Important Jewellery

Today was a day of relaxing.

Both he and Elleon had decided that they weren't going to do much today. Just lay around and enjoy each other's company.

So they found themselves curled up in Elle's bed together; Garen laid out on the bed and Elle curled contentedly on his chest.

The Necromancer's rough fingers stroked gently through the boy's hair. He loved Elle's hair.

Elleon had been enjoying their lazy day immensely.

The weather hadn't been that nice this morning and even now he could hear the soft patter of water hitting the roof, which thankfully hadn't leaked at all since Garen had fixed it.

The boy curled in closer, running his hand over the man's neck then stroking over his chest softly.

His fingers brushed against the man's necklace, he had felt it there many times before but hadn't ever asked about it.

Now however curiosity struck him as his fingers trailed over it.

Garen gave soft, happy little purrs as Elle stroked him; like a house cat content to curl up and purr the entire day while it was rainy outside.

The man enjoyed the gentle touch of Elle's fingers, no matter the occasion.

Right now was no different.

Garen pulled the Fae a little closer.

Elle would never be opposed to laying like this all day when they could afford to, it was so peaceful and calm.

It was nice just to be able to lay with someone for hours on end, there was no need to talk or do anything else, they could just cuddle.

"Garen, what is this?"

He asked softly, his brows furrowing as he tried to make out the design, it wasn't something he recognized right away.

The man's blue eyes flickered open and down to the charm Elle was fingering gently.

"A necklace," he murmured in return, offering no more explanation as he laid his head back again. Garen wasn't one to talk about the life he left behind easily.

He'd rather not talk about it at all if he could help it.

Elleon pouted a little at that answer, was Garen just making fun of him? Of course he could tell it was a necklace.

"You don't say."

He muttered grumpily as he went back to laying on the man's chest. It wasn't fair that he couldn't see things for himself.

It was little moments like this that he wished he could see, looking up at Garen for real would be much better than this.

His fingers began running through the boy's hair when he laid back against his chest.

There was a part of him that felt bad for giving such a short answer and letting the boy get grumpy over it.

But, even after fifty years, the wounds were still raw.

He didn't want to get into the conversation about who the girl on the charm was.

Elleon didn't want to push for answers, there were parts of Garen's life that he obviously wasn't ready to share.

Really, apart from his name he knew very little about the man.

His lips pursed a little, it saddened him that he knew so little about a man that meant so much to him.

Then again, Garen didn't know much about him either.

Garen had always been careful about what he shared with people.

No matter how much he trusted people, the less they knew about him, the better it always seemed to turn out in the end.

But this was Elleon. Someone he trusted more than most other people he'd met in the past fifty years.

The man inhaled slowly.

"It's a girl I used to know from back home," he murmured softly.

"You don't have to tell me any more if you don't want to."

He murmured softly, he hadn't trusted Garen for the longest time, even now that he trusted him more than anyone there were things that he liked to keep private.

He could understand the need for secrets.

After all, everyone had them.

It was a tempting offer.

Not say anything more about her.

"She was important to me back then." She'd be gone now, though. And if not gone, then on her way out. She had showed no signs of having magical talent when he left. If you don't have it in your youth, you don't get it later down the line. Not when you were born into Necromancy.

Elleon nuzzled closer, trying to comfort the man, he had a feeling that this wasn't a pleasant story.

"Back then?"

He couldn't help himself from asking, the fact that Garen had continued to talk must have meant that even part of the man wanted to share it with him on some level.

"When I lived on my own continent."

Elle knew that he wasn't from around here.

Garen wasn't from this country or a neighbouring country. He was from across an entire ocean. A place very different from this place.

"She was someone close to me."

"And that's why you keep her close?"

He asked softly as his hand gently stroked the pendant, feeling the small curves of a face, now that Garen had said what it was he could feel the small details that made up a small face.

He handled the pendant with the utmost care, he didn't want to hurt something dear to Garen.

The man nodded against Elle's head. The boy would be able to feel it.

His daughter had been the most important thing he'd ever had. More important than his parents or siblings or even his wife.

His whole life had revolved around his little girl.

Elle had a few other questions but he was scared to ask them, he didn't want to know the answer, it would only make him feel horrible.

Already he suspected that it might be either his daughter or his partner and if he kept saying was, did that mean that she wasn't around any more?

He would be upset knowing that Garen had lost someone he loved dearly.

The man pulled Elle closer, nuzzling into his hair.

They were still alive, most likely. They weren't too old. His wife would be in her early seventies and his daughter in her fifties.

If illness hadn't taken them, they would be alive.

But he wouldn't share that. He couldn't.

He'd already said too much letting Elle know he had someone important. If someone managed to get hold of the boy, they could find out about that. Hurt Elle. Hurt him. Try to find his daughter.

Sharing anything about him was stupid and dangerous.

Elle knew that having Garen here was silly and dangerous, if he really cared about the man he would let him go.

He could rest easy that if someone burst through his door that they wouldn't get the man.

He was selfish though, he hadn't muttered a word when his parents and walked out the door but he couldn't help but pull Garen closer when he knew he should be pushing him away.

For the moment he didn't regret it but that could change in an instant.

Garen sighed softly, nuzzling closer to the boy.

He was here to protect Elleon but any day there could be people bursting through that door. Someone here for him. Everyone wanted a Necromancer that could control fifty people at a time on their side.

But worst of all, someone could be coming for Elle. The boy had people after him.

The man's finger pushed under Elle's chin, pushing his face up so he could kiss the boy gently.

Elle lifted his head as he was coaxed, kissing the man tenderly.

They were both wanted and neither of them could be safe during this time, he hadn't met someone that could understand how he felt as much as Garen could.

His hand reached up and he brushed it against the man's cheek, this peace would be fleeting, he knew that, as such, he would enjoy it as much as he possibly could.

Garen buried his face in the boy's snow white hair again.

He inhaled his scent; it was getting increasingly familiar the longer he spent here in this boy's house. He was growing to feel comfort in that scent.

"Rain's slowing," he murmured softly.

The patter of the rain was easing up gradually.

Elle listened carefully, the rain was indeed easing up, soon it would only be the soft patter of droplets falling off of tree branches.

"We might be able to go outside soon."

He like the smell of the plants and grass when the rain had just stopped, everything smelled so fresh and clean.

Elle's fingers curled through Garen's hair gently.
"I think I'd like to go somewhere warm."

The forest normally had a chill about it at this time of year, Elle preferred the warmth of the sun and sitting out in it for hours at a time.

"That'll be nice."

Going outside was something the both of them enjoyed.

The man pulled Elle into his lap as he sat up and shuffled so he was leaning against the wall.

"I doubt there'll be much sun around here for a while."

Elle pouted a little at that thought.

"I don't suppose we will. It will be a long while until the rainy season is over."

He cuddled in closer to Garen, nuzzling up against the man and ducking his head under his chin, pressing soft kisses to it.

"Though we can always sit in front of the fire and pretend we are outside."

The heat of the fire was a small replacement for sunlight.

"When the rain season breaks, we can spend as much time as we want out there."

He planned to be out in the sun as often as he could when the rainy season broke and they were free of all the sludge and clouds.

Garen's arms slid around the boy, pulling him up into his arms and sliding out of bed.

He carried him over to the fire and sat down with the boy in his lap.