their position away. He'd already sent one, and he was lucky nobody had come after them.

Dayin had recovered from his brief dip of revealing his past. He'd been more active in trying to raise and lower his shields throughout the day and he'd even willingly tried offensive magic on Ica, though it had taken some persuading. Dayin hadn't progressed much since their arrival, but the fact that he was working on it made all the difference to Ica.

As the days went on, though, Ica had to make Dayin pause often. They had had no sort of food since they'd arrived. The food that was in the haven was... disgusting, to say the least. And so they had to go without. It wasn't an ideal situation, and Ica knew that if they didn't hear from William or the Daniels' twins soon, they'd have to reach out for food.

They'd taken to sitting outside more often, especially in the evenings as the cooler air set in and the last rays of the sunset washed over the empty, dead countryside. It was peaceful, but slightly eerie. Just as Ica had been about to ask Dayin what his opinion was about reaching out for help, there was the tinkling of a warning sign that someone was sending them an air message.

Ica grabbed Dayin's arm in anticipation, knowing that it could mean their hiding spot was no longer safe and that they needed to leave. But it was William's message that appeared overhead of them in his usual wispy lettering: They're gone. Dayin is safe.

The message they'd been waiting days for. And finally, good news.

Ica let go of Dayin's arm before sucking in a sharp breath of the frosty air around them as the sun set ahead of them, his sky-blue eyes lighter than they had been in a while. "It's over," he exhaled as a smile broke out across the mask of grimness that he'd donned over the time Dayin had gotten to know him. "We can go back now."

Dayin smiled bleakly at him, his golden eyes reflecting the sunset ahead of them. "It's never going to be over. You know they're going to keep hunting me down until they catch me." He sighed as he brushed his black hair out of his eyes.

Ica didn't flinch at the words, though his smile wavered for a moment. "Well, you'll be ready for them when they come next time. I'll help you." He glanced up at the reddening sky before looking back at Dayin. "Though you might want to consider those gloves."

"I'll consider them," Dayin agreed, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a small smirk. "And refuse them every time."

Ica scowled at him good-naturedly. "Oh, c'mon. We can get you some cool gloves. They'll look great," Ica pressed as he started forward in the sunset's direction. "If you keep burning your hands, they're going to fall off," he warned.

Dayin blinked his golden eyes in amusement as he followed Ica. "Uh huh," he said, rolling his eyes. "I don't think that's a real thing."

"I've seen it happen before!"

Ica had not.

"Yeah, maybe in your dreams," Dayin snorted. "Are we going back to the school then?" he asked, slowing his pace a little as Ica turned and nodded. "Are we really going to walk this time?"

The lighter-haired boy made a face at him. He would rather never do that long of a walk again. It was miserable then; he was sure it would be miserable now. "I'm only doing that once. I just wanted to get to somewhere not so... in the open before we left." He held out a hand for Dayin to take. "But if you're so impatient, I can take us there now." Dayin tried his best to hide a grin as he grabbed Ica's hand and relaxed as their surroundings melted away from the cold and sunny countryside for hopefully the last time.