2. Bygones be bygones

Somewhere birds were flying, singing their happiness and simple joy of life all over the sky. Elsewhere, fluids were bubbling and evaporating under steady gaze of an old man, clinking and clunking through pipes and containers of haphazardly constructed distilling apparatus. Almost smushed under all that noise came irregular snoring and annoingly repetitive beeping sound.

At first, old man did not react, all his attention firmly fixed onto regulating heating and monitoring condensation speed of his newest potion. After all, as a priest he was out of work, and only by his skill of brewing new and creative potions did he manage to cling to this luxurious abode on the top floor. Where else could he see birds flying and clouds gliding and.. what was that beeping..?

He turned around and scanned his scrying, err, brewing room. Nothing that would beep could be seen on shelves and tables. He tilted his head and followed the sound through living room, noticing snoring sound between beeping, and finally finding a big sprawled body tucked into pillows in what used to be a meditation room.

"You!" He could not help raising his voice "Wake up right now!" Then he saw empty containers and his chin started trembling "My stash! You actually dared to.." old man's voice broke and he turned abruptly stomping out "I am going to report this to your father, young man. It was his elixirs you dared to snatch!"

As grumbling priest stormed away with a huff, all that was left to be heard were chirping and clinking and persistent beeping. Snoring was replaced with a grunt as sprawled man sat up and looked around.

With a yawn and bleary eyes Yax tried to establish his whereabouts. Not his room definitely. Nor Ivory's either. As it could be, as there was ever a chance for him to wake up there. Yax slumped back into pillows, his hurting brain reminding him picture by picture of exact chain of events that led from his failed proposal to raiding holy potions to waking up to yet another day of unholy beeping blasting his ears away.

Wait. What is that beeping?

Yax sat back up and patted his clothes. From his waist sash he pulled out the pendant he ceremoniously used as engagement token last night, then got rejected, then gotten drunk... Sparkling swirlies twinkled in the gem, beeping noise not diminishing at all, and together it made him feeling queasy. Right, he should throw up first to make himself feel better. He got up and looked around trying to remember where does priest go to poo.. Do priests have to poo..?

Amazed by his own thoughts Yax decided to skip purging his stomach in favour of taking the pendant back to treasury room. If it's placed back into the box it should stop beeping.. perhaps? Hopefully?

As soon as he left priests quarters he was met with a somewhat stern and sombre face scrutinizing his crumpled and evidently hangover appearance. He jolted and straightened his posture, pretending there is nothing strange with him looking as he is, and greeted his personal guard with usual nod and huff.

"Good, you are here" he said sounding as natural as possible, despite scratching in his throat and still endless beeping coming from his clothes. "Follow me." and don't ask me anything right now was silently implied.

Walking behind his liege, Cid was pondering great mysteries of love and affection. Opposites attract? Different parts make a whole? Obviously, whatever it was that made one party infatuated did not spread to the other one. For better or worse it seems that this story came to a definite end.

When they arrived to treasury room, there were other people already there. And every single one of them looked at Yax as soon as he and his beeping pendant stepped inside.

"Oh.. hmm.. yes.. what's going on here?" He asked bravely facing the scrutiny. Blond guy with freckled cheeks narrowed his eyes and stretched a pale elegant palm towards him. "Just give it to me."

Yax felt his eyes widen in shock. What's going on now? He patted himself down, pulled the pendant out and presented it with vigor.

"And yesterday when I offered it to you, it was rejected." He grumbled under his breath, then noticed blond guy's expression freezing as he hissed back at him. "You were proposing to me using the Eye of Great Serpent?" He snatched the gem while shaking in anger.

From behind he heard snickering and few snorts coming from others and his pale face became few shades darker.

"Ivory, I did not know you two were an item." He heard someone chuckling in mirth.

"We are not." He managed not to shout "Come, check the pendant. Why is it beeping? How is it even possible..?"

Standing by the door, ignored and dismissed by his unfated lover, Yax stuffed his hands in his pockets and puffed out his chest. So what if they were not dating. They could have. He pursed his lips and glanced at Cid, still faithfully guarding his side.

"What's all the hubbub about?"

Cid tilted his head "Not sure. Something about alarm going off at the basements."