Author: FalseHope, Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 8:30 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

As the festivities died down, Xeik once again found himself mostly on the sidelines as the chaos ensued. He smiled and enjoyed the happiness that was being spread around, and when it was all said and done, he even helped clean up what the magic couldn’t. At the end, those who came from Jayou left early, leaving the Goddess and Xeik as the only remaining guests. With the children put to bed, and the adults left to talk, Xeik was once more the center of attention as Simone put him on the spot.

“This power, it’s…” He took a deep breath. The healer could feel everything around the castle, the plants and other endemic life. The power was, in itself, as if he could feel the flow of the life energies around him, the strength of each one, and the feelings of how they felt. “It’s a lot to take in, honestly. I think it’s going to take a lot of time to get used to it all.” Xeik smirked. “You take really good care of the plants here.” It wasn’t meant to be a change of subject, despite how it sounded. “They’re all healthy, and happy. It’s like…I can just tell. Feel it…”

“And you two,” Xeik said as he looked at Lewis and Simone. “Are blinding…”

Lewis scoffed, “Get your eyes checked. We’re just us…nothing more and nothing less.”

Xeik scoffed, “You…always saw things like that. It always annoyed the hell out of me.” He sighed. “I think I’ll just…stay the course. I’ll keep getting better, and keep helping people. It’s the best I can do, right now.” He looked to Angela, “If ‘my goddess’ would allow it, of course. Not that she has any choice…I doubt she can keep up with Raine at the rate things have been going…”

Author: Simone, Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 8:17 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Simone was worried for a few moments but the moment that pie hit her she started to laugh and so did the kids. Angela cleaned herself off easily enough but the others were busy laughing hard. Lewis had at least gotten a sense of humor. Simone launched herself at Lewis and he easily caught her. Both of them were laughing as she got spun around. There was a snort from Angela as she watched them kiss.

“This is the true evil!” Simone yelled but only because Lewis had found where she was ticklish. She was squirming around in his arms before she licked the icing off his cheek. “So rude!”

Alshaya and Everett ran over to them, “Our turn! OUR TURN!” Simone gave Lewis a look and then they both gave the same smirk at the same time.

“Oh? Your turn?” Lewis and Simone spoke together. Both of the little ones got a cake piece to their fast and they were laughing and bouncing. It was a good day. With a little magic from the goddess the room was clean in no time and so was everyone else.

The night wound down and all of the little ones were asleep. Alshaya had been the last one to be put to bed but she was trying hard to saying she was a big girl. “I wanna stay with you Daddy. It’s your birthday,” she was so sleepy as she hung onto Lewis. “I can’t go to sleep,” she yawned. “What if you get sad when I go?”

“Oh, I think I got him covered little one. Go to sleep,” Simone kissed her daughter’s messy hair and winked up at Lewis. Everyone settled back down for some drinks as Lewis carried Alshaya off.

“Thank you for coming,” Simone smiled a bit. “It meant the world to the kids and to me. I’m just glad that things have calmed down recently…”

“You mean you haven’t been getting kidnapped every two months,” Angela joked and Simone laughed a bit.

“Only by Lewis.” She found herself on the sofa and patted the spot for Lewis once he joined her. “So, Xeik… What do you plan to do with your new power? It is exciting not to be as powerless as we once were… Isn’t it?” Simone knew because she had been powerless to her own fate before she got her magic.

Author: Dusk, Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 8:04 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Xeik was overwhelmed with the energies that flowed into him, the life energy of everything around him. It was all so much, and for a moment he swayed, hearing the plants outside of the castle, their joy at being so well tended to. The resonance between Simone and Lewis was something intense, as well, coating the green that he saw with azure blue, almost flooding the entire area around which they stood.

And then it was gone. No, not gone…suppressed. He could still feel it around him, but it was like a dull whisper. It would probably be something he would need to learn to control, like anything else. But there was a time for that, and now was not that time. He took a step back from Angela, and smiled. “Thank you,” he said with a half bow. “Now…you said cake?”

Lewis watched as Simone started to cut the cake, and stopped. He was close by to her, and moved closer, wondering what exactly was supposed to be happening. “Simone, I don-” He was cut off by the sudden cake to the face. There was laughter from Rhenakos, but the rest of the room was mostly silent, awaiting the response.

The assassin stood there for a moment, and then walked out of the room without a word, disappearing as the door closed behind him. For a moment, Xeik wondered if they had done something wrong. Even Simone looked a bit worried, as though their link had something wrong with it. Even the children had a look of concern for their father.

Then, from seemingly above, a pie seemed to phase from nowhere, and launched itself into Simone’s face. Similarly, other messy pastries appeared mere inches away from Angela’s, Leilah’s, and Rhenakos’ faces, and launched themselves forward. In the center of the room, Lewis appeared with a quick spin, as if he had just thrown a slew of daggers…but this time, there were no deadly weapons.

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 7:53 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Angela smirked towards Xeik, “But it is for Lewis. He wouldn’t have brought you to me if he didn’t think I could make you better. What you needed was a purpose and I can give you that. Your ideas are the opposite of my own and we can make a good team. We can give the world what it needs but this doesn’t mean you can stop advancing. You are only half as good as Leilah and that means we have much to do.” She came over and gave him a hug. “You’ve done well for yourself… and I’m sure it has relieved Lewis to hear it.”

She rubbed his hair and smirked, “That does mean you are in charge of Raine though… So using your thievery might be a good idea. The girl is going to end up stealing something important one of these days.”

Taking his hands Angela hummed a little at first before a flood of green light came from her and crept over Xeik. He could feel everything. The life around them. The bond between Lewis and Simone. Everything that Life and Love had to give. “It’s overwhelming, isn’t it? Life and Love are two very powerful spheres for something so small. It isn’t scary like darkness, death, or chaos… but Life and Love are strong. They are ancient spheres. They were the very first spheres in some cultures. Try not to be overwhelmed by the plants they do like to scream… In the coming days, I will forge you something only you can use… but for now, there is a party! I did bake a cake after all and I expect Lewis to eat it.”

Simone had already gotten a knife to cut it and was putting a piece on a plate. “Simone, if I may have a suggestion… You did miss your reception after all.” Simone had been handing Lewis his plate when she looked down at hers and back up at her husband.

“Oh, but the mess…” Simone shook her head.

“It’s tradition! YOU SKIPPED IT!” Leilah laughed a bit before Simone rolled her eyes back and forth before smashing the cake in Lewis’s face.

“They told me to do it.” Simone chuckled before taking some of the icing off with her finger and sticking it in her mouth. "Tastes pretty good."

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 7:41 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Lewis found himself being dragged about by Alshaya to be shown her drawings, and the assassin went along with it, enjoying the time with his daughter. Between some of the pictures, Fiori found her way over, earning herself a hug and a kiss from Lewis as she gave him his gift; an embroidered shirt that stated his profession. With a laugh, he pet Fiori, and knelt down, thanking her.

“It’s wonderful, Fiori.” He pat her head as she beamed with joy, and Everett came over as well, all vying for his attention. With the three kids all around him, Lewis’ face lit up with happiness that aws, still to this day, weird to see on him.

Dala’s gift was something special as well, a poison. He wasn’t sure what kind it was at first, but he figured he could speak with the girl at a later date to determine the style and potency, as well as how to procure more should he need it for a job. He was thankful for it, but too preoccupied with the children to express it to his fullest extent.

Mira’s gift to him was endearing, and completely up her alley as she thrust a shell pendant at him. It was cute how she seemed to think that the knives and other tools in the kitchen were equivalent to anything close to a blade, but he gave her a hug anyway, promising to wear it. It couldn’t hurt, and he would treasure it alongside the rest of the gifts he had been given.

—

Xeik watched in horror as Angela made her way to the middle of the room. Oh gods, what now. He was surprised, though, that the Goddess wasn’t doing anything too crazy to start. In face, she was talking about him. The healer set down his drink on a nearby table, and crossed his arms. What’s the meaning of this, Ang… And that was when the question was asked.

Champion?

Xeik’s arms dropped. “Wait, what?” He looked around to a room that was expecting an answer. “Angela…this was supposed to be a day for Lewis, not for me, and-”

“Shut up and accept it,” Lewis said from under a pile of kids. “You’ve earned it.”

The healer turned red, “I…I accept…” The look on his face turned from embarrassment to something of a half smile as the room started to applaud. Even Lewis was clapping, though his face remained stoic as he did so. Still, it was progress, and it was a win. “Thanks…”

Author: Vajra, Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 7:56 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Mira was nearing her teen years, just a couple years shy. She had calmed down considerably since she joined the family–as she didn't headbutt people nearly as often. Thanks to Simone and Ezili, she could read and speak common more fluently. But when she got too excited she would revert to chattering away in her native language. Like her adoptive father, Mira didn't know when her real birthday was either. But she quickly learned what it meant and why it was important. Finding a good gift was hard; most of what she thought of didn't seem like stuff her papa would use. The shell knuckles and giant clam shield wouldn't fit in with the 'sneaky strike from the shadows'. She wasn't interested in things like weapons and poison. She then thought of buying a magic item, but that would take several months of saving up her allowance for a small thing. There wasn't much time before the day of the celebration would be here.

