Rhys was exhausted and sore from a day of training with the Guardians. He’d been close to simply going home and crashing right into bed but he knew he’d end up lying awake not only for the early hour but because his mind would replay all the mistakes he had made that day. No matter how hard he tried, Rhys never felt like he was good enough and the way some of the other trainees enjoyed teasing him because of his parents, his own modelling, and his supposedly glamourous life didn’t help either. His parents were both powerful mages and he never begrudged them for not wanting to be Guardians. Hell, his dad wasn’t just a designer of fancy clothes imbued with magic but he did special orders for the Guardians as well with weaving protective spells into coats and other things.
But on tough days like this one had been, Rhys could understand why not everyone wanted to be a Guardian. He wanted to protect people but was he good enough to do so? That question plagued him regularly and did so on the entire drive home and in the shower. When he finally emerged, his muscles weren’t screaming as much and his mood had lifted enough that the thought of seeing a friend would be nice. Of course it was last minute so some had plans and others were studying or were at work.
After several attempts, Rhys gave up and, not wanting to stay in, headed back out and found himself at the mall. He didn’t need anything but it wouldn’t hurt to browse and there was a chance he’d run into someone he knew. Or someone he didn’t know.
Rhys had stopped his meandering to glance down at his phone as his dad texted to remind him of the full moon ritual he was expected to be home for the following night. He was rolling his eyes and about to reply when someone bumped into him. Since it wasn’t enough to knock him over, his instincts to protect the person hitting him were stronger than the ones to fight back and an arm shot out to loop around the woman’s waist to steady her. A hint of a smile appeared at her apology and Rhys shook his head. “No, please. I was the one that stopped in the middle of the walk way. At least let me take some of the blame. Are you all right?”
But on tough days like this one had been, Rhys could understand why not everyone wanted to be a Guardian. He wanted to protect people but was he good enough to do so? That question plagued him regularly and did so on the entire drive home and in the shower. When he finally emerged, his muscles weren’t screaming as much and his mood had lifted enough that the thought of seeing a friend would be nice. Of course it was last minute so some had plans and others were studying or were at work.
After several attempts, Rhys gave up and, not wanting to stay in, headed back out and found himself at the mall. He didn’t need anything but it wouldn’t hurt to browse and there was a chance he’d run into someone he knew. Or someone he didn’t know.
Rhys had stopped his meandering to glance down at his phone as his dad texted to remind him of the full moon ritual he was expected to be home for the following night. He was rolling his eyes and about to reply when someone bumped into him. Since it wasn’t enough to knock him over, his instincts to protect the person hitting him were stronger than the ones to fight back and an arm shot out to loop around the woman’s waist to steady her. A hint of a smile appeared at her apology and Rhys shook his head. “No, please. I was the one that stopped in the middle of the walk way. At least let me take some of the blame. Are you all right?”
