Inheritance

Part 2. Chapter 68: Dust

While Terran fell deep into thought, consumed with memories of his brother, Francis, Them cheerfully shoveled peas into his mouth and drank from his large pitcher of wine.

Eliita glanced at her lover and realized that he was not in a talkative mood. When he was in that mood, it was best to let him be.

She smiled mischievously. She thought to herself, I'll make him feel better later.

Them noticed the smile. He commented, "What are you so happy about? Certainly it can't be about the ray of sunshine that is your lover?"

Eliita rolled her eyes and daintily scooped up a spoonful of corn. "You joke about it, but he is a ray of sunshine, believe me. Right, Terran?"

Terran was silent. He kept eating woodenly.

Them blinked rapidly. "What's the deal with him?"

Eliita shrugged. "He's a deep thinker. Let him be for now."

I like these two. They're the sort of responsible adults you should be hanging around with. Honestly, Them, you shouldn't be chasing a girl ten years younger than you. And you wonder why she's so immature and... Stupid. Pete said.

"They are good company." Them agreed. He sighed. "They're not as fun, though."

Eliita asked, "Are you talking about me and Terran?"

"Mostly you, gorgeous." Them winked. He looked at the elf, expecting him to chew him out for flirting with his girlfriend. Terran didn't even look his way.

"Wow. You weren't joking—he is a deep thinker." Them agreed.

Eliita changed the subject. "I assume you were saying that we aren't as fun in comparison to Taylor to your wisp friend?"

Them chuckled. "On the nose. You're both far too respectable to be fun like she is. I miss her. She hasn't been around at all lately."

"You know, it's just us. You can just admit that you love her." Eliita dared him smugly.

Them glanced at Eliita's stony-faced lover with distaste. "For one thing, it's not just us. Mr. Sunshine is here. For another thing, like I told you before, I just like chasing Taylor. If I slept with her, I hardly think I'd want her anymore. She'd just be another girl to me."

"I can see you think highly of us women." Eliita snorted, rolling her eyes.

Them turned his palms up apologetically. "It's not as if I impulsively make decisions to sleep with women on my own. They have to make those choices, too. I can't help that I lose interest in them so quickly afterwards. I never promise them that I'll marry them."

"Classy." Eliita replied. "You know... Every time a woman makes love, she takes a risk that a man doesn't have to."

Them raised an eyebrow. "A risk?"

Eliita nodded. "She may get pregnant, and that child will forever serve as a reminder of the man who abandoned her. Maybe you should have more respect for that risk."

Them was quiet for a moment. Eliita's brutal, but honest, scolding had brought up painful memories for him. "Now I feel guilty..."

Maybe it was the fact that he had had too much wine, but Them felt like opening up about himself. "You know, my parents were banished from Trella when I was just a baby—I never got to meet them. My father was married to one woman and slept with another. That's not allowed in Trella. When I lived there, I learned that my father loved his wife, so I asked my fellow waifs why he decided to sleep with a different woman." Them shook his head in disgust. "My father told them that, for just one day of his life, he wanted to feel alive. He passed that onto me--that inability to feel satiated. I should know better than to do the same things he did... And yet, here I am, fooling around and hurting women wherever I go. I know what it's like to grow up with parents who aren't your own; it's not pretty."