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Sweat is dripping off Duncan's nose and he stops to take a breath. He will probably never love the rainforest. It still makes him a little claustrophobic, all the trees blocking his sight and a thousand places for danger to hide. It's ridiculous, there are no other people for miles. But he can't help it.
And it's so alive. Birds are screaming in the treetops, sometimes flitting through the lower branches, a flash of colour. Insects and spiders are all over the place and they are big. Everything is violently green in more shades than Duncan thought possible. Everything is also damp, from the daily rain and from the humidity. Duncan is always surprised when he gets up in the morning and mushrooms have not started sprouting all over their gear.
Rhys, however, is in a constant state of delight, cooing at every new plants and ever bug that crosses their path. It's infectious and Duncan does enjoy this trip, despite the heat and humidity.
It is exciting to be here and find more and more things to appreciate. The occasional glimpse of the river they were broadly following. The way rare rays of sunlight dappled the forest floor, often illuminating flowers the colour of several acid trips at once. The tiny frogs he had found yesterday and watched brawl over a particularly attractive patch of forest floor for an hour. They, too, had been brightly coloured and he had known better than to touch.
Once, they had caught a glimpse of a jaguar, to the shrill cries of birds and monkeys. It had considered them for a long second before vanishing. Duncan had turned to Rhys to make sure he hadn't imagined it and the exuberant grin on Rhys' face had told him it had been real. Delight aside, they had seen to putting distance between them and the jaguar.
Right now, they have come across a small sidearm of the river or what had once been one. By now, it is a large pond, still connected to the river by a shallow inlet. Surrounded by trees overhanging the water and covered in water lilies with enormous leaves and deep purple flowers Duncan couldn't have held in both hands, it is idyllic.
A couple of frogs call and a bird with ridiculously large feet stalks across the lily pads. The way it carefully lifts its feet and then splays its toes before putting them down on a leaf again makes Duncan laugh.
The sound is loud in the midday silence when everything seems to pause in the heat. The bird hurries to a more quiet patch of leaves with a scandalised look in Duncan's direction.
'Sorry, bird.' Duncan doesn't raise his voice above a mumble. It is too hot to speak up.
A splash makes him look down. Maybe a frog? But it has sounded larger than that. Duncan keeps very still and waits.
After a couple of slow breaths, one of the smaller lily pads rises to reveal two large, dark eyes looking directly at him.
Eyes pointing forward - this isn't a frog.
'Rhys-' Duncan keeps his voice down to a stage whisper so as not to scare the eyes away. 'Come here. Slowly.'
Quiet footsteps behind him and Rhys sneaks up to the bank. They spend a minute looking down at the eyes and being looked at.
Rhys squats down very slowly. 'Hey, little guy. Come on out, I want to know what you are.'
To Duncan's relief, he doesn't try to reach into the water even though he could. The lily pad rises higher and reveals an astonishingly human face, only on a very small scale and with gills, and fins on top of the head.
Rhys gives a surprised squeak at the sight. He reaches behind himself to touch Duncan's body and mind, casts the telepathy spell. 'Look at it, it's adorable!'
His delight is loud in Duncan's mind and Duncan can't help but share it. It really is incredibly cute. Duncan slowly gets on one knee to take a closer look. The three of them stare at each other in breathless silence.
The silence is broken by the muffled sound of something heavy hitting the forest floor behind them.
Duncan whips his head around and sees the glint of silver foil gliding along at speed and knee height. 'What the-'
He pounces, exploding upwards out of his crouch and the foil-wrapped energy bars speed up even more. They are being carried in the stubby little hands of at least three more of the little creatures. For their stumpy legs, they have a great turn of speed.
But Duncan has much longer legs, long arms and excellent reflexes. He grabs two of them, one in each hand by the scruff of the neck. Their skin is soft and slippery and he quickly tugs one under each arm so he doesn't drop them or hurt them. With high pitched sounds, they twist in his grip, revealing sharp teeth. But they do drop their loot.
'Duncan. I think you should put them down. Right now.' Rhys voice is very, very calm.
So calm that Duncan knows immediately something is wrong. He does what Rhys asks, trusting him blindly. Then he slowly turns.
There's a much bigger creature in the pond. Easily as tall as Rhys and standing so close Duncan wishes Rhys would back away. The creature has what looks like extremely sharp claws and it's all lean muscle under greenish blue mottled skin. Completely black eyes stare past Rhys at Duncan.
The small creatures waddle in the direction of the pond, thick tails wagging behind them. They grab as many energy bars as they can hold.
One of them stumbles, overbalances and falls. Out of a reflex, Rhys moves towards it to catch it. The big creature moves at the same time, grabbing on to Rhys. From a standing start, Duncan takes a leap towards them.
The creature's long fingers dig into Rhys' arm. Rhys slumps bonelessly in its grip. His presence in Duncan's minds is gone, suddenly cut off.
Duncan skids to a halt, takes a deep breath and hunkers down. Makes himself small. Despite what all his instincts are screaming at him, he doesn't want a fight. The little creatures hide behind the big one's legs, peering out, still clutching their energy bars.
'Please, give him back to me.' Duncan holds out a hand. He's still far enough away so he can't touch either Rhys or the creatures. 'He didn't mean any harm.'
The creature makes a fluid gesture and looks at Duncan with an air of expectancy. It hoists Rhys up a little higher, seems to hold him more carefully. But it doesn't let go. It repeats the gesture.
Duncan stares at it. He has no idea what is going on and he wishes Rhys was awake to help.
Another repeat of the gesture, slow and careful. And this time, Duncan's brain kicks into gear and translates. --leave--
His signing skills are incredibly rusty. Echo and he had learned from another kid way back when, so they could talk when they broke into places, raided warehouses right under the noses of the guards. Not like any of them had had the money for subvocal microphones or something like that.