Lying upside down on her bed with her legs propped up on the wall, her curly long hair was fanned out on her sheets while she was thinking hard. Maybe she could make him a cake? But mama and Ezili were good at that. She wasn't good at sewing, and Alshaya was already drawing a picture. Finally, it dawned on her. Rolling off her bed, Mira quickly began digging through her extensive shell collection. "Too big, too small, too spiky. I want to keep this one…" At last, she pulled out a medium-sized slipper shell that had a glossy coating. "Perfect! Now I need something that can poke a hole through this." Thus began the hunt for a tool that could bore through a seashell without cracking it into pieces. When she found it, she painstakingly drilled a hole to attach a few ribbons she swiped from a sewing kit. Layering white and dark blue ribbons, she carefully tied them to create a shell medallion. With some help from Ezili, she added a pin so it could be fastened onto clothing. When she was done, there was a mess to clean up.

When it was time for her to present her gift, Mira ran up to Lewis and thrust the shell medallion at him. "It's a pin for you! It's super strong, so if you wear it underneath your clothes people won't be able to stab through. I tried to make the holes using the stuff in the kitchen but none of them worked, so you're safe!" Her purple-blue eyes were beaming with pride at her handiwork. Unfortunately her efforts might have left some lasting damage on the kitchen cutlery. Her crystal ball was tucked under her arm, now much easier to carry around as she had grown taller. Her eyes lit up when Lady Angela came in, and she gave a round of applause for Xeik. Being a healer was hard work, but if he was getting a special position from Lady Angela–then he definitely deserved it. As the goddess had helped her before she had met Lewis and Simone, Mira knew she was a good person. 

Author: Fiori Terrowin, Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 7:10 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Fiori was seven years old, seven exactly and found herself rather proud of that fact. She was practically a lady! Now it was her father's birthday and her siblings were swarming the room they had chosen to celebrate in. Fiori held a blue neatly wrapped present with a white ribbon tying everything together. The wrapping was done with a ruler and extra care to make sure it would look perfect. Inside was a special little gift for Lewis that Fiori had spent weeks on. One of Lewis' favorite shirts had been damaged during a mission and Fiori had snatched it up while he wasn't looking.

Taking the white shirt, she had repaired it with some help from Simone. But what both her parents didn't know was that she used her embroidery skills to create a stick figure image of the entire family on the front while having a "Worlds Best Dad Assassin" stitched on the back. The stitch work was fine, certainly good for a child but the images were no better than a stick figure drawing and the letters on the back had some oversized letters and some undersized letters. Overall the product would be useless for any more missions and would be practically a target on his back should he ever wear it. 

Fiori, unaware of this, had decided this would be the perfect gift for him and that he would wear it on all his missions. Rushing over to Lewis and Alshaya, she waited patiently for her younger sibling to finish, as waiting was the polite thing to do. When she was done, she gave her dad a big smile and held out the present to him. Then she turned to Alshaya and gave her a big hug, wanting her little sister's attention. 

"I hope you like it daddy!" She said with a smile before looking back to Alshaya, "I'm gonna make you a dress one day. It'll be just as pretty as the shirt!"

Fiori then looked for her other siblings, as she had plans to make them something one day. There were already ideas spinning around in her mind. Mira would have to wear something blue, to compliment her hair and showcase the fact she used water magic. Alshaya would be beautiful in green and it would be a nod to her background. Rex would need a fire dress of some sort, or a green? She was still figuring out what worked with red hair. Ezili would be a snow princess so white and pink were the obvious choices. Lucas was the hardest with his unique hair. Her mama had yet to tell her on how to work on people that had unique hair colors. But all that would have to wait until she was skilled enough. She stopped hanging on Alshaya and looked towards her dad. 

"Do you like it? Well do you?" Fiori asked her father eagerly. 

———————————-
Meanwhile Dala was sitting on the couch with a book in her hands. For the last five years she had delved into her studies and overtime had done less adventuring. The money she had collected over the years were plenty for her to begin her kingdom, thanks partially to her parents and to Simone. The book she was reading was all about economics, something she knew like the back of her hand. It was a book she was familiar with so she could stop at any point to fight anybody who even looked at Simone's family the wrong way. There were a lot of guests here, some of them she knew and a lot of them she didn't. 

Despite having aged, she still held that inner fury that always kept her alive. Deciding to put the book down, she sat and watched as Lewis received a hoard of presents. The gift Dala brought was a deadly poison, labeled as poison and had a child cap on it so none of the kids would be able to get it easily. But she still was cautious and made sure the bottle with the ribbon remained in her own hands until she was able to give it to Lewis in person.

When she gave it to him she didn't really make a whole deal about it. She just handed it to him quickly then walked back over to the couch. He had kids to attend to and she didn't dare get in the way of that. Instead, she walked over to Simone and stood next to the couch, partially listening in on the conversation with Xiex, only out of curiosity. Xiex was one of those people that she had heard about but only saw occasionally.

The goddess Angela moved to the center of the room and cleared her throat. Everyone's attention was drawn to her. The goddess talked about Xeix's improvements and past, filling up many of the empty gaps in Dala's knowledge about him, and then asked if he would become her Champion of Life and Love. Dala's eyes were wide with an impressed look. Xeix must have been one heck of a healer if he was able to beat out all of Angela's many many healers in that temple of hers. 

"Congrats Xeix." Dala said unsure of any other way to respond. 

Author: Simone, Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 5:59 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Alshaya was squealing as he twirled her. “Okay! OKAY! I get to show you now,” she dragged him over to the wall of her pictures. “I did this for you!” She started to point out all the pictures one by one. She went into great detail about what each was and corrected him when he said something wrong.

Simone sat down next to Xeik and looked at everything, “You really did help make this possible Xeik. The kids and I were really sick. I wouldn’t have died but I was miserable. You helped Angela back then and I haven’t forgotten. Lewis hasn’t forgotten either but he isn’t as open as I can be. I can feel it though. His gratitude.” Her words were low as she watched Alshaya with him and soon Everett was tugging at her to share Lewis.

“They love him so much. Unlike the others, Alshaya and Everett have only ever known Lewis as their father. To them, there isn’t a difference. Ezili is a bit different since she knew… but while they know they are adopted… It just doesn’t matter. Plus, we get to watch as Lewis tries to handle suitors and that’s funny. He’s dreading Alshaya getting older. Ezili has been hard enough,” Simone looked over to Ezili who was dancing with Lucas as a violin was being played by one of the house help. “We’re proud of you Xeik.”

Angela moved to the center of the room and cleared her throat. Everyone was confused but she was smiling, “Five years ago Lewis dropped Xeik off in my clinic and told me to help him. Xeik asked me to find a path. I think the one gift I can give Lewis is peace of mind. Xeik Eraphim, you have come a long way. You are an excellent apprentice and you are quickly climbing the ranks now that we’ve caught you up… It’s because of this that I extend my hand to you. I offer you a higher path as my voice. Will you accept becoming the Champion of Life and Love?”

Simone’s eyes got big but she was honestly happy for Xeik.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 5:48 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Rhenakos rolled his eyes, “Well it’s not my fault that the budget is so low now is it, Os…Did Izzy and Reva really need forty dresses…each?” He crossed his arms. “For the record…it was meant to be a gag gift, and we would get a REAL one along side it, but nooo…apparently a birth control potion is too insensitive…”

Reva walked in amongst the commotion, and offered up an intricately crafted flower crown and bouquet. “It’s not much Uncle Lewis, but Simone gave me permission and I thought you would like it…” Lewis knelt down and the redheaded girl squealed a little as she got to put the crown on his head. “Thank you, Reva. It’s lovely.”

He stood up, and started to play with Alshaya again as he twirled her around. “My beautiful daughter, thank you for the surprise.”

Rex marched up to Rhenakos and Osiria, eying them both, “Can you two drop it? This is not the place….”

Xeik walked up to Lewis, and handed over his own gift. “Isn’t anything crazy. Just a salve that Angela helped me make. Should help with soreness and muscle relaxation. Just…you know…gotta keep in shape for the kids, right?” He walked away at that, and found himself in the corner with a drink in hand as the festivities went on.

Author: Simone, Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 5:39 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Simone chuckled a bit and shook her head, “No, it’s not I promise. Not this time.”

There was a snort from Simone at his mental eye roll and Alshaya was excited as she kissed his nose. She stayed by his side eager to show him her hard work with the decorations. She held his hand and saw Rhenakos and family stroll in late as usual. “Uncle Rhen you late,” Alshaya let go of her father’s hand to put her hands on her hip. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you guys that’s rude?”

Kalina was watching the twins and making sure they were behaving before handing Lewis a new dagger pouch, “I ain’t good at wrapping but I am good at making. Made it from dragon leather.”

Leilah fumbled around but she presented Lewis with a few potions, “You are pretty strong but everyone could use a boost every once in a while.”

Osiria crossed her arms and tapped her foot, “Well, we had silver put away for a gift… I let Rhen go to pick it out but… Go ahead Rhen tell him what you bought him.”

Coming over to her husband after the commotion Simone gave him a good kiss, “Happy birthday handsome. Seriously, you deserve it don’t question it.”

“YEAH, we celebrate our birthdays. You need a birthday to Daddy!” Alshaya yelled up at him.

Author: Dusk, Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 5:27 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Xeik and Angela had the time to show up early, and help with all of the prep work. He had grown so much during his time with the Goddess, and between his new skillset and his old skillset, he was a great help in getting things prepared. It was an interesting event to be attending, but he didn’t mind it so much. With everything set up, they all hid, and waited for the assassin to show.

