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Veritas Ratio stared out the vast expanse before him. The sudden change in scenery had intrigued him. Not five minutes ago had the sand his hooves were walking on been volcanic. A dark maroon, lighted only by the lava readily lying in craters waiting to maim anypony who’d dare fall in. That, or it’d result in their death, but that wasn’t a research project he’d want to pursue really. Needlessly maiming a pony was something he wasn’t willing to do, even if it involved research. Unconsciously, his eyes travelled over to his companion’s, on this mission, wings.
Aventurine’s flight feathers were crudely cut in half, mangled. Never to grow back. Simply mauled. Either way the gambler couldn’t fly. Part of a past Veritas couldn’t even begin to imagine. Sometimes, Veritas thought he could catch a hint of amber at the flight feather’s edges. Hm, the gambler’s wings might have even been beautiful at one point, if whoever had done this, hadn’t done such a cruel act. What monster had clipped-
“Are you checking me out Doctor?” Aventurine suddenly sounded and Veritas’ eyes immediately shot to where Aventurine was smirking at him. A rush of heat shot up into his face, and immediately his horn sparked, soon coating his head in its stone bust. This earned a chuckle from the gambler and Veritas looked away.
“Of course not,” Veritas replied, though his stone head made no movement. “I simply got lost in my thoughts there. Anyhow, we should continue forward.” Without really waiting for an answer from the flightless pegasus, he continued forward. “Now, were we we?” He looked around. They were just past the Dragon Lands, right?
“The IPC sent us to check out that weird desert area where it also rains constantly,” Aventurine provided. His smirk could be heard in his voice. “See if it’s suitable for ponykind, or whatever. Why they sent us specifically, I have no idea, but I’m not particularly disappointed~.” Veritas decided to not really react to that comment, merely surveying the land before him. He then turned his head towards Aventurine, his stone bust dissipated. “Oh, hey. I see a small settlement up ahead.” Aventurine turned toward Veritas expectantly, and Veritas swallowed the guilt that he felt press into his throat.
Aventurine would get that illogical mark soon, right?
He’d find his.. ‘thing’, soon right?
Then he wouldn’t have to give him this false hope. He wouldn’t have to do this, Aventurine would get his Mark, right?
Then Veritas wouldn’t have to falsify one for him?
The concept of a ‘Cutie Mark’ was something that had intrigued him since he was a colt. Veritas had got his relatively young, a graphical representation of his intellect and his proclivity for sculpture. It suited him, if he thought so himself. But, he’d always wondered what exactly went into what Cutie Mark one would get. How they occurred had already been thrown out the window, though, as he’d found nothing on that subject, and he’d had to concede to the possibility of just being caused by ‘magic’. Magic did exist after all, magic was how he falsified a Cutie Mark for Aventurine, it was how his bust functioned. It was how one of his fathers did his work, where he’d even gotten the horn from. It almost seemed contradictory to his character, a unicorn more concerned with reality than magic, when he himself had magic. Cutie Mark magic, itself, intrigued him but it also seemed downright illogical in itself. He looked at Aventurine, who was now giving him a strange look, and he glanced over at Aventurine’s flank.
Aventurine was the first case he’d ever encountered of an adult pony having no graphical representation on their flank. No Cutie Mark.
The sight was common among foals. Not adults.
And all this paradox made him wonder, was what in the hay had happened to Aventurine in his past that he'd never find his ‘thing’? What had the gambler gone through that the Mark never came?
“Veritas?”
Veritas blinked when he realized he’d gone into research mode. He coughed into his hoof. “I apologize.” He looked back at Aventurine and steeled his expression. “The spell will only last an hour, so don’t go running off while we pass through.” Aventurine rolled his eyes.
“I don’t need to run off, I’m perfectly happy staying by your side,” he smirked, and Veritas felt himself warm. He shook his head however and tried to focus.
Focus on the Mark he always gives him.
Focus on the Mark…
“That’s a new one,” Aventurine commented. “Still the usual roulette wheel, but, there’s something new here.” Veritas opened his eyes and looked at Aventurine’s flank, the roulette wheel was there, as per usual, but there was also what looked to be a peacock wrapping its wing around said wheel, its wings obviously clipped, even though peacocks couldn’t fly that well anyways, and it was brown, in stark contrast to Aventurine’s teal flank. Veritas scrutinized it.
“Hm, I didn’t mean to put the peacock on there, I must’ve done it wrong…” he wasn’t sure what would’ve of tainted the image of the False Mark, but it was definitely not the fact he’d been eying Aventurine’s wings earlier. Aventurine smiled slightly, and the smile was… genuine? Not a smirk or fake smile, a genuine smile. Aventurine’s eyes even seemed a little lighter.
“I like it, I feel it suits me a lot more than just a regular ‘o roulette wheel, even if I’m known for gambling,” he chuckled.
A strange heat made its way to Veritas’ face, much to his annoyance.
He’d never seen him look so… genuinely happy?
Shaking himself, he straightened. “We should really get moving if we’re going to reach that area we’re tasked with. Remember it’ll only last an hour,” he said as they set off again. The settlement itself was nothing to write home about, just some scattered tents and only a few ponies here and there. Aventurine, however, looked a bit sad as they passed through the settlement, his wings were drooping and he was unusually silent. “Everything alright?” Veritas found himself saying. Immediately, Aventurine cheered up and smiled the fakest of smiles Veritas had seen on him. It made him uneasy.
