tthhee oddiissee Chapter 17

Ro was sitting down on his the one bench they had specially made with his weight limit in mind next to the Colonel. The entire Red Band was gathered around, with a small clearing in the middle of the crowd. They were taking a look at some potential hires for the foreseeable future and were putting some of the thieves through their paces. Ro always liked being a part of the process despite the fact he couldn’t really give much in the way of feedback. Wait, this isn’t right.

Mako had returned with another prospect in tow. He was a tall, thin man with a pale, slightly-crooked face with dark circles under his eyes and long, wild, brown hair extending out from every direction from his head. His limbs seemed too long for his torso. He didn’t appear to be wearing any sort of armor or have any visible weapon, instead sporting a simple brown t-shirt The thing that threw Ro off-guard most was the fact that he wasn’t wearing any shoes.

“Here’s our latest prospect,” Mako said.

“Interesting? He seems a little… ill-equipped,” The Colonel said.

“That’s what I thought, but-”

“I travel light,” interrupted the strange man.

Mako looked to the Colonel and shrugged his shoulders before taking a seat on Ro’s leg.

“So, you’re looking to be a thief. Have you done this sort of thing before?” The Colonel asked.

“Of course. Mostly in the city, but the same principals apply, I believe.”

“What do you mean? Pickpocket? Cat Burglar?”

“Pickpocket, cat burglar, stick-up artist, and perhaps, most interestingly…” the man flicked his wrist, only for an entire deck of playing cards to appear in his hand, perfectly fanned out, their backs to the Colonel and everyone else. “Magician.” Ro suddenly felt anxious. Ro couldn’t explain why, but there was something wrong about this whole thing and he knew that he couldn’t trust the man in front of him.

Mako lit up a little, and the rest of the Red Band had their interests similarly piqued.

“Magician?” The Colonel repeated, incredulously.

“Oh yes,” the magician said, an unnatural, somewhat sinister grin coming across his face. “Magic is evolved straight from thievery and confidence games. It’s the same way that playing cards-,” the magician flicked the same wrist again, and the playing cards were replaced with Tarot cards “and the tarot come from the same game, only becoming entirely separated much later on. A good magician knows these things, a bad thief does not.”

Mako stared at the cards, trying to make out their designs, confused as to what they actually were.

“What are those?” Mako asked.

“My apologies, I should know that known of you would be familiar with this. These are tarot cards. They were originally designed for playing game with, but are perhaps best known for there use in fortune-telling. Two types of con game for the price of one, who can resist?” The magician turned towards Ro. “I’m sure Arro knows all about it. He’d tell you all about it, if he could.” How does he have those? What is this?

“They all have different designs, depicting different archetypes. Why, I think these cards suit some of you,” the magician told his audience. “For myself, there’s the Magician.” He snaps his finger and in his other hand, the card of The Magician appeared, upside-down. “Of course.” There was some light applause.

“For the Colonel?” The magician snapped his finger once again, and The Emperor appeared in The Colonel’s hand. “The Emperor.” The Colonel showed off the card, and the Red Band cheered.

“For Mr. Mako?” He snapped his finger again, and the Strength card appeared in Mako’s hand. “Strength!”

Mako laughed. “Surely, this was meant for Arro?”

“Oh, I think that card suits you fine, Mr. Mako. As for Arro?” The Magician asked, smugly. “No, for Arro, I’m thinking something different. But what?” The Magician snapped his fingers, The Chariot appearing in his hand where The Magician card once was.

“The Chariot?” He snapped his fingers again.

“The World?” He snapped his fingers again.

“The Lovers? I’m sure, you’d enjoy that, Mr. Mako.” Mako blushed at the comment, and the magician snapped his fingers again.

“Perhaps the Devil.” He snapped his fingers again.

“Or Death!” The crowd ooo-ed. The magician laughed a little. “No, no, I don’t think any of these cards truly suit this legendary figure. But I have one another card,” The Magician said with another snap of his fingers, a card now appearing in Ro’s massive hand, wedged between his finger and thumb. Ro stared at it, shaken, but doing his best to not let it be apparent.

