#thearcanafic

Uri and Zethys belong to the lovely @rooibosfie

The sound of rapidly moving feet could not quite manage to drown out the clanking of metal hitting metal in a dimly lit armory of the palace. While Uri, trained soldier from Aurea was observing, Lux and Zethys were fighting each other, daggers against swords. Well, Zethys was trying to fight, sweat pouring down his body as he attempted to block Lux's attacks. The smaller magician, however, seemed as unbothered as if they were just taking a stroll. Zethys was soon marked with cuts and bruises, and Lux didn't even have a scratch. A thump resonated in the room as Zethys fell on his back, Lux straddling his hips, one of their daggers to his throat.

"You're dead." they announced calmly.

"Oh am I?" Zethys countered smugly.

He swung the arm that wasn't held back by Lux, attempting to strike at least one blow at them. To his dismay, and Uri's delight, Lux blocked him easily, without even looking.

"Yes." they answered. "The city is mourning the loss of its greatest illusionist and its best adopted soldier."

They pressed the golden dagger closer to his throat and leaned in, close enough that he could count their eyelashes.

"If you let that happen because of your incompetence, I will personally bring you back to life and humiliate you, over and over, in front of the whole Vesuvia. Do not. Overestimate yourself. Magic isn't everything." they said, low voice unwavering. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." he grinned, unable to keep the bravado away. He did believe them perfectly capable of carrying out their threat, though.

"Good boy." Lux nodded.

They got up and away from him, not offering him a hand to help him stand up.

"Your turn now, soldier boy." they called for Uri. "Show me what you're made of."

Oh, this was going to be fun. Uri picked up his polearm, eyeing Lux critically as they wiped their golden blades clean of Zethys' blood. Physically, he was sure that he was much stronger than them. He was taller, larger, and a trained soldier from a military country. Fighting was in his blood. While Lux could have a slight advantage of speed due to their slimmer build, they were certainly nowhere near as versed in combat as he was.

"This isn't a fair fight..." he said hesitantly as they twirled their daggers, sunlight reflecting on the metal and momentarily blinding Zethys.

Something flashed in Lux's grey eyes, making them turn to silver.

"Try me." they said, challenge written in every inch of their features. "Or are you scared I'm going to kick your ass like I did your boyfriend?"

The taunt was all it took to make something snap inside Uri. He steeled his shoulders, grip tightening just enough on his weapon as he waited for the first move. Tension rose up as Uri and Lux stared at each other defiantly. With their shorter weapons, Lux had to get up close and personal to actually get a stab at him, while he just had to swipe with his polearm to reach them. He would however be in a defensive only position should the fight become a closed up one. Not much time to think, then. The first to move would be the one to determine the rest of the fight. And so, obviously, they moved exactly at the same time. Blades clashed, golden against iron, the sound of metal hitting metal mixing with grunts and the softer sounds of body parts colliding against others.

Lux was in a significantly more complicated position than during their fight with Zethys, but they still held their ground more strongly than Uri had expected, blocking a large percentage of his blows and landing quite a few stabs themselves. Uri would have been impressed if the ringing in his ears had not prevented any coherent thought. Using his weapon was mechanical to him, leaving plenty of room for two words to take over his mind. "Your boyfriend", Lux had said. Zethys was not his boyfriend. He was in fact the furthest thing from his boyfriend. Zethys was just a dude he had to cover for and occasionally had sex with but that last part was irrelevant. Point was, Zethys was not his boyfriend. Boyfriend meant feelings, which he clearly did not have. He could not have them. How dare Lux imply that he had feelings for that asshole, in front of Zethys especially!

Uri felt an angry sort of frenzy take over him. His movements quickened, his weapon flying around him, landing harshly on Lux's daggers with a clear sound. The world around him became blurry, his feet dancing, blades clashing, air swishing, Lux shouting... and then... he was on the ground, Zethys standing protectively over him, arm raised, ready to launch a magical attack.

"What the hell?" Zethys growled. "I thought you said no magic!"

"And I thought we said training, not attempted homicide." Lux replied coldly.

(Kyne and Senri belong to @luckyxiii-bjd)

There was some agitation on the rooftop of the magician Asra’s shop that night. The fortune teller and his two apprentices, Kyne and Lux, were setting large pillows and candles around the place, running up and down the wooden stairs with their arms full. Well, Asra and Lux were running around, while Kyne was trying to get his familiar, a large bear named Senri, to settle down with the other pets. Ysmira, Lux’s black and blue cat was watching the scene intently from her pile of lush pillows, tail swishing back and forth. Asra’s snake, Faust, curled up on the feline’s back, was rising and falling with the movement of her breaths.

