Erik sat on the bed next to the sleeping Aliya. He was worried he’d done something wrong since she’d been asleep for so long. It was typically the human that was out for an extended period of time. Sigmis told him that she was fine and not to worry, their circumstances were a bit different. Erik couldn’t help but remain in the room with her. He wanted to be there when she woke up, worried how she would react if he wasn’t.
As she slept, he couldn’t help but notice the scar across her chest. He could no longer chock it up to imagination or lighting. She seemed to hide it somehow when she was awake. However, it was there, clear as day. Especially when he saw her true form. He couldn’t help but wonder if that was the real reason she didn’t want him to look at her in that form. There was no hiding anything about their appearance in a Spirit’s true form. It was clearly something she was self conscious about.
“Is she still out?” Zephyr stepped in the room with a sulky look on his face.
“Yeah, she hasn't moved an inch,” Erik didn’t turn to look at him at all. He knew Zephyr didn’t accept this situation one bit, and he didn’t feel comfortable looking him in the eye while his sister was in such a state.
“What are you doing?” Zephyr leered at him, wondering why he was sitting on the bed next to her.
“Nothing!” Erik quickly jumped to his feet, realizing what Zephyr was being so skeptical about. He couldn’t deny the thought crossed his mind but never would he dream of acting on that impulse without her permission. Permission that he knew full well she’d never give. He sighed upon looking down at her and seeing her scar again. A pitiful expression fell across his face, “Zephyr? You know about her scar, don’t you?”
“Of course I do…” A heavy cloud cast a dark shadow of pain just thinking about the incident.
“What happened?” Erik could feel the air grow still. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Zephyr’s shoulders drop as he hung his head.
“It’s not something either of us care to talk about.” Zephyr bit his lip.
“I figured as much,” Erik sighed. “I didn’t think you’d tell me.”
“Look, don’t go asking her about it!” Zephyr hissed, gripping Erik’s arm tightly. He took a breath realizing he was being too harsh and eased up. “It’s more of a touchy subject for her than it is for me. That’s why she hides it with an illusion.” He closed his eyes. When he opened them he looked directly at Erik. “If she ever does tell you about it, I’ll accept you as her tether. It has to be of her own accord though.”
“I promise I won’t push it,” Erik smiled wistfully with a new hope. He wanted to be someone they could trust. He knew he wasn’t going about that in the right way but it was hard for him to change his ways. He could only hope that he was going in the right direction. He had until Aliya found a new tether to get her to at least tolerate him. He was going to stick around regardless. He made a promise he needed to fulfill.
“Zephyr! You coming or what?” Kindle poked her head in and shot a glare at Zephyr. She looked over at Aliya for a second and pouted seeing she was still asleep. Her stern look returned and went back to glaring at Zephyr.
“Yeah, yeah!” Zephyr glared back.
“What’s going on?” Erik glanced between them in confusion.
“Don’t sweat it, we are just helping out the locals,” Kindle shrugged it off as Zephyr stepped out into the hall. “You keep an eye on our girl and we’ll fill you in later.”
“Okay, then...” Erik raised an eyebrow at them as they closed the door. He sighed, looking down at Aliya resting so peacefully despite how loud they had been. He snickered, “You can sleep through anything, can’t you?” He laid down on the open half of the bed. Resting his head in his hand watching her sleeping face. “As much as I enjoy just keeping your beauty all to myself, someone as amazing as you should be out living life.” He huffed, knowing she probably didn’t even hear anything. At the same time he felt like it was the most he could get a word in given her mistrust of him until this point. He doubted he really could change her mind overnight. He wanted to know what really changed her mind about him. “You really need to wake up, darling Aliya…” He reached out with his free hand and gently brushed his fingers across her cheek.
She leaned into his hand and his heart jumped. It was the first time in days she’d even stirred. She turned toward him and the azure glint of her eyes cracking open reminded him of the sea.
“Good morning, precious,” He couldn’t help but smile with how elated he was as he sat up. “How are you feeling?”
“What the hell are you doing?!” Her eyes shot wide open upon realizing just how close he was to her. She reflexively shoved him off the bed as hard as she could, launching him into the wall. She felt dizzy from getting up so suddenly she fell back down on the bed.
