Aliya stood at the cave entrance looking up into the sky as the soft glow of dawn slowly erased the two moons from the sky. She felt tired but she couldn’t sleep in the slightest. She had a nagging feeling that she was missing something important.
“Aliya, are you alright?” Sigmis heard her sighing.
“I’m doing fine,” She tilted her head back seeing him standing behind her. “I’m glad the rain stopped. I was worried it’d linger into the morning. We won’t have to trek the rest of the way in the rain.”
“It’s getting to first light, shall we wake him?” Sigmis turned back towards Erik who was sleeping soundly under the cloak he gave to Aliya.
“I know I said I wanted to leave at first light but let’s let him rest a bit longer,” Aliya noticed how peaceful he looked. She quickly looked away, “At least then one of us is fully rested.”
“I told you I would keep watch,” Sigmis crossed his arms with a slight smirk on his lips. He enjoyed her attempts to be nice to Erik.
“It’s not for lack of trying,” Aliya huffed. “I don’t even know what it is.”
“Aliya, I think I’m going to travel with you for a while longer,” Sigmis stated.
“What brought this on?” Aliya raised an eyebrow at him in curiosity.
“I know we haven’t had a chance to discuss this since I made you that promise. Even before then, I was already considering remaining in your company.” Sigmis’s expression steeled. “This world is in disarray and you seem to be at the center of it trying to fix it. My hunt for Alcor can wait. Honestly, who knows if he really is alive, so much time has passed, and the history you speak of has been filled with such trials, the odds are slim. Ultimately,” he smiled at Aliya rather warmly, “I’ve grown quite fond of you and the friends you keep.”
“W-what?!” Aliya stuttered, feeling rather embarrassed, but she was also quite happy to hear he was willing to stick around. “You make it sound like I’m someone special. I’m just doing what I can.”
“I admire that,” Sigmis laughed. “Also, it is quite true that, as of this moment, you all are the only ones I know in this world. I much prefer to remain in the company of such warm and lively people.”
“Well I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was at least a little glad you were sticking around. You dealt with Mistral with such ease,” Aliya sighed. “I didn’t know she was a dragon. She was so strong.”
“Might I ask why you didn’t want me to kill her?” Sigmis voiced in a slightly more serious tone that still held an air of curiosity.
“Well, once upon a time, she was a friend,” Aliya sighed thinking about what Erik said about Mistral’s recent dark activities. “Also, she said The Empire had her Kinbound, April. If she died and all her mana was absorbed by April, they’d have enough mana to make a massive Aurora Rune to power their superweapon once they rebuild.” Aliya crossed her arms and tilled her head with a thoughtful expression. “We’d be back at square one. Right now, we have time to expose them before they can even try again.”
“Quite strategic of you,” Sigmis was surprised but he smiled, impressed how even in a tense situation like before with little time to think she was still thinking ahead.
“I kinda need to be,” Aliya turned around and moved back into the cave where Erik was and sat not far from him. “In order to keep everyone safe and deal with all these diversions I have to think things through as thoroughly and quickly as I can.”
The shadows danced with the fire’s light. A glint of the shining light caught Aliya’s attention as she glanced over at Erik. On the ground poking out from beneath the cloak was a pale blue crystal pendant with gold trim and small orbs pyramid their way to the string it hangs from.
“Was he always wearing this?” Now that Aliya stopped looking at him with bitter frustration and resentment she was able to notice the little things about Erik. The pendant felt familiar to her.
“I’ve noticed that the drained Rune he wears has traces of your mana inside,” Sigmis noted. “I thought you knew each other long before we met, but learning it was mere days was surprising.”
“Drained Rune...” Aliya narrowed her eyes on it.
The Water Rune was depleted of most of its mana making it so pale in color. Then it clicked what that pendant was. It was a fragment of the tether she had just before she became an Kinbound for Azurius. Broken in a fight, it was the only intact petal from the flower hairpin that Lios made for her to use as a tether. She made it into a pendant and gave it to the Second Arch-Druid as a thank you for doing everything she could to change The Order for the better.
“There’s no way,” Aliya mumbled to herself.
“What? Falling for me already?” Erik sleepily grinned up at her.
“You must be dreaming!” Aliya quickly looked away.
“Aw, come on, why else would you be watching me sleep?” Erik snickered as he sat up.
“I wasn’t looking at you!” Aliya grumbled as she pivoted away. “I was looking at your pendant.”
“This old thing?” Erik grabbed it. “It’s been in my family for generations.”
“Wait...” Aliya looked at him in shock. A memory of a young kid with messy coral hair and a cheeky grin flashed across her mind. That kid was wearing the pendant and hanging off of Ash the last time she visited him. “Your name isn’t really Tierney, is it?”
“Wait! Aliya!” Erik panicked. That memory came to him as well. He forgot he met her only once when he was just a kid. It was a brief moment when he was so young so it slipped his mind completely. He’d always thought that familiar feeling he got being around her was just because of all the stories he’s heard from Ash and Zephyr. “I wasn’t trying to-!”
“Wait, no! I remember!” Aliya recalled that kid’s name. She looked at Erik, “Elias?” Erik winced at the fact she was able to pin him down so easily. It was all the confirmation she needed. “You really are Eilas Hode…”
“I didn’t want you to find out this way,” his shoulders slumped. “Please don’t think I was trying to deceive you. I wanted to be the one to tell you and your brother, eventually.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!” Aliya jumped up. Erik was shocked at how strangely happy she sounded. “If I had known you were a friend of Ash’s from the start I wouldn’t have distrusted you so much. Geez, now I feel kinda guilty for being so cruel to you.”
“Wait, you aren’t mad?” He blinked at her confused.
