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Kaelos sat down on the old couch, letting himself rest on the dry leather while taking in the warmth of the small campfire in front of him. He needed just a little respite from the massive party going on further down the Blazewood street that split out of Cheestopia. It wasn't that he didn't like the party or though it was unimportant, it was after all for Caesar getting a step closer to becoming the true Overlord, but he wasn't someone built for these massive parties that dragged on for hours and hours.
He let out a small sigh before leaning back and looking up into the night sky, beautiful and unchanging as ever. Just for a few short moments though, as while he moved around to try and get comfortable he suddenly felt like he was resting on a brick. He swiftly moved off of it and tried to ignore it as he went back to getting comfortable.
However, after a minute or so he couldn't help his own curiosity. He turned over and began to dig into the couch, pushing around the old and dusty cushions. Given how dark it was it was hard for him to tell exactly what he was doing, but soon enough his hand felt something hard and smooth. Another moment of fumbling around the object for a grip and he pulled it out to admire it in the flame light. It was a wine bottle of all things.
And not just any typical wine bottle either. It was old and a bit worn but clearly of high quality. He wasn't sure exactly what type of wine it was, after all he was a doctor not a sommelier nor mixologist. In spite of that fact though, through the transparent yellow tinted glass he could see a beautiful amber liquid that even he knew was no usual wine.
The bottle itself, old and slightly chipped as it was, was just as beautiful in the fire's glow. It had a tall and slender form, with a nearly perfect cylindrical body giving way to smooth yet angular curve ending with a neck crowned by a classic cork. Turning it around in his hand, he could catch in the corner of his eye a round punt in the bottom on the bottle. Some part of his memory knew Burnice had rambled to him about these bottles shapes once and how each had its own name and history, though frankly he had forgotten all about it beyond the fact five main shapes somehow.
Truthfully though what really caught his attention was the label. What most would have merely glanced over he studied with as much intensity as he would give to any ailing patient of his. The label was worse for wear but still held onto that old regal authority, with royal red stripes on the top and bottom surrounding an off-white field. On that field the name printed in large black ink could still be read, "Heraclitus" in delicate calligraphic lettering. Just below that name was some information about the wine, how dry it was, what it's vintage, what its terroir was however you pronounced that word. However the final string of text caught his attention. It wasn't any more information about the wine but a simple line: "To Phillia, the Wine of the Soul"
He rocked his brain trying to think about if he had ever heard that line or even was entirely sure what it meant. From "Phillia" he could guess it was some form of attraction, he knew of hydrophilic and lipophilic after all. However he was also pretty sure it wasn't being used in such a clinical context. "Maybe it's some kind of poetry thing?" He said to himself, though he was never good at this kind of poetic stuff. Strangest of all though was how oddly familiar the bottle felt; but he just couldn't place his finger as to why whilst he sat there with his eyes closed in thought.
"Wha'cha doin'?" He suddenly heard from behind which broke the relative silence and causing him to jolt from the unexpected auditory shock out of his own head.
Kaelos looked over his shoulder and saw the only person who's voice he could know like instinct yet still get surprised by: Burnice White. The mixologist party girl of Blazewood, the fuel chemist of the Sons of Calydon, the pyromaniac airhead of the Outer Ring, and his one and only twin sister who was eldest by a few scant minutes. She seemed as bright and beaming as always, her red-orange eyes so full of energy you'd think she'd burst into flames yet there wasn't even an ember of ill will in them. And he could get a good look at them as Burnice lacked the vocabulary for the words "personal space" and thus bent over the couch right next to his face.
He just sighed and used his hand to push her face away so he'd have at least a few inches of space to himself. Burnice just giggled at the gentle push but relented and let him get a few more inches of space.
"Just looking at this wine bottle, found it in the couch." He said before raising the bottle to her eye level, making sure to angle it so it got as much of the firelight as possible to her. He continued, saying, "Dunno why it's here but something about it feels special."
"Lemme see!" Burnice said as she vaulted over the couch and landed perfectly on the cushions, wanting to sit down to properly examine the bottle. She took the bottle from him and gave it a quick yet thorough look; for such an airhead, she had a shockingly good eye for detail when she actually tried. After a few moments she paused while her eyes went wide, as if she had just been hit with some sudden revelation. Then just as quickly her eyes softened. Not to the usual wild energy she was known for but something much softer and almost a slight melancholy mixed with an equal amount of gratitude. A small smile graced her lips as if she had been filled with a wisdom that could not be expressed by words yet whose experience could be universally understood.
Kaelos was surprised by the sudden change in demeanor of Burnice. However before he could do much as begin to enunciate a question she began to speak
"Yeah I know what this is" She said with a much more gentle and tempered voice than her usual bombasity, "It's that old bottle that lady gave me way back, remember?"
