AN: Thanks so much PoptartsAreMagic and Terron145 for reviewing the previous chapter!

Chapter 25:

Varuna stifled a yawn as he rubbed his eyes. Being a researcher was a tough job sometimes.

Not only was the lands of Sacred Mountains different to that of the Scarlett Pillars, the items that could be found and harvested there were also starkly different. Take the Crimson Apple for example. As the name suggested, it was a stark red. How something so colourful could grow in a place so white was surprising.

Also surprising that anything could grow there at all!

The icy conditions of the falling snow and hazardous winds have made travel and mapping the region next to impossible. Not fully impossible, but it most certainly wasn't going to be easy.

Only one cave had been found so far, a dangerous little place where taking the wrong path would lead to sustaining painful injuries thanks to the jagged rocks and ice. Falkner was the one to figure out that following the bats that dart around was the surest way of choosing the path of less pain.

Stifling yet another yawn, Varuna wondered if he should wander down stairs to the kitchen and brew himself a pot of peppermint tea in order to keep him awake. After all, new lands meant new items. And he needed to keep up with demand.

Pulling his hair into a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck, Varuna turned his attention back to his work. However, the sound of someone approaching his room and then a deep sigh pulled him back.

"Hard at work once again."

Glancing over at the doorway, Varuna was only mildly surprised to see Bryce standing there, leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded across his chest.

"I'm trying to figure out how eating Snow Turkey or Royal Turkey increases strength, but decreases health," Varuna explained as he turned his attention back to his research. "There doesn't seem to be any toxins involved, so maybe there is a chemical that interferes with the neurological system."

Bryce nodded his head idly, Varuna's explanation seemingly going over his head before he unfolded his arms and stepped into the room. "Oh, hey, you were right about the Crimson Apple," he commented as he drew closer. "We fed it to a FOE and it instantly got sick. A lot easier to deal with."

"Thought so," Varuna murmured with a self-satisfied smile. "It is a strange piece of fruit, alright. When handled correctly, it can actually increase one's resistance to poison. I need to do more study on it later."

Again, Bryce nodded his head as he glanced around the room idly. He then turned his attention back to Varuna and surprised him by asking, "Need any help?"

Varuna abruptly turned his full attention to Bryce, both stunned and shocked. "Pardon?"

"Look, you keep talking about these items," Bryce answered roughly, appearing just a little embarrassed but tried to hide it by looking casual. "So it only makes sense that I learn a thing or two as well. Might as well actually know what you're talking about."

For a few drawn out moments, Varuna simply gazed at Bryce in silence. He was a little surprised, to say the least. But what Bryce said made a bit of sense. "Ah, ok, sure. How about you jot down my findings?"

"Sure," Bryce said with a shrug as he picked up and pen and slid a writing pad over in front of him.

Varuna turned his attention back to his work, unable to stop a small smile from gracing his lips. "Ok, so in regards to the Snow Turkey…"

Working with a partner was surprisingly easier than he thought it would be. Varuna could just voice his findings instead of pulling away from his work to write them down himself. Sometimes, especially when he was working too hard and too long, what he wanted to relay from his head would somehow get lost as he tried to write it down. But simply mumbling or muttering aloud was a lot quicker to get through his work.

"That's all I can do with this sample," Varuna murmured as he set aside the Snow Turkey and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease out a bit of tension and stiffness.

"Writing research papers are more tedious than I thought it would be," Bryce muttered, rubbing his writing hand.

"The paperwork always sucks," Varuna chuckled as he turned around to perch himself on the edge of the table. "It has to be pretty full on to prove, not to the Count, but the council that our work is completely trustworthy."

While the Count was absolutely thrilled with any kind of work or research that Varuna and his brothers complete, the council were filled with snooty little snobs that wanted hard facts and indisputable evidence. They could be so frustrating and petty sometimes. Varuna rarely dealt with them, thankfully. The desire to curse one of the bastards might be too powerful to overcome.

