Chapter 265: Live, Dine, Cry

Loh stared out the window at the tranquil sight of Undergrowth below. She had chosen this restaurant because it was built high around the trunk of one of Undergrowth’s largest trees. The beautiful vista it offered its guests, along with its renowned cuisine, made this establishment one of the finest restaurants in the city. Or so Loh had thought.

Yet Tauri’s dour expression made Loh doubt her decision to come here.

Loh reached across the table and poked the lovely orc’s forearm with her fork, “Is it the food? We can go somewhere else if you want.”

“Hm? No, the food’s fine,” Tauri mumbled.

“Is it your parents? You told me last night you were going to have breakfast with them this morning. That couldn’t have been easy with all the drinking we did last night,” Loh chuckled.

“There were so many kinds of wine and mead,” Tauri said with a reminiscent smile. She sighed, “Breakfast was fine, my parents were naggy as usual, but I just deal with it. That’s what it means to be a daughter of a Great House, am I right?”

“Yeah…” Loh glanced around the restaurant, checking for any eavesdroppers looking their way. Fortunately, there seemed to be none. “Are you worried about the viperidae incident yesterday? Ismene is looking into it.”

“It’s not that…” Tauri muttered.

Loh leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, “Well then, what is it?”

“...Remember when we were traveling in Dusk Valley’s hills a few days ago?”

“Yeah, of course. What about it?” Loh tilted her head to the side.

“Well, you said there was something you needed to tell me…”

“Ah… Yeah…” Loh shrugged, “Well, I was going to wait until after dessert before revisiting that topic, but might as well do it now.”

“Wait!” Tauri said, panicked.

“Huh?” Loh furrowed her brow.

Tauri took a shaky breath and steadied her gaze, “Let me go first, please.”

“Okay…?”

“I already know what you want to say.”

“You do? How?”

“Where do I begin?” Tarui bit her lip. “...I… I know about your feelings for me… I’ve known for a long time…”

Loh’s face paled. “What?” she whispered.

“When we were younger I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to hurt you, I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. And then when I became engaged with Aizel, things just got more complicated! I didn’t want to hurt you… I’m sorry.” Tauri shook her head, “That’s a lie… I didn’t… I thought I was saving you from pain. But I was really only trying to spare myself from losing you. I was a coward.”

Tauri bowed her head low, “I’m so sorry.”

Loh covered her beet-red face with her hands in embarrassment. “Oh, dear Caligo… This is not how I ever imagined this moment would go.”

“I’m sorry, I just thought you deserved to know before you told me about it yourself,” Tauri winced.

“...was going to tell you,” Loh muttered.

“Huh? What was that?”

Loh uncovered her face.“That’s not what I was going to tell you,” she said abashedly.

“I’m sorry, what now?” Tauri blinked.

Loh sniffed, “I’m planning to propose to my girlfriend, Louise. I wanted you to be my best woman at the wedding…”

“Oh… Oh shit,” Tauri blanched.

They sat at the table in silence for the next few minutes, sipping their drinks and playing with their food.

“Well, this is awkward,” Tauri muttered.

“Yup…”

Tauri stood up and walked over to the window, “Why don’t I just jump out the window and save us both the embarrassment.”

Loh couldn’t help but chuckle weakly, “I rather you didn’t.”

“You don’t hate me? I hate me,” Tauri said half-jokingly.

“Oh I do hate you, but I love you too. That’s how best friends work, don’t ya know?” Loh winked. “Now sit back down before more people start staring at your big dumbass.”

Tauri nodded and sat down, though her eyebrow was raised in suspicion, “Are you saying I’m a dumbass or that I have a big dumb ass?”

“Both, definitely both,” she smirked.

“Fuck you,” Tauri laughed.

Loh stiffened, the connotation of the word only brought back to the forefront their too recent confession.

Tauri realized it a moment later. She grimaced, “Sorry. It’s just… ugh this is awkward.”

