Aike
The darkness of his unconsciousness swirled like oil, it threatened to swallow him whole, and drag him down into its abyssal depths. A sick, twisting feeling rose in Aike's gut, the burn of bile rising up his throat. Pain assailed him across his skin and flesh, and the smell of fresh blood filled his nose. Even so, Aike could only lay unmoving, the image of Claire's form flashing through his mind like lightning. Guilt cut through his core like an ice-cold knife, its jagged edge sending shivers over his body.
As Aike laid in the darkness, he could feel his life slipping away from him, no, he let go of it. The world was dark, it was cold, and it was cruel. Without her there, there wasn't much point in continuing, was there? No, Aike couldn't imagine living in a world without Claire there to laugh, to smile as she fought, to wake him up with a shout, to tousle his hair. Even so, a pit had settled in his gut like hot iron, a hatred strong enough to make him cling to life still.
Tyrsyss...
That name, he repeated it in his mind over and over, redoubling his anger with each utterance. No, he wouldn't lay here and die, he couldn't. Tyrsyss, she had taken Claire from this world, the only bright thing left in Aike's life, and left him cold and alone. She would pay for what she did, Aike vowed it. Clinging to that hatred, that idea of vengeance, he refused to die.
Tyrsyss...
Stirring his consciousness, it was like wading through solid stone, his mind attempting to force him to sleep so he could recover. Even so, he couldn't lie here waiting for Tyrsyss to kill him, and he had to act.
His eyes opened, but he was no longer in the Gilded Palace.
Above him a white sheet had been spread across a wooden frame, glowing slightly from the sunlight shining over its other side. He shook side to side slightly, the sound of rumbling wood and stones surrounding him. His body had been bound, wrapped tightly in cloths that smelled of blood and herbal medicines, stopping the bleeding and dulling the pain he felt. His head had been propped up on his jacket, bundled up beneath him to provide support on the hard wooden floor. All around him were boxes, packed with straw and the sound of clinking bottles from within. As he shifted to sit up and examine his surroundings more, he froze.
Sitting across the small cart from him was a young girl. Her hair had been tied up into a haphazard ponytail behind her head, curling golden locks of hair falling down her shoulders and back. Her sharp and angled eyes glinted with a light blue, like the sky at noon. Her blank expression looked over the small stacks of gold, silver, and copper coins in front of her, a large and ornate-looking dagger jabbed into the wood at her side. She was wearing simple traveling clothed, crafted from simple cow leather and cloth, meant to be durable rather than comfortable. As he examined her, ice ran through his veins. Her face, eyes, and hair, they were exactly like, no, just similar to Claire's. Similar enough that for a moment, the slightest glimmer of hope flickered within Aike's heart, only to be extinguished in an instant.
"You're awake," she said, beginning to gather the coins she had laid out and place them back in a small leather pouch, "You've been asleep for the last three days, you really should eat and drink something"
Aike's first though was that she sounded nothing like Claire, that her voice was too high to match his sister's. As that thought entered his mind, another bolt of grief ran through him. Ignoring his body's cries for food and water, he laid his head back onto the bundled jacket.
"Where are we?" Aike asked, his voice crackling due to the lack of water.
He heard something soft impact the wood next to him, glancing over to see a half-full water skin and a bundle of hard bread. The sight of food and water made his stomach churn, but he made no move to take them. Instead, he looked, or glared, at the girl as she took her seat once more. Their eyes met, and she scrutinized him closely. They stared, or rather, Aike glared at her while she examined him for about half a minute.
"We're in the middle of the plains at the center of the continent," she said, moving her attention to her blade as she yanked it out of the wood, "We're heading towards a small village on the southwestern edge of the Empire, settled near the Demon's Forest too."
"Why?" Aike asked dryly, not moving his gaze from her face.
"We need to stay out of Tyr-" she began, but stopped herself when she saw Aike flinch at the name, "-the Empress's sight. The village might not have an official name, but it does have at least one demon hunter there to protect it. My idea is to somehow convince or pay the hunter to teach us how to fight. We'll need to know how to defend ourselves properly if she comes looking for us."
"Us? Why would she be looking for you?" Aike asked, sitting up with some struggle and resting his back against the wall of the cart.
