Five

The door to the apartment opened and the smell of cinnamon washed over Auros, filling him with warmth and sadness.

Home was fairly small, but smartly decorated and filled with movies, games and all sorts of varying paraphernalia.

The word he'd use to describe it was cozy.

Auros had lived here for a long time with Mark and Luna, before things changed, and they'd never really done anything with his room.

When he moved back in, it was like old times, except nothing was the same.

Nothing would ever be the same.

He shook the thought off as Yohai raced past him and into his room. He heard the bed squeak as she landed in it, rolling around in his blanket.

Luna walked past him and said, in an annoyed voice, "Well at least someone's happy."

Before Auros could walk inside, Mark tapped his shoulder and they closed the door to the apartment, talking in the hallway.

"Look...I don't know what's going on...about this Yohai girl...but...I need you to tell me...why did you jump," he said.

Auros froze.

He fought past his now suddenly dry mouth and asked, "What...what do you mean?"

"I talked to the doctor. He said your injuries were exactly what he'd expect of someone who'd fallen from a massive height. Don't bullshit me on this. Why did you jump."

Auros took a deep breath and said, "I ruined everything Mark. A long time ago. You know that."

Mark sighed and said, "Things...were bad...yes...but a lot of that is over, man."

Looking away, Auros said, "Not for me. I lost everything, Mark. Everyone. I was alone for a long time...longer than I've been willing to admit."

"What are you talking about?"

"You and Luna weren't talking to me...well..nobody was talking to me. Nobody would answer my calls...I lost my place a long time before the three of us started talking again," Auros said.

"How long."

"Does it really matter, Mark," Auros whispered.

"How long."

"Seven months."

"You were on the street for seven months," Mark shouted, a rare outburst from one of the calmest people Auros knew.

Auros looked down and flexed his hands, sparks of electricity flickering in his palms.

He felt his mana flicker as he tested the spell. He'd never been able to generate an element before his fall...now it was almost instinctive.

Mark didn't react to the electricity.

"Seven months," he repeated.

Auros nodded and said, "Seven months."

"Why."

It was a statement, not a question.

The truth was, deep down, Mark knew why.

He knew why Auros had left, and why he hadn't come back, despite the open offer.

No matter how bad things had gotten, he believed he could still help his friend...but Auros knew better...and somewhere underneath that kindness, Mark did too.

Things had gotten too bad...too intense.

The arguing had reached a fever pitch, the pain was unbearable...for Auros at least.

"Where were you," Mark asked, a question this time.

"A place I wouldn't wish on anyone," Auros responded, his voice hollow with memory.

"You're going back...aren't you," Mark asked, reaching some internal realization.

Auros nodded and said, "We need the money."

Mark tried to reach for Auros as he started walking away...but pulled his hand back.

Underneath that kindness was a person he kept hidden from everyone but his absolute closest friends...a person that Auros had seen...and accepted.

Money was tight...and there was a fourth mouth to feed.

His income wasn't enough, and Luna wasn't making much either.

Whatever solution Auros had found, had used to keep himself alive for almost a full year...however dangerous it was...that hidden person was willing to let him use it.

That kindness carried him through the door and into his and Luna's bedroom, onto the bed and closed its eyes.

Luna started talking about being able to hear Yohai on Auros's bed, and the hidden person knew that would be a problem.

His kindness spoke, "I'm sure it won't be a problem sweetheart, you know how Auros is."

The person beneath the kindness scowled and said, quietly to itself, "You know exactly how Auros is."

Luna lay next to him and asked, "We're going to be ok, right?"

Mark nodded and said, "Absolutely. Auros is out right now, looking for work. We're going to make it all work."

Almost like she was summoned, Yohai was at their door, asking, "Auros left?"

Luna sat up and nodded and said, "He's looking for work."

Yohai's eyes widened and she was off, racing for the door, barely taking time to lock it behind her.

"She's sure in a hurry," Luna said.

"I don't know about him...but she's got it bad for Auros," Mark said.

Luna lay back down and turned away from Mark, pulling their blanket over her, her quiet betraying her frustration.

For a while the only sound in the room was the motor on the fan, spinning fast and hard in the dim room.

Suddenly there was a sound, deep and powerful.

Luna's stomach was growling.

Mark laughed, deep and hearty and after a second, Luna joined in.

She turned back to him and put her arms around him, whispering, "I'm sorry…"

Shaking his head, Mark responded, "You don't have anything to be sorry about. I understand."

Pushing up to kiss the man she loved more than anything or anyone in the world, Luna bit his cheek playfully and got up.

"I'll cook something."

Smiling at her, Mark sat up and flexed his palms, exerting some effort.

Electricity danced around his fingers and after a minute he was sweating. He didn't need to do a check to know his mana was draining, the energy of his life force powering the conversion.

"How did he do that?"

Casting a spell was easy. Extensive research and near ritualistic practice made spell craft near effortless for the caster. They were designed by researchers to be easy and cost as little mana as possible, though with technology being as advanced as it was, a lot of spell work was mostly vanity nowadays.

A conversion like this though...just harnessing your energy and making it work...that was draining on the body.

Mark had been working with electric spells his entire life, and a conversion like this brought his reasonable mana levels right down to his mana restraints within a minute.

Auros had electricity dancing on his palms for almost ten minutes straight, the entire second half of their conversation.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Mark stood up and walked to the kitchen, smiling while his wife cooked.

He hated cooking and she did it out of love for him.

He'd been trying to help out more...a begrudging acknowledgement of one of the arguments with Auros...but man he hated cooking.

For a moment, he thought he saw Auros standing beside Luna, his hand on her waist, but when he blinked, that Auros was gone.

Deep down inside, he knew that Auros was gone forever.