Welcome to Gaia! ::

Character: Lithian
Stage: Adept
Luck: 53 ( +20 )
Creature: Diabi Dragon x 20 [Additional Rolls]
Success Rate: 6 - 100

Win x 20: (100 x 20)/2 = 1,000 exp

Total: 1,000exp + 20 LUK, levels to 79 with 2/79exp left over, +42 stat points to distribute, + 20 diabi orbs

Word Count Required: 6,000+
Final Word Count: 10,648

Lithian ran his fingers absently along the ridges of his left horn, frowning. His fingers traced the shape without thought, his thumb drawing up and over the point as his mind wandered, lost as the wind over the wave caps stretching out endlessly in front of him. Sixteen years, he was. Sixteen years and seventeen days.

His parents had arranged a ceremony of sorts to mark the day when it passed. A gathering to celebrate his accomplishments to date, or so they said, but he knew better by now. There had been so many girls invited. Daughters of his parents friends. Young sisters and cousins of acquaintances. People in power. He had felt surrounded, suffocated under the unmarried daughters of everyone who his parents found socially adequate for him. Crushed under forced smiles and trained laughter. Pulled around like a gullible puppet by light touches to his wrist and practiced dances which only seemed to highlight how horribly inadequate he was at everything from not stepping on toes or getting dirt on dresses to forming accurate sentences at the appropriate time. Some of the gestures towards him had been genuine, he was sure, of course, but…

…it all seemed so hollow, looking back.

He pursed his lips and stared out over the sea. The ocean had been a wonder to him the first time he’d looked out over it, and it still was now, in a sense. This time, though it was more than that. The Celestial Plane had never felt more a prison to him than it had of late. It had always been home. Comfort. Peace. Now, though, it was the place he returned to when his studies on Magesc proper were complete, and it was where his parents took supreme advantage of their time with him, not focusing on what they had in his younger years, but on ‘adult’ business. The future of the family. His future.

The continuation of their bloodline.

Not, he thought privately, that it was particularly necessary. He had multiple older brothers to mate and carry on the Bhardvaris name. What was his parents preoccupation with him? They’d never been half so concerned about Syrikk, Accucius, or Daraka. But then, Lithian had to admit, none of his brothers had ever been quite so ‘private’ as his parents liked to phrase it.

His frown deepened.

Concerns of his which had once been passing distractions were now blossoming into vibrant, undisguisable problems. As a younger boy, he had always assumed that his failure to mirror Syrikk’s ridiculous preoccupation the opposite sex had been a matter of age and differing sense of priorities. Now, however, it wasn’t simply Syrikk, but everyone who looked to him, wondering, concerned, question.

‘No one yet?’

‘Seen anyone who’s caught your eye?’

‘What did you think of Oria? Lorellah?’

‘Your studies are important, Lithian, but there’s more to life than just that. One day you’ll want to share it all with someone.’

‘You won’t find real happiness unless you put yourself out there, you know.’

‘Sometimes it’s just about opening up a bit. Give these girls a chance, hm? You might be surprised.’

But he hadn’t been surprised, not yet. And he didn’t expect to be. The buried conclusion he’d long since tucked far away from himself was prying back through his mental barriers, shaking off the dust and screaming to be heard:

There’s something wrong with you.

You’re not like the others.

You never will be.

Lithian squeezed his eyes shut, scowling now, and folded his arms against the rail of the ship, dropping his chin down upon them. Soon, he would arrive at Eowyn’s docks. Soon, he would be with the friend who always managed to lift his spirits, no matter their differences. Soon, he would be free again, and he would not have to worry about his unofficial ‘suitors’ until the Plane took him hostage once again.

Lithian felt his breath catch as Eowyn’s dock came into view: the pristine, well-managed waterfront buildings owned by those who could afford the best access — the best view, the best business. In front of them, right along the pier and lining the streets, the stalls that were set up every morning before dawn and deconstructed again at nightfall, filled with fish and fruit and merchandise. Trinket vendors and traders who wanted first pick of the stock coming in off the ships. Behind them all, the twisting, weaving alleys and buildings of increasing disrepair the nearer they got to the center.