Shit. How did it go. Sign, shake head for no. Please. Don't- ...fuck. Please give and he points at Rhys. He wants to explain and to beg but he has none of the words. And he only remembers the most random stuff, nothing useful.
The creatures looks down on Rhys and up at Duncan again. Doesn't let go.
Another splash from the pond and a woman surfaces, water streaming from her bare skin. Duncan doesn't care how she got here or that she has gills, she is human. He thinks. 'Please, help me - we don't mean any harm. We'll leave you alone.'
She steps on land and the little creatures swarm to her, leaving their treasure in the care of their parent. She pats them and smiles at them indulgently. Her smile is radiant, lighting up her whole face, delicate features framed by dark hair.
Standing next to the creature, she also signs at Duncan and he wants to scream.
Digging in his brain for any useful phrases, he tries again. Don't steal from you. We go away. He suddenly remembers one thing he learned when he wanted to impress one of the girls they ran with. He hopes it will work better here than it had with her.
I love and he points at Rhys. Please. Don't hurt.
A bout of fluid gestures between the woman and the creature erupts while both Duncan and the little creatures look on. Duncan in bewilderment and mounting unease, the little ones in fascination. The creature glows in the shade of the clearing, blue spots under his skin lighting up.
While Duncan can't parse their signs, their bodies speak of long lived intimacy and familiarity. Of understanding each other with only a glance and the slightest gesture. It calms him to see it. There's no aggression there. There's power radiating off the creature so strong it's like a current running between all of them and Duncan knows he and Rhys stumbled upon something ancient.
Someone.
But unlike other incredibly powerful beings Duncan has met - and there have been a few - he does not get the impression of being merely inconsequential, an annoyance or temporary entertainment at best. There's vulnerability there and Duncan is caught between being intimidated by and wanting to protect the creature and its family.
Eventually, the woman turns to Duncan while the creature puts Rhys down, very gently. --afraid-- and a shake of the head. Duncan opens his mouth and raises his hands to say that he doesn't understand. In that moment, the creature darts forward and grabs him like it grabbed Rhys. It's incredibly fast and strong, fingers closing around Duncan's arm. Duncan snaps his head up, looks straight into the creature's liquid black eyes.
Dark waters swallow Duncan up.
A hand squeezing his own wakes him and he sits with a gasp, looks around wildly. Rhys kneels next to him and cups Duncan's cheek in one hand, peers into his eyes. 'Are you okay?'
'What- Yeah. I'm fine-' Duncan pulls his legs under him, ready to fight or run, defend Rhys or get him out of danger. But there is nothing to either fight or flee from. Only trees and undergrowth all around them. Their gear stacked neatly next to them. The pool lies still in the sun, water lilies covering its whole surface. A toucan eyes them from a branch and flies off, its beak a flash of bright colour in the mottled green of the forest.
It triggers a memory for Duncan, of drifting peacefully and half asleep underwater while large fish floated by, long bodies gleaming gold in the sunlight filtering down from above. Rhys is close, hand resting in Duncan's, ponytail spread out in a weightless cloud.
The woman and the creature swim around them, incredibly graceful underwater. They belong here, are so clearly in their element Duncan feels like an intruder. The river is their home and the two of them perform a fluid dance around each other. Minimal movements of their bodies propelling them forward, just as elegant as their gestures.
The little creatures dart around them, halfway towards Duncan and Rhys and back again, quick and lithe. They flash their fins and their sharp teeth in a mock threat, retreating quickly to hide behind their parents when Rhys stretches out a hand. They immediately are back, coming just into arm's reach, daring each other to get closer. Rhys gives a laugh out of sheer delight, clear and silvery despite being underwater.
'Do you remember them?' Rhys' question brings Duncan back to dry land. Gaze unfocused, Rhys is half lost in astral space, touching something midair between them.
'Yeah. We can't talk about this, ever. Some corporation would come along, try to catch them. And they need to be here. They're a part of this.' Duncan waves, encompassing the whole rainforest.
Rhys touches Duncan's face again, fingers ghosting over his lips, followed by a kiss. 'I know. But I'm glad I get to keep this secret with you.'
They sit for a while, listening to the sounds of the forest - water dripping off leaves to the ground, birds calling to each other in the canopy, rustling in the undergrowth, a huge beetle buzzing by. Duncan feels they have been extended an invitation to stay and he savours every little detail in a way he hasn't before.
It's almost like his senses are heightened, everything coming into sharp focus the moment he pays attention to it. Ants crawling among the leaf litter, a squirrel scampering up a tree, a mushroom spreading a cloud of spores when a drop of water hits it. A frog jumping from a lily pad with a splash, a bright orange bird flitting down to the ground to pick up a twig and then up again. It leaves a glowing trail behind it.
The lush green of the leaves grows more intense, leaking out into the air. Rhys almost blends into it next to Duncan, but the green swirling around him has a strong golden shine to it. All of this should freak Duncan out but he just sits and takes it all in, breathing slowly, touching Rhys' hand, auras reaching out. They melt into each other until Duncan barely can't tell the difference between them.
It's slow to fade and Duncan can't say how long it lasts or pinpoint when it ends. But eventually things are back to normal. There's a little regret but mostly, Duncan simply appreciates having been given this. He hugs Rhys to himself hard and they sit in comfortable silence, slowly coming back to themselves.
They are finally disturbed by Rhys' stomach rumbling and Duncan laughs. He nuzzles into Rhys' neck, places a kiss below his ear. 'Let me see if I can rustle something up that isn't energy bars.'
He rummages around in their cooler, sorting through their provisions. 'Hey, did you eat all the hard-boiled eggs already?'