𝗔𝗘𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗔𝗡 | 𝗗𝗿𝘂𝗶𝗴 𝗫 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗢𝗖

ɪᴠ

Present Day
London

Gale's mouth hung open. His eyes remained glued to the sign that showcased the clear words, 'Artifacts That Shaped Human History' beside the picture of a familiar spear with a golden knife blade and a turquoise holding. It was the same one Sersi had gifted to the boy. Gale shrugged. Time really did fly quick especially when it felt like just the day before when he had fought the deviants by the shore.

"You must be so proud, Midas."

Sersi who had managed to click its picture with a face just as surprised as her friend, playfully rolled her eyes. "My name is Sersi. How long will you call me Midas?" She knew there was no answer to the question. Gale adored giving nicknames to everyone he met for no reason.

Giggling when Sersi ran off at the realization that she was very late, Gale covered his head the hood of his dark hoodie and sprinted across the city to a certain building that simply read, 'Preschool'.

He had travelled for years although he tried to avoid any place that he thought would have him. And coincidentally, he had met Sersi in one of his journeys and decided to tag along her side ever since. He

Being stuck at the appearance of a rather young human did not serve him the purpose of working in a high profile job like Sersi but Gale had found other ways to pass time.

Sometimes that meant failing college purposely. Other times it was learning new hobbies like cooking which he still was not an expert at. And this time, it was to be a volunteer and teach a bunch of loud young children. Gale did not enjoy when the toddlers threw tantrums but his love of their cute nature overshadowed it.

"GOOD MORNING MR GALE!"

Gale giggled with a shake of his head at their screams of glee. He put the sky blue apron around his waist and bend down to their level, the kindergarteners all staring at him with great expectations. He smirked and held up a bunch of paint jars.

"I'll excuse you from the boring number studies. Today, we will have a painting session." At his words, the children all cheered, scrambling around to get the papers from the short shelves. "What's this? Little Georgie already lost his first two tooth?" Gale examined in shock at the five year old's empty gap. Wasn't it rather soon? He wondered.

"Ung! Mummy sais if I go to the dentis, I can invite Mista Gale to my basday!" His words came out as lisps and mispronunciations due to his missing teeth.

Gale made a tiny 'aw' sound at that and kiddingly shooed him off to paint along with his friends, glaring at the snow falling over the table. "Shoo. Not now." He waved his hand over the air, the unnoticeable cloud dissipating.

Gale had taken a seat with his students, chuckling and complimenting their scribbles. He helped a few dip their hands into the paint and he printed their hand print onto the white sheet and quickly washed off their hands. He was not a fan of the idea that they could lose control and mess the entire room up, It was always a hassle to take care of them but a fun experience. He stood up and collected their papers, excusing himself and boarding the papers of his students' hand beside the board.

Gale felt a low tremor beneath his feet but shrugged it off as a thunder from him. "Mr Gale!" A toddler girl called and he hummed in response. "The wall's cracking. Why?" She innocently asked.

Gale dropped the stacks of papers then-and-there. "What?!" His students all screamed in fright when a crack of thunder took place right over his head. He hit himself at that but stumbled his steps as the rumbling grew louder and the ground was no longer stable. "Go under the table! Quickly!"

He picked the children up and put them under the several lineup of tables. He counted their heads and breadth in relief that they were all present. "Shh, shh, it's okay." He comforted them, rubbing their backs as they squealed and wailed at the vigorous shaking. Glass cracked. The walls crumbled. The paint cans and water glasses all fell to the floor. "It'll be over soon."