Resting in Gargi

Mint’s hands tremble as he pulls the mouth of the backpack open. Holes have been eaten into the clothes inside, and their tent is totaled.

It appears to have caught the brunt of the attacks. Nearly half of the fabric is gone. He pushes the clothes to the side. Mimo’s there, shut off.

His case is completely intact, not a nick on it. Mint’s heart lightens a little. He sits Mimo in the grass, and pulls open the side pocket sewn into the wall of the bag.

A sturdy metal case is inside, about the size of a hand. He presses the latch. The clam shell lid springs open. The Key lies against black velvet lining.

The woman looks over her shoulder and shouts. “His heart’s beating! It’s really strong, too!”

A weight lifts off of his shoulders. Tears suddenly flood his eyes. He runs as fast as his legs can carry him.

ꕤ

Darkness. There’s nothing but darkness.

The first thing he becomes aware of is the sound of his own heart and the pounding ache in his skull. His heart is pumping hard and he feels awful. All he wants to do is go back to sleep.

He must’ve slept in for a reason. His thoughts are so far away and wading through the thick, sludgy blackness to find one just isn’t worth it. Something nudges his side, jarring his head and neck.

They already hurt badly enough. Who’s doing that? Is somebody trying to wake him up?

Don’t they know he’s sick? It’s okay to sleep when you’re sick.

It’s probably dad, waking him to eat some more soup. But I’m not hungry… He mutters. He wants to stay under the cozy quilts until the pounding stops. As much as he ignores the repetitive nudging, it just isn’t going away.

Against his wishes, he ascends closer and closer to the surface. Light cuts through the darkness. “ –sa! Asa!”

Asa opens his eyes, blurry blues and greens dance in his vision, blending into each other and morphing entrancingly. As his eyes focus the colors transform into swaying leaves and a person with blond hair and a green robe.

It’s Mint, his crying face streaked with tears. Is that who was trying to wake him up? Asa blinks slowly with half lidded eyes. “Mint?”

“Asa!” Mint cries, a relieved smile emerging into his features. He throws himself into his chest, hugging him as gently as possible. “I’m so glad you’re alive!”

Mint sobs into his breastplate. Asa blinks and sluggishly turns his head, looking over Mint’s shoulder. A silhouette enters his sight, backlit by the blazing sun.

He squints and can make out the vague shape of a person. They have two buns and a tendril of hair that extends past their chin. As his eyes adjust, he sees purple hair and a warmly smiling face.

Clear, blue eyes peer into his. He blinks. “Luna?”

Her eyes are filled with fondness and warmth. “Hi, Asa.”

He takes a breath and tears up, then quickly pushes himself up, grimacing. He grabs his abdomen and hisses. Luna and Mint both put hands on his chest.

“Don’t get up! You’re hurt!” Says Mint. Asa leans forward and wraps his arms around Luna. She pauses, then returns the hug. A smile blossoms on his face.

“I missed you.” He murmurs. Luna’s warmth radiates through him.

“I told you I wouldn’t leave you.” She says. Even though she did technically leave, those words aren't a lie.

Luna had been there in spirit, waiting for the day she could physically return to him.

☼

Asa sits cross legged in the grass, shirtless. His torso is stained with numerous dark, angry bruises.

They cover his entire body. The tether points for the wires (like his armpits and elbows), are worse off, the most severe bruising on his throat. Mint frets over him. “You’re hurt everywhere! What even did this to you?”

Asa’s gaze drifts to his lap. “Iris… She was an assassin from Litora. She had a weird guard type, one I’ve never seen before. Some kind of steel wires. She strangled me with them until I fainted. I don’t remember anything else.”

Mint’s heartbroken about Iris and for some reason, Luna looks surprised when he says the Litora part. “Her eyes were filled with so much hate…”

Mint clenches his fist. “We’re going to the hospital. Now.”

“Gargi wasn’t on my route. I don’t know if their hospital has surveillance or not.”

“Well, your mission won’t succeed either way if you die in your sleep. My nanites can’t repair damaged blood vessels that deep in your throat. You’ll need a CTA scan.”

“Your voice isn’t hoarse, but I don’t want to ignore the possibility of a laryngeal fracture either.”

Asa sighs wearily. “You’re right… We’ll go, but we have to make it quick.”

“We’re staying in a hotel tonight, too!”

“Huh?”

