Bonura
I fly through the hallways, my wings fluttering rapidly. I can feel my wing muscles grow sore with overuse. The flight from my private chambers to the main hall isn’t that long for people with the average stature of humans or elves, but for me it’s an exhausting distance to traverse. I was considered tall among the Pix clan at five centimeters, but now I feel short no matter where I go.
I manage to reach the main hall and settle into my throne, or rather, collapse into it. I carefully fold my tired wings against my back and settle down more comfortably. I am the first to arrive. Titus, Sachar, and Neema will join me before long. I only have to wait a few minutes before Titus walks in me. He glances at me slumped in my throne and asks, “Had a tiring fly?”
“As always. And I suppose you had the luxury of teleporting most of the way here.” I know I’m pouting, but I can’t help it. I am the god of time, and the only one out of a pantheon of thirteen gods who can’t teleport. Well, I suppose I could try, but the attempt would probably kill me. I can’t properly sense where I want to end up, as we teleport by latching onto a symbol of our power. I can see our world throughout time, but I can’t separate locations in the present with my powers.
He takes no notice of my sour mood as he walks over to his throne, saying, “Well, anyways Sachar and Neema will be over soon. Sachar’s busy with a challenge from a mortal and I suspect Neema’s making use of the delay to flirt.”
I smile. That does sound like her. “Well, considering her marriage has lasted for four hundred years, is it any surprise that she’s affectionate?”
Titus shakes his head, but he’s smiling too. He hasn’t formed a single romantic relationship in the four hundred years we’ve known each other, and I suppose in a way it makes me feel better about my own cowardice. Relationships are out of the cards for me after the massacre of my people. Now there’s no one left even remotely close to my stature to even consider. So, I spend my days alone, pining after someone who has no interest in anyone and not doing anything about it. I’d probably think of myself as pathetic, but no matter. My situation won’t change.
The door opening interrupts my thoughts. I look up to see my best friend, Niht, walk in with her arm entwined with Neema’s.
“Good afternoon!” I call.
“It’s nice to see you Bonura,” Neema says warmly while Niht greets me with equal fervor, “Hey Bun! Did you get here alright?” Niht’s the only one who calls me that, but she has yet to take note of my complaints, so I’ve come to accept the nickname.
“Yes, thank you.” Niht sits on her throne and Neema bypasses her own to settle on Niht’s lap. They’ve always been very affectionate, but recently they’ve been together more than usual. I hope Niht’s feeling alright. Though, I suppose I’m just worrying too much.
They greet Titus as well and I chat with them to pass the time. It’s about ten minutes before Sachar arrives. He looks exhausted, but I can’t see a scratch on him.
“I see the duel went well,” Titus comments as Sachar sits down in his throne.
“Yes, but it wasn’t easy. That bastard had a stolen weapon from one of the abandoned temples. We really need to find them before the mortals discover anymore,” he replies as he leans back in his seat and closes his eyes. He takes a breath before sitting up, looking more alert.
“So what is the matter of discussion for today?” he asks.
Titus takes a breath before saying, “Derek came to challenge me in my private chambers, so I locked him out. It seems he’s gone to the new group because when I checked back he was gone.”
“When did this happen!?” Neema exclaims. I’m shocked as well. I wasn’t even sure this was possible, but…
“Good riddance,” I mutter under my breath. He spent decades here moping for whatever reason, and then recently he actually started to pay attention to his surroundings and kicked up a fuss. I’ve never seen him contribute a single thing to the world in his time here.
Niht and Sachar stay quiet. Titus continues, “And I’d like to start planning for the next group. This is the smallest one we’ve had yet, and there’s only one left from the previous ones.” Now this, I expected.
I sit up straighter and say, “I’ve already found several who die in the same time frame. It’s in twelve years, but I think the wait will be worth it.”
“Excellent, let’s take a look.” Titus has a wide smile on his face and I have to take a moment to school my features before holding my hand out to project an image of the first one.
“Alright, these first few are why I chose this time frame. This one is named Voirrey.” The image shows a girl with five eyes and skin the color of goldenrod. She’s quickly approved by Sachar, Titus, and Neema.
Then I hold up the image of the second one. He’s probably one of my most interesting finds. “This one is called Rafiq.” I pull up an image of a scarred face, looking on to his death with misery.
Sachar in particular looks interested. “His wish is rather intriguing,” he murmurs. Titus and Neema look interested as well. I look back at his face as they voice their approval, looking from his present to his future. Yes, he’ll definitely make things interesting in the future. I bite back a smile as I think of my plans for the next group, the one after this. It pays off to plan ahead.
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