Iris slowly returned to her senses, feeling the mild migraine of a night spent drinking come to her as she groaned. She rubbed her face against her pillow, trying to shake away the sleep. She felt how clammy her skin was from sleeping in her robe and couldn't help but wonder why her bed felt so warm. As she opened her eyes she looked up and saw the sleeping face of Arylos and that the pillow she was rubbing against was actually his chest. She got her bearings as she realised that she was laying on top of Arylos, wrapped in his arms.

Iris’s face began to turn red as she wondered if last night was a dream at all. She panicked as she tried to remember everything. Slowly, the memories came back to her throbbing head. She remembered opening up to him, she remembered him accepting her.

She remembered their kiss.

Iris’s face went brighter as she rested her fingers on her lips, quietly giggling to herself. She gently moved closer and gave Arylos a soft kiss on his cheek as his beard tickled her chin. As she touched him, she heard an odd growl escape his chest as his fingers moved and stretched and his eyes rolled under his eyelids. After a moment, she saw his glowing eyes open and looked right at her with his pupils changing shapes and the irises of his eyes changing shades of red until they settled on their traditional blood hue.

“Well someone was asleep; I’m sorry I woke you,” Iris said softly.

Arylos groaned inhumanly as he rubbed his eyes and Iris could hear his joints pop. “I take it you’re hungry,” he said in a soft growling voice.

“Well, not yet; I just kind of woke up on my own,” Iris said while resting her head on his chest. “Not gonna lie, I was kind of drunk last night so I don’t remember everything. Although I’m very sure I said some stupid stuff.”

“I thought I was the idiot here?” Arylos asked while laughing lightly.

“But was it all a dream?” Iris asked softly, wanting some kind of confirmation.

Arylos sighed and gently rubbed Iris’s head. “It depends on your perspective. To me, this is all a dream from which I don’t want to wake.”

“You know, here I was thinking that you were romantically dumb as a bag of rocks,” Iris said with a laugh as she tapped Arylos’s nose.

“I don’t think your perspective changed any; I’m still a dumb bag of rocks to you,” Arylos said after laughing.

Iris chuckled and repositioned herself, realising that she was practically on top of him entirely. “Uh, I’m not too heavy for you, am I?” she asked softly.

“You? The little girl? It’s like resting a couple of grapes on my chest,” Arylos answered while stretching his legs.

“Well, at least you know to not call your girlfriend fat,” Iris said sarcastically as she rose up from her comfortable position.

“You do know I’m a lot older than you give me credit for; I’m not that stupid,” Arylos said with a laugh.

Iris chuckled as she sat up and started stretching her back. “Oh? Are you saying this isn’t your first relationship? Knowing you, you’ll probably follow up with ‘because I can’t die, it won’t be the last’.”

Arylos lifted his finger but quickly silenced himself. “Yeah, I’m just going to say I’ve learned the value of silence.”

“Good,” Iris laughed to herself with a smile. “Well, why don’t we go bathe and then do something in the city? Maybe you could teach me how to swim?”

“You’re not ready to swim in open waters girl; lakes and pools only for now,” Arylos said while lifting himself up and rubbing his eyes. “I’ve been thinking about going fishing though.”

“Oh? Fishing?” Iris asked as a sparkle came to her eyes.

“Well, that caught your interest real fast,” Arylos chuckled.

Iris rubbed her hands together as her cheeks went red. “Well, it’s just that my dad used to fish in some of the lakes and rivers near my village. He always said that he would teach me but he–”

“Never had the chance,” Arylos finished as a guilty sigh came to him. “Alright, get changed; you and I are getting shaved ice and going fishing.”

“Wait, you mean it?” Iris asked excitedly.

“We’re not even a full week into our month-long vacation; we have to do something to finish the time,” Arylos said with an innocent smile.

“Dammit, stop making me love you,” Iris said with a sly laugh.

“You did that all on your own,” Arylos said while giving Iris a wink.

“Doesn’t change that you’re an idiot though,” Iris said while patting Arylos’s head as she walked away to the bathroom.

“Isn’t that the reason you love me?” Arylos asked, knowing exactly what nerve he was hitting.

“Listen here; don’t get off thinking you’re that cute just yet,” Iris warned as she walked to the bathroom.

“I’m not the one who thinks that though,” Arylos sarcastically said under his voice.

[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/962352685615558656/962352773301682196/my_demons_separator.png]

“Ugh, my head,” Eir groaned while rubbing her throbbing head.

“When are you going to learn that you’re not a Templarian anymore?” Bellona asked in a sarcastic tone. “You can’t drink like you did before; you have limits and your liver can only take so much.”

