Ari woke to Kaval's sleeping face. It was dark save for a candle, but Ari could see his face quite well. When he removed some fallen hair from his face, he saw deep lacerations. They were not bleeding, but it was strange for their kind to not heal fast from small wounds like that. He must need blood. Why did he not bother to say anything to him? Ari placed a soft kiss near his lips and studied his face.

For the first time, Ari saw the light brown freckles spotting his nose and tiny bits of his cheeks. He had such long lashes and pretty pink lips. Ari's smile dropped when he noticed dark bruised spots around Kaval's neck. There were bite marks littered there as well. Ari narrowed his eyes and bit down on his bottom lip.

"You protected me for so long now... it is now my turn to protect you."

Kaval chuckled with sleep still in his voice. "Is that so?"

"What is this on your neck? Who gave it to you?"

"It does not matter," Kaval said, pulling Ari closer. "I am fine."

"You are paling."

"It is cold."

"Kaval, do not lie to me. You need my blood. I would have given it if only you asked."

Kaval continued to stare at him in silence causing Ari to become anxious. He did not look well and there was so much worry in his eyes. Ari could not ignore it. He sniffed and sniffed again closer to Kaval's neck. He smelled like Cyrus.

"You smell of Cyrus," Ari muttered.

"Blondie?" Kaval rubbed his nose and let his eyes wander across the room.

"Is he the one that bit you?"

Kaval sat up and moved closer to him. "If I tell you it was, what will you do?"

"I will speak to him."

"Really?" Kaval said with some disbelief. He took Ari's chin in his hand but said nothing else.

"He is not like that. Cyrus would not take someone else's blood without asking."

"Who said he did not ask?"

"Kaval," Ari hissed.

"So you are jealous now because Blondie became a little distracted by me? I am quite an appetizing treat."

Ari did not know what he thought at that moment. Cyrus was not wholly his. He never could be. It did not matter so much to him that Cyrus went and did that. Ari did take more than enough of his blood. It needed to be replaced, Ari reasoned.

"You do things like this to make me irate with you on purpose, why?" Ari shook his head. "No, do not answer that. Tell me about Harun. What was he to me? To you? To Auovin?"

"A close companion, friend, father... He was anything but a lover. To me, he was..." Kaval thumbed his lip and sighed. "To me, he was someone to be feared."

"And Auovin?"

"Auovin? Do you not think that is a question best asked to him and not me?"

"The way you speak to me and your actions-- they are hostile," Ari mumbled. Ari tried to ignore his words, but Kaval only ever spoke softly towards him. Now, Kaval's words were filled with nothing but spite and indignation. Before Kaval could speak, Ari asked another question.

"Why did you fear him if he was kind to me?"

"Kind? He left you here for over a thousand years with a promise he never meant to keep." Ari's eyes stung. "You filled in his role as a god to those ungrateful humans, hoping he would come back, but he never did. No, not until that wretched demon came."

"Auovin?"

Kaval nodded. He reached for Ari's face and continued. "When you left here, and Harun came back... a war began which ended in many Greats' death or deep slumber."

Ari backed away from Kaval as soon he saw the expression lingering on Kaval's face. As best as he tried to hide it, Ari saw it for what it was. "I thought the humans brought upon the war?"

"The humans did not begin their uprising on their own. They did not know you or that wretched demon were not true gods... until... a human presented," Kaval rubbed his forehead and squeezed his eyes shut. "one of you with a stone that weakens any of us. It was disguised as a necklace."

"Ylanan-- Auovin told me it was... " The look in Kaval's eyes sent chills down Ari's spine.

"Everywhere you went destruction followed. He made it so. He made it whereas you had nothing left but to go back to him. "

Ari's hands trembled as a faint memory of him began resurfacing.

"What did he do to you?"

"After all this time has passed, I have nothing but the love I had for you since then. As I laid there sleeping, thoughts of your return and how it would be like haunted me. I waited. And I waited. And waited. Finally, when you had woken me, you did not have a single memory of me which made me angry. So I thought to make you remember. Make you remember everything, so it could be as it once was between us, but it never will be."

