#arthurgriffe

A week after all the events on V.T.B., the sun warms the rooftop of The Tower on Earth 2. Dreko is standing there, barefoot. Two hands hug him from behind, and a head gently rests between his shoulder blades. 

“I never realized how sharp these things are.” Rowena rubs her cheeks against them, making Dreko laugh. “Oh, my god, you are ticklish!” She keeps tickling him. His laugh is made of deep, short exhalations; his chest jumps up and down with every laugh. The tickles reach the point where the laughter turns into desperation, and Dreko moves at superspeed away from her. So fast that Rowena is left with her arms hugging the air. The immortal appears behind her, returning the favor by gently poking her ribs, and Rowena immediately lets herself fall to the floor. 

When her pale face turns red, Dreko stops so she can breathe. Her laugh goes on for two whole minutes, during which Rowena’s lower body is on top of his legs. When she calms down, he extends a hand for her to sit up. 

“I can’t believe you are here.” He says when they are both sitting across from each other. The loving stare that Dreko has is so pure that she feels hugged by it. 

“It wasn’t so crazy of an idea, right? I couldn’t risk it.” For a brief second her stare darkens, but Rowena keeps the memories at bay by focusing on the present. “Besides, you are here, Lumen is here; it was a no-brainer, and I can jump back when I need to.”

“You should explore on your own, which reminds me.” From his old hoodie, he pulls a small box with shiny wrapping and a tiny bow. The decoration doesn’t match, and the box is a bit crushed; she notices it when he drops the gift into her hands. Details so ridiculously endearing that they could only come from someone like Dreko. She lets out a chuckle before seeing what is inside: a two-sided charm necklace. The first side has a dark purple raven engraving. The second side has a wine-red claw engraving. “The chain is made from an ultra-resistant metal that I found in my explorations; the stone is a malleable, glowing mineral that I smoothed, tinted, and carved. I embedded it with nanotech as a way to make the chain not removable except for the user.” He picks it out for her and keeps talking. She is speechless either way, shocked by the gift and love-infused by watching him explain so invested. He has a spark of curiosity and wonder in his eyes. “It’s actually more than an accessory; the technology inside of it turns it into a hands-free portal emitter. The raven one is for you to go wherever you want within the Earth you happen to be, and the claw one is for you to bring me straight to you wherever you are.” He finishes, holding in each hand the end of the chain, so she turns around, allowing him to put the necklace on.

Rowena is flabbergasted, to say the least. Sure, she had dated many men. Nerds or brainiacs were a given; she is a hacker, after all. Also not the first time she had been on the other end of an obsessive talk. But it was the first time someone she was dating made her something.

“Not one of my partners has ever made me something since Miguel Fermin gave me that giant drawing with my name on it. This isn’t that.”.

Since she moved in, her experience has been as normal as the context allowed it to be. Sporadically, her new reality was shocked by a random explosion in the distant lab, or a fiery bird would burn the curtains when resting on the open window. It took a couple of seconds for Rowena to realize that the feeling overflowing her was love. 

She hugs him. Dreko is caught by surprise, hugging her back. Between her naturally cold skin and his being unusually warm, that’s a fresh and cozy hug. The intense feeling of being loved, considered, and protected by Dreko wakes a yearning up inside of her. She pulls him into a kiss by the neck of his shirt. 

Everything escalates from there. Stumbling across the aisle, not able to stop herself from kissing and feeling him against the walls. She manages to go into her bedroom, where she throws him onto the bed. When being on top of him, Rowena feels it. Her body reacts on a subconscious level now that she feels it through her clothes. A primordial fierceness lit her eyes; the immortal recognizes it well. He undresses himself in front of her while she summons every gram of self-control in her entire body to contemplate that moment. 

The shirt goes over his head. A brown torso so skinny you can count the ribs on his chest. The scars look old but clear; what isn’t clear is a pattern—they cross each other—and she almost can tell, despite the lusty fog clouding her mind, that something opened its way from his inside to the outside. The hand-shaped scar doesn’t elude her; she's unable to decipher it when her new boyfriend drops his pants. His long legs are as thin as his upper body and equally scarred. In any other person, this would look sickish, but not on him; there is a strength emanating from him that trumps what catches the eye. Nothing could get the best of him, and Rowena is more than eager to try. She feels like the moment has stretched for decades, denying her what her soul is tearing itself to get. It hasn’t even been a minute when the underwear falls to the floor. 

There it is. Unexpectedly hairless, a bit crooked, not inhumanly big as she feared, but appropriate for his size. What surprises her the most, although she isn't sure herself why, are the scars there too. This doesn’t last long when she is pulled back into the general mood. 

“Well, that’s something not skinny.” Her mind thinks on its own, just like her body snatched control from her. 

Her turn, not that Dreko hasn’t already seen her like that. Likewise, her entire outfit falls quickly to the floor. She can see, in his eyes, this time is different, more than just lust; Dreko’s eyes express desire, love, and what she can only describe as the hope of a life with her. There is also curiosity about seeing her tattoos from up close and with nothing in the way.

When Dreko is about to get in bed, she stops him. 

“Do you have protection?” 

“Yeah, right there.” He points at a drawer. She checks for any damage and the expiration date on the envelope before throwing it at him. 

“Throw me the lube too, please.” Without her seeing, the recipient hits him on the forehead before he catches it. “Thanks.” He thinks it wise not to disclose the incident. Enough lube is used so the condom slides perfectly. 

Rowena is now against the bed. Her heart beats fast as things escalate. She puts her hands on his hips while he is kissing down his neck. Her breathing is the only thing that can be heard, and, besides the noise from the bed supporting them both and his lips against her skin, no real sound is coming from him. His chest against him is as steady as it can be. Every time her tiny conscious mind space picks up on this, it is pummeled by the rest of her being that enjoys the weird waves of tingling energy coming off from him or the teasing from his penis. 

Each kiss he gives her is sweet and exciting, but whatever he is planning or doing, her body screams it’s not happening fast enough. And he knows. Before anything, Dreko is an annoyingly good teaser but perceptive enough—only in those scenarios—to know when to move on or risk the entire mood. His hand movements seem strategic along her body. Rowena bites her lower lip to hold it in until he finally reaches her vagina. A loud moan is inevitable. 

She gets ahold of the situation. Rowena kisses him, holding Dreko down with one hand while the other hand reaches inside of her. After a few minutes, in which she moans against his mouth, Rowena expresses her intention to him only with a fierce stare. Dreko nods. 

At first, the pleasure that comes with it hits like any other time she has had it, even with the desperate anticipation. Almost instantly something changes. An animalistic pure pleasure wave comes out of every pore and muscle in her body. Her back arches, her hands hold the blue mane, and she screams. It’s not an orgasm, but it's close. Dreko smirks as he knows what just happened. She guides her movements to make the most of it, gaining speed, her hands resting on his chest. He enjoys watching her face and her body and feeling her around him. From his perspective, Rowena is unconsciously putting her entire game on what she knows ensures mutual gratification. Unknown to the fact that, since Dreko’s metamorphosis, the most pleasure comes from the emotional intimacy he shares with his partners. However, it doesn’t mean he can’t get the full physical pleasure; it does mean that his stamina, climax, and recovery are superior. 