Although, they had a healthy fear of Isiah. After all, Isiah was the head medical researcher, someone that other medics and healers turned to for advice, and one should never, ever piss off the man who knew more than a hundred ways that the body could experience pain.

"So, what made you want to become a toxicologist anyway?" Bryce suddenly asked him.

Varuna blinked. "…Why?"

Bryce shrugged casually. "Just curious."

Varuna thought about it for a moment. No one had ever asked him that question before…No one cared outside his two brothers cared enough to ask. People tended to avoid the toxicologist from the irrational fear that being in contact with him could result in them getting poisoned as well.

"Well, to be honest, I'm not sure when I made the conscious decision," Varuna answered as he let his head fall back to look up at the ceiling. "I've always been hypersensitive toward toxins and poisons, so I guess it only made sense."

"I think there's more to it," Bryce unexpectedly commented.

Slightly startled, Varuna glanced over to Bryce, finding the brown-haired landsknecht leaning against the table with his hand, the other planted on his hip as he looked at him expectedly. He wasn't suspicious, he genuinely curious.

Sighing, Varuna turned to glance out the window. "…I guess it's because I wanted to help out Isiah and his father," he admitted softly.

Bryce quirked his head to the side slightly in question. "Isiah's father?"

Varuna nodded his head, surprisingly not that reluctant to reveal more. "You know how I don't remember anything from ten years ago?"

"Yeah."

"Nitish and I were found wandering around on the outskirts of town by Isiah's father and he took us in," he explained simply, for that was all that he really knew. "He was a medic, a bit like Isiah, I suppose. Just not as…terse?"

Bryce snorted to hide his amusement. "I don't think anyone could be as 'terse' as Isiah and get away with it."

Varuna was unable to prevent a smile from appearing on his lips. "Probably not."

"…Does Nitish remember?" Bryce asked him gently, almost cautiously.

Varuna felt his chest tighten at the thought, his smile abruptly slipping from his lips. "…I'm not entirely sure," he admitted softly, shaking his head. "I…don't want to bring it up with him. He always looks so pained when I do."

"…Yeah."

"What?" Varuna asked, not entirely hearing what Bryce had muttered.

But Bryce simply shrugged, appearing in thought. "Nothing."

Varuna spent a couple of minutes silently watching Bryce, watching how his brow was slightly furrowed, his jaw clenched and his eyes looking at nothing in particular. He was musing about something, perhaps about something Varuna had told him.

He should leave him to his thoughts, but…he suddenly didn't like this silence between them.

"So…why the sudden interest in research?" Varuna asked.

Again, Bryce shrugged casually. "Like I said, it's because I keep hearing about it."

"I think there's more to it than that," Varuna couldn't help but quip, earning him a reluctant sigh and a defeated sag of his shoulders.

"Man, don't use my own words against me," he muttered, looking a little disgruntled as he ran a hand roughly through his hair. "Ok, fine, it's because I'm a little bit curious, that's all."

Varuna was unable to stop himself from rolling his eyes in amusement as he folded his arms across the chest. "Nothing wrong with a bit of curiosity. All great researchers and explorers are infallibly curious."

"I guess so," Bryce said idly as he reached up with his right hand to massage his left shoulder, a slight look of discomfort on his face.

Varuna felt his own brow furrow in concern, watching as how Bryce seemed to be trying to hide his discomfort, but it was proving too much for him to hide. "What's wrong?" he immediately asked.

"Eh?" Bryce uttered, turning to look at Varuna in puzzlement, pausing momentarily in his massaging. He, however, sighed a moment later and dropped his hand from his shoulder. "Nah, it's nothing. My shoulders are killing me, that's all."

"Let me see," Varuna practically demanded as he pushed away from the table to move to stand behind Bryce so that he could have a better look at his back and shoulders. A little bit difficult since Bryce was taller than him. Thankfully, though, he wasn't wearing his armour. "Have you spoken to Isiah?"

"Nah, he's busy," Bryce said dismissively. "He's dealing with the reckless rookies who are suffering from frost bite."

