Chapter Text
Considering everything...
And where to even start? The Emanator of Destruction gorging itself on Abundance? Wanted criminals following a script and never in danger of not going free? A missing or dead amicassidor? Some really, truly unexpected horns and ears and there was that whole floating thing and, oh yeah, parting an entire sea— And how could one forget the friendly fire impalement that prevented the Antimatter Legion from gaining their most attractive Voidranger yet?
After all of that, Caelus should not be the one in the hot seat here.
And yet. And yet.
Clearly, the universe was determined to turn him into a narcissist.
Good luck with that. March and Dan Heng would never let him have the self-respect required after witnessing his near pathological impulse of Belobog dumpster diving.
(Speaking of which, what was the big deal? It was an entirely new world's trash! It was interesting! You could learn a lot about a place by what people threw away! And had anyone considered that there was just something hardwired into him that insisted there were things to be found in garbage cans? And it's not like he did it on the Luofu! He learned! Or found none! Same thing!)
But, no, wait. Stop, rewind.
Context would help.
After Tingyun. After Dan Shu. After the Alchemy Commission. After Scalegorge Waterscape. After the Ambrosial Arbor. After Phantylia.
After such harrowing and intense events, there was always the tedious 'after' — the clean-up and menial busy work that most stories and histories skimmed over. This time, it involved hiking back up through a ravine of water and taking turns carrying a bona fide Arbiter-General until they met up with the rear guard. And, oh, were Fu Xuan and her platoon of Cloud Knights a sight to see. Especially when dregs of the Antimatter Legion kept interrupting their stroll back. Most fled when Phantylia did, but there were still groups of those tenacious assholes hounding them, maybe even sensing the precious dead weight with them.
They cleaned up, of course. Even with one of them standing aside with Jing Yuan every fight.
But it was frustrating. They were weak enough to not pose a serious threat, but strong enough that some effort was still required to clear them all out. And in the state they were in, it grew tiring quickly.
It already wasn't the most victorious of marches, but this weary stumble back started to affect even Welt's composure.
But with one hundred percent of the thanks going to the Master Diviner's timely intervention, they eventually delivered the very important, very conspicuous, very unconscious general to the Seat of Divine Foresight with very little fuss. There was still plenty of chaos going on because of the Ambrosial Arbor and the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, no need to cause further fervor by carrying the Vanguard of the Hunt like a baby in public view.
After that... How the Nameless factored into the fallout and recovery effort was a discussion best postponed. Jing Yuan's condition was uncertain and Fu Xuan would be busy dealing with the most immediate consequences of all that had happened. Maybe there would be another higher up of the Luofu or the Xianzhou Alliance to step in, but Caelus didn't have enough information to say if that was a likely scenario.
The way Welt told it, waiting was just another part of being a Trailblazer.
The Astral Express might shoot by world after world, its crew's visits sometimes shaking societies down to their very literal roots, but expecting the locals to keep pace with the visitors with far off gazes and who didn't have to deal with the repercussions of their actions long term?
Inconsiderate at best.
So wait they would. That, and tiptoe around the dragon-shaped elephant in the room.
(Wait, did any of the places they visited have elephants? How did he even know what an elephant was? He didn't even know his own age, but massive, gray creatures with elongated noses? Sure, why not? He could sketch one right quick and ask Dan Heng if they existed in the archives. Well. If Dan Heng would ever be there again to—
Hey, no, he was supposed to be ignoring that. That elephant expression, remember?)
Before being dismissed, they'd been offered continued use of their rooms at Petrichor Inn, no arrests included! Which was less of an overplayed joke and more of an actual concern rearing its ugly mug once again considering—
So, it wasn't as if Jing Yuan and Dan Heng had been particularly secretive about talking about past lives, some great crime, and whatever exuviation was. Even if their levels of willingness had been awkwardly mismatched and there was no handy glossary for poor, amnesiac Trailblazers who'd only learned the existence of the Xianzhou Alliance right before they had warped to the Luofu.
