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 Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 8:25 am
Backdated to the night of January 3, 2026 Ephesus had told himself that the walk would calm him down. That the fresh air would make it easier to breathe, that if he kept his focus on the warmth of Amarynthos’s hand in his, the anxiety that bubbled in his chest might finally ease.
They didn’t.
He tried to make it look like they did, though. Tried to keep his expression bright as they followed the quiet street toward Northpoint.
The soft pulse of an aura flickered faintly at the edge of his senses.
Ephesus slowed, his brows knit. There was a pull of curiosity as he turned to peer down the street. The aura felt like a Page, and it was moving in the same direction they were.
“Do you think it’s Rose?” he asked quietly.
He hesitated, biting at his lower lip, then glanced back up at Amarynthos. “We should check, right? Just in case?”
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 8:31 am
“Oh, it might be,” Amarynthos agreed, though he thought her aura might feel a bit more familiar by now. This one was strange, a little foreign. Like any other energy signature he’d expect to find while out and about. But, he humored Ephesus–not because he thought he was wrong, but because it was the first time he’d seemed to perk up since they started off towards Northpoint.
Ephesus was being a good sport about it, of course. Amarynthos could just tell how deeply dread seemed to creep into his bones. More than once, Amarynthos had wanted to assure that they didn’t have to go–there were plenty of people already planning on showing up.
But, Ephesus hadn’t asked, and Amarynthos knew how common it was for him to push through his discomfort to rise to the occasion.
Ephesus wasn’t weak, not by any stretch of the word. He just carried his strength with vulnerability. Sometimes it was easy to mistake it, if you didn’t know him.
If checking to see if this was Rose bought Ephesus any ounce of confidence, or even just another moment of calm, of course Amarynthos would oblige. He swung their hands together with more enthusiasm. “Let’s check it out,” he agreed, smiling warmly.
It didn’t require much effort. They’d hardly made it more than a few steps when someone turned the corner in front of them.
Most notably, not a Knight of Lysithea–but it was impossible to mistake the colors of Ganymede.
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 8:31 am
Ephesus nearly stopped short when the Page came into view. For a breath, all he could do was stare, the realization settling that it wasn’t Rose at all, but rather someone he didn’t recognize.
“Oh--!”
The sound escaped him before he could help it, a startled little breath that softened quickly into a sheepish smile. He shifted his grip in Amarynthos’s hand, letting the familiar touch keep him steady as he took a small step forward.
“Hi,” he said, his voice light and sincere. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to surprise you. I thought you might’ve been someone we knew.”
He glanced over the stranger’s outfit, noting the Ganymede colors and symbols with quiet curiosity.
“Are you… heading toward Northpoint too?” he asked, his tone more hopeful than suspicious. “I’m Ephesus, and this is Amarynthos. It’s nice to meet another knight out here.”
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 8:32 am
“Oh,” the Ganymede page mimicked, but with a sort of delighted joy. “Are you psychic, too? Or did someone tell you to keep an eye out for me?”
He doubted it, considering Ephesus said they were expecting someone else.
“Lyon,” he said, placing a hand on his chest. He had a lollipop dangling from between his lips and pushed it to the side of his mouth so he could speak around it.
“I was worried I might be too early so I’ve been trying to kill time by making rounds over here. But if you two are headed there, let me tag along?”
“Oh, sure,” Amarynthos answered, filing away that someone had invited him. Lyon had not offered the name but he supposed it probably wasn’t out of maliciousness. Lyon hadn’t seemed surprised when they mentioned Northpoint so he doubted he was being deceptive about the situation.
Still, Amarynthos looked at Ephesus for approval, even if he doubted he’d offer any sort of rejection. Maybe having a newcomer–a page, at that–would help ease his nerves.
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 8:32 am
Ephesus blinked at the question, momentarily surprised before quiet giggles bubbled up. “Psychic? No, nothing like that,” he said with a shake of his head. “But it seemed like you were heading the same way we were, so it was just a lucky guess.”
He shuffled his feet a little as though he was embarrassed at having jumped to conclusions, but smiled again, bright and genuine. “It’s nice to meet you, Lyon. We didn’t expect to cross paths with anyone we didn’t already know.”
He glanced up at Amarynthos for a moment, like a silent exchange of reassurance before he looked back at Lyon.
