Reviews :

Snake557 : Ohh I see. Yeah, I won't divulge because that's spoilers I'm keeping very close to the vest. You'll find out :)

Burgie : They balance each other nicely! This chapter answers your question :D


Song Listened To :

Together We Map the World by John Powell


*Chapter 71*

A gorgeous, sunny, late fall day, Gideon sat comfortably hunched on Novus's spine, splayed in Turbotime's hot sunshine. With easy, lofty flaps of his incredible wings, Gideon lulled his eyes in a long-blinked of deliriousness that hit him in waves, the cool breeze they were confidently lofted with made his lovely hair whisk about in front of his eyes a bit. With a heavy sigh and his gaze set for Vidrix city, now rapidly approaching over the gorgeous sprawls of plains and forests they soared over, as well as the train tracks and a few major highways, Gideon could tell Novus was interested in landing so that both boys could chat, strictly by his body language and rising fervor to make it to the city. Floored he had made a friend, Gideon felt his heart thump in apprehension, warning signals that blared in his mind. The exhausting notion of putting trust in a total stranger to not break his heart and do something to betray said blossoming friendship, he shut his eyes tight and wondered why this aspect of garnering a covenant was so hard, as well as mentally and emotionally taxing.

With a cute thump of strong, galloping legs that cued to a heavy, slowed trot, Novus chuffed a hard noise through his snout and flapped his upper body in a shake, similar to a dog freeing itself of water, upon landing. Having landed in a half-emtpy parking lot, directly in the city, Gideon grunted, scoot off of Novus's saddle, gave Novus's neck a firm pat of gratitude and began to confident stride on towards the city's main sidewalk with purpose. About two dozen feet off, behind a chain link fence, Gideon's eyes glued to the dirty sidewalk purposefully littered with all sorts of gamers and pedestrians, he did whatever he could to get out of Novus's chatty gravity and was wrought with annoyance the second he realized he wasn't successful. Novus barked a noise of purposefully clearing his throat, so to get Gideon's attention, though as Gideon scrunched his shoulders to his head and fervently pressed on, Novus trotted a few paces, caught up to Gideon and yanked him by his upper arm, simply by using the massive hook-like claw and thumb on the wrist of his massive wing.

"Novus," Gideon grumbled in hot annoyance as he scuffed his bigger bare feet to a halt, lulled his head back, rolled his eyes and looked up to Vidrix's lovely afternoon sky.

"No, we're not going to meet up with Lash and Mara while not being on the same page, I need to know what all this... 'we're from Vidrix' lies are about," Novus firmly rattled as he stood proud on all four of his feet, his wings were held taut by his sides in sprung readiness, his tail poised in a hover over the ground and tail sails at full mast. Gideon heaved a long, hot sigh through his nose and regretably peered deep into Novus's big, blue, caring eyes. He was well aware that he couldn't pull from Novus's gravity any longer, due to the live-wired springboard stance he had taken, clearly ready to pounce if Gideon dared to continue stepping away. Novus hissed a crackly notion of confusion as he narrowed his big, glassy blue eyes for full emphasis, "We're not really in the friend-making business, here, Gid... We gotta take what we can get, and I don't THINK starting off a promising new friendship, with a load of lies, is smart."

"I... I'm sorry, I'm not TRYING to lie to her, I just..." Gideon heaved a long, hot sigh and shook his head, "I'm trying to detach myself from Sugar Rush, I'm... I'm trying to rebuild with myself. I'm not ever going to bring her home, so what does it matter?"

"I guess, but certainly you're eventually going to show her your glitching powers, your wrecking powers? It's all gunna come up, and she's certainly going to put two and two together," Novus firmly rattled.

"I'll... Say my coding is on the fritz, and... I have super strength," Gideon shrugged, he eased a tender, though devious little smile and shrugged, "Manifesting? That's only something I can do, in my family, anyways... It's not lying, Novus, it's... Leaving out details. Look, I'll be honest with who I am as a person, everything on my heart. Can we just... PLEASE leave Sugar Rush out of this? I just want normality, I don't want to be tied to Sugar Rush right now."

