The remainder of the night passed in a wash of rain and rolling thunderclaps.Saer spent the time solidifying his ideals, making it back onto the stump at one point or another.
While not the most relaxing of evenings, it carried a dark satisfaction all the same.
As the sun peeked over the horizon, Saer noted the lightning and thunder dissipating as well.“Does it go away every morning?”he pondered aloud.
“Nearly so.”Errshek’s fatigued mumble came from behind Saer.The younger demon lay on his side, back facing him.
A spike of annoyance pinched at Saer as he glanced over his shoulder at the dozing demon.“So I could have waited until the morning and found you without having to go through all that?”He made a flippant gesture towards the sky.
Envy answered with a groan as he rolled over, rubbing at his face and wincing.“My eyelids are going to be puffy.”
“Pardon?”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
Though Errshek couldn’t see it, Pride rolled his eyes.Still, he tried to keep the irritation out of his tone of voice.“Let me know when you’re done with your morning routine, then we’ll talk.”
The sentence provoked another groan from Errshek who sat halfway, but flopped back on the camp bed after he heard it.“You’ve always been so damned action-oriented.”
Saer twisted towards Errshek.What he meant to say stopped short when he saw Envy’s face.He paused.“Huh.”
“What?”
“Your eyelidsarepuffy.”
Releasing a tiny, indignant shriek, Errshek covered his face and yelled behind his hands, “I told you!”
Saer huffed when one of Errshek’s sandals struck his shoulder.“You look much better than last night,” he said and meant it.Errshek’s outward wounds healed for the most part after hours by the fire.“Get up.Come with me down to the water.”
Simple as that, Saer fulfilled his true-name-binding command, and the prior metaphysical weight lifted from Errshek.
Saer stood, brushing off his pants, and stepped out of the clearing.
The lake’s edge boasted a mixture of rocks, dirt, and grass.Dewdrops clung to the turf in the cool early morning, sunlight glittering off the iridescent water spots.In sharp contrast to the bright azure of the daytime sky, the body of the lake simmered, alternating between navy and ebony while small waves lapped along the shoreline.
Across the way, Saer spotted a multitude of humans moving at the pool’s edge, alternating between crouching and standing.Likely his crew mates doing their diligence.They collected the ‘mystical fluid’ of the lake to bring back with them.Pride knelt at the shoreline and wet his fingertips on the water.
Just water.
Just a tale.
He felt neither surprise nor disappointment.
The graceless footsteps of Envy sounded at Saer’s back.
“You could have run,” Saer said, though he’d not doubted Errshek would join him next to the water when he released the true-name command.
The footsteps stumbled as they slowed, and Errshek muttered under his breath, “A lot of good that did me last time.”Sidling next to Saer, Errshek went on with his usual self-berating awkwardness, “Can’t even hide properly.”
Saer touched his fingertips together as he nodded to the side in acknowledgment, the water sizzling in microscopic evanescent pops off his skin as he forced a small fraction of extra heat into the flesh.“To be fair, it’s a clever enough spot.”He lifted his eyes to focus across the body of water, musing, “I might not have found you for quite a bit longer if Kalia hadn’t told me how you two spoke to the Twins about it.”
Errshek kicked at the rocks at the lake border with a grimace.“She’s such a snitch.”
Saer opened his mouth to correct the younger demon but stopped himself.He and Kalia’s last moments together played behind his mind’s eye, and he clenched his jaw, dropping his gaze.A few heartbeats of silence passed before he changed the subject.“I had a good amount of time to think last night.”Standing, he turned to better face Errshek.“I think it’s time all of us gathered.”
“Us?”
Raising his eyebrows, Saer gave Errshek the full weight of his gaze.
