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"Eli~! Im here to visit!" A loud knock was heard on Ellis' cabin door. The voice accompanied by it was one that was all too familiar to her. It was their closest friend, Onyx.
"Oh! Do come in!" He spins the chair around to greet the hyper canine-like friend he adores so much.
The door immediately swings open and Onyx steps inside. "Yo! Whatcha doin'~?" He puts his clawed hand on Ellis' shoulder, leaning down to glance at her desk. As always, it was covered with papers and random liquids.
"I am attempting to create a new medication for the lady at the library."
"Hm? She okay?"
Ellis nods. "She is, but recently her legs have been bothering her. So, she asked me to see if I could do something about it."
"Why doesn't she, just, like... take painkillers?" Onyx raises an eyebrow.
"She does. However, the relief is temporary. She's in search of something a tad more powerful." Ellis squints her eyes to focus harder on the glass in front of them.
"Ah, gotcha." Onyx leaves the pharmacists side and flops onto her bed, sprawling out and getting comfortable with a loud groan. "What 'bout you?"
"Hm? Me?" Ellis looks at him with a slight confused expression.
"Yeah. Are... y'know... you good?" For some odd reason, Onyx sounded... nervous. It was very unusual for him.
"Why, yes I am. And you?"
"Yeah! Yeah, uh... never been better!" He plays his nervousness off with a forced laugh.
"Hm." Ellis hums. They've gotten better at reading social cues since meeting Onyx, and they can tell that something was wrong. So, she puts her work to the side before completing turning his chair and leaning back with crossed legs and arms.
"You're acting strange. What's the matter?"
"Nothing!" Onyx shoots up, quickly becoming defensive. "I-I'm good, really."
Ellis furrows her brows with a low grumble of disbelief. "You're lying."
"I'm not, really! I'm just—"
"Nyx." Ellis cuts him off, watching him tense up at her tone. "You are very bad at lying, even I can see that. Please tell me what's troubling you."
"But... I don't... think you'd be okay with it." Onyx goes quiet.
"Why's that? I'm your best friend, am I not?"
Onyx inhales sharply before speaking. "That's the problem..."
Ellis tilts their head before slowly standing and joining Onyx on the bed. "Do you... no longer wish to be friends?"
"No! W-well... kinda... but, not the way you think." He was no longer looking at her. His eyes were glued to the ground as if it was the most exciting thing in the room.
"In... what way would that be..?"
"I... well... i... ugh, I can't say it!" He jumps up and begins pacing around the room, his hands gripping his hair.
Ellis flinches at the sudden reaction, but follows close by. "Onyx, what's going on with you? You aren't usually so... afraid."
"It's 'cause—!" He pauses with heavy breaths. "You... you're gonna say no."
"What would I possibly say—"
"Can I kiss you?" Onyx asks once he forced his nerves away.
Ellis stands still in shock, her eyes widening and he blinks rapidly, processing the sudden question.
"...What?"
"I..." Onyx's eyes fall to the floor. "I know you don't feel the same 'cause I'm not immortal and whatever, but... I really like you, Eli..."
"You... like me? But... you said—"
"I know what I said. I said I'd never fall for you 'cause we're not the same, but... I can't help it. You're just so..." He slowly looks up at her. "Perfect."
"Perfect? I'm nothing of the sort."
"You are." He cautiously begins to walk towards them, carefully monitoring his expressions. "The way you speak, your dark, void-like eyes... your long and perfectly straight silver hair that trips you every time you stand up." He chuckles quietly. "Everything about you is just... perfect."
"Onyx... you know how I am about this." He looks down at his hands. "Knowing that you will die one day... I don't think I can bear that pain. Not again."
"I know. That's why I didn't say anything. But... I can't keep it from you anymore. All I want... is to know how you feel."
"How... I feel?" She looks up at him.
"Yeah. Do you... like me back? Be honest with yourself."
Ellis looks down into Onyxs impossibly blue eyes. Despite one of them being unusable, he manages to lock them perfectly with the other. His slit pupil staring back at Ellis with nothing but love and adoration.
Her eyes begin to travel across the rest of the canines face. Every piercing, scar, and subtle twitch of his blind eye standing out more than they have before.