"It's only the place we rest our heads, at night," Novus muttered, both boys were in a brotherly stare-down of frustration.

"Look. MAYBE one day I'll tell her everything that's going on, MAYBE one day I'll introduce her to my parents or to my family, but for right now, I just want to be free of it," Gideon hurried in billowing frustration Novus was well aware was now his own balancing act of treading on thin ice for Gideon's becoming-fragile feelings. He could tell this by the way Gideon now nervously began to look around, thwarted by his own tells, he fiddled with his own fingers, as well as his lighthouse charm necklace, in a full show of anxiety, "She can have everything of mine, know everything about ME, as a person..."

"But... You're the Prince of Sugar Rush," Novus hissed, he could tell Gideon had somehow forgotten this notion due to the way he nearly flinched at Novus's words, "If this cat is gunna end up being a solid friend, I think she deserves to know, Gideon..."

"Novus, I'll tell her later, PLEASE get off my case about this, okay? If I promise to tell her when I'm comfortable, will you just PLEASE go along with it until then?" Gideon practically begged; Novus heaved a hefty sigh through his bat snout, looked off with the defeated sag of his ears and finally brought his irritated, thoughtful blue eyes back to his partner in crime.

A look of pure, wrought plea hung on Gideon's demeanor. An adorable lost boy now fully matured into a dude with a becoming-cold exterior on the edge of being a full deviant, the sheer amount of love and tenderness secretly harbored in Gideon's golden eyes had Novus heaving yet another sigh of whole entire defeat in the swing of downward eye contact. Novus was aware that Gideon had been through a world more strife than Novus could begin to step into, and though he was eager to keep Gideon on track and make sure he remained honest with the new potential for a solid best friend, he eyed Gideon, once more, and knew he'd ride with Gideon no matter what happened. Aware that it'd be difficult not to mention Sugar Rush to Kepa, Novus bobbed a nod and was also aware that it definitely wasn't impossible. He softened the stance of his legs and wings and bobbed a heftier nod of agreeing as Gideon visibly sagged in relief.

"Fine, I got your back," Novus mumbled in brotherly irritation, "Look, I would be fully on board with this if you were planning on, like... Entirely emancipating yourself from Sugar Rush as a whole, forgetting everyone existed, but... You still see your parents nightly, you still are cordial with everyone there."

"It's just a lot," Gideon mumbled, he looked off and shrugged, "I'm going to ask Lash and Mara to do the same..."

"But... Mara physically looks as if she's related to you, she's your great niece, for crying out loud," Novus worried, Gideon squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.

"Then, I'll pretend she's my cousin," Gideon rushed, his deep voice rasped in a wheeze of desperation as he finally clasped his hands together and peered hard into Novus's eyes, "I promise it won't stay a secret forever, I just... I want to spend my time away from Sugar Rush, NOT talking about Sugar Rush."

"You really think that if it's brought up, she won't shut up about it?" Novus ventured suspiciously, "We hardly even know her. She may be totally uninterested, you don't know."

"It's not for her sake, it's for my well being," Gideon now loudly urged, clearly bubbling anger Novus wasn't aware of. Novus firmly flinched, took a wary step back and peered to Gideon in softened surprise, "I don't want the reminder, every time I think about Sugar Rush, and nearly everyone inside of it, I feel dread. The pit of my core clenches and my heart races to an uncomfortable speed of rage and hurt. I don't want that, okay Novus? I don't want that. I want to feel free of it while I'm away, it WON'T hurt her to not know, for now. I just..."

"...Need to grieve," Novus finished after a moment of stillness between the two, nothing but the sound of heavy traffic, city noises and civilians nearby, "Gideon, I hear you. I just need you to promise me that, if this becomes a lasting friendship between us three, that you'll be brave enough to tell her, one day."

