River, River

**Broad St. Overpass, Halcyon City**

Jake stumbled down the grassy hillside, the roar and bustle of cars on the highway behind him. The scene below him was anything but prosperous. Peach-coloured dirt and gravel laid beaten from continuous use, pathways leading beneath the overpass to a veritable shanty-town of junk and reclaimed metal. Tents of all shapes and sizes were scattered around, with the occasional broken chair or sofa serving as both seating and makeshift 'tables' for boxes or miscellaneous doo-dads with little apparent rhyme or purpose. Despite the poor state of the poor man's village, the breadth of materials at least made the area somewhat colourful - dangling cloth of purple and pinkish colour to shield against the wind, orange and green to serve as cots and flooring, so on and so forth.

The young hero fit to the locale like a fist to the face. He stood out entirely, and his attempts at approaching the denizens of the refuge were awkward, to say the least. None of the people showed hostility, yet neither were they overly helpful to a strange, and one so out of this world at that as well. Suffice to say, he was setting upon the wrong turf - his choice of words the matters little as well.

"I'm looking for a guy, you know, *this* tall," he said gesturing a little lower than he would like.

"He usually wears, like, a shirt, like this," he pulled at his own garment, stretching it a little.

Turning around, the kid added, "he's kind'a got this trench-coat, you know... brown cargo pants, black hair...?"

The man answering his query, an older male clad in numerous layers of second-hand, tattered clothing, could only shrug. The description was inaccurate, to say the least. Jake's words described someone close to the person he was seeking, but a little off. Little enough to throw off anyone unfamiliar with the other young hero. Still, the two persisted - long enough for the person in question to spot the growing commotion.

Dominik was holding a table - the entire table, chipped and worn as it may have been - over his head. There was little room in the refuge to spare between the huts, and thus the place was shuffled and redecorated on an almost hourly basis, depending on what the people needed at the given time. The other youngster's face flushed into a surprise first, and dread terror seconds later. He looked left, right, frantically searching for something that just would not come to him. Eventually, he relented.

The larger kid put the table down on the side, drawing confusion from another homeless man. The person stood tall for an adult, and despite an average build, his neck bulged with two flaps flesh covered in faint, bronze scales. The cobra-person shrugged, and called out.

"Oi, what's going on?"

Dominik only half-turned around. He was still in distress and hurry. "Sorry Josh! I'll, uh. Give me a moment here, okay?"

The cobra-man shrugged. "Suit yourself. Don't take too long, food's soon."

Before long, Dominik appeared right behind his friend - currently still caught in a futile attempt of finding someone who did not exist. His guide shrugged, and seemingly trailed off without a word - only for Jake to turn to a familiar voice moments after. "Jake? What are you doing here?"

"Th-ah... thanks, man... I found him," Jake stuttered at the older man in after-thought. He turned to Dom, cleared his throat, and began with a low voice. "I've been looking for you, man. We've, uh... we've got to talk about some stuff. This, I..." he bit his own words, "we've... you know what it is."

Dominik's expression was caught in a strange flux between understanding and sour. "Yuph, uh... could you just give me a moment?" He turned around, and waved to someone in the back. His voice, though risen, was thoroughly apologetic. "I'm sorry Josh, you'll have to deal with this alone! Something came up, okay? I *promise* I'll make it up to you!"

To this, the refuge had a starkly different reaction. Everyone did something different, but the tone was definitely on the positive. Some nodded in understanding, some gave a cheerful thumbs-up to one of their own. Some even began snickering, murmuring jokes and playful insinuations between themselves. "Boy's growing up."

Dominik didn't appear to pay them much notice.

"We should, uh, head off," Jake interjected awkwardly. "Do you have like, a tent that's yours or...? We're moving, where are we moving...?"

Dom turned to the refuge, towards one little tent-hut in particular. As fast as he did, his eyes snapped to Jake. His face was painted with overwhelming embarrassment, clear as a day. His body, though not twisted nor positioned in any awkward state, moved just a little to put himself firmly between his friend and the community behind his back.

"Care... for a walk? Get some air?" Jake suggested.

"Yeah," it was Dom's turn to stutter back, "that's... that's gonna be good, yeah."

###### ===========

The two walked the riverside path for a while. Before long, the sight of the distant shanty-town was but a speck. The two had a measure of privacy - as much privacy as one could get when walking down a barren path next to a river... next to a busy street with dozens of cars passing in a dozen seconds each. Still, without spending the last few hours of daylight trekking around Halcyon, this was the best the two could afford. Neither seemed wrong with the fact.

