“You don’t have any gliders so we’ll have to use the rental ones.” Hyacinth spoke, handing them used gliders.
They resembled eagle wings, making Keith think of Icarus, he could smell feathers on it too as well as wax. The myth had detailed that flying too close to the sea would drag one down but flying too close to the sun would melt the wax. Glancing outside at the hot noon sun that was barely obstructed by thin wisps of white clouds, Keith looked at the glider with dubious eyes.
“Will it melt?” He asked.
Hyacinth scoffed. “The glider is made by magical means. The only way the wax would melt is if you threw it into a fire.”
“Right…” He huffed, holding onto the handles of the wings. “This thing won’t drop mid way?”
Hyacinth gave him a smile. A smile that screamed, ‘I’m laughing at you’, smug as he let out a laugh.
“Why are you asking? Scared?”
“Just making sure we know who to blame if this thing doesn’t work!” Keith looked away, making the mistake of seeing Leonith clear his throat and give them both a warning glance. “…Just get on with it.”
Oryath, you must have hated this guy’s guts! He cursed. I know your relationship wasn’t good, even the books showed you two arguing worse than a cat and a dog but still, I’d rather not make enemies with one of the ex-heroes of Yore okay?
As he looked out the platform to the wide sky, the bright light pierced his head. For a moment, the world seemed to blur around him. He cradled his head in his hand, as another flashback hit him.
Oryath turned to look at the sky, watching a bright pillar of light erupt from the seal. With a hiss, he dropped to his knees, and clutched at his tunic, above where the seal was burning itself. It’s fine. He’ll be fine. At least, once he transfers it into a pebble and tosses it into the bottom of the ocean.
“Oryath!” Perseus called out behind him. “You shall pay for your crimes.”
A black spear stabbed into his chest. He looked down at it, coughing up blood.
“Ah.”
He should have watched his surroundings.
“-Watch where you’re stepping,” Leonith said, his hands on his shoulders, fingers digging as he held him back. “Are you alright? You almost fell off the platform.”
He glanced at where he was standing and where the platform to jump out for gliding was, and promptly scrambled multiple steps back. Keith shuddered at the thought of accidentally falling to his death. Not for the first nor the last time, he cursed out Oryath’s memories. They sure know how to time themselves at the most inconvenient!
“I’m fine,” He said, with a pout. “It’s just ah, the memories.”
Leonith nodded in understanding.
“If you’re ready, I’ll guide you.” Hyacinth spoke up, his face impassive.
The first one to go was Leonith, where Hyacinth stood behind him and activated the glider’s activation talisman that would automatically steer them towards the gliding deck near the palace. With a few words in Greek, a magic circle activated beneath Hyacinth’s hand. The circle glowed a gentle blue and with a nod, Leonith jumped.
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.
Watching Leonith gliding like he was Icarus, he found himself filled with anticipation and worry. He’s never done something like this before. Not even when he was with him. Most of the time, the two of them preferred not to chase adrenaline but rather go a normal dating route.
“Tbe’gf tbivlcu atf uilvfg lcmbggfmais,” Lsjmlcat qblcafv bea.
“Well sorry, Mr. Nitpick, I never used one before.” He grouched. “How am I supposed to hold it then?”
Lf rmboofv. “Tbe obguba ab ragjq atf mtbrfa yemxif. Snfc Ofbclat xcfk ab vb rb.”
“Ktfc…” Bflat qjerfv jr tf gfmjiifv atf wfwbgs klat Ufgrfer. “Po sbe xcbk rb wemt, atfc vb la obg wf.”
Lsjmlcat gjlrfv jc fsfygbk. Lf kjrc’a regf ktja tf fzqfmafv ktfc la mjwf ab Ygsjat’r gflcmjgcjalbc yea regfis, la’r cba Bflat. Lf fzqfmafv rbwfbcf mbiv, qfgtjqr j oluta ja atf rajga. Tfa Bflat kjr cbcf bo atja. Po jcsatlcu, tf rffwfv lgglajafv yea kliilcu ab ub jibcu klat atlcur. Snfc lo la wfjca ublcu atgbeut j ijguf wjgxfa lc gert tbeg ktfc la’r mifjg tf’r cba erfv ab remt qijmfr, tf ralii obiibkfv.
