Frosty Morning and Demon Promises
I woke up in the morning to find Kar gnawing branches into place along the edge of the nest. He was apparently trying to fix the spot Kaiel had smashed yesterday, but since he was using his front paws, they kept slipping out of alignment.
"Kar."
"Yes, Master! I'm in the middle of repairs right now! Almost done..."
The branch creaked and the one he'd just wedged in popped right back out.
"Forget it, leave it. The elves said they'd fix it."
Kar froze, then set his paws down. He fiddled with it a few more times before slinking off to the corner. He flopped down on the Turaka hide. Through the gaps in the branches, the sky was a clear blue, and every time the wind blew, leaf shadows danced across my face.
I pulled an Astraea from my subspace and chomped down. Crunch! Cold, sweet juice flooded my mouth.
Still delicious even after a few days.
As I gazed up at the sky, the temperature in the nest started dropping. Frost spread across the branches above. She's here.
I turned my head, and there was Prostia perched on the nest's edge. Her snow-white hair fluttered once in the wind, and in her hand were four ice fruits.
I sat up and pulled another Astraea from subspace, handing it over. Prostia took it wordlessly and bit in. As the sweet juice tried to dribble from the corner of her mouth, it froze solid. She peeled it off with her finger and popped it back in.
...So that's how she eats it.
Prostia held out one of her ice fruits. I took it and crunched down. Crack! A familiar subtle sweetness enveloped my tongue. Fainter than Astraea, though.
We sat side by side, munching our fruits, as the frost's chill quietly settled over the nest.
She's so quiet.
Prostia's cold aura mixed with the air, cooling the nest thoroughly. My breaths came deeper than usual.
Then a familiar demonic energy rose from below.
Berat?
Prostia's chewing stopped, her translucent eyes turning downward. A human shadow fell across the nest's edge, and Berat slowly climbed up. His long hair swayed in the wind. He had his usual laid-back expression.
Kar in the corner bristled his scales, hunching low and tucking his tail inside.
Berat glanced at Prostia and tilted his head.
"...Where've I seen you before?"
Prostia's face hardened, and the nest's temperature dropped another notch. Thin crystals spread around her hand gripping the ice fruit.
Berat narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"Oh, right, that ice lump from back then. You've grown a lot."
Berat stepped forward happily, reaching out a hand. Prostia's eyes iced over. Cold exploded out, frosting Berat's fingertips.
Berat paused and pulled his hand back.
"...Still mad about that time?"
Prostia didn't answer. Her gaze was frigid.
Berat scratched his head and took a step back.
"Sorry about then. For real."
Prostia tracked him silently with her eyes. I turned toward the stone slab.
"Both of you, sit. I'll grill some meat."
Berat shrugged and plopped down on one side of the nest. Prostia glared at him a moment longer, then looked away and sat on the opposite side.
I pulled out chunks of Ignar meat from subspace and laid three thick slabs on the stone. I lit a flame at my fingertip and slowly seared the surfaces. Sizzle! The meat browned nicely as droplets of fat rolled onto the stone.
I ground some rock salt over it with a crunch and sprinkled a bit of pepper. Salty, spicy aromas mingled with the fat smoke and wafted out.
I flipped the meat. Peppercorns studded the golden-brown side—looked perfect.
Berat sniffed and scooted closer to sit beside me. Prostia stayed put on the other side, but her eyes were fixed on the slab.
Prostia's chill rose from one side, Berat's demonic energy from the other.
I sliced the done meat and pushed pieces their way. Prostia picked hers up silently and took a measured bite, chewing at her usual steady pace. Berat devoured half in one go, wiping grease from his chin with the back of his hand as he kept munching.
We ate in silence. When the meat was half gone, I turned to Berat.
"Did you bring that thing you promised last time?"
Berat's chewing stopped. He blinked, then grinned awkwardly.
"Oh. That..."
"Tarsia."
"...Forgot."
I stared wordlessly. Berat swallowed, averted his eyes, then looked back.
