The sky was gray and filled with dark clouds. It crackled and boomed off in the distance. When there was thunder there was rain. Ari did not want to be outside when it did. The downpour would soak him in seconds and he hated being soaked the most. Ari did not think that would ever change.

Lightning struck. The ground shook and rumbled, making Ari become more aware of his surroundings. He fought the need to gravitate toward Cyrus as best he could, but something kept pulling him closer. Was it because of the comfort Ari felt in his presence or was it because he was thirsting for blood? Ari swallowed at the last thought and could barely even take a glance in Cyrus' direction.

Kaval's words were eating away at him as best as Ari tried to ignore them. He was like them, yes. However, he was something else entirely. By knowing what he was, Ari hoped to understand himself better.

Ari tucked in his bottom lip watching the sway of Cyrus' hands. Slowly, Ari unclenched his hands from the fist he was holding it in and outstretched it towards Cyrus'. He took it back the second Cyrus moved his hand and combed it through his hair. Ari dropped his gaze to the dirt turning into cobblestone. Why, when they were once so intimate before, did he find it so hard to put Cyrus' hand in his?

When Ari looked up again, there were small buildings, large buildings, misshapen buildings, and decrepit buildings off into the distance. As with every town and city, there was a bell tower that was set at the top of the tallest structure. It tolled with the wind, slow and melancholy. The streets were barren save for a few stray cats and dogs that ran into the dark alleyways at their oncoming presence. It was as if no one had lived there.

"What happened here?" Ari ventured to ask, fearing the answer Cyrus would give him.

"I do not know. It was like this when I came."

"Are all the towns near the border like this?"

"I suppose it is."

"Dantic is already so large and vast. Why-- "

"You are nothing but a thing full of questions and curiosity."

Ari kept his eyes trained on the ground. "Because I am trying to make sense of this senselessness. Nothing is going to come from this but more death... "

Cyrus shrugged his shoulders.

"I suppose so."

"And you find nothing wrong with it?"

"It is something I am used to."

"But not something that you want?" Ari inquired.

Cyrus shook his head no. "It is not something that I want... I already told you what it is that I want, so do not ask questions you know the answers to."

Ari opened his mouth to say something, but he became tongue-tied. His face grew unbearably hot. Ari kept forgetting just how direct Cyrus could be with things. In a strange off-handed way, Cyrus' words seemed to have some semblance of affection under all of his... Ari glanced at Cyrus and turned away the moment his eyes met with a pair of green ones.

"Why do you become so undone over a few words?"

"Because I like you and your words, as small as they can be, hold meaning to me. Because you are important to me." Ari grabbed his hand in his. "Very important to me."

Cyrus looked down at him with questionable eyes as he intermingled his fingers in with Ari's .

"My words are not so colorful as Auo--"

"It does not matter. I do not like him for the same reasons that I like you. It would be impossible... because you are both so very different. However, your words still make my heart beat fast and my face flush. Why that is, I do not know. Perhaps, because they are your words coming from your lips that I like to kiss," Ari mumbled trying his best not to become embarrassed by his own words.

"You use like and not love... "

"Because... " Ari chewed on his lip. "I think I may scare you away with the weight of what those words carry. I made that mistake with Auovin. I do not mean to do it with you."

Cyrus stopped playing with Ari's fingers and looked around at their surroundings.

"Over here." Cyrus tugged Ari towards the building.

When they were inside, Cyrus grabbed Ari by the hips and pulled him close. Ari's face pushed against his chest. He could feel Cyrus' heart beating steadily. His scent came wafting to Ari's nose which caused him to relax unbiddenly.

"Shh... Quiet," Cyrus murmured.

At first, all Ari heard with the rain pouring down and battering against the building. Ari shut his eyes. There was a groaning sound followed by a hiss. The floorboards creaked slowly above them. By the weight and steps, Ari knew they did not belong to any human. One step. Then two steps. The sounds were getting closer. It was coming down the stairs. When Ari looked ahead he moved further into Cyrus at the creature coming in through the doorway. It was like none he had ever seen before.

Its red eyes glowed through the darkness. As it moved closer, its long limbs stretched over the whole of the floor, leaving just a bit of space between it and them. Ari held his breath as it came close. It moved its neck left and right, nearly touching Cyrus' cheek. It smelled of rot and decay that Ari did his best to be unbothered by, but it reeked. Ari could smell its foul breath.

