Ficletty Goodness

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Soooooo here's a storage place for all of my ficlets :3

Each ficlet had a title and underneath, there will be a reason for the ficlet's existance, or the muse for the ficlet. Exciting chiz, amirite?

For your pleasure of reading and my piece of mind of being able to find everything I write xD

Enjoooooooooy!~

(If anything is mature or upsetting, I will label it as such <3)

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Avi in Wonderland

Secret Santa Fic for Cat
Word Count:  872

Avinea had known it from the moment she had opened her eyes that Saturday morning. she needed to run. Well, she knew this every single morning she had awoken in her life, but today was obviously no exception. She smiled as she pulled her covers off of her and she bounded with early morning energy to the window and pushed the curtains aside. It was still pretty dark out, thanks to the fact that Winter, as a season, wasn’t a morning person, and liked to keep the blinds down until later on, but that didn’t phase Avi one bit. She beamed brightly and whizzed over to her wardrobe to get changed.

Once she was ready, and had donned some decent sneakers, she set off into wonderful wilderness outside. Of course, Pilot Ridge was a pretty urban area, but that didn’t stop her from feeling a little more… free. Restrainment was difficult to deal with. The only problem was that… she’d been everywhere. From running around campus and running around town… she didn’t think there was a rock she had left unturned! All the same, she continued her trek.

Down the empty sidewalk, she jogged through the town, which was extremely reminiscent of a ghost town from how quiet and deserted it seemed. In less than a few hours though, it would be up to it’s usual standard of business, with pedestrians roaming in and out of the shops and vendors opening their businesses up for the day. She picked up the pace a little, going from a jog into a slow run.

She reached the lake and took in the frozen water, which reflected the rising sun to a small amount. Birds twittered and flew around and she smiled at the sight, deciding to follow the creatures as they flew.

Avi felt the wind sprint along beside her, flowing with her movements and accounting for everything. The winged creatures swooped and swerved into around and back into town before zooming straight into an alley-way. Subconciously, Avi followed, only to try and halt herself as she turned into the narrow, shadowed passage. She closed her eyes, and let out a little yelp as she tripped and fell forwards onto the cold, hard…

…warm, dew-dropped grass? Avi moaned in confusion and got onto her knees, gradually pulling herself up from the ground. She shook her head, “You really overdid it this time, Avi,” she spoke to herself and put a hand to the side of her head, before wrenching her eyes open. In front of her lay an amazing sight. A garden of Eden, you could say. Her jaw dropped and she swivelled on her heels, looking to where the alley-way should’ve been behind her, to find a continually large expanse of greenery behind her. “What the… fuck?” She took in her surroundings with disbelieving eyes. She wasn’t exactly complaining, not at all, in fact, it was a whole lot nicer here than in the gloomy, half-asleep Pilot Ridge she had left behind. Curious to explore, she began to walk, then jog, then run around the paradise. A smile grew on her face at the sight of this seemingly never-ending world of beautiful nature and warm air. She laughed a little and opened her eyes, swerving around trees which bent over slightly, as if bowing, while she passed, because of the strong winds she conjured around her. Following the path, she came into another large stretch of greenery, which when she noticed, she skidded to a halt.

Those same birds hovered nearby (now catching a good look, they seemed to be some kind of hummingbird) and tweeted at her, before diving to the right. Avi watched them with catious eyes, and shouted after them with an arm held out urgently when they flew away, “Wait!” she hollered, and continued to follow them. Yes, she knew they were only birds, they probably couldn’t talk, but she wanted answers! She sprinted as fast as she could after them, having to shut her eyes from the speed of the gale around her.

After a few minutes of reckless running, she slowed herself down and came to a stop. She was in the middle of dense forestry, and she had no idea how to get out. The birds were no-where to be seen either, the little flapping bastards. “HEY!” she shouted, hoping to get someone’s attention, but obviously, no-one came to her call. She kept her guard up and just as she began to let out a sigh of defeat, a loud squawk sounded in her ear. She screamed and fell away from it, scrambling and flapping her arms around for balance. She tripped over her own feet and landed in a cold puddle of water on the hard ground. Groaning again, and silently cursing her sudden clumsiness, she pulled herself up.

She was back in Pilot Ridge, just outside of the alley-way she had ran into minutes before. The sun was a clear circle in the sky and Avi felt a few drops of water fall onto her head and arms; it was starting to rain. Groaning, she set off once more towards Hammel with one question looming in her mind.

Where the hell had she been?

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Training Wheels

Entry for the Writing Challenge February 2014 - Age is Just a Number
Word Count: 1241

"This is ridiculous. I, I can't do it, it won't work." George huffed in frustration, how did her trainer expect her to do something her power didn't let her do? She wasn't a telekinetic, she was a tracker! As much as being a tracker was annoyingly useless, that was what she was. She turned back to the man, who was considerably taller than her, "And also, your power isn't even mental, like mine! Why should you know what I should do?"

The 33-year old just smiled at his student's frustration. He didn't mean to be demeaning, or unhelpful. But he had his methods. "Just try it." He nodded at a nearby pen pot, "Go on." He knew fully well what her ability was, and he also knew he couldn't somehow teach her to use a different one. That wouldn't make him a very good trainer. But he wanted to see how she tackled this.

George, still completely dumbfounded by the whole situation, froze for a second, then caved, shaking her head, "Alright, whatever you say." She looked at one of the pens that protruded from the pot and concentrated hard on it, willing it to move with her mind. After a long silence and a pretty huge mental struggle, the 17-year-old girl gave up. She looked angrily upon her trainer, "See!" She pointed at the pens, "What did that gain?"

"Well, nothin'." The winged trainer replied, keeping his relaxed state as he spoke.

"...so?" She questionned. Surely he wasn't that stupid... or crazy.

"That's the point." He smiled calmly, "You keep rushin' into things." It was true - George was a very brash person, and a little lazy, so she often hurried along the process of things when she felt impatient. "If you speed into everythin', you're gonna get somethin' wrong, whether it's as tedious as gettin' a minor detail confused," he glanced over at the pens, "Or as simple as doin' the wrong technique entirely." He looked back over at George, "You understand?"

She was... surprisingly comprehending this, "...yeah, yeah I do."

He smiled, "Brilliant. D'you wanna try again then?"

George nodded slowly, accepting - she was going to get it right this time; no memory loss, no headaches and no distractions. All she had to do was take her time. "Alright, sir."

He shook his head and chuckled as he opened a window and turned to leave, "I've told you so many times before, George, just call me Gryph." He grinned and closed the door behind him, leaving George smiling to herself. She was glad she had him as a trainer. As soon as he left, she almost went back to her usual routine, from habit, which was to slouch on Mr. Matsuoka's chair and check Twitter on her phone until the bird came to the window, but this time... she was ready. She took out her phone and left it out of arm's reach, on his desk, and then sat cross-legged on the floor. Patience wasn't in her nature, but... she was trying for once, miracles could happen.

Gryphon knew where he was gonna go this time. A lot of the other times, he just found some random spot on the school grounds, but this time he would be friendly, in a way. After a few minutes of wandering around, he was opening the door to the library. It had a few students dotted here and there, with the librarian no-where to be seen. Gryphon frowned, but he'd find the scruffy-haired man later. He opened a window and called outside, tweeting to one of the birds nearby. Seeing how long he had hung around at Hammel and Pilot Ridge, he had made friends with some of the avian inhabitants of the area.

Terrence heard the sound of a bird, but it was a little... off. Artificial, if you would. Which meant one thing, probably. He sat up from his chair in his office and exited the room, going into the library, where - yes, there he was.

A bird had just landed on the window sill as Terrence approached the trainer, smiling. He made sure the winged staff member wasn't in the middle of talking before greeting him, "Gryphon." They didn't talk a lot, but when they did, it was very friendly and comfortable. Even though their personalities were pretty opposed.

Gryphon's ears pricked up a little at the sound of his own name. Recognizing the voice, and the man who stood nearby now, he smiled, "Hi, Terrence. I'm not disturbin' anythin', am I?" He queried politely. He didn't want to be annoying his friend.

The librarian smiled, "Not at all."

Gryphon nodded and turned back to the bird, before twittering out his request. The bird puffed out it's chest and flew off to go do it's job; Gryph turned back to the book-lover, "Just in the middle of a trainin' session." Terrence glanced around for a second, slightly confused. Gryph gave an answer to his silent question, "I know it doesn't look like it - she has t'find me." It was like one big game of hide and seek, really. If George ever really played that game, she could cheat so badly.

Terrence nodded half-knowingly, it was an interesting ability, to find somebody... that was tracking, if his memory served him (which it often did). "Must be fun." He mused, "Helping students to work with their abilities."

Gryph agreed whole heartedly, "It is, I'm glad I came back." He had considered a lot of professions, but the idea of being a trainer was... intriguing. And he never looked back.

As the two Hammel staff members spoke, Georgina sat on the floor, eyes closed, concentrating on her breathing. The only thing she could hear was the wind through the trees outside and the occasional noise such as the sound of feet walking up and down the stairs, so it was easy for her to detect when the bird had arrived. This was how Mr. Matsuoka communicated that he was ready. She opened her eyes to double-check; yes, there it was. She nodded at it and it flew off again, as always. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her inner thoughts. She recalled Gryphon, his full name, his appearance. She knew where he was, the library. Now he was moving... Librarian's Office. This was alright, she was in control. Back in the Library... now the hall... she recalled his location with a greater specificity than usual, she knew the moment when he was in a different room, when he was moving faster, or slower. She tried not to get distracted by her thoughts of the possible side effects, but just trying to avoid them waned her connection for a second; her head twanged slightly in pain. He was... on the stairs. Coming back.

A few minutes later and the door opened - George didn't even acknowledge that fact. Because she knew he was going, she actually knew, and she did it properly. She smiled and broke off the tracking connection, a dull headache lingering on her head, a slight dizziness overcoming her at first. She looked up at her trainer.

Gryphon could tell from the way she beamed that she had done well, and that fact alone made him smile just as wide. He was glad, she was finally getting somewhere. The progress was being welcomed with wide arms, it's what they both needed, and it was what Gryph had been waiting for.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

4 Things, 1 Hour, 1 Story

Sword – Pyramid – Fox – Scarf
Word Count: 1644

'4 Things, 1 Hour, 1 Story' is a writing challenge where you use 4 things (i.e. places, monuments, objects, animals etc.) to write a story, in under an hour. This is my first time doing something like this so don't judge! xP

“Arrg! Get yer durty land-lubbin’ paws offa my boat!” Terrence exclaimed, scowling at the intruder on his ship. Terrence Mathews was the most ferociously feared pirate around, owner of the seven seas. His crew roared behind him, and he continued to threaten the unwanted passenger, “Get, go-on, I said get!” The ferret, bewildered and confused, scurried away and on to the dry lands nearby. The boat’s crew of terrifying scroungers cheered in admiration. Terrence scowled with crooked teeth and a lazy eye, and they all scampered back to their positions. He held a sword with a curved blade, sharp and swift in movement. His boots were of dark leather, worn but sturdy. The toes were steel-capped and stronger than a weight-lifter’s arm. Nothing and no-body got in the way of –

- the Pharaoh of Egypt. He looked upon his servants from his throne, his discerning eye searching for any slackers or slow-pokes. They lugged around blocks of a back-breaking weight, whilst he sat back and enjoyed the view of his slowly constructed pyramid, but he considered that the time meant the quality would be the best around. In the future, many would look upon the pyramids in jealousy and awe. All respected his decision, desired his approval, and that made him smile. But right now, he was frowning. He leaned forward, what was that-

-boy doing? They were stealing from Boggis, Bunce and Bean, and although the first two were dopey and slow in comparison to the quick-witted mind of the fox, Bean was certainly a force to be reckoned with, and if that kid didn’t hurry up with the food, he would be discovered before he returned. “Hurry, hurry!” Terrence, a.k.a., Mr. Fox, ushered, encouraging his kind to speed up. After stumbling, the little fox cub was out of sight, his tiny red tail trailing behind him. He sighed, he would be a real fox yet. Focusing on the task at hand, the fox scampered off to find more food…

Terrence sat back in his chair with a large sigh of breath escaping his chest. That’s what he got, for trying to read 3 books at once. His head was overloaded now…ugh. He got up from his plush chair to get a cup of tea, and possibly clear his confused thoughts. He poured the hot liquid into a thermal mug and decided to go for a walk, after finding that being in the same area for much longer would affect his head even more. He left into the winter’s afternoon, pulling a jacket with him and locking the door.