(Sure, he could have asked. But between sharing winces with March over Jing Yuan's rebuffed overtures of camaraderie and discovering that the Antimatter Legion had long infiltrated Scalegorge Waterscape, there hadn't been an ideal time to ask what was the difference between a preceptor and a high elder.)
Point was, Dan Heng was twitchy enough to give Caelus the impression that his previous incarnation had done something serious enough that the Luofu might completely ignore the favor done for them and deal with Dan Heng right then and there, whether it was incarceration or exile or...
Caelus was certain Jing Yuan or Fu Xuan wouldn't advocate for execution. But recent events also showed that his judgment of people wasn't exactly stellar. Still, the fondness in Jing Yuan's eyes and tone had been hard to miss, even if it had been tempered in the face of Dan Heng's unfamiliarity.
Regardless, any sort of action was not so much taken off the table as it was pushed back to the other side of it for now.
Fu Xuan had said as much when Jing Yuan had been whisked away by a healer deeper into the Seat of Divine Foresight. To her, further assessing Dan Heng, his past, and the potential issues of his return to the Luofu ranked far lower than the mess Phantylia and the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus had left behind. Which meant he could leave without being detained, but with the implication that he'd still be around when Jing Yuan woke up.
So, technically, Dan Heng was a free man, Vidyadhara, pachyderm idiom, whatever.
He sure didn't look like it though.
Dan Heng wasn't someone Caelus would call optimistic on a normal day, but his murmuring about 'longer chains' seemed needlessly dour considering they could book it to the Astral Express whenever they wanted. It would leave a bad taste in Caelus' mouth if they left right this moment, but their purpose for coming here was more or less accomplished. Like Madam Yukong had said, the Xianzhou could seal a Stellaron without outside help, and now that there wasn't a tree and tree-sized lady-abomination in their way, they could finally deal with it. Plus, the Luofu wasn't in any shape to chase after them. Not that he thought they actually would — the Alliance surely had bigger illuminated dragonfish to fry than their crew of six. But if anything could slip free of the Hunt, he could see the Astral Express doing it.
After all, if they had been pursuing Dan Heng, they hadn't caught him. Dan Heng was the one who got off the Express willingly.
Though Caelus couldn't even begin to understand why after he was so resistant to even the rest of them coming here. Unfinished business? But he kept insisting it wasn't his business anymore. Was he that anxious about them? But even when their phones finally connected and Dan Heng learned they were more or less okay, he still had been determined to meet up. Maybe a rendezvous with that Stellaron Hunter who, in retrospect, definitely let himself be caught? Caelus had never seen Dan Heng so affected as when that man's likeness was projected onto the Astral Express. So maybe his presence forced Dan Heng into action, for whatever reason. That seemed more likely than a belated case of FOMO.
Again, Caelus could just ask him. And he would! Just...not now. Not when Dan Heng was so wound up that he tensed at nearly everything that came near.
Like that Cloud Knight just scurrying along, doing his job like every other guard in the Seat of Divine Foresight. Even when it was clear he was nowhere close to approaching Dan Heng, Caelus could see him brace himself for a potential confrontation and...huh, actually it kinda looked like the Cloud Knight was headed for—
Aw, man.
Standing in front of Caelus, the Cloud Knight bowed lower than most did when they found out who their new best friend on the Luofu was. "Distinguished guest, I have a message from Chief Counselor Qingzu."
And they were so close to leaving, too.
Despite his sweaty palms, it wasn't some dirty little secret that he'd been doing errands for the Seat of Divine Foresight and some of the commissions. But it was still awkward to be stopped like this when he maybe hadn't filled his companions in about everything he'd done while waiting for Fu Xuan's signal. In their time apart, March had gone sightseeing. Welt...also went sightseeing? But March collected photos and souvenirs, while Welt collected information and the occasional book. At the same time, Caelus infiltrated a cult, pretended to commit murder, and got poisoned by an ex-friend/leader of said cult.
