Guidence

There's always going to be someone to help you through the journey no matter what.

Caleb stared in aw behind the glass window, counting all the new various choices of pastries placed about on a silver platter. There were so many to choose! Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, pumpkin, and two other flavors who's names have yet to be added in his memorable book of sweets! He started to wonder what the little cupcakes beside the tray tasted liked before he felt the familiar small tug on his pinkie. The boy's large, hopeful brown eyes hesitantly tore themselves away from the glass and beamed with delight at a larger, much older companion beside him, the distance between the two of them only a mere yard away.

The figure calmly jerked his left hand forward twice, tugging the very thin line of purple thread attached to Caleb's small finger. He waited a few more seconds before repeating his actions again, shaking his head as the younger's wish for the sweets was asked in a deep, pleading stare. It wasn't the first time he has denied any sugar for the other and it certainly won't be the last.

With a faint pout Caleb slowly removed himself away from the window, small shoes crushing loudly off the leafs scattered bellow as he started his trail down the busy sidewalk, the older simply stuffing his pale hand back into his pocket as he lead himself through the tight crowd. Caleb quickened his pace to catch up.

Fumes of smoke quickly drowned out the smell of sweets as the bakery faded out from behind, the city's gagging scent forcing the seven year old to scrunch up his pale face in discuss - It would take more than a miracle to sugar code that horrible stench!

Long after walking and bumping into unapologetic citizens, some of whom exchanging a few choices of unkind words of their own, the two had finally made it to the location of their destination. Caleb was told about this place before; A factory, a large factory, populated with hard workers and filled with large dirty machines, but he has never seen the place up close.

As long as he remembers he's been told if not once, but a hundred times over that if he was to ever step place here he would be forced to eat nothing but dinner without desert for the rest of the year. Many may call that a little over exaggerated, but Caleb would be better off dead then to actually try and question his caretakers decisions. Whatever rule was placed on him, he followed it with direct order and not a second thought to it.

"I wan't you to stay a little closer to me today." The older figure orders as blond locks turn to look up at him. He placed a pale hand onto a frail doorknob attached to the entrance way, covered in metal and dusted with the rust of it's age. He looked down at the small child. "Were only in and out of this place, alright? No sudden detours of any kind."

"What if I have to go to the bathroom?" asked Caleb, the other sighed.

"Then you can go later." He states clearly, his voice voice cold and straightforward. "After this were going home." Caleb frowned but agreed anyways, a slow nod confirming so. "Good."

The door creaked open slowly, metal sliding against the concrete underneath. Inside the factory was very dim, the floor layered with thick wooden barrels and large boxes, some opened and others tapped shut, the unclean air filling both their lungs as they stepped inside. Caleb flinched hearing a large piece metal hit the ground with an echo, a man from somewhere within the large building cursing with a shout.

The older figure momentarily looked around cautiously before heading up a narrow stairwell nearby, the attached string on his finger pulling his small companion along. The figure then skipped every other step making it to the top in no time, slipping his way through a cracked open door with Caleb close behind. He closed and locked the door with a small click before a silent void swallowed the both of them instantly, all eyes scanning the room carefully to its details.

Old furniture and bookshelves were scattered everywhere, many covered in dusty sheets disguising them. Caleb spotted a large grand window placed on the side of the wall, dull drapes attached to a an old pole above as the thin cloth pooled itself onto the wooden floor. A grin quickly came across his small face as he gently tugged on the figures dark shirt. "Jack, I think the suns coming out today!" He states with excitement.

Jack simply nodded and hastily made his way towards a small table covered in stacks of paper and countless writing utensils. He shuffled around a little through the mess, taking things here and there and carelessly tossing them aside after a single glance.

An eyebrow arced up in curiosity. "What are you doing?" Caleb asks. Jack gave him a brief side glance.

"Help me look for a small envelope with a purple ribbon attached to it."

"A purple ribbon?"

Jack nod's and moves on to the drawers of the table. "That's right."

"Who's it for?" Caleb continues.

"Me."

"What's in it?"

"Something for me. Now, can you please just help me look-"

Suddenly one of the white sheets started to shift as a large lump inside began to move, a groggy moan escaping the thin barrier interrupting all conversation. Both boy's froze and observed in silence, a second moan followed by a brief snort startled Caleb as the sheet switched into another position. Jack harshly slid one of the draws closed and clicked his tongue.

