Parting of Echoes

VIII

Disneyland was a magical place.
This far outshone that crowded hellscape with its lines that extended into what Orlando only believed to be the fourth circle of hell. With the rides here, there was a looming threat of real danger, as he heard the screams of people riding them, getting tossed, turned, thrown, and flung. Rides that took mere moments, zipping from the third section labeled "Fawna" to the eighth section called "Blazing Woods". Mascots wandered about, some cute and fluffy, waving and taking pictures with people, while others had children screaming and crying, fleeing from their stalker, as the grown person in the costume chased them down, maniacal laughter following. Thankfully, the rides and mascots seemed to be the only frightful thing here, as lines moved surprisingly fast, despite their crowded status. Here, rides went by incredibly fast for those waiting in line, although for some odd reason, people's conversations said they took minutes rather than the brief seconds they truly were.
Currently, Orlando sat at one of the tables, head on his hand was he watched his four kids devour the food they were bought. Bread in the shape of one of the horror mascots, covered in sugar and chocolate, was the dessert Prometheus had wanted, eyeing it while he ate his actual food, which was some grilled meat with vegetables on the side, paired with lemonade that was likely too sweet. Andromeda went with some princess cupcake that was almost the size of his head, eating the same food as Prometheus. Amusingly enough, Aingeni had wanted some cookies in the shape of what Orlando could only guess was death, the child eagerly finishing his food to start eating that. Hepheastus had wanted, for lack of better description, a churro, in the shape of a bunny mascot from this place, looking much cuter than death or whatever Prometheus had decided for dessert.
The contrast in what the kids wanted brought a small sense of amusement to their caretaker, as it served to further accentuate their differences. Despite the youngest's small stature and arguably innocent appearance, he seemed to have a knack for things that may unsettle most.
When the boy had been informed of his departure, he'd rushed to get his little suitcase, running back to Orlando and ending up tripping in his excitement. Prometheus had been the one to start laughing while Hephaestus helped the boy up, andromeda taking the bag so as to make it easier on the youngest. Honestly, Prometheus' reaction was what he wanted to do, but the look on the little one's face made him feel guilty, if just a little bit. Come to find out, the kid's clothes had primarily consisted of onesies rather than actual clothes, which was an interesting choice.
Now, Orlando sat with his four children, bickering about who had the best dessert. They wanted different rides in different sections of the park, some interests aligning while others were against one another, making it difficult for there to be a middle ground sometimes. As of now, they'd managed to get sections one and three mostly done, as not all the rides there were appealing to the four. The four boys continued to bicker, though eventually Aingeni stopped his bickering, instead opting to interrogate the man in charge of him, wanting to know more about him.
"You're very famous yet we don' know anythin' about you."The boy said, tilting his head as he looked at the man, who merely raised an eyebrow, wondering what exactly he was getting at. 
"Your name, is it really Ichor? What kinda name is that?"Aingeni asked, kicking his feet a little, clearly curious, expecting an answer with such a simple question. The other boys had tuned into the conversation, Hephaetus looking up at Orlando, curiosity piqued as well.
"If he goes by Ichor, we respect it."Andromeda said, frowning a little, not wanting to upset the man. Even if he hadn't done anything to them in the past, much less in public, he didn't need their caretaker to spiral into that pitiful slump. Unsure of how to answer, Orlando pointed to one of the rides that looked promising, changing the subject.
Although both younger boys switched their attention, the older two gave him a questioning look before helping their caretaker lead them to the ride after throwing the trash away. The avoidance was obvious to Andromeda and Prometheus, but both decided not to comment on it. Truth be told, the name he remembered was his own, rather than this body's. If he were to give them his name, only to have it be something else later on, it would cause damage to the trust he'd managed to build thus far, and that was something he wanted to avoid. Aingeni was a handful at times, and this was one of those instances, as the child managed to remember his question, pestering him about his real name and what other secrets he had, or if all the things they said about him were true, like his crimes or skills. It was more suspicious as he avoided the questions, but he couldn't bring himself to risk their trust.
"Ichor's my name, don't be silly,"He smiled at the nuisance of a child, who squinted at him a bit, clearly doubting it, but letting the subject go for now, as they were approaching the front of the line. This ride was inspired by an adventure movie which took place in the stars above, as the protagonist went on a search for his mother, who had been taken by his father's enemies to make him hand over the crown- the whole thing was too complex for Ichor's feeble mind, and he'd just paced out during the films, though Andromeda was so enthralled by it, finding the costumes to be so appealing to the eyes. Ichor went on the ride with them, unwilling to separate from his kids.

