#themis mentioned

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The return of Natus and Taimu was of course an occasion that ever did raise the spirits of their significant others.

Themis, in particular, Erichthonios did not fail to notice, could become quite dour in the prolonged absence of his remarkable lover.

The return of Natus was indeed as if all of Elpis—and mayhap all of Amaurot as well—breathed a sigh of relief. There were plenty of ill-tempered convocation members without adding the good natured Emissary to the list.

It was a relief to see Themis returned to his usual cheer as soon as Natus made an appearance. The outlandish man come to sweep the Emissary off his feet and make off with him. Truly the epitome of young sweethearts.

Ah, but, speaking of those that were acting unlike their usual selves…

Something was off, not quite right. Erichthonios could feel it down to his very bones.

Though his dearest Taimu had done her best to put forth her usual energy and cheer as they both went dutifully about their chosen tasks, Erichthonios was not so consumed in his own goings-on that he failed to notice the peculiarities of behavior in the one he held most dear.

The work could always wait. It was hardly pressing now, not like the chaos that had been their first meeting. Erichthonios could spare the time to figure out just what it was that had his Taimu acting out of sorts.

She was hovering more than usual, and not just out of her regular want for affection; such that had often flustered him. To be the sole object of such genuine affection was something he was still getting used to, considering his upbringing…

Nay, whatever it was that had her lingering around him was markedly different from her usual habits.

Something was bothering her, and for whatever reason she was not being forthcoming about speaking what was on her mind.

Still, she was not avoiding him. That was a relief. It eased his worry somewhat that whatever had her so troubled was aught he had done. Of course, it did not erase the niggling thought entirely, and so Erichthonios mustered up the courage he could to ask her outright before he drove himself mad with anxiety.

“Tai,” he calls to her softly, reaching out a tad hesitantly to touch her shoulder. “Is aught amiss? You seem… troubled. I am here to listen, ever at your service, should you need an ear. ‘Tis my hope that I could bring you comfort, the same as you have for me.”

Taimu looks at him with those wide, lovely eyes of hers. Like sparkling gems of ruby red and sapphire blue. Today they seem far too sad, as if his lover were ruminating on something truly upsetting, on the verge of despair. One moment away from bursting into tears.

“Erich,” she says quietly, fretfully. As if she were considering for a moment to tell him something of significant weight. But then she stops, shakes her head, and smiles at him.

Ah, that smile. Erichthonios knew that smile. His dear Tai was not one to speak lies, but her smiles were not always true. No matter how lovely all her smiles were, Erich much preferred her genuine emotions over anything false for his own sake.

“I just… want to be around you as much as possible, whenever I can. I miss you terribly when we're apart,” she says, looking down and knotting her fingers together. She pauses, glancing up at him with a furrowed brow, her hands clasped tightly together. “Unless you find it bothersome. I know you have work to do. Should I… give you some space?”

Erichthonios reaches out, unable to resist tousling the blue and white of her hair as he pats her head. She presses into his hand, her eyes closing with his touch.

“You needn't worry about that. I only asked because I was worried about you,” Erichthonios says with a smile, his heart racing just from that bit of contact. His skin felt warm, and his stomach was flip-flopping, full up with what felt like the fluttering wings of ianthine petalouda.

By the star, she was far too lovely. Erich wanted to hold her in his arms and nuzzle his face against the softness of her hair, to breathe in her sweet scent and bask in her warmth.

He would like nothing more than to kiss her until a true smile curled at the plush softness of her lips.

Unfortunately, this was hardly the place to indulge in such things. This was still his place of work, and anyone could stumble upon them if they became too wrapped up in one another. It was far too easy a thing to do. Taimu stirred a passion within him unlike anything he had ever experienced. Once he got started, it was hard to stop.

“There is nothing you wish to speak of, you are certain?” He asks a bit insistently. Would she not be convinced if he were a tad more assertive?

Taimu only smiles that same less than sincere smile at him, nodding her head.

Erichthonios withholds a sigh, wishing that she would tell him what was truly bothering her.

His thoughts wander as he mulls over the ways he might help cheer her up, even if she did not wish to share with him her troubles. He strokes her hair a few moments longer as he does so, an unconscious motion of his hand over her head. She leans into him, obviously craving the contact. Her face burrows into his robe, hiding her expression from view as she breathed in deep and sighed out a long exhale.

Was this enough to bring her a measure of comfort?