Varuna nodded his head absentmindedly as he placed his hands on Bryce's shoulders, somewhat surprised by how broad and hard they felt. As a landsknecht, it was no surprise that he had powerful muscles, but they were still rather impressive. But as he placed his open hands onto the top of his shoulders, Varuna winced. Under his thumbs he could feel the knots and tension of tight muscles. Too much exertion with little down time made Bryce quite tense.

"God, no wonder your shoulders are hurting," Varuna commented, subconsciously rubbing small circles onto Bryce's shoulders with his thumbs. "The muscles are so tense and knotted. You need to take better care of yourself."

Bryce snorted, but made no attempt to pull away from him. "Said the guy who has the habit of getting so involved in his study that he forgets to eat and sleep."

Varuna spluttered for a moment, a light dusting of red adorning his cheeks. "Anyway, I have some oil that might help ease the tension," he said as he removed his hands from Bryce's shoulders and walked over to his supply cabinet. He had a bottle of essential oil that he and Nitish created from their first jaunt into the Lush Woodlands. "It's called St John's Wort. Sit down."

Surprisingly, Bryce did just that, plonking himself down onto a chair. "Is it safe?"

Varuna rolled his eyes as he grabbed the oil and picked up a carrier oil as well. "Unless you're pregnant and haven't told anyone yet, it is perfectly safe," he retorted. "Now take your shirt off. I can't properly fix your muscles with it on."

Bryce arched an eyebrow at him, but did what he was ordered. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and in one fluid movement, lifted it up over his head and pulled it down over his arms.

Varuna couldn't help but notice how strong his back and chest was, every single movement he made seemingly effortless. He was taut and toned, his muscles flexing seamlessly under the skin. Not an inch of fat to be seen anywhere. Nor any blemishes…except the one seen on his side. It was quite jagged and thick, though not all that old. It started at the last rib and reached all the way down to his hip.

He knew where Bryce got that scar from.

So…it was deeper than he first thought. It was rare for Isiah to leave scars behind…

"What now?" Bryce asked, pulling Varuna from his thoughts.

Realizing that he must have been staring, Varuna felt a blush spread across his cheeks and he abruptly turned his attention back to mixing the essential oil with the carrier oil.

"Ah, s-sit on the chair backwards," Varuna managed to said, a little bewildered by his sudden lack to communicate properly. He shook his head harshly and rolled up his sleeves, watching from the corner of his eye as Bryce once again did what he was told.

Pouring a little bit of the oil into the palm of his hand, Varuna rubbed his hands together in attempt to warm the oil as he moved closer to Bryce, standing at his back. When he felt that the oil was efficient enough, he carefully placed his hands on Bryce's back and shoulders. While he was no massage therapist, he hoped that he would be able to offer Bryce some relief and comfort.

He started by gently applying pressure against Bryce's shoulder with his thumbs, moving them in a circular motion. The knots were quite tight and hard, so he applied a bit more pressure. Bryce groaned under his touch, yet made no attempt to pull away. Instead he folded his arms over the back of the chair and rested his chin on them, seemingly quite comfortable.

So Varuna continued with his administrations, ensuring to pay attention to Bryce's every movement and sound.

"That scar on your side," Varuna murmured. "Does it still hurt?"

"Eh?" Bryce groaned, letting his head loll to the side. "That scar? Nah. Isiah thought it was best to let it fade on its own."

"I see…"

"Hgn, you're good at this," Bryce unexpected commented, sounding rather sleepy. "I should have gotten you to this a lot sooner."

Varuna couldn't help but smile as he focused on his task at hand.

It was nice being able to help Bryce out for once.

… … … … …

"…detach from the awareness of your body…"

"…your only purpose is to give, never to receive…"

"…you deserve to live, little one. You'll understand one day…"

"…Go, let not my life be in vain…"

Perched on the edge of his bed, Varuna sighed as he roughly ran his hand over his face.

Those dreams again…

Varuna had always held a more than average curiosity. But for whatever reason, finding the source of his strange dreams fills him with unease and dread. He has had his strange dreams for as long as he could remember. They weren't anything new and yet he wasn't able to dismiss them either. He's never spoken to anyone about them. He probably should, it just never came up in conversation.

