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It was nearly dawn, and Wacht had stumbled on Eldur during a moment of weakness. Their brief exchange was awkward and ended with,
“……………………..Good night.”
His words were finalizing, and Wacht didn’t know how to reply. He could only stand there in the dark, his blanket haphazardly drawn across his shoulders, bare feet rooted into the ground. And he suddenly understood why people found Eldur intimidating.
From behind. his hair was lit white, a nearly full moon shining against him. It was weakening as morning waxed through the aged windows of the halls of the knight’s quarters. His quiet, often a reprieve for Wacht, was now a wall that stood high between them. Hand braced against the windowsill, he never turned to look.
“Ah, um… It’s almost morning.” Wacht forced out a chuckle, his voice dry and hoarse from disuse, but any smile he was able to present quickly faded as Eldur finally looked at him.
“What’s… wrong?” It was like someone had wringed the words out of him.
Silence. Forever familiar with Eldur’s curse, he knew the extended pause was intentional. Eldur was hesitating to answer.
“...............................Nothing. I hope I didn’t disturb your rest.”
“Pfft, rest, right. It’s easy to tell when you don’t want to answer something.” Wacht felt like he was thinking clearly, for once. (Though this often would come after sleep deprivation had reached a critical point) He heard sleepy cicadas, waking with the dawn, creaking in the distance. Oddly quiet.
Eldur took a deep breath and stood up to his full height. Eldur’s fists balled up and relaxed, searching for the right way to phrase it.
“....................Wacht, Do you…”
Something twisted in Wacht’s stomach.
“Do you think even if my curse is lifted, will I…” More searching. “Do you think I will be normal?”
“Uh… Dunno.”
Wacht’s twisted feeling went from his stomach to his head as some of the stillness fell from Eldur’s face.
Ah, wrong word choice. Wrong word choice, dumbass.
“Not to say you aren’t normal! Just… I mean. Yeah. You’ll be fine.” Wacht spoke with his hands, the blanket falling from his shoulders and trailing along the floor as it was held from his right. He made a hopingly reassuring there there motion as he said the word “fine”.
Eldur looked away from his… coworker? Friend? Confidant? As if the knight could hear the lie carried by his voice. Wacht stared at his back until Eldur leaned against the windowsill again.
Have you been awake all night?
Wacht sighed, walked up to his friend, and placed the ill-fitting blanket over his shoulders. His hands, shaking as they were, patted Eldur’s back slowly. The short pile of Eldur’s pajamas was nice. The morning sun made them both look pale, but for a moment he thought his face looked red.
“You’ll be fine.” Wacht repeated, his hand awkwardly continuing to soothe. “You get along fine with us. You’ll be fine.”
He felt Eldur exhale, the gentle fabric shifting under his fingertips. The morning sun reached the window. The cicadas began to become deafening outside.