#seraxa

It all starts innocently enough. A simple talk at the hilltop, watching the beautiful sea that surrounded Elyys’tel and pretending they couldn’t see the gigantic monster with electricity in his teeth.

“You know, my abuelita always used to say…”

“What’s that word?” Varyyn asks, as he still does quite frequently. His hang of English is pretty good now, but there’s still a lot of vocabulary missing.

“Oh? Ah. That’s the mother of your mother, or the mother of your father”.

“I see. Thank you, Diego.”

And that is that.

*

Look, it’s not Diego’s fault. It just didn’t come up again. Grandmas aren’t any more important in Vaanti culture than your great aunt twice removed is in human culture, and Diego didn’t have any reason to talk about any grandma other than his own. And he’s not about to call his abuelita grandma. He’s not a fucking weirdo. Well, okay, maybe he is, but not that kind of weirdo. And if any Vaanti ever referred to a grandma as abuelita, those are pretty much the same thing in his brain. He didn’t notice.

It’s totally not on him at all. Could’ve happened to anyone, surely.

*

The first Vaanti to ever hear the word grandma is Seraxa, which is probably also how everything went so horribly wrong. Maybe someone else would have asked for clarification. But this is Seraxa.

“Try the tilgul poli!” The Catalyst says enthusiastically, presenting her with - well, tilgul poli, she supposes.

She eyes the food and scowls. Humans. “Ugh. That looks like desiccated pig skin, but I suppose I must be gracious…” She says, out loud, because she’s not that gracious. She takes as small a bite as she can, and the flavor immediately overwhelms her. She can’t help but proclaim, with all the shock in her body, “This… Is outstanding?!”

Despite the optimal opportunity to say “I told you so”, the Catalyst just smiles at her, proud of his accomplishment. And as much as it wounds her pride, Seraxa must ask.

“Catalyst, how do you make this? Please, you must tell me!” She announces, but he doesn’t budge.

“Sorry. Grandma’s recipe.”

And Seraxa has already hurt her own pride enough by asking - and being denied, the horror - so she is not about to admit to this Catalyst that she doesn’t know what that word means, especially not now that she has gotten quite a few compliments for her proficiency in English. Besides, she is not an idiot. It is obvious, from context, what “Grandmas” means.

*

There is only one problem. She knows there is already a word for secret. It’s one of the first words she learnt in English, because Diego is nosy and she didn’t want a human asking her all kinds of things when she didn’t know how much of a threat they would be. Diego never spoke of any Grandmas, and seemed to understand just fine when she said that something was a secret.

So, Grandmas must be a special kind of secret. But what kind? She had only heard the word once, so she doesn’t have a lot to go on. She could make assumptions, of course - but then she risks making mistaken assumptions and looking like a fool again. After the “pwning of noobs” incident, Seraxa doesn’t want to give the Catalysts any more reason to think that she is not intelligent enough to grasp the stupid human language.

Troubled by her own ignorance, she waits by the throne room until she is certain that no one is about to come in, least of all Diego. As widespread as English has become among Vaanti society, there is no questioning that Varyyn is the most proficient out of all of them. If anyone knows the answer to her question, it must be him.

“My elyyshar,” she says gravely as she enters the room, checking behind her one last time to make sure no one else wants an audience with him. Varyyn sits a little straighter in his throne, looking at her serious expression with understandable alarm. When the War Chief comes into the throne room looking behind her back, you can expect nothing but trouble.

“War Chief Seraxa,” he replies, standing up. “Is there trouble?”

“Elyys’tel remains secure, my elyyshar. I must admit, I have come here on a… Private matter.”

Varyyn seems to relax, if only slightly. “I see. And what would that be?”

“There is something I must know,” she says, slowly, “about the English language.”

Varyyn sits down again, relief visible in his eyes, as good as he is at hiding his expressions. “Feel free to ask, Seraxa. But perhaps a Catalyst would be of more use for you than me, in this particular case.”

“No. I must not let the Catalysts know of my troubles.”

This time, amusement is clear as day in Varyyn’s features. “I see. Well, then, I shall do my best to assist you. What are your troubles?”

“I want to know the difference between ‘Grandmas’ and ‘secret’.”

Varyyn pauses. He scratches his chin. “Could you repeat that first word?”

“‘Grandmas’, my elyyshar.”

He thinks for some time, which Seraxa appreciates, even as it makes her terribly anxious. Finally, he sighs and looks at her sadly, “My apologies, Seraxa. I don’t think I’ve ever heard that word before. Perhaps I could ask-”

“No!” she says, then composes herself. “I mean. That is not necessary. I’m sure we can figure out the meaning of this word on our own. Perhaps some other Vaanti might be familiar with it.”