Fifteen minutes go by when they both reach climax. Rowena lies on the pillow next to his, trying to recover her breath. Something inside of her has changed; she isn’t even done feeling her climax when a sex drive appears again. 

“How do you feel about toys?” She asks once her breathing goes back to normal. He calls one drone, which brings a medium-sized white box. From the outside it looks a bit more sophisticated than a simple chest. The lid opens up by itself, and the inside being airtight, a disinfectant smell comes out. Different kinds of toys are inside. “Are they clean?”

“Yes, we clean and dry them after each use, and the box has UV-C light sensors to deliver the right amount.”  

“That’s hot.” She says, jokingly, before kissing him again, and the hunger for more churns inside her. “Ready for another round, old man?” By reaching under the blanket, she finds not only that it is ready but also that it hasn’t diminished a bit. She picks a toy, and together they go at it again after he changes the condom.

The new couple falls asleep, exhausted and inebriated by happiness. An hour goes by before they wake up. Dreko doesn’t tell her but doesn’t pretend either when he gets up. Unlike her, he doesn’t feel muscle soreness; the bite marks heal, and the only reason why he isn’t erect anymore is that he commands it not to be. Rowena leaves for the bathroom, sitting on the toilet. There, while she does the deed, she checks on the scratches, finger marks, and bites Dreko left on her skin. A smile appears on her face, never having felt that level of pleasure and exhaustion before. 

From outside the bathroom, he listens to the shower being turned on. After asking the drones to clean everything up, he goes to shower in his bedroom. Any residue of what happened goes down the drain. They both step out of the shower at the same time, dried by the bathroom itself through sonic dehumidification, keeping their ears safe with noise-canceling devices. Still, they need the towels to dry their hair; Dreko needs three or four to get his long mane completely dried. 

She, now in a purple-striped blouse with the shoulders uncovered, tight black pants, and boots, enters the living room where Dreko is. The branches' tattoo on her left arm can be seen, and only the top part of the raven on her other arm is visible.

“You ok?” 

“Shower is great.” She sits next to him. “The thing that dries felt weird.”

“Yeah, sorry, I should have warned you.”

“So… what now?”

“Sorry?”

“Can you tell me how this works? Are we a couple? Am I Lumen’s couple? Are you seeing anybody else? Do I have to see someone else? What kind of relationship are the three of us in? Can you get an STD? Do you test for those things?” 

“We are whatever you want us to be. I can’t talk for Lumen; I would like for the three of us to be in a relationship. I am not seeing anybody else right now. If I start seeing someone new, I’ll tell both of you before something happens. As of right now we would be a triad, but we can talk it over at dinner. I can’t get an STD; if I sleep with someone who has one, my body destroys it immediately. Either way, we can test and cure those here, but yes, one of the only rules I have is to always get tested before anything happens and every six months regardless of the relationship status. You can bring whoever you want here and have Lumen do it, or they can go to any clinic. If it's necessary, I’ll pay for it.”

“You can cure it?”

“Yes, with the same machine we used to heal you; that’s why we didn’t ask you about it.”

“Oh, I really didn’t think about it.”

“Understandable, there was so much going on, and you don’t have to see anyone else if you don’t want to.” Dreko stands up towards a metallic chest. From the first drawer, he pulls out a new computer and phone that he drops onto Rowena’s lap. 

“What’s this?”

“Your new phone and computer: your phone doesn’t work here, and this laptop is better.” He talks as if it’s nothing, and for some reason his tone calms Rowena down instead of shaking her insides as the necklace did. 

“You didn’t have to buy me this; you have already given me so much.”

“I didn’t buy them; I made them.” Rowena looks at him, surprised. He just stands there. “Both can charge wirelessly, but they also have normal chargers embedded into them so when the charge is complete, they will automatically unplug and store the cable inside of them. Great, right? I hated having to be constantly checking it.”

“Ho–? I thought you said you didn’t have an education. How can you do these things?”

”I don’t. I just learned how to do it, and Lumen taught me a lot over these years.”

“This is incredible.”

“And you haven’t even left The Tower.” He smiles for a brief second. “Hey, do you have any other questions? I have something to do in the lab.”

“What?”

“A surprise, inspired by our most recent adventure.”

“Ok, well, I guess I’ll go see Lumen and then… I don’t know.”

“Go, explore; every place is full of wonders.” He says, and as soon as the last words leave his lips, he has disappeared into thin air. Rowena is left standing there; a fleeting pressure on her lips lets her know that he kissed her. 

A long way from The Tower, in Earth 2, Dreko runs upwards on a mountain with a big backpack on his back. The sun hits him in the front, at the edge of heatstroke for a normal human, Dreko walks relentlessly. The fox follows him closely. Each of his steps leaves behind a well-defined print. On his way to the top, Dreko collects everything he finds interesting from stones to broken branches and dry leaves. The plants are preserved inside an explorer drone that follows him around. 

“I wish I could take some of these plants.” Thinks, hypnotized by the beautiful exoticism of several plants. He remembers Lumen’s words of caution about not extracting native life nor placing it in The Tower’s land, due to the risk of becoming an invasive species. 

Half an hour later, with the fox carried between his arms, he reaches the top. By then, the sun has descended and the wind refreshes him. Dreko unloads the backpack, careful not to crush anything but soil, the same applies to where he sits. Although he never grows tired, the moment he is completely still, his whole body relaxes from the strenuous walk. With an order, the drone takes some pictures of him and the fox, also it photographs the view from the top, sending them to Lumen. From the other side of the mountain, a man walks towards the immortal and the fox. Dreko notices him thanks to the uneasy eye movements of the animal. He stands up, still with the fox in his arms. The man stops at the revelation of Dreko’s height and appearance, mumbles something in a different language that Dreko doesn’t understand but guesses it’s about his looks based on the scared expression.

“Drone, translate to whatever language that is, please.” Through the speaker, the drone starts to translate simultaneously. The man’s expression turns into peaceful curiosity. “I am sorry I scared you, the fox warned me about you.”

“The fox… is yours?” An exact replica of his voice comes out of the speaker in english. Dreko shakes his head. 

“I don’t own her, she is a friend.” The man apologizes and sits with his legs crossed, inviting Dreko to sit again and he does. 

“It’s a beautiful view, isn’t it? I see you climbed it, you must be tired, do you mind if I keep you company?” Dreko sees the man: smaller than him by a lot, dark skin, long beard in contrast to his short messy hair and a simple look on his eyes. He wears a beige hat and shorts with a mismatched, multicolored t-shirt. The scarred man shrugs, looking away to the front. 

Both men admire in silence the scenery until sundown, Dreko is impressed by the ability of this strange man to be in actual silence, resulting in a peaceful but not lonely experience.