When he came in, he was confused at the sudden rush of giddy emotion from Simone. “This isn’t another one of these books you’re writing, is it? You get so bubbly when you write them, and-” When the blindfold fell, and everyone yelled surprise, he had a dumbfounded look on his face.

When Alshaya rushed him, though, he swooped her up and laughed, “Wow, what a surprise!” he said with a mental eyeroll. He put his nose to hers, and nuzzled her for a moment before letting her down and looking around. “A birthday?” He was a little confused. “But I don’t…”

Xeik smiled. “Happy Birthday, Lewis…”

Before anything else could happen, there was a knock at the door. Rhenakos barged in with Osiria in tow, complaining about how late they were. Raile, Leilah, and Kalina waltzed in afterwarwards, with the merchant holding up his hands and apologizing about how it was his fault they were late.

“Terribly sorry. Had some issues at the shop that had to be resolved.” He looked at Xeik, and immediately lit up. “Xeik! It’s been a long time! You’re looking well!” And then Lewis. “And Lewis, what a wonderful day this is. Happy birthday,” he said as he handed over a poorly wrapped dagger. “Can never have too many, right?” Behind him came his daughters, Nyssa and Piper, who were parenting to be shy, hanging behind their mother.

Rhenakos sighed, “Izzy couldn’t make it. Toya has her doing some training, but Reva is outside. She saw a plant or something and wanted to take a look.”

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 5:14 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Angela rubbed Xeik’s head, “You need a break. You will sleep then we will study more. If you sleep I will teach you something that I haven’t even shown Leilah how to do.” She winked at him. “She had to figure it out on her own.”

Leaving the young family Angela put her arm around Xeik’s shoulder, “You saved those kids. It’s important now that you see every advancement they make Xeik… because you are directly responsible for it. Not everyone makes it through what they had and you can take pride in the fact that they are alive. Every person you save outweighs those who die. Even if we have nightmares. Stay with me and I will teach you everything you need to know. I will hone your skills. It won’t be easy. I am a field teacher. It means you will actually be working on real people and not just reading books.”

Her eyes narrowed on him, “Are you ready? The road ahead is hard.”

It was like nothing to watch five years pass by. Under Angela, Xeik had learned how to treat people and mix medicines. He had even been there with Angela when she did operations. Today was a special day though. “Simone asked us to stop by. Not sure why but she asked us to bring something for Lewis.”

Apparently, according to Simone, it had been Alshaya and Everett’s idea so she went with it. Once they got to the house Simone was helping the kids decorate the family room. Alshaya was hanging up pictures, “Look at this one Mama!”

“Ohhhh, that is really pretty. What’s it supposed to be?”

“It’s meeee and youuu and daddyyyy,” Alshaya pointed out the scribbles.

“Oh, you are getting so good at this. I’m sure your daddy will just love it!” Simone smiled at Xeik and Angela. “Thank you so much for coming… Did you bring it?”

“Oh, I brought it. I didn’t realize we knew when Lewis’s birthday was… other than the season of course.”

“I just decided to pick a day. He should be coming back from his job today and soon. He’s been keeping in contact and he’s on his way back to the island right now.” Everett ran over with a pile of plates and put them on a table they had moved. Angela brought in a cake using magic. It was done in the same azure blue as the resonance.

“IT LOOKS SO PRETTY!” Alshaya came over and got up on her tippy toes.

“Careful, you don’t want to flip the table okay?” Everett was gentle with his little sister. “Mama, is daddy here?”

“Soon, he just gated in. Everyone hideeee.” Simone instructed the younger children. She had been hiding it from him but he could feel how giddy Simone was. Once Lewis came inside she instructed him to turn around and she blindfolded him. “Just trust me. This was the kids’ idea.” Ezili was just as excited as the little ones were.

Alshaya was on the couch in plain sight bouncing up and down excitedly. Her wild brown hair bouncing with her. She was barely containing herself.

“Okay,” Simone undid the blindfold and let it fall.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

Once everyone yelled it Alshaya jumped off the couch and ran over to him hugging his leg. “I love you. I love you! I LOVE YOU!” She laughed up at him. “We picked today for your birthday daddy!”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 4:55 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Xeik watched with a warm smile as the Terrowin family experienced this wondrous moment of joy and happiness. There was a moment, though, that Xeik realized that he had missed so much of life because of the way he had acted in the past few years, and a wave of sadness hit. Lewis and Simone had a family, and they were happy. The young thief still smiled for them, and for the babies who would grow up in a happy home.

“I’m happy for you both,” Xeik said as Lady Angela elbowed him. “You’ve come a long way, Lewis…and…I hope your children grow up to be happy.” The moment that Lewis and Simone’s focus went back to Alshaya and Everett, Xeik let his smile drop, if for a moment.

I really am envious of them, aren’t I? He clenched his fists, and took a deep breath. “Okay…Lady Angela. What’s next on the list today?” His determination was back. “If we’re done, I’d like to get back home to study. I’ve got a lot of work to do.” This coming from the young man who looked as if he was going to pass out at any moment.

Lewis, of course, was much more observant than Xeik gave him credit for. The assassin held Alshaya and Everett in each hand, and between their laughs and cries of joy, he kept his eye on Xeik, and noted that his once friend and mentor was in a good place. At least, for now.

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 4:38 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Lewis was ever protective of his son and it made Simone proud. It took her a few moments of shaking her head for Lewis to even back off from rushing to him. Angela leaned over to Xeik and smirked with a whisper, “I told you he had grown.”

Simone picked up Alshaya and kissed Lewis soundly, “I can shut off the resonance at will and shield you from my thoughts. I just choose not to because it is comforting to let you know everything and to feel you. I… may have hidden something else.” She set Alshaya down. They were close in age but Alshaya was a little bit behind. "As for how long… We've been working on it for a month." Everett clapped up at Lewis excitedly with Alshaya too.

The little girl squealed up at Lewis and took hold of his pant leg. It took her a moment but she pulled herself up. “Da! DA!” She was yelling excitedly and Everett was mimicking her yelling at Lewis.

“I wanted to surprise you and you can’t be surprised if you know everything I do.” Simone gave him a loving smile and hugged him. Alshaya held up her hands so she could be part of it and she fell on her butt. “Okay,” she picked Alshaya up and she snuggled in between Lewis and Simone.

Angela grinned a bit, “They are precious. You two have done so well and they are very well rounded children. Lewis, you have turned out to be an ideal father and husband. I’m so proud of your growth.” She elbowed Xeik just a bit to chime in.

Author: Dusk, Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 4:20 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

When Xeik and Lady Angela returned, Xeik looked much worse for wear than when he left. His hair was a tousled mess, and he looked as though he had barely slept the last several days. Despite her rigid schedule, even for sleeping, the young man had decided to go with even less sleep, and had stayed up for extra studying. But that was his choice, and it was showing now.

Lewis wasn’t sure why they had all been summoned, but was confused when Simone set down the babies, and dragged him to the other side of the room. Much to his shock, Everett started to try and get up on his own, and was struggling. With a little help from Simone, the baby stood and took his time looking up at his mother, almost as if asking permission. With a smile from Simone, he looked at Lewis and held out his hands, and started to walk.

Lewis’ eyes grew wide with a mix of concern and adoration for his child, and he almost took a step. But he waited. Everett was coming to him slowly but surely, and when he fell, the assassin hissed, and almost leapt. Strangely, though, a look from Simone stopped him, the constant smile and assuredness that Everett would succeed. And surely enough, the boy got back up, and made his way over to Lewis, who swept the boy up in his arms with an uncharacteristic smile.

That woke Xeik up. He never thought he’d see the day where Lewis smiled. Not a smirk. An actual smile. “Lady Angela, am I dying?” he asked as he looked over to her. “Is this some elaborate prank?”

“Everett, you’re a brilliant little genius,” Lewis said as he held the boy close, cherishing the moment that he had just witnessed. “How long?” he asked Simone. “How did you even hide this?”

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 4:05 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Angela took a big sigh as Lewis went into the room. “He’s in a protective state right now. His family is sick and we did something he finds unnecessary, however, I think he is proud that you are finding a path. He won’t ever tell you that and he might insult you along the way but he is probably also relieved that you are going to be alright.”

She patted Xeik on the shoulder and smiled at him, “You did good and I’m proud of you for it. Let’s go take care of Ezili then we can do a few last-minute things before we go home for the day. I want to put you in a crash course.”

Once they were done healing Ezili they left for the day. The days that followed had the same routine. It was harder some days than others and Angela was very strict. She had even made a schedule that he had to keep to and it even had his sleep on it. Raine was in charge of being his alarm clock of sorts making sure he was where he needed to be at all times.

Finally, five days in they returned to the Terrowin Castle and checked in with Simone. She looked much better but Lewis still had her in bed. She was holding Everett and Alshaya who also looked much better. “My precious babies aren’t sniffling anymore. It’s all thanks to you both. Thank you. Because of you both… I wanted you to be here for this… So Xeik could relish that he did something good.”

Simone put Alshaya and Everett down. Taking Lewis’s hand she moved him over to the other side of the room. “Stay,” she held her hands out to show him she meant it as she went over and got Everett who was trying to pull himself up. “He had been working on it before and I was hiding it but then he got sick and lost interest.”