“Everything’s great,” Aventurine responded, sounding almost robotic. Veritas may not have been the best at emotions, but everything indicated that the gambler was lying. Veritas decided to not press it. As much as he did want to learn about the pegasus’ past, he wasn’t going to do it without consent. Plus, psychology was one of the very few fields he was not an expert in. The rest of the journey through the settlement was made in silence until Aventurine’s ear pricked up. “A cliff…” he mused as the ground suddenly stopped. Veritas looked over the drop.
“Flying down would be the easiest,” he observed. He then looked over at Aventurine, whose flightless wings almost flexed nervously. “But, you can’t fly.” Aventurine looked at him.
“It’s not my fault-“ Veritas blinked. Of course he knew it wasn’t Aventurine’s fault, he’d never insinuated that it was Aventurine’s fault.
“I never said it was,” he said simply. “I was going to ask for your permission.” Aventurine blinked and he trotted over to Veritas’ side, the False Mark starting to fade.
“My permission? For what?” He smirked. “Why, do you wanna kiss me or something? Oh, wait, you totally wanna kiss me.” Veritas blinked at him. Of all things to assume. But, at least, Aventurine was back to normal.
“To levitate you down, not to kiss you. I’m asking for your permission, because I don’t feel comfortable doing it without your consent,” he stated simply, eying the drop of the cliff, and then switching between that and Aventurine’s wings every so often. Aventurine looked at him before smirking.
“Okay, whatever you say, Doctor~. You may.” Veritas rolled his eyes and his horn started glowing. Then, a yellow aura started surrounding Aventurine and he was lifted up into the air. “Woah! It’s like I’m flying again!” Veritas flinched at how childlike the awe in Aventurine’s voice was. Aventurine was even flapping his flightless wings as he was lowered down. Empathy struck Veritas’ heart, feeling a sharp pang of pain.
Just what had happened to him in his past?
Veritas unintentionally let the spell dissipate a bit too early as strange thoughts filled his head. That gambler didn’t deserve what had happened to him? Who would be so cruel as to render a significant part of his identity utterly useless? Who’d dare hurt anypony that badly? These thought processes surprised even himself. Did he care for that gambler pegasus? No, that was preposterous. It was an illogical thing to think. Veritas shook himself and levitated himself down as well.
“Took ya long enough Doc, what were you even doing up there anyways?” Aventurine chuckled when Veritas finally touched down on the amber sand. Veritas, however, was more focused on the weather. It felt damp, and dark clouds were brimming above them. “Uh, Doctor, what are you doing?” Veritas shielded the both of them with magic and he looked at Aventurine.
“Go into the cave. I don’t trust that it’ll stay clear out here, and we wouldn’t want to catch a cold in this weather either.” The two of them had just entered the cave when the looming cloud had burst, practically making a waterfall out of what was once the entrance. “That was close.”
“I’ll say. If I didn’t have you here I would’ve hundred percent gotten wet. Needlessly to say, however, that this is one strange desert.” Aventurine shuffled closer to Veritas, and the latter shot him a look. “Though? Between being out there, and here where it’s warm, I’m gonna take the being warm.” Veritas kept his annoyance under control.
“If you fall asleep on me-“
“I won’t. But, hm, would that really be so bad, you seem to like me a lot,” Aventurine hummed, and Veritas glared at him. Veritas turned his attention on the waterfall outside while Aventurine made himself comfortable with his head lying on Veritas’ shoulder, much to his chagrin. Aventurine went quiet after that, and Veritas finally had some peace and quiet, free from Aventurine’s incessant ramblings. He watched the water pouring in the entrance from in front of him. It really was a strange desert. It was contradictory in every single aspect. Deserts weren’t known for their rain
It wasn’t long before Veritas felt a slight pressure on his shoulder. It wasn’t consistent and only every so often, but it was specifically his shoulder feeling the pressure. He looked over at his shoulder.
Was Aventurine, nuzzling him?
Indeed he was. He was nuzzling him much like a foal might to someone they trust while asleep.
So the damned gambler had fallen asleep, and on his shoulder of all things. What is he going to do about-
Aventurine suddenly settled, gently rubbing his head on the taller stallion’s shoulder. Veritas was unabashedly, basically staring at him. He didn’t exactly know why, but the way Aventurine looked when he slept was intriguing to him.
Like before with the False Mark, Aventurine’s smile was genuine, it was small, a simple quirk of the lips, but it was still genuine. There was no tension in the flightless pegasus’ shoulders, and the False Mark was no longer there. He was snuggled into Veritas’ side like he was a lover, or even that he didn’t even think it was Veritas at all. Veritas simply watched him.
Aventurine was almost… cu-
He was suddenly cold. Veritas averted his gaze from Aventurine and stared out the entrance. There was no other means of a blanket other than Aventurine’s wings, which were folded at his side, so Veritas took one of them and placed it on his own flank, ignoring how his cheeks warmed at this self-inflicted action.
And the warmth certainly didn’t intensify when the pressure of Aventurine’s wing could be felt on his back. Like Aventurine had known what he’d done and made it an actual hug. Veritas looked away.
He… should focus on the weather… anyways.