“Nice to see you have your strength up but you shouldn’t push yourself,” Erik giggled in mild pain. He was concerned, seeing her drop the way she did but he tried to not make it so obvious.
“I don’t get it…” Aliya mumbled into the bed sheets. Her body felt like lead. Every inch of her ached as though she had been in an intense battle that she’d barely made it out alive. The room still felt like it was spinning and every breath she took was burning. “I thought the human was supposed to be the miserable one after a tether. Why do you look like this doesn’t bother you one bit?!”
“I guess I’m just wired differently,” Erik laughed and shrugged it off but he hadn’t the slightest clue either. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m worried about it!” Aliya yelled, burying her face in the bed.
“Are you always this grouchy when you wake up?” Erik looked at her with a disquieted smirk. It wasn’t the first time she woke up angry at him.
“Don’t change the subject!” Aliya pounded the bed and forced herself up again only to be hit by her dizziness once more.
“I told you not to push it!” Erik crossed his arms and pouted at the fact she was so riled up when she clearly wasn’t at one hundred percent. “I’m not going anywhere so you can take your time to get your concerns out.”
“Fine!” Aliya laid back down looking defeated, upset because he was right. She settled for the less physical approach, “Tell me something… you threatened to give me another name. How is it you know the ancient language of the Spirits?”
“I prefer the company of Spirits so I just sort of picked it up over the years,” Erik scratched the back of his neck with a nervous smile.
“I’d believe that if it weren’t for the fact you knew the tether spell well enough to control where my name got placed on your body.” She leered at him with suspicion but eased up, mildly impressed. “Clever placement might I add.”
He lit up upon hearing the mild sense of praise in her voice. “I know that typically without it simply appears on the arm or back. Inside one’s body it can’t be seen by others that can read it. My heart was my first thought,” Erik placed his hand over his heart. “Your name suits you pretty well, I’m glad I didn’t have to give you a new one.”
“So you weren’t bluffing,” Aliya huffed, hoping it was just a ruse to get her to reveal her name. “That’s quite the arte to override a Spirit's name. There’s no way you’re a Druid from The Order, so who taught you that?”
“I learned it from a Spirit I grew up with,” Erik’s expression turned sorrowful as he looked at his sword leaned against the wall by the door. “I’d rather not talk about him, if you don’t mind. I’m sure even you have your secrets.”
Aliya’s bitter glare melted away to a regretful understanding as she looked away. He sounded as though he never got over what happened. He looked genuinely hurt for a moment, so she decided to let this secret go.
Erik lightened up back to his playful attitude he always showed, “The past is the past, what matters is that here and now I’m here to serve your every whim!” Erik gave her a dramatic bow, “I will do whatever my lovely master wishes of me!”
“Stop that!” Aliya gripped the sheets tightly. She couldn’t look at him. “Let me make one thing clear. There will be no master and servant relationship between us. I’m not your master nor are you mine. While this arrangement stands we are equals.”
“So partners then?” Erik was surprised. He thought she’d be fine with him serving her since after all he was only a tether for her.
“If you need to put a label on it then yes,” Aliya sighed in annoyance.
“Deal!” Erik grinned.
“You’re such a strange human,” Aliya couldn’t understand why he was so happy.
“Me, strange?” Erik scoffed. “What about you? You have made it rather clear you don’t like me and yet you allowed me to be your tether. Why is that?” He voiced playfully but curiosity was killing him.
“Your actions betray that selfish attitude you always extrude,” Aliya pointed at him and wiggled her finger. “At least when it involves Spirits. When the Princess tried to kill us you stood up for us, even stood between a devitalization weapon and me knowing it would probably kill you. I was told you defended my brother and I when Sigmis first woke up. Also you’ve had plenty of opportunities to steal Regulus and escape and yet you haven't,” Aliya glanced over at Regulus on the side table. “It’s not like I made it hard to get. I thought you were a thief.”
“I am, but didn’t I tell you? My next mark is your heart!” Erik smirked and winked.
“You’ll never get it, so don’t even bother,” Aliya’s face grew cold but Erik could tell there was sadness and pain behind it. Every time he said that she’d make that face. He couldn’t help but think about what Zephyr warned him about. He was wondering if someone broke her heart and she never got over it or even lost someone she loved and couldn’t protect them just like he did.