Mako leaned over to look at it. “The Hanged Man? What does that mean?” Mako asked.

The Magician looked right at Ro, looking sinister. “I’m sure Ro could tell you.”

“Arro.” The Colonel corrected The Magician. That wasn’t a mistake. He’s insulting me.

“My mistake. He reminds me of someone I know,” The Magician responded.

Mako couldn’t help but read Arro’s expression. “I don’t think he’s taking it too well.”

“I must apologize once again. It’s just a joke, Arro. I don’t mean anything by it,” The Magician responded smugly. “Perhaps my next trick will go ever better,” The Magician said.

“I’m not looking for entertainment, goddammit,” The Colonel responded, getting impatient, clearly trying to get the man who was agitating his best asset out of his camp before he caused more trouble.

“Please, just indulge me a little,” The Magician asked. He shook his hand with the cards in it back and forth, the cards appearing to shift form, replaced with a simple white theater mask with only holes for eyes and a mouth with a neutral expression on it. Ro tensed up even more. I’ve seen that before.

“Watch!” The Magician commanded. On cue, everyone’s head rotated towards The Magician.

The Magician placed the mask over his face. “A mask is just a face that we choose to wear. Or perhaps it’s the other way around. I’m so used to putting on masks, that I sometimes lose track of my own. Sometimes I get quite mixed up, with one face-”

The Magician tilted his mask open, keeping the left side anchored to his face as it turned into The Colonel’s.

“-being traded for another,” The Magician said, even copying The Colonel’s voice.
“Whoa,” The colonel was stunned and the red band all applauded aside from Ro, who couldn’t help but feel more threatened by the act.

The Magician covered his face once again.

“Oh dear, that’s not right, is it? Perhaps, I’ll have better luck with this next face.”

The Magician tilted the mask the opposite direction this time, revealing Mako’s face.

“This one’s better isn’t it? Still doesn’t feel close though,” The Magician said in Mako’s voice while putting the mask back on as everyone applauded again.

“Wait, I’m certain I have the right face this time. Though, I admit, I don’t think its own that any of you have seen. Why, even the owner hasn’t seen this face in at least few decades now…”

The Magician walked forward towards Ro. “I’m sure you’ll know it the second you see it,” he said. The Magician tilted the mask downward, starting to reveal Ro’s face behind it. The face from before he left his apartment.

Ro acted instinctively and punched The Magician’s face, mask and all, with full force. The second he made contact, a flood of mist flew out from the mask, enshrouding everything in thick, impenetrable fog.

Everything disappeared. Ro wasn’t sure he was even there anymore, but he could still feel the theater mask resting under his knuckles. The Magician was at least still there.

The fog started to clear revealing Ro was transformed back to normal (relatively normal for a man over eight feet tall). The Magician was still standing in front of him with the same clothing, but gray hair and cracks forming around the edges of the mask he was still holding in front of his face which Ro’s fist was still connected to.

“Don’t like that trick either, do you?” The Magician said.

“What are you doing here?” Ro asked angrily.

“Just checking in on things. Keeping you on your toes.”

The rest of the Red Band started to become visible through the mist, but they were all facing away from Ro and The Magician, standing ramrod straight, arms at their sides, and their heads hanging down. Ro was confused and frightened by what was going on. Ro was right next to the Colonel, who was positioned in the same way everyone else was. Ro reached out his hand to The Colonel’s shoulder, his hand shaking the entire time.

Ro turned The Colonel around to see the same theater mask The Magician wore covering his face and immediately falling to the ground in front of Ro like a marionette with its strings cut.

“Colonel!” Ro cried out while reaching down, only to find the body was no longer there.

He went over to random member of the Red Band, trying to turn him around only for the exact same thing to happen. As he moved, he noticed that everyone’s position changed as he moved so that their backs would always be facing him. They clearly weren’t moving of their own free will, but rather it was like they were on turntables that spun around their limp bodies.