Erichthonios feels somewhat flustered as she curls intimately close, wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug that soon becomes a firm squeeze of an embrace. One that he did not doubt would linger quite long.

It was not that he minded at all, except…

The warder glances around, if only to make certain there was no one lingering about to peep on them.

Themis and Natus, mostly. The two men together had become an incorrigible pair, constantly teasing and poking fun at how shy he and Taimu were in their own manner of affection.

As if they had much room to speak, considering the elaborate dance those two had done around one another before finally getting together. Erich had been exhausted just watching them. The only saving grace of that span of time had been how often Taimu had giggled when watching their ridiculous antics.

The only problem was, now that they were together, they made it their business to poke their noses into his relationship with Taimu. Friendly concern, they called it. Hah, what rot.

Erichthonios clears his throat, his fist raised towards his face in embarrassment just thinking of past teasing from those two, but does not stop the gentle movement of his hand over Taimu’s silky soft hair.

He could give her this much, at least.

Yet Erichthonios could not tamp down the overwhelming need to do more.

It was a very selfish desire, he knew. One that stemmed from his need to always see her happy and smiling, but he could not deny

He needed to put forth more effort.

All he could muster, through any means.

Anything to bring back her smile.

….

Erichthonios did not think he would ever find it easy to seek out the man who was his father. Being in the same room with Master Lahabrea felt as if Erichthonios were taking a test he had not sufficiently studied for.

The very silence felt heavy, weighed down with the history between them. Filled up with everything they do not say to one another. What more was there to be said? There was too much that had happened.

The rift between them had been mended somewhat, but they were by no means a close father-son relationship.

There was still an awkwardness between them. A distance, a gap that would be difficult to close.

Even though his mother was gone, she was still a phantom they could not shake. It was as if her merciless eyes were still looking down on them, finding flaw in every breath, fault in every twitch of a finger.

Erichthonios fists his hands at his sides, his jaw clenching with his gritted teeth.

“I see no reason to deny you your request,” Lahabrea says, looking over the formal request that Erichthonios had submitted for his perusal. To borrow a holding cell was no small matter, but to Lahabrea it was a simple thing.

“I shall grant it for a day, but no longer than that.”

One small thing that the man could do to make up for the ways he had failed his son. Bribery was no way to earn forgiveness, but Erichthonios was fine with accepting these small favors so long as it was something that would make Taimu happy.

Erichthonios breathes a little easier with being granted this favor. He would have found a way to go forward without his father's approval, but it was far simpler to have it. This way, he could better focus his time and attention into crafting something worthy of the woman who held his heart.

As a diligent, dutiful warder, he pays his respects to Master Lahabrea, and turns to take his leave.

It is his father's voice that stops him at the door.

“It is for her, is it not?” Lahabrea asks in a tone most peculiar. “The one who has hold of your heart.”

Erichthonios did not want to share anything, but…

“It is,” he says, his voice softened with affection. With love. “I want to be the reason that she smiles.”

Lahabrea hums. The shuffling of parchment telling that he had put his request with the rest of the stack he had so far approved.

“‘Tis as good a reason as any.”

Erichthonios nods. “I know.”

He leaves it at that. Not wanting to hear what his father might say next. Something about his mother, perhaps. The topic of Athena was still a sore spot between them.

Erichthonios did not doubt that she always would be. Such was the sort of woman that his mother had been.

She had her claws in them even now. Her memory was ever a black shadow hovering over them, her name like poison on the tips of their tongues.

Well, Erichthonios was done with wallowing in the dark. Allowing the expectations of his parents to dictate his every action, afraid of failure.

He knew now what it was like to step into the light, to shake off the shackles of responsibility and to live for himself.

Taimu had shown him true happiness.

The very least he could do was try to give her the same.

….

It takes some careful maneuvering on his part to make certain that Taimu does not discover his surprise before he is ready to unveil it. So Erichthonios makes use of a favor owed by one of his fellow colleagues, a new face who had relied heavily upon his guidance in learning the ins and outs of working within the walls of Pandaemonium.

It is that colleague who calls upon Taimu for some frivolous form of assistance or other, drawing her away from Erichthonios’ side for the time being, and thus granting him the time he needed to prepare his surprise for her while she was sufficiently distracted.

Honestly, Erichthonios was not exactly certain the man truly worked here…

He was a bit of an oddity who had shown up entirely out of the blue, and never seemed to stop talking about his wife.