Varyyn smiles at her, and she knows mirth when she sees it. “Do as you see fit, my War Chief.”

*

Seraxa does not give up on finding someone who is familiar with the word until she has interviewed all of Elyys’tel - and she does mean all of Elyys’tel, including Taari and the other kids, who have perhaps listened to Diego talk more than any other non-Varyyn Vaanti, with as many stories as he has told them during the six months he had spent in their city. However, despite her best efforts, no one could tell her what “Grandmas” meant, and they all parted ways with her having explicit orders not to ask the Catalysts.

They are Vaanti, for the Endless’ sake. Their brains have evolved to apprehend language in a way that humans couldn’t possibly understand - they had all but mastered the ways of English in a matter of months, whereas even Diego still struggled with the finer details of Vaanti. They don’t need the help of the Catalysts to understand a simple word, not this far into their relationship and language learning. Seraxa is certain that they could figure this out on their own.

She just doesn’t know how.

*

All the Vaanti agree that “Grandmas” must somehow be related to some sort of secret - Raj’s remark that he couldn’t share the recipe doesn’t make sense otherwise. Their best bet is that “Grandmas” is a secret that somehow only applies to food - but again, they only have one use of the word to go by. And this explanation seems feeble at best - why are culinary secrets particularly different from any kind of secret? No, they must gather more information.

*

By some strike of luck, the second time the word “grandma” is used, it is also Seraxa who is there to hear it.

She is talking to the Cygnus Catalyst - Grace, her name is - and, despite her best efforts, Seraxa cannot help but like her. She is certainly the most intelligent out of all of them, and perhaps the kindest - although, Seraxa must admit, most of the Catalysts are kind. They are so different from the other humans the Vaanti have come into contact with it almost doesn’t seem the same species - then again, that is probably what makes them special, she supposes.

Somehow, she had find herself listening to Grace’s troubles. She is shocked to find out about the horrors Grace’s own mother had put her through, and absolutely shocked and flabbergasted to see her cry all but openly. Seraxa realizes, with a startle, that this Catalyst is not afraid to be vulnerable in front of her. They must not view the Vaanti as enemies.

She already had her suspicions, but it was- strange, to have confirmation. Even stranger, these thoughts were only at the back of her mind, most of her focus being on how she could - well, help - this human.

“I do not understand. Why was your mother so unsupportive of you?”

“Human mothers are like that, sometimes,” she says, shrugging, still wiping at her eyes with some frequency. “She wanted me to be like she was, and I- well, I couldn’t.”

Seraxa nods once, although she still doesn’t understand. “That is not the way of the Vaanti. We believe it is a parent’s duty to support their child’s path in becoming what they want to be. When it became clear I wanted to be a warrior, my mother saw that I got the best training possible, even though she was a cook. That was never in question. That was also the nature of my mother’s relationship with her mother, and every generation before that.”

“Vaanti familial relationships sound great,” Grace sighs. A short silence that Seraxa doesn’t know how to feel, until Grace, clearly still looking for a way to distract herself from the conversation, says, “can you tell me about your grandma?”

Seraxa is in shock. Was this- a trick? Showing Seraxa vulnerability, then trying to guilt her into telling her a secret of the Vaanti? She immediately gets up. “We are not friends, Catalyst. Don’t ask me such personal questions.”

And then she leaves.

*

Seraxa bursts into the throne room. “I have heard the word again,” she announces.

“Ah, the great Grandmas debacle.” Varyyn says. There are some people in the throne room, but they are all Vaanti, and all look at her with great interest. It has become something of the Vaanti’s greatest activity, to conjecture on the meaning of this word. It helps distract them from the threat of Raan’losti. “Tell us your findings, great War Chief.”

“I have managed to confirm that ‘Grandmas’ is the plural of ‘Grandma’. Gr- One of the Catalysts has asked me to share with her a single Grandma. Don’t worry, my elyyshar, I did not reveal anything.”

Uqzhaal looks at her, annoyed. “In that case, I don’t see why this requires an interruption of our meeting,” he says. “I understand you need to occupy yourself now that the war efforts are mainly on the hands of the Catalysts, but not everyone is as invested in this debacle as you are.”

“Speak for yourself,” one of the other attendees says, and several people murmur in agreement. Varyyn hides a smile.

“Well then, in that case, should we just cancel this meeting and dedicate it entirely to the great Grandmas debacle, then?” Uqzhaal says, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Varyyn nods gravely. “What an excellent idea. Please retell us the story as it happened, Seraxa.”

All the Vaanti present gather closer to hear her tale, and Uqzhaal throws his hands up.

*

Meanwhile, Grace goes to Diego.