"Hey, umm..." Jake began. "So, Dom, um... let's get this over with man," he said in an exasperated tone.

"I promised mum that I would be done, with this super-hero business. And today I was, it was... enough for me to just clear up that it's... I've got to get out of here. Out of this super-hero business. This isn't really for me, anymore-..."

Before Jake could continue, Dom began in a lower tone. "This is really how you feel?"

"It is, yeah, it's..." Jake started, but Dominik didn't fold just there.

"I didn't want to bring it up, or anything, but..." his tone was faltering, "how do I even put this. I mean, we've all been there, right? The event, a couple of weeks back. Was it already a month? Time flies so fast..."

"Yeah, yup..." Jake nodded awkwardly.

"Everyone's been different. All of us were hit hard by what happened, but... I'm worried for you, Jake. Specifically for you. Now I understand we're you've been coming from, all this time. I'm sorry we raided your house like that, again."

"Yeah, it's fine, it's fine," the other one reassured, but otherwise let Dom speak.

"I just... I understand we've all been hit, and we've all had it hard. But you've been particularly... I'm not even sure if that's the right word... 'lapsing'?" Dominik shrugged, concern in his eyes. "I'm worried for you."

For a moment, there was silence. Then, after an equally long and drawn-out sigh, Jake began anew. "I think we're... I think we're going about this wrong. The order we've been doing this, we've been doing things... it isn't right. Like, we were going out, and we're doing hero... stuff... and we're just kind of ignoring our own consequences. We've never really made responsible for what we do, and the trouble we cause while doing it. It's... ah..." he sighed heavily.

"After everything's that happened with mom, I don't know I can keep doing this. It's gotta be done differently. I promised mom I'd stop, so I'm stopping... and I keep my promises so... I promised to help you find your parents. I need to know, what you know, so we can do this."

To this, Dominik was caught off-guard. His reaction, however, was a little different than expected. The kid smiled, wistfully and somewhat absent-mindedly. His eyes darted away from Jake, and he moved away wordlessly. He didn't go far, though for a second his target was nebulous. He moved a bit to the left, and right. He paced, in nervousness, before he seized up with a deep sigh. Dominik sat down unto the riverside's grass. Putting his legs up, he gave the nearby ground a pat - inviting his friend to join him.

Not quite adhering to his friend, Jake instead sat himself on a nearby rock, a larger boulder conveniently close yet not quite within grabbing distance of the dragon-possessed. The two winded down, but the conversation seemed to take a different tone.

Dom started again, after more than a moment of uneasy silence. "It's not that I don't know where they are; I know *very well* where they are. I remember the address. It's just... I haven't seen them for *so long...*."

At once, Dom's voice became much softer, and much more melancholic in tone. "I don't know if I can see them again. If they would even recognise me by this point."

Jake looked upon his friend, slowly. The rough expression he carried on his face since the start of the day, finally, began to mellow out. "Trust me, as rough as it's been, family recognises family. No matter what we look like, we see each other as who we were," he paused, and laughed under his breath, "sometimes more than who we've become."

Once more, Dom responded with an ironic wistful chuckle. "I guess? I don't think they would have issues letting me back into the house. Honestly, it's more like... I'm not sure I could recognise myself in front of them."

He shook his head in exasperation. "I know, I'm speaking in riddles. I mean I don't think I could face them the same way I faced them before this entire thing started."

Meanwhile, Jake began to slide off his rock. He crawled over on the grass, and slowly trudged himself closer to his friend. "I think you're worrying too much. Everyone that you've come across since I've met you has liked you - you may have trouble seeing the person inside, but, man, they'll see someone they like. You'll be... you're still their kid."

Dom turned to answer, but Jake's rant continued. He rose his voice, he rose his arms. His tone became both infuriated and lovingly annoyed. "Parents are *weird*, you know? They just *like you*, they just do. They try, and they will try. As long as you're trying, something will pan out."

Dominik laughed, if only for a moment. He eased up, however. His shoulder dropped, and his right leg stretched itself open across the grass. "Yeah, though... I don't think I'm trying enough. I've been running this entire situation in my mind, over and over. So many times, and so many days. It keeps going the same way. I see myself, walking up to the door, ringing the bell... and I see them and it's like..." he pauses, imitating a slightly older voice, "where have you been? For these four, five years? What have you been doing? Why haven't you called back? Why haven't you came back? What is it with you looking like this? Where's your job? Where's your education?"

