The Star, The Demon, and The God - 34. Chest Pains

Luno

Well! The last few hours have been rather nice!

Stressful...but nice!

There is so much that Drulai said, I am not even sure I remembered anything!

Apparently there is a dead forest we have to go through, but we might die there?

Sounds lovely…

Speaking of lovely, Tobi is so sweet! I always knew he was such a softie, but I think this takes the cake.

For someone who tries to come off as some jerk to everyone else, he sure is a bit of a lovebug.

I am guessing it is close to morning?

All I know is that Tobias is awake and he keeps running his thumb against my cheek. Every now and then I would feel him press a kiss to my head.

I know I should probably stop pretending to sleep, but this all feels so sweet and good!

“You smiling kind of makes it obvious that you’re faking,” He laughs softly.

I laugh and open my eyes.

Unfortunately, I see that he has put the glamour back on.

“What?” He frowns. “You almost look disappointed.”

Perhaps I did not hide it as well as I thought.

I put on a small smile and give a slight shrug. “Sorry, it’s nothing! I just wasn’t expecting it was all.”

His frown deepens. “You wanted to wake up and find that ugly thing looking down at you? Why would you ever want that?”

Lifting off of him, I glare down at his face.

“I already told you that I do not find you ugly,” I push at his chest. “Stop expecting me to say or think otherwise. I like you for you!”

He gives a suspicious look and sits up against the headboard of the bed.

“You don’t deserve to wake up to something like that though.”

I scoff at his words. “I don’t deserve? Who cares about that?”

“I do,” He says.

At first I think he might be joking, but he looks dead serious right now.

“Tobi…” I sigh. “I don’t know why you are thinking that way, but please stop. I already have enough people telling me what to do with my life; I do not need another added to the masses.”

Looks like that was the right words to say. I can practically see the gears working around in his head.

He sighs and lets his head fall into his hands.

“Fuck you’re right,” He says while rubbing his temples. “I didn’t even think of that.”

I touch his shoulder. “Hey. Don’t feel sorry for that. This is still about you. I may have been a little disappointed, but this is still your choice! All I can say is that I am here for you and you can always trust me!”

He laughs at that. “Says the one who ignored my orders and chose to get in a fight with Raiyo!”

Welp...he got me there!

“Okay fine! You can somewhat trust me more than others,” I grin.

He shakes his head with a smile.

“You’re not wrong. Still, I don’t want to disappoint you when you could have something so much better!”

I sigh and sit cross legged then hold one of his hands with mine.

“Tobi...which form do you consider yourself you? Which do you identify with?”

He blinks and turns his gaze to the blankets. Apparently they are more interesting to look at now.

“I don’t know anymore,” he says in a soft voice. “I have no memories of my human life, yet I know this is what I looked like. Even knowing this, this new life has forced me to look like...like some disgusting beast! What did I do to deserve looking like this? Was it the Angels? The Gods? Raiyo specifically?”

His voice went from soft to harsh the more he talks about his demon form.

“Demons are considered evil specks of dirt beneath everyone’s feet,” he says. “That is why I do not believe that side of me deserves to be in your presence. Not a pure Star. Not one like you.”

I tilt my head and frown.

“Pure Star? I do not know what is so pure about Stars, but believe me when I tell you, there is nothing special about me.”

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t be stupid. You know you are special. Way more than most in this shitty world. You bring people back from the dead for gods sakes!”

“That is just magic,” I say, squeezing his hand. “If I was not gifted with such thing, I bet you wouldn’t think of me so highly.”

He looks at me as if I have gone insane.

“No!” He reaches for me. “No you’re wrong! I never would have thought that in a million years!”

I smile at that but let’s face reality.

“Tobi if I did not have my magic, your arm would still be missing and you never would have met me.”

I can see him trying to come up with arguments in his head but they must all keep coming to a deadend.

“You know it’s true,” I smile. “Thankfully, our fates were lucky enough to cross paths!”

He still frowns.

“Sorry,” I say. “I guess that wasn’t really a great thought to bring up.”

He shakes his head. “It’s alright. Out of our hands I suppose. I guess it is a great thing your magic exists. You’re possibly the closest person I have ever been with.”

Beaming at his words, I sit next to him and rest my head on his shoulder.

“Really? No one at all?”

He rests his head on top of mine and runs his thumb over and over on my hand.

Letting out a small shrug, he says, “Not that I know of. Memory issues remember?”

He has mentioned that a few times. I keep forgetting to get back to it as well! I know I can help him with that issue.

Just as I am about to open my mouth, frantic knocking on the door cuts me off.

Tobias throws some blankets over my legs and jumps out of bed to throw a shirt on.

Is he worried about being caught with me?

More knocking. Somehow the knocker is doing it incredibly fast.

Wait...what time is it? Is it morning already? Are we late?

I push the blankets off to get ready as well.