“Diego? Do you know anything about people’s relationship with their grandmas in Vaanti culture?”

Diego looks at her, puzzled. “Not really… Well, now that I think about it, I don’t think the topic ever came up. Why?”

“I asked Seraxa to tell me about her family, and she was awfully offended. Just got up and left. I feel terrible, but I don’t understand what I did wrong.”

Diego stops to think for a while, frowning. “Like I said, I don’t think anyone ever talked to me about their grandmas. Maybe the topic is tabboo in Vaanti society?” He stops. “We should probably ask the others. At the very least, we should all know that it’s probably best not to bring the subject up. We don’t need the Vaanti having more reason to be suspicious of us.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” she agrees, and soon, a Catalysts meeting is in session.

*

They all agree that they most certainly had never heard any Vaanti talk about their grandmas, or ask them about them.

“Maybe… I don’t know. Most Vaanti seem to have children a little late, don’t you think? Maybe most of them grew up without a grandma,” Sean points out.

“Aw man, that is sad,” Raj says. “But it tracks. Varyyn never talked about Ximaedra after she passed, did he, Diego? Maybe the Vaanti don’t like to talk about their lost ones due to grief, and because most people never get to meet their grandmas, it is considered rude to ask.”

Diego thinks it over. “That makes a lot of sense,” he agrees. “Now that I think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone talk about their lost ones. I think you cracked it, Raj.”

Raj grins. “Hell yeah! Of course I did!”

“Congrats, brah!”, Craig says enthusiastically, and they high five.

“Well, then.” Grace says. “With that in mind, let’s all agree to not bring up the subject anymore, then. And maybe we shouldn’t talk about our grandmas in front of them as well? Just to be sure. We don’t want to offend them.”

“That seems like the sensible thing to do,” they agree. Then they go back to worrying about idiotic things, or the end of the world. Whatever seems most relevant at the time.

*

As Seraxa finishes telling her tale, complete with as many details as she could, the Vaanti all nod gravely, deep in thought.

“Therefore, as I have gathered, ‘Grandma’ is a singular form. Raj said ‘Grandmas recipe’; meaning there is more than one Grandma. It is a recipe of many Grandmas.”

“Hm. That does seem like an accurate assessment… But could a simple recipe really warrant multiple Grandmas? We already know, from what Seraxa has told, that there seems to be no direct relation between Grandma and cuisine,” another one of the people present, Vaa’ta, notes.

Seraxa nods. “That seems correct. Food was never a part of our conversation, which would make the request odd. I believe the Cygnus Catalyst was trying to trade a secret for a secret, as she had told me about her relationship with her mom.”

“Perhaps a Grandma is… An intimate, personal secret? Something difficult to talk about?”

“But then, how could a simple recipe be the source of not one, but multiple Grandmas?”

“Well…” Varyyn finally says, and the entire room goes silent. He pretends to himself, for a second, that it is because of the utmost respect they all have for his wisdom as elyyshar, but he knows, of course, it’s just because he’s the one who best speaks English and therefore the most likely one to solve their little dilemma. “I have heard Raj speak of cuisine before. He speaks of it in an oddly intimate manner. Perhaps, to humans, food speaks not of community, like for the Vaanti, but rather of one’s feelings,” he points out. “Perhaps the way one cooks might be deeply personal, and therefore to share the way you cook a dish is like giving up a part of one’s soul.”

“Oh,” Seraxa says, looking sad, for the first time. “I may have to apologize to him, then. I was awfully rude about his Grandmas. I had no idea.”

“I’m sure they’d understand,” Varyyn says.

“But then… Why would the other Catalyst ask Seraxa about it, if it’s so rude?”

Varyyn scratches his chin. “Well, Seraxa said that she thought Grace wanted an exchange, correct? A secret for a secret. Perhaps Grace believed that, since she told Seraxa her Grandma, Seraxa telling her a Grandma in exchange would make it equal.”

“...Oh.” Seraxa says again, looking deeply ashamed. Her reaction… Was not appropriate. “I might have to make multiple apologies.”

Varyyn smiles. “I’m sure you will survive, my War Chief.”

*

Seraxa finds Raj before she finds Grace, which may or may not be related to the fact that she looked for Raj before she did Grace. Her offense to Raj was older and smaller, and she still didn’t know how to explain to Grace that she deeply misunderstood the meaning of her request.

“Catalyst,” she says, and Raj immediately turns to her with a bright smile.

“My girl! How’s it goin’, Seraxa? Made any heads roll today?”

She grins. “No, but the day is still new. Hopefully soon.”