“I’m just playing, sometimes I can’t help myself when it comes to a beautiful lady!” He lied with a grin. He didn’t like seeing her filled with pain. He’d take her annoyance over it anytime.
“You’re the worst!” Aliya threw a pillow at him. He let it hit him but it was harder than he expected and staggered back a bit.
“I forget you are way stronger than you look,” Erik laughed, catching the pillow before it dropped to the ground.
“Just get out,” Aliya leered at him.
“Can’t do that actually! You are stuck with me until our bodies finish deciding if they’ll reject each other or not.” Erik shrugged as he approached the bed, tossing the pillow back where she grabbed it from on the other side of the bed.
“So you are feeling the effects too!” Aliya grabbed his wrist. His skin felt like it was burning her cold palms. “You should take your own advice and take it easy.”
“Awe, are you worried about me?! I’m touched!” He smirked.
“Don’t flatter yourself!” She hissed, yanking him down to sit next to her. She placed her hand on his forehead to confirm it was a fever. He closed his eyes feeling such relief with her ice cold hands against his skin. “The longer it takes you to recover the longer we are stuck here.”
“That’s part of the wanted life,” Erik shrugged. He hadn’t realized it was as bad until then. His concern for her made him forget about himself. “I guess I just developed the ability to ignore things like this since I’ve always been on the move.”
“That stubborn tenacity will get you killed,” Aliya was visibly disappointed as she retracted her hands.
“Now who’s the pot calling the kettle black?” Erik narrowed his eyes at her with a smug expression.
“Fair point,” Aliya rolled her eyes in defeat, considering she just tried to handle her tether problem on her own. “I guess we can hold each other accountable for that as long as we are partners.”
“So perhaps to relax we should cozy up together, what do ya say?” He already missed the cold feeling on his feverish skin.
“No! Not that kind of partner!” She placed her hand on his chest to push him back but she retracted it rather quickly. “Besides touching your skin right now, it stings pretty badly. It’s almost worse than contact with Kindle and Sigmis.”
“I’m sorry, I’ll behave.” He felt bad for being so clingy. “I noticed you run cold, I didn’t think Sirens were cold blooded though. Is it because you use ice in your magic all the time?”
“I guess I’m just wired differently,” Aliya tried dodging the question, using his own words against him.
“You are quite the mystery, darling Aliya,” Erik was fascinated by her. The stories he’d heard made her out to be far different than he expected her to be. He was enjoying this lively mysterious Spirit.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Aliya broke the silence, looking at him with suspicion.
“No reason,” Erik shrugged and looked away. “Zephyr’s stories don’t do you justice.”
“You two make it sound like you were such good friends before you took Regulus and ran off. Why did you do that anyway?” Aliya glanced over at the mana gun still sitting on the side table.
“The night before he said it was the only thing that could kill someone he was going to see,” Erik stood up and turned away from Aliya. “He seemed really conflicted by it. After quite a few drinks, I made the wager knowing I could win. I left before he could get the chance to win it back. I’ve honestly been running from him for the past year more than the law.” Erik laughed and shrugged.
“Zephyr wants to kill someone?!” Aliya tried thinking of who it could be but so much time had passed since they’d last seen each other that she didn’t know if it would even be someone she knew about. “He seemed pretty desperate to get it back.”
“I don’t think you should give it back to him,” Erik looked at Aliya with a dead serious look on his face. “I can still tell he’s conflicted about it. I don’t think Spirits should really go around killing others anyways.”
“If you really think that then why haven’t you tried to do something about this war?” Aliya bitterly glared at him. “The Earth Legion wants to exterminate humans and they’ve been killing them and other Spirits that get in their way.”
“Who says I haven’t?” Erik crossed his arms and looked down at her with a smug expression. ”I’m here aren’t I?”
“I was talking about before,” Aliya stared blankly at him, unsure if she could ever believe anything he said since he’s always deflecting by making snarky comments or jokes. “Forget it. I don’t know why I bother.”
“The things I steal goes to those who need it.” Erik spoke up quickly. He wasn’t a fan of her being disappointed in him, even though she had been most of the time they’ve known each other. “I leave stuff for towns and families affected by the war that the Empire doesn’t help.” Erik stretched across the foot of the bed. He propped up his head with his hand grinning at her. “Whatever I keep for myself is simply to survive.”