Ari stiffened the moment Cyrus' hands went down his leg. Cyrus grabbed the hilt of one of Ari's daggers and lodged it in the demon's jaw all the way through its skull. It did not have a chance to even outcry. When it fell to the ground, the one coming down the stairs let out a screech and attacked. Cyrus quickly threw Ari onto the ground, but the demon was quicker. It went through the railings and toppled onto Cyrus in an instance.

It inhaled Cyrus' scent instead of biting into it as Ari thought it would. Slowly, it looked up straight into Ari's eyes. Its mouth curled, showing all of its rows of sharp teeth. Drool came down its chin and hit the floor with a loud splat with each step it took towards him. Instinctively, Ari backed away, but he could not think of leaving Cyrus there. But it wanted him. Ari's mind was running quicker than he could think.

When it lunged for Ari, Cyrus rolled onto his stomach and grabbed its tail. It fell onto the ground. Ari quickly gathered his bearings and pierced the demon's skull in with a dagger he had hidden in his boot. It screeched and clawed once before Ari shoved in deeper. Ari did not let go until it stopped moving.

"You do not blink an eye when you must kill a demon," Cyrus said, laying on the ground still.

"I do not. It is something I have always done."

"What will you do if it was human... I wonder."

Ari lowered his eyes. He knew what Cyrus was getting at. But why now at a time like this?

"If the person was trying to harm you or me, I would do the same thing. I am not biased."

Ari came around towards Cyrus and looked down at him. He was not injured. There was not even a scratch on him which should not have surprised Ari, but it did.

"Why would I be," Ari continued, "when they have done me more harm than any demon could have?"

When Cyrus did not make a motion to rise, Ari knelt down and hovered right over him. "However, there is one whom I love that I could never see harm come to. Have you ever had that... when you were with humans?"

Cyrus covered his eyes with his forearm and nodded.

"And what happened to them?"

Ari removed his arm and looked him in the eyes.

"What does it matter?"

"I want to know."

"She died. Humans have short lives compared to ours. We seem to live for an eternity."

"Did you love her?"

"In a way... Yes," Cyrus mumbled.

"So you must know the feeling in my heart when I speak of Freir or Rein."

"... I do."

A smile blossomed onto Ari's face at his confession. He wanted to kiss Cyrus then because of the expression lingering on his face. Finally, Cyrus was opening up to him which Cyrus seemed to be unaware of at that moment. Ra was right in his words. They were such guarded creatures when it came to personal matters.

"But I was not raised by one, unlike you. I did not adopt their ways or culture. You did."

Cryus rose from the floor causing Ari to fall onto his bottom.

"It was all I have ever known. No blood demon or Great had raised me. Humans had. What do you expect from me? I cannot change so easily--"

"So why is it that you expect me to? Auovin to?"

Ari furrowed his brows.

"I do not... I mean... " Ari, in the beginning, had expected Auovin to change but he had not. So then Ari believed he could change Auovin, but he was wrong. No one could change anyone unless they themselves wanted to change. And Cyrus...

Cyrus stepped over the dead demons and made his way up the stairs when Ari did not answer him. Ari followed him silently up the stairs, waiting for his tongue to untie itself. Even though Ari had an answer, Cyrus made him swallow down his words time and time again. Cyrus was intimidating, but he meant well. His straightforwardness was something Ari loved about him, but it was also something that made him uneasy. Ari did not know what right words to say, sometimes, so he would leave him speechless.

Ari stopped when Cyrus turned around to look at him. He was just a few steps below him. Still, Cyrus grabbed his hand and tugged him the rest of the way up the stairs.

"In the beginning, I cared. I do not so much anymore," Ari said under his breath. "I mean I do care--"

"Hush."

"Why are we going up the stairs?" Ari said, hoping to change the subject. Things were going so well between them. Ari did not expect Cyrus to bring up Auovin so suddenly like that. Especially not when they were talking about things unique to themselves. "A demon came from up here just moments ago."

Cyrus let go of his hand when they were in the hallway and stared at him. His eyes glowed in the darkness like a nocturnal animal. Ari knew he could see him clearly in the darkness, so he hid away his nervousness behind a small smile.

"So we can see up above. I do not sense anymore. But they are things that camouflage themselves with the rain and darkness. They eat humans, but would not mind a delicacy such as you either." Cyrus sighed and rubbed his temples.

"The humans have no time to fight with blood demons or Greats when they are too busy defending themselves from the lesser ones. When the border towns are attacked like this that means the Khaeo's numbers are dwindling rapidly."

"Maybe they should not have stretched themselves so thin. Worried about these matters instead of sticking their noses in things that do not concern them."