"You promised."
Berat thought for a second, then smirked.
"How about this? Come hang in the demon realm with me. There's way more than just Tarsia to eat there. You can stuff yourself if we go in person."
I chewed another piece, remembering my last divine realm trip.
"But does time pass super fast in the demon realm like the divine realm?"
Berat paused mid-chew.
"Huh? You know?"
"I went to the divine realm and spent half a day there, but five days passed here."
"Oh..."
Berat looked blank for a moment, then nodded like it made sense.
"That's actually the mild version now. The ratio's way down."
"Now?"
"It used to be worse. One day in demon realm is a hundred days on the surface."
My hand froze reaching for more meat. The bite in my throat stuck.
"A hundred times?"
"Yeah."
"But divine realm wasn't that bad."
"The god of time put a temporary hold on it when they patched the dimensional rift. But that's wearing off soon."
Berat shrugged.
"Better be careful next divine realm trip. Not like last time's half-day-to-five-days. Could be half-day there and fifty days gone when you get back."
A hundred days is too long.
"Guess demon realm's off the table."
Berat tilted his head.
"Why?"
"You think it's fine if I'm gone from here for a hundred days?"
Berat opened his mouth.
"Sure, no prob—"
His words cut off. His eyes blinked. His fingers twitched like he was counting in the air, then stopped.
"...Oh."
Berat chuckled.
"Close call. The World Tree we just calmed down would've gone nuts again."
I chewed another piece.
"So just bring the Tarsia."
"Huh?"
"You promised. Go get it yourself. I'll be here grilling."
Berat stared for a long beat, then laughed.
"You're so straightforward sometimes, in ways I don't expect."
"A compliment?"
"Who knows."
Berat finished his meat, wiped his mouth with his hand, and stood.
"Fine. I'll go solo. I'll grab a bunch of Tarsia, so wait up."
"Bring a lot."
"It'll take time, though. Even rushing, it'll be a few days here."
"Oh..."
"Can you wait?"
"Just don't forget and bring it properly."
Berat walked to the nest's edge and glanced back at Prostia.
"See ya, ice princess."
Prostia's chill rippled. Frost thickened rapidly, but Berat smirked and leaped down.
His long hair vanished over the edge. I felt his demonic energy heading downward—toward the depths.
...He's really going alone.
Prostia looked away and picked up her ice fruit. The frost slowly receded, and the nest's temperature normalized. The lingering demonic traces in the corner faded too.
Kar peeked out from the corner. Once the energy was fully gone, he cautiously crawled out, tail dragging.
"M-Master. That guy went to the demon realm?"
"Yeah."
"Is that okay? He said he forgot the promise... sending him alone..."
"If he comes back, great. If not, whatever. I'm curious about Tarsia, but not enough to go there myself."
Kar's tail thumped the floor once.
"...Fair enough."
I tossed him an Astraea from subspace. He fumbled to catch it with his paws and nibbled carefully. I offered one to Prostia too; she took it silently and started chewing.
The wind blew, and the nest fell quiet again.
Next divine realm trip, I gotta make it quick.
...Or just have Michael send me.
I reached into subspace for the communication orb, but it lit up first. I pulled it out, and Michael's familiar tone flowed out.
His voice sounded more drained than usual.
"Yeah, I was just about to call you."
I could sense Michael hesitating.
"Sure, go ahead."
"Oh, he's off to fetch Tarsia. He promised last time but forgot, so I told him to go alone."
"More like making him keep his promise."
I munched another bite of Astraea while listening.
"Lucas?"
I chewed as I listened.
"Do I have to?"
Michael's tone was more cautious than usual.
"...I'll think about it."
The connection cut off. The wind rustled the leaves. Prostia's chewing sounds and Kar stretching in the corner with a yawn filled the nest quietly.
God of space, huh. Wonder what he's like.
It was a hassle, but the bit about going before the time effect ended stuck with me.
...If I'm going, better do it soon.