Cold Heart

Chapter 03

575 BC
Babylon

That evening we had all gone out for the celebration, each finding our own ways to keep busy. I stood on the balcony, overlooking the city of people listen intently to Sprites telling of Gilgamesh with her illusions. I was however unaware of a certain Eternal sitting with the humans with his eyes on me.

"The wonders of the world await you. Follow Gilgamesh and Enkidu into battle. Be forever inspired by their bravery and strength. You and your fellow man... ...will go on great adventures. And become legends of your own!"

A small smile graced my face, looking out at my family. Sprite had retired from her storytelling to sit with Kingo and Gilgamesh while Sersi began to dance around with the humans. As my eyes glanced over the crowd I spotted Thena, making her way out, Ikaris stopping her briefly. Thena brushed past him, leaving to keep watch for Deviants as Ikaris made his way up to join me.

"Couldn't stop Thena?" I wondered with a smirk, already knowing the answer. I didn't bother looking to him as he stood beside me, eyes still cast downwards over the humans from a distance, a distance I would always keep, promising myself that I wouldn't get attached.

"Don't you have something better to do than stand up here watching all the fun?" He shot back.

"I could ask you the same thing Ikaris" I replied, glancing over at him only to catch Ajak approaching. With a nod to the Prime eternal I took my cue to leave, seeing she wanted to speak to Ikaris alone.

"You're late." Druig signed to Makkari when she sped in, setting down then items she found.

"I needed to get enough artifacts to make a good trade." She signed back, pulling out the items she gathered from her bag. She nodded to the side, directing his attention from where he sat towards the ice cold Eternal walking their way.

"If it isn't the beautiful Isla" Druig commented with a grin when I walked over, breaking out of the crowd. "How nice of you to join us" He smiled as I took the seat beside him, watching Makkari drop a bunch of random items on the table.

"What trouble are you two getting into?" I asked in a hushed tone as he threw his arm over the back of my seat casually.

"Us? Trouble?" He asked back faking confusion.

"Yes, you trouble" I laughed, nudging him slightly.

"Just making a simple trade with some humans, interacting with them like Ajak always tells us. You should try it sometime" He further teased, no longer paying any attention to the trade happening in front of us. One of them men reached out to take one of the items sneakily when Makkari had her back turned. She sped back quickly, catching his arm and pulling mine and Druigs attention back to the humans.

"I can sense vibrations." Makkari signed, Druig translating for her while I sat back with a content smile, Druigs hand teasingly and casually nudging my hair into my face. "Even the tiniest movement. Including your voices when you speak. Did you two just waste my time?"

"The Emerald Tablet you're searching for......is a myth!" The Babylonian man replied.

A clatter caught our attention from across the room, breaking loudly through the celebration. I glanced over as Druig stood up sternly to address the issue of a few men fighting each other drunkenly. Druigs eyes lit up a golden colour, the men growing calm as their eyes shared the same golden glow. They each slapped themselves in the face twice before cheering and hugging each other. I laughed softly, standing up to join Druig. I punched him in the arm, his eyes fading back to normal as he chuckled amused.

"When humans have conflict, Ajak tells us not to interfere." I spoke to him in english as he listened closely with intent, nodding along mockingly.

"Well, she also says that stealing is very, very bad." He shot a look over to Makkari who smirked back. "And" he faced me again, chest to chest. "She also tells us to interact with the humans" He sent me a knowing look as I glared back, not backing down.