The Obscured Path
Chapter 4: Paved With Good Intentions
Disclaimer: I do not own Galactik Football and I make no money from this fanfiction. I do, however, own my OCs: Tillis, Grilha, Deska, Nilihi and Kilmus.
After practice, the next day, everyone went back to their rooms with the plan to meet in the Shadows common room at 8.
"This'll be a great opportunity to get to know everyone better," Aarch said to Artegor, he'd already said several things of a similar nature in the past hour; he was obviously more than a little anxious.
Artegor on the other hand was just lying on his bed, not fussed; he had to wonder why Aarch had even organised the stupid thing in the first place if it was causing him so much stress. He didn't know why Aarch was so agitated; he didn't know how isolated Aarch felt.
"We have two hours before we need to go," Artegor stated, grabbing Aarch's hand to pull him so that he was sitting on the bed rather than pacing around the room. Ever since he'd got the Smog, Artegor had found it so much easier to act rather than talk.
"Relax," he instructed.
A moment passed silently before Artegor decided to take action and pounced on Aarch- it was one way he could force Aarch to relax and they did have two hours to fill…
Two hours later…
"Is everybody here?" Aarch asked to the group gathered in the Shadows common room.
"Doesn't matter, there should be no tolerance for late-comers. Let's go," said Grilha, the team Captain, instinctually taking control of the situation.
He marched out and they all followed (as it happened they were all there). Aarch was already getting the distinct impression that a team outing perhaps wasn't his brightest idea but there was no turning back now…
They followed Grilha through the streets to a bar named 'Abyss' and sat down at a table. Grilha seemed to know the way off by heart so Aarch wondered whether he came there often.
"Get us drinks!" Grilha ordered Nilihi, slapping him on the shoulders in a manly fashion. Nilihi rolled his eyes but nevertheless did what he was asked- he was always picked on to do these sorts of errands being the most passive of all the team members.
"Thanks, sweetie," Deska called after him- they had been married for about two months and their relationship was affectionate by Shadows standards. It was enough to make Aarch feel almost jealous, not because he wanted Deska or Nilihi, but because they had something so solid. His own relationship with Artegor felt fragile, there was very little binding them together and it was a worry that they could break apart at any minute.
He looked at Artegor but with the sunglasses on it was impossible to tell whether he was looking back at him or not.
The arrival of Nilihi carrying the drinks snapped Aarch out of his thoughts.
"Thanks," he said, as Nilihi set down a unappetizing grey-brown liquid in front of him. He peered at it and wondered whether it was edible. He reminded himself that he was there to try new things and to integrate with the Shadows so he bravely took a big gulp of the mystery drink. The initial flavour was vaguely unpleasant but the after-taste was nice enough. He felt wholly undecided as to whether or not he liked the drink but he found he got more accustomed to it the more he drank. Artegor drank his far faster than Aarch- it looked like he had had it before.
"I'm so glad I suggested this," said Grilha, neglecting to mention that it had actually been Aarch's idea. "Even if it is just to get away from Coach and his constant nagging, who does he think he is, my mother?"
"Well, maybe if you hadn't told him that his Coaching was useless then maybe he'd have left you alone," Kilmus pointed out, laughing deeply at their Captain. From what Aarch could gather, Kilmus had been Grilha's childhood friend and that put him in the unique position of being able to make jokes at his expense and get away with it.
"What did he want with you the other day?" Grilha asked Artegor, ignoring Kilmus' comment, trying to get the whole group back on the track of complaining about Tillis.
Aarch wondered what time he was talking about, he hadn't been aware of Artegor seeing Tillis any time recently.
"Nothing really, he just wanted to remind me of things I already know," Artegor answered, evasively.
"It's just because he's Coach's favourite," Kilmus said, eying Artegor in a distinctly unfriendly manner, there was a strange glint in his eyes that made Aarch nervous for Artegor.
"He has a thing for humans, I'm telling you, his ex-wife was human," Deska said, lightly, breaking some of the tension.
"And you don't?" Kilmus countered referring to the fact that when Aarch and Artegor had joined the Shadows she had been distinctly flirtatious with them.
Nilihi coughed as if to remind them all that it was his wife they were talking about as well as to simply remind them that he was still there.
"Don't worry, you're still my number one," Deska quickly reassured him.
"But he's not the only one though!" Kilmus added causing Deska to hit him over the head with her handbag.
They stayed there for several more rounds of drinks before Grilha announced that they were moving onto a club next.
They all followed him along. Aarch wondered how long they were going to stay out, he was having fun but they still did have training tomorrow morning at 6- he didn't fancy using the Smog with a hangover either.
Still he went onto the dance floor with the other Shadows and tried to copy along with the militaristic moves that seemed normal there- certainly nothing like the loose jumping up and down that that was the closest thing there was to dance on Akillian.
It was all going fine until all of a sudden they heard a crashing sound from across the room, despite the droning techno music. They all looked and saw Kilmus apparently fighting with several natives that were unfamiliar to Aarch.
"This always happens," Nilihi said, sighing.
"Come on, boys, let's make it a fair fight," Grilha said, in a matter of fact way, clearly he was used to stepping in.
Aarch felt alarm shoot through him; he'd never been in a fight unless you counted the play fights that he'd had with Norata. He looked to Artegor who seemed almost pleased at the idea which only made Aarch more nervous. He'd never seen Artegor fight either, not unless you counted the occasional foul on the field.
Despite his reluctance, he knew that he was expected to follow, there was no way they'd respect him if he didn't back them up. Besides, part of him wanted too, he could feel the Smog within him, that familiar feeling of pure frustration worming his way through his bloodstream.
He felt an odd constriction in his chest, he could see Artegor had leapt in there, anger etched obviously across his features as he pummelled a guy. Aarch clutched his stomach, feeling it clenched in agony. He could feel the Smog in his airways, in every part of him, it was overwhelming.
He collapsed on the floor, coughing uncontrollably before blacking out entirely….
That's it for this chapter; hopefully the next chapter will be soon! Please review!