She was silent for a moment, examining the dagger in her hand, "I won't pry into your business, or why she attacked you, so you don't need to worry about my reasons. All you need to know is that I want her dead as much as you do"
Aike narrowed his eyes for a moment and tried to determine if she was lying, but his stomach growled a complaint he was sure she could hear. Clutching at his stomach, he leaned forward and snatched the water skin and hard bread. Biting into the tough and flavorless lump, it felt and tasted like chewing through sawdust. Aike just let the bread sit in his mouth, losing the will to continue chewing after just a moment. Looking down at the bread, he wondered if starving would be a better alternative.
As he stared at the food, memories of Claire's breakfasts flashed through his mind. Even if they were plain and flavorless compared to most others' meals, Aike could only remember them now as being delicious and filling. Again, that pit of anger settled in his stomach, dispelling the feeling of hunger he had had since he opened his eyes. Even so, he took another bite of the bread and swallowed. Tears lined his eyes as he ate, tearing chunks of food off and scarfing them down.
I can't be picky anymore, Aike thought to himself as he swallowed another bite of the bread, I'll kill her, I swear it. I have to stay alive until then, at the very least.
Aike's eating and drinking became more feverish as he continued, wolfing down the bread and guzzling the water as quickly as he could. As soon as he finished, grabbing the edge of the cart's box, he attempted to stand. Pain shot across his entire body, and he could feel thick half-coagulated blood leak from his wounds. Stumbling, he felt a hand grab him beneath the arm to prevent him from falling to the floor. Looking up, the girl had jumped up to catch him.
"What are you doing? You're still injured, you need to lay down and rest," she said, looking down at him with emotionless eyes that said she couldn't care less if he was hurting. With a gentle push, she guided him back down to the ground and helped him sit, "Stay here until your wounds heal. You wouldn't get far in your current state anyway"
Aike slapped her hand away and fell on his butt, "I'm fine! I don't need your help!"
He grimaced from the pain shooting through him as he landed, but she didn't seem to react to his outburst at all.
"That's fine, but I'm going to need you alive and healthy in the future," she said taking her seat at the opposite side of the cart from him, "It isn't like I can kill her without you, so we're stuck together until then"
"And why the hell would I help you?" Aike spat, clutching at the wounds on his stomach, "I don't need another burden weighing me down"
She looked towards the front of the cart, where the driver was seated. The cart had high walls, so his back was concealed from them by the wood and cloth. The top of his straw hat could be seen poking over the edge of the wood, in a gap in the cloth covering the cart's roof. After checking if he had been listening or not, she returned her attention to Aike.
"If it weren't for me, you'd be dead right now, and Tyrsyss would have your Circuit," she said, her cool blue eyes now cold as steel, "I know things. Things about Tyrsyss and her abilities. I know how to get into and out of Highmaw, and who to call if we might need help. You might think you can run in there like a one-man army and kill everyone in your way, but that's not how the real world works. You're weak, and if you want to even see Tyrsyss again, let alone kill her, you need me around"
Aike's attitude deflated with each word she said, until eventually he could only stare at her with a dumbfounded look on his face. Pulling his knees up to his chest, he buried his face in his arms.
"You should have just left me there," Aike murmured through his arms and tears, "If she had killed me then maybe I could still be with Claire"
Jumping up, the girl grabbed Aike's wrist hard, pulling it away from him so she could see his face. Tears lined his eyes and fell down his cheeks as he looked up at her in confusion.
"My name is Aina," she said, "If we stick together, then I can promise I'll do whatever I can to help you get your revenge. So stop acting like a child, you need to make a choice. Either you can give up and die or you can fight for revenge, but I won't help you if you keep flipping between hope and despair like some kind of unstable kid!"
As she looked down at him, her eyes flashed with anger. Even as she yelled at him, he couldn't help but notice how strange she was. Her face never changed, like stone, hiding her emotions perfectly. Even so, her eyes would betray how she felt no matter how stony her expression remained.
"What are you staring at!?" Aina shouted, "What are you going to do? Sit here and give up?"