She stood little Everett up and let go. At first, Everett looked up at her but he was holding himself well. He was a little wobbly but he held his arms out and totted towards Lewis. About in the middle Everett fell and smacked his head but after five seconds of tears… He pulled himself back up and continued on his way to Lewis. “DA!”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 3:48 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

It all happened so fast. Lady Angela had blindsided both of them, and forced a confrontation that neither of them had prepared for or been ready for. It had taken Xeik so much to confront Lady Sirona, who he had blamed for the devastation that he had experienced, but in the end had done nothing. It was Lady Angela who had given him a path, and the thief felt he owed her enough to try.

Lewis, on the other hand, was about ready to just walk off. His entire family wasn’t well, and now he was being forced to sit here and listen to the whiny brat he once regarded as a friend and mentor, and he wasn’t going to have it. He tried to walk off, but one look from Lady Angela showed him that he didn’t have a choice but wait.

Xeik sighed, and closed his eyes. He wasn’t ready for this. “I can’t condone what you do,” he started. “But…I can see that you’ve done well here…that you’ve managed to save lives here…and help people. I…can’t stand that you kill, but I also understand now that….” He sighed. “I understand that sometimes death is…possibly the only outcome.” There was a sudden sternness in his voice as he looked at Lewis. “That doesn’t mean that I accept that you’re a cold hearted killer….it just means…that I….understand it.”

Lewis crossed his arms, and took a deep breath as he looked at Xeik. “You’re pathetic. It took a Goddess to even do this…you’re still weak. And you still don’t even know what you want.”

The thief gace Lewis a look, but shook his head in the end. “You’ve come a long way, Lewis…from when I met you. I…don’t approve of the path you took, but in the end, you still made something for yourself…and I…respect it.” He took another deep breath. “And I’ve decided…that I’m going to become a healer. No more thievery…”

The assassin raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” There was the faintest hint of a smirk. “Well then…good luck. You’ll need it.” He pointed at the goddess. “She’s the best there is, according to Leilah. But she’s also the worst.” There was a jab somewhere in there. “And since Angela mentioned it,” Lewis said as he turned to go back into the room. “It was your idea…this place. To help the kids…”

As Lewis shut the door, Xeik crumbled, shaking. “That innocent little kid…he grew up to be so scary…I thought he was going to kill me….”

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 3:21 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

“Good, if anyone is an expert on your wife it would be you. She tends to be a stubborn one.” There was a slight smirk.

Once Lewis confronted her all Angela could do was smile in response. There had been very little time to formulate a response on her end. It was a complicated question that needed a complicated answer. Soon though.

Soon.

Simone seemed to be more relaxed once she had the tea and even offered a small smile up at Lewis. He took good care of her and Angela decided she had made the right decision to bring her back for Lewis. Once the learning session began she looked at Xeik as she spun him, “You will have to get used to it Xeik. You wanted me to give you a purpose so you could grow. I am giving you one but you will have to get over this. Healing isn’t just gender-specific. There will be times where you will need to strip your patients or even help deliver children. There isn’t someone else who can step in for you and you need to get over it. Maybe not today or tomorrow but you must work on what makes you uncomfortable. Only then will you see true growth.” She looked at Lewis, “And stop glaring. It’s not like I’m making him work the mana vessels in her breasts. You can do that.”

The goddess tilted her head, “Yes, when we check back up on her we will see the difference once she is well. Then you can definitely see it.” Angela tilted her head, “The tattoo has grown since I first made it. This right here,” she traced the edges of it, “wasn’t in my original inscription. It means that Lewis and Simone are one and as time goes on the tattoo will grow until it covers most of their back if not all of it. This is a very good sign.”

Angela helped Xeik with the visuals, “Healers learn this from diagrams early on but you are super far behind in your age. I was learning this when I was ten. We have a lot to catch you up on.”

The goddess rubbed her neck once Lewis thanked her and she sighed a bit. Taking a moment she decided to have a bit of honesty, “I am responsible for her Lewis. In a way, she is my child now. I created her. I breathed life into her. Very much like how I am now responsible for you. We must all take responsibility for the things we do… Both the bad and the good.”

Taking a look at Xeik and then a look at Lewis she grabbed them both and dragged them to outside the room. She faced them. “Xeik, I want you to apologize to Lewis. Tell him what you told me. The fight you two had. The thing that started this nastiness. I want you to apologize for it. I’ve explained it to you now. I’ve let you sit on it. You understand a bit more now. The first step is understanding what I told you. The second step is admitting it. Congratulate him on his growth." The goddess was being sincere. "Lay it to rest." Angela would eye Lewis every once in a while. Clearly, he had played his own role in this but Xeik had been the main person.

"You should thank Xeik for the idea Lewis." The idea to save kids and the happiness that it had brought.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 3:04 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Xeik followed Angela’s lead, and felt Simone’s forehead, much to the discomfort of both him and Lewis. Surely enough, she was hot to the touch, but from what Xeik had been told, she was a phoenix. Based on the knowledge he had of humans, she could have been dead, or close to it at that temperature, but as Lady Angela had explained, with her species, it was hard to tell. LAdy Angela gave him the answer, though, that she was indeed higher than she should have been.

The thief nodded at her mention at taking notes and that his decisions could lead to life or death.

As Lady Angela mentioned making sure that she eats, Lewis nodded and crossed his arms. “Already have the staff making sure we have plenty of favorites on hand to make sure there’s motivation.” He smirked. “Of course, soup is laso high on that priority list as well.”

Xeik left the room for a moment to go get Angela’s bag, and Lewis took full advantage of this to give the goddess a stern look. “And why is he suddenly learning from you? I wanted you to fix him, not apprentice him…” The fact that he was openly admitting it was progress. Still, Xeik came back before Lady Angela could give a proper response, and the questions was dropped for the time being.

Lady Angela produced the herbs, and Xeik took mental notes at what they were, where to find them, and what they were for. With a hot pot of water retrieved, they made a tea to which Lewis took a sniff at, and begrudgingly sipped. By the look on his face, it wasn’t the most pleasant thing, but it was tolerable. He knelt down and helped Simone sip at the tea as well, and when she finally finished, they moved on to the next treatment.

When Simone rolled over, Lewis and Xeik both gave Angela a look, and both of them reacted when she removed Simone’s dress. Xeik turned red and spun around, and Lewis gave Angela a death glare. With surprising speed, Angela grabbed Xeik’s wrist as he spun, and yanked him over, forcing him to spin back and right in front of Simone’s exposed back, without missing a beat.

Still blushing, Xeik looked down, and noted that the tattoo on her back had the faint glow mentioned. “I…don’t have any frame of reference,” he said, starting out as a nervous whisper, “But…I assume it’s supposed to be brighter?” He looked at the intricate markings, and suddenly his bashfulness was gone. “These marks here though…they look different than in the middle.”

His blushes came back when Lady Angela traced the mana veins with him, but they weren’t in intimate areas thankfully, and Xeik was at least understanding where they were and how it flowed. He had a general idea of where they’d lead, and made another mental note to look up a book about it later.

Lewis, despite it all, was keeping relatively calm, but was nearing his limit. “Just show me what to do already…” The Goddess showed them both how to apply the ointment, and with some instruction, Xeik was given hands on experience with doing it to Lewis’, much to both of their surprise.

When it was all said and done, Lewis put his shirt back on, and tucked Simone in. He was quiet for a moment, and then looked to the goddess. “….thanks, for coming…”

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2020 6:10 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Angela thought about, “She’s always been a weird one but it’s hard when she also feeds off your energy.” Looking at Xeik she thought about it, “You would be surprised a lot how often sex drive is linked to things like this. Simone is an odd case because she can pull from Lewis and she is older so in her case she might actually want it more naturally even if her body is newer. Her mind is still designed to want it. Typical with older women. Especially women Simone’s advanced age,” Angela made a face and snorted.

Taking a look around the room Angela nodded, “Simone has good taste.” Coming over Angela put her hand to Simone’s forehead. “Come here Xeik.” She took his hand and put it on her forehead. “See how hot she is? Because of what she is this could be a false flag. Some races burn hot regardless. Like my nieces and nephews on Toya’s side. They are half lycans so they burn hotter. Someone like Ezili might be cooler to the touch because of her association with water. It would be best to start keeping a log so you can draw the parallels. If you are going to stay with me and work with me… It’s best you draw conclusions fast. It could save someone’s life in a split second if you can identify the issue.”

Simone gripped at Lewis’s hand and gave him a smile. “I haven’t felt this bad in a long time.” It was at no one in particular. “I would I would rather be tortured to death.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Angela smiled and checked her pulse over. “It’s weaker than normal and she is way hotter than normal as well. She’s on the verge of cold sweats too. Lewis, do you think you can make sure she eats. Make sure she eats at the scheduled times you normally do. Her body is going to run out of energy at this rate. I can tell she skipped breakfast and lunch today.”

Looking at Xeik she made a face, “Xeik, go fetch me my bag real quick please.” Once she had it she took a few red herbs out. They were almost glowing. “In this case, with Simone because she is naturally hotter we will be using ingredients from hot climates with fire attributes. This is sun weed. It grows at the base of the Apoy Volcano.” She showed it to him. “The stem is useless so we’ll get all the leaves off and we’ll steep it in a tea. We’ll need a pot of hot water.”

