Firstborn [malexmale]

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Geara.

Something about that name sounded familiar. I'd heard it before. Was she another god?

"Come join me," she said, gesturing to the grass at her side, "It's comfortable here." I didn't know what to say, and I wasn't going to let Tristan stop me. I moved past his arm and approached her. Tristan looked peeved, but he followed me and stuck close by, eyeing Geara suspiciously.

"I'm not going to hurt him," she said, and it took me a moment to realize she was talking directly to Tristan, "Violence is not in my nature." However, even as she said this, her eyes grew sad and she lowered them to the mouse on the tray. The tiny creature snatched up another cracker and took off into the bushes as we approached. Geara reached over to the tray and grabbed some crackers, handing them over to me. I took them and ate them without thinking about it, nodding my thanks as I settled down on the grass beside her.

Tristan didn't sit. He stood like a menacing shadow at my side, his eyes locked on Geara, fully prepared to take her down if he had to. Not that I think he would have to.

Geara simply smiled at him, then looked at me.

"Why does your name sound familiar?" I asked her.

"You've met my siblings," she answered, picking up a cracker and breaking it in half so she could nibble on part of it, "Joxeia and Xiphrus. And now Viviana." I stared at her in disbelief. So, she was born along side Joxeia and Xiphrus. She was the third demon. The demon of wisdom. And according to the story, Geara and Joxeia had been the ones to seal Xiphrus away during the first battle against Atlan. Overcome with guilt and depression, Geara had Joxeia help her seal herself away as well, leaving Joxeia on his own, unable to use the same spell to seal himself away. He'd been forced to wander the universe for eternity, alone.

Of course, that all changed recently through a series of fortunate, and not so fortunate, events.

"So Viviana is..."

"One of us," Geara answered simply, "She just wasn't given a vessel until recently. She is our sister. She is the demon of Hope. Or, as you seem to call them nowadays, deity."

"They're the same thing?"

"In our terms, yes. Demon meant born of the source. However, the word has become different overtime. Rather unfortunate as I've seen it used negatively. Tis a pity to be associated with something foul, but alas, I cannot control the change of language, only study it," she explained with a sigh, sweeping one hand through the grass while finishing off a cracker with the other. I looked at her, fascinated, trying to figure out what to say. I don't know why it was harder to talk to her, when it was a breeze talking to Xiphrus, and sometimes Joxeia. There was something about Joxeia that made it a little harder to talk to him. Intimidating, almost. It was probably his poker face, or the fact that he was so beautiful that it still caught me off guard.

"So... Why are you here?" I asked. She'd been locked away for so long, even through the final battle against Atlan. Why would she come out now? Geara stared at me for a moment, then looked away to scan the flowers around us.

"I don't want to be," she said at last. I frowned, confused.

"This world," Geara started, then paused before she went on again, slowly as if choosing her words carefully, "It is too dark. Too scary. Nothing is the same as it was, save for feelings. There are barriers in entryways now, to keep people out. There are strange devices for communication, instead of just talking face-to-face. People are bought and they are sold like objects. Things once used for love and beauty are now used as weapons of deceit and torture. A smile is no longer genuine, but a mask for evil. Knives are no longer used to cut bread, or fruit from a tree." I lowered my eyes as I let her words sink in.