Milo was three drinks deep at a bar he had gone to with Corym to stay out of public view, when someone sat next to him, asking for a drink himself. He was altogether unimpressive - plain brown hair, pale skin, rather small despite clearly being strong. The only things that stood out were how many freckles he had and how green his eyes were - they were impossible not to notice. 

"Two of whatever this guy's having. No- three." 

As the man waited for the drinks, he smiled at Milo almost sadly. "Also here alone?" 

Milo sighed deeply, having hoped to drown his discomfort alone. Still, he nodded, and looked back down into his drink.

"Some days are like that. It just hit me that the woman I'm in love with will never love me back." 

Milo let a grin slip, tipsy enough to almost find the situation funny. "The man I’m in love with died in a recent battle. They never found him after. Probably a bomb... Funeral was today, there was nothing of his to honor. I was ready to devote myself to him entirely, but I was too much of a cowart to even get myself to sit by the grave during the ceremony." 

The man sighed. "Sh*t. We can't always win our games, can we? Sorry for your loss." He handed one of his three drinks to Milo. "Do you want a distraction?"

Milo shrugged again. "Sure."

"Okay... hmm... well, I'm Ezra. I'm actually on a mission with said woman, concerning a recent battle. A quest if you will. Do you like stories? Have you heard of the Arima?" 

Milo looked up then. "You know that name?" 

Ezra grinned. "Know it, chasing after it, however you want to put it." 

"And… you think they have something to do with the battle?" 

Ezra nodded. "Maybe. Truthfully, we arrived here running away from something else, but all of this talk about the battle recently has certainly felt like a new puzzle piece to explore." 

Milo looked into his drink. Was it possible... could it have been that there was a reason the battle was such a disaster? 

He had thought that it was an accident that killed Corym. 

"Do you think- can I join you in your investigation? I can't do much - I can control air I suppose, and some say I'm smart, but I mean, it's with maths, I'm not sure that'll mean much... But I know the history of this place and the fight. It's just... have questions about it that need answering, for a minute of peace of mind." 

Ezra raised his eyebrows and sighed, finishing his drink swiftly, followed immediately by his second. "Sun take me, your type's whiskey is weak. But fine. I'll introduce you to my companions, I guess it can't hurt to have one more." He took out his wallet to pay, but Milo shook his head. 

"No, allow me," Instead of paying, he simply spoke to the bartender. "Anani." 

"What is that, like a code word?" 

Milo looked back at Ezra. "My last name," he paused. “Sh*t, I wasn’t supposed to use that…” he glanced at the bartender, who gave him a short nod. It seemed like he wouldn’t tell anyone. Milo slid him an extra silver piece for good measure.

"Oooh you're a fancy type as well are you?" 

"I- yeah. My name is Milo." 