Has he... always looked like this?
Ellis' hand unconsciously finds its way to the side of Onyx's face, holding it gently as if he were made of a fragile glass that would crack at the smallest amount of pressure. Their thumb swipes just under the others eye, feeling the raised skin of his scars as the shorter nudges his head into the feeling.
It slowly travels to his pointed ear, tugging softly on his piercings and grazing over his newest tattoo at the tip, just next to the small missing piece of cartilage.
Finally, it returns to his face as her thumb drifts over to Onyx's lips. They press down ever so slightly before pulling them to the side, revealing his sharp fangs hidden beneath.
Their eyes meet once more. "I..." Ellis whispers.
Unable to find the words, the taller dips down and captures Onyx in a kiss, getting a suprised hum from the shorter.
Ellis pulls away just as fast as they went in. Their breathing was heavy and fast from pure adrenaline. He stares down at Onyx with fear in their eyes.
"I— I'm— I'm sorry." He lets go of the shorters head and backs away.
As they step back, Onyx steps forward and grabs her arm.
"Again." He mutters before grabbing Ellis' neck and pulling them in for another, messier kiss. His fangs accidentally graze across her bottom lip, drawing blood when they push back.
Ellis throws his hand over his mouth and turns away, wiping away the blood with a small hiss.
Onyx watches with wide eyes at his own aggression. He hurt him... all because he can't control his own urges.
"E-Eli, I-I'm sorry— I didn't mean to bite you... Are you okay?" He goes to turn Ellis around, but hears quiet, muffled cries before he could.
"...Ellis?" He reaches his hand out, but can't bring himself to touch them. He messed up. His hand falls.
"It's not fair." The taller finally speaks. "We can't— we shouldn't—" He shakes his head and falls to his knees, hiding his face in his hands.
"Ellis... I'm really sorry..." Onyx kneels next to the mage, carefully rubbing their back. "I didn't mean to hurt you..."
"That's not the problem, Onyx!" They look up and shove him to the side. "I can't die, you can! Don't you understand how much that hurts?! Knowing that one day, you'll disappear and I'll never see you again, I— I can't go through that again."
Onyx looks back at them, watching as tears continue to fall. "I'm... sorry." His eyes fall to the floor. "This is why i didn't say anything." He stands up, all emotion fading away. "Sorry." He rushes out of the cabin, leaving Ellis alone once again.
The mage remains on the floor for what felt like hours, simply trying to compose himself. He soon curls up against the bed, holding their knees close to their chest.
As the last of her tears fall, she sees something in the corner of her eye.
Hidden underneath their chair was a necklace. Onyxs necklace, it must've fallen off when they pushed him. He slowly grabs it and holds it up to their face, remembering everything that happened.
"I'm sorry, Onyx..." They hold it tightly in a closed fist, bringing it close to their heart. "I love you..."
They feel a sudden warmth in their hands. They slowly open their eyes, followed by their fingers, only to find the pendant glowing.
"What..?" She stares in shock. As far as she's aware, the necklace is just a necklace, so... why was it doing that?
Minutes go by, and it only gets brighter. So, as much as it hurts at the moment, he stands up and rushes to Onyx, hoping to get an answer from him.
Despite how much neither of them probably want to see each other, their issue can wait. She needs to know what was happening.
The moment they arrive, they bang on the door. "Onyx? Are you home?"
"I thought you didn't want to see me." He scoffs from the other side. Though, Ellis can tell that he had been crying.
"Please, this is important! You need to see this!"
"Eli, I already told you that I'm—" The second the door swings open, he stops talking at the sight in front of him.
Ellis was still just barely crying, out of breath, and holding a glowing necklace. He looks at the necklace in confusion before realizing that it was his. His hand flies to his chest, it was empty. He didn't even notice it was gone.
"What... did you do to it?"
"Nothing! I— I think..." He looks down in guilt. He doesn't know if it really was his fault or not. "I-I was just holding it and— this happened! It's... never happened before?"
Onyx shakes his head. "I don't think so. But why—" His head begins to pound, cutting off his words. He was suddenly lightheaded. He attempts to look around, but everything was blurry. From the bright shine of the gem to the terrified face of his best friend, he couldn't see.