"Their well-being does concern them, Cyrus. They do not want to be under either one of their reigns. Just as you do not want to be under theirs."

Silence fell between them causing Ari to look around at their surroundings. There was furniture knocked over and littering the floor. The paintings were crooked. Cracks traveled down the walls leading into a bedroom. Ari followed the trail and looked inside. There were no bodies or blood that spoke of any horrors that took place it. It was as if they were warned before they were attacked.

Ari looked back at Cyrus with wide eyes.

Had he warned them? He would not. He despised humans. Cyrus was terribly hard to understand. Ari could not help but think that way. When Ari walked back towards Cyrus he saw Cyrus looking out the window with a somber look on his face. Was it because of Auovin? Did Cyrus not like what Auovin was planning to do as well?

The rain continued to knock on the window, giving sound to the silence surrounding them.

"Cyrus."

Cyrus turned to face him.

"Why must you bring up Auovin as if my interest in you is somehow reliant on him when it is not?"

"Because he will not change. I will tell you this now."

"I know that, but it has nothing to do with you. Nothing."

Cyrus looked at him as if he wanted to say something. Instead, he walked down into the bedroom and looked out the window.

"You are reluctantly opening up to me. But you seem to feel guilty for doing so. Why?"

Ari tugged on his sleeve. "Cyrus."

"Because I do not want to believe what feelings I have for Auovin I also have for you. Because you make it easy... Unlike Auovin... to... I would like to think... " Cyrus trailed off again. "The more I am around you... "

"Yes, Auovin makes it very difficult to love him, does he not? But you have been with him for a very long time... So you are not worried so much about yourself, but me. You do not want me to hurt him and the thought of liking someone that would, makes you feel that guilt."

Cyrus looked at Ari then.

"You are very forward with your emotions, Cyrus. That is one thing about you that is not a mystery to me." Ari could not help but smile. "No matter the situation, you seem to always put others ahead of yourself. You are not selfish and you are kind... Sometimes, I find it hard to believe you are with a person like him for so long when you are both so distinctively different. It amazes me... how easy it is to love you."

Ari kissed him on his cheek finally giving way to the emotions building up inside him. Just looking at him brought on the sudden urge to kiss his lips, but Ari settled with that. Finally, Ari told him of his growing feelings and he did not want them to be rejected as well as a kiss. When Cyrus responded with nothing but silence Ari tucked in his lips and closed his eyes. Using that word was much too soon again. Had Ari not learned the first time already with Auovin? Like was not a good enough word to describe his emotions, however, and he did not want to lie.

There were demons and a quiet war going on, and here Ari was spilling his heart to a man who may be too enraptured with another to care about his feelings towards him. Ari swallowed down the thought. Sai had given him his first taste of rejection, but this was much more bitter. Perhaps, he was overreacting. Maybe he did not give him enough time. Ari knew his mind took off in whatever direction he was leaning toward the most.

"I think I embarrassed myself enough for the day... " Ari mumbled, but all Cyrus did was go and lay on the bed.

Ari's heart was beating so fast. He had to find a way to calm it down. Ari covered his eyes with his forearm and breathed deeply before exhaling. His mind was foggy and jumbled with thoughts of Cyrus. What a mess he has gotten himself into. Ari felt like he was melting into the floor with how hot he became.

Gradually, Ari lowered his eyes so he could get a better look at Cyrus' face. It was no use denying how captivated Ari was by him. He wanted to kiss him. He did. But after what Ari said to him and the response Cyrus had given him, it deterred him from the thought immediately. Still... Ari could not help the feeling growing inside his chest when he looked at Cyrus.

" I want to kiss you," Ari admitted.

"Then kiss me."

Ari sank one knee in between his as he climbed into the bed. He lowered his head towards his and kissed his lips without a moment of hesitation. Ari balanced himself with one arm over his head but was soon quickly flipped over by Cyrus. He could taste the mint on his warm breath and honey on his lips. Cyrus parted Ari's lips with his tongue and brought him into a deep kiss. The kind of kiss that made him sink his nails into his back, drawing blood. Ari smelled it.

Ari opened his eyes just as Cyrus separated his lips from his. He could still feel Cyrus' arm wrapped around his back, bringing him close. When Cyrus' eyes met his, Ari knew he had to have him in the same way he had him before. A simple kiss would not suffice. As if noticing, Cyrus' smile grew. The rain was pouring and the thunder boomed through the house. However, Ari was unfazed by it at that moment.

"What else is it that you want?" Cyrus asked into his ear. Ari only grabbed him by his chin and brought his lips to his again.