Cirilius IV

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“I still can’t believe you’ve seen Outenders and I haven’t!” Cir chided Axis gently, trying to keep her mind off her ankle as they rested just outside. Steele and Smoke had actually beaten them out—not shocking. Steele could have taken down the ornery horse Cir had attempted to ride.

“Doome was right,” Axis said quietly, almost more to herself than him. She was nestled in the crook of his arm, one arm wrapped around him, the other hand absentmindedly pushing gently on different parts of her ankle, no doubt exploring the depth of the damage. But her bright eyes were a galaxy away, analyzing a whole star system of information.

“And who is Doome?”

“Oh, nobody.”

“Don’t tempt me to play the jealous husband card,” Cir joked, pulling Axis closer to him.

“Axis, what did the Outenders look like to you?” Steele hadn’t stopped frantically talking into her mistpad since they’d all gotten out of the collapsing monastery. The building, which had looked to be centuries old, had fallen impossibly fast. Only a gaping hole remained. And Cir had never even gotten to see the starstraight things!

Axis hadn’t seemed to have heard Steele, so Cir nudged her slightly, bringing her back to the present.

“Hmm? What did who look like?”

“The Outenders.”

“You were there with me,” Axis responded, her nose crinkling up slightly, like it always did when she was concentrating.

“And I saw two hazy, black forms that spoke in our voices. Is that what you saw?”

“That’s not possible. They looked just like us, Steele! Down to our mannerisms, everything!” Cir could feel Axis tensing up, getting ready to jump to her feet.

“Might not want to jump up just yet,” he murmured, glancing at her ankle.

“And did you see anything, Cir?” Axis asked, swiveling her head to look at him.

“I didn’t… did you, Smoke?”

Smoke, who was sitting beside Steele quietly, shook his head.

“I didn’t see anyone, but the voices sounded just like ours, Cir. It was… terrifying.”

“You’ve got that right,” Steele nodded.

“Axis, was that you shooting?” Smoke asked. His face was serious, but his eyes betrayed a hint of a smile.

“Of course not,” she responded quickly.

“I’d know if it was my wife.” His tone was kind, but there would be no sneaking past the two of them anymore. Cir held up his hands in mock surrender.

“I taught her. She resisted, but I insisted Axis know how to defend herself, in case anything ever went… badly.”

“You really think you can pull that warped story past me? I’ve known you for ten years, Cirilius.”

“Ok, fine, she forced me! Happy now?”

Axis laughed before poking Cir in the side. “Don’t tempt me.”

Steele was the only one who hadn’t found the exchange humorous—she was still muttering, rapid fire, into the tablet in her hands.

“We’ll probably want to get out of here while the sun is still up,” Smoke commented, pulling a worn cloth from inside his coat and wiping down the rifle he’d been able to salvage from the monastery. Cir hadn’t been as lucky… and Axis had conveniently lost the gun she’d “borrowed.”

“True, it’ll be slow going with Axis injured.”

Now it was Smoke’s turn to laugh, his broad face breaking into a large grin.

“I hate where this is going,” Cir complained.

“You wouldn’t make your wife hobble all the way back to Persis.”

“I’m thinking about it…” he said. Axis was quick to playfully swat at Cir’s coat.

“What are you thinking?” Axis asked Smoke, reaching for one of Cir’s hands instinctively. He gratefully took it. Maybe it’ll help ease my disgust in Smoke’s fascination with four-legged demons.

He seriously doubted it.

***

“What a cute little thing!” Axis had gushed, uncharacteristically taking to the horrible creature Smoke had insisted they ride to beat the night. To be fair, the little horse had been well behaved with Axis there, but still… Cir didn’t have to like it.

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But his chilled chocolate was sitting on the table next to him and a pencil was in his hand, so he could deal with lesser modes of transportation.

“Mind if I join you? Couldn’t sleep,” Axis was walking toward him, her own cup of chocolate in hand. She was wearing one of his shirts. It dwarfed her short form, going all the way down to just above her knees. Cir secretly found it quite attractive.

“Why do you even have your own clothes?” he asked her, but he was already pulling out the chair next to him and patting it. They both kept their half of the house neat, but Cir was a little more strictly organized than Axis, who claimed her side of the house was more “functional.” While her breakfast table was littered with a small stack of books, Cir’s table was completely clear, except for the drawing supplies he’d brought over from his work desk and his cup.

“For outside occasions.” She smiled, taking a sip of her chocolate as she nestled into the chair next to him, immediately bringing up her legs so she was sitting cross-legged.

“My sweet little frog,” he ruffled her curly hair as he kissed her forehead.

“What are you working on?” she asked, setting her own cup next to his and reaching for the thick sketching paper in front of him.

“Drawing out what I saw today at that monastery,” he replied, scooting his own chair closer to hers so their legs brushed.

“Feeling affectionate today?” she asked, giving him a smile. “What would the Concord say?”