Tobias cracks the door open. “The hell do you want? It is too early to be making all that damn noise!”

“The Star!” A spirit says out of breath. “The Star is missing!”

I am?

Tobias pushes the door enough for her to peek inside.

It is a spirit with green hair and pale skin. She looks like she has gills on her neck.

I quickly grab a blanket to cover up my legs. I don’t want her seeing that!

“Hey!” I cry out and quickly try to hide. “Stop it!”

He laughs and turns back to the spirit. “As you can see. The Star is safe and sound with me. Now if you would please...fuck off.”

He slams the door in the spirit’s face and turns to me with a smug grin.

“She could have seen me naked!” I exclaim and throw a pillow at him.

Tobias ducks out of the way while laughing. “But you weren’t!”

He grabs a towel that is folded on a chair and makes his way over to the bathroom door.

“I’m going to take a bath,” He grins over his shoulder. “Feel free to join if you wish.”

I gasp and feel my face instantly heating up. My...area also gets tight again and I end up staring at his door but refusing to play along with him.

Right!

I need to change.

Or maybe...Yeah I need to change.

~~~
~~~

Tobias

I don’t think I have ever seen Luno look so flustered after I teased him with the bath question.

His flowers turned a dark pink and his arms were fidgeting all over the place, unsure of what to do.

It was possibly the cutest thing I have seen him do now.

Since the servant had checked on us, I can only assume that means it is time to get ready. No use is taking a long bath I suppose, though I will miss baths now. I have no idea how long this quest will be.

When I sink into the warm water, I feel a twisted feeling in my chest.

I frown and squeeze the area, trying to calm it down.

What is this? Is it the water?

I move to sit on the edge of the tub, thinking that maybe the water was making it hard to breathe.

Nope. The pain is still there.

Quickly, I wrap a towel around my waist and stumble back out into the room.

Luno looks up at me in surprise. He barely managed to put on a new set of underwear.

“Tobi?” He says, a bit in a shy voice. His face becomes serious when he looks up at my face.

“What’s wrong?” He quickly makes his way to me and helps me sit on the bed.

I pat my chest and grip onto the sheets with my other hand. “It’s my chest. I-I think I’m having a heart attack!”

Luno brushes my hand away and presses his hands over my heart. He closes his eyes and his hand begins to glow a faint white light.

A warm spreads through my chest but it does not dull the pain.

His brow creases together in confusion before he removes his hand.

“It’s not a heart attack,” He says. “I don’t feel anything wrong with your body. What are you feeling?”

The chest pain has started to die down, but something feels very wrong.

My eyes widen when I realize that this could be.

“I-I need to go see Drulai,” I say, quickly moving the bathroom to grab my clothes.

Forget a bath, I need to keep Raiyo out of my body!

“I’ll go with you!” Luno hops off the bed and goes through the cabinets, looking for a pair of pants of some kind.

“No!”

Luno looks up at me in shock.

Perhaps I said that a little too desperately.

