Jesse's (now technically nonexistent heart) skips a beat or two at that sentence.
"Wh... what? Doesn't..." Jesse swallows, twisting their (still-very-baggy) sleeve. "Doesn't that mean I should be dead?"
Aiden gives a curt nod. Which really doesn't do much to help the fact that their stomach is twisting uncomfortably, along with their sleeve. "Yeah. You would be dead."
His red eye flickers to Jesse, staring them down. "If we were in your world."
My world...?
"But we're not in your world. That's why you're still alive."
He comes a little closer and gives their chest a poke, making Jesse shrink away from him a little bit. "As long as your heart exists somewhere in this world, even if it isn't in your body, you won't die."
Jesse would give a sigh of relief at this, but Aiden is already continuing to muse about this turn of events. "But... your heart will disappear eventually, which will lead to your death if we just leave things the way they are."
"... oh..." Jesse thumbs the corner of their mouth, considering the statement.
No one will miss you.
"I see..."
Lukas glances at them, lips turning down at the ends at Jesse's almost careless answer (and why should they really care anyway), but before he can say anything or before Jesse can actually interpret the look they are speaking up, softly. "This... this all sounds sorta... fantastical."
Aiden shrugs at this. "You can say whatever you'd like, but what I just told you isn't a lie," he replies calmly.
"... I see... then... what am I going to do?" Jesse tilts their head back to make eye contact with the four teenagers (or, well, the four people who look like teenagers). "I highly doubt you guys really want a corpse in here..."
Gill gives a slightly amused chuckle at Jesse's comment, crossing his arms. "It wouldn't be THAT weird, considering everything that happens here, but..."
Maya gives a displeased hum and elbows him, shooting him a glare. "Shut up; they're probably freaked out enough already as it is."
"Hey, they said it first."
Aiden punctuates the argument with a sigh before it can get more out of control, rubbing his hand down the side of his face in what seems like utter frustration. "... guess there's no other choice."
"... no other choice for what?"
Aiden doesn't respond as he begins to stride down the hallway, hands in his jacket pockets. "C'mon. Don't just stand there. Let's go."
Jesse has to jog a few paces before they manage to catch up somewhat, Lukas falling in pace beside them while Gill and Maya fall into step behind them. They feel a little like they're getting arrested or something. "Go— go where?"
"... you'll see," comes Aiden's somewhat reluctant reply.
This doesn't help the way Jesse's stomach is twisting into a little knot.
The clouds above are dark, looking almost as though they are heavy with moisture, a contrast to the almost pleasant-looking buildings lining the streets. Some of the roofs are even a nice shade of green.
Jesse tilts their head up to look at the sky, before back at Aiden. "Are the clouds always like that, or is it about to rain?"
"They're always like that," Aiden replies almost dismissively. "When it rains, the clouds turn pitch black."
Jesse hums and tilts their head back down- and blinks at the sight of more people beginning to turn around from what they're doing, stop walking, even cut off mid-sentence to swivel their heads around to stare at the four.
This doesn't help Jesse's nerves. They don't handle crowds well. Especially when the crowd is looking at them. They feel like they've done something wrong.
Perhaps they have. They're not really supposed to be here.
One of the men on the side turn to face Jesse, a strange sort of sneer coming across his face as he surveys them. Upon seeing their wide green eyes, his grin widens and his lips part, revealing needlepoint teeth.
Maya seems to have noticed as well, her brow creasing unhappily as she gives a displeased hum. She edges a little closer to Jesse. "Ah, fuck... Aiden?" Her voice is coming out in a soft hiss, red eye flickering as the crowd begins to turn to look at the four of them.
Well, more accurately, at Jesse.
"I see them," Aiden mutters, already beginning to pick up his pace. They seem to be heading for the massive black-and-red spire in the center of the cobblestone-lined streets, glowing red.
Lukas raises his hand calmly, several of the people growing closer and closer beginning to whisper and fill the streets with soft noise, like a nest of snakes waking up. "Don't worry. It's just an errand for him."
This response seems to satisfy several of them, as they then shrug and turn back to their conversations, to Jesse's faint relief.
Him.
"Who's 'him'?" Jesse whispers up to Lukas.
"Grammar," he mumbles back, not exactly answering the question they were trying to ask.
Jesse, being their height and starting to fall behind Aiden but being pushed along by Gill and Maya not a foot behind them because, honestly, their legs can only cover so much distance, begins to also start picking up the pace, going from a fast walk to a jog-
And then promptly running into Aiden's back as he skids to a stop, just in the nick of time to avoid walking straight into a woman that has sidled into their path. It's a very pretty woman, with long black hair that she is twirling coyly with one finger, smiling up at Aiden almost delicately. "Hello there, Aiden," she purrs, in a voice that is huskier and deeper than Jesse really expects.
"Hello," Aiden replies tonelessly, surreptitiously sidestepping to try to step around her-
She strolls past him and bends down, taking Jesse's arm with slender fingers.
