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Humans don’t live very long. Compared to every other race, they’re lifespans are short and pathetic. Koth knew this of course, he watched London grow old and die and mourned his death; Koth still had 700 years left to live. He told himself that he wouldn’t make the same mistake again; going through the loss of someone you care about so deeply just because they don’t live as long as you hurts. That all went flying out the window once he met Ichabod.
Not exactly once they met, but Koth did grow attached very quickly, and soon that attachment changed into something more. (my aromantic ass trying to write LMAO) Koth knew it was going to happen eventually. It was a simple fact that he should have thought about and didn’t until it was too late. Ichabod had to be in his 70s by now. That short of time barely meant anything to Koth, but he could see how much Ichabod had slowed down.
Their daily walks took longer, he slept more and ate less, complained about something hurting every day and how there were patches in his memories that he didn’t want to lose. Koth was worried about him. More than he should have been, more than he knew was even reasonable, but he couldn’t stop himself. Ichabod was the only person he really had, and losing him would continue the cycle of loneliness Koth wasn’t ready to go back to just yet.
“Just tell me what’s wrong, I can help. And then if I can’t then I’ll promise to never push you this much on anything else,” Ichabod said, bringing Koth gently out of his own thoughts. They were taking one of their walks, and they’re normally silent so they can enjoy being in each other's company and think about whatever, but Koth wasn’t ever known for hiding his emotions well, and Ichabod had mastered spotting every sign Koth had that he was upset.
Taking a deep breath, mostly to ensure his voice wouldn’t shake as he spoke, Koth also took Ichabod’s hand in his own. They were weaker and his skin was already showing signs of thinning, and Koth had to fight the urge to let go. “If I told you I’m scared you’ll try to find a way to stop me and make things worse.”
Ichabod slowed his walking even more, Koth knew it was so he could think better, and he guessed it was to think of a response. Ichabod was so damn smart, it was something Koth both loved and hated about his husband. There were times when it was helpful, like talking to people about serious issues; but it also led to him overthinking and pushing himself to find a solution to every problem he was faced with. Koth hated those times, seeing Ichabod overworked and tired yet refusing to stop and take care of himself. This felt too close to one of those times.
“I want you to be happy though. I won’t say that I won’t stop you from whatever it is you’re planning,” there was a brief pause as Ichabod silently laughed at himself, “But I know you, and I know that if you don’t get your ideas out of your head, they’ll burst out and cause more damage. Talk to me, Koth. Please.”
Staring into dark eyes that never stop amazing Koth, he said “I’m sorry, my love, but I can’t. I’m not strong enough to.”
The days following that conversation were like any other they’ve shared in their short time together. Life had become calm, something that Koth wasn’t ever comfortable with before; and after many years of learning how to truly enjoy it, Koth had appreciated the simplicity of everything. That’s why he went out without Ichabod knowing to find someone who could help.
They had met so many people, experienced things that Koth still didn’t understand, and he had become convinced that there was a way that could prevent aging. Not completely, and he wouldn’t be able to reverse anything, but it would give them just a little bit more time together. And that was enough for Koth to do everything in his power to get them just a little bit more time together.
That’s how Koth had met one particular person. He had helped the party a few times with supplies and was considered a trusted ally. He was also quite difficult to find, that was because he was also constantly on the run from law enforcement. Koth knew how to track him though. Towns that had reports of seemingly random objects reported going missing, higher explosion rates that no one can explain, and other wizardry things were bound to have the silly purple haired man lingering around.
Lucky for Koth, such a town was just a day's travel, and Ichabod had been talking about how he wanted to get out of the house for some time now. The best part is that Koth wouldn’t have to lie about why they were going in the first place. It had been close to a year since they saw the wizard, and getting to catch up would be the perfect excuse they were looking for to travel.
“What if we went to see Mellifluous? I think I know where he is, and I have to ask him for a favour. We should go together,” Koth suggested while Ichabod was reading. It startled him more than Koth thought it should have. He mumbled an apology while his husband took a second to gather himself.
“That would be nice actually, it has been a while. And I’m going to take a wild guess and say that this favour has something to do with what you’re not telling me?” Koth nodded and Ichabod let out a long breath. He seemed to have aged more, Koth noticed darker bags under his eyes and wrinkles were more pronounced. He loved Ichabod, he thought he was always the most beautiful thing around ever since they started dating; but it was getting harder to not think about it sometimes.