The ground was crisp and the cold was harsh, today was one of the worse days. He wished he had some other garment with him to keep him warm, as the mug he had with him was the only thing providing him with warmth right now. He shrugged his coat into himself and shivering, the frozen air cutting through him like a cutlass. He saw his breath produce clouds of cotton wool in front of his face and decided to try and find somewhere to take a seat and get warmer, and possibly eat something nutritious.

The librarian found himself in a book store, which wasn’t a huge surprise, given his huge love for reading. He looked through the racks, cautious of the liquid he held, so he didn’t cause any damage to the capsules of fact, fiction and wonder all around him. He heard a high-pitched giggle as he fingered through the covers though; he swivelled around just in time to see the tiny feet pattering on the ground and the red cardigan of a 5-year-old dragging along around the bookshelves. Intrigued, because he saw no adult nearby, he followed, but as he rounded the corner… there was no-one there.

“OI!” he heard the shout and jumped out of his skin, skittering on his feet to face the source. “S-s-s-sorry?” he asked the man in front of him. He was heavily built, and had a unibrow. These were the first things he noticed. His arms were furry with hair, and his breath was as heavy as church bell. His paws stretched at the ends of his hands, and Terrence gulped.

“Outta the way, dweeb!” Terrence nodded shakily and practically leaped out of the way, twitching with fear. Although he was terrified, he didn’t want to leave yet, so he started scanning the shelves. He pulled out one hard-back and smiled awkwardly at it – this one was new, he hadn’t read it yet. He checked the blurb and- it was no longer in his hands. He glanced up at the one who had wrenched it out of his grasp and grew angry. Terrence was used to being messed about with, but that wasn’t a good thing, and he wanted it to change. And now that it involved his beloved books, it was ten times easier to perform.

He summoned up the courage from somewhere in his being and approached the oaf, “Hey!” he exclaimed.

The beast had a slurred form of speech, and his features tensed with annoyance at the sound of a voice nearby. He glared at the shorter man, who was only shorter by an inch or so. “Waddaya want, diprod?”

Terrence whimpered quietly, and silently noted that this buffoon’s insults were neither intelligent nor witty, but thick-headed and common. He sighed and puffed his chest out a little, already proud of the fact that he was standing his ground. “Get your hands off of my book!”

The taller idiot, not intimidated in the slightest, laughed uproariously in the librarian’s face. “No.” he replied, holding the book out of reach.

One of the good things about the large amount of books Terrence read was that he developed an above-average knowledge of many things. One of them being the pressure points of the human being. He found the easiest to do, and pinched the lug’s hand in the correct place. The pain and choice of Terrence’s attack meant that the rooted man’s hand released the book, making it drop to the floor. Terrence stopped and picked it up, smiling triumphantly. The oaf, dumbfounded by the whole incident, pounded off.

Terrence went to turn one way, but… that cardigan flashed in his vision again. The tall man did a double take and tracked it with his vision. Surely a little girl couldn’t move that fast… he power-walked to the row she had run down this time, and… she wasn’t there. This made no sense! At the end of the column was the till, with someone stood in front – no one stood at the cashier point. The woman who was in front of it, however, was arranging the leaflets and last time goodies that were advertised there. He approached her, “E-excuse me, miss?” She seemed to be of a younger age, on the thin side.

Her ears pricked up when the book-lover spoke. “Hm?” She looked up and stood up straighter at the sight of a customer, “Oh, sorry. Can I help?”

Terrence nodded, “Yes, I would l-like to buy this?” He signalled to the winnings of his little battle and she nodded as well, “Alright.”

The woman went to go round the desk, but scanned his face first and furrowed her brow, “Sorry, but can… can I ask you something?”

Terrence, slightly confused and a little bewildered, paused a moment, then nodded; he was doing a lot of nodding. “Um, yeah, yeah, sure.”

She waved an arm towards the front of the store and Terrence followed, interested in what she would ask. She took his book from him, “Can… can you look at the stand from outside?” She blushed and fiddled with the pages of the book, “I just… want a second opinion.”

“Alright.” He agreed, smiling. He wasn’t in a hurry or anything, anyway. Besides, helping people was a good thing, and he was able to actually talk to her without mucking up too badly. He went outside and studied the stand for a moment, leaning forward with his hands in his pockets, scanning the whole thing. His eyes met with the employee’s and he nodded, smiling as he returned into the warmth of the store, “It looks great.”

She lit up, with wide, bright eyes. Her grasp on the book tightened in her happiness, “Really?”

Terrence chuckled, “Yes, of course!”

As they returned to the check-out, with no-one waiting by it, thankfully, Terrence wondered something, “Why… why did y-you ask me?” There had been two or three others in around the store who had been closer before he had given her his attention. It was just… hm.

She looked flustered for a moment, logging into the till, and blushed, “Oh, um… you just looked like someone I could trust the opinion of.”

Her honesty made Terrence smile, that sentence alone boosting his self-confidence and making his day a little bit brighter. “Oh… thanks.”

He paid for the pages and was about to leave, when he felt a tugging on his trouser leg. Looking down, it was the little girl. She had chubby cheeks, dimpled, and big green eyes. Her hair was long and fell around her in energetic little curls. “Mister?” she asked in the voice of a mouse.

Concerned, he crouched down to the girl’s level, “Are you alright?” She still held her cardigan, bright red and warm-looking, in her hand. She had a cute little knitted scarf around her neck as well. She began to take it off and gave it to him, smiling. He took it in his hands and she ran off, giggling happily, the red fabric following her like a little cotton tail. His eyesight flicked up, teeth gleaming at the assistant who was awkwardly stood with her hand on the girl. He waved and left the store.

The world was a strange and wonderful place.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

56. Imagination

100 Stories, 1 Month (2014) Entry
Word Count: 564

One single book, sealed between some cheap plastic sheets and bound with black metal rings. Who knew something so seemingly blank, boring and dull could hold such raw wonder and memory.

Since the age of who-knows-when, little Georgina Speer had such a book. Not quite a diary... but not along the lines of a sketch book either. It was just a book, her book. You could flick to any page, and there would be something new. That day when she made her tooth come loose because of a crunchy creamy chocolate bar, which detailed how much she wished to see the tooth fairy and fly away with her into the night. A rough attempted sketch or seven of the school grounds at Hammel - a view of the school at the front, some trees, anything minorly interesting that caught her 14-year-old eye that artistic day.

In an almost odd, unexpected way, however, the magic, the childlike happiness and the wonder that was reflected in each of her writings, or drawings, or whatever else was in there, it grew over time. One would expect the years to seize that flickering flame of almost ignorant, innocent magic and toy with it until it dwindled into nothing but the musky shadows of the past, but time had been kind to George, and gave her the opportunity to let her imaginative conscience grow into something bright and warm.

The dates clocked up in that little book, and you could find amazing creations of mystical creatures, exciting adventures and awe-inspiring feats. Recounts of good and bad days, all of the emotions that teenagers hit like a speeding car to a solid brick wall were evident (especially in that one page at the back which was literally just full of pen scribbles from everytime she had been angry and wanted to let it out)

George is a creature of imagination, one of the lucky children of God that is able to see the light in every corner, and a new discovery to be found everyday. She's one of those that some could be jealous of, or feel glad that they are not. Her unique attitude to life is questionable, but not at all bad, in the simple senses of the term.

George found herself writing in the last page of this book today - yes, writing. She found herself doodling random patterns around the edge of her curvy handwriting in worn black ink. She was writing a short story; to any outsider at a first glance, it would seem scatterbrained, confusing, hard to follow. But to her, it made perfect sense:

Lion's Den
To be a feline was a difficult task. You held all the whiskers of that all the other cats did, plus, you had your own image it uphold. The posture, the confidence, the sass. Also, you had to be ready to pounce and confuse the bloody stupid dastardly dogs that came lurking in your territory. You see, all of the other purring creatures ran to the high hills if they heard ever-so-much as the signature breathy pant of the canine.

But Jo was different. Jo stood up to the dogs and looked fabulous doing it. In fact-

Her hand slammed down the cover of the book not-so-subtly, looking up and around. She wasn't afraid of anything, really. But that was probably enough imagination for one day. Jo could wait.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

46. Loss

Another 100 Stories, 1 Month (2014) Entry
>Trigger Warning: Death Of Family, Mentions of Road Accident<
Word Count: 1357

The girl shivered in loneliness. She was empty, like a teddy bear who'd lost it's stuffing. No more hugs. She curled in on herself like a dying insect, trying to find comfort in herself, but still struggling to even comprehend what she had been told.

The phone she held was still connected to across the waters. To home. A woman on the other end, warm voice, cold news. She spoke her concerns now, filling the void of silence, "-Georgina? Are you still there?-" Her answer came as a loud sob. George shook in her sorrow, tears streaming and rolling like raindrops on a glass pane, down to the floor. No more laughter. Her phone followed them, hitting the ground with a thud, but still staying intact.

You never consider yourself to be part of a statistic. Never. You see those cold, hard numbers that are pure fact, and they mean next to nothing to you, because you're not involved. Why waste the effort? What people didn't realize, was that there were emotions hidden behind those statistics. Everyday, around 4200 people are diagnosed with cancer. That means 4200 families devistated everyday. The beginning of the end. George's grandma had been one of them, and it took her quickly. One moment, she was happy, the next, stuck in a hospital bed. And then she died. Cold. Alone.

Every minute and a half, someone dies. The only one in her family who had died recently was her grandmother. And she still fought to deal with that, even now. Possibly moreso now.

They had died quickly, apparently. Too swift and strong for them to survive. Her mother took the most impact, she was the one driving and she was closest to the truck.

They were all there, together. Driving to a destination they never arrived at.

"-Georgina; George, please say something.-"

The ghost of a girl wrapped her arms around her knees. She picked up her mobile and put it to her ear. Words. She tried to form words. Speech, some kind of signal that she was there, that she could hear. But was she there? This felt so unnatural. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. They were a family. They were supposed to stick together.

The day that she'd left for Hammel, DK had hugged her, told her to be careful, that he'd always be there for her if she needed it. Louise had been indifferent, jealous possibly, and had only hugged her because her mother demanded it. Mother... Mummy... she had cried at the airport. Nothing over-the-top, she wasn't that kind of person. But she remember reaching up and wiping away the tears, telling her that she'd look after herself, and that she'd cope. Her father had been her boulder, her rock. He never let her down, and always looked after her. Her statue of hope.

Why wasn't she there too? This felt wrong - if they were gone, why wasn't she? She couldn't do this, not without them.

"-Georgina?-"

"Leave me alone."

---

It wasn't like what had happened before. Before, when the boy with the razor teeth attacked her confidence and happiness, leaving her in a void. She struggled then, but she was left with her emotion, and her will to carry on then. Something that just... didn't exist anymore. Now, she was blank. Monotonous. Dull.

Like a voodoo doll, she dragged herself from place to place, lesson to lesson, hour to hour against her own will, trapped in a cycle. Friends weren't a part of her anymore, not important - what did she need with friends when she found comfort in nothing?

Of course, they tried. Phen called, texted, came over, comforted, did almost anything he could to try and bring her back. He was often accompanied with Oriel who tried to sort her out as well, but she was distant and detached, constantly. No explanation, no clue. She stayed silent most of the time, only speaking to quietly tell them to go away. She was outwardly calm, but in a worrying way. On the inside, she was gone. And she stayed emotionless. A ticking time bomb of a girl.

