Inside a boat is nothing but darkness. Daring to open his eyes and observe the shadows threw him back to reality, flashing back to the moment his brother was slaughtered before those dark-emerald eyes. With miniature pricks serving as the pupil within the iris, Talen's head perked, calming his heavy panting with steady breaths that eventually quelled his innermost anxiety.
The lawyer's gaze scanned the environment; arriving at the simple conclusion he'd arrived in the room without realm or reason. Peeking out the window beside his head--the moonlight enlightened one-half of his face. The man's head lowered as he sighed, gazing down at the wooden floorboard directly beneath his soles.
'I'm thirsty.'
Talen found himself strolling down a dark corridor with a candle in one hand. Eventually, he finished walking down the hall and turned, admiring the miniature-kitchen etched into the floor. Stepping inside, he yanked open the fridge, drinking water he took from a bottle on the door.
"Hey." Removing the bottle from his lips, Talen faced the voice. "Couldn't sleep?" Marie Barron, with bandages over her face, approached the Unconquerable.
"No... just thirsty. What about you?" His head tilted. "How are your wounds healing?"
"Slowly. I'd be more impatient, but I'm lucky to have survived Monstrum's attacks at all," she said.
Talen nodded. "Well, seeing as how I'm here now, I might as well help you with that. Considering we're halfway there and all."
"Really? That'd be a big help, thanks!" Jumping on Tal, her arms draped over his neck, pulling the man closer as she smiled; their cheeks pressing together. "You're the best!"
"Get off me," he said.
Marie fell back to the floor, staring up at Talen with sparkling sunny eyes. Amit's eyes rolled as he turned away from the girl and examined the many corridors the kitchen split into.
"Follow me. I'll bring you to the bow and smoke while I heal you."
Under the tireless moonlight, a lighter lifted—its flame flickering with the relentless winds around them. Luckily, Talen lit the end and leaned back as he did, affixing the joint between his lips while his right hand raised to hover in front of Marie's brown face.
"Feel anything?" His muffled voice queried.
She shook her head. He nodded. The lawyer's palm released his fingertips that slid onto the girl's temples and initiated a Restoration technique, steadily rejuvenating the injuries hidden below the gauze. The former princess giggled under her breath.
A brow perked above Tal's right eye. "What is it?"
"Nothing. Just… memories of the past. That's all," she beamed at the man.
"Huh?" His head tilted. "Is it one of those things where you liked your big sibling's friend? What a bore. I was always more interested in Aella. Speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask: when did she and Uri start getting so close?"
Marie stuck out her tongue. "Why? Jealousss?" She hissed.
His lips released the joint, letting the smoke drift around them. "Not really. 'Curious' is more like it," the lawyer said.
"Well…" She tapped her chin, "they started getting close when Uri became the Syndicate Head, but that was ten years ago. I forget."
"A decade, hm?" Tal's fingers withdrew from Marie's forehead. "Are they dating then?"
"Can't say. I always see them hanging around each other though. Maybe they have a 'you and Lora' type bond."
After handing her the smoking spliff, he inhaled sharply and scoffed. "Wouldn't that make Aella his sister and not you?" Talen smirked.
She gasped, pointing at him. "How dare you!"
"What're you two doing out here?" questioned the King's raspy tone.
Talen and Marie looked up at Uriel with differing expressions.
"Just smoking."
"Yeah! And Tal said he was gonna help heal me too!" exclaimed the girl.
Uri smiled. "I see. That's good to hear then." He turned away from his sister and cousin. "I'll be turning in now. Goodnight."
Marie and Talen watched the Supreme King pull open the door before he stepped inside, quickly turning back to look at each other. Head lowered, the princess stuck the joint in her mouth, briefly smoking to inhale the mist—looking up at Talen's stare locked directly on her.
"W-what?"
"Really? That's all you have to say? 'What'? C'mon! Didn't you at least think that was a little weird?" He asked.
"Huh? What are you—?" She squinted. "Are you highhh?"
"Yes. But that's beside the point—"
Marie leaned back with a grin, "I appreciate the honesty."
Talen sighed. "God, you don't even realize anything about your brother," he said.
Marie's eyes widened. Shooting forward, she plucked the joint from her lips and rested both arms over her knees. "What? Why? What makes you think that? What have you heard?"
"Jeez, you have a complex, huh? Well, I just thought it was weird—how Uri said goodnight to us."
She handed him the spliff. "What do you mean?"
"I remember one time he was staying over at my house and we had to share the same room. But in the middle of the night, Lora and I couldn't sleep, so we went to the living room to smoke ourselves to bed. But Uriel found us. And he said something different than what he said when he saw us just then."
"Which is?"
Doing his best Uriel impression, Talen looked down, venting smoke from his mouth. "'What are you two doing up so late? That's what he asked. Now what we're doing 'out here."
Marie laughed. "You're probably overthinking it! The reason he said 'out here is that we're on the boat and outside obviously, stupid!"
"So? He could ask what we were doing up and it still would've applied to the situation, considering it's 3 a.m. But perhaps you're right. Maybe I am overthinking it."
