Everin Starlark [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczOtJXw5w7ZuY-yct-WSBrMyMbLfo-F6NPQGO9Syc-D4IVeP4wfqzWe5mWpN7WimRTNBR4GTKtBf7WFXBr0uZ4c9cj0JwtREiKnCh8Px5qQiApvfF4uT0mAN-JhrCPOgVu1d-QTrAL-mc8f8raTHn9qc=w639-h959-s-no-gm?authuser=0]
“Wait, you’re from Tyrand?” Phoenix asked incredulously. This conversation just kept making her feel like she was just a mouse in a maze where the gods kept moving the walls to force her to her inevitable end, and she wasn’t sure if there was a trap waiting for her there.
“Well, technically, I’m from the Winterlands on Alkupera, where the Moonsong voxen originate from. I traveled a lot,” Everin explained, “But for the last half-decade or so, I’ve been assisting the rebellion in Tyrand. Until you accepted Rebel’s quest, that is.”
“She sent you to be with me?” she asked. Her mind was slightly boggled that this man who had been slowly becoming a friend, who risked his life for her dad, and who apparently was Oathbound to protect her, did all of that just because a goddess commanded it.
“I can see you starting to panic,” he said but still grinned, “I just told you I don’t do things blindly.”
“Well, I’m not exactly sure what to trust at the moment. I just found out my own Talent has been used against me,” she muttered bitterly.
“From how much you seemed to rely on it, I doubt it was used against you. In general, what has it been asking you to do? What kind of quests?”
“It told me to kill a lot,” she pointed out, feeling some anger at that fact.
“Killing is part of not only being an Adventurer but being a Wayfarer,” Everin pointed out, and she looked up at him in surprise.
“What? That shouldn’t–”
“Wayfarers are bringers of change, Phoenix,” he interjected, dropping his humor to say seriously, “A lot of powerful people despise change. Whether Wayfarers are sent here for that purpose or summoned here accidentally, they always change things if they survive long enough.”
She paused at that, “Do they often die before that?”
“Well, what does your own experience tell you?” he pointedly asked.
“That I shouldn’t have survived,” she admitted, “Even if I managed to not get kidnapped by crazy researchers or obsessive yandere love interests, then I would have died to quite a few monsters.”
“And did your book get you into those situations or save you from them? Did it hurt or help?”
“Well, that just feels like an unfair question. What if it did both?”
Everin laughed, “I guess the better question is, now that you believe the gods are the ones providing these quests for you, are you going to ignore them? Work against them? Or use your best judgment on whether to heed their advice?”
Phoenix gave a heavy sigh, “I guess that last one,” then she felt a small smile tug at her lips, “Maybe I’ll have my party vote on it.”
“I’m glad you trust your companions that much. I’ll admit I was a bit worried during your earlier days when you locked yourself in your room and seemed afraid to talk to anyone,” he ruffled her hair and grinned, “You’ve grown up well.”
She brushed his hand away but smiled back as she scolded, “Quit acting like my dad.”
The Avatar chuckled and shook his head, “I would never try to replace Paul. Maybe I could be the fun uncle, but I doubt I would make a good parent.”
“Didn’t you say you were like fifty?”
“Almost, but I don’t think age factors into that, really. Some people are natural caretakers, like your own Healer, while others will never be great at raising others. While I might get along with children, I have no interest in having my own and have been often told I act too much like a child myself.”
“I think I might want kids someday,” she replied thoughtfully, “I think that’s why I accepted Cultivator and Parent’s Soul Marks, but I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. Presley showing up made me feel quite confident in that fact. I think I’d rather focus on growing more, waking Paul up, doing what I can to help Tyrand whether I accomplish my quest or not, and then maybe think about finding a partner or something to raise kids with.”
Everin looked at her in surprise as he said, “Sounds like a decent plan for the future. Have you talked with your friends about it?”
“Not about that last bit,” she admitted, “Rayna told me I should want to find a partner sooner, but… I don’t know; the idea of just dating some random person makes me feel super anxious.”
“Well, I’m probably not the best person to ask for dating advice from, considering my most recent attempts have been interrupted by attacks on the city, and it probably wouldn’t work out anyway.”
Phoenix raised a brow at him, “Who have you been trying to date?”
He looked away, but she could see the faint blush painting his cheeks as he muttered, “As I said, it won’t work out. At least not long term, and I doubt a ‘casual fling’ is something you’d be looking for.”
“You seriously won’t tell me who?” she asked with a tease, “I’ll have you know that if you don’t tell me exactly who it is, I’ll never be able to guess it. I had no idea about Dazien and Uriel until after we discovered the Soul Reaper army in the mountains and a friend of theirs told me.”
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Everin stared at her incredulously, “Seriously? The bond between them is so strong. Even without my perception ability, surely you must have suspected something.”
“What does your perception ability have to do with anything?” she asked in confusion.
“Oh, right, I guess I never did mention that to you,” he gestured towards her book, and she willed it to move closer to him to touch an open page.
Passive Ability: Bondsense
Type: Perception (magical, covenant)
Current Caste: Emerald 1
Crystal Effect: Can sense the bonds between beings.
