Balance And Control

Anniversary 500 A.D.

"Aw, c'mon, Sprite. Don't act like a prude," I teased, pinching her cheek.

She swatted my hand away with a scowl.

"We're just enjoying our anniversary."

"Fuck your anniversary!"

"Don't be bitter, minima illusionist. Just because you look like a twelve-year-old boy and therefore could never legally get laid..." I snorted.

"Shut your mouth, Ereida," she growled.

"I bet you've pictured Ikaris when having an intimate night with yourself." I don't know why I said it, it was cruel, but I was sick and tired of Sprite's negativity ruining everything.

"I said shut up," she repeated harshly.

"What? You can dish it out but you can't take it? Insults aren't a one way street, imp. Your sourpuss attitude is not about to ruin one of the best days of my life, so I suggest you keep your nasty little comments to yourself while I go enjoy hot sex with the love of my life," I sneered, getting in her face. "Let's go Druig."

Sprite was too stunned to speak, her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish.

"But...I'm hungry," he said, looking at Sprite's abandoned food with more lust than anytime he looked at me.

"You enjoy breakfast, I'm taking a walk." I turned on my heel and stormed out of the room, heading for the exit.

"Hey, Eri, what's up?" Phastos asked as I strode past him in his lab.

"Walk with me."

He fell into step beside me, but I remained silent until we made it outside. We still had yet to escape the Romans, moving west of the Gupta Empire only a few years ago, to a territory they called "Germania." It was lush with greenery, a wonderful place for a nature lover such as me. I inhaled deeply, breathing in the floral scents that floated through the air on a cool spring breeze, blowing the black and white strands of my hair in front of my face.

"Do you know what I think about finding a new place to live every so often?" I asked conversationally as we strolled through a meadow on the outskirts of a village. "The scenery. There's always some new terrain to explore; new grasses and flowers and rains. They all seem so different, so unique to a place. The flora and fauna have more of an appeal than any civilization because they're black and white. They grow, bloom, flourish, and then die. They live off the ecosystem and only the strongest survive. But no matter what, they always grow back, they try again."

"I wish I had your ability to love the outdoors. I prefer metal and wood, making something out of nothing; technology," he said.

"What happens if we stop trying? Will these civilizations still evolve? Expand? Grow? Or what if we act even more like farmers, making decisions on every small detail of their lifespans? If we were allowed to interfere more, fertilize humans with some kind of 'miracle grow', that would be so much easier."

"Arishem would never allow it."

I laughed bitterly, turning my face to the sun. "Screw Arishem and his plan! What does he know about humans? He's not here. He doesn't see any of this. He expects us to follow his grand design blindly, like the good little soldiers we are. We're pawns, Phastos, not heroes."

He pondered this for a moment, his fingertips dancing over the high grass of the meadow. "It doesn't matter who we're doing this for; the reality is we exist for Arishem. What does matter is the why: to protect the people of this planet, to protect our home."

"I don't exist for Arishem. I may exist because of him, but I choose my own path. I don't follow Arishem, I choose to follow Ajak. I'm not just your fellow Eternal, sent on this mission for god knows how long; I am your family, your friend. So fuck the Celestials."