“I won’t lie to you and say that it isn’t, but I just need you to trust me on this. I would rather die than do anything to actively hurt you, you know this,” Koth reached across to gently hold onto Ichabod’s arm in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. He didn’t see any notable change in his husband's deminor.
Preparing for this trip was interesting to say the least. Ichabod was almost giving Koth the silent treatment, but it wasn’t working. Something would come up or Ichabod would literally forget, and regret starting the conversation with Koth because he KNEW Koth would continue like nothing was happening. The decades of living together now have built habits that were harder to break than either of them would have imagined, and it was almost cute how Ichabod was slowly realizing this along with Koth.
It still hurt though, Koth didn’t want to keep his love in the dark for as long as he was, but this was just too important to him. Koth was convinced that the only thing that could stop him at this point was death itself, and he’d already come back once, he’d gladly find his way out again if he could.
Ichabod had to have also picked up on this, because soon after they started their travels, he started talking normally and apologized for how he was acting. Which Koth forgave him for, naturally.
It took about two days for them to find Mellifluous. He was hiding further from the town than usual, and instead of finding an abandoned building or someone who was willing to take him in, he was sitting in the middle of a campsite he had to have made himself. There was barely any clearing, and the path to get there was practically non-existent save for the trails that were starting to appear from walking back and forth from the town.
“Don’t come any closer, I have a weapon!!” Was heard from behind one of the many trees that surrounded the area. Ichabod froze, but once Mellifluous came out himself and saw the couple he lowered his arms and let the oversized cloak sleeves cover them; his natural resting position and clearest sign of contentment.
“Hello Mellifluous, hope you’re doing well,” Koth started as he casually walked up to the wizard to properly greet him. They exchanged a few simple formalities and caught up, and even with how much time they spent apart, nothing felt out of place. No, it was peaceful until the reason why they were visiting came up.
Ichabod stormed off immediately when Mellifluous asked, which just brought more questions.
“I won’t tell him and he’s upset. It’s fine because it’s for his own good, but I’ve never NOT told him and-” Koth noticed he was rambling and cut himself off. What was more important was the reason they were here. “I want to find a way to stop his aging. It doesn’t have to be fully or forever, I just can’t lose him yet and I’m not going to sit around and do nothing while I watch him die.”
“Koth… Buddy…” Mellifluous started, but stopped when Koth had a death glare that he hoped was enough to show how enraged he was. He wasn’t going to be talked down on like some child, and he sure as Hell wasn’t going to be told no. Not today, not over something like this.
“If you dare try to tell me that it’s not possible I will simply remind you of all the other ‘impossible’ things that you have done and are currently trying to do. And then if you tell me that you weren’t going to say that at all, I will kill you for thinking lying to me is a good idea right now.”
Koth had stood up, knowing that the height he had on the wizard was enough to scare him into taking back his words before he even spoke them. Mixed with his low voice and the fact that Mellifluous had seen Koth pissed off enough times to know making him really angry wasn’t a great idea, he would say it worked pretty well in Koth’s favour.
“Okay okay, you win. Just please sit back down, I don’t want any trouble,” the smaller man was in fact shaking, which Koth wasn’t ashamed to admit he liked. Having that kind of power over people was a lot easier than doing things the “normal” or “right” way. If he had the ability to get what he wanted by using fear then why would he not use that?
“I’m glad we’re on the same page,” Koth said, giving a smile that was also meant as a threat in case Mellifluous wanted to try anything else. Which he didn’t; instead, Koth learned about a flower that was said to be near impossible to retrieve, but anyone who was able to get their hands on it was said to gain immortality.
“There is one thing however,” Mellifluous continued. “The guardian of this flower is said to be cursed. No one knows how, or what the curse does, but you have to be careful. No one has returned after going after the flower, and it’s said that no one ever will because of this curse.”
“How do you know there’s a curse? How do people even know of the flower in the first place if no one has ever come back?” Koth asked. He was skeptical of the whole thing, and he had a lot more questions now that he had just one answer.
“There has been one person. She didn’t go for the flower, but after hearing another person talk about putting a curse on the guardian, she went out to find them. After she did, she told me. As far as I know, there are very few people that know about the flower in the first place. Everything I’ve told you came from the woman who said she got her information from the guardian.”
Koth sighed and asked more about how to find the guardian, to which Mellifluous said he needed to find the woman again so he could ask her. She lived in the town that was nearby, so it wouldn’t be hard to talk to her. Koth offered going himself, but was shot down saying that she would probably not talk to strangers about something this precious which Koth found understandable enough.
