Chapter 3: Missing You
A/N:
″saen” - Honorific, very formal, and used with someone who has the highest rank/authority in a social setting (i.e. a boss, chief leader, shaman)
″zheijasirii” - It appears to be de-thorned bramble branches woven together by magic and dusted with sage incense. In Eridæus’ hometown, it’s made as a protective charm.
“Xæ” - “Yes,” in Eridæus’ language.
″Grom’shiya” - Can mean “oh my God” or “seriously?” depending on the context.
Alexandrokh-saen and Gabriel are the same person, ”Alexandrokh-saen,” is Gabriel’s patronymic name. Addressing someone with a patronymic and with the saen honorific implies high authority/respect and also closeness.
Word Count: 997
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When Gabriel told me Ery was gonna be taken away somewhere for some “competition,” I immediately tried to join in. The whole thing sounded suspicious; as someone’s who’s been in competitions I probably shouldn’t have signed up for lots of times, I was worried about someone trying to hurt him. He wasn’t exactly a physical fighter, and while he trained with me a bit, he wasn’t much of a pro like me yet. Okay, that, and we may or may not have been “distracted” a couple of times.
“What’d you mean I can’t come with you?” I protest while watching him pack his bags, “What if someone tries to hurt you?! The weirded robed lady mentioned things about ‘other contestants,’ people from ‘other worlds,‘--and you remember what things from ‘other worlds’ can do.”
“Yes, it is dubious at best,” Ery stops packing, facing me as he wrapped his arms around my back and pulled me into a tight hug. “But, Alexandrokh-saen requested I enlist and take her offer. It could develop myself as a person, and I could see more of the Western world and its culture. I will be careful, Lushiyo, I promise I will be careful and use whatever in my skills to fend off anyone who threatens me.”
I move back from his embrace, taking one long gaze at the beautiful face in front of me; the soft features, his thick eyebrows, the monocle over his left eye that gave him the look of detective, his medium-length, side-swept hair, those beautiful silver eyes that knew how to light my heart and break it at the same time--today would be the last day I get to look at them properly.
“You’re gonna...” I hesitate a bit, my voice growing quiet as I ask him the vulnerable question, “You’re gonna try to contact me, right?”
″Xæ, Lucio.” he kisses me on the lips, then trails down towards my nape, murmuring gently into my ear, “I know you will be worried and I will do everything in my power to find a way to comfort you in my absence. I love you so much, Lutzokh Lucio, I really do. These days without you will be painful, but we will see each other again. Alexandrokh-saen wishes for it, and he will step in if anything harmful happens with this mysterious organization.”
I kiss him on his shoulder, “The poochies and I will wait, and I mean it, Ery--I won’t do anything while you’re gone, I promise. I really do love you, too.”
“I know, Lucio, I trust you, remember?” he gives me one last peck on the lips before finishing up gathering his belongings, “Okay; tonic kit, potions kit, herbs, spices, pendant, cloak, scrubber to wash my clothes, cleaning mixture, monocle and its cleaner, zheijasirii ... and you have the looking glass?”
Ah, right! The thing we can talk to each other through if he’s able to use his magic, I quickly dash over to the nearby desk and grab it, wiggling it around to show I had it, “Yep, I’ve got it.”
His smile lights up my heart, “Then, I will be leaving in the evening.”
Ery sets down his belongings off to the side and leans against the edge of the bed, “So, Lutzokh Lucio, what shall we do? I have some time to kill.”
A sly smirk slowly etches onto my face, “Y’know, it’s been a few weeks since you gave me a language lesson.”
After a few seconds, I see that tiger-of-a-man raise an eyebrow at me, “Ah, yes, that would be right it has been nearly half of a month, yes?”
“Oh yeah, baby,” I gently pin him down onto our bed and kiss him on the forehead, “I definitely forgot everything you taught me~”
The chuckle that escapes him warms my heart and excites me as he wraps his arms around my neck and pulls me in for another kiss, “Then, let’s start the lesson, my troublesome student.”
And here I am, now, sitting in the bedroom alone as I cuddle and pet my two poochies, Mercedes and Melchior, as we wait for Ery to come back. Az, Noddy, Jules, and even the brute--I think his name is Ariel--were nice enough to hang out with me, but it’s not the same. The house is just so silent, quiet, and ... lonely. I find myself staring at the glass every night until I pass out with the sun just barely peeking out through the window.
Finally, after what feels like a few weeks, I finally saw the piece of glass glowing one night. Quickly, I scramble out of bed--falling onto the floor--but getting back up to grab the piece and hold it in my hand. A brief flash enveloped the room before a shaky, flickery image of Ery stemmed out from the glass piece.
“Ery?!” I nearly shout, forgetting that it was very early in the morning, “Ery?!”
His voice sounds so faint but eventually, I hear it, ”...Lushiyo?”
“Ery!” I try to hug the glass piece even though my arms go straight through the ghostly image. “Eryyyy, I’ve missed you!! What’s happened, did anyone try to kill you??”
“No, no,” he reassures me, his formal, kind cadence making me feel fuzzy on the inside after being deprived of it for so long. “I just had to sit through an unpleasant interview, talking about confinement, but a brief repenting prayer session took care of it. Then, I was told a few days later to write two truths and a lie about myself.”
“Is that all you know?” I ask, still feeling worried.
“Yes,” Eri replies a bit tensely, “And it seems ... this connection is weak. It is taking all of my energy to maintain it. It seems they do not want me having contact with you too much.”
“How much time do you have?”
“As long as you can stay up, Lushiyo.”
“Then, tell me everything.”
″Grom’shiya, where do I begin?”