Gill stiffens. Lukas stops full in his tracks to look at her (well, look), while Maya screeches to a halt and Aiden spins on his heel as the woman gives Jesse an absolutely breathtaking smile, leaning in so close that they can smell her perfume. It's overpowering and sweet and it's honestly making Jesse dizzy.
"Hello."
Her two red irises gleam iridescent colors as she tilts her head at them, running a hand down their arm. Honestly, it's very pretty, but all Jesse can think about is how very, very close they are to a complete stranger, and how very, very dangerous this feels despite the completely friendly smile she's giving them.
But it's rude to just stare, so they give her a small "hi" in reply.
She reaches up to touch their hair, running her finger through their fluffy hair and sending chills down Jesse's spine.
They can't tell if those chills are good chills... or get the hell away from me chills.
"You are a cutie, aren't you... pity that you're so small. How old are you, sweetie?" She tilts her head innocently, smile going from the flirtatious one she was giving Aiden to a warm, welcoming one.
"Seven... seventeen..."
Gill's eyebrow shoots up, but he doesn't have time to say anything before the woman touches her lip in surprise, eyes widening and being perfectly round and red. "Really! My, you certainly don't look it..." She hums again, even closer now. Jesse really only has to lean forward before their lips touch. "Well, perhaps... you and I could have some... fun, later?"
Fun.
A hot wire of fear threads itself through Jesse's spine, at odds with the chills that the way her finger is tracing a path down their arm is, cold hands firm on their shoulders. They give themselves a weak tug, but... well, her grip is stronger than they'd like. "I... no thank you."
She pouts, perfectly done lips showing a tiny hint of slick pink. "Oh, come on, I'm sure you'd like it..."
"No." Jesse gives a weak tug, trying not to ultimately yank themselves away and piss her off. "No, I think I'm fine."
Their eyes flicker up to Lukas, who is not four feet away from them and watching this whole encounter, eyes a little wide.
Lukas rolls his eyes (or, well, the head motion indicates something like that) and proceeds to literally scoop Jesse up, effectively pulling them away from the very... touchy woman that has been running her fingers along their sleeve as he hefts them into a grip where they're curled up against his chest.
If he can feel the way they're trembling faintly, he doesn't let on.
"Leave 'em alone, Sirena, they're new," he hums in an almost bored fashion.
She purrs at that, straightening to her full height and stepping closer (Jesse can't help but lean away) and runs her finger down his arm coyly, smiling up at him through long eyelashes. "Ooh, how very chivalrous of you, isn't it... regular protector of the weak, aren't you." Her voice has gone from that enticing, almost warm one to outright flirty.
Lukas shrugs nonchalantly at her comment, making Jesse bounce a bit in his arms. "No, just not in the mood to go back to him empty-handed again this month."
Him again.
The woman pouts at his response again, but backs away, to Jesse's immense relief. "Well, if you insist, Lukas. I'll be looking forward to you coming back." She leans in and gives Jesse a sultry wink. "And you too, of course, cutie."
Lukas inclines his head at her, ignoring the way Jesse shrinks back a tiny bit because damn that perfume is overpowering. "Thank you." And off they're going again, except Lukas is carrying Jesse now, grip tight.
"You can put me down now..."
"We're not trying to repeat that incident. 'Sides, you're light." He shrugs again, Jesse giving a little sound as they bounce. "It's good."
Aiden coughs something that sounds suspiciously like "perfect Lukas", but when he sees Jesse looking at him he turns back forward, ignoring the perplexed expression on their face.
Now that Lukas is holding Jesse, and the word spreads about him, they move a lot quicker, and they arrive at the spire in moments. Aiden slides the door open and slips in, followed by the other three (well, four, but Lukas is holding Jesse).
The moment the door thudded shut, sending echoing sounds down the halls, Lukas carefully bends down and deposits Jesse back on the floor. "Alright, c'mon. It's just a bit further." And they fall back into their order, Lukas staying in front of Jesse, next to Aiden, while Gill and Maya stand behind Jesse.
They feel a bit like they're being arrested again.
"Where're you guys taking me?" they ask, quickly hastening their speed.
"We're almost there," Aiden replies, which doesn't actually answer their question.
Jesse glances up at the overly ornate walls. The manor that they'd been in before was stately without looking garish; but Jesse swears that several of the columns lining the walls are made of honest-to-god gold, and a lot of the walls are made of something that looks like clear quartz.
"Are we meeting him?" they ask Aiden, turning back to the front.
Aiden's steps falter for a second, before his feet resume tapping along the carpet. "Where'd you hear about him?"
"Lukas... Lukas said somethin' about him while we were trying to get away from the crowd..." Jesse fidgets with their fingers, picking at the skin around their nails. "It's- is that bad?"
"... it's not... bad, necessarily," Gill speaks up, scratching at his beard as he seems to gaze at the ceiling in thought.
A moment later, his eyes flicker down to Jesse.
"But, uh, don't piss him off, alright?" His lips quirk into a humorless grin. "He's the one who's going to decide whether or not he cares to help you, and... yeah. Yeah, we don't want him to really be pissed off when he's deciding."
Jesse gulps.
