***NEED WORK

The city-state of Stranaglastre was magnificent as it was, but it was at night where truly takes on a life of its own.

Flame-lit streetlamps glowed in their soft bright radiance, the light reflecting off of the small pieces of the cobblestone road. The cool evening air was buzzing with light and lively energy, and the rustling and bustling of the open bars and restaurants reminded me that even in their long Immortal lives, the Citizens of Stranaglastre haven’t forgotten the taste and love for their comfort foods, and the comfort of friendly company they had enjoyed in their human life.
Light laughter, cheery conversation and music, along with the aroma from the busy kitchens took us in as Thya and I strolled through the growing crowds on the streets.

“Isn’t this a wondrous place?” Thya cried out.
She closed her eyes as she smiled widely and breathed in deeply, as if to absorb the place in through her senses.
“It’s like we stepped out into a whole different world!”

I looked around the place, peering into bars and looking at the smiling faces as we walked by. Some of them turned to stare, their eyes going wide at the sight of us, buzzing in curiosity. Even in this welcoming scene, I felt alienated.

“I do like the atmosphere,” I replied, ignoring the prying eyes. “It’s so warm and cheery.”

That was no lie; I truly did enjoy the vibe of the place. It was uplifting and oddly soothing to step out into a place like Stranaglastre where there was less of that serious tension of the Towers.
But I was not at home. I didn’t fit in.
I never had a place to call home.

I forced a small smile on my face as I looked back at Thya, who was practically glowing like a kid at an amusement park.
This motion was coming to be second nature now.
“Home-sweet-home.” I said.

If she saw through my charade, she didn’t show it. Instead, she hooked her arms around mine and started to drag me around; something she was starting to make into a habit.
“Oh, what should we do first?” she chattered excitedly. “Maybe we can eat, and then dance. Or we can go play that game those children are playing over there. And then eat…oh, I just have to try whatever it is they are cooking up in those kitchens!”
I rolled my eyes at her excitement, already starting to feel tired as she rambled on.
“But we should probably save that for later, after we work up out imaginary appetites…”

Thya looked up at me then, her smile faultering the slightest bit.
“What’s wrong, Zavius? You’re awfully quiet.” she said.
I sighed, but kept a smile on my face to ease her worries.
“I’m just a bit worn, Thya.” I told her. “You know, this long week and all.”
Thya let out a put-out groan, rolling her eyes dramatically.
“Ugh, tell me about it.” she muttered, shaking her head. “After that Electus mission, the Advanced Tech Unit has been going nuts. I heard the last few days had been chaos, with them trying to backtrack and getting more info on what exactly happened. And it’s also reported that the Infirmary sector has been just as bad, with the injured original Electus and all.”
She, too, let out a sigh.
“And on top of all that, Sir Elder Ravador had to leave on diplomatic matters to our neighboring city-states all of the sudden.” she said. “Ha! Of all weeks to get pulled out of Stranaglastre, it just had to be this week, where everything is going haywire.”

I frowned, hearing this piece of news for the first time.

“I didn’t know the Chief Elder was out of Stranaglastre.” I said. “I didn’t think he really ever left the Towers, given his title.”
“Well, that’s not all too surprising. I was told he left right after he left us that training restriction order three days ago.” Thya said. “He left with just Mjoré as an escort and Druce in temporary charge. Unless you are looking for Sir Elder directly, you wouldn’t even know about him being gone.”

Three days?
That…that can’t be right.

We had reached the open market plaza on the Eastside of Stranaglastre, and here, there was less people and most that were present were faces of children. The circular open area had a great white marble water fountain as its centerpiece, and tonight it was surrounded by a thousand small paper lanterns lit and scattered randomly on the cobblestone.
A group of laughing children ran past us, the one in the lead holding an armfull of these paper lanterns as we made our way to the fountain.