“Welp, it’s getting late and I should probably get back to my work because it can only be done at night, you know this,” the wizard said and Koth nodded along to humor the man. He knew it was probably bullshit, but if Mellifluous was willing to help then Koth would let him retire early and leave Ichabod and Koth to find somewhere to sleep.
Which reminded Koth that he didn’t have the slightest clue as to where Ichabod went. They said that if they ever got lost or separated in a city or town, they would wait for each other at the tavern, and if there were multiple they would find the one that’s name was alphabetically first. There was only one tavern here though, so Koth went. It also doubled as an inn, so if push came to shove he would be able to get a room for himself and let Ichabod brood more, or whatever he was doing.
Ichabod was there though, and he got up from his table and hugged Koth as soon as he was spotted. Koth hugged him back and kissed into his hair, mumbling how everything was going to be okay and that there wasn’t any reason to be angry. Ichabod only hugged tighter, his non-verbal way of telling Koth to shut up. Which he did and hugged his husband until he pulled away to go sit back down.
“I already got us a room and we should be able to go in soon. I know it’s not really that late but I’m tired and would really like to go in and read,” Ichabod said as he took a sip from his drink. Koth couldn’t remember the last time he saw Ichabod drunk, it had to have been years.
“That’s okay. Just let me know if you need anything,” Koth gave a small squeeze to Ichabod’s arm and got a hum in response. The barkeep got Koth a drink and after they were finished they went into their room to enjoy each other’s company in silence. Comfortable silence though, Koth thanked the alcohol for that. And soon enough both men were cuddled in bed, fast asleep.
Koth woke before Ichabod, which wasn’t a surprise to him. He had prepared to write a note last night and started writing a portion already, he just had to finish up. He explained that he was just going to go see Mellifluous and be back hopefully later that afternoon or if the worst happened, tomorrow.
Koth kissed Ichabod’s forehead before leaving, whispering a quiet ‘I love you’ as he closed the door.
------
Long ago, there was a little girl who was all alone. She did everything in her 12 year old power to make friends, desperate for anyone to play with her, to talk to her, anything. But no one wanted to be friends with someone who was a monster. They called her a freak, even her own parents didn’t want to keep her for very long. She always said she was cursed. She never thought it would actually happen.
There was a wizard who was very interested in this little girl (NOT LIKE THAT). He was curious about why no one wanted to be around her, he was curious about why her own parents threw her out to fend for herself at such a young age. He would soon learn that this little girl had a very dark secret, one that she didn’t know was happening to her.
Every night when the clouds weren’t blocking the stars, this little girl would turn into a horrible beast. One that terrorized the town and plagued people’s nightmares.
The first night that Mellifluous took the child in was certainly an experience. He should have expected to hear clawing and roaring coming from his guest bedroom once the sun had set and he thought she was asleep, but he wasn’t fully thinking that day. Using spells and a lot of rope, the wizard managed to tie up the giant chimera with all three heads snapping at each other, almost like children bickering over candy. Which he supposed wasn’t far from what was actually happening.
After that Mellifluous made sure to empty the room before nightfall, more for the safety of the girl. He didn’t care if any of his possessions got destroyed, but if the chimera hurt itself by fighting over what piece of furniture they got to destroy, he felt like it was his responsibility.
“Why do you do that? You don’t even give me a bed to sleep in!” The girl asked one morning, looking exhausted. She had been up all night, but didn’t seem to remember any of last night's events.
“It’s for your safety. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t want you to get hurt. You trust me, don’t you?” Mellifluous watched to see if there was any doubt in the child’s face, but she nodded and sat down at the table. They ate breakfast together, and that became their routine.
Eventually Mellifluous told parts to the girl when it became harder and harder to explain the things that were happening; scratches on the wall, bite marks on the new bed that was given to the girl. He explained to the young child about how she turned into a chimera every night, and how they acted how any wild beast stuck in a small room would. But not everything was told. Mellifluous still kept one thing, and it was that he had no idea how to stop the changing.
He had worked so hard to find anything, desperately searching for answers, but he couldn’t. And every time that little girl looked scared of herself, wanting everything to stop just as much as he did, Mellifluous couldn’t bring himself to say that he didn’t have a way to stop it.
Years went by, and while the changing didn’t stop, the little girl was able to better control the monster that took over her body every night. She even learned how to switch on command when they both felt confident in her ability to make sure no one got hurt.
During those years, Mellifluous was still searching for some way that he could help, but nothing ever came up.