Huh. Maybe Caelus shouldn't be left to his own devices for too long.
But it was what it was, and this must have been important if Qingzu sent someone to personally meet him rather than just message him.
Caelus shot an apologetic smile towards his friends who, two out of three, bristled at the Cloud Knight like he was all that stood between them and freedom.
"Sure, what is it?"
Being part of the Astral Express crew meant being able to talk to anyone they met, regardless of language barrier and without the IPC's pricey translation tech. And this convenient perk of the Trailblaze was sophisticated enough that Caelus could tell that the Cloud Knight was using a level of honorifics that passed 'respectful' and landed straight into 'reverent.'
"She regrets not being able to greet you and give thanks for the extraordinary service you — all of you — have done for the Luofu. She sent me when she heard of your exploits today. Specifically, your efforts at the Alchemy Commission. As such, and considering your past encounter with the former Chief Alchemist, the Chief Counselor respectfully requests you see one of our healers for another examination. We would be remiss not to exercise caution when concerning one of our esteemed guests."
Ah.
Right. Yeah. He'd forgotten about the follow-up.
He felt the prodding eyes of his friends and really felt the prodding fingers of March when she jabbed them into his side with a hissed, "What is he talking about?"
He grabbed her hand and pinched the skin below her wrist. The very picture of a pleasant young man, he smiled at the Cloud Knight even as March yelped and struggled to pull away.
He appreciated Qingzu's concern, but this definitely could have been a text message. Or told to him when he was alone. He hadn't gotten the sense Qingzu had been overly paranoid about his condition after he'd been checked over and cleared the first time, so why the insistence now? Had something changed?
"Don't ignore me! What does he mean—"
"I feel fine," Caelus shooshed March's heated whisper with a little pat. "I appreciate the concern, but you don't have to go to the trouble. I'd feel bad if I wasted a healer's time when things are so hectic. I can come back later when things settle down."
The Cloud Knight bowed his head again. "I apologize, but the Chief Counselor insisted. And said it wouldn't take much time."
Caelus frowned. "I guess..." Better safe than sorry? And it would probably look bad if he kept declining even though he could safely say he didn't feel anything off.
It really wasn't a bluff or him putting on a strong front. No one in that fight with Phantylia was fully okay, even after being healed. But he'd fared the best out of everyone — save for Dan Heng who'd been attacking from a distance whenever he got the chance.
And the effects of the so-called Brumedew Concentrate Pellet were a unique sort of awful. You couldn't miss or wave away pulsing veins overtaking your vision or hallucinations of ginkgo leaves that burned your skin.
But how to say that without freaking anyone out?
"Just...uh. Give me a moment?"
The poking had turned into March trying to drag him away. A feat both hilarious and adorable since she was putting her whole weight into it and just kind of...hanging from him without him moving an inch.
(Caelus had felt he'd gotten a bit more solid after Belobog. Since exploring the Path of Preservation, he learned to take a hit without flinching and to keep his stance steady and stubborn.
Maybe he could even keep upright when the Express warped? Heh, March would be so peeved if he did it first.)
Eventually, he let March haul him over by the entrance — which still had some Cloud Knights nearby, but afforded some illusion of privacy.
"They're not doing anything funny, right?" March demanded in a whisper that wasn't. "Did they find out about the you-know-what in the you-know-where and now you're being experimented on??"
"Huh?"
"I can't believe this!" March paced in the little circle that formed once Welt and Dan Heng caught up to them. "First they didn't want us to interfere in their Stellaron problem and now they're interfering in our Stellaron problem?"
"Is that your cute nickname for me when I'm not around?"
"Be serious!" March jabbed a finger into his chest. Oof, right in the Stellaron.
"Well, they didn't know. But I'm sure someone with sharp enough ears is wondering if they heard right and that handsome young man really is a walking talking space cancer. That or you're trying to hurt my feelings."