"Overthinking what?" asked Aella. Looking down at them both, her head tilted. "What're you both doing up so late? It's 3 a.m."
Talen pointed at her. "See! Like that!" He turned back to Marie. "That's how you know she and Uri spend a lotta time together!"
"Ugh, that doesn't prove anything…"
Raven's eyes batted at the duo. "I don't understand." Like a robot. "What are you two talking about?"
"Oh, we were talking about how hard it must be for you to walk around with that massive—"
Marie hit Talen before he could finish talking. Rubbing the wound, the lawyer groaned, glaring at her through his peripheral.
"Nothing. We were talking about something Uri did that we both thought was weird. That's all." Marie grinned widely. "Why? How's your night going?"
Tal chuckled, settling the joint back between his lips. "You're a terrible liar," he revealed the lighter and ignited the end with fire, allowing the smoke to drift off the stick—floating above their heads.
"Agreed," nodded Raven, shuffling to sit beside Talen. "Calm yourself. I'm merely… tired—"
The Displacement's droopy eyes immediately fell as she sat beside the lawyer and fell into his shoulder—her cheek inadvertently squishing.
"No shit," Talen said. "You're not asleep yet though. What're you so tired from anyway?"
She groaned. "I helped King Uriel steer the boat. He was being surprisingly difficult for once. But it's odd. I can't help but have a weird feeling. That the person I was helping in there wasn't Uriel."
"What makes you think so?" He asked.
Raven looked up at him. "You're not saying it's impossible."
"Neither are you."
"Mmm, true. I guess there's no point in hiding it then. I think so because—"
The sound of the sea mixed with the seagulls' overhead cawing muted her words for the world to hear. After Raven's lips finished parting, the lawyer looked down, rubbing his chin before finally sighing.
"You're probably right. How'd you come to that conclusion though? I know you have a spiritual technique but—"
"Lily," Marie said. "It's been subtle but she's been watching us for a while now. It could be that she and Raven talked privately to discuss the reason for her sinister behavior."
Talen covered his lips with one hand before removing it and looking at the women. "Should we tell this to everyone else?"
Marie looked down, shaking her head. "No."
"It's best to keep this among us three for now. Lily might know as well but I'll confirm it in the morning for sure…" Raven whispered.
Standing up, Talen slid the Displacement into his arms, looking down at Marie before him.
"Marie, go on ahead. I'll take Aella to her quarters alone. Alright?"
Barron shot up and saluted her old friend. "Roger Roger!"
The girl ran from the ship's bow to its interior, vanishing in the darkness stored inside the vehicle. Talen waited another minute until he started walking. The pink-haired Displacement looked up at the Unconquerable, her eyes doe.
"You already knew about Uriel, didn't you?"
He glanced down at her before confirming with a nod. "It was back when we made up at the Palace. He said… he didn't wanna fight anymore. For some reason, it rubbed me the wrong way. I mean, sure, I didn't like fighting Uriel back in May but things changed. When I got to hear him say what he wanted to do—I couldn't find anything wrong with it. So we left. After all, no matter what horrible things he did, he was still true to himself. I fought him because I thought that he was doing was wrong. That doesn't mean I was right."
As Raven eventually adjusted to the dark, her vibrant pupils reflected Talen's stoic expression—his soft tone vocalizing as his figure started enlightening. Perhaps instinctively, he summoned his Fated aura, intending to light the path.
"But it's odd. I never… said anything. I've known him ever since that time yet I went along with him. He's the one who led the charge on the Deserters. A literal puppet of Atlas, pulling the strings of our group all along, intending to lead us into assured destruction. He's the reason why my brothers are dead and my father is gone."
Aella leaned closer. "Listen, Talen, if any of what we've all been saying is true then that means Uriel isn't himself. He's not in control of his actions—don't get clouded by emotion!"
"It's not even that. I'm frustrated with myself. I knew ever since that long ago, but did I do anything about it? Of course not. Because I was blinded. I wanted to be happy. I'd dreamed for so long about having Uri back that when he finally returned, I blindly accepted it. I didn't want anything more than that. And it's because of me that Tony and Archer are dead."
"Talen…" Raven sighed. What more could she say?
The man hastily dropped her off in the room and fled, closing the door without so much as a 'goodnight'. It was the same thing as usual. Walking endlessly down an eternal path with nothing but the past flashing through his head. Even after he abandoned the Empire and the daily life he led there, he still remembered everything vividly.
Archer, Anthony, Uriel, Eros. Couldn't their deaths have been avoided if he did something more? Talen's unwavering silence persisted as he entered his room, slid onto the bed's bottom bunk, and threw the blanket over his legs.
Upon laying back, he sunk into the mattress, eventually halting to gaze up at the circular railing making up the bottom bunk's ceiling. It felt odd. For some reason, just staring at the simple shapes gradually eased his mind. Finally, he sighed.
'I'm so tired.'
Talen's eyes closed. He fell asleep. By the time they awoke the next morning, they'd find themselves closer to their destination than ever before.