What Side Didn’t Know Vol.2 – A3,C8. Nighttime Shenanigans

What… Am I doing?

Tristain is… Tristain has been doing nothing useful for the past 2 weeks.  And I, I have been enabling him.

Every day, he goes up to see Dubhe and Lillia and plays with the children.  Then he comes back to our room for the night. I feel like… to him, I am just a warm body.  What am I doing? Is this what I agreed to?

Ulg.  What has my life come to?  Also, this hume is laying on one of my wings.  It’s not… painful, but it’s also not comfortable.  If I move, though, I might wake him up.

Okay, okay!  I gotta move!  It’s starting to itch!  Arg!

Carefully…

Carefully…

Yes!  Got it out from under him!  Oh, it feels so good to itch that spot.  This is hard to reach, but it feels so good.

“If you want me to, I can itch that for you.  That looks hard to do yourself.”

“Oh, please.”

“Oh, Yes.”

“Yes, That’s the spot.”

Ahhh… that feels so good.

Wait, he’s awake?  He’s awake! Gah! Mission failed!

“You know, if there’s anything you want me to do for you… You can ask me, right?”  I can’t see his face very well, as it is dark right now. He’s apparently figured out how to ask the Gaia Tree to turn off the lights in certain rooms.  This has resulted in some raised eyebrows, even from the Dryads. Apparently that wasn’t a known ability.

“Well, I’m not sure asking for anything will grant me any benefits.  When you live for tens of thousands of years… Someone who will die in a mere thousand, or less… It is better to see their smile and happiness, than to have that enjoyment yourself.  There are always other opportunities for me. Not so much for you.” Maybe I should enhance the light coming into my eyes so I can see his face? His white runes have mostly disappeared.  Maybe ten percent remain. Of those, he has also figured out how to turn off their glow. I can still ‘see’ them, but they don’t brighten a room with their light. And mine, well, they don’t work well enough to brighten anything but shadows, either.  Most of the time.

“That seems like a cop-out.  Actually, that seems very short-sighted.  No. Really, I don’t want to say any of that.  Hold up.” He pauses for a moment. I know he means well, but… that was somewhat insulting.  “Look. I messed up with Mika… then with Dubhe. I have debts to pay in both places. I want to make good on those.  At the same time, I don’t want to keep repeating the same mistakes. I don’t want you to feel… I want you to be happy.”

Happy.  That sounds like sleeping.  Sleeping is definitely happiness.  That’s not really going to happen much any time soon though.  My surface area to volume ratio is too high in this form. I just have too many scales and not enough body to use all that energy.  Ulg. It will be at least a few years until I can sleep for more than several hours at a time. I need to put on some pounds to absorb all of this energy!

What is he saying anyway?  I’m effectively his slave wife.  I don’t have much right to refuse.  His dryad-girl-lover-thing will clobber me if I go overboard or try to escape.  It’s only a thousand years or so. Maybe he’ll get bored of me, and just send me away.  Honestly, this isn’t a bad life though. I just get to loaf around all day.

It still is mentally… unfulfilling.

“Melsy…”

“Hm?”

“You know I’m… I spent some time in the enclave, right?”

“Yeah.”  Well, you are a fresh hume.  You have runes. Surface-borns can’t get those… Well, not in the normal way.  It’s why Voids are so important outside the enclave. Children can inherit the strength of a Void.  Non-voids don’t get to pass on their runes. Mostly.

“Um… They said I’m a void.”

That’s a bit of a surprise.  He has a lot of runes for a void, and he’s very good at using them.

“But I’ve been practicing!”

“Yeah, seems like it.”  That’s the truth. Never have I seen a void as capable as him.  Of course, the capable ones usually don’t come after dragonfolk… I think?

“Uh, and the goddess taught me some.”

“Oh.”  Thaaaaaaat explains it all.  You’re a cheater. Here I thought you put in some hard work.  Don’t say you practiced when you were just given power.

“She sped up time for me while I was… visiting her.  I think it was maybe a very long time for me. It’s hard to tell how much has gone by when everything is always white.”

“Huh?”  What is he talking about?

“Uh, when I was visiting her.  My mind wasn’t in my body, so she sped up time for me in the simulated body.  Hm… she said I’d need lots of practice to control the runes she was giving me to temporarily stabilize my body.  So she sped up time, for me to practice.”

I’m old, very old.  I understand much more than the standard hume, or bearfolk, or, well, most dragonfolk.  Probably more than all the dryads put together. Those dense trees are dumber than rocks.  Still, this hume uses odd words that I haven’t heard before, and says ideas completely unfamiliar to me.

“Part of that, is learning the specialty of the enclave.”

“Okay?”  I’m still not sure what he’s getting at.

“Er… you project your thoughts very clearly.”

The room suddenly seems brighter, a nice shade of crimson.  Must. Resist. Urge. To. Murder.

“Hehe.  I love you.”

“Gah!”  He tackled me!  You oaf! You’re heavy!  Get off so I can strangle you!

Author’s Note: Thanks for the support!  I am in your care!

Editor: DungeonPalmz