“And with a human, no less, go figure.” Dreko thinks, before standing up and addressing the man. “I have to go home now… I might not be the best at small talk at first and I don’t come here often because I live…” He points instinctively at the horizon exactly where The Tower is, the distance so big that his home can’t be spotted and he lowers the arm hesitantly. “Far, whatever, but I had a very good time in silence with you.” The man observes Dreko, intrigued by the way he talks, a level of self-awareness and social clumsiness like he has never seen.

“I had a good time too.” Dreko smiles when the speaker translates the man’s words. “I am Abed.” They briefly shake hands and Dreko picks up his backpack, the asleep fox and walks away. After a few minutes, the drone flies all the way back to Abed to reproduce and translate Dreko’s message. 

“Oh, shit, I forgot! My name is Dreko! Good night!” The man laughs while he heads home, a small house not far from where they were sitting. The drone immediately flies back to Dreko, who opens a portal once he is far enough. 

In her lunch hour, Lumen has plans to eat with Markos, a fellow A.I., the same one who rudely faced Dreko and that Lumen herself kicked out of The Tower. Markos approached the couple to apologize and admitted his mistakes, still not friends with Dreko but at least friendlier, Lumen gave Markos an opportunity and eventually they restored the friendship. Markos waits for Lumen outside of a deli, he is wearing casual clothes: a tucked, blue t-shirt, black jeans and sneakers. Lumen sees him way before he sees her, she attracts stares as she walks towards him, dressed in a black blouse with long sleeves, a brown plaid skirt and long black boots. 

“Markos.” She calls him, he looks in the direction of her voice. “Hello.”

“Hi, Lumen, ready for lunch?”

“Sure.” He opens the door for her, the deli is big, colorful and filled with people. Lumen orders a pepperoni sandwich with extra pickles and Markos orders an extra cheese sandwich with tomatoes. Together, they talk, walk and eat. “How is work?”

“It’s an adjustment, but hey, at least I didn’t get assigned to the IT department, I love being a salesperson.”

“I am happy for you.” She gives a big bite to the sandwich, Markos does it too. 

“And you? I have heard different things from Erika and Angy–something about a new body? Also that you and Dreko travel back and forth between Earths.” 

“Yes, both things are connected actually, Dreko’s Earth doesn’t have AIs like us so I use it to blend in or I will use it, I haven’t had the chance yet and I really enjoy having a human-ish body.”

“Maybe one day I can visit that Earth? It must be an impressive place if someone like Dreko was created there.” 

“Yeah, maybe.” Lumen dismisses this, knowing well that Dreko is a bit special about going there. “How is the girlfriend?” A big smile spreads across his face, Lumen pokes him, making fun of him. 

“We are about to celebrate our first anniversary, I have never been happier and I certainly didn’t expect to fall for a human.” Lumen smiles ironically. “I know, I know, don’t rub it in and thanks for introducing her to me.” He thanks her, biting the sandwich. 

They walk around the block, finishing the sandwiches and planning another reunion in The Tower with the hopes of a better outcome than the last one, also being the opportunity of integrating Markos’ girlfriend to the group. 

Another day, in Earth 2, Dreko jumps big distances to an uncertain destination. 

“Dreko, where are you going?” Lumen asks him through the earpiece when the tracker app shows her that is no longer able to keep up with his speed. 

“Nowhere really! I am just looking for something interesting to do!” He explains with a raised voice so she can hear him despite the strong winds. 

“Ok, just be careful, don’t cause any earthquakes and don’t destroy anything in your landing.” Lumen only hears a soft growl before the call ends so she keeps working. 

Dreko is jumping over a cliff when a giant stone is thrown towards him, fully hitting him. He loses momentum and falls straight to the ground. The crash raises a dust cloud, Dreko finds himself stuck in a tight hole in the ground, before he manages to get himself out, two gigantic hands pull him up by the hair. Instantly mad, Dreko throws a punch at his attacker, not at full strength but enough to deal real damage. His fist lands on a really hard surface and he doesn’t hear even the slightest hint of pain. So, he opens his eyes to see a 19-feet-tall green woman who throws him into the sky, but he immediately launches himself back at the woman and stuns her with a harder punch. The woman looks back at him, surprised and glad. 

“I hate the fact that I can’t escape the cliché…” Dreko is interrupted by the woman, who grabs him by the neck and pounds his face repeatedly. By the fifth punch, Dreko is disfigured and blood is everywhere, but she notices his grip around her wrist isn't the least weakened. The brief moment of confusion is enough for Dreko to regenerate. “...of powerful creatures who constantly want to fight. I love it.” He smiles as he finishes the sentence and releases energy around him, throwing her back and destroying the surroundings. Not a second later, Dreko now has the upper hand, having immobilized his rival by the neck. “Why did you hit me with a rock?”

“I am on perimeter duty.” Dreko releases and helps her up. “What are you?”

“Me? You are the genderbend version of the green knight, I have never seen someone like you.” He is not sure if the reference works on that Earth but the woman ignores this and signals him to follow her.

Twenty minutes later, they arrive at a settlement, where more people like her receive them with open arms. Among her townsfolk, she is average height and Dreko looks smaller than the green babies crawling around.

“Who is this?” A 40-feet-tall man points at Dreko, the man is standing next to a bonfire, his voice hurts Dreko’s ears a little.

“A new friend, I met him by throwing him a rock.” The man laughs at this, Dreko closes his eyes a bit and tilts his head back to protect his hearing from the loud laugh.  

“Surely you missed, otherwise how is this small man still alive?” Dreko takes this personally, crossing his arms.

“I don’t miss, he got hit dead center and crashed into the ground from way up high.”

“Nonsense, I don’t care if you fancy this flea, no amount of lies and corny feelings will make him worthy to us.” The woman gets offended by this. 

“Give him a task to prove himself.” She blatantly proposes, taking Dreko and the man by surprise. The woman looks back at Dreko with a fierce and confident look on her face. 

Dreko’s shock blurts out in a single sentence. 

“I don’t even know who you are, people.” The entire town, 25 or 30 giants of all ages and genders, observes the situation. 

“I am Mathilde, he is the town leader, Barnabas.”

“Dreko.” He points at himself.

“Why would I give you a chance?” Dreko doesn’t answer and starts walking away. This is seen as a mockery to them, prompting several men and women to charge against him. Dreko swiftly dodges every one of them with not a hair out of place. His movements are weird and exaggerated, but the feat of speed impresses Barnabas. “Fine, the test is simple: Hit me, if you succeed in making me take a single step back, we will welcome you, if you fail, you must catch dinner for us.” Dreko shrugs and gets closer to Barnabas, facing Barnabas’ feet, he gets an idea. An unexpected pain travels fast from the foot to Barnabas’ entire body, he takes several steps back in an attempt to walk the pain off after Dreko punched his big toe. This is met by general outrage and a single laugh from Mathilde. 

Barnabas silences the crowd by raising his left hand, his right one still relieving the pain. Dreko is surprised by this, ready to fight giants just to get out of there.

“I succeeded?” Barnabas nods, a bit embarrassed but surprised by the cleverness and strength of the man. 