Then, he spotted Casseth.

Lithian jerked his fingers down from where he’d been rubbing at the tip of his horn and flushed, pulse picking up even as a smile broke across his face. Casseth had been through more than Lithian could imagine. As though his hybrid, outcast status weren’t enough, he’d suffered family issues on top of that — issues that had been pushing Cas and his father ever more frequently away from Aisko and to the sandy banks of Eowyn. Lithian didn’t know all the details. Cas hadn’t explained everything, he knew, but Lith hadn’t pressed. How could he?

The fact that it all resulted in Casseth spending far more time within reach was…

Well, Lithian tried very hard not to feel ‘grateful’ for it. He would never have wished the pain that the situation had caused on Casseth intentionally. But at the same time, he couldn’t help but be happy at the opportunities it provided them, selfish as that pleasure was.

As soon as the boat pulled into dock, Lithian was up, on the railing, swinging over and hopping off to bypass the swarming crowds flooding the off-ramp. He landed boots first on the floating dock, hard enough to make it shake, ignored completely the disgruntled complaints of those on the passage with him, and dashed towards Casseth. Running flat, he caught him immediately in a fierce hug and held to it.

As of late, Lithian found himself feeling ever more at odds with the destiny the world around him seemed to anticipate for him. As though his family, his friends — his entire world on the Plane — expected something out of him that, as he grew, felt ever more like a curse, looming on the horizon, threatening to drag him away from Casseth and everything else that did not fit into their boxed hopes for him. As such, every time he held Casseth, it felt ever more like a blessing — something he should cling to before it was gone.

It was the quiet, and then — when he looked — the ocean of dirty, angry stares focussed on him that caused Lith to jerk back when he noticed. “I—” He cleared his throat, swallowing the hard lump in his throat and resisting the urge to reach up, toy with his hair or rub his thumb over his horn. He looked to Casseth instead, and smiled. “You made it. I’m glad to see you. We should…” Eyes flicking once more over the disapproving crowd, Lithian shifted his weight. “We should get out of here and talk. I’m sure we have a lot to catch up on…”

Lithian smiled, and then almost laughed, covering his lips with his fingers as Cas leaned in to suggest the ‘revenge’ they could exact. He felt his cheeks heat, hyper-conscious of the warmth and weight of Casseth’s arm around his shoulder, but kept his reactions to himself. “Perhaps we could,” he said at length, though he kept his words quiet as he followed Cas off down the dock, hands tucked carefully to himself. “I doubt the locals would welcome me back with open arms on future visits afterwards, though, if we did.”

Despite the lingering tension of the encounter, however, Lithian did feel more relaxed. Something about Casseth’s easy smile, his carefree, relaxed nature — practiced or not — and familiar presence in general always found a way to make Lithian feel more at peace. By the time they made it away from the loading bay, the knot in Lith’s gut had softened, the tension in his throat easing up, and the genuine thrill at being back on Eowyn, on his own to do whatever he pleased, with Casseth came back to him full tilt. He tossed his friend a grin, then lifted a hand, shielding his eyes from light of the sinking sun and squinting out over the rows of buildings lining the waterfront.

“I should probably get checked in,” he said, shifting the carrying sack on his shoulder as if subconsciously providing extra ‘proof’ of his need to unpack and get settled. “Come along?” he offered as he started down the cobbled walk. “Shouldn’t take long. And you can tell me about all the trouble—I mean grand adventures that you’ve gotten up to since I was last down.”

Lithian blinked, stopping with Casseth and glancing to the poster. The center image was of an artistic depiction of, apparently, one of the fighters for an upcoming spectator fight. The fighter looked nothing like any Magescian he’d ever seen though — more like a rock monster of some form — only humanoid in form, but completely covered, as though a person had encased their body entirely in nothing but the earth itself.

