Codename Caligo

Chapter 1 (More like prologue, really) - Chrysalism

Chapter 1 (Prologue) - Chrysalism

Petals of pastel hues drifted from where the green leaves would unfurl, the breeze taking a few with it, along with the scent of spring as it was soon to end.

He turned and walked away.

Maybe it had been the wind that instantly blew the opposite direction the moment Noah laid his eyes on him, the boy wearing the same black robe and cap as everybody else. Or perhaps it might even be the fact that his presence looked more fitting in the midst of friends his age than he had imagined it alone with him. As might be expected, they were all excuses. It was really the fact that Noah didn't have in him what it took to walk up to Elijah and give the bouquet of flowers he held in his hand, hidden behind his back. Noah would forget every once in a while that Elijah was far more easygoing than Noah would wish he was.

Noah had long been standing from that very same distance, wishing that Elijah would quickly lose that crowd so he could be in his company for that day, the day of Elijah's graduation.

Alas, he turned, with some hope in the back of his mind that Elijah would look his way at that very moment and recognize him by his back, just so that he knew Noah was there, he was there to see him, and if he had dragged that hope even longer he might have also wished that Elijah would run from that crowd, towards him, and grab him by his hand with the same familiar grin he would have on his face. But he walked away, and nothing held him back. If anything, the wind blew as if it were to tell him not to look back.

---

Thick grey smoke curled above his thin pale fingers, and out his mouth in a puff within the next seconds. Something about lighting up a cigarette in that secluded area felt uncannily unfamiliar. Not the cold stone walls as he leaned his back against its rough surface, nor the adrenaline rush and the bitter-sweet aftertaste, not even the cigarette clipped between his fingers. Noah had never swapped his white-blue pack of Winston lights for any other, and with no calculating needed he had spent more time behind those stone walls than the hours he had spent in church for his entire life, combined. A small smile emerged from the corner of his lips as soon as he realized, what had been causing that feeling of unfamiliarity, the fact that by then he was well over the age to smoke. It was the lack of feeling alert, compared to the last time they were there to light one up in secret.

"Ah." The last time they were there to light one up in secret.

He was late to come to a realization that it was his first time being there all by himself.

Noah's cigarette continued to disintegrate, the ignited part of the end slowly moving towards his fingers, as he had been long lost in thoughts.

"Noah?"

It was his impulse that made him push the small bit of cigarette left in his hand onto the stone wall and hide the traces behind him before he even turned to look for the source of the voice. The laughter that followed his spontaneous act immediately made him drop his guard. A familiar manner, despite his apparent attempt of hiding behind the other side of the stone walls, Elijah probably thought nothing of his own hair being very easy to tell apart considering nothing else in the background was the golden color that it was. And that thought alone made Noah smile.

Drawing closer, it was noticeable that Elijah felt a surge of relief wash over him as he caught Noah's eye. The chaos of the day melted away, leaving behind the quiet sense of familiarity between them.

"Old habits die hard, I see?" Elijah grinned, his voice soft amidst the fading echoes of the celebration. "I thought I'd see you here."

Noah's eyes brightened at the sound of his voice, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Hey, Eli," he replied, his voice tinged with warmth. "I'm glad you found me."