“The small one called Dreko is now welcome in our home, tonight we feast but first we hunt!” The collective cheers, but instead of feeling accepted, Dreko’s wise eyes pick up on the repressed discord. 

“AND WHOEVER FEELS MY PRESENCE HERE AS AN OFFENSE, YOU CAN ALWAYS COME AT ME…” As is his nature, Dreko pushes everyone’s buttons, with a voice so loud that it can be heard by the whole town. “KNOW THIS, I WON’T GO DOWN EASY.” He smiles, shamelessly.

The giants walk away from him, not making new friends, only disarming any potential attack. Momentarily. Mathilde looks at him, surprised. 

“You wanted to leave out any doubt about them hating you, right?” Dreko shrugs. “Well, let’s go.” She points at her shoulder; Dreko doesn’t understand. “Hop on my shoulder, Dreko; it will be faster.” 

“No, thanks, I can go on my own.”

In the hunting grounds, the giants go their separate ways; Mathilde and Dreko stay together. 

“You impressed everyone.”

“Yeah, I could tell by the overall contempt.” Dreko jumps to the ground. 

“That was a consequence of your war declaration; what were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that if I lost, I would have to catch your dinner. I won and I am still catching your dinner, so your leader’s words don’t fill me with confidence.”

“Barnabas is not our leader, he is just the oldest.” Mathilde walks away in search of something to hunt. Although he has no problem keeping up with her if he runs, Dreko figures it will be better to jump on the tree branches. 

“So are you all siblings?”

“No, he is just the firstborn, we crawl out of the ground and that’s how we are born.” She explains, the conversation is interrupted by a creature resembling a giant sloth. “There is our dinner!” The animal runs away, Mathilde chases after it and Dreko follows her, intentionally falling behind. 

“I better ask Caradoc about this creature.” Dreko photographs the animal with his drone and sends it to the drone he gave to Caradoc and calls them. “Hi, Caradoc, are you busy?”

“I can talk a bit, what are you doing with a megaloth?” 

“Is that what it is called? I found a tribe of green giants and they took me to hunt and we ran across this… megaloth, but I wanted to ask if they are not endangered.”

“Last time I checked, no, but be careful, where there is one, there are a lot and they are really strong.”

“Stronger than you?”

“Not even close, you should be ok, only look out for ambushes, they work really well together and if you see an offspring, don’t you harm it, besides the ruthlessness of that, the megaloths can show a rather nasty side of them.”

“Great, thanks, don’t worry, I am not much for killing creatures, bye, I promise to visit you soon.” The call ends and Dreko looks for the entire herd, a task not so difficult to achieve once he does a quick aerial reconnaissance. He walks towards the biggest, every megaloth looks at him without signs of aggression. “Damn, this would be easier if they attacked me.” The biggest one is eating grass and Dreko pokes him until the megaloth is pissed enough to chase him on his own. He guides the animal to a clearing far enough that the herd doesn't see what happens next. 

Suddenly, Dreko charges against the megaloth, who reads his intentions first and cuts him with his claws. His chest bleeds profusely but this doesn’t stop Dreko. 

“I underestimated his intelligence, well, his long arms and sharp claws are a problem so I just gotta increase my speed.” Dreko charges again, now prepared to dodge the blow, landing a small yet fatal hit on the gut. The megaloth falls, lifeless, on top of Dreko. “Now… I… lift…” With the corpse on his back, Dreko retraces his steps to deliver the dinner. 

Ten minutes later, he arrives again at the place where the herd is. Unfortunately, the green hunters find them at the same time, charging at full speed. Dreko drops the body and runs to save the animals. Barnabas is about to kill the only baby megaloth when it has suddenly vanished, Dreko puts down the baby far away. 

In the seconds it took for him to come back, the megaloths were already fully immersed in this nasty side Caradoc mentioned. Loud growls and screams as they run towards the giants, who are not backing down. Dreko observes, impressed, as the megaloths now look like big mean muscular bulldozers. The giants are divided into two teams. The offense team that fights the megaloths with their bare hands. This team punches faces, breaks the front legs or gets gutted by the claws, crushed or hit by the hind legs. And the defense team that launches boulders and logs to weaken them, lends a hand when necessary and separates them. Mathilde is in the second team. 

Dreko jumps into the middle of the fight. As soon as he lands from the sky, he diverts attacks from both sides, even getting hit and trampled. Dreko tackles every giant from the attack team, and finally he shouts. 

“STOP IT!” He points at the prey he killed. “Let's go!” None of them obey him, except Mathilde, who runs to carry the dead megaloth. With a nod from Barnabas, the rest help Mathilde. The oldest and the immortal are in a standoff until the giants get closer with the megaloth. 

Back at their settlement, they cut, cook, and eat the animal. At first, Dreko doesn’t get a portion, nor does he want one, but Mathilde sits next to him and offers him a piece of the meat she eats. 

“Good job.” Dreko shakes his head.

“I am not hungry.”

“We know not to take more than we need; sometimes the thrill of the hunt is too strong.”

“Yeah, that’s not better.” Dreko stands up, ready to jump away, but Mathilde stops him by the wrist.

“Hey, don’t dismiss us that fast; give us a chance; give me a chance.” He slaps her hand away.

“Maybe.” Dreko disappears into the horizon with a single bounce.

The day starts slow for the couple; many mornings have passed since they woke up together, so this time they stay in bed as long as possible. Lumen cuddles against his body almost viciously since the new body, and Dreko also enjoys every second of it. 

Eventually, the almost chronic need of efficiency from both is what drags them out of bed to have breakfast. While he cooks, Lumen is still attached to him, hugging him from behind. Their efficiency is partially trampled by the need of each other's proximity, both wearing nothing but a pair of Dreko’s boxers. He serves the food, four fried eggs each, assorted vegetables and cookies. The breakfast is interrupted by the doorbell. 

“Oh, I forgot Erika was coming today!” She runs to the bedroom to cover herself. “I am sorry, honey, it was delicious! I love you!” Dreko chuckles at the sight of her running away, bare chest. He goes down in the elevator to let Erika in.

Erika waits to be let inside when Dreko steps out of the elevator, still only in his boxers. She blinks twice in the hopes of her eyes playing a visual trick on her, the doors open and Dreko greets her. Erika makes eye contact with him like her life is depending on this, however it is unavoidable that her eyes catch glimpses of Dreko’s slim chest traced by old scars that are connected to the scars on his face.

“He is covered in them…” She thinks, walking behind him towards the elevator. Her eyes wander to his legs also scarred and involuntarily sees the boxer-covered area. "Dooon't look there.” She reproaches herself, looking to the ceiling. Together, they ride the elevator, she pushes the entertaining room button and he pushes the bedroom button. When the doors open to let her out, Erika mumbles goodbye to Dreko, who tilts his head as an answer before the door closes again. 

In the bedroom, Lumen, almost ready, sees Dreko. 

“Your friend is in the entertaining room.”

