"What? Are you crazy? We would lose too much time and have unnecessary contact and-""Oh shut up, stop complaining and hear me out for a second." I say, and continue without giving Isaac enough time to keep complaining. "It will be far more dangerous to have Aeglos along with us, he is a full elf, which already attracts attention, and unstable as he is will make us easy to recognize and to counter."
"But there" I continue." He will be protected by his people and family, and Leonel can carry him there without a problem, and even knows them enough to enter without notice. I bet they will understand our situation if we explain it, plus Leonel and your Templar would be doing nothing here anyway, better use their time more wisely." I say in almost one breath.
"Wait, you have access to the elven kingdom?"
"Of course, on the contrary of humans magical creatures are welcomed there."
Before we could start another discussion, however, my ears pick up a sound from the rooms, where we left the wounded to rest, which makes me look back at Leonel who understands without the need of words and nods.
We stand and walk out without saying anything, leaving a stunned Isaac behind, only to find something really… odd inside the rooms.
Eyope was still sleeping, and nothing seemed to be out of place, but once we get to Aeglos we find what had caught my attention.
That is… it was Aeglos himself.
He had woken up!
But my happiness was short-lived because we soon found out that something was very wrong with him.
I kneel beside him as Isa comes rus.h.i.+ng from the outside, his hands already s.h.i.+ning as he starts to pa.s.s his palms over Aeglos forehead.
"Oi, oi Aeglos, can you hear me?"
His eyes were staring forward, gla.s.sy, looking like dead fish eyes with a mere reflex of the light, no awareness nor life appearing in them.
That image, of a comrade, broken from inside out, makes me at the same time petrified and angry, the first for existing such unusual and strange magic, and the second for, well, for having Aeglos being used and played like this by the puppeteer. How many victims had he made? How many more will he make?
I keep looking, unable to do much more, watching Isa make the little snake-like lighting enter his skin and s.h.i.+ne shyly underneath wherever Isa touched him.
That"s when my black pointy ears perched up, catching something else from him, a sound… I see then, his lips move ever so slightly, making me approach to listen better.
"A… A… angel, I saw… I saw an angel…" After many incoherent words threw about I finally manage to put his words together to make a phrase, repeating it for the others who were waiting on the side.
"An angel? What is that?"
I haven"t even realized that such word would sound foreigner for then, sounding so familiar to me; which only makes me even more aware that my fellow reincarnated friend was far gone into this state to not even realize what he was saying.
"Is a… winged creature, usually representing something divine."
"Wait, that doesn"t make sense, there are so few Alars left that none of that kin would venture far on this lands, even more to hurt someone." An Alwhat?
Nevermind that, we keep trying to make Aeglos talk, catch his attention, but beyond talking about how the angel was divine, beautiful or whatever, he would not talk nor respond, as if the only thing his brain could process was the image of an angel.
That makes me think… had the puppeteer changed his mind to the point where he thought he saw an angel?
Or perhaps the puppeteer managed to change his memory completely, imputing whatever it wanted inside?
Or perhaps… had Aeglos truly seen an angel?
It was a piece of small odd information, but still possible… one more evidence thrown with the many others we manage to find until now.
"Aeglos, tell me, do you remember what you saw? Can you describe him? How many were there? Where did they take Hunthor?" I keep asking all the questions that were deeply bothering me, even going as far as to hold his face towards me, but all for naught; there was no reaction at all, as if he was stuck in some kind of… dimension or illusion.
The only thing left for me to do is to stand and walk out of the room, more annoyed than angry, and more alert than ever, my mind bursting ideas and plans but, without much to go on from the start, all ended up hitting a wall.
I look up at Leonel, who exchanges a glance at me as I motion for him to follow me with my chin, walking out and farther into the building so we could talk, letting Isaac do his job.
"So… What do you think?" I say, crossing my arms and leaning on a tree, swinging my tail back and forth.
"About what?"
"Well, everything, my plan, the attacks, the puppeteer… we haven"t had much chance to talk these past days so…"
"Oh, so you are asking my opinion? That"s new."
"Shut up."
"Haha." He chuckles, approaching me with his slim yet strong form, making me very aware of how much his wide shoulders complemented his carved muscles.
But nothing could compare to his eyes, now so close to my, a melted caramel-gold that looked like a pool of golden lava being mix in a cauldron. There were so many layers of colors molding together, so many shades of golden, that it would take me an entire day to capture those s.h.i.+nning orbs in a painting.
Nothing could compare to the light in those eyes as his lips touches mine, perhaps only the sensation his touch could give me, even more under such deep sight, such a tender look with the soft touch of his lips makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, and in a good way, as if, even that for only a second, even if only as this kiss lasted, I was at peace, I was safe, all my worries vanis.h.i.+ng away.
This was the embrace of a loved one, so caring and lovable that it almost hurt.
We dreadfully have to part our lips at some point, our bodies hidden under the trees shade, our heavy breaths mixing together as, with our eyes closed, our noses and forehead were resting against each other, his hand on the back of my neck as if wanting to get even closer.
I couldn"t help but let a soft smile curve my lips up, a heavy sigh escaping me as I only focus on his breathing, on his warmth, on his smell.
He always had a strangely calming effect on me, keeping a cool mind even in the most stressful situations and managing to bring me into his energy instead of getting affected by my own or the situation"s energy.
And he always knew what to do to calm me down too; when to advance and when to fall back.
Well, certainly he knew that I needed this right now.
"Thanks."
"Uhm."
We stay like that for a little longer, until he locks eye with me and says: "I think is a good idea to take Aegloes to the elves; they may not like other people but they truly care for their own no matter what, I bet he will be safe there until we resolve all this mess."
"But…" He says, playing with my hair once more. "I"ll be back as soon as I explain the situation there. You are not getting rid of me that easily."
I smirk at that, taking his hand on mine and pressing it against my cheek.
"I wouldn"t have it any other way… Just be careful ok?"
"Of course, I always am. Pity that I won"t see your performance this time as a woman." I b.u.mp him in the shoulder, playfully.
"Oh shut it."
We keep talking all merry and happy, but, even though the idea was mine and that he agreed to it, an unsettling feeling crept inside me, of us parting once more, of being… alone for the first time, not knowing what could be happening to both of them.
Just please… please let them come back to me safe and sound, both of them.
Otherwise I may lose it.
As if noticing my line of thought Leo brings my face up and, with a small smile, says:
"Would you sing for me?" I chuckle.
"Really? Again? What"s up with our obsession with me singing?"
"I just like our voice."
"Is that so?"
"Well, and I may or may not miss it in the next days so I thought to keep it at heart with our singing."
"Oh, so you will only miss my voice, is that it?"
At that he smiles with mischief, a playful glint s.h.i.+ning in his eyes as he says: "You know that I would miss far more than that. Should I list them to you?"
"N-no no no, I"m good." It never ends well when he starts speaking that way.
In the end we settle down under the tree, his head on my lap as I stroke his blond hair, a lullaby flowing softly over the chilly approaching night, this calm, peaceful day coming to an end before we part ways tomorrow morning.
But as one says…
It is the calming before the storm.