All That Glitters

"No, I...u-used the last of it to chase...chase you. As a..hawk." Sam explained, the annoyance and sadness in his voice clear in it's tone. It seemed such a waste now, but he had not known at the time he wouldn't have a chance to take the powers again. He hadn't realised how much he'd grown used to being able to transform or use Remi's magic when he desperately needed to, how much he'd loved the security of having those abilities just in case. This realisation made him quiet, his sadness between them creating a tension he could feel. It took the shape of the wall that had grown there since Remi forgot him, reminded him of just how wrong it all was-- No. Sam wasn't going to wallow. He was going to fix. With Herculean effort he smiled politely and asked Remi about recent orders at his shop. This lead them to talk about the awkwardness of some customers, then what was offensive in different worlds, then the social norms of the place they lived...when Sam wasn't trying hard to make things with Remi not awkward, they actually weren't. Finally, catching him almost by surprise, he realised they were coming to the beginnings of the Labyrinth. He had only been here once as a child on a dare and never again, and it looked just like it had in his nightmares, twisting trees looking menacing in the moonlight. For the first time in a few hours he wished he could hold Remi's hand. But he still felt the pulling, the need to enter. With a glance to Remi he tried to look confident. "...Um. So...we sh-should go in." Samuel At seventeen, I started to starve myself I thought that love was a kind of emptiness And at least I understood then the hunger I felt And I didn't have to call it loneliness