It was afternoon, where the sun fell in a shade of darker gold and the world was warm in all the ways that mattered. They’re eating a picnic in a park, a far cry from his lover’s usual antics of fancy dinners. It’s his idea, because he wanted to enjoy the sight of sunlight sifting through emerald leaves.
His head is laying on the lap of his lover, the other is sitting up, legs straight as he sifts through their picnic basket.
“I brought some fruits along cause I know you’d want some,” His lover laughed. “I even got some strawberries for you!”
His hand lifted, holding up two strawberries linked together.
Keith moves to sit up. An amused smile on his face, “A double strawberry, how lucky. In Victorian times, they symbolized perfection, and they say if you break a double strawberry in half then share it with another person, you’d fall in love.”
The other made a face. “But we’re already in love! What if the opposite happened, huh?”
His smile widened into a grin. “Then, why not change the meaning? Let’s use this to say we’ll be together, for this life and the next!”
“Alright,”
Together they separated the strawberry and fed it to one another. Fingers brushing against the lip as they made that promise in that warm afternoon.
Keith woke up scowling.
“Are we there yet?” He drily asked, rubbing away the sands of sleep from his eyes.
Leonith snorted, shaking his head as he said, “We’re getting there.”
This had been their routine for the last two days, having hopped onto a ferry between Kiol and Seipodon. His ears had long grown used to the rhythmic sounds of sluicing water against the wooden hull of the ship. Slowly rocking back and forth like branches swaying in the wind. Being on a ship as a passenger was surprisingly boring, most of the time he spent it thinking and trying to sleep.
Keyword: trying.
“How was your sleep?” Leonith asked, as if expecting the answer to change.
He shrugged. “It’s so-so.”
Unlike the previous times Leonith asked, he did not let the conversation fall to silence. Instead, he continued on. His mouth in a frown as he glanced at him from the corner of his eye.
“What do you usually dream of that keeps you from truly sleeping?”
He sighed. “Memories. Moments from the long gone past, it’s not exactly perfect dream material.”
“You remember the past much clearer than I, at most I have hazy recollections, like recalling a dream, distant but not truly mine.” Leonith said.
Keith sat up and crossed his legs. “Why do you ask?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“P kjca ab xcbk, obg Yglbclat’r rjxf, lo Ygsjat xfqa tlr qgbwlrf.”
Lf mibrfv tlr fsfr. Llr ajli atewqfv jujlcra atf yfv. “Ktja vfqfcvr, ktja qgbwlrf vb sbe jrx jybea?”
“Ktf qgbwlrf bo j rlcuif gbrf.” Lf weaafgfv. “P vbc’a gfwfwyfg la mifjgis yea Yglbclat, tf mjgfv ugfjais jybea la.”
“Brother, I swear on this rose that we’ll share all our pain and strife! That’s what family does, right?”
Orionith patted his head. “Then, let me swear the same. It would be unfair to ask you to shoulder my pains if I will not do the same.”
“Then it’s settled! I’ll go to you for everything and you come to me for everything!”
“Two orphans who had nothing but one another,” Keith mumbled, his eyes glued to the wooden floor of the boat. “The rose was the first thing they bought for joy because Orionith liked it. I’d like to think Oryath managed to pull through in the end. Even if he went through unconventional means.”
“Such as betraying their friend group?” Leonith asked, his voice soft and gentle.
Oryath had kept silent till the bitter end. Keith may now be Oryath’s unconventional reincarnation but he’s still the same Keith who loved the series and who loved Oryath for all his nuance. He looked up to see Leonith staring at him. Searing blue eyes, saturated in a bright and pure blue, gazed into his soul. It’s… unnerving, really.
“He had a plan.” Keith finds himself saying. “Oryath… he saw Tiamat and knew that the only way he could help was if he sabotaged her somehow. All good generals have their spies, so Oryath did just that. He thought that he could live with being hated so long as it meant they wouldn’t be troubled more than they should have been.”
