A Quiet Morning

The glass canopy at the top of the travel vessel showed hints of dawn. Everything within the interior was still quiet and softly painted in the early morning’s purple and blue ambience. Faint voices outside hinted at the beginnings of activity as all the world began to wake. It was another new day.

Sayane’s eyes slowly parted from her dreamless slumber. In the days since the New World had officially begun, she’d found herself so exhausted that not even dreams could reach her once her eyes shut for the night. Waking came easily, and when consciousness returned, she felt rested enough, though still fatigued.

Azag was there beside her. They’d slept in the same bed every night since the freeing of the Akna shard, and bit by bit, his deep, rattling exhales as he dreamed were becoming familiar to Sayane. It was almost like a purring noise, though heavy and slow in their rumble. When her back was on the bedding, she could feel the vibrations moving from him to her.

His hand was still clasping hers. As awareness returned to her body, she allowed her senses to soak in the moment of quiet once more. Something was still unsettled and anxious in her spirit, and she found herself clinging to every bit of gentleness, calmness, and familiarity.

Azag was all of those things for her.

He tensed slightly and let out a subtle groan. Sayane knew that meant he was waking as well, and now the strain of his body’s agony was slowly flooding his existence once again with its daily onslaught.

His hand raised to remove the cloth that was tied over his eyes to help him sleep. Once the fabric fell away, the glowing cyan of his unclosing gaze shone out in the fading darkness.

“Good morning,” Sayane groggily whispered.

His touch drifted along her wrist and arm.

“Another sunrise,” he said softly.

His voice was somehow deeper in the mornings.

“Another sunrise,” Sayane repeated as she let her eyes close again so that she could focus on the sensation of his fingers and palm running along her upper arm.

Her hand slowly raised towards him then paused as he inhaled. Touch was still a very foreign thing for him, and in the early morning hazes before clarity fully returned, he would occasionally find himself tensing at the idea. But then his heart would remember who was touching him, and he would exhale and return to calmness.

Her hand came to rest on the bent mandible that jutted out from his jaw and flanked his fanged mouth. It was softer than many other parts of him, and the muscle seemed slightly less rigid than those surrounding it.

Their eyes met, and they stayed in that position, holding one another without looking away. All of the day could have passed without them leaving that moment, and neither would have minded. The real world’s heavy expectancy pushed them deeper into the bed as both quietly tried to prep themselves for another day. Sayane found herself wanting to be enveloped in every aspect of him.

“Can I… be against you?” Sayane whispered.

“Certainly. How so?” he asked.

Sayane carefully lifted his hand then slowly scooted herself closer to him before rotating so that her back was against his stomach. All of her back, shoulders and head fit against his torso, with his arm angling perfectly for her to rest her face against as his jaw lowered onto the crown of her head. When she was comfortably settled, she reached for his arm and wrapped it over her chest.

“Thank you,” she said faintly.

“This is nice,” he replied.

Sayane drifted in and out of sleep for another hour. His deep exhales pulsed into her ribs, calming her further. Above them, the sky began to light with true morning.

Eventually, reality returned, and they had to awake. A tap at the door told them the real world had arrived.

“Yes?” Sayane called.

“Songstress. Great Guardian. The engineer delivered a package for you,” Ik-Yu said from the other side of the door.

The three Revolutionary warriors had all asked to become their personal guards, which had led to the three former Silencers asking as well. That night, Ik-Yu and Mi-Ux had shared the watch.

“Coming!” Sayne replied as she exhaled and slowly slid from Azag’s grasp.

She knew it would be easier for her to get the package than him. As she slipped from the enormous bed, she wrapped a shawl over her gown and tip-toed to the door. Ik-Yu and Mi-Ux both bowed as Ik-Yu handed her the small package.

“Good morning!” Sayane smiled as she bowed in return.

“We’ll be ready in a little while,” she added as she closed the door.

Turning back to their quarters, Sayane could see that Azag was now sitting upright and already latching his chest and leg braces into position.

Chipped, damaged metal bracing popped into place as brackets shifted and gears set. Numerous harnesses tightened against his narrow waist and stomach. As he moved, Sayane could see his muscles flexing with effort and focus. He looked up and saw her watching him.

“What?” he smirked.

“Nothing. I just enjoy watching you,” Sayane smiled as she neared him and handed him the box.

“Good. Glad that’s done,” Azag inhaled as he opened the container to reveal a simple mask.

“Aw, I like it,” Sayane said as she observed the minimalist polished metal and gaskets.

“Just temporary, till we get settled. But it’ll help,” Azag said as he raised it to his face.

Now, he could hide his scarring. Now, he could breathe easier. And, in so many ways most importantly, he could cycle his pain relief chemicals from his body’s glands and into his lungs.