It was almost noon when Mellifluous started to get worried about the child. She didn’t come out of her room, which it was normal for her to sleep in some morning so the wizard didn’t think anything of it. But he was sure that it was too late, even for her.
There wasn’t any response after knocking on the door, and when he called out to her from the other side of the closed door and still didn’t hear anything, he opened the door. To an empty room. There wasn’t any sign of a break in other than a very strong sense of magic coming from any direction. It was a lot stronger than Mellifluous’ abilities, and there was a sick hope that whoever took the girl was strong enough to help her better than he could.
------
Upon arriving at the wizard’s campsite, Koth was slightly annoyed when there were two people sitting around instead of just the one. There was a woman talking with Mellifluous, sipping out of a cup politely when she was done speaking. Both of them had neutral expressions, which made Koth hesitant to approach. He wasn’t sure what he would be walking in on.
“I don’t want anyone taking any weapons near her. She’s content at the moment, and if he tried fighting her… I don’t think it would end well,” Koth heard the woman say once he got closer. They hadn’t noticed him yet, and hearing that made Koth freeze.
“I’m not going to be the one to tell Koth that,” Mellifluous laughed. The woman gave a puzzled look, but continued when she wasn’t given an answer.
“I don’t want anyone getting hurt. But I am willing to help, there’s no reason why I wouldn’t,” she said. “Now, Koth stop lurking and join us. I don’t bite, most of the time.”
Koth awkwardly shuffled his way to sit on the log next to Mellifluous. “I’m not leaving my sword here. That stays with me at all times, I’m not negotiating that.”
The women gave Koth a sour look, which he returned ten times over. Mellifluous stopped Koth from getting up to start a fight with the stranger, and Koth only let himself be stopped in hopes that it would stop Ichabod’s aging.
“The guardian I told you about. She’s very important to both of us, and if anything happened to her… We can’t risk it.”
“It’s also not just for her. If she sees any sign of danger, she’s under a curse to kill whoever she sees as the threat. Having a weapon would only trigger that.” The woman’s voice was calm as she explained, but Koth couldn’t help but feel rage anyways.
“I don’t care, I don’t leave anywhere without my sword. It means too much to me, I won’t leave it,” Koth tried to keep his voice from shaking, but he couldn’t. Even the thought of having to leave it was enough to piss him right the fuck off. “I do know how to keep it out of sight though. I won’t use it.”
Mellifluous and the stranger exchanged looks, and Koth wondered what silent conversation they were having. He thought about all the glances that he and Ichabod shared too, and the need to protect him became even stronger.
“I’m going if you give me permission or not. Your help would be appreciated though, so I ask this. Are you going to help or not?” Koth studied both of them closely, looking for any sign of anger or distrust. There wasn’t any that he could tell, and he hoped there wasn’t any showing in his own face anymore. These people did want to help, he knew that. It wouldn’t be fair if he didn’t show the same respect they were giving after that.
There were a few more moments of silence before the woman spoke. “Fine. But it’s on you if anything happens. I won’t be taking the responsibility after you’ve been warned,” There wasn’t any anger in her voice, there wasn’t any annoyance, she was simply stating a fact. Something that Koth could appreciate.
“May I know your name?” Koth asked the woman.
“You may call me Luna. It’s nice to meet you,” She said, giving a polite nod which Koth returned. He wasn’t sure where to go from there though. He had everything ready to go, was prepared for anything the world might be cruel enough to throw at him, but he still didn’t know where he was going.
“Are you really that anxious to get going? Your husband isn’t on the verge of death you know,” Mellifluous teased, Koth just glared at him. He wasn’t in the mood to sit around, the sooner Koth could stop Ichabod’s aging the sooner he could get back to him and they be happy together again. There wasn’t anything that was going to stop Koth, not after he was this close.
“Well, at least eat something while we discuss routes and other boring things,” Luna suggested. It was only then that Koth noticed there was food cooking on the fire, and he did forget to eat before he left the tavern.
“It wouldn’t hurt, I suppose.”
It was just as Luna said. The talk about how to get to the flower and how to spot other dangers of the forest where it was tucked away was a boring conversation. Most of the tips that Koth was being offered were things he had already learned from years of experience with his own adventures. It wasn’t even as if Koth needed the refresher, his memory was good enough to recount everything that was said perfectly since they started talking.
They were helping though, and Koth humored them by listening and going along with what they were saying. It was a lot shorter of a talk than Koth felt like it was, which was good because he still wanted to be back before midday. And that shouldn’t be a problem because they were already in the forest where the flower guardian was keeping her sacred plant.
