Welcome to Gaia! ::

“No, no, no, come on,” Syrikk objected. “That’s cheating.”

“Is not,” Adela defended stubbornly. “In the Harfinger’s version of the rulebook—”

“Lies.”

“It’s not cheating!”

“Is too.”

“Is not.”

“Is too.”

“Is not—”

Lithian sighed and stood up, leaving his siblings to their game and moving out from beneath the awning they were crouched under. Card games had never been his preferred source of entertainment anyway, and he figured it best to let them work it out as they pleased. It didn’t mean he had to listen to them work it out.

Nearly two weeks had passed since he and his brothers’ and sisters’ arrival at the outpost Ysette had brought them to. His journey to date — his first time ever setting foot out of the Celestial Plane — had been far more ‘eventful’ than he could ever have guessed before leaving. He’d experienced angry leklans, hungry dunkels, frightened kargoths, a wild baowi, more dragons than he could remember now, hastars, kugels, and even — in an unfortunate cave exploration with Araceli — a full slew of borgs. And, while the experience had left him a trifle worse for the wear in a select few ways, for the most part he had simply grown.

On the original ship ride over during his conversation with Araceli up deck, he had barely been capable of plucking at the ocean water, let alone manipulating it smoothly — and certainly not in any substantial quantities. Now, however, after extensive emergency situation practice as well as on the ground training under protected circumstances, he was learning more tricks by the day and fine tuning a variety of his weaker areas.

He still considered his form sloppy at best for the most part, but he was improving steadily. Enough to see, visibly, every day as he worked through his sets. It made him ever eager to continue forward with his progress. Even with all his setbacks, the more he moved on with his training, the more convinced Lith became that he’d made the right choice in choosing a battler’s path. He was a healer at his core, true — he knew this — but that did not mean he could not be a soldier as well. The two were not mutually exclusive, and the more he saw of the world around him, the more he saw need for healing.

There was too much pain, and anguish, to go unattended and be left to burn simply because he had once been too frightened to set out on his own. Too weak to pick up a blade.

Lithian brushed his hands over the front of his tunic, dusting off stray sand, and wandered aimlessly out towards the further reaches of the outpost. Far out on the distant horizon, the sun was setting — a brilliant, blood red melting into the golds, oranges, and yellows of the rest of the sky and the endless desert below. It was beautiful, in a way, like a wax candle of multiple colors or the paints of some abstract artist mingling boldly and rolling into one another.

He propped himself against a fence post and folded his arms, breathing out and feeling the heat and brush of his breath on his lips. He found it amazing that he had already almost grown accustomed to the heat. Not grown to enjoy it — far from — but at least tolerate it and acclimate himself to it. And yet, tomorrow they would leave.

Lithian’s brow furrowed as he thought on it.

In some ways, he was ready to return home. He missed the Plane and its comforts. He missed his room and his bed, his sheets — which were comfortable and soft, of fine fabric — and his clothes which didn’t all smell now of sand and sweat. He missed his house and his parents’ garden, his mother and father, his eldest brother…

There was much to miss.

At the same time, however, he had learned much here, and it would be at least a small regret to be spending less time with Araceli. They’d developed a gradual friendship despite their age difference — or so he’d thought — and he enjoyed their time together. Perhaps, he rationalized, if she felt similarly, they could spend more time together when they returned as well. Blinking as he thought on it, Lithian rubbed at one of his horns, squinting out at the desert.

Was this what his brothers meant when they spoke of him taking interest in girls? He did like her. He enjoyed spending time with her and conversing with her. He’d gotten to know her, and she fought well — they worked well together, even. Yet, somehow the concept nagged at him. It didn’t particularly feel ‘special’ in any way. He felt similarly about her as he did any of the other friendships he’d had growing up.

Maybe something would change later.

Moments from turning back towards the main body of the encampment, a rising, domino effect of noise rippled up from the far side, and for a long moment, Lithian couldn’t for the life of him pin down the exact reason why—

Then, he saw them.

Firanis, angling in from the mountain range side, flanking in attack formation. Lithian hesitated. There were many fighters here, every one of them far fiercer than he. Would he not simply get in the way? But then, that felt like a cowards choice, and there were so many dragons. Who was he to hold back when he had the strength to add his power, however limited it might be?

Lithian breathed out, murmured a prayer to his god, and started a brisk dart towards the source of the action.