Knock, knock. "George." Phoenix spoke, trying to put a force of some strength behind his words, but they shook like a battered house on weak foundations. He'd seen her go through hell and back thanks to that fucked up bastard Kodi, but something seemed more serious this time. He couldn't read people easily, but he could tell that much. And she wasn't even talking to him this time, wouldn't even say 'hello'... "George, please..." he wavered, hovering by the door. He knew she was there, she didn't leave her dorm outside of lessons. And that just made him all the more concerned.

Georgina sat in her room with an air of pointlessness looming around her. Somedays, before, when her mind had wandered as she thought, it would have come across something like this, like 'What would you do if your brother died?'. Everytime, she was convinced that she would go through a lot of pain and suffering, but she would come out the other side smiling, ready to dedicate her life to what she always did - living to the fullest. Everything she did, she would do for those who passed. Now that she was actually in the situation... now that she couldn't just distract herself and remind herself that it was just a messed up thought, that it was never going to happen to her, that it was all okay... she was like a broken record. Repeating thoughts, dark and cold and harsh. Words that she remembered, voices that she smiled at, memories she cherished... all down the drain.

Phoenix frowned, "George, are you-"

"Leave me alone..."

Did she...? "...George?"

"I said," the girl stated, panting out in anger,

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

---

She was giving up. Completely. What did she have to live for? Nothing was enjoyable anymore, it always came back around to... them. She cried and hid away from the world. Food was no longer a necessity in her eyes. Neither was sleep. She was so... so tired. But she, she didn't have the strength to help herself. What could she do? Anything she did wouldn't bring them back. They would never come back. The brunette rocked herself back and forth for comfort. One of her worst ideas was to try and track her family. They were all the same, all the time. At some kind of church, somewhere in England.

She was fading like a candle in the wind.

But... she had this thought. It floated in her mind. It only said one thing.

Help. Get help.

Why listen to a voice in your head? If you heard voice... you were insane. She was insane. She was going crazy, and she knew that before the voices opened their mouths. But she listened. She listened well. Her legs moved, almost robotically. The girl was functioning, but only just. She unlocked her door and stepped out into the empty common room. With weak limbs, but a slowly growing resolve, she left.

What was she doing? She was doing the only thing that seemed sensible. She hobbled down two doors, into Room 210. The front door was unlocked - it wasn't all that late in the day, so it was normal. Their common room was a void too. She eyed up that door, his door, and stumbled over to it. She would be lucky if he was there. Knock knock.

But he was. Phoenix unlatched the lock and opened his door, curious. He had been stressing out about multiple things, George being one of the main ones. His eyes widened at the sight before him and he gasped, wrapping his arms around the degrading girl, "George, oh my gosh..."

"Phen..." She let her fall onto him, and even with his weak structure, he managed to keep her upright. She felt the tears roll again, her voice full of breath and raw. This was her last resort. Her arms came up and looped around the boy weakly. She knew what she needed now.

"I don't want to be alone."

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

55. Forever

Yet Another 100 Stories, 1 Month (2014) Entry
Word Count: 983

Gryphon felt many things. One of the most obvious was pain, he was in excruciating pain. Shock, horror, fear all paraded around in his thoughts along with it. Anger, frustration, worry all clouded his ideas and he was practically shutting down. Surrounded by medical staff who were trying to fix his weak, limp, dying form. He was fading. Why... why now?

How long would the fighting continue, the violence? Until one side was totally wiped out, or until they all realized the huge mistake they'd made? The unpowered ones had their reasons to be frightened, and to want to attack, but it made no sense. The students of Hammel, and all the the powered beings, had hardly shown a hint of hostility. It was like attacking someone for having a disability, or a 'normal' gift, like intelligence. Just because they were different, just because there was the slight possibility that they might be better than you, stronger, smarter, more creative. And in some cases, like with meta abilities, for something they couldn't help. You should never attack someone for something they can't change about themselves, ashamed of it or not. The world was a nightmare at the moment - where was the humanity?

He heard a shout, but was too distant to compute the words. The voice, however, was a voice he would never forget, not even in his last moments. "Ko-odi..." He gasped out. Someone jabbed something into his arm and he winced, but he didn't care. He wanted Kodi. If he had the strength, he would've struggled, fought to get up and see his face, to talk and feel some sort of comfort. But... his last thoughts were of his lover. Whether he would wake up was something he didn't know...

---

The lights... the lights were too bright... 

Gryphon clamped his eyes shut and winced, groaning at the light and the pain he felt and how stiff he was. He felt heavy and light at the same time, light in his existence, feeling almost like he was on the border of dying mentally, on some kind of cloud... but the pain of his injuries had hit him like a ton of bricks. 

There was something on his hand. Slowly, he urged his eyelids to let him see, rolling his head to see what it was. It was warm, soft... He looked so peaceful. Kodi, asleep next to him, holding onto his hand. He smiled - so it hadn't ended yet. He didn't want to disturb the tranquillity that Kodi was lucky to have in this moment... but he was selfish. He needed to talk to him.

Gryph moved his hand out of the dentokinetic's loose grip and took his hand up, squeezing it as strong as he could in his condition. The blonde boy shifted and seemed to complain, "No... not until he wakes up... I don't wanna leave..." He mumbled sleepily. 

That alone was enough to make Gryph smile, "Mornin'." He croaked out, eyes only just cracked open, face lacking any tension or definition, body like a rag doll. Kodi's eyes shot open and his head came up sharply, turning to look at Gryphon. Surely, he hadn't just been hearing - he was awake. His mouth dropped open in shock, and a hand came up to meet it. He was awake, he was alive! He wasn't gonna die! That fact alone was enough to make tears prick in his eyes, but not like the ones from earlier - these held pure joy.

"Oh my fuckin' God, Gryph," Kodi choked his words out through harsh breathing, what kind of miracle was this? The nurses here were probably the most pessimistic bitches that had ever existed; they told him that although the surgery was a success, the possibility of him ever waking up was extremely low. They'd almost unplugged him right after the surgery, saying it would be a waste of resources, but Kodi had stopped them. Even if they were gonna... murder him, he needed time to say goodbye, something he never thought he'd been doing... not this soon. He wasn't gonna have to do it now, though. "H-how-" He couldn't think of the right words, his quick tongue failing him as he became overwhelmed with emotion.

Gryphon just chuckled gently, "Don' ask me, I dunno," He tried to squeeze Kodi's hand, oddly enough being the one to give comfort when he was the injured one. Kodi noticed this and grabbed his limp hand with both of his shaking ones, kissing the knuckles.

"I-I love you, Gryphon, s-so much." Kodi stuttered out, looking directly into the eyes of his older lover, tears rolling down his scarred cheeks, "Don't e-ever leave me again..." 

Gryphon tilted his head, his low levels of energy fatiguing him. He didn't have the capacity to move so he could wrap his arms around Kodi and calm him, or turn away so he wouldn't have to see the thing that upset him the most. That left him with only his words. "Kodi..." he mumbled quietly, trying to bring the boy out of his despair. The boy sniffled and listened intently, "...even if this continues forever, I'll never leave you." He coughed, and his face tightened a little in pain, "Never." That came out as a whisper. But what he'd said, that was a promise he would keep for his whole life.

But he knew he was slipping back into unconsciousness, and he didn't want to do that alone again, yearning for the boy who held his hand. He slowly shuffled sideways and Kodi understood, worried that Gryph would hurt himself as he moved, but he wanted the same as the winged boy. He clambered in as gently as he could, wrapping his arms around the fading light beside him. Gryphon smiled and only just managed to kiss the boy's cheek and whisper three words before he went under again,

"I love you."

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Meeting Your Maker - Part 1; Gryphon

Gryphon meets Apple (loosely based off of this and this)
Word Count: 2230

It was one of the plainest rooms I had ever seen in my whole life. How I got there was another unanswered question. I was just… there, for some reason. Like I’d been summoned. I’m pretty certain I started wondering if I had been abducted by aliens by the time someone else appeared. She was shorter than me, shorter than Kodi… I’m not sure what her exact height was. She wasn’t short, just… shorter. She had bright red, curly hair, that sat in a teal beanie. She wasn’t skinny, but she wasn’t fat. Well, not overweight. She seemed nice, with freckled skin and a slightly shy demeanour. She approached me, walking stiffly and holding her hands together in front of her, hands which constantly fiddled with each other, with an awkward smile on her face. She acted as if we were old friends, old friends with a rickety past, but I didn’t recognize her at all.

When she was a few metres away, she spoke, with a British accent, “Hi,” She had to look up to make eye contact with me.

I smiled back, “Hello.” I shuffled my feet as she looked at me in some kind of awe, “D’you know… why we’re here?”

She nodded and looked at the ground, her hands slipping into her pockets, “Uhm… yeah. I… I brought you here.”

“Brought me?”

“...yeah.”

“Oh… okay… why… why me?”

She took a deep breath. “I know you don’t recognize me. But I know you. You’re… you’re mine. I’m your creator.”

I felt a huge wave of shock crash into me, followed by a backwash of disbelief, “My… creator? You created me?”

She nodded slowly.

I looked around rapidly, “Is this some kind’ve a joke? Are you pulling a prank on me?”

She shook her head.

I blinked and looked at the floor. “Uhm, okay… prove it.”

She looked at me for a second. And then she pulled out her phone.

“What’re you doin’?”

“Proving it to you.”

I stayed silent after that. She spoke again, after a few minutes of searching about. And what I heard… I couldn’t believe my ears.

“Maybe if Gryphon was a little more patient... urgh. He couldn't help but cast his mind back to that day with Melanie - if Kodi got hurt, or upset, or angry, Gryph wouldn't forgive himself. And that was stupid, yes, but he was having a huge difficulty trying to see how he would get over it otherwise.

Oh, that was a compliment. You're all sweaty. Hopefully he didn't smell bad or something... he didn't notice anything, though, so he just left it.

Gryphon chuckled, smiling down at Kodi - he didn't get the chance to dance with people he actually knew that well really, and when it did happen, it wasn't always brilliant. There was always hope though, and he mainly did it for fun anyways, otherwise, what's the point?

"You are bein' a bit've a lazy ass." He agreed, teasing the boy. Gryph looked down at Kodi, who was now using his knee-cap as a pillow... his hands went over and fiddled with the ends of his dyed hair. He chuckled at Kodi's reply, K-pop wasn't for everyone, after all. And that lyric was a bit weird. "I don't even know..." he tried to think of a decent reason, but bingo? They weren't pensioners. He did, in actual fact, however, know what the song was about. And he had been listening to it a lot more than usual, recently. Which was all he was gonna say.

Gryphon was always improving, working on his moves and getting the flow right. He had edged a little more towards breakdancing recently, and there was something he had been working on. It caused a lot of strain on him at the moment, but he'd be fiiiine. He considered showing Kodi... before he nodded and got up, careful the make sure Kodi's head didn't fall and hit the ground. "There's one thing I've got..." He was a bit hesitant but he was pretty certain Kodi wouldn't be mean. "Hold on a sec."

Gryphon was capable of doing b-twists and similar, but this was a little different. He cleared out into an empty space and calmed himself down a little, because now wasn't the time for tense muscles. Without much ado, he balanced himself on one hand.

It twinged. Gryph frowned, but continued anyway.

Using his other arm for support and a source of momentum, he began to spin, pushing himself around. This was awesome, but something was most definitely up. Gryph probably would've smirked or said something if he wasn't upside down and trying not to fall over, as well as worrying about the interesting ache that emanated from his hand... no, it felt more like his wrist. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all... it was too late now, by any means. Either he was doing something wrong, or... he was clueless. But his hand was really starting to hurt now. He stopped spinning after a few moments and stood up from the handstand, curious. It probably showed on his face - he wasn't smiling anymore. Once he was vertical again, he tried not to show it too much, even after taking his wrist in his hand for a second - just doing that hurt it a little. He wiped the tightness off of his expression when Kodi pecked his jaw, "Flattered." He replied, grinning stupidly at the compliment. He could sort out his stupid joints later. The winged boy stretched his fingers and twisted his wrist - the pain was extremely noticeable. But he could deal... really.