Thya sighed again as she sat down on the edge of the fountain.
“Honestly, when people need the Supreme Elder the most…” she muttered.
I was still thinking back on what she ahd said on about the order.
“Hey, when did the Electus return?” I asked.
When Thya gave me an odd look, I hastely added.
“Because this whole week kinda threw off my sense of time, being restricted and somewhat isolated and all.”
Thya blinked at me, her expression bemused.
“Well…Sir Elder’s been gone for three days now.” she said. “So I suppose about…six days? A week?”

My face was completely composed in an expressionless mask as I felt a shot of cold run through me.
The day we witnessed the Electus return and the capture of the beast, we were placed under restrictions by the direct orders of Sir Ravador. It took another three days before we were Summoned to Elders Hall for what was supposed to be an explanation of events.
That same day, I went to the Training Unit…
…and came across Taeri.
…Which was around the time when we received the order; the one Sir Ravador sent out before he left.

Three days since.
I was out cold for three days.

“…Um…Zavius?”

My eyes flickered back to Thya, who was looking me with her brows crinkled with worry lines.

I forced a smile, wracking my brains for a believable lie.
“Don’t look so worried, Thya.” I laughed. “I was just thinking back to that day…Having that thing that nearly killed the Electus in our world alive bothers me.”

I thought my lie was pretty believable, seeing that it is partially true. That thing should have been killed in the Living, not spared.
But instead of the relief I was expecting to see Thya looked away, looking troubled and almost sad.
Maybe she felt the same way?
…or could she see through my lie?

Feeling the weight of the awkward silence on my shoulders, I changed the subject.

“So, why were you looking for Sir Ravador?” I asked.
Thya turned her face back to me, her eyes wide in confusion.
“Huh?”
“Sir Ravador.” I repeated. “You said unless we were looking for him directly, we wouldn’t know about him leaving. So why were you looking for him?”

Thya chewed her lip, scowling a bit as if to be choosing her words carefully.
“I wasn’t looking for him, per se.” she said slowly, considering. “I mean, I was, but I was mainly looking for someone else.”
I raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.
“And Sir Ravador would know where this person is?” I asked.
“He should, at least that’s why I went to go see him.” she muttered.
I mused, processing the information in my head.
“So this person is someone of importance?”
Thya froze where she sat briefly before she cautiously loosened up her posture.
“Why do you ask that?” she returned.
I shrugged, and sat down beside her on the fountain, while still giving her a couple of feet of space.
“Because, you went all the way to Sir Ravador to request an audience with him just to find this person.” I reasoned. “Then it must be soemone really close or important to you.”
Thya just smiled wryly, almost grimacing.
“Well, it is someone I am concerned about.” she allowed. “So I guess you can say she is important.”

Hmm…so this person is a girl.
Good news for Sarvwen I guess.

“Is this girl someone I know?” I asked. “Maybe in my rank?”
But Thya shook her head.
“No…I’m not sure what rank she would be in.” she murmured.
She turned in towards the fountain and dipped her fingers into the clear shallow water.
I frowned, watching as she stared at the fading ripples in the water. Her troubled expression did bother me.
“Hey, maybe I could help find her.” I offered.
I scooped up one of the small paper lanterns that was on the ground nearby and held it up with one hand in the air. It felt so light and fragile in my palm; I could’ve crushed it easily.

Thya sighed sadly, shaking her head. Her blond and neon purple-streaked hair caught the light from the lantern.
“I appreciate your offer, dear. I really do. But she’s not someone that walks freely around in broad daylight.” she said.

My frown grew deeper. What was that supposed to mean?

It was as if she knew more than she was letting on. I would’ve pushed more, but Thya looked so deep into this concerned depression that I couldn’t.
So we sat there looking around at the market plaza. The silence between was not awkward in the least; it was like we both silently agreed to allow our thought time to process.
There were more people walking around now, smiling and laughing as they made their way to their favorite restaurants. Quite a number of couples were walking through the plaza, walking arm in arm, smiling warmly at one another. It’s almost strange how they would look at one another, as if they were the only two in the world, and they had everything they could possibly want right in the moment.

