《THE APPLE OF SNAKES》xiv. ache
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Nerluce's entire body hurt.
He let out a small cry of pain as he lifted a shovel full of well... horseshit and hay into the wheelbarrow. It felt as if he'd run down the mountain and back up again and now he was being forced to do chores. Nerluce was normally fine with it! He liked the horses and he didn't mind the additional muscle strain. Normally.
But today was normal. Today was the first time he'd used magic. Well, not the first time, but the first time he'd used it for longer than a moment or two. He'd actually managed to shrink the flame. He had to take lots of breaks, still, but he managed to do it more than once which was an improvement. Nerluce was actually getting better. He had never gotten better at magick before! It was... it was insane.
It had only taken him four lessons in physical magick too! Which was about a month, but Nerluce tried not to let that dampen his spirits. He was improving and that was what mattered. He was improving and it was making him very, very sore.
"Stop slacking," a cool voice said as Aristide approached from behind.
"I'm not slacking, I'm in pain," Nerluce whined, rubbing his back. "Maybe you don't remember what it feels like to begin using magick but it hurts."
Taayir said it was because he was spending the magick from his inner pool faster than his body was used to replenishing it. Nerluce thought it was him aging exponentially overnight. It hurt and he'd complained about it all day but at least he'd been able to get out of bed in the morning, unlike a certain yellow-haired denizen of Dumore when his magick awoke.
That brought the tiniest of smiles to Nerluce's face.
A smile that didn't last long at all as he tried scooping another pile of horse shit up only to have his back wail in protest. He groaned, leaning against the side of the stall. Eden let out a sympathetic whiny - or a whiny that Nerluce took as sympathetic. Maybe Eden was laughing at him. In which case, he was very rude. However, Nerluce offered the hopefully sympathetic stallion a smile.
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"It's alright, boy," he cooed. "My body just feels like it's on the verge of collapse and Angel is too scared to come into your stall." Nerluce lifted his voice so that he was certain that Aristide could hear him as he brought the shovel and horse shit out.
Aristide let out a soft huff.
It wasn't as if Aristide was standing around, though. Nerluce would complain to no end if he was. Aristide just had his morning task in the stables and between the two of them, they took care of all the horses on the western half. The disciple who did Aristide's work in the evening was Hamelin and he didn't exactly do much talking so Nerluce figured he ought to milk his company for all its worth.
Not that Aristide was a particularly talkative companion. In fact, he seemed to very much desire they worked in silence. But, like all things, Nerluce was very, very bad at being quiet. He was always talking or humming or just making noise for noise's sake.
Aristide lifted a bucket of feed and poured it into the trough on the next stall over as Nerluce carried out the last shovel full of shit from Eden's stall. The horse next to Eden was a large black mare, almost as large as Eden himself. Eden was a mean and unfriendly horse and the only horse that wasn't utterly terrified of him was this black mare who was just as mean and unfriendly.
To everyone except Aristide.
"What's her name?" Nerluce asked, despite himself. He'd been trying to befriend the mare since she'd been moved next to Eden and she was slowly warming up to him, but only when he had treats.
Since Nerluce was currently treatless, he knew better than to try and get close to her.
Aristide glanced up and then back at the mare. And then, softly, almost as if he didn't want to admit it, he said, "Lilith."
"Lilith," Nerluce echoed, working the syllables over on his tongue. They had an odd feel to them. It was definitely a strange name but no stranger than Eden, he supposed. Horses could have names like that. Strange and wonderful names from stories long forgotten in tongues long dead.
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Nerluce smiled to himself as he got a bucket of feed for Eden who was growing increasingly agitated now that Lilith had been fed. Nerluce whispered soft assurances to his stallion as he poured the feed into his trough.
"His name... is Eden," Aristide said, coming closer to the stall than he'd dared since Eden had snapped at him.
"Yeah," Nerluce said, beaming. "My sister named him."
Aristide let out a small hum as he looked the great stallion over. "He truly is magnificent. For something that caused so much pain."
So they were talking about this again.
Nerluce didn't like politics and he didn't like talking about the war. Simply put he didn't care. He wished that one side would just win already and get it over with. But no one seemed to win and the war dragged on. It lived in the back of Nerluce's consciousness, something he was aware of, something that had been going on since long before his birth, but something he had no ability to alter or stop. So it continued to exist, not affecting Nerluce outside of conversations such as these.
"Why did they retire him?" Aristide asked. "He doesn't seem old or injured."
"He's not," Nerluce said. "My sister came back from the border. She doesn't need him anymore. So... she gave him to me."
Aristide didn't look as if he believed Nerluce.
"Come on Angel, why would I lie to you?" Nerluce asked, lifting his chin with a small smirk.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Aristide said in that way of his that was so incredibly soft that it had Nerluce leaning forward just to make certain he caught the next word that left Aristide's lips.
Nerluce laughed and reached into the stall to stroke Eden's neck. "I don't know why Coam let me have him," he said before he even realized what he was saying. But then, the words were spilling out of him. "I figured, at first, she wanted to make a fool of me. Eden doesn't let anyone but my sister ride him. And me, now, I guess. But now I'm thinking she wanted to make a fool of me in another way." He hummed softly. "Family and politics, you know?"
"No," Aristide said. "I don't."
"Because you hatched from a peach?" Nerluce asked, laughing once more.
Aristide did not laugh. He just shook his head, almost absentmindedly. "I've met General Hebikoti before."
"Really?" Nerluce asked.
"I doubt she'd recall me," Aristide said. His words were soft but his eyes were sharp. "Your... Eden does, though. Beasts don't forget things like people do."
This seemed... wrong. Nerluce could feel the tension in their conversation crawling up his throat. The way Aristide spoke... he hadn't fought beside Coam nor had he been a passive observer in the battle. Nerluce knew that the Seraphs fought both beside and against Itoroh. They didn't have loyalties to one kingdom or another. They just... decided which side their gods favored - though Nerluce figured it was more to do with which kingdom put more gold into their coffers.
Politics and family and holy men.
The silence stretched between them for a long period of time. Nerluce wanted to break it, to find the right words, but... he was certain anything he said would only make things worse.
"It's bad manners to speak of such things," Aristide said, turning his head. "Although I am a Seraph, it is hard for me to leave all loyalties and biases behind. It's why they won't send me to the frontlines anymore."
"Because you won't fight for Itoroh?" Nerluce asked.
"Because I won't fight against farmers with nothing but a plow," Aristide bit out, his face twisting into something furious, though his tone didn't change in the slightest. However, just as Nerluce registered his ferocious expression, he witnessed as it dulled once more, returning to neutrality in record time. "Excuse me."
"Angel-"
Nerluce tried to follow Aristide but his back caught and all the soreness came rushing back into him as he nearly doubled over, hissing curses under his breath.
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