Lloyd Montgomery and the Four Silver Fangblades of Ouroboros

Chapter Two - Volleyballs can actually hurt when you get hit in the face

Author stuff: And here's chapter two! A good chunk of this was written on a flight back home from my vacation earlier this year.

Oh! I forgot to speak about the title in the last chapter. Ooops. Anyway, the title to this book and this series is a little nod to the book series I grew up with as a kid. A lot of them were [Character name] and the [Random Magical Object or Important Thing]. And I kinda miss those book titles.

Anyway, on to the chapter!

TRIGGER WARNINGS:

- Blood

- Injuries

Lloyd Montgomery and the Four Silver Fangblades of Ouroboros

Chapter Summary: Lloyd gets the air knocked out of him.

Chapter Two — Volleyballs can actually hurt when you get hit in the face

When Lloyd came home from school the next afternoon, he was humming with energy. That wasn't entirely unusual. At least, recently it wasn't unusual. He chalked it up to sitting in a classroom every day instead of having the option to run around a dig site.

His mother's dao flashed in his mind, but he shook his head. A teenager in the city with a sword? Not exactly a good idea. He couldn't quite get away with it in America like he could in Örecik — which was even pushing it there.

Instead, he took care of the dishes sitting in the sink. It wasn't really enough, but it helped calm the humming energy down so he could order dinner and get started on his homework.

It was a few more hours before his mother came home. She had a small bounce in her step when she strode in through the door.

"I'm home," she sang, setting her keys and purse down. Her footsteps faltered when she saw him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Lloyd said, eyes focusing on the Advanced Biology book in front of him.

He heard his mother move around the kitchen behind him, opening the fridge to look inside.

"Your leg is bouncing and your eyes aren't focused. Have you eaten?"

"Jersey Mikes. I got you an Italian."

There was the crinkling of paper as she unwrapped her sandwich to start eating.

"And what'd you get?"

"A club."

"Anything else?"

"I didn't get a cookie or anything," Lloyd said, leaning his head over the back of the chair to look at her.

"So, why're you bouncing around?"

He sighed, closing his eyes.

"I just... I have some pent up energy."

He opened his eyes and saw her frown and chew slowly.

"Let me finish eating," she said, taking another bite and speaking around the food. "And then we can go practice a little bit."

"We're not going to be stopped by the police or anything?"

"Maybe. If the neighbors call them. But I know a spot where we shouldn't be bothered."

Lloyd nodded and tried to focus on the homework, but it was a futile task. He set his notebook in the book to mark the page and snapped it shut. Instead, he quickly dressed in an old T-shirt and basketball shorts while his mom finished eating.

When he reentered the kitchen, she smiled at him and finished the last bit of her sandwich. A few minutes later, she'd changed and they headed downstairs.