"So you are still here." He asks in an annoyed tone.

The boy watched in astonishment as the thin sheet started to speak, it's voice striking very similar to that of a young man, deep and familiar in tone. "Always have been, always will." It spoke. "If your looking for the ingredients of that bloody medicine your never going to find it. I set it on fire and tossed it into that trash bin over there."

Jack eyes widened as he turned to face the small bin placed by the window. He hastily made his way to it and reached inside, pulling out the burnt and tore remains of the pieces of paper in anger. "Why did you do this!?"

The talking sheet started to sit up and stretch, the sound of popping bones echoing off the thick walls. "I memorized it all just so you don't have to, your welcome for that by the way. Besides, you would never understand what it says despite your brilliant mind because you never cared about the wonderful world of science, something about you saying it being pointless and a waist of-" The sheet stopped mid-sentence after spotting the started little boy, a short gasp leaving it at the site. "You brought the child with you?! Here!?" It asked, sounding both startled and excited. It was hard to tell. "My goodness, did you bring him to see me?!" As the sheet began to rise Caleb cautiously started to back away, nervously glancing at Jack who did nothing but stare at him with his melancholic expression.

"Your scaring him, Nathaniel." The raven haired teen calmly states, putting the other to an abrupt halt.

"Oh! Oh, no-no it's quite alright, see? Nothing to be afraid of!" Nathaniel quickly explains before pulling off the thin cloth with a simple tug and revealing himself from underneath. He had strands of wavy brown hair that stuck out from many different and peculiar angles, some clear circular glasses slanting off the bridge of his nose above the dark rings under his eyes due to the lack of sleep. Caleb snorted a chuckle and looked away, bringing a wide smile across the brunets face. "See now, i'm not so scary. Caleb was it? It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Caleb stared blankly at the other, unsure how to approach him. He looked over to Jack again who spoke up for him once more. "I brought him along because after this i'm leaving town for a few days. He's not here for you to experiment on."

"Come now, I would never do such a thing to someone like him." Spoke Nathaniel as he calmly guided himself closer to the boy. He crouched down to his height and started to study him, chocolate brown eyes focused on blue.

The boy started to fidget, feeling slightly uncomfortable. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out, looking away in embarrassment to his actions. Jack didn't like it when he spoke out of line. Asking to many questions could get him in some serious trouble...

"How old are you, Caleb?" Nathaniel asks curiously in a gentle tone. He could see the confusion lingering within the child's bright eyes.

Caleb looked down at his shoes and started to fiddle with his fingers, fumbling as he spoke. "S-seven..."

"And a half, yes? Your birthday is coming up soon, November if i'm right." Nathaniel watched as the boy lit up in excitement, his small cheeks tinted red to compliment the thick woven scarf he wore. "So I was right!" He declared with pride. "You must feel quite proud of yourself for growing up so quickly - you've gotten stronger to, I can tell."

"How did you know my birthday was next month?" asks the very baffled child.

Nathaniel smirked and got up again, adjusting his glasses with both his middle and index finger. "Your hands, face, and hair gave it all away. You see, when someone reaches a certain age their body changes as well, even when your a year or months apart from someone there will always be a difference, the same goes for twins."

"Can you guess what day my birthday's on too?!"

"Of course! I can even tell you the exact hour you were born if you want! I can even tell you how tall your going to be when you grow up or what your expected life span should be, but I'll need a small sample of your DNA to do so and-"

"Again, he's not an experiment for you to tamper with." Jack interrupts. "Now if you please, I would like for you to write down the formula to that medicine before I go, I need it with me for the journey."

The scientist perked up and crossed his arms, turning his attention to the significant other. "That so called 'medicine' you ordered me to brew up for you last week was beyond my ability. Remember Jack, I can not create something that will only end up harming others."

"It's not meant to harm humans." Jack retorted, Nathaniel shrugged.

"Either-or, I can not do such a task. Even if you plan on using it to try and kill Emerson I still don't wan't blood on my hands, neither for a good or bad cause."

"It will be me doing the dirty work, not you."

"Yes, but being involved in such a thing like this would still make me just as guilty." The sound of heavy metal hitting the concrete floor bellow made Caleb jump in surprise, a deep voice cursing out the noise with an echo. Nathaniel chuckled. "Don't worry, that's just the junk men working down bellow. They have no idea were here so try not to pay any attention to what they say or do, it's none of our business anyway."