Gryph walked around Kodi to go hit the music off, "D'you wanna get out of here?" Not to do any funny business, it was just his bird instincts, being inside too long was a little distressing. Call it claustrophobia if you want to be simple about it. He bent down and went to grab his bag, that held a bottle or two of water and some other stuff when - "Fuck!" The profanity came out of his mouth full of breath and not that loud, but he continued to hiss a little after he said it. The bag he had picked up fell back down to the floor with a thud and Gryph's other hand clamped around his wrist, the sharp pain causing it to tense up considerably. There was no way he was covering this up now.

And it felt a lot worse than he had expected.”

I slowly realized the event that this girl was describing, and I began watching her speak with curiosity. How could she know about… she glanced up every now and then, to see if I was still listening or something, I suppose. Once she finished, I looked at her incredulously. “How… how did you know about that, how did you know what I was thinkin’?”

She smiled at me sympathetically, “I wrote it.”

I looked at her in awe, and then shook my head, “That… that was one time…”

She clicked around a little more on her phone, and then left the room, and when she returned, she held a book in her had that was very familiar to me. “Hey, that’s my-”

“Journal.” She handed it to me and then handed me her phone. She turned the book to a specific page, and pointed at both of them. The words were… exactly the same. I shook my head in disbelief, roughly handing them back, before turning away and covering my face in my hands. And then something clicked in my mind.

“If…” I took a breath, before swivelling around, “If… are you the creator? As in… God?”

She shook her head, looking almost amused by the idea, “I am far from being God.”

I tilted my head, and then thought for a moment. Who did she create then-

“I don’t control everyone.” She responded to my unspoken thought, and then looked at the floor, “Sorry, I… always know what you’re thinking. Well, except in this space. But I know you so well, I can just predict it.” She smiled again, “I directly control you, three other students, the librarian and I’ve currently handed over the control of one of my creations to the system, but the old lady who owns the sweet shop downtown… I created her too.”

This was all too much. But, among all of the other pressing questions I hand, one rang out above all the others, “Three students?” She nodded. “So, did you create Kodi?”

She smiled at the mention of my boyfriend, “No, but it’s nice to know that you do think about him as much as I imagined.”

I frowned, “Okay, so is he played by the… what didja call it…”

“The system?”

“Yeah.”

“No.”

“No?” Now I was curious.

“Like I said, I’m not God. And the system doesn’t make or control or hold everyone. It looks after those we don’t have the time to work on, or don’t properly exist yet. There are multiple other… controllers, or creators, around. Kodi was created and shaped by somebody else fully, before you were.”

“Who-?”

She smiled and held out a hand, “Give me a second. I thought you were supposed to be quieter, anyway.” I felt a pang of distrust, and her face fell a little, “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that…” She sighed, “My name, my… alias, is Apple. So, all the times apples have been incorporated into your life were usually purposeful. Kodi’s creator is called Pollo, or Apollo, like the space shuttle. She’s really nice, I assure you.” I could almost tell that that was her way of saying ‘please don’t hate us’, but I wasn’t sure why… until I fully understood the depth of all of this.

“So… you created me?”

Her face became neutral, “Yes.”

“So… you killed my mother.” I looked to her for any sense of denial, but she just portrayed guilt, “You made my dad like he is… you introduced Dorothee. You made me meta, you gave me wings. And everytime something bad happened to me-”

“It was all my fault, yes.” She sighed, “Don’t you think I realize this? I look back at your history, at everything I’ve put you through, and I feel awful. But Gryphon, if all of the bad never happened, you would not be the person you are today. I know it’s been a struggle, and it still is, I completely understand that. I feel what you feel. But you have to trust me, and believe me, when I tell you that… it will get better. I promise. There might be times when the world just seems to cave in on you, and you have no hope. There may be times when nothing goes to plan and you feel like shit. But… you will have a happy ending. I’ll make sure of it.”

I listened, and eventually, nodded in reply. She still didn’t seem content, though, “I… think you deserve to know… I created Nick. That whole part of your life… that was completely on me. But anything that has happened between you and Kodi was half and half done between me and Pollo. Like, I didn’t know about him asking you to be his boyfriend when it happened, she didn’t tell me in advance. You can’t believe how happy I was for you, especially after…” She seemed to struggle to finish that sentence.

But she ran up to me and wrapped her arms solidly around my waist. I wrapped mine around her neck, and my wings followed them and enveloped us both.

It was strange, to think about. I imagined that if there was some kind of God, they would be… not this. Someone older, who seemed wider, and not some giddy teenage girl. Except, she wasn’t giddy. She felt… different. She wasn’t like Maud, or George, or Maddie, or anything. Apple.. was interesting. And I’m glad that she’s my creator, because she seems to have a heart. Not that I wouldn’t expect a God to be omnibenevolent, but… she seemed to care even more deeply. And even though she did let slip that she knew almost everything about me… she didn’t say anything to make me uncomfortable. She was respectful, and kind, even if she wasn’t perfect. Maybe her imperfection made her feel even more comfortable to be around.

“Gryphon?”

“Hm?”

She looked up at me, “I know I created you, and I can kind of control you, but ultimately, it’s up to you to do well in life. If you fuck up too badly, I won’t be able to help. I might guide you, but you can’t just stop bothering and then expect to become a celebrity or something. You’ve got to work for everything you do, and then, it will all be worth it.”

She nuzzled herself into my chest, and I felt a slight twist of worry in my stomach, but, “Don’t worry about Kodi. I know how to deal with him.” That… may have worried me even more, but it also relaxed me a little. She spoke again, “Please make sure that you don’t let your loyalty overtake your actions. I couldn't bear to see you manipulated."

I wasn't fully certain what she meant by that, but I nodded all the same and tightened my grip around the girl, "I'll try."

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Faraway, So Close

Entry for the Writing Challenge June 2014 - When Love is Dying
>Trigger Warning: Character Death, Road Accident<
Word Count: 1748

Gryphon dragged Kodi outside, into the garden behind the LGBT center, half because he had the strength to, and half because Kodi wasn't fighting back. He seethed, letting go of Kodi and swivelling round to look at him, "You're being ridiculous, seriously!" Gryph exclaimed, self-conscious that he might be being a bit loud and disturbing, but this was more important, "There's being jealous, and then there's being overprotective, and at some point, you crossed that line!"

Kodi growled and scowled up at him, "I know I can be fuckin' jealous, I couldn't help it! He was too close t'you!"

Gryph scoffed and folded his arms, "Just 'cause he got a little closer than you could deal with doesn't give you permission to punch him square in the jaw!" He breathed for a few seconds, shaking his head, "You could've said something!"

Kodi snorted, "Like you would listen, you were too busy flirting with that fuckin' nerd t'hear me!"

Gryphon let out an exasperated laugh and shook his head, hands going to his face as he began to pace, trying to process all this, "Jesus Christ..." He came to a pause and looked back at Kodi, hands dropping "So I'm not allowed to talk to other people now, is that it?"

"Not when they're lookin' like that!" The dentokinetic pointed in the general direction of the door, or the center itself. Gryph considered this - it was pretty revealing - the guy'd been wearing a suit jacket and nothing underneath and... well, he obviously worked out. But it wasn't like Gryphon felt strongly attracted by those things. In some people, he would think it was sexy, but Gryph didn't care. He growled slightly - apparently Kodi wasn't the only one capable of doing so, "Don't you think I get jealous too? Just standing around with you, hearing you compliment other guys and check them out and shit?" He huffed, "I understand, they're muscular, they're male, so you think they're hot, but for God's sake," He laughed again, "I'm your Goddamn boyfriend, yet I don't think half of the people in there know that."

"'Course people know."

"So why'd I get hit on by like, four guys who asked me if I was single?"

Kodi growled in annoyance that there were other people flirting with Gryphon too, "Why is it so important t'you? For people t'know?"

Gryph looked at him incredulously, "D'you..." He paused and tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing, "You think I'm fishing for attention." He scowled, "I want people to know so I don't go back to my bed and find a stranger in my place!"

"You think I'd do that? After all this time, you think I'd just go fuck someone else, 'cause I could."

Gryph remained silent, and that spoke louder than any words could.

"You fucking bastard!"

"I'm a bastard? 'Cause I'm worried about being cheated on? Yeah sure, makes me a real bastard. A true asshole."

"Don't you trust me?"

"I don't know! I just..." He sighed, "I just don't know."

The silence rose slowly, and then was popped, "Why d'you bother?" Kodi said, a hint of anger still in his voice.

Gryph twitched, "What d'you mean?"

"I make your life crap, why d'you bother with me?"

Gryph sighed, "You don't make my life crap. Like, sure, recently, I've been the most stressed out I've ever been, worrying about exams, and you, and not knowing what to do about..." He looked at Kodi and sighed, "I just don't know what to do sometimes, and I wish I did."

Kodi paused and looked back, "I dunno either."

Gryph asked himself, why do I bother? Well, because he loved him. He loved him when he was himself, and he was working with the other boy to break the other side apart, but they honestly didn't seem to be making much progress. And Gryphon was trying to help as much as he could, but... he didn't know. He didn't know if he was making a difference at all anymore. He sighed, "I'm gonna," he motioned towards the doors. Kodi sighed as well, and nodded, following, but Gryphon stopped him, "...by myself."

Kodi paused, "Why?"

"I just... need time to think."

Kodi let him go, and Gryphon walked through the doors and back into the center, but a few moments later, the dentokinetic began to catch up, "Gryph,"

Gryphon looked back a little and sighed, "Kodi, just leave me alone for a while, please," he said, over the music. He walked quickly through the room and out of the front. Kodi followed, cautiously, slowly. When he was walking through the front doors, Gryph was a fair distance away. He looked at him, wondering if he should say something.

He remained silent, and just watched as he began to cross the road, but... there was a car coming, why was he... Kodi sprinted as fast as he could, "GRYPHON!" Gryph looked behind him, and inevitably, to the side, seeing the car. But that wasn't his last sight.

It was Kodi's.

Gryphon shook his head out of its sluggish daze of being knocked back with a strong push, and groaned, trying to stand up. He blinked a few times and looked around. Some medical person told him to stay sat down, stay calm, but something was wrong. Kodi pushed him out of the way, so... Kodi.

Still in his unstable state, Gryph tried to run over to the car nearby, feeling pain in his elbow but ignoring it as he slammed his hands down on the car body to use as a support. He moved around it and tried to push through the numerous people on the floor, and walking around, mumbling about seeing someone. One of them got a firm hold on him and he cracked, "NO, I wanna SEE HIM!" It hurt even more to struggle, and he didn't have the capacity to, so he kind of pulled and then flopped onto the ground, curling into a ball and watching them with his arms around his legs and his head on his knees. He was adamant not to move and let no one try to budge him.

They started moving, and so did he, trying to get nearer but not getting close. Someone tried to tell him calmly that he needed to be examined, but he refused to cooperate until he saw Kodi. He had to see him, he had to...

---------

The staff in Kodi's ward knew Gryph pretty well by this point. Three weeks and two days, and he came in everyday possible, even if it was just to give Kodi a kiss on the head and tell him he couldn't stick around, but wanted to come say hi and check he was alright. He was in a coma - the staff said that he might be able to hear what Gryph was saying and feel it if he touched him, so he talked to him. Everyday. Held his hand, kissed him, brushed back his hair with his fingers. He came in and told stories about the university, about their friends, about anything and everything he could think of. Somedays, he brought someone like Oriel with him too, but that always made it harder for him to talk. He would sit and let them do the talking, holding Kodi's hand and just being there. One day, he even brought in the Fault in Our Stars and read parts of it to him. He did whatever he could to try and show Kodi that he was still there.