“Hopefully- oh. It’s a joke.” He grins. “Hey, Seraxa made a joke! Love that for you. So, what can I help you with? Because I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m not exactly the most War Chief-y guy of our group. If there’s any trouble, you should probably go to-”

“No. I… Wanted to… Apologize. The other day. When I asked for your Grandmas recipe,” she says. “That was awfully rude of me. I hope you can forgive my offense.”

Raj freezes. He wants to tell her that it’s not really a big deal to humans, but he’s afraid of sounding culturally insensitive and making light of the Vaanti’s hidden grandmas culture. A little awkwardly, he says, “oh, that’s okay. Don’t, uh, don’t sweat it.”

Seraxa nods. “I appreciate your forgiveness.”

*

Grace finds Seraxa before Seraxa does. “Seraxa, hey,” she says, her hands joined in front of her body the way they usually are, looking awfully sad. “I just wanted to say, uh… Sorry for my question yesterday. I didn’t mean to push you.”

Seraxa looks at her, shocked. “I believe it is I who must apologize,” she said. “I reacted with much aggression to a reasonable request. I had no idea what it meant to you, humans. I hope you believe me when I say that it was a misunderstanding.”

Grace smiles at her, bright as the La Huerta sun. “Oh, don’t worry about it. I suppose a little cultural misunderstanding is bound to happen at some point,” she says. “I hope that means we are okay?”

Seraxa nods. “Of course. And, well…” Seraxa looks around, dropping her voice as she racks her brain for something deep she could share in exchange for Grace’s Grandma. “We might not be friends, yet, but… I believe we could be. You and the Catalysts have… Proven different from most humans.”

Grace’s smile opens even wider. “Oh, Seraxa, that is lovely to hear!”, and with that, she throws her arms around the War Chief.

Seraxa supposes it is not the worst thing that could have happened.

*

Diego and Varyyn are standing at the hilltop, watching the sunset, wrapped up in each other. It would have been very fitting and poetic if the misunderstanding had ended there, like it had begun. But that’s not what happened, which makes this story slightly less fit for poetry.

Nevertheless, something about the beauty of the La Huerta sunset and the even greater beauty of having Diego in his arms made Varyyn feel bold. He wouldn’t ask directly about the meaning of the word, of course - his people were too invested in that debate, and he might lose their respect as elyyshar if he takes the opportunity to figure this out away from them - but he could make a vague question and hopefully get a few more clues.

“Diego?” he says, softly. Diego had been resting in his chest, and very lazily, he opens his eyes.

“Hmm?”

“Can I ask you a… Perhaps personal question?”

Diego grins up at him. “We’re handfasted now, remember? Pretty sure this a year and a day is meant for personal questions.”

Varyyn smiles. “Yes, I suppose so.” Then, he feels himself grow serious. He really hopes this isn’t a tactless question; the last thing he’d want would be to offend Diego or make him uncomfortable, and he knows what a huge milestone this would be. “Can you tell me about your Grandma?”

Diego’s eyes widen. Just when Varyyn is about to tell him he doesn’t have to, his face splits into a grin and he throws his arms around Varyyn’s neck. “Oh, Varyyn, it’d be an honor,” he says.

“It would?” Varyyn says, unable to contain his smile.

“Of course!” Diego replies, practically bouncing, “Okay, so I’m closest to my abuelita from my mom’s side of the family. When I came out, my parents reacted terribly, and I lived with her for a while. Well… Until college. Which I’m stilll in. So I still live with her. But anyway! I don’t know what would have happened if she hadn’t taken me in, honestly. She’s very strong tempered, but she’s also…”

Diego launches into every detail of his relationship with his grandma, excited to talk about one of his favorite people with another one of his favorite people. Varyyn smiles through it all, humbled to have Diego share a part of his soul with him.

*

Surprisingly, Diego manages to tear himself away from Varyyn for enough to tell the other Catalysts about his discovery.

“What the hell are you doing here, bro?” Craig asks, elbowing Diego playfully in a way that made him fear for the intactness of his organs. “I thought your man was taking you to ‘watch the sunset’,” he waggled his eyebrows playfully and winked three times with both eyes as he did air quotes.

“He was, and we did, and that was all,” Diego replies, blushing.

“Boring,” Zahra chimes in.

“At least he goes on dates with his partner,” Michelle said, still at work on her project to make Zahra take one of Craig’s massive hints.

“Look, we’ve got maybe a second before Varyyn comes back, he was just checking in with Seraxa about something,” Diego says, a certain sense of urgency in his tone. “I just wanted to tell you guys that we were right about the whole thing about grandmas in Vaanti culture. Varyyn asked me to tell him about my abuelita today, and it seemed to be really special to him. So yes, grandmas are probably something of a secret among the Vaanti, and it’s best of us to keep not asking or bringing it up.”