As if a magic spell had been cast at that name, old memories suddenly came back slamming into him. Even without a name, he knew what she meant by that lady. It was the woman that gave her that bottle and caused Burnice to turn away from her loner ways and embrace the warmth of others; including one day going out to find Kaelos and make up for all the time she had missed being his big sister. He now understood why she was acting as she was, even if it wasn't a bad memory per se, it wasn't one they often discussed either. But perhaps it was worth discussing this time under the stars and around the glow of the fire.
"It's been awhile but yeah I do, after all it's when you came to get me; how could I forget that?" He said back to her, leaning back into the couch to get comfortable. Burnice didn't respond immediately, just giving a small nod while keeping that smile on her lips. A comfortable moment of silence came between them as he began to think and no doubt she did as well.
He recalled his younger years that felt much longer away then they really were. Not his childhood years when he was orphaned with his sister but still when he was a younger soul who was only beginning to shed adolescence.
He had left for the city after learning just enough from his master to know what to do on his own. At first it was a grand experience, a world of concrete and steel so full of life and energy. He met all kinds of people all while fulfilling the dream to help others. The hospital after all was far more capable in material and wealth than anything back in the Outer Ring, so many lives saved and improved by the power of science. It was a new life but a wonderful one at the onset.
Really the only thing he missed from the start was his sister. Though in that regard it wasn't really that unusual, given Burnice was a major loner at the time. Sure, on the outside she was as bubbly as she is now and could party like she was born for it. But in terms of actually forming, holding, or even valuing connections? He wasn’t sure she ever had real friends before he left. He knew it wasn’t that she couldn’t have friends or lacked a heart. It was just that she seemed to think it ultimately wasn’t as fun as chasing dangerous thrills and getting to indulge in her wild and reckless methods. That even extended to Kaelos himself, with him being lucky to get so much as a postcard once a month from her let alone get an actual reply to a letter he sent.
He frowned a bit as the fire's glow kept dancing on his face.
The old memories kept rolling and that meant the end of his honeymoon with the city. It wasn’t just the small things like expensive rent or the constant noise or the lack of any truly open space. Those were all things that while unpleasant weren’t anything he’d truly hate on their own. No, it was the reality of the city that spoiled it all. How the dennies in your bank account seemed to determine your worth. How cold human life was treated as if it were just another product to be managed and organized. How people would suffer for no reason than to satisfy the ego and pride of those with a fancy title glued to their name. As if human dignity and the soul itself were an annoyance to be burned at the altar of the city’s power and wealth. Until one day it all became too much and he just…
“Hey, why the big frown?” Burnice said while gently touching his shoulder, looking at him with gentle concern and warm reassurance.
It snapped him out of his own head but he didn’t mind that one bit. “Just thinking about the past, you know before we met up again?” He said with a small but thankful smile on his face.
She nodded in understanding. The smile on her face grew again and she opened her mouth ready to go on some fun loving spiel no doubt. But then she froze and closed her mouth. She remained silent and her expression became almost conflicted with uncertainty as she looked at the bottle. It was as if in this moment she knew, whatever choice she made it would not be something trivial anymore.
Kaelos was about to speak with concern but Burnice beat him to it with a small laugh. She didn’t look away from the bottle as she began to speak, “You know, back then I didn’t think much about you or anyone else really. I thought it’d be stupid because why should I care about them while I’m off doing my own thing?”
Kaelos didn’t respond but he instantly knew what was talking about. At the same time his honeymoon with the city was turning into a waking nightmare, she was living the life of a lone mercenary. At least until she met that lady. He knew the broad strokes of both her general life and the meeting with the lady of course, but not the finer details. He decided to let her keep speaking, simply nodding in acknowledgement and let her know he was listening. After all, she rarely felt comfortable discussing these things.
She let out a small sigh of relief that he didn’t seem to mind her sudden soliloquy before continuing.
“Well one day this woman called Althea came to me, yeah? Said she was from a wine making family and wanted a commission to go get some special bottle of wine needed to get the inheritance of the family. She said it was dangerous so she’d be willing to give me a cut of it, but I didn’t care much about that. It just sounded fun going on a treasure hunt so I agreed. …Guess some things never change huh?” She said with a small laugh at the end. He couldn’t help but smile in agreement, even now she cared more about fun than wealth.
She was glad he also found it funny and continued speaking, “Well anyways we went over to some cave where it was and went in. Althea kept going on about how she could help and how two could do more than one, and of course I mostly just thought that was stupid. Why would I want to deal with dead weight who could get in my way? At least until we ran into a door that needed two people to open, and she was very happy to smugly point out how I'd have been screwed if it was just me. I got annoyed but decided to just focus on getting the damn bottle.”
