Chapter 4: A Quiet Reunion
A/N:
Xae - Xaranian for “yes.”
Nenai - Xaranian for “no.”
kosya - Xaranian formal address for a stranger, if you do not know their name.
Arazabo - Xaranian for “thank you.”
Word count: 999
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“So,” Lucio begins to pour more bourbon into his cup and I can already feel myself wanting to tell him to have some moderation, “All you know is that you were interviewed to talk about being alone, you then played ‘Truth or Dare’ with some people, and then you got to have a call with me?”
″Lushiyo, please do not-”
“Ery, I want an answer!” he interrupts me, his voice riddened in a desperation I’ve only seen in him in his most vulnerable moments.
“Xæ,” I nod solemnly, “I really do not know much on any of this.”
″…What about,” he’s already starting to slur and I swear that’s the eigth sip of his cup he’s taken, “Wha’ about the weirded robed people?”
I pause for a moment, glancing over my shoulder, “I don’t know if I’m even allowed to speak of them. The women and men are dressed in white and they wear pendants with a set of symbols I do not recognize. I’ve only seen the woman who took me in for the competition, but that is all.”
“Do they have,” Lucio takes another swig. “Do ’hey have some boss? Head honcho? Some person I can give a punch to?”
″Lushiyo.”
“I mean it, Ery, I could take ’em on,” the count’s head is now resting on his pillow. “No one messes with you … no one…”
“Yes, but they’ve not harmed me. I just know that they want something and, surely, they must run this place and have a hierarchy.”
Silence falls between us as Lucio’s eyebrows furrow deeply, his lips upturned into a disgruntled pout; he wasn’t happy about any of this.
″…Do you have to go now?”
″Nenai,” I shake my head, “I don’t feel like I’m being watched as of now. I’m sure that woman would have come in and told me to end the call if they didn’t want me talking anymore.”
The image of Lucio flickers in and out from the small aura of light I’ve conjured in the middle of my bunker. I can feel my eyelids drooping, my body slowly becoming more sluggish as I feel the ability to keep up the spell drain me, ”…Though, the connection is still taking my strength.”
“I wann’ feel you, Ery.” Lucio mumbles into the pillow.
“Well,” I begin to explain, “You can’t, we are separated from each other.”
“Nnnooo,” he argues, “That on’ time … th’ spell … you rememb’r it?”
“I’m,” I laugh a little; his slur has become so much more prominent, “I’m afraid you must be more specific, Lutzokh Lucio. There have been many spells I’ve performed on you.”
“The on’ tha’ got you th’ name ‘tiger,’ Eryyyyyy.”
It takes me a small moment to decipher his half-mumbles until I finally recall what he is talking about, “Ah! The shared body spell?”
With what remaining magical mana I have left in myself, I slowly move the aura of light onto my cot as I get comfortable into the sheets and pillows, “I won’t be able to keep up the connection if I do that spell.”
“Tha’s alright, Ery, I just wann’ feel youuu…”
That would mean I’m going to be suffering whatever he’s imposed onto himself, I sigh a little bit; I’d never experienced a hangover and from how I’d seen Lucio clutch his head, it didn’t seem like something I wanted to bear.
However, this was different; he was worried and missing me. Clearly, everything about the facility screamed a mysterious, shady entity waiting to snatch me up–understandably.
I nod at him, “Alright. I’ll do the spell so you can feel me, but nothing naughty, understand Lutzokh Lucio?”
“Hee-hee~”
″Lushiyo.”
“Okayyy.”
Just as I am about to dispel the aura of light, I hear Lucio faintly mumble, ”…Love you Ery.”
“As do I, Lushiyo.” I flash him a warm smile before dispelling the aura of light. I utter a brief chant and then lay back as I’m overcome with a wave of lethargy before passing out in my cot.
I am woken up by the sound of someone entering my bunker, taking a chair and sitting across from my cot. My head is pounding and I feel extremely nauseated; the sharp pains make my eyes squint and even though I don’t see any light, I immediately cover my face with one of the thick pillows.
“I didn’t think you were the type to party.” the same kosya who’d interviewed me was back again, by the sound of it. “She would have been a little amused by this.”
“It was not a party…” I slowly speak, trying to manage through the searing headache and queasiness. “It was out of love.”
“Yes, for ‘Lushiyo’?”
″Lucio,” I correct her, not wanting to move an inch from where I lay, “The name you called him by is specifically for family and partners alone.”
“I understand, my apologies Eridæus.”
I cautiously open one eye, looking into the darkness of the pillow pressed against my face, ”…Is there something I am to do?”
“Not today, but I did bring a remedy; water, and a broth–you seemed like a person who’d like such a meal.”
I hear the sound of something being moved closer to me, ”Arazabo for your hospitality, kosya. Is there a reason why you won’t say your name?”
“It is not time yet, you will find out such things when She gives us the order.”
I managed to open my other eye and slowly remove my face from the pillow; the light is searing, ”…She? And who is She? Are you an Order?”
The kosya shifts in her position; it is impossible for me to tell what facial expression she is making as the robes obscure everything but her eyes, “Again, you will find out when we receive Her orders, just like the other contestants.”
She gracefully rises from the chair, gestures to the glass of water and broth soup, “Please take care of yourself, Eridæus. You will need your strength.”