All that Koth needed to do was follow a path that Luna had been subtly marking, and then he’d be there. She said it was safe, but Koth still had to be on the lookout for anything that seemed out of place because of the nature of the guardian. She was said to cause the animals to act a lot more aggressive than they normally would, but Luna had only encountered such things only a handful of times compared to how often she visited the guardian.
There was a part of Koth that wanted to ask more about the relationship between the woman and guardian, but the other part that wanted to get going as soon as possible was a lot stronger. So Koth thanked his friend and his partner before setting off to find a magic flower and its guardian.
There was only one animal that tried to attack Koth. He was just about to reach the next marker, his mind slightly more distracted than he knew was safe when it happened. A wild boar charged directly at Koth’s legs, almost knocking him to the ground. He was able to regain his balance just in time though, pulling out his sword as he watched the pig getting ready for a second charge.
There was drool leaking out of its mouth, and Koth could feel it running down his leg as well where it attacked. He took a mental note to take a bath somewhere before going back to Ichabod.
Thankfully, with the help of his sword, killing the boar was easy once he got close enough to slice through the thick skin around its throat. Koth was careful to keep closer attention on his surroundings, but it wasn’t needed. It only was another 15 minutes of walking before he got to the final checkpoint.
It was surrounded by a beautiful golden glowing light, and upon closer inspection, Koth saw that almost everything in the surrounding area had a similar glow to it. It was magical alright, but Koth was never one to have any reason to care to learn anything further than being able to tell when there’s any magical shenanigans going on.
There weren’t any other noticeable changes though. Koth wasn’t exactly sure where he was even supposed to go now, Luna hadn’t said anything about what to do when he got there. Koth was sure he would have missed the small voice that was calling out to him if it weren’t for his heightened hearing either. But it was there, and there wasn’t anything it could be other than the flower guardian.
Following the voice past the trees into another clearing that was alarmingly similar to Mellifluous’ in Koth’s opinion, he found a small human girl standing right behind a giant golden flower. It was very apparent that she lived in this clearing alone; there was a patch of flattened grass that Koth guessed she slept on, and a large pile of bones of various animals that had fallen prey to the girl’s hunger.
What really surprised him though was the amount of claw marks on all of the surrounding trees. Koth was surprised that there were even any trees left at all. There was no way that this small being could make all of them alone, not with her size or age. Koth didn’t know a lot about children, but he did know that even with as bored as they can, they would never create as much damage as he was seeing now.
Her simple white dress that she was wearing was stained a little, but other than that there wasn’t any damage at all, which didn’t make any sense because of the state the trees were in, but Koth looked past all of that.
The only thing Koth cared about in that moment was getting the flower. He didn’t have time to ask questions, he didn’t WANT to be friendly and have a casual conversation about the mysterious tree damage. No, he wanted to get back to his husband so they can spend more time together than whatever god made humans live for such a short amount of time.
“Are you going to be like the others?” The girl asked. Her voice trembled as she spoke, and Koth took notice that her hands were shaking as well.
“What does that mean?” Koth asked in return, ignoring the obvious fear the guardian was showing.
“Everyone who comes for the flower tries to kill me. But they never win. Are you going to be like the others?”
“No. I won’t try to hurt you at all. I’m friends with Mellifluous and Luna, and they said they care about you. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt them.”
The guardian’s face lit up at the mention of their mutual relationships, but she didn’t move or say anything for a long moment. Koth could see that she was thinking of what to say, but before she could finish her thoughts he spoke again. “I want your flower for my husband. I want to know what makes it so difficult to obtain.”
The girl’s face fell when Koth said that, the shadows darkening in what would be a very intimidating manor if she weren’t only a quarter of Koth’s size and he didn’t have his sword tucked away out of sight. “I’m cursed. And part of the curse is I can’t tell anyone how to break it. That’s what Luna said anyways. What I can do is ask what you think might break the curse and then-”
“I don’t care about breaking any curse. I just came here for the flower, now tell me how to get it from you,” Koth demanded with a lowered voice, doing his own intimidation that he knew had to work on the human. She did break the eye contact that they held since Koth’s arrival, and a small glimmer of hope spread throughout Koth as he thought how close he was to getting what he wanted.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you. And if you get angry it’s only going to get you killed. You said you weren’t like the others, but you lied. You’re exactly like them,” the guardian walked over her flower until she was standing within arms reach of Koth. He had to look down quite a bit so he could see her, and felt a small pang of guilt when he really focused on how young she was, how small her frame looked next to him.
