#he's baaaaack!

He couldn’t head to bed just yet - a few records needed to be reviewed in his office, first. He stepped next door, and sat down atop his couch - that, too, brought back fond memories of a rather different time in his life. He settled in, leaning back against the arm rest, as he opened the first of the stack of folders he had to review before he could turn in. He didn’t care for this part as much - the paperwork side of the clinic was such a bore. Important, but hardly exciting! He’d considered hiring a clerk to manage such things… but he couldn’t deny the benefit of the personal familiarity. He felt he could better serve his patients if he knew their cases inside and out. It was a sacrifice, to be sure. But worth it, to be the best medical provider he could be!

His body missed the memo, unfortunately. The boring words on the parchments began to blur, serving less to inform Gattius and more to exhaust him. He felt his eyelids grow heavy, a deep yawn escaping him. He re-positioned slightly, in a final attempt to review the first file… but to no avail. His head slumped, eyes closing slowly, as he drifted away.

~*~

“... Lad? Yer not dead, are yeh?”

Gattius started to stir. He recognized that voice… but it couldn’t be. His eyes fluttered open.

“--Wh-who…?” he mumbled, as blurs came into focus.

“Three guesses, lad!” the voice chuckled… almost sensually.

No, definitely sensually - Gattius felt a pair of lips press to his. A tongue penetrating his mouth to meet with his own. He crooned in sleepy response, deepening the kiss! It was familiar… but after a moment, he realized it wasn’t Syrielle’s! He blinked rapidly, the fatigued haze parting to reveal… a Void Elf!?

“--Gah!”

Gattius quickly shoved the late-night infiltrator back off of him! He reached into his boot, and pulled out a black-metal dagger!

“What the fuck!? Who are you and what’re you doing in here!?”

“--Calm yerself, lad! Tch, yer jumpy as e’er, ain’tcha?” the Void Elf chuckled, grinning.

[9]

“Shut up!” Gattius shouted, eyes narrow - and glowing bright. “How’d you get in here? What do you want?”

He sat up fully, dagger still drawn. He’d never seen this elf before… how did he seem to know him? Why did he talk like that? Why did he kiss him so passionately?

“Lad… lad, it’s me! It’s Alteris!” the Void Elf brought his hands up, defensively. “I know I’m lookin’ a wee bit strange, aye? But I promise yeh, it’s me! How can I prove it?”

Gattius wasn’t convinced! He kept his dagger drawn and ready, eyes trained on the intruder like a hawk!

“J-Just… shut up!” he shouted again, shaking his head. “You’re not Alt! He’s dead! Long dead!”

The Void Elf frowned some, hands still up and in plain sight.

“--Aye…” he admitted. “That’s true, lad. I died a while back. But e’en death cannae keep me from yeh. What we had was too strong, aye? I’m ‘ere t’be with yeh again, like old times. Just fer t’night, if you’ll have me.”

[4]

Gattius lowered his dagger slightly. Could it be? It certainly sounded like Alteris. It looked… maybe a little like him? He couldn’t be sure. His head was still swimming, trying to make sense of all this. No, no… Alteris said he wouldn’t visit him again! This had to be an imposter! Perhaps the Ren’dorei had probed his mind, in an attempt to glean something they could use against him? The accent did sound a little odd, with that ethereal echo…

“Get the fuck out of here, whoever you are!” he glared at the Void Elf once more. “I won’t warn you again.”

The Void Elf rolled his eyes, exhaling an agitated sigh. He stepped forward, as he reached into his pocket!

“Dammit, lad! Yer as stubborn as a mule!” he grumbled, pulling something from his pocket. “Yeh want proof? Here! I--”

[1]

His words were cut off, as a swift strike caught him across his throat! Gattius lashed out with his dagger, slicing through the Void Elf’s neck. His eyes showed no mercy, no remorse… he did warn him, after all! There was no way, Gattius thought, that this Void Elf could possibly be Alteris! Just an intruder here to threaten him, the kingdom… his family… Gattius would have none of it!

He didn’t expect, however, for the Void Elf to simply vanish! The strike landed. He felt it! He saw it! And yet no body remained, no corpse to identify. In a cloud of darkness, the intruder was simply… gone.

A light clatter on the floor at his feet caught his attention, however. Gattius looked down to see a familiar silver cigarette case resting where the Void Elf once stood. He gasped… it was the one Alteris used to use. Gattius thought it lost forever after he couldn’t find it! How did it get here? He’d scoured the office time and time again, looking for the precious keepsake. Yet here it was… he bent down to pick it up, thoughtfully.