The Time Hopper

Danger On The Edges

I waited in that room all day, mostly doing nothing as the others worked, and it was so boring. By the end of the day, Rosie, Terrance, and the twins still hadn't managed it, and it took the others so long to get it done that there really weren't enough events to keep me occupied. It got to the point where I was so bored I was genuinely considering putting them in danger just to speed up the process. Pretend danger, of course. I wouldn't actually pull the trigger. 

At some point, Riley noticed me fidgeting about, pacing and generally being distracting and decided to intervene. He sloped off for about ten minutes and returned with a set of dice and some cards so we could play some games. Even then, I was very distracting. The dice had to be ruled out right away because I was rolling them too loudly, and I kept cheering whenever I rolled high. I did manage to keep my mouth mostly shut while we were playing cards, though snap had to be taken off the table almost immediately because I was prone to getting overexcited. So, we played quiet games and Riley kept poking me with his foot when it looked like I was smiling too wide. Even the quiet whispers and slaps of the cards being shuffled or laid down seemed to annoy some of them, but I wouldn't budge on this. I would actually go insane, otherwise. 

It was Alice who finally called a stop to it, thank god. I was relieved that she had already gotten her powers brought into herself. She had always been the leader of the lot of us, even if I wasn't around that much, and she was just better at it than me. The guilt and pressure was enough for me to bear, I was glad she was taking some of the responsibility from my shoulders. And she was smarter than me. 

For now, I was trying not to think about what came after. Or what I was going to do about Riley. Not that I could take him back, he had fully talked me out of that, but surely I couldn't take him into the fight. Couldn't even keep myself safe, how could I hope to keep him safe? 

It was strange talking to the others after the day was done, but only those who had succeeded. There had always been that initial rush of noise and panic and desperation, but even when that subsided it hurt me every time I looked at them. That recognition, all the pain of endless losses and separations, and that simmering anger from those who were on different sides of the war at the same time, it all weighed on my chest until I could barely breath. And every time my eyes met someone else's, it swelled up again and I would have to take a moment to calm down again. 

As a result, everyone was wandering around with slightly blank faces, their minds too busy to pay attention to what was going on around them. I was adjusting slightly better, just enough that I could find it funny when Eros walked face first into a wall. 

Later that evening, we had all been invited into the dining hall to eat. The people here were so kind. It honestly surprised me a little, even though I had been here before. They had turned over rooms for us to stay in, clothes to wear, gave up halls for us to meet in, gave us food without complaint, let us use the baths, and didn't even ask us to do chores (to be fair, I only knew the last one because the others had asked while I sulked). We had to figure out some way to pay them back. They had even been nice enough to find out what food we all like and try to make it for us with their limited range of supplies. 

As I settled down to eat, Riley suddenly bumped his elbow into my ribs, making me almost drop my bowl before I could even scoop some rice into it. I turned to him and scowled, snapping out of my train of thought. 

"Hey- what's that about?" I asked, a little offended. He gave me an incredulous look and nodded his head to the side of me, making me turn around and look up. 

There was a familiar face stood by me, a patient smile on her face. I couldn't remember her name, but she had been the one who first showed me around and helped me heal. I immediately smiled up at her, feeling my wandering mind finally focus up again. Probably wouldn't be for long, but I would take what I could get.