It didn’t last very long. HIs patience has been tested enough, and being called a fucking liar was the breaking point. Koth didn’t stop himself from pulling out his weapon and raising it to the girl.
As soon as he did, everything started to move in slow motion. The guardian’s form started to change from the small child to a giant monster, a lion with the tail of a serpent and a goat protruding from its back. The chimera swiped its massive paw, leaving a gash all across Koth’s bare chest.
He was knocked to the ground, his sword flying out of his hand out of reach. Koth cursed himself for not listening to all the warnings he was given. He knew that it wasn’t possible for him to return to Ichabod, even if he was able to somehow escape the true guardian of the flower. The shame knowing that he fucked up, it took a hold of his mind and was telling him that he wasn’t good enough. It was saying that he shouldn’t go back at all and forget about everything.
Koth didn’t have time to think about anything else. His last regret was that he spent his final moments kicking himself instead of being happy about the life he lived with Ichabod. He only wanted a little more time, and instead he died because of his selfishness and didn’t properly die thinking about the one thing he cared about in this world because of it at the same time.
------
Ichabod woke up not remembering right away that he was staying with Koth in the tavern, or that they were there to visit Mellifluous. Without Koth there to calm him, Ichabod panicked and ran out of the room and downstairs. There he finally remembered where he was, slightly embarrassed as everyone watched the old man frantically looking around. He didn’t pay attention to them after though, instead walking out of the tavern to go talk to Mellifluous and Koth.
It was already late into the afternoon, and he didn’t blame Koth for not wanting to stay in the small room to wait for Ichabod to wake up. It took some effort, but he found the wizard’s little campsite where he and a woman were sitting outside reading together. Ichabod regretted not bringing a book of his own.
The woman looked up from her book when Ichabod approached and gave a warm smile. Ichabod returned the gesture and sat next to her.
“You must be Ichabod. I’m Luna, it’s nice to meet you,” she said, closing her book and setting it on the other side of her from where Ichabod was sitting. Mellifluous had a look Ichabod knew too well; rushing to finish what he was reading so he could be a part of the conversation as well.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” Ichabod half-heartedly responded. He was more focused on looking around for Koth, who should have been there as well. “Where’s Koth?”
He knew something was wrong when neither of them responded right away. His chest began to hurt and it became more difficult to breathe just because of the silence, anxiety growing rapidly that he couldn’t get rid of.
“He left to go find something,” Mellifluous started carefully. Ichabod felt insulted by the way he said it as if Ichabod was some fragile being. “It’s something very dangerous though, and there’s a high chance that he won’t come back.”
He laughed at that. Ichabod wasn’t stupid, even if he was getting older he knew when he was being lied to. He didn’t give an answer when he was met with questioning looks from his two companions. “I should have known this would happen, I was stupid for thinking he wouldn’t leave eventually.”
“What are you talking about?” Luna and Mellifluous asked in sync.
“Please, you don’t have to come up with some elaborate scheme. I know I’m old, and I know Koth wouldn’t go after some dangerous quest if he knew he couldn’t get back. He left me, and he’s going off to go wherever and find someone better,” As Ichabod was saying this, the stinging in his eyes turned into full crying. Even after he had accepted this years ago now, it didn’t hurt any less that Koth would ever actually abandon him.
“Ichabod, why would we- that’s not what happened,” Mellifluous stood up and walked around the campfire to Ichabod. He also stood up to back away from the lying man.
“I don’t care. He wouldn’t ever leave without telling me, and he’s been hiding a lot of things from me lately. It doesn’t change anything, he’s gone and I don’t fucking care,” his voice betrayed him in that moment. He was falling apart, that much was obvious. Every part of him was shaking, and he felt that if he kept standing for much longer he wouldn’t be able to at all.
He pushed himself though and started to walk away. Ignoring every part of him begging to stay, to wait and hope that they were right and that Koth would come back any second now and everything would be okay. Ichabod also ignored it when Mellifluous asked him to come back so they could properly explain.
Every day after that Ichabod waited at their home for Koth to come back. He knew it was stupid, he knew that if Koth didn’t come back after the first day that he wasn’t going to at all, but he couldn’t help himself. Koth was the only person he had ever loved, and he felt as if his entire being depended on Koth being there for him, and Ichabod being there for Koth in return. He waited for 20 more years, even after it became harder for Ichabod to remember Koth’s face, then his voice, until he forgot what he was waiting for entirely. He knew there was something that he was missing, and he felt it in his heart as he laid down to sleep in a bed that felt too empty for the last time.