“Aw yeah man, we totally nailed the cultural sensitivity thing!” Craig announced, going for a high five with Raj.

“Great job, everyone!” Grace adds, smiling brightly, just as Varyyn rejoins them in their rooms.

“What job?” he asks as he brings Diego into his arms and kisses the top of his head.

“Job? What job? There was no job,” Diego answers, grinning. “We should probably go to sleep. Busy day tomorrow. I don’t know what will happen then, but I’m sure it’ll be busy.”

“Yes, that does seem best,” Varyyn agrees, and the rest of them grin as he follows Diego into their room.

*

The next day, Varyyn shares his findings with the unofficially named Council of Grandmas. It consists of roughly every Vaanti in Elyys’tel save for Uqzhaal. They meet in the early morning, as the Catalysts seem to sleep until a later time than the Vaanti do. It is still unclear whether that is a difference in human and Vaanti anatomy or simply the tiredness of all the events catching up to the Catalysts, but that is not as heated a topic of discussion as the Grandmas Debacle.

“I asked Diego to tell me a Grandma,” Varyyn says to a crowd of laser-focused Vaanti, clinging to his every word, “and he told me of his abuelita. I will not share everything he said, but it is clear to me that a Grandma speaks of deep emotional connection. He has told me deep personal details about his family life, which I am grateful for.” The gathered Vaanti groan respectfully and Varyyn decides to stop talking about Diego. “What I meant to say is, Diego has replied to a question about his Grandma with an answer that speaks of the people closest to him. People who have made him who he is. People who are a part of his soul,” he concludes, making a little pause to look into the eyes of the Vaanti present. “With that in mind, I believe our previous assessment was correct. A Grandma is an intimate part of one’s life. A part of one’s soul, talked about only with one’s most special ones.” Varyyn wonders to himself, idly, if he perhaps might be a Grandma to Diego one day.

For a second, there is nothing but silence as Varyyn’s glorious words echo in the throne room. Then, the gathered Vaanti explode in whooping and applauding. Out of all of them, Seraxa is definitely the happiest. “We did it!” She exclaims, raising her hand in the air. “We must celebrate!”

However, that celebration never comes, because a huge vortex suddenly opens in the sky, threatening to destroy the entire island. Sighing, the Vaanti leave the throne room and go looking for the Catalysts.

*

After an epic battle that leads to the defeat of the Hydra via the ultimate sacrifice that led the spirit of Vaanu to leave Earth and undo the time anomalies that led to the end of the rest of the world, things get back to normal. And the first thing in everyone’s to-do list is, of course, to celebrate.

Unsurprisingly, Raj suggests a feast, to which the Vaanti enthusiastically agree. The entire Great Tree is decorated again, and a feast worthy of Niala’rei is prepared, with both Vaanti and human food. And drinks, of course.

It is perhaps that last part that made Seraxa bold enough to propose her own toast. Liquor laced with victory and the knowledge that one’s life work is done is either a terrific or a terrifying combination, and regardless of that, the Catalysts have proven their loyalty to the Vaanti - Seraxa would probably never stop having reservations with humans, but it was undeniable to her that this particular group had proved themselves worthy of their friendship and trust.

“To the Catalysts,” she announces, raising her drink up in the air. “And to the Vaanti, and to the friendship forged between the two. May our peoples’ relationship prosper and grow into one of trust, one of friendship… And perhaps, even, one of Grandma.”

The Vaanti cheer and celebrate, but the Catalysts only look at each other in confusion. Diego is about to raise his voice and admit that there might be some kind of cultural crossfire going on, but Craig beats him to it.

“Yo, S-dog, what does that mean?” he says, and is promptly kicked by 10 people at once.

Seraxa feels her cheeks grow purple, but tries her best to regain her composture. Did she end up with a “pwning of noobs” situation, after all? Unwilling to explain to them what she meant, in case it was too far off the mark, she says, “perhaps the finest details of the word Grandma still escape us, after all. We didn’t want to trouble you with that question, but I suppose it is inevitable now. What does ‘Grandma’ mean, exactly?”

A few of the Vaanti hide laughter, but most of them are transfixed on Raj as he replies. “Uh… Well. Usually the mother of your mother. Or maybe even… The mother of your father.”

“An abuelita??”, all of the Vaanti exclaim at once.

“Hmm,” Diego says. “I am starting to think that this one might be on me.”

“So, just to clarify… The mother of your parents is not a tabboo in Vaanti culture?” Grace asks, raising her hand as if she was in class.

“What? No. Where did you get that from?” Seraxa replies.

“Well, I mean, you were so offended when I asked you about your grandma…”

“I thought you were asking me information about Elyys’tel’s warriors!”

