nephilim, interrupted

It's a warm summer day, and as I lay in bed, fidgeting with the 'Exoran Holla' corestone, I'm interrupted by a loud banging on my door.

"Auggie! Rav said I needed to ask you if I can use the training dummies before you do because you're just gonna blow them up!"

"That's fine," I grumble. There's a moment of silence. Did she hear me?

"Thanks!" Decoy shouts, and I hear her run away from the door.

Sounds like Rav and Decoy are getting an early start to the day. Decoy was very excited about becoming a 'Sage-in-Training'. I hate to tell her, but that just means she's now Rav's glorified assistant. 

She worked hard for it, though. Was present at and contributed to the defeats of eleven Manticores. She's got more battle experience than me, and she's still just a kid.

At least I have some new training dummies to blow up, from the sounds of it.

Though at least for now, I feel like hanging out by myself. As I stare up at the ceiling of the dark room, I realize how little alone time I've been letting myself have. Training with Rav. Training with Kieran. Eating with them both. Talking until late and night. Then, when I wake up, it's right back into it. When was the last time I gave myself just an hour or two in private?

Only in my dreams. 

Well, today is going to be the day. I set the corestone on my nightstand and pull the sheets up over my face. I'm going to sleep for an extra thirty minutes, and then just hang out alone in my room for a while. It'll be -

Knocking at the door disrupts my flow. Kieran peeks his head into the room. "Oh, August. I'm sorry, I didn't know you were still asleep."

I turn over in the bed. I need to talk to him, but it can wait until later. I just agreed to give myself some alone time, after all. 

"Let's hang out later," I say with a smile. "I have some things I want to talk about."

Kieran's eyes widen. He immediately looks nervous. "Uh, what? Is everything okay?"

He can sense my trepidation. The issue of having him be my Vessel is that he can literally read my emotions. 

"It's fine, I promise!" 

Kieran has such suspicion written over his face, but he can't quite tell what I'm hiding. "Alright. I'll check in with you later."

He closes the door and goes off on his way. I pull the blankets back up. My stomach grumbles for a moment, but I can wait to eat. It's been less than a full day since my last meal, so I'm still pretty full.

Still, I eat a lot more now than I used to on the moon. Must be Rav's mana rubbing off on me - he eats like a moonworm sucking up sand.

An obscure reference?

I find my gaze falling to Exoran Holla, my corestone. Leoni, the man Adma and I took it from, managed to escape from custody. He's still out there, somewhere. The thought of myself or Kieran being ambushed by someone like him is too horrible to bear. But this corestone is a reminder that I beat him once, and that I can beat him again. 

Kieran is my Vessel, so I don't have much use for the corestone now. I keep it close regardless - one day, I might meet a human who I can entrust it to. Or maybe even bring it back to the moon - I'm sure the other Nephilim would be amazed at such a device that could let anyone use magic. Any Nephilim, anyway.

I wonder if Larissa kept her corestone, the one I named 'Birdblaster'. I haven't seen her since that day. It was such a blur - hard to believe she and I only knew each other for a couple of hours. I wonder, does she even remember me?

I close my eyes for my nap. I'm out for maybe three minutes when I hear knocking at my door once more. Rav strolls into my room, uninvited, letting the door slam against my dresser as he stalks in.

"So anyway, I was thinking for today we - oh, what's all this? Are you sick or something? Did the bourbon hit you harder than you thought?"

Now that he mentions it...

"Just taking the morning off," I yawn. 

Rav jumps onto my bed, scaring the crap out of me. "You're shirking your responsibilities!" he exclaims. "You know what I say about that, right!?"

"Yeah, yeah...only a Sage can shirk their responsibilities because a Sage has earned it."

Rav points his fan at me, almost slapping me in the face with it. "You are my most excellent student," he attests. "And as such I hereby decree...that you may shirk your responsibilities a little. Today only."

Rav hops off the bed and saunters away. "Have a nice nap, Auggie."

His tail flicks the door shut as he walks out. Finally, some solace. 

"You rang for me, August?"

Sola's voice projects clearly in my head as her fluttering butterfly form descends through the ceiling to me. 

Wait, what? No?

Sola continues to flutter there in silence. "No thank you, Sola, but it is nice to see you this morning."

"You as well, August. I see you have determined to spend some time to yourself. I applaud your dedication to self-care."

I smile. Typical Sola...so guarded. 

"Hey, Sola," I say, looking over to her. "What's going on with you? Do we talk too much? Not enough? I haven't exactly had a Guide before. I don't know what this is supposed to look like."

Sola floats downward and rests on my bed post. "None of my Magicians have ever asked that before," she muses. I can tell by the playful note ringing in her voice that she's glad I asked.

"I speak with you more than most, I suppose. It has been a long time since I had another Magician. Times were different back then. Nephilim were tools for war, and I was there to safeguard the secrets of magic. It was the destiny of Magicians to be at war. Were my Magicians tired of fighting, or if they should have decided to escape, it was my prerogative to kill them and choose another."

Sola bats her wings comfortingly. "Ah, but as I said, it was a different time. You see, August. I once had a destiny to fulfill as well. And, like Rav and his Guide, I was able to complete my life's goal. I chose you as my Magician knowing full well what your destiny would be. I believe in you, and I wish to see your destiny fulfilled."

I chuckle to myself. She's so warm. Even with all the questions I still have about her, that warmth is undeniable.

"I appreciate that, Sola. You know, you're awfully endearing for the Guide of Explosion Magic."

Sola's wings outstretch. "Perhaps it is because I bestow such destructive magic that I have myself become delicate. Ours is the power to break worlds, August. But this does not mean that worlds ought to be broken."

On that note, Sola, drifts into the air, fading through the walls. Off to return to her lonely perch, I'm sure.

I sink back into my bed. Okay. This time, for real - I'll enjoy some peace and quiet, if only for a short time. 

And a short time it was. Not seven minutes after Sola flew through my wall, a knock on my door. It doesn't open, but I can hear Kieran loud and clear.

"Are you ready to talk? I'm feeling a little anxious." 

I let out a deep exhale. Now who could say no to that? "Come on in, buddy," I call.