Because he was sometimes an ass, he pitched his voice higher for the nearby guards to hear and: "March the 7th, how could you say something like that?" He hid a forced yawn behind a hand and blinked rapidly to make his eyes shiny with moisture. "Are you trying to make me cry again?"
March puffed up her cheeks and yanked his hand down to reveal his smirk. "Hey! You know there's no 'the' in my name, mister! And what do you mean again! I'm the one who always feels like crying!"
Welt cleared his throat. "March, perhaps you should give him a moment to clear things up? But only if you're comfortable explaining, Caelus. We can save this discussion for the Express if not."
It was dreamy how easily Welt handled conflict. Interpersonal or otherwise. Which is why Caelus — medically cleared, but still rattled — had messaged him out of everyone when Qingzu finally let him go after his little incident.
After swiftly making sure there wasn't anything wrong with him (Caelus maybe should have given him more than: "Mr. Yang, can we meet up? I'm okay, but something happened."), Welt had left it up to him if he wanted to return to the Astral Express out of caution or tell the others. Caelus had declined both at the time.
Returning to the Astral Express while knee-deep into the Luofu's crisis felt like abandoning a story before it was finished. And telling the others...
He hadn't wanted to bother Himeko. Who he was sure wouldn't call it a bother. But he'd yet to shake the feeling she had more important things to do than answer his texts, even if it was just brewing coffee and smiling enigmatically. Meanwhile, a shitty signal or a meddling hacker made sure Dan Heng hadn't received most of his messages. And March... Sometimes she could be a lot with her concern. Which was nice, admittedly. But this was something that Caelus was content to write off and forget once things settled.
As for Pom-Pom... They were, uh. Easily depressed.
Not that he ever felt the need to unload his troubles onto the conductor, but he'd feel like a heel if Pom-Pom's sad and constant spritzing drowned all the plants in the parlor car. Even if most of them were fake.
So, only Welt was told. Quite possibly because the thought of making him disappointed triggered a baffling need for approval that he was certain didn't exist outside of Welt's presence.
Something about those glasses and that cane made Caelus want a pat on the head and a murmured 'good job.' But he was definitely not going to explore that unless he was content with never making eye contact with Welt ever again.
Even if it did make him wonder if it was a secret requirement to be devastatingly attractive to join the Nameless.
He should absolutely ask Pom-Pom.
"Okay, okay, I'll explain!" Dodging March's attempts to pinch him back, he held her wrists and watched her flail around and stomp her feet before letting go. "But it's really fine. It was just Qingzu — that's the Chief Counselor — she asked me to do a couple things for the Seat of Divine Foresight. Things that were easier for someone not officially affiliated with the Cloud Knights, but wasn't a civilian either."
Meaning someone who could take care of themselves while making for a nice, approachable target.
"I'll get into all of that later if you really want me to, but during all of this, I met the Chief Alchemist and spent some time working with her. Um, turned out she is...was—?" Caelus shook the thought away. "She was the master of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. And she gave me some medicine before I knew that."
He saw the confusion on March's face and watched as she put the pieces together into what made for a pretty ugly picture.
Dan Heng didn't need the time.
Maybe it was good that he was giving Dan Heng some space, because the expression on his face as he stared at Caelus... It was hard to look at.
"Caelus!" Comprehension made March yell out loud and grab on tight to his arm.
Underneath March's distress, he caught a low mutter of, "You didn't..."
Caelus winced. "Yeah. I took it and some things happened and I went on a teeny tiny rampage here in the Seat of Divine Foresight. I came back to myself before anyone got too badly wounded though. But I was—I am okay, I swear."
"How do you have a tiny rampage?!" March might not be able to unbalance him, but her grip strength was no joke.
