Spiral of Ants

The Professor Pt 2

Apollo fiddled with the cord on his microphone as Aseil spoke to him. He wasn't exactly a fan of the topic but he understood its importance enough to listen.

That's one of the harder things he had been learning. To not just run away from topics he didn't like.

"I just... if Ezra narrowly missed being consumed by that thing, there's a chance other people are in it"

Apollo didn't look away from his microphone "if they're in it, it means they took it, right? I mean I'm not saying they deserve it, I... don't like the idea of people being trapped in it as much as you. But what if they're like Ezra... ?"

"Ezra is dangerous because of his resources and those stupid runes he made. Not just his selfishness. Whoever might be in there will be out of their element. If worse comes to worse I'm sure your mic would be more than willing to take care of it again. Plus think about it, depending on when they're from we could get so many answers. Like was it always a microphone? What were you like in the past? You've said you wish you knew more" Aseil countered.

"I... guess so." Apollo muttered

"Let's take a little to think about all of it. It's okay to not decide right now. Thank you for listening "

Apollo nodded, letting out a breath and finally looking at his boyfriend. As he got better at listening, Aseil had gotten better at communicating. Giving Apollo a chance to digest tougher topics before they went deeper. "right... Can we watch a movie together now?"

"Of course," Aseil said, sitting next to Apollo as the god set aside the microphone, to be ignored for the rest of the night.

–

Aseil had learned patience was important. The best way to get Apollo to address a topic he didn't like was to present it to him, and then allow him time to process and bring it up again on his own time.

The god was learning how to deal with lasting human emotions and consequences, and Aseil could understand how... stressful that could be. So for the most part he was alright with waiting for his boyfriend to process.

One day while they were cleaning up after dinner, Apollo spoke up "I think... we should do it. See if anyone's in the microphone."

Aseil looked over at the god, relieved that they were finally addressing this "we have no clue how many people might be stuck in there, there might not even be anyone. But just in case let's just try the most recent one. We can take a one-at-a-time approach"

Apollo nodded "yeah... that's a good idea. Now..? "

"I mean, no place like the present. If you're up to it at least "

Apollo picked up the microphone "yeah. I guess so" he said, looking at Aseil.

Aseil came over and hugged Apollo from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder as a show of support. "I'm here, Apollo. Whatever happens, we'll handle it together."

The god nodded before taking a breath and finally speaking into the microphone "Release the most recent person you consumed "

A moment passed

A moment longer than usual, when Apollo used the microphone. As if it was reluctant.

However, after that moment a man appeared in front of them with a small stumble. He looked like he was from the 1700s, cravat and all. That wasn't the most jarring thing though. What caught Aseil's attention was all the pink. The streaks in his hair, and the end of his ponytail. His eyes. His hands, even his sleeves. It made sense that time trapped in the microphone would do that to a person but that didn't mean he had expected something like that.