The Aegis Awakens

/Chapter Thirteen: Bonding/

"You...should go talk to her."

Considering just how upset Regan had been, Malos highly doubted that going after her would be a good idea. Winter had to be out of her mind if she genuinely thought that him going after Regan would be a good idea. The ice Aegis was dead serious, and Malos wondered how she could ever think that it would end well.

"You're joking, right? I barely know her, so there's no way she'd want any sort of comfort from me." Malos argued, but he could by the look on her face that it had done little to convince her. She placed a hand on her core, appearing to be in thought. The dark Aegis had to admit that he was slightly worried about just where her thoughts had gone.

"Besides, I'm not exactly the most comforting person..." He trailed off as he noticed that her Core Crystal had started glowing. Worry hit him when a bright-blue flash of light struck his line of sight. Malos closed his eyes for a moment before he reopened them after the light dissipated. Now, he and Winter were no longer sitting there alone.

A man with dark-red hair and dark-brown eyes stood next to Winter. He was actually paler than most Elves but outside of his less tan skin, he had most other Elven characteristics. He was just a couple of inches shorter than Malos, and the dark Aegis just barely could make out a light-blue glow from underneath the man's shirt.

"Malos...this is Ethan." Winter introduced, looking to be trying her hardest not to look up at the man standing next to her.

Ethan said nothing, and his eyes were looking back and forth between the two Blades. The ice Aegis looked down at the ground as she spoke again. "I just...said something I can't undo... Ethan, you know where she'll be." The Elf examined her facial expression for a moment before he nodded. She looked towards Malos, "He'll lead the way... Follow him, please?"

"Fine."

•••

The man Malos was currently following had been surprisingly quiet the entire walk. Considering just how agitated Snow had been when talking about Ethan, it was a bit strange that the Elf had yet to actually say a word. At least he had been silent until he finally spoke as they walked up to another path.

"So, she seemed upset... Mind telling me what happened?" Malos sighed at that.

"I'll admit...it was kind of shocking to hear her talk about her Driver in such a way." Ethan chuckled at that, but it honestly sounded a little forced.

"That bad, huh? Well, it's not the first time Winter and Regan have fought over that... There's something else to it, isn't there?" Ethan looked back at him, and the dark Aegis nodded.

"Probably better if you ask Regan." Ethan looked away, and Malos just barely managed to catch the understanding in the Elf's expression.

"I see... Well, we're here." The shorter man stated as the two of them approached a wooden gate.

Opening the gate, Ethan led the way into what looked to definitely be a graveyard. Now, Malos had definitely not been expecting a graveyard to be her chosen place to run off to. It did not take them long to find her exact location since she was the only one there. After all, it was just a memory of a graveyard rather than an actual one.

Judging by the fact that it was in fairly close proximity to the castle, Malos figured that this was likely the graveyard of the royal family. That meant that Ant was likely there since she had been the queen of Elvuen. The Aegis wanted to know what had caused Ant's death; however, he was pretty sure that neither Regan nor Winter would tell him anytime soon.

"You...wait here for a moment. Let me talk with her alone for aminute." Malos nodded at that, and Ethan sighed before he approached the currently kneeling form of Regan in front of one of the graves. The dark Aegis was close enough to be able to hear their conversation, and while he felt a little bad listening in on them he had to admit that wanted to know what they were talking about.

"Regan... It's been, what, two and half weeks since we've talked?"

Her reaction to Ethan's voice was nearly instantaneous as got off of the ground and practically lunged at him. Regan's arms wrapped tightly around the taller Elf, and it was clear that the two of them were close. The Blade was unable to distinguish what exactly Regan was saying, but he could hear her sobbing. Looking away, Malos realized just how upset Regan truly was.

Part of him recalled the comfort he had received shortly after the Aegis War when he had awoken and learned of the deaths of both Hugo and Milton. Snow, strangely enough, had not comforted him at all, although she had made sure to inform him of everything that had occurred. Oddly, Malos could not recall any of the events that she had told him about.

