Spencer had left Will in his cabin and gone off to wash his dirty cardigan in the river. He honestly wasn't that surprised when he found the boy sitting out by the tree upon his return to the barracks though. They hadn't had much time to discuss what had happened while Will was in the woods alone. Spencer knew it was probably frightening. He understood that feeling all too well. Spencer stood next to him, deciding that he would not push him to tell his story, but at least be present in case he decided to speak.
Will turns and looks at Spencer. He saw him first as the helpful adult who had spoken to him so many times in this place. But with his new weight of knowledge, Will also knew that he was human and as prone to frailty in the matters of Light and Dark as any other of that kind. Will remembered Merriman 's whispered hard won wisdom, that the greatest mistake they could make was to put more faith in a human than they had the strength to take.
There was a barrier now, that he did not have the right to cross. The barrier between his own kind and the humans they existed to protect For it was not for humans to know of the war that was being fought on their behalf.
But if it was painful, feeling this knowledge again. At least it was a familiar pain. This was only a part of being an Old One.
Juliet had barely any time to herself since everyone came back, tending to injuries, making sure everyone was fine, bitching at people for getting lost in the first place, but somehow Will got lost in the shuffle. She barely notices anything different about the boy when she catches sight of him, her face lighting up in a way that it hasn't done in awhile.
"Will!" She says, her tone excited, although she walks towards him at a casual gait, pausing a few feet from him when she realizes how still and solemn he seems. "Is everything okay?"
It was a little disconcerting, meeting all the people he had first known when he believed himself to be only a small boy. But now he saw her with the eyes of an Old One, with all the weight of the ancient knowledge of his kind. Before, she had seemed a wise and helpful adult. But to the Old One that was Will, he saw her now as a human.
And he wasn't. Not quite.
But such weighty matters could be considered at a later time. Will turns and looks at her with a small solemn smile. As heavy a burden as all his knowledge was, he couldn't deny that he finally felt right. He was whole once more.
She stops short, tilting her head at him. As right as he felt, he didn't... Look right to her. There was something different about him and it felt wrong to her.
"Good. I was worried," she says, calmly, as neutral as ever, but still with as much feeling as she can muster. "What happened out there?
It's the only polite way to ask why do you not seem like that little boy I met before, after all.
"Many things," Will says softly. "We were chased for a long time, Mr. Potter and I."
Normally, Will would have been able to conceal this part of him that was as old as the land and older even than that. He would have been able to conceal his ancient knowledge and convince anyone that he was only a rather odd boy.
But today his awareness was too raw and new. The magic of this strange realm burned against his mind, constantly distracting him from his thoughts. The Old One that was Will was still too close to the surface for him to hide it with any success.
And so he could not hide the new confidence in his bearing or the oldness in his eyes.
Chuck instantly recognizes something off about the boy, the way He has so many times before. It's always been a niggling little feeling He can't place, easily silenced with alcohol, exhaustion, or distraction, but this is different. Will is carrying himself differently, projecting something just a few clicks off from a normal traumatized kid- and given the depth of Chuck's visions, he knows what those are supposed to look like.
It isn't until later that he emerges from the shadowy tavern to talk. It's good to see the kid again, Chuck has a soft spot for children (seriously, who doesn't?) and can't stand the thought of him out here all alone. But something has changed. It doesn't seriously occur to him that Will will recognize something different in Chuck- if Gabriel couldn't, why would he? But the possibility lingers that something in Him will set off Will's Spidey sense the way Will set off Chuck's, so he approaches the tree with caution and a cover story at the ready.
In a few days, Will would have settled the weight of his new memories and knowledge inside himself. He would have been better able to simply be Will Stanton. A boy who didn't quite belong to the time he dwelled in, but only a little odd for all that.
But today, today the Old One that was Will was awake and glimmering just under the surface of the human he appeared to be. His new awareness of the world around him was too new. Too raw. For now at least he was sensing his surroundings with the mind and eyes of an Old One first.
And so, when Chuck approaches Will feels him first as a presence. Neither of the Light nor the Dark nor the High nor the Wild magics, but something altogether different. And it is only then that he recognizes Chuck as the man who once claimed to be a prophet. The boy serenely turns to look at him with the calm ancient eyes of an Old One.
