Rise of the Guardians

Arlecchino

Chapter 02

She was sleeping, wrapped in warmth and comfort. It'd been a long time since she'd been able to sleep in a bed, having wandered around the world and sleeping in the great outdoors.

As such, she was loathe to even wake up, curling tighter against the warmer and harder side of the bed that she mistook as a pillow.

'Since when are pillows hard? And this warm?'

"Unless you're hoping to go to the next base, I suggest letting go of my body."

She lurched off the bed, pulling the comforter with her as she shrieked. "How did I end up in your bed?!" She shrieked, making him wince at the rather high note.

"You fell asleep and as I did not want to sleep anywhere else, I thought we could share. You seemed used to sharing a bed."

"Yea, yea.." Her head dropped from sight. "With my family."

"Here," Momus handed her her mask.

"…When did I take this off?"

"I took it off for you. You need to let air come to your face once and a while, it makes things a little better."

She snatched it hurriedly and put it on, trying to avoid his gaze.

"You're not ugly, if that's what you're worried about."

"What do you know about ugly? You're beautiful." She snapped. "Besides, it's not like I'm ashamed… I just can scare people."

"Please, I scare more people than you could do in an eternity." Momus left the bed as she was given a shot of his naked buttocks.

"Wh…why are you naked?"

"I sleep like it. It's sort of a old habit."

"With ME in the bed?!"

"So what's your problem?" He asked dryly, turning around and not the least bit ashamed.

Her mask fell off in her panic as she covered her eyes. "Oh, god!"

She couldn't help it as she took a peek. "You really are beautiful."

The pillow hit her square in the face. "That was your only look. Now get out before I have to take care of my morning wood."

She was gone in seconds. "You're disgusting!"

"Yea, that's what I hear," He called back.

She was poking around what she assumed was the living room. There was no electricity noted though there were lights the floated around the place. Everything seemed to mimic humanity's touch of existence and then warped into another phase of magical existence. As such, she eyed the lamp that had no plug but when she clicked the line, it turned on.

"Are you a witch?" She asked him in a hushed voice when she sensed him behind her. Marcaria faced him as she repeatedly pulled the line, turning the light on and off repetitively until Momus was blinking with the click, click, click that sounded.

"No, it's not magic but I'll show you some if you don't fucking stop that!"

Her hand ducked behind her back sheepishly, as she gave him a small smile. His eyes narrowed.

"Remember what I said about you touching things you're not supposed to? Do it again and I'll break your fingers."

He turned sharply. "Come and get breakfast."

He was just out the door when he heard the now familiar click. He gritted his teeth as Marcaria was simply turning off the light, having ended on a click that kept the lamp on. She slunk out like a whipped dog, head down as she walked by him.

And unexpectedly giggled as Momus rolled his eyes.

The two ate in silence as Marcaria looked around with high interest. "It all looks so ritzy… like made for a God."

Momus stared at her blankly, slowly taking a bite of his pancake as he calmly stared her down.

"Or a guy… who has really rich tastes."

"It's in the mythology, sugar. Need more syrup?"

She reached for the container before frowning. "What mythology? Aren't you a spirit?" "Of sorts. I'm based on the Greek God, Momus, personification of satire and such."

Marcaria was the one this time to stare blankly at him, eating silently.

Momus sighed. "When mankind learned to use words and start their storytelling, the stories that they told came to exist. As such, I am the what the Greek referred in their mythology as Momus."

"Wow." Marcaria's eyes were huge. "So then, there are monsters too?"

"Yea, sure, humanity has come up with some -wonderful- things." He snorted as he took the syrup back and liberally poured it on the last of his pancakes.

"Want pancake with your syrup?" She giggled at her silly joke only to falter and drop her gaze at his cold stare. "You're a bundle of fun."

"That's how imagination works."

Marcaria looked up at his clipped tone. She wanted to say something but she then let the topic go.

"Once you're done, you're free to go. I'm not going to hold you hostage here." He finished his milk in a large gulp.

"Oh, okay. I.. I couldn't stay a little longer?"

"Why the Hell would you want to stick around?" Momus stood up and gathered his dishes. "It's my place, not yours. Go on home, Prank. This isn't your home."

"Yea," She watched him disappear through a swinging door. "Too bad I don't have a home… or even a good place to sleep."

She didn't expect him to have heard her as she pushed away from the breakfast table and left. She walked out of the building where the skies were darkening.

She ignored the weather and walked out onto the grass, heading toward the wheat. "Sure as Hell not looking forward to that. If I get lost forever, I'll know who to blame."

She felt wind pick up as lightning stuck nearby, making Marcaria jump in surprise.

The darkness licked forward as Marcaria felt the moment of terror come upon her.

"Be not afraid of the Night, Sprite, it is simply Nyx."

She wore a white toga, fashioned for women's wear, with the gold colored, strapped ankle sandals. Her hair and eyes were black, glittering with stardust and bright particles that throbbed like tiny heartbeats. Her hair was piled high upon her head, to then trail down in curls down her backside.

"Wow… you're gorgeous! You sort of remind me of Momus with that face structure."

"I'd hope so, I'm his mother."

"Really?" She felt a slight pull on her shirt and was tugged backwards to Momus's side.

"You don't usually collect pretty trinkets, Momus."

"What do you want, Mother?"