“It’s fine,” Loh forced herself to smile.

“No, it’s not. You set this whole thing up because you wanted to talk to me about Louise and I ruined it. Sweet Bellum, I really am a dumbass. I should never have listened to Vayu,” Tauri groaned.

“Vayu? What does Vayu have to do with any of this?” Loh narrowed her eyes.

Tauri looked away uneasily, “...He confronted me about your feelings for me back in Dusk Valley.”

“He’s why you told me about all of this?” Loh asked in a quiet voice.

“Kinda, but it was still my decision at the end of the day…” Tauri admitted. “I should have come clean to you a long time ago…”

“Excuse me, I have to deal with something,” Loh slowly stood up and pushed her chair out of the way.

Loh’s face was cold, emotionless. It reminded Tauri of Elzri.

“Wait, where are you going?” Tauri asked, worried.

Loh walked away without looking back. “Good night, Tauri.”

~~~

“It’s a little cold,” Calex rubbed his hands together.

He sat on a broken pillar in the ruins of an abandoned temple, near one of the poorer areas of the city. Usually, he’d never come to such a place, but tonight wasn’t the usual circumstances.

“You Thorns really are like delicate flowers. Pretty to look at, but you wilt at the first sign of the cold.” Kalliste emerged from the shadows, her scarlet eyes seemed to almost glow in the night.

“Is that a threat, Miss Lilith?” Calex smiled, “Or is that just how you northerners say hello?”

“That depends on who I’m speaking to,” Kalliste smiled wide, her fangs glinting in the moonlight.

“Lovely,” he whispered, amused.

Kalliste glanced around the ruins, mild disgust in her eyes. “Why did you ask to meet here of all places?”

“It’s poetic, no? House Thorn rejected the gods when Stjerne abandoned the drows. Now a thousand years later, Sjterne’s temple is in ruins, yet House Thorn is still standing strong.”

“You're so small-minded,” Kalliste shook her head. “The gods may be cruel at times, but they are always fair. I do not believe for a second that Stjerne abandoned your people without just cause.”

“Perhaps, perhaps not. I suppose it is easier to make such conjectures when you yourself are not a drow, but I don’t think you came here to discuss apologetics with me.”

“You tell me. Why did you ask to meet?”

Calex pointedly looked behind her, “Where are your teammates? I thought they’d be here.”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“My team will follow my orders, I have no doubt of that,” he said confidently.

“I believe you, Thorn. But you still haven’t answered my question.”

“Hm,” Calex smirked. “Indeed. If you must know, they went out tonight. For what? I didn’t bother asking. I have more important matters than monitoring my teammates.”

“Matters like me?” she said slyly.

“You know, Miss Lilith…”

“Hm?”

He smiled pleasantly, “You still haven’t answered my question.”

“Tch, you’re no fun,” she clicked her tongue. “If you must know, they had something to do as well, so I let them go. After all, I can handle you. All. By. Myself.”

“Perfect.” Calex stood up and dusted off his pants, “I have a proposition.”

Kalliste sauntered towards him, “I’m listening.”

“It seems we both have a common enemy.”

“That’s funny. In my eyes, you are my greatest enemy,” she licked her red lips.

“Callum Veres,” he said calmly.

Kalliste tried to smile, but Calex caught the bitter anger in her scarlet eyes.

“...What about him?” Kalliste muttered.

“He is your fiancé. Your families share a long history. Each generation a Veres and Lilith marry, yes? Unfortunately, it seems you got the short end of the stick. A hybrid vampire will leave you no children.”

“Care to tell me something I don’t know?” Kalliste raised her eyebrow.

“My family also shares a long history with the Veres family, although not quite the same. Veres I helped Ebon Lord Koval exile my ancestors from the Northern Lands. House Veres later helped overthrow my family and run us out from Hollow Shade two centuries ago.”

“That seems like a different kind of relationship, indeed,” Kalliste smirked.

“And yet we both hold no love for Callum Veres. Life is funny that way,” Calex shrugged.

“I see. My loathing towards Callum and your apathy towards him, hm?” Kalliste placed a finger to her lips, “I wonder, together, what malevolence could we accomplish?”

Calex smiled, “I thought you’d never ask.”

