A groan left Makarios as he sat up in his bed, greeting the beautiful day with squinted eyes and meager smacking lips, parched for water to drink and wash away the taste of stale saliva. Placing his feet on the ground, Makarios saw the bloodied bandages he’d discarded carelessly the night before in his waste basket. He placed a hand gingerly to his side, wincing at the wound. Unfortunately, the night of the Homecoming Dance wasn’t some odd type of blur that he could barely remember. His mind replayed things in vivid detail. Every emotion, reaction, thought and moment of panic seemed etched into his mind. It prompted a few questions about his amulet that, until that night, he had been trying to push away into a mental vault. What was inside of him? He wasn’t a fool, and he couldn’t just blame it on the amulet. There was something [i]in[/i] him that was tapping into the amulet on instinct and something in [i]him[/i] that relished the thrill of that night. 

Making his way to the bathroom of his apartment, Makarios readied himself to change his bandages again. Luckily, his workout yesterday hadn’t aggravated his wound too much and there had only been a minor increase in blood. The release of physical activity always seemed to sate his mind and the amulet, even if relaxation was the best way to let his body heal. Makarios was a stubborn individual and went his own way, regardless.

[i]Except when it comes to you following in my footsteps.[/i]

He shook his head, dislodging the unwarranted thought that crept in to his mind. Gritting his teeth, he set his mind to the task at hand: changing these damn bandages.

***

[b][u]45 Minutes Later:[/b][/u]

Makarios’ last traces of grimace disappeared as he left his bathroom. That had been a long ordeal. But today, today might actually be spent resting and relaxing. Pulling on a gray long-sleeved henley shirt, Makarios headed out of his apartment, grabbing his keys and phone on the way out. The park near his place provided him with a sense of calm whenever he visited it. He had a feeling he would be hearing from Caleb sometime soon, something else Makarios wasn’t sure of. He could tell that Cal had good intentions, but Makarios wasn’t sure where his own intentions rested. Cal seemed fascinated by the thought of abilities while a part of Makarios was terrified by them. 

As much as Makarios wanted to ignore it, he knew that his days of simply ignoring his amulet, his [i]urges[/i] were coming to an end.