𝐄𝐤𝐤𝐨 | 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬

22. Blooming Feelings

"Where's that Shark who wanted to fight for freedom before she even knew how to throw a punch, mh?"

"That Shark got smarter," I responded, eyes darting to the corners of the square.
"You know there are Enforcers around, right? Probably watching right this instant?"

"Give them a show," he said, already having me stand in front of the cages.
I wanted to resist. I really did. But then he smiled at me, the way that always made me believe the impossible when we were kids.

"Help me," he whispered.
And just like that, I did.

My fingers worked clumsily over the first latch, heart pounding in my throat.
"This is stupid," I complained. "This is so stupid. We're gonna get caught—"
He laughed.
"Is this going to be your new motto?"

More cages opened. Wings flapped, rustling against bars. One bird flew out early, startling a vendor who shouted something in angry, unintelligible slang. Ekko moved faster now, unlocking cages with practiced ease.
Then, just as expected, a voice boomed out behind us.
"Hey! Step away from the birds!"

"Shit," I breathed, spinning around.
An enforcer. Full armour. Baton in hand.
"I said step away!"

Ekko looked at me, all fire and thrill, then back at the last cage.
"Ekko—" I warned.
"Almost done!" He called, laughing again.

Another voice rang out from somewhere around the area. Backup. Great.
Then it happened.
The enforcer flung his baton. It missed us— but slammed right into the stacked cages.
The sound of metal clattering split the air.
And suddenly, wings.

Hundreds of them.
White exploding into the sky, like snow in a storm. Feathers brushing our faces, whirling around us. For a second, the square became a sea of fluttering white, gasps rising from the crowd.
Ekko grabbed my hand again.
"Run!"

We sprinted.

I ducked under a merchant's stall, nearly losing him in the chaos, but his grip never let go. Behind us, shouting. Heavy boots pounding.
Metal hitting stone.
We darted down an alley, then another— twisting, losing ourselves in the maze of Zaun's underside like ghosts.

Adrenaline worked through me like wildfire, blood pulsing in my body as we kept running— leaping over crates, turning every corner, dodging startled pedestrians who shrieked and scattered in our wake.
"Left!" Ekko shouted, yanking my hand.
I almost slipped. Almost.

We ran into another narrow alleyway just as shouts echoed behind us, closer now.
Next, without any sort of warning, he pulled me hard to the side. My back slammed against the rough brick— his body flat against mine, tight and warm.
I froze.
The world went silent except for our ragged breaths. His heartbeat pounded through his chest, syncing with mine like some shared, feral rhythm.

Footsteps thundered past the alley. Voices yelled. But they didn't look in. Didn't see us.
We were well hidden.
Ekko didn't move. Neither did I.

For a second, all I could feel was him— his body flush against mine, one hand braced my head, the other low near my waist, boxing me in.
My skin tingled. My brain scrambled. My whole being felt like it had been shocked back to life.

We looked at each other, he pulled back slightly, and we both cracked.
Laughter spilled out of us, loud and wild, high on the thrill. I doubled over a little as it hit me— what we'd just done, how childish it all had been.
"I think... I'm going to throw up," I gasped.