Parting of Echoes

III

Ms. Liv opened the door with a blue key, which had a diamond at the end of it, which was a rather odd choice. She then gave the key to the male, keeping her smile as always. "This key will be yours."she informed him, stepping inside the home, waiting for him to do the same. He looked down at the pouch he was carrying, opening it finally and setting the key inside, keeping his face the same as he saw the gold coins. He wondered if they were a lot of currency here or if they were mere pennies; he'd have to figure it out later. After closing it again, he made his way inside, finding himself liking the decor of this home. It was several miles away from where they had been originally, the community itself gated and with guards. This house, as he'd been informed, was bought and under the name of the man from earlier, though he was listed to now be a resident alongside the children who already occupied this place.

The entrance had a floor of black carpet with black couches lined up on two walls, a large flat screen television in front of them with several gaming consoles, stereo systems, and a small bookshelf beneath the tv, organized in alphabetical order. It was a dark decor, but beyond the wall behind the black recliner, he could see the white ceramic floor. He could see an island with five stools, also black with the wood appearing burnt, though this was likely by design, as even the marble top itself was black with what appeared to be golden cracks. Walls were a sage green, void of any designs on them. Odd for a house with kids, he thought to himself.

After closing the door behind himself, he heard children arguing with one another, soon footsteps accompanying the argument between them. Ms. Liv looked towards the stairs, "Those are the kids,"she told him, as they both silently waited for them to make themselves properly known. Eventually, there were three kids at the bottom of the stairs, looking at "Ichor". They were different ages, if their heights were something to go by, and were not siblings- or at least it didn't appear that way.

One of the boys, the youngest he figured, had bright red hair, a freckled face and big blue eyes. His hair was short but sticking all over the place, as if he'd just woken up. In his left hand he held a rather old bunny plushie that was about eight or so inches. "Ichor" refrained from making any comments to the kid about his parents, thinking it may be too harsh to say something so soon after just meeting him. With a big smile, the red haired boy offered his hand to the man, "Hi! My name is Hephaestus!"he said loudly, as the man crouched down a bit, shaking his little hand.

"Ichor."He introduced himself, though Ms. Liv looked at him with an unamused face, which was odd since all he'd seen her doing was smile this entire time. The black haired man looked at her in confusion, a small frown on his face, "What?"he asked, wondering what caused her sudden mood shift. She shook her head, quickly putting that smile back on, "Nothing Ichor,"she said, though the name was said with such a passive aggressive tone that it made him want to flick her in the forehead, only because the kids were watching. Hephaestus eventually let go, still grinning as he looked at the other two, who didn't seem as giddy or friendly as the young child.

"I'm Prometheus."The boy with black hair spoke up, grabbing Hephaestus by the shoulders and moving him away from the man, clearly skeptical of him. He had dark brown eyes, similar to Ichor's own, and had a clear distaste towards the man right away, which the tall man could understand, as he was a stranger after all. Hephaestus didn't seem to mind suddenly being grabbed, instead merely continuing to smile and hold that little bunny of his. "Did Raul send you here to babysit?"the boy asked, his grip only tightening on Hephaestus's shoulders, which caused the younger boy to glance at him quickly, uncomfortable with the sudden increase in pressure.

"Prometheus,"the third boy said, a warning tone in his light voice, his arms crossing to show his annoyance with what was likely the younger of these two boys. This one had platinum blond hair with dull green eyes, looking as tired as "Ichor" felt at that moment. Going quiet, Prometheus relaxed his hold on Hephaestus, a soft apology leaving his lips as he looked down at Hephaestus, smiling ever so slightly, likely to somewhat comfort the boy after the tense moment they'd passed. "Ichor" turned his attention to the oldest boy, now properly standing with his own arms crossed.

"Don't look at me like that,"the boy said, noticing how unamused "Ichor" must have been, showing his own face of disdain. "For Ms. Liv's sake, I'll inform you that my name is Andromeda."he said pointedly, which "Ichor" nodded to, deciding not to comment on the names of these children. He wondered why they'd been given such names, and if such things existed here. Technologies were the same as before and he'd likely do research on just what these names meant or where they originally came from, as he knew he'd heard of them before. It was rather astonishing that these children could pronounce them with such confidence, as he himself would likely struggle with pronouncing their names.

"Right then,"Ms. Liv broke the silence, a smile still plastered onto her face. "I'll let you get to know the boys better, then I'll return tomorrow to give you further instructions regarding scheduling, unfortunate events that have unfolded, and wonderful things such as that."she said cheerfully.

"Wonderful things?"He asked, looking at her in mild disbelief.

"Wonderful things!"She doubled down, before she made her way to the door, waving farewell to the kids. The blond woman closed the door behind her, though did not lock it, instead "Ichor" having to walk over to do so. When he turned back to the kids, the two older boys were looking at him with utter annoyance, little Hephaestus only smiling at him, his big blue eyes twinkling, though the man was unsure why. Perhaps it was because he got to see a new face, or perhaps because the small child was truly a mischievous individual. A few moments of silence passed between them before Hephaestus took his hand, eagerly taking him into the kitchen.

"You should make chicken! With veggies!"the small boy requested, a dopey grin on his freckled face, as he barely restrained himself from bouncing in utter excitement.

The tall man stared at him for a few seconds before nodding, "Alright, alright. Where is everything?"he asked, walking around the kitchen to see where the spices were stored. He heard the fridge, or freezer, being opened, before something was carelessly dropped onto the counter, causing a loud noise. Moments later, the two older boys were inside the kitchen, asking if the little one was alright and what exactly happened.

"I got the chicken!"the red haired boy laughed, pleased more than startled.

The mission to get spices was successful, as he recognized the names of them, glad this world was not much different than his own.

"Are you okay?"the small boy asked, the older simply looking at the man, who had gone still, staring at the lemon pepper powder in his hand.

"Fuck."The realization he was no longer home finally reared its ugly head, his heart seemingly halting as his vision blurred. Tears upon tears were shed today, and he had to find time to let more out when he wasn't in a kitchen with three boys looking at him as if he was dangerous- and to some extent, he was! What man carried around a sniper rifle and a claymore! A man with the intent to kill.

"'m fine, it's fine-I'm fine."he rushed, quickly grabbing the rest of the spices, taking several deep breaths as he moved around the kitchen to arrange everything. Focus on cooking, then your personal problems, he thought to himself, not wanting to alarm the kids any further than they already seemed to be. "Wait for the food in the living room,"he instructed, hearing the youngest boy say a joking "ay ay captain", the boy seemingly already comfortable with him, though the other two remained quiet as they left.

Cooking in silence was odd, as he often played music while dancing in order to keep his motivation. Now, he was finally alone- or as alone as this situation could put him in. Not so distantly, he could hear the television with what he could only assume to be cartoons that played at night, keeping the boys at least somewhat entertained. Thankfully, the chicken wasn't frozen, making it possible to actually cook the damn thing.