There was no guarantee that the man could keep Taimu occupied for long, so Erichthonios set about completing his task quickly. His heart was pounding in his breast with the pressure of needing to hurry, but his body is suffused with the gleeful warmth of doing something for the person he loved and adored.

….

Taimu seemed to be in better spirits as he led her with her eyes closed towards their destination. To make certain she does not sneak a peek, Erich covers her eyes with his hands, guiding her slowly forward as a steady presence at her back.

Her carbuncle and constant companion, Emmy, made cheerful chirps as the shimmering creature loped in loops around them, bouncing to and fro. Lighting up the dark with the gentle glow of Taimu's of aether as it bounded off ahead of them, off to explore.

Erichthonios did not worry for the curious little creature. Emmy always seemed to come back, no matter how deep they delved into the dark depths of Pandaemonium.

He can hear the smile in her voice as she asks him, giggling, “Where are we going?”

Erich grins, tapping her nose playfully with his pinky. “The surprise is half the fun of it. You'll see.”

He leads her to the repurposed cell, waiting for just the right moment to activate the concept he had carefully crafted. The transformation could be just as breathtaking as the finished result.

“Can I open my eyes yet?” Taimu asks as they start to slow, nearing the center of the empty cell.

“Just a little longer,” Erichthonios says, covering her eyes with one hand as he pulls the concept crystal from within his robe. He activates it, dropping his hand from her face as the one-use crystal scatters into motes of aether.

“Look, Tai,” Erichthonios says, squeezing her shoulder with one hand as he points with the other, directing her attention to the pitch black darkness above them, the ceiling of the cell too far away for their eyes to discern in the dark.

The concept he had created was already at work, the creation magic given form shooting from his hand like a star, glimmering aether lighting up the dark in dazzling, sparkling brilliance. It stops just short of the barrier of the ceiling and bursts into a shower of luminous sparks similar to that of a firework. A dome of creation magic forming within the confines of the empty cell, filling up the dreary dark with color and soft light.

Tiny balls of shining aether arc far above their heads like meteorites, each one finding a place to rest as twinkling stars in the velvet expanse of the artificial sky he crafted just for the two of them.

Erichthonios comes to stand at her side, gazing at her side profile and watching the iridescent display of aether from the reflection in her lovely eyes. It was far more beautiful witnessing how it painted her peachy skin in a shifting prism of color, casting a romantic glow over her features.

The creation magic extends to the floor, stretching across it in a soft glow. The anticipation of something new and beautiful.

It was an endless expanse of flowers as far as the eye could see, one after another, the plant life blooming at their feet. It was all the flowers that Taimu had admired outside of Pandaemonium, within Elpis. Beautiful and ephemeral.

Here in the gentle dark, they glowed with the soft light of Erichthonios’ aether. Familiar, warm, so very comforting.

After the transformation is settled, he speaks to her in a kind, compassionate voice. “I do not know what troubles you. Nor do I need to know, should you find yourself unable to speak of it. Yet I would have you know this… That I will be here for you throughout it all, no matter the circumstances, and that I shall ever strive to make you as happy as you have made me. Nay, even happier.”

Erichthonios takes a breath, smiling to himself. “Never had I thought that I would let another heart touch my own after bearing witness to what love did to my father and mother, and yet… perhaps despite myself, you have become the most important person in my life.”

He kneels down, plucking a perfect, glowing bloom and twirling the stem between his fingers as he straightens up to his full height again. “Though I ache to see you so troubled, I would hurt far more if I cannot unburden your heart even in small ways such as these.”

He offers the flower to her, his brows lifting in a gentle expression, affection writ across his face. His love for her plain in every movement, in the gentlest flutter of his eyelashes, in the curve of his sweet smile. With a bit of aether, the flower changes in his hand, every petal a different color that shined ever so softly. “You are dear to me no matter your colors. No matter the changing season or your shift in mood, I would weather the storm to stay beside you. I would bear it all and more for the slightest chance to preserve your smile. Because… I love you, Taimu.”

Erichthonios is startled at the sudden sheen of wetness he sees in Taimu's eyes, causing them to gleam all the brighter. At the first tear that falls, he feels his heart twist, taken aback as he watches it spill over her eyelashes and trickle down her soft cheek.

His stomach was swooping with dread, tied up in knots of anxious worry as he reached out to touch her shoulder.

Had he done wrong? Was she unhappy?

