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Avery was beautiful. Derlorde knew it as a fact and didn’t need infinite knowledge to tell him that.
As the rising sun illuminated the side of Avery’s face, a scattering of reflections ran through the slime’s head. A million shifting colors, a newborn galaxy of hues lived and died there every moment. Derlorde could spend an eternity admiring the way he looked.
Still, Avery lay there snoring, unaware of Derlorde’s presence and softly snoring away the morning.
The curtains bellowed gently in the wind, having been left open by Avery after a long time staring at the moon during the night. At least Avery remembered to close the front door. Derlorde would have tried to chew him out if he did, as if that would change anything. He would imagine Avery giving a sheepish smile back, promising to remember next time but probably never doing so.
Derlorde never truly minded, as much as it stressed him out Avery’s little idiosyncrasies were one of his favorite parts about him. The Knowledge made him aware of them, as of everything, but it was one thing to know how Avery would run his hands through his locs and tap against his elbows three times before exiting the house. It was another to get to see the slime crack his knuckles and glow his core a soft orange before picking up his trusty fishing rod. All these patterns Avery has ingrained into his daily life, Derlorde could never pick a favorite.
Derlorde bent down to see his wolf fast asleep by the side of the bed, just beside Avery as the loyal canine once did to him. A red collar with a shiny gold name tag rested on the floor, having the name “Meitner” etched into it. Derlorde carved it himself, the letters set a little off center but the wolf refused to change it once he improved his metal smithing. She always huffed whenever he tried to take off the first collar, hiding in a closet until he gave up.
Avery always called out that name to her and just got a puzzled look from the wolf and a slight whine, not knowing Derlorde had always called the canine by her first name, Lise. Still, the wolf grew attached to Avery quickly, nipping at his heels the first second he met her. Avery must have still had a bit of Derlorde’s scent on him when he first arrived and brought her over to his home.
He was glad the two got along well, they really seemed like they needed the company. Lise always had a bit of separation anxiety for him and loved constant companionship. She was worrying skinny when Avery first met her but has put on some of the muscle and fat she lost since he was gone.
Derlorde’s hands ghosted over her fur, not actually placing his gloved gauntlet onto her, but Lise twitched as though she sensed his presence. Her head turned to the side as he held a metaphorical breath until she settled back down.
The tweeting of the birds outside signaled it was time to wake up but Avery just placed a hand over his forehead, ignoring it. Derlorde laughed gently at that, admiring the scene in front of him. How blessed he was to see this moment, Avery and his wolf together, living their lives.
It was extremely rough the first few weeks after the event. Avery was rightfully furious at Derlorde for the stunt he pulled off, but the anger quickly faded, only reappearing at the certain hours. Even months later, Derlorde occasionally watched as the slime spent some late nights going on walks, speaking his woes to the stars and the moon as witness, not knowing Derlorde could hear.
“Stupid knight,” he would hear Avery mutter, often kicking at the dirt around him. “Stupid, too kind, too good knight. I can’t even be angry at him!”
His hands were in the air at this point, gesturing wildly and walking aimlessly. His fingers ran aggressively down his hair, pulling at them in a way that made Derlorde want to hold his hands to stop the violent self soothing.
“How could I be angry at someone who did all of that for me? Ugh, why don’t I know what to do?”
It was at this point that Avery ended up in a clearing. It was always the same place, no matter how many times he told himself he wasn’t going to come back here. There wasn't much there, just a clear patch of dirt with a stone laying in the middle.
It was at this point Derlorde would turn away, wanting to give Avery his privacy. To be fair everything Derlorde Knew and saw was an invasion of it, but it always made him uncomfortable to see this part anyways.
Derlorde would return back to Avery’s house and wait in his room, Lise chasing after sheep in her sleep. Eventually, Avery would return home. His best attempts to be quiet never worked as she would always rouse the second he stepped through the front door.
“Hey, girl,” Avery called out with puffy eyes and a raspy voice as she lept onto him, scrabbling with her paws. “Sorry I left you alone here. You know I will always come back for you, right?”
Her high pitched whines and the sound of her tail vibrating against the wooden floor was all he got as a reply.
Avery sighed. “Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t, after all you've been through. It’s ok, Meitner. I’m here now.”
He would always walk quietly to bed after that, sometimes letting the wolf curl into bed next to him. Derlorde would always feel guilty at these moments, feeling words build up in his throat but silence was all that filled the air.
Avery started to stir, finally opening his eyes. His arms were stretched above him as he yawned. He muttered out, “Good morning, Derlorde,” like clockwork, having integrated into his morning routine. He then rolled around and kicked the sheets off his legs and onto the ground. Lise gave a small bark in protest as it landed on her head but eventually went back to chasing her dream sheep.
A small chuckle came out of Derlorde’s mouth at this, eventually devolving into a full on throes of laughter. His hand went under his helmet and he uselessly tried to muffle the sounds.
Eventually, he managed to calm down and sighed, looking at Avery’s perfectly imperfect face. From the messy and wild hair that Avery has tried so many products to tame to the small discoloration of green at the corner of his jaw from trying to do a fancy sword trick when he was a teen, Derlorde loved it all so much.
Derlorde’s hands ghosted over Avery’s sleeping eyes, never actually touching the slime. Wetness grew from the corner of Derlorde’s eyes, running down in clean lines and falling, only to never touch the ground.
“Oh, Avery,” he sighed, caressing his cheek. “If only you knew how amazing you are. If only you knew how much I love you. If only we had more time.”
And with that, Derlorde left the house and stepped into the sunlight, leaving behind a fluttering of golden dust and a smile in the wind.