"Say, Alvis…" Kallian spoke as the group settled down to rest.
Egil had been showing some signs of needing a break and as much as the Machina insisted he was fine, the rest of the group had voted on an hour or two. Alvis had felt bad for Egil, but… well, it would be for the best.
He had considered sitting next to him, but now that Kallian was talking to him, he figured his choice not to was for the best. The prince often only spoke in such a way when something important was on his mind… And Alvis was very good at listening to the important things on his mind.
"Yes, Prince Kallian?" He smiled at him, tilting his head to the side. "Can I help you?"
"I've been wondering… about my death." He spoke frankly, not pulling any punches as he spoke. "I've not a clue when I will pass, or how… But tell me. Will Melia cry for me?"
Alvis closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Usually, Kallian would not ask such a thing. The prince had a way of always looking up, even in the darkest of times, after all. But he supposed everyone could feel the air of danger approaching them. It was only a matter of time until the Telethia curse came to fruition.
Alvis, of course, tried to avoid looking at that. Kallian was his friend, someone he truly cared for. The idea of having to see what he would become, having to see just how he would die… It was too much for the Seer to look at. Especially now that he knew what he would have to leave behind to remake the world.
And so, for now, he said nothing. He simply stared at his hands, a frown on his face. What was he supposed to say? Should he look to the future, see how Melia reacted? Outright refuse? He felt no matter what he did, one of them would get hurt.
But then, Kallian spoke again. "Ah, do you… not want to tell me then? That's fine, if that's the case! I can imagine it's hard to speak about…"
"Hard to speak and think about, honestly." He sighed, looking at his hands. "I have never looked at your death and do not plan to. The idea of seeing how my friend will die in the future… it does not sit right with me."
"Ah…" His eyes widened and soon enough looked guilty. "I'm sorry, Alvis. I didn't even think about how it would affect you. I shouldn't have asked you."
"It's fine, after all. I am the Seer of the royal family." He gave a bit of a forced smile. "If anything, I should apologize for not doing as you ask."
"Don't you say that!" Kallian frowned at him, throwing an arm around his shoulders. "You are my friend, Alvis. As I said, I shouldn't have asked… Just pretend I did not, alright?"
"Ah… alright." Alvis nodded. "Thank you… And Kallian?"
"Yes?"
"I-"
"The damn spiders took the Monado!"
Egil and the others chased after the spiders that had somehow pulled Meyneth's Monado from his side. He had known resting was a bad idea! Why had no one listened to him?! Why had they insisted on doubling down and resting?! Now they were chasing spiders to what had seemed like a nest in order to save some swords!
How had he let his guard down enough to let them get nabbed like that, anyway?! Was he really that off his game when he felt like this? Oh, he felt like such an idiot not staying on higher alert!
Soon enough, they were at the nest, and there was a very giant, very angry spider. Behind it? The Monado. Looked like there was no choice but to take down the queen in order to get them back and move on.
"Let's do this, then." He sighed, summoning his drones to him. "You'll all have to do a bit more of the fighting, if you don't mind…"
"Shouldn't be too much of a problem… Just use that ether of yours to help with crowd control." Tyrea glanced back at him. "And keep those damn swords safe after this!"
"That was the plan!"
Alvis and Vanea were quick to make it to either side of the spider as Oka and Kallian caught its attention. Tyrea slid under it, kicking a spider out of the way before driving a blade into the back of the giant one.
Linada and Egil were doing their best to keep the hordes of spiders off of them, using their ether however they could. Linada, of course, also made sure Kallian and Oka could stand strong against the attacks of the damn thing.
Vanea had taken out a leg, and Alvis seemed to be working on another one when more spiders appeared. Oh dammit, this was going to take forever if they kept coming…! They didn't have the time for this, Egil couldn't help but think as he dug a heel into one of the spider's heads.
"Take out the big one as quickly as possible! The longer we take, the more the little ones will come out!" He barked out the order and Kallian nodded, driving his spear into one of its many eyes.
Tyrea had ripped a leg off, Vanea tying three of them together as Alvis took care of another two. Now that it could barely move, it was easy enough to bring it down… But then they had to play clean-up with the rest of the spiders.
One lunged at Egil's face, and he was only saved thank to Alvis dashing across the battlefield and taking the blow to his back. He frowned, not a fan of seeing the Seer doing something so risky, but… He supposed this made them even.
"Careful there, no repeats of Makna Forest." He brushed some of Alvis's hair out of his face and kicked the damn thing away.
"No promises."
Egil rolled his eyes and decided he just needed to focus on what he was doing. They just needed to focus on defeating these damn things so they could get out of here!
Soon enough, the spiders were dead and he let out a sigh. "Check everyone over, will you Linada? We need to get moving again as soon as possible."
Linada hadn't found any injury that was too bad on anyone after the spider fight, and that would be fine… except she saw that blow Alvis had taken, how no healing had happened after that. The fact he was totally fine…
"I'm sure of it now, you're not at all an average Homs!" Linada nodded, as sure as could be. "And don't try and act like you are, any average Homs would surely at least have a red mark after that attack."
"You've caught me." Alvis held up his hands with a chuckle. "But be a bit quieter, hm? The worry from Egil is a bit nice."
"Alvis…" She sighed, shaking her head. "Alright, then. But when this is all over? You're going to be a test subject for me." She poked him in the side as he chuckled. "I'm going to find out what just makes you tick!"
"Are you, then?" Alvis hummed. "I'm looking forward to seeing what you find out, then. If anything."
"If anything?" She rolled her eyes. "Don't act so cocky, I'm quite intelligent, you know! Given some time, I'll find what I want."
"But will you find what you need?" Alvis tilted his head to the side. "To understand what makes me tick, I mean."
"If all else fails, I'll get Egil to make you spill some beans…" She paused. "He does have that effect on you, after all!"
"You say that, but how can you be so sure?" Alvis put his finger to his lips. "I could be hiding more than I'm sharing and you'd never be the wiser!"
"Touche, Alvis…" Linada put a hand on her hip as they continued on. "I look forward to our future battle of wits!"
"As do I, Linada."