Dom shook his head in frustration. "I'm approaching the age I *should* have these things, but I'm here. In Halcyon. With a dragon inside me, punching bad guys in the face and causing so much collateral damage our surrogate dad Cyclone chews me out nearly each time I go out on a mission."

Despite the words, the tone continued to shift towards mellow. Even Dom began to laugh, if somewhat bitterly, at the last part. Jake held a faint smile through as well. Dom, however, continued. "If I tell them this is all I've been doing, can you imagine? I can't come back. If you were in my place... I'm afraid if I do that, I might as well turn around and leave the porch because the doors - they're going to stay closed forever."

Jake began in earnest. "I mean, I... *I just told my mom*" he said almost breaking down in chuckles himself. "It's not what happened to me at all. She didn't kick me out for being a super-kid. If anything, they will grab you. They will cling to you *hard*."

Dominik began to ease up. The conversation, the tone - it was working on him, in more ways than one. Before long, the second leg unfurled itself from his chest and splayed itself across the riverside green. "I'm starting to think I should just come back with something. Not just myself. And Jake," he smiled to his friend, "I can feel you're going to say that just coming back as their kid alone is more than enough... but I don't feel that way. I can't bring myself to do it, after all these years. It just feels... wrong. Like as if I grew bored of being a hero, and just wanted a normal life again. I need to start being a person, and not just a guy with a dragon."

Jake nodded and sighed with a heavy breath. His eyes went wide, just for a moment. "If you need a place to stay, we've got extra room. Mom's not really there that often, so you can come and go as you please."

Dom smiled, brightly. "Thanks. You're not the only person who offered that to me, you know?"

Jake blinked, "oh..?"

Dominik continued. "Long ago, during our first days here... you remember Keith, right?"

"Right," Jake agreed. "I think I've seen him in the base once or twice."

"He used to be very open, with me? He's been trying to feed me and all, something Cyclone has been doing all the time, truth be told. I think he just really likes cooking, and I've been to his place a couple of times and it's..."

Dom paused, shook his head in exasperation, and added. "It feels overwhelming. Bad even. I would feel bad just taking. It's not that we hate each other or would be jealous about it," he turned his head towards the refuge in the distance. "We all want ourselves to succeed. To get better. Like, a month before the incident? Carl... yeah, Carl got himself a job at a construction. And a few days before the incident? He managed to move out and, we were honestly so very happy for him."

Jake simply nodded, and let Dom continue. "It's not that I would feel bad about leaving. Carl still comes over, I would come too. My problem is that... I can't just accept it all for no reason. There's nothing worse than taking without giving - life here teaches you that here, hard. There's nothing worse than a freeloader. I can't go to your place and just expect to be given food and shelter just from the goodness of your heart."

Jake shook his head in refusal. "You *earned* it. I couldn't have gotten pass Grams if not for you. This isn't something you're given. This is something you've earned by... helping mom and stuff. This is not a gift in any way, Dom."

Despite the encouragement, Dom's eyes became watery. "Goodwill only goes so far, right? When push comes to shove, the money has to flow. You have to pay rent, bills. I won't be able to help with that. I can't just keep getting in the way of your grandmother all the time!" the boy joked, and Jake let out a shrilling laugh caught off-guard.

"I mean, one of these days I hope you make up, and you know - how am I going to 'work' if you two are back together again, ah? I won't be able to stay with you like this all the time."

To this, Jake's response was disarmingly simple. He spoke in a tone as if it was obvious, and almost somewhat comedic. "I mean, mom's also a partner. She can get you a job. It won't be top-tier, but she can get you something."

Dom froze. His throat contracted, stalled. Words failed to come - an instinct of refusal fought tooth and claw with the earnest desire to simply say 'thanks'.

Jake kept going, his tone informative and casual. "How about this? You try working here for a little while - and you can give me work-out lessons, I need to get in shape. There's a shed in the back that needs fixing. It's wearing down, mom'd be happy to have it fixed. Don't worry, you won't be freeloading at all. There's definitely a lot for you to do. Just say the word, and we're around. There's positions open."

Dom muttered out, forcing himself to speak. "I want to help around the house."

Jake nodded. "Okay...?"

The other kid continued to list things, conviction growing. "I want to do the garbage, I want to do the dishes, if your mother needs something done, I will do it. Any job will work. Any position. I won't complain. I will do it."

