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 Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 6:17 pm
All in all, Devyn had found twenty six pages that matched the quality and style of the map he and Michael had found, and he was optimistic that there were more. Some of the pages didn’t seem to offer much towards what they were looking into, but stuck between two of those pages was a faded note. The ink had brushed off the page, leaving only old stains that were somewhat distorted from their time spent in the water.
Devyn recognized the lettering, though. He’d seen enough of Marius’ letters to know whose script he was reading. The better question was why this was pressed between two pages from Atrius’ book.
And why it mentioned Lucien.
Michael had taken a nap on the couch again, and Devyn had briefly napped as well before he returned to diligently sorting through things and trying to get cleaned up. He’d take back many of these pages to try and organize them in some comprehensible way. He knew he’d probably never find all of them, but every page was a little part of the past.
He’d just put another log on the fire and the room had a pleasant, soft light. He sank back down on the couch and rested against the back of it as he drew the handwritten note to his face. HIs hand rested on Michael’s leg and he couldn’t help but smooth his thumb over his calf absentmindedly as he skimmed the letter.
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 6:29 pm
“That feels nice,” Michael hummed, but kept his eyes closed for a little while longer. He also quickly insisted, “You didn’t wake me up.”
He felt groggy and heavy still, but it was obvious that some of the sickness was slowly seeping away. The black in his fingers and veins had dulled down significantly, and he wasn’t feeling as fatigued. He felt bad for leaving Atticus, but knew he would be safe and happy with the Reids.
Besides, they made sure to contact him every night, just to check in and to let him know they were doing fine as well.
“How long was I out?” he asked as he shifted to stretch, but made sure Devyn still had plenty of space on the couch. And he didn’t want to make him feel like he had to move.
“Find anything interesting?” Because of course he had to ask when Devyn was looking at the page in his hand so closely.
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 6:34 pm
There were clocks around the room, but Devyn didn’t look at any of them. There was a candle on the table with golden, floral patterns down the side of it. He seemed to be judging how long it had burned since he last checked and answered, “A bit more than an hour.”
He rubbed his leg as he stretched, as if promising that there was plenty of room for the both of them without devoting any time for words.
“I’ve found a few things. More pages like the map. There were some notations that seemed consistent with what you were thinking. I’ve found a letter from Marius, though. It was between two pages. I haven’t had a chance to read what the pages say yet, I got a bit distracted with the letter. Marius was writing to Atrius. The text is a bit smudged, but he’s mentioned Lucien. A Mauvian I used to know. I lost contact with him after the Chaos rolled in. I think he managed to get off of Alastor but wasn’t able to send messages once he got back to Mau. But that was a very, very long time ago. But Marius is asking Atrius to send him a few more supplies to finish–Lucien was working on some project? It’s got something to do with ‘Percy’s blueprint, but I don’t know what that means.”
He was still skimming the page and seemed to be struggling to try and decipher a few waterlogged lines.
“I’m not really sure what he’s talking about. Lucien was helping Marius build something based off of one of Percy’s blueprints, and Atrius seems like he was, at least in part, funding it. Or securing the materials they need. This letter must have been pressed between these pages for a long time. So not a book that Atrius was loaning out. He wasn’t really the sort to misplace things.”
He moved the letter aside and looked at the page of text behind it. “But I’m not sure why he’d have left it in this book. These page are talking about that legend you mentioned, I think.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 6:36 pm
Michael continued to stretch a bit as he pushed himself up to sit. Although he made a face as all of his bones seemed to pop as he twisted his back and arm, followed by mumbling about how he was getting too old.
“It was supposed to be a surprise,” Michael said absently as he tried to stifle a yawn, leaning back against the couch for one more stretch.
“I talked to Marius about getting something similar set up to what we have in our rooms. A way to travel from one point to another. In theory it would be the same as going from Alastor to Sessrumnir, but there was the weather and gravitational pulls to take into consideration. Jupiter has plenty of research detailing its weather phenomena, but there’s very little, other than educated guess work, when figuring out an exit point for the island in the sky. But you’d always talked about wanting to get there. He must have developed it further.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 6:57 pm
Devyn tilted his head just slightly before he looked over at Michael. It had taken a few seconds to process what he’d said, and retranslate that ‘I’ meant ‘Percy’
He wondered if Michael had noticed what he said, but he didn’t plan on making a big deal out of it.
“Is that so?”
His hand made its way to his knee and he squeezed it before he moved backwards so he could rest more against Michael. He tilted the pages so Michael could see, even if he couldn’t read what was on the pages. Although, his memories seemed to be strong enough to guide him into as much of–if not more of–an understanding than Devyn had.
“That is a surprise,” he admitted. “But I can see why Lucien was involved, he was clever. I mean, most Mauvians are, but he was sharp. And daring. And very fashionable. He needed a bit of help to get there on that last one, though. Do you know if their research ever yielded anything? I’m not sure where to look. I’d guess Arista, or Sessrumnir. If it was supposed to be a secret. Although, they did spend quite a bit of time together in Villefort. I’d just assumed Lucien was helping build the technology to keep Villefort safe, but. Mm.”