Besides, everyone was busy with other things.

Sighing loudly, Varuna fell back onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He was tired, but didn't want to go to sleep. Not with those voices that was hauntingly familiar waiting for him.

Those voices…One was so harsh and cruel, almost inhuman, as if there was more than one person saying the same thing at the same time, telling him things like how he was useless, that his only purpose was to serve and obey. Yet the other was kinder, fatherly in a way. He was telling him to live, to move forward fearlessly and never look back.

He…didn't understand. What were those voices? Who were they? Why where they saying such things to him?

Heaving himself into a sitting position, Varuna decided that a bit of fresh air might help calm his mind. Hopefully, Isiah was sleeping so wouldn't badger him into getting some much needed rest.

Leaving his cloak behind, Varuna pulled on his red jacket over a simple pair of black pants and black shirt. Slipping on a pair of casual boots, he silently made his way out of his room, momentarily pausing by his brother's room. He peered inside, finding Nitish sleeping peacefully on his bed. He wasn't under the covers and was still dressed in his day clothes, but he was getting some sleep at least.

Carefully and gently closing the door, Varuna continued his way through the house, walking down the stairs and tiptoeing past Isiah's office. The light was still on, but the door was closed.

Stepping outside, Varuna took a moment to simply enjoy the feeling of the gentle night breeze washing over him. The wind was thankfully soft and reassuring, not too cold, but refreshing enough.

It was the perfect night to simply walk around aimlessly.

"Varuna?"

Nearly jumping out of his skin, Varuna spun around, surprised by the man standing behind him. "Bryce?"

"Hey," Bryce greeted as he walked over to him. "What are you doing up?"

Varuna felt a bit better seeing Bryce, turning to give the landsknecht his full attention. "Nothing. Can't sleep. You?"

"Yeah, feeling restless myself," Bryce replied as he folded one of his arms over his chest while jabbing over his shoulder with his thumb of the other, indicating to the park in the central part of town, the one that held a luscious water fountain. "Wanna go for a walk?"

"Sure," Varuna agreed, grateful for the distraction.

Wordlessly, the two settled next to each other as they walked through the nearly empty streets and into the secluded and peaceful park. It was thankfully empty – saved for a few explorers who couldn't afford to sleep at the inn, instead sleeping under the trees or on park benches. No one was a bother to them, though, and as they approached the fountain, Varuna felt as though they were alone now.

"So, any reason why you're feeling restless?" Varuna asked as he sat down on the edge of the fountain, shifting slightly so that he was facing Bryce.

"Not really," Bryce replied as he lounged on his side, resting on his elbow. "Tomorrow we're going to try to do some more mapping of the Sacred Mountains. Not really looking forward to it."

"Ah, hate the cold?" Varuna questioned.

Bryce snorted. "Fucking loathe it. It's hard to react when you're too busy shivering."

Varuna chuckled lightly as he tilted his head back to look up at the night sky. The stars were really quite beautiful tonight. He wondered what the night sky would look like while sailing on the Duscha. After that near-miss with the Fire Dragon, Roxbury was understandably cautious of flying at night. Especially when it was overcast or there was no moon in the sky. Getting ambushed by a predator was something he did not want to happen.

"So, what about you?"

Slowly lowering his gaze to the trees around them, Varuna found himself sighing again. "…You know how I don't remember my childhood?"

Bryce shifted slightly. "Yeah."

"Well, I think I've been dreaming about it, but I'm not sure," Varuna confessed easily.

"What have you been seeing?" Bryce asked him, gently prompting him to continue.

"Darkness, mostly," Varuna murmured as he slid his eyes closed, unwilling recalling the images of shadowy trees and people. "But there are two very different voices; one sort of fatherly and kind, the other cold and hateful…"

Slowly, Varuna opened his eyes again, a nervous and embarrassed chuckle suddenly bubbling from his throat. "Heh, it's so strange."

Bryce was somewhat surprised to hear him chuckling. "Eh? What is?"