She prepared the tea and handed it to Lewis. “You’ll need to drink this too. I think if we approach this as treating you as one individual we can treat Simone way faster than the children. Your condition directly impacts her since she is your life-force. It’s important you stay even healthier than she does. Please make sure Simone drinks the tea. I can make sachets for you so she drinks it.” Looking at Xeik again she sighed, “The next thing we’ll do is rub an ointment on her where her mana vessels are. It will help her body’s natural healing. After Simone had the tea Angela rolled her over and pulled off her dress where the tattoo was glowing but not as brightly as it should have been.

“See what I mean? This should be a bright azure while they are in resonance. The illness in both Lewis and Simone is going to directly impact it.” She took Xeik’s hand and traced where the mana veins were in Simone’s body. Simone gave a wiggle whenever she got uncomfortable. “Sorry Simone, if he’s going to learn to treat people he’s going to have to get used to this. For right now, we’ll show Lewis how to do the ointment so he can do it later. It’s very important that we get the veins at the tattoo all the way. The rest we can gloss over. We’ll do Lewis’s tattoo as well.”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2020 5:54 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Rex pouted at the fact that Angela was onto him, but he didn’t argue. It was impossible to argue with a goddess who knew so much about the trade. When he finally let go of Lucas, he started to sway. The exertion had gotten to him, and he wasn’t feeling great after it.

Lucas took one look at the concoction that he was given, and immediately paled. “I…I need to take this?” He gulped, and he swore the solution winked at him. As Rex finally gave in and was put down by Angela, Lucas took a glass of water from one of the helpers, and took another terrified look at the soup. “Gods help me…” He downed it in one go, and immediately his eyes bulged as he tried to keep it down.

Xeik was there, rubbing the poor kid’s back as he swallowed it. Immediately he chugged the water behind it. And started to cough and sputter. With that out of the way, the leviathan was left to watch the rest of them as Xeik and Lewis headed upstairs with Angela in the lead.

As Lady Angela started to pelt questions, Lewis gave Xeik a side eye, but rattled the answers off without hesitation. “About three days ago. About five days ago she started to want more, not less. Appetite was nonexistent around the same time, but she does that often.”

Xeik blushed at the mention of Lewis and Simone’s sex life, but he knew that it mattered in the long run, and took mental notes. “Does it always correlate?” the thief asked as they entered Simone’s room. This had been the first time that he had ever seen it, and his mouth dropped. “This is huge…and pretty…”

“I’m here Simon,” Lewis said as he came over and gripped her hand lightly. “Brought Lady Angela and….Xeik. Answer any questions if they ask.” He looked to them. “Well…?”

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2020 5:40 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Angela put her hands on her hips as Rex helped her out. “You don’t need to act strong,” she said as Rex held Lucas so she could get his temperature. “For you, I just want you to eat this concoction. It will taste like crap but it should knock it out of your system before it gets you like that others.” Taking a few moments she brought back a bowl of thick green goop. She held it up to Lucas, “It’s pungent. Tastes bad. However, it has all the herbs in it that will help you. I would suggest eating it quickly as not to taste it and having water nearby to wash it down. Normally I would flavor it but you are close enough to an adult that I’m not going to.”

Angela gave Rex a smile. “And for you~ You do know that technically you are my great-grandson thanks to your idiot father right? I have to make sure my precious grandchildren are healthy~” She came over to him and slapped the back of his head. “You are even worse than Ezili upstairs. You’ve been stubborn and attempting to hide it if anything you’ve inherited Simone’s stubbornness somehow even if that’s not that case.” She led him over to a seat and laid him down. “You need to rest. Lucas, you are in charge of everyone with Xeik once you get that soup down.”

Once they got the kids settled and checked out she grabbed Xeik and Lewis to head upstairs. “We’ll need to check on both Ezili and Simone carefully. New bodies with a bad illness like this can be bad. Especially for Simone since she is artificially created where Ezili was naturally. Ezili has more defense to something like this than Simone has.”

Looking for more answers she looked over Lewis, “When did this all start? When did you notice the first sting of Simone being sick? I’m sure you noticed even if she didn’t want you to. Has her sex drive gone down at all? Her appetite lacking?” She looked at Xeik. “These are all questions that have a lot of importance. You get used to asking things like this.”

Going into Simone and Lewis's room, Simone was in her nightgown tucked into bed lovingly. She had already passed out but when the door squeaked shut she opened her eyes lightly, "Lewis?"

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 2:28 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

With Lady Angela taking charge, Rex took Everett from Lewis, and Alshaya from Simone as the two retreated from the foyer. The boy was more than happy to take the burden off of Simone and Lewis. As Rex fussed around with the two babies, Xeik set out to set up a small station in the family room, to which he was grateful that the house help was so happy and willing to assist. Lewis had already started to take Simone upstairs to bed, but on Angela’s cue, she stumbled, and Lewis had to catch her.

“Here we are,” Xeik said as he got the rest of the miniature station set up. He took the medicine from Lady Angela, and measured it out as instructed. This was something he was vaguely familiar with, as he had to take care of the younger kids when he was head of the guild. There were always those who hated taking their medicine, and there were ways to make them take it against their will, and there was a special technique required to make sure they didn’t choke.

Not that he felt he had to force the babies to eat it, but…

Lewis had come back downstairs once he had gotten Simone settled, and the goddess asked if Leilah had given them a berry jam. It took him a few minutes to locate it, but when he did, it was passed from Angela to Xeik with more instructions.

As Xeik started to take care of the younger ones, Lady Angela moved to Lucas, who had sniffles at the moment. “I’m f-fine, ‘mam,” he said as he scrambled up quickly, his eyes staring wide at the goddess. “No problems here!”

Rex gave him a deadpan look, and immediately moved behind the older boy, locking his wrists together and forcing him to stand still. “Just let the nice lady do her work. Gods, you’re such a whiny brat…” This was enough for Angela to take his temperature, despite the unusual circumstances.

He let his brother go, and dusted his hands off, acting like a pro. “My work here is done,” he said with a smirk. He beat his chest proudly. “I can’t get sick. Too stubborn! Let me know what else I can do!”

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 7:55 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

“Lewis might not. He’s not a fan of nobles and they have to deal with a lot of them because of how they bought the island. My son-in-law practically fucked them in that aspect.” Raile was indeed silver-tongued.

“He’s not afraid I’m going to take him,” Angela sighed a bit and came over to Everett. “He’s really burning up. I would say Everett caught it and passed it to the rest of them. Most likely from someone in town that you had been around.”

Simone wiped her forehead now as she held onto Alshaya, “Ezili is upstairs in bed. She got it really bad but she was just born not that long ago. So she probably doesn’t have any prior illnesses.”

Angela looked at Simone, “Like you. You knew that though.” Looking at Rex she motioned for him, “Can you take Everett from Lewis? Alshaya too. I hate to burden you, boys, more than this but… Lewis, get Simone into bed. She’s probably got it worse than even Ezili right now. How she’s managed not to get sick is amazing to me.”

Angela smiled at Xeik, “Set up a small station for the kids down in the family room. Ezili and Simone will be up in their rooms. It will be easier to watch all of the little ones down here while we take care of the older ones upstairs. That and Simone needs the bed… in…” She waited a few seconds, “Now,” Simone stumbled into Lewis.

“Blankets Rex… Make them comfortable okay?” Once she had her bag out she got some medicine she had pre-made. “This will be enough for the kids. Just make sure they swallow it and don’t choke.” She offered it up to Xeik. “Everett might need more since he’s had it the longest. There should be some berry jam that Leilah gave you?” Angela asked Lewis and once she had it gave it to Xeik. “Make sure he eats this.”

Angela went to Lucas and felt his forehead, “You just started to feel sick?”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 7:43 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

It didn’t take long for Xeik to roll out of bed as Raine egged him on to go get breakfast. He put on his new clothes, which consisted of a pair of rough leather shorts and a shirt, with a utility vest to go over top. Since it didn’t feel quite right to go without it, Xeik wore his hooded shirt underneath, and flipped up the hood. He would be going into unknown territory today, and he’d need the comfort.

Breakfast went well, and after Lady Angela spoke of how Lewis funded an entire island, and the young thief was just shocked at how insanely successful Lewis really was. “Oh gods…he’s gonna rub it in my face today too…I’ve never been there…” He offered to take the bag from the Goddess, and soon they portaled to the island.

“Isle el Koskaan…” Xeik repeated as they walked down the beautiful nature path. The wisteria arches were something that Xeik had never seen before, but they were amazing to see, and lead them straight to the front of the mansion. Simone was outside with Alshaya, and immediately was greeted by Lady Angela as she approached.

Lewis was pacing back and forth with Everett in hand. The little boy looked distraught, almost in tears. Leilah had managed well, but she was dealing with her own issues at the moment, which lead to this.

“Finally,” Lewis said as checked Everett’s temperature again. “I was worried you’d never show.” The baby boy started to grumble, close to tears. “Oh nonono…I’m sorry. Sshhh, it’s okay Everett, Lady Angela here isn’t going to steal you away. She’s here to help…”

Xeik was seeing a whole new side to Lewis as they followed the couple back into the mansion. Lucas and Rex were in the main foyer as well, with a sickly Fiori sleeping on the couch as the bots did their best to try and comfort her. Mira wassick as well, but it was…weird, to say the least how it presented itself. Lucas himself was sniffling, but Rex seemed fine.

“What can I say, I have a strong immune system,” the red haired boy said with a grin. “All the better to take care of you guys. And where’s Ezili? Is she doing okay?”