“Wait,” Varyyn says, and Seraxa immediately silences. “If a grandma is the mother of your parents, then what is an abuelita?”

“Well…” Diego says. “Also that. But uh… The thing is… Abuelita is not, necessarily… English.”

“Oh. Is it some sort of ancient term from before human language, then?”

“Dude, no,” Craig says, “it’s just Spanish.”

Varyyn frowns. “I have never heard of that. What is Spanish?”

“It’s another human language,” Aleister explains, “spoken in the country of Spain and its previous colonies.”

“Humans have two languages? That must be confusing.”

“We actually have, uh, probably closer to a thousand?”

“But that’s unbelievably impractical!” Seraxa cries out.

“Oh boy,” Diego says. “Here, sit down. I suppose I’ll have to get you guys a map for this. Grace, can you draw?”

*

Several hours, a very challenging lesson in geography, and approximately seven breakdowns over the actual size of the human population later, Vaanti and humans alike go back to getting drunk and partying. The following day, the Catalysts plan on going back to the facility and contacting coastal services so they can get off the island. Diego will go with them, gather his things, sign up for online classes, and then come back. As Rourke’s heirs, Estela and Aleister plan on setting up enough structure for the Catalysts to come back to the island - with the Vaanti’s blessing - and otherwise leave it alone so the Vaanti may finally have their peace. It will take a while for Diego to establish a new routine, but he knows that Elyys’tel became his home in a way that California never had. And he can still visit his abuelita, so he gets the best of both worlds that way, really.

He’s not worried about any of that at the moment, though. All he thinks about is holding Varyyn in his arms, smiling as Varyyn hums softly and listens to his heartbeat.

“I never knew your language wasn’t actually English, Diego,” Varyyn says, softly.

“Oh,” Diego says. “Well, I mean, it is, in a way. My family went to the States when I was still a toddler, so I was raised speaking both.”

Varyyn hums again. “But Spanish is the language of your people, correct? The Mexicans?”

He grins down at Varyyn. “Yes, that’s right,” he says, and Varyyn nods.

“I see. I must learn it. Shall we begin our classes once you come back to Elyys’tel?” Diego startles, and Varyyn frowns. “Is anything wrong? It was my understanding that you would return, but-”

“No, no, of course I will,” he says. “I was surprised, that’s all. You don’t have to learn Spanish, Varyyn. Like I said, I speak English just fine, and so do you. No need to go through all that struggle again.”

“It will be easier this time. We already have a common ground. Two, in fact, since your Vaanti is already quite fluent,” he points out. “And despite the fact that you speak English…” he looks up at Diego, reaching out with a hand to touch the point of his chest where his head had been resting, “I want to know the language of your heart.”

“Oh.” Diego says, sounding a little strangled. “I mean, I… I appreciate that, Varyyn.”

“Excellent. Perhaps we could begin with the basics now. How do you say ‘my beloved’ in Spanish?”

“That’s not the basics, Varyyn!” he laughs.

“No, but it is the most important part. I did say it was the language of your heart, after all.”

Varyyn’s smile is way too wide for it to be anything but teasing, but Diego falls himself softening anyway. “Well, you’re not wrong about that. I gotta warn you, though, if you start going around calling me mi amado, I might faint like in a telenovela.”

“That is ‘my beloved’, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. I would rather avoid making linguistic assumptions for now.”

————————

The pirate was probably trying to be stealthy, but Seraxa still heard her coming.

Night blanketed Elyys’tel, and lanterns hung all over the Great Tree, made to look like their own star-filled sky.

Andromeda, just Handfasted, was off enjoying the night with their beloved. The rest of the Catalysts joined the Vaanti in the festivities. People danced by bonfires and played as many games to rival the ones from the last Valinorim. All the laughter, singing, and happy shouts melded together into one joyous roar.

The last Seraxa saw of Taari was he and Zahra running off to play what she had called “dodgeball”, leaving Seraxa with her thoughts.

“Not one for parties?”

That was the second time she and Yvonne had spoken. The first was just before Varyyn’s coronation, when she bid the Catalysts a fond farewell.

Seraxa had thanked, or at least acknowledged, Yvonne for helping to protect the Vaanti during Cetus’s attack. The pirate tipped her hat with a flourish and a wink, and called her “milday”.

Taari promptly asked if the pirate was her new girlfriend, and Seraxa assigned him a long list of chores after the Valinorim.

“I’m here for one, am I not?” Seraxa replied, not turning around.

“With the way you scowl like the sun’s in your eyes, you could have fooled me,” Yvonne was right next to her now, joining Seraxa in standing off to the side instead celebrating. It looked unfamiliar to Seraxa, since Yvonne seemed the type to waste no time in celebrating.

