Chapter 8:

Down to Earth

Short & Short


"Don't take her too seriously," Almerya advised once they were a few spirals below the elders' hut. Slowly, Karkass's anger faded away, hidden behind a veil of air. "Edelgard?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah."

Her thoughts weren't with Magmaranda, but with Karkass. His face looked so familiar to another man she got rather close to.

"What's on your mind?" Almerya asked, rubbing her back.

Edelgard walked unsupported in the middle of the branches. Were it not for her shock, she'd have screamed by now.

"That man... Karkass," she started, carefully choosing her words. "Who is he?"

The elder's twitch didn't escape Edelgard's eyes.

"He... why do you ask that?" she asked, evading her question.

"Karkass reminds me of Starkus," she revealed, observing Almerya's expression. She was startled gasping for a breath of air. "Not in personality, Starkus would never scream like that... not the Starkus I know, at least. The similarity isn't even necessarily physical, it's just... I don't know, beyond his skinny limbs and angry face... ah! His eyes, that's it... though Starkus doesn't have this scowling look on his face, either... Oh, what is it? I can't put my hands on it..."

"Intuition..." Almerya mumbled.

"What do you mean, intuition?"

"Intuition is a phenomenon elves commonly find in children... some keep it for a few centuries, most lose after one or two, though. No recorded instance of it being kept beyond the first millennia of an elf's life was ever recorded... thus, it's believed that no adult elf can have it. We judge based on what we know and see, not on some strange feeling... yet you have it." Her eyes were wide open, half-impressed, and half-worried. "It is not a reliable source of knowledge, but at times, it can be surprisingly accurate." Almerya sighed. "I guess it wouldn't help to keep it from you..."

"Keep what from me?"

The movement in her elder seemed strange to Edelgard. She was busy avoiding her gaze, playing with her fingers in front of her body.

"Karkass... he's the brother of Starkus."

"So I was right! They seemed so strangely similar..."

"Yes. Strangely similar..." Almerya trailed off. There was more to this story. "They weren't all that different when they grew up."

"They weren't?"

Almerya shook her head.

"No. Not until... the day. Don't even ask, that's not something for me to tell you. Just... don't hold Magmaranda's behavior against her," she pleaded, squeezing Edelgard's hand. "The last time a prophecy spoke of change, she lost an important person... so... don't hold it against her. She changed back then, too..."

"Didn't you say that the first elf had yet to die?"

Almerya smiled awkwardly but kept silent.

Edelgard hadn't seen her friend like that before, and so they walked down without another word. Even when the terror of the height slowly returned, creeping into her legs, making them wobble like twigs in a storm, she didn't say anything.

No matter her fears, she wanted to give Almerya the time she needed.


Claudia returned shortly after noon.

Esmeralda and Deadaela had stumbled upon a whole field of ripe Carol fruits, and edible roots and berries were easy to come by.

Her mouth watered at the thought of tonight's meal.

They could even dare to heat a fire, smoking the Carol fruits, and... Claudia sighed. They'd need Argus milk for that.

If she went now, she'd be on time, but then the whole day would be gone...

But smoked Carol fruits...

"Huh? Starkus, where's Edelgard... IS THAT ARGUS MILK?"

For a moment she lost her cool at this most welcome surprise.

"Haha, long story," Starkus said with a tired smile. "And Edelgard probably went with Almerya. I can't be sure, but there's really only one place, right?"

"What is it this time?" Claudia sighed, placing her basket on the table.

"Do you think they were mad at us for keeping her at a distance?" Starkus wondered.

"If they were, they'd have forced her to come... why didn't you hold Almerya back, then? It was her, wasn't it?"

"She shot me this meaningful look, and she's still an elder. I couldn't just refuse her, then."

"Huh... Then what about the Argus milk?"

"Oh," Starkus said, shooting a glance at the wooden jug. It was big enough to fit five liters in there. "That was my inconspicuous excuse to leave Edelgard alone with her."

"That's what you call inconspicuous?" Claudia supported her head with her hand, sighing loudly. Ever since Edelgard appeared, this household had seen a lot of that. "Were you bathing together, again? I hear this story of my husband dragging a woman under the waterfall or racing with her across the roofs more and more frequently... I'm starting to get jealous, you know? Right, there was this other one... about you teaching her how to ride?"


