New Players In The Pattern

[Aiden Finnegan]

It took everything in Aiden’s power to remain on the ground; the deafening clap of thunder felt as if it’s origin point was right next to his ears. For a moment, Aiden could hear nothing but a sharp ringing in both ears. He took his free hand up to his temple and rubbed at it, Sage’s hand tightening on his own. Aiden worried that Sage was frightened, he would do everything in his power to protect Sage. Any self-respecting man would do the same for his date.

                The fairy fire above Aiden’s head split into ten smaller orbs; they began dancing overhead in large, frantic circles, reflecting Aiden’s anxiety. One or two started darting lower, catching his attention. His eyes bulged as he finally noticed.

                “Ah, shit!” He exclaimed at the sight of the fairy fire. “Not here!”

                The interaction between Sage and Elias finally registered in Aiden’s mind and his eyes widened further, “Oh, wow. Not that I doubted you, handsome, but… Wow!” That would be incredibly useful. What else could Sage do? Aiden pulled his hand from Sage’s grip and slipped his arm around Sage’s shoulder instead, pulling him tightly to his side in a protective gesture.

                Aiden shifted his attention from his date and over to Elias. The look on his face was a familiar one. Aiden himself had often worn that look after his big-budget blockbuster flopped; never before then. His life had been too blessed to ever deal with any serious angst; fate had fixed that fact for him, though.

                “Yeah, dude, no harm no foul. Didn’t mean anything by it. I dig the coat, by the way… Did you… uh… just… you know?” Aiden asked Elias, miming a thunderstrike with his hands, although it was a bad pantomime. Aiden would be lucky if Elias caught the meaning. “You don’t seem to be too surprised by the fairy fire around me… So I just thought…”