Not sure what excuse I can manage, I simply shove my clothes on and leave; not before telling Luno to stay in the room for now.

~~~

This is a big ass palace.

There are so many hallways and doors. It feels like I am in some kind of giant maze.

Lucky for me, or I guess maybe not so lucky, I find the harpy from before sulking in a corner.

As soon as she sees me, she rolls her eyes and crosses her wings.

“What do you want,” She groans. “Let it be quick so I don’t have to see your face.”

I ignore her shit talk and ask her for directions to Drulai.

“She’s in the dining hall. Those giant doors at the end of the hall lead to it.”

She points with one wing over my shoulder.

Sure enough, there are some big ass brass doors at the end of the hall.

Making my down the hall, I vaguely hear the harpy grumbling behind me. Something about how I am a block-headed dumbass for asking such a stupid question.

I think I like her, though I forgot her name already.

I pass by my room and I hear Luno talking. To Kulu no doubt.

“You think he is going to be okay?” Luno asks.

Of course there is no answer, but Luno keeps going as if there was one.

“Yeah I think he will be fine too.”

Can he hear their minds or something? Like Raiyo?

A shiver runs up my spine before I keep going down the hall.

I pass by a few spirits. They barely even glance at me. Their attention is set on something else. Something that they are all glaring at.

Looking over my shoulder, I see the Spirit Sailor has stepped out of his room.

He makes eye contact with me for a moment before he walks towards some stairs that lead down to who knows what.

Something tells me that we might not get along during this quest.

I push open the brass doors and find Drulai eating alone with the green haired spirit. They are both reading from some scrolls.

My footsteps echo in the empty dining hall. I am surprised neither have bothered to look up at me.

It is now that I realize the chest pain I was feeling before has completely disappeared.

Was it because of Drulai’s presence? Did she stop it?

Another shiver runs up my spine at what could have happened if Raiyo got full control of me.

“That was not Raiyo,” Drulai says, not looking up from her reading.

I stop in front of her table.

Of course she can read minds.

“What was it then?” I ask, still a little worried.

If it wasn’t him, then what the hell was it?

She sets down her scroll and a chair slides out next to me.

She motions for me to sit.

I do.

“What you felt was a connection breaking,” She says with a sad smile. “Apologies for your lost.”

I don’t understand. “What connection? What are you talking about? What lost?”

She glances at the green haired spirit, sending some kind of unspoken word.

The green haired one stands up and leaves.

“Everyone has a connection to their family in this life,” She starts. “The humans cannot feel this but Gods, Angels, and Demons can. When a family member dies, we can feel our connection to them being severed.”

“Dies?” I exclaim. “Which one of my family would have died? All of them are Angels so I can’t exactly check for myself!”

She nods. “All of them?”

My brain does a double take when I realize who she is talking about.

“Uncle,” I whisper and fall back against my seat.

Drulai stands and circles around the table before sitting next to me and holding onto my hand.

“I’m terribly sorry, Tobias. Truly. Losing family is never easy.”

I glare at her and yank my hand away.

“What would you know about that?” I snarl.

She presses her lips together and blinks at my outburst.

“I lost my daughter recently,” She says. “Before that, I lost a son. And before that, I lost most of my life force. I think I have a good idea on what loss is.”

Huffing at her words, I cross my arms and look away.

I am not going to even bother to try and explain how she is wrong.''

Unfortunately, I have to play nice to ask for help.

“Fine,” I say. “Sorry for yelling.”

She smiles and nods. “You are forgiven.”

Mentally, I imagine myself stabbing her. It helps distract me from thinking about my Uncle being dead.

“There is something I wanted to talk to you about,” I say.

Drulai sits up straight, waiting for whatever I have to say.

“Raiyo can control the demons like how the other gods control the angels.”

She nods along.

“What if he were to try and take control of me when I am out with Luno? I don’t want to get him hurt. That is the last thing I want to happen.”

She nods slowly, drumming her finger on her chin.

“Oh!” She pips up and brings her hand close to my neck.

I quickly lean away.

She laughs. “I am not going to hurt you! I am merely going to place a mark on you to keep you hidden from his sight.”

“A mark?” I question. “Are you sure that will work?”

There is a slight pause before she answers with a forced nod.

Well...I guess I better take whatever chance I can.

~~~

I scratch at the mark painted onto the back of my neck.

It is a green mark based on what she has said.

She had drawn it onto the table to show me what it looked like as well. It looks like a leaf with a single eye on it.

Let’s hope this thing works.

You know, I doubt I would be able to take on the Star.

He is an incredibly powerful little thing. He could probably kill me in an instant if he tried hard enough.

Sadly, I know the fool wouldn’t fight back. At least not in time.

We could be sleeping together in the middle of the night and I could all of a sudden slit his throat.

Morbid thoughts aside, I am desperate for this to work!

At the moment, Drulai has her servants gathering things that will be needed for the trip.

They are small necessities. Though there is one thing that is especially nice.

The Mother Goddess has gifted us a special folded tent that magically sprouts out like a plant and instantly puts itself together.

It will come in handy for any close alarms for when we need to hide Luno.

Another gift was a special mirror that will allow us to communicate with the Goddess from great distances.

Unfortunately, we can only use it three times.

There are special stones that are quite rare and they charge the mirror up with magic. They can only handle three mirror calls.

Last but not least, the moon necklace.

I find it incredibly strange that a moon necklace is somehow connected to Raiyo. You would think it would be connected to Morgoren instead. Maybe even one of his champions if they were still alive.

Killed by Raiyo of course.

That was a fun year.

Morgoren thought he’d try and send his champions to assassinate Raiyo.

Clearly he did not know when to stop sending them until it was too late.

Again, very strange.

Did Morgoren give the necklace to Raiyo? I could believe that. They slept together once upon a time after all.

My nose wrinkles up in disgust at the thought of those two fucking.

Instead, I turn and look at the cute Star next to me who is fiddling around with the mirror.

He is holding the mirror up for Kulu who is staring at it with his usual blank stare. The serpent’s tongue hangs out and drags against Luno’s shoulder.

Luno of course tries to help the winged creature by shoving its tongue back into its mouth.

Very strange to see yet at the same time, I brings a smile to my face.

The sound of the Spirit Sailor clearing his throat grabs my attention.

He is holding the necklace in his hand and it offering it to me.

“One of you keep it,” He says. “I want nothing to do with it.”

A bit odd of him to think that when this entire quest deals with this necklace once again.

“Whatever,” I say and grab the damn thing.

As soon as I touch it, a faint voice can be heard in the back of my head. A little girl’s voice. It is muffled so I cannot understand it but I know it’s there!

Luno’s hand touches my arm. “Are you okay?”

I nod and put on a smile for him.

“Never better.”

Definitely not thinking about how my only family who hasn't shunned me is dead. Not at all.