Eir leaned back on the sofa, trying to get the drums in her head to stop playing. As she stared at the cottage ceiling, she felt her thoughts recollect and her memories come back to her. “Do you think we were too hard on Iris last night?” she asked softly.

Bellona sat down next to Eir with a heavy sigh, holding two cups in her hands. “We told her exactly what she needed to hear, or at least what she wanted to hear. That’s all.”

“But how can you be so sure that she went to talk to Arylos?” Eir asked.

“Because there’s no way she could get it out of her head,” Bellona said in a confident voice while offering the valkyrie a cup of a warm creamy liquid for her migraine.

“But what if she got her heart broken last night?” Eir asked, slowly lifting her head to look down at the cup, smelling the sweet smell of vanilla and cinnamon.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“You mean like Arylos saying that he doesn’t like her? He may be an idiot as Iris likes to say, but he does have his moments,” Bellona said with a chuckle while drinking from her cup of tea.

Eir sighed as she slowly drank from her cup. The thick liquid was piping hot and had a complex sweet yet savoury flavour that started to bring some life back to Eir.

“Now then, whenever you’re back to normal, I have more restaurants we can try!” Bellona cheered while patting Eir firmly on the back, warranting a groan from the valkyrie.

“You could just go so you don’t have to wait on me,” Eir said while rolling her shoulder and neck, reeling from the pain her wounds still had on her.

“Not an option; you’re coming with,” Bellona insisted with a confident smile.

Eir chuckled and gestured to the loose flower printed summer dress she had on. “Then if you won’t mind me wearing just this, let’s go.”

“Girl, that’s a summer dress; you’re supposed to wear it outside so you don’t have to put on too much,” Bellona said with a smirk.

“Good to know you approve,” Eir said while slowly getting up from the couch while holding her head steady. “I could go for something to eat now anyway.”

Bellona chuckled and held Eir by the arm to keep her steady and the two walked out of the cottage and out into the street as the sun beat down on them. “I’m still kind of worried about Iris,” Eir softly whispered as the two of them walked through the streets.

“You worry too much you know,” Bellona said while patting Eir’s shoulder.

“He’s a Titan, she’s a human; nothing good can come from this,” Eir said while lowering her head as if to hide shame. “Even you and I will outlive her. What does that bode for her future with a Titan?”

“I think you’re too caught up in that and not seeing it from their side,” Bellona said in an attempt to console the valkyrie. “I don’t think either one of them cares anymore. Should we be concerned for them? Sure, but ultimately it’s their decision.”

“I’m just worried about her, that’s all,” Eir said, deep in thought.

Bellona thought about Eir’s concern for a moment. Trying to find the best way to help the valkyrie cope with reality, she had some ideas come to her. “Maybe you should look for someone yourself, especially if you plan to stay here.”

Eir’s cheeks went red for a moment as she shook her head. “No thanks, I don’t need anything like that complicating things more than they already are.”

“Complicating things? Don’t tell me you like Arylos too,” Bellona said in a mocking voice.

Eir’s cheeks quickly went pale as she looked up at Bellona with a murderous intent in her eyes. “That’s not funny, you know,” she said in a cold voice.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it,” Bellona said with a nervous chuckle.

“Well then, do you like him?” Eir asked, keeping her face cold and serious.

Bellona stopped laughing and thought deeply about what to say. “When I was younger, maybe. I was obsessed with him as a young goddess of war. When he returned to Templarius that time, I was hypnotised by seeing him in battle. Seeing what he could do was…I don’t know, but the word ‘divine’ doesn’t do it justice. After I saw him and Anoron spar once, I couldn’t help but follow him around, hoping to learn from him and become stronger.”

“So not as in love him, but more inspired by him,” Eir wondered aloud, starting to get the gist of the situation.

“No, I came to worship him as a god,” Bellona said softly, remembering her dark history with the Titan. “And that’s not what he wanted, as I learned the hard way.”

“And you don’t hate him for what happened between you two?” Eir asked as her eyes darted towards Bellona’s back.

Bellona shook her head as she started chuckling under her breath. She kept her voice soft to keep herself from being overheard by the crowds. “After we fought, he nursed me back to health. He told me that he was only trying to protect me. Sure, I was angry, but I was more angry with myself; I had just betrayed not only my friend, but my god. I don’t know what was worse, really. But he was still there for me as best as he could, even offering to undo what he did once.”

“Wait, he could give your wings back?” Eir asked, startled by the knowledge.