His words affected Leonith more than he expected. After all, he only knew Orionith’s life like a distant dream, a hazy melody that you hum without fully remembering. Yet right now, Leonith’s blue eyes that were a touch too blue and a touch too bright, began to bleed a deep red. They began to water with unshed tears as Leonith opened his mouth.
“Oh.”
The tears fell. Keith, alarmed by this, moved to hold Leonith as the other cried. Leonith clung to him instinctively. Under Keith’s astonished eyes, the other’s long tied back hair of gold turned to black. Like all the color he held was now squandered in his tears. In order to help the other calm down, he began humming the only tune he knew from this world, his mother’s lullaby.
“I- thank you. Sorry.” Leonith forced out, staying still, his head bowed on Keith’s shoulder. “Oryath, you fool, you foolish little brother, why didn’t you say something? Why? Orionith would have helped. He would have… would have…”
Keith’s ears twitched as he listened to Leonith’s mutterings.
Or rather, perhaps it was Orionith’s soul speaking up in grief. Reincarnation, past lives, it’s difficult on them, after all what could one do with a lifetime’s worth of grievances and regrets? He himself only managed to deal with it because he didn’t fight the memories nor did he try to recall it all at once.
They stayed like that, comforting one another until the ship began to rock back and forth. The waves crashed against the ship as the yells of the crew resounded on the upper deck, feet thumping on the ceiling above their heads. Leonith pulled back from the hug, wiping away the tears and steadying himself, his face stern. Now that Keith looked at him, he realized that there was a band around his neck like thorns, it seemed to originate from below his collar.
“Leonith,” Keith started, only for Leonith to shake his head.
“What are they saying? Why have we stopped?” The other pressed, his form has yet to change back.
Could it be? Keith realized. Leonith’s gift of Mercy and Corruption refers to two versions of himself?
“Keith?” He pressed, breaking him out of his thoughts.
Focusing his hearing, he listened past the sound of stamping feet. The crew didn’t bother to lower their voices so it was easy to hear it.
“How the hell did a whirlpool appear?! Did they forget an offering to Poseidon?”
“I doubt that. This is the Pearl of the Sea we’re talking about!”
“Then, could it be? They’re barring entrance to the island?”
“SHUT YER YAPPERS AND START HEAVIN!”
“AYE, CAPTAIN!”
Keith flinched at the last two lines, his ears flattening itself against his head. He turned back to look at Leonith.
“There’s a whirlpool out front, the crew is working to avoid it.”
Leonith nodded. “Come. Let’s see it for ourselves.”
Keith huffed, getting up from the bed to follow after Leonith. The ship swayed, this way and that, tossing them around against the walls of the ship. He tossed an irritated glare at the boat as he struggled to keep up with his companion. As if in retaliation, he slammed against the wall with a thud.
His lips lifted in a snarl as he gave up on walking. Using his magic, he teleported along the corridor. Blinking in and blinking out until he was beside Leonith at the door that led to the deck of the ship. In response to his arrival, the other glanced at him with unapologetic red eyes.
It’s enough to cement his theory that Leonith’s gift is in fact two forms.
Turning his attention to the deck before them, he realized what was wrong.
As the crew began to turn tail, they spotted a figure in the distance, riding on top of a small wave. The whirlpool seemingly is not affecting this wave. Keith walked closer to the front as the ship was now stable and far away from the whirlpool. Leonith stood beside him, his arms crossed.
He glanced at Leonith. “You won’t change back?”
Leonith glanced at him before looking back at the figure surfing on the wave. “No. It could be an enemy.”
“Why? Won’t your usual form work?” He hummed, wanting to know more.
In response the other scowled at him. “Enemy first. Then I’ll let Mercy talk.”
Mercy, huh? Keith thought, as the figure was finally close enough to see some distinctive features.
