Chapter Text
The war is finally over. The 500-year long struggle was finally overcome with the might of the pyro archon, Mavuika, and the help of the six heroes of Natlan. After Natlans victory against their centuries long enemy, the abyss, spirits have been high, and many citizens have been thriving in this new era.
However, some warriors were feeling lost. Their entire lives revolved around the war, training for the war, waking up every day for war, sleeping and fearing of losing family and friends to the war... you get the point. It's over now, and that's a positive thing. Yet, many didn't know what to do with themselves now, that their lifelong goal of defeating the abyss has been reached. Many never thought about what they wished to do after the war. They never thought they’d see a day where they could stop fighting. This war had been ongoing for hundreds of years. People were raised with the sole purpose of wiping the abyss off the face of the earth. All without thinking about the steps that will come after this is achieved.
This issue was common and recurring, which is why Mavuika has come up with a plan to counter the problem.
“I want to completely change the goal of the pilgrimage.” she exclaimed confidently. “Instead of making the sole goal of the pilgrimage to win and be sent off to war, we should turn it into a friendly competition between friends. One filled with fun challenges and trials. This way people can find out who they are, and not what the war needs them to be. ”
When Mavuika had requested this idea, she knew it would be a huge surprise to everyone. The pilgrimage, a tradition with years of history in which warriors would be chosen to fight in war, and their fighting spirit being fuel for the sacred flame, now was being reduced to “fun and games.” She wanted to help her people. She always wanted to help them. Seeing her warriors so lost and uncertain after what was meant to be a celebratory event is not in her best interest.
She cared too much to let her people suffer. She always cared about everyone... except herself. She didn’t matter. She never mattered. Why would she matter? When there was a whole world of people who relied on her and her power.
Preparations for this new pilgrimage were going smoothly. She made her way from tribe to tribe personally, ensuring hat everything was being set up, and the people of the tribes were in order. All that was left now was to convince the blacksmith, Xilonen, to do her part of the work.
Xilonen isn't lazy, she's a genius. She's one of the smartest people Mavuika knew, possibly even smarter than Mavuika herself. Working with grace, elegance and the utmost patience and attention to detail, Mavuika was often mesmerised by her. Xilonen just knows when she wants a break and tends to run off to hide from Mavuika when she feels overworked or overwhelmed, and Mavuika was okay with this.
Just because she feels the need to constantly work, it doesn't mean she has the right to make others do the same. Even though she outranks them in every way shape or form, she never thinks of herself as above them or more important. If anything, she thinks of herself as less important. She always comes second. Third? Fourth? Does she think of what she wants at all?
Today was no different, which is why when Mavuika had gone to look for Xilonen earlier that day, and found that she wasn't in her workshop, she wasn’t surpised. She just went on with her day. Coincidentally, she found Xilonen on the outskirts of the Masters of the Night Wind tribe whilst checking on preparations.
“Xilonen! What a coincidence!” Mavuika smiled excitedly as she walked over to Xilonen.
“Ahh, shoot, Mavuika what are you doing here?” Exclaimed Xilonen with a tone that was just as put out as Mavuika expected it would be.
“I was checking on pilgrimage preparations, didn’t expect to find you out here though. Definitely a new spot I'll add to my list of trees and hilltops I usually tend to find you in” she said with a laugh.
Xilonen just sighed in defeat, knowing she was about to be given yet another commission from Mavuika. Mavuika's commissions were always rather hard to fulfil, and they used to argue a lot about the ideas Mavuika would come up with. Often times, Xilonen would be left mentally drained and exhausted, leading her to hide from her archon in trees and other very interesting places. Xilonen didn't do it out of hatred for the woman, she just wanted a break, and Mavuika understood this. Which is why when Xilonen wasn't found in her workshop, Mavuika rarely went to go look for her, unless she had nothing else to do.
The truth is Mavuika would only go look for Xilonen when the day was almost over and her schedule was empty. She likes to keep herself busy. She finds it relaxing because it prevents her from thinking about anything else but the task at hand. She doesn't like having nothing to do. She’ll start thinking about unimportant things. She doesn't want to think about them. It hurts...
Plus, Mavuika always enjoyed Xilonen's company. Despite her resting bitch face, and cold stare, Xilonen was a very endearing person. She was down to earth, kind and compassionate, and she gave amazing advice. She knows how to balance work and personal life, hence why she tends to run away from her clients, and why she knows a thing or two about what it means to be free and prioritize her own needs. Mavuika can't do this. Prioritizing herself is the equivalent to committing a mortal sin in her mind. Maybe that's why she enjoys Xilonens company so much, because they are so unalike and different. Mavuika feels the need to understand her more. Xilonen was like a puzzle she needed to put together and solve. She liked puzzles, they helped clear her mind and distract her.
“Now that you’ve been busted! Make sure to drop by my office later today to pick up the work I need you to do.” Said Mavuika tauntingly.
“Goodnight!” yawned Xilonen, as she fell asleep in seconds.
“Sigh... She’ll wake up sooner or later”, thought Mavuika weakly. “Goodnight Xilonen and sleep well.” She said this softly; in a tone you’d only find in slow burn romance novels with a yearning golden retriever coded protagonist.
As the sun was setting, Mavuika returned to the stadium to ensure that Xilonen had come to pick up the work she left for her. She had nothing else to do, and she had no excuse to go see Xilonen considering she already spoke to her today. Mavuika was always like this. She would never go to Xilonen unless she really needed something from her. This wasn't done because she saw Xilonen as a tool to her. She did it because she cared too much to bother Xilonen with anything that wasn't work. Plus, she always felt like her friendship with the woman was more to her then she thought, and this scared her. She didn't want to become too attached, because that's selfish. She doesn't deserve Xilonen.