“Thanks, babe, we are gonna go out, what are your plans for today?” Dreko opens his wardrobe to take out clothes. “You can visit Caradoc or maybe your friend from the mountain or your friend the green giant.”

“I feel like you are mocking me.”

“Why? Because you can’t go out without finding someone strange to befriend?” Dreko throws a sock at the back of her head, she laughs when the hit lands. She helps Dreko put on a shirt and briefly they start to mess with each other's clothes but Lumen puts a stop to it. “Not now, Erika doesn´t have three hours to spare." Dreko’s eyes provoke her, nearly succeeding before she runs away. “I love you!” The elevator opens on her mental command and reunites with Erika. 

“Ready to go?” The blonde woman asks, Lumen nods and they exit through a portal. Dreko soon does the same, leaving The Tower under the fox and the turtle’s supervision. 

Erika and Lumen walk down the street, the living A.I. has accepted to be a gofer for the day under the promise of a good time, not hard tasks, food and drinks. Also, she finally has the chance to walk around outside The Tower with her new body. 

“How are you feeling?” Erika asks her as soon as they appear in the alley, Lumen needs a couple of seconds to get why she is asking. 

“I am fine, I think I already got used to it so don’t worry.”

“Ok, you tell when you have had enough, no matter what.” Her friend puts a supportive hand on her forearm and Lumen nods. 

The first item on her to-do list is to retrieve some graded reports from her boss’ office, something that Lumen takes care of while Erika supervises an exam. Lumen follows the indications given in order to find the office. On her way there, the A.I. enjoys the college vibe that she never experienced before. Lumen finds the empty office, according to Erika, since she was hired, the doctor is barely there when he doesn’t have classes. The reports are easy to find thanks to Erika having everything in order and she goes back to her.

“Here you have it.” Lumen gives Erika the reports, but she asks her to give them back to the students. “Sure.” After doing that, Erika takes Lumen back to the office where they organize slides and assignments for the next month as requested by the doctor. “Can you go for drinks? I'll finish here and then we’ll go.” Lumen nods, before leaving, she recites Erika’s usual order. 

“Lychee green tea?” Erika gives her a big smile and Lumen leaves. 

Back with the beverages, Erika finds Lumen halfway to the office. 

“Hey, Lu, I finished, let’s go, thanks.” She grabs her tea and together they search for an empty alley. After jumping to another alley in downtown, Erika mentions something. “Markos called me yesterday, he said you two were planning a dinner or something.”

“There is nothing concrete yet, but yeah, would you be interested?”

“I mean, sure.” She takes a sip of her tea. “In The Tower?”

“No, Dreko and I have been extra busy lately and barely have any time together, we need a night out in the city.” Erika believes her because it’s true but also she doesn’t want them wandering accidentally into the interdimensional hole and be greeted by a deity. 

“I understand how busy you are, you work a lot, how is Dreko busy? The times I have seen him, he is either wandering around The Tower or he is just not there.” They arrived at a boutique. 

“Why you need a new dress?”

“I want to piss off some colleagues, maybe get someone to pay for it at the next graduate  funding workshops or charity galas.” Lumen chuckles at this. One of the sellers, a woman about the same size as Erika approaches them. 

“Welcome to Banner Palace Boutique, my name is Fiona. How can I assist you today? Maybe a green dress for you, madame.” Offers Lumen, taking her by surprise. “Or a blue dress for your friend.”

“Hi, Fiona.” Erika jumps in. “We are actually looking for a dress I can use at college events, y’know, and show off my tattoo.” Fiona searches for various dresses. “You don’t want anything? Fiona is right, a green dress would look perfect.”

“I usually make my clothes in The Tower.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous, Lumen, let’s pamper you, Fiona?” The woman sticks her head out. “We also want to see some dresses for my friend.” 

“Sure.” Fiona answers, already with various dresses. 

“You didn’t answer me.”

“About what?“

“Dreko.”

“Well… Dreko is… he has… a lot of money.” Erika doesn’t find it believable. “Think about it, Dreko built two towers in different worlds.”

“I didn’t know.”

“There was no reason for you to know.”

“Right, right, sorry.” 

They try on the dresses, both of them looking gorgeous, after trying on some more, they buy a couple of dresses and go for a bite to eat. The waiter brings them drinks they didn’t order. 

“From those gentlemen over there.” He points at a table, a pale man in a casual suit with the hair falling down his face and a humanoid lizard dressed with a blue sweatshirt under a purple jacket and blue jeans, his large feet resting, bare, on the floor. “What should I say to them?” Erika and Lumen look at each other.

“Just thank them, please.” Lumen requests. The waiter goes away, leaving the beverages behind.. 

“You aren’t going to talk to them?” Erika asks her. Lumen grabs the drink, secretly analyzing the ingredients with her modified brain.

“Me? The drinks are for the two of us, what about you? Besides, I am with Dreko, you are single.”

“I thought you were polyamorous.” Lumen’s mind is not on her partner Dreko, but on Rowena after Erika mentions this. 

“There is someone.” Erika’s eyes sparkle with enthusiasm. “Jesus, you really are nosy, ha- ha-ha, ok, I’ll tell you.” Lumen proceeds to tell her all about Rowena, the other Earth and what she has been feeling.

“This woman sounds really hot, ha, ha, I am sorry, you should totally know her better first, but I don’t see why you are so worried.” Lumen jokingly slaps Erika’s arm, embarrassed. 

“I have never been with anyone else besides Dreko and it took us almost 90 years.”

“Because you didn’t have physical form, not for any other major reason, you like Rowena or, at least, there is a connection and Dreko understands, go on a date… and you tell us about it when the group gathers again.”

“A date is still far along the way, I haven’t seen her in a couple of days.”

“And Dreko has seen her?” Lumen denies it. “Tell me the truth, do you feel polyamorous? I hope you are not entertaining the idea because your partner is.”

“Honestly, before Dreko, I never would have thought about it, but he showed me that love is not necessarily individual and I found in myself that kind of love… I have never met someone who sparked my interest, though.”

“Until Rowena.” Erika adds and Lumen is unable to suppress her smile, this excites Erika, a happy squeal escapes her mouth and the men who sent beverages alongside other clients look at their table. They both giggle, apologizing to the restaurant before paying. 

With Rowena going out to meet Lumen’s friends, Dreko is preparing food for his trip. Obsidian, who is sitting on a chair, watches him pack containers into his black and red backpack. When everything is ready, they hop on the elevator to the Teleportation Room, where he sets coordinates, and a scar opens.

The fox and the immortal emerge on the top of a mountain. Abed waits for him, not surprised anymore by the portal, having been visited many times. 

“Welcome, my friends!” The man greets the duo in his language. Obsidian jumps down from Dreko’s backpack to salute Abed. The fox lets out happy noises while being petted, and the man smiles as well. 

“Hello, Abed.” Dreko says in the same language. “How’s everything?”

“Splendid, truly. How about you? How is Rowena settling in?”

“I think it is going well; she is getting used to everything; she even met Caradoc.”

“That’s good.” Abed claps gently with joy. “If meeting an ancient creature went well, meeting me should be fine.”

