Aether was unable to continue with the assignment. The wounds on his body were not serious, but they would make things difficult for him, so he decided to return.
The first snowfall of the winter occurred four days later. Alatus had not reappeared, but it did not worry him, for some reason he felt he could trust the other's words. He could also understand that for the adeptus it was not easy to maintain a closeness with him, he always feels a little uncomfortable and as if he was trying hard to contain something.
That time was dedicated to research, he tried to find out about the so-called adeptus; however, there was no information in the vicinity. Nor would he risk, at least not in his condition, approaching the big city, knowing how tense things were.
He thought many times about asking the other boy more when he decided to show up, but knowing how uncommunicative he was he dismissed the idea immediately.
The blond sighed. He couldn't go out looking for his sister either, what would she be doing, would she be looking for him too, would she be alright? Thousands of questions crossed his mind, as did the hundreds of memories he had with his twin; from the most trivial, to the most important events. Before coming here, Lumine and he possessed a pretty strong connection, basically they could sense where the other was, but now there was absolutely nothing, just a growing anguish to know that his sister was okay. He missed her, he missed her voice, her hugs, he even missed the pointless fights they had sometimes; whether it was over food or because one made fun of the other's appearance, though of course they were pretty much the same in many ways.
Aether shook his head, if he kept thinking about her he would end up crying and he didn't want that.
He then concentrated on the ingredients in front of him. On his last visit to the nearby village he had gotten an old recipe book with the most well known dishes of the region. He had taken some of his free time to practice, perhaps one of these might appeal to the adeptus.
The blond watched out the window, they had only met on two occasions; he only knew the cautious side of the other, who tried to reject any show of affection towards his person. However, Aether felt that there was something else that was bent on uniting them, what? He didn't know exactly. After Lumine, Alatus was the only one with whom he could also feel a great sense of security.
The guardian had intentions of pushing him away, he had silently shouted at him that it was not safe to be around him, that it was dangerous.
He stroked the mark on his neck.
He knew better; he knew she was still hiding a great many things from him, though he had no right to demand explanations from her; nevertheless, he wanted to stay by her side to find out everything about the other. Because no matter what her lips said; no matter how much she implored him to keep his distance, Alatus' eyes were another story. That deep amber gaze reflected the feelings that the other was unable to put into words, in them was a silent plea for him to stay by his side; in them was a layer of sadness and suffering.
He sighed gloomily, thinking of what the other would be doing in those moments.
His gaze then fell on the gently falling snowflakes. Alatus, as cold on the outside as that frigid winter, as if he had an unbreakable wall over his heart that perhaps he was forced to build to protect himself; in reality he was as warm and pleasant as spring, and Aether hopes one day to bring to the surface all the beautiful things he held within him.
Her heart fluttered wildly, filling with a pleasant feeling. She didn't want to admit it, but once again she had fallen for it and this time it wasn't for a mere pretty face; it was for a being full of mysteries she longed to discover.
She clung to the hanfu covering her body, and smiled. She really wanted to see him.
Alatus gasped loudly, blood trickling down his exposed arm. Osial had sent him to fight against Morax's allies; the archon who had him under his command was ambitious, he wished to seize power of the Liyue lands, but Archon Geo was too powerful, defeating him would be no easy task. Unfortunately, at that time it was he who had to do all the dirty work.
In every battle he fought, his movements were merciless, a deadly dance for anyone who faced him.
However, Alatus' defense was low, especially when he had his mask on and his vision was clouded by the desire for death; he did not even care about himself. Arrows embedded deep into his body and spears cut into his flesh.
Each wound was a reminder of his enslavement.
At the end of every fight, he was a complete mess. He refused to let Sora see him in that state, which was why he had been postponing any encounter. But the desire to hear the other's voice again was much stronger, he needed to be surrounded by that sweet fragrance that filled him with peace and a momentary tranquility.
That day, after cleaning the last enemy camp, Alatus wrapped his wounds, in an awkward way, with some old bandages he found, and covered his body as best he could so that the traveler would not be worried.
He didn't want to see that hurt look anymore.
His footsteps dragged on the snow. He restrained himself from leaning down and taking some of it in his hands. Inside him still lingered the warmth of what Sora had given him a few days ago; it wasn't really much, but to Alatus, who had forgotten what a warm plate felt like, it meant too much. He had even been holding back from devouring other people's dreams.
His gaze swept over the bamboo forest and the frozen stream to one side. The large tree where they first met looked bare without its leaves, but it created a beautiful contrast to the rest of the plants in that frigid season.
It was not very late, night was just falling, along with the snow around them. A few fireflies flew around him, only to fly away and get lost in the darkness.
He walked a little further, before catching a glimpse of the cabin in the distance. The lights were on, filtering through the windows, and Alatus realized that the solitary figure of the one he had been looking for all those days was there.
Amidst the gloom and the little light that illuminated the outside, Aether observed that someone was approaching in his direction. At first he wondered who it could be, but then he was surprised.
It had only been a few seconds since she had been looking forward to seeing him and now he was there. The blond let out a soft laugh and quickly went out to meet him. He could take this as a sign of destiny to move forward without fear and try to break through the walls around Alatus. He wouldn't think in a "it depends on the other yes..." no, it depended on himself.
This time he would not keep his feelings to himself, for the first time he wanted to know what the results of being completely honest would be.
The adeptus was surprised when the traveler wrapped him in an embrace, but he also tensed and swallowed any trace of pain.─ You're really here.
Alatus, hesitant, returned the hug.─ I told you I'd come.
─ And I believed in you. ─Aether pulled away far enough to see him and smiled.─ Come on, join me inside, the weather is freezing here! Besides, I've prepared something new for you.