"Onyx? A-are you okay? What's wrong?"
"I don't—" He shakes his head. "I don't know. I feel... weird."
"Do you need to sit down?"
"Nah... nah I'm fine, just—" He freezes. His entire body tenses up, he can't move.
He sees a strange smoke surround him, then darkness. He hears Ellis yelling, but couldn't make out what they were saying, everything was muffled.
Next thing he knows, he's on his bed. He shoots up into a seated position with a loud gasp followed by painful coughs, desperately trying to fill his lungs. His entire body hurt, as if he was hit by a car and driven over for miles.
Within seconds, his door swings open and Ellis runs in, immediately exhaling in relief. "You're awake!" She rushes to his side.
"Wh-what the fuck happened?!"
"I'm... still not sure. I've been trying to figure it out myself, but I haven't been able to find anything."
Onyx couldn't help but notice that Ellis looked exhausted. Her hair was in a messy, knotted bun. She had dark circles under her eyes, and she was still wearing the same clothes from the last time he saw her.
"How long was i out?"
"A few days..."
"Dude... did you sleep at all? You look like shit."
Ellis shakes their head. "No, I couldn't. Not knowing if you would wake up or not... I was too scared to leave you, even for a second."
"Why didn't you just take me to the hospital?"
"They wouldn't have been able to help. At the least, I know this had to do with magic. And, as you know... the hospital does not deal with magic related things. That... is my job."
"Ah, right. Well... what kinda magic was it?"
"That... I am not sure of. But, something definitely happened with this." She takes a hold on the necklace that was now back around Onyxs neck.
"Before you lost consciousness, a smoke of some sort kind of... emerged from your body and went into the gem. When I put it back on you, your state seemed to improve."
"That's... weird."
"I agree. I've never seen anything like it. Maybe... that had something to do with it..?" Ellis mumbles the end of their sentence, looking away in thought.
"...What had something to do with it?" The canine urges, he needs to know what happened to him.
Ellis turns back to him, clearly embarrassed. "Before it started glowing, i was holding it in my hands, and i... said something."
"Said... what?"
"I..." Ellis looks at the necklace. "I love you."
Before Onyx could respond, the gem begins to shine once more, but only for a few seconds. When it stopped, nothing seemed different.
"Did... anything happen?" She questions.
"I don't—" He pauses. He felt... fine. He wasn't hurting anymore. "My pain's gone..?"
"Really..?"
"Y-yeah! Like, it just— stopped. I-I feel perfectly fine." He grabs the necklace. "Y'think it was this?"
Ellis begins to whisper to himself again. "Went away..? The gem..." His eyes suddenly widen and he jumps up. "I know what it is!"
Without another word, he runs out of the room and shortly returns with one of his books. They go back to Onyxs side and start rapidly flipping through pages.
"I don't know how I missed it! Here, look!" She shoves the book in the others face.
"Pseudo... immortality? The hell is that?"
"It's a form of immortality that grants the user the ability to either rapidly heal or live longer. The user is still able to die under certain circumstances, but if they're careful... they could live forever."
Onyx stares at the mage in utter shock. Did he hear that correctly?
"So... I'm... immortal now?"
"In a sense, yes. However, seeing as it's fully based on this," She holds the gem gently, admiring it. "You need to wear it at all times. If you do not have it on you will be much weaker than you were before. Think of it as... your soul being connected to it."
"So... I can live forever, as long as I'm, like, careful about it?"
"I guess so, yes. You seem to heal quickly now, but do not take advantage of it." Ellis' tone was stern and worried, making sure Onyx understood him.
"I, uh... I'll try not to." He nods in acceptance.
"Good. Things like this... they're hard to get used to. It's easy to get carried away, so... please be careful."
"I will, don't worry." Onyx puts his hand on top of the others, rubbing it with his thumb. "So... Can we... talk about what happened?"
"I just did..?"
"No, not that. The... thing that happened before."
"Oh." Ellis sighs. "I suppose so." He looks down at their hands on the bed. "I... apologize for lashing out the way i did. You didn't deserve that."
"It's alright. To be fair, i... kinda set you off in the first place. I knew that you'd be against it, but I just thought that maybe... you'd give me a shot."