That day, he was just talking to Kodi, about Kodi. Saying how he hadn't put his eyeliner on in weeks, but he was still beautiful. How he loved him, and that once he woke up, he would never let him go again; they would never fight and it would be fine. Everything would be fine. They would be fine. They would go to the bookstore and buy him anything he wanted, and then he laughed, saying how they usually ended up kissing instead, but then saying he'd be fine with anything that happened, because it would be with him.

One of the machines began to continuously beep, and Gryphon's brow furrowed. He called for a nurse and was pushed out of the way by a few medical staff, who studied the boy and began to try to resuscitate. Gryph just stood and watched, grabbing one of the nurses wasn't doing anything and saying, "He'll be fine, right?" They apologized and said they couldn't tell. He was ushered out of the room and he sat impatiently in a chair or something, his head in his hands, repeating again and again under his breath that it would be fine. Because it would. It'd be fine.

He processed the sound of footsteps and looked up. The nurse looked directly at him and he gave her a look of hope, but her face remained neutral. He asked her, "Is he alright?"

She remained silent. And that spoke louder than words ever could.

He refused to believe it. No. Kodi was stronger than that, he wasn't... he wasn't...! He asked to see him in a less confident voice than he expected.

Gryphon looked at the even more lifeless body in front of him, and tried to finish what he was saying before, "I don't care what happens, 'cause," He looked at Kodi again, smiling weakly and feeling his eyes prickle, "...'cause it'll be with you. And I-I love being with you."

He sat down and took up one of Kodi's cold hands, his speech becoming more shaken and distorted, "And I kn-now you're gonna fight this, and we'll b-be together, and... and I-I can't wait." Gryph squeezed his lifeless hand, "I-I love you with a-all my heart, a-and I always will." He kissed that hand, put it back and slowly stood up, taking a huge shaky breath and looking down at him, trying to smile and not being able to, "I-I'll see you tomorrow." He said, like he did every-time, and left the room.

And then he cried. Once he was out of hearing range, he just broke down and cried and cried, feeling his body shake and distort as each sob wracked through him. Because Kodi wasn't dead, so he wouldn't cry in front of him. He wouldn't make him feel upset, he wouldn't want to make him want to cry too.

Kodiak Lee Oubre was declared to be dead on the 2nd of March, 2015 at 17:34. May his soul rest in peace.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Galaxies

Entry for the Writing Challenge August 2014 - Late in the Evening
Word Count: 1945

Gryphon sat on the window seat he had in his room. It was his favourite spot to sit in, for doing work or just contemplating. And for an eleven-year-old, he contemplated rather a lot.

His eyes grazed over the crashing waves of the ocean outside his window, with his knees pulled up to his chest, and his left arm going around them. His right arm was in a sling that held his cast against his body. Four breaks to the same bone - who knew a simple fall could do so much damage?

It wasn't often that he didn't or couldn't sleep, but for whatever reason today, he was still up at three o'clock in the morning. He didn't mind it so much now, but he didn't want to be tired in the morning, seeing as he had to get up early anyway. It wasn't something he could do much about, because even though his body physically protested with sore eyes and constant yawns, he just couldn’t really get his brain to shut down. So instead of worrying about it, he enjoyed the view outside his window.

The sky was pretty clear, which was nice. It was cool to be able to see the crescent moon so bright, and all the stars. Gryph was really fascinated by bright, shiny things - as simple-minded as that may have sounded - so to be so entranced by the night's sky when it was in such a glorious state wasn't exactly unexpected of him.

He didn't know what it was, really. He just... liked the look of shiny things. Like how some people liked the feel of silk, or the taste of chocolate, Gryph liked the way the moonlight reflected off of the rolling Seattle waves.

Dorothée didn't like the ocean. She wasn't a big fan of Seattle in general - Gryphon hadn't been told this directly, but she just spoke so loudly that you would have to be deaf not to hear almost every word she said; she did not hide her opinions at all. The little boy didn't understand why she held such distaste towards Seattle - it wasn't the best place in the world, but it definitely wasn't the worst either. She was so adamant on moving to France, where there was more 'sophistication' and 'classe', supposedly. Gryph didn't want to go anywhere. He was perfectly happy here, in America. Also, he didn't know French, even if Dorothée had attempted to teach him the language in the past. He knew Korean and English - he didn't want to learn French because it sounded stupid, and he didn't want to go to France because Dorothée was stupid.

The only reason he would learn French is so that he could tell her to shut up without hearing her say 'Pardon?' a million times over first.

After another few moments of just sitting there, Gryph stood up carefully. His room probably would have been more untidy if Fi hadn’t helped him clean it before he went to bed today. And by helped him, that meant putting things away whilst he walked around slowly and fiddled with an object for about ten minutes before doing anything useful with it – such as putting it back in its original spot and walking on. He was an absent-minded soul.

But he was trying more. He just couldn’t see the point. He didn’t want his room to be tidy, so why did he have to make it spotless when he would just muck it up again later? He preferred it to be a little out of sorts; the chaos was comfortable. It did get to a ridiculous standard sometimes, but he couldn’t help that. Plus, now he didn’t know where half of his things were. He would go to get something off of the floor, where he remembered throwing putting it, and the carpet would be spotless.

It felt uncomfortable.

He glanced around silently, pointing his toes almost instinctively and closing his eyes, thinking through his ballet practise. He had been told – don’t do anything dangerously athletic or possible to cause himself any further injury until he was fixed. But that meant no dancing, and he didn’t want that. So, he danced. He even took his arm out of its sling – a stupid move, but he didn’t care. Even if it hurt.

He could worry about that later.

The little boy stepped around his room gently, so he didn’t wake anyone. It wasn’t that he was afraid of being told off – he just didn’t want to disturb anyone, because that would be unfair.

Unless it was Dorothée. Dorothée could wake up and get angry, he wouldn’t care about her. She didn’t deserve to be cared about by him, even if she was his mother. She didn’t do her job right – she had to get someone else to do it for her.

Fiona was really nice. Bossy, annoying, overbearing, hassling, nagging, but nice. She wasn’t stupid, like Dorothée, or ignorant like Gryph’s dad. She was caring, and understanding, and tidied his room for him. Gryphon liked her. And she always knew how he was feeling – she was special. She was a meta. The little boy wondered what that was like – being different like that. Fi said it was fun, but difficult. She said she would feel other people’s emotions by accident, and they would accuse her of being disrespectful when she tried to help. She said it was hard to help people who didn’t want to be helped.

That made sense. Like, teachers wanted to help him at school, but Gryphon didn’t want to listen to them. So he didn’t – simple as.

He spun and landed a little clumsily, making a loud thud. He wondered – what if someone thought he was being kidnapped? He imagined Fi breaking into his room with a frying pan and a torch, and giggled to himself. It was hard to imagine her being violent, even if that would be extremely awesome.

No one seemed to come, but Gryph stopped himself shortly after his little misstep, because he swung round and caught his casted arm on a dresser, yelping out in pain and frowning, trying not to cry. Instead, he just sighed and rubbed his arm through the cast, doing nothing much of use, before returning to the window seat again. This house was a big one – he wasn’t all too surprised that no one had come to check in on him. He crossed his legs and slid his arm back in its sling, looking at the outside world again.

The world was a weird place. Space was huge and weird and no one really knew what it was like up there. Gryphon wondered if there was someone else, somewhere else, looking up at the stars too. Or looking at Earth as if it were a star, and wondering the exact same thing as Gryph. What if.

The eleven-year-old cleared his mind of this. The unknown had always been something he didn’t like. Something he might even have been scared of. He didn’t like not knowing, not being sure. That was why, even though his thoughts would and could wander quite a bit, he tried not to let them. He was scared of venturing too far into nothing and getting stuck in the suffocating mystery of it all. If he didn’t think about it, it would remain unknown, but it wouldn’t scare him.

The little dancer glanced over his shoulder at his digital clock, one of the only sources of light in the room:

3:54 am

It was really late. He began fiddling with the fingers on his right arm, some of the only parts of his arm which weren't covered in plaster, wiggling them about with his other hand like they were the fingers of a toy. He really didn't know what to do. The boy yawned and turned around to get up when the door opened.

"Gryphon?" Fiona regarded him with a frown on her face, opening the door wider, "What are you doing awake at this time?"

Gryph shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno. What are you doing?" He had made a bit of noise, but surely she would have been up here earlier if that was her reason for checking on him?

The guardian tilted her head and sighed, "Can't sleep."

"Neither can I."

They looked at each other for a moment, Gryphon still perched by the window. Fi came closer and placed herself down on his bed, "Do you mind if I ask?"

The Korean boy shuffled back and crossed his legs again, "Ask what?"

She frowned, "Why you're sad."

"I'm not..." He looked at his hands. Was he sad? Maybe he was. He was generally a little down at the moment, due to being injured, but he was upset for something else as well. "...I-I just don't know why you have to do this." 

Fiona looked at him in confusion, "Pardon?"

Gryphon wasn't sure how to say it without offending Fi, "...if Dorothée's my mum, why doesn't she do all this? I mean, I like you, I like you more than her..." He trailed off, not able to meet her eyes, "...I shouldn't. I should like my mum more than my guardian." He hated that word. Guardian. It wasn't as bad as nanny, which was a horrible word, but it was still bad. It was like, this person is here because you need to be looked after, because no one else will do it. No one else is capable of doing it.

And it wasn't like his parents weren't alive. They were under the same roof as him, but they were probably as close to him as a couple of next-door neighbours. He didn't like that, but it wasn't like he could force them to do anything at all. 

Fi was at a loss. It was a hard question to answer. It was hard especially because Dorothée wasn't actually Gryphon's mother, but he didn't know that, and it was decided that he wouldn't need to know that. She didn't know why his parents didn't want him to know, but she couldn't tell him now. After living for so long believing that one woman was his mother, suddenly being told that that was a lie... that was unfair. And he didn't need that kind of emotional strain. But what was better - having a terrible mother or having no mother at all?

"Your parents love you," She began, but Gryph scoffed, "Sure they do. I can see how much they care and love me right now, while they sleep and you look after me. Perfect family, right here." He was allowed to be bitter. He was allowed to be upset. He made eye contact with her, but looked down again shortly after, "Sorry... it's just..."

"It's hard to cope with - I know." Fiona assured. She could feel his anger, and his sadness. And those weren't emotions she wanted to be feeling from him, but it couldn't be avoided or brushed under the rug. "I'm sorry that you have to go through this. It's unfair."

"It is unfair." He replied. "I don't want it."

"Well," She replied, "I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it all better, but-"

"But you can't, I know." He had heard that line from her before. He tried to use it to ground his thoughts and make them a bit more reasonable, but he couldn't. He sighed before looking at Fiona with an awkward half-smile, "Thank you. For existing." That was bad. "For making things not as bad as they could have been."

Fiona smiled, "I love you, Gryph. It's nothing to thank me for."

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Turn of Events

THIS IS CANON - anything said in italics is Korean
>Trigger Warning: Verbal Abuse<
Word Count: 846

Gryph was... just kinda enjoying the fresh air. Being cooped up never really did well for him, and he didn't have anything to do (yet), so wandering aimlessly was a good option.

But halfway through town, he got a phone call. Pulling up the screen, it was... his dad.

He frowned, he never got calls from his dad... this was strange. He answered it, even though his intuition was telling him not to. "Hello?" The man on the other end began speaking Korean. Gryphon furrowed his brow, replying in the same language, "Dad? What do you want?" He asked. This was rare, and honestly... he didn't have high hopes. His father began reeling off about... disrespect? Ignorance? What the... he was in no position to accuse Gryph of being like that! "What are you talking about? You've been ignoring me! Why am I the ignorant one?" He was growing angry, and upset. After all this time, of not acting as a father, he dares to turn around tell Gryphon that he was in the wrong?

The businessman began drawling about how the avian boy needed to just accept that he was in the wrong. Gryph was not having that. "I will not accept responsibility for something that wasn't my fault. You owe me an apology, for not acting as my father when I needed you! I don't have any respect for you now, why should I care what you think any more?"

