Unexpected Reunion (closed)

Today was just a normal day, except it was one of the first days that he was escorting Baram through the halls. Baram had been doing a lot of hard work to get back on track but he could tell that the younger man was nervous. And Asher couldn't blame him, after what he had gone through.

Asher noticed Baram's shoulders tense up for a moment and he placed his hand on the younger's shoulder. "Hey, Bar, it's okay. Just breathe and walk, okay? We're just going to one of your class rooms. That doesn't sound too hard right?"

Asher was staying on alert but without being tense as to not upset Baram even more. He had to keep himself a few steps behind Baram. He didn't want to risk blocking Baram's way or making him feel too cramped between himself and the wall. Besides, from behind it was easier to hit the spot that they had found out last time that worked to partially shut him down.

Baram was very tense. His shoulders he felt were almost up by his ears and his back felt tight. He tried breathing slowly through his mouth and smiled softly when he felt his friend's hand on his shoulder. "It doesn't sound too hard, until you remember that you, Oakleigh and Rudy are the only smiling faces I've gotten to see for almost half a year."

His eyes were darting everywhere, keeping tabs on how close people were to him. Eventhough he knew that there couldn't be more than like fifteen people in this hall but it still almost felt ... crowded.

Further down the hallway, Baby started to walk into her history class and immediately backed out of the doorway to not block the movement within the classroom. Right, she had forgotten. One of the project groups was doing their presentation today... They were rearranging the desks now, and the doorway was mostly blocked.

"Well, I'll just wait here then." She chuckled and caught the professor's eye, and waved.

Out of the corner of his eye Baram caught the figure of someone familiar. A spark a memory from before. . .

"Baby?" he half whispered under his breath. His eyes locked on the smaller girl and he broke out into a run towards her. "Baby?!" He almost screamed, unsure as what was taking over him. He turned the corner on his heels and almost slammed into the female figure. He stared at her with wide eyes, the first genuine smile he had felt in a long time spreading across his lips. "Baby, is it really you?"

"Baram!" Asher yelled after his watch as he suddenly ran away. He had no idea what was going on but he was NOT going to let Baram get out of his sight.

He tailed carefully behind the younger boy, not wanting to assume the worst. He stopped a few feet short behind Baram when he skidded to a stop and looked in surprise at the younger girl that Baram was talking to. What was going on?

Baby blinked and straightened up at the sound of a familiar voice. She hadn't heard it in such a long time. There was no real it was real--

And then he came barrelling towards her, skidding to a halt just like he used to, sporting that big goofy smile she remembered so well. They used to skip school and go exploring the older parts of town together. Their fathers worked together in the same garage, and they themselves had been friends since middle school. They used to go wander around the thrift stores every weekend-- he was the one that had bought her favorite leather jacket for her.

"Baram?!" Her eyes widened and she jumped up to throw her arms around his neck. "Baram, holy shit mate it's really you! Where have you been?!"

Baram could almost cry with how happy he was. He eagerly accepted the hug and carefully spun his friend around. "Oh my god it's really you!" He gave her a squeeze and couldn't keep a sob out of his voice. "You're real!"

He carefully set her down, partially affraid that any sudden movements would wake him up from this wonderful dream. "How did you-? What are you doing here? It's been. ." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, still in disbelief. He felt a slight stinging around his eyes and he rubbed them with the back of his hands,that were still in the process of healing.

Baby was smiling so hard that her cheeks were starting to hurt. She bounced a bit on the balls of her feet when Baram set her down. "I-- holy shit you're here. Baram you've no idea, mate, really. I missed you so much. It-- I mean, I found out that my dad was a Fae that lost his magic. And he either forgot or he just didn't bother to tell me, but I had him help me hunt down a relative that still had their magic, and then my magic turned back on or whatever, and-- look, mate, I've got scales."

She turned around and tugged down the neck of her shirt so that he could see the patch of silvery down and strip of scales that started between her shoulder blades. She beamed over her shoulder at him and and turned back to face him. "B-but what happened with you? I heard you'd disappeared, a-and no one knew anything and dad wasn't letting me come back, and--"

Her brow furrowed and she hugged him again. "I'm so glad to see you're okay! What happened to your hands?"

He smiled and blinked, trying to take everything she was saying in. He smiled softly and gently touched along her scales. "Well, those sertainly weren't there before. Aren't you glad you didn't get a tat there now?"