"I-" Aike stuttered. He had been acting like a child, someone who didn't have the resolve to keep moving forward. In that, she was right. "I want to avenge her, I want to kill Tyr- the Empress for what she did"
"Then stop whining and do it," she scolded, her eyes boring into him, "If you hesitate like that in a fight, you're as good as dead. Don't become a burden that will weigh me down. You get in my way, and I'll drop you in no time"
Letting go of his wrist she stomped back to the other side of the cart and dropped into her seat once more. Yanking her dagger from the wood, she set about examining its edge for any chips or nicks.
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Thoughts raced through Aike's head as he watched her go, but chief among them was shame. He couldn't help but feel foolish after having his faults pointed out to him so bluntly. Dropping his gaze to the floor once more, he felt calm. Despite everything that had happened, he felt none of the uncertainty from before. She was right. Aike knew that he had a goal, and that he needed to accomplish it no matter what. If what she had said was true, then she was valuable to him as a tool. Now that he thought with his head instead of his heart, his path had never been so clear.
"Alright then," he said, looking up and meeting Aina's eyes, "My name is Aike, and thank you"
"For what?" she asked, looking confused as she laid the knife across her lap.
"For saying what you did. I don't think I could have rationalized all of this without someone to say it all like that," Aike said, looking at the wounds across his arms as he spoke, "But you're right. Let's stick together, and work towards Tyrs- Tyrsyss as a team"
With that, he stuck his hand out towards Aina, who reciprocated after a few moments.
"Pleasure to be working with you then," she said, her face stony as she replied formally, but her eyes giving away the relief she felt.
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Aike sat on the edge of the cart, his legs dangling over the edge as he breathed in the crisp night air. The cart shook heavily as it drove off the road, moving just a few dozen feet into the grassy plain until it found a relatively flat space to stop on.
"Alright you two, this is as good a place as any," the driver shouted, jumping down from the cart and landing in the moist grass.
He was robust, his potbelly pressing against the fabric of his shirt, but his arms were thick and burly with muscle. Thick black hair clung to his arms and chest, visible over his collar and beneath his rolled up sleeves. His hair was balding on the top, but he wore a hat to conceal it. Overall, he seemed to be in his late forties or so, but couldn't have hit fifty yet since lacked any grey hairs. He gave off a kind sort of feeling, almost fatherly in how he carried himself. At least, that's how Aike imagined a father might act. He had never met his parents, so he could only guess.
"I'll start setting up the camp. If you can, could you fish out some dinner?" his voice boomed, "Should be in the square box nearest the driver's seat"
Aina began shifting in the cart as she looked for food, and Aike watched the man work. Approaching the side of the cart, he untied a small leather pouch that had been hanging outside. Undoing the knot around it, a powerful stench filled the air that made Aike's hairs stand on end.
"Ugh. What is that stuff?" Aike said, covering his nose.
"This? Oh, uh, it's angel's fingers," the man said, tilting the pouch so Aike could see inside. The pouch had been stuffed with flowers that looked like white lavender, golden nectar seeping into the leather and staining some of the flowers around it, "I'll be sprinkling a bit of this here and there, it'll help keep any wandering demons out of the camp"
"Does it always stink so bad?" Aike scowled
"Huh? N-no, these don-" the man began, but Aina popped out of the cart holding a small burlap sack to interrupt him.
"I found the food. If you two don't mind, I'll throw together a simple stew or something," Aina said, looking between them.
"T-that's fine by me, I'll just be off to set these up then!" the driver said, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow as he shuffled off into the darkness.
The pair watched him leave, Aina breaking the silence first, "Be more careful, he's going to be more wary now"
"Huh? Why would he be?" Aike asked, looking up to see Aina's worried eyes looking in the direction of the driver.
"Angel's fingers are used in perfumes as well," Aina said, looking down at Aike, "They're said to smell heavenly, hence the name. The only things that find their smell unbearable are the demons"
Aike stared up at Aina, a cold sweat rolling down his back, "Do you me-"
"I guess you haven't seen it yet," Aina said, drawing her dagger and holding it up to Aike's face, "Look"
She held the blade flat, so he could see his reflection. Looking into the cold steel, Aike felt his breath catch in his throat. There, staring back at him, were a pair of glowing orange eyes, like little spots of hellfire. They lacked the same starry or twisting snakelike pattern as Tyrsyss's, but they were undeniably the same in terms of their glow.