On her way to her office, she almost bumped into someone whilst turning a corner. It was the blacksmith herself! Holding papers of designs which Mavuika had left for her. Mavuika’s face lit up immediately when she realized who she had just bumped into. She tended to become excited when seeing Xilonen, especially considering that they seem to be playing an ongoing game of hide and seek whenever Mavuika needs something made.
“I'm so sor-... oh! it's you. “, said Xilonen mockingly, giving Mavuika a jokingly disgusted look.
“Oh, I see how it is. You would apologize to anyone BUT me! I'm offended, I thought we were friends!” Exclaimed Mavuika, turning her head to the side and crossing her arms dramatically.
“What gave you that impression? I'm only nice to you cause you're the archon.” Xilonen smiled smugly as she said this. She and the archon had quite the interesting relationship. They always joked like this. Sometimes Xilonen would tease Mavuika, sometimes Mavuika would tease her. Mavuika appreciated that their relationship was like this. She felt like she never had to get personal and serious with her. Perfect.
“Well if that’s the case, I have a few other pieces of equipment I'd like you to mak-”.
“Nott happening.” Xilonen shot her a dirty look, and Mavuika just laughed at this, taking notice as to how her nose scrunched up. She thought it was adorable. Mavuika realized she made a habit recently to point out small details about peoples expressions, especially Xilonens. The way her face grimaces when hearing Mavuikas new ideas, the way it lights up when her and Mavuika finally reach an agreement, the way her eyes narrow when she's focused on her work. Mavuika takes note of it all mentally, possibly to understand her better, or possibly a way her subconscious keeps her brain busy.
“You’ll be able to finish the work in time, right?”, Mavuika asked when she finally stopped laughing, “If it's too much maybe I can help you with it?”...
Now Xilonen was the one laughing “I’d rather you gave me a dozen more Flamestriders to build then have you anywhere NEAR my workshop.” she wheezed, stomping her foot hard on the floor out of pure amusement. “You’d explode the entire Children of Echoes before you learnt how to use any of the tools”
Mavuika’s in shock at realizing that Xilonen sees her as that much of a wreck.
"What could possibly have driven you to think of me as a walking catastrophe”, her tone was more playful then offended.
“You destroyed an ENTIRE volcano. Whilst training!” she was still laughing and tears began to form in the corners of her eyes.
Mavuika smirked and turned her head to the side whilst rolling her eyes sarcastically. “That was only ONE time, and it wasn’t destroyed, just... Slightly deformed...”
Xilonen was cackling at this point, almost dropping the papers she was holding which only served to make her laugh harder. “Deformed? Mav that volcano was an entire surgical disaster. I’m surprised it didn't come to life and sue you.” she wheezed loudly and people were staring at them by this point.
She was laughing so hard spectators probably thought she was drunk, and Mavuika was just standing next to her, staring at the wall with a guilty look on her face.
“Okay okay, I'm finished now” she said half a minute later whilst wiping the tears off her face. “Ahh Mavuika you’re so funny...I wish talking to you always felt like this.” her eyes widened slightly after realizing what she had said, that wasn’t supposed to come out as it did. In fact, it wasn’t supposed to come out at all, a wandering thought that travelled from her brain to the tip of her tongue.
Mavuika caught this comment and gave Xilonen a puzzled look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”, she asked curiously as she felt her stomach drop slightly.
The mood suddenly shifted, and the tension between them grew as Xilonen looked away awkwardly. “What I mean is, you’re more fun to talk to when you're not asking me to build you something.” she admitted, looking Mavuika directly in the eyes. “I like being around you.”
That last sentence almost made Mavuika blush, the stomach drop feeling she felt only moments ago turned into something else, a warm, fuzzy feeling in her lower abdomen she’d never really felt before.
Before Mavuika could respond, Xilonen shook her head and apologized, telling Mavuika to forget about what she said as she walked away and smiled back apologetically. Mavuika just stood in place thoughtfully. “I like being around you, I like being around you”, the words repeating like a prayer in her mind as she made her way to her private chambers.
She finally arrived in her bedroom, closing the door quickly behind her. She took her clothes off until she was completely naked and climbed into the shower to wash herself clean. As the hot water was being poured all over her body, her mind began to wander. She was thinking about Xilonens words, “I like being around you”. A statement said by a friend, yet it felt more intimate than that. The way Xilonens fierce gaze pierced right through her as she said those words made Mavuika smile unconsciously. Mavuika ran her fingers through her hair to rub the shampoo into her scalp. She started picturing it was Xilonens fingers massaging her head and immediately froze, going back under the water to rinse the shampoo out of her fiery red hair.
When it was time to apply the body wash, she rubbed it into her calves, legs and lower regions. When she was finished with that, she brought her hands to her neck and started rubbing circles there whilst humming to herself lightly. She suddenly found herself wishing Xilonen was the one who had her fingers on her neck and immediately tried to block this thought from her mind. However, the hot water mixed with the same fuzzy feeling she experienced before made it difficult for her to focus on anything else. She started to lower her hands from her neck to her chest, and as she was about to start rubbing, she imagined Xilonens hands on her...
She quickly stopped the water flow and grabbed the nearest towel, hurriedly leaving the shower and cursing herself under her breath. She stopped to stare at her reflection in the mirror, her face was bright red, and it was warm to the touch.
As she wore her pyjamas and got into bed, she tried her best to forget about what she almost did. She felt disgusted that the thought crossed her mind at all, not only that but the feeling of desire that built up in her core was concerning to her. She'd never felt like this before, she thought it was impossible for her to feel like this. She didn’t deserve to feel like this. Sleep and forget, lock this intense emotion away... just like she does with all the others.