"To ask again. Are you willing to apologize to the Lord Almighty?"

"GOD?!"

Momus pinched Marcaria as she yelped and tugged away from his tight grip.

"The Almighty Zeus, Marcaria. Don't you know ANYTHING about mythology?"

"I would if I knew how to read!"

"You can't read?" Momus stared at her, aghast.

"Look, I'm from the late 1500s! I was lucky if my mother taught me about the birds and the bees! Not that I needed to be told about that… I'm not stupid."

Momus rolled his eyes as he snorted afterwards. "Sugar, you -are- stupid if you can't read."

Marcaria's eyes filled with tears. Well, the one that was visible did, no one else knew if the other one could cry. "Why the Hell are you a heartless bastard!? Fine, go fuck off and be on your own, Mr. High and Mighty? Oh, wait, should I bow to your sorry ass? FORGIVE FOR NOT DOING SO!"

She started for the wheat, swearing under her breath as the weather swum around her from above, darkening as lightning suddenly sounded and the clap of the thunder had her frozen in place, literally stuck in a half-way move.

"Oh… shit…" She whimpered as she carefully lowered the ground and the thunder erupted around her as she tore out of there, running into the wheat while her screams followed her behind.

"You going to let her go like that?" Nyx asked him, crossing her arms with a maternal look, despite that she looked as young as he did.

"I don't see why not."

"Without concentrating, she's going to get lost between this spatial hole and the mortal realm."

"Well, fuck." Momus stomped past his mother with a growl. "By the way, tell His Mightiness he can suck it."

"I think he already knows," Nyx said with a sigh and then disappeared like a shadow.

Momus found her, tucked away in a hollow tree, squished tightly as she covered her head with her arms and was literally trembling in fear.

"Hey."

Her scream made him momentarily deaf. He shook his head sharply. "By the Power, Marcaria, you got some fucking lungs on you!"

He shook his head again, the ringing fading away. He looked into her fear-filled eyes as he carefully offered a hand.

"What do you want?" Marcaria pushed into the tight space, leering away from him.

"To get you where you feel safe, moron. Obviously there are things that go boo in the night that terrify you."

"I've managed so far, go away."

He knew stubbornness, having that trait ten times over. He also knew lying. Which was why he dragged her out kicking and fighting.

In the ensuring movement, her mask once more fell off as he pinned her hard. She was forced to look back at him as she wilted with worry, trepidation, and fear.

"Stop looking like that," Momus snapped, tipping her fallen face to his. "You are not a monster! I've seen beautiful women with hearts of black, trust me, you're not on that list!"

He stood up, pulling her with him as he wrapped an arm around her. "You really have no home?"

"You heard me?" Her voice came out strained and embarrassed.

"Well, yea, not like you were whispering."

"Can I have my mask back?" She asked hoarsely. "I don't like being without it. It was a gift from Lune."

Momus snorted as he went to fish it out, thankfully it hadn't gone far this time. "You use it like a crutch."

"I give people nightmares! Didn't you notice? I HAVE NO EYE!"

"But the one you do have is beautiful."

Marcaria stuttered, completely taken aback. She never had anyone really comment on her. Well, at least not for the four hundred something years she'd been existing as a spirit and not a human.

She snatched the mask back as it was the only thing she could think of as she put it on her face gingerly.

She avoided his eyes as he waited, seemingly expecting something.

"Um… tha…thank you?" She mumbled.

"Where do you stay?"

"Anywhere I can. Not like I have family anymore."

Momus's eyes half-closed. She thought she saw sympathy but then his eyes opened wide again and he crossed his arms.

"I wasn't looking for you to feel bad for me. I was just stating a fact. You have a really pretty mom."

"Don't like talking about yourself, do you?"

"I don't like being stared at, it's uncomfortable."

And yet he wasn't deterred as he stared at her.

"Sooo…um. I'll just leave." She looked around, the weather, though not in sight due to the heavy and tall trees, seemed to have calmed down.

She was grasped by the collar as he dragged her behind him. Again, he didn't bother to look at her or say anything as she let herself be dragged, seeing her heels dug slight trailing hole as she wondered exactly what she'd gotten into.

"I really meant it, you know. Your mom's beautiful. I see where your good looks come from… and none of your attitude."

"I am the personification of satire, mockery, censure, and a hell of a lot of other wonderful traits that make me a dick."

"But that doesn't mean you have to follow that route!"

He didn't say anything more at this point and Marcaria felt like she had won something.

"Hey, can I call you Mo?"

"Why the Hell would you want to?"

"You call me Prank. I want to call you something too. Nothing like Dick or Asshole or Merde…"

"What the hell is Merde?" He couldn't quite grasp the French touch.

"Shit."

"No, you can't call me that. Only if I can call you whore."

She floundered in rage. "I AM NOT!"

"Are you sure? You got the right attitude!"

"And you're a playboy?"

"All the fucking Greek is! Mankind can't get enough of us fucking everything from animals, women, men, and children!"

She gagged.

"Tell me about it. The stories they come up with, it's fucking weird."

"So can I call you Mo?"

"I'll think on it."

"I'll take that as a yes. Am I staying with you?"

"As long as you shut up."

"Sooo.. I'm staying?"

"Shut up."

"But I want to know!"

"SHUT UP ALREADY!"