“He’s a Titan; that didn’t surprise me,” Bellona answered softly as the two of them arrived at a busy market and the voices of people drowned out their talk.

Eir felt excited by the idea and began to wonder if she could one day ask Arylos. “How could he–”

“I said no so it doesn’t matter,” Bellona interjected quickly.

“Why did you say no?” Eir asked, trying desperately to hold onto whatever hope she had left.

“Divinity is given, not made; those were Arylos’s words,” Bellona explained softly, realising what Eir was secretly wanting. She found a bench nearby and sat down on it. “I knew that he couldn’t just make me divine again; he would have to give it to me from somewhere else. That means he has to take it from somewhere. That didn’t sit right with me; the idea of someone else losing their divinity just to have mine again wasn’t worth it.”

With tempered expectations, Eir lowered her head and nodded slowly as she slowly sat down on the bench as well. She felt the hope of regaining her divinity again fade from her. “So that’s why even Iris is still mortal; Arylos can’t just make her divine,” Eir realised, remembering Iris’s half-blood nature.

“Exactly,” Bellona answered with a slow nod “Iris may be a hybrid, but she’s still mortal. Arylos can’t just make her divine the same way he can’t just make us divine again.”

“But isn’t he divine? Couldn’t he just give up a piece of his own divinity?” Eir asked softly.

Bellona sighed and rubbed her hands together. “He’s not divine, Eir. He’s different. The rules that applied to us as divines do not apply to him. He’s more than just another species; he’s something different.”

“But how is he not divine?” Eir asked, trying to find the separation.

“I quite frankly don’t understand it myself, but Arylos isn’t a living being like us,” Bellona explained while looking out in the crowd. “He’s not a god and he’s not a spirit. He’s…something, but something different. He’s alive, but not in the way we are.”

“That’s really vague,” Eir commented while rubbing her chin.

“Well, he’s not of this world and needs a vessel in order to interact with us,” Bellona said, trying her explanation again. “He’s kind of like an Outer God; unable to interact with this world but able to influence it. He’s a force of nature, literally, but somehow alive.”

“That doesn’t make sense to me; how could a physical law of nature be alive?” Eir asked while trying to imagine gods of physics and space.

“No idea; it makes no sense to me either, but that’s the truth according to Arylos,” Bellona said with a chuckle. “And since he’s the last of his kind, there’s no other frame of reference for him.”

Eir rubbed her arms together as a cold thought came to her. “So falling in love with him is like falling in love with a mountain. Or the sun. A force of nature that is ever present but will pay you no mind.”

“And that’s the frame of mind that keeps me from loving him like Iris does,” Bellona said with a laugh. “How can you expect a mountain to love you back? Or the stars in the sky to tell you how much you matter to them. It’s surreal and Iris is the only one I know of who is crazy enough to try it.”

Eir felt even worse for Iris and guilty for pushing Iris along with this. She couldn’t help but feel like she was setting Iris up for pain and failure now. She genuinely wondered what was the correct course of action and why Bellona would push for this too.

“What house does Iris belong to?” Eir asked softly, wanting to know more. “She’s Templarian, so who’s her ancestor?”

Bellona sighed as she clenched her fists, feeling pain come to her. “Helion. Her ancestor is the lost heir of Eroth Sarandiel and Minourae Rhamiel.”

Eir covered her mouth as her heart felt as though it had stopped. “No,” she muttered softly. “Does she know?”

“Unless Arylos told her, no,” Bellona responded while shaking her head. “That’s something for the two of them to sort out, and he refuses to tell her.”

“Why would he do that to her?” Eir asked intently.

“‘If she chooses to be a god, she will be a god of her own making’; that’s what Arylos told me,” Bellona said in a monotone voice. “He doesn’t want her conflicted past and future changing her fate. He intends to let her discover her own path in life; not defined by her house.”

“That’s naive of him; she will have to face it sooner or later,” Eir said with heavy disappointment.

“Yes, but I have to agree with Arylos; let them enjoy this happiness for now,” Bellona said while gesturing towards the crowd ahead.

Eir looked ahead and in the crowd, she saw a familiar duo chatting with each other at one of the stalls. Seeing Iris’s wide and warm smile brought Eir a little warmth back to her as she realised just how happy Iris was as she spoke to Arylos. Arylos was returning a similar smile, laughing all the while in inaudible words to Eir.

Eir began to wonder if the theoretical situation never happened until she saw the two of them hold hands tightly. Seeing the confirmation with her own eyes made her fears go away.

“See? I think we’re good,” Bellona said with a triumphant voice.