Seraxa also remembered the way the pirate arrived in the midst of Cetus’s attack to help, and how she led a crowd of Vaanti to safety deeper into the jungle.

“Truly though,” the pirate broke the warrior out of her thoughts. “Do you ever rest?”

“I am not fighting or preparing for a fight, so you can say I rest now,” Seraxa retorted.

“You’ve not touched a single drink the whole day, and watching everyone like a hawk does not help your case. In all the time I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you relax.”

“I wasn’t aware you were so keen on watching me.”

To Seraxa’s surprise, Yvonne blushed. She didn’t take that long to recover though.

“Still, with you being a military leader, that warrants a day off, no? Two, at the least?”

All the more reason I can’t let my guard down, Seraxa thought to herself. Everything seemed safe before Cetus attacked, and attacked he did.

Seraxa’s pride refused to acknowledge what might have happened if the Catalysts hadn’t come when they did.

“And I told you, I am resting. If we are to talk in circles like this the whole night, you’ll grow weary.”

“That I doubt,” Yvonne said quietly with a mischievous smirk that Seraxa didn’t quite understand. “You seem to have missed quite a show earlier,” the pirate continued. “The big one, Craig? He challenged one of your soldiers to a match.”

“Then Ursa is a dead man for sure-”

“He won.”

“Hm?”

“You heard correct,” Yvonne smirked. “Against several, actually.”

“He…he, an outsider, bested my warriors in a spar?”

Seraxa’s mind went through all the grueling exercise regimes she would put those warriors through to compensate for such a defeat (she will get names), before Yvonne spoke again.

“No no, they did not fight.”

“…Then what did they do?”

“Craig licked his elbow, and challenged one of your soldiers to do the same.”

“Whaa…” Seraxa’s jaw dropped.

“And several of your troops tried to succeed where the first had failed. None of them could.”

Seraxa…had no words. Elbow licking? She expected warriors under her command to be above making a fuss over something so ridiculous…

Her eyes darted down for a second to her left elbow; only for a second, but long enough for the pirate to catch.

“Try it.”

“Don’t be absurd.”

“We both know you’re thinking about it,” Yvonne waggled her eyebrows. “Someone did manage to accomplish the feat, at last.”

“One person out of nearly everyone in Elyys’tel?”

“Yes. It was Grace. And naturally, she won the prize.”

“There was a prize as well?”

“Indeed. She had the privilege to watch as all who tried and failed form something they called a ‘human pyramid’. It was quite the disaster.”

A smile played on Seraxa’s lips, one that she couldn’t quite smother. Not overly large, but big enough to be visible.

The pirate leaned closer, eyes squinting as they inspected Seraxa’s face. The warrior’s cheeks heated up.

“What are you-”

“Checking to see if your face has cracked,” she said earnestly. “It appears intact, and lovely as ever.”

Lovely…lovely…

Lovely…????

Seraxa’s mind went blank, as if her mind was thrown into a time loop, focused on that one word.

The two of them stand in silence for a minute. Seraxa’s eyes glanced once at Yvonne, feeling an uncomfortable rising of anxiety at the awkward quiet.

She turned to Yvonne to speak. Later, when Seraxa thought back on that moment, she could never remember what she had wanted to say, because what happened next took over her full attention.

Yvonne leaned in and kissed Seraxa.

The kiss was like lightning; quick and intense. Yvonne’s lips were warm and searching, and pulled away.

Once again, Seraxa’s entire mind went blank.

When the warrior was silent for a few seconds, vulnerability flashed on the pirate’s face.

“I’m sorry, was that not-” Seraxa swapped their places with a kiss of her own.

“Don’t be sorry,” Seraxa said when they broke apart. “Unless it’s because you didn’t do that sooner.”

A laugh escaped Yvonne’s lips as they met Seraxa’s again.

Neither of them knew that this was the last time they’d see each other before Andromeda’s sacrifice made time reassert itself.

Something else they didn’t know is that the same force that tore them apart would bring them back to each other.

————————

Something Seraxa was used to waking up to was the sun’s rays shining through the windows of her home, or her cats’ morning playfulness dragging her from sleep.

This morning, she woke up to Yvonne, behind her in bed, tightening her arms around her lover in a secure hold.

Speaking of the sun, all of Seraxa’s windows had now been boarded up to keep it from shining through, accommodating Yvonne’s now-nocturnal nature.

It had been almost two years since the first time she had seen Yvonne after Andromeda’s sacrifice. The Catalysts when they made their yearly visits was always a welcome sight. But seeing with them, someone she had thought she’d never see again, was a surprise to say the least.

When everything had settled, and it was established that there wasn’t any trickery afoot, Yvonne had quite a tale to tell.