“Of course you can tag along. It’ll be nice to have company,” he smiled, tilting his head curiously at the other knight. “So you’ve heard about Northpoint too? How did you hear about it?”
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 8:32 am
“Oh, are you guys that tight-nit?” Lyon asked, tilting his head thoughtfully as he observed the two of them. “I mean, that you didn’t think you’d run into someone new. I hope Northpoint isn’t a big secret? I’m still pretty new to all of this. I ran into Reims a little while ago and asked if he could show me the ropes. Don’t tell him I said anything nice about him, I think it makes him squeamish.”
Amarynthos laughed but tried to cover his mouth with his wrist to silence himself. He wound up nodding a few seconds later. “Oh, he gets like that. But don’t worry, we’ll play it cool.”
Lyon smirked, walking in step with the two Knights as they continued towards Northpoint. The lollipop was back in his mouth but this time he just spoke around it. “He sent me a letter, it just popped up. I thought that was really neat. And, I was free tonight, so I thought, sure. I wanted to meet up with more people, anyway. I’ve only run into youma so far. And Reims, and a Velencian, who was really nice.”
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 8:32 am
Ephesus’s face lit up at the mention of Reims. “Oh, you’ve already met? That’s great,” he said, clearly pleased. “He’s dependable. Serious, but in a good way. I’m glad he sent for you.”
There were a lot of things Ephesus knew Reims was trying to make up for. But for him to actually invite someone new to join them? Maybe he was softening up more than he’d expected of him.
The word Velencian gave him pause. His fingers tightened slightly around Amarynthos’s, and a flicker of something unreadable crossed his eyes before he could smooth his expression with a soft smile. “You met a Velencian? I’m glad they were really nice. Oh, um… we’ve met some before. Sort of. Not directly. We were only Pages when we went to a place with robots and, well… it wasn’t the best circumstances. It was a long time ago.”
It seemed a lifetime ago when Ephesus had to learn the hard truth that not everyone could, or should, be saved. He hoped they wouldn’t have to experience that choice themselves, but he was aware of the possibility.
He smiled a bit brighter as they walked. “Anyway, it’s nice having more people around tonight. I think we’ll be glad for the company if Northpoint turns out to be as strange as everyone’s been saying. I guess this place is supposedly so abandoned that I didn’t think we’d cross paths with anyone who hadn’t been invited. But you were invited, so I guess I wasn’t far off!”
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 8:32 am
Lyon tilting his head in amusement. Mostly, it was because Ephesus was a strange combination of bubbly and jittery. It was endearing–and not just to him.
Amarynthos was regarding Ephesus with a soft gaze, maybe trying to be suave about it, but Lyon thought it was pretty obvious. As if Amarynthos didn’t have every millimeter of Ephesus’ face memorized already. Lyon nearly scoffed, not in disgust, but at just how sickeningly obvious these two were.
Still, he smiled, and was glad for the lollipop in his mouth so he didn’t have to try to hide his smirk.
“The Velencian I met was working on a robot thing. It was kinda cute. He was a medic, he helped me after a youma got me. Hey, do you guys do a lot of ‘Haunted Destiny City’ excursions? I’m pretty interested in that sort of thing. I hope if I do a good job tonight, you’ll invite me for more,” Lyon laughed, now walking with a bit of a skip in his step. He certainly seemed excited enough, even if he wore a very lazy, complacent expression as he meandered alongside them.
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 8:33 am
Ephesus couldn’t help but giggle softly at Lyon’s enthusiasm -- it was contagious!
“You’re braver than I am,” he admitted, his voice soft and a bit sheepish. “I usually avoid haunted anything. I get scared pretty easily. I used to think I liked spooky stories, but then last year we tried to go to this Halloween event downtown and I almost cried when the fog machines started.”
He smiled up at Amarynthos at the memory, equal parts sheepish and amused. “He had to walk me out the side door,” he confessed, voice dropping to a whisper as if he were keeping a secret. He felt bad for ruining a fun evening, but his boyfriend seemed just as content watching Casper on the couch with him instead.
“I’m a lot better with nice things. You know, like those magical cafes that show up sometimes? There was one… was it last winter? With hot chocolate that made you sneeze snowflakes. If something like that shows up again, we’ll have to invite you. Much better than running from ghost, at least for me”
He squeezed Amarynthos’s hand, moving just close enough so their shoulders bumped together. The motion seemed to calm him.
