38

38
God, the park was really pretty now that fall had come; every tree had changed colors at this point, covering the wilted grass with shades of yellow and orange. Everyone was taking advantage of the nice weather, walking about in coats and scarves before the rain came to ruin everything. I found myself strolling absentmindedly for a bit as well, taking in the hay bales and carved pumpkins for soon-to-be trick-or-treaters.

It was nice, for a moment. Just to be normal.

“Hey, Aria,” Aiden’s voice came from behind as I turned, unable to stop a smile from spreading across my face. That jerk--but he’d even gone and gotten me something warm to drink at the cafe. I happily accepted the cup, inhaling the strong scent of pumpkin spice before taking a sip.

“Thanks for coming,” I said.

“Always,” Aiden grinned. “I’d be a pretty bad boyfriend if we didn’t spend any time together.”

A gagging sound came next, nearly causing me to drop my drink. Clyde suddenly appeared from behind the park bench, vaulting over top as he made a dramatic face. “Dude, you’re gonna give her diabetes with all that sugary talk.”

Aiden’s scowl lasted only a few seconds; his arm settled protectively around my shoulders, forcibly pulling me to the side as my drink sloshed around in its cup. “What do you want, Clyde?”

Clyde simply gestured my way, holding his phone in his other hand. All I could do was grimace slightly as Aiden’s look of betrayal flipped my way.

“Oh, don’t give me that look,” I huffed. “I should be the one who’s mad at you two.”

“Wait, what’d I do?” Clyde said.

“Recently, you mean?” Aiden added coolly.

I groaned, pushing myself free of Aiden’s grip before gesturing towards the more forested path. “Follow me, boys. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

Hesitancy was exchanged between the two, with Clyde stepping forward first. Aiden hastily followed after, both keeping at least a few steps behind me while we went past the brushline. We walked a good, long while in silence, the boy stewing in sweat while I nervously tried getting my thoughts together. What if Vanessa had just been overexaggerating? Aiden and Clyde could have no idea that I was the center of some prophecy, and here I was, about to ream them out. ‘Though, I have to admit,’ I glanced behind my shoulder, a spark of glee running through me. ‘I’m getting a huge kick out of making lycanthropes nervous.’

It was the little things in life I had to hang onto, now. Just so I didn’t lose it completely.

At the sound of a familiar, babbling river, I stopped in place and turned to face the boys. They had a mixture of relief and tension written across their faces, both wanting and worried to hear what I’d have to say. Inhaling deeply, I gathered whatever gusto I had and set my hands on my hips. “Do you two know anything about some prophecy involving the ‘Custodian’?”

Much to my surprise, the boys suddenly look relieved. “Oh, is that all?” Aiden asked.

“I thought this was serious, safety-patrol,” Clyde laughed.

I could feel the bravado hissing out of my chest. “A-Answer the question!”

The boys exchanged chuckles between each other as Aiden stepped forward. He set a hand against my shoulder, eyes smiling alongside his lips. “Yes, Aria, we know about the Custodian prophecy.”

“You’re a pretty shitty Duskfall if you don’t know it,” Clyde added. “Everyone who’s anyone knows the story.”

“Is that why you’re acting so strange?” Aiden asked. “It’s not a big secret, I promise. Just a legend we pass down--your Dad would’ve probably been able to tell you about it, too.”

Whatever dread I’d been feeling quickly shifts to irritation. “Why didn’t anyone tell me about it, then?”

“Because it’s literally just a story?” Clyde took a seat on one of the larger rocks, nails suspiciously sharp as he started picking at his teeth. “Aria, if you’re gonna get huffy about every little thing about us, you’re never gonna be happy.”

“There’s a lot of cultural nuances,” Aiden added sheepishly. “If you’d asked, I would’ve happily told you some of the more famous legends.”

“I already know about it,” I hissed between my teeth.

Aiden’s brow furrowed slightly. “Then...why are you so upset?”

I just stared at him. Gave him a full minute of silence to really process why I’d bother bringing it up at all. God, and when it finally clicked, all the color seemingly drained from Aiden’s face at once.

Aiden stumbled back, hand lifting and just hanging awkwardly in the air. As if he’d completely forgotten how to operate any part of his body properly. “W-wait, Aria,”

I continue to stare, eyes squinting slightly.

A nervous laugh slipped out of Aiden’s throat. “Aria, no, it--it’s not you. That’d be ridiculous.”

Only now do the pieces seem to fall in place for Clyde. “Wait, you think your dumb ass is the Custodian?”

Aiden looked completely out of it at this point, still mumbling under his breath how it couldn’t be true. Clyde, meanwhile, practically sprang up onto his feet, wolfish features starting to poke through. He began pacing between me and the rock, to which I could only sigh loudly and let my irritation melt away.

“You two really had no idea, then?” I asked.

Aiden’s blanched face spun towards me. “N-no! I mean, that’s to say--I know of the legend, b-but,” He came back towards me, hands a little more forcefully grabbing at my shoulders. “Aria, how do you know you’re the Custodian?”

“A-Aiden,” I grimaced, feeling the start of wolf claws begin to dig in my skin. Clyde was by my side in a flash, hands cutting between Aiden as he separated the pair of us. A rush of air escaped my chest as I rolled my shoulders and checked myself for any puncture marks. Aiden’s eyes widened slightly, but Clyde remained stubbornly between him and me. I sighed heavily, leaning against one of the trees as my arms crossed loosely. “Vanessa told me. She said everyone in the pack knew.”

Clyde’s eyes narrowed slightly. “And you believed her?”

I opened my mouth to respond, only to have it hang agape. The more I thought about it, the more this seemed exactly like the sort of shit she’d pull. It’d certainly put a bit of a wedge between me and Clyde…

“Okay, well, now that we know Vanessa’s the one who told you, it’s probably not true,” Aiden began, only to get a hard shove in the chest from Clyde.

“Hey, you’re not allowed to shit-talk her like that!” Clyde snarled, his hair growing darker and longer by the second.

A throaty snarl came from Aiden as his shoulders began to hunch, nails growing to a fine point. “That’s twice you’ve thrown your weight at me, Duskfall.”

“At least I have weight to throw around, Northerner,” Clyde snapped. “I don’t gotta rely on Daddy’s influence to be heard by anyone!”

I barely processed the scene before me as Aiden lunged forward, sending him and Clyde tumbling to the ground in a flurry of fur and claws. Instinct threw me higher up the bank side, watching as they kicked dust and pebbles up. “Knock it off, you two!”

Yeah, Aria, because they’ll really listen to reason.

The glint of the river caught my eye, quickly spinning a stupidly dangerous plan into motion. Glancing around the bank, I found the biggest stick I could find and hoisted it upwards like a bat, eying the boys before picking my moment to strike. As they tumbled close to the river’s edge, a swell of power ran through my arms, and I swung the stick around and smacked it against both their sides. Pained howls chorused in the air as the momentum tossed them forward, crashing into the water as droplets sprayed against my face. I clung to that stick like it was my only lifeline, pressing it hard against my chest as both Aiden and Clyde--now dripping wet--found their footing again.

“Are you done?!” I snapped. “Because, and I know you’ll think this sounds crazy, this is the opposite of helpful!”