Finally, Egil pulled Alvis off of him, placing him on the ground. Alvis, however, did not forget the feelings that brought him here. He looked up at the Machina, words on his lips as Egil looked at him, confused and hurt.

"I'm sorry." He finally spoke. "For what I said about that giant. I… I did not realize it was not my place."

"Alvis."

He held up a hand, still having more to say. "I am… not good with people. I often don't know when to stop, and simply mirror the emotions of those around me. It was because of this that I upset you so greatly."

"I understand, you…" Egil let out a sigh. "You really aren't a normal Homs, as far as I can tell."

"You're right, I'm not. But…" He reached out, took Egil's hands in his. "I want to try and understand you more. I want to be good to you."

"Alvis…" Egil sighed, kneeling to be eye-level with him. "I should tell you… why what you said upset me."

"You don't have to. I overstepped and we can leave it at that." He squeezed his hands, looking away from Egil's eyes. "I-"

"If you don't know why you overstepped, you may make the mistake again." Egil sighed, shaking his head. "Please… let me tell you."

Alvis looked up at him again, blinking before nodding. "Well… if you insist."

"That giant, Arglas… He was my first and only love." His voice cracked at his name, and all Alvis could do was watch. "He was, no… he is still very important to me and… I lost him… It is hard to truly move on from him. To forget him, now that the future is in front of me. Seeing his dead body was just a reminder of that."

"Egil… I am so sorry." He hadn't realized just how badly he had overstepped boundaries. "I…"

Egil shook his head. "You've already said sorry. From here we… we can move on from this. Perhaps even truly be friends."

"Yes. You're right, but…" He pulled his hands away, before raising one to wipe a stray tear from Egil's eye. "You're crying."

"Ah…" Egil rose his own hands to his eyes, one resting against Alvis's as the other touched tears. "I am… I didn't realize."

"Egil…" Alvis pulled his hand away, stretching out his arms. "Would it be overstepping my boundaries to offer you a hug?"

"No… I don't think you would be." And with that, Egil let Alvis wrap his arms around him and hold him, for just a moment.

Alvis didn't know why, but as he held him, a warm feeling settled in his chest. Something he had not quite felt before, but something he welcomes nonetheless. Kallian was his first friend, that much was certain… But Egil…

Egil may just be another first, one Alvis did not fully understand, not yet. But that was fine. He had some time still to understand what the feeling was, and it was not something to rush.

For now, he would try and understand Egil, in a way he'd never really understood a mortal before.


Alvis and Egil had come back, seemingly with things settled for the better. Vanea had been overjoyed, honestly. She thought that fool Alvis would never realize what he had done wrong, and would never apologize for it.

But he had, it seemed, based off the look in Egil's eye when he looked at him, and that was enough for Vanea. Now she could focus on the Hodes they needed to kill and the planks they needed to gather. They were only one away from being done with this, after all!

It was Kallian to call out, a plank in hand, the final piece they needed before heading back to the bridge.

"Wonderful!" Vanea stood straight from looking through the belongings of other Hodes they had just vanquished. "I was starting to think we would never find them all!"

"As was I! So many Hodes with no planks…" Kallian shook his head. "But we can finally make our way back!"

"It's a bit late for that, though, wouldn't you say?" Linada looked up at the sky, squinting at the fading light of ether. "It may be for the best to settle down for the night and return in the morning."

"I hate to say it, but Linada is right." Tyrea sighed, looking over at Oka. "That one may get scooped up and eaten by some monster if we travel in the dark."

"Oka not that easy to eat!" Oka huffed, crossing her wings. "But… Oka also agree. Oka not want to risk being eaten…"

"Then a night of rest seems to be in order." Vanea looked to Alvis and Egil. "After our earlier run-in with an Orluga, I think those two especially could use it."

"I'm fine, if anything, Alvis would need the rest." Egil pinched his cheek. "He's so… soft and squishy."

Alvis chuckled. "You say that as if you did not take the brunt of the blows. I'm shocked your back didn't dent under all that force."

"We are sturdier than you would think, Alvis."

"I could say the same about Homs!"

"Enough of that." Tyrea rolled her eyes. "You were both idiots, and could both use the rest. We'll leave it at that! Come on, let's go find a place to make camp."

"Tyrea took the words right out of my mouth." Vanea placed her hands on the High Entia's shoulders. "Come on, we're burning the last of the daylight we have!"


The group had found a nice sparkling pool to settle by for the night, and now Oka was cooking a meal. Tyrea and Linada were roped into helping (though why a Machina - with no sense of taste - was, Egil didn't know). The rest of the group found time to relax around the fire set, and Egil found himself next to Alvis.

The Homs hummed, the same hum that had helped Egil drift to sleep in the Imperial Villa not too long ago, and Egil found himself staring. Alvis was quite the pretty little thing, a small smile against his lips as he watched the fire quietly.

Vanea and Kallian sat across from them, talking about who knows what, but in that moment… Egil felt as if it was just the two of them, sitting side by side. Maybe that was why he had no problem resting his head against his shoulder.

"Ah, tired are you?" Alvis pat Egil's head with a chuckle. "I knew all those hits took more out of you than you wanted to show."

"You be quiet." He huffed a bit, but didn't move an inch. "I'm always tired."

"We should work on that, really. A tired leader is no good for the group." Alvis leaned his head against Egil's then. "After dinner, you should go right to sleep."

"I suppose I should, but I doubt anyone else will drift off that quickly." He sighed. "The noise may make it hard for me to fall asleep."

"How about I sing you to sleep, then?" Alvis paused, chuckling a but. "Or is that too forward?"

"Alvis…" Egil rolled his eyes, but there was a small smile on his face. "You are a strange one, Alvis…"

"Let me guess, not a compliment?"

He closed his eyes for a moment, letting out a hum of his own. "No… No, I think this time it is."