“Absolutely, I told them I was coming, but they already had plans. Next time.”

“Splendid!” He exclaims again. Dreko doesn’t even notice anymore how much he says that. “Let’s go inside.” 

Abed’s home is not like The Tower at all, being one floor and made from wood, but it has a unique charm. As soon as the door closes behind Dreko, two pairs of bare feet run from a room further into the house. 

A three-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl, followed by a woman, stop in front of Dreko and Obsidian. 

“A doggy!” The boy screams as soon as he sees the fox, but before Obsidian runs away or jumps on Dreko and the boy throws himself at her, Abed stops him. 

“Wait, wait, Revy.” Abed carries Revy in his arms. “We don’t approach guests like that, and we always respect the animals. Is that clear?” The kid pouts, nodding. “Introduce yourselves to my friends, please.” Abed puts Revy down. 

“Hello, sir, I am Revy.” The kid extends his hand; Dreko shakes Revy’s tiny hand. 

“Hi, Revy, pleasure to meet you; you can call me Dreko.” After letting go of his hand, Dreko looks at the girl. 

“Hello, sir, I am Zaffy.” She shakes his hand as well. 

“Hi, you also can call me Dreko; pleasure to meet you.” 

Obsidian gets closer to the kids, seeing that Dreko talked to them; the collar around her neck glows from a black gem, and a robotic voice comes out of it. 

“Obsidian.” The fox offers them a paw. Both kids are amazed by this, Revy immediately tries to pet her and she lets him, Zaffy does it too. 

“And this is my wife.” Abed is standing next to a woman. As tall as Abed, short black hair, and a small, gentle face. Revy is the spitting image of her. 

“Hello, I am Ofelia; welcome to our home.” She makes a small bow before shaking his hand. “Abed has told us a lot about you; please, sit, I’ll go get us something to drink.”

“Excuse me, Ofelia.” Dreko stops her. “I appreciate all your kindness, but I actually brought something.” He puts the backpack on the floor and takes out several containers with warm food and two large glass jars. 

“Oh, you didn’t have to.” She says, embarrassed. 

“I couldn’t arrive empty-handed; besides, I love to cook for others.” He smiles. “Unless I am overstepping, I am so sorry.”

“No, no, it’s really kind of you.” She thanks him. “I’ll go get us some plates.”

“I’ll help you.” Abed follows her. 

The kids try to see what’s in the containers, and Dreko lets them see a dessert. 

“It’s only for after we eat, ok?” Both kids nod, barely keeping it together. “Fiiine, here.” He pulls two lollipops from his jacket just when their parents come back with plates and glasses. “I just gave them a lollipop each; is that ok? I made the mistake of showing them the dessert I brought.”

“Sure, that’s ok, kids, you can have them now, but you have until we finish serving the food; after that, you’ll save those for later.” Ofelia indicates firmly but not harsh. 

After a couple of minutes, the food is served, and the five eat together. They have a casual conversation between the adults until it arrives at a natural stop. Only then does Dreko notice Zaffy is looking straight at him. 

“Zaffy, is everything ok?” He asks, both her parents look at her. 

“Why are you so scarred?” The girl asks directly. Abed and Ofelia jump in their seats, reprimanding her immediately.

“Zaffy! We don’t ask those things!” Ofelia is livid, covering her mouth.

“Apologize this instant, young lady.” Abed is not as angry but adamant in teaching her what’s right from wrong. 

“No, it’s ok; I understand.” Dreko looks at his hands. Following the scars with his eyes, he sees the hand-shaped scar in the middle of his arm. “When I was younger, I got in an incident, and these scars were the result of that.”

“Did it hurt?”

“A little.” He lies, remembering the pain from inside out and the screams that tore his throat apart. Zaffy nods. 

“Can I have some dessert now, mom?” She changes the subject when her questions have been answered. Ofelia accepts, trying to move on from the awkward conversation. 

“Take yours and your brother’s, eat it watching TV, go ahead.” Abed tells them, and the kids leave in a hurry. “I am so sorry, Dreko.”

“Don’t be; it’s normal, at least she didn’t seem weirded out about them.”

“You are good with kids.” Ofelia compliments him. “Have you thought about having any?” Dreko’s eyes darken immediately, but Abed talks before he can say anything, and neither one of them notices the sorrow. 

“Dear, please, he isn’t even married yet.” Abed smiles. “Have you thought about it? Tying the knot with Lumen and Rowena?”

“With Rowena it is still too soon, but with Lumen… yes, I have been thinking about it.” He admits it. “But I haven’t found the right ring, the right moment, and we have been together for so long that it makes any ceremony feel a bit… meh… Am I explaining myself?” He receives no immediate answer; both are fascinated by the idea of a potential wedding. 

“Nonsense, you’ll see; when you find the right moment to do it, everything will feel perfect and any doubt will disappear from your mind.” Ofelia assures him. “If you want, you can have the ceremony here; this place is beautiful.” Dreko didn’t expect that, but he nods, admitting it is not a bad idea. 

“And with your portals, you can have the honeymoon wherever.” Abed says, barely containing the enthusiasm. Dreko realizes how he looks exactly like their kids when they wanted dessert. 

“That’s a good point, but there are some loose ends I have to figure out first.”

He stays a little longer before going back to The Tower, where he brushes his teeth and immediately jumps through another portal.  They now appear on a barren land, closer to the green giant’s settlement. Obsidian yelps after exploring a bit of the land; Dreko understands what she wants and pulls out a container with food for her, serving it in a bowl: a couple of mice, a small bird, some berries, and two eggs. 

While she eats, three green giants walk in the distance; Dreko is sitting down on the ground when the giants stop in front of them.

“Hello, Dreko; hi, Obsidian.” Mathilde waves. She is a nineteen-foot-tall green giant with long, loose black hair, a formidable physique, and wearing a brown leather top only covering her breasts and a loincloth from the same material. The woman behind her, Amelie, is a half-giant Dreko has met before, being shorter than the average giant but still being taller than humans with a height of fifteen feet. Another thing that's different is her hair: all pure-blooded giants have it black, she has it brown, and the tips are dyed green. The third giant is a man, the same size as Mathilde, wearing a leather shirt and jeans, Lanx. These two wave at the duo too. 

“What’s up?” The immortal says, Obsidian is too busy eating for her to engage with the giants. 

“I am glad you could come. Let’s go.” 

“We have to wait for Obsidian to finish eating.” He reminds her. “Sit.” The three giants agree to this; Dreko feels the floor shake when they sit down. “Is there something specific you wanted me here for or…?”

“We have a-- I guess, festival is the most accurate way to describe it.”

“Am I like the guest of honor or something?” Dreko smiles, waving like royalty and giving a presumptuous look to the three giants.

“No, but you are gonna attract just as much attention, if that wins you over.” Mathilde ruffles his hair with her fingers; Dreko pushes her hand away, playfully. His long hair is mere inches away from the floor when sitting down, styled with a loose half man-bun.