As they were heading to the hotel for the night, he heard quick footsteps behind him and the kids. Moving quickly, he got behind the four, trying to think of how to keep them safe, ready to hurt whoever was coming near them. Moments later, he felt someone grab onto his shirt, the man quickly looking down behind him, a foolish move in hindsight, but the action he took regardless. Frightened eyes met his own confused brown ones, the child clearly distraught.
"Please help me!"The child said between a whisper and a yell, moving to instead reach for one of the other boys. Ichor grabbed his little hand before he could touch either one of his kids, "Don't touch them,"he warned, before looking around as well, not seeing anyone as it was dark now, empty too. How odd, no one was here but this fleeing child.
"Why are you by yourself?"Ichor asked, keeping a firm grip on him, the child continuously looking behind him, the four boys staying behind the man, merely peeking at the frightened boy, equally as confused as the child was seemingly scared.
"There's a man-"Frightened eyes returned their focus to Ichor, as the child grabbed onto him instead of trying to reach for the others. "I don't know where he is- who he is- but I got away, please help me."he said, tears in his eyes as he pleaded.
Skeptical, Ichor nodded. "Let's go find some guard or something, yeah?"he said, not wanting to take him to his hotel in case this was some form of con.
Quickly, the boy agreed, desperate to get somewhere safe. Honestly, going up to Ichor was a risk, but perhaps he saw he had kids of his own. Andromeda eyed the boy warily, clearly as skeptical as the guardian while Hephaestus offered the other boy his hand for comfort, smiling.
"You're gonna get stolen like that."Aingeni said, Prometheus flicking the boy's forehead, "What! I can say that! It's true."he pouted, Ichor shaking his head.
"None of you are getting taken."Ichor said, keeping them in front of him as they went in the direction of a guard's office near the park. As they walked, the man kept his guard up, listening to every little noise that occurred around them. Even with the boys getting to know the fleeing child, Ichor paid them no mind, focusing on keeping them safe. Since this was a park with children, he wasn't allowed any weapons, which was perfectly understandable, but he honestly had no skills, and any he did have were muscle memory from this body, rather than something he could do himself.
He looked around, trying to find cameras that could potentially be useful. How exactly had this kid been separated from his family? The thought suddenly crossed his mind, as he looked back to the boy, who still seemed a bit shaken up but socializing with the other four. If he was stolen, why would they risk bringing him to this park? Was he going to be involved in some form of trade? No matter what, Ichor just couldn't find a reason as to how or why he'd gotten here. The child hadn't said that he wanted to go back to his parents, nor that he'd been stolen from them, instead saying there was a man following him.
Ichor spotted the building they were looking for, taking the five there to get the situation taken care of. He could tell the boys were tired, Hepheastus going so far as to grip onto Ichor's shirt, "Pick up?"he asked tiredly.  With brief hesitation, he picked up the boy, Aingeni requesting that he too be picked up. "Take turns."Ichor said, heading inside with them.
He spoke with the guard regarding the child's issue and how he'd come to find them, the girl looking at him with a raised eyebrow as she wrote down the information given to her. When he finished, she looked back at her notes before sighing. Turning to face the small boy, she offered a gentle smile. "Hey sweetheart, do you know your parents' number?"she asked, the boy glancing at Ichor. It was for a quick second, but Ichor wondered why. "I do,"The small boy confirmed, Ichor not saying anything. The kid should've asked for his phone then, instead of making him walk so damn far with his four kids.
The woman took the boy to make the call, stepping aside to speak with Ichor. "So he made you walk from the waterfall near the Hymn Hotel?"she asked, Ichor nodding. "Didn't ask for a phone?"She further asked, to which Ichor shook his head no, seeing as he hadn't. "Okay, weird."she uttered, before thanking him for bringing the boy here. The black haired man watched the boy come back, looking more at ease as he told them his dad would come as soon as possible from the Kiki Hotel. With a tired smile, Hephaestus said farewell to his new friend, Ichor setting the boy down and picking Aingeni up instead. When everyone said their farewells, he began the walk to their hotel, though his mind lingered on the questions he'd conjured up earlier.
Aingeni had taken the opportunity to fall asleep, resting his head on the crook of the man's neck, relaxed and blissfully unaware of the conscious world. Hephaestus looked over, tiredly complaining that he should also be resting like that. A small smile made its way onto Ichor's face, as he glanced briefly at the youngest. "You'll rest soon, don't worry."he reassured, spotting their hotel for the week, watching as the three took off in a sprint. His eyes widened, as he quickly ran after them, Aingeni only stirring as they ran. Prometheus was impatiently moving around as they waited in the lobby for the elevator, glaring at the button as if that would make it hurry. A few seconds passed and they were finally on the elevator, ready to get rest after today's fun, yet a bit odd, day.