“I could have just conjured all of these. It would have saved us the effort.” Lux said as they dumped the last item on the ground.

Asra tutted as he stretched his back, a flirtatious smirk taking over his features as he noticed Lux’s gaze trail down his exposed chest and stomach. “Manual work is just as important as magic, Lux. It builds character. Among other things.” he added with a wink.

“Magic is reserved to occasions in which you can be as extra as possible.” Kyne chimed in, his bear having finally settled down on the roof.

Ysmira was watching him with narrowed eyes, as if contemplating what to do with that bigger, warmer, fluffier animal. Her tail flicked to the side once, twice, three times before she got up, stretched gracefully and walked to the bear to settle at the top of his back, Faust curled tightly around her as to not slide and fall off of her. The three animals now formed a pile of fur and scales sitting atop of each other.

Lux snorted. “Sounds like someone I know.” they said, side-eyeing Asra.

“I have no clue what you mean.” he deflected innocently and as he waved an arc with his arm, glittering lights appearing around the rooftop and he, Kyne and Lux were suddenly gently pushed down on the pile of pillows.

Both apprentices rolled their eyes at their master’s antics but snuggled close to him nonetheless. They made a fine picture, the three magicians cuddling nearly on top of each other, and their three pets sleeping on each other’s backs, from the biggest to the smallest, green, blue and purple faintly glowing in the dark.

“Would you tell us a story, Kyne?” Asra asked in the comfortable silence that had fallen around them.

“Oh, of course! But I didn’t bring my…”

In a puff of blue smoke, a large, aged book appeared in his lap.

“… book.” he finished.

He looked to the side over at Lux, who was retracting their hand with a flourish, a satisfied smirk on their lips. Asra let out a bark of laughter.

“Nicely done.” he said fondly. “You’re getting better everyday.”

Lux just smiled, but there was a pleased flush on their cheeks.

“Thanks Lux.” Kyne said. “Maybe we should switch places so that they can hear me better though.” he told Asra.

The magician nodded. Lux lifted their head from his shoulder to let him get up to sit next to Kyne's right, and Kyne shuffled to lie between the two. Lux let their head rest on Kyne's shoulder after giving him an inquiring look and receiving an affirmative nod. Asra stuck flush to his side, making warmth spread all over him. Senri snorted as a blush crept on Kyne's face. The green haired apprentice cleared his throat.

“Have I ever told you guys the story of Sao and Atlanis?” he asked.

Two soft no's were his answer. Nodding to himself, he opened the heavy book to the page he was interested in. The left page was illustrated with two figures intimately wrapped around each other, anguished faces downcast. At their feet, a city was drawn, with a looming castle and an olive-shaped arena; and a sky full of stars and constellations was painted over their heads. Kyne began the story.

“A long time ago, back when gods lived among mortals, a prince fell in love with a slave...”

Kyne’s voice carried the stories of Sao, a prince born of Hazmei, goddess of the skies, and a mythical queen of Vesuvia; and of Atlanis, a gladiator fighting for freedom. His words built the palace and the arena, and the clearing where the lovers met. His tone showed bloody combats, love at first sight, and Sao’s heroism in taking the arms for his lover. His breaths held the tragedy of being separated by death, the pain of being the survivor, and the joy of being reunited in the stars.

“Together, they form the constellation known as Nakavelian.” Kyne concluded.

“Star-crossed.” Lux murmured.

“Yes,” Kyne confirmed, a little surprised that they knew the meaning of the ancient name. “It is said that if true soulmates followed it, they would find the clearing where Sao and Atlanis met.”

There a moment of silence as they all looked at the night sky above them.

“It’s a beautiful story.” Asra said.

“Told beautifully.” Lux added.

“Thank you...” Kyne whispered.

It was late after dark in Vesuvia when the magician Asra closed the door behind his last client of the day. He magically put out the lantern outside before starting to tidy the shop up, carefully manipulating fragile vials and flowers, smoothing out wrinkles on some pillows and the curtains leading to the backroom.

A noise coming from outside a glass tinted window made him startle as he was checking up on his stock of ingredients. A dark feline, almost invisible in the night had it not been for the electric blue streak on its fur, had jumped on the windowsill, making a tiny flower pot teeter dangerously close to the edge. Asra caught it with magic just in time to abort its fall. Unbothered, the animal gracefully continued its ascension to the rooftop of the magician's shop. Asra's purple gaze followed it upwards. In the silence of the shop, he could almost hear the soft, content hums of his apprentice, whom he knew for sure to be lying on the roof, eyes to the skies, ocean-like mind travelling to far off galaxies.