Some emotion finally came through on the other side of the phone. He began talking about family and culture and tradition, and how Gryphon was betraying all that. The nineteen year old scowled, trying to walk and find a more private place to speak in. More likely than not, no one around would be able to actually understand what he was saying, but anyone speaking loudly in a foreign language was going to be disturbing. Gryphon left town and began walking to the Lake, "Of course I respect my culture, but it's hard to respect your family when they are all selfish bigots!" He was quickly burning to the end of his fuse, " You give me a solid reason why I should respect you and then maybe I will consider it." He didn't want to give Mr. Matsuoka the option of possibly being respected again, but Gryph highly doubted that he could actually think of something reasonable, seeing how he had already treated him.

There was talk of success and struggling up into power. Gryph's father mentioned his intelligence, and then began to degrade him for it. He said how he wasn't smart enough to ever do much of use. Fuming was the light way of describing how Gryphon felt, "Just because I struggle to learn doesn't mean I can't do well in life! For example, at least I have a heart in my chest, and not a stone."

Just hearing his voice was infuriating. Gryph leaned against the backside of a tree, as his dad said about respect again, and... and how he could not be more disappointed in him.

"Let's test that." Gryph retorted, taking it as a challenge and trying not to let himself feel the sadness and self deprecation that he did from that one statement, "Within the last six months, I've gotten drunk, gotten high, missed classes, lost my virginity, gotten into a relationship and ignored thinking about a possible career in anything but the subjects I enjoy - so no business, no math, no science, nothing like that."

He breathed for a moment, after having listed all of the things that he was almost certain his dad wouldn't want to hear, before adding one last thing, "And I have no idea what your views are on sexuality, but I am gay, if you didn't already know. I have a boyfriend and I love him and I am completely gay."

His dad spoke after a short moment of silence, and hung up straight after. Gryphon froze, the sharp words etched into his memory, ringing in his ears:

"You are a disgusting, naive child. I thought that there might have been some hope for you, but I was very wrong. Maybe someday, you will get a conscience, and when you do, you will drop your petty acts and act like an adult. You don't know how ashamed I feel right now and how wrong it feels to call you my son."

...Gryph never liked his dad, but it still hurt. He was the only blood family he had left, and he wished that things could be better between them, but... he felt so low now. So angry, so upset, and lacking in self esteem. He hated this. He hated him. He just wanted to scream and then hide from everything for a while.

Even so... he was not going to tell anyone about this. Nobody. It was too extreme to burden anyone else with... and it wasn't really anything new.

It was just a lot more painful, now.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Invisible

Entry for the September Writing Challenge: One Wish
>Trigger Warning: Mentions of Stillbirth<
Word Count: 2190

Gryphon was in an odd mood again. His mood had gone from content, to neutral, to slightly detached and now he found himself looking at that necklace. A piece of designed, moulded metal which was able to stir up the rawest emotions in his core. He had considered, in the past, wearing it regularly, for the sake of keeping a part of his mom close to his heart, even if that was some cheesy shit. Maybe it would help.

But if he couldn’t look at it without choking up slightly, wearing it would be a nightmare that no one should be burdened with. Besides, it was less likely to get lost or damaged if he just kept it safe, in his drawer.

His eyes flickered over and around the design as he sat cross-legged on his chair, in deep thought. Can you hear me, mom? He mused, inwardly, Because I can’t tell if I’m actually talking to you or if I’m just talking to myself anymore. He sighed and frowned.

There was so much he missed out on, as a kid. His idea of a family was corrupted. He had an idea of what it should be like - loving and accepting parents, honest people who were caring and kind. Who could understand your pain and patch you up when you fell down. People who loved you, and looked at you like you were one in a million, because… well, you were. One in a seven billion, or thereabouts. Maybe that description was an idea of narcissism, but it was solely revolving around the fact that a child should be treated like a piece of glass. If the glass chipped, you could fix it, if you did it correctly, with the proper care, and it would be like it never happened.

But if you dropped the glass, it would shatter. You could try to put it back together, but you would easily see the cracks from the past, and all those little missing shards which just seemed to disappear once the damage was done. Gryphon felt like a piece of dropped glass, put back together by Fiona in the best way possible. But he was damaged, even if he didn’t show it.

Generally, he didn’t feel it anyway. He was too distracted with his happiness and his optimism to think on his past problems too much, and that wasn’t bravery or some huge act. His brightness was real. But it could easily just take one thought at the moment for him to become muted. A thought of his passed mother, his ignorant and deceiving father, his childhood. The number of times he had screwed up, or could have done better.

He would be fine. He was just trying his best to get over dwelling on the past.

In his current situation, however, he couldn’t help but want a true parental figure to reach out to. Fiona was very busy at the moment, and disturbing her would be extremely inconsiderate. His father was part of the problem, and he hated the idea of even trying to keep a civil conversation with him. And Dorotheé wasn’t family. Never was, never had been.

Gryphon closed his eyes and kissed the charm, I wish you were here, he thought, just as a silent message, no matter how sincere it was, I wish you didn’t have to die. He sighed and curled up a little in his chair, pulling his knees into his chest.

And then it all went blank.

-------------

Kodi woke up with a jolt, feeling a little jarred from the haunting nightmare he had just experienced. He didn't want to think about it. But he knew what he did want to think about - or more rather, who. It wasn't exactly early so the dentokinetic grabbed his phone to text or call Gryph or something.

But his number wasn't there anymore. Kodi frowned - maybe it was a glitch. He needed to make sure he had it written down somewhere for future reference. For now, he would just go over. Knowing Gryphon, he'd be fine with him just turning up. He usually was, anyway.

The journey to his apartment took as long as always, and he say impatiently on the bus, waiting, waiting, waiting to get there. Once he was at the right stop, he hopped off and got to Gryph's apartment, quickly scaling the stairs and knocking on the door.

But a stranger answered him. "...hello?" They asked, confused. But not as confused as Kodi was. Had he gotten the wrong room somehow? He was certain this was the right place.

"...did you just move in?" He asked, bluntly. The man frowned at him, "No, I've been here for a while. What do you want?"

"...never mind." Without any kind of farewell to the stranger, Kodi walked away and began checking the room numbers... but it was definitely Gryph's place. Well, it was, before, somehow.

This was crazy. Was this some kind of joke? Even that dumb whore wasn't about. What was going on?

He made his way back to Hammel, extremely confused. He couldn't contact his boyfriend, because all of his contact details seemed to have disappeared. He couldn't find him anywhere, and he hadn't said anything. This made no sense, and he was beginning to panic. What if something had happened to him...?

He got back and sighed - okay, if anyone would know where he was, it would be that pixie bitch. Kodi bit his tongue, annoyed that he was going to have to resort to this.

------

"Gryphon Matsuoka?" Phoenix frowned, tugging at his sleeves, bewildered by how Kodi was acting. Maybe he really was insane...? "I don't know anyone called Gryphon. Why would I...?" Kodi seemed almost certain that he would know. What made him so sure? "...are you playin' a joke on me?" That seemed to be the only reason that made any sense.

But the logic was elsewhere for Kodi, "I wouldn't fuckin' joke about him. Where the hell is he?" He demanded, angrily.

Phen jolted a little at the increased aggression, "I-I swear, I don't even know who you're talkin' about." Kodi growled in his worried rage and turned around, stomping away. How the fuck could this happen?! It made no sense at all!

...maybe it was his Dad. That was possible. But he didn't even know his fucking name and he lived in Seattle. Plus, that didn't explain why there was some random dick in Gryph's apartment.

Still, it would be worth a try.

He went back to his own room and loaded up the white pages, typing in Gryph's surname. One that seemed likely was Meong Matsuoka, given the location and the Korean origin of the forename. Kodi pressed the number into his phone and put it to his ear, all kinds of nervous.

"Hello, speaking?"

"Um... I'm Kodi. Do you... know where Gryphon is?"

There was a bit of a pause, and he heard the man on the other end take a breath, "I hope this isn't a prank call, son."

"No, no it's not!" He said, completely serious and completely freaking out, "Gryphon Matsuoka, your son, do you know where he is?"

The man paused again, before he heard him shout something, a name, that he couldn't quite work out. He seemed to have covered the speaker. After a few more moments, he heard a muffled conversation, followed by a female voice, "Hello, young man?"

This was strange... "...hello?"

"How did you find out about Gryphon?" She asked, seemingly upset, from the tone of her voice.

Kodi was extremely confused, "He's... he's my boyfriend."

She made a noise of exasperation, "You must be mistaken. Have you got the wrong number?"

The dentokinetic backtracked a little, "You said you know a Gryphon?"

"Knew." The woman corrected, slowly, "I... knew a Gryphon Matsuoka."

Knew?

"Gryphon... Gryphon was my stillborn child."

What?

No. No, no, no...

"...w-what's your name?"

There was a little pause, before; "Philippa. Philippa Anderson-Matsuoka. Why do you ask?"

Kodi almost broke down on the spot. He hung up and shook his head, standing up and pacing - he couldn't have just been a figment of him imagination. No, they went through so much together, it couldn't have all just been a stupid dream or something. He couldn't have not existed.

...maybe that was why he always seemed so perfect. Because he was too good to actually be true. But... he had to be true. He touched him, felt his body, spoke to him, felt emotions because of him. He loved him.

Gryphon...

Kodi felt his eyes grow damp and sniffed. Why, why did this have to happen? Was it just living torture? Some kind of pre-emptive punishment from God, for being as fucked up as he was?

Or maybe this was a dream? A horrible, cruel dream that he could wake up from and see Gryph again and cherish him that much more. He couldn't lose him.

He began to cry. Could you lose something that was never there? He lay down on his bed, clutching onto a pillow and just wishing, wishing that it would turn into Gryphon, or that he would come back. He shook in his sadness. He just didn't know what to do. It wasn't fair, he had someone, finally, he had someone, someone amazing and gorgeous and selfless and perfect, and he never even existed. That wasn't fair.

He cried for a while. Just lay there and sobbed, alone, still confused and very much torn up. Eventually, he fell asleep.

---------

"Kodi."

The dentokinetic jolted and opened his eyes at the voice. No, he thought, don't do this to me, I've already been tortured enough.

"Kodi, look at me."

He rolled over in the direction of the voice. And it was definitely him. Kodi stood up quickly and went over towards him, but as he reached out to embrace him, it seemed there was some kind of barrier in the way.

Gryph looked at him with sympathetic eyes, "I'm sorry." He said, clearly upset at himself.

Kodi leaned against the invisible wall, looking up at him, "Why, what... what happened? I was sure you were real."

"I was." He replied, fiddling with the sleeves of his long white shirt, "...I made a wish." He explained, "I... I wished that my mother didn't have to die." The winged boy looked down, "I didn't realise that it would actually work, but... you know how the universe is. A... A life for a life."

Kodi looked at him helplessly, "...no. There has t'be a way for you t'come back. You can't... you can't leave me." He felt his eyes go sore again, "How come I'm the only one who can remember you?"

Gryphon paused, not sure if he should reveal the answer. But in the end, he did, "Apparently... you are my actual soulmate. And I'm yours. At least, that's what I've been told. Even if you lead a different life now, where... where I never existed, and never will, the connection between us is strong enough to keep me in your memory." Gryph felt his own tears begin to fall, when he saw Kodi's, "I'm so... so sorry for doing this to you."

The world seemed to fade a little. Gryphon panicked, "I love you so much, but don't waste your life being upset. I'll always watch down on you, and wait for you. I'll make sure you join me again. I'm going to miss you so much." He said, taking a shaky breath as the world dissolved even more. Kodi was waking up. "I won't get to see you again, after this, I don't think, so don't forget me. Or do, if that's easier. Either way, I'm going to give you something. You can keep it or do whatever, but it's my little piece of me, to you."

Kodi cried, holding his hand against the flat surface that separated them, "D-Don't go. Please, don't go." He said. Gryphon placed his hand opposite Kodi's and smiled sadly, "I'll always be with you, in spirit, I promise. I love you."