The thief put the bag down, and looked around the castle in awe. “This….this is huge. Bigger than anything I’ve ever loote-….er…explored before.”

Lewis took one look at Xeik, and glared. “Less talk more action.” He looked to Lady Angela. “Look at them…now…” He looked to Simone. It had not fallen on deaf ears that she was sick as well. She had tried to hide it as best she could, but they were connected, and he knew all the same that she was just as run down as the rest of them. Lewis, somehow, was holding up though…but knowing the stress he was going through, it was only a matter of time before he broke down.

“All right,” Xeik said as he put the bag down. “I’ll go to the kitchen and prepare some hot water…” He looked to Lady Angela. “Right?” He started to walk. “….er…sorry…where…exactly is the kitchen?”

Lewis scoffed, “Don’t bother.” He waved his hand, and a servant came rushing by. “Hot water…make enough for…I don’t know…however much he says…” He pointed to Xeik.

“Wait…you trust me?” Xeik asked curiously.

“Lady Angela brought you here for a reason, didn’t she? Get the hell to work…”

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 7:22 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

In the morning, Raine came to get Xeik by knocking on the door and opening it with a bang. “NEW FRIEND! It’s time to get up!” She skipped into the room and pulled him out of bed. “Lady Angela made breakfast for everyone. She wants you to come eat so you can have allllllllllll of the energy in the world!”

After Angela made Xeik eat breakfast she looked him over. She had a bag made up of healing supplies and she blinked for a few. “The look on your face… you have questions?” She wasn’t too shy about diving into his mind. “Oh! You don’t know. Lewis bought Simone an entire island and a castle. Well them but being the housewife that she is Simone does love to flaunt the fact he did it. It drives the other noblewomen insane which makes Simone pleased… She really is a sadist. Big enough for a lot of kids. They did it pretty much right after you met Simone for the first time.”

Angela gave him a smile and opened a portal to the island. The sky was still pink and purple as the sun came up. “Lewis said it’s called Isle el Koskaan. Simone planted everything here and Lewis funded it all. Whatever made her happy he did it.” There was children's laughter in the distance followed by coughing.

“Hey, you need to come back inside if you aren’t feeling too good,” Simone sounded upset as she pulled a tiny Alshaya up into her arms. “You still feeling a bit hot?” She put her hand to Alshaya’s forehead. “At this rate, all of them are going to get sick.” She looked at Lewis. “What should we do?” The mother sounded worried.

At that cue, Angela motioned for Xeik to follow her, “I can manage it. Simone?”

“Hmm?”

“When were you going to tell Lewis that you were sick too?” Now that Angela had said something Simone looked tired almost instantly and the flush to her face that she had been hiding with magic showed through.

“I really wish you wouldn’t have said that…” There was no point in hiding it though.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 7:13 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Xeik closed his eyes when Lady Angela gave the man the pill. It was something that he struggled to watch, even though it was putting him out of his misery. Sometimes…death is good. That was what she had told him, and here it was proving itself like some karmic magic. He hated it. The feeling that a life could not be saved. But Lady Angela was so elegant about it.

“I want to ask but…I don’t think now is a good time,” he said. There were a few reasons. One, he had just witnessed a death. It was raw in his mind. The second was that he did not want to lose focus on the true tasks at hand. For the rest of the night, Xeik found himself making salves and healing those who could be healed. There were a few times he did something wrong, but Lady Angela was calm and collected, merely showing him what he did wrong and how to correct and prevent it in the future.

When the problems died down, Lady Angela started on about the reason why Simone’s soul was saved, and why others were not. “So…life and death are a circle, then? When one soul leaves, another comes?” He looked down. “Cause and effect…” A lesson for later. He yawned. It had been some time since he had rested.

“So tomorrow then…” Xeik followed Angela into the room that she was giving him. It would supposedly adjust to whatever he wanted it to. “Good night, then…” he said as Lady Angela left him alone. He turned back to the room, which had already changed its shape.

The room had a low wooden roof, just barely tall enough to clear Xeik’s height. It was warm, almost musty in a sense, with a small bed frame in the corner. Opposite of the bed frame was a desk. The last time Xeik had seen that desk, it was littered with plans, blueprints, and dead drops of Hoja Mesto. There were a few other pieces of furniture, a dresser and a small two seater couch, both which had seen better. And at the edge of the room was a basic looking window, but instead of the streets of Hoja, it merely showed the oceans of Elysia.

“Home sweet home…” Xeik went over to the bed, and flopped down on it. It was stiff, but it felt good. Perhaps later he would will it into something better, but for now…this was what he wanted. He started to close his eyes. The door opened up, and Xeik looked to see Raine coming in with clothes. He thanked her, and she left, leaving the young man alone once more.

Maybe now… He closed his eyes. This wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Maybe this would be a good opportunity. He smiled. Maybe Lewis was the right choice… He could feel himself drifting off. Tomorrow…I have to face him…

“……………..wait, he has an island?”

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 6:54 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Angela followed Xeik to the wounded one. She shook her head. “There isn’t much we can do. It’s just his time Xeik.” She put her hands on Xeik’s shoulders and allowed him to see how much time the man had left. “There are a variety of different ways we can increase or decrease the time people have but… he’s beyond that threshold now.”

She washed her hands and grabbed some medicine off one of her shelves. “What’s your name soldier?” She sat next to the man and looked at his face.

“Fredrick.”

“That’s a good name,” Angela smiled a bit. “I’m going to give you some medicine alright? When you go… Just keep walking.” She helped him sit up and helped him take the pills. It didn’t take long at all after that for the man’s breathing to stop. Angela closed his eyes and beckoned with her head for some clergy members to come over. “This… This isn’t something I’ll let you take out of the temple. Only I touch it but it will end a life. Quickly.” She shook the bottle and looked at it. “The greatest thing we can do for people like him is end it faster or comfort.”

She looked up at Xeik and frowned a bit, “You know I brought Simone back from the dead… Aren’t you going to ask me why I can’t save him?”

Putting the medicine up she helped Xeik finish taking care of everyone else. They got them settled and rested. Under her guidance, Xeik and herself made salves for throughout the night. It took the rest of the day and Angela made sure Xeik’s were fit for help. Making him redo the ones he messed up but she never let annoyance come through her voice only understanding.

Once they were done she wiped the sweat from her forehead and they left the clinic. “I didn’t save him because there are costs to depriving souls from the Soul-Stream. It means a stillborn will happen. In Simone’s case, it was different because she had already died so much that her soul had paid that price.” She beckoned him to follow her. “There is a cause and effect for every little thing that we do. Tomorrow is actually a good place for us to start your courage training. We’ll go to the Terrowin’s island and we’ll see how the little ones are fairing. I heard they aren’t feeling too well and Lewis will tear his hair out if they sniffle too much. He thinks everything is them dying.”

She opened a door and motioned for Xeik to go in, “This will be your room. As long as you are here it is yours to do with as you please. The room will shift to whatever you want of it. I’ll have them bring you night clothes so you can settle in… Also, you should try to sleep. If Lewis is going to freak out you might have to be the one to calm him down.” Angela laughed a bit.

Leaving him there she went to go tend to her own children. It wasn’t that long before Raine showed up with clothes, “I GOT THEM FOR YOUUU~ Simone is my phoenix buddy! I want her to be my friend but for some reason, they won’t let me! Ok, I have to go to the Bastion now so I can snuggle up to Maalik and tell him all about my bubble discovery ok?!

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 6:41 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Xeik was in awe at the way that Lady Angela was immediately ready for the situation. As she started pointing out the herbs, he quickly memorized the shape and scent of the ones he could, and nodded when she asked if he could read. It had been something that, between Leilah and Raile, he had been taught how to do. But it made sense that a healthier plant would produce a healthier potion.

Xeik wasn’t exactly adept at using a mortar and pestle, but after a few rounds and rotations, he managed to at least produce a salve that was usable. When he tinkered with potions, he rarely did anything like this. It was going to take a lot for him to catch up to where he should be, but for now he needed to at least make it workable. As she instructed him to grab the bandages and maggots, he moved without hesitation. This was easy, and required little to learn.

When the patient flipped out over the maggots, Lady Angela immediately sprayed him with something. A sedative of some type. Xeik looked at the bottle, taking the time to memorize what it looked like, and the smell that followed it. Whatever it was, it worked quickly and the warrior was out.

When it came to the crying children, Xeik felt most at home. This was something that he had to do for the guild back when they were around. “There, there…” he said with a smile as he pet the child’s head. “It won’t be long, I promise. Here…just like this. See? You have this!” There was sincerity and warmth in his voice, as though he were back taking care of his old family.

This went on for some time, with Xeik learning fast. “What about him?” Xeik asked, pointing and running over. There was a younger warrior, one who looked to be in agony. There were several wounds across his chest and stomach, and all of them looked grievous. “What can we do? Healing magic?”

No good. I can’t use magic. And the healing salves we’re making probably can’t handle anything like this….

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 6:24 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Angela had taken off her coat to help with the cleaning. The realm was something she could just put back together but that wouldn’t teach a lesson. Anemone came into the room and she was panicked. This was different from a Raine panic as Angela reacted in a swift motion.

The hows, whys, and every other detail she could get out of Anemone was soon there in front of them. “Alright, Xeik. It looks like you’ll be learning directly from me today.” She motioned for him to come as she left and went back to the clinic. There were many with bad wounds and some looked alright but it was them that Angela was most concerned about.

