The Animals Have Come to Play (Completed) (unedited)

The Ability to Reveal Secrets

(Chapter 13: The Ability to Reveal Secrets)

The door swung open revealing an excited looking Leander. His eyes were closed, crinkled with excitement as his mouth was stretched in a large, sarcastic grin.

"Geheimnis! I'm so glad to s- no." He opened his eyes, taking in Cynric behind me. I smiled sheepishly.

"Hear us out, Leander," I tried reasoning. He cut his glare over to me. He growled under his breath, looking back over to Cynric, begrudgingly tucking his necklace in.

"Come in, I guess," Leander muttered, shooting Cynric another look. I shuffled in after Leander, looking back to see Cynric still standing where he was. I gestured for him to follow, and he seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was in and followed in after us. Leander led us to the parlor where I had met him for the first time.

Leander sat on one side of the coffee table while Cynric sat on the other. I was about to make a move to go sit with Cynric since it was him that I came with, when Leander grabbed my arm, tugging me down to sit next to him. Cynric let out an irritated growl, but he refrained from doing anything else.

I sat awkwardly next to Leander, trying to shrink away from the male dominance stare down that was going on between the two boys. I cleared my throat, hoping to get their attention.

"Cynric and I actually came here for a reason," I managed out, sending the now attentive Leander a watery smile. He raised an eyebrow at me, glancing over at Cynric.

"I thought I told you to be careful," Leander muttered towards me. I rolled my eyes giving him a dismissive wave.

"I know. But, I don't see why. I haven't had any problems at all... Really," I added in, thinking back to the window and staircase scene.

"Do not try to talk me down, Slipht. I outrank you," Cynric bit out, sending Leander a mean look. Leander curled his lip up at Cynric, a growl leaking out.

"And you're untrustworthy, Nanik. I can't just let one of my friends coming into a situation she barely understands," Leander retorted, leaning forward a bit. I brought my hand to my nose, pinching the bridge. So much for getting them on topic.

"Jjinda," Cynric grumbled out. "If you two are so friendly, why is it that I know why her powers are so unstable?" Leander went ridged. He turned almost robotically towards me. A look of hurt and disbelief crossed his features.

"He knows? You told him?" Leander asked, his tone turning accusative. I waved my hands quickly back and forth in surrender.

"No! No! He found out for himself! I didn't tell him anything." I cut a look over to him. "In fact, I was angry with him because he used a cheating way to find out."

Leander growled loudly, his eyes flashing yellow. The lights flashed, and the ground vibrated below us. A few objects flew off the shelves, smashing into various things in the room. Then Leander stopped, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. When he opened them, they were glowing silver instead of the normal steely gray.

"Are you serious?" I exclaimed throwing my hands up. I crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow as I tapped my fingers in impatience.

Eventually the silver swirled out, bringing back Leander's original eye color.

"Are you back now?" I questioned grittily. Leander nodded, opening his mouth to say something, but it didn't get past his lips before I brought my leg up and kicked him off the couch. He went flying across the room, crashing into the large TV. I brought my hands up to my mouth.

"Oh, shit! Sorry my anger gets the best of my abilities. But, I mean... I'm not sorry! You used your magicka on me! So, sorry not sorry!" I finished awkwardly. Leander sat up with a groan. He rubbed his head, staring at me with a half-lidded stare.

"Okay, I deserved that, but goddamn, did you need to kick me into the TV? The least you can do now is pick these shards of glass out of my back." I froze as he said that. He turned around, various sizes of shards littering his pack like a porcupine's back. Blood oozed out of the wounds, soaking the back of his shirt in red. I screamed, my eyes widening in horror.

"Oh my god! You're going to die! What do we do! What do we do? We need to get you to a doctor!" I said frantically. I looked at Leander's face to see him looking at me with a blank face.

"Are you calm?" I sucked in a breath, nodding vigorously. "So, can you pull these out then?" I looked at them, cringing at the thought of trying to pull one out. I was contemplating making Cynric do it, but he probably wouldn't.

"I can try..." I drifted off, walking towards him. He turned his back to me, allowing for a full view of the mess. I gingerly touched on the the larger ones, wrapping my fingers around the piece.

"Do I just-"

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Leander ground out, irritated. He reached a hand back behind him, yanking out a piece. I had to give Leander credit. He barely flinched as he pulled out the glass. He tossed the piece onto the now destroyed television. I watched the wound instantly clot up; the skin worked under the scab to seal the gash.

I gulped, gripping the shard harder. I yanked it out, trying to ignore the noise of it sliding out of the flesh. Leander tensed in front of me. I tossed the shard next to the other, surprised to find my hand covered in blood. Cynric was by my side in a flash, grabbing my wrist.

"Jesus Christ, Ariadne!" he exclaimed. I chuckled despite the situation.

"Did I tell you guys I'm accident prone? Don't let me near sharp objects."

"We need to wash this off." Cynric muttered to himself mostly. He looked up at Leander. "Okay, Porcupine Boy, show us the nearest bathroom." Leander made a hissing noise towards Cynric, his eyes narrowing challengingly. But, despite the show, he stalked off into the direction of what I assumed was the nearest bathroom. I shuffled after him, Cynric next to me as he guided my hand along.

In the bathroom, we managed to wash the blood off my hand. The scab had already fallen off, new skin replacing the old. I then turned my attention back to Leander's back.

"I can't believe you made my hand priority when Leander has shards of glass attached to his back." I mumbled in disbelief. I reached a hand out to pull out another piece when my hand was smacked away.

"Do not touch it. I will do this," Cynric stated, sending her a glace that dared her to argue. Cynric yanked a piece out, causing Leander to flinch.

"Holy shit, what the fuck, man? Careful with the merchandise," Leander complained, trying to twist around to see what Cynric had done.

"No one would want to buy this cheap quality merchandise anyways. Shut up and let me help you." Leander continued to complain with each glass that was pulled free from his skin. At one point I joined in at easing Leander's suffering, ignoring the hard look Cynric had sent me. Once the shards were out, we had Leander take off his ruined blue shirt. I found a washcloth in the linen closet. I wetted it before wiping it across his back, washing away the dried blood.

"Oh, by the by, I'm a drug dealer," Leander said nonchalantly. I blinked a few times in confusion, lowering the washcloth.

"Huh?"