Soon after dinner, we rolled out our bedrolls while Kalia began her meditation near the obelisk once more. "I can't believe I'm a part of Nightfall's Blade now," I heard Athar mutter as he finished fluffing up his small pillow. "It does feel nice to be a part of something again," Irun chimed in. "I'm not going to comment on that," I said under my breath. I could all but feel the shame radiating off of Irun, but before he could say anything, it was Athar who spoke first.
"Thoma, I know you just got all cozy with the princess," he halted, twisting his face into a mixture of pain and embarrassment. "Go on, Athar," I said, ignoring the comment since Ysevel hadn't flinched at his words. "Thank you. Might I have a word with you?" he asked in a more formal tone than I was used to. "Y-yeah, of course," I replied, giving Ysevel a shrug as I got up from the bedroll.
We walked over to the other side of the dome when he finally turned to face me. "Sorry to bother you, but I think there's something you should know about Irun," he began in a whisper. "I figured that's what this was going to be about, but go on," I said nonchalantly.
He paused for a few moments, obviously gathering his thoughts to find the best way to say whatever it was he needed to. "Irun's… not a bad person," he began. When I didn't interrupt, he continued after a brief look of confirmation. "He's a little misled, and he's made mistakes, sure, but he's not a bad person," he said again. "I know he's not a bad person, but I still have trouble forgiving him for what he did," I admitted openly.
"I know, and that's what I wanted to talk to you about," he said, shuffling his feet. "I know you two haven't exactly seen eye to eye since that, uh, incident, but I want you to know that, like me, he felt he didn't have much of a choice, what with his potential being nerfed or something like that," he continued, still looking at his feet. "Where did he even learn that word?" I asked, not sure of what he meant.
I could understand it from the context, but something about the word simply struck me as odd. I'd never heard anyone use that kind of language before, not even my own brother and I often considered him to be well-traveled.
"I have no idea either, but regardless, he felt he had no choice but to take Ardrin's offer," Athar said with a shrug. "In any case, I hope that, like Lady Kalia has tried to do with me and my situation, you can maybe not fully forgive him, but at least give him a second chance," he continued awkwardly, prompting me to think heavily on his words.
Athar had, from the stories he told over the past year, spent a lot of time with Irun, even going so far as to have a deep and meaningful conversation with him about his past. Hearing his true story, and not the one he'd fabricated for us during his time in Codrean, made me realize that Athar might have been right.
Everyone deserves a second chance, huh? I thought as I registered his words.
"Alright, alright," I said with a heavy sigh, raising my arms placatingly. "I'll… try," I said with no small amount of difficulty. Athar's strong features seemed to bend into that of a truly caring older brother, reminding me briefly of my own real brother. Without another word, he outstretched his hand, gesturing with the base of his chin for me to take it.
I clasped his forearm, and he gave me a surprisingly tight squeeze in response. "Stronger than you look," I noted half-heartedly. "Stronger than you until a few years ago, Lanky," the alternate's voice said with a wry smile. I raised an eyebrow and chuckled at the ridiculous situation I found myself in. "Nah, I'd still beat your ass," I said, getting a wry grin from Athar in response.
This is going to take some time to get used to, isn't it? I thought as I gave him a wry smile in return.