Pieces of Eight

Chapter 17

It was with a bounding heart and a tight throat that Tobias exited the rock-dwelling that Areli had called his own for the past few days. He hadn't slept at all: after Areli had drifted off, he had remained awake, trailing his fingers through the Gryphon's hair, staring up at the dark ceiling wishing for rest to find him. It never did: it would seem that sleep was not his friend this evening. Unable to settle or shake the feeling in his gut of something being wrong, Tobias had slipped from bed, drawing the blankets over Areli's unchastely-displayed form, and stepped out silently into the cold night air.

The sudden chill was refreshing, and snapped him out of the half-awake, half-asleep limbo in which he'd been hanging for the past several hours. Drawing his cloak tighter around himself, Tobias glanced up at the stars as he set off walking. The moon had already disappeared, sunken below the horizon as it grew weary of lighting up the night. In its stead, the stars' meager glow wafted down through the abyss. Tobias supposed it was better than nothing.

He walked back down the main path, slowly, idly, without direction or purpose. The unease still twisted and writhed in his gut, growing worse with every step: his thoughts drifted back to Areli, sleeping soundly in his house. Every time he thought about Areli, his anxieties worsened, Tobias noted. Was it because he cared so deeply, or because the stars were trying to tell him something?

He walked on. The silence grew deafening. It was strange for it to be complete, so heavy, and so encompassing. So used to the sound of critters scuttling through the leaves, birds rustling the branches, and other elves out walking the same dark woods, Tobias easily pinpointed the source of his unease. Now, what was behind that? Why was the forest holding its breath? Scowling a bit, Tobias forged onwards, struggling harder now to ignore the building pull in his chest to return to Areli and stay there to weather the incoming storm.

Because there was a storm coming. They all knew that. The elves had been tense for the better part of the week now, ever since Urai's deployment had been spotted gradually creeping closer and closer. That tension had not improved in any way, but at least no one had taken it out on Areli again. Multiple leaders among their community had been in touch with Tehraiza, setting up portal channels in case they should have need. Tehraiza had promised an entire team of mages to the forest at the first whisper of trouble, and she was leaving a communication channel open between them indefinitely, once again, in case of need. The measures she had taken were comforting, but Tobias knew it wasn't enough for his people, who would rather Areli simply be left on their doorstep for Urai to collect of her own volition.

They'd been up half the night talking, Tobias reflected as he turned right at a fork and took the path leading back towards the northern gates, the ones Areli had entered through, and that Urai's armies now approached. Areli had been distraught at the news that Urai had sent men to escort him back, rightfully thinking that "no" was not an acceptable answer. Tobias had reassured him of Tehraiza's promise of aid, as well as his own promise to protect him. It was only an added promise to hide Phoebe should the conflict come to blood that calmed Areli down enough to eat something and lay down. Tobias had joined him, and they had continued talking.

When words failed them, they let their bodies speak. It had been slow at first: Tobias had certainly been the one to make the offer, leaning into Areli and capturing his lips and letting his hands find the Gryphon's body. He waited until he felt the slightest of touches at his wrists, a wordless permission in the feather-light caress, before he took more. But by then, Areli had fallen prey to the fire himself. Breaths quick and deep, hands dexterous and arms strong and backs arched, they dove into each other with the reckless abandon of men who feared they were staring down a life-changing, potentially life-ending, catastrophe, and were trying to cram the rest of their lives into one night. Tobias pulled Areli into his lap, wrapped an arm around his waist, and discovered that he was not the first man Areli had had. The Gryphon drifted off easily enough after that, wrapped in blankets and his lover's arms, and Tobias had remained awake, watching the single candle burn down lower and lower until it was finally guttered by its own wax. And then, he lay awake some more.