Ezra sighed again. "Sun above, I'm surrounded by entitlement. Fine, let's go." 

~~~~~~~ 

Ezra had hoped to run into a local who could tell them more about the city. But the fact that the local he found was also rich and intimately linked to the battle Lila had mentioned itself was like finding a shy, nervous, tipsy pot of gold. 

He didn't speak much on their way to his companion's inn. Every time he glanced over, the tall man was holding onto his necklace, almost as if in prayer. 

So either his loss affected him more than he understood, or he was a nutcase. 

Ezra sighed, remembering how he had fallen apart when Calixa disappeared. From the outside he probably seemed just as lost. Poor guy. All things considered, he seemed to be holding himself together well enough.

He opened the door to the inn just to hear a "Finally, hope you brought snacks, Ez, I'd kill for some toffee." 

He rolled his eyes at the halfling's remark. "No, but I found better." He pulled Milo into the room. "Introduce yourself, I guess." 

He watched as Milo looked at the others in the room. First at the redheaded halfing playing with a knife, then at- 

Nope, he was ignoring her. 

"I- ah, my name is Milo Anani. I'm one of the Keepers of the Arts - a noble family of Holn - but I study physics and maths. Ezra said you were investigating the Arima and ended up here?"

The halfling glanced at Ezra. "You really think this tree is better than snacks?" 

"Lila-" Calixa warned. 

"Ugh, fine I'll be polite to Mr. Fancy." She waved at him. "I'm Lila, I steal stuff, and for some reason the moons are mad at me, I think. Nice to meet you!" 

Ezra didn't expect Milo to open his bag to fish out a package of biscuits. "I- it's not much, but my aunt made them. She bakes exceptionally well, maybe you'd like one, Lila?" 

Lila raised her eyebrows in surprise and took one of the biscuits from Milo's offering. "Moons above these taste like joy!" She gushed, smiling again. "OK Calixa, your turn, I wanna see what magic gift you get!" 

The fae was sitting in the corner of the room. "I am called Calixa. You know of the Arima? Of the failed battle Lila told us of?" 

Milo nodded, scratching at his arm. "I- yeah. I just, I was wondering if I could work with you? Maybe? I have questions about both that I need answering." 

"Why is that? Few people in this city seem to give a care." 

"I lost the man I love to it. I need to know if it was an accident." 

A heavy silence filled the room. 

Lila was the first to speak up. "I vote we keep him. He has an aunt who makes the world's best cookies and he has information. Plus he looks like he'll at least be a buffer between you guys." 

Ezra groaned. “You told her?”


“She figured it out herself. I thought you said you were not mad.” 

“I’m not, I just didn’t want it to be public!” 

At that moment, Milo felt a tug in his mind. An urge to speak, without making a sound. Ashtai seemed to be directing him to speak to Lila with his mind.

Lila?

Yeah?

Milo blinked. He had no idea how he was doing such magic. You can keep most of the biscuits if you catch me up on the drama I've walked into.

Lila grinned - she missed hearing the effects of such a spell. Most of? Shame on you, you tower. 

Milo sighed in relief - this spell would be useful. I may have a sweet tooth as well.

Aah, finally a man of culture. Please teach these two to have fun.

Calixa stood. "We will speak later, Ezra. This one may be useful. Though I am going to rest. Sleep well." She left the room, closing the door behind her. 

Ezra groaned, crashing onto one of the beds, muttering in a language Milo didn't recognize. "Welcome to the party I guess. We'll start in the morning, I need sleep." 

"Yeah you got everything else you needed a couple of hours ago," Lila teased with a smirk, prompting Ezra to throw a pillow at her as she settled on the small couch in the room, still laughing. 

Milo chuckled and left the room, finding one for himself. He didn't take long before lying in bed to sleep, thoughts racing. He had no idea who these people were aside their names, which he would likely forget by morning. His mind spun with drink and - what was it Ezra had said? About his type's wiskey being weak? Was he not also human?

Hopefully things would make more sense in the morning when he wasn't on the verge of being drunk.

He missed the times when things made sense.

Milo turned to his side, clutching onto his pillow. I'll figure out what happened, darling, I promise, he thought to whatever fragment of Corym's spirit that may have been near him at the moment. 

But it was true. That day, he didn’t go to the funeral, not exactly. The crowd around the monument they had made for the university students was dense and broken. He didn’t want pity, and he certainly did not want to hear whatever obscenities people would mutter at the drow’s mention. Instead, he sat at his family’s mausoleum, with flowers for his sister. He followed Lockwren’s instructions to find Norah's spirit. He found it rather quickly, and let it comfort him once again as he heard Corym's name announced in the distance, just long enough for the nausea to fade. He sat there, feeling numb, until the crowd dissipated and the rain began falling.

He tried going to the monument, but was too afraid to see the freshly-dug dirt.

I promise. 

Do you, now? 

Milo groaned. Not tonight, Ashtai, I'm not in the mood. Please just... I need my own thoughts tonight. 

You still don't feel his spirit, do you? 

Shut up. Please, please stop. 

Milo felt a gentle wave of calmness was over him.

I am sorry, Milo. Take your rest tonight. 

Milo sighed with relief once he felt Ashtai had retreated. The moments he knew he was alone in his mind had become rare. He took out the envelope containing Corym's note, the three lillies and the drawings of them together, and put it on the nightstand with his glasses, too afraid of forgetting it under the pillow where he usually kept it. 

It was true, he had still yet to feel even the smallest bit of Coryms spirit around him. And yet, he still took over his soul completely. He took the silver ring on his necklace and clutched onto it, brushing it to his lips. 

I promise. 

~~~~~~~~ 

Milo didn't dream that night, not traditionally, at least. Ashtai was giving him a memory. He was cleaning his room while Corym was playing the piano he kept in the corner. Milo didn't play it often enough; it was always nice to see it get some use, especially from someone who played as beautifully as Corym. He watched him play for a moment, enchanted.

Eventually he turned to dust off the top of his bookshelf, and knocked off a spare set of keys to his room. He had forgotten he had them in the first place. 

Milo considered them and blushed as a thought occurred to him. A horrible joke, really; there was no way he could say it. Corym would think it was stupid. 

And yet, what else was he to do with them? 

He exhaled and sat on the bench next to Corym, who hadn't stopped playing. "It's beautiful, but I must say," He placed the key in front of him on the piano. "You're a little offkey." 

Corym stopped playing. "No I'm not, what do you mean?" 

Milo rolled his eyes and pushed the key even closer to Corym. "It opens my room. I found a spare. I want you to always feel welcome." 

Corym smiled down at the key and started laughing. "Of all horrible jokes, Milo, that was somehow the worst and the most romantic one I've heard." 

"Hey, at least I tried. But then, are you going to keep it?" 

"After a stupid joke, an even stupider question." Corym took Milos face in his hands and kissed him, unable to stop smiling. "Of course I want it, you absolute dork." 

In that moment, Milo found himself wondering if he could somehow control the dream. What if he simply tried to reach out to him, even though he hadn't in the memory?

As easily as in the waking world, Milo reached up to hold Corym's face, kissing him lightly - his lips, cheek, neck - before pulling his partner into his arms, holding him close, basking in the moment.

"What was that for?"

"I just... I guess I just couldn't help myself."


It was as if Corym was aware of the dream then, for just a fragment of a moment. He leaned his head on Milo's, stroked his hair, whispered "I know, it's okay..."

Eventually, Milo let go, letting Corym turn back to the piano and continue playing. He dropped his head on his shoulder again, entirely happy in that moment.