Kodi choked a little, "I l-love you too."

He just about caught the last blink of happiness in Gryph's eyes before the space went black.

-------

Kodi woke up, in his bed, alone. It looked like it was midnight. He could remember every single detail of his dream, like a true memory. That alone made him increasingly happy and mournful at the same time. But he said... Gryph said he would give him something.

The blonde boy looked around rapidly, until his eyes fell on something that sparkled a little in the moonlight. He almost smiled - it seemed like something Gryphon would plan. Something so ridiculously cheesy, straight out of a romance novel.

He stood up, shaking, and picked up the gift. It was a necklace, a pair of wings. He looked at the charm and rubbed his thumb over the detail, before turning it over. There was an engraving, in Gryph's handwriting.

Your Moron <3

Kodi smiled sadly, closing his hand around the charm, holding it to his chest. He shuffled back onto his bed and closed his eyes, sighing.

"I wish you didn't have to die."

[Finn Eogeum]

#44 - Pretend

100 Stories, 1 Month (2015) Entry #1
Word Count: 953

Finn had missed… a lot of school. This depression, it… it was so debilitating. He didn’t feel like he could do much more than lie in bed, curled up in his sheets, surrounded by cuddly toys. The morning was a cure, he wanted to sleep forever - every day. He knew it was unhealthy, and he knew people were worried about him, but he couldn’t do anything about it. His sheets were too comfortable and the world outside was too scary, somehow.

One day this week, he’d managed to get downstairs without feeling too off. That had been a good day, up until… until he had to leave his room and go to lessons. He had just broken down in tears, much to his sister’s despair, and had crumpled back into the worn, unmade bed, which he didn’t have the energy to remake, shaking with the remainders of a good sob, and had fallen bad to sleep, fully clothed. It was hard. He didn’t understand where it had come from. He’d had a girlfriend before this all started, but as the symptoms of his depression had progressed, she became stressed and confused. “This was for fun,” she had explained, “I’m not ready for something so serious.” And she left. It made things worse, and Finn was worried that more people would do the same - pack up and just leave without much of a second thought. Another reason he gave himself to stay curled up on his bed.

But this morning, he woke up… rejuvenated. Ready for the world. Ready for anything. This had happened during the holidays too. He woke up feeling bright and happy and perfect, colours back as they should be, prepared to seize the day without any problems lurking on his mind. Almost like he was temporarily invincible. It felt fantastic. He tumbled out of bed and practically skipped into the shower, singing happily (and loudly) as he washed himself, careless to whether or not he would be waking up his dear sister. Luckily, she was already awake, downstairs, eating breakfast and not able to stop herself from smiling as she did. Seeing her younger brother in such a paralysed state of mind was difficult. Hearing improvement like this was greatly encouraging.

Vicky was sipping her coffee when Finn walked in. She was still grinning, seeing the colours on his body, the pearly white that gleamed with his brightness, “Someone seems happy,” She commented, gulping down some more of the caffeine infused drink.

Finn nodded, “Today’s gonna be a good day, I can feel it!” He exclaimed, going past her to get her breakfast, “Everything’s gonna change!”

--------------------------------------------

A lot of people were happy to see Finn. Rue had been coming over when he could but he was busy with his own work at Hammel a lot of the time. Finn understood that. It’d just been a bit lonely was all.

But there were some people showing confusion at Finn’s attitude. One of them was Megan, in his art class. He was sat, working away, feeling inspiration from about ten ideas at once. He couldn’t get the smile off of his face and he could hardly stop working. Even as she came up to him and began speaking, his hands were working away, sketching this and that and working things out.

“Finn?” He didn’t even look up as he replied, “Yeah yeah?” His speech was a little rushed, his knee bouncing, trying to stay fixated on his work. Megan’s brow furrowed, “You… feeling better?” Finn finally looked up, face screwed up in confusion and concentration, “Yeah, why?”

She cleared her throat uncomfortably, “Well… I, um…” The taller girl seemed to strongly think about her words before speaking again, “...you’re not depressed…?”

He blinked, “Well, I’m not… right now.”

“But that’s not how depression works.” She said back, “You… you see, my sister got depression, and she never did… this. You never get suddenly… better from it.” Finn stopped finally, putting his things down and turning to her, “Well, maybe it did for me.” His arms folded, “You’re not being very nice, I’ve been through a lot, you can’t accuse me like this when you don’t know what I’ve been through.”

Megan seemed to get angrier, “I know what depression is like, Finn. Stop pretending like you do too, because you obviously don’t.”

“What?”

“Depression isn’t an excuse to seek attention. It’s really childish, Finn, and I think other people agree that what you’re doing it very unfair on those people who actually suffer with the disease.”

Finn stood up quickly, face covered in disbelief, “I do suffer from it!”

“You clearly don’t!”

--------------------------------------------

“I don’t know what to think, Rue.” Finn said, having explained all that had happened to his younger friend, “I just… feel better.” He looked at the aura reader, “Do you think it was just pretend? It didn’t feel like pretend, I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t do that on accident or something...”

“Finn…” Rue frowned, “It couldn’t have been.” His aura had changed into something different during that time. That hardly ever happened. Something had been wrong, and was still wrong. “Maybe… maybe you should go back to the doctor and talk about it.”

“But there’s nothing wrong now.” Finn argued, “I’m perfect, I… I could do anything!” He said this with certainty, “Nothing can stop me now. I can do… whatever I want now. I don’t even have to act like I’m okay, because I am; I’m brilliant!” He looked at Rue, smiling, “I can do anything.”

Was it pretend? That was something he still couldn’t really fathom, but he didn’t care, because now, he was fine. He was as fine as fine got.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

#83 - With You

100 Stories, 1 Month (2015) Entry #2
Word Count: 1884

Present Time
It’d been over a year, if you didn’t count the times when the relationship had been severed or damaged for one reason or another. It’d been over a year since Gryphon had met Kodi, and almost a year since they had started being boyfriends. Gryph was still mulling this over as Kodi spoke to him and as he looked over Pilot Ridge from the outlook. They were stood next to each other, holding hands, and Kodi was just talking about a book… Dracula, something about him being similar… monsters… yeah, Gryphon was lost from the conversation ages ago. He was just in his head now.

Until he was whapped on the arm by the exact person he was thinking about. “Hey, moron!” Gryphon had jumped from the sudden shock back to reality, and shook his head a little, as if he’d just been woken up. He blinked at Kodi, brow furrowing, “Why’d you hit me~?” He whined, pouting. Kodi didn’t seem impressed, “You’re ignorin’ me!” He complained right back at him, obviously frustrated by Gryph's lack of focus.

Gryphon paused for a moment, musing over this accusation, in a minor, lulled state of confusion, “...I was?”

“Gryph!” Kodi raised his hand threateningly again, obviously pissed off, and Gryph became a little more alert, “Hey, hey, I’m here now!” His counterpart seemed to calm down, and the winged man sighed, looking out again, “Sorry.” He said softly, obviously still deep in thought, as he fell silent and said nothing more on the subject. Kodi’s brow furrowed, “Gryphy…?”

“A lot has changed, hasn’t it?” His thoughts came out of his mouth, and he looked at Kodi as the winter air swept past them gently, “I mean, we weren’t in this position a year ago, were we?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

February 8th 2014, Room 507
Gryph was tired, but he was still awake, swimming in his thoughts as he processed how this was progressing. It’d been less than half a month, and yet he was here in Kodi’s room, cuddling the younger boy as he fell into sleep. It was strange. His relationship with Nick had developed with a friendship, so the building affection had come through the knowledge of the person - or, at least, what he'd thought he knew. Now, however, Gryphon knew he was curious about Kodi, but so far, he was barely an acquaintance when it came to the winged man’s knowledge of him. He just knew what he knew from other people, and the small amounts he had found out by himself, like the secret that Kodi kept about reading and all the things they had spoken about as they had come back to Hammel, which had basically told Gryph that Kodi was a party person who liked regular sex. Almost nothing like Gryphon. Ah, well, moving on...

He wondered how long the dentokinetic expected to keep the fact that he read books hush-hush from everyone else. It wasn’t really that embarrassing, was it? Showing intellect? Kodi was strange in that sense, Gryph felt. He seemed more intelligent than Gryphon anyway, it confused him as to why the other boy felt it best to keep that brain hidden.

He felt the boy get heavier, and soft purrs of slumber rolled from his throat. That was... adorable, especially considering how much Kodi tried to be gruff. Gryphon smiled to himself and looked through the blinds, out into the night. This had almost been like a date, today… after coming away from the Valentine’s dance, going to that cafe, walking back here, the massage, the kissing… it was strange. And the fact that any ‘games’ were over now, that this was supposed to be a bit more serious now. Maybe.... maybe it was moving a little fast… but maybe Gryph didn’t mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Present Time
Kodi chuckled a little, bemused by Gryph's sudden serious behaviour, “No, we weren’t.” He looked back at his taller lover, considering this fact, “It’s… kinda scary…” He said softly, sighing, “I never imagined anything like… like this.” Gryph squeezed his hand as he spoke, giving a smile along the lines of being sympathetic, because he knew exactly what he meant, “Yeah…” Gryphon couldn’t think of much more to say than that on the matter.

If the ground wasn’t still damp from the winter conditions, they probably would have been sat on the grass, staring out. As it was, Kodi was already freezing, considering how different it was weather-wise in the north compared to the south, and neither of them needed to get soggy butts. Gryphon let go of Kodi's hand and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him in closer to keep the southerner a little bit warmer. Kodi smiled and nuzzled Gryph's shoulder, both of them remaining quiet for the longest time as the Sun set. It was a serene moment, and Gryphon was cherishing it very much.

"....I love you." He muttered quietly, tilting his head down to peck his lover on the forehead. Kodi smiled warmly, "I love you too, babe." He almost felt emotional.

As it began to get darker, and even colder than it was already, Kodi shivered, "I wanna go home." He muttered, looking up from their embrace. Gryph nodded, "Then let's go home, love." His hand slid down Kodi's back and arm, to his hand again, where their finger intertwined and they both turned around, walking to the bus stop. Huh... home. That had changed. For Gryph, it was originally Seattle, and then it was Hammel, and now it was this apartment he shared with Tak. Kodi seemed to consider the apartment his home as well, which Gryphon was perfectly fine with as well. It sucked that he didn't actually live there though - not yet, anyway, he had the rest of the school year to wait until that time. He remembered how upset Kodi had seemed at the prospect of Gryph's departure, no matter how much he tried to convince his boyfriend that it wouldn't change anything.

And then about half a month later, Kodi almost cheated on him. That had been rough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

July 14th 2014, The Lake
They were both kind of stuck in the moment. Gryph was fairly certain Kodi felt the same as him. Scared. Uncertain. Unprepared. How they were going to fix this now, he didn't know. The deception felt accidental, but it still hurt a whole lot, even as Gryphon held Kodi close, tucked around him. His mind was racing and he just didn't really know what to do next. He wanted to talk but he didn't want to somehow make this worse for either of them unintentionally. 

Maybe he could invite him back to his apartment? Was that a good idea...? Was it too soon after something like this? Gryph wanted to just accept Kodi's apology and be fine and move on, but who would expect him to do that? Hopefully Kodi didn't, he wasn't ready to think about doing anything really. Not straight away. But he was curious... what was Kodi thinking? Gryphon looked at his... boyfriend with inspecting eyes, trying to interpret that exactly. When the dentokinetic looked back, his eyes red, Gryph swallowed, "What do we do now?" He asked, clearly uncertain to a pretty big degree by now.

Kodi sighed and shook a little, tilting his head on Gryph's shoulder, "I dunno." He said quietly. They both started looking out over the lake, thinking again. What did the future hold? How would things change? Would they get better; would their relationship strengthen and grow, the trust rebuilding with it? Or... would it all go downhill? Would all the emotional strain be for nothing?