“Really?” Aliya raised an eyebrow at him.
“Really!” Erik nodded.
“I honestly don’t know if I can believe that, I have such a hard time reading you sometimes,” Aliya shook her head in disbelief.
“Hmm, yeah it might be hard to prove it since I don’t think any of them know my face. I’m usually discreet about it.” Erik’s face lit up when a thought occurred to him. “Oh, there is a town on the way to Nessarose Temple that I frequent. Roquat is probably one of the few towns still standing on the south side of the continent so they get the brunt of the war so often.” His expression shifted to a more somber tone, “The Empire doesn’t send much of its resources there anymore, the Fire and Water Legions protect them but they never stick around for the aftermath. They started calling me 'the spirit of fortune’ or something like that.” Erik shrugged and returned to his usual carefree attitude, “It’s a bit too dramatic for my taste but they can call me whatever they want.”
“Really, too dramatic for you? I didn’t think that was possible,” Aliya scoffed. The details he was giving were so specific it was hard to think he’d come up with it on the spot. She wanted to confirm it regardless.
“I know it's hard to believe,” Erik laughed as he rested his head in between his crossed arms. He found the blanket was surprisingly cool on his cheek.
“Why the overshare anyways?” Aliya narrowed her eyes at him.
“You said you don’t trust me,” Erik’s smile turned wistful. “I’d like you to be able to just a little if I’m your tether. Just some habits are hard to break. I don’t always get close to others given I’m wanted in all three countries. Last time I had someone I’d consider a friend was your brother and you know how that ended.” He rolled over onto his back and stretched his arms out. “Also, if we are going to be in this room for a while, we might as well get to know each other a bit more since we aren’t doing much else.”
“Okay, then. Fair is fair, is there something you want to know about me?” Aliya asked begrudgingly, hoping he wouldn’t ask anything extremely personal or something she couldn’t answer.
“Hmm,” Erik hummed as he tapped his chin thinking about it. He resisted the urge to say ‘Everything!’ He couldn’t ask about what he wanted to know the most about per his deal with Zephyr, plus he figured she wouldn’t tell him right away anyways. “How about you tell me something your brother doesn’t know.”
“What are you trying to blackmail me now?” Aliya shot him a coy grin.
“That wasn’t the plan but thanks for the idea,” Erik smirked, trying to ignore how his heart was racing seeing her smile at him. “I kid. Your brother talked about you all the time so I want to know something he doesn’t. If anything I’ll take something I can lord over him.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Aliya sighed. “I don’t think I have anything super interesting aside from maybe some travel stories from the past century without him.”
“Works for me,” Erik shifted onto his side to give her his full attention.
“Well, I was on my own for quite a while and with all the terraforming the Celestials were doing to make the world less islands and more connected, more ruins kept popping up that I had never explored. Most being civilizations that were flooded when the Lost Continent sank. There were even ones that were lost even before then.” Aliya lit up thinking about all her adventures in the ruins she found on her travels.
“Did you find stuff from the Lost Continent?” Erik asked a bit curious if there were more artifacts like Regulus floating around.
“No,” Aliya shook her head. “There were really only two ruins I came across that were from the Lost Continent. They are very difficult to get to and both are occupied by Spirits. I did come across a lot of Demons in the various ruins.” She looked at Erik with a derisive expression, “Apparently they are a great place for thieves and criminals to hide out in.”
“Really? I never would have guessed!” Erik voiced with heavy sarcasm.
“I know who would have thought?” Aliya shared his tone.
“Did you wipe the floor with them?” Erik was eager to hear more.
“Actually, I wasn't always strong. I had my brother to protect me while I supported him with my Magic Artes and that was enough. It was difficult on my own. Even with the power granted to me as a Celestial's Kinbound, my lack of combat skill was catching up to me and I could barely cast my Magic Artes in time. I nearly died once trying to escape some ruins. If it wasn’t for a guild clearing the Demons out at the time then I would never have survived. It was actually just one member of the guild accompanied by a Wolf Spirit that never left his side.”