"I told you, I snapped out of it before things got bad. It just...did something to my head. Or, uh, maybe my whole body? I mean, first it felt like I was burning up from the inside out and I was going to vomit everything inside of me onto that very nice glass floor in the Exalting Sanctum, but then it got better? Mostly better. Except, when I arrived here to report back, I thought I was surrounded by mara-struck. But Qingzu said..." His hasty explanation slowed to a halt when he realized Welt was staring at him just as intently as the other two. He swallowed, suddenly feeling nervous. "She said I was the one who looked mara-struck."
No one spoke.
"But I wasn't, I'm not."
Eyes covered by a hand, Dan Heng shuddered out words like they physically pained him. "That medication..."
An uncomfortable staticky feeling filled Caelus' chest. The conversation was spiraling out of his control, but he didn't know why. It was over, wasn't it? He knew he should have been more careful, and he would be next time, so why...?
Dan Heng dropped his hand.
His eyes were different. So much was different. The pupils were pearly white now. And his irises... They glowed as if something had bubbled up to the surface. Maybe it was the power and heritage of a hundred past lives. Or maybe it had something to do with his affinity for water. But all that focus, all that intensity pinned Caelus in place and sank deep, past sinew and bone and the star nestled in his chest.
"Caelus," Dan Heng said, voice tight. "What was the medication?"
Caelus couldn't look away, even if answering that gaze made him remember that strange burning taste and the nausea that surged up right after. And yet, he opened his mouth, helpless. "...It was the Disciples' prescription for immortality."
Seeing Dan Heng's mouth crumple and hearing March's gasp... Caelus realized he should have taken the out Welt had generously provided him and kept this to himself until the Luofu was lightyears behind them.
Maybe it would have been funnier then. Haha, Caelus took candy from a near stranger and almost faced something worse than death, haha.
...On second thought, if he had tried to be cute like that, he would have deserved Pom-Pom kicking him in the shins. But he was sure he would have thought of a more delicate way to explain. He would have at least picked a day not marked by so much death and chaos.
(Assuming he wouldn't have forgotten to mention it once they moved onto their next destination. Or that they would even be all together after this.)
Suddenly dealing with an armful of March who clung onto his front and smacked him on the chest, Caelus shied away from those sea-bright eyes and did his very best to turn this spaceship away from the black hole it was heading towards.
"I'm okay! It didn't take. Probably because of my delicate condition. Your good ol’ Stellaron problem. And you know, I did get a lance through the chest that one time and came out of it just fi— Hey!" He poked March in the cheek and got headbutted for it.
"This and that are different!"
"How? I was fine after both! I even saw a healer and I'm all good, totally cleared! Only a little bit of nausea here and there, but I'm pretty sure that's all in my head. Qingzu only wanted me to come back for another examination later just in case."
Welt put a hand on Dan Heng's hunched shoulder, squeezing it once before letting go. "She most likely heard about our trek through the Alchemy Commission and was concerned if being near the cauldron and the vapors unearthed any latent effects."
"Huh. I guess that makes sense? But I—"
Because Caelus had only been peeking out of the corner of his eyes, he hadn't realized Dan Heng had been huddling into himself more and more until he was a detonation of motion.
A whirlwind of fabric, hair, and what Caelus swore was a tail for a split second, Dan Heng turned on his heel and strode down and out through the entryway, ignoring the startled Cloud Knights keeping watch outside. Their voices could be heard until the doors snapped close and the muted buzz of officials and aides was all that was heard once again.
Caelus' jaw clicked shut.
"Dan Heng!" March called after him, only following for a few steps before thinking twice and looking to Welt. "Shouldn't we go after him? I've never seen him storm off like that..."
Welt readjusted his grip on his cane and regarded the unmoving doors with a pensive air. "No. I think he needs time to himself. It's been a long day for everyone and his was longer than most. Learning about Caelus' brush with the Disciples might have been the final straw after everything."
"But I'm really okay..."