“But I think you’ll do great tonight. And if it turns out Northpoint really is haunted… well, at least we’ll be together.”
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 8:33 am
“Oh, you’re cute,” Lyon said, but before Amarynthos could even look at him, Lyon said, “In a platonic, affectionate way. I can obviously see that you two are very intimate. I’m not trying to make it weird.”
“Hm?” Amarynthos glanced at Lyon. “Oh, no. You’re right. Effie is cute. I can’t get mad at you for speaking the truth. You should tell him that more often,” he said, and leaned over to present a smattering of kisses atop Ephesus’ crown. “If Northpoint is haunted, I’ll protect you. Both of you,” Amarynthos promised.
And oh,, what a goody-two-shoes he was, thought Lyon smugly. He wanted to say that he didn’t need protection, but there was a very obvious difference between his magic and Amarynthos’. He was going to need to get stronger, fast.
Not that he didn’t want to be swept off his feet by handsome Knights! But, come on. Not him. He couldn’t even flirt with Amarynthos, he wouldn’t take the bait. Maybe Ephesus, Lyon could probably get him to squirm, but that didn’t seem fair.
“You two have a really healthy relationship, don’t you?” he asked, teeth clacking around the lollipop as he held it in place, tucked into the corner of his mouth.
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 8:33 am
Ephesus made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a squeak when Lyon called him cute, his cheeks immediately flushing pink.
“Oh--! Um, thank you,” he stammered, ducking his head a little, although there was no hiding the bright smile tugging at his lips. “That’s really sweet.”
Any chance he had to recover his composure vanished as Amarynthos leaned down and peppered kisses into his hair. The giggle that escaped was light and happy, bubbling up before he could stop it.
“See?” he squeaked breathlessly, his cheeks warm. “Now you’ve made me blush.”
He squeezed Amarynthos’s hand again, before glancing back at Lyon, his eyes still bright with delight. “We try,” he said in earnest. “I think we’re really lucky. We make a good team.”
His expression softened further, full of genuine affection. “And I think you’ll fit right in with everyone, too. You’re easy to talk to. That’s not an easy thing, these days.”
He looked between them both, his smile shifting to something a little shy again. “And if you keep saying nice things like that, though, I might actually melt.”
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 8:34 am
Amarynthos only laughed. “Effie, it’s easy to make you blush,” he said, like it was his favorite hobby.
Lyon laughed, but oh, they were so sick. Gross, as per usual. So perfectly them. And people called him shameless, if only they knew. Just because Amarynthos–Elliot was a goody-two-shoes, and Ephesus–Atticus was such a shy little sweetheart, no one expected them to be so scandalous.
“I’m very good at talking,” Lyon confirmed. He didn’t need to. They could probably tell already.
But he liked to talk, so he’d said it anyway.
“If you melt, at least you’ve got your boyfriend’s hands to scoop you up again. My lips were made for saying nice things.” And bad things too, but it wasn’t like he was going to start throwing insults in Ephesus’ direction. He had more fun like this.
“You don’t have to melt for me to scoop you up,” Amarynthos mused, and since Lyon was being so inspiring and so agreeable, he gave his boyfriend next to no time before scooping him up in his arms and carrying him like a bride.
They weren’t going to have much time to get cozy like this when they started their investigation, he’d better get this all out now. After one more kiss on Ephesus’ forehead, he glanced over his shoulder at Lyon. “Sorry, I can’t help myself. You put the idea in my head so you’re complicit, too.”
“Oh, PDA doesn’t bother me. I think it’s cute,” Lyon said, nearly skipping along next to them. “It makes you seem more human. I can’t imagine being a Knight is easy. Juggling school and this, I guess it doesn’t leave a lot of room for date night, does it? Do your parents know you’re powered, or–? Well, if they do, how did you tell them? I don’t think I’ll tell mine. I don’t think they’ll notice, anyway. But I was wondering about it. You know, if I get hurt or something. I was going to ask Reims but I haven’t seen him in a while. I got his letter but I haven’t found my ring yet so I can’t write back. Yet.”
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 8:34 am
Ephesus squealed with delight when Amarynthos lifted him off the ground. He instinctively looped his arms around his boyfriend’s shoulders, laughing breathlessly as his nose brushed against his cheek.