“First healer rule sometimes it's the ones who don’t look like they are unwell who are the worst.” She pulled Xeik over to a medicinal station and showed him the variety of herbs they would need. “Their names don’t matter much right now but you can always learn them later from my notes I’ll make. You do know how to read right? Anyways, the appearance of the herbs are what matter the absolute most. A healthy plant is a healthy ingredient. If the plant looks sub-par it will make a sub-par potion. In this case, we are making healing salves.”

She gave him a heavy mortar and pestle. “Do as I do,” she motioned to follow her directions as she added in the various plants and minerals she liked to use. Grinding them up into a nice thick salve she brought Xeik with her, “Grab those bandages over there. Also those maggots. That wound right there looks old and festered.” She pointed it out to Xeik. “We’re going to pack it with maggots and let it sit. After a bit, we can remove them and apply the salve.” She showed him how to pack the wound and she applied the bandages. The old warrior was freaking out. "Oh for crying out loud they are just bugs," she squirted something near the man and the man passed out. "Comes in handy when your patients don't want to cooperate… So you apply the salve like this." She showed him how to do it gently to one of the crying children. "If you talk to your patients you can cheer them up. More than likely they are more scared than feeling hurt so it can comfort them."

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 5:46 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

The young man took his time with the task. It wasn’t that he was trying to prolong it, but more so he could take the care required to save some of the documents and other things that the office held. For the most part, he salvaged quite a bit, but it did take more time than expected. Time passed, and soon the task at hand was completed, leaving Xeik awaiting the next task at hand. Not that he was here for her every beck and call, mind you, but he wasn’t quite sure where he could and couldn’t go, or what to even do in the domain.

For that matter, he wasn’t even sure how to leave and return. Magic was not one of his strong suites.

Xeik was about to ask a question when someone that Xeik didn’t recognize came with a message. More refugees, and some of them were not well. The thief looked to Lady Angela, unsure of what exactly to do in this situation. He had limited experience when it came to healing tonics and potions, but given the guidance, he could help.

“Just tell me what I need to do,” Xeik said confidently. “I want to help…”

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 5:11 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

“Good, it will help you become more assertive I think. If you have a position in life you should try to be as brave as possible.” She patted him on the head.

Raine was adorable and small compared to Angela. She didn’t look much older than Xeik for that matter. She had long pink hair and was dressed cutely. Though for the moment she was covered in suds. “OKAY!” Raine got excited and ran out of the room. Soon she peeked around the corner. “What’s… a mop?”

“Raine, just go back Anemone to help you find one,” Angela snapped a bit and sighed as Raine ran away. “Honestly, that child,” Angela rubbed her face and looked around. “Oh, but she saved her stash.” She pointed at a large chest that was covered in a magic bubble. “She is so grounded from all fun things.”

Angela sighed a bit as Raine came back in with a mop and offered it to Xeik. “HEY, MY GOODS!”

“Not yours. You thieved them.”

“THEY WOULDN’T MISS THEM!” Raine shouted as she ran over to the chest and opened it. Inside were very shiny objects worth very little.

“…Is that Elijah’s quill he’s been bitching about?”

“…yes? It’s made from gold,” Raine said as she got it out and showed Xeik. “It’s shiny. See?”

“You need to give that back. He said his father gave it to him.”

“But Elijah is always so mean to me,” Raine puffed her face up.

Angela rubbed her face again, “Raine can you go make sure all the children are alright?” Raine got the hint and ran out of the room. “See what I mean? She’s a trouble maker. She is a good girl for the most part though. Let’s see what we can save in this room though… It’s a good start for your tasks here.”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 5:01 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

At the mention of being banned from becoming Ayaa around Lewis and Simone, the young man frowned. “I’ll…try…” He looked away, but before he could try anything else, he was dragged along by Lady Angela to meet Raine, her avatar. Much to his dismay, Raine was not what he expected an avatar to be. As the door opened, bubbles came flooding out of the room, followed by the innocent sounding Raine.

She was anything but innocent, and as she tried to justify her actions, Xeik found himself staring in horror at the soaked office. “This is crazy…” He looked at both Angela and Raine, and sighed. He walked into the office behind Lady Angela, and looked around. “Well…I…guess I should…grab a mop….” The young thief sighed, and crossed his arms.

“Raine…can you please go grab a mop and cleaning supplies?” He gave her a smile. “We can finish giving your office a bath, and then we can talk…right?” He turned his attention back to the office. “And…while she’s gone…figure out what is salvageable from this.” The thief sighed. “A den of thieves might be easier than dealing with Raine….”

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 4:51 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

“He came in here drunk off his ass screaming at me to go fuck myself. Then had the audacity to ask for his emotions to die then he asked me to bring her back. First, I don’t like drunks. Second, don’t wake me up from sleep. Third, if he had just talked with Simone… Men.” She rolled her eyes. “And Simone for that matter. She hadn’t noticed how much he had grown either.”

“Small steps is all that I ask for. That and I might ask you to help Raine and that should be punishment enough for Lewis dropping you on my doorstep.” There was a motherly smile on her face before she frowned. “I know all about Aaya and no. Part of growing is going to be dealing with Lewis. So no, you are not permitted to use Aaya when around them. That means at Raile’s too.”

She took his arm and dragged him with her, “Alright, so first thing is first. You need to meet Raine. She is my avatar and… she is a bit of a bird brain. She is a phoenix and she is very innocent. I want you to make sure that she stays out of trouble if I have you working with her. Her office is over this way,” Angela took him down a hallway as she knocked on a door.

“DON’T OPEN THE DOOR PLEASE,” a cute voice came from inside.

“Why not?” Angela quirked an eyebrow. “Raine, what did you do?” She swung the door open and bubbles flooded from outside the door hitting both her and Xeik even moving them back a bit. Angela had the most unamused look on her face. “Raine, what is going on?”

“I… found bubbles!” Raine got excited as she came out all soaked. “I made them! WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME I COULD MAKE SUCH WONDERFUL THINGS?!”

“Because you would do this…”

“OH!” Raine looked around. “I MADE A MESS!” She looked at Xeik and waved.

“Raine… This is Xeik. He’s going to be living with us for a while. He will be helping you out from time to time… How much of your office is ruined?!” Angela went to storm past her but Raine blocked her.

“IT’S NOT RUINED IT’S TAKING A BATH! TELL HER XEIK. SAVE ME!”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 4:40 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

“Lavender, huh?” he mused as he took another few sips, listening to Lady Angela as she spoke of Lewis. It came to no shock that the assassin had treated Simone the way he did, but the way that Angela spoke of him and his changes, about how he killed her out of kindness, out of good was something that he struggled with. The Goddess of Life and Love herself was speaking it though, so it must have been true. She had no reason to lie to him about this.

Death can be good…life can be bad… It was a simple thought. A very simple one. Probably one that could be taught to a child, and yet here Xeik was just now trying to comprehend it.

“Wait, you punched Lewis?” Xeik asked with a true smile across his face. “That must have been something. I’d pay anything to have seen the look on his face after that…” He realized that his cheeks were hurting from the smile, and he looked back down, letting the smile fade. There was still a hint of a smile still there, though…

Xeik listened as she offered a place to stay, a place to grow and learn. He thought for a moment, and took her hand. “I’ll…I’ll stay, but…” He glanced down. “There’s work I can do to help here…I can start here.” He smiled. “I can handle that. Small steps, right?”

He paused at the one more thing, though. “Simone?” He flushed. “Lady Angela, I don’t know if you’re aware but…I can change into a woman at times. I would rather…stay in that form around Lewis and Simone if possible, as to not let them know I’m there…is that…something I can do?”

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 4:29 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

The goddess could see that spark ignite and she smirked a little. Finally, she had said something that fully caught his attention. If he was willing to listen he was willing to learn. “No one is powerless Xeik. You have to look at what your strengths are and go from there. Power doesn’t always win battles sometimes negotiators can win before blood is shed.”

She drained the cup fully and thought more, “It’s made with lavender. Helps to soothe the soul. My own blend.”

Thinking once more on the assassin Angela hummed to herself, “Yeah, well he didn’t look much better the first time he showed up. Threatening Simone. Yelling at Simone. Goodness he was mean to that girl. But, whatever it was that Simone did to him in her mind, he came out with growth. He loved that girl. When he killed her, he did it because he thought it was what she wanted. The greatest gift of love he could show her was to give her the freedom she wanted. It would have been evil to keep her where she didn’t want to be. However, the two of them sucked at communication. Simone thought she was a burden on him and so she wanted to die. Lewis wanted to keep her around but didn’t want to cage her. I smacked the both of them. Well, I punched Lewis in the face.”

Standing up she offered her hand to Xeik, “Stay here with me and grow. Staying here is step one. Expanding your talents is step two. What you do beyond that. How you progress is ultimately up to you. Lewis once told me that you were sort of good with potions. By telling me I invaded his privacy. I could teach you more about that. I am an alchemist, a healer, and above all else, I can work a variety of miracles. The people here in my temple? Some of them are refugees.”

