Arylos sat in the basement, bathing in the blue light of Iris’s makeshift campfire as he carved the ruined section of a wooden beam into a new staff. As he carved chunks out of the wood, Iris looked around the basement, continuing to gather anything she could take with her. In the corner of his eye, Arylos watched Iris search the dark recesses of what was once his forge with little more than the light of her burning logs to light her way.
“The descendant of the god of light searching in the shadows; now that’s ironic if I’ve ever known it,” Arylos said with an entertained chuckle.
“Oh shut up you,” Iris called out while waving her hand, continuing her delicate search as she moved the rubble out of her way.
“This was my space anyway; what are you hoping to find?” Arylos asked while double checking the weight of his makeshift staff.
Iris let out a sigh as she turned around and brushed hair out of her face. “Then why don’t you get off your butt and help me out here?” she said in a sarcastic tone.
“It would help if you told me what you were looking for,” Arylos said while tapping the ground with the staff.
“I don’t know, anything, “Iris said with a sigh as she looked around the basement forge. “This was pretty much the only place not damaged so we might find something here; supplies, mementos, things like that.”
Arylos let out a sigh as he gripped the staff firmly with both hands. As if on cue, Iris rushed over to him, jumping over fallen beams as she came to his side and reached out her hand yet the crippled Titan waved her off. Before she could stop him, Arylos pulled himself up with a mighty groan, leaning all of his weight against the staff as he stood up. With a sigh, he steadied himself, surprised that his legs were not shaking as much as he expected.
“Honey, don’t over exert yourself,” Iris said softly while keeping an arm out to catch Arylos should he fall.
“I’m fine,” Arylos said sternly as he took a few steps forward, working to keep his weight balanced. “In any case, we need to head back; we can’t stay out here forever.”
“But you’re in no condition to walk all the way back,” Iris said in concern.
Arylos laughed under his breath as he looked towards Iris, a familiar red glow in his eyes. “Don’t forget little girl; I’m the Titan of Fire for a reason,” he said with a deep growl to his voice. Before Iris could ask for more detail, he reached behind him as the air began to hum loudly like the ground was grinding against itself. Suddenly, the blue flames of the fire leapt from their logs and rushed towards Arylos’s outstretched arm, spiraling around his arm like spinning water as the blue flames faded to a deep blood red. As the flames spun around his arm, he walked towards the base of the stairs and stretched out his arm, pointing it towards the door trapped behind rubble. As if overcome by some destructive magic, the flames howled loudly like rabid dogs and rushed outwards, striking the rubble and the door, blowing a hole open in the basement wall that led outside.
With a prideful smile, Arylos turned back around and laughed once more, happy to show off to Iris every now and then. Iris stood in silence as she watched the power Arylos conjured and crossed her arms, pouting after being upstaged. “Whatever,” she said while turning away and picking Helion off of the ground and hoisting the scabbard’s strap over her shoulder.
“Oh come on, you have to admit that was cool,” Arylos said with a familiar dumb smile he liked to give her.
“I guess you can walk on your own then,” Iris continued as she walked past Arylos, not willing to acknowledge the display of strength as her hair finally changed from its Templarian silver to her natural brown.
“For the most part, but this body is still struggling on some parts,” Arylos said as he followed Iris as she climbed up the stairs. “Even that took some careful control on my part and I didn’t draw the actual power myself; only controlled it.”
“Explain it to me like I’m five, honey,” Iris said as she stepped outside, once more into the snow and ash and looked around to get her bearings.
Arylos laughed under his breath as he looked up at the burnt sky as snow and ash continued to fall. “I can basically control my surroundings but I can’t conjure anything of my own, and the control I do have is limited.”
Iris thought for a moment as she slowly walked towards the street. “So if I make fire for you, you can control it; you just can’t make your own.”
“Exactly,” Arylos said as he followed closely behind Iris, able to keep up with her pace comfortably. “There are other limitations but I think that we can make this work.”
“So it sounds like you and I need to be side-by-side, doesn’t it?” Iris said as she looked towards Arylos with an innocent smile. “I can’t control a lot of what I can do and you can’t make magic of your own. So we need to work together.”
Arylos thought about Iris’s proposal and laughed uncontrollably under his breath. With a sigh, he corrected himself but even still it took him a while to regain his proper breathing. “It has always been just the two of us, hasn’t it?” he said with the laughter starting to return.
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Iris looked away as her cheeks started to turn red and Arylos’s contagious laughter started to affect her. “S-Shut up, don’t be cute; I’m the cute one.”
“Oh come on, I rarely get these moments; let me savor it,” Arylos said with a loud laugh as he walked past Iris, resting his hand on her shoulder as he walked by and back out into the street. As Iris approached behind him, he continued westward while Iris stayed in place as a thought returned to her. She looked behind her down the rest of the street and saw the rest of the destroyed homes and she began to wonder if they could even rebuild here. She shook her head as she turned to follow Arylos but found herself looking behind her once more. She tried to shake the thoughts away and turned back around but found Arylos right next to her; sneaking up behind her without so much as footsteps for her to hear.
“You are thinking whether we can still call this home, aren’t you?” Arylos said as he looked down the street just as Iris had before.
