Heal was admiring the stretching pillars of cracked stone and loose pebbles that held together what the Lanmen called their “Holy Sanctuary”. The one devoted to the Lanwomen’s goddess was much more kept with and polished. As she stepped inside with Kerge—and Josie who was in a contraption that strapped him to Kerge’s chest—her nose was overwhelmed with the smell of incense and lavender. It smelled sort of like the brothel were her companions stayed at, yet it was cleaner somehow. It gave you a calming sense.

Josie seemed to think the same, because he cooed happily, which Heal knew by now was are rare thing to hear. Kerge was frowning. The moment Heal asked him if he could lead her here he’d been this way. Heal wished that their minds were connected like it was with her sisters back at home; she usually could despite this, but it seemed that Kerge had his mind on lockdown. It made sense since him and Penny were complete opposites. The only reason Heal trusted Penny was because her thoughts were so open.

“So this is your place of worship?” Heal traced the chipped marble of a deer and fox hybrid as she asked.

Kerge glanced at her, then faced forward again. The frown on his face deepened. “Not anymore.” That made Heal want to know what he was thinking _even_ more. Why did he resent this place so much? If so, why did he bring her here when she asked?

They all turned as soft steps clicked their way quickly. When it stopped, Heal tilted her head at the Lanman before her. A white shock of hair with a pale face that looked suken and drained. His smile was the opposite when he saw Heal, but it slowly slipped away as Kerge stepped forward.

“Welcome,” he stretched his thin arms out, blue veins winding up and down like vines, “To what do I owe the pleasure for you?” He tilted his head. “Highlander?”

“No, sir, I’m from the Land of Women. I’m here just for the sights.” Heal didn’t like to lie—it was prohibited in her land to even lie about an eaten cake—but it was necessary for the mission. Secrecy was key.

The pale man smiled, then bowed. “Even more so, then. Hardly anything changes here, so it’s nice to see a new place in the Holy One’s temple.”

“Kovich,” Kerge acknowledged the pale man, voice curt. Josie began to suck on his fingers—Heal had a little connection to children; they were more easier to hear, so to speak. Josie seemed a bit nervous at the tone his father used.

The man, Kovich, smiled, a bit sadly if Heal looked closer, at Kerge’s words. “Let’s put the past behind us, Kerge, if you will. I’m different now.” His face was one of pale innocence, but his blue eyes looked too clear, unseeing.

“No one really ever changes,” Kerge said in a low voice. The flinch Kovich had before he settled back into his shaky smile told Heal that he had heard it anyway.

“So,” Kovich fiddled with his fingers for a moment, his mind a high-pitched sound Heal found annoying, before taking a breath, “Y-you have a child now?”

Kerge ignored him. “Heal, I’ll be outside near the candy vendor when you’re done. Don’t take too long.” Josie made a fussy noise. Kerge patted the head softly as he opened the great doors to the temple and stepped out.

Heal was left with the screeching sounds of Kovich’s mind and a question on her lips.

[*+*+*]

_“Kerge…”_

_“Yeah?”_

_“Why do people leave?”_

_“I dunno, it depends.”_

_“I knew you were going to say that.”_

_“Then why’d you ask me?”_

_Kovich sighed. “Why do you think my father left?”_

_Kerge paused for a moment, looking out from the creased pages of his new favorite book. He tilted his head, then tucked back into his book. “Your father’s an asshole.” He said this so forwardly as though this was obvious, leaving Kovich sputtering._

_The boy, gaining his wits once more, slapped his friend on the back of his head. Not hard enough to leave a bruise, but hard enough that he knew Kerge would be feeling it when he slept that night. “No! My father is NOT an asshole!”_

_“Your Papi thinks otherwise.”_

_“No, he doesn’t!” Kovich jutted out his lip in defiance. “He loves Father and knows how important his job is! He says it all the time.”_

_“Sometimes…people lie with their mouth.” Kerge tightened his grip on his book, an unwanted memories started to invade his mind. He turned to see Kovich staring at him with a concerned look. Kerge changed the tone. “But, I’m older than you, so I see these things more quickly.”_

_It worked like a charm. “One year! One year, that’s all you have on me!”_

_“And that’s all I need,” Kerge replied smugly. He ruffled Kovich’s too long hair and laughed when the boy started to bat his hands with his fists._

_Kovich wasn’t like any boy that he knew. He was too soft in places where he should be hard. Hair was scarce where it should be plentiful. He reminded Kerge of the Lanwomen he’d seen in his school books. And something even softer than that, even more precious._

_A flower._

_No, not the ones in the grimy gardens of his city. The ones in the meadows one could only dream about nowadays. The ones with bright colors that beckoned you to worship them. The ones you could easily pluck from the ground with just a pinch of your fingers. The ones you could hold up to your nose and smell, and smell, and smell. Breathing in the intoxicating smell of nectar and a feverish scent. One that you couldn’t ignore and didn’t want to. One that pulled you in, closer and closer, until it could hu—_

_“Kerge? Are you alright?” Kovich was staring at him. Kerge brought his frozen hand off of where it sat on Kovich’s head and cleared his throat._

_“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Look, Kov, just focus on you for now.”_

_“I thought we were focusing on me.” He gestured between us. “This whole conversation was about _me_.”_

_“You self-centered snob.”_

_“Thank you.”_

_“You’re welcome.”_

_“You won’t leave me? Right, Kerge?”_

_ He looked back up to see Kovich staring at him with open eyes._

A flower opening its dainty petals, exposing itself, unknowing of the pain.

_He continued. “Because I don’t know what I’ll do if you leave. I—I really don’t know. You’re my best friend. My only friend. And I want you to stay with me. For a long time…maybe even forever….” A firey flush took over his skin. “Not like that! Unless you want to—WAIT! That’s not what I meant either! I—“_

_And Kerge smiled. A slow smile that felt good and warm and just all together real._

_“Of course, I will. Kovich Treles, you are so wonderful, you know that?”_