A moment later, Aiden stops in front of a pair of tall wooden doors, the doors carved with designs. If Jesse looks at them long enough, they swirl in the doorway, clouds behind two very tall dragon doorhandles that intertwine together in a cast-iron motion.
Which makes Jesse wonder how anyone opens the door.
Aiden raps briskly on the door. "Oi. We've got an issue."
"Aiden, perhaps be a little more polite? We're not trying to get Jesse killed here," and Maya jerks her head at the short person just in front of her.
He glares at her. "You know he won't respond if we just knock and are like 'long time no see! How are you? So we have problems.'" He drops the high-pitched falsetto he's been using, crossing his arms and shaking his head slightly. "He isn't Isa."
"And he would probably not be in a good mood if you bang down his fucking door," Maya hisses back.
Jesse is, however, fascinated with the idea of the dragon handles and has edged around Aiden to get a better look. The detail on them is incredible, with tiny ridges that denote spines and scales and the tails intertwining and looking almost like a caduceus.
With Aiden focused on hissing at Maya while the silence behind the door stretches, and Gill and Lukas watch, Jesse slowly reaches out to touch the iron tails.
Lukas spots the motion at the last second, reaching up to grab Jesse's wrist before they can touch the dragon. "Jesse, wait-"
Their fingers brush it.
Instantly, the two dragon heads move, bending slowly as the iron creaks and swiveling.
Aiden spins back forward and swears as the two dragon head curve elegantly around so that they are meeting Jesse's eyes, two tiny rubies set in each dragon's head to indicate the eyes.
Said rubies are glowing as the dragons lean in and give Jesse a careful sniff.
Jesse is currently about as stiff as a statue, but a slow smile comes over their face as they reach up with one (trembling) careful, delicate hand. "Hi there, you two..." The hand moves in a little closer, moving to allow the dragons to sniff it without sticking their faces near Jesse's.
The dragon on the left (right? Honestly, with the way they twist, it's hard to tell) moves a little closer, giving Jesse's hand a cautious sniff, while the one on the right (left?) inches closer, inspecting it.
Slowly, the two dragons look back up at Jesse's eyes, stopping their attempts at sniffing Jesse.
Jesse takes that as an invitation to carefully move their hand and rub their thumb across the nearest dragon's skull, feeling cool iron steal the warmth from their skin as the iron dragon gives a creaking sound that is remarkably like a purr. "Hi there, little guy..."
The dragon is purring away happily now, causing the other iron dragon to lean forward and try to get some, Jesse's other hand swinging up cautiously to also rub the dragon's tiny skull.
Not even ten seconds later it has devolved into Jesse happily petting two iron dragons.
Lukas stares (well, Jesse can only assume) at Jesse, before glancing at Aiden, who's also gaping at this, as well as Maya and Gill.
"How the f... Kaster and Bedivire always fucking bite me if I so much as brush their tails!" Maya scowls a moment later with a whisper into Gill's ear, although there's a definite quirk to her lips that shows she's forcing a smile down.
A moment later, the two dragons give happy, metallic-sounding chirps and straighten back up to where they were before, their tails and necks unwrapping and untwining from one another until they have become two ramrod straight dragon doorhandles, the doors swinging inwards now that there's nothing keeping the two intertwined.
So that's how the doors open.
A head of bright red hair looks up from where it's seated at a desk at the far end of the room, and even from this distance, Jesse can see an eyebrow shoot up. "What...? I didn't say you could... How did you...?"
Lukas clears his throat. "Um... hey. We have a bit of a problem right now."
The head of red hair sighs in a rather vexed way and stands up, revealing dark brown (or black) robes lined with red and looking much like the spire, before...
It hovers.
The human form hovers into the air and floats closer, before descending and allowing Jesse to make out a head of bright, bright red hair. His eyes are strange- unlike the way everyone's eyes so far have been, which is to say blood red, his irises are not quite bloodred. Which is to say, there is a ring of gold framing his pupil before turning to the normal blood red, but it's noticeable enough for Jesse to notice.
He runs a hand through his hair and lets a sigh huff out of his mouth, before he cocks his head to the side to regard the five of them. "Well. Who's this..." He pauses, glancing them up and down. "... well, I can't tell what gender they are. Who's this?"
"This is Jesse." Gill claps Jesse gently on the back. "They're seventeen."
His eyebrow arches up. "Oh?"
At the confirming nod, he inclines his head at Jesse, who has to crane their neck back a good amount to make eye contact with him. "Well, Jesse, my name is Romeo. I'm the lord of the south of Cosmos."
A/N: Hey look, we meet another important person! A... literal... lord.
Huh.
Jesse has an odd reaction to being... er, attempting to be seduced, Jesse befriends some metal dragons, we meet a lord of Cosmos (the heck is that lol), and they still have not found their heart.
so y'know, things are going well xD
Responses to reviews!
Toni42: Baggy clothes are great. But, uh... yeah, he's not great. And those bullies aren't either. / Heh, yeah. Jesse is pretty much stuck. But nope, we meet other people.
That's all for now!
x.X. A.L. X.x