Chapter 5

𝙲𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚍

Max decided that he didn't like this woman. For the duration of his stay in the lobby of the police station, she had been sending him looks. Not the good kind either.

He figured she was probably a werewolf - or shapeshifter of some sort - as she came in with the sheriff. She also called him 'dad' and sat directly outside his office, which Proctor was waiting in.

Proctor decided he didn't want Max in there, he wasn't sure why his boss didn't want him in there. But, he wasn't about to argue with a very, very old Mage who was - for some reason - afraid of a big cuddly Moose.

When Max turned to face her, she looked away from him. He decided to ignore her for the phone in his hand. He was playing BrokenBuilders, a survival game where you were tasked with different things to do to keep distracted from the horrible reality that your life was a mess.

He sighed, setting down his phone and looking at her, "What's up?"

"You're Max, right?" She asked, quickly moving over to sit next to him.

"Who's asking?" Max looked into her eyes. A mistake. They. Were. Beautiful. Green with a hint of blue.

"Grace. We go to school together. You're friends with my brother." Max tried to remember her. He couldn't. He couldn't remember a single thing about her.

"I'm sorry. I can't recall." She looked slightly sad and slumped in her seat, facing forward.

"Yeah. That sounds about right." She sighed, "I'm very forgettable."

"I wouldn't say that." Max commented. She instantly perked up.

"Why'd you come to the station? I've never seen you here before." She questioned.

"My boss is talking to your dad." She seemed to perk up even more.

"My dad? You know who my dad is?" She seemed… excited.

"Uh, not personally. I've only talked to him once or twice." Grace nodded.

"Who's your boss?" She asked.

The door of the office opened. Proctor walked out, "That's my boss."

Max stood and waited as Proctor said his goodbyes. Grace stood as well, she stood just tall enough to be able to stand under Max's chin if she wanted.

As Proctor and Max walked out of the station, Max noticed the blonde man once more. He pointed him out to Proctor, who looked confused, "There's no one there, Red. Not even a magic signature."

"I can see him, Boss." The man smiled at Max, then vanished again. Why did he keep leaving as soon as he was noticed? Was he dumb or something? You're supposed to leave before you get noticed by the person you're stalking.

"Then, definitely a god." Proctor commented. He flicked Max's forehead and entered his car.

Proctor dropped Max off at his house, "I have to go, Red. It's been too long since anything has happened here, it's not viable for me to stay anymore. If you need help, I'll come. Just call or force mana into your ring."

"Alright, Boss. I'll let you know if I need help." Max would still investigate. The only body that had dropped was the one girl he liked in this damned town. Proctor nodded to Max and drove off.

Max groaned as he was shot off his feet. He had been training his Magic in the snowy woods in the early morning. Ever since Proctor showed up he would get up early and practice, he decided to repeat this even after Proctor left.

He was surprised when he was picked up. Behind him was a Moose - the same one who seemed to hate Proctor. He rubbed its snout, "Hey, there."

"He seems to like you." The voice startled Max. He turned quickly. Standing there in the snow was a woman with long black hair and blue eyes. She seemed to notice Max's discomfort, "My name is Poiahia. I'm the Goddess of Nature."

"I know who you are." She raised a brow at him. The Moose brushed his back, pushing him towards her.

"Hey, stop." The Moose seemed upset at Max for telling him to stop. As if it was doing the right thing.

The Moose snorted and pushed him again. He stumbled right in front of the woman. She looked him up and down, "You are your father's son."

"What the hell does that mean?" Max asked indignantly.

"Just that you have a great amount of Magic talent." She sighed, "It's a shame that he could not be here. I'd have liked to see his face as I ripped you from his grasp."

She reached towards Max, and he flooded his ring with Mana. The world turned inverted, and Proctor popped out of a rift in space. He looked at the Goddess and clicked his tongue, "Oh, it's you."

He sighed, seemingly disappointed, "Why are you here, Poiahia? You aren't allowed on Earth."

"Proctor." She spat, "Why am I not surprised to find you lurking around powerful beings?"

"They usually cause problems that I have to clean up. Now, leave." Proctor waved his hand at her, a dismissive gesture. She gritted her teeth, but did as she was told.

If she disturbed Earth too much, say killing a Watcher, she'd be punished. Watchers aren't governed by the gods, but by the two forces of the universe that even the Gods had to cower before. Eternity and Infinity. Put simply, they were the embodiment of Time and Space, respectively.

The twins - beings that bowed to no one - protected, oversaw, and headed the Watchers. Proctor had explained that to Max. So while there were gods of Space, Time, and everything in between. Nothing came close to them. Nobody dared to piss them off. They were his Boss's Bosses.

So, like, his Grand-Bosses. Or something to that effect. Max kind of wondered what would have happened to him had never met Proctor. What would have happened if he declined Proctor's offer?

He'd probably be kidnapped, or worse, killed. Max breathed a sigh of relief, "Thanks, Boss. I thought I was gonna die."