I turned to Thya and I saw her watching something on the other side of the fountains. Curious, I followed her gaze and peered around.

A very young looking boy slowly and timidly approached a small girl perched on the fountain, his hands hidden behind his back. The girl looked up and smiled, blushing.
I had to smile when I saw the boy bring his hands forward and produced a messy bouquet of flowers, clearly hand picked.

“Aww, how sweet,” I heard Thya sigh contently.

I watched as the girl shyly shrank away, before accepting the flowers and taking the boy’s outstretched hand.

“Oh, that was the sweetest thing…”

I glanced over to Thya and saw her with her hands over her heart, her expression soft and all…’mushy.’
I smiled and just nodded in agreement.
The kids looked happy in each other’s company as they skipped away and disappeared into the crowd. They were so young, yet they acted as if they knew what it was to care for another person dearly.
Could they truly understand what it means to feel for the other?
Even I have yet to figure out the whole concept of love…
Then, an odd thought came to mind.

…Those kids may not be kids at all.

Clearly, they died fairly young; looking at their appearance that much was evident.
But they could’ve been Citizens of Stranaglastre for centuries now for all I know…

As I mulled over these odd thoughts, I sensed someone draw closer to me. My attention was immediately drawn to my left.
Thya was now only a foot away from me, grinning happily like an idiot and looking a bit smug.
I frowned, suspicion kicking in.
“What?” I demanded, leaning away from her.
She was still grinning when she nodded towards something over my shoulder.
“Someone is catching an awful lot of attention this evening.” she said.
I scowled, not really getting why she was being weird.
“Yea? So? Why does it matter?”
I turned around to where she was nodding at---and saw the issue.

At the far end of the market plaza, out of the way of the passing crowd stood three teenaged girls. They stood huddling with one another whispering and glancing my way. When they saw me staring, they broke out giggling.
One of them---the one standing in the middle gave me a small twiddling of her fingers, which I guess translated into a flirtatious girly wave.
I just smiled weakly and raised my hand in a half-hearted wave, which brought on another set of giggles.

I turned back to Thya, and I let my smile drop. She just raised an eyebrow at me, smirking.
“Oh, but you missed the prettiest one in the group!” she said. “Ah, look…there she is…”
I groaned and looked over once again---but I was surprised to see who this girl was.

A fourth girl stepped through the group of three, giving the three girls a look of annoyance. She then turned back to me and blew me a kiss.
To this one, I winced---because this girl was actually an elderly lady.

I turned back to Thya and grimaced slightly. She still continued to grin.
“I think she’s a keeper.” she teased, winking.
I rolled my eyes at her, shaking my head.
“Tempting,” I scoffed sarcastically. “But I’m not interested.”
Thya raised an eyebrow at me, her expression slightly amused.

Silence fell between us again, but I could feel Thya being a bit restless beside me. I just let it go, being glad to have moved on from the previous topic.

It was only a few minutes of silence when Thya spoke again.
“So…” she began.

I turned my gaze her way and raised an eyebrow at her.
“So,” I echoed, prompting her to continue.
Thya was chewing on her lower lip, once again thinking.
“You’re friends with Mivian?” she asked slowly.
I frowned at her, confused with this question. Was that a problem?
“Yea, I guess you can say that.” I said.
“And…?” she continued to press.
“And?” I echoed again.
“How do you like her?”
I blinked at her, trying to read her curious gaze.
“She’s cool. Don’t quite know much about her, but she seems like a nice---”

Then I finally caught on.

I snorted, feeling annoyed.
“Thya,” I said flatly, aggravation clear in my tone.
“What?” Thya demanded defensively.
I sighed, rolling my eyes a little.
“Look, Mivian’s cool and all, but I only like her as a friend.” I told her, straight out. “I don’t even know much about her.”
“But when we had that double date thing, you brought her along.” she argued.
“That was because she said she knew some stuff about the rumors circulating on the Electus mission before we got sucked into this whole mess.” I argued back. “That and the whole date thing came as a result when we were trying to talk our way out of trouble, and when we were trying to piss off…that bitch.”
Thya frowned, looking appalled.
“Vulgar, Zavius.” she scolded. “If you’re talking about Taeri, she may be annoying but she doesn’t cause harm.”