Asra cast a look around the shop. Faust was slowly adjusting her rings around the tiny tree she had been gifted two birthdays ago, a sleepy look on her triangular face. He gently scratched her under the chin, smiling as she leaned into his touch and then left her be with a fond "good night". He climbed up the stairs to the bedroom and then the ladder leading to the rooftop. He closed his eyes, basking in the midnight chill, a warmer breeze blowing gently the hair from his forehead. He opened his eyes and took in the shape of his apprentice lying on their back, staring up to the night sky. Pearls and small flowers powdered their dark hair like the stars reflecting in their eyes. A low, enchanting melody was coming out of their chest as their fingers gently stroke the black and blue fur of the feline sitting on their stomach.

Asra smiled as a wave of warmth engulfed his entire being. Seeing Lux like this was not unusual, yet the sight never failed to remind him of the strength of his feelings for them.

He felt more than saw Lux's head shift to the side to look at him, dark grey eyes no longer fixated on the canopy of lights above, but focused on him, entirely him, and him only. It was one of the things that he had first fell in love with when he had gotten to know Lux, the way they gave their entire attention to what they were doing or to the person they were talking to. Their focus felt as piercing as it was comforting, making you feel like the most important person in the world, in their world, and that feeling was the single most precious thing Asra had ever had.

"Asra." Lux's voice was just loud enough to be heard, but quieter than an usual medium voice. It went as a complement to the way they spared their attention. They spoke slowly, but clearly, every word carefully chosen, voice low and calm. It was a shelter from the ever loud crowd of the streets, and a torture when they leaned in close and whispered things in his ear, low tone dropping even lower and making him imagine all kinds of things that left him flustered every single time. Lux rarely failed to notice and the faint smirk they gave him nearly always give him a heart attack.

Asra crossed the rooftop to come lie down beside his apprentice, close enough that their arms were touching. Lux slipped their hand into his and turned their head so that their face was burrowed into his shoulder. Warmth spread from these parts all the way into his heart. He blinked up at the sky, watching clouds mask a portion of stars and then leave it clear of obstruction as they moved out of the way.

"Behemia looks beautiful tonight." he said, leaning his head slightly towards Lux. They lifted theirs up to look up at the large, crown shaped constellation.

"It does." they murmured. There was a moment of silence as they shifted their gaze towards him and he moved his head to face them. "You do, too." they said quietly.

Asra coughed to cover the crimson blush on his cheeks. He was usually the one to give this kind of compliments. Lux was more of a quiet appreciation kind of person. Asra would often find their gaze slide up and down his body with a smile on their lips, or they would simply touch, a lot. One time Asra had gotten them drunk and they had serenaded his eyes for a good five minutes. It was one of his favorite memories.

"Thank you." he said after the flush had receded. Lux simply smiled, fond and amused and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. The two magicians fell quiet, the melody of Lux's song the only sound between them.

"Asra?" Lux said again after a while.

"Yes?"

"Do you ever feel... lost?"

Asra looked over to them. Lux's tone was as neutral as it ever was, but he felt their heartbeat speed up just a little. They were still looking at the sky, a slight tremor at the corner of their eyes the only indication that they knew they were being watched.

"Sometimes." he answered truthfully. "Do you feel lost, Lux?"

"Sometimes." they echoed. "When I'm not with you." They shifted so that they were face to face again.

"I'm sorry I'm not always here." He felt sincere remorse. Leaving them, even for a short period of time, always felt harder each time around. He knew Lux missed him, just as much as he missed them, which made the separation all the more painful.

Asra was surprised, yet not so much, when Lux smiled, small and special. "I cope." they said. "I know you're still out there, somewhere." There was the sound of fabric rustling as they moved to look at the stars. "I know you'll always come back, somehow. And I know that, should I ever need to, I would always find you. Even without a map, even without a spell, I would always find you. There is only this feeling, right in my heart, that will always lead me straight to you."

"Lux..." Asra's throat felt tight. Heartfelt declaration like this one always left him shaken, his heart feeling too large for his chest, ready to implode with how much love he had for Lux.

"I even named a star after that feeling, on one of those moments where I felt lost. It's that one." Lux said, pointing at a bright star just above them.

"What did you call it?" His voice sounded small, almost afraid, as if unsure how much love and adoration his heart could take before it stopped working, overflowing with emotion.