“Good thing I did because soon after we ran into some thugs. Turns out they were after the bottle as well and already had killed most of the rest of the family. She was still unwilling to give up though and I wasn’t about to get done in by some punks so we fought. Imagine my surprise when this lady pulled a sword out of nowhere and started fighting as well as I did?” She said, for the first time directly looking at Kaelos as she spoke. She was met with his warm smile as he said, “Not like you were the only fighter back then you know.”
Burnice laughed at the joke and agreed with his observation. She looked away from him and towards the fire again as she started to get back to the story.
“Yeah, but I was full of myself thinking I could do it all on my own. Thankfully I wasn’t, there was a close call where I’d have been screwed if Althea didn’t have my back. So you know, soon enough we dealt with the thugs and sent them packing and got back to the treasure hunt. We kept going until we stumbled on this big ethereal guarding the bottle. I was getting ready to attack when...”
She fell silent, as if she were suddenly relieving that moment. Kaelos didn’t speak, he just put his hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. He was here for her and that wasn’t going to change. Burnice nodded and regathered her will.
“Before I could attack, Althea threw herself at the ethereal. For a moment I thought she’d gone insane or had dragged me into some elaborate suicide. But then Althea began to corrupt; apparently she had lied about her ether aptitude. Before I could even understand what was going on she told me that this ethereal was actually her body guard; that they had been close and she had given her life to protect the bottle long ago. I was too stunned to speak but before she corrupted fully she gave me the bottle and told me to leave. I could do whatever I wanted, she just wanted me to find someone I could enjoy the bottle with. I thought she was stupid of course and told her that directly, who’d care about being dead together or alone; you’re dead either way. She didn’t seem to mind though and said I'd understand and should just go. I wasn’t going to fight a two v one so I booked it with the bottle and got out just fine.” She said before going quiet. The silence only now revealed the old emotion in her voice and how she hadn’t told anyone this a long time. Kaelos got closer to her and gave her a hug full of warm and gentle love.
“Well after all that I tried to ignore it you know? Just dismiss it as the rambling of some crazy dead lady” She said before turning to Kaelos just enough for him to see both her eyes. “But I couldn’t, I kept thinking about it. And eventually I realized how lonely I was; so what if I had fun missions when it was just me? No one to talk to beyond the same brags and complaints at a bar with some stranger I didn't know or care about. No one I could rest with or trust because I kept telling everyone who would have to go away. Hell, if I had died in that cave would anyone have even realized, let alone cared?”
She took in a few breaths to steady herself before speaking again. “So I called up Big Daddy. Told him I wanted in on the Sons of Calydon, figured being part of the gang would mean all those annoying thoughts would go away. And they did yeah, but I also realized I couldn’t just leave. Not like they would have stopped me just I would have been miserable. I learned mixology but who’d drink it if I was in my own, who’d be around to share nitro fuel with for the good, who’d be there to make me forget about all bad things? And I realized the only thing I was missing was well…”
She turned over to look at him with a smile.
“You.”
Kaelos was surprised but also happy, and when he thought about it for a moment he realized he shouldn’t have been surprised.
“So that’s why you suddenly came and picked me up one day?” He asked already knowing the answer, and she nodded just the same. She said “Yeah, I begged Big Daddy to go find you and one day we ran into you.”
Burnice suddenly pulled Kaleos into a hug, so fast that he couldn't help but gasp in surprise. But once the initial shock wore off he hugged her back. With nothing but the soft cackling of the fire to fill the air, they held each other for a few long minutes.
She was the first to break the hug with a small sigh and he let her go without a fight. She let out a small laugh before holding out the bottle to him.
“Wanna have some? Haven’t opened it yet after all, and it’d be no fun having this by myself.” She said with a cheer and a dash of uncertainty.
He chuckled and smiled before grabbing the bottle. “You forgot your bottle opener didn’t you?” He said with a smile. She let out a laugh that confirmed she did but he didn’t mind, he had one for himself and just used that. With a pop the wine bottle opened, the rich aroma of the wine filling the air.
“Hope you haven’t gotten half drunk on nitro fuel already” He joked to which she dismissed his concerns before taking the bottle and having a swig. She then pushed the bottle to him and he took a drink, the sweet slightly bitter liquid going down his throat smoothly.
Kaelos wasn’t used to wine straight from the bottle and his reaction made Burnice laugh, but he didn’t mind nor did she. They had each other and when together like this, the wine seemed that much better just like their lives as well.