Heirs Unapparant | A Miraculous Origin Story

Chapter 16: Writing On the Wall (الكتابة على الجدران)

Lahiffe~Descendant of the hero

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At first, it had seemed like a great idea. One of the few good ones he'd ever had, actually.

But now that he was here, sitting across from a very confused and more-than-slightly uncomfortable dragon miraculous holder, Nicholas was beginning to question the sheer brilliance of his plan after all.

Looking back on the moment now, Nicholas realized how easy it had been to track the second hero to the far part of the city. Perhaps, he pondered silently to himself, it had been a little too easy. Grimm hadn't put up much of a fight--any of a fight at all, really--when Nicholas had explained to him what had happened and he had seemed all in and willing to join him on whatever insane endeavor the teen had planned, which was an odd switch for someone who had claimed to want to start on his "world-altering plans" just hours before.

The chopper gave an uncomfortable rattle and both boys immediately reached for something to hold on to overhead. Nicholas gritted his teeth and clung tighter to his armrests. Grimm, however, gave no visible expression to the gusts, staring past them through the window blankly. On his left, Kila pushed her hair out of her eyes and frowned even more deeply at the two boys. To his right, Fu sat quietly with his hands folded neatly in his lap. Every so often Nicholas would see his eyes momentarily drift toward the two heroes before quickly averting them again with the smallest of smirks.

Nicholas had half a mind to ask what the man found so amusing, but he hardly had time to formulate the idea before the aircraft gave another shutter and he retreated to the fetal position, clinging to his armrests like there was no tomorrow, muttering words under his breath he was sure the other passengers would not be able to understand.

Grimm turned to look at him. "Not a fan of flying either then, I take it?"

"Not fond of anything that involves my feet being anywhere other than the floor on the solid ground," Nicholas answered without looking up. "And I suppose you don't have any problems with this altitude then?"

Grimm shrugged. "Dragon miraculous," he reminded them with a cocky grin. "Pretty sure the no-vertigo thing kicked in almost instantly upon bonding. Lucky for me and for this entire vessel, I guess. Not a pretty picture."

Nicholas wrinkled his nose disgustedly. "Haven't you ever heard of too much information?"

Grimm chuckled and leaned back with an easy sigh. "It's not like I've had a lot of experience with that sort of thing. People...don't usually hang around long enough to hear anything I have to say, so...I guess, to answer your question, no."

"Well, that is depressing," Nicholas retorted. "And honestly, that sounds a lot like something I would say."

"Yeah," Grimm admitted, "that's probably because you have said it. On more than one occasion, actually."

"What?"

But Grimm just shook his head with a smug smirk that sent Nicholas's skin crawling with uncertainty. "You still haven't figured it out yet, have you?"

Nicholas frowned. "No...figured what out? Am I supposed to know who you are or something?" Was he? Was this all some kind of test that he was already failing somehow? He shot the older passengers a suspicious glance but they seemed distracted--or at least disinterested--in the conversation between the two boys. He doubted they had anything to do with this. He also suspected they didn't know the identity of his partner either.