Caleb tilted his head in question. "What do they do?"

Jack quickly steps in before Nathaniel could answer. "They make steamed vehicles, vehicles that make you cough and gag constantly just as you step outside your house."

"Well that," continues the brunet. "And they also like to leave precious items up here from time to time. Of course, I make some good use of them for my inventions. Would you like to see my latest one?"

"Fine, but we leave soon after. We have to take a train to get were we need to be."

"Were will you two be heading off to anyways? Somewhere pleasant I hope. A resort perhaps?"

"Close." Jack pulls out a crinkled piece of paper from within his pocket and hands it to the other. "There's going to be a circus down in Crayston in a few day's. The attractions this year are the usual double headed twins, Jenny triple tongues, and the Cyclops; but there's a new member that's caught my interest."

Nathaniel adjusted his glasses again and scanned the paper thoroughly, his eyes widening in surprise. "Oh, this pamphlet shows a man eating fire. Do you find joy watching humans try and hurt themselves?" he chuckles.

"Do you see it? The mark slightly covered by the collar of his coat."

There was a small pause before he answered. "Is that the symbol of the Eagles wings? I thought they lived down further north?"

Caleb frowned, feeling left out of the two's private conversation. He never really payed attention to the strange markings others gave themselves to show off around town, it was nothing he really cared about, but he never figured Jack of all people took any sort of interest in them; maybe he thought about getting that certain marking for himself, maybe he could have one to if he was good enough. Caleb watched as his caretaker took back the pamphlet and stuffed it back into his pocket.

"They do live around the Northern area were the climate is ironically cooler. It's said the air there challenges them more to gain strength."

The scientist sighed and made his way over to a pile full of all kinds of metal and rusted scraps. It was pretty clear he wasn't very tidy person, that or he just simply didn't care about what goes were as guests were possibly limited to his standards. "Take this with you just in case he is what you say he is." he spoke over the commotion of shuffling around in his junk pile. "I can't say for certain that the mark is actually the symbol to 'that' tribe, but better safe than sorry, no?" Nathaniel pulled out a small, circular copper box decorated in in black ink, a few words on the top half of it unclear to the seven year old as it was written in such a complex way.

Jack held out his hands and caught the object as it was thrown to him from across the room, looking it over from every angle before reading the words above. "Kate's Dreams." he reads aloud, opening the lid to find small cubes of black filling the inside. He lifted his brow, looking back up at the other. "What is this?"

"That is what I like to call 'Treats'. They put out fires very quickly and can even weaken your opponent if used correctly. Just toss it at who'm ever you choose at the right moment and watch them do their magic. I tested them already so I know they work perfectly fine, nothing like those bloody Extinguisher's the junk men downstairs like to use when they have to clean up another one of their mistakes."

"Junk men?" asks Caleb, flinching when some more yelling could be heard from the room bellow.

Nathaniel sighed. "That's what I like to call the humans downstairs. There always screaming and cursing at one another, it get really irritating after a while. One of the older ones like to talk about some mistress he see's every now and then when his wife's not home. Honestly, their like needy dog's in heat sometimes."

"In heat?"

Jack handed the boy his pamphlet and glared at the brunet. "We should be going now, our train arrives at the station exactly an hour and 43 minutes from now."

"Alright, i'm not going to stop you." Nathaniel exclaims with a huff, Caleb began to wonder how lonely things could get up in a stuffy attic such as this. "Just one thing you need to know before you go."

The Copper box was stuffed into the pocket of Jack's brown jacket before he took back the crinkled piece of paper, his dark eyes harshly glaring at the other male. "What is it? Your not going to warn me about the damn candy apples again are you?"

"N-no, that's not it." The other protested. "But you really shouldn't eat them so often, to many can and will make you gravely ill again. What I wanted to tell you is..." He looked down at his bare feet, dirty and mostly covered in drops of oil, his right arm scratching the back of his scruffy head nervously. "You-you know what's out there, yeah? Just...try not to get hurt, ok? Make sure you cover up well and all that rubbish." Jack gave a simple nod and made his way towards the exit, motioning for Caleb to follow with the tug of his string. Nathaniel rolled his eyes. "Is that really necessary? I know your form of magic is special and all but using it to keep the little tike close to you like that would be considered strange in my opinion."

"That's your opinion. If I didn't do this he would wonder off again and almost get himself abducted like the last time."