“What guild was it?” Erik was struck with a strange sense of nostalgia. “I feel like I’ve heard about a guy like that before.”
“Arcturus,” Aliya clarified and Erik’s face lit up with realization. He knew exactly who she was talking about. “It’s not around anymore but I believe they helped The Third Order out a great deal.”
“Wait, you were trained by the greatest human swordsmen since the Age of Darkness, Luka Yubkin?” Erik sat up quickly. He’d heard stories since he was a kid and always loved every moment of them.
“Well, I asked him right then and there and he said, ‘No!’” Aliya imitated the deadpan expression she recalled Luka having. She chuckled, “I was going to leave. I was still leery of humans anyways, since it wasn’t terribly long after the incident with The First Order, but he insisted I follow him back to the guild anyways. He didn’t tell me why. He was more of an act first, explain later kind of guy.” Aliya waved her hand back and forth with an amused expression on her face. “Everyone in Arcturus was nice and I started training under a Water Spirit named Talise, instead. I learned to use polearms thanks to her.”
“So did Luka pick up on your anxiety around humans?” Erik thought about some of the stories he was told by his grandmother on how perceptive Luka was. He always assumed it was really just his Spirit partner but hearing Aliya talk about him he could tell that perhaps it was true he was just that perceptive.
“I like to think so, but he never said it,” Aliya shrugged. “It did me a lot of good being around that lively guild while I was training, it helped me restore my faith in humanity. I felt so much more comfortable around humans after that.” Aliya looked down with a warm smile on her lips. “I learned to use all sorts of weapons from the others in the guild. The Guildmaster taught me to use a warhammer and a great axe more effectively, he was such a small guy but such a heavy hitter. I learned sword basics from Hawk, who taught me archery too. I also learned more offensive Magic Artes from the resident mage, Alio. Eventually Luka started training me too, in a way. It was more that I sparred against him until I picked it up.” Aliya raised her head and looked out the window feeling nostalgic of her time with them. “They are the real reason why I use a variety of ice weapons. If you ask Zephyr, he would think it’s because our brother, Lios. Granted he gave me the idea for Frozen Forge but it was Arcturus that gave me the skill to properly use it.”
“Interesting! So your sword skill is like Luka’s then?” Erik was so enamored by the idea of seeing that unique style in person.
“Yeah, he had such a flare on his swordplay, it was an art form. It took me years to master. I think that’s part of why he waited, I suspect he wanted to make sure I had some degree of fighting experience. The only way to counter it is a well timed strike with sheer force, even then it’s difficult, otherwise only the same tactics are the best way to counter it. Given hardly anyone alive can do it as well as I can, makes it extremely handy,” Aliya puffed up with pride.
“Can we spar a bit when you’re feeling up to it? I would love to see what it’s like!” Erik put his hands together practically begging her to.
“I don’t see why not,” Aliya shrugged, the idea of defeating him in combat amused her, the more she thought about it.
“Yes! I’m so excited!” Erik cheered.
Aliya chuckled. He started to remind her of a little puppy. He wanted her attention all the time and got excited when he succeeded, and he was still mischievous in many ways but was easy enough to distract to keep him out of trouble.
“Look at that, I got you to laugh!” Erik grinned. He couldn’t be more proud of an accomplishment in his life.
“What?! No!” Aliya covered her mouth. She was glad she couldn’t blush. She felt as though Erik would get a kick out of it. “I think that fever is making you delusional! What happened to resting?!”
“Nothing to be embarrassed about! I knew you’d fall for my charm eventually!” Erik winked at her but she just rolled her eyes at him.
“In all seriousness you do need to rest up,” Aliya huffed.
“I don’t know about you but sitting here trading stories sure seemed to make me feel better,” Erik shrugged.
Aliya paused to assess how she was feeling. She wasn’t feeling light headed anymore and it was much easier to breathe. She carefully stood up and smiled when it didn’t feel like she was about to drop immediately. She reached out, placing a hand on his forehead once more. It didn’t sting like she was expecting it to.
“You’re still a bit warm but it’s definitely not as bad,” Aliya retracted her hand quickly when she noticed the look of adoration he had on his face. “Look, don't get the wrong idea, this is still a temporary arrangement.”
“Whatever you say,” Erik grinned.