Sapphire Effect: Can sense the bonds between magic and its source.
Emerald Effect: Can sense bonds attached to items.
“Weird,” she murmured, “I don’t think I’ve seen a perception ability that isn’t based on a natural sense other than Saiya’s empathic one.”
“It is rather rare,” Everin admitted, “But I’ve been able to see the bonds of friendship and romance between those two men since the beginning.” Then he gave her a pointed look, “I’ve also been able to see the bonds growing between you and all of them. While Saiya can sense your feelings as you feel them, I can basically sense the history of them in relation to others.”
He paused for a moment before saying tangentially, “I didn’t become an Avatar because some goddess commanded it, Phoenix.” He looked back to Paul and gestured towards him, “I did it because I knew he was worth it, and you would have broken from losing the strongest bond you had.”
She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He had barely known her at the time, and yet he felt that she was worth saving from heartache? The only thing she could think to say was, “Thank you.”
Everin smiled back at her, “Well, I think I was growing rather attached to Daddy Wayland, too. I didn’t want to lose him either.”
“Please don’t call him that.”
He laughed, “I will forever call him that, especially if there’s a chance he can hear it.”
“You’re terrible,” she said with a chuckle, shaking her head as she backtracked slightly, “So you’re not going to tell me or Paul about who you’re going on dates with?”
“Well, I’m not sure they’re really dates for courting purposes. More like getting meals together while swapping stories… they have a lot more than I do, which is likely why it won’t work out between us.”
“I don’t understand,” she said in confusion, “Why does knowing more stories matter?”
“They have so much more life experience than me that it’s rather daunting,” he explained, “While age differences don’t matter as much the older you become, a difference in centuries can make even me feel infantile at times.”
“Centuries? The only people I know that old are Kara and Aunt Pualani.”
“No,” the man said with a laugh, “I’m a fairly open-minded person, but Kara is really not my type, and while Pualani is a lovely woman, she is preparing to depart this world in quite a literal sense.”
Then Everin glanced back towards the door to the room before asking, “Promise this doesn’t leave this room? I’m only telling you this because you’ve been open with me about your secrets, and it’s only fair you get some of mine in return.”
Phoenix grinned widely. Despite not being entirely interested in romance for herself, she felt a flutter of excitement at realizing that she was being trusted with the identity of a crush. She couldn’t help but tease him, though, “I promise I’ll only tell people in this room.”
He narrowed his odd white and black eyes at her, “If I find a crowd of people in here next time–”
“I’m joking,” she laughed, “Of course, I’m not going to gossip about you behind your back.”
“So only in front of me?”
“You’re Emerald; you could stop me then,” she said with a shrug, then leaned forward, “So who is it?”
He hesitated for a long moment before muttering, “Veldrix Thevaris.”
“The Royal Knight?” she asked in surprise, then smacked her forehead, “That’s what Uriel meant when you mentioned having dinner with them. No wonder you both looked at me like I was insane. Why didn’t you correct me?”
“I don’t think either of us wanted to be the one to corrupt the sweet, innocent flower.”
“I thought you were just having dinner to talk about the blackouts!” she exclaimed, “Why would I assume that some weird romance was involved?”
“Weird?” he repeated, looking slightly offended.
“Well, age aside ‘cause I’m not sure how old they are, and even putting the Caste difference aside, they’re a knight and you’re a rebel. How are you not at each other’s throats? Plus, I thought you were just as upset as me for them not arriving sooner.”
“That wasn’t Vel’s fault,” Everin clarified, “They got here as soon as they could, and they’ve been helping protect the city since then. Aside from helping to take out that Firebird that showed up, they’ve been trying to assist with uncovering who all is behind the blackouts.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask how that investigation is going?” she replied, surprised to hear that the Royal Knight was actually helping as much as they were. She was also surprised by the feeling of… disappointment. Then she got upset at herself when she realized that she had wanted them to be some kind of jerk just so she could have someone to blame…
“It’s not going at all right now,” Everin said, interrupting her spiraling thoughts, “It probably won’t continue until we’ve at least finished the current death count from the battle. The leading theory was that the Soul Reapers were behind it somehow, and with them gone now, it might be dropped altogether.”
Phoenix scrunched her nose at that, “Meaning it won’t continue unless more people die from another blackout?”
Everin gave a lopsided smile and shrugged, “Not much more we can do aside from wait.”
Presley came running into the room at that moment then and said happily, “Sis! Lunchtime! Uriel cooked lasagna with new ingredients I made! Everyone’s going to try it soon. So come eat!”
Phoenix laughed at the excited little girl and stood, “Well, I wouldn’t miss Uriel’s cooking for the world.”
“Please, don’t trade the fate of the world for a meal,” the Avatar teased, collapsing the high-tech barrel and slipping the small flat disk into the folds of his robes as he followed after her, “I know he’s an amazing cook but I doubt you want the Cook showing up to make another divine deal.”
She looked at him with wide eyes, “Why would you even suggest that?! Wait, were they in that group that showed up trying to get the Crystal Caste discount before I ascended? I swear, I’m never going to be able to make jokes like that again in case a god takes the idea and just runs with it.”