The adeptus' nose wrinkled slightly at the thought of tasting something else strange, and Aether was reminded of the rabbits he and Lumine once had to take care of. Alatus was puzzled, but he didn't show it, there was something different in the blond's gaze, what was it? The way he was looking at him was noticeably different from how he did days ago, for some reason it made him nervous.
Aether grabbed him by the wrist and tugged lightly on him, but he realized that once again he had tensed up. The first time he tried to ignore it, but this time he could not. The day they met came to her mind, he was acting the same way he did on that occasion when he was treating her wounds.
He stopped any movement and faced him.─ Are you hurt?
Alatus thought for a second, but he didn't know what to answer for a long time.─ No.
Aether's brow furrowed. He looked at the arm he still held and raised it into the air. The adeptus wanted to pull away, but the sudden movement had taken him by surprise. The sleeve of the garment he wore slid down, revealing the bandages covering his arm.
─ You're hurt. ─It was no longer a question, it was a statement.
Alatus turned his face, staring into the distance.─ It doesn't matter.
─ How was it supposed to be unimportant?
─ It's always been like that. ─ He didn't want Sora to worry about him, but he couldn't stop following Osial's orders either. The traveler would have to get used to something like that.─ Even long before he met you.
─ Why does it have to be that way?
Alatus sighed defeatedly, finally observing the other.─ It's my reason for existing.
Aether sought to understand the meaning behind those words, but they were too vague.─ I can't help but worry about you.
─ I never asked you to.
A slight shudder shook the blond's body. True, that time he helped him on his own, the adeptus was reluctant to be swayed by his actions. But now...
─ You're right. ─Alatus regretted it, watching the blond's gaze escape his own.─ you didn't ask me to do it. All this time I was acting selfish, doing whatever I wanted without thinking about what you wanted.
The guardian wanted to approach him, but Aether was quicker and backed away. He smiled nervously, looking from side to side as if searching for the quickest place to flee.
The determination she had had moments before faded away, what had she been thinking, was it selfish of her to want to be, for a moment, the reason for the other's existence? It was ridiculous, maybe he would just keep those feelings to himself one more time. It hurt. ─ I'm sorry... ─He whispered.
Alatus cursed himself for not being good or careful with his words, watching as Sora walked away once more. He plopped down on the cold snow and leaned his back against a rock.─ I never asked you to do this, but I like it when you do.
So strong on the battlefield and so weak to cope with human emotions. Pathetic.
He doesn't know how long he stood there. But soon his stomach began to feel empty.
He looked at the white blanket of snow surrounding him and reached out his hand towards it. He grabbed a small amount and squeezed a little, hesitating whether he should eat it. After having felt warmth, it would be strange to experience the feeling of coldness filling his body again. Well, whatever, it was a punishment he deserved.
Aether had entered the hut, but he couldn't distract his mind. He was being impulsive and he knew it, maybe he wasn't used to going with the flow of his emotions and made rash decisions. Of course, no one had ever told him that love was easy, especially when only he was privy to his feelings. He had been upset with Alatus, even when the other was ignorant of everything.
He scolded himself and left the bed, would he have left? He hesitated a little before he approached the window and peered through it, what he saw broke his heart.
Long ago, on another one of his many stops along with Lumine on some world; he saw many people using snow as food because of the need that was going through them, how long had he been doing it for? He had made a promise to her and he was failing.
He glimpsed the almond tofu on the table and hesitated, before making a decision.
Alatus sighed, the wounds on his body were burning and he felt the heat leaving him. However, at least he felt full. He tried to adopt a meditation pose to rest a little, when his energy recovered he would return to the temple. Maybe he hadn't done the right thing by getting so close to Sora, he would take distance once again, sooner or later he had to forget about it.
But it wasn't long before she heard hurried footsteps approach and stop close enough. His eyes opened momentarily meeting the opposing ones, but he quickly closed them again fleeing from the other's sad gaze.
Aether blinked in confusion and knelt to the side.─ Alatus.
No response. He wanted to bring his gloved hand to the other young man's face, but it moved aside escaping his touch, soon moving, turning his back to him. The blond was puzzled.─ Aren't I the one who's supposed to be upset? Why are you behaving in such a prideful manner?
Nothing, the adeptus refused to answer. He had been the one in the wrong and yet it was Sora who was coming to set things right. That annoyed him even more.
The blond sighed.─ I brought something for you. Come on, I still haven't forgotten what I told you the other day.
─ I don't need it.
A pout adorned the traveler's lips. Even Lumine wasn't that stubborn! In the past, if his sister wasn't willing to eat something he had cooked with such care, just because she had been upset about who knows what, Aether would take the food between his hand and shove it against his sister's mouth, only to see his twin's pride fall to the ground. But now it wasn't Lumine she was up against, it was even someone harder to deal with.
She watched as Alatus grabbed a handful of snow with his hand again, would that really be his way of showing her he didn't need it? Aether held back a laugh...so childish.
He popped a piece of the tofu into his mouth and once again rested his gaze on the adeptus. He would have a chance to drown in his shame later, this time he wanted to teach him a little lesson so that he would put his pride aside as well.
In one swift movement, she grabbed the back of the clothing would count and yanked hard in his direction. The guardian was totally unprepared, next to Sora he never had to be on guard, except for the first day.
His body fell back slightly in the other's arms and, before he could protest, the blond's mouth collided with his.
Alatus didn't know if the sweet taste and warmth emanated from that small piece of food or from the traveler's lips, and the small tongue pushing the tofu in. None of it really mattered, her mind was blank, unable to react to what was happening.
Her eyes closed tightly and she let herself go. He liked it; he liked it so much he could become addicted to it.
Reminding him of the sweet dreams he used to devour.