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Never had The Elation seen anything like it before, when the masks bore witness to the first Aeon THEY ever saw directly confronting HooH face to face. An immovable force and an unstoppable object. That was one of the first ever times Aha set eyes on the renowned Trailblaze, an Aeon THEY have heard of even from before ascending, or so they thought at least; everyone knew Akivili almost from limit to limit of the cosmos.
The Trailblaze had already ascended well before The Elation did, but compared to the others THEY were the youngest during that time, time in which Aha was still busying THEMSELVES with jokes and pranks to notice that other deities even existed outside of being targets. But everywhere Aha went there was one Aeon whose name was in the mouth of almost every person: Akivili The Trailblaze.
It was not an exaggeration to say that Aha felt curious at first, but still felt THEY had better things to do, the other Aeons were also talked about and THEY were not all that interesting, at least not enough to grant a gaze from The Elation whose time was precious, more than anyone else's. What were the other Aeons good for? Pranking and bothering, nothing else. And what could Elation need from the other paths?, nothing. THEIR ascension was still an easily remembered experience, but THEY had learned that the longer it passed the less they would remember. Oh well, nothing's lost if nothing's remembered.
But a confrontation between two Aeons… that was interesting and attractive enough, Aha had to be there! Of course, if it wasn't actually eye-catching then THEY would be disappointed, but a new experience was always welcomed when it had a chance to bring laughter and entertainment.
And then THEY saw it.
An almost mortal-looking Aeon, just staring back directly at the massive body that was The Equilibrium, not a single sign of hesitation as THEY faced each other, the unbothered Equilibrium not outwardly reacting at all to the unwavering will that was displayed in the younger god. The scales were tilted ever so slightly, and the noise that came from HooH denoted annoyance; but that was the only sign of such.
Akivili was completely different, fists curled as if THEY were getting ready to throw the first punch, but what actually looked dangerous were the rails around THEM, the silver rails Aha had seen before countless times that other beings used to traverse between words either directly or using it as a guide, a compass that was useful when the stars in the sky were not enough due to the long distances that were sometimes needed to reach certain destinations. If Aha knew those could be a hazard THEY would have tried to touch and analyze them earlier, but even Aeons can only do what time allows them to, with exception from the one who works against it.
The argument no longer mattered to Aha, there was one goal The Elation had, and that was to sit and observe, for one of the very few times in THEIR existence up until that moment. Every frown of Akivili was recorded in the memory of those masks, every puff of that chest whenever HooH made a statement or counterargument; even the moment that Akivili gathered enough courage to throw a rail to one of the golden scales, tilting it a dangerous amount while HooH moved faster than THEY have ever done in THEIR entire existence before and after in order to fix it. Aha's laughter at the reckless action could almost combat the one THEIR Fools like to tell so much on their fables about THEIR ascension, but it was appropriate for the moment, at least Aha thought the moment was worth it.
That was fun
Akivili was fun.
And so The Elation decided to look closer whenever The Astral Express passed by THEIR current route, detouring just enough from the pranks to be able to catch a glimpse of that who was willing to tip the entire universe on its back just to prove a point, that and rebel against an being who could make THEM disappear in a blink. Aeons were solely dedicated to their paths, yes, but none of them were devoted and reckless enough to go against balance itself in order to do so.
The Elation watched and watched over The Trailblaze, having a newfound fascination for one of THEIR peers, fascination that never existed before, or at least not as strongly and lasting as this time around.
And fascination became obsession, and, with that, Aha's desire to catch the shooting star's attention started brewing. There was a need now, but it was going to be a hard one to fulfill. Akivili was friendly with the others, with clear favoritism to whom Aha would notice were THEIR closest, Ena and Qlipoth, but that was not the sort of attention The Elation wanted, it had to be unique .
Elation with a plan was a dangerous matter.
But that was something Akivili would learn in the long run… or the short one, when THEY noticed a new Nameless with a strange aura hopping onto The Express one day. Something made Akivili keep an eye on the individual, all while tending to THEIR own duties inside and outside of the train. Akivili had always had a staring problem, or so THEY have been told, but this time everyone noticed the special attention the newest Nameless was getting, curious about the reason for it. The eyes of The Trailblaze were constantly on them, no matter which activity they were doing, mundane or not. That Nameless, of course, was not bothered by this, actually enjoying the attention, enjoying that they had those eyes fixed on them at any moment.
One full Trailblaze Calendar year passed where the Aeon and that Nameless kept dancing around each other pretending not to notice the other's look. It was an engaging battle, Akivili trying THEIR damndest to find out what exactly was that passenger hiding, and the Nameless seeming to not do all that much to hide they were not a normal person just passing by.
The inquisitive eyes of The Trailblaze followed almost everything this passenger did: while they walked around interacting with the rest, while they played with Pom-Pom and made a mess in the train, while they slept in the main hall once the lights went off, and also while they…
“Explosion detected in the train! All Nameless move towards the cabin!”
It was rare to see Pom-Pom so serious and worried, the train was their life after all, and in quite the literal sense. The creator of the Express was nowhere to be found, though, but the Conductor's main priority was the surviving passengers, it was the security protocol set in place. Akivili could always manage on THEIR own.
“Who are you and… why?”