"I will, one day," Gideon gently assured as he heaved a shaky breath, lulled his eyes closed and rubbed his bigger hand through his wind-swept hair. He largely frowned and peered down to his hands, "I promise... I just want to keep it close to the vest, for now, okay? Surely she has crap she doesn't want to talk about, either. Don't all adults? Isn't that how it goes?"

"Eh, well-adjusted adults likely not, but I'm okay being lumped into the non-well-adjusted group, if that's what it takes," Novus mumbled cutely, to which Gideon heaved a sigh of relief and bobbed a gentle nod. Novus looked about the half-empty parking lot they were stood in. The sun gleaned off of the dozens of nearby buildings and sky scrapers, cars on the road honked in a mess of city traffic, some pedestrians were yelling at each other across the street, Novus finally brought his eyes back to Gideon and eased a loving little smile. Well aware both boys were eternally best friends, no questions about it, Novus was thrilled to throw a fresh new soul into their mix, someone entirely unrelated to them or Sugar Rush. He sagged a little and gently nudged Gideon's lower arm, "She's pretty freaking cool, if I do say so myself."

"She is," Gideon agreed with a gentle uplift he reserved nicely, he nodded and sagged his thumbs into his jean's pockets, "What a surprise that was..."

"Were you successful in getting the paint in her mouth at all?" Novus cheekily wondered as Gideon bravely took a step away, cueing for Novus to now walk with him.

"No, she came to life and swiped the can from my hand before I could even push down on the nozzle," Gideon rattled through laughter as both boys fell into step with each other.

"Yeah, we're in for a wild ride, with this one," Novus mumbled cutely as Gideon sagged his hand to the back of Novus's neck as they walked, "I can feel it."


"Hey, Gideon," Mara cutely chirped as she eyed her great uncle; although customary to add said title onto his name, they both agreed to drop it and only refer to each other by first name basis.

"Hey, I brought the bag of fur with me," Gideon mumbled cutely as Mara stepped outside; she was wearing an outfit she could get messy in, alongside an apron speckled with flour, frosting and other sweet tidbits.

She grunted, took off her apron, inhaled a refreshed breath and briefly looked about Turbtime's lovely blue skies overhead, all beautifully kissed between the mirrored faces of the sky scrapers nearby. Gideon and Novus had arrived to Lash's and Mara's shop from the skies, straight to the backside parking lot due to the fact that Novus's big, bumbling body likely shouldn't be crossing through the main room of their lovely confectionary, as well as the clean kitchen where food was prepared, due to all of his fur. Mara's lovely, pastel blue hair was pulled into a high bun, her cute, messy bangs crowned her forehead in dainty delight, she was as adorable as could be, a fighting spirit all wrapped up into the epitome of Sugar Rush's dainty sweetness. The two sagged into a side hug, one of which that had Gideon bending over and Mara standing on tip toes, though they squeezed each other nonetheless.

"Thank you for flying over, and not walking through the shop," Mara mumbled cutely, she shrugged as her and Gideon tossed their eyes to Novus, across the parking lot. He largely romped around and chased after a few squeaking seagulls; it was clear he needed to get some more energy out, "I technically wouldn't have minded, due to how often I'm with Chester's furry self, but I know Lash and our team would've had a conniption fit trailing Novus through the kitchen..."

"No worries, I figured as much. Food and fur don't really mix, I guess, with how much Novus has," Gideon mumbled with a smile, though Mara furrowed her eyebrows in a sting of cute suspicion and put her hands on her hips. She eyed Gideon as intuition began to nag the back of her brain, though Gideon's wide, adorable smile broadened as he hooked his golden eyes tight to her icy gaze, "I've met someone, by the way."