His eyes flashed brighter as he felt his heartbeat grow faster, their brightness responding to his emotions. In that moment, his blood turned to ice, and his head felt hot. Images of Tyrsyss's face flashed through his mind, looking down at him as she attacked, shoving them through the doorway, plunging the dagger into Claire's chest. In an instant, he was flooded with all of the fear and sadness he felt that day, like he was teleported back in time.
With a scream and flailing hands, Aike tipped off of the cart and landed on the grass a few feet below. His ribs and wounds ached, but he couldn't even feel it. His breath caught in his throat a few times as he hyperventilated, breathing in and out rapidly as his vision began to grow dark.
"No! No, no, no!" Aike cried, gripping the back of his head as he curled into a ball.
"Aike!?" Aina shouted, dropping to the ground next to him, "What the hell happened!?"
At the sound of her voice, Aike looked up between his hands and saw her face. In this moment, his mind could only see it as identical to Claire's. His eyes burned as tears flooded his vision, threatening to spill forth. With a shaking hand, he reached out and clutched at Aina's shirt.
"Claire... Claire, I..." he muttered, quiet enough that Aina could barely hear him.
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Aina
Aina looked down at Aike's shaking form. At first, she thought he was being pathetic and weak. But as she saw him closely, it was a reaction she recognized. He must have been witnessing the events of the Gilded Palace again. It was a pain that Aina knew well, one she had to live with for the majority of her life, alone. A feeling of pity washed over her as she watched his hand reach out to her, muttering to himself.
Reaching out, she placed a hand on Aike's shoulder, then moved to his back as she pulled him in. Gently patting him, she did her best to keep him calm. She knew all too well the depths he had sunk to, and just how close to was right now. With that in mind, Aina needed to make sure he would be mentally sound for when the time came, hence why she had decided to reach out to him.
"It'll be alright," Aina said, trying to remember what she had gone through in an attempt to administer the best care, "You'll grow stronger, strong enough to finish this. You've already wounded her once, which means you have the potential in you to do it again."
He continued to shake, but seemed to calm down a bit. It wasn't an immediate recovery, but enough that she felt it was probably alright to move him around. Gently, so she didn't open any of his wounds again, she helped him to his feet and supported his weight on her shoulder. Leading him to the cart, she pulled him up and in with some effort.
"Come on, you should lie down for a bit," she said, leading him to the dark corner of the cart and helping him sit down, "I'll bring you some food in a bit, so just stay here"
As he sat, Aina turned to leave the cart once more when she was caught by the sleeve. Turning around, Aike had latched onto her with a distant expression on his face. Sighing mentally to herself, she turned back and kneeled in front of him.
"I'll be back in a bit, I'm just going to make some food," she said, pulling his hand away from her and throwing a blanket half over his face.
Aike said nothing, but Aina stood and left the cart.
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Looking down into the cast iron pot, Aina watched as the dehydrated chunks of beef soaked in the simple broth of salt and water. Dropping in a few leaves of salted cabbage, she continued to stir.
He's in a much more fragile state that I thought, she thought to herself as she worked, I don't know how much more helpful he'll be if he doesn't recover at some point... I'll just have to wait and see. If he is who I think he is, then I can't afford to let him get away.
"Will the boy be alright?" the driver asked, sitting on a log nearby the fire. He had heard Aike's scream and come running a few moments later.
"He'll be alright, just a scare," she replied, putting on her best smile as she did, "I'm sure he'll feel better after some food and sleep"
"Not much those two things can't fix!" the man said with a smile, chuckling to himself, "That and good company, of course"
Good company, huh? she thought, Can I really be called “good company” though? No. I'm just using him in the end.
"Of course, I'll be there for him if he needs it," Aina smiled.
"Ah, I'm jealous of the boy," the driver replied, stroking his chin in thought, "Not many people can say they have such good friends!"
"Friends..." Aina muttered, her smile fading as she watched the pot boil.
"...Sorry, did I get it wrong?" the driver asked upon seeing her expression fade, looking worried.
"No! No, I just-," Aina stuttered, she glanced back at the cart where Aike was sleeping, "I'm not sure yet. I've never really had a friend before. At least, none that I remember very well."
