Dead Men Smiling

4.1

Sometimes the villain is someone the hero forgot to save.

_____

Six days later

"So the Stone Circle is in this town, correct?" Sora asked, looking around in awe. Despite the worsening pain in his back, he could still appreciate how much the little town had grown in the last three years.
Rowan, however, wasn't as fascinated. The divine smell of different foods hit his nostril before a scent he had never encountered hit him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he recognised it and boy did he hate how ecstatic it made him feel.

He tried to focus on the smell of food. "What's the grub?"

Maximus opened his bag, took a small peek and closed it with a sheepish smile, muttering about how they were officially running on empty while Sora walked towards a breakfast place and took a seat, resting his now aching head on the cool surface. Maximus and Rowan followed his lead and sat on either sides of the Angel.
"How are you feeling, kid?" Maximus asked, as he placed his straw hat on the table in front of them.

Sora let out a low, pain-filled groan. "I do not recommend this pain to even your worst enemies. No stars."

The other two snickered at the comment.

The brunet then slouched in his seat and ran his fingers through his hair while tapping his foot on the ground. "What's our next course of action?" "We need to find Wynter, Dolan and Leilani as well, we need food and money and a place to stay tonight," Rowan said, counting the items on their ever growing to-do list.

Maximus smiled as he started to tune his guitar. "How about a little bit of musical magic to get this party started."
Not waiting for their response, he started playing the guitar and singing to himself as if trying to find the right tune. He smiled as he increased his volume causing the onlookers t come towards them; some placing money in his straw hat.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Sora lifted his head and looked around, about to conclude that nothing out of the ordinary had happened when his gaze landed on the one person who didn't seem transfixed by Maximus' signing and was instead smiling at him. He narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"

The man's warm smile didn't falter as he approached Sora. "Well, Sorin. This is more about what you want. So what do you want?" "For you to tell me who you are and what you want."
He threw his head back and let out light peals of laughter that had Sora frowning as a memory tickled the back of his mind.

"An apprentice?" A five-year-old Sora eyed the red head warily before inclining his head at his father. "Who is he?" the red head's smile didn't waver. "Why not ask me yourself?"
Sora met the warm gaze with a cold one. "And you are...?"
"Eric and you?"

Sora shook his head and nearly groaned in annoyance. "Aren't you supposed to be making mass catastrophe and pandemics with dad, Eric?"
The red head shrugged his shoulders. "I'm more or less interested in what you've been up to, Sorin-" "I go by Sora, Eric."

The Angel shrugged once more, causing a light ripple behind him that Sora immediately identified as wings.

The dark haired male opened his mouth to retaliate when Eric shushed him. "Listen, Sorin."

Sra scowled at the name but bit his tongue as he listened to Maxims' words.

"- Close your eyes and just let me in

Let me see your wildest dreams.

Take my hand, I'll show you the way

Wanna see a place where the sun never lay?"