Jake gave one more affirmation. "You got it."

Dom, on the other hand, clenched his first. A faint sheen of a familiar entity began gathering near the flexed arm. "If there's anything I can take from these years, and from what happened, it's this. It's payback for all that suffer-... no, shut up, scale-butt," Dom interjected to the entity within as Jake laughed, "and I'm happy to use it to help."

Dominik released his hand, and the sheen disappeared as fast as it appeared.

Somewhat absent-mindedly, Jake said with glee. "I always a wanted a tree next to the shed."

"I don't think Gramps can make trees grow. I mean, I never tried... but maybe if we ask nicely?"

"I'm not sure of some of the things Grams can do, but I guess we just have to figure that out. Figure stuff out along the way," Jake retorted, and with glee rose his fist to prod Dominik against the shoulder in a friendly manner. "We'll make it work, okay?"

Dom exasperated, hiding the glee at the back of his voice. "Yeah, yeah, we will. But there's one more thing," he started, his tone becoming again more distant and aloof. He put on his big-brother mask once again.

"It's about you, you know. How do you wan to deal with your situation, now? Neither of us are in quite a good position, but you're also hurting, and torn. Even today proves this."

Jake began to crumple. He breathed out in frustration.

"I know where you're coming with this," the lecture continued, "keeping your word and everything. I do get this. But I have a feeling you're, in your mind - you're not there when you need to be, you can't focus. Something's eating at you, and I can see you're worried, and I'm worried, and I want to help you because you're my friend and perhaps the only person who understands me on this team."

The Wild Thang nodded. "Yeah... everything used to be clear. I had a job - as the Thing, Grams put me in charge. This was the path. I was going to be in charge of the spirit people, their safety - balance all that. Path was set, right? And now? Things are just going awry. When I go into fights these days, I just go... blank. It used to be straight-forward, and now it's all white and fuzzy. I don't even know what to do with Grams, and the hellscape."

Jake's tone began to mount in frustration. "I helped. I helped get Lance there. I didn't know what that place was. And Grams' somehow connected to it, too?!"

"It's complicated, I see...?" Dom suggested softly. "I didn't expect that as well. We were going under a tree, and suddenly we're in Hell. It felt like Gramps knew... but he knows a lot more than he lets me on. We have that in common."

"Yeah," the other nodded tiredly. Unexpectedly, he was met with an invitation, and he rose his fist to match Dom's in an impromptu fist-bump. For a moment, the mood was brought up again. "Maybe one day they'll both tell us what's going on," Jake joked.

"I've stopped hoping for what Dragon telling me... but mostly because I feel if he were to do it, my head would explode," Dom said matter-of-factly, with a little joke in his tone.

"Mhmm..." Jake muttered.

"You're right about Grams though. I think at least. I'm no expert, I'm not part of your family and can't judge the situation too well. But if there's one thing I want to believe, and one thing I was told by... my mother," Dom continued softly, "it's that family is family. You don't choose it, but at least always try to get along. If there's something wrong, try to talk it out. There's nothing... in the world that cannot be done without trying to attain mutual understanding."

Jake muttered another agreement beneath his breath, more jovial than before.

"I know, lofty words."

"It sounds like some advice I just gave you," Jake chuckled under his breath.

"Oh come on!"

"Nu-huh!"

In a blink, Jake was sent tumbling to the side. Dom gave his friend an elbow, a joyous one that conveniently made him forget his strength. Jake rolled, picked himself up... and had nothing but a smile on his face. Dominik waved his hands in apologies, but both of them could not help but smile with glee at the situation. It was not the punch, but the presence of one next to the other.

"It's fine, I'm still good," Jake said, crawling back up to his friend. "Bonuses that come with Grams' magic."

"So..." Dom insinuated quietly, "it's an inheritance thing?"

"Yeah... my dad had it. Grams too. She doesn't want to tell me much about him though, and he's been gone for a while now."

"I see."

"I really don't know too much. He left when I was young."

"Maybe it could be a place to start?" Dom suggested.

"Hmm...?"

"Even if it runs in just half, it still runs in the family, no? I can't put myself in a situation where someone would force me to do something without telling me what it is. Because it's what your mother or father did it, because your family's been doing this, you know? It doesn't sit well with me. I want to get the full picture. And I feel you should get the same picture yourself."