Belts clamped around his face and the mask settled into position. Azag’s curious fingers drifted along the smooth edges and Sayane wondered what he was thinking.

“How’s it look?” He earnestly asked as he looked at her.

“It’s cute. Slightly less intimidating than the last one.”

His heavy chuckle echoed from within the metal casing.

“Well I wanted people to leave me alone so that means it was doing its job. I guess I need to look a little more approachable now…” he sighed as he shifted the padding.

“Does it feel okay?” Sayane asked.

“It feels good enough. I’ve already spoken with Lorna and the others about getting something more advanced once we settle,” he said as he turned to her.

Azag’s head lowered as Sayane’s hand raised to the faceplate. It was cold to the touch, yet much smoother than his previous mask. The eye sockets were larger, but the glass was slightly tinted, so his glowing eyes seemed fainter than usual.

“Can I make a request for the next one,” Sayane blushed as she looked into the shining cyan.

“Certainly,” he replied.

“Can the glass be fully clear again, so I can see your eyes? I… I love your eyes.”

It was a sensitive thing to admit for her, and she knew it was a complex subject for him. The Silence had carved his lids away when they experimented on him, so he had existed for decades without ever fully closing his eyes. Sayane knew it gave him great suffering and exhaustion, and didn’t want to make light of that, but as she looked at the opaqueness of the current mask, she felt a pull to not have the filtering there. His head tilted more into her palm with a softness that calmed her worries.

“Of course. It… makes me very happy to hear you say that. I love your eyes as well. Hume eyes are very fascinating. Most of us don’t have the light area around ours like you do.”

Sayane paused to think on it and realized he was right. So many races had irises that fully filled their eye sockets in most moments. She didn’t know what the white part of her eyes were called, but now she appreciated the humanness of them. Knowing that Azag liked that white space caused her to blush once again.

As they sat there, he began to connect the hoses from his back glands to the adapters on the new mask.

“May I help?” Sayane asked.

“I’d like that.”

Blankets shifted beneath her as she moved across the bed to be close to his exposed back. Once again, Sayane marveled in quiet terror at the haphazard drill points cutting into his flesh. Metal junctions were fused over scarred muscle, with tiny vents glowing with life. Sayane slowly raised the nearest hose end towards the mask port. His hand rose to guide hers as she connected the end and heard a slight sealing sound.

“Thank you,” he whispered as he held onto her fingers for a little longer.

“Always,” she replied.

As she sat back, she saw an unpleasant reminder. Glowing mass was still visible on his back and side. Wound marks were still fresh. Stol’s attack wound was closed, but it wasn’t going away.

“You’re still not healing…” Sayane said.

All Azag could muster was a shrug.

“My body takes time. I’ll be okay,” he said with a tired sigh.

“We can go see the doctors in the camp,” Sayane offered.

“Or I can try to do more, I-“

“Sayane, please, no,” he said in quiet but firm voice.

“You are exhausted. You do not need to do any more than you are.”

She wanted to do so much more, but she knew he was right. The fatigue was still coating every inch of her being.

“It will be okay, I promise. Plus, they need to focus on others. Once we’re settled, I’ll go see someone if it’s not any better, I promise,” Azag said.

Sayane was not satisfied but she knew that there was nothing more she could add. Healing did take time, and his body had done more of it than she could ever imagine. Still, she didn’t like that it wasn’t getting better beyond her original effort to save him.

“Speaking of settling…” Azag said as he forced himself to stand.

The braces strained and he tensed from the effort. Instinct led Sayane to reach out to help him, and he mercifully accepted her aid. They shuffled a few steps until he retrieved his makeshift walking staff.

“Today is the daaaaaay,” Sayane sang with a hint of fretting.

Once Azag was stable, Sayane stepped back to begin deciding what she wanted to wear. Neither spoke as they selected their clothes. Nervous thoughts collided with doubts and concerns that weren’t vocalized as fabric slid over skin.

Anxiety twisted Sayane’s veins with heightened sensitivity as she tried to gather herself. It was going to be a very important day. Faction representatives were arriving from across the realm. Leaders of all former oppressed people were present.

Sayane and Azag would be present and were still expected to be the final decision makers. To their slight terror and great honor, no one in the Revolution seemed to wish for them to step aside. They were still seen as the leaders and figureheads of this new world.

Today would be their first major decision as leaders.

They needed a haven. And not just them. There were hundreds of thousands of refugees, Revolutionaries, new followers, former Silencers who had converted, and prisoners of war who still needed to be placed. There were also the remaining Silence citizens holed up in their cities, refusing to surrender. There was so much and so many to think of.

It was time to decide where their new home would be.