He hugged her close, and tried to keep himself from shaking. He rested his head on top of hers and whispered gruffly. "I-I don't know how but I got taken and. . .I don't know for how long, but... Some Fae tried to turn me into a guard dog of sorts and I, I can't go home. . . I'm not myself anymore, Baby. I'm me but there's another part that isn't."

He lifted his head up and held her shoulders. "Have you heard from anyone at home? Dad, my sister? Any of them? Are they okay?"

So apparently they knew eachother. Asher casually leaned against a nearby wall, not wanting to intrude but still needing to keep an eye on his charge.

At the very least this was a very positive turn of events. He would have to tell Oakleigh and maybe the girl could be used with getting Baram into a better state to be around more people.

Baby nodded. "They're fine! I mean, they're still freaked out from you disappearing, b-but we can tell them you're safe! You're here with me!" She put her hands on top of his and gave them an affectionate squeeze.

He made a relieved sigh and almost sobbed. His family was safe, they were okay. He had someone to go back home to, something to work towards.

He beamed at her and kissed her forehead. "I'm so happy to see you, Baby. This is the best bloody thing that's happened to me in a long time. I'm sorry, I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything, you know? So, what does all this mean for you? What can you do now?"

Baby laughed, ecstatic to have her friend back. "Dude, it's been a whirlwind. But you're here!"

"Look at this!" She bit her lip and started to hover, rising a full foot off of the ground. "I can do magic. I can hover and make fog and breathe fire-- o--or close to it at least. And I randomly get antlers if I'm mad enough. What did my relative say we were... Qilin? Kirin? Deer dragon things. I'm mixed, but..."

She glanced past Baram and caught sight of Asher. She recognized him as Oakleigh's TA, and smiled. "Hey, Baram, how long have you been in the castle?"

He took a few steps back as he watched her hover in the air and he cackled. "That's bloody brilliant. I wish I could actually do cool things like that. Does that mean you will be able to roast marshmallows all by yourself now?" He laughed and ruffled her hair with both of his hands. "I want to see these horns at some point. I met a boy that has them but he only had one cause the other one broke off when he got in a fight with a guy that can turn into a bear."

He blinked a few times and his smiled got a bit faint. "I've been here for. . .roughly 6 months or so. It took a lot of time to get me to were they think I can be around other students with supervision of course." He gestured back to Asher, who looked up and gave a small wave with a flick of his wrist.

"Asher has been great with keeping me. . .in check."

Baby beamed as he ruffled her hair, but her brow furrowed immediately after. "S... Six months, mate? Really?"

She sunk back down to her own two feet and looked at Asher. "And you're okay now? L-Like you're doing better?" She reached up and patted his cheek. "I'm gonna see you out and about, yeah?"

He shrugged a bit and put his hands in his pockets. "Hopefully. As long as I don't go into a relapse or Asher runs out of ways to knock me out." He chuckled half heartedly. "I-I've really been through some stuff, Baby."

He leans into her touch with a smile and makes a deep humm in his throat. "But I'll try to be out and about more. I'm really trying. I want to be normal again." He looked down at her and smiled. "I mean. I went into the town for a few hours earlier this week so that's a good step in the right direction. Maybe we can go together next time? We could catch up more and stuff."

Asher hated to be the one to ruin the fun but it was getting close to the bell and he had to drop Baram off at class and get to his own... on the other side of the castle.

He moved off the wall and gently placed a hand on Baram's shoulder. "I'm glad that you have met an old friend but the young lady needs to get to class as do you, Bar." He patted his shoulder firmly. "I'll talk to Oakleigh and we can see if we can get miss 'Baby' to work with you on some things, okay?"

Baby grumbled and stared at Baram when he spoke. Asher was right, but she was very reluctant to stop talking with him.

She sighed through her nose and hugged her friend tightly. "I want to help you as much as I possibly can. I missed you so much, Baram."

He looked over his shoulder at Asher and nodded softly. He knew that he should go, but that didn't mean that he wanted to.

He held his friend close to him and nuzzled into her hair. "I missed you too. I promise that I will see you again soon, okay?" He relunctantly moved away and ruffled her hair one last time. He smiled at her, another honest one. "Just don't do anything that will get you kicked out before that happens, kay?"