The first thing he noticed is the gold glimmering amidst long dark hair. The hair itself is tied up and sectioned off, reminding him of bubbles. The sections have a gold band at the ends, making it look like black bubbles separated by glimmering gold. For a moment, he can’t help but wonder who called Princess Jasmine to this world.
As the wave halted in front of the ship, it grew taller instead until it was a pillar of water. The figure stood tall and proud dressed in a white chiton with gold outlines. In place of ears are blue fins, clearly a chosen of Poseidon if the water wasn’t telling enough. In their hand is a black spear. Finally the water reached up, and they made eye contact.
Ocean green eyes glared at him in a face of carved, cold beauty.
“Perseus,” Leonith mumbled beside him.
He looks exactly the same, is all Keith could think.
It’s true. Even as Oryath’s memories swam over his vision, they didn’t differ in looks. It’s all a near carbon copy of Perseus, from face shape, to eye color, hair color, and even down to that glare! The only difference between Perseus and his current incarnation is hair length. Everything else is a near exact copy of the man he was.
Keith hummed. “I knew you’d be chosen by Poseidon again but I didn’t expect you to copy paste yourself directly.”
“Oryath.” The reincarnation of Perseus spoke, his move down in a scowl as a stormy expression settled on his face.
“My name is Keith of Kiol, brine brain.” he bared his teeth.
An irrational irritation bubbled up inside of him, as if he was itching to beat this man to a pulp. The mere sight of his handsome yet scowling face alongside those disdainful green eyes is enough to make his blood boil. There’s a voice in his head that wants to punch him. It’s not surprising. Oryath and Perseus got along like oil and water.
The incarnation scowled. “Hyacinth of Seipodon, mutt.”
Leonith stepped between them. “Hyacinth. Keith. That’s enough. Now’s not the time.”
Hyacinth glanced at Leonith and backed down with a frown. Keith stayed silent, his tail swaying from side to side. Between the two of them, it’s enough to mimic the same dynamics from a hundred years past.
“Hyacinth, say your piece.” Leonith spoke, his tone still firm.
He began to speak. “By order of the King, Seipodon has hereby closed its borders due to an unprecedented disease, no one is allowed in or out of the island until this disease has been dealt with. So decreed the King, and so shall it be.”
The news brought everyone to chatter. People who Keith had barely noticed had come up whispering amongst themselves while the crew exclaimed in shock. He narrowed his eyes. The demons had to come from somewhere, and with Kiol’s positioning alongside where they came from…
“Leonith, we have to get in.” He sighed, walking around him in order to glare at Hyacinth. “We might have an idea on what caused this disease. Let Leonith and I in and we’ll help.”
In response, he got a water spike close to the neck.
It’s a testament to the other’s control that the water wasted no movements. It’s actions are precise, the spike a hair’s breadth away from his throat. He growled in reply to this, hackles raising. Despite his seeming fearlessness, the near-attack left his heart thumping louder than a drum.
Hyacinth’s spear is pointed at him, clearly controlling the spike of water. “And why should I listen to a traitorous scum like you?”
The Author has something to say: Hehe, I didn’t write an author’s note previously because I was busy dealing with school matters and then exams came up in a flash. But now that it’s not as bad, I had take the time to leave an author’s note~ In any case, I just want to share my excitement! After so long, Hyacinth has finally been introduced!!! Finally time for Annoyance at First Sight! Ahem, besides that, thank you so much for reading! I probably won’t reply to comments if the only thing I could think of is ‘thank you for reading’ as a reply because I feel like that would sound a bit too spammy lol. So just know that I’m grateful to each and everyone one of you who reads and enjoys Regret, Rebirth, Relive!
Ooooh, so the brothers weren’t really brothers. This gives room for imagination of Orionith having a crush on his bro and feeling even more betrayed after he switched sides. Super interesting how Leonith has two personalities. Mercy sounds like such a cute nickname. ☺ Awww, annoyance at first sight. goes of to get some snacks for the show 🤭