you.
Shit.
Cross
dried his clean hands on his pant leg and went back to scanning the park for
threats. Being so exposed made him uneasy. More Phases could attack his
Match, at any moment.
Aside
from a few spindle-y white birds and some squirrels, there wasn’t another
creature in sight, though. He and Nia were alone in the park.
Which
was good and bad.
Obviously,
only having woodland creatures as possible enemies significantly cut down on
the risk of ambush. But, it also meant there were very few distractions. As
soon as Nia got off that phone, she was going to want to talk to him. Only,
Cross had no idea what to say to her.
He
glanced over at Nia, again, just because he couldn’t help himself. Even
standing in the dingy phone booth, she was stunning.
A
miracle.
What
the hell was he supposed to do with a woman so completely out of his league?
“So…
Yeah. Alright. I guess I’ll call you back later, then. Oh.” She hesitated.
“Ummm… Don’t be mad, but also some Air Phases got killed. Okay, bye.” She
hung-up as quickly as she could and dropped her head against the metal payphone
booth. “Holy crap. He’s gonna freak out on me.”
Cross
couldn’t imagine Job “freaking out.” It would be like Gandhi throwing a temper
tantrum.
Nia
glanced up at him. “Now what?” She asked. “Should we wait for him?”
Cross
didn’t think that was a good idea. Nia didn’t have her cellphone with her and
Cross didn’t own one, at all, so Job couldn’t call them back. They’d have to
keep trying him again and again, and that meant they’d have to stay put. It
was hard to find payphones these days, even in a time-capsule of a town like
Mayport Beach.
That
made Cross feel strange, since he remembered when telephones were invented .
Human technology moved so quickly. Probably because humans had such short
lives. They had to cram everything in as fast as they could. Elementals took
a much longer time to adjust to changes. Cross was always overwhelmed by the
new gadgets and ideas that humans came up with and he was still young. Only
two hundred and forty.
Job
was over a thousand.
That
thought came out of nowhere.
Job
must feel a constant struggle just to keep up with all the shifts. From horses
to trains. Trains to Model T’s. Model T’s to jets. Since Job was perfect,
Cross didn’t feel a lot of sympathy for him. Still, he realized for the first
time that the Earth King might actually have some problems of his own.
“Cross?”
Nia prompted when he didn’t respond. “What should we do, now?”
Cross’s
mood soared as he realized that Nia wasn’t asking for his help, because
she just automatically knew that he’d give it. She was just assuming that they were in this together. Instinctively trusting him to be on her team.
That
was sort of gratifying.
Nia
was really accepting this Match. Seeing them as “we.” Cross wasn’t used to
being part of a “we.” Or having someone ask his opinion. It was a gift. “Um…
I think we should go bail out your family ourselves.” He said, truthfully, and
braced himself for a list of reasons why they needed Job’s expertise.
Going
solo was apparently the answer Nia was looking for, though. She grinned at
him. “I agree. Honestly, I really don’t want Job here, anyway. Not
unless something else goes wrong and we’re completely screwed and desperate. I
mean, he’d be super helpful and fix everything. But, he lectures.”
Cross’s
mouth curved.
“I
should also warn you, I’m sort of in the middle of rebellion.”
“I
doubt you’re in the ‘middle’ of anything, Nia. If there’s a rebellion, I’m
sure you’re leading it.”
“Maybe.”
Nia winked at him. “Seriously, though, Job’s not going to be pleased about this
whole mission. He told me not to come to the human realm. Just consorting
with me, could probably get you banished by
Shit.
Cross
dried his clean hands on his pant leg and went back to scanning the park for
threats. Being so exposed made him uneasy. More Phases could attack his
Match, at any moment.
Aside
from a few spindle-y white birds and some squirrels, there wasn’t another
creature in sight, though. He and Nia were alone in the park.
Which
was good and bad.
Obviously,
only having woodland creatures as possible enemies significantly cut down on
the risk of ambush. But, it also meant there were very few distractions. As
soon as Nia got off that phone, she was going to want to talk to him. Only,
Cross had no idea what to say to her.
He
glanced over at Nia, again, just because he couldn’t help himself. Even
standing in the dingy phone booth, she was stunning.
A
miracle.
What
the hell was he supposed to do with a woman so completely out of his league?
“So…
Yeah. Alright. I guess I’ll call you back later, then. Oh.” She hesitated.
“Ummm… Don’t be mad, but also some Air Phases got killed. Okay, bye.” She
hung-up as quickly as she could and dropped her head against the metal payphone
booth. “Holy crap. He’s gonna freak out on me.”
Cross
couldn’t imagine Job “freaking out.” It would be like Gandhi throwing a temper
tantrum.
Nia
glanced up at him. “Now what?” She asked. “Should we wait for him?”
Cross
didn’t think that was a good idea. Nia didn’t have her cellphone with her and
Cross didn’t own one, at all, so Job couldn’t call them back. They’d have to
keep trying him again and again, and that meant they’d have to stay put. It
was hard to find payphones these days, even in a time-capsule of a town like
Mayport Beach.
That
made Cross feel strange, since he remembered when telephones were invented .
Human technology moved so quickly. Probably because humans had such short
lives. They had to cram everything in as fast as they could. Elementals took
a much longer time to adjust to changes. Cross was always overwhelmed by the
new gadgets and ideas that humans came up with and he was still young. Only
two hundred and forty.
Job
was over a thousand.
That
thought came out of nowhere.
Job
must feel a constant struggle just to keep up with all the shifts. From horses
to trains. Trains to Model T’s. Model T’s to jets. Since Job was perfect,
Cross didn’t feel a lot of sympathy for him. Still, he realized for the first
time that the Earth King might actually have some problems of his own.
“Cross?”
Nia prompted when he didn’t respond. “What should we do, now?”
Cross’s
mood soared as he realized that Nia wasn’t asking for his help, because
she just automatically knew that he’d give it. She was just assuming that they were in this together. Instinctively trusting him to be on her team.
That
was sort of gratifying.
Nia
was really accepting this Match. Seeing them as “we.” Cross wasn’t used to
being part of a “we.” Or having someone ask his opinion. It was a gift. “Um…
I think we should go bail out your family ourselves.” He said, truthfully, and
braced himself for a list of reasons why they needed Job’s expertise.
Going
solo was apparently the answer Nia was looking for, though. She grinned at
him. “I agree. Honestly, I really don’t want Job here, anyway. Not
unless something else goes wrong and we’re completely screwed and desperate. I
mean, he’d be super helpful and fix everything. But, he lectures.”
Cross’s
mouth curved.
“I
should also warn you, I’m sort of in the middle of rebellion.”
“I
doubt you’re in the ‘middle’ of anything, Nia. If there’s a rebellion, I’m
sure you’re leading it.”
“Maybe.”
Nia winked at him. “Seriously, though, Job’s not going to be pleased about this
whole mission. He told me not to come to the human realm. Just consorting
with me, could probably get you banished by
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