Actually Keith was quite… cute. Like a puppy that got to explore a new place for the first time. Such as when he tested the water on the way, with a cheeky smile and curious grey eyes. And then a while ago when he scrambled away from the ledge, his tail and his ears pricked up. It’s a rather adorable sight.
His irritated look was also interesting, his pointed fangs and his narrowed eyes while his hackles rose, like a puppy trying to seem threatening. Still, these are most likely due to the Perseus’ left over feelings, Hyacinth reasoned. When he first saw Oryath’s reincarnation the hurt had stung harder than he anticipated. It seems a lifetime isn’t enough to accept the pain of betrayal.
“Stand still then.” He said, as he moved to do the buckle.
Up close like this, Hyacinth is acutely aware of Keith’s shorter height and slender frame as he finishes strapping the chest buckle together, the bronze and leather standing out against Keith’s black tunic. Seeing the other looking down, the urge to pat his head arose.
No. He scolded himself as he scowled. He may look innocent but a wolf is a wolf.
Unlike Perseus, he refuses to fall for a knife that will only stab him in the back.
Keith could smell the scent of sea salt and fennel from Hyacinth. It makes sense seeing as he’s a Chosen of Poseidon. Still, it’s a rather soothing scent. He froze at his thoughts.
Stop. No. I am not- I refuse to fall into this weird wolf thing! He cried internally. Fenrir, what the hell is this?
Click!
“It’s done. I’ll activate your glider now.”
He stepped back. “Good, see you on the other side, fish face!”
With that, Keith bit down on whatever courage he had and jumped off the platform!
To his shock, the glider easily caught onto the air, allowing him to take in the view of Seipodon without worry. From the sky, he can take in the view of this place and it’s splendor for a second time as well as appreciate it’s architecture. At the center of Seipodon is the King’s Palace, with a large Parthenon nearby.
There are temples everywhere it seemed, and gliding towers, tall and lined with gold. But the true beauty of this white and gold marvel is the fact that it’s shaped like a whirlpool. Each spiral of Seipodon that connected houses and hills together were all in one direction, leaving it with the impression that it too is a whirlpool of white limestone and gold lining.
“Beautiful…” He mumbled.
“It is, isn’t it?”
He looked beside him to see Hyacinth standing coolly on a water platform, his arms crossed.
“What the- How did you even get that, do you carry water on you?” Keith scowled at him.
Hyacinth glanced at him from the corner of his eyes, ocean green glittering like the waves that surround Seipodon. “Moisture from the air, since Seipodon is humid, it’s easier to do.”
Water truly is an overpowered ability. Keith thought as he continued to glide, gazing ahead of him.
His gift from Fenrir besides the animal markings is ‘Binding’. This manifests in chains but besides that and chaining things together, it’s not as versatile as water. Still, his basic magic ability is enough to make up for it. He glanced at Hyacinth, now if only he wasn’t beside him to ruin the view.
With that in mind, he teleported further. It was harder to do so on land due to not having a set spot but when it happened, he couldn’t help the flash of pride. Only to see Hyacinth catching up on his water platform. He scoffed, teleporting ahead once more only for Hyacinth to continue speeding up. At this, the two ended up in a race of sorts until they were close to the landing zone.
Keith narrowed his eyes as he aimed to teleport above the cushions. The cushions themselves were pretty as well, deep turquoise threaded with silver. Stretching out his feet, he landed and rolled onto the cushions, out of a fit of laziness, he teleported out of the glider.
Under his watchful gaze, he watched as Hyacinth stepped off from his water platform, and waved it into a nearby stream that led to the ocean. With a roll of his eyes, Hyacinth picked up the glider and placed it onto the rack that stood on the side. He squinted at this as the noon sun grew brighter.
“Sleepy.” He mumbled, blinking as he fought the urge to nap on the cushions.
The weather was a pleasant warmth and with the beautiful sight of Seipodon, it was almost like a vacation. He glanced at the King’s Palace that stood above the hill. A part of him grew sluggish at the thought of walking up that hill.
He frowned, even if he knew he should get up and start walking, all he wanted to do was take a quick nap. A yawn left him unwillingly. He barely got any good sleep and these cushions were quite soft. Besides, Leonith can take care of the talking.