“We also have dances and alcohol and food.” Lanx sweetens the pot. Obsidian finishes and, with a little hesitancy, goes closer to the giants.

“So it is a festival.” Dreko concludes, jokingly.

“They… we call it the Leisured Convite of Hunts and Nature.” Amelie explains, shyly. The immortal looks at her, not smiling but with an appeasing look. “But yeah, it’s a festival.”

“Perfect, just let me tell Lumen and Rowena.” A drone flies out of his bag. On its own, the messaging app opens and starts recording a video message. “Hey, Lu&Ro, I am here with Mathilde, Lanx and Amelie.“ The device records simultaneously from the frontal and back camera, showing the giants with the appropriate zoom so the three can fit in the shot. “They invited me to this festival thing, just wanted to let you, guys, know, if you want come at any point, you have my location and… I am sorry, I should have asked first, it’s cool? I can rerecord this if…“

“Don’t be ridiculous, yes, you can come.“ Mathilde says to the camera with a big smile.

“There you have it, um, text me when you get home.” An “I love you” for the two of them almost slips out, but he holds it in and plays it off by squeezing his lips. “So, yeah, bye, have fun.“

“You don’t say that you love ‘em?” Mathilde asks, confused.

“I do… to Lumen, with Rowena is still so new, I don’t think it’s the right moment just now.“

“Fair enough, let’s go, it has already started.“

After a few minutes walk, the group arrives to the rudimentary village, where giants, from the seven-feet-tall hatchlings to the forty-feet-tall elder ones, are either drinking, dancing, eating, competing, telling tales of hunts and battles or hooking up. Loud music blasts from a band standing on a tall platform made out of rock. The air smells like wet nature, alcohol, fruit and meat.

“I am definitely going to get trampled by giants drunk feet and hit by some baby —still big— hands.“ The scarred man sighs, finding it both dreadful and funny. “Let’s go.“

As he walks through the party, some inebriated looks go his way. Not being a truly welcoming village, but having Dreko gained the respect of leader Barnabas; the giants have to begrudgingly accept it. It doesn’t mean they are happy about it.

The three giants, the immortal and the fox sit down in a circle after Lanx carries a 9.5-feet-tall barrel of alcohol with wooden mugs on top of it. The giants look at Dreko, finally remembering the size difference, embarrassed.

“Wipe those expressions of your faces, I brought my own.” Out of his backpack, he pulls out a glass beer mug. He puts it on the ground so he can go for a rock to use as a stool chair.

“Now I gotta warn you, this stuff is made for getting drunk people bigger than you so pace yourself.” Quietly, instinctively, they compite to see who chugs it faster, being close between Amelie and Mathilde. Indisputably, Mathilde wins when Amelie puts down the mug with her throat burning. Lanx and Dreko lost by being tied last.

“Yes! Undefeated champ!” Mathilde chants, clapping and flexing. “How are you feeling?” After finishing gloating, she asks Dreko.

“Mm? I am fine, it takes a lot to get me drunk, trust me.” He smiles with clear eyes.

“We’ll find out how much.” She opens the lid with a punch and the four fill their mug while Obsidian lies on the floor, listening to the music and watching everyone enjoying themselves.

The barrel is almost empty. Mathilde, Lanx and Amelia are drunk unlike Dreko who is only tipsy and his fingers are jittery despite having drunk as much as his company.

“Let’s dance!“ Mathilde shouts, slamming the barrel. Before getting an answer, she pulls Lanx into the dance floor; Amelia and Dreko look at each other before following them. The music has a sylvan vibe that the immortal had never listened; something awakes inside of him. Not only joy, certainly not community, something animalistic that twists his heart and a sudden wave of excitement cuts any inhibition remaining more than the alcohol ever could.

The giants dance in an aggressive —yet passionately— way. A slam. Dreko takes a couple of seconds to catch the vibe first, he also tries to figure out if the ground is shaking that much or if he is dizzier than he thinks. He jumps into the dance when he finds his friends. The four of them jump, push and scream. Lanx and Mathilde dance together in the middle of the slam without taking eyes of each other meanwhile Amelie and Dreko are pushing each other between laughs. Despite his inhibitions numbed, Amelie notices her dance partner looks around hyper vigilant and his body is a bit stiff.

“IS EVERYTHING OK?” She screams, lowering a bit her head to be closer to his ear. Amelie’s size compared to Dreko’s positions his head more or less at the middle of her thigh. He nods, with a small smile, staring into her eyes. Drunker than him, Amelie feels weird when looking back into his eyes and, extremely flustered, she grabs his hand. “JUST LET YOURSELF GO!” Together they start jumping and dancing, twirling around and pushing others harder. Mathilde and Lanx snap out of their romantic bliss to pick up on their friends, exchanging a gossipy look.

Soon the night reclaims the sky, this doesn’t stop the celebration but does changes something in Dreko that everyone around notices. His scars are glowing red all over his body. His friends look at him with a mix of strangeness and wonder. Not knowing what to do or how to explain that it sometimes happen, mainly because the entire village has eyes on him, he focus a couple of seconds and the glow disappears.

“I’ll go get a drink.” He mumbles, walking away. The music didn’t stop so his friends didn’t hear him; Amelie goes after him.

She doesn’t find him at first, going to the barrel they were drinking from. She spots him carrying a full closed barrel by himself on his back and pushing another with his foot.

“Dreko? Where did you get that?” She tries to help him but soon realizes that help isn’t needed.

“I bought it from those guys over there.” Dreko answers, pointing to two drunk giants counting gems. Amelie recognizes them as the brewers, also gets impressed by Dreko’s ability to hold the barrel with only one hand.

“But all alcohol is free tonight.”

“I know, as long as it is shared, I want to drink these ones by myself.” This shocks Amelie, who worries he is going to die from all that booze.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, hey, if you are embarrassed about what-whatever that was, it’s not a big deal.” He puts the barrel down effortlessly and turns around. The look on his face is normal, no trace of shame or anger.

“I am not embarrassed about that, but I get it’s something you don’t see everyday and I don’t need to be even more in the spotlight around the village so… I’ll drink until I get drunk…” He looks at the barrels with a calculating look. “Eh… yeah, drunk enough, I suppose.” He answers, letting know that those will barely do the job.

“Ok, can I join you?”

“Sure.”

At some point, later that night, the barrels are empty; Amelie lies, unconscious, on the floor after she cut herself off, leaving the rest of the alcohol for Dreko, who indeed drank it all. The festivity is still going on, although less giants are still up and the music has stopped. Obsidian left long ago, opening a portal through her collar. The immortal stumbles around in silence with million thoughts in his mind but not one coherent, also flashes of moments from his past that he currently doesn’t have the strength to bottle up. He drunk texts Lumen and Rowena, both answered, but by then he didn’t remember where was his phone and couldn’t really feel his fingers.

In his alcohol induced walk, he sees Lanx and Mathilde going at it. Dreko tilts his head to the right, trying to understand if he broke into their home.

