WHAT. Young!Atreus goes exploring and ends up at a fancy castle. WHERE. Castle of Lions WHEN. Wednesday or Thursday. WARNINGS. None really. STATUS. Complete!
Atreus was doing better. He had more energy! He was coughing less! It mightāve been the air here in this strange weird world, or maybe it was just that he was finally getting older and stronger. His mother had always told him that he was strong, because strength didnāt come from muscles. But then she moved an entire tree with her bare hands and he wasnāt so sure she was telling the truth.
He couldnāt move entire trees with his bare hands so he had learned to get quick and sneaky. Heād never been allowed outside of their little patch of home on Midgard, so when the opportunity to explore presented itselfā¦ well, he took it.
His mother wasnāt there to tell him ānoā, and Atreus was more than certain his father wouldnāt even notice. He hadnāt intended to go this far away from home, but the giant wolf heād woken up near seemed to be happy to lead him places, and just as easily excitable as Atreus.
Maybe taking him to a giant white pillar castle wasnāt what Atreus expected, but who was he to object?
Not that he could. Riding a giant wolf that could apparently teleport was already risky enough. āWow, buddy. You sure do know how to find them.ā Atreus hopped down and gave the wolf a gentle pat. He couldāve turned around, gone home, asked Fenrir to take him other places, but this was too cool to pass up. So he went exploring.
A half-hour later, he was lost. It was thankfully empty, from what he could tell, and Atreus just.. Walked. There were stairs upon stairs and big open rooms and it was fancier than anything heād ever seen before. But he had no idea how to get back to the main area heād come in at, and Fenrir was off sleeping somewhere. Room after room, he just kept looking for a way out.
Then, a door opened, and there was a big, open room. It wasnāt the way out, but it was better. Atreusā mouth dropped as he entered without realizing his feet were moving. It was a-- something. Big, black, white, red. An animal, but not like any Atreus had ever seen before. āWow.ā He took a few more steps forward. āHi. Hello. Are you all alone here? Are you going to eat me? Haha- please donāt eat me. Iām Atreus! I donāt think I should tell you that but what could it hurt?ā
Shiro knew they were in the starting up one of the events with people turning different ages, but only has much as he'd seen on the network that morning. He'd been at the Castle doing minor maintenance on Black when the network notifications started coming in. Since this was an event that usually didn't get too dangerous, he'd stayed put to finish his tasks. If things did spiral with something worse than a bunch of children running around, he needed to know Black was at his best.
What he hadn't expected was to hear a young voice in the hangar. Black didn't seem nervous. Curious, yes, but there weren't any warning vibes along their link. Shiro picked up a towel and wiped the grease from his hands as Black followed his mental nudge and lowered his mouth to the ground to open up an exit. It was a dramatic way of doing it but it was quicker than Shiro shuttling down the tall body of his lion. And it let him catch the last few words the young boy said.
"Atreus?" Shiro's eyebrows rose. He dropped down to the ground from Black's open mouth and let out a startled laugh. Even knowing what they were getting hit with, it was wild seeing his friend as a small teenager. "Wow, look at you. I--right sorry, I'm Shiro. This is Black." The Lion was slowly closing his mouth behind him, so Shiro reached back to pat his huge metal snout. "He won't hurt you."
Atreus stumbled back again with a startled yelp. Until waking up here, heād never met any-- person. Anyone that wasnāt his parents. Now heād seen dozens, and kept is distance from most of them, outside of the other people that were at his home when heād explored. Even with the reassurance, he didnāt quite know what to expect, but had to be brave.
āIām really sorry, sir. I was just exploring, and my-- the giant wolf brought me here. And so I figured Iād look around and I didnāt know anyone was here!ā Bravery on Atreus apparently looked like nervous rambling. āI didnāt take anything, I promise. Please donāt tell my father?ā
He wasnāt entirely sure what a punishment from Kratos looked like, but he didnāt want to test it, either.
Sir. Shiro huffed a laugh through his nose and stepped away from Blackās mouth so the Lion could close it back up. There was no way to make the giant spaceship less intimidating but at least if he didnāt sit back up, he appeared smaller. Shiro finished wiping off his hands and tossed the towel over to a bench against the hangar wall.
āNo need to be sorry. The Castle isnāt off-limits.ā He knew Atreus and Kratosās relationship had been rocky when Atreus was young, but it still made his smile turn sympathetic to hear Atreus ask him not to tell his father. āAnd donāt worry. I wonāt tell anyone. Because thereās nothing to tell. You havenāt done anything wrong.ā Careful not to step too close to Atreus, Shiro tucked his hands into his pockets and nodded off towards the hangar entrance. āDo you want a tour?...Wait. Fenrir is outside, right? Not squeezing his big butt through the halls?ā
Atreus was too busy staring at the lion to fully pay attention to what the guy was saying. He took a step to the side unconsciously, to get a better look, but once he realized he was being rude, he snapped back to listening mode. āOh! Well- thatās good. Itās really nice. Arenāt you worried about people messing it up?ā Probably not the question he should be asking, since he broke in.