He flipped the page over to examine the back.
“I don’t suppose you have any idea if they’d made any progress or mentioned where they were working?”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 7:04 pm
As Devyn leaned back against him, Michael was quick to shift his arm so he could wrap it around his husband’s waist and pull him a little closer. He still felt a bit dazed from sleep and the sickness, but better than before at least.
Michael wasn’t sure what to think about a Mauvian being around. It made sense since one would have been needed to help Devyn awaken and then unlock his powers, but it had been such a long time ago. After Devyn’s powers had been unlocked, a Mauvian wouldn’t have been needed there.
“Lucien. He just came around to visit?” he asked, not sure if he should make his curiosity obvious or if it was a topic Devyn didn’t really want to get into. “No offense, but I guess I’m a little surprised a Mauvian would be interested in the technology Alastor has.” Which… was enough that it wasn’t like the middle ages. There was enough that it was comfortable to live there, but there wasn’t modern Earth technology. Maybe for the best, since Earth wasn’t doing too great with man-made pollution and such.
As for what Marius had worked on, Michael nodded, although he looked like he was trying to focus on his memories a bit more.
“Marius definitely hid things of importance in Villefort. Including whatever this transport was to get up to the island. I don’t know if they got it working enough to use it,” he said, but frowned a little because, well… there was a reason he didn’t know if they’d been successful. Percy hadn’t been there to witness it.
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 7:23 pm
Devyn visibly took no offense to the questions; he melted against Michael when he was pulled closer.
“I don’t know if anything you say could offend me. I’ve seen other worlds, I know that Alastor isn’t the most technologically advanced. It doesn’t compare to Mercury, or Mau. Or even Earth, these days.”
He’d picked up on Michael’s curiosity and that was a far easier subject to delve into than what caused that frown.
“I didn’t get to see him as often as I wanted. When I was younger, he was there for all of those fancy senshi rituals I had to go through. He drew the short end of the stick there, given Alastor’s legacy. But I was always happy when he came around. After the Chaos crept in…”
He inhaled, held it, and then shrugged. “After Perce passed, you know. I wasn’t really my best self. He was stuck here on Alastor with us for a while. We didn’t really get to say goodbye before he left, but I was glad that he got out. You know, the thing about Alastor being somewhat lacking in certain technology means that he got to show off how smart and clever and creative he was. Marius kept him in check, I think. The two of them were plenty of trouble when they put their minds to it. I shouldn’t be surprised that Marius would have hid things in Villefort. He liked every excuse to get back there and make sure things were well taken care of.”
Devyn glanced at the page again, but no matter how many times he read the same line, he never got more information from it.
“I don’t suppose you’re in the mood to head back to Villefort any time soon, are you?”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 7:43 pm
“I would go to the ends of the universe with you, whenever you want,” Michael hummed. There was a teasing tone to his voice, but it was obvious that he was also being serious.
“I will be careful. I promise,” he insisted, leaning close to press a kiss to Devyn’s cheek. “I’m feeling better. Probably well enough to sit on a boat. And we did all the heavy lifting, already. Now we’ll be able to just look through the town, right? The mud hopefully dried up by now.”
Hopefully dried up. There was a chance that it would still be pretty water logged, but at least it wouldn’t be up to their knees.
“Sounds like he would have butt heads with Soleiyu and Lucasta,” Michael snorted softly in amusement. “But I’m glad you got a Mauvian that stuck around to help you out when you were young. I bet no one could resist the cute kid you must have been.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 7:56 pm
“I was adorable,” Devyn confirmed. “But there weren’t very many people who could appreciate that. He didn’t get to stay as often as I’d wanted him too. Mau probably didn’t want me to use him as ritual sacrifice or hold him hostage or something. But he kept finding ways to come back. It was always a fun surprise. He most certainly would have been the sort to butt heads with them. But, I think he might have liked them, too. A friendly rivalry, maybe? Mm.”
He lowered the pages and tipped his head back to rest on Michael’s shoulder.
“You’re so romantic. To the ends of the universe with me. I like that very much, though. Such a poet. Thankfully, I don’t have a desire to drag you that far, but I’m sure we can find plenty of other fascinating things much closer to home. And, fortunately, now that I know what trouble Villefort is, we can take some extra precautions when we head out again. I’ll bring medicines. I should have asked Solaris if she still had some of those mushrooms of hers, I might have been able to trade something for them. They were rather helpful when it came to purifying Villefort, once upon a time. Hopefully all the attention has given it the strength to clean itself up. But this time, if it happens again, you have to tell me the second you start feeling sick. Promise?”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 8:01 pm
As Devyn leaned his head against his shoulder, Michael tipped his own head as well to rest against Devyn’s. He let his eyes close for a few moments, although it was probably dangerous since Devyn was so warm, and he was so comfortable. Michael wouldn’t have been surprised if he fell back asleep.