According to Winter, Malos and Mythra had managed to defeat each other simultaneously. Addam had actually seemed a bit unsure at first, but Malos had just thought it had been a sign of disappointment from his Driver. He had felt that through their bond; however, there were other emotions such as fear and some anger that fully convinced Malos of just how much devastation he had been the cause of.

He knew that his Core Crystal had been cracked, something that he knew he only survived because of him being an Aegis. Due to both Malos and Winter being Aegises, she had been able to fix his core. Despite that, Malos had still been unable to recall his memories of the fight with Mythra. Perhaps it was for the better, yet it was not. He felt even worse, not even being to remember what he had done and instead of having to be told the truth by Winter.

Since he had talked with her again, her change in personality had gone unnoticed at first. Until her argument with Regan, she had seemed to be very similar to how she had once been. Winter seemed to be very bitter about something, and Malos knew that it likely had something to do with Ant's death. She had cared for her Driver deeply, much as he cared for Addam.

It honestly saddened him to think about it...

•••

"Malos?"

He had no idea how long he had been lost in his thoughts; however, he soon found himself being spoken to. Focusing, he saw Regan standing right in front of him. Malos had to look down at her of course since he was quite a bit taller than her. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she appeared to have stopped crying. While she still appeared to be a little upset, Ethan's presence seemed to have cheered her up quite a bit.

"Where's Ethan?" Malos asked as he realized that Winter's Driver was no longer anywhere in sight.

The Elf looked down at the ground, "He...went to talk to Winter. Ethan wants to see if he can repair things."

"Is that really the best idea? Snow seems to really hate him." The woman nodded before she looked back up at him.

"That's true... He figures that he at least has to try."

The Blade nodded before she suddenly beckoned for him to follow her. Doing as she wanted, they walked further into the graveyard and stopped in front of a grave. Looking down, his eyes widened a bit as he saw Ant's full name engraved into the stone. Malos knew that Ant was dead; however, actually seeing her grave made it all the more real. He made himself look to the grave next to Ant's, and he felt a bit of recognition at the name.

Julian, who Malos had only had the opportunity to meet once, had been Ant's husband. He had also met Raymond, who had only been about seven years old when they had met. Regan had talked about Raymond in the present tense, so Malos knew that her older brother was most definitely alive. "How long ago was it...?"

"Huh...? Oh, it's been about one hundred forty-three years for my dad... For my mom, it's only been close to twenty-one years now." That was even more upsetting to Malos since he realized that he was only a little over two decades late to be able to actually see Ant in person. Due to the long lifespan of Elves, he had hoped he would be able to see her again.

"Who's that grave belong to?" Malos asked as he saw the grave to the left of Ant's. The man's name was Welsh, who Malos had known to be Ant's personal guard. He was only asking because it did seem a bit strange for her guard to be buried next to her. Malos did not doubt that Welsh would have been buried in the graveyard; however, there had to be more to it if his grave was right next to Ant's.

Regan took a second to realize which grave he was referring to, and she sighed. "That's my Uncle Welsh, and he was Mom's younger brother He died two years ago from illness...he was Kaevan's previous Driver." The Elf explained, and the Aegis felt a great deal of surprise at that. That would explain why he was buried next to Ant. It was a bit odd that he had not been informed of their relation since Welsh had traveled with them.

"Welsh was your uncle? They never told us about them being siblings..."

She looked back down at the ground again, "She did tell you about her family being killed, right?" Regan asked, and Malos nodded.

"Yeah, but she said that she was only one left out of her biological family outside of her son."

The Elf shook her head, "That's what I was told too at first... After Mom died, Uncle Welsh told me the truth. Both he and their younger sister Cassandra survived. Cassandra moved to one of the villages; however, she's been dead for over one hundred and twenty-seven years... Uncle refused to leave Mom's side. With some persuasion, he became her personal guard. He was already a trained fighter, so he was a very good candidate."

"I see..." Malos responded before he looked down at the ground in thought. Another question to ask her came to his mind, and he divided against staying quiet about it. "Eva used to be Ant's Blade, didn't she...?" Eyes widening a bit a that, sadness falling over her expression before she nodded her head.