He finally tore his eyes off of Black and looked to the entrance. āHeās outside! I think! I hope.ā Atreus had started strong, sure of himself, and fell off towards the range of a-little-worried. āIād never met any wolf like him before. Or a lion like that. Or a place like this! But I donāt leave home much. Are you sure a tour would be okay?ā
Shiro forgot sometimes how intense the Lions were to people who weren't used to them. They were practically family, in an alien, telepathic sort of way, and he loved them, idolized them. But their size and otherworldliness was less noticeable on the daily when one had a gentle link inside his own brain twenty-four-seven. He flashed a grin at Atreus and stepped to the side to give him a better view of Black.
"I'm not worried. Outlanders work together and I'm part of a team of defenders so people haven't really tried anything where the Castle is concerned. And the Lions are very picky about who they let fly them so if they don't want someone to get close, they'll make sure it doesn't happen." Black knew Atreus, of course. On a spiritual level, the way the Lions were more attuned. He would let the boy as close as he dared.
"Do you want to see inside? It's kind ofā¦like a flying boat?" Shiro wasn't entirely sure how to describe the inside to a kid who'd only just started experiencing electricity that wasn't caused by godly powers.
āYes,ā Atreus was a little too enthusiastic in his agreement of a tour. As if heād turn that opportunity down. He readjusted the bow on his back and marched forward with a brave face on. His father probably would have told him not to trust this stranger but--
Well, Atreus was bad at taking his fatherās advice. But he also trusted this particular stranger, even if he couldnāt exactly say why. Normally he had a sense about animals, but that didnāt fit here, with either the man or the lion, so he just went with his gut instinct. It was exciting and terrifying all at once. āMy mother can do some amazing things but Iāve never seen anything like this, and sheās never even talked about anything like this. The biggest thing sheās ever told me about is Jƶrmungandr, the World Serpent! Heās supposed to be even bigger than this whole place, but my mother said heās friendly.ā
Shiro chuckled and looked up at Black, encouraging the Lion to open up again. Black didn't need much encouragement and his eyes flashed brightly as a welcome. Atreus's excited tone was easily infectious, even for an alien spacecraft.
"From what I know, there's a lot in your world I can barely even dream of, so I guess it's only fair we have some cool stuff too." He stepped inside the Lion's mouth and led Atreus up into the cockpit. It occurred to him that Atreus was too trusting at this age - maybe any age - but that just meant it was better that he was with someone who wouldn't never betray him. He'd have to introduce him to Kipp like this. It might help him feel safe to know Shiro was a guardian and not just some random stranger with an exciting ship.
"Jƶrmungandr is pretty friendly, for the record. To people he knows and trusts, especially. He's smaller here than he is at home." The lights in the cockpit lit up as Shiro moved, responding to his nearness. "Not like Fenrir out there. At least not yet."
Atreus stopped every few feet to examine everything. He didnāt understand any of it, but that didnāt stop him. At one point, he stopped and placed a hand on the interior walls of the Lion, to reach out like he would a wolf or other animal. He felt the hum of energy, but not the feelings, even if he could tell this creature was alive. It was strange, but everything around him was strange at this point.
When he finally caught up, he was a little out of breath from excitement and bounding up the ramp. āYou know Jƶrmungandr? Heās here? Heād have to be smaller to even fit. I saw Thor, I heard they have a fight that breaks the world and sent him back to time, is that what happened? Sorry-- I donāt know if you know answers to these things but this is so cool, I canāt wait to tell my mom about it all. Or Lance! Heās my friend back at the house here, he feels really out of place too.ā
Lance, God. Shiro snorted a laugh. No doubt the fast-talking Cuban kid was chatting up Keith's ear by now, but Shiro would check up on them both in a few minutes. He flipped a few switches in the cockpit to power the Lion up for a short flight.
"Lance is definitely out of place too. Or at least, out of time. Not like, out of time in trouble. Just out of his normal time. Sorry, I'm not sure how to explain all this stuff." He laughed and sat down in one of the two pilot chairs. "Look, I get the idea that you were maybe hiding out from your dad but I don't want him to worry about you. Can we go check in with him? This thing flies and I'd love to show you. We can pick up Lance at the Sanctuary and I can check in with my family too."
Shiro smiled softly, beseechingly. "What do you say?"
Atreus gave a petulant little look. āI wasnāt hiding.ā Not technically, anyway. āI was just-- exploring. Without his permission.ā Which is something that made him nervous to do, though Atreus didnāt like showing any signs of weakness where his father might find out.
But he really, really wanted to go flying, and that much was probably obvious.If that meant they had to go check in with his father, so be it.
He settled into the other chair without asking permission, but didnāt touch anything. āI think that sounds like a fair deal. Iāve never been flying before, so if you want to take the long way around, that would be okay with me.ā
āRight, right, sorry, exploring,ā Shiro teased, hands raised in defense. Dropping his hands, he grinned and spun the pilot chair into place. The lights around him started to shift and move, welcoming him. Black was excited for a chance to show off. Shiro reached over and clipped Atreusās seltbelt into place rather than trying to explain the mechanism.
āYouāre going to want to hold on. I think Black wants to impress you and that means some serious speed is on the way.ā The Lion rumbled to life and mechanical whirrings picked up outside the cockpit as the Castle readied to release a giant space spaceship from its hangar. āHope you donāt get airsick at this age. I havenāt had vomit bags in here in ages.ā
With that warning, the Lion shot up into a turret and out into the sky.