~~~

A hard series of knocks rang harshly on Vayu’s door. It was late at night and he wondered who might be at his door. With an annoyed sigh, he got up from bed and answered the door.

“What do you wa-?” Vayu froze as the door swung open. “Loh? What happened?”

Her blue eyes were icy cold and her grey skin seemed paler than usual.

“I thought you were my friend, Vayu,” she whispered emotionlessly. “Even after everything, I thought we were friends. I had your back and you had mine. That was the deal we made years ago…”

“Back when we fought against the savages, I remember,” Vayu nodded. “Loh, did something happen? It’s cold outside. Why don’t you come in?”

Loh laughed bitterly, “Pretending to still be my friend?”

“Pretending?” Vayu frowned. “Loh, we’ve been friends for years.”

“Have we? I used to think so. I’m not so sure anymore. Friends don’t backstab each other.”

“Backstab? What are you talking about? I’d never backstab you! I love you,” Vayu said.

Loh snapped her fingers and pointed an accusing finger at him, “You see that’s just it. I know what it's like to have an unrequited love. And I know what it is like to want to do anything for them to see you. Is that what you did?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, confused.

“Did you try to sabotage my friendship with Tauri by telling her to confront me about my feelings for her?”

Vayu’s eyes widened, “I… I was only trying to help.”

“Help? How the fuck was that going to help!? You think telling people about my secrets is helping!? Bullshit!”

“Bullshit?” Vayu clenched his trembling hands. “You want to talk about secrets? I kept your secret, the one that you’d rather die than let Tauri ever find out. The secret that keeps me up at night even after all these years… The secret that eats me up inside. I abandoned my friend, my comrade… I let an innocent man die, for you.”

Loh bit her lip, “I know what I asked of you was wrong… I should never have dragged you into that.”

Vayu scoffed, “No, you shouldn’t have. You manipulated me, you used me. And I let you, because I loved you… I still do. And now I have to carry the weight of Aizel’s death with me just as much as you. But you still want to talk about bullshit? Talk about friendship? I am the only true friend you have, the only one who will never betray you. Because that’s what love does, it fucking hurts, and it makes you do stupid shit.”

Vayu shook his head, “I have done more stupid shit for you then I’d like to ever admit and I’ll probably end up doing more, but I’m not gonna stand here and let you label me a backstabber. If you want to go accusing people, then go look in a goddamn mirror.”

Loh sighed, the anger in her eyes slipping away. “I regret everything from back then. My brother’s blood should never have been on your hands… I’m sorry, Vayu.”

She looked him in the eyes, “This is toxic. This. Our friendship is toxic. I understand that now. I’ve used you… I’ve hurt you… I’m so sorry.”

Vayu carefully grabbed her hand, “Loh, I don’t regret having fallen in love with you.”

“I do,” she smiled bitterly. “I should have never let it happen. I should have stopped it the first day I met you instead of just letting it fester... Look at what we’ve become, Vayu. We’re monsters that walk in the light, hoping no one sees our ‘secrets’ in our shadows.”

Loh pulled her hand back. “I’ve made so many mistakes… Aizel, Stryg, you… I’d give anything to change the past… but I can’t…” her voice broke into tears, “...But I can change the future. This ends now.”

Vayu swallowed, “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying that for the better of both of us, our friendship ends here.”

“Loh, don’t do this,” he said weakly.

She bowed her head, “I think it’s best if we spend the rest of this tournament as colleagues mentoring our students and nothing more. Goodnight.”

“Loh, wait!” Vayu called out desperately. “...I can change how I feel.”

Loh smiled softly, “I really hope you can. I hope you find someone that loves you for who you are. Goodbye, Vayu Glaz.”