“Well I assume you have a good reason for using another name,” Aliya smiled at him. “Let me guess, because of what you’ve been doing as a thief.”
“Well kind of,” He looked at his sword, unable to look her in the eye. “I just feel I don’t deserve that name anymore. I failed to live up to my family’s responsibilities and I ran away.”
“It’s never a bad thing to try and carve your own path,” Aliya could tell he was agonizing over it. “You should never feel guilty for that.”
“Ash was always telling me that,” He closed his eyes with a wistful smile on his face.
“I thought he was tethered to you,” Aliya recalled Ash mentioning that when he introduced Elias to her during her last visit. “You seemed so close back then. You two didn’t have a falling out did you?”
“No, that’s not it,” He paused, he still wasn’t ready to tell her. She was so happy to know who he was and he wasn’t ready to take that away just yet. He wanted to enjoy her smile a little longer even if the guilt was killing him. “Aliya, will you be alright if I wait to tell you when your brother is with us too? I want him to know too and I don’t know if I have it in me to do it twice…”
“I can wait,” Aliya gave him an understanding smile as she held out her hand to help him up. She could tell the situation was more complex than what it seemed with how torn up he seemed about it. “I may be a curious one but I’m patient above all else. Whenever you are ready.”
“Thank you, Aliya,” He smiled in relief as he took her hand and she pulled him to his feet. He picked up the cloak she let him borrow and wrapped it around her shoulders, latching the clasp together. He couldn’t help but feel overjoyed that she didn’t even shy away from him or attack him for being too close. As much as the mischievous side of him wanted to push his luck he thought he’d enjoy this little victory for now. “Now where is that river? We can follow it to the beach and it’ll be smooth sailing from there.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Aliya started out of the cave, Erik closely following her with a little skip in his step. Sigmis couldn’t help but smile as he followed after them. Aliya turned to the right, hugging the cliffside, navigating the roots and vines that crept their way into the rockface. “This way will certainly be easier than climbing these roots.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you noticed it’s a little denser down here,” Erik ducked under a branch. “It’ll certainly be easier for Sigmis.”
“You needn’t concern yourself with me, I’ve been doing quite alright,” Sigmis chuckled. “If you hadn’t noticed, the forest around my temple was also quite dense. It was so in my time as well. I navigated it quite fine.”
“Considering how we got down here, I can believe it,” Aliya giggled. Erik’s heart melted at the sound, though he tried to not let it show, the corners of his lips tilted upward just a little more when she glanced over her shoulder at him. “Haven’t you noticed he just goes at his own pace.”
“I mean, yeah,” Erik shrugged. “Doesn’t mean it won’t be nice for all of us to not have to put in the extra work.”
“You have a point,” Aliya yawned and stretched. “I’m still beat from yesterday despite the break.”
“I told you to get some sleep,” Sigmis called from the back.
“You? Not sleeping? Are you alright?” Erik jokingly narrowed his eyes on her.
“Oh no, a Spirit not sleeping, whatever will we do?” Aliya’s voice was dripping with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes at them.
“Well from everything I’ve heard about you and experienced, it is weird for you,” Erik kept a light hearted tone but he was worried she was still affected by their interaction with Mistral.
“I’ll be fine,” Aliya sighed with a smile. “Plenty of time to rest when we join up with the others.”
The three eventually made their way through the twisted roots and mess of vines to come upon the waterfall that cut through the forest and flowed to the ocean itself, though they couldn’t see it from where they stood.
“I have to say I wasn’t really looking forward to a swim today,” Erik huffed as they walked downstream away from the waterfall. It was much easier to walk along the river banks as the tree roots started shying away from the water the further they went along the river.
“I might be able to make some ice platforms if the current isn’t too bad a bit further down,” Aliya watched the rushing water and thought it would be hard for her to even swim against the current in her true form. “Provided you don’t slip, you won’t have to swim.” She gave Erik a smirk before glancing at Sigmis. “Sigmis, you might run a little too hot to use them though. They’ll probably melt right away.”
“No matter, I can jump this,” Sigmis chuckled. “If it makes it easier on both of you I can carry you both like last night.”
“Having a Celestial as a friend sure is nice,” Erik smiled in relief. “The less risk of falling in the water the better this early in the morning.”
“What can’t handle getting soaking wet two days in a row?” Aliya snickered.
“I would for you, snowflake,” Erik smirked.
“I ought to throw you in the river myself,” Aliya’s face quickly turned to a bitter scowl as she clenched her fist. Sigmis covered his mouth trying to hide his amused smile as he quietly listened to them, not wanting to also incur her wrath.
“I’m sorry you walked right into that one!” Erik waved his hands in front of him apologetically, afraid she actually might throw him in.
“And I hate myself for it,” Aliya sighed, releasing the bitter urge to beat him up. She flicked her hand and bounced across the water’s surface to the other side, using her mana to keep her from sinking.
“Looks like you’ve done it now,” Sigmis quietly snickered to Erik.
“I just find it fun to tease her, she’s cute when she’s all worked up like that,” Erik smirked, feeling a better sense of normalcy with her reaction.
“What are you two waiting for?” She raised her voice seeing they hadn’t moved as she stood on the opposite riverbank.
“Best to not keep her waiting,” Sigmis wrapped an arm around Erik’s waist before he could react and jumped across the river, landing gently on the other side.
“Slight bit more warning next time please!” Erik took a deep breath to calm his pounding heart as he regained his footing.
“Apologies, I too enjoy rousing a reaction, at least when it comes to my abilities,” Sigmis covered his mouth but couldn’t stifle the snicker in his voice. “Let’s not waste more time. I’m sure the others are waiting for us.”
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