"Kaval."

"I was wrong, but so was he. That wretched demon." His eyes watered with fresh tears causing Ari's heart to tighten. He did not know what words of comfort to give him. There was much pain there. Kaval let out a miserable laugh. "How was I to know he was like Harun as well and the things that would follow?"

"What happened?" Ari swallowed at his silence. "Tell me."

"This. This happened. He is no better than Harun, Ari."

"Why do you say that?"

"He wants nothing more than revenge. Because of that, look at what happened to you. You lost everything. You became the one thing you hated." Ari furrowed his brows. "You became human."

"Is that so?" Ari licked his lips and fumbled with his hands. He was at a loss for words. What could he say to him about that? Freir meant so much to him. It was hard to believe he held such hatred for them once before. Ari was reluctant to admit it, but his past self frightened him.

"I told you not to leave. I begged you not to. You know what you meant to him, and what he would do if you left."

"Waiting for almost a thousand years who did that in spite was more time than he deserved from me."

"Spite?"

Ari pressed a wary hand to his lips and shook his head. Where did that come from?

"So you know why he had done that, after all? Why he left for all that time... You told me it was not my fault but..."

"Why would it be... " Ari trailed off as his head began throbbing. "Me not letting him have you was not the reason why. He wanted everything I had if he could not have me. I knew that very well and, for a time, I turned a blind eye. However, I would not stand it if he took you from me."

"Ari."

"It was wrong for me to stay with a person who could not accept the friendship I was only ever willing to give him. I know that, but he was all I ever knew for so long. I was afraid of losing him--but he made this doubt spread through me like an infectious rot. I thought for so long he was the only person that could ever love a thing like me. Wholly. Truly. Because we were the same. It rotted away what relationship I had with Auovin," Ari whispered.

"So you remember now?"

"Some things. I do not wish to remember more." Ari's voice broke towards the end. There were many vile emotions growing inside of him that was not there before. So many of them Ari thought they would swallow him whole.

Ari's eyes were burning now. His stomach churned. Ari grabbed his hand to stop it from shaking. It was not until when Kaval pressed his forehead onto his did they stop. Ari took in a deep breath and exhaled.

"What am I to do when I realize I bring nothing but misfortune to Auovin?"

"It is not you, Ari. It is Harun."

Ari squeezed his eyes shut at the name. He was filled with both disgust and heartache which continued to add to his nausea. There was no love to be found there. He was manipulative and conniving.

"What must I do now?"

"Do what you could not do before-- Kill him. Set things right, so things can be as they should be."

Ari backed away a little and stared into Kaval's gray eyes. That was what he meant by his words then.

"Where is he? Where would he be?" Ari said.

"Somewhere close."

"What does that... "

"He has never once let you out of his sight after the time he lost you, Ari. Think. He is a demon that wears a thousand faces."

Ari grew sick at the thought. He did not want to think about it. There was no black-haired man with blue eyes in his life. He would have remembered him. That could not be right. Ari rose from the bed and headed out of the room. Kaval followed close behind, letting Ari lead the way.

"Where are you going?" Kaval said.

"Outside."

"Why?"

"I need fresh air. I feel like I am suffocating there in that room."

Kaval grabbed Ari's wrist and spun him around. "Do not run away from this. I will help you. I will always help you. Just tell me if you cannot. It is okay. I know how you feel about him," Kaval mumbled.

"No, I... I know what love is and what it is not or, at least, I now have some semblance of an idea of what it is. You have helped me understand it. I will not run away. Not this time, I promise."

Kaval brought him into a hug, which warmed Ari and settled his heart. He smelled like rain. When they separated, Kaval tipped Ari's head and left a soft kiss on his lips. "Auovin is not outside. He is in the mountain. Eighth or ninth floor. I am not too sure. Go find him. Soon the rest of your questions shall be answered."

Ari brushed his thumb across the bottom of his lip still feeling the tingles Kaval's lips left behind. Kaval knew him well. There was no point in hiding it. Ari rushed off toward the smell of aged wine. Something told him to stop and turn back. When he did Ari saw Kaval eyeing one of his hands and balling up the other into a fist. Kaval cut his eyes and began walking in the opposite direction. Ari would have another talk with him later. If Ari went after him now, he was sure he would end up doing something that may complicate their relationship further.