"That's what hurts the most." Ellis sits up on the bed, still holding the others hand. "I do love you, Nyx. It's just that, when you've been around as long as I have, loss never hurts any less. I've been with mortals before... and every time they died, it hurt worse than the last. I'm tired of going through the same thing every time... you understand, right?"
Onyx nods. "Yeah... but... what about now?"
Ellis tilts their head. "Now?"
"You said... I'm basically immortal now, right? Do you... think you could, y'know... gimme a shot now?"
"But— you can still die."
"I'll be careful." Onyx grabs Ellis arm. "I swear I will. Just... please?" He looks up at her with pleading eyes.
"Nyx... This isn't a guarantee for you, you know that."
"I know. And if you really don't want me, I'll give this up and we can go back to how we were. Just say the word, and I'll stop."
Ellis looks down at the necklace in thought. Onyx can still die. But... if he really is as careful as he said he'll be, he can live forever with him. Maybe... they could try.
"You... promise you'll be careful?" He looks back up at the other. "You won't become reckless because of your new ability?"
"I promise. Plus... if I do get hurt... I'll have the perfect doctor to take care of me." He smiles.
After much more thinking, Ellis takes a deep breath. "Okay. We can try. But if I so much as hear about you doing something crazy, I will not hesitate to break up with you."
"Ouch... scary." Onyx chuckles. "But, that's fair. So... you'll be my partner?"
Ellis nods with a small but warm smile. "I will."
Onyx immediately perks up and throws the mage into a hug. "Thank you! I love you so much~!"
His tail wasn't even out, but Ellis could tell that if it was, it would be wagging a mile a minute. She calmly pets his head with a quiet laugh. "I love you too."
Onyx soon pulls away, his hands resting on the others waist. "So... about that kiss." He dramatically purses his lips and closes his eyes.
Ellis rolls his eyes and flicks the canines forehead. "No, you bit me last time."
"That was an accident!" He pouts. "Please~?"
Even with the puppy dog eyes, Ellis was firm. "No. Not yet, at least. I haven't... well... cleaned myself in a few days. Wait until I do that, okay?"
"Hmm... m'kay..." The younger sighs. "Wanna bathe together? I doubt you washed me while I was out." He breathes a laugh.
Ellis furrows his brows. "You won't get any funny ideas while we're in there, right?"
"No, sir!" He sits up straight with a salute before giggling at himself. "But, really, no i won't. I just wanna get clean and out of these clothes."
Ellis smiles, glad that his playful nature was back. "Okay, then. Let's go get washed up." She stands and holds her hand out, awaiting their boyfriends company.
Once the two of them were finally clean, Ellis decides to spend the night at Onyxs house. He usually needs to wear some form of cloth over their hair to keep it from tugging, but Onyx, having much shorter hair, didn't have anything. So, they settled for a bun for the night.
"Say, why dontcha... just... like... cut your hair?" Onyx helps them tie it up.
"I've thought about it, it is definitely a bit troublesome. However... I like it. I think it's pretty, don't you?"
Onyx wraps his hands under his lovers chin and lifts it up, making her look up at him. "Of course. But... I think you'd look pretty in anythin'."
Ellis' eyes go wide as he becomes shy, forcing his head back down. "Th-thank you..."
"Hehe~ No problem." With a small kiss on the head, Onyx stands up. "Alright, 'm done."
Ellis feels the bun to make sure its good and gives Onyx a small nod. "Thank you, Nyxie."
"No problem, darlin'." Onyx stretches with a yawn. "M'kay, I'm tired..."
"Me too... I haven't slept in days..." Ellis sits down on the bed, seconds from passing out.
"Come 'ere, Eli." Onyx lies down and opens his arms, waiting for Ellis to fall into them. She does so immediately with a quiet grunt when they land.
They shift around for a few moments to find a position comfortable enough for them both. When they finally find one, their brains begin to shut off for the night.
"G'night, Ellie... I love you..." Onyx snuggles up closer.
"Goodnight..." She does the same. "Love you, Nyxie..."
Just seconds later, they fall asleep in the comfort of each others arms. Things will be different for a while, especially for Onyx, but they'll get through it. They have before as friends, and they will now... as lovers.