Welt gave him a look that made him shrivel up a little on the inside. "But there was a possibility you wouldn't have been. We were lucky that such an insidious medicine had relatively little effect on your unique constitution. Or rather, was eventually neutralized by it. We already discussed this, but I'd like to stress taking better care of yourself and not taking unknown medication without clearing it with someone who's aware of your situation."
Caelus quickly nodded. "I understand. Even if I thought she was an ally, I shouldn't have..."
Welt exhaled, the minute tension in his shoulders vanishing with a smile. "It's understandable. We would like to trust those we meet on our journeys, but you have to take more caution than most. Now, we shouldn't keep your escort waiting. It's a good idea to get checked again, even if Himeko will want you to have another one once we're back on the Express."
And that was that.
—
Caelus was fine. Nothing amiss.
Which wasn't news to him. But shouldn't that have been odd? Not that he was thumbing his nose at a clean bill of health, but it was a little weird that no healer he'd seen had ever mentioned anything off about him.
He didn't think it was a matter of skill. More likely, he was an ongoing anomaly. Able to contain something that had brought an entire planet to its knees, able to hide something that had sowed chaos and discord to an ancient space-faring civilization. Maybe the Stellaron had made itself indistinguishable from the rest of him on purpose — simply hiding and waiting for the trigger he knew would come some day.
Alright. That was enough fatalism for one day.
March and Welt waited for him, even when he had said it was okay to go ahead. True to Qingzu's promise, the examination had been quick and they were finally able to leave the Seat of Divine Foresight. All three of them.
...Not that he was expecting Dan Heng to reappear so quickly. March was right that this outburst wasn't typical, but he did tend to hole up somewhere whenever he was agitated or troubled. But knowing his unintended storytime was the catalyst for Dan Heng's absence left Caelus with a confused sort of guilt that wasn't so easily dispersed. March's interrogation made for a good distraction...or at least it did until it fizzled out into a side hug and a dejected, "We're also upset because we weren't there, you know?"
Oh. Caelus hadn't known.
They traveled together up until they reached Petrichor Inn. Welt broke off first, wanting to contact Himeko and have a longer discussion than whatever brief updates they sent each other. And March demanded a dramatic reenactment of all that he'd been up to while they waited for Fu Xuan's advance into the Alchemy Commission.
She definitely had more words for him, but the words she had for Dan Shu made Caelus wish she had been with him. His infiltration probably would have failed much sooner (sorry, March), but maybe he would have thought twice about taking any 'medication' in a place rife with rumors about an immortality elixir.
And honestly, her suggestion of meeting up with that little girl again was a good one.
It wasn't his place. It wasn't his experience. But the ruthless conversation he had witnessed between her and Dan Shu had unsettled him deeply. Doubly so when he learned Dan Shu had been actively fostering all sorts of Abominations of Abundance and was in league with one of Nanook's Emanators. Regardless of what was written in her diary, she definitely wasn't someone to take life advice from — especially when life could be a millennium long.
March finally left his room by the time her stomach started grumbling. Caelus still hadn't fully gained his appetite back, so he waved her off. If he got hungry later, Starwatcher Avenue always had shops open, regardless of the time. Or there were the many vending machines scattered about if he got desperate.
Caelus laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling, feeling too keyed up to sleep – even though he really should. He wasn't sure if this Stellaron had infected his dreams like the one in Belobog did, but he'd been sleeping terribly since arriving. He could only go a few hours before he woke up, tense and sure he was forgetting something.
Which was funny, because he'd already forgotten all there was to forget about himself. What else was there?
His hands twitched for his phone and he gave into the distraction without a second thought.
The mess of sent and unsent messages between him and Dan Heng stared back at him, taunting him.
...He could try to see if it worked now.
If his hunch was right, the so-called signal problems should be gone.