"How I am able to talk to you so easily," Varuna replied as he turned to look directly at Bryce, finding himself looking straight into his eyes, giving him a puzzled look. "I've told you things that I've never even told Nitish or Isiah."

Bryce pushed himself into a sitting position, moving just a bit closer to Varuna. "I guess it's because I'm a blank slate," he suddenly commented.

Still looking at Bryce, Varuna furrowed his brow slightly. "What do you mean?"

"You're worried that if you talk to Nitish about your dreams that you would upset him, right?" Bryce went on to say, looking very understanding and genuine. "That's understandable. There are things that I won't talk to Blayden about. And it's not because I don't trust him or think he can't handle it. It's simply because I don't want to worry or upset him. Call it protectiveness if you like, but it's the truth."

Taking a moment to allow those words to mull over in his head, Varuna slowly nodded his head. "That sounds about right," he murmured, still looking into Bryce's eyes.

How strange…his deep blue eyes seem to be speaking directly to his soul.

Heh…how clichéd?

"But, you know," Bryce continued as he shifted again, moving just that little bit closer. "If your dreams are making you uneasy, then why do you want to remember your past?"

Varuna drew in a sharp breath before realising it slowly. "It might help in putting the dreams into perspective."

Bryce shook his head. "They could also make you feel torn or lost."

More so then he was now?

"They might tell me who I am," Varuna insisted. "Or rather, was."

"Exactly," Bryce stated. "You already know who you are. You are Varuna, much relied on researcher for the Count of Tharsis. You are also a talented nightseeker and explorer. The past is the past, you can't go back and it won't change anything."

But Varuna shook his head, a sigh escaping his lips. "…You don't understand."

"Yes, I do," Bryce insisted, his shoulder pressing against Varuna's. "I never knew my father and being technical, Blayden is my half-brother. Our mother wasn't exactly a devoted parent."

Varuna was unable to stop himself from wincing, yet he shifted in his seat as well, turning a bit more toward Bryce, his shoulder fully resting against his.

"Who knows, I may have more half-siblings out there and I would never know," Bryce continued. "I have no interest in going back and seeing her. She never cared for us and I don't care for her. Grabbing Blayden and coming to Tharsis was the best thing I've ever done. As far as I am concerned, Tharsis is my home and my purpose is to be the best landsknecht and explorer I can be."

Again, it took Varuna a moment or two to let Bryce's words sink in. He tore his gaze from Bryce's to look at the ground, feeling somewhat guilty. Perhaps Bryce was right. Maybe he should instead turn all his attention to his present, to his work as a researcher and to his role as an explorer with the Phaedron guild.

"…You're right," Varuna said as he turned to gaze at Bryce once more, barely realising how close the two of them had become. "Thank you."

A moment of silence stretched out between them. While it wasn't exactly uncomfortable or tense, there was this sense of…something hanging over them. Varuna wasn't sure what this feeling was. It was almost as if something was going to happen, something that was meant to happen.

"Hey, Varuna?" Bryce said as he moved even closer.

"Hm?" Varuna murmured, his lips parting expectantly.

When Bryce slowly lifted his hand, his fingers caressing the side of Varuna's face and entangling through his hair, Varuna felt his eyes drift close on their own accord. A mere moment later, he felt Bryce's lips against his. Varuna drew in a sharp intake of air through his nose, his mind shutting down while his body responded willingly and instantly. He tilted his head to the side ever so slightly, pressing his cheek further into the palm of Bryce's hands as Bryce's lips moved slowly, lovingly against his.

Bryce was kissing him…and it felt nice.

But…wait…when-? How-? Why-?

When he finally realised what he was doing, what had happened, Varuna felt a wave of panic and uncertainty wash over him. He blushed deeply and scrambled away from Bryce, the handsome landsknecht looking confused.

"S-sorry," Varuna stuttered, shaking his head. "I need to think about this."

He then quickly fled the park, his heart thundering in his chest and his mind reeling.

AN: I know; "about time they kissed!" right? Only took 25 chapters!