“Girl?” Lith parroted, brow pinching as he glanced over the image. “That’s a…?” He blinked, mentally shaking his confusion off and turning to the second question. “The ‘pit’? No. It sounds…” His eyes flicked again towards the poster — blood, danger, and the high possibility of potential death seemed to be high on their list of attractions — and he winced. “Dangerous? It’s a fighting arena? And you…a friend of yours takes part in it? Aren’t you worried?”

Lithian watched Casseth’s fingers, attention rooted on the gentle curve and twist as the grains of sand toppled over each other like a thousand tiny beasts all clamouring to get closer to him. Blinking, Lithian diverted his gaze and brushed his fingers along his temple to tame a non-existent strand of loose hair as he smiled.

“At least you’re confident,” he said. “I have a lot of faith in your skill too, but if it was you in there…” After trailing off and saying nothing for longer than necessary, Lithian shook away his thoughts and pushed his smile back into place. “I’d love to meet a friend of yours, and she certainly sounds like she’d have a tale or two to tell herself. Next opportunity I’d be happy to go see one of these…” ‘…blood baths…’ “…matches. I’m sure it’d be quite the learning experience, if nothing else…”

The concept of entertainment fighting — particularly a kind that clearly emphasized the brutality aspect and appealed largely to animalizing hybrids for profit — put an uneasy churn in Lithian’s stomach, but he stifled it and said nothing aloud. He would enjoy meeting a friend of Casseth’s, and it was comforting to know Casseth was making friends on Eowyn now, since he’d been spending so much more time here. As they started off back down the road towards Lithian’s arranged inn, another thought occurred to him, and Lithian frowned. After chewing on the idea for several minutes, however, he found himself incapable of not asking. They arrived at the inn, and once Lithian had gone through the checking and booking process with the innkeeper, he voiced his question to Casseth.

“So, is this girl from the arena a friend or a…‘friend’?” Lithian asked, fiddling with his room key and then making his way in when the door opened.

Lithian smiled, relaxing at Casseth’s comment as he settled in and unpacking the few things he’d brought along. As his own relief at Casseth’s response sank in, though, Lithian frowned, but shortly afterwards shoved the thought away. He was relieved because Casseth was in the same boat as him; that was all. Neither of them had time for a relationship, and what was so wrong with that? If someone as normal as Casseth could get away with it without being pestered for it, surely Lith could stop guilt tripping himself over his own lack of interest for a bit longer.

When the words ‘moving to Eowyn’ left Casseth’s mouth, all other thoughts left, and Lithian rounded on his friend, startled. “Permanently?” he asked, failing to contain his excitement despite his best efforts. “As in, you’re purchasing a home here? Where? When? And—” Lithian blinked as the latter half of Casseth’s statement sank in. “I didn’t even know you had grandparents. I mean…” He cleared his throat, flushing, “…of course you’d have them, I just…never heard you speak of them. Grandparents on your father’s side? Will they be helping with your move, or…? If he was avoiding speaking of them, are your relations with them are poor?”

Lithian frowned as Casseth talked. Kilian’s reaction confused him utterly. Casseth had already more or less ‘lost’ his mother and sister. He had no one but his father. The concept of having so little family to begin with was difficult for Lithian to imagine; he was one of seven, and that was siblings alone. In addition to his brothers and sisters, he had his parents, his grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. Granted, he didn’t see them as often as his immediate family, but he knew them.

Why would Kilian section his son off from other pieces of his already limited family?

“I don’t understand,” Lithian admitted at length, when Casseth finished venting. “You’ve never even met them? And he’s said nothing of them? Why wouldn’t he want you to…?” Lithian pursed his lips, fingers absently reaching up to rub his horn as he thought. “I can’t imagine not having the chance to know my family…perhaps he parted on poor terms with them? Or simply doesn’t wish to make the trip to Soudul…? Regardless, I would think you ought to at least have the chance to see them if nothing else…” After trailing off for a moment, Lithian tilted his head. “Do you know where they live?”