Mara held her breath and was floored at just how spot on her intuition was. Feeling as if something was different about Gideon's aura and energy, the vibe he gave off was of renewed tenderness, as if something exciting had happened and he was trying to find a way to bring it up as plainly and as nonchalantly as he could, so to keep everyone else's excitement at bay. Mara side-eyed Gideon in a tender swing of warm, almost motherly delight. Although she was technically Gideon's great niece, she held great authority over him, not only by age, but the sheer fact that she was born a User. She could somehow tell Gideon was wanting to keep all of this excitement for himself, thus proving to her that whatever new chapter he had opened in his grand book of scheming goodness, he was prepared to keep it close to the vest. Although she wanted to tread lightly, she could feel Libby's and Tessa's traits of prying, girly, sneaky goodness come crawling out of her skin as her cheeky, side-eyeing grin only deepened.

"... What's her name?" Mara's warm, lovely, womanly voice coat Gideon's soul with gooey knowing, further proof that she was always one step ahead of him, no matter her tiny stature next to him.

"How do you know it's a girl?" Gideon urged in a flushed show of boyish, sloping annoyance he desperately tried to mask over his warm excitement; Mara blurt a laugh, crossed her arms and shrugged as she tossed her dirty apron over her shoulder.

"Because, if you had met another guy, you would be saying 'oh, I have a new buddy, I'll bring them by tomorrow'," Mara snipped cutely as Gideon heaved a long sigh through his nose, bobbed an annoyed nod and looked off in defeat, "Instead... You lead with the more seclusive, the more gentlemanly... 'I've met someone'."

"Whatever," Gideon mumbled lazily as he avoided eye contact with Mara, though he softened the second her littler wrecking hand gingerly rested to his; he raised his eyebrows in a lift of gentle inquiry and looked down into her eyes, once more.

"You don't need our permission to bring her by, she can definitely come hang at the shop with us," Mara cutely giggled, to which Gideon softened with a nod of smiling, defeated affirmative. Mara crossed her arms, once more, and was beyond eager to now pry as much information out of Gideon as she could. She could tell Gideon was showing signs of abnormality, true excitement for something, an investment of energy he was very careful with, he practically glowed with it, "So, what's her name?"

"Kepa, she's a lion gargoyle," Gideon smiled with a nod, Mara's face sloped to delighted shock.

"Oh! Like Tatum," Mara quipped, Gideon sharply furrowed his brow in remembrance.

"...Oh yeah, how could I forget?" Gideon hissed, Mara shrugged and lulled her eyes closed.

"Eh, Tatum doesn't talk about it much, and she's not a thoroughbred... I think it's a sore spot, to be honest, so it's never really mentioned," Mara rattled as she waved her hand, "Well, cool. How'd you meet her?"

"She has a home near the beach," Gideon said with a smile; although not far from the truth, it still wasn't the whole of it. Gideon began to feel his inner workings want to grind all the gears to a halt and beg the lies to cease, though he shook his head and promised that one day, he wouldn't keep everyone so at bay. Feeling vulnerable, he stiffened and knew he needed to do whatever it took to feel comfortable in his own skin, "I offered to fix it up a bit, I manifested her some new floors and doors and all that jazz. She's cool."

"Awesome, bring her by tomorrow," Mara chirped, she glanced to the sealed back door of her shop and heaved a long sigh. Although she wanted to keep prying Gideon for details, she figured letting his restless soul settle was wise in such a fragile predicament, one of making new friends when he's been burned so badly in the past, "Alright, dude, well... Lash should be by shortly. He actually might ask you to run an errand or two, since you have Novus. Would you be alright with that?"

"Yeah, no problem," Gideon nodded, they both tossed their eyes to Novus, across the lot, and erupted with laughter, "Looks like he could use the energy-drainer, anyhow."

"Cool beans, I'm gunna pass the baton over to Lash and... I'll meet up with you guys in an hour or two," Mara sighed as she rubbed her forehead, "I'll see you soon, kay?"

"Okay," Gideon chirped warmly as they both parted ways, and as he sagged his thumbs into the gape of his jean's pockets, he watched as Novus's beautiful wing sprawled in low gliding, to continue chasing after birds; he felt his heart thump in nervousness for tomorrow, and though he was well aware this all wasn't a big deal, he felt the promising urge to keep everything Sugar Rush on the down-low, for the time being.