"Mm, I see," he replied, tactfully dropping the conversation. He gave of an impression that he was good at talking, which made Aina slightly nervous.
Even so, she had hired him through her own personal connections, so she didn't need to worry about his trustworthiness.
"It's done," she announced, ladling the stew into a wooden bowl and handing it over to the driver, "I don't cook all that often, so I'm sorry if it isn't as good as you're used to"
"Nonsense!" he said, with a smile, "I can barely boil the water, let alone cook a meal! I usually rely on the jerky and hardtack alone, so it's great to have a warm meal for once!"
Aina did her best to give a friendly smile, filling a second bowl and eating it as quickly as she could. The food was salty, likely from the fact that it was filled with cured or dehydrated ingredients. Even so, it was satisfying and filling, which was all that really mattered. At least it wasn't bland, anyway.
Aina smiled, internally, at the food. She had never cooked her own meal before, it was always prepared by the servants in the Gilded Palace. Despite the fact that it was far less appetizing, it gave her a sense of accomplishment.
"I'm going to bring him a bowl, then get to bed," Aina said, polishing off her food and filling the bowl once more.
"Of course, I'll be taking watch for the first few hours, but I hope you two sleep well," the driver said, finishing his second bowl.
With a smile and a nod, Aina walked towards the cart and climbed in, careful not to spill any of the stew. Looking in, most of the cart was dark. Even so, two small orange lights like burning coals stood out. When they flicked in her direction, she got a shiver down her spine.
"I hate this," Aike said, his voice gloomy and quiet.
"Hate what?" Aina asked, stepping into the cart and holding the bowl out towards him, "I brought food, by the way"
"These eyes," he said, sounding like he was on the verge of tears, "They're just like hers"
Aina looked down at him. His eyes glowed, yes, but they didn't have any markings inside. Tyrsyss had three traits to her eyes: the glow, the star, and the pattern. Aike only had a glow, so the actual appearance of his eyes hadn't changed.
"I don't think so," she said, making Aike look up at her with a confused look on his face, "They don't have any markings inside, which makes them different"
Aina sat down next to him, placing the bowl on his knee and holding it there. After a few moments he grabbed it and looked down into the broth with squinted eyes.
"Think of it in a positive light, if you can," Aina said, watching Aike examine his reflection in the broth, "It means you're special in some way. Some kind of ability that will help you beat her. Plus, they help you see things in the dark, yeah?"
"Not really," Aike said, but she could hear him try to stifle a chuckle, "Only if whatever I'm looking at is close enough to touch the light, I guess"
With a tentative hand, Aike took a bite of the stew and chewed a chunk of meat and cabbage. He mad a slight face, but swallowed and took another bite.
"Thanks," he said, practically whispered, into the bowl.
"For?" Aina asked, already knowing the answer.
"...For helping me out earlier. You could have just left me," he mumbled, taking another bite after.
"I still need you in good shape," she replied, "I can't do this on my own. I don't even have my own Circuit"
Aike didn't answer, and when she looked over at him, he had already finished eating. He softly set the bowl off to the side.
"What is your plan anyway?" Aike asked, seeming a little more lively after eating, "It's not like we can just walk into Highmaw, not matter how strong we get. Claire was the strongest person in the Empire and yet she-"
Aike trailed off there, Aina interrupting before he could continue, "Then we'll have to get even stronger than that. Or use tricks. Poison, maybe a bomb. I don't know yet, but I do know that we're too weak to do anything the way we are now"
Aike didn't respond, causing the cart to fall into silence. The sound of the fire outside carried through the opening in the cart, sparking and crackling pleasantly. Despite everything they had gone through in the past few days, the world seemed so peaceful now.
"As long as we stick together we can-" Aina began, but yawned in the middle of her sentence, "-start working towards a plan sometime in the future, right?"
Turning to Aike, his head hung limply against the wall of the cart, his soft breathing indicating that he had fallen asleep.
Must've been tired after what happened earlier, Aina thought to herself, If my younger brother had the chance to be born, I wonder if he would've been like Aike...
Closing her eyes, Aina imagined what her life could have been like. The wistful images slowly coaxed her to sleep, and for the first time in years, she had peaceful, happy dreams.