“Taimu, have I made a mistake?” he asks, his voice low and regretful. His throat closes with emotion, squeezing tight so that he must force the words out.

“You need only say the word, and I will…” Erichthonios raises his hand up, his fist clenching as he flung his arm aside for emphasis, “I will break the magic this very moment..!”

Taimu spins around to face him, the sudden motion sending the tears on her cheeks flying through the air.

He is not expecting her to fling herself at him, so he does not brace for it.

His aether reacts, protection magic built into this concept as a precautionary measure. Pandaemonium was ever unpredictable, and so Erichthonios had layered this concept with their safety in mind, so that they could enjoy their time together without worry.

Their fall is cushioned by the impossibly soft field of flowers beneath them, a flurry of glowing flower petals kicked up by the force of their impact.

Erichthonios is breathless from the wind being knocked out of him by Taimu's tackle, but still cradles her body with his as he gasps out in worry for her, “Tai, are you—?”

She kisses him, her teardrops landing on his face and trickling down his cheeks as if they were his own tears.

She was shaking with the effort of swallowing the sound of her tears, her body ever so slightly jolting with every soft sob she held back.

It made his chest tight with helpless emotion, as if an invisible hand were squeezing his heart in a merciless fist. His eyes ache, his throat tight with oncoming tears. How could he possibly remain unaffected in the face of her upset?

Erichthonios pulls her snug into his embrace, his arm spanning the width of her back as he clutches her to him, his fingers sinking into her silky hair as he cradles her head with his palm.

He matches her intensity, but slowly softens their kiss to something sweeter and softer. His hand stroking across her back until he feels the trembling of her body start to subside.

She breaks their kiss and pulls back, gazing down at his face. Her eyes were red from from crying, her face wet with tears.

Erichthonios reaches out to brush the wispy fall of her bangs behind her ear so he could better see her eyes.

Erich lingers as he cups her face in his hands. Caressing her cheeks and along her jaw, his fingers sink into her hair and frame her ears. His thumbs rub gently over the soft curve of her cheeks and carefully under her eyes, following the delicate fan of her eyelashes. Wiping away the salty trail of her tears with gentle swipes of his fingertips across her flushed, peachy skin.

She leans into his touch, her eyes briefly closing as she let out a shaky sigh. A smile curves across her lips, tremulous but genuine.

Erichthonios tucks the flower he had plucked behind her ear, nestling it amongst the blue and white highlights of her hair. Thankfully, magically crafted flowers did not crumple the same as real, delicate flowers did.

Taimu touches the flower, her eyes watery but still so beautiful. Her smile is softer, fuller. Traces of her usual cheer shining through the heavy cloud that had been cast over her.

Erichthonios thumbs at the corner of her mouth, tracing the curve of her smile with his fingertips. Gazing at her with love in his red eyes, his mouth parts as if he were about to speak, but Taimu presses her finger into the plush softness of his lips. Bidding him be quiet for a moment as she hushes him no louder than a whisper of breath.

“Erich, I love you more than words can possibly say. I hope you know that well,” she says, soft and heartfelt. “I just…,” her voice catches, thick with the threat of more tears, “I worry that… we don't have enough moments together.”

Erich speaks with her finger still pressed to his mouth, his words a little thick with his tongue stuck behind his teeth. Overwhelmed as he was with emotion he could no longer hold back, he could not stay quiet.

“We will make more,” he says, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. His heart in his throat as he tries to find the right words to say.

“All the moments that I can give you. As many as we possibly can, just as beautiful as this. Every day with you is a gift, Taimu. You have shown me a love I had never known. Allow me to do the same by making every day beside you the best as I can.”

Taimu bites at her lips, her eyebrows furrowing as she skims her fingers over his cheek to his temple, rubbing at the corner of his eye. “You're crying.”

Erichthonios turns his face into her hand. “How could I not, seeing you so upset? I love you, Taimu. Your pain is my pain, no matter what.”

Taimu sniffles wetly, smiling for him through her tears. “I love you.”

“I know,” Erichthonios wipes away the droplets before they can spill over her cheeks. “Come here.”

He sits slowly upright, adjusting her comfortably in his lap. Holding her in his embrace and not letting go.

He kisses her forehead, her nose, her cheeks. Tasting the salt of her tears on his lips and savoring the sweet sound of her giggles. He kisses her gently, cradling her jaw in his hand.

“I have another surprise for you,” he tells her when their kiss breaks.

