Happy 2018! :D


The stink of death lingered.

Dezel surveyed Horsa and nearly retched at what he sensed. Collapsed houses trapped dozens of bodies, adults and children alike. Those who did not die from being crushed had suffocated, their faces white as snow and and their fingers tinged with blue.

They were the lucky ones. Those murdered by the Stheno ... gored and mangled, blood spattered everywhere, their faces were permanently etched in terrified horror. Dezel passed over them quickly, bile burning his throat. Revulsion made every fibre of his being want to recoil, but he persisted. He had to be sure.

It didn't take long. Finally he retreated, though doing so gave him no relief.

"Did you find anyone?" Sorey instantly asked, his shoulders taut. Everyone was tense, each holding their breath. Rose had her arms tightly crossed against her chest, her face a grim mask.

"No."

With that single word, they all deflated.

But not Sorey. "Maybe we should look around. You could have missed someone, right?"

"The wind doesn't lie."

"But—"

"They're dead, Sorey."

He didn't want to say it. He didn't want to smash their hopes, especially after the Stheno had met its demise before Sorey could purify it. But he wanted to spare them from the sight of the broken bodies, the endless blood. They'd seen horrifying things on this journey, done horrifying things, but this ... this was something else.

Rose touched Sorey's arm. "Let's go. It's getting late, and I don't think we wanna camp anywhere near here."

He nodded, chin trembling.

They'd reach Lohgrin tomorrow, perhaps in the afternoon. Sorey believed they'd learned all they could from the Earthen Historia, so seeing Mayvin seemed the best course of action.

About two miles from Horsa Edna suddenly said, "Stop."

"What's up?" Sorey asked.

She didn't answer. She turned to face Horsa, and taking the handle of her parasol in both hands, pressed the tip of it against the dusty earth.

Zaveid raised an eyebrow. "Edna? Mind to tell us what you're doing?"

"Quiet," she snapped. "I'm concentrating."

Then came a rumbling, coming directly from Horsa. Lailah gasped; from this far away Dezel's senses weren't overly powerful, but that didn't matter so much when the ground itself was swallowing the broken village up. The process took mere minutes, but when everything was over, nothing marked the earth to betray that a human dwelling had ever been there.

No one spoke. When it was finished Edna slumped, breathing heavily, but when Lailah approached her she quickly stepped away. "I'm fine," she said, letting out a final huff. "Let's go." She started without them, ignoring their prying looks.

That Edna. Every time you thought you knew her, she'd do something to completely thwart your opinion. Dezel made a mental note, and not for the first time either, to never cross her.

They stopped for the night by a triangular formation of rocks that jutted toward the sky, each of them somber as they warmed themselves by Lailah's fire. Even Zaveid kept his mouth shut for once. Dezel sat a little away from the others, leaning against a rock.

Rose chewed on her lip as she stared into the flames, her knees drawn to her chest, and Dezel couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. He'd been worried about her, ever since the episode at Pendrago's shrinechurch all those weeks ago. She put up a brave front, but Dezel could tell she wasn't as well as she pretended to be.

"Sorey," she suddenly said.

"Yeah?" He'd been morose ever since they'd left Horsa. Dezel knew his responsibilities as Shepherd weighed heavily on him, and with the events of the past few hours, it all weighed on him more heavily than ever before.

She turned to look him straight in the eye. "Did the Stheno remind you of Forton?"

He winced. "I ..."

"You can't afford to waver, not this late in the game. But if you can't stomach it, then next time you should let me know so I can take care of it." She flashed a dagger to show her meaning.

"Rose—"

"I meant what I said, back with Forton. Do you remember?"

Mikleo angrily opened his mouth, but Lailah stopped him with a hand on his own. "Leave it to them to sort it out," she said quietly. Neither Rose nor Sorey noticed the exchange; they stared each other down.

After a long moment Sorey looked away, and despite the tears brimming his eyes his voice didn't waver as he said, "So what you're saying is, I shouldn't hesitate."

"Do what you intend to do," she said simply. "And if you can't, leave it to me. That's all that I ask."

"Thank you," Sorey said. "I needed to hear that. I won't let you down again, Rose."

Dezel let out a breath he hadn't even known he was holding. He couldn't help but be a little in awe of her. Rose was intrepid—there was no skimping out on the truth for her, even if the truth was unpleasant. And she'd always been like that, for as long as he'd known her.

Sometimes—well, most times—she did put it more bluntly than necessary, but ... That's what I love about her.

...

No, no, not like—not like that. Absurd. He was fond of her, that was certain, but love? Romantic love was an entirely human concept. Seraphim rarely engaged in such trivialities, and the ones who did were regarded as silly. Besides, a seraph and a human, together? That just wasn't right.

He'd always cared for her well-being, of course. She'd been one of the Windriders, how could he not? He cared for her as any other.

... Now that, he knew, was a lie.

Desperate to focus on something else, Dezel tuned in to the conversation around the campfire. They'd apparently moved on from Sorey's hesitation, because Mikleo was saying to Zaveid, "I don't even know how you can stand going shirtless all the time. Aren't you cold?"

"Cold? Nah." He raised his arms, pressing his palms against the back of his head. "When you have guns like these, you're so hot that cold isn't even a concept."

Mikleo grimaced. "Forget I said anything."

"C'mon, Mikckey-boy, you should try it some time! Showing off your stuff attracts all the ladies."

"I think I'll pass, thanks."

"Oh, thank Maotelus," Edna said, letting her head fall back against the rock. "If you went shirtless I'd have to start calling you Nippleo."

"Nippleo?" Rose laughed, slapping her thighs. She laughed so hard she snorted, which only spurred her to laugh even harder.

Dezel straightened out his jacket, trying to keep his mind from the tingly feeling that was spreading throughout his chest. And even worse was that he realized how frankly familiar the feeling was.

He didn't know how long this had been in the making. Maybe when she'd gained the ability to see him? Or maybe even before that ... when he was using her. The thought sickened him.

It didn't matter. He didn't know how he'd felt then, but he sure knew what he was feeling right now.

She'd always been a shining beacon. He'd chalked up his feelings of vulnerability concerning her as guilt, but now he knew they weren't, not entirely. Rose made him feel more vulnerable than he'd ever felt in his life, but he found that he didn't even mind. A part of him wanted to run, but at the same time, he just wanted to stay close to her. He couldn't bear the thought of being separated from her.

But she hated him.

And he wholly deserved it.

Maybe that was a good thing—there wasn't a chance in hell of her reciprocating. His hopes were dashed before he could fully realize them.

Hope was dangerous. Hope was false happiness. Hope would prevent him from accepting the facts.

"Yo, D!"

Dezel suddenly snapped back to reality, only to discover that everyone was staring at him. Rose. His cheeks burned.

"Why the red face?" Zaveid asked with an obnoxious grin. "You looked pretty deep in thought. Thinking of a pretty lady?"

"It's none of your business as to what my thoughts are," he said tartly, painfully aware of how much hotter his face was getting. Oh gods, it's obvious, isn't it?

"Aww c'mon, don't be like that. We're wind brothers, right? You can tell your wind brother anything."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Then kindly fuck off." His stomach fluttered at the sudden smile that crossed Rose's face.

"Oof, Dezel, that hurts," Zaveid murmured, pressing a fist against his chest. "Right here. That hurts."

Lailah changed the topic of conversation from there, prompting Dezel to let out a small, shaky sigh. That had been far too close for comfort.

Maybe his understanding of his own feelings had changed, but that didn't mean much. He could take solace in that: nothing, truly, had changed.

That's what he'd keep telling himself, at least.