After being taken back to her own time, she said that she came into contact with creatures from the world outside of Vaanu. Creatures that made her into one of them, an immortal.

An immortal, with a regular need for blood.

Yvonne couldn’t stay on the island any longer than a month before the need for blood would become unbearable. Neither of them knew how Yvonne would take to Vaanti blood, if it would nourish or poison her, and Seraxa wasn’t willing to risk it. Pavos volunteered to run tests on Vaanti blood, and only ended up confirming what they feared.

Thus, Yvonne could not stay for any longer than three weeks at a time. And affairs on the outside world kept her from visiting as regularly as she would have liked.

It was probably for the best, Seraxa thought. Adventure was in Yvonne’s blood, and she was not meant to pick one place to live out the rest of her days.

Yvonne had told her all of this on the first few days she had come back; that she did not want marriage even if her nature wasn’t a factor, and said that she understood if a relationship with her was too much for Seraxa to handle.

Thoughts back to the present moment, she turned around, and joined Yvonne in a mutual embrace.

“Did I wake you?” Yvonne asked sleepily.

“Yes,” Seraxa smirked. “But I’ll have to get up soon anyway.”

“Can’t you order someone else to take care of your duties for the day?” Yvonne asked. “You need your sleep. And what good is authority if you can’t flaunt it every once in a while?”

Yvonne’s nature altered Seraxa’s sleep schedule quite a bit, but it was a worthy sacrifice.

“I’ll be back by nightfall,” Seraxa shifted and pulled Yvonne closer.

“That’s still too long.”

“You’ll survive without my embrace for a few hours,” the warrior resisted the urge to laugh.

“You’re so cruel,” Yvonne whined, snuggling closer.

“We’re here now,” Seraxa buried her face in Yvonne’s hair. “So until I hear a knock on the door, I’m yours.”

They’re not sure how long they stayed like that, wrapped around each other, until Yvonne poked Seraxa’s nose.

“You look too thoughtful for someone who just woke up,” Yvonne commented, and Seraxa finally noticed she was frowning.

“I was just wondering…” Seraxa began. “Before I met you, I was resolved to live a life without a partner. There would be no guarantee of a long life, so I did not want anyone to need me, a wife or a child, should I leave them behind.”

Yvonne stroked her face.

“That’s a lonely way to live, my dear.”

“For a while, I thought it was the only way I could live.”

Yvonne said nothing, and Seraxa continued.

“Both my parents died in battle when I was a child. It was a reality I had to face when I followed in their stead as a warrior, and more so when I was named War Chief. I’ve have so long to get used to the idea, that my pride wouldn’t allow me to indulge anything else.”

“Well it’s a good thing I plan to keep you around,” Yvonne said before giving Seraxa a deep kiss. “What we have might not be normal, but-”

“It is not normal, and I want it no other way,” Seraxa kissed Yvonne this time.

“Thank you,” Yvonne breathed. “For letting me in, and for having a place for me with you.”

“Thank your ability to break past a War Chief’s defenses, my love.”

“I’m afraid it was rather simple,” Yvonne curled up closer to Seraxa, nuzzling her head into her neck. “My love was stronger than your pride.”

Seraxa pressed a kiss to Yvonne’s head.

“And I thank the stars for that.”

 A/N: Seraxa is a little spoon, Yvonne is Serafine Dupont from Bloodbound, and both Craig and Grace can lick their elbows. I don’t make the rules I just think them up and write them into a story.

Also, Yvonne and Seraxa might not have the “living together” relationship I thought of when I started writing this, but in my mind this is the most realistic scenario for these two to be together. Yvonne’s too adventurous to stay in one place for the rest of her life, and Seraxa has a big sense of duty regarding her responsibilities to the Vaanti that I can’t imagine her giving up (even more so if she becomes Elyyshar when Varyyn leaves with Diego). So, in the end, these two have a long distance and open relationship (I strongly headcanon Yvonne/Serafine as polyamorous), but they love each other very much and fill their time together with as much lovey-doviness as possible.

Another thing, this is my first time writing a bilingual character while not writing up scenes directly from ES, so I apologize for any mistakes. Since I figured Yvonne is either in her late twenties or early thirties, and since being multilingual would almost be a necessity in sailing and adventuring, she would be a fairly decent English speaker. And I learned some of the biggest reasons for bilingual people slipping back to their native language is when they’re either really tired or go back and forth from speaking their native language to the other one. And since Yvonne is spending a lot of time lately around primarily English-speaking people, she probably wouldn’t have spoken much French at all. I hope I did it justice. I heard from other members of the fandom that PB butchered the way Yvonne and Tio Nicholas, both bilingual, would have spoke, so I wanted to do better and tread lightly.