“Is it the moon?” Taimu asks.

Erichthonios’ head tilts, “Moon?”

Taimu stutters, waving her hands. “I—... I mean… this!” With a surge of aether, a small orb floats over her hand, emitting a soft light. “It’s a large, white stone structure that floats in the sky and reflects light in the dark of night! At… at least that's what I've been told by my maker! The sky is beautiful, but it's quite dark…. With this, it is a bit brighter, wouldn't you say so? Of course, this one is just a small, travel size version of it.”

Erichthonios gazes down at it, recognizing it from their earlier times together. Yes, Taimu had used it before to light the way in the darkest parts of Pandaemonium. It was quite an inspired idea. Pandaemonium was a dark and dreary place. Perhaps he should put a word in with Lahabrea about this concept…?

“Is that what you call it?” Erichthonios asks, poking at it curiously. The invisible buffer of aether around it keeping it afloat prevents his finger from making full contact. Most curious.

Taimu nods.

“If you desire it, I shall make one for you,” he says, lifting his hand up with a welling of aether in his palm.

He blows on it, sending the gentle glow of it floating up towards those artificial stars.

Nestled amongst the stars it grows in size, luminous and gently gleaming like the miniature moon she held in the palm of her hand. Just like the flowers surrounding them, it shimmered with subtle color.

“It's beautiful,” Taimu says, though it was different from the moon she knew.

This one was special to her because Erichthonios had made it just for her.

“This was my surprise,” Erichthonios says, a bit shy as he rubs the back of his neck. From seemingly out of nowhere, he pulls a basket full of foodstuffs. Elpis delicacies that Taimu had delighted in trying. These ones, in particular, Erichthonios knew she enjoyed.

“Ohh,” Taimu presses her hands to her mouth in surprise. “You prepared a starlit picnic?”

Erichthonios ducks his head a bit bashfully, clearing his throat. “I thought you might enjoy something like this. Though I admit it was not entirely my own idea, but something I picked up from the endless slew of romantic advice courtesy of Themis and Natus.”

Taimu giggles, shaking her head. “Those two… Well, should I help you set it up?”

She lifts herself gingerly from his lap and helps him to spread out the blanket, setting out the many foods he had prepared.

Some of which she recognized. Sandwiches, onigiri, her favorite types of cookies. “...Did big brother help you with this?” She asks, referring to Natus.

Erichthonios sighs. He supposed it was obvious, since Natus had been the one to tell him of all Taimu's favorites. He felt ashamed that he had not known the answers himself, but some of these foods were of the like he had never before heard of. Yet these two were well traveled in comparison to him, so it stood to reason that they would have come across endless experiences that he could only dream of.

“Yes, he insisted,” he admits. “I was never very good at creating food through magical means, so it was quite kind of him to teach me how to prepare things he was certain you would enjoy.”

Taimu smiles.

Yes, it was quite kind of him to take the time to do so, knowing how precious his time with Themis was. Just the same as the time together between the two of them, Erich and Tai.

“Whilst I have prepared these under the watchful eye of our friends, I fear I do not know in which order one usually eats them….”

Taimu laughs and reaches for the sandwiches first.

“Here,” she says as she places one in his hand, tapping hers against his. A toast with bread.

They both take a bite and sigh happily.

His efforts had paid off, they were delicious.

“Food is most often made through magic within Elpis. It is an ease of convenience for the oft busy researcher. Within Pandaemonium it is much the same. A warder cannot leave their post for too long, after all,” Erichthonios says between bites of his sandwich. “I must admit, to make it with my own hands was challenging, but the difference in taste is well worth the time it takes to prepare it.”

Taimu works her way through her sandwich, nodding along to his words. She must be quite hungry for how quickly she polishes the first one off and then reaches for another on the pile.

Erichthonios smiles, laughing with good humor. “I suppose I need not tell you the difference of taste between magical food and that which is prepared through regular means. No doubt you and Natus have tasted your fair share of magically crafted foodstuffs, being the well traveled explorers that you are.”

Taimu blinks at him with guileless mismatched eyes, her cheeks adorably stuffed with food. Unable to speak without appearing rude with her mouth so full, she gives an agreeable hum and nods her head rapidly. So cute.

Erichthonios chuckles, reaching out to swipe his thumb over the corner of her mouth. Licking the bit of sauce off his thumb out of reflex.

They both pause, looking at each other with some fluster.