"I doubt your mother would have killed you." Proctor once again - somehow - broke Max's brain. That lady was his birth-mother? She was crazy. The Moose was a nice touch, though. He always liked animals, especially cuddly, furry animals.

Max looked over at the Moose that was still frozen in time. It looked so peaceful. He wanted to reach out to touch it, but Proctor stopped him.

Max fell backwards, landing in the snow. Surprisingly, it was still soft, even frozen in time. He sat in the snow and looked at the Moose, "My mother? That was my mother? That crazy bit-"

"Watch your mouth." For the first time, Proctor had stopped Max from cursing. He even seemed angry.

"What?"

"She may be rather rude, but she still birthed you."

"Then shipped me off so she didn't have to deal with me." Max quipped back.

"Granted, their methods of concealment were strange. However, I'm sure they had good reasons."

"So, what am I supposed to become? The God of Family Issues?" Max laid back into the snow, it was cold but it felt good. He stared into the sky.

Proctor didn't answer him, instead the inverted colors returned to normal. The Moose nudged Max, then laid down next to him. The Moose kept him a bit warm in the snow.

"I thought I'd find you here." Another female voice woke up Max, he opened his eyes.

"Grace? How'd you find me?" Max didn't move from his spot in the snow. The Moose was nowhere to be found.

"Jake told me you came here to train. I figured that with your mentor leaving, you'd come to the place that you went with him to train everyday." Grace sat in the snow next to Max. For Max, he liked the cold. Grace didn't seem to be bothered either.

"So you came out here in the cold, just to find me?" Grace chuckled. She seemed nervous, "What's wrong?"

"I-I, I like this guy. He didn't even know I existed, until I suddenly met him the other day. We talked, he didn't seem to notice how I looked at him, just that I was looking at him. I'm not sure what to do." She traced her finger in the snow.

Max sat up and looked over at her, "This guy sounds like an idiot. You should grab him and tell him how you feel. Next time you see him, go up and tell him exactly what you want."

She nodded. Max noticed her blush slightly. She got up, then began to walk away. He sighed. He was finally alone again.

He wondered where that Moose went. He liked that Moose. It was quiet, furry, warm, and cuddly. He looked around. There was nothing but empty trees and the snowy ground. It was about midday, so Max just laid back down.

"I should probably do something today." He laid his arms back and used them as a pillow. With a sigh, a blob of Mana appeared above his head. The blob revolved and twisted, turning into many different types of shapes.

"Or… not." Max let the Mana ball go, and it fell onto his face. The Mana wasn't wet or sticky or anything. It just kind of slid off his face and fell into the snow. It then dissipated.

He lifted his arms and reached for the sky, "Why do I feel so… lost?"

He dropped his arms. They flopped into snow on either side of him. He closed his eyes, but couldn't fall back to sleep.

When he got back home, James and Helen weren't there. He opened the front door, and slumped slightly. He didn't feel right. As if something was wrong with him. His birth-mother was willing to kill him. He was sure of that.

Either that, or train him as a soldier against his father. He wasn't sure which was worse. He felt like there was a newly formed pit in his heart. It was as if the death of Theodosia finally hit him.

And - by god - did it hit hard. He went up to his room, Duke following behind him. The dog jumped on his bed as he grabbed a towel from the rack and turned on the shower.

He set the towel on the counter and undressed. He made sure the bathroom door was locked and entered his shower.

He sat in the running water. He clutched his knees, the warmth of the water doing nothing to dull his pain. Silent tears flowed, and he shook slightly.

His dad was right, he needed to talk. The problem was, nobody knew what he was going through. Not even him. He leaned to the left, against the cold wall. The tiles were hard but he didn't mind.

Why was everything hitting him now? He was fine when she died. He was… wasn't he?

Max drew in a shaky breath, knowing it would be better to not die just yet. Especially not naked, in a shower, due to lack of oxygen.

His eyes were red, and he closed them tightly. He wanted nothing more than to go back in time and stop Theodosia from going to that damned cave.

There came a knock on his bedroom door. Jake's voice sounded loudly, "Max. Are you in there? Your front door was open."

He forgot to close the door. Honestly, that was low on his list of priorities. He stayed silent. Breathing slowly in the shower.

"I can hear the shower, Max." Jake shouted. He pounded on Max's bedroom door. Max could tell that Jake was worried. He just didn't know why. Max wasn't worth the trouble of being worried over. Was he?

"Max." He heard Grace's voice come from the door as well. He opened his eyes and looked towards the bathroom door. It and the door of his bedroom were the only things between them.

He really didn't want them here right now. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? He wasn't worth their time. The sound of crashing came, along with a grunt.

"Sorry, Max." He could hear Jake's voice. They were in his room now.

He pushed Mana into his ring. The world didn't change. Instead, Britain seemed to be on the other side of his bathroom door, "I'm sorry. It appears Red has been cursed. I'll take care of it."