"Yeah... It's still strange to me, to know that she doesn't even remember Mom at all. But...she acts like Mom so much at times, and it just makes me feel even worse." Regan admitted, her hand grasping at the locket. It almost appeared to be a pure reflex, and Malos honestly could not blame her for that.

"I noticed when she talked about her desire to cook."

That made her smile, "Yeah... Of course, Eva enjoyed watching the servants cook back in the castle and even me sometimes."

"You any good at cooking?" Seeing a chance to brighten her mood a little, Malos took the opportunity.

"Well... One of the servants, Leanne, taught me. I would definitely not consider myself to be an expert; however, my food is edible at least." He could tell that she just was being humorous, so he simply laughed in response.

"If that's the case... Maybe you'd like to help me cook sometime?" The offer appeared to surprise her, and he had honestly shocked himself as well. The only one he cooked with during the Aegis War had been Jin. Snow would occasionally try to help, but she never seemed to enjoy it as much. Jin and Malos would share recipes, especially helpful since the ice Blade had been awakened for seventeen years before they met.

Her face turned red, "Really? I mean, wouldn't I just get in your way...?"

The dark Aegis quickly broke out of his thoughts and shook his head, "As long as your competent, that shouldn't be a problem." That seemed to satisfy her, so Malos felt a little bit of happiness hit him. He knew it was likely because of how lonely he had been for five centuries without his Driver and his other friends. Five hundred years was a long time to be alone with your thoughts, and he just wanted that kind of relationship again.

"That sounds good." For a moment, there was just silence between them. Regan appeared to be in thought before she suddenly pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"So... Is there anything else you wanna ask before morning?" Malos considered it for a moment as he looked down at her. He examined her for a moment, and Malos' eyes suddenly fell onto her left ear. The Aegis had not noticed earlier that the point to her left ear was actually a little bit smaller. Seeing that honestly made him curious, but he was a bit unsure if it had any significance at all.

"Sure... Uh, what's up with your left ear?"

She smiled sadly at that, reaching a hand up to touch the pointed tip of her left ear. "It's...a birth defect. And it's a marker of fatal genetic condition rarely found in newborns." Regan explained and the realization hit Malos at that moment. That explained a lot, and Malos had a faint memory of being informed of such a condition by Ant.

"That's why Snow saved you." She nodded.

"Yeah... It basically causes death in newborns within twenty-four hours. It's simply referring to as 'Abranios Feru', which just basically refers to the organ failure that occurs with the condition." Malos nodded in response before he found himself wanting to know more. The information was tragic, and he wondered why his father could allow such a lethal condition to exist.

"It's more common among Elves, and I'm the only living person with it. Of course, if it wasn't for Winter...I would not be able to say that." Regan looked down at the ground, and it was now clear that her mood had dampened a great deal in response to talking about it. Not that he blamed her as he would probably feel the same way if he was in her position.

"I see... I'm sorry." She swiftly shook her head in response.

"There's no need for you to apologize. First of all, it's a genetic condition so it was unavoidable. Secondly, you weren't even around when I was born so there's absolutely nothing you could've done about it." Malos nodded at that, knowing that she had a point. It was not his fault, but he still felt the need to apologize. "Anyway, can we just not talk about that anymore?"

"Of course..." He could tell the topic had made her uncomfortable, and he knew that a change of subject might help. After thinking about it for a moment, he realized that he had learned a good amount about her but he had yet to really tell her anything about himself. Malos figured that she knew quite a bit about him since Winter had likely let her know about various things from before the Aegis War. Still, it did not feel fair for her to tell him things about herself without him doing the same.

"Do you wanna know anything about me?"

She thought about that, and Malos wondered just what she could possibly ask him about that she had not been told about by Winter. "Okay, how about this...? I honestly wanted to ask you this yesterday, but it slipped my mind. How do you feel about Rex being your Driver?" Regan asked, and she seemed to genuinely want to know.

At first, Malos was honestly not sure how to answer. If he was honest with himself, he was not all that sure of how he felt about Rex. He found himself wanting to protect the kid; however, he was shocked to discover that Rex wanted to protect them. Even so, the Aegis was unsure of just how he felt about his new Driver. Sharing a life force made keeping Rex safe more difficult since a failed ether shield would be all it takes for the two of them to get injured.

