the _______'s a gift

Lucian, for some reason, kept their next destination a surprise until they packed, finished their last affairs and headed for a secret road out of town: a secret set of stairs carved into the cliffs and hidden in caverns.

Two archers guided them, but they weren’t the only creatures hitching a ride.

“Why’re these grubs following us!?” Shay snapped, trying and failing to shoo some of the sparks away.

Zane shrugged. “Might be the same ones from yesterday. With their Queen dead, they saw your kind, magnanimous nature and selected you to replace her. Easy.”

“Not easy! I didn’t ask for this!”

“Too bad. It’s your fate. Just keep them fed and they’ll probably leave us alone once we get out of the area.”

The sparks chirped as if disagreeing with Zane, nipping at Shay’s heals before he relented and fed them more ore. “Damn kids… bunch of freeloaders you’ll turn out to be.”

Stairs creaked underfoot, droplets of water landing on their shoulders and perpetuating the mossy stench. Around halfway up, the archers turned back, offering a quick salute to Shay before they disappeared from sight.

“So, what’s the next surprise destination?” Zane said. “We’ve still got a shit ton of land to cross.”

Lucian hummed, pulling out the map as he balanced his staff underarm. “We need to get to the church as soon as possible. I was thinking, um—maybe… we could follow the coastline, going through the woods, and by next week, we’ll resupply in Orie before heading straight to Belva. We should be there by the end of the month.”

“Orie?” Zane crossed his arms. “Sounds good. It’s a big city, so we’ll slip in just fine. Shouldn’t be hard to find an inn either—”

“I’d rather not.”

They reached the top of the stairs, but Lucian stopped. Zane and Shay maneuvered around him, but he buried his head in his map, silent, grip tight around paper.

“You’re feeling all right?” Shay said. “Hey, kid c’mon—”

“I’m fine.”

Lucian buried the map in his bag. Zane caught that look in his eye again, something uneasy turning in his stomach. “Apologies, I was just… thinking. I promise I’m fine.”

Shay grimaced. “Uh—sure, whatever you say, kid.”

Maybe Shay’d be content to leave it at that. But Zane considered himself the curious type, too curious to let another moment of oddity go. As they continued into the forest, thick trees masking the sky above, Zane poked Lucian’s shoulder.

“Everything’s not fine,” Zane said. “What was up with that?”

“Oh—”

Lucian laid his staff in his hands, staring at it. “It’s—it’s hard to explain. Or more like, it’s not something… I should be explaining. Since I’ve already… I’m not… it’s all behind me—After I…”

“Left?” Zane said, and Lucian nodded. “Gotcha, gotcha. Sordid personal history and all that. Everyone among Vitam’s Guardians got something like that going on, so I get it. You don’t need to talk about it.”

Lucian sighed, wringing his hands together. And, for the first time, Zane wondered, really wondered about Lucian. Lucian—what’d Barry and his archers say yesterday? Grierwood? When they met, he used just his first name. They’d been selecting the new Vitam’s Avatar when Zane got thrown out of the church. So he knew nothing of the process, of the effort Lucian put into getting his title, or how he felt about the other Guardians.

Though, based off of the life of the last Avatar, it must’ve been a complicated and lonely one.

Maybe he should’ve asked sooner.

“…Thanks,” Lucian said. “Um—if it means anything… one day, I’d like to tell you more. I think you’re the only person I could tell.”

“Really? Me?”

“Yes. Because you’re exactly—”

Shay shoved himself between Zane and Lucian. “And you’re gonna tell me too, right?”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“C’mon, guys…” Shay said, but the silence eventually got the Dwim to (rather sadly) back off, going to check on his little spark followers who have yet to get tired of following them. “I guess your old man Shay doesn’t have a place in—whatever you two have going on over there.”

Zane yawned. “Yeah, sorry, no room.”

“At least try to acknowledge my feelings!”

Zane ignored Shay, getting the guy off his back before speaking again. “So, what were you gonna say? Exactly what?”

“Oh—uh… it’s nothing.”

“Nothing?” Zane asked.

Lucian shook his head. “I’ll—tell you someday. I promise.”

Another thing on the someday list, but Zane was a chill guy. He didn’t mind. As long as they managed something good for the world, he trusted Lucian to say and not say whatever he wanted to. If Vitam’s Avatar was plotting something, he likely wouldn’t have done all he did back in Udrefaust.

Whatever happened—

They just had to be careful. Who knew where Pearce ran off to, what the rest of the Guardians had planned for them.

—————————————

“Woah! You survived!”

Pearce groaned, clutching his side as he leaned against a tree. “I almost wish I hadn’t, if it means leaving behind all my men.”

The girl in front of him, wearing a garish dress combining colors and fabric types into nonsense, waved him off. “Come on, they’re not gonna die. The Dwim always capture our guys and trade them for supplies ‘cause they’re broke and desperate.”

“I wish we wouldn’t have to give succor to the violent heretics.” Pearce grimaced.

“Eh, as long as people’re alive, who cares? Life’s good, everything’s good. You took care of that weirdo and the escapee—”

“Please don’t call Vitam’s Avatar a ‘weirdo’.”

“Okay, but he is. Let me guess, Zaney didn’t do shit, Lucian put all the ideals in his head, and then, liiike, something something you caught them and everything can go back to normal?”

“…They escaped.”

“Oh, wow, you suck. I don’t wanna deal with them.”

Pearce sucked in a breath. “As Vitam’s Sadness, it’s your duty to do your part. I need to return to the main church and inform the others. Follow their movements and intercept them, please. For the good of Auliam.”

Vitam’s Sadness sighed, crossing her arms. “Okay, even if I really don’t like actually doing work, at least I get to see Zaney again, so it’s all worth it. A new genre of Zaney, anyways.”

“Remember what he is, now. He’s pledged to undermine us even if it takes his life. I saw it when he tried to sacrifice himself for a Dwim and our former Avatar.”

“Eh, give me some time. Once he hears the truth, I’m sure he’ll gladly give up and come back to us. Those murals they saw might’ve told a neat little story, but what’s better to knock the wind out of their sails than some good ol’ reality?”