“Thankfully, the Concord doesn’t live with us. Why men and women bother getting married at all when society expects such rigid separation is beyond me. Seems like the youth have more fun.”

“It’s not just the Concord. Ekta’s and Lina’s doctrine makes it clear…”

“I know, dear,” Cir said wearily, moving his leg slightly so it no longer touched hers.

“Better?”

“I didn’t mean…” a defiant look was coming to Axis’s eyes, and Cir knew he needed to act quickly.

“I could have lost you today, Axis. Or you could have lost me. Doesn’t that mean more than whether or not we act like we actually like each other? Ekta forbid. We’re only husband and wife.”

“I was so anxious, Cir. When Steele told me Smoke had vanished, I knew…” her voice caught and she looked down, hiding her face in her long hair.

“Hey. It’s not like this is the first time I’ve gone hunting.”

“But it is the first time you ran into those… things. We haven’t had a chance to even talk about what you experienced in there!”

“You’re right.” Cir reached out and took Axis’s hand in his. “But this seems more like a couch talk to me. Mine or yours?”

“Yours is more comfortable.”

“Ok, ma’am, let me escort you to the chariot.” Keeping a firm grip on her hand, he looped his fingers through their cup handles and padded over to the couch. Axis swiped a neatly folded blanket from the cushions and threw it open and over their legs.

“Don’t tell anyone,” she said, taking the cups from him and setting them on the small table next to the couch before pulling the blanket over their heads, making a warm cave. Cir’s lamp light was a warm, dull glow through the fabric. Now safely hidden in their blanket cocoon, Axis nestled her head into his chest, one hand in his, the other resting on his knee.

“Now who’s feeling flirtatious?”

“Cirilius Haven, don’t complain.”

“Not complaining,” he chuckled, wrapping his arms around her, burying his face in the warm, sweet smell of her hair.

“Ok, now talk.”

***

“Draw it out for me,” she demanded, her eyes intense.

Apparently, Axis—and Steele—had been in more of a rush than Smoke and himself on their way up to the monastery and she’d missed the strange statues and carvings. She’d talked animatedly about what she’d seen at the warped town. For some reason, she seemed extremely focused on some yellow scarf that had been tied to a hovering balcony. But her attention had been briefly averted when Cir had brought up the bizarre blending of Ekta and Lina.

He couldn’t help but laugh. “I was about to do just that when you wandered in with my chilled chocolate and extra cup. And shirt!”

“You weren’t using them.” Her grin was smug. “I need to see it. Steele took a pile of notes, but you know how she is.”

Cir nodded. Steele was brilliant, but she was also very technically minded. She had probably taken fierce notes about the architectural differences between this monastery and the many traditional monasteries that filled Lore. While it surely held some kind of academic merit, Cir knew Axis was a very visual person. She needed to see it for herself, not a compiled list of numbers and measurements. Unless, of course, it was related to deciphering. Then she was more technical-minded than even Steele—although Cir would vehemently reject that opinion if asked.

“Come on, Cir. You know how much I love your work.” She was already throwing off their blanket and pulling him back toward the table. It was true—she had a large stack of his sketches somewhere safely hidden in her room, he knew.

“Don’t yank my hand off.” Dark matter, but he did love her eagerness.

As soon as the paper and pencil were in hand, he lost himself to his craft, deftly sketching out the carvings, statues, monastery walls—all prominently featuring the strange blurring of Ekta and Lina. Axis occupied various stages of alert and attentive, drifting to sleep and coming in and out of the room, busy getting ready for the next day… which was rapidly approaching. Cir’s head was drooping as he finished drawing the last carving and set the stack of sketches aside. His chilled chocolate had long since hit room temperature.

“You ready to see them?” he called across the room. Axis was somewhere on her side of the house but strode in soon after Cir’s announcement. She wore the standard light tan of a researcher, her wild hair braided into a complicated and professional bun.

“I’ll have to really examine them later when I have time, but I would like a peek…” she trailed off, grabbing the chair beside him once more and quickly shifting through the thick stack of heavy paper. Her eyes widened.

“Cir, these carvings, statues, they’re—well, you’ll want to keep these under wraps for now.”

“You mean I shouldn’t bring this evidence of blasphemy to the Concord when Smoke and I report on Lazarenth? Thanks for the warning, sweetie.” He winked at her.

“Ok ok, I guess I had that one coming. Want to have a go at this?” She put a folded-up piece of paper in his hand.

“How cryptic of you.”

“Decipherer.” She pointed at herself before laughing.

“Just don’t get in trouble, ok?” Axis leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the forehead before heading for the door.

“It’s kind of in the job description. End Hunter. Hunting the end of time and all that?” She was already out the door.

“Oh well. You thought I was funny, right, Clodious?” The violet flower looked like he was always laughing, his white chin sporting a speckled beard. He glanced around the now-empty house briefly before petting the calypso orchid.