Ari turned back around and climbed the stairs to the eighth floor. They were slick with ice. The further up he went the slicker they grew. He smelled around for Auovin but found no traces, so he tried the ninth. The air grew colder. For the longest time, Ari could hear nothing but his own breathing and careful footsteps mixed with the sound of drops of water hitting the ground. It was no wonder Auovin chose to this floor.

Although Ari had seen him many times, the thought of seeing him now made his heart flutter. He was not sure whether it was caused by excitement or nervousness. Ari knew he could answer his questions now. He was no longer confused or at a standstill with what he should make of their relationship and what may grow from it. He would deal with the repercussions later. When he reached the last stair, Ari paused and looked into the hall filled with lit candles. He warmed within seconds.

There were carvings in the walls of the mountain with fading hues of blue and red. Ari went to touch one but stopped when he passed a room with a fire crackling. He stood by the door and saw Auovin basking in the heat of the fire with his head lolling back. Auovin's eyes were closed and his lips were drawn taut into a soft smile. His skin became more vibrant as it soaked in the light and heat from the flames. Ari never realized it until now, but Auovin always tended to be around fire. Was it because he was drawn to it, or perhaps was it because of where he was?

When Ari refocused, Auovin's eyes were open and set upon him. He had been staring too long. A dark blush bloomed across Ari's face as he began shuffling on his feet. Ari thought to leave due to his embarrassment, but he thought against it. No, not when he looked as tempting and lustrous as he did now. Auovin's eyes shifted back to the fire after a couple of seconds.

Ari took a step forward. He took another and another until he was no longer counting his steps. He stopped to get a glimpse of Auovin and his reaction to him coming closer, but Auovin did nothing but look at the fire burning before him. Ari paused a few feet away from him not knowing what to say to break the silence between them.

It was odd standing above him. It made him look small and vulnerable, so Ari decided to sit next to him by the fire. He did not bother to leave any space between them. When Ari moved closer, Ari rubbed against Auovin's arm, loving the sensation. Ari could not remember a time when they were this close and did nothing⏤said nothing.

The shadows the light cast danced around the room some taking grotesque forms of demons before disappearing and reappearing in another place. Ari was fascinated by it for a moment. He was far too distracted with Auovin to care for much else. He smelled of wine and Ari knew he would taste pomegranates if he kissed him. He wanted to kiss him.

Ari drew his eyes back to the fire before they flicked back to Auovin. Could his eyes look any more gorgeous than they do now?

Auovin's eyes met Ari's causing a warm feeling to nestle in the pit of his stomach. When he smiled, Ari had no doubt in his mind that he was in love with him. It was not the soft smile Ari had saw earlier, but the one that always made him feel like he was burning up inside.

"Tell me, what is it that you see when you look at me?"

Ari saw the stars and the seas. When Auovin touched him, he felt the sun and the hot desert sands. When he kissed him... Ari pressed a finger to his lips and shook his head. "I feel many things when I look at you," Ari answered.

Auovin turned and pressed one knee in between his and gazed down upon him.

"I see these intricate markings covering the whole of your body and eyes that have seen many lifetimes. I see someone with memories of a time I have lost. A past best forgotten."

"Is that all you see?" Auovin asked, growing closer.

Ari sighed inwardly. Auovin knew what he was doing to him, and he was enjoying every second of it. He liked to watch him melt and burn under his gaze.

Ari outstretched his hand to move some of the hair dangling around the sides of Aouvin's face away. "You like to watch me squirm. I know it, but, somehow, I believe... "

Ari's voice hitched as soon as he felt Auovin's hand slip inside his shirt.

"Yes, I like to tease you," Aouvin murmured, "but I said I wanted to devour you whole."

Ari's groin stiffened at the thought.

"I am going to make sure that I savor every... last... bite," Auovin said in between soft kisses on Ari's neck before they turned into bites.

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