The Ascension

10: Tempting wrath

Aliens aside-

Well, that's sort of unfair, isn't it? To promise aliens and then have to retreat solemnly back to a boring, human planet where two boring human boys are traveling.

To be fair, Seltiabah didn't have any aliens on it, and was fairly similar to Aster's world, in the end. And it'd feel pretty mean to leave Wren and Senya alone for too long anyway.

It had been two days since Aster had vanished, and their travels were off to a pretty good, though unremarkable, start. Wren had put aside his more crush-based feelings for Senya after he had stolen his stuff and awoken a volcano god, so he no longer got as worked up at Senya's every move. They even would share a bed together with the occasional touching of the skin, and it was done with the pure understanding that it was fine.

Of course, the whole 'crush' and 'platonic' thing had never been a question for Senya, who was simply glad to see Wren not dote over him as much. Senya was used to traveling alone, and even with company, he kept his old habits. He was quiet. He didn't look up off the trail very often.

Wren constantly was stopping to take in the scenery around him. As the country of Aela gave way to their neighbor Roria, the foothills of Ae-en became less steep, turning into grasslands that were dotted with wildflowers and streams. Aela and Roria used to be one country, until the small province of Aela declare itself a new country, claiming Ae-en as their sacred territory. The two had gone to war, but Renen had backed Aela as an ally, ensuring a victory. Now, there was peace, though resentment towards Renen were not uncommon in Roria. Whenever they stopped in town, Wren tried not to speak in case his accent gave him away.

Below Roria was Sved, a grassland that led into desert on the west. The country was constantly at war with itself, and often others, and unfortunately stood as the only land-bridge between the north and south continents. Crossing it was highly dangerous, and even trying to take a boat across could lead to danger. But Senya's first destination had been Stemale, a nearby country very similar to Renen in its environment, though home to a more traditional culture.

Roria's grasslands were exciting to Wren, though Senya generally seemed uninterested. In fact, Senya generally seemed uninterested in everything.

A few more days into their travels, as they came to the border of Stemale, Wren was nothing less than worried about his traveling companion. Finally, during mid afternoon when Senya refused to eat the sugary lunch Wren had bartered for, he asked "Are you okay?"

The effect was immediate. There was a drop in his face, and a twitch of his jaw. He looked ready to snap, but simply ground his teeth. "Not really."

"You know, your terrible fishing skills payed for these cakes. You ought to enjoy them before we leave civilization again."

"Is that supposed to be helpful?" Wren flinched at his comment, and he tried to ease his tone. "Look. I never planned to live this long."

"Yeah, but... we're here now? You lived? Try to relax." Wren, who had no experience with this sort of emotion, was fairly useless with his good intentions.

"I unleashed a demon onto the earth. I don't want to see the results. If it wasn't such a pain, I'd like to die. But I was hoping someone else might do it for me, you know? Then I wouldn't have to worry about chickening out. It'd be pre-determined."

"We haven't heard one word about that thing doing any damage. For all we know, it wandered off and created new land in the ocean, like you intended! I mean, come on, there must be something... you enjoy in life..." Wren strained to think of something Senya liked. Not traveling, he'd been on the road too long. Not fishing, he probably did that too often. Not other people, that seemed certain... "Do you have any hobbies?"