“You’re going to sleep in a soft, warm bed so your body can heal. No if, ands, or buts!”

He sighs once more. “This is gonna put us behind schedule…”

Luna watches Asa, who has a giant bandage over his cheek. Her eyes occasionally trail down to his naked chest. Asa’s bloomed into a beautiful adult, she thinks with pride.

☼

Mint dutifully leads the way, holding Mimo and sometimes chatting with him. Luna supports Asa with her shoulder. They spot an odd pillar by the path side.

It’s silverish tan, and looks like metallic plastic, but has the texture of polished stone and is more than 10 feet tall. A vertical, rectangular seam runs from top to bottom, indicating a hatch.

Above the hatch is ancient calligraphy. Regardless of what he’s going through, ancient tech will cheer Asa up.

“Ohh!! One of these!” He says, rising from Luna’s shoulder. “I find these sometimes, but can never get the hatch open. What do you think’s inside?”

Mint and Luna silently watch Asa dash to the pillar. Luna makes an unusual face, like she’s nervous, or mad. He points at the calligraphy. “I wonder what this says. Maybe it could tell us.”

“It’s Alma.” Answers Mint, mystified. “It says 203.”

“203?” Asks Asa, confused. Luna’s expression darkens, then suddenly transforms into a bright grin.

“Alright!” She says, grabbing Asa’s shoulders. “We’re tight on time, aren’t we? Let’s get going ~ .”

She pushes Asa along. “Uh, yeah. Okay.” He says. I guess I got distracted…

☼

Luna sits on top of the covers as Asa lies in the hotel bed with an ice pack on his throat. The CTA scan (which only costs 1g for tourists!) revealed that his larynx had a tiny fracture. It hadn’t caused any problems yet, but would’ve gotten worse with time.

A short surgery with specialized nanomachines had made it good as new! Despite his improved condition (and complaining), Mint still gave Asa a mandatory prescription of bed rest.

It may put them behind, but it’s also working. The headache is almost gone. Secretly, Asa appreciates the opportunity to rest. He turns his head to Luna, examining her clothes. “That’s an Animaguard, isn’t it? Did you become a defender, like we promised?”

The fact that she stuck to her promise makes him feel squishy inside. She answers. “Yeah, I did. I became a Knight, actually.”

Asa’s blood runs cold. Does this mean we’re enemies now? He thinks. It must’ve shown on his face, because Luna waves her hands in front of her. “No, no, I won’t do anything bad!”

Her face turns deathly serious and she leans close. “You and I, we’re thick as thieves.” She says, pointing her finger at him on the you and at herself on the I, then returning it to him (jabbing it with each syllable). “I would commit treason for you.”

Luna doesn’t even blink. She means it. “So, why is Litora after you?” She says, casually segwaying into another topic.

He hesitates. “Um…”

Mint yells, grabbing his hair and throwing his head back in anguish. Mimo cackles, having won another game of Old Maid. Asa looks through his lashes, pleadingly.

“You won’t tell anyone, will you?” He asks.

“Mm-mm!” She cheerfully shakes her head.

“Okaaayyy ~ .” Asa says in faux disbelief. He leans into her ear and whispers. For quite a while. Luna’s expression becomes more and more serious as the infodump stretches on.

Eventually, the whispering stops and he pulls away. Luna puts her hands on his shoulders. “That was extremely sensitive information and I’m grateful you’ve trusted me with it.”

She makes a reassuring face, but she’s clearly conflicted. She stands and walks to the door, then looks over her shoulder with a smile. “I’m going to get some fresh air. Be right back!”

The latch clicks. Asa, Mimo, and Mint stare at the closed door with concerned looks.

“Is she okay?” Asks Mint.

“It was kind of a lot…” Asa says.

☼

The twilight breeze is relaxingly cool. A tiered garden fountain trickles in front of the hotel. Luna peers into the pale, indigo sky. She fishes something from her pocket and holds it in her palm.

It’s a white necklace with a triangular, green pendant, just like the one she gave Asa. A street light reflects off of it, making it shine. She stares into it, looking for an answer. “Father…”

The necklace doesn’t provide one. She closes her fist around it, making a face determined, loving, regretful, and uncertain, all at once. She turns around and goes back in.

☾

The next day, Asa purchases a sidecar for his bike, and feels years shaved off his life when he checks how little of the budget is left.

Luna hops in and they set off for Marine.