“I promise the moment I start feeling ill, I’ll let you know. If I have sand in my shoes, I’ll let you know so you can carry me. Or a tickle in my throat,” he teased, but nuzzled his face against Devyn’s hair in the hopes of letting him know he really would tell him.
“I don’t want you to have to spend another week taking care of me. You should pretend to be sick so I can take care of you,” he suggested, this time wrapping his other arm across Devyn’s waist so he could more fully embrace him as they sat together on the couch.
“You’re still adorable, you know,” he said quietly against Devyn’s hair, followed by a kiss.
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 8:06 pm
“I’ll hold you to all of those promises, Michael,” Devyn teased, but he almost certainly meant it. If Michael was uncomfortable, of course he’d carry him. Of course he’d pamper him until he felt better. Such things were simply in his nature, and he fully intended to make sure Michael had all the support he needed. More, really, since he knew he wouldn’t ask for it.
“I’m not used to being called adorable, though. You’re cute, too.” He wanted to kiss Michael but he didn’t want to move.
It would have been too easy to fall asleep like this.
“I’ll spend the rest of my life taking care of you, whether you need it or not. Although…Now that you mention it..”
He was quiet for a moment, as if contemplating, and then he faked a cough, intentionally unconvincing. “I do feel like I’m coming down with something. Oh, I might have a fever. And the chills. You’ll have to wrap your arms around me to keep me warm.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 8:11 pm
Michael laughed, clearly endeared by Devyn’s antics, and appreciative that he would pretend to be sick for him. He absolutely wrapped his arms around him tighter so he could hold him close.
Better yet, he gave Devyn a gentle tug around his waist so he could pull him onto him as he laid back lengthwise on the couch. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, having not really planned out how limbs and weight were distributed, but for the moment to play along, it would work.
“Maybe we should take another nap, first. And then set out on our next adventure to Villefort,” he suggested, while also making sure to pepper kisses along Devyn’s face wherever he could reach. He loosened his arms a bit, just in case Devyn did want to get up.
“Or eat lunch. That sounds like a good idea, too. We should build up our strength if we’re going to face potentially getting sick again.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 8:15 pm
Even if the position itself wasn’t comfortable, Devyn couldn’t think of anywhere he’d rather be than right next to Michael like this. He laughed and exhaled, completely relaxing against him.
“Clever, wise, and handsome. What a good mix. There’s enough room for us on this couch, certainly, but. I think you’ve been lounging here for long enough today. I don’t want your back to get sore.”
With a heavy, dramatic sigh, he stretched so he could lay the papers down in the box on the floor, and he rolled himself just slightly so he could plant his feet on the ground. He turned to Michael, unwilling to untangle himself from his arms, and shifted only enough so he could scoop his husband into his arms.
“I think you’ve lost weight since you’ve gotten here.”
He stood with a groan–dramatic, of course and feigned a weary sigh and a pathetic cough. “Your mother will nag if she sees the condition I’ve put you in. Oh, or maybe she’ll take pity on us when we go back. Sorry, sickly, as we are.”
He didn’t seem to be having any issue carrying Michael despite such dramatics.
“Let’s go take a nap in a real bed. Where we can hold each other properly. Lucas can–”
Devyn paused and had to shake his head after a moment. “Lucas can rest, I’m quite sure I don’t need to be digging him out of the ground to see if he’ll have lunch sent to the room. Sorry, Love. I’ve been here for so long that I might be losing track of time a bit, myself.”
There was a sickly little churn in the necklace, nothing particularly noticeable. It seemed slightly sluggish, and maybe it was a symptom of the sickness Devyn had worked so hard to suppress and crush away with willpower alone.
But, Alastor was a poison, sometimes. He’d spent so much time here, in another life. Sometimes they still bled together. Thank goodness Michael was here to keep him in the proper state of mind. He kissed atop his head and carried him in his arms proudly, like a trophy he was eager to show off.
“I’ll bring us lunch after we get a good nap in. And I’ve got plenty of snacks to tide us over if you need to nibble on something until then, does that work for you?”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 8:18 pm
Michael only made a small whine in protest, but did nothing to deter Devyn from scooping him up. He shifted his arms so he could wrap them around Devyn’s shoulder so it was easier for him to carry him, and leaned his head against him. He didn’t have the energy to argue, despite just saying how he was perfectly good to make another trip to Villefort.
He was! He just needed to mentally prepare himself to actually move.
The slip from Devyn was only surprising in that Michael had expected it to happen sooner. Being there, and that sickness, had a way of playing with one’s mind. Memories got muddled, emotions as well.
If Michael noticed the necklace, he didn’t say anything about it. Instead he lifted his head enough to press a kiss to Devyn’s cheek, and reached up his hand to stroke his fingers through Devyn’s hair to offer him a little comfort.
“That works for me,” he agreed, but grunted a little as he teased, “But make sure you get your fill of this while you can. Once we’re back on Earth I plan on gaining so much weight you won’t be able to pick me up!”
He knew that wouldn’t stop Devyn. And Michael didn’t want him to stop.
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