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Just where had that HKS gone?
Mydei grumbles to himself as he walks away from Theodoros' antique shop, patience wearing thinner by the minute. He had received news from Aglaea that Phainon had finally returned to Okhema after a mission, but he's had no luck for nearly 3 hours. Usually, Mydei can't get Phainon off his back. This sudden change worries him (even if he won't admit it), but since Aglaea seemed calm enough, Phainon should be perfectly fine.
... So the only reason that Mydei can't find him anywhere is probably because Phainon, for some reason, is avoiding him.
The thought unsettles him. He's never had to worry about Phainon avoiding him in the past. They were both kindred spirits, and despite their mutual apprehension, it was like something was pulling them towards each other and they just couldn't stay away. Phainon's extroverted nature never left room for Mydei to even think about the prospect of the Deliverer avoiding him.
Mydei isn't worried, he's just... concerned. Phainon can be quite harsh on himself, and if the 2 day mission had stretched into almost 5, then something might have happened. He hopes he's not sulking somewhere like a kicked puppy.
Leaving Marmoreal Market, he consideris asking Aglaea of Phainon's whereabouts despite dreading her unseeing, all knowing, and very deeply amused eyes that regard him whenever he asks about Phainon. Their social status is quite close, what with them both overseeing their respective city-states, but whenever he approaches her for matters unrelated to the Flame Chase, he feels like he's getting chided or scolded. But if it meant finding Phainon and finally sparring away the tension in their bodies, he's willing to grit through talking with the Goldweaver. The things he's willing to do for that man... Krateros would lose all his hair if he knew.
Suddenly, a premonition strikes him. He had checked their usual training ground earlier, but it was jam packed with other soldiers and warriors honing their skills. Phainon occasionally helps them train, but Mydei hadn't spotted him, so he left. Surely the crowd left after three whole hours...?
Mydei makes up his mind. He'll check the training grounds again, and drop by Phainon's private quarters to see if he's there. And then he'll drop by the public baths, the hero baths, Phainon's bathchamber, all for the second time today, and then he could check back in at Theodoros'. And maybe he'll look around Marmoreal Market again while he's there. It doesn't hurt to be thorough.
With newfound determination, Mydei heads off to the training grounds.
Turns out, being thorough is a real pain in the ass.
Mydei sighs as he descends down the baths' elevator, half heartedly scanning the ground floor in hopes of seeing a familiar head of white hair. His eye twitches. Maybe Aglaea was mistaken, and Phainon hadn't returned after all.
... That thought is quite worrying, actually. Hopefully he's just avoiding Mydei.
Well, without any luck, he may as well visit Theodoros one last time before finally sucking it up and asking Aglaea for Phainon's whereabouts directly. Maybe he can bribe Cipher to fish out those ugly vases Phainon keeps appraising on stream. That being said, he only thinks they're ugly because Aglaea abhors them, and he doesn't dare doubt the taste of a woman who looks and dresses like Aglaea. What is he, the last prince of Kremnos?
At least he sees quite a few Kremnoans along with their children in the public baths today. It's good that they're learning to assimilate into Okhema, and with the Flame Chase journey underway, they have to stop being at each other's throats at some point. When they first took refuge in Okhema, and Mydei and Phainon had been growing ever closer, he remembers the disgruntled stares his people would send his way, Krateros included. That attitude changed rather quickly when Phainon had offhandedly revealed his hometown, though. He'd rather not have a repeat of those events in the future.
What he would rather have a repeat of, though, is a good sparring session. If only a certain Deliverer foretold by the prophecy would come to his aid...
... And lo, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Just as Mydei is exiting the baths, he spots a familiar coat swish and disappear behind a corner. Had it been anyone else, they would've shrugged it off, but this is Mydeimos. He smirks, finally having a lead to work with.
"... Found you."
Trailing Phainon isn't as easy as Mydei had imagined. Piece of cake, he had thought. He's taller than me, if only by a little bit, and we have a similar build. I'll find him before he can retreat to wherever his hiding place is.
Unfortunately for him, Phainon is annoyingly agile without that greatsword he carries around. He can only catch glimpses of him and that's if he's lucky. That HKS is probably utilizing some weird back alley shortcut to get an upper hand on Mydei's lack of familiarity with this area. No matter. Him and Phainon have long since used all sorts of cheap tricks to their advantage.
