A token?
When military soldiers went out of the planet, every military beloved was expected to give a token to his or her partner. This token was like a peaceful and safekeeping talisman.
A token weaved with sincere wishes of homecoming. Whenever the soldier felt lost and wanted to give up, this token would remind him or her of someone waiting for their arrival back home.
There was a legend that made tokens popular. Once upon a time, the Beast God went to war with the Human Gods. The Beast God had the power but Human Gods were cunning and deceitful, overpowering him.
The Beast God was pushed to his limits and was on the verge of losing himself to the realms of madness, but then, his ring started glowing, grabbing his attention. It glowed and the hazy and dull eyes of the Beast God regained some clarity.
He remembered his soul partner eagerly waiting for his victorious return. He couldn't let her down. A newfound sense of purpose took root in his ambitious core. He wasn't fighting for power but for their beast clan.
If he lost, his beast clan would become puppets of humans. Being used and abused by them for their own benefit. He had seen how they treated the animals on their planet, angering him to the point of madness. He couldn't let them harm his beast clan.
Hence, with the light that guided him through the ring, he moved forward and fought bravely. He successfully defeated the Human Gods and saved his planet.
That ring was a token of love from his wife. Afterward, it became a tradition among the beast clan to carry an item given to them by their beloveds.
Such a token was a fountain of courage to the beast. A beam of light, piercing dark despair. A flower blooming in the desert. A semblance of rain for the parched.
And Arella had none! A token had to be crafted by spiritual power. It was an object, imbued with sincere wishes and spiritual powers. It could be anything, a stone popular in the beaver clan, a small mirror like the fox clan, or any other mundane object having a special significance to the couple.
"I… I didn't prepare any. I am sorry!" She lowered her head and whispered lightly. She felt extremely bad. She had forgotten all about the expedition, so how could she have the mind to prepare a token for him?
"Don't worry. I know everything is a bit rushed." He looked at her dejected face and felt poked. Such a look made him uncomfortable. For a moment, he cursed himself for being cruel to her. He knew that she didn't have any. Also, he never needed one. He had always been the one without a token. But thinking of the greater good, he resisted his impulse of backing away.
"Look at me." He held her small face in his palms and gently tilted it upwards. Her face had a natural warmth, unlike his ever so cold hands. He really liked touching her.
"I don't blame you. I didn't mean to accuse you either. How about you give me a makeshift token for now?" He suggested to lighten the heaviness.
"A makeshift token?" She had never heard of it. The token was very special. Of course, it could be evolved, but it remained the same since the beginning.
"Hmm, like that ruby. How about you give it to me now, and when I come back, you give me something else?" He cunningly stated his desire.
This ruby had been on his mind since the morning. Looking at the unnatural connection between Arella and the ruby, he planned to take it for an evaluation. But when he woke up, he found that she was wearing it.
He wanted to get the ruby checked. But he couldn't disclose anything to her. He didn't want to be troubled over it. Also, he wasn't sure of anything yet. Perhaps, last night was just a coincidence. But he couldn't take any chances.
Last night, he was there to lower her temperature. But what if such a thing happened again in his absence? Would she be able to handle it? What if the temperature harmed her? Or damaged her core? He couldn't take the risk.
He had to take the ruby away with a legitimate reason. And that's why, he came up with the topic of the token. But now, looking at her low mood and dejected face, he doubted his means, was it even worth it?
"The ruby? Okay." When Arella heard of this feasible way out, she happily agreed. The ruby was a reminder of her mother, but since he forged it into a necklace, its meaning changed. It became something of importance to both of them. It could be used as a token.
She took off the necklace and offered it to him devotedly. Looking at her innocent gaze, he thought that he was deceiving her. He hesitated to take it from her.
Looking at the stalling at his end, she vigorously took his hand and laid the ruby on it. His palm was huge. It could easily hold the ruby. Adrian kept looking at the ruby. He was struggling with giving it back to her and telling her his true purpose.
But he was afraid of frightening her. What if he was worrying for nothing? What if her condition last night had nothing to do with this ruby? But what if it had something in triggering her outburst? Her temperature last night was nowhere near the normal. What if he let her have it and something bad happened afterwards? Could he take the risk? No. If anything happened to her, he wouldn't be able to absolve himself of the guilt.
He was struggling with his thoughts. He knew that he was doing it for her good. But at the thought of deceiving her, his iron willed resolve swayed a little. His eyes were fixed on the blazing red ruby.
And then, he felt a soft body filling his senses. It was Arella.
Arella was hugging him!