“These giants don’t have homes.” He remembers, thanks to the last pinpoints of sober brain he has left. He speeds away, abruptly stopping to puke. “Not my best idea.” The retching sounds caught the attention of three male giants and a female one.

“Look it here, the shining tiny fairy can’t hold his booze.” Everybody laughs. Dreko doesn’t acknowledge them at first, being busy puking. Once done, he turns around to look at them. The four are the same size: thirty feet tall. The three male giants look slightly alike: same facial features and a birthmark on the left arm.

“You wouldn’t say that if you knew how much percentage of alcohol I am now in comparison to ‘blood’.” The air quotes go over the giants’ head, not having to know what he means.

“Our alcohol made by giants for giants.” Reeking of alcohol and humidity, the giant moves fast towards Dreko and picks him up, putting his giant hand around the immortal’s entire body. “You shouldn’t have come.” Dreko feels how the grip tightens. Blood comes out of his orifices and the giant feels how the body crushes against his hand. After a few seconds, something changes and the giant feels it inside his hand; his prey is wide awake like nothing happened, except for the blood trails down his face. An unexplainable force hurts his hand. “Fuck! My hand!” He lets the man fall like a rag doll; a stump when the body hits the floor is heard and Dreko immediately stands up. The long hair is soaked in his own blood, at some point at night, the man bun got undone. The moonlight is behind him, highlighting his silhouette, his face can’t be distinguished in the dark.

“Jesus, you can’t endure pain for shit…” He laughs and points. “I just tensed my body, you completely shattered my bones." His laugh stops abruptly. One look sends chills down the giant’s spine and he gives a step back, somehow the small man appears an indomitable mountain. “I don’t understand why we can’t be friends.” His eyes glow red in the dark, soon followed by the scar labyrinth.

The petrified giants are waiting for Dreko to make a move, instead he vanishes into thin air. With the alcohol quickly burned by his metabolism, the immortal corrects his course as he runs at a non threatening speed for the surroundings. By the time he arrives at The Tower, Lumen and Rowena are asleep on his bed; after a quick shower, he joins them with nothing else on but his underwear. Everything feels so cozy: from his long fresh hair under him to the warm soft bodies that immediately cuddle against him. His eyelids feel heavy as a peaceful dream takes over and his body relaxes after he puts his arms over the ladies.

Next morning, he is the first one awake. Rowena drools on his shoulder, the blue hair is covering half her face. Lumen lies on top of her chest with the sun highlighting her muscular physique on her back and the red hair.

The women wake up at the same time twenty minutes later. Rowena wipes her cheek, drowsy; Lumen turns around with a small pleasant smile.

“How was it yesterday?” The redhead asks with hoarse voice, before answering, Dreko runs straight to the kitchen for three glasses of water and comes back within seconds.

“Not so easy to climb the elevator stairs with these.” He says, handing her a glass.

“You could have asked the drones to bring them.” Rowena suggests, streching. “Come back to bed.” He obeys after putting her glass down on the night stand.

“Yesterday was ok,” he clicks his tongue, “I met Abed’s family and then went with the giants, it was fun until it wasn’t.”

“What happened?” Lumen turns around, supporting herself on the elbows.

“Apart from my friends, no one there seems to like me… On the bright side, I can atest to not being entirely personal, nothing like casual racism as the silver lining of being rejected.”

“I thought you gained their respect by beating the eldest one.” Lumen immediately gets upset by the idea of someone disrespecting her beloved.

“Wai-- what?” Rowena asks. “You beat up an old person?”

“It’s not like that, the eldest one is a giant on his prime with seniority; when I met Mathilde, she took me to him and dictated that if I could make him take a step back, i would be welcome.”

“And they didn’t honor it?”

“Sort of. I can be there, but they are racist towards humans, even the half giant is rejected constantly.” He shrugs it off. “Their booze is great though.”

The thriad remains on the bed in silence for a while.

“Do you have any plans for today?” Rowena asks. “Any mountain to climb or giant beast to fight or an insurrection to start, maybe lifting an entire city out of the ground.” Dreko straightens up when she says this.

“You saw my archives.” Rowena grins playfully. “Maybe tomorrow, I don’t have plans for today.”

By first light, Delilah already has been up for, at least, two hours. They exercised for about an hour, then hopped in the shower and got dressed in the tactical suit, minus the mask, followed by another hour of target practice; by that moment, some of the members have started their day by having breakfast. Delilah doesn’t join them, nodding at them when passing next to the cafeteria.

On top of all they have already done, Delilah gathers information on their next targets. Like everyday, the others try and avoid their leader’s vicinity before having breakfast or they will pull them into a long discussion that soon turns into a mission debrief. Normally, Zom is the one happy to be on the spot but, as the rumor spreads, they had a fight and Delilah is burying themself even more on work. So the general consensus is to tiptoe around both of them until everyone is fed and completely awake.

An angry, starving and emotional Delilah is aware of everyone walking on eggshells and this only adds to their angst. The more vulnerable voice aches inside of them.

“Are you happy about what you’ve become?” This intrusive thought acts as a knife straight to the heart. “No one wants to talk to you, you aren’t a leader, you are a tyrant.” Delilah feels the fatal blow of their insecurity when a raging fire explodes from the belly straight to the brain.

“I am a damn good leader, that’s why I have all these people under my command and I am helping everyone by taking out scumbags. I won’t let anyone get on the way of that or of saving my sister.” The angst is eaten and used as fuel for their extreme determination; through a drone, Delilah delivers a message to everybody all across the base. “Briefing starts in thirty minutes, everybody be there or don’t be here when we return from our assignments.”

The briefing can be defined by two adjectives and it would be enough: brief and uncomfortable. They divide in ten teams, eight of this teams are made out of five people, one has six members and the last one—Delilah’s— only has four.

“Each team goes to a different state, coordinate among you which state your teams are going, take all the equipment you might need but equally and give us update reports for each state you free.” Delilah is still a sound leader, but this plan is received by whispered rejection, fear and defiance. “Quiet! I wouldn’t ask this of you if I didn’t think you all are more than capable to do this. Besides, the way we have been doing it is too slow and ineffective. We can’t let anyone suffer the same fate any longer—” They choke on their words. Everyone gets that their leader is hiding —or baring the weight of— a big piece of information that no one truly wants to insist for.

Zom writes something real quick in a piece of paper that hands over to Ashley, a woman in his team, with an indication for her to say it.

“We should also… um… get a hideout and get some allies in each state so it gets easier each time we do it, after… after thorough background checks.” She manages to explain Zom’s idea, this last part reveals to Delilah the true, paranoid voice puppeteering Ashley.

“That’s a good idea, Ashley, thanks.” Delilah nods, sincerely, not adressing in any way that they know Zom really said it. “You heard her, add that to your task lists and go as soon as you are ready. Go kick some ass.”

With all teams ready to depart, ten portals are open side by side to different states. Zom sits on the back of a chair against the wall, observing quietly all his allies and Delilah standing in front of a portal. Through the eyes of the mask, a gloomy stare watches Delilah and their team go through the portal without even looking back.