"What is going on with you?" Rayni asked, more concerned than annoyed. Mereria had seemed really serious when she'd told her she wanted to talk, and honestly Rayni couldn't say it was all that bad to miss a conversation between Hidarion and Kaleth. Those two could make anything awkward.

"Nothing is going on with me," Mereria said, folding her arms and leaning against the wall of the palace. It was a good thing they couldn't get cold because for some reason Mereria had insisted they talk outside. Maybe to avoid anyone overhearing them because no sane person would stay out here willingly for long.

"Then what is it?" Rayni mimicked Mereria's stance, except she had nothing to lean on. That made her feel unreasonably grumpy, even in her own opinion.

Mereria sighed, looking away for a moment. "Are you alright? You aren't hurt, right?"

Rayni rolled her eyes and started watching a crow sitting on one of the bare trees instead. Both because it was cute, but also because she didn't want to look at Mereria right now. Always with the concern and feelings.... "Yeah, I'm fine. Gods, how many times will I have to confirm it?" The bird flew away the next second, and Rayni's shoulders slumped a little. Traitor. Now she had no living thing to look at aside from Mereria.

"Is that what you wanted to talk about? 'Cause if it is—"

"It isn't," Mereria quickly cut her off. She really didn't seem to want to talk about whatever she had wanted to talk about. Great, Rayni's favorite kind of conversation.

"Would you get on with it already?" Rayni asked, rubbing her forehead.

Mereria shot her a weak glare. She apparently couldn't keep up her trademark attitude around Rayni it seemed. That was good because that attitude included a lot of resentment and stubbornness.

"All this talk of Enor..." Mereria began, "it's made me more aware of how similar Areon is to him."

Rayni just stared at her for a moment, which was long enough for Mereria to continue talking. "I suppose that makes sense. He does after all have a part of Enor inside of him, which—"

Stolen novel; please report.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on. What are you even talking about? You told me Enor was this emotionless monster. Kaleth is very much emotional, even though he tries to hide it. Maybe a bit too emotional recently," Rayni argued, actually a little offended by this. Kaleth was her friend, she was pretty sure she'd notice if he were planning on committing genocide.

"There was a time when Enor was just as emotional as anyone."

Rayni froze, her eyes going wide. Right, she should have probably put that together, but that didn't make this any less confusing.

"However," Mereria continued, looking quite unhappy about whatever she was about to say, "Enor got rid of his emotions in his late twenties. And he was much smarter than Areon. So I don't think that whatever path in life he takes, he will end up in the same place as Enor. But...."

"You still think it's possible," Rayni finished for her, setting her jaw and narrowing her eyes. "Is that why you don't like him?"

"No," Mereria said, sighing. "It's personal."

"Yeah, obviously, most things like this are," said Rayni, narrowing her eyes even more. "C'mon, tell me."

"He reminds me of...what I lost," Mereria replied after a moment, and Rayni raised an eyebrow.

"Were you and Enor a thing, or something?"

Mereria pulled a disgusted face. "What?! Of course not."

Rayni raised her other eyebrow. That was a very strange reaction to have. But before she could question her further, Mereria spoke.

"I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind. Despite living with it for thousands of years, it's still not easy. Tharos seems to enjoy bringing the people I loved back into my life without them remembering me." Mereria glared at nothing.

"Hey, I'm still hanging out with you," Rayni said, feeling a little offended at that. Mereria smiled slightly.

"Yes, that is true."

Mereria reached out for Rayni's hand very slowly, stopping right before she could touch her. Rayni rolled her eyes and grabbed her hand instead, ignoring the little flip her heart did at that.

"C'mon, let's get coffee, or something. They have to have it somewhere around here," Rayni suggested, already walking. Surprisingly, Mereria put up no struggle and just let herself be led gods knew where. Because Rayni sure had no clue where she was going.

Not even holding hands with Mereria, something they hadn't done at all yet, was enough to distract Rayni enough to stop thinking about what she'd just heard, though. She didn't want to believe Kaleth could ever turn against them, but clearly Mereria hadn't thought Enor would do that either.

Rayni shook her head and sighed. She would just keep an eye on Kalethfor now, and make sure to ask Mel if he hadn't noticed anything. She had to protect her little brother, even from Kaleth if necessary, so she had to be aware of what was going on with them. And with that decided, where the hell was even the palace gate?