Jake shook his head. "I tried asking Grams, I did. She just doesn't want to tell me what is up with dad. He's not on the Tree; I've looked! I can't find him anywhere there, and every time I bring him up to Grams, she just disappears on me, she poofs," he threw his hands in the air. "If I had any control over when and where she came and gone, I would've found the answer by now."

"But you have control over something else, Jake."

"...like what? What are you talking about?" the Wild Thang asked.

In a moment, Dom scooted over to Jake like a puppy. Down on all fours, with wide eyes beaming with determination and an idea that he would not have turned down. "You said yourself - you don't have to do this... if you don't want to do this. This is your choice, not something your Grannie can make you do. If she wants the Wild Thing to keep going, the legacy going," Dominik pulled back. He sat cross-legged, in an almost sage-like manner. "She needs to convince you to keep it going on your terms. This is your choice now - not hers, not anymore."

Jake remained quiet.

"You deserve to know what happened. Even if it might hurt. If she doesn't want to tell you because it's far too much for a child to know - something Gramps mutters about all the time too - you just tell her that it's far too much for a child to risk their lives fighting crime and taking wild shapes of animals."

Dominik's friend laughed.

"If she want to be even, she has to be even *fully*. Right?" Dom smiled a mischievous smile.

"Alright," Jake responded in kind, his lips curling. "I'll make you a deal. I'll tell Grams to back down, and give me the truth. You agree to see your parents."

Almost at once, Dom's smile faded as he looked away. In but a second later, he came back to Jake, blush flared on his cheeks. His index finger was raised, like a stern teacher lecturing someone at class. "On one condition back."

"Sure."

"You give me a little time, after I settle in, and remind myself what it means to live like a normal person."

"Deal," Jake smiled, but Dominik rose his hand and furrowed his brow.

"Gramps," he called out, and like on cue a vague shape of a dragon's head rose from his chest, head and shoulders. It roared voicelessly, yawning, shrinking to that of a small size fit for Dom's shoulder. "Come on. You'll be our witness, right? We're making a promise, and you're our third-party mediator, right? Keep us to this promise, both of us."

As Dominik joked about, Jake laughed... and grew distant. Mid-laugh, the Wild Thang stared away while the other was busy, staring at the flowing river. His mouth curled, his lips parted. He uttered a word, breathlessly, an echo of an echo resonating somewhere far away, yet somewhere within. In just half a second, he snapped back, roaring into laughter as if nothing happened.

"Umm... a bit too much?"

"Wha-..? No, not at all! It's funny! Two dudes and a dragon, it feels like this is the weirdest it's gonna get," Jake retorted.

"It is, but you know. A few years back, I wouldn't believe it at all, but now? I think I would feel sooooo lost without Grmaps on my shoulder all the time."

Beaming approval and amusement, the ethereal being perched atop Dominik's shoulder retreated back into its fleshy cage. The Dragon was gone as abruptly as he came. All to the simple movement of a friendly fist-bump.

"And wait," Jake stopped. "This is what you do afterwards," he explained, pulling his hand away and splaying his fingers. Each bounced as he waved them eagerly. Dom, in joy, mimicked the motion and beamed his friend a bright smile. "That's the trigger that makes it even better."

"Of course," Dom nodded. "One thing though..."

"Oh?"

"I'm *not* inviting you to dinner... because we're all booked and there's not much to go by as it is. You know. Wonders of living scraping stuff to get day by day."

"...you can come to our place," Jake once again shrugged as if he was stating the obvious. "I was going to cook but if you can, why not? I just need to hit the store on the way home."

Dom's face flushed worry, but he swallowed hesitation down, reinvigorated. "Sure, but you just have to give me a moment then. I *promised* to move the tables," he explained, getting up from the grass while beating off the stains. "If you promise something over here, you need to keep your word. Especially if it's work."

"Absolutely."

"Homeless solidarity."

Jake smiled. "Always stick to your word."

###### ===========

As Dominik worked and toiled with the tables, moving and shuffling things to' and fro, Jake watched his friend from afar. Half-clambered up the side, back towards the overpass, the Wild Thang froze. His eyes, once again, became distant and milky. His mouth spoke words that were not truly his. They echoed on the wind - resounding, yet in perfect harmony to the aerial currents, ever-present but entirely silent.

ವಿಧೇಯತೆಗೆ ಮೊದಲು ಆದೇಶ ನೀಡಿ.

He snapped back, an interjection that did not happen. His eyes seized Dominik, ascending the raise with a small bag holstered over his shoulder, and a grin beaming wide across his scruffy cheeks.