Gryph... had no clue. He just wanted everything to be normal again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Present Time
"Want me to turn the heating up?" They were home now, and Kodi was bundled in multiple blankets on the couch in an attempt to stay warmer, water was boiling in the kitchen for hot drinks and Gryph's feet were cold. Kodi peeked up and shook his head, before making room for his lover next to him, "Just come here and keep me warm." Gryphon smiled, rolling his eyes and sliding next to Kodi, squeezing his sides for a moment. Kodi pushed the winged man down and climbed on his chest, curling up as Gryph wrapped around him, chuckling softly, "Feeling better now, princess?" The dentokinetic's eyes opened and a limp arm came up and poked Gryph's cheek, "Don't call me that, moron~"

Gryphon giggled a little more, taking the poking hand in his own and kissing it before leaving Kodi be, looking to the side at the cute little animal that hopped around the apartment to his heart's content. He smiled - you couldn't help loving Fang, despite his out-of-place name. Gryph nuzzled his lover, who was looking at Fang as well, and had the most adorable smile on his face. "I swear sometimes," He began, in a teasing tone, "You love Fang more than you love me." Kodi pouted at him, "Don't make me choose~" He whined, before giving him a big smooch, smack on the lips, "You know who I love more anyway."

Gryph smiled at this, when the kettle finishing boiling. Kodi got off to go dote on his bunny friend and the older man began pacing towards the kitchen, getting out mugs and the such, keeping an eye on the other boy. A baby voice started coming out of him and Gryphon couldn't help giggling - it was adorable! Kodi whined a little, "Don't laugh at me~" Gryph approached him, distracted for now, and knelt down next to him as he watched the younger boy baby and pet the little bunny rabbit. Gryphon pecked his temple, "You're too adorable for words."

"I'm not adorable," Kodi complained, sharpening his teeth, "I'm vicious. Rawr~" Gryph smiled brightly in return, sticking out his tongue, "You say that every time and it never helps your case." Kodi huffed and rolled his eyes, dropping the subject and crossing his legs. And then Gryphon began thinking again, and got a little lost in his head. He'd thought a whole lot about how he'd ended up here, now, in such a... unique relationship. But... what about the future? He looked at Kodi and noticed his behaviour, and couldn't help smiling as it connected to his thoughts of the future. Of what could be.

He kind of came back to reality, obviously very content. "...I really love you, sweetie." Kodi noticed the sincerity and looked at his boyfriend with an intrigued, but nonetheless, happy expression, blushing slightly, "I love you too, Gryphy." Gryphon smiled, wrapping his arm around Kodi with the intention of staying there for a while, completely forgetting about the drinks for now. He just felt like being with Kodi for now.

A bold thought came to his mind. “You know…” He began slowly, as Kodi perked a little and glanced at him, “I… can imagine being married to you.” It came out of nowhere, but that was basically what he was thinking about, wasn’t it? He blushed slightly at his own words as Kodi’s smile widened and he nuzzled Gryph’s chest, “You dork.” He chided gently, before looking back at him again, “But… I can imagine it too.”

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

#34 - Locked

100 Stories, 1 Month (2015) Entry #3
Word Count: 1912

This was a pretty interesting building. Gryph walked as casually as he could muster, seeming as if he was meant to be there, hopefully. With a cool demeanour, he held his hand over a scanner to be let into another room. Of course, this shouldn't have usually worked, but these weren't the usual circumstances. He had Kodi on his side, back at their secret hideout, keeping tabs on Gryphon's surroundings on his multiple screens so he could alert him of anything suspicious or dangerous that could be nearby, as well as handling partial control of the building's security systems, just enough to make sure Gryph could make it through doors without being instantly discovered as an infiltrator. Gryphon didn't really understand how it all worked, but that's why he was the brawn of the duo, and why Kodi was the brains. "Be careful," He said quietly into Gryph's earpiece, trying not to make him jump, "There's a pair of security guards approaching on your right." Gryphon glanced in that direction but otherwise continued as naturally as possible, the confidence radiating off of him keeping the guards from their suspicions. Gryph strutted into another room.

Gryphon didn't speak, although he knew Kodi would hear if he did. The problem lay in the fact that other people would hear too, and it was difficult to fathom a way to speak subtly when any information he might have needed to find out from his partner would not be subtle or simple at all. He sighed and continued on as instructed.

"You need to go through the door comin' up on your left. It will lead you down a corridor to the control room. From there, we can work on shuttin' this bitch down." 'This bitch' being the main computer in this whole research facility. Once he was in that room, all he needed to do was steal the main research files and evidence off of the servers and onto the memory stick he had with him, and delete any evidence or backup, before getting the hell out of there. Getting the files would be the easiest part. Gryph went through the door Kodi had indicated, after a 'successful' hand scan, and began walking down the empty corridor. Only a few people had access to this room, so it made sense.

What didn't make sense was the click he heard, the click of a lock. Gryph's brow furrowed, deeming it safe to speak, "Kodi, what the hell was that?" He could hear his partner wildly typing away on the other end, "I... I dunno, the doors just locked." Gryphon felt his heart beat faster, "All the doors?" The lights dimmed a little, and he became even more confused, "Maybe it's a power cut?"

Kodi seemed to be in a hurried state of distress, trying his best to solve the problem suddenly presented, "There's not been a power cut..." He muttered, still rapidly searching until his line went silent, except for the sound of his breathing. Gryph frowned, looking around, "Kodi...?"

"It's only the doors around you."

Gryphon swallowed, "Well... that's a good sign." He said sarcastically, beginning to look a little more thoroughly, "Can't you do anything? You've been able to open doors for me so far." Gryph asked. The way Kodi spoke made it very clear how concerned he was, "It's high security. I can't... I can't touch it without the system locating my computer. Gryph..." The other man sighed, "You're on your own."

And suddenly the spy felt a wave of nostalgia crash into his face. This was just like that one scenario, a couple weeks back. Gryph got put in lockdown somewhere and had to get out by himself, only to find afterwards that Kodi had been behind the whole thing, that it had been a training exercise. The possibility was less here, but nonetheless a possibility. Gryphon sighed, "Kodi, this isn't a joke." He didn't get a response straight away, and that annoyed him more. His tone became threatening, "Kodi..."

"What? I can't do anything!" He sounded sincere, but he had last time, too. Gryph growled, "Seriously, this is ridiculous. Get me out of here." He said, sternly. He didn't have time for this. "Now." Kodi sounded exasperated, verging on angry, "Don't you think I would if I could?" He replied, not realising Gryphon's assumptions, "You're bein' unfair."

The agile one became more pissed of, "Well, you're wasting-" Gryphon abruptly stopped, hearing a distinct hissing sound. That couldn't be good. He calmed himself from the possible threat as Kodi tried to regain his attention. Eventually he caught onto the words, "Gryphon, are you listenin'?"

"Yeah, I'm here, what is it?"

"They're leakin' carbon monoxide into that room, Gryph, you've gotta get out of there, right. now." Shit. Gryphon took a deep breath and released it, which was a bit of a mistake, as made him cough a little. "....copy that." That was his only reply, for now. Now he needed to focus on a solution. Well... he could be delicate and subtle, but then again, they apparently already knew he was here, so he was going to go with the obvious and destructive option. That one was always the most fun. "Kodi, is there anything-" He paused to cough for a moment, knowing every second was another step towards his possible demise, "Anything vaguely explosive nearby that I should know about?"

There was the sound of typing and a few bleeps before he got his answer, "No."

"Perfect." Gryph pulled off the buttons on his jacket and began attaching them to the door where he had come from, before going to the door he needed to go through. By this point, however, his lungs were feeling smaller and smaller and any time he coughed, he sounded like someone who smoked ten packs a day. He could hear Kodi getting nervous over their comm. system, "Gryph...." He warned, but Gryphon didn't really have time for chiding, pulling out a laser pen from his pocket (cliche, but it was effective) and began scorching the door frame, covering his mouth with his sleeve to hopefully keep some of the harmful gases from his lungs. It was taking time, time that Gryph was running out of... he managed to cut around the whole frame as he began to feel weak, and kicked the door in, which finally gave him entrance to the empty control room. He went to a corner and began coughing horrifically, wishing he'd trusted Kodi earlier so the situation could be somewhat better than it was right now.

Kodi had surveillance though, and Gryph vaguely heard his sigh of relief when Gryphon made it through, even though he began complaining straight away, "Gryph, you need to get out of there, the mission isn't as important as-"

"The next time.... would be more d.... difficult." Gryphon interrupted, though his speech was riddled with chesty coughs that broke up his words and sentences, as he began approaching the computer, "Just he....help me finish this." Kodi seemed to hesitate before giving in, his fingers and thoughts getting to work again, "Just put the drive in, Gryphy, I'll do the rest of the work." Gryphon found the right port and put it in, sliding to the ground to take some cleaner breaths of air as Kodi worked. He heard a noise and looked at the screens behind him, which had all gone dark.

"Get the drive and run." Kodi said this bluntly, and Gryph complied without a second thought, yanking out the storage device and putting it away safely. He jumped up and pressed a button in his jacket pocket, hearing the explosions of the button bombs that short distance away, and with every strength left, he began to run.

--------------------

Kodi was sat at his desk impatiently, waiting for any possible signs of life. Something had compromised the earpiece, so he couldn't communicate with Gryph anymore, and the moment those files had been uploaded, his whole computer system crashed. He was waiting for his computer to kick back to life - since he'd played with it enough, any more might damage it in some way - but more importantly, he was waiting for Gryphon.

He swiveled around in his chair, hearing small clangs resounding from behind the heavily reinforced door, sounds reminiscent of someone descending the ladder. He waited to relax until he was certain.

Five knocks. And then a whine, "Kodiiii...." Which was coupled with some more coughs.

Kodi couldn't help grinning, despite his worry and annoyance at the situation. He dashed forward and began unlocking the door as fast as he could, letting the man slump into his arms as it opened, petting his hair, "You're a moron." He said plainly.

Gryphon laughed and wheezed a little in his arms, "I'm a moron." He replied weakly, struggling to straighten up again to walk. Kodi wrapped an arm around his waist and supported him, leading the coughing man to their bedroom, where he laid him down and sighed, lying in front of him, "Don't do that t'me again, Gryphy," He said softly, brushing back some of the scruffy strands of hair behind his lover's ear, "I was worried sick."

Gryphon gently took hold of his face, opening his tired eyes slightly, with a smile, "You make it sound like I did this on purpose."

Kodi groaned, "Gryph-"

"I'll try." The older man said, pecking him on the lips, "But no guarantees. You know how this is." This 'profession' of sorts was a dangerous one. The mission could have ended a lot worse than it did, even if this was still a pretty bad outcome. At least they had those files. Gryph thought that was what Kodi would be concerned with the most right now, but as Gryphon pulled the memory stick out, Kodi took it out of his grasp and placed it on the nightstand, doing nothing else with it for now. Gryph raised an eyebrow and Kodi laughed, "You think I care more about some dumb memory stick than you?" Gryph hesitated, making Kodi laugh again as he began pulling at Gryphon's clothes, but for once without the intention of doing anything dirty. Gryph just let him do so, and let the man undress himself too, so they were both in their boxers, before Kodi pressed a few buttons on the nightstand to turn off the lights and close and lock the doors. He rolled over and pulled his still wheezing lover into his chest, nuzzling his head as Gryph groaned, already half asleep from the strain on his body. Kodi held him close, "We can call a doctor, if you want." He muttered softly, and Gryphon rejected with slurred mumble, said something about tomorrow... Kodi just giggled and went with it, despite still being incredibly worried, "Okay, okay. Go to sleep then."

Gryph looked at him with dopey eyes, "Lub you." He managed to croak out, and Kodi gave him a smooch, "I love you too, you moron." Gryphon smiled and curled into him more, rapidly drifting off, "...night..." He mumbled vaguely.

Kodi grinned softly, closing his own eyes and wrapping around his lover more comfortably, "G'night, Gryph."