Chapter Text
As the conversation melts into a comfortable silence, the pair gaze up at the Krozmos above them, the swirling patterns interrupted by the silhouettes of the branches of the tree they lay under. The shadowy branches look almost akin to claws, holding the shimmering lights above in their gentle clutches. Yugo’s eyes begin to drift close, the late hour and the quiet ambiance of the woods mixing with Zerek’s breathing lulling the Eliatrope into a peaceful slumber.
“Do you believe in fate?”
Yugo’s eyes shoot open at Zerek’s voice, almost startling at the sudden break in the silence. Yugo turns his head to look over at Zerek, a confused expression on his face.
“What do you mean?” Zerek doesn’t answer right away, keeping his eyes focused on the sky above. Yugo can’t help but notice how the stars reflect in his eyes, little pinpricks of light shimmering within the shades of violet, not unlike how they shine above.
“Well, master Joris told me that my father is the ‘ruler of the night sky’ when I was in Bonta. He told me that the darkness and the stars themselves are his domain, and since he’s my father, I may have some connection to it too.”
Yugo rolls his head back again, resting his head on hands folded against the grass and looking back up at the sky. “That makes sense, you always have more energy on nights like this. So, master Joris said you got it from him?”
Zerek nods, a dry tone to his voice now. “Yeah, I guess I had to get something from my old man, huh?” Yugo chuckles at that, but Zerek seems to fail to find the humor, the Eliatrope noting the distinct lack of enthusiasm in his voice. He looks back at the little dragon, the wings on his head twitching back as he notices the serious expression on his face. After a moment, Zerek begins to speak again, a slight tremor filling his voice.
“And the Eliatropes, Qilby said you came from the stars, right?” Yugo suppresses a shudder at the memory of the mad Eliatrope and his stories, the ones that always fill him with a sense of Deja vu. Even if that particular adventure had happened years ago, the memories still feel fresh, Yugo himself having woken in a cold sweat more than once. The sensation of a scythe or Wakfu blast cutting through him translates cleanly into his dreams, and some nights he feels as though he’s back in the White Dimension or Emrub, fighting for his life and the rest of the World’s along with it even after he wakes.
Yugo props himself up, leaning back on his arms as he looks down at the little dragon, attempting to make some semblance of eye contact and discern what could be bothering him. Zerek turns his head again, adamantly refusing to meet Yugo’s gaze. Yugo’s brows furrow and his wings flatten against his head, worry beginning to mix in with the confusion.
“Where is this going?” Yugo asks, his voice soft yet tight with worry. Zerek sighs, dragging his eyes back towards the stars.
“If both of our heritages are connected to the stars…” Zerek trails off, as if afraid to bring forward whatever may be on his mind. After a deep breath from the dragon, he finally turns his gaze back towards the Eliatrope, and Yugo’s wings twitch up in surprise at the strength of the emotion swirling in Zerek’s eyes. Even if Yugo can’t quite understand what it may mean, he can tell that whatever the emotion may be, it has the force of the entire Krozmos behind it.
“Maybe we were fated to meet each other. Maybe we were meant to find one another, to be by each other’s sides through it all.”
Yugo feels it then, the same sensation he began to feel for Amalia during their adventures. That comforting warmth in his chest, the spark in his heart that he learned to call love, pointed at the dragon laying next to him, illuminated by a field of stars.
But he can’t afford to feel it for him. He loves Amalia, he can’t love Zerek too, right?
“Well, I don’t know if I believe in fate.” Yugo turns his gaze towards the sky again, resting his arms over his knees and trying to ignore the embers dwelling in his heart. “But it’s a nice thought, right?”
If Yugo had looked back towards his friend in that moment, he may have noticed the tears that Zerek held back, identifying the emotion swirling in his eyes not unlike the stars above to be love. But he doesn’t, and Zerek doesn’t say anything about it. He raises his own eyes back to the stars above them, blinking back the tears that he refuses to let fall for fear of hurting his beloved Eliatrope.
“Yeah. It’s a nice thought.”