Iris sighed and looked back to the street and her home. “More of thinking that this is the second home that’s been burnt down.”
Arylos sighed as he glanced towards Iris as he moved his staff to his other hand and wrapped his arm around Iris’s shoulders, pulling her close to provide her some comfort. “I wish I could say I know what that’s like, but I’ve only experienced that pain once.”
Iris looked back up at Iris and saw a somber look in his eyes that she recognized all too well. “You’re talking about Mortehksun?” she asked softly.
Arylos let out a sigh as he held Iris tighter. “Mortehksun may have been where I was born, but it was not my home.”
Iris was silent for a moment as she thought about what Arylos was talking about. She eventually sighed as well and wrapped an arm around Arylos, comforting him as he was with her. As she looked down the street with Arylos, she felt a sickness in her stomach as she realized something she wished she never had to acknowledge.
“Subaya,” Iris whispered softly as the realization set in.
Arylos felt the same concern strike him like a lightning bolt that kicked his legs into motion. As if in unison, the two ran down the street to the house they knew all too well, Arylos denying his body the sensation of pain as he ran to the familiar porch that was all but a crushed ruin. As the two approached, they slowed their run as they examined the roof and upper floor that had collapsed on the lower floor, leaving a forest of splintered beams with rocks of shattered bricks everywhere.
“Honey, lightning,” Arylos said as he grabbed Iris’s wrist tight and the familiar red glow filled his eyes.
Iris caught on and sparks of white lightning spat from her skin, returning her hair to her divine silver as energy flowed into Arylos’s arm, lightning up the muscles under his skin with a dull blue light that shone through the various blood vessels in his skin. After drawing on enough of her strength, Arylos let go of Iris’s hand and watched as orange Titanic runes began to dance around his arm, forming intricate spirals and circles as they hummed loudly. Iris went behind Arylos as her hair returned to brown once more as the Titan inhaled deeply and the runes shone brighter like a stoked flame. Arylos then closed his fist as the air began to hum in tune and snapped his fingers. With the snap, a thundering shockwave broke free, briefly deafening Iris’s ear and knocking away much of the rubble like ships tossed by an angry sea and clearing the way.
As Iris fingered her ear to get her hearing to come back to her as Arylos continued forward. Once her ear popped and stopped ringing, Iris followed Arylos, carefully walking along the splintered wooden floor. As she tried to catch up to Arylos, she saw him stop in his tracks as he came up to a large support beam. Iris rushed to join him and once she stood next to him, she wished she didn’t come here.
The two looked on, deathly silent as they came to terms with what they were seeing; three bodies trapped under the large beam, two of them with locked arms as a small child rested between their arms. Even as Iris saw their faces, her mind refused to recognize them. She could only shake her head, unable to find words as her mind refused the truth. She took slow steps backwards as her hair slowly turned silver again and lightning ran along her body. She could see Arylos turn towards her and say something yet his words only echoed in her empty mind. She felt furious screams come to her that rang out like banshees and yet throat was locked in place.
Suddenly, Arylos held her tight, his dying body giving her some semblance of warmth as she clutched at his jacket. He heard no words from the Titan; only the feel of his soothing embrace as he held her tight like she was about to float away from him. She felt tears come to her yet she could not feel the desire to cry. Her body called out for it, yet her mind was empty and her soul was dead; she just couldn’t bring herself to feel the pain.
“I’m sorry,” Arylos whispered softly, gently kissing Iris’s scalp.
Iris nodded, acknowledging Arylos’s words as she found herself unable to speak. She felt her rage leave her slowly as her hair returned to normal. She pushed away from Arylos and rubbed her nose, trying not to look at the bodies.
“Can you move the beam?” she asked softly as her voice shook.
“I think I can,” Arylos said softly, reaching out for Iris yet she waved him off.
“They can’t stay here, and neither can we,” Iris said as she looked at the bodies out of the corner of her eyes. “We need to get them to the city square so they can be buried, and we have to get back to the mountain before the radiation kills us.”
Arylos lowered his hands and slowly nodded, lowering his head in shame. Iris nodded and approached the beam but Arylos grabbed her sleeve before she could walk past. As she looked at him, she could see a familiar look in his eyes as he locked his gaze with the ground.
“I’m sorry,” Arylos repeated as he shook his head in defeat. “No matter how far I run, I will always be the monster of my own story and kill everyone I meet.”
Iris sighed softly, trying to find words of comfort for Arylos, yet she was unable to find anything to tell him. She was so blinded by rage and grief that she couldn’t find anything that comforted herself much less Arylos. She lifted her arm and looked at his hand, grabbing it with her other hand and holding it tight between both of her hands.
“Not everyone,” she said softly, finally able to find something to say as she looked up at the grieving Titan. She let out a sigh as she rubbed the back of Arylos’s hand. “Come on, they deserve to be laid to rest.”
Arylos sighed as he turned towards Iris, able to look her in the eyes for a moment before she continued ahead to the bodies and began moving the rubble out of the way so that she could get them out. Arylos thought for a moment as he watched her, slowly coming up behind her as he prepared himself for the difficult task of burying his friends again. He had become accustomed to burying those he knew, but he finally realized that he hated it every time.
And yet, for a moment, his heart wished that he could earn the same rest.