The altered speech pattern makes the hairs on the back of Chuck's neck stand up; those few seconds before Will recognizes him setting his teeth on edge. There's a Something he doesn't like in those eyes, something old and wild and powerful enough that Chuck has to swallow an insane urge to hiss and spit like a tomcat posturing at a rival. It's foreign, strange power clearly not of His world or His nature. It honestly makes his skin crawl. This boy isn't Will- is he?
Chuck tries to keep the unsettled feeling off his face, but doesn't quite manage. Anyone would be creeped out by that sentence structure, come on. "No- no problem. Um... are you okay?"
Will watches Chuck with a kind of clinical curiosity. Appropriate, a small part of his mind thought. Was he not a Watchman of the Light? Watching had always been a part of his duty. And it was curious, to see someone who belonged to none of the powers he was familiar with. Not in all the knowledge of Gramarye was there an explanation for this. But perhaps this, too, was a part of the pattern.
But if not of the Light, Will thought he could at least be sure that Chuck was not of anything like the Dark.
"I am fine. Better than I have been for a long time." As he speaks Will holds himself in an attitude of absolute calmness, like a pool of deep water. "You're not quite like the other people here, are you?"
Harry pauses in his circulation of the barracks - half looking for Murphy, half just making sure nothing's exploded in his absence - when he spots Will, and he studies the boy for a little while before he actually approaches. He was always kind of... strange for a boy his age, but there's something even more different now. Something that makes Harry worry a little about what might have happened to him out there in the Dark Woods.
"Hey," he says gently, pausing a few steps away. "Are you okay?"
"Better than I have been in a long time, actually."
Will answers the question with an absolute calmness bordering on serenity. And yet, he could not avoid a vague sadness to his words as he mourns for the child he had been here. The burden of an Old One's duty left little room for life as a normal child. His true childhood had ended on his eleventh birthday.
But it was still true, what he had told Merriman so long ago. Sometimes he wished he could still be a child. Sometimes, but not always.
"...good," Harry says slowly. That very unchildlike serenity Will has going on right now is... kind of creepy. Harry's known some weird children who weren't - the Archive comes to mind - but it's the change in Will that strikes him as strange and unnerving now. Sure, he was solemn and very mature for his age the first time they met, but... not like this.
"I heard you were trapped out in the woods for a while," he adds after a moment, hoping to prompt some kind of explanation.
"I was. But I think it had a good effect in the end." He smiles suddenly, in a way that transforms his usually solemn face. "I feel as if I have finally awakened after sleeping all of these months."
Fred notices Will standing there, and it's kind of weird. Then again, the kid had just been rescued from... whatever it was (he hadn't checked in on what happened with others just yet), so who knows what he'd seen out there?
So standing there. Some muggle thing? A kid thing in general? He couldn't recall he or George ever doing so when younger, but they weren't the type to stand idle for very long.
"Oi. You all right, mate?"
He seems a little off, beyond the just zoned out stance, although Fred can't quite pinpoint it.
Will turns and looks at Fred as the question startles him out of his thoughts. The boy has a blandly pleasant expression on his face, and there is nothing visible that reveals anything has changed. He looks to be the same boy who had spoken to Fred before.
Yet, there is something slightly other about him. Perhaps the look in his eyes, of great wisdom and a kind of oldness that had nothing to do with his age. Or the stillness of his posture, that hinted of something beyond what could be seen. Like a pool of deep water, calm on the surface and yet with a great depth to it.
"I am well. Better than I have been these past few months."
Perking an eyebrow a bit skeptically, Fred nods slowly. That was just a bit unexpected, but not really a bad thing. Just odd. And he does seem to be fine overall.
"Good. Glad you made it out all right then. And for the better, apparently."
The powers of an Old One were a heavy burden. Yet Will could not bring himself to regret regaining this knowledge. For all the weight of responsibility that he felt now, he finally felt whole. Always, in this place, he had felt as if a large part of himself was missing. He was not truly a boy, and a hidden part of his mind had always felt the wrongness. Will had not been a child since he had awoken on his eleventh birthday.
With an effort, Will turns his thoughts from his duties and focuses on the conversation.
"I'm afraid I worried quite a few people. But it wasn't so bad as all that. Mr. Potter was with me, after all."
Comments 58
"Did you have trouble resting?"
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There was a barrier now, that he did not have the right to cross. The barrier between his own kind and the humans they existed to protect For it was not for humans to know of the war that was being fought on their behalf.