There was one more thing as she pulled Xeik up, “One more thing… I constantly have to go see what Simone is doing to make sure that she is well. It’s not that I don’t think I am a genius, because I am but in case I ever die I want to make sure she stays alive. Xeik is Simone dies so does Lewis. They are one in the same now. So, you might have to deal with the fact that Lewis might scoff at you. I would like you to go with me though so you see how he’s grown. It might inspire you and change your mind.”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 4:11 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Xeik heard her words, and it was a lot to take in. It was something he had always struggled with, trying to reconcile the world into black and white. And Lady Angela was right, the world rarely, if ever working in that aspect. It was something that he had always tried to deny, as if he could force the world into two separate factions…justify anything. It was impossible, though, and with a Goddess blatantly telling him how it was, it was hard to ignore.

“I…” He paused. The cycle and renewal of life. The fact that sometimes death was the only answer. That Lewis had changed, and was growing. It was a lot to process, and it hurt to even think about. But there was the tiniest of a sparkle in his eyes. Growth. Teaching others. The desire to help was there.

“But I don’t have the power to back it up,” Xeik said finally. “Lewis does. The strength he has…I hate to admit it, but it’s impressive. And he had a God backing him. That’s a power that I can’t hope to even compete with.” He held up his hands. “Not that I want to compete, though….that’s not…what I meant…”

The tea was welcome, and he took it, letting the warmth of the cup radiate into his hands. After a moment more, he took a sip. “It’s delicious…” The warm drink definitely did something to improve his mood.

“Lewis has changed a lot, hasn’t he?” Xeik looked into the cup. “I couldn’t believe it at first. When I recruited him, he was this scrawny kid who looked like a gust of wind could knock him over. And here now…” The young man huffed. “Here I am, looking on in awe as he springs forward, while I’m left here.” He looked up to Lady Angela. “What is it that I can do now? You said I need to grow…where do I even start?”

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 3:36 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Angela rolled her eyes back and forth as the thief asked her his question. “What can one do? Even when one has nothing? Give yourself? That is a noble cause but it is a foolish one. Sometimes in order for you to help the world, you have to save yourself first. A recovered addict could save others from following his path for example. The weak aren’t survivors Xeik and despite how Lewis sounded, he was lying to you with his words. His heart said other things but he said the things he knew you would believe or what he thinks he believes. He is an odd one.”

Falling back into her chair she waited for Xeik to be done completely before answering. “Because you are wrong on a few points Xeik. First and foremost, not all things can be solved by being a pacifist. Peace-making is never going to work all the time. Sometimes in order to change destiny, we must kill.” Her eyes narrowed down on him. “I’ve held the mantle of death. When I killed my husband and my child when I ascended as a god. I was filled with anger at myself for not being able to do more. I was a goddess why couldn’t I save them? Why did I feel so powerless? It’s because Xeik, no matter how hard we try we can’t save everyone. I told you that good and evil are not black and white. However, we can’t achieve looking at things in shades of gray until we are ready. It is so much simpler to just label things or people like Lewis as evil.”

She relaxed a bit more as she grabbed a cup of tea and sipped on it. “Do you want one?” She motioned to a cup just for him that hadn’t been there just before. “Death.” She continued as she took another sip, “Is the answer in situations where we can’t win. Life isn’t wasted but recycled and sometimes life is created from something else. We can’t just create life from nothing. So in death, that life isn’t lost. Sometimes souls are so bad that we lock them away, however, life is always recycled in some way. They will never be the people that we care about again but they are alive again. Eventually.”

There was a sigh from her lips, “I helped him because he had the same look in his eyes that you do right now. He was broken. He had lost the only one he cared about. Xeik, he started the orphanage because of what you said. YOU changed him. Like I said it isn’t black and white. Lewis isn’t evil so much as misguided and I gave him a compass in Simone. Simone has killed many more people than Lewis ever has whether she remembers it or not. When I judged her soul I chose the route that she had been made into that person. That if Simone had been left in her castle that she would have remained innocent. The monster she became was someone else’s fault. Those who steal innocence are the great evil in the world Xeik. The monsters born of stolen innocence are worse than those born into being one.”

She leaned back in her chair and looked at the ceiling. “A goddess of life I may be but I’m no fool. You can’t save everyone, not everyone is worth keeping alive, and holding it as a burden on you is selfish. You must be able to accept that you can’t to be able to save those you can. If you try to save everyone you kill people that you could have saved. We have to be able to step away and see it objectively. I’m married to the Dark Kaiser. A man who is known for his evil deeds but I don’t see his deeds being him. He loves me and he does what he has to, to save his family. The worlds we are born in are different and that’s where looking at things differently comes in. I will not ask Nemesis not to kill because for his world that can never happen. Just like he will never ask me to stop saving people I can. He might question my decisions but he will never tell me what to do.”

She tapped her finger on her nose, “Another thing you are actually overlooking is that you think Lewis is crazed. He isn’t. He’s grown a lot. He’s still growing. The question is what sort of growth can you do Xeik?”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 3:19 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Xeik stirred, if slight at Lady Angela’s words. He looked at her with his dead eyes, and scoffed. “And what can I do. What can one, washed up thief and recovered addict do? It’s taken everything I have just to survive since I lost it all, and now…” He pushed himself up into a sitting position, and shook his head.

“Why…why did you help Lewis? You’re a goddess of Life, and he’s a dealer of death. He’s nothing more than a crazed assassin…It’s a miracle he can take care of those kids as it is.” His words rang for a moment. “He has power…the power to protect them. To kill anyone in his way. But that’s…that’s not right.” Xeik was still so close to finding an answer, but so far. “Why can’t we find a better solution? Isn’t there a better way than wasting the life that was given to them?”

Not that he had much room to talk. He had wasted a portion of his own when he tried to drown his sorrows. “Death can’t be the answer. I just…I’m just not strong enough, or smart enough to find a better way. That’s it…” He looked to Lady Angela. “Isn’t that something you can show me? A way to protect life?”

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 3:08 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

Angela was in the clinic with a particularly bored expression on her face. Her hair had been pulled back and she was wearing a coat of sorts to keep chemicals off of her. She rested her elbow against her crossed legs and held her chin on her palm. “Death huh?” Her words were steady as she pulled herself up. It wasn’t often that Angela wasn’t in prime and proper condition. Today she had been researching and it showed from her outfit. She looked much more like a doctor than any other time that Lewis had seen her. “That’s Serafina’s territory.” It came off as sarcastic but still, she watched as the assassin freed Xeik.

“Washed-up individuals are my specialty it seems.” She watched as Lewis walked away before she knelt on the ground next to Xeik. She heard his words and she mulled it over.

“In my honest opinion? Not much of anything.” She held that bored expression. “This isn’t the life I wanted. I never wanted to be a goddess or be in charge of anyone but if not me then who? I can control what I do or don’t do. For the record, I am the one who talked to Sirona after what she did. Evil and good are not things that can be measured in things like black and white Xeik.”

She knew his name from Lewis’s thoughts and the small talks she had with Simone. “However, if you think that you can solve something by killing yourself you shouldn’t have asked Lewis to shoulder that burden. The fact that he brought you to me means that Lewis cares. He wouldn’t have bothered if he didn’t and that means he thinks you have something to live for Xeik.”

She let the door to the clinic close so it was just her and Xeik. “In my time as a goddess, I have watched many of my friends and family die. I have had empires use my time in the conclave to kill my family and my people. I have lost much. It is often not what gods and goddesses can do for you. It is not us who impact the greater future of the world. It is people like you Xeik. While we are powerful we are not many. We call people to arms because of this. I can sow the seeds of healing, I can sow the seeds of childbirth, and I can sow the seeds of love. However, if one doesn’t grasp it then they won’t see the gift before them. Look at Lewis and Simone. I brought her back. I made her what she is because Lewis asked me to. I opened the way but only he could make it prosper. It’s the same thing with gods and mortals. Whether or not Sirona’s actions have caused great calamity isn’t what I’m answering. The good I have to offer isn’t something that you are going to just obtain from me. You must work for it. Otherwise, everyone will have died for nothing and that is actually the greatest loss of all.”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 2:55 PM, Post Subject: What Else [p/r]

“Here,” the assassin said as he threw a bound Xeik in front of Lady Angela. “Deal with this worthless trash.” It had been a long time since Lewis had been so cold. He looked upon Xeik as he would anyone he deemed beneath him. His gaze lingered on the younger man, and then looked to Angela. “He went to see Lady Sirona, thinking it would heal the hole in his heart. It didn’t.” Lewis huffed. “And now he still seeks to fill the void in his heart. This time, he sought more than any drug or vice. This time he sought death…”

The broken Xeik didn’t stir as he lay there, his eyes dead. He didn’t try to argue. It was true. Xeik had come before Lewis, not to try and argue or change his view, but instead asked for a contract. One on himself, for whatever it cost. And this had been the result.

Lewis knelt down, and cut the ties on Xeik, and stood back up. “My weapons and skills would be wasted on you. You’re below the scum that I kill regularly. You’re not worth it…” He took one last look at the man he used to revere, and shook his head. “You’ve fallen so far…”

“I apologize, Lady Angela…” he said as he walked back towards the prism beach. “But I figured you’d have a use for a washed up thief. If you don’t, you could always just toss him in the ocean for feed…”

Xeik hadn’t moved. There wasn’t much else he could do. He felt hollow. Drugs had not filled the void before, and it had taken a lot of love and consideration to get him away from it. He was tempted to go back, but no…death was a much more preferable solution. But even that had been denied to him.

“Another goddess,” he muttered. “What good have any of you done…”