Chapter 4
They'd all been having a very nice time. Of course it wouldn't last.
They'd been laughing and splashing water on each other, enjoying the sunshine and the wetness and jumping with the waves. The fact that they had an epic mission for the good of humanity and the balance of the universe didn't mean that they couldn't occasionally have some fun, right?
It was just the four of them, Makkari, Kingo, Sprite and Druig, having some laughs. Yes, even Sprite was having a good time, because for once they were doing something where she could be included without any weird looks and any suspicion and she didn't have to make lovey-dovey eyes at each other the whole time. Something was definitely going on between Druig and Makkari too, but that was more acceptable. They were allowed.
And they were fun! Not afraid of breaking a rule, of losing track of the mission, and not going more gentle on her because she happened to have a smaller body. They played some games splash wars and the others were absolutely brutal, which made her feel better, more included. Druig could be moody and dark sometimes, but he also was someone that had your back, and knew what to say when you were feeling bad. Probably to do with his mind thing.
And it was nice, because emotion-wise Sprite was full of conflict and envy and... She felt a lot of bad stuff, and when you live that long it can really eat at you. Sometimes she felt that wanting to be different and feel different and do different things was all that she was, all that she could think of. That, and him, always so... majestic, so decisive, so strong. Him never looking her way, always thinking about someone else.
But being with Druig and Makkari was fun. They weren't really that close, to be honest she didn't know is she even liked Druig (she did like Makkari, of course, everyone liked her) but he didn't seem to care that much. He cared about the humans, he cared about Makkari and he tried to make things go smoothly amongst them. He didn't care that much about following Arishem's rules and he did care about finding some moments of happiness.
Emotions guy and all.
And they really had been having a lot of fun, they were alone in that beach and Makkari could like make entire tsunamis for them to jump, and she could conjure up the fanciest of places for them to be having their little water trip, it had been so much fun.
But then.
Something was suddenly wrong. (A disturbance in the force)
There was something missing, the was something that was not right. Sprite looked around and saw Kingo marveling at his reflection in the water (ok, he wasn't always this self-absorbed, he was a great listener and a decent story teller too, but sometimes it was plain old funny) and Makkari was doing some weird figures with the bubbles and her speed and...
"Where's Druig?"
Where was he indeed. No one could see him around, which was odd, if he'd gone out they would have seen him leave, right? And he didn't have super speed to go so fast that they hadn't seen him.
Huh.
With an almost too quick to see movement, Makkari found him underwater and unresponsive and took him out. Fuck. This was so not good.
There was something red, what looked like a kind of sting on one of his legs - they knew that the reason humans didn't come here was mostly because of the jellyfish, tiny but able to kill a fully grown human with a sting, but they hadn't thought that it would affect them. They were Eternals! They were beyond all of that.
But the truth was, they were all quite radically different amongst each other, and the same laws didn't apply to each and every one of them. That jellyfish would probably had died trying to get to Ikaris, maybe even Gilgamesh, but Druig... he was just the mind guy. And he was quite a decent warrior, too, but apparently that didn't come with enhanced defences.
moving, that woman, always with a plan and a smile and a story to tell... And now she was looking at the white-as-death Druig, thrown on the sand with his eyes closed and not moving. She was looking at him like was the end of the world, and something inside of Sprite broke.
She'd spent so long wishing for things she didn't or couldn't have, she'd forgot to look around her, and see what she already did. A friend full of happiness and love, who could take you anywhere you wanted, with a smile. And someone that knew how to make things better, and see things from a different perspective - someone who make all the thoughts a tiny bit tidier. (She had people who apparently were in love too who weren't rubbing it in her face) (shouldn't take something like that for granted).
Kingo took control. Put his head in Druig's chest, but felt nothing. (That was one of the reasons why Makkari was so freaked out too, there was almost no vibrations coming from him and it was the most frightening feeling ever)
"We should try and get him breathing" Kingo said. "You know about resuscitation, right?"
I can't do it. I would do it too fast, I would hurt him.
"Bring us Ajak"
And then she was gone.
"Sprite." Oh, dear. "I'm also afraid of hurting him, I don't always know the limits of my strength and... you should do it."
For once, her stupidly tiny body was good for something. Not too fast, not too strong.
But boy, was she scared too. Because if this didn't work... Ajak couldn't cure dead people.
So she started doing the movements (compressions, were they called?) and hoped against hope that Druig would come out of his slumber, wake up again, show them his stupid eyes and his stupid face. She had to bring him back.
And Sprite was doing what she was told to, and realizing... well, many things. Had she ever given Druig a chance? Or had she decided, that because Ikaris didn't like him she shouldn't like him either? That was so wrong. She complained about wanting a family but maybe, just maybe it had been her who'd been closed up the family she actually could have had, the brothers and sisters.
Kingo was almost crying, because nothing was happening. Sprite was using all her strength and Druig was just taking it, without moving, without doing anything.
Sprite was thought about what would happen if the man under him never woke up. Makkari would lose part of her spark, that was for certain. There would be no one to say the right thing anymore, just tension and sorrow... they actually needed Druig more than anyone had thought, didn't they? Even her.
So she kept on, and kept on and kept on....
Makkari and Ajak were back, quick as lightning. The jellyfish sting was healed, but he still was... well, drowned.
"Keep at it." Ajak said and there was an air of sadness in the air, of loss...
And so she kept at it, because there may be a lot of the things she couldn't do... But she could still a friend, she could get Makkari that thing she missed the most back, and she could make her family whole again.
So she kept at it.
Seconds felt like eons when nothing was happening.
Until it did.
He sprung back to life, coughing and retching water, and Makkari started crying tears of joy, and hugged the still dazed Druig.
It had been a close call, and it had also been a wake up call.
Maybe Sprite could learn to stop rotting in her jealousy, appreciate the friend she did have.
(that decision lasted until she saw Ikaris and Sersi kissing again, the idiots) (but then... she looked at Druig and he rolled his eyes at the happy couple and maybe being an Eternal and being the Eternal she happened to be wasn't that bad. Not always)
Also jellyfish were evil, and maybe she could keep a couple of illusions behind Druig when they fought to protect him.
Maybe.