It was telling that Dan Heng had been the only one they had had trouble contacting. There hadn't been an issue with Himeko or anyone else on the Luofu. If what Kafka had said about scripts and futures and needing the Luofu to owe the Nameless a favor was true, then the Stellaron Hunters must have had a hand in Dan Heng's current circumstances. After all, no one had mentioned an alternative to him opening the way to the Arbor's roots. Even when they had been rushing to Dragonvista Rain Hall without knowing Dan Heng was on his way there or that he was the key to getting to the Stellaron and Phantylia, the only plan Fu Xuan had mentioned was to trust Jing Yuan. Which had seemed a little shaky for the Master Diviner until he remembered she had used the Matrix of Prescience on Kafka.
Hopefully, now that the Express Crew’s involvement in the Luofu's crisis was nearly over, the Stellaron Hunters would be a little less hands on in their puppeteering for a while. Kafka had dropped enough hints that there were more roles to play in the future, but for right now, even if it was just an illusion, he felt free of the strings he sensed whenever she was around.
Deciding Dan Heng might not want to hear from him right now, not when he had left like he did, Caelus swiped over to one of the games on his phone and fiddled with it until his numerous deaths proved where his focus really was.
He procrastinated the best he could, switching between the different applications on his phone, answering a few texts, turning the screen off, trying to nap, turning it back on again. Eventually, he gave into impulse and quickly typed out a series of messages before his restless energy led him to do something Welt would call inadvisable.
Dan Heng
For anything related to the data bank, come find me.
Caelus
Things just got a little more complicated
! Message failed to send
Caelus
Maybe a lot complicated
! Message failed to send
Caelus
We're headed to the arbor's roots, that's where the stellaron is...and the antimatter legion? Who's in league with the disciples? It's messy
! Message failed to send
Caelus
Going now, hope you get this eventually, stay safe
! Message failed to send
Caelus
So…
Caelus
I know you left in a way that very clearly announced you needed some alone time
Caelus
But just double checking
Caelus
Would you like some company?
Caelus
Quiet or chatty, I don't mind
After deciding against a Pom-Pom emoji, he threw his phone to the foot of the bed before wandering to the in-suite bathroom.
Tingyun...or the Tingyun-persona that Phantylia had put on, had told him that meant he was in a very nice room. Most of the other guests had to deal with communal facilities. Which was probably better for everyone, considering he had to wash off blood and unidentifiable space ichor a few times already.
He wasn't convinced he'd gotten it all this time. On the way back through Scalegorge Waterscape, he'd gotten in between a reaver and Jing Yuan’s unconscious body and got one of those arm-blades to the jaw as a result. It had been superficial and not worth healing until Fu Xuan's group reached them, but it had dripped blood down his neck until Welt had sacrificed his handkerchief to sop up the mess.
Dan Heng had stared at him back then too.
Which shouldn't be a wonder, who wouldn't stare at their companion bleeding like they got their throat slit and cracking jokes about how fetching they looked with a makeshift ascot tied around their neck to catch the blood.
But rather than simple concern or that far off stare he sometimes got when he second guessed stepping out of the data bank for the day (which usually happened around March or Caelus, how weird), he'd looked like he had something to say. But every time they had had a moment to breathe, his eyes had skittered away.
Maybe Caelus should have shoved the awkwardness aside and hung back with Dan Heng, even if they would have been interrupted by a trampler trying to crush them underhoof.
He'd kept quiet at Scalegorge Waterscape for his own reasons. But even if Dan Heng didn't want to meet now and even if he decided he wasn't a Nameless anymore, Caelus needed to talk with him at least once more.
After finding and scrubbing away a few more patches of dried blood, Caelus wandered back into the bedroom and picked up his phone.
His fingers flew to unlock it at the small jolt of an unread notification, fully prepared for yet another satisfaction survey from the Hex Club or March spamming him with pictures of her dinner.
It was neither.
Dan Heng
For anything related to the data bank, come find me.
Caelus
Quiet or chatty, I don't mind
Dan Heng
[Location pin shared.]
Caelus squinted. Zoomed in, zoomed out. Clicked the pin again.
Huh.
...What was Dan Heng doing in Cloudford?