Akivili was standing amongst the burned remains of what would compose the end half of the Astral Express, seeing that same suspicious passenger now standing right in front of THEM. There was a moment of silence immediately followed by laughter that just became louder and louder by the second. The Trailblaze's eyes went sharp for a moment, setting THEMSELVES ready for anything that the individual may bring. But the surprise became as big as it could be the second that ‘Nameless’ pulled from the carefully crafted disguise to reveal a set of masks and floating circus props.
“Aha is surprised! Akivili did not stop Aha after all!”
And THEY didn't, despite the suspicion, the endless circling around each other that would make anyone who was overly cautious decide to just prevent any happenings by kicking such a suspicious passenger out. But Akivili's curiosity and patience was bigger than THEIR prudence.
“Somehow I should have supposed that it was you…”
“Akivili played very well! It was a fun… hmmm… how long was it?”
“Just a year.”
The tone of voice from The Trailblaze was serious, just how Aha remembered that day that THEY could bear witness of that piercing for the first time. This is exactly what Aha wanted and needed to satisfy THEIR search for fun and elation, and yet, somehow…
“Not enough.”
The mask suddenly changes expression, an annoyed one replacing it immediately before The Trailblaze jumped on THEM, changing immediately to THEIR Aeon form before The Elation slipped away from THEIR grasp and freed THEMSELVES. The Trailblaze was, finally, completely and knowingly focused on The Elation, and Aha was thrilled.
“Look at me more! Akivili!”
And so the chase started, Akivili's incredible speed being a good match against Aha's constant zig-zag movements. But there was no Aeon faster than The Trailblaze, and Aha found that out quicker than what THEY would have liked. Getting held down by the same indestructible material that created the silver rails was not part of The Elation's plan, underestimating Akivili proved to be a dangerous endeavor.
“I have… heard about you before. The trickster Aeon and one to always search for laughter and joy…”
THEY were addressing Aha directly now, keeping the strong aeonic body completely unable to move at all. Aha felt like exploding at that moment, but, for once, keeping quiet and still was in THEIR best interest. THEY also could not move thanks to the rails, but admitting that was not something THEY wanted to do. Akivili kept talking, firm and with no hesitation, Aha could die in that moment and leave with no regrets for being the one to cause that tone.
“But I do not take kindly to those who hurt my followers, even when they know very well that following my path is a dangerous adventure.”
Fear, that is what was running through Aha's body in that instant, the masks and props shaking and trembling like leaves in autumn. This was the power and determination of The Trailblaze, the one Aha had seen from afar for so long and was finally the target of. This is the ‘more’ THEY wanted, more of Akivili's anger and attention. That is what Aha wanted… The Trailblaze's attention, all of it, positive and negative.
“Speak up now, what was your goal within my Express?”
“Akivili, of course.”
The quickness in that answer caught Akivili by surprise, especially when Aha seemed to want to conceal THEIR intentions all throughout that year. There was no way in which THEY were the other Aeon's target, but there was nothing that would guide Akivili to not believe those words to be true.
The eyes of The Trailblaze almost pierce through The Elation like the railing that in a previous time tilted the golden scales almost to the point of breaking. But the expression shifts slowly, a warmer one replacing the stern look. This came followed by a laugh that Aha would never forget, the traveling Aeon shaking THEIR head several times.
“It seems I have lost, then, walking right into your trap.”
Aha goes silent, not understanding what just happened that Akivili changed THEIR entire demeanor in a split of a second, even laughing in the face of The Elation.
“Aki…vili…?”
The Aeon seriously did not expect that sudden change, much less having Akivili admit to losing against THEIR pranks. It was more usual for the reaction to be either pure annoyance, denial or no reaction at all, which was never fun.
“This will not happen a second time, it seems I have to hone my perception skills. Thank you for the lesson.”
Akivili's focus shifted like a train who was forced to change course, leaving Aha more amazed and confused than ever, almost in a daze. Akivili said THEY would get better, THEY said that Aha would not be able to do the same a second time. Oh how excited had The Elation gotten with just those few words, an indirect challenge for THEY THEMSELVES to return and play an even bigger prank with even better skills.
Before THEY noticed, Akivili had released THEM and was already walking through the destroyed part of the Express before Aha stopped THEM by letting one of the masks get in the way and blocking the path to the rest of the vehicle. That mask spoke, almost immediately.
“Is Akivili no longer mad that Aha blew up THEIR precious train and followers?”
The Aeon looks at the mask that was addressing THEM directly, THEIR form slowly returning to a more human-like one, being easy to confuse with the rest of the Nameless if they were around. THEIR left hand rose in the air, a single snap of those fingers being enough for the broken part of the Astral Express to be immediately fixed as if nothing had happened and the explosion was just a fabrication.
“As I said, this will not happen again, a lesson was learned, Elation… I just ask for the next visit to not target my people if I am the one you want to bother.”
What a strange one… Akivili was certainly more interesting in THEIR layers than the other ones, at least from Aha’s point of view. The encounter did nothing for sating The Elation's need to see more of The Trailblaze, it did exactly the complete opposite. If something bigger than what THEY had currently done was needed to gain the same or an even better reaction from the other party… then so be it. If someone loved challenges, that one was Aha, and Akivili was clearly nowhere far behind, rather, THEY could even be considered a proper match.
“As you wish, my dear Akivili… may the game begin !”