Amethyst 4. Ascend

t w e n t y - e i g h t : o n s e t

Aris could feel the absence before he realized it. 

His eyelids fluttered open seemingly of their own accord and he stretched out a hand beside him, finding nothing apart from the empty mattress. He sat up straight, his eyes scanning the room and the open door as he realized Zeke had gone somewhere.

Where could he do, during this time of the night?

Aris rose to his feet and made his way towards the door, stepping into the cold, empty corridor as his eyes scanned the area for any sign of Zeke. Just as he was contemplating where to look for him, he heard soft footsteps climbing up the staircase. Sure enough, a few moments later, Zeke appeared on top of the staircase.

"Oh..hey," Zeke said, his voice strangely hoarse. "Didn't expect you to be up."

"Just woke up," Aris said, studying him. "Are you...okay?"

Zeke remained quiet for a while before he sighed and shook his head. "I don't...know."

He bit his lower lip which seemed to be trembling. Aris' throat dried up and he took a step closer to him. "Want to talk about it?"

"Anything but," Zeke responded, brushing a hand across his hair before he sighed again. "Do you mind if we leave this place-" he gestured at the hallway around them, "-for a while?"

Aris shook his head. "Where do you have in mind?"

"Anywhere," Zeke whispered, his voice breaking uncharacteristically.

Aris gazed at him for a while before nodding. He took Zeke's hand, which was strangely cold as they climbed down the dark staircase in silence. Zeke didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. Aris was used to his silence.

They exited the sognare, walking into the empty grounds in front. Dark, except a few splatters of light from artificial sources inside the building. Even though the dark had long ceased to scare him, he found himself moving closer to Zeke, who didn't seem to react whatsoever.

"There's...something I want to show you," Aris said softly as he led them towards a secluded part of the grounds towards the east.

"What's that?" Zeke asked and Aris was relieved when his voice sounded normal.

"I'll show you when I get there...or at least I hope I will. It...may not even work to tell you the truth," Aris said, although he was almost entirely sure that it would.

"There's...something...I need to tell you too," Zeke said, his voice hollow. "Although...I probably shouldn't. I just...have to."

Aris remained quiet, aware by Zeke's tone that whatever it was that he wanted to tell him, wasn't going to be positive.

They reached the clearing that Aris hoped Zeke would recognize as one of the places they had once made love in. It felt like it had been a different life altogether. And for Aris, it really had been. Aris sat cross-legged on the floor and Zeke followed suit, their gazes finally meeting as Aris began. "I assume, Azure told you about the Andira thing?" he took a deep breath. "The...pieces of puzzles and...all of that."

"Yeah, he did," Zeke nodded, raising an eyebrow. "What about it?"

Aris took a shuddering breath before he spoke. "Since you're...mine. Andira I mean-" he said quickly, his cheeks burning as he continued, "And my anchor too...I have some semblance of your powers within me as well."

Zeke furrowed his eyebrows, "You mean-?"

Aris bit his lip and nodded, taking Zeke's hand in his and taking a deep breath as he shut his eyes. "It means...if I...focus..enough-"