Chapter Text
It was late, and Mikhail was just outside Torigoth. He could hear people bustling around just on the other side of the city wall; all of them had something to do, somewhere to be. Maybe he should be there too, but he felt like having a moment of peace and quiet. Things could get very hectic when trying to book a hefty handful of blades and drivers into an inn. Especially when they had at least one foreign dignitary and two ex-terrorists in their group.
So Mikhail sat and stared at the lake while the sun set. Being in Gormott never got old. It was so beautiful, and the air was clear. Out here, it could just be him, the breeze, and the warmth of the sun. It was so peaceful.
“Do you mind if I join you?” Mikhail would recognise that soft voice anywhere. Pyra, of course. Not Mythra. Mythra hadn’t spoken to him yet. He didn’t think he wanted to deal with that yet anyway.
“Be my guest,” he said, motioning to the ground next to him. She sat down almost daintily, looking off into the distance just as he had been doing. He tried to tear his eyes away from her, but he couldn’t. Architect, why couldn’t he just let the past go?
“It’s nice out here,” Pyra said. Okay. She was making small talk. He could deal with that. Mikhail reminded himself that pushing her away with his usual lines would just get him in trouble with everyone else in the group. Again.
“It is,” he said. “Gormott’s nice, even if trekking across it is a chore and the Gogols are unfunny levels of awful.” Gogols stank. And they always fancied Mikhail’s chances in avoiding most of the attacks, so he was stuck fighting them.
“It’s definitely nice to be in Torigoth instead of out there in the plains,” she said. “There’s something so homey about this village. Everyone is so friendly, it’s a refreshing change.”
“Definitely a change from monsters,” he said. He decided not to mention that he didn’t really like talking to the people of Torigoth; after one very close call, he was constantly on edge about being recognised as a member of Torna, and honestly he found them a bit overbearing. Torigoth was full of stifling wealth problems and they were held under Ardainian rule, but he couldn’t exactly say or do anything about that.
They lapsed into silence for a while, just watching the sun set. This was fine. He could stand being around her if it was going to be like this. Hell, he could stand being around anyone if they just didn’t say anything. “Was it Gormott, where we separated?” Pyra asked. “I...my memory of that is very fuzzy. I just remember it was bright and green.”
“There were lots of green places in Alrest that long ago,” he said. He couldn’t let go of the past, but he really didn’t want to talk about it. Being with Rex and all his companions reminded him too much of the past anyway. Made him feel like he was three foot nothing again, hiding behind everything he could find.
“What...what happened after we left? If you don’t mind me asking.” He did mind. He didn’t want to talk about it. Even thinking about it still hurt. But he...he supposed Pyra deserved to know. For the sake of closure.
“We travelled to the place where the militia were encamped,” he said. “But when we arrived, Indol attacked. I don’t know what exactly happened, because Jin didn’t spell it out to me, but I think most of the militia were killed. Haze was protecting me, but then she-” he forced himself to break off.
“And that’s how you ended up…?” Pyra tapped her own chest, where her core crystal sat. Mikhail nodded. Pyra looked away again, staring up at the sky. “And Amalthus did that?”
“The snake, yes,” he said, tempted to spit on the ground. There was still no way for him to properly express his loathing for Amalthus. That man deserved everything that came for him.
“I’m sorry,” she said. Mikhail’s heart nearly stopped. How many years had he spent imagining those words? As his life dragged on, he’d given up on ever hearing it. He wasn’t sure if he was even glad, now he had.
“Excuse me?” He said. Who did she think she was, apologising for something that happened so long ago? It couldn’t be changed now. Everything that had happened since couldn’t be reversed. Her apology did nothing to change what had happened.
Pyra sighed and looked down at her hands, which were twisting in her lap. Mikhail tore his eyes away from her. He didn’t know what to do now he’d been confronted by this situation. “I’m sorry about what happened. That we left, when it was when we were needed most of all.”
Mikhail tried not to roll his eyes. “Doesn’t change a damn thing,” he said. Pyra made a sound that hurt him but he couldn’t quite process what it meant. “You’re sorry you left, because when you left, we lost everything we hadn’t already lost. But what about Torna? What about-”
“I can’t do anything about that,” she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “I can’t bring them back. I can’t bring him back. But- I did something irresponsible. And I thought I should apologise, so you know that I mean it when I say I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I would have stayed if I’d known.”
“And what are you expecting in return?” He asked. “Am I meant to accept your apology? Say no, of course, it was totally fine that everything happened and you just ducked out of it for five hundred damned years?” He stood up, knowing that going back to the inn would be nothing but a bad idea at this point. He wouldn’t exactly get any sympathy from those saps. “Don’t expect me to forgive you for what you did just because we’re allies.”
He walked away, heading towards the lake, and he didn’t look back. If he showed up in Torigoth tomorrow morning, he was sure they’d all act like nothing had happened. And maybe it was immature, maybe he was meant to be the grown up and forgive her. But he couldn’t bring himself to. He didn’t think he’d be able to move past it for the rest of his life.