“Mary!” he managed between giggles, pressing a few quick kisses along the side of his face. “You can’t just--! We’re in the middle of the street!”
But even as he said it, he was grinning too hard to sound like he was scolding him. He leaned in once more, soft and affectionate, before realizing Lyon was still right there. His face flushed.
“Oh-- oh no, I’m sorry! I swear we’re not always like this.”
He wasn’t convincing anyone, especially not himself. His smile stayed, sweet and a little bashful when Lyon asked about parents and date nights and everything else.
“Our parents know,” he said after a moment. “We’re really lucky. My parents are a Senshi and a Knight, and Mary’s parents have known my Knight-dad for practically forever, but were only told about everything soon after Mary and I became Knights. It’s nice having people we can trust, and people who understand what it’s like. But you’re right that it’s not always easy. Keeping your identity secret is really important. It keeps everyone safe, especially the people you love. You don’t have to tell your parents if you don’t think it’s the right time. But if you need anything, you have friends now who will help you.”
Because, of course, Ephesus decided they could be friends even if they’d only just met.
“Once you find your ring, you’ll be able to reach us anytime. We could even, um… we could tell you our names, in case something happens, you can find us,” he suggested, looking at Amarynthos to make sure he wasn’t saying anything out of line. He kept his arms around his shoulders, his fingers affectionately twisting a lock of dark hair between them.
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 8:34 am
Lyon deadpanned at them, like no amount of persuasion was going to convince him that they were not always like this. Please, they were so obvious.
Ephesus was so kind, too. What generosity. What a wonder, that the world hadn’t chewed him up and spat him out.
Or, maybe it had, and he’d still just come out kind.
Amarynthos seemed to be weighing the options, but in the end, it wasn’t a bad idea so he didn’t protest it. He was too interested in Ephesus playing with his hair, anyway, and trying to sneak a few extra kisses in before they met up with the rest of their friends.
“I’m not planning on getting into that much trouble,” Lyon assured. “Besides, what if we swap names and you find out I bully you at school or something? I should make you like me first.”
He laughed though. “You’re lucky to have parents who know, though. That must be a huge relief? I mean, especially if your parents are both involved in this whole thing?”
“Definitely beats having to sneak out,” Amarynthos agreed. “Poor Effie, would you be able to keep a secret from them, if they didn’t know? I’m glad I don’t have to lie to my parents. Plus, things get complicated because, like–what if your parents are in the Negaverse? –You know the Negaverse, right?”
“I know the Negaverse,” Lyon assured. “I don’t think my parents are the type. My dad loves his work. And my mom loves her–” boyfriend “–independence. But I guess I don’t want to worry them. They’re a little, you know.”
Or, maybe they didn’t. Their parents sounded pretty involved in all of this.
He shrugged, and his lazy smile returned, nonchalant as ever.
“Well, I guess what they don’t know won’t hurt them. I’ll have to see how long it takes them to catch me sneaking out before I decide to tell them anything.”
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 8:34 am
Ephesus’s expression softened as he offered Lyon a small, apologetic smile.
“Oh-- no, I didn’t mean your identity,” he said quickly, shaking his head. “I just meant ours. You don’t ever have to tell anyone who you are unless you want to. No one should make you feel like you owe them that.”
He glanced between the two of them, a little shy but earnest. “Not just for safety, but because it’s, well… a piece of who you are, isn’t it? Your identity, your name -- it’s important. But I can tell you’re a good person,” he added, his voice softening a little.
“And Reims wouldn’t have invited you if he didn’t think so, too. He’s… careful.” That was putting it mildly, and it came with a small, sheepish smile. “He doesn’t take chances with people. If he trusts you to be here, then I trust you, too.”
He glanced up at Amarynthos then, fondly brushing his fingers across his boyfriend’s cheek, then tucking his hair behind his ear.
“You’d probably say the same, wouldn’t you? He’s got good instincts.”
He realized too late that he was still touching him and, with a bashful giggle he drew his hand back -- although not far. “Sorry,” he said, not sounding sorry at all. “It’s nice having people to trust. And I’m really glad you’re here,” he said to Lyon, hoping to reassure him.
“Reims can be a little protective, but he’s usually right about people. So I think you’re going to fit right in. After all of this, we’ll give you our information. No one should have to figure this out on their own.”
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