Starkus almost fell from his chair.

He didn't know that that one turned into a rumor already.

"We wanted to wait a little while longer until we revealed that talent of hers," Starkus mumbled defensively, holding up his hands in front of his torso. His gaze was wary. "Are you mad?"

"You know that riding takes a lot of forcefulness and willpower, don't you? You can't expect a lady to learn how to ride, she's more of a soothing personality who gets along with animals, not one who learns how to make them follow their commands."

"Why don't you take her out and teach her every once in a while? Maybe she can adapt to both worlds."

"Learning to control and get along with them?"

"She has talent, you know," Starkus argued, standing up. Looking down on Claudia usually gave him more of a commanding aura, but not today. Instead of swaying her, Starkus was the one who shrank back, sitting right back down. "Are you jealous?"

"I remember me saying something along those lines, yes," Claudia admitted, crossing her arms. She pouted, looking away. "You get along well with Edelgard, don't you? A bit too well, to my liking."

"We are just friends, though?"

"Hmph!"

His wife could get scary... or maybe the prospect of her being mad at Starkus was what scared him so much.

No matter what it was, the end result stayed the same.

It was strange how she managed to do that, even when he didn't feel like he did anything wrong... he didn't, right?

Getting along with Edelgard didn't seem wrong to him, at least.

As such, he stood up, approaching his wife, even though she was in a bad mood. With all the power a faithful husband had, he embraced her resistant little body, pressing her against his own. She was so strong, yet felt so brittle...

This was the only woman he would hug like that.

"She is a friend. I can have many of that, but only one of you. Is that not enough?"

Claudia twitched, her fingers brushing against his torso. Then tension slowly dissipated.

"Say, what is so special about her?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Starkus wondered what she meant.

Hadn't he just explained that she was the only one in the world for him?

"Even if you ask me like that, I couldn't tell you..."

He heard a sniffle from the trembling woman in his arms.

Was she crying?

"Say, who am I to you?" she asked.

"You are my wife... my one and only wife."

"... Say it again."

"Why?"

"Just say it..."

"Alright... you are my wife. You are the only one I want to be married to. Out of all the Elven women there are, I chose you because I love you."

"... I love you, too... idiot."

"Why?"

"Because you are..." The sniffling continued but slowly dissipated. They remained like that, hugging each other. "Can you teach me how to race, too?"

That startled Starkus.

"I thought you didn't like it? You never went when I asked you."

"Now's different, because...because..."

"Because?" he pressed.

She glared at him... what did he earn that for? He just wanted to know how he could make her happy.

"Because I'm the one asking for it now." She turned her wet eyes up, blinking rapidly. Streaks of tears rolled down her face... this was a side of Claudia he had never seen before, but somehow... it didn't put him off. If anything, he loved her even more because of it. "Look, can we hug again? I feel uncomfortable with you looking at me like that..."

Claudia rubbed the tears away, clearly embarrassed.

A sudden wish to tease her welled up in Starkus's chest, but he let it be. Gently, he pressed her head back against his torso, protecting her from whatever it was that she was frightened of.

He wouldn't allow anyone to harm his wife... not even himself.

"I think you are more attractive today than ever before," Starkus confessed, whispering in her ears. Claudia snuggled closer, listening intently. "But you don't need to do this. I could tell that you were against the idea of racing, or showering, or riding... you don't need to force yourself for my sake. If you were to act as you enjoyed yourself when you were hurting in truth... then I couldn't forgive myself. Please, Claudia... I love you as you are."

Here, his wife firmly, for the first time in this conversation, touched him. With both of her hands on his torso, she pushed back her head, looking directly at Starkus.

"I'm not forcing myself," she promised, smiling.

"I know you, Claudia. The wife I married-"

"Wants to race with you... even your friend does it, and I want to be more than a wife."

"What could be more precious than a wife," Starkus mused, kissing her. Their lips smacked together repeatedly, then he inserted his tongue. They spent many minutes like that, then they moved to their bed, laying down in anticipation and excitement. "I love you, even when you race with me."

"And I will love you, even if you teach me..."

They spent the next hour in passionate intimacy, more passionate than they'd ever done it.

As Starkus placed a kiss on his wife's lower lips, he thought that there were good sides of change, after all.

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