"He seems...reckless. The kid appears to not think about the consequences of his actions. I never expected that my next Driver to be a kid, but it honestly could have been worse." Malos admitted, and he was still unsure of just all of what he felt about Rex. If it had not been for Rex's resonance with Malos, the kid would be dead and both Regan and the Aegis would have been captured by Torna.

A small smile appeared on her lips at that, "I know what you mean... Convincing him not to take the job from Torna was like pulling teeth, and I knew that something would likely go wrong. I figured Mythra probably wanted you, so Rex resonating with you is why Jin killed him." Malos shook his head at that.

"No, think about it. They were going to kill all the salvagers they hired because they knew too much, so he would have been killed regardless." She nodded, knowing that he had a point.

"But if he hadn't resonated with you, you would not have been able to bring him back." She stated, and he nodded his head in response. Regan was grateful that Jin had not killed her, but it bothered her that he was fully willing to murder Rex but not her.

"I meant to ask you earlier... So, why do you think Jin didn't kill me? Winter seemed to not have a clue." Thinking about it for a moment, Malos shook his head afterward.

"I honestly don't know..."

•••••••

Bonus Scene*

Out of all the people who could have chosen to sit next to him that day, Malos had honestly been surprised that it was Ant. She was a fairly quiet woman, and she usually only talked to Addam, Regan, and Maddie. Ant did appear to get along with both Lora, Haze, and Jin; however, she had never really talked to Malos outside of necessity. She also appeared to be friendly with Hugo and both of his Blades.

"What are you cooking?" Her voice was soothing in a way; however, he honestly had no idea what to compare it to.

"Nothing at the moment," Malos answered before he realized that he might come off as a little cold. "I'm, uh, trying to figure out some new recipes. Jin has helped quite a bit, so I want to make a new recipe without his input." The Elven woman nodded at that, her forest-green eyes looking down at the ingredients he had laid out in front of him.

"Oh, you have Dawngrove Tea leaves?" She asked as she pointed towards a particular ingredient. The Aegis looked where she was pointing before he nodded.

"Yeah, the merchant said that they're specially imported in from Elvuen. He also mentioned that it's mainly bought by women." Ant smiled a bit, a knowing look on her face.

"Did he tell you why it's popular with women?" Malos shook his head, and Ant reached down and brushed her fingers against one of the leaves. "Let's just say that it helps with cramping and leave it that." She explained before she laughed at his confused expression.

"Now, Dawngrove Tea is actually a fairly good way to calm nerves for just about everyone... It's actually about the only thing I can actually make without ruining it." She looked a little embarrassed; however, she then gathered up the leaves into her hands. "You wanna learn how to make it? You have the other ingredients?" He only took a few seconds to nod in response.

•••

"I've been to Dawngrove Orchard several times since marrying Julian, and it's a beautiful place. It was probably one of the most lively places I've ever seen. We also brought Ray there on the rare occasions that we had the time." Malos could not help but enjoy conversing with Ant. Honestly, he wished that they had talked more. The Aegis could easily find himself getting bored; however, he found himself genuinely interested in what she was telling him.

"Do you miss them?" Malos asked, and Ant gave him a sad smile.

"Of course, they're my husband and son. I know Addam misses his wife too." He nodded, recalling when Addam had talked about his wife.

"What are you two doing?" Looking up, Malos quickly spotted Maddie. Most of the time she kept her blue and red, star-shaped Core Crystal covered but she had it exposed today. He knew she was not fond of being a Flesh Eater, so the fact that she uncovered it was surprising to him.

Ant looked up at the blonde, "I was just showing Malos how to make Dawngrove Tea." She explained, yet Maddie seemed to realize that that was not the whole truth. Her bluish-grey eyes glanced down at the already made tea, and she smiled.

"Really now?" Fully aware that Maddie was hyper-sensitive to everyone's emotions, Ant sighed.

"Okay, we were also talking... You wanna join...? I'm sure you have some stories from your time on the road." Maddie shrugged before sitting down next to Ant, and the Blade quickly shot Malos a look that he was unable to discern.

"So, what do you wanna know?"