But if it was painful, feeling this knowledge again. At least it was a familiar pain. This was only a part of being an Old One.
"I couldn't sleep, really."
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Spencer leaned against the tree, gazing down at Will. He was one of the most resilient young boys he had ever met.
"It may take a little while."
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"Will!" She says, her tone excited, although she walks towards him at a casual gait, pausing a few feet from him when she realizes how still and solemn he seems. "Is everything okay?"
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And he wasn't. Not quite.
But such weighty matters could be considered at a later time. Will turns and looks at her with a small solemn smile. As heavy a burden as all his knowledge was, he couldn't deny that he finally felt right. He was whole once more.
"I'm fine. Just fine."
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"Good. I was worried," she says, calmly, as neutral as ever, but still with as much feeling as she can muster. "What happened out there?
It's the only polite way to ask why do you not seem like that little boy I met before, after all.
Reply
Normally, Will would have been able to conceal this part of him that was as old as the land and older even than that. He would have been able to conceal his ancient knowledge and convince anyone that he was only a rather odd boy.
But today his awareness was too raw and new. The magic of this strange realm burned against his mind, constantly distracting him from his thoughts. The Old One that was Will was still too close to the surface for him to hide it with any success.
And so he could not hide the new confidence in his bearing or the oldness in his eyes.
Reply
It isn't until later that he emerges from the shadowy tavern to talk. It's good to see the kid again, Chuck has a soft spot for children (seriously, who doesn't?) and can't stand the thought of him out here all alone. But something has changed. It doesn't seriously occur to him that Will will recognize something different in Chuck- if Gabriel couldn't, why would he? But the possibility lingers that something in Him will set off Will's Spidey sense the way Will set off Chuck's, so he approaches the tree with caution and a cover story at the ready.
"Hi there. It's, uh, good to have you back."
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But today, today the Old One that was Will was awake and glimmering just under the surface of the human he appeared to be. His new awareness of the world around him was too new. Too raw. For now at least he was sensing his surroundings with the mind and eyes of an Old One first.
And so, when Chuck approaches Will feels him first as a presence. Neither of the Light nor the Dark nor the High nor the Wild magics, but something altogether different. And it is only then that he recognizes Chuck as the man who once claimed to be a prophet. The boy serenely turns to look at him with the calm ancient eyes of an Old One.
"I thank you."
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Chuck tries to keep the unsettled feeling off his face, but doesn't quite manage. Anyone would be creeped out by that sentence structure, come on. "No- no problem. Um... are you okay?"
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But if not of the Light, Will thought he could at least be sure that Chuck was not of anything like the Dark.
"I am fine. Better than I have been for a long time." As he speaks Will holds himself in an attitude of absolute calmness, like a pool of deep water. "You're not quite like the other people here, are you?"
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"Hey," he says gently, pausing a few steps away. "Are you okay?"
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Will answers the question with an absolute calmness bordering on serenity. And yet, he could not avoid a vague sadness to his words as he mourns for the child he had been here. The burden of an Old One's duty left little room for life as a normal child. His true childhood had ended on his eleventh birthday.
But it was still true, what he had told Merriman so long ago. Sometimes he wished he could still be a child. Sometimes, but not always.
Reply
"I heard you were trapped out in the woods for a while," he adds after a moment, hoping to prompt some kind of explanation.
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"I was. But I think it had a good effect in the end." He smiles suddenly, in a way that transforms his usually solemn face. "I feel as if I have finally awakened after sleeping all of these months."
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So standing there. Some muggle thing? A kid thing in general? He couldn't recall he or George ever doing so when younger, but they weren't the type to stand idle for very long.
"Oi. You all right, mate?"
He seems a little off, beyond the just zoned out stance, although Fred can't quite pinpoint it.
Reply
Yet, there is something slightly other about him. Perhaps the look in his eyes, of great wisdom and a kind of oldness that had nothing to do with his age. Or the stillness of his posture, that hinted of something beyond what could be seen. Like a pool of deep water, calm on the surface and yet with a great depth to it.
"I am well. Better than I have been these past few months."
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"Good. Glad you made it out all right then. And for the better, apparently."
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With an effort, Will turns his thoughts from his duties and focuses on the conversation.
"I'm afraid I worried quite a few people. But it wasn't so bad as all that. Mr. Potter was with me, after all."
Reply
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