Ro kept trying to turn around members of the Red Band, only to find the same theater mask, falling the same way, and disappearing just as quickly.

“What exactly are you expecting to happen, Ro?”

“What did you do to them?” Ro growled.

“Doesn’t matter. It matters what you’re doing. It matters who you’re avoiding.”

Ro slowly turned to see Mako standing in the fog in the same position as everyone else.

“You still love him, don’t you?”

Ro just continued staring at the back of Mako’s head, unable to make himself move.

“What are you waiting for? Don’t you want to see what’s under the mask?” The Magician said, removing his own mask in the process and revealing the same crooked face underneath, though he wasn’t smiling anymore.

Ro slowly crept towards Mako’s body.

“All this time, he’s wondering what’s under yours.” Ro ignored the strange comment as he continued towards Mako, shakily reaching his hand out. Ro couldn’t bear to see what may happen: closing his eyes and turning away. His hand landed on Mako’s shoulder. It was warm. He was alive, at the very least.

Ro took a few deep breaths, shuddering with anticipation as he did so. He opened his eyes back up and looked back towards Mako. He whipped Mako aroun-

Ro woke up, sitting completely upright in his bed next to Leon, his eyes wide and staring out into the distance, completely still, not even breathing. It took Ro a moment to even remember where he was.

Ro finally took a breath and his body released a flood of cold sweat that covered him. He tossed the sheet aside and got up out of bed, pacing around the apartment. He was trying his best to calm down, but he had a hard time coming to terms with what he just saw. Rain was coming down at a steady pace, but it looked the storm was about to pick up and Ro could see some lightning stating to form in the clouds out in the distance.

Leon began stirring in their bed, still asleep, reaching out to try and hold onto Ro, only to not find him there. This caused Leon to wake up, flipping over and sitting upright. He let out a big yawn before saying anything.

“Rollo? What are you doing over there?”

“Nothing, I just… had a strange dream.” There was a flash of lightning that lit up their whole apartment, and for a moment Leon could see his boyfriend’s wide eyes and paranoid look with more detail than the floor-to-ceiling windows would normally illuminate at this time of night. Leon knew to approach the topic carefully.

“A nightmare?”

“I… don’t know.” Ro said, staring back out at the window.

“Well, you’re not going to get any sleep staring at the rain. Come back to bed.”

“I… I don’t feel much like sleeping.”

“But I do. You know I sleep better with you next to me.”

Ro looked back towards Leon. He was groggy and slumped over, but his musculature was still as impressive as ever. God, he’s so cute. Ro relented and made his back into bed with Leon, lying next to him, face to face. Leon wrapped his thick arms around Ro, and pulled him close, nuzzling his face into Ro’s chest. Ro wrapped his long thin arms around Leon as well, resting his chin on the top of Leon’s head, right between his wolf ears. Leon never failed to comfort Ro, but there was still a little unease in the pit of Ro’s stomach.

“I’m sorry,” Ro said.

“For what?”

“Well… I got my weird problems, you know?”

“Who doesn’t?”

“Yeah, but I feel bad when you have to deal with it.”

“It’s what I signed up for. I would be bothered if I didn’t love you so much.”

“I love you, too. But sometimes I feel like you deserve someone better.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit. You’re fine the way you are.”

“Really? Even though I get jumpy and nervous?”

“Sure. You’ve got plenty of reason to be both.”

“Even though I might be crazy, with the whole Magician and Whisper thing?”

“It’s not like you’re hurting anyone.”

“What about the fact that I keep feeling up your ears all the time?” Ro asked while caressing Leon’s wolf ears.

“It’s okay when you do it. I like it.”

Ro let out a small laugh and squeezed Leon a little tighter. You treat me too well.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “Sorry for keeping you awake.”

“That’s more like it,” Leon replied dozing off.

Ro did his best to try and get back to sleep, but the thought of The Magician kept him up. It had been a long time since he had seen him, and it was rarely followed by anything good. But at least he had Leon to hold onto until the morning came.