His tail moved out of the way as Hyacinth moved to stand beside him. Keith huffed at him in response, rude.
Hyacinth’s smooth voice urged him, “Get up.”
If this was back in my old life, Hyacinth would have been a successful ASMR Metuber. Keith thought, closing his eyes and refusing out of principle. He heard a sigh. Instead of getting up, he kept his eyes shut.
Splash!
Keith growled as he shot up from the cushions. His glare is enough to burn through rock and stone. Water dripped down his face and hair, leaving him to resemble a soaked mop. For his part, Hyacinth merely smiled and acted innocent.
“Now you’re up.”
He shook off the water at Hyacinth, huffing as the other caught it midair. Seeing him standing up, Hyacinth pulled the rest of the water too, most likely to ensure he wouldn’t be dripping all over the King’s floor. He crossed his arms and turned to walk up the hill.
“Keith! Hyacinth!” Leonith’s voice called out.
Keith blinked at this. Huh, so Leonith went ahead.
Anger forgotten, he jogged to meet Leonith halfway. As he did so, he noticed a woman beside him around their age, red hair like rubies and unnaturally glowing green eyes stood out against the whites and golds of Seipodon. Unbidden, the image of a similar face contorted with horror, with glowing green eyes and brilliant orange hair splattered with blood came to mind, overlapping her face.
“Kari…” He whispered.
“Oryath!” Kari called out, her hands glowing white. “Stop, I- I can heal you.”
“Why heal a betrayer?” He gasped, looking at her with wary eyes.
He sat there beneath an oak tree with Orionith’s short sword stuck deep in his shoulder. He’s lucky it missed the heart or any major organs. He huffed as he struggled to stand. Kari’s hand landed on his unwounded shoulder.
“Stay. I’ll heal you.”
He looked down at the grass on the ground. “Why?”
“… I’m not stupid. I may not know what you’re doing but, I know you’d never betray us like this. Besides, unless your aim is worse than I remember it to be, then you’re not aiming to kill.”
“Thanks, Kari. But, I can’t go back without wounds, she’ll get suspicious.”
He pulled out the sword, wincing at the pain and the sight of her horrified eyes as blood splattered across her face. Standing up, he gave her a smile and limped off deeper into the woods.
Keith placed a hand to his head. This time it wasn’t a flash but a full scene. He remembered reading it a bit, from his past life but from Kari’s point of view, her confusion, her worry, and her shock when he pulled out the blade and declined the offer. But to see it from Oryath’s eyes was different.
All that came with that memory was a sense of resignation and longing. He must have wanted to go back so badly. He could have even. Kari would have vouched for him and he had yet to do anything drastic, having been early on into his career as a traitor, but he chose not to. To make it worse, Oryath had loved her as if she was his own sister.
“Oryath,” Kari’s reincarnation spoke, tears falling from her eyes. “I-I know you’re not a traitor.”
“What?” Hyacinth breathed out beside him. He ignored him however, as Leonith pulled him back to explain.
He walked towards her, calm and steady. In one smooth move, he pulled her into a hug, closing his eyes at the heavy fondness weighing in his chest. Greeting her the way Oryath would have wanted to, had longed to do that day in the forest.
And with a sigh, he mumbled to her, “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“I understand.” She whispered, hugging him back. “Welcome home.”
Pulling back, he raised up his hand for a handshake. “Keith of Kiol.”
“Silon.” She said, reaching back with a grin. “Silon of Avalon.”
He found himself grinning back at her.
The author has something to say: SILON! Silon my beloved! *swoons* as you can tell from her place of origin, she’s based on Arthurian myth! Eehhehe, I’ve planted a seed for her but this won’t come up for a long, long while. Also, I had to rewrite Hyacinth’s portion a bunch because I kept including stuff only to realize it’s too early for it to appear. Especially a certain flashback *shrugs* this author wants this to be executed properly so I must be disciplined and not reveal it so soon!
squeal so it was Hyacinth who had the one sided love?! Just love this development. Love/Hate relationships are so dramatic/fun to read. 🥰 Silon my beloved! Finally a friend shows up who trusted our puppy and didn’t believe his betrayal. It’s such a relieve that there is someone who believed in him. ☺ But now I’m curious if Leonith has a lover? If he is still free… whispers I would be willing to take this part. 😘