That HKS... Tribios' Century Gate would be real handy right about now. Or he could fall off a roof to his death and have the Deliverer run back to him in worry, but that may be too dirty of a trick.
It seems like Phainon is slacking off, however, because when Mydei rushes past another corner he manages to lock eyes with the Deliverer. It's only a glimpse, but Mydei swore he looked rather… upset. Not the petty frustration he was so used to, but something more... melancholy.
Hm. Mydei supposes he will just have to catch him, then make him talk about whatever is troubling him... And then they can finally have that spar.
Just then, he sees what is unmistakably Phainon's blue cape fluttering. Like second nature, he reaches out and yanks down. And like a fish caught in the jaws of a bear, the famed Deliverer of Amphoreus comes stumbling and his back crashes into Mydei's front.
... Alas, Mydei also topples over from the sudden weight. He sits up before Phainon can recover, though, looking down on him with a triumphant smile.
"Finally. I got you, you slippery–"
–hyena, is what he was about to say, but the man looking up at him looks... unfamiliar. His eyes no longer sparkle. His lips are pulled into a thin line, leaving his expression perfectly blank, save for the ever so slight furrow of his brows. This is the Deliverer, alright, but Mydei can't figure out why he looks so...
"Mydeimos."
Tired.
His voice sounds rough, like he rarely uses it. Mydei is stunned into silence. He had never known the Deliverer could look like this.
"... Deliverer?"
Phainon sighs, pushing himself to sit up now that Mydei's grip on his cape had loosened. He drags his hand across his face, as if irritated. Mydei just know notices the gold staining his sleeves.
"... You still call me that..." he mutters, disbelieving.
He looks back at Mydei, with his dead, dead eyes and Mydei flinches. He remembers this. He's seen him like this before, so dead to the world yet doing so much, so desperate and so apathetic, and so, so...!
Even after going through 108,642 cycles...
Mydei... your name for me has never changed.
'It'll be different this time,' Mydei tells himself. 'I can reach him. I can bring him back. I can–'
But the farther his hands reach out to Phainon, the further away he gets. He's always just out of reach, and the only way to get to him is with clashing blades and metal. Phainon knows this, too.
He can see the countless battles reflecting inside his dull, dead eyes.
Mydei startles awake, a gasp tearing from his throat. There's cold sweat coming down his forehead and temple, and he only acknowledges it for a second before his dream comes crashing back to him. Immediately, he sits up on the bed and whips his head around, praying he won't ever see that expression on Phainon again.
He remembers that cycle. Phainon, or Khaslana, had confessed to him that he had killed that cycle's Phainon, and returned to Okhema in his stead. Which is why he had been avoiding everyone in the first place, but Mydei doesn't know if it was from guilt or fear, or... something else, entirely.
79'921 cycles, Khaslana had muttered back then, voice detached from the world. It seems all I can do for you and the others is allow you the chance to die fighting.
Mydei had barely understood him back then, and Khaslana's own cryptic words didn't help. It almost felt like he had given up on explaining, and only rambling on to keep himself sane. For the first time since he has known the fabled Deliverer, he had felt... like they were not equals. There was a distance between them that Mydei couldn't bridge no matter what he tried, and all he could do was watch as Phainon ruined himself over and over again.
He can't have that again.
Before he can look back at the bed, warm hands wrap around his middle, and Mydei would be lying if he said he wasn't startled. He twists around, eyes wide in surprise only to see Phainon, seemingly in the midst of a very pleasant dream.
"Vigethos..." he mumbles, loopy and groggy. "Stop... You're eating too many figs..."
... He's drooling.
His hair is a mess, and the way he holds Mydei is pressing his drool stained cheek right to his back. As disgusting as it is, Mydei makes no move to separate them.
It's a ridiculous sight. The great hero of Okhema, drooling and sleeptalking and clinging like a stray chimera to the prince of Kremnos' back. Mydei hadn't realized how fast his breathing had gotten until Phainon broke him out of that panicked state.
Mydei can't help but take it all in. His breathing evens out, and Phainon burrows himself closer to his back. Sighing, he pats his head, ruffling the snow white head of hair. Phainon only nuzzles into the touch further, like a puppy. It's funny, the way Mydei can always feel his face soften whenever he looks at Phainon like this.
"HKS..." he whispers. "... Even your timing has to be perfect, doesn't it?"