Chiaroscuro

sei

In the past handful of months of working with Lenore so far, they began venturing out into other territories. After Shroom Land and Candy Land, there existed another foreign region yet to be uncovered.

This time, there was an abundance of plant life that stretched out beyond the horizon. Vibrant multicolored petals swayed to the rhythm of a gentle breeze as flowers stood at full bloom. Surrounding trees were anchored down with knotted roots and hosted thick wooden trunks, casting an even thicker canopy of branches and trees overhead. Lush green leaves hovered from above, their long branches stretching out across a brightly lit sky.

In passing, tiny winged critters could be heard buzzing about, presumably butterflies of some sort. Occasionally, they'd zip by in pastel blurs. their translucent wings popping off with flashes of pinks, blues, and greens.

Lamely, Lenore dubbed this place 'Forest Land'. Aldrich let it slide because honestly, he didn't have any better ideas for names.

After setting up camp for the night in Forest Land, Aldrich found himself rambling over their usual campfire. Nowadays, he'd been speaking of childhood anecdotes, sharing times of his history for Lenore to tune in to.

Often times, he found comfort in weaving together words while Lenore found comfort in listening to them. This was part of their routine now. One routine out of many.

"-and that's how my one and only pet fish died," Aldrich finished. "It was the only time I was ever permitted to own a pet, but she was good while she lasted."

Lenore tilted his head to the side. "You never had any other pets after her?"

"As you know, The Chosen One's priorities were focused on constant studying and training. Though for what it was worth, I still led a full life. My people were proud of me, as was my family. There was no time for another silly pet in all of that."

"Hmm, I see."

A dry smile clung to Aldrich's lips. "I do miss them. Of course I miss them. But I also suppose that it's just nice to not have so many expectations anymore. I can't deny that."

"I can only imagine how difficult that must've all been," Lenore said. "I think it's fine to feel some relief too."

Aldrich nodded, taking solace in that.

While feeding into the campfire pit with a few more sparks of sunlight, he turned to Lenore once more. "Tell me more about yourself."

Lenore paused, his shoulders going rigid. Then, he turned away, studying the grass underneath them. His claws toyed around with the green blades, gently playing with them in between his fingertips.

"You already know everything there is to know about me," he admitted. "There's nothing else to say."

Aldrich didn't understand. But as he mulled over what Lenore meant, he inched closer to him and asked, "Then explain it to me like I don't know."

"Hmm..."

A thoughtful hum echoed from Lenore, like music to Aldrich's ear.

Then, he said, "My name is Lenore. The Soleils call me Prince Lenore for some reason, but I'm not an actual royal. Umbras like me don't align ourselves together in a kingdom."

Already, this was the most Lenore had spoken since the night of their truce. Noticeably, Aldrich perked up with intrigue.

"I guess they call me this because I'm one of the strongest of my kind to exist." Pausing, Lenore tucked a stray strand of long black hair behind his ear. "We Umbras do not come with families. We're born alone, emerging from the darkness of Coelus at random. There's no pattern to our lives, only anarchy."

Aldrich knew this already. He had studied the origins of Umbras before in his childhood, but hearing about it again, through Lenore's words, was somehow a hundred times more interesting.

"I was born alone. I came into the world alone. And I fought for power alone. First against other Umbras that wanted to end me, then against Soleils who wanted the same. Because if I'm the strongest one left standing, then I could finally be at peace. I could finally change the world to be how I want it to be. That's the only thing I know how to do. That's my sole purpose in life."

By the end of his explanation, Lenore had ripped out the grass from their roots. He dropped what he was doing and crossed his arms, avoiding Aldrich's eyes.

Silence weighed down on them afterwards.

But Aldrich wasn't having it. By now, he was used to Lenore staring at him. It felt strange to not have his gaze fixed on him anymore.

"Lenore..." Without thinking, Aldrich seized one of his muscular arms after calling out for him, something he had never done before. It was too late to stop now, so might as well push forward. "Lenore. Look at me?"

In visible shock, Lenore stiffened as he glanced back and forth between the hand on his arm and his face. Back and forth, arm then face.

Aldrich's eyes locked onto his. Bright brown met hazy black. "Lenore, you are a prince."

"No-"

"You are a prince too. And like any prince, you feel obligated to do things a certain way. I know I have."

Lenore frowned. "I have killed many. Destruction is all I know."

"No." Lightly, Aldrich squeezed his forearm, cutting in with his own firm conviction. "That's not all there is. Look at you now. Look at where we are and what we're doing. You are more than what you think you are. We are more than what we're supposed to be."

"Aldrich..." The red-orange hues of the campfire reflected off Lenore's cheeks, bleeding into his dark hair. He was practically glowing, his pale face shifting to a brilliant shade of pink. "You're staring at me."

"You're a prince too," Aldrich repeated, continuing to stare unabashedly. His voice dipped to a gentler cadence, the hand rested on Lenore's arm lingering. "And like any prince, you're not bad to look at either."

They stared at each other a little longer after that, their silence an electrifying stretch of time. And throughout that time together, Aldrich's face ran hot with what felt like the heat of a hundred suns.