Ah Thya, you don’t even know.

“Either way, we’re just friends.” I said, making it final. “And I’m sure that it’s going to stay that way.”
Thya pouted, disappointed.
“You never know,” she mumbled. “You guys do look good together.”
I let out another snort, shaking my head in disagreement.
“Not in the way you want to believe, Thya.” I said. “What is it with you and Zarda wanting me to find this so called ‘special someone,’ huh?”
Thya was still pouting at me with a sad expression.
“It’s not really that, but we do want you to be happy; we all do.” she said.
“I am happy…single.” I insisted. “And I’m not going to change that anytime soon.”
“Okay, fine.” Thya said, still arguing. “So you and Miv are just friends. But what if there’s another girl?”
I groaned and rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time.
“Thya---” I started, exasperated.
But she was, as usual, being stubborn.
“No, listen.” she pushed. “What if there was to be another girl. What then?”
“But there isn’t another girl.” I argued.
She ignored me and went on.
“What will happen if there was to be another girl and you fall for her?” she challenged.
I scoffed.
“Not gonna happen.” I said.
This time Thya scoffed, completely dismissing my declaration.
“You can’t know for sure!” she grouched.
“Sure I can.” I returned. “My feelings, my control.”

Thya stopped and looked at me, giving me the all-knowing look of wisdom.
“Zavius, you know that may not always be true.” she said. “Before you know it, she may just have you shot right through the heart.”

I frowned at her words, and I immediately thought back to what Mivian had told me that night of that ‘double date.’
“Funny,” I thought outloud. “I’ve been getting that a lot.”

“What was that?” Thya asked.

I waved her off, dismissing my last comment.
“Eh, nothing.” I grouched.

I finally stood up on my feet and stretched.
“So, are we going to do something, or what?” I demanded.
Anything would be better than just wasting time talking about this whole ‘love’ crap.
Thya smiled, getting up herself.
“Sure thing.” she said. “What do you say we go eat now?”
She skipped lightly to my side and grinned.
“Come on,” she said cheerfully.

Just as she was about to hook her arm around my right, it happened.
The light, bustling of the crowd faded and in its place was a sharp ringing that drilled through my eardrums. My surroundings faded to grey, and a lifeless chilling numb overtook my body.

Then---

I lurched forward with such force that made my bones crack loudly in multiple places as the agonizing pain ripped through my right arm.
The air was shoved right out of my lungs as the fierce burn shot into my chest, my scream caught in my throat.

“Whoa easy, Double Trouble---” I heard Thya say, a laugh in her tone.
But that laugh was short lived, as she realized quickly that something was wrong.
“Zavius?”

I couldn’t think straight, never mind answer.
The burning was too much.
It was much worse than before.

“Zavius!”

I heard Thya cry out my name, and I vaguely noticed her drop to a kneel in front of me.
I hadn’t realized I was down on my knees.

I felt two small hands grip tightly onyo my shoulders, forcing me back on my heel.
“Deus, Zavius! What’s wrong?” Thya demanded.
Her hand went to my neck then, forcing my head up to look at her.

I looked at her, and she stared back.
I could see bewilderment, horror and shock reflecting in her light green eyes.
All I could feel, see, hear and think was agony.

Deus---those green eyes---

I hissed at Taeri’s voice filled my head.
Get out! Not here, not now! I thought hard, squeezing my eyes shut.

“Your arm…it’s your right arm, isn’t it?” Thya demanded.

---the way you look at me and no one else---

I felt her reach forward and take a firm hold of my right wrist that was pulled tightly into my chest.

LOOK AT ME!

I heard Thya yelp, and she quickly withdrew my hand as if I had burned her.
NO!