She left without another word. Vayu fell to his knees. His throat felt tight, he could hardly breathe.

“Please don’t go,” he whispered.

~~~

Even during the late hours of the night, Undergrowth’s streets were filled with locals and tourists. The Great Cities Tournament brought thousands of folks from all around the Ebon Realm and none of them seemed eager to stay indoors. Lysaila hated it.

The amount of noise the crowds gave off was overwhelming to her sensitive ears. It was difficult to hear what any one person was saying, much less track a specific individual.

Stryg had gone to bed like his teammates hours ago. And yet when Lysaila had gone to check on him, she had noticed he wasn’t in his room. He had sneaked out from the tavern, alone, for some obscure reason that no one seemed to know, not even Gale. Perhaps, the drow, Loh Noir might have known something, but she had gone out earlier with the orc, Tauri.

Lysaila would have simply preferred to go to sleep and forget about all of it, but her mind kept bugging her. A voice in her head telling her over and over to go find Stryg and make sure he was safe. She hated Stryg.

Still, here she was, wandering through the night streets of Undergrowth, searching for an idiot goblin. She hated people.

But at least the crowds made it easy to blend in, most of them didn’t notice her long blue tail underneath her blue cloak.

“Well, hello,” a voice broke through the cacophony of sounds echoing through the crowds.

Lysaila felt her body stiffen to a halt. A cold shiver ran through her back. She slowly turned around, eyes wide. A young woman with black curly hair and a pale white cloak stood right behind her.

“I didn’t expect to find you here, how nice,” Holo smiled.

“Y-you… Y-you’re,” Lysaila’s voice caught in her throat.

“Yes, yes, no one cares, puppet,” Holo said impatiently.

Lysaila couldn’t move, she could barely breathe. She was powerless as the strange woman reached out and placed her hand on her chest. A cold stinging sensation ran through Lysaila, like icy needles stabbing into every fiber of her being. She wanted to cry out in pain, but all that came out was a quiet whimper.

Holo furrowed her brow, “Huh, you’ve already been activated… I guess the little one isn’t as clueless as he let on.”

Lysaila tried to move, she tried to scream, but her body stood still, yet her mind was perfectly clear. She had never felt so vulnerable, so helpless. She felt terrified of the woman who stared at her so calmly, her brown eyes examining the lamia as if she were a vase at a store.

A tear slipped down Lysaila’s eye.

“Emotions?” Holo frowned and flicked the tear away with her finger, “You’ve been activated, yet you’re still displaying emotions? How odd, the little one must really care for you. Maybe he really is clueless?”

Lysaila focused every ounce of energy she had and slowly pulled her lips back and bared her fangs.

Holo pulled the lamia’s mouth wide open and expected her fangs, “He is wrong, of course. To care for you, I mean. You’re not an actual person. Did you know that? You’re not from this Realm, right? Do you even know what you are?”

Lysaila whimpered quietly, but her eyes were filled with rage.

“You must be trying very hard right now, huh?” Holo gently patted her cheek. “Do you know why you can’t use magic? Or why any beast-kin can’t? The answer is simple really when you take a moment to think about it.” Holo poked her chest, “It’s because you have no soul, none of you do.”

Lysaila’s face paled in horror.

“I guess you didn’t know,” Holo sighed. “Times like this I’d usually say not to worry. That the painful emotions you are feeling right now are simply an unforeseen byproduct of a latent activation. The pain would eventually fade.”

She traced her finger over the lamia’s face, “And then I’d say this is all you are. There is no soul underneath your flesh, no life after you die, you just simply cease to be. You may as well be a golem made of flesh and bone. A tool…”

Warm tears slipped down Lysaila’s cheeks.

Holo wiped the tears away, “But I believe you’re different. I believe I can help you. And luckily for you, I’m in search of someone with your very unique talents.” She smiled, “Care to make a deal?”