"Dear me, that wouldn't be to good would it? Caleb, promise me you won't wonder off again like that. When o'l Jack here told me what happened it almost broke my heart." He clutched his chest dramatically and stumbled back a few steps. Caleb only laughed and promised that he would try. "Good boy. Your already growing up to become a wonderful gentleman!"

Jack opened the door with a creak and led Caleb out first before taking his own leave with one last final and careless goodbye. Not long after Nathaniel's sigh echoed through the now quiet room as he mindlessly made his over to the large glass window, staring out and down at the crowd of people bellow as they mingled past one another within the well expanded and cluttered city. He spots a little girl pulling at what is assumed to be her mother as she seemingly starts to beg and plead for a small teddy bear located within one of the local toy stores, the women simply ignoring the child as she continued to talk to another female companion in front of her. The child starts to whine louder in frustration before being silenced with little words as the mother presumably scolded her. Nathaniel frowns at the scene and leans himself up against the glass, pulling out a silver necklace from underneath his shirt and starting to fiddle with it between two of his fingers, blindly tracing out it's simple pattern as his mind drifts off into better thoughts.

*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)

"So your taking me to the circus today!?" Asks Caleb while Jack examines one of the local maps boarded on the sidewalk.

The teen answers in a low tone. "In a way, but not long. We'll be in and out very quickly, afterwards were going home."

Caleb started to pout. "Why so quickly? Can we at least visit the zoo area? I've never seen a lion before in person and at the library they have a huge books about them that really sound cool. They says their kings of all the other animals and they have really REALLY sharp claws that can cut through anything!"

"I highly doubt they can cut through just anything. Lions are not very common in this city or any other anyways, so I do't think they'll have one. A real one that is."

"But doesn't every circus have cool animals?"

"Not all of them." Jack pulled out the pamphlet again and flipped it over to a side that was blank. "Do by any chance have a pen?" Caleb shook his head. "Great..."

Before the younger could ask why the purple string bounded to his finger instantly disappeared, simply vanishing before his very eyes only to revive once again and quickly stretch itself in the direction it's owner was pointing to. A man standing at a near by lamp post was to busy reading the daily paper as the string stealthily reached into his dark coat pocket and wrapping itself around a cheap black pen, retracting itself in a matter of seconds and placing the utensil into the teenagers hand. As if nothing Jack started scribbling down information on the pamphlet while taking only a few glances at the map, putting the pen into his own pocket afterwards before letting out a small sigh.

"Let's go. Our train arrives in 10 minutes." He says quietly, almost in a whisper as he made his way to the station.

Caleb stood their baffled. It wasn't very often that he got to witness the other use his- magic per say, but when he did, it was all the worth while, and nothing he could think of was anymore amazing then that.

Jack saw the large grin plastered across the child's face and choked back a scowl. He hated using his magic in an open crowd such as this one, especially when someone like Caleb was also by his side, but there were just times when he hated talking to others even if it was to ask for a simple pen. As stubborn and ridiculous as that sounded, Jack just couldn't stand talking to others, humans or anyone like them just made his stomach turn and the blood lust greater.

He loathed those creatures to an extent so great, it could almost be considered maddening.

But then there was Caleb. Another human being that he refused to even touch with his own hands; a human being that walked, breathed and spoke like all the other ones, a human being who would just slowly turn into every other monster he saw on a day to day bases, and Jack was powerless to stop it. Nothing he could ever say or do would change the way the boy looked at him. He was regrettably forced to watch it all unfold as the years drag on, forced to just sit and watch this 'monster' become his enemy like all the others.

Unless he could put an end to it on time.

End the pain for both of them...

The familiar sound of Caleb's footsteps following close behind brought him out of his thoughts as he noticed the child still beaming in aw. Jack took his attention else were not even bothering to remind him not to tell anyone, he's told him and warned him enough times that the words would just be considered a broken record. "Caleb." He finally spoke up, his focus still avoiding the others bright stare. "It's not nice to steal. Understood?" Without even looking he could already see the strong nod Caleb gave him, the sense of obedience in his voice as he agreed.

"Ok!"

Author's Note

I hope you all like this so far!

Criticism is HIGHLY recommended for future chapters and even some praise or motivational support would be nice. But seriously, if there are any mistakes or misspells, please feel free to tell me. I will not curse you for all eternity and stuff for your own opinions. Thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoy the next chapter!