I opened my mouth to call out to her, warn her to stay away and ask if I had hurt her.
But all that came out was shallow gasping.

……----Never forget---I’m always close---

My eyes snapped open with some effort. I managed to straighten myself far enough to be able to look around.

The moment I lifted my gaze up off the ground, I saw the thin, lean figure, her wine red hair the only flare of color in the surrounding grey.
Taeri smirked at me, but her eyes were hard and stabbing, and they smoldered with hidden rage.
Slowly, she mouthed something ro me from the alleyway she was tucked away in, slow enough for my writhing mind to understand.

You. Are. Mine.

I clenched my teeth and held my breath, afraid that if I didn’t, I may scream.
Deus…make it stop…make this stop…

…you have been Branded…

I gasped, as the familiar cool voice rang clearly and calmly through the blinding pain.
I saw Taeri frown, as if she sensed something was not right.
But I was more than welcoming to that distant soft tone.

She-conscience!
Make it stop…please make it stop…

Suddenly out of nowhere, a cool breeze blew, touching my flaming skin with its icy touch. I inhaled sharply and immediately I was assaulted by a fresh delicate scent, making my chest clench in recognition.
It was the same mysterious breeze from before, and it felt like a lifetime ago since I last came across this breeze.
Somehow, it cleared my mind a slightest bit from the pain, but it was enough for me to be able to move.

---Water.

“Zavius…what---” Thya was saying.

Water…I need water.

I don’t remember staggering to my feet, and I don’t remember dragging myself to the marble fountain.
Before I knew it, I was hovering over the crystal waters in the pool of the fountain base.

---Water.

There was a fluid sound of water or some sort of liquid moving…and the sudden harsh rush and hiss of it hitting a solid.
Then I felt something wet and cold splash on me, instantly cooling the blazing agony.

…the blazing agony---

I let myself fall forward, diving headlong into the water. I felt myself slip back into the safety of my mind, and her calming, cool voice floated in my mind from the dark corners of my memory.

---Release…

I heard the loud splash and felt the cold water hit my skin, and instantly, the burning was gone.

It was as if time was slowly drawing to a stop, and images from my broken memory flashed in colors in front of my eyes.

Was I conscious?

The water was deeper than I had anticipated and I knew I was fully submerged. The base pool of this fountain was not shallow at all, and it seemed to reach deeper down still as I sank, yet to hit the bottom.
There was no sound in the water, just a dull pressing silence.

It was in this dull, still place where another image floated to the surface of my mind.

… deep soft rustling…thick, black and heavy fabric…
Someone was looming over me, their face hidden deep inside what looked like a dark hood.
Dark hood…

I went to reach forward as I had then, reaching for the mysterious stranger’s hood.
---I had to see their face.

Just as I was about to touch the fabric of the cloak, someone pushed from somewhere below me, their small and gentle hand softly pressing into my lower back.

…She-conscience?

My back arched with the touch, and I felt my body get shoved through the water with speed---

There was splashing, the sound loud and clear in my ears.
I gasped, the cool evening air whistling down my throat and into my hungry lungs.

“---Zavius! Vardavit, Zavius!”

My eyes flew open at Thya’s shrill, urgent tone.
I saw her hovering over me, her blond hair dripping with water. Her eyes were hard as she looked over me with a searching glare.
I was on the ground; I could feel the cobblestones against my back.

“Zavius,” Thya said once more, this time a little softer.
I stared at her for a moment before I forced myself to sit up.

I felt the eyes and whispering before I even looked up to the crowd of people that was now surrounding me.
I have caused a scene.

“Zavius, what happened?”

I looked back at Thya, who stared back with almost fearful eyes. The words caught in my throat, and it was like I was under water again.

Why did she have to keep on calling my name?
Why was she looking at me like that?
Why were they all staring at me?

…I don’t belong here.

Thya was still staring at me when I forced myself onto my feet.
“I have to go,” I muttered.

I didn’t even wait for Thya to say anything before I turned around, tore through the crowd and ran far away from that place.