"Home"

ARC POV

We were home, finally. Night time has fallen, and the rest of the town was already quiet, save for the soft echoes of the piano coming from the tavern across our house. Soothing music, nonetheless, so I didn't mind.

Echoing aside from the music was the soft purring of a sleeping Luneth, who was across the room with his back facing me. Suddenly I took me back to when I last shared this room with him, the night before he encountered the Crystal in the cave. Much has happened since, and if anything, I've become more of a coward.

All those books I've read during our travels and battles I've fought with him were still not enough to give me the strength to tell him. Earlier, he told me how great I did during our adventure, that I fought well, but did I really? My mind, it has always amplified what he said. It always sounded melodious. I figured maybe it wasn't worth it to dwell upon.

I looked up to the ceiling, hazy and tired. I let out a breath I didn't realize I've been holding. Being in Ur once again has triggered much a memory, now I let a particular one dwell in my dreams as I drifted off.

"Hey Arc..." I heard Luneth's whispers from across the room. The dainty lamp beside the doorpost emitted a soft glow. It was in perfect balance with the calming silence of the night; besides Luneth's soft voice the only sound was the dripping water outside from the recent drizzle.

Our room in Elder Topapa's hut was quite crammed, with all the piles of books and wooden cabinets, which altogether gave out a familiar musty scent. Luneth lay opposite of me, on his own little sleeping mat. It was the middle of the night, judging from his being awake; he had stopped tossing and turning in his sleep, now he was up, giddy, and calling to me.

I whispered back, "what is it?" He heard, and I saw him beam.

"Thank the gods you're awake!" I shushed him, but he was already turning his mat over, and in a moment he had brought himself with his blanket to my area and has sat next to me on my sleeping mat.

"L-luneth! Why are you here?" I said as softly as I could. Elder Topapa might just be in the next room for all we knew - we didn't need another scolding for waking him up. "Go to your own space."

"I couldn't sleep, okay? I suddenly had this great idea for an adventure." I could see his smirk growing even in the faint lighting. "You know the cave by the—"

"Cave?!" I shook my head. "Please, Luneth, not now..." I replied, sullenly. The thought of caves was terrifying to both me and Luneth, but at least it gratified his penchant for thrills, which I unfortunately did not have the same liking for.

"This is so much better, so hear me out," he insisted. "You know the cave just outside of town?"

"W-well, yes ... I suppose..." I stammered. "What about it?"

"There are some goblins along the way; they should be easy to get rid of." He paused and thought for a moment. "But I've heard that people have seen bombs too ..."

I snapped. "Bombs?!"

"Yeah, Arc! But it's-" Luneth was cut off by the sound of locks clanking and of the floor outside our room creaking. It alarmed us both that we froze in place.

"Shh, that has to be Topapa!" I warned Luneth. "Go back to sleep!"

"Darn it ..." He sighed. "I'll just sleep here, Arc. Can you move? Come on, before he gets here!"

I rolled my eyes. He quickly pulled his blanket and gently pushed me to the edge and lay down next to me. His warmth was comforting, inviting... He pretended to sleep and snore as he heard Topapa's footsteps get closer.

I felt him tug the back of my robe. I followed, lying back down, but this time he was there, lying next to me. As I was about to close my eyes it occurred to me how close he was. No, not too much, but he was there, close enough for me to feel his breath on my neck. A slight burning tinge grew across my face, and my heart raced. Despite this, I closed my eyes, knowing Luneth has done the same.

We felt the door open, and heard the elder's curious tapping on the post, probably checking if we were the ones making noise. It went on for a while, but after which he shut the door once again, and then there was the sound of his footsteps fading into resuming silence. Once it was gone, I turned around to look, and sure enough, my best friend had completely fallen asleep.

And so he continued with his slumber . . . needless to say I could barely bring myself to do the same now with him next to me like that. I lay down with my back facing him, but I did feel the urge to actually turn towards him. I could then just gaze peacefully at his angelic face all night long …

No. It was not the time for that. There was never a time for that. Not really, in this universe we were in. Could someone be strong enough to destroy an entity of the void, but still cower at this thought? Perhaps, in some other reality, I was brave enough to do that, as well. But not here, not now…perhaps not ever.

-x-