Erichthonios feels flushed from his ears all the way down his neck, warm underneath the collar of his robes.

How embarrassing that small intimacies such as these still made his heart race, though they had been formally in this relationship for some time now.

Erichthonios coughs, and reaches into the basket for one of the canteens he had packed, pouring them both a cup.

“Here, you must be thirsty. The bread is quite thick, is it not?”

Taimu beams at him, accepting the cup as he offers it and drinking deep.

Erichthonios dutifully refills her before he even has a sip of his own cup, caught up in just gazing his fill of her. His heart full to bursting at the sight of her so clearly enjoying the fruits of his labor of love for her. Perhaps he should make meals for her more often? A short break here and there to share a few sandwiches together would not hurt, especially now that Pandaemonium had been returned to its usual semblance of order.

“Try one of these next,” Taimu says, offering him a cookie.

Erichthonios reaches to take it from her hand, only for her to pull away.

“Now, say ahh,” she says, her eyes sparkling and cheeks flushed.

She was achingly, breathtakingly lovely.

Erichthonios feels his own face heat up as he dips his head to take a bite while she held it for him in her hand. His lips brush her fingertips as he bites through the cookie. Soft, sweet, buttery.

The flavor barely registers for how his lips buzz at the merest graze of her fingers. By the star.

“How is it?” She asks, her voice soft. Breathless.

Erichthonios swallows hard. “Good.”

Taimu takes a bite of the cookie, overlapping where his teeth had just been.

“Yum,” she agrees.

They had kissed countless times, but Erich yearned to linger on her lips like the crumbs of that cookie.

He shakes his head, pressing a hand to his chest to calm his rapidly thumping heart. Now was hardly the time for such things.

Erichthonios takes a deep drink of his cup. Reaching to try an onigiri when he glances up to check the progress of the creation magic.

It would only last so long, after all. He could hardly keep Tai here all day, no matter how Master Lahabrea had granted him use of it for an entire day's time.

No doubt his father would agree if he asked to use it again. The question was if Erichthonios could stand to accept such obvious bribery. It was wholly and entirely out of character for the man. The Speaker was not one to grant favors unduly. Definitely not to show the barest inkling of favor towards his one and only son.

That would be nepotism; and that simply was not done.

“Look, Tai,” he says, noticing the subtle shift in the sky. The other part of his surprise.

Taimu turns to look, gasping. The sky had begun to brighten, the moon and stars shifting as the sky filled with light and color. The wispy softness of dreamy clouds drifting into view.

“Sunrise,” Taimu murmurs, turning around to watch.

Erichthonios shifts things around on their blanket so he can join her side, watching the sunset he had crafted along with her.

Erichthonios glances down as he feels Taimu lean into him. A smile tugging at his lips as he lifts his arm to drape over her shoulders, resting his cheek on her soft hair.

“Thank you, Erich,” she says quietly. “This was perfect.”

Erichthonios presses his lips to her hair, tugging her closer to cuddle against him.

“This is one moment, Tai. Pray look forward to many more. For the happiness you have shown me. For the heart you have given me. This is the very least I can do.”

Taimu curls closer, wrapping her arms around his waist. She squeezes him so very tight, as if she did not want to ever let him go. “I love you.”

Erich curls his fingers under her chin, tipping her head up so he can kiss her forehead, her nose, her cheeks, and then her lips.

It warms his heart to hear her giggle.

His thumb traces her ear, fiddling with the impossibly soft petals of the flower he had gifted her.

Perhaps he would preserve it for her.

A small memento, hers to keep.

It would be simple enough to do.

“I love you,” Erich murmurs, stroking her cheek with the backs of his knuckles. Gazing into her lovely eyes and drinking in the sight of her joy, the return of her happy smile.

Thank goodness, he had done it.

There was a chirp then, and they both glance up.

“There you are, Emmy,” Tai laughs, patting at her lap.

The carbuncle gives a cheerful trill and hops over to snuggle into her lap.

With Taimu's curious companion returned to them, they continue to enjoy their picnic in relative quiet, just watching the sunrise as it changed from murky blues and purples to a rich red that faded to orange, then yellow. The clouds reflected those colors, pink and blue and orange and yellow.

It was beautiful. A wonderful moment, of many more moments to come.

Erichthonios never broke a promise, and did not intend to start now.

Whatever Taimu wanted, he would do his very best to give it to her.

Her happiness was his happiness.